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Reid had taken making every day a new day to a whole new level.

He turned and stretched in bed as the morning sunlight crept diffused by sheer curtains into a strange bedroom, with a strange ceiling, and a rather odd-feeling bed, as in, it was not his own. New tastes were in his mouth, new scents were in his nose, and new sounds caused his ears to prick with autonomic curiosity. Yawning, he went to stretch his arms wide - his left hand grasped only at the air, but his right found something warm, firm, and breathing ever so gently.

Reid's heart nearly stalled out when he turned his head to see Vance sleeping soundly next to him, facing him, his muzzle slightly open, and his eyes closed. Staring was the only thing he could bring himself to do. Speech was not an option, and neither was disturbing the peacefully sleeping dog. Instead, he tried with all his might to remember the events of yesterday, and that was when they came to him.

They hadn't even been drunk. It would have been a viable explanation. It would have been the easy one. Blaming it on a night of drunken fun would be far less contentious, but with no alcohol in the house, it just wasn't feasible. Instead, the cattle dog sat up in the bed, rubbing his eyes, and ignoring one of the hardest erections he'd had in years. Shamefully, really. He bunched the sheets up in his lap and blushed profusely while hoping that it would just go away on its own, but it begged attention. He couldn't help himself. He lifted the sheets and peered under on Vance's side - the pit bull was naked. Reid's heart jumped into his throat and he winced, exiting the bed as quietly and smoothly as he could manage.

Vance let fly with the telltale sound of an awakening breath, audible through his nostrils before letting it out slowly and ending with a yawn. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and watched as Reid pulled his blue jeans on with his back to him.

"Morning."

Reid looked back over his shoulder, "Morning."

Vance was the first to speak up following an awkward silence between them.

"You all right?"

"Yeah." Reid said in the overwhelmed sort of way in which one takes an entire breath for a single word. At that moment, the pit bull knew he'd screwed up.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"No, it's...it's not. Look, Reid, I don't know if you really know what I'm going through right now, maybe you do, well, you probably do. Some of it, anyway."

Reid turned around once his arousal had finally subsided, at least somewhat.

"I get it. You're stressed out; you've got a lot going on. I mean, dealing with everything from Blaine leaving, to being a single parent..." He hung his head, "...having a biker gang out for your head on a plate, believe me, I understand."

"I still shouldn't have kissed you like that, though." Vance admitted. Reid brushed a hand over his face and nodded.

"Yeah, maybe not. I don't want things to change between you and I. I've dealt with way too much change already. Last thing I need is having my relationship with my best friend turning into something it just isn't supposed to be."

Vance looked sad, "Yeah."

Reid nodded and then bent down to pick up his T-shirt, holding it by the hem and popping it like a rug, smoothing out at least some of the wrinkles before pulling it back on.

"You know, I feel like I wasted so many years of my life." Vance started, bunching up the sheets in his lap much in the same way Reid had minutes earlier. "All those years of chasing after and having sex with loose women to feed my ego...I was just lying to myself the entire time. Trying to avoid coming to terms with who I really am. On the surface, I didn't want to, but deep down, this person inside me was screaming, and-and thrashing, and..." He trailed off before he finally looked back up at the heeler, "...begging for me to let him out."

"You're right, though. I know how you feel. I fought a similar battle, once upon a time. You know how that ended." He muttered, adding the last bit with an acid tongue.

"Yeah."

"I'm going to head home real quick and clean up before work. You want to come in at ten today?"

The pit bull yawned and nodded, "That's fine."

"All right." Reid fixed his eyes on the edge of the bed, using his thumb to crack his knuckles. Eventually, he took a few short steps to the bed and sat down on it.

"Vance. You're my best friend, and I love you. I've always tried to be there for you, and I always will. Whatever you need, I'll do my best to help you get it, okay? But...maybe it's for the best if we just keep things that way."

"Okay." He answered quietly. Reid leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, then got up and walked out of the room. He got in his car in silence. He drove home in silence. He undressed in silence, turned on the shower in silence, and sat underneath the cold, running water without as much as a word.

***

"Reid!" Lucy greeted the heeler as he walked through the door. He smiled. For her, he didn't have to force himself to - it just came naturally when he saw her beautiful face.

"Morning. Lucy."

"Your shipment for the Galaxie showed up today." She chirped, referring of course to the engine that Reid had ordered to turn the old relic into a brand new cruiser.

In the garage, it was like Christmas morning. Reid used a razor knife to slice open the cardboard box that housed the brand new crate engine, a 302 eight-cylinder block. The panels of cardboard fell away from around the new heart and Hector broke out in a fit of applause. Lucy circled it in awe, remarking at the untouched steel.

"Four-bolt main, aluminum heads..." She read off, caressing it and grinning at the prospects of what the Galaxie 500 would ultimately be. She didn't know it, but her father was extremely proud of her.

"I figured this might be a fun little project car for us to work on. You know, we don't have any customer's cars at the moment, save for that Caddy over there, but all that needs is a tune and it'll be done. What say we start on this baby right now?"

Lucy's eyes lit up, "Really? Can we?"

"Sure." Reid smiled, "Grab the pallet jack, let's pull it on over."

"Oh, man, this is gonna be so fun!" She squealed, jogging over to where the pallet jack was. Reid pocketed his hands and turned to face the Galaxie, sitting lifeless on a nearby lift. Reid folded his arms, and tried not to think about what he and Rigo had talked about outside the jewelry store. He'd decided he would wait until after the wolf popped the question - he wanted her to enter into her engagement without the dark cloud of her delinquent father's existence hanging over her pretty head.

"So, are you looking forward to your vacation?" He asked while they lowered the five-hundred some-odd pound block of aluminum and steel into the engine bay.

"You have no idea." Lucy laughed, guiding it, "This will be my first vacation. Well, I say that, but my first was Disney World back when I was like four. Mom finally saved up enough money to take me. I don't remember much of it, but she still took me. I have to give her credit for that, at least."

"Sure."

"Times were still good then." She mused, "But you know, times aren't too shabby now." She smiled up at him, and he grinned back, feeling his eyes glass over with emotion.

"Well, I hope you'll be here with me and all of us for a long time to come."

"Are you kidding? I'm only nineteen and making over fifty grand a year working my dream job. Nobody gets that lucky. Nobody."

Reid chuckled, and Lucy continued, "You know how they say if something seems too good to be true, it usually is?"

"Yeah?"

"I think we've shattered the status quo on that." She grinned. She fist-bumped the heeler and went back to work bolting the engine onto the mounts. Reid sighed happily. Somehow, between everything that had happened, all the bad news, and all of the unfortunate events that had wormed their way into his life, he knew everything was going to be okay. Even when he finally confessed his secret to Lucy. Rigo was right. She deserved to know. And she deserved to have him walk her down the aisle, so he promised himself that he would.

***

Dallas sighed as he watched the news report.

"Another one bites the dust." He whispered. All the publicity surrounding the serial sniper was beginning to wreak havoc on his gang's influence in Los Angeles. Other outlaw motorcycle clubs were beginning to establish dominance in areas where the Bitten had previously ruled. Very few of the Bitten were ballsy enough to ride around on their bikes in full regalia. The Bitten MC patch had become one giant bull's-eye. Nearly ten so far had been killed, and more would come if he did not act fast, so he picked up the phone, and rang the only person he knew who would be able to help him.

"Wayne."

"Dallas. What's up?"

"Is everything set?"

"Hell, I went out there and set it up weeks ago. Plastique, det-cord, the whole she-bang."

"Good. I'll let you know when it's time. Be on standby, I'll contact you."

He hung up the phone, and then stared at it for several seconds debating on whether or not he should call Paul. Ultimately, he decided he'd better not. He had nothing left to say to the old bear - Paul had already made up his mind. They were going to fight to the last bullet and beyond, and he was more than prepared to do it.

Rotgut Rob's was noticeably quieter without a certain few people there. J.F. Lawson, the rowdy one, he was notorious for starting fights, especially with outsiders. No one really missed any of the victims, it seemed. They simply sat like always, drank beer, shot pool, and perused the jukebox for the next country and western song.

"I tried so hard, Rob." Dallas spoke into his beer, downing several gulps, "It hurt me when I learned of Randal's passing, and it pissed me right off when Paul started accusing me of being responsible for it."

"Yeah, well, Paul was always a hothead. Never quick to point fingers, as I remember, but if he felt like he had a reason to believe something, you'd better believe he was sticking to it."

"Yeah, but how could he? How could he, Rob? I mean I raised that boy for him! You remember the day he came up in here wanting to join the club, I said 'nuh-uh'!" Rob nodded.

"I said 'no sir, you get your butt back to school and get yourself an education'!" The burly cougar shook his head, "I didn't want him having no part of this. This ain't no way to live, Rob. Not in this land of opportunity." Dallas sighed, and tipped his beer back some to look into it, "But it is what it is."

"You ain't gonna let the whole thing with John go, huh?" Rob asked in no uncertain terms.

"Of course not. Would you?"

"I suppose that would depend on the circumstances." The old dog replied spitting a quid of tobacco juice into the trashcan and wiping his mouth on a bar rag. A patron put a cigarette in his mouth and he flipped out a Zippo lighter for him, igniting it, "I guess in a true self-defense, life-or-death situation, I'd choose me over anybody's kid."

Dallas laughed gruffly, "I can tell you've never had to bury your own son."

"No, no I suppose I haven't." Rob said plaintively and headed off to get another bar-goer a fresh beer. Dallas lit himself a cigarette and blew the smoke towards the stained ceiling, wondering if Paul would come bursting through the door at any second, guns blazing.

Part of him wished he would.

***

Island music blasted from a PA system over the deck of the ship and out over the ocean, where it was sparking blue water for as far as the eye could see - a straight interrupted line between Heaven and the sea.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Lucy peered through her sunglasses out at the water, sitting next to the love of her life on a deck chair.

"Not as beautiful as you." Rigo crooned, putting his arm around her. Lucy crumpled from the gooey, cliché compliment and giggled in the cute way that he loved. Not unlike Reid, Rigo was equally nervous around Lucy, but for a very different reason. It was Saturday, and there was a ball planned for the evening - black-tie and all the baubles that go with it. She didn't know, but Rigo had more than one surprise in store for her.

"Earlier this week I was working on that car with Reid and I was talking about just how lucky I am."

"Oh yeah?"

"Considering where I came from? I think it was the best decision I ever made in my life."

"I think so too." Rigo smiled, brushing his thumb over her hand.

"I'll never forget that night that we first met." She giggled and blushed from the thought of it, "Oh, God I was so embarrassed!" She started to laugh, and Rigo joined in, not wishing to tell her she didn't have to be...

One Year Ago

_ _

_ "I think we've found our drummer!" Vance said, clapping his hands while Lucy bowed following a short drum solo finale to the rockabilly hit they'd just finished playing. Vance's hair was matted to his forehead with sweat, and his guitar hummed from the amplifier until he turned the volume knob down to zero, "What do you say we go out and get some drinks?"_

_ _

_ Everyone was in, everyone being Vance, Jack - a master of the upright bass - and their new drummer fresh in from Arizona, Lucy Sanchez. Vance had to admit, she was pretty hot, and he was totally willing to go there, band be damned. A few other friends joined them, and they headed over to a familiar Mexican joint, hopping with tunes from south of the border and serving up California's best margaritas._

_ _

_ Lucy was all too willing to join in on the fun, downing two of them within thirty minutes of being there. Vance was taking it a little slower as he nursed his Dos Equis, but plenty of partying was yet to be done._

_ _

_ "So how'd you come across that '69 Super Sport?" He queried, and Lucy blinked, finishing a hearty sip of tequila._

_ _

_ "Ah, it was a neighbor's. He didn't want it anymore, and I was in need of a car. Got it when I was sixteen, he just up and gave it to me." She lied through her teeth, "Said I was a good kid and I deserved it. Been driving it daily for the past six years, she hasn't let me down yet." She laughed._

_ _

_ "You know, I don't know if I told you this, but I actually work for an auto-tuning shop as my main gig, place called Doghouse Performance Engineering! Have you heard of it?"_

_ _

_ Lucy went wide-eyed over her margarita, "Have I_ heard of it? It's only one of the most prestigious auto-tuning shops in the country! Dude, you work for Doghouse, that's insane! You totally have to give me a tour sometime."

_ _

_ "Deal." Vance laughed, picking up his beer and toasting her, "To new horizons with our band."_

_ _

_ "I'll drink to that." Lucy said, putting the straw back in her mouth and gulping down the rest of her second drink. Vance laughed, impressed._

_ _

_ "I imagine you will!"_

_ _

_ They finished up at Tu Madre's, and headed for parts unknown, making sure to stay out of the nastier areas of the city as they drove half-drunk around Los Angeles in Lucy's '69 Chevelle looking for a place to get some food and of course, more drinks._

_ _

_ "Hey, here's a place." Jack said, pointing to a sea shanty-looking place off to the right. He was driving, since he was the most sober out of all of them. Vance stuck his head out the window and squinted to read the name on the building._

_ _

_ "Salty Sebastian's...what is that, a seafood restaurant?"_

_ _

_ "Nah, it's a bar. I've heard about it, pretty good stuff."_

_ _

_ "Let's do it."_

_ _

_ Jack swung the Chevelle into a parking spot at the bar and the trio piled out of the car, Lucy nearly tripping in her already-drunken state._

_ _

_ "I'm good! I'm good..."_

_ _

_ They stumbled in to see that the bar was not nearly as packed as they had anticipated, but it wasn't exactly Tu Madre's either. An old rat tended the bar, as did a young vixen who Vance immediately set his sights on. Vance, Jack, and Lucy pulled up seats, placing orders with the bartender. The rat, who they could only assume was Sebastian himself, ambled over to them and cocked a sideways glance at Lucy. She hiccupped._

_ _

_ "You twenty-one, young lady?"_

_ _

_ "I'm twenty-two, thank you very much." She giggled, and he smiled._

_ _

_ "Hey, Sebastian, come on now!" Someone from the other end of the bar shouted over, and the rat looked up to return fire at the laughing wolfdog who'd just burned him. Vance and Jack laughed along with him and looked over to see the wolfdog sitting with a wolf and a jaguar._

_ _

_ "We'd better be careful leaving this place, I think those are cops." Jack whispered. Vance furrowed his brow and leaned in._

_ _

_ "How can you tell?"_

_ _

_ "Dude, you can always tell. They carry themselves differently, and they're usually pretty clean-cut."_

_ _

_ "Well, you stay sober, and Lucy and I will get plastered."_

_ _

_ "Pfft!"_

_ _

_ The beer bottles piled up in the trash can, and Tina, the beautiful vixen barmaid was making all kinds of racy small-talk with the pit bull admiring her from the other side of the bar. Lucy was putting down drink after drink chatting with Jack, and had even exchanged pleasantries with the three other patrons at the bar, whom she'd correctly determined to be police detectives._

_ _

_ Eventually, she had to slow down, "Vance...I'm gonna go to the bathroom, I'll be right back."_

_ _

_ "All right."_

_ _

_ But 'right back' was anything but. Minutes passed, and after nearly fifteen, Vance frowned. Bringing his wrist up, he looked at his watch. He didn't know when Lucy had left, exactly, but it had been a while since they'd seen her._

_ _

_ "Tina?"_

_ _

_ The vixen turned around to address the pit bull._

_ _

_ "Would you check on Lucy? I think she's been in the bathroom for a while now."_

_ _

_ She nodded, and headed off to the restroom whereupon she opened the door to see someone's knees on the floor beneath the stall wall. Lucy had not only drank herself to the point of becoming violently ill, she'd effectively passed out right there on the floor. Within minutes, they had an ambulance there ready to take her to the emergency room._

_ _

_ Enter RN Rodrigo Cabrera. The very definition of tall, dark, and handsome strode through the ER in all his lupine glory, his fur as soft and shiny as velvet and his eyes as deep as the sea. Lucy was far too inebriated to fully appreciate his good looks, but it mattered not. They had bigger fish to fry._

_ _

_ Lucy was conscious, but barely so. She couldn't articulate words, and she could almost make out the shape of the man who was currently sticking an IV in her arm, and saying something about stomach pumping and activated charcoal. His words ended abruptly when she rolled onto her side and became violently ill all over the poor nurse, vomit splashing all down his scrubs and all over his shoes and floor. She must have said something sounding vaguely like 'sorry', because the next thing he said was 'that's all right'._

_ _

_ _ "I remember that!" Rigo said, ironically taking a big gulp of the margarita that was just brought out to him, "You were like 'ob-slobly' he laughed, making goofy faces and poses much to Lucy's amusement.

"Oh shut up!" She punched him on the shoulder, laughing heartily.

"You remember what happened afterwards?" He asked cutely, getting all goo-goo eyed at her, and she squirmed.

"I do."

Lucy awoke in the hospital bed, feeling pretty beat from the previous night, though it had only been a few hours since her little escapade out with the guys. She was however feeling well enough to sit up, talk, and drink water. Nurse Rigo pulled the curtain aside and walked into the cordoned-off area where she was and checked her vitals again.

_ _

_ "Everything's looking good..." He mused to himself._ You got that right, Lucy thought. "How are you feeling?"

_ _

_ "Mm, a little better."_

_ _

_ "Yeah? Good, good. Party a little too hard last night?" He smiled his debonair, James Bond smile and leaned on the bed, looking down at her._

_ _

_ "I guess so, yeah. It was my first night really getting to go out on the town since I moved to LA."_

_ _

_ "Oh, just moved here? Where are you from?"_

_ _

_ "Arizona. Had to get out. Needed a change of pace, you know? I'm Lucy, by the way. But you probably already knew that."_

_ _

_ He smiled, "I'm Rodrigo Cabrera. Most people just call me Rigo, for short. So what do you do here in LA, Lucy?"_

_ _

_ "I'm in a band, now. I play the drums."_

_ _

_ "Oh wow, really? That's awesome, you know, you don't see enough female drummers. I think that's really cool, what kind of music do you play?"_

_ _

_ "I do a little bit of everything, the band is called The Four-Twenty-Sevens. You know, like the Chevy big-block engine."_

_ _

_ "Gotcha. Well, um..." Rigo pulled a pen from out of the pocket on his scrubs and jotted something down on a slip of paper, then tore it off and handed it to her, "Here's my number. If you're playing any shows soon, or you know, if you want to go out for coffee or something, give me a call." He smiled. She smiled back._

_ _

_ "I'd like that."_

_ _

_ _ "I could have gotten in so much trouble for that." Rigo laughed, reminiscing with her about their first time meeting, "But I would have done it anyway. It would have been totally worth it."

The rest of their day was spent eating lunch, playing various games on the deck, watching the numerous shows they had to offer on the cruise and relaxing by the pool, simply enjoying one another's company until it was time for the big dinner shindig where the Captain of the ship would no doubt show up in full regalia and soak up the pomp and circumstance of meeting his guests. In the stateroom, Rigo fastened his shirt studs and pulled the silk braces of his tuxedo trousers up over his shoulders before making sure his bow-tie was impeccably tied. Lucy held up her dress against her form, frowning at it and remembering when she had worn it to the pitiful excuse for a prom her High School had put on.

"Put that away, hon." Rigo said, reaching into the closet of the stateroom where hidden was a beautiful and very expensive evening gown. Lucy furrowed her brow in confusion, but her expression changed to one of shock when she saw the silken garment come sliding out from the depths of the closet.

"Oh my God, Rigo...it's beautiful!" She whispered, approaching the shimmering dress, running her hands underneath it and feeling the fabric.

"It's fit for a Queen." He smiled, then helped her slip into it and zip up the back. The dress hugged her form and accentuated the line of her bust and the curve of her hips, ending in a flowing train that just barely dusted the floor above a pair of patent leather high heels that he had bought to go with it.

Rigo escorted his lady proudly into the gala, Lucy holding onto his arm and smiling. It was one of the best experiences she'd ever had. In that moment, her past life melted away into nothing, because even though it made her who she was, it no longer mattered. The hurt, the pain, it no longer mattered, because she was finally happy.

They danced. They ate. They met the Captain, a Schnauzer of impressive height for his breed and a right gentleman to boot. Rigo's heart pounded in his chest the entire time, for in the pocket of his tuxedo jacket was an eighteen karat white gold engagement ring, beset with diamonds of the highest quality. Soon enough, it would encircle her finger, and so it was that after the party, they found themselves on the upper deck, looking out at the moonlit seas and the stars overhead. Music played muffled in the background while the sea breeze whipped about them gently.

"Lucy, I have something I want to ask you." He said, a nervous smile splitting his muzzle.

"Oh my God..." She whispered for the second time that night, her dress blowing in the wind.

"Lucy, you're the most special person in my life, and I honestly don't know what I would do without you. My life would not even be complete without you in it, and I can't even envision a future without you." He said, his voice shaking. In his apprehension, he forgot the custom of getting down on one knee to propose, but it wasn't as important as the question itself, "Lucy, will you be my wife? Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" She brought her hands up to her muzzle and then threw her arms around him, pushing her muzzle up against his in a kiss, one that lasted for several seconds before Rigo made a 'Mm!' to signal that he needed to say something.

"The ring!" He laughed, and reached into his pocket, producing just the ring itself. The box it came in couldn't fit in his jacket without creating a goofy lump, so he opted to just carry the ring itself. Lucy brought her hand up, and Rigo slid the band onto her finger.

It was a perfect fit.

***

Lucy returned to work the next week, practically dancing into the shop with the ring shining on her finger. She burst into the break room with all the glee of a child on Christmas morning, proudly displaying her new status as Rigo Cabrera's fiancée. Everyone got up and clapped, especially Reid, who walked over and gave her a big, congratulatory hug. He watched with a deeply burning twinge of anxiety, knowing that the clock was ticking and he needed to tell her the truth.

"Hey, we've got the Galaxie finished up if you want to take a look!" Reid suggested, pulling her out of the break room and into the bays, "Sorry we finished it without you, we just got a little too bored and a little too excited over getting it out on the track!"

"That's okay! What does it run?"

"Well, that's the thing, we haven't tested it out yet. I thought you would want to be here to see its maiden voyage down the strip."

"Hell yeah I want to see it!" Lucy clapped her hands together, circling the car and nearly drooling over it. They'd given it a good polishing and waxing, tire dressing and all. It looked as though it were brand new off the showroom floor. Reid smiled. Aiden would have been proud.

It had been a bit of an awkward workweek, Reid thought. Especially considering the little escapade that he and Vance had embarked on in a fit of frustration, confusion, exhaustion, and vulnerability that they both were experiencing. Vance had no problem acknowledging it, and as much as Reid wanted to push it out of his mind, he couldn't help but remember just how nice it was to hold and be held again. He took a deep breath.

"Lucy."

"Yeah?"

"I have something I need to tell you. Why don't you get in the car?"

"All right..." She said softly, looking a little concerned as she entered the passenger side of the Galaxie. Reid got in on the driver's side and shut the door, placing his hands gently on the steering wheel.

"You see, there's something about me that I think you need to know. It's...kind of important."

"Reid, if you're trying to tell me you're gay, I know already. I don't have a problem with that at all, if that's what you're worried about."

Reid laughed nervously, "No, no, it's not that, it's that...you see, I used to live in-"

"Deer Park Texas, right?" Lucy asked quietly, a peaceful grin on her muzzle. He turned to look at her, and she looked back at him. Reid's face was dark with concern and worry, but hers was lit with something far more concrete.

"Yeah..."

A tapping on the window nearly scared him out of his fur, and the heeler turned to see Hector knocking gently on the driver's side window. Reid frowned and grabbed a hold of the crank, rolling the window down.

"Hey bro. Some guy from the gas company is here to see you. Needs you to let him in."

"All right." Reid sighed, annoyed. "I'll get back to you on that, sorry Lucy."

"It's okay."

Reid followed the wolf out into the lobby, where a creepy, albeit familiar-looking man waited at the counter.

"Gas Company, right?" Reid guessed, remembering the old dog from the last time he'd come around.

"That's right. Just checking up on some work that was done a few weeks ago. You mind unlocking your gate?"

"No, not at all. I'll be right around."

Reid slid the gate open and waved the man in the van through, then turned around to see Vance walking up.

"Hey Vance."

"Hey. I just wanted to say I'm sorry about this week. This whole week, I know it's been awkward because of the other night." His hands were in his pockets, and he squirmed nervously where he stood, "I'm just going through some hard times, you know."

"Yeah, I know, man. And it's okay, really, it's okay. I promise. I'm not angry about it. You know, it's been a little tough for me, too. I'm planning on telling Lucy the truth today, so now I've just got that...y'know, that gut-churning anxiety."

"Oh, yeah. I hate that shit."

"Yeah."

"Hey, what do you say we take a spin around the track? Blow off a little steam. I mean now that Lucy's Chevelle is fixed, and you've got the Galaxie running, hell, we can take the Nova out too and the three of us can pit 'em against each other!"

Reid recoiled a little.

"That actually sounds like a lot of fun. I'm down. Let's go get Lucy."

Out beyond the track, Wayne got down on his knees and began to dig with a trowel through some grass marked with an 'X' in red spray paint. Clearing the dirt away, he pulled out two small devices with wires attached to them, returning to the back of the van where he plugged them into a power supply. He picked up the phone, and held it to his ear.

"Dallas. I'm in position. Waiting on your call."

"As soon as you see the pit bull cross the line, you do it. Understand?"

"Got it. How long until they come out?"

"I don't know, shit. You'll just have to watch for him."

Back at the shop, everyone bubbled over with excitement as a 1971 Chevy Nova, a 1969 Chevy Chevelle SS, and a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL coupe came rolling out of the bay doors of the Doghouse, a trio of American muscle waiting to see who would come out on top between the three of them. Chris and Hector stood behind the line, waiting to start the tree as soon as everyone was ready.

First, it was Lucy in her Chevelle pitted against Vance, driving the Nova. Reid stayed behind, leaning against the hood of the Galaxie, watching while they both burned out and rolled up to the starting line, revving their engines. Vance sweated nervously, gripping the wheel of the Nova while he watched the amber lights blink. They hit green, and both cars took off with their drivers, both rearing up on their back tires like a cobra ready to strike as they went flying down the strip. Lucy greased it in seven seconds flat. Vance did it in a little under nine, and they headed for the turnaround.

Next, it was Lucy against Reid for all the marbles. Bragging rights went to whoever won this one, and Reid knew it was going to be Lucy. A bored-out 454 Chevy big block V-8 against a 302 Ford in a heavy car like the Galaxie? It was no contest. The lights went green, and off they went. Lucy performed an even more dramatic wheel stand, powering through each gear and beating her previous quarter mile time by a tenth of a second. Reid crossed the finish line in just under twelve seconds, horrifyingly bad in comparison to the Chevelle, but he didn't care. It was one more victory for Lucy.

Everyone clapped for her as they approached the staging area again, the smell of octane present in the air around them.

"Another victory for Lucy Sanchez, that's my homegirl!" Hector shouted, lifting the young wolfdog up onto his shoulders.

"Hey, let's do a victory lap!" Vance suggested, "But let's switch cars, I want to drive this baby!"

A minute's time later, they were all casually shooting down the drag strip, racing to the furthest turnaround, one mile away. Back at the van, Wayne sat with binoculars pressed to his eyes, studying each car as it wove in and out of the pack and around the turnaround point. He set them down and grabbed the devices he'd set up, pinching two keys in between his thumbs and forefingers.

Lucy bit her tongue cutely as she giggled and deftly weaved her car back in forth, making her car as wide as the track so that no one could pass her. Reid laughed as he tried to draft her, and Vance punched it, speeding past them and showing off with a honk of the horn.

Wayne picked up the phone, "Dallas! Which one is the pit bull in?"

"He's in the black one! I don't know the model, it's black, that's all I know! Is there more than one?"

"There are three, but only one of 'em is black!"

"That's the one, do it!"

"What about the others?"

"Fuck 'em, throw the fucking switch!"

Wayne watched the black car fall behind, and holding his breath, he twisted the keys in the ignitions. What happened next was beyond anyone's immediate understanding. A signal was routed through several hundred meters of det cord, and an improvised explosive device placed alongside the gas line just tangent to the turnaround track was detonated. A pillar of smoke, ash, and chunks of concrete was launched hundreds of feet into the air in a fiery blast as fifteen pounds of C4 explosive met its match.

Every window in both the Chevelle and the Nova shattered immediately, and the former nearly lost control from the shockwave of the blast. The Nova flipped and rolled, barreling ass-over-teakettle on the track, depositing parts and fluids all over the asphalt. Even the van Wayne was in rocked violently from the concussive force thrown out from it. For a moment, he wondered if he'd made it a little too strong. The Galaxie 500 took the brunt of the explosion, and it was thrown no less than thirty feet into the air, and came crashing down with a sickening crunch. The Chevelle came to a screeching halt on the track, tires smoking, and Reid barreled out of it, running full-speed towards the site of the explosion, where the natural gas pipeline was feeding a tower of fire hundreds of feet high and thousands of degrees hot. Shouting could be heard half a mile behind him from Chris and Hector, who were sprinting towards him.

"LUCY!" Reid shrieked as he ran. The Nova, outfitted with a steel roll cage, made rollovers far safer, though it was in a 'cigars are not a safe alternative to cigarettes' kind of way. Vance came to, bleeding from his nose and mouth, and realized quickly that he was upside down. Given his position, he was in no position to free himself, and it would not be until Chris and Hector reached him that he would be freed from the entrapment of the Nova.

The Galaxie, on the other hand, was another story entirely.

The 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL coupe was blown in half by the explosion. The boat-like car's stern was nowhere to be found, presumably roasting in the crater that was at one time part of a natural gas pipeline. The bow, however, had been sent flying roughly sixty meters away from the blast site itself, landing right side up, and there in the driver's seat sat Lucy. Reid ran up to the car and grabbed the door handle, pulling on it to no avail. He reached in through the broken driver's side window and unlocked it, then pulled on the door, which came completely off the car, clattering to the ruined asphalt track. Punching the button for the seatbelt, he reached in to grab Lucy and picked her up, running as fast and as hard as he could away from the heat of the blast site until he could run no more and collapsed to his knees right there on the track.

"Lucy!" He sobbed, holding her close to him and rocking her back and forth, shaking her limp form. "Lucy! Lucy, come on. Don't do this to me, don't..." Hot tears streamed down his face as he ran his fingers through her hair, cradling her head as he held her, the same way he did when she was an infant. Blood was all over him, and he couldn't tell whose it was, but he could only pray that it was not hers.

"Lucy." He sobbed quietly. "Lucy, I'm your dad. I'm your father, Lucy! You were born in Deer Park Texas in 1997! Your Mom's name is Josie Sanchez! Don't give up on me, Lucy; I'm your daddy! I'm your dad! I'm your dad!" Reid screamed it over and over, holding her close, hoping futilely that if he shouted loud enough, he might be heard on the other side.

Hector came running up, wheezing and panting, but not faint for all the adrenaline. Chris remained behind with Vance. Reid was wide-eyed, crying, covered in blood, and slowly rocking Lucy back and forth while he quietly sang an old Lyle Lovett tune that he used to sing to her as a baby to lull her to sleep. Hector immediately felt the lump in his throat rise to power as tears streamed down his face, and he knelt in front of them, buying his face in his hand while Reid rocked his little girl to sleep for the last time.

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