Thank you all for your kind reviews. I was very hesitant to post, but you have made me feel very welcome. I hope you enjoy the rest of the stuff that falls out of my head and onto paper. :D

Characters belong to JE. I'm just playing.

It's been three weeks since I received the call to report to DC. To my surprise I was not being sent to some god forsaken hole. My involvement would be limited to planning and intel. The brass wanted to send in a new team to test their abilities. It was never said in so many words, but I was getting older and the powers that be wanted to be sure there was someone to replace me should I decide to retire, or...well we all know the hazards. The older you get the greater the risk of something going wrong.

I was never thrilled with these assignments. Being a hands on kinda person, I prefer to do my own recon and pick my own team. There was no way to know how accurate the intel was or the men that were being sent in. No matter how thorough your research, there were only so many scenarios you could plan for. All it takes is for one small detail to be overlooked and everything goes FUBAR.

My own experience told me to leave lots of room for flexibility, along with several contingency plans for unexpected problems . I gave them the best that I could without actually being on scene. I hope it was enough to bring them all home safe.

The worst part of these assignments is being locked in a federal building with no outside contact for three weeks. My time was spent in planning sessions with old military officers and stuffed suits that had never been in the field. Add a few 'intelligence' personnel from multiple alphabet soup agency and you have the cluster fuck that has been my life.

After finalizing the plan I was released to return home to Trenton. Funny how Trenton had never felt like home until I had met Stephanie. My family still lived in Newark, but even that hadn't been home to me since I had enlisted, maybe even before. If I was honest I couldn't remember the last time I had felt at home anywhere. Maybe as a child. Before I joined the gangs and saw all the ugliness that men create.

Now I just wanted to hurry back to Trenton, where I can break into Steph's apartment and watch her sleep. That is where I found peace. That was home.

I pointed the turbo north and speed dialed Tank. Might as well catch up while I was on the road. Hopefully there wouldn't be anything that needs my immediate attention. It was already 2200 hours, and I wanted to go directly to Steph's apartment. If I was lucky she would be home alone and not at Morelli's.

"Yo" In that one word I could hear the exhaustion in Tank's voice. Not a good sign.

"Report"

"Boss? You back?"

"On my way. Just left DC."

"ETA two and a half, three hours?" Now he sounded slightly relieved. What the hell was going on?

"Something like that. What's the problem?" I swear if he answers me with another question I'm going to reach through this phone and choke him.

"Um, Boss, I'm not sure how to tell you this"

By this time I was grinding my teeth. "Just say it." I spit out.

"Bombshell is in the hospital, It doesn't look good man."

Fuck. I was only gone for a few weeks. What could possibly have happened. When I left, her and Morelli were on again. She had no known stalkers. I knew my men were keeping an eye on her skips to make sure she had backup for anyone who was possibly violent.

"What happened?"

"Appendicitis. Lula called yesterday morning because Steph hadn't shown up at the bonds office and wasn't answering her phone. Hal went to her apartment to check on her, and found her in the bathroom throwing up blood. He rushed her to the ER, but by the time they operated, her appendix had already ruptured."

"How bad is she?"

"Real bad. She developed an infection. They have her on antibiotics, but her fever is so high they've given her two ice baths already. She's hallucinating and talking all sorts of crazy shit." All my men loved Steph and I could feel the frustration in Tank's voice. It's hard to see someone you care about in pain and be unable to do anything about it.

"Do they have a prognosis?"

"I keep asking but no one is saying anything. They have her in the ICU. Her family and Morelli are here, but she keeps calling for you. She isn't responding to anyone. If she doesn't calm down soon, they're going to sedate her. That wouldn't be good considering how weak she already is"

Hold on Babe. I'm on my way. "How is everyone taking it?"

"Her mother is furious. Today is their wedding anniversary, and from the way she is acting, you would think Steph did this on purpose." Tank snorted. "Her father and grandmother haven't said anything except to ask how she's doing. Morelli is walking around with a blank face. I think he's pissed that she keeps calling your name, but he's scared that she might not make it. He just sits in the waiting room staring at the wall. Lula and Connie are freaking out. They blame themselves for not noticing there was something wrong."

"Keep me posted. I'll be there as soon as I can"

"Carlos, hurry."

I flipped my phone shut and threw it onto the passenger seat. I found myself praying as the speedometer needle rose. It wasn't the first time that I had asked God to save the woman I loved, and I hoped it wouldn't be the last.

All eyes turned to me as I walked into the waiting room. Lula and Connie were huddled together quietly sobbing. Helen Plum was pacing and muttering to herself. Frank Plum sat with his arm around his mother-in-law, who was uncharacteristically quiet. I counter six of my men standing silent vigil around the room. I knew there would be two more standing guard outside her room.

I locked eyes with Morelli who was seated in a corner. Everyone in the room watched as he stood and approached me. All the pain, fear and confusion he was feeling was evident in his eyes.

"How is she?" I asked when he reached me.

"Not good," he continued into the hallway and I followed. "I thought I'd never say this, but I'm glad your here. She keeps calling for you. Any idea why?"

There was nothing I could say that would ease his mind. There was no way for him to understand the connection that Steph and I shared. How do I explain that she comes to me for comfort when things go wrong, because she know that I won't criticize or belittle her. That we accept each other the way we are, and love each other despite it.

I just gave him a slight shake of my head. Tank and Hector were standing guard as expected.

"You made good time." Tank stated

With a nod of acknowledgement from me he continued.

"No change since you called. Her sister is in with her now. They should be by to check her vitals again soon. Hopefully there will be some improvement this time."

I nodded again and walked into Steph's room. Hospital rules dictate only one visitor at a time. Rules be damned. No one was keeping me from my Babe.

Valerie was in a chair next to the bed silently crying. Steph was thrashing, fighting the restraints that held her arms. It was obvious she was week, but she was still fighting. 'That's it Babe. Just keep fighting and you'll be fine.' I thought to myself..

I heard a whispered, "Ranger?"

Immediately I was by her bedside. I smoothed the sweat soaked curls off her face and tucked them behind her ear. "Hush Babe. I'm here." Her face was flushed with fever. As I watched tears began spilling down her cheeks."

"Ranger, I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." she sobbed.

"Shh. It's alright Babe. There's nothing to be sorry for. It's not your fault." There was a bowl of water with a damp cloth in it on the counter. I wrung it out and started gently wiping the tears from her face.

"No, it's not alright. Nothing is right. I tried Ranger. I really tried, but I can't do. No matter what I do I just can't make it work." She was crying harder now. My heart was breaking watching, not knowing what she needed me to say or do to make it better.

"What Babe? What isn't right?" I started drawing circles on her arm with my fingers. This has always calmed her in the past.

"You, me, Joe. I try so hard. Nothing works. I can't cook. I can't clean. I'd make a horrible mother."

"It's OK. No one is asking you to do those things."

"I love Joe. I really do." I knew this to be true, but to hear her say it was like a knife twisting in my chest.

"I know Babe. Joe knows too."

"He loves me, but I'm not what he wants. I can't be what he wants. Maybe, maybe if I could do it, we could work. I tried, but I can't. Ranger, why can't I?" Christ! She's laying here fighting for her life and all she can think of is making things work with Morelli?

"Your the strongest person I know Stephanie. You can do anything you want to." This was the truth. I had seen Steph in situations that would have some of my men cowering in fear. Steph just picks herself up and continues on. She may call me Batman, but she is the true hero. Rolling in garbage, getting shot at, ridiculed by her so called friends and family. She would still give the shirt off her back to help anyone who needed it. Well as long as they didn't touch her shoes.

Her sobs had now quieted to sniffles. "I want to. I tried, but I can't fall in love with him."

What?! Where the hell did that come from? Now I'm confused.

"Steph what do you mean? You just said you loved him."

"Don't call me that. I don't like that" Steph yelled. She was getting upset again.

"Call you what?" What did I say wrong?

"Steph. Don't call me Steph."

"Querida, that's your name." If things hadn't been so serious I would have laughed. She sounded like a spoiled five year old.

"You can't call me that. You call me Babe. I want to be your Babe." Ah, now I understand.

"You'll always be my Babe. No matter what name I call you."

"Then why did you send me away?" Silent tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"Babe, I would never send you away."

"You did." She accused, "You sent me back and told me to make it work. But I can't"

Shit. We're back to Morelli. This was definitely not the time or the place for this conversation.

"It's alright, Babe. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do." This is what's bothering her?

"As long as I'm in love with you, Joe and I will never work."

Huh? I knew she loved me. I knew there was a physical attraction. The knife that had been twisting in my chest just went a little deeper. The night we had spent together was all about making love, not just having sex. I had never in my life felt such a connection with anyone else. I fell in love with her that night, but I knew she still had feelings for Morelli. My life was difficult and dangerous, so I did what I thought was best. At the time it seemed like the right thing to do. How could I have been so stupid? How many times had I sent her back to him? How many chances had I thrown away? I made a decision right then. There would be no more going back. Steph was mine. MINE. No more games.

"I love you Babe."

She let out a little sigh, "I know. In your own way." She sounded disappointed.

"No Babe. Just, I love you. No qualifiers, no disclaimers. I love you, and I want you with me. Always."

She just stared at me with her big blue eyes, glassy from the fever. I'm not sure how much of this she would remember when she recovered. It didn't matter. I was claiming what was mine and would repeat it all a thousand times if I had to.

"Good," was all she said. I watched as her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep.

As I watched her, I once again became aware of my surroundings. Sometime during our talk, Valerie had left the room. I wonder how much she had heard before she left. It didn't matter now. Soon enough everyone would know that Steph was mine.

A nurse nurse walked in and gave me the once over. Her flirty smile said she liked what she saw. I gave here my blank face. As far as I was concerned, I was permanently off the market. The only woman I wanted was lying in that bed.

"I have to check her vitals. You can come back when I'm done."

A short nod was my response. I walked out the door to find Morelli waiting for me. The defeated look on his face told me he had heard everything.

We walked down the hall together.

"She loves you," I said.

"I know, but she's in love with you"

"Yes" I felt bad for him. They had been off and on for years. I knew he loved her, but I got the feeling that he wasn't in love with her anymore than she was in love with him.

"Now I know why we couldn't make it work." I'm not sure if he was talking to me or himself, "I always just assumed that one day we would get married and live happily ever after."

"I know," He needed to work this out.

"I never understood that there was a difference between loving someone and being in love with them. Listening to her spill her guts like that, I know she's right. As much as we love each other, we were never in love. No wonder we fought so much. We were trying to force something that just wasn't meant to be. I guess Steph isn't the only one who visits the land of denial." Her looked at me and grimaced.

"Sometimes you can't see what's in front of your face," I was talking about myself as much as him.

He nodded, then looked me dead in the eye, "You love her?"

I kept eye contact and answered, "Yes."

"Take care of her."

"Always"

"If you don't..."

I cut him off, "You'll have to take a number. I think my men would be the first in line to kick my ass. If there's anything left when they're done, your welcome to it."

Joe looked down the hall to Tank and Hector, still standing guard outside of Steph's room.

He snorted and said, "Yeah, your probably right."

Just then the nurse came out of Steph's room. We followed her to the waiting room.

"Stephanie's fever has broken. Her vitals signs are stable, and she is sleeping peacefully. It's too soon to tell for sure, but it appears that she is starting to improve."

The room erupted in relieved chatter.

Morelli turned to me and said, "You know she probably won't remember anything."

"I know."

"You gonna tell her everything?"

"Yes."

A shit eating grin spread across his face, "Good luck with that" and he walked out the door.

I stood back and watched. It always amazed me the way my Babe affected everyone around her. Tough mercenaries, ex-hookers, cops and her family. They were all here because of one woman who looked beyond the exterior to see, and love, the person inside.

Mrs. Mazur walked over and hugged me. Surprisingly she didn't cop a feel.

"She needed you. Take good care of her."

"Yes Ma'am.'

"Now, go back to your woman."

"Yes ma'am" I said and started for the door to do just that when I felt a hand squeeze my ass. I guess some things never change.