Chapter Three

{Rangers Point of View}

I lay awake after Steph had fallen asleep for the second time that evening in my arms. I thought maybe it was to soon to have brought up wanting to give us a shot in a relationship. The answer she gave me allowed me to hope. I would have been hesitant if she wanted to jump straight into a relationship after everything that happened with Morelli. My chest filled with rage just thinking of the way he hurt her. I thought the man loved her. No man that ever truly loved a woman would ever do something like that.

I disentangled myself from Steph wanting to let her sleep. I took a deep breath and called Bobby to come and sit with her. I couldn't let her wake up alone. I left word with bobby to make sure she knows I'm coming back to her. I called Lester and had him come up to the apartment. I escorted Lester into the living room and we flopped onto my over stuffed leather couch. I didn't feel right ordering Lester to report like I normally would but I really needed more information on what happened to Steph.

Luckily my cousin seemed to understand my need. He started talking without my prompting him.

He told me about the original visit to the hospital in Newark. How she was put on bed rest for the first week of her recovery. He also told me that the core team took turns watching over her when they weren't on shift. He said the nightmares were much worse during that first week. The nightmares were keeping her from getting any restful sleep. He told me Bobby had been giving her tranquilizers to help her sleep but after a while she didn't want to take them anymore.

"Man she hadn't left the office Hector set up for her up here until the appt with the dr today. We didn't know she thought she might be pregnant. When she found out, she lost it completely Bobby had to sedate her just to get her back here safely" He told me

I stood up quickly; I couldn't take this conversation anymore. "I'm headed to the gym, have Tank meet me in an hour" I was going to run, then beat the hell out of the bags first then hopefully wear myself out completely sparring with Tank. I really needed to hurt something.

I ran down that stairs to the gym and jumped on a treadmill. I was so angry; I never thought anything would break my Babe's spirit. She always brushed things off and moved on. I was rarely wrong but this time I was. Morelli broke her trust and faith in him, he tore her up inside. We were all going to have to work to bring her back to us. She may never be completely herself again but at least we could be there for her along the way. More than anything I wanted to see that independent nature in her, that fire back in her eyes.

I think the first step to helping Steph recover would be to convince her to see a therapist. I didn't like talking to them, but I'll admit there are times they have helped me through some hard times. There was one that I trusted, we were Ranger's together. He was a councillor when he first got out and then went to college to become a full therapist. He worked with mostly soldiers, but I thought he would be able to make Babe feel comfortable. Hopefully I could convince her to trust me and in turn him.

If I couldn't convince her to use him, maybe Bobby could find her a female therapist. A woman I worked with a while back had been raped and I remembered her saying it was easier for her to talk to a complete stranger. I wanted Babe to come to me with any problems or insecurities she might have but I knew there were some things she would never be comfortable talking to me about. I accepted that but Steph really needed to talk to someone.

I got my gloves on and started working over one of the bags. I moved through my normal routines with the bags working out most of my aggression. Tank was one of the few guys that could survive my aggression on the mats. I was just finishing with the bags when Tank walked into the gym. Tank seemed to just know what I needed and headed for the mats. That is why Tank is my right hand and best friend.

When I got into the ring all I could think about was what that bastard had done to my Babe. I should never have sent her back to him after our first night. I knew then Babe was it for me but I was an idiot. I flew at Tank with everything I had. Tank never flinched and took every blow I gave him and didn't take it easy on me in return.

We both collapsed on the mats and breathed hard. No one else was in the gym, Tank must have told them all to steer clear of us for a while. "He raped her more than once and beat the shit out of her in between times. He passed out leaving her broken. She escapes him just to find out now that she's pregnant. We are never going to let her get hurt again. She is fully and completely under Rangeman protection"

Tank let me rant, and nodded his approval of my plan to protect Steph. We both stood and headed for the shower's Tank patted my back. I was still offline for the next 48 hours. I returned to my apartment and told Lester he could head back to work. I had put on sweat pants when I left the gym so I laid on the bed next to my Babe. I wrapped my arm around her middle and pulled her back against my chest. Steph snuggled close and dropped into a deeper sleep.

My eyes flew open two hours later when I heard the apartment door open. Someone must be coming to check on Steph, no one had ever come just to check on me. Ella smiled at me when she gently eased the bedroom door open. "Welcome home Ranger, I will put yours and Steph's dinner in the warming oven. She hasn't been eating enough. Help her to eat what she needs for herself and the small one"

Ella silently shut the door and left before I could say anything in response. Part of me wanted to blush a little, Ella had just found me in bed with Babe. I knew in my heart that Ella of all people would understand what was happening. She loved Babe like her own daughter, hell we all thought of Steph as family. I knew some of my men had fallen in love with Steph. They would never make a move on her; I had made it very clear to everyone that Babe was my woman. It would stay that way, even to any new guys that we may hire. Now more than ever Steph needed to feel safe in this building, in order to help her heal and grow back into herself.

It meant the world to me that Steph had run here when she felt threatened. I knew she felt safe with the guys here. I was amazed at the fact that she ran towards a building full of men when most women in her position would be terrified of any man. I decided to talk to Louis, Ella's husband. There was a second apartment on the seventh floor that had two bedrooms.

.

I think Steph would like to have her own space but still be near her Rangeman family. The bonus was the second bedroom could be turned into a nursery for the baby. I was proud that Babe wanted to keep the baby. I was glad she could look past the rape and see that the child that was created was still an innocent. I knew that there were some woman that coulnd't handle the idea of being near a child born of rape. Babe could still end up feeling like that but something told me that once the baby was born that Babe would love it with her whole heart. I could never doubt that Babe will be strong for her child and provide it with all the love it could ever need.

I eased from Steph's arms again and silently moved to the living room. My first call was to Louis, I told him my idea. He instantly loved it, and told me that Ella was already talking about everything she could do to help with the baby. Louis handed the phone to Ella and she assured me that she could help Steph and still keep up her duties around Rangeman. I knew without a doubt that she could, that woman amazed me, she could rule the world if she wanted. Ella didn't spend a lot of time with the men, but she treated us all with respect. Most people looked at us and didn't know what to do or how to treat us, most of the time they just feared us.

I had asked Tank earlier to bring my laptop up to seven for me. I found it on the kitchen counter; I booted it up and brought up new document. I hoped my plan would work. I started typing:

Get Babe going to see Dr. Stone

Give her a while after seeing Dr. Stone, and then encourage her to work from the fifth floor.

After her confidence is built up some take her out on an actual date

Inform her of the apartment I was setting up for her and the baby, get her to go out and pick out furniture.

Once she is truly comfortable encourage her to go after a few skips, or out on a distraction.

I looked back over my list and nodded, it was a good starting point. I emailed it to Tank, Bobby and Lester. I added a note to the email that this was to stay just between the four core members. I got a reply from Lester telling what a great idea my plan was. He said he would help Beautiful to live her life again. He also suggested that maybe the apartment should be listed as our second goal. I agreed and rearranged my list. Bobby and Tank agreed to help with whatever I thought Steph would need.

I was amazed, again at how my Babe had so fully captured the heart of every Rangeman. They would do anything to protect her. They all loved her in some way, to some she was a little sister, to some she was more. She made me so proud. I decided to get her an office on the fifth floor and eventually make her manager of customer service. I was sure she could fill the role without breaking a sweat, when she was ready. For now she could continue to run searches, but when she was mentally ready to handle more, that was a promotion I would offer her.

I sat back and turned my laptop off. When I first met my Babe it was love at first sight. I had never felt much of anything but lust towards a woman before. We sat in the diner and talked. She was a fast learner. She looked like a girl that would give everything she had to anything she did. I watched her learn to be bounty hunter, she was never very good at physical part of the job. She was a people person; her skips would open up to her in a unique way, almost like she was a social worker. Even in the midst of the most violent or crazy FTA she never gave up, she fought through and got the job done. Thinking about that made me realize she would make it through this next part of her life.

I will be the first to admit that there are times I wish she would ask for help. She has been getting better at knowing when she needed to accept help. Part of her knew when she would get in over her head, but the other part of her wanted to prove to everyone around her that this was something she could do. I don't think she understood how good at this job she really was. She had 90% capture rate, which was great in this business. Steph's luck and intuition were freaking amazing. I fell more in love with her every time I watched her.

How the fuck could I have been so mistaken about a man like Morelli? I swore he was good for her, he could give her the life I never thought I could. I was positive her could make her happy and keep her safe. They fought a lot but always made up. Most of the fights were over her being able to do this job without endangering herself or embarrassing him. He was an over protective Italian male that was all there was to it. I wanted her to quit sometimes too, but that would never have made Steph happy, knowing she quit. It was best for Steph to just support her and do my best to make sure she was as safe as possible.

If I had any clue that Morelli would betray her like this I could never have sent her back to him after our first mind blowing night together. I would have swallowed my fear of what could happen if we were together while I was still working for the government.

I knew there was danger but I had managed to keep my family and Julie safe, except for the Scrog incident. Now I knew I could keep her safe from my enemies and I was going to make sure she was mine, when she was healed and ready. I knew she was in love with me, and I was completely in love with her. We could make it work and I would help her raise the baby. I don't give a shit whose biological child it was, it was half Steph. That could only mean it was going to be one awesome lil' kid