Ranger and I returned to my apartment. My body was sore and bruised from collapsing on the ground after being stunned the second time, and I was still shaking with shock. All I wanted was a hot shower, a bag of brownies, and some time in my bed, in that order. Knowing Ranger, I would have to sneak the brownies. We got into the apartment and turned on the lights. The apartment seemed blessedly quiet, and I stepped into the hallway and sighed in relief to be home. "Come", said Ranger. He took my hand and tugged me into the bathroom. He gently undressed me and turned on the hot water in the shower. "I'll get you some clothes while you wash off", he said.

I whimpered as Ranger shut the door after me, and I let loose and sobbed as I stepped under the spray. Fifteen minutes later, I was cried out, which was a good thing since the hot water was getting cool. I quickly washed my face, body and hair, and turned off the water. Ranger opened the door as I pushed aside the shower curtain, and he took my towel off the rod and gently dried my skin.

He helped me into one of his t-shirts and a pair of clean panties – the comfortable kind – and led me out of the bathroom. "What do you want to do now?" he asked.

"Honestly? I'd like to go to bed and pretend this day never happened."

Ranger smiled. "Having you in my arms seems like a good idea to me as well." He tugged me into the bedroom and helped me down on the bed and, when I was settled, he finished in the bathroom and climbed into bed beside me. He turned out the light and cuddled in spoon-style.

"The fight between you and Kanye was brutal", I said quietly.

"Kanye was lucky that I didn't kill him", said Ranger. "I don't normally lose control like that. In fact, I don't think that I've ever lost control during an altercation before in my life or, at least, not since I was a kid. But when I saw him terrorizing you? Something in me just snapped."

"You pulled back before any permanent damage occurred."

"Thankfully", he said. "I didn't stop because of an awareness that I was hurting him. I didn't stop because of some belief that hitting him was wrong. I stopped because I knew it would upset you if I killed him. It would be what he'd deserve, but I thought you'd be upset anyway."

"That's true, I would. But I was still happy to see him get hurt. Does that make me a bad person?"

"No, babe. That makes you a normal person."

We were silent for a time, just appreciating the other's presence. Just as I was starting to relax, there was a loud banging on the door. I immediately tensed, and Ranger got up, grabbed his gun, and walked to the door. He looked out the peephole and sighed. "Babe? Mary Lou is here." He opened the door and Mary Lou walked in. Tear tracks were drying on her face as she pulled a suitcase behind her.

I hastily threw on a pair of yoga pants and walked through from the bedroom. "Mary Lou! What are you doing here?"

"I've had it with Lenny. I'm leaving him."

"But you have the life that you want. I thought that you were happy."

Ranger sighed. "I'll go to bed and let the two of you talk."

I smiled at Ranger, and he dropped his face down to kiss me, and he rubbed my shoulder at the same time. I watched him leave the room, happy that he slept only in his boxer briefs. It was concealing enough that we didn't have to be embarrassed by having Mary Lou see him, but revealing enough that I was able to appreciate his assets.

I turned to Mary Lou to see her appreciating his assets as well. I sighed. That was one of the problems of settling down with someone as hot as Ranger was. There was always someone appreciating his assets, whether it was Lula or Connie or even Vinnie at the office, or whether it was Mary Lou right now. Hell, even my grandmother appreciated his assets. Of course, she appreciated Harry Ernestine's assets as well, and he was about one hundred and eight years old, weighted about five hundred pounds and took up three seats on the pew at church.

"What's happening?" I asked Mary Lou.

"Lenny admitted to me tonight that he's been having an affair with Lizzie Lispen. How could he be having an affair on me? I've tried to do everything right. I got married after high school. I had the kids. I've stayed home. How could he be having an affair?"

"Lenny has been having affairs on you for as long as you've been married. Lizzie is just the last in a string of mistresses."

"Lenny is an overweight, crude asshole of a man. I don't want to be married to Lenny any longer. I want to be married to Ranger. I mean, Lenny made a pass at you tonight! I don't believe that Ranger would ever make a pass at someone if he was going out with you."

"I hope he wouldn't", I said. I trusted him. Mary Lou was right. He was a good man, and I didn't think that he'd cheat on me. And I didn't think that I'd cheat on him either. I couldn't ever imagine thinking that he wasn't enough, and unlike with Morelli, Ranger would make sure that I was so happy with him in all ways – physically and emotionally – that I wouldn't want to cheat on him either.

"Ranger is hot. Lenny isn't hot. Ranger is loyal. Lenny isn't loyal. Ranger is gentlemanly. Lenny isn't gentlemanly. Ranger is every girl's dream. Lenny is every girl's nightmare."

I had to agree with her, even though I wouldn't say it.

I opened a bottle of wine and poured glasses, and looked in dismay at the new pack of two-bite brownies that were in the freezer, sad that I would have to share. I had been planning on having them as a midnight snack when Ranger wasn't looking. I thought, after the day I had, that I deserved them. Then I thought about poor Mary Lou with her loser of a husband and decided she needed them more than me. I plated them and pulled out the can of whipped cream from the fridge. At least I would be able to justify eating several now that Mary Lou had given me an excuse. It would be for solidarity purposes.

I carried the snacks and wine through to the living room and put the tray on the coffee table. Mary Lou followed me in as I retrieved the box of tissues from the bathroom and put it beside the brownies. We had wine, chocolate, whipped cream and tissues. We were set for either a support session or an incredibly hot lovemaking session.

My eyes started to cross with the thought of whipped cream and chocolate and Ranger, and I was pulled rudely back to the conversation when Mary Lou said, "I mean, Lizzie Lispen? Lenny had been after me for years to keep my weight down. I've starved myself. I even ate celery for him, just because it had negative net calories. And I hate celery. Lizzie is a plump woman. If that's the type of woman that he likes, why have I been starving myself all these years?"

I didn't have the answer to that. I know that I wouldn't have starved myself for Lenny.

Mary Lou grabbed a brownie, sprayed on two inches of whipped cream, and shoved the brownie into her mouth. Apparently she also didn't think they deserved the name 'two-bite brownies' either. Like me, she thought they should be named 'one-bite brownies'.

"I even did that butt thing for him", she said, her mouth stuffed with brownies. "How could he cheat on me after I did the butt thing?"

Euww. Too much information. I didn't want to think about Mary Lou and Lenny doing anything, let alone the butt thing. I had the mental image of Lenny with his pants off, and I envisioned him with a hairy butt. I hated it when they had hairy butts. I'd seen a few butts when I had been skip chasing, and the people with hairy butts always grossed me out. I mean, do you grab a handful of hair when you're having sex with them?

I pushed the tissues towards her, and she took one and wiped her face. "So I was thinking that I'd start skip chasing and live with you for a while. My life is boring. Your life isn't boring. Think about it. We could be like Charlie's Angels."

Say what? I looked at her in shock and mentally reviewed the people that I was currently chasing. Having Mary Lou in on a few captures with Lula and me would make us more like the Three Stooges than Charlie's Angels, which sucked since I had always wanted to be like Jaclyn Smith. I tried to envision how we could ever be successful and came up empty.

"I have a partner already", I said.

"Lula? I've seen her around. I don't mind sharing a partnership with her. Come on, Steph, let me do it. It will be fun."

I blew out a breath. Mary Lou and I had been friends for twenty-five years. And friendships like that supported each other. As much as I thought it was a bad idea, it looked like I had another partner.

"We start first thing on Monday", I said. "Tomorrow, Ranger and I are transferring to his apartment. I'll be living there for the week. You can stay in my apartment."

"You don't mind?"

"No. Treat it as a crash pad. I don't mind at all."

"Fucking A. I can say that now that the kids aren't here. Fucking A. Fucking A. Fucking A." With each 'fucking' her voice was getting louder and, as she finished her wine and poured herself another glass, I could see her gaze becoming increasingly unfocused. I wondered how much she'd had to drink before she had arrived at my apartment.

"How did you get here?" I asked.

"I drove", said Mary Lou.

"Are you sure that you were safe to drive?"

"Absolutely. You know that I can handle my alcohol."

"We'll start skip chasing on Monday", I said. "Don't have anything to drink tomorrow. I need you perfectly cognizant and on your toes on Monday, and if you've been drinking the day before you will be a danger to Lula and me."

"Aye, aye, captain", said Mary Lou. She gave a little wiggle of happiness in her seat. "This will be fun."

I had the sneaking suspicion that it would be a lot of things, but fun it wouldn't be.

I topped up her wine glass and retrieved a set of sheets and a spare pillow. I made up the bed. "We'll talk more in the morning", I said, and I took my wine glass and put it in the kitchen. As Mary Lou stuffed the last brownie in her mouth, she looked disappointed to not see any more. I could understand her dismay. I left her as she was spraying the whipped cream directly into her mouth.

I walked into the bedroom and shut my door. I climbed into bed, and Ranger rolled over and pulled me into a spoons position. "Everything okay, babe?" he said quietly.

"Not really", I said. "Mary Lou has talked me into letting her chase skips with me on Monday. I give her one day before she is begging to go back to Lenny again." I could feel Ranger smile as he kissed me on my shoulder. "I told her that we were moving back to your apartment tomorrow, and that she could stay in my place. I hope that was okay."

"That's fantastic", he said. "So we'll move Rex over tomorrow morning?"

"Yes."

"I think Rex is starting to think of my place as being home for him."

"You do?" I smiled, but I had to agree with Rex. I was starting to think of Ranger's place as being home as well, and that scared me a bit. We hadn't had any serious conversations about our future. Yes, I knew that Ranger wanted me to live with him, but did he see our relationship as one that would last?

I sighed. I didn't know the answer to that, and I knew that I wouldn't figure out the answer in the next five minutes, and that was how long I had before I fell on my face asleep. Stick a fork in me, I was done. Ranger pulled me tighter to him, rested his hand on my breast and sighed. Seconds later, I was asleep.