Author's note: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich. I'm just happy to play with them. This story is in response to a challenge on the fanfiction website. If there are any mistakes in medical information, they are mine.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Carlos Manoso had been listening to the same steady beep for over a week.
What at first had been a sanity saving sound, because he knew that his woman was alive, was now almost as painful to his ears as the sound of the shots ringing out that had started this this situation.
The sunny August day had been filled with possibilities. Stephanie Plum, his Babe, needed help catching a skip close to the Slayer gang territory, so he volunteered to do surveillance with her. While waiting, she had spoken of her latest break-up with Joe Morelli, her on-again, off-again boyfriend of three years, and one of Trenton's finest police officers. Carlos could never understand how someone with such good instincts for a detective could be so clueless when it came to reading Stephanie's signals. Yet, he also understood that Morelli was older, and was now ready to settle down, something that Stephanie wasn't ready to do with him. She was searching for stability, but she wanted to provide it herself, not through a man.
Carlos, also known by the street name Ranger, knew what it was like to want to make a name for one's self instead of relying on others. He had grown up in the shadow of his father, whose name as a public defender for the downtrodden was well known in the town he had grown up in. When Carlos had disgraced the family as a teenager by turning to a gang and then getting caught while stealing cars, his parents had packed him up that night to send him to live with his grandparents in Florida. He credited his abuela with the reason he was still alive, but knew that part of his commitment to Rangeman, the security company he owned, was his fierce need to still prove himself to his parents.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The hospital room was often crowded with Stephanie's friends and family. The nurses reinstated the two person visiting at a time rule after Stephanie had stayed in a coma for several days. Everyone was now resigned to waiting.
The surveillance job had ended quickly, when the skip showed up after thirty minutes. With Ranger's help, Stephanie had been able to subdue the man who had been charged with DUI. No rolling in garbage this time, and no other threats, despite their intrusion into dangerous territory. So, Stephanie decided to celebrate, and cajoled Ranger into coming with her to Point Pleasant for the afternoon. They were walking on the Boardwalk, with Stephanie eating an ice cream cone, when they heard shots ring out next to them. After ducking around a wall, Ranger instinctively drew his own weapon, while Steph crouched down next to him. When they peeked around the wall, they observed a man holding a woman and child hostage, and another man lay dead at his feet.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Balloons and flowers were crammed on every flat surface in the room. The hospital smell that Stephanie dreaded was overpowered by the sweet perfume of the flowers. Everything in the room was encouraging the patient to wake up soon. Yet, nothing had worked so far. The induced coma had been stopped after two days, yet she had still not awoken. Ranger felt that he needed to take drastic measures. He was going to try something he never thought he'd do again, but he knew the reward would be worth the risk.
The crazed gunman shot through the thin wall that was separating them, piercing Stephanie in the chest. Ranger rolled and killed him before he realized that Stephanie had been shot. When he saw her bleeding, all of his iron will was needed to keep him from collapsing next to her. Since he had learned to compartmentalize his thoughts while he was in the army, his emotions had never threatened to overwhelm him, until he saw her blood.
Fortunately, EMS personnel were nearby for a tourist event and were able to keep her alive to the hospital, where the surgeons were able to work on the damage to her lungs and heart that the bullet had pierced. She was placed in the coma to help her heal, but she stayed in the coma after the she had been taken off the drugs.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Babe. I need a favor. I need you to marry me," he said in a soft voice. His whole being was sending out his emotions and thoughts to her, through the ESP that she often jokingly said he had. "I can't live without you. I know you need to fly, and I'll help you. But, I need you to wake up now, and say yes to me." He kissed her forehead, lips, and the hand that he was still holding.
Beep-beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep.
The monitors were flashing. A few seconds later, a scratchy voice was heard whispering, "Yes."