Disclaimer: The characters are JE's and the song is Emmy's.

Slow Me Down

Ranger's POV

I'm so tired of doing this drive. New York had been a disaster. Mental note: Kill Santos for not getting ALL of the back ground information on the client. That was a waist of a perfectly good day. The client didn't even have anything worth securing. It was just a bunch of God Damn Dolls.

Maybe some music would calm me down. I reached down and turned on the radio that I barely ever used. I flipped though all of the talk stations, wishing that Rush would give it a rest, when I came upon a woman's voice that was interesting. It was just her voice through out the song. The very end of the song was what really caught my attention.

The noise of the world is getting me caught up
Chasing the clock and I wish I could stop it
Just need to breathe. Somebody please
Slow me down

The radio DJ announced the singer and the name of the song and I filed it away for another day, quickly being caught up in the next song. I fell into my zone and the rest of the trip back to Trenton seemed to fly by without another thought.

It wasn't until later that night, up in my apartment, that the song filtered back though my thoughts. I had been sitting in front of my laptop, so I Goggled the singer. Emmy Rossum. I was able to not only track down a video to the song, but also the lyrics. Very interesting.

Rushing and racing and running in circles
Moving so fast I'm forgetting my purpose
Blur of the traffic is sending me spinning
Getting nowhere

My head and my heart are colliding chaotic
Pace of the world I just wish I could stop it
Try to appear like I've got it together
I'm falling apart

Save me
Somebody take my hand and lead me
Slow me down
Don't let love pass me by
Just show me how
Cause I'm ready to fall
Slow me down
Don't let me live a lie
Before my life flies by
I need you to slow me down

Sometimes I fear that I might disappear
In the blur of fast forward I falter again
Forgetting to breathe. I need to sleep
I'm getting nowhere
All that I've missed I see in the reflection
Pass me while I wasn't paying attention
Tired of rushing, racing and running
I'm falling apart

Tell me
Oh won't you take my hand and lead me
Slow me down
Don't let love pass me by
Just show me how
Cause I'm ready to fall
Slow me down
Don't let me live a lie
Before my life flies by
I need you to slow me down

Just show me
I need you to slow me down
Slow me down
Slow me down

The noise of the world is getting me caught up
Chasing the clock and I wish I could stop it
Just need to breathe somebody please
Slow me down

I sat back and stared at the screen. Damn. If that didn't say it all. And the little brunette that had been haunting my dreams for the last four years was the only person that could slow me down. And I was on the verge of getting desperate for her to do it. I was tired of being alone at night. I was tired of always being alone. Sure. I had Tank and the guys. But, let's face it, they can't get me laid and I'm positive that none of them were up for snuggling. YIKES! I'm thinking about snuggling. I am getting old.

Steph's POV

There are some things that are just beyond me. One of those things is the card that's sitting on top of my keyboard in my RangeMan cubby. The hand writing on the front is clearly Ranger's. Would he fire me through a card? Probably not. I heaved out a sigh as I dropped into my chair and pulled out the card.

The card was rather beautiful. It had a simple water color painting of a red rose on the cover. I guess it was the simplicity that made it so beautiful. There were no words, just the rose. As I opened the card my eyes fell over a his hand writing.

Babe,

Rushing and racing and running in circles
Moving so fast I'm forgetting my purpose
Blur of the traffic is sending me spinning
Getting nowhere

My head and my heart are colliding chaotic
Pace of the world I just wish I could stop it
Try to appear like I've got it together
I'm falling apart

Save me
Somebody take my hand and lead me
Slow me down
Don't let love pass me by
Just show me how
Cause I'm ready to fall
Slow me down
Don't let me live a lie
Before my life flies by
I need you to slow me down

Ranger

Holy sheep shit, Batman! Was this really what I think it is? Was he really trying to reach out to me? I felt a tear fall slowly down my check as my eyes fell over the words one more time.

"Babe?"

My breath caught in my throat as the scent of Ranger swooped in around me. It had a mixed effect on me. My hormones went over the edge as a calming feeling surged through my body. My chair slowly turned on its own as my hands lowered the card that had been right in my face.

I just stared at him. First, my voice was no where to be found. And even if I did have it, what on Earth was I suppose to say? Do I throw myself at him now? Or do I wait to see what else he has to say?

"Babe?"

"Yeah?" I croaked out.

"I love you," he whispered as he knelt down on the floor between my legs. "I know that I suck at this. But, I wanted you to know that I want you to be a part of my life. In the forever kind of way."

I felt all of the blood drain from my face as black dots started to form in front of my eyes.

"Breath, Babe," Ranger whispered as he started rubbing my arms.

I sucked in a huge breath and the dots started to dissipate. Guess I forgot to breath. I think I stopped somewhere around 'I love you'. But, I'm not quite sure. It was, however, during my mental ramblings that I noticed that Ranger was starting to look a little worried and the blank face was starting to rear it's ugly little head.

"Stop," I said firmly once my vocal cords started working. "Don't shut down."

"Babe."

"You do that too much," I informed. "That's something that you are going to have to work on if this is going to work."

I watched as his eyes and face slowly softened. He reached out and carefully tucked a stray curl behind my ear. His hand came around and settled on my cheek, my head unconsciously leaning into it.

"Will you have dinner with me tonight?" he asked as he leaned up so that his face was just inches from mine.

"I can't think of a better place to be."