JE's characters, I deserve no credit for what I've done to them.

Jenn (perfectmanhattan) here we go again! Thank you for signing on as the beta for yet another story.

Chapter 1 – Why I'm Not a Morning Person

I was having the best dream. I was at Point Pleasant, sitting in the sand with a piece of pineapple upside down cake which was being fed to me by Ranger. For once he wasn't telling me how this stuff would kill me. Instead, he was patiently gathering the perfect size bite of cake and offering it to me. After I would finish chewing he would ask if I wanted more and I would nod and then moan through the next bite. The dream was perfect because it was just Ranger and I together with no interruptions and no matter how much I ate, the cake didn't seem to be getting any smaller.

Just as my dream version of Ranger reached out to push the hair away from my face that the wind had blown around I heard someone else trying to interfere in our private picnic. I couldn't see anybody, but they were calling my name and telling me I had to get up. I tried to ignore them and focus on Ranger instead but he began to disappear. I was furious so I blindly threw my arm in the direction of the person calling my name and heard a grunt of pain as though I'd really hurt someone.

That's when I realized there were hands touching me and multiple voices. As my mind began to piece together that it really was a dream, it hit me that people were in my bedroom and I jerked up in bed hitting my head against someone else's hard enough to see stars. I fell back onto my pillow realizing if the people were in my bedroom to hurt me, they could give it their best shot. Nothing was going to top that head butt in inflicting pain on me.

I rubbed my head and realized the voices had turned to laughter which encouraged me to open my eyes and look around. Tank was standing at the foot of my bed with a small grin on his face, Bobby was doubled over laughing near the door, and Lester was on the floor right beside me with an arm over his stomach and a hand on his head. At least I'd solved the mystery of who I'd hit earlier.

I glanced over at my clock and saw that it was 5:30. Because a quick look out of the window next to my bed showed it was still dark outside my temper began to boil and I pulled the sheets up to cover myself a little and asked, "What are you guys doing here, scaring the fire out of me at 5:30 in the morning?"

"We were trying to wake you up Beautiful," Lester began explaining while backing up slightly. "But you were having one hell of a dream and you didn't seem to want to come back to reality."

I began to blush at the thought of what I had been dreaming about which only served to encourage Les to ask, "Any chance you would tell us what you were dreaming about? From the sound of it, you were having one hell of a good time."

His words hooked my anger again and pointed to the door of my bedroom and said, "If someone isn't dead, or dying then I want the three of you out of my bedroom right now!"

As soon as the command left my lips all three guys looked down and shuffled slightly. They weren't making any moves to leave which nearly made my heart stop beating. I forgot all about my own modesty, jumped up from bed and asked, "Oh my God, who is it? Who's hurt?"

The guys looked at me with their blank faces which only made me panic further. I stumbled back and assumed the worst, "Is it… Ranger?" I could barely make my mouth say what my heart most feared. "Is he…"

Bobby came to me as soon as he realized what I was asked. "No, Steph, he isn't dead, but he is very sick."

My knees began to feel mushy so I sat down hard on the bed behind me and bounced slightly when I hit the mattress. I took a deep breath, relieved that it made the little white spots disappear from my field of vision and then looked up to Bobby and asked, "How sick?"

"I haven't seen him; we think he'll be in Trenton in the next two hours that's why we needed to talk to you." Bobby explained kneeling on the floor in front of me.

Getting frustrated with the lack of information I said, "Just tell me already."

Bobby took my small hands in his large dark ones and spoke looking at my fingers. "You know he's been on a mission for the last couple of months."

I did know that much. The morning of Labor Day he broke into my apartment and sat in the chair in the corner of my room watching me sleep. I knew he was there, like I always did, but I stayed still and tried to keep my breathing even as though I were asleep. After what felt like hours, I felt my bed move and the mattress dipped meaning Ranger was sitting beside me. He rarely did that, so I knew something was wrong.

"I'm leaving Babe," he said quietly running his hand through my tangled mess of curls.

"When will you be back?" I asked.

He shrugged, "I hope to be home for Thanksgiving."

"When do you have to leave?" I asked moving closer to him.

I saw a brief grimace when he checked his watch before telling me, "Ten minutes. I just stopped by to let you know to call Tank if you need anything."

I don't know what made me do it, but he seemed even more serious than normal, so I flung my arms around him and hugged him tightly to me. His arms held to me just as tightly as though he were reluctant to let me go. We stayed that way for a few minutes until I broke the silence, "Promise you'll be careful."

"Always," He said before placing his lips on my hair and taking a deep breath. "Promise me that you'll stay in touch with Tank while I'm gone. I sometimes get to call into RangeMan for a few minutes when I'm gone and I'd like to know that you're alright. The government restricts who I can call on a mission so I can't check in with you directly."

Wow, Batman was volunteering information. "I'll stop by every so often." I told him and then tried to lighten the mood, "Besides, when you're gone Ella bakes more so I might be able to talk her into fixing me one of her chocolate cakes."

"You never disappoint, Babe," he said before releasing me and standing up. His face looked like he wanted to say something else, but was holding back for some reason.

"What?" I asked hoping he would just blurt out whatever he was thinking. I should have known better, blurting isn't exactly Ranger's style.

He shook his head and touched my cheek with the tip of his index finger running it down to my jaw. "I have to go."

And with that he walked out of my room leaving me with a tear running down my face tracing the path his finger had just traveled when I heard the door shut behind him. I plopped back down on my bed confused about why his leaving this time seemed to be affecting me so strongly. He'd gone in the wind plenty of times before but I couldn't help but think this time he'd left something unsaid and it unsettled me.

I was lost in my memory of his leaving until Bobby squeezed my hands in his. "He's been in a jungle, but I can't tell you where. His mission was successful, but after he finished he had to wait a few days for his extraction to happen and in that time he came down with a virus that has made him very sick. He missed the extraction and Uncle Sam doesn't give second chances so they left him there. We had some contacts in the region and sent them over to pick him up and Woody and Cal are brining him back to Trenton right now."

I relaxed slightly knowing he would be home soon. Then my mind realized there had to be a reason they were telling me all this. I would have thought they would wait for him to get back to RangeMan and then let me know how he was. Before I could ask, Bobby continued, "This virus is something we know about, and there is a vaccine for it. Usually before Ranger leaves I verify he has all his medical updates for the region he is traveling to, and if he doesn't know the location yet, then an Army doctor does it. This time, his location shifted mid-mission which left him exposed to this virus."

"What about Woody and Cal?" I asked pulling one of my hands out of his grip and setting it on top of the pile.

"I knew where they were going so they had their vaccination ahead of time. There is no guarantee they won't get sick, but if they do it should be with a much weaker set of symptoms." Bobby clarified.

I was still confused about why they were telling me all of this. "Okay, so why are you guys here in the middle of the night to tell me Ranger is coming home, but he's sick. I assume he'll be coming to Haywood and you'll be taking care of him, right?"

Bobby's grip tightened on my hands slightly which increased my anxiety once more. "He can't come back to Haywood yet, we need a place where he can be comfortable and close by, but away from the staff and out of the general population until he is stronger."

"Why can't he go to his apartment on seven?" I pushed still unsure what they were trying to tell me.

This time Tank spoke up, "Bomber, he isn't even supposed to be in the country. Until we update his status with the government, he has to stay hidden. On top of that, his mission was classified and the virus he has is typically contracted in only two places in the world. If anyone gets the knowledge that he is back, and that his whereabouts can be confirmed it puts him in violation of his contract with the government and he can be looking at charges of treason for leaking classified information."

I shivered when Tank said the last part. It seemed horrible that the government left him there after he gave of himself to finish whatever next to impossible mission they have dropped in his lap. Now, because he is sick they don't want to admit to any knowledge of his being alive and if his illness gets out they would punish him for finding a way to get home. My anger was coming back in full force. It was an easier emotion for me to handle than worry so I allowed it to build.

"What can I do to help? I'm assuming you came here because there was something for me to do?" I said with determination evident in my voice.

Lester smiled from the doorway. "I knew we could count on you, Beautiful."

Bobby picked up, "Steph, we need someone that we can trust, and more importantly, that Ranger trusts, to stay with him while he recovers from the worst of the virus. I can give you the vaccination which might offer you some protection, but you won't have the full twenty-four period for your body to build up immunity so you may still get sick from the prolonged exposure to Ranger."

I nodded that I understood. As far as I was concerned, that wasn't worth worrying about. Ranger had put himself in plenty of dangerous situations to protect me; this was a small way I could return the favor. "Of course I'll do it, you shouldn't even have to ask," I told them.

Bobby pressed on, "You need to understand what you're agreeing to. Not only could you get sick, but he is going to be really out it. His fever is spiking and he needs around the clock monitoring to keep him from suffering permanent damage if his fever goes too high too quick. He may be suffering from delusions or hallucinations as well. You'll need to keep him hydrated and as comfortable as possible for the next few days while it runs its course."

I swallowed hard, unsure if I could do all of that. "You'll be here with me right?" I asked Bobby.

"I wish I could be," He began before dropping his head. "But Gina is pregnant and she's due in a few weeks, I can't risk being exposed and bringing it home to her or the baby. Not to mention, if I come down with it I could miss the birth."

I could see the internal struggle going on within him. He had to choose between his boss who was as close to him as a brother, and his girlfriend and unborn baby. It was an impossible decision if something went wrong with either one.

I moved my free hand to the side of his face and assured him, "I understand. If you tell me what to do I'll watch over Ranger. I can call you if I have any questions, right?" Bobby gave me a weak smile and promised he'd take my call at any hour.

The guys brought in some equipment and supplies to help me and Tank said Woody or Cal would check in each morning until Ranger was better to see if I needed anything. Since they'd already been exposed, they were the only two that could risk coming by if I needed to have any supplies dropped off. I noticed the food fairy had obviously visited while I was sleeping because there was enough food here that my cabinets couldn't hold it all.

Bobby pulled out a folder with directions, suggestions and hints and Tank gave me a letter for Ranger that he'd hand written to insure there was not an electronic trail of the information. Tank said it contained a summary of all their provisions to get him out and safely hidden at my apartment. It was attached to a new cell phone that I had not seen. They said it was untraceable and Ranger could use it to contact Tank according to directions that were included in his letter.

Before they left they reminded me that I had to keep Ranger in this apartment until his fever had been completely gone for at least twenty-four hours. They gave me this instruction with great uncertainty as though they feared he would try to get back to Haywood as soon as he began to get a little better. Bobby then opened his medic bag and pulled out a needle. I swallowed hard and sat down on the couch so that he could give me at least a little protection against whatever virus it was that Ranger had.

Tank's cell phone beeped with an incoming text and he looked down briefly before coming to stand right in front of me. "Bomber, you can do this. He needs you right now, and you were the only person that we knew he trusted enough to ask. If it gets to be too much, call me and we'll try to figure something else out."

I looked him in the eye and told him, "I'll take care of him. Don't worry, it may be hard, but I won't let him down." The relief was evident in his expression, and he could see the sincerity on my face.

"They'll be here in five minutes. They will bring him in and get him settled on your bed, and then they will leave, locking the door behind them. You can't open that door to anyone but them until Ranger is through this." Tank reminded me before they gathered up their things to leave.

Each of the guys hugged me before they walked out. Just before they walked down the hall to the stairs Lester turned back and came to me at the door. "Beautiful, he may not be in his right mind because of the pain and the fever, so no matter what he says, you need to remember that he needs you. Even if he won't admit it, he wants you too."

I felt some tears stinging at the back of my eyes but I blinked them away. Les reached out for my hand and squeezed it. "And if you end up coming down with it too, don't worry. We'll take care of you." I wasn't sure if that was meant as a threat or a promise, but the lack of a smile on his face right now told me I didn't need to worry either way.

The guys disappeared down the stairs and I looked around my now empty apartment. It looked like I was going to be stuck here for at least a few days. Thank goodness I'd just done laundry and changed my sheets. The guys had left several boxes of supplies covering every possible need they thought could come up. When I looked in the top of one box they had brought over three extra sets of sheets. I unwrapped one just enough to feel the wonderful thread count and wondered if I should put these on now so that Ranger might be a little more comfortable.

Just as I was about to strip my bed, there was a knock at my front door. I opened it quickly and saw Cal and Woody carrying an unconscious Ranger. My heart dropped to my stomach as I stepped out of the way to let them walk past me to lay Ranger in my bed.

They came back out a few minutes later clearly relieved to have gotten him home. "Can I get you guys anything, something to drink, a snack of some sort?" I offered.

They shook their heads and looked at each other sheepishly. "What?" I asked worried what they weren't telling me.

Woody began in standard RangeMan style giving me a progress report. "We gave him some Advil at 0400 for his fever, it was at 104 degrees then and it took over an hour to begin to come down. You can tell when it's spiking because he gets agitated all of a sudden even when he's sleeping. If you think he's getting too worked up, check his temperature and give him some more. But you can only give it to him every four hours, so if it begins to spike again before 0800 you'll need to use other measures to bring it down."

What other measures was I supposed to use, I wondered.

Cal picked up my unease and offered, "You can pull the covers back and take off any excess clothing. You can try sponging him off with cool water, or even cold wet towels applied directly on his body would help."

I nodded hoping this was the kind of information Bobby had included in the folder on my table.

"But you need to get on it right away because if he gets too agitated you might have trouble holding him down. He's weak so his muscles aren't going to let him jump up and start running, but weak for him is still stronger than the average man so he could hit you or knock you over without intending to if you let his fever get too high." Cal warned.

Woody picked up his report and added, "He last ate around 1700 hours, so he needs to drink something as soon as he begins to come around."

"Umm, guys," I started when they got a look as though they were leaving. "Why am I the one taking care of Ranger if you two obviously know what you're doing?"

"Because his extraction wasn't authorized and we need to burry any culpability of RangeMan. It's important for all the regular staff to be seen as much as possible to eliminate the possibility of anyone figuring out that we were the ones that got him out of there." Woody explained.

Then Cal said the thing that cemented me to my post by Ranger's side. "Plus he's been asking for you on and off since we picked him up."

I walked them to the door and Cal caught my hand and said, "If you need us, just call. We can come in and relieve you for a bit, or bring you anything you need. We'll call to check in with you every day, but if you need us before then, don't hesitate to call us."

I thanked him and began to shut the door taking one last look before I sealed myself in for however long Ranger needed me.

I decided to check on him and see how the guys left him. Ranger was on the bed under my comforter lying on his back. His boots were on the floor at my closet and on the nightstand was a bottle with a lid that looked like they thought I would somehow use that to help him go to the bathroom.

There was a thin layer of perspiration on his brow which was the only evidence of his illness. I brushed a little piece of hair off his forehead and marveled at how fragile he looked unconscious in my bed. He'd told me before that he was just a man, and right now I could be believe it. He was just a man with a virus that could serious hurt him if I failed to take care of him the right way.

Feeling very unqualified to take care of him all of a sudden I walked into the kitchen and grabbed the folder of directions Bobby left and set about to read exactly what I had agreed to do.

According to the printouts he had highlighted this virus began with rapid onset muscle weakness and dizziness followed by loss of appetite and nausea and then once the body began to weaken the fever would set in. Twenty-five percent of the people who contracted the virus died, but Bobby wrote above that fact that these people did live in a jungle and had no fever reducing medication available to them. Of those that survived, over fifty percent had permanent damage either in muscle function or permanent vertigo problems.

I shivered at the thought of Ranger suffering either of those side effects. His effectiveness on the street was due to his physical strength. If he didn't make it through this unscathed, then his ability to run RangeMan would be permanently diminished.

I felt like I'd read enough about the illness itself. I heard Ranger moaning slightly so I brought the folder in the bedroom with me to continue reading. He was perfectly still, but he seemed to be mumbling unintelligible things with every few exhales. I touched his forehead and it still felt warm, but it was no hotter than when I first checked on him.

I didn't want to be too far away so I sat in the chair in the corner of my room where he so often stayed to keep his vigil over me when I was sleeping. I read all the suggestions for keeping his fever under control as well as how to get him to eat or drink when he was awake between spikes in temperature. It seemed what worked best depended upon the patient which left me at a loss because my real knowledge of Ranger was somewhat limited. We were friends, and as far as people I trusted, he was at the top of the list, but I knew very little about him personally. It looked like I was going to have to wing it.

No sooner had I thought that, than Ranger began to get noticeably louder. I noticed he was fighting at the cover too and remembered Woody and Cal's warning that Ranger would get agitated when his fever began to spike. I put the back of my fingers against his forehead and realized he was burning up. I had been so engrossed in reading, that I'd not been paying attention and let his temperature rise. I glanced at the clock and saw we still had an hour before he could have any more medication so I pulled the comforter back to let the cool air get to him.

Unfortunately, this seemed to upset him more and he began to flail around as though he was trying to find an enemy that was hidden to him. I called out to him, "Ranger, it's Stephanie, you're here in my apartment. Everything is okay."

My words confused him further. "Babe?" I heard him clearly ask.

"Yes, Ranger, that's right. It's me." I told him moving close to sit on the edge of the bed beside him.

I thought I had gotten through to him so I reached out and touched his face again. It was even warmer this time so I looked around to see if the guys left anything to sponge him off with. Just before I stood up to get something from my bathroom his mind must have decided someone was trying to trick him and I heard a growl come from his chest just before his hand made contact with the side of my face. I fell off the bed more from the unexpected attack than the force of it.

Putting my hand to the side of my cheek I knew it would be bruising soon but I had to find a way to get his fever under control before he got any worse. I ran into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth and allowed some cool water to pour into the basin the guys must have left in the tub.

Walking quickly, I splashed some water on the floor, but didn't waste the time to clean it up right now. Ranger was still mumbling when I got back to the bedroom and began trying to talk to him.

"Ranger, it's Stephanie. I'm here to help you." As I spoke I rubbed his skin with the cool water.

"Babe?" He asked again.

"Don't worry, you're safe right now with me," I decided I might should just try reassuring him instead of trying to tell him he was in Trenton. If he was dreaming about being in the jungle he might get even more confused.

"Am I dead?" He asked causing me to smile as I continued to rub his skin with the cool washcloth, moving his shirt up to get access to his stomach and chest.

"No, Ranger you're not dead, but you are very sick," I told him.

"Are you an angel?" He pressed trying to figure out how I could be taking care of him.

"No, I'm not an angel," I corrected him, "I'm just your friend."

He grew quiet and I thought I could tell a difference in how warm his skin was. I assumed he had fallen asleep so it surprised me when he spoke again. "Babe?"

I rang out the wash cloth once more before answering him, "Yes."

"Are you real?" He asked with his speech much clearer than it had been.

"I'm real," I promised him.

"Will you stay with me?" He asked sounding so fragile.

"As long as you need me," I replied honestly.

"Babe?" He asked once more.

"What is it, Ranger?" I responded.

"Will you lay with me?" I was feeling tired from my early morning wake up call from the guys and seeing his abs and chest exposed from my wiping them down earlier made his invitation very hard to resist.

I climbed in the bed next to him and sighed when he reached for me and drew me closer to him. I put my head on his shoulder and relaxed against his body. I could feel the tension leaving his body as sleep claimed him as well. I figured we probably had a little time before the next onset of a fever spike so I gave in and shut my eyes as well.

I had agreed to watch over him because it was a small thing I could do to care for him after all he had done to take care of me through the years, but being able to lay with him while he was so vulnerable seemed like I was getting paid more than I deserved for my effort.