Disclaimer: The characters and their world belong to Janet Evanovich. I'm just playing with them for fun, and all mistakes are my own.

AN: Arroz con pollo – chicken with Spanish rice dish; Dios – God (exclamation); Pendejo – slang for idiot

Chapter 2

Step 2: Nesting 101 – How to make a sterile luxury penthouse into a home

It was late June and I woke up wrapped in a Ranger-shaped cocoon. Sighing, I snuggled back into his warmth, smiling when I felt a certain part of him respond.

I'd missed this. He'd slipped into our bed sometime after midnight, finally home after a three week trip into the wind. It wasn't that long as missions go, but it had been the first since we'd been an official couple. I'd missed him like crazy and worried even more, but a whole lot of Ben and Jerry's and the Merry Men had pulled me through.

I cracked one eye open and the alarm clock on my side of the bed blinked implacably back at me. Ten AM. My eyes flew open as I wondered if I'd slept through the apocalypse. It was Saturday, so my sleeping in was expected, but Ranger had usually run 8 miles, conducted the morning briefing, and taken down a couple of felons before nine.

Nature was screaming, so I slowly eased away from him. Ranger grumbled a little and reached for me, but he never woke. I guess even Batman needs a day off from time to time.

I snagged one of his T shirts from the dressing room as I made my way toward the bathroom – it's funny how I'd slipped one on the night before but still woke up stark naked. That happened a lot when my man was around. After taking care of business, I wandered back out into our bedroom. It hadn't changed much since the first time I'd hidden out in Ranger's apartment, back when the Slayers had a contract out on me. Neutral walls, thick carpeting, huge-ass black bed and the most sinfully soft sheets I'd ever slipped between. I loved the apartment, but while he was away this time, I'd realized that without him it was as impersonal as a luxury hotel room. Nothing so much as whispered that I or Carlos Mañoso lived there.

"Something's burning, Babe."

Smiling, I spun toward the groggiest but most welcome voice ever. I crossed over to the bed and slid in beside him. "Welcome home, Carlos," I said as I kissed him softly on the lips.

He propped himself up on one elbow, and as the sheets pooled around his hips, I was reminded that he hadn't bothered with pajamas either. It was enough to make my hormones do a happy dance.

"Deep thoughts, Babe?"

"Just have some stuff on my mind," I muttered as I traced a finger along the edge of his bandaged bicep. "But I'd rather do you right this second."

He stiffened as my lips brushed over the clean, white bandage, then drew me down to his side. "You're not having second thoughts about us, are you?"

My eyes flew open in surprise. "No! Why would you think that?"

He gestured toward the wound on his arm. "This isn't the kind of life most sane women would sign up for, Steph."

"And you're first person to point out that I'm more than a little insane," I joked, trying to lighten the mood. It went over like a lead balloon. I could practically see him building the wall between us.

"Hey." I reached up to smooth the lines of tension from his forehead. "When I told you I wanted to be with you, I signed on for the whole package." I silently asked my inner Smart Stephanie for a little help. For once she told me to wing it. Annoying bitch.

"Lover and warrior, I love all of you, Carlos." I swallowed around the lump in my throat. "God knows I need both sides of you, with all of the trouble I get into. Take as many missions as you need to. I'll be here when you get back."

I felt him relax next to me. "Maybe I should thank God you're a crazy woman."

I lightly thumped his good arm. "Joke all you want, but you're probably the only man crazy enough to put up with my shit, too."

Ranger chuckled. "Sounds like we're meant for each other." His eyes softened as he pulled me over on top of him.

"You better believe it." I smiled as I shifted around until I was straddling him. "What's your condition, soldier?"

His eyes went hungry and dark. "My condition is very, very serious," he growled as he ground his erection against my core.

I stifled a moan. Lord have mercy. "I can feel that, but are you hurt?" I asked as I checked him over. I didn't see anything but the bandage on his upper right arm, but I couldn't be sure.

He drew me down for a kiss. "I'm fine, Babe, that's just a scratch I got during a training exercise."

His training exercises were probably conducted with live bullets in a third world country, but all I cared about at this moment was that he was home and in one piece.

I waggled my eyebrows as I fetched a condom from the nightstand. "In that case, just lie back and let Nurse Stephanie take care of you."

R&S~R&S~R&S

Lunch time was long past before my growling stomach drove us out of bed. Ranger pulled out omelet fixings while I supervised from the breakfast bar.

"Oh God, this is good," I moaned as I tore into the Butterscotch Krimpett he'd handed me. "Sleeping late and condoning the consumption of empty calories? I think I like this side of you."

"Gotta keep your strength up, Babe." He shot me a full, panty-melting wolf grin. "I've got big plans for you this weekend." Ranger's usual MO was to decompress for a few days on the seventh floor after a mission. I was just glad that he didn't seem to mind including me.

"What plans?" I teased as I tapped my chin. "It's too late for skiing and you know I suck at Scrabble." I grinned. "That really just leaves shopping."

"Babe." That one word could mean many things. Today it meant 'You couldn't even get me inside a Victoria's Secret.'

"You're no fun," I sighed as I grabbed some cut up melon from the refrigerator. "Well, I guess I'll just have to settle for more bone-melting sex, then."

After lunch, we curled up on the couch with Carlos' head in my lap, pretending to watch the Discovery Channel. "How bad was it?" I asked quietly as I smoothed back his hair. It was a little shaggy but nowhere near as long as it'd been when we first met. "I don't need details or anything," I added quickly.

"It's OK, Babe. It was a pretty straightforward ex-fil operation the first week." I'd been around the Merry Men enough to know that meant someone needed help getting out of Dodge and they couldn't fly commercial.

"And the rest of the time?" I almost didn't dare ask. CNN hadn't reported any coups anywhere, but you never knew with Ranger.

"Just training my replacements."

"Oh." Oh! I looked down at him in wonder. "I meant what I said earlier. You don't have to give up the contracts."

"I know, Babe, but I'm getting way too old for this crap."

"Yeah, you're practically ready for the nursing home," I snorted as I traced over his chest and abs. No retiree was ever that cut. "I can't say I hate the idea, but won't you get bored?"

"Babe." A smile played along his lips as he sat up. "I get all the danger I can handle keeping up with you."

"Smartass." I whapped him with a sofa cushion. "I've hardly blown up anything at all lately. Seriously. A couple of torched cars and everyone freaks out."

"Steph." He silenced me with a kiss. "I can't wait to make a life with you."

"Hmmm." That was the nicest and scariest thing I'd heard in a while. I wasn't ready for kids and a dog or anything, but I wanted us to be for keeps.

"I smell something burning again, Babe."

"I was thinking along the same lines earlier. I want to make a home with you, too." I gestured around us. "While you were away, I realized that I hadn't moved in much besides Rex and the brown bear." That cookie jar had seen a lot of action over the years, so I'd semi-retired it. I keep my gun in Ranger's gun safe and Ella keeps it filled with actual cookies.

"Don't forget all those shoes taking over the closet," he smirked.

"Those are essential equipment, mister." I shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, the apartment's nice, it's just….." Not mine. Not ours.

"Do whatever you need to do to make it feel like home." He pressed a lingering kiss on my forehead.

"That's an awfully dangerous offer. What if I wanted to paint the bedroom pink?"

He grimaced but shook his head. "This was just a place to crash before you, Babe, so have at it."

I pouted. "But I was looking forward to negotiating paint colors and fabric swatches with you." I loved to haggle with Ranger – it always led to a night to remember.

Ranger pulled me into his lap. "Seriously, Babe. I trust you," he murmured as he skimmed his lips over my collar bone. "There are lots of other things I'd rather negotiate."

"Oh boy," I moaned as my T-shirt went flying over my shoulder. "I'll start then. Bottom or top?"

R&S~R&S~R&S

So, making our apartment a little more homey was in the back of my mind, but I really didn't do anything about it until several weeks later when Lula happened to bring some home furnishing catalogs in.

"Now, since we're moving up in the world, I need to outfit my crib a little better," she told me as she spread out a couple of glossy catalogs on her desk. "Which of these rugs do you like better?"

"Uh… I'm not sure." The choices were purple with zebra stripes or electric blue with zebra stripes. I looked frantically around for some urgent work to do, but it was Friday afternoon and we were all caught up for once.

"Look, I'm not the best person to ask. I still need to do something with the apartment on seven," I said quickly as I edged away.

"Wait just a minute, white girl!" Lula's grip on my wrist was like iron. "You mean you've got some sort of carte blanche to redecorate the Bat Cave and you aren't all over that?"

"I was just thinking of adding a couple of pictures and maybe some throw pillows." I said as I gingerly pulled away. I didn't like the look in her eye. It was like she had a free shopping pass to Macy's or Cluck in a Bucket was giving away free clucky fries.

"Hunh. You're thinking too small. You need you some big statement pieces. Something to really trick that place out." She turned toward Hal, who'd just walked through the door. "Hey white boy, you seen their apartment, right? It needs some sprucing up, right?"

"Uhhh. The seventh floor is kind of off-limits." He stuttered as he held out a stack of folders to me. "No rush on these or anything."

"Damn right there's no rush, we got some shopping to do, and you can carry the bags and shit," Lula said to Hal as she grabbed her purse from her bottom drawer.

I sighed as I went in search of my purse. "C'mon Hal, she's not going to take no for an answer." I gently took his arm and guided him out. "We can stop for some of that frozen yogurt you like."

So that's how I ended up in the HomeGoods in Princeton with Lula and Hal. We'd fortified ourselves with Pinkberry (Hal got a small vanilla froyo with sprinkles and fresh fruit, I got triple chocolate and Lula got everything else), and made a quick stop in the frame department. I'd found the perfect mats and picture frames right away, so I figured finding a couple of rugs wouldn't be a big deal. I hadn't counted on Lula and Hal duking it out over bedding.

It was the best and worst thing I'd seen all week. I'm ashamed to admit that I'd thought Hal was sweet but a little dim when we first met – on account of how I'd managed to stun him with his own taser. Hey, he was all that stood between me and my sister's wedding shower.

I'd since learned he was plenty smart. He'd been Ranger's tech guy back when they were still on active duty and anyone who can repair a satellite phone with a paperclip and a gum wrapper can't be dumb. He was just really bashful around women, maybe because he'd been sent to military school when he was practically a toddler. I was glad to see that dating Francine's daughter Darla had cured him of most of his shyness.

"Plaid goes with everything," Hal said, arms crossed.

"You ain't got no sense of style," Lula fumed. "White girl and Batman can't be putting no broke-ass country shit in their bedroom." She held up an animal print bed spread. "Now, I can see a whole lotta lovin' happening under something like this. This got game!"

Hal paled. Thinking about Ranger's game was probably against company policy. But to his credit, he stood firm. "No man has ever gotten an erection around pink leopard print."

Hal had an excellent point. I was pretty sure my doodah would shrivel up around all that fake animal skin, too. Lula was headed straight toward full raging rhino mode, so I stepped in.

"Both of your choices have a certain something," I said slowly. Like they were both butt ugly. "But I think this one would go better." I grabbed a deep blue and chocolate brown comforter set and hurried toward the throw rugs before anyone could protest.

On a scale of 1 to Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house, the rest of the trip wasn't that horrible. I found the best Batman and Wonder Woman toothbrush holders at this novelty shop Hal knew about. Yes, they are just as wonderfully bad as you might imagine.

A couple of hours and a maxed-out charge card later, I staggered back into the apartment on seven. I'd managed to keep Lula out of our apartment with a promise to have her up to see the finished product. In about ten years, when I could figure out how to lock Carlos' underwear drawer. When Hal and Manny brought up the rest of the shopping, I could only plop down on the couch and stare at the mound of bags in the entryway. I needed to call in the big guns.

R&S~R&S~R&S

Luckily, Ranger was handling a problem at the Boston office until Monday night, and Ella was in town. Ella is a domestic goddess with the heart of an army drill instructor, and my personal hero. She showed up the next morning with paint chips and homemade muffins, and before noon, her husband Louis and a couple of new RangeMan employees were repainting the living room and bedroom. Another quick shopping trip for shoe racks, and by Sunday night, I was staring at the living room in wonder.

"Is there anything you can't do?" I asked Ella. We hadn't done anything too drastic. We'd gone a little brighter with the wall colors and added rugs and throws that weren't brown or tan, but we hadn't changed the furniture and I certainly hadn't gotten rid of Ranger's heavenly sheets. It was still our apartment – just a few degrees warmer. It was home and there wasn't a bit of pink leopard print in sight.

Ella patted me on the arm as she headed toward the door. "It was my pleasure, dear. I'll bring up the groceries for tomorrow night in the morning."

Oh yeah, I'd somehow lost my mind and decided to surprise Carlos with one of his favorite meals. Made from scratch and all by myself. I blamed the paint fumes.

But I should've known that Ella wouldn't let me down.

The next morning, I found myself staring at a slow cooker. "I just put all this in the pot and I get arroz con pollo?" I asked, gesturing at the mound of chicken breasts, rice and canned tomatoes on the counter. "It can't be that easy." Cooking required hours of work in the kitchen, yelling and Italian hand gestures – at least the way my mom and I did it.

"It's my secret weapon." Ella smiled at my fish impression. "I don't have ten hours to stand over a stew pot, dear, and neither do you. Ric will eat every bite, I promise you."

"OK," I said as I began to throw the ingredients into the crockpot. "Can you make flan in one of these, too?"

Ella almost hid her look of horror. "No, but I did find a simple recipe like you asked," she said. "Don't bother turning the flan."

Not a problem, since I didn't have the first clue what she meant by that. "Oh, God," I moaned. "I'm going to burn down the apartment."

She chuckled. "Nonsense, though if you need me to stay here tonight…."

"Now that's nonsense." I broke in. "You and Louis can't miss your grandson's first soccer game." I looked down at the step by step instructions she'd given me. "I can do this. I think."

Ella just patted my arm. "You'll be fine, dear." She rummaged around in the cupboard until she found a small box. "I'll tell you my other secret - always have a backup plan."

"But you're a kitchen goddess," I stuttered as I took the instant pudding I kept around for PMS emergencies from her.

Her eyes twinkled. "I'm glad you think so, but Louis ate many a burned or lumpy meal when we were first married and it was never the end of world."

I decided to take Ella at her word, so I turned on the slow cooker and went down to open the office. Carlos didn't love me for my cooking anyway.

R&S~R&S~R&S

Ranger's POV

I heard the Metallica blasting as soon as I stepped off the elevator, and when I opened up the door to our apartment, five hours of driving and four sleepless nights fell away.

I couldn't do anything except stand in the doorway and watch her as she danced around the living room, eyes closed as she belted out the chorus to 'Enter Sandman'. My Babe's curls were extra crazy and there was an un-identifiable glob of something on her right cheek. She was beautiful and I wanted to come home to her every night for the rest of my life.

Her eyes flew open before I could close the distance between us. I knew Steph could always sense me, because it was the same for me. A moment later, the music cut off and I had an armful of my Babe.

"Welcome home, Carlos," she whispered as she wound her long, long legs around my waist.

I never waste an opportunity, so I captured her lips with mine. "Dios, something smells good," I said when we finally broke apart, my face buried in her throat as I tried to slow my breathing. A ten mile run doesn't steal my breath like she does.

"Ummm….that's probably the arroz con pollo," she told me, as her fingertips beat a nervous tattoo on my chest.

"I meant you," I told her as I breathed her in one last time. "But since you mentioned it, dinner smells pretty good too, Babe," I told her as she led me into the kitchen. It looked good too, so I snuck a taste from the slow cooker bubbling on the counter. Yes, I like food. I just hide it well.

She bit her lip nervously. "Ella gave me the recipe," she said in a rush. "But she kind of supervised, so it's probably not that bad."

"Babe." A warm feeling settled in the center of my chest. I'm not like that pendejo Morelli. I don't need or expect Steph to cook and clean, but that she'd go to that much trouble for me…

I gently tugged her lower lip from between her teeth. "Hey, that's mine to bite." I soothed the slightly reddened tissue with my thumb. "It's good, but I don't know what I did to deserve my favorite."

"I was just feeling kind of domestic. Don't get used to it." She warned as she ducked her head to hide her flaming cheeks. She's so damn cute when she blushes.

I couldn't hide my grin. "Does this have anything to do with the redecorating you've been doing?"

"Hunh. Lester gossips like an old woman," she muttered.

"It was Tank, but I hope I would've noticed that our walls were a different color," I teased as I held out my hand. "Do I get the grand tour?"

When I said she could do anything she wanted to the apartment, I told my inner control freak to shut the hell up and I figured I'd learn to like whatever she did. I should've known that my Babe wouldn't disappoint. The walls were a dark gold color I probably would have picked myself, and the rugs and bathroom decorations were all Steph.

"Babe, I'm not wearing a cape, ever." I told her as I looked doubtfully down at the Batman soap dish. Truth was, it was kind of funny.

"Oh, that's not what your mother told me." She giggled as she drew me back into the living room.

"Mama talks too much," I grumbled as I stared at the picture wall. Our whole lives were there. Her family. My family. Even baby pictures. "You were a cute Wonder Woman," I murmured as I ran my finger over one smooth dark wood frame.

"And you were an adorable Superman," she told me as she pointed to the picture next to hers. "But I think I like the one of you and Tank during Ranger training the best. Shirtless Carlos, yum." She said with an exaggerated eyebrow waggle.

"I should've taken Santos to the mats for teaching you to do that." The picture was taken just after we'd both survived hell week. "Dios, were we ever that young?"

"You looked happy."

"Babe." I grinned then. "We'd just finished a 30 mile run, and we'd been jonesing for a decent meal and a shower all week." I could still remember how that burger tasted.

"Sounds like me and Lula on a stakeout." She slipped her arm around my waist. "I was afraid you wouldn't like me putting up the pictures, but I couldn't resist this one of you and Julie." She pointed to a picture taken last summer on the beach in Miami.

"I don't have any secrets from you, Babe" I said as I kissed her lightly on the lips. Not counting the ones I was contractually required to keep for Uncle Sam. "I love the pictures, and I like what you've done to the apartment."

She snorted. "Just be glad that I didn't have enough room on my credit card to carry out Lula's decorating plan." Steph shuddered. "She thought we needed bear skin rugs and a sex swing in the bedroom."

"Babe." Not that the sex swing was such a bad idea, but we didn't need props to burn up the sheets. "I suppose I shouldn't even ask why you didn't use the card I gave you?" I suppressed a sigh. Most women would sell their souls for a black Amex card, but not my Babe. I was just glad she didn't insist on paying rent.

She shook her head. "We've already gone over this, Carlos."

True. "I think this is my favorite," I said pointing toward a photo collage of us over the years. In each photo, we were embracing, and even an idiot could see how we felt about each other.

"The burning cars in the background add a certain artistic touch," she said quietly. "I wonder if I would've realized how much I loved you sooner if I'd seen these."

I shook my head. "I dunno, Babe. I'm just glad we're here now." I probably would have spouted some more mushy shit, if she hadn't suddenly yelped and ran for the kitchen.

"God, my mom's always right. I knew I'd burn it," she moaned as she opened the oven door.

"Relax, Babe. That's not even your best work." I chuckled when she whapped me in the chest with a potholder. "I can still tell it was supposed to be flan."

"That looks nothing like the flan in Ella's pictures." She dumped the dish in the sink and slumped against the counter in defeat. "God, I'm such a joke. Why did I ever think I could make dinner?"

Helen Plum had sort of grown on me over the years, but if she were here right now, I'd be arranging her passage to Kazakhstan. "You are not a joke, Babe." I reached up and swiped at the blob of flan batter on her face. "Delicious. Tastes like my Mom's recipe." I went to lick the rest from her cheek and she ducked away from me, shrieking with laughter.

"Ewww." She wrinkled her nose as she skipped toward the fridge. "It's a good thing I made a back-up dessert. Ella's a genius and deserves a raise."

"Babe." I stared down at the bowl in her hands. "Instant pudding?"

She rolled her eyes. "It's like a trifle. You can't tell me Ella's cookies don't have lots fiber and the fruit makes it healthy."

Dios, what did I ever do without her? Chuckling, I scooped her up into my arms and headed toward the bedroom. "Hold onto the pudding, Babe. I feel like having dessert first tonight."

AN: Thanks again for all of the reviews on the first chapter of this story. I'm sorry for the delay in posting this chapter, but RL intervened.