I was going to be evil and make you guys wait a few day for this…but I got to read through it enough that it is complete. And…well…I just decided I may as well post it.

Standard disclaimer – own nothing, not even the freaking plot. And a warning for language. It appears that the spirit that lies herein has a bit of a potty mouth.

Part 4 - An Un-Present Surprise

Ranger awoke with a start, and immediately looked at his clock. 3:28. He sat up in bed and gave his head a shake to clear it. Then he began to wonder just what was being cleared when one shook their head. With another shake of his, he flopped down onto his pillow and waited for the clock to toll half past. And so it did. Eyes wide opened, Ranger was prepared this time for the spirit coming to him. He would not allow himself to be taken by surprise again. Always be aware of your surroundings. he preached to himself. He felt a smile grow on his face. He was forever telling his Babe that.

"Babe." he said hoarsely to himself. He could feel an unwelcomed ache in his heart. He had hurt her, much worse than he realized, a year past. He pondered that for a moment, and then thought wonderously how amazing it was that she remained around him, that she helped him so selflessly with finding Julie. His babe was a good woman. She deserved better than he.

It was now three quarters past three, and his next visitor had not yet deigned to make an appearance. Hm... maybe it was all actually a dream. Ranger liked the sound of that. Yup, he would wake up in the morning and no longer feel so heavy about his Babe, about his past. He liked the sound of that, too, and with a contented growl, he rolled over and closed his eyes. All was well, and this ghost was not coming, therefore he had not a thing to worry about.

At this point it must be said that in the subject of spectres, apparitions, and those past dead, the Mighty Manoso is not so knowledgeable as he was currently thinking he maybe is. They are also a thing which, like his Babe, the one called Ranger cannot control. They operate in their own manner, and it is not one understood to those still among the living. And so, Ranger was really quite foolish in thinking that it was easy as going back to sleep, and not having to meet with his next guide.

And this is how Ranger found himself jarred awake once again, confusion evident as to how he came to be sitting in the passenger side of a car he had not seen in a year. And beside him, in the drivers seat, was a mangled face he never expected to see again. "Abruzzi." he said, pronouncing each syllable with a sharpness designed to hide his shock, and surprise.

"Manoso. We meet again." Abruzzi grinned, a chilling grin that should never have shown itself on earth for the duration of its existence. The ghostly, ghastly vision of this man of Ranger's past wore the same bloodstained clothing he had died in, a supposed suicide, forced by Ranger's hand. His hair was askew and his face was haggard, an unkempt and vile persona. Further, he appeared decidedly unhappy to be in the position of Ranger's next visitor.

"You are my next guide?" Ranger asked, his voice laced with distaste.

"God has a warped fucking sense of humor." Abruzzi answered. "Like I want to help the man who killed me fix his life so he can reap rewards for the rest of his life AND afterlife. And because you're alive, and I'm fucking dead, I can't even fucking kill you. Nope, instead I get to play fucking ghost of fucking Christmas Present for a man who deserves no more than what he gets." He sneered.

At this point Ranger did something very surprising indeed. He tipped back his head and laughed in deep, sharp barks. "This is priceless." he said, still laughing, eyes on the roof. "And you have no choice, do you?"

"None. I do this, or I get sent to a worse fate." Abruzzi grumbled. "And I, for one, fail to see the humor. Half my fucking face is blown off, thanks to you!"

"Looks good on you." Ranger told him, grinning. Abruzzi's pale face darkened, and the mists swirled around him with greater intensity.

"Come on. Get your ass in gear and lets get this over with. And if you want my advice, don't pay too much attention. You don't want salvation anyhow. You're a fucking psycho."

"And you're not?" Ranger countered. "Let's go. Show me what I am to be shown." There was nothing Ranger wanted more than to get out of Abruzzi's foul presence. But first, he would follow along. Afterall, why deny Abruzzi the displeasure of his company? Ranger's logic was rather skewed in this idea, but if that was what he needed to tell himself to follow along, then he is, for the moment, welcomed to his thoughts. The truth, which he would not admit to himself, was that he did indeed learn something during his travels with his abuelo's phantom, and now he was willing to, at the very least, see where the next ghostly presence would lead him.

With Abruzzi at the helm, he just hoped it wouldn't be to his grave. Ranger sighed, as he followed Abruzzi out of the car and into the swirling mists.

They stopped in the Plum household, where the entire family was gathered in the living room. The children were sitting on the floor. Valerie, Albert, and Grandma Mazur were all seated on the couch, baby Lisa in Val's arms. Mr. Plum sat in an armchair, and Mrs. Plum in the rocking chair. And Stephanie, his babe, sat on the floor, leaning against the couch, her long perfect legs bent, arms draped over he knees. She was smiling, laughing as Angie and Mary Alice giggled happily. There was no fighting in the household this day, and everyone was jolly. Even Edna Mazur was on her best behaviour.

"Presents, now?" Mary-Alice asked.

"I'll be Santa." Angie offered. It was obvious that Angie desperately wanted to hand out the presents.

"Just let me get the camera." Mrs. Plum said, and she got up and went upstairs. She returned a moment later and sat back in the rocker. The girls grinned happily and Angie crawled under the tree.

"This one's for Grandma...This one's for Mary Alice...This one's for Great-Grandma. Oooh, Here, Auntie Steph, this is from Mary-Alice and Me. Here's one for me..." Angie put hers aside, and continued to dig under the tree, making sure everyone had a present to open.

"Open yours first, Auntie." she told Stephanie, who then asked if she was sure her and Mary Alice didn't want to go first? They assured her they wanted her to. They were excited about what they bought her. Ranger couldn't see what it was, from his vantage point in the back corner of the room, but he saw her face light up happily and she hugged her nieces close. The present exchange continued until the tree was empty and the girls were excitedly playing with their new toys. Valerie, Steph, their mother and grandmother all moved to the kitchen to check the food.

"Too bad Joe couldn't come." Mrs. Plum commented as Stephanie chopped an onion. The knife jerked and Ranger cringed as his babe narrowly missed her fingers.

Abruzzi laughed. "She's enough of a danger unto herself, isn't she? My death didn't do much for her safety, huh?" Ranger growled low in his throat, making Abruzzi cackle again.

"Joe and I are done mom. Done. For good. That's all. Joe's got a new girlfriend. She's very nice. Her name is Madison. We're all friends." Stephanie said shortly.

"That's my babe." Ranger whispered, smiling. He knew she was strong enough to make it through this. Knew well she would manage.

"Steph, honey, I'm about to give up hope. You'll never find someone to marry you."

"Mom. Not today." she snapped.

"Ok. Not today." her mom sighed. "I invited that nice Murphy that we met yesterday over, though. Since he's new in Trenton, he has nowhere to spend christmas dinner."

"Mooommm..You didn't." Stephanie sighed.

The doorbell rang, and Mrs. Plum bade Stephanie to go answer it. Ranger followed. She opened the door to a good looking guy whose eyes Ranger instantly didn't trust.

"Hi. Merry Christmas." Stephanie said. Unless a person knew her well, one would think she was just fine, but there was a robotic quality to her tone that Ranger recognized right away. His babe was uncomfortable and unhappy.

"Hi Stephanie. Murphy." he offered his hand. Stephanie took it, shook it, and then grimaced when he did not release it afterwards, rather, he stepped inside, stepped out of his shoes, and allowed her to lead him in. She tried to get him to disengage his hand but he ignored it. Ranger gritted his teeth. He desperately wanted to rescue his babe. They sat in the living room, and Ranger stood by the kitchen door, listening to the conversation inside while keeping an eye on his babe. He didn't like how the man looked at her, or touched her. It was more than jealousy, though, it was severe unease. And he never ignored his gut.

"...Ellen, that man is not right for Stephanie." Grandma Mazur stated.

"He's her last chance at marriage." Ellen argued.

"No. He's not right for her. I don't like him." Edna Mazur argued. "She belongs with that Ranger, that bounty hunter with the fabulous package. If I had a man with a package like that..."

"Mother! And besides, Ranger's dangerous for her."

"Ranger lets her be her own person." Grandma argued. "He lets her discover herself, and spread her wings."

"Thanks Edna." he muttered softly.

"Ranger is NOT family material for Stephanie. And I notice he's not here with her today."

"He has his own family, does he not? And besides Stephanie isn't family material, either." Edna scoffed. "Stephanie is Stephanie and it's time you quit fitting her into a precut mold." she humphed, and then slammed the door open, exiting the kitchen. Ranger watched Stephanie and Murphy, Stephanie still tolerating him without much expression either way. Then he saw her laugh at something the guy said, and she began to relax and chat back.

"Any idea if anything's going to happen between them?" he asked Abruzzi, gesturing towards Steph.

"Oh, something will happen alright." Abruzzi grinned, and it was a grin full of joy. It unsettled Ranger to see such a look on this mad-man's face. Perhaps this Murphy would spell trouble for his babe.

"Tell me." Ranger demanded.

"I see a vacant chair at the Plum table on friday nights. And a hamster sitting on the counter, mostly ignored. If these shadows remain unaltered by the future, Stephanie's life will not be more than a shade."

Rex would not be with Stephanie? "Explain."

"If these shadows remain unaltered, none who knows her will find her, or the child." he said crytically. Abruzzi's ghost grinned like a chesire cat once again, an evil grin, exacerbated by the bloody gorish mess that was the left side of his face. His ghostly eyes sparked. "It won't matter that you killed me to protect her. You protect yourself from her too strongly, and therefore you will no longer be able to protect her. She will be lost to you. And then she will get what she deserved when I lived." He cackled uproariously, and then forced Ranger out of the house, swirling the mists around them before Ranger knew what was happening.

He next found himself in his sister Maria's apartment. She was snuggled on the lap of a man who looked vaguely familiar, Ranger noted through the fogs as they slowly dissipated. He had his head bent over hers, mouth mere millimetres away from hers. She smiled up at him, her face shining with love. Ranger smiled - he had not seen such a peaceful look on his sister's face, nor such a happy one, not since before that christmas eve so long ago. The man kissed her softly, and murmurred something to which it was obvious she agreed. He lifted his head, smiling. Ranger's smile disappeared as recognition dawned.

The man bent so lovingly over his baby sister was none other than Lester Santos. Ranger growled. His employee and his baby sister. That was not happening. He shook his head sharply but Lester remained. Ranger shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"They are happy." Abruzzi noted. "I could have done some serious damage to that in my life." he said wistfully.

Ranger bit his tongue to avoid snapping back at Abruzzi, whom he knew was taunting him purposefully. He watched as Lester reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small box. He bent his head and said something, causing a soft smile to spread on Maria's face.

"Maria. Love." he said, then appeared to struggle for words. "Maria..." He trailed off and gave up, opening the box and showing her the ring. She looked at him, her expression changing from shock to confusion to surprise to sheer, unadulterated joy. Her face slowly lit into a smile brighter than the new york skyline and she whispered a choked yes. Lester loving took her hand and placed the ring on her finger, then kissed her fingers just below the ring.

"Ranger's gonna kill me." he laughed.

"Carlos loves me. He'll be happy for us." she smiled, and cuddled into him.

Ranger's shock had turned to...well.. it remained shock as Ranger really is not good with emotion - that is, of course, why this story is told. But watching the scene, a small stitch was made in a fissure that had existed in his heart for many years. Then he watched at Maria stiffened.

"What, love?" Lester asked gently.

"Well..if we are married...then..." she trailed off, going red.

"Beautiful, things will be no different. I will tell you that when it happens it will be very pleasant, and not as your memories. But it will only happen when you are ready." he rubbed her back, cuddling her to his chest. As Maria relaxed again, she lifted her face for a slow, loving kiss.

Ranger watched, and smiled as he realized that his man would take good care of his baby sister. It tore him to know that his inability to protect her was the cause of her hesitations, and the threads strained on the stitch to the fissure and for the first time in a very long time, Ranger had no choice but to feel real pain.

"I hope Carlos comes to christmas tonight." Maria said wistfully. "I miss him and wish to see him."

"We leave." Abruzzi commanded, and once again the mists swirled around them. Ranger would have liked to stare at his sister a moment longer, as the realization that she loved him despite everything settled in. Yet Abruzzi's shade was determined to give him the least chances to repair things, and he warped them off to another scene. As they faded out from Maria's living room, a knife was thrust in Ranger's chest as he heard his sister's voice, wispy in the distance, tell Lester that she wished to name their future first son Carlos.

They apparated again in his parents living room. The tree was festive and decorated still with objects he and his five siblings had made through childhood. His whole family was gathered, sprawled on furniture and the floor, wherever they fit. The children ran and shrieked, laughing and giggling and playing. No one's face was without a smile. His family was boisterous and very close. It was only he who held himself to the outside of it all.

"Your family." Abbruzi sneered.

Ranger cast him a dark look and turned back, watching. His family. He loved each and every one of them. Celia - he had always been her favorite. She was chasing after her two year old twins, who were giggling gleefully as they ran, cupcakes in hand.

"Gotcha, you little monsters." Celia laughed, scooping up one in either arm. She carried them back to the living room, as they kicked and giggled, and handed them off to their father to be kept still while they ate.

"Is Carlos coming?" Celia asked as she walked back into the kitchen. Abruzzi gestured him along, expression dour, and Ranger followed on a sigh. He really did not want to be in the kitchen with the women any more as an observant spirit than as a real person.

"Don't know, Carino. He wouldn't give me an answer. If he doesn't have to work, he says. That is not an answer." His mother's voice sounded wistful, sad. Ranger found he didn't like that tone associated with him and he cringed, to Abruzzi's delight.

"Not much of a family man, huh?" he mocked. Ranger dutifully ignored him, knowing that there were more important things to do in this place than react to the shade's taunts.

"Humph." Celia rolled her eyes. "Someone oughta crack that man upside the head. Does he not realize that Christmas is not Christmas without him?"

"Carlos always thinks he's better than us." Rosita scoffed. Ranger smiled sadly - he had never been close to Rosie, she had never understood him or he her. He was the black sheep, though. They fit, he did not. They were better off without him. At least, he thought, Rosie told it as it was.

"No." Celia snapped sharply, her eyes narrowing, face growing dark. "Carlos thinks he's not good enough. And then when he comes and you treat him like he's not, it just re-inforces his belief. If you'd let off him maybe the rest of us could convince him to come more often."

"Whatever. All he ever does is hurt us, break mama's heart. We are better off without him."

"You little -" Celia began, before their mother interjected a timely interruption.

"Rosie, go check on your children and hold your tongue." she told her second daughter. Rosita humphed and stormed out. Ranger watched her go, then cast his eyes downward. He did not want to hear this.

"Celia, you know what your sister is like." their mother started. "No point in letting her get to you."

"Mama, she has always bullied Carlos. And now she uses words to hurt him. He already thinks he hurts us by being here, that he is only asked out of obligation. He thinks we look down on him. Rosie confirms all that for him. He has never forgiven himself for Maria, you know." Ranger saw, to his horror, tha this sister's cheek held a lone tear, slowly trickling down.

"That was not his fault." Alvida growled. Only two years older than he, the fourth child in the family, she was a mere ten when that incident occured.

"IT WAS!" Ranger exclaimed despite himself. His family paid him no mind, for to them he was not there.

"No, bu Alvi, he believes it to be." Celia returned. "Carlos is so very hard on himself, and he truly feels we are better off if he is not here. Every year I hope he'll come, every month I hope to see him, and I never do. I miss my brother."

"He was always your favorite, wasn't he?" Alvida asked.

"Yes." as the oldest, Celia had looked out for him. "Rosie was always so spoiled and needy. And then Marcello was big, brawn, and tough. Then there was you, Alvi, sweet as pie, but Carlos... Carlos was little, and troubled. And Rosie was so mean to him all the time, I just... I just loved him. He was mine to protect. I did a pretty bad job of it, though." Celia sighed. "Maybe I should go see him later. Stop by after supper with some leftovers, and force him to visit for an hour or so. I miss him."

"If you do I'll come too." Alvida said. "Maria will want to also."

"Yes, she will."

"Maybe he'll come." their mother added in again, as she prepared the turkey. "Maybe if you phone him, Celia, he will listen to you. My son is a good, wonderful man, but I do not want him to be an island."

"He does it to protect us. To protect himself. But I don't want to be protected." Celia's voice rose in intensity.

Abruzzi nodded and the room spun, and suddenly Ranger found himself in the dining room at supper. There was an empty chair next to Celia. His chair. Everyone was chattering happily, but Celia, his mother, and Maria all kept glancing at the vacant hole. It was a weighty presence in the room.

As his mother placed the last dish on the table and sat, the table silenced. Wine was poured, and toasts were made. Finally, after four or so, his mother spoke up. "To Carlos. May Trenton be safe tonight, in his presence."

"To Carlos." two words, spoken in broken staccato down the table. All but Rosie drank.

She scowled, when her mother and sisters looked at her, eyebrows raised. "Why? Why drink to him? He has no heart. He does not care. Let him begone. We're better off."

Celia's eyes shone with temper and she slammed her glass down. "You spoiled little b-"

"CELIA." her mother demanded. She then turned to Rosie. "You will lose the chip."

Lester was frowning through the exchange. "Is it normal for him to miss dinner? I can call him."

"No." Maria said sadly. "There's no point."

"He stays out of some misguided idea that it protects us." Celia said softly. "I will go see him tonight. I hate to think he's alone on christmas. Maria, you should come, he will be glad to hear your news."

"I know." she agreed. "I will come. Les lives there anyway, it is easy. He can take me home after we see our brother."

The toasts resumed and noise resonnated as the meal began again. Ranger's hands clenched spasmodically at his sides as he watched, and the mists swirled, and took him away again. They soon found themselves back at Abruzzi's car. A return point, a circle of constant evolution.

Throughout their travels Abruzzi had kept his hands enshrouded under a darkened veil of cloth attached to the cuffs of his rust-stained shirt. Now, as he reached for the doorhandle to his car, the shroud slipped away and his hand was revealed. Attached to the hand were two wiggling growths.

"Abruzzi." Ranger said gruffly. "What are those?"

"Another cross I must bear. Supposedly a lesson to me." he stated, holding out his hand. And Ranger saw that attached to the hand were two little children, hideous and misshapen.

"Are they yours?"

"They are man's. And they cling to me, draining me, making me feel as their victims feel. As my victims felt. The girl is Ignorance. And the boy is loathing. Beware them both, but Beware the boy - for even self-loathing harms others and upon that brow spells your doom." He sighed, and turned away.

"Abruzzi." Ranger intoned. The shade turned back to him, car door now open.

"Not that I care either way if you are doomed or not, you know. I am no longer but a pawn in another chessman's game. And this was the move I was required to make. Know that it was under duress."

The clock tolled 5, and as Ranger blinked, Abruzzi and his car were gone, leaving him standing on the side of the road, stranded. As the last stroke faded in the distance, he closed his eyes and took a calming breath. On instinct he turned away, and upon opening his eyes he beheld a solemn phantom, draped and hooded in midnight black, floating above the ground, gliding towards him. The air turned frigid and the hairs on the back of his neck all stood on end.