Perfect Match
By MIsha
Disclaimer- I don't own Stephanie Plum or any of the other characters (though I wish I owned Ranger). They belong to the incredibly talented Janet Evanovich and I'm just borrowing them. I'm not making any money off this, so please don't sue me.
Author's Notes- This is my first Stephanie Plum fanfic. I am madly in love with the books (and with Ranger). This is a short Babe fic, told through the eyes of Rachel Martine. I was rereading Twelve Sharp and this popped into my head.
Pairing- Ranger/Stephanie.
Summery- Ranger and Stephanie through the eyes of his ex-wife.
Rating- PG-13
Spoilers- Mostly just Twelve Sharp.
If someone had asked me to describe the perfect woman for my ex-husband, I'm not sure how I would have answered.
I probably would have said sleek, sophisticated, cool, calm and collected. Carlos was all of those things and it seemed to me that his perfect mate would be just like him, I couldn't see him in a relationship otherwise.
Of course I might have decided that because the one thing I did know is that whatever Carlos' perfect match it wasn't me. I was just the naive Catholic girl that got pregnant the first time she had sex, the one he'd had to marry, but who barely rated a second look.
Not that I regret the night Carlos and I spent together, and yes it was only one night, because Julie, along with my other two children, is the best thing that ever happened to me and I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world.
However, the marriage between Carlos and I was a total sham--we never slept together after that first night, and we divorced when Julie was three months old. Still, he'd done the honourable thing and helped me save face with my family, plus he never missed a support payment and I'm grateful for that.
Though, besides that, he was a virtual stranger to me and the only impression I had of him was based on outside appearances, because I certainly never got close enough to know the man inside. I can't say I thought about my ex-husband's love life too often, but I guess I figured that Carlos would learn from his mistakes and that if he ever did get seriously involved, he'd pick a woman just like himself.
I guess that was why I was so surprised when I met Stephanie Plum. She was nothing like I would have guessed for Carlos' type. Bubbly, disorganised, disaster-prone, funny and emotional. Pretty much the antithesis of Carlos, but I learnt that you can't judge a book by it's cover, because Stephanie and Carlos are perfect for each other.
The first time I met Stephanie was at the hospital after Carlos was shot, when I went to pick up my daughter. She wall all wild-haired and wild-eyed, looking like her whole world was falling apart because Carlos was in danger.
I immediately assumed she was his girlfriend and was surprised, only to be corrected and told that she was just a friend and that she was dating some cop. In some ways, it made sense, because I couldn't see her with Carlos, and yet... One look at her face and I had known that she loved him.
I also knew that she saved my daughter's life and it was that that made me pay attention to her, not her possible involvement with my ex-husband. The impression lingered, along with the feeling of mismatch and it deepened upon our second meeting.
The next time I met Stephanie Plum, a year had passed, and she came with Carlos to Miami to see Julie. This time, no one tried to say that she was just his friend, though no label was assigned.
Still, it was easy to see that they were together and I was just as surprised as I had been the first time I saw her. But there was no denying it, there were subtle touches and looks. Though I don't know from personal experience, I do know that Carlos is a very possessive man and he always marks what he considers his and it was easy to tell that he considered Stephanie his.
It was on the second meeting that I got a chance to really know her and everything I learnt surprised me. Stephanie is a sweet, funny, kind woman, but she's also unorganised, emotional, and sort of a disaster. Not at all the kind of woman I would have picked for Carlos.
Instead of matching him, she was the total opposite. She didn't fit in his calm, organised life, she disrupted it, bring total chaos into it, and yet... He didn't seem to mind at all, in fact, he appeared to almost enjoy the chaos. And when you looked at them, it was obvious that they just fit.
The third time I met Stephanie, I knew for sure that they were meant to be. Its a good thing, because that was the day she became Mrs. Carlos Manoso. Julie wanted to go to the wedding and I don't really like her being around Carlos without me there, so Ron and I travelled to New Jersey for the wedding.
It was incredible. That day I saw a side of Carlos, I never knew existed. I'd known him for over a decade and never once seen him smile, but he beamed as she walked down the aisle towards him and the love on her face... She was his everything.
It was at that moment I realized that it made sense. He didn't need a woman just like himself, he needed someone different. He needed someone who would complete him, who would bring love and chaos into his neatly micromanaged life. A woman who'd teach him to truly live. I was never going to be that woman, nor did I have any desire to be.
Ron is my soul mate, the love of my life, and Stephanie is Carlos'. She might not have been the kind of woman I ever imagined Carlos failing in love with, but it only took three meetings for me to realized that she was the only woman in the world for him.
- End