This is an AU story. I hope you find the characters still themselves even if their world is different.

Sally

The Good Wife

Chapter 3

The ride from the Rangeman building to the hotel was brief. Thank god! We were sitting so closely, I could feel Ranger breathe. I noticed as we rode his heart rate slowed as did his breathing. Did that mean it had been elevated before? Did I do that? The thought that it was even a possibility was a heady feeling. I can't believe I did that! I attacked a man, thrown myself at him. Obviously he had kissed me back, but what was he supposed to do? Still, he didn't seem to be the type of person to do something he didn't want to. But what did he think about me? Did he think I was some sex starved socialite who threw herself at every good looking gardener, pool boy and amazingly hot and sexy bodyguard she came across? I hazarded a glance at Lester and the guard sitting next to Dickie. Well maybe not every hot and sexy bodyguard, just the bad boy of the bunch. I heard a small moan. Ohmigod, I think it was me. I heard Ranger's breath hitch. I smiled.

Dickie was sitting across from me, an apologetic look on his face. He knew better than to say anything about it now. His bodyguard gave me a smile and a nod before having some sort of ESP conversation with Lester and Ranger. There were looks and nods and if I am not mistaken a hand signal or two. I waited to see if they were going to bunt or steal second.

While they were chatting I checked out the third guard. He was no slouch in the looks department. I wondered if there were any homely Rangemen. His skin was the color of milk chocolate, yum, and his eyes a little darker than that. His hair was barely there, shaved closely to his head. He was muscular, but he didn't seem overly threatening. He looked like he could be kind of sweet. He caught me studying him. I blushed.

He gave me a small smile. "Mrs. Orr," he greeted me.

"Please, call me Steph." He smiled and took my hand.

"Bobby. It's nice to meet you." He hadn't look to Ranger for permission like Lester had. Apparently the mental conversation had covered permission to call me by my first name. Wonder what else it covered? Help! This crazy woman jumped me. Maybe that had been in there somewhere. I thought about kissing Ranger and I blushed again.

We pulled up to the hotel. I could hear the commotion outside. The three Rangemen had another quick ESP meeting before Bobby opened the door. He stepped out, surveying the area. Lester exited the other door and stood guard. The sounds of chaos outside filled the limo and I briefly considered just going home, probably not going to happen. Bobby gave the all clear and signaled for Dickie to get out. I was to follow.

While Dickie was climbing out I whispered to Ranger, "Sorry, I've never… I don't…" I was trying to avoid his eyes, I was blushing again. Crap. Forget it. I moved to exit the car, but Ranger grabbed my hand and pulled me to him.

"Don't be. I'm not." His breath was warm as he whispered in my ear. "Next time just give me a little warning." He kissed the spot right below my ear that made me crazy before nudging me to the car door. Momentarily stunned, I didn't have time to collect my thoughts. Dickie reached for me, helping me out of the limo. I had a huge smile on my face as I greeted the crowd. The only thought in my head was next time?

Dickie took my arm and led me to the hotel. Lester was walking a head of us. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Bobby behind Dickie. I couldn't see Ranger, but somehow I could feel he was behind me. I smiled and waved as we made our way to the ballroom. Normally I had to give myself a serious pep talk about faking a happy smile as I appeared in public alongside my husband. There was nothing fake about my smile tonight. Nothing in it about my husband either.

They announced us as we arrived and the crowd applauded as we made it onto the dance floor. Dickie took me in his arms and we circled the dance floor. We moved well together. We should I thought, we were well practiced. Being a member of the Orr family meant being proficient at many things, like dancing, playing tennis and knowing which fork to use. I sighed. Once upon a time I loved dancing with him. He had been my Prince Charming, my knight in shining armor. I had never been happier than when he asked me to marry him. Dickie Orr asked me, Stephanie Plum, plain old burg girl to marry him. It was the first time in my life that I felt my mother was really proud of me. I didn't want to think about how sad that made me. But all of that was a long time ago I reminded myself. How did I get here?

"Steph, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to be late. I didn't think my meeting would take that long." Dickie tried to apologize.

I laughed. All eyes were on us, so I looked up at him and smiled sweetly, even if I wasn't feeling so sweet, "Not now Richard. You know I don't ask much of you, but please respect me enough to not try and pass off what you were doing earlier as a meeting." He nodded, "I don't care what or rather who you were doing, but we have a schedule to keep." I reached up and kissed his cheek as the camera flashes lit up the ballroom. "It's easier for me if I don't know the when and the where of all of it. That way I can pretend to live in denial. You know the whole don't ask, don't tell policy." He leaned his cheek against mine.

"I know Steph, I'm sorry. You look beautiful tonight you know. I wouldn't be here without you. This is for you too Wonder Woman." I sighed and we continued to twirl around the dance floor, looking like the perfect power couple.

It would be easier if I could just hate Dickie, if he was a horrible bastard, or abused me in some way. In truth, outside the fidelity problem, Dickie was a descent husband and a good person. He was a talented politician and will be an excellent governor. I wouldn't have stayed with him or helped him if I didn't think so. I still cared about him, in some ways I still loved him. Part of me actually felt sorry for him in a way. Poor dumb sonofabitch.

He just couldn't keep it in his pants. He didn't do it to be cruel or as a show of power, he was simply a man ruled by his dick. The world seems to be full of them. Every time you turn around there is another politician, professional athlete, musician or actor who couldn't help but screw every woman within his reach. Sex addiction seemed to be the newest twelve step program. His parents sent Dickie to rehab, therapy, we tried couples counseling, and he even sought medical attention. Nothing has worked. His guilt was written on his face every time he looked at me; luckily I was the only one who could see it. He tried to make it up to me in other ways. He gave me jewelry, expensive cars, trips, charge cards, you name it. He didn't make excuses for his behavior; if anything he seemed tortured by it. Welcome to the club. It took me a long time to realize it wasn't about me, what I did or didn't do for him. It wasn't that I wasn't enough for him. No one would ever be enough for him.

Finishing our dance we moved off the floor to start mingling. The legislative session didn't start for a week or so, but many deals, laws, and maybe even a pardon or two would be agreed upon tonight. We swept through the crowd, smiling and accepting congratulations while offering our thanks for their support. I knew names and faces of nearly every person in the room, it was my job to know. I listened to the exchanges between my husband and our guests. I signaled Dickie my impressions as we moved from table to table. It was exhausting. I excused myself from an extremely boring conversation Dickie had involved himself in about the finer points of well written tax legislation. Ick.

I headed to the ladies' room, snagging some champagne from a server on the way. I noticed I picked up not one but two shadows on the way. Not only was Ranger following a short distance behind me, but Lester was approaching from the side. I downed the champagne in an attempt to remain calm. They met me outside the restroom door. It seemed a bit much. Honestly, I just needed to pee.

"The men's room is that way." I explained to them. Ranger just gave me a blank look. I rolled my eyes. He ignored me and nodded at Lester who headed into the Ladies' room. I heard a few startled gasps from inside. Apparently it wasn't empty. While we waited for Lester to reappear, I turned to Ranger.

"Is all this really necessary?" Riding shotgun was one thing, waiting for me to pee was quite another. He just nodded at me. I glared at him and he gave me a small smile. I melted a little. Crap. Over Ranger's shoulder I saw Dickie move from the main ballroom into one of the smaller ones. There were several other parties being hosted here tonight by different unions, political organizations and big business. We needed to make it through all of them. The extremely large Rangeman I had seen at the house was escorting him.

"Who is following Richard?" I asked Ranger. He talked into his wrist before answering me.

The answer came over his earpiece, "Tank is with the Governor."

I snorted. "Tank?" The name was fitting. Ranger didn't feel the need to explain, shocking I know.

"Why does he just have one body guard and I am saddled with the two of you?" Prompted by my choice of words my mind formed an image of me riding Ranger like a pony. Fuck, where did that come from? When I returned from my daydream Ranger was giving me that wolf grin. Yikes.

Just then three women exited the Ladies' room with a deer in the headlights look. Lester. A few moments later he opened the door and ushered me in. Ranger stood guard outside. Lester stood just inside the lounge. I stared at him and waited for him to leave. When he didn't I gave him a death glare and turned on my heel and flounced into the next room to take care of business. He chuckled.

Honestly, this was getting to be ridiculous. After taking care of Mother Nature, I moved to the mirror. I looked at my reflection and wondered how I had gotten here. How had I become this woman? I looked good, damn good in fact. By societal standards I was more than successful. Christ, I was the First Lady of New Jersey; the youngest ever at age 29. Dickie was two years older than me barely making the New Jersey law requiring the minimum age for a Governor was 30. We had money. We had power. I had the satisfaction of knowing that I was able to help people who had nowhere else to turn. So why did I feel so empty? Hollow?

I touched my hands to my lips and smiled. Ranger. His kiss left me breathless. It wasn't just the kiss. For some reason I couldn't understand, I trusted him. I had told him things that I had never told another soul. There were a few people who knew that my marriage was not traditional or necessarily happy, but other than Dickie and I no one else knew all of the details. Why had I told him? More importantly why had I jumped him? Yes, I wanted to get back at Dickie, but that wasn't it entirely. Making that move had made me feel good, in control. I had felt alive.

"Steph?" Lester called. "Everything okay?" I snapped out of my musings and headed out to him.

Lester looked relived to see me. Yesh. What could happen to me in the bathroom? I rolled my eyes at him. I moved to the mirror to touch up my lipstick. As I pulled it from my clutch a note card fell out. Lester collected it from the floor and handed it to me. There was no writing on the envelope. I opened it to find a single card inside. Scrawled in messy hand writing were the words, I know.

I scrunched up my face in confusion. Lester grabbed the card from me and immediately ushered me out to Ranger. "What?" I asked Lester, I got no answer.

Ranger read the card and I thought I saw his eyes flicker a moment before it went blank again. Without saying a word he placed his hand at the small of my back and swept me down the hall and into the elevator. Lester flanked my other side. My brain was moving a mile a minute. What was this all about? Where were we going? Who sent the note?

The elevator doors slid shut and I turned to Ranger, "What the hell are you doing?" His face was hard, all business. He acted like he hadn't heard me. It was making me nervous, I missed his soft smile, and I wanted to see the wolf grin. I shivered. My body started to shake slightly. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him in an effort to calm me.

Before I could ask anything else the doors opened and I was whisked down the hall to a hotel suite. There were two more tuxedo clad guards flanking the doors. They nodded to Ranger and opened the doors. Lester and Ranger escorted me inside before shutting and locking the door. Lester swept the suite before standing guard at the door. No one had said anything since I found the note nearly ten minutes ago. I went from scared to frightened and was readily approaching full-fledged panic. I needed to get a grip. Deny, Deny, Deny. When in doubt, pretend everything is ok.

I took a deep breath and smiled turning to Ranger, "All this to get me into a hotel room?"

His face was blank for a moment before he gave me his 100 watt smile, "Babe."