Life without You...

Part 13 - Dom's Return

Dom's POV

Being back in the garage was an incredible feeling. Letty seemed to be booked solid. Outside the garage she had at least six cars parked and when I went inside she had three parked there as well. She was slammed. For a few seconds I watched as she stood bent beneath the bonnet of some guys crappy import, a Skyline. The smell of rubber and grease lingered in the air of the garage and the unseasonable heat only served to make the smell more intense almost sickening.

"So... Not part of the welcome home committee?" I teased Letty.

She'd been so absorbed in her work she jumped upright and spun to face me. A smile stretched across her face as her eyes clapped onto my face for the first time in twenty two months. With great care she took in every detail of my face, seeing what had changed and what hadn't.

"Not really my style, is it?" She joked and I could almost hear the faint ring of her laugh in the air.

I hadn't held her in my arms for two years and that felt far too long ago now. Crossing the space between us in two great strides, I placed my hands on her waist and leant down and kissed her softly. Thinking of the day I'd finally get to kiss her again had gotten me through two years in prison and now I was finally kissing her, the two years had been worth the wait. According to Mia she hadn't looked at anyone else for two years, a lot of commitment for us especially since we hadn't even gone on a single date yet.

"So you're here every day?" I asked her. My eyes started taking in the sight of the garage. The once familiar scene hadn't changed all that much. She'd kept the garage looking how it always had, the tools spilling out of drawers, some carelessly abandoned on the floor. More grease spots dotted over the floor but that was inevitable. I could probably still find my way around in here blindfolded if I tried.

"Yeh, every day." Her tired eyes gave away every ounce of herself which she had poured into this. What she'd accomplished was incredible and I only hoped she hadn't drained herself completely. I'd always admired the Latina's spirit and fighting instinct. Everything she did she did with such a passion and total dedication. It was clear she'd given everything she could to the garage and for that I would be forever grateful to this one of a kind woman.

"You did good Let, real good," I told her admiringly. With those words her eyes lit up and I saw her passion once more. The girl I'd admired was still there and I was going to bring her back. I'd give her every bit of myself I had to give and every bit after that. She deserved so much more than I'd ever be able to give her.

I could see her eagerness to return to her work so I let myself get caught up in the familiar work of tinkering beneath the hood of a car. Instantly I felt like myself. It was easy to see why I'd always loved this life. Once I was finished with the first car, a crappy Fiesta, I moved onto the next one. My shoulders sagged as I finally relaxed for the first time in two years. In prison I'd always been looking over my shoulder and that had made me permanently tense, but just being here near her had changed that. I just enjoyed myself spending time with her and it was what I'd been waiting for for two years.

"You're real busy Let," I said as I finished my third car of the day.

"Always am," she replied as she stretched. No doubt her back ached from slaving over these cars all day. I know mine hurt.

I shook my head in amazement that the girl was still standing. Other girls would have thrown in the towel because it was too difficult, but not her. Letty Ortiz was no quitter and never would be a quitter.

"It ain't been easy the last while without you," she said with a sigh. She bent back over the orange Skyline and got reabsorbed in her work. Dedicated to her cause.

"That ain't fair though. I bet you've never held money back from Mia for anything she needed and I bet you've gone without plenty." I could bet all the money I didn't possess right now that my little sister had wanted for nothing while I'd been away. I could bet that it was Letty who sat up late into the night figuring out where the money to pay the bills and mortgage next month would come from. My money would also be placed on the fact she'd probably cried more tears in the last two years of her life than in the sixteen years that had passed before that. One look at her told me that.

"That ain't true, I've never gone without anything. I've had a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, a dinner on the table every single night and a family to come home each night." Everything she named was a small thing the rest of the free world most likely took for granted, however, as she named each thing she was grateful for her eyes sparkled with love. It was so obvious that everything she had done she had done out of love, loyalty and compassion for Mia.

I scoffed. "But you shouldn't have had to sell your car."

She stood up poker straight and waved her right arm which was holding a heavy wrench. "I was faced with a choice and a difficult one at that! I could either choose to let Mia and I become homeless, work even more hours in the garage and probably kill myself in the process or I could sell the Cobra. I wasn't going to let us become homeless because you were coming home in eighteen months and, damn it Dom, 1327 was still going to be there when you came home! I did all I could to keep 1327 for you so that when you returned everything would be as you left it. Damn it, I did it for you. Honestly I didn't think I'd have to explain that to you Dom!"

Her eyes lit with her famous fighting spirit and I saw the Letty I'd fallen for. The Letty I'd carried an image of in my head for the last two years. She was incredible as always.

When her words sunk in I realised I was probably the one person she'd expected the understand her actions all along. She'd done everything for me and here I was questioning her. I should be thanking her for devoting two years of her life to something which had essentially only been a one night stand with the promise of becoming serious.

"Thank you," I began, "Thank you for everything. Everything you did for Mia and in turn for me. I was inside 1327 and it's exactly as it always has been, my room is just as I left it. Most of all thank you for the garage. It's exactly as it was two years ago. The only thing that's changed is it actually pays for itself. What you've done is amazing Let, I'm so proud of you."

Two tears ran down her face and she walked towards me. "I didn't mean for you to say thank you. I just thought you'd understand more than anyone else why I did all those things. Dom, everything I did, I did it because I love you."

"Letty, I promise everything I do from now on, I'll do for you," I said as I leant down to kiss her again.

Her lips collided with mine and we quickly deepened the kiss making up for two years of lost time.

When we broke apart she grinned at me.

"Let, we gotta ride or die," I said, "What do you think?" Ride or die, either she jumped on now for the long haul or she bailed now. It was up to her.

"I'll ride or die with you," she agreed, "I always will."

Even in the most unromantic setting we'd managed to take that small moment and make it perfect. That's what life is, a series of moments strung together and if you're lucky you'll have plenty of perfect ones with your family. She was my family.