Taken from Chapter 69 and 70 of The Thin Line (Part One)

Coming back from doing my overviews, I sat down to do the work that everyone hates to do including Ranger and that's paper work. Now from where my desk is located I can see when someone comes and goes and when I looked up from my files I saw Steph walk off the elevator with Bobby following behind her. Happy to see her again and then remembering how she was feeling when I had left her earlier, I was determined to be happy when going up to her so I could get her to smile.

"Heyyy how did it go Beautiful?" I asked about her doctor's appointment. Instead of getting the smile I wanted from her Stephanie burst into tears.

"Steph" I heard Bobby say as he came up beside her and placed an arm around her shoulders

"I need to be alone" she said and took off running from us back to the elevator

My heart and my smile fell to the floor when I watched her fleeing like that from us. I looked over to Bobby as he watched Steph jump on the elevator; he was shaking his head and let out a big sigh.

"I knew she wasn't all right. She kept telling me she was but it was written all over her face" he said and made the move to go after her

"Can I try?" I asked stopping him cold for a minute

"I really think I should go"

I knew he was right, he was her boyfriend after all but something inside me needed to be with her. I needed to feel her in my arms one more time. I'm addicted and Steph is my drug. I'm being selfish I know, hey I'm an opportunist too.

"I really think you should hang back on this one and let me go talk to her" I said trying to convince him "Sometimes it's just better to have a friend talk to her. We are there and going thru with her on her stuff but we aren't really on the front lines like you are. Maybe could see something differently than you would" I told him

"I am her boyfriend here, in case you have forgotten" oh no I have never forgotten that. Everyday I've seen them together and everyday I've seen by their actions how much they care for each other. "I'm the one she sleeps with at night and talks too, Steph needs me and I love her more than anyone here in this building"

At that moment when I heard what he said, I latterly felt like I was punched in the gut. He loved her I'm sure of it but to say he loved her more than anyone else in the building is just flat out wrong. We ALL loved Stephanie, some more than others, hell I've loved her and been in love with her for years but thinking she was Ranger's I kept a lid on it.

"I love her to bro. We all know you and her are together" I told him

"She is my responsibility"

"She is all of ours. Bobby I'm not saying you can't help her and that you don't love her or want the best for her I'm just saying let her friends help too. Trust and give us a chance that we could be one that she would come to in a time of need. You'll always be primary but it's good to have other outlets"

I stood there and watched Bobby. I knew he was getting pissed; I would be too if another one of my friends thought he knew what was best for my girlfriend. I continued to watch him hoping he would give me the go ahead. He never said anything and I didn't know what else to say or do until he lowered his head and relaxed his body.

"Go" he said and I ran into the monitor room to find her

"I need you to run the command floor camera back until you see me, Bobby, and Steph standing in the hall talking" I ordered Diaz

"There" he told me looking at the screen

"Ok turn on all the in-house cameras and follow where she goes"

"Looks like she is leaving" Diaz said as the elevator went to the garage

"Yea shit" I said remember back to the last time Bobby and I tried to find her. She slipped past us for hours. I continued to watch the feeds and was awarded a surprise from my patience "no wait, ahhh haaa gotcha" I screamed. Damn sometimes I love this job.

Steph thought she was pretty clever when she stepped into the gun range. If we weren't a state of the art security company with cameras monitoring everywhere we would not have even thought of looking for her in there because we know how much she hates anything gun. My blood was pumping and my adrenaline was spiking I slapped Diaz on the shoulder, and left the room only stopping when I got to Bobby.

"I'm just going to talk to her, I'll let you hear what goes on but if she remembers the camera than it's her choice" I told him and he nodded

I took off and hit the stairwell door. I ran down all five flights of stairs and barreled out into the garage. Walking over to the far garage wall, I followed it till I came to the gun range door, trying the knob I smirked when I found it was unlocked. Opening the door I walked in and was thrown into total darkness making it hard for me to see anything.

"Beautiful" I called out hoping she would answer me so I'd have a direction on where she might be

"Stephanie" I called again but got silence in return. How she managed to find a hiding spot in the dark was beyond me but then again she could be standing right next to me and I would never know it.

"Beautiful come on. I know that you're in here" I called out again and felt my phone buzz at my hip. Picking it up I read the incoming text.

"Far left wall left corner xx BB" Damn I love this job!

Now that I had a direction to go on I just eased myself down the wall using my hand as a guide. Finding Steph exactly where Bobby said she was I plopped myself down next to her. I had caught my prey.

"I can never just be alone and hide can I?" she asked when I sat down next to her

"Nope"

"Damn" she said and I chuckled

"You forget who you work for and where you're at. The only place I wouldn't be able to find you is up on seven but you also have to remember I can watch you go to the elevator or stairs and watch you go to seven, so I'd know anyways even if you ditched your trackers" I told her looking over in her direction. My eyes were adjusting to the dark and I could just make out the outline of her face.

"Wonderful. Now turn off the camera Les I know all of RangeMan is watching and Listening"

"Not all of RangeMan"

"Turn it off Les"

I took my key ring out of my pocket and pushed the button on my fob "ok "scrambled" I said as I placed the keys back into my pocket "So we just sitting here in the dark?"

"Was the plan" she answered and I could hear the edge in her voice. I knew where we were sitting was the narrow area where we stand to shoot that was between the ammo room and the targets. Jumping to my feet I went over and turned the light on in the ammo room.

"Much better" I said coming back to sit next to Steph

"Where's Bobby" she asked me

"I asked him to let me find and talk to you"

"Oh"

"Soooo?" I asked taking my boot and nudging her with it

"Bobby didn't tell you?"

"I've heard nothing"

"I have to stop PT" she said and then she let it all out "I have to stop PT, have a second MRI, and I'm.. I'm.."" she said as I watched her stand up and begin pacing back and forth with her hands balled up into fists at her side.

"Scared?" I asked

"YES" she confessed "I'm scared because for some stupid reason I have a phobia about going into the tubey thing and I'm scared to have that same asshole who did my first test"

At the mention of the guy who did her first test, I remembered how upset she was when she came out from doing the test. Steph was already a nervous wreck going into the test that asshole had no compassion what so ever to ease that fear. To see her so torn up like that made my blood boil. You don't do that to elderly and injured people, they are there to get cared for and help and you especially don't do that to my Stephanie. Thinking of it now still passes me off. Jumping to my feet I placed my hands on her hips to stop her from pacing and placing the blame for it all on herself. When I laid my hands on her that old familiar fire that I feel for her lit once again.

"Stephanie you don't have a stupid reason to fear enclosed spaces you have every right to be scared. I said looking into her big wide wild beautiful blue eyes "What Stiva did to you when he locked you in that casket is just awful. You didn't deserve that, everyone fears their own death and to be alive and see and feel yourself in a coffin it causes bad things to happen" I told her as she nodded with tears streaming down her cheeks

"And" I said catching her eyes with mine "I promise you don't have to be scared of that stupid tech prick. He won't bother you" and I meant what I said