AN: This is my first FanFic...and but I welcome and appreciate constructive criticism/critiques at anytime. I have no Beta, so all mistakes are mine to begrudge.

Disclaimer: Also, I am not profiting or making any money from this as I have as my friends so lovingly call it "A Big Girl Job." Though I would like to thank JE for giving us this world.

Warning: THIS IS MATURE CONTENT. Hopefully that drew your attention. This FanFic will cover some intense topics including but not limited to: Intense Situations (High Angst at times) Depression, and all in all just dealing with the heaps of crap adults shoulder everyday.

Now...Let's get on with the show!

Chapter One

Pensacola, Florida
June 15, 2015
0200

Pain. That was all she was aware of and all she had become since time started in her world. Pain encompassed her being, her existence and fear was its close friend.
Her arms and legs were unresponsive even as blows struck her torso, back and continued lower until her screams and cries drowned out the unforgiving laughter mocking her.
She could hear her blood pumping, the pounding of her heart made her chest hurt and her blood pooling beneath her made her nudity difficult to ignore.

How did this happen? She once again wondered to herself. When she tried to remember there was nothing, just the suffering her body endured.

"Help, please stop," She croaked as she attempted to open her eyes, the swelling preventing and the dark room she found herself in prevented her from grasping her full injuries.
Silence was the answer to her pleas. The beating stopped as a single hand tightened around her throat. They wanted her to feel pure misery before offering a sweet relief of death.

Death was not what she wanted; she wanted to fight back and survive.

Fight back! Don't just take it! She demanded of herself but her body could not cooperate. Her screams were dying out as her hands dropped.

She could vaguely hear a voice trying to call to her, begging her to wake up as she bolted out of the bed.

"You're safe," Keith whispered, as he reached for her, tugging her back into the bed. She looked around the bedroom and relaxed slightly as she noticed the familiar dresser, closed doors for the closet and large bathroom. She allowed Keith to pull her back into the queen sized bed without protest. As her eyes adjusted to the lamp on her side table he had turned on she took in his features. Light brown hair that was normally jelled was sticking up and his boxers were visible as he pulled her onto the bed.

"Come here," Keith said as he gently pulled her into his arms.

"It was awful," She whispered, her voice breaking as she tried to pull away from him. His brown eyes bore into her and his toned chest seemed to tighten as he rubbed her back. Slowly, her sobs became cries finally succumbing to hiccups.

"Who would do this to me?" She was not expecting an answer.

"Diana," Keith began as gazed at him. His physical attractiveness was something many men and women swooned over, yet his personality and kindness were more appealing for Diana. This "surfer dude," as Diana so fondly referred to him as, was carefree to most. Diana was one of the few who truly knew the man beneath who had taken care of her after she crash landed in his life a decade before.

"I'm so sorry," He started again as he reached to touch her face. Diana flinched because she knew the extent of her injuries from her time with her captives. Her face had received cruelties most could not stand to stomach. Avoiding looking everyone in the eye was easy for her. She did not remember being any different.

"Stop, this will get better," Keith more forcibly stated as he gripped her arms to get her attention, pulling her up and onto his lap and situating them so he could lean against the headboard, "I'll leave the lights on. Otherwise, you might break me when you get up to take a piss," He teasingly said hoping to gain a smile. Diana laughed and mocked smacked him and she turned away. She was slightly worried about his reaction to what else she had to tell him.

"There is a positive to this," She began as excitement filled her. Diana's nightmare had sparked a memory which was a desire the doctors, Keith and herself had given up on years ago.

"And what would that be Darlin'?" He inquired, trying to hide the breath he was holding.

"I remembered my name," Diana quietly said, attempting to sound nonchalant and failed miserably.
Keith sat up and moved Diana to face him, he wanted to see her face and the smile that rarely graced her face as she slowly began to realize all she had lost.

"What is your name?" He stopped himself from saying Diana as this was not her name. Not anymore.

Diana took a steady breath and ran a hand through her curly brown hair as her blue eyes appeared to shine with happiness, "Stephanie. My name is Stephanie."

Newmark, New Jersey
June 15, 2015
0300

"I'm worried about him Pierre," Maria whispered from her small kitchen. Her beige colored walls were freshly painted by her sons in an attempt to help her youngest son. She cast a glance towards the hallway which led to his bedroom. She knew he would be asleep due to the sedative she had been forcing him to take for months during his recovery. Maria tried to give her son his privacy and her desperation for understanding what happened was her only reason for calling Carlos' closest friend and confidant.

"We all are," Tank's solemn voice gave away much more than words could. He was still at the Trenton office finishing paperwork. He wanted to go home but since Little Girl's case appeared to be going nowhere things had gotten tense between him and Lula. They were not married because she refused to get married without Stephanie there to be her Maid of Honor. This had not bothered Tank in the beginning but now that they were all pushing Forty it was time to make a decision.

"How did this happen? How can someone just disappear for ten years?" Maria demanded as she slipped into rapid Spanish that Tank could not catch. The only words he could understand were "my little Carlos" and if this were any other situation he would've smiled a little.

Instead, Tank remained silent as Maria continued on her broken rant with tears more evident the longer she spoke. His real reasoning was he had no answer for her question. That question had shaken Rangeman to its core and it was not lost on him the significance of Maria's call. This was the day that Rangeman went into overdrive when it was discovered that Stephanie was missing. Carlos had taken the entire week off and Tank had ensure he was offline for the entire time.

Tank remembered it as if it just happened. Steph had no dangerous skips, in fact, she had finally agreed to some extra training once she dumped the cop and all of her skips had been returned to the station. She had no stalkers or even threats of any kind. Her car hadn't even exploded in months and Ranger had seen to it all bets about her were immediately terminated. All of that had made her disappearance so much more terrifying.

The worse part was as days turned into months than years and no body was found. Ranger had began to give out major duties of the company to the core team which allowed him more free time. He had more than earned it, but he became obsessed with tracking leads to find Steph. He even went on a couple of extremely dangerous missions right before his retirement just so he could make use of his government contacts. Every resource was utilized. And nothing happened.

The cop gave up within a year, none of Rangman was surprised to find out he had knocked up the mod princess he had been seeing on the side. They were all almost a little relieved that Little Girl wasn't here when they eloped and took off for New York the following year. Tank continued his inner travel through time as Maria slowly began to work her way back to him and why she called.

"Maria," Tank delicately began, "we are doing all we can for both of them, but her case went cold at TPD years ago. We are the only ones still looking for her," Tank regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth. He was just grateful he hadn't disclosed that most of Rangeman were just hoping to find her body so she could at least get a proper burial.

"Pierre, he believes she's alive," Maria whispered the last word and he could imagine her undoing her high bun and running her hands through it. Carlos did something similar if he was stressed, "He said he would know if she had passed."

Tank paused, considering his next words, "He said something similar to me recently," He avoided telling her this was a few months ago. He had stopped speaking at the Office unless his opinion was directly needed. His eyes traveled to a framed photo on the loan bookshelf in his office. The picture was from one of the only times Little Girl had been able to convince Ranger to wear "normal clothes" as she referred to. Carlos had surprised her by gathering her favorite men from the office and taking a Saturday trip to Point Pleasant that ended with a BBQ at his beach home. In the picture, Carlos was sporting a pair of Navy swim trunks with Steph's arms wrapped around his waist and a shit-eating grin resides on all of the rest of the men's faces. Excluding Hector as he only gave a partial smile that reflected his plans for later when he literally swiped Lester's shorts and was still only known by Tank as the culprit.

"If she is alive," Maria began with a weary sigh, "you must find her," there was no hope in her voice. Maria understood what the consequences of failure meant for Carlos. Though their relationship was strained throughout Carlos' teenage years in his adult life after Stephanie came into the picture he had adapted and changed to try to mend the relationship. It showed by the way Maria expressed her deep concern.

"If she is, I will."

Pensacola, Florida
September 9, 2016
1630

Lester smiled to himself as he sauntered into PB Tavern. He planned to continue scoping out possible locations for a smile Rangeman Office to expand the fast growing company into Northern Florida and than hopefully onto the Gulf Coast. Technically he was in Pensacola for a vacation because Tank was tired of having to take him to the mats all the time. Ranger had stopped doing it a couple of years ago after his last bad mission that left he unable to spar or really walk for months. Bobby had flipped shit and demanded that Ranger stop killing himself for the hope of a shred of a lead. Ranger finally agreed and retired which seemed to drive him further into the black hole he'd fallen into.

Lester shook off Trenton as he took in the local hot spot the attractive front desk woman had recommended to him. The entire bar was two levels, with stair entrances from the outside and around the back where the entire wall came up to give patrons a view of the white beaches and green water. The only wall that provided him with a decent view of the door and opening to the beach was located on the far side of the bar so he slid into a seat and didn't bother looking up as the bartender silently slipped him a menu.

He normally would try to engage but he didn't have the heart for it anymore. He had started thinking long and hard about his future and he had decided he wanted to settle down and be happy. He was too old for the one night stand kind of life. As he gazed around the bar he noted that there weren't as many patrons as he expected even at the early hour. When he looked up he noticed that the bartender came within his peripheral vision.

"Corona, please," He requested as he tried to catch a glimpse of her. She seemed to be extremely shy for a bartender which surprised him and probably explained her being on the day shift.
As she placed the drink in front of him he noticed deep scars on both of her hands running up her arms but when he made it to her face she had already turned to wipe down the bar and he couldn't see her face. What he did notice was her hair. Her thick hair was long and curly and his heart clenched.

She reminded him so much of her. The woman who had changed so many lives without ever being thanked before she vanished. As the bartender rang a towel over the sink behind the bar he could barely see her neck for a second and he saw the same type of scarring. He quickly understood her uncomfortable demeanor around him and he instantly felt guilt for making assumptions about the woman.

As he was about to try to make conversation, his words died in his mouth as the bartender turned and lifted her eyes to him. And the world stopped as he saw her bright blue eyes.

"Beautiful?"