I still can't believe it took two years to reach the last chapter of this story. What's more unbelievable is that readers have actually stuck with it from the beginning. Thanks again for all your reviews and feedback for After The Night. It was hugely appreciated and always taken into consideration. Big thanks to Margaret who has been this story's biggest champion and the most vocal when I was taking too long to update. All familiar characters belong to Janet. The mistakes are mine. Warnings for some language and a little smut.

Ranger's POV

It didn't take much effort to find out the name of the asshole who decided to earn brownie points with Morelli by dragging Stephanie into what Binkie would call their 'bromance'. Pacitto may have endeared himself to Joe, but he just annoyed the fuck out of me. And that isn't healthy for anyone. I'm going to make Pacitto see exactly that when I drag in Contreau.

Ephrem Contreau had not only dampened what was shaping up to be a pleasant day, he also pulled a weapon on me. And it wasn't just any weapon, but a reloadable WASP injection knife. It's popular with divers, hunters, and a few special ops groups. One stab from it can drop most large mammals - humans most effectively - by shooting up to twenty four grams of compressed gas into the intended target. It's fast, silent, and incredibly deadly when used correctly. And I didn't appreciate the fact that Contreau had entertained the idea of using it on me today.

One, because in theory it could kill me. But I was more concerned about Stephanie having to find out that I'd been injured. She's put a lot on the line to be with me, and I plan on spending decades making her see what a good decision that had been. So to say I was fucking pissed that Contreau could have taken away my time with Stephanie would be a gross understatement.

Before Tank could even react to the weapon, I had the situation under control. Contreau's biggest mistake of the day - after pulling a knife - was trying to intimidate me before attempting to use it. That was a waste of all our time since it's virtually impossible to intimidate me. I haven't stayed alive all these years purely by chance. What I haven't been taught, or instinctively know, I've learned on my own during my time as an active soldier and bounty hunter. My body went automatically into a counter move almost as fast as it registered the glint of sunlight off metal.

I took a step to my right while grabbing Contreau's forearm, squeezing hard enough to cause immediate bruising, and I twisted his arm away from me. The knife fell harmlessly to the ground, but I wasn't done with him. I slammed Ephrem's body into the outside wall of his garage and pinned him there with one hand spanning his throat, making sure Contreau felt the tip of every one of my fingers digging into his skin.

"You gonna kill him?" Tank asked me.

"I haven't decided yet," I told Tank."I should kill the fucker just for thinking I'm stupid enough to not have seen that coming."

"It would save us a trip."

"You can't kill me. I got a kid to feed," Contreau told us.

"According to court documents, you haven't seen - or sent money to - your daughter in months, so stop hiding your pathetic ass behind her. And how the fuck would you have fed your daughter if you were dead?" I asked him."The only reason I'm not going to squeeze the life out of you now is because that was a pussy move. A real man doesn't rely on the weapon itself to do his dirty work for him. I could kill you six different ways with the key to my truck if I felt like it."

Contreau looked like he was trying to choose between crying or wetting himself, not due to my words, but the truth behind them.

"And I would've made you unrecognizable to your own fucking mama if you killed him," Tank told Contreau."I'm not facing his wife if she found out he got hurt. You should be on your fucking knees thanking God that you can't scare shit out of a kitten and won't be subjected to his pissed off missus."

"She'd love to hear you say that," I told Tank, letting Contreau's jugular go now that I've made my point.

"You gonna tell her about this?" Tank asked me.

"Not if I can help it," I said, securing Contreau without giving him another thought, pushing him towards the truck while Tank bagged the knife.

I know Stephanie would be beyond angry at the idea of me in a potentially dangerous situation. I have to respect that since I feel the same about her. And right now, I would like nothing more than to get back to Rangeman - to Stephanie - and oversee her progress as I once again force her to pack up her things and leave where she'd been living. Steph would have my nuts if she heard me say that. She doesn't much care for people assuming they control her actions. And she's still beating herself up for not controlling hers when she thought she could be pregnant.

Stephanie has surprised me more times than I can count now. And she did it again the night we'd come back from the house. I had my arm around her in bed, and after a small sigh, Steph propped her chin up on my chest and gave me the full force of her blue eyes. Her naked skin had been distracting enough, add in that expression, and I was done for. If I hadn't been already.

"I'm sorry, Ranger," she'd said.

"What for, Babe?"

"For going nuts on you today."

"You were scared, Steph. That's understandable."

"I was scared shitless about the test being positive. And, truth is, I'm still uneasy with the idea, but I want you to know that my reaction had nothing at all to do with you. I would never want to take back anything that happened between us ... and that includes a baby. I was questioning my own ability to be a good parent, not yours. You'd be a great dad if you want to be. Even Julie's would agree with that."

"What are saying, Babe?"

"I guess I'm trying to tell you the same thing you told me. If you start liking the idea of becoming a father again, I don't want my freak out to have been the thing that kept you from saying something to me. I'll probably always be worried about fucking a kid up, but I would love any child we had, and do everything I could to be a great mom to our kid."

"That was never in question, Stephanie. I knew you'd panic at first, but if it had been positive, you would have eventually calmed down and gone immediately out to buy a book on pregnancy, followed by asking Ella to order Rangeman uniforms in infant sizes."

"You do have a thing about members of your team being in Rangeman gear," she said, smiling.

Despite Stephanie's opinion of herself, I know she would have done anything for our baby like she's always done for me. And I had, and have, absolutely no concerns about her ability to mother a child. What she did for Julie, a child she'd never met, is all the proof anyone would need that she'd excel at child rearing, too. I do think the actual pregnancy part would have thrown her. Stephanie's not good with being coddled, and everyone in my family - and at Rangeman - would have stood in line to do just that. And she would have fought us at every turn.

"Looks like a packed house today," Tank said, effectively snapping me out of my driving zone, and taking me from a good place to a bad one.

Not only did I have to take Contreau down, I still have to handle a cop other than Morelli who had made it to the top of my hit list. My day suddenly got brighter when I spotted Morelli standing next to the guy I wanted to have a man-to-douchebag talk with. Perfect. I can kill two careers with only one warning if I need to. If Morelli doesn't stay the fuck out of Stephanie's life, I'll take away his. And just for fun - and because I can - I'll take out his little gossip bastard buddy, too.

"You're going to settle this today, aren't you?" Tank asked, cutting his eyes to me before turning them back to dumb and dumber.

"Apparently someone needs to inform them that Stephanie isn't a woman they need to be discussing. And I'm feeling very ... charitable ... today."

"Yeah, charitable," Tank told me."I'm sure that's it. I bet after Contreau, you're looking for someone to beat."

"It could improve my mood," I said to Tank.

"This should be fun."

Tank's easy to amuse if you know how to go about doing it.

"Congratulations, Morelli," I said, leaving Contreau with Tank while I screwed with Morelli and his fuckwit friend a little,"you finally found yourself a love match." I nodded in Pacitto's direction.

"Fuck off, Manoso," Morelli told me.

"Is that the Italian version of 'Bon Voyage'? Because I'm sure you know that Steph and I are almost all packed up. Since the two of you clearly have nothing to do except talk about my wife, I think the obvious waste of taxpayer money should be mentioned to the higher-ups." I put my back to the wall across from them and smiled smugly."All I have to do is hit one button on my phone and you'll both be looking for work in something other than law enforcement."

"You can't threaten police officers," Pacitto said,"that's against the law."

"Save your breath, Pacitto," Morelli told him, disgusted."He can do any fucking thing he wants to. And he damn well knows it. Manoso could take out every president, past and present, on live television and still have the FBI and CIA swear he wasn't there pulling the trigger. That's why he acts like a fucking asshole ninety percent of the time. He has enough money, and contacts, to ensure a get out of jail free card for life."

"Yeah, it sucks to be me," I said, feeling pretty good about my current life.

I'll be even better with it once I'm through here and back with Stephanie.

"You're such an arrogant prick," Morelli told me.

"No wonder it's been hard for you to let Stephanie go," I said to him, never passing up a chance to torture him."She's probably the only woman on earth who was nice enough to put up with you."

"I never gave two shits about your opinion of me, Manoso, and I'm not going to now."

"Don't go flattering yourself, Morelli. The only time you've ever crossed my mind is in relation to Stephanie. And since she has nothing to do with you now, you're just another Burg bigmouth that needs to be permanently shut."

"I'm not the one talking about Stephanie now," he told me.

"Oh, really?" I asked Morelli."Who told Helen about Stephanie and I moving?"

The smirk appeared before Morelli could hide it.

"Had a fun chat with Mrs. Plum, did you?"

"As a matter of fact, Stephanie and I did. If you're the kind of man I thought you were years ago, I would say that you would've been proud of the way Stephanie handled herself and her mother. Now, I think you'd be right there kissing Helen's ass, trying to suffocate Stephanie again."

"I wanted the best for Stephanie ..." Joe started.

"Well ... you can finally sleep easy then, because she has it now," I told Morelli, and walked away.

Morelli doesn't deserve my time or Stephanie's consideration. He's only a big asshole in a small-dicked community. And while Joe can be happy living here, Steph needs more privacy and better people surrounding her.

Contreau was already being processed by the time I got back to Tank.

"Feel better?" He asked me.

"I still wonder sometimes what Stephanie ever saw in him," I told Tank, as we left the TPD.

"From what I've seen," Tank said,"there wasn't much to choose from before we set up shop here. As soon as Steph saw an alternate route to freedom, that fucker was history."

"That's why Morelli's so pissed. He's always been the one pulling up his pants as he walks away. And Joe's now seeing how it feels when you're the one left behind to deal with neighborhood bullshit."

And left behind is exactly what Morelli has been.

Tank got into the passenger's side of the F-150 and I drove us back to Rangeman. I saw Steph's car and also Valerie's vehicle when I pulled into the garage. Looks like Stephanie has been recruiting packers to make the move quicker. Once the choices had been finalized, I made sure the house was fully furnished in record time so Steph and I could be inside it as soon as our clothes and the things Steph had saved from her old apartment were also there.

Tank and I left my truck and separated at the fifth floor door of the stairwell. I continued up the extra two flights to seven. I didn't even get the apartment door closed behind me before Steph's blue eyes lifted from the box she'd been packing and found me. Steph smiled and stood up, still causing the same reaction in me she had when she first approached my table at the diner.

I leaned against the sideboard, crossed my arms over my chest, and watched her come towards me again. Steph didn't hesitate to pull my arms apart and insert herself between them. I let her know how much I appreciated the feel of her body along the front of mine by blocking out the activity inside the apartment, and kissing her like she should be kissed.

"Did you catch Contreau?" Stephanie asked a minute later through slightly swollen lips.

I used to be able to hide everything from Stephanie, but now just a blink before answering had Stephanie stiffening in my arms.

"What happened?" She asked me, maintaining eye contact.

"Contreau had a lapse in judgment, and I had to demonstrate how dead that could have made him."

"In other words," Steph said to me, pulling back and looking for any scratches, bruises, or bandages on my body,"he pulled a gun, knife, or something else that isn't going to make me happy on you, leading you to threaten to kill him."

"Something like that," I said, noncommittally.

No way am I telling Stephanie what could have happened to someone less experienced. Steph ran her hands along my shoulders and down my arms, and quickly started in on my chest and ribs. Her touch is always pleasurable, but I'm not liking the concern behind it this time.

"Stephanie, there was nothing at all to worry about," I told her."If I hadn't taken care of Contreau, Tank was right behind me to subdue him if I needed him to ... which I didn't."

"I know both you and Tank are good, the best actually, but I can't help but worry about something happening to you."

"And that won't ever go away, Babe, but we know what we can do, and what we can't. And I can and did handle Contreau."

"Still ..." Steph said to me,"I wish I could've been there."

"Tank wished you were there, too," I said, wrapping my arms tight around her, making Steph's familiar curves mold to me."Tank is under the impression that you would have removed select parts of Contreau's anatomy for messing with me ... and enjoyed doing it."

"Tank knows what he's talking about," she said, sliding her fingertips up and down the muscles of my back.

"So what have you gotten done while I was out?" I asked, watching Marie Alice and Angie each slide a taped box across the kitchen floor to see who could get theirs the furthest.

I noticed that Ella had been here as well. It appeared that the housewarming party had begun early. I saw a large cookie in Lisa's hand, and Mary Alice and Angie now had sodas in theirs. Both of those items are not regularly available inside this apartment unless Stephanie beat Ella to the store.

I took a quick scan of the hall where Steph and I are standing, and it was a little disconcerting to see the apartment back to its pre-Stephanie days. Steph and I had agreed to leave the furniture, dishes, and some clothes here in case there was an emergency or late night so the apartment will still be usable.

Also figuring into that decision is that I still hold firm on Stephanie not showering or changing anywhere where someone other than me could walk in on her, so the bathroom remained as is except it's now missing about three quarters of Steph's usual make up, hair, and bath crap. I've never complained - nor do I plan to - about how many unnecessary products Stephanie crammed into the room, because I like the end result of them when Steph goes all out for what she calls our 'date dinners'.

I try to take Stephanie out at least once a week if our schedules permit it. The big difference between Morelli and I, aside from him being an asswipe most days, is that I know how to keep what's mine, and even how to improve on what I already have. Just because Stephanie is wearing the rings I bought her, doesn't mean I'm going to take her place as my wife for granted. I still have a lot of shit to make up for, and I'm going to use every opportunity I'm given to show Steph that I'm not a complete asshole for things I've done or said to her in the past. And that seems to keep Stephanie from finding any faults with being married to me.

"Where did you go?" Stephanie asked me, her eyes locked on my face.

"Just trying not to think about what I was like before you."

"That's what put that look on your face?"

"I don't have a look, Babe. I've perfected being expressionless."

"You have, but I've figured out a few clues on how to read you."

"Like ...?"

"Forget it," she told me."If I tell you, you'll work on changing them. And I actually like knowing what you're thinking. I don't want to be blocked now."

"Steph, don't you know by now that there's no way I can block you from anything? Nor would I want to at this point."

"So you don't need to know any of my tricks then," she said, and kissed me, I assume, to shut me up.

When Stephanie pulled her mouth away from mine, she got back to my original question.

"There's not that much left to do here," Steph told me."I left the office for you to deal with. Other than that, there's just some stuff to take down in the living room, and then getting all these boxes downstairs and unloaded at the house."

"That won't be a problem," I told Steph."If we have to feed my entire workforce, the least they can do is work for it."

"Ranger, I know you're not very familiar with the concept of parties," Steph said, pressing her lips to the corner of my mouth, making me wish we were alone so I can do what I really want to do to her,"but the whole point of them is to invite people over, and then feed and hydrate them when they show up."

"Sounds like a waste of time and money," I told Steph, just to see if her beautiful eyes would spark.

"I know you're kidding ... at least I think you're kidding. You wouldn't have agreed to have your family and the guys over if you really didn't want them at the house."

"You're wrong, Babe. I do a lot of things I don't enjoy just because you ask."

"Can I take advantage of that?" Steph asked me.

"Yes," I told her, against my better judgment,"any time you want as long it doesn't involve your security detail."

"Says the man who was just threatened with ... wait, you never said what Contreau came at you with."

"You're right. I didn't." I told her.

And I don't plan to.

"Do you think we should get back to packing our own things?" I asked her.

"I guess," Steph said to me,"but it's fun to just sit back and watch Ella's organizational skills at work. Ella gave Val and the girls a direction and that's gotten things done effectively in half the time it would have taken me."

"That's one reason why I hired her."

"What are the others?" She asked me."That Ella's incredibly nice?"

"Ella is a nice woman, but I was more interested in the fact that she refused to take shit from Santos or any of the other men I hired. I still remember Ram's first day working here. Ella had made him a welcome to Rangeman chocolate chip muffin ..."

"And Ram was probably made aware of Rangeman's no bad for you food rule by then."

"Yes. But Ella would have none of his protests. She marched Ram off to the control room kitchen, told Bobby and Lester to pour themselves and Ram a cup of coffee, and then made everyone sit down until Ram relaxed enough to finish his first breakfast as an employee here."

"There's no arguing with Ella," Stephanie said."No wonder the guys are so close."

"The men not only bond over being responsible for each other's asses, they have to work together to make sure they don't piss off the women here."

"Women? I thought we were talking about Ella."

"We were, but you're included in this. Every new hire is briefed on what - and what not - to do around you."

"Jeez," Steph said.

"It's safer for everyone that way," I informed her.

Stephanie apparently wasn't real excited about this subject, because she chose to talk about Helen and Frank instead.

"When the girls were busy with Ella, Val told me that our parents have been spotted having dinner at Rossini's," Steph said to me."There wasn't much gossip to report back on since conversation still seemed clipped, but I guess I can't expect them to change overnight."

"You did, Babe," I reminded her.

"Yeah, but I had you," Steph told me."They have each other."

I suppose being with the right person can bring out all the positive in someone instead of only the negatives. Which was apparent in Stephanie's relationship with Morelli. Steph turned stubborn the second Morelli turned demanding.

"And Valerie also said that my mom and dad are trying to communicate more with each other, and her, when she's gone over to their house with the girls, but that they're still in the hard to watch stage. Val thinks, like I do, that they are committed to making their marriage work. Or at least they agree on not legally ending it."

"There's a chance they'll find their way just like you found yours," I said, wanting Steph to realize just how unlike her parents she really is.

And that it's something of her to be very proud of.

"I guess this is my parents' equivalent to my Joe years," Steph told me."They have to figure out if they want to settle for what they've always known, or try for something better than they thought existed. That's what you've been to me."

"Ditto, Babe. There has been no settling for either of us since the night your car lit up the sky."

"What started off as a pretty shitty night ... turned into a life-changing one."

"I think you almost dying gave us both plenty to think about, namely what we never stopped feeling for each other."

"And what are you feeling now?" She asked me.

I let my hands drop to Steph's hips and bent my head to hers again.

"I can't answer that with your nieces fifteen feet away from us."

"When do you plan on answering it, then?"

"When we're alone and have plenty of time," I promised her.

Steph sighed. Looks like I was successful in getting her over her sudden sex fear. I'd hoped that Stephanie would see that if a pregnancy did occur, we'd be okay with it. I wouldn't purposely try to get Stephanie pregnant, but I wouldn't panic if she was. Which really should scare the fuck out of me as much as it did Stephanie. It didn't, but that will be something to think about much later, or never, depending on where we are in our lives at the point we both agree on the idea of children. Right now, Steph and I are focusing on each other, our new house, and the move we've just about completed.

It had been tempting to make the men haul all of our boxes to our new home base, but Stephanie didn't want anyone to see the place until she was done with it. She had worked closely with Ella, Celia, and my mother - and had my answers to the questions she asked and pictures she showed me - to create a sanctuary for us here. Steph had chosen a pale gray-blue color for the living room, with dark wood accents and cream colored furniture. The coffee table is large, the couch, loveseat, and chairs comfortable, and the entertainment unit is state-of-the-art. Matching dark frames were on the walls in groups of family, wedding, and friend, photos.

The rest of the house is painted the same color as the living room. I'd never say it to Celia directly, but all her house-perfecting has paid off, if only in recommending people for us to hire. The little amount of work we had done to the place, was finished quickly and professionally. Stephanie made things a lot simpler by refusing to waste time choosing a different color for each room. So she found one we both liked, and then had the interior of the house painted with it, only changing out the furniture or trim colors where she wanted a little more contrast.

The only room that remained its original white is Julie's. Steph promised Julie that she can choose whatever color she likes when she comes up from Miami next month for a visit. Unless Julie has changed her mind since our last birthday conversation, I'm betting the room ends up either blue or a pale green.

I found it interesting that Stephanie, the woman who always avoided any sense of permanence, now sets down roots wherever she goes. Julie's most recent school picture is right there next to one of her three nieces. The photo of my parents that my mother sent out with their Christmas card was paired with Stephanie's grandparents' wedding photo.

But that was about as traditional as Stephanie got. She loves the idea of fucking with convention, so instead of a large painting of an interesting landscape or serene beach scene above the fireplace, she bought an amusing - to her anyway - picture titled "Secrets Of The Batcave" with detailed descriptions of the hidden floors beneath Wayne Manor, along with plenty of smart ass comments about plot lines, cheesy humor, and script repair. It also included more Bat-getaway options besides the Batmobile, like a Bat-Boat and Bat-Copter. Steph told me she even paid extra to remove Robin from Batman's side and replace him with Wonder Woman.

I want to roll my eyes every time I walk into the living room and see it, but the way Steph still smiles when she looks at it allowed it to stay right where it is. And because of that print, Steph refers to this house as the Batcave now whenever she discusses it.

The kitchen was barely touched aside from a coat of paint on the walls and a new backsplash that complements the color we decided on. It isn't drastically different than our apartment's kitchen, but it seemed warmer somehow. Even Rex got a new home out of the deal. Moving from a glass aquarium to the hamster equivalent of Disneyland. He now has two stories of tubes to crawl through, plus his wheel to run on. Rex even has a feeding station, complete with a snack bar. Steph still thinks I'm just picking on Rex when I comment on it.

The only say I really wanted was in the bedroom. A king size bed is mandatory, which Stephanie had no problem with. She even asked Ella where she could get bedding like what we have in the apartment in gray and cream colors for here. Stephanie had gotten used to that small level of comfort and wasn't going back to what she had before moving in with me.

In between Rangeman jobs and FTA pickups, Steph had worked on the house. She correctly assumed that we'll be spending most of the time inside the house in the bedroom, and she spent more time on that than any other area of the house. And it showed. I thought with a little more of Celia's guidance and Ella's patience, Stephanie could have an entirely new career.

The house looks good, but more importantly, it reflects us ... separately and as a couple. Since we had family pictures covering the walls of the living room, inside the master suite, Steph once again deviated from the norm. She'd chosen black and white photographs of Porsche models that I have, had, or she's blown up, to adorn the gray/blue walls in our new bedroom. If I didn't know better, I'd swear Steph loves me for my vehicles. But from the very beginning, she has always been vocal in her enjoyment of nice cars. And she expressed that here with shots of Turbos, Carreras, and Cayennes, along with their emblems, steering wheels, or dashes taken from unusual camera angles to make the photos appear like fine art rather than magazine ads.

And as a personal touch to the room, Stephanie had added a picture of us to each side of our bed. One of our wedding day, the other of Stephanie in my arms with me kissing the top of her curls. That photo had been taken early on in our friendship when Steph first started working for Rangeman. The fact that we were wearing company uniforms in both pictures didn't escape me.

Other than our bedroom and the kitchen - where the cabinet containing more Tastykakes, peanut butter, and Pop-Tarts than one person needs in a lifetime is located - Steph's favorite place is the deck on the back of the house. I paid extra to ensure that the furniture she liked was delivered the day after it was ordered. Reclining on the chaise after a long day, with Stephanie sprawled out on me, will be a nice way to unwind.

"I'm having coffee out here every morning before we leave for work," Steph had told me, when the outdoor furniture had been unloaded."I don't care if I have to get up an extra hour early to do it, either."

I smiled at her."You say that now, Babe, but you'll change your mind once the alarm goes off."

"Hmm ... maybe," she said, letting my body take her weight as we stood looking out over the grass in the backyard."I guess we'll see soon enough."

We'll most likely find out the answer to that after tonight's party. Stephanie and I will be falling asleep and then waking up here for the first time. I'm looking forward to that more than having everyone over and being forced to share not only our house, but also Stephanie with them. I am a greedy bastard, and I want what little time Steph and I have away from work to be spent together with no distractions.

But to be fair, my family - and Steph's Rangeman family - love her, too, so I had to take that into account. And if Stephanie had been pregnant, that would have cut into our alone time considerably, and I'd been willing to share her with a child if we had one. I can be very adaptable if something is important. As for tonight, I'll just make up for any lost alone time with Stephanie after everyone leaves.

"This is gonna be fun," Steph told me, after getting off the phone with my mother who called to give us their ETA.

I let Steph's excitement for this party fuel my own about what will be occurring in the bedroom right after the final hug from my parents is given. I have no doubt they'll outstay everybody ... even Santos.

"Let the party begin," Steph said, kissing me quickly before going to open the door after the doorbell chimed.

I tossed the bottle of water I just finished after helping Steph set out the food, and followed her to the front door. My father made good time, I thought, checking my watch. Ella and Louis were next to arrive, followed by various Manosos and Rangemen at five minute intervals. Mary Lou, Lenny, the Kloughns, and Grandma Mazur are the only ones from the Burg Steph invited tonight. I don't think she's ready to open up this part of her life to anyone else right now. And I agree with her decision.

The house was full to capacity thirty minutes in. I draped my arm across Steph's shoulders and cleared my throat quietly to cut off the small talk so Steph could have the floor.

"Thanks for coming everyone," Steph told our guests."We ... or at least I ... appreciate you being here."

I looked down into Steph's face and lifted an eyebrow at her.

"It's not a secret, Ranger," Steph told me."Everybody here knows you aren't exactly a party guy. You're more of a loner."

When it came to socializing, maybe, but I like being around Stephanie now more than I enjoy being alone.

"In the past, I've had to be creative and persistent to get Carlos to come over for family dinners or our annual holiday parties," my mother added, helpfully."Now I know I can just call you, Stephanie, and save myself a lot of time and cajoling."

"You'd use Stephanie like that?" I asked my mother, knowing Steph would find the question amusing.

"To get both you and Stephanie over ... definitely," she said."If I really thought you didn't want to come, I would stop fighting dirty, but how could you possibly want to turn down time with this family?"

"I could ... on occasion, anyway," I told my mother.

The Manosos are a large group and can be hell on your nerves if you're not in the mood to take them on en masse, but Stephanie really seems to enjoy the time we spend with my family as much as they like time with her. And everyone here knows that where Steph goes ... I go.

"We can't turn you down, Mom," Steph told my mother.

"Feel free to try, Babe. At least once."

"You can try all you want," my dad told Steph,"it won't get you anywhere."

"Don't listen to my brother, Stephanie," Celia said."He loves spending time with us, he just has to keep up his tough guy image by pretending he doesn't."

I know Celia's kidding, because we are a close family. Marisol Manoso wouldn't have it any other way. Bobby wasn't kidding when he spoke ... and I wouldn't have it any other way.

"That's how the boss is at work," Brown said."We're almost positive he doesn't really want to kill us daily and unload our bodies at the dump."

"Don't kid yourself, Brown," I told him."I can like you and still eliminate you if it's deserved."

Stephanie wrapped her arm around my waist and squeezed.

"You're supposed to play nice, Ranger. Remember?"

"No," I told her."That wasn't written in my invitation."

"You didn't get an invitation," Steph said."You live here, so you didn't need one."

"Maybe you should have given me one then that included a detailed warning about threatening guests."

I grinned down at her when Steph rolled her eyes.

"Since there are so many of you," Steph said, once again to the room,"to take on a tour of the house individually, feel free to wander around wherever you want. Except for Ramon, Woody, and Lester. Ranger made me promise not to let you guys near the bedroom."

"That hurts," Ramon told us.

"No ... it will hurt if your boots take one step into an area I deem off limits," I warned him."Like the bedroom."

"My snack cabinet is another thing that's marked 'no trespassing'," Steph told them."Someone cleaned out my desk drawer at work, and I'm pretty sure whoever did it is here tonight. If I smell Tastykake breath, someone's in major trouble."

"What the hell kind of party is this?" Santos asked.

"One you were lucky enough to be invited to," I said to him."So shut your face and enjoy it."

"That's cool," Lester said, and hit the snack spread Steph had laid out earlier in the dining room. A feast that Ella added to when she arrived with food, much like my mother had.

"Is it always like this?" I heard Elena ask Tank.

"I sure as heck hope so," Steph's Grandma Mazur said."This is more exciting than when old Mabel Markowitz set her oven on fire."

"Grandma," Steph and Valerie said in unison.

"To answer your question," Tank said to Elena,"yes, this is exactly what happens when we all get together. Just keep your head down, your eyes on the nearest exit at all times, and you'll get out alive."

That's also Tank's meeting strategy.

"Everybody else can look around," Mary Lou said to Steph,"but I want you to show me everything."

"Me, too!" Edna shouted, before making her way through the maze of Rangemen to reach us.

"Okay," Steph said."Maybe a small tour group is possible. Ranger?"

"Go ahead, Babe. And have Celia grab Cecily, since she's the sister who has been the most interested in seeing what you two have done here."

"I'm on it," Steph said, but gave me a decent kiss before corralling her grandmother.

Ella and Valerie were right behind them.

"Steph looks happy here," Tank told me.

"She is," I said, watching Steph walk up the stairs, pausing before each new step to respond to whatever comment or question was being directed at her.

"But she's going to miss the shit out of us," Santos said, butting into our conversation,"if Ranger keeps her out here too long."

"Somehow, I doubt that," Bobby told him."She'll likely say screw Trenton and set up shop here."

We've talked about what our future plans could be, but Steph and I haven't gotten beyond the next couple of months.

"There's no Rangeman offices out here," Steph said, tucking herself under my arm and circling my waist again, joining her hands over my obliques.

Stephanie has picked up a few stealth skills herself.

"Wouldn't take much," Tank said, just as the thought was crossing my mind.

"Stop it," Steph told him."I'm only thinking about tonight. I'm not ready for anymore possible life-altering events."

"What do you mean?" Santos asked her."Buying this house?"

"Yes," she told him."That, too."

"Speaking of your house," Ella said to us,"this place really suits you."

And I had to agree with her. Not about this place exactly, but the way Stephanie seems to command every room she's in made me see that this move is one of the best decisions we've made to date. Watching Stephanie actively make this house hers - ours - was entertaining, enlightening, and sexy as hell.

Stephanie had added her things to the apartment on seven, but I think she still saw it as my apartment since I'd lived there alone for so long. This house is different in the way I noticed Stephanie viewing it. Our apartment is a nice place to stay. This house Steph has done everything she can to make an actual home for us.

And she's succeeded, if the faces now littering the place are anything to go by. Tank looked relaxed with his arm around Elena. An unusually possessive gesture for Tank, and one I don't think Tank even realized he was executing. I'm extremely proficient in observing what's around me, but I might not have noticed Tank's behavior if I hadn't caught myself doing the same thing with Stephanie long before I had the right to. Needing to touch Stephanie is - and was at the time - as natural and necessary to me as a heartbeat.

I glanced at Stephanie and saw her surveying our company, too. I couldn't help but smile because I knew what she was about to do.

"Brown! Get your friggin' boots off my coffee table!" Steph yelled in his direction, three seconds after his ass hit couch cushion.

It was so unexpected to everyone except me, that Bobby almost earned even more of Stephanie's wrath by coming perilously close to spilling what had been a freshly-opened beer when he jumped at Stephanie's shout. Steph would've been just as pissed at the waste of beer as she would about a beer stain on our new sofa.

"You're such a pussy, Brown. You looked like you were about to piss yourself. Umph ..." was the last thing Tank said before Elena elbowed him in the abdomen.

I bet Steph had been the one who taught Elena how to throw a good elbow.

Stephanie had been patrolling the rooms, keeping everyone happy and refilling - or replacing - everything in the kitchen or on the large dining room table made from a solid piece of stained hardwood. My mother had brought her most-requested Cuban dishes. Ella had supplied healthy alternatives to Steph and my favorites. Valerie and Mary Lou took care of classic Burg party food. And Edna and my siblings covered dessert. Also, Vince and Ram, hoping to be invited back to christen the new big screen downstairs, had come with pizza and wings. All countries, backgrounds, and ethnicities were represented tonight.

My brother, Dominic, has a bigger sweet tooth than even Stephanie, and it could get ugly when it came to cutting the cake Edna brought, because there is only one piece with four icing roses on it. I was afraid Steph might scare Dominic if he decided to push the issue of him getting it. And to make junk food matters even worse, my two sometimes troublesome sisters, Alise and Sophia, banded together to make something special for Stephanie.

"What?" Alise asked, raising her professionally arched brow at me.

"You two are my new favorite people," Steph told them, when my sisters had shown up with a dozen macaroni and cheese doughnuts."And I actually mean it when I say it this time."

"As soon as I saw the recipe," Sophia told Steph,"I knew you'd love them."

"Like it's possible not to love deep-fried mac&cheese?" Alise asked us.

"It's very easy," I told my sister,"to not love something that will harden all your arteries in a single bite."

"Your sisters were doing something thoughtful, Ranger," Steph said to me,"don't ruin it."

"I'd think you'd be more concerned about the fact that my sisters could be trying to kill you, Babe."

"Hey! I don't cook for just anybody," Sophia told me."And Steph needed something substantial to help her survive a night with our whole family under her roof."

Maybe Sophia had a point.

Stephanie was already halfway through a 'doughnut' by the time the plate made it into the hallway that led to the kitchen. Steph will probably need those calories for later tonight anyway. She made quick work of hiding Sophia and Alise's party offering in the kitchen so no one would touch them. I believe Steph's breakfast has just been taken care of.

"You know," Steph said, coming back to me like she's been doing all night,"we have really great people in our lives."

"We do, Babe. But you've been good to everyone here, and they're showing that they appreciate it ... and you."

"I've tried."

"You didn't just try, Stephanie. You did it. My parents love you. The men respect you. And the family here tonight support you."

"And they all seem to be having a good time together," Stephanie said to me.

"You're surprised?" I asked, pulling her into my arms again.

"Not exactly surprised that everyone gets along, but about how quickly - and easily - our two worlds combined. Grandma loves Marisol. The men are not being horndogs around your sisters. And Valerie and your siblings are okay with hearing me call your parents Mom and Dad."

"You'll have plenty of time to get used to it, Babe," I said, bending my head to give her a quick, hard kiss,"because this is our life now."

"I really hope it is," she said, curling her hand over mine where it'd been resting on her hip,"because this entire night has been perfect. I'm even thinking we should have another party tomorrow night. Maybe have a movie night and get some use out of the basement rooms."

"No."

"That's it?" She asked me."No thinking about it at all?"

"I don't need to," I told her."I only want to think about when I get to be alone with you again."

"That won't be too much longer. Tank is already edging Elena towards the door."

"Which is exactly what I'm attempting to do to you," I told her."Clearly Tank is having more luck."

"I could tell," she said."Just try to resist tossing me over your shoulder until the last car clears the driveway."

"I'll do my best to control myself, Babe, but I can't promise anything."

She tipped her head back against my arm and smiled up at me.

"You think I should hurry them along?" Steph asked me.

"Yes."

Of course, Steph let everyone stay as long as they wanted to. And as expected, my parents were the last ones to leave. My mother and father both hugged Stephanie, and I got a kiss and pat on my cheek from my mother and a one-armed hug from my father. Their combined pleasure at us moving here was palatable.

"You're coming back on Friday for dinner, right?" Steph asked them at the door.

"Yes," my mother told her."I'll come early and we can make dessert together."

"Sounds good to me," Steph told her.

"Anything that involves dessert sounds good to you, Babe."

"True."

"And we'll make our men a fabulous one," my mother said to her.

"Uh-uh," Steph said."I'm making myself a good dessert, since my particular man doesn't eat it."

"He was like that ever since he joined the service," my mother informed Steph."Carlos' body became his weapon, his livelihood, and his most valuable asset. When he came home from basic training, he wouldn't touch so much as one cookie I made for him. It was hard for a woman like me to handle, not being able to cook for my child like I always have, but I had to respect Carlos' decisions. And I set out to find new recipes that he'd be willing to try when he came home to visit."

"I was just the opposite," Steph told her."When Ranger told me that he doesn't eat junk food, I just thought ... Yay! More for me."

"You can always find a bright spot in anything, Steph," I told her, sliding an arm around her back to bring her close again.

"Yep. And your share of cake has been a huge one."

"Did I tell you how happy I am that my son had the good sense to marry you?" My mother asked Stephanie.

I had to suppress an eyeroll of my own at the question.

"You might have mentioned it a few times," Steph told her,"but you don't have to stop, ever, because I never get tired of hearing it."

"I'm sure Carlos disagrees," my mother said, looking over at me.

"It doesn't bother me at all," I said to her."I'm glad I married Stephanie, too."

Steph did the eyerolling for me.

"You two are just perfect for one another," my mother said, right before taking my father's arm and heading back down our sidewalk to the last car besides ours in the driveway.

I locked the door behind them, and then Steph and I worked together systematically, packing the fridge with leftover food, loading the dishwasher, and putting the things Santos touched back where they belonged. When everything was as it should be, I took Steph's hand as I made one final pass through the rooms, turning the lights after giving one last scan of them for anything out of place. I checked the locks on both doors again before taking Stephanie to our new bedroom. I swept her up into my arms and carried her over the threshold of the master suite.

"Ranger ..."

"Yeah, Babe?"

"We've been married for a while now," Steph told me."I don't think I need to be carried into our room."

"You're right, Steph, you don't need me to carry you anywhere, but I happen to like holding you, so you should just humor me here."

Steph was still smiling when I lowered her feet to the floor by the foot of the bed. Stephanie considers any visit from my parents as a reason to get dressed up, and I enjoyed the fruits of her labor by first getting to watch her short skirt swirl around her legs and also ride up them whenever she leaned over to get or pick up something. And this second was like my birthday and Christmas morning all wrapped up into one heavily anticipated moment as I removed Stephanie's clothes from her body.

"You really are beautiful, Babe," I said softly, as I slipped her bra and panties off her.

"I'm glad you think so," she told me.

"Everyone thinks so, Stephanie, but I'm the only one whose opinion needs to matter."

"Your opinion is the only one I've been listening to," she told me.

"And we both know that I'm always right."

"Sometimes ..." she said, as I pulled back the covers and laid her down on our brand new bed.

Steph tugged at my shirt when I leaned over her with my hands on either side of her head, caging her in as I started seducing her mouth.

"All the time, Babe."

I stopped kissing her only to get my clothes off, and then I moved onto some other areas of Stephanie's body I enjoy the taste of just as much as her lips. I loved her slowly - and thoroughly - taking my time as I brought Steph to her first orgasm of the night. My tongue traced every dip, curve, and sensitive area on her incredible body. I was ready to start all over again, but then Steph arched her back, and the sudden movement of her breasts distracted me as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders, tugging me down on top of her. Steph moved her thighs further apart, and then I was right where I wanted to be ... surrounded, inside, and loved by this woman.

I slid into her silky heat until I was as deep as I could possibly go. Steph's fingers digging into my ass was the first clue that she wanted more. The second clue came when her internal muscles squeezed so tight around me, I had to take a few deep breaths so I wouldn't come before either of us wanted me to.

I set a steady pace, plunging and retreating until our pleasure bordered on insanity. Stephanie was the first to let go, but I wasn't far behind her. Our breaths were labored, our bodies damp, and I wanted to prolong this feeling as long as I could.

My arm went beneath Steph's back, and I held onto her as I reversed our positions, not breaking any of the skin-to-skin contact we had going. Steph's legs fell to the sides of mine, and I stayed buried deep inside her. Steph tucked her face into the curve of my neck as I skimmed the entire length of her spine with just the tips of my fingers, reveling in the softness of her skin and how good it felt against mine.

"Welcome home, Babe," I said quietly, thinking of the last time I'd said that to her when she had agreed to move in with me.

"It's good to finally be home," she said, kissing the skin over my still racing pulse.

This is the most permanent home either of us has ever had, and we both know it's the only one we will ever need.

A/N: The Batcave picture in Ranger and Steph's new living room I saw on the razorfine website.