A/N; SURPRISE. I bet no one was really expecting an update to this ever again. And it only took me 364 days. But I think my muse has found her way back to me. So that is good. There will probably be an update way more regulary now. Whether I'll actually post new stuff I don't know. Nothing has been written. Also... I re-wrote the last five chapters (starting from 24) cause some of them were not really to my liking any more or contradicted earlier ones to some content. A few got just a line or two of dialogue added, some got a few more. I haven't re-written them completely, just changed a few things.

I haven't decided on the endgame for Steph yet and what will do now in regards of jobs, but I'll come up with something one way or another.

Hope someone is actally still reading or following this story :D

I had missed the Porsche.

As simple as that. Yes, I had missed Ranger. And the Merry Men. And my Family. And my Friends. But the Porsche held a very special place in my heart. It was probably stupid, but out of everything the Porsche was what reminded me most of Ranger. It wasn't a rare car, but there hadn't been a lot of these around Pueblo del Sol and whenever one was driving by my thoughts automatically went to Ranger.

When it roared to life, I might have purred a little, much to Ranger's amusement. But he didn't comment any further and pulled rather into traffic, making his way to Haywood.

The drive itself was less then spectacular and I enjoyed the scenery that passed by. I realized that not a lot of things had changed over the past eight months. The shops were the same as well as the people I saw in passing. Sure. I didn't know everyone, but I didn't before either.

It was a good 20 minutes later when we pulled into the underground parking of RangeMen. Ranger got my bag and held the door open for me, offering me his hand to pull me up and out.

"I wasn't aware I actually agreed to Haywood," I laughed at which Ranger laughed as well.

"You never disagreed either. And I figured between your family's house with your mother's constant nagging and this here, the choice wouldn't be a tough one. But I can drive you everywhere you'd like."

Instead of replying I just smiled and followed him, holding tightly onto his hand while making our way to the elevators. Ranger used his key fob so he could press the button for the seventh floor and we slowly started our ascent, but never made it to his desired floor since I decided to press the button for the fifth floor before we eve passed the first one.

"Any plans I should know about?" Ranger asked surprised at which I just shook my head mysteriously.

"I… I just want to say hi to everyone quickly," I said.

"And that couldn't have waited until tomorrow?" he asked amused and I grinned.

"No. Especially since I know they'll probably beat me to it and make it up to seven before I make it down here."

Before he could reply, the cab of the elevator came to a stop and the pinging announced our arrival.

The floor itself was quiet and nothing was really going on. You could hear the usual chatter with Lester's voice standing out from all of them. I hadn't even seen him, but I could clearly hear him telling someone a story about his latest conquest. Some things really never changed, but I believe I said that already more than enough.

The moment I stepped out of the elevator the chatter from early stopped and I was facing a lot of Merry Men who all looked more than just surprised at me. Guess, the boss didn't let them in on the fact that I was finally released into the wild again.

"What are you doing here?" Lester asked enthusiastically while pulling me into a hug a moment later.

"The big guy kidnapped me," I said seriously at which Lester just laughed more.

"Good going," he almost congratulated him.

I was passed around a few times until every Merry Men had their turn in hugging me and telling me how happy they were to have me back. Last one was Cal and despite the fact that we were doing good I still felt odd around him, seeing that out of everyone I had sort of dragged him into my mess. "I'll be staying away from you and drinks for a while I guess," he laughed before pulling me back in for a second hug that was so bone-crushing I thought he might break my ribs. "I really really missed you around here, Steph," he whisper to me a moment later and I knew we would be more than just okay.

During the visits from the Merry Men at my hospital bed it wasn't like we had been just silent and looked at each other, but we didn't really talk about what had happened either. And while I knew he wasn't holding it against me, I still felt bad and like had taken advantage of him. At some we would have to talk about it, even just so I could get rid of some of the guilt I felt.

"How long are you staying with us then, Little Girl?" Tank asked and I looked at Ranger.

"I guess until he gets tired of me and Dr. Brown here has cleared me for duty again," I replied jokingly at which Bobby just smiled at me widely. Ranger leaned into me, bringing his lips close to my ear. "I'll never get tired of you, just so we are clear on that."

"And what is your plan for once you're back on your feet?" Hal asked and wasn't that the big question?

It is odd how I had figured everything out until my return with Joyce, but never spent just a moment thinking what I'd be doing afterwards. Somehow I never felt like I needed to come up with a plan. I assumed I'd just get back into what I had been doing before. BEA for Vinnie, with Lula as my sidekick, spreading chaos and havoc everywhere, living my life just like I had before. Without Morelli in it. But… that was what I had figured.

I just shrugged, smiled softly at all of them and answered "We'll see." I had enough time ahead of me to spend thinking about it. I knew Bobby wouldn't be clearing me anytime soon for anything too active or strenuous and knowing Ranger he'd move hell and high water so Bobby wouldn't get any ideas too soon. "Maybe I'll write a book about my adventure," I joked hearing everyone laugh and Lester commenting he'd want a dedication to Cal and of course a signed copy as well as a reading for himself.

"Instead of reading you get the mats at 0500 tomorrow, Santos. And you better come prepared and on time," Ranger almost barked, making me feel almost sorry for Lester. Almost. It was their thing. Lester pushed his luck and Ranger ordered him to the mats. Though in all fairness Lester had been a lot worse before I had left and his comment accompanied with a sly grin wasn't even worth blinking. It was his thing. He pushed, flirted and got to fell Ranger's revenge so to speak. But of course no one would ever admit that Ranger wasn't doing this purely for training reasons. Of course. What else?

A moment later all over and everyone was back to work, with Ranger and me back in the elevator and on our way to the penthouse.

The moment the door closed behind us, Ranger threw my bag in some corner and pulled me into a hug. It was unexpected to say the least, but it felt really good. It was then that I realized that this had actually been the first real actual physical contact, apart from a hand on my back or my hand in his. The hug seemed to go one forever and the longer it lasted the more I melted into him. This was home. This was what always made everything so much better before and had been missed by me these past few months so badly. Just a hug, his strong arms wrapped around me and I knew, we'd be okay. I wasn't entirely sure how we would go forward from here, but I knew we'd find a way.

Leave it to Ranger to take a short-cut, since he eventually broke the hug, just to softly bring his lips to mine. Here's the thing: While this wasn't the first kiss I shared with Ranger over the years, this was… something else. All our previous encounters had been hot and passionate and a lot of tongue and just sex packed in a kiss – hot, shameless, steamy sex. This kiss right here was the complete opposite. Soft, tender and delicate would describe it best. It wasn't rushed or urgent. It was just… like we had all the time in the world.

"I missed so much, Stephanie," Ranger said when he let go of my lips and came up for air. In all the years we had known each other, I could count the times he had called me by my actual name. And I wouldn't even need a hand. But while my full name sounded with most people like I was a step away from being scolded, the way Ranger called me, it was with so many emotions and desire that it was hard to believe he ever called me by any other name and that I actually liked it.

Of course, this didn't mean he couldn't call me Babe ever again, especially since Babe held a very special meaning to me and my heart. But I could get used to Ricardo Carlos Manoso calling me Stephanie.

"I missed you to, Carlos," I replied, testing his name rolling of my lips. That would probably need a bit of getting used to.

He just smiled at me when his name slipped over my lips and took me to bed a moment later.

Maybe Haywood and seven really had not been the worst idea.