21. Magic Boobs

The next few days had flown by for Lil. Between two more semi-painful PT sessions and working on the Thanksgiving plans with Ella, she had time for little else. They were down to the wire now, the holiday was less than a week away. Mid-week, Stephanie had called Lil to tell her she had officially broken up with Morelli. The tone of her voice indicated that it had not been pretty. After enough prodding, Steph admitted that Joe had been a bit forceful in his stance that they were NOT breaking up. Lil asked her numerous times if that piece of shit put his hands on her. She finally caved and conceded that he had, but not enough to leave a mark. The incinerator was looking better and better. Thankfully, the incident was just what Stephanie needed to walk away and Never EVER look back.

On Friday morning, Ranger followed his usual routine, gym, shower, breakfast, morning meeting. The problem was, the damn dog was following him! At first he thought he was paranoid, or loosing his mind. Why would Fido be in the freakin gym at 0500? But when the dog was waiting inside the stairwell door on seven, and then behind his chair for the morning meeting… something was seriously fucked up. He had all but exploded at the men on five, asking who was supposed to be watching Magnus. Who was giving the dog access to restricted areas? Who the fuck was letting him into closed doors?! The Rangemen looked at him like he'd lost it. Even with his most intimidating stare, no one caved or copped to helping the dog. Manny was even surprised. All Manny had been doing was making sure the Rottweiler didn't get stuck by himself on the elevator. With no where else to turn, and the serious need to solve this mystery, Ranger headed for Lil's apartment. Magnus followed him. He met Bobby in the hallway in front of Lil's door. Ranger's raised eyebrow prompted the medic to explain he was just checking on her soreness after the recent PT.

Ranger knocked. Lil opened the door to the human and canine trio, stepping back to allow them entrance. "Carlos, Doc, what can I do for you?" Before Bobby could speak, Ranger blurted out, "I think your dog is stalking me." It was such a funny statement, Lil laughed. "What do you mean Carlos?" She patted Magnus affectionately on the head. Ranger tersely explained the weird things that had been happening for two weeks. Bobby was fighting a smile. Lil didn't even bother trying. Halfway through his story she had a feeling she knew what was happening. She let him finish though, his discomfort was highly amusing. When Ranger was done he crossed his arms, giving them a blank stare. "Can I test a theory?", she asked. The men nodded. Bobby was really wishing one of the other guys was there to witness this.

Lil went to the fridge and pulled out two pieces of sliced ham. She called Magnus over. She rolled up one slice and took a bite, setting it down in front of her. She rolled the other piece and sat it in front of Magnus. She looked at the dog, "Give". Without hesitation, he picked the piece of ham up, walked over to Ranger, and dropped it at his feet. Ranger stood there, very confused. Lil called Magnus back to her, praised him and gave him the rest of her ham. She smiled at the men. "Do you understand what just happened?" They both shook their heads. Lil rolled her eyes. "For super soldiers, you aren't very good at recognizing a chain of command." Ranger raised an eyebrow. Sigh. "Carlos, Magnus would only share food with someone higher in the pack than him. Until we moved here, the only two people higher in his pack were Tilde and I. Even if Cal would visit, to Magnus he was lower on the totem pole. Not worthy of sharing food." She gave the large dog some more love. "He views you as an Alpha. He is trying to be where you are so you can give him his orders. And as a dog that is trained in protection… he wants to protect you like he would Tilde or I." She let that info set in. Ranger looked at her, then the dog, then back at her. She just laughed. "If he's bothering you or under foot, give him a job. Or simply tell him to patrol. He will keep an eye from a distance. But I hate to tell you this, if he's adopted you in his pack, your in it for life." She pointed to the ham on the floor telling Magnus to eat it.

Before Ranger could respond, both his and Bobby's phones chirped. They read their individual screens and cursed. "Ram's been shot. We need to go to St. Francis." Lil grabbed her purse and walked out the door before they could stop her. "Well, come on you two." Ranger looked at her a moment, "What about Tilde?" Lil kept walking to the stairwell, "she's with Ella for the afternoon, working on Thanksgiving decorations. And I believe Doc is on Lil Duty today anyway." She gave him a tight smile and headed for the Explorer Bobby was fobbing open. They made it to the hospital in record time. Lil was really glad for the 'oh shit bar' in the back seat.

They entered the ER waiting room to find a very pissed off Slick and a red-faced Morelli. Slick was trying to get past him to find out how his partner was doing. Morelli was giving him some shit about needing a statement and to ask him some "questions". No one liked the implication in the way he said that word. Bobby stepped in, explaining his position with Rangeman to the nearby triage nurse and telling Morelli about Rangeman holding Ram's medical proxy. The officer wasn't having it. Ranger was becoming more still, Lil could feel the rage rolling off of him. The situation was becoming volatile, quickly. Shit, what to do… She grabbed Ranger by the arm. "Carlos", she hissed under her breath. Her death grip got his attention. The voices of the other men were getting louder. She stared him in the eye, "Cover me." He stepped in front of her, blocking her from the view of anyone else in the waiting room, when he saw her pull her arms inside of her shirt. His eyes widened. With practiced expertise, Lil removed her bra, extracting it through one arm hole. The tight white shirt she was wearing did little to hide what was underneath. Ranger licked his lips. "Here, stick this in your pocket. Out of sight." He did as she asked, mostly because he couldn't think straight. Blood was leaving his head at hyperspeed.

Lil pulled her hair out of her ponytail and sauntered over to where Morelli, Bobby, and Slick were ready to come to blows. "Gentlemen, what's going on here?" All eyes went to Lil… well, to Lil's nipples. Slick and Bobby, bless their hearts, recovered quickly with a cough. Ranger sidled up next to her. Watching. The caveman was trying to bust loose again. Officer Morelli's eyes were laser beams shooting well below her face. The leer he was giving was, well, creepy. "Miss Peyton, so nice to see you again." He still hadn't made eye contact. Lil fought the urge to smack him. "I was just explaining to these men that police protocol needs to be followed here. The details of this shooting seem off, I need answers before they can inquire about their partner." Lil rolled her shoulders, purposefully moving the girls. It was like hypnotism... with tits. "Well Officer Morelli, that is very procedural of you." She gave him an easy smile. "Since Slick was on the scene of the incident, and Bobby was with me at Rangeman, wouldn't it be safe to send Bobby inside? You don't REALLY need him out here do ya?" Her innocent look was fueling many fantasies for Morelli. He nodded as she bounced on her feet. His head following the progress of her nipples. He looked like a damn bobblehead. Bobby took off before the moron could change his mind.

"OK, Officer", she drew the word out like it held extra importance. "What questions do you need Slick to answer for you?" Morelli gave her chest what he thought was a charming smile. Lil was seriously wondering what Stephanie had ever seen in this douchebag. "Now Lil, can I call you Lil? That can wait a few minutes. While you're here, I'd like to talk to you. Get to know you a little better. You probably don't know this, but I'm recently single." For the first time his eyes raised to her face. He gave her a look like he'd just handed over the key to the city. Ranger tensed further. Slick's eyes attempted to bug out of his head. Lil stuck her hands in her back pockets, shoving what little she had further forward. "But Officer, aren't you in the middle of official police business that's really important?" And there it was, the landmine he was about to step on. Morelli gave her a masculine chuckle, "It's nothing that can't wait sexy." Lil stepped into his personal space, careful to not actually touch him. Her voice dropped three octaves. "Then please, tell me why you are choosing to cause a scene in the ER and give these men a hard time. From where I stand, you are not only interfering with a citizen's right to proper medical treatment, but you are not following through on your duties as an officer of the law." Morelli opened his mouth but never got a chance to speak. "Instead of assisting those in need, you have spent the last five minutes ogling me, while on the clock. I am sure your Captain would not like to receive a complaint stating such. Furthermore, this complaint is likely to include information that I have recently received about an incident at the Tasty Pastry in 2003, as well as a game of 'choo-choo' that was played in YOUR family garage in 1993. As the mother of a small child and a concerned citizen, I would be well within my right to report such criminal behaviors." Lil stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest. The free show was definitely over.

Morelli spluttered, then turned redder than Hal ever could. His hands were moving toward his waist on instinct. "Officer, I wouldn't do that if I were you. I also know what happened earlier this week with you and Stephanie. The only reason you are still standing is because that is HER fight, not mine. But just so you know, I've already been shot, multiple times. It pisses me off. So you either draw your weapon or leave. Now. Either way, I will be making a call to your superior." Morelli flushed, turned on his heel, and stomped out of the doors. Silence had descended on the waiting room. Slick started to clap. Two of the nurses joined in. Lil's cheeks turned pink as she shrugged at Carlos. "Let's find out how Ram is doing." She scooted quickly to the window to inquire. The nurse at the desk gave her a big smile and pointed to the double doors she had just buzzed open. "You go right on back young lady, they're behind curtain three." Lil didn't wait to see if the others were following.

When they came to the right area, they found Bobby with a nurse and a very doped up Ram. The first bullet had hit his vest, luckily, but the second had hit his shoulder. Lil winced. He got off easy though, the x-rays showed that he didn't need surgery. It was a good thing that Bobby made it back there when he did. Ram was allergic to morphine, and the doctor's had just ordered that shot for him when they arrived. That would have been very bad since Ram had still been unconscious, therefore unable to stop them. Bobby asked what happened with Morelli, which prompted Slick to excitedly tell the whole story. Ranger just watched Lil, who was trying to be invisible. Unsuccessfully. Bobby was bent over, wiping his eyes by the end. Ram, high as a kite, smiled at Lil then pointed. "You got magic boobs!" Lil had to sit down, this was mortifying. Ranger gave Bobby a nod and took Lil by the arm to leave. He knew the attention was making her uncomfortable. He knew she had done an amazing job in the waiting room. He also knew he really didn't want to give her bra back.