you guys can officially burn me at the stake, i've been a total witch not updating! Sorry all...lol well here is chapter 11, only one more chapter to go! OH MY GOSH! Hahaha so just to make sure you all know, I do NOT have any hot muscley men at my disposal...i'm not that luck, that would be Janet Evonavich, the creator of Most of these characters :P lol so here it is... PLEASE REVEIW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I desperatley need some feedback.

P.S. It's not Beta'd thought you might want it a little bit faster. :D Enjoy!


Ranger watched the fight, certain that he'd never seen anything like it, and likely never would again.

He watched as she let everything go. She was beautiful and terrifying all at the same time. She moved with a grace that he knew was lethal and yet…he was entranced. They were moving with almost choreographed moves; she hit, he blocked, she kicked he ducked. He'd never seen any two people so evenly matched in a fight.

'This' he thought to himself, 'is going to give me a heart attack' as Stephanie narrowly missed a swipe from his knife.

There were no words spoken, the others had gotten mini-Steph out and now it was just them fighting and him, her silent guardian. Their moves were precise and their blows strong. Only grunts were heard as they fought each other.

The moment seemed to go on forever, and yet ended in only seconds.

Blood as the knife hit the carotid artery.

A smirk as their opponent fell.

Drops of sweat hitting the floor.

Deep breaths.

And the moment was gone. Leaving the only two living occupants of the room to look at each other and slowly cross the room to each other, grasping each other in something that was much more than an embrace, more than a hug, it was reassurance and hope and…love.

Movement around them brought them out of their small bit of their peace. The coroners had already arrived, slowly processing the evidence. The police were taking photographs of the room, making sure to document everything. The other merry men were giving their statements as patiently as they could, but Ranger and Stephanie could tell they were ready to leave.

The hours passed quickly, her giving her statement, frustration coming off of her as she went through her story for the fourth time.

Going to the hospital waiting for news of Charlie. The doctor coming out, looking at the room full of VERY built men and quickly said she was going to be fine; the doctor left quickly.

The merry men and her old team all crowded into the small hospital room to drop off the things they had got for the mini-me and say their get well speeches, hoping she could hear them, which consisted of 'hope you get better soon…bye'… army men are always so good with words(HA)…

When everyone had gone home, excluding Ranger and Stephanie, I mean really? The idea that visiting hours could stop two highly trained, highly lethal rangers was laughable…

They sat there all night surrounded by the huge teddy bears, stuffed animals, and vases full of colorful flowers that the guys had left.

At 6:30 a.m. Charlie awoke to a dark room, filled with soft breathing. Looking around as best as she could with her injury, she smiled. There sitting on the floor by her bead was Ranger, with what could only be her mom sprawled over him, they were both surrounded by stuffed animals. She looked at him and was surprised to see he was awake. He smiled and motioned for her to not talk. They smiled at each other and, slowly, fell asleep, at peace with life…


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