A/N: First, I'm sorry it has been so long since I've posted, but busy season has been grueling and taken away all of my playtime. The good news is that it has slowed down a bit; the bad news is that it's not over yet. But I'm trying to carve out snippets of time to write in the hopes that my muse will come home again.

A huge thanks to all of you who have either sent me PMs or posted asking for more of this story, it means the world to me that after so long of not updating that you are still interested. Please DON'T GIVE UP ON ME!! J

And as always, thanks to Stayce for being a great friend, cheerleader and the best beta ever!

I love reading your feedback, so please review and let me know what you think!! I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own them, just playing and I'll return them unharmed. Well maybe everyone but Ranger. I'm going to try and find a way to keep him J

Truth & Realization

Previously

Tank had been pouring over terrain maps of the mountain area. He had a gut feeling that it was Ranger behind the weird shit that had spooked Sandoval's thugs into running back to his compound.

"Any luck?" Bobby asked.

Tank pushed the map away from him in frustration. "Not a god damn thing." He was about to ask him how he and Hector were doing with the weapons when someone knocked at the door.

They both immediately drew their weapons and went into combat mode. Hector met them in the dining room. Using hand signals, they jumped into action.

Tank went towards the door while Bobby and Hector each circled around to get themselves in place in case of an ambush. Without making a sound or giving away his position, Tank peered through the door's peephole and then he smiled.

"Stand down," he called out, "it's only Susana."

Bobby and Hector lowered their weapons but didn't completely relax, just in case it was a trap.

Tank cautiously opened the door with his left hand and leveled his gun to Susana's chest with his right. He knew better than to let his guard down completely. He quickly scanned the surrounding area until he was satisfied that there was no one other than Susana out there. Once he was sure it wasn't dangerous, he scooped her up and twirled her around brought her inside the house and closed the door behind her.

He stepped back and took in the woman standing before him. She was 5' 6", long legs, killer body, jet black hair that hung almost to her waist and the most startling green eyes he'd ever seen. She blushed while he gave her a devilish grin.

"Still as gorgeous as ever," he said while giving her a kiss on the cheek.

She threw her arms around him and squeezed him as much as his size permitted. "Pierre, que gusto de verte."

"Créeme, el placer es todo mío." He replied while waggling his eyebrows.

"Good to see some things don't change." She said with a husky laugh.

At that moment Bobby and Hector entered the hallway. Susana turned to see who else came with Tank. She saw Bobby and without thought she leapt into his arms, thrilled to see her old friend.

"Roberto como me has hecho falta." Her words brought an ache in her chest she fought daily. She normally didn't let herself think about these men, especially the one she couldn't seem to remove from her heart, which she had grown to respect and love so much. It had been five long years since she'd seen them last. They had been through a lot together, more than any human should bear. And although her life was turned upside down, she would never regret a minute she spent with them…with him. No matter what the cost.

Bobby's face lit up with a beautiful smile. "Susana you're a sight for sore eyes."

"The feeling is mutual Roberto. I'm just sorry we always come back together in bad times."

"Well maybe this time, you'll come back with us."

She wistfully smiled at him, "Perhaps."

Chapter 10

Breaking Point

By

Luisa (MiamiBabe)

Susana had left and Tank had gone back to scouring the military maps that Monroe had sent them in hopes of finding a spot that Ranger could be hiding in. A lot had changed from the last time they had to live in these mountains. He was still surprised at how detailed the maps were, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He was thankful for the Colonel's connections with the Colombian army and that technology had improved so much it helped to get a better view and feel of the terrain. But right now, he was coming up empty and he knew time was against them.

He had been skeptical about the Ranger sightings, but he hadn't been willing to take a chance and be wrong. But now more than ever, he was convinced it was either bullshit or a distraction tactic. He knew better than anyone that Ranger would never let anyone spot him unless he wanted them, too.

Frustrated and ready to give up on the maps, he whispered, "Where the fuck are you Ranger?" As he straightened himself to stretch his back, his eye caught sight of a marker on the left side of the map. He bent down to take a closer look and was surprised by what he saw. How the hell had he missed it before? It had been a long time and the terrain had changed some, so he carefully studied the area surrounding the marker to make sure he wasn't seeing things that weren't really there. But the more he looked, the more he knew he was right. He shook his head in amazement. It was as if Ranger had heard him before and answered his question.

"Brown," he barked.

Bobby rushed in when he heard the urgency in Tank's voice, "What happened?"

Without looking up from the map, he said, "I found him."

"How?" Bobby asked incredulously.

"Remember Cascada del Diablo?" Tank asked.

Bobby nodded his head, "But how can you be sure?"

"Think about it. What better way to keep Sandoval's men away from him than to lead them on a wild goose chase?"

"I guess you could be right, but it's a long shot, don't you think?" Bobby asked skeptically.

"Maybe, but my gut tells me I'm right. It's the perfect hiding place because the locals are scared to go there."

"It would give Ranger and the guys a chance to recover and regroup," Bobby speculated.

"Get Hector and the gear ready and we'll head out at nightfall."

Bobby headed back to fill Hector in on the plan.

Tank hesitated. I hope I'm right because if not, we're fucked. Shaking his head to clear it, knowing there was no room for self doubt, he began to plot their course.

Joe'd had the week from hell and all he could think about was taking a long hot shower and crawling into bed with Stephanie. What he needed right now was to relieve himself of all his pent up tension by mindlessly fucking her. He was getting a hard on just picturing himself buried in her but something wasn't letting him get completely lost in his fantasy. It suddenly hit him, fuck, Stephanie was still pissed off at him. She'd been avoiding him for the last few days, still mad about his comments on her "new" position. He still didn't understand why she'd gotten so pissed off, wasn't he just stating the obvious? No matter how much she'd trained recently, she wasn't equipped for that kind of responsibility. He was doing her a favor by being honest. No sense in having her embarrass herself, or worse yet him, with trying things she wasn't capable of doing.

He shrugged and cleared his head of those thoughts he had more important things to think about. Now that he'd gotten the vision of them fucking, he was determined to get laid tonight. Four nights without sex was unacceptable. He just needed to sweet talk her into bed. He'd learned that some battles aren't worth fighting, not if he wanted to get laid.

He'd perfected his technique in the last few months, hell last few years…pour on the charm, show the proper amount of chagrin, even if it was just an act, rub her in a couple of strategic places and give her his bedroom eyes and in minutes her engine would be running, her hormones would take over, and he'd be home free. Thank God that her sex drive was as strong as his.

But as he pulled into the driveway, he realized that Steph's car wasn't there. He looked at his watch, saw it was almost midnight and cursed under his breath. Shit! How the hell was he going to put his plan into action if she wasn't even home to be seduced?

Okay so he wasn't going to get laid right away. He'd grab a shower and wait for her. How late could she be?

As it got later his desire for her turned into anger. He'd waited so long he finally fell asleep on the couch. He heard the door and glanced at his watch, it was 3am. He couldn't believe it was so late.

He was trying to control his anger. He knew blowing a gasket right now wasn't going to get him laid, but sometimes he really hated Manoso. Even when he wasn't around, that son of a bitch was cramping his style. He reminded himself that he needed to keep his eye on the prize, so he reined in his temper and silently watched her play with Bob. But when he heard her apologize to the dog,"I know I haven't been around a lot to play lately, but I promise I'll make it up to you,"something in him snapped.

And before he realized what he was doing, he said, "And what are you going to do to make it up to me?"

Her eyes went wide. Shocked at what he said to her and then bam! She exploded!

He braced himself as he saw her control snap. "Excuse me? You didn't actually just say what I think you said, right? Even you couldn't be that much of a hypocrite?"

He knew that he should be trying to diffuse the situation but they'd had a lot of practice at this game and he couldn't seem to stop himself.

"What? It's true. Ever since you took that bogus job in 'running' Rangeman, you're never home. And when you are, you're too tired to do anything. Come on Cupcake you know it's true, when are you going to stop playing around and get back to trying to have a real life."

That was it. The straw that broke the camel's back. She knew that this wasn't the right time to talk about this. She was too emotionally and physically drained to have this serious of a conversation, but there was no way she was going to let him get away with that kind of bullshit.

"I can't frickin believe you. How the hell can you say that crap with a straight face?" She was building steam and her voice was starting to rise. "For the past three years, I've been stood up for a case more times than I can count," and then she began to tick off a laundry list of complaints, "I've missed family events because at the last minute you had to work, I've had to find out from someone else that you left town on "assignment" because you didn't think about calling me until after the fact, and let's not forget how all we ever do is watch TV and eat Pino's because you're always so damned tired?" She was in full rhino mode by this point, building up steam as she paced the kitchen and made hand gestures that conveyed how angry she was. "Not once did you ever worry about my feelings, my needs or desires. And now all of a sudden, you want to make me feel guilty because I'm doing my job? And on top of everything else, you insult me by saying that I'm incompetent and couldn't possibly be doing it well."

He opened his mouth to respond, but she beat him to it and talked right over him, "You ungrateful, selfish bastard. I'm done! I'm tired of being the only one to make all of the sacrifices in this relationship. Not to mention the fact that I'm fed up with the constant put downs by the person that supposedly "loves" me," she said sarcastically as she made air quotes with her hands. "News flash! When you love someone, you don't step all over them and make them feel like crap. You encourage them, help them get better so they can achieve their goals and dreams, not constantly kick them when they're down."

She grabbed her keys and purse, rubbed Bob's head, whispered, "Sorry boy," and walked out of the door.

Joe was dumbstruck. He couldn't believe what had just happened. How did it go so wrong so fast? There was no way he was leaving it like this. She couldn't just walk away like that, not after everything he'd sacrificed to make it work this time. He'd be damned if he was going to let her throw their relationship away without a thought.

He grabbed his keys and slammed out of the house. He knew she'd never go to her parents, maybe Lula? Who was he kidding? She was going back to Haywood to hide just like she's always done. Well this time, he wasn't going to let her hide. He was going to go there and demand she come home with him.

Ranger had just finished up 12 hours of patrolling the perimeter of their camp to ensure that Sandoval's men hadn't figured out his ruse and come to look for them. It was close to 2am and he was in desperate need of some sleep. He rolled up his blanket to use as a pillow and was out within seconds. Unfortunately, his sleep was fitful and he became agitated as he dreamed of Stephanie. Something was wrong. All he saw were flashes of her…nervous, sad, worried…but none of them stayed long enough for him to know why. "What's wrong Babe? Are you in trouble? I can't help you this time…" He mumbled in his sleep as he tossed and turned.

Lester decided to stay in his fourth floor apartment tonight. It was late and by the time he got home, it would be time to turn around and come right back. He'd just turned off the television and was getting ready to catch some sleep when his phone rang.

"Yo."

"Sorry to bother you, but I thought you should know that Steph's back," Cal said.

"What the hell? She just left."

"Yeah, that's why I thought you should know. She's just pulling in now."

Lester rubbed his hand over his face and blew out a long breath. "Okay thanks. I'll be up in five."

Shit! What the hell could have gone wrong in less than an hour?

The fucking bastard! I can't believe that he had the balls to spew that crap. For the second time in less than a week, he's told me I'm incompetent and that no matter what I'll always be a loser. What kind of shit is that for someone that "loves" you to say? How could I've been so stupid? Why hadn't I picked up on his real feelings about me before? Maybe you had, but you just didn't want to see it. No! I refuse to believe that everything we've been building in the last six months has been a lie. Well maybe that's been the problem. You refuse to believe that he isn't right for you. Stop! That's not true! Think about it. Who's made all the real compromises in this relationship? Both of us! Really? Name one change he's made? But she couldn't come up with anything concrete. He's different now. Okay, but is that because he's changed or because you've changed? Shut up! She yelled at the little voice that was playing devil's advocate in her mind, just as she pulled into the driveway at Haywood. She waved her fob, parked in her spot and jumped out of the car. She'd just reached the elevator when it opened and her eyes connected with Lester's.

Shit! She'd been hoping to slip past everyone and go up to the empty apartment on four. She wasn't ready to talk to anyone yet.

She plastered a smile on and greeted Lester as if it was perfectly normal to be coming into work at 3am. "Hey, Lester what are you doing here?"

Lester raised his eyebrow and said, "I was about to ask you the same thing. Didn't you just leave?"

Crap, now what? Think fast! "Yup, but I was having trouble sleeping so I thought I'd come back and do some more work."

"Really?" he asked skeptically, "And Morelli didn't mind you coming back at this hour of the night?"

Just the mention of his name pissed her off, "He's not my keeper," she said with more heat than she wanted.

Bingo! The cop had fucked up again. Shit! Steph isn't catching a break this week.

He raised his hand and gently slid it across her cheek and then pushed a stray curl behind her ear and said, "Beautiful, what's wrong?"

She looked up at him. She'd give anything to lean on him, but she'd done that enough this week and this wasn't his problem. She was about to tell him she was fine when a noise at the gate caught their attention.

They both turned around and saw Joe's car, he was repeatedly honking his horn and yelling out the window, "Stephanie you aren't going to run away this time. I'm tired of this bullshit where every time we have a disagreement you come running here to lick your wounds. It's time you grew up and stopped acting like a scared child."

She had been mortified when she saw him making an ass of himself and all she was thinking was 'how do I get him out of here?' But when she heard his last few words, she went from embarrassed to rhino mode in two seconds flat. Who the fuck did he think he was? Constantly complaining about how she embarrassed him at work with her crazy stunts. And then he has the nerve to say 'grow up'. This is what he calls being mature? She had wanted to cool off and think before she acted, but to hell with it. He wanted to vent their dirty laundry in public, well he better be ready because by the time she was done with him he was going to be sorry he ever laid eyes on her. She was tired of being his puppet, manipulated to do what he always wanted. She'd conformed to the 'Burg's pressure once already. And without realizing it, she was doing it again. All because she was scared…Shit! He was right, but she was done being scared.

"You're right Joe. It's time we finally cleared the air once and for all."

TBC