Standard Disclaimer Applies

Steph was sitting on the curb next to the ruins of yet another one of his cars. Morelli had already arrived and yelled at her for being so careless. The purr of an engine alerted her that Ranger had arrived. That was the only sound of him arriving, the next thing she knew he was beside her.

"Babe."

"Ranger."

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

Ranger looked over at the burnt carcass of her car.

"At least today can't get worse."

Steph looked at him appalled.

"Don't you ever watch TV? It always gets worse whenever someone says that."

Ranger shrugged off his jacket and put it around her.

"Put this on."

"Hold this."

She shoved her purse in to his arms so she could put her arms into his jacket. Ranger stood there holding her purse until she snagged it back. Ranger shook his head.

"Go get in the car and warm up, I'll be right there."

As Steph was walking to the car she felt something hitting against her leg. She reached into the pocket and pulled out Ranger's keys. She couldn't help the grin the spread over her face. She looked over her shoulder Ranger was talking to the cops. Good. She got right in the driver's side, started the car watching for Ranger's reaction.

His head had whipped around. His jaw dropped and was now mimicking a fish. She got Ranger! She was marking this day on her calendar.

Ranger made a hasty retreat from the cops and got in the car before Steph found a reason to leave him behind. Not only had he forgotten his keys were in his jacket but his phone as well. Steph was grinning like crazy when he got in.

"Where to?"

"Your driving, Babe." Her grin got even wider.

Steph took off towards Haywood using a round about way. Ranger stuck his hand into his jacket pocket and dug out his phone. Steph smiled at him as he began making phone calls.

"Talk." Tank answered.

"She's fine." Ranger got a grunted response and hung up the phone.

Steph was staring at him.

"What?"

"That was a whole conversation?"

"Yep."

"Unbelievable."

After a minute of silence Ranger spoke up again.

"I got another call."

"Like last time?"

He nodded.

"So he did this?"

"Looks like."

"I guess I can't go after skips now, hunh?"

Ranger gave one his smiles that told me I was amusing him. Then unsurprisingly he went into his zone even though he wasn't the one driving.

Steph pulled into the garage when she could no longer avoid it. Tank was standing there waiting when they got there. He walked right over to the driver's side door waiting to talk to Ranger.

"We found…"

"Hey Tank." Tank looked taken back and glanced at Ranger.

"What?"

"You let her drive?" He said a grin spreading over his face.

"He unknowingly gave me the keys." Steph couldn't help the grin that split her face. "So what are you doing down here?"

Tank looked between the two of them and then addressed Ranger. "Raphael Norwood has been located. He is in the Franklin Memorial Hospital in Maine."

"Wow. Bad guys get hurt too. Good to know." Steph commented."

"Yeah. Right. He was involved in a shot out with the local authorities. He has been in the hospital for the last few days with an armed guard on duty."

"So he's not your guy."

"Nope."

"Two left."

"We're getting there."

The three of them made their way up to the fifth floor.

Woody was waiting for them when they got to there. He swooped Steph up in a hug, "You're okay. I was watching the monitors and my heart nearly went when I saw your car disappear." He put Steph down and went back to watching monitors. Tank and ranger exchanged a look behind Steph's back. The Merry Men were going soft over the white Burg girl.

Steph made her way over to her desk; she had to update her list of suspects.

Freddy Sanchez (Dead)

Thomas Tepes

Seth Ferdinand (DUI)

Alan Dessoff (Mexico)

Eli Dupree (Pregnant)

Marius King (Broken Leg)

Raphael Norwood (Hospital)

Lance Adale

Only two to go and both were on her shit list. Tepes had beaten her up good during a distraction where he had recognized her. And Adale was the gay guy that ranger had been forced to bring in. God the guys had teased her mercilessly for weeks after that one. Finishing up the new searches that the dreaded Rodriguez had added to her in box she decided to go hang out in Ranger's apartment and start in the remaining junk food that she had left.

Ranger followed her upstairs hours later. Steph had already gone into a sugar coma as she ate her way through a box of Oreos.

"Would you like me to order dinner?"

Steph looked at him like he was crazy. She was sitting there eating Oreos right out of the box. That was all the dinner she needed, well okay Ben & Jerry's afterwards.

"Babe."

"What?"

"Those things will kill you."

She pulled the next Oreo from the box; one of the cookies had been put on the wrong way.

"Ranger my Oreo's messed up."

"Throw it out."

She paused with the cookie half way to her mouth staring at him like he had told her to go jump off a bridge.

"What's wrong with you?"

Ranger grinned at her with the 1000-watt smile that made her melt. Ranger walked over to her while she was still zoning out from his smile and he nabbed the box.

"Hey." She said trying to grab the box back.

"Dinner." Steph sat on the couch and pouted with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Ranger." She whined.

"Not going to work." Ranger walked over to the phone and called Ella.

Ella brought up dinner twenty minutes later. Neither of them talked while they ate. Occasionally Steph would look over at the Oreo box and then glare at Ranger. He only smiled and shook his head.

"Only if you eat all your vegetables." He laughed at the look of disgust on her face.

Before they could finish eating Ranger's cell phone rang. Ranger pulled it off his belt and answered it.

"Yo."

"You're mine." And the caller hung up again.

The apartment phone started ringing before ranger could hang up.

Ranger got up to get that phone. "Yo."

"Wasn't long enough." Tank informed him.

"Thought so."

"What he'd say?"

'"You're mine.'"

"Same as the others."

"But without a warning."

Steph sat there listening not believing her ears.

"Men." She snorted from her seat on the counter, where she had been able to get the Oreo box.

"Hang on." Ranger told Tank. "What was that?" He asked Steph.

"Why didn't you tell me what the caller had said?"

"Would it have made a difference?"

'"You're mine' sure does."

"It does?"

"Yeah."

Ranger stood there waiting for her to go on.

"Well?"

"Can Tank hear me I don't want to have to go through this twice."

Ranger shook his head and went back to the phone. "Come up." He sounded into the phone and then hung up.

Steph sat on the counter swinging her feet, waiting for Tank to arrive. Ranger walked over to her and put his hands on either side of her. Steph took another cookie out of the box and held it in front of Ranger's mouth. "No." He tried to say but only ended up with the cookie being shoved in.

"Thanks."

"Uh-oh extra laps tomorrow."

"And guess who's coming with me."

Steph's head dropped, wishing she hadn't done that.

Tank knocked on the door, and without waiting came in.

"Yeah?"

"Steph might have figured it out."

"Might have?" She asked.

Ranger waved his hand to encourage her to continue. Steph attempted to raise her eyebrow at him but failed.

"Ok fine. 'You're mine.' That suggests ownership, exclusive rights, like a possession. Tepes doesn't want to own you he wants you dead. This guy wants me dead so he can have you. Duh. It's Adale. Ranger you have a gay stalker."

Tank laughed out loud at that.

"You didn't need Tank here to tell me this."

"No but this way there was a witness so you could send me off to some third world country."

"But 'you're mine" could meant that it Tepes letting me know that he is coming to kill me."

"If you're going to kill someone why would you let that person know before hand?"

Ranger opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out. He looked genuinely stumped. Tank shook his head and answered his phone when it rang.

"Talk."

"Yep."

"Okay."

"I'll tell him."

Steph watched Tank and couldn't believe that consisted of an entire conversation.

"Tepes was checked into a hospital earlier tonight. It seems his girlfriend caught him with another women and she beat the shit out of him."

"Wow, that's one feisty woman." Steph commented.

"Hector was also able to find an address for Adale so we could go bust his ass if we wanted to."

"Have to."

"Thought so, they are getting everything ready now."

"Good."

"I want to go." Steph added in.

They both turned to look at her. Tank slid a glance as Ranger, shrugged and walked out the door.

"Coward." Ranger muttered. "Babe, you're staying here."

"But Ranger…"

"No."

"I can't stay here."

Ranger looked at her with his eyebrow raised waiting for her to continue.

"I want to go with."

Ranger looked at her exasperated. "You can't."

"But he's gay." Steph said bringing out her trump card.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Are you kidding?"

"Babe."

"I'm going to be the only one he's not going to hit on. I have to protect you and the guys."

Ranger hung his head acknowledging that she was right.

"Go get ready. We leave in ten minutes."