I don't know who was more in the mood to tease the other, Steph or Lester, but they convinced me to add another Range-Man game. All characters belong to Janet. The mistakes are mine alone.

"Okay, Steph," Lester told me, "ready, set ... go. Describe Hal in three words."

"You were actually serious about playing this game?"

"Yeah. What the hell else do we have to do until we see your skip's ugly mug pulling up? So go. Hal is ... "

"Kind, loyal, and forgiving ... when someone accidentally sorta on purpose stuns him."

"Damn. You make him sound like a Golden Retriever puppy."

I sent Hal another mental apology because I picture exactly that, just in a much-larger, two-legged form.

"He's also sweet like one too," I added.

Lester cringed on Hal's behalf. "You do know that Hal is who Ranger calls in to get answers out of someone without any bloodshed. Hal watched his buddy bleed out after a car crash during their senior year of high school. He can't stomach the sight of it now, but he can still make assholes spill stuff other than blood."

"Oh God ... poor Hal," I said, my hand flying to my mouth in horror at what my Halosaurus had to live through, then and all these years since.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to bum you out. Let's move on. Sum up Bobby in two words this time."

"That one's easy ... friend and protector."

"Hey ... what the hell am I then?"

"You didn't ask me to describe you," I reminded him. "But you're the brother I never had ... and some days not real sure I want."

He nodded. "Okay ... how about Tank in four?"

"Intense, strong, intimidating, and funny."

"You're one of a very small group of people who's gotten to see that side of him."

"Yep, I'm one of the lucky ones. Going to Shorty's with just him and Ranger is alternate reality-material. They pick on each other something fierce."

"They are blood brothers if not brothers by blood."

I nodded. It's not hard to spot the trust, respect, and affection, that exists between the two. You can tell they've been through hell together, but got each other out the other side of it every time.

"That's the perfect way of putting their friendship into words," I told Lester.

"It's how we all think of each other, Steph."

"Yeah ... I see that now. I thought you all were always quiet because you were focused solely on whatever job we were doing at the time, but now I understand that the silent statue-thing is what outsiders get until people like me are accepted into the group ... then there's no shutting you up, especially if I do something epically-good or insanely-bad."

"We take you and your safety very seriously."

"I know. Ranger will kill you if you don't."

"There is that, but we have our own reasons separate from the Boss'. How about Cal in five?" He prompted.

"Cool, controlled, sad, empathetic, and deliberate."

"Why would you call him sad?"

"He wants someone to love, but he hasn't found the woman worthy of him yet."

"He could be playing the field in the meantime."

"He could, but he isn't. He prefers being alone when he's not hanging out with all of us."

"True that. I've been trying to get him out of his head and out of the building when we're off-duty, but he remains a loner. We've all noticed that he'll talk to you."

"Enough to make me want him to be happy."

"He will be. You'll insist on it. Vince in one."

"Sharp ... in intelligence and wit."

"Six words about Ram?"

"Hmmm ... let's see ... respectful, professional, playful, creative, optimistic, and fast."

"Because he caught you body-slamming The Boss down a flight of stairs before Ranger could get you both upright or you could attempt to ravage him?"

"I was late and in a hurry and Ranger was unfortunately/fortunately filling up my escape route. He really should've sensed me barreling towards him and just let me take a header alone."

Lester snorted. "Like he'd ever do that."

"He does tend to put his body between me and everything else."

"Love does that to a guy."

"Speaking as a guy who knows that from experience?" I asked, wondering if he has someone in his life he's seriously interested in and just hasn't dished about her yet.

"I have a few feelers out."

"You better mean that you've met somebody you're falling hard for. If not, I'm going to knee you in your feelers."

Now he cringed for real. "It's the first one. I'm not stupid enough to risk anything I know you'd try to relocate up into my throat. Now onto Woody for eight."

"Trusting, polite, amusing ..."

He sighed in mock-frustration. "That's the same thing as funny. And you already used that for Tank," he pointed out.

"Nope, funny is a full-on hah-hah. Amusing is more of an Huh-HAH!"

"If you say so," he said with a shrug. "Keep going."

"Are you really this bored?"

"Yep. Couldn't sleep last night and I don't wanna get fired by - or get a beatdown from - Ranger by catching up on it now. Continue ... you're on number four."

"From the top ... Woody's trusting, polite, amusing, self-deprecating ... hyphens count as one word," I warned him. He threw his hands up in defeat, so I kept going. "Soothing, tough, sneaky, and smiley."

"Smiley isn't a word, Steph."

"It is in my world. And he always finds something worth smiling about, even on the shittiest days."

"Maybe you were right and I shouldn't have started this game, but I'm up to my nuts in it now ... so Junior in nine."

"If I would've known something like this was going to be your way of killing time, I would've done a little studying first. Hold on," I said, as a lightbulb went off in my head, "I have my cell. I could've been using it all along to hunt for Rangeguy-descriptors."

"That's cheating, Steph. Talk from the gut."

"Saying stuff like that will have your lady swooning in no time," I teased, already planning on asking Ranger to help me invade Lester's privacy and private life as soon as I'm back inside the Rangeman building.

"Too late for that one. Let's stay focused on the guys. Junior's up."

"Chicken," I teased. "Junior's sensitive, alert, chivalrous, thoughtful, stoic, attentive, smart, complimentary, and too-quiet at times."

"I'm sure you know that Junior's mom has had cancer three times now ... bladder, breast, and bone marrow. Being one of the fortunate, he loves her and it's returned. It's been just the two of them for as long as he can remember. I bet not a second goes by that he isn't agonizing about possibly losing her."

"Ranger and I have stayed up some nights talking with him about that ... and about what an impressive woman and Mom she is. As always, Junior hopes for the best as he tries to brace himself for the worst."

"He has a support system in all of us. A lot of quality Call Of Duty game-time has been put in when he and Hal or a few other guys can't sleep. Now describe me in ten."

"You already snuck yourself in and I admitted that you're the obnoxious brother I didn't have."

"I deserve more than just that."

"Fine, but are you sure you want to give me extra adjectives for you? This could go bad real fast."

"I can handle it."

"Alright. You Lester Santos are smartassy - which is also a word, so shut it - cocky, irritating, maddening ..."

"That's the same thing again, Steph. You're fucking up the rules right and left."

I was already shaking my head. "I can't mess up rules that don't freakin' exist! You've just been making them up as we go. And irritating and maddening aren't the same when it comes to you. You being irritating means we threaten to choke you to get you to stop. Maddening is when we feel like pulling out our own hair after an encounter with you. See? Different! I'll also add frustrating because I'm feeling very frustrated right now. But I'll switch gears and say that you're also honest, unflappable, caring, patient, and vulnerable."

"Shit ... this was a bad idea. I am not vulnerable. I'm as hard as they come. I'm basically a fucking robot … with very large feet."

Now I shrugged. "Hey ... this is your game. I was just playing along to humor you. And you are vulnerable just like the rest of us, which is why you're suddenly tensing up. I hit too close to home and it's making you twitchy. A robot you are definitely not. You, Santos, are a big 'ol softie with a huge heart."

I wouldn't touch the very large feet insinuation with a ten-foot pole.

"Says you ... and only you. Got it?" He warned. "We're running out of wait-time, so the Boss in seven ... since you do live on seven now, which is about damn time according to all of us."

I didn't hesitate when it comes to Batman. "Ranger's uniquely-romantic, heroic, fearless, deadly, smokin'-hot, powerful ... and also my fiance."

Alright ... I did take a slight pause before saying that last one, since Ranger and I haven't made it official in the sense of telling anyone except Julie yet.

"Are you shittin' me?" Lester asked, his mouth dropping open far enough to catch at least a dozen flies that will likely be buzzing around my expected FTA when he rolls up to his trailer after a hopefully unsuccessful day of Dumpster diving.

"I'm actually not kidding this time. Ranger and I discussed it, agreed that it's a step we both want and need to take, and the ring is sitting in my Brown Bear cookie jar on seven just waiting for us to share the news."

Lester's grin isn't surprising, but the width of it had me suddenly feeling uneasy.

"What are you up to?" I asked with a calm I didn't feel.

"I was going to have fun sharing our ... what did you call it - 'accidentally on purpose' - recorded game with the guys the next time we all get together, but now I'm going to blast it over every speaker in the building bright and early tomorrow morning. I feel it's my duty to spread the news of an impending Rangeman wedding."

"Not if Ranger and I beat you to it. I can text him now and everyone in four states will know in six seconds flat."

His grin is definitely well within the shit-eating range. "Sorry, Steph. You don't have time. Your skip's home. It's time to knock him down and then lock him up. Get your cuffs out and follow me."

He was out of our fleet vehicle before I could say anything. I bet it would annoy the shit out of him to learn that I don't have any objections to his plan. Only Ranger would know how unafraid I am of our guys hearing exactly how I feel about them. They've all let me into their lives, separately and collectively, and I vowed I'll always do everything I can to help improve each and every one of theirs.