43Disclaimer: This a Stephanie Plum FanFiction Story. All recognizable characters belong to the fabulous Janet Evanovich. I am just borrowing her amazing characters for a while. I'm grateful she allows us to play.
Summary: Stephanie and Ranger share their Christmas wishes. Canon compliant. Takes place after Hard Eight.
A little one-shot in response to the December Writing Challenge in the Janet Evanovich Fan Fiction Facebook group.
Activity: Picking out a tree and personalized ornament
Trope: Mutual pining
Dialogue prompt: That has got to be the lamest pick-up line ever." "Don't worry, that is just plan A." "So what's plan B?" "To take you hostage."
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Christmas Wishes
Stephanie looked over the lot at the bedraggled bunch of Christmas trees that nobody else wanted. They were a sad bunch, but that just seemed fitting. It was late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve and most people were safely tucked in with their families, wrapping presents and drinking hot cocoa. But not Stephanie. Nope, she was out under the steel grey sky that threatened snow, looking at holiday rejects.
A brief pang of sympathy darted through her. She understood being a holiday reject. She and Morelli had planned to spend Christmas together. They bought a tree, decorated it, and made plans. Then they had a fight over nothing, and everything, and now here she was alone at the holidays.
Stephanie refused to let that get her down. She wanted a tree, and she was going to have one. She drifted through the lot, looking over the options, discarding one after another. That one was too tall, that one too barren, that one, well, it was hard to say. It was misshapen, with big gaping holes in the boughs. It was calling her name, and it was also half-off, so that didn't hurt.
"Babe." A deep, rich voice sounded behind her.
Stephanie smiled. She'd know that voice anywhere. A little thrill went through her like it always did.
Babe could mean a lot of things, but tonight the question was unmistakable. Ranger wanted to know what she was doing in a Christmas tree lot on Christmas eve in a less than stellar neighborhood.
Stephanie turned to face him and gave him a smile even though what she really wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and feel his warmth, hear the steady beat of his heart.
"I'm looking for a tree."
"Babe." The fess-up warning was clear.
Stephanie looked down and kicked at the loose gravel with her boot, and sighed. She really didn't want to get into what had happened discussion with Ranger. It was too raw, and Ranger was the one that told her she needed to repair her relationship with Morelli. Ranger was the one that said Morelli was a good man and practically shoved her back to him, after Ranger rocked her world and made her realize how average everything in her life was.
Somehow Stephanie and Morelli just couldn't make it work, mainly because they both knew they wanted people neither of them could have, and that's not something she could tell Ranger, for a lot of reasons. Hell, even Morelli knew she was in love with Ranger. He'd stopped telling her to stay away from Ranger, ceased being jealous, and now the two of them worked together, and handed her off to each other like she was a shared burden. Sometimes it felt like a betrayal on both their parts. There had been a lot of things that cut like a knife, but none deeper than that.
"I just need a little Christmas cheer, OK."
Ranger grasped her chin and tilted her face until she was looking at him. She could see the concern in his eyes.
"Morelli?"
"Yes."
"You know what you need, babe?"
Stephanie thought Ranger under the tree with nothing but a Santa hat on was what she really needed, but she kept that to herself.
"A Christmas miracle?" She hedged.
He smiled at her, a good one that warmed his eyes. "Something like that."
"How about I take you to dinner and we get you a tree? A better one that doesn't look like Charlie Brown's Christmas gone wild."
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "That has got to be the lamest pick-up line ever."
Ranger gave a bark of laughter. "Don't worry, that is just plan A."
"So what's plan B?"
"To take you hostage."
A little flutter went through her belly. Handcuffed by Ranger, preferably with both of them naked, now that had some appeal. Stephanie's mouth went dry, and she almost had an orgasm in the Christmas tree lot. She'd seen enough to know Ranger was perfection. Everywhere.
By the cocky look on his face, she was pretty sure he knew exactly what she was thinking.
"So, what do you say?"
Stephanie's shoulder tilted up. "OK."
Ranger hooked his arm around her and pulled her close, kissing the side of her head. "Let's get out of here."
They walked a few steps and Ranger stopped. He twirled her in his arms so her back was against his chest, and wrapped his warm, powerful arms around her, pulling her close. She relaxed into him, resting her head on his chest.
"Look." Ranger pointed to the sky and Stephanie's gaze followed.
Big fat snowflakes had started to drift down, the steel grey sky finally giving way. Snowflakes fluttered through the air like graceful butterflies. They kissed her face and clung to her eyelashes. As the snow got heavier, the world around them took on a magical feel, like they were hidden in a faraway, enchanted forest.
This was one of those special moments. Just the two of them. Reality pushed outside their little bubble. Snuggled in his arms, his big body wrapped around her like they didn't have a care in the world. No responsibilities, no restrictions, no gulf between them, keeping them apart. No longer from two separate and distinct worlds. These were the seconds in life that meant the most. When their lives touched, and just for the briefest of times, they were in perfect harmony.
"What do you wish for?" Ranger's soft voice was close to the shell of her ear. He sounded wistful.
"Something I can't have." She whispered back.
"But if you could…" His voice trailed off.
You, she thought. His arms tightened around her like he read her thoughts, and tears prickled her eyes. A lone tear popped out and slid down her cheek.
"What do you wish for, Ranger?"
She felt him take in a big breath and slowly exhale. "The same."
Stephanie wanted to scream at the sky. If they both wished for the same thing, why couldn't they have it. Instead, she tugged Ranger's arms around her tighter and watched the snow blanket the ground, erasing all the imperfections.
"It's going to be a white Christmas." She whispered.
They stood there for a few minutes, not caring about the snow or the cold, wrapped in their perfect cocoon. Just the two of them, friends, lovers, and fated mates. Far too soon, Ranger tugged her hand, guiding her out of the winter wonderland and back into reality. He loaded her into his SUV. "I'll have one of the guys drop your car home."
"Thanks." Stephanie mumbled idly as she stared out the window.
The sky was darker as night approached and the snow was really coming down. A few people were scurrying about with last-minute holiday preparations rushing to get home.
"Want to grab Shorty's and take it to your place?" Ranger asked her.
"What pizza? I thought the body was a temple." She teased. It sounded hollow even to her own ears.
"It's Christmas eve, I'll chance it." Ranger glanced over at her and smiled.
"Sure, sounds good."
They swung by Shorty's and grabbed a pizza. Half meat lovers and half veggie. Stephanie managed not to roll her eyes. So much for wild and crazy. Just once she really wished Ranger would lose some of that legendary control.
They stomped the snow off of their boots and entered her apartment. She should have asked him to drop her at her parents. With this amount of snow, she probably wouldn't even be able to get out tomorrow, but the appeal of dinner with Ranger won out.
When they pushed through the door, Stephanie let out a delighted little gasp. Standing in the corner of her living room was the most perfect little tree she had ever seen. It was about six feet tall, lush deep green boughs that were perfectly symmetrical reached out from the trunk. Its wonderful pine scent graced the room and Stephanie inhaled the woodsy scent, thinking it smelled just like Christmas. Small, twinkling lights in shades of red, green, and blue already adorned the tree.
Ranger was still holding the pizza box, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.
"That is perfect."
Ranger's head rested against hers for a moment. She desperately wanted to blurt out, "I love you," but instead, she said. "I love it."
Stephanie disentangled herself from Ranger, suddenly self-conscious. She busied herself with hanging up her coat and taking off her boots, fighting to regain her equilibrium. Ranger sat the pizza on the table and pulled off his coat. The fabric of his t-shirt clung to his chest, outlining his muscles like a delicious tease, and Stephanie forced herself to look away.
"Beer or wine?" She asked as she peered into the refrigerator, wondering if she had either.
"Water." Ranger shrugged. "I'm on call for patrol."
"No family thing?" She asked as she pulled out a bottle of water and a beer.
"No, I try to give my men the holiday."
"Sounds like a good excuse to me." She raised her eyebrows at him as she handed him his water.
"I'll go to Christmas mass."
"You go to mass?"
"Not as often as I would like."
The answer surprised Stephanie a little. Ranger was on the job 24/7, and he wasn't a man who easily accepted someone else's doctrine. Ranger made his own rules. Most of them were good rules, but they didn't completely line up with the Ten Commandments.
"If this snow keeps coming down, it may just be me and Rex for Christmas." Stephanie handed him a plate and sat down at the table.
"I can have one of the guys drop you at your parent's house tomorrow." Ranger told her and loaded a piece of veggie pizza onto his plate.
Stephanie made a non-committal sound. Part of her wasn't looking forward to showing up at her parent's house alone and enduring a grilling on why Morelli wasn't with her. Maybe the snow was the universe giving her a pass.
Stephanie gestured with her head towards the tree. "So do you just throw the ornaments on the tree or do you plan with military precision where each ornament should go."
Ranger threw his head back and laughed. God, he was gorgeous. Stephanie tried not to stare at the strong, sexy column of his throat or all that flawless skin that was tempting her to lick her way from hollow of his throat, right up to that perfectly sinful mouth.
Laughing wasn't something Ranger did very often, but when he did, it transformed him. He seemed younger, softer somehow. He didn't bother to answer what they both already knew. Ranger left nothing to chance and Ranger favored order over chaos.
They ate companionably for a few minutes until Ranger's phone dinked. He looked at the display and grimaced.
"Babe." His eyes cut to the boxes of ornaments sitting at the base of the tree.
Stephanie gave him a small smile. "It's fine. I know you have to go."
Ranger stood and pulled on his coat and Stephanie trailed him to the door.
He put his hands on her shoulders. "I wish I could stay."
"I know."
Ranger leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Merry Christmas, babe."
"Merry Christmas, Ranger." With that, he let himself out the door and faded into the night.
Stephanie threw the locks and padded over to the perfect tree that looked out of place in her not so perfect apartment. Tears of sadness, loneliness, and regret threatened as she put each ornament on one-by-one, wishing with each placement Ranger was here. She knew one day Ranger would walk out the door and fade out of her life. It was inevitable. Her eyes cut to her phone. Maybe she should call Morelli, patch things up. Ranger was right. She needed to repair her relationship with him, and part of that would be limiting her interaction with Ranger. That was the source of a lot of her problems with Morelli.
Ranger was wrong about one thing though; Morelli wasn't the better man. At least not for her. Stephanie went back to hanging the ornaments on the tree. Maybe tomorrow. Tonight, she wasn't ready to give up Ranger.
Stephanie changed into her pajamas and crawled under the covers. The snow was still falling, a pristine white blanket covering everything, turning the world into a fairy tale. She gave a sad sigh and closed her eyes, thinking she wished life's scars were as easy to cover up.
How and why she'd fallen in love with Ranger was a mystery. He'd been clear about his priorities, and a relationship wasn't on the list. He'd rocked her world, melted her brain, got up, got dressed and walked out. And that had been that, or at least it should have been. But maybe it had never mattered, because she was afraid she had been just a little in love with him from the first time she met him. She drifted off with visions of Ranger drifting through her head.
Stephanie popped one eye open, and then the other. Muted sunlight filtered through the window and she pulled the covers back over her head. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and something yummy wafted her way, and she threw the covers back and pulled on her robe to go investigate.
Her gun was in her brown bear cookie jar, but she wasn't too worried. Most psychos didn't make coffee when they broke into her house. She padded down the hall and peeked around the corner.
Ranger was in the kitchen. He was cooking. She blinked her eyes a couple of times to clear the sleep from them and looked again, just to make sure.
Ranger handed her a cup of coffee without a word and she edged a little closer as the magic caffeine worked its way through her system.
"I thought you were on patrol?"
"I am, but I've got a couple hour break."
She edged a little closer and peered over his shoulder into the pan. "So you thought you'd make me breakfast."
Ranger smiled at her.
"Are those?"
"Blueberry pancakes." Ranger confirmed.
"I didn't know you could cook."
"I never said I couldn't cook, it just isn't the most efficient use of my time."
"Hmm." The mystery of Ranger deepened. Sex god and chef, that was a deadly combination.
Ranger flipped the pancakes and turned and pulled her against him, his hands resting at her waist. Stephanie tilted her head up, studying his perfect features. There was something unguarded about his gaze that made her breath hitch. An unnamed emotion that went beyond playful affection shimmered just under the surface.
His head dipped down and he brushed his lips across hers, soft and inviting. She pressed against him and Ranger deepened the kiss. When his tongue touched hers, all bets were off. The hell with relationships. She'd take anything he was prepared to offer. She could feel him stir against her belly, and a moan erupted from low in her throat. Her hands started working his shirt out of his cargo pants.
Ranger pulled back. "Babe," he whispered against her lips and caught her hands. "We can't do this."
"Why not?" She breathed against his lips, unwilling to move away.
"Not enough time." He hedged with just a hint of desperation.
"We can be quick." She growled as she pressed soft kisses along his throat.
Ranger groaned. "You're complicating my life."
"And complicated is bad?"
"No, just complicated." Ranger sat her away from him and she made a little sound of protest, that won her another one of his perfect smiles. Ranger turned back to the stove and plated their pancakes.
"Did you ever think maybe you're complicating my life too?" Stephanie asked as she grabbed the syrup and put it on the table.
"Am I?"
"Yes."
"Is that a bad thing?" Ranger asked. He was doing that thing where he could measure her heart rate and read her thoughts.
Stephanie held his gaze. "It doesn't have to be." She shrugged.
Ranger nodded and brought their plates to the table. Stephanie dumped a healthy amount of maple syrup on her pancakes and Ranger tried not to groan. Hey, it was Christmas after all.
"Omigod! These are so good. Seriously, where did you learn to cook like this?" Stephanie asked around a mouthful of pancake.
Ranger was smiling at her, shaking his head. "My grandma taught me."
Ranger's phone dinked and the pancake in Stephanie's throat got stuck and she swallowed hard. Ranger looked at the display and winced.
"You've got to go." It was a statement more than a question.
Ranger blew out an uncharacteristic sigh. "Yeah."
He got up and grabbed his coat, and Stephanie followed him to the door. She went up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his mouth.
"Thanks for the pancakes."
"Anytime babe."
Stephanie quirked an eyebrow at him. "Anytime."
Ranger just smiled and reached inside his coat pocket and handed her a small box wrapped in festive holiday paper.
"I'll be back at noon to pick you up and take you to your parents."
"You're coming with me?"
"If you want."
"I definitely want." Stephanie couldn't help the huge dopey grin that spread across her face.
Ranger gave her one more quick, hard kiss and left. Stephanie padded back to the table to finish her breakfast. She tugged at the ribbon on the little box and slipped the lid open.
Inside was a delicate silver snowflake tree ornament. Her fingers traced over it and she pulled it out of the box, holding it up to the light. She knew just the perfect place on the tree. As Stephanie went to hang it, something caught her eye, and she turned it over. Engraved on the back was one word.
'Someday.'
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A/N: Thanks for reading and thank you for reviewing. I read and appreciate every single one.