Disclaimer: I'm not making any profit, just having some fun. The characters belong to Janet Evanovich as do any recognizable settings.

I try to edit closely but there will be mistakes. Since this is just a hobby I don't worry too much about small mistakes.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I unlocked the front door and braced myself for the impact of a direct hit from Bob.

"Stephanie what on earth are you doing?"

"Oh! Um…Hello Mrs. Morelli. How are you today?"

"I'm fine dear. Care to tell me why you're hanging on to the doorway as if your life depended on it? Oh my god! Is someone chasing you? Do I need to call Joseph?"

"No... No Ma'am. It's just that Bob usually jumps all over me when I open the door."

"Isn't that funny, Bob never jumps on me. What are you doing here? Joseph's not home."

"I came by to walk Bob and drop off Joe's dry cleaning. Joe's been so busy at work I thought I would surprise him by taking care of a couple things for him."

"I see. When I got here I let the dog out so he probably doesn't need to be walked.

"Oh...um...well thanks."

"Come inside dear the neighbors will be wondering why you're standing there like we're in a barnyard."

I closed the door and followed Angie Morelli into the living room.

"Tell me Stephanie when are you two going to grow up and get married?"

"Joe and I haven't discussed marriage."

"Of course you haven't," Joe's mom said waving her hand dismissively. "Joseph's not getting younger Stephanie. He's going to be 35 on his birthday. It's time for him to take a wife and start a family. It's what he wants. Is it what you want?"

"Steph?"

Oh thank god! "In here Joe."

"Cupcake what are you doing… Mom?"

"Hello Joseph. I stopped by to pick up your laundry. I ran into Carl's wife Shirley at the supermarket earlier and she told me how busy you'd been. Then Stephanie stopped by to walk your dog, and we've been have a nice chat."

Joe smiled. "It's great to come home and find my two favorite girls. How about I take you both out to lunch?"

"I can't Joseph. I have a Catholic Ladies Auxiliary meeting today. Carry the laundry basket out for me and you can pick them up when you both come for Sunday dinner. "

"Sure Mom. Be right back Cupcake," Joe said giving me a quick kiss on the temple before grabbing the basket and following his mom through the kitchen. As soon as the door closed Bob came slinking out of the dining room.

"There you are you chicken," I said scratching him behind the ears. "I don't blame you. I wish I could have hidden from her too. What am I going to do Bob? She's going to push Joe to propose. What if I never want to get married again?"

"Cupcake do you want a sandwich?" Joe asked from the kitchen.

"I had lunch with the girls, but I'll stay with you while you eat."

Joe sat a Coke and a bag of chips on the table in front of me. He was standing at the counter spreading mayo on white bread and feeding Bob slices of cheese. The whole scene was just so domesticated I was taking deep breaths to stay calm.

"So how's the case going? Any leads?"

"Maybe, mostly I'm just chasing my ass."

"It's a great ass to chase," I said waggling my eyebrows.

Joe's eyes went from whiskey brown to dark chocolate. "If didn't have to get back to the station I'd let you chase it upstairs."

We chatted for a few minutes. I reminded Joe we were having dinner at my parents' house tomorrow. We took Bob for a short walk. Then it was time for Joe to go back to work. He walked me to my car since I told him I was going to try to use the search programs at the bond's office. Hopefully Connie wouldn't be using her computer.

"I don't think it will be a late night. I'll call you when I know something."

"Sure. If you do have to work late give me a call and bring takeout from Pino's to the station."

"Sounds good Cupcake. I love you. I'll call you when I can."

I kissed him goodbye and got in the Explorer. Just before I was going to close the door Joe stopped me. He pressed a kiss to my hairline and whispered in my ear.

"You don't have to say it now because I know it's hard for you to say but sometimes Cupcake I want to hear you tell me you love me too." Then he closed the door and turned to walk Bob back inside the house.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"White Girl! You came back?"

"I wanted to borrow Connie's computer. Where is she?"

"She went to post a bond. I guessin' she'd be back any minute," Lula said.

"I'm going to start this search on Sánchez and maybe I can get it done before she gets back."

"You aren't mad at me are you Steph?" Lula asked.

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"Well what I said about you not marrying Joe and you marrying Batman instead."

"Lula its fine, don't worry about it. Joe and I aren't thinking about getting married. We're still trying to work things out between us."

"Let me guess Joe don't want you bein' 'round with Ranger."

"It's not like that…"

"I know you don't like people in your business so I'm just gonna say this once. Since I known you; you've always been about what's right. Joe he's what everyone else thinks is right for you. I think you want to be with Joe cause it'd be what's right in everyone else's eyes. This time it's not as easy as catching a skip or helping solve a murder. This thing with Joe it's gonna be about your life. Don't settle for nothin' less than what you want in your heart. This time you has to pick what's right for you. Not what ever'body else says right."

I didn't know what to say. Lula was telling me how she felt about my relationship with Joe. Unlike everyone else she wasn't pushing me to settle down with Joe. She was being a friend Since I wasn't sure what to say I just nodded my head once and said, "Okay."

"You find anything on Sánchez?" Lula asked

"Just what we already know. Looks like I might have to do some asking around. We've got a couple of weeks on this one. Tomorrow let's work on getting Lionel King. I'll pick you up here at the office at nine o'clock."

"I can't leave here until Cyclops stops by with Ranger."

"Lula are you sure about this? You don't really know this guy. He could be a total player, or worse an asshole."

"He's one of Ranger's guys."

"Yeah but that doesn't mean he's not a player. Tomorrow instead of acting like Cagney and Lacey why don't we try to talk to Cyclops and see what we can get to know about him?"

"You think?"

"Yeah once he gets to see the real you he's going to want to get to know you better. You're pretty amazing."

"Damn skippy. Okay I'll try it your way for a few days."

I gathered up my papers from the printer and shoved them in my purse. I reminded Lula we were going on a stake out tomorrow. Before I left Lula reminded me The Real Housewives of New Jersey came on TV tonight.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Joe called around five-thirty and said he'd caught another case. A drug deal gone bad, and it would be a long night. I told him I'd go by and walk Bob before I went home for the night. So here I am home alone drinking a beer, eating frozen mac-n-cheese and watching Real Housewives. A few hours later I woke up on the couch and I was freezing. I stumbled into the bathroom and then to my bedroom. I crawled into bed and pulled the covers up over my ears.

When I woke up again I knew I wasn't alone. I could smell a faint hint of Ranger's body wash. But there was another fragrance in the air. It smelled sweet, and delicious. It smelled like cake. I have to be dreaming because Ranger would never bring me cake.

"Babe? Are you awake?"

"Ranger? Is that you? What are you doing here, it's after one o'clock?"

"Just got done with a job in Philly. I brought you a slice of cheesecake from Darling's."

"Are you serious?"

Ranger handed me the bag marked with a big red D. "The takedown was a couple blocks away and I thought you might enjoy a slice."

I opened the container and took a deep breath inhaling the scent. It was as close to heaven as I'd been in a long time. I glanced back at Ranger who was watching me from where he was standing at the foot of the bed.

"Come sit down Ranger. If you're nice I'll let you have a couple bites."

Ranger toed off his boots and dropped his gun belt on the floor next to the bed. He sat down on the bed stretching his legs out in front of him. Then he leaned back against the pillows resting on the headboard he let out a sigh and closed his eyes.

I looked in the bag and pulled out a napkin and plastic fork. Using the side of the fork I cut off the tip of the triangular slice and pressed it to Ranger's lips. He opened his mouth and I fed him the first bite of cheesecake.

"That's really good," Ranger said. "Take a bite."

I cut myself a small bite and forked it into my mouth. It was good. So good that when I tasted it on my tongue I let out a deep moan of appreciation and my eyes rolled back in my head.

"Oh my god! This might be the best cheesecake I've ever had."

Ranger gave me his almost smile. "Sometime I'll take you to Junior's in Brooklyn. But you have to promise to keep the moaning to a minimum. I have a reputation on Flatbush Avenue."

I just rolled my eyes. Ranger has a reputation just about everywhere in the world I'm sure. I don't think a few moans over a good dessert could really do that much damage.

"Tell me about your takedown tonight."

"Not much to tell really. Edward Fenton skipped bail a little over a year ago. He's been hiding out in Europe. Fenton's father passed away a couple of days ago. We weren't sure but we thought he might try to come back to be near his family. Turns out we were right."

I offered Ranger another bite of cheesecake which he took. "Isn't Edward Fenton the investment banker that embezzled millions from his clients?"

"That's the one."

"I bet he didn't want to go back to jail. Living in the lap of luxury like that then suddenly living in a six-by-six foot cell with another man where your sink is attached to your toilet."

"I'd say he didn't the man cried all the way to the police department."

"I bet you hated that."

Ranger shrugged a shoulder. "It doesn't bother me. Tank hates it when they cry. It makes him jumpy."

I couldn't contain the giggle. It was a funny picture of big scary Tank flinching around in the car while the skip is bawling his eyes out in the backseat. "I'd like to see that sometime."

Ranger gave me an almost smile and took the empty carton and fork from my hands. He put the trash in the bag. Then he sat the bag on the floor and pulled me to him. I rested my head on his shoulder and took in his scent. After a few minutes Ranger kissed my temple and let me go. He climbed out of my bed collected the bag from the floor and left without a word.

For an hour after Ranger left I lay there staring into the dark thinking about Ranger. This was the second night in a row he'd shown up in my bedroom in the middle of the night. Ranger's late night visits were not unusual in the past. Last night was the first in months. Now that I was thinking about it, last night was the first time I'd been alone with Ranger since Joe and I had decided to reconcile. Of course shortly after that night Ranger had gone to Miami for a month. Then, Connie told me one day he'd been in the office early that morning to handle some business. Then on the way out he'd informed her he was going to Chicago for a couple weeks. It's easy to avoid someone when they're in a different zip code.

Then one day I saw his car in traffic and I knew he was back. I made some changes to my daily schedule. I went into the office an hour later. Ranger's daily visits were always at Nine o'clock. Giving Connie enough time to read the dockets from the previous days court proceedings and to put together the necessary paperwork. I also made sure to check for Ranger's cars in the parking lot at the station before turning in skips. A couple of times I'd had to call Eddie to come outside and take the skip inside while I waited in the car for the Cayenne to pull away.

Then a few weeks ago there had shift in the dynamic. Ranger started coming into the office at eleven and everyday he brought a different man with him. Tank had been first, then Lester, followed by Hector, then Hal. Then Tank was back for a couple days. Then until Cyclops showed up Lester had been Ranger's second.

Lester had me told very quietly that first morning that Tank had accepted a contract overseas. But that he would be back in a couple months. He explained Rangeman was putting out this information on a need to know basis. I needed to know, according to Lester, because Tank wasn't around to take my emergencies. Then Lester put his phone number in my phone and set himself on speed dial five.

I rolled over and punched my pillow a couple times. When I closed my eyes I could still smell Ranger on the pillow next to me. I clutched it in my arms and lay there the rest of the night alternating between dreams of Ranger holding me, and remembering the time we'd made love in my bed all night long.

0-0-0-0-0-0

At six o'clock I gave up sleeping for the night, threw on some running clothes and headed out for a jog. I was turning onto the high school track when I thought these middle of the night visits might just be Ranger's sick way of getting me to exercise. I made a couple laps around the track and then jogged back to my apartment. I was just about to open the lobby door when I saw Joe's Tahoe pull into the parking lot.

"Good morning Cupcake. Are you okay, you look like you might hurl."

"No, no I'm good. I always look like this when I run."

Joe gave me a smirk and threw his arm around my neck. "Come on let's go upstairs. You can get cleaned up and we'll grab breakfast and doughnuts for the girls. I have a little while before I have to be at work."

"I was going to go by my parent's for breakfast. I already called her. She's making pancakes."

"Then we'd better hurry. I don't like cold pancakes," Joe said scooping me up and carrying me to the bathroom.

0-0-0-0-0-0

I parked the car at the curb and jumped out running into the office. I shoved open the door looked around the office. Lula was sitting on the couch reading the latest issue of Cosmo and Connie was filing her nails. No Ranger. No Cyclops.

"Skinny Ass White Girl what's wrong with you?"

"Am I late?" I asked trying to catch my breath.

"No but get your ass outta the door. I'm tryin' to watch for 'em."

"So what are you two planning today world domination?" Connie asked.

"No. Smartass, I'm gonna be myself and talk to him like people."

Connie nodded. "Well get ready, here they come."

I slunk down in the couch next to Lula and took out my cell phone pretending to be interested in a text message from Mary Lou. Lula went back to reading her magazine and Connie of course went back to her never-ending manicure.

"Ladies," Ranger said walking into the office.

"Good morning," Cyclops said following close behind.

Connie and I both waited for Lula to speak. Finally Connie broke the silence. "Good morning. Ranger I have a file for you."

"Ranger walked over to Connie's desk to complete the paperwork before taking the file from her hand.

"So Cyclops are you a native of Miami?" I asked since Lula still seemed to be at a loss for words.

"No. I settled there after I got out of the Navy."

"A sailor huh, how long did you serve?"

"Twelve years."

"Stephanie's boyfriend was in the Navy," Connie added.

A look of confusion flashed across Cyclops' face. Then he turned to Connie and raised both eyebrows, before chancing a glance at Ranger.

"Steph's boyfriend is Detective Morelli with the Trenton Police Department. He's in homicide. So you may not have met him yet," Ranger explained.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah Joe was in the Navy. He doesn't talk about it much. I tried asking questions, he just says it was a learning experience, and he's glad Trenton isn't covered in sand."

"I bet he looked hot in that uniform. Most men look hot in uniforms. It's like an aphrodisiac or somethin'," Lula said.

"I didn't really know him then. I was in college and away from home a lot. I did see him once while he was home on leave."

"That's an understatment," Connie said giving me a wink.

Lula's face broke into a smile. "Is that story true did you really break Supercop's leg?"

"It was a hairline fracture, and he deserved it," I said defiantly crossing my arms over my chest.

"He did deserve it, Babe."

"That's all I'm saying."

The story of me hitting Joe with the Buick is one of Ranger's favorites. The first time I told it to him on a stakeout he threw his head back and laughed. It was one of the first times I'd ever heard his laugh and I remember thinking his laughter sounded like music.

"Babe, be careful today. Call Cal he's waiting to hear from you."

He gave Cyclops a half nod toward the door. Cyclops winked a Lula before turning on his heel and following Ranger through the door. In a flash they were gone.

I checked the time on my cellphone and picked up my purse. "Ready for a stakeout?" I asked Lula.

"We gotta stop for some snacks first."

"We'll stop at the 7/11 but I'm warning you there won't be any bathroom breaks until lunch."

"If I gotta pee I'll just walk across the street to Bushwacker's"

I rolled my eyes so far back in my head I saw my eyebrows. Lula would have to pee an hour into the stakeout and she's whine until I broke down and drove her to the gas station on the corner. This might be one of the many reasons we weren't the most efficient bounty hunters in New Jersey.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Thank for reading. Let me know what you think even if it's just a smiley face. Thanks ~R