Standard disclaimer, i own nothing. Hope you enjoy this. Warning Sad, there will be death and distress below.

Stephanie walked into the Rangeman building at 9.50 on Monday morning, sighing as the door of the elevator shut. As the elevator rose, slow and steady, she couldn't help the melancholy that flooded her body. The beep that signalled her arrival to the fourth floor made her jump; but not even that brought a smile to her face.

As she entered her office, a converted storage cupboard, she couldn't keep the grimace off her face at the over flowing in box. She'd been off for three weeks, and had half hoped that the box might be empty. It seemed that anything that wasn't urgent had been left for her.

Everything in her office was as it was when she'd taken her abrupt leave, including the assortment of photographs in frames sitting on her filing cabinet. She paused briefly, tears filling her eyes, at the photo of her and Joe standing together with the beach in the background. The photo wasn't taken that long ago, maybe two or three months. Both faces were shining with happiness. She took a deep breath, almost falling into her chair as she tried to sit down. Her mind was assaulted with the memories of that day, five weeks ago, memories that she'd tried hard to block out.

~The day was going well for one Stephanie Michelle Plum. She was the Office Manager at Rangeman Security and had starting taking on the Customer Service side of business as well. Six month ago she had agreed to come on to the Rangeman Management team as Office Manager. She was helping to streamline the day to day office procedure and paperwork, was in charge of the Rostering and ordering the office supplies. And of course, when all that was done, there were the butt numbing searches, but she loved her job, her co-workers and the thrill that came with putting a difficult puzzle together.

Sometime Stephanie missed the craziness of her life as a bounty hunter but then the dull tingle that would always be present in her left leg would twinge and she'd remember the horrible back injury that has been a result of her being thrown by a skip almost a year ago. There had then been two weeks of immobilisation, four weeks of bed rest and three months of rehab, at the hands of Bobby the slave driver, and she would forever have twitches and tingles in her left leg. She felt lucky that the injury hadn't been worse and forever grateful to Ranger, it was only because of the quick response of his men when her panic button went off, and the medical training each man was required to complete, that she was able to recover to a fully functional level. No longer does Ranger hide trackers on her, she now knowingly and proudly carried her tracker and panic button.

Ranger had been a close friend and supporter during her recovery. He was a silent man no more, spending hours talking with her and helping to keep her entertained during the long period of inactivity. While there was still sexual tension, it wasn't as blinding and had been replace with the low burn of a strong, lasting, binding friendship.

Ranger had come to her, during the last week of her rehab at the Rangeman Gym, and asked her to come and work for him, seriously this time. He'd presented her with the contract for Office Manager, with full time hours (no pantyhose) and a yearly salary that meant she would be able to live well, pay back the medical bills (what was not covered by Rangeman's part time employee's insurance) and put something into a nest egg. She'd thought hard about it and discussed it with Joe, who was supportive and maybe even thankful, and decided that with her slight disabilities she might be better off in the office. Plus there were worse things than having to work with your friends and the search meant her mind was still working on the puzzles, she was just not part of the take downs any more.

The accident had changed something in her. She'd faced the possibility of losing her freedom and it made her realise just how stubborn she had been and how closed off she was. She'd wanted to do it all on her own and be independent, even at the risk to her life. Now she was truly free, she loved freely and was open with all her feelings, life was too short after all, she told the Burg to shove it's expectations, told her mother that she didn't want to be compared to anyone any more as she was content in herself and urged her to seek the help she needed for her drinking. She kept up her fitness, it helped with the tingling and made her feel stronger. She was willing to accept the help of her friends and she realised that it doesn't make her weak but stronger. Her relationships were, as a result, stronger, especially with Joe. They had stopped the crazy roller coaster and laid out their feeling and plans for the future. When both were faced with her mortality it seemed easier to face the problems that had previously seemed like mountains. Steph had realised that while she didn't want children at the moment, she was open to the idea in the future. What she didn't want was the lifestyle she'd be conditioned to accept came with children. Joe, when it was put like that, realised that he'd been pushing an unhealthy and unrealistic expectation on her, mostly out of fear of losing her (weather to Ranger or to death) and though the thought was endearing to him, he loved her as she was. He agreed that he'd want children in a few years, not straight away and that while he'd previously wanted a stay at home wife, he knew that wasn't something that Steph wanted and was willing move past that. Joe has also let go of a lot of his hatred and suspicion against the Rangeman men, after spending more time with them and getting to know each one instead of their reputation as a collective, and seemed to have even formed friendships with some of them.

In particular Cal as they shared a history in the NAVY and loved of sports. These days it was not uncommon to find a mix of Rangemen and police at the house, now shared full time by Steph and Joe, watching some sort of sporting program and having a BBQ.

Back to the day in question, Stephanie had found the missing link in a particularly difficult skip's history and, giddy and fist pumping, she'd danced into Tank's office to explain the new information, and came out twenty minutes later smiling.

Since her butt had just regained feeling and her leg was tingling a little, she decided that a walk around the floor might do her good. She stopped to talk at each desk, checking in on each man and getting the new gossip from the floor. It was as she was shooting the shit with Lester and eating a healthy muffin that Ella had worked her witchcraft on to make taste amazing, despite it having no sugar or fat, that they noticed the sudden tense silence that had spread through the floor. They exchanged worried looks as they pushed through the sudden influx of men that crowd the area towards the monitors and the clearly panicked voice that was coming from the police band.

"All units, repeat ALL UNITS, we have a situation at the mall. Reports of shots fired, unsure of more details. All Units to report to the mall. Blockades are being set up on all roads one block out. Report ASAP."

The announcement started to repeat and the men, as one, started gearing up. Ranger, who had materialised behind Steph, stated in a clear voice that was only slight louder than normal but had the same impact as if he had shouted, "Team Alpha to car 1 and 2, Team Beta to car 3 and 4, Team Charlie, you are to take over the monitoring station and keep Rangeman running, divert feed where necessary to Miami and Boston, two men on the phones to calm customer. Team Delta set up a command centre in conference room A. All team leaders, major and minor, will take a body camera and all men an ear piece, channel 4 only. Team medic, each man take an extra complete field kit and head to the medic cars. Steph I want you to head the communication between us and the Police. Call dispatch and instruct that Rangeman is responding. Stay on the line as liaison, anything you think we should know relay over the ear piece. I'll talk to the Chief as we roll and try to get Command of the mission handed to Rangeman. Men, move out!"

"Be Safe" Stephanie had said, not to anyone in particular but she tried to look each man in the eyes as they left, giving them encouragement as they set off towards the danger. Ranger was the last to leave, "Don't get shot" she'd said, and gotten a classic "Babe" in response.

Stephanie had, on the day she was injured, seen firsthand one of the two specialised medic cars, stocked for major medical causality and able to function as an ambulance if need, and hoped that it wouldn't be any of her Rangemen that were in need of it. She was proud that Bobby and Rangeman had, with in the uncertain climate of the world, put together a mobile medic team that could be called upon in these types of situation, to help civilians as well as themselves.

Realising that only the team assigned to the monitors was still on the floor, she quickly she ran down to Conference Room A. Her heart was pounding and she was sure that she was shaking visually as the adrenalin poured through her veins but the men around her seemed cool as ice, efficiently setting up the conference room until it resembled a command centre. The white board was now covered with an aerial view of the area in question; Woody was standing next to it, putting pins in the areas where the police were meeting. In the left hand corner, next to the white board was the police scanner, still replaying the call to act. Next to that, on the table, was her station. A head set with pen and paper set on the table in front of the lone chair and to the side was a switch board, so she could easily move between the call to dispatch and the men's ear pieces. The audio from Channel Four was playing out of the speaker of the switch board, currently there was just a lot of movement noises as they men loaded up and got into the cars. In the right hand corner was a bank of TV screens, each showing the video input from the lead man in each team.

Stephanie was suddenly connected through to dispatch, thankfully not the shaking voice that was still repeating her monologue, and after identifying herself, she was patched through to the Chief of Police, who was on route to the mall. As Stephanie relayed to Chief – that 16 men in 4 cars and four field trained medics in two converted medic cars were heading his way, a new voice came over the police scanner, instructing that all information would be relayed over the secure channel Echo. The Chief rattles off some number for the new frequency which Stephanie passed on to the more tech savvy Hector who quickly was able to patch into it.

"….. received multiple calls from people both with in the centre and those that have fled. We are directing those that have gotten out to the safety points where ambulance are stationed. We are also receiving calls from people who have taken shelter in stores, bathrooms and/or other nooks and crannies. We are directing those people to take shelter, lock any doors that can quietly and safely be reached and locked. Any Unit that is not actively cordoning off the area please report to the evacuation points and start collecting statements and contact details, anything you think is relevant forward on. Try to move the witnesses on as soon as possible, we are still unsure of the full situation inside."

The Chief asked that Rangeman vehicles be directed to the safety point closest to the main car park entrance. Stephanie relayed this to the ear pieces and reported back to the chief an affirmative.

"All teams be alert for the Rangemen cars heading to safety point alpha, six cars in total. Rangemen will be taking over the handling of this situation. The closest Swat team is 30 mins out and have asked that we refer to Rangeman's experience in this matter.

"There are at least two gun men, possible third. Reports so far indicate that gunman A started near the south entrance and gunman B near the north. They reportedly opened fire walking towards the central point, the food court, it didn't appear they were aiming at anyone in particular and they didn't focus on the people as they passed. All attempts to reach the security office or the centre management have failed; offices are located in the east wing."

As Stephanie was listening to the incoming information, Ranger was in her ear piece talking to the Chief, laying out his plan of attack and if they should wait for swat or enter with the team they have.

"Do we have an approximate of where they are?" Ranger asked the Chief, who in turn asked the team that had been assembled to collect and distribute relevant information.

"From what we've gathered, it looks like they have yet to venture to level 2, reported shootings only on level 1. We have advised all level 2 stores to close their security doors and take in all people so the halls should be clear. The high end and jewellery store are all located in the North End close to the food court, which is also the central point and is in a circular fashion with a balcony above. This area is extremely open."

Ranger's answer was cut off as a clearly shaken man's voice cut across the radio.

"Sir, there is a report of a man identifying as a police officer having been shot when the initial shooting started. North End, outside Tiffany's, the survivors who have just come out say that when the gun man was firing an unknown man, mid-thirties, brown hair, wearing jeans, identified himself as a being with NJPD and commanded the gunman to drop his weapon. Said man had come out of one of the store opposite where these people were taking cover. They are unsure which one. The man then took cover behind a pillar. There was an exchange of bullets, possibly the gunman was clipped in the shoulder, and then the unknown police officer was shot from behind and above. Witnesses are unsure if he was alive, the pillar was exposed to the upper levels and they couldn't reach the man without exposing themselves as well. When the injured gunman had passed they made their way out."

There was a pause after the announcement that one of their own may be stuck inside, injured or dead.

"Everybody check in with your commanding officer. I want to know who may be inside. In five minutes I want a list of men who haven't checked in yet." Came the booming voice of the police chief over the radio.

Through the ear piece Stephanie could hear the police chief ask Ranger to get his men ready to enter; he didn't want to wait any longer. First thing needing to be done was to cut the power to the mall, if indeed one of the gunmen had accessed the security room, then they didn't want him relaying to the others the exact position of the Rangeman Recuse teams. The dark would also help the men to blend into the shadows; hopefully they could take these men down without any more causalities. While the main teams were discussing the best way to take the power out, including if the site had a generator; the medic team were looking over a map of the outlet, planning their route to the injured police officer. Within the five minutes all teams had a plan of attack and were ready to enter. Blockades were being set up at the three possible exits. The Rangeman teams would enter together from the North entrance; Team Alpha's main objective was to take down the gunmen, alive if possible, Team Bravo would clear the shops they passed, sending those taking shelter towards the North entrance, Team Medics would assist any injured people they could, but Bobby would be reserved for the police officer who they prayed was alive.

At the end of five minutes the Chief took the calls from all commanding officers. The Chief read out the names of those who'd not been in contact, asking other officers to try to find the missing people, but only one name stood out to Stephanie, Joe Morelli.

Time seemed to stand still for Stephanie, the chief voice repeating Joe's name over and over again in her head. She'd been saddened that she'd heard of the policeman who'd been shot, but now that she knew it might be her boyfriend it was like a hand had gripped her lungs, squeezing until there was barely room for breath within her. Had Joe mentioned this morning that he was going to the mall? She couldn't remember. He'd had a rare day off, and going to the mall seemed like something that one would do on a day off, but for the life of her she couldn't recall if he'd told her where he would be today.

Steph barely felt the hand on her shoulder, or felt Woody slowly wheel her chair backwards as he tried to give her space to lower her head to her knee, attempting to help her get her breath back. Woody also had his phone to his ear, dialling Joe's number and hoping that he'd answer. When voicemail started up, Joe cheerfully telling the caller to leave a message or better yet just text him, Woody ended the called, glancing around at the few other men had their phone out.

Ranger was speaking through the ear piece; his teams would breach the blockades in T minus 2 minutes. Ranger had flipped his cell the second he'd heard Joe's name, hitting his number and praying he answered. Ranger knew that nothing but a deadly situation would stop Joe from answering his call, all too often it was bad new regarding Stephanie so Joe always answered, he'd even set a special ring tone so he wouldn't miss it. When there was nothing Ranger suspected that the man they were going to rescue would be his once rival but now almost friend.

The Rangeman teams stood at the entrance, every man knew their objective and were ready to end this. The power had been cut and the backup generator was disconnected. The hall was black and in their black combat gear it seemed to the police stationed at the blockade that they had disappeared into the shadows.

It took a pain painstakingly long time for the group to creep slowly down the dark hall. Stopping every few meters to clear the stores that weren't locked up tight, directing every shaking and terrified member of the public that they came across to the cleared exit and warning them to be as silent as possible. Slowly and silently they moved closer to the centre of the mall, where Joe Morelli may or may not be fighting for his life, and the people responsible were last seen.

The closer they came to the centre the slower the process was. Each body was checked over, for injury or in case one of the gun men was playing possum. The medic team was triaging each case, only for the most critical would one of the team stay, anything less could wait for the paramedics.

Up ahead there was noise. Sounds of angry hushed arguments, low pitched male voice. Ranger signalled to pause, as he tried to pin point the location of the men on his mental map of the mall using their voices. He signalled that team alpha would stick to the shadows on the left and Team Bravo on the right. Medic team to hold position until further notice.

Slowly they inched forward, towards the arguing voices. It seemed as though for, the gunmen (or at least the two could be heard) things were not going according to plan. In hushed voices they argued the best course of action. They'd already looted the jewellery stores and taken cash were they could, but the response had been quicker than they had planned on and now it was pitch black and they couldn't find the way to the exit they'd planned to use. One had turned his phone touch on and in the blackness is shone like a beacon.

Ranger directed the teams down, to continue advancing by commando crawl. He thought that these two couldn't have been the masterminds as they lacked the tactical minds. Slowly when his teams were close he signalled that on the count of three, Shooter 1 on each team would shoot to incapacitate the gunman on each side. Tank and Binkie slowly set up the rifles from their backs and on Rangers count each man fired a single shot and both men were down, screams of pain slamming through the silence.

Quickly, in practice motions, the teams sprang forward and the men were hand cuffed and stripped of their weapons. Ranger radioed to announce that two of the targets were down and that the west wing was cleared and to send in the paramedics and a team to collect the men. After a quick patch job by the medics, the men where left where they had fallen to await their fates while the teams moved on in search of the unseen third man and Joe Morelli.

Slowly they moved around the open food court, Team Alpha to take the south wing and Team Bravo the east. The food court was opened to the second floor where the centre management and security offices were, as well as a few speciality stores, and the suspected area of the unknown third gunman. The plan was after the other two wings were clear they would meet at the stair case and storm the second level together. But first they would provide cover as the Medic Team worked through to try to find the assumed Joe Morelli who was last seen shot near the Jewellery stores. The area was exposed to the upper level and to the south wing so team Alpha focused their guns up and Bravo towards the south wing. The amount of causalities in this area was heavier but Bobby was only interested in finding the policeman, weather or not it was Joe, who bravely tried to stop the shooting single handed.

The noise level was rising, those who were awake and in pain were crying out trying to get the attention of the medic team, and the cleared west wing was filling with paramedic teams to take out the injured. While Bobby searched, the rest of the medic team and a few brave paramedics, pulled those that could be moved towards the sheltered west wing for the awaiting help there.

Bobby voice over the com units, muttering a string of curses, confirmed in Rangers mind that the man down was in deed Joe Morelli, his whispered call for back up confirmed that the situation was not good.

Bobby was crouched next to the body of Joe Morelli, assessing his condition. The bullet had torn thru his shoulder from the back and from the sounds Joe was making, had hit the lung. The amount of blood was not a good sign, and Bobby wondered in the back of his mind what the internal situation was, with limited oxygen and limited blood left within the body to circulate. First things first, Bobby called for a team to be ready to move Joe quickly once he was brought to the safety of the west wing, he relayed to the waiting ambulance what they need to have an IV ready, with B positive blood if they had it, that oxygen would be needed and a clear run to the hospital. Really there wasn't much Bobby could do then slap a compression band-aid on the wounds, pull Joe over his shoulder and run for the stretched waiting in the west wing. Joe was laid on the stretched, and Bobby with the help of a paramedic pushed it as fast as they could towards the waiting ambulance. There was no blood on board but Bobby was the same blood type as soon as they were on board Bobby hooked himself up and began transferring his own blood into Joe.

As the men continued on, the unit prayed for the life of their friend's partner. The teams split off, clearing the south and east wings, finding more casualties in the south and radioing the location, the south entrance was then opened and for the emergency service to more easily attend those in that part. Surprisingly there were no bodies in the east, just locked stores. This confirmed the theory that there were two gunmen on the lower level and possible unknown on the upper.

When they breached the security office it became obvious why all attempts to contact them failed. All inside were dead, similarly in the centre management offices. The vault had been opened and cleared. Whoever had been here was gone, probably using the two other men as distractions so they could slip away. It ate at Ranger that the person or persons responsible for shooting and possibly killing Joe had escaped him, and he made a mental promise that he would find this person.

In the ambulance things were grim. There was too much blood loss, even with the top up, and they had had shocked his heart to keep it regular, any moment it could give out and everyone on board were prepared for if it did. Bobby knew, deep down, that only a miracle would save Joe's life, but he'd seen miracle surrounding Stephanie before. While they worked to keep his heart going they cut Joe from this bloody clothing. It was then Bobby realised that Joe had a small fancy looking shopping bag lied around his wrist. He didn't pay it much attention, placing it in an evidence bag with the cut off clothing and his police shield Bobby removed from his belt. Feeling overwhelmed Bobby leaned over and whispered in Joe's ear, urging him to hold on, telling him that Stephanie was on her way and that she needed him.

Back at Rangeman, with the everyday running having been taken over by the other offices, Team Delta was on standby, ready to response if there was a break in. Woody had called Cal down to collect Stephanie, who fallen apart when Bobby had confirmed that it was Joe Morelli, reciting his stats to the Paramedics who were rushing them through the city towards the hospital. No one blamed her, they loved that she wasn't harder like them, but they all hated hearing her sob. She'd tried to keep her silence, to focus on helping her men who were still in danger but the tears wouldn't stop falling and each breath was hitched. She was thankful when Cal, a close friend to both of them, had picked her up out of her seat and silently carried her down to the cars and together they drove towards the hospital, both hoping that Joe would survive.

The ambulance came tearing in to the hospital, the awaiting team of doctors almost bouncing with urgency. A theatre had been cleared and all knew that this one was a hero and would try their hardest to make sure he survived. He'd been shocked twice in the ambulance but had a steady heart beat as the doors opened and he was rushed inside. The last thing Bobby said to him was that no matter what, they would take care of his girl. He knew that chances were high he'd never see Joe alive again, and he felt that it would give Joe peace to know that Stephanie would be cared for, no matter what.

Bobby was still standing in the emergency bay when the Rangeman car pulled in, Stephanie almost falling out of the passenger side door in her haste to reach him.

"Bobby" she called, the look on his face said it all and she fell sobbing into his chest, mixing her tear with the blood Joe had left behind.

The doctors tried their hardest, they patched up the wound, re-inflated the lung that the bullet had torn through and set the bones, even as his heart continued to flat line and had to be restarted. He held on as each hurdle was overcome and 5 hours later was wheeled into the ICU. Stephanie sat by his bedside, a constant string of people came and went but she noticed none of them, focused solely on the warmth on the hand in hers. His heart gave up twice in the first 6 hours after the surgery. Each time it was restarted it was a little bit more thready and a lot harder to get back than the last time and each time it hurt to watch as the machines violently brought him back to life. In the end he never work up, never saw the faces of his family who surrounded him, but he felt them around him before he passed on, the words Bobby whispered to him gave him hope when it became too much for his body to take, and less than 24 hours after he was shot, Joe Morelli was dead.

Ranger had been the one who held Stephanie back, when Joe's heart had stopped for the final time, when they couldn't restart it and she'd screamed and cried. He was the one who lifted her out of the room so she didn't have to see them detach the machines and pronounce him dead. She'd been hysterical, fighting to get back to Joe and at the same time trying desperately to deny the truth, or maybe it was the truth she was fighting. Ranger bore each punch, kick and all the verbal abuse that Stephanie could throw out, his face stoic but his heart breaking. He held her within his strong grip, until there was no flight left inside her and she deflated into his chest, no longer able to keep the reality of the situation from entering her mind.

It truly had broken his heart to see her in so much pain. He stayed with her as much as he could and was often the one to have to hold her while she begged and pleaded for it to not be real after waking up from a nightmare. Rangeman and the Police department had rallied around her, she had constant company for the first week, and for once she was getting along with Joe's family. There were time when she had to be reminded to eat or drink, and days could pass with out her actually speaking.

It was a hard time for their little part of the world. The Police felt the loss keenly, Joe was a friend to most and everyone loved Stephanie, her antics had made even the hardest cop smile on occasion. This was compounded with the guilt and shame as most had been unable to respond beyond leading the panicked survivors to safety, as they didn't have the advanced training.

The men of Rangeman were also feeling an overwhelming sadness, logically they all knew that they had done all they could but the outcome was not what they had wanted and it was hard to know that one's best was not enough. The men all loved Stephanie and seeing her in pain, a pain they couldn't fix or beat up, was painful to them.

It was the contents of the shopping bag that haunted Stephanie the most. The bag had been cut from his wrist in the ambulance and held the reason he'd been at the mall, in particular, that part of the mall. It took 10 days for it to be returned to Stephanie and she almost wished it hadn't been, for in the bag was a beautiful felt box, now stained in blood, and inside that box was a ring.

Now she just sat in the dark, staring at the box and the ring, dreaming up what they're lives might have been like if Joe hadn't been the hero he was, or the men hadn't been as greedy as they were. There were a thousand thought that accompanied the knowledge that Joe had been going the propose, not all were good.

The media had flogged the story cross country. There was an interview with the sale consultant who'd sold it to him, she'd claimed he'd been so excited to purchase the ring and had told her all about how he was going to place it in a doughnut for Stephanie to find on a picnic to Point Pleasant the next weekend. Interviews with the people who saw him get shot, who'd heard him stand bravely in the face of danger. All attempts to interview Stephanie were met with the blank face of the intimidating men of Rangeman, but that added to the story. Rangeman were first responded, preformed the rescue and cleared the mall, they were hero's in their own right and business was booming. The public trust in NJPD might have been down, but the trust in Rangeman was overflowing.

The two men who were arrested were, as Ranger had thought, flunkies. They knew the mastermind as Bob but couldn't recall his features well enough for an accurate sketch to be made. There were charged with multiple counts of murder, assault with a deadly weapon and armed robbery. Neither would see life outside prison again. Bob was still out there, having gotten away with hundreds of thousands in cash, but Rangeman was determined to find him.~

Ranger stood and walked silently into Stephanie's office, closing the door. He'd had a camera installed in Stephanie's office when it was converted from a storage closet. Really its purpose was for her safety, but his lawyer had thought it a good idea, as Stephanie was the lone women on the floor, just in case a complaint was made by either party. The feed was not monitored, instead stored directly on the server with only himself and Tank able to patch into the live feed. At this time he was glad that it was there.

He'd been concerned when she'd want to come back to work so soon. He knew that she didn't do well with inactivity so he'd been expecting it, but this was the place where she'd been when Joe had been killed, these were the men that had ventured into the danger only to come back unharmed while her loved one had died. He knew she'd never blame them under normal circumstances but trauma had a way of twisting someone. Stephanie had begged him the week before, desperate to escape the loneliness and crushing grief that sitting alone in Joe's house brought.

In her office he picked her up and sat her on his lap, her silent tears flowed harder and she clutched him. He was sadly used to this by now, he'd spend most night with her, comforting her as she cried and sobbed or while she sat in silence trying to come to terms with her new reality. He'd made sure that for the past month she was never truly alone. Someone, be it himself or one of the many friends she'd accumulated over the years, was always in the house with her. He'd seen to many widows swallowed by grief and he refused to let the tide take her.

Her mother was a surprising ally, he'd been critical of the woman over the years, but now he knew that while her methods were strange at best, Helen loved her youngest daughter fiercely. Frank was still as quiet as always, Ranger recognised the unseen trauma in Stephanie's fathers eye, but Stephanie took solace in sitting quietly next to him. Helen made sure that there was always food, enough for Stephanie and the hordes of people that visited, she cleaned the house and did the washing when Stephanie could hardly bare to move and when the uneasy truce between the Morelli clan and Stephanie broke, Helen was there to defend her daughter and comfort her.

Ranger had felt them growing closer, the foundation of their friendship had gotten deeper. Often when Steph would wake up in the middle of the night, they would spend hours talking. Sometimes it got deep and personal and he found himself wanting to include her in his past and share his thoughts and he found it fascinating to hear hers. At some point in the last week he'd found himself wondering if maybe his stance on relationships was about to come to an end.

In his mind he tried to make an example from Joe's death, it was flimsy but still, Joe lived a dangerous life and his involvement with Stephanie meant she grieved hard for him. Yet it was their moments together that Stephanie clung to, the good times that made her smile and it was the abrupt ending and the lost possibilities that she had the most trouble overcoming. Through all this he came to realise that his own death would cause just as much pain, even though they were not romantically involved and that he hasn't given her many of the good times to cling too. At any rate, he'd chastised himself, it was a thought for a few months' time, when acceptance had won and the pain subsided to a dull ache. For now he would be her pillar, as he knew Joe would have been if he'd been the one to die.

Slowly the tears stopped and Stephanie's breathing evened and soon the colour returned to her face, "I'm okay" she whispered. And he knew that one day she would be, but for now he squeezed her closer and let her take the strength she needed.

Please Let me know what you think. xx Lulubelle