Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to Janet Evanovich and are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.

Memories
From TT's Miscellany

1. Waking Up

Ow. Ow. Ow. OW!

My head didn't just hurt, it was killing me. Generally, I thought my head would feel better if it detached itself from my body. As consciousness continued to make its rather painful presence known; a sharp throbbing drew my focus and attention.

My name is Stephanie Plum. I'm a nineteen-year-old college student home on summer break. I have no idea what happened, but I suspect I hit my head.

I suppose I should open my eyes and see where I am and who's with me.

Very slowly I cracked open my eyes and saw a figure beside me. I was easily able to identify a nurse who was checking something or other beside me.

After blinking a few times I was able to make out her face. If I didn't know better I'd say it was my friend Susie, but Susie had just finished her first year in nursing school and was a month younger than me. This woman was way older, like thirty or something.

"Susie?" I croaked out softly. That effort not only created a new wave of pain in my head and a dry cough.

"Here, Steph," she replied brightly, holding a cup up to my mouth. "Small sips."

I took a few sips until my mouth no longer felt like the Sahara and I thought I could talk again. "What happened?" I asked.

"Well, you fell and hit your head," she replied simply, returning the cup to the hospital tray nearby.

"Why are you here?" I asked, puzzled. When she stared at me, I decided to clarify. "You just finished your first year of nursing school. Are you a candy striper here? Don't you have to wear one of those shirts?" I watched her eyes go wide and her mouth drop open. Something really weird was going on here.

Eventually, she managed to get her jaw under control and cautiously asked, "Steph? How old are you?"

I started to roll my eyes, but it hurt too much. "A month older than you," I retorted instead. "We're both nineteen." I decided to be tactful and not mention that she looked older in this light.

"Oh, boy," she said softly. "Um... Steph..."

It was obvious there was something she didn't want to tell me and the sick feeling that began in my stomach wasn't from the throbbing in my head. I just stared at her as she seemed to hold some sort of internal debate.

"Stay here," she advised. "I'm going to go get your doctor." With that said, she hurried out of the room.

Glancing around my room, I saw a small closet off to the side of the bed. Very, very slowly and very carefully, I pushed myself out of the bed and to my feet.

It took me quite a bit longer than normal, but I was able to reach the closet without mishap and opened it. Inside were some unfamiliar clothes and a strange purse. Somehow I knew both were mine, but I also knew I'd never seen them before.

Taking the purse with me, I made my way back to my bed and sat in it, placing the purse next to me.

With a lot of care I managed to lay back down on the bed and then use the controls to move myself into a sitting position.

Once settled, I dragged the bag over to me and opened it. Inside I found a number of familiar and unfamiliar items.

The first thing I pulled out was a set of handcuffs. Oh, boy. I'm not sure I really want to know what I was doing with those. Setting them aside, I took another look into the bag.

The next thing I found was my wallet. This was something I could use.

Opening the wallet, I saw my driver's license straight off. And boy did I look older - good, but older. Glancing at the expiration date, I could feel my eyes get wider. If this was right I was almost thirty!

Other pieces of information began filtering through. My name was still Stephanie Plum, so, obviously I'd never been married. A part of me felt really disappointed by that, but then an odd image of a man and woman going at it on a dining room table popped into my head. Gross!

Thankfully the image faded as quickly as it had come.

Moving on I found a few charge cards and some business cards.

I pulled out one of the business cards and read it. It said "Vincent Plum Bail Bonds" Vincent... Vinnie? My sleazy, creepy cousin Vinnie owned a bail bonds company? Weird.

Glancing further down the card, I saw my own name and underneath, my job title: Fugitive Retrieval Agent. Fugitive Retrieval Agent? Isn't that a... "Bounty Hunter?" I whispered in shock. It took a few seconds for that to sink in. "I'm a Bounty Hunter?!" I said more loudly, still stunned by the revelation. Guess that explains the handcuffs.

Just as I was beginning to absorb what I'd learned, the door to my room opened. The man that walked in sure wasn't a doctor. He was tall, dressed in black, and was totally hot, for an older guy. Although, according to my driver's license, we were probably about the same age. I just watched and tried not to drool as he smiled and walked over to my bed.

"Babe," he said softly, reaching out to brush a hair out of my face.

I looked into his gorgeous eyes and had one burning question I needed answered. "Who are you?"

Before he could answer, the door opened again and a much older looking Joe Morelli walked into the room. He wasn't limping, so I guess his leg healed up fine from when I hit him with the Buick last year... er... ten or so years ago.

I was just about to open my mouth and ask, heaven only knows what, when the door opened again and a woman in a doctor's coat walked in followed by Susie.

Seeing the two men standing by my bed and, I'm sure, reading the confusion on my face, the doctor looked sternly at both men and commanded, "Gentlemen, leave. I need to speak to and check over my patient."

It didn't take a mind reader to see Joe and the other man were not pleased, but they did reluctantly leave.

Relaxing against my pillows, I felt my eyes begin to close against the bright light of the room. Odd that it hadn't seemed that bright a few minutes ago.

"Stephanie," the doctor said. "I'm Doctor Perkins. I've been treating you."

"Hey," I replied. That's me, a master conversationalist.

"How does your head feel today?" she asked, pulling out a small light and flashing it in my eyes. When my only response was a groan of pain as the penlight flickered in my eyes, she 'hmmm'-ed in a thoughtful way. "Thought as much," she said. She continued on in a businesslike manner before finally stopping the torture. "I'm going to give you something for the pain, but it won't completely take it away. A temporary loss of memory is not unusual in cases like yours, but it could take a few days to a few weeks to come back. Some bits may never come back, but only time will tell that. We'll have to do some more test once you're feeling a bit better to make sure there's nothing else wrong."

My eyes were barely squinting open by this point and all I wanted to do was sleep. "OK," I agreed softly.

Nodding at me, she made some notes on my chart and handed it to Susie. "I'll be back to check on you in a while," she assured before leaving.

"Who were those men in here before?" Stephanie asked quietly as Susie went about her business.

"Joe Morelli and Ranger Manoso," she said.

"I know Joe," Stephanie said, bitterness leaking through. "But who's Ranger?"

Susie blew out a deep breath. "That is something you should probably find out for yourself, Steph," she advised. "I'm going to run and get your painkiller. Do you want me to have them come back in?"

Thinking about it, it only took me a few minutes to decide. "No, I just want to sleep right now," I replied.

"Alright," Susie agreed. "I'll tell them." And with that said, she left the room.

I let out a sigh and closed my eyes. I could feel sleep pulling me down and just barely remained conscious long enough to take the pills Susie brought back.

"Never let it be said my life is boring," I muttered to the empty room as I slipped into the land of nod.

Author's Note: I'm not sure where this story is going yet, if it's going anywhere, but the idea would not leave me alone and I thought I'd offer it up to see if anyone thought it worth pursuing. -- TT