Here's the second chapter. Heather sent it back to me yesterday but I needed to polish it up. So I hope the wait was worth it.

Ranger POV:

I sat on the edge of my bed after talking to Steph. I ran my hands through my hair; I knew I had royally fucked up my whole relationship with Steph. I stood with a sigh and walked to the closet. It wouldn't do me any good to just sit in bed in my clothes.

I changed into a pair of boxers and walked to bed. I gazed at the closed door, tempted to go back into the living room to talk more and make this right, to try and fix it. I knew she didn't want to see me, though.

I slid into bed and laid on my back, staring at the ceiling in the dark. I had beat myself up over this the past couple weeks, but the mental pounding I gave myself staring up at the ceiling while she laid on my couch. I don't know how long I laid there but I was still awake when the door opened. I felt my breath stop; her steps were quiet but slightly timid as she walked into the room.

The blanket was lifted, and the other side of the bed dipped as she crawled into bed next to me. She laid on her back next to me, quiet for a few minutes. Those minutes stretched on like hours. I was so tempted to say something, but I waited not wanting to scare her.

"I'm willing to give this a shot if you are, but we need to talk about what we want," she said softly.

"Okay, Babe." I turned on my side to look at her and she slid her eyes over to me.

"Are you just going to stare or are you going to hold me?" she asked.

I didn't waste any time. As she turned on her side, I wrapped my body around hers and buried my face in her hair. I sighed, taking in the familiar smell.

Her hands wrapped around mine and she sighed, settling back against me. For the first time in a long time, I slept through the night. I woke up at six thirty to my phone ringing. It was Tank.

"What?" I answered.

Steph and I had moved during the night, her body was on top of mine, her head tucked under my chin. She groaned softly and moved but settled when I tightened my arm around her waist.

"Where are you? I saw Steph come up last night. Is she okay?"

"Yes, I'm offline today, we both are."

"Oh…. OH!" he said. "Don't fuck this up."

I hung up without replying. Wrapping my arms back around her, I sighed. "So that was Tank?" Steph asked, nuzzling into my neck.

I jolted, not realizing she was awake. "Yeah, he was wondering where I was."

"And you're offline?" she asked, blinking her eyes at me. I nodded. She sat up and slid off of me, eliciting a groan. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head. I pressed a button on the intercom for Ella to bring up breakfast.

"Good morning, Ricardo," Ella said in her normal cheerful voice.

Steph walked out the bedroom door, leaving me lying in bed. I got up after a few more seconds in bed. I heard the front door open, and Steph and Ella exchanged pleasantries. I walked out and Ella looked at me.

"You better not mess this up, Ricardo," she said. Steph laughed softly and Ella patted her on the back as she settled at the counter. She left and I sat next to Steph.

"So, we should probably talk," she said. I nodded.

"What are your expectations?"

"I refuse to be controlled," she said softly. "I've spent too many years letting other people's opinions determine my actions. If there's an issue, we'll talk about it. I want to know about all threats, and I will tell you if I'm being threatened. I want transparency. I don't want to be tracked unless I know about it. We will talk, neither of us are good at expressing our emotions but we'll have to improve on that if we want this to work. I don't want another relationship where we don't talk."

"I need you to be honest with me. I don't want anymore of that half truth shit. If we do this there needs to be trust and we can't build it off of half truths and lies. I know there are things you can't and won't tell me, I won't pry."

I nodded. "I need you to let me keep you safe. If I'm overbearing, tell me. We will have to talk, Steph. I agree with that. I want to set aside one night a week and one weekend a month for just us. I don't work, my phone will be off. Just the two of us, doing something, or nothing, together. I have control issues, but I'm working on it. I need you by my side Babe."

She nodded. "So, Babe will you be my Valentine?" I asked her.

"Valentine's Day was yesterday." She frowned, looking at me.

I smiled. "Well, we both had pretty shitty Valentine's Days. How about we make today our redo?"

She smiled. "Sounds like a wonderful idea."

I pulled her close and kissed her softly. She leaned into me, and I maneuvered her into my lap. She sighed and nuzzled into my neck. "We're really going to do this."

"We are." I smiled, kissing her again.

Well I hope it was worth the wait! Thanks for reading.