Disclaimer: I don't own them and I'm not making any money.

Chapter 5

Not only did I end up going to the hospital, I had to stay there for nearly six hours.

Tommy Taylor, my favorite EMT's, guess about my injury had been really close. Testing showed it was a synthetic version of venom found in snake-type dragons rather than true hemotoxin. The chemical was used in anticoagulant drugs. Medicinally, only small amounts were needed, and it was diluted before being administered. Used straight, it could cause serious damage as I was finding out. Why Benny Wright had large volumes of it just sitting around his house was turning into the question of the night.

And the mysteries continued to pile up.

I'd answered all of the questions the police had at the scene, but they had more once the fire was out. The cause was determined to be from the same dragon-sourced explosives and accelerants that had led to the fire at Deliah Smith's house.

And while the chemical I got on my leg was synthetic, the ones that had reacted to cause the explosion and fire looked like they were the real deal.

Which is how I found myself being interviewed again from my hospital bed.

"Can you tell me more about the jugs that you and Wright knocked over?" asked Jimmy Garcia. He was a TPD detective who'd recently transferred from Camden, and I didn't know him well. He'd shown up to the ER just as I was being moved to an observation room, hoping to find out more than I'd been able to tell the cops on the scene.

Ranger, who'd arrived just ahead of the detective, quietly slid his hand into mine and gave it a gentle squeeze of support. I was glad to have him here with me. I was tired, in pain, and frustrated that I couldn't go home.

My temper was flaring, and I was inclined to tell the detective off. Somehow, Ranger managed to transfer some of his unending well of strength and patience into me as I ran through the whole mess again. I did my best to remember colors and smells but my focus had been on my skip and then on escaping.

My patience paid off because Detective Garcia finally thanked me for my time and was gone less than half an hour later. He didn't even tell me I'd need to stop by the station tomorrow.

"You ready to head out, Babe?" Ranger asked as soon as we were alone.

"Yeah, but the doctor said I would need to stay for a few hours for observation. I guess the toxin I got on me could have some side effects. She said it wasn't likely since it was all external, but they wanted to keep an eye on me."

"I'll go see if they're comfortable with you coming back to Rangeman. I'll keep an eye on you and Bobby will be there if there's a problem."

"Thanks, Batman," I said with a little smile. I wanted to go home, but at this point, I'd settle for Rangeman. I mostly wanted a shower and Ranger's was nicer than mine. And his sheets were softer.

Minutes later, Ranger was back in my room with a nurse bearing discharge paperwork. With his typical efficiency, he had me free and loaded into the Porsche in record time.

"Can we stop by my apartment?"

"Ella has clothes for you, and I'll have one of the guys swing by to check on Rex. Was there something else you needed?"

"I have cake at my apartment," I confessed.

"Babe," Ranger said with an indulgent smile at my admission. "I'm sure Ella will bring you dessert."

That was all the convincing I needed to go straight to Rangeman. Less than an hour later, I had showered off the hospital cooties, eaten a delicious Ella meal plus dessert, been checked over by Bobby, and was tucked into Ranger's bed.

The only thing that would make it better was if the man himself was in here with me, but he'd just given me a soft kiss on the forehead and told me he needed to go downstairs to finish up some work.

oOo

I was still alone when I woke up the next morning. The lingering smell of Bulgari and the rumpled covers on the other side of the bed told me Ranger had been there - at least for a while.

After a mental pep-talk, I managed to crawl out of my luxurious cocoon and make my way to the bathroom. First order of business was taking care of mother nature, then I worked up the nerve to look at my leg. It was still tender, but the anti-venom applied at the hospital seemed to have been effective. The skin was a bit pink, almost like a sunburn. But, all in all, it beat getting shot.

I popped into Ranger's closet and dug through my section, looking for something comfortable to wear. It was Sunday and after the last two days I'd had, I was treating myself to a day off.

Once I was dressed, I wandered into the kitchen with the hope of finding something edible for breakfast and found Ranger leaning against the counter drinking a smoothie. He was dressed in black track pants and a cut off t-shirt that almost hid the fact that it was drenched in sweat. Batman had been for his morning run.

"I stopped by the Tasty Pastry and got you some breakfast," he said, nodding towards a bakery bag sitting on the island. "I figured you could use some happy."

I needed to move past Ranger to get to the bag and I impulsively reached up to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "You're the best," I said, my focus on the bag.

I was just biting into the first sugar and grease infused confection when I noticed the shell-shocked look on Ranger's face. Guess he wasn't used to me initiating contact.

"So, what are your plans for the day?" I asked.

"Work."

I rolled my eyes. "No rest from protecting Gotham?"

"I would love to spend the day lounging here with you, but we got a call Friday afternoon from the feds. They wanted to set up a meeting to contract Rangeman for a case they're working on. I haven't had a chance to review the information they sent over."

"Sounds exciting," I said with a touch of sarcasm. "Do you think someone could drop me off at my car? I think I should be good to head back to my apartment."

He gave me an assessing look. It was full of concern that made me feel warm and fuzzy. But as much as I enjoyed his care, I was ready to be back in my own space. I needed to lick my wounds and prepare for a third attempt to catch Wright.

"Sure, Babe. Hal took your car back to your lot last night. And I'm sure he'll like the opportunity to get off the monitors and run you home."

"Thanks, Batman," I said, brushing another light kiss across his mouth.

The stupefied expression flickered briefly across his face again, making me wonder if Ranger didn't know what to do with me initiating contact. Something to think about. I wonder what would happen if I got up the nerve to apply a little pressure of my own?

"Finish your donuts. I'm going to hit the shower," Ranger said, snagging me by the waist and claiming my mouth with his. Unlike my light brushes, he fused our mouths together in a brief but intense kiss.

I sat in a daze for a few minutes before my brain reminded me that I had the cure for the Hungarian hormones rampaging through my system. With that thought, I grabbed the second donut and shoved it in my mouth, moaning as the Boston Cream filling hit my tongue.

I'd barely finished my last bite when Ranger walked back into the kitchen with wet hair and a fresh Rangeman uniform on. There were a few little drops of water from his hair lingering on his neck making him look completely lickable.

"Babe," he growled as his eyes turned a shade darker.

Guess that last part wasn't in my head.

"Thanks again for the donuts," I said, shamelessly redirecting. "You said Hal could take me home? Is he free now?"

"Yeah, let's head down to five."

I made sure to keep a bit of space between us in the elevator. While I may have been considering the possibilities of applying pressure to Ranger, I knew that unless I took him completely by surprise, he would flip the control of our interaction in his favor and leave me a melted puddle of goo. And the little smirk he sent my way told me he knew it.

Once we stepped onto the fifth floor, I took a deep breath of Bulgari free air and let my mind clear from thoughts of throwing myself at Ranger.

When we got to the control room, I had to repress a giggle when Hal visibly perked up at the news he was getting a break from monitor duty.

With one last gentle squeeze of my hand, Ranger went in the direction of his office while Hal and I headed back to the elevator. There was still a slight lingering scent of Bulgari, but it wasn't nearly as overwhelming as being in a confined space with Ranger himself. It was more comforting than arousing.

The ride back to my apartment was made in silence, which was typical of all but a small handful of the Merry Men. When we got to my lot, I tried to get out and thank Hal for his time, but it worked about as well as I thought it would. The one thing that got him talking was the insistence that he had to come up and check my apartment. I'd never found evidence, but I was pretty sure there was an SOP on Bombshell duty. I'd be offended if their overprotective behavior hadn't saved my ass more times than I could count.

My musings took us to my front door where Hal gave me the courtesy of letting me unlock it myself. Half the time, my Rangeman escorts would just pick it themselves faster than I could dig my keys from my purse.

A few minutes later, my apartment was declared secure, and Hal was on his way back to Rangeman. I took care of a few things around my apartment and then tucked myself into my couch, committed to the lazy day off I'd promised myself. I'd deal with the problem of where to find Benny Wright and how to bring him in tomorrow.

Hours later, I woke up to a gray tv screen and a dark apartment. I must have fallen asleep on the couch. At first, I thought it was the kink in my neck that had done it. A quick peek at my phone showed it was a little after five in the morning and my current thrift store couch wasn't fit to spend the night on. Probably why the previous owner had gotten rid of it.

I was jerked from my thoughts when I heard a scraping and hissing sound outside my apartment door. The sound was interspersed with some distinctive crackling sounds, making me curse to myself. I'd chased enough crazy, violent skips to recognize the sound of an acetylene torch and was immediately on edge. I spent a few moments debating running for my gun in the cookie jar vs one of the fire extinguishers I'd been gifted over the years. Apparently, after so many explosions, it's everyone's go-to gag gift.

The noise stopped while I was frozen trying to make a decision and I gave the air a hesitant sniff.

There was a slight singed smell, but I didn't think anything was on fire. I opted for creeping into the kitchen to retrieve my gun. Once I checked it had bullets, I inched closer to the door. There still hadn't been more sounds so I felt brave enough to take a look through my peep hole. The hallway was deserted.

Opening my locks, I kept the chain on and cracked my door for a better look. No one was there, but the scorched scent was stronger in the hallway. Since the coast was clear, I took the chain off and finally opened my door for a real look.

There were burnt slashes in my door and a single piece of paper with the words 'back off' pinned to it.

I didn't need my spidey sense to tell me this wasn't a good sign.