Disclaimer: The characters are property of Janet Evanovich and I am not making any money from this story. The story line is mine.

Vanished

By, Elissahara30

I never thought that heav'n would lose its blue
And sullen storm-clouds mask the gentle sky;
I never thought the rose's velvet hue
Would pale and sicken, though we said good-by.
I never dreamed the lark would hush its note
As day succeeded ever-drearier day,
Nor knew the song that swelled the robin's throat
Would fade to silence, when you went away.
I never knew the sun's irradiant beams
Upon the brooding earth no more would shine,
Nor thought that only in my mocking dreams
Would happiness that once I knew be mine.
I never thought the slim moon, mournfully,
Would shroud her pallid self in murky night.
Dear heart, I never thought these things would be-
I never thought they would, and I was right.

– Dorothy Parker

DAY ONE

I have witnessed many things in my life. When I was a boy, I survived an abusive home with a father who drank and whored around. To my wild youth were I had no respect for anyone, and less respect for myself. I went into the Navy I was trying to find some redeemable part of myself. I learned discipline while in the service, and it was that discipline that I relied on when I decided to become a cop.

I walked through the desperation of the poorer neighborhoods. I came to scenes where the violence had been so bad; it was the littlest ones that suffered the most. I dealt with drug dealers and pimps; I worked in finding the lost and standing for the dead. There are times that I see the worst of humanity, and walk through the battle fields of gang territory, that I am glad that I have someone close to me. Someone I can lean on and help drive the despair from me so I can continue to wade through the waste another day. I had once thought that I'd never be in a relationship unless it was purely sexual. That of course was before Stephanie Plum came back into my life.

I had known her since I was eight and I should have known then that Stephanie was not the 'Burg. She was the only girl I managed to talk into going into my father's garage to play Choo Choo. When I had enlisted into the Navy, she was the one I wanted to be my last final hurrah before basic training. I also had to concede she had merit at trying to run me over with her father's car, and I admired her moxy, even if I would never tell to her face.

It was when I was an FTA running from a murder charge that I took a second look at the spunky woman from the 'Burg. I thought she was a joke, and should throw in the towel.

I have since changed my mind. I never intended to fall in love with her, but I did. Being a cop was hard on any relationship especially marriage. I'm a good cop, I take my job seriously. I just needed to take Stephanie as serious and maybe, just maybe we could actually make it to the alter and get married someday.

I had the day from hell, a murder suicide between a two teenagers, to stupid to know what life really was before it was so selfishly ended. I grabbed a bear from the fridge and flipped on the TV, there was a game in ESPN that I wanted to catch. I sat on the couch and Bob flopped on the floor beside. I briefly wondered if Steph was free, maybe I should go over later, bring her Pinos.

My pager went off on my belt, "Shit." I did not want to deal with another crime scene today.

I grabbed my cell and dialed dispatch, "Morelli," I barked into the phone. On the floor by my feet Bob was making odd whining noises. I patted his head absently.

"Joe, this is Lindsy, there is a situation at Stephanie's apartment. Eddie asked me to contact you; you need to come right away."

"On my way," I stood up; I left the TV on thinking it would keep Bob busy until I got back. As I headed out to my SUV, I wondered what trouble Steph had gotten into this time, and why the strange call from dispatch. Normally I got the call, "Guess what Stephanie did this time."

As I pulled into the lot, I felt an odd sense of foreboding. It started in my stomach like all the stress that Stephanie usually causes me. I got out my vehicle and headed into the building. The sensation of unease crept down my spine, and increased as I walked up the stairs. My pent up nerves couldn't be contained in the elevator. I would be a wreck by the time I got out.

I waited on the second floor landing, centering myself to meet what ever was ahead of me, and I opened the door and was immediately struck by the solemn silence and for once, one of my greatest fears was chilling me to the bone. I pushed it all to the side, and continued on.

I came closer to Steph's apartment door and Eddie Gazarra was waiting for me, he stepped forward, "Joe, I'm glad you made it." I have known Eddie for many years, and I knew he was one of Stephanie's close friends. Eddie was normally unflappable and could always find the humor in Stephanie's predicament, he wasn't smiling today.

"What's the situation?" I had to separate myself or I would not handle what I feared was on the other side of that door.

"I got a call around 8:00 PM from," Eddie looked at his notebook, "Mr. Wolensky. He stated that he heard screaming coming from Stephanie's apartment and called right away. When he came out into the hall didn't see anything suspicious but Stephanie's door was wide open."

I put on my gloves and followed Eddie into the apartment, and I froze. The room was literally covered in photos. Each and everyone were of Stephanie. They were plastered to the wall; some covered in what I suspected and feared was blood. I walked further in, all the pictures were different. Some where of her and her family, others of her working catching skips or sitting at Vinnie's Bonds office. There were photos of her shopping, driving, and kissing me. Photos of her at my house, at her parent's and many of her and Ranger. They were a progression of all the years of her working as a Bounty Hunter for her cousin Vinnie.

Eddie silently led me to the bedroom and I stopped short, inside the room was covered in dark sticky blood, and I sent a silent prayer to God that none of it belonged to Stephanie. I saw no body; put in a circle of white that mocked the dark red was a single photograph and another item I couldn't identify from this distance. I slowly walked forward mindful of the crime scene and wary of what this could mean overall. In the white circle was a face shot of Stephanie's blissfully smiling face. She looked like she was asleep. God I hoped that was the reason. Then I looked at the item next to the photo. It was a pregnancy test, and under the test was a note.

The note read:

Congratulations – you're going to be a daddy!

A/N: I put this together while I was working on Chapter Nine for my "To Have Lost" story. Let me know what you think.