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Steph's POV

Previously: "I miss Mommy!" Mary Alice whined.

"I know sweetheart, you'll see her in a little. Come on," I said walking her out the bedroom door.

"White girl you still there?" I heard Lula scream from the phone. Oops, forgot she was still there.

"Lula, I gotta go! Talk to you later!" I said in a rush before closing the phone and shoving it in my pocket. I grabbed Mary Alice's hand.

"Chica, come on!" Astro said, waving his hand in a go faster motion. I urged Mary Alice to go fast, my hand gripped hers tightly. We were down the stairs quickly and we heard the yell of the guards as we ran out the front door.

"Chica, come back tomorrow and we can make a plan for taking this down," Astro said before he was pulled back inside.

"Okay!" I shouted before running as fast as Mary Alice could. We made it to my car. I got her in the backseat. "Put your seat-belt on!" I scrambled to the front seat before I sped away. I had a white knuckle grip on the steering wheel the whole ride and my eyes were glued to the rear view mirror. My foot was firmly pressed down, not straying below fifty. My heart was pounding at the close call.

"I get to see Mommy now, right?" Mary Alice sniffled.

"Of course sweetie, I'm taking you there now," I told her. I laid off the gas and relaxed once we got back to Trenton. I drove to Valerie's house and slowed to a stop as I rolled in her driveway. I got out of the car and went to help Mary Alice. I helped her out and we got to the front door. I was about to knock when it burst open. Valerie fell to Mary Alice's height and gave her a hug.

"Aw, sweetie, I've missed you so much!" she said. "I was so worried. You can't go off alone again."

"I missed you too Mommy!" Mary Alice sobbed. Valerie just clutched her closer. She looked up at me and mouthed. "Thank you." I nodded with a smile.

"See you guys around!" I said with a wave. I got back in my car and was headed to Haywood when my cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Steph? It's Chase."

"Hey Chase, what's up?" I asked, moving over to the right lane.

"I was just calling to make sure you were okay. I didn't know who that guy was last night. Still don't actually. He looked pretty mad, and I wanted to make sure he didn't hurt you," Chase explained. I smiled.

"I'm fine, great in fact. You'll find out who the guy is soon enough," I told him, figuring that Ranger would come back from the dead soon enough.

"Alright. Well, I was also wondering about...us," Chase said sounding nervous.

"Chase, I think we'd be better as friends. You're a great guy really, it's just with Ranger's 'death'," I said sighing. "I think it would be best if we were just friends. I swear you'll understand everything eventually."

"That's what I thought Darlin'. I'm glad to have you as a friend," Chase reassured.

"So, friend, want to go to Pino's tomorrow night say six? We could make a night of it, invite all the Merry Men," I suggested. He grinned, his dimples prominent.

"Sounds good, you handing out the fliers or am I?" he joked.

"Well, I'm on my way over right now, so maybe we can both hand them out," I answered as I turned onto Haywood St. "I'm almost here so I'm gonna hang up."

"Alrighty." Click. Call ended.

I let myself into the parking garage and got up to the control room. Chase was waiting for me when I got up there.

"You ready to tell 'em?" he asked, blue eyes sparkling.

"Yep!" I said enthusiastically. We went around, knocking on the sides of the cubicles, spreading the word about Pino's night. All the guys seemed happy about it. Chase and I met up in the break room when we had got everyone.

"I heard Tank even said something about hiring contractors so we could all take the night off," Chase mentioned.

"Really? That's awesome! It's gonna be so much fun. Maybe we should warn the restaurant about our plans," I said with a grin. Chase sent me a lopsided grin and took a sip of his water. "Sounds like a plan." I called Pino's and he was happy to have the business.

"I'm gonna go work on some searches," Chase said. I nodded.

"Me too." We went to our cubicles and I worked till six thirty. I stretched as my computer shut off. I rubbed my eyes as I grabbed my bag and made my way to my car. I got in the elevator and I noticed Derrik was in as well. He reached up and scrambled the camera's.

"Uhh...why did you do that?" I asked, backing away until my back hit the wall.

"Why do you think Stephanie?" he asked, smiling a really creepy smile. I gulped and shrugged.

"I think you know exactly why, stay away from the Salvador's or else," he warned, taking a step closer. I inched my hand to my gun that was in my holster underneath my jacket.

"I'll do whatever the hell I want to do. And do you know what I want to do?" I asked him, taking a step forward and training my gun on his chest. I saw him back up and put his hands up.

"No, what do you want to do?" he asked, his eyes coming up to meet mine.

"What I want to do is stick my nose in the Salvador's business to stop the kiddie porn ring, to stop the murders of RangeMen!" I said, reaching up and turning the camera back on.

"Good luck trying," he sneered, "the Salvador's are untouchable, everybody knows it."

"That's what you think," I replied. "I don't take kindly to people messing with my guys. And you've definitely crossed a line. I can't believe you would rat them out like that."

"Well, it is part of the family business."

"Turn around," I said as I got my handcuffs out of my bag. He did as he was asked right as the elevator doors opened. I cuffed him quickly before he would have a chance to run. I turned to see Hal and Bobby standing there, guns drawn. They manhandled him out of the elevator. They shoved him in the back of one of the SUVs.

"He's going to the station and we're getting the tapes as evidence," Bobby told me as Hal ran back upstairs using the stairwell.

"Good. I'm going home."

"You look tired, have you been sleeping?" Bobby asked taking in my appearance.

"Not exactly," I hedged as I bit my lip. Bobby put a hand on my shoulder.

"We all miss him Steph."

"That's not it. Mary Alice was kidnapped two days ago, luckily I got her back today," I informed him.

"Did you find out who took her?" he asked looking really concerned.

"Yeah, don't worry about it." I didn't want him to worry about it especially when it would hopefully all be dealt with soon.

"If you're sure," he said right as Hal came back out of the stairwell.

"Hey Steph, you might need to come to the station sometime to answer questions they might have," Hal mentioned.

"Alright. See you guys later," I called as they got into their cars and I got in mine. I drove to my apartment on autopilot. One down, who knows how many to go. I parked and got up to my apartment. The light inside was on and I drew my gun as I checked my apartment, in case it wasn't Ranger. I was surprised to see dinner laid out on the table, with two candles. I saw Ranger in the kitchen with a bottle of wine. He smiled when he saw me. He put the bottle down on the table and wrapped me in a hug. He pressed a kiss to my forehead, "how was your day Babe?"

"Fine. Got Mary Alice back to Valerie. Bobby and Hal are down at the station taking in Derrik," I told him, relaxing into his embrace.

"Why were they doing that?" he asked, taking my coat and purse.

"Because he's been ratting out our guys and we got it on tape," I supplied, "mmm, this smells good. What is it?" He grinned.

"Spaghetti with meat sauce," he told me, as he pulled out my chair for me to sit down. He poured us wine and served us both. I took my first bite and moaned in delight.

"Carlos," I said remembering to use his real name. "This is sooo good!" He chuckled.

"Glad you like it Babe. So, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Well, I'm meeting Astro again and we are going to come up with a plan to take down his son," I informed him, taking a bite of garlic bread that was in a basket in the middle of the table.

"That doesn't sound too safe. Want me to come with you?" he asked looking slightly worried.

"That won't blow your cover?" I wondered.

"It shouldn't unless we involve people from RangeMan or if they know who I am," he said, "and I want to make sure you're safe." I gave him a look.

"I can take care of myself you know. A lot has changed since you've been in the wind," I reminded him. He sighed.

"I know, but I'd feel better if I could actually see you," he said.

"Alright, but I intend to demonstrate my skills to you. I even bought a mat I can use in the apartment in case the guys come over and we randomly spar." His eyebrows shot up.

"What would the guys be doing here?"

"Ranger, I am friends with the guys and they do come over," I told him, "that reminds me. We're all going to Pino's tomorrow."

"Sounds like fun," he commented. We finished the rest of our dinner in relative silence. Once we had finished and cleaned up I moved the furniture back and rolled out the mat. I changed into some yoga pants and a stretchy tank top. Ranger had on some basketball shorts and no shirt.

"Are you sure you want to do this Babe?" he asked. I nodded, "just treat me like one of the guys." Ranger snorted, he actually snorted.

"If I treated you like one of the guys I wouldn't have made dinner." I shrugged.

"You know what I mean." And with that we began. We circled each other before he threw a kick. I blocked it and came back with a kick of my own. It was like an intricate dance. Neither of us really touching the other. His leg came out when I wasn't expecting, I fell to the floor. Ranger tried to help me up and that was his down fall. I swept his legs out from under him. I pinned him to the floor. We were chest to chest, pelvis to pelvis.

"Not bad Babe," he said before flipping me underneath him. He leaned down and kissed me. He trailed his kisses down my neck. He was getting ready to take off my shirt when I stopped him.

"Carlos, we haven't been using protection," I told him, remembering my conversation with Lula earlier.

"But you're on birth control, right?" he asked.

"I stopped when I broke up with Joe," I admitted. He froze for a second and sat us up.

"It's okay. Whatever happens, we'll be together. If you end up pregnant or if you don't," he said before kissing my palm. I wrapped my arms around him.

"I'll get some soon," I told him, "but let's not tempt fate." He sighed.

"If you insist." I kissed him.

"I do."

"Want to watch a movie instead then?" he asked getting up. He rolled up the mat and put it back from where I had gotten it. We moved the furniture back.

"I would. I'm going to take a shower first though," I told him with a smile. I took a quick shower and put on my pj's. I came back out to see popcorn popped and a movie in. Carlos pulled me next to him and we settled in to watch the Italian Job, which I know wasn't in my movie arsenal the day before. I just snuggled up and ate popcorn with him. When the movie was over he picked me up and we got in bed. He wrapped his arms around me and I fell into a peaceful sleep.

I woke up to the smell of coffee. I groaned as I stretched and rolled out of bed. I made my way to the kitchen and Ranger sat a cup in front of me. I slurped it down, ready for another. He poured me another and by the time I finished that cup I felt halfway decent.

"What time are we meeting Astro?" he asked, sipping his own cup. I saw the clock said nine.

"Around ten maybe," I replied. I pulled out some poptarts I found in my cabinet and ate them. Ranger went back and changed. I got up and got ready to face the day. I had a feeling we were going to end up doing more than just planning today. I slid on my jacket and Ranger finished tying his shoes. He got up and put his hat on his head. We were ready to go. Batman and Wonder Woman ready for action.

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I was kind of busy and I had a little case of writer's block. I so didn't want to write. It's all fixed now though. =) Only a couple of chapters left. One or two maybe. I have a poll on my profile, vote please! Hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for reading! Tell me what you thought!