Marisol waved as Tanya and Kat moved towards them. Tanya had said she was getting Kat, leaving Rylen to pick up Marisol.

Rocky's girlfriend was beautiful. She was of Latin descent. Her father had been an American marine and her mother a flamenco dancer. They had met and within a month were married. Marisol and her sister came a year later. They were a close knit family that always kept in touch.

Marisol had been married at sixteen. She had her son when she was twenty and at twenty-one her husband had been killed in a drive-by shooting. Now twenty-six, she was busy raising a five year old son and running her own business. She had met Rocky when he walked into her coffee shop with Adam one day and the rest was history. They had been together for almost two years and her son loved the man. Rocky's family loved her as well.

When Rylen had first met her, she was shy. They had been at the grand opening of one of their mutual friend's businesses. Rocky had asked her to accompany him and she had to bring her son. Antonio had been a wonderful boy to talk to. He was young but he had a good head on his shoulders. Marisol had raised him well. It was obvious the boy adored Rocky because he listened to everything he said. They had a poll going to see how long it would take for them to get married. Rocky had talked about adopting the boy to make him officially his son.

As the women walked towards them, Rylen had time to check out Kat. She was very blond and very happy. She and Tanya talked the entire time they walked over to the table. No doubt Tanya was telling the blond all about Marisol and Rylen. They were obviously the outcasts of the group. Rylen glanced at the beautiful Latina next to her. She wondered how much Rocky had shared with her. \

Tanya skipped the rest of the way over. Rylen was barely out of her seat before she was hugging her. Marisol laughed as she was enveloped also.

"I have missed you guys!" she squealed as she rounded the table. "What have you been up to?"

Marisol shrugged. "The same ole same ole. Raising a five year old is always hard."

"I bet." She turned to Kat. "This is Katherine Hilliard Oliver. Kat this is Marisol Martinez and Rylen O'Callahan. Marisol is Rocky's girlfriend and Rylen is Jason's."

"It's so nice to meet you. I have to admit I was a little skeptical when Tanya told me I was meeting the other Rangers' girlfriends. In the past we haven't been one unified front," Kat replied.

"It's not easy dealing with guys who could morph into spandex suits," Marisol replied. That answered Rylen's question about what Marisol knew. Rocky must have the same policy Jason did.

"I talked to Billy the other day," she said as the waiter brought four waters out.

Kat's face brightened as she squeezed a lemon into her drink. "How is he doing? Last time I talked to him Tommy and I invited him to our wedding. He couldn't make it."

"He's doing well. He said he's getting ready for his oldest child's sixteenth birthday."

"I thought she was older than that," Tanya said.

Rylen shook her head. "Nope, she's sixteen. By Aquitar standards, she's an adult."

All four women made noises in the back of their throats then laughed. Billy was a very smart man, but he was clueless when it came to teenagers. He had four of his own children, the youngest being seven. He was going to have his hands full for a little while longer. It was funny because he was their age, meaning he got married when he was seventeen. It was legal on the world he was on so it didn't matter.

The waiter came back and took their orders. As they waited, they chitchatted over little things. Kat found out what was going on. She and Rylen started getting to know each other as Tanya and Marisol caught up. They found themselves smiling as they talked some more.

When their lunch came to them, they talked about other things. Tanya caught them up on her latest dig. She had cooperated with her parents on a dig in Africa. They had been gone for seven months looking for lost artifacts in Egypt. No one had been able to keep up with her because she had moved around too much. They got occasional updates via Facebook or the university. This was the first time they were hearing anything else.

"In all the hubbub, Rylen, I never asked what you do," Kat said as set her silverware in the middle of her plate.

"I have an MBA from UCLA. I help Adam and Rocky run the dojo as a third partner," she replied.

"That doesn't make a lot of money for someone with an MBA."

"It's not about the money. I've always wanted to own a small business. Adam maintains the book with deadly accuracy so I don't have to do much. Rocky plans the exhibitions and whatnot so all I do is make sure we have everything we need to run the dojo. Other than that I'm useless."

Tanya scoffed. "Don't listen to her, Kat. The reason Adam asked her to join them isn't just because she had an MBA. She's also a black belt in Judo. She's kicked Jason's butt a couple of times."

When Kat looked at her, Rylen shrugged. "Don't just shrug. That's amazing. The only person I know to get the best of Jason was Tommy."

"Jase has his moments, but most of the time we work out after he gets off work."

"How is that going by the way?"

"He's on afternoons this week. That means he usually comes by the dojo around noon for an extreme workout with Adam. It's before the older students come in so he has Adam's full attention."

"Speaking of Adam, how's he doing?" Marisol and Rylen looked at each other. The look clued the other two in. "What's going on?"

"Let's just say Adam's having an issue with Cassie," Marisol replied. Tanya and Kat begged for information just by the looks on their faces. Marisol looked at Rylen who nodded. "Cassie's pregnant and is telling Adam that he and Rylen are having an affair."

Rylen laughed as their mouths dropped simultaneously. "You look like two big mouth bass."

"Cassie's pregnant? What are they going to do?" Kat asked.

"Well, Adam wants to keep the baby but he's not sure if he wants to stay with Cassie. She's been bad mouthing not only us, but his family as well. She doesn't even want Katie to live with Adam," Marisol explained.

"What do the others have to say about it?"

"Jason agrees with us when we say Adam needs to decide what he wants to do. I've never seen him lose his temper and he did that this morning," Rylen replied. She rubbed the back of her neck. "Adam is the most-easy going guy I know. To watch him explode at the person he's supposed to love bothered me. I never want to see that again."

"Are you saying you want Adam and Cassie to break up?" Tanya asked.

She was quiet for a minute as she thought over what she just said. Tanya's question was valid. Did she want the two to break up?

"I want Adam happy. That's all I want. If Cassie makes him happy, then so be it. But she doesn't."

"Then you have to tell him," Kat said as she placed her hand over hers.

"I don't know if it's the right thing to do."

"Why don't you ask Jason about it? I know he has a level head most of the time," Marisol said.

They called the lunch done after they shared dessert. Tanya and Kat went one way, Marisol went to pick up her son from day care, and Rylen went for a walk so she could clear her mind.

(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)

Jason walked into the apartment and flipped off the lights. Rylen left them on until he came home at night. She was a little paranoid even though they lived in a good neighborhood and were across the hall from Adam. He didn't laugh at her though. She put up with his quirks so he could do the same for hers.

Knowing his home in the dark, he walked to the kitchen and nuked a bowl of oatmeal for a midnight snack. He hated eating unhealthy foods. He liked to stay in shape so he kept everything healthy in the house. There was one item he had on the list that wasn't healthy but it belonged to Rylen so he let it go. For the most part she stayed healthy as well so he didn't argue too much.

After wolfing down warm oatmeal with a splash of milk and putting it in the dishwasher, he kicked off his shoes and walked to the bedroom. The light was off but once again he could find his way around. He went to the bathroom and took a quick shower to get the smell of sterilized hospital off his skin.

When he was happy he was smelling like axe instead of a white room, he got out and dried off as well as he could. He wrapped a towel around his waist and walked into the bedroom. Rylen was already in bed as he pulled on fresh underwear. He pulled on a pair of athletic shorts then took a moment to watch her.

"That's creepy you know," she said.

He laughed then crawled into bed. He pulled the covers up over his stomach then rolled onto his side. Rylen shifted back into him as his arms came over her. Jason kissed the back of her ear then buried his head in the back of her neck.

"Jason, I need to ask you something," she whispered.

"Okay, shoot," he said.

"I said something at lunch today that I'm not sure I mean or not."

He propped his head up in one of his hands and looked down at her. "What did you say?"

She rolled over so she could look up at him. "I told the girls that I never wanted to see Adam lose his temper. He has never lost his temper in front of us. He's one of the most level headed people I know. I think Cassie makes him lose his composure."

"What are you saying?"

"I don't want Adam seeing Cassie any more. I'm happy he's having a baby but I don't want him having to deal with her."

"He will since she's having his baby. And you have no idea how much he's going to deal with her once that baby's into the world. My cousin told me when his parents divorced they fought over everything, including the kids."

Rylen sighed and rubbed her face. "I don't know what to tell him. I want him to be happy but I don't want him with Cassie."

"You should be honest with your best friend." She turned her head away from him. "Hey, if it were me dating someone you didn't like, what would you say?"

"I would say you're making a big mistake. That person doesn't have your best interest at heart. You deserve someone better than that."

"Then tell Adam that. He listens to you."

"He listens to you as well."

Jason shook his head. "I'm not the one he's supposedly cheating with." He laughed when she punched him in the shoulder. She made up for it by snuggling under his chin. He rubbed her back. "You have to be the one talking to him. Rocky and I have just been sounding boards. You're the one who has the most experience with mean girls."

"Yeah, thanks for the reminder." She was quiet a minute. "I'll talk to him tomorrow."

He kissed her forehead. "That's my girl."

"But if I go to jail you have to bail me out."

Jason laughed so hard he thought he was going to hyperventilate.