We arranged with the principal that the kids could phone or videoconference Ranger and me at any time that they wanted. By the time that we left, the principal had said that he would talk to the teachers and tell them what was going on and explain the arrangements that he had made with us. I had a chance to give each of the kids another hug and a kiss, and to tell them how much I loved them, and to tell them that I was going to do the best that I could to be awake when they got home from school. The girls looked happy at that.

When we got in the car, Grant drove back to the building and Ranger sat in the back with me. "How are you feeling now, babe?" he said quietly.

"I'm glad I saw them. I will be very happy when I am through the injured part of my life and back to the healthy part. You never realize how much you take health for granted. But it was as good for me to see the girls as it was for them to see me. They liked the idea of kissing my palm so that I could feel their healing kisses at any time."

"I know. That seemed to soothe them more than anything else. How did you think of that?"

"I read it in a book once, and I thought it was an excellent idea. I'm just glad I remembered it."

Ranger smiled. "Me too."

I laughed and leaned against Ranger and buried my nose into his shoulder.

"Have you got it in you to meet with your team?" said Ranger. "Or would you prefer a nap first?"

"It's only ten-thirty and school is over at three. I was thinking that, if I had a quick meeting with the team, I could then head to bed and have a four-hour nap. I'm getting tired."

"That makes sense then. Just realize that you don't have to push yourself."

I smiled. "I'm not. I'm not doing any of the work."

Ranger laughed and sent a message to the team asking them to meet us in the apartment in ten minutes.

A few minutes later, we had parked and gone up to the apartment. As the elevator ascended, Ranger looked at Grant and me. "I was thinking of asking Noah today whether he would like to come to our regular Saturday get-togethers. Is that good with the two of you?"

"Absolutely", I said.

"Yes", said Grant with a confused tone, "but why does it matter if it is okay with me?"

"You are coming to our get-togethers from now on, aren't you?" I said. I looked at him in confusion.

"I know that Ranger invited Eduardo and me on Saturday to celebrate our new house."

"Oh no", I said. "That is an ongoing invitation. Our closest friends and their families all get together every Saturday night. Tank and Amelia and their two, Hal, Tracy and Joe and Eli, Dirk and Cindy and their three, Miguel and Kate and soon their little one, Nick and his three, Julie and Kai, and now you and Eduardo and Noah. We just relax and let down our hair and have fun. The kids play together, Ranger has a ball making food for everyone and we all eat until we are about to burst, and we talk and laugh. It's like the best family reunion ever because there are no crazy uncles, we all like each other, and I think everybody has a good time. If you could come, that would be great. Over the last few weeks you have become family, and we'd all love it if you could come to our family get-togethers."

Grant smiled, but when I looked at him there were tears in his eyes. "You're like family to me as well, Steph. I would be honored to come."

I smiled. "I think you know everybody or mostly everybody from the last few weeks. It's a good group of people though, and I think you will fit right in. The thing that everybody has in common is that each of those people care very deeply about others, about supporting others, and about being the best person that they can be. The kids are a hoot, too, and I know that my kids are always so excited to see the other kids show up. It's chaotic and it's fun and is a little like it was when we were all at the castle."

"Sounds like a blast. Count me in. Can I bring anything when I come?"

"Eduardo", said Ranger with a smile. "To tell you the truth, Saturdays are my stress relief days. I enjoy cooking for everybody, and I enjoy spending time with people. My parents have given me a full set of restaurant-sized cookware over the years, and on Saturdays the kitchen looks like the kitchen of my parents' restaurant. The house smells like good food. Julie often helps me cook. It's fantastic. I look forward to it all week."

"Did you ever consider going into the restaurant business?"

Ranger smiled. "My family would have liked that. But when I got back from overseas, I needed peace around me. I love cooking, but a restaurant is not a quiet place to be. There is a lot of organized chaos in a restaurant kitchen, and I think I would hit the roof if someone sent their meal back, eighty percent eaten, with the complaint that they didn't like it and were refusing to pay for the serving. When I got back from overseas, I needed to create a quiet space for me to think and operate in, a quiet space to unwind and heal. At first, it was just Tank and me, and I don't know how well you know Tank, but he is a pretty quiet guy. The two of us were there for each other, but we also were both listeners which meant that we didn't spend a lot of time on useless chitchat. And through it, we both healed and we created something wonderful with Rangeman. This is more my speed, and it uses my skills better. However, cooking is still fun and there is little I like more than making a big spread for a number of close friends."

The elevator got to the apartment and the doors opened, and Ranger pushed me out of the elevator and down to the kitchen. He put on a fresh pot of coffee and, by the time that he got out the milk and cream and sugar, the Gurus had arrived and were walking into the kitchen.

Ranger started pouring coffee for everyone, and everyone lined up to fix their coffees the way they liked. He filled one of my spillproof travel mugs with coffee for Noah and smiled as he handed it to him. "I never thought of how much safer it was to have a spillproof container when you were in a wheelchair until I saw Steph struggle to not spill with a mug wedged between her legs."

Noah laughed. "It gets a bit easier, but you are right in that a spillproof mug is a lot safer."

Ranger smiled. "So, Noah, Steph and I have a party of our closest friends and teammates every Saturday night. The guest list is the same each week and are the people that we think of as family. Tank and Amelia and their kids, Hal, Miguel and Kate, Dirk and Cindy and their three, Nick and his three, Grant, Eduardo, Kai and Julie, and Joe and Tracy and their son…I think that is it. We were wondering whether you would like to come too. We have a lot to celebrate this week. Grant and Eduardo are moving into their own place on Saturday, you have your promotion, the kids are back to school, there is a lot to celebrate."

"Steph's triumph over this latest infection as well", said Grant.

I sighed. "I'd rather celebrate your new house and Noah's promotion and the kids starting school. I don't want to think about infections at all. To tell you the truth, I have had enough of them."

Grant smiled. "I don't blame you."

"How are you feeling?" said Miguel.

"Okay. Not great, but better than I have in a number of days. I can definitely feel that I am getting better."

"You look like you were crying", said Nick.

"Yeah, it was a tough morning. I slept through the kids getting ready for school, and Tracy took them to school for us. I felt horrible as a mother to have missed such an important morning in the kids' lives. And then, when I had finished bawling about that, the school called and the kids were bawling at school and were terrified that I was going to die without them giving me healing hugs and kisses throughout the day. The school couldn't calm them down, so the school called and asked us to talk to them. We went to the school and I kissed the kids' palms and told them that anytime they wanted a kiss from me, they could hold their palm to their cheek and it would be the same as me kissing them. And then they gave my palm healing kisses so that any time I needed a boost, I could hold my palm to my cheek and get a healing kiss from them. They seemed to like the idea."

"That's a great idea", said Nick. "How on earth did you think of that?"

I smiled. "I read it in a book once, and I thought it was cool. Anyway, it worked and when we left, the kids were smiling again." I sighed. "I just felt so bad that I hadn't done that prior to them leaving for school. I slept through it."

Ranger kissed me on the top of my head. "And the kids chose that so that you were awake when they got home from school." He looked up at the men. "It turned out well as we got a chance to talk to the school and tell them a little about what was going on and the things the kids were having to deal with at home. They were very supportive and we arranged that, any time that the kids wanted to talk to us, they could call and we'd talk to them. We also arranged that the girls could do video conferences with us as well, if they needed some face time. It's amazing how supportive people are when they hear the words 'shot' and 'almost died'."

The men laughed.

Miguel turned to me. "You look like you are coming up to a nap time soon, so why don't you go over your theories so that you can head to bed and get some sleep. That way, you'll be awake when the kids get home."

Ranger looked at the fatigue on my face. "Excellent idea", he said.

I smiled. Miguel had been my second for a long time, and he knew me well. He was almost as good at reading my face as Ranger was, and that was saying something. The only other person who could read me as well was Joe, and I had known him since I was in diapers.

Of course, I was still in diapers now. I smiled again with the thought. I was just glad that they had form-fitted discrete ones now. I didn't care about being in those, but I wouldn't be as happy to be in a soggy diaper that hung down to my knees.

"Okay", I said. "The case. Basically, I reviewed the work that you have already done – you did a good job by the way – and I think we should look into the original case a little further. My hypothesis is that Darla was far more involved in the original case than she had been credited for." I went over my theories as to what happened.

Dirk smiled. "I had been wondering the same thing. It just seemed like another con to me, a con where she blamed all her transgressions on her husband. I'll look into her past, from before she met her husband, and trace her different cons and put them on a timeline. I'll also see if she has jobs associated with the cons. From what you said, you think there is a correlation when she was working jobs and gathering intel for her cons."

"Thank you", I said.

"I'll go into the jail", said Miguel. "I'll take Hector with me. I think that would be better than having Nick do it, since for Nick it will bring up nasty memories and he doesn't need to deal with that."

Nick smiled with relief. When we met him, he had been in jail for two years and had escaped. The news was talking about an escaped convict and that he was dangerous, a former Special Forces soldier that could kill whole villages with his bare hands. He was, in fact, a Special Forces soldier who could kill with his bare hands, but he was also a good man, a man who was protective and loved kids, a man who was kind and thoughtful and caring, a man that I was proud to call my friend. So when he broke into the vacation house that we were renting, instead of turning him in, I talked to him. And my instinct said that he hadn't done it. Then Julie and Dirk and Miguel and Nick and I proved that he hadn't murdered his wife and instead had been charged unfairly, in a trial that was as crooked as they came. Through that experience, Nick had become a valuable part of the team. But I could see why he wouldn't want to go back into a jail to interview a felon.

"Thank you", I said at the same time as Nick.

"I'll work with Dirk and look into the original cons that Darla did with her husband", said Nick. "While Miguel and Hector are talking to Simon in the jail, I'll go over the case files here in the office and create a timeline regarding Darla's time with Simon and what they did when, and add it to Dirk's timeline. I'll also become very familiar with what happened during the trial."

"Thank you", I said.

"And I'll do a psychological review of Darla and, if I can, a psychological review of Simon and Zack. He plays a part in this as well, and we have to figure out how much of the overall cons Zack is responsible for", said Noah.

Miguel smiled. "We have our work cut out for us, but Steph's instinct again sounds spot-on. It makes far more sense than the current version of what happened. And like usual, I am looking forward to taking this bitch down."

Ranger smiled. "I agree", he said. "Darla has met her match, and when she thought she was doing a simple con on a security guard company and was trying to get a million-dollar payout, she instead will have given us the incentive to take her down. I look forward to seeing her arrested."

"So am I", I said. "I don't like con artists much."

Ranger put his arm around my shoulders and kissed my cheek. "I think it is time for you to have a meal replacement shake and go to bed, babe. The children will be home soon enough, and I know that you will want to spend time with them and hear all about their day."

"Darn tootin', I will", I said.

Miguel and the guys prepared to leave. They put their empty cups in the dishwasher, gave me a hug, gave Ranger a hug, and told me that they would get their findings to me as soon as possible. Then, with a smile, they left the apartment. As they left, Noah took me aside. "Are you sure you want me to come to your get-together on Saturday?"

"If you have something already on, I understand. However, it would be nice if you could start coming to them. I can see that you will easily become part of our family, and I think you will have a good time."

"Will other people mind?"

"We already talked to the other people. Grant and Eduardo are new additions as well, and like you, Ranger and I have a ton of respect for them. All the people are good people in the group and I think you'll get along with them very well."

"But I'm not family."

I smiled slowly. "Give it a week or two. Everybody on my elite team is family, and if I hadn't thought that you'd be a good family member, I wouldn't have asked you to be a part of the elite team. I don't think that it will take you long to feel like you are a part of the family, and I know that everyone else already thinks of you as family. If you don't have plans, come on Saturday, try it out, and if you don't like it you don't have to come back. However, the rest of the family? They want you there very much."

Noah smiled slowly. "What time should I be here?"

"Anytime between four and six. Generally everyone shows up between four-thirty and five. We eat at six, otherwise it is too hard for the kids to wait."

Noah smiled. "What should I bring?"

"Just yourself. Ranger is an awesome chef and he looks forward to cooking for everyone all week. Jules often helps him and they spend the time yapping about school and friends and cases and so on. Since his parents own an upscale restaurant in Newark, Ranger has practically been cooking since before he could walk, and he started teaching Julie how to cook when she was thirteen. So, are you going to make it?"

Noah grinned. "That would be fabulous, thanks."

"Excellent. We'll put an extra potato in the pot."

Noah grinned again. "I'm looking forward to it."

"I have to ask – are you vegetarian?"

"Nope. I like meat too much to give it up."

I laughed. "I do too. Ranger usually cooks a vegetarian dish and a meat dish, as well as several sides. However, if you are a meat-lover than Ranger will make a smaller vegetarian dish and a larger meat dish like he normally does."

Noah grinned again. "This will be fantastic. I am looking forward to it already."

I smiled.