I carefully lifted his arm off of me and rolled off the bed. I quickly collected my clothes and threw them into the laundry basket I'd carried them in. After quickly throwing some clothes on, I padded quietly over to the side of the bed where he was sleeping. I smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of his face. I was so grateful to him for everything, the way he took me in and looked after me. The way he'd insisted on taking me home with him after the incident in the park with Junkman. The way I always felt safe around him...

"I'm sorry" I whispered "I'm so sorry it has to be like this. I just can't do this anymore. I can't keep having these one off nights, I mean I love them, I love being so close with you but I just can't do it anymore. I have to feel secure, I'm 30 years old and I just keep jumping from your bed to his. It's killing me. I have to just feel...settled, I need to be control of my life and not just have it controlled by the two of you. Goodbye, thanks for anything." I kissed him lightly on the forehead and stood up. I opened the door, paused briefly and stared back at his sleeping form.

"I do love you" I told him "I love you in my own way". This was the only time I could tell him these things, when he was sleeping and completely oblivious to anything I said. "Bye Ranger" I said finally and shut the door. The sun was just starting to rise above the sky line of Trenton. I closed the front door behind me and stepped into the lift.

Ranger rolled onto his back and sighed. He knew it had been coming, that's why he'd made last night so special. He sighed and rapidly closed and opened his eyes, trying to blink away the tears that would never fall.

I flipped open my cell phone and typed in the phone number. After about nine rings, he picked up. His voice told me he'd only just woken up.

"Yeah?" He murmured, almost inaudibly.

"Joe? Sorry to be calling so early. It's Steph and I need a ride. I'm outside Ranger's building." I heard him sigh in relief.

"Sure, I'll be there in about ten minutes." He promised. I flipped the phone closed and leant against the wall. It was hard to believe I was going to do this. This would probably the last decision of this sort I would have to make in a long time. I heard the front door of the building open behind me. I turned and saw Tank emerge, blinking at the daylight. He looked up at me but didn't smile, not even slightly. He walked to my side silently. We both just stood there for a couple of minutes in silence, before he cleared his throat and held out a set of car keys.

"He just asked me to give you these. He said you didn't have a decent set of wheels, if you actually have any so you can take the Porsche." I smiled at him and shook my head.

"No, I can't take it. I need to be independent, have no strings attaching me to anyone or anything. I know you may not understand-"

"I do understand, I'm just looking out for my friend." Tank cut in. A car pulled up to the curb in front of us and Morelli leant out.

"Hey cupcake, hop in." He called. I jumped up and grabbed my laundry basket. As I turned to walk to the car, Tank grabbed my arm and pulled me round to face him. His face was expressionless.

"You need to go easy on Ric-I mean Ranger. He's not as tough as he seems to be." He nodded and walked back into the building.

"Tank" I heard myself calling out "I never meant to hurt him. Things just got...out of hand. I hope you can both forgive me." He nodded and walked away. I didn't look back again, just walked around to the car and climbed in. We drove away, back to his house.

Every night I spent at Morelli's was wild, like he was trying to reclaim me, trying to erase anything that had happened with Ranger. I hadn't seen Ranger for about three weeks. I didn't think it was just a coincidence, I was certain he was avoiding me.

After about a month of moving back in with Joe, I started to notice things were different with me. I felt sick most days. Then I realised I was late by a few days. Things were getting too weird and there was only one thing to do. When Joe was working late, I phoned Mary Lou.

"I need a favour. Again" I said when she answered.

"Sure thing. What can I do for you?" obliging as ever, I was only just realising how lucky I was to have such a good friend.

"I need you to get over here now. And I need you to bring a home pregnancy test." I instructed and quickly hung up before she could start to inquire too much. About fifteen minutes later, after I'd almost gnawed my fingernails off completely, there was a knock at the door. Mary Lou was stood on the porch, holding a chemist bag and looking confused.

"Ok, are you actually late this time or is it just another suspicion?" She asked. I smiled as she walked in and shut the door behind her.

"I'm a couple of days late." I took the bag of her and walked upstairs, Mary Lou following faithfully. I shut myself n the bathroom without saying another word. I didn't need beer this time.

I compared the pregnancy stick to the code on the instructions again and again, just to make sure I hadn't mis-read it. It could not be right. But it was. It was right here in front of me and I could do nothing to change it.

Mary Lou was hammering on the door.

"Steph are you ok? You've been in there for about twenty minutes. What's up?" I got up and opened the door. I must have looked a state, because when Mary Lou saw me, she took a sharp inhale of breath.

"Woah, you look...are you ok? You're scaring me" She stated. I turned and stared at my reflection in the mirror. White face and red rimmed eyes. I opened my mouth to speak, but no noise came out. Mary Lou ran into the bathroom and poured me a glass of water. I drank it and cleared my throat. My hand was shaking uncontrollably. I stared my friend in the eyes. She looked so scared, so concerned.

"Mary Lou, I'm...I'm pregnant."