They'd gotten all the pots and boards Mia wanted for her garden project loaded up in the back of Harry's old truck, Brian and Vince playing nice whenever she was looking and mean mugging each other every other second.

There was enough stuff that he was thinking the small project she'd sold Dom on was actually gonna be massive. Four different sizes of terracotta planters stacked inside each other, half a green barrel that Mia said she was going to turn into a fountain, the lumber, and a million other odds and ends. Everything looked secure, and Brian closed the tailgate with a thump, turning to see where she'd got to. Vince was smoking over by the cab door, and damn…no, Brian did not want one, he did not.

He definitely didn't want to ask Vince for one. That at least was the truth.

Leaning up against the back of the truck, he could see Mia through the window looking at the whirligigs, picking up and spinning them one at a time. Hair shining as she bent down to search through them, smiling at her favorites. "God, Buster…could you be more thirsty?" Pivoting just enough that he could make eye contact with Vince, Brian cocked his head to the side. Considering it. Vince growled and he let his grin grow just a little wider. If Mia hadn't been around Brian had no doubt the two of them would've squared off by now. Instead they'd been taking turns seeing how much they could push it.

Maybe Brian was enjoying it a little more than he should be…no one was perfect.

"Hey, boy. Hey," Brian ignored the voice calling from behind him, even as his back stiffened. "Hey, I'm talking to you! I know you ain't deaf." There was just no way-this was a packed, noisy street, in a city Earl had no reason to come to. It was somebody else, calling for somebody else.

"Buster?" Vince was scrunching his eyebrows at him, more disgusted than concerned, but the fact that concerned was involved at all said miles about what his face was doing. Sucking in a deep breath to get it under control, Brian forced himself to relax. It was nothing. He was calm. Totally calm. That stopped when Vince dropped his cigarette and took a step forward, snapping, "Hey!" at the same time Brian sensed a hand moving towards his head. He dipped forward and spun around, barely missing his hair getting used as a handhold.

And holy crap. It was his father. He gaped, because this should not be happening, not at all and especially not now. How the hell had Earl found him? Why had he even been looking? "I've been hearing things about you, boy."

That was suspect, considering Brian hadn't talked to anyone outside of work or this UC operation for months now, and he wasn't exactly on speaking terms with anyone who willingly talked to his dad. "I don't care what you heard-you don't get to grab at me like that. What do you want?" Earl was drunk, words slurring, older and dirtier and maybe even meaner than the last time Brian had seen him. It must've been a week since he shaved, and the bits of dried egg sticking to the beginnings of a mustache made him grimace.

And, in a wash of horror that had really come way too late, Brian realized his old man was going to blow his cover. He was totally going to. Yeah, he'd never told Earl he was a cop now, would've had to talk to him to do that, after all. But if he'd found Brian here, talking about hearing things about him, who knew what was going to come out of his mouth next. "Hurry up, or I'll just leave. I don't really care what you heard."

"Jackass, you don't…you don't talk to me like that, you little shit," he was weaving on his feet and Brian was tempted to poke him and see if he toppled right over, "I'm your father! Wouldn't know it though, to look at you, looking like a damn bum…always were an ugly little shit."

That almost got a laugh out of Brian. He looked like a bum? And considering how often he got called 'pretty boy', he wasn't paying any attention to the rest. "I asked what you wanted, Dad." He almost hissed after the word left his mouth. Dammit. He hadn't meant to say that. Hadn't meant to give the bastard the satisfaction he could see in his red-rimmed eyes.

"I want to know why the hell my kid ain't using my last name? Your cousin told me, saw you and told me because even his dumbass knows it ain't right. What the fuck did I marry your momma and raise your ass for if you can't even do that? You know how much money I wasted feeding you? And you're using Spilner instead of O'Conner? That pathetic fruitcake's-"

"Don't talk about my Pop-Pop." That was too far and Brian could hear his voice going icy. "Not ever." Not after what he'd done.

"You're my kid, not his-"

"Oh, now that's some crap-you never wanted me! What is this paternalistic claiming bullshit you're doing when you didn't want to be my dad one day in my entire life? You don't have the right." Earl headbutted him in the mouth, darting so quick he couldn't dodge it, his ears ringing and his eyes watering and he raised his hands to block the second blow he knew was coming, still reeling-and Vince, Vince of all people, jumped forward and shoved Earl square in the chest hard enough that he stumbled back about three big steps.

"Okay, you can fucking go. Get the hell out of here, asshole."

"Who the hell are you?"

"None of your business, now get the hell out of here!" Vince was turning red, steaming, a look Brian had half thought only he could get out of him.

"Not until that little dick tells me why he changed his name!" He screamed it, all pissy and bitter…but there was something else there too. Hurt. Maybe. Like somewhere in the shriveled up heart Brian guessed he had to have he cared. Just a little.

Nah. No way. This was about his pride. No room for any wishful thinking from Brian.

But he wanted to know? Yeah, sure, it didn't happen how his father thought, nothing had been legally changed. But he'd thought, when he was picking out a new name, when they were telling him to pick something he'd remember, something that meant something to him, that it was the only choice. That it was the only thing that felt right.

"Because you didn't raise me, hell, or Mom half the time, it was always Pop-Pop. He was so old, seventy before I was born, and sick, and he was still the one going to my school shit, making sure I ate, doing everything parents are supposed to do. Where the fuck were you? At least mom was working, not out fucking everything that moved and spending the rent money on coke. Why would I keep the name of the abusive piece of shit who used to wake me up by throwing lit cigarettes at my head when I could change it? I coulda opened the phone book and picked the first thing I saw and it'd still be better than keeping yours."

Earl snarled at him, shaking his head in sheer disgust. He'd never understand, never think what he'd done was wrong. Brian didn't actually hate his name-he was making something better out of it. But as far as Earl was concerned, if he'd done anything to Brian it was his own fault. The world revolved around Earl, and things were good or bad based on how they affected him. It would never change. Five years since he'd seen the man and he still knew that as deep as his bones. "You're an ungrateful piece of shit. Not surprising. Still disappointing. I shoulda let your mom get rid of you like she wanted." Not the first time he'd heard that. Not the first time.

"You got your answer. Go." Earl swayed and spat at his feet and Brian started towards him, not sure what he was going to do, but shoving him down sounded real good, and he could always say it was part of keeping his cover-and no. Brian was a cop. He didn't shove old men to the pavement even if they were scum. "Go, or you're gonna wake up sore tomorrow." Muttering insults not under his breath, Earl started to back down the sidewalk. Feeling shaky, and almost high, and like he could go five rounds at the same time, Brian watched him until he was at the corner. He slowly sucked in a breath, not ready to turn around and see the looks on Vince and Mia's faces.

There were gonna be so many questions. They'd heard so much shit he'd never wanted them to know.

And eventually someone, Dom or Jesse, because there was no way this was staying quiet, was gonna ask why the name change hadn't shown up when they'd been looking into him. No way you found somebody's sealed juvy record and didn't find that too. He was screwed. Once again, Earl O'Connor had completely screwed him.

He heard Mia's footsteps, more hesitant than was natural for her, and he hated that. All he had to do was turn. Fix this. Pasting the closest thing to a smile he could muster on his face, he swung himself around to face them. "So, uh, can we pretend that never happened?"

"Brian." Mia sounded like she was gonna, not cry exactly, but she was so sad for him, and Jesus, he didn't deserve it.

"You got," Vince mimed wiping at his lip and Brian reached up and realized he was bleeding. Great.

"It's nothing. We got everything we need?"

"Brian." That time Mia's voice was a bit exasperated and easier to take as she stepped forward, cupping his chin in her hand and examining his lip, not asking first. Brian let her. Partly because what else was he supposed to do? And partly because her fingers were soft and he could smell her perfume and he felt a little less like the time he'd drank ten cans of NOS in ten hours with her touching him.

Dares in the police academy had been kind of insane.

"Your lip is already pretty swollen, and there's going to be some bruising on your chin I think. You've got a cut on the inside where it hit your teeth, long, but not deep." She patted his cheek gently and flashed him a smile. "We should get you some ice."

"I'm okay. Really." He leaned back and away from Mia's determined look.

Vince heaved a sigh and told them, looking pointedly at Brian, "I'm gonna see if the diner over there will give me some." Then the lucky bastard walked away, and Brian was tempted to follow. Mia was going to want to talk, at least a little. He owed her some kind of explanation. Once Vince had disappeared inside the diner she reached out for Brian's hand and pulled it towards her, lacing their fingers together.

"So. That happened." Brian wanted it to be a joke, tried to grin like it was. But he got the point Mia was making.

"Yeah. Sucks."

She nodded. "You want to tell me about your Pop-Pop?"

Brian shrugged. "My mom's grandad. Like I said, he raised me. Was good to me." He used the hand that wasn't holding Mia's to scrub up and down his face, only remembering to avoid his mouth at the last second. Mom had been too busy working and bailing Earl out when he got himself arrested again. "He's why I love racing, but for Pop-Pop it was motorcycles. Used to take me out riding on this ancient Harley Sportster he had." Until Earl had sold it. But Brian wasn't going to think about that right now, or what had happened after.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I'm glad you had him." She reached up and traced her finger over his lip, so lightly. Any other time it would've been the start of something, now there was nothing but comfort in it and Brian let himself soak it up. How much longer he'd have any of this he didn't know.

That had always been true. Once he found out who was behind the truck heists, Brian was gone. There was no choice in that.

But it sure felt like Earl had screwed crap up for him again.

A bag of ice getting thrust towards him with a scowl and Mia's world weary sigh announced Vince's return, to the sidewalk and to normal. It was almost a relief. Or maybe it was just hard to be annoyed with a guy who'd gotten that pissed on his behalf even if he couldn't stand Brian. He took the ice with a muttered thanks, a little embarrassed, and held it to his mouth with a wince, then another when Mia adjusted it so it was more than barely touching his skin. Shit was cold.

They all stood there, air getting more awkward. Brian couldn't drive and hold the makeshift ice pack to his face, so his choices were to give the keys to Mia and wind up sitting next to Vince or give the keys to Vince. Neither of those options sounded super great. Eventually, and he was hoping it had seemed longer than it actually was, he pulled the keys out of his jeans pocket and held them out on his palm, Vince snatching them before he could even ask the question.

Back at Echo Park, toting stuff to where Mia was pointing around the backyard, he almost missed the muttered, "…that joke about your old man calling the cops if you went home…that wasn't a joke," from the corner of Vince's mouth. It wasn't a question and Vince was only sort of looking at him, so Brian didn't say anything. That seemed to be answer enough, Vince's lips tightening, head giving a jerky little nod.

That might have been the end of it, if it hadn't been for the fat lip he was sporting. Dom saw it when the team came home with a stack of pizza boxes, the three 'gardeners' starving and still a little dusty, already waiting at the table, and was glaring between him and Vince like they were kids caught scrapping on the blacktop. "What's this?" It was real tempting to play stupid. Flash the cheeky grin usually good for getting him in and out of trouble and see what happened. He could use the distraction.

It would just put off the conversation, not stop it.

Vince took it out of his hands, anyway, protesting, "I didn't mess up the Buster's pretty face," all offended annoyance, like the two of them hadn't gone rounds a good three times since that day at the store. Brian stiffened, waiting for him to keep going. But he grabbed a slice of pepperoni and shoved it in his mouth like it'd personally offended him instead.

"Brian?"

Fighting the urge to rub his forehead, or maybe just get up and leave, he shrugged and grabbed a couple slices of the sausage and bell pepper pie before it all disappeared into Leon's stomach. Everybody was looking at him, Letty smirking, probably expecting to be entertained, Jesse chewing distractedly with his mouth half open. "Uh. Ran into my dad. He's an asshole." He shrugged, waited half a beat, and picked up his beer. Sipped it, while he tried not to see faces change. Dom looking at him with a quiet, heavy concern that tightened the knot in his gut. Leon's usually easy going stance going stiff.

"Did he come to the house? Harry's store?"

Brian frowned. It was weird that it hadn't been one of the two places besides D.T.'s that he was at most days. A good thing, but weird. Maybe Earl hadn't been looking for him right then, had just been getting drunk and gotten lucky? Mia had ordered from the nearest garden supply store, it wasn't that far away, but far enough that Earl couldn't have been looking for the house unless he'd gotten lost by a few miles. "Nah, we were loading up stuff at the Happy Herb still. I don't see he could've known we'd be there…" He glanced down at the pizza cooling on his plate. "Talk after?" Gesturing at the food, Brian quirked a lopsided little smile at Dom that widened when his stomach growled to prove his point.

"Of course. Eat."

A/N: I'm back with another story :) The next chapter will be up in a few days, but if you're really eager it's already up at A03. I'd love to know what people think! Is Vince's protectiveness realistic?