Prompt:

"Well, this is a nice change of scenery,"

"It's a prison cell."

"I was being sarcastic!"

Carlos POV:

I watched as Steph plopped down on the bench. She sent me a glare. Her makeup was smudged, her hair was a wild mess, her lipstick was smeared, and her dress was ripped. She was still gorgeous. She laid her head back against the wall and sighed.

"Well, this is a nice change of scenery," she said.

"It's a prison cell, Babe."

"I was being sarcastic!" She glared at me.

Three hours earlier

Steph sat across the table from me. She and smiled softly at me. "Ranger, this has been nice; really nice. It's been forever since I've been out on a date."

"Carlos. Call me Carlos."

She smiled again, this time her eyes sparkled. I had known Steph for four years, and for the course of those four years she had always called me Ranger. Never by my given name and I needed to change that.

The waiter walked towards us, Steph's Tiramisu in his hand. He set it on the table in front of her, along with my coffee. As he turned to leave and left, I slid Steph's plate over to me and picked up the fork. She looked like she was about to protest until I cut a piece and held it out to her; instead, she grinned and opened her mouth. She let me pull the fork from her mouth, as she made sure to lick every ounce of chocolate off of it. I almost groaned.

She smiled again, this one teasing and sexy. "Babe," I growled.

"Can I be truthful with you?" she asked. I set the fork down and took her hand.

"Always, Babe," I answered truthfully.

"I never thought this would happen. I never thought you would actually take me on a date," she said.

"I've been a real dumbass, Babe."

"I wasn't much better."

I kissed the back of her hand. "Let's finish your dessert," I said. She smiled.

We were getting ready to leave when Morelli stumbled up to the table with his cousin, Mooch, behind him. Steph rolled her eyes. "Cupcake, what're you doing here with Manoso?"

"None of your business," she answered. "And don't call me that."

"Get your hands off my woman, Manoso."

"She's not your woman, Morelli," I said.

He reached to grab Steph's arm. I caught his wrist, squeezing. "Don't touch her," I growled.

"Carlos."

"Calling him Carlos now, are we?" Morelli sneered.

"It's none of your business, Joe."

"It is. You're my woman," Joe said.

Steph glared at him. "Leave us alone."

"Shut up!" He told her. "Let the men sort this out."

Then she did the last thing I expected; she slugged him. He grabbed part of her dress and as he stumbled back it ripped. He caught himself and growling, and taking took a step forward. He reared back to hit her. I caught his fist and twisted his hand behind his back. I and then pushed him away from us. Mooch threw a punch, and I landed one against his sternum. Morelli came back up and I stepped back, bracing and letting him land a punch. Then I nailed him in the nose, breaking it.

That's when the uniforms flooded the room. I was put in handcuffs, Steph followed close behind. These weren't any uniforms that either of us knew; they were county sheriffs, not Trenton PD. We were led out to a patrol car and shoved in together. I heard Steph sigh.

"Nothing ever goes well with us, does it?" she asked, leaning against me. She looked up at me and I leaned down and kissed her softly.

"At least we always get to have fun."

She rolled her eyes. The two deputies go into the car. "Deputy Sheriff..."

"Be quiet. If you're lucky, you'll get to make your phone call tonight," he said.

I looked at Steph, and she looked like she was about to smile because someone had talked to me like that.

Now we sat in the jail cell. It was two in the morning and Steph was tired after the long day and the crap that happened during dinner. I watched as Steph plopped down on the bench. She sent me a glare. Her makeup was smudged, her hair was a wild mess, her lipstick was smeared, and her dress was ripped. She was still gorgeous. She laid her head back against the wall and sighed.

"Well, this is a nice change of scenery," she said.

"It's a prison cell, Babe."

"I was being sarcastic!" She glared at me.

I walked over to sit next to her. She laid her head against my shoulder and sighed. I felt her shiver and I slipped my coat off, slipping it around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you," she said softly. I kissed her forehead.

"It's okay, Babe. This definitely isn't how I intended for our date to go."

She smiled up at me. "At least it was a pretty good date, until Morelli interrupted."

I leaned down to kiss her again, when I heard a familiar set of voices. Tank and Lester appeared seconds later. Steph sighed in relief.

"You two ready to get out of here?" Tank asked.

"We've been ready," Steph said. She tightened her hold on the edges of my jacket, keeping it tight around her. The sheriff came to unlock the cell, apologizing, as I led Steph out with a hand on the small of her back.

Leading her outside, the Turbo was parked next to a Rangeman SUV. "Do you want to come back to Rangeman and get some sleep?" I asked, her, while opening the door for her. "Ella will make you breakfast, and you can use my shower. My sheets are soft, and you have clean clothes in the closet."

"With things like that to offer, how can I turn you down?" she asked, smiling. I chuckled and kissed her softly.