We ended up at a hibachi place called Banzai, seems I drove past it regularly on my way to the mall and never noticed it. I was nervous about seating; usually they seat more than one group per table. Luckily we were late enough that most of the dining area was empty. The Hostess took our drink order and vanished. I chewed on my lip, wondering why I was so nervous. Ranger and I had been to diner before. I was drawn out of my thoughts by a soft chuckle.

"Smell something burning, Babe."

"Ha-ha. I was just wondering what horrible things Lester has been telling you…" There, that should be a safe topic. No reason to be nervous at all.

"Actually, none of the guys have anything but amazing things to say about you. Did you really take Hector down with him getting a hit in?"

I snorted; what wonderful, wonderful liars. "I guess you could say that…I'd say he was too busy laughing at Lester to see it coming." I smiled at the memory. "They were giving me a hard time about my Jeep. Then Lester offered to give me something to drive. So I stunned him." I giggled. "I'm sure it's on your computer in your office. Hal sent it to everyone."

He was grinning, amusement dancing in his eyes. "I can't wait to see it but that doesn't explain Hector…"

It was my turn to grin. "He was laughing telling Bobby that Lester wasn't paying enough attention to his surroundings, that he'd actually gotten taken by a girl. So I swept his legs out from under him." I shrugged. "Bobby and I still tease him about it."

"You tease Hector?" He laughed. "Brave, Babe. So, are you going to tell me what did happen to the Jeep?"

I should have known that would come up. For the second time that day I was saved by the waiter. I looked at the menu, trying to figure a way out of this story. 'I'll have the shrimp with fried rice." I smiled at the kid after Ranger ordered some sushi platter. "Do you serve plum sake?"

He looked at me blankly until Ranger cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah, I'll have that right out." He scrambled back into the kitchen, glancing back before the door shut. Weird.

"Babe." Huh, that sounded like amusement… "And you say I fluster people."

I frowned. "What are you talking about? He couldn't be any older than 20…"

Ranger laughed, a real, tingle inspiring laugh. "Babe, he's a guy." He leaned closer, his mouth brushing against my ear as he softly spoke. "And he'd have to be dead not to be affected by your beauty." He sat back again as the chef came to our grill and started setting up. "Now, about that Jeep…"

I ignored the color rising in my cheeks. "Only if you tell me what brought on talkative, playful Ranger." I smiled as the chef introduced himself and started the show. It was a short performance since I was the only one he cooked for. He left us to enjoy our meal, and I chanced a glance at Ranger. He was smirking. Oh boy.

"While I was gone, things went bad, and only got worse. I was only supposed to be gone a week. When I got back to D.C., I informed my handler that since my contract expired while I was gone I would stay long enough to tell them what happened and then I was coming home and they shouldn't bother to send me any renewal papers. I'm not getting any younger, and I'm tired of the bullshit." He sighed and ran a hand though is hair. "Then, I get home and am told in no uncertain terms that I need to put up or shut up. Tank and Bobby decided to let me know just how they felt about the way I was treating you."

I just stared at him. I can't believe those two; they're like the overprotective brothers I never had. "So this is you putting up?" I smiled, trying not to laugh at his obvious discomfort. "You'd better be careful, Ric, I could get used to this."

Uh oh, I'd gotten so used to the guys talking about him, I guess it stuck. I looked up and my mouth went dry at the look in his eyes, though other parts of my anatomy got equally as wet. Hunh, guess he likes me calling him Ric…

I realized suddenly that we were both finished eating and wondered whether we had other plans or if it was time to head home. "C'mon, Babe. We can finish talking at your place if that's okay with you."

He left a few bills in with the check on the table, the helped me into my jacket. We made our way out to find it had started pouring while we ate. Wonderful. We hurried to the Turbo, avoiding puddles when possible. I shivered and pushed my now soaked hair out of my face as he started the car and pulled out of the lot. "So, you were telling me what happened to your Jeep…" He shot me a dazzling smile before returning his eyes to the road. Hunh, talking in the car too? Should I start looking for pods in his closet?

I sighed. "Fine, it blew up…" I crossed my arms over my chest and frowned. I started slightly when his hand brushed my cheek; he tucked a curl behind my ear and trailed the hand down along the side of my neck. "Glad it was just the Jeep…"

I gave up pouting and laughed. "Me too." We were pulling into my lot and my nerves were back. What was wrong with me, I'd only been fantasizing about this for weeks… Ranger was watching me as he shut the car off, probably ESPing my little internal battle.

"Just talking tonight Babe…" Yep, definitely mind reading.

"Well, come on then, I'll tell you who won the pool this time." I hopped out of the car and made a beeline for the door, stupid rain. When we got inside Ranger held the door to the stairs for me, laughing as I yanked my heels off. "I doubt wet heels and tile stairs make good friends…" He just smiled. Felling very mature I stuck my tongue out at him before heading up the stairs.

Ranger followed me into the kitchen while I fed Rex and checked my messages. Mom, Mom, Mom, Salesman, Lula; hunh, nothing that can't wait. I grabbed a bottle of water and offered one to Ranger. "I was chasing a skip; she smashed up her boyfriend's car when she found him with her 'best friend'. Apparently, she doubled back and tossed a lit cigarette into my gas tank. I didn't think that actually worked… Anyway, she wasn't quick enough and ended up getting thrown by the blast. So Eddie Gazarra won the pool and offered to take her in for me. That was the last straw really; it was that day I called Tank. First Joe acts like a pig, then Grandma, and then my car…it was too much..." I trailed off when I realized what I'd said. It was like a switch was thrown, I felt the color drain from my face, taking the expression with it. I glanced nervously up at Ranger; he was frowning, watching my face.

"What about your grandma?" He waited a beat then pulled me into his arms. I felt more than heard him sigh. "Please Babe, don't shut me out."

A/N: Sorry to stop there, but I need to figure out the order of the next few events. Thank you for the wonderful reviews :) They make my day!