"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Casey! Happy birthday to you!"

As the last notes of the song drifted off, Dom looked over the gathering for his daughter's birthday party. Mia and Brian stood just behind their three year old niece, their grins just as wide as hers as she blew out the candles on her cake. Only a family affair, this party. "Where is your mother?" Dom whispered, glancing around.

"Mommy!!!" Casey called, staring at someone just behind Dom.

Dom slowly turned...

"Dom! Wake the fuck up!" Letty growled, punching him hard on the shoulder to rouse him. "You're mumbling in your sleep again."

Another dream, he thought, wishing that for once he would actually get to see her face.

He had no idea who she was. He had dreamed once of their wedding. He remembered the long white gown she'd worn. Her veil had covered long dark hair, but...her skin wasn't Letty's golden tone.

"You were dreaming about her again, weren't you?" Letty asked, snuggling closer, her hand sliding intimately over him.

Dom sighed, "How in hell can you be jealous of a woman who's not real?"

Letty climbed on top of him. "I'm not jealous," she denied, taking the rigid length of him inside her. "But you should be dreaming of me."

Dom pulled her down for a kiss, and rolled them so he was on top. Anything, he thought, to shut you up.

**Next Morning**

The day dawned bright and clear. Dom stared out the window of his makeshift garage. "Another beautiful day," he growled. Paradise, he'd thought of it once, but...no matter how long he stayed in Mexico, it wasn't home. He missed LA. That's where his memories were...where Mia still was, even married as she was to Brian. He missed her. He missed her laugh, her smile, her barbequed chicken.

He had a vivid memory suddenly of that last barbeque. He hadn't known Brian was a cop then. They had all been there, though: Letty, Mia, Brian, Vince, Leon, Jesse.

And now...now Jesse was dead. Killed by Johnny Tran, who Brian had killed back in LA.

Leon had taken off for parts unknown, disappearing not long after Dom met back up with him and Letty here in Mexico.

Mia and Brian were back in LA. Imagine, a cop for a brother-in-law. Dom gave a bark of bitter laughter. It didn't matter though...he still couldn't come home. He was still a wanted man.

Vince was in jail, doing five to ten for armed robbery. He should have stuck to cars, Dom thought with a shake of his head.

No one left...except Letty.

Dom turned slowly to watch Letty peer under the hood of the Jetta they'd bought from Carlos. Her long dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but stray strands clung lovingly to her face.

He'd loved her, once. That seemed so long ago now.

Letty slamming the hood of the Jetta jarred him out of his thoughts. "Let's test her out," she offered, using the rag at her waist to wipe the grease off of her hands.

"You go," he said, leaning negligently against a beat up Honda he was supposed to be working on for Carlos.

Letty tossed the rag into the passenger seat of the Jetta. "What's up? You think she's gonna show up?"

Dom's dark eyes narrowed. "Go for your ride, Letty," he said softly.

Letty grumbled something too softly for Dom to hear as she climbed behind the wheel. Tires squealed as she pulled out of the garage.

Dom took a deep breath then sighed. He almost wished she'd keep driving. He shrugged out of the top half of his overalls, letting it drop to his waist. "Too damned hot here," he growled softly, taking a moment to stretch, his muscles outlined vividly against his white beater. With another sigh, he peered beneath the hood of the Honda.

**An Hour Later**

Letty still wasn't back yet, but Dom wasn't worried. Letty could take care of herself. He chuckled softly. He was almost glad she was gone.

An engine roared, drawing closer. Dom straightened slowly, assuming it was Letty returning. The engine cut off, and he turned as he heard a car door closing. The breath caught in his throat.

It was her.

Brown leather sandals graced her feet. Long tanned legs were topped by denim shorts that concealed more than they revealed. A white tee shirt covered her chest as well as the tops of her slender arms. Her full lips were pulled down in a frown. A glance up, and he belatedly realized her dark eyes were glaring at him over her sunglasses. "Take a picture," she growled in a smoky voice, "it'll last longer." Dom did something then that he hadn't done in years. He blushed. He quickly tried to apologize, but she brushed it away. "Look, it's no big deal...really. I'm just looking for Dominick..."

A smile curled his lips. "You've found him."

She pulled off her glasses, and stared pointedly at his beefy arms...his muscular chest outlined vividly against his white beater. "You always go around half naked?"

"You always go around with an attitude?" he shot back.

"Only when I meet up with guys who can't keep their eyes off my body."

"I wasn't the only one lookin', honey," he replied.

She threw her hands up and whirled around. Sunlight glinted off her silver earrings as she stalked toward the door. "Fuck it," she growled, "I'll just tell Carlos..."

"Wait a minute," Dom said, lightly catching her arm. She glared down at his hand then up to his face, but he still didn't let go. "Carlos sent you?"

She pulled off her glasses and glared at him. "Yeah, he did." Her lips curled into a grimace. "He doesn't have time to look at my car, and I really need some help."

"Let's look at it, then," he said, steering her out of the garage.

She only protested a moment then followed him reluctantly to her Mustang.

Dom let go to pop the hood, then he was beneath it, tinkering with the engine. "Got a name?" he asked.

"I usually call it 'you piece of shit'," she replied.

Dom bit his lip. "I mean you."

"Oh," she replied, standing next to him and watching his hands move over the engine. "I'm Angie."

He turned his head slightly, and their eyes met.

The roar of an engine and squealing tires snapped Dom's head around. "Pedro!" he called, watching the young Mexican climb out of his Mazda. "What the fuck..."

"Dom, you gotta come quick. It's Letty."

"What about Letty?" he asked as he shrugged the top half of his overalls up. "What's wrong?"

"She showed up at the bar, man, and...she started some shit with this guy, and..."

"And?" Dom prompted when Pedro fell silent.

"And he was into drugs, man...big time. He shot her, but there was something major goin' on, 'cause there was cops all over the place. Came outta fuckin' nowhere, man...and they took her off in an ambulance," he added quickly, catching the dark look Dom shot him. Pedro shook his head. "She's in a really bad way, Dom."

"Shit," Dom growled.

"Letty...she's your wife?" Angie asked.

Dom shook his head as he answered, "No, but..." He shook his head again. He couldn't go to her. Cops were bad news for him. He couldn't get caught. But he had to make sure she was all right. He owed her that much, at least. "Fuck," he growled.

"You can't go, man," Pedro piped up. "The cops..."

"I could probably get you in," Angie interrupted, catching Dom's full attention.

"How?" he asked.

"My ex is a doctor at the only hospital in the area," she explained. “He can get you in, or at least get you information."

"You're still friendly with your ex?" he asked, wondering if she meant husband.

She grinned at him. "It always pays to have a friend who's a doctor."

Her smile was contagious, and he found himself grinning back at her. "Let's go, then."

Pedro climbed into his Mazda. Dom and Angie slipped into Dom's 'Vette, and followed Pedro as he sped off.

Angie lay a comforting hand on his arm. "I'm sure your...girlfriend will be okay."

Dom shrugged as he effortlessly glided through the gears. "I'm sure she will," he replied, "and she's not really my girlfriend."

"Oh?" Angie asked.

Dom glanced at Angie then turned back to the highway in front of him. "Things have recently...changed."

"For the better?" she asked.

He grinned at her. He remembered another dream suddenly. Making love to this woman. He couldn't wait to find out if the reality was anything like the dream. "Yeah," he replied, forcing his gaze away from her long tanned legs, "for the better."

~~The End~~

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