It was like the walls were closing on him.
It was suffocating. He could barely breathe.
He had seen a side of her he had never seen before since the day she had broken up with the cop. She wasn't the girl she used to be.
But she had him where she wanted him and she didn't even know it.
Ranger tumbled the locks of her front door as easily as taking a breath of air. They had to face it; he was never changing.
He had witnessed their break up and could tell it was going to end in complete disaster. It wasn't her fault. It was never her fault. She didn't expect her current skip to blow up the umpteenth car he had sent her. Morelli just couldn't see that.
Since the day they had gotten together, he had been pestering her about giving up work and being a stay-at-home mother to a house-full of his kids. He had been blind to her benedictions since the day she black-mailed her cousin into giving her a job as a bounty hunter. So many people saw her as an angel, but he had broken her wings; with a heart so cold there was no mercy;
"Drop dead, Stephanie!"
Those words were like a stab to his heart even if they weren't for him. Ranger couldn't decide whether or not if Morelli had said them out of anger and frustration.
But he had given it 3 whole weeks and they had not said a word to each other.
It was over.
"Babe,"
He found her in the kitchen with a beer bottle in hand while watching Rex the-wonder-hamster run on his wheel.
Stephanie glanced at him before returning her attention back to her furry roommate. "How long did it take you to twig me and Morelli were over?" She asked coldly.
Ranger's lips twitched. "I decided to give him the benefit of a doubt. He might not have meant what he had said."
She looked at him with a hard stare. "Is that why it took you a month to get your ass over here?! He told me to drop dead, Ranger."
"I was there, Babe." He replied calmly. "He's an idiot. He doesn't know what he's lost."
"Don't give me that crap!"
She slammed her beer bottle onto the counter with a force so brutal it smashed into pieces; ignoring the clear brown liquid that dripped onto the floor as broken shards sunk into her skin.
"Morelli wouldn't have said that to me if I actually managed to keep a car in one piece for more than a week, or if I got a skip to the PD without them trying to put bullet holes in me. What makes things worse is that the whole damn Burg knows and I can't even go to my parents for dinner or drive my grandma to bingo or any viewings without anyone jumping down my throat about how I can never do anything right!"
He noticed her eyes had turned tear bright and her voice cracked.
"Don't expect to get lucky in my bedroom tonight. I'm sick and tired of being used! I actually want a meaningful relationship; the kind that you always run away from, the cowardly bastard that you are!" Stephanie glowered at him. "I don't know why you're here, Ranger, but just let me go, just let me be…I'm nothing…"
A deafening silence shrouded them. Ranger remained where he was; giving no indications that he was going to leave anytime soon.
"You stupid girl," He spat.
Stephanie blinked at him; her mouth hanging open. "What?"
He stepped closer to her, picked up her bleeding hand and examined it. The cuts weren't serious but would need attending to as he plucked out large pieces of glass from her palm and finger tips.
A tear trailed down her face but she wiped it away. "Are you calling me stupid because of this?"
Ranger paused for a moment. "You're gonna be the death of me."
She stared again as he let go of her hand and seized either side of her face.
"You are my world…my everything," He brought his face down to hers and pressed their lips together. Stephanie's eyes had closed but fresh tears spilled from underneath them.
Ranger wiped them away. "Yet, I love the way you're killing me." He kissed her again. "I know I'm bastard but I'm not a coward. Can't you see what you're doing to me? Can't you see I'm falling faster more every hour?"
They stood, still as stone, for what could have been for an eternity. Stephanie's breathing came out in ragged pants as she tried to swallow back the sob he could hear lodged in her throat.
"Babe," He whispered. "Open your eyes…"
She did as he said and large teardrops cascaded down her cheeks.
"Don't ever say that you're nothing. You've helped saved innocent people; you've helped people like Lula turn their lives around…" He kissed her again, but more sweetly this time. "You made me realise…that I can love again…"
Releasing her face, Ranger wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him.
"I do, Babe," He whispered. "I love you."
The sob had finally escaped her throat. Stephanie clung to him as her body shook with violent and muffled cries. She didn't know what it was like to be truly loved which didn't involve falling into bed. That was the cop's idea of affection.
Stephanie didn't know what it was like to be loved for who she was. Morelli only saw her as perfect Burg wife material.
But Ranger saw so much more.
It took several minutes but Stephanie was able to calm herself. She rested her head above his heartbeat; the calm and steady rhythm soothed her while his hand cradled the back of her head as the other stroked her spine.
She looked up at him and smiled. "I love you too, Ranger."
A very rare smile formed on his lips before they joined with hers to share a gentle kiss.