A/N not mine, I own nothing.

The Price to be Paid

The next day, Stephanie made it to her classes barely in time. It felt like she was being rushed from the moment she woke up. She'd had a very restless night, there was so much on her mind. She needed to talk to Aubrey. What Aubrey had said to her at dinner that night was weighing heavily on her mind. She needed to speak to her.

Stephanie's classes ended at noon that day, and as soon as her last class was over she made the call to Aubrey. They made arrangements to meet for a late lunch. An hour later they were being seated in the diner.

"Hey, Steph!" Aubrey greeted her.

"Thanks for meeting with me. I wanted to talk to you, and this wouldn't have been a conversation to have over the phone," Steph said.

"I am going to take a wild guess, and assume it has to do with a phone call I received from Carlos yesterday. "

Steph just looked at her in shock. Aubrey knows who she is. She quickly composed herself took a deep breath, and began with what she needed to say.

"I feel as though I owe you an apology. I wasn't aware of you and Carlos being together. If I had been, I would have backed off. I told you about Joe and me, and well, while I was with him I fell in love with Carlos. Right now I'm not sure what will be happening between us, but we are at least working on getting our friendship back on track. Somewhere in the last year we managed to lose sight of that. He has told me that he wants more with me, but I just can't trust him with my heart right now. I also want to finish my degrees, and just be me for awhile."

"You have nothing to apologize to me for. Carlos and I were toxic, I hated his job and the missions he ran. I also know that his moral code would never have allowed him to cheat on me. We were off more than we were on in the last few years. I had a feeling he had met someone, but I never had the courage to just end things. He was comfortable for me. When we spoke yesterday, he apologized for not growing up and ending things with me sooner. He had fallen in love with you, and I was basically a distraction. Our time together was filled with so much anger, so much fighting that I think that both of us didn't feel like we were worthy of letting ourselves really be loved. He used me as an example, that most women wouldn't want to deal with his baggage. What he hadn't counted on was you. I don't think any of the guys from Rangeman counted on you. You are a force of nature, you swept in and threw them all off balance. They needed that; they needed to know that there are people out there who can accept them, and the things they had to do to protect our freedoms, without any conditions. They needed you, still need you."

Stephanie sat back and let what she said sink in. Did they really need her? She knew that she needed them. Aubrey broke through her thoughts.

"When Carlos and I spoke yesterday, he told me how he felt you centered him, and that he would be willing to wait for you no matter how long it took. Just remember that, as you take this time for yourself, he will be waiting on the other side."

They finished up their lunch, and for the first time in a long time, Stephanie felt the need to assume her thinking position. She resisted it, she needed to get her school work done. She also needed to mentally prepare herself for Ranger and Tank's arrival.

Ranger was in the gym working out, he was frustrated. He knew he needed to give her time and space. He was willing to do that, but it hurt him that he was the reason it was needed. The phone call with Morelli affected him more than the call with Aubrey. He and Aubrey had already said their goodbyes, that was just a confirmation of it. Joe had given him more of a gift. Joe told him about how he had been jealous of him and how he could support her in ways that Joe never could. He was upset that Ranger could help her fly, and with the way he felt about life, he couldn't encourage her to be herself. Joe told him that he needed to make some changes. Stephanie was making them, and why should she be the only one?

Once he was done in the gym he went up to 7 and got ready for the day. He looked around his apartment and remembered the times she had stayed with him. That was the only time it ever felt like home. He realized, in that moment, she was his home. He sat down hard at the thought. He had to make some changes. He had to learn how to open up to her, even Batman needed someone he could tell things to.

While he was in his office, Tank walked in.

"Ranger, we need to be ready by 4 am to catch the flight into Athens. Once we get there we will drive into Commerce. I understand that you have a breakfast commitment. You hurt her again, and you will meet me, Lester, Bobby, and Tiger on the mats. Then we will make sure you are never anywhere near her again. Little Girl is growing up, and she needs to fly. You need to either let her in, or let her go."

"Understood."

Tank walked away after that. Ranger wanted to make sure that she had everything she needed, but he would ask her. Anything he could give her, it would be hers. First he had to talk to her, open up about himself.

The day seemed to drag on, and they got a lead on a high dollar skip. Cal, Hal, Ram, Vince and Bobby were sent out to check it out. Within the hour they had a phone call, the info was confirmed, they would be taking him down in the next 15 minutes. The guys had their radios on an open channel so they could monitor the whole thing. Something went wrong, and the skip got a lucky swipe in with a knife. Vince ended up with 18 stitches in his arm. The skip may or may not have actually tripped and hit his head on the curb causing his concussion.

They had twelve hours until the flight. This was turning into a very long day.

A/N Thank you again Maggie!

Also Margaret and Amanda, your input and encouragement has helped me get past a few moments of writers block.