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

Thanks to Rach who makes this so much more fun and the writing so much better.

Sally

The Good Wife

Chapter 23

After Joe's departure, the party began to wind down and Ranger and I excused ourselves to my office. We ordered takeout from a local Chinese restaurant and got to work. I opened my safe and removed the videos. I knew Ranger needed to see them, but I didn't. I'd lived it, no need to revisit the past. He put them aside for transport back to Rangeman and we set to work cataloguing all the crazies I'd come across. People who might want to kill me. I had a brief moment where I channeled my mother and thought, why me, before I pulled on my big girl panties and got to work. We each made piles of potential suspects. It was late afternoon by the time we retired to the sofa, each with a stack of files.

Kenny Mancuso, Joe's cousin was the first in my stack. I handed the file to Ranger. "He likes to beat up women, he's slightly off his rocker, but I don't see how he could have anything to do with this. He's still in jail." I guess Ranger agreed with my assessment because Kenny's file was added to a pile on the floor. The next file was thicker, "Eddie Abruzzi, I would put him as a prime candidate - he was nuts - but he committed suicide a few month back." Ranger made a noise that caused me to stop and look at him, but whatever he was going to say, he must have changed his mind because his face was blank. He just pulled the next file from my lap. He dismissed a dozen more files before stopping.

Holding up a file he asked, "DeCooch? Is there anyone in Trenton you haven't had a run in with?" Ranger seemed a little shocked. I told myself that he was just impressed at the wide range my cases covered, not that I was a lunatic magnet. The last case in my stack was Benito Ramierz. Since he was still incarcerated as well, we put him in the no pile. Although with my luck we'd be better off titling it the highly unlikely pile.

We turned to the stack in Ranger's hands. Apparently he focused on female suspects. But I dismissed almost every one of his files as I dropped them one by one to the floor. "Eula Rothedge is one of our cafeteria workers, Carol Zabo works in the nursery, Evelyn Soder is now one of our counselors, she and her daughter live in the apartment complex and she's an RA." It felt good to list some of our success stories.

He handed me the next file and I froze. Emily. Immediately he picked up on it and explained, "She doesn't look dangerous, but her file is strange. Pieces are missing." I took the file from him and placed it in the pile that had the videos to take back to Rangeman.

"Later," was all I could manage. He didn't press me but he did give me a long look. Apparently satisfied with what he saw, he handed me more files.

I looked through the rest of his stack. "Last I knew Maxine Norwicki is serving time for dealing and prostitution. Susan Stitch is still in in-treatment anger management for trying to run her ex-boyfriend over with her SUV. And Connie Scarzolli died four months ago of lung cancer, so unless she's haunting me from the grave, I doubt it's her." I guess I did know my share of crazy women. Still, my spidey sense wasn't tingling at all.

With no more case files to go through, I turned back to what we knew. "What do you think about Terri Gilman? Joe said she swears it wasn't her. I just feel like we're running out of suspects here." I was getting frustrated, feeling like we hadn't made much headway on the case. He pulled me into his lap, wrapping his arms around my body. This was fast becoming my favorite place in the world, in his strong arms. It seemed dangerous to allow myself to feel that way. What could this thing with us ever amount to? We were spending lots of time together because of my stalker, but sooner or later life had to return to normal. But I didn't even know what normal looked like any more.

He hugged me to him, "We'll find them. It just feels good to narrow the suspect pool. You made a huge discovery yesterday with the photos. Give the guys a little time to work that lead. We're getting somewhere. Just be patient." I was so not good at being patient. I was more of an instant gratification sort of a girl. I leaned into his chest, inhaling the unique scent of him, trying to absorb some of his calm. My insides were at war. Part of me was wondering if it would be so bad if we didn't figure out who was trying to kill me because that would mean no more case and no more Ranger in my life. But the smart part of me reminded the rest that if we didn't find them and stop them, there would be no more me in my life. Reality sucked.

"I know, I'm trying, really I am. I want to find out who is doing this and stop them." I paused trying to find the right words, "But there's a part of me that's just happy to bury my head in the sand and lock the two of us away in your apartment and tell the rest of the world to go to hell." He'd been running his hands up and down my arms trying to soothe me, but hearing my words his hands stilled. I looked up at him.

I felt as if I was on emotional overload. How much could one woman take, even if she was a Wonder Woman wannabe? I had not one, but two stalkers after me. One wanted to kill me and the other just wanted to freak me out. That alone was enough to drive anyone mad. Then add my personal life to the equation. I'd spent six years bottling up all of the emotions that went along with a cheating spouse; not just a husband who was having an affair, but a man who had screwed nearly every willing woman he came across. And now I've gone and fallen in love. Wait, where did that come from? I was in love with Ranger? Was I in love with Ranger? I couldn't do this, not now.

"I need to go home. I'm exhausted." It was an abrupt declaration, but he didn't call me on it.

Ranger made a quick call, pretty sure he only said two words, neither of which were hello or goodbye. The next thing I knew Tank and Lester were at the door, ready to escort us back to Rangeman. The trip was quiet and uneventful. I thought it was just the stress of the investigation hanging over us, but when Ranger tried to move us off the elevator on the 5th floor I figured there was more to it. I kept my feet planted in the elevator. He raised an eyebrow in my direction.

"I thought we were going to seven?" It may look like I was standing in the elevator, but in my mind's eye I was on the beach in sunny Denial Land. He didn't answer me with words, he just gave a slight nod of his head and the other guys slipped out around us. When he still didn't open his mouth I pressed for an explanation. "Is there a new photo? From this morning?" He nodded. "Does it threaten to kill me before dawn?" His head shook fractionally side to side to indicate no. "Well then take me up to seven. It can wait until morning. I'm on emotional overload and if I see one more death threat I might just have a total melt down and it won't be pretty." Fair warning. He drew me into his arms and pressed his key fob, the doors closed and we headed off to denial land for a little while longer.

As soon as the apartment door was closed, I spun to face him, sliding my hands up his chest and into his hair. Capturing his lips with my own, I poured all of my need into the kiss. I begged him, "Tomorrow we have to deal with the stalkers and everything else. Tonight, I need you. I need to not think about anything, to forget the whole mess. I need some happy." I felt a little pathetic hiding from reality and begging him to join me, but I couldn't help myself.

I didn't have a chance to worry about being embarrassed. His lips came crashing down on mine and he scooped me up into his arms and headed towards the bedroom. He kicked the door shut and tossed me onto the bed. As he crawled up my body wearing a look that melted my panties he whispered huskily in my ear, "I can make you forget Babe." A true man of his word; within minutes I even forgot my own name, but he was sure I knew his. He made me scream it over and over again.

Hours later I'd finally regained the ability to talk when he surprised me. "Tell me about Frankie." Shit, I was sort of hoping all of the mind blowing sex had let that little issue slip his mind. Apparently not.

I tried to stall, "He's a sweet kid isn't he?"

"Stephanie," his voice had a warning tone. He must mean business; I couldn't remember if he'd ever called me by my whole name. Well, I guess there was that one time earlier when I was… His voice cut my musings short, "Why is your sister raising your husband's child?" He stopped when he saw the pain in my eyes. He pulled me to him, "If that sonovabitch slept with your sister, I swear to God…"

"No!" I put my hand on his chest. Shaking my head, I told him, "Val had nothing to do with it, except helping me." His hands started traveling up and down my back trying to offer me some comfort. "Give me a minute." I collected myself and got ready to tell him all of it, what I'd done. He took my face in his hands and kissed me, reassuring me that I could trust him and everything would be okay. I just hoped he felt the same when I was finished. He turned me around settling me between his legs, pulling my back to his chest and wrapping his arms around me. I took a deep breath and started at the beginning.

"It was five years ago, about six months after Dickie and I came to our agreement and the..." What the hell do I call it? "And the incident with Charles." Ranger hugged me tightly to him and dropped a kiss on the top of my curls. "Dickie was running for State Senate, the campaign was in full swing. I was splitting my time between the campaign and the Foundation." I remembered throwing myself into work to keep myself from focusing on the train wreck that was my marriage. "I worked more at the Foundation, everything was still kind of raw. I did all the public appearances and things that were needed as well as sitting in with Dickie on some of the meetings where he needed me to read people. I avoided any situation where I might run across his father." I shuddered, more from revulsion than fear.

"I was working late one night when I had a visitor. A young woman appeared in my office doorway looking scared out of her mind." I remembered the lost look in her eyes, the only other time I'd seen that look had been on a death row inmate. It was obvious to me she thought her life was over. "She didn't look like our normal clients, too polished. There was something about her that was a little familiar, but I couldn't place her. It took awhile before she could get up the courage to talk, so I just waited." There was something so fragile about her, something that made me want to help her.

"Her name was Emily. She was a freshman at Douglass College, my Alma Mater. The reason she looked familiar is because she was one of the interns on Dickie's campaign." As soon as she introduced herself, my stomach sank, I'd known what was coming. "She was pregnant and my husband was the father." The anger and sadness that overwhelmed me with her confession was almost as painful as Dickie's when he finally came clean about his addiction. I was not proud of my reaction; it was probably one of the lowest points in my life. I was so embarrassed by it, I'd never told another soul, until now. "I asked her what she expected me to do about it. I told her if she was trying to blackmail me it wouldn't work, that I knew of my husband's affairs and her tryst with him was nothing special. God I was so horrible to her." My eyes welled up at the memory of the look on her face, like I'd slapped her.

Ranger tried to comfort me. "Babe, she had an affair with your husband. She wasn't exactly innocent. Your reaction wasn't out of line; you were hurt and had every right to be." I needed him to stop or I was going to start crying in earnest.

I interrupted him, "I know, but looking back, I still feel badly about it. She was just a kid and she was scared. It took balls for her to come to me." In a way I'd been impressed with her. She reminded me of me. "I told her I'd help her, take responsibility for my husband's actions. I was mortified, here I was talking to the mother of my husband's bastard child." Retelling the story was harder than I'd ever imagined. Even though Ranger wasn't judging me, I still was.

I needed a break and I needed some chocolate. "Are there any more truffles?"

I felt Ranger try to suppress a chuckle. He slipped out from behind me and padded off to the kitchen and I took the opportunity to make a much needed trip to the bathroom. When I came back out I found him with a tray of sandwiches, bottles of water and my much loved chocolate. My heart skipped a beat, but I tried to ignore it. We ate in silence. It wasn't until we were both finished and the tray was back in the kitchen that I continued my story.

I couldn't look Ranger in the eye as I told the next part. "I asked Emily what she wanted to do. How she wanted to deal with the baby. I have to admit there was a part of me who was hoping that she would ask me to pay for an abortion. Then my problem would be solved." My heart was sick at the thought of her making that choice. "She was Catholic and didn't want to have an abortion, but she wasn't ready to be a mother." I sighed and finally met his eyes again. "I enrolled her in the program we have set up through the Foundation for prenatal care. She took the rest of the year off from school once she started to show. I put her up in an apartment and made sure she had money for food and maternity clothes." It seemed like it had been a million years ago, but the pain was as fresh as if it was yesterday.

"She didn't have much for family. Her mom died when she was young and it was just her and her Dad growing up. She made excuses to not see him until after the baby was born. Finally she decided she wanted to give the baby up for adoption. We'd done that sort of thing before for clients." The next part just shed light on how horribly I'd misjudged her. "Emily was a nice girl; she didn't want a free ride, so she started doing work for us in exchange. She'd cut herself from her friends and worked a lot to fill her time." I shook my head, "I was in the same boat. When I found out about the baby I was so angry at Dickie I could barely be in the same room with him, so I spent almost all of my time at work, only seeing him when we had public appearances." I shrugged my shoulders and gave him a sad smile, "Somewhere along the line, we became friends. She apologized over and over again for her part in their affair." While I know she had a part in it, I can imagine how a nineteen year old girl was swept away by someone like Dickie.

I took a few moments to collect my thought before I continued with the saga that I could hardly believe was my life. It seemed more like a script for a made for TV movie. But I'd come this far, I needed to finish. "I'd planned all along for it to be a closed adoption. She didn't want to know where the baby was; just that it would have a family who loved it. I felt the same way." What if that had happened? There would be a huge hole in my life.

"A few months before Frankie was born Val came home for a visit. Albert, who you met at dinner is her second husband and Lisa's father. She was married once before and lived in California." He nodded, tracking my disjointed explanation. "Things were not going well with her and her husband Steve so she and the girls came for a little vacation. At the time they were trying to have another baby and weren't able to get pregnant. Val went and had everything checked out and it wasn't on her end. Steve refused. He was sure that it couldn't be him." Probably was worried about what STDs they might find from him screwing around on her.

Back to the story, "I'd been going with Emily to her doctor's appointments and we'd just had an ultrasound and found out it was a boy. Val and I went to lunch the next day and it turned into a two margarita lunch which continued on all afternoon." It had been a turning point in our relationship. That lunch was the start of us being not just sisters, but friends. "She told me about what had been happening with her marriage and I told her about Dickie's problem, then Emily and the baby." It had been six months and I hadn't told anyone about it and I needed someone to talk to; it all came spilling out. It had felt so good to have someone to share the secret with.

"Later in the week she stopped by my office and happened to meet Emily. I could see Val studying her and the wheels turning. That's when she offered to adopt the baby. Emily and Val were physically very similar, small and blond with blue eyes. They looked more like sisters than Val and I do. She knew that Steve would be thrilled to have a boy and it would ease some tension in their marriage." I wasn't sure I could do it at first. Somewhere along the way, that changed for me. I felt responsible for this child, my husband's child. I brushed away the tears that started to spill, "In the end it worked out that Val and Steve adopted him. Since he's blond and fair skinned, no one questioned it. My parents know he's adopted, but not his parentage. In the end it wasn't enough to save her marriage. Steve ran off with the babysitter and their money and Val moved back here with the kids."

I sniffled a few times and blinked back the rest of the tears. "I don't know how he did it, that little boy who should be a reminder to me of my failure-of-a-marriage made his way into my heart. He's very special to me. I can't imagine not being able to see him grow up. How did you know? I saw in your eyes when you were working it out, but you're the only one who's figured it out."

Ranger looked a little surprised, "You mean no one else knows? Just you and Val? Your husband doesn't know?"

I looked at him and I heard his words, but I made no attempt to answer him. My spidey sense was screaming at me, the words on the note card, I know.

Oh fuck.