A/N: I have been hiding this chapter from you guys for a week because I don't really like it that much...however, I finished my last benchmark exam on Friday and am currently hungover so I thought I might as well get it over with a post this chapter ;) I decided to do this chapter in Stephanie's POV but I really struggle to write her (anyone who's read my other story already knows this!) but I thought I'd give it a shot anyways. Also, what started out as a three to four chapter story has now (after planing the whole thing out) has become maybe seven chapters. As always, all feedback, negative or positive, is welcome and greatly appreciated. How am I to improve without constructive criticism? If there is anything you guys want to happen, let me know and I'll see if I can fit it in there!

Standard disclaimer applies
Rating: T
Spoilers: Up to Top Secret Twenty One, just to be safe

Chapter Four - Tank the graffiti artist

I was sat on the sofa next to Joe. The cold, half eaten pizza was on the coffee table, Bob eyeing it hungrily. The game was on and Joe was thoroughly engrossed in it. Don't get me wrong, I love baseball, but I had a lot on my mind. Like, for example, Ranger was back. Holy shit. After his visit to my cubicle, I wasn't too worried. There was probably some reason for him to be back that he wouldn't tell me about. I didn't think much of it. I mean, sure. I slapped him and cried on his lap but can you really blame me? The asshole made me feel like nothing but a convenient fuck after he left. What? I get married and I'm not even worth his friendship anymore? I'd convinced myself that was all I was to him, a convenient fuck, and tried to move on. But one can't just 'move on' from Ranger. I got so wrapped up in deciphering the 'man of mystery' that every glimpse he gave me into his soul felt like the greatest reward. I fell in love with him and I never even realised it until the Scrog incident. Now his presence is making it hard for me to continue my 'getting over Ranger' mission. Just seeing him today made me feel something I haven't felt since he left. It's hard to say what that feeling is. It reminds me of the feeling of excitement I used to get when my crush would walk into the classroom. But Ranger isn't my crush. And I'm not a school girl. I am a married woman and Ranger is my best friend and boss.

After our discussion at the cafe, I was even more confused as ever. He was hurt? Why had I never thought of that? I had just assumed that he was showing his true colours and didn't actually care about me. Like I said, a convenient fuck. But now… everything he said was a shock to me. I always thought Ranger acted as more of a 'boyfriend' to me than Joe ever did. He took me out for dates and liked to snuggle with me after wild and passionate sex. I, of course, never told this to Ranger because I never truly knew where I stood with him. When I explained this to Valerie, she told me the very line I'd repeated to Ranger, and to myself in the mirror when I imagined him ever returning: "We hardly had a relationship."

I wish he could have stayed, but of course, duty calls. When I returned to Rangeman it was quiet and there was a significant lack of employees on the control room floor. There was probably a bunch of break ins and maybe a takedown. Plus at least three for the medical emergency. The floor hadn't filled back up by 5 o'clock so I offered to stay a little longer but Zero sent me home. I wish I'd seen Ranger before I left. I wanted to finish our conversation. I sent him a quick text.

Is everything okay? Who was hurt?

"How about Masie?" Joe said from next to me, eyes still focused on the game.

"What?"

"If we have a girl. Masie Morelli?"

"Morelli? I'm Plum," I pointed out.

"Yeah, well we'll get those papers to change your name once you're pregnant."

I rolled my eyes. I was not having this argument with him again.

"Shouldn't we at least be trying for a baby before we start thinking of baby names?

Joe looked over at me with his bedroom eyes. "Want to go upstairs and make a baby?" A year ago, that would have turned me to goo. Now, it made me want to roll my eyes. This isn't how a wife should feel about her new husband's bedroom eyes.

"Not particularly."

"What?! We haven't had sex in two weeks, Steph! I have needs."

Oh, Jesus.

He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him, kissing my neck. "Come on, Cupcake. You know it'll be good."

"Joe, I'm not in the mood," I said, pushing him away lightly. He wouldn't let me and continued to kiss his way up my jaw.

"You're never in the mood," he said as he tried to put me in the 'mood' by kissing me. Really? Do guys have any idea how women work?

"I've just been busy lately. Please, stop it." He pulled away from me and gave me a curious look.

"What's so bad about having sex with me?" he asked.

"What?!"

"You've been avoiding me, Stephanie. I know that you work nine to five at RangeMan but you leave early and get home late. I'm not stupid." When I didn't respond he, as always, jumped to conclusions. He let go of my waist and I could see his Italian temper rearing it's ugly head. "Are you sleeping with one of them? Is it Santos?"

"No! I'm not sleeping with any of them. How could you think that?!"

"Well you haven't exactly been the most faithful girlfriend."

"And if I remember correctly you haven't been the most faithful boyfriend." Yeah, he admitted to cheating on my with Terry Gilman, I pretended to make a fuss about it and eventually forgive him but in all honesty I'd been boinking Ranger at least once a week at that point. From then on it only became more frequent. I'd never told Joe about Ranger and I. He knew about the DeChooch deal, the vordo thing, and definitely Hawaii, but I never told him about, what I have now found myself referring to in my head as, our relationship.

"But I'm not working seven to nine when I'm only meant to be working nine to five, Stephanie."

"Joe, I'm not cheating on you."

"Yeah, well you've lied before."

This was bad. I could almost see the 'Italian temper' meter about to blow. He'd dragged his eyes away from the game and his beer was on the coffee table. His eyes were trained on me, watching my facial expressions intently. Not good. Come on, Plum. Time to convince your husband that you're not cheating on him. You're not in a good situation here. You haven't had sex with him in two weeks and he's right that you've been avoiding him. There is no other choice here.

"Joe," I purred his name and moved closer to him. His eyes narrowed, obviously not trusting my sudden change in attitude. "You know I would never cheat on you again," I said as I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and pulled myself onto his lap. "And if me walking down the aisle to marry you isn't enough proof of that, then I don't know what else I can do." I was straddling his lap and talking softly into his ear. His eyes were firmly glued to my breasts and I could feel the tension in him leaving. I kissed him deeply and tangled my fingers in his hair.

"I thought you weren't in the mood?" he asked after we broke away, his hands moving up under my shirt.

"I changed my mind," I said and kissed him again. He picked me up, put his hands on my ass to support me and I wrapped my legs around his hips while I continued to kiss him.

The sex was good. It followed the same routine as always and I don't think he realised that I almost screamed Ranger's name as I came.

It was Joe's day off today and I woke up to my alarm in his arms. I reached over, switched my alarm off and got out of bed to start my morning routine. When I came downstairs to make my breakfast, Joe was leaning against the kitchen bench wearing a pair of sweatpants and his morning bed hair. He had his coffee and my cell phone in his hands and was frowning at the screen.

"I get that we're married and everything, but I would have thought my text messages would still be private," I said and snatched my phone from him. The frown on his face didn't disappear as he looked at me so I looked at the screen to see what was troubling him. It's not that I have anything I want to keep from him on my phone -not since I deleted all my conversations with Ranger after he left-, it's just that I value my privacy. I read the text message that was open from, would you believe it, Ranger.

No fatalities.

No fatalities?! Wow, thanks for elaborating, Ranger. 'No fatalities' with Ranger can vary from a simple broken leg to a gunshot wound two millimeters from the heart.

"What are you frowning over?" I asked Joe, scrolling through my messages to make sure I hadn't missed any text messages in my attempt to delete Ranger from my life.

"Ranger's back," he stated.

"Yes."

"And he's texting you."

"Yes. We were talking yesterday and he had to leave because someone got hurt. I was checking to make sure they were okay."

"Did you not think to mention that to me?"

"It never came up," I shrugged and opened the fridge in search of breakfast. I still wasn't a domestic goddess- much to my mum, Mrs Morelli and Joe's dismay- so our fridge mainly consisted of microwavable food.

"Stephanie, the man you cheated on me with returning to Trenton a month after we get married is something you make come up in conversation." I'd been up for half an hour and he was already mad at me. Why did I think this marriage would work?

"Nothing is going to happen between me and Ranger. He's back for business."

Liar.

"I would feel much better if you'd told me about it."

"I didn't think it was that important. He comes and goes. That's how he's always been," I shrugged it off and hoped he wouldn't push the topic any further. Just my luck, he decided to open his mouth yet again.

"He's dangerous, Stephanie. He's got screws loose."

I spun round to look at him, hands on hips."You know what? I'm not getting into this right now. I'm having breakfast at work." I walked out of the kitchen, grabbed my purse, keys and phone and left the house.

I was sitting at my cubicle doing my searches when Ranger walked past towards his office. I noticed he wasn't moving with the same effortless gracefulness he usually does. Instead he looked... Stiff? He looked like all movement hurt and that wasn't like Ranger. Ranger came back from a mission with new bullet wounds and was back working after a day and didn't look the slightest bit out of sorts. I decided to investigate. Maybe we could grab lunch.

I knocked on the door frame of his office and stepped in. "Hey Rang- oh my god what happened to your face?!"

"Wow, Babe. You really know how to boost a guy's self esteem," he said sarcastically and went back to his work. I had never seen Ranger this bad. Maybe that time he was shot in my apartment and was bleeding out on my floor. But, other than that, he'd never looked this bad.

Without thinking -or maybe I was kind of thinking but not with my brain- I walked over to him, sat down on his lap and brushed his hair away from his face. At first, he stilled at my actions. I realised I was sitting on him and refused to be embarrassed by it. I'd come to a few realisations last night while Joe was asleep next to me. Even after all the shit Ranger has put me through, I still love him more than I love Joe. I also think that Joe doesn't love me as much as he claims to. I try not to compare Joe and Ranger, but I continuously find myself doing so. Ranger making love is something I'll never forget. He is passionate and loving and loves to tease me and make me squirm before his own release. Joe makes sure I cum but really it's all about his own release. I'm just better than his hand.

"What happened to your face?" I asked in a much calmer voice as I moved his head with my fingers lightly on his jaw.

He had a cut and slightly swollen lip and a bruise on his cheekbone. His knuckles, I discovered when he put his hand over mine, were cut and bruised also. He moved my hand off his jaw and I noticed I was pushing on yet another bruise.

"Remember the medical emergency yesterday?" I nodded and a small, barely there smile appeared, but his eyes were sad, defeeted. "I walked into the gym and most of the employees were in there waiting for me. I spent a good three maybe four hours sparring"

"What?! Why would they do that?!"

"Why do you think?"

"I had nothing to do with this!" My anger was starting to flare. How dare he blame me for what his employees did to him. How dare he assume I knew about this. I started to get off his lap. He made a noise of complaint and stopped me from moving away with his hands on my waist, pulling me closer to him.

"That's not what I meant," he said and tugged on a stray curl.

"Then what did you mean?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. I refused to forgive him that easily.

"I don't know if you're aware of this, but there is an unwritten rule at Rangeman that if any harm comes to you, the person responsible is to be punished. There was a long line of people waiting to punish me."

"They had no right!" I jumped up before he could grab my hips to keep me there. "I can deal with the defacing of your photo but they can't just go and beat you up.I can take care of myself. Why do all of you just assume that I need protecting? Yes, I was hurt, but not physically. You can't fix these things by beating the crap out of every person who made me cry, Ranger."

Men!

Ranger stood up from his chair and stood in front of me, wisely not touching me while I was bordering on Rhino mode. Smart man.

"In case you haven't noticed, we're not the best with emotions. The only way we know how to protect someone we care about is by teaching those who hurt them a lesson. It's the way I'm... all of us... are wired, Steph."

"Well you all need re-wiring," I said and glared at him.

"You and I both know it isn't that easy."

I studied his face for a minute longer. "Did you even clean up your cuts?"

"Once they were done I was so tired that I crashed the second I got up to seven," he shrugged.

"You should get Bobby to give you something. You look in pain."

"I don't think he'd give a shit that I was in a bit of pain." At my puzzled look he chuckled and pulled me closer to him with a light hand on my hip. "Who do you think gave me half of these injuries, Babe?"

I reached up to touch the bruise on his face again. "Do they really hurt?"

"I've had worse." He shrugged it off and smiled down at me. "I deserved it."

"Yes, you did," I smiled up at him, deciding to let it go. He smiled back. I suddenly became very aware of our close proximity. He was looking at my lips, I involuntarily licked my lips. I forgot the effect Ranger had on me. I wanted nothing more than to kiss his perfect lips and have that feeling that always came from kissing him. I hadn't met anyone else who gave me that feeling, not even Joe. "I should uh… get some work done. I just came to make sure you were okay," I said, removed myself from his arms and ducked out of his office.

I sat down in my cubicle and let out a big breath of air. He'd only been back for two days and I'd already sat on his lap and almost kissed him. I needed to get myself back under control. What would the Burg say if they found out I was fooling around with Ranger? No. I was married. I wouldn't let this happen again.

I realised it was Friday and Tank still hadn't defaced the photo. Yes, I knew about the roster. They put it up in the break room and called it the 'graffiti roster'. It didn't take me long to figure it out. I checked the photo for the first time that day and, sure enough, there was small writing above Ranger's face.

He loves you. But he needs to work for you. - Tank :)

I decided to leave it up there.

A/N: You guys have no idea how hard that chapter was to write. I'm still not 100% happy with it but I had to update! Please review!