Disclaimer: JE owns the characters.

A/N: Thank you, Linda.


Now that I see him, I feel ten times worse than I did when I heard his voice in his message. What do you do when you find Batman broken? If the half empty bottle of Vodka in front of him was any indication, he was going to need coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. I left him sitting on my couch and moved into the kitchen. I silently got the coffee maker all set up and stood in front of it while it percolated. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the cabinets above the coffee maker. How could I have hurt my best friend like this?

You love him and you married someone else, Smart Stephanie shouted.

I felt myself wince at her words. They were true and cut deep into my heart.

He never told us that he really, truly loved us back, Stupid Stephanie shouted back. How were we supposed to know? We don't have ESP. Besides, he had his chance. We've been off with Joe for two months. Exactly how long were we suppose to wait?

Stupid Stephanie had a few good points. Did he think that I was going to wait forever? Well, I'm sorry. But, that just isn't an option for me. I'm a woman and I need sex. Plus, having a relationship can be really nice sometimes. Like waking up with strong arms wrapped around you. Making breakfast for two. Snuggling on the couch watching a game.

I heard the coffee maker beep, alerting me that it was done doing its thing. I leaned my head back and pulled a large cup out of the cupboard in front of my face. I stared at the cup for a moment. I really had no idea how he took his coffee. More then likely it was an off limits thing for him. You know. The whole 'body is a temple' thing.

"Black is fine."

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of his voice. I hadn't even noticed that he was standing right behind me. Just an inch away. I filled the cup and then lifted the cup and handed it to him over my left shoulder. I looked back at him when he didn't take it from my hand. He was staring at my hand. My left hand. Shit! How much of an ass can I possibly be?

I turned around and tilted his face over towards mine. His face was blank, but his eyes were shiny. He looked into my eyes and I saw only pain. I felt a knife slide into my heart as I stared up at him. It was the first time that he had shown me any real emotion since the one night that we had shared together.

"You never said anything," I whispered. "How was I supposed to know?"

"I told you that I love you," he whispered as he closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against mine.

"You always qualified it with 'in my own way'," I whispered as I set the untouched coffee on the counter next to me. "What exactly was I suppose to think?"

"That my own way was with everything that I have."

"You never pointed that out to me. I didn't know," I said simply with a small shrug.

"I know," he said as he opened his eyes and leaned back. "I've made a lot of mistakes with you."

I stood there and stared at him, not knowing exactly what I was suppose to do next. I love Ranger. But, I currently find myself married to another person. Would I have waited had I known that he did love me? I really don't know. There was still so much that I didn't know about him. With Dougie, I already knew everything that there was to know. I know his favorite TV show. I know that if he's down, he really likes coffee flavored ice cream. Hagen Daas preferably. I know that he has been living off of a multi-million dollar inheritance that he had gotten after his father died four years ago. I don't know any thing like that about Ranger.

"I don't know what I'm suppose to do, Ranger," I confessed as I felt myself getting frustrated. "I married Dougie."

"I know," he said as his hand came up and rested on my cheek.

It seemed like an innocent enough gesture. At first, I think that that's all that Ranger meant for it to be. But, as I looked deep into his eyes, I felt the mood in the air shift. My body temperature involuntarily went up a notch. He started to lean forward, but my hand flew up to his chest and pushed him back as my mind screamed out in protest.

"No poaching," I whispered.

With that said, he dropped his hand and took a step back. I wasn't about to cheat on Dougie. That included kissing. I wasn't married to Joe, that's why I let the kissing in the alley happen. But, I'm married to Dougie. This was a whole new ball game with a whole new set of rules.

"I'm sorry," he said as he glared down at the floor. "Just give me a little bit of time to adjust to this."

I nodded my head as I pulled my phone out. It was time for Tank to come and pick up his boss. I opened my phone and dialed one of the few numbers that I knew by heart. I placed the phone to my head and looked up at Ranger. He was leaning against the counter across from me. The man was actually brooding. For crying out loud! Drunk Ranger was not my favorite. It took a lot away from the man of mystery that I had come to love over the past few years.

"Tank."

"I think you can come and collect Ranger now," I said with out saying hello.

I was beyond using normal phone etiquette with any of the Merry Men. They must have all taken a class on improper phone usage. I heaved a sigh at the silence on the other end and decided that enough had been said. I closed my phone without saying goodbye. I could actually get use to this.

I grabbed Ranger by the hand and pulled him into my bedroom. I didn't feel all that great about leaving him standing in the kitchen alone. Lots of sharp objects. Not that I think that he'd actually hurt himself. It was more that I thought that he might wake up from the Vodka induced haze that he was in and decide to go after Dougie with one of my kitchen knives.

After sitting Ranger down in the chair that sat in the corner of my room, I grabbed a suitcase out of my closet and sat it on my bed. I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to be needing while I was over at Dougie's. Shit! Where we going to live? Maybe that was one of the things that we were supposed to talk about tonight. I went over to my dresser and started tossing things over my shoulder and into my suitcase. Seven or eight shirts. Lots of jeans.

I opened my underwear drawer and froze. Exactly how pissed off is Ranger going to be when he sees me put lacy underwear and bras into the case on my bed. I looked over my shoulder at Ranger and saw that he was eyeing me. Well, if he needed to see then he was going to. I grabbed several panty and bra sets and dropped them into my case along with some socks. I looked down at the case and thought that I had enough to get me through for at least the next few days.

I closed the case and took it out into the living room. I was about to go back to my room to get Ranger when a fist hit my door a few times. Tank. I walked over to the door and opened it. He was frowning down at me.

"What?" I asked as I took a few steps back to let him in.

"You didn't look through the peep hole," he said as he pointed at the door when he stepped into my apartment.

"Give me a break, Tank," I said with an eye roll. "You're the only one that knocks like that. I always fear that my door is going to fly off its hinges when you knock."

He stared at me blankly for a moment. I held my ground because I could see the corners of his eyes start to crinkle. He was thinking about laughing. I could feel it. I didn't have to wait long until I heard a sound that I never got to hear enough. I had to smile as Tank tilted his head back and let out a bark of laughter. No wonder Lula loved him. He was normally in the 'above average looking black man' bracket. But, when he laughed, it was like the whole room lit up. He went from 'above average' to the 'Damn it! I hate being married!' bracket in two seconds flat. For a brief moment, I forgot about everything in the world. Mental note to self, I thought, make Tank laugh more often.

"Where is he?" Tank asked once he got himself under control.

"Chair in my bedroom," I said as I pointed over my shoulder.

"He okay?"

"He will be," I said with a small shrug. "You may want to tell the guys to tip toe for a few days. But, he'll be fine."

"I told him to quit wasting his time," Tank mumbled as he walked passed me and into my room.

I walked into my kitchen and grabbed Rex's aquarium before I shut off all the lights. Tank was standing at the door with a firm grip on Ranger's arm. I shook my head sadly when I realized for the first time that Ranger was really just a man underneath all of the mystery.

Tank grabbed my suitcase and ushered Ranger down the hall to the elevator as I locked up. I took the stairs and had the back door of my Tracker open for Tank to toss my bag in as he walked up. I took Ranger's face in my hands and gave him a small smile. He looked at me for a moment before he returned the smile.

"You gonna be a Dougie's?" Tank asked as I opened my door.

"Yeah," I said with a nod. "At least for the next few days while we get things straightened out."

"Call me if that changes," Tank said, then pushed Ranger over to the Bronco that was parked on the other side of the lot.

I jumped in my Tracker and saw the envelope sitting on the seat. I eyed it as I started up my little SUV and left the parking lot. I kept one eye on the road and one on the envelope as I drove through the Burg towards Dougie's. I guess I was expecting it to grow legs and start dancing on the seat.

"It's just an envelope," I said to myself out loud.

I pulled up to Dougie's and parked behind the black Bronco that was parked in front of the house. If I were Junior and Hal, I wouldn't want to go back to the office either. I grabbed Rex and decided that since the envelope hadn't exploded, it could come in too.

I found Dougie, Mooner, Hal, and Junior all sitting in the living room watching old Star Trek episodes. The original ones with William Shatner in them.

"Damn it, Jim," I said, in my best Bones impersonation, as I passed through the living room and headed into the kitchen.

I found myself pinned to the counter as two arms wrapped around my waist after I sat Rex's tank down. I felt his lips graze my neck and couldn't hold back the moan that formed in my throat. My breath hitched when his lips found the spot just below my ear. His tongue slid out as he ran it in slow circles around the sensitive area.

"You better stop," I whispered. "If my husband catches us, he may kill us both."

He chuckled as he turned me around in his arms. My lips caught his in a sweet kiss. I had actually started to miss him while I was away from him. That's interesting. The only time I ever missed Joe was when I hadn't had sex in a few weeks. I've been laid in the last twenty-four hours, so I knew that it wasn't that.

"Are things okay?" Dougie asked after he broke the kiss.

"They will be," I said as I smiled up at him. "Thanks for letting me take care of that on my own."

"He's your friend," he said as he smiled back down at me. "He'll get over it in time."

"I know," I said with a slight nod. I pointed over at Rex's tank and said," He isn't going to get a contact high sitting in here, is he?"

"We'll smoke outside," he said as he looked over at Rex. His eyes trailed over to the envelope. "What's that?"

"Don't know," I said as I grabbed the envelpoe and opened it.

Dougie leaned on the counter next to me and looked over my shoulder as I looked at the card. It had a beautiful water color painting of a rose on the front. I opened the card and it said in bright red lettering 'Congratulations!'. My eyes teared up as I saw that all the Merry Men had written little notes and signed it. They really were great guys.

"PINO'S!" Mooner shouted from the living room.

"I guess that's suppose to be some kind of hint," I laughed lightly as I closed the card and stuffed it back in its envelope.

"Come with me," Dougie said as he pulled me towards the door. "We can talk about things while we wait for the food."

"Like living arrangements?" I asked warily.

"It'll be okay," he said reassuringly. "Remember… one day at a time."

"Yeah," I agreed, still somewhat warily. "One day at a time."

THE END.