Author: PTBvisiongrrl
Title: Ranger's Little Girl/Chapter Two
Rating: PG-13; may change
Spoilers/Warnings: None.

Disclaimer: I only borrow, I do not own….

Chapter Two

Stephanie studied Ranger's face intently. He didn't seem to be joking; there were none of his usual signs of humor. No upturned corners of his mouth, no blinding smile, no "Babe" in THAT TONE. He was patiently waiting for her reply, as calmly as if he had asked her to do a usual distraction job. "You want me to do what?" she asked, needing to hear it again before she would believe it.

Okay, Ranger actually grimaced. He must have expected this to go much easier than she was going to make it. "Will you do it, or not?"

Steph smelled fear beneath Ranger's calm exterior. "Your daughter is going to be here in Trenton for a year while your ex-wife is stationed over seas, and you don't know what to do about her and you need my help. Is that right?" Steph waited for his confirming nod.

At his affirmative motion, she reiterated and restated. "So you basically want me to be her governess?" She actually cringed at the word, the image of herself in a black Victorian dress with a flying umbrella in hand. This was beyond bizarre.

"Uh-" Ranger hesitated, picking up on her tone. "Yes?"

Steph crossed her arms and settled back onto her sofa. "You want to put me in charge of a preteen? All by myself? Do you remember who I am? How many of your cars I've demolished? Men I've injured?" She shook her head. "I got you shot! Twice!"

He grimaced again. "Yes, of course I remember all these things, Steph."

"Then why on earth would you trust me with your twelve year old daughter?" she yelped. God help her, she had never turned down a Ranger request for help before, but she was seriously considering doing so now. "FOR A WHOLE YEAR?"

"Babe," Ranger's tone sounded slightly exasperated. "Will you do it?"

She chewed her bottom lip. "I don't know anything about kids, or how to 'govern' one, or anything like that. Why ask me?" She was pleasantly surprised when Ranger actually answered her question.

"There are several reasons." Ranger had anticipated this question, and decided that honesty was the best thing in this situation, even if it meant risking emotional exposure. "There's a few reasons, Stephanie. I don't trust many people, especially when it comes to my daughter. I trust you."

She was taken aback. Ranger trusted her- that implied that maybe he saw her as more than mere entertainment after all. I mean, who trusts a clown? Her heart thudded so loudly in her chest that she almost missed the rest of what he said.

"Trust is more important than experience here. It's not like she's an infant; she doesn't need constant attention. A lot of your time will still be free. Plus, while she's at school, you can still pick up skips for Vinnie if you want, but you won't have to." This part would be delicate. "Standard Rangeman pay scale, but since you're essentially working twenty-four/seven, you'll be compensated as such."

Steph's eyes turned in to silver dollars. "Holy cow!" That would make a big dent in her monthly bills, much bigger than a year of nickel and dime FTAs. But this smelled like a pity gig, at least slightly. And this job was different from distraction. Steph wasn't sure how comfortable she would be as Ranger's employee. She was comfortable with Ranger as a partner- as a boss was a different story. Her hopes for a romantic relationship might complicate this. She was going to have to think more about it.

Ranger sensed her hesitation. "Steph, I know this might make things a bit-"

"Weird?" she supplied, thinking that they already were, anyway.

Ranger nodded. Since Morelli had moved out of the picture, he had increased his 'pressure' on Steph, but she was stronger than he thought. Or not interested, but he thought that she had seemed still interested. And Ranger hadn't met a woman yet who wasn't interested. Well, whatever might be between him and Steph, it would have to take second place to the situation with Ana. "Weird between us. I don't want that, and I will do my best to avoid that."

Steph nodded. "I would worry about that. You know, I never was a model employee."

Ranger smirked a little. "I figured that. Why don't you think this over, and if you are interested, we can work out the details then."

"I'd like to think it over. This is all very sudden," she stated, her stomach starting to feel a bit funny. It would be a lot of money, and she'd get to know Ranger's daughter- dear God, what if they hated each other?- AND spend a lot of time around Ranger. She was sure there was a down side somewhere, but the thought of being around Ranger that much (and what she could do with that time) blinded her to it right now. Aside from the details, she still didn't understand why her? She decided she needed to know that more than any details of the job right now.

Gathering her courage, she asked. "Ranger, you still didn't really tell me why you want me to do this. If trust is such a big issue, why not just have one of your men follow her around?"

His eyelids closed, taking a deep breath, Ranger sighed. "She won't let me put a bodyguard on her."

"Won't let you?" Steph squeaked.

Ranger rubbed his tired eyes with both hands. "It's a long story, but she refuses to stay here unless I make certain…concessions. One, no bodyguards. Two, she goes to public school. The list is actually quite extensive."

"There's a list?" Steph was in awe of a child who could control control-freak Ranger. Then she got internal chills- this is the child she was to be put in charge of? Bad. This could be beyond disaster.

"Let's just say, she's got a strong personality." Ranger chuckled at Steph's look of horror. "You two should be interesting together."

"So the merry men were out- what about Jeanne Ellen?" Her inferiority complex with the bad-ass bounty hunter from Ranger's past infected her tone, causing Ranger to raise an eyebrow.

"This isn't her type of job."

"And it's mine?"

Ranger moved to sit next to her and slung his arm around her shoulders like he had a hundred times before. Steph enjoyed the feel of him, waiting for his response. A momentary pause and Ranger started, then stopped, speaking. When he started again, Stephanie was in the edge of her seat- Ranger's behavior where his daughter was concerned was decidedly un-Ranger-like.

"Babe- I haven't really said this to you before, but I've tried to show you, to let you know how highly I think of you." Another significant pause before Ranger continued. "Frankly, I want my daughter to be an independent woman when she grows up, to know how to think for herself. I want her to know how to be happy, how to enjoy life." Ranger scrubbed his hand across his face, measuring his next sentence or two mentally before throwing them out there. "I want her to be a lot like you, Babe."

Stephanie was doing the mental happy dance. Ranger thought a lot of her, didn't he? She pushed aside the question that followed that thought (So why didn't he want a relationship with her, if she was so wonderful?) and just smiled at him. Beamed, really. "Okay."

"Okay?" Ranger made it into a question.

"Okay," Steph repeated.

"That mean you'll do it?" Ranger asked.

"Yep. When does she get here?"