The first six words are a writing prompt I saw online. The rest of this story is proof that I shouldn't look at writing prompts. :) Everyone familiar belongs to Janet. Mistakes are mine.

"That's disgusting. You're lucky you're cute," Junior told me, not hiding his horrified reaction to my stakeout snack.

"You think I'm cute?" I asked, just to pay him back for insulting my pickled bologna and deep fried potato salad sandwich.

As I'd expected, he turned beet red and beads of perspiration started popping all along his forehead. "No. I mean ... of course you are pretty, but I don't need the Boss to rip out my throat for saying so. I was making a point about your food, not your appearance."

"So now I'm cute and pretty. My mood is improving by the minute."

"Steph, stop. If Ranger hears this conversation, I'm dead. You'll be stuck with Lester for stakeouts, if I'm taken out."

"Ouch, that really hurt."

"Which part? Picturing me buried in the dump or having Santos for a partner?"

I took a few beats and two bites of my lunch as I considered that. "Both I guess. Lester is an even more annoying partner than I am. And I like you too much to be the cause of your death. I just wanted to defend my sandwich's honor. It's really good. You sure you don't want a bite?"

"Hell no. I can smell it from here! Good wasn't the adjective I was thinking of using to describe it."

"For a big, tough guy, you're surprisingly delicate. I could eat three of these and Ranger would still be able to kiss me without joking about needing to throw up afterwards."

"The Boss is a fucking badass, pardon my language. He can power through anything, even a stench as strong as that one," Junior pointed out. "How are you even choking that down?"

"Hey, I had to run more than a mile first thing this morning before the sun was even up, just for some Ranger-time before his day turned crazy. I had only black coffee and a cup of his yucky unflavored yogurt when we got back to seven, and nothing since. I deserve this sandwich."

"No one deserves that thing. Not even our skip. It came from a gas station, Steph. I'm now more worried that I'll need to rush you to the ER, than I am about telling Ranger I didn't do my job."

I polished off one half and started on the other before I answered. "You worry too much."

"Tell me about it. The Boss will kill me just as quickly if you die of food poisoning as he would if you got hurt by our skip. He won't care that death-by-sandwich was a self-inflicted one."

"I'll tell him he can't kill you. Will that make you relax a little?"

"You can't vouch for me if you're dead, Steph."

"Fine. Alright. Jeez. I swear I'll never eat gas station food again when I'm out with you. Happy?"

I'm not kidding, I could actually hear a pent-up breath exhaling from his lungs. "Yes. Thank you."

I would've rolled my eyes at him, but Junior reaching for his cuffs kinda clued me in that his super-senses had picked up the approach of our FTA. Boyd Fitchenson looks exactly like he sounds, boring but also a bit twitchy. He's happy to sit at home or in his car and make small-scale drug, arms, or stolen merchandise, deals and then send out his lackeys - aka his two younger cousins - to do the dirty work of exchanging the goods for cash and risking potential gunshot wounds for whatever scam Fitchenson managed to pull off that day.

"Let's roll," Junior said to me, but my hand was already on the handle of my door.

"Hands up, dirtbag!" I called out. "You'll be sporting an extra hole in your head if you don't."

Rangeman frowns on unwarranted shootings of our skips, but it wasn't exactly an idle threat. The guys take absolutely no chances when they've pulled Plum-duty, fearing Ranger's response and retaliation if I'm injured on their watch. Junior had his gun out before we'd even left the vehicle. Knowing he had the lethal force aspect of the job covered, I just fished out my cuffs and stun gun. My initial gut-read of this guy is that he's more lazy than deadly, though I always remain on alert because I know a desperate creature will fight dirty, and sometimes to the death, to get themselves free.

I was right on both counts. Fitchenson desperately didn't want to go back to jail, he also didn't want to put a lot of effort into resisting arrest. He played possum until I'd approached him from the side in order to secure his wrists. He'd kept his hands close together just as Junior instructed, but at the last second he locked his fingers and swung his hands like a sledgehammer, thinking he could knock me sideways so he'd be able to run between the shitboxes parked in his driveway before Junior could fire off a shot.

"Get behind me, Steph," Junior ordered as he engaged his weapon.

"Give me a sec," I told him while I lashed out with my Cat boot and nailed Boyd in the knee.

That took him down as quickly as a bullet would, but with a lot less blood. Which is good, because these are my favorite jeans and I didn't want to throw them out because of contact with a skip's vital juices.

"Nice shot," Junior said, snugging the cuffs tightly around Fitchenson's wrists and hauling him to his feet.

"Thanks. It takes real skill to get off a lucky shot with no weapon involved."

"You could've zapped the shit outta him. I know you at least had that gun out."

"I could've, couldn't I?"

But as big as I talk, I still try to use as little force as I possibly can to apprehend FTAs. But I realized I may have to dial even that back when I watched Boyd limp rather dramatically into the police station, even though he had Junior supporting/dragging him the entire way. I called Ranger when we were on the road again.

"We're on our way back now," I told him, like he doesn't already know that.

I told myself it's possible that he hasn't checked with the control room for my whereabouts, instead of admitting that I just wanted to talk to him ... to hear his voice.

It's as if he felt something similar judging by his answer. "I'll meet you in the garage," Ranger told me.

"Are you coming in? Or about to go out?" I asked him.

"I just got back from a system walk-through. I'm in the lobby."

I nodded like he can see me. "Okay. See you in a few minutes."

"You guys seem to be getting along," Junior commented a few beats later when I still couldn't tuck my smile back in.

"Yeah, you can definitely say that again," I murmured, busy trying to wish Haywood Street and the Rangeman building closer to where we currently are.

As promised, the Boss was standing where I couldn't help but see him. I decided to be mature, though, and I waited until Junior had parked and killed the engine before I jumped out of his fleet vehicle and headed straight for Ranger.

His arms closed around me and his head lowered as I went up on tiptoes to meet his mouth.

"See? Not a wince or a flinch. That's how a real man handles kissing me," I told Junior, when Ranger and I managed to separate.

We've been away from each other longer than two hours before, many times, but the more time we spend together ... the harder even ten minutes apart feels the next time around.

I saw one of Ranger's eyebrows go up. "There's a story here," he stated, not asked.

I nodded. "Yup."

Unfortunately, I also saw something scary flicker in his eyes before he hid it. "Did someone attempt to put their lips or anything else on you?" Batman asked.

His eyes flicked to Junior briefly before coming back to study my face.

"For the love of God, Steph, tell him I didn't - and would NEVER - do anything like that!" Junior all but shrieked. "And I'd never let anyone else get near you to try either."

I originally thought the two of them were teaming up to tease me, but Ranger's body is still eerily still, and Junior's sweating profusely again and he keeps swallowing nervously.

"Ewww, gross!" I said with a shudder, when it finally hit me that Ranger's simmering, and not in the sexy way where he's naked seconds later.

While Junior continued to act like he swallowed a cactus and can feel every prick of its spines going down.

"Junior's like an overprotective, but sometimes really annoying, big brother. The thought of kissing anything but his cheek is more than a little nauseating. And I'd punch anyone else in the throat if they tried to touch me. My lips are yours alone, Batman. Well ... and I suppose mine, too, since they are attached to me."

"Thanks a lot, Steph," Junior said, now sounding a bit put out. "You happily ate a septic sandwich, yet I'm disgusting?"

"Make up your mind," I told him. "You wanted me to save your life, and then you get mad when I do. And guys claim women are the ones who don't know what the heck they want."

He glanced at Ranger and took note that the Boss is quiet, but he lost the 'I'm going to gut you' vibe he was putting out only moments before.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Ummm, thanks for that."

"No problem," I said, graciously forgiving him.

"The sandwich is the story?" Ranger asked, tightening the arm he'd had around me to get my attention.

"Yeah. Junior thought my lunch smelled revolting and I informed him that he's a big baby because I could eat a bunch of those sandwiches and you'd still kiss me without needing to throw up. You just proved me correct, and I felt the need to rub his nose in the fact that he's delicate compared to you. I'm sorry if I upset you. I wasn't kidding. You're the only one who's allowed to kiss me ... unless we have Bat Babies someday, then I'll have to relax that rule to include them."

"Them?" He asked.

"Shit. I mean ... crap. Damn it! I don't know what I mean. Let's go back to Junior being a baby."

Saving his life backfired, because Junior was suddenly grinning. "You just got the Boss' mind off of just about everything else except you, Steph. Good luck with that. I'm tapping out while I still can. See you tomorrow."

"You know what's worse than being a big baby?!" I yelled at his back. "Being a big 'ol wuss!"

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but Ranger's all yours to deal with," he said without missing a beat or even turning around.

"Can I change my mind and let you kill him after all?" I asked Ranger when we were alone.

"No. So everything went as planned today?"

"Yeah. I actually had fun irritating everybody, so you get a break from that tonight."

"No issues?"

I curled my arms around him and tried to tug him towards the lobby door.

"Not a one. The skip came, we saw him, and we quickly conquered the capture. Though I let Junior pull a gun on the idiot just 'cause he was getting bored."

I sighed in defeat. If Ranger isn't inclined to move, nothing can make him. And he clearly wants a total recount of this part of my day.

"I like it better when you're my capture-buddy," I told Batman, "but I can make do in a pinch and with one of your men. I was alright the entire time. I promise."

"But?"

He managed to stubbornly cross his arms over his chest even with my arms wrapped around his waist.

"Buuuut ... Boyd thought he could shove me away from him to avoid being cuffed. Junior and I disagreed. Junior brought up his gun and I went for the side of Boyd's knee with my lug sole. I was faster than Junior, so no extra paperwork was needed. The skip went down, I laughed, and Junior cuffed him and dragged him to our vehicle. Morelli wasn't in or out of the TPD, so having to exercise was the worst part of my day."

He nodded, accepting that I was telling him the truth and he finally let me get us into the building. He waited until my guard was sufficiently down when we took the elevator up, to get my adrenaline pumping again.

"So you've thought about kids?" Ranger suddenly asked.

"I think about Julie all the time," I hedged.

He had been looking at me, but he did a tricky eye thing and turned his dark eyes into interrogation beams so I'd be forced to talk.

"Stephanie ..."

"Fine. I haven't really thought about kids, but apparently somewhere along the way I did decide if I were ever to have any, you'd have to be their father. There's no other option I'd consider."

Now I tried to do something with my stare to make him start talking, since he went silent at hearing that. Of course, I don't have his skills, so it accomplished nothing and I had to resort to just pestering him again.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, hitting pause on the elevator between the sixth and seventh floor. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

"Wrong, Babe. As always ... you said exactly what I needed to hear. When you're ready, we can discuss this further and in much more detail," he said, hitting the button so we'd be moving again.

"That's it?"

"No ... that's everything. I know you, Stephanie, trusting someone is far more difficult for you than loving them. And you just admitted that you trust me, not only with your feelings and your life, but also with people I know you'd love even more than you do me."