Disclaimer: Don't own them. Not making any money.

A/N: Continuation of To Loathe Thy Love. Edited and re-uploaded 2/27/12.

Hope you like it! Thanks for reading.
-Cyn

For The Love Of Another

Chapter 1: Yesterdays Pain

It didn't bother me that Big Dog and Carl were grinning wider than the Cheshire cat. It didn't bother me that Morelli looked like a ripe tomato on crack ready to explode. It didn't matter that I needed to go car shopping for the first time in over a year. It didn't even faze me that my stupid, clumsy, ass wipe of a skip was sitting in the back of a cop car cussing me out.

Hell I wasn't even upset that he blamed me for his stupid little bomb going off when clearly it was his fault for building the thing, carrying it on him, tripping over his own untied shoelaces which sent the damn bomb flying out of his hands and under my car as I chased him. I mean it was his dumbass self that kept the detonator clipped to his belt and pressed it when he was trying to get back up. The explosion was just big enough to send my sunshine yellow Jeep a foot in the air just before my gas tank exploded too.

None of that matters though. None of it bothers me.

It does bother me, however, that Ranger and Tank are standing in front of me trying to drag me out of the damn convenience store parking lot without letting me get a Twinkie like I damn well deserve.

"Ranger," my voice was low with just a hint of hysteria bubbling in it. "If you don't give me money in the next twenty seconds I will not be held accountable for shooting your dick off."

Tank flinched slightly but Ranger remained expressionless. "You had your weekly dessert last night. You know the deal," he said smoothly.

I can't be sure but I think flames were coming out of my nose at this point. "First of all I didn't get to finish my dessert before some jackass decided it would be funny to take my cake and run from me. Said jackass then ran into jackass number two and made my cake a fashion accessory on his shirt so last night's dessert doesn't count." Stupid Lester and Cal. Their dicks were coming off next. "Secondly please don't make me hold up poor Mr. Hahn for some damn sugary goodness. You won't be very happy if I get arrested and miss tonight's takedown." I smiled sweetly and held out my hand. "Give me money."

I would have happily taken them both down and used my own money to buy something but my money was torched like everything else that was in my Jeep.

Ok so maybe I wouldn't have been able to take Tank and Ranger down at once but I was damn good enough to get one on the ground. In the fourteen months since The Incident, as I like to call it, I've progressed better than anyone could hope for. It was the hardest I was ever pushed and for the first couple of months I wanted Ranger to bleed for agreeing to this self-torture. When I told him so in anger one day he simply smiled and told me to man up before throwing my ass across the room again.

That was the first day I got him on the ground. I didn't realize what I did until the guys in the room started whooping and hollering at me. I couldn't take him down again that week but soon enough it happened again. And again. And again. It didn't even matter that I ate a bunch of Rangers mandatory healthy crap anymore. I was stronger. I was more confident. I was proud of myself. It was obvious that Ranger was too without him saying so because whenever it happened, he gave me his 1000 watt smile before getting up and beating my ass in a non-fun way.

I was even more comfortable with guns now. Sure I still hated the things but I could assemble, shoot, and clean them in my sleep. I practiced with every make and model in Rangeman. The guys started bringing more of them in just to keep me entertained.

Blades weren't my thing but Lester still had me in the gym practicing throwing them. Ranger almost called the defensive and offensive part of the training off when I got a couple cuts on my arms. So how did I keep my lessons with Les? I told Ranger to man up. He didn't say anything more about it but Lester went a little easier on me after that.

I was also better with computers and security equipment. Hector took me through everything he knew, even the different types of security monitors Rangeman provided to clients.

Cal and Junior taught me how to spot and lose a tail.

Bobby taught me basic medical care and took me through all the supplies in the company cars. Every car had a medical bag in the back for onsite wounds that didn't require a trip to the hospital.

Hal worked on my B&E skills. I could pick most door locks in under a minute and even get out of a pair of handcuffs with a bobby pin without even looking.

Every trick Ranger pulled out for me, I worked on until I had at least a basic understanding. I was put through Hell to get to where I am now. I ended up crying a lot in anger and frustration whenever I had to work on something new. Although I had it easier than anyone else it was still hard for me to learn everything. Ranger took no pity on me though; he just kept pushing me until I was sure I was one minute away from breaking. It was only then that he would back off and let me rest. Ranger let me cry and bitch all I wanted when we were alone. If I had a nasty bruise from a hit I should have been able to block he calmly told me what I did wrong before applying some magic cream Bobby had that made it heal a little bit faster.

I'm pretty sure there was unicorn hair and dragons blood in that stuff because of how effective it was. I kept that little thought to myself though.

Now bruises and cuts are few and far between. No one even holds back anymore. I give it my all and so does everyone else.

There have been no more pictures, notes, or any contact from my mystery stalker and no other stalker since The Incident. I haven't been tossed in garbage, covered in nastiness, humped by a pack of dogs, or ran until I was out of breath in months. My car wouldn't even have been sent to car heaven if that idiot had just tied his shoes. Damn punk.

Which brings me right back for my need for sugar. Without my whole dessert last night, to be put through all this police crap was too much. I deserve a treat dammit!

I raised my hand higher in front of Ranger. He stood motionless for 19 seconds, hell yeah I was counting, before his lips twitched and he took out his wallet. He handed me two ones.

I raised my eyebrow, something that always amuses the heck out of him since I learned to do it, and kept my hand out. Reluctantly he pulled out a five and slapped it in my hand. Not what I was aiming for but I'd take it.

With a grin I rose on my toes and kissed his cheek. "Thanks Babe," I called as I made my way into the store.

Tank said something to Ranger that I couldn't hear. Whatever Ranger said back made Tank laugh. Just hearing that made me smile wider as I carefully selected the most sugary sweet confections I could find.

Morelli stepped into my peripheral vision as I carried my few selections to the register. His face was still red. He stood just off to the side with his hands on his hips. I could tell he was trying to control himself with some breathing techniques. That kept me smiling.

Turning to him, I ripped open a package of Butterscotch Krimpets, stuffed one in my mouth and held the other out to Morelli as a peace offering.

He stared at it for a moment before taking it out of my hand, only eating half of it in the first bite.

"You've really got to stop worrying about me Joe," I mumbled around a mouthful of heaven.

He rolled his eyes and took another bite. "I've tried. Not an easy thing to do."

A laughed a bit, almost chocking in the process. "Nothing about me is ever easy." That at least got a smile out of him. "How's the bank teller?"

Joe's smiled widened. After The Incident he and the redhead called it quits. Well she cut him off when the Burg started calling her a home wrecker causing her to transfer out of state. A couple months later he started dating Gabriella Holmes, Gabby, who worked at the bank by the police station. They've been together ever since. "She's great. I'm thinking about asking her to move in."

I didn't even have to fake a smile. "Good. I'm glad you're happy." Although it was difficult after The Incident, Morelli and I became friends again. The occasionally flirting is just habit. Neither of us wants to get back together but after so many years, it's like second nature.

"She keeps telling me we need to double date."

I snorted and ripped open a package of Twinkies, and no Joe didn't get the other half this time. Sharing time was over. "I'd need a date before I could go on a double date."

Joe looked skeptical. "You and Manoso still aren't together?"

"Nope," I said licking some cream filling from my thumb. "I think we're both happy keeping us in the friends department for now."

That was completely true. I still loved Ranger. He still loved me. But we're comfortable now. There's no pressure between us. There are some lingering kisses and touches on both our parts but it's like we've come to a silent agreement not to go down that road together yet. I'm not sure what we're waiting for but we're both definitely waiting for something.

That earned another roll of the eyes from Joe. "You know if you just fucked each other already you probably wouldn't need 5 packages of sugar to keep you going."

I looked over Joe's shoulder and saw Ranger raise his eyebrow and look at his watch pointedly. Play time was over. With a sigh I dumped all the empty wrappers in the trash and walked to the door. I stopped next to Joe with an evil smirk. "Don't worry about me," I stage whispered. "Treasure Pleasure's had a special sale on vibrators a while ago." I slapped Joe on the back when he stopped breathing for a second. With a laugh I jogged out to Ranger and Tank.

"Bitch!" Joe yelled out to me just as I was about to get in the front seat of Ranger's truck.

I winked and blew him a kiss. Morelli shook his head in disgust but there was a smile on his face that he didn't bother hiding. "We should catch a game sometime," I called before getting in and shutting the door.

Joe nodded and held his phone up telling me to call him to set it up.

Tank climbed into his own Escape and took off just as Ranger got into the driver's seat. He looked at me questioningly. I smiled and shook my head. "You don't want to know." Without another word he started the truck and took off. "Can we stop by Al's? I want to see if he has anything good for me to replace my Jeep." Al always kept a few cars around that he thinks some of the Rangeman guys might like in their personal collections.

There was a slight tug on Rangers lip but he wordlessly took a right turn and headed towards Al's.

When I started training Ranger talked me into becoming a full time Rangeman employee again. I was still able to run skips for Vinnie but with all the perks of extra money and company benefits. Because of that I had a good chunk in savings and didn't have to worry about how to pay for the new car I needed. Or how many pairs of shoes I bought at Macy's.

Al practically dragged me out of the truck and into a bear hug when we pulled up to his shop. "You don't come see me enough," he admonished me, pinching my cheeks just a tad too hard.

I grinned and kissed both of his. "You're just crabby I don't need you as much now."

He turned to Ranger. "It's all your fault." He didn't bother waiting for a response and turned back to me. "What you do you need, Sweetie?"

"My jeep had an explosive end." I ignored his extra bright smile and pushed on, "I was wondering if you had anything to show me before I headed to a dealership."

Al's eyes lit up. "I got just the thing for you, Steph. Got this beauty in last week." He led me behind his shop with Ranger right behind us. "Absolutely perfect for you," he added while I checked it out.

He was right of course. It was beautiful and perfect. The silver 2002 Mitsubishi Spyder was a two door convertible with tinted windows. Sexy and smooth with enough room in the back for skips without taking away from its sleek design. I could definitely see me driving this.

"Fully loaded," Al said like a proud papa. "Already did the basic tune-ups. I can have it dropped off tonight after giving it the Rangeman special." He was referring to a build in tracker, hood and trunk tampering detectors, and a direct link up to Rangeman.

Kinda like Rangeman On-star.

"How much?" Ranger asked.

Al looked from the car back to me. "For the pretty lady I'll make it an even five grand." Even I knew that was a hell of a deal. And if Al has it you know damn well he'll have it purring like a kitten when he hands you the keys.

Ranger turned towards me with his eyebrow raised in question. With a smile I nodded. "I'll take it."

Ranger hooked his arm around me and started leading me back towards the truck. "Charge it to Rangeman."

I stopped walking and glared at him. "I can pay for my own car."

There was a twitch in his eye. I had to stop from smiling. I loved how I noticed all the little things now. "I'll take it out of your cut for tonight's distraction," he said to pacify me.

"Okie dokie," I grinned. Over my shoulder, I said bye to Al and hopped back into the truck.

"You know we never went over who the skip is tonight," I said when Ranger got back on the street.

"You were too busy crying over cake."

With a snort, I punched him in the arm. He didn't flinch but I know I put some weight into to. "I was not crying."

He smartly chose to ignore that and focused on tonight. "His name is Francesco Greyer. Thirty-three, mixed race, green-eyes, bald. He's big in the arms and drugs trade here in Jersey. Franc's the boss' right hand man."

Great. "What was he charged with?"

Ranger actually cracked a smile. "Public indecency and destruction of property. He got drunk and peed on a cop car, scratched it up when he tried to get his belt off."

What an idiot. If the bond was high enough for Rangeman to take on then the DA must be desperate to get him on anything.

As we pulled into Rangeman I asked who Franc's boss was. Ranger parked in his empty spot before saying a name I thought I had forgotten a lifetime ago. "Noah Denison."

My heart stopped and I forgot to breathe for a minute as memory after memory assaulted me. I snapped out of it and gripped onto Ranger's arm when he moved to get out of the truck. My fingers were probably leaving marks in his skin but I didn't care. "Noah Samuel Denison Jr.?"

Ranger stared at me with his blank face firmly in place. "Is there something I should know?" His voice held a demand in its tone. He definitely wasn't happy that I knew his full name.

It was a struggle but I forced myself to smile and let go of his arm. "Nothing to tell really. The name just caught me off guard. I used to know a . . . friend of his in college. We met a few times. Never thought I'd have another run in with him."

"You ok to do this tonight?" Ranger asked, not trusting I was telling the whole story. He taught me well to school my face. I kept my smile just large enough for him to see I was fine.

"Yeah. Actually it'll be a piece of cake." That part wasn't a lie. Noah owed me. He promised me anything I ever wanted, what seemed like forever ago. I never thought I'd actually ever cash that favor in. "Do you know how to contact him?"

"Babe."

I told Ranger what he needed to know about the favor, the 0 risk of injury to anyone on our side, and a quick pickup of Franc. I didn't tell him the whole truth but it wasn't really his business anyways. What happened over 10 years ago . . . well he doesn't need to know everything about my past.

He continued to stare at me when I was done. "Ranger," I said on a sigh, "I'll just go to him and ask for Franc. It really is that simple. Hell I'll even wear a wire and a damn panic button if you want me to but I know it won't be necessary. All I need is 5 minutes with Noah and Franc is ours without an unnecessary distraction." Still he said nothing. "He may be a bad guy but his sense of honor could rival yours." Not even a blink. "Please trust me on this," I said softly, pulling out the big guns.

Ranger blew out a long breath and I knew I had him. "Five minutes Babe. No more. You go wired, carry your gun and blade, and I have to go with you." He sensed my hesitation with him going but said firmly, "Take it or leave it. We do it my way or I pull you out of the job altogether."

With a reluctant nod I agreed. We both got out of the truck and took the elevator to the control room. Ranger went about getting everyone filled in on the new plan.

I walked to my desk and sat down, pretending to check my email.

God it's been over a decade. My heart thudded in my chest, reminding me of past wounds. I never forgot about those years but I pushed them so far back in my head, and heart, that I hadn't thought about them in who knows how long.

I'm doing the right thing, I had to tell myself. This will be the best thing for Rangeman.

What I was about to do would save time and standoffs with Franc and I'm sure his bag of goons that will no doubt be around him wherever he goes. This is for the best.

Not matter how much it might hurt to remember.

"This is for the best," I whispered. "It has to be."

A/N: What was Steph keeping from Ranger that happened all those years ago? Will everything with Noah go as easy as Steph thinks it will? Reviews are lovely!

Chapter Two: Today's Heartache.