Well, we made it to the end of the road, again. This has been an incredible journey, and I'd like to thank each and every one of you for taking it with me. So many of you gave me some great suggestions, tons of encouragement, a little help when I was stuck, or a swift kick to keep me going, and I appreciate it. You guys are AWESOME!

I've got a full plate for the next week or so, but I'll be back. I have a few little one shots that go along with this story, so be sure to look for The Icing on the Cupcake. (I amuse myself too much thinking up story titles and chapter headers sometimes) :-)

Anyway, all the characters you know and love belong to JE. The characters you don't necessarily love probably belong to her, too. The only thing I get from doing this is the warm, fuzzy feeling that comes from reading your reviews.

JOE POV

Today is my last day at Rangeman. I had a few loose ends to tie up, and final reports to write concerning my time here and the subsequent bust. I would have half-assed the report, but I've seen how thorough his files are and I kinda wanted to prove that could be just as meticulous. Once I finished typing them up, I printed them out and walked to Ranger's office. I knocked on Ranger's door and he barked out a brisk "enter."

Stephanie was seated in her usual chair. She smiled as if she was enjoying a private joke. I handed Ranger the files containing the final reports. "This should be everything. Thank you for your cooperation. Working here has been a unique experience."

Ranger took the files from me and set them on his desk. He motioned to the empty chair and asked me to have a seat. "Personal issues aside, you did all right, Morelli." Coming from him, I took this as high praise. We talked about the job and my role here for a while. Unsurprisingly, he told me that he felt things could have gone smoother if I had communicated better with the rest of the team. "The most important thing is that we got the job done. Before you leave, I'd like to know if there was anything you would change if this was your company?"

I thought about that for a minute. This is his company and he runs it his way, but it works for them. "The only thing that I can think of is maybe hiring a receptionist to answer the phones."

Stephanie laughed and said, "I've told them they really needed to work on their phone manners."

Ranger looked at her and said, "Babe." If he allowed emotions to show on his face, he probably would have rolled his eyes at her. He opened a desk drawer and pulled out a file. He handed it to me and said, "This is your copy of your employment file. It contains copies of your performance evaluations which were done by Tank, as well as evaluations from your coworkers. If you ever consider private security as a career choice, I know the guy that owns Nighthawk. I'd be happy to put in a good word for you." The corner of his mouth tipped up, like he was thinking about smiling. "Ella has prepared a small lunch for you in the conference room. I just need to take your Rangeman issued weapon and your ID badge, and we can head over there."

I handed both over to him, anxious to get to lunch. If there was one person in this whole building that I would miss seeing every day, it would be Ella. That woman is a miracle worker. The meals she made were phenomenal, and she always made sure that my locker had a clean, pressed uniform in it. I could hold off on reading my file until after I got home.

Stephanie walked out of the office first, probably headed straight for the food. Before we walked out, I leveled with him. "I tried to find something to nail you on, too."

He smirked. "I know."

Something about the way he said it pissed me off. "Did you know that someone here was trying to feed me information?"

He walked back to his desk and turned his laptop around. With a few clicks, he brought up a chat window. "You mean this?"

I looked at the screen. The entire conversation was there. I should have realized it sooner, but when it was happening, I was too anxious about getting the Intel to look a gift horse in the mouth. "It was you the whole time, wasn't it?"

He didn't say anything, but he didn't really need to. I just shook my head and went to the conference room.

It seemed like everyone who worked here was in the conference room. I actually took a step out to make sure someone was in the control room watching the monitors. With a shake of my head, I stepped back in. It's not my job anymore, and I'm sure Tank wouldn't leave them unwatched.

The spread she put out was impressive, from the Vegetarian Tortilla Soup to the Cornmeal Crusted Chicken with Pepian Sauce. Every dish was delicious, even if it was healthy. The mood was light, and everyone was getting down to the serious business of eating when Ranger stood. "Today is Detective Morelli's last day at Rangeman." The men cheered good naturedly at that. Fuckers. "We thought he should have something to remember his time here by, so sit back, relax, and enjoy."

The lights dimmed and a projection screen slid down the far wall. A video began to play. Sinner by Drowning Pool started to play over the speakers as the opening credits began to roll. "Morelli's Greatest Moments, a Rangeman production." It started with me walking into the break room looking sweaty and miserable. I can hardly believe that was almost a year ago. When the two knives landed in the door frame, Les said something to Hector, and everyone laughed. Then the video cut to my fight with Hector. He still scares the crap out of me. The entire video was me getting my ass kicked, or covered in something disgusting, or getting into an SUV with a Pleasure Treasures bag dangling from the rearview mirror. I sat through the whole thing, but I was concentrating on my lunch so I wouldn't have to watch too much of it.

The lights came back up when the video ended. Ranger asked if I wanted to say a few words. I looked around at the men and just said, "Fuckers."

Everyone was still laughing when Santos said, "You're still an asshole."

When I got home, Terri's car was parked in front of the house. I guess she's seen the story about the bust on the news. I let myself inside and found her sitting on my couch. I tossed the folder Ranger had given me on the coffee table. I guess it can wait a little longer. I grabbed a beer and sat next to her, but I didn't know what to say.

She got right to the point. "I was so mad at you when you started working for the Campanoli family. I couldn't figure out why you refused to work for Uncle Carmine, but jumped at the chance to do their legwork. I guess I should be glad. You were undercover the whole time, weren't you?"

"Terri, I didn't mean to hurt you. I couldn't tell anyone what I was doing. Not even my mother."

I could almost see the flames shooting out of her eyes. "You couldn't tell me, but you still used me. I bet Stephanie knew what was going on." Telling her the truth wasn't going to help here, so I didn't say anything. She stood and walked to the door. Before she left, her shoulders slumped and she turned back to me. "I guess I'm still mad about the whole thing. I love you Joe, but I think I need to take some time to cool off. I'll call you, okay?" I nodded, and she walked out the door.

I picked up the folder to read. But bunch of little pink phone message pages fell out. I picked them up and turned them over to read. The first message said FUCK YOU across the top. In the next section, the choice Very Much was selected. It was signed by Cal. In the area where you write a note it said, "It's like we're already family". I shuddered at the reminder that he is now engaged to my sister.

The next page said GO TO HELL across the top. I laughed to myself as I read it. In a Handbasket and Because You Just Suck were checked off. The note from Les said, "You're STILL an asshole". I guess these were the evaluations from my coworkers. I laughed as I read each one.

Monday morning I went back to work at the TPD. Every inch of my desk was covered with cupcakes. One of the clowns I work with even strung together a bunch of those paper cupcake cups like garland and wrote Welcome Back Cupcake, one letter in each cup.

A week later, I was sitting alone at Pino's, eating a meatball sub for lunch and contemplating my next move. I was glad to be done with my Rangeman experience, but I wasn't quite fitting in at the station like I was before. Every other time I came back from an undercover assignment, I practically fell back into the groove. This time it felt like I was on a different page than everyone else. I was so engrossed in what I was reading on my phone, that I didn't notice her standing there until she said, "Is this seat taken?"

Jeanne Ellen Burrows stood in front of the chair across from me. I still thought that she looked familiar, but I couldn't place her. I could and did, however, admire her black leather pants. They molded themselves to her curves. There was a hint of world class cleavage showing. Her blonde hair was straight and fell to her shoulders. I motioned for her to sit.

She smiled, showing even, white teeth. Her hazel eyes crinkled just a little at the corners. She sat across from me and said, "Am I interrupting something? I really just wanted to thank you for not pressing charges."

I turned my phone off and put it in my pocket. "Don't worry about it. I was just contemplating a change of scenery."

She arched an eyebrow. "Thinking about transferring?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm actually thinking about going private."

She nodded. "Trenton could use a good private investigator. It's not easy to get started, but you certainly have the contacts."

I thought about it. "You have a license?"

"I got mine when Les Sebring started doing custody bonds. When the Soder case got screwed up, he figured things would be easier to investigate if someone in house was a P.I., and I was qualified. I thought about branching out on my own, but I never got around to it."

"So, do you have any tips for me?"

She looked me over. "I may be able to teach you a thing or two."

This could be interesting. "I'd like that."

She smiled and reached in her purse. She pulled a business card out and handed it to me. "Why don't you give me a call, Detective Morelli?"

I took the card, and our fingers brushed. "Only if you'll call me Joe."

She stood to leave. "I look forward to hearing from you, Joe." I watched her walk out the door, hypnotized by the sway of her hips. That's when it hit me. She looks like Catwoman in that outfit. I absently rubbed the tingle I felt at the back of my neck and finished my lunch. This was gonna be good.