A/n: this is a bit of a time jump, around 4 months or so after the last chapter. I've adjusted the seasons accordingly, I'm only sharing now so there's no initial confusion.

"Whose idea was this?!" Bobby hissed, his arms clutched stiffly across his chest as he stood in the frosty winter sunshine. "Do you know how dangerous this is? We're all at risk for hypothermia, shock, frostbite, not to mention sudden submersion can potentially cause migraines and aortic arrhythmia – "

"If you don't quit bitching I'm going to drown you. I'm serious. I'm going to hold you under the water until you stop twitching, Brown. Now Cowboy Up and get your head in the game." Woody was looking forward to the day's activities and as such, had a low tolerance for complainers.

Lester had been enjoying Bobby's discomfort and was one of the few men privy to the fact that Bobby Brown was, without exception, a sun worshiper. He threw his head back and laughed, long and loud while clapping his best friend on the back. He'd been doing that a lot the past few months; he was a lover of life and laughter, always had been, but since he'd fallen in love, it was like the smile had taken up permanent residence on his handsome face.

Speaking of love…he scanned the faces of the people in his immediate vicinity, looking for the object of his affections. He spotted Gia fairly quickly (as he always did), standing next to Stephanie, her arm circling Hector's waist as the three stood together, huddled for warmth. December in Jersey was nothing to joke about, and today was no exception.

They were here for a good cause, however, so everyone was making the best of it. Ranger had requested that Stephanie look into a charity that Rangeman could donate to around the holidays, and after doing some research she'd chosen the Polar Bear Plunge. While it was voluntary, there wasn't a Rangeman who didn't deem the cause worthy enough to join and they were out today, en masse.

"How did Bomber come up with this charity? And why isn't she plunging?" Cal, one of the few ex-Navy Rangemen, was more than up for the day's events and in a chatty mood, a rarity for the man.

Lester's glee was evident in his huge grin and the way he clapped his hands, as though he couldn't wait to share. Pointing at Bobby's scowl, Lester said, "You can thank this guy for the venue. He decided that Beautiful needed to adhere to the 'no junk food' rule and cleaned out her TastyKake stash while she was at a client meeting. She knows Brown hates the cold weather so she found a charity guaran-damn-teed to make him miserable."

Cal chuffed and returned the grin, shaking his head and muttering something about 'evil genius' and 'using her powers for good instead of evil' while Les continued.

"And Stephanie is not participating because she's a TOTAL WUSS!" This was shouted in Steph's direction, and much to their amusement she flipped her favorite hand gesture toward them.

"I'd be careful, Les." Ranger made his presence known as he made his way around the men, handing out protein gels. "She ever finds out about the time we chased a skip through that circus, you'll find yourself volunteering as a carnie this time next year."

"I am NOT scared of clowns! I'm telling you, I'm pretty sure I saw that guy on 'America's Most Wanted', that's the only reason I ran from him!"

"Weak, dude. That show was cancelled in 2011, you didn't see shit." Tank's baritone called from a few yards away, to riotous laughter.

Just as he was about to retort, two arms circled his waist. Gia's feminine scent invaded his nose and her feminine softness pressed against his back.

"I'm with you, baby, clowns creep me out." She murmured, kissing the back of his shoulder.

As he always did when Giana was around, Lester took a second to revel in her – this woman was his, and no one else's. She loved him, looked to him for comfort and protection, and she came to him to satisfy all her needs. The rightness of this and the warmth he felt from it hadn't waned, not even fractionally, since the first time he felt it.

He reached around and pulled her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling her nose, ignoring the catcalls from his friends. "Hi," he cooed quietly, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. She returned his greeting and turned to the circle of Rangemen. "They're starting in less than 5 minutes, so you all should get into position."

"Why aren't you plunging, G?" Cal stood stretching in front of Bobby, enjoying the now permanent scowl on his medic's face.

"Can't. I just got over strep, I can't risk a relapse."

Bobby snapped his head around and glared at her. "I'm pretty certain it won't cause a relapse. You can probably still pay the entry fee after you jump, you know."

"All right, Misery Loves Company, back off." Stephanie waved her hand toward him. "She can't do it anyway because of female problems."

Bobby huffed in indignation, shaking his head. "No, nuh-uh, no way, you don't get to do that! I know your game, Manoso! You can't say 'female problems' to a group of men and just expect us to run for cover!"

"Speak for yourself, Brown. Honey, you just stay here and stay warm and keep any sensitive female information to yourself." Woody soothed before turning to walk to the waterfront.

"Kiss me for luck?" Les whispered, and Gia happily obliged. He shrugged his sweatshirt off and handed it to her while Ella and Stephanie collected shirts from the other Rangemen.

As he lined up with his Brothers in Arms, he stretched his neck around for one last glimpse of her. There she stood, watching him and smiling from the boardwalk, her nose red from cold. She was breathtaking, and she was his. He really didn't think he'd ever get used to the thrill that shot through his marrow when he reminded himself that Giana loved him the way he loved her. His answering grin was so wide he wondered, fleetingly, if it were possible to pull a muscle from smiling.

"What're you so happy about? It's colder than a brass toilet seat out here." Vince grumbled from his right. On his left stood Hector, a knowing smile ghosting over his face. They'd reached a comfortable camaraderie and in a weird way, Lester considered him an ally, if not a friend.

"Because that woman loves me." He answered, gesturing toward Giana with his head. "Anything else in this whole world is negligible, so long as I have that."

Turning and ignoring the black look Vince shot him and returning the nod of approval from Hector, Les readied himself as he watched the huge event clock count down.

5….4….3….2….1

As a unit, the Rangemen took off at a sprint. They'd discussed strategy as only military men can, ignoring Stephanie's amused chuffing, and had decided to go with the 'rip the bandaid off' method of plunging.

It worked, to a point; they ran in so fast that none of them felt the biting cold until they were thigh-deep in the freezing salt water, and then it was Bobby's voice that carried over the delighted shrieks of the other plungers.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" he squealed, his hands fisted over his closed eyes. He tried to slow down so he could skulk out, undetected, but the second strategy meeting they'd had when Bobby was off for the day, and the one they'd kept secret from him, had prepared them for this. Ranger, Tank, and Hal grabbed onto his torso and lifted Bobby over their heads while Cal grabbed onto his ankles to keep his feet from flailing.

"ONE!" Tanks's voice boomed, rising above the surrounding noise.

"No! You assholes! You do it and I'll put every one of you on a macrobiotic diet for a month!" Bobby shrieked.

"TWO!" Ranger and Hal joined the chant, grinning like loons while the other men laughed at their antics.

"Macro is too good for you! You'll do the fucking grapefruit and cayenne pepper cleanse, fuckers! I'll make you do Pilates until you pop a vessel, do you hear me!?" Bobby's threats reeked of desperation, his voice growing increasingly panicked.

"THREE!" The entire fleet of Rangemen screamed together, and with that, the men holding Bobby Brown threw him as far out to sea as they could. As soon as he hit the water, they turned as one and lunged toward the shore, no one willing to be the first man Bobby was able to get his hands on.

Laughing and shoving each other playfully, they emerged on the beach to find Ella and Louis along with Steph and Gia, holding oversized towels out for them. Ranger wrapped Stephanie up with him and began whispering risqué things into her ear, if one were to judge by the depth of her blush, while the other men made their way to the preheated SUVs that waited for them.

Les took pity on Bobby and waited on the freezing beach, amidst the jovial charity participants, with Gia and an extra towel. As Bobby came storming out and zeroed in on Lester, Gia deftly stepped in with a smile and some glove warmers in addition to the towel and the promise of a steaming thermos of coffee in the waiting SUV. She turned and led him toward the parking lot, winking at Lester as she clucked and fussed around his cranky best friend, and Les smiled to himself. It was the Giana Effect. She made him happy, regardless of circumstance. Even now, with Bobby grumbling and cold, he tamped down his temper when she intervened.

As he trailed behind them toward the car, he had a moment of utter clarity. I'm going to make that woman my wife some day. The thought came unbidden, unexpected, and it gave Lester pause. On a crowded boardwalk in the freezing cold, wet and shivering, he unearthed the single most terrifying and the absolute most satisfying thought he'd had in his life. It wasn't like the thought hadn't flitted through his mind before, but it was always in the abstract; sort of a 'Life Goals To-Do' list. But the wanton need for her to be his, forever, in this moment, overpowered all cognition. I want to marry that woman. Now.

Her voice was the only thing that could have reached him at that moment, and it was that that snapped him from his fugue.

"Les? Are you alright?" she called. He looked her over carefully; she looked absolutely fine, no sign of having felt the tectonic shift that just knocked his feet out from under him. My wife.

Nodding, he hurried over to where she waited, dropping a kiss on her cheek to wipe the worry from her eyes.

"Fine, just really cold. Let's get back." He smiled to reassure her and ushered her toward the waiting SUV.

Back at Rangeman, Ella had an array of hot drinks and slow cookers full of steaming stew and chili waiting for the men in the breakroom. After filling their mugs and a generous-sized bowl of soup, Les and Bobby made their way to Lester's apartment with Giana in tow.

After propping them up in front of the TV with blankets and a heating pad for Bobby, she kissed Lester soundly and departed for work with a "Love you!".

The men ate in silence. Bobby's was born from pouting and plotting revenge, but Lester's was something else entirely. As he mulled over his revelation, he didn't notice when Bobby turned his attention to him.

"What gives, you morose motherfucker? I know you were in on the plan to dunk me, you're so not off the hook."

Les regarded him for a moment before setting his bowl down and sucking in a fortifying breath. "I want to marry Giana. I think. I mean, I'm sure I want to marry her, I just think I want to do it now. Or soon, I don't know. It's kind of freaking me out, to be honest." Finished, he sat back to wait for Bobby's response.

Bobby blinked rapidly in surprise, and for a moment Lester regretted telling him anything. Despite his apprehension, he was sure that if anything less than complimentary about marrying Gia came out of Bobby's mouth, he'd be pissed. He bristled in anticipation and was rendered speechless when Bobby nodded and said, "Good for you, man."

After a beat, Les said, "You don't think it's…crazy? We've been together less than six months! It's too soon, right?"

Bobby shrugged and settled back into the couch, pulling his comforter tighter around him. "It's soon, sure, but you love her. It's obvious to everyone, even without you two marshmallows spouting that shit off to each other all the time." Here he grinned to make sure Lester knew he was teasing, and continued. "Any idea how you're going to do it?" He picked up his bowl and continued eating, waiting for Lester to reply.

"I…I thought you'd… of all people, YOU would try to talk me out of it," Lester sputtered.

Bobby quirked his eyebrow up at Lester. "Do you want me to talk you out of it?"

"No! I just…it's big. It's bigger than anything I've ever done, dude." Taking a deep breath, Lester got to the crux of the matter; "Loving her forever doesn't scare me, but asking her to love me forever is fucking terrifying."

Bobby sighed and said, "That's bullshit and you know it, Santos. She's been good to you, she's been good for you, for months now. You guys don't even fight, it's disgusting. You can't tell me she won't love you back."

When Lester's jaw tightened, Bobby's attitude turned from commiserating to angry.

"You know what, Santos, you're going to have to get past your ancient history or you're going to fuck this up. You think you're not…what, competent, capable, deserving of being loved by a good woman?" Bobby threw the blanket off his lap so he could lean toward his friend before continuing. "You spend every minute you're not with her thinking of her. You put her first, all the time. You, you, Lester Santos, have been completely faithful in mind and body to Giana." He started ticking his fingers off with each pronouncement. "Half your shit is at her house because you spend so much time there. You took a cooking class with her so you could make Thanksgiving dinner for her mom together! Just to make her happy! And you're sitting here, telling your best friend you want to commit the rest of your life to this woman."

Spent, he flopped back down on the couch and reached for his comforter. "You've got to have a little faith in yourself, brother. And you need to tell her the shit about your mom – " here he pointed a stern finger at Lester, " – because I know you haven't yet. You can't leave it because if you start punishing her for old sins, you'll never forgive yourself. And I don't think you can live with that."

Two days later, Lester found himself in his new favorite position – in a post-sex haze, laying prostrate in bed with Gia tucked firmly against his side.

"I think it's going to snow." She murmured sleepily, using one hand to graze Lester's chest with her nails. Back and forth, back and forth, lulling him into a fog. When her hand stopped and she took a breath, Lester knew their little cocoon was about to vanish.

"I talked to mom yesterday, she wanted to know if we'd like to spend Christmas in Virginia. I told her I'd have to check your schedule." She paused and asked, "What are your normal holiday obligations?"

Les shrugged and rolled his neck, suddenly feeling a bit tense. "Nothing, really. I usually pick up some shifts so the guys with families can see them, go to Ric's parent's place for a bit as long as…" and here he trailed off.

"As long as what?" Gia asked benignly, unaware of the weight behind the answer.

"As long as my mother isn't going to show up." He finished tightly. When she didn't press him, he hurried on. "Abuelo and Ric's grandmother were brother and sister, and Tia Rosa feels obligated to invite her every year." And oddly, even though he usually hated speaking about his mother, he felt lighter than he'd have believed possible after bringing her up.

"Oh." Giana didn't hide the surprise in her voice. "I just…assumed she was out of the picture, I guess."

Les snorted before saying, "She is. She's completely out of the picture."

Gia resumed her gentle scratching while Les waited with growing trepidation. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea.

"So you don't see her? Ever?" she asked gently. Aaaand there it is.

"No. I don't." came his curt reply.

More silence, then, "What's her name? I don't think you've ever said it."

"Juana. My grandmother's mother was named June. She wanted to honor my father's heritage and named her after the woman who disowned her for marrying a Cuban immigrant." He answered with no small amount of bitterness.

After a few beats, she spoke softly, tilting her chin to stare at his face. "Do you ever think about reconciling with her? Maybe talk to her about everything?"

Les let out a dark, mirthless chuckle and sat up abruptly, flinging the blanket off of his legs and standing. He began searching for his underwear in the darkened room, his movements jerky and impatient.

"Baby?" her soft voice, full of concern, cut him. He knew he was being an asshole, but talking about Juana rendered him incapable of feeling anything but the old anger that welled up every time he thought of her.

"It's fine." He said, shortly, before striding out the door and heading for the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out a beer, uncapping it and taking a deep swallow while staring out the window. Gia was right, it did look like snow.

In the glass's reflection he saw Gia approach him, a worried expression on her face. "Les, I'm sorry. You brought it up and I thought you wanted to talk about it, I didn't mean to pry."

She couldn't have known how incisive her apology was to him, how it burned his soul to know that she felt pity for him and remorse for hurting him over Juana, of all things. Turning, he met her eyes briefly before dropping them to her perfectly manicured toes. Green, she'd whispered to him just the day before, to match your eyes, baby.

"I'm sorry. You have nothing to apologize for; I just don't want to talk about her with you. I don't want you…tainted, I guess, by memories of her. You're nothing like her, you'd never betray me, and I don't want to drag you into all of that."

Gia approached him gingerly, the way you would advance on a skittish cat. Reaching him, she slid her arms around his waist and laid her head against his heart. "I'm glad you know that I'd never do anything to make you feel sad, or hurt you. But I don't like that you're carrying around these feelings and keeping them to yourself; won't you tell me about it, just a little?"

Panicky, Lester responded reactively – he stepped away and from her and snapped back, "Why, so you can fix me?" He regretted it instantly and moved to hug her in apology, but Gia held up a hand, silencing him.

"No, Les, I don't want to 'fix you', because you're not broken. But I do want to know you, and I want to know all of you, because I don't think you'll ever really believe I love you until I can love all of you. And I don't think you'll forgive yourself until you know I can forgive you."

"Forgive myself for what?" his reply was automatic, his mind still processing her declaration. She really loves you, you prat. Now shape up.

"For believing you drove her away."

Lester sputtered, "That's…that's…." before stopping. He knew, of course, that he had a mind-fuck over Juana, but the anger had never left room for analysis. Was there any truth to what Giana was saying now?

She loves me, totally and wholly. She only wants me to be happy, so maybe I should trust her and trust what she's telling me, he thought before taking a breath and holding it, and slowly exhaling.

"Want to go talk?" he murmured, reaching for her. She followed him, wordlessly, as he hesitated in the hall – bedroom or living room? The bedroom was where instinct directed him, because he wanted to sink into Gia's body and reassure himself that he wasn't that lost kid anymore, and that he was loved and always would be. Bobby's words echoed in his mind; "you'll start punishing her for old sins and you'll never forgive yourself for it", and he steered them toward the living room.

He sat down and pulled Giana onto his lap and started his narrative, telling her all the ugly truths about his childhood – the neglect, both emotional and physical. The way, starting around age 4, he was left at home for two or three days at a time, with plenty of food and a good working knowledge of how the television remote controls operated and how to dial 911, and how he spent more time at his grandfather's than his own home. His attendance at school was, at best, spotty, but back in those days they mostly worried about abuse and not truancy so his situation went undetected.

"I remember being in maybe third grade and asking a classmate what color their room at their grandparent's house was, and how surprised I was that they lived with their parents full-time. It didn't occur to me that not everyone had a parent who spent their life avoiding their children."

After this realization, Les said, he became resentful of Juana's time spent away and the two fought whenever she was home, however sporadically. At age 11, she dropped him at his grandfather's for 'the weekend' and that was the last Lester or Mateo heard from her until just before Lester's sixteenth birthday.

"She showed up a month early with a gift. She forgot when my birthday was, showed up on the wrong day. Wrong month, actually." He smirked, no humor in his voice. "I told her that day that she was no mother to me, never had been, and that she should leave us alone and go back to her parties and her boyfriends. That was the last time I spoke to her. She didn't come to abuelo's funeral a few years later." Here he paused and swallowed hard. "I don't think I can ever forgive her for that."

Hearing a sniffle pulled him out of his reverie and he peered at Giana's face for the first time since he started speaking. She had tears in her eyes, and tracks on her cheeks. The fact that she wept for him, for the boy he'd been, slayed him.

"Please don't cry. I didn't want to tell you because I knew it would make you sad. I never, ever want you to be sad, Sweets." He whispered against her lips while kissing away her tears.

Gia shook her head emphatically and said, "No, I'm grateful you told me. You can't keep things like that to yourself, Les. I know there are military related things you can't share, and I won't ever put you in a bad position about that, but this is about you. You don't ever, ever have to deal with anything like that alone again."

Lester's arms tightened around her and he buried his nose into the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply. This, he thought, is my forever.