So sorry it took me so long to update, work was crazy. If I were JE and would be paid for this, it would have been sooner…

Honestly, I'm neither a Babe nor a Cupcake, I just try to keep everyone as close to their character as I can. I hope I succeed. Please let me know, I depend on your reviews.

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 8

Ernie was exactly where we'd left him. Ram didn't report any incidents and left when we arrived.

As soon as we entered the bathroom, Ernie started wailing. He looked worse than the day before, I hadn't thought that was possible.

Ranger opened the cuff around the shower curtain rod and pulled Ernie with him to the living room.

"Hey man," Ernie whined "Give me a minute here, I need to use the bathroom."

Ranger rolled his eyes at me and shoved Ernie back into the bathroom. It always makes me giggle when Ranger does the eye roll, so I quickly hid in the living room.

Ranger dragged Ernie in shortly after, an unreadable expression on his face. I decided to let Ranger do the talking.

"Last chance." Ranger said, his voice dangerously low "Talk."

Ernie was massaging his wrists where the cuffs had pressed in. He was trying to buy time.

When he didn't say anything, Ranger slowly took his gun out of his belt and checked its clip. Ernie's eyes widened "Hey, man…" he said.

Ranger looked up as if just remembering Ernie was there. I watched fascinated. Ranger was playing a role, and he was so perfect at it.

Ernie's eyes darted from the gun to Ranger and back again. He shook his head.

"You don't understand, man…"

Ranger nodded slowly "Oh, I understand. I understand I'm all out of patience and if you don't tell me what I want to hear right now, killing you may be the only highlight I get today."

His voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I'd pee my pants if he were talking to me.

"I…they're gonna kill me, man." Ernie whined.

"When I'm done with you, you're gonna wish you were dead." Ranger countered.

I felt the need to get some popcorn and sit down, this was better than any movie. Ernie looked ready to cry now. I wasn't sure how serious Ranger was, but I doubted he would actually hurt or kill Ernie.

Ernie slumped down on the couch, sighed, and finally met Ranger's eyes.

"Look, I got paid, it was nothing personal…" Ranger nodded and made a 'go on' gesture. My heart sped up.

"Me and Lula, we go back. They knew that, so they tagged me to talk to her."

'They? Who are they???' I wanted to scream, but I bit my tongue. This was Ranger's show, and so far, it was successful.

"Been watching her, you know?" Ernie continued. Ranger was listening quietly. I couldn't see his eyes but I figured they were boring into Ernie's.

Ernie licked his lips "Then she was alone, on Stark no less. Nobody cares on Stark." He was staring at his hands. What did he mean, he'd been watching Lula? I wanted to shake him until he told us everything, and fast. Ranger remained calm.

"Where did you take her?" Ranger asked, almost growling. He obviously didn't care about the other details.

"Train station. I was just the middleman, man! I dropped her off at a van, got paid and left. That's all I know, I swear, man!!" Ernie sounded to me as if he was telling the truth.

Of course, I am easily fooled.

Ranger put his gun on the couch, took out his key and unlocked the remaining bracelet around Ernie's wrist. Then he picked up the gun again, examining it. Ernie was squirming in his seat.

"Why am I not happy yet, Ernie?" Ranger asked.

"I dunno, Man!"

"Okay, I'll ask this only once. Who paid you, who was in the van, what did the van look like? In that order and less than a minute!"

God, Ranger could be intimidating! He scared the crap out of me!

When we left Ernie's sorry ass on the couch behind us, we knew everything he did, according to Ranger.

He worked for a dealer who worked for a dealer who, hopefully, worked for a big gun. I'd never heard the names he'd mentioned and had forgotten them already. Ranger had paid closer attention and he was on the phone with Tank, checking the connections. All we had were names, we needed the addresses or places of 'business'. None of it made sense to me. As far as I knew, Lula hadn't done drugs in forever, and she'd left her old life and the bad connections behind her when she started working for Vinnie, as part of her 'new life'. What would anyone involved in drugs want from Lula? She didn't have much money or any other worthy possessions, she didn't know any 'secrets of the trade' or anyone with any of that who would pay ransom. I was sure Ranger knew all that though so I didn't bring it up. Ranger knew more about people than they themselves did sometimes.

Ernie had zapped Lula and taken her in his car to a waiting white, nondescript van with unknown license plates. We still didn't know why or where the van had taken Lula. I just hoped she was okay.

My cell phone rang just as we were getting back into the car. It was my home phone number, and it was Joe. I let it ring twice before I answered just as I pulled the car door shut.

"How're you feeling?" Joe asked.

"I'm okay." That was sort of a fib. My head was pounding, I was kind of dizzy and the ringing was back in my ears. But I didn't want Joe to worry and come running back to the empty house.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, and I'll bring food. Get some rest!" Joe said. I felt bad for lying to him. I told him I would lie back down before I disconnected.

Ranger was still on the phone with Tank, giving him all the details. When he joined me in the car, he was smiling.

"That went well." He said. But then he turned to me and his smile disappeared "Are you okay? You look very pale."

I nodded "I'm fine." But I could tell he didn't believe me. It didn't matter, I couldn't stop now. I had to follow up on the lead and find Lula! Also, he was one to talk. Ranger didn't look like his usual self either. Sure, he covered it up better than I could, but since I knew him well, I could tell. He was wearing a long-sleeved black t-shirt to hide the bandages that still covered his arms. For Ranger to still wear them, he must have sustained deep wounds. I wanted to ask him about them, but his expression had already closed up again.

"Let's just go." I said instead.

Ranger placed his cell phone in my hand and started the car.

"Tank'll call back with the results."

I wished I had a team, like Ranger. I wouldn't have to follow up each lead by myself when it came to my skips.

Ranger drove back to Comstock, slowly driving by Maldoni's house. The yellow crime scene tape was still up, and more windows were boarded up. Apparently, Ranger didn't see anything that warranted further inspection though, he drove on.

Black dots were dancing in front of my eyes and the world started spinning. I tried putting my head between my legs, but it didn't help.

"Pull over." I pressed out and Ranger swerved to his right immediately. I had the door open before the car was fully stopped and managed to get my head out before I puked on Ranger's car seats.

Ranger had come around the car and was holding my hair back. The world was still spinning, but the black dots had stopped dancing. I tried to take a deep breath to calm my heartbeat down.

"I'm taking you home." Ranger said matter-of-factly as he pushed me back into the car. I wanted to protest, but I felt too weak to argue.

Ranger's cell phone chirped when he had just put the car in gear again.

"Talk." He answered.

Whoever it was, probably Tank, did just that, Ranger was just listening.

"I'll be there in twenty." He finally said and disconnected. He cut his eyes to me for a second, then focused them back on the road "I'll get Tank to follow up. You need to lie down."

"So do you!" I tried, but I knew Ranger's mind was made up. And honestly, I didn't think I'd be much help anyway. Maybe the doctor had been right again, I should have stayed in bed.

The first thing I saw when Ranger turned into my street was Joe's truck. Uh-oh. This was bad. Not only had I left, I'd left with Ranger.

I glanced at Ranger, but there was no reaction from him.

"I'll handle this by myself." I said as we came to a stop in front of the house.

"You're sure?"

I was. The last thing I wanted was a standoff between the two alpha males in my life. I thanked Ranger for his help and he promised he'd call if he found out anything.

It took me a moment to steady myself when I got out of the car, so I held on to the door.

"Babe." Ranger said. "I'm okay!" I assured him and slammed the door shut. I could do this! Joe was a reasonable guy.

I took a few deep breaths and opened the front door.

Joe was in the kitchen, drinking a beer. I went past him on my way upstairs. First and foremost, I had to brush my teeth.

He was waiting for me in the bedroom when I came out of the bathroom.

"You look like shit." He said. "Was it worth it?"

He appeared calm, but I knew that could be just superficial.

"What are you doing here?" I tried to change the subject.

"You sounded terrible on the phone earlier, so I came home."

I closed the distance between us and put my arms around his neck. He didn't hug me back. He was pissed. Shit!

"I'm sorry." I whispered close to his ear "I was out looking for Lula." I was surprised at how tired my voice sounded.

I heard him put his beer down and finally his arm wrapped around my waist.

"You shouldn't have left. I told you we'd do anything we can. All I asked was for you to stay home one day." He sounded like he was trying really hard to remain calm. The old Joe would have had a full Italian tantrum.

He was right on all accounts. But he should've known better than to ask me to stay at home. I don't like orders. But I was too weak for an argument.

I took off my shoes and all but collapsed onto the bed. "We got a new lead." I managed to tell Joe "Ranger will call you."

I remember Joe climbing in beside me before I fell asleep.

It hadn't been noon when I fell into bed; it was dark when I woke up. I was wrapped in warm Morelli and felt a little better. I'll have to remember to be sick next time we have a fight, I thought, it had never been so easy to get back on Joe's good side.

I detangled myself and got up, careful not to wake Joe. It was 9 PM; I'd slept almost 10 hours! Surely the doctor would count that as getting enough rest. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten to bring my cell phone, so I was dying of curiosity.

Ranger's message was first, 'Call me' it said. Connie and my mom left similar messages, although theirs had more words. I called Ranger first.

"Yo." He answered.

"Yo yourself. Did you miss me?" I bit my tongue. That'd come out wrong, not as playful as I'd intended.

"Babe." Ranger said. He would drive me insane with that one word, I just knew it.

"Well, I'm back from the dead. Did you find out anything?"

"Tank and I think all roads may lead to Vega, but we have some more things to check. Why don't you keep taking it easy and we'll talk tomorrow?"

Translation: We're doing this without you. I had to admit I was more of a liability in my state.

"Did you ever get to meet with Vega last night?" I asked him.

"No, I had to postpone that. My appearance didn't quite lend itself to a professional impression." I figured that's as close as Ranger would ever come to admit he'd felt like shit or was in pain or something.

I made Ranger promise he'd call me at any hour if he found out anything and disconnected.

Next I called my mom who'd called to give me grief about missing dinner the night before. She'd apparently forgotten to get that in during my earlier call. I couldn't really tell her why I'd missed dinner, so I told her I had to work. True to form, she gave me the spiel about how Mrs. Torino's daughter never had to work overtime and even got paid vacation. I'd gotten used to it, and at least it meant she wasn't mad at me. I promised her I'd try to be there for dinner sometime during the week and hung up.

Connie was more difficult to get a hold of. She'd called from the office, but she'd since left of course. I'd never called her home number, so I had to look it up first.

"Did you hear anything?" I asked her.

"I may have." she said, "I got this weird call, a lot of commotion in the background, but we got disconnected before the caller said anything. Of course it could have been someone calling from jail to be bailed out, but I wanted to mention it. Usually, that number shows up, but this was another blocked caller ID."

I agreed it could have been something, but there was no way to be sure. I was glad she'd told me though.

"I may have another lead." I shared, all excited like "Ranger got this guy, Ernie, to sing. He was the one who kidnapped Lula!"
"No shit!" Connie screamed.

"Yeah, but unfortunately, he only took her to a waiting van, so we still have to find out where she was taken from there."

As I told her the news, I got all excited about it again. With Ranger and Tank on that lead, I felt we were very close to finding her.

"So, you were working with Ranger all day?" Connie asked. Clearly, Lula had taken second place after digesting what I'd told her. I rolled my eyes even though she couldn't see me.

"Half the day. I had to take a time out to go to bed. But Ranger and Tank are on it."

"It's getting very lonely at the office without Lula." Connie said. I could imagine, but I wanted Lula back for other reasons as well. I assured Connie I'd let her know as soon as I learned anything and hung up.

I was contemplating dinner when my phone rang again. It was Ranger.

"Sorry to do this. Are you feeling up to being sexed up in a half hour? I need you for a meeting with Vega."

I chewed my lower lip. Of course I could get ready within 30 minutes. I was from Jersey, getting slutty was in our genes. But would I tell Joe what I was up to? First of all, it was almost ten and I'd have to wake him. Second of all, I'd just barely avoided a fight with him over this very issue. So should I sneak out and face his wrath later or should I wake him and risk not getting out of the house?

"Babe?" Ranger reminded me that he was still waiting for my answer. I decided it wasn't his problem one way or the other so I promised him I'd be ready to go in a half hour. He said he'd pick me up and fill me in on the way, then disconnected.

Since the full bathroom and all my clothes were upstairs, there was really no way to get ready without waking Joe. He had that light cop-sleep thing going on anyway, like a sixth sense for someone trying to sneak around.

I looked at Bob; he was sleeping in front of the stairs and clearly wouldn't be any help. Rex was running on his wheel and didn't stop when I asked for his advice. A lot of good those two did me in my time of need. I took a deep breath and climbed the stairs.

If I took the time to wake Joe in his favorite way, I'd be late. So I had to settle for stroking him lightly while saying his name. He stirred, but didn't open his eyes. I shook him. He tried to wrap his arm around me, but I stepped back just in time. That made him open his eyes.

"Everything all right?" he asked. I never wake him; it is usually the other way around, so he probably suspected the house was on fire.

I sat down on the bed, trying to find the right words.

"Yeah, everything is fine. You know how I told you about the lead Ranger found earlier?"

I gave him a moment to wake up and hopefully remember that I did tell him.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, uhm, Ranger needs me to…back him up tonight. Just wanted to let you know, I didn't want you to wake up wondering where I was…"

I tried to get up to get to the bathroom, but Joe held on to my wrist.

"Now?" He asked, "You're leaving now?"

"I have to get ready now. Ranger will pick me up at 10:30."

"I'm coming with you."

He got up and rummaged on the floor for his pants.

I didn't know how to tell him 'No', but I needed to tame my hair and put on makeup at the very least; there was no time for a shower.

I grabbed a black leather mini skirt and tube top out of the closet and hid in the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, I was ready. My eyes were heavily mascaraed and lined in black; my hair was teased high and sprayed. Now for the hard part: getting out of the house in this outfit.

I braced myself for the inevitable as I stepped back into the bedroom to get my shoes. Joe was dressed and waiting for me. He took my appearance in.

"Very sexy. You're not going out like this."

I sighed, "It's an undercover job. I am Ranger's ho'." As if that would make Joe change his mind. This truth thing isn't all it's cracked up to be.

"And who are you trying to lure in?" Joe looked at me with narrowed eyes.

I dug up my FMP's to avoid looking at him. He knew Vega, or at least his reputation.

"The whole Rangeman team will be there for backup, Ranger and I are just the front."

"And who are you trying to lure in?" Joe asked again, his voice dangerously calm now.

Fuck the truth, I decided.

"I'm not sure. I'll be briefed on the way over. But it might tie in with the lead we have on Lula."

"I'm going with you."

"No. I told you, there is a whole team already." Actually, I had no clue if it was only Ranger and me, but I didn't think so. Ranger never did anything without planning it thoroughly, covering all the bases.

Joe straightened and put his fists on his hips "Cupcake, the only way you are leaving this house in that outfit is if I'm going with you."

He'd have the physical strength to hold me back, but I doubted he would use it. I matched his posture and lifted my chin.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying either I'll go with you or you're staying here."

"Joe, I know what I'm doing. It's not like I'm going out by myself."

I tried to walk by him, but he moved with me, blocking the door.

"I'm serious, Stephanie!"

Now it was my turn to narrow my eyes. "You cannot tell me what to do or not to do. I appreciate your concern, but like I said, I'll be covered. Now let me go."

The doorbell rang and we both swiveled our heads in the downstairs direction. Ranger was here.

I tried to push Morelli out of the way, but he held his ground.

"What will it be?" Joe asked.