trigger warning: throwing up/mentions of nausea, mentions of abuse

"GO! GO! GO!" FINNICK yelled after the explosive sent the wide garage door crashing to the ground. All of the Kings and their allies, excluding the three who had travelled to LA and those who were entertaining Nobody's men, were in full military uniform ─ helmets and all.

Yes, they had full faith in their abilities, but they'd be stupid to take chances. After all, Dominic Toretto just kept surprising them.

The sharp 'crack' of their bullets reverberated around the large space, almost deafening everyone present. Nobody's right hand man, Sheppard, frantically barked orders in hopes of getting his men out of there alive.

Despite their formations and tactics, the men were dropping like flies ─ Finnick had put his explosives to good use, and Deckard had thrown the grenade he had taunted Dominic with, taking out five of Dominic's allies. The King siblings had seven kills between them, leaving a dozen men remaining.

Whilst her families fought, Letty ducked behind the couch, unsure of what to do. No matter what she did, it would be considered a betrayal by someone she loved; if the Ortiz woman attacked Nobody's men, she betrayed the love of her life, but if she attacked any of the Kings, Shaws, or their allies, she betrayed Natalie ─ her best friend, her platonic soulmate, her sister.

"Shit." She hissed, hitting the back of the couch whilst her indecisiveness tried to tear her in two. Letty wished that Natalie was with her right then, giving her one of the Shaw woman's infamous hugs and telling her that whatever decision she made, she would support Letty.

That was how it always went with Natalie Shaw and Letty Ortiz ─ no matter what situation they were in, the two had each other's backs, even if it meant driving a knife into their own. Yes, they always supported each other's decisions, but sometimes they sacrificed their own feelings and wellbeing in the process.

Letty's eyes snapped towards movement, having seen it out of the corner of her eye. The rapid and thundering gunfire drowned out the person's footsteps, and their figure was shrouded in darkness, forcing the Ortiz woman to draw the pistol from the waistband of her jeans.

"Hey, it's just me." Letty managed to make out Deckard's familiar voice over the fight around them, before she deciphered the outline of his figure crouching down in front of her.

Instead of seeing the slightly unfamiliar acquaintance that she had spent barely any time with, Letty saw Deckard, the man who had become like a brother to her over the last decade ─ the man made sure that she and Mia made it to Natalie's wedding; the man that didn't hesitate to help them pay the bills, even when the women were doing their best to figure it out themselves; the man that joked with her and wasn't afraid to engage with her sarcastic banter. She saw her brother.

"Deckard─"

"I know, you have to go." He said, already preempting what the Ortiz woman was so conflicted about. The man placed a gentle hand on Letty's shoulder, before looking her dead in the eyes.

"Just promise you'll come back to us."

Deckard didn't want to even consider the idea that Letty was going for good, because he knew how much her absence hurt Natalie ─ he only hoped that the Ortiz woman's recovered memories served as a way to bring her back to them.

"Trust me, nothing could ever keep me away again." She responded confidently, not a hint of uncertainty tainting a single cell in her body. The two shared a short yet warm embrace, before pulling away and sharing one final nod.

Deckard darted back towards the fight, leaving Letty to determine how she was going to get through the next few minutes.

Meanwhile, Dominic felt like he wanted to disappear. The reality of the previous days was finally hitting him, and the man felt like he could be sick. He knew, deep down, that he had picked a battle that he could never win, and that it was impossible for him to single-handedly keep his entire team safe.

Bullets rained down on the Toretto and the few men that remained, forcing him to cower behind the nearest wall.

He watched in shock as Nobody stepped into the light, a pistol in each hand, and systematically fired at the Kings; bullets stuck themselves in Nick, Alice, and Finnick's vests, sending them toppling to the floor. Just as he was about to aim at Andy, Xavier, who had fury running through his veins at the sight of his injured siblings and friend, shot three bullets into Nobody's chest.

Horrified, Dominic stared at the man's body as it crumpled to the ground, before rushing over and pulling the weak man out of the line of fire.

Nobody groaned as Dominic crouched down and wrapped one of the injured man's arms over his shoulder, before using it to lift the man onto his unsteady feet. The Toretto struggled to walk with the extra weight as he staggered only a few steps towards the exit. To his surprise, he felt some of the weight lift, making him look towards Nobody's other side.

Letty now had the man's other arm draped over her shoulder, a small reassuring smile on her face as she locked eyes with the love of her life.

Dominic sighed in relief at the sight of her safe and close to him ─ he had been worried sick when he and Brian reunited with the rest of their crew, only to find Letty missing from the group. The man's heart had stopped dead in his chest, and he felt like he could throw up. As far as the Toretto knew, Letty had been kidnapped, and their enemies were doing God knows what to her.

Little did he know, Natalie and her family had managed to accomplish in an hour what he had been trying to do for over a year ─ bring Letty's memories back.

Brian caught up to the three after failing to retrieve God's Eye, the ultimate tracking device that they had obtained at the party. The group of four rushed from the building, instantly heading for one of the SUVs Nobody's men had used to get to the warehouse.

Dominic jumped in the back with an injured Nobody, whilst Letty climbed into the front passenger seat and Brian started the car. The rubber tires squealed against the ground as they sped away, leaving behind a dozen dead men and the only weapon they had.

"TELL ME ABOUT YOUR family, Natalie."

The drowsy woman in question glanced at Katya, who was driving their black SUV with haste and a tight grip on the steering wheel. Said car jolted as it sped over a bump in the road, sending ferocious pain crashing through Natalie's bruised and battered body.

A clean t-shirt (which was previously stored in a duffel bag within the trunk of the car) was pressed firmly against the back of the Shaw woman's head. The grey material was coated in dark, thick blood, which also trailed down the back of her neck.

Katya was doing her best to keep Natalie awake for the duration of the car ride. She didn't have much medical knowledge, but she knew falling asleep after bashing your head in was not good.

None of the McAllisters had spoken a word since they had left their house, all of them too shocked and exhausted to even think of starting a conversation, which was completely understandable, considering the loss they had suffered.

So, the only voices within the vehicle were Natalie and Katya, who were essentially playing 21 questions.

"Seriously?" Natalie groaned, partly from the pain, but mainly in mock irritation. "Which one?"

"Which one?" The Russian assassin repeated incredulously, sparing a questioning gaze towards the bleeding woman. How many families could one woman have?

"Well, do you wanna hear about the Kings, the Shaws, or the Torettos?" The Shaw woman remarked, unable to hide her amusement as a small smile tugged at her busted lips.

Katya couldn't help but chuckle, glad to see that Natalie's humour was still intact.

"Let's go with the Shaws." The blonde woman answered, her eyes focused on the road ahead.

"Well, Deckard's the oldest of three children." Natalie started, unable to stop the warmth that sparked across her skin and the way that her heart began to beat faster with affection at the mention of her husband. "We got married in 2007, after five years of dating. There aren't enough words in the world to describe how much of an incredible person he is — I mean, Deck is always putting others first, he values family above all, and he does everything in his power to protect those he loves."

The Shaw woman pauses, thinking back to six years ago when he truly did everything possible to protect his family, though many didn't realise it.

"When Eteon went after Deckard all those years ago, he realised that as long as they were hunting him, those around him would be in danger... including his siblings." Natalie spoke softly, remembering the day that Deckard broke down in front of her, completely distraught over putting Owen and Hattie in danger. "So, we ran. Eteon twisted the story to make everyone think that Deck betrayed his MI6 team, and Hattie ended up believing them. It killed him every day knowing that his sister hated him, but he said that he'd rather have her alive and loathe him instead of the alternative."

Natalie paused for a moment, wincing as she readjusted the t-shirt and pressed it firmer against the gash. Katya spared her a concerned glance, but the Shaw woman just waved her off nonchalantly ─ she'd dealt with worse.

"Speaking of Hattie, she's the youngest Shaw sibling, and arguably the most sarcastic, which is a tough competition to win in their family." Natalie chuckled. "She was actually the one to introduce Deck and I, and we never hear the end of it. Whatever you do, don't ask her about her matchmaking skills, because you will be stuck listening to her gloat until your mind goes numb."

Katya smiled, believing that her and Hattie would get on quite well if the two got to know each other better. The pair had only known each other for a few days, and those days didn't leave much time for 'bonding', with their fights, flights, and rocky drives along the mountainside.

"And then there's Owen." Natalie spoke softly, unable to stop herself from thinking about his comatose body laying in that hospital bed. "He's the middle child, and the most reckless out of all three Shaws. He and Deck are very overprotective of Hattie, I mean, any guy that she likes has to pass their 'test'."

Natalie couldn't help but laugh as she thought back to the time that Hattie introduced her new boyfriend to her brothers, and the poor guy was sweating and shaking whilst the two practically interrogated him. Hell, anyone who saw it would think that he was being accused of murder with the way Deckard and Owen were asking questions.

"He didn't hesitate to welcome me into the Shaw family, even when I was just Hattie's friend." She reminisced. Oh, how she missed her brother.

The Russian assassin couldn't help but remember the time that she had spent with Owen Shaw, over two years ago.

Originally, Katya and Owen were paid to work together for a job, just the two of them. It involved some undercover work and infiltrating a ring of rogue mercenaries, which they then brought down from the inside. It lasted just under a month, and with how much time they were spending together, one thing led to another, and they developed feelings for each other ─ strong, powerful feelings that consumed their minds, their hearts, their beings: everything.

Both were unsure if their feelings were reciprocated, but all uncertainty was erased on the final day of their job. One angry love confession later, and Katya and Owen were intertwined for the rest of time, even if they weren't physically with one another.

The two spent one final night together, before they had to go their separate ways ─ their paths occasionally crossed, and the two checked in once every few months, but that was it.

Katya buried her feelings and distracted herself through her work. She honestly thought that she had gotten over him, until she received the call from Zoey, asking for her help in avenging him.

Her feelings came crashing back, almost drowning her in the process ─ she couldn't believe that the man that she had grown to love during that job may never wake up from his coma; she couldn't believe that she'd never got to tell him how she truly felt. She never got to tell him that she would gladly spend the rest of her life with him.

Without even realising, Katya had zoned out and missed Natalie's description of Queenie, Magdalene Shaw, but that didn't matter ─ they had arrived.

Natalie had plugged the address of one of the King's many high tech garages into the GPS of the car, which is where they ended up.

Grabbing her personal phone (not the one Ana gave her for the job), the Shaw woman opened an app and punched in a six-digit pin. Her screen lit up green, before the large garage doors in front of their SUV began to slowly open.

Katya gave the woman next to her an impressed look, before driving into the building. As soon as they were parked, Natalie used her phone to close the doors, and the McAllisters climbed tentatively from the SUV, looking around with uncertainty but also fascination.

Zoey made her way to Natalie's side of the car and began helping the unsteady woman from the car, concern consuming her expression as she did so.

"Seriously, Zo, I'm fine." Natalie insisted, trying to wave off her sister-in-law, but the blonde woman's grip didn't falter.

"You took two bullets to the vest and you currently have blood caked to the back of your head." Zoey deadpanned. "You're not fine, so just let me help you."

Natalie sighed, and let her sister-in-law guide her further into the garage.

A large interactive table was the centrepiece of the large area, with many stools placed around it. To the right of the table was the part of the building that actually functioned like a garage ─ it had every tool and machine anyone could ever need to fix up a car. Not only that, it had an array of various cars (which were all mainly chosen by Natalie), which were all in perfect condition.

To the left of the table was a kitchenette: it had counters, a large fridge-freezer unit, a microwave, a kettle, and a sink, all of which were fully functional.

Zoey led the Shaw woman towards the table, and propped her up on one of the stools. Yes, it wasn't the best furniture choice for someone with a head injury, but they didn't exactly have an alternative.

The King woman then headed towards the kitchenette, having spotted a large green First Aid box hanging on the wall.

"Can you grab some ice packs from the freezer please, Zo?" Natalie requested whilst using her free hand to unstrap her bulletproof vest. She already knew that the bullets would have inflicted bruises ─ she could feel the familiar stabbing pain that accompanied them when she breathed too deeply.

After collecting everything she needed, Zoey placed the First Aid box down on the table, along with the ice packs, and helped a struggling Natalie slip her bulletproof vest off. The Shaw woman winced as she stretched, finally being able to breathe without being hugged by the thick material.

Her ribs throbbed from, what she assumed was, bruises blossoming across the skin, making Natalie place a gentle hand over the area. She carefully prodded the area with her nimble fingers, gasping and almost yelping in pain as she did so ─ the woman wanted to be sure that the bullets and/or the fall didn't fracture any ribs. With every press of her fingertips, a piercing pain would drill through her and send nausea rippling in her stomach. Natalie forced herself to breathe through it, though the air came out quivering and uneven.

Zoey watched with drawn brows, and the corner of her lips turned down in concern. Agonising pain contorted her sister-in-law's face once again, prompting the woman to gently grasp Natalie's hands and pull them away.

"Hey, that's enough." Zoey warned softly. "Let me have a look."

The Shaw woman's heart began to race in her chest, the nerves around what Zoey may see frightening her. Natalie's hands shook as she grasped the bottom of her long-sleeved top, and pulled it up just enough to reveal the bottom edge of her bra.

Zoey couldn't help but lightly gasp at the sight that greeted her ─ two angry and violent bruises decorated Natalie's tanned skin, merging together in a blur of purples and blues. They consumed almost the entire left half of her ribs and stretched towards the right.

"Oh my god, Natalie..." She whispered, her finger grazing part of the bruise so lightly that it sent shivers cascading over the Shaw woman's skin.

Guilt pooled in the bottom of the King woman's stomach; her sister-in-law wouldn't be in this position, wouldn't be hurt, if Zoey hadn't involved her in her personal issues. What the blonde didn't realise though, was that if Natalie Shaw was given the choice of helping Zoey King or staying out of it, she would choose to get involved every single time, because they were family ─ hell, they were sisters.

Natalie began to pull her top back down, but not before two blonde boys caught sight of the harsh colours splashed across her ribs.

"Holy crap, are you dying?!" Oliver McAllister, the twelve-year-old, exclaimed, eyes wide and his jaw practically on the floor. Aaron-Jones, or AJ, as the nineteen-year-old preferred, stood next to his brother and elbowed him in the ribs. Oliver grunted at the blow, despite it being relatively light.

"Hey, no curse words, dipshit." AJ reminded the boy, enacting a scoff from his brother. The younger of the two furrowed his brows and squinted as he turned to look at AJ.

"Says you, fuckface─" Oliver remarked whilst slapping the teenager's elbow away from his body.

Natalie couldn't help but chuckle under her breath, a bright smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She winced when a now familiar pain stabbed her in the lungs, but didn't let her smile falter. Oliver and AJ were the spitting image of Xavier and Nick, except her brothers never grew out of their teenage bickering.

Knowing how brotherly arguments go, Natalie knew that the two boys were going to escalate into a full-blown brawl if they didn't cut it out, so she decided to timely interrupt them.

"No, I'm not dying." The Shaw woman assured, her tone light as she answered Oliver's initial question.

AJ and Oliver jumped away from each other like their brother was on fire ─ for a moment, they had forgotten where they were. Seeing how the pair looked at Zoey and herself with curiosity, but also a twinge of fear, Natalie placed a gentle smile into her face and motioned for them to join her.

It took a moment of silent deliberation before the pair of brothers moved towards their sister and the Shaw woman, cautiously approaching them.

"Do you guys wanna see something cool?" Natalie asked, speaking softly as she watched their expressions for any signs of discomfort. The last thing she wanted was to scare them or make them feel worse than they already did.

Zoey, Katya, and herself had single-handedly ripped the McAllister family away from any semblance of their regular life, and dragged them into the merciless world of assassins, shadow governments, and ruthless organisations. Not only that, the women had failed to protect Patrick McAllister, resulting in his premature death.

Her chest ached from memories of her own father's death all those years ago ─ she was sixteen and forced to become the sole provider for her family, all whilst working through her own suffocating grief.

Jakob, who was fifteen, took Jack Toretto's death extremely hard, considering he was the last one to work under the hood of his father's car, and inadvertently caused the car to blow up upon impact with the fence. Natalie did her best to help him work through it, but there was always a part of him that would blame himself for what happened that day.

Mia was only twelve when their father died, the same age as Oliver was now, and she relied heavily on her older sister to keep herself from drowning in pain. The youngest Toretto could barely fathom that her dad was gone ─ they'd never see him cooking at the barbecue on Sundays, or working at the racetracks, or sitting at the kitchen table, helping them with their homework ever again. It cut deeper than any physical wound ever could. So, Natalie became more than a sister; she became a parent, a mother.

If Jakob and Mia were asked about how they managed to survive the death of Jack Toretto, they would simply respond with a name ─ Natalie.

Natalie forced herself to focus on the boys in front of her, instead of continuing to reminisce about something that had happened well over a decade ago.

She reached for the table next to her and pressed a small, hidden button, which was located on the underneath of the rim. Not even a second later, the entire surface lit up like a computer screen, before it presented two boxes with glowing blue outlines ─ one for user ID, and the other for a password.

The McAllister boys were already amazed with the incredibly futuristic technology, but then it got even better. Natalie double-tapped the surface, summoning a touchpad keyboard, and typed in her details.

USER ID: NQKING81

PASSWORD: ***********

The large screen flashed with an 'ACCESS GRANTED', before various files began popping up. Many were to do with the alerts she had created surrounding Dominic and his team, so she always knew what they were up to, who they were working for, and where they were. Some were news articles regarding the deaths of the people she had been hired to kill, and others were the various plans the group had created surrounding their revenge plot.

"Dude, are you guys The Avengers or some shit?" AJ exclaimed, his eyes wide as he stared at the interactive, high-tech table. Oliver remained silent as he admired the technology, his eyes glowing with curiosity and a natural sense of mischief.

Zoey grinned as she admired her younger brothers, beyond thankful that, even if it was only for a fleeting moment, they were happy.

"Oh, I wish. We're more like S.H.I.E.L.D." Natalie said. This was an opportunity to make the boys feel more comfortable, and she was going to grasp it with both hands. "Do you both like Marvel?"

Oliver was the first to nod, albeit quite frantically, whilst AJ nodded more hesitantly.

"I do too, and I think you'll be very happy to know that your sister's husband does as well." Natalie smiled. Nick was, to put it blatantly, a bit of a geek when it came to superheroes and Marvel. It started when he was a teenager, and whilst the obsession had died down over the years, it was definitely still there.

"You got married?" A quiet, remorseful voice spoke, prompting the small group to turn and face the direction that the feminine voice was coming from.

Carmen McAllister stood next to Katya, who had taken her to the bathroom and provided her with a spare change of clothes ─ the woman's previous ones were soaked in her husband's blood. Guilt was painted across her face like a splash of bright colours on a white canvas; impossible to ignore and blatant to the human eye. Maybe too blatant.

Zoey swallowed nervously, absentmindedly toying with her wedding rings whilst deliberating her words.

"Yeah, just over four years ago." She answered with a small nod. The King woman didn't know what to do when Carmen's eyes began to tear up ─ she'd never imagined that her mother regretted what she did and would have the opportunity to rebuild their relationship. Honestly, it was easier for Zoey to paint her mother as the villain of her story, so that she could try to move on instead of being trapped in the worst years of her life.

"Can we─" Carmen began, only to pause hesitantly and rub her sweating palms against the soft fabric of her joggers, "Uhm─ can we talk? Privately?"

Natalie analysed her sister-in-law's face to see how Zoey felt about the idea; her eyebrows were drawn together in thought, and her posture became more rigid than it was moments ago. Though her eyes glinted with something the Shaw woman couldn't quite decipher ─ curiosity, hope, longing, she couldn't tell.

"Yeah, sure." Zoey responded, giving her sister-in-law a reassuring look before climbing from her stool and making her way over to Carmen.

Before the two could exit the room, though, the King woman turned towards Katya.

"Can you finish patching Nat up for me?" She asked softly, prompting a firm nod and a small smile from the Russian assassin. With that confirmation, the mother and daughter left the room, both equally as anxious as each other.

Katya moved to stand behind Natalie, and pulled the First Aid kit across the interactive table's surface so that it was next to her and accessible.

"I hope you know that I have no idea how to do stitches." Katya declared, grabbing some gauze and antiseptic wipes from the kit. Natalie chuckled, before clutching her ribs and wincing under her breath ─ that's going to get annoying real fast, she thought.

"That's fine, just clean the wound and my mom will stitch it up when she gets here." Natalie waved off Katya's lack of medical training as she knew that Andy was a jack of all trades, and had stitched up many of the Shaw woman's wounds before.

AJ and Oliver stood a few feet away from the pair, unsure of what to do with themselves. They didn't want to intrude, but they also didn't have their mother to fall back on for comfort.

"Hey," Natalie said gently, gaining the two's attention, "there should be some snacks in the kitchen over there if you wanna have a look."

The boys shared eye contact for a moment, which conveyed a silent conversation between the brothers, before AJ nodded and the corner of his lips turned up into a subtle smile of gratitude.

Both made their way to the kitchen and began looking through the cupboards for something that they fancied, leaving the two women at the table.

Natalie sighed, before navigating the large piece of technology beside her.

The screen was cluttered with multiple files, photos, news articles, and notes regarding their plan, as well as the Toretto crew. Natalie immediately disregarded the notes, as they were in reference to the earlier parts of the plan, rendering them completely irrelevant. She then turned her attention to the remaining information, and began sifting through it.

Many of the electronic pop-ups were news articles regarding the sudden deaths of various public figures, as well as classified communications between various legal and illegal groups, such as MI5 and Nobody's network, regarding those deaths. It also included notifications of death for 'victims' that were more well-known in the underground criminal scene, like infamous weapons dealers and ruthless gangsters.

Natalie had found that, after recovering from her injury, throwing herself into her work provided the most effective distraction, and allowed her to release some of her seething anger in a somewhat healthy way (well, more of a productive way, really).

Not only was she ridding the world of absolute scumbags, like predators and human traffickers, but she got to work with her husband (the two were quite the dynamic duo), and the pay was more than decent, meaning that Natalie had the chance to expand one of her favourite safe spaces ─ the garage.

Yes, the garage in the Shaw's London home was already bigger than average, but after the extension, it was heavenly. It provided space for even more equipment and cars, despite the Shaw woman already having over ten dozen cars to her name. All of them were scattered around the world, but under her name nonetheless.

Closing the news articles, Natalie did her best to ignore the vicious sting of the sterile wipes that Katya was using to clean the wound on the back of her head. The Russian woman sensed her discomfort and muttered sincere apologies under her breath, but continued to gently dab the area with the wipe.

Thankfully, Natalie's hair was still tucked tightly into the neat dutch braids that she had done on the plane, making it easy to access the wound and keep her hair out of the way.

The Shaw woman continued to organise the information on the high-tech table, only to freeze. Katya immediately retracted her hand from the back of Natalie's head, fearing that she had hurt the woman in front of her.

"Are you alright? Do you need me to─" The Russian assassin trailed off when she followed Natalie's line of sight; there was a photo of all five Torettos in front of their house, enlarged on the screen. It had clearly been pulled from one of their files, and had clearly been taken before everything fell apart.

Jack Toretto was crouched at the front of the group, grinning brightly and gently holding onto the arms draped around his neck. Behind him was an eleven-year-old Mia, whose arms her father was clutching. She rested her head on top of Jack's, her smile even wider than her fathers, so much so that her rosy cheeks forced her eyes to squint.

The three remaining siblings were crowded behind the pair ─ a fifteen-year-old Natalie was in between her brothers with an arm wrapped around each of them. Jakob, who was fourteen-years-old at the time, had both arms wrapped around his sister's waist and was essentially hugging her. The girl's arm was wrapped around his shoulders. Jakob rested his head on her shoulder whilst a smile tugged at his lips.

A sixteen-year-old Dominic had an arm draped over Natalie's shoulders, allowing the teenager to bring his sister closer to him. The two had a bit of a height difference, with Dominic being the taller of the pair, meaning he couldn't simply tilt his head and rest it against Natalie's ─ instead, he placed his chin on top of her curly brown hair and grinned as widely as he could manage.

Finally, Natalie had clearly been laughing when the photo was taken; her joy in the frozen moment was palpable in the present day. There was a sparkling glint in her eye that held so much kindness and happiness, and whilst it hadn't completely vanished just under twenty years later, it had definitely dimmed.

Life had been... harsh, to say the least, and it was about to get a whole lot harsher.

A familiar fiery pain flooded her abdomen, forcing a gasp from her lips and unwanted memories into her mind.

Perfect fucking timing, she thought bitterly, just as I get a small moment of peace.

Natalie pressed a shaking palm to the scar that marked where Luke Hobbs had shot her, whilst her other hand gripped the edge of the table so tightly that her tanned knuckles faded to white.

Her eyes were squeezed shut and uneven breaths were forced from her soft lips — the woman's chest jerked as she fought against the unrelenting and hellish waves of pain that followed the exact path of Hobbs' bullet.

Oh, how Natalie Shaw wished that her life wasn't ruled by her weakest moments and debilitating pain.

"Nat?" Katya asked gently, still standing behind the woman as she placed a gentle hand on Natalie's shoulder. The Petrova woman wasn't sure what had happened ─ one moment her friend was simply reminiscing over an old photo, and the next, she was completely overwhelmed with pain.

Natalie's sudden physical tension was palpable, even before Katya had touched her shoulder.

The Shaw woman hummed in response to her name, except it sounded more like a muffled groan. Not only was her scar blazing with renewed intensity, but her attempts at deep breaths sent sharp pain cascading across her blackened ribs.

"I-I'm fine—" Natalie managed to force out in a somewhat steady voice. Her breaths became stronger and more consistent as she fought against the pain, and against the memories that threatened to consume her.

Gunshot. Blood. Pain. Screams.

More steady breaths.

Hobbs. Letty. Dominic. Owen...

Her heart lurched in her chest as her brother-in-law's guttural scream briefly echoed through her mind.

Because of the extreme blood loss Natalie experienced on the plane, and because of the trauma, her memory was hazy ─ her mind clung to certain bits and pieces, but not the entirety of that devastating night. It was almost like a book that someone had ripped random pages out of; not every page, but enough that the story vaguely made sense to the reader.

Some may see it as a mercy for the Shaw woman, but in reality, it was somehow worse: Natalie felt unnerved that she doesn't remember everything that happened, and that she'd been robbed of any last words Owen might've spoken to her before he was violently flung from the plane.

Pushing through the dark, distressing memories, and distracting her from her spiralling thoughts, was Xavier's soothing and reassuring voice.

"Let's breathe in for four, and out for six, okay?" He had said to her on the cargo plane, whilst trying to help his younger sister navigate her panic attack. Natalie wasn't experiencing one right now, but she knew that she needed to get her breathing under control.

Katya couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief when the Shaw woman's breathing became deeper and stronger, as well as her chest rising and falling consistently.

Natalie couldn't help the embarrassment that flooded her veins — the only people that had seen one of her 'episodes', so to speak, were herself and Deckard, and that was the way she wanted to keep it.

Clearly, the universe had other plans.

"What the fuck was that?" Katya's thick Russian accent was the first thing Natalie managed to focus on, other than the pain radiating throughout her body. Despite her harsh words, the Petrova woman's tone was gentle, yet also doused in worry and curiosity.

"Uhm—" Natalie started, swallowing thickly whilst her eyes remained shut. Just as she was about to continue, the Shaw woman felt two small, almost indiscernible taps on the back of her hand, which was resting on the table.

"Here." A small voice said nervously. Oliver stood in front of Natalie, whose eyes had fluttered open at the sound of his voice, and because of his gentle touch. One of the boy's hands was outstretched towards her and holding a glass of water, making the Shaw woman smile gently at him.

"Thank you, sweetheart." She said quietly, before taking the glass with shaky hands. Natalie kept her eyes locked onto the McAllister boy's face, and remorse flooded her veins — he looked terrified.

His wide, blue eyes glistened as he stared at the Shaw woman. She could tell that he was biting the inside of his cheek, and the corners of his lips were downturned in a slight frown.

"I'm sorry for scaring you." The Shaw woman couldn't keep the guilt and heartbreak out of her voice. The absolute last thing she wanted to do was scare that family more than they already had.

Oliver shook his head, his blonde curls brushing against his forehead as he did so.

"I'm not scared," he started, almost looking hesitant to say what was really on his mind, "I've just never seen someone in so much pain before."

Natalie stilled — whether or not the boy realised it, his words had struck a nerve deep within the woman in front of him.

To her, it wasn't just the pain from her scar that he was talking about; her whole goddamn life had been a war, with constant battles and far too many casualties.

The loss of her father. Her older brother being sent to prison, ultimately leaving herself and their siblings to fend for themselves. Being coerced into a relationship with Daniel Poulter, her ex-boyfriend. Her younger brother getting kicked out by their older brother. Finally finding the motivation to leave her toxic relationship, only to have her older brother turn against her during the time she needed him most.

Having to mourn the death of the soul that mattered to her more than anything in the entire world...

Natalie couldn't bear the thought of them, but she also knew she had to protect their memory from the one who had taken their life: keeping them as her little secret was the only way she knew how.

Only two people knew of their existence — one person had cherished them with all their heart, and continued to every day...whilst the other had killed them.

Everything was improving for a while, with her new siblings, mother, and husband, who all loved her more than she ever thought possible... but her luck changed with the alleged death of her best friend.

And, of course, her brother-in-law was thrown from a plane and put into a coma by her older brother. Not only that, but Natalie herself was shot by one of her brother's friends and almost bled to death.

So, yes, all Natalie Toretto, Natalie King, and Natalie Shaw had ever known was an abundance of physical pain, and even more emotional pain.

The woman didn't expect it all to be called out by a twelve-year-old boy, though. Especially one that she had met less than an hour prior.

"Why were you hurting?" He asked sincerely. Oliver didn't mean, or want, to pry, he was just...curious.

Natalie thought for a moment before placing the glass of water on the table, grasping the bottom of her shirt and carefully lifting it to reveal her scar. Thankfully, the gruesome bruises consuming her ribs didn't reach it, sparing her from having to reveal the splatters of dark colours again.

On the front left side of her abdomen was a long, straight 6-inch scar, which started just below her ribs and ended on her hip. It intersected a smaller, rounder mark, around halfway along the surgical scar.

"This," Natalie began, trying to keep her voice soft as she traced the smaller mark with her pointer finger, "is where I was shot, just over a year ago."

Oliver's eyes widened as he looked up to meet Natalie's own.

"You were shot?! Like, with an actual gun?" He exclaimed, almost shaking in excitement. When the Shaw woman nodded timidly, Oliver grinned at her. "That's so cool!"

Natalie couldn't help but chuckle in relief, despite the pain that flared across her ribs.

It was then that AJ made his way over to them from the kitchen, munching on a chocolate bar as he went. He nodded his head towards the scars and swallowed his mouthful of chocolate before speaking.

"What about the line?" He asked, standing behind his kid brother and casually leaning against the table. "What's that one from?"

"Well, when I was shot, the bullet did a lot of internal damage, and I had lost too much blood by the time my family got me to a hospital." Natalie thought back to what the doctor had told her and Deckard shortly after she had woken up in her hospital bed. "The doctors rushed me into emergency surgery so that they could stop the bleeding and repair the damage."

The Shaw woman traced the scar with the lightest touch she could manage ─ tingles cascaded over her skin, causing her to force back a shiver.

"I almost lost one of my kidneys, and they had to replace nearly my entire blood volume." Natalie said softly, before her mind was drawn back to Oliver's original question. "But the surgical scar isn't the one hurting me, it's the scar from the bullet itself."

What the woman hadn't realised was that Katya, who was still standing behind her and silently listening, was clenching her jaw and doing her best to contain her rage towards whoever had shot Natalie. Yes, they hadn't officially met until a few days ago, but during that time, the Shaw woman and her family had been nothing but kind and incredible, just as Owen had described them.

In the short time that they got to spend together, Owen had told her countless stories of his family, including the Kings. It made Katya yearn for a family of her own ─ siblings that wouldn't hesitate to protect each other with their lives, and even parents to comfort her when she was scared. The Petrova woman just wanted to be loved.

Hell, she had already grown attached to the Kings and Shaws... Katya only hoped that her contact with them wasn't cut off once the job was over.

"I don't know why it hurts the way it does," Natalie's voice brought Katya from her thoughts, "or why it happens so randomly. It might never go away, I really don't know."

The boys in front of the Shaw woman were silent for a moment, trying to absorb the influx of information they were just given. AJ was the first to speak with a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"That's pretty badass, y'know?"

Natalie couldn't fight the laughter that fell from her lips, or the genuine peace that overcame her in that moment. It didn't matter than her head was throbbing, or that her ribs were burning from the bruises, or that her abdomen ached from her scar's flare-up ─ all that mattered was the safety of those around her, and the joy of the two blonde McAllister boys, who had faced hell just an hour prior, and yet were already making the most of their less-than-ideal situation.

AFTER LEAVING AN INJURED Nobody by the side of the dirt road (so that the man could be airlifted to the nearest hospital), the three remaining street racers sped down the road, still in their previous seats.

"Letty, are you alright?" Dominic asked from the backseat, prompting Letty to turn around and face him from her position in the front passenger seat. "Did they hurt you? Because if they did─"

The Ortiz woman couldn't help but clench her jaw as she listened to her husband's words ─ none of the people in that warehouse would ever lay a hand on her, but he didn't know that.

Maybe it was time for him to.

"Dammit, Dom!" She hissed, interrupting him and completely taking both men in the car by surprise. "Have you ever considered, just once, that not everything is how you make it out to be? That, shockingly, not everything is centered around the 'infamous' Dominic Toretto and the hero you've made yourself out to be? You've hurt the people around you more times than anyone can count, and somehow, you never seem to realise!"

Her voice only grew in volume as she continued, "Do you have any idea how much you put your sister through?"

For a moment, Dominic's brows were furrowed as he thought, before he stupidly opened his mouth.

"Mia? She─"

He was cut off by a disgusted scoff from Letty, who couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You know damn well I'm not talking about Mia, Dominic." She seethed, pointing a finger at his face as fury completely overtook her. "You have no fucking idea what Natalie has gone through because of you!"

"What, and you do?" He snapped back, referring to his wife's amnesia, only for the car to fall silent.

Letty averted her burning gaze downwards whilst Dominic mulled over everything that her silence was telling him ─ in that moment of quiet, the absence of words became a canvas for all that remained unsaid between the pair. It illustrated everything that had pushed the couple apart.

"Y-you remember?" He whispered, tears welling in his eyes. His heart completely shattered in his chest, and nausea rumbled in his stomach. One tear slid down his cheek just as the Ortiz woman nodded in response, before Letty returned her eyes to his pain-contorted face.

"I remember everything." The Ortiz woman confirmed, desperately trying to ignore the ache that consumed her pounding heart. "I remember the day you went to prison for two years. I remember my mother kicking me out and Nat welcoming me into her house with open arms."

Letty couldn't help but pause and swallow the lump building in her throat. Thinking of how things used to be, how bad things were, brought tears to her eyes, but she refused to let them fall ─ there was no chance in hell that she would let her pain get in the way of her anger, not now.

"I remember watching Natalie tear herself to pieces trying to support everyone and everything," The Ortiz woman growled, her rage returning stronger than ever with her each sentence, "hell, I remember every extra shift Natalie worked to make sure her siblings got to open everything they wanted on Christmas morning."

"But, do you know what sticks out most to me, Dom?" Letty asked sarcastically. After a beat of silence, the woman nodded her head whilst glaring at the Toretto. "No? Let me tell you."

"I remember the day that she became the prey of Daniel Poulter." She hissed, her insurmountable fury consuming every fibre of her being. "The day that she brought home her psychotic boyfriend for the first time, and was completely under his spell."

With every new sentence, the malice in her furious voice grew, and so did the paralyzing pain that consumed a distraught Dominic.

"I remember," Letty seethed, "the night you turned your back on a nineteen-year-old girl, who had been groomed into becoming Dan's own fucking punching bag. How did you not see the signs?! The bruises? The busted lips and the black eyes? The damn cries for help? How, Dominic Toretto?"

She couldn't help but coldly and mockingly chuckle at the dumbfounded look on her husband's face. At first, she thought he was faking his naivety, but as the seconds built up and the look remained, her smile dropped.

"I-I thought she was getting into fights again, like she did before Dad died." He swallowed thickly, "I never thought it was Dan─"

"She was nineteen and he was twenty-fucking-five! Are you serious?!" Letty screamed, the vein in her neck bulging with her rage. "She was seventeen when they started dating. You thought that was a healthy relationship? A consensual relationship? Are you seriously that blind?!"

"I─"

"No, I'm speaking." She immediately cut him off, unable to tolerate him being in the dark about Natalie any longer. "Not only did you have the audacity to turn a blind eye, you kicked your sister to the curb even after seeing Dan's true colours. He attacked Mia and tried to fucking kill Natalie!"

The Toretto man's face grew paler with every second, and for a moment, Letty thought he was going to throw up. It didn't matter, he needed to know.

"Even after everything that she did for her family, and everything that she went through, you still cut her out of your life, out of everyone's lives, and you genuinely don't see anything wrong with that?!"

Dominic went to speak again, but Letty held up a hand and glared at him ferociously.

"I'm still not done." The Ortiz woman seethed, shaking her head. "And then, when she finally finds people who love her, are loyal to her, and, hell, would die for her, you have the fucking balls to be angry with her? What did you expect, hm? That she would mope for fourteen years, or longer, waiting for you to take her back?"

The car was silent for a moment, and then two, before Letty sighed and rubbed her stinging eyes.

"Not a single person in that warehouse would lay a hand on me ─ not Deckard Shaw, not the Kings, and certainly not Natalie." She said firmly, before the car pulled to a stop.

The Ortiz woman didn't hesitate to give Dominic one final look before climbing from her seat and slamming the car door shut behind her.

FINALLY ON A PRIVATE jet back to LA, the group who had fought in the warehouse were nursing their wounds and lounging around, savouring the small moments of peace before the inevitable chaos.

Hattie had taken one of the window seats towards the back of the plane. One of her arms was crossed over her stomach, whilst the other's hand toyed with the necklace around her neck ─ it was the same one that she had worn for over a decade. She absentmindedly toyed with the grenade pin that was looped onto the chain as the Shaw sister reminisced about life before everything went wrong.

She was always closest with Deckard out of her two brothers: Hattie missed making their silly little grifts and naming them after pop culture references, and working together to win fights against kids twice their size. The woman remembered the heartache that consumed her when she'd found out about her brother going rogue, and that he and Natalie were suddenly wanted by every major intelligence agency in the world ─ the former for the murder of his MI6 team, and the latter for aiding and harbouring a fugitive of the law.

In hindsight, Hattie couldn't believe she'd been stupid and naive enough to believe the lies that Eteon had plagued the media with. Deckard was her brother, for crying out loud ─ the person she looked up to and relied on, the man that had never failed to protect her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" A familiar British voice said softly, bringing Hattie hurtling out of her head. Finnick Briggs, for the first time in the short period that the Shaw sister had known him, looked genuine, and almost timid. He wasn't concealed by his humour and sarcasm ─ no, in front of Hattie was the true Finnick.

Truthfully, the Briggs man had taken a rather large liking towards the Shaw sister; the banter, the quips, the insults, the jokes ─ it all felt different with her, like there was something more to it. Honestly, it scared him shitless for two reasons: first, Hattie Shaw was an incredible woman, and under no circumstances did he want to mess things up, or worse, hurt her. Secondly, he was ninety-nine-percent sure that Deckard would snap his neck if he found out. It didn't matter that they had been friends for years, Finnick was certain his feelings towards the man's sister would earn him a death sentence.

Hattie smiled gently at the sight of the weapons specialist, though she continued to fiddle with the necklace anxiously.

"You're gonna need a hell of a lot more money than that if you want to know what I'm thinking." She joked with a small laugh. Finnick shook his head with a fond smile, before gesturing to the seat opposite her.

"May I?"

Hattie contemplated for a moment, before nodding her head and turning to face the window. The Briggs man sat down with a sigh, and leant back in his leather chair. The Kings really had spared no expense, he thought to himself.

The pair sat in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable ─ if anything, it was the most at-ease the pair had been in days. The silent reassurance that someone was there, that someone wanted to listen, was enough for Hattie. Or so she thought, until she felt the need to speak burn like acid on the tip of her tongue.

"Do you have any siblings?" She questioned quietly, averting her gaze back to the British man in front of her. Finnick shook his head, before meeting the striking blue eyes of the Shaw sister.

"Nope." He simply responded, popping the 'p' and leaning forward in his seat so that his elbows rested on his knees. "The closest I've got is Deckard."

Hattie's brows furrowed ─ she knew that Finnick and her brother had become friends prior to Deckard's 'betrayal' as the men had served in the Special Forces together as Black Ops, but she couldn't recall him being at the Shaw man's wedding.

"How come I didn't see you at Decks' wedding?" She asked curiously, still toying with the grenade pin on the chain. "By the sounds of it, you would've been a top contender for 'best man'."

Finnick chuckled, making Hattie smile softly. She didn't want to admit it, but the Shaw sister was getting fonder of him by the second.

God, what is happening to me? Hattie thought to herself in disbelief.

"An emergency came up the day before, so I couldn't make it." The Briggs man shrugged nonchalantly, though the woman opposite him could tell that it wasn't something he really wanted to talk about, so they let the subject go.

"So, what were you doing sitting back here by yourself, hm?" Finnick asked gently, tilting his head to the side in curiosity.

Hattie wasn't quite sure how to put her inner turmoil into comprehensible sentences ─ from dealing with Owen's comatose state, to going to war for vengeance, all the way to finding a path to rebuilding her relationship with her eldest brother. Deciding to try and explain the one weighing heaviest on her mind, the Shaw sister sighed and readjusted her position in her seat.

"Honestly? I'm scared about being alone with my brother for the first time in six years." Hattie admitted, tightening her hold on her necklace. "I─uhm, made the mistake of believing liars over my family, and it kind've─no, actually, seriously tore my life apart. I-it hurt the only people I care about in this world, and I'll never be able to take that pain away."

"You're wrong." Finnick said instantly, instinctively reaching forward to take Hattie's free hand in his own. The two felt sparks skitter across their skin and down their arms with incredible ferocity, making them both suck in a breath. "You can take that pain away, it just takes some time and some patience."

The Shaw sister acknowledged his words, though her mind was stuck on the warmth of his hands and how it encased her own, and the way even the slightest brush of his soft skin against hers sent jolts of electricity crackling throughout her body. Releasing her necklace, Hattie couldn't help but rest her free hand on top of Finnick's, relishing in the shivers that climbed the skin of her arms.

"But I wouldn't even know where to start─" She shook her head, looking down at their joined hands and sighing.

"Just talk to him exactly how you're talking to me now." Finnick reassured softly, his eyes waiting to meet their favourite shade of blue. A mischievous glint sparked in Hattie's eyes, which the Briggs man noticed as soon as they looked at each other.

"What? Including the hand-holding?" She smirked as Finnick's cheeks flushed a light pink. Though, his grip didn't falter, nor did he make any attempt to move away from the blonde in front of him.

"Maybe we keep that as our thing." He whispered, his eyes momentarily flicking to Hattie's lips, and all of a sudden, it was the Shaw sister's turn to blush and fluster.

"Maybe we do." She murmured, before carefully disentangling her hands from Finnick's and flashing him a cheeky smile as she climbed from her seat. Hattie went to leave, but quickly turned around and leant down so that her mouth was next to his ear.

"Thanks for the advice." She whispered, her breath grazing the shell of the Briggs man's ear and sending shivers cascading down the back of his neck. Finnick didn't get a chance to compose himself before Hattie turned on her heels and walked away, giving him one final wink as she went.

Unable to suppress her smile, the Shaw sister grinned as she joined the rest of the group and took the free seat next to her brother.

Truthfully, Deckard was relieved that Hattie even wanted to sit next to him ─ hell, there were plenty of free seats around, but she chose to sit beside him.

Baby steps, he told himself.

See, the older brother was under the impression that his baby sister wanted nothing to do with him, and essentially hated his guts, but in reality, Hattie wanted nothing more than to regain the relationship they once had and make up for her 'betrayal'.

But, because they are both insanely stubborn, the pair had no idea about each other's goals, which were one and the same ─ make the Shaw family whole again.

Hattie didn't want to make a big deal out of the conversation she wanted to have, so she chose for them both to remain where they were. Everyone was occupied with their own conversations anyway, meaning the siblings had some semblance of privacy if they spoke quietly enough.

The woman leaned towards her brother slightly, once again toying anxiously with the chain around her neck.

"I know about Eteon," She whispered, shocking her brother and forcing him to turn to face her, "and I know that they framed you."

Hattie swallowed thickly, whilst her mind raced for her next words.

"I'm sorry for ever believing that you'd do that, Decks. I should've known better ─ you're my brother." The woman breathed, feeling like a substantial burden had just lifted from her chest. "Nat─she told me that you left to p-protect us, and in return, I turned my back on you..."

Hattie shook her head, pulling her eyes away from her brother and averting her gaze to her lap in shame. Deckard's silence was overwhelming, to the point where the woman was sure that he was searching for a way to tell her that he didn't forgive her.

Though, after a moment, a calloused hand gently grasped her own, prompting Hattie to suppress a gasp.

Deckard's silence wasn't because he couldn't forgive her, like the Shaw sister thought, but because he didn't trust his voice to remain steady and clean of the emotions that plagued his entire body ─ relief, regret, devastation. It broke the man's heart that Hattie blamed herself for something that was never within her control; very few could resist the poisonous grasp of Eteon, and she wasn't one of them.

Maybe now she was, a small voice in his head echoed.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Hats." Deckard insisted firmly, tightening his hold on her hand. "I'm the one that's supposed to be apologising to you. If I had just explained what was going on, instead of making decisions that affected our whole family, all of this pain could've been avoided..."

"Well then, I suppose we both have our fair share of regrets." Hattie whispered, a small smile on her face as she tilted her head to the side.

"Yeah, I suppose we do." The man murmured, a similar smile tugging at his lips. He decided to release Hattie's hand, and instead wrap a brotherly arm around the woman's shoulders.

Hattie immediately leaned into his familiar body, a traitorous tear of relief and joy trickling down her cheek. The woman quickly wiped it away and sniffed, chuckling as she relished in the incredible feeling of having her older brother back.

Deckard, who had rested his head on top of his sister's, couldn't fight the grin that overtook his face and the sense of belonging that coursed through his body.

For the first time in six years, the Shaw family was truly healing from the fractures of the past.

"YOU CHEATING LITTLE SHIT!" AJ yelled, slamming his cards down onto the table and turning towards his brother. "You're supposed to say 'uno' when you only have one card left!"

Oliver scrunched up his face in mock confusion as he looked at the UNO cards scattered across the interactive surface.

"I said 'one'?!" He sassed back, knowing full-well it would piss his older brother off.

"You're supposed to say 'uno', it's a Mexican game!" AJ retorted, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

Natalie placed a hand over her mouth, trying to force back the laughter that was bubbling in her throat, but her efforts were futile as soon as she looked over at Katya ─ the Russian assassin was sat on a stool whilst smacking her head against the table repeatedly, clearly sick and tired of the bickering. Her cards were scattered around her, the woman having thrown them in a fit of rage when Oliver won for the fifth game in a row.

The Shaw woman couldn't help but cackle, pain-free, thanks to the ice pack pressed against her ribs and the painkillers in her system. It had been an hour since they had arrived at the garage, and the boys were going out of their minds trying to ease their boredom.

Surprisingly, Carmen and Zoey were still talking in a separate room. None of the excluded four wanted to interrupt them by checking in, so they just left the mother and daughter to their lengthy conversation.

The bickering and laughter was interrupted by the sound of the garage door opening reverberating throughout the large space, and two black SUVs driving in.

AJ and Oliver immediately ran to stand behind Natalie, with the younger of the two clutching onto her free arm tightly. Katya was alarmed for all of two seconds, before both her and the Shaw woman realised who it was.

The first car door to open was the driver's door of the first SUV ─ the familiar figure didn't waste a second before swinging their door open, stepping out of the vehicle, and slamming the car door shut behind them.

Natalie grinned the moment she locked eyes with her husband, unable to ignore the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach at the sight of him. She placed the ice pack (that was previously pressed to her ribs) onto the table, all whilst her smile grew even wider.

"It's okay, you two." The Shaw woman spoke gently as she turned to face the terrified-looking McAllister brothers. "They're my family."

Oliver slowly and hesitantly released his hold on Natalie's arm, allowing the woman to climb from her seat and begin walking towards her husband. Deckard didn't hesitate to rush towards his wife and meet her halfway.

The two crashed into each other, with Natalie instinctively wrapping her arms around the back of his neck, whilst Deckard's arms went around her waist. He buried his face in her neck, breathing in his wife's familiar perfume and allowing all of the tension in his body to ease.

Natalie pulled him as close as she could possibly manage. She couldn't get enough of the familiar warmth and signature aftershave that flooded her senses, and single-handedly relaxed every tense muscle in her exhausted body.

After a moment of taking in each other's presence, Deckard began to lift his wife into the air. The Shaw woman squealed when her feet lifted a few inches from the floor, and couldn't help but giggle as her husband spun her around. They might as well have been lovesick teenagers.

Lowering Natalie's feet back onto the floor, Deckard grinned boyishly as he looked down at his wife's gorgeous face.

"Hi, darling." He spoke softly, realising just how close Natalie's face was to his own.

The Shaw woman curled a hand so that it rested against the back of his neck, before beaming at her husband.

"Hi, Deck." She whispered, before closing the gap between their lips in a needy, passionate kiss. Deckard didn't hesitate to pull his wife's body flush against his own, and cup her cheek with a calloused yet gentle hand. Natalie ran a hand down the front of his chest before resting it against his abs.

A collection of disgusted groans sounded from across the room, making the couple pull apart, only to laugh at the sight that greeted them.

Xavier was covering Nick's eyes with his hand, whilst also covering his own. Bianca was laughing her ass off whilst she covered Alice's eyes, finding her family's overreactions very amusing. Jakob and Finnick were covering each other's eyes, fighting back gags as they waited for it to be over. Hattie simply hid her face in her hands, whilst Andy and Ana were seemingly unphased.

Natalie, whose cheeks had flushed red, buried her face in her husband's chest. Her laughter was muffled by Deckard's body, whilst the man simply chuckled aloud at the dramatics of their family.

"Alright, you lot, you can look now." Deckard announced and wrapped his arms around Natalie, holding her close.

Nick immediately swatted Xavier's hand away from his face, complaining about how cold his hands were. Just to prove a point, the older brother reached over to playfully smother his younger sibling with his supposedly cold palms, making Nick blabber out a string of curses as he tried to shove Xavier away from him.

AJ and Oliver watched in awe, before the younger boy leaned towards his brother with a mesmerised look in his eyes.

"I think I just hallucinated us in ten years." Oliver whispered whilst they continued to watch Nick and Xavier's bickering.

"No, I see it too." AJ murmured back, his eyes still glued to the King brothers.

Both boys jumped at the sound of a familiar Russian accent behind them. Katya jokingly slapped their shoulders, before placing her head in between their own.

"What are you two whispering about?" She said quietly, looking back and forth between Oliver and AJ's faces. The boys didn't have time to respond before Katya chuckled, and shook her head.

"I'm kidding, you don't have to tell me." The woman reassured, before gently pushing the boys towards the big group and walking with them. "But, you do have to meet the rest of the family."

AJ couldn't help but furrow his brows in confusion and turn towards Katya.

"Why?" He asked genuinely, earning an elbow in the side from his younger brother.

"I hate to break it to you, but you're Zoey's family, which makes you their family now too." The Petrova woman said softly, nodding towards the Kings. She could see that the boys were hesitant, making her sigh.

"You boys don't know how lucky you are to have them — they're truly some of the best people I've ever met," Katya smiled gently, "and if you give them a chance, they can show you just how incredible they really are."

The older McAllister pursed his lips whilst his mind went over the Petrova woman's words — he had already seen how thoughtful and genuine Natalie had been with him and his brother, and judging by the way the family interacted, the rest of the Kings would be very similar. Hell, Oliver had already grown attached to the Shaw woman, and AJ could tell he was beginning to as well.

Making up his mind, AJ turned towards Katya and nodded, allowing the woman to continue guiding them towards the group.

Natalie, who was tucked comfortably under her husband's arm, noticed the three walking towards their family, making her grin.

Oliver felt her gentle stare, so he averted his focus towards her. The boy couldn't ignore the craving he felt for Natalie's comfort — it was inexplicable how one person, who he had only met earlier that day, could make him feel as though he had known her his entire life. If the boy was being honest, the Shaw woman reminded Oliver of his mother; her gentle nature and warmth was exactly like Carmen's.

Breaking free of the light hold Katya had on his shoulder, the boy made a beeline for the Shaw couple. It only took a moment for him to reach them, and for Natalie to welcome him into her free arm.

"You okay, Ollie?"  She asked softly. Earlier, after the second round of cards, Oliver had insisted that Natalie (and Katya) called him by his nickname — apparently, he wasn't too fond of his first name, and entirely preferred 'Ollie'.

The twelve-year-old simply nodded, before using one hand to tightly clutch the fabric of the back of Natalie's shirt. He didn't know if it was okay to hug her waist, so he chose to grip the t-shirt instead.

"If it's okay with you, I'd like you to meet my husband." The Shaw woman gently said. "Ollie, this is Deckard."

Natalie then met the gaze of her husband, a bright smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Deck, this is Oliver." She absentmindedly drew shapes along Deckard's hip, where her hand rested, causing him to shiver.

"It's really nice to meet you, Oliver." The man's thick British accent surprised the twelve-year-old — he expected Natalie's family to be American, the same as her.

"Call me Ollie." Oliver said timidly. "It's—uh, it's nice to meet you too."

The boy curled further into Natalie's side, prompting the woman to rub reassuring circles on his back.

"You remember New Year's Eve from two years ago?" The Shaw woman asked her husband. Deckard furrowed his brows at the random question, but nodded nonetheless. "And how you kicked everyone's asses at that card game?"

The man's expression morphed from confused to proud within the blink of an eye — his eyes glinted with mischief whilst his lips curled into a smirk.

"Well," Natalie began, her cheeky smile growing as she spoke, "I think I've found you a worthy opponent."

Her gaze flitted to the boy underneath her arm, causing Oliver to grin. Playing against AJ and Katya was too easy, and hearing that Deckard was apparently the 'reigning champion' of their family, well, that was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. So, the boy began to come out of his shell.

Oliver stepped out from Natalie's hold and gave the Shaw man an excited smile.

"Oh, you're so on!" He exclaimed, before gently grasping Deckard's arm and pulling him towards the table (where the cards were still completely scattered). The man couldn't resist the sweet twelve-year-old, and honestly, he didn't want to ─ Deckard wanted to get to know the McAllisters because, by extension, they were a part of his family now.

Natalie jokingly blew him a kiss as he went, which her husband pretended to catch with a shocked, lovestruck look on his face. The woman couldn't resist giggling at the absolute romantic that was Deckard Shaw.

Turning to face the rest of her family, the Shaw woman watched as her siblings introduced themselves to AJ one by one, with Alice even giving him a short hug. AJ kept glancing back at Katya, who was standing nearby ─ it was clear the two had formed an attachment similar to the one Oliver had formed with the Shaw woman. Natalie's heart warmed, though it was quickly overwhelmed by the sudden nausea that rumbled in her stomach.

She stilled for a moment, almost as if she was trying not to aggravate her already-unsettled insides, but it was no use ─ the bile climbed her throat with frightening speed.

Clutching her stomach and pressing a shaking hand over her mouth, the Shaw woman dashed towards the bathroom, which was through the garage section of the warehouse.

Natalie managed to shove the door open and crash to her knees just in time to lower her head into the toilet bowl. The bathroom door slammed shut behind her just before her retches consumed the space, whilst the woman's entire body convulsed from her unexpected sickness. Natalie's ribs began to ache from the sudden, involuntary movements, making her eyes sting and flood with tears.

A stray teardrop trailed down her cheek and into the bowl, along with her vomit. As soon as Natalie felt her need to throw up subside, she weakly flushed away her vomit, shoved herself away from the toilet, and leant against the wall beside her.

Her head lulled to the side whilst her brown eyes fluttered closed, and exhaustion ripped through the woman's body.

"Fucking head injury." Natalie muttered bitterly to herself. As though she needed yet another reminder, the wound on the back of her head (which had been covered by some adhesive gauze), throbbed with white-hot, searing pain.

A second tear slipped from her eye, before it was followed by another, and another. It wasn't long before the woman was covering her mouth with shaky hands in a desperate attempt to muffle her violent cries.

Her throat was torn to pieces by the sobs that ripped through and forced their way from between her quivering lips.

As much as Natalie craved the downfall of Dominic Toretto, there was one thing that she wanted more — her older brother back.

She missed the boy who would pretend to check underneath her bed for monsters every night, before helping their dad tuck her into bed; the boy who never hesitated to back her in a fight, even when it got him suspended from school; the boy who always started flour fights with Nat whenever she was baking cookies.

The Shaw woman longed for the teenager who actually believed in 'family above all', unlike the man who used it to his own, selfish advantage. She mourned the absence of his warm embrace, his jokes that were so crap that she couldn't help but laugh, and his unrelenting overprotectiveness.

At the time, she thought it was suffocating ─ all of the boys that Dominic scared away, and the amount of races he made her skip, it all felt like he was only trying to ruin her life.

But now?

Natalie wished more than anything to even see a slither of that behaviour from him, and for it to be towards her. Even if it meant having her brother threaten Deckard with a classic older sibling speech, saying how if the Shaw man hurt Natalie, Dominic would hurt him in return. Anything.

Natalie's head pounded from the sobs that shook every inch of her body, and her nose was becoming stuffy. Each heaving breath from between her cracked lips was punctuated by soft gasps, which reverberated off the pristine tile walls.

Harsh cries involuntarily left her mouth, but the woman couldn't bring herself to care. Her chest jerked with sporadic movements, sparking agony across her blackened ribs.

God, everything hurt ─ physically, mentally, and emotionally.

A gentle knock at the bathroom door sent Natalie frantically shuffling away from it, all whilst trying to wipe her tear-stricken face with a shaking hand and hide any evidence of her heartbreak. It took a moment for her fuzzy mind to hone in on the familiar voice calling out to her from the other side of the wooden door.

"Tal? Are you in there?" Came the soft voice of her younger brother, Jakob.

Natalie's brain was screaming at her to speak, to tell him that she was fine and that he could leave, but the Shaw woman didn't trust her voice to come out as anything more than a mere whisper. She simply focused on trying to muffle her dying cries and hoped that her silence would be enough to drive Jakob away from the door.

Little did she know, Jakob could hear her uneven breaths and shaky gasps through the wooden door, which made the man's heart race with uncertainty. He glanced back towards the main group, torn between grabbing his brother-in-law or assessing the situation himself. Sighing, the Toretto man knew his sister would want the least amount of people to know as possible, leaving him with the second option.

"Natalie, I'm coming in, okay?" He said quietly, before carefully opening the door just enough to allow himself to slip inside of the room and closing it behind him.

Jakob's heart shattered at the sight that greeted him ─ Natalie had pressed her back against the wall and brought her knees up to her chest. The woman's eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, whilst her blotchy cheeks had streaks of mascara painted down them. A shaking hand was planted firmly against her mouth, muffling any noise that her pain threatened to exert from between her lips. Her shoulders jerked violently with her uneven breaths.

He didn't hesitate to lower himself to the ground and sit next to his sister. Jakob carefully wrapped an arm around her shoulders, prompting the woman to immediately collapse into his chest.

The younger Toretto had never seen his older sister so upset ─ when they were younger, Natalie always did her best to conceal her pain. She knew that both Jakob and Mia needed her to be strong, with their father dead and Dominic gone, so she was always kind and composed, no matter what. The truth was, though, that every now and again, Natalie needed to break; she needed to feel everything life had mercilessly thrown her way in order to continue succeeding at the roles she had been given: sister, best friend, provider, partner, and even parent to the youngest Torettos.

Pressing her face into Jakob's chest, Natalie tightly clutched his shirt as she heaved violent sobs into the fabric and a fresh wave of tears streamed down her face.

Fighting back his own tears, which pooled in his eyes, the younger Toretto brought his sister closer and wrapped his other arm around her shaking body. He began gently rubbing soothing circles over her back in hopes of consoling her.

"I-I miss him, Jake." Natalie sobbed, the taste of her own salty tears flooding her mouth as she spoke.

Jakob furrowed his brows, frantically racking his brain for the person that his sister was referring to, but coming up empty.

"Who?" He asked softly, his chest vibrating underneath the Shaw woman's head from the use of his deep voice.

For a moment, Natalie considered saying the name that was on the tip of her tongue ─ a name she had been wanting to utter for over a decade. An invisible force grasped her heart and squeezed it inside of her chest, stealing her breath and shattering most of her strength... but not all of it.

"Dom." She croaked, the name of the person she truly missed the most being casted to the back of her mind. "I miss him everyday and i-it hurts so bad─"

Natalie almost bit her lip hard enough to draw blood in a vain attempt to stop the relentless cries that climbed her raw throat. She turned her face to bury it further into her brother's chest, missing how Jakob's face broke at her words.

"It's killing me, Jake..." Natalie spoke into his shirt, and despite it muffling her voice, her brother could hear her words perfectly. "H-he's killing me."

Jakob couldn't fight the urge to tighten his hold on his sister's shaking body whilst he tried to breathe through, not only his heartbreak, but also his undeniable growing rage ─ if he hadn't wanted to hurt Dominic Toretto before, he certainly did now.

Though, behind his rage, was his own longing for the older brother that he had always looked up to as a kid. The brother that snuck him out and took him to his first street race. The brother that held him during any violent storms, and wouldn't hesitate to hurt anyone who even muttered so much as a curse word towards Jakob.

Oh, how things had changed ─ Jack Toretto was dead, and the remaining Torettos were divided onto opposite sides of a gruesome war.

"I─uhm," Jakob cleared his throat, pushing away the lump that had lodged itself in his throat and the tears that stung his eyes. "I miss him too, Tal... so much."

The two Toretto siblings remained on the bathroom floor, entrapped in each other's unrelenting embraces, waiting for Dominic Toretto to release them from his suffocating grasp and deliver them some desperately-needed reprieve.

HEAVY FOOTSTEPS SCRAPED AGAINST the cracked sidewalk, filling the silence that consumed the quiet neighbourhood streets. The large figure was shrouded in the darkness that consumed the night sky, obscuring their face from any distant onlookers.

Anyone observing from a distance may have cowered from the wrongly-perceived threat, and even considered the figure deadly, but those who passed them on the streets would feel their gaze soften with concern.

Dominic Toretto dragged his feet, any energy he had possessed at the start of the day having completely drained from his exhausted body. His tan cheeks were splattered with red, whilst dried tears stiffened the skin, making it feel as though he'd never show a glimpse of a smile again.

His red-rimmed eyes were empty, completely failing to reflect the utter turmoil consuming the man's mind. 

Letty's venomous words ran rampant through his mind, slamming into his skull with the same intensity that they were spoken.

How did he not know?

Dominic's head pounded in sync with the blood rushing in his veins as he stumbled to a stop.

The smell of smoke lingered in the air, polluting the man's lungs, as well as his mind. Memories of the Toretto house explosion came flooding back, though the Toretto managed to force them away once he caught sight of an unfamiliar item amongst the rubble.

Frowning, Dominic crouched down to pluck it from between what remained of the Toretto home — it was a wooden trinket box, bigger than both of his hands. Golden flowers were painted on the lid, and smaller vines on the sides, all of which were dusted in ash.

Gently brushing the debris off with his calloused fingers, the Toretto man rose to a stand and stared at the box for a moment; he had never seen it before, and he had lived in the same house for almost the entirety of his life.

Dominic carefully lifted the lid and retrieved the only item in the box — a leather journal.

The man tucked the box under his arm, freeing both hands and allowing him to flick through the thick pages.

A familiar elegant, cursive scrawl covered the aging paper, and it didn't take more than a second for Dominic to figure out who it belonged to — Natalie.

Not only were there endless entries within the journal, there was sometimes a photo wedged between the pages and held by the spine of the book.

The first image he stumbled upon was a polaroid; an eighteen-year old Natalie stood with her back to the camera, whilst looking over her shoulder and into the lense. She wore a gorgeous black dress (one that Dominic had never seen her wear before), with her lips forced into a smile.

Daniel Poulter stood next to her, dressed in an expensive-looking black suit, which matched his then-girlfriend's attire. The twenty-four-year-old's face was stoic, and the man didn't even bother to look into the camera — as though the whole charade was beneath him.

Dominic subconsciously clenched his jaw at the sight of him, Letty's words still stuck in his mind: I remember the night you turned your back on a nineteen-year-old girl, who had been groomed into becoming Dan's own fucking punching bag.

In that moment, the man couldn't tell if his eyes were playing some cruel tricks on him, or if the polaroid ink was distorted, but Dominic could have sworn that the skin surrounding his sister's eye was darker than her usual tan.

Averting his gaze to the journal, the Toretto caught sight of the page that the picture was originally tucked in front of and couldn't help but begin to read it.

22nd Jan, 1999
Dear Dad,

Mia got an A on her Chemistry test! I wish you were here to see how excited she was — she practically sprinted through the front door and shoved the test in my face, screaming about how happy she was about the grade.

All of the late nights learning the material so that I could help her, and all of the hours we spent studying were worth it as soon as I saw that giant grin on her face.

I'm so proud of her. I really hope that she turns out better than the rest of us. I'm trying to make sure she ends up in a good college and stays away from the races, but you know how she is... she's a Toretto, she never wants to give any of it up, no matter how hard I try.

Speaking of races, Jake's made quite the name for himself out there. The races only started back up recently, and he's already managed to crown himself the 'king of the streets'. Honestly, I'm worried about him, Dad. He's not been coping well with you and Dom gone, and me barely at home, and he's been acting out ever since I brought Dan home for the first time.

I just hope he hasn't figured it out...I don't want him knowing, because it's not a big deal! And it's not a battle for him to fight. It isn't even a battle!

They're accidents, and Dan doesn't mean it! Like today, we were cooking breakfast just the two of us — Dan burnt himself, swung back his hand out of instinct, and accidentally hit me. He said he didn't mean to, and he meant it. He even bought me a dress to make sure I knew how sorry he was.

Thankfully, I managed to cover up my new black eye with makeup before he took me out to dinner as another apology. Dan was so sweet the whole night — he paid for everything, sweet-talked me, and held my hand across the table almost the entire time. He wouldn't stop telling me how much he loved me, and it honestly made me love him even more.

I think you'd really like him, Dad. Yes, he's older and seems kinda emotionless most of the time, but once you get to know him, he's incredible — a true gentleman.

I just wish you were here.

Always,
Your Talia.

Dominic's stomach turned violently with every word — she was eighteen when she wrote this. She may have legally been an adult, but she was still a child, and he was twenty-fucking-four.

His heart shattered in his chest at the fact that Natalie addressed her entries to their father, and how she signed off with the nickname that only Jack Toretto used for her.

He wished more than anything that he had never attacked Kenny Linder and been sent to Lompoc. If he had been at home, with his family, there was a chance that none of this would've happened: Dominic never would've pushed Jakob and Natalie away, Natalie would've never become involved with Daniel Poulter, and they would have never been divided within their war.

Flicking through the leather book, Dominic felt the edges of the pages brush against his calloused thumb until the last entry in the journal stared up at him, almost dauntingly. Though, the familiar cursive handwriting was concealed by what appeared to be a small, blank piece of paper.

The Toretto furrowed his brows as he carefully picked it up. It was completely plain ─ just a white, matte slip of thin paper. What confused him more, though, was the glossy texture of the other side that stuck to his fingers.

Carefully flipping it over, Dominic only felt more confused when he was met with a black and white photo ─ he had no idea what it was, and he had never seen anything like it. To him, it didn't depict anything, it just looked like random patches of monochromatic colours.

Natalie's full name, Natalie Q. Toretto, was printed in the left-hand corner, whilst a date was also printed in the right hand corner: 24/02/2000. Dominic felt something malicious bubbling in his gut as he stared at the numbers, which happened to be four days before the night that defined everyone's lives, the night that he wrongfully abandoned his baby sister.

His mind rapidly milled over the picture, trying to piece together what it was, and what the hell he was missing. The Toretto's tense face suddenly went lax, as he stared at the paper in his hands.

Oh.

Oh.

Suddenly, everything made sense: why Natalie behaved the way she had, and why she had been so desperate to leave Dan, even if it meant being put in severe danger. The woman wasn't just fighting for herself, she was fighting for her family.

He traced the laminated piece of paper in devastation, before using one hand to clutch it to his chest, and the other to cradle his lowered head.

The Toretto sobbed, heaving for breath as he mourned the devastation his actions had led to, and processed just how much pain he had caused Natalie Shaw.

NATALIE EMERGED FROM THE bathroom, her face completely wiped clean of any running mascara or dried tears. Though, the Shaw woman's brown eyes were still red-rimmed and her hands couldn't stop shaking.

Sighing deeply, she rubbed her palms against the soft fabric of her sports leggings in an attempt to soothe her nerves.

A gentle hand then rested on her shoulder, prompting the woman to turn around and face the reassuring smile of her younger brother.

"You've got this." He whispered, nodding his head with a level of certainty Natalie wished she possessed in that moment.

Wrapping her arms around his midsection, the Shaw woman hugged him close, and once again, laid her head on his chest. Jakob didn't hesitate to embrace her, with his arms going around her shoulders and pulling Natalie further into his chest.

The Shaw woman breathed in the familiar, comforting aftershave one final time before pulling away. Just as she did so, a familiar British voice rang out from behind them.

"What are you both doing over here?" Hattie asked, a small smile on her face as she approached the siblings. "Oliver is kicking my brother's arse at cards. It's truly a sight to see, and you're missing it!"

Before the Shaw sister had even spoken to the pair, she had a vague idea of what had happened — Natalie's red eyes and shaky hands told her everything she needed to know. So, she made it her mission to cheer the woman up. When her sister-in-law chuckled at her words, Hattie cracked a wide smile and wrapped a comforting arm around the woman's shoulders.

Mission accomplished, Hattie thought happily.

She led Natalie towards the table, where the rest of the group were gathered. Jakob trailed behind them, smiling softly at the two women in front of him.

It made his heart swell with warmth and gratitude that his sister had a village to care for her, even when the Torettos couldn't be there. As much as he hated to admit it, Jakob wasn't nearly as present in Natalie's life as he wanted to be, and it was no one's fault but his own. Though, he was planning to change that.

Natalie's eyes darted around the table, taking in the familiar faces of those she loved most ─ Deckard and Oliver were head-to-head in yet another game of cards, whilst her siblings watched intently with excitement dancing across their faces. Ana was leaning against the side of the table, a mug of hot tea clutched gently in her hands as she also observed the pair.

Zoey and Carmen had finally returned from their private discussion, and were also sitting around the large table. Natalie couldn't help but notice that the mother and daughter were sitting next to each other, with Zoey looking comfortable with Carmen's presence, and the older of the pair looking elated.

The Shaw woman forced the negative thoughts and jealousy from her mind before they could even come into focus — she was happy for her sister-in-law, truly, but her recently healed bond with an estranged relative was unintentionally like rubbing salt in Natalie's very open wound.

Bringing her focus back to the group in front of her, the Shaw woman watched as AJ and Katya egged Oliver on, bright smiles painted on their joyful faces. Bianca was helping Andy, who was pottering around in the kitchenette, by adding the right amount of milk and sugar to each mug of steaming British tea.

As though the older King woman felt Natalie's stare, Andy turned around and locked eyes with her daughter. At first, she smiled softly, her eyes glinting with motherly love as she stood by the kitchen counter. Though, after a moment, Andy remembered the injury that Katya had told her about, prompting the woman to stride over to her daughter with determination.

Natalie didn't have time to even think before her mother was in front of her, gently setting her hands on the Shaw woman's shoulders.

Hattie quietly stepped away, allowing the two to have their moment.

"Hi, darling." Andy said softly, cradling the side of her daughter's face. Natalie leant into her warm, comforting touch for just a second, before she was pulled into yet another hug.

For one moment, just one, tiny moment, the Shaw woman imagined it was her father's embrace — that it was Jack Toretto's strong arms that cradled her on stormy nights and cuddled her during their weekly movie marathons. She imagined it was his breaths grazing the skin of her neck, and his deep voice whispering familiar reassurances by the shell of her ear.

Ironically, Andromeda King and Jack Toretto had the same nickname for Natalie, just in different languages — darling, or mija, as the Shaw woman's father used to call her.

It both broke and healed her simultaneously, if that was even possible.

"Come on, let's get you stitched up." Andy whispered, her gentle breath grazing the shell of Natalie's ear, causing the woman to shiver and pull away from the warm embrace.

Andromeda led her daughter to one of the empty seats at the table, which was next to Deckard.

As soon as Natalie sat down, her husband gently grasped her hand with his own and placed a sweet, lingering kiss to the back of it.

The Shaw woman felt a soft smile gracing her lips, before she took hold of the hand clutching her own and rested it against her thigh. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach at the sight of the small smirk that had formed on Deckard's face as he gently squeezed her thigh.

Beside her, Andy set the First Aid kit down on the table and began to sift through it. The woman grabbed a pair of blue surgical gloves and slipped them on, before grabbing some cotton swabs and a tube of lidocaine cream.

Holding them in one hand, Andromeda used her free hand to carefully peel the adhesive gauze from the back of her daughter's head, and placed it on the table. The woman forced herself to hold back a wince as she looked at the wound — it had definitely been cleaned up, courtesy of Katya, but it was still deep and gruesome.

"This is going to sting, okay, darling?" Andy warned as she squeezed some of the lidocaine cream onto a cotton swab. "But, it's going to numb your head, so you won't feel the stitches."

Natalie nodded, silently telling her mother that it was okay. The Shaw woman readjusted her grip so that her hand was resting on top of her husband's and grasping it lightly.  Though, as soon as the lidocaine cream came into contact with the skin surrounding her wound, her grip immediately tightened to the point where Deckard had to muffle a wince of pain.

"Just a few more seconds." Andy reassured sympathetically, whilst working as quickly as she possibly could. Natalie continued to squeeze the life out of her husband's hand with her eyes screwed shut, pushing through the pain that consumed the back of her head.

The ferocious sting was almost blinding, but not entirely unbearable — after all, she had experienced far worse.

"There, all done." The King woman said, rubbing Natalie's shoulder comfortingly whilst placing down the cotton swab and tube of cream. The Shaw woman released her hold on Deckard's near-broken hand, both coincidentally sighing in relief.

"Now, we just have to wait a bit for the numbing to kick in, alright?" Andy explained softly whilst taking off her gloves. She smiled reassuringly at her daughter and placed a gentle kiss to the crown of her head, before moving to close the First Aid kit and place it back in the kitchenette.

Natalie turned her attention to the rest of the group, unable to resist the laugh bubbling in her throat as she watched Katya, AJ, Nick, and Alice try to help Oliver win against Deckard.

Clearly, the two King siblings were enacting their revenge against their brother-in-law after what happened on New Year's Eve. AJ was... well, he was Oliver's brother, and leaped at any chance to wind him up. As for Katya, she simply just wanted to stir up some harmless, lighthearted trouble.

"No, go for that one!" Nick insisted, pointing to one of the three cards in Oliver's hands.

"Don't be stupid, Nick," Alice sassed back, whilst pointing at a different card, "clearly, it should be this one."

Katya, who was standing in between the two, huffed and flicked the back of their heads. Both yelped and clutched the back of their heads, before turning to face the Russian assassin.

"What the hell was that for?!" Nick hissed.

"Bloody hell, Kats." Alice groaned, rubbing the back of her head in an attempt to ease the pain. "Are your fingers made of titanium or something?!"

"Fools, the both of you." She remarked, and for a moment, Natalie thought that the woman would reprimand Nick and Alice for acting like children, but reality was far funnier. "It's obviously the card on the right."

The Shaw woman's cheeks ached from adorning her bright grin, whilst her shoulders shook violently from the fit of giggles that fell melodically from her lips.

Deckard couldn't help but avert his gaze to his wife instead of the comedic scene before him, and watch as the playful spark he adored flooded his favourite pair of deep brown eyes.

He yearned for the moments that brung Natalie joy and reprieve from the demons that haunted her. The man never imagined that his heart could ever hold so much pure love and desire for just one person ─ he had always thought that it wasn't in the cards for him. Before Natalie, there were various relationships, all of which never made it past the six-month mark, whether it was because they couldn't handle his career in the military or were just looking for a meaningless fling. So, he trained himself never to become attached; it was easier that way. None of his previous partners shared his longing for a deeper connection, for something real.

Well, until Hattie brought her 'new best friend' along to have a drink with the Shaws in their favourite local pub.

The first thing he noticed was her smile — her bright, soft smile that single-handedly drew him in. It held a warmth and kindness that was almost foreign to him, which only made him want to know more about the person who wore it.

The second thing, which pulled him in further, was her laugh; light, melodic, and the most heavenly sound to have graced his ears. Never had he wanted to make someone laugh so badly, just to watch her face light up with joy and her glossed lips stretch into the widest grin, all whilst contagious laughter tumbled from her mouth.

The final thing that sent him completely and utterly falling for Natalie was her eyes — soft, doe-like, and completely captivating. He had never appreciated the beauty of brown eyes until he had fallen deep into hers; the small flecks of gold that glimmered when caught by the light, the warmth that was almost inviting, and not to mention how they express Natalie's feelings without her having to say a word. A simple glance from her could convey her love, excitement, and especially her mischief.

Deckard's favourite moments were when her sweet, infectious laughter delicately crinkled her eyes in the corners, creating soft lines that only enhanced her beauty. It illustrated the depth of her pure happiness, and made the man's heart feel like it was pounding against his rib cage — not out of fear, like he was used to, but out of complete and utter adoration.

"You're staring." A sweet voice gently chastised in a sing-songy manner, bringing Deckard out of his thoughts.

He couldn't help but grin at the sight of the soft lines in the corners of his wife's eyes, and felt his heartbeat begin to speed up.

Twelve years later, and nothing had changed.

"Sorry, darling." Deckard said softly, the rasp of his words making his wife suppress a shiver. "I just love seeing you happy."

It was Natalie's turn to grasp the hand on her thigh, lift it to her lips, and press a kiss to the back of it. She allowed her lips to linger for just a moment, her heart swelling at Deckard's words.

Guiding his hand back to its rightful spot on her leg, the Shaw woman, once again, rested her hand over it. 

As she did so, she squeezed her husband's hand three times — I love you.

Deckard didn't hesitate to gently squeeze her thigh three times in return — I love you too.

"Always." Natalie grinned, a small lovesick laugh slipping from between her lips.

"Always and forever, my love." The man returned, his expression matching his wife's. Two halves of the same soul reunited, never again to know what it was like to be unloved by the one being that mattered most to them.

The Shaw man's eyes were drawn back to the cards when Oliver, amongst his 'teammates' bickering, slammed one of the cards down on the pile of previous cards.

Deckard smirked at the sight of the red four that stared up at him, and placed down his second-to-last card, which was a red six.

"Uno."

The uproar was immediate: Alice and Nick flew away from the table, throwing their arms up in the air before clutching their heads in a stressed manner.

"Shit! I told you guys we should've gone with—"

"You're fucking kidding me—"

"Language! Both of you!" Andromeda was quick to scold her two children, despite wearing a bright grin herself.

Katya leant her elbows on the table, covering her face with her hands, muttering 'it's over' to herself.

Shockingly, the only one of the small group who seemingly had their head screwed on properly was AJ — a group filled with full-grown adults, and the only one behaving properly was the nineteen-year-old boy. Or so it seemed.

AJ stood behind Oliver and placed his hands on his brother's shoulders. Leaning down so that his head was next to the twelve-year-old's, the teenager sighed.

"This is it." He said, patting Oliver's shoulders. "This is the moment you've been working towards... and you're not gonna fuck it up now, you hear me? You're not losing your winning streak."

Oliver stared at his brother and raised an eyebrow in a 'are you kidding me?' way, before averting his gaze back to his hand. He tentatively chose a green six, matching the number of the previous card, before placing it on the pile and meeting Deckard's eyes.

"Uno." He said firmly.

The Shaw man raised an eyebrow, before turning towards his wife and flashing her his final card.

Green two.

Natalie tried to hide her smile, but couldn't resist any longer once Deckard offered her a sly wink and placed his final card down.

A mix of disappointed groans sounded throughout the group, but not from the Shaw woman ─ Natalie leaned over and went to plant a congratulatory kiss on her husband's cheek, only for Deckard to purposefully turn his face so that his wife's lips landed on his own.

Natalie hummed in surprise, but instantly melted into the kiss. Her hands went to cup her husband's face, whilst the hand on her thigh crept higher and slid around her waist.

Just as Deckard went to pull his wife closer, a hand landed on each of their shoulders and pulled them apart.

"Oh-kay, that's enough of that." Hattie remarked, stretching out her first word in a bored manner. A playful look glinted in her eyes as she separated the pair even further by standing in between their stools.

Deckard glared up at his younger sister, prompting Hattie to give him an innocent look, as though she had no clue what she was doing.

Natalie caught her husband's eye and gave him a look that could only be described as mischievous — he recognised that cheeky glint in her eyes the moment it had caught the light.

He raised an eyebrow, silently asking what she was planning, but the woman simply responded with a smile and a wink.

"How about we have a rematch, hm?" She suggested to the rest of the group with a bright smile on her face. "We can all play if we divide into teams."

After a chorus of agreement from her family, Natalie climbed from her seat. Hattie frowned in confusion, thinking that she wasn't going to play. Though, still sat on his stool, Deckard smirked, having figured out what his wife's plan was

"Where are you—" The Shaw sister began, only to be cut off by her own groan of realisation as soon as Natalie wrapped an arm around Deckard's shoulders and lowered herself onto his lap.

The man gently held onto his wife's hips to make sure that she wouldn't fall, all whilst holding back laughter at her plan and the look on Hattie's face. Natalie, on the other hand, was distracted by the glares that her brothers wore ─ Xavier, Nick, and Jakob stood side by side, arms crossed over their chests as they practically tried to murder Deckard with their unwavering stares.

"Oh, knock it off, you three." She jabbed, rolling her eyes and grinning at their dramatics. Both the King brothers eased up, but Jakob's stare just intensified.

"Jake, you literally walked me down the aisle!" Natalie exclaimed, a small giggle slipping from between her lips. "It's a bit late to object."

Her comments made Jakob's face soften and pulled the corners of his lips up into a smile that he tried to suppress, only for him to fail miserably.

Ana, who had been keeping to herself throughout her time at the garage, couldn't tear her eyes away from the Toretto ─ oh, how she missed that smile. The woman hated that she had ever done anything to hide that smile away. Her heart ached in her chest as Jakob laughed at a comment AJ had made, wishing that things didn't need to be the way they were ─ but they did.

Even if Jakob would never know why.

TWELVE STITCHES IN THE back of the head and several card games later, Natalie had never felt better. Finnick, who had been missing from the group when she emerged from the bathroom, returned with a dozen pizzas and way too many drinks to count, leading to a mini feast of sorts.

Everyone was seated around the large table, with pizza slices on paper plates in front of them and various drinks scattered around, including Coronas, some bottles of wine, and even a bottle of Scotch. Finnick may or may not have had one of the Kings' bank cards, and went on a little bit of a splurge — it's not like it made even the tiniest dent in their wealth.

Natalie, once again sat next to her husband, rested her head on Deckard's shoulder whilst loosely clutching the neck of her barely-touched Corona. It was strange — she loved the drink, like the Toretto that she was, but today, even the smell of it made her insides restless.

Deckard had a hand resting on his wife's thigh and absentmindedly traced light circles with his thumb over the fabric of her leggings, which, unbeknownst to him, was soothing the Shaw woman's unsettled stomach.

The couple couldn't wipe the grins from their faces even if they'd wanted to. Everything felt incredible ─ from having nearly their entire family happily around them to the familiar striking warmth of their soulmate's touch, Natalie and Deckard had never felt more at peace.

In particular, the Shaw man was elated that his relationship with his sister was finally on the mend, and that his wife was safe and sat beside him. Though, he just wished Owen could be there, joining in on all of the chaos and cheating at every round of cards (as per usual).

Little did Deckard know, across the table, Katya was having similar thoughts. The woman couldn't help but recall all of the nights during her undercover mission with Owen when the two had some spare time ─ the pair would order some food and play cards until they were so exhausted that they had no choice but to go to sleep.

The Petrova woman smiled fondly whilst forcing back the tears that threatened to escape her glossy green eyes. She missed him so much that her heart constricted in her chest at the thought of the younger Shaw brother. It was unbearable thinking of how he was laying in a hospital bed, comatose and hooked up to more machines than she could count. Whilst she hadn't had the opportunity to visit him, Natalie had mentioned his debilitating state, and Katya wished more than anything that he would wake up and, hopefully, make a full recovery.

Next to her, Finnick, AJ, and Xavier were engaged in a lighthearted conversation that took a... strange turn.

"I bet twenty bucks that I can beat your ass in a fight." AJ exclaimed, pointing at Finnick's face, which had amusement written all over it.

"You? Beat me?" The Briggs man scoffed, straightening his posture and crossing his arms over his chest. "Yeah, I don't think so, lad. I was in Special Forces for seven years, and Black Ops for just over eighteen months. Not a chance."

"I'll give you fifty quid if you do, AJ." Xavier smirked, raising his eyebrows at the nineteen-year-old as he took a drink of his Scotch. Call it a gut feeling, but the man just knew that the weapons specialist was about to get his arse handed to him.

"Fine, but if I win, you owe me a hundred quid each." The Briggs man hissed, climbing from his stool. AJ's eyes widened in surprise as he scrambled to his feet.

"Oh, we're doing this now? Like 'this moment' now?" He questioned in disbelief, whilst shaking his hands to warm them up and get rid of his nerves.

Finnick scoffed, turning to face the teenager with a seemingly-serious look on his face.

"Abso-fucking-lutely we are." He nodded vigorously, before jumping and shaking out his body as a warm up, much like AJ did with his hands.

"Oh, no you're not." A female voice scoffed. "Sit your dumbasses down before you get hurt."

Zoey grabbed both Finnick's and AJ's shoulders, dragged them back to their seats and forced them to sit. The King woman then slapped the weapons specialist up the backside of his head, making him yelp.

"That's for thinking you'd get the opportunity to beat up my teen brother, motherfu─"

"Hey! I'd like to see him even try and get a punch in." AJ sassed, crossing his arms over his chest as he fought the smirk that threatened to tug at his lips.

"You know what─" Finnick began, leaping from his seat, only to be shoved back down by a hand on his chest.

"Enough!" Zoey hissed, earning the Briggs man a smug look from the nineteen-year-old. Finnick grumbled under his breath and scrunched up his face like a toddler having a tantrum.

Xavier began chuckling, but quickly had to cover it with a cough when Zoey's sharp glare burned holes into his skin. He averted his gaze and started to down the rest of his Scotch, wincing as it hit the back of his throat.

"Don't encourage them, Xav." She chastised, though everyone could see the amusement that began to dance across her face and tug her lips into a small smile.

Nick watched with a fond and mischievous grin that reached his eyes in the form of a sparkling glint. His heart thumped against his ribcage as he admired his wife ─ with her rosy cheeks, growing grin, wavy golden hair, and striking blue eyes, she truly was a sight to behold.

Her familiar, dainty hand trailed over Nick's upper back, before resting on his shoulder so that her arm was draped over his broad shoulders. The man shivered at her touch, whilst sparks trailed over his skin with burning ferocity.

"Hi, baby." She greeted, reclaiming the seat next to her husband with a bright smile.

"Hello, love." Nick grinned, pressing a sweet kiss to her temple and wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her closer.

Beside the couple, Andy, Alice, Bianca, Hattie, and Ana were huddled together whilst the Starling woman gossiped about everything she had heard throughout her undercover work with the Toretto crew. It mainly consisted of the struggles between Dominic and what was an amnesiac-Letty, and how the woman seemed to be pulling away from him, but they also discussed everything that happened in between the fights and high-speed chases on mountainsides.

Jakob, who was on the other side of the table, couldn't help but admire Ana as she spoke, whilst his longing for her grew stronger by the second. The way her curly, flaming-red hair cascaded over her shoulders and framed her striking face made butterflies flutter violently in the man's stomach. Sighing, the Toretto took a big swig of the Corona in his hands and contemplated what truly went wrong between him and Iliana Starling.

A FEW HOURS LATER

It was time to go.

God's Eye, which they had retrieved during their fight in the warehouse, alerted the group that Toretto and his crew were roaming the streets of LA in their cars, prompting everyone to finish gearing up.

Thankfully, they had loaded their vehicles of choice with the equipment they needed just an hour prior, which minimised the chaos that overtook the garage. Though, it didn't ease the absolute fucking panic that overtook Natalie Shaw.

The woman anxiously toyed with her wedding rings, which were now looped onto the same chain that held her locket ─ the one that held the photo of her and Deckard on their wedding day, and the photo of herself and her siblings with Andy.

She cradled the necklace in her hand, trying to summon the strength to say goodbye to the one person who mattered more to her than anything in the universe ─ her husband.

Sighing, Natalie enclosed the jewelry in her fist and tried to fight against the dread that pooled in her gut. She had a bad feeling, and that was enough to momentarily paralyse the woman.

There are too many people, she thought nervously, too many people who could get hurt, or worse.

"Hey, darling," Her favourite voice said softly, "is everything alright?"

Natalie pivoted to meet the deep, chestnut eyes of Deckard, which were a few feet away and instantly flickered with concern at the sight of her nervous demeanor ─ her brows were drawn together, whilst her lips were downturned, and her foot tapped nervously against the ground.

The man closed the gap between them, and gently cradled his wife's face in his calloused hands. The Shaw woman's eyes met his gaze, before glazing over with unshed tears.

"I'm not sure what's about to happen," Natalie begun shakily, swallowing out of nervousness before continuing, "and I don't know if it'll turn out in our favour─"

"Nats─"

"Please," The Shaw woman pleaded, "I need to say this, and...and give you these."

She uncurled her fist to reveal the necklace resting on her shaking palm. Deckard, spotting the wedding rings next to the locket, instantly shook his head in denial and closed her fist with his own.

"I-I can't." He whispered, tears glistening in his eyes. The man's heart shattered at the sight of the lone tear that trailed down his wife's cheek, making the ache in his chest infinitely worse.

"I want you to have them, Deck. I need you to have them." Natalie whispered firmly. She gently removed one of her husband's hands from her face, opened his hand and placed the jewelry on his palm. "Keep them safe for me."

Deckard blew out a shaky breath as he held up the necklace and nervously toyed with the rings attached to it. As he did so, the man caught sight of the wedding band sat firmly on his left ring finger, and knew what he needed to do.

"On one condition." He slipped the ring from his finger and set it down in the woman's open hand, before delicately closing her fist around it. "T-take care of this. Please."

Natalie clenched her fist tighter, feeling the edges of the wedding band dig into her skin as more tears dripped from her chin.

"Come back to me, Deckard Shaw." She pleaded, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck. Her husband's arms instantly went around her waist and pulled her as close as he could physically manage.

"I promise to fight for you until my last dying breath, and I promise that I will always make it home to you. Even if I can't walk, I'll crawl home to you, always." Deckard recited shakily. "We promised each other, Natalie Quinn King-Shaw...I need you to keep your promise."

A sob ripped free from her lips at the sound of their wedding vows, forcing the woman to bury her face into the crook of her husband's neck.

"I-I promise." Natalie cried, sending fresh tears tumbling down her husband's cheeks. "I love you, always and forever."

"I love you, Nat," Deckard whispered with a trembling voice, "always and forever."

HAYLEY WRITES...
i'm SO sorry for the brief
hiatus, you guys! life has been
crazy recently (a-levels suck)
and there's been a lot going on,
but i hope that this chapter being
20k words makes up for it!!

thank you all so much for your
incredible patience, i love you
guys so much!!

i promise i'm back to regular
updates, so stay tuned for the
finale of act two next sunday!

what did you guys think of this
chapter? there's a lot to unpack,
haha. i really hope you enjoyed!

also, the face claims for the
mcallisters are:
rudy pankow as aj mcallister
walker scobell as oliver mcallister
kate winslet as carmen mcallister
pierce brosnan as patrick mcallister

i love hearing your predictions,
so please let me know what you
think is going to happen next
chapter? will anyone die? any
betrayals?

i guess you'll have to wait
and see! 👀

don't forget to vote by clicking
the little star at the bottom of  your
screen!

anyways, until next time :)