Thank you, as always, for your thoughtful and generous reviews. I hope you enjoy Carlos and Steph's reunion! Cheers!

Showing Up

Hector had joined us in waiting by midnight, and by eight o'clock, we were all dozing in uncomfortable chairs in a private room, while Lester slept off the anaesthetic and pain meds from the surgery. Apparently Rangeman insurance was top-flight, since it seemed there was no question that Lester would be in a private room, and that we would be allowed to stay with him. At seven, after we heard Lester had come through surgery without a hitch, Bobby had called Tricia to let her know we were all ok, and I was thrilled when she showed up with coffee and breakfast sandwiches from McDonalds on her way to work. With my tummy full and relief finally the upmost feeling, I fell into a fitful doze on the hard, plastic chair beside Lester's bed.

I woke a couple hours later to a tingle in my neck, as the air seemed to electrify around us. I looked up blearily, to see Carlos' piercing gaze on me, and I launched myself up to wrap myself around him, as he gripped me in a tight, unending embrace. I leaned back to smile up at him, unwitting tears in my eyes, and he leaned in to kiss me deeply. We might have stayed like that forever, but we heard a weak voice say teasingly, "Get a room, you two. And not mine!"

We broke apart and turned to see Hector and Bobby grinning at us, and Lester smiling weakly from his bed. Maturely, I stuck my tongue out at them and all three chuckled, although Lester winced slightly as he did. Carlos released his grip on me, but with his hand on my back, led me over to the bed. Bobby and Hector stood up, almost militarily to attention, and I had to repress a smile. Carlos just commanded that kind of response. "Managed to get yourself shot, Santos," Carlos said drily. "Typical, always in trouble."

Lester grinned his weak grin and replied, "Wish I could say you're wrong, but can't deny I was not aware of my surroundings." Carlos just shook his head.

Bobby reached out a hand to Carlos, "Robert Brown," he introduced himself, "call me Bobby."

Carlos nodded to him, "Ranger Manoso. I've heard good things." If Bobby's milk chocolate skin could have blushed, I think he would have. Carlos greeted Hector briefly in Spanish, and then asked about Lester's injuries. Bobby explained concisely, and Carlos nodded in satisfaction. "When will he be released?"

Bobby shook his head slightly, "Doctor hasn't come around yet. I'm guessing it won't be too long, and we should call the nurse now, since Lester just woke up."

Carlos nodded and indicated for Bobby to continue. He pressed a button and a couple of minutes later, a nurse strode in, slightly taken aback at the people in the waiting room. I saw her eyes widen at Hector's teardrop tattoo and she almost seemed to go into a daze when she caught sight of Carlos. Still, her professionalism kicked in quickly and she moved over to Lester in the bed, while we all moved back to give her room. She checked Lester's vitals and asked him about pain levels and other issues.

When Carlos asked her about releasing Lester, she indicated that he would probably have to wait for afternoon rounds, since his surgery was only a couple of hours ago. After she bustled out, Carlos turned to us all and said, "Bobby, you and Hector should go home and get a few hours sleep. I'll drop Steph home and come back to sit with Lester. I'll text you when the doctors have been around and when I know when he'll be released. I have a rental car downstairs, so you can take whatever vehicles you were driving. I expect we'll meet up, either here or at the office, this afternoon." Carlos repeated his instructions in Spanish, and I saw Hector nod.

I handed Bobby the car keys to the grey sedan, and Bobby and Hector said their goodbyes to Lester and left with a wave to Carlos and me. Carlos told Lester he would be back in an hour or so, and I went forward to give him a quick kiss on his forehead and told him to feel better. Lester said sleepily, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Beautiful."

I shook my head at him and grinned, "I truly cannot imagine what that could include, Les." Carlos let out a chuckle at our banter and we left Lester to go back to sleep.

Carlos led me out of the hospital to a black (what else?) Mercedes and got me settled in the passenger seat. When he was settled himself, he leaned over to kiss me gently and I smiled at him but then yawned mightily, so thrilled to see him, but truly exhausted from the lack of sleep and wash-out of adrenaline from the night's events. He smiled back, a little ruefully, and drove off to head to my apartment. I gave him a couple of directions until he was on familiar roads.

As we entered my apartment, I could not help yawning again, and Carlos said, "It looks like you should just head to bed, Babe. You're exhausted."

I grimaced slightly, "I'm gonna have a shower first, I feel really grungy." Carlos nodded, and I headed into my bedroom to grab some fresh panties and an oversized t-shirt before heading in the bathroom. Twenty minutes later I felt almost human again and came out to find Carlos lying on my bed, with a glass of water and a banana on my bedside table.

Carlos had his own glass of water and he gestured, "You'll sleep better if you have a little to eat and drink." I nodded and crawled up onto the bed and snuggled into his side, before reaching for the glass of water to take a few gulps and then peel the banana to eat it slowly. I finished the banana and the glass of water and then snuggled down with my head resting on Carlos' firm, warm, safe chest. He was here; I was home. I was asleep in seconds.

I woke several hours later and rolled over to snuggle into the Bulgari-Ranger smell that lingered on the pillow. Gradually, I opened my eyes to see a bakery bag sitting on my bedside table with a large 'C' handwritten on it. I smiled; he had left me a treat. I bounded out of bed with renewed energy and dashed into the bathroom to relieve myself and freshen up, before emerging to investigate the bag. I exclaimed in delight when I saw the perfect Boston crème donut and wasted no time in biting into the chocolatey-creamy pastry. "Mmmm," I moaned. I carried it out to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee to make myself a drink. I got a glass of water and carried all three things to the living room to sit and enjoy my snack.

I checked my phone to see a message from Carlos, Babe, call me when you wake up. I dialled him, "Yo," came the honey baritone.

"Carlos," I answered, "thank you for the donut."

"De nada, Babe."

"Are you still at the hospital?"

"Yes, Lester's doctor has just been to see him and he's off getting some more x-rays to check his leg one last time, now the bullet is removed. They just want to be sure there's no damage to the bone. He probably has to stay tonight and will be released tomorrow morning on crutches for a week or so. Has to keep the weight off the leg while it heals. Bobby is coming to stay with him for a few hours, he'll be here in about 30 minutes. Oh, and the police came by to take Lester's statement about two hours ago."

I sighed a little in relief that Les was recovering. "Do you want me to come there?"

"No, Babe, not necessary. When Bobby gets here, I'll leave him with Lester and come to you. We'll go get some lunch and then I'll take you to the police station to sign your statement. Bobby's dropping by to sign his on his way here, and Hector will meet us at the station."

"Oh, hell! I forgot! I was supposed to have lunch with Tricia today. I'll have to call her. Maybe we could have dinner with her and Bobby tonight? Hector too, if he wants to. Tricia and I are going to start a Spanish class in a couple of weeks, and I was hoping to ask Hector if he would help us. We could trade off and help him with English," I enthused.

Carlos laughed, "Sure, Babe. Dinner sounds good. You can make the arrangements, and we'll ask Hector when we see him." I agreed and signed off to call Tricia.

Carlos and I had gone to a diner near the police station that did some delicious soups with homemade bread. I had devoured a scrumptious chicken and corn chowder, only then realising how long it had been since I had had a proper meal. Carlos had ordered vegetable soup (I know, right!) and had refused the bread. Honestly, that man has no taste buds!

At the station we met with Hector and went in to talk to the officer in charge of the arrests. I hadn't had much to do with Brian Simon, but he had always been polite and friendly when we'd interacted. Today was no different, and we were able to read and sign our statements, with Carlos translating for Hector. It was over quickly, and we turned to leave, when we ran into one of the last people I wanted to see. Actually, I never wanted to see him. And I sighed in frustration, Morelli.

I decided to be polite and try to get away as quickly as possible, "Good afternoon, Detective Morelli," I said neutrally.

He leaned against a doorframe, blocking the hallway, and ran his eyes over my body insolently. "Hi Cupcake," he drawled, and I fought the urge to gag. And then kick him swiftly in the crotch.

"Please excuse us," I ignored his innuendo, "we were just leaving."

He completely ignored my hint in return, and turned to Carlos, "Hello Manoso," he snarled, "Come to bail out your thugs?"

I saw Carlos' eyes narrow dangerously, and I drew breath to begin to roast him, when I saw Morelli's eyes widen and he straightened up instantly. From behind us I heard another familiar voice, this one with a hint of steel, "Hello Stephanie, Mr Manoso. Hola Senor Alvarez." We all turned and greeted Joe Juniak warmly. He said to me, "Stephanie, I understand your team brought in Morrison and Turnbull last night. And Berghofer the day before. Congratulations. I think we can safely say you've helped to make Trenton safer this week!" His voice shifted to pure steel, "Wouldn't you agree, Detective Morelli?"

We turned back to look at Morelli, and he mumbled something and nodded to us all, before slouching off. I couldn't repress a small smirk as he slunk away, cowed. And I nearly laughed out loud when I turned back to Joe Juniak and he gave me a quick wink. The corner of Carlos' mouth even quirked up at that. He said his goodbyes to us, and gave me a brief kiss on my cheek, which I returned, and we finally headed out.

It was Hector's muttered "¡Toma a ese idiota!" that caused Carlos to chuckle aloud, and I followed when he translated for me. Take that, idiot!

Carlos, Hector, Tricia, Bobby, and I were sitting around a table at Don Julio's Bar and Grill, chatting and laughing. I was a little bit sad that Lester could not come since the doctor wanted him in for a second night for observation. But we were still a lively group and the conversation flowed easily.

Tricia had handed me the enrolment package and I was looking forward to the class. Hector had agreed to help Tricia and me with our Spanish and I told him he would have to speak some English to me in return. He smirked at me and said haltingly, in a heavy accent, "Yes, miss." I laughed out loud at that.

Hector and I had both ordered the garlic shrimp with pasta and vegetables, Tricia and Bobby were splitting a Calzone pizza and salad, and Carlos had ordered grilled salmon and vegetables. Groan. Still, when he fed me a bite, I had to admit it was beautifully cooked and very tasty, and he did accept a bite of my shrimp.

Bobby seemed to relax completely with Carlos by the end of the dinner, and I was glad to see he was fitting in so well, not just in a work sense, but socially as well. I knew he already got along with Lester, and his Spanish, although not totally fluent, was good enough to have a conversation with Hector. Carlos seemed to relax finally as well, and I knew he was relieved that events had not been worse. I could tell how worried he had been with his sudden dash to Trenton.

After dinner, we went our separate ways. Carlos and I drove back to the hospital, where I brought Lester a piece of the Tiramisu I had ordered for dessert. Lester devoured it, complaining about the hospital food, and we sat chatting with him for about another hour before we headed back to my place.

As we walked in the door of my apartment, I could feel the atmosphere change, like it was charged with an electrical wire, and I turned to see the smouldering, intense gaze of my lover fixed on me. I smiled seductively and walked into the bedroom. Before he could follow me, I held my arm back through the door, and dropped my shirt onto the floor. I don't think it had even hit the floor when I was swept up and deposited onto my bed.

'Good' I thought. It was the last coherent thought I had for several hours.

Lester was released from the hospital the next morning, and after we collected him from the hospital, we went via Les Sebring's office to hand in the capture receipt for Morrison and Turnbull. Sebring greeted Lester and Carlos politely and nodded to me. I still thought he was a bit misogynist, but he wasn't rude. We collected the check for the capture, and Sebring agreed to direct some more high bond captures to either of them in the future. I got the impression this had been a test of sorts for him. I wondered if we had only just passed, since Lester was injured?

We drove Lester back to his hotel room after that, and we followed him in so Carlos could help him shower and change. Once he was settled in the hotel room again, Carlos made sure he had plenty of water and told him to call room service for lunch. Lester had several files from Miami that Carlos had brought up with him, and he was going to try and do some work while he was confined there. Carlos had also left Lester with his laptop since he would have access to his computer at the office.

We drove back to the office, and I was nearly dancing in my seat when Carlos told me that the building owners had accepted the Rangeman offer for the purchase, at least in principle. Carlos suggested we ask the realtor if we could get access to the Haywood Street building, so we could do another inspection and sketch out some more renovation plans and ideas. I called the realtor, Morieti, who agreed to meet us there at one o'clock.

We settled into the office to get some work done, and at twelve, I went down to the deli to get us some sandwiches and drinks for lunch. It felt strange, but somehow very familiar, to be working in the office with Carlos in his office. I glanced up frequently to look at him through his open door, perhaps to reassure myself he was really there again.

At twenty to one, we headed over to Haywood Street, and arrived at the building just as the realtor parked in front of us. We got out to greet each other, and the realtor let us into the lobby. He asked how long we would be, and Carlos estimated about two hours, so Morieti agreed he would come back around three to lock up and he left.

The next two hours we spent walking through each floor of the building. I was taking copious notes as we discussed ideas, and Carlos was making quick sketches of each floor with notations on likely locations of things. I mentioned to Carlos the idea we had discussed with Bobby of having an infirmary in the building, and Carlos was cautiously positive about the idea. He made a notation on the third-floor sketch about where it might be located.

We left just after three to head back to the office. I started typing up my notes when Carlos came and leaned against my desk. I looked up with a smile to his intense gaze. "Babe, would you like to go on a date tonight? Just you and me?"

My smile widened to a broad grin, "I'd love to Carlos. Do you have anything in mind?"

He replied, "Well, it's your birthday next week. I may not be here, so I'd like to do something with you that you'd love to do. Any suggestions?"

I thought about it for a minute. I remembered something I'd heard on the radio yesterday, and I decided to tease him a little. "Well… there's a monster truck rally on…" I said thoughtfully. The look of shock and horror that flashed across his face was priceless and I broke down into giggles.

His eyebrow went up, even as his lips tipped up and he shook his head. When I got myself under control, I said, "Honestly, I'm not sure Carlos. I love the beach at Point Pleasant, so we could go up there? Have dinner, walk on the Boardwalk? Or…" I trailed off for real this time.

"What is it, Babe? I want to do something special with you."

"Well, at Asbury Park, they do ghost tours at night. There's a Boardwalk tour or a city lantern tour. I've always wanted to do that. Halloween is my favourite holiday and I love spooky stories…" I looked up at him, and he looked thoughtful.

I waited, and he said, "Maybe we could stay up there overnight, have dinner, join a tour, stay at a bed and breakfast or something."

"Really?" I couldn't believe he was even considering it.

"Sure, Babe," he leaned over and brushed a kiss on my lips. He whispered, "But only for you." I grinned at him excitedly. "I'll see what I can do. I'll have to go back and check on Santos this afternoon, but Hector volunteered to take him dinner and keep him company tonight watching a game, so I could take you on a date. So, it should be fine. Leave it with me." He walked back into his office and closed the door to start making calls.

I couldn't help the little squeal of joy that escaped me. This was going to be so much fun!

Please review if you can. Next chapter will be mostly just fun!

For anyone interested, I thought I would explain a bit more - I have mentioned several times an abusive and racist reviewer that keeps persisting, chapter after chapter. I have always deleted their reviews (guest reviews of course, they would not risk logging in, I'd report them in a heartbeat!) but just to give you the context - they call me "the stupid c*nt writer" (fully spelled out) and criticise every scene I write that does not have Steph and Ranger together. Bobby gets called racist terms and Lester is a "man-wh*re" who Steph cannot spend time with unless she is a "wh*re" herself. Apparently, men and women can't be friends? I mostly just ignore their bigoted and ignorant rants, but it just amazes me that someone can invest so much passion and prejudice into my inconsequential fanfiction writing. I've been tempted so many times to just turn off guest reviews, but I know that would both limit the reviewers a lot (I get a lot of guest reviews) and also cut down severely on the feedback and input I get (which I really rely on). So I guess I just keep deleting them, and won't let one bad apple spoil the bunch. But I wish they'd just stop... sigh.