***NOT MINE…WISH THEY WERE, BUT THEY BELONG TO JANET EVANOVICH. ALTHOUGH I LIKE TO PLAY WITH THEM ANY CHANCE I GET. ******

STEPH POV

I sat on the sofa in Ranger's apartment…our apartment...watching as Hector and Zip carried in Bruce and my things. Ranger was setting up the portable crib again, while Ella directed the guys while holding Bruce tightly in her arms. I waved a goodbye to Zip and Hector as they walked out the door, smiling when Hector winked and blew me a kiss.

"Steph, is it alright that I give him a bottle?" Ella asked, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

"Of course, Ella." I knew that Ella hadn't had any children, and that playing with a baby was heaven. Personally I was thankful that Ella was so excited about caring for him, because I was exhausted, achy and emotionally drained.

"How about I bring him down to my apartment and let you two have some time alone. I can bring him back up when dinner is ready." Her smile widened as I nodded gratefully.

Ranger came and sat down next to me, draping his arm over the back of the sofa and kissing me lightly on the lips.

"How are you doing, Babe?" He asked.

"Tired, mostly." I shrugged. He nodded his head and sunk into the cushions of the sofa tightening his arm around me so that I was leaning against him.

"You help me make up a list of things that you and Bruce are going to need, and then you can take a nap until dinner. You need your rest."

"I can do that." I pushed away from him to stand, walking towards the pile of gear that my father had brought for us. "I don't even know what's in here entirely. Daddy brought it. I guess that he has been making an 'emergency kit' for us for months." I sighed, shaking my head. The guilt over making my dad hurt the way that he had was overwhelming. Ranger stood, walking towards me to wrap his arms around me.

"Babe. Don't make your Dad's show of affection and concern into something negative. He loves you and cares and worries about you." He squeezed me gently. "Let see what Grandpa brought for our little Batman, shall we?"

I laughed as he kissed the top of my head and released me from his embrace. We went through everything, making a list of things that we will need for the immediate future. Ranger had gotten a legal pad and pen from his office and while sitting at the kitchen counter, I began to write everything down. As I was writing down some clothes that I would need, Ranger clicked his tongue at me.

"What?" I said, poking him playfully. "I need clothes. I can't walk around naked. I don't need much, but I need some things."

"Babe. I would be happy if you walked around naked. Ella has filled an entire closet with clothes for you." He smiled.

"I can't wear FMPs, slut clothes and a Rangeman uniform my entire life, Ranger." I smirked. "I'm a mommy now." I laughed out loud as Ranger put on a fake pouty face. "Really?" I smacked him playfully. "I can still wear them, but I can't run around at the park looking like a hooker, or a hitman."

"As long as you still wear it for me." He kissed my cheek.

"Of course."

"We will have to arrange for your things to be brought over from…where you used to live." Ranger paused uncomfortably at the mentioning of my home.

"There is nothing really there. Joe burned all of my clothes, except for those he thought were appropriate for his wife to wear. Rex is dead, and everything else he gave to good will. Bruce doesn't have anything at the house either. Joe refused to spend any money on him, so all the things that I had gotten for him were hand me downs or donated."

A low growl echoed through Ranger's chest. "Steph, did he ever put his hands on our boy?" He looked me in the eyes; his own were black as pitch and seething. "I need to know if that...man…ever put his hands on my boy."

"Carlos." I placed my hands on either side of his face. "Joe never put his hands on our son. He never held him, never fed him, and tucked him in or anything. He saved all his fight for me, and I was very thankful for that."

He pulled me into his arms for a quick embrace before putting me at arm's length. "Can I see what he did to you, Babe?"

I nodded. "Not here. I don't want anyone walking in and seeing it." I lowered my head, embarrassed and ashamed. He stood, taking my hand and lead me into the bedroom, closing the door behind us. I stood a few feet in front of the bed, eyes fixed on the floor and toeing the carpet with my boot nervously. Ranger's hands gently lay on my shoulders.

"Babe." His tone reflecting a plethora of questions. I don't know how he does it, but that man can say more with one word then I could in a week.

"It's okay." I nodded my head, gulping loudly. "I want you to know." He walked in front of me, sitting at the edge of the bed. I felt a little self-conscience as I began to lift my t-shirt over my head. I could hear his teeth grind together as he took in the bruises and bandaged bite marks. He leaned over, touching them tenderly with the pads of his fingers. He reached for the corner of one of the bandages and looked up at me quirking his eyebrows in question.

"Yeah." I whispered. He peeled the tape back slowly, gasping as he saw the bite marks gouged into my skin. Joe was always one to get a little rough in the sack, but add resistance to it and he got downright nasty. I looked down at the exposed mark, wincing as I could easily make out every tooth mark.

"Babe?" He motioned for me to lift my booted foot. I obliged, steadying myself with my hands on his shoulders. When both boots were off he reached for the buttons of my jeans. I took a deep breath as he inched them down, taking in the finger prints, hand prints and even more bandaged bite marks. Removing them completely, he set them gently on the bed next to him where my shirt was laying.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, covering my face with my hands. I was so ashamed, so hurt and incredibly embarrassed to have him see me like this. He stood quickly, hands firmly on my upper arms.

"Don't." He growled. "Don't you dare apologize for what he did to you?"

Tears sprung to my eyes. "I shouldn't have fought so hard against him. He would have just done his business and gone to sleep, but…NO! I had to push him." My head reeled with all the "what-if" and "should-haves".

"Babe!" Ranger yelled, trying to break through my tirade. Flicking my eyes back to his which were intensely staring back. "I am glad you fought back. I'm glad that you still have that in you to fight. Don't put yourself down for being strong enough."

"But you don't understand. I don't usually fight. I usually just do whatever I can to keep him happy. I would just let the beatings happen, for fear that he would move onto Bruce." I was sobbing hysterically. "He threatened Bruce, Ranger. He told me that he was going to drop him off at some fucking foster home, or in the river. I would rather die than have anyone harm him. He's my angel. He is the only reason why I have not killed myself this past fucking year. As long as I had him, I had a part of you!" I wasn't even sure if I was making sense anymore. My brain was exploding with memories of Joe's tirades, his beatings, and the verbal abuse. Ranger curled me into his arms as he sat on the bed, rocking gently back and forth. He was whispering something to me, but I couldn't hear past the buzzing in my head.

It seemed like hours but I am sure that it was minutes before I gained control over myself again. Ranger still held onto me, whispering something in Spanish to me. I wiped my eyes and face of the tears and stared into space.

"Babe?" Ranger's voice was wavering and soft, as if he was having a hard time controlling what was going to be said. I looked up at him. His face was taut and hard. "I don't think that I will be able to let him live much longer."

"At this point, Ranger, I would help you dump the body." I touched his face and watched as he leaned into my hand.

"I would never let you do that, Babe." He said smirking. "Plus, we have an incinerator in the basement. There would be no need."

I shook my head, "Only you, Ranger. Only you."

We sat like that, me in my bra, panties and socks and Ranger in his black dress pants, and white button up shirt, on his bed embracing. When a yawn escaped my lips, Ranger laid me down under the covers in his bed, stripped to his boxers and curled up behind me. I fell asleep the moment his arms wrapped around me and slept better than I had since he left all those months ago.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I would like to thank you all for all of the positive feedback that you have been giving me. I appreciate it greatly, and have been motivated to keep this story up to date. I would like to apologize for the long wait between Chapters 8 and 9 but there were a lot of crazy things happening in the Real world for me. The next chapter will involve Gabi more, as Steph and Ranger need some time to sort things out. Don't worry…Joe will not be left unharmed. He will get what is coming to him.