Sky Borne Blue Grey Eyes, a janet evanovich fanfic

Sky Borne Blue Grey Eyes

By: Ammarine

Spoiler: Immediately post-TBO

Sally's rickety old yellow school bus pulled up outside my parents place as I turned to him.

"Thanks, Sal," I said, hugging him. I didn't trust myself to say anything more or I'd start crying, and that wouldn't be pretty.

"Fudgin' oath, Steph. I couldn't let the Maid of Honour get kidnapped, tortured and killed, now could I?"

I sniffled, Sally had the strangest way of being endearing. I gave him one last hug and climbed down the bus steps. "See ya Sunday, Sally," I called over my shoulder. I walked up to the front door and watched Sally's tail lights turn the corner, where, surprisingly, my mother and Grandma Mazur weren't standing. I mentally smacked my head, they were at Val's shower. I would have smacked myself physically, but I think I had bruises upon bruises.

I opened the door and froze, hearing the rustling of paper. Then a voice called out, "Stephie? Is that you?" It was Dad.

"Yeah, it's me, Dad," I said as I made my way to the lounge room. There was my dad, in his chair reading the paper, as though nothing was wrong. As he looked up at me, I tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace.

"You know, you're mother really worries about you," he said, patting the armrest. I took up his offer and perched on the end of his chair.

"I know, dad, I know. But most of the time, my job is okay. Why does she keep pushing factory jobs at me? She knows I won't do anything about it."

"She just wants you to be safe. It's so you know that you have other options. I don't like the danger you put yourself in either, but it's your choice, and I want you to be happy."

I swallowed thickly and tried to blink away the tears. I couldn't remember the last time my dad and I talked, and I mean really talked. My family generally expressed themselves with food, so a deep conversation with my dad was out of the norm.

"I am happy with my job, Daddy," I said giving him a hug. "It's the rest of my life that I'm worried about." I groaned as I stood up. "I'm going to have a shower and go to sleep. Tell mom I'm okay, will you?"

He nodded. "Goodnight Sweetheart. Take care."

I slowly made my way upstairs. The trip was worse than I thought it would be, my muscles had started seizing up from when I sat down with my dad.

I peeled off my ripped and bloody clothes, leaving them sprawled on the bathroom floor as I stood under the spray. I moaned in relief as the pulse of the cool water massaged my aching muscles. Long after I had turned all pruney, I wrapped myself in my fuzzy blue bathrobe (a replacement from Sally after he commandeered my ratty old pink one) and shuffled to my bedroom.

It didn't occur to me that Angie and Mary Alice were sleeping over tonight, so my apartment could be used for a Hen's Night, until I was climbing into my bed. To the hell with it, I thought, they can have a sleep out in front of the TV.

I was caught by your smile under a blushing moon,
You were the only one left there.
Words poured like wine over an open wound,
You were the only one left there.
With sky-borne blue-grey eyes,
Sky-borne blue-grey eyes.

I stood outside her parent's house, watching her shadow as she showered and went to bed. I felt so helpless, but I couldn't make my feet move to enter the house to see for myself that she was okay. My mind, and my heart, were still reeling from the day's events.

I was on my way to Val's shower, to watch over Steph when Tank rang.

"Speak."

"Boss, bad news. Slayers have made their move. They've taken her. It just went over the police scanner."

"Fuck. Post men around the Slayer land perimeter. I'm heading in." I took a deep breath and turned left at the next intersection, hoping against hope that I'd make it to my Babe in time.

The car went around on 2 wheels and I crossed Trenton faster than I had ever before. This was an emergency. I knew where Junkman would take her for his 'coronation'. As I drove down Comstock, I noticed the police tape and knew someone was dead. I held my breath, Morelli's car on my tail, jumping out as soon as the engine stopped. I released the breath I was holding in a barely audible whoosh and nearly laughed aloud. If only she could see me now she'd probably think I was almost human. But I am. I'm not some superhero, though I know she thinks otherwise. If I were really Batman, I wouldn't have fallen for her smile, loved her attitude and been scared out of my wits that she could have died.

I raced towards her and as I saw her standing next Sally, I slowed down ever so slightly. I couldn't help it. I almost smiled when I saw her wave to us next to him, him in his red dress and heels and her in jeans and a top.

Morelli and Sally were more occupied with the money, I was more occupied with his gun.

As more uniforms reached the scene, I had to field questions and identify bodies that were injured, dead or missing. Before long the sky was darkening and my Babe was getting unsteady on her feet.

"Time for you to go home and rest."

The answer I got from her was not the one I was expecting.

"Which home?"

"Which one do you want to go to, Babe?"

"I want to see my Dad."

I kissed her softly on her temple and sat her down on the curb to wait. "Sally," I muttered to him as I approached. He turned to face me, his face serious.

"Take Steph back to her parents. She doesn't need to be here, neither do you. I'll see her as soon as I'm finished here."

Sally nodded. "Okay, man. Thanks."

"You're wrong, I should be thanking you for looking out for her. You're a good man, Sweet." We locked eyes for a moment and I saw the love he had for Steph, she was like a sister to him, and no one was going to hurt his sister.

I stood and watched as Sally picked his way through the uniforms to where my Babe was sitting and bent down to help her to her feet. I kept watching as they boarded the bus and went down Comstock, the bus trundling back towards the Burg, watching until the lights turned the corner.

While waiting for contact from my men I thought back to when I first met her. It was in a diner I use for meeting snitches I didn't trust. Connie had pulled in her marker to get me to meet with her, but I didn't have to like it. I liked her from the start. I could see that she wasn't completely unaffected by me, but her fiery attitude was a refreshing change from the ditzes I normally coped with. The next memory my mind pulled up was the talk we had just before Abruzzi died. I understand why I told her to go back to him, but the shock and pain in her eyes was more than I had bargained for. Much, much more. She needed to sort out where she was going and what she was doing with her life. Until then, it would have caused more pain, but not just for her.

Pale light falls over a broken bed,
You were the only one left there.
Cold hands in mine, lips bruised and black,
You were the only one left there.
With sky-borne blue-grey eyes,
Sky-borne blue grey eyes.

I lay awake in my bed, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. Nothing worked. I kept having the image of Ranger's face as I was leaving Comstock flash through my mind. There were all these emotions, many I couldn't quite distinguish. I knew there was worry, relief and pride, but there was another that mingled that I wasn't quite sure of. I closed my eyes and saw his face again, and it took me a moment to recognise it.

When I did, I gasped loudly, tears starting to sting the corners of my eyes. It was love. I knew he loved me, and as he said, it was in his own special way. But until now, I never quite understood what he meant by that comment. I always thought that it was an Eliza/Henry sort of love, boy was I wrong!

After that realization I closed my eyes to see his face again. Instead I drifted off to sleep.

I was dreaming that I was walking down the aisle of Val's wedding and with each step I took I turned more eggplant than human. I was half way down the aisle, eggplant in shape with little legs and arms spouting out and a green leafy head when I was overcome with the feeling of someone watching me. It felt strangely familiar, as though it had happened before, and it wasn't until I was slowly waking up that I realised who it was. Ranger. I could tell even while my eyes stayed close, my spidey sense was on Code Red. My hormones were on full alert. It couldn't be anyone else but him.

The cool of the night fell on us like a ghost,
You were the only one left there.
I wept as a child, wept for the life I'd lost,
You were the only one left there.
With sky-borne blue-grey eyes,
Sky-borne blue-grey eyes (Shut up and kiss me now, kiss me now, kiss me),
Sky-borne blue-grey eyes (Shut up and kiss me now, kiss me now, kiss me),
Sky borne blue-grey eyes.

Shut up and kiss me now, kiss me now, kiss me now,
I have been patient my patience is gone.
Shut up and kiss me now, kiss me now, kiss me now,
All of my vision has blurred into one.
Just Shut up, just shut up, just shut up and kiss me,
Just Shut up, just shut up, just shut up and kiss me,
Just Shut up, just shut up, just shut up and kiss me now.

"Babe," he said and my eyes flashed open.

"What are you doing here?" I tried to ask, but I think it came out as more of a croak. Ranger smiled softly and tipped a cup of water against my lips as he held my head up. I swallowed a few sips tried not to groan when he removed his hand from the back of my head. Gingerly, I sat up, thankful that the room wasn't spinning too much.

"Shhh, mi dulce. No trate hablar. Usted es seguro ahora. Usted no tiene nada temer ya mi amor."

I couldn't help it. His face was so tender and his voice was so soft that unbidden tears poured down my face.

"Por favor, no llora. Con cada lágrima que usted suelta, el corazón rompe aún más. Yo sólo quiero que usted sea feliz. Te quiero más que la vida él mismo, pero si sus medios de la felicidad están con otro hombre, entonces tan es."

He looked away for a moment before returning his gaze to my face. When he looked back at me, my eyes widened. They were so full of emotion. I had only seen them like this one other time before in my life, earlier that evening. I bit down hard on my lip to stop myself from crying again.

"Stephanie," he started, before swallowing nervously. "Stephanie, please stay with me. Te amo. I love you, more than life itself. I want to see you, I want to hold you, every morning when I open my eyes. Every morning for the rest of our lives. Por favore, mi amor." With that, he brushed his lips with mine and placed a chaste kiss on the back of my hand.

I shivered. As I looked over at him, I suddenly realised that I'd had an effect on him too. His arms were covered in goose bumps, and his eyes had turned to liquid desire. There was also a visible effect at chest level. My nipples weren't the only ones that were rock hard. I made a mental note to explore that effect later on.

I looked down at our intertwined fingers as I licked my lips before speaking. When I looked up, it took me a moment to figure out where his attention had moved to. Oh! He'd seen me lick my lips. I did it again and watched as him swallow thickly as his eyes rose to meet mine. I took a deep breath before speaking.

"I'm yours, I always will be."

With those words, he silently picked my up off the bed and placed me in his lap as he sat down. He gradually leaned back until he was lying down and moved me slightly so he could hold me from behind. I fell back to sleep to the sounds of his even breathing and the pulse of his heart. "I love you too," were my last words before I joined him in slumber.

Finite

Well, now, this is my first ever Steph fic! I am rather proud of it and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Below are the Latin American translations for what Ranger said:

1.- Shhh, mi dulce. No trate hablar. Usted es seguro ahora. Usted no tiene nada temer ya mi amor

- Shhh, my sweet. Do not try to speak. You are safe now. You have nothing to fear anymore my love.

2.- Por favor, no llora. Con cada lágrima que usted suelta, el corazón rompe aún más. Yo sólo quiero que usted sea feliz. Te quiero más que la vida él mismo, pero si sus medios de la felicidad están con otro hombre, entonces tan es

- Please, don't cry. With every tear you shed, my heart breaks further. I only want you to be happy. I love you more than life itself, but if your happiness means being with another man, then so be it.

3.- Por favore, mi amor

- Please, my love

Shut Up And Kiss Me

Sung by Paul McDermott and Fiona Horne