A/N- Well, I thought I was done with this story…but the sixth movie was so awesome, I got inspired and just had to add another chapter! Major spoilers for the sixth movie if you haven't seen it yet—and if you haven't go see it! So much Dom/Letty goodness! This is set right after they get back to the old Toretto house after Spain. Thanks so much for your support of this story—I hope you all enjoy!

The Ride

Chapter Four

"Still can't sleep?"

Letty turned at the sound of Dom's low, rumbling voice, Letty leaning back against the kitchen counter, her arms crossed over her chest. Dom was standing in kitchen doorway in a white t-shirt and sweat pants, not fully committing to coming in or staying out, seeming, as always, nervous around her, like he might say the wrong thing and piss her off at any moment.

She braced her hands against the edge of the counter. "No, not really."

"It's nice to know I'm not the only one."

"Whenever I do fall asleep, I just have bad dreams anyway. It feels kind of pointless to even try sometimes." Letty shrugged her shoulders. She was wearing a white and black striped bikini with a long sheer white shirt v-neck t-shirt over it, her dark hair pulled back into a still-damp, messy bun. She had gone over to Mia and Brian's house to hang out at their pool all day and play with baby Jack, but Dom had opted out, staying to work on his car at the garage.

Letty and Dom had been staying at the 1327 Toretto house together ever since they had gotten back to California, but they almost always had people over, whether it was Mia, Brian, and the baby, Han, Tej, or Roman. The only time they were ever alone in the house was at night, and even then, it was usually very late by the time everyone else went home. Dom slept in his old room and Letty slept in Mia's. They had never discussed their current sleeping arrangements; that's just where they had put their bags the first night, so that's how it had stayed for the past two weeks.

Most nights, after Dom went to sleep, Letty came downstairs and watched TV or went to the garage to work on the cars, just something to try and calm herself down and turn her brain off. But nothing really helped.

Every time Dom looked at her, she felt it—he wanted her so badly to remember, to be here with him, to go back to the way things had been between them before.

But she didn't remember any of it, no matter how hard she tried. And even though she was definitely developing feelings for him, feelings that kept getting stronger the more time they spent together, maybe even falling in love with him, she didn't know if it would ever live up to what they'd had before, so she didn't want to say anything about it and risk letting him down and ruining the tenuous friendship they'd been steadily building ever since they'd gotten to California and started to tentatively rebuild a life together.

Letty looked at him thoughtfully for a moment as Dom took out a beer from a fridge, offering it to her. She nodded, and he handed the bottle to her before grabbing one for himself.

"Dom?"

"Yeah?" Dom twisted off the top of her beer.

"Did I ever used to have trouble sleeping? After a job?"

"Sometimes."

"Did you?"

"Yeah." Dom twisted off his top as well, taking a long sip of his beer. "But we'd always…uh…we had a way we'd work around that particular problem."

"What was it?" Letty grinned slightly at the look on Dom's face. From everything he'd told her about their previous relationship, she had a feeling she could guess the way they used to cure their post-job insomnia, but it was way too much fun watching him try to think of a nice way to say "screwed each other's brains out." Dom took another long swallow of his beer before setting it down on the kitchen table.

"Well…I remember once…it was actually your nineteenth birthday…it was the very first time I let you actually do a job with the team. We'd been dating for a couple years by then, and I didn't want people to think I was just letting you on the team because you were my girl. But you wouldn't let it go. And you were the best damn driver I had, no question. So I was running out of excuses. Still I kept asking you if stealing DVD players instead of going out with your friends was really how you wanted to spend your birthday, and finally you told me the best birthday present I could give you was just to shut the hell up and let you drive. " Dom grinned with remembrance. "So we did the job, and then you and I were supposed to take one of the Civics to a parking garage to switch out the plates, wipe off the prints, and leave it on Tran's part of town and switch over to the Charger that I'd left a couple blocks away. We switched out the cars, but uh…once we got in the Charger, you…had other things on your mind."

Letty's smile widened. "Front seat or back?"

"Both. But you never liked the backseat of the Charger much. You always said the seatbelt buckle dug into your shoulder. That's why you liked it on top."

"Didn't it hurt your shoulder?"

"I never noticed."

"How many times did we…that night, I mean?"

It was Dom's turn to smile. "Four. And then you got this look in your eyes like you could have gone for five, but the cops showed up at the garage across the street and we had to clear out."

"Five times…" Letty said under her breath, suddenly feeling a million years old. "Happy birthday to me." Letty took a sip of her beer, her dark eyes narrowed as she looked him over appraisingly. "Did you think I was a slut?"

"No way."

"What did you think?"

"I thought you were sexy as hell. I thought I was the luckiest idiot in the world every time you even let me be around you. Every time we were together, it felt like I had made you up or something."

"Why?"

"Because I got to go home every night with a girl who actually knew how to connect a supercharger to a crankshaft of an engine. Because there's no one in the world I could talk to like you." Dom crossed closer to her, reaching out, his hands on her waist, touching her almost as if he didn't even realize he was doing it, "Because I knew right then that you were my perfect woman."

Letty looked up at him, licking her lips. "But not anymore, right?"

"What do you mean?" Dom traced the curve of her waist through the thin material of her t-shirt with his thumbs, seemingly distracted by the long unexplored, once-memorized contours of her body.

"I mean, I'm not that person anymore. I mean, I remember the car stuff, and there's bits and pieces where I think things are starting to come back about you and Mia, even Brian and Han and this place…but then it's gone. It never lasts. I may never remember. I may never get any of that back. When you tell me things…like that story about my birthday…I mean, she sounds like a cool chick…but it doesn't sound like anything that ever happened to me."

"I'm not lying to you."

"I don't think you are." Letty took a deep breath, setting her beer down on the counter. "I just think we have to face reality here, Dom. I think we have to face the fact that I may never remember any of it, no matter how much you want me to. No matter how much I want to. It may never happen. And if that's not gonna work for you…we should stop this now. Before we make things any harder."

"Make what any harder?" Dom slid his hand under her t-shirt to the back of her bikini top, his hand tangling in the strings.

"Dom…" Letty breathed out. "I'm a fucking mess after all of that bullshit with Shaw, and so are you. Maybe…maybe we shouldn't…maybe we should just try being friends for a little while…" Her voice sounded weak to her own ears.

"I hate to break this to you, kid, but we were never just friends." He tugged slightly at the strings to her bikini top, undoing the knot.

"So what were we?" She muttered as Dom pushed her back against the sink, kissing her neck.

"Maybe I can help you remember." One of Dom's hands slid under her t-shirt, starting to massage her breast, Letty's hands clenching on the counter, her nipple raised and erect under his blunt, tapered fingertips that seemed to know exactly where to go and what she wanted as Dom's lips moved to the underside of her jaw, his breath hot against her skin when he spoke again. "Tell me if you want me to stop, and I will. For good."

Letty didn't say anything, leaning her head back, breathing harder, one of her hands finally going to his muscled shoulder, but Dom couldn't tell if she was pushing him away or encouraging him to keep going. He looked up at her, his other hand already midway through untying the bikini string knot at the nape of her neck, Dom taking a deep breath, forcing himself not to go any further until he knew for sure. "I mean it, Letty. Tell me if you want me to stop."

"If you stop now, I'll fucking kill you." Letty growled, Dom looking immensely relieved, untying the knot and pulling her t-shirt off over her head, Letty helping him, both frantic when the t-shirt got caught on her shoulder, Dom finally just ripping it at the seams of the shoulder, Letty happily shedding the destroyed shirt as Dom slid her bikini bottoms down to her ankles, Letty hurriedly stepping out of them, Dom on his knees on the kitchen floor as Letty leaned back against the counter, Letty closing her eyes as he kissed her legs, her stomach, her breath hitching in her throat as he started to go down on her against the kitchen counter, Dom's hands gripping her waist, Letty's hands at the back of his head.

After he made her come so hard they heard a neighborhood dog barking outside with protest at the noise she made, Letty shoved Dom backwards, out of the kitchen as they stumbled back together towards the staircase, Letty pulling down his sweatpants as she pushed him back down against the stairs, straddling him, lowering herself down as Dom gripped her hips, Dom groaning with pleasure as he entered her and she started to thrust against him hard, Letty gripping the stair over his shoulders for leverage, Dom's hands tightening on her hips as she moved back and forth harder against him, unbearable heat flooding over both of them with a dizzying, near-sickening intensity that made the room seem to swim strangely, both of their breathing growing more shallow and erratic, Dom watching sweat bead and drip between her breasts as she rocked back and forth, Letty's knees tightening on either side of him as her whole body started to pulse with heat again. She liked the way Dom kept saying her name, like he knew her, really knew her, like he'd said it a million times, been with her, just like this. It made her feel good. Safe. Letty started to move against him faster and harder until it was all over far too soon for them both, Letty collapsing against him in the stairwell, Dom's hands moving up to clutch her shoulders, both of their sweaty, muscled bodies heaving up and down as they tried to catch their breath, feeling like they had just walked through fire together again.

After a moment, she pulled back slightly to look at him, Dom sitting up slightly on his elbow on the stairs to look at her, his other hand going to her cheek, his dark eyes so full of longing and protectiveness and kindness and…

"I love you, baby. I missed you so much. So much it nearly killed me." Dom stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I think the only thing that kept me going is a part of me…I never really gave up on you. I never really believed you were gone, not really. I had to keep believing because if you were really gone, there would have no point. No point to any of it. But I…I never thought we'd make it back here. Letty…I-I've never been this happy before in my life."

Letty looked down at him, completely overwhelmed, almost like he'd just shot her this time. And when he pushed himself up slightly to kiss her, she pulled back. She climbed off of him, barely muttering out an apology before racing up the stairs, slamming the door to her room closed behind her.

When she heard his gentle knocking a little while later, Letty looked up from the side of her bed, her eyes burning with tears of frustration (mostly at herself, but also at him) as she glared at the floor, about to yell at him to go the fuck away but unable to be reminded of something she'd said to him not that long ago—

You've got some serious balls, man.

Any man who would drive a car out of the nose of an Antonov airplane and come knock on her door after she'd literally pushed him down after sex in a staircase followed by a love declaration might deserve a second chance. So Letty just said—

"Door's open."

Dom came in, wearing his t-shirt and sweatpants again, now slightly rumpled, and somehow the thought of him having to go collect them from the trail of clothes they'd left around the bottom floor of the house made her torn between laughter and sympathy. Letty was wearing an old Race Wars t-shirt and pajama pants that she'd found in Dom's room that he'd told her she'd used to wear all the time and she had now commandeered as her usual sleeping attire.

"Can I sit?" Dom indicated the space on the bed next to her.

"Whatever." Letty shrugged, unknowingly sounding very much like the surly teenager version of herself she no longer remembered.

He sat down beside her, Letty turning to him, looking at him almost suspiciously. Neither of them spoke for a long time. Finally, Letty surprised them both and broke the silence.

"You have got to cool it with that love stuff, man. I can't handle that yet. I know you say you know me, and you've known me forever, and I'm trying here, but to me, it's been three weeks."

"I know. I'm sorry." Dom rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "For me, it's been fifteen years."

Letty looked at him for a long moment. "I don't know what you want me to say."

"You don't have to say anything." Dom shrugged. "But…can I just try something? Just one thing? I realized we might have forgotten something back there."

"What?"

"Close your eyes."

Letty rolled them dramatically before she did it. "This is so stupi—"

But suddenly, Dom's mouth was against hers, gently at first, but then harder after a moment when Letty felt herself responding, her mouth parting against his, Letty sighing something about how good it felt in a voice that didn't even sound like her own as the kiss grew even deeper and Letty's mind went oddly, suddenly quiet, like the feeling she got when a car accelerated beneath her with her foot on the gas pedal, like something that made sense to her at last, her whole body filling up with a warmth and peacefulness, like that night she and Dom had spent racing through the streets of London, the night she had come the closest to true happiness since this horrible, fractured new life had begun when Owen Shaw had found her in that hospital bed. Nothing had made sense to her since she had woken up in that hospital bed.

But this, right now, with Dom, this made sense. And she wanted more. Letty took Dom's face in her hands, holding on tightly, kissing him back fiercely, wanting to hold on to this moment, not remembering the thousands of other times she had kissed him before but recognizing that Dom seemed to know how to kiss her, how to touch her, and as they turned more fully toward each other, Letty's arms snaking his neck, Dom's arms going around her waist, she never wanted him to stop. They just kissed for a long time, Dom's hands clenching in the fabric of her t-shirt to keep himself from taking her clothes off or pushing her back on the bed or making this go anywhere else, both so worked up by the time they broke apart that they were both practically panting.

Dom disentangled himself from her first, still both sitting on the edge of the bed, Letty looking at him, confused. He reached out, his hand on her cheek again as he looked right at her, shaking his head at the look on her face. "Those eyes, man. They still kill me. That's where it all started."

"What are you talking about?" She watched him get to his feet. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to my room." Dom grinned. "Cooling things off. Like you wanted."

"Then what was that?" She indicated the bed.

"The kiss?" His grin widened. "I've just been wanting to do that ever since you shot me."

"You need help, Dom."

"I'm not the one running around shooting people." He pointed out.

Letty laughed, finally a real laugh, one that sounded like the laugh he remembered. "Go to bed."

He held up his hands in mock surrender, Letty still laughing as he closed the door behind him.

"All right, turn her over." Dom looked around from where he had just put the finishing touches under the hood of the Charger.

Letty turned the keys in the ignition, firing up the monstrous V8 engine she and Dom had spent the last week putting in the Charger in the garage and putting the car into neutral. The old engine was rusted and out of date, and as Letty put her foot on the gas, revving the new engine into life, Letty couldn't help but smile proudly like it was their baby taking its first steps, Dom walking around to the open driver's side door.

"Not bad, huh?"

"Not bad at all." Letty let the engine idle as she sat back to look at him, smiling as she saw what he was thinking. "You want to take her out?"

Dom crossed his arms over his chest with a grin. "A car that sounds this good? I want to propose marriage."

"Let's do it." Letty shrugged.

For one crazy moment, Dom thought she meant get married. But since they hadn't even kissed again since that one night, let alone done anything else, it made much more sense when she slid over to the passenger seat, and he realized she just meant take the Charger for a ride. He couldn't tell if she was just avoiding the topic of what had happened between them that night, or if the ability to be just friends was another unfortunate side effect of her memory loss. Either way, it was about to drive him crazy, but Dom had no idea how to bring it up or even if he had any right. He was still happy to have her around, in any way, but working with her every day in the garage, and fighting the urge to be with her like they used to was getting harder and harder, especially now that he knew that it was still just as good, if not better when they were together. But she seemed fine with the way things were, even a little distant, and some days Dom couldn't even tell if she could stand him, let alone liked having him around.

They mostly drove in silence, and when they did speak it was usually with one word sentences, getting out of the shitty Los Angeles traffic and finally out to the desert where they could really drive, both rolling down their windows, trading off taking the wheel, shifting through the gears, making hairpin turns, speeding around corners and over hills, trying out everything they could think of to make sure all of their hard work on the car the past week had paid off.

Finally, when the sun started to set over the desert, the sky turning purple and red over the cactus strewn hills, Dom parked the car and they both got out to sit on the back, leaning against the back windshield together, looking up as the stars and the moon came out above them.

"I need to talk to you about something." Dom unexpectedly broke the silence between them.

Letty looked over at him. "Okay."

"I've been thinking about going to Rio. Going back, actually. Once we get our pardons from Elena and Hobbes tomorrow."

Letty sat up slightly. "What?"

"You remember I told you about Vince? My best friend growing up? One of your best friends too, actually."

"Yeah, sure."

"Well, his kid and wife still live in Rio. I want to make sure they're doing okay. And I like it there. I think it might be good for me to get away for a little bit. Clear my head." Dom looked away from her. "Maybe it'd be good for you too. If I leave, I mean."

"I don't understand."

"You could stay with Mia and Brian and Jack if you want, so it's not like you'd be lonely or anything. Or they could even come stay at the old house whenever. Tej and Roman are leaving soon. Han's going to Tokyo. Everyone's going their separate ways…and I just feel like maybe I should go too. At least for now."

Letty's brow furrowed with confusion. "You nearly kill yourself to get a computer chip worth billions of dollars, and you said that all you wanted in return was to go home, and then as soon as you get home, you want to leave again?"

Dom sat up as well, rubbing his forehead wearily. "I thought if I brought you back here, it would make things better. I thought it would fix things. But it hasn't. I feel like I'm making you miserable, or smothering you, or driving you crazy, or all three at once most days. So I think…I should just go. I want you to be happy, Letty. That's all I want. That's all I ever wanted. And if me getting out of here is what it takes to make you happy…then I'll go."

She just looked at him, her dark eyes narrowed but her reaction to his pronouncement hard to read. The sun had slipped low behind the hills in the distance while they had been lying on the back of the car, and now night had fully fallen around them while they had been talking.

The stars and moon provided enough light that they could still see each other, but it was getting harder to make out each other's expressions, especially when Letty sat back, her fingers interlocked on her flat, taut stomach, and she turned away from him, Dom only able to see the lines of her profile—her long, straight jet-black eyelashes, the distinctive feminine slope of her nose, her full lips, her slender neck and full breasts straining the material of her black tank top—just some of the purely shallow things about her that made her so beautiful without Letty having to do a single thing to herself. Dom wanted to reach out and touch her so badly it felt like a physical ache in his chest to sit so far apart from her, but he didn't, just waiting, wondering if she would even care when he left.

"You don't have to leave." Letty finally said, so quietly he could barely hear her.

"Do you want me to stay?"

Letty looked up at him, licking her lips before pressing them together. "I'm not going to tell you what to do, man. It's your life. It's your decision." She pushed herself up to a sitting position, jumping down from the back of the car, taking a deep breath that almost sounded a little shaky. "Let's get out of here."

Dom watched her walk back to the passenger side door, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, feeling so frustrated he wished he could dig up that asshole that had wrecked her car and kill him all over again.

But he couldn't. And he couldn't keep doing this. He couldn't live with her, see her every day, be so close to her, and not be with her. If she didn't want to be together, he needed to get out of here. Hell, he needed to be in another country if she expected him to stay away.

So he would leave. For her. She'd dealt with plenty of his shit over the years, even if she didn't remember it now. He remembered. And he was going to do everything he could to make sure he never hurt her again.

"Dom, when has you leaving her ever helped Letty?" Mia looked at her brother, her brown eyes so like his own full of exasperation, balancing baby Jack on one hip as she and Brian talked things over with him in their kitchen.

"She doesn't want me around, Mia."

"You gotta give her some time, Dom. She probably doesn't know what she wants yet. We haven't even been back for a month." Brian pointed out, eating tortilla chips out of the bag and dipping them straight into the salsa jar.

Letty had disappeared into her room once she and Dom had gotten back home and he had heard the shower running, so he had left a note saying he was going down the street to Brian and Mia's to drop off some of Jack's toys that they had left behind on their last visit. It wasn't the greatest excuse, but he felt like he needed to talk things over with them without Letty around before Dom bought his ticket for Rio and Elena and Hobbes came by tomorrow with their pardons.

"I am giving her time to figure out what she wants. By getting out of town." Dom countered.

"How long do you think you'll be gone?" Mia asked, handing Jack off to Dom when the baby kept straining for his uncle, both red and blue striped-pajama-clad arms reaching out insistently.

Dom balanced Jack on his lap, taking the Charger keys out of his pocket and letting Jack play with them, the baby cooing happily. "I don't know."

Mia shook her head, tying her long black hair back in a ponytail with the rubber band around her wrist. "You always do this."

"Always do what?" Dom raised his eyebrows.

Mia looked at her brother for a long moment as if deciding whether or not to be honest. Finally, she went on. "Whenever things get hard, you run away. From all of us. From her. And you try to say it's for the best, that you're doing it for us, to keep us safe, but that's not true and we all know it. You know it."

"Mia—" Dom started to say, but she shook her head, cutting him off.

"You always say that your code is family, that we're stronger together—then act like it. Stay here. Stay with her, even if it's hard. That's what love is. Sticking it out, even when it sucks. Even when you want to kill each other. You're my brother, and you know I love you, and I'm grateful for everything you've done for us—but part of being family is telling you the truth even when it's hard to hear it. So you have to hear this now. You're running away because you're scared. Letty's always been the only person that scares you, anyone can see that. But you have to get over it. She needs you. You need each other, you always have. Don't run away this time. Don't do this to her again. She may not remember you leaving her the last time, but we all do. And it nearly destroyed all of us. It nearly destroyed you. It nearly got her killed. We've worked so hard to get here, Dom. We lost Vince, and Gisele, and all sacrificed so much to be right here, together. We finally got our family back, Dom. And I'll be damned if I'm going to just stand here and pretend I'm okay with you tearing it apart just because you're scared."

Brian looked between the Toretto siblings in the long, tense silence that followed. Even Jack didn't make a sound. There were tears slipping down Mia's cheeks but her gaze held steady as she stared at her brother, almost daring him to look back at her. Dom's clenched jaw twitched slightly as he glared down at the kitchen table like he was trying to bore a hole through it with his eyes.

Finally, Dom gently handed Jack back to his bewildered father, walking towards the back door without giving his sister a second glance. "I'll call you from Rio, Brian." Dom muttered, leaving out the back of the house and closing the door hard behind him.

When Dom got home, Letty was nowhere to be found, and Dom stomped up the stairs to his bedroom, throwing open the door and starting to pack angrily, slamming drawers and closet doors, throwing his clothes and passport into a gym bag, and getting on his computer to book a plane ticket. He found a flight for the next night from LAX to GIG in Rio with just one connection, and turned around in his chair to get his wallet so he could book it on his credit card when he stopped. Letty was standing in the doorway to his room in jean shorts and a white wife-beater, her hair down around her shoulders, still wavy and damp from her shower.

"What do you want?" He said, aggressively getting to his feet, anger at his sister and this entire situation unfairly starting to spill over towards her. "Look, Letty, you can think whatever you want, but I'm not running—that's not what this is—"

"Chill out, man." Letty leaned against the doorframe. "I was just starting to wonder if you were coming back or not," she said quietly, shoving her hands in her pockets. Letty looked down at his bag of clothes and passport, kicking it with the toe of the old black lace up knee high boots she was wearing. "But you've already got one foot out the door, huh?"

"Yeah. Looks that way." Dom felt anger draining out of him just looking at her, already feeling guilty. "I just need to book my ticket."

"Right." Letty nodded, twisting her hands together.

"What's wrong?" Dom asked softly.

"I don't know…I just…" she tucked her hair behind her ears, swallowing hard, "I've just been thinking…" She crossed to him at the desk, but her voice trailed off.

"Thinking what?"

Letty licked her lips, hugging her arms over her chest, staring down at the floor.

When she still wouldn't look at him, he rested his hands on her arms. "You got something to say, say it."

She finally looked up at him, the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "I don't want you to go."

Dom took a deep breath. "I can't just be your friend, Letty."

Letty shook her head. "I don't want that either."

"Then what do you want?"

Letty reached around him, slamming his laptop computer closed on his desk so he couldn't book his ticket to Rio, not breaking eye contact with him the whole time, their mouths almost touching as she did it. "I don't want to run away anymore either." She leaned forward, closing the distance between them, kissing him, a deep, slow kiss, almost exploring him, like she was finally allowing herself to give in to wanting him and learning everything she'd apparently once known so well about his mouth, his body, his hands, and how his seemed to fit together so perfectly with hers, so effortlessly, this time with no holds barred. Dom's hands went to her lower back, but didn't tighten against her as he kissed her back. Now he was the one holding back. He still didn't trust her. When they broke apart for breath a long while later, Letty kept his face in her hands, wanting to make sure he heard her, hoping she would even be able to get this out.

"Look, Dom, I know this sucks. I know I haven't been the easiest person to be around since we got back here, and I may never be the easiest person to be around. I'm still figuring out who the hell I am, who you are, everything. And I may not know everything about you, but I know how I feel when I'm with you. You make me feel safe. I don't know what we were to each other before, but I know what I feel for you now…and you feel like family. You feel like home. You brought me back to life. And when you said you were leaving tonight, it felt like a part of me died all over again. And I don't know if it's ever going to be enough, or what you want, or what it was before…but I love you." Her grip tightened on either side of his face, her voice breaking slightly. "And I don't want you to go."

There was a moment of unbearable silence as she had to wait for his response, Dom looking over her face, taking in a deep breath.

Finally, Letty sighed, her shoulders sagging slightly with defeat. "I know you don't owe me anything after the way I've—"

"I'm never leaving you again." Dom cut her off, kissing her with bruising force, lifting her into his arms, Letty wrapping her legs around his waist, maybe accidentally, maybe purposefully kicking his computer off his desk so there was no chance he was booking any ticket to anywhere, Dom completely oblivious as they practically tore each other's clothes off, Dom getting off everything but her lace-up boots as they made their way back to his bed, ending up with him on top of her as they made love, her boots still wrapped around his waist, looking in each other's eyes at the end this time, finally feeling truly connected, not just trying to rediscover who they had been but coming together as the people they were now. Dom kissed her at the end, rolling off of her, both of them staring up at the ceiling fan's lazy rotations as they lay together afterwards in the tangled up sheets of his bed.

"Holy shit, man." Letty breathed out, running a hand through her hair. "Is this a normal thing? Is it always like this when we…"

"Well, we didn't do it four times a night because we hated it." Dom grinned, turning on his side and brushing her hair back behind her ear. "Are you going to push me out of bed if I say I love you this time?"

"Seriously? Every time?" Letty grinned, letting him kiss her again, her hand resting on the back of his neck. "No, I'm not going to push you out of bed."

Dom looked down at her for a moment. "What if I ask you to marry me?"

Letty blinked. "What?"

"Why not? We never had the chance before. Hell, we never even had legal driver's licenses before. But once we get our pardons tomorrow…there'd be nothing stopping us. Make this whole family thing official. "

To his immense relief, Letty smiled. "Dude, you are crazy. You know that, right?'

"I've been told." Dom smiled back. "What do you think? Yes or no?"

Letty laughed, shaking her head. "Yeah. Yeah, sure, why not. Let's do it."

Dom looked truly happy for the first time since she'd met him again, practically beaming at her. "Really?"

"Yeah, really." Letty pulled him down to her and kissed him, finding his happiness oddly infectious. "Although I might just blame good sex for this decision tomorrow…"

"Stop it." Dom shook his head, playfully pinning her wrists over her head like she had always liked before. "Should I get all of this in writing? So you can't back out?"

"Shut up. You got my word. I'm good for it." Letty wrestled out of his grip, straddling him and pinning him down. "Should we shake on it? Or something?"

"Or something." Dom's booming laugh echoed through the bedroom as they made peace. Again.

"Hey, Mia. Over here." Dom motioned to Mia when she walked into the little diner that had taken over their old grocery store. It was bizarre seeing the old Toretto's sign missing, replaced with some new family name, but it was nice to see that it was thriving business now, a 1950's family-style diner full of people early the next morning when Dom had texted her and asked if they could have breakfast, just them.

Mia spotted him, her eyes tired and a little dubious of this meeting after their confrontation last night, but she made her way over to him, put together as always, wearing an orange crocheted sweater dress, her long dark hair curled and pinned back, sitting down across from him at the booth, her mouth tight and eyes narrowed, very prepared to lay into him again if necessary.

"You all packed?" Mia asked coldly.

Before Dom could answer, a perky waitress in a blue waitress uniform with a white collar and a nametag that read SHELLY approached their table. "Hey there! What can I get you two?"

They both looked up at her with matching expressions of mild annoyance. "Uh…" Dom glanced down at the menu. "Coffee. And the breakfast plate with scrambled eggs and bacon."

Mia looked down at the menu as well. "Yeah, same for me. But orange juice instead of coffee, please. And sunny side up eggs with fruit instead of bacon."

"Sure thing." Shelly practically pranced away, blond curls bouncing on her shoulders.

Mia and Dom looked back at each other, and there was an awkward silence. Mia felt like she couldn't just ask the same question twice, and glaring at him in such a bright, happy diner was starting to feel a little overly dramatic.

Dom seemed to know what she was thinking, filling the silence for her. "Mia. I'm not going anywhere."

Mia blinked with surprise. "What?"

"I'm not going to Rio." Dom sighed. "You may want to record this moment for future generations or something but…you were right. I was being an idiot. I was running. And it wasn't the first time. And I'm sorry for all of the shit I've put you through because of my mistakes."

"Dom—" Mia reached out for his hand, her brown eyes filling with tears again.

"Just please know that everything I've ever done…it's all been to try and protect you and Letty, and the team…all I've ever wanted is to keep all of you safe. You most of all, and I couldn't even get that right. I'm your big brother. That's my job. Especially when dad…and then I fucked that up, and left you all by yourself…I failed him. I failed our family. But most of all, I failed you." Dom's voice broke slightly, "I'm so sorry, Mia. I'm so sorry that happened. I'm so sorry I left you all alone, when you needed me the most. I've been trying to make it up to you ever since, and I feel like I just keep getting it wrong and letting you down—"

"Dom. Stop. What happened after dad died…it's done. It's over. I forgive you." She squeezed his hand, tears slipping down her cheeks as she smiled slightly. "I'm fine. And look at all of the things you've done. You've brought us all back together. You saved all of us, so many times I've lost count. I couldn't ask for a better big brother than you."

"But last night—"

"I didn't want you to go. I was upset. I didn't want you to leave Letty, and me, and Brian, and Jack. That would be a huge mistake. And if I didn't tell you, nobody would."

"I know."

Shelly the Waitress brought their drinks, keeping her smile plastered on her face even though Mia was obviously crying and they were obviously having a very in depth discussion. "Your food will be right out!"

The Toretto siblings both nodded vaguely to her, before returning to their conversation, Mia wiping off her cheeks and sitting back against the booth.

"So what happened that changed your mind?" Mia asked her brother with a small sardonic smile. "I'm guessing it wasn't just my infinite wisdom."

"Well, Letty and I talked last night…"

"There it is." Mia's grin widened. "You know, even when we were all just dumb kids, whenever you were giving me a hard time about school or boys or whatever else, I was always so glad Letty was around to talk some sense into you. Sometimes it feels like she's the only one you really listen to." Mia took a sip of her orange juice. "What did you two talk about?"

"Just..." Dom struggled for a moment to put last night into words. He didn't know if Letty would want him to tell anyone about the marriage thing yet, or if she would even still agree to it this morning. He had kissed her good-bye before he'd left for breakfast, Letty still half-asleep, mumbling "See you later" before rolling back over and falling back asleep, Dom smiling at the sight of Letty's small bare frame mostly hidden by sheets except for one black lace up boot clad foot hanging off the bed. "We just figured things out. I guess you could say Letty and I…uh, made up. Finally."

Mia looked at her brother carefully. "But did really talk, right? You didn't just…"

Dom shook his head. "Nope. Not doing this with you. We're not talking about this stuff."

"Dom. We're both adults. I have a kid for God's sake. I think we can—"

"Oh, look, breakfast." Dom finally looked happy, even thrilled, to see Shelly the Waitress. "Thank you so much, Shelly, this looks delicious."

Shelly blushed slightly. "You're so welcome."

Mia rolled her eyes, cutting into her sunny side up eggs, muttering to her brother as Shelly walked away. "You are ridiculous. I'm going to be on my sixth kid, and you're still going to go to your grave swearing I'm a virgin, huh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Dom put ketchup on his scrambled eggs.

Mia shook her head, smiling. "Fine, fine. You and Letty. You guys made up. So what now?"

"So I'm staying. We're back together."

Mia crossed herself with a little laugh. "Thank God. Balance in the force again."

"Was that a Star Wars reference?" Dom took a bite of his breakfast.

"The old trilogy. Not the shitty newer ones where Darth Vader just whines a lot."

Dom raised his eyebrows at his sister.

"I'm quoting here." Mia giggled. "Blame Brian. He's really set on Jack being raised on 'the classics.'" Mia included the air quotes. "Apparently Roman had to give Brian a film education once they were in high school because he never got to watch much TV growing up, so according to my husband, that is not happening to our son."

"I knew I liked O'Connor." Dom laughed, and the Toretto siblings ate their breakfast in peaceful silence for a moment, ending up talking about much more fun, light topics until after Dom paid and they started to walk down the road home together. After Mia looped her arm through his, Dom spoke suddenly. "Thank you, Mia."

Mia looked up at her brother curiously. "For what?"

"For saying all of the stuff dad would have said to me last night. You were always the most like him. I always wanted to be—tried to be—but it just came so easily to you…you could make anyone feel welcome, you were just born the kindest person in the world…I look at you with Jack and I just think…that kid is so damn lucky to have you as his mom. I'm so proud of you."

Mia grinned. "Aww, come on, stop…"

"Seriously. I couldn't ask for a better little sister."

They had reached the mailbox that read 1327 outside their old childhood home. Mia stopped, looking up at him with a smile. "Yeah, well, Jack's got a pretty great uncle too."

Dom smiled back. "Tell Brian I'll start the grill around five."

"Okay." Mia reached up, hugging her brother tightly around his massive neck. "I love you, Dom."

"Love you too." Dom hugged her back, messing up her hair after a moment. "Now get out of here. I'm sure O'Connor's probably burned the house down without you."

Mia laughed. "Probably so. See you in a few hours."

Dom gave her a little wave when she looked over her shoulder and waved before walking off down the street, both siblings feeling a little sad to go their separate ways at the front porch of their old home, but even though time had passed and things had changed, they both knew how lucky they were that they still had each other after everything they'd been through, and for a moment, they both felt like their father was still there with them on their childhood street, and as Dom turned towards the front door that led back to Letty and Mia walked home to her husband and child, and they returned to their families and adult lives, both Dom and Mia secretly hoped that if their father was watching, he was proud of who they had become.

One Month Later

"Honey, where is Jack's other shoe?" Mia leaned over to whisper in Brian's ear as they sat in the front row of the Toretto's family church as the witnesses to Dom and Letty's wedding, Mia balancing Jack on her knee and examining the fact that one of his feet was mysteriously bearing nothing but a sock.

"I don't know. He keeps throwing them whenever we go places. Always just one shoe. I don't think he has a single complete pair left anymore." Brian twisted around in the row to check for the missing shoe but it was nowhere to be found.

"Well, then I guess we can't count on hand-me-down shoes for his new little brother or sister." Mia grinned, her hand involuntarily going to her stomach.

Brian grinned back. "I'm so excited, babe. Should we tell them at lunch? I think we should tell them.

"No, Brian." Mia said insistently. "Today's about Dom and Letty. And besides, it's still really early. The doctor said we should wait before telling anybody."

"Well, it's not like I'm going to put "We're Having Another Baby" on a sandwich board and go stand on a street corner, but they're our best friends. They're family, babe—"

The priest's words suddenly interrupted Brian and Mia's debate. "Since it is your intention to enter into marriage, join your right hands and declare your consent before God and His church."

"Oh, shh, honey, they're doing the vows." Mia patted Brian's arm, smiling, the baby's shoe forgotten as she watched Dom and Letty took each other's right hands in front of the altar. The priest from when they had all been kids had remembered them from the old days in the neighborhood and happily agreed to do the ceremony. Dom was wearing a nice white shirt and slacks, and Letty had never looked prettier, wearing a floor-length white sundress with her dark hair loosely braided back on the sides with the rest falling in long waves around her shoulders.

Dom took a deep breath, smiling at Letty. "I, Dominic Toretto, take you, Leticia Ortiz, to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life."

The priest nodded to Letty. Dom interlaced his fingers through hers, and the simple gesture gave her courage as she pressed her lips together before speaking, realizing she was finally owning who she was, who she loved, what she wanted…Braga and Owen Shaw and all of those other assholes had tried everything to take her life away. And it hadn't worked. She was here. She was taking her life back. With Dom right beside her. "I, Leticia Ortiz, take you, Dominic Toretto, to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life."

They exchanged their rings Mia beaming from the front row, Brian smiling with his arm around his wife, Jack starting to get fussy from sitting still for so long, the Priest looking between Dom and Letty.

"You have declared your consent before the church. May the Lord in His goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with His blessings. What God has joined, let no man divide. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Dom leaned down to Letty as she reached up to him, the hand now bearing her platinum wedding ring resting on his cheek as they shared their first kiss as man and wife, Mia and Brian clapping and cheering from the front row, Letty's other hand going to the back of Dom's neck as Dom wrapped his arms around her waist, Jack looking around, a little confused at his parents both making such loud noises, but looking relieved when Dom and Letty rejoined them after they thanked the priest and shook hands and his mother stood up and it seemed like they were all going somewhere more interesting than this too-quiet church where no one was paying much attention to him.

"Congratulations, man." Brian clapped Dom on the shoulder as they all walked out together, Letty holding her now-husband's hand, looking a little overwhelmed with how happy she felt as Mia fell into step with her on the other side, looping her arm through Letty's as Mia balanced Jack on her other hip. "You're a beautiful bride, Letty. I mean, I always knew you would be, but you look gorgeous. Like a model."

"Uh…thanks." Letty looked down at the ring on left hand, spinning it around her finger with her thumb experimentally, feeling the engraved inscription against her skin. Ride or Die. One night, lying in bed about a week before the wedding, she had asked about ride or die, why he had said it that night in London, and Dom had explained to her what they'd used to say to each other. What it meant.

"That's how we said I love you?" Letty asked, her head resting on his chest, hearing his heartbeat against her ear.

"Yeah. In the beginning, when we were too scared to really say it. When we were just kids. And then when we didn't want to say it in front of the team because…you know. And then it just kind of became a thing. Everyone started saying it. The whole team. But it started with us."

"Ride or die." Letty smiled. "I love that."

He had kissed her temple, and they had fallen asleep. But then when they had gone to pick up their rings before the wedding, Ride or Die had been engraved inside, Dom smiling at her, looking a little nervous about whether or not she would like the surprise. "Too much, baby?" He'd asked her at the jewelry store counter.

Letty had practically knocked him over she'd kissed him so hard, her arms wrapped around his neck.

"Not too much, then, I suppose, sir." The jewelry store associate, a rather stuffy older man wearing a bowtie, smiled to himself and shook his head as he'd boxed up their purchase and put everything in a nice bag. They may not be his usual customers, but he'd made a huge commission from their purchase of matching custom platinum rings, so he wasn't complaining. They could kiss all they wanted.

And now, here they were. Man and wife. They walked out to the car with Brian, Mia, and Jack, when all of a sudden, Dom's phone buzzed in his pocket. They all looked at each other, confused, all thinking the same thing—they were all together. Who else would be calling? Unless it was something bad.

Dom took the phone out of his pocket, looking down at the screen and then back up to Letty, Mia, and Brian. "Unknown number. Hold on one second." He answered the call, stepping away from them and pressing his other ear closed, trying to hear over what sounded like police sirens and screaming in the background. "Who is this?" he demanded.

An unfamiliar British accented voice responded. "Dominic Toretto…you don't know me. You're about to."

Before Dom could say another word, the line went dead.

A/N- Thanks for reading! Reviews make my day!

Oh, and if you follow any of my other stories—a quick update—I just finished my first year of teaching (finally!) so I now have the summer off to work on my writing, so expect updates soon! Thanks again for all of your support—it really means the world to me!