AN: Don't own anything just the characters for some fun. Unfortunately I can't keep Ranger to myself so I guess I can return them slightly used. In light of the hurricanes that hit Jersey the last two years, I wrote this. I hope anyone affected is ok.

This takes place sometime after Explosive Eighteen.

Hi I'm Stephanie Plum and I'm sitting in my parents' house during a hurricane. I know it's hard to believe that a hurricane would hit Trenton, NJ but unfortunately it's true. Okay, the hurricane is hitting the coast we are getting rain, high wind and flooding but it could be worse. Water is coming into the first floor of my parent's house. I dialed my on again boyfriend Joe Morelli and heard "What."

"The water is coming into my parent's house and I think something is wrong with Grandma Mazur. Can you send someone to evacuate us and get us to the hospital?"

"Listen Stephanie you'll have to wait like everyone else. There's a list and if you call the station they'll add you on" was his surly reply.

I could hear Grandma Bella in the background yelling about a vision and my blood pressure was rising. Their house was on higher ground than ours and they were being evacuated while we had water coming in, a toddler, an infant and grandma was sick but we have to wait. "Are you telling me that grandma is sick and we have to wait but your family is being evacuated?"

"What do you want me to do Stephanie? I had to get my family taken care of and then I have a job to do. I'm on duty until this is over, I don't need your attitude right now."

"Ya know what Joe; you won't need to deal with my attitude at all." I jabbed the end button on my cell, it was not as satisfying as slamming the phone down but they weren't working and the lights had begun to flicker. I scrolled through the screen of my phone to Joe's name and selected 'send directly to voice mail.'

My mother looked at me and said "What did Joseph say? Is he sending someone for mother?"

"No he isn't. Your precious Joseph is evacuating his family and told me to call the station to be put me on the evacuation list."

My phone rang and she said "See there he is he'll be here soon."

I answered with "Yo" and my mother frowned.

"Babe, where are you? Your building is flooding and I've got the rat."

I smiled, Ranger saved Rex. "Thanks for saving Rex that's so sweet. I'm at my parents and we need rescuing."

I could hear the smile in his voice "I'm not sweet, I'm a mercenary. How many of you are there?"

"Everyone and something is wrong with Grandma Mazur. Can we get her to the hospital?"

"Babe St. Francis is flooding. Is there water in your parent's house?"

"Yes a little. Joe said I had to wait my turn while he's clearing out his family."

I could hear the anger in Ranger's voice when he said "Be there in ten."

I hung up when I heard a dial tone and announced "Ranger will be here in ten minutes to get us out of here."

My father smiled "Good man, notice how he called you Pumpkin and doesn't make you wait."

Wow, my Dad approved of Ranger and he was right. Ranger had gone to my apartment and called me to see if I was okay. It didn't seem to matter to Joe that there was already water in the house. Our on again relationship was now permanently off. I heard a knock at the door and I opened it to Ranger and Bobby. I saw four Hummers outside and three men removing car seats from Val's mini-van. Ranger grabbed a few bags and told us to wait while he took them out. Bobby followed my mother upstairs to grandma's room. Tank, Binkie, Ranger and Lester walked up to the house. Tank and Les grabbed the remaining bags while Binkie walked up to Mary Alice and Angie saying "Come on girls; let's get you out of this water and into my truck." He picked them both up while Albert followed them with my father.

Val grabbed her new baby girl Carly and Ranger picked up Lisa. Ranger yelled up to Bobby "We're heading out, are you ready up there?"

Bobby came down the stairs carrying grandma with my mother following. "We're ready. She'll be fine, it wasn't a heart attack. I think a little anxiety mixed with indigestion."

We quickly made it out to the vehicles; once everyone was buckled up we were off. The streets had several inches of rain on them but the Hummers were able to plow through the water and about twenty minutes later we pulled up to Rangeman and a metal gate began to lift. "Is that new?"

Ranger didn't look at me; he just watched the gate rise. "No, part of the contingency plans I have in place. This is solid metal, four feet thick and will keep the water out." We pulled in and got out of the trucks and walked to the elevator. Ranger turned to everyone and said "Lester has moved into Bobby's apartment so that the Kloughn's can use his, there are two bedrooms. Mrs. Mazur will stay with Bobby in the medical ward on the fifth floor. Mr. and Mrs. Plum you will be staying with my Aunt Ella and Uncle Luis. They have a spare bedroom in their apartment."

My mother asked "Where will Stephanie stay?"

Ranger just raised an eyebrow "In my apartment."

My father smiled and said "Thank you for your help Ranger. We really appreciate all the trouble you've gone to for us."

Lester, who was holding Lisa, said "It's no trouble Mr. Plum. We all love Steph. Mr. and Mrs. Kloughn let's get in the elevator and I'll show you the apartment. Can you push four?"

Val pushed the button and the door closed. Ranger, his men and I took the stairs. Binkie took the suitcases to four for Val's family. Ranger had mine and Rex while Tank had my parents and grandmas. We took grandma's bag to the medical ward and Bobby was arguing with my mother. "Mrs. Plum, why don't you go upstairs and relax? If anything happens I'll call."

"But mother can be a handful. I don't want to cause you any trouble" she argued.

Bobby smiled "It's no trouble."

Ranger spoke up "Mrs. Plum please come upstairs. If you really want to help, Ella could use a hand with the cooking and making coffee. We have extra men here because of the storm and they all need to be taken care of."

She looked at Ranger and said "Of course I'll help. Where's Ella?"

Ranger smiled and said "Upstairs on six." We got into the elevator and rode up to the sixth floor and the door opened to a waiting Ella.

"Oh Stephanie are you okay? Ranger said there was flooding at your building."

I walked up to Ella and hugged her "Yes, I was at my parents but the water started coming into their house. Mom, this is Ella."

Ella smiled "Mr. and Mrs. Plum please come in and get settled."

Tank carried the bag to the bedroom and my mother asked "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Ella looked at Ranger and he nodded "Yes, thank you. Let's go next door to the industrial kitchen. We have to get coffee going for the men."

My father stopped Ranger and said "Thank you for keeping her busy."

Ranger looked at my Dad and said "If she's like Steph she needs to keep busy. Besides Ella could use the help even if she doesn't like to admit it."

My father joined Luis in the living room and began watching the weather channel. Ranger and I went up to the seventh floor. I fobbed us into Ranger's apartment and I could feel the tension I was carrying leave my body instantly. "Why don't you take a shower? That water was cold and you're feet are wet, I don't want you getting sick Babe."

"You go ahead first you're soaked. I think I'll take a bath and soak, if you don't mind."

Ranger steered me to the bedroom and said "Maybe I'll join you in the tub."

I stopped and looked at him and saw some emotion I could not place in his eyes and I leaned in to kiss him. Our lips brushed against each other and I twined my hands around his neck as the kiss deepened. A cell phone began to ring and I felt Ranger pull away and heard him swear under his breath "Yo." I saw him frown and I heard "She's safe. I have her and her family with me." I saw his jaw tighten and he said "Obviously she doesn't want to speak to you Morelli."

He looked at me and I mouthed 'I'll talk to him." He handed me the phone but didn't look happy about it and I said "What do you want Morelli?"

"I see you ran to Ranger when I didn't jump to your side. It's really surprising that with his business he can run to your side all the time. Are you fucking him?"

I was pissed, what made him think the only reason Ranger helped me was because of sex. I know that was Joe's MO. "No, I'm not fucking him, at least not yet." I saw Ranger smile but Joe sounded like he was gonna have a stroke.

He was yelling "You're unreal. I called to see where you were on the list because the flooding in the Burg is getting worse and you never called – you called him instead."

"I didn't call him Joe. He called me to make sure I was okay. I told him there was water in the house and grandma was sick and he came in ten minutes with four trucks to take care of us. He made room in his building for all of us so you can quit screaming. We're done, this was the last straw. You always put your job before me. I need to be a little higher on your priority list Morelli. Don't call me again." I hit end and looked up at Ranger, he was smiling. "Are you still interested in that bath?"

"I'm good in the tub Babe" he replied while leaning down and kissing me. He pulled my wet clothes off me and I tugged his wet shirt over his head. The kiss deepened and we backed into the bathroom. "Are you sure Babe?"

"Absolutely, I want this… you." I kissed him again, I was feeling warm in some places and he broke the kiss. He leaned over and turned the knobs on the tub and checked the temp. He started kissing me down my neck when his phone rang again and I swear I heard him sigh.

"Yo."

"Thank you Ella, some food would be good. You can just put it in the oven. Yes, tell Mrs. Plum we'll get out of the wet clothes and shower." I heard a chuckle as he ended the call. Then he stripped his pants off and I think my eyes glazed over. He was so beautiful, like a sculpture. I leaned in and began kissing his chest and I heard him gasp as I took a nipple into my mouth.

"Ella and your mother will be up with food. Get into the water." He poured some of his yummy shower gel into the water. I loved the smell and he climbed in behind me and began rubbing my shoulders and kissing my neck. I turned around and climbed on his lap and began to kiss him again on the lips. I don't think I could get enough of his kisses tonight. I needed him.

An hour and a couple orgasms later we emerged from the tub and jumped in the shower. A half hour later we began to dress in the closet. I heard something in the kitchen and then Ella "His sister Alma is an interior designer and she did everything. He's happy as long as he has a bed, table and chair. He works too hard."

I groaned and Ranger said "Something wrong?"

"My mother is out there with Ella."

"Babe you knew she'd be curious."

"I know but I wish she'd back off. She'll be planning a wedding within an hour."

I could see the fear in his eyes "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea having her meet Ella. Between the two of them they'll have us engaged and be on the phone with my mother, Lester's mother and my sister Celia. It'll be the biggest wedding Trenton and Newark has ever seen."

"Oh god. It'll be worse than Val's with the Pumpkin and Eggplant dresses. We have to stop them." I ran out of the closet and into the kitchen and saw a wonderful dinner of grilled halibut, brown rice and steamed veggies. There was also a piece of pineapple upside down cake. "Oh that looks so good." I reached for the plate but an arm came out of nowhere and took the plate away. Ranger.

"Don't think so Babe. Eat your dinner first."

My mother smiled "You're the first person brave enough to take cake from her."

Ranger gave my mother his 200 watt smile and I saw her eyes glaze over "I don't eat sweets and she's the only one allowed to have them in the building but I insist she eat real food first."

My mother nodded and I glared at him. I think he remembered the closet conversation when he heard Ella say "I think she's good for him. He hasn't noticed the cookies I've put out when she's here. The men love it but are careful to not bring it to his attention. They are perfect for each other. I think we should call Maria, Ana and Celia."

I saw horror cross Ranger's face before the blank face slid down "Tia do you remember our agreement when I hired you?"

"Of course I do Carlos but you don't really think I haven't told your mother about Stephanie do you silly boy?"

I couldn't hold the laughter back and he glared at me. "We're just friends Ella."

"Of course dear, just remember I do the laundry" she said with a smile as the two women swept out of the apartment.

"Babe, why the look of horror?"

"She knows we had sex, she probably told my mother and yours."

"Babe" was all he said as he handed me a plate of food and we sat down and ate in silence.

"Can I have my cake now?" I asked after cleaning my plate.

He stood up and took our plates and rinsed them and put them in the dishwasher. He brought the cake over and took my hand and led me into the living room. He pulled me into his lap and fed me my cake in between kisses. It was actually pretty erotic. I could get use to this.

I heard Ranger's cell phone ring and he looked at the screen and groaned. I heard him say "Hola, Mama" and I couldn't help giggling. It looked like Ella had called his mother. I really shouldn't be laughing because they'll probably have a wedding planned in less than a week. I could only hear Ranger's side of the call but he didn't sound very happy "we're just friends" yeah the story of my life. I'm completely in love with him and he says we're only friends. "Tia Ella needs to mind her own business" he said. "If you insist Mama, I'll see what I can do; there is a hurricane you know."

Ranger looked at me and said "Why were you giggling? Mama and your mother are working on the guest list as we speak. They can't wait to meet and once they have the guest list they will determine which church to use and where to have the reception. They are looking for the wedding to happen before the end of the year."

I must have looked horrified because he started to chuckle. "That isn't funny Ranger."

"I never said I was joking Babe."

I grabbed my cell and dialed my mother. "Mom, you're not writing a guest list are you?"

"Of course I am dear. He's such a nice boy, I mean he takes care of you and he rescued Rex. Even the girls like him. You could do worse" was her reply.

I sputtered "Mom, we're just friends I insist that you stop."

"I have to go Stephanie. Don't tell Carlos but I'm making cookies for that nice Mr. Brown for taking care of your grandmother. I hope she doesn't grope him." I stared at the phone and said "She hung up. My mother never just hangs up."

Ranger chuckled and said "Babe I don't know if we can stop them."

"What do you mean" I whined "we have to stop them. I will not be bullied into another Helen Plum wedding circus. You should've seen my wedding to The Dick. It was horrible. There were peach flowers, doves, streamers and lace. Lots of lace and ruffles. I can't take it. You could barely see me in the pictures."

"Well Babe, then you'll just have to be involved in the planning."

I glared at him "What are you talking about."

He stood up and went into his bedroom, he came out a few minutes later and knelt down in front of me and said "Babe will you marry me?" He held out a beautiful one carat emerald cut blue diamond ring.

I could feel the tears start to well up in my eyes as I whispered "Yes."

EPILOGUE

It was six weeks after the hurricane and several women in the Burg announced they were now expecting. Why is it that whenever there is a weather issue like that nine months later is a baby boom? Well I'm not having a baby… yet. I mean Ranger and I have been busy and it's not for lack of trying.

A week after the hurricane came through Ranger took my family to meet his. That was after my mother, Ella and Val stopped crying and screaming over our engagement. The Burg was in an uproar because I had gotten engaged to Ranger only a couple of hours after breaking up with Morelli. The Morelli family had a field day and called me all kinds of names.

I was sitting patiently waiting for Mr. Alexander to finish my hair. I had already finished my make-up and I was waiting to put on my dress. I couldn't wait to marry Ranger. My mother, Ella, Maria and I planned the entire wedding. There was no lace, ruffles, peach flowers, streamers or doves. Thank goodness. Everything was elegant and sophisticated. The colors were black, white and red. The ceremony was being held at the Sculpture Gardens and the reception was catered by Rat's Restaurant.

An hour later I was standing at the end of the aisle on my father's arm watching Mary Lou as my matron of hour walking with Lisa as my flower girl. They got to the end of the aisle and I had a clear view of Ranger. He looked devastatingly handsome dressed in a custom Armani tux. I'm sure no one thought I'd marry Ranger but I knew he was the only one for me, too bad we wasted three years fighting it. I started walking toward him and thought about our honeymoon. We were going to a private island for a month and I hope to be pregnant when we get back. What started out as a nightmare turned into my dream come true.