Disclaimer: The characters mentioned (except Max) belong to JE, not me. I make no profit but hope to get a few reviews...
Balancing Act: The Missing Scene
Ranger and Tank had just come out of a bar just off Stark Street with a newly-collared skip when Morelli's Crown Vic swerved into the parking lot and stopped just beyond the black SUV. Ranger gave Tank's questioning look a shake of the head, and Tank continued to load the handcuffed skip into the back of the Bronco. Morelli stalked around the hood of his car, anger evident in his rigid control. Tank hesitated. Ranger looked wary but not worried.
"Where is she?" Morelli demanded as soon as he hit the sidewalk.
"Stephanie?" Ranger asked, wondering what had happened now. He started to glance at Tank and Morelli blindsided him, his fist catching Ranger just under the cheekbone.
The blow would have knocked most men out, or at least off their feet. It had taken Ranger by surprise, but he'd been a fighter too long not to know how to take a punch. He rocked back on the balls of his feet and dodged the next fist, catching Morelli's forearm and using it to swing him around and pin his arm up behind his back.
Predictably, this led to a lot of swearing and scuffling. Ranger told Tank to take the skip in. He'd call for a ride when he & Morelli finished their 'discussion'.
Morelli kept doing his best to break Ranger's face. For a while Ranger just dodged or blocked, then he got a little angry and did some damage of his own. The next time he got Morelli in a lock Joe caved, still swearing. Ranger slowly let him go, wary still, and then dragged him into the bar to get ice and a bottle of scotch. They sat in a booth in a dim corner, left alone by everyone.
Ranger finally got Morelli to tell him what was wrong. It seemed that Stephanie had taken off from the hospital, apparently on her own. She wasn't at her parents' house or Lula's or Connie's, and she didn't come to Morelli's house. She'd answered her cell once but refused to tell Joe where she was and then wouldn't answer any more – so of course he assumed she was somewhere with Ranger.
Ranger thought for a minute then pulled out his cell and tried Stephanie's numbers. No answer on either cell or land line. He called his office and asked Bobby, who was on duty, if Stephanie had by any chance showed up there. Negative. He thought again and asked if Joe had checked her apartment. He hadn't – wasn't Valerie still living there? Ranger told him Valerie had moved the day before – but he only knew because Bobby had seen them moving into the new house when he drove by. Joe had apologized for jumping to conclusions, and they both had a drink in silence, contemplating Stephanie. After another drink, Morelli began to talk; he talked about Stephanie, about her many crazy habits and what drove him nuts about her. And the things that made her loveable. After a while Joe admitted that he loved her, and thought he wanted to marry her someday, but that he really wasn't ready for it yet – especially since Stephanie showed no signs of wanting to settle down, either. He griped to Ranger that Stephanie actually went white-eyed with panic at even the thought of having a baby. Then he complained about the impossibility of keeping her safe.
Ranger had been listening and agreeing in places, saying all the right things. Joe finally gave him a glare and said he should cut the act, he knew damn well Ranger was in love with her, too. And he knew Stephanie had serious feelings for him. Hell, she'd proved that when she'd thrown herself in front of gunfire for him.
For a moment Ranger was silent. Everything Joe had said was true, but he knew there was more to it. He sighed and pointed out that Stephanie had made sure Joe was protected first, and would have done exactly the same thing if Joe's and Ranger's positions had been reversed – she'd have slammed the door on Ranger, and thrown herself in front of Joe. Morelli had cursed and drank and rubbed his face, but finally he admitted Ranger was right.
The more they drank and talked, the more honest and blunt their discussion became. Joe admitted he'd be happy if Stephanie stayed away from Ranger, but that he knew without Ranger watching over her, too, there were many times she'd have been in far more danger. He hated her job, but knew if he demanded she change and give it up, that their relationship wouldn't last. Ranger agreed that being in love with her was not always easy, and that keeping up with her could be work, but that if she changed she just wouldn't be the Stephanie that they loved.
Eventually Joe theorized that no single man could keep up with Stephanie and keep her happy and safe, and that perhaps neither one of them would be the 'right' man when – or if - she decided to settle down. Probably the best solution, at least short term, to keep her safe was if they 'shared' her. It sounded bad, but wasn't that practically what they did now?
Ranger laughed unhappily and told Joe that he got far more of Stephanie – she'd moved into his house for months at a time and shared his bed.
Joe looked Ranger in the eye and told him he knew she'd slept with him. That threw Ranger slightly, because he was positive Stephanie had never told anyone. He took a breath to ask how Joe knew but Joe continued on his own about it being in the way Ranger looked at Stephanie when she wasn't looking – Joe recognized the look. Ranger didn't deny it, but he told Joe he'd had to blackmail her into it even though he knew she wanted him physically. Whatever he got from her he had to steal, and Stephanie always felt guilty. If they were actually admitting that neither of them alone could keep her safe and happy, and they were agreeing to share her, then it had to be understood that they shared everything. They'd let Stephanie decide if, when, and how she was with either of them. No pressure to force her to choose one or the other, no making her feel guilty, just enjoy what time they could. If the day came that she did make a choice the other would bow out, no hard feelings.
Ranger was never sure what prompted the whole blood-oath thing, but the next thing he knew his knife was out and they'd both cut their hands, mingled their blood, and sworn an oath.
Hauling Morelli into the bar bathroom afterward to get the cuts cleaned up and stop the bleeding, Ranger realized they both looked like beat-up shit and that Morelli was drunk enough that he shouldn't drive. He got him back into the Vic and drove him home, then called a cab to take him back to the Rangeman building. He didn't want any of the guys to see him, though, so he scrambled all the cameras from the lobby all the way up to seven, until he was safely locked into his apartment.
By morning he almost didn't recognize himself – Morelli had managed to do a number on his face with that first punch. Between the bruises still blooming from the shots to the Kevlar vest during the shootout, the still-healing wounds, and the fresh bruises from his altercation with Morelli, he was sporting more injuries than he could remember in years. He looked like the survivor of a horror movie. He sighed, thought carefully over the next few days' schedules, and left a message on Tank's office phone. He was going to take a few days off and just heal. He really didn't want anyone to see him like this, and besides, he couldn't remember when he'd last taken any time off.
-o0o-
Morelli called Stephanie's apartment early the next morning – he'd begun to sober up but wasn't quite all the way there yet. She'd didn't answer (she'd been in the shower and didn't hear the phone) but he left a message on the machine:
"Hey, Steph, it's Joe… I just wanted you to know Ranger and I had a discussion tonight – last night - and we came to an Agreement. We've been pretty stupid, fighting over you and pushing you to choose between us – and, yeah, I know I was pushing harder than him – especially when we both love you. We want you safe and happy, and we both want to be with you. I know you care for both of us. I know you slept with him. I suspected it before but I was never sure until tonight. I told him I knew and I could see the shock in his eyes. I don't care anymore. And I told him that, too. We agreed – it's your life, and we want to be a part of it. No more guilt, and no more ultimatums. So Ranger isn't the marrying type. I am. For now, you can have us both. Your life, your choices. When you're ready to settle down I'll still be here."
~end scene~
