Elmer POV
It had been two and a half days so I reckoned it was time to make that phone call. Those Rangeman fellas asked for my help with their plan after they took care of that dreadful man that was hurting that nice Stephanie. She was always so nice to me, never once did she pick on me or look down on me. She came to visit often, sometimes with Diesel; now there was a real character. Since she spent so much time with Diesel doing jobs with him, most of us Unmentionables have grown to care for her. She was now part of the Unmentionable family here in the Pines.
So when first Diesel, then the Rangemen asked for my help, I never even hesitated to agree. I was all to happy to see the end come to that no good, low down, dirty scumbag who dared to call himself a man. A real man would never lay a finger on any woman in anger and when a lady says no, she means it; that there is called respect folks.
I picked up my old fashioned, round about dial phone and dialed up the main police department number. I told them about a funny smell coming from the house next door that I went over to investigate. Then I informed them that I peeked in through the window and saw a man lying on the floor. They told me they were sending someone to check it out, but in the meantime for me to call 911 and get emergency help there first. So I did as they asked me to and called for quicker help. The thought occurred to me that they just wanted to take their sweet time and would really only come out when the paramedic people called them and reported the dead body to them.
I knew he was dead, but I wasn't gonna let them in on that bit of information. I would let those lazy bums work for a change. And their questions would not get any straight answers from me either. I ain't seen nothing, I ain't heard nothing, I just smelt something funny this morning. That was going to be my story and I was sticking to it.
BPOV (6 months later)
It has been over for six months now and Steph was doing so much better. She has settled in to her job at Rangeman exceptionally well. Our relationship has progressed along nicely. She opened up to me little by little, day by day and the next physical step I felt would be coming soon. It really doesn't matter to me, I would love her regardless, but she has told me lately that she wanted to make love to me and felt she was ready. I still planned to take it slow, you never knew when a bad memory would break free and make her freeze up.
She handled the confrontation with Morelli outstandingly well and we talked through the aftermath with Hal and Hector so she could get the closure she needed. She now knew she never had to worry about seeing him again nor would he ever hurt her again.
She was sad that they had Morelli's blood on their hands, but they guys assured her that his death was for the best and that the world would now be a better and safer place as a result. Hal and Hector's long talk with her finally gave her the gentle nudge she needed to come to terms with it all.
About a week after the night we kidnapped Morelli, Steph started worrying about our involvement in his death coming down on us. I tried to tell her that Hal, Hector, and I took precautions to make sure we were never suspected of any wrong doing. She didn't understand how that could be. I explained to her that we made sure no evidence was left behind; no prints, no fibers, no hairs, and even the syringe was destroyed. But still she was worried for us. Fortunately a few days later I got the confirmation for her and the answers that I needed when Les and I dropped a skip off at the police station.
Les and I walked our prisoner in through the back door and deposited him on the bench while we waited for the desk cop to write up our paperwork. While we were waiting, Eddie Gazzara asked me if he could talk to me for a few minutes. Les told me to go ahead and that he would collect our body receipt. I nodded to him and stepped into Eddie's office to see what he wanted.
"What's on your mind Eddie?"
"I just thought you would like an update on the Morelli case," he told me.
"What's the word?" I questioned.
"The chief has ordered the case closed. Everything the detective on the case found out points to either a pimp or drug dealer. They found heroine in his system, not enough for an overdose, but enough to show that he was using. They think that he didn't pay off the dealer and he got taken out because of that or that a pimp killed him. It's common knowledge that he frequented the ladies on Stark," Eddie supplied.
"Sounds like they're right. I'm not surprised. He pissed off a lot of people on Stark street, either by arresting them or trying to cheat them out of money somehow. Thanks for the information man. I know you didn't have to tell me anything."
"I know Steph would want to know. He may have been an ass, but she cared about him anyway; poor excuse for a human being that he was."
"How about the dog, Bob? Steph is still worried about who is taking care of him," I asked.
"Morelli was supposed to be out of town on a case for a few days so he arranged for his mother or grandmother to pick him up the day after he disappeared. But then he got killed, so now I think his brother Anthony took him in. So tell Steph he's got a good home now. Anthony's kids just love that they have a dog," Eddie chuckled.
"Alright," I started. "Thanks again man. Les is probably done by now. I'll talk to you later."
I walked out of Eddie's office and back to meet Les. He was ready and waiting form me by the rear door.
I told Steph about my conversation with Eddie later that night. She was relieved that the focus was not on any of us and she could finally breath easier.
I was brought out of my thoughts by the ringing of my desk phone. I shook my head to clear those memories and brought my attention to it. There was no readout to show me who was disturbing my work, I preferred keeping my older model phone; that way I would not be tempted to ignore those I didn't want to speak to, that would be irresponsible and unethical alike. I picked it up to my ear and gave my usual form of answer.
"Brown, infirmary."
"Hot Stuff, now who else would answer the phone in your office, if not you," Steph giggled into my ear.
"Old habit, Tiger. Now, did you need me for some reason?" I offered with a hint of amusement in my own voice.
"I need you for so much. You just don't know. But enough about that, I just wanted to find out if we were still on for dinner and a movie tonight?" She asked.
"Absolutely," I glanced down at my watch; it was nearly 1700. "Let me wrap a few things up here on this paperwork, then I'll meet you in our apartment and we'll go from there." I suggested.
"Sounds like a plan to me. I'll find some way to amuse myself while I wait," she told me, then made a kiss sound into my ear, then the line went dead.
By the time I placed the receiver back onto the cradle, the goofiest of smiles was on my face. My image as a complete bad ass was shot to hell when she was around.
I hurried through the remainder of my work and had just closed and locked my office door behind me, when my cell phone went off on my hip. I had a short conversation with the party on the other end. It was Tank. Ram was at the ER, bullet in his side; just under the hem of his Kevlar. I was needed.
I made a quick stop by our apartment next door to my office to tell Steph what was going on. She had no time to be upset about our plans being ruined; she was too worried about her friend Ram. She never ceased to amaze me.
Several minutes later we were in my truck and headed to St. Francis. Not long after that we dashed through the sliding glass doors and into their ER department. We both rushed over to the information desk and I demanded, "I'm Robert Brown, company medic for Rangeman Inc. Aaron Ramsey was brought in earlier with a GSW to the abdomen. I am his medical POA. Where is he?" The nurse took in my 'don't mess with me attitude' and quickly complied, her fingers flying across the keyboard searching for the information I required.
"Here it is. He's in trauma room five. They are about to take him up to surgery in a few minutes. You can catch them if you hurry."
I nodded my understanding and gave her a terse "thank you". I spun around to face Steph as I threw out a fast comment. "I'll keep you updated. I have to go."
I then sprinted through the double doors that led to the trauma rooms. I made it with just enough time to check in with the doctors before they took Ram back into surgery to remove the bullet. I strolled back to the waiting area to let Steph and the guys know what was going on. I stepped up to Steph and took her hands in mine before I started to speak.
"They just took him to surgery. The bullet didn't hit anything vital. After they remove it, he should easily recuperate, although he will be in quite a bit of pain," Steph looked relieved with that information, but I still felt the need to ease her worries further. "He will be just fine."
She sagged against me and I held her for some time. Then I walked her over to the chairs where we sat down to wait for more news from the doctor.
About an hour and a half later, the doctor finally appeared. Steph and I hurried over to him, along with Tank and Lester. The others only stood from their seats and listened intently when the doctor spoke.
"We got the bullet out. There was a slight tear to his liver, which we repaired easily. He is an extremely tough man, so with rest he will heal and be back to one hundred percent in just a few weeks time."
"Thank you doctor. When can we go see him?" Steph had to know.
"He'll be out of recovery and in room 107 in about 15 minutes," he answered, then turned and walked back through the doors.
After a short visit with Ram, I checked to make sure there was sufficient guards at his door, Hal and Cal were taking the first shift. I also talked with Tank. I knew with Les and Tank there that I could relax and spend some quality time with my girl. Steph gave Ram a quick but sincere kiss to his cheek and told him she would be back to see him again tomorrow.
We then started toward the exit. It was only half past seven and although I was somewhat tired, I still didn't want to give up on our night out. I decided to leave it up to Steph.
"You feel up to going out tonight, or are you too worn out?"
"I'm not tired. Do you still want to go out?" She looked back at me with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
"Why don't you check on the show times for that movie you wanted to see," I replied. She immediately pulled her phone out of her pocket and began to search for the info. She enlightened me less than a minute later.
"The next show time is at 8:15. We could catch it and then have a late supper when it's over. Thirty minutes is not enough time for us to eat a meal."
"I agree, especially with the way you eat sometimes," I teased her, to which she promptly stuck her tongue out at me. I teased her right back with the same line I always used when she did that to me.
"Don't point that thing at me unless you intend to use it," she looked away from me when the slight blush began to creep up her cheeks. I drove over to the cinema where the movie was showing.
Just over two hours later, we followed behind the crowd as it filed out of the theater. Steph was grinning hugely the whole way back to the truck. That made me think, she had been smiling and sighing throughout the entire movie; with a few subtle moans thrown in as well. I wondered what was up with that.
On the stroll back to the truck, I thought about it a bit more. The movie she wanted to see was called 'Arrival'. I tried to figure out what all of the movies we had watched lately had in common. Then it hit me, that same actor was in them all! She must be a fan.
As we reached the vehicle, my thoughts turned to food when her stomach made it's state of emptiness known. After we talked it over a bit, we decided to go to one of the all night diners to eat, since the hour was so late. It was almost 10:30 by now.
We had a nice meal, Steph ordered pancakes with a side of sausage; torturing me with her noises the whole time she ate. I wanted to stick to my usual diet of healthy foods, but in the end I said to myself, 'the hell with it' and got a double cheeseburger and hash browns. I could work it off in the morning at the gym.
I pulled into the Rangeman garage again at just before 11:30. We got out of the truck and rode the elevator up to our apartment. I closed and re-locked the door behind us, it was time to settle down for the night.
Steph made her way down the hallway, to shower first no doubt. I had already taken one earlier, so I skipped mine for now. I would take one after my morning work out. While she showered, I stripped down to my boxers. That was what I slept in. Before Steph and I got together, I didn't wear anything to bed. But since she moved in with me, first at my house, then here in the apartment; I had started wearing boxers so I wouldn't make her uncomfortable.
We still hadn't made love yet, but we had been getting more and more intimate, slowly step by step. We had covered everything so far, except for me penetrating her. Here lately, she was showing signs of wanting to let me love her completely. I still would not do that until she was sure about it.
The bathroom door opened, signaling she was done for the night. I turned my head to look that way. She was making her way across the room dressed in her night clothes. She wore one of my t-shirts which was long enough to cover the only other item she wore to bed, her panties. Her hair was still damp from where she only toweled it dry. I swallowed the lump that suddenly appeared in my throat. Seeing her dressed in my clothes always did a number on me. When she reached my side, she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me.
I brought my hands up to rest them along her hips as I kissed her back. The moans that my kisses always brought to her throat were starting to stir things in my shorts. I pulled back from her a little bit, moved my hand, and gave her a light smack on her ass as I reminded her.
"Make sure the alarm is set to wake you in the morning. I know how you prefer to wake to music instead of the beeping noise."
She reluctantly let me go and stood in front of the night stand table where the clock radio was located. She pressed a few buttons to make sure it was set right. The music that came out sounded like the type of songs her usual radio station played.
While she was playing with the radio, I silently moved to stand behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She leaned back into me and rested her hands on my forearms. We just stood there for a few minutes and enjoyed the feel of holding each other.
The song on the radio changed and after a few seconds I felt her tense up in my arms. I turned her around in my embrace, that's when I noticed her eyes were wide as well; and was she shaking?
"Tiger, what is it? What's wrong?"
She didn't answer me, just broke free from my hold and staggered back a step or two. Something told me to hang back for a bit and just see what was going to happen.
First she placed her hands on her stomach, then her hips began to shimmy from side to side. She was dancing. It was like her body was taken over by alien forces. I was entranced. That was until her hand accidentally smacked down on the radio and the music stopped.
She stood frozen with a look of utter mortification on her lovely face. My lips turned up on one side in a smirk, but I quickly squashed it when the look in her eyes shifted to one of love.
I took the three steps forward to be right in front of her, then picked her hands up, bringing each of them up to my mouth for a gentle kiss to her knuckles. Then I placed her hands on my hips and rested mine on her hips. I began to move us together with slow undulations of my pelvis. Small sways to the music in my heart, since there was no more music from the radio to guide us.
I pulled her closer to me as we continued to dance, moving my hands up to grip her waist.
By this time she had moved her arms to grip the back of my head. I knew what she wanted, it was the same thing I wanted after all. I brought my head down to take her lips with a touch more passion than we had yet unleashed. If I was reading the clues right, she was ready. And I was well past ready to take it to the next level. I barely registered it when my right hand slowly made it's way beneath her shirt until I felt her breast in my hand and her nipple being pinched between my fingers. I teased it for a bit then lifted and removed her shirt.
The deep moan that escaped her throat had an answering growl coming from my chest. I latched my mouth down on her neck. I kissed, licked, and sucked her sweet skin until she started to grow limp in my arms. I picked her up then and gently laid her down on the bed.
I stood there for nearly a minute just admiring her nearly naked body that was laid out before me. Her gentle plea of "Bobby, please" had me shucking my only piece of clothing, my boxers, and lying down beside her. I leaned over on my left side, placed my hand on her hip, and kissed her again. I couldn't get enough of her taste.
She pulled me down to her by my shoulders, craving the skin on skin contact just as I was craving the touch of hers against me. My hand drifted up from her hip and toyed with her breast again while we kissed, that is until she moaned again against my mouth. I had to hear that more clearly without it being muffled so I moved my mouth's attentions to her neck once again.
Her gasps of pleasure were getting louder now. I moved my mouth down to her breast and my hand down to her soaked panties, sliding them down her legs and off of her body. She was already so wet for me, so I spread that moisture around with my finger before I started to softly circle her clit with my middle finger. This brought a sharp cry from her. I groaned at the sound and nipped her nipple with my teeth.
"More," she cried out. I could never deny her anything so I inserted my finger into her. Her hips jerked up off of the mattress as she gasped out "yes!" My dick was throbbing and pulsating with the need to claim her but her satisfaction would always come before mine.
On the next thrust into her heat I added a second finger, then three pumps later, a third one joined the first two. I had brought her to orgasm before with my hands so I knew how she like to be touched. I sped up the movements of my fingers while I pressed down on her clit with my thumb and had her screaming my name moments later.
I slowed the motions of my hand to bring her down gently. When her shudders subsided almost completely I shifted my position so that I hovered above her. I moved the slightly damp hair from her forehead and kissed her lovingly. When I pulled my lips back from hers I requested, "Can I make love to you, please? I want to feel that connection."
She answered with a genuine smile, "I'm ready."
I kissed her again softly as I steadied myself. My heart was pounding in my chest. Since I was in charge of the medical records at Rangeman I knew we were both clean and I was also aware that Steph had started the quarterly birth control shots a couple of months ago. Once I had myself under control again, I eased my way inside. It was time.
I kept eye contact with her. I needed to know as soon as possible if she showed any signs of discomfort. She didn't, all I heard was a small sigh. I continued to work my way in slowly, inch by inch. When I was fully sheathed, I too sighed with contentment, then bent my elbows to whisper softly in her ear, "I love you Stephanie."
I took a moment to let her adjust, then began a tender rocking motion with my hips. She felt divine wrapped around me. Finally I felt the missing part of my heart slipped into place, meshing our minds, bodies, and souls as one.
I was gradually increasing the speed and force of my strokes. The sounds that slipped from Steph's lips encouraged me to pick up the pace, so I did. The telling sensations in my groin alerted me to my own pending explosive release.
A second later I heard her scream my name at the same moment her walls clamped down and squeezed around me. My own powerful climax soon followed and I spilled myself into her shakily with a loud groan.
I relaxed my arms slightly so I could lower my body to hers without hurting her with my weight. She sighed in contentment while wrapping her arms around my chest tightly. She then tilted her hips to the right, rolling us onto our sides, causing me to slip from her body.
She moved her head upwards so that our eyes met. Then she spoke tenderly, "I love you too, Bobby." I saw the truth shining in her blue eyes.
I shifted to lie on my back with her sprawled out on top of me, then I placed my hands on her cheeks, cupping her face in my large hands gently before I confessed my pride in her.
"I'm so proud of you Tiger," I kissed her lips softly then continued. "I'll be here to remind you, every day if I have to; your butt is perfect, your smile lights up the room, and your mind is insanely sharp. You are way more than enough for me, you are it for me; forever. I'll never want or need anyone else. And you've done an amazing job at reclaiming your life. I love you so much, Tiger."
Her only spoken reply was, "ditto"; but it was paired with that blinding smile that I loved so much.
I knew our life would not be perfect, but I did know it would be happy. ####
A/N: Well that's it for my conclusion of "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad". I hope I did AJ's memory justice. Please let me know via review or message what you thought of it. My next project will be the next story in my 'Hot' series, "Hotter Six". It will of course be a babe, just as the other two were. I will however write the whole story before I start posting it, so it may be a couple of months. But I will try to make up for that in content for all of you Ranger fans. Much love and hugs until our next adventure …
Rain (Jackie)