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

Some of you have some really great ideas as to who is behind the attacks on Steph, and I'm sure you'll be happy to know that we will find out a little more about that in the next few chapters. As always, thank you for the great reviews and wonderfully supportive feedback. You guys are awesome! Chica


For the next couple of hours, Ranger told me about my friends. He explained how many of them wanted to see me after I first woke up from the coma, but since I didn't remember anyone, he didn't want to overwhelm or frustrate me and slow my recovery. After I was attacked, the security was tightened further and they kept everyone away to better protect me.

I'm pretty sure he was expecting me to be upset that he'd kept my friends from me, but although I am curious as to who they are, I don't know them so I haven't missed their company. It seems to me that I've had plenty of companionship since Ranger has made sure someone was in my room with me since I returned to the hospital… and most of the time it has been Ranger himself keeping me company.

There was a knock on my door and without waiting for a response, Cal walked in carrying a small canvas bag. "Hey Cal!" I said excitedly. "It's about time you came to see me." I smiled at him as he walked over to the bed. He looked in Ranger's direction and visibly gulped. I can only guess as to the look that brought about that response.

"Well, Ranger asked Ella to send you over some breakfast," He began. "But I thought it'd be more fun if I cooked for you."

"Aww, thanks Cal." I replied. "That's so sweet! I'm really looking forward to trying your cooking, but I have to warn you, I'm not sure I could eat much right now."

"You don't have to eat anything you don't want to, Babe." Ranger interjected.

He sounded like a petulant child. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Ranger." I gave Cal a look that says, 'he's being ridiculous, ignore him.' Cal gave me a quick wink. "What did you bring me?" I asked.

"I figured you would want to avoid oatmeal," Cal began. Yeah, no kidding. "So I thought I would make something easy on your stomach." He pulled out a Tupperware container and set it on the table beside my bed. "I made you pancakes!"

"That sounds great." I said.

He set up the container on the table tray and wheeled it over my lap. The pancakes looked good and my mouth watered in anticipation. I poured on some maple syrup and took a bite. The flavor was amazing and I closed my eyes and moaned in appreciation. When I opened my eyes and looked at the boys, I could see that they were both grinning.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed. "This is so good!" I started to work my way through the stack, but I wasn't even close to finishing it when I gave up. Pushing the plate away, I patted my stomach. "Thanks, Cal, I'm stuffed."

"Any time, Steph." He took my plate and packed it up into the bag he brought with him.

With a full belly, I could feel myself getting sleepy and my eyes started to droop. "I think I'm going to rest for a little while." I said. "Ranger, can you help me with the bed?" He popped up at the request and was quick to help me lower the head of my bed. I smiled at him. "Thanks."

Ranger leaned over and kissed my temple. "Have a nice rest, Babe. Hopefully you'll be ready to get out of here by the time you wake up."


I was sitting on the curb next to a brick apartment complex staring at the remains of my car. The fire department had put out the flames pretty quickly and what remained was now a smoldering mess. Joe was in the middle of a tirade about how I should quit my job and allow him to take care of me… I just couldn't listen to another rant about how I should be a stay-at-home mom and start popping out babies.

Standing up, I looked Joe in the eye and said, "Stop." He was immediately silent and stood there surprised at my reaction. So often he would yell, which would cause me to get mad and yell back, then we'd storm off in different directions and ignore each other for a little while before finally getting back together like nothing had ever happened. The truth was, I was done. I couldn't do this anymore and I knew that deep-down, Joe knew that it was never going to work between us.

"I don't want to do this anymore, Joe." I continued. "You and I both know that we're a terrible fit for a long-term relationship. We can't go a month without fighting and we want such fundamentally different things. I love you, but that isn't enough anymore. Go home. I'll be by to pick up my things and drop off my key while you're at work tomorrow."

"Come on, Cupcake," Joe started. "You're just upset." He ran his fingers through his hair and moved to stand right in front of me. "We can work it out." He whispered. Even as he said it, though, it was clear he was just going through the motions. We both knew it was over this time, and it was for good.

I gave him a hug and we just held each other for a few minutes. "Give yourself the opportunity to find what you're looking for. She's out there… she's just not me." I took a deep breath as I pulled away from him. "I want you to be happy, Joe."

"I want you to be happy, too." Joe replied. "Just do me a favor and give it a few days before you start something up with Mañoso. I don't think my ego could take it."

"I'm not getting together with Ranger, Joe." Joe looked at me skeptically. "Look, he's not the relationship type, and I'm not interested in casual sex." Understanding seemed to dawn on him. "I don't think I'll be looking for anyone to fill your shoes any time soon." I paused. "I won't stay single forever though, so don't be surprised if you see me on a date a few months from now."

Joe smiled and nodded before walking away. As he rejoined Carl and Big dog on the far side of the lot, I saw a familiar black car rounding the corner. "Hi Ranger." I said as he approached me on the sidewalk. "Can you give me a lift home?" He looked at me like he could read everything that had happened by looking in my eyes. He probably could, he is Batman, after all.

"Babe." He replied. Ranger placed his hand on the small of my back, leading me to his Porsche. As we were walking away, I noticed Ranger and Joe looking at one another. Joe must have that ESP thing, too, because I saw ranger nod slightly before helping me into my seat.

The drive back to my apartment was silent. When we reached my parking lot, Ranger managed to find a spot right outside the front door, as usual. After he turned off the ignition he looked at me and said, "Tell me about your skip." His question caught me by surprise and I had to think for a moment about who he was talking about before I could respond.

"Oh," I said. "His name is Brandon Avery. He's an unemployed nineteen year old who attempted to steal an ATM machine by hooking it up to the bumper of his pickup truck. When he drove off, rather than taking the ATM with him, his bumper was ripped off. Avery gets scared and takes off home. When the cops showed up, they ran the license plate that was still attached to the bumper and went to his house to arrest him.

"Apparently, his brother took offense to my taking him into custody, and retaliated by throwing a Molotov cocktail through my back window." I shook my head, I really liked that car. "At least I didn't lose my skip."

"What happened to the brother?" Ranger asked.

"He was arrested." I replied. "Turns out he wasn't too bright… must be a family trait. He stuck around to watch the fire, even after the cops showed up."

Ranger grinned.


Opening my eyes, I saw Ranger and Ram in the midst of a discussion. "There are only four Broncos registered in the greater Trenton area, two are light enough they could be considered tan, one is dark blue and the other is black. There are also an additional seventeen Broncos between New York and Baltimore." Ram said. "We're running a check on all the local ones now."

"Get some of the guys to help you if you don't have enough man-power to tackle the out of area ones. I don't want to waste time." Ranger said. "Also, run that list against any repair shops in the tristate area. He smashed into Stephanie's car, so it's possible his vehicle sustained front-end damage."

"Will do." Ram replied. He looked up to see me watching him and smiled at me. "Hey, Steph. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling pretty good." I replied.

"Good!" He said. "Well, I better get back to it. I'll see you later, OK?"

"Absolutely." I said. Ram smiled at me, nodded to ranger, and left the room.

Ranger sat down on the side of my bed and picked up my hand. He started absentmindedly rolling his thumb over the back of my hand and said, "How are you feeling, Babe?"

I grinned at him. "I remembered you." I said. "Well, I had a memory with you in it, anyway."

Ranger gave me a big grin in return. "Oh, yeah? What did you remember?"

"I remember sitting beside my car after it had been fire-bombed. Joe was yelling at me and we ended up breaking up. He seemed to think you and I were going to get together and he asked that I give his ego a brake and wait a few days." I tried to gauge Ranger's reaction but his face was blank of any expression. It seemed he only got his 'blank face' out when he didn't want me to know what he was thinking or feeling, and I was afraid I'd said something to upset him, but I wanted to see if he would open up to me. "Then you took me back to my apartment and I remember being surprised that you asked me about my skip, rather than about something more personal." I told him. He didn't say anything for a while and I was starting to get uncomfortable. I wanted to shake him out of his strange statue impersonation so I blurted out, "You have a beautiful Porsche!"

"Actually, Babe," He said, finally breaking into a small smile. "I have two."

"Is that right?" I replied, cheekily. "Perhaps you'll take me for a ride sometime."

"I'm sure I'd like that." Ranger said saucily.

Before the innuendo got too heavy, the door to my hospital room was once again opened. This time, Dr. Wesen entered. "Hello again, Stephanie." He said. "You know, if you missed my company you could have just visited me, you didn't need to get yourself admitted again." He smiled kindly at me.

"What can I say, Doc?" I replied. "I just love the ambiance."

Dr. Wesen smiled while he reviewed my chart. "It looks like the salicylate levels in your body are back into the normal range. Electrolytes and potassium is good. Magnesium is a little low, but nothing to be concerned about. I've already spoken with Mr. Brown and he's agreed to ensure you are properly hydrated and that you get all the rest you need. So, unless you'd rather spend a little more time with me, I'd say you're free to go."

"Great!" I exclaimed. I started to sit up and looked around for my clothes.

"Easy, Babe." Ranger chuckled. "Let me help you." He moved to the counter at the end of the room and opened a black duffel bag. Inside were another black Rangeman t-shirt and a pair of black shorts. He brought them over to help me get changed while Dr. Wesen excused himself and left the room. Bobby joined us a few minutes later and we were ready to head back to Rangeman.

I had the strangest sense of déjà vu. Then again, it was just yesterday that we did this, so I guess it's to be expected. I had my guards surrounding me on the way to the elevator again, only this time it was Hector and Hal who joined Ranger, Bobby and me.

When we got back to Rangeman, I asked to stop at the fifth floor to visit with the guys I'd gotten to know over the last couple of days. I enjoyed spending a few minutes visiting my new friends before following Ranger up to the seventh floor. After helping me settle in on the couch in the living room, Ranger grabbed a couple bottles of water and returned to sit with me.

"OK, Ranger." I said. "Tell me where you're at in the investigation so far."