Ch. 5

I had been working for RangeMan for awhile now, so I had built up camaraderie with most of the guys. They were being very tolerant of my mood, but after the fifth day of skulking around the offices I was getting sick of myself. I decided it was time to get over it and make the best of this situation. So that night after work I went and hung out in the recreation room with some of the Merry Men. I hadn't seen Ranger around for a while, so I cornered Tank and asked him where Ranger was. After several minutes trying to dodge the question, Tank reluctantly admitted that Ranger had gone to Pino's to meet Joe because Joe had finally heard from Leslie. I allowed myself to feel optimistic about this and was actually having a good time, smiling for the first time in the last few days. Then Ranger walked in and the look on his face chased away my good mood. I knew he was bringing bad news. I leapt up and ran over to Ranger.

"Ranger, what is it? Did you talk to Joe?"

"Yeah I did, Babe."

"And, how is he?" Just talking about Joe inadvertently brought a smile to my face.

"Frustrated." My smile faded, which didn't seem to sit well with Ranger. "And he sounded like he missed you," Ranger added quickly. My smile returned, both because of what Ranger had said and just the fact that he had said it. Ranger doesn't handle emotion well--his or anyone else's. Even something as easy as saying Joe missed me doesn't come easily in Ranger's repertoire of conversational topics. I figured it was time to let Ranger off the hook he was squirming on.

"Well, what did he say about Leslie?"

A topic much more suited for Ranger, he quickly responded. "Earlier today Joe received a call at the station from Leslie. He's still toying with Joe regarding his intentions, but Joe believes he's definitely hunting for you. Apparently, Leslie intimated to Joe that he's closer than Joe knows. I'm afraid you need to stay here, Steph. I don't think this guy will be happy until he has you."

I had been expecting bad news as soon as I saw Ranger, but for a while there I had allowed myself to feel optimistic and I can't say the news wasn't a little jolting to my system. Regardless, I had an agreement with myself I intended to keep. "You don't have to worry about anything Ranger. I'm staying right here. I know Joe can handle this, and in the meantime I've already decided to make the best of the situation. Me and the guys here were just having an interesting conversation about movies."

Ranger shot me a skeptical look. I smiled at him reassuringly. "I mean it Ranger. No worries, OK?"

"OK, Babe."

Three weeks went by without another word from Joe. I handled the first couple weeks fairly well. By the end of the third week; however, depression was clearly setting in. I was back to spending more time alone in my apartment, and losing my entire paycheck to bribing Ranger's men to smuggle in junk food. Just today, I sent a couple of them out to smuggle me in a triple scoop ice cream cone of coffee-flavored Haagen Dazs. When they returned, they encouraged me to stay with them and hang out rather than retreat back to my apartment alone. Again. I really didn't feel in the mood for socializing, but I figured it might be the best thing for my mental health. And after several minutes of eating my ice cream, I was feeling much calmer. The guys seemed to be enjoying themselves as well. I guess it makes them feel good to do something nice for an unfortunate person such as myself. I savored the cone, enjoying every last bite, and when I was done I had no desire to move. Me and some of the guys were still hanging out when Ranger walked in later that day. Suddenly I started feeling queasy, which really isn't my usual reaction to seeing Ranger. I probably should've gotten only a double scoop of ice cream earlier. As Ranger approached me, I was aware that I was staring straight through him, swallowing hard.

"Steph, are you OK?" Ranger asked.

I wasn't OK at all, but I couldn't open my mouth to say anything. Within seconds, I had gotten hot, my stomach was churning and a huge lump was forming in my chest. I knew the signs. Covering my mouth with my hand, I ran from the room before I completely embarrassed myself all over Ranger's carpet. I barely made it to the bathroom before I deposited the contents of my stomach into the toilet.

I leaned back against the bathroom wall and closed my eyes, willing my stomach to settle down. There was a soft knock on the door and Ranger's voice drifted over me, asking me if I was alright. I opened my eyes, took a couple deep breaths and realized that I actually was feeling better.

"I'm better now Ranger," I called out. "Could you give me a minute, please, and I'll be out?"

"Sure thing, Babe."

Ranger left Steph in the bathroom as she requested and stormed back to the rec room. Anger coursed through his veins, as irrational as that seemed. Ranger figured Steph had eaten something that didn't agree with her, and there was no mystery where it would've come from. But she was a grown woman and could make her own choices, so why did he feel like tearing the heads off of his employees. Maybe because he hadn't heard from Morelli in weeks, and he was starting to feel useless. A feeling he was very unaccustomed to. Regardless, he needed to vent his anger and frustration somewhere, and there was a roomful of people about to become a very useful outlet.

Ranger stormed through the doorway, his face like a thundercloud. "Does somebody want to fill me in on how it came to be that Steph is currently in the bathroom puking?" Ranger demanded, only to be met with a sea of blank stares and cautious silence.

"Fine then, I'll make the question more specific so you can understand it. What did you guys smuggle in for Steph this time?"

"We got her an ice cream cone," Hal said sheepishly. Several RangeMan employees glared at him as if he'd just gotten them shot. Hal glared back, daring someone to come forward and stand with him.

"A triple," added Cal, accepting Hal's dare.

Ranger narrowed his eyes and pinned Hal with his fierce scowl.

"What!" Hal responded defensively. "She asked! We did it to be nice."

Ranger didn't buy that crap for a minute and relentlessly prolonged his "Yea Right" stare toward Hal, before slowly encompassing everyone in his glare, employing the silent technique that made people want to keep talking and spill all their secrets just to end the tense silence. Erik was the first to break this time, almost giddy with the excitement of getting to share the information he had.

"OK, truth is, we had ulterior motives agreeing to the ice cream cone. We figured it would be fun to watch Bombshell eat it. And was it ever! The way she attacked that cone with her tongue, licking up and down then all the way around to catch the drips…"

Ranger raised his hand, palm out toward Erik, whose words trailed off before Steph's tonguing techniques could be discussed further. Ranger had heard enough. Certainly images of Steph's tongue on anything wasn't going to help his mood any. Ranger heard the elevator and knew Steph had gone back to her apartment. She probably didn't feel like any company, but at the same time Ranger didn't think she should be alone. Hell, they were friends, and certainly comfortable enough with each other that he'd gotten past the point where he was mere company. He knew she was feeling worried about Morelli and miserable being confined here. Ranger wasn't sure how to help her, but he had to at least try. He was fairly positive that eating to the point she made herself sick wasn't helpful to her, so he couldn't do much worse. Steph usually ate comfort food when she was feeling stressed or upset, but she'd never made herself sick before. Maybe she was just missing home more than he realized. It was possible that he was going to have to get in touch with Joe and perhaps arrange a visit. He didn't think Joe would like that, but he wouldn't like knowing Steph was making herself sick either.

Ranger reached Steph's apartment and knocked softly on the door. He didn't want to wake her in case she had fallen asleep. Instead, her voice called out inviting him to come in and when he opened the door he found her sitting on the couch in the living room. He strode toward her and sat down next to her.

Ranger nudged Steph lightly with his shoulder. "Told you that stuff will kill you Babe."

"Well, it'll have to get in line behind all the lunatics, won't it?"

The corner of Ranger's mouth twitched. I knew he was trying hard not to laugh. "This will all be over soon."

"I appreciate you saying that, but you know there's no way of knowing that for sure. I really miss Joe. And I hate being locked up. Nothing would make me happier than going home." I blew out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry. I know I'm sounding whiny and unappreciative of everything you've done."

"We're friends, Steph. There's no need for apologies between us."

I smiled at Ranger. "Thanks Ranger. And I do appreciate you coming by, but I'm feeling really tired. Would you mind leaving so I can get some sleep?"

"Absolutely. Feel better and I'll see you in the morning." Ranger kissed me lightly on the head before he turned and left.