Title: Those bloody questions!
Chapter 4: Love is in the air
Author: Ann
Rating: (G to NC-17): G
Spoilers/Warnings: None
Summary: Ranger wakes up but isn't quite there yet… ;)
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine except Aurelia, I just play with them
Another short one, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting for too long:) Hope you like it, more to come soon! Please review!
Love is in the air
As soon as I opened the door for Stephanie, I knew she was the one for Ricardo. She had spunk, wild hair and very blue eyes. Yes, this was his match. I knew now that my choice to hook them up was the right one. (Not that I am ever wrong, but it is nice to see your instincts confirmed) I had told the family very little about who was coming, but just enough information that most of the women could read between the lines. The men probably really thought that it was just "a friend" of Ricardo. Although, Ricardo hadn't brought anybody home for years, so even if it was just "a friend" it sparked interest, because Ricardo always only took the most beautiful women home. Yes, he had set a high standard for us.
To test her, I had answered the door with "you must be Ricardo's girlfriend". The immediate opposition told me that Ricardo had not yet acted on his feelings towards her. Jeez, I know the guy is smart, good looking and incredibly well trained, but he is absolutely clueless when it comes to feeling. Really amazing if you consider the amount of women who fell for him (read: every women and girl within a 5 mile radius of all the places where he has been). My theory is that all these women made it actually too easy for him to connect with his feelings. Sure, I know from friends that he is an amazing lover (eeuw, didn't really wanted to know that, but still) but he never really fell in love with someone. In the couple of years he has started to slow down a little. Not that he really had a different woman every weekend, but he wasn't a hermit either. But now, he hasn't even been looking at women. It is actually really funny when you go out with him. In the "old days" he would walk in, scope the place out, pick a few women he liked and the "winner" would get to take him home. Now he walks in, every woman notices him and he is completely oblivious. They keep fighting (and believe me, I have now seen every trick available on this planet to "accidentally" get into contact with someone) but he has absolutely no idea. I am sure that Stephanie is responsible for this change. Yes, they are meant to be together.
After putting her through the family introductions I decided to take her upstairs and see how she would react to Ricardo sleeping. Ricardo always sleeps with one eye open, but when you drug him, he sleeps like a baby. He is adorable then. When I opened the bedroom door he had moved himself into a perfect position really, showing a nice amount of body. I motioned Steph in, but she seemed hesitant. Oh yeah, she didn't know that I drugged him. When I told her, she moved in and immediately stopped. I observed her face as the emotions were very clearly showing. I don't know if she knows this, but her face shows more then words could ever express. She softened up, her eyes lit up with joy of seeing him, with worry about his condition and with passion. I could feel a tear forming in the corner of my eye. Wow, they would make an incredible couple. Her fire with his coolness, his composure with her impulse… Image their children! Mmm, okay, that might be a little bit too optimistic yet, but still… We all have dreams. She slowly walked towards him, I was obviously completely forgotten. Her hand slowly touched his hair and she seemed to relax completely.
And then he opened his eyes!
It actually took a minute to register with me. Steph froze immediately. Oh shit! How was this possible, he was supposed to be out until much later. I had no idea what he would do. He would probably torture Steph for information and then kill me for what I had done. Oh well, if I have to die, then at least it was for a good cause.
"Babe." He sounded slightly surprised and still not completely awake yet.
"Ranger." Ah, he still used his streetname, tough guy.
He smiled at her sleepily. Yep, he was obviously not awake yet. If he was awake she would have been on the floor now with him on top (and not for any sexual reasons, mind you!) He looked over her head and saw me. I could see that he was realising that something wasn't right, but his brain was still too sleepy to put the pieces together.
"Aurelia" he said very friendly. That would change soon enough.
"Ricardo, how are you feeling?"
"Mmm… Fine." He still slurred his speech a little. He started moving, turning himself on his back. Steph looked at him, but was still frozen in place. She probably waited for hell to break loose. Oops, his gun was still lying on the night stand.
"You look… really…. nice, babe." Stephanie seemed to choke. Probably he never made those kinds of compliments.
"You… always…. look nice,… babe." Wow, he was definitely still sleeping, only his eyes were open. Do I smell an opportunity here to get him to talk about his real feelings? Yes!
"Eh, thanks." Come on Steph, do something.
"You are… the… prettiest woman… ever." Oh my God, where is a camera when you need one! Even from the distance I could see Stephanie blushing furiously. Cute.
"Ranger, are you okay?" Oh shit, don't say anything that can alert his brain, Steph!
"I'm sick… Aurelia said… so." I couldn't help but smile.
"Oh." Very eloquent.
"Are you… going to… take… care… of me?" Yes, yes, yes, this is good! Steph turned her head towards me, looking clueless. She mouthed to me 'what did you give him?' I just smiled at her and mouthed back 'just sleeping pills'. Then I nodded my head to encourage her to answer Ricardo.
"Eh, if you want me to…" Oh, come on, a little more confidence girl! Sell yourself!
"I have… fantasies… about you… taking… care of me…" He sounded… turned on? Eeuw, he is still my brother! He closed his eyes again, turning on his side. He appeared to have fallen asleep again. Slowly, Steph got up and started to walk away from him.
"Don't leave… me." Oh, this was just too sweet.
"I'll never leave you." Steph whispered these last words, and to me it sounded like both of them were talking about more than just tonight. I was obviously forgotten, but I didn't mind, it looked like things were working out just fine. Steph knelt down again next to the bed, and Ricardo opened his eyes and gave her a small sleepy smile. This time she smiled back.
