JE owns the rights to anything familiar. All mistakes are mine.

For LilyGhost, Margaret and highlands girl...and for the rest of the Babes out there. Merry Christmas!

The weather forecast for Christmas Day was eight inches of snow so I was thankful I'd been able to catch a flight the day before. I hadn't been home in over three months and a further delay because of a blizzard would have really ticked me off.

The plane touched down at Newark right on schedule and when I made my way out to the passenger pick-up area, Tank was already waiting. I used my good arm to open the door and he cut his eyes to my damaged shoulder as I slid onto the heated leather seat.

"I thought it was better," he commented and eased his Explorer around an idling Prius and through the muddy slush covering the street.

"It is. I haven't needed the sling in a couple of weeks."

"You're favoring it."

"Yeah, I know. It's going to take a lot more rehab before it's back to normal. How is she?"

Though I knew he wanted more details, I wasn't in the mood to share. Luckily, Tank didn't miss a beat with the abrupt subject change and I appreciated him not pushing the issue. "Pissed I won't tell her anything."

He hadn't been informed of much before I left so there wasn't a lot he could have said anyway but when my government handler broke protocol and let him know I was in a hospital in Bogotá, I made Tank promise not tell her. She'd already been worried enough as it was.

"I'm surprised you didn't cave; Stephanie can be very persuasive."

"I'm going to ignore that insult because you're injured, apparently in the head as well as the shoulder. Did you at least let her know you'd be home today?"

"No. I thought it would be more fun to surprise her." He came really close to rolling his eyes. "Have there been any problems?"

"That all depends on what you consider a problem. The scale is drastically skewed where she's concerned."

I couldn't argue. The woman had an amazing capacity for falling into the strangest of circumstances. I felt the corners of my lips tilt; life with Stephanie would never be boring.

"Are all of my cars still intact?"

"Surprisingly, yes. Though she's been driving Big Blue the past month and that thing is indestructible, even for her."

Tank took the next right which led us down what was known as Christmas Lane. A group of neighbors got together every year and extravagantly decorated their houses for the holiday. It started out as cluster of four or five but now the entire street joined in and there was usually a theme. This year it looked like a Grinch Christmas. Normally I found it too over the top but Steph loved it and I was looking forward to walking the street with her.

I was looking forward to doing many things with Stephanie.

"What happened to her car?"

"It died a slow death out on route 12 from a rusted out carburetor. I had it towed to the junk yard after she called for a ride."

"And she refused a fleet vehicle, I'm sure."

Tank grinned as he slowed to a stop to let a kid dressed as Max, the dog/reindeer, cross the street. "The woman is stubborn as hell."

Before I could comment, his phone rang through the navigation system. Hal's name was displayed on the screen and Tank's smile immediately fell. He hit the button on the steering wheel to answer the call.

"What is it?" He barked and the quick flick of his eyes to mine let me know Hal was Stephanie's guard tonight. I braced myself for bad news.

Hal nervously cleared his throat before relaying the situation. "It's under control, but Ms. Plum's living room is on fire. The fire department is here and it should be out in a matter of minutes."

"Is she hurt?" I demanded taking over the call.

Hal managed to stutter out a response after the shock of hearing my voice wore off. "Oh...I, um yes...I mean no, she's not hurt. I didn't know...uhhh, I didn't know you were back, sir."

Now Tank definitely rolled his eyes. "We're ten minutes out." He disconnected and accelerated into the next turn so I didn't have to tell him to hurry.

The fire truck was just leaving when we arrived at her building and it looked like the temporarily evacuated residents were shuffling back to their respective apartments. I didn't spot Stephanie in the crowd, but being the youngest tenant she moved faster and was probably already up surveying the damage. I scanned the cars in the parking lot, instinctively searching for Morelli's green SUV. He always seemed to show up when something bad happened and like a cockroach, was decidedly unwelcome.

"Has the cop been sniffing around?" I asked Tank.

"After the warning you issued last time? I assume he doesn't want to find himself at the bottom of the Delaware so he's kept his distance."

"Pretty sure I said the bottom of Tomahawk Lake."

Tank's lips gave a slight twitch. "Tomato, tamahto."

I glanced up at Stephanie's window and could see the remnants of the charred curtains behind the glass. "Did you kill his trackers?"

"This morning."

"He was probably aware we had eyes on him."

"Yeah but he never found the bugs or he would have disabled them. I bet it was driving him nuts."

The brief expression of glee Tank allowed at the thought of messing with Morelli amused me. "I'll have to give Hector a raise for a job well done."

"I'm sure he already has something in mind." Tank killed the engine and handed me the keys. "Go, I'll ride back with Hal."

I gladly agreed and quickly exited the vehicle. Tank rolled down the window and called to me as I headed toward the stairs. "It's good to have you home."

I tossed him a salute and made my way to the second floor. No offense to Tank, but it wouldn't feel like home to me until I saw her face. Not being able to see her had been the worst part about the past ninety days and that included taking four rounds in the shoulder.

The scent of smoke was strong when I hit the landing and only became more potent as I got closer. Her door was standing wide open and I could see her leaning against the kitchen counter, cradling a full glass of wine in her hands and inspecting her living room with a look of resignation. Her hair was long, longer than I remembered, and pulled back from her face in a loose ponytail. She was wearing a worn pair of jeans and a tight crimson sweater that immediately had my thoughts teetering on the edge of lustful.

I didn't think I'd ever seen anything more beautiful in my entire life.

She brought the glass to her lips after a deep sigh but just as the dark red liquid hit her tongue she froze for a beat and brought her other hand up to the back of her neck. She whipped her head around and graced me with a grin that instantly erased the knot of anxiety that had been residing in my chest since I'd said goodbye to her months before.

"That's an awfully big smile from someone whose living room looks like it met the business end of a flamethrower. It wasn't a flamethrower, was it?"

Her smile got bigger and then she deposited her wine on the counter and launched herself right into my arms, well arm. I caught her with the undamaged one and her legs wrapped around my waist, her arms went around my neck and her lips found mine for a kiss I would remember for a very long time.

She broke away just as I was about to attempt carrying her to the bedroom and rested her forehead against mine. "I didn't think you were going to make it home for Christmas...and I was starting to think you weren't coming back at all."

"Tank would have told you if that was the case."

She snorted out her disbelief. "He talks even less than you do, which I didn't know was possible, and the only thing he would say was you were still breathing, 'the last he heard.' The man is infuriating."

I didn't get the chance to agree because when I shifted my weight for a better grip, she noticed I was only using one arm to support her. "What happened?" Steph demanded and slid down my body until her feet were on the ground.

"Nothing a couple of surgeries couldn't fix."

That got me a massive eye roll. "How bad is it?" She gingerly touched my arm as if I'd turned into a fragile piece of china.

"I'm fine, Babe, I promise. In a few months it will be like it never happened and we can discuss it in detail later, if you really want to, but first I want to know how your place got torched."

She narrowed her baby blues but let me get away with the evasive tactic. "The Trenton FD thinks it was faulty Christmas lights." We both glanced down at the remains of what had once been a Christmas tree. "I must have forgotten to turn them off before I left this morning."

"What made you get a tree? Normally you're content with the one at your Mother's."

"The whole family went on a cruise for the holiday so they skipped decorating this year."

That was surprising. Her Father wouldn't even spring for a new paint job on the outdated town house but he forked over thousands of dollars for a family cruise? "What did you do to not get invited? Is your Mother still disappointed you didn't marry the cop?"

Stephanie made a face of disgust at the mention of Morelli's name and that made me smile. "Probably, but I was invited. I chose not to go."

"Good decision. Why?"

"Are you kidding? Two weeks trapped on a boat with my parents and Grandma? Not to mention Valerie and Albert and all their spawn...I would have thrown myself overboard two hours in." She shivered in horror at the thought and I had to smile again. I wouldn't have made it thirty minutes with that brood.

"And," she went on a beat later, "I wanted to be here in case you made it home." He eyes flooded with tears and I pulled her back against my chest. "I missed you," she whispered and pressed her lips to my neck.

"Me too, Babe." More than you'll ever know. "Go get some clothes together and we'll head out. You can't sleep here tonight and I'm not letting you out of my sight for the foreseeable future so you can stay with me until the repairs are done." Or for forever.

She tilted her head back and gave me another brilliant smile. "What's that grin for?"

"Because before you got here I was thinking there was no way this day could be salvaged and now I'm thinking it's going to turn out to be the best day ever."

I was thinking that too. Five minutes later we were warm inside Tank's SUV and on the road and Stephanie was filling me in on everything that had gone on while I was away. "...and then Lula kissed him right on the mouth. I thought Bobby was going to have a stroke." I hoped to God someone got video of that. "Hey," she interrupted my envisioning Bobby's face after a lip lock from Lula. "Where are we going?"

It took her a lot longer to realize we weren't going to Rangeman than I thought it would. "Home," I replied simply.

She was quiet so long I finally had to look and make sure she was okay. "Is there a problem?"

Steph started at my voice "What? Oh, no it's just..."

"Just what?"

"Are we going to the bat cave?" Her lower lip was caught in her teeth at the corner, a nervous habit when she didn't know what to say.

"Yes."

"But...but you said the bat cave is forever."

I was very aware of what I'd said and what this would mean to her and that had been my intention. When she finally ended things with Morelli and we began seeing each other in a more significant manner we'd agreed to take things slowly but I needed her to know I was serious about committing to her and other than a ring, for which neither of us was quite ready, this was the next best thing.

"Yes, I did," I agreed.

"You're being serious?"

"I'm always serious."

She was quiet the rest of the drive and I'd begun to think I'd made a mistake. Maybe I'd pushed too soon and she wasn't ready. It wasn't until we were safely inside the house that she eased the growing fear.

I'd just deactivated the alarm and reset it in the 'home' mode when her hands slid over my hips from behind and she pressed herself into my back. "Thank you. Thank you for trusting me with this. I know how much you value your privacy."

She didn't know the half of it. Not even Tank was privy to this house. Besides me, only three other people, now including her, were aware of its existence and two of them lived on the property. There was a guest house a mile back in the woods and that suited my two guardian Angels perfectly.

"I wanted to bring you before I left but it didn't work out. Since your parents are gone and my family is in Miami, I thought we could spend Christmas here." I tugged on her hand and led her out to the living room.

"Oh wow," she whispered and the awe was completely warranted. Michael and Gabriel had outdone themselves with the decorating. I'd have to give them a raise too.

The stone fireplace, which comprised most of the north wall, held a blazing fire and the mantel was draped with lighted, fresh pine garland and adorned with red ribbon and bows. Two stockings were hanging from it as well and I wondered if she'd notice her name on one.

The tree was a masterpiece in itself, standing twelve feet high and twinkling with a thousand tiny white lights and dozens of gold and silver ornaments. The area underneath reserved for presents was bare but I had something for Steph upstairs and since she was the best gift I'd ever received, I didn't need or want anything else.

"This is stunning, Ranger. How did you - "

Her question was cut off by the startling sound of the extremely loud siren of the house's perimeter alarm blaring. I reached for the gun that would have normally been at the small of my back and cursed at the empty space. The next option was the Glock secured under the coffee table and I had it out and in my hand a second later. Stephanie's eyebrows were close to touching her hairline but she didn't say anything.

"Stay here," I mouthed and headed for the glass slider off the back of the living room. It led to the wrap around patio deck and was from where I thought I'd heard a sound just before the alarm rang. I killed the noise from the panel mounted on the wall beside the door and slipped outside, letting my gun lead the way.

I kept close to the side of the house when I heard rustling around the next corner. I paused, took a breath and breached the edge. I was greeting by a pair of young raccoons who had knocked over the trash and recycling bins on the deck. "Son of a bitch," I muttered and lowered my weapon.

"Careful, those two are crafty."

The familiar voice brought a smile to my lips and turned my gaze around to the lanky blonde crossing the yard. If not for the sniper rifle in his hands he would very much resemble his angelic moniker.

"Hello, Gabriel." He was dressed in artic camouflage and in the freshly falling snow was nearly invisible. Only the gun and his turquoise eyes gave him away.

"It's good to see you. Michael was convinced we were going to have to go and retrieve you from that godforsaken jungle."

"So was I, for a minute or two. Where is your brother and why do I seem to have a raccoon infestation?"

"Oh, you know Michael, he's probably swinging from the nearest tree and we've been chasing off the critters since the weather turned colder two months ago. Apparently their food source is scarce as they keep scavenging close to the house. We've caught and relocated a whole herd of them but these two have figured out how to avoid the traps. This is the second time this week they tripped the alarm; we might have to use tranquilizers."

As if they knew we were discussing their fate, the two raccoons raced off the deck and scattered for the woods surrounding the property. I scanned the tree line but didn't get a hint of the elusive Michael.

"Has everything else been quiet?" I asked.

"Blessedly so. Just us and the raccoons. How is the lovely Ms. Plum?"

"Probably wondering if I'm out here shooting an intruder."

"It certainly wouldn't be outside the realm of possibilities. Go, I'll take care of the vermin."

I left him with a brief nod and joined Stephanie back in the living room. She was standing in front of the fire, inspecting the stockings quizzically. I waited for the question but the one she voiced wasn't what I expected and it made me laugh.

She eyed the gun hanging loose at my side and said, "Do you need help hiding a body?"

I pulled her to me for another long kiss. "I'm completely enamored with you; you know that right?"

"I do," she replied, 'though I've never figured out why. And I'm crazy about you too," she added.

I smiled again, something I hadn't done in three months and asked if she wanted a tour of the rest of the house.

"Yes, but frankly the only place I'm interested in right now is the bedroom."

"You read my mind," I told her.

"That would be a first."

Had I not injured my shoulder, I would have picked her up and carried her up the flight of stairs to the master suite, but instead I led her by the hand, stopping periodically to remove various articles of clothing so by the time we reached the bedroom, we were completely naked.

A good two hours went by before we surfaced from between the sheets and it was only to use the bathroom. I slipped down the hall to the guest bath letting her use the master. When I returned I found her inside the expansive master closet.

"Ranger…" she slowly spun around to face me. "What…what is all this?" It took me a second to realize she thought all the women's clothing filling the closet was someone else's.

"They're yours, Babe. You are the first woman I've ever brought here. And if I get my way, you'll be the only one…don't cry, why are you crying?"

She swiped at the escaping tears. "Because that was romantic as hell and I can't get over the fact that you always make me feel like I belong, no matter where we are."

"That's because you do belong." I was going to wait until tomorrow to give it to her but now it would help make my point. I pulled the small black box with the silver ribbon out of the bureau drawer and placed it in her palm.

She stared at it for way too long without saying anything or opening it so I had to intervene. "What's wrong?"

Lifting her still damp eyes, she met my questioning gaze. "Nothing…except we had a "no gifts" agreement and….we said we were going to take things slow."

"It isn't a ring, Steph." I guess I should have rethought the little black box.

"Oh," she replied, the relief apparent and lifted the lid. I got another confused expression after she inspected the contents. "I don't get it; I already have one of these."

"No," I said patiently. "You have one for the Rangeman building. That one is for this house."

She sucked in a sharp breath. "You're giving me a key to the bat cave?"

I took the box from her and set in on the dresser. "Yes. I want to start spending more time here, but only if you are with me."

More tears came and it really hadn't been my intention to get her so emotional. "I'm sorry, Babe, I'm obviously screwing this up. I just wanted a way to let you know I'm serious about you, about us and…"

"No no no," she interjected, "you didn't screw up anything, you're just, well that was perfect. You're perfect and I can't find any words to tell you that so I lamely cry instead."

"So these are happy tears?"

"Yes, very," she said with a grin.

"Good to know. Maybe we should celebrate back in the bedroom."

"Or downstairs in front of the fire. That rug looked pretty soft."

I loved the way her mind worked. We celebrated by the tree, in the kitchen with some champagne, in the dining room and finally, back in the master bedroom. It was late when we finally fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms.

It was rare that she awoke before me but Christmas morning dawned with rapidly falling snow and Stephanie standing at the floor to ceiling window which overlooked the expansive back yard, watching it cover every inch of the grass and trees surrounding the house.

I slipped out of bed and padded across the thick carpeting. "Merry Christmas, Babe." I brushed her hair away and kissed the back of her neck before sliding my hands over her hips and pulling her back against my chest.

She leaned into me and tilted her face back so I could touch my lips to hers. "It's so pretty here," she murmured. "If you're home next Christmas, I think we should spend it here."

"Me too," I agreed. I planned on being around for every Christmas from now on, but even if I wasn't as long as I was with Stephanie, no matter where we were, I would always be home.