Written in response to the JE Fan Fiction Facebook group May 2022 challenge.

5-21-22 - Editors note - WARNING: Underlying BDSM starting around chapter 5.

"Bomber just pulled into the garage," Gene announced from where he sat on monitors.

I'd just walked out of my cubicle and was heading for the break room to grab a snack when I felt my brow knit at his announcement. Why would it matter if Steph was here or not? She was almost always here. Afterall, she worked for Rangeman now. "So," I asked as I passed by him. "It's not like that's new information, since she works here."

He glanced over his shoulder at me. "True, but she's carrying Rex's aquarium and at least two bags."

That information had me stopping in my tracks and making a quick U-turn back to the bank of monitors. The only time we ever see the rat is when she's looking to escape for a while and needs someone to watch him. The fact that she's carrying what appears to be at least an overnight bag and a backpack also had me worried. Obviously, something happened with her. With Ranger in Miami, taking care of a personnel issue, it fell to the rest of us to take care of her. "I'll go met her," I offered even as I headed for the stairs.

Considering she was still trying to balance everything at her car, I should be able to make it down to her before she gets to the elevators. I'd just hit the second floor when the thought occurred to me that she was also supposed to be on vacation this coming week. I only know because we'd talked about it during a recent surveillance shift and discovered we were both taking the same week.

If she was coming here with bags and the rat in tow...

Attempting to rid myself of the myriad of possible scenarios currently running through it, I shook my head. We all learned a long time ago that when it came to Bomber, it was never good to speculate.

I reached the entrance door and pushed it open just as she was trying to juggle Rex's aquarium to open it. "Thank you," she said, her words coming out almost as a gasp as she pushed past me.

"You're welcome," I said as I closed the door behind me and moved to the elevator to press the button. Then I turned to take Rex's aquarium from her. "What happened?"

"Why would you assume something happened," she asked, her look one of defiance. Damn I do love that face she makes when she gets all defensive and riled.

I lifted Rex's aquarium, using it as a point of reference. "You wouldn't have brought the rat with you if something hadn't happened."

"Hamster," she sighed. "He's a Hamster."

When I only arched a brown in question she blew a curl out of her face, then sighed again as the elevator doors opened. "It's a long, ugly story that starts with Morelli and ends with my mother."

I damn near wanted to roll my eyes at her reply. It would figure. The only problems outside of her mother and Morelli were the occasional stalker she might pick up. "What did they do now?"

"Well." She shifted to lean against the back wall of the elevator. "You know how even though Carlos and I decided it's best we stay just friends, but we've let everyone, except you guys, think we're still dating," she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Somehow, Morelli found out that we're not really dating. He told my mother and now they're both leaning on me again about getting back together with Joe."

Keeping a good hold on the aquarium, I mimicked her move. "I know none of us would have said anything," I offered. "So, who else did you tell?"

"Only Mary Lou, Connie and Lula," she replied. "But they wouldn't say anything either."

"Maybe not Mary Lou, but are you sure you can really trust Connie and Lula?" I hate questioning her friend choices but knowing how those women loved to gossip, I had to ask.

Several seconds passed as she stared at me, a look of hurt claiming her features. "I don't know," she finally said. "Do you really think Connie or Lula would have said something?"

"I think that maybe they're not as loyal as you'd like to believe they are." After dropping that truth bomb on her, I figured it was time to change the subject. "So, what's up with Rex and your bags?"

"I figured the one place where my family and Joe won't try to reach me is here," she replied.

"So, you came here to hide from them?"

She nodded. "Just until I can figure out how I want to handle them."

"The apartments on Four and Six are all full right now," I replied.

"Ranger said I could stay in the penthouse while he's in Miami with Tank." She cocked her head at an angle. "So, how did you get stuck coming to meet me? Did you draw the short straw or something?"

Damn, I hate it when she puts herself down like that and didn't bother to hide my frown as I stared at her. "I didn't get stuck. Bobby and Lester are on a conference call with Ranger and the heads of Boston and Atlanta. Gene spotted you on the cameras and mentioned you were here. Since it appeared that you needed help, I thought I'd offer my services."

At my statement she cracked a tiny smile, and my heart did a little flop. It still amazed me how she couldn't see the effect she has on me and some of the other guys. "Well," she finally said. "I really appreciate the help and the way you guys always look out for me."

Little did she know, even without Ranger's directive, I'd always protect her. Before I could say as much, the elevator stopped, and the doors opened. She pushed off the wall, walked to the front door of Ranger's apartment and fobbed her way in. Without another word, I followed her into the apartment. She motioned to the counter. "You can put Rex there."

I did as she instructed, then trailed after her through the apartment. "Do you need anything else?"

She dropped both bags on the bed, then looked over her shoulder at me. "No but thank you for your help. I really appreciate it."

"No problem at all. I'll be on Five, finishing up my work." I turned to go only to stop at the sound of her voice.

"That's right," she said. "You're getting ready to go on vacation too."

I shifted to face her. "Yeah, back Illinois for a week. My parents are celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary."

"That's nice," she replied.

"Yeah. After my dad's heart attack last year, we were worried he wouldn't be around to make it to their anniversary."

"He's better though, right?" she asked.

"He is," I replied. "He's a tough old cuss. Even back to working around the farm."

Her eyes widened at my statement. "You grew up on a farm?"

My brow knit at her reaction. Surly, in all the time I'd spent around her over the years, I had to have mentioned growing up on the farm. "Didn't I ever tell you that?"

She shook her head. "I don't remember you ever saying anything about a farm."

"Really?" My brow knit as I searched my memory. "In all the conversations we've had over the years, you're sure I've never mentioned it?"

She repeated her head shake. "That must have been so awesome to grow up where people weren't looking over your shoulder all the time."

Before I could stop myself, I barked out a laugh. "Oh, if you only knew how wrong you are," I finally said.

"You mean there is someplace else in the world that's as bad as the burg?" she asked.

I grinned. "Believe it or not, but your Burg doesn't have the market cornered on busy bodies. Even though we were on a farm, between the surrounding farms and the local town, the population in the county was such that it really was a tight community."

She was now sitting on the edge of the bed, her jacket in her hand as she looked up at me. "I guess we have more in common than I knew."

While I was tempted to sit down next to her, the fear of having Ranger walk in and find me sitting on his bed with Steph was enough to keep me standing. I know Ranger is in Miami and I know they're not together anymore. Neither of those facts eased the fear of being in Ranger's crosshairs.

Several months ago, she and Ranger had a rather ugly blow up that resulted in her escaping to Point Pleasant and putting all of us on edge. Lester and Bobby went after her. While they assured us that she was fine, the three of them didn't return for several days. Then, not long after her escape, Ranger disappeared, leaving Tank in charge. He eventually turned up in Boston and spent the next three weeks visiting his offices in Miami and Atlanta before finally returning home.

A month after their blow out, Ranger called a meeting and announced that while he and Steph had decided they were best as friend only, to help protect her from the Burg piranhas, outside of Rangeman they were going to appear to be dating.

I, along with a lot of the guys always thought she and the boss would eventually end up in a real relationship. Especially knowing the weird connection, they still have. Yet, the proof of their friendship only status has remained over the last few months. When that happened, we all began to assume that eventually she'd end up back with the cop again, but according to her, she'd rather be single than to be with Morelli.

Now, with Morelli and her mother circling again, she was right back to where she started.

"Would you like to go with me?" The words were out of my mouth before I'd thought the sentence out completely and for a moment I nearly panicked. What in the hell was I doing? Asking Stephanie Plum, the woman who sometimes haunted my dreams, to go with me to a family function? Was I out of my mind?

Her eyes widened in shock as she looked up at me. "Did you just invite me to go with you to a family function in another state?"

"I did." Fuck. She's going to totally read more into this than what I intended. Though, I had to ask myself, what did I intend to accomplish with asking her to go with me? I mean, yes, I've dreamed of asking her out, but like the other guys, I'd been too damn afraid of what Ranger would say or how she'd react. The last thing I wanted was to lose the friendship I'd built with this woman.

She wasn't just a light that shined goodness onto Ranger's tainted soul. She did the same for all of us. Stephanie not only accepted us for what we were; a bunch of battle hardened, and scarred soldiers, just trying to find our place in the world. She embraced each one of us as if we were her best friends and brothers.

Would she see me different if we went through with this trip together? Did I want her to see me differently? Hell yeah, I did. If I were being honest, I wanted her to know the man behind the battle-scarred soldier, the person who existed before the Rangers and before Rangeman.

Even if nothing happened between us other than a week spent as friends getting to know each other better, it would be worth the trip.

"What would I do about Rex?" she asked.

"We can take him down to the break room. The guys and Ella would take care of him while we're gone."

"Don't you guys have some bro code thing going on when it comes to me?"

My brow knit. "What do you mean?"

"It's been six months since I broke up with Joe and three since Ranger and I decided we were better off as friends. Yet, nobody from here has so much as invited me to get pizza and a beer," she replied.

She tossed her jacket onto the bed then stood and walked to the window. "When Ranger and I were together and even before, when we were still dancing around our feelings. You guys would occasionally show up at my apartment with pizza and beer. I'd get random invites to the movies or to go rock climbing." She looked back at me, and I could see the hurt in her face. "After Ranger and I announced that we were going to shift our relationship to friends only, suddenly you guys all went radio silent. Why?"

I raked a hand through my hair as I looked at her. This wasn't a conversation that I'd intended to have when I went down to help her with Rex and her bags. "Steph. I-" Hell. What exactly was I supposed to say to this woman? That I fell in love with her a long time ago, but have kept my feelings to myself because I thought she was in love with Ranger? That, while none of us made any actual agreement she was hands off, we also weren't brave enough to approach her in any manner other than that of a co-worker.

"I deserve an answer," she said.

"You're right. You do," I replied. "I guess maybe we all got a bit freaked out when we realized you and Ranger were serious about the change to your relationship status. The last thing we wanted was for you to misconstrue any gesture we might make for something more."

"So, you all suddenly believed that if someone decided to invite me to the movies, I'll automatically think that they wanted me? Do you all really think so little of me?" The look of hurt that crossed her face pulled at me in ways I didn't think was possible.

How in the hell had I screwed this up so badly?

"No." In two strides I crossed to her and reached for her hands. "No, Steph. It's just the opposite. We all think so much of you. You're such a special woman. None of us knew how to act around you now. None of us wanted to do something stupid that might jeopardize what we already have with you, despite how we really felt."

She lifted her eyes to me, curiosity in her cerulean gaze, then raised a hand to my cheek. On instinct, I turned toward her touch. I was crossing into dangerous territory, but for reasons I couldn't explain, I knew I needed to see this through. No matter how it ended. Knowing we'd hurt her with our distanced cut me deep and I was determined to right that wrong, here and now.

"How do you really feel?" she whispered as she stared up at me.

"Honestly?"

A ghost of a grin slid across her face then disappeared again. "Yeah, honestly."

"It's entirely possible that I've been in love with you from the moment you stepped foot in this building." There, I'd said it and there was no taking it back. Not that I really wanted to.

I watched as her eyes widened slightly, before returning to their previous state of studying me. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"You were Ranger's woman," I replied. "None of us would have wanted to get in the way of your and the boss's happiness."

"And now?" she asked.

"Now, I see a woman who has more friends and pseudo-brothers than she could ever hope for but is still looking for someone to love her in a way that only one man can."

"I think that's a fair assessment," she replied.

My heart jumped at her admission. "But you've only ever had eyes for Ranger."

"That's not entirely true," she replied. "I thought I loved Ranger and I do, but we want different things in life. He's my best friend and will always and forever have a special place in my heart. Though, even when we were trying to see if an actual relationship was right for us, in the back of my mind, there was always this niggling thought that maybe we weren't meant to be. Maybe I was supposed to be with another."

"And who was this other man?"

"You," she replied then leaned in to press a soft kiss to my lips. It was quick and chaste, but there was no denying the spark I felt when our mouths touched.

As she pulled back, I wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her against me. "Come with me," I whispered as I stared down at her. Now that I knew her feelings, no way was I going to let her get away.

"You really want me to go?" she asked.

I nodded. "I want us to take the chance and see where this goes. No way can we properly explore what might be between us surrounded by all these busy bodies, both in the building and in the burg. Even if we decide this-" I motioned between the two of us. "Isn't what's right for us, at least we'll have given it a chance."

"It's only a week, though," she replied. "Then we'd have to come back and face everyone anyway."

"A lot can happen in a week. Please," I asked, knowing that word never failed with her. "Give us this chance."

She appeared to consider my answer before a slow grin claimed her features. "When do we leave?"