Disclaimer: Not mine! All the characters you recognize belong to JE, I'm just playing.
Warnings: Up to book 18.
Author's Note: This is a continuation of my first attempt at Fan Fiction: Don't Fix It. It is really short, so I do recommend reading it first to know where I'm starting here. This is only second attempt, so please read and review. I don't have a Beta so all mistakes are mine. Any and all constructive input would be appreciated. Thanks!
Wow! I never thought three words could change my life more than the three words that Ranger said to me did. Ever since the words, "Don't fix it" came out of his mouth my life has been a rollercoaster ride. I can tell you, it is a good thing I like roller coasters.
My name is Stephanie Plum. I'm a 31-year-old bounty hunter from Trenton, New Jersey and I am in love with Ranger. Ranger has many names. Formally he is Ricardo Carlos Manoso. Sometimes I call him Carlos, but usually that is only in the privacy of our apartment. Yes, I said our apartment, but we will get to that. But out in public and in the office, he is Ranger. And I love every single bit of him.
About six months ago Ranger and I had a serious talk on the beach in Hawaii and came to a huge decision, we were finally going to let ourselves love each other. We both had fought and fought the love we had for each other and decided it wasn't worth fighting it anymore.
And once Joe arrived and we had a serious talk that officially ended what was a terminal yo-yo relationship things between Ranger and I began to progress quickly. Joe Morelli, my long-time sweetheart and I had suffered through years of loving and hating each other. He loved me a little too much when I was 6 and he was 8, in fact the more I contemplate the beginning of our relationship the more I realize how it never should have lasted as long as it did.
And the history of him taking advantage of me didn't end in his father's garage at 6 years old. Oh no, it escalated on the floor behind the éclairs case of the Tasty Pastry when I was 16. Thankfully nothing more than years of embarrassment came from that night. Joe once told me he almost wished I had gotten pregnant that night because it meant we would have gotten married. All I can say to that is thank heaven for small favors.
I was no more ready for a baby at 16 than I am now at 31, but it looks like that is what may be happening. Sshh! Don't tell Ranger!
Yep, he doesn't know yet. I have gotten so far ahead of myself, I'm sure you're lost. Let me go back to Hawaii. After our conversation when Ranger asked me not to fix it with Morelli we really went against the norm and talked about other things too. I know, Ranger talking, it still baffles me too.
The biggest baffling moment though was when I realized we had been actually having an adult conversation without yelling and arm flapping. That was when I realized this thing we were starting might actually work.
I don't think I'll ever forget our conversation.
"Babe, you really handled things with Morelli great. It could have gone so much worse, but you kept your cool and didn't let him bully you into taking him back. Proud of you."
"Thanks Ranger. I had sort of already decided that there was no way I was going to go back to him before you told me you didn't want me to fix it with him this time. You just helped give me the strength to stick to my decision."
There was the fastest flash of shock that passed across Ranger's face. If I had blinked I'm sure I would have missed it.
"What do you mean, Babe? Why weren't you going to go back to him?"
"Well, after being here with you and being so happy I knew that even if I couldn't have you, I didn't want him. Don't get me wrong, Ranger, a part of me is always going to love Morelli. Its just that I've finally realized that I need to focus on my goals if I want to be happy in life."
"Focus on your goals, Babe?" Ranger asked me with a smirk on his face. I was sure he recognized his own words coming back to him from our time hunting Scrog.
"Yes, Ranger. Believe it or not I do have goals." I'm sure it came out a little more snarky that I wanted it to, but lets face it, I haven't had a Tastycake in more than a week and it is starting to get to me.
"Ranger, I really enjoy my job. Well, ok, I like parts of my job. I love the thrill of finding my skip and bringing them in. I love working distractions and being able to help you out with searches. Let's face it, my natural born ability to be nosey really can be good for something more than getting me in trouble…well, sometimes. I have just gotten so tired of constantly defending my abilities to Joe and my mother too. I know that I'm not the best out there in my field, but I hold my own pretty well. At least most of the time."
Ranger's eyes softened ever so slightly as he said, "Babe, you always get your man. Sometimes it involves a little more muck than necessary. But your spidey sense rivals mine and I trust it more than most of my men's gut instincts. You have a natural ability Babe and if you would just let me help you a little more you would be unstoppable."
Uh oh…Ranger's idea of helping me usually involves waking up at an hour that should be deemed illegal and running until my lungs are ready to burst out of my chest.
"Ok, Ranger, what kind of help are you talking about here?" I'm sure I grimaced as I asked him based on the almost smile that graced his lips.
"Babe."
Huh? "Usually I can decipher your Babe, Ranger, but it is either a lack of processed sugar or the fact that the sun is hitting your chest at just the right angle that you look like you are literally glowing, but I'm kind of lost here."
"Babe, I'm not unrealistic. I know you, and I know what you like and what you don't like."
Damn Skippy!
At that Ranger threw his head back and laughed out loud. "Crap! Out loud?"
"Yeah Babe. But I'm glad to know that you agree that I know what you like," he said as he flashed me his wolf grin.
As my face warmed up from the blush that was rising from my chest Ranger started back in. "Before you get carried away and force me to throw you over my shoulder and drag you back to bed, let's talk about this, ok?"
"Ok." Eloquent, I know.
"Babe, if you would just let me and the guys show you a few basics. A little self defense, how to pick a lock, work with you and your gun a bit, it really would help."
"What about running?"
"Running some wouldn't hurt, Babe. I'm not unrealistic enough to think that you should be running 10 miles every day, but I think if we started small and you got into a routine that you really would enjoy it once you got used to it, babe."
"Ok…if I let you work and the guys work with me, what do I get out of the deal?"
That wolf grin spread across Ranger's face again as he asked, "what did you have in mind, Babe?"
"What if I said I wanted to work for RangeMan on more of a permanent basis?"
What happened after that is still a little blurry. I vaguely remember Ranger crushing his lips onto mine as he picked me up and carried me back into our room. I'm not even sure if he closed the sliding door at the time, but when I woke up hours later, the breeze was still coming through the curtains.
"So, was that a yes about me working more at RangeMan?"
That earned me his full 200-watt smile as he said, "Babe, I have wanted you to work for me full time since your part-time stint during the whole Con situation. Having you around the office not only makes me happier but it really makes the guys happier. Plus, like I said before, your instincts are second to none and if I had you around all the time you could really help me take RangeMan places babe."
"What do you mean 'take RangeMan places', Ranger?"
"I have a really hard time securing certain accounts, unless we were referred to them. There are a few private estates that I would love to have the work for, but the women of the house tend to get a little nervous when dealing with the guys regarding where they would like the cameras placed. Same goes with some of the high-end jewelry stores that I would like to work with. I know we could provide better service for them than our competitors are but my men make the owners nervous. The guys can be a little intimidating, Babe, even though you have never seemed to see them that way."
"I can see your point, Ranger. If I hadn't met you first to know that you weren't going to work with someone you couldn't trust, then I might have had a different feel for the guys at first too. The truth is they are just a bunch of teddy bears." Ranger gave the full on laugh again that sends tingles up my spine. "Don't tell them I said that! So, you want me to what, exactly? How do you think I could help you secure the accounts?"
"Are you kidding Babe? You have the people skills of no one I've ever met. Have you ever wondered why you are so great at distractions? Besides the obvious… being your smoking hot body, you have a natural ability to have people eating out of your hands." And then Ranger took my hand and placed a warm kiss to the center of my palm.
Before I let my hot flash cloud my brain and stop the conversation again, I had to get him to clarify so I had all the facts to ponder over. "So you would want me working with clients? Aren't you afraid I would screw it up even worse for you, Ranger? I was just hoping to run searches for you and have a partner other than Lula so I could go after a few bigger dollar skips. I'm actually hoping to get into a more secure apartment, but I just can't do that with the income I bring in right now."
"I definitely don't think you would screw anything up. If anything, I'm worried I won't have the staff to keep up with all the installations and monitoring with all the accounts you could generate for us. Tank and I have been talking about the best way to approach you about full time for quite a while now, but I didn't want to make the decision for you. And I didn't want to cause any ripples between you and Morelli."
"Well, we don't have to worry about Morelli and ripples anymore, that's for sure."
"Babe."
"I think I would like that Ranger. Would I get a partner? I don't want to leave Lula out and I would still work with her on small dollar skips, but I also know that she has been trying to save up some money to get herself into a better apartment as well, so I would ideally like to be able to hand over those low-dollar skips to her and be more of her assistant on those than having her be mine. A full-time income from RangeMan would make that easier for me to do."
"Another reason why I love you, Babe, always thinking about others first. Yes, you would get a partner. Most of our guys are up for a partner rotation anyway, so when we get back we can throw your name into the rotation."
"I'd really like that Ranger!"
"But as for the new apartment Babe, can you promise me one thing?"
"I can try."
"As much as I would love for you to just live with me on seven, I know how important it is for you to have your own space. So while we are building this relationship and you are maintaining your own space, can you at least let me help pick out your new spot? I promise not to out-right veto a location, but I would like the comfort of knowing the place you are moving into is safe. Because my nieces and nephews could break into your current apartment blindfolded."
I was temporarily struck dumb at the thought of living with Ranger on seven. He would love for me to live with him on seven?
"Yeah, Babe. I would love for you to live with me on seven."
Damn, ESP! I tossed his words around in my head some more. He wasn't demanding that I let him choose where I live. He wasn't pushing me to live with him even though he apparently wasn't opposed to the idea either. He wasn't trying to take away any of my choices, he just wanted to be allowed to have input. I wasn't quite sure how to respond. So I simply said, "ok."
I was rewarded with a 200-watt smile as Ranger brought his body over mine and planted a toe-curling kiss on me. "Thanks, Babe."
I was really beginning to enjoy this conversation. We spent the rest of the evening eating dinner, walking along the beach hand-in-hand and enjoying the sounds of the waves hitting the shore as we cuddled together on one of the lounge chairs outside our hotel room. We didn't really discuss anymore RangeMan details that night other than Ranger showing me time and time again how much he was enjoying being my partner.
TBC…