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Standard FF disclaimers apply.
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I Need You. Epilog
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Trees towered overhead. Burgers sizzled on the grill. Stephanie smiled as she watched the kids running around the yard. Helen came up to the back porch and stood next to her, sharing the scene before them. "Reminds me of another picnic," Helen said. "Do you remember Mat's first picnic in the park?"
Stephanie nodded. It had been such a great day. She and Ranger had come home early from the honeymoon. Julie had just arrived for her visit, the weather was beautiful and it seemed like the perfect thing to do. Helen and Val packed the lunch and like so many times before, they brought Tony and Nick to play with the girls.
Little Nicky loved Mat from the moment that he first saw him. Ranger got a kick of the way he would talk to him, explaining the world in a four year olds terms. Several times, Nicky asked if he could hold Mat. Stephanie was nervous about it, so she kept orchestrating something to divert his attention. Finally, Nick found her laying on the blanket with Mat. He stood in front of her with his hands on his hips. "He looks ready now," he said and plopped right down with them.
"He looks alot like my baby brother," Nicky said. He held his little arms out. "My mommy lets me hold Gino," he stated matter of factly. "She even makes me hold Gina too sometimes." Ranger sat down with them. He lifted Nick into his lap and they both reached out for Mat.
It was one of the cutest things that she had ever seen him do. And with a smile she placed Mat into Nicky's arms. Cradling the two little boys in his arms, Ranger asked Nicky if he wanted to hear Mat's favorite story. The little boy's eyes widened and he enthusiastically nodded his head yes.
Julie was watching and heard the question, she came to lay down on the soft blanket to hear the story too. One by one the kids all came to join them and Ranger told them the story about the Star Princess and her Warrior Prince. And as he had done once before, he showed them the pictures on the blanket. He pointed to the moon, and it's reflection in the water, and to the beautiful water lily.
She would never forget how she felt that day. Surrounded by family and kids. Much like they were today. The kids were now all a year older, and they were still running around playing their favorite games. But today, Mat was standing, watching them with big eyes. Looking like he was ready to start running with them. Julie had both of his hands in hers and she walked along behind him as he took quick little steps propelling himself and her forward to join the noisy kids.
Helen patted Stephanie on her shoulder left to go after Julie. Stephanie smiled as Helen pulled her camera out of her apron pocket. Her parents already had three big scrapbooks, full of pictures of the grand kids, sitting on their coffee table. She just shook her head. You could never have too many memories. Her eyes naturally gravitated toward her husband.
Ranger looked up from the grill to flash a smile at her. He always seemed to know when she was looking at him. And it always did something amazing to her stomach when she saw that smile. Stephanie blew him a kiss and the smile changed, she cocked her head to the side, it reminded her of the smile he gave her in the photo that would always be her favorite. The first one he had taken with Mat. Ranger's smile was mysterious now, just like in that photo. She knew him, and she knew that he must have a surprise in store for her. She could hardly wait to find out what it was.
She started to walk toward him when she hear the doorbell ringing inside of the house. Stephanie rushed to the front door. Mary Lou and her family stood smiling at her when she opened the door.
"Hey guys," Stephanie said, and motioned them to come inside and go through to the kitchen door that led to the deck. One by one the kids handed her packages wrapped in matching paper, but all sporting different colors of ribbon. She shot an inquiring look at her friend.
"Housewarming gifts," Mary Lou said with a smile. "You can open them later, just know that you will need each and every one of those things before you have been here a year." She winked and joined her kids outside.
Stephanie just shrugged and set the pile of presents on the table behind the leather sofa. She followed them out into the back yard. She was really glad, now, that Ranger had talked her into this huge lot. She was looking out over the beautiful park like setting, with huge trees surrounding the expanse of lawn that had tables and chairs set up all around. It was big enough to accommodate about anything they needed and it was going to be perfect for the many gatherings that they intended to have here.
Not to say that she wasn't going to miss the apartment at RangeMan. It had been such a great place for the little family. They had converted the small office into a room for Julie to stay in for all the weekends that she would fly up to spend with them. Rachel had not been so excited about that. But Julie can be very persuasive when she wants to be.
Now she had a suite upstairs that had it's own bathroom and sitting room. Julie had even brought Rachel with her, when they first moved in, to show her that everything was going to be just fine. On Rachel's next visit, they would show her around RangeMan, where Julie had a job doing searches with Stephanie everytime she came, to earn some extra money that she saved up. The job would be waiting for her when she moved up to go to college after she graduated. No sense in giving her all the information all at once, they did not want to overwhelm her.
By the time Stephanie got back out to the party, she could see that one of his aunts had stolen Mat away from Julie. Celia now had him in her arms, and he was trying to feed baby carrots to her. It looked like he had already stuffed at least a few inside her mouth. Stephanie was laughing, she knew just how generous his sharing games could be. Now he was sharing with Sophia who was attempting to grab him away from her sister. Stephanie knew that she would never get tired of seeing Ranger's family together with them. Julie loved it when they were here, and so did Mat.
Seeing that Mat was in good hands, she made her way to the grill to check on the supplies of meat and portobello mushrooms that were a favorite of all of her rangemen. While she was at it, she decided to kiss the cook. She may have become a little bit carried away, because she heard Lester whistle at them before stealing the spatula away from Ranger and taking over the cooking detail.
Arms wrapped around each other, Ranger walked up to the house with Stephanie. They were pulling more food from the fridge when the doorbell rang again. That mysterious smile appeared again as he hurriedly put the tray down on the counter and said "I'll get it," over his shoulder as he left the room. She put down the food she had in her hands and followed him.
When she saw who was at the door, she stopped in her tracks. Stunned, she had not expected them to be able to make it. They had been in Europe last time she talked to them. Stephanie rushed forward. "Brian!" she almost yelled. He caught her in a big hug, Ranger standing to the side laughing. "Why," she said. As in why didn't you let me know you were coming. And then "How," she said. And "Where," Finally she said "What?" when Kara walked in with a huge bird cage and the most colorful bird that she had ever seen.
"Hi Stephanie," Kara said as she handed the cage to Ranger and hugged her friend.
Stephanie was still a bit speechless, so Brian did some introductions. "This is Solomon, he is an Eclectus Parrot." Stephanie just nodded. "They make great pets, and every new home needs a bird," he said with a smile.
She smiled back at him. "It's really great to see you," she grabbed each of them by the hand and walked to the back door with them. "I will let you give Solomon to the kids later," she said. "Now go and grab something to eat and tell me all about Humelik."
Ranger put Solomon in the family room and joined them outside. It was no surprise to him that Brian and Kara were here and that they had brought a bird. Not only were birds Brian's favorite thing, but he had called earlier to let him know that they would like to give them this pet, and he wanted to be sure it would be okay. They both decided that it would be fun to keep it a surprise from Stephanie. And the look on her face had been worth it.
Ranger watched his wife as she made sure that Brian and Kara were comfortable and loaded up with food. Stephanie had met Brian last year when he had come to RangeMan to get away from the illegal arms dealers who wanted to steal his serum formula. They had become instant friends the moment they met. Stephanie treated him like the brother that she never had.
Turned out that she was exactly what he needed too. He had never had a sister, and now he had one who could help him win the heart of the woman he had fallen in love with. Fortunately, Bobby had insisted that both Brian and Tom stay at RangeMan until they were strong enough to leave, and he made it clear that it would be his opinion that counted not theirs. So they were looking at at least three weeks.
That gave Stephanie enough time to orchestrate a few secret rendezvous and candlelight dinners on the roof, and a particularly creative scavenger hunt date that ended up in the shooting range in the basement. Kara was an expert shot, and Brian had never handled anything more than a flare gun in his life. It had been the perfect set up. Stephanie had watched as Kara wrapped her arms around Brian to show him how to hold and point the gun. She had seen that Kara had some mighty fine techniques, before Ranger scrambled the signal from the camera to give the couple some privacy in their firearm lessons.
It did not take long until there was another wedding at RangeMan. This time it was a ceremony on the rooftop where they had spent so much of their time. It had broken Ella's heart to find out that Kara had no living relatives. So she took it upon herself to set up the most special wedding ever. It was simple and beautiful and just perfect for them.
Since Kara's mission was over, and Brian had his formula protected, they decided to travel for a while. 'I know too much about birds,' he had told her, and she offered to expand his experiences by teaching him all the skills that she had learned to be an agent. It had been the perfect thing for both of them, and they showed each other their favorite places in the world while they were at it. As far as Stephanie was concerned, they were still on their honeymoon. And she never got tired of calling them 'love birds' like she did just now, earning an eyeroll from Brian.
Ranger sat down at the table just in time to hear about the past few months that they had been at the Humelik headquarters. Brian had been called to assist them with some new projects. His research techniques were the best and Jasper was interested in his studies about the environment .
"His line of natural sports products will be ready for manufacture soon," Brian was saying. "Jasper has loved all the research and he has taught me a thing or two about product development."
Kara was looking on with such pride in her eyes. She was holding Brian's hand and she squeezed it, drawing his attention to her. He did not hesitate to look into her eyes and kiss her. 'Yep' Stephanie thought again. They were still on their honeymoon.
"Tell them what you have been up to," Brian smiled at Kara and squeezed her hand in a show of support. For the next few minutes Kara explained her idea for a new line of clothing for people in the military. Especially women, but the design features worked for both men and women. She had gotten her ideas from some of their travels. From fabrics they had found around the world that adapted to the climates they were in. She was designing the new articles of clothing with the defense department, in a hush, hush type of project.
Now it was Brian's turn to look lovingly and proudly at his wife. Sometimes he had to pinch himself to believe that it was real. That he really was with her, and not destined to be a lonely scientist buried under his research somewhere.
Olivia arrived at the table with Mat in her arms. Stephanie grabbed him when he stretched his arms out to her. He still loved his mom best of all and he snuggled his head into her neck. "He has been running with the big kids, and I think he is getting droopy," Olivia said. She ran her hand over Mat's soft hair, before whispering something in his ear and going back to join the fun on the other side of the yard.
Ranger looked over at his wife and son. This had been the best year of his life. With Tank taking over the duties of running the missions that were assigned to the RangeMan teams, he had had time to really work on building up the business. And he found that he loved keeping busy all day and then going home with Stephanie and Mat. Before they bought the house, Stephanie brought Mat with her every day to run searches. Now that he was older, he did not like staying still and he got to play with Ella on the days that Stephanie came into the office.
Every day was a new experience for Ranger and for Stephanie. They would eat lunch with Ella and Mat and get a complete report on all of the adorable new things that he was doing. Of course they got their own performance when they got home too. It had taken them months to find and purchase this house. But from the first time they had seen it, they knew it was the one they were looking for.
Only five minutes away from the office, it was in a private community for security and had a huge yard for their gatherings like this one tonight. He gazed around the yard. Nearly everyone was here, all but the special surprise that he still had for Stephanie. His smile snuck onto his face, and she noticed it right away. She shot him a questioning glance just as they heard the doorbell.
She gave him a look and got up to answer the door. He quietly followed behind her. Just before she opened the door, he took Mat away from her. She gave him another strange look and pulled the door open. "Tanner!" she said with wonder in her voice. Her arms wrapped around him and she hugged him tight. It had been a long time since she had called him Tom. Not even when he was here with Brian. She had always called him by his real name. At least when they were alone. He was the other brother that she never had. And she was so excited to see him again, especially since last she heard, he was in California for who knows what.
"Its so good to see you Steph," Tanner said. She was nearly speechless again and she stole a glance at Ranger. He knew. He knew that Tanner was coming and he had known that Brian was going to come. He was really good at surprises. But the smile on his face said that he was not done, not yet.
Uhh, Steph," Tanner said. "I would like you to meet someone," Tanner reached his arm back and pulled a beautiful woman up to stand with him.
"Hi Steph," she said.
For a full minute Stephanie looked at her. She recognized something. Not the face, she would remember that face. The voice? Her eyes widened. "Susan?" she asked in a half whisper. Then she opened her arms to give her a hug. "Susan!" she said much louder. "It's you!"
They had never had the chance to meet in person. But since the moment that Ranger had shown up the base in Ecuador, Susan and Stephanie had been phone friends. Ranger had introduced them back then and they had kept in contact ever since. Of course, there must have been some conversations missing, because Stephanie did not know about the apparent connection between her and Tanner.
This was amazing. She could not wait to hear the whole story. But first Susan gushed over how big Mat getting to be. "His pictures do not do him justice." she said. Walking out to the back, they attracted alot of attention. Brian was the first one to come and greet Tanner and Susan. Immediately they all got absorbed in catching up with one another.
It was still a puzzle to her, but Stephanie intended to have the full story from Tanner and Susan before the night was done.
Bit by bit she found out how everything had happened. When Bobby gave Tanner a clean bill of health, he had gone down to DC and resumed his job at wrapping up the loose ends of the mission. As he had thought, he was asked to be involved in the interrogations of the men that had been taken into custody. It was an unpleasant task, and one day, after he had had enough of dealing with the scum of the earth, he had gone out into the courtyard to get some fresh air and to be alone.
Only a few minutes later, a woman walked over and sat down on one of the benches in the shade. She was on the opposite side of the courtyard and she did not see him immediately. But he had seen her. He watched as she got out her phone and angrily punched the number keys. She was mumbling, something about incompetence being an international epidemic. Tanner found himself amused by the whole thing. But was worried about what she would think if he just stayed there and listened into her conversations. So he walked over and introduced himself.
As he had suspected, she was a bit embarrassed about her outbursts, but soon they were laughing about it. They became fast friends and started to meet in the courtyard every day for lunch. One day, a couple of months ago, he found out that she had been in Ecuador. It was the day that they both shared their stories of the tragedies that they had both experienced in the loss of the ones they loved.
She was amazed to find that Tanner was Dr Tom Dutton. Everyone in the unit knew of the kidnapping, they had followed the story of the rescue. He was surprised to know that she had been there with Ranger, and that she knew Stephannie. This was more than just a 'small world isn't it' conversation.
She shared her story with him and his heart ached for her. Susan had joined the army to be with her husband. She was one of the office personnel in the places that he had been stationed. It had worked out for them, because they got to be together. Until he joined the Rangers. She had not been happy about it, but she could see that it was something that was important to him. So she ended up being alone while he was gone. Never knowing where he was, if he was okay.
Then she found out that he would not be coming home ever again. Her grief was so strong, she pulled away from everyone she knew because they reminded her of Mike. She asked to be reassigned and ended up in Ecuador. She had been hiding away there for years until Ranger came with his small baby boy. Watching him care for him, and fight for his family had touched something deep in her heart, it had given her the desire to live again. After she saw him off to the airplane, she went back to the building and requested another transfer.
Susan had ended up in DC at the same time that Tanner got there. Her frustration on the phone that day had been over the shipment of her things to the states. They had sat and stared at each other for a long time after hearing these revelations. It had changed something in their relationship. Suddenly they both knew what they wanted. They were done with their grief and sorrow.
They had been so much more than friends for a while, and now they realized that they wanted to be together. He had taken her to meet his family up in Boston. After such limited contact for so long, the family had a lot of catching up to do. Susan learned so much about Tanner during that weekend visit. Some things that she could tease him about for years to come.
Just recently, she had returned the favor by taking him to meet her family in California. He had never seen Susan blush until her brothers teased her about her 'boyfriend'. He thought it was cute, but he also knew that it was time to make things more permanent. All of a sudden, they did not want to waste any more time. They stopped by Atlantic City and got married. They wanted to be together for ever, starting right now.
She was amazed, Susan had told her that she was interested in someone, but she had been too shy to talk much about it to Stephanie. And all along it had been Tanner she was in love with. Now that she thought about it, they were perfect for each other. Wow. It was all she could the night was through she would be saying a lot more than that!
The evening breezes announced the impending darkness. Ranger turned on the outdoor lights and by the time the sun had faded the yard was transformed into a completely magical setting. Large round lights were strung up between the trees and all around the fence. They created a soft and romantic glow.
By now the kids were inside with the video games and DVD's Julie and Ranger's sisters were watching the gang inside, while the parents and adults stayed out under the stars and talked. Stephanie stepped into the house to check on Mat. He was asleep in Julie's arms. It was where you could find him every time she was here to visit. Stephanie looked forward to the day when Julie was here to stay.
Looking around at all of the kids, the cousins, the aunts and uncles, the grandparents, her friends. She was thrilled to be surrounded by the people that meant so much to her. Her heart filled to almost bursting. Tears of happiness filled her eyes.
Ranger had filled her day with surprises. She looked out into the softly lit yard. Once again, he knew that she was watching him and he looked up and smiled. She loved that connection that they shared. And she wondered if he had already guessed what the surprise was that she had for him.
Walking down the steps, she kept her eyes on him. He reached out to her and pulled her onto his lap. Even though they were not alone, she thought that this might be the perfect time to share her surprise.
She kissed his cheek and grabbed his hand. Without a word, she laid his hand over her stomach and placed her hands on top of his. It took a few minutes for her gesture to sink into his brain. Suddenly she felt the pressure of his hand, and she turned her head to look into his eyes. She saw it there, he knew now. Stephanie smiled and nodded.
But before they could say anything. Tanner stood up. Susan was bringing over a plate with more dessert for him and he pulled her into his embrace. With all eyes on them, he looked around and then he caught Stephanie's' eyes.
"I hope this is a good time," he said. "I," she looked at Susan and changed his statement. "We have an announcement to make." He smiled as he watched Stephanie's eyes grow wider. She had guessed it.
"We are going to have a baby," he said. There was a glow about the couple now that they had shared their secret. Both of them were older, so they had not wanted to waste any time in starting their family.
Susan turned to Ranger. "I want to thank you again for outfitting the nursery. It will all be put to good use now!" Ranger nodded and winked at her.
"I knew you would know what to do with it," he said with a smile.
Amid the congratulations and the excited conversation about what the next months and years would hold for this new couple, Stephanie and Ranger kept their surprise a secret. They were thrilled for Tanner and Susan, and it felt right to give them the spotlight. They wanted to have some private moments together before they shared their news with anyone. Maybe at the next gathering, here in their big yard, they would announce it. Maybe they would wait to see if anyone notices. Whatever their decision turned out to be, it would be the right one for them.
At the end of the evening, Ranger stood with Stephanie on the front porch, waving the last of their guests goodbye. He moved to hold her against him, her back to his front, his arms wrapped around her waist. She could feel his breath on her neck just seconds before he kissed her there. It sent tingles all through her body and she gasped. His touch never failed to make her a little bit crazy.
Wordlessly they walked into the house. They passed through the living room, turning lights off as they made their way to their bedroom. They both knew that this house would be filled with the greatest memories, of things that neither one of them had ever dared dream before. But now that they were together, everything seemed possible.
"It's still true," he whispered into her ear.
Stephanie looked up into his dark eyes so filled with emotion. "What?" she asked, breathlessly.
"I. Need. You." he said, running a finger along her face. She loved hearing the words, but his eyes said it all.
She gently kissed him, she knew in her heart that it was true, it always had been! "And I will always need you!"
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