I don't own them and I'm not making any money…

Thank you all for reading and for all of the wonderful reviews, I appreciate them. And I want to thank Harmne and haleigh.l for their help with editing on this and the last chapter…

What Happens in Vegas…

Chapter 7

I just relaxed into him. Suddenly, everything felt like it was going to be okay. Things were going to go back to normal and Ranger and I would go back to sharing the 'thing' that wasn't a relationship that we had. Ranger would continue loving me in his own way and I would go back to loving him and hiding it… and it would be okay. I just had to keep telling myself that.

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After 'the talk' Ranger and I stayed snuggled into the couch together for about half an hour. I was just starting to drift off to sleep when Ranger cleared his throat and announced he had some work to do on the fifth floor.

When he got up, I stayed on the couch and listened to the soft sounds he made as he moved around the apartment. If I closed my eyes, I could even pick up the sounds of his footsteps. Concentrating, I heard the footsteps come closer and closer until he was standing in front of me.

"Don't forget to take one of the guys with you today if you go out," he said, as I felt him move some curls across my forehead.

"You too," I replied, opening my eyes and giving him a lazy smile.

"I will." He was smiling also, but I'm not sure if he was returning my smile or just amused at how relaxed I was.

Once our little exchange was over, Ranger headed out of the apartment and I continued to lounge on the couch. Nearly another half an hour passed before I decided to move and try to get some work done today as well, so I hauled myself into a sitting position.

I still had some files from yesterday, but they were in my bag which was on the sideboard. I could just see it from my seat, so I spent a minute attempting mental telepathy. When my bag didn't bring itself to me, I finally got up.

Fishing the files out of my bag, I flipped through them for a minute until I came to Mooner. I'd forgotten he was in there. That was definitely the kind of work I felt like doing today… and if memory served me, there should be a Gilligan's Island marathon on today.

Now that I had a purpose, I had to act on it. First, I headed for the bathroom to do a hair and makeup check, but it was still in great condition since I'd spent to so much time on it to put off 'the talk.' After I was done in there, I gathered my bag and files and noticed some extra weight in my bag. Peering inside, I found my gun and a quick check showed that it was loaded. I assumed I had Ranger to thank for that. Probably he wanted me to carry it; probably I would since we had a stalker.

Once I was ready, I headed out the door and almost allowed my auto-pilot to take me straight to the garage. But I remembered promising Ranger I'd take one of the guys if I went out, so I headed for the fifth floor.

Down there, I found Ranger and Tank just heading out so I wandered over towards them.

"Going after a bad guy?" I asked.

"Going to talk to a bad guy about the bad guy we want to go after," Ranger answered. "How about you?"

"I wouldn't consider Mooner a bad guy…"

"No, Mooner's not a bad guy," Ranger said, as he lifted my bag slightly from where it was hanging on my arm. "Proud of you, Babe."

"Yeah, well…" I said, knowing he was talking about the fact that I had my gun in there.

"Did you come down here to get your back-up?"

"Yep. Who's with me today? I hope they don't mind Gilligan's Island."

"You've got Vince today and I don't think he'll mind."

"Good," I said before addressing Tank who had been watching us with a suspicious smirk on his face. "Don't let Ranger get shot again."

"I'll do my best, Bomber."

"Thanks," I said, then turned back to Ranger. "Be careful."

"I will," he promised. "You too."

I nodded in response as he pushed a couple of curls back and held his hand to my cheek. He brushed his thumb across my cheekbone a couple of times and then he and Tank disappeared towards the elevator.

Without thinking, I ran my hand across my cheek where he had touched and felt the tingles there. When I realized what I was doing, I gave my head a shake and headed towards the break room. I had to keep reminding myself that I was in control of my feelings… though it would be a lot easier if my feelings would cooperate.

In the break room I found Vince, Ram and Woody eating their lunches. Vince, however, shoved the last three bites of his sandwich into his mouth when I walked in and came to join me.

"Ready to go?" he asked, or at least that's what I think he asked around the wad of sandwich in his mouth.

"Uh, yeah," I replied, watching him chew and hoping he wouldn't choke.

"Then let's go," he said, once he had completed a large swallow.

"All right," And then we headed to the garage.

Once we'd selected a Bronco and climbed in, Vince gave me a questioning look. I assumed he wanted to know where we were going, but he was going to have to ask.

"Where are we headed?" he finally asked, bringing our stare down to an end.

"We're picking up Mooner today," I said.

"Awesome," Vince replied. "I got out of surveillance to watch TV." He was looking pretty happy, but I was feeling guilty.

"You got pulled from surveillance?"

"Yeah, but don't worry about it. All of us were fighting over who got to come with you."

"Why?" I asked, really confused… I didn't have the greatest track record with Ranger's guys.

"Bomber, a day with you is never boring. A day of surveillance is guaranteed to be boring."

"Oh," I said, trying to digest that. Who would have thought the Merry Men actually liked spending a day with me?

All was quiet in the Bronco for a while and since it was lunch time, we inevitably got caught in traffic. I am not a patient driver or passenger, so I was practicing deep breathing and trying to find my zone when I noticed Vince shooting me a look.

"Yes?" I asked, turning my head towards him.

"Uh, so you and the boss?" I was really beginning to regret the guys finally getting comfortable with me.

"Apparently," I said, sighing. "What exactly have you guys heard?"

"Just that you all got drunk, you and the boss got married and no one remembers a thing."

"That about sums it up."

"What I wouldn't give to see Ranger like that," Vince said with a half smile on his face.

"Me too," I replied with a snort. I was still a bit upset I didn't remember anything.

Not long after that, we made it out of the traffic jam and to the part of the Burg where Mooner lived. Heading up the walk to the house, Vince began hand signaling that he would cover the back door. I just rolled my eyes and grabbed him by the back of the shirt. That wouldn't be necessary. When we knocked, Mooner came right to the door and was more than happy to see me.

"Dudette!" he exclaimed, as he hung a lei of plastic flowers around my neck. "You're just in time to catch the next episode of Gilligan's Island! Come in, come in."

He ushered both Vince and I in, and I had to smile when I saw both he and Dougie were wearing ratty jeans and straw hats. They took their TV so seriously.

As we settled into the couch, the theme song was just starting and they both began singing along. I knew there was no reaching them for awhile. When it was finally commercial, Mooner seemed to snap out of it for a bit and gave me a happy smile.

"So, Dudette, what brings you to visit?"

"I need to take you to reschedule your court date," I said.

"I forgot again? I even wrote it down," Mooner said, indicating his clean arm and then getting a puzzled look. "Huh. It must have washed off."

"Don't worry about it," I told him. "I'll take you to the station and this time we'll write it on paper."

"You rock Dudette," he said, before falling silent again as Gilligan's Island came back on.

Four hours and two pizzas later, we finally left for the station. Connie met us at the station, so I had Mooner and Dougie home in time for the Star Trek party they were having tonight. I was just happy it hadn't been a day time event.

"If only every day could be like that," Vince said as we headed back to Rangeman.

"You'd get bored," I told him smiling.

"Yeah, but it's nice once in awhile…"

When we got back to Rangeman, I headed straight for the seventh floor. A day of TV saps my energy so much more than a day of chasing skips through garbage. I needed a nap. Finding the apartment empty, I went straight to the bedroom, pulled on one of Ranger's t-shirts and curled into bed.

I woke to a tickling on my belly, so I curled into a ball. The tickling just shifted to my neck and I figured I was fighting a loosing battle. Cracking one eye, I spotted Ranger sitting on the edge of the bed, grinning at my struggle with consciousness.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," he said. "Ella brought dinner if you want to wake up."

"Sleeping Beauty got woken with a kiss, none of this tickling nonsense," I grumbled before I thought about what I was saying and to whom.

Cat quick, Ranger moved us so he had me pinned to the bed. Then he kissed me, and as his tongue touched mine, I honestly didn't mind being woken. I think Sleeping Beauty may have been on to something.

"Better?" Ranger asked when he pulled away. I was glad to see that I wasn't the only one breathing heavily.

"Definitely awake," I said, as I relaxed into a pile of goo under him.

"Good." With that, he pulled away and lifted me with him. "Why don't you go get freshened up while I set the table?" At my nod, he pointed me towards the bathroom and I stumbled my way there.

Looking in the mirror, I let out a resigned sigh at the sight of my hair. It was a mess. If Ranger's bravery ever came into question, his lack of fear over my hair should clear everything up.

Once I'd tamed it into a pony tail and splashed some water on my face to get rid of the sleep gunk around my eyes, I headed for the kitchen. Standing in the doorway, I saw Ranger setting silverware on the table and took a moment to just watch him. He looked so comfortable and relaxed, almost normal.

"Need any help?" I finally asked as I entered the kitchen.

"Nope," he replied as he grabbed the food. "All done."

Taking a seat at the table, I watched as Ranger uncovered the dishes. A wonderful smell met my nose, so I leaned in to check what Ella had sent up. It was grilled chicken and vegetables, and it looked quite healthy. I'd give it a try, though… not like I had any choice as Ranger dished up my plate and sat it in front of me.

As I took the first bite, I couldn't suppress a moan. "This is good."

"Babe," was all he said as he took a bite of his own dinner. I cocked my head to one side, waiting for more, but when it didn't come, I went back to eating.

After we were done, we stacked the dishes on the tray Ella had left and Ranger disappeared to his office to get some work done. I stood in the middle of the apartment, at a loss for awhile until I remembered I still hadn't called Mary Lou. She was probably dying to hear all about my Vegas escapades.

If only I could find my cell phone… Once I'd been searching for about five minutes, I let out a frustrated sigh and headed for Ranger's office. Not wanting to bother him, I whispered that my phone was missing as I grabbed his. He gave me the raised eyebrow look as I started dialing, but when the Batman theme song started to play somewhere, he looked amused.

I just handed him his phone as I followed the sound of mine. I eventually found it wedged between the couch and end table, so I wiggled it free and settled into the couch to make my call. While it rang, I pulled the throw over myself and had just gotten comfy when Mare answered.

"Hey, Mare," I said, bracing myself for her screaming.

I wasn't disappointed. I had to hold the phone away from my ear for a good two minutes until I could no longer hear her, and then I brought it back to my head cautiously, just in case she had only stopped for air.

"So, is it true?" she was demanding once I was listening again.

"Yes," I answered, and then quickly jerked the phone away from my ear. This conversation was going to take awhile if she kept screaming after everything I said.

"I can't believe you're married to Ranger," she was yelling when I brought the phone back to my ear. "How exactly did you come to be married anyway?"

"We got drunk. We're not sure how we settled on getting married, but I started out the evening on champagne and tequila," I said, knowing that would be enough to convince Mare I wasn't in my right mind.

"But what about Ranger? You said he always knows what's going on and is constantly aware and stuff".

"Yeah, he is normally, but we got drunk and I guess we started taking different shots and that was his downfall," I said. It was logical, since according to Tank, 'Little Man can't mix his alcohol.' I'd just snorted at that statement. Normal people wouldn't call Ranger little, but everyone's small to Tank.

"Makes sense," Mare said. "They didn't let you mix alcohol did they?"

"Yep".

"Well, that explains everything."

"I guess."

"So, who was your maid of honor?" she asked in a mock jealous voice.

"Lester," I answered giggling as I remembered the picture of him holding my bouquet and wearing a big pink ribbon.

After that, the entire conversation deteriorated into the ridiculous as Mary Lou and I speculated about the differences between this wedding and my last. Our final conclusion was that this wedding was infinitely better, even though I couldn't remember a single thing about it.

Closing my phone, I saw it was only about 8 o'clock. Looking around, I began to remember why I had started to get crazy when I stayed here to hide from the Slayers. There was nothing to do. There wasn't even anything to clean in a fit of absolute boredom.

Flopping back onto the couch, I started at the ceiling for about five minutes until I couldn't take it any more. I got up and wandered into Ranger's office. He was still working… No wonder there's nothing to do here if he never takes a break.

"Babe?" he asked when I'd been standing in the doorway for a minute.

"I'm a bit bored," I said, trying not to sound whiney. "Do you need any help?"

"Actually, I could use some help," Ranger said after a minute.

I leaned across the desk to take a look at what he was doing on his computer screen and saw finance forms. I recognized them from some of my business classes in college and the memories weren't pleasant. That may have shown on my face, since Ranger immediately let out a laugh.

"Not with this, don't worry," he said as he opened a drawer and pulled out a laptop. "Earlier I was sorting reports trying to get ready for a takedown, but I don't have enough info. Can you run some more searches for me?"

"Definitely," I said, taking the chair from the corner of the office and bringing it to sit at the desk.

Scooting my chair in, but trying to leave Ranger room, I booted up the laptop and grabbed the files Ranger had placed beside it. They were pretty standard stuff and before long, I was off in my own little world.

About an hour later, I had printed all of the reports and was piecing the info together. Not thinking, I leaned across Ranger to grab a highlighter from his pencil holder and accidentally brushed against him. He just put a hand against me to steady me, but my hormones went haywire. I tried to concentrate on the report in front of me, but all I could think about was Ranger sitting less than a foot away from me.

With a lot of effort I made it half an hour before I couldn't take it any more. I had to get out of that office. I wasn't done with my research and I was staring at it trying to think of an excuse to leave when my stomach let out a growl. I could go get a snack. Standing quickly, I asked Ranger if he wanted anything and then got out of there.

In the kitchen, I leaned down to look in Rex's cage and took a bunch of calming breaths. While staring at him running on the wheel, I noticed myself subconsciously touching my bare ring finger as if I could still feel the rings there.

Standing, I gave my head a shake and laced my hands over my head. This was not good. I had to get control of myself. Sharing Ranger's space was taking its toll on me, but it was only until we took care of the stalker. Then we could get a divorce and this would be over. If only I was sure that it would get my emotions back under control.

Suddenly realizing I'd been in the kitchen for quite a while, I started making my snack. My peanut butter and olive sandwich was quick enough and then I got myself a glass of water and one for Ranger.

I headed back to the office, carefully balancing the plate with my sandwich on top of my glass and took one last deep breath before going in.

"I was starting to think you got lost," Ranger said, looking up when I came in.

"Nope," I replied. "Just spent a little quality time with Rex."

Ranger seemed to accept that as he took the water I offered him and thanked me. I just settled back into my seat and ate my sandwich. When I was done, I shot Ranger a couple of looks out of the corner of my eye, but was relieved to realize that I was once again in control. The feelings were still there… they just weren't all consuming any more.

We worked for a while longer, until I finished up my search. As I shut down the laptop, Ranger logged out of his computer as well.

"All done for the night?" I asked.

"Yep. We have an early morning tomorrow."

"How early? And why we?" I asked suspiciously.

"Eight and it's a meeting to go over the info on our stalker."

"That's too early."

"I thought you wanted to be involved?" Ranger asked, giving my shoulders a gentle squeeze from behind as we walked out of the office.

"I do. I was thinking you could move the meeting to noon."

"No can do. Why don't you go get ready for bed? Then you can get up for the meeting."

"Fine," I said, heading off to the bathroom. I really wish I could just be happy sleeping though the meeting and letting the guys do their thing. Too bad I have to always know what's going on.

In Ranger's room, I did my thing in the bathroom and was in his dressing area slipping into another of his black shirts when I heard him head for the bathroom. I spent a moment appreciating Ella since the pile of shirts never seemed to diminish even with both of us wearing them, and then I headed for bed.

I was still squirming myself comfortable when I felt the bed dip behind me as Ranger crawled in. I immediately tensed, since I hadn't even heard him in the room.

"You could make some noise you know," I informed him as I rolled to face him.

"Yeah," he said, pulling me into his side. "That wouldn't be as much fun."

"Uh huh," I replied, squirming myself into him now, so I could use his shoulder as a pillow.

It was comfortable, lying there like that, with him holding me. I'd completely given up trying to sleep away from him lately, since it seems we always wake up tangled together. We lay there for quite a while, but neither of us spoke again. The last thing I remember, is the gentle rise and fall of Ranger's chest evening out as he fell asleep.

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review and let me know what you thought!