Title: Saying Goodbye

Author: Robin

Disclaimer: They belong to JE. If Ranger were mine, you would never hear from me again, I'd be too busy. ;)

A/N: Babe fic. Some angst. Consider us spoiled through Plum Lovin'.

Rating: PG… for now

Chapter 3

As soon as the wheels touched down, Ranger was on his phone informing whoever was on the other end that he'd arrived. Somehow I restrained myself from asking who he was talking to, but it was a struggle. What can I say? I'm nosy. I mentally shook myself. Remember, just go with the flow.

Since we'd carried our luggage on, we bypassed the baggage claim and headed straight for the street, deftly winding our way through the masses, Ranger's hand resting at the small of my back. When we emerged into the sparkling sunlight in front of the Miami International Airport, two black SUVs were waiting at the curb. I barely restrained an eye roll. This was just how Ranger lived - all green lights. If I'd flown into Miami alone, I would have ended up losing my luggage, waiting two hours for a rental car and getting lost before I left the parking garage.

The air was humid and warm and I peeled off my flannel shirt as I trailed behind Ranger, who was carrying our bags to the back of one of the vehicles. A man jumped out of the car and hurried to Ranger's side moving with surprising agility for someone so big. It wasn't a stretch to assume he was a RangeMan employee based on his demigod build, his crew-cut blonde hair and his all-black attire. He looked like Hal's long lost cousin, but even Hal didn't fawn like this.

"Let me get that Mr. Manoso," he said, insisting on helping with the bags, tugging them from Ranger's hands. Ranger let go to keep the bags from being torn in two, while the man continued talking, "My name's Buddy. I just started with the company a week ago. This is my first assignment." We watched Buddy precisely place the luggage in the cargo area and shut the doors. He turned back to Ranger with an eager air, "Will you need me to drive you to the office, sir?"

Dryly, Ranger answered, "No. I think we can manage."

"Certainly, Mr. Manoso. Sure. Of course," Buddy said, bobbing his head at me and at Ranger, jogging around to hold open the driver's side door.

The sight of the huge, tough guy falling all over himself to help Ranger was just too comical and I suppressed a giggle, but it escaped as snort. Ranger gave me a look then guided me to the passenger seat, his hand resting against the back of my neck. He shook his head, whispering, "Reminds me of Bob-the-dog."

This time I couldn't hold in the laugh. Ranger looked down at me, a small smile playing on his lips. "You are so beautiful, especially when you laugh," he softly said, then kissed my nose and helped me up into my seat.

I glanced over at Buddy and caught him turning away, the tops of his ears coloring. The compliment stunned me, but even more surprising was the show of affection in front of one of his men. Publicly and privately, Ranger and I had been keeping a safe distance from each other ever since Scrog. For his part, I'd guessed it was his way of keeping me safe from the next sicko that wanted to get to him through me, or maybe he was trying to stop poaching. Either way, I now realized how much I'd missed his kisses, his teasing, his flirting, these last few months.

As Ranger hauled himself into the cab, Buddy said, "Sir, the gear you requested is under the front seat." He stood there for a few moments, leaning against the doorframe and I half expected him to reach over and buckle Ranger in. Finally Ranger nodded and reached for the door forcing him to back off. Buddy trotted to the passenger side of the other SUV.

Ranger just sat there, watching the SUV in front of us pull away from the curb. "What the heck was Marco thinking with that one?" Ranger asked, shaking his head. Since I had no clue who Marco was, I figured that was a rhetorical question.

"I thought you were going to have to shoot him to get him away from the door. He was more persistent than the stewardess."

"Lucky for him I wasn't armed yet." Ranger reached under the seat and drew out two holsters, one to wear at the small of his back and one for his ankle, along with two guns and a knife.

Watching him, I was reminded of our conversation at Mama Mac's funeral. He was still armed to the teeth and showing no signs of change. I sighed and shook the disappointment off. There was nothing I could do to change him, and there was no sense dwelling on it.

"Feel better now?" I asked lightly.

He nodded. "I've felt naked all day." The images that statement conjured made my mouth go dry.

Ranger flashed a wicked grin, "Save that thought, Babe."

Again Ranger reached under his seat, this time drawing out a little .38 Smith and Wesson and holding it out to me. I shot him a look, "Are you expecting trouble?"

He raised a shoulder, "With you it's almost a given."

Humph. I crossed my arms and glared.

"Humor me, Babe?" Oh hell. How could I resist him when he asked nicely? I heaved a sigh and held my hand out. I'd humor him, hell, there was probably very little that I wouldn't do for him. And that was a scary thought.

I double checked the safety and dropped the gun into my purse. "Consider yourself humored."

)()()()-()()()(

After a short trip on the Dolphin Expressway, Ranger pulled the SUV up to what I could only assume was RangeMan Miami. Unlike the utilitarian structure in Trenton, the building in front of us had a lot of character. It looked like an old, restored factory, the exterior constructed from butter yellow stone with a decorative cornice along the top of the building. It was five stories tall, the bottom converted into a gated garage.

You'd think that a yellow building would stick out, but from what I'd seen so far, pastels were Miami camouflage. I couldn't wait to see what the men wore on surveillance jobs.

"It used to be a cigar factory, built at the turn of the last century," Ranger said following my gaze to the facade. "It was falling apart when I bought it for RangeMan."

"It's beautiful. Must have been a lot of work."

He didn't answer, silently staring at the building for a few long moments before pulling through the gate and taking a reserved spot near the elevator. A collection of black vehicles filled the garage along with one gorgeous red BMW M6 convertible in the space next to us.

When Ranger didn't immediately get out, I looked over at him, concerned. He was staring at nothing. I gently laid my hand on his arm and he snapped out of his daze, shaking his head. "Sorry, Babe… memories." He cleared his throat, switching back to his usual controlled self, "So, I was planning for us to stay here at my place unless you'd be more comfortable in a hotel. There are only two apartments here. The rest of the guys live down the block in a company owned condo building."

I swallowed the lump of panic at the thought of sharing living space with Ranger. We'd managed it before. We were adults. Well, he was an adult and I could be if I tried. Plus, I didn't want to be any trouble. "Here's fine," I assured him.

I hopped out and met Ranger at the rear door of the SUV, taking my bag from the back and swinging it over my shoulder. "Buddy will be very disappointed you didn't let him get these," I teased.

"I'm surprised he wasn't waiting to pounce on us when we arrived," he said, removing the bag from my shoulder and putting it over his own before picking up his bags. He led the way to the elevators, using a remote to access the fifth floor.

When the elevator doors slid open, I sucked in a breath. The walls of the entryway were the most violent orange I'd ever seen and opposite of the elevator there was a surreal painting in graphic colors hanging over a stainless steel table. I was too stunned to move, I just stood there gaping at the décor. In fact, I stood there for so long that the doors started to slide shut and that's when I realized that Ranger hadn't moved either.

"Fucking Marco," he muttered, swinging a bag between the elevator doors to keep them from shutting. We stepped into the vestibule and I had to squint to keep my retinas from burning.

"So, who's this Marco, anyway?"

"Marco's my partner in this office. And he lives to torment me," Ranger answered.

I raised my eyebrows wondering how anyone could possibly live long enough to torment Ranger on a regular basis.

"He's also my brother." Ah.

There were three doors leading from the foyer and Ranger walked to the door on the right, setting down one of the bags to free a hand, and fit his key into the lock. I saw his shoulders sag in relief when the door opened.

I, too, was pleased to see that the interior of Ranger's apartment was not orange. In fact it was beautifully done with white-washed walls, dark wood floors and moldings. As we entered I saw that there were white gauzy curtains at the windows and dark furnishings. The effect was peaceful and airy and yet very masculine. The layout seemed very similar to Ranger's Trenton apartment except there didn't appear to be a dining room, just a table in the kitchen.

Ranger set our bags down in the bedroom and when he returned I said, "Just so I'm clear, you didn't choose the orange, did you?"

He shook his head. "Marco's been threatening to redecorate for awhile, especially since I haven't been down here much lately. I'm just glad he left my place alone or I'd have to kill him no matter how much our mother loves him."

I laughed and only wondered for a moment if he was kidding or not. He was almost definitely joking. I was pretty sure.

Silence fell over us and we were standing rather awkwardly in his living room. I realized we rarely just hung out together. Feeling ill at ease, I pulled at a loose string at the hem of my t-shirt and asked, "What's the plan?"

"I'm gonna check in downstairs. You can come along or settle in up here."

"Well, I need to make a call to the office." And to Joe. Better get it over with now.

"Why don't you come down when you're done and we can grab some food. Just dial 2 to get the control room and they'll tell you where to find me. Make yourself at home." He pressed a kiss to my forehead and walked out the door, leaving me alone in the silent apartment.

I was very tempted to snoop since I knew I'd have the apartment to myself for awhile, but instead I grabbed my cell phone and flopped on the dark brown leather sofa. Time to face Morelli. But actually I chickened out and dialed the office first. Connie answered on the second ring.

"Hi, Connie," I said.

"Hi, Steph," she said, smacking her gum between syllables. "Where've you been? I've got a stack of files for you."

"Uh, yeah. That's the thing. I'm gonna be out of town for about a week, so I won't be able to take any new cases 'til I get back."

"Steph, you can't," she cried. "We're up to our ears in skips. Vinnie's gonna have kittens when he hears about this. I've even sent Lula out after some of the regulars."

"Sorry, Connie, but it's too late, I'm in Miami already."

"Miami? Reeeally?" she asked, latching onto what would surely be grist for the Burg gossip mill when we hung up. "That's funny because, there's a certain man in black who's supposed to be in Miami this week. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would ya?"

Well, crap. I had two choices. I could deny, deny, deny and let Connie fill in the juicy details to the best of her vivid imagination or I could come clean and hope then that at least my mother would hear the real story - not that my mother would appreciate the real story.

I sighed and told her, "Yes, Connie. I know Ranger's in Miami. I'm here with him as a friend. We're going to a funeral."

"Hmmm." I could hear the wheels turning in her head. "So what's Joe think of this friendly trip?"

"Really Connie, it's no big deal. I'm sure Joe will understand when I explain the situation."

Connie snorted on the other end of the line and she didn't have to say 'Yeah, right,' for me to get her meaning loud and clear. "Good luck with that."

"Yeah. Thanks, Connie. I'll see you when I get back."

"I'm expecting a full report."

I snorted my 'Yeah, right,' back at her. "Bye, Connie," I said.

"Bye, Steph."

I groaned, slapping my palm against my forehead. No doubt Connie was already spreading this news all over the Burg. And, I would have to do damage control with my mother now, too. Or maybe I could accidentally-on-purpose, hurl my phone out the window. A five story drop should do it and then I wouldn't have to speak to her until I got back.

I was contemplating whether or not I could get a window open without setting off a series of alarms and bringing a horde of Rangemen to the door when the phone rang. I glanced at the display. Joe.

"Hey," I answered, hoping the apprehension I was feeling didn't leak into my voice.

"Cupcake," he said, sounding relieved. "I've been calling you all morning."

"Sorry, Joe. My phone was off."

"No problem. Listen, I was calling because I've got bad news. One of my informants just washed up on the banks of the Delaware and I'm up to my eyeballs in paperwork. I'm gonna have to cancel on dinner. I'm really sorry."

"No problem Joe, I'll be tied up, too. I wanted to tell you…"

"Oh, sorry, my other line's ringing. I've gotta run, Cupcake," he interrupted. "I'll call you later. Love you."

"Me, too," I said, but he was already gone.

I stared at the phone for a moment before shutting it off. A little ball of dread was growing in the pit of my stomach, and I knew that putting off the inevitable was only going to make things worse in the end.

TBC…