Here's chapter three! I'm writing fast because I'm feeling inspired and want to get stuff done. I'm also on a holiday and have nothing to do. :)
Not mine and not making any money :(
Tank POV
Every time Ranger was away, I was in charge of the company and the guys who worked for RangeMan. Usually that wouldn't be a problem I was always up for the challenge. This time it was different. The guys couldn't focus, and to be honest neither could I. I was beyond worried for Ranger and Steph and keeping a straight face on was proving more difficult every day that passed.
Ranger had been in Paris for two days now, sorting out what was needed for him to move Steph to the States. She had gotten better too, she had even talked to me for a while in the phone. I smiled as I recalled how frustraited she sounded. The life of a hospital patient didn't suite her at all. Ranger had caught her leaning at the window yesterday. She said that she wanted to see the weather outside and had desided to check it, gotten up from the bed, walked to the window but hadn't had the strenght to walk back to the bed. He had had to carry her back to the bed. She didn't like being treated like a child, she had told me on the phone. I could almost see the way she frowned.
With every day that passed she was becoming more and more like a little sister for me, and to many others who worked here. The thought of somebody hurting her made my blood boil and I wanted to hunt the bastard down and do horrible things to him, just to see him suffer. I wasn't a violent guy at heart but hurt one of my people, you hurt me.
I snapped out of that thought and tried to focus on this goddamn paperwork. Ugh, I hated this part of the job, and I was glad it wasn't my normal job. I couldn't figure out these stupid numbers and I was getting more and more frustrated. I was thinking about shreading these papers but I figured that that wouldn't be wise. Ranger would get furious.
My phone rung. I checked the caller I.D.
"Yo, bossman" I answered the call.
"We're ready here. I'm taking Babe home with a special plane the government is lending us. I need you to get a car waiting for us at the airport, at 4 p.m."
"Got that, boss. Need something else?" I said as I was sending a text to Lester, telling him to organize the cars.
"Not at this moment, Tank. We'll discuss things today when we get home."
", about these papers..?"
He hung up.
Steph's POV
Today was the day that we were finally flying home. Nadine had told me that the staff were glad to have me on my way, because "some" staff members were afraid of Ranger. We had laughed at it and said our goodbyes this morning. Now I was sitting in a wheelchair feeling totally embarrassed by the looks people where giving me wishing that I'd be back in my room. Ranger was pushing the chair towards the elevators down to the hospital lobby. He was dressed in full black and looked really handsome , while I looked totally ridiculus with my hair pointing at every direction and half of my face was still covered in thick bandages. Ranger hadn't had any of my clothes in his sports bag so I had to wear one of his t-shirts and and my own pants. Luckily they had survived the tough ordeal.
Ranger pushed me into the elevator and stood behind me, and I couldn't see him. The doors closed and I was surprised when he spun the chair around so I was facing him. He had his hands on the hand rests and he was leaning towards me. His eyes were softer than I had ever seen them, they had so many emotions in them. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. He stood there deep in thought and tried to say something many times but every time he couldn't get it out.
"Ranger...? Do you want to say something to me?" I whispered at him, placing my hand on his.
"I just.." He sounded more confused than I have ever seen him. He shook his head as if trying to get rid of some thought.
The doors opened but he didn't move. He just looked confused.
"Ranger? The doors are open and people are starring at us." I said to him, glancing at the lobby. That seamed to get him out of his thoughts and he spun me around and whealed me out in the lobby and out of the hospital. He had aranged a car to be waiting outside the hospital and to take us to the airport. He had explaned that we didn't fly with his own plane, that the gorvernment had borrowed some kindof special plane that had medical equipment installed. It was like a flying hospital, he had said.
There was a tall man standing besides the black SUV outside the hospital. He looked like Tank, but had softer features and no tattoos. He saluted Ranger and opened the the door for us. Ranger picked me up carefully, trying not to hurt me. I tried to hide my grimace but he caught it anyway.
"I'm sorry Babe."
"Don't be. It's my fault really..." I whispered.
He sat me carefully down on the backseat and sat next to me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I leaned into him, making my self as comfortable as possible. He stroked gently my arm, comforting me.
"Wanna talk about it?"
I felt him rest his cheek carefully on the top of my head. I was tempted to talk to him, tell him everything about those nights. About the most horrifying experience of my life. About how I saw his eyes everytime time I closed my eyes, how his voice rang in my ears, about the nightmares, about the horror I felt when I was alone. About the relief I felt when he finally had showed up. There was another thing for me to think about. Why had I felt the way I had? This feeling was so much stronger than it had ever been with Morelli. I still had to think over my feelings and figure out what he thought about me. He seemed to like me, he had come all the way to Paris to be with me. But how much did he care about me? Was it like "I-like-you-in-a-friendly-way" or "I-want-to-have-you-RIGHT-now"-way?
"Babe?"
"Hm?"
"We're at the airport."
I snapped out of my thoughts. How can we be at the airport already, we were just at the hospital? But he was right, the car had stopped just beside the plane. It was black and slighty larger than Rangers plane. I could count ten windows. There were two women waiting by the stairs. They were wearing the same uniform, a blue knee-lenght dress and what got to be worlds ugliest shoes. One were blond and tall and the other was a brunette who was shorter and had a fuller figure. There were also a pilot waiting for us at the top of the stairs . He was an older man, maybe in his fifties, and had brown hair and a quite robust figure. He looked like he was a kind man.
Ranger was smiling at me. His eyes were still soft, and they transformed his face compleately. His features were softer and he was les intimidating , and I liked this new softer Ranger.
"Let's go, Babe." He lifted me out of the car and into his arms. I leaned into his chest and sighed, thanking God that they had taken my collar of today. I pressed my ear to his chest and heard his soothing heartbeat, beating in a steady rhytm. He carried me up the stairs and into the plane. The plane was divided in three different sections. The first was an area for the staff. The second area had a hospital bed on the other side of the plane and huge amounts of medical machines on the other side. This area was in the middle of the plane and the third section was a livingroom type of room in the back. There was couches and armchairs, all in beige leather.
"Where do you want to sit, babe?" Ranger asked me softly. One of the nurse-flight attendents, the blond one, tried to say something.
"Sir? It would be best for her if she lied on the bed.." She stopped talking in the middle of that sentance. I guess Ranger had given her that look he gives persons he don't like. I smiled at that.
"I don't want to lay on a hospital bed..." I whispered to Rangers cheast. "I don't like them."
"Babe, let's compromise, shall we? You lay on the bed when we take of, but then your free to sit where you want. That sound ok?"
I thought about that.
"Fine, fine.." I mumbled and could feel him chuckling. He put me down on the bed, and the nurses came to tie me down. All I cared about was Rangers hand in mine. He was standing by my head, looking at me, smiling. And I smiled back at him.
What on earth was I doing? I realized I cared deeply about him. No, hell, I loved him. As soon as thought about it, I knew it was true. I loved Ranger. Holy cow... And I knew that I could trust him.
"Hey, Ranger? About that thing we talked about in the car..."
"Sir, please be seated. We are taking off." The brunette nurse told him, and started to lead his way to the livingroom type of area.
"Babe, can you wait a minute? Let's talk when we are up in the air. We have seven hours to talk." The nurse shoved him to make him move.
"Sir, please!" Ranger was still looking at me.
"Okey." I said not wanting to make the nurses angry.
Ranger smiled and let go of my hand. It felt empty and cold.
After we had lifted Ranger had come back. He took my hand in his and opened my safetybelts and carried me to the living room and put me down on a couch by a window. Then he sat next to me and pulled me closer to him, so I was leaning on him. I felt safe and compleat. I rested my head on his shoulder and relaxed. He put his arms around me and stroked gently my arm, both of us feeling comforted by this. We sat there, totally quiet for a while.
"Babe, you wanted to talk about what happened?" he said quietly to me. I sighed.
"You don't have to if you don't want to."
"But, I want to tell you. I don't want to hide things from you anymore. Because I..." I fell silent.
"You..?" Ranger asked curiosly still stroking my arm.
"IthinkIloveyou" I blurred out. I was glad I couldn't see his face and held my breath. He sat silently not moving. Silence.
Oh great, he didn't love me and now I've screwed things over, big time. Shit, shit, shit! From now on things would be weird between us and after a time we would be so uncomfortable with each other that we couldn't work together. Someone might even move out of town, and we'd never see each other again. Damn my big mouth! Why did I say that, why?
He pressed his lips on the top of my head, supricing me.
"I love you to, mi querida."
I lifted my head so I could look at him.
"You do..?" I whispered.
"I have love you since the day I met you. I haven't said anything, in fear of ruining what we had. I was going to tell you got home from your vacation. I even tried to tell you in the elevator at the hospital. "
I just looked at him, in total awe. He loved me? He loved me! And I loved...
My thoughts were interrupted by his lips on mine, kissing me softly and lovingly. I lifed my hands and crossed them around his neck, deepening the kiss not worrying about the dull pain in my abdomen. The kiss went on forever and it felt like time stood still. Way too soon I had to breath. We sat there breathing heavily just looking at each other and smiling. His eyes radieted warmth and love, softening his features. I had never felt this way before, not even with Morelli and I thought I had loved him with all my heart.
"I love you" I said to him.
"I love you to, mi querida, and always will."
Please Review, it means so much to me :)
Also I'm not sure there is a plane like this in the real life but what the hell :) In the next chapter I will tell what happened to Steph in Paris :)
