The Third Grade

UNDER THE HOOD AND BEHIND THE WHEEL

~A FEW DAYS LATER ~

"What about parts and service?" Mia asks Dom as she looks at some paperwork.
"Hold off on it," Dom tells her with a shrug, causing Dylan to roll her eyes, knowing that if it wasn't for her and Mia doing the paperwork then the garage would not still be in the Toretto name.
"Dom, I don't know what to do with it," Mia says as a tow truck backs up in front of the garage with a totaled car on it.

"All right, what the hell is this?" Dylan says with a sigh as she throws her hands in the air, frustrated with Dom since he didn't want to work with her and Mia. Dom walks over to the bay door before leaning up against it.
"What do you got there?" Dom asks as Brian walks over to them.
"This is your car," Brian answers him as he motions to the wrecked car with a huge smile on his face. Dylan holds back a laugh as she shakes her head in disbelief.
"My car?" Dom asks with a sarcastic smile as Jesse hits the car, causing dust to fly. "I said a 10-second car, not a 10-minute car."

"You could push this across the finish line, or tow it," Jesse says as he waves the dust away from his face, causing Dylan and Letty to laugh.
"You couldn't even tow that across the finish line," Dylan adds in between giggles, causing Letty to give her a high five.
"No faith," Brian defends as he motions towards himself.
"I have faith in you, but this isn't a junkyard. This is a garage," Dom tells him as he motions to the garage.

"Pop the hood," Brian says as he points at Jesse.
"Pop the hood?" Dom asks to see if he is for real.
"Pop the hood," Brian answers with a nod. They get the car off of the tow truck and into the garage.

"2JZ engine. No shit," Jesse says as they take the hood off. Dylan and Letty share an impressed look.
"And what did I tell you?" Brian says with a victorious smirk.
"We retract our previous statements," Dom says as he motions to himself and Dylan, who nods in agreement.

"You know what? This will decimate all after you put about $15,000 in it," Jesse says as Dylan walks over to stand beside him to get a better look at the car.
"Or more, if we have to overnight parts from Japan," Dylan says in agreement as she looks at the engine while drumming her fingers against the car.
"We'll put it on my tab at Harry's," Dom says with a nod as he turns to Brian.
"Yes!" Jesse says as he and Dylan high five.

"I gotta get you racing again so I can make some money off your ass," Dom tells Brian as he points at him before he wraps an arm around Dylan. "There's a show down in the desert called Race Wars. That's where you'll do it. When you're not working at Harry's, you're working here."
"If you can't find the right tool in this garage, Mr. Arizona..." Dylan says as she starts to walk away from Dom, who slightly frowns since she walked away from him. "...you don't belong near a car."

The next day the team makes a trip to Harry's to get the parts they need. Dom, Brian, Leon, and Jesse start laying all the parts out so they can get an idea of where to start. Mia arrives from the diner bringing them lunch with the help of Letty since Dylan is at college.

Dom and Brian sit on the hood while Jesse sits on the trunk with Leon sitting on the ground as they eat the food Mia and Letty brought them.
"I was like five years old while I'm sitting on my father's lap. He's got me propped up and both my hands are on the steering wheel," Dom explains as he mimics a steering wheel. "And he kept going faster and faster. I remember hearing him laughing. The faster we went, the happier he was."
"How old were you again?" Jesse asks him before taking a drink.
"Five," Dom answers him.

"My mom taught me how to drive," Leon says as he looks up at them.
"Your mom?" Dom asks him impressed.
"Yeah, man. It was right before she left though," Leon explains as he looks down. "You know, hate her for that but can't hate her completely. You know?"

"First time I drove," Brian says as he sets his sandwich to the side. "Was my learners permit. We were on the 40 freeway, my mother and I. The car in front of me locks up it's brakes." Brian makes the sound affects of brakes locking up. "Then boom, someone blew into me from behind. Five car pile up. First time I drove." Dylan walks through the garage, having just got back from college before she stops to listen to the boys.

"Before my dad went away," Jesse says as he adds his story. "He bought me this '71 Malibu classic. First day I got my license. It was the greatest day. It's also the first day that I had sex." Jesse raises his beer while they all laugh while Dylan shakes her head in amusement. "I shit you not."
"Something about learning how to drive. You're either a driver or you're not a driver. So, up until the point you start driving is one lifetime and then after you start driving is another lifetime," Dom explains with a smile as the guys nod in agreement, causing Dylan to smile since Dom had told her that when he had taught her how to drive.

"I don't think I can do this," Dylan says with a sigh as she drops her head onto the steering wheel since she had just ran over a practice cone.
"Hey, D. Look at me," Dom says from the passenger seat. They are at the track where his dad races at. Buddy, his dad's friend, is currently letting Dom teach Dylan how to drive. It had been two weeks since the first race Dylan was at and she is eager to learn how to drive. Vince said he wouldn't teach her so Dom volunteered to do it behind Vince's back. "There is something about learning how to drive. You're either a driver or you're not a driver. So, up until the point you start driving is one lifetime and then after you start driving is another lifetime."
"Yeah," Dylan says with a small smile as she realizes that she is starting to fall for Dom.
"So do you want to be a driver or not?" Dom asks her as he watches her hands already making their way to the steering wheel.

"I don't want to be just a driver," Dylan answers, causing Dom to look at her confused. "I want to be a racer too." Dom looks at her in shock as she throws the car into gear before racing through the practice course without making a single mistake. Dylan stops the car before they get out to see if she had hit any cones.
"You did it," Dom says in shock as he turns to Dylan with a proud smile.
"I did it!" Dylan cheers before pulling Dom into a hug. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!" Little did Dom know that this is when he started to fall for Dylan as well.

"The car isn't going to build itself, especially with y'all sitting on it," Dylan says with a smirk as she walks out of the garage, towards the car.
"Yeah, yeah," Leon says sarcastically while Dom smiles at the sight of Dylan.