A/N: They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. This story is my version of one for House, MD and was written by my all-time favorite fanfiction writer, Mishy-Mo. Her story was entitled Quarry. I put a Plum Series twist on it because I thought it would fit the Ranger/Steph/Morelli triangle so well. It's not very nice to Morelli at the beginning but turns out to be Morelli friendly.

MAJOR spoilers for Twelve Sharp

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from Janet Evanovich's stories does not belong to me and I must confess neither does this story idea. Thanks, Mishy. You are the greatest, I hope I do you proud.

The Gift

Steph hurried back to her apartment to change for dinner with Ranger. Once she'd gotten dressed, she saw that she still had a few minutes before she had to leave and sat down on the couch to mentally prepare her self.

She thought over what Joe had told her. His words ran through her head.

I knew; deep down, that we were on borrowed time.

I think he could be good for you. You could be good for him too. He might be what you need.

Don't hide from him.

Something that I've learned over the years is that you can misinterpret things, whether it's intentional or not, I don't know, and then you let that stand in the way of your relationships. Don't do that with him.

I know that I can't do that for you, I really think he can. You just have to let him.

Could she do all of that?

Yes… she could if it meant she had a chance with Ranger. She looked at the clock on the DVD player and knew she had to leave. Once she double checked that Rex was set, she locked up her apartment and headed to RangeMan.

oOoOoOo

Ranger paced around his apartment like a caged animal. He was nervous. He didn't do nervous, except for the fact that he obviously did.

He'd arranged for dinner. He'd had one of his men go out for flowers and wine. Ella had brought up candles and set the dinner table beautifully. There was soft music playing in the background. He'd showered and changed into jeans and a button down shirt that was the same color as his Babe's eyes. Not to mention it was easier to get in and out of with out causing his ribs too much pain.

He looked at the clock. 5pm. Shit! Thirty minutes to go. His phone rang and he jumped for it and cursed his stupidity for moving too fast. Fuck! His ribs still hurt. That could cause problems if things went the way he wanted tonight. The way he hoped things would go tonight.

"Manoso." He barked into the phone.

"It's Morelli and before you hang up I have something I need to say to you."

"What?" Ranger wasn't sure what the cop wanted, but figured that he would listen.

"First, let me say…" Morelli's voice trailed off and Ranger was sure he muttered something like 'I can't believe I'm fucking doing this'. "I wanted to apologize. I reacted badly when I found the necklace and there is not an excuse for what I did. Badly is an understatement, I pretty much freaked. I'm sorry."

Ranger was dumbfounded. Morelli was actually called to apologize! WTF? He heard the cop chuckle.

"I'd say something smart about rendering you speechless, but you're really not much of a talker anyways." Then Morelli sighed. "Listen, Steph just left here a little while ago. She came to me at my office and we talked things out. I won't cause problems and I won't be poaching. I still love her and I'll always worry about her, but I figure that you have the best chance of making her happy and keeping her safe. Just see that you do."

"Understood." Ranger had to admit that the man must have a set of cast iron balls to call him like that.

"I told her that she shouldn't repeat her past history. That she shouldn't hide from you. I'm going to tell you the same thing. I think you're good for her and she could be good for you. She could make you happy; you just have to let her."

"Morelli." Ranger growled.

"Yeah. Yeah." Morelli actually laughed. "Steph thought it was pretty messed up that I gave her relationship advice too. One more thing, well actually there is two. First, if you haven't already, you need to duplicate the card that came with the necklace."

"Already done." Ranger admitted.

"I told her it would be. She wanted to see it but I wouldn't let her after she slapped it down on my desk." He cleared his throat. "I thought that the message, at least, should be a surprise."

"You mentioned two things."

"Treat her right." Morelli said forcefully. "I'm not going to stand in the way of her happiness or try to mess things up for her, so just be sure that you treat her right. Alright, well that's all."

"Joe." Ranger called before Morelli could hang up.

"Ranger."

"Listen, I…" Ranger had to stop and clear his own throat. "I didn't make it easy for either of you to make your relationship work."

"No. You didn't. Why?"

Ranger thought about it for a moment and decided to tell the truth. "I couldn't help it. She's… I don't know. I couldn't stay away. There's just something about her."

"Yeah, there is. Take care of our girl." Morelli mumbled and hung up.

After he closed his phone, Ranger sat down on a bar stool to wait and contemplated the phone call. He never imagined that Morelli would call and give his blessing. He thought about what Morelli told him.

You have the best chance of making her happy and keeping her safe.

Don't hide from her.

I think you're good for her and she could be good for you. She could make you happy; you just have to let her.

He was torn from his musings by the beep of his cell phone. Bomber's on her way up. The text message read. He shut off his phone and went to wait at the apartment door. He went to wait for what he hoped would be his future to come to him… hopefully.

TBC

Yeah I know I'm b**ch for leaving it there, but I honestly can't help it. This is all I have written so far. I've got a couple rough days coming up at work so it will probably be Wednesday before I can post again. ::ducks for cover:: Don't hate me. I'll post as soon as I can. =)bandbi