A/N: So earlier versus later during the week - it's either now, or after 5pm EST, so I figure I might as well get it out now :) Hope everyone's enjoying this; I have some reviews to respond to and private messages to write back to, so hopefully I get to that tonight. Happy Monday!


Mondays always were and always will be Stephanie's least favorite day. She was pleasantly surprised when she not only woke up with a happy warmth spreading through her system, but she woke up 10 minutes before her alarm.

She knew she was excited to keep on giving gifts. She felt like Santa. It was so true, what everyone had always said: giving is way better than receiving. She loved the thrill of trying to sneak one by Ranger, although she wasn't entirely sure he didn't see her slip the flash drive in yesterday when she was knocking. But he at least didn't call her out on it, which she appreciated.

She wasn't sure if Ranger would even mention the music she gave him. Or hell, if he had even found it. She thought she knew him at least a little bit, but every day she learned a little more. Yesterday, she thought her mind was going to explode with Ranger volunteering information about his family like that. It was disconcerting to try and reconcile all the many facets she knew of Ranger with a new one that seemed to contradict those that she knew of, but she couldn't help wanting more from the man in black.

She rushed through her morning routine, eager to get to work for the first time in her adult life. She had a brief moment of concern – what if Ranger went in the wind this month? She pushed that thought out of her mind, refusing to dwell on that just in case it was possible. Maybe she'd casually ask Ranger what the likelihood of that was, although he never seemed to get much notice.

Her gift today was purely fun. It was something she had bought him a few months ago and didn't know when the right time to give it to him was. It was too small to be for any occasion really, and she wasn't really known for 'just because' gifts. This makeshift advent calendar was a perfect match.


He fingered the gift lightly, turning it over in his palm. He remembered her writing in her initial note (that he may or may not have read several times since then) that she wished she could replace the infamous Porsche that she had destroyed.

In his hand now sat a tiny Hot Wheels toy: a perfect replica of his destroyed Porsche Boxter. Midnight black and everything. No note, no email, no nothing accompanied it in his stocking. He saw her drop it in around 9am after she had gotten settled. (He had watched her pull in the garage and set up her reindeer car, so he knew when she had arrived.)

He placed the tiny car on his desk and moved it back and forth with his finger for a minute. He stopped abruptly as he realized that what he was doing could easily be classified as playing with toys, and the last thing needed was for Tank to catch him in the act.

He positioned it just right; moving a stack of unapproved timesheets from the management team, he made sure it looked okay next to his nameplate. His men were going to have a field day when they saw it, but he found he didn't care. He didn't have any personal items on his desk at all – a few framed photos lined a bookcase to his left, but nothing on his actual desk.

Speak of the devil, a light knock that was universally known to be Stephanie's sounded from his door. She still looked inordinately pleased that the stocking was hung, and he watched her smile grow even bigger as she saw the Porsche on his desk. She was a tiny little miracle, right in front of him.

"Yo, Babe."

"Yo yourself."

"You heading out for the day?" It was only a little after three, but Steph was known to leave early on Mondays, and if she had finished all her work, he couldn't blame her.

"Gonna go catch a skip with Lula. Thought I'd drop these off before I left." She waved two files of searches he had asked for earlier that morning.

He nodded and she dropped the files into his inbox. As she turned to leave, he found that he didn't want her to.

"Babe?" She turned to face him, eyes wide. "You free for dinner tonight?"

A slow smile spread across her face as her words once again became teasing. "Depends. You offering something better than my mother's pot roast?"

"Much better." His eyes darkened as she flushed prettily

"I'll see you at 7?"

He gave her a curt nod and she sent him that sweet smile once more before flouncing out of the office. The only thing the both of them were thinking was: progress.


Dinner was an awkward affair, which was not the norm for either of them. There was so much left unsaid, by both parties, and there was this thing that was in the middle of the room and no one knew what to do with it.

Ranger had the impression that Stephanie wanted to say something, or ask him a question, but instead of blurting it out which she normally did, she was casting him covert glances and averting her eyes whenever he caught her.

"You have a question, Babe?" He finally asked ask she mumbled her way through the scalloped potato dish that he suspected had more calories than he preferred. Ella had a talent for making meals both taste and nutrient rich, but she did have a soft spot for Stephanie.

"A tree would look nice over there," she points to a barren spot in the living room, right in front of the windows. Of course, that isn't quite fair. His whole apartment is sparse, bordering on bleak, and he liked it that way. He thought he did, anyway.

He knew that wasn't what she wanted to say, but figured he'd wait her out. As for the tree thing…

"You thinking of going into decorating, Babe?"

Avoidance. He feels a little bad, actually, not answering her question straight out. He doesn't know what this recent fascination with Christmas is, and while he doesn't hate it, it's throwing him for a loop. She had never commented on his apartment before, never made him feel like maybe it wasn't enough.

"I guess I just see Christmas trees everywhere nowadays," she backtracked.

"I've never had a tree up here," he confessed, trying to give her something.

"I'm shocked!"

There it was. Even if just for a brief moment. There was the teasing Steph he knew.

"I'm scared that if I tell Ella to decorate, she'll go completely overboard and I'll have to ride a sleigh to get to my bedroom."

She let out a free laugh at that, enjoying the mental imagery. She loved it when Ranger played around with her. It made her feel special that she was the only one he let loose to.

"People can surprise you. You thought I was going to go nuts downstairs and I didn't."

"Babe, I think you're going to go nuts every day."

"Very funny." She poked her tongue at him. She pushed around her food a little before finally biting the bullet. "Can I ask you a question?"

He waited for her to meet his eyes. "Always."

"Do you think…I mean, do you know…I mean, I guess you don't usually know, and there's no way for you to know. Never mind."

He waited. He knew this was obviously something she wanted to ask if she had been mulling it around for so long, so he utilized his patience and stayed quiet for her to gather her thoughts.

"Do you think you'll be here for Christmas?"

That was not what he was expecting.

"At Rangeman?"

"No!" She rushed to say. "I meant like, here, as in New Jersey. As in, not in the wind?" Another pause, as he took in her words and she continued on, trying to explain herself. "I know you don't usually get any notice, or if you do it's not much, or if you do, you don't usually tell me, but I was just…you know. Wondering."

He wasn't sure why she wanted to know, but assumed it had something to do with her newfound Christmas fever, but he knew that this was something he could answer honestly and completely, for once in his life.

"I'll be here, Babe."

"Are you sure? Because if you're not, it's okay, I just-"

"I'm sure. I have some training modules to run through in March, but I'm not on deck for any 'in the wind' ops."

"For the rest of the year?" She pressed, hoping he wouldn't get angry with her intrusiveness.

"Typical time off is about 8 months after being shot in the chest. Training is down in Virginia and not strenuous, and then I renegotiate in May."

"You don't have to tell me…"

"Not getting any younger, Babe," he said with a self-deprecating smile. She wished she could take that away. She knew how much it took for him to admit that simple fact and yet here he was, opening to her more and more. The Ranger of two years ago, maybe even one, would never have mentioned training or renegotiating. It was enough then. It wasn't enough now.

As she got together her stuff to leave, he gathered her for the hug that he had wanted to give her so desperately for the last three days. She stiffened for a brief moment before relaxing completely into him, melting her body against his.

She knew that this was where she wanted to be. She might get frustrated with the man, might be confused and curious and all sorts of other conflicting emotions when it came to him, but when he wrapped his arms around her, it all sort of faded away.

It was enough.