Thank you Jwarden for getting my take on Batman! Ranger just decided to push his luck with Steph so that she'd stop her yo-yoing. Was that too much to ask? And as for the rest of his revelations, he's a man... (my husband is still just a big kid but in grownups clothing...) so please ease up on him, ok? :o)

Thank you for all the reviews though. They've made very intriguing reading, guess I've gotten under your skin, eh?

Have fun with this chapter and please R & R, it makes my day xxx

Oh, and this one's for Margaret Fowler...

o0o0o0o0o

The door bell rang and Steph took one final look in the mirror then took in a deep breath which she let out slowly before turning to answer it.

"Wow Stephanie! You look great." Falcon whistled out as he leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

She smiled in reply and took the bunch of sunflowers he was holding out for her. "These are lovely, you really shouldn't have." She said as she quickly spun on her heel and walked back towards the kitchen.

Falcon nervously followed her, running sweat covered palms down the front of his dark blue tailored pants.

"Falcon, could you please call me Steph, Stephanie feels like I've done something wrong." She said as she filled the large glass vase she'd found in the cupboard under the sink.

"Only if you swap Falcon for Rees." He replied "Falcon is what I do, Rees is who I am."

He walked over to where she was standing, teasing the flowers so that they sat right, and took her hands in his. Lifting them to his lips he kissed her gently. "Shall we?" he grinned as he walked backwards towards the front door.

o0o0o0o0o

They stopped at the Hawthorne and flirted and giggled with the bartender who fawned over both of them to the point that neither of them could decide which of them she fancied. Once they'd gotten their drinks they moved to a small table near the window. Looking over the top of his cocktail, hanky panky, Rees saluted her then took a large sip of his orange drink.

"To you, Steph. For making me laugh again." He nodded at her and she lifted her mojito to her lips in salute before they both had a drink.

"Mmmm." Steph moaned, closing her eyes momentarily. Totally unaware of the adjustments Rees was now making to his pants.

"So, how did you start out at Rangeman?" Rees asked as he took another sip then grabbed a couple of warm olives to slow down his alcohol intake. He picked up the menu and pretended to study it then slanted his head slightly and waited for her reply with a raised eyebrow.

Steph smiled as she saw Rees was yet another MM who could do the one eyebrow thing. "Before I answer that" she said, toying with the edge of her napkin "is there a special training module for eyebrows?"

Rees looked at her confused.

"Forget I asked" she said as she took a sip from the squat, mint filled glass. She sighed deeply, then began. "Well, it all started over a meal at my parents" she said. "I'd lost my job and had to admit to my parents that I was pretty much destitute. My Dad suggested I give my cousin Vinnie a call..."

o0o0o0o0o

Half an hour later and another mojito down Steph finished giving Rees the bones of her last three years, the cars, the psychos, her family and friends and Joe.

"Wow!" he said. "You really have had an interesting time up till now. So, where do you go from here, I wonder?" He gave her a long, searching look.

"What?" Steph said, stepping back in her chair and folding her arms.

"Nothing, it's just that I'd heard you and Boss-Man once had a bit of a thing going on, but you've not mentioned him except in passing in your story. What's all that about?"

"It's complicated." She said abruptly "Let's change the subject to you. I know nothing about Falcon ... or Rees. Who are you?"

"Ouch!" he replied with a slight shake of the head. "Ok, where to start..."

At that point the meal they'd ordered arrived and they tucked into the steak salad Rees had chosen and the large plate of appetisers Steph liked the sound of. They finished off with two enormous desserts which Steph had insisted would soak up the alcohol. Rees' reply was to nearly fall off his seat with laughter at her absurd suggestion - they were far too pissed for the light mousse to be of any assistance.

By the time the meal was over, Rees had explained that he'd gotten the name Falcon when he was still special forces. Seems he had a skill for falling out of the sky with whatever was to hand to use as a parachute. He'd been married and divorced over an 8 year period, no kids, liked his women to have a brain and a feisty personality. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles as he made the last comment.

"Shame that the beautiful woman across the table from me fits the bill but seems to be giving off 'friendship-only vibes."

Steph blushed "Sorry."

"Don't apologise. It's not your fault you don't like tall, dark, handsome men that could help you to fly." He teased as he fished his credit card out of his wallet and waved it in the air to to attract a passing waitress.

Steph let out a slight hiccup.

"You ok?" he added, looking concerned. The waitress returned with the bill and handed it to him to sign which he did quickly.

"Yeah. Let's go dance, shall we?" Steph said as she started to stand up.

Rees smiled and grabbed her hand. "I know this great little nightclub..."

o0o0o0o0o

Ranger lay wrapped in the nameless dark haired woman's embrace, thinking about the last few weeks and how tonight he felt an emptiness in his soul that tore at his innards.

Falcon and Stephanie! Rees and his Babe! Dios! He pulled away from the warm body at his side and rolled onto his stomach, groaning softly in frustration. Stephanie Plum belonged to him! She was HIS woman! She was his precious gift of light. How dare they!

He let out a deep mental sigh as reason entered his tortured brain. Stephanie did not belong to him, she was NOT his woman, he'd made damned sure of that, and her luminous presence lit up the lives of everyone at Rangeman.

Not just in Trenton but it seemed she'd captivated his men in Boston too.

He looked across the bed as the light played on his latest lover's torso. She was beautiful and had been a very welcome distraction from the dark thoughts he'd been having since Ace told him yesterday about the fact that Steph had a date with Falcon.

He had no right to dictate what his staff did in their private lives. As long as they performed their jobs properly he could not prevent them from doing whatever they wanted outside work hours.

So why did he hate that she was moving on without him? He was the one who screwed it up so royally so why did it all feel so raw and so wrong?

The woman at his side began to stir so he reached across and kissed her temple, muttering a quick "good bye and thank you" before getting out of her bed and reclaiming the clothes he'd thrown all over the floor earlier.

Slipping out into the grey light of dawn he slid behind the wheel of his rented Porsche and set off to the airport and back to his empty life in Trenton.

o0o0o0o0o

Steph's head started screaming with almost the same level of intensity as her bladder so she opened her eyes gingerly and found herself staring at a naked back that lay only a few inches away from her.

"Shit!" she thought mentally as she carefully slid from beneath the million thread count sheets that Ranger had so thoughtfully stocked the linen cupboard with.

Tiptoeing over to the bathroom so as not to disturb him, she turned and looked at a very content Rees who opened his eyes and sleepily stared back at her. "Hi" he said with a dreamy look on his face "Bed's too big without you, Lover" he added with a content sigh and a big grin before closing his eyes and seemingly drifting back off to sleep.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Steph hissed under her breath as she shut the door and went about her morning business. Sitting on the toilet she put her head in her hands. What had she been thinking? What on earth happened when they'd left the Hawthorne? Vague images of hot sweaty bodies and lots of loud thumping music; Rees' face closing in on hers; and laughter and hot suggestive hands filled her head in miniscule soundbites. Finishing up she washed her hands and searched out two Advil from the mirror fronted cabinet which she washed down with a couple of palms full of water before returning to the scene of the crime. There was no point in crying over spilt milk she reasoned. What was done was done. She lay on her back with the sheet pulled up tightly under her armpits, staring at the ceiling thinking omg thoughts, when an arm snaked out and pulled her close. Rees nestled his face in her hair and let out a contented, soft moan.

"Sleep, Steph, it's all ok." He whispered as his breathing levelled out again.

Steph racked her brain for images of what had happened. She remembered leaving the cocktail bar and lining up outside the nightclub. She remembered taking Rees' hand as he pulled them towards a quieter spot at the end of the bar, near the back of the club.

She remembered... crap! She'd spilled her heart out about Ranger and how damaged she was and all Rees could do was smile and make some silly comment about what a fucking idiot Manoso was. The rest of the conversation started out fuzzy and soon became a blur. The next thing she remembered was when she was fighting with the lock on her front door then giggling as they tumbled into the hall in an untidy heap and how all night he'd kept her laughing...

Now she knew the reason why. She wanted to cry but her head hurt too much for the tears to come. Instead her throat ached with a need to let out her grief.

"Shhh. It's ok, Steph. Sweetheart. Nothing happened, I promise." Rees said gently into her ear as he stroked her hair.

She turned her head to look at him, not believing a word he said.

"I like my women to be able to say my name, hell I prefer them to be able to scream it." He added with a grin as he propped himself up on one elbow and stared down at her. "I figured that when you couldn't even string one syllable together it was time to get you home." He added, kissing the tip of her nose and running his hands through her unruly curls. "You deserve better than being screwed by an insensitive prick while you're too drunk to fight them off."

"Really?" she asked, a tear in her eye welled up and slid down her cheek. Rees caught it before it could reach the bed.

"Yeah. Really." He replied as he sucked the water off his finger. "Plus, after what you said last night I'm not sure I'd want to get involved with you anyway."

She gave him a surprised and confused look.

"Last night you told me a lot of things, most of which you probably don't remember, but if what you're telling me is even half true I know I, nor any other man, stands a chance with you. Deep down I think you know where your heart rests and you need to grow some cahones and go get it back or at least try to make good the relationship you used to have with the man who holds it. You know, as well as I do, that you had all the power in that relationship.

"From all accounts Ranger has given you his cars, his men and his time. He's been a friend and dropped everything to help you when you've asked him to. Tell me what you've given him in return."

Steph stared at him as he raised his eyebrows then realisation hit home. She gulped.

"Well?" Rees pressed.

Suddenly it'd all became clear and she didn't like what she saw. She'd always seen herself as the victim but she now remembered the comment in the bar that Rees had made. She gulped and regained control. "I've treated both of them very badly, haven't I?"

Rees just looked at her, waiting for her to verbalise her thoughts.

"All three of us were involved in an ugly, never ending love triangle. Joe and I would be happy for a while, then we'd clash, usually over our jobs or the people I hung out with then I'd go off like a child, do something stupid and call in the cavalry."

"Go on." Rees urged lazily.

"Joe didn't like my independence but Ranger did so I played with them both, pulling whichever leash worked in my favour. Joe was safe and would have offered me the world if I'd just settle down and look after him. Ranger offered me adrenalin and a chance to fly but without the certainty of a picket fence."

"And..." Rees added, stroking her face and wiping away the tears that were now falling rapidly.

"So I played the victim when they both decided to force the issue."

"Steph, what did you and Joe argue about that finally finished your relationship?"

"I told him that I didn't just love him, that I was torn between two men. That neither one would give me what I needed. I told him he was selfish, expecting me to change for him and that I wasn't prepared to do so."

"And his reply was..."

"That I should take a long hard look in the mirror and that he knew about how I felt about Ranger, that he wasn't prepared to wait for me to make up my mind..."

"And..."

"And that I needed to grow up and realise that my inability to decide was hurting all of them. He even added that if Ranger had a heart then he'd feel sorry for him because he knew exactly what he was going through."

"And your reply?"

"I... I told him to go fuck himself."

"Yeah, really mature thing to do Steph..."

"Yeah. But what about Ranger's fuck buddy suggestion?" Steph pouted out, crossing her arms over the sheets.

"Do I really need to answer that? You know he's terrible with words. It was probably his way of getting into your life so that he could stop you going back to Joe. The yo-yo relationship thing must have been giving him whiplash. I mean, how do you when's the right time to ask someone on a date when you don't know if they're gonna go back to their old boyfriend for the millionth time?"

Steph looked up at the ceiling for a few moments then stared back into Rees' eyes. "God, I'm a bitch! No better than Barnyard! No scrap that, she's never made a pretence at caring about anyone except herself. At least she's honest about how she feels."

"Barnyard?"

"Never mind. Joyce is not important but the sentiment still remains the same."

"So what are you going to do about it, Sweetie? I've got your back, but I'd rather not get stuck in the middle between you and the Boss."

"S'ok, Rees. You've done more than enough. The way I'm feeling right now about myself is not great. But I will put things right."

"That's my girl." He added with a chuckle. He then winked at her. "Perhaps as payment for my services as a councillor we could make use of the situation we find ourselves in? Hmm?" he said with another wink and a cheeky grin as he ran the back of his index finger down the side of her face.

She playfully slapped him and he pretended to look hurt. "I think my life's complicated enough, don't you?" she added with a wry chuckle.