A/N: Holy cow y'all!! Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favorites!! As a reminder: I own no one, except the characters I make up. I also don't know all the characters true names, backgrounds or appearances so I'm making those up too. Enjoy!!

Chapter 2

Stephanie POV

Home. We arrive back at Rangeman pretty late. All I want to do is wash away any trace of that jerk from my body, slip into some comfy pjs, check on Rex and go to sleep. I moved into the empty apartment on 4 a few months back when, surprise surprise, my apartment building blew up. It really wasn't my fault this time. There was a gas leak and thankfully all the tenants got evacuated before it went up in flames. So it was either move back to the 'Burg with my folks, or move into Rangeman. I chose the option with the hunky men wandering around at all hours. I have been taking a LOT of showers since moving in…

Chambersburg New Jersey or "The 'Burg" as it's affectionately named , is a small piece of South Trenton. Home to Italian restaurants and mobsters, as well as a hotbed of gossiping Gertie's, I try to avoid it whenever I can. Unfortunately I have a standing invite to Sunday dinner at my folks house. My mom Helen is a retired school teacher, who loves to lament about my "wasted years" working for that "thug" and why can't I just settle down with Joe and start popping out babies?? My father , Frank , works for the cab company. He's always been supportive of my choices, just not very supportive when it comes to backing me up when my mother is berating me about them. And then there's Grandma Mazur. I could write a book about her all on her own, so we'll leave her til later.

That brings us to Joe. As previously mentioned we had dated in high school, and he did the whole "wham bam thank you ma'am " when I was 16 behind the éclair case at the Tasty Pastry. He also wrote all about it in every gross bathroom stall he could visit before leaving the next day for the Navy. I can't imagine why I don't want to settle down with him, can you ? Mom thinks me running him over with the car three years later when he came back to town should be good enough payback for the shit he put me through… and I really did try to move on. We dated, on and off , for a few years before I started working for Ranger. After that? I couldn't keep up the charade anymore. I knew I would never be happy with him, and broke it off permanently. He was none too thrilled when he found out who I was working for, but couldn't really put up much of a fight.

I slipped in to the apartment and didn't bother locking the door. The whole building is a security fortress, no one was making it up here unless they had clearance . I made my way to the bathroom so I could wash away any trace of the night, peeling off clothes on my way when I heard a knock. Switching directions I went back to the door and opened it to find Bobby standing there. "Bomber I…" his face flushed as he saw me "Oh , I'm interrupting something…" I looked down and realized I had taken off my shirt and skirt before he had knocked so I was down to my under garments.

"I was just about to jump in the shower Bobby what's up?" I stepped aside so he could come in, but he didn't move. I waved him in and he still didn't step forward so I just grabbed his arm and pulled him inside, slamming the door behind him. He stared at me, eyes dark. I could tell he was… uncomfortable? Turned on? I wasn't really sure which so I rolled my eyes and padded off to the bedroom, pulling on a robe and coming back out to him. "Better?"

His eyes cleared back up and he nodded. "Sorry Bomber, I was just…uh…. I came to ask if you had any plans this weekend?"

I stood with my hand on my hip and head cocked. "You had to ask me that at…" I glanced at the clock " 1 am? Why, is it a Merry men weekend?" Sometimes we have what I like to call "team building outings". The boys like dragging me around to places Ranger would never set foot in, like paintball, movie screenings, bowling, or my favorite, paint and sip. You haven't lived until you've seen 10 huge ass men hunched over canvases trying follow the directions of someone NOT in the military, all while drinking wine.

"Um, no… I was wondering… well…" Okay this wasn't my Bobby. He had been replaced by some strange pod person. My Bobby was confident, and while he didn't scream sex god like Lester, he still could put together a sentence when speaking to me. I went ahead and put him out of his misery.

"Bobby are you asking me out on a date?" I took my hand off my hip and placed it on his arm, running my fingers softly over his caramel skin. I looked straight into his deep brown eyes that reminded me of pools of chocolate. He nodded, and turned a bit red, as red as anyone of his complexion could get. I slid closer to him, pulling his arm so that it wrapped around me, taking the other one and doing the same thing . "I would love that. Just tell me a date and time and I'll be ready." I could tell he was relieved , I felt the tension pour out of him when I spoke. After the initial shock he seemed to gather his senses back because me pulled me closer and leaned in, kissing my forehead.

"Thanks Bomber. I've been wanting to do that for awhile , just haven't had the courage."

I laid my head against his chest and grinned , I could hear his heart beating a mile a minute. "I can't wait Bobby." After a moment of us just standing there holding each other he lets me go with another kiss, this time on the cheek and headed out. Bobby is nothing but a gentleman, so it didn't surprise me he didn't even attempt to make a move. I shut the door and head off to the bathroom.

Bobby's POV

I stood outside Stephanie's door thinking to myself what in the hell are you doing man? It's 1 am. She's probably asleep. But it didn't stop me from knocking. When she answered the door I immediately started "Bomber I…" and then I actually saw her. "Oh , I'm interrupting something…" She was in nothing but a bra and panties, and my mind basically jumped into outer space. I couldn't think, let alone speak. I stood there staring at her, trying not to give away how completely turned on I was. Stephanie Michelle Plum was the best thing that ever happened to us at Rangeman. Not just because she was a woman, and we were definitely lacking around here when it came to the female persuasion, but because of who she was in her core. She never treated us like we were scary, or menacing ,and let me tell you there are some massively scary guys that work in our company. She calls us on our shit, and is the hottest BEA I've ever met. Sure she flat out sucked when she started with us (she would most definitely agree), but after a solid year and a half of training with each of us, she's gotten really good. She pulled me into her apartment and I tried to clear my head , she had been talking to me and I was off in lala land. She walked off to her bedroom and came back a few seconds later with a robe on.

"Better?" she stood in front of me , somewhat clothed now. At least I could concentrate a bit more.

"Sorry Bomber, I was just…uh…. I came to ask if you had any plans this weekend?"

She stood with her hand on her hip and head cocked, in a very Stephanie way. "You had to ask me that at…" she glanced at the clock " 1 am? Why, is it a Merry men weekend?"

Our group weekends are the best. We all hang out doing fun activities that boss would never partake in. And while I've known Ricardo Manoso for forever, I would never call him a fun guy. "Um, no… I was wondering… well…" what the hell was wrong with me? Yes the woman in front of me was an angel sent from heaven to torment my dreams but dammit she was still a woman, and I can talk to women! We've talked plenty of times before when I was fixing her up after a rough skip. I even hide a stash of lollipops in my medical bag for her because she's addicted to sugar. I guess she could sense my nervousness , although who couldn't I was acting like a fool, because she got closer to me and ran her fingers over my arm. "Bobby are you asking me out on a date?" When I nodded she pulled my arm so that it wrapped around her, taking the other one and doing the same thing . "I would love that. Just tell me a date and time and I'll be ready." I was so relieved, I practically melted on the floor. I pulled her closer and leaned in, kissing her forehead.

"Thanks Bomber. I've been wanting to do that for awhile , just haven't had the courage."

She laid her head against my chest and grinned , I'm sure she could hear my heart racing. "I can't wait Bobby." After a minute of us just standing there holding each other I let her go with another kiss, this time on the cheek and headed out. After she shut the door I leaned against it for a second, trying to stop my heart from beating out of my chest. She actually said yes!!

Stephanie POV

After Bobby left I retreated to the bathroom to actually get my shower. Turning on the water as hot as I could stand, I finished stripping off the clothes I had left and stepped in. As the water rained down on me I smiled to myself , a date with Bobby would be fun. We click, have since I started at Rangeman. I grab my body wash and start to scrub as I think back to where that creep Bowman had touched me. The scent was very specific, Bvlgari Au de Vert ,my favorite, and Ella makes sure to keep my supply stocked. I washed my hair quickly and went to grab the towel I had left next to the shower, but I couldn't find it. That's weird I left it right here. So I opened up the shower curtain and yelped.

"Jesus Mary and Joseph Ranger! You almost gave me a heart attack! What the hell are you doing here ?? And where's my towel!" I tried to cover myself as best as I could behind the curtain as he just gave me that shit eating smirk he seems to show me… a lot.

"Babe. What have I told you about locking that shit up?"

When we had first met and were trying to track down Morelli, I ended up getting handcuffed to my shower rod naked, by said jerk. Ranger came and rescued me, but gave me that lovely parting piece of wisdom. "Oh shit, I forgot to lock the front door!"

Ranger just gave me that same smirk. It's not like it would have mattered, all these guys know how to pick a lock, and Ranger has picked my door locks more than anyone, ever. "WHATEVER just hand me my towel please!"

He grabbed the towel he had pilfered from the spot I had left it and handed it to me. I snatched it from his hands "What are you doing here Ranger?" I wrapped the towel around me stepping out of the shower, and I could practically hear his pants getting tighter as I did. "You don't have the right to just waltz in here you know. You gave up that right months ago." I stalked past him into my bedroom, and he followed.

"Babe." Ugh, this man and his damn one word answers.

"No, I mean it Ranger. It's 1:30 in the morning , what are you doing here?" I started pulling out my pjs so I could change. I waited for him to turn around but he just stood there, arms crossed and not moving so I just went ahead and dropped my towel and started getting dressed. I could hear him make a noise , something in between a growl and a moan. I ignored him and pulled on the tank top and shorts, then turned around and glared at him. He finally sighed and started talking.

"I want us to be okay… with everything that went down between us, it feels like you're mad at me."

Wow. I got a whole sentence from him! Praise God for small miracles. "No Ranger, I'm not mad, not really . Just, disappointed is all. But that doesn't change the fact that you're in my apartment without asking me first, and basically held my towel hostage. Why?" then it dawned on me. "Are you watching the feeds tonight?" I knew I had guessed right when he actually blushed a bit and dropped his head. "You saw Bobby come to see me didn't you? And what? You wanted to try and get information out of me?" I could hear my voice start to raise a bit and realized I hadn't had any sugar in a few hours. I padded off to the kitchen to find my stash of TastyKakes before I started throwing things, with Ranger tailing close behind. I dug through the cupboard and found one left of my favorite , the peanut butter KandyKakes. Ripping it open I sunk my teeth into it and moaned, loudly. I heard Ranger shuffle next to me. "What, you know I love food." I finish it quickly and discard the trash. "I need to go to bed Ranger, I have training with Les at 0700. Can this wait til later tomorrow or something?"

"Babe. I just…"

"You know what ? I'll make it easy on you. Bobby asked me out and I said yes. There ya go. I'm sure you can see yourself out, right?" I stomp back to the bedroom, turn off the light and slip under the covers, waiting to see if he follows me.

He doesn't. I hear the front door open and shut a few seconds later, and I can feel the tears I didn't even know were forming start to run down my cheeks.