Disclaimer: These characters belong to Janet Evanovich. I make no profit.

Untitled 13

By Heidi

Previously

"The guys will handle it from here Babe. We're going back to Rangeman" Ranger said putting his arm around my shoulders and leading me toward the front of the house.

"Hey Steph? I'm glad that you're alright" Morelli said. "I don't know how you do it" he said shaking his head with a smile. "Stop by the station in a day or two and make your statements" he said to Ranger and me.

"Thanks Joe" I said and walked over to him hugging him tightly.

"Anytime Cupcake" he said with a smile.

"Let's go Babe. I don't know about you but I could use a shower and some time alone with you" Ranger said.

"Sounds perfect, but I need a donut too" I said with a smile.

Epilogue

Two Months Later

I awoke with a start, heart pounding, eyes wide. My hair was soaked in sweat, curls stuck to my face. My legs were tangled in bedding while my bare back was exposed to the cool air of the bedroom. I lifted my face out of the pillow it had been buried in to listen. There was a noise, I was pretty sure of it.

"Good morning Babe," I heard from across the room.

I rolled over onto my back and rose up on my elbows to look in Ranger's direction. When I managed to blink the sleep from my eyes I found him leaning against the dressing room doorway buckling on his watch.

"I didn't mean to wake you." He paused. "I walked into the wall," Ranger said sheepishly coming to sit down on the bed next to me.

Ranger walked into a wall? My Ranger? When I gave him a raised eyebrow he explained, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I was putting on my watch, walking across the dressing room and I saw your black boots on the floor and got… distracted." He lowered his voice to an intimate whisper. "You know the boots I mean Babe… the thigh-high ones…with the tall heel."

I felt my cheeks flush remembering the last time I'd worn those boots.

Ranger slowly lowered his lips to mine. His mouth was warm and minty fresh. My lips parted on a sigh letting his tongue slip between them in a hot, drugging kiss. He threaded one hand behind my neck and with the other caressed my bare breasts with a gentle touch. I traced the length of his arm with my fingertips enjoying the feel of his muscles beneath my touch.

After a few long moments he pulled back.

"I have a staff meeting downstairs in a half hour," he said his hand stroking my chest and belly.

"How long was I asleep?"

He brought his hand up to caress my cheek and brushed a sweaty curl away from my face.

"Only about twenty minutes" he said with a soft, lazy smile full of affection. When he smiled at me like that I couldn't help but smile back.

We had woken up at five-thirty this morning to Ranger's alarm clock. Instead of heading down to the gym for a workout we decided to stay in bed for a workout of another variety. We made love for close to an hour before falling into a sweaty, tangled heap on the bed. My heart stuttered in my chest at the memory. I shook my head slightly to chase away the sexy thoughts. Ranger had a meeting after all. Wait.

"Should I come down with you?"

"Well it is a staff meeting and you are a Rangeman staff member." His voice took on a conspiratorial tone. "Of course, if you'd rather stay here and rest up, you have the boss' permission. I hear he's got plans for you later."

"Nah, I'll get ready and come down. Don't want the guys to talk," I said with a wink. I leaned up, gave Ranger a kiss and hopped out of bed headed for the bathroom.

Things had really slowed down at Vinnie's. No one was jumping bail and that meant I wasn't making much money. Ranger asked me to come back to work part-time for Rangeman. He said he needed someone to partner up with the new guy, and I needed a more steady income, so I accepted.

I was shaved, washed, shampooed and conditioned by the time Ranger came into the bathroom to check on me. I shut off the water and stepped out of the shower and into the soft, fluffy towel he held outstretched in his hands. He wrapped it around me folding me into his arms. With a kiss on the forehead he took a step back.

"There's a cup of coffee on the vanity for you and breakfast is waiting in the kitchen." Ranger looked at his watch. "You've got 17 minutes, Babe."

"Aye-aye Captain" I said snapping him a salute.

"Wise-ass" he said over his shoulder as he left the room.

Ten minutes later I was washing the last of my bagel down with coffee at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. I was dressed in the full Rangeman uniform, gun and ID badge included. I was going all official today since there was a staff meeting. My face was moisturized and lashes coated with mascara, but my hair was pulled back into a ponytail under a Rangeman ball cap. Not a lot I can do with my hair in five minutes.

I set down my coffee mug quickly. "Time?"

Ranger chuckled and looked at his watch. "Four minutes to spare, Babe. I'm impressed" he said with a grin. "That means four extra minutes of alone time" he said spinning my stool around and nuzzling my neck.

I took my seat at the table next to Ranger and glanced around the conference room. The room was full of Merry Men today, Tank, Hal, Cal, Bobby, Lester, Woody, Ram, Manny, Zero and the newest member of the Rangeman family, Javier.

Ranger said any man who would throw himself out a window on top of a psycho with a grenade without getting paid just to protect me, a woman who punched him in the face the first time he met, is Rangeman material. We all agreed. Javier working at Rangeman fulfilled the job-training requirement of his release from jail which was an added bonus.

My gaze met Javier's and a smile spread across his face.

Paula spent a couple of days at Woodview Medical Center under Jason's care. She was treated for dehydration and the after effects of spending days under amateur sedation. She's seeing a therapist to deal with the emotional trauma from the ordeal. None of us knows exactly what Edward Scrog did to her, but we know that it was bad. I had a hard time coping with the guilt at first. I felt like it was my fault that she's suffering. Surprisingly it was Paula herself who helped me to get past the guilt.

Ranger paid all of Paula and Javier's hospital bills. He told them it was the least he could do for them after the role Javier played in Scrog's takedown but I think maybe it was his way of getting past the guilt.

I met Paula for coffee a few weeks ago. She had just come from signing up for her college courses and she seemed really happy. She couldn't stop thanking me for what Ranger and I have done for her and Javier. I kept telling her it wasn't me but she said that I'd done more for Javier than anyone else in his whole life. I'm guessing she didn't mean my kicking his ass but since I haven't done much else for him who knows? Ranger insisted on including Paula on Javier's Rangeman medical insurance plan for as long as she remains in school. Ranger may be a real badass but he has a heart of gold.

Ranger's hand on my knee drew my attention back to the present and I quickly realized everyone was looking at me and waiting for me to say something only…I didn't know what. I hadn't been paying attention. Javier came to my rescue.

"That won't be a problem, right Steph? For us to help Cal and Hal on surveillance this afternoon?"

"Oh…no, no problem. I don't have any skips as of right now" I said shooting Javier a thankful glance.

The meeting moved on to status updates on open cases. Since I didn't have any open cases I found my mind drifting again.

After the dust settled from the Scrog mess Ranger and I took some time off. We spent a solid week just relaxing at the house like Ranger promised. I'm not sure what I expected the Batcave to be like exactly but it's even better than I could have imagined. The house is a large natural colored wooden home built into the middle of a thick forest. The private road leading to it is a mile of packed gravel that snakes around the existing landscape and trees that have been there probably for hundreds of years. The driveway and the house were designed to compliment and harmonize with the nature around it so despite the size, the house doesn't look intrusive. Somehow out there in the middle of all that nature, the house fits in perfectly.

Inside, the décor is similar to the apartment at Rangeman, lots of earth tones and a mix of modern and antique furniture. Very Zen. There are many large windows and skylights to the point where it almost feels like you're living outdoors with the trees and open sky around you. This being Ranger's house, of course, there are lots of high-tech elements. At the push of a button shades come down between the layers of bulletproof glass giving total privacy despite how much exposure the windows normally allow. There's a state-of-the-art security system complete with infrared cameras and motion sensors. Scrog was smart to stay far away from here.

That Batcave has an indoor lap pool and a gym/yoga room where Ranger spent some time each day. I even joined him a few times. Man, you haven't lived until you've done naked Yoga with Ranger.

I think what surprised me to most about the Batcave was the reading room. It shouldn't have surprised me, I guess, not really. Ranger talked casually about history the day we met and quoted Carl Sandburg not long after that, not to mention that he's the smartest person I've ever met. I just never pictured him as someone who would have a reading room. The reading room walls are lined with built-in floor to ceiling shelves that are loaded with books and these aren't just any books. There are fiction books, history books, military books, and leather-bound Shakespeare books. I saw books written in Spanish and books from all around the world. Ranger told me that he's read all of them except for a handful.

The reading room is furnished with an antique cherry desk on one side and a large brown leather comfy chair with matching ottoman next to the fireplace on the other side. The first time I walked into the room and saw Ranger lounging in the chair, feet propped up, book in hand, I couldn't help but stop and watch him. With his blue jeans, warm socks and faded grey t-shirt he looked like any normal man relaxing at home on a winter evening with a good book and a roaring fire. Ok, so Ranger will never be totally normal but it's like Lula said, Ranger's way better than normal.

A knock on the door startled me from my memories. The door opened and in walked Joe Morelli. He nodded at Ranger who nodded in return and then Morelli looked at me and made a face somewhere between a smile and a grimace. Oh great, now what? I noticed that he had a manila folder in his hand. His cop face came down as he took a seat at the table.

Morelli and I have managed to become good friends just like we were hoping to. He started dating Stacey Farnsworth, the lady from the library, shortly after the Scrog case was wrapped up. It looks like things are getting pretty serious between them. Word around the Burg is Stacey cooks a mean meatloaf and has even earned Grandma Bella's seal of approval without so much as the threat of the eye. Ranger and I met Morelli and Stacey at Pino's a couple of weeks ago for pizza. We got quite a few nosy looks from the large crowd that gathered but if they were hoping for a show, they were sadly disappointed. It was a lovely evening.

Mom seems to have finally accepted that Joe and I have both moved on. Ranger and I have been to dinner at my parents' a couple of times but we've made it a point not to commit to doing it weekly. Mom has been taking some night classes and is getting close to her nursing degree. Dad and Grandma are left to fend for themselves three nights a week. They pretty much avoid each other and Dad ends up at the lodge while Grandma and her friends go to the new Chinese Buffet on Roebling. They offer a senior discount after all.

Ranger and I have made sure to take my parents out for dinner every couple of weeks. It's been great to see my mother get to relax and just enjoy the food for a change without having to be the hostess. I noticed her smile at the way Ranger and I are together, saw her face soften at the sight of our joined hands. Last week, Ranger and Dad went to fetch the car as we left Rossini's and Mom and I waited under the awning hiding from the rain. Mom leaned in close and said something that I wasn't sure I'd ever hear from her. She told me that she could see how happy Ranger and I are together and that despite our differences we just…fit. She told me that she's excited for our future, no matter what it holds in store for us.

"Babe," Ranger whispered close to my ear. "Since you shouldn't be smiling after the news from Morelli, I can only assume you weren't listening."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't listening" I said with an apologetic grin. "Can you say that again?" I asked Morelli. Ranger took my hand in his under the table and held it tightly. I turned to look at him and saw his face taut with tension. To a stranger he looked at ease, but I knew him better than that. I looked back at Morelli.

"The Trenton PD got a call from Dave Nelson at the funeral parlor this morning. When he and Scooter went to meet an incoming body around six they found a surprise waiting for them in the casket display room" Morelli said.

My stomach dropped and all kinds of nasty thoughts of bodies, fingers and severed genitals filled my head. I was almost afraid to ask. "What was it?"

Morelli slid an 8x10 photograph across the table to me.

I gasped when I saw it but I couldn't look away.

The photo was of a shiny black casket with a grey satin lining but it's what was in the casket that had me dumbstruck. It was a life-sized cardboard photograph cut-out of me. The picture was taken while I was asleep on my back but when it was put into the coffin it was easy to believe I might have been dead.

"Was there a note?" I whispered looking at Morelli. I glanced at Javier who was sitting next to him for the first time since Morelli arrived. Javier's hands were balled into tight white-knuckled fists resting on the table, his jaw was clenched tight.

Morelli handed me a photo copy. It was a note with words pieced together with cut-out newsprint letters. The note was only two words long. I'm back.

A/N – That's all folks! Woohooo! It's finally done, my very first full-length fanfic! And hey, it only took 8 months, right, lol. I am so terribly sorry for the wait but I hope that you enjoyed it nonetheless.