The Good Towels

Stephanie knew she tended to be philosophical while taking a shower, but during her third shower of the day, all she could think of was getting clean and falling into bed.

Her first shower of the day occurred at Morelli's house. He shared a cannoli with her as her birthday present, let her sleep in while he showered, and then kissed her before he left for the day. He left enough hot water for her to enjoy as it flowed down her bare skin. Her smile didn't diminish while she dried off, but her thoughts did drift to the new towels in the guest bathroom, wishing she had brought one of those in with her before she entered the bathroom. She knew Morelli really didn't care about who used what towels, but his mother had volunteered Joe's house to out-of-town relatives coming to visit later that week. Mrs. Morelli insisted on placing the new towels in the bathroom herself to assure herself that the Burg standards would appear to still be held by her bachelor son.

Birthday wishes, cards, and even a few presents came her way during the day. Lula bought the donuts, the box decorated with a big red bow. Connie painted Stephanie's nails red, as well. But, Steph did not appreciate the red burn mark she received from her skip, Marty Sanchez. She found him at his work, the Double Tree Hotel's kitchen, where he threw a pot of marinara sauce at her. She dodged most of the sauce, but some still landed on her shirt and then seeped to her abdomen. The burn wasn't noticeable until she showered for the second time that day at her parents' house. As she was drying off with one of the towels she had used as a child, she groaned as the burn was aggravated by the rough towel. She reached out for one of the newer guest towels, but pulled her hand back as her mother's voice came from the other side of the bathroom door. Lunch, and more importantly, birthday cake, were waiting for her downstairs.

She spent the afternoon spending her gift cards at Macys. She loved trying on the clothes and the shoes and not feeling any guilt about having to pay the rent or food for the next month. She bought several jeans to replace the ones that were damaged through the course of her work. She bought several of the stretchy shirts that she, and Joe, liked. And, she found a fabulous dress that she looked forward to wearing out with Joe that night, along with 4" heels that made her legs look fabulous. After shopping, she came home to her apartment to take a nap before their evening nap. Her apartment had been cleaned, with a card from Ella on the dining room table. Next to her card was a vase of flowers, all blue, with a card from Ranger, wishing her a happy birthday.

She smiled when she read the card from Ranger. He had been out of town for several months, visiting his other offices. He had actually stayed in touch with her, calling at least once a week. She almost fainted the first time he ended the call with goodnight. Their friendship grew as he shared more of his daily life with her over the phone. She was happy with Joe, but she found herself smiling for the rest of the day after her phone calls with Ranger. He wasn't even flirting, much, over the phone, but he listened to her tales of her skips and never failed to say how proud he was of her.

Her nap was interrupted by a phone call from Morelli, telling her that he had to work that night on a new case. She was disappointed, but understood. Only a few minutes later, Lula was on the phone, telling her about a new club, and Steph agreed to go that night. It ended up being one of her favorite nights ever, as she, Lula and Connie were joined by Mary Lou and Valerie and then by the Merry Men. She limited herself to two margaritas throughout the night and enjoyed dancing with each of the Merry Men and the girls. She felt no pressure from anyone to do anything except to have fun and enjoy her day.

So, here she was, in her shower, at a little before midnight, taking her third shower of the day. She winced as her hand brushed against her burn and thought about her own towels. She had splurged on soft towels when she worked at E.E. Martin, but since becoming a bounty hunter, she ended up ruining more towels and only had a few threadbare ones left. She briefly promised herself to splurge again on good towels for Christmas and hoped she wouldn't ruin any more. She turned off the shower, stepped out and reached under the cabinet. She was surprised when she felt something soft at her touch. She bent down and found her cabinet filled with new dark blue towels. They were soft on her skin and did not aggravate her burn. She felt pampered and took her time drying off.

After she changed into pajamas, she looked under the cabinet and found a card that had slipped to the side of the towels. She opened the card and read, "You deserve the best in your life, from towels to flying. Happy Birthday." She smiled as she recognized the handwriting, and fell asleep, knowing that she was loved.

Author's note: If you want to know who the note was from, I need reviews! About, hmmm... 25 would be nice. :)