Ranger had led Stephanie to his apartment and turned the shower on for her. She'd been standing under the spray and scrubbing her skin for an hour and the water had turned cold but the acrid odor of Lester's vomit would not go away. Stephanie knew that likely, by this point, it was all in her head. She heard the bathroom door open and saw a large shadow behind the white curtain.
"You okay, Babe?" Ranger asked, softly.
"I'm okay. In my line of work, this happens all the time," she quipped. She saw Ranger shift and sit on the toilet seat.
"Nothing worse than the smell of an alcoholics vomit," Ranger said. Stephanie was silent. "We have Lester stabilized whenever you're ready to talk to him. I brought some sweats in for you to wear. They might be a bit large but you can roll the waistband…"
"Thanks," Stephanie responded.
"Do you want to talk before we go in? I don't want you to think…." Ranger said.
"I don't," Stephanie said, cutting him off. "I know what you were doing." She saw Ranger's shoulders sag.
"I hoped you would," he said. Ranger sat and Stephanie stood silently for a moment.
"I'll be out in a minute," she said.
"Okay," Ranger got up and moved toward the door. She heard him say something else and started to ask what it was when she realized he was gone.
Stephanie dried herself and padded over to the sink. She gasped when she saw herself and frantically searched the drawers before finding a comb. She shrugged knowing that she would likely break all of the tines but anything in a pinch. She found a bottle of Green Tea Bulgari as well and sprayed a little on. It smelled so much like Ranger that she lifted the bottle to her nose and inhaled deeply feeling herself getting a little turned on. No time for that, she decided and she replaced the bottle in the drawer. She looked at the sweats. Obviously Ranger's. The black sweatpants were long and she rolled them at the waist and the black tee-shirt that would be skin tight on him, she was sure, feel to her thighs. The effect was comfortable and Stephanie realized how tired she was. She started to pull the comb through her hair when a knock sounded at the door.
"Yes?" she asked, tentatively.
"Brought you a mocha, Babe," Ranger called. She opened the door and Ranger paused for a moment, looking her up and down, before setting the steaming ivory cup on the counter. "I figured you for a sweet tooth and thought you might need a boost," he said in explanation. Stephanie smiled.
"It's perfect, thank you," she said. "I just need to see if I can control the fright factor." She waved at her hair.
"You look great," Ranger said. Stephanie laughed. "Let me know when you're ready to talk to Lester."
"Give me a few minutes," she said. He nodded and closed the door. A few minutes later, she stepped into Ranger's living room, cup in hand and feeling refreshed to find everyone gathered. Stephanie walked over and perched on the black leather sofa next to Ranger.
"Refill?" he asked, waving toward her cup.
"I'm fine," she said. Putting the cup down. Lester looked drawn and miserable.
"I-I-I," he began, waving at Stephanie helplessly. She waved a hand and laughed.
"It's fine. Happens all the time," she said. "Are you ready to tell me what happened?"
"Starting when?" he asked.
"Whenever you like," Stephanie said.
Lester took a deep breath and looked like he might blow again. Stephanie leaned back into the sofa to find Ranger's arm around her shoulders and then Lester began.