Ok, this is a smaller chapter. Btw - much as I am not an attention seeker, reviews are motivational ;)

Once again, I own nothing but Windy, Woleska, and the track-crap, which do not make an appearance here. I would desperately love to acquire Ranger for my own lair, however. Yum Yum Yum.

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The first thing Windy did when we got back to her "digs" was duck into the shower. Ranger immediately made himself at home on her couch, which I paced uncomfortably through the living room. Windy's dog, a huge Akita/Wolf cross named Woleska was sprawled in the chair across the living room, eying us warily. Actually, he was eyeing ME warily. Windy had introduced us to him right away, warning us that he was a bit protective. So Ranger and Woleska sprawled, looking a lot alike, and I paced under their radar.

"Babe." Ranger finally said, reaching out and snagging my arm as I paced past him. He tugged, and I tumbled onto the couch next to him. We sat there for a few minutes and I was still uncomfortable. I needed to move. Ranger wouldn't let me up. "Relax."

"I can't. I feel like I'm intruding. I mean, at least you obviously know her, but here I am, intruding in the lives of two private people." And no doughnuts in sight.

"I like the intrusion."

Well gee. That sounded...almost nice. Like maybe I'm becoming a part of Ranger's private life. Or maybe that's just what I wanted it to mean. I really needed a doughnut. I tried to get up again, but Ranger tugged me back down. Woleska stood, placed his front paws on the floor, ass still on the chair, stretched, and then hopped down, padding over and plopping down in front of us. I tried to pet him but he sucked just out of reach, and curled his lip up. I sat back. He stayed on guard.

"That dog is seriously giving me the creeps." I complained. It's not that i didn't want to be there, I was just, very uncomfortable. Ranger crooked an arm around my neck and pulled me towards him, kissing my temple. I leaned into him for a minute, and tried to relax. It wasn't working.

"Emily Halloran was a foster child living with our nextdoor neighbours. They were... basically in foster care for the money, and mostly got the Newark kids - kids who were inherently tough and would wind up in gangs. Wind up trouble, and who in general fit into the general atmosphere of the rougher streets. They didn't do much for the kids, fed them minimally, kept them clothed well enough to get by in school... but did not really do them fair. Emily had a strike against her by sheer virtue of being white, by not fitting. She looked more like someone who would come out of the Burg than Newark. I was eight, and she was six when she went to live with them. And she was continually picked on by her foster-siblings and everyone else. She didn't belong and it was their mission to make her know it. even 10 and 11year olds were picking on this little tiny six year old. There was next to nothing to her. I was getting beat up because I was small, and the wrong color... but she was getting it worse. And she was a girl."

"I remember you saying you had to learn to fight dirty and watch your back."

"Yeah. And I learned to watch Emily's. She followed me everywhere. I probably should have been annoyed, but it made me feel good to have this sweet little tagalong willing to do anything for me."

"And you took advantage of that, right?"

"No. She had a heart of gold. And she adored animals. Used to attract every stray for miles. My parents had 3 dogs because of her, all of which we kept until they died, many years later. When I was 12 I scraped up enough money, and begged off my mom, to take her to a fair and buy six rides, and the first ride she saw was the pony-ride. So we went for a pony ride. I will never forget the look on her face. I got off after one, and let her use the last 4 rides. She was so happy about the pony rides, and so sad when they were done, that when my mom heard she gave me more money to take her back the next day. We still didn't make it past the pony rides. By then my family had basically adopted her. From the time she was seven she spent more nights sleeping in my bed - I'd leave my window open and she'd escape out hers and crawl into mine - to escape the other kids in that house. One of their own sons was threatening to molest her. She was scared and came crying to me one day...I left my window open that night on. She was nine when my parents found out, quite by accident. They gave her a bed in Celia's room after that, but she still used mine to get into the house."

"Were your parents mad?" Wow. Child-Ranger information. My brain was absorbing it like a sponge that had been dry too long. Real Ranger-facts! Holy information Batman!

"Only that we didn't go to them for help."

"What happened after you went to Juvie?"

"I don't know. I never heard. I saw her about five minutes before I was arrested, and I was upset. Then... when I got out of Juvie and went to live in Miami... I went home for a visit and she wasn't there. My mom said she ran off when she was fourteen...just disappeared one day... left them a note saying she couldn't stay. I know she had to be scared - my family was a safe place for her - she should not have run without telling them where. I don't know what happened. I never saw her again. I tried to track her, to hunt down information about her, but nothing ever came up. She just...disappeared."

"And Re-appeared using only the name Windy."

"Yeah."

"Wow. That is so..." I was cut off by the water shutting off in the bathroom, and cut myself silent. First I finished in a whisper "amazing that you guys re-connected today."

"Thanks to you, babe." Ranger kissed my temple again. Woleska had raised his head and was looking towards the bathroom door. Something crashed and we could hear Windy cursing.

"You ok, querida?" Ranger called.

"Yeah. Fine. Give me a minute." Windy hollered back, but there was an edge in her voice. We heard more thumping and cursing, Woleska remaining at attention and Ranger slightly tense. Finally, the door opened and Windy hopped out on one foot, grumbling about her "fucking ankle."

"It broke?" Ranger asked, moving to get up.

"Fucking probably Fucking broken Fucking ankle." she growled back, collapsing in a chair in the kitchen and placing that leg on her knee. She bent over and poked at it, flinching. "Fuckwit Marcel Fucking not Fucking listening and Fucking killing his own Fucking horse and fucking breaking my fucking ankle." she continued her litany, yellin and poking at the ankle and turning it. "FUCK!"

Ranger had gotten up, and he knelt in front of her. "Let me see." he said, pushing her hands away and gently maneuvering the ankle. Windy winced but was silent. "You need to go to the hospital."

"No. If they cast it I can't ride. I'll wrap it and it'll be fine." She reached for the wrap, and began to re-wrap it, awkwardly with one hand. Ranger took over, then shoved her back when she moved to stand and checked her shoulder over.

"You're a mess." he stated.

"What's new. It's fine Carlos - really. I've been through worse." She stood up, and took a tentative step on the ankle. With the wrap on, she could walk. I suppose that meant she wouldn't go to the hospital. Ranger pulled her into his arms and hugged her again, before turning back towards the living room.

Windy grabbed an apple and went to the chair. Unfortunately for her, her dog had gotten there first and was sprawled lazily in it again. "Oh, go sit on someone else." Windy told him, and he slunk down and meandered over towards us while she sat. He sniffed Ranger's leg, then mine, then jumped up and sprawled on both our laps. Jeez.

"Woleska." Windy warned, but Ranger scratched his ear and ruined her command. I scratched the other one.

"It's fine." Ranger told her. "He's fine."

"He doesn't usually do that. He's usually more wary of strangers." Windy shrugged with her good shoulder. I was thinking that maybe this was a good sign, if he was accepting not only Ranger, but me too.

"So..." suddenly it felt really uncomfortable in the room, and I shifted. Ranger stretched an arm across my shoulders and anchored me to the couch. Never one to mince words, he got straight to the point. "Why won't you use your real name?"

"Because. If I'm going to die, I'm going to die flying - riding - not at the hands of foster brothers gang buddies."

"I can protect you you know."

"It's true" I chimed in. "Ranger and his merry men can keep anyone safe." I knew this from personal experience, of course. Many personal experiences, in fact.

"Meh. I like the name Windy."

"It suits you, querida. But so did Emily."

"Well..." Windy shrugged. We all lapsed into silence again. And again, it got uncomfortable.

"Hey. I've got an idea." I said, as a light went on. "I don't particularly feel like rolling around in garbage chasing after dead beats, you're hurt, and Ranger just got home and probably needs a break... So why don't we go off somewhere for the day? Compare notes on Carson and just... chill out?"

"Somewhere like..where?" Ranger asked.

"Like, maybe Point Pleasant?"

"You know, Babe, that's not a bad idea." Ranger said. Wow. Batman agreed with me. He looked towards Windy with an expression that half begged and half demanded she agree too.

"Only if I can bring my hound."

"Of course."

"We'll take the bat-truck, right?" I asked Ranger.

"Bat truck?" Emily asked.

"Ranger's batman. So it stands to reason that his fancy black vehicles are bat-vehicles, and since today he's driving a fancy black truck..." I explained in a small voice, not daring to look at Ranger.

"..It's the bat-truck." Emily finished off. She was quiet for a minute, then I got the priveledge of watching her look up at Ranger with a look of absolute incredulity. "They call you BATMAN? Oh, that is PERFECT." Her face broke into a huge grin and then suddenly she wrapped her arms around herself, anchoring her ribs, and started to laugh buckets.

I was smiling. Ranger gave me a pointed look and sighed, "Babe."