Disclaimer: Nothing is Mine

Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the reviews! Sadly..still no Ranger. P.S. I have never played paintball and I have no clue how it works. In this story, a maze is made out of buildings, crates, plywood, and other junk. You have to get thru the 'maze' to get to the end to win.

The Weekend With The Guys Part 2

"Come on, Honey. Time to get up." Hal drags the covers from my body and holds a cup of coffee under my nose. I open my eyes, glare at him and take the coffee. I take a tiny sip before sitting it on the night stand. I sit up and face Hal.

"Why are we up so early this morning?" I sniff the air. "Is that bacon I smell?" Hal laughs.

"Yes it is. Whenever Ranger is away, Ella fixes us bacon." I grab my coffee cup and take another sip.

"How come you guys can't eat bacon?"

"We can, but when Ranger is here, Ella doesn't fix it because he doesn't like any fat, grease, or sugar around."

"What? So he doesn't like anything good?" Hal lets out a bark of laughter.

"We're use to eating healthy. It's a military man's way of life. Especially Ranger's."

"Can I ask where he is because no one has said."

"Well we really can't talk about it. But he does missions for the government and military. Top secret kind of missions."

"Dangerous ones?"

"They can be yes. However, Ranger is the best at what he does, so the government calls on him a lot."

"How long has he been gone?"

"It's been about 4 months maybe. I think he has another 2 or 3 to go."

"So it's a tough mission?"

"None of us really know. But he is able to check in at regular times, so we usually know if something is wrong. Now you need to get dressed. Put your bathing suit on and you don't need a shower. If you want, just put your bathing suit on and then one of my t-shirts. We are going to the pool after breakfast."

"Okay." He walks out of the room and I get up. I take off pjs and put on my red bikini. I put one of Hal's t-shirts. I walk into his bathroom and pull my hair back into a ponytail. I walk into the kitchen where Hal already has a plate piled high with bacon and eggs with homemade biscuits and homemade jam. I dig in with a huge smile on my face.

After I finish my breakfast, I turn to Hal. "So, what is on the agenda for today?"

"Well this morning we are going swimming. About lunch time Ella will have hamburgers and home made french fries ready. Then this afternoon we are going to go shoot paintball guns."

"Paintball guns?"

"Yea, you'll have fun. Quit worrying about it. Are you done eating?"

"Yep. Let's go."

We had downstairs to the garage and then go through one of the steel doors. I enter the pool area and damn! This pool is freaking huge. It's an olympia size swimming pool.

"Yes it is." I snap my head around.

"I said that out loud?" He grins.

"You did." He pushes me out further and I see the rest of guys including Lula.

"Hey guys!"

"Hi Angel, did you sleep well?"

"Yes Ram I did. Thank you."

Les: "Hey Beautiful. Get in! The water is heated."

Steph: "Really?"

Cal: "Yes really. We swim year around. It helps keep us in shape."

Lula: "Come on White Girl. Get in before one of these fine looking men throw you in."

Steph: "I'm getting in." I pull off my black t-shirt and the room goes silent. I look around me.

Steph: "What?" Everyone is looking at me and I am starting to feel a little uneasy.

Manny: "Fine, I'll be the first to say it. Steph, you have a hot ass body."

Les: "Hot as hell, Steph."

Cal: "Sexy too."

Tank: "Beautiful."

Bobby: "Damn beautiful."

Hal: "Yea I'm starting to rethink the whole friends thing."

Ram: "No too late man." Ram walks over to me with a look in his eyes. "Ram." He gives me his wolfish smile. Before I react, he throws me over his shoulder and jumps in the pool. I come up sputtering.

"Ram. I am so going to get you." He moves his hands in a come get me motion.

"Bring it on, Angel. I think I can take ya." I start heading towards him when I feel strong arms around my waist and I'm thrown backwards over someone's shoulder. Again I come up sputtering and look straight into Les' face. I glare at him and he laughs.

"You need to be more aware of your surroundings."

"You threw me."

"Steph, look behind you." Before I can turn around, once again strong arms are around my waist and I'm thrown further into the deep end. I once again come up sputtering and glaring. I'm trying to act mad, but in reality I'm having a lot of fun. I know the guys can tell I'm having a blast.

"Who threw me that time?" Bobby raises his hand. I see Lula fly thru the air and I look at Tank who is smiling. Hal jumps in beside me and I swim over to him.

"Hal?"

"Yea."

"Throw me towards Tank." He grins and grips my waist in his hands and throws me towards Tank. Hell I land almost beside Tank. I catch my breath and look at Tank.

"Tank, will you throw me?"

"Sure, little girl. Turn around." I turn away from him and he grips my waist in his hands and then I'm floating thru the air. I feel like I'm flying and it's incredible. I have always wanted to fly since I was a little kid. I once jumped off the garage roof trying to fly, but instead I just broke my arm. Right now going thru the air, I really feel like I'm flying. I really need to thank Tank for this experience. I hit the water and go under.

When I come up, Manny is in front of me with his back to me. I grip his shoulders for leverage and hop onto his back. His hands automatically comes to my legs holding them in place. He tells me to hold on, letting go of my legs, he dives under the water taking me with him. He swims back to the shallow end, taking me to Tank.

I smile at Tank and he smiles back, once again throwing Lula in the air.

"Thank you, Tank."

"For what?"

"Since I was a little girl, I have always wanted to fly. I wanted to be Wonder Woman. When you threw me, I felt like I was flying. Thank you for that feeling." He gives me a big smile showing all of his even white teeth.

"Come here and I'll do it again if you want." I nod and turn around facing away from him.

"Please Tank, I want to fly again." He grips my waist in his hands and touches his mouth to my ear.

"Anytime you want to fly Little Girl, let me know. I'm here for ya." Then he launched me once again out of the water and thru the air. I love the feeling of flying.

R&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&S

"Lunch is ready everyone." Ella announces to us all and we hop out of the pool. I got thrown thru the hair several more times before we played several rounds of volleyball. Our team won all the games except one. Ha, we rule. I dry off and put on my black t-shirt. I walk over to Tank and give him a hug. He hugs me back.

"What was that for?"

"For helping me fly, Tank. And for Lula. You are so good to her. She doesn't get that a lot." He rubs his head.

"Can I tell you a secret?" I nod and smile. "Of course, Tank." He leans down to me and whispers.

"I'm falling in love with Lula, Steph. She is an amazing person. I'm glad I met her." I give him another hug, trying to keep my tears in check. "She's been thru a lot, Tank and I can tell she really likes you."

"Good. Now let's go eat." We head out towards the garage and get on the elevator. We stop at the 4th floor and go to Tank's apartment. Everyone else is already there.

Les: "Hey Beautiful, did you have fun in the pool?"

Steph: "Yes. I can't believe it's already 1:00 in the afternoon."

Hal: "Time flies when you're having fun."

Steph: "Time really flies when you're having a blast." The room laughs and I follow Les and Hal in the kitchen and my drops open.

It is a dream come true. There is a plate piled high with hamburgers and cheeseburgers. Another plated piled high with french fries. Two bowls filled with chips, one plain and one barbeque. There is another plate piled high with brownies and cookies. Every condiment you could ever image: catsup, mustard, relish, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, cole slaw, and chili. Don't forget the buns, those are there too.

I lick my lips and grab a plate. None of us sit down, since we are still wet. We were standing around the kitchen with a plate in our hands and a bottle of water sitting beside us on the counter.

Steph: "This is so good. Ella is a dream come true. Do you think she'll adopt me?" Everyone laughs at me.

Hal: "Steph, I think any of us would be glad to adopt you."

Steph: "Yea, but can you cook like this?" Ram winks at me.

Ram: "I can, remember." I blush and he grins.

Les: "Okay, what was that about?"

Ram: "I just cooked dinner for her one night when she had a bad day at work. Made her feel better."

Manny: "How come you don't cook us dinner, Ram?"

Ram: "I don't like you guys. Beside she's cute." He grins at me again. I know he's just joking around with the guys.

Cal: "Come on guys. Let's hurry and eat so we can go and play some paintball."

Bobby: "Yea, I'm ready to kick some ass."

Tank: "Okay, let's do teams now."

Hal: "Let Steph and Lula be team captains."

Vince: "That's a good idea."

Steph: "Okay, Lula you first."

Lula: "Tank."

Steph: "Hal."

Lula: "Manny."

Steph: "Ram."

Lula: "Bobby."

Steph: "Cal."

Lula: "Vince."

Steph: "Les."

Les: "I'm hurt. I was chosen last." I wink at him.

Steph: "You know what they say, right guys?"

Les & Vince: "What?"

Steph: "Save the best for last."

Everyone Except Lula: "Hey!"

Steph: "What?" The room once again explodes in laughter.

We finished eating and cleaning up the kitchen. Since Ella was nice enough to cook hamburgers and french fries with dessert, we decided we needed to clean up lunch. After the kitchen was cleaned we each went our separate ways to get cleaned up. I went with Hal and Lula went with Tank.

I took a quick shower and then pulled my hair into a ponytail. I put on a pair of blue jeans and a red t-shirt with my tennis shoes. I only put on lip gloss and some mascara since we are playing paintball. I haven't ever played before so I'm a little nervous. Cal must have sensed it.

"No reason to be nervous, Sweetie."

"How did you know that I was nervous?"

"You're a first timer who doesn't like guns. I just guessed." Something was telling me that it was something else, but I left it alone.

"Thanks Cal."

"No problem. Just stick with me and you'll be okay." I give him a big smile.

"Thanks."

We get all our gear on and then get our guns. Team Stephanie is Hal, Les, Cal, Ram, and me and we are blue paint and team Lula is Lula, Tank, Manny, Vince, and Bobby and they are red paint. We head out in the playing field and I look around. Big huge crates, metal cans, plywood, and styles of buildings fill up the massive maze that is set up.

We all get into position and wait for the buzzer. The buzzer sounds and we all start moving. Hal takes out Bobby first almost as soon as we begin. We get into position again and wait. When the buzzer sounds we move and Les is 'killed'. He mumbles under his breath and I smile. He sticks his tongue out and I laugh.

When it sounds again we move forward dodging walls and crates. Lula is taken out by Cal. Tank takes out Hal. Vince is taken out by Ram and Ram gets hammered by Tank. We get settled again and wait.

When the buzzer sounds Cal takes out Manny and Tank misses me by inches. Cal and I are behind a giant crate waiting for the buzzer again.

"Okay, here's the plan. You go left and I'll go right. I'll sacrifice myself so you can get to the end door."

"Cal, are you sure? You'll probably do better than I will."

"I'm sure. You are a lot smaller than me and you'll get there faster. Okay?"

"Okay. But first I need a kiss for luck." His eyebrow raises and I laugh.

"I'll take one for the team." I laugh again. I grab his face in my gloved hands and kiss his forehead, right on his flaming skull tattoo. He kisses my cheek in return and smiles.

"Go get 'em, tiger." I give him another smile and the buzzer sounds. He runs first and Tank comes out and shoots him, but it's too late I'm already at the end. I won!

"Woo-Hoo! I won."

"Good job, Angel."

"We knew you could do it." Cal walks over to me and I give him a hug. He smiles at me and gives my cheek another kiss.

"I told you I need a kiss for luck. Turns out you were my good luck charm."

"I guess I am You know, you really surprised me, Steph."

"What do you mean?"

"You treat us like friends. Not like everybody else does. You barely know us."

"You guys are my friends and you treat me like a friend. I love you guys." He smiles and I grab his face again and plant another smack on his forehead. I look around me and every one of my friends is looking at me with a big grin on their face. But they're not laughing at me, they're laughing with me. They really enjoy being around me.

As I get passed around giving and receiving hugs, I realize for the first time, how truly happy I am around these men, my friends. The Merry Men.

Author's Note: Was it good?

P.S. In North Carolina, where my husband is from cole slaw and chili on burgers is really good. However mustard and catsup is all I like.