Epilogue

         “Well I for one can’t believe the guns you all were so hot to get your hands on were so close the whole time.” Stephanie shook her head disbelievingly and then laughed. “Then again, maybe I can.  Too bad no one thought to check into the sale of the beach house, if they had, then all this might not have happened.” She absently rubbed the bruise on her arm; the result of having her chair thrown to the floor, with her still attached to it.

         “True,” Amanda nodded, “but then we wouldn’t have had a reason to come here to New Jersey, and make some new friends.”

         “Or run into old ones.” Lee muttered as he watched Agent Petrakis drive up in a non-descript brown sedan.  He smiled as Amanda slipped her arm through his. He knew he shouldn’t feel threatened by her past, or by any man who took a passing interest in his wife, after all, she had come to grips with all the women in his past, but for some reason, he couldn’t help getting jealous.  He realized, however, it wasn’t so much jealousy as it was a deep routed fear that someone might come along who would be able to offer her something better that he couldn’t, but one thing was for sure, he wouldn’t let her go without a fight, nor did he really believe, for one moment, that Amanda would ever leave him, at least not willingly.  Glancing over at Stephanie, he turned his thoughts back to the case they had just wrapped up and chuckled. “To be honest, it doesn’t surprise me one bit that those guns were there.  It never seems to fail that all our simple assignments end up turning into larger, much more complicated affairs.”

         Francine watched Daniel attempting to get out of the car and a feeling of remorse coursed through her. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go help Agent Petrakis.”  Not wanting to hear any comments from the peanut gallery, she hobbled as quickly as she could with a twisted ankle down the steps towards the sedan.

         “So, have you guys figured out how you’re getting home?” Stephanie glanced between Lee and Amanda. “I’m sure Joe wouldn’t mind you staying here a little longer, but I have a feeling you’re itching to get home.”

         Joe opened his mouth to comment, but didn’t get a chance as his phone began ringing. “Be right back.” As he turned to head back into his house, he shot Stephanie a quick look that told her they were going to have a serious talk about her suddenly offering his house up as a hotel.  He didn’t mind if she was the one who wanted to stay there, especially since the perks included her staying in his room, but basic strangers were another issue altogether.  Picking up his pace, he headed for the ringing device, thinking of all the ways he was going to get the brunette to pay up for volunteering his home as room and board to the feds.

         Amanda smiled slightly as she turned towards Stephanie and saw the teasing grin on the bounty hunter’s face.  It was blatantly obvious to her that Stephanie and Joe had the kind of relationship that was built on years of knowing each other intimately. “With all the craziness at the hospital, giving statements at the police station and then making sure the guns were returned safely into the Army’s hands, we didn’t really get a chance yesterday, to figure out how we were getting home.  Especially since once we got back here, all anyone wanted to do was get some sleep.  I know that there’s no way we’re all going to fit in Francine’s car. I could probably sit on Lee’s lap, and as much as I know you’d enjoy that,” she grinned at her husband, “it’d get very uncomfortable about ten minutes into the trip, and, might I add, it’s extremely illegal.”

         Stephanie’s face broke out into a grin as a brilliant idea popped into her head and she had to restrain herself from jumping up and down with excitement. “I have the perfect solution. You can take Grandma Mazur’s Buick.” She silently prayed that they’d accept the offer. If they took that monstrosity, then Joe and everyone else wouldn’t try and force her to use it because it was so safe. Granted she’d be out a back-up car, but if she got into a pinch, she could always plead with Ranger for a loaner, which he could just add to the growing list of things he was going to collect payment for, in very pleasurable ways, as he’d already forewarned her.

         Lee looked over at the blue classic sitting at the curb and although it wasn’t a bad car, he wouldn’t be caught dead driving that thing.  Stephanie had described it as a pimp-mobile and he didn’t think that description was too far off. “Thanks anyway. Although the Buick is sturdy and reliable, we’d have no way of getting it back to you. I think we might have to see if you or Morelli could give us a lift to the airport. I spoke to Billy earlier and he said that since my car was destroyed, the Agency would foot the bill…” He glanced over at his wife and noticed that her attention wasn’t on what he was saying, but rather on the sleek black Porsche 911 pulling up to the curb.  He wasn’t sure how he could have missed the purr of that motor approaching. He grinned as he followed Amanda and Stephanie down the stairs towards the sports car.

         “I would have thought that you wouldn’t want to bring another one of your Porsche’s within a hundred foot radius of me, Ranger.” Stephanie commented to her mentor as he climbed out of the car. 

         “Not my Porsche, Babe.” Ranger allowed a slow smile to cross his lips at the confused look on the brunette’s face.

         “Whose is it then?” Stephanie asked and her eyes grew wide. “Oh no.” She waved her hands in the air. “I thought we learned from the last fiasco that…” she stopped when Ranger shook his head at her and walked over to Lee.

         “It’s got bulletproof windows,” Ranger nodded towards the car as he spoke to Lee, “I did ask if they could outfit the whole car with bulletproof material, but since this is a Porsche, they informed me that they haven’t quite perfected material that is light enough yet.” He shrugged. “Best they could do was make sure you wouldn’t get pelted with flying glass.”

         “You’re giving me a Porsche?” Lee eyed Ranger suspiciously. 

         Knowing that Lee was going to be interrogating Ranger for awhile but in the end would end up taking the car, since she could see the boyish gleam in his eye, Amanda turned towards Stephanie. “Now, you promised, you and Joe will be coming to the wedding right?”

         Stephanie smiled at Amanda and nodded. “We wouldn’t miss it.”

         Noticing that her husband was no longer nearby, she glanced over at the Porsche and shook her head laughing.  Ranger and Lee were standing at the rear of the vehicle inspecting the engine.  She walked over towards them, smiling. “Since my…fiancé is obviously going to take the car, I don’t suppose we could pay you back with an invitation to our wedding, it’s not nearly as extravagant as this…” she pointed towards the Porsche.

         Ranger shook his head. “Afraid I’m going out of town day after tomorrow and I’m not sure when I’ll be returning.” He noticed the look of disappointment that crossed Stephanie’s face and for some reason it warmed his heart just a little.  That warmth quickly disappeared when he caught sight of Morelli approaching with a look that was anything but friendly.

         “I hope you don’t plan on giving that to Stephanie.” Joe glared at Ranger.  He knew he had to live with the other man constantly looking out for his girl, but he was going to be damned if he was going to let Ranger give her another vehicle that had a very suspicious origin.

         “It’s not for me,” Stephanie approached Joe, realizing that she needed to keep the situation from getting volatile.  “Ranger’s giving it to Lee.”

          Joe turned towards Lee. “I recommend that you double check all the VINS and paperwork before you sign on the dotted line.”

         Lee noted the seriousness in Morelli’s tone and glanced at the Porsche longingly.  If Morelli’s suspicions about Ranger were right on the money, he knew, deep down that he should decline the car.  He turned towards the bounty hunter with a regretful expression on his face. “This is really a nice gesture…but I’m afraid…”

          “It’s all legal and it’s already yours.” Ranger approached Lee and handed him the keys. “Let’s just say I owed you one.” He then turned and headed towards the black SUV that had just pulled up in front of Morelli’s house.

         “You owed him one?” Joe asked as he watched Ranger climb into the black Rangeman vehicle.  He turned towards Lee with a questioning gaze.

         Lee shrugged, his expression mirroring Joe’s. “I have no idea what he’s talking about.  Everything back at the beach house happened so fast, but I’m almost positive I didn’t do anything to warrant this.” He tilted his head towards the Porsche and then turned towards his wife. “I guess we have our way home now.”

         Amanda smiled as she gently placed her hand on Lee’s arm. “Good because I really wasn’t looking forward to flying home.”

         Lee grinned back. “Neither was I.  Especially with the way our luck is, we’d probably end up on a flight that has an international killer on it.”

         “Well I still recommend that you run the VIN before taking it across the state line.” Joe crossed his arms and stared at the black sports car.  “I could run them for you now if you want.  Wouldn’t take more than a quick call to the station.”

         Lee let out a sigh. “Guess it couldn’t hurt.” When Morelli nodded and then started towards the house, he looked over at his wife. “If everything checks out, I’ll grab our luggage while I’m in there.”

         Amanda nodded. “I suppose it’s a good thing we packed small bags.” When her husband looked at her curiously she pointed towards the front of the car where the ‘trunk’ was. “The Porsche doesn’t look like it has a very large storage compartment.”

         Lee grinned. “Don’t worry, if nothing else, we can put the luggage in the back seat.”

         Amanda looked inside the interior of the car. “True, it’s not like its big enough to hold passengers.”  She then pushed her husband towards the house. “Go on, get the car checked out and get our bags. I’m anxious to get on the road.”

         “Yes ma’am.” Lee saluted his wife and winked. He then quickly took two steps forward to avoid the smack on the behind Amanda had attempted to give him.

         Stephanie saw Amanda shaking her head and chuckled. “You and Lee have the type of relationship I always dreamed of.  You two not only look out for each other, but you respect each other and you are so obviously in love.”

         Amanda put an arm around the younger woman’s shoulders. “Don’t worry Stephanie, you’ll find that.  In some ways, you may already have it, if you would just let go of some of your insecurities.”

         Stephanie shrugged and then looked towards the street in the direction that the black SUV had just gone.  She smiled when she caught sight of the familiar red Firebird heading in their direction.  “Looks like Lula just found out from Connie what went down yesterday. I better go let her know I’m okay.”

         Amanda nodded and watched as Stephanie made her way over to her friend.  Realizing that two of her own friends hadn’t made it back over this way, she turned and smiled as she caught sight of Francine and Daniel standing side by side as they leaned against the agent’s car.  It appeared to her that the two agents were getting along quite well; in fact, there seemed to be a slight air of attraction between them.

         Francine glanced down at the ground, avoiding looking at the FBI agent. “You know, I’ve been meaning to thank you. No one’s ever taken a bullet for me before. In fact, I’m usually the one who ends up taking the bullet for someone else.” She laughed lightly as she absently moved her hand along her leg where she carried the scar from Ren Jepard, better known as King Cobra.  It seemed like ages ago now since she’d taken the bullet in the leg trying to protect Amanda and allow her time to escape the Old Cumberland.  The more she thought about it, however, even though she and Amanda hadn’t been very close back then, if she had to do it all over again, she would still willingly put herself in the line of fire, especially now that Amanda was one of the very few people she considered a good friend and close confidante. “Though I guess you did it in the line of duty,” she glanced up at Daniel, “right?”

         “To be honest with you, I’m not entirely sure why I did it.” Daniel coughed nervously. “That didn’t come out the way I meant it.  The truth is, I didn’t jump in front of you because it was my job.  The only thing that was running through my head at the time was that there was no way I was going to let anything happen to you before I had a chance to ask you out.”

         Francine’s eyes grew wide and she stared incredulously at Daniel. “You’re not serious? You hardly know me. Weren’t you afraid that I’d just accept because you might be a rebound guy, especially since you knew about me and Benjamin?”

         Daniel smiled serenely, though his eyes twinkled. “I just assumed that you had made an error in judgment and that you deserved to go out with an honest man for a change.”

         “So because you wanted to show me what I was missing you now have thirty stitches in your shoulder?” Francine shook her head and laughed.

         “That’s right. And,” Daniel sighed dramatically as he rubbed his wounded shoulder tenderly with his good hand, “I think it’s only fair that since I’m injured because of you, you should nurse me back to health.”

         Francine laughed even harder. “Buddy, I think you’re dreaming. Trust me, you don’t want me being your nursemaid, I have the worst bedside manner.  If its mothering you want, you need Amanda, trust me.  She’s even got a Bedside Bluebell uniform.” She then smiled at Daniel. “How about I treat you to dinner to reward you for saving my life instead?”

         “I think dinner sounds great.” Daniel smiled. “After all, it’s the whole reason I took the bullet.”

         Amanda grinned at the sight of her two friends getting along so well. She quickly hid her happiness and put on a serious expression as she approached them. “I hate to interrupt, but I wanted to let you know,” she turned towards Francine, “that Lee and I are ready to get on the road, and wanted to see if you were going to follow us or head back on your own.”

         “Actually, you and Lee go on ahead, I have a few things to take care of here first." Francine looked curiously at her friend. “I take it that you and Lee figured out how you’re getting home.”

         Amanda nodded. “In Lee’s new car,” she commented nonchalantly as she pointed towards the Porsche.

         Francine turned and her eyes grew wide. “Holy…where the hell did that come from?”

         Amanda smiled simply. “Ranger.”

         Francine looked with disbelief towards the Porsche and then towards Amanda. “Ranger?” When her friend nodded in confirmation, she let out a slow whistle and shook her head in amazement. “What did Lee do for Ranger that got him that?”

         Amanda shrugged. “I have no idea…and before you ask… Lee has no idea either.”

         Daniel grinned approvingly. “That is one awesome car.  Hopefully it’ll fare better than the Corvette.”

         Amanda laughed. “I have a feeling that that car is going to spend a lot of time in the garage…and I’m not referring to the mechanical garage either.”  She looked at the sling on her friend’s arm, and gave him a worried glance. “I really wish you would have stayed in the hospital another day, Daniel. You did lose a lot of blood, and you were suffering from a mild concussion.”

         Daniel shook his head and smiled good-naturedly. “Always the little mother,” he turned towards Francine, “when she was spending time with Joe back at school she was everyone’s mother hen.  Making sure that we got a few hours of sleep before big exams, and enforcing the ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ rule.”

         “She definitely hasn’t changed at all.  Lee used to eat stale donuts and coffee for breakfast and lately I’ll come up to the Q and he’s actually eating a bowl of cereal…with milk in it.” Francine grinned apologetically. “Sorry the Q-Bureau is what we call Lee and Amanda’s office.”

         Daniel waved his free hand in the air. “We’ve got interesting names for half of our offices too.”

         Amanda crossed her arms and gave her two friends a mock glare of annoyance. “If you two are done making fun of me,” she smiled and then turned her attention fully on Daniel, “mother-hen or not, I’m worried about you.”

         Daniel placed his hand on Amanda’s arm. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine, really.” Seeing the doubtful expression cross the brunette’s face, he sighed. “Honest, Amanda, I’m fine…trust me, I’ve had worse.  And as much as I would have loved to milk the attention from the nursing staff, I have an entire report to work on for my bosses.”

         Amanda sighed. “I truly believe that no one believes in taking time to heal anymore.  It’s all work, work, work.  Even Lee, he hates being ordered to rest, even when he needs it. If he’s sitting still for more than ten minutes he gets restless.” Noticing her husband coming out of the house carrying their luggage, she moved over to Daniel and careful of his wound, she gave him a big hug. “Don’t be a stranger.”

         “I won’t.” Daniel lowered his voice, “and if things go the way I’m hoping they will, we may end up seeing a lot more of each other.” When Amanda pulled back, he glanced briefly towards Francine and smiled.

         Amanda returned his grin. “Lee and I would be honored if you came to our wedding, Daniel.”

     Daniel’s smile turned into a wide open grin. “I wouldn't miss it for the world.”

     “Great, well then I’ll see you in a few days.” Amanda turned towards Francine, amusement twinkling in her eyes. “Just remember the rehearsal dinner's on Friday.”

         Francine rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry I’ll be there. I only plan on being a day behind you. Besides, if your mother even gets a hint that I’m missing, she’ll call out the National Guard to haul my ass back.”

         “No she’ll just call Mr. Melrose.  Ever since we told Mother about our jobs, she’s got Mr. Melrose on speed dial.” Amanda shook her head and smiled. “You’re sure you don’t want us to wait around and follow you back?” She glanced down at Francine’s ace-bandaged ankle.

         Francine shook her head. “I’ll be fine. It’s a mild sprain, and it’s my left ankle, which I don’t need to push the gas pedal.” She gave Amanda a friendly smile. “So you don’t have to worry about mothering me.”

          “Okay then, take good care of each other,” Amanda grinned, “and I’ll see you both in a few days.” She then turned and, before Francine could make a retaliatory comment, she quickly made her way back over to where Lee was waiting by the Porsche with Stephanie and Joe. As she got closer, she looked around and noticed that neither Lula nor her red Firebird was anywhere in sight. “Lula didn’t stay very long.”

         Stephanie shook her head apologetically. “She had to get back to the office.  She said Connie was threatening to have her ass fired if she didn’t come straight back to Vinnie’s and take care of the filing that was piling up.”

         Joe burst out laughing. “That’s a good one.  Connie wouldn’t fire Lula if she burned down the place.” He glanced at Stephanie with a knowing expression on his face. “She likes having her around, ’cause Lula’s the only other woman in all of Trenton who has balls enough to keep your slimy weasel of a cousin in line, especially since the man only knows how to think with his dick.”

         Stephanie grinned.  It was true, Connie liked having someone else around the office to give Vinnie crap and threaten him with bodily harm if he ever came within five feet of her person.  Most of the women who’d worked as file clerk were so threatened and disgusted by Vinnie that they didn’t last longer than a day or two. “Oh, I know.  Actually, I think it had more to do with the fact that Connie made Lula promise to bring back lunch” she looked over at Amanda and Lee, “and when it comes to food, nothing can keep Lula away.”

         “I believe that one.”  Lee chuckled. “After all she did polish off almost an entire bucket of fried chicken by herself the other day.” He turned towards his wife. “Well if we want to get on the road and be back in D.C. before rush hour, we should probably get moving.”

         Amanda nodded and then walked over to Stephanie. She reached out and embraced the younger woman. “Take care of yourself, and if you ever need to talk, I’m only a phone call away.” 

         Stephanie returned the embrace, and then, as she pulled away, she smiled. “Thanks,” she glanced briefly at Joe, “I may take you up on that, even before we see you again.”

         Amanda turned towards Joe.  “Thank you so much for letting us stay at your house.”

         Lee nodded as he reached out and shook Joe’s hand. “I hope we didn’t put you out…too much.” He flashed the cop a grin.

         Joe returned the shake. “Anytime you’re in Trenton, just give me a holler, my spare room is always open.”

         “Well thanks again.” Lee glanced over towards Stephanie. “Try and stay out of trouble, will ya’?”

         Stephanie rolled her eyes at the almost brotherly tone in the agent’s voice.  The last thing she needed was another male protector.  Hell, her father didn’t act as concerned as the other men in her life. Sighing, she nodded. “I’ll do my best, but it’s not me you need to get the promise from. If you’re really concerned about my safety, then you need to get all the nut cases around here to promise to stay away from me.”

         “Right,” Joe nodded and smiled sarcastically. “Because we all know that the trouble you get into is never your fault.”

         Stephanie scrunched up her nose and folded her arms. “Well it’s the truth.” She then turned towards Amanda. “See what I have to put up with.”

         Amanda laughed as she put an understanding hand on the brunette’s un-bruised arm. Giving it a squeeze, she let go and turned towards her husband. “Shall we?” She nodded towards the Porsche.

         Lee nodded and placed his hand at the small of his wife’s back to lead her to the car. “Is Francine going to follow us back?”

         Amanda shook her head and smiled. “Nope, she’s staying behind for a little while. She said she had a few things to take care of.”

         Lee raised his eyebrows questioningly as he opened the passenger door for his wife. “Like what?  She was the one who was chomping at the bit to get out of Dodge at breakfast this morning.”

         Amanda tried her best to keep a straight face as she climbed into the sports car. Turning her attention away from her husband’s face, she waved at Stephanie and Joe. “See you guys soon.” As they waved back she smiled at her husband. “Get in the car, Lee.”

         Lee let out a groan as he closed the passenger door and made his way around to the driver’s side.  He knew his wife had a point, if he were to stand at the side of the road interrogating his wife, they’d never get home.  As he opened the door, he glanced over to where the brown sedan was parked and suddenly, he had a very good idea of why Francine wasn’t going to be following them back.  Taking the Porsche keys out of his pocket, he opened his door and climbed into the low driver’s seat.  As he closed the door, he put the key in the ignition and turned towards his wife. “So, Francine has a few things to take care of, huh?”

         Keeping her face forward, Amanda nodded. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced into the side view mirror at Francine and Daniel.  Not ready to let her husband in on the real reason for Francine’s delay just yet, and unaware of his suspicions, she shrugged her shoulders slightly. “Well for one, she still needs to go back to Stephanie’s for her things, and we really do need to get back home. I need at least a day or two to make sure mother hasn’t totally changed all our plans for the wedding.  I can’t believe the wedding is only a week away.” She leaned her head back against the headrest and sighed as she realized that she had a few changes of her own to make. “Mother is going to have a fit when she finds out that we’ve just added three more guests.”

         Lee stared at his wife in mock confusion. “Three?”

         Unable to keep the smile from her lips, Amanda turned her head to avoid looking directly at her husband. “Yes, Daniel’s coming too.”

         “Amanda…” Lee reached out and, placing his finger under his wife’s chin, turned her head to look at him. “Are you playing match maker?” His tone held just a hint of suspicion.

         Amanda laughed as she glanced back towards where her two friends were talking. “I don’t have to.  I think Francine and Daniel are taking care of that all by themselves. That’s why Francine’s not following us. I overheard them making dinner plans.”  She turned back towards her husband and smiled sincerely. “I feel better knowing that Francine’s not going to swear off relationships forever.  Daniel would be perfect for her. Too bad he works here, and not in DC.”

         Lee shook his head and put the key in the ignition. “Well if I’m reading the tone of your voice correctly, you have a feeling that things might actually work out for them…and I’ve learned from experience not to underestimate your instincts.” He then grinned at his wife. “You know, you seem to have forgotten what I do for a living.”

         Amanda glanced curiously at her husband. “Why do you say that?”

         Lee chuckled. “I caught sight of Francine as I was getting in the car. For someone who has sworn off men, she seems very relaxed with Petrakis.” He motioned behind them with his head. “Then again, he did just save her life, she could just be being nice,” he saw his wife start to shake her head, and added, but…as I said, I’ve learned not to doubt your instincts, and assuming those instincts of yours are right and things turn serious between them, who knows Petrakis might just transfer to the D.C. Bureau.” He laughed at the irony of what he’d just said. “I’ve never been a big fan of the FBI, but if things work out for Francine and your friend Daniel, I may just have to change my prejudice on that score. I know one thing’s for sure, though...”

         Amanda glanced at her husband with a quizzical expression. “Oh, what’s that?”

         “We won’t have to run a background check on him.” Lee checked his mirrors and then, putting his foot on the clutch, he shifted and steered the Porsche out onto the road. “The FBI is pretty picky about who they hire, so they took care of the background check for us.”

         Amanda smacked her husband playfully on the arm. “Just behave yourself, Lee.  She needs support, not a big brother.” Sitting back comfortably in her seat, she admired the interior of her husband’s new baby. “This was really nice of Ranger.” She glanced over at her husband. “I take it that since we’re driving this home, this car is perfectly legal?”

         “This baby checked out clean.” Lee nodded and then sighed discontentedly. “I can’t stop wondering what Ranger meant by owing me one, though.”

         Amanda shrugged her shoulders lightly. “Who knows, maybe he’s grateful we helped save Stephanie, or maybe he noticed the almost brotherly way you were watching her.  After all, he does care about her very much.”

         Lee shook his head. “I don’t think that’s it. I have a feeling that it’s something else.  The more I worked with him, despite my suspicions about him, the more I felt like we’d met before.”

          “Maybe you saved his life sometime in the past, and he didn’t really want to bring it up.  He seems to be very private.” Suddenly reminded of how much her husband had done his best to keep his own past a secret, Amanda glanced over at Lee thoughtfully.  Although in many respects, Lee was more like Joe, at least with regards to getting down to business; both her husband and Joe were able to instantly push all emotion behind an invisible mask. However, she couldn’t help thinking that there was a little bit of Ranger in her husband, as well.  It wasn’t just Lee’s need to be everywhere at once and striving to take charge, but the fact that he liked to keep a few things secret.

         Lee tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “I think I’ll definitely run a background check on our friend when we get back.”

         “Definitely?” Amanda asked suspiciously. “You sound as if you’d been thinking about doing that since you met Ranger.”

         “There’s something that just bugs me about him, Amanda.” Lee shrugged. “Call it natural curiosity if you want to, but…”

         “But you wouldn’t be the man I love if you didn’t do your best to get all the answers and put all the pieces of a puzzle in place.” A small smile crossed Amanda’s lips. “Could either be very interesting reading, or filled with lots of holes. I have a feeling Ranger likes to keep his background buried.”

         Lee nodded in agreement. “Morelli confirmed that earlier. He said Ranger knows how to bury his information, to the point that he’s listed an empty lot for his address.”

         “It was kind of interesting watching Joe…” Amanda rolled her eyes at the quick glance her husband threw her way, “Oh please, you know who I was talking about.  Anyway, it was interesting watching Morelli,” she stressed the cop’s last name, “and Ranger together.”

         “Are referring to the fact that they seem to have a definite animosity for each other, yet somehow manage to remain professional and work together?” Lee asked as he maneuvered the Porsche out on to the highway and shifting, sped up to move along with traffic.

         “Exactly.” Amanda nodded. “It’s obvious that both men care very deeply for Stephanie, yet Ranger seems to respect the fact that Stephanie is with Morelli.” She sighed as she thought about the conversation she’d had with the bounty hunter yesterday on the way over to Eleanor’s house.  Not only did Stephanie have two men who, it was obvious, were in love with her, but the young bounty hunter apparently had feelings for both men. “I have a feeling that Stephanie’s going to have a difficult choice on her hands one of these days.”

         Lee glanced briefly at his wife, before returning his attention back on the road. “You think Ranger’s going to make a move on another man’s woman?”

         Amanda rolled her eyes and shook her head.  “Twenty-four hours with Joe Morelli and suddenly women are possessions.  No, I don’t think Ranger would do that. He has more integrity than that.  However, if Stephanie and Joe ever break up, I think he might jump at the chance to make a move.  Yet, at the same time, I don’t think he’s the type that will ever be ready to settle down, and Stephanie, though she may not be ready right now to get married, is someone who will eventually want the family package.”

         “So you don’t think that Stephanie will end up marrying Morelli?” Lee asked seriously.

         Amanda shrugged. “I honestly don’t know.  There seems to be a lot of unresolved tension between Stephanie and Morelli.”

         “But there’s a lot of history between them as well.  Apparently they’ve known each other since they were kids.” Lee gritted his teeth as he caught up to a particularly slow moving car in front of them.  Glancing in his mirror, he saw an opening and zoomed into the next lane, swiftly passing the offending vehicle. “Either way, I don’t think Morelli’s going to let Stephanie go without a fight, that’s for sure.”       

         Amanda shrugged her shoulders slightly. “I guess only time will tell, but I'd be interested to find out who she does end up with.  Ranger’s so mysterious, keeping things bottled up inside, yet he can’t seem to hide how much he cares for Stephanie no matter how hard he tries.  Joe may love Stephanie, and as you mentioned he’s known her for a really long time, but he tends to be a bit on the domineering side.   Stephanie needs to be able to fly, and I have a feeling that Joe would like nothing better than to keep her tethered.”  Glancing at her husband, she sighed as she smiled devilishly to herself. “If it were me, though, I’d choose Ranger in a heartbeat. He’s rugged, handsome, not to mention dark and mysterious.”

         “Oh, really?” Lee glanced briefly in his wife’s direction and caught the twinkle in her eyes. “Well you can wish all you want, just as long as you know you belong to me.”

         Amanda shook her head and, rolling her eyes, let out a chuckle. “You really did spend too much time with Morelli.  When we get home, I’m going to have to spend a lot of time washing that caveman attitude out of your brain.”

         Reaching out, Lee took her hand in his and bringing it to his lips, he placed a tender kiss on her palm. “There’s one major difference between Morelli and me, I’d never try and keep you tied down, or tell you that you have to change careers.”

         “No, especially since you tried that once before, and it landed you in a lot of hot water.” Amanda raised her eyebrows knowingly at him when he glanced her way to protest. “Don’t try and deny that you tried to keep me chained to a desk after our disastrous first honeymoon.” She reached over and patted her husband’s leg lovingly. “And I already have my dark and mysterious man, though I’ve pretty much uncovered most of the mystery that is you.” Giving his leg a squeeze, she removed her hand and placed it in her lap. “Now, let’s see what this baby can do.”

         Lee threw back his head and laughed. “You may have solved the mystery that is me, but love, I apparently have miles and miles to go in uncovering the mystery that is you.”

         Amanda smiled sweetly at her husband. “And that’s the way it should be.  Now, step on it Stetson.”

         “Yes ma’am.” Lee winked at his wife and then shifting gears, he pushed the gas pedal to the floor. As he listened to the Porsche’s engine hum, he glanced briefly at his wife out of the corner of his eye, and hoped that he never uncovered all there was to know about his wife.  He was looking forward to a long and happy life with Amanda.  One that was full of surprises and excitement, but most of all filled with the feeling of complete and utter contentment.  As the Porsche’s speedometer hit sixty-five miles per hour, he increased his speed, suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to get home to their apartment and become completely one with his wife, something he looked forward to doing every day for the rest of their lives.

*****  *****

         “Yes, make sure all the title work is transferred to Lee Stetson.” Ranger nodded into the phone. “Right.” He hung up his phone and then glanced briefly at the three story apartment building as he passed it.  He was on his way back from Vinnie’s where he had just picked up his finder’s fee for Benjamin Adams.  Connie had been willing to give him the entire share, but he’d refused.  He told Connie that half of it belonged to Stephanie.  Although her part in apprehending the fugitive had, once again, managed to be that of the hunted, rather than the hunter, she still deserved a portion of the prize.  Lord knew he didn’t really need it, and she did.  He let out a small chuckle as he realized that there had been a time when he never would have thought twice about sharing the bounty with anyone, but there was something about Stephanie that brought out an almost protective quality in him that he hadn’t known he had. He thought about turning around and going to check on her, but then changed his mind.  There was a good chance she was with Morelli, and he decided that he really didn’t want to know for sure, so he continued on his current path towards Rangeman headquarters, even though, he wasn’t really looking forward to getting back to the office.   

         Tank was on duty in the monitor room, which meant that his very observant friend was going to know exactly why he’d taken the route past Stephanie’s apartment on his way home and though his friend knew better than to say anything directly, that wouldn’t stop him from giving him that all-knowing look. He let out a long grunt as he wondered when his life had gotten so complicated.  He laughed ruefully, as he realized that he knew exactly when his life had changed; it was the day Connie Rozelli had called and asked him to advise Stephanie Plum on how to be a bounty hunter.  He knew the minute he’d seen Stephanie at the little downtown café where they’d met for the first time that he should have turned around and never looked back.  Instead, he took her under his wing and she had somehow wrapped him around her little finger.

         As he pulled into the office garage and parked next to his Porsche, Ranger sighed regretfully, wishing that he could allow himself the luxury of getting involved in a permanent relationship.  Although he enjoyed the freedom of being able to just go off on an assignment at the drop of a hat, without having to answer to anybody, a small part of him longed to be able to settle down and fall in love with someone who would love him in return, just like Lee Stetson had managed to do with Amanda.  He smiled to himself as he thought about what either one of them would say if they knew that he was aware of their marital status. He knew enough about intelligence work not to question their reasons for keeping their first marriage a secret, and he found himself a little jealous of the couple as they prepared to share their relationship with their loved ones.  He knew that both agents would have been very annoyed to find out that he’d run a full, in-depth background check on them, but the truth was, he ran a check on anyone who had the potential of putting Stephanie in harm’s way, no matter what their occupation was.

         It had been that background check that had alerted him to the fact that he had met Lee Stetson before. The Porsche had been his way of saying thank you to Lee for saving his life in East Germany ten years ago; a fact, which from the look of confusion and suspicion on the agent’s face earlier, Ranger knew that Lee had absolutely no recollection of doing.  It had been in the early days of his career and he’d been too cocky and sure of himself.  If the man, codenamed Scarecrow, hadn’t come along and shot the two Stasi policemen he would have been dead for sure and for that he owed Lee his life.  Replacing the car that Lee had just lost seemed like the very least he could do, at least at this point in time.

         As he had reviewed Lee’s file, he couldn’t help but notice that the agent’s past indicated that the man known as the famous Scarecrow wasn’t much different from himself, at least when it came to patriotic duty.  The agent’s family history, however, was much different than his own, especially since his family was still very much alive, whereas Lee had been orphaned at the age of five. With something that devastating in your past, Lee was very lucky to have found a wonderful woman like Amanda, who could make such a worldly man settle down and give him the type of love that everyone should have.  Climbing out of his vehicle, he locked the SUV and as he shoved the keys into his pocket, sighed with regret that he had declined the invitation to Lee and Amanda’s wedding.  It would have been nice to see others in his line of work finally getting the happiness they deserved.  However, it was because of his job that he had declined. He had a feeling that he might run into someone in the intelligence community who would recognize him, and in his line of work, he needed to remain as anonymous as possible. 

         Stepping into the elevator, he sighed again. He didn’t know who he was trying to kid.  He had declined the invitation because he didn’t want to spend an entire evening watching Morelli give him warning glares, or watch him and Stephanie dancing and kissing. He shook his head; he definitely didn't want, or need to finish that train of thought. It would only bring out more feelings of regret and, in a small way, jealousy for a woman he couldn’t and shouldn’t get involved with.   Stephanie Plum drove him to enough distraction on a business level and he didn’t have the luxury to allow himself to get distracted on the personal level. 

         As Ranger pushed the button for the office level, he smiled despite himself, knowing that if any woman could distract him that way, he couldn’t deny the fact that it would definitely be the one who came in the very delectable form of a particular spunky and disaster-prone bounty hunter.

*****  *****

         Joe shut the door and, walking over to the couch, placed the pizza box on the coffee table. “What the hell’s taking you so long, Cupcake? The pizza’s here and I don’t have that much in my fridge. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding the beer.”

         “Chill out, you’re not going to die of thirst in the next thirty seconds are you?” Stephanie rolled her eyes as she entered the living room carrying a six pack of beer.

         Grabbing a slice of pizza from the box, Joe plopped down on his couch and smiled at Stephanie as she sat down beside him.  “What were you doing in there anyway?” He asked as he accepted one of the beers from her.

         “Spying on Mrs. Friolli.” Stephanie ignored Joe’s accusatory stare and, leaning forward, reached into the pizza box and grabbed a slice for herself. “She does it enough to us, and besides, she had a gentleman friend and I kind of owe Grandma Mazur some juicy gossip she can pass on to her cohorts at the beauty parlor.” Taking a bite of her pizza, she swallowed and then gulped down some beer. “This isn’t as good as Pino’s.”

         “No, but Pino’s doesn’t deliver, and I was afraid that if I left the house to pick some up from Pino’s, I’d get home and find you gone.” Joe placed his beer on the coffee table and then wrapped his arm around Stephanie’s shoulders.

         Stephanie snuggled in closer “Actually with the day…no make that days I’ve had, I actually prefer being with you.”

         “Gee, thanks. I feel so…loved.” Joe pulled Stephanie closer. “Seriously though, I am glad that you prefer to be with me than Rex.”

         “Well, Rex is nice to talk to, but he doesn’t warm me up the way you do.” Stephanie turned her head and smiled seductively at Joe.

         Joe tossed his pizza back into the box and then slipped his fingers through Stephanie’s hair as he pulled her lips to his.  As his lower body began to react to her hands roaming restlessly up and down his back, his brain remembered something that Stephanie had said right before the pizza had arrived. Breaking the kiss somewhat reluctantly, he leaned his forehead against hers. “What was all that talk about me having to take off work next weekend?”

         Stephanie glared at Joe as she tried to get her breathing back under control. “Your mind works in mysterious ways, Morelli. How the devil you can go from thinking with your lower anatomy to thinking with what’s inside that skull of yours in a matter of milliseconds is beyond me.”

         “Stop redirecting the conversation, Cupcake,” Joe pulled back and glanced at Stephanie with a very serious expression. “Why do I need to take off work next weekend?”           

         “Because I told Amanda that you and I would be attending her and Lee’s wedding.” Stephanie trailed her fingers along the buttons of Joe’s shirt as she looked at him demurely.

         Joe threw his head back and grunted. “Steph, come on, do I really have to go to their wedding?” He looked back at his girlfriend pleadingly. “You know how much I hate weddings.”

         Stephanie rolled her eyes. “I thought you just hated family weddings.” She removed her hand from Joe’s chest and placed it back in her lap. “Of course, if you really don’t want to go…” She heard Joe let out a sigh of relief and shrugged. “I can always see if Ranger’s available.” She knew Ranger wouldn’t go, he’d already told Amanda that he was going to be out of town, but he was the only leverage she had in ensuring that Joe did come with her.

         Joe let out a growl and glared at the brunette beside him. “Don’t even joke about that Steph, because you know if you even …” he paused when he felt her shoulders start to shudder and he looked closer at her face.  When he saw the corners of her mouth twitching slightly he let his muscles relax. “Very funny, Cupcake. Fine, you win and I don’t hate weddings, I just hate putting on that damn suit.”

          “But you look good enough to eat when you wear that suit.” Stephanie licked her lips and smiled. “Come on, it’ll be fun.  I promise to make it worth your while.”

         “Oh, really, and how do you plan on doing that.” Joe grinned at the playful tone in her voice.

         Stephanie slowly slid her hand up and down Joe’s leg. “Well, we'll be miles away from the burg, no interruptions, and no early morning visits from your mom and Grandma Bella.”

         Joe slipped his hand under Stephanie’s shirt and trailed it longingly along her ribcage “And...”

          “Room service, cotton robes, or we can just parade around naked.” Steph pulled her hand back and shrugged. “But if you really don’t want to go…”

         Joe swallowed hard and reached out for Stephanie’s hand. “I’m warming up to the idea but I think I need a little more convincing. How about we have a practice performance for next weekend, now?” He placed her hand back on his upper thigh, letting her know that he wanted her to continue her little foreplay.

         “Well, that’s what I thought we were doing earlier, till someone changed his mind.” Stephanie glanced down at the enlarged bulge in Joe's pants. “I guess we better take care of your condition soon or you might not last very long.” She rubbed her hand tantalizingly over Joe’s package. “Seems the boys have really missed me.”

         “Oh they definitely have. And, for what it’s worth, I’ve missed you, too.” Joe whispered before capturing her lips with his in a fiery kiss. 

         Stephanie had planned on teasing Joe a little longer, but the hunger burning in his kiss, ignited her own desires, throwing all thoughts and reasoning straight out the window.  As Joe lowered her down onto the couch she wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him wipe away all the trauma of the last few days, and hoping that he’d be able give her enough memories to carry through to her next life and death situation.

The End