Chapter Twenty

Two Months:

Ranger watched the monitor and had to smile. Stephanie had been working hard since they'd returned from the Villa to get good. She still protested and hated exercising but she did it and he could see the improvement in her.

"Bombshell." He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. He shook his head. "All right, did you figure what you did wrong that time?"

"Yeah, I got close enough that Bobby could touch me."

"Bombshell, you can do this, work the moves."

Maybe whining would work. "Tank, I'm hungry."

Tank looked at his watch, looked at Steph and shook his head. "OK, one

more try and we break for lunch. After lunch you meet Lester on the gun

range, and you have a shift in the Comm. Room tonight, so don't forget

to get some rest today."

She looked at him and frowned. Then she moved back onto the mat, this time she did better, oh she still ended up on her back, but it took Bobby longer to get her there. Tank helped her up, Bobby gave her a hug.

"Steph, you're getting really good, not many people could last that long against any of us." Bobby said, before heading for the locker room.

Tank had his arm around her shoulder steering her to the elevator. He pushed her in and pushed the button for seven.

The doors closed. She leaned against the back wall, her eyes started closing, when the doors opened Ranger was standing there. She walked to him and leaned into him. He scooped her up and carried her into the apartment. The guys were working her hard. Tank had called him, to let him know how tired she looked, he had been afraid she might fall asleep on the elevator again, it wouldn't be the first time. He looked down at her, she was sleeping in his arms. He carried her to the bathroom. Then he started the shower.

"Babe, you need a shower. Ella will be up with your lunch in five." He kissed her lips softly and walked from the room knowing that if he stayed he'd end up in the shower with her and as much as he'd love to do just that he had work waiting for him on five.

Steph pulled off her clothes, the water felt great. When she was done she pulled on Ranger's robe. Then she walked out to the kitchen, her lunch was waiting on the counter with a note from Ranger, he had to go out but he'd be back for dinner.

She ate her lunch then, she went to the bedroom to change. Ranger wanted her to move in. As she looked in the closet for something to wear, she realized that for all practical purposes she already had. She couldn't remember the last time she'd spent a night alone at her old apartment. Most of her clothes were here and she spent most of her time in this building.

She sat on the bed and looked at the closet and then at the ring on her finger. There was no doubt she loved the man who had put it there. But the old fear kept resurfacing it was what Liz and she had spent most of the last month talking about.

Tonight she would talk to Ranger. She'd tell him that she was ready to return to work and that she was also ready to give up her apartment. She dressed and headed down to meet Lester. After two hours with Lester, during which he had her use a variety of different guns, he made her put them together, take them apart, shoot them until she was ready to scream. Lester announced the lesson over for today and she headed back up to the apartment, nap time. She woke to the phone ringing.

"Yo."

"Babe."

"Ranger."

"Babe, I'm not going to make it back for dinner. But Ella will be dropping it off in five, you need to eat then head down for your shift in the Comm. Room."

"OK"

"Babe, are you awake?"

"I'm awake Ranger. Will you be home when I get done, we need to talk."

The phone was silent for a minute. "Ranger are you still there?"

"Babe, you want to talk?"

"Ranger, I think we need to, don't you?"

"Sure Babe, I'll find you when I get back."

The phone went dead. Steph ate her dinner and went down to the Comm. Room, it wasn't bad working here, she just missed, being out, the adrenalin rush. She was in better physical shape then she'd ever been in and she was spending her time sitting in a chair, looking at monitors. Suddenly she could feel him, Ranger was in the building, the elevator doors opened. The hair on her neck prickled, she got Goosebumps on her arms. Her body knew whenever he was around and reacted.

"Babe."

Without looking up she answered. "Ranger."

"Jim, is taking over for you, lets go upstairs and talk." He wrapped his arms around her. The ride up in the elevator was quite. Ranger had his arms wrapped around her waist, and Steph leaned into him, her back to his front. Steph sighed this felt so right. The doors opened and they walked out, she waited for Ranger to open the door to the apartment. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She pulled back. He sighed, they walked to the couch, she sat, he stood leaning against the chair.

"Ranger, I'm going back to work tomorrow, I've already called Connie."

"Babe, you agreed to wait until your training was done."

"Ranger, I'm done, NOW." She felt the anger in her voice.

"Stephanie you're not ready yet." He ran his hands threw his hair. He just

wanted to keep her safe.

"Ranger, I'm telling you, I'm starting work tomorrow, you promised me you wouldn't try to change me. I asked for training and now you're using it to try to control me, NO MORE! I'll continue training, but I'm working also."

"Steph... Babe," He started pacing the room he needed to make her understand. "I don't want to change you, I love you, I just want to keep you safe."

"Ranger, you're smothering me, I can't do this anymore."

"Babe, please."

Stephanie walked past him, to the elevator. "Ranger, I love you, but I have to be me, and I don't want to spend my days sitting in front of monitors watching the action, and listening to the guys when they get back telling about what happened at a takedown, I want to be in the action, Ranger I still want to fly."

The elevator doors opened and she stepped inside. He watched as the doors closed. He opened his cell, and hit a button.

"Tank, she's on her way out, put a man on her."

Then he closed his phone and turned it off, he did not want to hear Tank's

advise. Tank had been telling him for a month that Mount Stephanie was about to blow. He had been right, now he needed to figure out a way to keep her safe while she was on the street. Not an easy thing when it came to Stephanie Plum. He shook his head, two months he had been trying to get her to set a date. He was all for just flying off and eloping, so far she had refused. Well at least she was wearing his rings, more than Morelli had ever accomplished, now if he could just get her to say the words.

He waited an hour. He knew that she had gone straight to her apartment and hadn't left.

He stood outside the door and waited. Then he inserted the slim tool into the door and opened it. Surprised that she had used the block he smiled and knocked on the door.

Stephanie opened the door chain in place. "What do you want?"

"Babe do you really want to leave things like this?"

"You just want to talk me out of going back to work."

"Babe are you going to let me in or are we going to talk like this with the whole 'burg' knowing our business." She knew he was right and closed the door and removed the chain.

They walked to the couch and sat. "Babe, you know I just want you safe. Will you agree to a compromise?"

Stephanie was leary.. "What do you propose?"

"Will you give it just one more month?"

Stephanie thought. One month was reasonable. She nodded.

"Now, will you come home with me Babe. I can't sleep without you." And he gave her a lust filled grin that made her panties wet.

Stephanie tilted her head. "You know we still need to talk."

Ranger nodded. He walked over to the couch and sat down pulling Stephanie down on his lap. As he started to talk, Steph put a finger on his lips.

"If you don't mind I'd like to start." Stephanie looked around the apartment and felt sad. There were so many memories here and she would miss them. She felt Ranger stiffen. "Ranger I've been thinking…"

Ranger slid Stephanie off of his lap and his blank face fell into place. "Babe, I'm sorry if I've made you sad…"

Stephanie let out a small giggle and climbed onto Ranger's lap. She put one hand on each side of his face. "I love you and what I wanted to tell you is that I've decided you're right, keeping this apartment is silly. I'm giving it up…"

"But you looked so sad…"

Stephanie looked around the apartment once more and a tear ran down her cheek. "Memories…you rescued me from the shower…"

"You were so fucking beautiful…remind me to thank Morelli someday."

"I was pinned under you and Grandma came into the room…"

Ranger smiled. "Good memories…but some aren't so good. Soder, dead on your couch."

Stephanie shuddered. "So I move in…"

Ranger kissed her softly. "And we set a date."

Stephanie nodded. They walked out of the apartment Ranger would send some guys the next day to clean it out. One phase of her life ended but she felt good about moving on.

Three months, three freaking months she was tired of this shit. She looked up at the ceiling and groaned.

"Get up Bomber, you almost had it that time."

"Fuck you Tank! You just want me to get up so you can toss me down again. I'll save you the work."

Tank had the nerve to laugh. "Bomber we both know if I even thought about you that way your boyfriend would cut off my balls and feed them to me." The he smiled. "And you know I like work."

"Bombshell, you going to get up or lay there all day?"

Stephanie pulled herself up and glared at Tank. Then she closed her eyes for a minute working hard to find her zone. Yeah she had a zone now she had to work hard to find it and she kept losing it which was frustrating as hell.

She opened her eyes and gave Tank a bare nod. This was it Stephanie Plum wasn't going to let any man tell her what to do and right now the man in question was one Ricardo Carlos Manoso the fact that he also happened to be her boss and lover didn't change the fact that she hated being told what she could do. Which was why she was here in the ring sparring with Tank, Ranger had made it clear that she was on Comm. Room duty until she passed the Rangeman test. And she was determined that today was going to be the day.

She wanted to be out on the streets, instead of in this gym, getting beat up by muscle men, ok, they weren't really beating her up. She was still sore, and had bruises all over her body.

For the last three months she learned more about weapons, takedown procedures and moves, then she'd ever believed possible. And every time she said she was

ready to get back to work Ranger threw more training at her. She knew he was

using training to keep her safe and off the streets, well enough was enough, today she planned on showing Ranger that she was ready. But first she had to bring down Tank, something that up to now she hadn't been able to do.

She would continue with the guys, but in the morning she was going to Vinnie and get a file, this girl was going back to work. Tank made the move she'd been waiting for and a moment later she had him pinned to the floor.

I wanted to stand up and do the snoopy dance but if I did Tank would get free and I wasn't about to let that happen. I looked up at the camera and gave it my biggest smile.

"I'm going back out on the streets tomorrow."

Ranger walked into the gym blank face in place. "You going to let him up?"

"Can I go and pick up some file tomorrow?"

Ranger gave a slight nod.

"And I can actually pick up said skip's not just do the freaking research on them?"

Ranger's lip curled up slightly. "Yes, Babe you passed your Rangeman test you can return to the streets."

Stephanie jumped up and flung herself onto him wrapping her legs around him and kissing his neck.. "I love you."

Ranger walked out of the gym and into the lift.

"Get a shower Babe." He put her down and pushed her toward the bathroom. "Ella will be up with your lunch. And don't forget, Lester will be waiting for you after lunch."

Stephanie rolled her eyes.

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Five weeks had past Stephanie had kept her word she picked up her file from Connie. Had one of the Rangeman as her partner except on those few repeats that she took Lula with her.

Stephanie had agreed that if she got an FTA that she thought might give her problem she would discuss it with Ranger or one of his A-team. Ranger looked up from the file Stephanie had handed him. Terry Thibodiex out on a $100,000 bond he was charged with Vehicular Manslaughter, he took out an entire family when he was out drunk driving, Then he turned the page and looked at the research Steph had done on him, she had learned, she no longer just went after a suspect to find out later that he was into some really bad things, with research she knew in advance.

Shit, Ranger knew that sooner or later it would happen. This was one seriously bad dude. Ranger looked over the file at Stephanie.

"You sure you don't want one of the guys to do this one?" He cocked an eyebrow at her.

She looked him in the eye. "Ranger, he's my FTA, I bring in my own."

"Babe."

"Ranger, I can do this I just need some back-up. I don't want Lula getting hurt."

"Babe, I don't want you getting dead."

"Are you going to help or not?" She sighed. She really didn't want to do this but no way was she backing down. She had never run from a skip and she wasn't going to start now.

Ranger looked at her. "Tank will be your partner. Bobby and Lester will be your team. Babe, you don't go near this guy alone."

She nodded. Terry had a bad background Rape, Mutilation, Murder, he'd also been busted for drugs, and gun running. He had never been convicted because witnesses disappeared. She agreed with Ranger she didn't want to be alone with this guy.

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Terry watched her enter her apartment, he had checked out the apartment earlier, a baby could break into it. He didn't understand how someone who was engaged to Ranger could live in such a place. He was relived that it was her and not Ranger who was after him. He knew Ranger's street rep, he would take her out, one less bounty hunter in the world, but he would have some fun first. He had already spotted her babysitters, a little night-night gas and they were out of action. Grabbing the bounty hunter had been too easy.

Now he had her cuffed to a bed in his hideout. He'd already given her a shot of drugs, by tomorrow she would be begging him for more.

Then he would start having fun.