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Disclaimer: I don't own the usual characters.

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Chapter 21

"Ram just picked Rex up. He'll take him to RangeMan. Another detail was put on your parent's house," Hector reassures her as he pulls her into a hug. Damn, I wish I was the one standing and comforting her now.

"Will someone tell me what is going on?" I finally ask, exasperated at being out of the loop. Steph nods and returns to the chair by my side. She grabs my hand but doesn't meet my eyes which is the first sign that she's worried about my reaction.

"Remember when we were stuck in that cave?" she asks, as though I'd ever forget. I relived those moments every night after I left her to resume my mission.

"Of course." She nods and meets my eyes briefly.

"I told you about Kevin Dearborn, the guy Bobby kicked out of Fort Sam Houston because of what he tried to do to me…" she trails off and clenches my hand. I can feel the anger building in my chest. I try and keep calm for her sake.

"He's in Trenton. He sent me flowers, visited my parents, and apparently just blew up Hector's car," she admits, a tear trailing down her cheek. I lift her hand to my mouth a place a gentle kiss.

"It's not your fault, Babe. He's obviously a very twisted guy. You're safe. Your family is safe. He won't hurt you. We won't let him," I say trying to reassure her. She nods, but doesn't look convinced. I wince and position myself so I can put my hand under her chin. I make her look at me.

"Everything is going to be fine. I love you," I say, baring my heart to the woman who saved my life multiple times. Who else would it ever be safe with if not her? I see her breath catch and her big, gorgeous blue eyes widen. Her eyes soften at the edges, and I see her mouth tip into a smile.

"I love you too, Carlos," she replies happily before leaning up and kissing me. I'd deepen the kiss, but the shrapnel in my side protests. I really need that pain medicine. Steph notices immediately. I'm guessing it's those nurse instincts. She sees my face and grabs my medicine button before I can protest. She pumps it twice. Shit. I'm going to sleep for sure. She brushes hair off of my face and smiles.

"You need to rest," she whispers, pressing a kiss on my lips.

Carlos drifts into his medicated sleep, and I turn to Hector.

"We need to find this bastard, now!" I say angrily. I'm done with letting this shithead mess around with me and my life. I refuse to keep living like this.

"Let's go ask around at the library and see if they recognize him," I say, hoping Hector has a picture. He nods. Shit, I wonder if we have a car. He looks down and nods. I realize we have ESP. The realization makes me happy. We're true partners now. Hector leads the way and I'm not surprised that we head to a RangeMan vehicle. An SUV, all black—of course. Hector drives and tells me he has a picture of Kevin. He'd already planned on doing this. We're almost the same person now, it's kinda scary but awesome at the same time. We get to the library quickly and park. Hopefully, this car won't get blown up anytime soon. We head inside and talk to the lady at the information desk.

"Hi, we're bond enforcement agents looking for this man," I say holding out the picture, "have you seen him?" The lady looks to be in her late fifties with graying hair and glasses. She's wearing a pink sweater set. She squints at the photo.

"I think he was in here the other day," she says tapping her chin in thought. "I think he said his name was Kevin." I nod.

"Does he come here often?" I ask as my partner stands silently behind me while scanning the room. She tilts her head to the side as she tries to remember. She nods very slowly.

"I think he comes in almost every Tuesday," she says, "but I'm not positive." We nod.

"Thank you so much for your help! Have a nice day," I reply politely. I turn to Hector as we leave.

"Next Tuesday we'll scout it out," I say in Spanish. "We should check motels or places around here he could be hiding." Hector nods. I'm surprised Kevin was stupid enough to use his real name. We now have to go deal with dinner at my parent's house. Hector says it's amusing, and he's not sucked into it because "he can't speak English." Sometimes I wish I didn't speak English. Then I wouldn't understand my mother's criticism and horrifying things coming out of Grandma's mouth. We head over and make it five minutes to six.

"Oh thank goodness! I was afraid the pot roast was going to dry out," mom said with a smile as we walked towards the porch.

"That would be the end of the world," I mutter under my breath, and Hector chuckles. We head inside and take our seats as she gets the pot roast out of the oven.

"Baby granddaughter, nice to see you!" Grandma Mazur says happily, "I've been meaning to call you. I was wondering if you could give me a ride to that retirement home close to your house. I know a guy rumored to have a huge schlong, and he said he'd let me see it!" I sigh and close my eyes. That was not an image I needed in my head. I saw Hector had his fist clenched to keep himself from laughing.

"Mother!" My mom shrieks. "Not in front of the kids!"

"Sure Grandma, anytime," I reply. Mom shoots me a sharp look as she cuts into the roast.

"Stephanie will do no such thing! You don't need to be visiting a man in a retirement home," she says unhappily. My dad looks up.

"Go visit, maybe they have an open room you could rent," he says before shoveling his food into his mouth. Mom looks horrified at that suggestion, but we all know it would make my dad happy. He would have one less person to share a bathroom with. Everyone is silent for a moment before Mary Alice speaks up.

"Grandma, what's a schlong?" Her question is so innocent. Mom and Valerie look horrified, Dad is not addressing the situation, Grandma smiles, and Hector shakes silently.

"It's a special type of sausage, sweetie," my mom replies politely. Mary Alice perks up.

"I love sausage! Maybe GG can invite that man over and we could have it for dinner one night," she replies enthusiastically. Mom and Valerie go bright red. I burst out laughing first. Hector can't contain it anymore either, and he follows suit.

"No Mary Alice, that will not be happening." Mary Alice is a little unhappy but nods. Thankfully, the rest of the meal goes by smoothly. I warn everybody about Kevin before we leave. They'll have a RangeMan team on them at all times, but they don't know it.

I give Hector a look and he nods, getting my ESP. I want to go see Carlos. He understands. I lean back in my seat and sigh. He's scheduled for surgery tomorrow. If he made it through everything he has, he should make it through this. I try not to think about the possible complications from surgery. At least he'll have a personal PT, me. There is no way in hell I'm going to let someone else do it. Plus, I'll have my certification in two weeks. Having all the sciences out of the way made it easy to get my license. Hector pulls to a stop in front of the center and I jump out. I know he's just going to park the car. I head inside and straight to Carlos' room. He's sleeping when I get there, but Bobby and Mercedes are in the room. Bobby is sitting next to Carlos' bed, and Mercedes is standing with a hand on Bobby's shoulder. I smile.

"Hey guys," I whisper as they turn and see me. They smile. Mercedes comes over and hugs me.

"I'm so happy for you and Bobby. He hadn't been the same since he heard Ranger died, but I think he'll be better now," she whispers in my ear. I nod. I definitely had felt like a walking shell so I can't imagine how Bobby, one of Carlos' best friends, felt. I feel a couple of tears leak out in relief. She rubs my back as I sniffle. We break apart to see Bobby standing with a smile.

"We're heading out. Just wanted to stop by before he has surgery tomorrow morning," he informs me quietly. He wraps me in a hug before grabbing Mercedes' hand. I wave goodbye as they head out. I then go take the seat next to Carlos. He stirs and cracks his eyes.

"Babe," he whispers, grabbing my hand. I smile.

"Captain," I reply quietly. He smiles before drifting off to sleep. I end up falling asleep sitting up.

AN: Let me know what you think!