43. Australia

"Ow Ow Ow, Fuck." Lil rolled over slowly on Saturday morning, tender in all her most delicate places. She felt like she had ridden a dinosaur last night… Crap, maybe she had. Gingerly, she sat up and talked herself into standing. "Son of a Bitch!" A few deep breaths later and she finally had the courage to shuffle to the potty. Of course, her slow as molasses walk was accompanied by a chorus of "shit shit shit shit, dangit!" It was a really good thing Tilde and Magnus were still two floors up, or she would have had to censor her prickly words. She was torn between wanting the largest cup of coffee ever, and wanting to sit in an ice bath. The tub was closer, but the ice was in the kitchen anyway. Crappity Crap Crap. It was only 0900, which was pretty impressive since she hadn't made it back to her apartment until 0300. Time flies when that fine hunk of man is boinking your brains out. Ooof. She didn't regret it though, that was one hell of a night. And the New Years party was a total blast.

The good news was she had slept like a baby. Every limb, muscle, and nerve ending was complete mush by the time she had stripped and showered last night. It was a glorious change. Lil stroked the side of her espresso machine lovingly while she waited for the boiler to heat. Visions of what she and Carlos had shared flashed through her mind intermittently. It made her smile. Lil had experienced some great sex in the past, at least she thought so until last night… Considering how tender she was, maybe it was a little too great for her lady-bits. Two cups of caffeine later and she was ready to start her day, at least she was ready for her daughter to come home. She stripped off her pajamas, careful to not move too quickly, and caught her reflection in the mirror. Sweet Cheezits. There was a perfectly positioned hand print on her throat. Well Hell Fire. There was no hiding that unless she was willing to slather on way too much makeup. It was decided, they would be spending the day in the apartment.

Ella brought Tilde and Magnus down by lunch. Luckily, Ella chose to believe her when she said she was just tired from the party… The Guzman's had given Tilde her own little New Years Eve shindig, staging their own countdown right before her bedtime. The Peanut was full of exuberance, telling mommy about the party hats they wore and the noisemakers they used. Too cute. Magnus took one look at his human and decided he wasn't leaving her side for the rest of the day. And bless that dogs heart, he'd hold it for that long if necessary. By late afternoon, Tilde was busy playing with her doll house and Lil was starting to have doubts about the previous evenings events. Well, doubts was a strong word. Insecurities maybe. Not knowing who else to talk to about it, she picked up her phone and dialed Stephanie. "Hey Girl! Happy New Year! Did you party-hearty last night?" Lil chuckled, "Ya, we had a little get together here to celebrate. It's still not safe for me to leave the building too much. How was your night? More importantly, how was your date with Brian?" Steph giggled suggestively. "Oh Boy, the date was fantastic. Actually, I just came home… from my date three days ago..." She laughed more, equally embarrassed and proud of her recent behavior.

They chatted about Brian and his awesomeness. He had taken Stephanie to Point Pleasant for their first date, then sky diving. He'd even made sure she had a Wonder Woman parachute for the tandem jump. They stayed overnight, in separate rooms. By the second night, the extra room wasn't necessary. Lil was so happy for her. Frankly, anybody had to be better than Morelli. But Brian really did seem like the perfect fit for Steph. They agreed that whenever things calmed down on her end, they should all get together for lunch. Steph wanted Lil to meet him, see what she thought. After discussing the Plum family dynamic, Lil convinced her to hold off on the family dinner for a little while. There was no reason to bring a man home after only a few days. That was just nuts. Steph turned the tables on Lil and asked for details about their party. Lil gave her the basics, but the spidey sense was on full alert. "Your holding out on me… what REALLY happened?" Lil didn't answer right away… Big mistake. Not knowing what else to say, more than slightly flustered, Lil blurted out "ImighthavekindasleptwithCarlos". Stephanie screamed, loud enough to make Lil pull the phone away from her ear. "What!? Oh My God. Oh My God. You Bedded Batman? You Did the Dark Knight? You mounted the Man of Mystery? You Roger'd Ranger?!" Lil was in tears by this point. "Geez Steph, you've been using your thesaurus for work a little too often. Yes, we had sex." "Holy Shit girl, did the fricken Earth move? Details!" Lil laughed dryly. "The Earth definitely shifted, there was a major quake in Australia… cause Sis, my Down Under is still suffering from the after effects. Ouch!" They both giggled hysterically. "Oh Man, be glad Lula isn't here to listen to this, she'd still be screamin." That made them laugh even more. "So, what happened? Was it all romantic? Did he woo you? That man is walking sex on a damn stick! Did your clothes just fall off with one of his scorching looks?"

It was a fine line. Lil wanted to share everything with her, needing a woman's input. She also wanted to protect their individual privacy. In the end, she gave few actual details but the basic timeline of events. "Wait a minute, what do you mean you just went back to your apartment after? Did he actually ask you to leave? Cause if that's the case, I'm gonna have Lula shoot him. Then I'm going to sick Grandma Mazur on his fine ass!" Lil was hasty to explain that leaving was her decision, Carlos had done nothing wrong at all. "So your telling me… You had mind blowing sex with Ranger… with the option to stay and boff the Boss some more… and instead… you went home… alone…? Huh." Lil laughed, Stephanie's confusion on the subject was highly amusing. "Of course I came home. It's not like we're dating or anything. It was a one time thing. No strings attached." Twelve miles away, Steph was laid out in her thinking position, listening to her friend talk. All she could think to herself was 'ya, keep telling yourself that'. They hung up a little while later as Lil needed to get her sore ass off the couch to make dinner. Ranger texted shortly after they ate, asking if she wanted some company. Lil politely declined. She really was tired, and still very sore. The last thing she wanted was Ranger to see her moving so slow… and the hand print… She didn't want him to be upset.

By Sunday morning Lil was moving better, there was still some persistent tenderness… that's what you get when you try to ride a damn rocket ship. It wasn't anything she couldn't handle though. The mark on her throat wasn't as prominent, which was a really good thing as she had PT with Bobby later that afternoon. She'd crack if he subjected her to a Rangeman inquisition. Cal picked Tilde and Magnus up from her apartment before lunch. When she was slow to stand from the couch, he eyed her funny. He didn't comment though… small favors. Hopefully he just thought it was the neuropathy.

On the fifth floor, everyone was giving Ranger a wide birth. He had been one cranky bastard since yesterday morning. No one understood why. Well, no one but Junior and Zip. They happened to see Ranger and Lil on the roof, and heading to his apartment… fused together at the mouth… and then her departure a few hours later… They were also responsible for the fact that the tapes had since been erased. Mum was the word. Still, it didn't explain why Ranger was being so damn bitchy. In Zip's opinion, had he been with Lil, he'd still be walking on cloud nine. Twice on Saturday Tank had to spar with Ranger, just to keep him from ruining another speed bag, or the bones in his hands. No matter how many times Tank asked what the fuck was his problem, Ranger just grunted and threw another punch. Something had obviously happened after the party, but what? It had to involve Lil, only a woman could make a man act like that. When Tank questioned Cal on Sunday, he said his sister seemed fine, normal. WTF? Of course, this got Cal's wheels turning too… WTF indeed.

Sunday at 1300 Lil made her way via the elevator down to the second floor for PT. Stairs were so out of the question. She was wearing her normal workout gear, the hoodie zipped up a little higher than usual. "Hey Doc Brown, you keeping that Delorian under 88?" They both chuckled. Sometimes Lil was such a dork. "Yes ma'am. Don't want to travel back in time, might end up dating my mother!" Lil set about doing her standard upper-body work with the dumbbells for her shoulder. She hadn't removed her hoodie. Bobby just assumed she was chilled. They discussed her progress so far, both pleased to finally acknowledge that she was moving in the right direction. The nerve pain had decreased in frequency and severity. Her shoulder wasn't as stiff on a regular basis. Those were all excellent results after such a short time. When Bobby asked her to strip so he could start her massage she hesitated. "The cameras are off right?" He looked at her sideways, "Of course they are Lil. Just like always." She sighed and turned around, unzipping her hoodie in the process. While her comfort level with Bobby had increased greatly, she still wasn't going to outright flash him. She laid down on the table and he covered her lower half with the sheet.

Thirty minutes later when Bobby told her to roll over, she forgot about her throat. In all fairness, he had rubbed the common sense right out of her. She rolled onto her back, keeping her breasts covered. Bobby froze. "What the FUCK is that Lil?" He was pointing to her throat. Lil blanched. "Um, it's no big deal Doc. I swear, everything is good." He eyed her suspiciously. "You're telling me that was consensual?" She turned seven shades of red but gave him an affirmative answer. "I promise Bobby, it's all fine. Two consenting adults. No regrets. Please don't make a big deal out of it." She was pleading at this point. Bobby was torn. He wanted to protect her privacy, he also wanted to line every Rangeman up to call Ranger to the mats. Why Ranger? Because he would be the only man in this building who thought he had a chance of getting away with leaving a mark on their girl. Dumbass had another thing coming. He agreed to drop it, finishing her massage like normal. Mat time was still a possibility though.

Cal and Tilde had just returned from the roof to visit the men on five. Ranger stormed through the office, passing them without even noticing them. Tilde looked at her uncle, "Carlos is grumpy Uncle Cal." He smiled, "I know Peanut. Let's just leave him be for a while, OK?" She shrugged her little shoulders and ran over to greet Hal at his cubicle. With nothing else to go on, Cal approached Junior. They had a tense, hushed conversation. Both were incredibly uncomfortable to be discussing Ranger, Lil, and the seventh floor. It was Cal's sister for fuck's sake. Yup, not enough brain bleach in the world… At least now he had a better idea as to why Ranger was so cranky… Oh Shit… and why his SISTER was moving so slowly today… Ewwww!