Sorry about practically always posting in bunches, but I try to milk my moments of storyline inspiration for all they're worth. They're getting more and more sparse. I had a brilliant idea for this story while finishing off "It's a Girl Thing," so I came straight over and got my ideas down. Hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 6

The image of the hospital room disappeared and was replaced with a full hall of people. As I watched the camera panned the crowd before focusing in on the stage. Slowly it zoomed in so that there was a clear image of a boy sitting at a piano, he smiled and waved at the camera before positioning his hands on the keys. The melody that ensued was soothing and gentle and completely relaxing. It lifted me from my thoughts and had me floating in the air without a care in the world. My eyes drifted closed and before I knew it I was waking from a deep sleep.

There was music playing from somewhere and I was reminded of how I had managed to fall asleep, the beautiful ebb and flow of the piano as it took me to heights previously unknown and then gently lulled me into sleep. It was the best sleep I'd had in years, I felt fully refreshed. This is probably what bears felt like after their long winter's nap. As I followed the sound of the music I realised it must be coming from the music room, and made a beeline for it.

I sat down on the piano stool next to Ranger and he smiled sadly at me, but continued to play. He was so different here, it was like stepping into an alternate reality. He was expressing emotion and HE COULD PLAY PIANO!!! He was relaxed mostly. It was only when I asked how long I would be here, or why I was here that he tensed. Each time he I asked he changed the topic.

"Why did you want to show me those clips?" I asked, watching as his face creased with a kind of sadness I couldn't quite comprehend.

"I needed you to know about me," he replied. "I didn't want you to leave thinking I was just some military robot, perfectly manufactured so that I was invincible and didn't make mistakes."

I puzzled over this one for a moment or two. "But Ranger, I know you make mistakes. I've seen you hurt. I know you're not invincible. And I know you're not a super hero." Whoa, back a bit, where did that one come from? Did I know that he wasn't a superhero? That had just kind of slipped out before the thought had occurred to me.

He was laughing a bit at my look of shock. "I had to prove it to you," he said, shaking his head a bit. I opened my mouth to ask another question, but Ranger stopped me by speaking. "I just want to know that I'm sorry for everything that I've done to hurt or upset you over the years. I'm sorry I sent you back to the cop. If I had the chance to do it all over again I would make sure that you were mine."

"What are you talking about?" I had officially lost track of the conversation in the course of about three seconds. He was talking as if he would never see me again. Was he shipping me off to Botswana after all? I panicked a little at that thought. At this very moment, there could very well be a car pulling up to the gate to take me to the airport to be loaded into the cargo area like a dog and set down in some remote part of the world where they had never heard the word Macy's and hygiene was a foreign language! "Ranger, what aren't you telling me?"

He shook his head and stood, taking my hand in his. Following his lead I found myself in what I had assumed to be the equivalent of a living room. He sat me on a couch and pulled a box from under the coffee table. It was label Steph Memories. Aww… maybe he was saving them up so we could scrapbook them later in life! I must be losing my mind. Did I just think about scrapbooking with Ranger? Opening the box and sitting down on the coffee table so he was facing me he began to hand me various photographs and bibs and bobs. As he handed them to me I gazed at the totally flattering pictures of me. I had never looked this good, and I wasn't even posing! After a while I realised that many of the pictures had flaming cars in the background. Well, you take what you're given. There were even a few of me and him, which confused me. I figured he had been the one to take the photographs.

When I asked him about it he told me that the guys liked to document all their assignments with at least one picture. I was pretty sure he was lying, but couldn't be bothered fighting him for the truth right now. I was content to simply sit there and look at these photos.

Please review. I have the ending all worked out, so it shouldn't take too much longer until everything becomes clear.