Disclaimer: Anything recognizable is owned by JE. I'm just borrowing them for a little while, but do I have to give Ranger back?

A/N: This should be the last 'sad' chapter. I'm planning on making Chapter 4 the beginning of the healing process for Mary Lou and her boys. I'm sorry about the long wait. My father liked to volunteer to work with the local county fair each fall. Since the county fair meant so much to my dad, my family still volunteers to help in the educational building each year.

Chapter 3

It was a little passed two in the morning when I heard Mary Lou padding down the hallway. I tried to get up so I could check on her but warm Cuban heater had his arms wrapped around me and one leg thrown over both of mine.

"Ranger." I whispered.

"Yeah, Babe." Ranger said, using his sexy, sleepy voice that I love so much.

"I need to get up. I just heard Mary Lou go into the kitchen. I want to make sure that she's okay." I told him.

He unwrapped himself from around me and I walked into the kitchen. Mary Lou was holding a can of coffee in one hand and a bottle of tequila in the other. Her eyes were blood-shot from crying.

"I can't decide which of these I need more." She said quietly.

"How about we put both of those away and I'll make you my famous hot chocolate." I offered.

"Steph, you know I love you, but your famous hot chocolate is instant Swiss Miss." She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, but I don't follow the directions on the back of the box. I use milk instead of water and one and a half packages of the hot chocolate mix." I told her. I took the coffee and the tequila from her hands and put them away. Then I search the pantry for the hot chocolate mix and marshmallows. Through the magic of the microwave, it was only minutes before we were sitting at the breakfast table, sipping the hot chocolate.

"Steph, how are we going to survive this? Lenny and I had a system. I was a stay-at-home mom and he had the plumbing business. How am I going to provide for my family now that Lenny's gone? I have no work experience. And the funeral….how am I going to pay for Lenny's funeral? Lenny made a comfortable living, but it's not like we have a ton of extra money lying around. I'll probably have to dip into the boy's college fund." Mary Lou sighed.

"We'll figure it out. I'll help however I can. We'll come up with the money, somehow." I told her.

"Steph, I know you want to help, but it's not your responsibility to help me figure out how to pay for the funeral." Mary Lou protested.

"Do I need to remind you of the spit swear?" I asked, as I causally took a sip of my hot chocolate.

"You can't be serious. We made that swear when we were seven." Mary Lou said, rolling her eyes.

When Mary Lou and I were kids, we decided to spit swear that we would always do anything for each other. Even if that meant that she would have to sell her favorite Barbie doll or that I would have to sell my prize Wonder Woman doll.

"Mary Lou, I'm serious. I'll so whatever it takes to help you. That's what friends do for each other. You would do the same for me, without hesitation. Besides, you're more like a sister than a friend, anyway. I'm closer to you than my own sister Valerie." I explained as I reached over and patted her hand.

"Thanks, Steph. I always could count on you." Mary Lou sighed. "I'm going to need to look for a job. Do you think that Valerie or your mom might be willing to watch the boys for me? I won't be able to pay very much. I would ask my mom to watch them, but with Dad's health the way it is, she has enough on her plate. She could probably handle one day a week but anything more than that might put a strain on her and dad."

"You know my mom would be glad to help. Dad will love having boys around. He's be surround by women for so long. He'll be thrilled to have someone to watch sports with." I told her.

"I'll need to start looking for a job after the funeral. Maybe I can get a job as a waitress or maybe a hotel maid. The fact that I have no prior work experience isn't going to help me find a job." She worried.

"Let's take this one thing at a time. First, let's get through the funeral. Then we'll worry about finding you a job." I said.

Mary Lou yawned.

"Why don't you go back to bed and try to get some more sleep." I suggested. "Maybe my Mom and Grandma can watch the boys while we go to the funeral home tomorrow. I'm assuming that you want to go to Stiva's."

"Yeah, that would probably be best. My mother would probably throw a fit if I used any other funeral home." She agreed.

I walked with Mary Lou down the hall. I gave her one more hug before she slipped into her bedroom. When I got back to Tommy and Danny's room, Ranger was sitting up on the bed waiting on me.

"How's she doing?" He asked.

She's worried about how she's going to be able to pay for the funeral. She said that she would probably have to dip into the boy's college funds." I explained.

"Come here." Ranger said, reaching his hand out to me. I took his hand as he pulled me into his lap. "Lenny was a good man. When you go with Mary Lou to the funeral home tomorrow, make sure that she picks out the best of the best for Lenny. He deserves it."

"But Ranger…" I began to protest.

"No buts, Babe. I need you to promise me that you will make sure that Mary Lou doesn't focus on the cost. Can you promise me that?" He asked with his arms still wrapped around me.

"I just don't know how…" I began.

"Just promise me, Babe? Please?"

Rats! He knows that I can never say no when he says please.

"Okay," I agreed. "I promise."

"Good," he said as he kidded my forehead. "Now try to get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for Mary Lou and you need to rest so you can be there for her when she needs you."

I settled back into bed with Ranger's arms around me. I love sleeping wrapped in his arms, it sort of centers me. I only wish that he would change his stance on relationships, so we could sleep that way more often. With Ranger keeping me warm, I fell asleep within a few minutes.

"Five more minutes." I said, as I tried to shoo away the small hand that was attempting to pry my left eye open.

"Aunt Steph, are you awake yet?" I heard Danny ask. "Mr. Ranger said to come get you for breakfast. He said to tell you that if you didn't get up and get ready, that he would eat your breakfast and that you could eat his oatmeal."

I sat straight up in bed at the threat of eating oatmeal.

"Danny, you tell Mr. Ranger not to touch my breakfast, or I'll be very mad at him." I warned. "Is the bathroom free?"

"Yeah, Tommy just came out." Danny told me, before leaning forward to whisper. "You might want to use Mommy and Daddy's bathroom. It's empty. Tommy usually stinks our bathroom up."

"Thanks for the warning, Little Man." I said. "Tell you mom and Ranger that I'm going to take a quick shower before breakfast."

"Alright." Danny said, before running out of the room yelling, "Mr. Ranger, Aunt Steph said don't touch her breakfast! She'll be mad at you!"

I took a quick shower in Mary Lou's bathroom, threw on some make-up, jeans, t-shirt, and sandals. I decided that a pony tail would be easier than trying to tame my hair. At least I would be presentable once people began dropping by to offer Mary Lou their condolences. Once the news of Lenny's death hits the 'Burg, Mary Lou's house will have more visitors than Grand Central Station.

When I walked into the kitchen, Ranger was pulling a breakfast casserole out of the oven. Mary Lou was sitting at the breakfast table with Mikey, Tommy, and Danny.

"Ranger insisted that I sit with the boys while he got breakfast ready." Mary Lou explained.

I nodded as I poured myself a cup of coffee before I went to sit at the table with Mary Lou and her boys. Ranger sat the casserole and orange juice on the table and we started breakfast. Ranger was the only one eating oatmeal, while the rest of us at the sausage, egg, and cheese casserole. We were just finishing breakfast when Mary Lou's parents arrived with Tank and Lester.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" The boys yelled as they left the table to greet their grandparents.

"Come on, guys." Lester told them. "Why don't we go play your Xbox and give your mom and grandparents a chance to talk?"

Ranger and I began clearing the table while Mr. and Mrs. Molnar sat down at the table. Once the table was cleared, Ranger and I joined them.

"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry that you have to go through this." Mrs. Molnar said, patting her hand.

"I always like Lenny, even though I caught him trying to sneak into your bedroom in high school." Mary Lou's dad said with a small, sad smile.

We discussed the plans for the day. It was decided that Mary Lou's father would stay with the boys at the house, while Mary Lou, her mom, and I went to Stiva's to make the funeral arrangements. Ranger suggested that Lester could hang around the house to help with the boys.

Ranger and Tank left after breakfast. They needed to check in with the Rangeman office. I walked Ranger and Tank out to the SUV. He kissed me on my forehead and told me to call him if I needed him for anything during the day. Then he promised to stop back by later today to check on us.

We arrived at Stiva's at ten in the morning. Dave and Scooter were waiting for us on the front porch.

"Mrs. Stankovic, Scooter and I are so sorry for your loss." Dave said as he solemnly shook Mary Lou's hand.

"Thank you and please call me Mary Lou." She replied. "This is my mother, Gloria Molnar, and of course you already know Steph."

"It's good to see you again, Mrs. Molnar and you too, Steph. I just wish it was under better circumstances." Scooter greeted us. Mrs. Molnar offered her hand for Scooter to shake and I nodded in greeting.

"Mary Lou," Dave said. "Why don't we go to my office and discuss the arrangements?"

Scooter excused himself to go back cookies for a viewing that was scheduled for this afternoon, and Dave led the rest of us to his office.

While making the arrangements, Mary Lou tried to ask about the pricing and the cost of her choices. I noticed that everything had the prices removed from the paper work.

"I don't understand why there are no prices on anything." Mary Lou worried. "I really need to make sure that I can afford to pay for everything."

"Mare, why don't you pick out what you would like, then Dave could tell us the total and we can make cuts from there." I suggested.

"Mary Lou, don't worry about the prices. The costs of the arrangements have already been covered. I thought that you knew." Dave explained. "Someone, who would like to remain anonymous, has covered the cost of the viewing, the funeral including any floral arrangements that you choose, and the headstone of your choice for the gravesite."

Mary Lou, her mother, and I exchanged confused looks. Then a look of understanding reached Mary Lou's face and she told me, 'Tell him that the boys and I said thank you for everything."

It took me a moment to realize what she was talking about. When I did, I nodded that I would pass along the message.

Once everything was planned, we went back to Mary Lou's house. Word must have got out about Lenny because my mom and Grandma Mazur were setting out enough food in the kitchen to feed an army for lunch.

"Your friend, Ranger, called and told us about Lenny." My mom explained. "Your Grandmother told everyone in the 'Burg to wait until after lunch before they begin stopping by to offer condolences.

"Thanks. Mom." I told her. "I'm sure Mary Lou appreciates it."

"It's no trouble. Mary Lou is practically a member of our family. We'll do everything we can to help her get through this." Mom said. "Now go into the living room and tell everyone that lunch is ready."

The next three days, Mary Lou and the boys seemed to be on auto pilot. I was relieved that Grandma Mazur behaved herself at the viewing. She said that there was no way that she was going to cause trouble at Lenny's viewing. She loves Mary Lou too much to put her through that.

The funeral service was beautiful. I sat with the Mary Lou and her boys at Mary Lou's request. Lenny had a love of country music that very few people knew about, so Mary Lou had Vince Gill's version of "Go Rest High on That Mountain" played at the end of the service.

Over the last few days, occasionally one of the boys would break down and cry. Mary Lou would try to hold back her tears the best she could in front of the boys, but once the boys were in bed she was unable to fight the tears. Those times, I would sit with her while she cried. Sometimes I would try to say words of comfort and other times I would sit and cry with her. That first night after the funeral was probably the hardest on her. It was the night that she really let it sink in that Lenny was really gone. As we sat on the couch and I watched my best friend cry over the loss of her husband. I made a silent vow that I would do anything and everything I could to help my friend through this.

A/N: Just a reminder that the tone of the story will start changing with chapter 4, as Mary Lou begins to pick up the pieces and move forward with her life.