A/N: Thank you for the great reviews! Glad you're enjoying the story. Any suggestions?
"You didn't use a rubber? Damn bro, you always gotta pack a few. You know this." Vince scolded Dom at hearing the news of Letty's pregnancy. Dom had dropped Letty off at school from their ultrasound appointment, and had informed Vince of the news when he arrived at the garage.
"V, I haven't used one in like a year. They interrupt my flow and shit. You know it don't feel the same."
"Better your flow than knocking someone up. Don't you think?"
"If it were anyone else, sure. I'll give it to you. This shit would suck. I ain't even mad at this situation right now. It's my fault. I just didn't give a fuck at the time. After you been with someone for nearly two years there are some things you don't worry about."
"You're so fucking dumb sometimes. You make it sound like you're getting a puppy."
"I know it's a kid, but it's my kid with her. I'm cool with that. I can't explain it. You may never get it, but it is what it is."
"So what are you gonna do?"
"Save up money. Find an apartment. Buy the baby shit it needs." Dom listed though he himself had yet to give the subject too much thought.
"Man does this mean we ain't racing no more?"
"Uh..." Dom had not thought over the appropriateness regarding his regular illegal activity, considering his new responsibilities. "Fuck it." He said with a shrug. "The kid don't gotta know, right?"
"For real, parents lie all the time." Vince agreed.
"Yeah, and it's not dangerous if you know what you're doing." Dom said as the boys continued to convince themselves that drag racing was perfectly acceptable for expectant fathers.
"Let must have been pissed." Vince presumed. Dom may have been his best friend, but he had grown particularly close to the young Latina in recent years. He had surprised himself with just how much he cared for her when she and Dom had broken up a few months previous during a harsh exchange of words at a party.
"She seems ok, well you know, as ok as you can be." Dom answered indirectly.
"She can't drink. She can't smoke. She won't be able to party, which means you're probably gonna have to cut back too. This sucks ass. I'm mad at both of you for being stupid."
"Damn, you're right. Now that you mention it, how is she gonna graduate without grass? You know that's the only time she ever does her homework."
"Aren't you glad you're not her right now." Vince pointed out.
"Why you making me feel guilty and shit? I hope you're happy. Now I feel bad." Dom said sympathetically.
"You should have thought about that before you knocked her up. Wasn't she on the pill?"
"That's what she told me."
"That's like 99.99998% effective. How did you two fuck that up?"
"Are you sure it's not 99.99997%?" Dom asked as he laughed at Vince's made up statistic.
"That does make a difference." Vince grinned as he wiped his greasy hands on a towel.
"I probably have super seed." Dom offered. "We Torettos aren't built like normal people. I mean look at us." Dom pointed to a picture of his family Tony hung up in the garage. They both took a moment to look at the photo before Dom said, "It's a wrap. My baby's gonna be hot."
"Letty's genes aren't half bad."
"Exactly."
"Jibber! Jabber! Get to work! I don't pay you to stare at walls!" Tony yelled from afar.
"This is crazy. I can't believe this." Vince said turning his attention back to the engine he had been working on.
"You don't even know." Dom said with a shake of his head.
A few miles away Letty sat in her counselor's office. The two were having an uncomfortable conversation while she bit her nails. "I can't deny I'm disappointed. I didn't expect this from you."
"Can you do it or not?" Letty asked irately.
"I'll see. I could get fired for asking this, but are you sure you want to go through with this. I see so many talented girls like you get stuck. You have so much potential. All your teachers tell me so. If only you could just stay out of trouble."
"I don't know. I don't really have a choice anymore." Letty had initially thought she was going through with the pregnancy for Dom, but after hearing her child's heartbeat for the first time she could not see herself having an abortion even if things were to go sour between the two.
"You're that far along?" Mrs. Brosterwin, her counselor, asked.
"Due in may." Letty informed her. "Listen Mrs. B. I get where you're coming from. You're one of the few people I can stand in this shithole so I propose we keep it that way. I don't need a speech. I've already been yelled to death by my mother. I can only imagine what my boss is gonna say. Teachers are gonna give me that look of shame when they see me in the hallways just like they do to everyone else who gets knocked up. So please, spare me. Okay? I just need to know if I can finish early or not." Letty pressed. Her counselor stared at her momentarily before speaking.
"I'll talk to the principle, but it may be a push considering your relationship with him."
"Ok, you have to admit it's not always my fault." Letty argued, and Mrs. Brosterwin gave her a disbelieving look. "Why does everyone look at me like that when I say that?"
"Because you're full of shit." Letty gave her a knowing smirk. Her counselor was the only school staff member she genuinely liked because she was not afraid to be upfront with her.
"Think about it like this." Letty began. "If I don't drop out the school stats go up. We all know we have the highest drop out rates in the district. I can pull the grades. I don't see how the school loses in this situation." Mrs. Brosterwin chuckled at Letty's proposal.
"Always the little bargainer."
"You liked that one, huh?" Letty asked with a smile.
"Is the father a student?" Her councilor probed.
"Nope."
"Is he older?"
"Yes, not by much though. Are we done with the twenty questions?"
"No, is he gonna support you?"
"That's what he says."
"And you believe him? You know you're the one that has to bear the weight of all this while he runs about, right? A lot of guys claim they're gonna step up, but then don't. Don't let yourself get fooled. I've seen it so many times it's tragic."
"He's not just any guy. But if worse comes to worse, I can do it alone. My mom did, and I'm still kicking." Letty told Mrs. Brosterwin with a casual shrug. She was a lot calmer about her situation than she had been a week before, mostly due to Dom's reassurance.
"They say that a lot too. Let me give you some advice. I'm married and have had three kids. It's hard every time. You need to pace yourself, and think of what's best for your child. You're a stubborn little girl. You wont be able to run around like you're used to doing without a care the world. I don't know who the father is, but I hope he understands that too." Mrs. Brosterwin said closing Letty's school file after a heavy sigh. Letty gave her a solid nod in response. "But I guess you're free to go. Unless there are anymore bombs you want to drop on me."
"Why don't we run out the clock?" Letty attempted to propose slyly.
"Go to your calculus class." Mrs. Brosterwinn ordered.
"Urg! Come on. That class is so pointless, and boring. Why have the teacher when the textbook tells you everything you gotta know?"
"Don't even think about skipping again, or you can forget about me helping you graduate. Your attendance is low as is. Your test grades can only help you so much."
"I hate when you get like this. Mrs. B, come on! Don't be like that." Letty whined.
"Get out." Mrs. Brosterwin told her sternly.
"Fine!" Letty snarled before she grabbed her bag and stormed out of Mrs. Brosterwin's office.
"Letty!" Mia yelled out when she saw her down the hall and ran to her.
"Hey Mi." Letty greeted unenthusiastically. She knew Mia would try to bombard her with questions and did not feel like having said conversation in their school hallway.
"So..." Mia began.
"Can this wait? I have class." Letty said as she attempted to get away.
"Wow, you must really not want to talk about this if that's your excuse."
"This isn't really the place. You get me?"
"Yeah, so later?" Mia asked. She was dying to talk about her auntly duties.
"Yeah, the garage I guess." The bell rang as the girls talked.
"Shit, I'm late. See ya later." Mia exclaimed running off. Letty on the other hand, took her sweet time making it to calculus. It took her so long to make to class she almost got detention for it. When class ended she found herself waiting for Dom alongside Mia in the school parking lot. Normally she drove herself, but the ultrasound had required they both be there.
"So did you tell him?" Her best friend Simone asked leaning against the wall beside them.
"Yeah, yesterday. We went to the clinic this morning."
"And?"
"It's official. This is happening."
"Damn girl, shit just got real, real quick."
"You said it."
"My brother loves you. I know you guys will work it out." Mia chimed in.
"Can I get a ride? Ricky's being a dick." Simone asked.
"When isn't he?" Letty asked.
"You guys broke up again?" Mia asked.
"Pretty close to it. We're not talking right now." Simone informed them. Letty rolled her eyes at her friend's typical boyfriend drama, though she was no one to judge. She and Dom had gone through their share of childish silent treatments and selfish arguments. Dom pulled up in front of the school and they all piled into his car. "Hey daddy, how's it going?" Simone greeted.
"Why'd you tell her?" He asked Letty.
"She knew before you did." Letty informed him.
"You jealous? I got that insider pass D." Simone teased.
"Why don't you suck my dick?" He countered.
"Woa!" Simone exclaimed.
"Watch it!" Letty said punching his arm.
"Ow! It's an expression!" Dom defended.
"I'm sorry Dom. I just don't think about you that way." Simone said coyly.
"You wanna get left?" Dom threatened. Simone laughed at him.
"You know I'm just playing." She cooed pulling at his cheek. Mia giggled as she watched on.
"Stop it!" Dom said pushing her hand away.
"Dom pull over." Letty said suddenly as the two continued to argue. She was feeling an unsettling feeling her stomach.
"What?"
"Pull over now!"
"Damn girl I was just kidding. I don't want him." Simone told Letty as they slowed down. Letty pushed the passenger door open before the car could come to a full stop and proceeded to throw up on the side of the road.
"Oh shit!" Dom said crashing his foot against his breaks.
"Oh my God, Let are you ok?" Mia asked with grave concern. Letty continued to heave all her stomach's contents.
"That's just nasty." Simone commented.
"You want water or something?" Dom asked rubbing her back. Letty shook her head as she spit the taste of puke out of her mouth. Mia handed Letty her water bottle. She took a swig and spit it out. Letty threw her head back against her seat, and closed her eyes in hopes of settling her stomach. They all stared at her unsure of what to do. Letty moved to slam her door closed, and leaned back.
"Drive." She told Dom with her eyes shut.
"Are you sure? We can wait a bit." He suggested rubbing her thigh.
"I'm good for another few hours."
"Few hours?" He asked confused.
"Yeah, let's go. We're late, and we still have to drop that one off."
"I can walk from the garage." Simone offered.
"It's ok. I'm ok. It's just a little morning sickness." Letty said nonchalantly as if it were not of the ordinary.
"It's the afternoon." Mia pointed out.
"Yeah, I don't get it either." Letty told her as she continued to recover from her episode.
"Are you sure?" Dom asked.
"Yes, go, go, go." Letty urged. Dom felt uncomfortable at how pale and sickly she looked.
"Baby maybe I should take you home." Dom suggested when they arrived at the garage. He had been inspecting her since the moment she got out of the car.
"I'm ok. Really, I am." She reassured. He leaned down to kiss her softly.
"I can't help you if you don't tell me when you need me." Letty rolled her eyes.
"Dom calm down. It was just a little puke. You heard what the doctor said. This is all normal."
"But I feel like shit. You know? I don't wanna see you like that."
"I'll try not to do it in front of you then."
"You know that's not what I meant."
"Baby I appreciate it, but there's nothing you can do. I'm good now. I just want to get to work." She told him tiredly. Dom gave her a kiss that turned into more than either expected. The two leaned against the nearest wall as they licked and pulled at each other's lips.
"Ahem." Tony cleared his throat behind them. Letty pushed Dom off of her so quickly he didn't realized his father's presence until he saw the mortification on her face.
"Hey Tony." Letty said softly looking at the ground. She could not look the man in the eye because she feared his disappointment most of all.
"I'm not happy with you." Tony told her.
"I know. I'm sorry." She said with a sniffle.
"Aww come on. Don't do that." Tony said as he saw a tear roll down her cheek though she still refused to look at him.
"Pops don't upset her. She barfed everything up on her way here." Dom informed him putting an arm around Letty.
"Letty look at me." Tony told her. She shook her head in refusal. "I'm not gonna kill you. I just want to talk to you is all." Letty's glossy eyes met his and to her surprised they were not angry, but warm. "You know what this means right?"
"Yeah."
"You don't matter anymore. It's all gonna be about what's growing in here. That baby's gonna need a mom that provides it with what it needs, and you can't do that without an education; well at least not in this country." Letty nodded in agreement.
"I talked to my counselor and we're hoping to finish up my credits before the baby gets here. I probably won't walk, but I never planned to anyway."
Tony gave her a nod of agreement and proceeded to say, "I'm gonna have at the desk today."
"Tony, I can work my normal shift." She argued.
"Don't push it." He warned her. Dom smiled to himself and Letty shoved him away from her.
"He's only doing that because he's mad at me not because I'm pregnant, you idiot."
"Still got my way. That's all that matters."
"Urg!" Letty exasperated as she stomped off to the office where she was forced to stay for the remainder of her shift. Dom took her home that evening and forced her to allow him to help her with her school bag. "You're going to be so annoying during this whole thing!"
"What was that Let? I couldn't hear you over the sound of you dying going up two flights of stairs."
"Shut up!" She breathed out. "Why the fuck doesn't this building have an elevator! And why the fuck am I so winded!"
"We still have four flights to go." He teased. "You want me to carry you?"
"No." She growled, but at about flight number five Dom brought her up the rest of the way.
"Your castle awaits." He said placing her on the ground.
"Okay, thank you. Bye." She said very annoyed with Dom.
"But we have to talk about Bobbles future." He pointed out.
"Oh yeah." She said opening the door.
"Where's Ana?" He asked.
"She works overnight Mondays." As soon as Letty finished her sentence, Dom grabbed her and began to ravage her in the middle of her living room. She responded to the kiss momentarily, but soon pulled away. "We're not having sex. I don't feel like it."
"You sure about that?" He murmured into her neck.
"Yes." She said sternly as she fought to get out of his grasp.
"But baby-"
"Let's talk about Bobbles." She proposed heading to the kitchen. "Are you hungry? I'm starving."
"No." Dom muttered as he sunk into her couch. Letty returned a few minutes later with a full plate of food she was already scarfing down. "We need to find an apartment."
"Like move in together?" She asked. They had never discussed it. Though her current living situation was not the best, she was not sure how she felt about solely living and depending on Dominic.
"You wanted to raise my kid in two different houses?"
"Can we afford that?"
"I have some funds."
"You been holding out on me?"
"It was supposed to be for school."
"I thought you graduated?"
"I got an associates; nothing special. Dad wanted me to do the four year thing."
"We should make a list." She said searching through her bag. She took out her notebook and wrote down Bobble's Needs at the top of the page. "So what do we need?"
"Apartment, crib, stroller, clothes, diapers, food." Dom listed.
"Medical expenses? I don't have health insurance." Letty informed him.
"Health insurance." He added.
"I have no idea how much any of these things cost." She admitted with worry.
"It's our job to find out."
"Mami told me I'm gonna need a second job. I don't know how I'm doing that with school."
"Let's figure this out first and then talk about that. I'll look through stuff tomorrow." Letty gave him a nod of agreement, and snuggled up into his side.
"Dom." She said softly.
"Yeah?"
"I'm really scared." She confessed.
"I know." He told her. "Me too. But you got me right?" He asked her with a smirk.
"Yeah, I do." She told him before leaning into a tender kiss. "I love you."
"That's so nice Let." He told her.
"Say it back!" She demanded smacking his chest. Dom chuckled.
"Why?"
"Because."
"I don't know if you deserve that."
"Excuse me?"
"You've been so mean to me." He pouted. Letty rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Why don't you show me just how much you love me?" He spoke against her skin.
"This is so pathetic of you." She told him as his lips met her collar. "This isn't gonna work. I have zero sex drive right now."
"But I love you. You don't think two weeks is long enough?"
"You still have thirty-two to go."
"This is cruel and unusual punishment. You made me wait a month last time we broke up. I refuse to do that again."
"You'll be ok." She said condescendingly. "I have homework to do."
"Wow, who would have thought teenage pregnancy would be this much of a positive influence on someone." Letty shot Dom a warning look.
"Alright, that's my cue to go." He said getting up from the couch.
"Are you gonna come back later?"
"You want me to?" He asked her. Letty nodded in response. "You want me to hold you, and kiss you, and tell you how wonderful you are?" Dom teased. Letty threw her notebook at him, and he chuckled. "Don't worry baby. Ima spoon the hell out of you."
"Bye." Letty said sassily. Dom leaned down to give her a long passionate kiss. "I guess I can let you get to second base."
"Let, it's just a matter of time. I know it. You know it. Let's not play this game."
"Whatever."
"Don't fight this feeling any more."
"Wow, you couldn't say something more original. That's how you're trying to get into these Vicky-Cs?"
"We both know you aint wearing any. I'll see you later, and Ima tap that ass." Dom told her matter-of-factly.
"You wish." She told him dismissively and turned her attention to her English book. Dom gave her a chaste kiss before leaving, and headed out to his car. There was promise in the air.
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