As promised, here it is. I needed a Ranger moment after reading 22. Hope you like it. Sorry about the random grandma/mother invasion, just something that popped into my head. I thought Stephanie's mother would probably be taking the news of Morelli's 'unavaliableness' quite badly. Considering she wants to marry Steph off at all costs and all. :)

I had taken a shower and returned to my position on the couch after. I must have fallen asleep at some point because I woke up with my face still buried in the couch cushions. There was a knock at my door, I considered ignoring it. Whoever it was could go away. There wasn't anyone I wanted to see right now and I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to see me in the state I was in. I could feel my still damp hair misshapen in all directions and though I had showered, I hadn't exactly removed all of my makeup so that too was probably a mess. Nope, not today. I rolled back over and put a throw pillow over my head.

The pillow was extracted from my head and I sat up startled,

Ranger.

I hadn't even heard the door open.

"I didn't mean to startle you Babe."

I blinked at him for a moment. He was taking in my current state and props to him he didn't make any readable signs of disgust.

"I'm sorry about the car."

"Forget the car, are you ok?" He looked down at me awaiting an answer. He was a patient man and would probably stand there for hours if I let him.

"I'm fine. And Lula is supposed to explain the car." I pulled my legs up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them and resting my chin to my knees. I'm not sure why, but I felt slightly insecure with my state and allowing Ranger to see me this way. He took this as an invite to sit next to me.

As he placed his hand on my back just below my neck I involuntarily flinched. I didn't mean to, I was just in a protected stance and it was just a natural movement. Ranger however snapped his hand back to his own space and looked at me quizzically.

"Babe."

One word. It held a question I could see developing in his eyes.

"We found Cinderella at his sister's cottage in Newark, We caught him sleeping so I snuck up on him, cuffed him, and before he knew what was going on Lula and I shoved him into the SUV and headed towards Trenton. I let Lula drive so that I could call Connie and let her know we were on our way. I guess I was so excited that everything had worked out so well that I forgot to secure his ankle shackles in your car and somehow he managed to slide into the front seat, he had also picked the cuff lock with something he had on him and so when he appeared in the front seat Lula swerved around the road. Luckily it wasn't rush hour and the few cars on the road managed to avoid her. Lula doesn't see very well, she is supposed to wear glasses but she doesn't like the way they look with most of her outfits so she doesn't wear them. She tried contacts but it freaked her out to touch her own eye. So when she swerved to miss a car she managed to send the SUV into a spiral. Cinderella bailed out my door. I had my seat belt on; otherwise I may have been drug out with him. I'm sure he is going to feel the impact of his exit for a few days, if not weeks. So needless to say we plummeted off the side of the road…. The SUV careened towards the cow pasture and straight into the drainage ditch into four foot deep mud made from months, maybe years, of cow feces build up." I looked down at the floor. "I'm really sorry Ranger; I don't know how this always happens to me.

Why did I flinch from his touch? In truth, his touch is what I needed. Not in a sexual way, but in a securing way. I needed him to ground me like I had grounded him all those times his head was messed up, all those nights he woke from night terrors.

As if he read my mind he slowly attempted to brush his hand across my forearm closest to him. The movement was calculated and hesitant like a child testing the temperature of the water before getting in. I leaned ever so slightly, so slightly that no one could probably even see the movement of my body, so that the backs of his fingers pressed against me.

I chanced a look up at him just as he pulled me into his chest, knees and all, with his arms encircling me and his cheek rested against the top of my head. The movement was fluid and as I settled into his chest my body let off a tension I hadn't noticed had gotten so tight.

"Babe, I don't care about the car. I don't care about Lula not wearing her glasses. I'm just glad you're safe. I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt."

"But you didn't send me on this case, it was my own stupidity." I snuffled, where did that come from? I wasn't crying. It must have been left over from my earlier emotional tide.

Ranger didn't answer, he just held me tightly against him. I felt for the first time in months as if I was going to be ok, that I was on my own two feet and secure. I felt as if the worries and stress I had built up was evaporated into Ranger's black tight fitting t-shirt.

"I'm sorry, my Mother and Grandmother broke into my apartment earlier and ambushed me. And it's that time of the month and today's fiasco was just too much excitement for one day I guess." Why did I just say that? Ranger didn't need to know that I was menstruating.

Wait, how did they get in? Morelli was the only one with a key to my apartment, and I had gotten that back months ago.

I made a mental note to ask Grandma how they managed the break in, though I was slightly afraid to know the answer.

I pulled myself up straighter; Ranger loosened his hold a little on me but kept me in place for the most part.

"Does it have anything to do with the event we don't speak of?" I assume he was implying Morelli's wedding so I just nodded.

"Would you like to go get something to eat? If you don't want to get out I can pick up take out or call Ella and have her whip something up at Rangeman. I'll have my men switch off the cameras so you don't have to worry about them seeing you."

Was he implying that I looked like hell?

"No, I'm fine." I shrugged out of his arms and slid further away from him on the couch.

His posture changed again to a more rigid frame at first, but to my surprise softened moments later.

Silence filled the air for what felt like eternity. Ranger was analyzing me and it was making me uncomfortable.

"Look Ranger, I…" He cut me off though.

"Babe, you don't have to explain. I understand you have been through a lot these past months. No one was more surprised than me at how everything turned out. And you need to take time to configure where your head is at. I'm not trying to infer anything. I am just trying to be a friend. If you need me to step back, I will" He grazed the backs of his fingers so softly down my arm I barely felt them, "But don't push me away because you think I expect something from you." I could feel him looking at me but I remained tucked into myself, looking at the floor.

"This event we are not speaking of is going to be hard for you. I want you to know that I have your back. If you need a date, I'm there. If you want someone that is not me, I'll assign one of my men to escort you. If you want to fly to Tahiti or Timbuktu to avoid it, I'll make it happen." He gently tipped my chin so that our eyes met. "Babe, don't beat yourself up about this. You love that man and it is ripping your heart to pieces. Just don't let that trauma get to your head. I'm not telling you to forget it, or forget him. Just don't let this pain transform you. You are beautiful and strong and will make it through this. It won't be easy. And I know a little of what you are feeling. Just keep that pretty chin of yours held high and know that you are not alone in this."

He brushed a quick, ever so soft, kiss across my lips that felt more like wind on my lips than a kiss against them; then walked to the door.

"Call me if you need me, or if you just don't want to sit alone. And I'm serious about Tahiti, and you don't even have to feel obligated to let me join you." He gave me one last concerned but reassuring look, then exited. Leaving me alone to weigh what was just laid out between us. I still felt tension and my nerves were still on high alert, but all of it was noticeably better than before Ranger had appeared. Ranger's presence had calmed me and I was grateful to him for that.