Had a bit more spare time today than I had planned on, so I was able to update. No idea what's up for the next 3 days. Remember, tell me that you've voted and you get a cameo in later in the story. Or, it it's before Tuesday, tell me your vote plan (how and when you are getting to the polls)

Recap: Stephanie decides to break up with Joe at Shorty's, with Lester there as backup.

Stephanie's POV

Lester and I kept playing Battleship until 5:00. His superior aim meant he won most of the time. I was only hitting my target about 80% of my shots, but I was improving. Lester had suggested that we turn it into strip Battleship, and we'd lose an item of clothing each time the other player sunk one of our boats. I vetoed that idea with a noogie and a suggestion that Ranger might want to play.

After so many hours at the range, I was tired and sore. My right arm felt like it was going to fall off. But I felt happy and confident. I was improving rapidly; I might not like the gun, but felt a little more comfortable with it.

I'd been trying to figure out my approach to talking with Morelli. Do I just say it's over and not give an explanation? Do I catalog every hurtful thing he's said to me? I decided to just wing it, see how things went in the moment. I did think asking for my key back would be a good test. I knew it was useless now that Hector had changed my lock, but he didn't. If he didn't return my key, it really did show I was right to leave him, and should probably take steps to keep him out of my life permanently. If he did, maybe we could try to be friends after a while. But one thing was for sure; I was done being an emotional punching bag.

At 5 I went up to Ranger's apartment to shower and change. Ranger was already there, leaning back casually in a chair while reading a contract. He put everything down when I walked into the room, coming over to me with Panther-like grace, and pulled me into a blistering kiss. His hands pulled my hair out of its clip and gently brushed through the curls, and I could feel him harden against my stomach.

"Wow, a girl could get used to a greeting like that at the end of the day." I panted when he let me go.

He nuzzled my hair and brushed the shell of my ear with his cheek. "Babe, a man could get used to you coming home to greet him at the end of the day, smelling so good." He pulled his earlobe into his mouth, sucking lightly.

I'm pretty sure I moaned a little when he did that. "Ranger, as much fun as this is, I need to get showered and changed and go meet Morelli. I have to end this or it will all just get too complicated."

"Are you sure you don't want me there for moral support?" he murmured in my ear, "Or, perhaps, assistance in the shower? I can help you get to all those hard-to-reach places."

Both offers were tempting, but neither was a good idea. "Going to have to take a raincheck on those, at least for a few hours. But thinking about coming back here for comfort and…...dessert, will help me get through this. I've known Morelli my whole life. This is going to suck."

He got an evil grin on his face. "If you want, I can do sucking too."

Oh, boy.

45 minutes later I was showered, dressed, and trying to tamp down the butterflies in my stomach. Lester knocked on the door, and I was pleased to see he was out of Rangeman black. Instead he was wearing jeans, sneakers, and a sweater. He also had a light colored windbreaker and a NY Jets ballcap. The bulky clothes hid his muscle tone, and Shorty's was always filled with a bunch of tough looking men. Lester wouldn't stand out.

Ranger handed me a key ring with a Kwickset key on it. "Hector changed your locks this afternoon, and apparently fed your hamster. We can't do much about the door itself being shoddy, but this will stop almost anyone from being able to pick it."

"Does that mean you'll have to knock or use a key now?"

"Babe, I said almost."

Ranger did his ESP thing with Lester, not saying anything, just giving him a look and a nod. I'm assuming the message was "Take care of her, and if he does anything he shouldn't, take care of him." I took a deep breath, and walked out the door.

Lester's POV

We had arrived early enough to make sure that we would be in position before the cop got there. I wasn't sure exactly what had gone on between them, but obviously it had rattled Stephanie. I also wasn't sure how much I believed her that he had never gotten physical with her.

I took a seat at the bar, close to the table Steph chose. From here I could hear them well, but swivel away if I thought Morelli way looking my way. I ordered a beer, but just sipped at it. I needed to stay sharp. Behind me, Beautiful ordered a pizza with steak and olives. Sounded like a horrible combo to me, but to each her own. I could tell she was nervous. Her leg was jiggling under the table and she had already shredded her napkin into confetti.

Right as her pizza came, Morelli walked in. It had started to drizzle outside, and he shook his hair to get the flecks of water out. Steph took a deep breath, and I could almost see her pull together her courage. He slid into the seat across from her, and grabbed a slice.

"Blech, Cupcake, why can't you just get a normal pizza like everyone else?"

"Joe, we need to talk."

"Uh oh. Those conversations never end well. Or is this where you apologize for leaving last night?"

"No. I'm not going to apologize for that. And this is the conversation where I tell you we're done. For good, not this 'on again-off again' game we've been playing for years."

"What the hell brought this on?"

"A few things, but mostly it's something I realized last night."

I turned my head slightly, wanting to make sure I could see her if he did anything stupid. So far he was just waving his hands and pointing a lot with his pizza crust. Annoying, but it probably wasn't a dangerous weapon.

"I realized that when I'm with you, I always end our visit feeling worse about myself than when we started. There's the constant little jabs at me, the put downs, the insults. The general feeling that you only value me for my body. My self esteem gets worn away little by little with every one of those comments. I think it's why we can't live together for very long, I get worn down so much I need to get away to build myself back up."

"What are you talking about? I don't insult you, I love you!"

"Joe, when you walked in here, the first thing you did was insult my choice of toppings for pizza. You didn't have to eat the pizza, you had said you were planning on getting a meatball sub. So why should it matter what I get to eat as long as I like it?"

"You're breaking up with me over what I said about pizza toppings?"

"No. I'm breaking up with you for the thousand little cuts that happen whenever I'm with you. The pizza thing was just the most recent. Last night was much bigger. Last night I told you some news that I was really excited about, and you put me down. You insulted my abilities and intelligence. It wasn't the first time, it wasn't the thousandth time. But it's going to be the last time. I won't let you have the power over me to hurt me again."

"This is ridiculous." Morelli said, his voice bordering on yelling. "We belong together, I love you, you love me, and once you get this bounty-hunting crap out of your system you'll realize that and marry me."

Stephanie sighed. "Joe, I think you are in love with this...image of me. Someone who is willing to settle down and be a wife and mother. That's fine for some women, but it's not what I want with my life. We'd never actually work, long-term. It's better to end it now, before we end up hating each other for not being what the other needs."

Joe glared at her. I kept my cool, but was wary for any sudden movements he might make. After a moment he stood up, pushing the table at her. "Call me when you come to your senses." he said, then stomped out the door.

Once he was out of sight I went over to help Steph disentangle herself from the table, which was pinning her in the booth. She sighed heavily. "Well, that went a lot better then it could have. I wonder how long it will take until my mother hears and tries to get us back together."

She nibbled at the pizza, but with a lot less enthusiasm than she normally ate. I grabbed a slice. It was weird, but not too bad. "Do you want to get this boxed up and head back to Heywood?"

"Yeah. I'm not feeling hungry, but all Ranger has is rabbit food." She frowned suddenly. "Shit, I meant to ask him for the key to my place back."

I looked at her, surprised. "I thought Hector changed the locks."

"He did. It was going to be a test, to see if he would...I don't know. Be reasonable, I guess. But it doesn't really matter. He can't get in anymore."

I went back to the bar and gave Shorty a 50 for the pizza, beer, and for putting up with an angry cop in his place. It's always a good idea to treat the people who handle your food well. He passed me a box, and I put the pizza away. "You going to be OK, Bomber?"

"Yeah. I'm going to go back to Ranger's apartment. I'm sure he'll cheer me up."

I waggled my eyebrows at her. She laughed. "Are you going to see Marie again?"

"Yup." I said. "I told her I'd give her a call when I finished here. I'll drop you off then head over to her place."

We grabbed the pizza box and headed out into the cold drizzle.

Stephanie's POV

I felt like I'd run a couple of miles by the time I got to Ranger's apartment. It's funny how emotions can tire you out just as much as physical exertion. I trudged into the apartment and went to the fridge to put the pizza away for when I was more hungry. It was then I noticed a wonderfull smell. And there it was on the counter, a fresh-baked pineapple upside-down cake.

"Ella made it for you, I thought you deserved your favorite after the day you've had." Ranger had come up behind me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close to his chest.

"Thank you, Ranger. Oh look, there's even whipped cream!"

"Babe," he said, kissing down the side of my neck and sliding his hand into my jeans, then my panties. His strong fingers brushed against my nub, sending a jolt of electricity through every nerve in my body. "The whipped cream isn't for the cake."

Oh, Boy.