This is a one-off that was the inspiration to another story that I've written. This one is short and sweet, but it sets up a follow-up story that I will start to publish shortly.

I hope you enjoy this and let me know what you think.

Steph's POV

As much as I wanted to ignore the ringing phone and stay curled up under my warm blankets, I slowly reached over and picked up my phone. The caller ID said that it was Ranger, so I answered it after clearing my throat.

"Yo."

"Babe, I need your help with some surveillance. Are you free?"

"How soon do you need me? I still need to shower and get ready."

"I'll be over to pick you up in 30 minutes. We can stop and get some breakfast for you at Tasty Pastry, but you'll have to hurry."

"OK, I'll help, but next time Batman, I'd appreciate more notice."

After finishing my little speech, I looked at my phone and realised I was talking to dead air. I had no idea when Ranger hung up, but I hoped he at least waited for my agreement before hanging up on me, but you can never be too sure with that man.

I looked at my clock and forced myself to get into the shower. I hurried through my morning routine and emerged from the bedroom with tame hair, makeup, and fully dressed. I still had 7 or 8 minutes left before the deadline Ranger assigned to me but I wasn't surprised at all to find him sitting and looking fully relaxed on my sofa when I walked out.

"I just need to have some coffee and then I'll be good to go."

"We'll get coffee on the way Babe. We're kind of in a hurry. I'll explain after we stop at Tasty Pastry and you're fully functional."

I nodded at Ranger and pulled on a pair of running shoes and a jacket. Ranger followed me out the door, took my keys and locked the door behind us. We then walked down to a black SUV. When Ranger picks me up for distractions, he usually collects me in is Turbo, but this time, he was driving one of the RangeMan Broncos. He must have seen something on my face because he smiled and said, "If our surveillance is successful, we'll have to bring the suspect in ourselves. They wouldn't fit in my Turbo very easily."

I didn't have anything to say to this, so I climbed into the truck and waited patiently for us to arrive at the bakery.

One coffee and three donuts later, Ranger and I were sitting in front of a large house near the river.

"Who are we looking for?"

"A guy called Rodney Fisher. He's wanted for several counts of kidnapping. I have no idea why they let him out on bail because he's done it again. We got a tip that he was spotted at this house. We need to wait until he turns up. He's not into early mornings so I'm hoping he'll show his face at some point today."

I nodded and looked at the photo of Fisher that Ranger handed me. I studied it for a moment until his image was burned into my memory and then I handed it back. I sat back into my seat and tried to make myself comfortable. Luckily Ranger was thinking ahead because there were a couple of blankets in the back seat. I reached back and pulled one around me and continued my watch.

About 30 minutes later, there was still no sign of Fisher and I was starting to get bored. I knew from experience that Ranger didn't like to talk during a stakeout, so I tried my best to stay quiet and not distract him. I must have failed because I felt Ranger looking at me. When I turned my head to meet his eyes, he said, "Babe."

"What? I'm not talking, I'm not fidgeting. What could possibly be the problem?"

Ranger's lips curled up a little, but it was only momentary. His blank face came back and he said, "I can tell when you are about to get fidgety. Perhaps we can nip that in the bud by having a 2 or 3 minute conversation every 30 minutes or so."

I looked at Ranger and said, "Are you sure? Does this part count as our conversation for the first part?"

Ranger grinned and asked, "Did you get up to anything interesting last night?"

I shrugged and said, "Not really. I went home after work, ate left over pot roast and then watched TV. That's not all that interesting. What about you?"

I expected Ranger to deflect the question but he actually answered. "I got a phone call from an old college friend of mine. He was telling me that our favourite band when we were in college was getting back together for a reunion tour. He was calling to tell me that he has some tickets and wanted me and a guest to join him."

I laughed and when Ranger glared at me, I quickly straightened up and said, "I'm sorry. It's just hard to imagine you having fun at a concert. I know I had a lot of fun at various concerts when I was in college. I went to one in particular that ended up being the last concert that band performed. They broke up the following week."

Ranger was looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "What band was that?"

I was a little surprised that Ranger would care, so I told him the name of the band. It wasn't like Pixie Dust Grinders was a hard name to forget. He just sat there and stared at me. After a few moments of stunned silence, he said, "How were you at that concert Babe? That concert occurred during my 2nd year at Rutgers right before I joined the Army. Since you are 2 years younger than me, you'd have still been in high school."

Now it was my turn to grin. "I was at that concert and I was in college that year."

Ranger looked at me and said, "Explain."

I laughed and said, "I guess you don't know as much about me as you think you do Batman. I fast-tracked through high school and graduated a year early."

Ranger stared at me for a few moments longer and said, "I can't believe I never knew that before."

I nodded and just sat there, watching for the skip. I couldn't take the silence any longer and said, "I never really thought about it before, but that means that we were in the same place at the same time. I was at Douglass College and you were at Rutgers. We were in the same town. I wonder if we ran into each other and just didn't know it at the time."

Ranger smiled and said, "I'm sure I'd remember if we crossed paths before. You and I were at the same concert together, so chances are, we ended up at a few other places at the same time."

I snuggled into my blanket and started to think about what would have happened if I had met a young Ricardo Carlos Manoso. My mind drifted and I got lost in my thoughts. Ranger pulled me back to the present by saying, "There he is Babe. Let's get him."

I helped Ranger with the skip and found myself returning to my thoughts as we drove to the station. I waited in the car while Ranger took the skip in. I was comfortable and warm, and who knew how long Ranger would take. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, I was being carried into my apartment building. Once in the elevator, Ranger put me down and said, "I'd love to hear about the whole fast-tracking through high school and going to college a year early thing. Why don't I bring dinner by this evening and you can tell me all about it?"

I smiled at Ranger and said, "On one condition."

Ranger raised his eyebrow as his silent acknowledgement for me to go on. I said, "If I tell you about my high school and college life, you have to tell me about yours and you have to take me to the Pixie Dust Grinders concert with you. I loved them!"

Ranger stared at me for a moment and then nodded. "I'll see you at 6 Babe. I'll bring pizza and something to drink. Would you prefer beer or wine?"

I shrugged and said, "Surprise me Batman."

Ranger grinned and said, "Challenge accepted."

He left and I stood there thinking about what to do for the rest of the day. I grabbed a snack, set my alarm for 5PM and then had a nap. I fell asleep dreaming about what Ranger was like in college.

Let me know what you think. I'll publish the first chapter of the follow-on story if I get enough interest in this one. I'm also working on another RangeWoman story, but it won't be ready for a while. I'm hoping this story will tide you over for the time being.