Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers, and I am only borrowing them. There are some original characters that are mine, and I claim them as mine.

Spoilers:Anything from books 1-19 might be used, so if you haven't read them all, you might want to wait to read this story.

This is an AU story, with a mix of characters in canon as well.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who review as guest, as well as those of you who don't allow PMs. I love the reviews and want to tell you that I read and appreciate them all. Thank you all. Special thanks to JenRar for coming along as beta on this one. I appreciate all your help. I'd also like to thank Vanessa Loor for translating my English into Spanish. Any mistakes are mine.

A/N: I ask for your patience in allowing me to develop the story. I guarantee the end result will turn out if you can just keep believing.

Chapter 2: Intruders

Stephanie's POV:

I heard Bree cry out and moved to go to her, when all of a sudden, my left arm and ass felt like they were on fire. I moaned at the pain racing through my body. I slowly blinked my eyes opened and wondered where the truck was that had run over me. Vaguely, I remembered our hurried dash to get in the car, and I knew I'd made it into the driver's seat, but that's where my memories left me. Where the hell were we, and where was Bree? I heard Bree's cry again and struggled to stand to go to her. I'd promised Micha I would take care of her whenever he was away, and I had no intention of letting him down now. He had saved my life ten years ago, and I refused to pay him back by letting his little sister get hurt. I finally managed to struggle my way through the maze of rooms to a closed door. I was hoping Bree was on the other side, because the pain was intense and I wasn't sure how much farther I could go.

I opened the door and was relieved to see Bree there on the bed. She was tossing and turning, and I knew she was in the clutches of some dark nightmare that only she could see. I hated what these damn dreams did to her, and I wished there was some way I could protect her from them. Knowing it was futile and there was nothing I could do but to help her deal with the reality, I moved slowly forward till I reached the bed. I knew better than to touch her or sit on the bed. She couldn't always control how she would deal with suddenly being touched while she was having one of these dreams.

I softly called to her. "Bree. Honey, wake up. You're having a dream. Bree! Can you hear me?"

Bree stilled, and after a moment, she turned to face me with her eyes open. Hoping it was now safe, I sat down on the bed. Bree carefully launched herself into my arms and clung as great sobs shook her slight form. I was finally able to calm her, when there was a knock on the door and then the sounds of it opening. My eyes narrowed in anger as I wondered who might be coming in here without waiting to be invited in. My anger only increased when Bree tensed. I heard swearing before it became obvious that whoever was there was closing in on our location. I looked around for a weapon and saw the gun on the nightstand. I grimaced. No matter how much Micha had insisted I learn how to handle the damn things, I hated guns. I had just placed the gun on the bed between Bree and me, when the door opened and a big black man stepped into the room. He wasn't fat or anything—as a matter of fact, there wasn't a spare ounce of fat on this man anywhere.

He stepped closer, and I grasped the gun lying on the bed and lifted it. My hand was rock steady as I aimed at the intruder, and I made sure my face showed nothing.

The man before us stopped dead and raised his hands in the air. "You wanna put that gun down? I'm not here to hurt you. I'm just checking on you to see how you're doing after I took the two bullets out of you."

My eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

"Bobby Brown. I'm the Rangeman medic. We decided it might be too dangerous to move you to the hospital until we had more information."

I glanced at Bree and raised a questioning brow. She gave a slight nod, letting me know he was telling the truth. I lowered the gun but didn't totally put it away. Mr. Brown went to step forward, and the gun went off, making him freeze in his tracks as a bullet whizzed past him and slammed into the wall. My eyes widened as I realized that when he stepped forward, I had tensed and squeezed the trigger, causing the gun to go off. I tossed the gun away from me, and when it hit the floor, it went off again, causing Mr. Brown to jump out of the way as another bullet went flying. My hands were shaky, and I knew my face was pale as I looked at the man in front of me in horror.

Mr. Brown growled and stepped forward threateningly for a moment, and then suddenly, he clenched his hands and seemed to get in control of himself. After using his foot to move the gun out of my reach, he folded his arms across his chest and glared at me. "Are you done trying to kill me, lady?"

I was shaking from the close call, but at his words and tone, I stiffened and glared right back. "I wasn't trying to kill you, asshole! You'd be dead if that were the case."

"Well, lucky for me you're a crappy shot, then."

I wanted to slug him, but the pain was making it difficult to even move, let alone fly at him with the rage I was feeling inside. I slowly stood up and noticed his eyes widen as they took in what little I was wearing. For some reason, it irritated me even more, and I stumbled forward. He reached out a hand to keep me from falling, and even though my brain told me he was just trying to help me, my self-preservation kicked in and my knee rammed into his crotch. He doubled over, groaning in pain from the contact of my knee with his gonads. I backed away quickly, paleing as I listened to him swear. I looked around for an escape to get us out of the situation, when I heard the front door open and a very male voice call out, "Hey, Brown! You in here?"

By now, Bree had scrambled forward and had us both covered with the sheet from her bed as she placed herself between Mr. Brown and me.

His swearing grew slightly louder, and a couple seconds later, another man rushed into the room with his gun drawn and pointed in our direction. He stilled as he took in the scene, and then his face lit with a smile and he put his gun away as he leaned against the doorway with his arms folded across his chest. "What's the matter, Brown? Make the lady an offer that was too easy to turn down?"

Mr. Brown turned to the newcomer and snarled, "Fuck you, Ram."

The man called Ram chuckled. "Come on, Brown. It's not my fault the lady has taste."

There was a growl, and then Mr. Brown went after Ram with his fist cocked. Ram beat a hasty retreat, leaving us alone with a now angry bear of a man. When he turned back to us, I couldn't help the shaking that took over. It was like the scene of my worst nightmare come back to haunt me again. My gaze went to the gun, which was too far away, and just as I was about to do something drastic, his beeper went off. He lifted his pager and sent me a glare before heading out of the room. I didn't relax until I heard the door slam.

I turned to Bree and whispered, "Hurry and get dressed. We have to get out of here before he comes back."

Bree bit her lip before saying, "I don't think he means to hurt us."

I shook my head. "Maybe, but I'm not sticking around to find out."

"We don't have a car anymore."

I turned and noticed the flush on her face and hugged her. "That's okay. I have a few friends I can call from the old days. We'll be just fine."

"What about what Micha said?"

I paused. "He told us to go to Ranger. I just wish I knew where this Ranger was."

"I'm right here, Babe."

I hissed at the sudden dart of pain as I whipped around, not having heard the newcomer enter. His eyes were fixed on me. I stiffened and asked, "Do you always sneak up on people?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I did knock."

I glared. "Yeah, well, we didn't hear you."

He gave a slight nod. "Are you done beating up on my men, Babe, or would you like to go another couple of rounds?"

I stood and put my hands on my hips, paying no attention to the view I was providing. "It's not my fault he came in here with all that aggression and scared us."

The man before me gave a half smile, and my knees weakened. He was drop-dead gorgeous, and I felt the impact of that smile in my lower regions. There was an electrical current racing through me as I stood there staring him down. As I watched, his eyes darkened, and I felt a niggling of fear. After all, he was an unknown. Even though Micha trusted him, I wasn't sure I could just yet.

I pulled myself up to my full five-foot-seven and met his gaze as I asked, "Do you mind giving us a chance to get dressed?"

His gaze slowly made its way over my barely covered body, and when our eyes met, he winked before saying, "Pity to cover such loveliness, but I'll give you ten minutes. I'll wait in the living room."

He stepped forward, and I hurriedly moved closer to the bed and away from him. He lifted the gun on the nightstand and placed it in his waistband. "Wouldn't want to tempt you by leaving this around."

As he left the room, I muttered, "Bastard!" under my breath.

There was a masculine chuckle coming from the other side of the door, and I knew he had heard me.

I hugged Bree and said, "Hurry and get dressed, honey. But stay in here and let me handle this, okay?"

Bree tilted her head and said, "You can trust him."

I grimaced. "Maybe. We'll see. Just remember to stay in here, okay?"

When Bree nodded, I felt a lot better.