Same disclaimers, everything you recognize belongs to the amazing Janet Evanovich. Thank you to Kathy who cleaned this story up fixing over a thousand errors...sorry that I added stuff after your massive edits, so any mistakes belong to me. Thank you to Heather who has been my mentor in this FF world from my very first story. You are amazingly talented and I really appreciate all that you have done to guide me through this process. And Lisa, I am so glad to have you close again. Sometimes in life you find friends that become your sister. You are that to me. Now the readers and everyone who reached out via reviews, PM's or on the FB FF pages, you have really helped make this story better. I loved everything from your kind words to your guesses. I loved that you pointed out things and suggested others. Some of which made it in the story and some caused massive re-writes. In all cases, Thank you, I couldn't have done it without your collaboration.

~Chapter 29

***Mar 3

After hounding a local real estate agent to find properties that suit my long list of demands, I am pleased she has five options for us. They're all beachfront, private and available now. Three of my mandatory criteria. Other than that, they differ greatly. We have a move-in ready modern glass structure that exceeds the budget all the way down to the fixer upper that is livable during the renovations it would need. The other three fall somewhere in between. I know which one I prefer but ultimately it's up to Steph. I want her to love it and eventually make it a permanent home for us but I can't get ahead of myself. There's too much at stake.

The drive is uneventful and Edna is quiet which suits me fine. I have exceeded my word count for the decade and find it comforting to slip into my zone. I do owe this woman a debt of gratitude for what she's already done for me and I'm quite sure I'll continue to need her so I'll force myself to talk to her if she wants. Thankfully she's content to watch the scenery go by.

We arrive at 0930 and Steph and Dr. King are already moving about. Ava is sitting in her bouncer seat at the kitchen table in the middle of the action. She smiles when she sees me and that makes my heart contract. She changes every time I see her but I don't allow that disappointment to shadow my joy. I'm here now and I'm going to enjoy this moment.

Lex is staying with Edna and Dr. King but things need to be done for him to make sure he's ready to stay behind. Steph jogs on the beach with him and plays with him so he's fully exercised before we can leave. Lex is a trained military dog so he requires more exercise and stimulation than normal. I use that time to spend with Ava and together we load the car. I'm not surprised that Steph is bringing so little since she didn't bring that much stuff to the cabin. I now know that she'd been coming from the west coast and had an entourage but the art of packing light was not something that I ever thought this Jersey girl would embrace so fully.

We say our goodbyes and head out an hour later. The sun is shining, promising a beautiful day but nothing can take my attention away from my girls. I glance in the rearview mirror and see Ava's car seat in the middle of the backseat. I feel at home with her safely buckled in and Steph at my side. It feels right.

"Thank you for coming with me." I tell her.

"It's fine. Ava is exactly three months old today." she volunteers.

"I can't believe how much she's changed in a week." I say, letting the wonder show in my voice.

"I can't believe she's three months already. It seems like yesterday I was pregnant." she says and that doses me with reality. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad." she adds when she notices my blank face.

"It's certainly not your fault." I tell her shaking my head to reiterate my words.

"You're here now and things are going well, don't you think?" she says trying to keep the atmosphere lighter. I appreciate her efforts and am very thankful she's starting to relax around me.

"That makes me really happy." I say and glance at her with a smile.

The rest of the trip up the coast is spent with her telling me what Ava has been doing for the last week. Having Dr. King as a roommate is really helpful since he hasn't forgotten any of his medical training. She tells me how Ava is ahead of her milestones and we should fully expect her to roll on to her back at any moment making her need constant supervision if she's on a higher surface.

We arrive in Atlantic City and before I know it, I'm pulling into the hotel valet. "I want to check in and get settled first. We have an appointment with Charlotte Davis at 1:00 so if we hurry, we will have time to get unpacked and have lunch before the meeting. We're going to see two of the properties today and the other three tomorrow. Today she's going to give us an overview of the area. I know we've both been here before but she plans on showing us the residential areas. I have the listing sheets for each. We can look at them while we eat." I say pulling out our bags.

I load our stuff on the valet cart and go check in. The process is quick and within five minutes we're alone in the two bedroom suite. As much as I want us to share space, I know Steph isn't ready yet and the last thing I want to do is push her. She's come really far and I don't want to fuck it up. I give her the master and put my bag in the second bedroom. They have put the crib in my room so I roll it out in the main living area. I assume Steph will want Ava in her room so I knock on her door.

"You can come in." she says as she is settling herself on the bed to feed Ava.

"I brought you the crib." I say and notice that Ava is distracted trying to see me. "I'll just go back outside. I don't want 'little nosey' there to get distracted." I say softly before I slip back out.

When they're done, I take Ava and finish burping her as Steph gets ready. She takes some stuff out of the diaper bag and lays it on the credenza, lightening the bag. She pulls out a thick blanket and lays in on the small sofa along with the wipes and a stack of diapers. "We can change her here. The floor is really disgusting so we're just gonna have to keep a hand on her at all times while we change her." she says and I bring Ava over to do just that. Steph heads into the bathroom with her toiletries and is out in a few minutes. Ava is freshly diapered and we are ready to head out to lunch.

"There's a nice restaurant a block away that'll probably serve us faster than the hotel. We can eat here for dinner if you want. One of the restaurants overlooks the water and it's supposed to be really beautiful." I tell her as we make our way out of the hotel and step into the bright sunshine.

The walk is refreshing and even though it's still a bit cold, the warm sun on our faces makes it nice. Lunch was good and Ava stayed awake for most of it. I enjoyed the time with my girls and Steph continues to let down her guard and relax. I tell her about Julie and how I had to admit what an ass I had been. "She wants to call you. Do you have a number I can give her?" I ask.

Steph has been smiling at Julie's reaction to my fuck up and agrees to give me her number. I don't even have her number yet. I hadn't thought this through or I would have asked her back at Christmas. I was relieved though. I really want my daughters to know each other. They are almost 15 years apart but still sisters nonetheless. I felt myself relaxing even more. I thought for the first time that this may be okay and that maybe we can have our 'someday'.

"Do you want me to use your same cell number?" she asks and I nod. I had been changing my number every year or so but after I met Steph, I wasn't about to change it when there was a chance that Steph would need something badly enough to call me. "I'll text your cell so you have my number."

The real estate agent was a 40 something self absorbed man eater. She was making me angry by hitting on me and alienating Steph. Once she found out that we weren't married and that we were looking for a property to share custody, she was relentless.

"No." I tell her plainly. "I'm not interested in you. I'm not interested in anything you have to offer outside of these properties. You are being highly inappropriate and if you don't stop then our business association is done. Have I made myself clear?" I managed to sound calm even though I was practically vibrating with anger. I usually have a lot of patience but this viper has pushed me to my limit and we've barely toured one home. Thankfully, Steph was too preoccupied with Ava to overhear the bulk of my statement.

The first home was a bust. It was the cheapest and the one that needed the most work. It was an original owner that had passed down the property and the children and grandchildren had let it get into a serious state of disrepair. The amount of work needed would require a gut job on the main living areas and honestly, this house shouldn't have even been on the list. I could tell Steph was interested in this one and I can guess the price tag had something to do with it. I know she's sensitive about the cost and will be reluctant with the ones over a million dollars.

"I don't know Ranger. The next one's too expensive. I don't want you to just throw money away. We don't need anything like this." she protests as we get into the realtor's car. I decide to ride in the back with Steph and Ava to stay away from the psycho.

"A property like this is an investment. Trust me. A fixer is a really good investment. Plus you get to customize it to your exact specifications." The witch says.

"That's great but we don't have time for that. I want something that's good enough and we don't have to gut it on day one. I want a place where we can start using the second we get the keys." I say and I turn to Stephanie. "We can customize anything you want but I want the home to be livable while things are being updated."

"Fine." Steph responds and refocuses her attention back out the window.

We pull up to an older Victorian home that sits on an impressive piece of land. The lot was wide promising great beach access but the front yard looked like it belonged to a restaurant. There was no grass to speak of and the landscaping was lacking. It looked out of place. What the heck kind of properties are we seeing? We had breezed through the first house and it looks like we're going to breeze through this one too. I can't believe there's no yard. I shake my head as I get out of the car.

"Is there any way we can see the other three properties today? It doesn't look like this one is going to make the cut either." I tell the cougar. She looks at her phone and started typing without so much as an acknowledgement of what I asked. Fine by me. As long as she does what I ask, I don't need the commentary.

"What do you think?" I ask Steph noting her scowl.

"I'm not much of a Victorian house fan. I hate the front yard. It looks like someone dropped a doll house in a parking lot." she says as she hooks Ava's carrier over her elbow. "Let's see it from the back."

The devil woman catches up with us and tells us she lined up the remaining three houses for the evening and proceeds to tell us this was a bed and breakfast. I stop and look at her. No wonder everything felt off. I catch Steph's hand and we head back to the car with a new record of the shortest time viewing a property. Thankfully we have three more to look at today.

The next house was too close to the main strip and we didn't even get out beating our last record by several minutes. At this rate, we could view every single listing in the greater AC area by tomorrow night.

The neighbor had a for sale sign and it advertised commercial property. I'm getting even more pissed at the bitch for wasting our time with three homes that are not at all what we're looking for. Did she even listen to me? Houses four and five were north of AC and were closer to two million. These were the only two that were worth considering. However, they felt modern and cold. I could tell Steph wasn't interested in baby proofing open concrete stairs and glass encased balconies. I have to agree, as much as I like clean lines and the modern feel, it doesn't make for a comfy home to raise a child in.

"So today was a bust." Steph says as we put a sleeping Ava back in the car. When the nightmare gets back in the car Steph continues. "Thanks for taking us to all of the properties today. Can you take us back to the hotel? I want to get Ava in a real crib for a nap." she says and I wonder about that. Ava is pretty good about sleeping anywhere, anytime so I don't know what she's referring to but I stay silent, happy to be alone with my girls.

Even though we saw all five properties, we still finished before dinner. I told the shrew that we would be in touch and let her know if any of the five would work for us. I already know that she would get a follow up call from me that makes it very clear that I'm not interested in any further contact and there will be no further association. I place a call to my sister-in-law who is actually a real estate agent in New York. She offers to help look up properties and gets me the name of an agent that would take us to view any that fit into our criteria.

We discuss more features that we want as we are getting ready for dinner. Steph had called her grandmother to check in and apparently they're doing fine. "I think my Grandmother has a little crush on Dr. King," she tells me and I smile.

"I think you're right." I answer. "She didn't talk about him specifically on the way up but I have a feeling she's quite impressed by him."

"Well, the real estate agent was pretty impressed by you." she manages with a laugh. I narrow my eyes at her.

"Not funny." I state.

"Oh but it was. She wanted to push me off a cliff. I'm really glad AC doesn't have any. I'm not sure whether Ava would get pushed with me or saved with you though." she says trying to decide what the crazy puta would do.

"We don't have to worry. We're never going to see her again. My sister-in-law Annabelle should have something for us soon."

We arrive at the restaurant right on time and the hostess takes us to our table. We're seated off to one side so I get to have my back partially to the wall and Steph gets an unobstructed view of the ocean. The beautiful day gave way to clouds and it looks like we may get some showers overnight. The winds are picking up and the ocean waves are responding. I'm glad we don't have to go out in this.

I show Steph the photos of the listings Annabelle sent. She had done a little research and the five properties the realtor showed us today were her listings. She was trying to showcase her own listings so she could take both commissions and make double the cash. It's not illegal but it was not wise since they weren't really a good fit for us and she lost our business and therefore our commission.

We like all five properties that Annabelle sends so we call the agent she recommended. It is a mother / daughter duo and the mother said she would be able to set up the viewings for tomorrow. The rest of dinner was spent talking about Ava and her future. It was a great dinner that ended way too soon.

"So, are you still badass Ranger when you're back in Trenton?" she asks me when we get back to the room. I give her a raised eyebrow. "I just have a hard time trying to reconcile this chatty Ranger with the badass silent Ranger." she tries to clarify.

I take a deep breath and answer. "I'm all of those things. I'm street Ranger, boss, friend, son, even an asshole depending on who I'm with. I can't be silent with all of those roles and I'm selective at what I say. I made a mistake holding you at a distance. I was scared. I knew you had the power to hurt me so I tried to keep you at arms length. I now know that it's much worse to not have taken the risk. I know if I even have a chance at earning back your trust that I have to be open with you. Something that I should've done years ago."

"You weren't ready and I probably wasn't either. We had a lot of growing up to do. A lot of issues to work through. We were both commitment-phobic and our communication sucked. Oh and I'm a frequent visitor to denial land." she admits.

"I have been clear about what I want. I want you and Ava in my life as much as you'll allow but what do you want Stephanie? What would make you happy?"

She looks away, breaking my gaze.

"Please." I beg

"I want to be the best mom for Ava..." She trails off. I move to sit next to her and I take her hand.

"And from me? What do you want from me?" I ask again to make her face me and the question. She waits so long that I'm sure she isn't going to answer but then she speaks.

"I want us too." she says in a whisper looking back down our joined hands. I scoop her up on my lap and hug her to me. My heart flutters in my chest and the weight of the world lifts off me. I kiss her on the temple and hold her to me. She reaches around me and hugs me back. I don't want to stop touching her. I'm never letting her go again.

"I'll do anything for you. I love you." I tell her and she hugs me harder. I know that we have more healing to do but we have just cleared a really big hurdle. We're finally on an upward trajectory.

After a few minutes of fussing from Ava, we break apart and I go pick her up from her confines of the car carrier. I carry her over to the diaper bag and pull out her favorite book. We return to the couch so Steph and I can take turns reading Hippos Go Berserk. Ava chews on the book as we try to turn the pages. I pull out the small baby toy I picked up while getting the book to keep her interest on a more suitable teether. I know she's a little too young to be teething and she's not slobbering yet so it's probably the beginning stages of hunger. Both my Babes need food at regular intervals or else all hell breaks loose. I smile at both of them. How in the world with my karmic deficit did I deserve these two amazing people? It's astounding.

We find a movie on TV and sit on the bed watching, letting Ava lounge in between us. We have her on her belly and she is pushing up with her hands and all of a sudden, she rolls sideways onto her back. She lies there, stunned, arms still straight. Steph takes in a sharp breath.

"Ranger, she rolled over!" she exclaims and grabs her phone. Movie forgotten, we try to get Ava to roll over again but she refuses to cooperate. We try for over an hour and Ava is getting cranky being on her belly so much. Pretty soon it is after ten and she still needs a bath and bed.

"Uh Ranger? I need your help." Steph says as she rifles through her and Ava's bag. "I didn't bring her bathtub thinking that I would just run through the shower with her but I didn't think that through. There isn't a bathtub here and I'm afraid that if I stand up, I'll drop her and..." she starts with a little bit of panic in her voice.

"It's okay, what can I do?"

"Um...if you could hold her then I could wash..." she lets the rest trail off.

The shower was quick and both Steph and I have on underwear but being that close to her in the shower still affects me. I keep trying to focus on Ava but it's impossible.

Leaving my girls to go back to my room is hard. In more ways than one, I think wryly. I peel my wet boxers off and wrap a towel around my waist. I sit on the edge of the bed, trying to determine what to do. I'm glad we are at a place where she'll ask me for help. I know I can't push her but I really want to. I want more. The hardest thing I've ever had to do is give her space and the freedom to walk away. My thoughts are racing through different scenarios when I hear footsteps in the main room. A knock at the door has me standing and opening the door in two seconds.

"Is everything alright?"

"We're fine. I just wanted to talk to you. Do you mind if we sit?" she asks and I step away from the door to allow her in. She stops me from closing it.

"I want to be able to hear Ava if she wakes up." she says by way of explanation. I look through my bag and pull out another pair of boxers. After slipping them on I make my way back to the bed thankful my arousal had gone down enough to not be obvious. In the shower she did a good job of ignoring it but her nervousness tells me she was aware if not affected herself. I sit and wait for her to begin.

"Do you mind if I sleep in here? I want Ava to have some time alone. I think it's going to be hard to get her to sleep in her own room when the time comes. Right now, we don't have a choice but the longer we sleep in the same room the worse it'll be. I'm not ready for anything too much right now so I don't want to give you the wrong idea. But I really want to give Ava the space and I..."

"Steph, it's fine. You can sleep in here. I'd really like to just hold you." I confess and she looks relieved. I stand and pull back the covers enough for her to climb in. I finish getting ready for bed and turn out the lights. I take a deep breath and wish myself luck as I climb into bed after her. We lay still for several minutes and I decide to take a chance. I pull her into me and say, "I missed this".

She lets out a contented sigh and I take that as an agreement. I'm happy to see she's relaxing enough to let me in and I plan to continue to lay more of a foundation for her to trust me.

"What do you have in mind for an us to work?" I ask her in the safe, dark confines of my bed.

"I guess we can see each other on weekends if you want." she says tentatively. "What do you want?"

"I want however much you are willing to give. I know you aren't willing to come to Trenton but would you consider coming just outside of Trenton? Maybe a safe house for now?" I ask her.

"I really don't want to go back to Trenton but I can't help feel bad for Hector. I want to see him and tell him it wasn't his fault. I want him to meet Ava and try to get him away from the gang." she says surprising me.

"You are not responsible for Hector's choices." I begin and she cuts me off.

"My head knows that but my heart still hurts for him. I just want to tell him that it isn't his fault and that I don't blame him." she says passionately.

"Okay. When do you want to come? I have a safe house in Princeton if you want to come next weekend..." I ask trailing off.

"I have to bring Dr. King and Lex too. Is that okay?" She asks.

"That's fine. I don't care who you bring." I tell her and kiss her temple to emphasize my point. "Do you want to see Ella too? She'd love to see you and Ava again."

"Yes. That's good to start." she says and then snuggles into me more, reawakening the sweet torture that is Stephanie Plum. She drifts off quickly after that and I lie awake and just hold her. I want to enjoy this moment for as long as possible.

SPOV

I wake to find Ranger gone. I hear him talking to Ava and I know he's trying to stall her. That makes me smile. She normally wakes up starving so it's not going to take her long to persuade him to bring her to me. My thoughts flash to last night. What can I say? Last night was indescribable. It felt like I had my whole heart again. My heart healed in ways that I never thought it would. The last thread of unforgiveness broke and I felt like my world was right for the first time in my life. Ranger and I are on uncharted waters. We have never been together. We have come together and pretended but we were never a couple. There was never an us. Now there is and I can't help the hope that is welling up inside me. Realistic me wants to hold back but the carefree 'jump off the roof' me wants to enjoy every moment of this. I try to force a landing somewhere in the middle and hit 'okay, let's see where this goes' with the hope we get to our 'happily ever after'.

The rest of the weekend is spent looking at houses and we find one that suits our needs. It even has an in-law suite for Dr. King. I love the ocean views and secluded area. It needs some updating but that can come later. We're in no rush.

***April 21

The week goes by quickly and I find myself packing again for another trip out of town. Pretty much since we bought the beach house, we've been together every weekend. Ranger has come here a couple of times and he really fills up the cottage. The old saying two's company and three's a crowd applies when we're all sleeping in an 8 x 10 bedroom with a full bed, a crib and a small dresser.

We've been working on our relationship and have made strides in trust and communication. He has shown me a side of himself that I didn't think existed. I really have a hard time reconciling Stark Street Ranger, CEO Ranger and boyfriend Ranger. I really don't want to turn him into a love sick fool. I really like his confidence and his take charge attitude. I want the old Ranger that turns into Carlos in private. I'm nervous that I have changed him into something unrecognizable. I really love all these aspects of him and I hope that he's able to maintain each one.

I get everyone into the car for the road trip to Princeton. This is the first time we've come to his safe house here as it had an emergency guest for the past couple of weeks. Plus, it's easier to watch over Dr. King and Ava on their home ground.

Ranger has assigned a Merry Man to keep watch over Dr. King. He's planning on spending hours in the University library research section so he should stay out of trouble even in an unfamiliar place. He's been having great days and I'm not worried but Sean, a new hire at Rangeman, will keep an eye on him just in case.

Ranger and Sean meet me in the parking lot of the Library, a sprawling gray stone building that definitely fits into the Ivy league architecture.

Ranger is waiting for us by the entrance and we walk into the building. Dr. King doesn't know he's being watched so no introductions are made to Sean. We follow Dr. King to his chosen section and get him settled in a comfy chair next to the section that will hold his interest for hours.

"You have money and a phone." I remind him and he pats my shoulder.

"I'll be fine. I have lots to occupy me. You guys go have fun." he tells me and his attention is already on the shelves of books. I turn and lead our smaller processional back outside.

The plan is to head to the safe house just a few minutes away and drop off Ava. Ella should be there waiting for us. We decide to bring Lex with us to Stark Street. He's really handy to have around. Tank and Lester will be meeting us there.

Just like it was choreographed, Tank and Les pull in behind us in an identical Rangeman SUV as we make our way off the highway into downtown Trenton. My stomach starts to flutter. I can't believe I'm back in Trenton. It's been almost a year and wow, what a difference a year makes. "Do we know where he is?" I ask Ranger, interrupting his zone.

"He's taken over the enforcement part of the gang. He mostly threatens bad guys. With his reputation, threatening seems to be enough. Even the gang leaders are scared of him." Ranger says.

I let his words sink in. The Hector I knew was just a normal guy. Yes, he looked intimidating, especially with his teardrop tattoos, but he was not that kind of guy on the inside. He was smart and funny and very loyal. I really hope I can get through to him. This gang enforcer guy is not who he is.

We pull up to a graffiti ridden house just off Stark. Ranger tells me to stay in the car and wait for Tank and Lester. I see two more vehicles coming in and know we have even more Rangeman backup. When Tank and Lester get out and walk up to our truck, I notice they're on high alert. Tank opens the door for me and I instruct Lex to get out as well. I give him the guard command but he's a smart boy, I'm sure he's figured out we're going in a war zone. Our little entourage makes its way to the doors through the dregs of society. There are the homeless, junkies and prostitutes sharing real estate in this section of Stark. I briefly wonder if Lula had ever been so desperate to venture down this far. When I met her way back with Ramierez, she worked the safer part of Stark. There's nothing safe about this place. It screams death and destruction of the human soul. I suppress a shiver. Lester opens the door and we walk into hell with our heads held high.

When our eyes adjust to the darkened corridor, all three men have their hands hovering over their primary weapons. This is surreal. We walk through a wide doorway and see several young gang newbies sitting on couches playing video games. We catch the attention of the guy standing. He's older but still in his early twenties and he says something in Spanish to us. They exchange words and I only catch Hector's name. Les is directly behind me and he whispers in my ear, "They're going to get Hector. They are concerned that Lex here is a drug dog. We had to reassure them that he's not, and that we're only here to see Hector".

We wait about fifteen uncomfortable minutes. The men are stationed all around me and I see several of the young boys curious looks. I try hard not to fidget.

Hector arrives and he looks different. Older. Harder. My heart breaks for him. I take a sharp intake of air. His hard face stays in place. I run to him and put my arms around him and hug him. Several things happen at once. Lex growls, all three Rangeman draw their weapons and each and every kid pulls their weapons as well. Hector doesn't move. His hands remain at his sides as I hug him for all I'm worth. Tears are streaming down my face and I whisper in his ear. "Oh Hector, I have a daughter. She's beautiful and I want you to meet her."

Finally, his arms come up and hug me back, tentatively at first but then more firmly. I kiss his cheek. "None of this is your fault. I don't blame you. I don't even blame Ranger. I miss you, my friend." I continue and he just stands there holding me. "Everyone is watching us and I don't want to ruin your tough guy reputation so can we take this somewhere else? I'm starving, can we get some food? Oh and I have a dog." I whisper in his ear. He doesn't speak. He just releases me and I take a step back.

Without a word, all of us including Hector walk out the door. At some point, everyone put down their weapons, I hadn't noticed. I did notice the shocked looks on all the kids' faces as we exited the building.

I get in the back seat of the car next to Lex. Hector rides up front. "Can we get Pino's take out and go back to the house?" I ask and Ranger makes the call to Les to set it up. I see Hector smile at my choice of food and I feel like everything is going to be okay.

When we pull up to the house and get out of the car, I introduce Hector to Lex and tell him 'friend'. I don't want Lex on alert and Hector will probably get close enough to Ava to warrant warning growls otherwise. We spent the afternoon bringing Hector back from the dark hell he has retreated to. I tell him about faking my abortion and how I ended up in Cape May. I talk to him about all the circumstantial evidence and forgiving Ranger. I say that I probably wouldn't have come back to Trenton if it weren't for him. I'm glad that I have. I have built this place up to be so awful and it really isn't, it's just a place, a place that holds some bad memories. It also holds good memories, if I really think about it and I vow to focus on those instead, starting with Pino's.

By dinner time, I have Hector talking like old times and we enjoy the time we spent together. "So, are you okay?" I ask him.

"I'll be okay, Angelita. I'm glad you tricked us. Ava is beautiful." He says to me.

"I'm glad you're okay. The world is a better place with you in it, Hector Sanchez." I tell him as I squeeze his hand. "I need you to stay close. I want you to be a part of Ava's life. As much as you want." I add.

Hector stares at our joined hands but doesn't say anything. "We would love to have you back at Rangeman, hermano." Ranger says.

Still looking down at our joined hands, Hector nods his head once, almost imperceptibly and just like that, it is decided. Rangeman got its brother back.

Our family is coming back together. Ranger and Hector talk privately for several minutes while Ella, Ava and I are in the kitchen getting dessert ready. Well, Ella is getting it ready, I just help with the plates and silverware.

I look at my watch and it is time to go get Dr. King. Ranger and I drive to the Library to pull him out of the book he had been reading for the last two hours. According to Sean, he had been so immersed in his reading that the world ceased to exist.

When we get back to the safe house, Ella is cleaning up with Ava in her bouncy seat on the table. I really miss Ella. She is such a nurturing person, I can't help but want to grow up to be just like her. She is exactly what I want to be as a person and mother.

Ranger has brought all the stuff I left behind in Maine to this house. It was so good to see these guys again. The hole in my heart continues to fill with love. If I could change anything about what happened, I'm not sure I would. Trials make us stronger, better. It makes us appreciate what we have. It helps us to see clearly what's important. I was stuck, I wasn't growing as a person. I wasn't someone I was proud of. I was selfish, impulsive and didn't take responsibility for my actions. Now, I can look at the grown-up I've become and see how much progress I've made. I even have long term goals. I plan on appreciating motherhood and getting to know the real Carlos. Also, I'm not sure he would have opened up to me in this way otherwise. I don't think he would have made the change to let me or anyone in his life without a major catalyst like this. I plan on spending my future making me the best version of who I am and spending the rest of my life loving Ava and Carlos.