A/N: Character's thoughts are in italics. Again, characters you recognize belong to Janet, the plot is mine. I will be alternating between character POV's for the first few chapters, so I believe Ranger has a few things to share now. Again, thanks to Susan for proofing this. Lastly, thank you each and every person that took the time to read, review, and/or follow this. Because of all of your encouragement, I decided to post this second chapter much earlier than I originally intended.

Chapter 2

Ranger's POV

Ranger Manoso had just gotten Stephanie situated in the big oak tree that was across from a row of floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor of the building he strongly hoped would remain vacant all night long. He made his way over to a large shed about fifty yards from where his Babe was perched in a tree and went behind it. He could see her, but she couldn't see him from this angle. He positioned himself in the doorway alcove, hidden by the deepening shadows. Only the occasional flash of lightning in the distance gave any indication he was there. He had texted Tank and Lester earlier, telling them to slide into the empty building in about thirty minutes and turn random lights on and off. If she only knew, he thought.

He had been informed last week by Connie at the bonds office that work was slow. He had found himself caught once again in Stephanie's gravitational pull, getting too close to her for his emotional comfort and what he believed was for her safety. Even though he had taken great pains to put some space between Stephanie and himself, this caused enough concern to pull him back to her, and to dig a little into her financial situation. Once he realized how much she needed income, Ranger had racked his brain to come up with a way to take care of her without her realizing it.

He was going through some invoices earlier in the week when he came across the perfect way. His security company, Rangeman, had recently acquired a vacant warehouse that would ultimately be used for storage. It was on the edge of Trenton and fairly isolated, making it a perfect location should anyone want to hold a discreet meeting there. With a few clicks of his computer, he had created apprehension papers on made up individuals. After some internal debate, he pulled Tank and Santos to the side and explained the situation to them. Without any hesitation, both were on board to do whatever was needed to help their friend, recognizing the true motivation behind Ranger's actions.

And that was how he found himself leaning against the recessed door, watching the curly haired brunette perched in the big oak tree at the edge of the warehouse's property. He watched as the wind tossed her curls across her face and felt that strange clenching sensation in his chest that happened whenever he saw her. It was almost as intense as the tingling sensation he felt whenever she was near him. It's not like she has feelings for me. It's always been about the cop, he thought morosely. Get a grip Manoso…it doesn't matter what you feel for her, it just can't happen. Stephanie was the sunshine and blue skies to his dark and stormy past; the breath of fresh air that kept him breathing. All of the horrific things he had done, he had to live through were absolved with her smile. She was….vital….to him. He would do anything for her to protect her, make her happy, make her flourish. And I would suck that light out of her if I claimed her, he thought ruefully.

His thoughts were interrupted by a bright flash of lightning in the midst of the thunderstorm, followed by Steph's cry of distress. He was already on his way to her, ready to jump into action when her voice came over his ear piece with "Ranger! Pssssst! Ranger! A moment please….now!" It was all he could do to school his facial expression, clamping down his jaw to keep from grinning at the scene that literally hung before him. "Babe. I think we might need to call it a night from where I'm standing." He put both hands on his hips, and slowly looked up into the tree through the rain to see Stephanie dangling upside down with a large branch stuck into her cargos, night vision goggles in place, dripping wet. Only you, babe... He started to frown when he noticed the dark stain that was starting to appear on her already soaked cargos around where the branch was.

He was already assessing the situation when she huffed back in true Burg girl style "You think? After all, I am getting a little tired of just hanging and chilling here…." Ranger couldn't help but give a partial grin as her sarcastic way of dealing with the situation caused yet another surge of uncomfortable emotions to swell up inside him and shook his head to clear his mind. And that is why I am so damned confused all the time. I hate that she keeps me all tied up inside, forcing me to push her away, even after she went back to Morelli. I hate that she makes me feel all of these….feelings…..that I can't afford to deal with right now. And I REALLY hate that all I want to do is grab her, take her home and claim her as mine…but it's not going to happen. It just can't happen.

He looked at her, noting her attack stance even while dangling upside down with a piece of tree branch digging into her leg. "Tone down the glare, Killer. I'll get you down." He reached into his side pocket on his cargo pants and pulled out his phone, texting for assistance. "Tank and Lester will be here in about 5 minutes. I don't want to try to move you by myself and have you fall."

Even though he couldn't see her face clearly, it was plainly evident that thought caused her some distress as her panicky voice called out "I really don't need to be the butt of any more jokes right now. Is there any way you can at least pull me upright until they get here? This branch is really digging into my leg."

Ranger looked at Stephanie, then the fence. He took in the way the wind was picking up and starting to toss her to and fro like a pendulum in the down pour. "Okay. Let me see if I can get up there on the branch above you and then get you at least upright." The rain continued to beat down in sheets while the wind blustered around them. Lightning continued to lace the sky, followed by loud claps of thunder. He started up the old oak tree toward her, gingerly testing how well the rain slicked branches supported his weight before slowly moving up to the next one, making his way towards Stephanie.

-TBC-