Disclaimer: The characters of the Stephanie Plum series belong to Janet evanovich and are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Note: This started out as a challenge response. It shouldn't take too much longer to finish, I just haven't had time to work on more than short bits so far.
Rating: Suitable for all audiences
Pairing: Ranger/Stephanie Feedback: Email TT
| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 |
Take A Chance
By TT
Part 1
(Stephanie POV)
Stephanie sat in her quiet apartment, her fingers caressing the small square of paper in her hand. It was a piece of paper that could make many of her dreams come true. It was a piece of paper that could change her life forever. It was the possible changes that terrified her.
After three and a half years of being a BEA, having stalker after stalker and nut case after nut case trying to kill her, she didn’t think there was much left in her life that would terrify her – other than her emotions, anyway.
But this little piece of paper was about to change everything.
“Are you going to tell him?” Diesel asked, walking across the living room and dropping into the armchair.
“Eep!” was Stephanie’s first response, having been taken by surprise. “Diesel!” she screamed. “Don’t do that! Make a popping noise or something!” When she only received an unrepentant grin in return, she slouched back on the couch once more and glared at him. “What are you doing here anyway? Is there another ‘unmentionable’ that needs your help?”
Diesel just grinned and shook his head. “Nope. I’m here for you, this time,” he informed, settling more comfortably into the chair.
“Great, just what I need,” Stephanie muttered to herself before reaching up and rubbing her forehead. “What exactly are you here to help me with?” she asked.
Leaning forward, Diesel flicked the tiny slip of paper in her hand. “I’m here to help you with that.”
Stephanie looked at him, her confusion evident in her face.
When it became obvious she wasn’t understand him, Diesel sighed. Stephanie was an amazing person, she would have to be for the powers that be to assign him to her, but sometimes the woman was just plain dense. “Most people in you situation are utterly ecstatic and already have plans. I know you had plans and at first you were excited. What happened?”
Setting the paper carefully on her coffee table, Stephanie sank back into the couch, tipped her head back and stared at the ceiling, gathering her thoughts.
“I was excited,” she finally said. “Honestly, though, I never had any set plans for this situation. I never thought it would actually happen, so when it did, I was stunned. When the initial shock wore off, I couldn’t help thinking about everything I could do with it, everything I wanted to do with it. Then the amount sunk in and a whole bunch of other realizations came with it.”
Silence fell heavily in the room once more. Diesel prodded, “What sort of realizations?”
Stephanie rubbed her face with both hands before letting them fall in her lap. “ I realized exactly how much my life will change if I follow through; how I’ll have to wonder if every time the phone rings someone will be wanting something from me; how I’ll wonder if my friends are still my friends; how I’ll have that much more additional worry about money,” she replied. After a moment’s pause, her voice sounded, only this time much more softly, “How much more nagging I’ll get from my family to quit my job.”
Diesel was silent for a few minutes. “Do you really think you’ll have to worry about your friends?”
Stephanie’s eyes flicked to the man in her armchair before closing. Searching her heart, she knew the answer, “No.”
“OK, so no friend worries,” Diesel agreed. “As for every time your phone rings, you already worry about that.”
Stephanie sat up and gaped at him. “I do not!” she denied. “I don’t get those sorts of calls because everyone knows I don’t have money.”
“Not what I meant,” Diesel replied. “Answer quickly. What’s the first thing that crosses your mind when the phone rings?”
“I hope my mom isn’t going to yell at me,” Stephanie responded without thinking.
Diesel rewarded her with a huge grin. “There you go,” he said. “Every time your phone rings you already worry, so, no change there.”
Though she couldn’t disagree with him, Stephanie still didn’t like him pointing that out and rewarded the blond with a glare.
“As for how much more you’ll have to worry about money, I can’t really help you with that,” Diesel informed with a shrug. “You’re going to worry or not, you’ll just be seeing it from a different angle. But I’m sure you’ll figure out how to deal with that.”
Stephanie let out a resigned sigh and nodded.
“As for your last concern,” Diesel began, his voice trailing off as he waited for Stephanie to meet his eyes. When he was certain he had Stephanie’s attention, he simply asked, “Who said you had to tell anyone?”
Stephanie rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I can keep it a secret. They publish the names all over the place. Everyone is going to know.”
“Not necessarily,” Diesel replied.
“What do you mean?” Stephanie asked, curious.
“Tell me when the last time you heard the name of someone in your position published or aired,” Diesel demanded.
Stephanie stopped and thought. She didn’t normally keep up on news all that much, but she honest couldn’t remember exactly. “A couple months ago, I guess,” she finally admitted. At Diesel’s grin of triumph, she hurriedly pointed out, “But most likely none of them frequented the front page on their own.”
His smile dimming slightly, Diesel could only nod. “True,” he finally admitted. “But if you handle this right, you won’t have to worry about it.”
“Diesel, someone’s bound to notice eventually,” Stephanie pointed out. “I’m not going to live here in the apartment if I don’t have to.”
With a shrug, Diesel said, “Then come up with a cover story.”
“Like what?” Stephanie demanded.
“Tell them you won some money in the lottery and decided to move somewhere safer,” he suggested.
Stephanie flew to her feet, arms waving. “But I didn’t just win ‘some money’ in the lottery!” she shouted. “I won the whole freakin’ thing! Fifty-Three million dollars! That’s not ‘some money’!”
“Shh. Quiet down,” Diesel cautioned. “Your neighbors may be deaf, but even they will hear you if you keep on that way.” He waited for Stephanie to settle down and reclaim her seat. He studied her for a few minutes before observing, “It’s not the nagging that bothers you is it?”
Stephanie’s eyes shot up to his, wide in their surprise. She began looking for an escape.
“It’s the thought of not doing BEA work anymore isn’t it?” Diesel prodded. Studying Stephanie’s reaction to that statement, a slow smile started spreading across his face as realization dawned. “It’s not even the job,” he stated, amusement in his voice. “It’s him. You’re afraid that Ranger will look at you differently, that you’ll stop seeing him altogether.”
Stephanie snorted, stood and started pacing. Diesel had hit the nail on the head, but she didn’t want to admit it to herself, had been avoiding thinking of that.
He watched the fear flash in Stephanie’s eyes and gentled his smile. “Stephanie, just tell him how you feel. You’ve hidden it long enough. Your concern over this just proves that there are things more valuable than money to you, so take a chance for what counts and tell him. As for the other, did you ever think he’d help you if you asked? You should ask him.”
Stephanie just shook her head and paced.
Eight months ago, Joe had been given a chance to work for the Treasury Department. That had triggered a very serious discussion between the two of them, perhaps their first ever. After the yelling, screaming and tears were done, they had talked things out and said goodbye. Both of them knew they wouldn’t keep in touch, neither was a dedicated correspondent. They said goodbye and Joe left a month later.
For once, the Burg didn’t know what to make of it and even the rumors were less spectacular than normal.
Just before Joe left, Ranger went into the wind for a few months. When he came back, he became scarce. Something was going on with his business and with a huge job that was eating up a lot of his time.
Silvio had called her six months ago to come back at least part time and help with the searches. Once he’d said please, Stephanie knew she would do it. Silvio, despite their brief acquaintance, was her friend and she wouldn’t let a friend down if she could help it.
She worked thirty hours a week at Rangeman when she could.
Of course, she didn’t see Ranger any more than she did when she was just working for Vinnie. Since working at Rangeman, she’d seen him in the office precisely twice and both times he was just stopping by to pick something up before setting out again.
The first time he came in, it was almost like he didn’t register her presence. That was very unlike him. Ranger was always aware of changes in his surroundings, but he’d just greeted her as if she was always in the office and headed about his business.
A few weeks later he’d stopped by again before heading off to Miami. He walked past her cubicle stopped, turned and walked back.
(the past)
“Trouble with a skip?” he asked.
Stephanie just blinked a few times, surprised by the question.
“I don’t mind if you use the search programs here, Babe,” Ranger assured. “Anytime you need them, just come by. It’s why you still have clearance to be here.”
“Hey, Steph,” Cal interrupted, poking his head over her cubicle wall. “Do you have my search finished yet?”
“Sure, Cal,” Stephanie replied, hading him the completed folder. “You might want to take a closer look at the parts I’ve noted. I don’t know what it all means, but it might be helpful.”
“Thanks, Steph,” Cal replied before disappearing with his folder.
Turning her attention back to Ranger, she saw the puzzled look on his face and smiled. “Silvio asked me back part-time,” she informed softly. “I’ve been working here for four months.”
Ranger’s eyes widened in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, he was called away. “Later, Babe,” he said, leaning in to kiss her before disappearing down the hall.
(Present)
Other than that, she only saw him at Vinnie’s. He still managed to come in once a week at least. It seemed strange to her to be working at his company, in a building where he lived - well, he never said he lived there, just that he stayed there sometimes, but she was going with lived for now – and only ever seeing him at the bond office.
“His life doesn’t lend itself to relationships,” Stephanie murmured, having seen these last few months exactly how true that statement was.
Diesel snorted. “Neither does yours,” he replied. “Doesn’t mean you can’t have one.” When Stephanie turned and stared at him, he continued, “You need to figure out what you do want, not just what you don’t want. Once you figure out what you want, you need to figure out what you need to do to get it and whether or not the positives will out-weigh the negatives. Then you need to suck it up and take a chance by telling him what you want.”
“Sounds easy, when it’s not your heart on the line,” Stephanie mumbled under her breath.
Diesel stood and stepped in front of the pacing Stephanie, causing her to stop her pacing. Putting a finger under her chin, he lifted her head until she met his eyes. “You can do this. I don’t know exactly what will happen, but if you tell him and he rejects you, you’ll hurt, then heal and move on. If you never tell him, you’re always going to wonder.”
Stephanie just stared at him. What he said was true and made sense. The problem was, she wasn’t sure she was brave enough to try.
Diesel just grinned at her. “Of course you’re brave enough to try,” he encouraged. “And if not, well, you can always buy-out Macy’s.”
At this last statement, Stephanie couldn’t help but burst out in laughter.
Part 2
(Ranger POV)
Ranger sank back into the bed and closed his eyes.
He used several deep breathing exercises to help release the tension that had taken up seemingly permanent residence in his body.
As he breathed in he allowed his mind to go blank. It was probably more accurate to say he forced his mind to go blank.
Continuing the process, he felt his body begin to relax and with it, the thoughts about his jobs that had constantly assailed and distracted him for the past eight or so months.
As he had grown into adulthood, he had begun to learn the truth behind many of the sayings he had heard as a child.
When he signed up for his first stint in the army, he’d had to give up many of his old ways. He had learned the truth and value of the advice, “all things in moderation”.
Abiding by that saying had gotten him through more than one tough situation. Had he imbibed as he used to before the army, there was no way he would have become a Ranger. Had he ignored it after he left the army, he wouldn’t be able to continue to do the missions for which he hired himself out.
Another deep breath swelled his lungs to their full capacity before he began letting it out, imagining the stress and tension seeping from his fingertips and toes.
He was a mercenary now, among other things, but he was not a mercenary man by nature. He would be a hired soldier for his country, but, in life, he sought more than just money. That truth was best shown by his reaction to Stephanie’s mishaps with his cars.
A small smile crept onto his face as it did anytime he thought of her.
She was a light in his life, a comfort to him, and peace in times of chaos.
He longed to have her in his arms right now, as he did every night.
There might even be a chance for him – for them – now if it weren’t for the truth of another old adage – bad things come in threes.
Feeling his shoulders begin to tense at the memory of how this all began, he struggled to keep his mind blank. Eventually, though, he just didn’t have the energy and allowed the memories to wash over him.
Eight months ago, there had been rumors of a break between Stephanie and Morelli. They said that this time it was for real and was permanent.
Before he could verify the truth of the rumors, he had been called in by an old friend to help with a delicate situation. He’d had no choice but to respond. He let Stephanie know he would be “in the wind” for a while, but hadn’t expected the situation to last this long. The initial months he’d been out of town and out of the country.
The “situation”, however, became more serious, more convoluted and more deadly for more people.
As soon as he’d hit the states again, a large problem with one of his investments had happened. He had been a silent partner in the company since its founding. Rarely did he have anything to do with it and he almost never showed up on site.
That situation had necessitated his suddenly taking a very active role in not only salvaging the business, but also in working to find the root cause of the problem.
As if that wasn’t enough of a burden, in the midst of salvaging a company and trying to resolve the international crisis for his friend, his grandmother had a minor stroke on the same day his father had to go in for bypass surgery. His mother was a complete wreck and the entire family had banded together.
He hadn’t been particularly close with his family going back to when he joined the army, but this was the sort of situation that blew away estrangements and drew everyone together.
Despite the emotional distance he tried to maintain, the thought of losing either his father or abuela was unacceptable.
He’d only arrived back in Trenton a few weeks – or was it months – ago. His relatives were finally mending, but the other two problems remained.
Two weeks ago, however, things had started getting shaky with Rangeman and demanded his attention.
So, he spent an average of nineteen hours a day working or flying all over the country. The first time he’d been back in the Trenton office, he’d been up for 60 hours, flown from England to California, down to Miami and then back to Trenton. That, of course, didn’t account for the computer work he’d done on the plane or the meetings he’d had to attend.
He could remember walking into the office and greeting everyone. It was only once he was out of the building and on his way again that he realized Stephanie had been there.
As far as he knew, she hadn’t worked for him for quite a while. The fact that she was there now was a little worrying, but he didn’t have the time or energy to devote to those thoughts. He was on his way to meet an informant in Philly.
He had crashed for a full 24 hours after that, but then had been up and running once more.
Given the problems in Miami, he had decided he needed to start making more of an appearance in Trenton. That would allow word to get out that he was back and feed into the fear factor so frequently associated with him.
Most days, he buzzed through town just long enough to put in an appearance at the bond office. That was the most public place he appeared, so it was the best place to get word out.
It was a rare day when he was in town longer than it took to pick up a few files and drop them off at Rangeman.
It had been on one of the few days he’d been able to spend more than just a few minutes in the office that he noticed Stephanie working in her cubicle.
To his tired, overworked, still-busy, mind, he couldn’t come up with a logical reason for her to be there. He hadn’t had a chance to really look into the day to day running of Rangeman since the favor had been called in so many months before.
He had been stunned and embarrassed that she had been working for him for so long and he’d never known. It was one more regret with which he would have to live. It had also been a painful reminder of exactly how long he had been operating full-out.
The only up side was that it was almost completely over.
Rangeman’s crisis had been averted. His father and grandmother were almost back to where they were before the events. The other company was back on sure footing and growing once more.
Best of all, the eight-month nightmare that had originally dragged him away from Trenton was days away from being done. He only had a few more things to wrap up.
Once he was done, he should be able to spend time getting his own life back on track. Rangeman would need attention as would his investments, but most of all; he would be able to devote some time and attention to Stephanie.
He couldn’t believe that she was still single. She wasn’t the type of woman, in his opinion, that any sane man would ignore. In his weaker moments, when he saw her at the bond office, he couldn’t help but think that their time together, their “someday” might just have finally come.
It was true that there were still some favors he owed out there, but none of them should lead him into the nightmare of the past eight months.
Feeling the muscles in his shoulders relax, Ranger took one more deep breath and let the last remnant of tension fade.
Everything was almost finished.
Then he could focus on making his dreams of ‘someday’ come true.
Part 3
(Stephanie POV)
When her laughter finally died down, Stephanie glanced over at her Unmentionable friend.
Diesel watched her for a few minutes, reading the many questions in her eyes. Reaching out, he stroked her arm from shoulder to elbow before returning his hand to his lap. “Win, lose or draw, it will be worth it to take the chance,” he advised, his voice soft.
Stephanie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I’m afraid of so many things,” she admitted. “Since Joe left, even though everyone else is still around, I’ve just felt so lonely, so isolated. This,” she said, waving the winning lottery ticket, “has just made it worse.”
“And?” Diesel prompted when she failed to continue.
Her voice soft, she whispered, “What if I really only want to be with him because I’m lonely.”
“The opposite of loneliness? It’s not togetherness, Steph,” Diesel informed. When her eyes met his, he continued, “It’s intimacy.”
Stephanie blinked a few times. “You’re suggesting I get laid?” she inquired, her voice rising in pitch.
“No,” Diesel said. “Television has ruined some wonderful words. Sex is only like the sixth or seventh definition of intimacy. Being intimate with someone doesn’t mean you’re doing them. It refers to your relationship. In fact, I maintain that you already have an intimate relationship with Ranger.”
“What?” Stephanie asked, confused, but listening.
Diesel sighed before he began shooting questions at her. “What does he eat for breakfast? What’s his preferred vehicle? What does he do before a takedown? What makes him smile? What do you do when you want to cheer him up? How does he greet you? How do you greet him? What makes him laugh? What’s his favorite restaurant? Does he talk in his sleep? Does he snore? What kind of beer does he drink?”
Stephanie sat staring at him, her mouth open. She’d never thought of their friendship like that. Most of the questions were ones she could answer. That realization surprised her. When had she gotten to know Ranger so well?
Seeing that Stephanie was stunned speechless, Diesel stopped his litany of questions. “Those are the sorts of intimate things that couples know about each other.” He waited until he saw the light of understanding dawn in her eyes. “You may not know everything about him, but, let’s face it, the two of you do already have an intimate relationship. You’ve both been without it for the better part of the year. Do you honestly think he isn’t just as lonely?”
Stephanie gasped at this last question. Seeing things from this perspective, maybe telling Ranger how she felt wasn’t such a huge deal. Oh, she knew he still would object to anything more, but, maybe she could reclaim the intimacy they used to have.
“Might as well go to him,” Diesel prodded, offering an encouraging smile.
“Yeah,” Stephanie agree, her voice soft.
Rising from the couch, she headed toward her bedroom. She stopped suddenly and turned back. “Thanks, Diesel,” she said, giving him a bright smile.
“Anytime,” Diesel replied.
Stephanie turned and once more headed into her room.
“Be sure you tell him,” Diesel called after her.
Stephanie spun around in the doorway to her bedroom. She was just in time to see a grinning unmentionable wave goodbye before disappearing. “That man can be so annoying,” she muttered to herself.
She quickly shook off that thought and headed toward her bedroom. She had a bag to pack, Tank to call and Ranger to find. She was going to reclaim her relationship with Ranger whether he wanted to or not. She just hoped he wasn’t entertaining anyone.
(Ranger POV)
Ranger shifted from sleep to a mentally alert state almost instantly. Many years of training, combat and other situations had trained him to come fully awake mentally without giving it away physically.
It took him only seconds to determine what had woken him from his much needed, though restless, slumber.
Someone was in the room with him.
Using his senses of hearing and smell, he gathered what information he could.
There was no smell of gun oil, so the intruder probably wasn’t armed. There was a faint scent of something familiar, something he should know, but couldn’t quite identify. He heard the faint shifting of cloth against cloth, denim if he wasn’t mistaken and a small sigh.
The sigh gave her away. There was only one person who sighed like that. Opening his eyes, he spotted her standing beside the bed staring at him. He was momentarily worried by the fact she had gotten so far into his apartment before he woke up, but pushed it aside. Stephanie had gotten past his defenses long ago and, by this point in their relationship, he trusted her completely. “Babe,” he murmured, pushing himself up into a sitting position.
“Hey, Ranger,” she returned, leaning down and brushing a kiss across his lips before she moved toward the other side of the bed and began undressing.
Ranger’s eyebrows rose toward his hairline even as other parts of his body began to stir. He watched her removed her shoes, socks, jeans and bra before slipping under the covers on the bed. “Not that I’m complaining,” he said, uncertain what to make of her actions, “but is there a reason you’re crawling into my bed in the wee hours of the morning?”
Stephanie reached over and tugged his hand, trying to get him to lay down. When he finally did, she snuggled into his side, resting her head on his shoulder and her hand over his heart. “I needed you,” she replied, already feeling the tension and loneliness of the past months drain away.
Ranger felt something in the vicinity of his heart shift. Peace seeped into him as he relaxed against Stephanie. Until now, he hadn’t realized how much he missed this sort of intimacy with her, how much he needed it. To realize she needed it just as much as he did meant more to him than he wanted to admit.
As he drifted off into the most peaceful sleep he’d had for many months, he knew it wouldn’t change anything just yet. He needed to head to Washington D. C. tomorrow morning. But for now, he would enjoy the moment.