Disclaimer – All characters belong to the lucky JE and I am not making any money from them.

What happens when Steph and Ranger go back and reflect?

As a side note I don't have the first couple of Plum books on me so if a certain street or café name was given, or even a date, I apologize and if you can correct me I would appreciate it.

Thinking Back

I was sitting in the driver's seat of a Rangeman Explorer with Tank riding shotgun. We were following up on a lead that Thomas Catelli was going to meet his two brothers for lunch at Julian's, an overpriced restaurant in the heart of Newark.

Catelli was working his way into the underground. He bought and sold raided army equipment for a living, with a side business of Laundromat chains. Thomas had decided that after seeing a lipstick stain on his lawyer's suit one day that the guy must have been having an affair with his wife. Catelli then proceeded to try to cut his lawyer's penis off but the wife busted in and wacked him with a side lamp.

Cops were called and they did their thing putting the bastard behind bars. Vinnie, doing his thing, decided it would be good to bond him out. He skipped a week ago and this is the first solid lead we've had on him.

So far nothing but we've only been waiting 20 minutes and the lunch crowd was just starting to arrive.

The phone on my hip vibrated. I picked it up and looked at the screen.

Babe.

"Yo," I said, still watching for Catelli.

"Yo yourself." Her voice was slightly nervous. I waited for her to continue. "You busy?" she finally asked after a few moments.

"Is something wrong?" I countered.

"Nope," her lips popped on the 'p'. "Not a thing."

"Babe."

Tank's eyes cut to me as he smugly grinned before turning back to the task at hand.

"Seriously Ranger. No stalkers or shooters. Not one bomb in sight either."

More like yet, I thought.

"Bombs are usually hidden Babe."

She sighed but when she spoke I could hear the smile in her voice. "Smartass. You know what I mean."

Again we were quiet for a minute. "Is there something you need?"

"Oh no nothing like that," she rushed out. "Just checking in. Making sure you didn't get shot or anything. Not that I thought you would but you know there are a lot of crazies out there. Most go after me but you always help out and some end up going after you because of-"

"Babe." She was absolutely insane and I loved that about her. I could tell there was something she wanted to ask me but was too worried to ask. Probably thought I would say no.

In reality, I've only said no to her a handful of times. And even then, it was because her life was in danger. Not because I didn't believe in her or want her to have something.

"Sorry," Steph said quietly. "You're probably working. I'll let you go now. Bye."

I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it. She actually hung up before me.

Tank glanced at me. "What was that about?"

I smiled lightly and shook my head. "I'm not even sure if she knew."

Tank laughed. "I hear you, man."

We both focused back on the restaurant. I thought we were done talking about her, but apparently Tank wasn't.

"It's been a crazy year hasn't it?"

I didn't look at him but I knew he was grinning. "She made it interesting."

"No shit. Life aint gonna be the same. You know all the guys think of her like a sister so they always want her around."

Yeah. My men respected Stephanie and would happily take a bullet for her. One scratch on her body and they were lining up to find the guy that put it there. I'm sure half of them are in love with her. It's hard not to be. She was a one of a kind woman. Worth all the trouble she gets into.

I nodded slightly but kept quite.

Stephanie Plum was the most beautiful disaster I have ever seen. Instincts better than a general but a complete magnet for trouble in a 50 mile radius. Even through everything she's been through, my Babe has kept strong when most people would be locked up in a padded room. She gives her all even if she ends up in garbage once in a while.

My lips twitched at the thought. There has been garbage, Vaseline, pickle juice, food, shakes, dog fluids, fire extinguisher foam, soot, and some kind of green slime I couldn't name.

And her cars. Madre de Dios. If I didn't pay off her insurance company I don't know how she'd find another company to help her. I'm sure she's in some world record for the number of cars that she's destroyed and the number of different ways they got toast. Bombs, Molotov cocktails, flattened, submerged in water, more bombs, and had the gas tank shot at.

Lets not forget about her family. Her father, though silent unless he had something worth saying, was no doubt the head of the family. When Frank did speak, he had a commanding presence that I respected. The fact that he would always be there for Stephanie when others weren't was the greatest reason admired him. That and he was the sanest of the bunch.

Helen tried her hardest to own her life in the Burg. Hard to do with a daughter like Steph but although she always blamed Steph for the endless phone calls, all she wants is for my Babe to be happy. Helen only knows the Burg definition of happy though. Stephanie just wasn't made for that life.

Grandma Mazur was a force to reckon with. My men demanded hazard pay to be around her. They kept their asses clenched and their fronts protected. Edna wasn't ashamed of who she was or how she acted but when life caught up, the woman knew how to act properly. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Stephanie will turn out just like that crazy old woman. And I can't wait to see the day.

Stephanie's perfect sister Valerie was anything but perfect. Valerie could take a couple hints from Steph instead of the other way around. Val tried as hard as her mother to fit into the Burg world. Out of her three kids, I can only see Mary Alice making something more of herself. I look at that girl and I all I can see is my Babe. Whatever that child chooses to do in her life, I'll support her.

My phone buzzed again. This time it was the control room.

"Yo."

"Boss, Lester and Cal got a line on Catelli," Hal started. "They were doing their normal house patrols and spotted him down the street. They're keeping an eye on him and want to know how to proceed."

"Send another car over. If they can do it they have the go ahead."

I hung up and started the car. Tank glanced at me. "Control room. Lester found Catelli walking down the street."

He nodded and relaxed in his seat. "You know your mother will never forgive you if she find out you were in the area and didn't stop by."

I didn't bother looking at him. "She'll only find out if someone tells her. And they had better not," I punctuated every syllable.

"You just don't want to her to question you about Bombshell again," he said with a grin.

I resisted the urge to sigh. "Lester should have kept his mouth shut."

Tank laughed. "You know him, man. The day that happens will be the day he stops chasing anything in a skirt."

We drove in silence after that. Tank probably thinking about Lula and me taking the longest road back to Trenton so I wouldn't run into anyone my mother knew.

I would never admit it out loud, but Tank was right. Every time my mother saw me now I was interrogated about Stephanie. I kept saying she was just a friend but of course she didn't believe me. I don't even know what we are to each other anymore. At one point it was friends. Then as I got to know her it morphed into something more. And now, it's intensified to a point where we're both worried about it. I want to find out how far we can go, but with Morelli always in the picture it's impossible.

Morelli is a decent guy and an even better cop but he's not right for Stephanie. He wants to tame her and bring her into the Burg life. He just doesn't realize how impossible that is. Steph will never be tamed. She'll always stand out. She'll always chase for something more. Stephanie wants the world and Morelli will only offer her a small piece. One day she'll realize that.

We arrived back to Rangeman and made our way to the control room.

Hal and Woody were still on monitor duty. "Report," I said.

"They captured Catelli with no problem," Woody began. "They're bringing him in right now. No activity on the monitors."

I nodded and out of habit scanned everyone's GPS. I turned to leave when my something in my head made me look back. Stephanie's car and personal tracker were at two different places. Her car was at her apartment but she was on Linden Street.

"What's on Linden Street?" I asked.

"Nothing much," Hal said. "Some small businesses, a couple diners."

I laughed out loud and everyone jumped. Still grinning slightly I asked, "What's today's date?"

Hal had wide eyes but looked at his watch. "July 12th, Sir."

"I'm offline for the rest of the day." I turned and nodded to Tank. "You're in charge."

He looked at me curiously but nodded back.

First things first, I went up to 7 and changed out of my street gear. I put on my black jeans and a black button down shirt, grabbing the 911 keys on the way out. The car purred to life and I was off.

Linden was only 10 minutes away and I made the drive in silence. At least now I knew why Babe was so flustered earlier. I should have figured it out sooner. I glanced at my watch. It was only 4:18 now so there was still time to make a night out of it.

The Silver Dollar Diner was filling up quickly but I managed to get a spot right by the door. I walked in and my eyes immediately went straight to her. She was sitting in the same back booth as last year. Her back was to the door but as soon as I stepped in she scratched the back of her neck and looked toward me.

Her eyes sparkled and the second she smiled, every man in the place wanted her. With a calmness I didn't feel, I made my way to the back booth and sat down.

She wore a green tank and a pair of tight jeans. Her mass of curls were pulled back in a ponytail, some spilling out to frame her face. There was a slightly blush on her cheeks. Babe was beautiful.

"Sorry about earlier," she said, looking down for a minute. "I just didn't want to bother you."

"No problem Babe," I said smoothly. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now. "Have you eaten yet?"

She motioned the half full cup of coffee to her right. "Just had coffee."

Good.

I picked up two of the menus by the napkin dispenser and handed one to her. She smiled again before opening it.

I studied Steph for a moment as she critically scanned the menu, probably looking for the most artery clogging dish.

It was exactly one year ago that this woman came into my life. It's had it's up and downs, mostly downs, but we've both helped each other a lot and got through it all together.

Thinking back, I wouldn't change a single moment.

Let me know what you think!
Cole