What Would You Say

By: PricklySare

A/N: Usual Disclaimers apply. Not mine, should be, not making money, should be.. yada, yada, etc etc.

Warning! Warning! Warning! Huge Ass Big Warning! This story has character death, if you can't handle that stop reading now. I also suggest having tissues with you. It could get messy. But, in a way it has a Babe happy ending... kinda. If you squint. Thanks for reading and reviewing. As always, thanks to the M's for everything. :)

Sare

I should have listened to Ranger. She had spent the last fifteen minutes frantically looking for an escape route, and knew that there was absolutely no way she was going to make it out of this alive. The building was quickly succumbing to the hungry flames that were devouring everything around her. It wasn't going to last much longer, and she could only hope that she would die from the smoke before the flames devoured her body as well.

Her luck had finally run out, and the most recent crazy person she was hunting down was going to be the last person she saw. Lucky her. She'd left Rangeman in the wee hours of the morning and driven six hours to a small town in the middle of now where, West Virginia. She'd been on lock down for over a week, stuck pacing the floors of the building on Haywood, while Ryan Gonzales was out running free. When Ranger had been called to Miami to deal with an emergency at the office there, she decided to take her chances with Gonzales.

From the information she'd been able to gather he was hiding out in this little bum fuck town that wasn't even on a map, and he needed to be brought back into the system. Not only was he a serial arsonist, but a pedophile as well; plus, well, she needed to pay her rent and feed Rex. So, she snuck past the Merry Men who were on duty and escaped out the door. She wasn't sure how she managed it, but decided to count herself lucky. Dougie and Mooner had left a car two blocks over, and she hopped in with a last look over her shoulder. She'd left all her tracking devices in the building, so she really wasn't worried that they'd notice that she was missing.

Now, eight hours later, she was wishing she'd just stayed at Rangeman. When she thought about how she would someday die, this wasn't even a glimmer on her radar. She figured she'd get shot, or maybe blown up in a car. She never thought that she would be beaten, chained to a metal rafter and left to die in a roaring blaze of fire. Gonzales had done a number on her. Though, truth be known, the beating, and the leaving her to die wasn't really the worst part of his torture. No, it was the fact that he left one arm free and her cell phone firmly in her hand so that she could call her loved ones and say goodbye. It was oddly similar to the first time she'd called Ranger; though that time her likelihood of dying was very slim.

She'd already known that the fire trucks weren't going to get there in time, even though she'd called 911 as soon as Gonzales had walked out the door. The dispatcher told her that the ETA was thirty minutes. There was no way she had thirty minutes. She didn't have fifteen minutes. She hadn't called anyone else, what would she say to them? Would she really want her family to know about how she died? That there was nothing they could do to save her? No.

Okay, Plum. You're doing good, the tears aren't here yet. You can hold them off a little longer. Call him.

Fumbling with the phone, being careful not to drop it, she hit speed dial one and took a deep breath as it started to ring.

"Yo," his deep voice caressed her like velvet and she felt her heart catch.

"Yo, yourself, Batman," she said, trying to sound like nothing was wrong.

"You okay?" he asked, and she could hear him walking away from the voices that had been in the background.

"Not exactly, but that's not really important right now," she said, taking a deep breath to try and hold back the tears that were finally beginning to threaten. "I need to tell you something, and I want you to listen, because there isn't much time; and it's really important."

He could tell that something wasn't right, and his stomach clinched into a hard knot. "Okay," he said.

"You're the best friend I've ever had, and no matter what, I need you to know that. I need you to know that you're the only man I've ever truly loved; and that I am totally irrevocably in love with you." The fire was burning hotter and the sound of wood crashing around her was getting louder as the flames drew closer to her. She only hoped that he wouldn't hear it too. "The last few years have been some of the best in my life. You've helped me grow, and you taught me to fly. I only wish I'd been honest with you, and I wish I had listened to you too, because now it doesn't matter."

Ranger heard loud popping sounds in the background and he started to tremble. "Babe, what's going on? Where are you?" He asked, his voice laced with worry.

She forced a laugh that was laced with the tears that were silently trailing down her cheeks. "You're supposed to be listening, Batman."

"Babe," he said, knowing that something was definitely not right. He sent a text to Tank: Where is Steph?

"Ranger, I want you to know, that none of this is your fault, and it was totally mine. I don't want you to spend the rest of your life blaming yourself." Just then Tank responded via text: Gone. Her trackers are all here.

"Babe, tell me where you are, the guys are on their way."

A sob escaped her mouth and she bit her lip. "West Virginia."

Ranger's heart griped and for the first time in his life he saw black dots in front of his eyes. "West Virginia?" His voice was hoarse with emotion that he didn't know he had. It was hoarse with a bone deep fear.

"Yeah, but don't bother rushing the guys. They won't make it in time. In fact, no one will," she was impressed with the fact that she was able to sound so nonchalant when all she wanted to do was scream and cry.

"Babe, talk to me. What's happening?" He was scared. Terrified about what was going on. Every nerve in his body was screaming and all he wanted to do was run as fast as he could and get to West Virginia. He was standing in the control room at Rangeman, Miami, surrounded by huge, hulking mercenaries and the room was totally quiet. Every eye was on him. Worried.

"Gonzales beat me, and chained me up in an old warehouse in the middle of this town that doesn't really have a name; but the locals call it Silence. Well, what locals there are," she added. The crackling and popping had reached a deafening level and the heat was drying the tears on her face as soon as they spilled over.

"Look, Ranger... I've got to go. I don't want you to be on the phone when..." she couldn't say it. She didn't want him to think about how she died. She started again, "Do me a favor, tell my family I love them, and tell the guys I'm sorry."

"You tell them, Babe," Ranger said, his voice choking. "Tell them when they get there."

"I won't be able to," she said.

"Why?" His voice was quiet, heartbreaking, and as much as she didn't want to tell him, she needed him to understand.

"Ranger, Gonzales set the building on fire and it's getting closer. I'm already having a hard time breathing, and the fire trucks aren't going to be here in time."

"No." It was as much a command as a plea. "No, Babe. Don't give up."

"Ranger, it hurts and I don't want you to hear me scream. Don't hate me. Don't hate the guys. Don't hate yourself. Live your life to the fullest. Be happy, have a family, step out of the darkness. You have to do it for me...please."

By this time tears were freely running down Ranger's face. He was losing her. The light in his otherwise dark world was getting ready to be extinguished and she was worried about him. The pain he was feeling was too intense for words and he was sure he was dying. "Babe, no. Please don't go. I love you. I'm totally, irrevocably in love with you and I'm so sorry I held you away. Please don't leave me." He knew he was begging and he didn't care. The men around him were in shock. They'd never seen Ranger cry, let alone beg.

"I think I always knew. I was just too scared to admit it. I will always be with you, count on it. I will be with you on every mission you go on, every stakeout and take down you do. I will be there smiling when you finally let someone share your life, and I will be there blessing you and your family the day you welcome another child into your arms. Don't shut yourself away, Ranger. Let the light shine into your life. That light will be me."

"Babe, you already are my light. You're the only woman I want for my wife. I want you to be the mother of my children. If you're not here, that future can't happen," he said.

"It has to happen, Ranger. It has to. Batman doesn't give up."

"Babe, I'm only Batman because of you."

"You'll always be Batman to me..." Ranger could hear the roar of the flames and he knew there was nothing he could do. The roar was so loud, it sounded like a freight train.

"Babe!" He screamed.

"I love you, Carlos. I'll be waiting for you on the other side, when you're old and gray. I promise, we'll be together someday. Be strong, and don't blame the guys, it was all me. Goodbye," she said and then the line went dead.

In the warehouse

The flames were so close she was surprised that they hadn't caught her clothes on fire. She let the phone drop from her fingers and she smiled when she heard the batman theme start playing. It was faint, but she could still hear it over the flames. Taking a deep breath she filled her lungs with smoke and closed her eyes seeing Ranger the way he was to her. Strong, beautiful, and completely male. She never felt the flames that crawled up her clothes just as the fire trucks pulled up.

At Rangeman, Miami

"Babe! Dammit, No!" Ranger screamed as he frantically pressed speed dial one on his phone. You've reached Steph, leave a message. "No, no, no...nonononono...Babe, no, please god, no." Ranger wasn't even aware that his employees had gathered closely around him.

"Boss? Man, what's wrong?" One of the Miami men in black asked. Something had obviously gone terribly wrong.

Their only answer was a blood curdling scream, a scream of pure anguish, as Ranger threw his cell phone against the wall, shattering it into a million pieces. He sank to the floor, curled into the fetal position and openly sobbed. Only repeating the single word, "Babe" over and over again, like his own personal mantra.

Four hours later

Tank, Lester, and Bobby walked onto the fifth floor of Rangeman, Miami, their blank masks firmly in place. Their faces betrayed none of the heartbreak they were feeling inside. The light in all their lives had flickered out that day, but they couldn't mourn yet. They had to take care of their friend, their boss, and the man who loved Stephanie Plum more than life itself.

The floor was completely silent as the three men bent over and picked up their now silent boss, friend, and brother. Tears still ran down his face, but he made no sound. Tank cradled Ranger's body in his arms and carried him like a child to the elevator, pressing the button that would take them to his apartment. It was time for them all to mourn in private. Life as they knew it was over.

Eighteen Years later

The bullets tore through him and he knew that this was it. The take down had got seriously FUBAR'd and it had turned into an all out gun fight. The blood was pumping out of his body each time his heart beat, and the knowledge that he wouldn't have to wait any longer, calmed him.

The last seventeen years had been full of blessings. He'd done what Steph had told him to do, and let the light in. He'd met a nice woman, married her, and had children. Their oldest, a daughter, named Stephanie Michelle, had just graduated. His daughter Julie had followed in his footsteps and was running Rangeman, Miami.

He had done everything Steph had asked of him that fateful day, and then some. Tank, Lester, and Bobby, had joined him in his hunt for Gonzales, and he had paid dearly for Steph's life. When they were through with him there wasn't enough left to ever be found. He'd suffered, and would have suffered longer if his heart hadn't given out. They let him burn the same way he'd let Steph.

Now as his blood poured onto the ground, he felt solid arms wrap around him and he caught the look on Tank's face. "It's time, man," he said to the large black who was one of his best friends.

"I know, Boss. She's waiting for you."

"Yeah, she is. I can already see her," Ranger said, a smile on his face as his eyes grew hazy. "She still as beautiful as she was then."

"Give her our love, and tell her we'll be there soon."

"I will."

Tank held his friend, one of the strongest men he'd ever known, and let the tears come as he heard Ranger whisper, "Babe, I've missed you," with his last breath. It was exactly eighteen years to the day, since the light in their lives had gone out, and the world had gotten darker.

"We'll be there soon, guys. We'll be there soon," he said as he picked up his friend's body and went in search of Lester and Bobby.