Fast Cars & Love

19.7

Damon grips the steering wheel as he revs the engine before he puts the car in gear as Brian pulls up next to him. Damon and Brian share a nod before they both take off. Brian takes the lead as they attempt to weave through traffic. Damon is able to pass Brian before pulling into the parking lot of their destination.

"All right. We made it, Lexi," Damon says as he pulls in front of the school before turning to look back at his daughter.

"Yeah, we made it!" Lexi cheers as she claps her hands with a smile on her face. "Let's do it again!!"

"I wish we could, pumpkin. But your mama would kill me," Damon tells her with a smile before turning to look for the sliding door button on the minivan. "Now I just gotta find that door button." Damon sighs as he has trouble finding the button. "Pumpkin, where's the door button at?"

"Hi," A teacher says with a wave as she walks over to the minivan.

"Hey," Damon says as she reaches through the window and pushes the button that he is looking for. "Yeah, of course. I'm pretty new to this."

"Yeah, you don't seem like the minivan type," The teacher says with a laugh as she gets Lexi out of her car seat.

"Definitely not," Damon says in agreement with a small laugh. "Hey Lexi, you gonna give me a high five? Wait, wait, wait! Wait, high five!" Lexi gives Damon a high five. "All right. Appreciate it, thank you."

"Don't worry. You'll get used to this in no time," The teacher tells him with a smile before glancing at his left hand that is sitting on the steering wheel.

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of," Damon says with a sigh as he shakes his head.

"If you want, I could always show you the ropes sometime," The teacher says with a flirtatious smile, causing Damon to slightly frown.

"No offense but I think I might live longer if I just get a crash course from her mother," Damon explains with a tight smile, causing the teacher's face to flush with embarrassment. "I'll see you later, Lexi. Be good. Daddy, loves you." Damon shakes his head as he drives away from the school before heading home. Damon sighs as he looks at his left hand before realizing why the teacher must have thought he was a single father.

The next morning, Lexi and Vince are out on the porch as they wait for their parents. Lexi and Vince race their toy cars across the top of a big package sitting on the porch.

"All right, buddy. We gotta go. We're gonna be late," Brian says as he walks out onto the porch with Vince's backpack. "Come on." Brian picks Vince up before carrying him out to the their minivan.

"Let's go, Lexi," Damon says with a smile as he walks out on the porch a few seconds later before Lexi runs over to him with a smile on her face. "Okay, what do you think?" Damon carries Lexi out to their minivan. "Parking brake slide right up to the school?"

"YES!" Lexi cheers before a frown appears on her face. "But I don't think mama will let us."

"I think she might just make an exception if we ask her really nicely," Damon explains which causes Lexi to smile.

"Where's mama?" Lexi asks as she looks for Mia.

"She'll be out in a minute," Damon responds with a smile before tickling Lexi, causing her to giggle. Mia walks out onto the porch as she smiles at the sight of Damon putting Lexi into the car. "Here we go. Watch you head."

"Dom, you have a package out here," Mia calls inside as she notices the box on the porch. "It's from Tokyo."

"Tokyo?" Dom asks as he walks outside. "What? Is Han trying to convert me over to a turbocharger?"

"All right, you ready?" Brian asks Vince, having buckled him into the car seat.

"Yeah!" Vince cheers as he throws his toy car out of one minivan and into the other.

"Hey, Buddy. Cars don't fly," Damon tells him as he picks up the toy car.

"Hey, cars don't fly," Lexi repeats after him with a giggle.

"This one did, huh?" Brian says as Damon hands him the car before he hands it to Vince.

"Brian and Damon in minivans. Things have changed," Dom says as Trixie joins him and Mia on the porch.

"We're struggling Dom," Mia mentions as they walk down the steps. "He doesn't want me to see it but the white picket fence is like an anchor on him. I can tell because I feel the same way. We both miss the excitement of the unknown."

"Brian is struggling too," Trixie admits which causes Mia to rub her sister's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "I tried to talk to him the other night. You know what he said? He doesn't miss the girls, he doesn't miss the cars like I do. He misses the bullets."

"Let Brian settle in," Dom says as they stop walking. "And Mia, give yourselves time."

"How does nine months sound?" Mia asks him with a slight smile, causing Dom to look at her in slight shock and confusion while Trixie lets out a slight squeal of excitement. "I'm having another baby." Mia glances over at Damon before looking down with a sigh as Dom looks at her with a smile.

"And you didn't tell him, did you?" Dom asks her as they all look over at Damon. "You got to tell him."

"I don't want him to be disappointed with his life," Mia says as she slightly shakes her head. "With me. He's barely had time to remember who he was."

"He will never be disappointed with you," Trixie reassures her sister as she puts a hand on Mia's shoulder. "That man loves you and Lexi. You're both the best thing that's ever happened to him. And so will the new baby."

"Thank you," Mia says as she pulls Trixie into a hug.

"Dad, would be proud of both of you," Dom says with a smile before Mia and Trixie hug him.

"Trix, we're going to be late!" Brian calls out followed by Vince saying, "Come on, Mama!" The three siblings laugh before Mia and Trixie make their way down the rest of the steps.

"Yeah?" Dom answers his phone while Trixie jogs over to Brian and Vince.

"Dominic Toretto," A man on the other end says as he throws Dom and Letty's necklace at Han's flipped car. "You don't know me but you're about to." Dom quickly pulls the phone away from his ear to see that it is a private number in Tokyo.

"Get Down!" Dom yells as he realizes who the box is from. Dom quickly pulls Mia to the ground, covering her, as Damon quickly closes the door on the minivan. Brian closes the door to the other minivan before covering Trixie as the box explodes slamming Damon up against the minivan from the blast.

"Damon!" Mia yells once the blast is over. Damon quickly gets up to open the door to check on Lexi as Mia starts running over to them. "Damon!" Damon pulls Lexi out of the car to find she is perfectly fine besides the fact that she is crying from the loud noise. Mia pulls Lexi into her arms before Damon hugs them both. Brian and Trixie walk around the car with Vince in Trixie's arms. Dom realizes that his family almost died before he turns to his childhood home, which is up in flames and smoke.