Disclaimer: Still not making a damn thing, still don't own Ranger…sniff…still holding my breath for more 27Minutes, AWT, Kissing Me, TIAT, INTL, CTIH, AMOM, Taking Charge, SMM, After Ten Redone, RD, PR, WSDTT, The Car…face turning blue

Mary Lou & I were standing in line at the Matterhorn at Disneyland, the sound of the rollercoaster cars clacking as they raced around the tracks competing with the screaming of the teenaged girls as they passed into the mountain.

We had finally decided to take a girl's vacation. Lula, Connie, Mary Lou and I had flown to California yesterday after an exhausting 2 months of seemingly endless skip-chasing.

Since Vinnie hadn't bonded anyone out lately, he'd grudgingly allowed Connie to close the office for a long weekend and taken Lucille to Point Pleasant. Actually, I think Lucille might have had a hand in that. She'd run into my mother at Giovinchinni's and had gotten an earful of how Vinnie had been running me ragged, and decided we needed a vacation. Sometimes I think Lucille was more family than Vinnie was. Go figure.

Connie and Lula had elected not to go on the Matterhorn; I think they were put off by the line, since it wound around the mountain, and the wait time looked to be around an hour. Ranger would be proud!

We had just moved up a short distance in the line when in my peripheral vision I caught a slight movement and turned. A large man with his back to me had grabbed a woman around her neck and was holding a knife to her side, using her body to shield him from the man he was facing.

A low voice growled "Let her go, Wilson. She isn't a part of this."

I knew that voice. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Crap.

"Back off, and I'll let her go. I ain't goin' back!" Wilson's voice had a slight nasally twang to it. He probably would've been taken more seriously if he'd have kept his mouth shut. His voice totally ruined the whole menacing image he'd obviously worked to project. Idiot.

I reached into my shoulder bag. Even though I was on vacation, I wasn't stupid enough to leave all my bounty hunter paraphernalia at home. I felt for my stun gun, switched it on, then reached out and touched it to the idiot's bare arm. He stiffened, then crumpled to the ground with an audible "oomph".

"Babe" I heard an amused chuckle, and looked up to see a 1000 watt smile beaming at me, and Tank standing next to him with a big shit-eating grin on his face. The woman the idiot had been holding hostage was thanking me profusely while Tank bent to cuff him. The crowd standing in line was clapping; well, most of them were. The women were drooling & ogling Ranger as he came over and draped an arm around my shoulders and dropped a kiss on my head. He bent his head and spoke softly into my ear, his warm breath stirring the curls there that hadn't made it into the pony tail.

"Prepared and aware of your surroundings. Proud of you, Babe!"

I could feel the warmth that I felt from his compliment spread and my heart started to do a little happy dance. I looked up at him and smiled cheekily, the mischief I felt clearly apparent on my face.

"Thanks, Ranger. And not a speck of garbage! Think it would get us on this ride any faster?" I asked.

Ranger threw back his head and laughed, drawing the stares of not just the women standing in line, but those passing on their way to the concessions and other rides in the area as well. I heard several gasps. I had to hold mine back myself, so I could certainly empathize with them.

"You never disappoint, Babe!"