Snow Day Part Two [5 chapters, I think?] is up now, on my blog. Link is in my profile. Go, read! enjoy!

a/n Something fluffy for a rainy night...This is a somewhat sappy, HEA, straight fanfic from Twelve Sharp, although it features my Mercenary Ranger. [not part of the Take a Chance story arc]. It is a What Should Have Happened scenario of the scene where Ranger and Morelli both insist on staying and sleeping at Steph's apartment. But THIS TIME she does not sneak out.

Probably not a fic Cupcakes will enjoy...

This is an older fic of mine that I never posted anywhere. Some readers say the series "ended" for them with Twelve-and this is my version of What Could Have/ Should Have pls forgive the outdated-ness. Enjoy!

Sleep Tight

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From Twelve Sharp: "This is uncomfortable. I'm going to bed and I'm locking my door." (Stephanie)

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Stephanie

I stomped off to my bedroom.I grabbed the extra blanket and an afghan from the closet and I turned to the bed and saw that I now had four—four!— extra pillows. Ranger pillows. Tastefully encased in K Mart Martha Stewart pillow cases to match my own. I reached out and took my two old pillows out from underneath. They want to stay? They want to butt in? Fine. They can sleep with the old flat Stephanie pillows.

I huffed back into the living room and dumped the pillows and the blankets. I said, "You guys both want to stay? You can flip a coin for the sofa."

…. …. ….

Ranger

Fuckin' wonderful. Steph left me with the boyfriend. Could this day possibly get any worse? I looked at Morelli who was staring at Stephanie's slammed and locked bedroom door. He turned to me with a What just happened? look on his face. Guess he doesn't get kicked outta bed too often. But then neither do I.

May the best man win.

Morelli shoved his hands in his pockets and said, "So. Heads or tails?"

I said, "Don't bother. You can have the couch, man."

This was no sacrifice on my part. Yeah, the couch had fond memories for me since it is the couch that replaced the famous cootie couch. And that brought back great memories of my one and only sexual encounter with Steph. Sure, we've slept together a lot since, I even got to—what?—home plate?* (internal grin) this morning. But I never scored since the cootie couch night, if you know what I'm saying.

On the other hand this couch is the sofa from hell, it is so uncomfortable that it defies the Geneva Convention rules about cruel and inhuman treatment. If I wasn't sleeping with Steph to protect her, I'd have snuck into her bed anyway. No one could sleep on the monstrosity that Steph calls her sofa.

Anyway, Morelli gave a little nod and plopped his ass down on said couch. It's okay to sit on, if you must. Little does he know what's in store. Bob the dog sighed and looked at me, heaved himself over to jump up by Joe. Poor guy. Guys.

I shrugged to myself and went to shower. Morelli can make do with whatever hot water is left. I brushed my teeth and towel dried my hair, contemplated shaving. But lucky for me I don't have the really heavy beard like Morelli and I had shaved earlier, so I gave the razor a pass.

So here I am in my towel and either I wear my clothes from earlier or I pick the lock and get something clean from Steph's closet.

Huh. The lock isn't really engaged, she just was making a point. When I slip into the room I pause so my eyes can adjust. The room is somewhat illuminated by the streetlights coming through the curtain gap. Why Steph's curtains are not closeable is beyond me. Anyone can stand on the fire escape and peer in.

After a moment I silently cross to the closet and grab sweat pants and a t-shirt. As I slide into the pants, Steph senses me and turns over, saying, "Ranger? Are you coming to bed soon?"

Just like she'd invited me every other night. Originally, that late night when we got back from Virginia, I had planned to sleep on her floor, to keep watch. But Steph seduced me into her bed. Yeah that's right, seduced me. All sweet and sleepy and clueless as ever. She'll snuggle up to me, oh so trusting, brush a little kiss on my cheek or my chest or my shoulder, whatever is closest, and she's off to dreamland. And I lie there wanting to fuck her til she screams my name.

But I'm a good guy, right?

I'm an idiot.

"Go back to sleep, babe," I whisper. And kiss her cheek.

"-'kay." She snuggles into the new pillows I had Ella buy. I think Steph likes them. I wanted Ella to get sheets like mine too, but Ella said no. That it would be rude. Who knew there was such a thing as sheet etiquette? I think she meant that I should accept what Steph has to share and not make Steph think her home isn't good enough. But we needed more pillows. So Ella frowned at me but said Okay.

I am aware that I am thinking of nonsense because it keeps me from obsessing about Julie who maybe has neither sheets nor pillows. Or food or water. Or is being tormented by a crazy who wants to live my life. I am praying that Stephanie is right, the guy wants to be Julie's dad. And that he is not a sicko who is attracted to my exquisite baby girl. Yeah, Julie is beautiful. I know she looks like me, but she is tiny like a doll. So smart and so pretty and I love her a lot.

It's confusing.

I push my fears deep inside.

…. …. ….

Back in the living room I toss the blanket open on the floor. Ella came and cleaned earlier but no way am I lying down on Steph's rug. Much as I love her, Steph is no housekeeper. I push the pillow under my cheek, rolling on my side and pull the rest of the blanket on top of me. Bob heaves another sigh and jumps down from the sofa, comes to me and sniffs my face. Eeeewww, Bob-kisses. Then he does the dog circle thing and snuggles into the small of my back. I have to move my gun from my back waistband to under the pillow so Bob can be cozy.

I empty my mind, and after assessing the apartment's safety level, I tell myself to go to sleep.

I expect Morelli to go shower or at least wash up, whatever, but he clicks off the TV, kicks off his shoes and lays down on the sofa. Ick.

I need to sleep but Morelli begins to toss and turn. Then he starts to curse under his breath. In Italian. Does he know I understand what he is saying? No. Would he care? Probably not.

Bob is disturbed by his master's restlessness and he cuddles tighter into me. I hope I never find out that Morelli takes his anger out on this big sweet dumb dog. But then he takes it out on Stephanie, so who knows.

I bundle up that train of thought and stow it away with my desperate fear for Julie. I start to doze, I can sleep anywhere, probably even on the sofa from hell. I was in the military, lots of times we were just happy to sleep. Anywhere, anytime. I have a feeling Morelli's military experience was different from mine. Not just Army/ Navy either. I was not a ever really a soldier, exactly. I was—am?—a highly trained special forces operative. An operator. Rangers are essentially high risk, light infantry paratroopers. I trained as a tracker/sniper and as an assassin. And then I moved on to, uh…..well, you know…. And with the unit, because of my language skills, I do covert intel and the occasional black op/wetwork gig. High risk, low to zero survival rate. And, oh yeah, I am a commissioned officer, so I am in fuckin' charge. Was. Am. Still….Whatever.

(Jeez, I've been undercover so long I even lie to myself.)

Easier to be an enlisted guy, regular service, like Morelli. But not as exciting, not as much fun. So to speak. Then I wonder briefly if the fun is all over now, since my picture has been all over the media and my cover is blown. Even though it really isn't, I guess…. I make a conscious decision to put my Special Ops thoughts away also, let's not go there, right. Not tonight.

Ten minutes go by. Fifteen. Morelli sits up, snaps on the light and says, "I can't take this shit. This couch sucks."

No shit.

I smile and say, "You can sleep on the floor with me and Bob."

"No fucking way!"

I shrug a little, wondering if Bob and I should feel offended. Morelli says, "I need some sleep. I'm going home."

He waits. Like, for my permission? I say, "Okay."

Morelli gets Bob's leash and drags him away from me, out the door. At least he didn't slam the door, I think as I get up to engage Steph's locks and the chain. I move to the window and wait til I see Morelli's SUV take off down the deserted night streets.

God is on my side. I smile at the sofa, pick up the pillows and my gun, and I slip into Steph's room, into her bed. I am reassured when she snuggles into me, kinda like Bob only sweeter and better scented. She is not fearful, she knows it's me. And she turns in my arms, brushing a kiss across my mouth. Her sleepy voice says, "….love you, Ranger. G'nite."

Stephanie sleeps. But I don't. Not for a long long time.

Stephanie

I brushed my teeth and snuggled into bed with the down-filled clouds that were Ranger's pillows.

Yum.

I fell asleep instantly, exhausted by the tension and events of the evening. I woke with a start much later, caught on the edge of a dream where Scrog morphed from Ranger-like to monster. As the dream slipped away, I thought, There's a man in my bed. I forced down my urge to scream and assessed my predicament.

I was not alone but was sleeping safely cuddled in Ranger's arms. At least I thought it was Ranger…. Felt like Ranger, smelled like Ranger.

Where was Joe?

Uh oh. I lay there for a minute, thinking. Okaaaay—this is Ranger, isn't it? The man lying spooned behind me was sleeping deeply, his face pressed into my shoulder, his left arm around my chest under my breasts and his right wrist under my cheek on the pillow. Our legs were entwined and he was lying with me not just next to him but tucked under his body. Morelli never cuddled. He fucked then he rolled over and slept.

Besides, the man in my bed smelled like Ranger, his herbal shower gel and expensive organic peppermint toothpaste. Of course his stuff was in the bathroom. What if Joe used it? Surely it was more likely that Joe would be in my bed than Ranger. But usually Joe came to bed smelling of the squad room and guy. I very slowly extricated my hand and reached behind me, touching the hair and face of the man in my bed. The straight silky hair was surely Ranger's, not Joe's rougher, wavy hair. And my hand slid down a straight nose and smooth cheekbone, then touched his ear and his diamond stud earring. Thank god Ranger wore earrings! A definitive clue!

Probably there was a gun under the pillows too, another definitive clue, but I knew better than to reach for Ranger's backup gun, no matter how sound asleep he appeared. My gentle explorations had not bothered him though.

Bottom line: when I woke up with a man in my bed, here in my dark bedroom—once the dream—fear ebbed, I felt safe and warm and happy and content. The warm, calm, safe, sleep vibe could only be one man, earrings or none—Ranger.

I rolled over and poked Ranger in the shoulder. He said, "What, babe?"

"What did you do with Morelli?" I whispered.

"He bailed, babe. I told him he could sleep on the couch or on the floor with me and Bob. Ten minutes on that sofa of yours and he was out the door."

I could see Ranger's wide white smile even in the dark room.

"Did he take Bob?"

"Yeah. Poor Bob, he likes sleeping with me, he didn't want to go."

"Oh boy."

"Are you okay?" asked Ranger.

"Sure."

"What woke you up, Steph?"

"Besides finding you here in my bed? Again?"

"I can't effectively protect you if I'm tired and I'm sleeping in another room."

Impressively coherent for a man awakened from a sound sleep! I thought.

I said, "Yes and no one is watching the lot, either, huh."

"My men are on the job."

Of course they were. After a moment I said, "I dreamed about Scrog…"

"I could take you mind off him…."

"Okay."

"Was that a yes, babe?"

"Yes! Yeeesh!"

….. …. ….

Later

"I can't imagine what I'll tell Joe!"

"Hey, he bailed, babe. Think about it."

"He doesn't hold me like you do either."

Actions speak louder than words, right?

"Goodnight, babe."

Ranger put his arm around me and tucked me by his side, my head nestled against his shoulder. He appeared to fall instantly asleep, his military training kicking in.

I whispered almost soundlessly to his sleeping form in the dark, "I love you, Ranger."

He said, in his regular quiet voice, "I love you too, Steph."

Does this guy have ESP or what.

…. …. ….

I woke up to Ranger slipping back into my bed. There was daylight coming in, so I knew he'd been up for awhile. He rolled himself close to me, holding me, kissing my forehead, my mouth, my breasts, my….

Afterward I slid my hands into his silky hair, cut too short but still wonderful. I pulled gently and he tipped his face up to me. I thought, Do you know what a wonderful lover you are? Do you know you are so beautiful it makes me want to cry? ….in a good way….How do men judge these things anyway….?

He almost-smiled at me, his eyes dark and dense and peaceful. This was Ranger's face when he is happy. Despite the horror of Julie's situation.

He said, "Good morning, babe."

I said, "Ranger?"

?

"It wasn't just that Joe bailed."

"No."

"It was that he would bail. And you would never do that."

"No." Rangers only bail if ordered to do so—or if the plane is going down.

"And when I woke up from my nightmare, I was in someone's arms and I felt so safe and so loved."

?

"And only you make me feel that way'" I whispered, my eyes dropping away from his.

"Babe."

I looked back up. "Don't get crazy and run away. I won't forget the rules."

"Rules."

I nodded, said, "No rings, no strings, no price, no forever."

"That's not what no price means, Stephanie."

"No?"

"It…."

A cell phone rang in the living room. Ranger glanced towards it, but it went to message. He turned back to me and he kissed me, deep and hard and oh so sweet. And my front door exploded open and Joe stormed in. Not just into the apartment, into my bedroom. And there we were, Ranger naked and beautiful. Lying between my thighs, my face cradled in his hands.

"Yow!"

Yeah, okay, I screeched.

Ranger smiled some more and rolled over, calmly sat up. He leaned over and grabbed the sheet, covered me. He didn't bother to cover himself. He didn't reach for his gun.

Morelli was shrieking and cursing. The apartment door slammed open again and Tank and Hal ran into the bedroom behind Morelli who was by now pulling out his gun. They grabbed him and disarmed him. Tank smacked Joe's head from behind and said, "Shut up." He and Hal held the cursing, squirming cop. Ranger was still smiling a little and had said nothing. Maybe he was enjoying this just a little. Or a lot.

Finally Joe was calm enough to speak not to Ranger but to me. He said, "I came by this morning to see if you are okay. To apologize for leaving you last night. To see if you needed me."

I just stared at him, I knew my face was beet red. Neither Tank not Hal had done more than glance at me to be sure I was okay. But still—here I was, naked and sated and lying in bed with the boss. The men kept their focus on Morelli. And on Ranger.

Ranger said, "Steph won't be needing you anymore, Morelli. You made your choice, she made hers. I made mine. End of story."

I laid back on the piles of fluffy Ranger pillows and pulled the sheet over my head. And I thought,

Finally! Thank god! The triangle was getting really old.

Epilogue

"Ranger?"

"Mmmm."

"You planned that."

?

"You got up and undid the door chain. You told the guys to call if Morelli showed up and to follow him in, not stop him. And you made sure we were naked and—obvious. So that Joe would know, beyond a shadow of a doubt."

Silence. Then—huge smile, all zillion watts.

Ranger said, "Am I good or what."

I had to laugh. "Yeah. You're the best."

"And don't you ever forget it, Cupcake."

"Omigod. You're gonna die, don't ever call me…."

"Babe. I promise."

"What?"

"I promise to love you forever. And I will never call you Cupcake."

"No price?"

"No price."

"No rings, no strings. No picket fences," I promised him.

"Did you want a white picket fence, Steph?"

"No!"

"Strings?"

"Um, no."

"What about a ring? Do you like rings, babe? I have some for you, you know. They are in my gunsafe at the office. We can do rings and strings and fences and forever. Whatever you want. I love you."

"I love you too, Ranger."

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

No. Loving you is easy, so easy. Losing you will be very hard.

Ranger narrowed his eyes at me and looked serious. He brushed his mouth over mine and said, "Not gonna happen, Steph."

See—the ESP. I told you!

The end

* refers to the early AM scene where Morelli interrupts Ranger and Stephanie's morning encounter. We still don't know what really happened, and with JE who knows what she thinks of as 'sex', but Steph's pjs are off, R's boxers are off, and R is under the covers. Way under. So...third base? Home plate? Only he knows for sure...

Now go read Snow Day. You'll like it. You gotta see the photo of Anthony!

http : / / mercenaryranger . blogspot . com

paste. Close the gaps. voila`...