Rightytighty, I'm trying to keep your advice in mind.

I understand that it has been a very long time since I updated. Because of that, I'm going to try and keep this update pretty short so I can get back into the writing groove.

The last guy I mentioned in the last chapter is finished with, and I found a much better one, who is much more supportive. I actually just lost my job, and I'm currently studying as well as trying to maintain a long distance relationship with my best friend. He's just returned from a deployment and is struggling a little bit, so I've tried to take some of my experiences with helping him and put them into this.

Hopefully you enjoy this, as I've definitely had it in the works for a loooooong time now. There are a few things in here that I've tweaked a little. For example, when Nick says that there's an adjustment period and you can't go straight to someone's house – for our standard military here in Australia, you can get off that plane and straight into the arms of your loved ones and head home. I don't know for sure about our special forces guys, but I imagine that there would be a period of time that they spend debriefing and coming down from their trips, same as Ranger does in the original series. In saying that, to keep it somewhat cannon, that is exactly what Ranger should have done, and anyone in this story that's had special forces experience knows this.

Thank you all for your patience.

This is not beta'd.

I stifled a yawn as I followed Nick, who was dragging Mastrano behind him, to the back entrance of the Trenton Police department. I was exhausted, and the idea of standing around to fill out the paperwork made my eyes water from exhaustion. The last thing I wanted to do was wait around listening to the underbelly of Trenton causing a ruckus. Most of them either myself of RangeMan had placed there, so I was doubly motivated to make the handoff process as quick as possible.

Big Dog met us at the back door, his eyes appraising Nick and I for injuries. He didn't seem to care too much for the injuries gracing Mastrano's face and arms. When he found none on us, he smirked at our FTA. "Rough night, Johnny?" He waved off the new round of swearing and held the door for Nick to drag him through, touching my arm. "You okay, Steph?"

"Yeah," I said around a yawn. "We've been looking for this clown for two weeks now. His bond almost got forfeited." And that would have been a bad day for Rex and me. I'd promised him a new cage and soup can after my cut of the bond came in.

Big Dog walked beside me as we followed Nick and the still complaining Johnny Mastrano through the walkway in between the holding cells. Most were unoccupied, but there were a few drunks sleeping off their night in one cell, and a gangbanger pacing in another. "Not a busy night?" I asked, smothering another yawn.

He shook his head. "Your new partner lived on Stark before he moved into the RangeMan building. His reputation was more than enough to sort some of the younger bangers out. They're still not angels, but they're definitely quieting down." He shot an appreciative look at Nick, who was busy glaring down our skip.

My partner had dumped Johnny onto the uncomfortable plastic chairs, pressing his fore finger into his chest. "Stay," he ordered, staring him into submission when he made to stand up. He pushed his finger into Mastrano's chest once more before glancing at me to make sure I was still awake most likely and went striding up to the desk to start the paper work.

Mastrano glared back at him, seemingly sizing him up, before deciding it wasn't worth it to try and get away. I narrowed my eyes at him. He no longer had his knives, but he was bigger than me and I was way too tired to wrestle him into submission again. How the other RangeMen did this on an almost daily basis was baffling. He looked up to me and licked his lips. "So…" he mused, eyeing me like I looked at a piece of pizza. "Thought any more about my offer?"

I knew, I knew, that I should have kept my mouth shut… but my Jersey upbringing just wouldn't allow that. "And what offer was that?" I saw Nick shake his head at the check in desk, as if amused. He didn't bother to look back though; he just kept filling out the paperwork.

Johnny stood up, swaggering over. My hand flew to the gun at my hip reflexively. Big Dog mimicked my action. Mastrano leaned in, eyes darting between my lips and eyes. "Heard you like it a bit rough, Plum. I can help satisfy those needs, especially now Morelli's skipped town and Manoso lost his nerve."

Nick whipped around just as I lunged for Johnny. Shoving my shoulder into his diaphragm, I caught him off guard and walked him backwards into the wall, gripping his collar tightly, trying to control the sudden fury coursing through my veins. "Don't you dare talk about Ranger like that," I hissed.

"Steph," Nick said in a warning tone. I felt his presence behind me, but I ignored him.

I sneered up at Mastrano. "You're not worth the shit on either of those men's shoes. You're scum, Johnny. That's why you can't get any girls," I whispered. "It's why you have to force yourself on them, and why you're going to prison." His eyes were wide. "That's right, asshole, I know all about your itty-bitty problem. Women talk, and it's known you don't like it when they say no. I heard you can't get it up if they're willing participants."

He tried struggling, but I was having none of it. He'd crossed a line I didn't even knew existed when he insulted Ranger, who probably wouldn't have even cared, but I most certainly did. "You seem tense, Plum. Not getting any?" I wrapped one hand around the back of his neck, pulling his face closer to mine. He smirked in triumph. "See, baby, I knew you'd come around eventually," he cooed.

I rolled my eyes in disgust, bringing my knee up and his face down, slamming his nose into the kneecap at the same time. "Don't flatter yourself, Johnny." I stepped back, looking at both Nick and Big Dog, the latter of which was staring at me in surprise. "What?" Mastrano collapsed onto the ground, groaning and holding his cuffed hands in front of his nose.

My old friend shook his head. "Nothing," he muttered, squinting at me before turning on his heel and walking away.

Mastrano spat blood in my direction. "I'd watch yourself, little man," Nick said to him.

Big Dog came back with another of Trenton's finest, picking up Johnny and dragging him back to the waiting area, this time cuffing him to the chairs. Nick followed them back to the desk to get the paperwork and slip to hand into Vinnie the next day. Mastrano kept moaning, occasionally looking up to glare at me again. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and propped myself up against the wall, wanting nothing more than a hot shower and my king sized bed. I pulled the latest smartphone I'd bought for myself out of my pocket, glancing at the time. With the rate our night was going, the sun was going to be up before I was asleep. Tank was usually forgiving with staff taking a half-day after a long night working, but I wanted to get into RangeMan and speak to Ranger as soon as I could. Sleeping in would not allow that.

My eyes were just starting to slip shut and the noise from the lockups fading to a dull roar when Nick stopped in front of me, resting a hand on my shoulder. "Let's go, Steph. If you stay at RangeMan tonight, you can be up early enough to sit in on the debrief."

I followed him out of the station, not bothering to say goodbye to the boys in blue, jumping into the black SUV and strapping in. "What debrief?" I asked, disengaging my gun, ignoring the disapproving look Nick shot my way. "We're in the car, the doors are locked, don't worry about it."

I could almost feel the eye roll I received from my partner at that statement, but he let it slide. "Bobby told me while you and the boss man were having your spat that whenever he gets back from time away he calls a meeting company wide to get back on top of things."

"What kind of things?"

Nick shrugged. "I don't know, I would imagine financials, movements, what kind of requests have been made to the company, things like that." He shrugged and looked my way. "This will be my first debrief too. I'm not looking forward to sitting through the financial part though."

I acknowledged him with a grunt, trying to stop the annoyance I could feel building. The fact that I didn't even know about these debriefs pissed me off, even though I knew I didn't really have a right to be. The fact that I hadn't wanted to be a part of RangeMan was well known, especially by Tank and Lester. They weren't willing to include me in anything sensitive until they knew for sure that I was capable of looking after my partner and myself. This was fair. But it still pissed me off. I took a deep breath, trying to push that irrational anger aside. "Okay, let's go back to Haywood." I sent Bobby a text message to let him know we were on our way back and that I would actually be spending the night. He sent one back immediately, telling me there were a few spare apartments on four I could have a shower and a nap in before the meeting.

Nick pulled out of the parking lot, slipping into the surprisingly busy stream of traffic. "Want to tell me what that was about with the boss?" he asked, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

I turned to look at him. He had one arm up against the window, resting the side of his face in the palm of his hand. Did I want to tell him? Did I know him well enough to tell him everything that had happened? I sighed, pushing loose strands of hair back from my face. I figured he had a right to know, especially if Ranger was planning on showing up to every take down like he had tonight. "We have a history…" I trailed off, biting my lip. That was the understatement of the century.

Nick snorted. "I know that much from the gossiping old women in the building. I know you guys almost hooked up and that he spends a lot of time and money to make sure you're safe."

I stared at him, my mouth agape. I'd had no idea that the guys still talked about all of that, especially after Ranger went in the wind. Not even Tank knew if he would be coming back from this one. "Well… That's most of it. It got a bit more complicated last week when he came to my apartment and Lester showed up not long after."

"But you and Les aren't dating. You never even slept together."

"Yeah, I know, but it might have looked that way. It shouldn't matter to Ranger; he's made it clear that his life doesn't lend itself to relationships in the past." I took a breath, knowing deep down that I should care that it bothered him so much when Lester arrived too. I shook my head to rid myself of those thoughts. I'd been making leaps and bounds to move past my feelings for Ranger, and I wasn't going to let a momentary lapse on his part undo all that hard work. "Anyway, he told me some of the details of the mission, then he got a phone call that made him lose his mind."

Nick dropped the arm he was leaning on down to the steering wheel, turning to stare at me. "He stayed at your apartment?"

"What? No, he left after the phone call, and then he was gone again for a week." I glanced out the windshield and noticed we were drifting onto the other side of the road. "Nick!"

He jerked the car back onto the correct side of the road, muttering under his breath. I couldn't make out anything, but I didn't need to be a mind reader to know that he was pissed. I didn't know what he was pissed about though. After a few minutes of mumbling, he finally spoke loud enough for me to hear. "He shouldn't have gone to see you at all."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why not?"

Nick tapped his fingers in a staccato rhythm on the steering wheel with one hand, while the other held it in a death grip. "Everyone knows that there's an adjustment period to coming home, Steph. Everyone. He of all people should know that, he's done enough trips and missions to realize that you don't go straight to someone's house." He stopped at a light and scrubbed his face with his hands. "I know better than anyone what it's like to want to run straight to the people who care about you, but fuck!" He slammed his palms onto the wheel. I jumped. "Don't let him get you alone again, okay? At least not for another month or two."

I repeated the same thing I said to Lester the first night Ranger got back. "He needs me."

Nick accelerated and stretched onto the dash to grab the remote controller to open the garage door to Haywood. "He may need you, Steph, but he needs you alive and unharmed. He's putting you at risk by acting this way." I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off. "Nothing you say will convince me otherwise. I want you to call me if it happens again, okay?"

Rolling my eyes, I reached into the back seat to get my duffel bag. "I'll be fine. I trust him with my life." As I sat back in my seat, Nick grabbed my wrist.

"You don't know the person he had to become to survive this one, Steph. None of us do. Promise me you'll be careful and that you'll call me if he does it again." He squeezed my wrist gently to emphasize how serious he was.

I met his gaze. Sure, Nick and I had only worked together properly for a short time, but I felt that he was a person who could be trusted. He was a good guy and he'd been pretty upset when he old partner moved back to Miami to be with his family. Nick was a good guy with very little family left. When Tank partnered us up, he'd told me that Nick took his role as my new partner very seriously and he knew that we'd become great friends, if I was able to put aside my immaturity and listen to someone besides myself for once. To prove Tank wrong, I'd kept my mouth shut about how I could be mature, gritting my teeth against the urge to tell him where to go.

"Steph, I won't be able to sleep at night if I don't think you'll call me if something happens," Nick said, releasing my wrist and pulling the keys from the ignition.

I sighed. I knew my role as his partner meant making sure we worked as a team and compromised. If he didn't sleep, it would put the both of us at risk. "Okay, I promise," I sighed, opening the car and hopping down, pulling my duffel bag with me.

Nick jumped out too, locking the vehicle as we made our way to the elevator. He jabbed his finger into the button. I rolled my neck as we waited, trying to work out some of the kinks and stretch my aching muscles out. When the doors finally opened, we both stepped in. He pressed his key fob to the sensor and hit the button for level four, then glanced at his watch. "I'd say we can get a couple of hours sleep before the meeting. Bobby mentioned that they typically start around 10:00am."

Nodding, I blinked sleepily. I needed a shower before I crashed, but I didn't think I'd make it that long. The elevator dinged and Nick stepped out first, leading the way towards the apartments, turning to me when we reached his, handing me a key. "Bobby gave me this earlier to give to you. He had a feeling you'd end up staying here tonight." He chucked me under my chin. "Get some sleep, Steph. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Sure. Sleep well." I took the key and checked the number, noticing I was only next door to Nick. That made sense, considering most of the guys stayed relatively close to their partners when they were at work. They were free to come and go as they pleased and they weren't forced to spend time together, but most of them ended up doing that anyway.

Unlocking the door, I tossed the duffel bag onto the double bed and slipped into the bathroom, showering the quickest I had ever showered before. I wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep for a few hours. I towel dried my hair, not having the physical or mental energy to blow dry it and slipped into my pajamas, flopping onto the bed. I closed my eyes, falling asleep quickly to the loud hum of Haywood's air conditioning system.