A/N not mine.

Damn it, Tank! Why must you insert yourself into this one...sigh...on with the story.

What the Heart Wants

She was suddenly overwhelmed by all of the information coming her way. Hector recognized this immediately and hunched down in front of her. He made her look at him.

"Angel, breath and take things one step at a time. Sleep on what to do with your shares then make a decision tomorrow. Tank and I will be here."

Her eyes widened when it sunk in that Tank was staying. "What about Rangeman Trenton? Who's going to run it?"

"Lester will. He's done it often enough when I was on a mission at the same time as Ranger."

"What about Ranger? What does he have to say? I don't want to cause a rift in your friendship. True friends are to precious to let go of for someone like him."

"Our friendship is still there, not as strong as it use to be, but still there. I've been given a back seat to his life for over a year now, it's time for him to take a backseat to mine. I have someone who needs me more and had done more for me than I can ever repay."

"What the hell are you talking about? I've gotten you shot, your leg busted, and I had to investigate you when Ranger suspected you and the rest of the core team in espionage!" She quickly covered her mouth, "I'm sorry. I hated doing it. He hired me to look into everyone and it turned out to be a bunch of damn kids."

"It's okay, Little Girl. He told us all after the fact, even how you stood up for us the entire time and caught the real culprits."

She felt horrible and couldn't stop the sob that escaped. She was beginning to panic, feeling like she was boxed in on all sides. When she started to hyperventilate, they seemed to know that she needed room and let her stand up. She ran to her room and collapsed on her bed. She could hear the angry whispers passed back and forth. It took almost an hour until she was ready to face them again. She knew that there was more to the story.

When she walked into the kitchen to grab a can of soda she found Tank at the table with a laptop. She found it fascinating that for the first time ever he didn't even seem to realize that she had even entered the room. Taking the time to actually look at him she found a few unexpected things. He was not only tall, but looked rather young. The tip of his tounge was slightly sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated solely on what was in front of him. His head tilted slightly and his shoulders hunched; the laptop looked exceedingly tiny compared to his large hands. She shook all thoughts of his attractiveness out of her head. It was a road she wasn't willing to travel ever again. The cost was too high.

He heard a defeated sigh, seemingly from nowhere, and looked up. He was caught off guard by her appearance in the kitchen, but quickly tried to disguise it. She pulled out a chair at the table. He knew that he needed to tell her everything that was going on.

"I want to discuss a few things with you that happened yesterday," Tank said firmly.

"I take it that I'm not going to like it?"

"I want you to understand that this is not something that reflects upon you. Can you do that for me?"

She nodded her head hesitantly before he continued, "I should start with Thursday when Ranger came into the office. A few of us were having an impromptu meeting when he showed up to announce his move to us. Just before he walked out he informed us that Holly is pregnant."

She closed her eyes and her shoulders sagged. "It's alright. He's moved on and I'm trying to be happy for him. I hope that he has everything he wants out of life. It's not with me like I thought it would be, but I'll always want the best for him," she replied unconvincingly.

"I also wanted to tell you that last evening, my final act as second in command at Rangeman was to take him to the mats."

Her body became tense and her head shot up. He could see a million questions flying across her face before she asked a single one, "why?"

Placing a hand over hers, he looked directly into her eyes and dropped the blank face. Allowing every emotion to skirt over it before he stated, "he hurt you. Number one rule at Rangeman has always been that no one could hurt you."

"Listen, I haven't been tied to Rangeman in a long time now. So, while I appreciate the sentiment, I can honestly that I'm not worth it. I never have been."

"That's something you need to work on, Steph. You are worth it and more."

"Then explain to me why I was suddenly friendless and without any family? Explain to me why I had to loose everything and everyone I cared about? Maybe you can explain to me why I lost the child I was car..." She clamped a hand over her mouth when she realized what she was about to say.

Tank's face grew dark and he practically growled out, "the what?"

She seemed to fold in on herself and her shoulders began to shake, "nothing, Tank. Absolutely nothing. I get it if you're mad at me too. Ranger has probably kept your job for you, so you don't need to stick around and pretend to be my friend any longer. I'm just going to keep living my life alone."

She stood to leave, but the grip he had on her hand prevented her from running. He looked at her with compassion and a gentleness that she long for, but learned to never expect.

"Please, Stephanie, tell me what happened," he implored.

Her eyes got a glassy far away look to them. It was as though she was in a trance before she started speaking again, "I told you about the night that I told Ranger about Joe and I, well most of it. We had sex that night and I ended up pregnant. I was planning on leaving before he could find out, because I didn't want to be another Rachel. Then he told me about Holly.

"I lost the baby that same night. I knew then, that I must have done something horrible during my life for everything to keep piling up. Then you guys stopped talking to me altogether and I decided that it was time to just give up on having friends, family, or just anyone around in general.

"I can't seem to do anything right anyway, so why bother someone else with my messed up life?"

She moved to yank herself from Tank's grasp, only to find his arms circling around her and him pulling her into his chest. She let out the most heartfelt sob ever heard as she finally began to really mourn the loss of her child. It hit her harder than Ranger pulling away from her. It hurt her more than her family disowning her. It would have brought her to her knees if Tank had not picked her up.

He carried her to the sofa and sat with her in his lap. He felt helpless as she cried so hard that the wails were silent. He rouched slightly and pulled out a handkerchief. Wiping the tears that fell from her face he couldn't help be realize what they had done to the woman currently dwarfed in his arms. A few tears left his eyes as well.

She slowly calmed down and spoke with a small voice, "I didn't mean to ruin your shirt. I'm sorry. I'll wash it and...your handkerchief? You carry a handkerchief?"

He let out a chuckle at her incredulous tone. Soon she was giggling too, which quick turned into all out laughter between the both of them. It took nearly a half an hour for them to both calm down

"I needed that," Stephanie said with a grin. "Now, you need to tell me the real reason you left your very lucrative business to come here."

"That's easy to answer. You're here," at the confused look on her face he felt the need to continue further. "Seriously, I should never have turned my back on you. It hadn't been intentional, but I realized that I had left you to fend for yourself without a friend in the world."

"So, guilt brought you here," she said with a hint of disgust.

"No, love did. The love of a friend who is hurting."

She sat there gaping at him. Friend. She mulled the word over. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that was something she needed more now then ever before. That and a good therapist. Having these three men here, may just be what she needs.

She wraps her arms around his neck and offers a softly whispered Thank you.

A/N I almost forgot to post today. I am on day four of a nasty migraine, but I've remembered!

Also, to any reviews that I may have missed replying to, Thank you! I am completely blown away by the sheer number of them, and how well received this story has become. You are all awesome!