I want to first say the reception this story has received has blown me away! I love that you all are excited the journey has begun and it is my deepest hope that you all continue to enjoy the story as it unfolds!

I do have some very important people to thank. One Margaret, you have always been my biggest fan, from the very beginning. You took me in under your wing and supported my story, supported my crazy ideas, and even batted around ideas with me when I felt stuck. I can't tell you enough how much that meant to me as a new author (yeah I am giving myself a lot of leeway in that title) here on fanfiction. In addition to that your friendship has meant the world to me. Barbara and Karrie you both are great friends ones I am so glad to say I have met because of fanfiction. My life is richer because of you two. My beta, Angela, this wouldn't be what it is without you. Your edits, ideas, and suggestions have been wonderful! I know I am hopeless when it comes to grammar, your patience is much appreciated! Finally my fans who have sent me private messages, left reviews you make my day!

Let me take a moment just to say that my thoughts and prayers are with all Bostonians. I am sorry for the victims and their families for the attacks at the marathon and the other attacks that have taken place across a wonderful city. There are really no words for sorry seems so inadequate.

Chapter 4

BPOV

I glanced over, for the millionth time it seems, to see Ranger standing in the room. He shouldn't be here, it wasn't allowed, but there was no one in the hospital willing to tell him that. The look on his face had everyone steering clear of him. I saw past the menacing look, seeing the total devastation within him made me wince.

I had been with him for several years and I can say I had never seen him the way he was today. Deadly wouldn't describe the look; I am not sure there is a description. I knew his heart was breaking with every second we worked on her. We were trying to get her stable enough to take her to the operating room, but nothing was coming easy. She had lost a lot of blood.

We still weren't sure the extent of all of her injuries. The only thing we knew for sure at this point was that she took a bullet to the top of her chest close to her collarbone. In fact, it was pretty safe to say that her collarbone was shattered from the impact of the bullet.

We were digging out pieces of her iPOD we had just given her. It had taken the bullet and, if she survived this, then it could be the single reason why she lived to talk about it. It just might have saved her life, but that didn't make me feel better. A machine was now breathing for her and her heart was barely beating on its own, but it was at least beating. After several attempts, we were able to shock it back to beating. Though it was beating, it was clear it wasn't beating normally.

We all knew she could go into cardiac arrest at any moment.

We wouldn't know the exact cause until we could get in and look at it, but it was either because she didn't have enough blood in her system, or somehow her heart had been damaged with the impact of the bullet. We knew one of her lungs was damaged, but we didn't know to what extent. We were working as quickly as possible to prepare her for the surgery she would need to save her.

I wasn't a doctor, but I continued working alongside them and none of them bothered to tell me to leave her. Maybe it was on my face, they knew they would never be able to remove me, but they just continued to work without protesting my assistance. Most of the doctors knew me from prior visits, and they knew when it came to trauma, I had more experience than any of them standing in the Emergency Room. I had worked under less than ideal conditions and I had dealt with just as of a critical injury and even more so. This is not to say that having your heart stop and being unable to breathe on your own isn't a critical injury because it is; I had just seen worse.

"Okay, let's move her," I heard one of the nameless, faceless doctors say and I couldn't help but think it was about fucking time. I heard the door open and I felt the bed move, but I continued my work trying to keep her from continue to bleed out. She had already lost a massive amount of blood she didn't need to lose anymore. We would be giving her a transfusion as it was.

I felt the bed bounce off of the wall and before I had a chance to move, Ranger had jumped into action. I wasn't able to contain him and help her so I had to just walk past as the man who I assumed was responsible was being suspended from the ground by this throat.

"Ranger, you don't want to do that," I said looking behind me, knowing full well he did want to do it. He wanted to kill him and he was barely holding back. We kept moving down the hall as I kept looking for him to appear through the door. I wasn't sure what had transpired, but before we turned the corner I saw him emerge from the room tracking us down. I hoped he hadn't killed the guy, but I didn't have time to turn back and check.

I figured he wouldn't allow her to get too far away from him but I also wasn't going to halt our progress to the operating room to wait on him. Time was of the essence and I already feared we had taken too much time trying to stabilize her, even though I knew it was necessary.

"Ranger, you won't be allowed in the operating room," I told him when he caught up to us. I wanted to prepare him for what was to come. He didn't respond and I didn't take that as a good sign but I continued. "You can fight us all, if you want, you can keep us from getting her in there, but she needs to be in there. Fuck, she needed to be in there when this fucking happened. She has already lost valuable time, time I'm not sure we had to lose, so for her sake, please don't take any more," I told him, hoping that I was getting through to him how important it was for him to do what I asked without fighting me.

"The rooms are small and we already have a team that will be working on her. I will scrub up and be in there with her. I promise you I will take care of her. I will make sure things are done right, trust me," I begged without getting any response from him. I quickly looked up just to verify that he had in fact heard me, that he understood what I was saying.

The look in his eyes had me breaking out in a cold sweet, haunting me, but they told me that he had heard every word and understood what I was trying to prepare him for along with my pleading and begging to let us do our job. It was very likely she wouldn't make it.

We started to push her through the double doors and I once again felt the need to speak up. "Ranger, this is as far as they will allow you," I explained as the operating room staff gathered around to help further prepare her for surgery.

Ranger grabbed my arm and I paused for a moment to look at him. I saw the loss in his eyes; I saw fear which took my breath for a moment. I am not sure I have ever looked at him and seen fear. I am not stupid enough to believe that he has never been afraid, but he damn sure had never shown it before. I could see the beginnings of a broken man. This was something I knew that we would all be, if we lost her.

'Man, bring her back to me,' I heard in my head, though his lips never moved. My eyes locked on his, widening slightly, acknowledging the unspoken request as it broke my heart. The force of his thoughts caused a lump to form in my throat that I had to swallow hard to clear, before I was able to respond.

"I plan on bringing her back to all of us," I said aloud, answering his unspoken words, turning to push her into the operating room. I wanted to give Tank or someone the heads up, that Ranger was left waiting in the hallway but there wasn't time. I knew he wouldn't leave until we came out, but I also wasn't sure of what condition I had left him in. He was on the edge of losing control.

The fact that he hadn't spoken since seeing her spoke volumes. Ranger was a dangerous man, no one argued with that. He also wasn't a man who felt the need to speak often, however a totally silent Ranger was a man who made the hairs on the back of your neck raise. You felt the power radiate off of him in such a way that told everyone around him he was to be avoided, you knew he was dangerous. He was alpha among the men and no one was brave enough or crazy enough to challenge him. In the simplest of form, a silent Ranger was an extremely lethal Ranger.

I could see the bands of his control breaking with every second. I knew the beast within was trying to break free to claim his revenge. I knew the man within was wrestling with the beast to keep control but I knew that if we lost her, the battle would be over and the beast would burst forth and I wasn't sure what that meant for the hospital at large.

It was something I couldn't control, or get lost in the thoughts of 'what if'. I needed to focus on something else that I couldn't control, but could hopefully offer my help to save.

The nurses worked fast prepping her for surgery, while I along with the surgeons washed up and dressed in scrubs and gowns covering any body part that could introduce germs or bacteria within the sterile environment. I know I had looked at the clock enough to watch every minute pass, but time wasn't on our side. Even as stable as she was, every minute we lost was a precious moment that could mean the difference between saving her life and losing it.

I walked into the room; the cold was the first thing that registered, the second, is the sight of Steph lying on the table. A sheet was placed over her body, leaving exposed her injured chest, heart and shoulder. I saw the bullet hole but I knew there had been more damage than that small hole would indicate. There was a good chance her lung was damaged, but I feared that somehow her heart was also affected as it had stopped beating on the scene.

Her blood loss was substantial, to the point of requiring a transfusion, for which I quickly assessed who among the Rangeman group could be donors. Her blood type was O negative, not the easiest to find, but we had members. The good thing about them being donors was that I didn't need to wait for the blood to be tested. I knew the status of every Rangeman.

I wanted to bark orders at the scrub-dressed men and women, but they weren't people I had any authority over, so I struggled to refrain. I needed Zip, Vince, Slyder and Spade. I knew Spade was a few hours away even with the Rangeman jets. Spade was one of the leaders in the Las Vegas office. He would come if called and he would give blood if needed. He wouldn't have to meet Stephanie to donate his blood for her, for that I was thankful. I looked around the room to see who could get my message out.

"I have donors for her that have her blood type," I spoke aloud, telling everyone and no one person in particular.

"We have blood here to use," one of the doctors said but I shook my head in disagreement.

"We will use the guys' blood, I know the source, I know the shape of these men and I can vouch for every ounce. You can keep the blood you have on hand for someone else," I simply but forcefully stated. I knew the guys would want to donate; knowing that they were able to aid her would go a long way with them.

"What do we need to do to get the guys set up?" I asked as the doctor began to cut her open. I checked the machines to ensure her blood pressure and heart rate were within the stable range as I watched the doctor proceed with the surgery.

"I will take care of it," one of the nurses stated, cutting off the doctor who was about to respond. From the look on his face, he wasn't too happy about her comment. However, he was smart enough not to further comment and choose to focus back on Stephanie.

"Speak to Tank, he will be in the waiting room, have him get Slyder, Vince, Zero and Zip to give their blood. Tell him to call Spade as we will need him as well," I told her. I knew she wouldn't understand everything, but Tank would and that was what was important.

I listened to the operating room chatter as the surgeon would ask for one tool or another or the nurse would call out stats and then push different buttons as the anesthesiologist worked to ensure she stayed under but remained breathing . I just watched and kept check that everyone was doing all that they could do to save her life.

I heard the bullet plink into the bowl as it was dropped, red and contorted where it slightly flattened upon impact. Seeing the bullet made my arms tingle, my neck feel as though something had just crawled up it and caused my stomach to feel as though it was ready to carry out a full revolution.

I swallowed, trying to keep the contents down, while slowly breathing in through my nose. I continued to hear little plinks hit the bowl and then realized they were pulling out little pieces of metal, plastic and bone. Her collar bone was shattered, from what I could see, and there was no fusing those pieces back together.

"This caused her heart to fail," the doctor announced holding up a little piece of metal. Making sure he had my attention, he continued, "it broke off of the iPod when the bullet hit it and lodged into her heart."

I felt even sicker as my skin pricked with warmth and moisture; this reaction wasn't me. I hadn't felt this way since the first days of medical training in the field. I needed to get a fucking grip; I needed to focus on what was important: saving her life.

Focusing back on her lying on the table as the surgeon worked on her, I couldn't keep my thoughts away from the fact that the iPod we had given her had almost killed her.

SLYDERPOV

I had been pacing the floors of the hospital. Lost somewhere in the back hallways of the emergency room area, I walked. I was trying to wrap my mind around what happened. I was trying to figure out exactly how both Lester and I had missed the threat. I wanted to kick my own ass for having not seen the threat in time.

I blamed myself. My partner was fighting for her life. I hadn't known her as long as the other guys but she had planted herself in my heart the first day I met her. The smile on her face, the pride shining in her eyes, it was something that endeared her to me. The laughter and the general love I could feel pouring from her for all the guys, was something that I never expected. It was impossible to know her and be near her and not fall hopelessly for her.

I halted before going into the waiting room. I wanted to be with the guys, but was yet not really ready to face them with the events of what happened. I had stood outside her door until they rolled her out and I had to steel myself to keep from following them. I knew I wasn't wanted. I knew I wouldn't be allowed past a certain point. Ranger was with her, Bobby was beside her working with the doctors, so I knew she was in good hands, but that didn't stop the desire to be near her.

I knew Ranger needed his space, but also deep within me, I knew leaving Ranger alone wasn't necessarily the smartest move either. Turning, I started walking in the direction they took her. I knew they were moving her to surgery even though I wasn't exactly sure where they were, I had no doubt I would find them. I cursed thinking I should have followed them as far as they would have allowed me, but at the time I felt as though I was a third wheel. I didn't belong, so I had held myself back.

Now having thought about the condition Ranger was in, I wasn't sure that was the safest decision I could have made. It was safer for me, but not safe for any of the other unsuspecting people in the building. I knew I needed to go and watch out for them. Not that I was any match for Ranger. I knew I wouldn't hold him or prevent him from hurting someone, but I could withstand a whole lot more than the average visitor.

Turning corner after corner, as I made my way from the Emergency Room to the Operating Rooms, I briefly wondered how anyone knew where they were in this god forsaken place. I had navigated flying across oceans easier than this Byzantine maze. Try navigating from one location to another when there are no fucking street signs guiding you and dealing with thousands of flight patterns. I was a master of navigation and directions and this place fucking confused me.

I rounded the corner and saw Ranger standing outside of the operating room door. I almost smiled, but knew better to show that as I knew Ranger was looking at me. I knew he would have gone on alert the moment he sensed me coming. Like an alpha wolf protecting his mate, he would remain on alert until the threat was over. He would be ready for the attack and I knew even though we weren't wolves, we weren't pack animals, I needed to acquiesce to the beast within him.

He wasn't going to transform to an animal, we weren't creatures, he was just a man, but he was a deadly man. Here was a man who had years of training and years of defending himself and soldiers on his team. Ranger was a dangerous man and for someone not to recognize how deadly he could be was definitely a foolish move. Seeing the cords in his neck tight and straining said it all. He was holding on to last strings of his control. I didn't need for me to be the reason he lost control. It was more than likely going to happen before the day was over, but it wouldn't be me causing it.

I could only pray it wouldn't be at the news that Stephanie didn't make it. I briefly shut my eyes, cutting off connection between Ranger and me. I wasn't sure that was the brightest of idea, but I couldn't risk him reading the thoughts of her not making it rush through my mind. I needed to be positive for him, I needed to be reassuring that all was going to be okay. Not that I thought it would do much good, but at least it wouldn't hurt. Even if it changed nothing for Ranger, it would hopefully help him keep the beast within under control.

Not wanting to further provoke him into action, I kept my distance, stopping and leaning against the opposite wall. We were here for the same purpose. He hadn't spoken and that only further emphasized to the state he was in. I prayed she would be okay and pull through, but I also prayed that Ranger would hold it together.

I grabbed my phone and sent a text to Tank informing him my Incendia was in surgery and Ranger was waiting in the hallway. I didn't mention his state as I knew Tank would have already known. He knew Ranger well enough to know. Fuck, he knew better than I did looking at him. He would also know that I was no match for the beast within Ranger.

I once again looked at Ranger standing beside the door almost as if he was at parade rest, his feet hip width apart, his arms behind his back, his shoulders straight and slightly pulled back, his back straight, his head held high. His eyes were alert, however, and slightly narrowed. Seeing his eyes told me that what I was seeing was nothing but a façade. It was all false. It was the image he wanted us to see, that he wanted everyone to see.

If he was truly showing the world his true feelings, we would be looking at a broken man lying on the floor, unable to stand. I could see the pain in his eyes, the torment, the uncertainty, and it made my mouth go dry. Looking at him, it was as if his soul was crying, begging, and there was something I had never seen before in Ranger: fear.

I wanted to cringe; I wanted to start trying to comfort him as my friend, to tell him that it was alright that she was going to be alright, but I knew that would be a fatal mistake. One, those were promises I couldn't keep, and, two, he would have seen through it. He would know that I read his feelings and I wasn't buying the image he was putting on display for the public. While we were friends, I wasn't sure our friendship lent itself to such an intimate level.

So I did the smart thing and just stood opposite him and never let on to the fact that I witnessed anything beyond what he was presenting to the world. While he didn't appear to be an unaffected man, he was definitely not showing the man he currently was. If I had a label for him right now, it would be broken, irrevocably broken, and if she didn't make it through this, then, like a vehicle with bad spark plugs, he would never run right again. He would be forever broken.

I briefly wondered if she pulled through, no, when she pulled through, if he would share any of these feelings with her. I also wondered if she would truly grasp the full gravity of these feelings if and when he shared it with her.

They were truly soul mates, and looking at him now, he looked as though he had lost his mate. I swallowed, once again, trying to moisten my dry mouth and throat, but it didn't seem to make it better. I hadn't spoken to him and I wasn't planning on speaking to him as I knew he wouldn't respond. I had nothing to say that he wanted to hear.

LPOV

I walked back into the room, having followed Tank from the parking garage. He hadn't spoken any more the whole way back to the room. I knew I was dragging my feet, but I also knew that these were my brothers. While I knew I had let them down and I would answer for that in time, maybe sooner rather than later depending on who and if she survived or not, I also knew that I needed them.

I needed their company to keep me level. I needed to be here for her when she woke up, but I also wasn't sure how I was going to do that. I felt guilty for being mad at her, but I couldn't help it. She had done something so stupid, stupid to the point that I wasn't sure how to proceed with not being mad at her and wanting to take my anger out on her.

Fuck. I felt the guys' eyes on me. I knew they were waiting for me to speak up, but nothing had changed in the past few minutes. I was still unsure how I was going to face them and look them in the eye.

Movement caught my eye as the door to the waiting room opened. I watched as shock at first and then anger registered on the person's face who had entered the room. I instantly went on guard. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end I felt the monster within me rise with hatred, anger rose to the point that I felt as if I could blow fire from my nostrils.

The guys' movements as they gathered closer to him spoke to the level of how welcomed he was. I had seen foxes receive a warmer welcome from chickens in the hen house. I couldn't help but think what the fuck was he doing here? Who the hell had told him we were here?

"A room full of Rangeman can only mean one thing," he stated, his voice full of disdain and venom. I found myself stepping closer as the monster within me was like radar singled in on a target to be destroyed. No one answered his unspoken innuendo.

"I knew it, you all would eventually get her killed," he said, his lips curving into a smile as if he already were privy to news we had not heard. I was surprised when none of the men within the group moved or spoke, including myself. They just stood there staring at the arrogant prick that thought now was a good time to provoke us.

No one let his words change their behavior. I could tell, just like me, they were all questioning if his news of her being dead was something that came from fact or just something he said to lead us to a position that he could take advantage of. If it were, he hadn't succeeded.

I shifted antsy to take the bait, but I held back, waiting for him to show his hand. I reminded myself that he was a dumb fuck; he would eventually show his hand, for he could not help himself. He was a arrogant prick and he liked being the one that was right or that knew it all so I knew it would only be a matter of time that he would speak up, for he couldn't help himself.

"I told her mother you all would cost her daughter her life. I hope you are happy, this is nothing short of exactly what I said would happen to her," he said. I wanted to ram my fist down his throat until the point he fucking chocked. I wanted to cut his fucking heart out of his chest. Fuck that, reach in and rip the fucker out for him having been right. I would rather die a thousand times than that motherfucker be right about anything, especially pertaining to Beautiful.

I quickly reminded myself that he wasn't right, for she was living. She hadn't died. But experience told me that I was holding on to wishes, hopes, and prayers for that being the reality. I had seen her and I knew the delicate line on which her life was teetering. I quickly made the decision that I wasn't feeding him shit. I wasn't going to give him fucking shit of what I knew.

I took a step toward him and his eyes locked on mine. I saw his eyebrows rise a little when he took me in. I am sure the blood on me registered with him. I couldn't help but think be afraid, fucker, be very afraid. I could see it in his eyes even though he was trying to hold his own, he was a fucking scared pussy.

He had no place in her life. He had done things that, had he not been a fucking cop, would have signed his death warrant with us. Fuck, even being a cop wasn't exactly saving his ass. Beautiful had put him in his place exposing the photos of him and her mother. I almost smiled at the memory and the thoughts of how he would never get a good piece of ass in this town without having to pay for it or visit a geriatric ward to tap an old wrinkled ass.

I wondered how he fucking knew she was here but I wasn't about to let him know that I needed information from him. I wasn't going to give him a semblance of an edge over us. I would figure it out with his desire to talk. This fucker wanted to be heard; he wanted to shove what he knew in our face. That was why he was here. So I would let the fucktard have his ten minutes of glory.

What he didn't know was that he was going to be telling us more than just the words coming out of his mouth. A whole lot more, and I intended to use all of it against him. This wasn't the U.S. judicial system. In my eyes he was guilty of something and I had already judged and sentenced him. Now was just a matter of him telling me what it was he was guilty of. He knew too much not to be involved or to have been informed by someone. I fully intended to find out which it was.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know your thoughts, leave a review!