Last chapter! This one was hard to get out... lots of talking was needed for these two to get their shit together. Thanks so much to anyone who stuck with me and read the whole story. Honestly I was not expecting it to be this long when i started and I know that I left you guys hanging between some chapters. You all rock!

I stared across the street at Rangeman, ignoring the two men who stood silently nearby. It had taken me weeks to recover enough to feel up to this confrontation. I'd texted Tank to make sure that Ranger was in the building and I knew that since he was avoiding me no one was actively keeping track of my location. And even though they weren't speaking to me, I'd seen Manny and Hal's panic when they had been threatened with a day long outing with Lula and Grandma Mazur if they informed him of my arrival.

I crossed the road and used Ranger's key fob as I slipped into the garage. Glad that Lula had been kind enough to get my belongings out of the locker at the boardwalk and that Ranger hadn't connected its loss with my disappearance. My entourage followed me into the elevator and up to floor 7 where they hesitated. I firmly gave them the stay command and made my way to Ranger's door. I smirked a bit as I opened his door, enjoying the reversal of our roles. Or at least I was until the door swung open to Ranger pointing a gun at me.

Ranger's eyes flared and the gun was immediately lowered. "You shouldn't be here Ba- Steph."

"Yeah well you shouldn't have avoided me. You should know by now that I'm not letting you disappear."

Ranger turned around and walked further into his apartment but I followed after. "Steph. Everything that just happened proves I was right all along. My life doesn't have room for you and we should count ourselves lucky that we realized this before starting a relationship."

I laughed. "Before we started a relationship?! Ranger, ask anybody and they will tell you that we HAVE a relationship. The police all talk to me when they need your help or information shared, my friends and Grandma all think of us as a pair, hell my family all try to warn me away from you because they know we are together. And then there's your men. They all protect me and help me because I matter to you, the random people on the street know I'm under your protection. Even your daughter and ex-wife wanted to get to know me because they knew I'd be around. Face it, anyone who knows one of us, knows that we care for each other!"

"Yes and look what happened! You almost died!" Ranger snapped. "You were put in danger because of me. My past is full of people with a vendetta against me, and I already let one get close to you through me. If it wasn't for me, Cannon wouldn't have gone after you."

"You don't know that. I was on his radar because of Ricky. There is a good chance he still would have gone after me even without you in the picture. And if not him, then Ricky would have succeeded in taking me. And he is more unstable and deranged than Cannon. He likely would have killed me."

"Maybe, but at least you would have fought and done everything you could to survive. You went to Cannon! Gave yourself to him for me. I can't trust you not to sacrifice yourself next time." Ranger loomed over me, body tense.

"No you can't. And do you want to know why?" I snapped back, stepping further into his space and poking him with a finger. "Cause like I told my mother, that's who I am. I'm not crazy or brave but I am the person who chooses to save others. I choose. This time it was for you, but I've made the same decision for my sister, my grandma, Lula, Joe and even Bob and some of my skips. I'm not someone who can step aside and let someone else get hurt if there's something I can do. Neither are you. And it's not fair that I accept that side of you and you refuse to do the same. Regardless of if you choose to stay in my life, I will continue to end up in bad situations. It would be nice if my batman is around to help out when I do but I'm not changing who I am for anybody. Even for the man I love."

"You put too much faith in me." Ranger said, putting his hands on my shoulders and squeezing as he moved me back. "I'm not batman. I'm human, I make mistakes and I can't guarantee I'll always get there in time."

I stepped in closer and put my hand on his chest gently. "Ranger, I know you are human. I also know that you will always do everything in your power to get there. And that's all I or anyone else can expect of you. You and my mother are wrong to blame you for my choices. You need to give yourself credit for what you did do. You got me away so that I could pass on the intel to your team instead of Cannon getting clear with you and me. You bought me time from Cannon to figure out who he was and what he was doing. You had your men doing patrols which got them to my location quick enough to save my life. YOU gave me a reason to fight to survive." I kissed him gently before looking in his eyes. "And if there is ever a day when you don't make it in time, when my luck runs out… know that I don't hold you responsible, that I know you did your best and that I love you."

Ranger shuddered, and collapsed back into the couch behind him. "I can't. I can't lose you ever."

"Then stop trying to push me away. Neither of us is going to live forever and there is no way of knowing what the future holds, but we can stop wasting time. So tell me honestly Ranger. Do you love me enough to risk losing me for whatever time we have?" I bit my cheek and looked at the man I loved.

Ranger was staring back at me. "Babe. Every time I think I've got you figured out you come back and amaze me all over again. You're right. I love you and what we have is worth risking everything." He pulled me down to sit next to him. "I don't want you to change. I love you because you care so much about everyone. And I'm going to try to loosen up but I might be over protective."

I kissed his cheek. "I am not having bodyguards all the time."

"I obviously need to give the guys some extra training on staying with their targets. How did you get away from them this time?" Ranger grumbled, finally noting that my shadows weren't around.

I laughed. "They're more scared of me and my grandma then you. And they all knew this conversation needed to be had. I'll make you a compromise though. I will bring one guy with me when I'm actively working and if there is reasonable proof that there is a current threat you can assign a detail."

"And you'll keep the trackers?"

"I will, but I don't want them to be constantly monitored. You can keep the cars up but the others should only be checked if needed."

"And you'll carry the gun - Loaded."

"I'll carry the taser and spray… and I will take self defence classes, if you agree to talk to a therapist with me." Ranger hesitated and I stubbornly continued. "We both have traumas and issues we need to work on and I'd rather deal with it now instead of having it blow up in our faces later."

I watched carefully as he thought for a moment and then he nodded. "Deal Babe."

We sealed it with a kiss and I curled up next to him in relief. I knew that my life wasn't going to get easier, and that Ranger and I would have more problems in the future. But I also knew that what we had was worth putting in the effort. I wasn't going to go anywhere and I wouldn't let him shut me out anymore. Together we would face whatever came our way.