Title: It's all about living life
Chapter 22: Meanwhile in Trenton… Tank
Author: Ann (Chrystalsandsnowflakes)
Rating: (G to NC-17): G
Spoilers/Warnings: Takes place in the future, so after EOT
Summary: Let's not forget about the others!
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, I just play with them. Next update in September after my holiday.

Meanwhile in Trenton… Tank

I have to say that on occasion I do enjoy seeing Ranger squirm a little. This guy didn't have an easy life when he was younger, but since he went into the army, it only improved. Okay, his life couldn't go anywhere but up, but he made the most of it. And he always looked good, attracting girls from his early teenage years, and since he added the muscle in the army, he never had to look around for a woman. They were simply always there. And he liked it just fine until he met Stephanie. For the first time in his life he met a woman that he wanted, and she didn't respond to him as the other women did. She actually started a relationship with another guy after she met him, and that made her even more intriguing. He was absolutely crushed when she chose Morelli, even though we all understood her choice. But now that she was available again, he was very eager to make it work this time. But she wasn't going to make this easy for him. Hey, I was all for that. I knew that eventually they would end up together, the attraction was so high it was impossible to ignore, and right now, both of them were getting ready for this kind of relationship. But I was looking forward to the next couple of months. Steph was the right person to make Ricardo squirm, for the last time in his life probably. And the way she had made sure he wouldn't come after her was a way that only she could do. Smart girl. I liked her.

But I had a woman in my life now that could make me squirm. You see, even though I know I look good, I'm big. And that has scared a lot of women off. And of course, walking in a room next to Ricardo makes you practically invisible. But Lula is different. Probably her life story taught her not to judge a book by its cover and what is valuable in life. It had taken a while for us to get together, but now that we were, we spend all our free time together. It wasn't easy to juggle a job and a relationship for both of us, but we were trying and having lots of fun with it. Tonight would be no difference. After the sparring session with Ranger I didn't actually go to the 4th floor apartment, but left the building and went to Lula's place. I knew she would be out until at least 11pm, so I hoped that she was home now and we could spend some hours together before we would catch a couple of hours of sleep. I would stay at her apartment and come back real early for the 6 am run with Ranger. I parked the car and grabbed my phone and bag which contained some clothes and walked over to her building. I decided to call her first, see how she responded.

"Hello?"

"Hey there."

"Tank, my man!"

"How are you?"

"Good, the evening out with the girls was great."

"You're home?"

"Yeah, just got in. Where are you?"

"Right outside your door."

"No way!"

"Way!" I laughed when I heard her scrambling of her couch and running towards the door. She swung it open, phone still in her hand.

"You're here!" and then she jumped me. I easily caught her and while we were kissing I carried her over the doorstep and closed the door behind us. It took minutes for us to come up for air.

"I didn't think you'd come tonight."
"No, but the evening didn't go as planned, so I decided to stay in Trenton and see you."

"So what's up?"

"Ranger and I just spend 5 hours waiting on an FTA that didn't show."

"Wow, Batman got bad intel?"

"No, Batman is distracted."

"He still thinking about Stephanie?"

"Yeah."

"Actually, I got a card from Steph." She walked over to the table and stepped in front of me.

"Promise me you won't tell Ranger?" This was a hard one, since Ranger would be thoroughly pissed if he ever found out that I kept this from him. But Stephanie was Lula's friend, and she trusted her.

"Promised." Lula handed me the card and I looked at it. Canada it was then. On the back it had a small story.

Dear Lula,

How's life? You and Tank still together? I'm working my ass off here on a farm, but it has been great fun. Don't tell anybody, but I'll be back in about 1 month. Can't wait to see all of you again. Take care!

Steph.

So she was at a farm. That was why Ranger was so antsy. He wouldn't be able to get any kind of information if she was somewhere in Canada working on a farm. No credit card necessary there, no registration, no nothing. That woman is better than she knows herself. I chuckled. Another month. Ranger would be almost ready to send out the search party by then.

"What?" Lula asked.

"It will be hard to keep this from Ranger. He is really getting desperate."

"He is?" Lula had to laugh too.

"Yeah. I just spend over an hour in the gym so he could get tired enough to sleep tonight."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he hit me a few times pretty good." I was shooting for some sympathy.

"Aw, you poor guy." I tried to look really beaten.

"I know just the thing for you, big guy." She pulled me towards the bedroom where we spend the next couple of hours making slow and delicious love.

Afterwards, we were laying together in Lula's bed.

"Mmmm, that was delicious Lula."

"Feel better now, big guy?"

"Yes. Much better."

"So what time do you have to leave tomorrow morning?"

"At 5.30 am."

"Jeez, you need to get a life."

"Hey, I've got you!"

"Yeah, you do." And we kissed some more.

"What are you going to do at 5.30 anyway?"

"I'm going running with Ranger."

"Now there's a guy that needs a life."

"Yeah, let's hope Stephanie really comes back in a month."