A/N: I'm generally a lurker, but I've had this story in mind for a while - this is my first post. I love the Merry Men that FanFiction has created (love to JE but they are an underutilized resource in her novels)so I'm posting a story that centers mainly around Lester and Hector, and an OC. The first chapter has almost zero dialog, but I hope that it will help set the stage for the rest of the story. I'm home with two little girls all summer, so please be patient with replies to reviews - I have finite snippets of free time and I plan to use that to mostly update the story. And cyber hugs to my generous Beta, snapesgirl21 (please read her stories if you haven't already).

All characters, fictional places and cyber Tastykakes belong to Janet Evanovich; she just lets me play with them.

*I re-uploaded this chapter on 7/31 because the page breaks didn't show the first time. Content is the same. I couldn't live with it anymore.

Hector was in love.

It was known but not acknowledged that the handsome, fearsome techie was gay. It didn't distinguish him, or define him, amongst his Rangeman brothers, and that was how he preferred it. His anonymity, his ability to invoke a certain...aversion to being in his mental crosshairs had always served him well, but now all that was going to have to change.

He'd met a man, a wonderfully witty and winsome guy while working out of Rangeman's NYC office. Vaughn McGovern was, of all things, a musician. More specifically, he was a lyricist and composer in the musical theater scene. Vaughn was responsible for several recent Broadway song hits and, after receiving the accolades and subsequently the financial status he'd never before contemplated having, decided a bigger, nicer apartment was long overdue. He found cozy rehabbed 2-bedroom apartment in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, and was very satisfied with his 'buzz a resident for entry' security system until his neighbor's apartment was robbed after only 2 weeks at his new home. He got a referral for a security company called Rangeman from a friend, and blessedly, Hector accompanied a new employee on the install.

Their attraction was instant, their flirty banter (subtle from Hector, sincere from Vaughn) unending, and a very real and genuine relationship developed faster than either of them expected. To borrow a cliché, they had fallen head over heels in love.

This newfound love was the reason Hector's closed-off, empirical demeanor was going to have to change. Not only was Vaughn a generally happy, chipper person who interacted well with a lot of colorful people, he had a very beloved twin sister, Giana. They were close in a way that implied that regardless of Vaughn's assurances to the contrary, Giana's opinion and approval of Hector would almost certainly be an important determining factor in how his future with Vaughn played out.

And so with this in mind, Hector steeled himself for this introductory lunch Vaughn arranged for the three of them. Hector was not military, but the men he worked around every day were and he found himself adopting their 'Hope For The Best, Prepare For The Worst' approach to dealing with problems. He hoped this woman would see past his old gang tattoos, beyond the teardrops inked onto his cheek, and around the menacing demeanor he sometimes emanated and see just how authentic his feelings for her brother were. Hector knew a little about 'Gia' from Vaughn; she was 25, had just completed a 7 year course in 6 years to become a physical therapist, and was actively searching for a job working with veterans. The photograph he had of her hung framed on his wall and showed a mass of long, unruly auburn waves framing a heart-shaped face with blue eyes so dark they appeared violet, set inside thick lashes. Her lips were full and deep in color, and the smile looked like it was a permanent fixture. She was, according to her brother, 'fun and supportive and very loving'. Hector had precious little fun or love in his life growing up, and the only support he'd ever felt was in recent years from his coworkers, so he was doubly anxious about this lunch. Still, Hector was not one to back down from any threat, real or perceived, so he locked down his trepidation and counted down the days to his meal with Giana McGovern.

Lester was concerned.

Lester Santos thoroughly enjoyed his reputation as Rangeman's prankster, and ever since Stephanie and Ranger finally decided to quit the years of back-and-forth and elope a few months ago, the atmosphere at Rangeman was ripe for fun and games. With Steph working at Rangeman full time now doing searches, distractions, and client meetings, Les even had a willing partner in crime AND the bonus of probably not getting killed by Ranger when they were inevitably sniffed out. His latest prank even got a smile from Tank - Tank! - So all in all, Lester was a contented guy.

He wasn't a vapid, self-centered man, however, and it had come to his attention that Hector seemed distracted lately. Not in the way he had initially been distracted - the soft smiles and happy (for Hec) attitude had been because Hector had a man in his life. THAT sort of distracted was welcomed and silently celebrated by the Core Team; their brother had not had an easy start in life and they were glad to see him content. No, THIS distracted left Hector with a wrinkled brow and an air of being troubled at times. Lester worried that the new boyfriend was putting Hector through the paces, but his sources in the city told him that Vaughn was as happy as ever, hard at work with a new writing partner (female) and making plenty of time for phone calls and 'off-site meetings' to rendezvous in Newark with a certain Hispanic Rangeman. Determined as always to see his friends happy, Lester set about covertly uncovering the reason behind Hector's sudden distress.

Les approached his partner and best friend, Bobby Brown, with his concerns, and they decided to include Stephanie. If anyone could get information out of close-mouthed Hector, it was their Bomber. Though she mostly worked in the building now, the physical and defensive training she agreed to ensured she was qualified for field work, and she always partnered with Hector.

Steph, too, had noticed Hector's newfound glow and was thrilled that her partner and friend found happiness. Hec hadn't disclosed much about Vaughn to her, and her usually curious nature abated because she didn't want Hector to feel pressured to reveal anything. So when Lester and Bobby approached her to share their concern, she agreed to feel Hector out...after teasing them for their gossiping.

It was because of this turn of events that Steph found out, from a casual discussion on a Friday night stakeout with Hector, that he was meeting Vaughn's sister the following Tuesday. The tense silence that followed his admission spoke volumes to Stephanie, whose experience with tense silence in her parent's home was unmatched. She ascertained that Hec was either anxious about the sister causing discord in his relationship or of her opinion of him; either scenario made her heart ache for her silent friend, whom she had come to regard as much more than the intimidating ex-gang banger he was known as.

And this was how Stephanie Plum-Mañoso came to find herself parked in a Rangeman surveillance vehicle with Les and Bobby at lunchtime on Tuesday. They arrived at Pino's early and bribed their usual waitress (who luckily sported a big crush on Bobby) to plant a wireless transmitter wherever Hector was seated. Their loosely-constructed plan was to eaves drop and swoop in if things went south with either an interruption to say hello (Stephanie's idea) or a small charge explosive planted carefully in the dumpster out back (Lester's idea). Now, parked in the alley half a block down from Pino's, Stephanie again wondered how she let herself get roped into doing this. No matter now, since the transmitter crackled to life and they heard Hector's dulcet tone ordering water for three.

After a few silent moments peppered with the sound of glasses clinking and muted diners chattering, they heard a chair scrape close to the bug and a deep male baritone greet Hector affectionately, and then, a woman's voice.

It wasn't what she said, or her tone, but something almost primal shot down Lester Santos's spine the moment he heard Giana McGovern greet Hector with a happy, "It's so good to finally meet you, Hector!". A zing, a small flutter in his stomach, and the moment passed...but not the memory of it. That, Les would mull over for quite some time.

Giana was ecstatic.

After six long, arduous years of schooling at an accelerated rate, she was finally finished, with a 3.8 GPA, no less. She was ready to move forward, ready to work in her chosen profession. Her father had been an Army veteran who required physical therapy after being injured overseas, and she'd seen first hand the need for quality PTs at the Veteran's Hospital. Now, with her brother living and working in Manhattan, their mother tucked away in her cozy little beach front home only 5 hours away in Virginia Beach, and the Newark Veteran's hospital hiring new Physical Therapists to work in their expanded Rehabilitation wing, she would finally be able to see more of her family and spend some of the money that had been growing in her investment portfolio on a home. The only thing missing was her youngest brother, Richard, but he was enlisted and stationed overseas and there was little to be done about that.

And today, finally getting to meet the man who had so thoroughly captured her brother's affections...it was all just too perfect. Vaughn had talked of little else since Hector came into his life, but he'd been hesitant to introduce him. When she pressed him, he first denied that he was keeping Hector from her; he argued he'd never introduced boyfriends before, so this was his normal. Giana's mind drifted back to the conversation they'd had...

"I'd really like to meet him, V. You talk about him like...well, like he's IT for you; that's a big deal!"

Vaughn had scrubbed his slender fingers through his thick, Irish black hair and sighed. He had cornflower blue eyes, lashes for days, and lips made for kissing. His medium frame was nicely toned and at 25 he'd dated his fair share of men. But Hector...

"Here's the thing, Gia - I really, really like Hector. A lot. He's got this smile...and he's smart, so smart. He manages the IT side of 4 security company locations, with no formal training! And he's so thoughtful..."

Giana prompted him along, "...but...?"

Vaughn exhaled and, in a thin strained voice, said, "But, he's a former gang member, and a fairly prolific one at that. He didn't graduate high school. He leads a dangerous life. I just...I worry... I worry that he's going to see how I live, see you and mom, and decide I'm too 'cookie cutter' and take off."

Of all the things he could have said, that was the LAST thing Giana expected. A peal of laughter escaped her mouth before she could stop it, and she smiled at her brother's reproachful glare. "V, you're a white Broadway musician from Virginia. There's not a lot of mystery as to what your past entails. I'm sure your roots are about as important to Hector as his are to you."

Vaughn had perked up noticeably after that, and relented when she asked again to meet his boyfriend.

So here she sat in a dive Italian restaurant, watching her brother and his man sneak loving glances at each other while they exchanged pleasantries. She was thrilled to see her brother so happy and, from a woman who appreciated a good-looking man, found Hector to be very handsome and attentive - two huge pluses in any girl's book.

Just as they were finishing their pizza, Hector's attention shifted to something behind her. Giana swiveled in her seat just as Hector scowled at whoever had just walked into the restaurant, and her eyes widened slightly at the sight before her.