Shameless fluff ahead. Extra soft pillows with a lemony twist fluff. Fluffy baby ducks on plush white clouds fluff. What can I say the fluff monster grabbed a hold and held on tight for this one folks. Enjoy.

Chapter 18

Te Amo

Pov- Julie

I couldn't believe how quickly the next four weeks moved. Ryan and Shilo had come to diner with me and over pasta at a private table at Rossini's I'd told them everything Col. Lowry had shared with me on his death bed. Peter was still alive and they started looking.

Shilo was working full time at RangeMan. She trained with Hector and worked with Razor in the field. Ranger gave her full access to all of the RangeMan databases to aid in her search although she hadn't turned anything up yet.

Ryan had settled into a new house and the band was back to spending nearly every night together, sharing dinner and making music as a group. Shilo and I tried to join them at least a couple of times a week when we weren't needed at work or slipping away so I could date her properly, away from the spying eyes of our beloved Merry Men.

That's where we were headed tonight. Shilo was humming to herself in our, now permanently shared, apartment on four while she looked for clothes in the closet to wear to Ryan's.

"Julie, did I already lay Álainn out?" She asked.

The violin had become her nearly constant companion inside the walls of our apartment. She played for me most nights, relearning the fingerings. She complained a lot about the things she'd forgotten. I'd never been good at music and thought it was amazing she even knew how to hold the thing right.

"She's on the bed." I called back after checking the bedroom. "Are you bringing her with us tonight?"

Shilo walked into the room, wearing light blue jeans and a green top. She'd done her hair up and I caught sight of her dog tags tucked under her clothes. She'd taken to wearing them more often then not, which I loved because they were sexy as hell.

"Yes, I think I'm ready to try jamming with the boys."

I took her left hand in mine and looked over all of the little cuts on her fingertips. "How are the calluses coming?"

She grinned. "They don't break open every time I play."

"Progress." I agreed.

"A few more weeks and I won't even notice them anymore."

She grabbed up the beautiful violin and I hung our purses over my shoulder as we let ourselves out. Lester tried to follow us into the SUV we were using. Shilo hadn't let anyone, but me hear her play yet, and Lester had been bugging her about it most of all.

"Lester." Shilo said with a stern voice, pointing back towards the elevator door. "Inside, now."

"Aww, come on Starfire. I wanna hear you play."

She smiled at the new nickname the guys had just started calling her. Ironically it had been Hector who'd finally found a name that everyone loved. I thought it fit well. Shilo might not be quite as positive as the cartoon character Starfire, but she had the red head, badass part down pretty well.

"Nope." She popped the 'P' "Some other night Les, I promise I'll play for everyone soon. I want more time to practice first."

He pouted at her for another five minutes before she managed to get around him and slid into the passenger's seat. We drove to Ryan's house in comfortable silence. Shilo had her violin in her lap, but her hand on my thigh, drawing little patterns on my skin.

We pulled up to the curb in front of the house and judging from the number of car's, we were the last one's here.

"Looks like we're late." Shilo commented.

"Only fashionably."

Inside the boy's had already started partying. The table was full of food and there was a chest of beers in the living room. Evan was spread out of the floor, guitar in his lap, strumming gently. His twin, Riley was setting up a large, black, drum set.

Riley, spotted us first. "Girls are here!" He called.

Ryan caught Shilo up in a hug, and then spotted the case across her back. "Shilo's gunna play with us."

Cheer's went up again and Brian brought us both beers as Connor called everyone into the living room to get started.

"Wait!" Evan demanded, jumping to his feet. "The girls haven't eaten yet." He loaded two plates and passed them to us. "I brought my most amazingly awesome potato hash. No one is allowed to play until they tell me how wonderful it is."

The other guys rolled their eyes, but Evan stared us down until we'd both scooped some of the hash into our mouths. The potatoes were crispy on the outside and creamy in the middle, cooked with peppers and onions and what I'm pretty sure was bacon. It looked fatty and tasted amazing, Ranger would never approve.

"This is amazing." Shilo said, "Why haven't you brought this before?"

"Cuz it takes all freaking day to make." He looked over at me, waiting for my opinion.

I nodded along and shoved another spoon full into my face. The guys all laughed, and Shilo leaned over to kiss me.

"Yum," She said, pulling back. "You taste like peppers." Her tongue flicked out and swept across her bottom lip. I nearly moaned.

"Watch out Julie," Ryan teased. "She's Irish; potatoes are like an aphrodisiac to our people. One more potato kiss and she'll drag you home before we get the chance to hear her play."

Everyone chatted easily while we ate; catching each other up on what they'd done for the day, or in our case the week, since we'd last joined them.

"We've been working to track down an FTA." Shilo told the guys. "Two counts of rape and the idiot who gave him bail can't figure out why he disappeared."

Evan was telling a story about some idiot he worked with during the day, and I was nose deep in a corn salsa the Ryan liked to make when my phone beeped. I glanced down at the screen and excused myself to answer it.

"Blaze?"

"Hey, Julie." My new partner said. "Sorry to interrupt your party. Ranger and Tank have eyes on that FTA. You know the one Dan Mort, the rapist."

"He's called us in?" Why would he pick us, when he could have Bobby and Lester back them up?

"Yep," Blaze said, "You me, Shilo and Razor. He wants us all in on the take down so there's no chance of him getting away. He called it 'in the field training'. This guys worth top dollar and we're running out of time to catch him. Shilo's with you right? Will you tell her for me? Razor's getting our gear."

I was already walking back into the room. I tapped Shilo on the shoulder and everyone went quiet. "They found Mort, were on for the take down."

She nodded and grabbed our plates, bringing them into the kitchen. I stepped into my shoes and passed Shilo her coat when she joined me. "Where'd they find him?" I asked into the phone.

"Some bar on Stark, real original right? Meet us down there, were going to ride down with Cal and Hal."

I hung up and tossed the guys an apologetic look. "Sorry, boys. We need to run."

"Go catch bad guys." Evan called.

"You can play with us tomorrow." Ryan offered giving Shilo a quick hug.

Shilo nodded. "Mind if Álainn spends the night?"

"Of course not."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was after midnight when Shilo unlocked the door to our room and dragged me inside behind her. Mort the Moron, as we'd started calling him, panicked when he'd seen Ranger waiting for him in the parking lot. Instead of accepting the fact that he was going to jail and coming along nicely, he'd opened fire on the entire lot.

Thankfully, Mort the Moron was useless with a gun. It helped that he'd already knocked back half a dozen different shots and was having trouble walking straight. He did manage to hit half the cars in the lot. Thankfully he missed every person on our team, even thought we'd gone in with more men then necessary. The only injury happened when Cal tackled Mort to the ground and cut his knee open on some old, broken glass on the pavement.

Bobby patched him up right and we spent the next two hours talking to the police while patrons from the bar yelled and argued about their car's getting dinged up for our efforts. No love for the bounty hunters in that bar, forget that we pulled a dangerous criminal off the road. Ranger's insurance was going to have a fit. The SUV Shilo and I used took a bullet through the windshield so we'd had to wait around for Ranger to give us a ride back while it was towed away.

I kicked off my shoes and left them in a heap near the door. Shilo's joined them and we unloaded our pockets for the night. Phone's plugged in, guns on the bedside tables, other junk wherever junk ends up. My pants hit the ground and I was aiming for the bed when Shilo caught my hand and pulled me back out towards the kitchen.

"Shilo," I whined. "Sleepy, let's go to bed."

She grinned at me and pushed me into one of the bar stools at our breakfast counter. "It's 12:47pm." She said moving into the kitchenette and pulling a couple of bottles out of the cupboard. "Did you really think I'd forget about your birthday?"

Well hell, I had. I glanced at the clock and chuckled. Sure enough, I'd been 21 for nearly an hour and hadn't even realized it. She pulled out a pair of shot glasses, opened a couple of beers, and passed me a ridicules sparkly party hat.

"No way."

She put a second hat on her head, snapping the little chin strap into place and arranging it in her red curls. "Party pooper, I'm going to wear one."

I gave in and put the silly hat on while she dumped chips into a bowl and pulled out salsa and rolls for us to munch on. I was no stranger to drinking, but I'd been looking forward to this for awhile. I poured out a round of shots and smiled as Shilo came around the counter to take her glass from me. She'd taken off her pants too.

I tipped the glass in her direction and made to take it. Shilo reached out and caught my hand before I could. "Wait," She said softly. "Let me go first. I owe you a shot remember?"

We hadn't spoken about our little game of twenty questions since the kidnapping. The only question she'd refused to answer had been when I asked how she knew so much about the O'Donnell's. No wonder she hadn't wanted to talk about it. "You don't have to take it." I told her. "I understand why you weren't ready to tell me about that now."

"Maybe if I had told you sooner, we could have avoided a lot of pain."

The mood in the room had dipped into depressing so I tried to change the subject. "We never did finish all of our questions."

She smiled at me like a little vixen. "I'll tell you anything you want, ask away." She promised, and then she downed the shot and grimaced. "There, I'm all paid up."

I refilled her glass and we worked our way through most of the bottle, talking about nothing and everything, making up funny toasts and working our way through questions we had, trying to finish the game I'd started just to hear her voice.

I poured another pair of tequila shots and raised one to her. "Here's to no pants." I offered.

She giggled, something I'd noticed she did more when she was drunk. "To panties!" She agreed tipping the shot down.

"Questions 19," I started. "What's the one place in the world you want to visit that you haven't already been too?"

She thought for a while before she answered. "There are a few placed I'd like to go." She admitted. "Rio is the first place that comes to mind. I've traveled a lot, but I've never been to Brazil."

"I've never been to Rio either." Maybe someday I could take her there.

"However, I think the first place on my list is Ireland." She continued. "It's been so long since I've seen it. I wonder if it will look anything like what I remember."

Somewhere after shot three, she'd put on low music with a steady beat. After shot six, we'd moved down to the floor, dragging all of our snacks and bottles with us. At this rate, we'd fall over soon anyway so I justified sitting on the floor as smart thinking. Less distance to fall later.

Shilo sipped at her second beer and looked up at me. "You want part of your present now?" She asked scooting closer to my side.

Her leg was warm against mine and I was starting to think that the best present I could get would just be her naked and panting underneath me. "You got me more than one?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yep, I've been busy, but this was one I already had." Then she pulled her family crest out from under her shirt. The chain was long enough that she could pull it over her head without unclipping it. She set the pendant in her palm and gave it a loving little caress. The chain had been replaced and the silver had been polished, but looking at it now, I could still picture it darkened by her own blood. Had that really only been a month ago?

She moved a little bit and looped the chain over my head. She lifted my hair gently out of the way and let the little medallion nestle against my breasts. The metal was warm, since she always wore it next to her skin.

I touched the pendant and looked down at the crest I'd become so familiar with in the last few week. Then I looked up at the woman who'd become so important to me. Shilo was watching me with dark green eyes, calculating my every move. I could tell she was waiting for my reaction to her gift and how worried she was that it wouldn't be the one she wanted.

"You want me to have this?" The pendant had belonged to her father's father, the only grandfather she'd ever gotten to meet. I knew how important it was to her and couldn't believe she'd just offered it to me. I'd never seen her remove it willingly.

She nodded. "I grew up with a big family, and when I lost them I spent a lot of time resenting the fact that I had no one. Eventually I warmed up to the Lowry's, but Adam is the only one I call my brother. I've been blessed to get Ryan back, and I hope soon we'll find Peter too, but." She hesitated, and I sensed that the next words from either of us would change our relationship forever.

She looked up at me and said. "You're the family I choose. I love you."

I didn't think, I just reacted as quickly as I could, rolling so I was straddled across her legs and bringing my lips to hers. She tasted like tequila and her own unique taste that drove me so wild. She pressed back just as hungrily, her arms wrapping around my waist to press us closer together. She clung to me like I might disappear. I let one of my hands find her wild hair and used to other to cup her cheek and keep her close.

If you'd asked me a couple of months ago where I'd thought my life was going I probably wouldn't have known how to answer. I'd have been working at RangeMan most definitely; Ranger probably would have talked me back into taking more college classes, since I never finished my degree. I certainly never would have thought of this.

Wrapped in Shilo's arms it was easy to see us together forever. I'd come to love her more in a couple of weeks, then I did people I'd known my whole life. She'd given me her most prize possession in a declaration of love and called me family. It was as complete a commitment as either of us could make since Gay Marriage wasn't legal in New Jersey. It also had me wondering what had held me back from giving her the ring in my safe.

I'd been out with Ranger a few days ago when he'd announced that we needed to make a pit stop on our way back to Haywood. He had to pick up his latest order from his favorite jeweler in Trenton. He'd gotten Stephanie another lavish present.

"You know she hates it when you spend all kinds of money on her." I said, looking over the cases of jewelry while he waited for the man to get his order.

"That is part of what makes it fun." He'd said. "I like seeing her wear the things I give her. She's gotten better at just accepting my gifts over the years."

Ranger caught me looking over a selection of rings and moved to my side. "I bet I can guess why you're looking at the Claddagh rings." He'd said.

Honestly, I didn't know what kind of rings they were. I'd stopped because the case was decorated with little green clovers and I'd been interested in learning more about Irish customs and traditions since I'd become involved with Shilo. Were these rings Irish?

"Why's that?" I'd asked, trying to sound smug and tricking him into telling me more about the unique rings.

"The Claddagh ring is a traditional Irish ring meant to symbolize any number of things." The jeweler had interrupted as he came back over with Ranger's order. "It can stand for a bond of friendship or marriage and depending on how you wear it can broadcast that meaning to those who know what to look for. They are more commonly worn in Ireland then in the States however."

I'd listened to him talk for nearly half an hour, but I was sold after the first little speech. I selected a white gold band made to look like two hands, coming together to hold a crowned heart. The ring I liked had a fiery orange opal in it, cut into the shape of a heart and it reminded me so much of Shilo's hair that even if I never worked up the courage to give it to her I wanted it. The crown that topped it was made of white gold too and had a tiny circle diamond laid into the center.

Ranger kept his face blank and didn't say a word while I bought my ring and the jeweler wrapped it up. I tried to ignore him, but he was making me nervous. What if I did give it to her? I was certainly more than her friend; but would she want to commit to me permanently? Did I have to ask Ranger for permission? What would he and Steph think? What would my mom think? Actually, I guess I should probably ask Ryan since he was her older brother. Why did I have to ask anyone?

Ranger and I got back in the car silently and we were a few blocks away before he broke the silence. "Whatever you decide to do with that ring, know that Stephanie and I will always support you."

"I don't know what I'm going to do with it." I'd admitted.

He smiled at me. "It's a beautiful choice."

"It reminded me of her."

He just nodded. "That's what makes it beautiful."

"Julie?"

Shilo's voice broke me out of my thoughts. We'd been sitting in the kitchen for a while, still wrapped together on the floor. I looked up at her and smiled, letting my lips graze along her neck were I'd tucked my head.

"Yes?"

"I'm done drinking."

I nodded along and stood up with her as she moved towards the bedroom. "Do I get another present now?" I asked hopefully.

She turned around, walking backwards into the bedroom as I followed after her. She pulled her shirt over her head and let it fall to the ground. I moaned at the sight I'd come to see every night when I fell asleep and stopped in the doorway to watch her undress.

She let the rest of her clothes fall to the ground and crawled into our bed. She propped herself up on her elbows looking at me through a curtain of dark, flaming hair and smiled. "See something you like?"

"Definitely."

"Happy Birthday."

I followed her, my clothes hitting the ground much faster than hers had. I crawled over her, letting my lips play along her skin. In these moments, I got to see a side of Shilo that I knew no one else had ever seen. On the outside in her daily life, Shilo was one of the strongest people I'd ever met. She was definitely better at keeping her cool and masking her emotions then I was. She didn't make friends quickly and often came across as sort of distant. Here, in the safety of our room, she usually let me lead, trusting that I'd keep her safe. Her confidence in me pushed me to be better. It pushed me to be worthy of her.

I took my time, teasing her with light kisses, pulling hard won little gasps and moans from her pale throat. Shilo didn't speak much in our times together and that only increased my determination to break through her walls and snap that nearly perfect control.

I kissed the valley between her breasts and held firm when she tried to roll us over and take the lead.

"Julie," She said softly. "Roll over Lover."

I nibbled on her neck. "I'm not done yet." My hands ghosted down her sides and I let a single finger trace the slit between her legs, finding her soaked.

She moaned, and pressed her hips into my hand desperate for more contact. She took a shallow breath and her nails scratched light trails up my back.

"Let me make you feel good." She said, her hands sliding around my sides to trail up my chest. Her fingers found my nipples already hard and she rolled the peaks gently between warm fingers. "Tonight is about you."

I sat up my hips lined up over hers and pulled her hands away from my breasts. I stretched forward, pulling her arms up over her head. I crossed her wrists and kissed her gently, trailing my lips to her ear.

"Don't move your hands until I tell you too."

"But,"

I shook my head and cut her off by grounding my hips down against her. She jumped and I grinned at her. "No, buts. It's my birthday and I'm having fun. Let me love you."

She nodded along and stayed still while I looked her over. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. Her pale skin, flushed red for my efforts, highlighted her freckles. Her hair a dark bloody red against the cream sheet. Her eyes were a light, playful jade as she watched me look her over with a hungry look. Her tongue flicked out to wet her bottom lip and the temperature in the room jumped.

"How many freckles do you have?"

Pov- Shilo

"What?"

Julie's soft fingers trailed down my stomach and every second she teased me I lost more control over our conversation. I could hardly think straight let alone speak. How had I lost control of this situation? I'd intended this night to go differently.

"How many freckles do you have?" Julie asked again softly.

That's what I'd thought she'd said. "I'm not, I mean I don't know. There all over the place."

She tapped her finger against her lip a few times before lowering it and poking a small freckle above my left breast. "One." A wicked little smile crossed her beautiful lips and she worked her way across my caller bone touching each little spot. "Two, three, four." I moaned as she ran a nail over my nipple. I hadn't even known there was a freckle next to my right nipple. She rolled the bud of hardened flesh and I shivered. Oh hell, let her lead. I loved it when Julie took the dominate role.

"Then I guess, I'll have to find each one and count them for myself."

She did just that. She started at my face, lightly tracing each dark spot. She found a pair behind my ear and one along my hairline. She gave me a quick kiss and then moved down my neck. She found one in the hallow of my throat before kissing the one above my breast. "I think this one is my favorite." She whispered against my skin.

"Why's that?" I asked, squirming at the slow burn between us. My favorite thing in this world was the feel of her skin on mine. It only felt better as her hair tickled across my torso while she explored to find every hidden speck on my skin.

"It's right over your heart."

"Then it's yours." I told her.

She kissed it again. "Your heart or the freckle?"

"Both. Everything. Anything I can give you."

She owned every part of me. I never would have believed that I could find someone like Julie to share my life with. She was everything I needed in a partner and everything I hadn't thought to ask for at the same time. She completed me and countered all of my flaws. I hope she knew that was what I'd been trying to say when I'd given her the necklace. Whatever happened from here on out, she had me as long as she'd keep me.

She moved back up to my face and looked at me with those dark brown eyes. What did she see when she looked at me. Did she see how desperately I loved her? How badly I needed her love to ground me now that I knew it's sweet touch.

"Te amo, Shilo."

I pecked her on the nose. "Is breá liom tú. I love you too."

We finally drifted off as the sun was coming up, casting a gray shadow around the room. Julie had tucked herself into my side, one leg thrown over my hips. Her arm draped across my stomach. I smiled to myself as I closed my eyes knowing that things were only going to get better.

I awoke the next morning to Julie's lips dancing across my neck. She called my name and my eyes fluttered open. She looked beautiful. The sheet was tangled around our legs and my crest hung between her breasts, the only bits of clothing to separate us.

"Morning." I said on a yawn, rolling onto my side to face her.

She smiled at me. "Actually its after one. We've slept the day away."

"Worth it."

She chuckled. "Indeed." She dropped her gaze to the sheet between us for a moment and bit her lip. She was thinking about something.

"What is it?" I asked, wondering what could have her thinking this hard this early and wondering if she felt as hung over as I did.

She caught my gaze and pinned me to the spot with those powerful brown eyes. "Question twenty," She started.

The last one. What would she ask? What didn't she know about me at this point? I'd hung up so much dirty laundry in the past month I no longer had any secrets. Well, other than the things I couldn't speak about. Those didn't count.

"Ask away." I pressed when she hesitated. "I'll tell you anything."

She smiled and slid a hand into the folds of the sheet, pulling out a little black jewelry box. She popped the lid open and spun it around, sliding it across the silk sheet.

"How much do you love me?"

For the first time in my life, I felt completely caught off guard. I'd given her my love, my heart, my history, everything I had to give a partner. In return, she'd loved me and shared her life with me, but I'd never expected her to propose to me. Half the time I still didn't believe that she thought I was worthy of her.

The ring was beautiful. A white gold Claddagh ring. Cradled in the hands was a fiery orange heart crowned with more white gold and a little diamond. Claddagh rings were my favorite. I loved the symbolism behind them. I pulled the ring from the case and looked at her. "It's beautiful."

She smiled. "It reminded me of you."

I moved to put it on and she caught my hands. She took the ring from me and slid it on to my left ring finger so the point of the heart was facing my body. I wondered if she knew what that meant. She folded our fingers together and kissed where our thumbs crossed.

"I know that wearing it this way is supposed to symbolize marriage." She said. "We can't do that in this state, but honestly I don't care about a piece of paper. Maybe someday we can, if you want. I just want everyone who sees it to know that you're taken. That you belong to me and that I don't share. I love you Shilo. I'd like to commit myself to you."

I rolled her over and pinned her beneath my body. I kissed her neck. I kissed the silver pendant between her breasts. I kissed the hollow of her throat before finally kissing her lips. She smiled as I pulled away.

"I love you."

Her smile grew as she folded her arms around my neck and pulled my face back to hers. "How much?" My mouth met hers in a passionate fury, each of us desperate to get closer to the others. I hope Ranger didn't have plans for the day, cuz I'm pretty sure it was going to take all day to show this woman how much I loved her.

~Darkrose

I love fluffy chapters.