Disclaimer: You've heard it before & we all know they aren't mine.

AN: Thank you once again for the reviews. Gosh, I feel the anger and hate directed at Ranger in waves. It's gratifying as a writer to get this reaction, thanks everyone. Now, we are going to jump forward. This is the end of my pre-written stuff. Well actually half of this chapter was. Hopefully, I can stick with my weekly posting schedule. Not sure how long this will be and I hope to do this justice. I haven't had the whole chapter beta'd only the first half but want to thank the fabulous Elaine for her assistance.

Chapter 10

Lester's POV

I love my cousin, but sometimes he's a monumental ass. I get he was angry after finding out that Stephanie kept the fact they had a child together from him. He has to understand some things. First he was the one who walked away from her and sent her letters back. Then he married someone else who was pregnant with his child. The poor girl was only 20 years old and alone. She wasn't speaking to her parents and cut herself off from our family. I spoke to Celia; she was very upset over what happened on Valentine's Day. Ric was barely speaking to her, letting her calls go to voicemail.

Ranger's POV

It had been three months since Stephanie left. I had not found a single trace of her. She hadn't been using credit cards or traveling by air. I felt like I had every right to be angry with her for keeping our child from me. I had gone to Hope's grave at least once each week since that fateful Valentine's Day. I told my little girl that I was sorry she never had a chance to live and that it was my fault she never had that chance. I begged her to talk to her mother and help her realize she needed to come home. My beautiful baby deserved better. I had a long talk with Frank and the General. Neither knew of our baby and they went to the grave as well. Stephanie hadn't contacted them either. I checked with Connie, Lula and Mary Lou and none of them heard from her. It was like she disappeared.

I was sitting in my office staring at a pile of paperwork that I had been having difficulty concentrating on when my desk phone rang on my private line. There were very few people with this number, but by the tingle on the back of my neck I had a feeling I knew who the caller was. I had received some calls on my cell but the caller always hung up. The calls came from different area codes but Hector had been unable to trace them. Today, the call came from a blocked number when I checked the caller ID. I quickly grabbed the phone, "Manoso," I said. I heard nothing, then a soft sob. I knew that sob, I had heard it before. I heard it on the day Stephanie and I had met again. It broke my heart to know she was crying, "Babe? Please talk to me, I love you. I forgive you for keeping Hope a secret. I need you to come home." I heard the call disconnect.

I sat there paralyzed for a few minutes. She disconnected the call. She refused to speak to me but she called, that had to mean something. I swear trying to understand women was harder than fighting insurgents in Iraq. I dialed Hector's extension and asked him to try and trace the call. I think it lasted long enough to get us something. Before, we had been unable to trace anything.

About an hour later, after I had attempted three times to read the contract before me, my phone rang again. I saw it was Hector's extension, "Tell me you have good news."

Hector chuckled, "Si. I was able to trace the call to a resort on Key West. I'll email you the address."

After disconnecting the call I pulled my laptop in front of me. I called my pilot and told him to file a flight plan. I wanted to get there ASAP. I called Tank, Bobby and Lester into my office. I quickly explained my plans, telling them I was off-line and would update them after I spoke to Stephanie. Heading to the elevator so I could pack a bag, I heard Lester say, "Thank Christ. Maybe he won't be acting like a little bitch anymore. I couldn't take another beating on the mats."

I'd make him pay for that comment when I got back. Especially if I don't come back with her.

Stephanie's POV

I knew I made a mistake, I ran from Ric. I hurt him deeply and I wasn't sure what to say to him. I loved him so much and he was so angry with me. I packed a bag after taking some money out of the safe in my closet. I went to the bus station and boarded a bus to Key West. I had a cousin who owned a resort there, he checked me in under another name and told me not to worry about the fees. I helped him out by updating his systems, adding wireless internet throughout the resort. I helped him redecorate the lobby. We had a plan to redecorate the rooms, everything was already ordered. It took some time but I finally pulled myself out of denial to take a pregnancy test. I knew the signs and the test was positive. I knew I needed to get back to Trenton and I needed to tell Ric. If he didn't want me, I'd learn to deal with it but he deserved to know about the baby this time. I knew he'd be searching for me so flying wasn't an option; I'd be taking the bus again.

I packed the few things I brought with me and the few outfits I bought at the local shops. I boarded the bus and spent the two days thinking of what to say to Ric. The bus finally pulled into Trenton after an uneventful ride, I was lucky to find a pay phone to call my Dad to pick me up. He arrived ten minutes later and I got in the cab. "Hi Daddy."

"Pumpkin, where have you been? Not only have I been worried about you but Ranger has been going crazy looking for you. He told me what happened between the two of you. I'm not going to give you a hard time about the past. You both made mistakes and I'm not excusing his behavior but you need to talk to the man."

I sighed deeply, I knew I needed to talk to him and I knew it wouldn't be easy. It was funny everyone called him Ranger but me. I will always call him Ric. Ric seemed to be a different person than Ranger. Ranger was cold, hard and deadly while Ric was romantic, caring, thoughtful and loving. Maybe he needed to have that split personality to survive his time in the Army and the missions. "I know Daddy. Do you think he'll forgive me?"

"I think he has a lot of regrets, baby girl. One of those regrets is how he handled things years ago. He was young and had a lot of pressure from his family. He couldn't stand up to them. He shouldn't have returned your letters; I know he regrets that greatly. He also regrets not staying with you and agreeing to you moving down to Georgia with him. He could've made it work. He regrets how he handled things when he found out about Hope. I think what hurt him the most is that once you got back together you didn't say anything. If you had, the reaction wouldn't have been the same."

"Yeah, I thought about that a lot too over the last few months. I should've said something sooner. I do regret that but I didn't want to hurt him more. I thought I was saving him some of the pain. I know it wasn't smart. I hope he can forgive me, I do understand where his anger came from. Can you just drive me to my house? I figure he's at Rangeman and it's late. I don't want to do this tonight."

"Sure thing, Pumpkin."

We made our way to my home and I walked in. It had a different feel since Ric and I got together. It never felt like home before; just a place to stay. I did a lot of soul searching while I was in the Keys. I knew I couldn't live without Ric in my life. I just stumbled through life without him and I knew I'd never love anyone like I loved him. I tried dating other men a few times and I married the Dick. Look how well that turned out.

The house was clean. I bet Ric had Ella come and dust while I was gone. I checked the refrigerator and saw some fresh fruit and skim milk. I guess he stayed here still. I didn't check the garage for his car. I slowly made my way upstairs to the bedroom; I braced myself as I expected to find him in my bed. I tip-toed into the bedroom, trying not to wake him but didn't see a form in the bed. I flicked the lamp on and found the bed empty and unslept in.

It was a little anticlimactic to find the bed empty after spending the last two days on a bus. I wasn't expecting to see him but then I got my hopes up he'd be here. I made my way to the bathroom, stripped off my clothes and stepped into my walk in shower with six shower heads. It was pure bliss and I stood under the spray for a while washing away the tension. I shampooed by hair and washed my body with Ric's yummy Bulgari. I stepped out of the shower when the water became too cool and quickly tried myself. I pulled out one of Ric's black tees and climbed into my bed. I noticed a framed picture of Hope next to Ric's side of the bed. I quickly fell asleep thinking I'd go to Rangeman first thing in the AM.

Lester's POV

Damn, I thought, as I hung up the phone. First, Ranger was delayed in leaving from the airport due to a tornado warning in Newark. Some crazy ass weather's been going on. Then he finally arrives in the Keys and couldn't get a rental car because of an impending storm. He finally gets a cab to take him to the resort only to find out Stephanie had left the resort yesterday afternoon. The owner said he had no clue where she went. I thought that was funny because I did a search on the guy and resort; he's Stephanie's cousin. Anyway, Ranger's stuck there due to tropical storm that's being followed by a potential hurricane.

I was watching the camera's and saw Stephanie actually showed up at her house. It was like a comedy of errors. If he hadn't been in such a hurry to get down there he'd be with her right now. He still went home to her house every night. When he gets back here, he's going to be in a piss poor mood. I'm really glad Beautiful is going to be here to ease him out of his mood. I can't wait to watch him grovel, because if he doesn't, me and the boys will make him. Again I say, he's a monumental ass.