As you probably guessed, this is the 'beginning of the end,' so to speak. Two more chapters after this one. Still don't own them, make no profit, rating for language…

…

He shrugged, like the whole thing was unimportant. "Because I'm not giving you a divorce."

She fought back the panic that was clawing at her chest and trying to escape.

He kept talking, in that expressionless, monotonous tone. "It's better for us to stay married. We can live here in the building and..." He kept going.

She was going to scream. It was welling up in her, alongside this blinding panic. She was losing control again. He was bulldozing over her with a ruthlessness that she'd always known he possessed but that he had never used against her. Her words came out almost more as gasps than as words. "What? Why--"

He kept talking. "...and security is always a question. This will make it more manageable."

He had stopped. He was looking at her with an eyebrow raised, waiting for her answer. The first thing sprang to mind flew from her mouth: "You bastard!"

Not even the slightest change to his facial expression.

"You can't do this, Ranger. You said when you made me marry you that we'd undo it."

"I was angry."

It was all she could do to hold in that scream. To rail against the injustice of him holding her hostage in a relationship when he had no more feelings for her than 'security' for the baby. "And what?" she finally managed to say. "You're not angry now? I don't care. I want a divorce."

Still no response.

"You can't force me to stay here against my will. That's kidnapping."

His gaze finally locked with hers. There was no give in his expression, no compromise. "I'm not locking you in the building, Stephanie. I'm just not signing the papers."

"Why the fuck not?"

"Does it matter?"

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her thundering heart. It took another three breaths before she was calm enough to speak. "Fuck you, Ranger."

She stood and marched toward him, grabbing Livy from his arms. In the bedroom, she set Livy on the bed while she started gathering up their clothes. Tears stung her eyes as she packed what they needed into an overnight bag. Her chest was aching, enough that she had to stop and rub the heel of her hand over her breast bone.

She leaned over Livy on the bed while she tried to get her clothes on. "Come on, baby," she said, grabbing for one of Livy's flailing arms. "It's just going to be you and me now, but we're going to do just fine." And damn Ranger for proving that there was going to be something missing in their lives if they went on without him.

She had almost believed him, almost thought she could trust him again. God, she was an idiot.

She glanced around the room, her breath catching as she did. She'd been living there over a month, and in that time, it had become their room, their home. But she hadn't wanted to live here, hadn't even agreed really, and she was going to go crazy if she didn't have some level of control over her life.

Now she was the one making the decisions. And the mistakes, a little voice in her head said. She paused in her packing, her hand still resting on one of Livy's baby blankets. Her eyes drifted around the room again, pausing on the bassinet beside the bed, the stack of clean onesies on the dresser, the pacifier on the nightstand. A hair band of hers and Ranger's watch were beside the pacifier.

Her heart started pounding harder, as her mind frantically flipped through scenarios. She could stay, or she could take Livy and run - work out some custody arrangement they could both live with. The enormity of the decision she was facing weighed down on her. It wasn't just her that was going to be effected, but Livy's future would be dictated by this decision as well. And what if she made the wrong one?

"I love you. You know that, right?"

She whipped around and saw Ranger standing in the doorway. No, she didn't know that. She still didn't.

"Stay with me," he said.

Steph glanced back at Livy, who was lying on the bed, happily waving her arms around. "Is that an order, or are you asking?" And could she trust him, regardless?

"I'm asking you, babe. I want you to stay. What do you want?"

It was the moment of decision. Their eyes met. Her world narrowed to just this moment as each of her senses focused entirely on his presence. The heat in his eyes, the intensity of his gaze boring through her, had a magnetizing effect drawing her toward him. It was a pull that she wouldn't have been able to resist, even if she had wanted to. But fear of making the wrong choice had her frozen in place.

She watched as he moved toward her, watched his hands come up. Unable to either stop him or encourage him, she simply stared as his fingers moved closer to her. They brushed over her cheeks, and then his palms framed her face.

"Stay with me," he said again. His voice was lower this time, more forceful.

She drew a deep breath. He was asking for a lot - he was asking for everything. Her voice was frozen in her throat, even if she could have known what she wanted to say. Her heart started pounding and a flush seared her cheeks. She wondered absently if he could feel the growing heat in her face on his palms.

His head lowered, inch by inch, until his lips were only a millimeter from her own. He was waiting for an answer, she realized, and wasn't above coercion. The temptation was strong. So strong. Ranger had always been good up close, and now was no exception. Her body was on fire, every nerve sensitized, prepared for the exact instant that his lips would make contact with hers. And yet she still couldn't bring herself to take that final necessary step.

His eyes hardened and she could feel him starting to retreat.

"This isn't fair, Ranger."

He didn't reply, just kept staring at her.

"You're asking me for everything. You want me to stay in this relationship with you, you want me to stay married to you. You want me to trust you. But you're not giving me anything in return."

…

He stared at her, uncomfortable with how close to the truth she was. He focused on the tangibles. "I think I'm giving you an awful lot. Physical and financial security, a good life for you and for Livy."

"A life where you control every aspect of it. A life where you can walk away if something angers you." She took a step back from him, out of his reach, and crossed her arms over her chest. "That's not the kind of life I want."

"I do love you, Stephanie"

The look she gave him was so full of sadness she seemed haunted by it. "We both know that's not true."

She turned and picked up the half-packed bag. Her movements were lethargic as she bent to put Livy in her carrier and lift it. She gave him a final searching, almost pleading, look before turning and walking out.

The click of the door closing behind her resonated in the silent apartment. Empty apartment. Fuck. He dropped onto the bed. Who cared if she left? Isn't this what he wanted? To keep himself far enough removed from her emotionally that it wouldn't matter what she did.

But he hadn't even come close to accomplishing that.

Fuck it. If it made him weak to need her this much, then it made him weak. He could live with that. But she wasn't leaving him. He grabbed his keys and headed to the control room. There was a tracker in her car - she couldn't get very far.

…

She blinked back tears as she drove. Her mind was sluggish, trying to figure out what she had just done and what in the world she would do now. Stopping at a red light, she banged her head on the steering wheel. From the back, Livy started crying. She groaned. She squeezed her eyes shut tight and tried to untangle herself form the cloying layers of panic weighing down on her.

A horn honked behind her, causing her to straighten and start driving again. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going - just driving. Buildings and houses blurred in her peripheral vision. Livy kept screaming. When she finally blinked her surroundings back into focus, she found herself in the Burg. Joe - she could go to Joe. He would help her.

She sped up, desperate to get there, to find some relief from whatever was making her chest hurt so badly. She cringed as Livy's screams grew louder.

Pulling into the driveway, she slammed the gear shift into park. She jumped out, grabbed Livy from the back and rushed to the door. Since she didn't have a free hand to use her key, she knocked and waited for Joe, shifting from foot to foot and trying to shush the baby.

He took one look at her duffel bag and tear-stained face and stepped back to let her in. "What happened."

"I don't know." She dropped her bag and shifted Livy to her other arm. The screaming was slowing down her muddled mind that much farther. "Do you have a vacuum?" Her voice was high and thin, panicky.

"A what?"

Her gaze darted frantically around the room. She needed a vacuum. She needed to make Livy stop crying. "He said--" She sniffed and tried again. "She would stop if he--" Fresh tears spilled out of her eyes. She shifted the baby again. "Oh Livy, please stop."

"Okay," Joe said, stepping forward. "One crying woman at a time." He took Livy and cradled her close. "Running a vacuum cleaner will make her stop?"

Steph nodded and wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands. Joe walked to the hall closet and pulled one out. Steph hurried over and unwound the cord, jamming it into the nearest plug. She flipped the switch. Within a few minutes, Livy stopped screaming and settled against Joe, fussing, but not crying.

"Okay," Steph said, wiping fresh tears from her eyes. "Okay." She stumbled over to the couch and dropped her head in her hands. "Oh my god, what did I do?"

Joe came and sat down by her on the couch, still holding Livy against his chest. They were far enough away from the vacuum to be able to hear each other. "Why don't you start by telling me what happened."

"He told me I had to make a decision. He wasn't going to give me the divorce. I didn't know what to do. He wanted me and Livy to stay and for us to stay married and--"

"Steph," he said slowly. "That's a good thing, right?"

"No!" She scrubbed at her face with her hands - where were these damn tears coming from? "I mean, yes, it's good that he wants joint custody and all, but I just...I can't--" She trailed off tried to catch her breath.

She blew out a long sigh and finally managed to stop the tears. Closing her eyes, she leaned back against the couch. Her mind was still racing, but she kept taking deep breaths. It didn't work entirely, but it helped. It at least calmed her enough that she could explain.

"I need to be the one making the decision, you know? I never really decided that I wanted to be with Ranger instead of you, or that I wanted a baby, or that I wanted to work for him instead of bounty hunting. All that just kind of happened." She stopped for a minute, trying to get her thoughts organized in her head enough to actually make sense. "Do you know why I slept with Ranger in the first place?"

Joe shifted uncomfortably. "I can guess."

"He brought over those pictures of you and Terry and I was just so fucking mad. I was just so pissed and he was there and I didn't even think it through. And then he left and it was like I had lost both of you."

He nodded.

"And then I found out I was pregnant and I switched jobs and I was happy. I was in control of my life. And then Ranger shows up and forces me to marry him. And all of a sudden, he's making every decision for me."

"I'm going to guess that you put up a fight when it came to the marriage thing," Joe said.

She smiled and wiped away the remnants of her tears. "Yeah. He had to shove the pen into my hand. The judge threatened me with contempt if I didn't sign."

"And then you decided you wanted a divorce."

"Yes! I decided it. I decided I wanted a divorce, I got the lawyer, I got the papers ready, and everything was fine. I had Livy and then he shows up. And all of a sudden he's making me move in with him and he's refusing to give me the divorce and it's starting all over again.

"He doesn't love me," she said. "Or at least, not like I love him, so he can hold himself back. He doesn't have to take any risks. I'd be different if it was both of us, but it's just me plunging head-first into this thing. And if I stay with him, what then?"

Then he can walk all over me, she thought. If she handed over her heart with nothing in return, he'd have the power to destroy her. To control and manipulate her.

Just like him refusing to give her the divorce.

She rubbed her hands over her face. "It's like I can either have control over my life and make my own decisions, or I can be with him. I can't have both. And even if I did want to be with him, how the fuck do I ever trust him again?"

"So you left," Joe said.

She nodded. Fresh tears filled her eyes. "I lived that way for so many years - letting the two of you and my mother and everybody else decide everything for me. I'm not going back to that. I can't." She dropped her head into her hands as a sob escaped her. "But I want to be with him so badly." She bent forward at the waist, trying to control the tears, but it wasn't working. She gasped for a breath.

A blow sounded at the door.

Fuck.

…

He banged on the door again. Over his dead body was Morelli taking away his wife and daughter. He had raised his fist to knock again when Morelli opened the door. Livy was asleep on his shoulder.

He glanced inside and caught sight of the vacuum in the middle of the room, still running. "Was she screaming?" he said, keeping his voice low.

Joe nodded and came out onto the front porch, closing the door behind him. Ranger held out his arms and took Livy from him. Her little mouth opened and closed a couple times, but then she settled against Ranger's chest without waking up. "What's she saying?"

Joe shook his head. "I'm not making this easy for you. You want her, you gotta earn it."

Ranger sighed. "Can I talk to her?" he said, motioning inside with his head.

"Sure." Joe opened the door and led him into the living room. He flipped off the vacuum and disappeared into the kitchen.

Ranger sat down on the edge of the coffee table so that he was facing her. "Steph?" he said. She didn't answer. Keeping one hand on the baby, he used the other to pry Steph's hands away from her face. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her mascara was ruined. She turned her head away from him. "Babe."

He tried to take a deep breath, but the room had run out of air. "Don't do this, Stephanie. Don't walk away." His voice was bordering on begging, but he was running out of pride.

"Why not?"

The million-dollar question. "Because I love you."

Her gaze slid to his, then away.

"What do I need to do to prove it?"

She didn't answer for a moment. Then she said, without looking at him, "You need to take a risk, Ranger. You want me - heart, body, and soul - but you're not risking anything. You're keeping me at an arm's length."

He stared at her. She wanted him to strip away his defenses, lower his guard. Make himself vulnerable. The one thing he swore he would never do, not even for Steph.

Livy moved against his chest, drawing his attention. He tried to remember all the reasons he was resisting. She could hurt him, manipulate him. His enemies would have a better foothold to get to him through her. He'd lose his mind if he lost her.

That was it - the last one. To give her everything and watch her walk away...

He'd always said that Steph was his weakness. His love for her - his need for her - made him weak. What if it didn't?

What if it made him stronger?

What if it wasn't control over his feelings for her that he needed, but the security - the strength - that came from knowing that she loved him the same way.

Could he do it? Was he strong enough to be vulnerable? For her? His hands were starting to sweat. He shifted his hold on Livy and cleared his throat. Steph still wasn't looking at him. But her pain was tangible. The light in her eyes, the joy and warmth in her that had always drawn him to her was gone. He had done this to her, and now he had to be strong enough to fix it.

She'd had more faith in him than anyone else. More, certainly, than she should have. Did he have that much faith in her? The ring he had given her - his grandmother's ring - was on her finger. He reached out with his free hand and touched it. He slid it around in a circle. She didn't react.

Christ, this was hard.

And he not only had to say it, he had to prove it. How the fuck did he do that? His heart was about to pound out of his chest. He glanced down at the baby asleep on his shoulder and tried to steel himself.

"Okay," he said. His voice was hoarse. "Okay." Another deep breath. "I'll give you the divorce."

Her eyes slid back to his and held.

"I'll sign the papers. I'll give you the divorce."

She frowned a little.

Another deep breath. The hard part. "You can walk away. You can take Livy. I'm trusting you not to."

…

Her breath hitched. She stared at him, but couldn't make her mind make sense of all of it.

"Do you understand what I'm saying, Steph? I don't trust anyone."

She swallowed hard. "You trust your men. You trust Tank."

He shook his head. "I trust their skill. I trust them to back me up. But I don't share anything of my personal life with them. I wouldn't be heartbroken if Tank left."

But he would be heartbroken if she left, she realized. He didn't say it out loud - he didn't have to. It was written all over his face. For once, the mask he wore the for world was gone.

Her voice was whisper soft when managed to speak. "What do you get out of it?"

"I get you, Steph. I get you, without coercion. I get you, knowing that you're there because you want to be, not because I forced your hand."

She glanced down at their hands. Her left hand was still in his, his hold so tight it was starting to hurt. She didn't tell him to let go. Watching him fiddle with her ring, she tried to figure out what to say. What to do.

She had no idea what she should do. But she did know what she couldn't do. "Ranger--" She swallowed hard and tried again. She kept her attention on their hands. Looking at him wasn't an option. "Ranger, I needed you, and you weren't there. You were so angry and you treated me like--"

Finally, she looked up at him. Regret was etched onto his face. "That's nice that you want to trust me, but why in the world would I trust you? Are you actually going to stick around this time? Are you going to keep ordering me around and controlling me? And if I don't follow your orders, what then? Are you just going to get mad and leave again?"

She untangled her hand from his and reached out for Livy. "We can work out the custody, you can visit Livy, but..." She sighed and settled the baby in her arms. "It's a nice sentiment. Hell, it's everything I wanted to hear and if you'd said it six months ago... I'm sorry."

He stood and looked down at her. For a moment, the intensity in his eyes made her waver. Almost. She held his gaze as long as she could, until pain and regret made her look away. She cleared her throat and shifted Livy. His hands, at eye level with her, were clenching into fists and unclenching. Slowly she raised her gaze back to his.

His face was expressionless, his eyes blank. "Okay," he said. He turned and walked out.

…