AN: Apologies for the delay in posting. I am on holidays! So am enjoying some other activities (going whale-watching today!), and posting only irregularly. :-) Warning for a little more smut in this chapter… ;-)

Disclaimer: Story told from Stephanie's POV. I own nothing, just playing with JE's world.


Chapter 29.

I sat in Ranger's car trying very hard not to hyperventilate. We were sitting outside the restaurant in Trenton where Bobby and his fiancé Cathy were about to hold their rehearsal dinner. I wasn't coping well at the thought of facing all the Rangeman friends I had left behind almost a year ago. God, I hope they forgive me. Ranger was rubbing my back soothingly, and whispering that they were going to be happy to see me, but it wasn't really working. I knew Tank and Lester already knew I was coming as Ranger's 'plus one' but I was really nervous and worried about Bobby's reaction.

We had driven to New York the next day after our sky diving adventure, and Ranger had continued his efforts to surprise me. We had driven down in his Ferrari – who knew Ranger had a Ferrari! – and we arrived at The Peninsular New York hotel. The sheer luxury of the suite that Ranger had booked blew my mind, I was pretty sure I could fit my entire apartment into the bathroom. I had never experienced anything like it before in my life. Ranger had arranged for an afternoon at the hotel's spa, and I was completely boneless after the pampering, but I forced myself to dress myself in the stunning turquoise Versace one-shoulder dress he left on the bed with matching Manolo Blahnik pumps. He took me to dine at an exquisite restaurant where I once again felt like a princess.

The second day in New York started with our early appointment with Janice. I had been extremely nervous, but my fears appeared to be unfounded as Ranger relaxed into the session quite quickly, and Janice had praised us both for our efforts at communication via the letters and our attempts to explore some of the difficult issues and challenges in our relationship. I had been amused at Janice's stifled reaction to Ranger – she had masked her shock quickly, but the widened eyes and tiny gasp had given her away. I guess that the video-chat sessions had not done him justice, but a woman would have to be dead not to react to Ranger's allure when faced with his raw sexuality.

After our appointment, Ranger's next surprise had been a gourmet 'tasting tour' through Chinatown and Little Italy. I had been in heaven sampling the foods and hearing the fascinating history titbits that the tour guide had shared. Our second night we relaxed in our suite, enjoying the Jacuzzi tub and ordering a decadent room service meal. It was topped off with the best chocolate mousse I had ever eaten, but I managed to surprise Ranger with my new way to eat it! He agreed that desserts could be amazing…

Each night had been unforgettable, as Ranger took me to new heights of passion and drove me to almost constant orgasms for hours in the sumptuous bed. We were unable to get enough of each other but neither of us had any complaints. My quota of Ranger-induced orgasms was being topped up, but I was beginning to realise how hard it was going to be when he left me this time. When he left for Atlanta, I knew it was going to be the hardest farewell yet.

Our last full day in New York, Ranger had managed to completely surprise me. He had arranged for a two-hour class in the morning at the New York Trapeze School! We had spent two hours learning to fly! I was shocked that Ranger had wanted to do the class with me, but he really seemed to enjoy it, and of course his natural athleticism meant he did it well. I had been somewhat less graceful at first, but by the end of the class, even I was managing to fly from the bar to catch the flyer's hands. I fell a few times, but I learned quickly that the falls into the net were not painful. Falling even seemed to help, as I gained confidence once I was sure that I could fall and be OK. The experience had been almost as good as skydiving and Ranger's efforts to help me live out my dream to fly had brought me to tears. No other man in my life, not even my father, had ever done so much to help me fulfil my dreams. My heart felt like it would burst as I tried to show Ranger how much I loved him for it.

In the afternoon, I had left Ranger at the hotel for a couple of hours to travel to my stylist appointment. We had discussed my dilemma of trying to protect my cover in Boston, while looking like myself in Trenton, and my stylist had put a temporary colour through my hair to bring it almost back to my natural colour, and then taught me three different up-styles that I could enhance with a curling iron to simulate my natural hair. I had taken out my contacts, and I was amazed at how easy it seemed to take me back to the Stephanie Plum look with a few simple, professional tricks. My stylist had also given me a few outfits for my 'Stephanie look', including a gorgeous sapphire blue silk dress for the wedding.

In terms of going back to looking like Stephanie Plum, I seemed to be all set. Now if only I could find the courage to go back to Trenton, I would really be set.

"Babe?" I looked over at him, still trying to regulate my breathing. "We really need to get inside Babe. I am one of the groomsmen for this wedding."

I nodded and allowed Ranger to get out of the car to come around to open my door. I had been surprised, although I'm not sure why I was surprised, when Ranger had informed me he was to be a groomsman, along with Tank, while Lester was the best man. If I had thought about it, it was totally logical, but I was still surprised when Ranger told me he was in the wedding. I had been even more anxious when I thought that I would not be able to sit with Ranger at the wedding or the reception, but Ranger had somewhat relieved my fears when he told me it wasn't going to be a formal reception, but more of a cocktail party with finger foods and no assigned seating. Ranger had promised to seat me with Hal and Cal and their dates and Tank's girlfriend in the church.

Ranger took my arm to lead me into the restaurant, and I continued to fight down the dread of facing Bobby, who could have every reason to resent my sudden appearance at his wedding after a nearly year-long absence from his life. I took a deep breath as we walked into the restaurant. The murmurs of noise gradually dimmed as we walked towards the tables already full of burly Rangemen and their dates, with a group of family members for Bobby and Cathy. The Rangemen had open mouths, while the women and family members seemed bemused and a little confused at the sudden, shocked silence that fell over the tables.

Then I heard a delighted shriek of "Stephanie!" and I braced myself as Ella leapt up and barrelled over to throw her arms around me. Tears welled in my eyes as I hugged Ella, but she wasn't allowed to monopolize me for long, as I started to be passed around on a bewildering merry-go-round of bone-crushing hugs and ecstatic greetings. I sighed in joy as I felt Tank's massive arms around me, and the tears trickled down my cheeks, ruining my mascara as Bobby grabbed me and swung me around with his own crushing hug. Ranger watched in amusement as all the Rangemen took turns greeting me, and babbled questions at both of us that we didn't even attempt to answer in the melee.

Finally Ranger called for order and slid his arm back around me, and led me to the table telling everyone to remember that this was Bobby and Cathy's night. After that, the meal proceeded on track for the couple and we deflected questions about how we had reconnected and where I had been by continuing to draw the focus back to Bobby and Cathy. Lester and Tank helped as much as they could by initiating funny stories about Bobby and his times in the Army and at Rangeman.

After the formal part of the evening was concluded, I whispered to Ranger and walked over to ask Cathy if I could 'borrow' Bobby for a while. She agreed with a smile, and I led Bobby over to the bar, and ordered us both a glass of champagne so I could toast his upcoming wedding. I was toying with my glass, trying to think of how to start my conversation with Bobby when he spoke.

"So, I know Lester and Tank pretty well, and I can tell they weren't surprised to see you like everyone else. Wanna tell me how they knew? Come to that, how did Ranger find you? And why didn't he tell me?"

I sighed, "Ranger ran into me by accident a few months ago. I'm living near Boston and he was in my area on Rangeman business. It was a complete coincidence. But I'm living there under a new name and identity that need to be kept confidential, as I have clauses in my employment contract. So Ranger couldn't tell anyone. But our initial… reconnection… didn't go very well. Ranger was being… Ranger… and I've been trying to move on to rebuild my life. Having therapy and trying to work my shit out. So he screwed up things pretty royally and I basically told him he was an asshole and to get lost."

I sipped my champagne before continuing, "Well, you know he started drinking himself into an early grave, and that's kinda the reason. Lester stumbled onto a couple of pieces of info about me while Ranger was passed-out drunk one night that helped him and Tank to track me down. So he came to see me and helped convince me to talk to Ranger again. We started writing to one another and we've kinda been rebuilding our relationship I guess. I've managed to get him to start opening up to me, and we've been trying to go a bit slower and trying to work out all our crap together to build something solid I hope. I've even managed to talk him into some therapy with me…"

I looked up at Bobby. His head was turned toward the table where Cathy was sitting and his expression was unreadable. "Bobby, I… I'm so sorry for everything I did that hurt you. When I left Trenton I was a mess, and my employment is… unusual. So I kinda had to cut ties with everyone back here. But I know that I hurt a lot of people, including you guys at Rangeman. I'm sorry that Ranger and I didn't tell you we had reconnected, but things are still pretty new between us, and like I said, my work is kinda tricky. He asked me to come with him to the wedding a while back, but I had to figure it out with my bosses and work out the logistics…"

I took another deep breath, "If you… if you don't want me at your wedding tomorrow, I'll understand. It's totally your call, and I won't let Ranger interfere or override your decision. But I hope you can forgive me eventually. I'd love to dance at your wedding and toast you and Cathy, if you will let me."

Tears were threatening again, and I had turned away from Bobby to try and hide them. I could see Ranger looking increasingly anxious as he watched us across the room. Suddenly I felt myself being swept up into another rib-cracking hug by Bobby, and I turned back to face him.

"Bomber, I'd be honoured to have you dance at my wedding," he assured me. "I wish I knew that you and Ranger were seeing each other again, but only because I want you both to be happy. Maybe I should have known, seeing the change in Ranger the last couple of months, but I guess I have had other things on my mind!" I smiled at him. "I'm glad about the therapy too, although totally shocked you managed that. I've been trying to get him to go since we left the Army, but he just wouldn't. Guess you're more important to him than his pride, just so you know that."

He continued, "If I had known where you were, I would have sent you your own invitation to the wedding. So of course I want you to come. It will be the icing on the cake for me."

I couldn't help as a tear slid down my cheek again, and I hugged him and kissed his cheek. I took a shaky breath, "Well then, you'd better get back to your lovely bride and your families. I've monopolised the groom enough. Thank you for inviting me Bobby. Save me a dance tomorrow?"

"Count on it Steph." He kissed my cheek and walked back to Cathy. Moments later, I felt another arm slide around my waist, and I turned, surprised, as I could see Ranger talking to Cathy's father. I smiled up at Tank.

"God it's good to see you Steph," he said. "You had us really worried this last year little girl."

I felt guilty at that, "I know Tank and I'm really sorry for that. Ranger told me how you had all searched for me, and I know it must have been difficult. I made a lot of mistakes, but I have been trying to rebuild my life. I've been trying to figure out a lot of my shit…"

Tank grunted, "I wasn't thinking it was all on you little girl, he's pretty screwed up too." I chuckled at that. "I'm not mad at you Steph, I understand that you needed to get right away from all the shit here. I'm just glad you've both finally pulled your heads outta your asses and you're trying to figure things out. I hope it works out for you two. It's been a long time coming."

I smiled a slightly misty smile at him and took a deep breath, "So where's this amazing girlfriend I've heard so much about? I wanted to meet her."

Tank smiled goofily, "Emergency at her clinic, dog got hit by a car. But she'll definitely be there tomorrow, I've got you sittin' beside her at the wedding. Hopin' you'll keep an eye on her for me while I'm up there in the monkey suit."

I grinned, "Oh sure. I've got tons of stories to keep her entertained. My favourite is the porn shop lady and her lethal knee… Arghhh!" I yelped as Tank swept me up in his arms and swung me around. "Uncle! Uncle!" He set me back down with a big grin, gave me a kiss on my cheek and sauntered off."

This time the arms that came around me were Lester's. "Beautiful, I've got to hand it to you. You're amazing." I quirked my eyebrow at him enquiringly. "I would never have believed you could have turned everything around with him so quickly. He's a different person from a couple of month ago. And he told me you'd talked him into therapy which we've all been trying to do for years. And he hasn't had a drop of alcohol in his place since the day he read your letter, not even wine. So you're amazing, honey."

I smiled at Lester, "I'm so glad you tracked me down the way you did and talked me into writing to him again. It was the best decision I've ever made and I don't know if I would have got there without you. So thank you Les."

He gave me a smacking kiss on my lips, and I felt an arm come around my waist to pull me back against a hard body I recognised. "Mine!" Ranger growled, "Get your own!" Lester just grinned at us both, and walked away chuckling. I turned in his arms and shook my head at him amusedly. He responded with a passionate kiss that lasted until I heard a few catcalls and a couple of whistles from some of the braver Rangemen. When Ranger looked up with a scowl, they all tried to look innocent, with little success. Finally, he relented and grinned at them.

The rest of the evening went by in a blur of catch-up conversations and reminiscences. I even had a stilted half-conversation with Hector, who still managed to convey his pleasure that I was OK and his admiration for how well I had hidden. When we finally left the restaurant, I was feeling enormously relieved and very happy that I had managed to reconnect with my friends. I had missed them so.

The next day at the wedding, I felt breathless every time I looked at Ranger in his Tuxedo. He was phenomenally, gorgeously edible and I had to check several times for drool. I could see several other women looking at him longingly, as well as the three other delicious men beside him. I felt like standing up and shouting that they were all taken except Lester! I sat beside Soo-jin, Tank's new girlfriend and found her to be a warm and sweet woman, who obviously adored animals as much as Tank did. They seemed to be well-matched, despite the difference in their sizes and backgrounds. I did manage to share a couple of Tank stories with Soo (as she told me to call her) although I steered clear of any that involved Lula, not knowing what Tank had told Soo.

The reception was fun, as I ate the delicious hors d'oeuvre that were circulating, plus a large piece of the heavenly, luscious wedding cake, and I sipped the French champagne that I suspected Ranger had supplied. Most of the Rangemen and a few of their dates all told me that I was looking great, and we chatted and I tried to dodge their questions about where I had been and what I had been doing. I escaped to dance with Ranger, and we moved together like we were made to dance. I also danced with Bobby, Tank, Cal, Hal, Hector, and with Lester twice. Ranger danced with Cathy and Soo and Bobby's mother, but other than that seemed to ignore the women who tried to flirt with him, instead watching me like a hawk as I danced with the Rangemen. I had a fantastic evening, and I felt like I was floating on air as we drove back to our hotel. I had asked Ranger if we could stay in a hotel, as I didn't feel quite ready to stay with him at Haywood Street yet.

As we walked into the luxury suite, Ranger turned me in his arm and pressed me back against the door. He growled at me as he ran his hands over my silk-clad body. Several minutes later my lips were much puffier, and I was wearing only my panties, and Ranger was wearing only his trousers, before he lifted me and carried me to the king-size bed. His mouth continued to drive me crazy and my gasps and moans seemed to drive him on until he ripped my panties from my body and dove into the Promised Land with his hungry mouth. I climaxed as his tongue and teeth grazed over my clit, and continued to come in shuddering gasps as he sucked and drank from my centre.

He stood briefly to divest himself of his dress trousers, before he moved over me to position himself at my entrance. We looked into each other's' eyes without speaking, allowing our passion and our love to speak for us, as he slowly pushed into me. The passion continued to build as we held our gaze and he began to move within me more rapidly, until we exploded together and rainbow lights seemed to dance in front of my eyes. He collapsed onto me for a couple of minutes, before rolling over and bringing me over on top of him, still joined with me intimately. I could feel him hardening again inside me, and I smiled wickedly into his eyes as I began clenching my inner muscles to squeeze and tease him. He smiled back and slid one hand down to tease my clit, while the other began to pinch and rub at my nipples. I felt myself building quickly to another orgasm as we moved together in ecstasy.

When I finally fell asleep a couple of hours later, my last hazy thought had been that it was a magical evening, topped off with several Ranger-induced orgasms to put the icing on my cake!


AN: I hope you will review, I love your reviews. Next chapter is more reunions, ML, grandma and the parents. Not sure yet how the reunion with her mother could go – probably angsty I am thinking…