Title: Trust
Fandom: Stephanie Plum
Pairing: Ranger/Stephanie
Rating: Teen
Summary: Ranger asks Stephanie a few questions and Stephanie sees things clearly for the first time.
Word Count: 1703
Notes: Just a small moment I hope will be in Finger Lickin' Fifteen. Inspired by the excerpts posted on JE's site.

Trust

"Getting shot sucks," I stated lamely, my head resting back against Ranger's plush, ultra-comfortable Porsche seats. Even though Ranger was in his zone, staring calmly and from outward appearances, emotionlessly, through the windshield, he did flick his eyes in my general direction.

"Babe."

Now, his 'Babe's can mean a lot of things, but from previous experiences I knew that he was probably amused and maybe just a little bit exasperated; hell, I was exasperated at myself too… I hated getting shot and having to spend my afternoons in the ER. It was late now, the afternoon having past slowly, and it was nearly completely dark out except for a thin strip of light at the horizon.

We drove the rest of the way to my apartment in silence, the only sound being the purring of the engine and our own breathing. Even though we didn't open our mouths again that didn't mean that my mind wasn't going working, trying to make sense of the crazy past few days. I was not only still chasing skips (and apparently still getting shot by the ballsy, rogue skips even though Ranger had been in attendance) but also snooping around Rangeman, with Ranger's permission. I couldn't imagine someone from the inside of Rangeman going behind their boss's back to steal from clients… did they have a death wish?

We reached my apartment building and Ranger parked before coming around to help me out of the car. I was feeling tired and my head was pounding, and he knew it. We took the elevator up and I stayed out in the hall as he checked through my apartment for any crazy stalkers—or maybe all stalkers were crazy? I was too tired to think about it right then.

"All clear," he said from inside and I walked in. Immediately heading to the couch, I plopped down with a groan. Ranger handed me a water bottle and I drank from it slowly as he sat down too… I was surprised that he had stayed.

"Ranger?" I turned my head to look at him and he responded with a simple nod of his head. "Did you mean what you said before, that you trust me right now, more than you trust Tank?" I was having difficulty imagining Ranger not trusting Tank completely. Tank was Ranger's right hand man and I suppose his best friend, why would he trust me more?

Ranger was silent, gazing at me steadily for a moment before responding. "I always mean what I say, Babe."

I nodded my head. That made sense, Ranger never wasted his words and if he said something, he meant it. "But why do you trust me more? Tank's your best friend…."

Ranger lifted his arm and brushed a lock of hair behind my ear, the touch of his skin on mine making me shiver. "Steph, you show everything that you're feeling on your face. You couldn't deceive me. Like right now, I know that you want me bad."

I cursed my crazy hormones but said nothing. The truth was I always wanted him, stupid Cuban Sex God. I turned my head and faced forward, knowing that the longer I looked at him, the chances of me accidentally jumping his bones increased.

He chuckled but then we fell into mostly comfortable silence. A few minutes passed before he got up to leave. I followed him, Burg manners dictating that I show him to the door.

Ranger suddenly stopped just before opening my door and turned around to face me. I half expected him to kiss me and I was surprised (and disappointed) when he didn't.

"Do you want to know why I trust you?"

I smiled. "What will the information cost me?" My smile faded as his face became completely stoic. "Sorry, that didn't come out the way I expected it to." I blushed red and looked down, fingering the bandage on my arm. His fingers lifted my chin and suddenly I was looking into his dark eyes, my breath caught in my throat. This was as close as we had ever gotten to actually talking about that one night.

"I trust you, because you trust me," he said evenly. "Even though knowing me isn't always good for your health."

My brows furrowed, confused. "I always trust you, implicitly… what do you mean knowing you isn't good for my health? You've saved my ass more times than I can count."

"Scrog."

I scoffed, shaking my head.

"If we had never met, he never would have hurt you," he continued, speaking simply.

"I guess that might be true but it doesn't change anything… it's not like I would go back and change anything about meeting you. You're my friend and you're going to stay that way." This was also the first time Scrog had come up in any of our conversations. It still pained me to think back to that fiasco and I knew that it bothered Ranger. My eyes flickered to the scar barely visible on his neck and felt shivers go up and down my spine. The truth was while I knew Ranger better than most people, and we'd even slept together, we had never talked like this before. I never liked talking about "feelings" and Ranger… was well Ranger.

"Why do you trust me?" he asked and I stared at him. This conversation had taken a turn to the unknown and wacky.

"B—Because I do, you're my friend."

"Babe you called me less than a week after our first meeting to tell me that you were handcuffed naked in your shower. Why did you trust me then?" Ranger asked, his face intense.

"Who else was I going to call, my mother? That conversation would have gone over real well."

His eyes narrowed. "There were a lot of people you could have called, people you had known for longer than a couple of days."

I bit my lip, searching for an answer, but finding that I didn't really have one. "I—I just trusted you, I don't know how to explain it."

His gaze remained steady, his eyes burning into my own blue ones until I felt like he was reading my soul… it was disconcerting. "And that's why I trust you, I don't why, I just know that I do," he finished

I smiled, lips quirking upwards, finding that difficult conversations with Ranger were a lot different then talking to Morelli. If were to say something that Ranger disagreed with or didn't like, I knew it probably wouldn't end in a shouting match. "I thought you were supposed to know everything, you're Bruce Wayne."

His hand lifted and he cupped my face, his palm warm on my cheek. His thumb caressed my skin. "What's with you and Morelli?" he asked suddenly.

I opened my mouth and had to force the words out, when he was this close to me I felt more than a little unbalanced, and the sudden switch in topics was confusing. "We're in an 'off' phase."

"And how long do you think that is going to last?"

I thought back to before, when he had said that if Morelli was out of my bed for long that he would be back in it. How long would it last? That was a good question. He'd said before that my back and forth with Joe was unhealthy behavior and even though I hadn't wanted to hear it then or think about it now, he was right. The thought of getting back together with Morelli was unappealing. "I'm considering permanently."

His nostrils flared and his eyes flashed but other then that there was no other expression on his face, but I knew him well him enough to know that I had surprised him.

"Why permanently?"

"A friend once told me that it was an unhealthy pattern of behavior, and I'm taking it to heart," I whispered.

He nodded and I could tell that he was thinking about smiling. "That's good advice, Babe."

"I think so too."

He leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead, lips lingering for a moment before he pulled away. My heart was beating a mile per minute and I was a few seconds away from begging him to do more than kiss me on the temple.

"Later, Babe, call me if you need me," he instructed before leaving, closing and locking the door, my locks tumbling into place.

Like his 'Babe's, that 'need' had more than one meaning. I could call him for any reason, if I needed help to get out of one of my usual sticky situations, or if I just needed backup. But I also knew that somewhere, somehow something had changed. If Morelli was out of the picture, the ball was in my court instead of in Ranger's; if I needed him, wanted him, then I would have to make the first move. Ranger wouldn't seduce me, he knew he wouldn't have to.

Even though there hadn't been anything overtly sexual about our encounter, just being near him had sent my body and heart into a frenzy. I ran my shaking hand through my curly hair and bit my lip, turning to face my suddenly empty apartment. The moment between us had been tender, intimate, and loving. I swallowed hard and sunk back onto the couch, the phone next to me on the other cushion, almost begging to be picked up and used.

My fingers twitched and with a surprising moment of clarity I grabbed it and hit the appropriate speed dial button, holding my breath as it rang.

"Joe we need to talk," I said when the person on the other end answered.

If I was going to end the unhealthy pattern of behavior, then I had to start now, not later. Life had suddenly turned the world upside down and I couldn't fight the progression of my feelings anymore, that much was clear. I was in love with Ranger but not Joe. I loved Joe, but not in the same way. It wasn't fair to Ranger, Joe, or myself to keep fighting it… even if Ranger hadn't changed his mind about relationships, but God, I hoped he had.

TBC