A/N – I don't own anything you recognise. And if I owned Ranger, He would not be let out to play so often :P

Also, please excuse any ratings mishaps, let me know if you disagree. I am quite open and graohic, so i may have rated this too low...

This story takes place sometime before Ranger and Steph get together for good. The idea just sort of came to me, and I started writing. There could be more chapters, but I will only post them if people ask for them. Please, please, please review! Xx

Midnight Thursday - Ranger's POV

"Morelli" I called out into the darkness, and that piece of shit Steph called a boyfriend swung around. I emerged from the shadows, my gun trained on his head. "We need to have a little talk, don't we?" With my free hand a shoved Joe into the wall, and he didn't fight back. Apparently, even homicide cops can lose their senses when I slam them into a wall and put a gun to their head. Good to know. "Now, I am going to talk and you are going to listen. What I am saying is not open for debate. I am stating the facts and telling you how you are going to fix it." I snarled, and the piece of scum I had by the shirt collar just nodded. "R-r-r-right" It stammered.

"Now, Stephanie and I had a little chat today – oh no, nothing like this" I paused, looking at the concern that had flashed across Joe's face when he thought for a second I would have slammed my Babe against a wall. I continued: "I noticed some of the bruises on her arms. She wouldn't tell me where they were from. So I pushed. And I watched her. I did a little digging, and went back to see her again. This time, I saw the bruises you left on her stomach. And the nasty cut on her back. You really did a number on her, didn't you? Now, if you ever touch Steph again, you will not only end up with a head ache and messed up pants. You will end up in a third world country no-one has even heard of. Understood?" I dropped Morelli to the ground and melted back into the darkness.

Hours Earlier - Steph's POV

I was sitting in my cubicle at Rangeman, working on the huge pile of searches in my inbox. I was also valiantly trying to ignore the aches in my body. I double clicked and a stinging pain shot up my arm and into my shoulder. I sat back and gingerly massaged my shoulder, snapping back to my computer when Ranger walked in. He sat down on my desk and looked at me quietly. I tried to keep working, but his proximity to me plus his gaze caused me to stop and meet his eyes. "Babe, the men are worried about you. Bobby says he saw bruises on you yesterday when you were working out with him, and Tank, Lester and Hal all say there's something wrong. So are you going to tell me? Can I see the bruises?" I sat there in shock, leaning back in my chair. Not only was I shocked that the boys would care so much they'd say something to Ranger, but that Ranger had never said that much to me in the space of a day before. Slowly I pushed up my sleeves, showing Ranger the purple, yellow and green rainbow of marks on my arms. I avoided Ranger's gaze, but he cupped my chin with his hand and turned my face to his. "Steph, please. Who did this to you? Let me make sure they never hurt you again." I think I surprised Ranger when I pulled away and pulled my sleeves back down. Finally, I looked back up at him, "Ranger, please don't. I can take care of it myself." I returned to my work and eventually Ranger left.

I managed to get through a most of the searches in my inbox, and after a while I started to feel hungry. I realised I hadn't eaten for a few hours, so I popped into the break room and was tempted to turn around and go back to my cubicle. Ranger was sitting in the break room.

"Steph, please. Sit. I've spent the past few hours digging around, and I know it was Morelli who hurt you. And it wasn't just your arms that he bruised, was it?" Ranger stopped, looking at me. His chocolate brown eyes had melted into caramel pools of concern. I closed the door to the break room and slipped out of my Rangeman polo shirt, biting back tears as I stretched my arms over my head. I could not bear to look at Ranger, but I heard his breathing stop as he saw how badly bruised I was. He stood up and walked around me, and he actually gasped when he saw the large island dressing covering the cut on my back. Gingerly he pulled it away, and his voice was shaking when he spoke to me.

"Babe, this cut is infected. Either I am taking you to Trenton General right now, or Bobby is coming in here to deal with it. Your choice." I felt Ranger's hands on my waist, and his forehead on my shoulder, and I let his breathing return to normal. After a few minutes I said to him that I would rather Bobby fix me up than have to be hospitalised again. I sat down in a chair and heard Ranger speaking into his cell. A few minutes later Bobby came in and Ranger left.

"Bombshell? I need to know how you got this cut. And it needs stitches, so this is going to hurt... Bombshell?" The tears had started falling thick and fast now. I sobbed, and regretted it as my ribs ached. "I-I-I-I-it was J-J-Joe! He pushed me, and I fell, and he got mad. We were fighting a-a-a-a-a" I started really bawling then; and Bobby looked totally out of his depth. He pulled a blanket around me and left. Ranger was back, and he sat with me until I stopped crying. After a while Bobby came in and stitched me up, and Ranger sat there the whole time, his fingers intertwined with mine. Bobby left and Ranger and I just sat there. Through the break room window I could see that the sun was setting and the sky was turning purple when Ranger got up and left me. Seconds after he left, Ella appeared and took me up to the seventh floor. She tucked me into Ranger's warm, soft bed, and I slept.

Two AM – Ranger's POV

I parked the SUV in the garage and entered the lift. Travelling up to the seventh floor, I wondered about my Babe. She was safe now, but that was not good enough. She needed to be away from that piece of scum and she needed to be looked after by someone who really cared. For only the millionth time, I wondered if I should tell Steph how I really felt. Whether a blessing or a curse, I had been provided a way of avoiding telling her the truth. She was in no shape to hear it right now. I slipped into the bathroom, and stripped down, pulling a pair of silky black boxers from the draw. I slipped into the bed next to my Babe and hugged her to me. She stirred long enough to realise it was me before falling back into a dreamless sleep.

One day, I would tell her, and we would be together for ever...