Disclaimer: As usual, all characters are the property of JE. I am making no money yada, yada, yada

WARNING: For Adult Content & Language. Not Cupcake Friendly. I don't know why, but even when I don't intentionally try to hurt Joe I still manage to rip him to shreds. Sorry!

CHAPTER 6

RPOV

The drive to RangeMan was made in silence. For some reason I was a nervous wreck. Something about Stephanie was different. I felt like she was cleaning out her closet, but instead of getting rid of unwanted clothing she was getting rid of unwanted emotional baggage. I was terrified that I was included in that mess.

I didn't know what I would do if she no longer wanted anything to do with me. She's my everything. I've spent my entire life keeping everyone out. I've never let anyone get close to me, but somehow, Stephanie passed through all my walls and she has managed to consume me. I never knew I could love someone the way I love her. I'd give her anything she ever wanted, even if what she wanted was for me to let her walk away from me.

I pulled into the underground garage, retrieved Stephanie's bag from the back seat, and grabbed her hand when I met her at the front of the car. We stepped into the elevator and rode to the seventh floor in silence.

SPOV

Walking into the apartment, I felt a sense of peace settle over me. It always felt like I was coming home when I walked into Ranger's penthouse.

"Why don't you go take a shower and I'll call Ella for some dinner?" He suggested.

"Okay, that sounds good. Can I have some dessert?" I asked hopefully.

He smiled widely. "Of course; Ella always makes dessert when you're here. I'm going to run down to the gym and shower while you're cleaning up." He told me, catching me by surprise.

Taking a good look at the man in front of me, I noticed that his customary pristine appearance was absent. His typical freshly shaved face was covered in stubble and the fine lines around his eyes were more pronounced. He looked rumpled and tired. He must have noticed my scrutiny because, as usual, he answered my unasked question.

"I haven't showered since yesterday morning. I was on my way back from D.C. when I got the phone call about your car accident; so I went straight to the hospital and I've been there ever since."

I was surprised to learn that he had stayed at the hospital, even when he wasn't in the room with me and I felt my heart flutter at what it could mean.

"What were you doing in D.C.?" I asked curiously.

He gave me a slight smile. "I think you and I need to talk and that's part of it, so why don't we get cleaned up and comfortable first?" He suggested.

Realizing that I wanted nothing more than a very long, hot shower in Ranger's sinfully fabulous shower, followed by delicious dinner prepared by the culinary goddess, Ella, I smiled and leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on his lips. I felt his arms wrap around me, pulling me snugly against him. I expected the kiss to get hot and steamy, but instead it stayed soft and sweet and was filled with promise.

When we finally broke apart, I was almost dizzy with hope. For the first time in years, I thought it might be possible that Ranger and I were on the same page.

RPOV

As I walked out of the apartment and made my way down to the gym's locker room to take a shower, I had a big sappy grin on my face and try as I might I just couldn't get rid of it. Stephanie's alive and well, definitely single and I think I might finally have a chance with her. One thing for sure, I'd know one way or the other after our talk.

When I walked out of the shower, I saw Tank climbing off of the treadmill.

"What are you doing down here when you got Bomber up in your apartment?" He asked.

"She's using my shower, so I was grabbing one down here while we waited for Ella to bring up some dinner." I explained.

"Ah, that makes sense then. So she's got her memory back?" He asked.

"Yeah, all four years' worth." I told him, not stopping the smile that spread across my face.

"Seems like she got something else back, too; because I hear she's already kicked her mom and the cop to the curb. You worried?" He asked with a smile.

"A little, but I'm hoping, since she came back to my apartment, that she's not planning on throwing me out of it. Although, you never know with Stephanie." I told him.

"Ain't that the truth? You better get your ass back upstairs. You don't want to keep that lady waiting." He quipped, pushing me out the door.

I laughed and happily made my way toward the elevator.

SPOV

I heard the apartment door close as I climbed out of the shower. My stomach growled, reminding me of my eagerness for some of Ella's food.

Walking out of the bedroom, my senses were assaulted by yumminess; my sense of smell when I got a whiff of Ella's culinary delights and my sense of sight when I caught a glance of Ranger's scrumptious body. I couldn't decide which I wanted more – food or Ranger.

"You can have them both, Babe, but how about dinner first?" He asked with amusement evident in his voice.

Hmmm. Maybe this accidentally thinking out loud thing isn't such a bad thing after all.

"Okay. What's for dinner?" I asked curiously.

"Looks like chicken for me, but she made you some fettuccini alfredo, since you had such a rough day yesterday." He informed me.

I almost squealed in delight as I bounced over to the breakfast bar so that I could dig in.

I quickly wolfed down my main course and started on my dessert. I hadn't so much as glanced at Ranger, until I heard him growl in what sounded like frustration. I looked up and realized that his eyes were black as onyx.

"You're killing me, Babe." He groaned with a slight smile on his face.

I just shrugged my shoulders and continued with my dessert. You'd think after all these years, he'd be used to hearing me eat my food.

As I licked the last bite of sugary goodness off of my spoon, I knew it was time to face the music and I was actually ready. I didn't want to put it off any longer, since I was tired of hanging in limbo. I wanted to know where I stood with Ranger. Hopefully, we were on the same page, but if we weren't, then I needed to move on. Just the mere thought of moving on without Ranger in my life caused my heart to ache. I shook my head trying to clear it of those thoughts. No need to get ahead of myself.

Ranger must have noticed something because he chose that moment to speak up. "Babe, why don't I get us a glass of wine and we can go into the living room and make ourselves comfortable?" He offered as he gathered our plates and took them into the kitchen.

I walked into the living room and made myself comfortable on the couch. A few minutes later, Ranger came in and handed me a glass of wine and sat down right beside me. He took my free hand in his and took a deep breath.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to tell you a few things first." He began.

I stared at him a little surprised. It was a rare occasion that Batman wanted to share information first. I nodded my head for him to continue.

"I'm sure you figured out sometime ago that I do contract work for the government. At different times I've been under contracts with the armed forces and different law agencies. The details really aren't important. About a year ago, my contract with the armed forces came up for renewal and for the first time in my life, I actually had a reason not to renew.

I've spent the majority of my life as a loner and, for the most part, I like it that way. Then one day I got a call from Connie, asking for a favor and everything changed. I suddenly found myself looking for excuses to be near you; wanting to touch you and comfort you; needing to be near you. And I didn't understand why. Honestly, I still don't understand why and it doesn't really matter anyway.

I realized that I hated being away from you for months at a time so I told them I wouldn't be renewing. That didn't mean my contract was over. My contract actually didn't end until yesterday. That's why I was returning from D.C. I've spent the past year tying up loose ends, doing paper work, crossing all the t's and dotting all the i's, making sure that there weren't any loopholes they could use to force me to come back and work for them." He explained and paused for a second, searching for the right words to say.

"I've also explained to the other law enforcement agencies that I've previously worked undercover for that I'm no longer available for those types of assignments. I'm only available for research; RangeMan can still do undercover assignments, but I'll no longer be going out on my own. The only job I have, as of right now, is RangeMan." He explained, taking another deep breath.

I'd swear if he wasn't Batman, that he was nervous.

"Stephanie, I've have made so many mistakes when it comes to you – the deal obviously being the biggest. I don't regret making love to you that night, but I've spent every day after that regretting how I walked out the next morning and told you to repair your relationship with Morelli." He confessed.

"Then why did you?" I asked. He'd hurt me more than anyone ever had that day. And just the mere memory still caused me pain.

"I don't have a good enough answer to excuse my behavior. I wish I did, but I was just scared and I didn't know how to react to emotions that were that overwhelming. I'd never experienced anything like it, so I ran. I was a coward and I hurt you and I'll never forgive myself for it." He told me.

I looked at him and could actually see pain and regret in his eyes. I wouldn't say that it excused his behavior, but it did make me feel better knowing that he realized how much he'd hurt me.

"I also know I've made some really stupid statements to you about my life not lending itself to a relationship. It didn't then, but I've tried to make changes so that now it does." I felt my heart start to beat overtime when I heard those words.

"My love might not come with a ring yet, but it definitely will in the future, if you're interested." My eyes widened and I wondered if I was hallucinating.

"Stephanie, what I'm trying to say is that I love you. I love everything about you. There isn't one thing I would change about you. I think you're absolutely perfect the way you are. I know I've made some really bad mistakes with you in the past, but if you're willing to give me a second chance, I promise to spend the rest of my life making up for them." He finished, looking at me expectantly and a little nervously.

I knew I needed to reply, but I was so utterly shocked by everything that he'd said and done just so we could have a chance to be together that I couldn't form any coherent words. I realized that I was taking too long when his face went from nervous to worried and then when the tears of happiness started running down my face, he obviously thought they were a different kind of tears.

"It's okay, Stephanie. I understand. Some things can't be forgiven. I understand." He told me sadly, as he stood up to walk away.

That was all I needed to knock me out of my happiness stupor.

"What? Are you insane? I love you, too, you big dolt!" I told him just before I ran over and tackled him to the floor, peppering him with kisses.

I pulled away for a second to look him in the eyes. "It sure took you long enough." I told him with a smile on my face.

"What can I say? I'm a little slow on the uptake." He replied dryly with a blinding smile just before his lips crashed down on mine.

We spent the rest of the day making up for lost time.