Everybody familiar belongs to Janet. Mistakes are mine alone.

"Stephanie? What are you doing here?" Eddie asked me, looking surprised to see me at the courthouse even though all my FTAs will end up here eventually.

Though I typically don't get dressed up for their appearances in front of a judge.

"You know, the usual ... keeping Ranger company, staying away from Burg hotspots, getting married again," I answered.

It took a solid twelve seconds for that to sink in. "What?" Was his brilliant comeback.

I slid my hand into Ranger's left one and lifted it up to chest height so Eddie could see the titanium band I'd just slid onto his finger. "This," I said. "Ranger's officially mine now. I even put a ring on his right ring finger to cover all my bases and all my husband's important digits."

Eddie's attention dropped to the hand Batman had rested on my hip and his widening eyes made it clear he noted the joined-handcuff ring I was talking about.

"Well … I guess I don't have to be worried about keeping the peace during Morelli's appearance in court tomorrow, because he's gonna drop dead as soon as he hears about this." He shrugged. "That'll make my job a hell of a lot easier."

"You're not kidding? He's really being formally charged with something this quick. Isn't there a ton of bureaucratic BS to wade through before anything he did gets called criminal?"

My buddy cut his eyes to my new hubby. "Seems forces outside the department are calling the shots here."

He doesn't need to say that he believes Ranger is telling everyone involved how Joe's case is going to be handled.

"You know, I've been really creative over the years thinking up ways to torture Joe and cause him all sorts of pain. Now, I just want him to go away and leave me alone."

Again, he glanced over at Ranger while still talking to me. "Wonder why that is?"

"I'm actually happy, or more accurately … Ranger has helped me to learn how to be."

"I just loved you, Babe. Nothing more, nothing less."

My eyes ping-ponged between the two men. "I don't know if you've met him," I teased. "This is Carlos 'Ranger' Manoso … master of the understatement."

"I do know 'Ranger Manoso', but your husband is gonna take some time to get used to."

"Oh, Mary Lou can help you out with that. She's loving this. She's actually here with us. If you're here for security's sake, you may want to warn the people that she's after anything she can get her hands on to commemorate today. She's possibly more excited than we are."

"It's a nice change of pace to have someone in your life happy for you," Ranger added.

"I'm happy for you two," Eddie said. "This has been a long time coming. Only Joe and your mother, Steph, have had their heads too far up their butts to see what was happening between you and Manoso. I bet Grandma Mazur is gonna be throwing a reception for a thousand people whether or not you give her permission to. The fact that you'll be fresh on the Burg's mind with this Morelli shit will mean you'll be on everyone's hit or kiss-up-to list."

Mary Lou rejoined us at the moment Ranger made a decision about something I didn't know was seriously on the table.

"That settles it," he said to me. "When we get back to my building, pack a bag big enough to get you through two weeks. Our honeymoon starts as soon as you're ready to leave Trenton."

"Uh ... what did I miss?" Mare asked us. "You were smiling and kissing while I was saying goodbye to Julie. I turn my back to get a selfie with the Judge and you guys were gone, now Eddie's here, and Ranger looks ready to murder somebody."

That's how my life works. The good stuff lasts about a second, the bad stuff has lasted for decades.

"Eddie's here casing the joint for possible bad guy hidey holes. Morelli's due in court tomorrow and they want to be sure the place is as safe as possible for innocent bystanders."

This is why I love Mary Lou, her face hides nothing. One mention of Morelli and her features were doing gymnastics in complete disgust.

"I was hoping that crap would happen months from now. If it happened at all," she told us. "Any time someone in our neighborhood gets in trouble, it gets talked about for days in every public place … and then it quietly goes away. If he's actually facing serious consequences, I don't want to have to talk about that jerk every time I answer my phone or leave my house."

"To get your mind off the asshole, start thinking about who can watch your boys, Mary Lou. Because a week after Stephanie and I 'disappear', I'll be sending you and Lenny tickets to join us wherever we end up for our honeymoon," Ranger informed her.

"Hey! What about me?" Eddie asked, wanting a free vacation too.

Ranger leveled a look at him. "Ensure Morelli stays off the streets, and you'll be rewarded appropriately."