This story is based upon characters created by Janet Evanovich. I don't own them, I only play with them, and for entertainment purposes only.

A/N

OK, this story is probably going to take off in a direction that surprises a few of you, but bear with me… I promise it'll all come back together soon. Thanks for the feedback! Chica.

I woke with a pounding in my head and a sour stomach. My whole body ached and I was thirsty. It took me a minute to remember where I was before I went in search of some water… At least I could address one problem out of four. Remembering that Ranger had bottles of ice-cold water in the fridge, I made to head that direction. When I sat up, however, I realized the nausea from earlier hadn't gone away, and I was very close to ruining Ranger's plush carpet. I stumbled as quickly as I could to the bathroom and got there just in time to bow down to the porcelain god.

After the heaving stopped I flushed the toilet, then got to my feet so I could find the sink and rinse my mouth. I was pleased to find new toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste in the medicine cabinet, and made quick work of cleaning my teeth and brushing my tongue. The couple of minutes I sat on the tile floor had been enough to give me a chill, so I wanted to get back under the covers as soon as possible.

I was holding on to the wall, making my way back to the bed when I felt strong hands on my shoulders. "Angelita?"

My vision was getting a little blurry and the room began to tilt. "Hector? I don't feel so well." I whispered.

I must have fallen over because my legs were no longer touching the floor, but I never felt the impact. Hector was talking to me in Spanish and I realized that he was carrying me back to the bed. The only thing he said that I understood was that I was going to be OK… just like how he comforted me in the hospital. I wondered if he knew any other English and smiled as he laid me down in the bed and pulled the covers back over me. The shivering didn't stop, but the sheets felt nice and the bed was soft.

"Bobby, Angelita te necesita." (Bobby, Angel needs you) Hector said. "Traer su bolsa." (Bring your bag) He put his phone back into his pocket.

I didn't know what Hector had said, but he sounded upset. If I wasn't so achy, I would get up and give him a hug. Maybe he'd feel better if he laid down next to me and we snuggled… plus he could help me get warm. I was interrupted from my musing by Ranger's voice.

"Report!" He said.

Well that was rude! Why wouldn't he just ask us what was going on? I felt like I was a little kid that was getting yelled at for doing something wrong. "You shouldn't talk to Hector like that." I said. "He's going to snuggle with me." I closed my eyes again and tried to stop shaking.

"¿De qué está hablando?" (What is she talking about) Ranger asked. "¿Que paso?" (What happened)

"No tengo ni idea. Yo vine verificar sobre su y ella era punto de caerse." (I have no idea. I came to check on her and she was about to fall over) Hector replied. "No lo se lo qué está mal con ella." (I don't know what is wrong with her).

I opened my eyes and was met with two sets of brown eyes looking back at me. "No fair talking in Spanish." I said. "I can't understand you." I pouted.

Ranger smiled at me. "Sorry, Babe. Want to tell me what's going on?"

"I'm thirsty." I said. Hector left the room and came back with a bottle of water for me. I nodded my appreciation as he twisted off the cap and handed it to me. I drank greedily and finished half of it before giving it back. "Thank you." I said. I looked to Ranger and said, "I don't think Ella's cooking agrees with me."

Bobby jogged into the bedroom carrying his medical bag. "What's going on?" He said

"She's sick." Ranger replied. "She thinks it was Ella's food, but she only had a couple of bites."

I tried to roll my eyes at his opinion but that just made my head hurt worse. "Uuhhh." I grunted. "Please make the pounding stop." I closed my eyes and snuggled further under the covers. Bobby sat next to me on the mattress, pulled the covers down far enough to expose my shoulders, and then he brushed some hair out of my face.

"Whoa, Bomber!" He said. "You're burning up." He pulled an ear thermometer out of his bag, snapped a disposable cover on the end, and proceeded to take my temperature. After a few seconds the thermometer beeped. "101.2." Bobby read.

I shivered again. "C..cold." I stuttered.

"What are your other symptoms?" He asked.

"Head hurts… body aches… and vomiting." I said as I curled up under the covers again.

"What is it?" Ranger asked. He sounded worried.

"Could be the stomach flu or an infection of some sort." Bobby replied. "I don't have any way to know what it is here, but I can draw blood and send it to a lab. If it's a common infection we should know what it is and how to treat it within a couple of hours."

"It came on really quickly." Ranger said. "She's only been out of the hospital for a few hours. Did she pick up a bug before she left?"

"That's certainly a possibility." Bobby replied. "I'm a little concerned though. Bomber was given a broad spectrum antibiotic as a preventative measure due to her dunk in the river. That would be the traditional treatment for a bacterial infection, so either this strain is antibiotic-resistant, or it isn't a typical infection."

"What do you mean?" Ranger asked.

"There's not much point in speculating." Bobby said. "Let's get the blood work going so we can find out what we're dealing with. In the meantime, we can try to make her as comfortable as possible."

I looked at the three men that surrounded me. They continued to talk to one another like I wasn't even in the room, but they were obviously worried so I decided to let it pass. What wasn't going to pass was a visit to the bathroom again. I sat up and put my hand over my mouth as I tried to figure out how I could possibly make it to the toilet before I was sick. Hector reacted quickly and thrust a nearby trash can into my lap.

If I didn't feel so bad, it would have really bothered me to puke in front of three hot men. As it was, I didn't care. "Sorry." I said as I gave the trash can back to Hector. Ranger had disappeared into the bathroom and returned with a wet wash cloth which he used to wipe my face.

"Do we need to take her to the hospital?" Ranger asked Bobby.

"No!" I cried. "Please. I just got out of there!"

"It's OK, Bomber," Bobby told me. "We don't need to do that yet. But I will need to draw some blood." He began reaching into his bag for what he would need.

"Fine. Just get it over with so I can go back to sleep." I whined. After a moment, I began to feel guilty for talking to him that way. "I'm sorry, Bobby. I know this isn't your fault. I just feel so rotten."

"I know." He said. "Don't worry about it. I'll have you feeling better in no time." His smile distracted me from the prep work he was doing to my arm. "OK, just a little pinch." I closed my eyes and turned away from the arm he held.

"OK, all done." Bobby announced. He placed a bandage on the inside of my elbow and squeezed my hand gently. After putting the vials of blood into a plastic pouch, he pulled out a bottle of pills. "This is just Tylenol." He said. "Take two of these now and it should both treat your headache and reduce your fever."

Hector was ready with my bottle of water again, uncapped it and handed it over. I smiled at him. These guys are so nice to me. I don't know why… but I like it.

All three of the guys smiled at me at the same time. Oops. I should really try to figure out where my internal monologue button is and turn it back on… saying my thoughts out loud could get me in trouble.

I took the Tylenol and finished my water before lying back down on the bed. Bobby tucked me in and said he'd send my blood off to the lab and that he'd check on me in a little while. I nodded at him. "Thanks."

"¿Por qué no despegar?" (Why don't you take off) Ranger said. "Yo me quedaré aquí." (I'll stay here)

Hector nodded to Ranger and brushed my hair out of my face. "Sentirse major." He said. Then he surprised me by saying, "feel better." I smiled big at his effort to talk to me in English.

"Thank you, Hector." I told him.

Hector left room and Ranger sat down on the bed beside me. He picked up my hand and rubbed his fingers from the back of my hand, up my arm, and back again. It felt nice and helped soothe me. "I'm sorry you're sick, Babe." He said. "You've had a rough couple of weeks."

"I guess so," I said. "Though, to be fair, I slept through most of it." I gave him a crooked smile and closed my eyes.

"Rest, Babe. I'll be here."

A/N

So what do you think? Still with me?