Tank's Point of View

Pulling into the garage, I hopped out to head up to my office. As I hit the door to the lobby, Stepahnie came barrelling out of the elevator and through the door without seeming to even notice my presence. She jumped in her latest POS vehicle and spec out of the garage. I was glad she had backed in or she wouldn't have had any visibility of Lester as he rounded the front of his SUV.

Les and I exchanged looks…WTF was going on?

"Gene, what floor did she come from?" I asked.

"Seven," was his curt reply.

I hit the stairs. Les started to follow me as we passed five, but I waved him off.

The door to Ranger's apartment was ajar and the wall behind it was damaged from where it had been thrown open. I maintained my blank face and entered. My face dropped momentarily at the deep red stain Ranger was on his knees cleaning up.

"What happened?" I demanded quietly.

"Steph dropped a glass of wine," was his terse response. That didn't answer the tension in the air or Stephanie's actions.

"Man, it's more than that. Steph was running like she was on fire," I countered but he stayed silent. He ran his hand through his hair. I think he was starting to understand that I wasn't letting this go.

"I fucked up." He wasn't going to continue. I went to the sideboard and poured us each a glass of scotch. He glared at me, but I gestured to the sofa. The rigidity fell from his shoulders as he led the way.

"Ric, what happened?" He stalled, but I could tell when he gave up fighting. Using his given name, we were no longer colleagues but friends.

He pulled a ring from his pocket. It wasn't huge but it was a statement piece. "I asked her to marry me, but apparently she wasn't ready." He paused before continuing. "I thought she was. I've had this for months but didn't want to spook her. I did though."

I sat there and digested his words. I took the ring from his hands…most wouldn't have seen the tremble, but I could.

"It's a beaut," I stated before setting it on the coffee table. "I know she loves you. She's always been so anti-marriage. What made you ask?"

"I need her. She's my peace."

"I know, Ric, but you're happy. You spend all your free time with her. You actually have taken time off to spend time with her. Why change if it is working?"

"Who's side are you on, Pierre?" he ground out.

"Yours. Both of yours. Your happiness makes my life smoother too." I responded.

He took a large sip of scotch and continued. "All's been well. I thought…fuck…I don't know."

I turned on the baseball game and we sat drinking our scotch. No way I was leaving him.