Steph's Campaign Against Denial.

The tears coming down her face were heartbreaking to watch, and each man following her every step wanted to be the one to comfort her.

They wanted to be the one to put a smile on her face and watch her brilliant blue eyes light up, yet no one made a move as she crossed the control room floor and silently entered her office.

The sound of her door shutting softly behind her worked like a signal, making everyone spring into action.

"Where's Steph been all day?" Someone asked loudly.

"Somebodypull up her trackers, Stat!" Another man commanded.

"What files did she have? It was her last day at Vinnie's, for Christ's sake. What could have gone wrong to make her look so shattered?"

The whole room was jumping as the team tried to find out what had caused the tears in Stephanie's eyes, but Hector was the one who pulled up most of his Angelita's whereabouts.

Surprised didn't even begin to cover it when it was discovered she'd been at the Mayor's office for several hours right before coming home to Rangeman.

Ella entered the control room and took in the sight of all the men working feverishly on their computers. "Stephanie's back, I take it," she said to no one in particular.

"Si', in her office crying the last time we saw her," came the reply.

Sadly shaking her head, Ella softly muttered to herself. "I had such hopes it would work for her. She went to the one person who could help her and evidently he let her down." She took one more look at the men before heading for Steph's office.

Giving one knock only and not waiting for permission, Ella slid in the office Stephanie Michelle had occupied for the last year. The blinds were open and the sun was just now starting its decent into dusk, giving the room a pale orange glow, but neither woman paid the sunset any attention. Steph, who normally liked to watch the patterns of her Sun Catcher walls as the light fell from the sky, was completely ignoring beautiful prisms and Ella's only concern was the sight of her friend in such a state. Stephanie's head was down on her desk and she covered her face with her hands as she softly sobbed.

"Oh Steph," Ella soothed as she stroked Stephanie's auburn curls, "we knew it was a long shot. You and I both gave it our best shot…. so now what are we going to do to fix it in our own way?" She quoted her nephew's words back to his lover hoping it would give each of them some comfort.

Stephanie sat up and wiped at her eyes, feeling a little bit of the determination she'd left with this morning returning. "Well, I'm sure as hell not giving up now. I'm this close to success. I can feel it, Ella! May I please get into your supply cabinet, and can Luis help me? I really hate to ask the guys as they have been working so hard since Ranger's been out of the office. I'm sure I can do this all by myself. It's for a good cause and technically I'm on a week's unpaid leave, effective immediately. So, if this plan I have now doesn't get the results we need, I'll just have to take more time off. I'll pay Luis for his time and for your supplies; just take my debit card and withdraw it from my Rangeman corporate account," Steph told the older woman.

"Nonsense, we're in this together. If you'd tell the guys I'm sure they'd be more than happy to help us out. It's about time everyone realizes sticking their heads in the sand all over change is not good. You can lead us all into battle, Steph. It's your show to put on, now let's go tell the guys what's going on and what has you so upset." Grasping her hand, Ella led Stephanie out to the hallway and cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.

Silence descended immediately and men stood from their work stations, giving the women 110% of their focus.

"Gentlemen, we have a mission and we need your help. I'm starting a meeting in 20 minutes in conference room A. If you're interested in helping, I'd really be grateful. But, I don't have enough money to pay each of you, so it has to be on a volunteer basis. I'm sure Ranger will have something to say when he returns if he finds out I asked for your help on company time when this is a personal mission for me...to right the wrong that's getting ready to happen." Steph's eyes began to tear up again.

"Whatever you need, Rangeman is at your disposal. Besides never letting you get hurt is tied for the number one rule here. It's the least we can do for you after you let us into your life and vice versa," Tank's booming voice said over everyone's agreeing chatter.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Ranger was feeling uneasy. Being in Atlanta, so very far away from Trenton, had him pausing before he called his Babe.

Instead of hitting number one on his cell phone speed dial, he pulled up her trackers on his personal computer.

Seeing everywhere she had been and who exactly she talked to was giving him something to think about.

Dare he listen in on what happened earlier?

Deciding to hell with it, he keyed up the recording from the tiny device he'd had added to the necklace she hadn't removed since the day he gave it to her. He was the only one with access and he sat back and listened with ever widening eyes as Stephanie's voice sounded from the speakers of his laptop.

"So what you're saying, Mayor Juniak, is there's nothing I can do to persuade you to change the city ordinance you signed into law? You know, I've often been told that I own property in Denial. This time, they are wrong and it's you, Mr. Mayor, who now can call Denial home, not me. By the time I'm done, you will be begging me to stop my campaign and you will be the one stopping what you started, all over making some money for this town. You know Rangeman supports this town in more ways than you ever will acknowledge. Maybe it's time for us to stop that and let you flounder on your own. Why don't you think about that while I prepare my own 'mission' against you? After all, Tomorrow is another day, is that not right?"

D-A-M-N.

His Babe was on fire. Now, to figure out what has his lover was in such a twist about would be something for another time. Picking up his paperwork, Ranger headed back down to the Accountant's office, making sure the buyout happened just as he specified.

xoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxo

A/N.

Thank you, Janet, for giving me the chance to play with your characters. Also, thanks to Shelley, who is helping me with this two or three chapter story all based on the Prompt by Lynda on the challenge board on Facebook Babe and Plum Family Challenges.

Denial. I own property there.

Hope you enjoy my own spin on the challenge.

Thanks for reading...tbc...