A/N: Sup? I actually don't have anything to ramble about today. Go figure, eh? Oh, I saw the guy I liked today:) He's a year older, and I never get to see him... tear. But I did today. And I got a hug. Heck yes.

I was running for my life and, believe it or not, doing it pretty damn well. It's not as if I never run – okay, yeah, I pretty much never run. But there's a difference. I don't run for fitness. I do run for my life.

As soon as I was sure that I'd lost them, I was able to start to walk. I was pretty close to Trenton now, actually. Yay. I saw the sign that said, "Trenton Makes and the World Takes", which you know- is always a comforting sight when you're running away from potential killers who have kidnapped you and held you hostage for six months.

I had a cramp in my side, my hair was frizzed out of its ponytail, and I was pretty sure that my clothes were all in disarray. They already didn't fit. My guess was I'd lost over thirty pounds while I'd been locked up without any food and forced to work, and I was really proud of myself. I probably looked good.

Hah. Yeah, right. More like a twig. I caught a cab and asked if he'd take to me Vincent Plum's Bail Bonding Company free of charge.

He gave me a look. "Girly," he said, giving me a Look, "this is my job, okay? Do you do your job for free? And I don't give rides to felons."

I sighed. "I'm not a felon," I said, "I've been held hostage for six months and currently have no cash on me. And I know it's your job. I don't do my job for free, but I'm afraid I don't have one because I work at the bail bonding company. If you want, I'll give you my number and you can call me and I'll pay you back when I have money. All right?"

He sighed. "I don't take IOUs," he said. "You can walk there, for all I care."

Okay, time to pull out the big guns. No, not literally. "If you don't take me, I'll gas you. I carry pepper spray everywhere."

He gave me a look like he didn't believe me, but stepped on the gas anyway. I did eventually give him my information, and he took one look at it and gasped.

"Jesus," he said. "Stephanie Plum? You're kidding me. I thought you were dead. I mean, you look dead. But I thought you were really dead."

I could feel my eyebrows pull together and started to freak out... just a little bit. "Why'd you think I was dead?"

"The police pronounced you dead. There was news in the paper."

"Was there a picture?"

"No, no picture. Just a story on the third page. Underneath the college football score."

I was only on the third page? That was rude. I thought I'd be worthy of at least the second. "Okay, thank you," I said, "but I'm not dead. Seriously."

"Are you sure?"

It took me fifteen minutes to convince him that no, I wasn't dead, and he eventually drove off. It was doubtful he'd ever call me for his money, even though I had gone a pretty far way.

He dropped me off in front of Vinnie's office, and as I left, I felt a little scared. Did I really want to go in there? Everyone thought I was dead.

Don't be ridiculous, I told myself. Everyone will be glad to see you. Just go in there. Trust me. Beg for your job back. But don't be pathetic.

I pushed the door open before I could convince myself it was a bad idea, and I caught my reflection in the window. Maybe I should clean up a little. My gaunt face was rather scary, I was pale, and just as I'd thought, my hair was frizzy. My clothes didn't fit because I was literally emaciated – and it reminded me of when Vinnie was twelve and had pictures of supermodels who were skeletons hanging on his walls and in his school binders.

Eek. Not cool.

Oh well, I told myself. Just go in there. You need to say hi.

"Hola," I said, waltzing into Vinnie's, as if I'd just seen them yesterday. Connie didn't look up, and it made me wonder if I was seriously crazy and like, a ghost or something. "Hello? Connie?"

She looked up and screamed. "Oh, my God, I thought you were one of those non-English speaking people who sometimes come in here looking for that Mexican restaurant down the street!"

I had no idea what she was talking about, but she gave me a hug anyway. "It's so good to see you," I said, figuring I needed to say something.

"I know. Seriously. You have no idea. I miss you a lot. So does Lula. She's in the back. LULA!"

I'd never heard Connie scream before, but it was loud. Of course, this was nothing compared to the scream Lula did when she saw me. I thought I'd gone deaf.

"Girl, you skinny!" she exclaimed.

I gave a Look. "But I'm alive, right? That's a good thing."

She nodded. "I know some people who'll think it's a very good thing."

She gave me a hug, and I figured this was definitely a good place. I knew that, well- let's face it, these people obviously didn't believe I was dead. Or else they would've been a little more shocked to see me. I guess.

I couldn't think of anything to say, and in the dead silence, I heard that someone had installed a sound system and soft music was playing in the background – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. "Elton John?" I said, in disbelief. Neither Vinnie, Connie, nor Lula seemed like Elton John fans.

"Yeah, tell Vinnie to change the music," Lula said. "It sucks. He ain't playin' nothing worth listenin' to. I don't know what it is."

"So, what's been up?" I asked. "Fill me in."

Connie and Lula looked at each other. "Eh, got four hours?" Connie asked. "It's been kind of eventful... I don't know. Sort of."

So I found out that Denise Barkolowski had gotten married, Louise Correro had had a baby girl, and my parents had moved to Vermont.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" I asked. "My parents would never move out of the burg. I mean, if you gave them a choice between dying and leaving the burg, they'd die."

Lula shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "Albert and Valerie moved to a suburb there, and thinking you were dead, your parents moved with them. I guess they had no reason to stay, or something."

"Speaking of no reason to stay," Connie jumped in, "I've got major gossip on that subject. I don't really know the entire story, but-"

She was quickly interrupted by an open of the door. Both Connie and Lula stood, their mouths gaping open, slightly less than when I'd walked in, and I felt a hand on my shoulder. Oh, no. Don't tell me the Slayers had found me?

"Babe," he said. "You don't look good."

A smile crept up my face, and I turned around, sinking into the arms of who other than Ricardo Carlos Manoso, mystery man of Trenton.

He encircled me in a tight hug, and when he finally let go, he smiled. "You were supposed to have been dead."

I was getting frustrated with people saying that. Obviously, I wasn't. "Yeah, I know," I said. "Guess I'm not, eh?"

He grinned. "Well, where've you been? It's been six months. And believe it or not, the burg has reshaped itself due to your disappearance." His cell phone went off, and he looked at the read-out screen. "Okay, I have to go," he said. "But... I'll call you as soon as I can for lunch, and I'll inform you of everything, all right?"

"Sure," I said. "But there's a chance I may have learned everything. I mean, I got my girls."

He snorted a laugh – something certainly strange to hear – and I couldn't help but smile. He gave me a kiss on the top of my head goodbye, and seemed to disappear through the door as fast as he'd come in.

"I-I-I can't believe he just did that," Connie stuttered. "He hasn't been in here in six months!"

"Guess Ranger just knows things, huh?"

"It's creepy," Lula commented. "That man is creepy. If he weren't so hot, I'd be officially scared. But the hotness offers some kind of comfort."

Tell me about it. "So what's been going on? How is everyone? So my parents are in Vermont, I'll visit there later. How's Mary Lou? What about Joe?"

Both of them were quiet for a long time, and then Lula looked at her shoes. Connie was the first one to speak.

"Yeah, um... about that... it's a long story. You may want to sit down."