I was totally overwhelmed by the amount of positive feedback I got from you guys, thank you all so very much. I guess that means you do want more, huh?

So this one is for you, and I hope you like it.

Rating: T so far. Let's see what happens…

Spoilers: TS to some extend

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Clueless in Trenton

Chapter 2

I woke up with a start and the feeling I wasn't alone. The digital alarm clock said it was 4 in the morning. It took my eyes a moment to get accustomed to the darkness, but then I could clearly see a figure in the doorway.

There was only one man who made it his hobby to break into my apartment and scare the shit out of me: Ranger.

I didn't describe him very well in my phone call with Helpful Helen; she hadn't even given him a nickname. He was 6' of tall, dark and handsome. I swear his picture is in the dictionary next to the definition of Cuban Sex God. There was nothing physically wrong with Ranger.

Emotionally however, that was a different story.

Between his life not lending itself to relationships and him loving me in his own way, he'd given me plenty of warnings. I should have kept my distance. But unfortunately, I was never good at the things I should do.

So here he was, one of the two men I loved.

"Can't sleep, Babe?" He asked, and I thought I could see him smile in the dark.

"Very funny." I replied, but I wasn't really irritated.

"Something you wanted to ask me?" He said and I had no doubt he was smiling now. I could feel the heat creep up my cheeks.

"How do you know?"

I turned on the bedside light when he didn't answer. Yep, I'd guessed right, he was smiling. Like the proverbial cat with the canary, actually.

"Someone called and said I'd have to turn on my radio." He said.

Oh my God. I just wanted to die. Regardless of who'd called him, that person had recognized my voice. Who else did they call? My face was burning now.

Ranger pushed himself off the doorframe and disappeared into my living room. Since that's where I'd left the notebook, I jumped out of bed and ran after him.

It was too late. He was holding the notebook when I got to the living room.

"You can't read that!" I all but screamed.

"I'm not. Thought about it. But I figured you'll share when you're ready. Just thought you'd need the list or did you already memorize the questions?"

I took the notebook he was holding out and hated the way my hand was shaking. This whole thing was ridiculous. It smacked of something Mary Lou and I would have done in 5th grade.

I still wasn't over the fact that someone had overheard me. Was it possible to die of shame?
Ranger was still grinning when he sat down on the couch and looked at me expectantly. He must have been on his way home from a job when he detoured to my apartment, I figured. There was no way he'd gotten out of bed to see me in the middle of the night. He was dressed in his usual black and a utility belt lay next to him on the couch.

"How much did you hear?" I asked to find out how far my embarrassment had gotten.

"I tuned in at question 5." Ranger said. Thank God! He hadn't heard my confession.

"So I am a man in your life?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and my face burned up again. It wasn't fair to wake me in the middle of the night, I'd had no time to prepare, I wasn't even wearing make-up!

"How about I copy the questions for you and give you some time to think about them while I take a shower?" I asked so I could avoid answering his question. I sat down at the dining room table and copied the questions over to a blank sheet of paper, then I handed it to Ranger.

"Take your time." I said and hurried into the bathroom. If anyone from the Burg had heard me on the radio, I'd have to change my name and move to Timbuktu, I decided. There was no way I could live this down if I was already mortified at the idea that Ranger knew.

I took a shower and put on my robe before I left the bathroom. Ranger was gone. The sheet of paper was lying on the coffee table.

Although I wanted nothing more than to find out what Ranger's answers were, I made myself finish my questionnaire first.

I got coffee started since there was no sense in even trying to go to sleep now, grabbed the pen and continued my list.

7. If a genie granted you one wish, what would you wish for?

That one was tough. Should I wish for never ending TastyKakes? World peace? I thought long and hard and then I decided on 'Happiness'. Kind of lame, but really, if I was happy, nothing else could faze me much, right?

8. You have the power to forever eliminate a natural disaster. Which one would you choose?

What kind of question was this in the context anyway? It didn't make sense to me. So I just jotted down the first one I could think of, 'hurricanes'.

9. You are given the chance to alter one thing about your physical appearance or character, what's your choice?

Ha! Where to begin? I could only change one thing? I sort of liked my looks and while I usually wished I weighed less, a week of dieting took care of that. If anything had to change, it was in my character. I decided I'd try for a 'calmer temper', so I wouldn't freak out quite so fast and violently.

10. Did you answer the preceding nine questions honestly? If not, would you like to change an answer?

That one was pretty clever, I had to admit. I had answered honestly. Honestly, sometimes I couldn't just decide on one or even three, so I had listed everything. Although I probably wouldn't need lip gloss on a deserted island.

A pot of coffee and two hours later, I had all my replies down and I was dying to find out what Ranger'd come up with.

I snatched up his list from the coffee table. His handwriting was neat and even. My heart was actually beating faster when I sat down on the couch and read his list.

1. What are the three items you would take with you to a deserted island?

Ranger had listed flint, a knife and a tarp. I chuckled. He'd probably been on deserted islands before and knew exactly what he'd need. Or maybe it was just a very manly question.

2. You can ask any person a question, any question, whether they're dead or alive. Who would you ask and what's the question?

Ranger's answer was 'Fidel Castro – Was it worth it?'

Huh. That one surprised me. I didn't know Ranger was political. Then again, I didn't know much about him anyway. For the first time, I realized Helen had been on to something when she gave me the list.

3. Did you ever apologize for something that wasn't your fault? Why?

Ranger admitted that he had because 'Sometimes it's better to apologize than to start a fight'.

Wow, not what I'd expected at all. Ranger apologizing to avoid a fight? I was shaking my head in disbelief. I'd had to ask him about that one.

4. If there was one event in the past year you could get undone, what would it be?

'Scrog' was all Ranger had written. It didn't really need more details, I knew what he meant. His daughter was kidnapped, he'd been forced into hiding and there was national media coverage about him and his family, and in the end, he'd been shot and his daughter had shot Scrog. Overall an episode anyone would want to undo.

5. Write down the three most influential people in your life

This time, Ranger surprised me with how simple he'd kept it. 'Mom, Grandma, General Hawkins' was all it said. Since I didn't know much about his parents or grandparents or what role they'd played in his life, I didn't know how true it was. But I was touched by his honesty. This was a part of Ranger I never knew.

6. If you'd won the jackpot a year ago, what would you have done with the money?

'Redo office, update equipment' was what Ranger'd answered. I had to roll my eyes at this one. He was such a guy. He was probably thinking of all new gym equipment and state of the art computer systems. Then I realized he hadn't put down anything for himself. I looked back at my own list where I had written 'Shopping, Lexus, condo'. Okay, that was definitely typical for me. I hadn't 'bought' anything that wasn't for me.

Yet another tidbit about Ranger.

7. If a genie granted you one wish, what would you wish for?

I had to laugh out loud at Ranger's answer. 'Power to read minds' is what he'd put down. As far as I was concerned, he already had that power. The man could read me like an open book.

Imagine that, I thought, Ranger asking for a super power. I'd always compared him to Batman, it seemed I was more right than I'd thought.

8. You have the power to forever eliminate a natural disaster. Which one would you choose?

'Would not change natural disasters, only human ones' was Ranger's answer. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Now he was answering questions with riddles? I so had to follow up with him!

9. You are given the chance to alter one thing about your physical appearance or character, what's your choice?

'More strength and endurance' was what Ranger'd put down. I couldn't imagine a stronger guy than Ranger and his answer surprised me. Could it be that Batman was insecure? No, that would be ridiculous. It must have been another one of those guy things, I decided.

10. Did you answer the preceding nine questions honestly? If not, would you like to change an answer?

Ranger'd simply stated 'I don't lie'. Out of all his answers, this one surprised me the least. I'd already known that about him. He may not always tell me everything, but he never lied. If I'd learn to ask the right questions, he'd tell me the honest answers.

I reread over his answers several times. Helpful Helen seemed to have lived up to her name. There was a lot of information in these ten answers, and I felt I knew a lot more about Ranger now.

I wondered if I should call Helen again once I had Joe's answers, would she be able to give me more advice? Of course, since that would mean sharing the lists, I probably wouldn't do it.

It was still early, but Joe would probably be up by now, getting ready for work. I didn't give myself a chance to change my mind and dialed his number quickly.

He agreed to come over after work.

I was smiling when I put the receiver back. Once I'd get Joe's answers, I would re-read all three lists and see if the responses somehow gave me the power to decide, as Helen had promised.

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A/N: Well, what do you think? I wish I could ask Ranger those questions, as it was, I had to imagine it all…