Disclaimer: The characters belong to Janet Evanovich. I'm not making any money, just playing around.

Author's Note: This story is rated M. It contains some foul language and violence, including rape. Overall I hope for it to be a romance, but it starts out rocky and there will be some violence in later chapters. We will have a Babe HEA.

Chapter 1 - Steph's POV

Joe and I had broken up three months ago. Shortly after our break up, he moved to Richmond to take a job. Finally realizing that we couldn't get back together allowed us both to move on. True to his word, Ranger didn't leave my bed empty for long. I was hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with Batman, had been for a long time if I was honest. Thankfully he admitted to loving me too; otherwise I'd be more than just a little miserable right now. Ranger had been gone for a month, he was four weeks into what he said should be a six week mission. I couldn't wait for him to get home.

Ranger had told me that I was welcome to stay at his penthouse but I couldn't do it. I tried a few times, but I wanted to wait until he was there to move in. The Merry Men had been their usual protective selves, it was helpful in catching my skips that was for sure, but it did leave me feeling a bit smothered which was probably another reason for keeping my apartment; I needed a little space.

I spent every night thinking about Ranger before I went to sleep. I thought about things I would say to him if he was here. I imagined that he could hear my thoughts, that we were connected in some way. I would sit and think about what he would tell me about his day, if he could if he wasn't doing something top secret. Before I closed my eyes, I would tell him to keep safe and come home to me, that I loved him. It made me feel better and I hoped that I was sending out enough vibrations into the air that he could feel them where ever he was in the world.

After my little imaginary chat with Ranger, I was able to sleep. When I first started having these chats, I thought they were silly and tried not to do them, but found that I couldn't sleep unless I did. It became my nightly ritual, think about and silently chat with Ranger before washing up and climbing into bed. I wasn't sure if I could tell him about these nightly chats when he got home, but I knew if he ever had to go away again that I could fall back on them to keep myself sane.

I woke up in the middle night, my spidey sense firing on all cylinders. The room was cold. Someone was in my bedroom standing over me as I slept and since my neck wasn't tingling, I knew it wasn't Ranger. I tried to scramble away from where the man was standing, hoping I could at least get into my bathroom.

A hand clamped around my arm, pulling me back onto the bed. I was pushed onto my back and the man straddled my waist. I fought, my legs kicking uselessly as panic filled me. I saw him cock his arm back before the world went black.

Coming awake, I tried to move my arms but found that I couldn't. My head felt like it had been split in two. "So nice to see you're awake." A stranger was lying next to me in bed. My hands were tied behind my back and I was completely nude. His hand reached out, his finger tracing my nipple. I whimpered, tried to move away.

The man climbed on top of me again. I tried to focus on his face hoping that I could at least identify him but it was too dark in here for me to find anything recognizable about him. His erection pressed against my stomach causing the full understanding of what he was planning to do to come crashing down on me. I screamed out, hoping that one of my senior citizen neighbors would hear me. His hands clamped down over my neck, choking me. I could see stars and knew that he could easily kill me.

He leaned down, his breath hot on my ear. "No one is going to help you now. I don't want to kill you, but I will. Just relax and enjoy."

I felt him push my legs apart with his knees. I tried to move my head, tried to wiggle away from him. I didn't recognize the sounds and whimpers coming from my own throat as his hands squeezed my windpipe. He entered me in one harsh motion, my body ripping from the sudden invasion. I tried to scream in pain, but his hand on my throat prevented it from getting loud. It seemed that he was chipping away at my soul with each thrust. I wanted to throw up but forced the bile back, focused my mind on just surviving this ordeal. When my attacker was done and climbed off me, I pulled my knees up to my chest and rolled over. He ran his finger down my cheek, "Thank you." His voice was almost gentle in stark contrast to the brutality he'd unleashed on me seconds ago.

My eyes followed him as he walked out of my bedroom, towards the front door. Hearing the door shut behind him gave me the permission I needed to break down. Hiccuping through my sobs, I tried to think of what I should do next. My hands were still tied behind me and I didn't know how to get out of it. I tried to think of what Ranger would want me to do, but the thought of him only made me more hysterical. All I could think about was how mad he was going to be at me, if I had stayed at his penthouse this wouldn't have happened.

Eventually, I tried to calm down and do what Ranger had told me to do if I needed anything while he was gone. I called Tank. I used my chin to slide the screen of my phone on and dial Tank. It took a little work but I was able to do it without getting terribly frustrated. My alarm clock was showing it after three am, but I knew he would answer.

"Yo." Came his sleepy voice, I was never so happy to hear that yo in my life.

"Tank, I need help."

"Little Girl, where are you?" I could hear fabric rustling and knew he was already moving.

"My apartment."

"I'll be there quickly. Are you alone?" I knew he was trying to gather information so he knew what he was walking into.

"Yes, I think so, I heard him leave."

"Him who, Steph? I heard Tank knock on a door and knew he was probably getting Les or Bobby.

"I don't know." I was starting to panic now, thinking he might come back. My breath was coming fast as I started to hyperventilate. "Hurry please Tank, he might come back."

"Take deep breaths, Steph. I don't want you passing out on me." I heard him knocking again and assumed that whomever he'd woken up was able to ESP with him, as I didn't hear him talking to anyone else. "Can you get out of your apartment?"

"No, my hands are tied behind my back and I'm, I'm naked." I tried to do as he said, tried to calm my breathing down, but it wasn't happening. I was suddenly very sore, my body aching from the assault. Shivers began to wrack my body, I tried to wiggle under the covers to get warm.

He growled, "We're on our way, Little Girl. Stay on the phone with me, ok?" I heard the engine of a car turn over and knew that he was telling me the truth. I had no idea how they could be up and ready that quickly but I was even more grateful for their military training allowing them to move out at the drop of a hat.

Tank kept talking to me on the phone. His deep voice kept me calm, he didn't hang up until he was outside my apartment door. He, Bobby, and Lester came rushing into my bedroom, guns drawn. Tank stood in front of me as his hands worked to cut the ropes binding my hands. When I was free, I wrapped my hands around my knees pulling them to my chest.

Bobby knelt on the floor, his eyes level with mine, "Steph, honey, what happened?" He reached out to brush the hair out of my face, I flinched even though I knew he wouldn't hurt me. He winced at the bruise on the side of my face.

"A man broke in, I need to go to the hospital." I watched as the three of them looked at each other, their faces concerned and angry. They knew how much I hated hospitals, knew that if I was asking to go something must be seriously wrong. "He raped me." I whispered it, afraid to admit it, afraid of their reactions. I heard them growl, watched their bodies tense at the news. I could feel their anger but couldn't discern if it was aimed at me or not.

"Please don't be mad at me. I know I should have stayed at Ranger's apartment, if I had this wouldn't have happened." A few tears escaped as I tried to keep my hysteria under control.

Lester knelt down beside Bobby, "Beautiful, we aren't mad at you, this isn't your fault." His green eyes were so sincere, so pained that I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement.

"Did you recognize him Steph? Do you know who did this to you?" Bobby's jaw was clenching but his voice was tender.

"No, it was dark in here but I didn't recognize him. I might if I saw him again, though." I wasn't even sure about that, but I would try to identify my rapist if I could.

Tank had stepped away, I could hear him on the phone calling for the police and ambulance. He came back, leaning over to look at me. Tentatively, he reached out a finger to wipe away my tears. His movements were slow and deliberate; I knew he was trying not to scare me. "The police and ambulance are coming Steph. When you're done at the hospital, we'll take you back to Haywood. Can we pack you a bag?"

I nodded and tried to sit up. I kept the sheet wrapped around my body, Bobby helping me maneuver body upright. "I can help."

"Just stay still, Little Girl, wait for the EMTs." Tank's voice was firm as he pulled clothing out of my drawers and closet stuffing them into a bag. He stopped packing, looking like something just occurred to him. "Why is it so cold in here?"

"I think he came in through the window. I keep it locked but he must have come in that way." I shivered as Tank went to the window to investigate. He pulled the curtain back and found a hole cut into the glass.

Tank ran his hand over his face, "He was able to open your lock by slipping his hand through that hole." Tank's face flashed anger and something else I couldn't quite place before the blank face locked on.

Lester sat next to me, his arm wrapping around my shoulder drawing me into his body. I couldn't stop shivering and tried to get closer to him, wanting to absorb his warmth. Bobby wrapped another blanket around me, "Steph, take deep breaths for me, ok?" I tried to do what he said, knowing that I had to stay calm.

A knock at the door made me jump and whimper. Lester sshed me, "You're safe now, Beautiful. We won't let anyone hurt you." I knew that, of course, when I was with the Merry Men no one had ever hurt me but my nerves were frazzled.

Tank answered the door and returned a minute later with Carl, Big Dog, and two EMTs, thankfully one of them was a woman. I didn't think I could handle a strange man touching me right now. Carl and Big Dog looked pissed and Tank looked even angrier but I couldn't figure out why.

The woman approached me asking if she could look at my wounds. After she examined me briefly, she helped me onto the gurney to take me to the hospital. I sat down and was instantly panicked at the idea of being alone with people I didn't know. "Can one of the guys come with me?"

Bobby stepped forward at my request, "I'm a trained medic, I won't get in your way." The EMTs nodded at Bobby and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Tank and Lester both kissed my forehead and promised to see me at the hospital. They were going to finish packing my bag and talk to the cops before meeting Bobby and I there. Bobby took my hand and held it as the EMTs moved me out of the building and into the back of the ambulance.

The EMTs loaded me; Bobby and the woman sitting with me in the back, the male EMT driving. The woman attended to me a bit but mostly just sat on the other side of me. I looked at Bobby, "How am I going to tell Ranger when he gets home? He's going to be so mad." I could feel tears threatening to spill as I thought about Ranger, I wanted him here with me so very much but I was afraid that this would threaten our very new relationship.

Bobby squeezed my hand, "He is going to be mad but not at you Steph. When he finds outs, he's going to do everything he can to get to you. This wasn't your fault. Steph you know he loves you, this isn't going to change that."

I tried to give him a brave smile but everything about how I was feeling was turned upside down. I couldn't get a handle on my nerves or thoughts. Allowing myself to believe Bobby's words, I thought of Ranger in hopes that I could absorb some of the security and protection I always felt when we he was near.

At the hospital, I was instantly put into a private exam room. Bobby stayed with me holding my hand, wiping away the occasional tear from my cheeks. When the doctor and nurse came in to examine me, they said it was up to me if I wanted Bobby to stay or not. I figured it would be uncomfortable for us both for him to stay, even though I was terrified to be alone.

He kissed my forehead when I said he didn't need to stay. "I'll be right outside the door. Yell if you need anything." He looked in my eyes and obviously saw the fear I was struggling with, "Steph, I promise you're safe. I won't let anyone but the doctor and nurse come in here."

I nodded and squeezed his hand before he walked out of the room. The nurse explained what the exam would entail, patiently dealing with my tears as the doctor pulled up the stirrups. I put my feet in the stirrups and for the second time tonight tried to distract myself from the violation I was enduring. I knew this had to be done, but it was no less humiliating or frightening. I tried to think about Ranger coming home, of him holding me. Those thoughts helped me get through the exam.