Standard Disclaimer Applies

A/N: Yes this is it, please let me know if I didn't address something you need something clarified.

Chapter 15

"My hero!" The blonde squealed keeping her arms wrapped tightly around Ranger. Ranger stood there stunned that the blonde had been able to get that close to him without him realizing. Looking over her shoulder he could see Steph giving him a funny look and Tank was laughing.

"Come on Bomber let's go get in the truck." Tank stated leading Steph towards the bank of elevators. Tank was going to leave him here, with this blonde nut.

"Oh I don't know how I could ever thank you." The blonde gushed, looking up at him from through her lashes, letting him know that she really did mean 'anything.' Ranger grabbed both of her wrists and pried them off of his neck and placed them at her sides.

Before Ranger could think of a nice brush off that wouldn't hurt her feelings too much his cell phone went off.

"Yo?" Ranger answered before the first ring was over relieved at the interruption.

"Mr. Manoso?" A deep voice boomed at him.

"Yes?" Ranger asked cautiously since he couldn't place the familiar voice.

"Ahh, this is Shorty. I told you I would call when your men arrived." He boomed at him. Well so much for secrecy, with his loud voice the whole restaurant probably heard him.

"We're on our way." Ranger let him know and hung up.

Ranger looked down at the blonde who was hung up on his every word. He nodded at her and made his way over to the elevator, as the doors were closing he let out the breath that he had unknowingly been holding. But his relief was short lived because right before the doors shut the little blonde had squeezed her way through the nonexistent opening.

"Hi." She smiled at him.

Ranger nodded at her again.

"You were like so brave running back into a burning building to save me." She said staring at him adoringly.

Ranger tried to explain but she just kept right on talking.

"I'm Jessica, by the way." She said fluttering her eye lashes at him.

Ranger nodded again, but Jessica kept staring at him. He was saved from trying to find something to say when the elevator doors opened. Ranger stalked off trying to out walk her, but as he reached out to open the door Jessica was right there again. He pushed open the door allowing her to go through first; she smiled at him and bounced through.

He shook his head and made his way over to the idling truck that was right outside the doors, much to the aggravation of the other patients. Ranger hopped into the passenger seat without turning around to look at Jessica.

"Geez Ranger." Steph complained form the back seat.

Ranger turned around to look at her smiling face. He lifted an eyebrow in question.

"That ditz was the reason I was stuck inside a burning building." Steph said laughingly.

"Umm, Rangeman?" Tank said watching the rearview mirror, but the smile was evident in his voice.

Ranger turned around in his seat to see who was crazy enough to try and follow him. He was stunned to see that the blonde was behind the wheel of the vehicle. When she saw that he was looking at her she smiled and waved.

Stephanie burst out laughing. "Hey hero, looks like someone has a terrible case of hero worship."

Ranger's mouth dropped open in shock and then turned into a grimace.

"That's Ranger always having to fight the ladies off of him." Tank chuckled from the driver's seat.

Ranger saw Steph's disapproving stare. "Babe." He said keeping her from letting lose another string of comments that Tank was sure to be replaying for the rest of the guys later.

Tank pulled in to Shorty's after trying to shake Jessica off of his tail. He had lost her for a second when going through the Burg cul-de-sac but she had somehow found them again before they got to Shorty's.

Ranger sat in the passenger seat a minute before getting out of the truck. "I can't even beat her up." Ranger said to himself.

"What?" Steph asked confused.

"If she was a guy I could have roughed him up so he would leave me alone, but I can't beat up a girl." Ranger clarified.

"I doubt you would have a man following you around." Steph told him leaning around the front seat.

"You'd be surprised Bomber." Tank told her before taking off to go inside Shorty's.

Ranger shook his head and then helped a laughing Stephanie out of the truck to follow Tank inside. Together they walk into the dim interior that is Shorty's. They saw Tank already in the back, his bulk blocking their view of who was sitting in the booth in with him.

As they approached them heard they them chattering away in Spanish. Steph's brow wrinkled as she tried to figure out what they were saying.

"Hola Hector." Ranger greeted him. "Junior." Ranger nodded at him, and slid into the seat besides Hector pulling Stephanie down besides him. Tank had slid in besides Junior just as the bell at the door announced a new customer.

Ranger looked up and groaned. His blonde little friend had decided to come in as well. Ranger ignored her and turned back to the conversation. Tank was talking to Junior.

"Yeah that little blonde girl has been following Ranger ever since he saved her." Tank was laughing with them. Steph sat confused by Ranger not understanding the Spanish conversation taking place around her.

"Actually we didn't come here to eat." Tank told them switching to English, so Steph could understand. They had finished laughing about Ranger's new 'friend' and Junior was listening intently to Tank, Hector picked at his pizza pulling the pepperonis off and eating them first. "We were told that a couple of our guys were here earlier in the week spreading rumors about the boss." Tank didn't expand on the rumors.

"No way man. It was just me and Hector here, we picked up food and went back to the office to eat. Never even said a word in English." Junior told them.

Hector poked Stephanie and pointed at the guys clearly wondering what they were talking about. Steph looked at the guys and guessed that Hector saw that Junior was agitated about something, from the clenched fists and tense shoulders. Steph elbowed Ranger so that he would translate for him. When he was done Ranger translated for her how Hector had responded.

"Hector doesn't speak English Babe, so the two of them came in talking in Spanish paid for their food and left. They were discussing when we would be back when a man turned around looked at them turned white and left them alone."

It took a minute to understand what he was saying. At first she thought they had the wrong guys. Then it clicked. Dan had must have heard something in Spanish and interpreted it as English and somehow got she was eloping with Ranger. Yeah right. It was more likely Dan made it up when Emily interrogated him for being late. He remembered hearing their names and just used that so Emily wouldn't be mad, which happened anyways. Men.

They didn't stay long after that. Ranger got up to leave his arm going around Steph as they walked towards the car. Tank was stayed declaring that it was about time he got a break after his hectic week. Ranger had let it go.

Ranger drove back to Rangeman going into his zone on the way there. Steph watched in the side mirrors to see if the blonde was following them but it didn't look like it.

"She's not there. That's why Tank stayed." Ranger told her when she had turned around to watch the cars that passed as they pulled into the garage.

"You're using a scare tactic to keep her away? Obviously since she wasn't scared of you in the first place she's dumb as a rock and Tank isn't going to be able to scare any sense into her." Steph chided him. "If I was Tank I would be using the time to pass along the story of your new admirer."

Ranger pulled Steph out of the SUV and led her to the elevator. "Tank knows I'll kick his ass."

"You better not." Steph said hitting him on his arm, which probably hurt her hand more than it hurt Ranger's arm. "I mean the story is too funny not to share."

Ranger shook his head as they stepped into the elevator. Before Ranger had a chance to press the seventh floor button on his fob, his phone rang.

"Yo."

"Boss we got a problem in the lobby."

"What is it?"

"She says her name is Jessica."

Ranger glanced down at Steph, "We'll be right there."

"She's here isn't she?" Stephanie asked him as he pressed the button for the lobby.

Ranger didn't say anything just stared straight ahead.

"Isn't she?" Steph repeated for him.

"This is getting embarrassing." Ranger told her.

When the elevator doors opened to the lobby a worried looking Vince was standing there with the blonde by his side.

"Hi." She said to Ranger happily waving from where she was standing behind Vince.

"Jessica." He answered her, walking towards her.

Behind him Steph was giving him a face for having known her name. She exchanged an eye roll with Vince, who went back to sitting behind the desk.

Ranger led her over to the other side of the room, where Stephanie was unable to make out what they were saying.

Jessica looked like she was on the verge of tears and Ranger looked exasperated. After about ten minutes Jessica nodded her head and left.

Ranger walked back over to Steph. Ranger rubbed a hand over his face and pushed his hair back away from his face, in frustration. "The next time you get a stalker I think we should look at her first, Babe."

"Me? Chances are you're the one that is going to be getting a stalker."

"Not me Babe, I leave the stalkers to you. Anyways I told her you were my wife and you weren't into the idea of having an open marriage."

"What?" Steph said her voice a little high. Then she huffed, "Just for that you are going to have to sit next to grandma tonight at dinner." She told him stalking back to the elevator.

"I don't which is worse not being able to catch her tailing me or knowing that I have to go to your parent's house for dinner tonight." Ranger quipped.

"After tonight you will know that dinner with my family is much worse, especially after I tell them you want an open marriage."

"Babe," Ranger groaned following her on to the elevator.

THE END