No Answer

Ranger walked into the dark apartment and looked for Steph. She was nowhere to be found. He picked up his phone and dialed the control room. "Where's Steph?" he asked. A moment later, he sighed and closed his phone. Picking up his keys, he headed out of the apartment and sighed, "Oh Babe."

He was walking to his car in the garage when Tank pulled in. He waited until his friend got out of his car. "Ranger, what's up?" Ranger let out another big sigh. "I'm heading to pick up Steph." Tank slowly shook his head, "At the same place as last time?" Ranger nodded and headed to his car. Tank walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "Let me know if I can do anything to help, either of you. We're all here for you, you know." Ranger just nodded and got in the car and drove out of the parking garage.

He slowly pulled through the gate and made his way down the narrow driveway. He stopped and made himself get out of the car. He rubbed his heart before he could finally see her in the distance and he slowly walked towards her. He stopped a few feet behind her and wasn't surprised to see her reach to the back of her neck and rub it. They always laughed about how they each had a tingling feeling when the other was near. Steph's was the back of her neck and his was over his heart.

"Babe?" She looked over at him and he saw the tears on her face. "How long have you been here today?" She shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. Does time really matter anymore?" He walked closer to her and sat down next to where she was sitting. He pulled her into his arms and she sobbed. He rubbed her back and murmured in her ear. After a few minutes, he tipped her chin up so he could see her eyes. He reached over to wipe her tears and she reached over to wipe the tears streaming down his face that he didn't even realize were there.

They sat together with their arms wrapped around each other for a long time. Steph started to shiver and Ranger decided they needed to leave. "Babe, you're freezing, it's time to go. We'll come back again in a few days, okay?" She nodded and he helped her stand up. They both paused for a moment and touched the stone before walking away. They started to walk away when Ranger turned to look back at the stone –

Isabella Angelina Manoso

September 28, 2018 – November 10, 2018

'A moment in our arms, forever in our hearts'

He walked her back to his car and realized that her car wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Babe, how did you get here?" She looked sheepishly at him and said, "I walked." He shook his head and said, "Babe." After buckling her into the car, he walked around and got in the driver's seat. He started the car and looked over at her. "Babe, it's almost five miles from RangeMan." She sighed and said, "I didn't plan to walk here. I was out walking, trying to clear my mind and try to make sense of everything and somehow ended up here." He reached over and grabbed her hand. Bringing it up to his lips, he kissed her fingers and she reached up and cupped his cheek.

They started the drive home in silence before she finally spoke. "Carlos, I think it's time I talked to someone. I need to make some sense of what happened and learn how to cope." He looked at her and gave a half smile, "Proud of you Babe. If you don't mind, I'd like to go with you. We both need to understand and find a way to continue on with our lives." She nodded and they were silent again, until he pulled into the garage. He parked the car and sat, looking at her. "Carlos, I need to know why this happened to us."

Carlos sat, holding her for a few minutes before he said, "Babe, sometimes there are no answers."

~The End~