Ranger awoke to a piercing light burning through his eyelids somewhere above him. He heard the steady drone of a hospital heartbeat. He tried momentarily to open his eyelids but they were heavy, as if someone had sown them together with leaded thread. He knew he was in a hospital but he couldn't remember how he had gotten there. What had happened? Stephanie had met Julie; she had stayed the night with him. Morelli had called. Ranger had found out Stephanie was possibly pregnant with Morelli's child; he'd taken her to her apartment, bent on getting to a doctor to know for sure. Morelli had been there, Ranger's memories got fuzzy there, had he had a gun? Yes, he did, he was waving it, yelling at Stephanie. Ranger had gotten closer, Morelli had leveled the gun. Ranger hadn't been fast enough, and then there was pain. Pain and Stephanie's shriek.
Ranger forced his eyes up and made to sit up but soft yet firm hands swiftly held him down. He looked at his assailant, about to demand what had happened to Stephanie, when his dark eyes met her electric blue and he calmed, allowing her to firmly push him back into the bed. She looked exhausted, her hair was a puff of brown tangles, her skin was tinged an unhealthy sallow color, there were bags under her eyes which had dimmed with a haunting look he had never seen on her, and tears had puffed her eyes and left their trails down her cheeks, and yet, she smiled at him such a smile it was as if he were the sun and she had never seen it before it in her life. It was a radiant smile.
"You had us worried sick you know, been in a medically induced coma for a week so you wouldn't re-break the rib the bullet snared while they were placing it," Stephanie spoke in a would be calm voice as she smoothed his hair and the starch white sheets that covered his chest and legs but he could see the haunting glaze over his eyes that he'd seen so much in the war. They were the eyes of a person who had seen everything be lost in one moment and had yet to truly get their bearings back. He gently reached a hand, ignoring the sharp pain from his chest, and grabbed hers.
She stopped her meticulous straightening and just looked at him. Her smile dropped and she closed her eyes as she grabbed his hand into her smaller, warm one, gently. She breathed deeply and they sat there for a moment in the accompanying silence, Ranger staring at Stephanie as if she would disappear or he would wake up and find out she was gone, Stephanie with her eyes closed as if she could hide or wake from her new waves of horrors.
"Babe, are you?" Ranger stuck to a semi-safe topic after a few moments of deliberation. He figured she didn't want to speak of what happened with Morelli, she would have already if she did and he could vaguely remember the feeling of a gun being slid out from his belt before his world had gone black. Stephanie let out a small, shuddering sob but when she opened her eyes they were clear, as if determined to let go of the pain of the past.
"I was," Ranger's eyebrows shot up at the use of past tense but didn't voice the question for fear that she would shut down, "I had a miscarriage after Julie came to the hospital, the doctor's say the stress of the situation coming down in that moment caused me to lose them," Ranger's eyebrows once again shot up and Stephanie closed her eyes briefly again before continuing, "The doctor's say that from the amount –" she bit her lip and her voice lost its steadying quality, "the amount of blood that it was most likely twins," she closed her eyes and breathed deeply, a few shaky tears escaping from under her lashes.
"Babe," Ranger whispered, gesturing with one hand for her to come towards him. She shook her head and brushed her tears.
"No, no you are still hurt, I can't do that. Anyway, I know that I should feel sad for the babies, and I do, but I know I didn't want them to grow up without their father." Ranger gave her another look and she looked down, her blue eyes swimming in clear, bright tears, "once he shot you, he was standing over and he pointed the gun again and I knew he was going to shoot you. Right in the chest again, and all I thought was Julie and how she couldn't grow up without a mother and a father. I didn't even think about it, I just grabbed your gun and shot him. Again and again until he stopped moving." She was full on crying now, large tears and loud noises, and Ranger didn't hesitate when he grabbed her and pulled her into his chest, ignoring the burning pain from his ribs.
"Babe, shhhh, it's okay. It's okay, I promise it will be okay." He held her tight, stroking her wild curls and letting his white hospital gown soak her salty tears. He couldn't imagine the pain, having to make the ultimate choice between a man of her past, and a man who could never be her future, but she had and now she was left to deal with the pain her decision had brought forth. "I promise I'm going to make it okay Babe, I promise." He didn't know where the words came from but he knew that as they split out of his mouth that they were true. He would spend the rest of the life God gave him making this tragedy up to her, even if it meant spending eternity holding her in his arms, listening to her cry.
"I'm sorry," she told him once she had pulled away, "but I don't know what to do. I know I did the right thing, I couldn't let him kill you and he would have hurt me if I didn't react, but I still think of him every time I close my eyes. I'll never forget the blood; I can't go back to my apartment." Ranger found it a testament to the profound impact killing Morelli had on Stephanie that she would not return to the apartment she had refused to vacant since the very first break-in and every one since. "I've been living in yours, taking care of Julie. Your mother thinks we were living in sin and I haven't brought myself to correct her, she might take back her temporary custody of Julie and I think taking care of your daughter and visiting you are the only things keeping me going in the day."
Ranger just held her as she cried again, voice too thick for words to pass through. He was surprised that his mother was letting her granddaughter be taken care of by a stranger but then again, she also knew that Stephanie had a special place in his outwardly cold heart and most likely trusted her. "I've lost everything but taking care of your daughter gave me a purpose, I told Connie and Lula she was my baby and now they are convinced I had an affair with some Latino ten years ago and Morelli found out and that's why he went crazy." She laughed a little at the affair part and Ranger could only think of the damage control at the office if that "Latino" ever transformed into him.
"I'm glad you've been taking care of her, she loves you." Stephanie nods in understanding but from the coy look she gave him he knew that she was just waiting for the 'but' to emerge that would kick her out of his house and home, probably the only place she currently felt safe, "you are always welcome in our home babe," he told her. Her face temporarily lit up, erasing the lines the week of never ending nightmares had given her.
"Really? Thanks, Ranger!" She hugged him again, too tightly, and when he groaned she shot up like a rocket, worry and apology mixing into her face to form a new facial favorite of his. "I'm sorry! And of course, I'll pay rent or something for you, I don't expect you to just take me into your home for nothing of cours-"she was rambling and on any other person he found it annoying. On Stephanie he found it endearingly annoying. He lifted his face up just enough to capture her lips and kissed the words from her mouth. The kiss was chaster than he would have preferred after a week of hospitalization but he could tell from her eyes that she was still worried for his health.
"There is no price for what we do for each other, physically or emotionally, Babe. I already told you the Batcave is forever." Stephanie grinned at the memory and Ranger took the chance to pull her in as close as comfort allowed, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke, "besides, I can think of a more entertaining way that you can show your gratitude," he told her, voice dropping several octaves as he stared at her. Stephanie blushed red and pulled away somewhat but not before giving him a small, quick kiss on the lips.
"Is that all you think about?" He grinned and was about to respond when a soft cough interrupted them. They turned to the door, Stephanie blushing as she undoubtedly worried over how much the newcomer had heard. Ranger was about to reassure her when his eyes caught the woman in the door and his heart stopped. He hadn't seen her in years, not since she handed him his daughter and watched them drive off from her life. He didn't want to see her anymore then than he did now. Stephanie looked at them both, confused at the sudden tension, before smiling benignly and attempting a conversation.
"Hello, I'm Stephanie, who are you?" The woman stared at Stephanie for a beat, obviously trying to judge what kind of woman the thin, blue eyed beauty was. Once she was satisfied that Stephanie held no threat to her, she responded.
"I am Rachel Martin, Carlos's ex-wife, and I'm here to take my daughter home."
Okay, I'm not even going to ask for forgiveness for this one, you can hate me, I'd hate it too if I was the one reading this. I hope you liked the chapter and I'll apologize for all those people who didn't want Morelli to be dead, I'd already decided during the last chapter. Like earlier, I hope you liked the chapter, please don't kill me, tell me what you thought, and thank you for reading. I'll update as soon as possible.