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

Sally

The Good Wife

Chapter 6

"Report!" I heard Ranger bark into the phone as he threw open the door. I scurried into the bathroom. I would not have wanted to be on the opposite end of that phone or on the other side of the door. Ranger seemed to be someone you didn't want to piss off. My heart was beating a million miles an hour. Partly from fear of what the phone call could mean. But more so from what it had interrupted. Christ, I almost had sex with him. What was I thinking? You were thinking he is amazing and a fantastic way to end one of the longest dry spells in human history. I was in a state of shock and I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. I washed my face again and tried to slow my breathing.

When I came out of the bathroom Ranger was still talking on the phone. My dress was lying on the bed. I guess I am supposed to put it on? I threw the jewelry and stockings into my purse and slipped on my heels. Ranger had his back to me so I slipped out of his shirt and quickly put on my bra. Stepping into the dress I waited for him to finish. I heard him say, "Be there in 20," then his phone clicked shut.

I pulled my hair over my shoulder as I turned my head to ask him, "Can you zip me?" His eyes darkened and in two long strides he was behind me. I could feel his breath on my neck as he slowly moved the zipper up my back, teasing me. He took advantage of my exposed neck, kissing a path from my shoulder to my ear. I bit my lip to keep from moaning. Once I had myself under control I turned to face him.

"We're headed back to the house." He was all business again. I just stared at him. I shook my head to clear the cobwebs. I was lost again in the expanse of his muscled chest. Now I had firsthand knowledge of what it felt like it added a new dimension to my daydreams. If his damn phone hadn't rung I may have one or two other senses stored in memory by now to go with it.

I threw his shirt at him. "Put this on, I can't think clearly when you are like that." He grinned. Bastard.

I watched shamelessly while he slipped into the black t shirt. How could a shirt that hung so loosely on me hug every one of his muscles, like it was painted on? I checked for drool. "Better?" he asked, still grinning.

"Not really," I muttered under my breath as I headed to the bathroom. My hair had that just fucked look. Too bad the rest of me didn't. Picking up my hair pins from last night I pinned the mess up in a quick twist. I felt like I was getting ready to do the walk of shame after a one nighter. If only I had been so lucky, I snorted.

Ranger was sitting on the edge of the bed. I saw him tuck a knife in his boot as he laced them up. He was wearing a shoulder holster with a gun in it and there was another tucked into back of his cargos. Damn. Since when did I find weaponry sexy?

"Ready?" he asked me throwing on a jacket to cover his artillery.

What did he want me to say? Sure, take me back to that ridiculously large impersonal mansion where I live with my sex fiend of a husband in a loveless marriage. That would be so much better than staying here with you and having you fuck me senseless. Pretty sure that wasn't the answer he was going for, I just said, "Yup."

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or freak out at the spectacle we made leaving the hotel. Ranger escorted me out of the bedroom. Lester was waiting in the next room, also dressed head to toe in urban commando black. I am guessing the black cargos and t shirts were the standard Rangeman uniform. Outside the door were two more Rangemen, a huge blond who looked like a stegosaurus and a guy who had a flaming skull tattooed on his forehead. Yikes. They boxed me in walking down the hall and stood in the same formation in the elevator. I wasn't sure if I felt like the President of the United States or a prisoner on the way to the Supermax Prison.

No one spoke as they whisked me out of the elevator to the side door where Bobby waited by a black SUV. He opened the back door and before I could even worry about how I was going to climb in wearing this dress and these heels, Ranger scooped me up and placed me inside before climbing in next to me. Lester climbed in on the other side and Bobby rode shotgun. The massive man Ranger told me was named Tank was driving. The man was huge. I think I was staring a little and he caught me. He flashed me a smile in the rear view mirror. Wow, he had white teeth. I gave him a nervous smile in return with a small finger wave.

Tank drove quickly and efficiently back to Drumthwacket, the Governor's Mansion which would be my home for the next four years. Unless some psycho killed me before that, I thought. I shuddered at the notion and Ranger moved his hand from the seat behind me to squeeze my shoulder in reassurance. I was hoping all of this was overkill, but the whole thing was making me nervous. When we arrived at the mansion, there were two Rangemen posted at the gate and two more at the side entrance. My whole entourage escorted me inside, but only Ranger and Lester continued with me on up to my room. Lester stood guard at the door while Ranger and I went inside.

I collapsed on my bed and groaned from the stress. "Is all of this necessary Ranger? You are kind of freaking me out. Please tell me you are in here to pick up where we left off and not because I am not safe even in my own bedroom." My voice started out strong, but started to waver. I was tired, hungry, horny and freaked out. It was quite the combination.

Ranger pulled me to my feet and into his arms. He kissed me gently, more comfort in it than heat. "Babe, until we can run checks on all of the staff I need to have a man on you at all times, even here. Only for the next day or two, and after that we can reassess the situation and you should have a little more freedom. But there will still be at least one man on you when you leave here. I have Hector checking and updating the mansion's security system now."

He kissed me again, this time with a little more passion. "I wish we could forget about this and climb into bed, but I need to stay focused. Go shower and get dressed. We have a breakfast meeting downstairs in half an hour." He gave me a quick kiss and a gentle shove.

I made it to the bathroom before realizing I was trapped in my dress. I called to Ranger for help. I turned my back to him as he reached the bathroom door. Wordlessly, he slowly slid the zipper down my back. I expected him to walk away. Instead he pushed the straps off my shoulders before easing the dress down my body to a pool at my feet. He took my hand and helped me step out of the heap of fabric and turned me so I was facing him. His eyes raked over my body in appreciation before pulling me to him and kissing me passionately. "Beautiful" he whispered against my lips before disappearing through the door with my dress. Damn that man could kiss.

I wore a huge smile as I showered and quickly did my hair and makeup, keeping both to a minimum. I looked around the bathroom with new eyes and I now had an appreciation for the features that would be more fun with company. A girl could hope right? I had skipped the shower massager, the worry of not knowing how soundproof my bathroom was outweighed my need for release. Right now that was a pretty big need. I quickly made my way to the dressing room choosing a pair of my favorite jeans and a soft blue sweater. Quite a change from last night, but this was me, Steph. Last night was Stephanie Orr, the First Lady of New Jersey. I could be her, but she would never be me.

Ranger, Lester and I made our way down to the formal dining room for breakfast. Dickie, Tank and Bobby were already there as well as my in-laws. Oh joy. My mother in law came over immediately, pulling me into a fierce embrace. She's a hugger. It took me a while to get used to. My family was never big on hugging. We showed our love with baked goods and pot roast.

"Stephanie, you looked so beautiful last night, just lovely. The dress was perfect and your friend, what was her name? She did a wonderful job on your hair. Maybe I will have to go and see her myself. I couldn't believe all of the people who were there; it was such a good turnout. Didn't you think so?" She just went on and on. While I may be an occasional visitor to the land of denial, Marjorie Orr, my mother in law was a permanent resident. In fact I think she was the head of the Welcome Wagon. I guess she would have to be, married to her bastard of a husband. Why talk about the reason there are four armed men joining us for breakfast when you can discuss our picture on the society page of today's paper? There was no talking reality to her. Happy thoughts! She would always tell me. Pretty sure her happy thoughts were made happier by a generous amount of tippling.

"Thank you Marjorie, you looked lovely too. So glad we found that dress for you. It was perfect. And your hair is always lovely, but I can give you one of Lula's cards after we eat." The idea of Lula and Marjorie together put a smile on my face. Lula was a full figured black woman who loved bright colored spandex and anything sparkly and or animal print. She left the life of a hooker behind her, but not the wardrobe. My mother in law on the other hand was a tiny woman, a size one on a fat day. Her hair was platinum blond, but in a classy way. Everything about her was classy and she reeked of money.

Dickie had hovered next to his mother while she fawned over me. As soon as she let me go he pulled me into his arms for a hug. Dickie was definitely his mama's boy. When he hugged me I noticed Ranger tense slightly. While Dickie and I were no longer intimate, we were still comfortable together. We had to be seen in public together quite often, so it helped to make it less awkward if we were still physically at ease with each other. For a long time it was difficult for me to let him touch me in any way. After a while it became easier. Partly because I knew he still loved me, no matter what his actions said. The other reason was simply the fact that I was lonely, so I allowed it. I still cared about Dickie and I made sure all of the contact was friendly, but not sexual.

Dickie stopped hugging me, but ran his hands over my upper arms as he spoke, "How are you doing? I am sorry I didn't have a chance to talk to you yesterday there just wasn't time and I didn't want to freak you out before the party last night. I was going to tell you first thing this morning, but then you got that note." Do men babble? If a man could babble, Dickie would be babbling.

I didn't want to get into with him the fact that if he didn't have a late meeting yesterday we could have had a chance to talk. But I also knew that stress only added to Dickie's problem. Like any junkie, had he not gotten a fix before last night he would have been a wreck. I didn't really want to discuss it in a room full of people either. "I'm fine Dickie. Ranger took good care of me." With my last statement Dickie's hands stilled and he gave me a quick hug before steering me to the table.

My father in law didn't say a word to me, which was par for the course and preferable in my opinion. He was tall like Dickie and at one time I am sure he was good looking. He thought he still was. Now he had the look of a man who spent a good amount of time with a drink in his hand. His face was reddish in complexion and somewhat bloated. The man had jowls for Chrissake. He thought highly of himself and little of everyone else. We were all just pawns in his game. The man was a monster.

We all took our places for breakfast. The table was huge, so we all sat at one end to avoid having to yell at each other. Charles sat at the head of the table, not willing to give up the position to his son even if he had been elected governor. Wouldn't want to show his some respect or anything, it might boost his self esteem. Dickie sat on his father's right and his mother sat on the left. I took my place next to Dickie while Ranger and Lester filled out our side of the table. Tank and Bobby sat next to Marjorie. It was quite the sight to see my pale white, teeny tiny mother in law next to Tank. I suppressed the giggle that threatened to erupt. Ranger caught it though and gave my thigh a squeeze. I smiled.

Breakfast was phenomenal. I didn't realize how hungry I had been, busy with the panicking and all. I inhaled the waffles, eggs, bacon and fruit with barely contained glee. I loved to eat. Not only did I love food, I was a comfort eater, so all of these processed carbs, saturated fats and empty calories were heaven. I moaned as I delighted in my breakfast. So focused on my food, I didn't notice that I was drawing stares from all of the Rangemen. Dickie nudged me.

"What?" I asked, licking maple syrup from my lips.

"Sweetheart, while we are used to your love of food, you seem to have caught our guests off guard with your enthusiasm." Dickie explained. I blushed as I noticed Ranger and the other guys were shifting uncomfortably in their chairs. From the corner of my eye I could see Charles leering at me and I had to suppress a shudder. Ick.

"Sorry," I mumbled before returning to my meal. I tried to keep my noises to a minimum, but judging by Ranger's irregular breathing, I may not have been completely successful. I tried to feel badly about it. But then I remembered I didn't get to use my shower massager this morning and I felt a little less bad.

After we finished eating Marjorie excused herself. When I made no move to follow her she asked, "Stephanie, aren't you coming? I thought you could give me the full tour. I've only seen a little of the house so far." Of course she wanted to bail on anything that might be less than happy news, oh like someone threatening to kill me maybe.

"No Marjorie, I'm staying, but Connie is in the living room and would love to show you around." Or there is a tour on Wednesdays at noon, I wanted to add.

For the first time all morning my father in law spoke to me in his big booming voice, "Stephanie, we have this covered, you don't need to worry about any of this. Richard can update you later on what you need to know." He dismissed me.

I don't think so. "If you don't mind Charles, I will stay. This concerns my safety. I want to know everything. I should have been told everything a long time ago." Dickie's eyes went wide, shocked I was challenging his father. Charles didn't look happy, but he relented.

"Fine." He dismissed his wife with a nod.

Ranger nodded for Lester to start. "We need to talk about the new photo."

"What new photo?" I was out of my chair and snatched the image from Lester's hand before anyone answered me. It was a picture of Dickie and I from last night as we walked into the hotel. In black marker was what I assume was supposed to be a bullet hole in my forehead. This time there was a caption, how nice. I could have taken a different kind of shot. I paled and my legs buckled. Ranger caught me before I hit the floor. The next thing I knew I was back in my chair with my head between my knees. Ranger was kneeling beside me, telling me to push against his hand which was on the back of my neck. After a few minutes the little black dots went away and I was able to sit up. Luckily my breakfast stayed down. Since we were new to the house, I wasn't even sure where the nearest bathroom was. It couldn't be far, I think there are nineteen in all.

Charles decided to take charge, "Richard, take Stephanie to her room so she can rest. You can update her later on what we decide." I felt Ranger tense beside me. He didn't agree.

Dickie looked at me and back at his father. The poor man looked like he would rather throw himself through a plate glass window. Dickie knew I had a temper. When his indiscretions first came out, I flipped. I yelled and screamed; I waved my arms and used every Italian hand gesture my father ever taught me. I threatened him with a tennis racket. He knew I once hit a man who wronged me with a Buick. Since then we have come to terms with each other and we rarely have disagreements; mostly because we aren't emotionally invested enough to care.

Charles on the other hand was a bully. He had pushed Dickie around since he was a child, belittling his son every chance he got. Charles humiliated his wife by flaunting his affairs in front of her, probably why she bought the one way ticket to Denial Land. He was a cold bastard. I have no doubt that Dickie's compulsion stems from his issues with his father. Not that Charles was an addict; he was just a cruel sonofabitch. When we were first married I steered clear of him. He scared the bejeezus out of me. He also gave me the willies. He didn't look at me like I was his daughter in law. He looked at me like I was lunch.

When Dickie's problems came to a head Charles stepped in and tried to control the situation. I stood up to him telling him Dickie and I would work out an arrangement and let him know what it was. He didn't like it, but he didn't fight me on it. I think he was simply surprised that I was willing to challenge him. I thought maybe he respected me for it. I thought wrong. Shortly after that Charles stopped to visit me at the Foundation. My secretary had been away from her desk and he let himself into my office. I had made it a point to never be alone in a room with him before, but I was trapped.

He told me he came to negotiate the terms of our agreement. He thought that since I would no longer be sleeping with his son, that I would be happy to service him in return for the family's support of my work. He all but chased me around the room before cornering me on the couch. He pinned me down before I could blink. Finally my training kicked in and I was able to get free of him. It wasn't until I had given him a bloody nose, black eye and a broken jaw that he was really discouraged.

We have never spoken of it. I never told a soul. He came up with a lie to cover his injuries. No one questioned my bruises since by that point I was working regularly with the instructors of the self defense classes we offered at the Foundation. I had found that martial arts were a great way to relieve sexual tension.

Since then Charles pretty much ignored me and I stayed out of his way. That was all about to change. "That's okay Richard, I'm fine, and I'll be staying." I set my jaw and glared at Charles. Dickie looked at his father, but Charles ignored him. He was staring at me. I had enough. This was my safety, my life.

I turned to Ranger. The look on his face was blank, but I swear he seemed to be slightly amused. No one challenges Charles Orr.

"What other measures do you think we need to take? I am not sure if you know, but I am trained in self defense. We offer courses at the Foundation and I even fill in for the instructors from time to time." I paused wondering if I really wanted to do this. Yup I did. Deep breaths Steph, courage is grace under pressure. I made sure I glanced around at all of the men in the room as I spoke, "I have been through several real life simulations and successfully fought off my attackers." My eyes settled on Charles, his reddish complexion was looking more crimson. I laughed, "One time I got a little overzealous and broke the poor bastard's jaw." Dickie looked from me to his father and back again. I gave a slight nod.

I turned back to Ranger, "I know you are planning on stepping up security here. I would like to have you look at the system we have in place at the Foundation." Ranger nodded. Again sweeping my gaze over all of the men present I settled on Charles, "Security is pretty good. All of the offices are monitored and recorded since we often get visits from abusive ex boyfriends, husbands and fathers." The veins in his neck were standing out and his face was turning purple. I shrugged and looked back to Ranger, "You never know when you are going to need evidence in a case. It is surprising what people will do and say behind closed doors." Ranger kept his blank face throughout the whole exchange, but I could see in his eyes he was amused. I rolled my eyes at him before returning to my father in law.

My voice was sweet, "You know Charles, I know you are going to have your hands full helping Richard set up his new administration. Why don't I take over this investigation and work with Rangeman?" I gestured to Ranger and the other guys on his team. "We can even transfer the contract into my name to make everything easier. How does that sound?" I smiled at him.

Charles looked like a cartoon character. His face was nearing purple. The veins in his neck were pulsing and his jaw was set. His hands were clenched in tight fists, his knuckles white. The only thing missing was steam pouring out his ears or his head popping right off his shoulders. If looks could kill, I wouldn't have to worry about my stalker, I would already be dead. But I had his nuts in a vice and he had no choice. "Fine," was all he said before storming out of the room.

Dickie stared at me, his mouth a big 'O.' I turned to him and said, "You might want to go and check on your father. I'll come and find you later and let you know what we decide." He seemed dumbstruck. He just nodded and left.

I turned to face four bad asses in black who were staring at me, their blank faces gone. Their looks ranged from disbelief to awe and from Ranger, pride.

"Babe, you never disappoint." He gave me a full 200 watt smile.

I grinned at them, "Gentlemen, let's get to work."