Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my laptop, my imagination and my crazy poodle. Steph, Ranger and Morelli belong to Janet Evanovich. Inside the Actor's Studio and the questions belong to someone else also. The plot for this however is all mine!!
A/N: I got this idea when I was surfing . There is a section that has the list of questions posed to the main characters and what their answers would be. Funny stuff!
***I wasn't going to do this tonight but xboxbabe is DYING! Her words. lol
The Questionnaire
Chapter 3 The Next Guest
"Babe." He said by way of greeting.
"Hi." She grinned at him and turned to face Joe. "Morelli was just leaving."
"No, I wasn't." He said angrily.
"Yes Joe you were. You answered all of my questions. You can go now."
"Cupcake…" He began but stopped to regroup. "Look, can I please do it over?"
"No, you just proved that you don't take me seriously. That's all the answer that I need." She told him softly.
Evidently it sank in for Joe that he'd blown his chance. His face was sad as he walked out the door without another word to either of them.
"Did you fill out the questionnaire?" He nodded. "Did you answer the questions seriously.?"
"Of course, you wrote for me to do that and you said it was important to you." He stroked her cheek with his thumb.
"Well, come on in then." She gestured to Ranger.
"What was that about?" He asked her.
She sat down on the couch with a sigh. "He didn't take it seriously. He said he thought it was a joke."
"Babe." His tone was soft and sympathetic.
"It's okay. Honest." She smiled sadly at him as he sat down beside her. "It just reinforced what I already knew."
He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.
"So can I read your answers?" She asked.
"I need clarification on one of the questions first."
"Which one?" She asked nervously.
"The last one." She thought about the questions and then flushed. "What do you mean 'if sex wasn't an option'?"
"I meant if we couldn't… ummm… you know." She turned red from head to toe and he chuckled.
"Couldn't? That's what I mean about needing clarification. Is it because you just don't want it? Is it because of a health issue? Is it just intercourse that we can't do or what?"
"Ummmm." She couldn't. She grabbed a pillow and buried her face in it. "Does it matter?"
"Babe."
"Okay, okay." She muttered into the pillow. "It's just a 'what if' question anyway, so say it's because of a health issue and it's only intercourse that we… that can't be done."
He removed his arm from around her shoulder and pulled a pen from his pocket. Ranger used his leg to fill in the missing answer. When he was done, he pulled the pillow away from her and handed her his questionnaire.
"Do you want me to leave while you read it?"
"No, you can stay if you want." She told him hurriedly. "I'll just go into the bedroom and come out when I'm done."
"Sure Babe."
"Help yourself to pizza and a beer." She offered and ran for her bedroom. She shut the door behind her and flopped down on the bed.
Out in the living room, Ranger spotted the wadded up paper on the floor and went to retrieve it. Once he began to read he knew that Morelli wouldn't be a factor for his Babe any more. Now was his chance. He'd answered the questions more openly and more honestly than he'd ever been with her before. He hoped it would be enough.
Back in the bedroom, Stephanie took a deep breath and began to read.
TBC in the next chapter… Ranger's Answers
