"Were you sitting in my living room alone and in the dark?" I asked while putting the leftovers away in the fridge.

"Your hamster's been keeping me company. And I had the TV on until I saw your car pull in outside." I gave him a "that's still weird" look while subtly taking in his appearance. Ranger's hair was trimmed shorter than the last time I saw him. His facial stubble was gone, and his skin was making me wish I'd eaten dessert already. He was looking entirely too delicious for his own good.

"Do I dare ask the reason for this visit?"

Ranger's eyes grew a little darker. "Babe."

I took a seat in the chair next to the couch trying to establish a relatively safe distance between the two of us. "How was the trip?" I asked casually.

"Long," he replied.

"You've been on longer."

"It felt long. I was missing everything back here."

I raised an eyebrow. "You missed Trenton?" I stood and leaned over him putting my hand on his forehead. "You feeling ok?" I asked jokingly.

He caught my arm and pulled me onto the couch. "I feel fine."

"Ah." I was nearly sitting in his lap. I practically sprang off the couch when his hand slid around my waist. "Need something to drink?" I blurted. "I'm parched." Of course I was all panicky now and drank four glasses of water in rapid succession before I realized my stomach was feeling all sloshy. And starting to make some very scary noises. I felt a sharp pain and doubled over in the kitchen. Oh my gosh! I'd just killed myself with water!

"Babe?"

Ranger was now standing in the kitchen behind me. I was in so much abdominal distress that I couldn't even say anything, but I was hoping my facial expressions were sending the message "get out while you still can!" loud and clear. Of course Ranger didn't leave, and of course I proceeded to vomit up my four-dinner feast in the kitchen sink.

For a moment I slumped over the counter and wished I could crawl down the drain pipe. This was way too much embarrassment even for me. Ranger grabbed the kitchen towel and wet it under the faucet. He folded it and put it on my forehead.

"Feeling any better?" he asked.

I closed my eyes and wished I could just die already. My legs felt shaky and I wanted to sit down, but I was terrified to move.

Ranger put my arm around his neck. "Let me help you at least get over to the couch. Think you can make it?"

Hell no! Right now the couch felt as far away as Disneyland. I took a few stumbly steps before I had the horrifying realization that I was going to be sick again. My arms got all tangled around Ranger as I tried to pull quickly away from him, but before I could avoid it, I threw up all over his black t-shirt.

We both stood staring at the shirt for a moment. Ranger snapped out of the daze first and eased me onto the floor for a minute while he pulled the shirt off. Had the circumstances been any different, this would have been the best development of the entire evening. Shirtless Ranger was a work of art. However, considering the room was still spinning like an amusement park ride, I didn't exactly have the full presence of mind to appreciate it.

Ranger tossed the soiled shirt in the sink then proceeded to scoop me up again. Instead of the initial plan to take me to the couch, he must have changed his mind because he carried me to the bathroom instead. Which turned out to be a beyond brilliant idea because I threw up two more times.

"This is so much worse than hangover puke," I moaned leaning over the toilet. I was beginning to worry I'd never want to eat again. Ranger disappeared for a few minutes and returned with some clean clothes and a glass of water. He helped me out of my vomit-splattered clothing and into the clean stuff before disappearing again. Hopefully he was making a run for it.

The ironic bit was that this wasn't the first time I'd thrown up in front of Ranger. Granted the last time was because I had been poisoned. This bout I owed to the fact that I was a gluttonous mess who still couldn't manage to be up front with a man I'd known for several years. I'd tried to drown my anxieties over rejecting his advances and coming clean about my recent date with Ben; now I was apparently suffering the consequences. Or maybe it was just a bout of food poisoning.

I was beginning to think I'd be spending the night with the toilet as my pillow when Ranger reappeared in the bathroom.

"Sorry that took so long. I couldn't find where you kept all your cleaning supplies."

I grunted glancing up at him. "You didn't…" I mumbled. "Please tell me you didn't clean that up."

"You can be mad at me about that later. Want to brush your teeth?" He handed me my toothbrush.

I scrubbed them the best I could and gargled with some water. My mouth still felt disgusting but at least the taste had improved. I'd buy another toothbrush the next time I was at the store.

Ranger helped me to my feet again and half-walked half-carried me to my room. I crumpled onto the bed and curled myself into a tight ball. Now that my stomach was completely empty, the sharp pains were starting to subside. Maybe I wasn't going to die after all.

I heard some faint rustling sounds coming from somewhere beyond my bedroom. Apparently Ranger hadn't left yet. Or maybe someone had broken in. Hopefully it was just Ranger because I was too wrapped up in my current state of agony to do anything about an intruder. I pulled my blankets tightly around my shoulders and eventually drifted into an uncomfortable sleep.

The next morning I was pulled from my slumber by the sun flickering through my window. I slowly uncurled myself from the fetal position I had apparently slept in all night and grimaced at the dull ache I still felt in my stomach. Last night had been a monumental disaster.

I stared at my ceiling reliving some of lower points of the night. Laying on the toilet seat with vomit-spattered clothing was probably rock bottom. Although it could have been tied with the expression Ranger had after I threw up all over him. He probably wouldn't be dropping by for a while… I thought about what Ben had said about memories being stronger when they were tied to smells and tastes. Hopefully Ranger wouldn't be henceforth associated in my mind with puke.

As I started to crawl out of my bed, I heard a faint knock on the door. I wasn't expecting anyone. Maybe it was a neighbor. I threw on a sweatshirt and headed for the door. My visitor was already in the living room.

"You're a glutton for punishment," I said flopping on the couch.

Ranger handed me a bag. "Your clothes, some soda crackers, and some peppermint tea."

I raised an eyebrow. "Thanks?"

"There's also a donut in there if you're feeling up for it."

I frowned. "I'm not sure I ever want to eat again." The thought didn't last very long because the next thing I knew, I had pulled out a few soda crackers and had started nibbling along the edges. "Is there a reason for the personal delivery service this morning?"

"You'd called me the other day. Before the evening turned in to a scene from the Exorcist, I was hoping to get a chance to talk with you."

"Don't remind me…" I muttered putting my head in my hand.

"Did you need something?"

"Just the usual. Having trouble with a skip. He's playing games with me, and I'm fresh out of ideas."

Ranger sat down next to me. "Give me a call when you're ready for the take-down and I'll see what I can do."

"Alright. Glad that's settled. Anything else you wanted to discuss?"

"Yes."

Ranger was just about to say something when I noticed a white shirt in the bag. I pulled it out.

"Oh my gosh."

Ranger paused. "Sorry. I found it in your closet, and I needed a shirt. Was it something the cop left behind?"

I laughed. Morelli hardly wore white dress shirts. In fact I'm fairly sure he didn't own any. They made him look like a member of the mafia.

"No, it belongs to someone else."

Ranger's jaw tightened a little. "Are you seeing someone?"

"No," I blurted. "Well, kind of. Maybe. He spilled coffee on me, and we've been on one date."

Ranger glanced over at the kitchen. "The leftovers last night?"

I nodded. He shifted his weight.

"I take it the date wasn't a disaster."

"Well, not the actual date. The aftermath was the real horror show."

"Mmm."

"I'm sorry. You were about to say something before the whole shirt business came up."

"Maybe it should wait."

"Ok." I couldn't read his expression. Probably because there wasn't anything to read.

"Hope you feel better. Call me when you want to bring in the skip."

Ranger got up and left. I wasn't really sure what to make of the visit. It hadn't been anything too abnormal, but before the abrupt departure, I was pretty sure Ranger was giving off a weird vibe. And if my spidey sense was working properly, I was almost sure that vibe had very subtle undertones of jealousy.