JE owns the rights to anything familiar. All mistakes are mine.

I wrote this new year's eve and had intended to post it then, but life got in the way. Hopefully you won't mind that it's a little irrelevant now. :)

"T'was the night before Christmas, when all through the house..." I paused and lifted my gaze across the room to where Lester was curled into the overstuffed chair residing next to the bare fireplace. Ranger said we couldn't light a fire because the smoke might attract unwanted attention. "Are you really going to make me read this?"

"Yes. It's your punishment since I'm stuck out here in the middle of nowhere with you instead of being home for Christmas."

"Christmas was six days ago and you volunteered for this assignment," Bobby helpfully supplied from his prone position on the couch.

"Yeah," I agreed, narrowing my blue eyes at Lester's twinkling green ones. "And this was not my fault!"

"I don't see how any of that is relevant," Lester said with a sniff and swung his legs so they were dangling over one arm of the chair. "Because I'm here, I didn't get to read the story to my niece on Christmas Eve so now you have to read it to me."

"Your niece is sixteen and you haven't read anything to her since she was about four." Bobby was quickly rising to the top of my ever-revolving "favorite Rangeguy" list.

"I didn't know you knew how to read," Ram chimed in from the doorway that leads to the small kitchen. I grinned at him and he winked back.

"Funny," Lester retorted with a glare in Ram's direction, "but I'm not letting you off the hook, Steph. You promised to read it so get to reading." He gestured with a flick of his wrist to the phone in my hand. I'd had to google the poem because I couldn't remember all the lines.

"Why didn't you have me read it on Christmas Eve? It's seems stupid on New Year's Eve."

Lester rolled his eyes. "We were a little occupied on Christmas Eve with saving your ass from the lunatic with the Uzi who was hell-bent on putting a bunch of holes in you, remember?"

"Of course I remember," I replied. But I had been trying not to think about it since Ranger whisked me away and stashed me in this cabin, with a herd of his men protecting me twenty-four-seven, while he hunted down the perpetrator. The skip had unfortunately escaped after he tried to obliterate me with his illegally obtained submachine gun.

I let out a sigh and hoped Ranger would make an appearance today. He hadn't been seen in over forty-eight hours and I was starting to get anxious, plus sharing one bathroom with five men was bordering on torture.

"C'mon, Steph," Lester whined and I let out another sigh before continuing to read. At least the cabin had Wi-Fi.

"Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse."

"I'm pretty sure I saw a mouse yesterday," Zip interjected, "and it was definitely stirring." I set my eyes on the spot on the rug in front of the fireplace. He was stretched out on his back with his hands laced behind his head and Hector was lying perpendicular to him, resting his head on Zip's chiseled abs. Seeing them together in that way always made me smile. I'd known for some time they were a couple but they'd just recently quit hiding it from everyone else and I was still getting used to them being close around other people. To their credit, the men took it in stride and the worrying I'd done about it had been for nothing. Just as Ranger had predicted. Sometimes it irritated me that he was always right.

"What?" Lester barked and yanked his feet up into the chair. "Where?"

"Jesus, Santos. Please tell me you aren't afraid of a fucking mouse." Ram strolled into the room and pressed a mug of hot cocoa into my hand before shoving Bobby's legs off the couch so he'd have a place to sit.

I took a sip of the chocolatey goodness while Lester tried to cover the fact that he was so totally afraid of mice. "No, I just don't want to step in any droppings." He was peering around the room suspiciously as if expecting a rodent to appear from every corner. "Keep reading, Steph."

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds while visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads…"

"This poem is lame," Ram broke in. At this rate it was going to take me all night to finish it. "What kid dreams of sugar-plums? And what is a sugar-plum anyway?"

"It's candy," Bobby supplied.

"Oh, it's not a plum?"

"No, just candy. You dream about candy, why wouldn't a kid?"

"Well, candy is delicious," Ram replied. "Way better than dreaming about fruit."

"I bet Ranger dreams about Plums," Hector said. "One in particular."

"Oh yeah," Bobby agreed, cutting his humor-filled eyes to me. "I bet they're good ones too."

I rolled my eyes and went back to reading.

"And mamma in her 'kerchief and I in my cap, had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap, when out on the lawn there arose such a clatter…"

Before I even registered there was a problem, the whole team was on their feet and reaching for weapons. Every face was tense and ready for something bad.

"What's wrong?" I asked slowly and set my phone and mug on the small table next to the rocking chair where I'd been sitting for the past hour.

Ram put his forefinger to his lips, silencing my inquiry. Automatic gunfire erupted from somewhere outside and the team went into action. "Hector and Zip, go!"

The two men surrounded me, Zip in front, Hector behind and rushed me to the back of the cabin. There was a small panic room hiding behind a panel in the bedroom and I knew that's where they would take me.

Zip hit the switch to reveal the hidden entrance and punched the code into the electronic keypad. The thick, steel door clicked open and he pulled me inside. Hector was right on my heels and secured the lock when we were all safely inside.

I didn't want to be hiding with everyone out there in danger but I knew this was Ranger's protocol and they wouldn't deter from it even an inch so I kept my mouth shut and Hector activated the security monitors. There were cameras surrounding the cabin and most of the expansive property so from the safety of the panic room, we could see, but not hear, what was going on outside.

"How did he find this place?" I wanted to know as I peered over Hector's shoulder at the closest TV screen. "I don't even know exactly where we are."

"Pennsylvania," Zip supplied. "And don't worry, this was all part of the plan…sort of."

I felt my eyes narrow. "There was a plan? I don't remember anyone filling me in on a plan."

Zip at least had the decency to look abashed. "Well…he said you'd try and talk him out of it because of how danger…"

"Zip," Hector warned and Zip clamped his mouth shut.

I turned my quickly escalating wrath on Hector. "This is bullshit. You guys are always keeping stuff from me because you think I'll freak out! I'm not freaking out!"

They both gave me raised eyebrows. Maybe I was freaking out a little. "Okay," I said, after taking a breath. "I'm calm. What was the plan and did it involve the gunfire we heard?"

Hector got distracted by movement on one of the screens. "Shit, that's a rocket launcher!"

Zip half shoved me out of the way so he could see. "What? How the held would he be able to get ahold of an RPG?"

The person, I was assuming was my FTA, Bubba Masterson, darted out of line of the camera and if I hadn't had my eyes glued to the screen, I would have missed the movement behind him.

"Was that…" Hector grinned at me over his shoulder. "Are they in some sort of snow camo?"

"Yes. Fortunately, your skip wasn't as smart. It's really easy to spot him in the snow when he's wearing all black."

"Bubba certainly isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but I definitely underestimated him. There was nothing in his file about a stockpile of weaponry."

"Don't worry, Ranger will take care of him."

We watched the screens for a few more minutes before I brought up the plan again. "So he purposely led Bubba out here? To where I am?" It seemed odd for Ranger, normally he wants me as far away as possible from someone that dangerous.

"Yes, less collateral damage where it's mostly uninhabited and the woods make a great place to bury a body."

I gave Zip a raised eyebrow, thinking that might be a joke, but knew it wasn't out of the realm of possibilities when Ranger was involved.

So that's why I have an excessive amount of you here with me." Ranger always did err on the side of caution, especially when it came to me, but five of his men was complete overkill.

Hector nodded. "He knew there would be no way the guy could get through all of us. But something must have gone slightly awry because he was supposed to give us a heads up before they got all the way out here."

"Only slightly awry?"

He grinned at me again before focusing his attention back to the monitors. "And he's down." I watched Bubba jerk on the screen and tumble into the snow. The streak of red was unmistakable in the pristine white powder.

I winced instinctively and whispered, "Is he…"

"Naah, that was a shoulder shot. Looks like he'll be rotting in a jail cell instead of the ground."

"Guess we won't need those shovels after all," Hector added and I still wasn't sure if they were kidding. What I thought was a huge mound of snow moved on the screen and it turned out to be Tank. He removed the camouflaged hood hiding his bald head and grinned at who I assumed was Ranger with his knee on the perp's back, yanking his arm to secure him with cuffs.

He clearly mouthed, "that was fun," before disappearing from view of the cameras and I rolled my eyes. The Rangeguys had a decidedly warped view of what constituted fun.

"Won't be long now," Zip said. "better get you out there; he'll want to see you right away."

And just like that my brief stay in the panic room was over. After disengaging the locks and exiting the space, Zip took my arm and led me back out to the living area. The front door burst open, bringing with it a gust of wind and a showering of snow. Oh, and of course Ranger.

His liquid brown eyes locked with mine and time was suspended for a beat while I forgot to breathe. Ranger always could take my breath away. Him and the freezing wind he brought with him.

I didn't get the chance to say anything before I was in his arms. He lowered his mouth over mine for a kiss that wasn't entirely appropriate with the present company but I wasn't about to complain.

Unlike Lester, who was grousing a second later when he came in the door with the rest of the guys and Tank on his heels.

"You interrupted story time and I didn't even get to fire my gun. This new year is already off to a shitty start."

I glanced down at my watch and saw the clock had indeed struck midnight. "Told you I'd make it for our New Year's kiss," Ranger whispered with a slight tilt to his lips. He pushed my hair behind my ear and gave me a quick once over, checking for injuries. "Are you okay?"

"Now that you're here and I don't have to share a bathroom with so many people any more, yeah. We are going home, right?"

"We're leaving?" Bobby whined in jest. "I was just starting to get used to this place."

"You're leaving," Ranger corrected. "Steph and I are staying here."

"We are?" I questioned.

"Yes. You promised me uninterrupted alone time as your new year's resolution, remember?"

"And that's our cue to bug out. Let's move, men!" Tank ordered and after a round of goodbyes that took way longer than Ranger's allotted patience threshold, I found myself alone with the man in black…after he stripped out of his arctic camo.

"About that resolution," I started as he stalked me across the small living room. He lifted his long-sleeved shirt from his ripped torso and I forgot what we were talking about.

"Forget it," he said. "I'm not letting you break any of them. Not tonight, anyway." He reached for the zipper on his cargos and I sucked in a breath. "I have an excessive amount of adrenaline to burn off right now, Babe, so I hope you got some rest today."

"Rest? With Bobby and Lester bickering like an old married couple all the time?"

Ranger latched a fist onto my red, cashmere sweater and drew me against his body. "The only married couple I want to discuss is in this room right now and actually I don't want to talk about anything until after you are naked and I've been inside you multiple times. That's my New Year's resolution."

"So you didn't tell them we got married before all this started?"

"It's no one's business and why are you still talking?" He halted all further words with a well-placed tongue on the skin he'd revealed after peeling away my sweater.

It wasn't the honeymoon either of us envisioned but alone time with Ranger was all I needed or wanted and as I'd made the resolution to make that happen more often, and despite the slight delay because of a lunatic, I thought the year was off to a great beginning.