Stephanie hadn't thought anyone would be in her apartment.

Stupid she knew with her track record, but she thought just this once, God would let her be. She'd been lying low for a few weeks, trying to distance herself from anyone that could see through her and might try to stop her going.

For that very reason, she'd avoided Tank especially.

Ranger often saw the world as he'd like it, not as it was. He'd look at who Stephanie was and who they could be and merely scratched the surface, building them up before letting them fall down.

Tank was a pretty quiet guy, all watching and waiting and silence. Stephanie knew he saw more than she ever wanted him to see, when her eyes were puffy and red, when her jeans were torn and bloodied, and when her clothes began to fit a little looser after all the sleepless nights.

She took in the sight of Tank, looking only slightly less menacing as her fingers flipped the light switch. He held her gaze silently, waiting to see what she'd do.

She carried on moving. She placed her meagre belongings down next to the bags and boxes that were all ready to go. Some with her, some to go anywhere but with her.

Moving through to the kitchen she called out to her late night visitor. "Coffee, Tank?" she took his silence as an affirmative, noticing the slight rustle (made for her benefit, she was sure) as he made his way towards her. "Milk, no sugar, right?", standing as far away from her as he could in her non-existent kitchen he gave her a nod. She wasn't offended by Tank's silence, not anymore. She knew it was just the way he was.

She worked for a few minutes in comfortable silence knowing Tank would make know his reasons when he wanted to. She slid Tank's coffee down the counter towards him, plonking the diminished and dented milk bottle beside it. She took her own black.

"You planning on going somewhere, Stephanie?" he asked gruffly, eyes fixed on her in the dim light of the dated room.

She stared at him for a moment. "What makes you think that?" she asked.

Tank snorted. She couldn't help smiling a little at that. Sighing, she answered his question. "Yes, I guess I am"

Tank nodded thoughtfully, his coffee mug nearly entirely swallowed in his massive hands. Despite his sheer size, Stephanie had begun to think of Tank as a bit of a teddy bear, albeit not a very squishy one. On the outside at least, on the inside he had a heart of gold. He was just wary of sharing it. She couldn't blame him for that.

"You guess?" he questioned, leaning against her tiny cupboards, he looked like a giant.

She shook her head with a wry smile. "I don't know where to go. I don't want to leave" she confessed. Suddenly her eyes snapped to his, "but I can't stay, Tank. I just can't"

For a moment he stayed completely still and she worried she'd broken him by being too human. That could be a lot for a top of the line musclesaurus to take, except he then took a step towards her, and another and she began to worry maybe she shouldn't have said anything at all.

"Look Tank-" she started but he kept walking towards her until he was towering over her.

He peered down at her with eyes that gave nothing away. "You need anything, Steph? Money? Security?" he paused "travel companion?" he asked gruffly.

Stephanie stared at him surprise. He really meant it. He wasn't going to try and stop her and pull any Bombshell Bounty Hunter bullshit.

Tank chuckled at her expression. "Expect me to lock you down, duct tape and all?" he asked, smiling as she nodded dumbly.

Tank just shrugged. "Thought about it, then thought about it some more. Doesn't make sense to stop you when there's somewhere better you could be" at Stephanie's puzzled look he continued, "I've been Ranger's wingman since I met him and he's the best man I know, but he's so wrapped round you he can't see straight" Stephanie started to scoff but Tank put his hand out and shook his head as a sign for her to let him finish.

"I can see you're not happy Stephanie, and I know Morelli hasn't been making it easy for you" Tank softened at that, making sure she held his gaze before he carried on. "You've done enough for everyone else and you've done damn well but everyone has their limits Stephanie. Maybe its time you try to leave them behind and focus on yourself" he let that sit for a moment.

"That said" he added, "if you ever want to learn how to take down a guy three times your size, I'm your man" he gave her a rare blinding smile that took her breath away for a moment. He wasn't Ranger but he gave him a good run for his money.

Stephanie cleared her throat in the suddenly heavy atmosphere, subtly trying to blink away the moisture that had crept unbidden into her eyes. "I really appreciate that Tank, everything" she threw him a timid smile as she toyed with her coffee mug. "I think I'll just see where the wind takes me for now, but I hope I'll be back. Someday"

Tank nodded satisfied, leaning back against the counter. "You better hope your back before I get tired of keeping those clowns in line by myself or I'll come drag you back myself. Duct tape and all" Stephanie's tinkling laugh joined the low rumble of Tanks own, and as they toasted with chipped mismatching mugs Stephanie thought she might be able to handle the world on her own after all.

But she didn't have to.