Author's Note: Hey guys, so this is something that kind of popped into my head and I just had to write it, if only for myself. It is completely self-indulgent. I was somewhat inspired by Marvel's "What If?" animated series in concept. This takes events from the early part of the 4th film - the turning point in where everything went "wrong" for Dotty - and reimagines the story from there. What if Letty didn't take the job with Brian after all? What could make her do that? What could reunite her and Dom? What will happen next?
Please note that there is going to be a Dotty baby in this fic so please don't read it if you dislike that.
Also, please review if you like where I'm going with this! If I know I'm not alone I'll keep writing!
Back to Los Angeles (Letty and Mia)
It was 5 am when the sound of an engine rumbled into the driveway. Mia Toretto looked up from her breakfast, confusion flashing across her face.
There had been a time, of course, when that sound had been common. When this house was full of commotion and people, laughter and parties. Those days were long gone now. Ever since her brother and his team's luck had finally run out in their truck-jacking business. Jesse had died and Vince had ended up in the hospital for months.
It had been the last time she'd seen Dom, and even the phone calls had been few and far between.
She set her empty bowl in the sink and stood, going to the window.
She watched as the door opened and Letiticia Ortiz stepped out of the driver's side. Mia relaxed slightly, watching as her friend went around to the trunk and pulled out two duffle bags. She looked tired, her face pale and drawn, and the set of her shoulders tense.
She was unhappy, Mia could tell as much.
She went to the back door as Letty alighted the steps, and opened it. They smiled at each other, even though Letty's was wan. Her eyes were lined by dark circles. She dropped her bags and pulled Mia into her arms. For a moment they just held one another, then Mia stepped aside to let her friend inside.
Letty picked up the bags again, came in.
"You didn't call and say you were coming," Mia said, then went to the coffee pot. "Want some?"
"I've been driving all night," Letty replied. "I just want to sleep."
She sounded as exhausted as she looked. And something else. She looked sad. She looked sad in a way Mia hadn't seen her friend look in years.
"I can put fresh sheets on your bed for you," she offered. "Before I head to work."
"Sokay," Letty said. "I know where they are. Don't want you to be late."
Mia looked at the clock and decided not to argue. Her shift at the hospital started soon, after all.
"Yeah, okay. I'll be home by 4. We'll have dinner together. You can tell me about all your adventures and how my brother is doing."
Letty couldn't bring herself to return the smile Mia gave her, but she sighed. "Yeah… sounds good."
She shouldered one of the bags and went upstairs. Mia watched her go, wondering what had happened. But she shook off the worry and grabbed her purse, heading out the front door. She locked it and went to her car.
It was going to be a long day.
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When Mia arrived home she saw that Letty was in the garage, the door open, bent over the wrecked body of the Charger. It was reminiscent of so many times she'd seen her in the past, a dirty tank top and a pair of baggy jeans hanging low on her hips. Her dark hair was pulled up in a sloppy bun.
Mia shouldered her purse and made her way up the drive.
"Hey," she said, coming to a stop just outside the garage door.
Letty lifted her head to look at her, swiping one greasy hand across her brow.
"Hey."
She straightened up, putting aside the wrench in her hand, pressed against her lower back and stretched.
"Needed something to do," she explained. "Got tired of sitting with my thoughts."
Mia gave her a nod. "I'm gonna get changed and start dinner. You can keep working if you want."
"Nah… I'll come help you."
Mia was glad for the offer. She hadn't realized just how lonely she'd been until the other woman had turned up on the doorstep this morning. How much she had missed her family. They went inside together and Mia went up to change out of her scrubs.
By the time she was back down in the kitchen Letty had washed up and was pouring herself a glass of water. Mia went to the fridge and took out some things.
"So why did you come back to LA?" she asked, pulling out a cutting board and examining her knife block. "I didn't think I'd see you for a while longer, at least."
Letty was silent for long enough that Mia looked over to make sure the other woman was still there. She was standing near the window, her shoulders tense, jaw set.
"I didn't think you would either," she finally said, and she sounded almost broken when she voiced the words.
"What did he do?" Mia asked, setting the knife down. It had to be Dom's fault her friend sounded like that. He was the only one who could hurt Letty like that.
"He left," Letty said flatly. "While I was asleep. I don't know where he went. He didn't want me with him and he didn't listen to what I wanted. So as usual he got his way."
"Oh," Mia said softly. "He's an idiot, as usual," she replied, rubbing a hand up and down Letty's arm. "I'm sorry."
Letty shrugged her off and Mia gave the other woman her space, going to the sink to rinse off some peppers.
"Don't apologize for him," Letty said, finally, coming to take the produce from her and go to the cutting board. She picked up the knife. "Your brother makes his own decisions. I just wish he'd give me the same courtesy."
"Why didn't he want you there? Did something happen?"
Mia went to the cabinet and pulled out a frying pan, then got some seasonings from the spice rack.
"Something always happens around us," Letty said. "We drew too much attention."
"Maybe he thought splitting up would be safer.." Mia ventured, then cringed at the look Letty gave her. "Not that I think he should have made the choice all on his own."
"I don't care about what's safer," Letty said. "I'm tired of being apart."
Mia could understand. She was tired of being left here alone. Of not knowing when she'd see her brother again, or anyone else. He couldn't come home though, and there wasn't much way to change that.
"He can't come home," she said. "He doesn't want us on the run. What can we do?"
Letty curled her lip. "I don't know…" she said, dumping the sliced peppers into the hot pan. "But I'm going to figure something out."
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Letty had been home a couple weeks when she started to hear the rumors around the local racing scene. There was someone scouting the local street racers for drivers. Letty wasn't sure exactly what for, but she gathered it was dangerous. Normally, that might be enough to peak her curiosity, but then one night she caught sight of a familiar face trying to get lost amongst the crowds. Blue eyes and a flash of surfer-boy blonde hair.
She cornered Brian O'Conner beside his blue Nissan with a hard look.
"What are the cops doing in the LA racing scene now?" she asked. "I wonder."
"Letty…" he sighed, held up his hands. "I'm not looking to bust any street racers. And you know I can't tell you what I'm doing here."
"It's about the drivers, isn't it?" she asked.
"How do you know about that?"
"People around here talk. And they know me, so they talk more than usual." She crossed her arms over her chest, frowning at him. "What's going on with the drivers?"
"They're being employed to run drugs across the border," he told her with a sigh. "It's dangerous. You don't need to know anything else."
"And you? You're here trying to catch the big guys? The ones hiring the drivers and selling the drugs?"
He gave her a noncommittal shrug.
"You need to get a driver on the inside," she guessed. "You're here looking for an inside man. Or woman."
He gave her a small smile, shook his head.
"I can do it," she told him and Brian almost laughed, shaking his head.
"No way, Letty. It's way too dangerous. And why would you work with the FBI? Or with me?"
"Because I want something in return," she told him, dark eyes determined. "You know I'm not put off by danger O'Conner."
He hesitated. "What is it you want?"
"I want you to help me clear Dom's name," she said.
"I don't have that kind of sway…" he began, but she interrupted him.
"You can ask for it," she said. "I know you can get me a deal. If I bring this drug lord to you. Jacking trucks is petty shit next to that."
He sighed, rubbed a hand through his hair, but she knew he was considering it. "Let me see what I can work out…" he said. "I'll get back to you."
She stepped back to allow him to open the door to his car and slide in, then she watched him as he drove away. This might just be her chance to make everything right again.
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It was just after 3 am when Mia was awoken by the sounds of retching down the hall. She blinked up at her ceiling, reminded of too many nights after parties, someone who'd overdone the drink.
But this time there was no music in the air, no smell of weed drifting through her open window. No sounds of laughter, smells of pizza or the tell-tale clink of too many empty corona bottles in the recycling.
Mia pushed herself up in the darkened room, yawning widely as she listened to Letty throw up her dinner. She felt a niggling suspicion in the back of her mind.
Standing, she shuffled into the hall. The bathroom door was closed, a small sliver of yellow light beneath the door. She could hear Letty coughing, then the sound of running water. A moment later the door opened. Letty paused in the doorway and met Mia's gaze.
"Sorry I woke you…" she mumbled, turning to make her way back to the bedroom she used to share with Dom. But Mia moved into her path.
"How long have you been sick?" she asked.
"Must be a bug," Letty shrugged the question off, trying to move around her.
"I don't think so," Mia told her softly. "You've only been throwing up in the mornings."
Letty said nothing. She crossed her arms in front of her and looked away.
"It's not going to go away if you ignore it," Mia said.
"Maybe it will," Letty ventured, gritting her teeth. She didn't like to be petulant. Normally she'd handle things as they came. But this, it was a complication she didn't need nor want.
"Let's go to the drug store and get you a test," Mia said. "At the very least, we'll know for sure."
"Can't it wait till morning, Mi?" Letty sighed.
"Are you really going to be able to go back to sleep?"
She had a point, so, grumbling, Letty went into the bedroom to put on some clothes. Mia did the same and they met downstairs shortly.
Lett drove the short distance to the local 24 hour drug store, and neither woman said a word on the way there. In the store, they both stared at the wall of pregnancy tests blankly.
Finally, Mia let out a little giggle. "I'm having a moment of deja-vu," she said.
"Not funny, Mi," Letty said, but she couldn't hide the small quirk of her lips.
"At least that time it ended up coming back negative," Mia told her, grabbing two different types of tests and putting them in their basket. Then she went down the candy aisle and grabbed some chocolate. "For emotional support," she explained.
Letty rolled her eyes but said nothing else. The salesperson glanced at them as he rung them up, but also wisely made no comment and Mia handed over cash before grabbing the bag and hurrying back out to the car..
The trip home felt twice as long but before she knew it Letty was standing in the bathroom reading over the back of one of the boxes as Mia paced outside.
Five minutes went by, and then ten. Mia leaned into the doorway and knocked lightly.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"No," Letty said, sounding miserable.
Mia tried the door and opened it, finding her friend sitting on the floor, back against the bathtub, knees pulled up against her chest. Her face was blank, her hair disheveled around her shoulders. Her dark eyes were damp but there was no trace of tears on her skin. Mia picked the test up from where it sat discarded on the edge of the sink.
Positive, though she would have guessed as much even without it. She put it down again and sat beside Letty, their shoulders and arms pressing.
Neither of them said anything. They just sat together. Mia looped her arm around Letty and hugged her close.
"What do you want to do?" she finally asked.
"I don't know," Letty sighed and leaned her head against Mia's shoulder. "For once… I really don't know."
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Letty sat in the driver's side of the Charger in the darkened garage the following night. It wasn't finished, but she'd have time to put into it now. Nothing but time.
Sighing, she pulled out the burner phone Brian had given her a couple weeks back. She dialed the number.
It rang three times before he answered.
"Letty?" he sounded confused. She could understand. The phone was for him to contact her, not the other way around.
"Brian…" she began. "Look, I'm sorry, but-" she paused. "I can't do the job."
He was silent for a moment. Then. "It's okay," he said, and sighed. "To be honest, I'm kind of glad. I have a bad feeling about it."
"You didn't try and talk me out of doing it though."
"I've kind of figured out how impossible it is to change your mind," he laughed.
"But you aren't asking why I did," she said.
"It's none of my business, right?" he asked.
"Right," she agreed, then laughed lightly. It was easy to imagine being friends, if things had turned out differently.
"I'm sorry I can't help you bring Dom home," he told her.
"Yeah," she said softly, her gaze dropping to her hands, studying the engine grease under her fingernails. "You know, you really should reconsider that career of your's. You make a much better criminal."
He chuckled. "Well, at least this way I still get to play pretend sometimes. Take care of yourself, Letty, okay?"
"Yeah. You too."
She closed the phone and put it aside. It felt like a relief to have it done. And at the same time, it also felt an awful lot like giving up. Like she would never really see Dom again.
She rested her hand against her stomach, which still looked as flat as it had two months ago. Maybe it was ironic that their child would be the one thing that would make her give up on Dominic Toretto.
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Mia rifled through the morning's mail with a yawn, flipping past bills and junk, tossing aside the weekly coupons. At the bottom there was a thick piece of stiff paper and she pulled it free. On one side there was a beautiful beach scene, and a slogan across the front said "Greetings, from Cuba."
She frowned and flipped it over. There was a postage for a few weeks ago, but no return address. She recognized the scrawling writing though. The only writing aside from her name and address was what looked to be an international number.
She glanced towards the stairs. Letty was still sleeping, and Mia knew it would be hours before her friend was awake, given the hours she'd been keeping. She also knew that this number was sent to her only to be used in emergencies. Dom didn't want her to call him. The feds knew he was on the run. Her lines might be tapped. Given what little Letty had told her about their time together she was sure he'd racked up more charges in the past few years.
But he'd forgive her.
They both would. He deserved to know.
Mia picked up the kitchen phone and listened to the dial tone. She listened for any sounds of movement from upstairs, but the house was quiet.
She dialed the number. She wasn't sure what country it even was, or what time it would be there, but she didn't care. She'd keep trying until she reached him.
It rang 5 times, and Mia was just debating hanging up when someone picked up. There was silence on the other end.
"Dom?" she breathed.
"You shouldn't call me," he replied, but it was him.
"You sent the number," she replied. "It's important."
She paused. He didn't say anything. Typical. But he didn't hang up either.
"It's about Letty," she began, keeping her voice low, darting her gaze to the stairs again. "She's pregnant."
She heard her brother suck in a breath. She could almost picture the way his jaw would work at the information. It had been a couple months since they'd been together, but the timing was right. And besides, it was Letty, of course the baby was his.
"Mia," he said. "You gotta make sure she stays in LA."
"No," she told him. "Even if I could do that, I wouldn't."
"Mia-"
"Dom," she interrupted. "I've heard you telling everyone what to do and what's good for them all my life. And honestly, you're not always right. And even if you were, even if being here in LA is safer for Letty and *your* baby," she let that linger. "She is miserable."
He was silent.
"She loves you, and I know you love her too. Maybe a life on the run isn't glamorous… but what better life is this?" she asked softly. "I'm tired of being alone here and are you really going to tell me you expect Letty to stay here and raise your child without you? Are you really going to tell me you're okay with any of that?"
"No," he said. "But I don't know what the alternative is…"
She could tell he was at a loss. Mia squared her shoulders. "Well, we're going to visit an old friend," she told him. "Someone you might remember from the third grade,"
He laughed at that, then sighed.
"If you make up your mind about what to do, you'll know where to find us," she said softly. "And Dom," she said. "I love you."
She hung up, then picked up the phone again to call in to work for some time off. It was time to go to Brazil.