And here we are with another chapter in the story. What will happen? Read on to find out. I hope you enjoy!

Carlos' POV

Shopping isn't one of my favourite things. I know I shock you with that declaration, but it's true. That's why I've always had Ella shop for me. That, and I'm usually too busy to spend much time shopping for leisure or pleasure. I was kind of looking forward to walking around another showroom with my Babe. We had a few bits and pieces of furniture for our house, but we were lacking pretty much everything else.

Before we could go shopping, we needed to drop off our kitchen list to Ellen Plum. I had already given her a credit card so she wouldn't have to worry about shelling out her own money to buy supplies for our kitchen. I was also glad that she was going to take care of that stuff. I didn't like that kind of shopping. I preferred searching for bigger ticket items and I was really looking forward to going to one particular store. We still had to pick out a television and I had my heart set on an entire entertainment setup that included high tech sound that we could set up wirelessly throughout the house.

We climbed into the car at 08:00. My Babe was up and ready to go, but she didn't seem too excited about shopping with me. I set off towards the Burg and asked, "What's wrong Babe?"

She sighed and said, "I feel guilty that my Mom is shopping for us. I normally like to do that sort of thing for myself."

I nodded and said, "If you want, you could go with your Mom. We could do our shopping another day."

"What other day Carlos? We don't have a lot of time free over the next several weeks. Any free time will be taken up with wedding stuff. I'll just have to trust that my Mom doesn't go overboard."

"Let's just tell her to stick to that list and not buy anything else. Since she now has less work to do for the party, there shouldn't be too many surprises. She only has a few finger food desserts to make for the party instead of loads of appetisers."

"OK, just don't hold it against me if my Mom comes by with a whole load of stuff we didn't ask for."

"As long as she gives us the receipts, we can always return the stuff that we don't want."

I heard my Babe sigh again and then sit back and relax for the rest of the ride. We arrived at the Plum residence 8 minutes later. Ellen insisted that we come in for coffee, so we walked inside and found ourselves surrounded by silk flowers of all shapes and sizes in a variety of colours. My Babe's eyes were wide, but she didn't say a word. We both assumed that this had something to do with the engagement party, but since we decided to leave things to our mothers, there wasn't really anything to say.

Frank came out of the living room and joined us for a coffee. He seemed a bit overwhelmed by the flowers all over the dining room, but he didn't really say much. He just rolled his eyes when Ellen went into her explanation of what she was doing. "I'm trying to come up with some arrangements that we can put out in the garden. They will be less susceptible to wind or weather if they are not real. Also, they're a lot less expensive."

I looked at Ellen and said, "Don't worry about the cost Ellen. If you want fresh flowers, get fresh flowers. If the weather is bad, we can move them into the ballroom."

"I appreciate that Carlos, but we do want to keep the cost down as much as possible. Also, this is a bit of a challenge and I've been having great fun playing with colour and different flowers. We will have fresh flowers as well. These are just for smaller arrangements that we'll probably put on the tables for a bit of colour."

We finished our coffee and my Babe handed the catalogue to her mother. "We've marked what we think we need and what we want. For now, this will do. We can always add things later. If there is anything that you absolutely need to do your finger food preparations, please get that too, but please don't just buy things you think we'll need. At this time, this is all we need."

I watched Ellen as Stephanie spoke. She took the catalogue and leafed through it sand said, "I think you've got the basics selected here. I do notice that you haven't selected a coffee machine. Did you forget?"

I answered and said, "I want to get a specific coffee machine, but they don't stock it there. I will get it delivered tomorrow or Tuesday."

"What will you do in the meantime?" Ellen sounded shocked that we could live without a coffee machine for a day or two.

Steph laughed and said, "There are hundreds of coffee shops in this city Mom. I'm sure we'll survive."

Ellen blushed and smiled sheepishly. "Of course you can, how silly of me."

We explained that we were going shopping to buy a few more things for the house. We currently have 4 empty bedrooms, no lamps, no accessories, no entertainment and no soft furnishings. We had enquired with the kids and we found out that Julie wanted a purple room, Emma likes green and yellow and Diego likes green as well. We had ideas in our mind for these rooms and wanted to get the furniture ordered. We also had a spare room to furnish.

We left Steph's parents and agreed that they would pick up our pizza order at 5:30 and then come to our house. We would be back by then and hopefully we would have a chance to set up a few things and get some art, a clock and a lamp or two put up. I even thought about putting up some family photos, but that would have to be a project once we were more settled. We said goodbye and headed on our way.

Somehow, we ended up at an electronics store first. We went into the area that sold entertainment equipment and I laughed at my Babe when I explained what I wanted. She liked to watch TV, but she never really understood the whole mega large size requirement. I drew a quick picture for my Babe to explain what I wanted. I wanted to recess a large television into the area above our gas fireplace. I also wanted to refinish the fireplace at the same time to be a bit more modern.

"Wow Carlos, that's beautiful. I wonder if we can get the TV to show a screen saver that looks like a very realistic tropical fish tank. That would be so cool."

"I'm sure we could figure something out Babe. The smart TV I want has a screen saver function. It can also be integrated with the security system and set on a timer, or hidden behind a panel so it isn't visible when we're not watching anything."

My Babe nodded and sat down in one of the chairs while I wandered around and looked for a suitable stereo, speakers, and other miscellaneous things a guy needs to be entertained. I even decided to buy the most up-to-date and technologically advanced games console. We'd have fun with the kids and the guys who might come around. I arranged for everything to be delivered and then we headed to another store to look at furniture for the other rooms.

The smallest room would be Emma's. It would also double as an office for my Babe if she ever wanted to work from home. Because of this, we wanted the room to be light and airy, as well as fit into Emma's colour scheme. My Babe decided on some cream and green wallpaper that was covered with leaves. The furniture would be white and lime green, and to save floor space, a play space above the bed will be set up. The wall where the bed is set will have loads of shelves and there is storage under the bed and in the stairs up to the play area. The room is finished off with a matching desk and the doors to the closet will be replaced with new doors in a matching lime colour with mirrors. The floor itself will be a simple white porcelain tile that doesn't feel too cold on the feet.

The next room we concentrated on would be Diego's. This room would double as my office when Diego wasn't visiting, so the room would be a little darker and more masculine. The furniture we selected was dark brown stained oak with silver handles. The bedding and the accessories would be brown, green and blue and the walls themselves would be a light green-blue colour. I also found a matching desk that we'd put on the opposite corner of the room. It wouldn't be in Diego's way when he visited and it was far enough away that I wouldn't interfere with Diego's space.

Julie's room was a bit more difficult. She really wanted to join us when we picked out a majority of the furnishings for her room, but I wasn't sure when we'd have a chance. I knew her favourite colour was purple, and when we were walking around one of the showcase bedrooms, I took a photo and sent it to Julie asking if this was the sort of thing she wanted. She quickly replied saying that it was perfect. We ordered every single piece in the display, down to the shaggy plum coloured rug. There was no desk in the display, so we bought a simple white-washed desk that would easily match the rest of the furniture and then concentrated on the spare room.

My Babe walked around looking at several of the bedroom mock-ups. She walked past the same one three or four times and kept circling back on it. I grinned at her and said, "If you want this one, let's get it. I really like it as well. I know it's similar colours to our lounge, but that's OK with me."

My Babe nodded and I walked over to the salesman and made arrangements for two mirrored bedside tables, a matching dresser, a black and green bench, a black bed frame with a grey headboard and a mattress to be shipped along with the rest of the furniture. They had the pillows, lamps, bed linens and a matching area rug for each side of the bed in stock, so we'd take them home today. I also asked about the grey paint colour that was used and wrote down the brand and colour number so we could replicate it later. My Babe also wanted to pick up some art work for the opposite wall. Since it was similar colours to our lounge, I found a second piece that was similar enough that we could put in the lounge.

I turned around and looked for my Babe after I was finished with the salesman. I didn't see her anywhere. I pulled out my phone and called her, thinking that I'd hear her ringtone. I walked towards her ringing phone and found it lying on the bed in the purple display bedroom.

I looked around and saw no sign of Stephanie. I immediately called out and ran around the store looking for her. The manager saw my distress and came over to offer assistance. I demanded to be given access to his security feed after calling in the RangeMan cavalry. Lester and Bobby showed up within minutes and the three of us set up a command post in the manager's office as we waited for the security footage to be sent over. It was recorded offsite for security purposes.

Within 15 minutes, the furniture store was crawling with RangeMan employees and Trenton's finest. They were all searching for Stephanie. As soon as the security footage arrived, Hector and I rushed into the office and watched it on the manager's computer. We watched Stephanie and I walk around the store and then we saw me walk away and leave Stephanie sitting on a bed. A few seconds later, she was approached by a man.

The next scene made my blood boil. The man on screen injected Stephanie with something and then picked her up and carried her outside the store. Hector switched to the external feed without needing my command. The next few minutes were painful. I waited very impatiently for Hector to cue the external footage to the same timestamp.

When the time was right, Hector stopped fast forwarding the footage and we watched as a man carried Stephanie out of store and into the parking lot. He opened the trunk of a car and threw in my Babe without much care. I was about to boil over, but Lester managed to pull me out of my rage by saying, "Hey, that car is still in the lot."

Before he was able to finish his explanation, I was out of the room and running out to the parking lot. I was looking for the car where Stephanie was stashed and calling for Bobby. I saw the car a few rows over and made my way closer. As I got nearer, I could hear Stephanie yelling and making as much noise as possible.

I picked the lock to the trunk, opened the lid and pulled my Babe out as fast as I could. I hugged her to me and let Bobby come over and take a look. I refused to leave her side so Bobby worked around me. He determined that whatever Steph was injected with wasn't harmful because she was already up and raring mad. Bobby declared Steph safe and left her in my capable hands. I looked deeply into her eyes and asked, "What happened Babe?"

Steph's POV

I watched as Carlos took the salesman aside and sat down on the bed we wanted to order. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and then I felt a prick. The last thing I remembered before I blacked out was being picked up and carried out into the daylight.

When I came back to consciousness, I was in the trunk of a car. I wasn't tied up so my hands and legs were both free. I started kicking and yelling, hoping a passerby would hear me and help. I don't know how long I kicked and screamed, but when the trunk was finally opened by Carlos, I reached out and was so happy to see him. I even let Bobby examine me, as long as Carlos stayed close. When Bobby finally declared me safe, Carlos looked into my eyes and asked, "What happened Babe?"

I shrugged my shoulders and replied, "I'm not really sure. I was sitting on the bed one moment and the next I woke up in that trunk. I remember seeing a man in my peripheral vision a few times in the store, but I never got a good look at him. What if it was one of my old skips? I've been pretty busy lately. Maybe he saw this small window as his chance. He just didn't count on how quickly you found that I was missing so he never got a chance to take me away with him."

Carlos nodded and said, "RangeMan and TPD are looking into it right now."

Hal walked over at that point and said, "We found something that you both might want to see."

I stood with the help of Carlos and hobbled over to the car where I was stowed. Hal held out a piece of paper that was inside a plastic evidence bag and stood back allowing us to read the letter in peace.

None have stood in my way. This was a warning. Let me be.

I looked up at Carlos and we both said, "Paradis" at the same time. Carlos turned to Hal and said, "Get Morelli. Since RangeMan has taken over the Paradis investigation, he needs to be involved."

Hal rushed away and returned moments later with a breathless Morelli by his side. "What's wrong Carlos?"

I looked between Carlos and Joe and didn't know how to feel. The man I loved was willingly working with my ex-boyfriend. I watched as Carlos pulled Joe aside and explained what was going on. Joe looked over at me and then asked, "What can I do to help?"

Carlos said, "Get an APB out on Paradis. He must be local. We don't know for sure, but we think he was responsible for what happened to Steph today. If he's here, we're going to find him."

Joe nodded and pulled out his phone. A few minutes later, Joe joined us and said, "An APB has been issued and I've asked our IT guys to check out the traffic cameras in the area to see what cars left the parking lot. If we can identify his car, we will update the BOLO with any relevant information."

Carlos nodded, shook Joe's hand and asked, "Can I take Steph home?"

Joe nodded and said, "Yes. If we find anything, I'll call or, I will stop by later."

"Thanks Joe." I spoke for the first time in their conversation. I looked between them and was happy to see that there were no longer any hard feelings or anger between them. They both seemed OK with the way things were. I was glad of that. Joe gave me a quick hug and waved as we walked to the car. I was just about buckled in when I remembered, "What about all the things we bought?"

Carlos smiled at me and said, "Ella came and collected them when we first found you missing. She wanted to do something to help but there was little she could do here. She decided to go back to the house and get a few things set up for us."

"God bless Ella. She's a superstar who deserves a raise Carlos."

He nodded and said, "I know. I just want to make one last phone call and then we can head home."

I sat back in the seat and listed to Carlos call Woody. Within minutes, the guys guarding Ron and his family would be up-to-speed. Woody would pass on the necessary information and ensure that the Martine family was safe. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I sat back and relaxed into the soft leather seat and watched the traffic pass by as Carlos took me home. He helped me out of the car and that's when I realised that I had somehow lost my crutch. Carlos saw me looking around and said, "Ella has that as well. We weren't sure where you were, but we found the crutch beside the bed in the store. Lean on me."

I let Ranger practically carry me into the house. Once inside, I could see that Ella and Luis had been hard at work. The cushions were on the sofa, and the pictures were on the wall in the living room. All of the other purchases were stowed in various rooms. How Ella knew which room was a complete mystery to me, but she got it all right.

After walking around the house in awe, I looked at my watch and started to panic. It was 5:25 and I had yet to call in an order at Pino's. Carlos must have sensed my panic and reassured me that Ella had done the honours. I thanked Ella and asked them to join us for dinner.

"I think we'd love to stay dear, but we have a roast in the oven back at Ron's. We need to get back there and finish preparing the rest of their meal."

I was sad to see them leave, and once they were out the door, I felt dread set in.

Carlos' POV

I could tell that something was bothering Stephanie. I assumed it had to do with her abduction, but I wasn't sure. I decided to pretend everything was fine and said, "Why don't we get you cleaned up? Your family will be here soon and I'm sure they'll have 1000 questions about what happened."

I saw my Babe stiffen at this and realised why she was so tense. She was expecting to be given the riot act by her mother. I looked at her in the eye and asked, "Do you want me to cancel? I'm sure your family would understand."

My Babe shook her head and said, "It's too late for that. They're probably already on their way. I'll be OK. I'll just get cleaned up and put on some clean clothes. I'll be down in a few minutes."

I kissed her on the head and left her to clean up. I hoped to speak to her mother before she started in on Stephanie. I wanted to explain that Steph was fragile and couldn't handle any criticism. I was practising my speech when the doorbell rang, so I walked over and opened the door and greeted Frank, Ellen and Edna. Frank was holding a huge stack of boxes filled with pizza and goodness knows what else.

As soon as Ellen was in the house, she looked around and asked, "Where is Stephanie? Is she OK?"

I nodded and said, "Yes, she'll be right down. She's a bit fragile right now so you'll have to take it easy on her."

Ellen looked up at me and said, "Frank has already given me that lecture Carlos. I promise to be supportive."

I smiled at Ellen and then at Frank. He winked and so did Edna. I grinned and led them into the living room. I was in the middle of offering them drinks when Stephanie hobbled into the room.

As soon as her mother spotter her, she was on her feet and racing over to her youngest daughter. "Are you OK dear?"

"I'm fine Mom. Come and sit down. Val and her family should be here soon and then we can eat."

Everyone followed Steph to the dining table and took a seat. We talked for a few minutes as I got our drinks ready. I could hear Edna pressing Stephanie for details, but Stephanie wasn't providing any. She didn't want to be gossip fodder over this. Edna clamped up when I walked into the room. She had the foresight to look a little guilty, but I ignored it because Stephanie seemed to be OK with the questions.

We were all drawn out of our conversations when the doorbell rang. I went to the door expecting to find Val. Instead of Val and Albert, I found Morelli and Cal. They both looked exhausted and excited at the same time.

Normally, I'd tell them to report why they were interrupting my evening, but I knew that there must be a good reason for them to be here. I invited them inside and took them into the library that was off to the side. As soon as the door was closed, Morelli started talking.

"The traffic cams found the car that Paradis was driving. We updated the APB and got a report about 30 minutes ago. Paradis was spotted making a run south on the interstate. RangeMan and the TPD pursued him and just before he passed the state line, he passed another car and overcorrected. He drove into an overpass buttress going over 100 miles per hour."

I stood there staring at Morelli. I must have had a dumbfounded expression on my face because Joe started to laugh and slapped me on the back. "It's over Carlos. Paradis is dead. We have a positive ID on his body based on his dental records."

A grin spread across my face and I did something that I'd deny if ever asked. I hugged Morelli. I hugged him in that manly style where only ½ of our chests meet, but I hugged him nonetheless. Cal was standing there so I did the same with him, so it didn't seem so awkward. I looked at the guys and said, "Come and join us for some pizza. You can share the news to Steph."

Joe and Cal both agreed and followed me out of the library. As I passed the front door, I saw Val, Albert and the girls approach the front door. Before they were able to ring the bell, I pulled the door open, startling Val. I smiled at her and ushered them all inside and led a little caravan into the other room.

Steph's POV

Carlos has been gone for a few minutes. If Val arrived, I would have expected immediate chaos, but it was all quiet. I was just about to get up and go see where he got to when my father asked me about the wedding. He wanted to know if I was OK with him hiring some classic cars from his friend.

"Dad, if that's what you want, I'm fine with your choice."

My dad grinned at me and said, "I've got four cars reserved. I'll call my friend and book them tomorrow then."

I heard Val's kids and relaxed a little. Maybe they just took longer than usual to get organised and inside. I looked up and frowned when I saw that Val, Albert and their kids were followed by Cal, Joe and then Carlos. I raised my eyebrows at Carlos and he just grinned. He walked over to me and said, "Joe has some news for you Babe."

I looked up at Joe, who was looking around at my family with what looked like fear in his eyes. He focused on me and said, "Paradis was found and eventually killed in a high-speed pursuit. We have identified his remains based on his dental records, both those in Miami when he was Rogers and those in DC when he was himself. It's over Steph. You and Carlos are free and RangeMan can focus on getting itself back to strength."

Normally, I'd feel bad if someone died, even if that someone was purely evil. This time however, I wasn't able to feel bad. Paradis caused so much pain and bloodshed in his wake. I was having a hard time computing everything. My phone started ringing and I looked down to see that it was Lula. I answered hesitantly and listened to Lula tell me how happy she was that we were all safe now. Nobody once said that they were glad the man was dead, so I invited Lula, Tank, and any other RangeMan who was off duty to join us at our house.

A small quiet family dinner evolved into an all-out celebration. We were celebrating the end of our problems. We were celebrating our happy futures, and we were celebrating that RangeMan was back on track.

At 9PM, Val and her family left. I was busy saying goodbye to her as Carlos welcomed a bunch of other RangeMan and TPD into our home. I promised to call Val and set something up the following week. I returned to the house and greeted several friends and tried my best to talk to everyone.

Around midnight, people started to head home. I was actually surprised when Lester was the first to come and say goodnight. "Beautiful, thanks for inviting us. Fiona is feeling a little under the weather so I am going to take her home."

I looked over at Fiona. She did look a little green, so I wished them a good night and stood by the door as many others left. In addition to RangeMan personnel, a bunch of the TPD guys who were working for RangeMan also showed up. They knew that once things were up and running for RangeMan that they'd no longer be needed, but they didn't let that worry them right now. They simply focused on having a good time.

I hugged and kissed almost everyone as they left. I hugged Lula and immediately noticed that there was a lot less of her to hug than before. I could actually get my arms around her. I stepped back and looked at her in awe. Lula wasn't sure why I was looking at her like that so I wanted to clear the air. "Lula, you look amazing. I'm just sad that I've missed watching it happen. I can't wait to get this stupid cast off."

Lula smiled at me and said, "We'll get you up to scratch in no time. I'll go running with you as much as you want."

I hugged Tank and finally, my parents and stood in the doorway as they all drove away. I turned around to find Carlos standing right behind me. I looked up at him and said, "It's finally over."

He grinned at me and said, "No Babe, it's just beginning."

Well, that's the end of another RangeWoman episode. This is not the end of the RangeWoman series, it is just the end of this particular installment. The ending may have just sort of appeared out of the blue, but I like where it ends.

I'm not yet sure whether my next story will be the next RangeWoman story or not. I have several others that are 3/4 written and I haven't even started the next RangeWoman story. Although, I have a pretty good idea in my head where it is going. Let me know if you'd like something a little different or if you want more RangeWoman action.

Let me know if you have any particular requests.

Lots of Love.
L.