Ranger caught up to her. "Let me buy you lunch." Steph sighed.

"Fine. Where to?" Ranger held open the door of his truck for her.

"Pino's. You need it."

Chapter 2

Stephanie considered herself to be a strong willed person. Except when Pino's was involved…it was her weakness. Ranger was silent the whole drive…his eyes stared ahead, and his mouth was set into a thin line. Stephanie wondered if he was angry with her. She hadn't done anything. Except for maybe profess her undying love for him. But would that make him angry? Steph hoped not. As they got out of the car, Steph hooked her arm through his.

"What's bothering you?" Ranger looked at her.

"Nothing really…I was forced to look at reality this morning, and I'm still processing the data." Steph looked up at him quizzically. Ranger kissed the top of her head. "Let's talk once we order." They walked into Pino's and it suddenly dawned on Steph that this wasn't going to be the friendliest of places. Pino's was a cop hangout…and Morelli happened to be a cop. And Trenton officers stuck together. They all probably knew that it had been Ranger and his Merry Men who had beat the living shit out of Joe. They were getting mean glances, and Steph could hear muttering. Ranger must have picked up on her tension, because he gently placed a hand on her neck and led her to the booth where they always sat. Steph ordered and looked at Ranger.

"I'm sorry about earlier today." Ranger grinned.

"Why? Joyce had it coming to her." Steph shook her head.

"Not about that. About me…"

"Babe."

"But…" Ranger held a finger to her lips.

"Babe, listen to me. It doesn't matter what you did or didn't do. I realized something today. And that was that I love you. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it." Steph grinned and kissed his finger.

"I love you too." She waved her files in front of Ranger. "So…how about we go catch us some bad guys?" Ranger nodded and paid for the pizza to go. They went back into the truck and looked over the first file. Ranger whistled.

"This guy was arrested for armed robbery. His weapon of choice was a shotgun…classy. He has priors for rape, attempted murder, and vehicular assault. Damn…Steph…do you think you can handle this one?" Steph looked shocked that he had used her name, but then she snapped out of it.

"Of course I can handle him. The old me wouldn't have been able to…but I can. Besides, I'll have you with me." Ranger grinned and kissed her.

"As long as I don't have to witness your sister giving birth, get a concussion, or break my leg, we'll make a great team."

Ranger drove to the FTA's house. It was surprisingly nice on the outside, with little potted daisies on the porch, a rocking chair, and a fresh cut lawn. Ranger hung back while Steph walked up to the door and pounded on it with her fist. A voice yelled from inside.

"Whadyawant?" Steph flashed her badge.

"Mr. Martinov, you missed your court date. I'm here to bring you back to the station and have you rebooked." A bottle was thrown through the window.

"Go to hell!" Steph calmly pulled out her gun and checked to make sure it was loaded.

"Mr. Martinov, if you don't open this door right now, I'm going to have to shoot your locks off." Another beer bottle flew through the window. Steph rolled her eyes and fired a shot into the doorway. The door handle broke free and the door swung open. Steph looked inside and aimed her gun at a big man wielding a meat cleaver. The man swung at the air.

"You come inside, and I'll show you the meaning of pain." Steph laughed.

"If you weren't so stupid, you might qualify as funny. Now get down on the ground." She shot a warning shot, just passing over his head. Martinov jumped, but held his ground. Steph growled and tackled him, disarming him with a swift kick to the wrist. She held him down and cuffed him. Ranger came then and hauled the guy to the truck. Making sure he was secured inside, he shut the door and walked over to Stephanie.

"Babe, good takedown." She smiled and pushed some loose hair from her face.

"Thanks. I learned from the best." Ranger kissed her softly.

"What are you doing tonight?" Steph traced her finger along Ranger's jaw line.

"I dunno. What do you have in mind?" Ranger gave her his famous 200-watt smile.

"How about some dinner and…dancing…at my place?" The pretty girl in his arms grinned slyly.

"I think I can manage that. 7 o'clock sound good?" Ranger nodded.

"Yes. Come on, I'll drop you back off at your car."

Steph got into her apartment around 4:30 after an uneventful day of skip tracing. She had two grand total burning a hole in her checkbook, and decided to go shopping for an outfit for her date with Ranger. She dropped a cracker in Rex's cage and locked the doors on her way out. The mall was quiet…not a lot of people, so shopping and looking were easier. Her first stop was Macy's and she found the perfect outfit almost immediately. It was a deep blue summer dress with tiny white flowers patterned along it. Steph's eyes looked even brighter and her skin looked perfectly tanned and golden when she wore the dress. Now for shoes. They were also easy to find. A pair of dark blue four inch sandals with a tiny diamond heart on the outside of the foot. Dark blue ribbon laced up from the heal to the mid-shin. They were perfect. Steph grinned to herself. She was the luckiest person alive. A quick visit to Victoria's Secret, and she had what she needed for a hot date with Ranger.

Once she arrived home, Steph checked her messages. One from her mother, asking if it was true she was over with Joe. The second was from Lester.

"Yo…Bomber. Just calling to let you know that training for tomorrow has switched from hand-to-hand to Breaking and Entering. This is gonna be fun!" Steph grinned and stepped out of her clothes on her way to the shower. She wasn't good at B&E, but it might be worth it to get better. Pushing training from her mind, Steph showered and began the process of getting beautified for her date. This included, perfect hair, makeup, and nails. She shaved her legs, waxed, polished, combed and finally, she was ready.

Ranger lit some candles in his apartment near the dining room table and looked himself over. He was wearing his black Armani dress pants, and a red silk shirt, buttoned down a little ways to expose his buff chest muscles. He had elected to keep his hair pulled back, although Steph would be begging for him to let it down so she could run her hands through it. Babe. His Babe…he could finally call her that without fear of losing her to Joe. She made him feel special…like he had a place in this world. Her eyes only showed love and support of him. He mirrored it back with as much affection as he knew possible. They really were a match made in heaven. The doorbell rang, and Steph let herself in. Ranger looked her over and whistled. She looked amazing.

"Babe."

"Ranger." She looked him over. "You look very nice today." He ran his hand down her side.

"So do you Babe." Steph grinned and stepped close to him. He kissed her softly at first, but then with more passion…more want. Steph moaned quietly as his tongue explored her mouth, then inched its way down to her neck. She squirmed as he sucked at the skin above her collar bone.

"Ranger…I want you so badly." Ranger grinned and picked her up, carrying her to his bedroom.

"And I want you…so let's play. Enough talk for now…I want to kiss you." He started unhooking her dress and Stephanie took in a sharp breath of anticipation. This is what she wanted…

TBC

I totally lost my direction in this story. I'll try to get it back on track next chapter.