A/N: It might come to you as a surpise, but depite me having said over and over again that 41 chapters is the amount I have written, this actually isn't it. After the last chapter so many people kept asking about Helen and more or Morelli and aslo more of the babe relationship that I basically decided on writting an additional chapter. I am Which... as you might notice leaves a lot of potential in regards of additions. So... this story will continue for a few more chapters. And I might need a new epilogue since the originally written one might not work anymore:) You're welcome. Also... a quick word promoting a FB group (i shamelessly copy the suggested text since I'm too lazy making up the words myself:

"Check out the Facebook group dedicated to Janet Evanovich Fan Fiction authors and readers. Janet Evanovich Fan Fiction is the name of the group. If you search by name please filter by group. The purpose is to connect fans with writers and expand interest in the Fandom."

Why had I been thinking an expansion had been the best of my ideas? Hanging up the phone I massaged my temples and wondered why I was doing this to myself?

"You look like you could need a shot of vodka," Cal said, sauntering into my office with a bunch of files.

"I take the whole bottle," I said, seeing him shack his head smiling.

"What's wrong?" he eventually asked and I told him about the phone call I had just gotten off from, how things in LA were still a bit rocky and I was still out of a head of office. One could think that maybe by now I actually had found someone, but I liked literally not a single person. They all didn't fit and weren't right. And seeing what the office was going to involved with – a lot of celebrities – I knew it was as much about image and prestige as it was about standard RangeMan procedures. This really was a headache. Carlos offered me valid advice regularly, but since I felt like this was my baby and he understood surprisingly well he left it at only well-meant advice.

Cal and me went through a few important things I needed to take care of and things that were brought to hi attention and in the middle of our parting lines my phone rang, showing Mackenzie's number. Cal took that as his moment to leave from our meeting and I was listening to Mackenzie telling me all sort of things. Things I should probably note down to some degree.

"I'll make a note of it," I said after about ten minutes into the receiver to Mackenzie, who was currently at a walk-through, and realized I had no sticky notes left to actually make said note. I dotted the thought down on some random paper, hung up and made my way to Cal's desk, knowing I had seen a pad of sticky notes earlier. While I used the neon-coloured and actually had a system behind the colours, call was boring and used standard white ones with RangeMan somewhere on the top.

I didn't spot them on the desk itself, so I went looking through the top two drawers where I knew he kept is office supplies. If they wouldn't be there I gave up since everything other than these top drawers were private and I respected that.

"What's that?" I asked, pulling the papers from the bottom of a pile in the second drawer. I thought for a second I had spotted the name 'Morelli' written on one, which would of course be ridiculous and stupid.

The sticky notes forgotten, I thumped through the very thin file which looked just like a normal, general personal file we kept around for every interview we conducted. When was Morelli in for an interview? And more importantly, why?

"Cal?" I more or less yelled, not eve sure whether he was around to hear me yell. But a second later he appeared behind me, so he must have been. "What's that?" I asked confused and saw him turning pale.

"Oh no," he just said and I looked at him expectantly.

"What is it?"

"Why do I have to be the one telling you?" he asked and seemed like he was looking at the ceiling for guidance. Good luck finding it there…

"Because it is your desk and…. Well, tell me who else can tell me why there is a RangeMan personal file with Morelli's name on it and I gladly ask them…."

"Well, you see…," he started and I just looked impatiently at him. He must have felt my impending impatience since he gave up after only a few seconds.

"Oh hell, you know what? Ask Ranger. That's his doing anyway… this file should have been on his desk and not mine. Not sure how it landed on my desk in the first place."

"Somehow I feel you know a whole lot more about this than you are letting on," I said, cornering him a second later between the door and me.

Cal let out a long sigh, seeming to finally give in and give me answers. "Fine, you know what? It isn't like I hadn't seen something like that happening…," he started his explanation and I looked at him expectantly. "I did as I offered and sent Morelli a rejection. Seems like he doesn't get the meaning of a 'no' since he kept sending applications. I kept rejecting them, thinking I don't need to bother you with them and at some point Ranger picked up on it."

"How did he pick up on it? He hardly ever gets mail."

Cal didn't look at me which was odd, seeing as the two of us were really close. So he was not telling me something crucial in this story. "So, I only heard this and don't know for certain. But, Morelli probably got rather desperate and had your mother call."

"Call who?" I asked confused, trying to think about the last conversation between my mother and me. It had been a while to be honest, but that was more her doing than mine and, in all fairness, I was growing tired of always listening to the same BS all day long. If she wasn't telling me how Carlos and me really weren't going to stay together it was about who was single in the Burg or how my job really lowered my chances of bagging a nice guy. Had I mentioned she did this all while knowing I still in a perfectly happy relationship? I stopped bringing Carlos with me a long time ago since he really didn't need that crap on his plate. It was bad enough that I needed to deal with it.

"RangeMan and um… more specifically Ranger."

"My mother called Carlos? Here? Doing what? Asking him to give Morelli a job?" I asked incredulous and wondered how I hadn't heard about that until now?

"Pretty much. Though I'm somehow having trouble imagining that conversation. Somehow I don't think it was a polite and sweet chat with begging and rather her telling him it was the least he can do for fu- I mean loving you."

"Before my mother ever says the word fuck – in any capacity – she'd probably die twenty times over. But I have no problem seeing that being her argument. But I don't see Carlos giving in. Why should he? Also, he probably knows about the headache he invites into his life by just entertaining the idea of hiring Morelli. And also, my wrath and the fact that he'd be cut of for… a long time."

"I love you," Cal offered, looking slightly pale. "But I did not need that particular information or picture of you and the boss."

I smiled at him almost evil and decided on calling this payback because he kept this away from me. "So what happened then?"

"You are as ruthless as the boss," Cal just said and I needed to smile, finding his argument quiet a stretch. "He got curious and wanted to know whether I had heard from Morelli again and I…sort of told him about the weekly mail. At which point he probably figured that Morelli needed to be dealt with differently. So… he called him or whatever and invited him in for an interview, having no intention of ever hiring the cop. But he wanted to make sure that Morelli knew there was no job here for him, ever, even as cleaning personal, that you were never to be bothered again and …well a few other topics that needed to be cleared after years of confusion. But it was a job interview and between Ranger, Tank, Lester and Ram Morelli really was put through the wringer."

"So how did that file end with you then?" I asked, curious since he wasn't part of the interview.

"Ranger handed it to me so I could complete it with all the written correspondence. I honestly forgot about it until now when you found it. I placed it in my desk, intending to get it back to Ranger, but forgot about it apparently."

"And why did no one tell me about and of that?" I asked, seeing Cal look at me.

"It's Ranger, Bomber. Whatever he can keep away from you that will cause you pain, he will gladly do. He makes it is mission to protect you from everything possible."

"Has it ever occurred to any of you that I don't need protecting? I mean, I dealt with Morelli for the better part of my life, I could have handled that as well…."

"This is Ranger we are talking about. He doesn't do things like that because he feels he has to, but because he wants to. He doesn't want to see you in unnecessary pain."

I knew Cal was right, but I also knew I needed to talk to Ranger. And not in the usual and old-Stephanie 'stop doing this' way. No, this would need to be in a grown up way.

Thinking about how to approach the topic was tough. I knew him and had been around him by now long enough to know this wouldn't be easy. He would most likely not see it my way and find very valid arguments why.

"I heard the most interesting story today," I started after diner, when he had taken me and our glasses of wine from the dinner table to the couch.

"And what have you heard?" he asked, getting comfortable on the couch and taking a sip from his wine. I had put my glass on the table behind me, thinking I needed my hands free for this. His probably as well, but I work with what I could.

"Morelli being at RangeMan last week and my mother having you called before that to speak to you."

"How mad are you?" Carlos asked curious. Interesting how he didn't even question how I had heard about the story.

"I love you, Carlos," I started, straddling him on the couch.

"But?" he asked, making me smile. "I can sense there is a but coming."

I took a deep breath and looked straight in his eyes, framing his handsome face with both my hands. "But you have to stop protecting me," I replied gently. "I know you can't help it and it probably is like second nature to you by now and I know you do it out of love but…since centuries men try to protect us women from all sorts of things: themselves, the pain of the world or other things. And while the whole damsel in distress was still a thing a few decades ago, women have evolved by now and we can take care of things. If guy A isn't causing us pain and tears, guy B will, and there will always be pain in the world, so you can't keep us save from it all. Maybe you manage to protect us from one or two problems, but that still means 99 other problems that make it past you. How about for a change you don't try to protect me from stuff I can't eventually be protected from anyway? Let me decide what I can and want to put up with, and everything I'm not cool with you can swoosh in and save the day."

"Babe, I certainly don't swoosh," he said, smiling a second later.

"You so do," I replied smiling as well, before I pressed a soft kiss against his lips.

"I know you can easily distinguish what to put up with, but I just like to get rid of issues before they arise and grow to anything bigger. How about I… try to step back?"

I laughed at his question for a second, knowing fully well that this would never really happen. He was too much 'Save Stephanie from everything possible' mode than to ever sit back.

"I think we both know that this will probably never happen. But I'm okay with you trying to try. I guess that's all I can really ask of you anyway." I pressed another soft kiss against his lips, feeling the smile on his lips beneath mine.

"We also will need to speak about my mother."

I heard him groan. Guess that topic was even less favoured.

"While we do that, we can talk about you protecting me from things I might not need protecting from as well?" he asked and I needed to smile. Looked like the two of us did protect the other one from things we thought they needed protecting. But thinking of Carlos, he was a guy who wouldn't probably strike most people as someone who needed protecting. He was tough and ruthless and grim and all muscle. Well, to people who didn't really know him anyway. And while he was all that for sure, he also had enough on his plates with me, RangeMan and the community that I sure as hell was just too happy to keep a few things away from him.

"I'd like to point out – for me at least – I prefer an FTA or a tricky takedown over my mother's opinions any day. I mean, I love her, she is my mother after all, but I could do a lot less without her constant nagging and thinking only she knows what's good for me. And I really do not want to subject you to her opinions about us, you and Morelli – or rather me and Morelli – if I don't have to. It is bad enough that I have to sort of endure it, no need to add you to the misery."

"You know what they say about misery and being shared means you only have half of it…."

"I am pretty certain that refers to pain and burden."

"Same same but different," he smiled and I shook my head. "I didn't tell you about her call because I knew you'd be asking all sort of questions I didn't have an answer to and I would probably be more or less forces to tell you about the call in detail. And in all fairness, I didn't want to do that, because that would probably mean I'd cause you pain."

"You could just have said she was her usual charming self, asking about your wellbeing and my wellbeing and whether I'm pregnant yet. And she let it slip naturaly into the conversation that she needed a favour and turned the focus of the call to Morelli."

"I guess I could have," he said, kissing me softly a second later. "But that means I'd have to lie to you and I promised myself I'd never do that."

"So, how well did that call go?" I finally asked, looking him straight in the eye. "Do it...like you'd handle a band-aid. Just rip it off quickly, that way the pain won't last too long."

"Well, the good news is that she didn't ask whether you are pregnant yet."

"And the bad news?"

"Morelli was pretty much her only talking point. Not a word about you, me, us and… any questions about us you or me either."

"How long was the call?"

"I think about ten minutes, during which she spent about nine of them talking. My only contribution was to just say 'yes' and 'no' occasionally."

"I'm sorry," I more or less groaned, leaning forward until my forehead was resting omn top of his shoulder.

"Babe, it's not as if you had anything to do with it or ask her to call me. That was on Morelli."

"I know and that weirdly enough isn't even my issue. I find it difficult to process that she didn't even ask about me or us for that matter. I'd like to say I also find it hard to stomach that she shows no interest in you either, but truth be told, it is to be expected. I'm more annoyed at myself that she still gets to me that easily…"

"Maybe because you still look for her approval?" Carlos asked serious.

I thought about his question for a moment. "I probably do in a way. I mean, Saint Valerie had always been the perfect daughter, even when she wasn't. And it isn't like I take glee or anything in the fact that for a while she had it rough. But even then, my mother put her up one step below Jesus and Holy Mary. It seems no matter what I do, or how successful I managed to become, I'm still the screw up or second best because I don't have kids, a husband and live in the Burg. And don't get me wrong, I don't need any of that anyway, but one day I'd actually like for her to tell me 'You did good' let alone something that would amount to the slightest bit of pride in regards of me."

"I know this doesn't help a lot, but you are my number one and favourite of all time and I am proud of you. All day, every day. And if it helps you score points with your mother, I'd marry you in a heartbeat."

"Jeez, that must have been the most romantic marriage proposal I ever received," I said sarcastically and heard Carlos below me chuckle.

"How many proposals have you received so far?" he asked and I wasn't certain whether it was just a lapse of memory.

"This one included? Three. And yours is placing behind The Dick and Morelli."

"Low blow," he remarked, but still smiled. "I'll do better next time then."

There was silence for a moment while I processed Carlos' words. "Should we …talk about this?" I asked curious.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked and I wasn't certain how to answer that.

"Were you serious?" I all of a sudden more or less screeched at which he looked like I had caused him pain. Which might have been the case, seeing how loud and shrill my voice was.

"Yeah," he said as a matter of fact. "Obviously I had always seen it happen maybe less in-between and as a solution to some problem and if you'll agree I find a way of actually giving you a proposal that isn't just a convenience."

"We never talked about it. Or the possibility," I remarked dumbly.

"Did we have to? I mean, does it really need words, a document and rings as such?"

"You hinted several times over the years that you weren't the marrying kind of guy," I explained and saw him look curiously at me for a second.

"Maybe I just hadn't found the right woman yet to make me see that this was just nonsense."

I let his last statement sink in slowly, deciding to just accept it as it was and not dwell on it.

"Just like that? We agree to get married?"

"That's how we are, Babe," he said and winked a second later at me. Oh, I really wondered where this Ranger had been hiding all these years, because I really, really liked that side of him.