Many thanks to Stayce for editing, once again :)

This is it for this one, folks. Hope you enjoyed!


Chapter 4

The darkness was suffocating me. I could hear my breathing, slightly heavy and desperate, as my body adjusted to another interrupted Ranger-induced orgasm. But more than that, I was chilled by my subconscious interactions with Cone, Abruzzi, and Scrog. My hearing was hyper- sensitive, and every little sound - sounds that normally wouldn't even register within my sound-radar - was making me jumpy. I could feel their presence, lurking in the shadows, waiting to claim me; to claim Ranger.

I held my breath, listening. Maybe..maybe they'd go away. But then, I closed my eyes, and I saw Abruzzi's maniacal face; felt Ranger ready to make love to me; saw Scrog shooting Ranger all over again, just like in my apartment. Only this time, there was no Julie to save him. And I wasn't even asleep.

I listened for a moment longer, but the longer I lay in bed, the more the darkness closed in on me, and the harder it was to breathe. Pushing back the fear, I rolled out of bed and padded to the doorway. I opened the door slowly - doors at the Waldorf didn't creak, but I was still careful. Even in the large common areas of the suite, I felt jumpy and watched... I padded past Ranger's room - the door was left ajar and I did look in on him briefly. He was lying on his side, facing the door, breathing steadily. I kept going, and put my ear to the girls' door. Everything was quiet, save for the soft, steady sound of their breaths.

I turned back, trying to convince myself that everything was fine, and I could go back to bed, but I still felt jumpy. I hated dreams that you couldn't erase, the ones that stuck with you, that haunted you even after you woke up. I couldn't handle the idea of going back to bed, in my room, alone with my own brain, so I stopped again at Ranger's door - procrastinating. It wouldn't hurt to just stand in his presence for a few minutes.

I stood in the doorway, not daring to go any farther. He was still on his side, and his breathing hadn't changed. I wasn't sure if he was really asleep, or if he was just feigning, but I chose to believe he was asleep. I thought about his actions in the dream...as the nutcracker... and claiming I was his, in the Batman-palace.

Get a grip, Stephanie, I told myself. Don't go thinking your dreams are real. He doesn't do relationship. That didn't change the fact that he really was always there for me, always slaying my demons for me. He'd saved me...how many times? I'd lost count. And I wondered if I'd ever said Thank You.

I hadn't realized that I had crept closer to the bed, but suddenly I was right beside it. I could see Ranger's face clearly, now that I was close enough to reach out and touch him. He was definitely still asleep - the lines on his face were soft, his features relaxed in a way that only ever happened in sleep. I'd seen it before, and I'd always cherish the memories. I didn't think Ranger let his guard down easy, or often, and mostly...I was honored that he would around me.

I could tell when he became aware of my presence, when even sleep couldn't hide it from him.

"Babe." He murmured, without opening his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I whispered. "Go back to sleep."

He made a humming noise, low in his throat, and shifted, letting the covers fall back. "Stay..." he requested, then a moment later followed it with "If you want..."

I did want. More than anything. But could I do it, knowing he didn't do relationships? And did it matter? I'd feel safe, with Ranger, tonight. And...and I wanted to be there. Carefully, I slid into bed beside Ranger. He moved over slightly, then pulled the covers over us and tucked me up against him. I was facing him, my face buried in his chest, breathing in his scent. I stretched out, pressing myself against him, savoring the feel of him against me. I felt safe, and the haunting feeling that the nastiest of my past acquaintances had caused was quickly fading.

"What's wrong?" Ranger asked, a moment later, his hand rubbing a gentle circle over my lower back.

"Mmmm... Nothing...Now."

"Why weren't you asleep?"

"Dreamed." I shrugged. He was quiet after that, but I knew he was still awake. I couldn't help but wonder if I was ever a burden for him, always needing to be rescued, saved, helped along. Maybe it was time I do something different.

"I've never thanked you." I blurted out.

"Babe?" The question in his voice was unmistakeable.

"For saving me. So many times. I've never thanked you."

Ranger rolled us so that he was on top of me, pressing me into the mattress, his eyes focussed intently on my face. "Yes you have."

"No. I've never said -"

"You don't have to say it, Babe." He said, his voice the barest whisper, "It's in your actions."

"In my..." Tears filled my eyes despite myself. I didn't want to cry. I just wanted him to know I appreciated it. And that I would change things. And that I loved him. Oh God, I loved him.

His eyes changed as a single tear spilled down my cheek. He leaned forward and kissed it away, then trailed kisses down my face until our mouths met. I sighed into his mouth, and felt my bones melt away as I sank further into the mattress. It never failed to amaze me how, the instant our lips touched - the moment we were skin on skin, the world spun out of control and everything went hazy. All I could think about was Ranger, his touch, the heat of his mouth, the rough stroke of his tongue. I moaned into his mouth, wrapped my arms around him, and pulled him tighter to me.

He growled in response, and deepened the intensity of the kiss. The pressure of his mouth on mine increased, and the touch of his tongue and hands became more demanding. "Ranger." I whimpered, and he tore his lips from mine.

"No. Carlos. I'm Carlos." He rasped.

"C-Carlos. Please." My hands moved up of their own accord and twined themselves in his hair, pressing his head back down towards mine. He dipped down and pressed a short, heated kiss on my lips, before pulling away slightly. "Nooo..." I moaned, but he persisted in shifting away. The loss was immediate, but I couldn't put together more than one word between my ragged breathing. His hands slid down my body, and soon the little top I was wearing was over my head, and on the floor, and Ranger was moving back down, settling against me. The heat of his skin seared mine, but I was trying to pull him closer, absorb him into me.

"Babe." His chuckle was hoarse, but amused. "I'm not going anywhere." I noted that even the uber-fit Ranger was breathing heavily - and only from a few kisses. He dipped his head and set his mouth on mine again, and I forgot to breathe...forgot who I was, and where I was. All I could feel was Ranger. Carlos. When he pulled away from my mouth again, I didn't even have the time or ability to protest. Then his mouth was trailing down my face, my neck, my collarbone, placing hot, open-mouthed kisses in an unerring path to my breasts. He took one nipple in his mouth, and the sudden, moist heat make me jerk. I arched up against him, seeking more. Of what, I didn't know, there just needed to be more. And then his mouth travelled lower, and lower, and all I could do was writhe against him. Heat seared through my body, and then I shattered underneath his touch, biting back a cry, choking on his name.

I knew Ranger made love, and I knew how much he loved to kiss. But, I mused as I slowly came back to awareness, Ranger gently caressing my stomach, working his way back up my body; I'd never realized that he could be quite... this... there wasn't even a word to describe it.

Slowly, Ranger kissed his way up my body, using his hands and mouth to drive me wild again, in a matter of moments. By the time he made it back to my breasts, lavishing attention on them one at a time, I was desperate for him. I needed more, and more ... and no matter how much more he gave, no matter how much more demanding and passionate his kisses and caresses got, it was never enough. It was never going to be enough, not until he'd consumed me, until the world stopped.

"Carlos. Please." I gasped. I could barely hear myself - I'd lost the ability to use my voice.

"Patience, Babe." He chuckled, but his voice was hoarse, choked. I reached for him, grasping his shoulders, trying to pull him up to my mouth, so that his body was where I wanted it, where I needed it.

Catching my wrists, he raised my hands above my head, pinning them against the mattress with one hand. His other hand trailed down my body, from my face, down my cheek and neck, and ribcage, down my hips, stopping on my thigh. He teased my thigh for a minute, before gently moving my leg and raising my knee, allowing himself to settle more closely against me. Then the hand came up to frame my face. He shifted again, and he was poised in the same position he had been in in my dream. He paused, pressed a light kiss to the corner of my mouth, and raised his head. His body was still, the only sounds in the room our ragged breathing. Or, rather, mine. It seemed like Ranger had stopped breathing. I felt his withdrawal from me to the core of my soul.

Oh God. Please no. Not again. I couldn't take it if we stopped here...Again. Once, in my dream, was bad enough. "Ranger, please." I begged.

"Shhh... just a minute." He whispered. A moment later, he pressed another kiss to the edge of my lips.

"What-" I started.

"Just listening for the girls." He murmured back, before raising himself up and locking his eyes with mine for a moment. Then, his eyes closed and he threw his head back as he flexed against me, filling me with one steady thrust. I gasped, and his mouth caught mine; his tongue sliding in and mating with mine, moving in the same slow, steady rhythm he'd begun to set with his hips.

I pressed against him, trying to get him to speed up - I needed more - more everything... "Ranger, please." I begged on a gasp of breath.

"Carlos." He rasped, as he stopped moving, his forehead creasing with the effort of his control.

"Carlos. Please!"

"Not yet." His voice caressed my lips as he started to move again, but he kept his movements slow, measured. Delicious, but not enough... no where near enough. The slow burn was increasing, but painfully slow; and all I wanted was hard and fast, and NOW. I needed what he'd already given me with his mouth, but more.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and he groaned as I thrust up against him, trying to demand with my body, what he denied in words. Still, he kept his own pace. I moved against him again, forcing him deeper. The breath left my body, and I moaned.

"I love the sounds you make, Babe. So sweet. And all for me."

"No...more..." I panted. If he loved them, there'd be no more, not until he picked up the pace.

His chuckle was hoarse. "You can't help yourself, Babe. My Babe."

He still refused to give me what I wanted, what I needed. He just kept moving slowly and steadily as our soft sounds surrounded us, and everything hazed until we were cocooned together, until there was nothing else in the world. Every movement was a step closer towards release, and relief...but every movement was also that much more agonizing. I was pretty sure I was going to die, that time was going to stop, that it was never going to end; And I couldn't decide if I wanted it to, or not.

It really was amazing that someone I'd only been with once before could be as in tune with my body as Ranger was. He knew before I did when I was teetering over the edge. Slowly, he slid forward, and then flexed his hips against mine as he captured my mouth with his. And I shattered.

And then, it was as if something inside of him snapped, and before I'd even come down off the onslaught of sensations, his movements became hard, fast, and out of control. Gone was the slow, sensual love making, and in its place was a Ranger I'd never seen...a heat and passion, driving me higher and higher, beyond anything I'd ever felt. This time, when I flew to pieces, he came with me, crushing his mouth to mine, groaning my name into my mouth, his arms wrapped so tightly around me I thought he'd never let me go.

When I came back to myself, the first thing I noticed was Ranger's warm weight blanketing me. He was trembling, ever so slightly. His head was on the pillow beside mine, face in my hair. We were both still breathing heavily. And my entire body was deliciously boneless.

At some point, just as I was being lulled to sleep by the slow decrease in his breathing, he pressed a kiss to my temple and shifted over onto his side, taking me with him and tucking me against his body. "Sleep, Babe." He murmured against my ear.

"The girls." It took a lot of effort to bother worrying about the girls, but it really wouldn't do for them to come in here and find me in Ranger's bed.

"I'll be awake before them." He said, and before I could think about it further, I was asleep.

I woke up in my own bed, the covers tucked around me. I could hear the girls chattering in the other room, and I burrowed deeper under the covers, not quite ready for reality. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face as I thought about Ranger... I had always known Ranger made love, but I hadn't realized... It never occurred to me that ... I didn't even know. I didn't remember making it back to my room, so the best I could figure, I didn't even wake up.

"Are you going to wake Steph?" I heard Julie ask. "I'm hungry."

"In a little while." Ranger's voice washed over me, and the smile grew wider. "There's fruit on the counter."

"I thought we were in a hurry?"

"We have to check out later this morning. You three need to go pack your stuff up."

I heard footsteps as the girls moved away - I guessed they were going to go pack up. Then Ranger's footsteps, approaching. I heard the slight whisper of the door opening, and a moment later the bed dipped under his weight. I shivered when his hand touched my face, brushing my hair back from my eyes.

"Babe." He murmured, smiling down at me.

"I didn't even wake up when you brought me back here, did I?"

He gave his head a slight shake, confirming my suspicion, then bent to kiss me. His lips were whisper soft, and his tongue touched mine briefly as his fingers trailed across the back of my neck. "Ready to go home?"

"Can we send the girls home and stay here forever?" I wanted to make love to him in front of the fireplace.

"Hold that thought for a couple of weeks?" He suggested.

"You mean staying here?"

"The fireplace."

Ohhh..that had possibilities. I reached up and twined my arms around Ranger's neck, raising myself into a sitting position and meeting his lips for another quick kiss. He lifted me out of the bed and hugged me tightly to him before setting me away and pointing me in the direction of the bathroom. "Coffee's waiting." He told me, as he gently shoved me towards the bathroom.

It was by chance that I glanced in the mirror before climbing into the shower, and noticed the delicate chain around my neck. Hanging from it, tucked against my skin, was the teardrop pendant I had been admiring at Tiffany's. My eyes filled with tears, and I reached for the robe - I couldn't not thank him. I swung open the door, and Ranger was standing there. His eyes crinkled, and his smile was wolfish as he immediately backed me into the bathroom, and swung the door shut behind us.

"The girls-"

"Are in their room." He told me, as he reached out and tugged on the ties, so that the robe fell open. His eyes raked over my body, and settled on the pendant where it nestled against me. "That looks every bit as good on you as I imagined."

"You really shouldn't have." I told him, my stomach flipping. Fine time to get nervous, I chided myself. But it was an expensive piece of jewellery - the most expensive I owned, officially.

His eyes met mine. "I wanted to. Merry Christmas Eve, Babe."

I couldn't help myself, and I hugged him tightly. "Thank you."

He drew back slightly to touch his lips to mine, then backed away, watching me until he opened the door just wide enough to slide through, leaving me alone to get ready.

The ride home was nearly silent - the girls chattered for the first twenty minutes, or so, and then fell asleep. It had been a busy few days, and they were quite exhausted. As soon as they were sleeping, Ranger reached over and took my hand in his, twining our fingers together and resting them on his thigh. His thumb traced gentle circle in the sensitive spot where my thumb met my forefinger. And slowly, I dozed off too, not waking until we pulled up to Valerie's house. My hand was back in my own lap, and the girls were stirring groggily.

"Can we see Julie again before she goes home?" Mary Alice wanted to know, as Ranger put the explorer into park.

"That can probably be arranged." He agreed, and all three girls cheered. Mary Alice and Angie grabbed their suitcases, Angie's i-touch clutched tightly in her other hand. Ranger had to carry Mary Alice's pony in. We declined Valerie's offer for coffee, collected Rex, and headed for my apartment. I had gifts to wrap, and things to do, and tomorrow was Christmas.

I couldn't stop the wave of sadness and loneliness that swept over me as we drove out of the Burg. The fairy tale of the last few days was over, and once again, it was Christmas alone. It felt like that empty tearfulness that always came after so much anticipated, exciting event was over, and life had to go back to normal, and it just felt empty and dull after the thrill of moment. My bed would feel empty without Ranger, too, after last night, I thought wearily as I brought my hand up to cover my shirt, where it covered the Tiffany's pendant.

Ranger glanced over at me. "Everything ok?" He asked.

"Yeah... Back to the real world, huh?"

Julie was chattering away in the backseat on her i-touch, gushing to her mom about her trip. Ranger took advantage of her distraction to seize my hand again, and bring it up to press his lips against my palm. And then we were pulling into my parking lot, and in no time I was alone upstairs with my bag. Rex was running on his wheel, happy to be back on his counter, and the silence was deafening.

I was still groggy when I padded out to turn on the coffee pot. Christmas. Well, it wasn't anything special, and the mornings weren't much to jump up and down about. Dinner would be a...well...not a nightmare, per say. I loved my family... but it would be busy and boisterous and my mother would get on my case about being off-again with Joe...who hadn't even called the entire time I was away. Probably, that was a good thing.

I knew it was, I mused, as I breathed in the smell of brewing coffee. Once I had some caffeine in my system, everything would be clearer. Except, naturally, my biggest dilemma. Ranger. Could I do casual sex? Not that there was anything casual about it. But... Where did we go after this? I wasn't foolish enough to think that the necklace, no matter how expensive, meant anything. I mean - it did mean something - he loved me in his own way, and he liked how it looked on me. But it wasn't a claim, or an offer of a relationship, and I knew that as clearly as I knew my name was Stephanie.

It wasn't until I wandered over to sit on my couch and look at my tree while I enjoyed my coffee, that I noticed my stocking. Every year, it hung empty, but this year, it was filled to the brim. I figured there were two guesses as to who, as I put down my coffee cup and went to snag it off the windowsill. It could have been Diesel. Or Ranger.

I curled up on the couch, and my mind flashed back to my childhood as I pulled one item out of my stocking at a time. An Ipod, with a note from Julie saying she loaded all of her favorite songs onto a playlist for me. Well, that eliminated the mystery of who Santa was - Ranger and Julie, Satan...er...Santa... and his elf. A keychain with the Batlogo on it. Expensive European chocolate - what girl doesn't like chocolate? And nestled in the middle of it all was a thin envelope.

Ignoring the fact that it was still morning, I popped a chocolate in my mouth and used my finger to tear the envelope open and unfolded the paper. The words "Termination of Contract Obligation" caught my attention immediately. They were written in large, bold print, standing out against the stark white sheet. At the bottom, was a government seal. The words all blurred together as I tried to read them, but I still got the gist. Ranger's obligations to the government were officially over.

I wondered why he left me the papers. And I wondered why they felt like more of a commitment, of a claim, than the pendant did. And I wondered how long he'd had them.

I wondered a lot, as I drove to my parents, later. I wondered so much, in fact, that I somehow made a wrong turn and found myself driving down Hayworth, and into the Rangeman Parking Garage. The paper clutched tightly in my hand, I rode the elevator to seven and knocked on the door.

I had almost convinced myself to turn around and head to my parents when the door opened, and Ranger filled the doorway. He smelled and looked more delicious than should be legal.

"Merry Christmas, Babe." He said, standing back so I could come in. I stepped into the foyer, and glanced around. Julie had done a good job decorating, I noted dimly. She was sitting on the couch, happily listening to music.

"What's this mean?" I asked, shoving the papers towards Ranger. I was dimly aware that I didn't sound like myself, but, I didn't know what to do about it.

"Hey Steph!" Julie interrupted before Ranger could even consider answering me. "Dad got me the coolest Ipod." And then the earphones went back in her ears, and she was back in her own world. I looked back to Ranger, and waited.

"It means," he started, his voice quiet, "That I'm free from contractual obligation."

"Which means?" I prodded. I got that part. His eyes were intent on my face, searching for something. I squirmed a bit, but tamped it down at the same time as I squashed the urge to touch the pendant still hanging around my neck. A small bit of hope crept forward.

"My life still doesn't lend itself to relationships." He said, and the bit of hope flickered out. I figured maybe I'd better get out of there, before I started to cry, or something equally embarrassing. As I turned away, though, he caught my arm and stepped back in front of me, his finger tracing a gentle path along my jaw line. "But now, at least, it lends itself to trying."

The End