By the time Ranger pulled into the parking lot of Ben and Jerry's, Steph was practically vibrating with delight. The smile on her face started miles ago when she saw the first sign for the factory and hasn't left her face yet. To Ranger, it seemed like the guys in the back seat were almost as excited as Steph. He was excited too, but for other reasons, but he knew how to keep it under control. Steph almost jumped out of the car before he had it parked. He got out and had to ask her to stop for a minute while they waited for Lester and Bobby to catch up to them. Steph grabbed his hand and practically ran inside to the factory.
Steph was heading to the window to get tour tickets when Ranger nudged her out of the way and smiled at the woman behind the window. She looked like she was ready to faint from his brilliant smile and when he said, "Manoso Party", she smiled at him. "Yes sir, right away sir. Please step over to the side and someone will be right with you." She pointed to the side of the lobby where she wanted him to go. He nodded and grabbed Steph's hand and led her to the side. Bobby and Lester followed him as well. Steph looked at him and said, "What did you do?" He smiled and said, "You're still getting your tour, just with a few added features. You'll just have to wait a few minutes." She looked at him and shook her head saying, "Can't you ever just be normal for one time and do what other people do?" He shook his head and said, "Babe, I'm not normal, you know that but you still love me." She laughed and said, "Yep, for some reason, I still love you."
Bobby looked at them and shook his head. He pulled Lester over to the side and had a quiet conversation with him. "Lester, my boy, I think he finally did it. He finally told her how he feels about her. Look at them." Lester looked over and saw the looks Ranger and Steph were giving each other and while Ranger hand one hand wrapped around her waist, he noticed that Ranger's other hand was in a pocket on his pants and was moving something around. He nodded to Bobby, "See that, he's got something in his pocket. You don't think he's going to ask her, do you?" Bobby quirked an eyebrow and said, "This would be the perfect place to do it. Heaven on earth here for Steph." They nodded to each other and then instinctively reached for their guns when they heard Steph let out a small scream.
Looking over at Steph and Ranger, they noticed that 2 men were standing with them and talking. Step couldn't stop smiling and Ranger looked over and saw them with their hands on their guns. He shook his head and motioned them over to join the party. They walked up and Ranger said, "These two work for me. Lester, Bobby, meet Ben and Jerry." Their mouths hung open and Steph laughed, "See why I screamed? This is better than meeting Santa Claus!" The guys all shook hands and Ranger said, "RangeMan provides security for their homes and once I found out where Steph was headed, I made a few calls. Seems that we'll be able to get a private tour with some knowledgeable tour guides." Steph started bouncing up and down again and Ranger grabbed her hand, pulling her in for a kiss. He had an ESP moment with Ben and Jerry and they excused themselves for a moment and Ranger led a few feet away and had a quiet conversation with them. Lester noticed he patted his pants pocket and the two men's faces lit up. They both nodded and then all three walked over to the rest of the group. "Okay, everyone, follow us and we'll get suited up for the tour." Steph looked at them and said, "We get to sample, right?" Ranger shook his head and said, "Babe."
Soon they were set up with the appropriate apparel for the tour and with Ben and Jerry leading their small group, they learned everything they would ever want to know about how the company started and how the process to create and package the products flowed. By the time they got to the creation lab, Steph was jumping for joy. Ranger acted like he was tolerating it for Steph, but deep down, he was actually having fun. Lester and Bobby trailed behind and were quietly chatting amongst themselves, wondering when the moment was going to happen. Ben and Jerry set them up each at a station and helped them with their creations. Steph looked over at Ranger's and noticed everything he was adding to his was white. "Hey Batman, where's the black?" He chuckled and said, "You'll see." Steph was having a hard time deciding what to create and in the end, they let her make four different creations and none of the guys would try any of hers. Ranger wasn't letting anyone try his and soon he excused himself for a minute, with Ben trailing behind him. Jerry stayed behind and helped the three of them finish their packaging and labeling of their creations. He took them over to a blast chiller and they put their pints inside so they could get really frozen. While they were waiting, he started showing them around the rest of the factory. They got to the end of the line and Ranger was standing there waiting for them. He gave a slight nod of his head to Lester and Bobby and they moved away from Steph and stood to the side, both with their phones out and ready.
Ranger, with one hand behind his back, took Steph by the hand and led her a few steps away. She looked at him and tried to raise an eyebrow, which caused him to chuckle. "Cute Babe." He moved his arm in front of him and had his pint of ice cream in it. Steph smiled and said, "Are we ever going to get to try your creation?" He handed it over and said, "Read the label Babe." She looked at him suspiciously, but took the carton. She looked down and saw "Babe" in black letters with a pair of Batman and Wonder Woman logos. She looked up again and saw Ranger smiling at her. He handed her a spoon and she opened it up. "It's still all white. What is it? Vanilla and vanilla and vanilla?" She dug the spoon in and almost had a bite to her mouth when he shook his head and said, "No Babe, it is wedding cake." She gasped and almost dropped the spoon when he slowly went down on one knee and pulled a small, black jewelry box out of his pocket. Steph started to breathe rapidly and her hands started shaking.
"Babe, you are the light in my darkness. You make me a better man and I love you. I can't imagine spending the rest of my life without you. Please, will you marry me, please Babe?" He opened the box and lifted out the ring and reached for her left hand. He looked up at her and saw she had tears running down her face. She was still holding onto the pint of ice cream but had managed to stick the spoon back into the top. She opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. Ranger looked at her and asked, "Babe?" She started nodding her head and then let out a small sob. Ranger slid the ring on her finger and standing up, pulled her into his arms and kissed her with everything that he had in him. The four men standing around them started cheering and soon came over to offer their congratulations. The guys started talking about how they figured out what he was planning to do and how they videotaped it and took photos with the phones. Before they got too far into their conversation, they all heard Steph let out a small moan. They looked over and she had started to eat the Babe ice cream. Ranger started laughing and she blushed. "I can't help it, it's actually good. It does taste like wedding cake, even if there aren't any frosting flowers." Soon, spoons were passed around and they are got to sample. Ben looked at Jerry who looked at Ranger and said, "Anytime you want a new job, come see us. Do you mind if we market this flavor?" Ranger just shook his head, smiling at his Babe.