GOLDEN RAYS OF SUN beamed down on Natalie's tanned skin as she admired the striking blue ocean ahead of her. Her navy blue bikini, which she had purchased minutes after finding out where they were going, clung to her skin and allowed the sun's heat to warm her body.

They were finally off of that godforsaken plane, and had some time to spare before Ana could figure out their next steps.

So, they did what anyone would do — they went to the beach.

The salt air was a valued change from the stuffy interior of the cargo plane, especially since it was almost a four hour flight. The Shaw woman had slept for the rest of the time, leaving her feeling quite rested, but also very embarrassed.

She hated more than anything how her own mind and body had caught her so off guard, and how someone had been there to witness it. Xavier had been amazing with calming her down, and whilst she really appreciated it, she hoped he would never have to do it again — she also hoped she'd never experience something like that again.

Her older brother had been keeping a close eye on her; Natalie could feel his concerned stare piercing her skin, and did her best to reassure him with small smiles and nods, but he clearly wasn't buying it.

Sighing, the Shaw woman leaned further into the sun lounger and pushed her sunglasses up into her hair. Her mood quickly changed when she spotted a figure approaching from the beach.  She couldn't help but grin as her husband came jogging over from the water, droplets running down his toned, muscular body.

Deckard immediately dipped his head down to capture his wife's lips with his own. Natalie's body melted in his hold as she reached up to cup his stubbled jaw and deepen the kiss, both unbothered by the presence of their family.

A fake gag broke them away from each other, and the couple turned to face who the noise had come from.

Jakob gagged again, trying to shield his eyes from the pair, who were both laughing at him.

"I did not need to see that." He grimaced, never wanting to witness his sister make out with her husband — hell, he didn't want to witness her doing that with anyone.

Finnick simply walked up behind Jakob, patting his shoulder sympathetically.

"Welcome to the club, mate." He joked, "It doesn't get any better from here on in, I can promise you that."

Jakob shivered, making the rest of the group laugh.

Natalie and Deckard turned to each other, chuckling at their family's dynamic. The Shaw woman's laughter died down when she noticed a mischievous glint in her husband's eye ─ that look never meant anything good.

Before she could ask him what he had planned, his calloused hands grasped her hips and pulled her up, making the woman squeal in shock.

"What are you doing—no!!" Natalie yelled when she was thrown over her husband's shoulder and the man began running towards the ocean, laughing his ass off.

The Shaw woman couldn't help but cackle at the movement as her body bounced with her husband's every step.

Following suit, Zoey jumped on Nick's back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, whilst her legs went tightly around his waist. Zoey squealed as he also dashed towards the sea, clinging to him as tight as she could.

Alice and Bianca grinned at each other, before joining hands and running across the beach together, laughing as they followed the other two couples.

Hattie glanced at the pairs, grinning, before turning to the remaining people and allowing a smirk to tug at the corners of her lips.

"Last one to the sea is a rotten egg." She said in a singsong voice before dashing off. Katya wasted no time in following the Shaw, springing from her seat and sprinting after her.

Finnick, Jakob, and Xavier all shared a look before frantically scrambling from their seats, stumbling over trying to push each other down as they raced after the women.

Deckard and Natalie reached the ocean first: the Shaw man walked in until the water was just above his waist before grasping his wife's hips again and placing her down in front of him.

Natalie grinned, lacing her hands behind Deckard's neck, whilst his warm, calloused hands rested on her hips. Unable to resist, the woman connected their lips and pulled him closer.

Deckard smiled into the kiss, dipping his wife back and deepening the kiss. Natalie pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Her heart pounded whilst butterflies fluttered in her stomach, making her feel as giddy as a lovestruck teenager.

The two pulled away, with their lips hovering just millimetres away from each other and their foreheads resting together. Before they could catch their breaths or reconnect their now pink and slightly swollen lips, warm water splashed over the pair, causing Natalie to squeal and hide her face in her husband's neck.

Alice and Nick laughed, having used their hands to throw salt water at the two.

Deckard, still having one arm wrapped around his wife's waist, used the other to splash water back at the pair, and managed to get Zoey and Bianca wet too.

The two women let out a chorus of complaints before Alice, Nick, Bianca, and Zoey all splashed as much water as they could at Deckard and Natalie.

Deckard immediately shielded his wife, chuckling as she squealed again. The warm salt water completely drenched his back.

Before the couple could get their revenge, the yells of their family echoed from a few metres away.

Hattie and Katya were cackling as they took the lead, with Jakob and Xavier in close second, and Finnick all the way at the back, and somehow coated in sand and yelling for a referee (who clearly didn't exist).

Refusing to go down without a fight, Finn pushed himself to pass Xavier, Jakob, and Katya, and ran side by side with Hattie.

In a last ditch effort to win their silly little race, the Briggs man dived forward, belly flopping into the ocean and groaning in pain. The water was so shallow that he practically just landed on solid sand.

"Yes!!" He exclaimed, rolling onto his back and thrusting his hands into the air in victory.

Hattie groaned in disbelief, so convinced that she had first place in the bag.

Unable to slow down before reaching the ocean, both Jakob and Xavier ran into the water, slowing to a stop just as the water reached their mid thighs.

They flinched as water splashed them right in their faces, and turned to find Natalie cackling as she doubled over.

Without wasting a second, the two threw water right back, soaking the woman.

It wasn't long before every family member was throwing water at whoever was nearest, completely soaking each other in salt water and drowning each other in laughter.

Andy stood on the beach with the biggest grin decorating her face whilst she watched her family let loose and just have fun.

Taking the camera from around her neck, the King matriarch snapped a few pictures, only to laugh as she watched Hattie tackle Finnick and completely knock him off his feet.

She only hoped that the fallout of this war wasn't horrific, and that her family would be safe when all was said and done.

JUST A MILE OR two down the same stretch of beach sat Ana Starling, or in that moment, 'Lia Jones'. She wore a simple white bikini, and had her hair down with small braids scattered throughout the red waves.

As much as she hated to admit it, she was beginning to like the Toretto crew. The word "like" left a bitter taste in her mouth — the woman was well aware of everything Dominic Toretto had done to wrong the Kings and Shaws, but annoyingly, they were very welcoming to her.

Hell, she was practically an actual member of their group.

It made her heart ache with a strange conflict: she had never had a true family, apart from the Kings and one other special person, and the opportunity to grow close to even more people was tempting.

The woman knew she shouldn't, but she was beginning to grow attached.

The sound of Letty's voice pulled the woman from her thoughts, making Ana look over to where the Ortiz woman was standing over Tej Parker and Roman Pearce.

The two men were swooning over Ramsey, the woman they had rescued in Azerbaijan, and had devolved to playing 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' to determine who got 'dibs' on her.

Ana thought they were acting like pigs, and clearly Letty thought similarly.

"Are you guys for real right now?" Letty asked them, glancing between them with a small smile on her face. "Look at you, you both look whupped already ─ you got stalker eyes!"

The redhead couldn't help but laugh along with the others. It didn't matter if the comedic pair were lounging around on a beach or in a life-threatening situation, they were always joking around and making the crew laugh.

"Ah," A new and unfamiliar voice said, causing Ana to whip her head towards the stranger and reach for the gun tucked into the beach bag next to her, "I tried to call dibs on Ramsey two years ago... her knee, my balls. Trust me, you don't want to go there."

The man laughed, before he spotted Ramsey walking up to their gazebo. He called out to her and waved, causing the woman to jog towards him and wrap him in a friendly hug. Seeing that he clearly wasn't a threat, Ana let the gun go and leaned back in her beach chair.

"I see you made some new friends." Safar nodded, smiling.

"Yeah," Ramsey said, glancing back at the crew, "some short-tempered new friends. I need the speed drive I sent you, where is it?"

"Oh, good, you will be pleased to know ─ I sold it!" Safar revealed, winking at Ramsey and completely missing the disappointment and rage that flooded her face.

"You sold it?!" Ramsey seethed. "I asked you to take care of it, why on earth would you sell it?!"

Dominic moved to stand behind the tech girl, staring Safar down as he spoke.

"We're gonna need it back." He insisted, crossing his bulky arms over his chest.

Safar visibly gulped, sizing up the 'leader' of the crew, before hesitantly explaining where the drive was.

"Good news, the drive is safe. Bad news... It is very safe. I sold it to a Jordanian prince. He is a trust fund billionaire who wanted to use it for his supercar that has a top speed of 242 miles per hour and is bullet proof."

Roman laughed, rubbing his hands together as he thought about the supercar.

"Am I the only one aroused right now?" He asked enthusiastically, only to earn a glare from everyone around him, causing him to ramble before completely shutting up.

"Where does he keep it?" Dominic asked, referring to the car.

"In his penthouse, in tower number one." Safar said, glancing at the crew. Ana sighed ─ this next job was going to be messy, she could already tell.

"Now, tomorrow happens to be the longest day of the year, and the prince wants to celebrate it by hosting a party tomorrow afternoon."

And there was their opening.

DECKARD AND NATALIE WALKED hand in hand along the beach, just basking in each other's company. Their steps were slow and relaxed as they strolled barefoot, gently swinging their arms back and forth.

The sun was still beaming down on them, illuminating the shine of their skin and glittering sparkles of the diamonds in Natalie's engagement ring.

Deckard's thumb traced circles on the back of his wife's hand whilst he debated asking about what had happened on the flight. Natalie's thoughts were consumed by distractions ─ the feeling of her husband's hand clutched in her own, the sand between her toes, the heat of the sunrays, the dampness of her swimsuit and how it stuck to her skin... anything to draw her mind away from the plane.

Despite their inner conflicts, the silence was comfortable, and the two were soaking in as much of the peace and sun as they possibly could before things inevitably went to shit.

Deckard pulled Natalie to a stop, deciding that he would ask about what happened, but when he looked into the brown eyes that he loved more than anything, he knew now wasn't the time.

Even though she was smiling at him brightly, it didn't quite reach her eyes ─ despite her nap on the plane, her exhaustion was obvious and deep-rooted, dulling the usual spark Deckard would see; there was almost a glint of something like embarrassment or almost hesitation, and that broke his heart. The two could be open with each other about anything and everything, so the fact that she wanted to hide something made him all the more worried.

"I love you, Natalie Shaw." Deckard spoke softly, cupping her face with his calloused yet gentle hands. Natalie, although slightly confused at the sudden reminder, grinned and rested her hands on his broad, bare shoulders.

"I love you too, Deckard Shaw. Always." She hummed in return, and instead of going in for a kiss, she wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders, pulling him as close to herself as physically possible.

Deckard's arms wrapped around her midsection, her bare skin setting his alight with sparks as they hugged on the beach, silently reassuring each other that everything would turn out alright.

They stayed that way for as long as they could before Andy began calling for them from the gazebo, causing the two to pull apart and head back to their family, once again hand in hand.

"Ana's messaged ─ turns out we have a party to dress up for." The King woman revealed, tilting the phone in her hand to show the couple the message.

"Dress up nice, you have a party to crash. - A."

"Well, I suppose us girls have to go dress shopping then." Natalie spoke, raising an eyebrow as she shared a look with her husband.

AFTER BUYING THEIR DRESSES, all of the women attending the party began to get ready in Natalie's hotel suite. The Shaw woman, Alice, and Hattie had all bought dresses, whilst the remaining women weren't needed for the next part of the plan. Instead, they were helping the three get ready ─ well, some of them were.

Katya was laying on Natalie's bed with her head dangling upside down off the foot of it, a bag of potato chips resting on her stomach as she stuffed them in her mouth.

Andy was gently brushing blush onto Natalie's cheek, having done her daughter's make-up for the party after Zoey did the Shaw woman's hair.

Zoey had moved on to help Alice with her hair, as Hattie had insisted that she could do her hair herself. The blonde Shaw did have to ask Bianca for help with her make-up, though.

"There." Andy smiled gently, placing the brush down on the vanity in front of her daughter. "All done, darling."

Taking a look in the mirror, Natalie grinned at the sight before her ─ her make-up was relatively light and neutral, but a mix of grey and silver decorated her eyes, matching her look to her dress, which she had yet to put on. A nude lipstick painted her lips, allowing her eyes to be the centre of anyone's attention.

"Thank you, Mom, I love it." The Shaw woman grinned bashfully, prompting Andy to lay a gentle kiss to her hairline. Natalie then climbed from her seat to head to the en suite, where her dress was already hung up ready.

Closing the door behind her, Natalie opened the garment bag that her dress was in and smiled ─ the silver shimmered in the light, with glitter covering every inch of the fabric. The strapless dress was gorgeous, and she hoped it wouldn't get ruined at the party.

Glancing at the door, an idea popped into Natalie's head, causing her eyes to light up. She moved towards the door and opened it, and stuck her head in between the door frame and the door itself.

"Hey, Zoey, can you help me with my dress?" She asked innocently, tilting her head to look at the blonde in question.

Without giving it a second thought, Zoey agreed and entered the en suite, only to have Natalie lock the door behind her.

Frowning in confusion, the King woman looked at her sister-in-law, who simply looked at her sympathetically before whispering.

"What is going on with you and Katya?" She asked in a hushed voice, unsure if the others could hear them.

Zoey paled, a lump growing in her throat ─ she didn't think anyone had noticed her behaviour, let alone noticed enough to question it.

"Uhm─" The woman cleared her throat, nervously toying with her wedding rings as she spoke, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, bullshit!" Natalie hissed, pushing herself away from the bathroom counter she was leaning on. "Don't try and lie to me, Zo. It won't work. If you tell me the truth, maybe I can help."

Zoey sighed, debating whether to say what had been turning her stomach for the past few days. The person she was dealing with was fucking dangerous, and had the power to kill everyone she had every met or cared about... but there were two people in immediate danger that she loved, and she needed help.

"T-the people who made me who I am, and taught me how to be an assassin are..." Zoey sighed, not quite sure how to explain her dilemma, "They're the same people who taught Katya."

Natalie couldn't help but gasp lightly at the newfound information, despite it not being the main thing that was troubling her sister.

"We were raised in the same ring of assassins called The Organisation. The Organisation manipulated and took advantage of vulnerable youth with no home, no family. M-my mother abandoned me when I was a baby... my father had passed away, and she couldn't bear to look at me─" Zoey choked up, prompting Natalie to take her hands in her own and clutch them tightly. "So she left me outside of a firehouse, and I was put into the foster care system, which is where t-they found me..."

"The Organisation raised me to be a killing machine, but that was never what I wanted, so, when I was nineteen, I finally managed to escape them. I searched for my mother, hoping that maybe she'd be happy to see me, but she had built a new family, Nat." Zoey muffled her sobs with her hand, which she pulled free from Natalie's.

"S-she had remarried, and had t-two kids: AJ and Oliver... they're only nineteen and twelve, Natalie, and The Organisation is planning to go after them to get back at me for leaving."

Natalie pulled the sobbing woman into her arms, her heart shattering in her chest as she tried to soothe the distraught King. She felt terrible to have brought it up, but simultaneously, now she could help protect the two boys and her sister-in-law.

"I swear to you, Zoey, nothing is going to happen to you or those boys." Natalie pulled away, cupping the woman's face so that Zoey could see the honesty in her eyes. "We are here to help you, Zo, always and forever, no matter what."

The blonde nodded, a new wave of tears flooding over her, causing her to bury her head into the crook of Natalie's neck and pull the woman in closer.

So long as Natalie Shaw was alive, nothing would ever harm Zoey, AJ, or Oliver ─ not The Organisation, nothing.

HAYLEY WRITES...
surprise! secret double update
since last chapter was so short!!

what did you guys think of this
chapter? quite a mix of happy
and tense moments, so i'd love to
hear your thoughts!!

also got the first insight to how
ana is getting on with the toretto
crew... things are gonna be
tough in the end, to say the least
👀

how do you think the party is
going to go next chapter?
there are quite a few extra
people tagging along
(xavier, nick, alice, hattie,
jakob, and of course nat)

anyways, until next time :)