Author's Note: Okay, I lied. This is the last chapter in Ranger's POV. Don't hate him too much now. Hopefully this will be the last chapter me and my muse disagree on so I can get them done faster...Review, please. You guys inspired this one.
Not mine.
I felt the ice pack pressed to my eye. As I tried to push myself upwards, a hand rested on my shoulder, pushing me back down.
"You need to wait for the doctor." A very familiar voice said.
"Babe, I don't need a doctor."
"You might have a concussion. That's serious."
"No doctor." It was one of the things that Stephanie and I had in common. We both hated doctors.
"Too bad. Stay put or I'll get the restraints."
My pants tightened at the thought of my Babe restraining me. I relaxed into the bed.
I felt her relax into the chair next to me.
"Why are you here?" I found myself asking.
"Someone's got to explain your lame ass." She picked up a magazine and sighed.
Confused?
Let me fill in the few details that I remember.
Six months after the check incident, Stephanie was upstairs and I was going up there to see if she needed anything. I couldn't help it. There were three floors between us and I couldn't not go up there. Anyway, her new boyfriend was there, but she wasn't. He was flirting with a nurse and I saw red and punched him. The rest you can probably guess.
But hey, he was out for the count long before I was. I think.
"I can't believe you started a fight in the middle of the hospital." She said, shaking her head.
"Babe."
"No, seriously. You couldn't find a worse place? What about a funeral home? That would've been festive."
I smiled. "Babe."
She went on without me. "A fight," she huffed. "What are you? Five?"
"Babe."
"I mean, did you seriously think I didn't know?"
"About…?" This I wasn't willing to say. I needed to hear it from her.
"About the other women. Sheesh, Ranger, I'm a woman, I have intuition and hormones." She said. "Which are totally unsatisfied." She said more to herself.
I smiled. "I can change that."
She looked at me, elbowed me, and then blushed.
"But I had a hinky feeling."
"Still using the spidey sense?"
She smiled softly. "Yeah. Right after we started "dating" he just had this look Dickie used to get. At least I can see it now. I told him that we should be friends."
I didn't respond. I would've punched him anyway.
It was beyond words to have her back here, in the same room, with the easy and witty banter going on. Like nothing was wrong and she hadn't moved out of my life.
"Stephanie."
She looked up, eyebrows raised.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I was an ass and treated you like crap. I'm still treating you like crap. You deserve better. I love you and I'm in love with you and nothing is going to change that. I know that there are some complications..."
"Some complications? You think being married is a complication? Christ Ranger, she's your wife. I'm not going to let you divorce her just so we can be together! You know me better than that! I may love you, but I'm not going to let you lessen your moral code just so we can be together. You made a decision and now you have to live with it. I'm sorry Ranger, but no matter what, there won't be a we."
She got up and left the room. Somewhere during her speech Maria had decided to join us. She was smiling.
"What?"
"Man, she really hates you."
"Yeah, I can see that." I said bitterly.
"Don't worry, under all that hate, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep down she still loves you."
I just shrugged my shoulders. I didn't want to talk about it anymore.
"Don't hate me, but your mother's here."
I sighed and rolled my eyes. I didn't want to deal with my mother right now.
"Carlos, getting into fights at the hospital?" She tsked at me.
"Mama…"
"No, don't give me any of your lame excuses."
"It was for Stephanie." Maria interjected.
"Well, that changes everything." She turned to Maria. "Not that I didn't like having you as my hija."
"No offense taken."
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself? When are we going to meet her?"
"Mama…"
"She still hates him."
"Maria…" Christ.
"She still hates you? You haven't told her you're divorced?"
How my mother knows these things is beyond me.
"I didn't get a chance to tell her."
"Well, don't you think you should get on that?"
I didn't say anything. I was to busy counting to ten and keep my left eye from twitching.
She sighed.
"What now?"
"Well?" She gestured to the door.
Oh right. I got up and ran to the door. Man, this concussion has turned my brain into mush.
I ran out the way I saw my Babe leave, praying that I wasn't too late. She was standing with her back to me, helping her mother into the car. She was finally going home to recuperate some more. As soon she was safely in his seat, I scooped her up.
"What the hell Ranger?" She screamed.
"I'm not letting you go. Not again."
She wiggled and squirmed in my arms, but I didn't let go. When she stopped fighting, I placed her back on the ground and led her to alley. Once again, I held my arms on either side of her so she was trapped.
"You misunderstood me. That wasn't what I meant. She and I are divorced, have been for a while now. The complications are with the government."
She looked at me, eyes wide.
"I'm not sure what's going on with my contract and frankly, I don't care. The only person I want to be in a relationship or married to is you. I would give up anything for you. Moral code and all, I want there to be an us."
She looked at me with tears in her eyes.
"I…I can't. I'm sorry Ranger, I can't."
I felt my heart stop and then die. This was worse than getting my ass kicked by Tank. "Can you…why?"
"You had your shot. And you lost it."
She took advantaged of my startled state and ducked under my arms.
She was leaving me again. But this time, she wasn't coming back.
I slid down the brick wall and I did something for the very first time in my life.
I cried.
