Chapter Nine

Unlike Ranger, Rebel was a friendly, talkative dinosaur. He laughed, cracked jokes and smiled. A real smile, that is. Not a twitch of the mouth or a slight smirk. This bald, Australian was actually pretty cool. Which, I must admit, caught me off guard. I figured that everyone who worked for Rangeman were like the boss.

Good thing they weren't.

Still though, when he dropped me off at my parent's house and suggested to call him if I needed anymore help, I couldn't help but continued to feel that nagging dejection sensation in the back of my brain. I know. Ranger bailing out shouldn't have bothered me so much and it wasn't even that big of a deal. I mean, he was a grown man and he had things to do, a job he was actually good at and liked. He didn't have time to babysit me all the time.....right? Yet something, something outrageous I suppose, kept telling me that he had sent Rebel not because he was actually busy but because he was angry at the prospect of Morelli spending time with me and was, indirectly, angry at me.

Weird thoughts, huh? It's not like I went home with Joe. Jeez. He just drove me to the bonds office. And Ranger was the one who left me with him!

I shrugged off my peculiar musings and focused on the task at hand: mooching off my mom and her cooking.

"You haven't been shot at yet." My mom's way of greeting I suppose. I froze with furrowed eyebrows. Did I usually get shot at!? Before I could ask, my mom ushered me in and closed the door. She looked pretty happy for some unknown reason. Almost glowing.

I shot my dad the peace sign and a 'Hey' which he returned with a grunt and a thumbs up. Probably the longest conversation I've ever had with my father.

My mom dragged me into the kitchen and I started to take a seat but paused abruptly at the sight before me. My eyes widened slightly.

"Look who it is, Stephanie." Grandma Mazur said, eyeing the man in the chair next to her.

He grinned, stood up and held his arms out to me. "Cupcake."

"Morelli." I strained out.

"Joe tells us that you guys are picking up exactly where you started off before you got amnesia." My mom was saying, stirring something in a pot. I gasped and turned to glare at him. All he did was shrug in his defense. "Is that true?"

I opened my mouth to protest but was soon wrapped in Morelli's arms and he was squeezing me hard enough to alter my words. "Just roll with it." He whispered in my ear.

"No way." I strained out in a hoarse tone, pushing him away from me. "How dare you lie to my mom."

"What else was I suppose to do? She nearly put the words in my mouth."

I turned to blink at my mom who was still talking. "-And I think it's just the sweetest thing that could have happened. I'm glad the accident hasn't changed the way you see him. I thought it would but I guessed wrong. Oh, this is just great."

While I stared at the woman who had birthed me, I sighed. Now that I thought about it, I could see where Morelli was coming from. He probably hadn't even acknowledged our relationship yet somehow, she managed to come up with the notion we were together again out of thin air. Which made me think that she must have really liked me with Joe.

I wonder if my family knew Ranger.....

"Speaking of that," My mom turned to glance at me. "Dr. Ray called today. He told me to tell you that he'd like to see you tomorrow."

My heart skipped. "Is something wrong?"

"He just wanted to see how you were."

Not good! I still didn't have my memory back but...was that such a bad thing? 'Cause wouldn't that mean I'd be with...gulp...Joe? Wait, was that such a bad thing?! I bit my lip.

"I'm sure everything's fine." My mom motioned outwards. "Now run along. Joe tells me he has a big dinner planned. I wouldn't want to hold him up."

I raised my eyebrows at him.

He grinned. "Now that, I did say. You said I could show you how I've changed." Damn it, I had. Great. I'd have to go.

"I wish a man would cook for me." Grandma Mazur grumbled. "And not T.V dinners either. I mean a big feast of a dinner. That'd be a pip. Men who cook are hot what with their aprons and whatnot. I don't like the aprons to be pink though. That's a little too girly." She looked at Morelli. "You don't wear pink aprons do you?"

"I don't wear aprons."

"That's good. For a second there, I worried you might be gay."

I blew out an exasperated sigh and turned to stare painfully at Joe. He was just smiling and shaking his head. I blinked in surprise at his reaction. He could tolerate my family? Either he covered up his annoyance or had been over so many times that he immune to their hazard antics.

Joe and I said goodbye, shuffled out of the my parents house and when we were outside, he draped an arm around my shoulder.

"You really know how to cook?" I asked.

I watched his mouth curve into a smirk and he leaned over to whisper in my eye. "Nope. I was just planning on calling in a pizza."

I rolled my eyes and slid into the passenger side of his car. "How romantic."

**********

"Stephanie meet Bob. Bob...well, he knows you already."

I guessed that. Because at the moment, Bob who was big, furry and orange was on top of me and licking my face with his sloppery tongue. Either it was a bear, a wolf or a dog. Maybe a mix of both, I'm not sure. Morelli hefted him off of me and I sat up, wiping off all the drool.

"Bob missed you."

I moaned. I didn't have much experience with dogs. Hamsters like my Rex were much easier to manage. They ate less, craved less attention and best of all, they didn't jump on top of you. I think Bob cracked a few of my ribs.

Morelli helped me to my feet and motioned around. "My crib. I keep the beer in the fridge, condoms in my room and torture chamber in the basement."

"You're not making the best impression."

He only grinned.

I ignored him and started to inspect the house. It was pretty nice. Actually, it was beautiful. Soft, quaint, comfortable and a few blocks down from the burg where my parents lived. All in all, it was a place I hadn't expected Morelli to own, buy or live in for that matter.

He caught my look. "My Aunt Rose gave it to me."

"It's pretty."

"But you haven't seen the best part." He took my hand and led me into the living room. With a dramatic sweep of his hands, he said, "There it is."

I rolled my eyes at his over exaggerated actions, turned and froze. My eyes bugged out and my jaw dropped.

"Close your mouth cupcake, you're drooling."

My eyes were locked onto the mighty huge, long and wide big screen T.V placed precariously in the far wall of the room. Among all the other tiny furniture, it looked completely out of place. I wanted to cry. I couldn't afford a television like that. I could barely afford a chair.

"Panasonic 103-inch plasma. The biggest big screen in existent. I've been saving for it my entire life. Or you know....since I've heard about it. Just got it installed a day or two ago. Around the same time you fell out of a tree." He walked over to it and fondly touched the screen. "This baby cost more than my car, this house and probably every other house and car in the city. Combined."

It was beautiful. "How-How'd you afford it!?" There was no way he made big bucks being a Trenton cop.

"A few favors, some extra shifts, robbery, bank accounts, stolen identities, trust funds." I was pretty sure he was joking from his smirk. He grabbed my hand and guided me to the couch. "Check this out." He hit a button on the remote and the T.V blinked on. "Do you see that!? Picture in picture!"

I smiled at his giddy expression as he stared at the T.V, unblinking and thought he looked cute like that. A little kid in a grown up body.

He glanced at me. "What?"

"Nothing."

"You're smiling at me."

"I can't smile?" I turned away to hide biting my lip. "Are you going to order the pizza or not?"

Suddenly, his fingers were under my chin and he was turning my head to stare into his eyes. "I like when you smile at me."

I tried to form a sentence to get me out of this situation but nothing was coming out. I was frozen under his gaze and...I kind of liked it.

Then he leaned forward, ran a finger up my arm and closed his eyes. I knew were this was going. He was going to kiss me.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and leaned into him too.

Oh man, I wanted this to happen!

*********

Morelli

Now, I've kissed Stephanie a lot of times beforehand but I don't remember her being this........wet. And not the good kind of wet either. This was nasty, sloppy wet.

I opened my eyes and found myself staring into the eyes of Bob.

He had squeezed himself in between us, his mouth was on mines and he was panting. My eyes widened, my heart stopped and I felt like I'd blow chunks.

That was the last thing I remember before everything went black.

When I came to, Stephanie was staring down at me with worried eyes. I groaned and sat up. "What happened?"

"You kissed Bob."

I felt my head get woozy again and closed my eyes, breathed in and exhaled out loudly. "Then what?"

"Then you passed out."

Ahh. I got to my feet and rubbed my head. I could see Stephanie out of the corner of my eye. She was smiling. "It's not funny."

"I'm not laughing." She strained out with a stifled chuckle. I sighed, rolled my eyes, told her I'd be back and went upstairs to brush my teeth. Bob was not the best kisser.

*********

Stephanie

I guess kissing a dog is a turn off for men because when Morelli came back down, he kept his distance from me. We ordered pizza, ate it while watching a game on the deluxe big screen and then he drove me home. End of date. Not that spectacular but hey, you couldn't go wrong with pizza. Although I wouldn't have minded if he had tried to kiss me again...

I thunked myself on the head with the heel of my hand while I took the steps to my apartment. UGH. Great. Great. Great! I've already established I was both attracted and was falling for Joe but this was different. I hadn't wanted to but in the course of almost kissing him, watching his T.V, playing with his dog and sitting on his couch, I had pictured what my life had been like with him.

Calm, comfortable, safe, stable. The perfect atmosphere for someone as laid back as me.

I shook my head and fumbled in my purse for the key to my apartment. I just needed to clear my mind. I wouldn't think about men or my irrational thoughts or the doctor's appointment I had tomorrow. I'd just concentrate on getting some sleep and somehow bringing in a 'FTA' tomorrow for some cash.

But, of course, my plan was ruined. Because as soon as I opened my door and stepped inside, I knew I wasn't alone. That didn't keep me from squealing and stumbling backwards however when a shadow appeared before me. I tripped, caught myself and grabbed the door handle to keep steady.

"Babe."

My eyes blazed at Ranger. Stupid, arrogant, annoying, clever, sexy, confident Ranger. In his usual attire of black shirt, black cargo pants and dark boots. I could see the hint of a smile hovering over his lips.

"Damn it! You like scaring me, don't you!? Idiot.." I muttered, throwing my purse onto the couch and stomping angrily past him to the kitchen. He followed without a word. "And how the HECK do you keep getting in!? You don't have a key, do you!?" I swirled to glare at his pockets.

"I have magic hands." I could hear the amusement in his tone.

Pff. I rolled my eyes and peeked at Rex. He was running on his wheel. I trailed my eyes to his food dish and saw that it was full with celery and hamster nuggets. I furrowed my eyebrows. "Did you feed Rex?"

"He looked hungry."

I slowly turned to squint suspiciously at him. He only stared. With my eyes locked on his, I slowly moved to open the cabinets and look inside. They were full of food. I opened my fridge. Full too. Ranger had stocked up my whole house. "You bought me food?"

"It took me longer than I thought." Ranger walked over to peer inside the fridge and cabinets behind me. "I tried to get everything you liked but...well Babe, you don't eat good so I picked out a few different things."

A FEW!? I stared incredulously at the pears, bananas, apricots, cole slaw, brown rice, low fat yogurt, skim milk, granola bars, cans of vegetables, water, tuna and other things I couldn't extinguish. The only thing I spotted that I would eat was the lone ham.

"You eat like this?"

He nodded.

"EVERYDAY!?"

"Everyday." He agreed.

I gaped. Wow. He must have really believed in that temple jazz. "Well, I'd rather eat what I like and die than eat this stuff and live."

"You'd feel better."

I doubt it. Cake and pie made me feel better. I blew out a sigh. Morelli had pizza and beer. Ranger had skim milk and wheat bread. Apples to Doughnuts on their eating habits. One point for Joe.

Yet it was the thought that counted, right? "You didn't have to buy this stuff, you know."

"I know." I felt him lean into me. "I'm a generous guy."

Yikes. My heart started to thump against my rib cage and I turned around slowly to stare at him. His eyes were heavy and dark and his lips were dangerously close. I mentally cracked my knuckles. I could see where this was going....Déjà vu. Bring it on. I was waiting for this. Oh God, I was?

But instead of leaning in to kiss me like Morelli did, Ranger changed direction and stepped back. I blinked up at him in confusion. "Day two on turn you into a kick ass bounty hunter begins tomorrow." He reached across the counter, opened my cookie jar and produced a gun from it.

I bugged out. "WHAT THE-? How'd that get there!?"

"It's always been there."

"WHY!?"

"Because you hate using it."

"So put it back!"

"Sorry." He checked the rounds and then set it down. "You'll have to get use to it again."

"I was use to it before!?"

"Not really. But it'd be good if you at least tried."

I eyed the steel monstrosity warily. I didn't want to try. I wanted him to pick it back in the cookie jar so I could continue to overlook it like I'd done for the past few days. "I don't know...."

"Do you want money?"

"Of course-"

"Do you want to be good at your job?"

"Yeah but-"

"Do you want me to continue training you?"

"Yes! But I-"

"Do you want me to drag you into the bedroom, strip off your clothes and show you a night of extreme pleasure?"

"Ye-" I caught myself, turned wild eyes on him and my cheeks flamed. I tried to speak but the only thing that came out was a squeak.

Ranger was smiling. Not one of those smirks or ghost ones either. This was a full on, wide smile that was sending my heart knocking into my chest like it was about to explode. "I almost had you." And before I knew it, he was kissing me.

There was only one word to explain a kiss shared with Ranger and that one word was: Yesssssssssssssss.

When he pulled away, my head was spinning, my breathing was labored and my lips were swollen.

"Eight o'clock tomorrow. I'm taking you to the shooting range." Then he was off. Out the room, out the door, into the elevator. I stood there for a good minute or two, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. I brought a hand to my lips and couldn't help but smile. Ranger certainly knew how to kiss. Ten points for him.

I went to my window and watched the dark, shiny car slide out of the lot and disappear down the road. As I stared down, I found myself thinking about what a life with him would be like.

Explosive. Erratic. Intense. Completely different from Morelli.

Morelli was calm, composed and handsome. He owned a dog, ate pizza for dinner, lived in a comfortable house and wore his heart on his sleeve for the most part.

Ranger was silent, strong and sexy. He probably carried around guns, ate herbs and was full of secrets.

But who was better for me? Who did I like more? UGH! Why did I care!?

I hit my head on the glass but then groaned and rubbed at the offending spot. Jeez, if I continued like this then I might pass out. My eyes lit up. Wait! Maybe if I hit my head hard enough, I'd get my memory back! Yes! Then I wouldn't have worry about all this mumbo jumbo.

Instead of following through with that plan however, I just went to sleep.

I might try it tomorrow. When I was being awaken at eight to go shoot guns