I know this was supposed to be the date/story chapter; however, I've decided to add a chapter of flashbacks as to how each started to fall for the other. I hope it's okay to do it this way… I didn't want to go back, start over, and re-write all I already had.
As Zero drove to the restaurant, he zoned out thinking about how he began falling for Stephanie.
She'd been working at RangeMan for six month; mostly part time, but there were times that she was there most of the week. Zero and Stephanie had been partnered up on stakeouts a few times as well as monitor duty.
Zero found himself checking the schedule every morning to see if Steph was due to come in and his heart would begin to race when they had a shift scheduled together. Zero would find reasons to get Stephanie to talk just so he could hear her voice.
Once after a particularly long surveillance about a week before her disappearance, he asked her out to dinner. He was thrilled when she said yes and wanted to find some place secluded so they could have time together; just the two of them without prying eyes.
They'd gone out to a Thai food place just outside Trenton and sat in the back corner. After ordering their food, Zero sat across from Stephanie and found it difficult to concentrate on what she was saying. He was too lost in watching her mouth move, watching her tongue dart out to wet her lips.
After they had finished dinner, they walked around town for a little bit, just window shopping and talking. It had gotten late and the wind picked up. Stephanie had forgotten her jacket in Zero's truck and when she shivered, Zero took his jacket off and draped it around her shoulders, pulling her close to him.
That was the first time he'd had the urge to kiss and touch her. He fought the urge for fear of her shooting him down. He knew that she had feelings for their boss, and he really didn't want to be taken to the mats for making a move on Ranger's woman.
After they made their way back to the truck, Zero helped Stephanie in and handed her the seatbelt. When he reached the driver side, he noticed that she had slid to the middle of the bench seat and buckled up there. Starting up the truck, Zero fastened his own seatbelt and looked over at Steph, "Ready?" he asked.
She smiled and nodded to him. On the way back to her apartment, she had laid her head on Zero's shoulder and closed her eyes. Zero stiffened for a moment; not sure if she was sleeping or not but loving the feel of her head on his shoulder. When they pulled into her parking lot, Zero kissed her head to wake her up.
When Stephanie lifted her head, Zero was met with the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. "Thanks for the use of your coat and shoulder. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you."
"That's okay," replied Zero, "You can fall asleep on me anytime." Realizing what he'd just said, his cheeks turned a light red. He decided he needed to get her up to her apartment before he said anything else to embarrass himself.
Walking around to the passenger side of the truck, he opened the door and helped Stephanie out. Keeping a hand at the small of her back, he led her into the building and over to the elevator.
Stephanie looked at him and raised her eyebrows in questions. "You are tired and I know you don't like stairs. I don't mind the elevator." As the doors opened, he let her step in first and hit the button for her floor.
When they reached her door, Zero took her keys from her hand and unlocked the door. Leaving her in the hall, he checked her apartment and found nothing out of the ordinary. Once he escorted Stephanie inside, he stood in her kitchen. He knew he should leave, but he wasn't ready to be alone just yet. Luckily, it didn't seem like Stephanie was either as she asked him, "Would you like something to drink?"
Zero turned to her and nodded. Once they had drinks in their hands, they headed to the couch and sat down. Stephanie took her shoes off and groaned. "What's the matter?" asked Zero.
Stephanie looked at her feet and back up at Zero. "My feet are so sore. They feel like I've been walking all day long without a break."
Zero decided to act on that. He reached down, grabbed her legs, and placed her feet in his lap. He began massaging them, working out the kinks. He worked on her feet and up her calf. Hearing her moan at the sensation caused his pants to tighten and he hoped she hadn't realized it.
"Oh God, Zero, that feels so damn good." Stephanie leaned back and closed her eyes, giving over to the sensations he was providing. "Oh yeah, right there," she murmured. "Mmm, yessssss, don't stop."
Zero sat there listening and trying hard to keep his body from responding to the sounds and words coming from her mouth. The more he rubbed her feet, the louder she became, and the harder he found himself.
Finally, he had to stop rubbing her feet for fear of coming in his pants like a teenager. He tried to find some way to excuse himself without her seeing the effect she was having on him. If he had any hint that she was as into him as he was her, then he'd have made a move on her, but instead, he thought she was one hundred percent in love with Ranger, so he willed his erection to go away before he had to stand up.
Stephanie sat up and kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you for that, my feet feel a lot better. I'll be back in a second." She stood up and left the living room. Once she was out of sight, Zero reached down and adjusted himself thinking, "Shit, this isn't going to go away easily." Zero decided he needed to head home and take care of the problem himself, which is exactly what he did.
Stephanie looked over at Zero while he drove, obviously lost in his own thoughts. As she sat there staring at him, she thought back over how things changed between them.
Stephanie remembered waking up in the hospital; Zero's face and voice were the first things she remembered. Even though she didn't know him at the time, she felt safe, like she knew he wouldn't hurt her.
When she slept, he was always there, holding her hand or laying next to her. He kept the demons away, he kept her smiling, he kept her safe. When she left the hospital, she wondered how long Zero would be there to help her. He'd promised she could stay at him place and that he'd go to her therapy appointment with her.
At the first therapy appointment, Stephanie found herself wishing she could remember more about Zero. When Stephanie told the therapist what she could remember about the attack and what she'd remembered since she woke up, Zero was there holding her hand, rubbing circles across her knuckles with his thumb. At first, she thought that gesture was odd; however she soon found it comforting.
After the therapy appointment, Zero took her back to his house and made her dinner. As she sat and watched him, she began to wonder what it would be like if this were an everyday occurrence. She found herself wanting a life with a husband, a home, a dog, and maybe kids.
Zero caught her staring at him and smiled. "What's the look, Belle?"
Blushing, she looked down at the counter top and shrugged, "Just thinking."
Zero came over to her and tipped her chin up, "Good thoughts, I hope."
Stephanie tried to avoid telling him what she was thinking, "What's for dinner?"
Zero laughed and turned back to the stove, "Nice distraction technique. But, don't think I'll let it go for good." Dipping the spoon in the sauce, he blew on it to cool it, and turned back to Stephanie. "Here, try this."
She closed her eyes and tasted the sauce on the spoon. "Oh my, that is delicious."
Zero smiled, "Good, it's just about done. I'm making my mother's Chicken Parmigiana. I don't make it often, so I hope it turns out well."
After dinner, they went to the porch swing. Stephanie placed her crutches up against the house and relaxed into the swing. Feeling Zero sit down next to her, she opened her eyes as he reached an arm around her.
Leaning her head on his shoulder, she sighed, "Thank you, again, for letting me stay here. I know you didn't need a burden, so I'm sor…"
Zero placed his finger on her lips. "Shh. Don't apologize. If I didn't want to have you here, if I didn't want to help you heal, I wouldn't have asked you to come here. I knew what I was getting into and I enjoy having you here. Don't ever doubt that."
After getting ready for bed that night, Stephanie slid to the head of the bed, making sure to prop her leg up, and waited for Zero to join her. When he sat down next to her, he grabbed her hand.
"Thank you for a wonderful evening," he whispered.
"I should be thanking you," she said. "I don't remember a guy ever cooking for me. And your porch swing, ohmigod, I love it. I love sitting outside, swinging, and enjoying the breeze."
"I'll cook for you anytime, Steph."
Stephanie turned and smiled at him. She saw love in his eyes and that shocked her for a moment. She had a feeling that there was someone else in her life, but thought if that were true, where was this person? Why wasn't he here with her and better yet, if there was someone in her life, why wasn't she at home with him?
Two days before she got her cast off, Stephanie looked at Zero and realized she was falling for him. She had remembered about Ranger and what he'd said, she'd remembered about Joe and what he'd done and she realized neither of them were in her life for the long haul.
Zero had been there since she woke up, and if she thought about it, he'd been there since before the attack. She remembered sitting in her apartment with him many nights, just watching a movie, talking, or playing board games.
He knew all about her and he was still around. She know as much of his past as she was allowed to know. If she asked him a question, he answered it to the best of his ability. He never once harped on her about her job, instead, he helped her get better.
Stephanie pictured her future and in it, she saw her and Zero standing in a back yard with a dog running round chasing a toddler. When she turned her head to look at Zero, she saw him standing there with an infant in his arms.
"Steph?" asked Zero, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"Are you okay? I heard you gasp."
"I'm fine. I was just thinking of something." Stephanie looked around and realized they were in the parking lot of the Thai place they had first gone to have dinner. "Oh, Jacob, this is perfect. I've not been here since that one surveillance shift."
Zero smiled and angled out of the truck. Opening up her door, he held a hand to help her down. "Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?"
Blushing, she replied, "Not in past thirty minutes."
"Well, then," he whispered close to her ear, "let me tell you again and again and again." He kissed just below her ear and felt her shiver. "Are you cold?" laughed Zero.
"No, actually, I'm quite warm."
Zero wrapped an arm around her waist and nodded to the door, "Shall we go have dinner?"
"Of course. I can't wait for my story."
Zero opened the door and followed behind Stephanie. Once they were seated, and the food was ordered, Zero began his story.
I hope this helped explain some of how they each started to fall for the other. I'm sorry that it was left out of the previous chapters. Let me know what you think. I promise the next chapter WILL be the date and story of how Zero got his name.