I don't own or make money from these characters.

We made pretend love a few more times during the night, but as morning approached I felt the need to flee. I didn't want to be the one left laying in the bed when he took off to fight his battle. So at 4:30, I quietly pulled on some of my clothes that I had left in his closet, grabbed my things and headed for the door. In an uncustomary move I ran all the way down the stairwell to the parking garage. When I got there I realized I had no vehicle, so I just exited the building and walked a few blocks to the quick shop. I was a little panicked. I had just left Ranger like a cheap one-night stand asleep in his bed. But after some time I knew he would get over it. He always got over me.

Chapter 4

Ranger's Point of View

I woke from a deep sleep in time to hear my front door close. I reached for Stephanie but she was not there and the bed was cold. I sat up and thought about all that had happened the night before. She had come home with me after her takedown of Ward. We had flirted together and she had allowed me to take her up to my bed. The night had been amazing. More amazing than the first time we had been together in her apartment. Perhaps she had been called away for something. I got up and looked around. There was nothing out of the ordinary in my bedroom. Two wine glasses and an empty bottle of wine on the night table. In the bathroom, the tub had been drained and burned out candles scattered the room along with an empty tray of food.

I noticed right away her purse was gone form the console table and her clothes were not where I had discarded them form her body last night. I called down to the monitor station. "Has anyone left the building this morning." "Just Ms. Plum, about 10 minutes ago." "How did she leave?" "On foot to the East." "Did she get in a car?" "No, I didn't see one."

I was a little panicked. I started to pull my pant on but then I stopped. She left of her own free will, because she wanted to. I went to my room and fell back onto the bed. Her lipstick stain called to me from her wine glass. I could smell her perfume and shampoo and the smell of her lingered on my sheets. She had been amazing. She let me do what I had wanted to do to her. I laughed when I though about her running her fingers in my taboo places, teasing me but thoroughly turning me on. The woman was magic. She was my magic. She made me think about good things in my life where formerly I thought little existed. Was I really going to let her walk out on me like that?

She had agreed to the sex, but she didn't trust me with her heart for good reason. I was a selfish bastard most of the time taking care of number one. If she reaped some benefits, so be it. But right now what I really wanted was to make her coffee and drink it with her in my bed. And then Morelli crossed my mind and a pang of anger and jealousy stabbed me and I quickly put my pants on and grabbed my keys.

I raced to my car and went by the quick shop. I spotted her getting into a cab. I sped behind a delivery truck so she wouldn't see me. I waited for her to be out of site and took my secret short cut to her place, parking behind a row of trees across the street form her building. I sprinted up the stairs and quickly let myself into her apartment. So silently I snuck into her bedroom and sat in my chair. In 7 minutes the lock turned in her door and I heard her enter with a sigh and throw her bag and keys on the counter. She must have been feeding Rex because she was talking to him. "Don't look at me like that," she said to her pet. "It was just a fairy tale. And like most real fairy tales, this one has a tragic ending." Now I felt bad. I had eaves dropped on her innermost private thoughts and they were about me.

I thought I should disappear out her window but before I could commit she appeared in her bedroom door and let out a shriek.

"You scared the hell out of me, what are…how did…Ranger?"

"You forgot something at my place babe,"

She squinted her eyes, "forgot what?"

"Me." I said, looking at her eyes for a reaction.

She looked at me for a second then rolled her eyes and gave me a dismissive wave, "Huh, look, I just wanted to be home, I got things to do today, I'm.."

She let out an exasperated sigh.

"Babe, you snuck out in the wee hours of the morning not even saying goodbye. That's just so…"

She interrupted, "Low-down? Or maybe you were going to say, it so like YOU."

"I never just up and left you." I said, but I knew where she was going with this and I didn't like it.

"Oh, right, you just picked your moment and told me it was never gonna work so. p.s., Steph, thanks for the fuck and work it out with Morelli."

Her words hurt, but they were the essence of what I had said to her after the first time we made love. She continued, "be glad I left, in the end that's the way you want it, free and easy with no strings attached."

"If that's how you feel then why did you say yes to me?"

"It's not how I feel, but it's how YOU feel," she said. Damn, she was on target. I had felt that way about her at one time, no strings, no price, freedom. But every time I left her I was never truly free, and there was a price, a big price I paid every time I encouraged her toward Morelli.

"But if you must know," she said, " I said yes because I don't have the self-control you seem to have an ample supply of. I gotta say after bumping and grinding against all those men my hormones were a little agitated. I thought you were the lesser of all evils. And so I pretended for the night that we have something real."

"You don't think we have something real?" I asked.

"Oh, it's real when it's just you and me. You're like a vampire in that way. When it's night, and it's just us, or we're in the alley in the dark, it seems real to me." She had a far off look in her eye and tears were threatening to spill down her cheeks. "But when the sun comes up, or you step out of the shadows, the spell's broken. And don't say it was because of Morelli. You know why I went back to him, you could have come after me and you never did."

A tear slipped down her cheek and I could see she was angry with herself for it. She was pissed and her voice was loud and she was glaring at me gesturing with her hands.

"You don't want this," she said motioning between the two of us. "But I do have needs and sometimes I need to feel like I'm cherished by someone, even if it is make believe."

"Babe, last night was not make believe, it was, ..." I paused, trying to find the right words.

"Hot," she offered.

"Smoking," I added. That got a little smile through her tears.

"Sexy."

"My God, Babe, when you did that thing with your fingernail.." but she dropped her head again and looked away.

I got up from my thinking chair and sat beside her and put my arm around her back. She tried to pull away but I just held her tighter and pulled her into me. I plied her hands from her face and wrapped her arms around my waist then I gently pushed her head into the crook of my neck and laid us both back on her bed. "Shhh, don't cry."

She was scrambling to get away from me. "Ju..just le..le..leave R..rr..ran…ger." I held her in a vise-like grip.

"No, I'm not going anywhere."

"I c..can't d..do this any..more."

"We're not going to do this anymore," I said.

She quieted and nodded her head. "I know, this is bad, you're right, we should just end this now and quit torturing each other."

I took her head in my hands and looked into her eyes. "That's not what I meant. I meant we are going to do something completely different and unexpected."

"What, what are we doing?" she asked, unsure of what I was saying.

"Anything. Anything and everything you want, Babe."

"Anything?" She didn't look convinced.

I squeezed her so tightly I heard her breath escape.

"Try me."

"You and me?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Together?"

"Yes."

"Relationship?"

"Whatever you want to call it," I said.

She was quiet for a moment so I asked, "Is that all?"

"I want to see the Batcave," she sniffled.

"We can go today."

"And I want to m-meet your family."

"I'll call my mother."

"And I want you to go to Sunday dinner at my parent's," she said, a little calmer.

"If you don't seat me next to your grandma."

"Deal," she said.

"Why now, why are you agreeing to this?" She was eying me suspiciously.

"Because I love you Babe, Because I love you."

SPOV

My heart did a happy dance as Ranger's words echoed in my brain. I hung my head because I didn't want Ranger to see the goofy smile that I couldn't seem to wipe off my face. I was biting my lip so hard I could taste blood. Then a thought occurred to me, my eyes squinted like a hawk and I drew my face up to meet his.

"You have a little explaining to do mister."

"What?" he looked a little confused.

"About that dance contest… "

************The End************

I hope you liked my story. I have a longer one that I have given more thought to. I just wanted to post this first to get a feel for the website and how the whole Fanfiction community works. I have no writing instruction past an English Composition class I took in college. This exercises has prompted me to take a writing class at my local community college. I didn't use the Beta Reader, as I don't know how it works, but possibly for my next story. I am open to finding one, if anyone is interested. Any constructive comments are welcome.