Ranger opens the door wider and steps aside to let her through. She doesn't even glance at the inside of the house before turning around and getting ready to give him an earful.
"Do you even understand what I'm upset about, Ranger?"
"Sure, I do, Babe. You're mad because I left for 3 months without letting you know."
"Errrrnt. Wrong answer. Try again."
"Because, I sent you back to Morelli after our one night?"
"Nope. Still wrong."
"Then tell me why you're mad."
"Ok. You were partially right, you know. Both those incidents upset me, but what really hurt me was seeing the way you interacted with Jeanne Ellen and even Amy at the Rangeman Christmas bash. I mean you keep telling me that 'Your life doesn't lend itself to relationships', but clearly you've had relationships in the past with these women and even now you have more than a working relationship with both of them. I mean do you really expect me to be happy about the fact that you have time for relationships with other women, but not with me?"
"No, I guess I can't expect you to be happy about that, but Steph you're missing part of the picture. It's true my life doesn't lend itself to relationships, but that doesn't mean relationships aren't possible. I knew when I said that that you thought I meant I didn't want to have a relationship with you, but that's not the truth. It's you I want a relationship with and no one else."
"If that's true then why were you acting that way around Jeanne Ellen and Amy at the Christmas Bash? Why weren't you trying to spend time with me then?"
"I would have been, but whenever I tried to get close to you there was always somebody else there. I couldn't even get close to you."
"Ha. You couldn't get close to me? I think you just weren't trying hard enough. We both know that you can move without being seen or heard, so getting close to me at a party shouldn't be too difficult."
"Fine. You want the truth. The truth is I was scared. I was scared that if I let you know how much I cared you would end up ripping my heart out."
"I would rip your heart out? How could I do that after you already ripped mine out?"
"When did I rip yours out? I never knew I had the power."
"Well then either you're blind or I'm better at hiding my feelings than I thought I was. You started ripping my heart out after you sent me back to Morelli. When I saw you with Jeanne Ellen and Amy that just completed the process."
"I'm sorry, Babe. I never meant to hurt you."
"Yeah, well sometimes, I'm sorry isn't enough."
"I know. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
"I don't know. Right now I have to work some things out for myself. Try talking to me in a week."
"A week? I don't know if I can go that long without seeing or talking to you."
"Well, you'll just have to tough it out. We'll probably still see eachother at work, but right now I want to limit our interactions to only work. Nothing personal. I need to sort out my feelings and see if there's anyway for me to overcome all the hurt you've done to me."
"Ok, but you have to understand that I do love you and that I'm going to do my best to show you that even if I'm not allowed to see or talk to you."