AN: While I am generally a BABE all the way, this one was nagging to come out. Take solace that there will be a HEA for most characters at some point. All grammar mistakes are mine. Of course I'm not getting paid for this, or my car would not be 10 years old and limping along... Feel free to leave a review, good or bad. As mentioned above, there are many songs referenced in this story (though not for the first few chapters). If you have never heard a certain song, it might be worth the time to look it up and listen. I will try to post a new chapter every 2 days or so. Love, UB
Ranger sat in his office staring at the clock on the bottom of his computer screen. As the minutes slowly ticked down to the end of 2017, he found himself contemplating the past three years. Thinking about the time that had passed since Stephanie left Trenton was always painful, though he would never openly admit to coping with that weakness. Her departure with the cop for greener pastures, in Alaska of all places, was a shock that his system had only recently adjusted to. His government contract was completed, he was a free man. When he made the decision to finally test if they were ready for their someday, he really did not expect things to go so wrong.
Offering her his one vial of serum, allowing her to become immune to his power, should not have made a difference in their relationship. As it turned out, his unmentionable ability to influence others was the only real reason she had continued to come back to him time after time. Once she was no longer affected by his supernatural charms, she had little interest in continuing even a friendship with him. Someday was nothing more than a pipe dream. That had hurt him more than anything, the complete loss of friendship. Ranger was sure that his charms were not the cause of their closeness, especially since he had never purposefully used them on her. He had truly allowed himself to believe that for once in his life he had found a genuine life partner. It was not meant to be.
As he waited for the minutes to crawl by and announce a new year, he couldn't help but hope she was happy. According to the latest gossip, she and the cop were now married with a child on the way and an actual white picket fence. Those were concepts that both amused and infuriated him. While her life had changed drastically, his was mostly the same. He ate and slept enough to function. He worked out for hours each day and worked as the CEO of Rangeman for even longer hours into the night. Ranger's life reverted back to its previous monotony of dangerous encounters with the scourge of the world and as little social interaction as possible. He hadn't even picked up a one night stand in over a year.
Ranger knew that the events of three years ago had forever changed his life and the lives of his men. The office was no longer a place where talented men worked together as a brotherhood serving for the forces of good. Rangeman was now a seven story building full of soldiers with no purpose, no real drive, and no family. He had tried a few times to apply his unmentionable influence around the building. It didn't work. His heart was just not in it anymore. While his men were just as effective in their duties they were unhappy most of the time. Even Lester didn't smile as much anymore. Being the only unmentionable in the building, his men did not understand her abrupt departure. They were hurt by her absence and felt she no longer cared. Though the guys at Rangeman knew Ranger had "powers", and that unmentionables like Diesel existed, her leaving was still a hard pill to swallow.
Pulling himself from unproductive thoughts, he looked at the clock one last time. Seeing that it was already 11:50 he decided to shut everything down and head up to seven. Another year would end in minutes and a new one would sweep into his life without any fanfare. As Ranger pushed back his leather chair and stood, he caught the unmistakable aroma of sugar cookies. With a sigh, he plopped back down into his seat while rubbing the bridge of his nose. His patience lasted nearly thirty seconds...
"Por el amor de todo lo bueno en este mundo. Te juro que si apareces desnudo frente a mí no seré responsable de mis acciones."
(For the love of everything good in this world. I swear if you pop up in front of me naked I will not be held responsible for my actions.)