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Realigning Destiny
By TT

Sometimes chance intervenes in our lives and causes destiny jumps the tracks. When this happens, fate steps in and realigns destiny’s course to bring us to where we need to be. But, as with the course of true love, the road of realignment doesn’t always run smooth.

Part 15: Coffee Break

Ranger stood in the doorway to the home office watching Stephanie. She had disappeared in there shortly after they told her what was going on and he and Bob had lost themselves in the planning for their “James Bond stuff” as Stephanie had called it.

He smiled at the memory. It had been such a classic Stephanie thing to say. He had really missed the little things like that, missed the way she saw the world, the way she smiled and laughed, the way just speaking to her on the phone could brighten his whole day.

Right now, he was picturing her, not in Bob's home office, but in her cubicle at Rangeman. True, she hadn't been there long and others had spent more time in it over the years, but, to him, it would always be Stephanie's cubicle.

There was such an intensity about Stephanie, such a spark of life that, he was sure, no one who met her could resist. Everything she did she gave her whole self to. He should know, he had been blessed once by the gift of her whole self and now, four years later, fate or destiny or whatever it was had seen fit to bless him with her again. This time, he would be sure to return the favor and hold nothing back from his Babe.

Noting the rather impressive stack of papers in front of her, the interest with which she was reading and the steady hum of the printer, it was safe to say she was thoroughly engrossed in the information she had found.

The fact that she hadn't noticed him standing there for the past few minutes eloquently spoke to her single-minded purpose.

He felt Bob come up behind him and peer over his shoulder.

“She always like that?” he asked.

Ranger smiled. “Only when she's onto something,” he replied. “Is the coffee ready?”

“Yeah. I made some sandwiches too,” Bob informed.

“OK. I'll bring her in,” Ranger replied.

Bob nodded and left.

Walking into the room, Ranger stopped behind and slightly to the side of Stephanie. Resting a hand on the back of her neck, he felt her jump slightly before her eyes turned to meet his.

He smiled down at her and felt his heart trip in delight when she returned it. “Coffee break, Babe,” he explained. He easily read the question in her eyes and was thankful she was still as open and easy to read as she always had been. “You've been at it for about four hours. It's time for a break.”

Before she could reply, her stomach growled loudly and Ranger couldn't help the gentle chuckle that escaped as he watched her turn a delicate pink. Spinning the chair so she faced him, he pulled her up and then wrapped an arm around her waist drawing her close. Before setting off for the kitchen, he placed a kiss on her temple.

He had missed this and realized it wasn't just the contact, it had been as if he had been missing a piece of himself and finding her again had put that missing piece back.

As they stepped into the kitchen, Bob was just putting a platter of sandwiches on the table.

Ranger felt Stephanie begin to pull away as she made a beeline for the sandwiches. He couldn't help but smile, glad that some things never changed.

One night while walking along the Jersey shore in the moonlight, Stephanie had confided that Ranger was her rock, one constant in her life she could count on being there.

At the time, he had been uncomfortable with the revelation, partially because he knew his life was anything but stable, after all, he still got called away on business frequently and couldn't always be there for her. It was only after Stephanie had disappeared, though, that he could admit the thing that had terrified him – Stephanie was his rock too.

He had no idea when it had happened, but she was the one he would lean on, seek out and think of when he was feeling tired, overwhelmed or just lonely. She understood him, at times, better than he understood himself. She had been his point of reference, the center of his world and he had never told her that. He had never let himself know that.

Now, after losing her for four years, he found her again. The only question let for for how long?

The more Bob told him of the situation, the more they reviewed and prepared, the more uneasy he became.

It would be far too easy for something to go wrong.

“I have some of the preliminaries done,” Stephanie was saying to Bob. “But I know we're missing things on all of these people. I can feel it out there.”

“What do you mean?” the older man inquired.

Ranger watched Stephanie's cheeks puff out as she blew out a breath.

“You were right,” she began. “The people I've researched are well educated – very well educated, but, so far, that's all they seem to have in common.”

“So, on the surface, there's no reason for them to know each other, let alone work together,” Bob interpreted.

“Exactly,” Stephanie agreed. “And that means we're missing something or our searches are.”

“What do you need to find out, Babe,” Ranger asked, settling in the chair next to her. He watched and waited as she chewed thoughtfully on a sandwich.

“My search programs at the office should help me find what I needed,” she admitted.

Though he knew she was trying to hide it, he knew something else was bothering her. “What is it?” he asked.

Stephanie stared at her coffee and took a sip. Setting the cup down, she fiddled with the handle a little.

Ranger knew they just needed to be quiet for a few minutes longer and Stephanie would spit it out. He caught Bob's eye and indicated they should stay quiet.

Before long, Ranger's plan worked.

“Fine,” Stephanie said, pushing her coffee away and standing to pace the floor.

Ranger just watched her and waited for her to continue. He knew Bob would follow his lead in this.

Stopping half-way through her circuit, Stephanie turned to face the two men. “I don't think you should move forward with your plan until we know who we're dealing with, or at least why these people are together.”

“We need to go forward with the plan so we can find out who they are,” Bob countered.

Ranger was silent. He had decided to stay out of this discussion. He heart was telling him to listen to Stephanie; his head was telling him to trust Bob. He was more likely to push forward with the plan, but he'd seen Stephanie be right too many times in the past not to trust her instincts.

While he had been having his internal debate, Stephanie and Bob had continued their discussion. Seeing it was about to escalate, he interrupted. “Will twenty-four hours be enough time to get what you need?”

Both Bob and Stephanie turned to look at him.

“I...” Stephanie stuttered, taken by surprise.

Ranger saw Bob about to protest. “If you can't find what you need in the next twenty-four hours, Bob and I will proceed with our plan,” Ranger stated, leaving no room for argument.

“It will have to be enough time, then,” Stephanie replied, squaring her shoulders and meeting both Bob and Ranger's eyes.

Ranger smiled at his Babe. She never disappointed him. He watched as Stephanie stood and grabbed another sandwich.

“If that's all the time I have, I better get a move on,” she said, picking up her coffee and heading back to Bob's home office. “Come get me at five-thirty so I can go get Charlie,” she instructed.

Ranger stood and walked over to her. Tucking a curl behind her ear, he gave her a brief kiss and said, “Anything, Babe,.” He grinned as she blushed and walked away.

To be continued in Part 16 – 016. Moonlight

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