Thanks, as always, to Stayce for all of the help, advice, and editing. But no, Diesel doesn't get a new role ;-)

And thanks to everyone for reviewing Chapter 2! I know I Didn't get to the personal replies, again, but it's been a hectic few weeks – which is also why this chapter is so late in materializing. Things are settling down now (and instead of being insane in my personal life, they're getting busy at work!), so… J

Lindsay.


…I burrowed deeper under the blanket, sinking into the soft, luxurious bed, and fell into a sound sleep. Shortly after, I started to dream...

Chapter 3

"Can't we open one present? Please???" I begged. The Christmas tree was lighted, and there was already a large stack of presents underneath it despite it only being Christmas Eve. It was like this every year, and every year the piles of brightly wrapped secrets under the tree antagonized me...and every year I had to wait.

Mr. Drokowski, one of papa's many advisors, chuckled. "How can you resist that curly head, and those baby blue eyes?" He asked papa.

"I can't." My papa answered, before nodding his head at me. "You and Valerie and Joey can each open one gift."

Mr Drokowski reached under his chair and pulled out three presents. "Why don't you open these?"

I took the offered gift eagerly, as Joey shoved me aside to get his. "I bet it's train tracks. We can play choo-choo!" He told me, then ran away to open his present.

"Papa, why does Joey have to be here? I don't like him."

"Don't whine, Stephanie. Some day, you will marry Joey, and so you might as well get used to him being here. He is a part of your life and will be your family. Now go open your present and leave the grownups in peace." My Mama said, as she came up beside Papa. I sighed and went to sit by the Christmas tree and open my one, special present.

I opened my present slowly. Joey was already complaining that he didn't want a toy train, he wanted the tracks so that he could be the train. Valerie got in my way, just as I was about to open the box and see my present, to shove her new doll in my face.

"Look, Stephanie. Mr. Drokowski made me a doll!" She gloated. "I bet you didn't get a nice doll like this."

"Bet I did!" I cried.

"Let's see!" Joey came in, his train forgotten, and pulled my present away from me. He ripped the top of the box off and peered inside. "What's this? Just some dumb soldier." He pulled it out and turned it all around.

"That's a very special toy, Stephanie." Mr. Drokowski said. I looked up at him. He was standing beside me. "It's a nutcracker prince. He was made to crack nuts, but also as a soldier. There is a legend that he will guard your home."

"She doesn't need her home guarded. That's my job." Joey said, as he flung the nutcracker across the room. It hit the wall with a loud crack and its right arm flew off and landed, broken like mine when I tried to jump off the roof. "Ha!" He shouted, then ran off with his toy train.

"My doll's better." Valerie gloated as she sat down at the Christmas tree to play. I looked at my poor little soldier, lying broken on the floor. I went over and picked him up, and his arm too. It always happened to my toys. Now my soldier was broken, and he couldn't be as special anymore.

"Let's see that." Mr. Drokowski said as he knelt beside me. He took my poor soldier and his arm, and looked at him all around. "I think I can fix that. Let me just see."

I didn't think he could, but I sat and waited. How could he fix my soldier? Once he was broken, he was always going to be different. He wouldn't fit right, just like me.

"Here you go." Mr Drokowski gave me my soldier back. His arm was kind of fixed, but with a metal thing holding his arm on. "You be careful with that until the glue dries. Then the clamp can come off and his arm will be good as new."

"Thank you!" I hugged Mr. Drokowski, then sat down with my soldier. His arm was still healing, so I was very careful... but I wondered if maybe he was a handsome soldier, like a handsome prince. If I was Cinderella, or Snow White, or Sleeping Beauty...maybe my soldier would come alive and come rescue me, and we could live happily ever after. I wish he could come alive... He would come to me like I was Rapunzel, and then he would take my hand and take me away... And then I could be Wonder Woman, because he would teach me how.

"Alright, Stephanie. Time for bed." Mama's voice took me away from my dream. "Leave your nutcracker down here, under the Christmas tree. I don't want you playing with it all night."

"But Mama-"

"No buts, Stephanie. Santa won't come if you don't go to bed."

I'm not so sure there is a Santa anymore. Joey and Eddie told me that Santa was make believe, and that if you believe in him, you're lying and you'll get coal for Christmas. I don't believe them, but I don't want coal, so just in case... I got up and put my little soldier underneath the Christmas tree, making him a bed on my stocking. Then I slowly climbed up the stairs - there were a lot of them, and they never seemed to end, to get in my nightie and go to bed.

"Don't forget to say your prayers, sweetie." Mama said, as I closed the door to my room. Prayers. HUMPH!

But I got into my nightie and knelt by my bed. Just in case Valerie was right and I'd go to hell and burn alive if I didn't pray. "Please, God, take care of my nutcracker soldier tonight. He is sick and Mama won't let me take care of him. And Please, God, can't he be real, just for a little while?"

It was dark when I woke up, and I wondered if my soldier was alright. Was he hurting, laying under the Christmas tree? Santa would still come, even if I went down and checked on my soldier, wouldn't he? I got up and started to go down the stairs, very very carefully so that I didn't wake up Mama and Papa. I would check on my soldier, and go back to bed.

Santa had already come, and there were even more presents under the tree. My little soldier was still lying on my stocking, and he looked lonely. I went over and lay down beside him. "Are you lonely, little prince?" I asked. It wouldn't hurt to stay with him for a bit, not now that Santa came. I touched my soldier, and watched him in the light of the Christmas tree as he slept beside me. I was still very tired, though, and soon, I fell asleep.

The next time I woke up, I was surrounded by bright lights and loud noises. The house seemed over-large, as if it had grown and the room expanded; the stairwell a tiny speck receding in the distance. And I felt decidedly more grown up than I had been, what seemed like seconds earlier. As I climbed to my feet, my nightie shifted, floating around me. It hadn't floated before either. I looked down. My nightie wasn't a nightie at all, anymore... It was a thin, sheer negligee of the finest fabrics. I wondered how I could go from child to woman so fast... and why was I a child to begin with? Or a woman now? Or...

"You will not hurt her." I was jolted out of my thoughts by a voice that my subconscious instantly recognized. It was rich and deep, sensual and strong. Ranger. But what was Ranger doing in the mansion in my dreams? Joey was the boywho broke my nutcracker. My eyes flew upwards, and then I saw him. Ranger. He was dressed as the nutcracker soldier, come to life, larger than life. And snarling in front of him, was Ramirez. White foam lined his mouth, as he lunged at Ranger over and over, attacking him with sword, knife, and gun - alternating as one or the other flew into his hand, materializing with mere microseconds for Ranger to dodge away. Heavy breathing, punctuated by snarls, filled the air as they duelled, the room empty and large around them. But then, the room got smaller, as more figures began to take shape.

Spiro Stiva lunged towards Ranger also. "Your bitch burned me alive, and she will pay." Reverend Bill, Uncle Mo, Homer Ramos, Con Stiva, and Bart Cone all rushed in and suddenly my nutcracker Soldier, alive as can be, was surrounded. I tried to run, to rush in and help him, but my feet were rooted to the ground. Petiak, Mueller, Michell, Habib, Fisher Cat, and DeSephano all showed up to stand second rank, closing in on my Nutcracker Ranger. Oh, I wish I hadn't left my gun in my cookie jar. Cookie Jar? Was there even a cookie jar in this alternate reality?

I didn't have time to even look, before a whole gang of Slayers, led by Junkman, burst through into the center of the fight. My skips. All of my skips. All of the threats to me, and my life, and my sanity... all of them were there, at one time. But I couldn't keep track, couldn't count, and I knew there were key, integral people missing. And with the Slayers in the mix, everything was out of control.

Then, when Ranger's back was turned as he fought the Slayers, Bart Cone broke free from the throng, and stalked towards me. "Thought you could play the game, could you?" He asked, his voice a harsh whisper. "Well you were WRONG!" He was yelling, now, nose to nose with me. "You couldn't play the game! And I died, because you couldn't play the game!" He stepped back slightly, and eyed me speculatively. "You thought you'd won, didn't you. Kill the game master and win the game. Well... THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS!" His voice rose to a shrill scream. "You didn't win! You cheated! You forfeit, and for forfeiting, you D-" He was cut off on a woosh of air, as blood spread across his chest, from the same bullet hole I had created that night in the warehouse. He crumpled to the ground at my feet, and melted away to nothing, revealing Abruzzi, who leered at me from the spot where Cone had just stood.

And still, I was frozen to the ground, unable to move.

"He killed for you." Abruzzi said, reaching out and tracing a finger down my cheek. I shivered, and tried to back away, but my body was paralyzed - I couldn't move hand or foot, I could only stand, helpless, as my fate was meted out. "But will he die for you?" He glanced back, as Ranger moved with catlike grace, eliminating my foes one by one. The only skips not present were Sugar, and DeChooch. Well, DeChooch was, but he was sitting under the Christmas tree, cackling to himself as he enjoyed the show.

"What do you mean? Ranger won't die. He can't. It's a dream." I said. Abruzzi's smile widened and my blood turned to ice.

"I love collecting things. But you knew that. I tried to collect you - but he stopped me. It's only fair I get to collect him, in your stead. Or maybe I can have you both. Can you play the game? Are you ready to die?"

"Get away from my WIFE!" Another voice yelled, and then a shot rang out, and Abruzzi's head was blown away. Ranger. Where was Ranger? Was that Ranger? It looked like Ranger...But when did he get married? I glanced down at my finger, looking for a ring that wasn't there, and then back up to his face.

"Man..when did you stop going to the gym?" I asked. Ranger's face twisted with sudden, uncontrollable anger, and he morphed into Scrog.

"I am Ranger, and I work out all the time, and I'm a primo bounty hunter, and you'd better respect me for it, you little bitch!" He screamed. "You'd dare disrespect your husband? Maybe you'll meet the same fate as him. I don't know if I really have a use for you, where I'm going. You betrayed me! All who betray Ranger will die at his hand!" He reached behind him, and drew a gun so fast he could have won a quick-draw. "Execution style, just like him. I'll get it right, this time. How's his arm, by the way?" He asked, as he raised the gun and pointed it at my forehead.

My throat closed, and my lungs were on fire as they tried to draw air. This was it; this was how I was going to die. Not by Abbruzi's hands, not by Con Stiva's...but by a maniacal little man who thought he could be mercenary.

"Put the gun down." Ranger's voice resonated across the room, bouncing off of walls and echoing long and loud. Scrog's face spread into a grin, and he turned to face his prey.

"I command that army." He said, brandishing the gun around, revealing the fallen bodies of my skips and enemies. The slayers, the skips, they were all there, all dead. "They came to me, wanting vengeance, wanting JUSTICE! And now they do my bidding. Rise, my evil ones!"

The slain skips and gang members did not rise, but Scrog didn't seem to notice. He whipped his hand upwards, and a sword flew into it. Sword in one hand, gun in the other, he advanced on Ranger. One brandish of the sword, and Ranger's weapon went flying. He was left with no other option but to back away, for every step Scrog took into him. But soon, he was backed into a corner, and he couldn't go any further.

"Now, to finish what I started." Scrog said, sword resting against Ranger's chest, gun pointed towards his forehead. "Or should I start where I ended?" He asked, moving the gun down to Ranger's right shoulder, which was still loosely bandaged from when the nutcracker flew into the wall earlier, breaking its arm off. The gun wavered, rising up to his forehead, and down to his shoulder, as Ranger raised both hands in surrender.

Everything slowed, as if a tape got stuck in the player and was slowly grinding to a halt. Everything flashed through my mind as Scrog's fingers slowly tightened on the trigger. Ranger's "Proud of you, Babe" flitted through my mind, and I could feel his mouth on mine, his tongue teasing mine, his body pressed against me. Heat filled me, then immediately turned frigid as the trigger on the gun squeezed further and further..

"NO!" I screamed. "YOU CAN'T! I LOVE HIM!" I put everything I had into it, but I still couldn't get my feet to move. My arms were suddenly free from their paralysis, though, and I reached for the nearest thing I could find: Joey's toy train. I flung it, with as much force as I could muster, straight for Scrog. It flew, as if in slow motion, never getting there, but remaining suspended in air. It was going to be too late, and he was going to die, and it would be entirely my fault. My heart and lungs were being ripped from my chest, and suddenly I wished that Abruzzi had succeeded, that I would not live to witness Ranger's execution, again.

And then, just as the trigger fully depressed, the train hit Scrog square in the back of the head, splintering into a million pieces and stunning Scrog long enough for Ranger to reach out and twist the gun away. Scrog's eyes widened, his knees gave out, and he collapsed to the ground. Then, he melted into the floor and disappeared, leaving Ranger standing, holding his gun, a slight trickle of red seeping through his already injured right shoulder.

The invisible force anchoring my feet to the ground suddenly lifted, and I collapsed, to weak to even stand. I curled on the ground, and found myself wishing that I could, once again, be the child with the toy nutcracker. I wished that I had never asked that he be brought to life...

"Babe." His voice whispered, near to my ear. I was weighed down with lead, but somehow managed to turn my head just enough to see him. He reached out, his hand hovering over my face, but he did not touch me. "Take my hand." He whispered. It took a Herculean effort to overcome the weight, but slowly, ever so slowly, I raised my hand to his. Our fingertips were so close to touching, and yet, they were so far away. "That's it." His voice never changed from the soft whisper, caressing, washing over me. "Just a little more."

One, final try, and my fingertips barely touched him. As soon as our skin touched, he grasped my hand tightly, and the whole world started to spin. He knelt and took me into his arms, and then a large black horse galloped up, and Ranger swung us onto its broad back while he was in full motion. And we were flying off, the horse's muscles moving underneath us, Ranger's heat at my back, and the house walls disintegrated and suddenly we were galloping through a forest, and valleys, through a snow fall of dancing, singing fairies...Everything flew past so quickly I didn't know what was what, could barely recognize what something was before we were past it.

And then, the horse slowed, and stopped... and I was surrounded by donuts and TastyKakes and every dessert imaginable. Ranger swung us off of the horse, and handed me a plate of tiramisu. I brought the first bite to my lips, tasting its decadent flavour. As soon as it hit my tongue, the world spun again, and Diesel was standing in front of me, dressed in an elaborate fairy princess tutu. The body was gold, elaborately decorated with lace, beads, and jewels. It had thin shoulder straps, and a pale pink skirt, covering very little of Diesel's extremely sexy legs. My first reaction was an internal guffaw at Diesel in a tutu... but then I realized that the pink suited his blonde complexion rather well. Only Diesel could wear a tutu and look like walking sex. Well, except maybe...I glanced towards Ranger...but no...I'd rather Ranger be naked. My body reacted to the thoughts of naked Ranger, and Diesel...and I had to push my thoughts back to another plane.

"Diesel?" I asked, as Ranger's arm came around my waist in a protective gesture.

"Yeah, well, sometimes I get REALLY shitty assignments." Diesel shook his head.

"I'm a shitty assignment?" It hadn't escaped my notice that this was MY dream, and if he was griping, it had something to do with me.

"Nah...I love being in your head, sweetcakes, but this outfit..." He shook his head and sighed. I thought about telling him that it was a good look on him, but my instincts were still sharp enough to recognize that he wouldn't appreciate it. I may think he looked sexy, but he wouldn't agree. "So..." he continued before I could say anything at all. "I sensed quite the disturbance earlier. What's going on?"

Briefly, I found myself recapping our battle with all of my skips, as well as the threats made by Scone, Abruzzi, and Scrog. "Can they really hurt us?" I finished.

"It's your dream, sweet thing. They can only hurt you if you let them. I'm proud of you two, fighting all of them at one time. You've done yourself proud. I think you've earned a bit of a treat, don't you?

"More tiramisu?" I asked, unable to keep the hope from my voice. Somehow, my plate was now empty, even though I didn't remember eating it.

"And more." Diesel said. He waved one hand over his head and snapped his fingers, and suddenly, two large, black doors with the bat symbol on them rose up out of nothing and swung open.

"Is it...Is it the batcave?" I asked, as Diesel turned to walk inside.

"In a manner of speaking." Diesel said, at the same time as Ranger said:

"No."

We walked in, and as we stepped through the doorway, we were met with a site grander than anything I'd ever seen. Carrot sticks for Ranger, tiramisu for me - plates and plates of both. A Porsche sat in one corner, and a Ferrari in the other. The biggest bed I'd ever seen was hidden away behind a curtain - but I could see it clear as day. And I knew, without even touching them that the sheets would be of finer cotton than even those in the 7th floor apartment. I wished that there could be music, though - the silence made the room feel too still. As soon as I thought it, a live band materialized on a stage. "Omigod. If I dream it, it will come."

"Something like that." Diesel shrugged.

"Is the Batcave this amazing?" I asked, turning towards Ranger.

"This has nothing on the Batcave." He told me, steering me towards the pineapple upside down cake. Well, I guess that was a dumb question. After all, the Batcave had Ranger...forever. When we turned around again, the room was filled with partying people, and I could even make out people I knew in the mix. Lula, Connie, Mary Lou...Vinnie was dancing with a rubber duck... And Diesel danced over, offering me his hand.

Ranger scowled, and we sank backwards into the shadows.

"C'mon, Rangeman. We may not run in the same circles, but surely you can spare your woman for one dance." Diesel shook his head. "I mean...Christ...I'm wearing a...a...a...tutu-dress-fairy-thing for crying out loud."

The shadows disappeared, as Diesel took my hand and led me onto the dance floor. He pulled me close - probably too close - and wrapped his arms around me. "Ahhh.. this makes things a bit better." He said. "Thank God there's at least one benefit to this getup."

"And why are you dressed like that?" I asked, as he led us around the dance floor.

"I'm the Sugar Plum Fairy." Diesel's face twisted in distaste. "And with that job, comes certain responsibilities. Like wearing THIS...This..." He looked down at me, and his lips curled up in a speculative smile. "But today, I think...Today's my lucky day. The Sugar Plum Fairy gets a kiss from the fairest Plum of all, and that, Sweet Thing, will be my pleasure."

Before I could speak, his mouth lowered to mine in the softest kiss I'd ever experienced. His lips were feather light, gently nipping at mine until my lips parted slightly of their own accord. He traced my lips with his tongue, and then claimed my mouth completely. The kiss was slow and all-consuming, and entirely different from any kiss I'd ever experienced in my life. He explored, nibbled, tasted. For one kiss, it was going on forever, and I would have been more than happy if it never ended. I was drawn closer to him, his arms tightening around me, and everything disappeared but the two of us. I could feel his aura wrap around me, centering us as he held me as if I was fragile china.

"Ranger's a lucky man." Diesel said against my mouth, before pulling away. "And if you weren't his...You'd be mine."

Oh. Wow. My mind spun and I couldn't think of anything to say to that. If only. And I was Ranger's? Well, I guess I was. At least in this reality. My mind kept spinning until I was physically spun back into Ranger's arms, and the music turned slow and sensual. Our bodies moulded together, hip to hip, chest to chest, cheek to cheek. He turned his head slightly, tilting it to meet my lips. The kiss tasted of Ranger, and desire...lots of desire. Unlike the slow, tender kiss from Diesel, Ranger's was firm, demanding, and passionate. He didn't seek permission; instead, he claimed my mouth and erased all coherence from my mind.

I surfaced back to reality as he trailed kisses down my face. We were standing by the large, luxurious bed, and as he laid me down on it and moved to cover me, our clothes melted away. I arched up to meet him, and fire shot through me as our skin touched. "Please." I begged. I needed him, and I needed him now. I clung to his shoulders as he laved at my nipples, lavishing attention on my breasts and causing to me writhe underneath him. "Please." I begged again.

He kissed a trail back to my mouth, sending bolts of heat through my body with every touch of his tongue to my body. It felt like forever before his body covered mine completely, and his lips pressed against the corner of my mouth.

"You're mine, Babe. MINE." He whispered, his voice harsh with passion and desire. He shifted ever so slightly, and paused at my entrance. "MINE." He emphasized, again, and claimed my lips as he prepared to slide inside of me...

I blinked in the darkness, and tried to shake off the feeling that something was oddly wrong. Wasn't I just...? Where was..? The sheets were tangled around my legs, my teeth were clenched together, and my body simmered, pulsing with unfulfilled desire. I needed, worse than I needed in my life. And I couldn't shake the feeling that Abruzzi, Cone, and Scrog were hiding in the shadows...waiting to make their move...