. .oOo.

Chapter 21 Epilogue part 2

Tom's river had been a beautiful place to grow up. Nia looked out at the view from her mother's back yard. Nearly everyone here had a great view of the river, which was really an inlet from the Atlantic Ocean. It was no wonder that she had developed such a love for nature, it all started right here.

The view was not holding her attention now, not like it usually did. Nia turned and walked back to the house. The phone in her hand dropped to the table as she walked by. Her emotions were in turmoil. After her mother's little pep talk, she had been so excited to call Tank.

Over and over she had dialed his number, and over and over again it was busy, and she got the voice mail. Of course by that time, she had been so nervous she couldn't bring herself to leave a message. Thinking that if she just kept trying, she would eventually find him, Nia waited as long as she could and dialed again.

She might as well pack it in and get to her apartment. The party was now officially over, since all of her relatives had finally cleared out of her mother's house. It had been a good day, she reminded herself of that.

Finding that her new boss wanted her to start immediately, in her dream job, had started it all. As hard as it was to say goodbye to Mitch and the guys at the station, this is where she belonged. And, this was the perfect place to be.

The man she had met was here, so close by, too. Just like it was all meant to be. Nia sighed, then why, she wondered, couldn't she find him. Shaking these thoughts from her head, she hugged her mother and loaded her things into the back of her car that she had left here with her mother over three months ago.

The ten minute drive to her own place was quiet, and uneventful. And finally she was home. A quick word with the neighbors assured her that the couple that sub-leased her place had been nice and friendly, and most importantly, had moved out a few days ago.

Dragging her luggage inside, Nia dropped into a chair. And despite all the logical arguments she played out in her head, instead of heading in for a shower, she took out her phone and dialed the number again. It rang and rang and rang, and then a deep voice said "Hello."

. .oOo.

His job was never done. Kinkaid watched as boxes were delivered to the conference room. He was going to be leaving soon, there were some people he needed to talk to personally, but before he left, he had some parting gifts, so to speak, for his team.

The men started showing up, as requested, and they stood with the general while the rest of the boxes were set out on the long table. Not a word was spoken, as far as they knew, they had one last debriefing before they could go home. Standard procedure, no surprise there. But the boxes were a mystery, and they waited patiently to find out what Kinkaid had in store for them this time.

Tank stood at the door, he was eager to have this last meeting all finished up. His phone call an hour ago had not been what he had hoped. Nia Alkins, had not been available, and whoever it was who had answered the phone did not seem to know anything. Tank was worried that the message he had left wouldn't find its way to her. This had him set on edge, and all he could think of was finally being able to talk to her.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Ranger and Stephanie arrived. They were all here now, and Tank followed them in to the room. Without inviting anyone to sit, Kinkaid started talking. And the men remained standing.

"Gentlemen," he said solemnly."As you know, we have accomplished what we set out to do..."

The men made sounds of agreement, "And a whole lot more." Kinkaid continued. "I will be taking the intel brought to us by Aban Lufti to the Pentagon today. We can all be proud that Ben Davron was instrumental in getting it to us."

The general took a deep breath now. He looked around the room, these were his men. He would always think of them not only as the best team he had ever worked with, but as the best of the best in every meaning of the word. Their loyalty ran deep, and it was with a bit of difficulty that he said the next words.

"While we have been doing our work, the recovery team packed up Ben's belongings from his home in Arizona." He gestured to the boxes, there were eleven of them. Each labeled. It was now that the guys looked carefully and saw that their names were on these boxes.

"These items were found, organized and labeled, just like this," Kinkaid said. He walked over and set a hand on the top of the box closest to him. "Ben left them for you," he said. "There is nothing more for me to say, except thank you."

He was right, no other words were needed. They had come for Ben, and they had found justice for him. Kinkaid moved toward the door, then he turned to face them again. "Arrrangements have been made for you to get back to your families." At this he nodded to Ranger, whose men had taken care of those details for them. He left them to pick up their boxes. The rest was up to them.

Stephane watched as Ranger stepped up to the table. At first he had wanted to open this in private. But noticing the hesitation in the rest of the men, he made a decision. And the moment he opened the flap of the box, he knew it had been the right one.

This was his team. Ben's team. When they had been together, they had done everything as one. Now it seemed that it was his last wish to let them feel that bond once more. One by one, the guys opened their boxes too.

Private moments were shared in silence. And a few memories were recounted with smiles and a few laughs too. But there was one thing that each of them left for later, for when they were alone. Letters, tied together in paracord. The ones that Chef had had such a hard time writing. But here they were for his brothers. He wouldn't let them down. And, in the end, he didn't.

. .oOo.

The equipment in Hector's office was unlike anything Aban had ever seen. Hector was pleased to see the awe and amazed look in his eyes. He was always so happy to show off what he had built, especially to someone who knew what they were looking at.

Since his arrival, Hector had been taking Aban under his wing. He liked the guy, and though he was quiet and shy, they had easily fallen into a comfortable relationship. Hector liked to think that Aban was a lot like him. Just a bit of an outsider, since he did not have the military background that most of the other rangemen had.

Being confined to the building for as long as they had, Hector had shown Aban around, given him the 'grand tour'. Aban was impressed with everything he saw, and he liked the men he met. This was the kind of atmosphere that he had envisioned when he and Mahir had joined the organization.

People with a common cause working together. But after years, he had seen that it had been only an illusion. He had come to believe that that kind of place did not exist. And yet, here it was. So many different personalities, so many talents, and they all came together to make things work. To make things right. It resonated with him, and Aban found himself wishing that he could stay here.

After Hector talked him into a workout in the gym, Aban went back to the room he was staying in for a shower. There on the bed was a pile of clothes. That surprised him, but Aban realized that he had only come with a very few things. And the truth was, he had no clean clothes so this gesture not only surprised him, he realized that he needed what they had offered.

Aban turned a few heads when he walked into the break room dressed from head to toe in black. RangeMan black. From the other side of the room, Ella smiled. He looked good, she had guessed his size perfectly. And darned if he didn't look like he fit in here. Hector saw the same thing, and he decided to act on the idea he had had down in his office.

With permission from Cal, Hector approached Ranger about taking Aban in as a tech support trainee. Ranger listened to his recommendations and agreed to give him a chance. That was all Hector needed, he thanked him and rushed out of the office.

To say that Aban was shocked would have been an understatement. He nodded, no words were ready for a few minutes as he fought for composure. This was more than he deserved, more than he ever thought was possible. "Yes," he said. "Thank you, yes!" "Thank you," he said again. And he truly meant it.

Though he did not consciously think it, he knew that he had found a place to belong. He could not go home, that bridge had been burned long ago. He had no friends, Mahir had been the only one and he was gone. Not in years had he felt like this. He was in the right place. In only hours, he knew this. After all this time, he had found his home, his family.

. .oOo.

The living room at the Ellis's house was exactly as he remembered it. Kinkaid entered slowly, knowing that this was not the visit that any of them ever wanted to have. He was their friend, practically a part of the family. This news should come easier from him than from a stranger, shouldn't it.

At the moment, it did not feel like it, not to Doug Kinkaid. He looked over to the portrait above the fireplace. The family as it had been, painted years before any of this had happened. Nick, little Nicky, was smiling big and bright, his whole world, and his future ahead of him. It was a stab in his heart to see the boy that he had been.

And now he sat across from them. Nick's parents knew what was coming. After years of watching their son go through such troubling times, they knew deep down that something bad would happen. But Kinkaid was sure that they had never imagined that Nick would have ever done something like this. That he would have died like this.

The story he told was a short one. Many of the details were left out. What good would it do to say it all? Whatever he knew would be coming out in the news was spoken, they had to know that much at least. Later, maybe with just Tony, he would answer any questions that he had. But not now, not with Cheryl looking so fragile, so broken.

They hugged him as he left. He tried to comfort them. It was not to be, not today. Kinkaid left them holding each other up, for support. Someday there would be good times again. They would laugh and smile with each other again. But not today.

. .oOo.

Thin clouds stretched over the sapphire blue skies. An amazing sight on a beautiful day, but Tank did not give much attention to it. His mind was busy as he made his way up to the lighthouse at the end of the sandy path he was walking. Bits of their conversation played over in his mind. Hearing her voice again had done some wonderfully amazing things to him, pulling him out of the dark mood he had not even realized he'd been sinking into.

The first few moments of the call had been odd. 'Nia' was on the screen, so he knew it was her, he had programmed her number into his phone. But when he answered, there had seemed to be no one there. Thinking back, he realized that she had probably dropped the phone when she heard his voice.

Probably thought that he wasn't going to answer, and when he did, the shock must have gotten to her. He knew exactly how she felt. How many times had he experienced that himself? Enough to wonder if the universe was trying to keep them apart for some reason. Yeah, a bit dramatic, but not unexpected under the circumstances.

His footsteps were practically silent as he approached the door at the base of the lighthouse. Nia would be in the light room. She had told him that was where he could find her. So he entered, hurrying over to the circular stairs that would take him up to where she was.

His heart beat harder with each step, all two hundred and seventeen of them. Spiraling around and around on its ascent, he finally saw the end in sight. Only seconds away from being able to see her again. To touch her again. Its all he had been thinking of. Now he was almost there.

The last step took him to a small circular room with the base of the huge light in its center. He could not see Nia, and a bit of panic gripped him. Then he spotted another small set of stairs. Tank rushed over to them, what was another ten steps if they would take him to her.

At the top, he saw her. The sun was streaming in through the windows that surrounded her. There was a glow about her, and it took what was left of his breath away. She turned when she heard him.

"Tank," she whispered. Her voice was not cooperating with her, her nerves had been getting to her the longer she waited for him to arrive. No matter that he was right on time, it felt like she had been waiting forever to see him again.

Just the sound of his name from her sent chills up his spine. He hoped that this was not his imagination. He had played this moment over in his head so many times, could it actually be real now? The answer came immediately. Nia stepped toward him and reached out her hands. In an instant, they were encased in his and he pulled her even closer.

Close enough that he could smell her perfume. Close enough to feel the warmth of her body. Close enough for her to hear him speak her name, so softly, gently, it was not much more than a breath. She tilted her head to look into his eyes.

"You're here," she said, her smile lighting up her face more than the sun ever could.

. .oOo.

The letters were so hard to read. There was a stack of about ten of them, none of them had actually been finished. Ranger got the feeling that Ben had been having a hard time writing these, that he had so many because he'd been finding it hard to say what he needed to, and he just kept starting over, hoping that the words would come.

The words he had written pulled at Ranger's heart. Ben had felt so guilty for betraying his country. Even more so because he had actually taken the money that had been given to him for it. He believed that it was his only choice, in order to protect his wife, his family, even his ranger friends. What terrible pressure he had been under, and Ranger had never known, none of them had.

Could they have helped him if he had told them? Ranger wanted to believe they could have, but no matter what had happened in the past day or two, or maybe because of it, he knew that it would have been dangerous, and Ben may not have been the only one who got killed because of it.

"I'm sorry." Ben had written the words over and over again. Never finding the way to take away the hurt, the pain of what he had done.

Again Ranger felt the heavy burden of guilt. He had tried to keep in contact with his friend. E-mails, nearly weekly, at least when he'd been in the country. Not as many calls since he'd married Melissa. And nothing since the divorce. Ben had disappeared after that.

Could he have tried harder to be there for Ben? That question would haunt him for a very long time. There was no good answer.

Ranger set the pages on the desk and sat back. Stephanie was on the couch, watching him. She had offered to leave his office, letting him have some time alone to read the letters, but he had asked her to stay.

Now she knew why. So often he did not show his emotions. Now, however he could not hide the anguish that he was feeling. It made her heart ache. A thousand times over the past weeks, she had been afraid of what this pain could do to him. What it could do if it got between them. She was no longer worried about it that way. There was going to be pain when you lose someone you love.

But she was here now, and she would do all she could to ease it. That was something that she could offer. Without a word, she stood and walked over to him. He watched her move, his heart already soothed because she was here. He reached out his hand to her and when she took it, he pulled her in to sit on his lap. Wrapping his arms around her was all he wanted.

When she enfolded him in her arms, he realized that being held by her was what he had needed. He closed his eyes, the warmth of her love spread through his body and his mind. The weight of guilt was lifted. She had done that for him. By loving him.

. .oOo.

Two funerals in two days. The team was together for both of them. Solemn occasions, and sad. So sad. Both of their former team mates were gone. There were no words to say after all that had happened. The silence spoke for them.

It had taken tragedy to bring the whole team, the friends, back together. Something about that was just not right, so Stephanie determined to do something about it. She asked everyone if they could come to a party a week later. She wanted them to have a celebration, of friends, of life.

They met at Pino's. It was the logical place. A happy place. They cloistered themselves in the back and told stories.

Lots of memories were shared that filled in so many of the details about these men, and their lives as Rangers. Stephanie loved that part of the evening. And she loved the way Ranger looked. He was able to relax more now, and with that came his thousand watt smile.

It was crowded, and loud and absolutely crazy, and fun. Stephanie leaned back and watched them. Time would heal their pain, already they were feeling the weight of it lifting. She was glad that they could start to remember the good times with Chef.

And it was nice to meet their better halves. The women in their lives said a lot about these men. Her gaze went to Tank and Nia. He had taken a lot of razzing from the guys who recognized her from their stay at the Grand Canyon. Some of them had not noticed the connection when they were there, but they could not mistake it now.

Nia fit in with the group, teasing them right back, asking about their nicknames. She got them talking about the first time that they had seen their wives, things that some of them had not thought about in a long time, but now brought back all the intensity and power of those moments. A lot of love was being shared tonight.

Ranger had his arm draped across her shoulders. Every so often he would squeeze her and pull her close. He had a secret, one that he had not wanted to keep this long, but it was just the way things had worked out.

Finally, when the attention was on Lester, who was telling one of his taller tales. Ranger took Stephanie's hand. She looked up at him and smiled. It had been a revelation, every day lately, that everything was so right between them. What had she been scared of, she wondered. Why had it taken so long for her to let this happen? One thing she knew for sure, she would never make that mistake again. When you love someone, you tell them. And she did, often.

Like now, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek before whispering the words in to his ear. Ranger knew that this was the time. He could not wait any longer if he tried. The ring that he had been carrying around in his pocket for days was instantly in his hand. And he slipped it on her finger as he kissed her.

He pulled back, just a little, and had just long enough to see her nodding before she threw her arms around his neck and hugged tight. "Yes, Babe?" he asked softly, his voice a bit strangled from her hold, and from the emotions pouring through him.

"Yes!" she said. "Oh yes!" her words were no more than a whisper either, but he heard them loud and clear. Yes!

From across the room, Ian nodded. They had not all seen the smooth move. The proposal, such as it was. But he had, and he most definitely approved. Ranger's eyes met his for a moment and it was understood. "Set the date," Ian said, "And I'll be there."

Suddenly all eyes were on Stephanie and Ranger. She tucked herself closer to him, a bit shy that everyone knew, but her smile beamed. And they all knew that it would not be long before they would be getting back together again. Next time for a wedding.

. .oOo.

A/N

It's never easy for me to end a story. I have enjoyed spending this time with our favorite characters, and with you. :)

And for all of you who were kind enough to leave your reviews, I have apprecited all of your kind words and participation all along the way. Thank you so much! :)

. .oOo.

CarolB - Thank you for saying so... look up Sandra St James (that's me) on Amazon... :)

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