Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing. I make nothing.

This is my first stab at a Plum fic, so I thought I would start small with a one shot and possibly a sequel. Please be gentle with me, but I definitely would love to receive feedback, so I can improve my writing. I hope you enjoy!

I Can't Get Started With You

Ranger had been looking for Stephanie all night. It seemed like a lifetime since he'd gotten back from Miami, even though he knew it had only been a few

hours.

As soon as he had stepped foot off the plane, a sense of dread sent a shiver up his spine. He picked up his phone and dialed into the office knowing that something big was going down and he wasn't going to like it.

"Comm. Center," Cal answered.

"I just landed. Report," Ranger barked.

Cringing Cal said, "Bombshell dropped off the radar a few hours ago. She told Hal she was going out but would be back soon. When she hadn't shown up after a couple of hours, he pulled up the GPS and tracked her bike to Stiva's. He tried to call her cell but it went straight to voice mail. Hal had a feeling something was wrong, and he wanted to make sure she wasn't in trouble. I'd just got here for the shift change when he and Tank took off looking for her."

"God damn it, Stephanie why can't you stay out of trouble?" Ranger mumbled and disconnected.

He ran his hands through his hair and then over his face in frustration, letting out a deep breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He wasn't sure when or how it happened, but she'd gotten under his skin, and no matter how hard he tried to extricate her from his heart, she just became more entrenched in it.

He mentally shook his head to clear it. Now is not the time to psychoanalyze my fucked up relationship skills. He had to keep his eye on the goal. Find Stephanie and make sure she is safe.

Don't disappoint me Babe. Let that luck of yours hold out until I find you.

He hit speed dial 2 on his phone, "I'm back, what have you found out so far?"

Showing no surprise that Ranger knew what was going on, Tank said, "Hal tracked Bomber's bike to Stiva's, but she isn't here. We didn't want to make a scene with half the Burg here for the Barroni service, but we're about to take another look around the perimeter."

"I'll be there in twenty."

While driving to Stiva's, he called Joe and in a flat voice asked, "Morelli, have you heard from Stephanie today?"

Joe immediately knew something wasn't right. Ranger would never call him about Stephanie's whereabouts, unless he thought she was in trouble.

"Manoso what's going on?" Joe growled.

"Nothing. Have you heard from her or not?" Ranger asked.

If Steph was in trouble, he was pretty useless with his bum leg, so he took a deep breath and reigned in his anger at Ranger's arrogance before replying. "No I haven't. But I get the feeling she's found herself in another crazy situation. What has she done now?" He replied, while he reached over and downed some Maalox.

Something in Joe's tone, made Ranger snap. He was so tired of watching Joe chip away at Stephanie's self esteem by demeaning her abilities and life choices. But if he was honest, he had no one to blame but himself. After all, he sent her back to him because he was too chicken shit to deal with his feelings for her.

I don't have time for this shit, Ranger thought to himself. I have to find her.

"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it," and he disconnected.

Ranger had a sick feeling in his stomach; he knew she was in danger. He must have broken every traffic law in the book, because he raced into Stiva's parking lot and hit the ground running in twelve minutes.

"Report," Ranger said.

"We've traveled the perimeter of both buildings and took a look inside the funeral home, but there is no sign of her and nothing seems out of place," Tank responded.

Ranger immediately took control. He flipped his phone again and barked out, "I want every available Rangeman and as many contract workers as you can round up looking for Stephanie. I want no stone unturned. Find her."

He closed his phone and turned to his men. "Okay, let's split up. Hal you go back and canvas the funeral parlor, ask the Burg regulars, but stay away from her mom and Grandmother, we don't want to worry them. Tank, you come with me. Let's go around back and go through the rest of the building and Stiva's house. If Steph had a hunch about something, she would check every room before she would give up on it."

Ranger and Tank had methodically gone through all of the empty viewing rooms, embalming areas and basement, but didn't find any evidence that Stephanie had been in the rooms.

That left the house, it seemed unlikely that she'd be there, but Ranger had learned to never rule a possibility out when it came to Steph. They tried all of the doors and windows on the first floor, but none of them were open.

"She isn't here Ranger. All the windows and doors are closed and Steph doesn't know how to pick a lock," Tank said.

Ranger was about to agree with him, when he happened to look up and began to smile at what he saw.

"She didn't need to pick a lock to get inside Tank," Ranger replied as he pointed up to the open window.

Tank laughed, "You think she got in through that window? Are we talking about the same Stephanie Plum? The woman that can't out run geriatric skips?

Ranger internally rolled his eyes, but gave Tank his blank face. He obviously still didn't know his Babe very well.

"Tank, never underestimate what Stephanie is willing to do when her "spidey sense" is running on hyper speed."

"Spidey sense? What the hell did you drink on the plane?" Tank asked looking at Ranger as if he'd lost his mind.

Crap…why did I say that?

Ignoring Tank's sarcasm, he roughly replied, "her intuition, instincts…she calls it her spidey sense. Anyway, despite the stupid reference, her intuition is uncannily accurate and when it runs amok is when she is closest to danger. I know it doesn't seem like the woman you know, but from what I here she's famous in the Burg for climbing in and out of second story bathroom windows growing up."

Trying to hide his amusement at Ranger's knowledge of Burg gossip about Bombshell and his mental picture of her scaling walls as a teenager, Tank had to admit that her instincts were usually right when it came to finding the bad guys.

It actually amazed him that for a person without training and a penchant for finding herself in the middle of disaster, she could usually piece together facts that most others missed.

"Okay give me a second and we'll be inside." Tank quickly picked the lock, but within a few minutes they'd scanned the entire house and came up empty…no Stephanie…no clues.

Tank and Hal slightly shook their head and exchanged amused looks at each other as Ranger was pacing the parking lot like a caged animal. Everyone at Rangeman knew that the Boss and Bombshell were in love with each other, but were too damn stubborn to admit it to themselves. But watching him now, there was no doubt...he had it bad.

Ranger intent on formulating a plan was oblivious to his men's amusement. He could feel Steph's fear, she was in danger and time was running out.

He would never let on, hell until recently he wouldn't even admit it to himself, but he had a connection with Stephanie that was unexplainable. He could feel her presence before he ever saw her and he always seemed to know when she was in trouble.

A thought came to him. He jumped in his car yelling over his shoulder for Tank and Hal to follow him and peeled out of the parking lot like a bat out hell. He was working on pure adrenaline having not slept in over twenty-four hours, but nothing would stop him until he found his Babe.

He called the Comm. Room and asked them to find out who ran the tax records office and their home address. Within five minutes, he had the information and was heading towards the house of the lady that ran the department. He didn't care if it was the middle of the night, he was getting the information now and nothing was going to stop him.

He knocked on the door and an elderly lady in her pajamas, rubbing the sleep from her eyes opened the door with a grunt.

"Do you know what time it is young man? What are you doing knocking on my door so late at night?" She angrily asked.

When her eyes cleared and she looked into Ranger's eyes she saw determination and a glimpse of how dangerous he could be if provoked. A look that had served him well in getting what he wanted both in the military and in tracing skips.

Trying to control his temper, he quietly said, "Ma'am, I'm sorry to do this to you, but you have to come with us right now."

Indignantly, the elderly lady replied, "I will certainly not go anywhere with someone I do not know, and if you don't leave this house immediately…"

But Ranger losing all patience cut her off by pulling his gun out and pointing it at her head. "I hoped we could do this peacefully, but I don't have time to waste. Someone's life is dependent on us looking through the records in your office. I give you my word that we are not here to hurt you and I will make up for my actions."

With that he motioned to Tank to pick up the elderly lady and take her to the SUV, they couldn't waste any more time.

Flipping his phone, "Yo, send back up to the tax records office now. They'll need to provide taxi service shortly."

Sure enough within ten minutes they had an address of a house under Spiro's name that was still under probate as they had not found a body and thus couldn't declare him legally dead.

He thanked the record's lady giving her his full Ranger smile hoping it would lessen his rough behavior and told her that someone would be there in a few minutes to take her home.

He looked over at Tank and Hal. "Let's go," while taking off in a full speed sprint to his car.

It took about fifteen minutes to get to the house, which was located in the outskirts of Trenton. There were no signs of it being inhabited, but he wasn't giving up until he searched every last crevice of the house. It was his only lead and he had this tingling feeling that Stephanie was close by.

Babe, I can feel you. I know you're here. He couldn't remember the last time he'd prayed to God, but he was willing to do or say anything to get Stephanie back safely, so he briefly closed his eyes and silently prayed he would find her alive.

The three men split up and began opening every door and cupboard that could possibly be a hiding place, shouting to each other as each room was cleared.

And suddenly there was a very slim, faint sliver of light in my box. I went still and listened with every molecule in my body. Someone had turned a light on. Or maybe it was daylight. Or maybe I was going to heaven. There were muffled sounds and men's voices, and there was a lot of door banging. I opened my mouth to yell for help, but the box opened before I had the chance. I tumbled out, and fell into Ranger's arms.

He found me. I know I kept saying he would but I had started to lose hope. No one knew it was Con nor would they ever suspect him. I knew this time I could have run out of luck and be dead soon. I blinked twice, wanting to make sure it wasn't a dream or a hallucination, but when I focused my eyes again I was still in his arms and staring into his tense but gorgeous chocolate eyes.

He was as stunned as I was. He had a vise-like grip on and the line of his mouth was tight. "I saw you folded up in there, and I thought you were dead," he said.

"I'm okay. Just cramped."

I closed my eyes and buried my head in his neck, absorbing his warmth and strength, trying to regain my composure and courage. I burrowed myself further into his body in sudden desperation and fear that he'd let go of me. He seemed to understand my need and he pulled me closer into him until it felt like my body was melting into his. I'd never felt so safe as I did at this moment. And then it hit me. Oh my god! I love this man. I mean, I'm totally in love with this man.

What??? Where the hell did that come from? It's impossible, I can't be in love with him. I'm practically living with Morelli. My body shivered and Ranger trying to comfort me held me tighter. My body began to melt again. Damn traitor. This can't be happening. I'm just overwrought and I'm projecting my pent up emotions on to him. As soon as I get my bearings back, it'll pass.

I began to rationalize my feelings. I'm just confused right now. I've been stunned so many times, I can't think straight. Attraction? Yes, and I'm definitely in lust with him, I mean who wouldn't be. Just look at him. Do I care for him? Absolutely. Hell, I considered him my best friend. He was the one person that I could count on to believe in me. Who made me feel I was capable of doing anything…even flying. But love? No way!

I shivered as a I felt Ranger's mouth on my ear as he whispered, "Babe, I smell something burning."

I was too mentally and physically exhausted to think about this now, so I'm going to do what I do best and divert my attention to something I could deal with…getting Con.

Ranger hadn't loosened his hold on me yet and his closeness was starting to get the better of me. I needed to get myself together before I lost it and said something stupid.

Concentrating on the number of times I'd been stunned and how long I'd been confined to dark closed spaces, I searched for my Jersey attitude and let the Burg girl come out. I focused and began going into full rhino mode for what Con had put me through and the new fear I had acquired. I shivered again, thinking I'll probably never be able to be in a confined space again without reliving the last few hours.

"It's not Spiro." I said. "It's Con, and he's coming back to kill me. If we hang around we can catch him."

Ranger raised my bruised and bloody wrist to his mouth and kissed it. "I'm sorry to have to do this to you, but there's no "we". I've just had six really bad hours looking for you. I need to know you're safe. Sitting in this house waiting for a homicidal undertaker doesn't feel safe." And he clamped the handcuff back on my wrist. "You've had enough fun for one day," he said. And the other bracelet went on Tank's wrist.

"What the …" Tank said, caught by surprise.

I couldn't believe it, Ranger was pulling a macho Morelli move. I was so shocked at the sudden change in his behavior that it took me a few minutes to realize what he was saying.

He ordered Tank to take me to Ella to tend to my wounds and to return me to Morelli.

Well, if he thought he was going to get away with telling me what to do…he was delusional.

I dug my heels in. "No way!"

Ranger knew that what he was about to say next would piss the shit out of Stephanie, and it would probably cause an irreparable rift between them. And worst of all, he was going to push her back to Morelli again. But if he had to sacrifice not having her in his life and keeping her alive, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

Ranger looked at Tank. "I don't care how you do it. Pick her up. Drag her. Whatever. Just get her out of here and keep her safe. And I don't want those bracelets to come off either of you until you hand her over to Morelli."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Yeah he could get bossy, but he'd always drawn the line at physically forcing me to do something. This is where Ranger and Morelli differed. Even if he wanted to force me to do something, he would control the urge and put a tail on me. In the end, he always gave me the choice. But worst of all, he was sending me back to Morelli…again.

I glared at Tank. "I'm staying."

Poor Tank wasn't sure what to do. He kept looking back and forth between the two of us trying to figure out who would be more dangerous to disobey.

Ranger Locked eyes with me. "Please," he said. Tank and Hal were goggle-eyed. They weren't used to "please." I wasn't used to it either. But I liked it.

Damn him. He was sneaky. He switched tactics and threw me off by doing something I'd never expect. Now I couldn't say no because he was asking me, not telling me.

"Okay," I said. "Be careful. He's insane."

Hal drove while Tank and I sat in the back of the SUV, I was full of questions, but no one was speaking. I was used to Ranger's driving zone and even though it wasn't my nature, I'd learned to deal with it. I figured all the Merry Men had their own version of the same zone and normally I wouldn't mind, but I couldn't take it this time. I needed to know what had happened and how they'd found me.

"How did you find me?" I asked Tank.

"It was Ranger."

That was it. Three words. I knew he could talk. I saw him talking to Ranger all the time .

Hal couldn't hold it in anymore. He jumped into the conversation and started rattling off how intense Ranger was acting during the search. All the things he had put in motion to find me and ensure my safety, including dragging an old lady from her house at gunpoint so that he could look for tax records on any other property Spiro could have owned that he might use as a hide out.

I looked over at Tank who was glaring at Hal for saying so much. With wide eyes, I silently questioned him if it was true. He gave me a slight nod to confirm Hal's words.

Listening to Hal and remembering Ranger's eyes when he found me, I was blown away by the implication. My stomach flip-flopped and my heart soared. Could it be that I meant more to Ranger than just a friend?

But then I remembered his orders to Tank a few minutes ago and all of the painful words he'd spoken to me since our one night together, like, " My life doesn't lend itself to relationships"…"you're a line item on my budget under entertainment." Not to mention all of the times he's applied pressure, but always sends me back to Morelli And in a blink of an eye, my soaring heart took a nosedive back to reality.

Stephanie, stop it. You aren't in love with him and he isn't in love with you, so get over it and just accept and be thankful for what you have…his friendship and support.

Joe's face flashed before my eyes and I felt horrible. Throughout my whole ordeal, I hadn't even thought of him once. I was definitely the worst girlfriend in the world.

Any other woman would be dragging Joe down the aisle, ready to make any promise to have him commit to her. And what did I do? Look for any excuse to run away from him, not to mention that my mind wandered more often than it should to another man and unattainable possibilities.

It was late and finishing up with the Trenton PD took longer than he'd expected. Ranger was physically and emotionally exhausted. He walked into his apartment, threw his keys on the side table, not bothering to turn on any lights, went to the refrigerator grabbed a beer and in an uncharacteristic move, plopped down on his couch. He grabbed the remote and turned on his stereo. He took a long drag from his beer, lifted his legs up on the coffee table and threw his head back, letting the music wash over him. Wearing his almost smile, his thoughts wandered to Stephanie. His Babe definitely never disappointed.

He couldn't help but chuckle at how the night ended. Stephanie escaped from Morelli's house with the mutt, stole the Buick and had gone back to the scene of the crime to get her own justice.

They'd been waiting in the house for Con to come back so they could deal with what he'd done to Stephanie, when they heard a loud crash. Thinking their cover had been blown, they came running out of the house with their weapons out and ready for an attack.

But instead they found Steph running the Buick at full speed into Con's car, wedging it into the garage's door. Ranger knew he should try and stop her, but the sight was so surreal that he just stood there and watched. Bob was barking loudly almost appearing to encourage Steph to do it again. And sure enough she did. She backed up and slammed into the car again for good measure.

Steph stepped out of the car and walked Bob to Spiro's lawn to let him tinkle. When he finished she walked up to me and with her eyes sparkling and that beautiful smile that made my heart jump every time she said, "I feel better now."

The guys chuckled and Ranger replied, "Babe."

God he loved this woman. There was no way around. No use in denying it to himself anymore.

If there was ever a doubt before, the last day had proven that she'd stolen his heart. What the fuck was he going to do? He wanted her with him for the rest of his life, but he'd never been good at relationships. He actually sucked at them.

Sure he's had plenty of women. Getting laid wasn't the problem; it was the emotional shit that always got him in trouble. He wasn't good at sharing, or showing his emotions, and he knew that most women would never understand what he'd done in his past or his current lifestyle.

They all turned out bad that's why he'd told her he didn't do relationships. Not because he didn't want one with her, but because he knew he'd fuck it up. The way it stood now, he at least had a small part of her.

She was like no other woman he'd ever known. She saw beyond the looks, the money, but most importantly she saw beyond the street image most people couldn't see passed. Her faith in me was overwhelming at times. Never had someone outside of my men demonstrated such blind trust in me. It made me feel less tainted from all of the dark things I've done in my life, and now that it was too late…I couldn't see my life without her.

I was such a fool. I had my chance and I threw it away by sending her back to Morelli. Fuck! I can't believe I sent her back to him again but at that moment her safety had to come before my desires.

I knew I'd hurt her the day after we made love. I saw it in her eyes, but I was a chicken shit and I couldn't handle needing someone as much as I needed her, so I pushed her back to the cop.

All the while, hoping she'd fight me. I knew she hated being told what to do, and that usually caused her to do the opposite. I guess unconsciously, I was testing her.

I remember chanting to myself…"fight me Babe, say no, please say no."

I was holding my breath hoping to hear her yell at me that she didn't want to go back to him. That she wanted to be with me and I'd have to get used to it. That I needed to stop being such a coward and admit I loved her, because what we expressed to each other last night was not just a casual fuck.

But the joke was on me, because for the first time since I'd known her, she didn't react the way I expected. It's when I realized too late that my opinion actually mattered to her. She trusted me, and if I thought she should go back to the cop, then she'd go.

My heart sank when she looked into my eyes with sadness and resignation and whispered, "okay."

Tank was worried about Ranger. He'd never seen him so devastated as when Stephanie left the scene to go back home to Morelli. He tried to convince him to go grab a drink somewhere to unwind, but he just shook his head and said he was going home.

He'd been watching the dance between Ranger and Stephanie for over two years and he didn't understand why they just didn't go for it. If there ever was a woman that was perfect for Carlos it was Stephanie. They all knew it.

She knew he had a dark past, that he had secrets he couldn't tell her, that some people thought he was psycho, specifically Morelli. Hell because of the secret ops they still do for the government, there are plenty of rumors that he's dirty and possibly connected to the mob, although all of it was just gossip. But despite all of those things, she believed in him. She blindly trusted him, like no other person, ironically not even Morelli.

It's funny because we never knew why the boss, was always so fixated on helping the little white girl from the Burg. Most of us recognized she was hot, she sure as hell was entertaining, we never laughed so much as we did when we were on Bombshell duty, but none of us thought she was worth all the trouble and expense Ranger would go through to help her, especially since we knew he wasn't getting laid by her.

But all that changed for us, when Ranger had gone FTA. She was the only one that never doubted he hadn't killed Ramos. She didn't hesitate to help him and even risked her life to prove his innocence. That's when we all finally got what Ranger saw in her.

She was not only beautiful and funny, but she was loyal, trustworthy, she'd do anything to keep her friends safe, and she had a light within her that was like a beacon.

He'd kept his opinions about Ranger's feelings and actions with Stephanie to himself because frankly, she was with the cop and he thought Ranger would eventually get over his feelings for her.

But tonight finally proved to him that Ranger was hooked and that what he felt for Stephanie was real and not going to go away, so he made a decision. He was going to kick Carlos' butt and get him to admit his feelings and go get his woman.

He knew it was late, but something told Tank that Ranger would still be awake. So he took the elevator up to the 7th floor and let himself into the dark apartment.

He was about to turn on the lights, when Ranger said, "Don't."

Tank closed the door and walked towards the couch. "What are you doing in the dark?" He asked.

"I like the dark," Ranger replied. What he didn't say was that he didn't want to turn on the lights because it reminded him that Stephanie wasn't here.

Ever since she had stayed in his apartment during the Slayer incident, his apartment had never felt the same again. It felt empty and cold. The few days they shared the apartment had been the happiest he'd been in a long time, because she had brought light and joy into it and now no matter where he looked there was a memory of her, and he just couldn't think about them tonight.

"Bullshit. And are you listening to?" Tank replied.

"It's jazz and it fits my mood, so drop it."

Tank shook his head. He flipped one of the lamps on and looked at Ranger. Shit, it's worse than I thought.

"Tank, I told you not to turn on the lights," Ranger growled.

"Carlos. Enough. I've stayed quiet because I didn't think it was any of my business what happens between you and Stephanie, but you're my best friend and I can't keep quiet any longer," Tank said.

"You're right, it isn't any of your business," Ranger snapped.

"No it is my business. Because I will not let you drown yourself and the rest of us in misery because you don't have the balls to admit you love her and are too blind to see that she loves you."

Ranger snorted in disgust. "Yeah, sure she does. That's why she's at the cop's house."

Tank noticed that he didn't deny the part about loving her, just about her loving him back. Interesting. Maybe there's hope yet.

He wasn't trying to purposely hurt him, but he needed to make sure Carlos got his point, so he held his gaze and said, "Yeah, she is. But whose fault is that? You're the one that sent her back there."

Ranger inwardly cringed and broke eye contact with Tank. He knew he was right, but he wasn't going to admit it to him.

"I only sent her back to where she wanted to go."

"I guess her nickname for you is on target, because if you really believe that… you are as blind as a bat."

Ranger looked up and gave Tank a warning glare to indicate that this conversation was over, but Tank wasn't going to let it go yet.

As he started to walk back to the door, he tossed out his last jab for the night. "If you bothered to take your head out of your ass when it comes to her, you would've seen she's loved you for a long time, but doesn't think you feel the same way, so she's taken from you the only thing you've offered her…friendship. But don't think for a minute that she doesn't want more. But I warn you Carlos everyone has their limits, even Stephanie, and if you don't get off your ass and do something about it, you are going to lose her forever."

He turned off the light, closed the door, and left Ranger to stew on his words.

Ranger's head was reeling. What the fuck was that all about? Since when did Tank have an inside track on Stephanie's feelings? He had no clue what he was talking about, even though he'd pegged my feelings in one shot.

He closed his eyes again and sighed as he heard the song that began to play in the background. He'd never noticed the lyrics to the song before, but now they were penetrating his mind and mocking him.

I'm a glum one

It's explainable

I've met someone

Unattainable

Life's a bore

The world is my

oyster no more

All the papers

Where I lead the news

With my capers

Now will spread the news

Superman turned out to be

A flash-in-the-pan

Wasn't that the truth! Before Stephanie, I thought my life was perfect, plenty of women in my bed, money, success, good friends and no complications. Now look at me I'm a joke. Batman my ass!

I've flown around the world in a plane

I've settled revolutions in Spain

The North Pole I have charted

But I can't get started with you

I may not have settled revolutions in Spain, but I've certainly been in plenty dangerous situations and have taken active participation in stopping revolutions in more third world countries that I care to remember.

But faced with the task of declaring my feelings for Stephanie, and I practically shit in my pants.

Around the golf course I'm under par

And all the movies want me to star

I've built a house and show place

But I can't get no place with you

She doesn't even know that I can play golf, or the fact that I'm not the thug most people think I am or was. The truth is I'm neither of those things. I'm just the rebel child of a wealthy family that has given up on trying to figure me out.

I never owned a house, until she started teasing me about living at the Batcave. Then without realizing it, I built a house just for her. I rationalized it as a good real estate investment, but deep down I did it in the hopes that one day she'd be mine and I could make good on my statement about the Batcave being forever.

You're so supreme

Lyrics that I write of you

Scheme, just for a sight of you

And I dream both day and night of you

And what good does it do

For longer than I can remember, I'd always found excuses to be in places where I could get a glimpse of her or talk to her so I could see her smile or maybe steal a kiss. She had no idea what those stolen kisses in the alley did to me. How they made me long for her.

But ever since our one night together, my mind is riddled with thoughts of her all day long. The most innocent things will make me think of her. A turn of phrase, a color…even in meetings my mind has wandered to her. Luckily my men are used to my zones when trying to solve a problem and I've perfected my blank face expression, so they haven't caught on that many times, I'm thinking about Stephanie, wondering what she's doing or if she's okay. But in the end, I always snap out of it with the brutal truth that she is with Morelli and not with me.

In 1929, I sold short

Well I don't know about selling short in 1929, but the 90's and the dot com era was good to me. I made some great investments that made me more money than I know what to do with. That's why I never cared how many cars my Babe blew up. In a way, I liked being able to do something for her that Morelli couldn't. I know she suspects that they're stolen, but if she talked to my accountant, she'd know that they are all legal and paid for. Luckily, I own a company where it isn't unusual to have cars blow up and I can deduct it as a business expense.

In London, I'm presented at court

Ranger smiled to himself, imagining Stephanie's face if she knew that he not only has really been presented at court in London, but he's met the President, along with a few other kings and queens throughout his time in the military and later working with the government.

But you've got me down hearted,

Cause I can't get started with you, with you

Down hearted??? How about broken hearted? I found the one woman I never thought existed, the perfect woman for me and I'm too scared to make her mine.

As the song finished, Ranger shut off the stereo, got up and resignedly made his way to his bedroom.

Most nights since she left after the Slayer incident, he'd sleep on the couch because he could still smell Stephanie's scent on the sheets even after Ella had washed them a dozen times over, and knew it was only his imagination.

But after tonight's scare where he thought he'd been too late and she was already dead, he needed to feel close to her and the only place he felt that was in his bed they had shared.

Hugging the pillow she used and imagining her scent on it. He closed his eyes and drifted into sleep as he pictured himself spooning her from behind and having her with him if only in his dreams.