AN: I don't own them, I just play. Hope everyone enjoys the chapter! Thanks for the reviews. Y'all are fantastic!

Chapter 5

Jaguar

The air horn sounded off in the house. There were shrieks of startled sleepers. Thuds from those falling out of bed. Elise was out of her room, gun in one hand and knife in the other. Julie shot out of her own wearing a sheet. Cami and CJ were both out of their rooms as well. CJ was trying to hold up a wall while trying to see as clearly as he could with a black eye. Cami looked like she had been dragged through battle.

Ranger stood in the middle of the hall with a smug look. Slowly he lowered the air horn. They glared at him. "It's 6:45. You have fifteen minutes to get down to the gym."

"We're on vacation." Cami said.

"Not today you're not." Ranger replied. "Today all of you are training."

"But…that's not fair!"

"You have twelve minutes to get down to the gym. Do not make me come back up here." He turned and left them standing there. He paused before heading toward his own room. "Alan, you're expected there too."

"Yes sir." Alan called from inside Julie's room.

She turned to glare at him. "Suck up."

"He's a legend, love. I'd rather hear the stories than become one." He answered.

"Do you think all of us could take him?" CJ asked. "We could tie him down and make a run for it."

"We'd have to get him down first." Cami said.

"That's easy. Taser him." Elise replied.

…

Ranger was feeling mighty pleased with himself as he walked into his bedroom. Stephanie was sitting up in bed looking groggy and none too pleased with him. "Was that really necessary, Carlos?"

"Yep." He leaned down and kissed her. "You're expected down there also."

"Excuse me? I didn't turn off my tracers and get into a bar fight."

"No, but I know you're going to help our daughter dress like that more." He tossed some clothes to her. "I'm simply discouraging it."

"Really?" Stephanie's eyes narrowed. She leaned back, letting the sheet fall off her. "I guess you're just simply discouraging ever getting sex again then, hmm?" She stretched her arms above her head and watched his eyes darken. "Just think, you'll have to sleep next to me, feel my warm body against yours. How will it feel knowing you're not going to get to bury yourself deep in your wife?"

He swallowed. Shit. That had been an unexpected turn. He walked over to her and leaned down, inches away from her lips. "Perhaps you could meet us down there in a few hours?"

She laughed. "I think that's a very good idea."

"Me too." Ranger growled and kissed her.

When he made his way down to the gym a few minutes later he found Tank, RJ, Lester, Seth, Bobby and Alex waiting for him with his children being held like prisoners in front of them. At their feet were rope and a taser gun.

"Boss," Lester was trying not to laugh. "Mutiny was afoot."

Ranger raised an eyebrow. "Did you think it would work?"

"As a team effort it would have." Elise replied. "We didn't count on the Uncles being called in. An oversight, which won't happen again."

The Uncles were all trying to maintain straight faces. They were willing to give the kids credit for the thought of what they were going to do. Their own families were at their beach houses waiting for news. They'd heard what happened and all knew that Ranger was less than pleased with his children.

"Sneak attack would've been best." Julie grumbled.

"Could've waited outside their bedroom." CJ reflected.

"Mom would've gotten involved." Cami sighed. "Then it would've gotten ugly. She might've tasered us. The gym was the best angle. Dad can't force Mom down here. We would have had the best shot down here. Can you imagine trying to drag Dad down the hall?"

Even Ranger had to suppress a smile. Despite being their intended victim it was endearing to see his kids working together. Made him proud to be their father.

Tank was laughing hard. "Yeah, they're definitely your kids, Ranger. God, I can't wait to tell Lula. She'll laugh her ass off."

"Alright, that's enough." Ranger said.

The training began. He had all his kids working in different areas. He had Tank working with CJ. After last night, he was pretty sure there might be some lingering anger. He wanted to make sure there was someone who would help CJ work it out. He knew there had to be another outlet. His son was hotheaded when it came to his family. Ranger understood that. Over the years, he'd discovered he could be more hotheaded. But in his mind it was justified.

Elise was running hard a treadmill. He could tell if he left her alone long enough she would start going on autopilot with her workout. She had been eight when she asked Ranger and Stephanie to train her to defend herself. It had taken some time because they weren't sure entirely how to train an eight year old, but when they found a good way, they saw how much she would push herself. They had also put her in gymnastics, finding she enjoyed being able to tumble around. She had gone through gymnastics for a long time, right up until she graduated high school. He knew he didn't have to direct her in her workout. He could see the unfocused look in her eyes and knew she was probably working through thoughts of past missions. Or coming up with another plan to take him down.

Julie and Alan were both on stationary bikes. They were working up a strong sweat. Ranger wasn't going to admit it out loud soon, but he liked Alan. He was a good man, and when he'd used some of his security clearance to look him up in the government he found he was a good soldier. Like Elise, his time was up and he had chosen not to renew. Ranger had every intention of talking to him about being part of RangeMan. He was loyal, he could tell that much. Despite his threat, Alan had still gone to Julie last night.

Cami was standing on her hands and slowly pushing herself up and down on the mat. Like Elise, she had done gymnastics for several years. Ranger knew any moment she would start flipping across the mats. He sent RJ and Lester over to her to have them help with different self defense tactics. He understood his youngest child's desire to feel like she could live her life. He was willing to give it to her, providing she could defend herself adequately enough. Everything he had done over the years before he and Stephanie had even met had given him a sense of freedom. He had craved it. Then he had met Stephanie and craved her. He would help his daughter get some sort of freedom. He wasn't willing to pull the tracers off her car. She was his baby. They all were. He had to keep them safe. Or as safe as he could without putting them in a tower. At that thought, he repressed a shudder. He had a feeling a mutiny would have definitely risen up against him at that one.

The next several hours had all of them in the gym. They all took different angles at different times. Eventually Stephanie had made her way down to the gym and did a good solid workout herself. Because Alan and Elise had been in the army together, they sparred with each other, earning a pause from everyone else to watch. Alan wasn't necessarily as built as the men Ranger had served with, but he was muscled and he did keep Elise on her toes. She was smaller than he was and used it to her advantage. They both knew how each other worked, but Alan knew Elise always had a trick or two up her sleeve. It was why she had been a good soldier and leader. She could use anything she had to get the job done.

Taunts were thrown back and forth at each other, neither really rising to the bait. They were circling each other. Elise had a lazy look on her face while Alan was attempting to study her. Alan knew Trevor liked to spark anger out of her when they sparred together. He knew how to do it though, Alan reflected briefly.

Everything around them seemed to fade out. He had a thought, one that could get him killed potentially, but it was worth a shot. "How's Cortez, Donahue?"

"Eating shit for all I care." She shot back.

"Weren't too aware of your surroundings that time were you?" Cortez was a sore subject for Elise. He knew that, and knew that there was a strong chance this could go really bad. But he kept pushing. "How'd it feel having that tiger claw ripping through your skin?"

"What's a tiger claw?" Cami whispered to Tank.

"Three bladed knife." He replied. "Pretty deadly if you get too close to the person wielding it."

"Treading dangerous ground, buddy." Elise said softly. Her eyes had dilated. He wasn't dealing with Elise anymore. He was dealing with a soldier who had been caught in an attack they weren't supposed to be part of. It had taken four men to hold her down so he could stitch her up as well as he could before they could get to a medical facility they needed.

"He recognized you." Alan kept going. "Knew exactly who you were."

"Ranger, man, do you think we should stop them?" Lester asked.

"No. I think she's going to take him down." Ranger replied.

Elise kept circling. She was studying him. They had called her Jaguar for a reason. She didn't chase. She stalked and ambushed her prey. Alan was relatively pleased that there were no weapons their hands.

"What's the matter, Jaguar?" Her eyes hardened. Her stance stilled. She looked almost statuesque. "Didn't like that someone stalked you back?"

The move was fast that any who hadn't been watching would never have believed it happened. Alan felt his feet out from under him, he was pinned down, her knee was planted firmly against his neck. She pressed down enough to make him stop moving.

"Uncle." He gasped out.

The pressure was gone. He stayed down studying her as she watched him. Her eyes softened and she held out a hand. "That was dirty."

"Yeah." He laughed slightly. "I was trying to win."

Elise grinned. "How'd that work for you?"

"I'm going to be talking to Trevor when he gets home. I'm hoping for some pointers." He said as he stood. "I think he's the only one who can beat you."

"That's what he likes to think." She laughed.

Elise glanced around and found them being watched. "Can I help you?"

"Wow." Lester shook his head. "The only person I've seen take someone down that fast is Ranger."

"Elise…did someone really use a tiger claw on you?" Cami asked biting her lip.

Elise was silent for a moment, then picked up her shirt. They could see the three scars running from the front of her stomach to her back. Cami walked up and hugged her. "I'm sorry he did that to you."

"It's okay." Elise smiled. "He didn't expect me to fight back."

Alan shook his head. "You didn't fight back. You fed him his balls."

"Yeah...well…too bad I didn't kill him." She sighed then looked at Ranger. "Are we done for the day?"

"Nope." He grinned. All of the kids groaned. "You're going to RangeMan for the rest of the day. Go shower and change. All black."

…

Elise was sitting in the kitchen waiting for everyone to reappear. Absently, her hand went to her side. She shook her head. The scars were fading. It was going to take some time, but the memory of the action would never leave her. Pity.

"Munchkin." Ranger walked in and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. "You okay?"

"Yup."

"Cortez got a good one on you, from the sounds of it."

Elise snorted. "It would've been fine if we were supposed to be there. We were en route to somewhere else. We stumbled into a gang war. Cortez thought I was with the other gang." She rolled her eyes. "Stupid fuck didn't realize I would fight back. I couldn't kill him." She shrugged. "It wasn't what I was there to do, all I could do was get away to get back with my men. Alan stitched me up as well as he could, but we were too far from the medical facilities we needed. They're not bad now, the scars. They're fading. He did a good job considering it took four men to hold me down so he could get the stitches in."

"Memory doesn't fade, does it?" He leaned against the counter watching her.

"No, but since I'm out, I find it unlikely that I'll see him ever again. I won't be sent back there for anything."

"Elise," Stephanie walked into the kitchen, "This was in the mail for you."

She took the large manila envelope from her mother. There was no return address. Frowning she opened it and pulled out a single sheet of paper. She flipped it over and saw the sketch staring back at her. She let out a shuddering breath at the sight of it. It was a beach, a tropical beach with palm trees. The black and white sketch caught all the details. The moon had been full that night, she recalled. They'd been in Caribbean, on a quick leave. They'd danced in the moonlight. The water lapped lazily around their ankles. He had caught both of them perfectly. There was a look of peace on her face, one that she normally didn't let people see. Her head was resting against his chest, his strong arms, holding her tightly to him. She'd been in a sundress that seemed to hug her perfectly. Their feet were bare.

"Trev…" She whispered, her eyes filling with tears. Every detail of them was perfect, but she expected no less. Trevor was a wonderful artist. It had been there that they'd admitted their feelings for one another. Her heart squeezed in her chest. She could only imagine where he was. But he'd gotten her that picture. Trevor wasn't always good at talking about his feelings, but he had his way of showing them. He had shown her his love in this sketch.

Laying the sketch down carefully she looked up at her parents. "So, when do we leave? Can I go to the shooting range?"

"Nope. You're doing searches all day." Ranger grinned at the sour look she shot him.

"Fine." Elise muttered as she stalked away.

Stephanie picked up the sketch. "Carlos, look at how much in love she is with him."

"I see it." Ranger said wrapping his arms around her. "He's got a reason to come home. We'll just have to keep her busy until he does."