Fair warning: May or may not contain smut, probably will eventually. If you are a die hard Joe fan, this isn't the story for you. This will also contain spoilers for Ten Big Ones. Thanks for everyone still reading!
Starting Over
Chapter 1
While Ranger and Sally continued to discuss the importance of using an Uzi as an appropriate accessory, Joe grabbed Steph by the hand and pulled her to the side. Stephanie could see the look of fear in his eyes; it seemed to match her own. He gently placed his hands on her cheeks and pulled her close to his body.
"Thought I lost you for good that time cupcake."
"Me too Joe."
"I don't ever want to be that scared again. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you for good. I don't think I could handle that."
Stephanie began to reply, but Joe stopped her by placing a finger on her lips.
"I was going to do this later, but I don't see the point in waiting now. I don't think we should waste one more second of our time." Slowly he lowered himself to one knee. He opened the small velvety box and lifted it towards Stephanie. "Cupcake, I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, and I want to start that now. I don't want to loose you ever again. Will you please do me the honor of marrying me?"
Stephanie wasn't sure if it was the emotions caused by the nights events, or if it was real love, but no matter what the reason, she said yes. When she revealed her answer, Joe leapt from his feet and whisked her into a giant bear hug. The other officers standing nearby began hooting and hollering with joy, while a few others began exchanging money. When Joe finally let Stephanie settle on her feet she turned around, only to see Ranger's black SUV speeding away from her down the street.
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2 years and 9 months later…
Stephanie Morelli glanced around the room to make sure everything was in place. The table was set, the lights were low and music was playing softly. She glanced at the clock, 6:45. Only a few more minutes and Joe would be sweeping through the door. She gave the pasta one final stir before heading over to the couch. She grabbed up the photo album she had been thumbing through and continued to think about the past.
She ran her thumb across a picture of her and Joe. Grandma Mazur had taken it the night of the Slayer incident. As soon as they left the scene that night, Joe insisted on heading to their family's house to break the news. Still slightly in shock, Steph had agreed. Her mother took the news wonderfully and immediately began planning the wedding. Her grandmother went straight to the bathroom to grab her backup supply of condoms and presented it the couple as an engagement gift.
Frank, being his calm self as usual, rose from his recliner to hug Stephanie. Once he had shaken Joe's hand, he turned back and firmly planted himself in the big ugly chair.
Things went almost the same at Joe's house, with the exception being that Joe's Grandmother predicted lots of babies instead of handing out birth control.
That night had been 2 years and 6 months earlier. They decided that same day to have a quick wedding. Nothing too fancy, just friends and family which of course meant half of the burg was invited.
Stephanie continued to flip through the photo album and paused on their wedding photos. It had been an almost perfect day. The church was decorated beautifully and Joe had looked more handsome than ever. The only bad moment in memory had been the look on Ranger's face when Stephanie walked back down the isle with her husband. No one other than Stephanie would have realized there was emotion behind those dark Cuban eyes. But she knew differently. She was nearly burned from his stare that day. Once she saw the look he held for her, she had nearly wished she hadn't invited him.
She hadn't even know until the day before whether he was going to attend or not. Stephanie wanted to make sure she didn't see Joe before the ceremony so she spent her last night as a single gal in her old apartment. The lease was ending soon and she actually welcomed the chance to give it one last goodbye.
She had finally calmed her nerves enough to fall asleep when she jerked awake with a familiar feeling. She could barely make out his form, but she knew Ranger when she saw him.
"Didn't mean to wake you babe."
"Then why did you come?"
"Just wanted to talk to you before tomorrow."
Ranger walked to the bathroom and grabbed the nightlight. After the room was lit enough to make out her body, he settled softly at the foot of the bed.
"Are you coming to the wedding?" She needed to break the silence.
"Do you want me to come?"
"Yes. Ranger I consider you one of my best friends."
"I feel the same way about you babe." He paused to stare in her eyes. "Are you sure this is what you want?"
"If by that you mean marrying Joe, then yes. He makes me happy."
"That's what I wanted to hear." He quickly rose from the bed and unplugged the nightlight. He stopped when he approached the doorway. "Stephanie, if at any point you change your mind, I'll be there to help you."
"Thanks Ranger, but I'm not going to change my mind."
With her words, he slipped from her bedroom and for the last time he let himself out of her apartment. That interaction was the last she had with Ranger for nearly a year after the wedding.
When they had returned home from the honeymoon, Stephanie quit working at Vinnie's and took a job at one of the local factories. It wasn't ideal, but she made it work. Joe made good money with the police so Steph only worked part-time through the week. During her free time she took some classes at the local community college. There, she learned to cook without burning, and to sew without stabbing herself. Within the first year of her marriage she had settled comfortably into the role of burg-housewife.
About a month after their first wedding anniversary things began to change. Joe was given a promotion at the station, which caused him to work longer hours. There were days when the two of them would only see each other long enough to say hello. They went from having sex daily to once a week, then eventually once every couple of weeks, until finally only having sex once a month.
It was around that same time, when Stephanie once again found herself alone on a Saturday night. Joe was working undercover on a case so she wasn't even able to call him. She tried calling Mary Lou to come over but she and Lenny had plans. So she settled on the couch with a carton of ice cream and began flipping through the TV channels. An hour later, Steph's cell phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Can I speak to Richard?"
"You must have the wrong number. There is no Richard here."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you."
"No problem."
After she clicked the phone off she began fiddling with it. She had been unable to find anything to watch on TV so she resolved to clean out the telephone book on her phone. She stopped instantly when the arrow landed beside the name "Ranger." It had been over a year since she had talked to him and she hadn't realized until then, how much she missed him.
She toyed with the idea of calling him before finally building the nerve up to hit the send button.
"Be voice mail, be voice mail." She chanted as her courage seeped from her bones.
"Yo."
"um.."
"Talk."
"Um. Ranger?"
Silence. "Steph? Is that you?"
"Um. Yeah. How are you Ranger?"
"I'm good. How are you? Is something wrong?"
"No, no. I was just cleaning out my phone and ran across your number. Just thought I'd give you a call. I'm not disturbing you am I?"
"Not at all, just surprised to hear from you is all."
"Well I sorta surprised myself by calling. So Ranger how have you been?"
"Good."
Stephanie laughed. "I still see you are doing the one word answers."
Ranger laughed as well. "Guess I am. So how have you been?"
"Pretty good. Joe got a promotion so he's been working a lot lately. But things are going good."
"You already said good, babe."
Stephanie blushed at the sound of her old nickname. Just hearing the word brought back so many emotions for her. Caught up in the moment she blurted out, "I've missed you."
"Missed you too babe." Ranger said before she could take it back.
"Well I don't mean to keep you Ranger, I'm sure you have other things to do than waste your time on me. I just wanted to see how you were doing. Take care."
"Hey Steph?"
"Yeah."
"Want to grab some lunch tomorrow?"
"I'm married Ranger." She blushed again, realizing how stupid that sounded.
"Don't worry Stephanie, my poaching days are over. So how about it?"
"Sure, that sounds nice actually."
"Hey, I can be nice sometimes remember?"
"I never forgot Ranger."
"Good. Shorty's at 1:00 tomorrow sound ok?"
"Sounds good." She clicked the phone off before she embarrassed herself again.
The following day Stephanie and Ranger met for lunch. They talked about old times, and new times. They discussed Ranger's recent skips and Stephanie's college classes. They laughed and for the first time in over a year Stephanie felt whole again.
When they left the restaurant, Ranger gave her a smile and sent her own her way. A month later, they met at Shorty's once more. Their monthly lunch date quickly became a routine and for the first time since the wedding Stephanie once again felt she had a friend.
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The sound of Joe's truck door slamming close startled Stephanie out of her daydreams. She closed the photo album quickly and jumped from the couch running her hands over he skirt to smooth out the wrinkles. She placed a hand on her stomach and said, "Here goes kiddo, time to introduce you to your papa."
Just as the words left her mouth, Joe stepped through the front door.
"Hiya Joe, how was your day?"
For a few minutes Joe didn't reply. Stephanie was about to repeat herself when he finally spoke. "Stephanie. We need to talk."
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Joe's serious look caused a streak of pain to sear through Stephanie's body. She remained quiet as his hand guided her to the couch. As he settled next to her, he grabbed her hands and peered into her eyes.
"Stephanie, this isn't working. You know it and I know it. You've changed, and I've changed and we've grown apart. I think we need to take a break."
The tears came immediately and Steph found it nearly impossible to form words. "What do you mean, a break?"
"Stephanie, there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to do it." He stood up and walked to the other side of the room.
"I'm not in love with you anymore. I've met someone else, and I want to be with her."
Joe kept talking but Stephanie's world quickly began to blur. She could see him talking but she could no longer hear him. The words kept ringing over and over in her head. "I'm not in love with you anymore…." Her body went numb and she remained motionless until Joe nearly yelled her name.
"Stephanie. Are you listening? I said I will leave tonight and you can stay here. You can pack your stuff up tomorrow and then go to your mom and dads. I think this will be for the best." Joe walked around the couch and slid his jacket back on. The last sound Stephanie heard him make was the clicking of the deadbolt lock sliding into place.
Continued in Chapter Two…