**Thank you again for the great reviews. I'm glad that the proposal was a hit. I was trying to think of something original and fitting for this couple, seems like I did alright. So thank you. This chapter took me a little bit, it's not as exciting as the last few have been (at least for me), but it needed to happen. Anyway, I'd like to wrap this up in the next three or four chapters and really hope it lets me. I want to be done with this by the end of October so I can move onto something else, this is a huge goal for me. Anyway, hope you enjoy the slow return to Trenton.**

October 14…5 pm

To my surprise, the news of our engagement has been really positive so far. I guess the worry I'd been feeling really was unfounded. It was nice to be able to ease back into things without having to fight or defend our relationship like I'd been worried about.

When we got in yesterday, Tank and Lester were both waiting for us at the airport. Les brought the Turbo, and I honestly think he did it just so he had a reason to drive it. Plus, Tank brought his truck to drive Les home. I still don't really understand why Tank couldn't have just driven Ranger and me home, but I assumed it was a guy thing. Besides, it gave us more time alone, so I didn't question it.

Anyway, after hugging the guys and telling them about our week I finally showed them the ring. By the looks on both their faces they had no idea Ranger was going to propose and Hal had kept our secret. After the initial shock, Tank just scooped me up in his arms and hugged me for the longest time, and I swear the man had a tear in his eye. "Welcome to the family, Stephanie. Thank you for making him so happy," he told me.

I kissed his cheek and smiled through my own tears. "He makes me just as happy. And I can't thank you enough for protecting him all these years. You've made us a family. I love you, Tank," I told him, because there was no doubt in my mind, if it weren't for Tank, Ranger wouldn't be standing here with me today. Heck, maybe I wouldn't be standing here either. The big guy was some sort of guardian angel we had the luck to have in our lives. I would always love him, as my friend, my protector, and my brother. We really were family.

Tank released me and gave me a bashful smile, it was probably the cutest thing I'd ever seen. He was embarrassed by my words. I let him go with another kiss to the cheek. Then Ranger hugged him too. It was the first time I saw Ranger show affection toward anyone but me, and it was touching.

I wanted to watch that moment between them, hear what they said, but I was pulled away by Lester who squeezed me and lifted me off the ground to spin me in a circle. Then, he kissed me full on the lips. "Congratulations, Beautiful," he managed to say before Ranger put him in headlock and pulled him away from me. It didn't bother Lester though. He turned and grinned at Ranger. Then he wrapped his arms around Ranger, squeezed him, and planted a big sloppy kiss on his turned face. "Congratulations to you too, handsome," he croaked out after Ranger punched him in the sternum.

And that was pretty much exactly how the rest of the guys responded to the news, minus trying to kiss Ranger. Except Ella, she kissed us both, and cried happily, "My babies are getting married." She was so excited Luis had to drag her back to their apartment so we could eat our dinner without her fussing over us.

We knew not everyone would be as happy as the guys were about our news. Especially our families and our friends. We knew we had to tell them today, but we also knew there was a huge potential for the conversations to be disastrous. Heck, a regular conversation was dangerous with some of them. So I wasn't looking forward to sharing our news like most engaged couples probably were.

That was part of the reason we'd kept things quiet yesterday. The other reason was that we just wanted to be alone. We wanted to settle in and celebrate our new life together properly. And we did. A few times.

Our time alone didn't last long enough though. This morning was back to real life. We got up early for our workout. I watched the monitors for a few hours, while the guys had a staff meeting. Then I met Lula and Connie for coffee and donuts, while Ranger went through all his emails, voicemails, and paperwork. Poor guy.

Hal had driven my new car back to RangeMan last night, so I talked Lester into going for a ride with me. I wanted to make sure I was alright driving before going out on my own. I didn't want to have a panic attack behind the wheel or anything, but as it turned out, I was just fine. And the car was freaking amazing to drive.

So I dropped off Lester and took my first solo drive in what felt like months. The girls were already there, sharing a café table when I walked in. Lula waved me over and pointed to the Boston crème and large coffee waiting at the empty spot. She looked me up and down and grinned at me. "How was your week alone with Batman? Because you're all a glow and what is that, a smile?"

"Did he take you to the Batcave?" Connie asked me.

I laughed and told them that we went to his house, but didn't give specifics. It was a still a safe house, for us both. I filled them in on all our outdoor activities, but Lula was determined to get to the indoor activities. "Please tell me you had sex with that man," she finally pleaded with me.

I smiled again and nodded yes. "And?" Lula asked.

"And you were right. I wasn't nervous or scared or worried about it when it happened. It was perfect," I told her.

Connie gave me a look that said she didn't understand why I'd be scared of Ranger. It was a fair point through her eyes, I never was in the past so why now? I knew I owed her an explanation for more than just that, but for my disappearance and my other behavior too. So I did what I knew I'd have to do with my other friends and family members. I told her the truth. "The anxiety and depression I've been working through was from PTSD, from the time Scrog kidnapped me. He raped me," I told her.

Her eyes widened in horror and then her eyes filled with tears. The next thing I knew she was hugging me fiercely. She offered to call her uncle, to have Scrog taken care of in prison, but I declined. I didn't need that on my conscious and neither did Connie. Then she smiled at me, realizing that I was putting my life back together with Ranger. She told me that she was so proud of me and how strong and brave I was to move on and find my happiness.

Which gave me the perfect opportunity to lift my left hand and hold it out in front of them both. "Holy shit," Lula gaped. "Ranger asked you to marry him?"

I nodded yes. "On my birthday. And I said yes," I told them.

"Damn, look at that rock. How'd he ask?" Lula questioned as she twisted my hand to look at the ring in the light. So I told them the whole story, well, I left out his words, those were private, but I told them everything else.

Connie was full out crying then. "Congratulations, Steph, I'm so happy for you and Ranger," she said sobbing. "I've never seen him as happy as he is when he's near you. And you, he makes you glow with happiness too. I'm so glad I introduced you." I was too, but the craziness of that first meeting made me laugh.

Then we were all hugging and laughing as we talked about the progression of our relationship over the years. "What did you really have to do for that first Porsche?" Connie finally asked with a smirk.

I laughed even harder, remembering that they all thought I was doing unspeakable butt stuff with him for the car. "Nothing. He didn't even kiss me until after it exploded," I told them.

Lula was shaking her head. "Damn, he loved you already then. You blew up his car and he kissed you," she muttered. I shrugged. It seemed pretty obvious now, but at the time I was just so uncertain of me and him and everything.

"Okay, so now that we got the first kiss thing solved, tell us about the sex, because I don't buy for a minute that the Vordo was the first time you slept with him," Connie said thinking back.

I was still laughing. I'd kept that night a secret for so long it seemed weird to talk about now, but it wasn't some dirty little secret. I wasn't ashamed to admit I was with him and the memory of that night didn't hurt me anymore. I knew what it was now. I knew why he ran. And we were alright. "It wasn't the first time," I agreed. "We made a deal. He'd help me bring in DeChooch if I'd spend the night with him. And he did, and I did."

Both their mouths dropped open again. "Well, damn, that's a win-win situation right there," Lula said, making us all start laughing again. And in the long run, it really had been. I got to collect on the bond and I got an entire night of magic with Ranger.

After we settled down and each of us had another doughnut, I felt better than I had in a long time. It was like the laughter and friendship we shared lifted another weight off my shoulders. One I didn't even know was weighing me down. They congratulated me again and each gave me a hug before we went our separate ways.

When I went out to the parking lot I was surprised to see the one man I never imagined seeing today. He was leaning against the side of his car, seemingly lost in thought, but when he saw me he smiled and waved. I was hesitant to go to him, but I felt like I had to. He reached out to me and I couldn't walk away from that.

Neither of us said a word, but out of the blue he pulled me into a tight hug and just held me against his chest. Then he kissed my forehead. I finally wrapped my arms around him and hugged him in return. It was kind of weird. I thought back over the years and I couldn't remember the last time he just held me like that. Maybe he never had.

"What are you doing here?" I finally asked as I stepped out of his arms.

He shuffled on his feet nervously like he didn't know what to say. "Andy Kowalski called me. He said he saw you here with your friends. He, uh, knew I was missing you on your birthday," he told me.

"I spent the night in Boston with Ranger," I told him to explain my absence.

He watched me for a minute before speaking again, "He's taking care of you?"

I nodded yes. "He asked me to marry him. I said yes," I answered, again showing him my engagement ring.

He hugged me again and patted my back. "You love him?" he asked. I nodded yes again. "Then he's one lucky man. Congratulations, Pumpkin," he told me.

All the wariness was gone in that moment. I had my dad back. He wasn't the closed off man that I'd known over the last twenty years, but the man that used to give me piggy back rides and blow on my belly and throw me in the air pretending I could fly. I could finally see that he still loved me. So I thanked him.

He shook his head sadly. "I want a second chance, Stephanie. I have my own depression eating at me, but that isn't a reason to withdraw and ignore my family like I did. I have no excuses. I'm just sorry that it happened," he told me.

I knew that was it. He walked right into what I wanted to ask him for so long. So I went for it. I asked him if he'd go to therapy with me, to see if we could fix what was left of our family. To my surprise he nodded his head and said he'd do whatever I wanted to do.

Then he reached into the car and pulled out a Tupperware container. I popped the top and looked inside at the large slice of pineapple upside down cake. "She made your cake," he told me and something knotted in my stomach. Sadness, maybe, at not having that part of my life anymore. "I caught her crying that night, because she hadn't heard from you," he continued. I didn't know what to say. After all she did to me I refused to feel guilty, but her tears made me feel just a little bit hopeful. Like maybe we could work things out someday if she cared. Dad patted my shoulder. "I know she doesn't deserve another chance to be in your life after the things she's said to you, and I'm not asking you to give her one, but maybe she can get some counseling too. And maybe someday you can make peace with her, for yourself," he finished.

"Maybe," I agreed. I knew I wanted that, but I was also doubtful I'd ever get it. I didn't want to think about it. I was afraid that I'd dwell on the possibility and get hurt again. I wasn't going to let her hurt me again.

Dad seemed to understand, so he told me happy birthday and congratulated me on our engagement, then he left me standing there holding the little tub of cake. I was more than a little confused when I headed home, so I went straight up to our apartment.

I grabbed a fork and opened the cake, then I sat at the breakfast bar just staring at it. Ranger found me there, watching the cake an hour later. He looked a little worried when he saw what I had. "You see your mom?" he asked.

I shook my head, "No, my dad. He wants another chance. He's willing to do the counseling," I told him.

He kissed my hair and sat down next to me. "Is that what you want?" he asked.

I shrugged at him and tried to explain, "I thought it was."

"But you're afraid to get your hopes up about them changing?" he asked, nailing it.

I'd been too hurt, too often to just go back with open arms. Saying she would get help or telling me she wouldn't hurt me again were just words. I needed more than that, from them both. I needed them to actually get the help, to put the work in, to show me that I mattered to them. And even if they did do everything I asked, part of me doubted it would be enough.

I never really got the saying, sometimes love's not enough before, but in this case I completely understood it. I love my parents, I always will. But they'd broken my trust too often. I wasn't sure if it was reparable.

Ranger asked me if I wanted them back in my life. And God help me, I did.

I wanted to know they were concerned about me. I wanted Mom to fuss over me like she did when I was hurt. I wanted her to make me birthday cakes. I wanted her to question my choices like only she could. I just couldn't handle the abusive language she used with me, especially when she was drinking.

Ranger asked if I could forgive her if she stopped drinking and quit verbally abusing me.

I didn't think it was a matter of forgiveness, it was a matter of trust. How could I possibly trust her ever again?

He turned my stool toward him and smiled at me. Then he told me that we would take it one day at a time. First, we'd see if they went to counseling. If they did that, then we could think about the next step. I didn't need to decide today, especially when they hadn't done more than reach out to me.

Reaching out seemed like a step though. One that would be easy to accept. Ranger agreed with me, so I decided to accept their first step with my own. So I turned my stool back and picked up the fork. I ate the entire slice of cake while he watched me. Then he held out my cell phone for me.

I dialed their number and put the phone on speaker. I needed him to hear everything that was said. "Stephanie?" my mom's voice questioned as she picked up the phone.

"Dad brought me a piece of cake this morning and I just wanted to tell you thank you. It was delicious," I told her.

She paused before she spoke, "I missed you Sunday. I hope you had a good birthday."

I took Ranger's hand and smiled at him. "I did. Ranger took me out on a yacht, in Boston. He proposed to me at sunset just as the canon fired over the harbor," I told her.

She was silent for another moment. "That sounds very romantic," she finally said.

"It was. It was beautiful. Perfect," I answered as I looked into Ranger's eyes. He lifted my hand and kissed my knuckle, right above my new ring. "I love him."

"I know you do. I'm glad you've found someone," she said quietly.

"He's the one, Mom. This is the forever kind of love," I assured her, because I didn't want her to doubt I meant to marry him, someday.

"Then hang onto him. There is nothing worse than losing someone you love," she whispered like she suddenly knew what that felt like.

"I'm not letting him go," I told her.

That's when I heard her sniffle and her voice was even more muffled when she said, "Congratulations Stephanie." She was crying. I wasn't sure what to do with that. I needed to step back. I wasn't ready for more, so I cut her off.

"Thank you. Bye Mom," I told her, then hung up my phone.

I stared at Ranger. He stared back. Then the next thing I knew he lifted me off the stool and kissed me as he walked us to the couch. He dropped down with me still wrapped around his hips. "I'm proud of you, Babe," he told me. I was proud of me too. I took a step toward them, now it was up to them again. "This is definitely the forever kind of love," he said repeating my own words. "Those were the sexiest words ever spoken and I'd like to show you how much I love you too, right now." I smiled down at him. I wanted that too.

All my worries were wiped from my mind as he made love to me. After, it was nice to just be by his side. I felt safe and loved and cared for, which were all the things I lacked having when I dealt with my parents. I didn't ask, but I assume he didn't want to leave our little nest either, because after a while he grabbed his laptop and is now working from bed rather than going back down to his desk.

Naked, corporate Ranger might just be my new favorite side of him. He's all focused and intense doing whatever he's doing over there. Dang. All I know is he's hammering away on that keyboard with those magical fingers that were just inside me and that laptop is resting on his knees with nothing but skin beneath it. Ugh, he's so sexy. He could probably make millions if he sold this exact image of himself, but we weren't going to do that. He's mine. All mine. And I think I'm going to keep him in this exact position for as long I can. Maybe I'll even bring him dinner in bed later. It's really too bad I have to go see the doctor tomorrow…or I might just try to keep him in bed permanently.