****It seems that my muse left for a short vacation. I hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint…..it's probably because I threw this chapter into the mix because I didn't want to do the Christmas chapter until it was closer to Christmas.

Ranger brought his hands up to cup her face. "Let's let nature take its course. No pressure, no worries. When it happens, it happens. I want this, Babe. Do you?"

Her eyes stung with unshed tears as she nodded. His mouth covered hers and they were lost in each other again. It was several pleasurable hours later before they finally made it out of the apartment and towards their home.

Chapter 9

"Taking Care"

Ranger lay in bed and thought about how crazy the last few weeks had been. It seemed that half of his staff had come down with the dreaded N1H1. Both Stephanie and he had spent every waking moment taking care of the sick and covering duties for RangeMan. Then in their spare time, what little there was of it, they'd shopped for Christmas gifts and put up their tree. It had been exhausting and comforting at the same time. To have someone to share in the burden of running RangeMan, we it hadn't been something he'd factored into the marriage equation.

It made him smile thinking of how easily Stephanie had stepped into the role of not only his wife, but his partner. Stephanie had helped Ella with changing bedding, providing doses of medicine to keep the fevers down and deliver meals to the sick. When she'd finish with that, then she'd come down to the fifth floor and either take a shift on the monitors or help him with paper work. Whenever Ranger had to go out, he'd felt completely at ease with leaving her in charge. Tank was usually his second in command, but the flu had taken the big man down hard.

Since they were planning for a baby, Stephanie had decided to give up bounty hunting. It had surprised him, but he couldn't say that he wasn't pleased. Of course, everyone had pestered her about her reasons for quitting at Vinnie's. But, she'd just smiled and said, 'I'm going to work for Batman. What more could a girl want?' Lula and Connie certainly hadn't questioned that answer.

It was three days until Christmas and Ranger knew she really wanted to go shopping today. He planned to surprise her by taking the day off and going with her. She'd given up so much of her time to pitch in and help him that he felt he owed her a day, and if she wanted to spend the day at the mall, then so be it.

He looked at the clock and wondered what had woken him. The glowing red lights flashed 3:30 on the alarm clock. He turned his head when Stephanie moaned in her sleep. He figured that was the reason he found himself awake so early. She was curled in a tight ball and shivering slightly. He frowned, hoping like hell she hadn't gotten the flu right before Christmas. With N1H1, a minimum quarantine of five days was being recommended by health professionals. He pressed his hand to her forehead and was relieved when it felt cool to the touch.

Ranger shifted onto his side, reaching out to turn on the lamp and get a better look at her. When he turned back, he saw that the sheet had fallen to her hip, revealing the evidence of her discomfort.

He shook her shoulder lightly, "Babe, you need to get up."

She moaned again before replying with her husky morning voice, "I'm not going running this morning. I'll get enough exercise shopping today."

"Babe, you've got to get up. You've….um…started and need to change your clothes." He tried to not sound disappointed that she wasn't pregnant, but it took some effort. Guess he didn't have Batman sperm after all.

When his words registered, she bolted upright in bed with a horrified expression on her face. "This is so embarrassing. I haven't bled through on the sheets since I started taking birth control." At that moment, it dawned on her that she wasn't pregnant. She felt the disappointment like a stab in the chest with a knife. She raced off towards the bathroom, just needing a few minutes alone to collect herself.

She stripped the soiled clothes and stepped into the shower. When she emerged nearly twenty minutes later, she found that Ranger had put a clean pair of panties and one of his t-shirts on the bathroom counter. As she dried her body and pulled on her clothes, a few tears made their way down her cheeks. Stephanie tried to reason herself out of her sadness. The doctor had told her that it might take several months for her to get pregnant, since she'd been taking birth control for so long. Even still, she couldn't help the disappointment that swamped her.

Ranger stripped the sheets and put clean ones back on while he waited for Stephanie to get out of the shower. He knew he shouldn't feel this let down, but he did. Stephanie had explained to him that it may take a while for her to become pregnant. She'd been on birth control for years and her body would have to make adjustments before she'd be able to conceive. It was logical, but difficult to wait now that they'd decided they wanted to start a family. Hopefully, after New Years, while they were on their honeymoon trip, she'd relax and it would happen. The stress of the past few weeks hadn't been easy on either of them. This trip was going to do them both a lot of good and maybe when they came home, there'd be a baby on board. Ranger decided to focus on the goal.

When she came back to the bedroom, he noticed the tearstains on her cheeks, the discomfort evident in her eyes. She held her hand against her lower abdomen in obvious pain. Ranger helped settle Stephanie back into bed. Then he went to retrieve a heating pad and some Midol from the medicine cabinet. After she swallowed the pills, he climbed back in bed with her, smoothing the covers over them both.

"Babe, I know you're disappointed. I am, too. But, remember what we talked about, it'll happen when it happens. There's no hurry for us to conceive. When the time is right, we'll have a baby." He pulled her close him, putting his fingers to work with a gentle massage to her cramped stomach muscles.

She felt comforted cocooned in his arms. "It's okay. I thought I'd just get pregnant right away. Uggh, now I remember why I started taking the pill in the first place. These are the cramps from hell." She felt Ranger go stiff for a minute then relax. "What is it? You stiffened up."

"It's nothing."

Immediately, she knew he was lying. "Yes it is. We promised to be honest with each other." She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, confused by his reaction and then his dismissal of the subject.

Ranger could never lie to her. "Babe, I guess I always thought that you got on the pill because of Morelli. Sorry, this shouldn't matter to me and I don't know why it bothered me."

Stephanie smiled at him; she was starting to see where this conversation was going. "No, I always made Morelli wear a condom."

He turned her more towards him so that he could get a better look at her. One look at her easily read face and he knew she was telling the truth. "Why? You guys were together for a long time. And you never asked me to wear a condom."

She shrugged her shoulders and sighed loudly. "This isn't really a conversation I ever wanted to have, but since you asked, I'll tell you. I never trusted Morelli enough. I knew he played it loose and I just didn't think that I wanted to take the chance of catching something from him."

Ranger thought about her words for a minute, analyzing and processing this new information. He couldn't even begin to explain the effect her words had on him. "Babe, there are no words for what it means to me that you trusted me. I'm humbled by the faith you always seem to put in me."

She smiled and snuggled against his chest, "Always Batman. Besides I couldn't imagine having anything between us when we make love." She felt him hard and ready against her bottom. "But…..there won't be any of that…bareback or otherwise for the next five days or so."

His soft laugh bubbled out, because he knew her strong feelings regarding sex during her time of the month. "Go back to sleep, Babe. Maybe when you wake up the next time, the medicine and heating pad will have done their job. I hate seeing you in pain." He kissed her head and caressed her stomach until he heard her breathing level out. He smiled at this new knowledge. It was an ego thing, of that he was sure, but knowing that he was the only one she'd allowed unprotected sex with made him feel….honored.

She awoke several hours later alone. The cramps had lessened and she rolled to her side to get out of bed. That's when she saw the note lying on bedside table. She smiled at Ranger's thoughtfulness. He always left a note if he had to go out while she was sleeping. She picked up the note and read.

Babe – Had to go out after a skip. I was hoping to go shopping with you today. If I'm not back by the time you get ready to go, I'll catch up with you. Maybe we could catch a movie when you're done. I love you, mi amore.

R

Stephanie lay back on her pillow, pressing the note to her chest. She couldn't think of a more considerate husband than hers. She finally decided to get up and get ready for a day of shopping. She was surprised that Ranger was volunteering for a day at the mall. She knew it wasn't on the top of his favorite activities list. She bit back a scream when she saw her hair. Maybe she shouldn't have washed it when she'd showered earlier, wet hair and sleep didn't mix. Deciding that a brush wasn't going to do anything with her rat's nest, she jumped back in the shower.

She'd been shopping for several hours when she decided to rest her sore puppies by sitting down on the bench in front of Macy's. She felt a slight tingle on the back of her neck and the hairs on her arms stood on end. Ranger.

"Babe, did you buy out the entire mall?" He brushed the hair off her neck so he could place a kiss to the exposed skin as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

She smiled and felt herself go soft at the public display of affection. Several passing shoppers stumbled as they gawked at her handsome husband. "Nope, just half of it."

Ranger scooped up the bags as if they weighed nothing and pulled her up from the bench. "C'mon, I want to go in my favorite store."

Victoria Secret's had been left to last on her list for this very purpose. She gave him a smug look as he tugged her towards the store. They spent hours picking out skimpy underwear and lingerie for her to wear. She was surprised to notice that Ranger looked tired, but he denied feeling bad when she asked if he was feeling alright.

He took her to Outback where she gorged herself on cheese fries and shrimp on the Barbie. He wasn't the least bit surprised when she still ordered popcorn and Milk Duds at the theater.

"Babe, easy on the butter. I can see you're arteries clogging from here." He laughed at her usual eye roll.

"Ranger, we rarely get the opportunity to just loaf around and act like normal people. Besides, it's not like I eat this way every day anymore. If it'll make you feel better, I'll run an extra mile with you in the morning."

He nearly rolled his eyes before he caught himself. "Make it two and we have a deal." He smiled at her horrified expression.

They settled into the large comfy chairs of the stadium style theater, as the opening scene of New Moon filled the large screen. He held her hand and seemed perfectly content to watch the movie, even though she was sure it wouldn't have been his first or last choice. As she sat and watched the triangle unfold, she couldn't help but make the comparison to her own life. She tightened her grip on his hand, thanking her lucky stars that she'd finally found her way out of the unhealthy pattern that had been her life just a few short months ago.

When the lights came on, she reached up and stretched. That's when she felt something wet and sticky touch her skin. She looked down at her shirt to see a circle of blood. In a panic, she began looking for the source, pulling up her shirt slightly to examine her skin. Nothing. That's when she saw it.

"What the hell? Ranger what happened?" she asked frantically pulling up his shirt. There was a bandage attached to his side, soaked through with his blood.

"Babe, it's just a scratch, nothing to worry about. Skip got a little too close, that's all. Bobby, stitched me up, but it looks like I've pulled some of his work loose. He'll patch me up when we get home." He gently took his shirt from her hands and pulled it back in place, not wanting to make a big deal about it. He'd wanted to enjoy an evening with his wife and hadn't allowed Bobby time to do his job properly.

Stephanie huffed, "You should have told me. We could've gone home and maybe you wouldn't be bleeding like a stuck pig all over the movie theater."

He kissed her pouting lips, "Babe."

She glared at him, "Don't you dare, Babe, me. I'm terribly upset with you right now. I knew you felt bad and you brushed me off. If the shoe was on the other foot, you'd be fuming at me right about now. Care to deny it?"

"You're right, Babe. C'mon, let's go home so Bobby can fix me up." Ranger knew she had him and his best course of action was to shut-up before he dug himself an even deeper hole.

By the time they'd made it home, Stephanie was in full blown rhino mode. Bobby met them at the car just as pissed as Stephanie was at Ranger.

"What the hell, Ranger? Can't you take better care of my handiwork? I told you to take it easy." Stephanie had been prepared to lecture Bobby about letting Ranger come to meet her, but his words made it clear that he'd advised Ranger against it.

Ranger sighed, "Bobby, I wanted to be with my Babe. Just stitch me up and quit your bitching. I've already got one wife. I don't need another."

When he saw Stephanie's face, he knew he'd inserted his foot and dug himself a crater sized hole. He opened his mouth to apologize, but she was already stepping into the elevator, pressing the button without looking back. He mumbled, "Sorry, Babe."

Bobby stitched him back up, and then he went to the locker room to change shirts before heading upstairs to eat some serious crow. Ranger knew he'd been a hypocrite. He was always the one who was preaching about safety and taking care of wounds so that they didn't get infected. He'd just been so eager to spend the day with Stephanie that he'd went against his own policy and caused Stephanie to worry about him. He sighed as he rubbed his hand over his face and went to apologize to his wife. He was probably in more trouble for the 'one wife' comment than anything.

He hesitantly entered the apartment. The pile of bags had been delivered, but remained untouched. Yep, I'm in deep shit if she hasn't even started going through her purchases. She stood stiffly, looking out the apartment window down at the street.

He came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Babe, I'm sorry. I should have told you and I shouldn't have made that comment to Bobby."

She was quiet. Too quiet. He was really starting to worry. It wasn't like her to not rant a little and he'd given her enough fuel to go on a long one. Finally, she surprised him by talking in a soft voice, no angry rant as expected.

"Ranger, when I'm sick or hurt, you always take care of me. I know that you're not used to somebody taking care of you, but you have to allow me to….even if it's just a little. If you don't, I won't feel needed. When we were at the cabin and I took care of you…I don't know…it made me feel like I was giving back a little of what you've always give me." She tried to smother the shake in her voice.

"Babe, I've made a mess of tonight. I didn't mean to make you feel like this. I don't tell you enough what you do for me. Hell, the last several weeks, I wouldn't have made it if it hadn't been for you. You've stepped with ease and grace into not only the role of my wife, but my partner. You take care of me in ways that I never in my wildest dreams imagined." He stopped when she gave him a knowing look. "No, I don't mean like that. Although, that's pretty fucking amazing. I'm talking about the comfort that you bring to my life."

When he saw her smile, he thought he might just have a chance of repairing the night. "Babe, I can't promise that it'll be easy for me to let you take care of me, but I can promise to make an effort to try harder. Honestly, Babe, I never really thought about it. It wasn't painful and certainly not the worst injury I've had. All I really could think about was catching up to you at the mall and spending the day with you. Can you forgive me?"

"Well, when you put it like that, how can I not forgive you?" That's when realization dawned on her that this would be the first time, since they'd returned from the cabin that they wouldn't be able to make love. Between her monthly friend and his injury, they were going to have to make do without sex. Then inspiration struck her with a warm rush. She pulled Ranger towards the couch and pushed him gently to sit at one end. She pulled off his shirt with a little help from him. "Stay."

He chuckled lightly, "What, now I'm your pet?"

She swung her hips as she went to the bedroom, "You bet your sweet ass, you are." She slipped out of her clothes and pulled on one of his black t-shirts then padded back into the living room.

He watched as she got them both a glass of wine from the kitchen before returning to curl up beside him on the couch. She used the remote to turn on the stereo to the sounds of Christmas music. Frank Sinatra crooned 'White Christmas' as they sat comfortably on the couch.

When they'd both finished their wine, she placed their glasses on the coffee table before snuggling into his neck. "Ranger, do you remember when you were a teenager and would just sit on a couch or in a car and neck?"

He knew where she was going with this. Since the cabin, they'd been inseparable and never went a day without making love at least once. He turned her to face him. Their eyes met with that deep understanding that was always present. Slowly, he caressed her lips with his, tasting, savoring.

She moaned at what he could do to her with a simple kiss. For hours, they sat on the couch, necking and caressing, neither of them in a rush or minding that it wouldn't end with their physical release. This was a different kind of making love for them, a new level of intimacy.