AN: So this is the end. Many thanks to everyone who stuck with it. I know it was a tough read.

As always, I do not profit in anyway.

#########

10 Months before…

Natalie maneuvered the shiny black Porsche Cayenne down Haywood Street and slowly came to a stop in front of her Father's building. She left the car running and turned to look at her Mother.

"Are you sure this okay? Dad's not going to totally freak out, right?"

"I'll handle your Father. And this isn't the first time I've let you use the car overnight."

"I know, but this is the Porsche. You always let me take an Explorer or a Land Rover. Dad loves this car."

"You're an excellent driver, so it's not a big deal. And he loves the Shelby, this is his second favorite. He'll only worry a little. And besides, you're going right to Megan's so you won't be on the road long," Steph said. And this car is fully equipped with GPS so we can find out where you are in a second, she didn't add out loud.

Natalie bit the corner of her lip and nodded. Stephanie narrowed her eyes. Her daughter only did that when she was hiding something. "You are going directly to Megan's, right?"

"Of course." Natalie cut her eyes away from her Mother's penetrating gaze and looked out the window towards the building where she use to spend almost every day after school, running through the halls with several of her 'uncles' chasing her.

"Natalie…you know I'm going to find out eventually."

Her head snapped back to Stephanie's face. "What? Find out what?

"Whatever it is your hiding."

Nat tried to laugh it off but her Mother had always been able to see right through her. "I'm not hiding anything."

"Mmmm," Stephanie murmured, completely unconvinced. "Okay. Well, have fun with Megan and don't forget that you need to pick Nicky up at Grandma's before you come home tomorrow." She reached for the door handle and froze at Nat's response.

"Mom? Did you know right away that you wanted to spend the rest of your life with Dad?"

Whoa. Where did that come from? "No…" she said slowly. "I knew I loved him pretty much right off the bat, but the forever stuff came much later. Why do you ask?"

Natalie twisted a lock of hair nervously around her finger. "No reason. I was just curious. I'll pick Nicky up in the morning. We'll see you around ten."

"Okay…have fun. Be careful and I love you."

"I love you too, Mom."

Stephanie opened the door and grabbed the bag of food off the floor of the front seat. She closed the door and waved to her daughter as she drove off. She headed for the lobby of the Rangeman building with a single thought floating through her head.

Her daughter was in love.

Ranger was going to flip out.

She pulled out the key card she hadn't used in months and swiped it through the electronic scanner on the door. It clicked open and she entered her husband's place of business.

"Steph!"

Zero was working the front desk and greeted her enthusiastically.

"Hey, Zero. Long time no see. How's your Mom?"

"Better. They think she'll be able to go home next week. Thanks for the flowers you sent, by the way. They made her smile."

"It was nothing," Steph waved him off as she headed for the elevator. "I'm just glad she's doing well. I'm going up to five; I'll see you on the way out."

Zero waved and Stephanie stepped into the elevator. On the short ride up, she thought about who had captured her daughter's heart. She had a pretty good idea who it was. She'd caught Natalie eyeing him on more than one occasion with a little more than friendly feelings lighting her gaze. Yep, Ranger was going to flip out.

The elevator door opened and Stephanie came face to face with one Lester Santos.

"Well hello, gorgeous," he said, stepping back so she could exit onto the floor. He flashed his famous half grin; it emphasized the dimple in his left cheek that most women found irresistible. "You sure are a sight for sore eyes." He was just so darn charming that it almost made up for most of his inappropriate behavior.

"Uh huh," Steph said, never one to fall victim to his twinkling brown eyes or his adorable dimples. "You're full of shit, Santos."

He tipped his head back and laughed and then threw his arm around her shoulders. "When are you going to dump that loser boss of mine and run away with me?"

"Hands off my wife or I'll break that arm."

A little shiver ran down Stephanie's spine at the sound of his voice. Even after all this time, he still affected her that way. It made her smile.

Lester spun them around and extracted his arm. "Damn. Foiled again. When did you get back?"

"Just now. And aren't you supposed to be relieving Woody on the monitors?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on my way. Later, Steph." He kissed her on the cheek and darted away before Ranger could grab him and wring his neck.

"Hey, Babe," he said, and slid his arms around her waist so he could bring her in for a kiss. "I didn't know you were here. The Cayenne isn't in the garage."

"I let Nat take it. She just dropped me off. My Mom sent food." She held up the brown bag packed with leftovers.

"Nat has the Porsche?"

Stephanie smiled. "She's just going to Megan's."

Ranger blew out a sigh of relief. "Okay. Where's Nicky?"

"I left him at my parent's house. He wanted to spend the night?"

"With your parents? Why?"

Stephanie jabbed her elbow in his gut. "They're not that bad."

"Babe, I've been in war zones that were less harrowing than a dinner at your parent's house."

"Very funny. Maybe you don't want this roast chicken then."

"Roast chicken? I love your Mom's roast chicken."

Stephanie laughed and gave him a quick kiss. "C'mon, it's probably still warm."

Ranger took the bag from her and linked their fingers together for the short walk to his office. He used his key fob to unlock it and flipped on the light. He held the door open for her and followed her inside.

Stephanie gasped and he looked up from bag of food he'd started to inspect. "It's great, right?"

She hadn't been in his office in a while, but she didn't think it had been that long. Every square inch of the wall across from his desk was covered in photographs. Of her, of the kids, of their friends. The last time she'd seen it there had been a few of the kids, but that was it.

She moved to the wall and began in the corner, taking in each one. A great deal were of her and of the kids, from baby pictures to the present. But she also saw some of Tank and Lula, and their twins, Drew and Bella. There was one of Lula holding them just hours after they were born. There were picture of Joe and Tony and Hal and Connie and their daughter, Megan. There were some of her parents, of Ranger's parents and siblings, of most of the Merry Men and of Grandma Mazur.

She was undoubtedly overwhelmed.

"When did you do this?" She demanded, turning toward him and gesturing to the wall with her hand.

Ranger set the bag of food on his desk and began extracting the contents. "I had a few up there, as you know, and I don't know- everyone just started bringing me pictures. Even Joe brought a couple."

Stephanie was surprised and her eyebrows rose to her hairline with the proof of that.

"I know. I nearly fell out of my chair too." Ranger sat down and opened the container that held the chicken. He found a plastic fork in the bad and dug into the food. He ate a few bites before continuing. "Before I knew it, the whole wall was covered," he said after his mouth was empty.

"I want to do this at the house," Steph said staring at the wall. "We could do it on the far wall in the family room."

"We'll start tonight." Ranger smiled at his wife and polished off the rest of the chicken and started on the rice and asparagus.

Steph beamed at him. "Speaking of which, how long are you going to be."

Ranger sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Probably another hour, at least. Sorry," he apologized. "We finalized the deal with Grey Enterprises to take over security in their New York and Los Angeles offices and I have to get the final contract complete so it can be messengered over for signatures in the morning."

"Don't apologize," Steph said. "This is your job. Plus, I get to see you in that sexy suit."

"You said I look like my Dad in this suit," Ranger said, absently running his hand down the front of his jacket.

"I know. Your Dad is sexy."

"Oh God," Ranger groaned. "I can't tell you on how many different levels that is disturbing."

Stephanie laughed and started for the door but Ranger followed and drew her into his arms. She wrapped hers around his waist and lifted up on her toes to kiss him. She only intended it to be a chaste touch of their lips but Ranger had other ideas. His arms banded around her, bringing their bodies closer together. He probed her lips with his tongue and Stephanie opened to him willingly. Even after nearly twenty five years, his kiss still made her knees week and her heart flutter. The man was a master with his tongue. She felt him growing hard between them and reluctantly pushed out of his arms. "If you keep that up, we'll both be naked and you won't get your work done."

"I think I'm okay with that," he said in a low husky voice and reached for her.

She darted out of the way of his hands with a laugh. "Finish your paper work and then we'll finish this when you get home."

"Immediately when I get home," he said. "It feels like a lifetime since I've been inside you."

Although it had only been a few days, Stephanie felt the same and his words were almost enough for her to lock his office door and get him naked and inside her right that instant. But she knew it would be so much better at home where they could take their time.

"I know what you mean," she said moving to the door. "I'll be waiting. Oh and the kids won't be there – so Ranger? We'll have ALL night."

A low growl sounded from his throat and she grinned at him. "At least kiss me one more time before you leave me stranded her with a massive hard-on."

She crossed back to him without protest and kissed him gently – no tongue this time. He didn't need any more encouragement. "Come home soon," she said.

"Don't worry, I will. But I don't want you walking," he said reaching for the phone on his desk. "I'll have one of the guys drive you."

Steph snatched the phone from his hand and dropped it back into the cradle. "We live less than two miles from here, Ranger. I think I can handle it."

Ranger sighed, knowing he wouldn't win this one. She had a stubborn streak that he simultaneously loved and hated. "Okay, but look both ways before you cross the street," he said in his best Dad teasing tone, following her retreating form.

"Now you look and sound like your Dad," she teased.

Ranger winced and shook his head. "You're horrible."

She stopped in the threshold and turned around to face him. She leaned in and kissed him one last time. "I love you," she whispered. "See you when you get home."

She left him standing in the doorway of his office, his lips and lower parts of his body tingling from her touch.

Ranger sat as his desk for all of two minutes before he was on his feet and headed out. He wanted to be with his wife. Screw the paperwork. He would come in early in the morning and finish it. He glanced at his watch, noting it had only been a few minutes since Stephanie left and if he hurried he would catch her and they could walk the rest of the way home together.

Forgoing the stairs, he took the elevator down to the lobby. Zero looked up when he stepped out and grinned. "She just left, you can catch her," he said.

"Thanks, man," Ranger replied. When he opened the door, he heard the unmistakable sound of screeching car tires trying desperately to stop.

He burst outside at a run in the direction he thought the sound had come from. He rounded the corner of the building and froze when he saw the headlights of the SUV shooting two beams of blinding white light down the middle of the road. Smoke from the burning tires hung thickly in the air and the vehicle had been abandoned, the driver's door left wide open.

His eyes frantically began the search. They followed the light from the headlights and landed upon a huddled figure thirty feet down the street.

Ranger began running. He saw the blood spreading over the light dusting of snow on the blacktop in a slow arc. He ignored it, telling himself it was a trick of the light.

He skidded abruptly to a stop and dropped to his knees beside his wife. The man who'd apparently been driving the car was sobbing over her body. His hands were covered in her blood.

"I-I didn't see her-she was in the middle of the road-I didn't see her," he repeated over and over.

Ranger heard pounding feet as a number of his men came barreling down the street after him. One of them yelled for someone to call an ambulance, but it sounded far away to Ranger; from another place, a different world.

"She's not breathing – she's not breathing." Joseph Morelli pumped his hands up and down on Stephanie's chest trying in vain to get her heart started.

Ranger held her head and blood trickled out of her mouth and ran over the back of his hand.

#######

She's dead," Natalie repeated, her voice escalating to a fevered pitch. "She's dead!"

Ranger wiped at the tears but they rebuffed him, continuing to pour from his eyes.

"I'm sorry Mr. Manoso she had severe internal hemorrhaging, there was nothing we could do - I'm so sorry, she's gone."

Ranger stood abruptly; the voice of the emergency room doctor echoed inside his head.

"She's dead, Daddy!"

"I know - I know that," he managed to choke out.

"Do you?" Natalie snapped, suddenly angry. "Then-why do you-why do you talk to her? Why do you …what happens if the wrong person sees you?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Every time you're out in public I-I worry that someone will see you talking to-nobody and," her anger deflated quickly into despair, "and they'll take you away from me. You know, to the nuthouse or something," she finished on a whisper and clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles began to turn white.

Ranger's heart leaped into his throat. She's afraid? Of losing me? Is that what…He dropped to his knees in front of her and gathered her fisted hands into his. "Nat, is that-is that what all this has been about?"

"All what?" She sniffled and extracted one of her hands to wipe her nose.

He let go of her other hand and crawled up on the couch next to her. "Everything we've - the rebellion -the fighting. You were just…"

"I don't want - I can't lose both of you, Daddy," she interrupted in a small voice.

Ranger gathered her into his arms and she clung to him like she did to Steph in the hospital. It had taken him, Tank and an orderly to pry her from Stephanie's body.

"You won't, baby. You won't. I'm not going anywhere. First thing in the morning I'll call the psychiatrist that Connie recommended."

"Do you promise?"

"Yes, I promise!" he assured her emphatically. "You can be right there with me when I call, if you want."

She clung to him tighter; her tears soaked through his shirt.

"How long have you known?" He asked her after the sobbing subsided. "About the hallucinations?"

She wiped her nose on his shirt. "Since the beginning."

"Oh," Ranger said, suspecting as much. "Why didn't you - why didn't you say something sooner?"

Natalie inhaled deeply. "I-I was just-it was hard, Daddy, to see you that way. It made me feel scared and alone and in the beginning I was…I was jealous."

"Jealous?"

"I thought-I thought that she was a ghost and that she would only appear to you. I tried-I tried to get her to come to me too-and it didn't work."

Ranger thought back to all the nights he'd heard her crying. He had tried to comfort her but she wouldn't even let him inside her room most of the time.

He held her tighter, brushing her hair back from her face. "When did you know that she wasn't?" he asked gently.

Natalie sniffled again. "I think I always knew - I just wanted to believe something else."

Stephanie's earlier words whispered in his head. She had said something very similar to him regarding Joe. Apparently he and his daughter were more alike than he realized.

"You should have talked to me about it, baby. We could have-maybe we would never have let things get this bad between us." All the times he tried to get her to talk to him about her Mother, she shut him down faster than he could get a sentence out of his mouth.

"I know," she agreed quietly. "I wanted to-I really did-but it-it seemed not to hurt as much if I just pushed it away. It hurts so much, Daddy." Her tears began again and Ranger held her, his tears mixing and blending with hers.

"Yes it does."

"Will it ever get better?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "But I don't think we've even got a shot unless we can communicate and not just about this-about everything."

She nodded and clung tighter to his shirt.

"And you have to forgive me Natalie. You have to try to forgive me or we'll never move on from this point."

Natalie shook her head and pushed away from him slightly. She looked up with. "There's nothing to forgive. I don't blame you, Daddy."

Ranger looked at her with much skepticism.

"I did," she responded to the look. "I needed someone to blame. I needed it to be someone's fault, but I know it wasn't."

"It wasn't your fault," she repeated knowing that he indeed blamed himself. He always did when anything bad happened. When she was eight she fell skiing, breaking her leg, and somehow he had determined that it was all his fault.

"I'm trying really hard to believe that, kiddo." He was silent for a moment while he weighed his next question. In a way he wanted to avoid it completely, but if they were going to finally get everything out in the open, this had to be a part of it.

"And what about Joe? Do you still blame him?" Ranger asked her quietly.

Natalie swallowed hard as fresh tears welled again. "Do you?" she countered.

Ranger nodded and unable now to make his voice work he whispered, "Sometimes."

"Me too," she confessed quietly. "Sometimes I hate him so much that I can't see straight."

"Me too," Ranger parroted.

"Why couldn't he see her, Daddy?"

Ranger swallowed and shook his head. He'd asked the same thing of Joe a thousand times. Even as he stood and watched him almost destroy himself trying to save her, he asked the question.

Sometimes, he still asks.

"He tried his best. Even after we all knew she was gone, he kept trying." Ranger stopped and inhaled slowly, pushing away the image of Joe, with his hands on her chest, pumping up and down, trying to get her heart to start beating again.

"He-he loved her, didn't he?" Natalie queried softly.

Ranger wasn't surprised that she had drawn that conclusion. It was painfully obvious to anyone who knew Joe that he was in love with Stephanie.

"Yes," he answered simply. "It's how I knew-how I know that he did everything he could but in the end it didn't matter. It was her time to go. As hard as that is to accept, it was just her time." He paused for a moment. "I've gone over it a thousand times, asking myself what I could have said differently to convince her to wait for me, or to have one of the guys drive her home. I think if I would have kissed her one more time or said one more thing than she would be sitting here right now. If Joe had just left a second later, or taken another route home…"Ranger trailed off, resting his cheek on the top of his daughters head. A tear trailed from his eye down into her hair.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Natalie sniffled. "I'm sorry that I let things get so awful between us. I'm sorry that I didn't realize that you're hurting just as much as I am."

"I'm sorry too, baby," he squeezed her tighter to his side. "We've both screwed up, but we're going to have to learn how to function as a family -without her."

"How do we do that?"

Ranger released his iron grip on her and used both his hands to rub his face. "I don't know," he admitted. "I don't know how to be without her. I guess that's why-that's why I've been conjuring her up." He turned to her. "I'm sorry that I've scared you."

A small smile flitted across her face. "It's okay. I think-I think I understand."

Ranger nodded his head slowly and then reached up to push her hair behind her ear.

"I'm scared too, you know." He confessed.

"Of what?" She prompted.

" I'm scared that you'll never know how much I love you; That I won't be able to be the parent you need me to be and that you're too grown up to need me at all. I'm afraid that Nicky won't remember how wonderful his mother was and that you won't be around to help me tell him everything about her."

"Daddy?" she queried after a long silence.

"Yeah?"

"I'm afraid too."

"Of what?"

"I'm afraid that I'm starting to forget her." Tears flooded his daughter's eyes again and Ranger wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Your mother," he began, "liked to eat scrambled eggs with grape jelly on them and when she thought no one was around she would drink milk right out of the carton."

Natalie laughed a little and snuggled in closer to her father's side. "And her favorite movie was Ghost Busters, even though she told everyone that it was The Shawshank Redemption."

"That's right!" Ranger laughed too. "And when anyone was hurt or upset, she knew just what to say to make it better."

"She would drop everything she was doing just to listen to me ramble on about something that happened at school," Nat added.

Ranger nodded in agreement. "Just a glimpse of one of her smiles could get me out of the worst moods..."

A comfortable silence wasn't something they'd achieved in a very long time, but that was what they were experiencing now. The past months had put unimaginable stress on both of them until it reached the inevitable breaking point. And now, all talked out, the bridges burned between them beginning to rebuild, they sat together in silence, enjoying the comfort that the simple presence of the other brought.

Ranger absently ran his fingers through Natalie's hair. She was curled up on the couch, her head resting in his lap. It was a familiar scene to Ranger; he couldn't count the number of times she fell asleep like this when she was little. He'd missed it terribly.

"Nat?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you do something with me?"

She sat up, tucking her long dark hair behind her ears. "Sure."

########

"You're being ridiculous, Lula," Tank informed his wife and set his squirming son down on the floor. He watched as Drew ran off, chasing his sister through the living room.

"Ridiculous?" Lula scoffed. "They can't be in the same room for ten minutes without screaming. It's been four hours; they could have killed each other by now."

Tank shoved his hands in his pockets and watched as Bella poured eggnog down Drew's shirt. "They need this time to try and talk it out, why can't you just leave it alone?"

"I think she's right, Tank," Connie chimed in. "You should at least go over and check on them."

Tank sighed as his eyes rolled heavenward. There was no way he was going to win this one, not with Lula and Connie in agreement. "Fine," he grumbled. "You better go take that eggnog away from your daughter," he added as he headed for the front door.

"BELLA!" he heard Lula scream as he exited the house. He smirked as he closed the door. That's what she gets for butting into other people's business and not paying attention to her own kids.

He stood on the porch and inhaled the cool night air - or he stood stalling, as Lula would surely accuse him. His nose wrinkled when he caught a whiff of fresh cigarette smoke.

"How long have you been out here?" He asked into the darkness.

"A while."

Tank turned slowly until he could see Joe rocking deliberately in the glider that hangs on the left side of the porch.

"Does Connie know you're still smoking?"

Joe shrugged and took another long drag on his cigarette. The bright orange flare momentarily lit up his face.

Tank shuffled over and settled himself at the other end of the swing. It was severely unbalance now, because of his size.

"What are you doing out here?" Joe asked, turning his head to dispel the smoke.

Tank let out a long-suffering sigh. "Lula and Connie seem to think it's imperative that I go check on Ranger and Nat."

Joe stiffened visibly and then snuffed out his cigarette in the ashtray resting on his lap. "They aren't here?"

Tank shook his head. "No," he answered slowly. "Ranger had Connie and Hal pick up Nicky so he and Natalie could talk."

"Oh." It was all he could think to say so he dug into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes. He extracted another one and lit it.

They sat in silence, rocking slowly. "You should go inside," Tank finally said. "Everyone's been waiting for you."

Joe exhaled slowly, blowing the smoke away from Tank. "I can't," he said.

Tank shifted his weight and scratched his eyebrow absently with his pinky. "When are you going to stop beating yourself up about this, Joe?"

"When it stops being my fault, Tank," Joe snapped angrily.

Tank winced but plowed ahead. "It's not your fault, Joe. It was an accident."

Joe looked at him then, and even in the black of night, Tank could see the dark bruises circling his eyes. It was obviously from lack of sleep, but more than that, Tank knew it was Joe's own guilt and undoubtedly his own grief over the loss of Stephanie that was taking its toll on his friend.

"Do you know how hard it is to look into their faces and know you're the cause of the pain that's threatening to destroy them?" He asked quietly.

Tank swallowed hard around the lump forming in his throat. "No, I don't," he said softly and forced away the tears he felt rushing to the surface.

Joe averted his eyes and once again stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

"Did Tony show?" he asked abruptly changing the subject.

"No," Tank answered.

Joe laughed bitterly. "He probably thinks I'm here."

"You're fighting again?" Tank went along with the new topic, knowing he couldn't push the issue of Steph's death any further without running Joe off completely.

"It's an everyday occurrence. You better go before Lula figures out you're still here," Joe advised.

"Yeah. You're probably right," Tank agreed and pushed himself up off the swing.

He walked off the porch without looking at Joe but turned back when he was halfway down the front walk. "You should go in and get some eggnog before Bella wastes it all torturing her brother."

He watched as a rare smile tugged at Joe's lips. "I'll try," he replied and Tank nodded.

He knew Joe was lying, but it felt good to hear him say it anyway. And it was Christmas, the time for miracles, right?

He reached his car and slipped behind the wheel. Joe was still sitting in the swing when he drove off.

Tank pulled into Ranger's driveway less than fifteen minutes later and killed the engine. He made his way to the front door and yanked open the screen. He knocked on the thick wood door and waited.

There was no answer after a minute, so he tried the doorbell. Again, nothing.

He sighed, wanting to leave, but he knew what Lula and Connie would say if he went home with that news. He shook his head and tried the door. It was surprisingly unlocked so he pushed it open and let himself inside.

"Hello?" He called softly as he entered the house, not really wanting to interrupt a much-needed conversation between father and daughter.

He heard muffled voices coming from the back of the house and reluctantly followed the sound, cursing his wife along the way.

Tank stopped just short of announcing his presence when he discovered the scene in the family room.

"Here," Natalie handed Ranger a photograph. "This is a good one of Uncle Tank. He looks weird with hair."

Ranger took it from her, inspecting the print. "Ah yes. That was his ladies man phase. He thought that afro would get him a lot of chicks."

Natalie laughed and handed him another picture. "I see. And how many bottles of gel did it take you to get this slicked back look?" she asked wryly.

Ranger made a face. "I thought I destroyed all of these." He tried to tear it in half but Natalie snatched it quickly from his hands. "Oh, no you don't. This one is going right here." She tacked it up next to the one of Tank and his giant hair.

"Is that right?" Ranger challenged. "Then this one of you, naked in the tub, is going right here." He added the picture of a two-year-old Natalie getting a bath up on the wall.

"Daddy!" she protested, planting her hands on her hips.

Ranger smiled at his daughter.

Stephanie always did that when she was frustrated with him. As Natalie stood there, she looked exactly like her mother. Ranger drew her into a hug abruptly, holding her tightly. "I love you, Nat." He whispered gently.

"I love you too, Daddy."

Tank felt tears rushing to his eyes for the second time in under an hour. He slowly backed away from the room, making his way silently out of the house.

He dug his phone out of his jacket as he climbed back into his car.

Lula picked up after a half a ring. "Well?" she demanded.

"They're fine," Tank answered. "I'm coming back."

"Fine? How fine?" Lula continued. "I mean, like they haven't killed each other yet fine, or -"

Tank hung up on his wife and tucked his phone back into his pocket. He turned the engine over, backed out of the driveway and headed home.

A smile lit his face the entire way.

###########

"She still wouldn't come, huh?" Connie asked as she adjusted her gloves.

Ranger zipped up his ski jacket. "No," he replied slowly. "She said it would be too hard without-without Steph."

Connie nodded. The annual ski trip had always been Stephanie's favorite. "But you two talked about everything?"

"Yeah," Ranger confirmed and pulled the hat Natalie knitted for him the previous year down over his ears. "I think we're going to be okay."

"Of course you are," Lula jumped into the conversation. "Didn't I tell you that you would be?"

Connie and Ranger rolled their eyes in unison.

"Are we going to ski sometime today?" Tank wanted to know. His ski boots clomped on the floor as he trudged into the room. "Hal and the kids have already been out there for half an hour.

"All right," Lula muttered, "don't get your tighty whitey's in a twist. We're coming."

The front door of the cabin burst open and everyone turned and stared at the silhouettes in the doorframe.

"Um, Natalie asked me to bring her up. That's okay, isn't it?" Joe asked tentatively.

Ranger blinked, not quite able to believe that she was really there. "Of course," he finally blurted. "We were just about to hit the first slope."

Nat smiled at her father. "Great. I'm going to go change." She took her bag from Joe and headed for the bedrooms. "Dad?" She stopped and turned back to him.

"Yeah?"

"Will you wait for me?"

Tears flooded Ranger's eyes blurring his vision. "Always."

Connie, Lula, and even Tank stood watching father and daughter with smiles plastered to their faces. Now everything was how it should be. Almost.

Joe shut the door and they all turned at the sound. They had temporarily forgotten he was there. He stood awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Natalie had insisted that he stay and ski with them, but now he was having serious second thoughts about agreeing.

"I uh- I…"

"You're staying, right?" Ranger prompted.

Joe brushed at the snowflakes peppering his jacket and then finally looked up. "Um, yeah-I mean, if-if it's all right with everyone."

"We kept the loft empty for you," Lula said in response.

"C'mon," she muttered, shoving Connie and Tank. "Let's go. We'll meet you up at Dragon Run." She winked at Joe on her way out the door. Tank added a slap on the back and Connie stopped and hugged him briefly before following Tank and Lula out.

The door closed behind her and Joe and Ranger were face to face.

"Are you sure?" Joe asked, his gaze not wavering from Ranger's.

"Yeah," Ranger answered simply and without hesitation.

Joe nodded and hefted his bag over his shoulder. Natalie came out from the bedroom and both men turned to look at her.

"Ready?" she asked, securing her long hair into a ponytail.

"Don't wait for me," Joe said and headed for the loft.

Ranger's breath caught in his throat at the site of her. She was wearing the ski suit he had bought for Stephanie on their very first trip.

"You don't mind, do you?" She asked hesitantly.

"No," he whispered. "You look beautiful."

"Do you think Mom would mind?"

"Not even a little."

She smiled then and ran her hand down the dark red sleeve. "It won't be the same," she said looking up again.

"No," Ranger agreed.

"Do you think she's watching us?"

"Yes," Ranger nodded. "I do."

"Let's go." Natalie took her father's hand and led him to the door.

Ranger followed her out and as he was pulling the door closed behind them, he saw Stephanie standing next to the fireplace.

She blew him a kiss and then slowly faded into nothingness.

The End

######

Epilogue

"Mr. Manoso - I was fairly surprised to see your name in my appointment book after all this time. I thought we came to the conclusion that you no longer required my services."

Ranger lowered himself onto the familiar couch and stretched his long legs out over the deep navy leather. "You came to that conclusion, Doc. And it's Ranger, remember? I feel old when you call me Mr. Manoso."

Dr. Robbins smiled and casually said, "Well, you certainly aren't a spring chicken."

Ranger narrowed his eyes, but couldn't help being a little bit proud. "I've taught you well, grasshopper," he conceded and leaned back, propping the ever-present fluffy pillow underneath his head.

She chuckled and settled her elbows on her desk, resting her head in her hands. Ranger had always been one of her favorite patients. When he no longer needed her, she'd found herself more than a little melancholy. Not that she would ever admit that to him.

"So what brings you in?" She cut right to the chase, fighting the urge to just sit and banter with him.

He was silent for a moment, staring up at the ceiling. "I saw her yesterday."

She didn't need to ask whom, she simply stood up and moved to the chair next to the couch, his file in her hands.

When she settled in, he continued. "At least, I thought I saw her."

"And that means?"

He sighed and tucked his hands behind his head. "I was walking into Pino's for lunch, like I always do, and when I was about ten feet from the door I saw a woman standing near the tables out front. She was wearing jeans and Doc Martins and her long brown hair hung down her back in a mass of riotous curls. She turned around and smiled and I nearly died right there in the parking lot."

Dr. Robbins heart turned over in her chest. She had never met anyone who loved like Ranger. When he talked about Stephanie she could literally feel how he felt about her. Even after all this time with him, the intensity of it still shocked her. It was like all the air was being sucked out of the room. She tried to take a deep breath and flipped through her notes, looking for something in particular.

"Go on," she urged when he was silent.

"It was that smile, you know?"

She knew it well. Ranger had described it in detail on more than one occasion. The smile that made him very literally weak in the knees.

"Yes," Dr. Robbins nodded. "I know."

"But then I blinked, and it was just some random woman."

"I see," she said and scribbled in the back of his file.

"I'm broken again, Doc. Fix me up."

She smiled. That had been the first thing he'd said to her when they began these sessions six years before. He strolled into her office like the most casual man on earth, sat down on the couch and said: I'm broken, fix me up.

She looked back through her notes and found what she had been searching for. "Yesterday was the anniversary of her death," she said gently.

Ranger frowned and scratched his eyebrow. "Yeah, so?"

"So it's possible that your mind subconsciously conjured up her image as a gentle reminder."

He scoffed. "I don't need a subconscious reminder -it would be impossible to forget." He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to push back the grief that had rushed suddenly to the surface. "Besides," he continued, "I didn't see her last year, or the year before that. In fact, it's been almost two years since I've had any hallucinations at all."

"Mmm…." Dr. Robbins scribbled some more notes.

"Uh, actual words would be good here." Ranger quipped.

"How is your relationship with Natalie?" She changed the subject.

Ranger groaned and covered his face with his hands.

"Not good, I take it?"

He peeked out at her from between his fingers. "What makes you say that?" he asked.

She laughed, "Oh, I don't know. Instinct?"

Ranger sighed loudly and removed his hands. "No, actually things are good. It's – it's almost like it use to be," he admitted.

"But…"

"But….she wants to get married." He said the last word with barely disguised disgust.

Dr. Robbins cleared her throat, trying to stifle a laugh.

"I assume to, "she flipped through her notes "Tony?"

"I thought I asked you to never say that name out loud."

"As much as we'd both enjoy it, it just takes too long to say 'the tattooed freak' sorry."

Ranger sighed in frustration. "Fine. Toooonnny." He drew out the name with as much contempt as he could manage.

Dr. Robbins laughed then, unable to contain it. "Now, I distinctly remember you admitting that he wasn't such a bad kid."

"That was before he asked to marry my baby girl," Ranger grumbled.

"He actually asked?"

"Yeah. I see I'm not the only one who was surprised by that."

"What was your answer?"

He turned his head and looked at her. "What do you think?"

She flipped through her notes again and continued scribbling. "That must have been hard."

"I think you've just uttered the understatement of the year, Doc."

She laughed, "I suppose so. How long have they been engaged?"

"Almost a year."

"That's good. They aren't rushing into it."

"Yeah, but she's only twenty three. Waaay too young to get married."

Dr. Robbins smirked. "She's an adult, so you really don't have any say in the matter."

Ranger sat up and gave his shrink the evil eye. "Why does everyone have to keep reminding me of that?"

She laughed. "What about Nicky?"

"Oh no," Ranger shook his head. "It's Nick now."

"When did this start?"

"On his tenth birthday. He said something about being too grown up to answer to such a baby name." Ranger rubbed his chin and let out a sad sigh. "I feel -I just feel -I don't know what I feel," he admitted and let his hand drop to his lap.

"It sounds to me like you're suffering from Empty Nest Syndrome," Dr. Robins wrote the diagnosis in his file.

He leaned back against the cushions, eyeing her skeptically. "Empty what syndrome?"

"Empty Nest."

"Is that a technical term?"

"Yes, actually it is. It's quite common, especially in parents of your age."

Both of his eyebrows rose in silent question.

"When children grow up, move out of the house and start families of their own, a lot of parents experience Empty Nest Syndrome-feelings of sadness or even grief that their not needed any more. In your case, Natalie is getting ready to get married and even Nick is getting older and not needing you as much as he use to."

Ranger crossed his arms over his chest, contemplating her diagnosis. He exhaled slowly. "Nah, that's not it," he deadpanned.

Dr. Robbins burst into laughter.

Ranger smirked; he could always make her laugh. "Yeah, you're probably right," he agreed. "They're growing up so fast," he added wistfully.

"Kids tend to do that."

He nodded. "Too fast," he said and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. They were growing up so fast and Stephanie was missing it. That was the part he hated the most.

"You know what might help alleviate the symptoms?"

"What's that?" Ranger asked, lifting his head to look at her.

She hesitated a moment, knowing how bringing up the topic last time upset him. "Have you given any more thought to dating?" she asked tentatively.

Ranger rolled his eyes. "No. But surprisingly that hasn't stopped my friends from trying to set me up."

"Connie, or Lula?"

"Both," Ranger sighed. "They're like some sort of obsessed match making tag team."

Dr. Robbins laughed. "Well, I'm still standing by my original suggestion that it would be beneficial for you."

Ranger shook his head. "No offense to your expert opinion, but it's no good for me. It wouldn't be fair to try to be with someone who could never be more than second best. I couldn't do that to anyone."

Dr. Robbins shook her head; there he went again, sucking all the air out of the room. "I know you're going to be disappointed, but your session is up."

"Already?" He checked his watch. "Time flies when you're spilling all your dark, dirty secrets."

She laughed and closed his file.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a good listener?" Ranger quipped.

"Maybe a couple of times," she retorted.

"All right, I'm outta here." He stood up and made his way to the door.

"Do you want to make another appointment?" she asked as he swung the door open.

He stopped, a hand on the doorknob. "Not today," he said at length.

Dr. Robbins smiled as she settled back into the chair behind her desk. "Ranger," she called when he was through the door.

He turned around in expectation.

"You're not broken," she told him. "Just damaged a bit."

He nodded, smiling. "Yeah, but irreparably."

"Perhaps," she agreed.

"Later Doc," he said and closed the door.

The End