Disclaimer: Still not mine. Big shocker there.

A/N: Okay, as promised, angst toned down! I've given Steph a break because, as one of my dear reviewers pointed out, I don't want Ranger or a Merry Man hunting my ass down because I hurt their girl!

For Jay…you let me keep my sanity by allowing me to go insane. Go figure, huh?!

Also for Chesi66…motivation like none I've rarely had before! Thank you so much, Chesi, for being you! I owe you as you are a lot of the reason I post! Cheers, Hun!

To my reviewers, thanks so very much! Colour me humbled, because I love that you are invested!

Enjoy!

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Ranger POV

When the familiar sound of "Babe" by Styx came through my phone (courtesy of Santos's insistence that I have a specialised ringtone for her), I jolted out of my seat next to the monitors and answered my buzzing phone, whose screen showed me Babe's beautiful, smiling face.

"Babe, what happened, is everything okay?" I shouted into the phone, panicked, already sprinting for the door, Hector on my tail. "I'm there in 2."

"No!" she yelped. "I'm fine, Ranger, calm down, it's okay."

"You're okay? Nothing's happening?" I demanded confirmation, stopping in front of the door, but unwilling to sit down until she assured me she was fine.

"Yeah, Batman, I'm okay. We're good," she told me soothingly. "I guess calls at ten before three in the morning might insinuate that I was in trouble, huh?" she asked me ruefully. I laughed a little, wanting to be upset, but just fiercely glad she was okay, and I hadn't missed anything on the speakers I'd been listening to all night so far. I sighed softly in relief.

"Oh, crap, did I break you?" she asked worriedly.

"Babe?"

"You never sigh," she explained. I let out a small bark of laughter. Truer words have never been spoken, but have I ever had to hand the woman I love to another man, only for him to beat and abuse her in every way? No? Exactly. This wasn't a normal circumstance.

"Babe, are you sure you're okay?" I asked, ignoring her statement. "It's unlike you to call at ten before 3 in the morning. Shit, Babe, it's unlike you to call at ten before nine in the morning."

"Oh, ha-ha, Mr Funny Man," she said sarcastically. "I'm calling because I woke up after having a bad dream…"

"Do you want me to come there?" I asked softly, interrupting her with a concerned tone. I was sure I could get to her without the cop knowing…even just to hold her. To make her feel safe.

"No, it's okay, it ended up being a beneficial nightmare," she giggled.

"Babe, should I be worried?" I was sceptical now. "Should I call a psychologist?"

"No, Ranger," I could tell she rolled her eyes and I smirked. "I mean, it gave me a solution to one of the problems! Well, if my plan works," she amended. My curiosity piqued, I waited patiently for her to continue. "I need you to throw a brick into Morelli's living room window, please."

I paused as this sunk in, my concern for her mental state becoming steadily real. "Babe, not that I wouldn't love to damage something of Morelli's but would you mind giving me a reason not to call a professional?"

"You'll see, Batman," she giggled. The happiness in her tone filtered into the black cloud that seemed to hang above me when I had to leave her. It had felt as though it would have killed me yesterday, having to leave her in that house, with that spineless, pathetic little plug. *************It was by far the hardest thing I'd ever had to do in my life. Seeing the terror in her eyes and the contrasting, determined courage on her face had early been my undoing and it took a massive lot to remember the promise I'd made her earlier, instead of damning the plan to hell and killing Morelli and every member of the crew with my bare hands.

"Ok, Babe," I answered, suppressing my sigh now. "What time?"

"Eight o' clock," she informed me. "And you need to attach a note to it that says this…" she rattled off the contents of the note. I was confused, but I trusted her.

"We'll be there. Try to get some rest Babe," I suggested. "Sure you don't want me to come over there?"

"Want you here, Batman," she sighed, "just can't have you here. I'll see you in the morning."

She hung up and I fought a smirk; it seemed our phone habits were brushing off on her. No sooner had the thought crossed my mind when my phone rang again.

"I forgot to say bye," she giggled sheepishly. "I'll be damned if I pick that habit up." I laughed out loud and I could hear the smile in her voice. "Goodnight, Batman. Sweet dreams."

"Night Babe," I tell her tenderly. "Sweet dreams to you too."

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Steph POV

I was woken by a loud crash and a string of curses. I fought a smile; I have to dredge up every bit of acting skills I had for this. It was the ultimate distraction job. I rushed into the living room and gasped.

'What happened?" I asked in faux surprise.

"This happened," Morelli growled, brandishing a letter at me. I took it and pretended to read what was in front of me.

She's mine. You have taken the love of my life away from me, detective. I don't take well to that. Let her go; I have killed men for far less, and I will kill any man who tries to steal my woman. Mark my words. The Cobra.

"Who the hell is the Cobra, Stephanie?" Joe spat.

"Oh, God," I muttered, covering my face as though sickened. "He's Ranger's enemy. He's said to be even more lethal than Ranger himself…he doesn't know about me…oh, God, I have to make sure he never sees Ranger near me or Ranger will be toast," I moaned, trying to look terrified. From the gleam I could see in his eyes, I knew I was succeeding in playing him hook, line and sinker.

"More lethal than Manoso?" he asked gleefully, a sadistic spark in his eyes. He looked to be doing some quick thinking and I sent a prayer to any God that may have been listening. "Change of plans," he told me abruptly. "You're going back to Rangeman today."

YESS!

"No!" I yelped instead, needing to really sell this. "I won't put Ranger and the men in that kind of danger, you can't make me!"

"Oh yes I can, Cupcake," he grinned evilly. "I have your friends' lives in the balance…wouldn't want to see poor little Lou go to an early grave now, would we?"

My mouth almost dropped in surprise; in his focus on Ranger, the idiot actually let slip that he had Lou on permanent guard. I barely supressed my reaction and looked at him pleadingly.

"Please don't do this, Joe," I begged. "Don't make me hurt him."

"This is excellent," he crowed. "You're going to be the cause of his death…or you're going to be the cause of everyone else's deaths. It's your choice."

I waited a few long moments then forced out a few tears.

"I hate you," I mumbled as I walked past him, putting on my best "broken" expression.

"Be sure to act like a couple with him," Joe smirked. "I want this done fast. I'll have my contact let me know if you're not." He started to grab my arm, turning sharply around to do so, when he stopped in his tracks, paled and ran to the bathroom again.

I did a mental happy dance; added bonus! I get to get friendly with Ranger! I made my way to my Chev, careful not to betray my happiness at my plan working out. I drove to Rangeman and was barely out of the car when I was swept into a massive bear hug and kissed into breathlessness. Pressing me against my car door, firm but not hard enough to hurt my bruises, he attacked my lips with his, plundering my mouth immediately, licking, sucking and nibbling on my lower lip. He slipped his hand under my shirt and brushed his fingers against the bare skin of the small of my back and I moaned loudly.

"Hiya, Batman," I said breathlessly as he relocated his lips to my neck, sucking lightly enough not to hurt but hard enough not to tickle.

"Brilliant," he murmured into my neck. "What on earth made you think of that? It was genius!" He lifted his head to look me in the eye. "I am so proud of you, Babe."

I smiled radiantly at him, lifting my hands and tracing his face. There was a shadow under his eyes.

"Come on, Babe," he grabbed my wrist and led me to the elevator. "The men can't wait to see you, especially Santos. He's as bad as a PTA mom with your latest pranking endeavours. This morning really put the icing on the cake for him. He been bragging and boasting about you to everyone ever since. I think they'd have taken him to the mats a long time ago if it was about anyone else but you." He pulled me in, pressing his fob to get us up to seven.

I leaned backwards into his chest in the elevator and he wrapped both arms around me, leaning down to press soft kisses along the nape of my neck. I sighed happily, content to pretend that he loved me as much as I loved him. When we got to his apartment, I hadn't even fully gotten over the threshold before Les grabbed me in a huge hug. No sooner had this happened before I was pulled away from him and into another set of strong arms. I looked up into Bobby's grinning face

"Bomber, you are absolutely unbelievable!" he chuckled. Following some sort of trend now, I was grabbed from one set or arms to the next; Bobby to Tank, from Tank to Cal, from Cal to Manny, from Manny to Ram, from Ram to Hal and from Hal to Hector. With each embrace came the words,

"That was awesome, Little Girl!"

"Brilliant, Angel!"

"Way to go, Wifey!"

"Christ, that was really something, Steph, Honey!"

"Absolutely genius, Bombshell!" and finally,

"Very proud of Angelita. Well done, hermanita!"

I beamed at these men who had become brothers to me. When Hector released me with a peck to the cheek, I felt myself swept up from behind. I squealed as Les spun me around.

"God, Beautiful, you're amazing! I'm so freaking proud of you!" he crowed, pressing a loud, smacking kiss to my very surprised lips. I heard a growl rip through Ranger's chest and I inwardly flinched at what I knew was about to come to my best friend.

"Mats, Santos, 0400," he barked, easing me away from Les and pulling me into a protective cage he made with his arms. I hid my head in his chest, breathing in the familiar, calming scent that was pure Ranger with a little Bulgari mixed in. For the first time since he had to leave me, the tension fully left my body. I felt safe, finally. Staying in him arms but turning myself around to face my brothers, I grinned at the warm faces that met me.

"Who got to throw the brick?" I asked with a sheepish smirk. Ram winked at me and grinned, and I got the hint. "You have a great arm," I giggled.

"Beautiful, what on earth made you think of that?" Les asked me looking awed.

"Whatever this story is," Bobby interjected before I could answer, "it can wait. Come on, Honey, I want to check you out for injuries." He took my hand gently and tried to pull me out of Ranger's grasp. The minute he began to pull, however, Ranger growled menacingly.

"No," he bit out. With a gentle hand that contradicted his harsh tone, he eased my wrist out of Bobby's hand and led me to the couch himself. Instead of pushing me on to the sofa, he sat down, pulling me down on to his lap. Bobby sat next to us with a long-suffering sigh and a glare at Ranger. Ranger shot him back a hard look that told him, no doubt, to build a bridge and get over it. Without a word, Bobby took out his medical kit and smiled at me.

"Okay, Bomber, sweetie, tell me what happened yesterday," he requested. Though he smiled, his eyes looked troubled, and I loved him all the more for trying to make me at ease when these reports surely tore him apart.

"He slammed my head into the wall. That's all," I reassured him, returning his smile with a small one of my own. "I don't have a concussion; I didn't feel dizzy or nauseous at all; and he didn't get much of a chance to do anything else." I smirked at the memory of him bolting to the bathroom. Les grinned at me while Bobby probed gently around my bruise. I winced when he ran his fingers over it and Ranger tightened his arms around me.

"Just a bruise, Bomber," Bobby looked relieved, giving me an awkward hug, since Ranger refused to let go of me. "One of many, but still only a bruise, thank God."

"Thanks, Bobby," I smiled at him, snuggling into Ranger's arms. He pressed a soft kiss to the juncture between my shoulder and neck. "I'm sorry for waking you up this morning," I grinned at him sheepishly.

"I was awake, Babe," he told me quickly. "Don't worry about it."

"Wait, why were you awake?" I asked him quizzically.

"I was monitoring the bugs."

"That doesn't make sense," I told him, furrowing my brow in confusion. "You heard what happened this morning between Morelli and I. Does that mean you were up from 3 right until now?"

"Beautiful," Les answered for him, "Ranger's been awake since he left you yesterday until now."

My eyebrows shot up and I looked at him incredulously. "Ranger! Is that true?" I demanded. "Have you slept at all since you left me?"

"Not really, Babe," he admitted, shooting a glare at Les.

"Ok," I forced myself out of his lap and clapped my hands twice. "Guys, I love you all, but everyone- Out! Ranger is now going to sleep; we will do the whole report thing in 4-5 hours." They grinned at me, obliging with smirks at Ranger.

"Babe," he said in an even, possibly annoyed tone. Peeved that he was hurting himself to protect me, I whirled around, sparks flying from my eyes.

"Tell me you're not going to sleep now, Ranger," I challenged his dangerously. "I dare you."

His eyes widened a fraction in surprise and the men guffawed behind me. He sent them a fierce glare and they immediately quietened, but he didn't tell me anything.

"That's what I thought," I muttered, turning around again to see the men out. When I closed the door, I felt hands wrap around my waist from behind me and lips touched the spot beneath my ear.

"Oh, no," I ducked under his arm and planted my hands on my hips. "You're going to bed, Ranger! I can't believe you didn't sleep!"

"I couldn't, Babe," he told me, folding his arms across his chest.

"Sure you could have," I scoffed. "The men took shifts listening, I know they did…"

"No, Babe," he interrupted me, eye burning with intensity. "I mean, I couldn't. I tried, and I really couldn't fall asleep. Not when I knew you were there. Not when I knew you could be getting hurt. Not when I knew you weren't safe in my arms, with me, in my bed."

"Ranger," I murmured, my voice softening. I ran a hand down his cheek.

"I sleep better with you in my arms," he told me. I saw truth in his eyes, and wondered what he meant by this. Before I could try to analyse it, I pulled his arm, leading him to the bedroom. Pulling back the covers, I kicked off my heels and scooted in and pulled him down with me. He toed off his boots and got under the covers with me, pulling me into his arms, putting one arm around my waist as the other stretched out behind my neck, putting my back to his chest. Tiredness swept over me all of a sudden as I relished in the feeling of finally feeling secure enough to sleep without worry. I snuggled my head into the crook his arm now made with his chest and he tightened his hold on my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder so that we were cheek to cheek. Feeling warm, loved and incredibly safe, I was asleep in minutes.

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Ranger POV

When I woke up, I was still curled protectively around Babe. I had fallen asleep almost immediately, only realising how tired I was once Steph was safe in my arms. I looked down at her now, still sleeping, looking peaceful and calm. I picked up my arm from where it was curled around her waist and brushed a few stray curls behind her ear. Unthinkingly, I brushed my fingers, as light as a butterfly's wings, down her cheek. With a jolt, I realised that I was holding my entire world in my arms.

She hardly stirred as I snaked my arm back around her waist and pulled her as close to me as I could. It touched my heart that she felt so safe around me; it made me actually feel like Batman. If I could be her superhero, I knew I would be okay, somehow. Tracing the delicate curve of her neck and her beautiful face with my eyes, I contemplated the talk I needed to have with her. I needed to let her know that she was the love of my life. That I was a total jerk and a jackass for ever pushing her away.

I wondered how she would respond to this chat. Steph was wary with me now, now, in terms of her heart. While I knew that she felt safer with no one else, I also knew now, that she was guarding her heart well for the past few months. I hated myself for breaking her implicit trust in me.

How was I going to make her believe that I loved her, no qualifiers? That I would do anything for her? That she was my soul's counterpoint? I needed to do it easing her into the idea. Subsequently, a POA came to mind. I had to treat her like a queen, show her what it was like to be in a relationship With someone who loved her like the moon loved the stars.

Shit, I cussed inwardly, surprised at my own thoughts. Since when was I a romantic?

As my eyes roamed her angel-like face once more, I knew that I had become a romantic the day I met and fell in love with my Babe.

As she began to stir in my arms, I resolved to treat her as though she was mine, until she was mine. My decision came just in time, too, as her clear, azure eyes blinked sleepily up at me. Leaning down my head, I brushed kisses across her cheek and down her neck. She shivered delightfully and I smiled against her skin.

"Did you sleep?" she asked me with a yawn.

"Yeah, Babe," I murmured, keeping my lips just shy of her throat. "I could, because I knew you were safe in my arms."

"I know the feeling," she admitted, softened by sleep. "It's the first I've felt truly safe sleeping in a very long time."

"Babe," I simply whispered, reverently trailing kisses across her collarbone, mindful still of the bruises that always made my blood boil. Steph looked up at me, a mixture of pain and love in her expressive blue eyes. Hating the pain I saw and having to accept that I was the cause of that pain in particular, I leaned towards her and softly kissed her eye-lids, forcing them shut. She tensed herself, forehead creasing a little as she opened her eyes again.

"I don't know what I would do without you," I murmured, looking her in the eye. Hope shone out from her eyes for a second before she forced it down and took on a guarded look instead.

"I couldn't imagine not having you either," she whispered hesitantly. Shaking herself a little, out of her stupor of thought, she sat up. Though it physically pained me to let her leave my arms, I knew I had to be very careful.

Turning around to face me, her eyes blazed excitement now.

"I know how to find out who the mole is!" she blurted. I blinked twice in astonishment. How had she figured this out? I had Tank working for hours yesterday and today with no yield.

"Tell me."

"I need the logbook your men have to sign when they go on monitor duty," she told me, jumping up and running to my study. She was bouncing impatiently on her toes next to my computer when I sauntered in. "Come on, Ranger," she whined. "You wake up at ungodly hours to go running, but wake up in the middle of the day and you're not even walking fast." She rolled her eyes and I grinned. Switching on my computer, I pulled up the electronic log that got updated every time the men signed in so I could monitor the payroll once in a while. Still impatient with me, she flicked my hands away from the keyboard and situated herself on my lap. I grinned to myself; I much preferred this position. As her fingers flew over the keys, I wrapped both arms around her waist drawing light circles with my thumb on her thigh. Finally, she leaned back into me, putting her arms over mine. I looked back to the screen; on it, there was the information of two of my newer hires.

"Babe?" I raised an eyebrow at her asking for an explanation.

"Morelli knew about us kissing," she said simply. My gut clenched as I remembered hearing that; worse than all the other times, was that one, because I knew it was my fault. I should have thought about the fact that they would be able to see us, but instead, I gave into my desperation and my Babe had paid the price.

"Yes…" I trailed off, inviting her to continue.

"The guys in the control room were the only ones who saw that," she grinned at me. "Ergo, they have to be the ones who reported to Morelli."

Stunned into silence at her thinking, that was so out of the norm that she had outsmarted Tank, I simply crushed her to me and slammed my lips on to hers. Kissing her until we were both breathless, I marvelled at the sheer amazingness of one Stephanie Michelle Plum. My babe.

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Steph POV

When I pulled back from the kiss, I was breathing harder, but so was he. Blushing, I turned my attention back to the screen. On it, were the names Jackson Louw and Peter Jefferson. I knew neither of these men, and that calmed my pained heart. I don't think I could have handled it if it was one of my Merry Men. Sitting still in Ranger's lap, I ran quick searches on both men. I settled back, snuggling into him against my better judgement. The searches were done fairly quickly. The problem was that both men could have had something against Ranger.

Jackson Louw was an old army buddy of Ranger's and according to him, he had gotten shot on a mission with Ranger. I couldn't see why he would blame Ranger, but Ranger says it would make sense.

Peter Jefferson was an ordinary guy, but his brother went FTA and Ranger brought him in. he died in police custody and Ranger offered him a job to try to take care of him.

"That was amazingly nice of you," I told him, pecking him on the cheek.

"I thought of you, Babe," he told me with a 1000-watt smile. "I knew you'd want me to help him, so I did."

I kissed him again, on the lips this time; to damn with my resolve to stay away from him romantically. I dug a little deeper and found what I was looking for.

"Your mole is Jackson Louw," I told him, a triumphant grin lighting my face. I was so glad it wasn't the guy Ranger had helped; I guess there was some good left in the world.

"How do you know, Babe?" he asked.

"Spidey sense," I shrugged. "Also, when I looked into his background, according to his childhood records he was from an abusive home. His mom ended up in the E.R more times than fits on one sheet of paper. With experience from Morelli, it's guys with those backgrounds who are most likely to be woman haters, and hence, more prone to woman abuse."

He beamed at me with obvious pride, despite the anger still tightening his eyes. I smoothed his forehead. I knew instinctively that he was blaming himself for this.

"Don't," I told him, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "He would have gotten to me and the people I love, one way or another. He was determined and patient."

He was about to tell me something when his landline phone rang. He pressed the button for the loudspeaker and Tank's voice filled the small office.

"Bossman, Morelli just applied for leave and booked two plane tickets for Cuba," he reported. "He's taking Terry Gilman. I think he's planning on having some fun until my Little Girl has brought about your 'death'." I heard the heavily implied inverted commas around the word death. "As for the mole…I've sent some men out. We're going to trial and error it, saying things about Steph until we get some sort of clue. We've tried everything else, man."

I giggled as Ranger smirked at me.

"Hey Tank," I greeted him. He chuckled over the phone.

"Hi, Little Girl."

"Tank, get the men up here," Ranger commanded.

"Why?" he asked quizzically.

"Because, Pierre," Ranger grinned at me. "Steph just found the mole."

"Aw, hell."

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A/N: Ah, yes, let's give it up for the brilliance that is Steph! *Applause fills my head.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and yes, I couldn't make the traitor a MM! I didn't have the heart! Next chapter we'll see some Rangeman "Love" for our darling Jackson Louw…

Read and review! You know you want to!

-JazMitch