Two days later at the Trenton Multiplex Cinemas ...

"Wow. Is this place always so busy?" Marissa asked as her head swiveled around taking in the leisurely moving crowd consisting of teenagers, children and adults.

"Now you see why I didn't want to come here." Ranger said as he did a slow scan of the interior of the lobby.

Marissa knew he was memorizing all the exits and mentally cataloging "trouble spots" just in case all hell broke loose. This was highly unlikely, given that the movie theater never had any incidents of riots or mass destruction in all its years of operation.

"Come on Rambo." she said grabbing onto his arm and pulling him towards the ticket usher. "Let's go get our seats. I'll come back out for some snacks." Marissa had planned ahead and bought the tickets online anticipating that Ranger would be in no mood to stand on the long, slow moving ticket line.

"You can get the snacks now if you want. Our seating has already been taken care of." he said casually.

Heh. "What do you mean by already been taken care of?"

An uneasy feeling was beginning to bubble up inside of her.

But Ranger just ignored her question and proceeded to stand on the entrance line.

"Carlos?" Marissa pressed.

Silence.

"Oh God, please tell me you didn't buy every seat in the theater. That's not what Dr. Paisley wanted. You're supposed to be working on your social skills, remember? How are you going to do that if there aren't any people there?"

Ranger turned and stared at her. "Will you relax? I promise there will be people there."

She made a face at him, but said nothing. She would give him the benefit of the doubt. Ranger was a man of his word. He did what he said.

She watched as he handed the usher their tickets, who then told them the number of the theater their movie was going to be shown in. Picking a mutual agreeable movie to see was a whole other process in itself. They had argued about the type of movie. Marissa wanted to see something light and funny, while Ranger was adamant about seeing a horror movie. After calling in Tank to referee their disagreement, Marissa won the argument when Tank reminded Ranger that it didn't matter what movie they saw as the purpose of the outing was to get Dr. Paisley off his ass and to approve his active duty status. After that helpful insight Ranger had let Marissa plan out the entire outing. But her smug feeling only lasted a day. She had walked into Ranger's office only to find him, Cal, Tank and Lester going over the blueprints for the multiplex.

"What the hell are you doing?" she shrieked indignantly as the men tried to mask their guilty expressions.

"Carlos, have you lost your damn mind?" she asked as she snatched the blueprints from the table and furiously rolled them up. "This is not what Dr. Paisley had in mind for us. Why is this so hard for you to do? You have some serious control issues, you know that?"

All four men stayed quiet. When Marissa was on a roll like this it was best to be silent and not provoke her into doing any acts of violence. Bloodshed between friends was only acceptable when out in the field or deep undercover.

Ranger was the first one to speak. "Mari, I just wanted to be prepared."

Her eyes went wide in disbelief. "Prepared? For what? I swear, if I wasn't your friend I would whack you over the head with these blueprints." she stated angrily waving the rolled up papers in front of him.

"And you!" she whirled around and faced Tank. "Why are you even indulging him in this ridiculousness?"

"He's the boss." Tank muttered as he gave her a sheepish look.

"Stop enabling him!"

"Mari..."

"Carlos I swear...I swear if you say one word to justify your inane actions about this whole thing I'm going to call Dr. Paisley." she threatened through clenched teeth.

"I think you're overreacting." he said as he stared at her with his arms folded across his chest.

Her response to that was the act of pulling her Blackberry out her pocket and dialing.

"Yes, may I speak with Dr. Paisley please? Tell him it's Special Agent Carter. I have some important new developments he would find very interesting. Yes, I'll hold."

Ranger yanked the phone away from her and ended the call.

Marissa made an indignant sound as she glared at him; challenging him to explain himself.

But he just glared right back at her. For most people when Ranger looked at them the way he was looking at her two reactions usually occurred. One, they peed in their pants, and two, they got the hell out of his way. Marissa did neither and that just irked Ranger even more. The air around them crackled with tension, and Tank, Cal and Lester quickly left the room. From experience when Marissa and Ranger knocked heads on an issue it was much safer for there not to be an audience around. Ranger waited until the door clicked closed before he spoke in a low, clipped tone. "I'm not going to do this if I feel uncomfortable, and right about now I'm feeling very uncomfortable."

"Then you're wasting a good emotion on nothing. I'm going to be with you. We already discussed this." Marissa shot back as she stepped closer to him until they were toe to toe.

Brown eyes clashed with brown eyes; unblinking and defiant.

"We won't be armed. I haven't been anywhere public without a gun in over ten years. The thought of that makes me highly agitated."

"And you need a gun to watch a movie?" her eyes narrowed as she tried to gauge what was going on in his head at the moment.

"I need some sort of a personal weapon. I have enemies Mari. In my line of work the bad guys don't take vacations when they have vendettas. But then again you won't understand that being as you're so naïve about the dark side of life."

"I'm sorry, I missed the last part. Something moronic followed by something ridiculous." she shot back.

Ranger's eyes narrowed as a muscle in his jaw flexed uncontrollably but he stayed silent.

Marissa narrowed her eyes at him as she stared at him knowingly. "I see what's going on here. Technically we'll be going on a date. Technically there are protocols that go hand in hand with such an outing, and quite possibly you're feeling a little stressed about the whole situation as you're not exactly sure where we stand in regards to an intimate relationship between us."

Ranger stared at her. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that you're not sure what sort of behavior to display when we're sitting in the dark movie theater, surrounded by hormonally charged individuals who may or may not be kissing and or fondling each other in front of us. What are you going to do with your hands? What am I going to do with my hands? Do I want you to do anything with your hands? Do you want me touching you? All these pertinent questions flying around, yet no real solution."

"Don't play with fire Mari." His voice held a warning. "Not only will you get burned, but there will be no identifiable parts left when I get through with you."

"Sounds like fun." she said with bravado she didn't feel. "Too bad I've taken up celibacy while I'm staying in Trenton."

His eyes narrowed a fraction. "Why?"

"For...personal reasons."

"Are any one of those reasons named Joe Morelli?" he asked with a smirk.

"Don't try to distract me here Carlos. It's not gonna work. We're going to the movies without weapons so suck it up."

"I'd rather suck on you." he said suggestively as he bent his head moving in to kiss her neck.

"Flirting will get you nowhere but in the hospital." she said as she stepped back and expertly avoided his lips. "I'll pick you up at seven on Friday."

With that she flounced out his office; blueprints in hand.

Now here they were, strolling through the movie theater looking like a regular couple in Anytown USA on a Friday night. Marissa was excited. She'd never gone out socially with Carlos before. Usually they would be strapped in Kevlar with assault rifles and hand guns if they were to do anything with the public. But now here they were; she dressed in jeans, a comfortable cotton shirt and strappy sandals, while he wore a grey shirt opened at the neck, with black jeans and black loafers. He looked preppy, but dangerously so, and Marissa had noticed a few women craning their necks to size him up as they walked past the crowds. He held the door opened for her and she smiled at him. The smile soon turned into a grimace when she walked in and spotted Cal and Zero standing guard at the back row like two terminators.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me?" Marissa muttered as she turned and glared at Ranger.

"They're just holding our seats." Ranger explained as he brushed past her and walked towards his employees.

Marissa didn't know what to make of that statement so she just followed him. Zero and Cal stepped back to let Ranger and Marissa in, then proceeded to sit a few chairs away along the same row.

Marissa slapped Ranger on his arm hard. "What the fuck are they doing here?"

Ranger was unphased. "The same thing we are. Watching the movie."

She screwed her face up at him. "Spill it big man. What the hell is going on?"

Ranger stared ahead for a few seconds before speaking; almost as if he was gathering up his thoughts...or lies. "Paisley said we couldn't bring any weapons, right?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So he never said anything about other people bringing weapons."

Marissa's mouth fell open. "You mean to tell me Cal and Zero are...dressed?" she whispered fiercely. "Carlos, of all the..."

"There's more." he interjected.

Marissa's eyes got wide. More? Unfuckingbelievable.

"Woody and Vince are in the Projector Room."

Marissa took a few seconds to compose her rising ire before asking her next question. "Exactly what are they doing up there?"

"A little surveillance."

"Oh. Hell. No."

"Mari, what's the problem? Look...see how calm I am?" He made a show of leaning back against his seat and slouching down until his head rested against the seat back.

Marissa couldn't believe this. "You know, just when I figure I've seen all your crazy antics you go and do something like this that just justifies the fact that you should be studied for scientific purposes in the hopes of curing mental illnesses."

He shot her an innocent look. "What? Why don't you go get your popcorn and a drink? You still have five minutes before the movie starts."

Great idea, Marissa thought. She really did need a moment to settle her mind on what was transpiring before her eyes. With a loud sigh she got up and maneuvered past him towards the end of the row. Cal and Zero stood up.

"Sit!" she hissed angrily then turned and pointed a finger at Ranger. "If I see one Rangeman following me you better believe I will take him down."

Ranger stared at her. The stony expression told him that she was very serious about her threat. He decided that it was best not to push her completely over the edge. He nodded his head at Cal and Zero and they sat back down.

With a roll of her eyes and a low growl Marissa stalked off towards the lobby. God, she needed new friends, because the ones she had were certifiable crazy. Okay, so maybe she could understand his need for safety. Hell, she had walked with a travel-sized can of hairspray and a lighter because hey, you never knew when a mini blow torch may come in handy. But to actually position armed bodyguards and a surveillance crew in the theater was just going a little beyond paranoid in her opinion. She side-stepped a pair of playing toddlers and loud talking teenagers only to come to an abrupt stop by the sight of Joe Morelli and a familiar looking woman standing in the concession stand line.

Holy shit! Marissa thought in a panic. What is he doing here?

Turning quickly on her heels, with her heart beating in her throat, she made her way back to Ranger, all the while praying that Joe didn't see her hasty retreat. Ranger looked at her quizzically when she threw herself dejectedly next to him.

"What happened to the snacks?" he asked.

"Uhm…I decided it wouldn't be fair for me to be eating while you're not. This is supposed to be a partnership thing, so I'm gonna be nice and sit here with you and give you all the moral support you need." she huffed out on a sigh.

Ranger's brow furrowed. Mari not eating junk food? Was she sick? "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm feeling fine." Well apart from the nausea and heavy feeling in her chest. This night was turning out to be hell.

"Are you sure?" His sharp eyes scanned her face.

She was saved from answering when the audio for a soft drink commercial filled the space and the huge movie screen bubbled to life. She sat feeling a little envious as she watched the actor on the screen guzzle enthusiastically from a tempting bottle of Pepsi. She could so be drinking a Pepsi now too if it wasn't for Joe Morelli. What the hell as he doing here anyway? In fact why was he here the same night she was here? Okay, so maybe she was blowing things out of proportion. This was a public place after all. Plus this wasn't about her. This was about supporting Ranger in order for him to accomplish his goal. She was not going to be selfish. A couple of teenage boys approached the end of the row and gestured to Cal and Zero, indicating that they wanted to sit in the vacant seats.

Marissa watched as Zero got up, towering over the teenagers, and said something to them. The two teens proceeded to glare at Zero, and then the stupider one of the two punched Zero ineffectually on his chest. Looking like he was being bothered by a fly, Zero along with Cal, proceeded to grab onto the shirt collars of the teens and dragged them effortlessly out the movie theater.

"Oh my God! Carlos do something." Marissa said in a panic as she watched the boys struggled uselessly.

Ranger just shrugged and turned back to watching another commercial on the screen. Marissa stared at him with wide eyes.

"Carlos!"

Ranger's eyes never left the movie screen.

"Ugh! Fine. I'll handle this myself."

She stood up only to be yanked back down forcefully back down in her seat.

"Sit. I'm sure Cal and Zero have everything under control. We're here to watch a movie so that's what we're going to do. What's the name of the movie again?"

Marissa counted to five before she answered him. The nerve of him and his smug-bastard attitude. How could he just sit there looking all calm when his employees were possibly scaring the poor boys for life? This was not what Dr. Paisley had in mind at all.

"The movie's called No Strings Attached." she replied grumpily.

Ranger shook his head and smiled. "Only in the movies."

Marissa frowned at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Because you and I both know that such a thing doesn't exist."

"Of course it does." she said. "You and I did it."

Ranger raised an eyebrow at her.

"Okay, so maybe there were a few strings."

"A few?"

Marissa rolled her eyes. Movement to her left caught her attention just as the lights began to dim and the familiar frame of Joe Morelli walked into the theater.

"Shit!" Marissa hissed and immediately slid down in her seat.

Ranger stared at her. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." she whispered as she slid even lower in the seat. Her head was now at Ranger's waist level and her knees touched the back of the seat in front of her.

Ranger's eyes narrowed as he looked around the theater. "Why are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding." she shot back defensively. "I'm just...getting comfortable."

She chanced a glance back to where Joe and Stephanie stood and breathed a sigh of relief when they began walking towards the front.

Ranger leaned down to Marissa's level. "Should I ask Joe and Steph to join us?"

She glared at him. "Do you want to die?"

Ranger grinned at her. "You can come up now. They found seats towards the middle on the right, six rows up."

Marissa sat up slowly and looked to where Ranger indicated. She watched as the couple whispered in each other's ear and then simultaneously broke out in laughter.

Definitely couple actions, Marissa thought as a heavy feeling settled in her chest.

So that was that. Joe was off the market. She might as well stop deluding herself that anything was going to happen between them. But then again she was as much to blame for that. He had clearly stated his intent when he'd kissed her in the Tasty Pastry parking lot a few weeks ago. But she had been terrified of the emotional reaction she'd had after, and had gone out of her way to avoid him. She didn't want to pit herself in the same position she had been in with her ex Michael Gray. She had fallen fast and hard for the SWAT team leader, only to have him stomp all over her emotions and pride when he announced that he was getting married to someone else. She had been blindsided. For weeks she analyzed everything she'd done, not done and said with him before realizing that he really wasn't that into her in the first place. She had been "entertainment" to him while he'd been looking for Miss Right. The reality of the situation had knocked her on her ass, and it had taken her months to get back to the land of the living. After that rude awakening she'd promised herself that she was over looking for being in, or cultivating any kind of a committed relationship with a man. She had told Ranger as much when they'd gotten together, and he had respected her decision. It wasn't that hard with Ranger anyway, as he too wasn't looking for any kind of a commitment either. It had been easy, satisfying and pressure-free. Then Stephanie had broken up with Joe, and Ranger began spending more and more time in Trenton. A little while after Marissa had gotten sent to Trenton on a Joint Task Force team operation and BAM! Joe Morelli showed up. In rapid succession her feelings towards him blossomed from friendly and professional to an emotionally charged reaction every time he was around her. She'd fought it though. And it helped that her wounds from her past betrayal hadn't fully healed, otherwise it would've taken one fiery kiss from Joe for her to fall completely for him. When she had gone back to New York after her assignment was over she felt confident that all she needed was a week or two of getting back into her daily routine before all emotion and wistful thoughts of Joe dissipated. But the Gods of Emotional Turmoil had it in for her. Two months later she found herself temporarily assigned back to the Newark Field office…and Joe Morelli a highway away. She had bumped into him a few times at the supermarket and the precinct, and each time she'd made sure they exchanged no m ore that professional pleasantries before she practically ran from the building.

But as the saying goes "Be careful what you wish for", because here he was now with his girlfriend looking like a freaking Hallmark commercial promoting Valentine's Day. Ugh!

Okay, so maybe this was all her fault because of her emotional constraints. And yes, Joe was a very sexually appealing man who could without a doubt get any woman he wanted with just a smile and the sound of his voice. So when it all came down to the nitty-gritty truth Marissa knew she was the one responsible for sabotaging any chance of being with him. But on the other hand maybe it was for the best as she knew fully committing to a man was a lot more work than romance novels made it out to be.

Ranger nudged her arm." You alright?"

She offered him a tight smile. "Just hoping the movie doesn't suck."

"Well given that scowl on your face I'd say it already has." he said as his gazed flicked to Joe and Stephanie.

Marissa could only grimace at his intuition.