Author Note: This is my first fanfic. I'm pretty sure this is going to turn out Babe, but I'm not guaranteeing it right now. I know what I want Steph to accomplish, and right now Ranger seems like he'll be the mostly likely choice for her in the end. Hopefully Ranger will cooperate with my plans. Just a warning for those who don't want anything that isn't a Babe- it's likely, but not 100% at this time. Enjoy!

These characters aren't mine. I'm just borrowing them from Janet Evanovich.

Time Out

Tuesday morning came all too soon. I blindly slapped at my alarm clock, finally knocking it halfway across the room before rolling out of bed to start my day. Dillon and I had worked out a deal so that while the rest of my apartment was missing furniture, Dillon's sister wouldn't get my bedroom set until I was actually ready to leave. Taking charge of my life doesn't include sleeping on the floor for two weeks. I decided to go full out with my beauty regimen today and an hour later I was shampooed, conditioned, shaved, exfoliated, and moisturized and was standing at the bathroom mirror applying full "war paint" which included several coats of waterproof mascara. I had a feeling I was going to need the confidence boost that a full face of makeup would give me today.

While the coffee was brewing, I gave Rex a corner of my Pop Tart and filled him in on my plans for the day. I asked him if he was getting excited for our adventure to start. He blinked his beady little eyes and twitched his whiskers before hurrying back to his soup can. In hamster-speak, I'm pretty sure that means "Yes! Road trips rock!"

I swung by Tasty Pastry and picked up two dozen assorted donuts before making my way to the bonds office. "White girl brought donuts!" Lula exclaimed. Lula was resembling a traffic signal today. Her hair was dyed a brilliant candy apple red and she wore a bright yellow tube top paired with a neon green spandex miniskirt. Once my eyes had recovered from the shock, I set the donuts on Connie's desk and she and Lula immediately dove in.

After the feeding frenzy subsided a bit, I tilted my head towards Vinnie's office door and asked, "Is he in?" Connie nodded and waved me towards the door. Her mouth was too full of donut to say anything. I knocked on Vinnie's door and waited for him to acknowledge me. Vinnie's my cousin. He's also a pervert. I wasn't about to open his office door unannouced. I might end up having to gouge out my eyes to erase what I saw. I gave an involuntary shudder just thinking about the possibility. I could hear rustling around in his office and a few seconds later Vinnie yelled for me to come in. Taking a deep breath, I crossed my fingers and opened the door.

Vinnie was sitting behind his desk, resembling a weasel in his den. The office was dark and the furniture was dingy. I was afraid I might catch something if I sat down, so I stood in front of his desk. "We need to talk," I started. I explained that while I appreciated him giving me a job when I blackmailed him into it, I needed to make some changes in my life and was therefore giving him notice that I was quitting. I had worked out a whole little speech in my head while I was in the shower this morning, but Vinnie didn't let me finish it. He immediately started screaming about how I was letting him down and who was going to pick up the lower level skips that Rangeman wouldn't touch. He was rapidly descending into a full blown tantrum, complete with red face, flailing arms, and screeching voice. I backed out of the room and closed the door behind me. I don't even think he noticed I was gone.

"Well, that went well," I told Connie and Lula as I snagged a donut from the nearly empty box on the desk.

"What'd you say to set him off?" Lula wanted to know.

When I explained that I just gave my notice, both women started shrieking.

"Spill it girlfriend," Lula demanded. So I did. Or at least some of it. I decided yesterday after talking to the lawyer that I was going to keep the inheritance information to myself. My family already knew, but there's not much I could do about it now. Hopefully they'd keep it to themselves. So I told Connie and Lula that I was going to be making some changes in my life and that it was starting with a road trip. It was still true, it just wasn't the whole truth. After I explained how I'd already given up the lease on my apartment and my donations to Goodwill, I think it finally hit both women that I was serious about my plans. I think we were all a little misty-eyed by the time I made my escape from the office an hour later. I was going to miss my friends, but we promised to keep in touch and it wasn't like I was going away forever. Connie didn't have any new files for me, so I was free for the rest of the day.

I pulled my list out of my purse and crossed off number three. Three down, seven to go. Of the seven remaining, two couldn't be accomplished here in Trenton, so really I had only five left to accomplish in the next couple weeks. I called Joe's cell phone and asked if we could meet. He sounded slightly wary when he told me he was busy for most of the day with work but was available this evening. We agreed to meet at a nearby park. Joe seemed confused by the location, but it made the most sense to me. It was neutral ground. Not my place, not his place, and it was less public than meeting at Pino's where we'd be sure to have an attentive audience trying to listen in on our conversation. I offered to bring the meal, Cluck in a Bucket, as a sort of peace offering.

Since I had the afternoon free, I decided to head over to my parent's house. Luckily my dad's cab was parked in front of the house and I could see my mom and grandma on the porch as I pulled up. This was good, I could talk to all three of them at once. "Come on in Stephanie," my mother said. "I got a nice coffee cake from Giovichinni's this morning." Well, that's good news. Sugary food will help this news go down I better. I hope. I called Dad into the dining room from his recliner in front of the big screen TV, just as Mom bustled in with plates and the coffee cake. Silence reigned for a few minutes as we dug into the cake.

I cleared my throat and three pairs of eyes turned in my direction. Here goes nothin'. First, I recounted yesterday's conversation with the lawyer, Mr. Holmes. I then told them of my plan to make changes in my life, since I wasn't very happy with how things were going for me currently. I told them how I didn't think I could accomplish any significant changes while I was still in Trenton, that there was just too much history here with too many people. I needed to go somewhere new for awhile, where I could work and focus on myself without interference. I showed them my list. I stopped talking and let them read over the list. The silence dragged on for so long, my eye started to twitch in nervousness. My family may drive me nuts and be a part of my problems here in Trenton, but I do love them and want their support.

Finally my father spoke up, "We'll miss you, Pumpkin, but you go do what you need to. As long as you're doing to this to better yourself and not to run away from your problems, I think this sounds like a good plan." With that, he pushed his chair back from the table, leaned over to kiss my forehead, and went back to his recliner. Wow, two whole sentences in a row from my dad! That might be a record.

Grandma Mazur piped up next. "Stephanie, this road trip idea of yours sounds like fun. How 'bout we make it a girl's trip and go hunt down some hot studs? I could use some fresh meat!" I shuddered at the thought of my wrinkly grandma with a body like a soup chicken on the hunt for hot men.

"No, Grandma. This isn't a vacation looking for cute guys. I think you missed the point."

"Boy you sure don't know how to have any fun. A new man could give you a whole new look on life," she informed me. The last thing I needed was another man in my life. I recalled all the times my mother and grandmother tried to set me up with someone, culminating in the Dave Brewer fiasco. It never worked out.

I turned towards my mother. "What do you think of my plan, Mom?" Inwardly I was cringing, waiting for her to blast me for coming up with a harebrained scheme and asking me why I couldn't settle down and get married.

You could have knocked me over with a feather when she replied, "I meant what I told you the other day, Stephanie. I really think this is a good opportunity for you. I agree with your father, as long as you're doing this to figure out what will make you happy, then I'm okay with it." As a rule, we are not a family of huggers, but I couldn't resist the impulse to race around the table to hug my mom.

"Thanks, Mom. That really means a lot," I whispered in her ear as she hugged me back. I released her, and we both self conciously smoothed our clothes, not comfortable with the emotional moment we'd just shared.

Mom bagged up the rest of the coffee cake for me and she and my grandmother stood on the porch to watch until my car rounded the corner. Another difficult conversation down, and another one to come in just a few hours. I needed to get home and prepare for my showdown, er, conversation, with Joe.