Although this isn't a birthday story, I want to take a second to say Happy Birthday, Ranger! Now make a wish and blow on the... Nevermind... This story is an answer to the Facebook 5+1 challenge. Now that the FanFiction servers are back up and running (fingers crossed) it seemed like a good time to post it!

The line in Bold is a different challenge prompt from Margaret's Babe and Plum Family Challenges. :-)

All characters are property of JE, all mistakes are mine... I don't get anything other than the warm fuzzies from reading your reviews! :-)

Day 1

By the time I dragged myself home to my apartment, I was ready for a beer, a peanut butter and olive sandwich, and about twelve hours of sleep. I tapped on my hamster, Rex's cage while I opened the fridge. Rex came out of his soup can and twitched his little hamster nose at me, which I took as an invitation to talk. "Oh, Rex," I told him, "I'm so worried about Ranger. He's been in the wind for three months. He missed his last check in with Tank, and today he's officially overdue. I don't know what I'll do if anything happened to him."

In addition to being a great pet, Rex makes an excellent therapist. He listens to me without talking back, and the price is right. I gave him a grape as a 'thank you for listening' and drank my first beer of the night.

I thought back to the day I met Ranger. I had just blackmailed my cousin Vinnie into giving me a job, but I was way out of my league. Connie, the office manager, asked Ranger to mentor me. From the moment our eyes locked in the small diner on Hamilton, my life hasn't been the same. It's funny how you can know someone for a short period of time, yet still feel as if you've known them forever.

Day 2

Once again I found myself tapping on Rex's cage while I grabbed myself a beer. This time I started talking as soon as his head cleared the soup can. "Still no word on Ranger, Rex. I know he's only two days late, but I miss him terribly. I was at the bonds office when Les and Bobby came in for the Rangeman files, and it drove home how different everything is when he's not here." I gave Rex a carrot today since I was out of grapes.

As I drank my beer, I hit play on my answering machine. As soon as I heard the voice on the machine, I rolled my eyes so far back in my head that they should have stuck that way. "Cupcake, don't you think it's been long enough?" Honestly, I broke up with Joe shortly after Ranger left. You would think that after three months he'd be over me, but he still kept calling. "Come on, the boys miss you. Why don't you come over? We'll watch the game and discuss whatever comes up." I wanted to gag. The sad part is the fact that a tired old line like that used to get my motor running, if you know what I mean. As far as the boys missing me, I'm the only single girl in a twenty mile radius that the boys have missed since we broke up. They seem to hit the target with everyone else. I hit the delete button before he could tell me that it would make my mother happy if we were seen together again. Ugh.

I remember how Lula had asked me about the breakup in her own subtle way. "Girl, Batman's gone in the wind and you telling me that you ain't gonna let Supercop keep you warm at night?"

We were sitting in Cluck in a Bucket having lunch so of course every head in the restaurant turned towards us, hoping to catch the latest gossip. I did a mental head slap. I wanted to stand up in the middle of the restaurant and announce, "To all of those who talk behind my back, thank you for making me the center of your world," but instead I stayed in my seat and said, "Lula, I love Joe but I'm not in love with him. I don't think it's fair to anyone to stay with him just so that I have something to do on a Friday night. Even if Ranger and I never get together, I owe it to myself to go for what I want. Since he's out of town, I can take some time for myself to figure out exactly what that is."

She looked at me like she wasn't buying it. I wasn't quite sure if I was buying it either, but time would tell.

Day 3

I opened my fridge to find a bottle of ketchup and one leftover Easter egg. The beer was gone and I was out of olives. I tapped on Rex's cage again. He popped out of his can and I fed him some hamster crunchies. "I guess I'm going over to my mother's house for dinner tonight, Rex. If I'm lucky, she'll have some grapes, then I'll only have to stop at the liquor store on my way home." It was a depressing thought, but I wanted to pay my rent on time. "I wish Ranger was here. There's no cake in his apartment, but I'd get dinner lecture free."

There is a certain ritual to be observed when having dinner with my parents. The most important thing above all others is to be sitting at the table at 6:00. If you're not there on time, you've ruined dinner. If you get there too early, you may have to help in the kitchen. Since I don't want to hear about how Dottie Lubacheck's daughter got married to a nice man from the Burg, I will get there as close to six as possible. I'll still get the "Why me?" lecture, but I'll also get cake and leftovers.

Day 4

Today I took a shower before I went to the kitchen, so I was drying my hair as I tapped on Rex's cage. "Sorry it took me so long to get here, Rex. Believe me, you did not want to be anywhere near that stench." Rex wandered over to his little hamster wheel so apparently I was forgiven. "I wish Ranger was here. I can imagine the hint of a smile I would get as he checked me over to make sure I wasn't injured. Maybe he would even make a rude comment about a shower before he left." I sighed as I pulled my leftover pot roast and a beer out of the fridge. "I miss him, Rex. I know four days overdue isn't that long, and my spidey sense says everything is fine, but I really want to see him. Maybe if he was at home, we'd be having dinner on seven instead of leftovers from mom's. Of course, I'd like to take it slow at first." I could almost imagine Rex sneering at me. "Hey, I could do it. Just because I've worn out five shower massagers in the last three months doesn't mean that I'm going to throw myself at him." If hamsters could laugh, Rex would probably be rolling by now. The problem with that is, he'd be right.

Day 5

Since today was Sunday, I put Rex in his little plastic ball so that he could wander around the apartment while I cleaned his cage. After I was done, I grabbed a beer and sat down on the floor. When he rolled his ball into my leg, I imagined he was asking me how I was doing. "Oh, Rex, I'm a mess. I miss him so much that I washed my sheets and pillow cases with some of his body wash. I could almost imagine that he was sitting in his chair watching me sleep, but it wasn't the right combination of Bvlgari and Ranger." By now Rex had rolled away to explore some more, but I kept talking to him. "I broke down and called Tank yesterday. He told me not to worry until he was a month late. If he meant that to be reassuring, he failed miserably. If I'm this worried now, in a month I'll be a basket case."

I was interrupted from my talk by a knock on the door. I opened it to find my best friend Mary Lou smiling at me and holding a beach bag. "Come on, grumpy. Lenny and I are taking the boys to the beach. I promised the boys an extra five dollars each if they stayed with their father so that you and I could have some alone time."

I love Mary Lou and I appreciated the effort to cheer me up, but I didn't want to take her away from her family. "That's ok, ML. I don't want to intrude."

she brushed past me into the apartment and plopped herself down on my couch. "Forget it. I'm not leaving here until you've got a bikini on and are walking out the door with me. Everyone else is downstairs waiting, so I suggest you get a move on."

I sighed. "ML, I don't think I'm gonna be that much fun. Besides, I have to find Rex and put him back in his cage."

As soon as I said that, Rex rolled up and bumped into Mary Lou's foot. She looked down, smiled, and snatched his ball up. "You get dressed and I'll take care of Rex, that way we'll be done sooner." Before I could argue she said, "Don't make me release my flying monkeys."

I laughed at the Wizard of Oz reference, like she could actually be the wicked witch. I also knew that arguing with her was pointless, so I went and got ready for a day at the beach.

Day 6

I got home from work and went straight to the kitchen. I tapped on Rex's cage while I opened the fridge. "Something big is going on today, Rex, I can feel it. I don't know if it's good or bad, but my spidey sense is going crazy. I feel jumpier than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs." It was then that I noticed how quiet it was in my kitchen. Usually when I tap on Rex's cage, he rustles around in his bedding looking for treats, or jumps in his wheel for a little run while I talk, but today I didn't hear any movement. I slammed the door of my fridge closed and raced to his cage.

"Rex?" my voice was whisper quiet and more than a little shaky. Rex has been my baby for a very long time, and I don't know what I'd do without him. Carefully, I lifted the lid of his aquarium and picked up his soup can. I let out the breath that I didn't know I was holding when I didn't find him inside.

I dropped to the floor and tried to see if he was behind the fridge, but couldn't see anything but dust bunnies. When I stood up I froze, instantly knowing that I was no longer alone in my kitchen. At the same time I registered that magical combination of Bvlgari and Ranger, I heard his voice saying, "He's not here, Babe."

I wiped the tears from my eyes with shaking hands and turned to see Ranger, leaning against the doorframe. He looked like he had lost a little weight and a lot of sleep, but he was here and he was real. I ran to him and jumped into his arms, wrapping my entire body around him.

He held me as tight as I was holding him, breathing in my shampoo as I inhaled his scent. We stayed like that for a long time, neither of us willing to let go. Finally, I pulled back enough to move his hair off of his forehead and look into his eyes. Gathering my courage I told him, "I missed you."

He tucked a curl behind my ear and kissed me softly as he carried me to the bedroom. "I missed you too, Babe."

I didn't want to be distracted by naked Ranger, so I grabbed onto the doorframe to stop us. He arched an eyebrow in question. Swallowing, I said, "I know your life doesn't lend itself to relationships, and there are times that you have to go into the wind with no explanations, I get that. I want you to know that if you wanted to, when you came home, you could come home to me." I was totally screwing this up, but I couldn't think of the right way to say what I was trying to say.

Since he was supporting all my weight, he turned and leaned his back against the doorframe. That put us into such intimate contact that I think I blacked out for a second. Ranger's breath started coming in a harsh pant, and I don't think it was because of my weight. I had to get this out quickly, or it was going to be too late. "You see, the thing is, I know your love doesn't come with a ring and I finally realized that I don't need one, I just need you."

He closed his eyes. I couldn't tell if I just ruined everything or if I was going to get everything I need. He said, "You sure about this, Babe?"

I nodded, even if he still couldn't see it. "Yes. Ricardo Carlos Manoso, I love you, and that's all I'll ever need."

The next morning I asked him, "So where exactly is Rex?"

He kissed me on my forehead. "It's a long story, Babe."

I rolled my eyes. "I've got time."

He sighed. We've been together only one night and already he's sighing. That can't be good. "What if I told you that the only trips I will need to make in the future are to the other Rangeman offices?"

I was confused. "But what about your contract?"

He gave me his two hundred watt smile. "As of yesterday, my contract has been fulfilled. I chose not to renew it."

I felt my eyes go wide. "You mean..."

He gave me a squeeze. "I'm ready for someday, Babe, but I thought I might have to convince you that it was time. I figured I'd have a better chance of talking you out of your apartment if Rex was already there waiting for you."

I still wasn't capable of complete sentances. "He's at?"

"The Batcave, Babe. He wants you to see it. There's only one other thing we're going to have to work out first."

"Don't worry, I won't give Grandma Mazur the address."

He barked out a laugh. "That's not what I meant, Babe, but I appreciate it. What I meant was that I wanted to take my fiancee to the Batcave."

I once again lost the power of speech. "Your?"

"Fiancee, Babe." He rolled to the side of the bed and grabbed his pants. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a ring box. Inside was a beautiful emerald cut diamond engagement ring with sapphire side stones in an art deco setting. It looked very old school hollywood and very expensive. "I'm still not sure about kids, Babe, but I know that I want to come home to you. Will you marry me Babe?"

I said the only thing I could. "Yes."

A/N Once again I pinned the ring to my pinterest board /spiffytgm/plum-diamond/ It's sort of a clearing house for things rattling around in my head... :)