Caring and being cared for
Disclaimer: Not mine, and no prizes will be awarded for having guessed that, due to the sheer obviousness of it.
A/N: This scene is from some of the men's POVs, Ranger included, when Steph orders Ranger to bed in chapter 9. This was requested by Selene Aduial, so this one is dedicated to you! Hope this is what you had in mind…
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Tank POV
"I love you all, but everyone- Out! Ranger is now going to sleep, we will do the whole report thing in 4-5 hours," my Little Girl commanded. I fought to control my smirk; I had known Ranger for 14 years, and today was the first time I'd seen him at a loss for a words, and more to the point, the first time I'd seen him shut up and take an order from someone other than our commanding officer. The fact that Steph was a little slip of a woman, a white-bread honey from the Burg, no less, was nothing short of hilarious. I never thought I would see the day when my best friend would take orders from a woman trying to take care of him that wasn't his mom, and yet here we were, and here he was, standing obediently, watching submissively as Bomber took matters into her own hands. When he saw me about to burst out laughing, he realised what this little scene was doing to his Badass Boss image. At once, his expression turned stoic and he attempted to halt Steph.
"Babe," he intoned in a low, even voice that would have had one of us backing the hell off at record speed.
She whirled around and stared at him, fire in her eyes.
"Tell me you're not going to sleep now, Ranger," she challenged. "I dare you."
He wisely chose to shut his mouth, and that proved too much for me. Shooting him a smirk, I shook with silent laughter, as did the rest of the men. Instantly, his fierce gaze turned on us, and on instinct, I quieted, standing partially at attention and looking down at my boots, chagrined, praying that look wasn't solely directed at me.
Shit.
He may be whipped, but he's still got all the power to make us feel like we were back in the army, asshole.
"That's what I thought," Steph muttered when Ranger didn't contradict her. She ushered us out and I chuckled once to myself.
Batman versus The Bombshell. This was going to be interesting.
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Ram POV
"I love you all, but everyone- Out! Ranger is now going to sleep, we will do the whole report thing in 4-5 hours."
I didn't even hesitate to follow Steph's orders; the last time I'd heard that tone was when I was wasted from tequila and "convinced" to crash at her place for the night. I knew without a doubt, that Bombshell meant business now, and that Ranger didn't stand a chance. I smirked; she was going to rip him one after we left for neglecting himself.
"Babe," I heard him try to admonish her and almost flinched. Poor sap; he didn't know what he was getting himself into. I mean, Ranger was badass and scary as hell, but in my experience, a pissed off Bombshell was a smidgen scarier.
"Tell me you're not going to sleep now, Ranger, I dare you," she snapped, and I barely restrained my chuckle at the surprise in his eyes. I could see in his eyes that he was a smart enough man not to take her on right now. He kept quiet and sent us all a menacing glare to show us he was still the boss of us and had the prerogative to kick all of our asses. It took some effort, but I didn't run out screaming when he aimed the glare at us. I swore as Steph led us out; asshole hadn't lost his touch after all, Steph was just strangely immune. I chuckled to myself as she led us out.
God help our fearless leader when faced with the wrath of one Stephanie Plum.
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Bobby POV
"I love you all, but everyone- Out! Ranger is now going to sleep, we will do the whole report thing in 4-5 hours."
Tempted as I was, I didn't turn around and begin applauding Bombshell. As a medic, I knew what sleep deprivation could do to a person. I knew he was worried about my Sweetheart, but really, we all were; that didn't mean that not sleeping would solve anything. I had tried to talk him into getting some rest, even offered him a sleeping pill or a tranquiliser, and he had in typical Ranger fashion, turned me down with a glare and a threat to be taken to the mats.
"Babe," he tried to take her to task, but she spun around, pinning him with fierce, icy eyes.
"Tell me you're not going to sleep now, Ranger. I dare you," she took him on defiantly. His eyes widened marginally in surprise and I nearly laughed.
Good, I thought with a childish smirk, now let Sweetheart chew your ass up for not listening to me! He caught my smirk and the rest of the men's and aimed at us the glare that would have lesser men digging their own graves. My blood ran cold for a second and I knew that despite the fact that our tiny little Bomber had him check and mate, he would still kick all our asses simultaneously on the mats. For now I was just tickled to see Ranger flinch in fear of a little woman. When I saw him glare become specifically directed at me, I had to fight the urge to curl up in the corner of the room with my finger pressed to my lips in silence. I winked at Sweetheart and walked obediently out as she directed us; I sure as hell didn't want to create a fight with her. I took a minute to appreciate the fact that Steph was forever taking care of us, and I knew that one day very soon, we were going to have to thank her for everything she always does for us, as I'm quite sure she has no idea how much it means to us.
Steph was always trying to take care of us, when in reality we were all so genuinely unused to that. We'd all learnt, at some time or the other, to take care of ourselves, only really having someone to lean on when we were assigned military partners, and even then, they mostly only had your back in the field. Bomber on the other hand, wanted to take care of all of us, always bringing us coffee when we'd had a long night, making sure we slept well, giving us advice on dates, hugging us because she felt we needed one, covering our asses and trying to protect us from any trouble, treating us in a completely open way, trusting us so implicitly, it reminded us to trust ourselves, being there for us even when we didn't know we needed someone…
More than that was the non-judgemental way she approached us. I had forgotten what it was like not to be seen as something to be feared; forgotten what it was like to be seen as a healer. She saw past our guns and scars and scary tattoos, and we never told her how much that meant to us.
We really needed to tell her.
As we marched out of the room, Bossman glaring, Bomber pouting and us smirking, I spared a thought for my friend and boss.
Strongs to you, Soldier.
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Lester POV
"I love you all, but everyone- Out! Ranger is now going to sleep, we will do the whole report thing in 4-5 hours."
Now, I have lived with my cousin for the better part of my life, and known him the entire duration of it. Despite the many times he wishes to kill me and despite the many times he actually does hand me my ass, we've always been the closest. Not even his own brother and sisters were as close to him as I was. I knew him better than anyone, save for Tank, and now Beautiful. In all our years together, this was the first time I'd seen him back down from the direct, very firm order to get his ass to bed. Suffice to say, it was hilarious to watch my badass, always in control cousin having his ass handed to him by a tiny little thing; by our little Beautiful Bombshell.
I smirked at him, loving what I was seeing, and instinctively knowing that my best friend had the upper hand against him, because who could refuse a beautiful woman who loved you and wanted the best for you? The funny part about that, was that Carlos could actually, always refuse that woman until now.
He caught my, and the men's grins and I knew he wanted to try and re-establish his dominance. Mia idiota primo. (My idiot cousin)
"Babe," he said evenly, in a tone that put fear into me even. What I saw next, made me want to roll on the floor, clutching my stomach laughing, and made me wish seven was equipped with cameras.
"Tell me you're not going to sleep now, Ranger," she challenged, eyes flashing, whirling around to face him with her 'Burg Death Glare'. "I dare you."
I just barely stopped myself from bursting into hysterical laughter. This made my meeting with Ranger on the mats tomorrow almost worth it! When I saw him glare at us, I knew he was planning how to beat our asses 10 ways till Sunday, but at the same time, he didn't contradict her; he was always the smartest of the family.
As we walked out, I was the last one, and before I left, I turned around and gripped her little wrist gently in one hand.
"Thanks, Beautiful," I murmured, low enough so only she heard. "I tried last night, but I'm glad he's listening to you now."
"Thanks for trying, Les," she whispered back with a grin. She leaned up and pecked my cheek, and warmth spread over me. "I got this."
I caught the look of desire on my cousin's face before I left; damn, he was a lucky devil.
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Hector POV
"I love you all, but everyone- Out! Ranger is now going to sleep, we will do the whole report thing in 4-5 hours," Angelita announced, shooing us out with her hands. Unease trumped the amusement I felt at seeing our badass Bossman being ordered around by my little angel. I didn't like being away from her- even if it was only a matter of two floors.
I had to remind myself that she was in the most secure building in Trenton, locked up in the least accessible apartment in Haywood, in the presence of one of the most dangerous men in the world. Taking deep breaths, I forced myself to calm down. She would be fine…and I would keep my ear to the ground until we came back, to make sure that I was here in a second if she needed me. Partially satisfied with my plan, I followed the rest of the men. We were not a bunch to take orders from anyone other than our superior, lest of all from a little white girl, but some of us knew her temper and didn't want her to be mad at us, while others, myself included, couldn't bear to deny her anything.
Bossman was no different. He made a valiant effort to retain some dominance, intoning her name with a vaguely stern undertone. As soon as I heard this tone and attitude directed at her, I had to fight the urge to respond by throwing a knife at him. I knew he was my boss, and something of a brother, but this was my Angelita. Disrespect to her wouldn't be tolerated from anyone. I was glad I didn't react, because she responded sharply.
"Tell me you're not going to sleep now, Ranger! I dare you," she snapped, the fire in her blue eyes setting off a flame of pride inside me. I had to fight to keep from puffing out my chest like a proud papi or hermano at the feistiness she retained even when everyone was trying to break her. Bossman didn't respond, for which I was grateful; I didn't want to have to maim him for directing anger at Angelita.
When we were leaving, I noticed Santos telling her something. I was fairly sure I was the only one who noticed, so I let it go, knowing that if I had a reason for killing Santos, Angelita would be the one to tell me.
It took almost all the willpower I possessed to walk out of that apartment, but I was comforted in the knowledge of whose hands she was in.
I knew though…
…I would be back the moment she and el jefe were awake. Till then, I would sharpen my knives, and worry.
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Ranger POV
"I love you all, but everyone- Out! Ranger is now going to sleep, we will do the whole report thing in 4-5 hours," Babe ordered, her voice impressively commanding. I was torn between being very turned on at the prospect of Babe as authoritative as one of my COs, and being annoyed at the fact that she was ordering me around in front of my men. Turned on? That won out by a mile.
When I caught my men's grins and smug leers, I automatically knew I was practically begging to lose my badass boss image. The only man wasn't smirking was Hector. I felt glad for the respect he obviously had, until I recognised the contemplative, almost pained look on his face; he wasn't smirking because he was anxious about leaving Steph, not because of respect, damn him. Instinctively, I attempted to re-obtain my leadership.
"Babe," I tried to go for mildly stern so that she wouldn't get scared, but she would know I was serious. I caught the subtle movement of Hector's hand twitching toward his knife.
Turns out, he didn't have to defend Babe.
Turns out, I didn't need to worry about scaring her either.
"Tell me you're not going to sleep now, Ranger," she opposed me defiantly, her chin tilted up a degree so that she looked faintly adorable despite her attempt at formidable. "I dare you!"
As much as I wanted to say I completely controlled my reaction, I knew I couldn't. My eyes widened slightly in surprise and I know this didn't escape my men's notice. More than that, I had never felt more lustful or in love with her. To my great surprise, I couldn't retort and took her words quietly, much to the amusement of my men. When some of them laughed, I sent them all a glare that would have the devil handing in his horns. I was pleased when they immediately shut up; at least I was still appropriately feared. I could re-establish most of that fear on the mats, starting with my core team and working my way through them, and I knew when the time came, I would look forward to it. Until then, I would have to settle with warning glares.
As Babe led them out, I couldn't help but focus in on my earlier lust. As surprising as it was, I liked having someone scold me about looking after myself; I enjoyed the fact that she cared enough, loved me enough, to take care of me. It was something I was sure I'd never experience, and now that it was with her, it meant all the much more. I tuned out my anger for a later stage and allowed myself to focus on my desire for her instead. I made to wrap my arms around her and nuzzle her neck; try to calm her down before she ripped me a new one for not sleeping. Now that she was safe, and within touching distance, I felt my tiredness.
Maybe having a small sleep wouldn't be that bad an idea; I needed to be on top of game.
And I was sure Babe would join me with the right persuasion…
I grinned inwardly. I loved trying to persuade my Babe.
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A/N: Okay, yay! So, there you have it; this was most of the men's thoughts as Steph ordered Ranger to bed. Hope you all enjoyed it! Review or PM me with your suggestions and requests!
Hope it was what you wanted, Selene! ;)
-JazMitch