Stephanie rolled back panting heavily. She took a moment to catch her breath while Ranger took care of things in the bathroom. She opened her eyes as his weight returned to the side of the bed she thought of as "his."
"I've been thinking about something," Stephanie began and then stopped. This was so simple an idea. How would she go about it? Ranger rolled back and rested his arm across her mid-section. She loved the solid feeling of his arm around her and he knew it. Darn him, now her brain was fuzzing over again.
"Yes," Ranger said, his voice deep. Stephanie closed her eyes.
"Could you confine yourself to your side of the bed," Stephanie requested, her voice weak. "I feel like a freaking nympho when you touch me." Ranger's deep chuckle as he rolled further away didn't help matters. Stephanie sat up.
"I want to learn to do what you do," Stephanie said after a moment. Ranger waited silently. "The special ops stuff, the gun stuff. I just felt so helpless, you know that." Stephanie said. Ranger nodded, no explanation needed. They'd talked about her experience in Miami many times. "And today with Stinky. I like what I do but I want to do it better. I want to catch that little jerk someday. Can you help me with that?" Ranger hesitated. He'd offered many times to help her and now when she actually wanted his help he was hesitating.
"Are you sure you want to do it, Babe?" he asked. She nodded. "I can arrange something."
"You can ARRANGE something?" Stephanie said. Ranger held up his hands.
"I have the best in the world on my team. I'll find the perfect match for you," Ranger promised.
"I kind of thought you were the perfect match," Stephanie grumbled. Ranger smilied.
"I am the perfect match in a lot of ways," he said, running his hand down her leg and then back up, she stopped him before he reached a point where her brain would cease to function. Ranger sighed heavily and sat back against the headboard.
"I planned to tell you tomorrow but I'm going to be gone for a while." Ranger said. "I am leaving people here who will help you if you need them."
"How long a while?" Stephanie asked. They'd been together for a few months and she knew that Ranger had to leave on frequent business trips but this was the first time in their short relationship. The idea of not waking up with him left her feeling unsettled and a little empty.
"A few days, a week at most." Ranger said, his tone masking the evasive nature of his reponse.
"Where are you going?" Stephanie asked.
"It's best if you don't know," Ranger said. He turned to look into Stephanie's eyes not attempting to mask the worry he felt.
"Why is it best if I don't know," Stephanie felt the panic welling up inside of her. They didn't know if Collins was dead or not though they'd assumed. Had Ranger heard something? Ranger wrapped his arm around her.
"It's business, Babe." Ranger said. He settled her against his chest but no matter how she tried, she couldn't beat back the panic inside. Something was wrong, she could feel it. It was time to do something about the panic. It was time to know that she could handle whatever came her way.
"I need to learn," she said. Knowing that if Ranger needed help, she was going to be there for him as he'd always been there for her.
"I'll set it up," Ranger promised.