Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize from the Stephanie Plum books belong to Janet Evanovich.

A/N: This story isn't beta'ed. Any grammar faults or spelling errors are not to be considered flaws or defects but inhence the individual beauty : )

Finally, exactly one year after publishing the one-shot A Life Worth Living, the sequel is there, fresh off the press for you. YAY! I strongly recommend that you read my one-shot before starting this story to make sure you understand the condition Hal is in and know everything about his past/marital problems.

A very special hug goes out to XxtartloverxX. In a very short time you've become a very special friend. I'm happy to have you in my life.

Chapter 1 - Coming Home

August, Philadelphia Rehab Center

"Hey man," Vince cheerfully threw the door open making it bang against the wall. "You ready to leave these Hal-lowed halls and paint the town red?" He beamed brightly. Finally, his friend was coming home; he had so waited for this day to come.

It was a beautiful, warm, sunny August day. Hal sat on his bed and looked around the sun-flooded room which had been his home over the past seven months one last time. The interior was light, cheerful and inviting, so much better than his rather dark apartment at Haywood; but nonetheless he wouldn't miss it. Last year December 6th, eight months ago, he had tried to end his life and today he would finally be going back to Trenton.

The months since he'd been transferred from the hospital to the Rehab Center had been grueling both physically and emotionally. Each day began with Hal attending either occupational or art therapy in the morning and hours of gruesome physical therapy each and every afternoon. That plus the psychotherapy and self-respect sessions three times a week were all to prepare him for this moment and all the wonderful moments yet to come. Taking a deep breath Hal smiled. He felt stronger than ever. He was ready.

There were no memories of his drop or the minutes before; but when he hit the water's surface it must have been like hitting concrete. It was touch and go and the MedEvac chopper immediately rushed him to the level 1 trauma center of the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philly. His thighs, pelvis, hips, numerous ribs and both shoulder blades were broken and partly smashed, his lung punctured and kidneys squashed; but the really frightening diagnoses were the fissures in his thoracic and lumbar spine. His surgery lasted twenty hours, his coma three weeks; but he pulled through. The best neurosurgeons on the east-coast operated on him; but they couldn't work wonders. The damage to the spinal cord and the accompanying swellings and contusions were so severe that they changed his life forever; leaving him paraplegic with some sensation; but no autonomous mobility. Had it not been for Steph and Vince and the unending stream of Rangemen visiting him, Hal was sure he would have given up and accepted his fate and by that a life in a wheelchair. His friends and colleagues kept pushing and encouraging him against all odds and now he was walking under his own steam. Guaranteed, the periods of time were short, twenty yards at a stretch, and he needed his wheels always within reach; but damn – he was walking.

Hal turned around and looked at the two people in his room. Vince had morphed from his partner to his best friend and Steph – Steph had been his rock, his source of strength. They had laughed together while watching episode after episode of 'Chip' n Dale, The Rescue Rangers'. He had let his walls down and cried on her shoulder in those dark hours when he felt like giving up all hope. He even had taken his frustration and anger out on her without her ever batting so much as an eye in the face of his temper.

Grabbing his crutches, Hal struggled as he hoisted himself off the bed and, staggering ever so often, slowly made his way over to where Steph was waiting for him. A week ago he still needed a bulky walker. Now he got along with two crutches each assisting the respective leg in carrying the weight and keeping his balance. When he finally stood in front of her, his effort was rewarded with the most beautiful smile and electric blue eyes in the world.

"Come on, sailor. Time to get this sexy body home," she grinned up at him with sparkling eyes.

Vince got the wheelchair over to them and like an old pro Hal rolled down the halls and into the elevator. On the first floor with the exit in sight he asked for his crutches and pushed himself into a standing position. Patients, nurses and other employees greeted him and wished him good luck. Eventually, their applause and cheers rang in his ears, as he proudly ambled past the reception and out of the Philadelphia Rehab Center dragging one leg then the other. When they finally reached the black Rangeman SUV, Hal was exhausted; but he had sworn to leave the center walking and damn he did it. 'Look at me,' his jubilant ego puffed its chest. 'I'm the shit all shit yearns to be!'

The drive back was filled with blithely chitchat and laughter. Brett had managed to blow up one of the company cars while out on a call. Naturally, Lester deemed that momentous event the end of Steph's bad car karma and the beginning of Brett's. Now the guys were working on her to accept a company car. Each day they were showing her pictures of cute little SUVs they could gadget up to make her very own "Bombshell-Mobile"; but so far she was unwavering. There had been a new guy at Rangeman who right on his first day started hitting on Junior. He ended hanging upside down from the gym ceiling until Tank got back from a client meeting. Somehow the big guy didn't see the same level of amusement in a human piñata as did the rest of the Rangemen. Woody got shit-faced when celebrating his birthday and declared himself in love with one of the pole dancers. The next time he was seen was 48 hours later, dehydrated, stiff and sporting an obvious limp; but the smile on his face could illuminate all of Jersey. The office grapevine hadn't seen him and the woman hooking up again.

Ranger was in the wind. When Steph insisted on staying 24/7 with Hal those first weeks when he was in coma, Ranger was less than thrilled with her decision; but Steph stayed adamant. There was a rather vociferous disagreement one night outside the hospital between the pair which Tank and Ram had to interrupt before it got out of hand. To say the atmosphere between Ranger and Steph was charged; but no longer in a good way, was an understatement. On a rainy and stormy March day, two months after Hal had been transferred to the Rehab Center, the guys on monitor duty witnessed Steph running out of Ranger's office with tears streaming down her face. In true Steph style, she ditched all her trackers and vanished from the face of earth. Vince, Ram and Cal went crazy when they heard what happened and called Ranger to the mats. Tank had all the Rangemen searching for her until they finally found her at the Rehab Center with Hal. Nobody knew what exactly had happened; but Ranger went in the wind directly afterward without an estimated comeback. It took Tank some long talks and tight hugs to convince his Little Girl to return to Haywood at all. None of the Rangemen dared to ask her for details; but everybody could see how she was hurting thus they closed ranks around their blue eyed, Beautiful Bomber and supported her the best way they could.

"So what do I have to expect when we get back?" Hal asked into the quiet that had settled over them as they hit the Trenton city limits. He knew better than expecting to silently slip into his apartment.

"Balloons," Steph hugged him from behind and smiled radiantly, "and banners."

Hal instantly blushed beet-red. "Please tell me that's not true, Vince."

"Man, suck it up," his friend laughed. "She has been on Tank's case this whole week. I swear he started to hide in his office cuz he was afraid Steph would be lurking somewhere to jump him."

"Steeeeeph," Hal whined with pain written all over his face.

"What? You accepted the colored wheelchair the guys got you; but my balloons and banners are not OK?"

"The wheelchair is cool – sporty, with blazing flames on the wheels. I'm a grown man. Balloons are not cool."

Steph rolled her eyes so far back that for a moment she thought she could see her brain. Just when she was about to spit out a witty remark, Vince turned the Explorer onto Haywood and the Rangeman building came into view. Home, he was finally home. Hal felt a distinct flutter in his heart and impatiently leaned forward.

"Look at the rookie next to me, Steph. Can't wait to get back to work," Vince laughed.

Steph had already unbuckled her seat-belt. The moment the truck hit the garage floor she opened the door and jumped out of the still moving car. They were all there, just as she had asked them. Assembled in front of the elevator were all the off duty Rangemen, balloons in hand and cheering. She was so proud of them; these last months she came to realize that they were really the greatest guys on earth.

Once the truck stopped, Vince unbuckled and went to the back to collect Hal's wheelchair. It was a sports model with custom designed wheel spats which Hector and Cal had done an amazing job spray painting. Hal had been right; the chair was really flashy and cool. While Vince was busy, Steph helped Hal out of the car. Once he was steady on his legs and crutches, he slowly made his way around the truck and was greeted by a blast of whoops and cheers. The men streamed forward, each of them eager to welcome their comrade home. Lots of things had changed since Hal's attempted suicide. Mandatory quarterly counseling sessions, a truce on the merciless shenanigans and partners having a closer eye on each other's emotional well-being were just some of the new policies established. The incident had definitely changed Rangeman and brought the employees closer together.

Hal turned around and raised an eyebrow at Steph.

"What now?" She faked irritation. "I just told them to say hello."

Smiling he lifted his right arm and pulled her close pressing a kiss into her hair. Only she would get a bunch of hardcore mercenaries to hold balloons and cheer and whoop and go around hugging him.

"This is nothing, man," he heard Vince voice to his left as he transferred himself into the wheelchair. "Wait till you see your new apartment. The guys did a great job."

With his handicapped mobility and the use of the wheelchair, Hal could no longer stay in his cramped fourth floor apartment. Instead, Tank had pulled in an architect to set up a handicapped accessible apartment on the third floor next to Bobby's infirmary. It was great – airy, light, with lots of room to maneuver the bulky chair; but the highlight of the space was the wheelchair accessible bathroom with roll in shower and a tub with bars and handles. Hector and Cal had talked to the therapists at the Rehab Center about colors and how they influence the mood and painted the apartment accordingly in light pastel tones. Brett and several of the other guys went furniture shopping with Ella, again voting for lighter colors. Everything was supposed to be supportive and inviting to prevent Hal from ever dropping into such a depressive state again.

When Hal rolled out of the elevator on three, the first thing he saw was the huge banner welcoming him home over a new door next to the infirmary. However as he rolled into the apartment, the sight in front of him took his breath away. Suddenly, he felt Steph's arm around his neck and her pressing a gentle kiss on his cheek. Together they made their way down the short wide hall into the living room that seamlessly merged with an open kitchen. Everything was perfect. The kitchen counter top was adjustable so he could either sit in his wheelchair or easily stand and work without having to bend his spine and the dinner table was high enough that he could roll his wheels under the top to sit comfortably. The couch was raised in an effort to both ease standing as well as transferring from 'the wheels' to the couch and back; but the eye-catcher was the huge oversized recliner that screamed comfort. Hal pressed his lips tight and frowned when he felt the first tear slip out of the corner of his left eye.

"Welcome home, Hal," Steph whispered as she crouched down, wiped away the lone tear and pressed a gentle kiss on his jaw. "I'm so happy; you have no idea what having you back means to me."

I hope you like the start. Leave me your thoughts and comments in a review; I'd truly appreciate that.