I stared at the door, trying to will my hand to knock. I had to do it. Go in there and tell him how I felt. I took a deep breath and knocked. I heard shuffling on the other side and seriously considered running. No way Steph. You have to deal with this now. It can't wait anymore. Stupid inner voice. The door swung open and there he was.

"Hey Cupcake. What's up?" Joe looked like he had just stepped out of the shower. His hair was damp and fell across his forehead in waves. All he was wearing was a pair of sweatpants, and his bare chest wasn't helping my self-control.

I took another deep breath. "Joe, I need to talk to you. Can I come in?"

He stepped aside and let me enter. I wandered down the all too familiar hallway and sat down on the sofa. I figured that for what I was about to do, it was best to have soft things around.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Joe sat down next to me on the sofa and slid an arm around my shoulders. We had been together for a little while now and we had once again fallen into our unhealthy pattern of behaviour. We would date, then fight, then sleep together, then fight some more. We had done it before, and if I didn't take a stand now and stop it, we would break up and start it again.

I slid off the couch and paced for a few beats. Turning to face him, I started talking. "Joe, we have been together, on and off, for almost two years. I have recently done a lot of thinking, and I have come to a realization. What we are doing isn't healthy, for either of us. You need a wife, who can be at home and raise a family, and I need... well, I don't know what I need, but it isn't that. I think that would be best if we ended this before we got too far in it again. I am so sorry. I didn't want to hurt you, and I am really sorry and...Why aren't you saying anything?" I realized that Joe was just staring at me, not looking angry like I expected, but amused.

"Cupcake, I have something that I have to tell you as well." He stood up and walked over to me. He tilted my chin up to meet his eyes. "I met someone. She works at the button factory and she wants all the same things that I do. I wasn't sure how to tell you this, so I am sort of relieved."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. When exactly did you meet this woman? Recently? Have you been dating her?"

"No Steph, no. I didn't cheat on you. Ever. I would never do that. But I do think that you are right. We work great as friends, but not so great as a couple."

"This is weird. This is our most civilized break-up ever, and it is our last one. Joe, promise me that we are going to be friends. Forever. Promise me that you will invite me to your wedding and that you will tell me when your children are born and when you christen them. Promise me." I was near tears. I was terrified that I was going to lose Joe for good. I didn't want that. I wanted him in my life and I wanted him to be in mine.

Pulling me into a tight embrace, Joe planted a kiss on my forehead and muttered in to my hair. "Of course Cupcake. I wouldn't have it any other way. But only if you promise me something."

"What? Nothing can be worse than our usual battles, so tell me."

"Go see Ranger. He deserves to know that he can finally have you for his own. I can't believe I lasted this long without his killing me to get to you. Talk to him. Tell him that you love him."

I was speechless. I wasn't even ready to admit to myself that I was in love with Ranger, but Joe was telling me to go see him and tell him that. My mouth was opening and closing, but no word were coming out. Joe chuckled and walked over to the phone.

Someone answered on the other end. "Hey, can you come and get Stephanie? Ya, at my house. Alright, see ya."

He hung up and flopped back onto the couch.

"Who did you just call? What is going on?"

"You'll see in ten. For now, go and fix your hair and put on another coat of mascara. You are going to need it."

I scrambled up the stairs into Joe's bathroom. He had called Ranger. Jerk. I was not ready to deal with this. I looked out the window and judged the distance to the garage roof. I could make it. I slid the window open, swung my leg out and pushed myself over to the garage. I shimmied down the drainpipe and ran into a wall covered in black fabric.

"If you used those skills to catch our skips, probably you wouldn't roll in garbage so much." I stared up at Ranger and swallowed hard. "Babe, I smell burning rubber. Morelli said I should take you back to my apartment and not let you leave until you talked to me. Now, I usually think that Joe is a pompous ass, but for some reason I think I might listen to him this time" With that, he picked me up, flung me over his shoulder, dumped me in his Porsche and off we went.