The sharp inhale was all Ranger needed to pull the knife away from skin. The knife had drawn blood, which meant the power had done as much as it could. It also meant that Noel was feeling what Ranger had felt a couple times since waking up deaged.

Exhausted.

Noel laid his forehead on Ranger’s shoulder. No longer needing to stay positioned where she could draw the knife against Noel’s arm, Ranger shifted and turned before wrapping her arm— the one not being used to hold Noel’s hand—behind Noel’s back.

Within the next hour Noel should be fine. In Ranger’s experience the power could trigger again after around an hour, the exhaustion caused by the power fading away as the body recovered. Which was good. An exhausted Noel would be no good. Exhaustion was a fun killer. Maybe they should stop for coffee? Yes. Maybe. Ranger wanted coffee, but she was feeling so good and charged as it was. Maybe just for Noel. A quick stop on the way to the apartment.

Noel said it hurt. Ranger was no stranger to pain. Your plate carrier being struck by enemy fire hurt. A lot. Yet, things biting into the skin always seemed worse than bone cracking or muscle bruining pain. Especially when you didn’t have the adrenaline to lay a mental fog over it.

While the tattoo artist was getting everything situated before starting, Noel curled their joined hands around them. It proved to be too cute for someone else in the parlor. Clearly, the man was just jealous. He didn’t have a hot girl in a space cat pizza bikini on his lap getting a tattoo. Ranger shot the man a grin.

Ranger opened her mouth to say something to the man when the ink gun bit into her skin. Instead of some remark, a surprised inhalation escaped her lips. She had heard the buzz start, maybe. She wasn’t paying that much attention. Noel’s head was on her shoulder and she felt like she was melting in his hold. Trying to supply a retort took the last of any focus she had.

Biting her lips for a moment before she spoke, Ranger leaned her head toward Noel’s on her shoulder. ”Yeah. Hurts, jus’ enough.”

Ranger wasn’t sure if she should have teased Noel as much as she did or more. Noel was… Was Noel dozing off? Ranger wiggled a little. Which drew a rebuke from the tattoo artist.

”Sorry.” Ranger said, scooting herself around on Noel’s lap as she did. The tattoo artist had pulled her gun away for a moment so that was a legal move. To Noel she said, ”Feelin’ tired? It’ll pass. It hit me on the amtrak.”

He should probably work to distract her. For all she'd done to him, it had been something to keep his mind off of the hurt of the tattoo. That should be a returnable favor. Though, she was already getting chided so he wouldn't be wiggling.

Noel huffed against the skin of Michael's shoulder which sent the ends of her hair flying. It gave him an idea. He drew in a breath, blowing slow and steady across her collar bone. He'd just tempt her to do all the wiggling then.

> It’ll pass. It hit me on the amtrak.”

"I seem t' remember gettin' you a snack. Seems t' me like you y' should be gettin' in the kitchen t' make me a sammich." He yawned which may have ruined the joke, but it was hitting him hard. Noel didn't really have a good way to cover the yawn so he used Michael's shoulder. His hands were otherwise occupied.

Ranger had distracted Noel by teasing. All the wiggling and suggestive comments. Noel huffed on Ranger’s shoulder. This sent hair flying and drew a surprised, ”Aaaah!” From Ranger. She restrained herself from moving too much and only drew a look from the tattoo artist.

Success?

A second success was had when Ranger succeeded in containing a laugh and it’s accompanying rocking. Ranger couldn’t say he had never made such a joke before and turnabout was fair play. She rolled her lips into her mouth to bite down on the laugh. After a moment, she said, ”Hey!.. That’s… Somethin' I could do if I wadn’t bein’ held in place… Gettin’ my finger done.”

“Spelling correct?” The tattoo artist asked.

Ranger looked at it for a moment and saw ‘Michael’ properly spelled. It wrapped more around her finger than Noel had across Noel’s finger. Ranger’s finger was smaller and Michael was a longer name. ”Yeah.”

The artist nodded and went back to tattooing. After looking at the name for a little while, Noel lay her head against Michael’s before rubbing it around a little. She again found herself thinking of herself as Noel, but it was fine. She wiggled her fingers in Michael’s hands. The tattoo shouldn’t take too much longer and they would be free to go and be alone. Get coffee, make sammichs, do… other things. Things that thinking of drew a little heat to her cheeks.

Either this tattoo was faster or he'd actually dozed off. Either way, it was Noel shifting on top of him and a gentle poking prodding that was really heavily hinting that now was the time to pay for the tattoos. That got Noe- oh. Oh yeah he was Noel. Either way, he was getting up and he was paying. His phone had the app and the little cat nap had cleared a couple of the cobwebs away in his head. Enough cobwebs burned up that he even realized he should leave a tip.

He mumbled through moving a few decimals and basic arithmetic, scanned the scanny dobber-ma-hickey, and looped his arm around Noel's shoulders.

"No more work." He opened the door for their adjoined selves and their shoulder's wouldn't fit, but stubbornly Noel turned to the side to escort the lady Michael through rather than let go. There. That way they fit. "No more r'sponsibilities." He raised his eyebrows at her and took a breath of fresh, garbage-y New York air. And then coughed it back out. Yeah. Still New York.

"I guess I got t' pick activity number 1 so the rest o' th' night is y'rs t' do what you will." There'd been mention of coffee, though they really might have to get back and let Jude off the hook with the doggo situation. No! No responsibilities! "Where to?

Noel suffered the rest of the tattoo. It felt longer than it was but was shorter than Michael had had to deal with. Smaller finger, less needling. When the tattoo artist finished Noel… No, she was Ranger. Ranger, wanted to look at the tattoo. It was covered and under gause. It would have to wait. Besides, knowing it was there was half of the importance, right?

Ranger moved to sit up and hop down from the chair. Instead she floundered a bit as she was held captive by the man who smuggled hams in his sleeves named Noel. A little shifting, a few pokes. Before Long Noel was moving and Ranger could climb down. It wasn’t the climbing off of Noel that excited her, it was the leaving the tattoo parlor with their new ring tattoos that excited her. As such she had a renewed spring in her step. Which carried her toward the door until she realized that the tattoos had to be paid for.

Spinning on the leather sole of her boots, Ranger wheeled back toward where Noel had stopped to pay. Doing the gentlemanly thing and paying for the both of them. Nevermind that there was no other option as half of Ranger’s things were still at Haven in a locker and the other half were left in the back of a cab. That was a tomorrow Ranger’s problem! Tonight Ranger had no problems, only a walking solution named Noel.

When Noel had finished with paying, he wrapped his arm around Ranger’s shoulders—prompting Ranger to slide in a little closer—, and directed them toward the door.

”No more work.” Ranger echoed before laughing as Noel managed to escort Ranger out the door without letting her go. Out on the street, Ranger looked at Noel and smiled at no responsibilities. ”Yeah. None.”

And the next activity was on Ranger to decide. She tilted her head to the side. She had mentioned coffee, but that… That was too far removed from what she really wanted. She wanted coffee and she wanted Noel to have coffee to be less exhausted. She wanted to make Noel a sammich for the sake of the joke. Yet, she wanted something more than that.

She wanted Noel all to herself. More than she could on a street in the middle of the city.

Ranger placed her right hand on Noel’s chest and looked down at it. ”I want…” She started walking her fingers up Noel’s chest, ”I want t’ go back t’ the apartment.” her hand reached Noel’s collarbone and she flattened her hand against his skin before sliding it up to touch his jawline. ”Jus’ the two of us.” Ranger leaned in and gave the briefest, faintest kiss on Noel’s lips before pulling back and bringing up her right hand into their field of view.

Her hand was held between them with her fingers splayed out. A mischievous smile was plastered on her face as she wiggled her ring finger with its ring of gause. ”We jus’ need another cab.”

Whatever she wanted, the sky was the limit and he was so ready to say yes because he was expecting coffee or the moon. Those he could deal with. What she really wanted was... touching him. Sliding her hand up to his face. Talking about going back to the apartment...

Oh. Ohhhhh.

"No." Though he was stepping out of her arms and into the street to hail a cab. She was right. Without anything more than a bikini in the February night air, they should just go home.

"We cain't do that. No." That was a soft no considering how in the tattoo parlor just a little hip action had him wondering if the ties on her bikini were sewn together or actually unknotable.

The first cab sped by without a second glance.

He didn't even need her to ask "why not" because he was already asking himself. If this was forever... if they were stuck... if they were committed...

His hand drooped in the face of the empty street.

"R-right? It's that... not right?" She looked cold. He scooted back in close, suddenly 50 times more nervous about proximity that he would never have second guessed before. "No." Already, he had less conviction. "Nu-uh." Already he was pretty sure he could fit her face in his hand. "Not a chance."

So he kissed her. Thoroughly. Just to make sure that was the page that they were both on.

A cab rolled to a stop behind them and honked making Noel jump.

"We'll jus' pin- put a pin- in that. That's a solid maybe."

There was certainly no pouting. At no point after Noel said no and stepped away to hail a cab did Ranger pout. She certainly didn’t do it while crossing her arms. It was cold and goosebumps were rising for that not fun reason. Ranger being out in the February cold in just boots and a bikini was why Noel was hailing a cab. They would go back to the apartment but Noel was shutting what Ranger wanted down.

Or… Not?

When Noel confirmed that they couldn’t do that, he sounded less sure. Ranger’s face reduced the not pout as Noel gave up on hailing the cab and moved closer. He was questioning that it wouldn’t be right.

Ranger let her arms slide away from over herself. Noel was repeatedly and in different ways saying no. Each one less sure and confident than the last. Each said as Noel drew closer.

When Noel kissed Ranger, she mentally cheered. There had been a moment where she had thought she had killed the mood by asking. Yet there his lips were, on hers. She slid her arms around Noel and kissed back. She slipped into a memory for just a moment before she was able to pull herself out.

No. Ranger wasn’t going to let her body run on autopilot while she experienced some memory. Sure, each new memory made playing her role of being Noel easier, more believable. There was always more time for that later. This was where she wanted to be. Her lips on Noel, her arms wrapped around him, and her leg snaking up his.

Would she be content with just this? It was certainly something she wanted, but there had been a fire lit in her and she wanted more. Besides, as far as their fingers were concerned they were married now. This was their wedding night.

Married in the church of the holy ink gun. Witnessed by green hair and back tattoo.

There was a honk. Noel jumped and Ranger, startled, grabbed tighter. After she realized it was a car horn she relaxed and slid ever so slightly back, her foot returning to the ground. She moved away just enough to see Noel's face and give her mouth freedom to speak.

Put a pin in it. Yes. Ranger was on board with putting a pin in that while they got in the cab. That wasn't the exciting comment though.

A solid maybe. Noel was giving a solid maybe. That was practically a probably. A probably might as well be a soft yes and a soft yes might as well be a guarantee.

Ranger's eyes widened and she grinned before leaning in for one last small peck. "Pinned."

A step back brought in the cold. Her front was practically frigid now that she didn't have her personal heater attached to it. She crossed her arms across herself as a shiver shook her.

This time as they got in the cab their butts were not dripping with hot tub water. Butts could touch seats. Ranger gave the address for Blac Tac. When the cab started moving she turned to Noel. A hungry look in her eyes as she leaned toward him. "Now where were we?"

He whuffed out a sigh of relief when she promised to pin it. The pin was in. The cab was there, and then they were in the cab. That's where things started getting dicey again. Once the address was given, Michael was looking at him with a very certain look in her eye.

What? In the cab!?

"I-" He cleared his throat and tugged at the collar of his tee shirt. Hm. When did that get tight? Probably when he'd been stretched taut and put a pin in it. "I believe y' were convincing me of somethin'."

Were they absolutely shameless? Yeah maybe. It was becoming exceedingly more difficult to care when she was there and he was there and they were both... there. He leaned in close to whisper. He had at least that much dignity left.

"Y' cain't take it back." And since he was there, Noel kissed her neck and cheek as he spoke. "I've never- y've never... jus' be sure." Unfair maybe. But he would cross no lines until she pulled the pin. There was still time to invoke thoughts of baseball.

"Are you sure?"

Ranger watched as Noel tugged at his shit collar. That’s right, she was convincing Noel of something. A smile crossed her lips and purred, ”I was, wasn’t I? Let’s see… Now where did I leave off?”

An arm went down on the seat as Ranger leaned further forward. Closing the distance between her and Noel. She chewed at a lip as she moved closer and closer. She wasn’t about to jump Noel’s bones in the cab, but she wanted her hands and mouth on Noel. Noel also leaned in and Ranger felt giddy.

Noel whispered to Ranger as he kissed her neck and cheek.

It was a chance for Ranger to stop everything to act on any second thoughts. Ranger was once again a virgin it sounded like. That altered the mental math some, but not significantly. It was weird, it was a similar situation to this that Ranger had first lost her own virginity. She was someone who was in the very body Noel was in now. While the body Ranger was likely wasn’t a virgin, the body that was normally her’s was. Now Ranger was in a similar position only with roles reversed.

If Noel was willing, Ranger was willing and God did Ranger want to.

”Yes.” Ranger whispered back as her hands found Noel’s body. ”I’m sure… If this is forever, I’ll have no regrets.” If it was not forever she wouldn’t have any then either. Ranger pushed Noel back so she could meet his eyes, ”I want t’ be with y’, in all ways, f’rever.” She moved her left hand to touch Noel’s. So they would feel the gause and warmth of each other’s hands. Where wedding rings had been tattooed on. ”I’ve never been more sure.”

An excited thwap, thwap, thwapping of a dog's tail drew Jude away from drooling on a stack of background check papers. The dogs were excited enough to be wagging out a percussive wake up call. While dog sitting was fun and all, he much preferred sleeping in his own bed with his own boyfriend.

"Finally." He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and dabbed at the blurred dot matrix of information that had served as his pillow. His lazy yawn was almost instantly filled with Revvie's cold nose and that put Jude on his feet instantaneously. As rude as that awakening was, Dammit had been wagging her tail so enthusiastically against his chair leg that Jude wasn't getting back to sleep anyway.

Ranger and Boots were back, then. He'd take the dogs out one last time, swap his boss to re-set the timer and extend his prank, and be on his way.

Outside, Jude noticed almost immediately that things weren't quite right.

The dogs were excited, running up and down from the street to the door that was a shortcut for what was now a residence. They weren't serious about getting their business done, but Dammit in particular wouldn't leave the door alone. In fact, after Jude tried to call her back, she instead nosed her way inside what should have been a locked door. Jude noticed the flash of keys still in the keyhole.

Jude and a more polite Reville trotted after her as he checked his phone. It was later than he'd been told to expect them. So late that it was circling back around to early. He let Revvie in and pulled the keys from the door.

He wouldn't jump to conclusions about foul play, but it was unusual for either of them to be so careless.

He called quietly for Dammit and, to her credit, the beardog paused on the stairs to give Jude a look. She was... worried? That made Jude pick up the pace so he reached the residential door at the same time as the dog. The front door had been mauled, the door handle hanging at an odd angle. Jude caught the door itself just as Dammit was nosing it open.

He heard some very distinct, not unhappy sounds... and he knew now exactly why they'd been careless and impatient.

Had they already swapped back? Or, was it possible that they were...?

Dammit tried harder to nose open the door Jude was holding in place. Revvie nosed him from behind.

Jude was not sticking around to listen to this. He did not get paid enough. The dogs could very well wait downstairs in Ranger's office and if they did their business there, that was their own damn consenting adult faults.

He wondered, still, about the timing.

The ride back to BlacTac was exciting. There was a charge to it, a growing anticipation that seemed to make Ranger feel more alive and vivacious. Much to either the disappointment or relief of the cabbie, no clothing came off and nothing progressed past kissing.

Noel paid for cabbie with an app on his phone as Ranger spun around in the dark and cold outside of BlacTac. She felt like she could fly. Her arms were the propellers and her excitement and anticipation the hypergolic fuel that would send her to new heights. The cold did not even phase her, she didn’t have the available mental processing power to even notice it.

The cabbie paid, Noel disarmed the door with her phone. Was there anything phones couldn’t do these days? He then unlocked the door but forgot to retrieve them before leaving. Likely because Ranger lips were demanding some time with Noel’s face. From there they only had a quick trip to the stairs and from there the apartment. Ranger could feel her heart pounding harder and faster the closer they were to the door.

Ranger stayed close to Noel as they quietly made their way to the stairs. She contented herself to holding Noel’s hand and arm but as they reached the stairs she couldn’t contain herself and slid in front of Noel to stop him from climbing.

It was a wedding night. There was protocol.

With an evil grin she lept at Noel, grabbing him with her arms around the neck and forcing him to hold her. She then kissed him before wiggling around in his arms and lifting up her legs to achieve a princess carry. ”T’ the threshold.” She commanded like an actual princess speaking to her loyal knight.

When they reached the door of said threshold it was locked. And the keys were back in the other door. Conveniently, Noel could just engage beast mode and make the door open.

As it happened Ranger was able to feel the change in muscles as they shifted and grew to accomplish the task. The impressive display only stoked the flames more. She couldn’t help but let out a ”Woo!” and then giggled as she was carried across the threshold. For the second time.

Coffee, sammiches, straight to the bedroom? There were options. Ranger was let down and she knew the food and drinks could wait. The coffee was to keep Noel alert. Ranger could feel that she was alert. The sammiches were for the joke. There was no need for jokes now.

Ranger took hold of some of Noel’s fingers with a few of hers and pulled to direct him to follow her. She walked backwards to the nearby kitchen counter. She leaned against it and pulled Noel in right against her as she stood up on her toes to bring her lips to Noel’s. They had all evening. They could make their way to the bed.

That tee shirt had to go though.

A moment of tugging at it, and she had the shirt moving. A break in the kiss and the shirt was off. She was free to run her hands along Noel’s skin. She patted the counter to have Noel lift her onto it. From there she could kiss him while they worked to remove her boots.

Ugh, clothes. Boots. Always in the way. She just wanted to wrap herself around him and be carried to the bed.

So, he was supposed to carry her. But also open the door. But also the door was locked. But also the keys that had just been in his hand, those were missing.

There was a door between him and what he wanted. Emphasis on the past tense when he set her down gently. It was. Now it wasn't. They'd have to repair that later because he was otherwise engaged. Actually, strike that. He was married now. She'd given the okay, removed all hesitation, and pulled the pin on this physical grenade. He could hardly keep his hands and lips off her. She had to make the shirt go because he was too busy fumbling her up onto the kitchen counter.

Every touch meant that much more when it was him and when it was her. It wasn't just the pact they'd made, it was the history. That he knew her and she knew him in ways they might not yet even know themselves.

He stopped her from struggling her legs against him and helped her with the boots, dropping them loudly against the kitchen floor before running his hands up and up until they settled on the bikini strings at her hips. When they were his, those legs had never been that smooth.

Kneeling in front of her, he hesitated. He was going to ruin this if he stopped and thought about it. So he didn't hesitate any more.

He pressed his mouth in a line of kisses all the way up all while tugging at bikini strings, both unwrapping and paying homage. He collected her and left a pile of strings and laser cats behind. He wasn't going to make it to the bed at this rate. The kitchen walls didn't have much on them by way of decoration, there was plenty of room.

When Noel removed Ranger’s boots she ran her hands back up her legs until they reached the stings of Ranger’ bikini. Ranger felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. When Noel began kissing her, making his way up her body as he undid the bikini, Ranger moaned as her body quaked. They were finally reaching the moment Ranger had been hoping for. Had been working for. Had been craving with every fiber of her being.

The bikini undone, Noel lifted Ranger once more. She had expected him to carry her to the bedroom. Instead he headed for a wall. They could make it there eventually, beds were comfortable. That kind of comfort wasn’t anywhere near on their mind.

---

((FTB))

---

Ranger lay on the bed. Her heart rate and breathing finally under control. She didn’t know how long she had been laying there or how long it had been since she had been carried through the door. She knew it was late. She knew she was exhausted. Noel had the benefit of a power that gave her seemingly infinite endurance. Ranger had a power that she had to fight sometimes to stay in the moment. Nothing was weirder than flashing to a memory when she gave new meaning to the expression, “embrace the suck.”

Beside Ranger lay Noel, he had already fallen asleep while Ranger was becoming reacquainted with thought. His soft, rhythmic breathing was lulling her to sleep. She snuggled up to Noel, laying her head on his shoulder. ”G’night… Husband.” she said with a soft smile. They weren’t legally married, but that was just paper anyway. They had the tattoos and their memories. That was all they needed.

Ranger’s last thought before she fell asleep was that she couldn’t be happier with her forever.

---

The next morning, Ranger awoke to light filtering in through the windows. Ranger’s head hurt. A lot. Ranger was sore all over and had a pain on the left ring finger. Memories of the night before were hazy after arriving at the hot tub party. Ranger could feel Noel there.

Ranger made an effort to shake off the sleep and the feeling of what must have been a world record hangover. When Ranger finally could clearly see… Ranger saw Noel in the bed. Not Noel as Noel had been the previous week, but Noel as herself.

Hopefully Noel as herself.

Ranger looked at his hands to see they were indeed man hands. It was when he looked at the tattoo on his left index finger that memories of the night before came back to him. The hot tub party. Leaving with Noel. Getting the tattoos as a way to show their commitment to each other. And then their time together.

This was now the second time Ranger had been laid by his own body while in the body of a woman steering his own. This time however, Ranger was okay with it. She had truly wanted it this time.

”Noel.” Ranger had reached out to touch Noel gently on the shoulder. He surprised himself by hearing his own voice. He had grown accustomed to hearing Noel’s voice. ”Noel. We’ve… We’ve swapped back.”

Did… Did they swap when kissing and swap back... after sex? That was an awkward thought.

"Five more minutes." She rolled away from where they'd been sweaty skin stuck together and that was enough to make a few very important things bubble up to her conscious attention.

She was naked. She was naked in bed with Ranger. She was not a man. He was naked. They were naked together. In bed. She had boobs. They were both still naked.

Noel went from half-lidded mostly asleep to sitting up and grabbing up the sheets around her. Hogging the sheets was not leaving enough for Michael, so that wasn't exactly a winning strategy, but she was more than a little embarrassed.

"We bonked!" Her voice sounded reedy. Or maybe she was just not used to sounding like a girl after a week as a man. It was stupid, and yet it was already out of her mouth and there were no take backs. She pushed her hair back, unsure of how Michael had been able to stand it being down and all over the place.

Her brain was spinning up scenarios, each worse than the last. Noel shook her head and decided to focus on one crisis at a time. It was the day after all the action, she decided, rather than her losing time and being freaked out for no reason, because Michael was also surprised to be himself.

"We-" She looked at him, realized she met his eyes, and found somewhere else to look next. "Yeah. That was... that's how that went back... last time." Running her hand through her hair had made the skin tape stick in the strands and now her options were yank her own hair out or pull until the gauze and tape were left in her hair.

The reaction was not immediate. Ranger didn’t expect an immediate response. Were Noel the first to have awoken, Ranger had no doubt he would be the one rolling over and verbally snoozing the other. Ranger had a feeling that the move in itself might give help the message sink in so he brought his hands to his face and felt at it.

Yup. Felt like his face. Stubble and all.

Ranger’s hand quickly shot down when Noel suddenly was jerking the sheets away and announcing that they had bonked. One hand went to ensure Noel didn’t steal all the sheets and he stayed covered downstairs. The other shot to cover his chest. Once the sheet was moved, the other arm joined the first.

Couldn’t just have the boobs… Right. Ranger didn’t have them anymore. Ranger let his arms slide away from his chest and then pushed himself up to a seated position.

They bonked. That was one way to describe it. Hearing that voice from Noel was odd. It was surreal hearing what he had become used to having as his voice come from someone else.

”In a way.” Ranger said, still not used to having his own voice again. The low tone of it and how it rumbled in his chest when it was still unused for the day.

Ranger looked over at Noel. She looked like she was trying to wrap her head around the night before. Something Ranger was still doing. Pieces of the night kept coming back to him here and there. Flashes of memory when he looked at things.

Noel looked at Ranger, but only for a moment before she looked somewhere else. She mentioned that bonking was how they swapped back last time. Ranger gave a sort of nod with his head tilted to the side. That statement was accurate, but… Well, they had tested bonking and it didn’t work. Last night had been something more novel.

”Yeah… That’s how we did it the first time...” Ranger agreed, his voice trailing before he rolled his lips together as he thought about how to mention his theory on the subject. As he did he saw that Noel had managed to get her hand stuck in her hair. The gauze must have stuck itself there as she ran her fingers through it. ”Here, let me help.”

Ranger leaned closer and reached over to put his hands into Noel’s hair. He knew exactly how painful it was to have that hair pulled. He used one hand to hold the hair above where the gauze was stuck so it would stop pulling on the scalp. The other hand worked at removing the gauze. It wasn’t a lot. Mostly it just covered the first section of her left ring finger. ”I think… Ehh, how much d’ y’ remember from last night?” Ranger asked while he worked to remove the gauze from Noel’s finger. They could address the adhesive and get that out of her hair later. Ranger worked slowly, careful not to get any of the adhesive from the gauze around his tattoo stuck too.

When the gauze was removed from the finger, Ranger moved the hand closer and turned it where he could see. Yup. Ring tattoo. He used his right hand to pull the gauze from his left. Ring tattoo