To recap and set the stage…nearly two weeks have passed since Lester was shipped to Miami. He visited Atlanta as well, and is eager to be home. He is ready to explore the idea of a commitment to Giana, and was attempting to broach the topic when Trenton's resident Cupcake Hunter interrupted them.

Lester exited the plane with a sigh and a mighty, back-cracking stretch. He ignored the appreciative looks he got from a passing pair of women and started off, following the signs to the pickup area.

He'd contacted Mark a few days ago with his itinerary; he was still nursing a grudge with Ranger (pouting, it's called pouting, Santos, his inner voice chided) for sending him away just when he'd found the resolve to do something about the feelings he had for Giana. So he'd called Mark to ask for a ride back to Trenton, a request that Mark was happy to oblige.

Not having any luggage to claim, Les made his way quickly to the pickup area and slid into Mark's passenger seat. As he wound around the exit ramps and merged onto 95, Mark filled him in on the small amount he'd missed while away.

Joe Morelli had put in a request for transfer and it had been immediately accepted by the chief of police in Trenton, he explained. Joe was lobbying for a detective position in Philadelphia or maybe Newark, if the rumor mill via Stephanie was to be believed. Also, after having talked with Bobby about Yun-Ji using his club to solicit prostitution, Mark was now down one dancer. He prattled for a few miles about some of the more colorful candidates he'd had before mentioning he hoped Lester hadn't eaten in Atlanta.

"Charlene came up for a few days and the girls insisted I bring you to Gia's to eat gumbo. They were all shelling crawfish and shrimp when I left, it should be near ready." Mark finished. Hearing that he was heading to Giana's house to eat the gumbo she'd promised him was the nudge Lester needed to broach the topic he'd been turning over in his mind almost constantly for the past fortnight; cleaning and inventorying guns gave him a lot more mental downtime than he was accustomed to.

"Listen," he said, then cleared his throat before continuing, "speaking of Gia…I've spent a lot of time around her lately. I'm very...happy around her. I like her, a lot, and I was thinking of asking her out. To date." He finished lamely. The discussion with Mark was like the dry run before he had this talk with Hector, and he harbored no illusions about how that one would go.

Mark was silent for a beat before taking a long, hard look at Lester. "I'm not her keeper; why are you telling me you want to ask her out?"

How to put this delicately? "You've seen me with a lot of women." Lester began. "I know she's your friend; I don't want you to misunderstand the situation and try to warn her off. I care about her, I have for a while now. I guess I just wanted to clear the air before I see her again."

Mark took a beat to consider what Lester said before nodding. "Alright, I get it. Good for you, man. I guess she's the reason you haven't gone out with me lately?" When Les made a sound in the affirmative, Mark probed ahead. "Why'd you wait to ask her out? It's been awhile since you've been out."

Les debated on how much to reveal before deciding to just come out with it. "Hector doesn't want me dating her. He told me – actually, he told the company – to steer clear of her. He warned me off a second time, and he's noticed my…interest in her. He's not happy about it."

Mark gaped at him for only a moment before whooping and laughing.

"I'm glad this is so funny to you." Lester grumbled.

Chuckling, Mark shook his head. "You misunderstand, Santos. I can guaran-damn-tee that G doesn't know anything about that. You haven't been around her long enough to see her go all Redheaded Crazy on anyone; you just get to see sweet, mellow Giana. If she knew about this, I'm telling you, Hector would be putting in a transfer request to get away from Trenton. I'm just anticipating how much fun it'll be when she does find out!"

Lester was already shaking his head. "No, no way. Hector's already planning where to bury my body if I don't quit talking to her. I'm not going to be the reason she gets mad at him."

Mark shook his head back at Les and said, "Dude – she doesn't get mad. Mad Giana would be like a momma sparrow divebombing you to keep you away from her little nest. Giana goes fucking nuclear evil, Satan's-minions-pissed-off. She's usually happy, like, almost always. Maybe 99% of the time. But when she's pissed about something, she makes up for lost time. She told you about Big Delores pantsing me in school, and that's how we became friends, right?" At Lester's nod, Mark continued.

"G wasn't much bigger than me – I was scrawny and hadn't hit any growth spurts in a while, but she was small, too. Big Delores looked like she pounded Big Macs for recreation between inhaling sides of beef at lunch and dinner. Kid was a tank.

"So Big Delores decides she doesn't like me at the beginning of the school year and starts picking on me, just the usual kid shit, until the day she decided to pants me at recess. She'd been picking on Gia, too, but G wasn't worried about it and didn't let it bother her. That same morning, she'd pushed Ditch into the girl's bathroom. Poor kid was in kindergarten and started crying, had to go to the nurse…big sister was not happy. She was already pissed, she saw Big Delores pants me, and she went Ape. Fucking. Shit. Crazy on that kid. Beat the tar out of her before the teachers could pull her off, and then it took three of them."

His story finished, he shot Les a grin and said, "Don't worry, I won't tell her that Hector warned all you guys off her…but I want to be there when she eventually finds out.

"Now," he continued, giving Les a sidelong glance, "you wanting to ask her out…I mean, you're not asking for my blessing, obviously. I hadn't realized that you weren't going out to the clubs because of her; I thought you were just off your game. If you're just looking for reassurance that you can do this...I think you'll be fine, as long as you remember that if she's your girlfriend, she's your only girlfriend. But since her muscle-head brother is out of the country, I'm stepping up to bat: I find out you fucked this up, I'm going to make Crazy Red G look like a warm, fuzzy hug. We cool?"

After doing the standard manly fist-bump, the topic of conversation moved on to other less serious things, and they were soon sliding into the only empty space in Gia's small driveway. Les was surprised to find himself a little nervous – he was Lester Santos, he didn't get nervous around girls. There was, however, no denying the longing, fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach and the faint tang of anxiety as he thought about how he'd navigate having this discussion with her in what appeared to be a houseful of people.

Stepping out of Mark's car and making his way toward the house, Les was pleased to note the evening air felt noticeably cooler than when he'd left; fall had begun to creep into Trenton during the two weeks he'd been out of town. It was perfect gumbo weather.

The first thing Lester noticed when he stepped through her front door was the mingled happy voices, blending together harmoniously in their chatter, coming from the kitchen. The living room was empty, and it was clear that dinner was well underway and that everyone was drawn to the food prep area.

Entering the kitchen together, Lester and Mark were noticed first by a small blond girl, around four years old.

"DADDY! Come smell my hands, they're stinky!" she crowed happily, and everyone laughed together. Lester'd met Sophie Tatum a few times, but he was surprised to see her here; then again, he remembered Mark telling him that Charlene was crazy about Sophie, and Sophie equally enchanted with Giana's mother, so it made sense that she'd be here today.

Charlene herself stepped forward, giving Mark a brief air kiss before explaining that they'd put Sophie to work shelling crawfish. "Many hands make light work, and it's good that she learn that early," she reasoned before turning to greet Lester.

"Lester, it's wonderful to see you again! I'm glad you made it back from your business trip in time to have dinner with us; come, settle in. We were just discussing colorful family members; Stephanie was sharing a story about her grandmother." She managed to direct Lester to a cutting board holding raw okra that needed to be sliced while she was welcoming him. Stephanie greeted him with a hug and he murmured a soft 'hello' to Vaughn and Lula, and managed a nod in Hector's direction. He snuck a glance around the kitchen as Steph resumed her story about Edna Mazur trying to make change from a male stripper's g-string last weekend, looking for Giana. He was disappointed only for a moment before he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye.

Gia emerged from the hallway restroom and made her way back toward the kitchen. When their eyes met, Les felt that same telltale zing he'd felt the first time he heard her voice, way back when they'd bugged Hector's table at Pino's, and it made him smile. Giana returned his smile and made her way to him.

As Charlene was prattling away to the group that in the south, they didn't hide their crazy family members away in the attic like some sad European novel, they dress them up and bring them down into the living room to show them off, Gia reached Lester and wrapped one arm around his waist while she raised her head to peck his cheek.

"Welcome home." She whispered, careful not to interrupt her mother's story. Home, Les thought with a smile. I could get used to that.

Dinner was wonderful, and Giana had been right – Charlene's gumbo was amazing. At dinner, Sophie had insisted on sitting in Giana's lap, and Gia was happy to have her there. Sophie, being four and a fan of all things princess-related, was under the misassumption that Gia was not just her godmother, but her fairy godmother, and they had a fun few minutes where they tried to explain the difference to her. All in all, it was a low-key, homey evening, and not one that Lester could have pictured himself enjoying even a few months ago. Now, however…he could say with certainty that there was nowhere else he'd rather be.

The only thing that marred the evening (besides Hector shooting him a warning glare when he settled next to Giana on the sofa) was the fact that Lester's plan was impeded by the houseful of people. He couldn't very well ask her out while her mother was right there, so he waited with barely concealed impatience for the opportunity to get her alone.

That plan was quashed when Vaughn asked Gia, "What time are you leaving for Indianapolis?"

"Not too early." She answered, stretching contentedly. "My flight leaves Newark at 10am, day after tomorrow."

"You're going to Indianapolis?" Lester asked, forgetting to shoot for a casual tone and sounding every bit as surprised as he felt.

"Yeah. I've got a work obligation; they need me to go to a workshop. I'll only be gone four days." Her tone sounded almost apologetic, and Stephanie sighed. She was going to beat Hector for trying to keep those two apart, she thought to herself.

Shortly after that, Mark stood and announced that he and 'Fee', as the little girl was called, needed to head back home. The others took their cue and everyone rose to head out, thanking Charlene again for dinner. Lester knew when he was licked, and decided that the time was not exactly opportune for romance. Promising himself that as soon as Giana was back he'd fine some time to ask her out, he scooped her into a tight hug and wished her a safe trip before folding himself into Stephanie's car for the trip back to Rangeman.

The following day passed like many others before it for Lester. Up early, work out, take an early shift at work. Two hours of monitor duty, working in the gun range with Bobby, then a few residential system inspections. By the time he reached his apartment on four that evening, he was physically beat. Mentally, he was at odds – the waiting was making him antsy. Waiting for Giana to leave, to stay in Indanapolis for four days, waiting for her to return and waiting for the right moment to give her the opportunity to shoot him down entirely… he was really, really not a fan of waiting. Still, there was little to be done about it so he showered early and took a rare sleep aid, resolved to get a full night's sleep.

Stephanie's call came in to him just before he retired for the evening. She had a few skips to pick up early, drunks who would be less likely to put up a fight if she got to them before they were sober or hungover, she explained. Hector had a commercial installation on schedule, and she was wondering if Lester would partner with her. After agreeing to meet at 8am, they bid each other good night and ended their call.

The next morning went off without a hitch – Stephanie and Lester managed to take in Earl Forster and Melvin Baylor without incident. They were repeat offenders, both arrested for public drunkenness, and Steph had the process down to a science by now. To celebrate, they went to Chevy's near the mall and shared an early lunch break. They took their time, trading their normal before making their way back to Rangeman around noon.

As the elevator reached the 5th floor office space, Lester and Stephanie exited together and moved past the control desk, intent on finishing some paperwork this afternoon, when they were stopped by Hal.

"Sir," he stood as he addressed Lester, "Ranger would like to see you in his office. He asked to send you in as soon as you returned."

"Great, he probably wants to chew me out some more," grumbled Lester, making his way to Ranger's office, Stephanie close on his heels.

"Well, he can just suck it, Trebek. He already sent you away for two weeks; it's not like every guy in this office hasn't wanted to punch Morelli, especially in the last few months." Stephanie kept up her quiet ranting the entire way to Ranger's office. She stepped neatly around Lester at the door and let herself in first, the glare she shot at Ranger making it clear that she was staying. Lester had to smile; Stephanie was a good friend.

As he stepped through the doorway, Ranger said, "Close the door, Santos."

The two men regarded each other a moment before Ranger deliberately leaned down to retrieve something from the floor. He stood, holding a small brown box in his hands. It had a large 'sign for delivery' notice stamped on the front, as well as a tracking number posted along the side. Taped to the top of the box was a blank white business sized envelope, standard in any office.

"What's this?" he asked, reaching to take the box from Ranger's proffered hand.

Ranger shrugged. "Not sure. Giana came by earlier, a little before 0900 and asked for you, and when Hal told her you were out with Stephanie, she asked for me. She gave me this and told me that I needed to give it to you, and I was 'absolutely not to pass it off to anyone else'." He sounded amused. He'd humored her, of course – she was his wife's friend and more importantly, she'd come through for Hector in a big way. Carlos Manoso was not a man who passed love notes around, but he was curious to see what she'd left for his cousin.

"Uh, thanks." Lester, confused, turned to leave the office before Stephanie squealed, "No! Open it in here. It's more private than your desk."

"More like 'Stephanie wants to know what's in the box'." He teased her, setting the letter aside; that he planned to open and read in private. Using his pocket knife to cut through the packing tape and open the flaps, he lifted out the box's contents. Inside was a wad of bubble wrap that encased a wide blue velvet box, the kind of box that jewelry came in. Curiosity piqued, Lester opened the lid to view its contents and unknowingly change the course of his life.

Nestled in the display folds of the box was a cross, molded from bronze, two inches in height and just a hair shy of that in width. An eagle, wings stretched wide, sat in the center of the cross, resting above a scroll that bore the inscription 'FOR VALOR'. With trembling hands, Lester turned the cross over and gasped when he saw his name, scratched by his own small child's hand with a tenpenny nail he'd found in his abuelo's garage.

Time, noise, awareness…they all ceased, and in that moment, Lester was rocked to his very soul at the intensity of the feelings that rushed through him - wonder, want, and awe fighting for dominance, he took a moment to savor the feeling of belonging that wrapped itself around him; he was wanted. He was cared for. He was precious to someone…he was precious to Giana.

Hope, like a fire, spread through his body until the very tips of his fingers sung with happiness. He knew, without questioning the source of the realization, that the impact, the depth of this act would never affect him on anything less than a sacred level.

"Is that the one?" Stephanie asked, her voice soft and reverent. At some point, Ranger had come out from behind his desk and was standing beside Stephanie. Clearly, he recognized the medal, too, and a smile was overtaking the look of disbelief he wore.

"The one?" Lester croaked. The significance of the gift he held in his hands was slightly overwhelming and focusing on anything but his grandfather's medal was proving difficult.

Stephanie hesitated a moment before saying, "Maybe you should read the letter."

The letter. Lester had forgotten about the plain envelope taped to the box; being careful not to drop the velvet case, he pulled the envelope from his pocket and opened the seal.

Les,

After you told me how you lost this, I knew you needed to have it back. Stephanie helped me, she can give you the details (I didn't tell her anything private, just that your abuelo's medal wound up in a pawnshop).

I wanted you to know that even though there are women in this world who are capable of doing awful things, there are also women capable of undoing them. I hope this brings you some closure.

- Gia

After taking a moment to absorb what was in the letter, Lester turned to Stephanie. "She said you helped her?" he asked, his voice soft.

"Um, yeah…I hope that was okay?" When Lester only nodded, she continued. "She said that you'd lost it in a move and that she wasn't sure of any other details, but it might have gone to a pawn shop. So I did a search on you, past addresses, and found out you were in Atlanta when you, um, lost it. I called the Atlanta office and Chet helped me find a good P.I. in Atlanta. So Giana contacted him and explained what happened; he went to the pawn shops around your old apartment and got a bite – I guess selling a military medal leaves an impression," she sniped, crossing her arms indignantly.

"Apparently the guy who bought the medal from the pawnshop is a regular, so the P.I. was able to track him down. He told Giana that he was going to pose as the attorney of the 'injured party' and would like to resolve the issue without involving the courts." Here, she grinned wickedly and winked at Lester. "I guess it worked."

Returning her grin, he scooped up the box and stood to address Ranger. "I'm going to Giana's house so I'm not going to be able to finish my shift." His voice was as firm as his resolve; he had no intention of delaying this any longer. It was happening, and it was going to be good.

Stephanie jumped to her feet and hopped around, clapping excitedly. "Go! Go right now, go to her house and sweep her off her feet!"

Ranger smiled and shook his head; his wife was amusing him again. "Babe, she was headed to the airport."

Stephanie squealed and fist-pumped the air. "Yes! Ohmigod, GO TO THE AIRPORT! That will be SO much more romantic than just going to her house! Go, stop her before she leaves!"

"Wait, what time is her flight?" Lester asked, not bothering to hide his smile. Stephanie amused him, too.

"Ten! It was at ten!" She cheered, still dancing around.

"WHY DO YOU SOUND SO HAPPY?! I MISSED IT!"

"I can't help it, I'm so excited! You love her and now you're going to tell her and we'll both be in love and live happily ever after!"

The glow that was now burning inside his chest was inflamed by Stephanie's enthusiasm, and he found himself grinning along with her. She gasped and said, "You. Should. Fly. To. Indy! Surprise her there!"

When Lester shook his head, she put her fists on her hips and pouted. "Why not?"

"She's working. I don't want to try and fit in this conversation between seminars or meetings, Beautiful. Besides," he said, turning toward Ranger's office door, "I need to have a talk with Hector first."

As he walked from Ranger's office and toward Hector's, he heard Stephanie whoop and laugh, a combination that further buoyed his spirits and propelled him toward the stairs.

Hector Gutierrez could be aptly described as a magician – that was the only way to explain all the technical wizardry he was capable of. For example, this morning alone he'd been able to locate and bug a highly sought-after piece of unlicensed technology that was in the possession of a government, intent on using it to obliterate a nation. While this project was Rangeman sanctioned, it was not Rangeman business. It was one of the many favors Ranger performed so that he might call upon another man for a favor one day. Such is the life of the mercenary.

Just as he was congratulating himself on a job well done and considering the possibility of surprising Vaughn in the city tonight, there was a pounding on the door. Since the number of people who had access to the second floor was finite and Ranger wouldn't make his presence known so loudly, Hector was pretty sure he knew who his visitor was. As he made his way to the door, he thought back on the conversation he'd had with Vaughn the night they'd met for gumbo at Giana's house. After everyone was gone and Gia and Charlene were in bed, they'd laid awake, staring at each other and sharing nonsensical pillow talk.

"I think Lester likes my sister." Vaughn had said, a smile gracing his handsome face.

Hector had made a rude noise in the back of his throat and grumbled back, "He'd better back off of her; my patience with that man is running thin."

Vaughn had crinkled his brow adorably, Hector recalled, and said, "What do you mean, your patience is running thin? Did you tell him to back off of her?" When Hector hadn't responded, Vaughn had groaned and rolled onto his back.

"Shhh! Do you want your mother to think we're in here getting down?!" Hector had hissed at him while throwing a worried glance at the door.

Vaughn had gaped at him before smothering a laugh with his palm. "What, you're scared of my mom now? You'd better watch out for my sister if she finds out you were meddling. What were you thinking?"

Hector had sighed and given Vaughn a brief rundown of Lester's 'dating' history and finished with an expectant eyebrow raise at his lover. Vaughn had patiently pointed out that he, himself had gotten around plenty before Hector had come along. "And then I met you and that was it. I left it behind and I haven't looked back once. So you can't make me believe it's impossible the same thing can't happen for my sister. I, for one, would love to see her as happy as we are."

With Vaughn's words ringing in his ears, he unlocked his door and opened it wide, quietly assessing Lester Santos. He hadn't actively disliked Lester before he started sniffing around Giana; rather, Les was a man on Hector's periphery. He knew Lester to be trustworthy because Ranger trusted him, and funny because he kept the other Rangemen in high spirits, but beyond that they hadn't really had a personal relationship. Now, however, it seemed that Hector couldn't take two steps in any direction without crossing Lester's path.

Deciding that his fruitful morning dictated his mood be accommodating, Hector gestured for Lester to enter his work area before turning to make his way to the desk that sat in the center of the room. Hector heard the door shut and Les follow him, and that made Hector grumble; if Les was already playing by Hector's rules, chances were he was coming with news Hec would find unpleasant.

As the two men sat facing each other, regarding each other, waiting each other out, Hector had a moment of utter clarity – this whole thing was ridiculous. He wasn't Giana's father, and even if he was, she was a grown woman. The reality was he had no governing opinion in who she kept company with and, as he remembered Vaughn's words, he doubted that she'd appreciate his interference. Even as he realized all these truths, he was still determined to protect her virtue from preying men…men like Lester.

Sensing a flux in Hector's resolve, Lester took a breath and began.

"I know we've discussed this - several times, actually – but I wanted to come to you, out of respect to this brotherhood, and tell you that I am going to pursue Giana. I know that you think my intentions are only to get her into bed, but I'm here to assure you that is the farthest thing from the truth."

Hector sat back in his chair and regarded the man before him. Lester was earnest, that much was obvious, but he was also very sure on the topic, his conviction absolute. Deciding that a resolution was needed before Lester left this floor, Hector spoke.

"What is the truth, Santos? All I know of your interest in women contradicts what you're saying now."

Steeling himself, Lester took a long, slow breath in to steady his voice before looking Hector in the eyes and saying, "I'm falling for her."

This isn't just serious. It's critical, Hector thought before leaning forward again. If Lester had the guts to come down here and confront him and the balls to tell Hector that he was falling in love with Giana, the man deserved to be heard. But first…

"I love her, too." He said, gauging Lester's reaction. Les's eyes narrowed a bit and his jaw tightened, almost imperceptibly. Good boy, Hector thought, finally allowing a small smile to tug at the corners of his mouth. "She is a sister to me. Her well being is dearer to me than my own. She did not come to me, looking to run me off. She looked at me and didn't see the tats and the scary face. She looked past – "

"- past all the shit you secretly hated about yourself, like it wasn't ever there to begin with?" Lester interrupted. "Yeah, I get it. I really, truly do; she did that for me, too."

Hector considered that for a brief moment before offering his hand to Lester. He could see now the fallacy of his actions; how he'd treated Lester the same way he himself had been treated most of his adult life. The irony of that was not lost on him, and as he shook Lester's hand he silently promised himself that Les would have the same clean slate that Giana had afforded him.

Rising together, Hector surprised them both by slapping Lester on the back and offering him a smile. "She's out of state, you know." He pointed to Les. "You going to call her?"

Lester shook his head and grinned, the full Monty smile, showing every one of his even white teeth. "No, no phone calls – for once in my life, I'm going to do this right."

And with that, Les and Hector parted ways, filled with newfound respect for one another; the former with a new spring in his step and the latter filled with a fresh sense of peace.

A/n: The little speech from Charlene about crazy family members is, of course, Julia Sugarbaker as portrayed by Dixie Carter from 'Designing Women'. Julia Sugarbaker is the Patron Saint of all southern women and my Beta's fairy godmother, and it took me quite a few chapters to find space to work in a 'D.W.' reference.