They're not mine, I'm not making any money…

Chapter 6

"Have a good lunch with the girls?" Ranger asked, sneaking up behind me later that afternoon.

"Ranger," I gasped. "Don't do that. And yes lunch was nice, but by now the entire Burg knows I'm pregnant. Don't worry though, probably only about half of them think you're the father."

"Babe?" Ranger asked.

"Well, I've only told a few people and so far, my mother, Ella, Tank and Lula have guessed that you're the father. They're close enough to us they should know you're not, so what will the Burg guess?"

"You gonna be okay 'til that dies down?"

"I'll be fine. It's just like any other gossip, but I don't really get where they're coming from."

"Neither do I," he said. "I just wanted to let you know the boys and I have a meeting this afternoon. It's with our government contacts, so there's no telling what time I'll get home tonight."

"Top secret, super-classified stuff?"

"Yeah, Babe," he said with a smile, before leaning down to give the top of my head a kiss and walking away.

Completely befuddled, I turned back to my searches. Ranger had just told me what he was doing, who he was meeting and as close to a time frame as he could get. What's up with that? Oh well, things to do…people's privacy to invade.

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At five I stood and stretched, looking around the floor. None of the guys were back yet, so they must still be in their meeting. Spotting Vince and Woody at the monitors I wandered into the control room to say good night.

"Hey, Steph," said Vince, not looking up from the monitor.

"Hi, I just wanted to tell you guys good night before heading up."

"Night," they chorused. We really need to work on their communications skills…

Riding to the 7th floor, I pulled out my phone and turned it on. I'd left it off, knowing it would be ringing all day with the news of my pregnancy, but I was still staggered by the number of messages. I started listening to them as I let myself into Ranger's apartment. By the time I reached the couch and plopped down, I was automatically deleting anything that started with 'is it true that.' When I was done I was left with one from Mary Lou checking in on me, one from Connie and Lula telling me I had to come into the office again because dropping that news on them and running wasn't nice, and one from Ranger reminding me he'd be late. Nothing from Morelli.

I flicked on the television and zoned for an hour or two until Ella showed up with dinner. She'd made stuffed mushrooms with sun-dried tomatoes, no meat, little cheese…and it was delicious. At a loss for things to do, I browsed through Ranger's movie collection, but ultimately settled on Ghostbusters.

After the movie, I wandered to the bathroom for a Bulgari scented shower before pulling on a pair of panties and one of Ranger's black t-shirts for bed. I stood by the bed for a minute trying to decide if I had enough ambition to make a snack before bed when my stomach rumbled, so I padded into the kitchen.

I was reaching for the peanut butter and olives when my stomach turned, so I put them back in the fridge. Instead, I grabbed a handful of sliced carrots and munched them as I headed back to the bedroom. Once done with my snack I tucked myself in and slipped quickly into a deep sleep.

When I woke up, I felt a comfortable heat at my back, an arm around my waist and a hand resting on my stomach.

"Hey, Babe," I heard next to my ear.

"Morning," I mumbled, as I wiggled myself a little tighter to his chest.

"Not quite, but can you wake up so we can talk?"

"What's up?" I asked, turning and stretching.

"Nothing major," he said, shifting so I could stretch and he could still keep a hold of me. "The boys and I got back from our meeting about an hour ago, but we have to leave on an assignment early this morning. I didn't want to leave without telling you."

"Where? How long?"

"I can't tell you, Babe and we'll be out of communication so I can't call. Remember you're off all field work and no training except with your gun. I want you to keep going to the range, okay?"

"O-okay," I stuttered, a little lost for words, still trying to comprehend what he had told me. The only thing I could focus on was that he and the guys were going into a situation that was probably very dangerous and here he was trying to take care of me.

"Babe?" Ranger asked, taking in my unusual silence and seeming shock.

"Be safe," I blurted, before wrapping my arms around his neck and burrowing my face into his chest to mumble, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Shhh, Babe," he murmured into my hair. "I'm coming back." He ran a hand over my abdomen before adding, "I hate leaving you right after you found out about the baby. Especially since I told you I'd be there for you."

"We'll be fine. Do you have time to get some rest before heading out?"

"About an hour…"

"Okay, get some sleep," I said, snuggling into his chest until I felt him relax.

"Night, Babe."

"Night."

I lay very still, knowing that if I moved, he'd wake up. Once I was sure he was fully asleep, I carefully lifted my head to watch him. This is why his lifestyle doesn't lend itself to relationships, I thought sadly. I didn't want to share my superhero with the rest of world and it made me feel incredibly selfish.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when a shrill beeping started by my ear and stopped before I could register that it was coming from Ranger's watch. Ranger started to slowly pull himself away from me when he realized I was awake.

"Go back to sleep, Babe," he said, running a hand through my curls.

"Later," I said. "I want to see you and the guys off."

"Babe."

"Ranger."

"Okay, but you need to get something else on and I'm gonna grab a quick shower."

I just nodded and watched him walk to the bathroom. Once my show was over, I hopped out of bed and dug through the dresser 'til I found a bra and some cotton boxers. I put on the bra and selected a pair of Batman boxers thinking they were appropriate.

I could still hear Ranger in the shower so I wandered into the kitchen and thought about making breakfast. Better to call Ella, so I pressed the button for six and ordered two smoothies, which for the life of me I couldn't remember why I didn't like.

While waiting, I flopped on the over-stuffed couch in the living room and listened to the shower run. I was half-way through a Ranger/shower fantasy when I caught myself. I had been doing so well controlling the hormones too…

Thank God! I thought when I heard Ella knock on the door. I was having way too much trouble pulling myself from visions of Ranger naked and wet. And there I go again, better answer the door.

"Hi, Ella," I said, praying that my face wasn't broadcasting where my thoughts had been.

"Good morning," she smiled at me. "You're up early."

"I wanted to see Ranger and the guys off."

"That will be nice for them. Can you give this to Ranger? I need to feed the rest of the boys."

As she was leaving I noticed that the shower had stopped and a few moments later Ranger emerged from his room wearing nothing but a pair of combats…gulp.

"Hey, I had Ella bring up smoothies," I said, trying to divert my attention. He was making it very hard to remember that he wasn't family material.

"Thanks, Babe," he said eyeing the smoothie I was holding.

"It's what the baby wants," I stated and was rewarded by a grin from Ranger.

Ranger drank his smoothie and walked back into the bedroom to finish dressing. I finished mine moments later and followed him, only to find him dressed and lacing up his Bates boots.

"Need any help packing?" I offered.

"Not that kind of trip, Babe."

"Oh," I said, figuring I didn't want to know what that meant.

"Come on. The guys should be ready and we need to pull out in fifteen minutes."

We climbed into the elevator in silence and Ranger pushed the button for the garage. We were half way there when all of a sudden I couldn't control myself and launched my body at Ranger, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist and burying my face in his chest. I felt him stiffen for a moment, and then bring his arms up to cradle me closer.

The next thing I knew the door had slid open and Ranger started to walk us out of the elevator. I slowly relaxed and allowed him to turn me out of his chest, but kept an arm around his waist.

"Bomber?" Tank asked, knowing quite well how I felt about mornings, having had to drag me out of bed to run a time or two.

"I wanted to see you off."

"Thanks," he said.

While we talked, Ranger let go of me to help the guys finish loading equipment into the Bronco. I watched until they stopped, and realized time was up. I wrapped my arms around Tank only to be lifted off the ground and squeezed to his chest.

"Take care of yourself, Bomber. And take care of the kiddo. I want you both healthy when we get back."

"Only if you promise to take care of yourself, Big Guy."

"Will do," he said as Lester took me out of his arms.

"Thanks for being here, Sweetheart," Lester whispered into my hair. "It means a lot that someone cares."

"It also means you have to come back in one piece," I told him.

"We do our best," he said, before planting kisses all over my face and passing me off to Bobby. My feet had yet to touch the ground from the time Tank picked me up.

"You'll take care of them?" I asked, knowing that if anything happened and they got hurt, Bobby was all they had. Thank God, he was one of the best.

"Yeah, Bombshell, and I expect a full report from you when we get back that you've been behaving and taking care of the baby."

"Yes, doctor," I said, before receiving a sloppy kiss on the forehead and being released into Ranger's arms.

"I'm gonna miss you," I said, not meeting his eyes.

"Back at you, Babe."

I don't know what it was, but whatever happened in the elevator happened again in that parking garage. I'm blaming the hormones…I'm pregnant, I can do that. I suddenly wrapped myself around his body and kissed him for all I was worth. I could feel his shock before he started to kiss me back and it went on until we heard a round loud throat clearing.

"Babe," he whispered hoarsely against my lips.

"Just come back, okay?"

"Yeah, Babe," he said, before giving me another soft kiss and placing me gently on the ground. Then he gave my stomach a pointed look, "And you, don't be too hard on your mother while I'm gone. I promised to take care of her, but I have to go away for awhile. She might get lonely, so just let her have some ice-cream when that happens…it's better for everyone." That said, he bent to give my stomach a quick peck, before pulling me to him for one last hug.

"Time to go, man," said Bobby, clapping a hand on Ranger's shoulder and pulling his attention away from me.

"Yeah," I agreed. "The sooner you all go, the sooner you'll be back. You just have to try to get back before I get fat."

"We'll try, Sweetheart," said Lester, "But it's not fat, it's just more pregnant."

"Thanks, Lester," I said, giving him a weak smile.

Then the guys gave my hair a quick muss and my stomach a pat before loading into the Bronco. Ranger pulled me to him for one more last hug and a few soft short kisses, before pulling away.

"You're an evil woman, Babe, sending me off for God knows how long, with a kiss like that."

"Hoping it brings you back."

"Babe," was all he said before loading into the Bronco.

I watched as it pulled out of the garage and disappeared from my sight. I stood in the garage for a long moment, until I began to feel the early morning chill, so I climbed into the elevator and headed back to Ranger's apartment.

Once there, I climbed into bed, let a few tears escape and started contemplating Ranger's life when I realized I wanted to be in it whether it lent itself to relationships or not. It's not like I ever fit into the 'normal' relationship anyway…look at my escapades with Morelli and Dickie.

A/N: Thanks for reading…Please review!