Disclaimer: Not mine

Chapter 1

I couldn't believe it. I was finally back home.

I took a deep breath of the smoggy city air as I stepped out of the airport and chuckled under my breath as I faintly heard a few visitors from other states and countries coughing as they tasted the air for the first time.

I made a beeline straight for the nearest pay phone and flipped open the directory, there were a few people that I wanted to look up before I checked in to my hotel, I easily found the numbers and addresses I wanted and jotted them down in a small note book that was always on me.

I pulled out my cell and punched in the first person I wanted to see as I waved down a cab.

"Hello?" A tired a weary woman answered the phone.

"Steph? Is that you?" I asked a little surprised at how tired and miserable she sounded. She sounded nothing like she used to in collage but then again it had been ten years, since I had seen her, I had kept in close contact with her over the phone up until five years ago before I had moved and lost all my address books and then my sister had gotten in to trouble and I had dropped everything to go and help her.

"Yeah, who's this?" She asked sounding confused.

"Don't tell me you forgot your old pal Tori from collage?" I pouted as a cab finally stopped and the boot popped open. I easily dumped my two suit cases in the boot before climbing in.

"Ohmigod TORI!" She squealed in delight. "How have you been?"

"Good" I gestured for the cabbie to be patient for a moment. "Say you up for a visit?"

"You're home?" She exclaimed.

"Yeah I just flew in and I thought I drop in on you before I checked in to my hotel." I replied with chuckle.

"Sure thing, apartment 215 on the corner of St James and Dunworth" She gave me the address which I relayed to the cabbie. "You should get here in about twenty minutes if you are coming from the airport."

"You got some goodies in that apartment of yours?" I asked with a laugh. "We have five years to catch up on, hon."

"I'll run down to the seven eleven and grab some things." She promised.

"Make sure you grab some beer if you have enough cash on you" I requested digging through my bag as my second cell went off, it was my work phone that hadn't rung in three weeks. "Hey I got another call coming in, I'll see you soon."

"Later." She said before hanging up.

I flipped open my other phone, but didn't say anything. I recognised the number and really didn't want to talk to the person on the other end but knew they would only keep ringing until I did answer.

"Why didn't you tell me you were taking a leave of absence?" An annoyed male voice snapped out. I sighed internally but didn't say anything; I wasn't in the mood to have a fight over the phone. "Real Mature Tori, the silent treatment." He sighed tiredly. "I'm sorry I snapped, boss put me with a rookie after he told me you were on leave." I grimaced. Rookies were the worst to be partnered with; they were a pain in the arse and never knew when to keep the yaps shut. "Can you at least tell me how long you are going to torture me for?" He pleaded; obviously the boss didn't tell him.

"Indefinite." I said finally with a small sigh.

"In other words you don't know if you are going to come back." He groaned. "Look I know that you had to go and try and sort out your life and everything." His voice turned serious as well as a little worried. "I know the last two years have been rough on you and you needed to get away but couldn't you have warned me?"

"It was last minute." I said softly, sounding slight apologetic. I looked out the window as the car came to a stop outside an apartment building that looked like it had seen better days and paid the cabbie and got out hauling my suitcases out and lent against the wall. "I'm sorry Andy, I just suddenly realised that I couldn't put it off any more."

"I know." He sighed. "Look just remember that I'm here alright, I'm always ready to listen."

"Thanks, Andy."

"Take care of yourself Nightingale."

"You too, later." I hung up and dropped the phone back into my handbag and carried my suitcases to the elevator and hit 2. I glanced at the doors as I went passed before setting the suitcases down and knocking on the right door. I frowned as I could faintly hear Steph arguing with some one and raised an eyebrow at her as she opened the door and gave me a grin before rolling her eyes and gesturing for me to come in as she continued to listen to who ever was on the other end of the phone. I dragged my suitcases in the door and closed it behind me making sure that it was locked before looking around the apartment. Either Steph had gotten a little worse with her living habits or she had recently had a break in.

"Look Joe I can't do this right now" She broke through the tirade. "I have a visitor that I haven't seen in…No it's not, it's an old friend from collage…" Her eyes narrowed at what ever comment he had made and I saw her anger flash through her bright blue eyes. "Fine fuck you too." She hung up the phone and tossed it on to the couch with a frustrated growl before turning to me. "Tori." Her face lit up again and I returned the hug. "It's been four years." She commented as she pulled two beers out of the freezer and we plonked down on the couch.

"I know, I'm sorry about just dropping off the face of the planet like that, but my sister got into some trouble and I had to help her out." I apologised. "It took me nearly a year to fix it but in the end it came to nothing." I sighed sadly, twisted off the lid and gulped down a few mouthfuls. "She had an abusive husband and decided that she was better off without him and called me for help. I helped her to get a divorce and restraining order and moved her so he wouldn't be able to find her….or so I thought." I shook my head.

"He killed her?" Steph asked quietly.

"Yeah and the unborn kid she was carrying." I nodded faintly. "I've had the worst five years of my life really…" I paused for a moment. "Do you mind listening?"

"Not at all." She shook her head sipping at her own beer. "Then I'll tell you what's been going on with me, I promise it will make you laugh."

"Deal" I chuckled. I wasn't all that surprised that we had slipped back into the easy friendship that we'd had back in high school and collage, it was actually rather nice and what I was hoping for. "After I had the son of bitch locked away for murder one, I took a week off work and drop in to see my folks in Miami. They moved there just after I graduated." I explained slowly leaning back in the seat, fiddling with the cap off the beer. "Ma had been sick for awhile but she always insisted that she was fine. The hardest thing I had to do was tell them what happened to Anna and how no matter what I'd tried she had still gotten killed. I was sure that they'd both hate me, but they did everything they could to reassure me that I'd done everything I could." I took a deep breath, keeping myself calm. "I'd gotten married right out of collage like you know I came home and found him shagging his stupid blonde secretary." I shook my head.

"Was it on the dinning room table?" Steph asked.

"Coffee table." I corrected her. "I walked in and walked out again, we had a very loud and public divorce in Washington."

"Sounds like my own divorce to Dickie." Steph chuckled slightly. "He was doing Joyce on the dinning room table not even a year after the wedding."

"Yeah well life went slightly shitter after that. Pa called me eight month later as I was just getting my life back together and told me that Ma had died that morning, she'd had cancer but hadn't wanted anyone to know. I told him I'd fly over and help with the funeral but he said not to, that she was getting cremated and her ashes thrown into the sea just like she had always wanted." I took a long swig. "I protested but he told me firmly that I couldn't get time off work, which was true. Three weeks later I got another call from the hospital say my Pa passed away in his sleep in the nursing home he had checked himself into. They had already cremated him and wanted to know where to send his ashes." I blinked away a few tears and thanked her as she passed me a few tissues. "I flew out that night and picked him up and took him to the same place Ma had been scattered. I stood there on the beach and realised I was the last one of my immediate family. I had lost all of them with in a year. I only had an Aunt and Uncle that I hadn't seen since I was ten years old and few dozen cousins that I had only met a few times left. And I didn't even know where they were, to let them know that Ma had died." I blew my nose and took a long hard pull of my beer until it was more then half empty. "I threw myself back into work but the cases we were getting really weren't going any where." I saw her raise an eyebrow at the word cases. "I thought I told you I work for the FBI now." I blinked in surprise as she shook her head. "I have been since I left collage and went to the academy. Been with them for ten years, not including training. We had four cases in the three years and each cases has left me standing in a graveyard burying friends, it was almost as if God hated me." I let out a bitter chuckle and gulped down the rest of my beer. "For the last three months my boss has been urging me to take some leave, pull myself together, think about my options and only come back when I was good and ready. I've got nearly two years of paid leave stock piled, so I decide two days ago to take them. I called my boss in the middle of the night and told him that I was going, I booked a ticket packed my bag and here I am." I smiled faintly at her.

"You're right that was pretty bad." She lent over and gave me a comforting hug. "Let's see if I can make you laugh." She added as she got up and grabbed me another beer and carried over a tub of Ben and Jerry's Ice cream and handed me a spoon. "I told you about Dickie, well after I got laid off work I needed money so I blackmailed my cousin Vinnie into giving me a job at the Bonds Bail office."

"I've seen some of the clippings in the paper." I chuckled. "The funeral home, Remiraze, twice as I recall, and the Slayer thing last year."

"The only reason I survived is because the best body god called Ranger took me under his wing and he is always picking me up and dusting me off after every disaster." She grinned at me. "He has the best body, perfectly toned and build and the colour of Mocha latte and he used Bulgari shower gel that smells better then fresh cooked donuts."

"Must be good." I burst out laughing.

"Just the way he looks is enough to make woman have hot flushes and some times he gives me these looks that make me want to jump his bones…"

"I'm sensing there is a but in there…" I prompted as she paused.

"Some times he scares the hell out of me. I've known him for three year nearly four and I know hardly anything about him personally. It doesn't help that I'm some times involved with Joe." She sighed.

"Joe? As in Joe Morelli?" I asked my eyes widening.

"Yeah he doesn't like my job, he doesn't like Ranger" She sighed. "I give him ulcers."

"Oh Steph" I burst out laughing as I cracked the top off my new beer. "But seriously, can you honestly stay with a guy who won't let you fly?" I asked her quietly. "I heard oh so many levels of unhappiness when you said he doesn't like your job. I can hear it in your voice that you enjoy it, well beside the stalkers you seem to pick up at any rate."

"I do love my job, mainly because I can be me, I feel free to do what ever I want and I have gotten better at my job over the last year thanks to Ranger." She nodded and smiled happily.

"Trust me on this one Steph you do not need some one in your life who will not support you in what you want to do and what makes you happy." I told her softly and studied her. "I remember how happy you were in collage and all the support you had from your family and friends…and I know how demanding Burge life can be but there is only so much that you can take. You have to know when to put your foot down." I watched her as she finished off her beer and nodded slowly at what I had said and we both dug into the cookie dough ice cream.

I saw a resigned look cross over her face as we heard her lock tumble open and I pulled my 9mm glock from under my leather jacket and clicked the safety off as a lithe well toned golden skinned Italian man dressed in dark blue jeans and t-shirt stepped in through the door looking pissed as hell but looked very surprised to see my gun pointing at him. He was tall, dark haired, dark eyed, scar through his eyebrow and was very handsome and he knew it.

"Damn it Joe you gave me a heart attack." Steph snapped at him but didn't gesture for me to put my gun away.

"I hope for your sake you have a licence for that gun." Joe commented neutrally at me.

"Yes I do." I nodded. "And to carry concealed." I looked him up and down and didn't hide that I was going so. "Nice to see you all grown up Joseph." I smiled slightly as he frowned. "Tori Grenzlo, I went to high school and collage with Steph."

"Been awhile since you were last seen in town." He replied looking a little more surprised. "Where did you get the licence?"

"I'm FBI" I shrugged, still aiming my gun at him.

"What do you want Joe?" Steph asked with a sigh.

"You hung up on me." He said angrily.

"I had a visitor." She nodded to me. "We were catching up…You gave up all rights to know what was going on in my life when you called us off Joe, remember? You can't handle me being able to stand on my own two feet."

"I can't handle getting calls about you every time you blow something up." He growled back.

I shifted a little uncomfortable stuck in the middle as they glared at each other.

"Get out Joe, you can't handle me fine then stay the hell out of my life." She yelled back. "It's what you do best after all." She said a little quieter.

"Steph…" He looked a little shocked at her outburst.

"You've done nothing but confuse me, and denied me everything that I ever wanted to do, Joe. You say you love me but you won't support me in my life choice." She studied him while waiting for a reply.

I watched as he looked down at his feet for a few minutes.

"I just wanted to protect you." He finally replied quietly still looking at his feet.

"You can't protect me from life, Joe. I know the dangers of the life I've chosen, I've gotten the training I need to help with that now, what I needed was support and you never gave it to me. Maybe it is better if we did stay away from each other for awhile, let things settle and calm down." She answered, she sounded as if she had been doing a lot of thinking and finally had the courage to make the hard decision she had been putting off. "I can't keep fighting with you, we've done nothing but fight for the last four months since you broke it off."

"Maybe your right." He finally looked up at her.

"Maybe one day we can be friends." She smiled at him as he turned to go. He nodded but didn't add anything else and closed the door behind him but not before leaving something next to her hamster's cage.

I watched as she made her way over to the cage and slowly picked the small object. She stared at it for a moment and saw that it was a key before she pocketed it and rejoined me on the couch.

"Joe is still as good looking as I remember and still the same pain in the ass." I commented as I handed her the tub of ice cream.

"Yeah still the same Joe, though he had grown up a little over the years…" A chuckle broke out of her. "He was actually my first skip and his car was the first I blew up."

"There always was a lot of history between you two, there has been since you two were children." I said slowly between sips of beer. "Some times it is better to just let go of the past and start over. I know that I had to." I smiled faintly at her. "Is it true that you were stalked by a rabbit?" I asked suddenly remembering what one of the guy had said a few years back when he had stopped by Trenton before returning to the bureau.

"Guy in a rabbit suit, yep." She nodded.

"A sawed in half dead guy on your couch?"

"Yep."

"Car bomb that caused a garbage truck to fall on your porche?" I asked again.

"Ranger's porche but yeah." She nodded.

"You certainly live an interesting life, hon." I laughed and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "When you working next?" I asked coming up with an idea.

"Monday." She replied looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Come with me to the hotel, we'll get room service, have a few light drinks and commiserate over the mess that is our love lives." I suggested finishing off my second beer.

"Sounds good." She grinned and jumped up and grabbed her purse and a change of clothes, I grabbed my things, we locked up and she drove us to the Hamilton.

As soon as I had the keys to my little apartment room I rushed her in, we browsed the menu before ordering junk food and a to my surprise she added a bottle of southern comfort.

"Hey we're looking for comfort" She protested as I raised an eye brow at her as I ordered it and laughed.

It didn't take long for all the goodies to arrive and even less for us to be drunk.