Disclaimer: Still not mine.
You all asked for it, so here you go! Thank you for the reviews! I was once again blow away. I haven't gotten a chance to respond to you all individually because I'm technically supposed to be 'off line' with my husband, but I love you too much to keep you all hanging! Hope you enjoy!
Potterwench...you're amazing and awesome and I couldn't do this without you! Love ya!
WARNING...grab a tissue or two!
Chapter 14 - Saying Goodbye
The funeral of Stephanie Michelle Plum drew crowds to the family church located in the Burg. There was not a cop left on duty the afternoon that they laid her to rest. The Mayor of Trenton called in the National Guard to protect the town and to provide security for the event. People from all walks of life came to say goodbye to the woman who changed their lives.
Her father sat stoically in the front row cradling his sobbing wife. He was the family's rock and he knew he couldn't break down even though it felt like his world ended. Stephanie had always been different from his other daughter. Valerie was a clone of Helen, a perfect wife, and a perfect mother. Stephanie was the exact opposite. She lived her life the way she wanted and didn't let anyone hold her back. She hated to be told that she couldn't do something.
Frank sat remembering when Stephanie was five years old, her mother told her that flying was a pipe dream and she would never be able to do it. He was in the garage fixing the Buick when he saw his little girl on top of the roof with a pillowcase tied around her neck. He watched in horror as she jumped off that roof and came crashing down onto the grass below. He was the first to her side and could see that her arm was obviously broken but she didn't cry. She just looked at him with such a broken expression and said, "I guess mom was right. I can't fly, Daddy."
Hearing those words broke his heart. He hated to see her spirit break like that, so he did the only thing he could. He told her the truth. "You flew for a second, Baby, and don't let anyone tell you that you didn't". Frank could still see his little girl's smile at his words. Realizing that he would never see that smile again made his eyes fill with tears.
Helen Plum sat beside her husband, crying. She always knew that one day she would be sitting here. She couldn't understand why her youngest daughter couldn't just settle down. She tried every day of Stephanie's young life to teach her how to be a good wife and mother. Something about her youngest daughter was broken though. She rejected her mother's life and chose to chase criminals instead. She chose to risk her life every day. Helen remembered some of the things that her daughter got mixed up in and shuddered.
Helen remembered seeing Stephanie run down the road with a man in a rabbit suit chasing her. Stephanie had cuts and bruises all over her and looked terrified, so Helen did the only thing she could, she turned the car around and ran over the man threatening her daughter. She didn't care if he lived or died. All that mattered to her was that her baby was safe. Stephanie had always been lucky in the past, but her luck ran out and now she was gone. Helen didn't know how she was going to survive without her.
Stephanie's sister, Valerie sat beside her mother. She never understood her sister either. Valerie followed in their mother's footsteps and became a wife and mother. She never thought of doing anything else. She never wanted to do anything else and she wouldn't trade her life for anything. Valerie knew Stephanie was different at a very young age. While Valerie was painting her nails and playing with dolls, Stephanie was picking her scabbed knees and playing in the dirt. Valerie never could understand why her sister was so different.
Beside Valerie sat her three young daughters that couldn't quite understand why their aunt Stephanie wasn't going to be around anymore. No matter how Valerie and her husband Albert tried to explain it to them, they just didn't get it. Angie, the oldest, understood the best, but even she held a glimmer of hope that her only aunt would someday come back. Mary Alice didn't understand at all. She believed her Aunt Stephie was in trouble and would cry for her parents to help her. She couldn't understand why no one believed her.
Ever since Mary Alice was young, she and Stephanie had a connection. Even though she grew up in California and her aunt was in New Jersey, Stephanie would call whenever Mary Alice needed her. All she had to do was think about her aunt and the phone would ring. Mary Alice knew that her aunt wasn't in that box in the front of the church. She knew that Aunt Stephie was alive somewhere and waiting for them to find her. Mary Alice knew that if she could just speak to Ranger, he would believe her and he would find her aunt. She looked around the church for the man, but she never saw him.
Next to Valerie's husband, Albert, sat the matriarch of the family. Edna Mazur was Stephanie's biggest fan and supporter. She sat clutching her handkerchief looking at the black coffin at the front of the church with such disbelief. Grandparents shouldn't ever have to bury their grandchildren, especially not one so full of life, like Stephanie. Edna remembered the day she was born. Even at birth Stephanie was stubborn and different.
Helen's first pregnancy went smooth as silk. Valerie came out without problems and was a pretty well-behaved baby. Helen was in labor with Stephanie for fifteen hours. The doctors couldn't understand why the labor wasn't progressing, but Edna told them that it was because Stephanie wasn't ready to be born and when she was, she would come out. Turns out she was right. Stephanie came out screaming and full of spitfire. Edna saw the gypsy blood running through her newest granddaughter and knew that her parents were in trouble. She was right about that too.
Stephanie was her own person from the beginning. Where her sister was serene, Stephanie was turbulent. Everywhere Stephanie went, a storm followed. Jumping off the roof at five was just the beginning. Edna made sure to keep close tabs on her wild granddaughter and knew things about her that her parents didn't. Edna knew about Morelli taking her virginity at age sixteen. She was the one who took Stephanie to the doctor for the morning after pill. Edna knew sixteen was no age for her to be a mother. Now, Stephanie would never get to experience the joys of being a parent. Her life was cut short by an accident and Edna knew that life in Trenton would be a little darker without Stephanie's light.
Scattered around the church were the many cops of Trenton. Close friends of Stephanie's even though they didn't always act like it. They bet on her life time and time again and even showed up at her disasters laughing and joking like everything was okay. The night she died, no money changed hands and there was no joking. Big Dog and Carl held back her one time fiancé and friend, Joe Morelli from rushing into her building. They knew there was no hope and by rushing in it would just get him killed too.
The night she died, her childhood friend, Eddie Gazarra, tried to direct the other occupants of her building as tears fell down his face. She was part of his family, by marriage, but he loved her secretly for years. He knew that he would never get her, so he settled on marrying her cousin. You know how the saying goes, if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with. He chose that path and his heart broke knowing that his life would never be the same without Steph.
Joe Morelli sat in the front row of the church staring at the coffin. Even though they weren't together at the time of her death, she had always held a place in his heart. Stephanie and Joe were legends in their small community. He was a wild child growing up and so was she. Their paths crossed a couple of times in their youth, but they really came together after Joe was arrested for murder. He skipped bail and Stephanie was tasked with bringing him back into the system. He underestimated her and she eventually got him. She sealed herself as a true bounty hunter in Trenton and secured a place in Joe's heart.
He loved her. He wanted to marry her and wanted a life with her. Problem was, Stephanie didn't want any of those things. Oh, she loved him, but it wasn't enough to settle down and share his life. They tried living together numerous times but could never make it last. The only thing they did right was the sex and when that stopped being enough, they ended their relationship. Everyone in Trenton expected a huge blow out with screaming and hand gestures. In truth, their ending was calm and mutual so they knew that it was the right thing to do. They remained friends because neither of them wanted to live a life without the other. Staring at the coffin, Joe knew that what he wanted didn't matter and that he was going to have to go on living, even though she wasn't.
Stephanie's best friend since birth, Mary Lou sat with her husband behind Joe. She wasn't even trying to hold back the tears. Stephanie had always been there for her. When she and her husband, Lenny, were talking about divorce; it was Stephanie who made Lou realize how much Lenny meant to her and how much her life would suck without him in it. Lou and Steph spent an evening drinking tequila and reminiscing about all the good times that Lou and Lenny shared. Stephanie saved her marriage and Lou never got to tell her thank you. Lou will never again get to call her freaking out about being pregnant like she had with each of her three boys. Lou will never again get to share a pint of their favorite ice cream while Stephanie told her about the craziness of her life. Lou never got to tell Stephanie that she was her hero. Lou lived vicariously through her best friend. She cried because Stephanie would never know how special she was.
Behind Mary Lou sat Stephanie's other two best girl friends. Lula and Connie were newer additions into her life, but that didn't mean they were loved less. Lula was her side-kick, her Tonto. Lula caused more problems when they were out then she helped, but Stephanie never made her stay behind. Stephanie encouraged the former prostitute to change her life and to do something that she loved. It was because of Stephanie caring about her, that Lula decided to enroll in community college. Lula planned on telling Stephanie about her new path in life the day after she died. They had a girls' night out planned and Lula was going to tell Stephanie then. Her friend would never know the impact she had on the large black woman. Connie tried to comfort Lula as best she could, but she knew their lives would never be the same.
Sitting in the very back of the church was a wall of black. Every man from RangeMan Trenton was in attendance. Contract workers who had no connection to Stephanie manned the monitors and men from the Boston office stood by in case of emergency. No man from Trenton was going to miss saying goodbye to their co-worker and friend.
None of those men understood why their boss first brought Stephanie into their world. They saw her as pure and innocent and they didn't want her to get marred by being in their darkness. Most were standoffish when she first appeared but then she wormed her way into their hearts and tore down the walls that each man had skillfully erected. Instead of marring her life with their darkness, Stephanie made theirs brighter. She made them more human and better men than they ever expected to be.
They became her protectors. They would gladly give their lives to bring her back, but they knew they couldn't. They failed and now she was gone. The men who were the closest to her sat numbly feeling pain like they had never experienced before.
Her self-proclaimed protector sat at the end of the back pew. Hector Ponce became enamored by the spunky woman when she shot the shit out of the remote for her new security system. The boss had him install the latest technology at her apartment during one of her many stalker situations. Hector thought the curly-headed woman had spunk from the beginning and knew how much she truly meant to his boss. No one knew the feelings that he held for the man who had rescued him from a life on the streets. Ranger got him out of the gang and gave him a job and a place to live and Hector loved him for it. He knew that his boss didn't swing his way, but that didn't stop his heart from loving the other man. He decided to protect the one person who meant the most to his boss. He vowed to make sure no harm ever came to Stephanie Plum because he knew if something happened to her, it would destroy his boss and friend.
Hector was one of the two men sitting in her parking lot the night that it happened. He will never forgive himself for not being more vigilant that night. His partner, Junior, and he were talking about the latest office gossip when it happened. They were talking about how happy she had been since their boss gave into his feelings. They were even making bets on how soon he would present her with the ring sitting in his safe. They knew that Ranger had loved her since the beginning, but had just recently told her. They knew that Stephanie had never looked happier than that night. She smiled and waved at them as she went into her apartment building. That was the last time they saw her alive. Hector's tattoos were not the only tear drops on his face. He, along with everyone else in the church, couldn't hold back their tears.
Stephanie's new partner and friend Dante Rodriguez sat beside Hector. They had only really known each other for the last four months, but she had made an impression on the hardened man. She had such an amazing light that had shined out of her that he couldn't help but be drawn to her. It the short amount of time he'd known her, she had substantially changed his life. He encouraged her when she needed it most and Steph had made sure he knew how much she appreciated that every day since then. She, too, encouraged him and he didn't know how he was going to keep on surviving without his partner and friend. His tears were hot as they rolled down his scarred face.
Bobby Brown, the company medic, wiped at his eyes and stared forward not really seeing or hearing anything around him. He had stitched Stephanie up and healed her multiple times throughout the years. He was always there with an icepack and a smile when she got hurt and he was always able to take her pain and worry away. One might be impressed with how many times she got injured. She'd been shot, stabbed, beaten, almost raped, and kidnapped so many times. Every time, Bobby was able to make her whole again. There was no helping her this last time. By the time he got to her apartment, there was nothing he could do besides hold back the man who loved Stephanie Plum the most as they watched in horror while her apartment building burned.
Sitting next to Bobby was Stephanie's best friend in the company. Lester and Stephanie were always getting into trouble together. They played pranks on the other men and made sure the building was always full of laughter. Lester loved her like no other woman in his life, but he understood that he would never have her. She belonged to his boss and anyone could tell that Ranger belonged to her. That didn't stop Lester from being there for her, though. She was the one person who knew everything about him. He told her things that no one else knew. She was the only one who knew the reason behind his playboy lifestyle and she was helping him move on. Stephanie was helping him open his heart to love again. Little did she know that she had helped him by just being his friend and his heart was ready to love. He loved her and she would never know. Les didn't stop the tear that fell from his eyes remembering his best friend.
Next to Lester sat Pierre Bradley. Stephanie only knew him as Tank and that annoyed her greatly. When they would do surveillance shifts together, she would spend the hours trying to guess his real name. He would laugh at the names she used to come up with and the longer they sat, the more ridiculous they got. She never guessed his real name and now he would never get to tell her. He would never hear her say, 'Hi Big Guy' and he'd never get to call her Little Girl again. Stephanie was like a little sister to the big man and she was one of the few women in his life not intimidated by his size. She would stand up to him and never backed down when he tried to bully her around. She was the only person who could regularly make him smile. He had few things in his life to smile about, but she made it a goal to see his pearly whites every day. He knew, now that she was gone, he would never smile again.
Tank looked around the church for one man that he knew was forever changed by this tragedy. He didn't see his friend and boss and that worried him. The night of the fire, Ranger was beyond consoling. While it took two cops to hold Joe Morelli back from charging into the inferno, it took five RangeMen to hold back their boss. When Bobby finally got the sedative in him, they all felt like they had gone fifty rounds with Mike Tyson. When Ranger woke up from the drug, he only said one word to his friend sitting beside him. "Babe?" It was a question and Tank knew what he was asking. Tank simply shook his head and watched the man before him crumble into tears. That was the last word Ranger spoke and that day was the last anyone saw of him.
Ranger took off out of the office that afternoon and no one had seen him since. Ranger did send Tank a text telling him to back off from searching. Tank guessed he was at his house and left him alone to grieve. Tank understood that Ranger needed space. He was mourning the loss of his love. That's not something that you just bounce back from overnight. Tank didn't really know if Ranger would ever recover from this loss.
Standing in the far back corner of the church, hidden in shadows was the love of Stephanie's life. Ranger stood, staring at the black coffin, wishing and praying that she would sit up and smile at him. The smile that could make his whole world better, the smile that could make him melt and do anything that she asked, the smile that he would never see again.
Tears streamed down the mysterious man's face as he thought of the things that she would never get to experience with him. She wouldn't get to see the ring that he had waiting for her. He intended on proposing to Stephanie on the anniversary of their first meeting. That day was coming up soon and he would have to face it alone now. She would never get to carry his children. They hadn't discussed it, but Ranger wanted children with her. He wanted to see what their kids would look like. That was something he would never get to experience too.
What hurt the most was realizing that he would never get to tell her, 'I love you' anymore. He wouldn't get to see that look on her face when he said those three little words. He stood there trying to remember the last thing he said to her as she climbed out of the car that night. It wasn't those words and he hated himself everyday because of it. They were on the tip of his tongue, but he held them back for some reason.
As the priest droned on and on about Stephanie being in a better place, Ranger got angry. Her place was in his arms not in that coffin or prancing around in Heaven. The priests words about remembering the good times and celebrating her life instead of mourning only served to anger Ranger more. How could he celebrate when he didn't even feel like living. How was he expected to be happy when he knew he'd never see Stephanie again. He'd never get to touch her, taste her, or whisper words of love into her ear. He'd never get to hear her moan over food or watch her expression when she realized she accidentally said something out loud. Ranger stopped listening to the priest all together when he moved on to living without regrets. He didn't need to hear about being regretful. Ranger's life was so full of regret that he didn't know how he was going to work through them all.
Why didn't he insist on her staying at Haywood that night? She would have done anything he asked her to if he'd just said please. Why didn't he that night? Why did he assume he'd have more time to tell her he loved her? His biggest regret was that he didn't tell Stephanie how he felt about her years ago. He'd wasted so much time and had he just been honest with himself and her, then they could have had more time together. She probably would have been living with him so this tragedy would have never happened and he wouldn't have been standing in that damn church alone and so numbly cold from grief.
After the service, Ranger stood in the shadows as the men carried her casket out to the waiting hearse. Her family followed with tears falling from their eyes. No one looked his way and he was thankful for that. He didn't want to see anyone because if he saw them, he would have to talk and there was no way he could speak. His voice stopped working right after Tank shattered his dreams and he didn't see it coming back any time soon.
He watched as the church emptied, never coming out of his hiding spot. He watched his men file out and knew that they were going to the cemetery to watch her get lowered into the ground. He wouldn't be there. He couldn't see his love disappear from his sight for ever. So he stood, staring at the church around him. Just like his heart, it was empty and cold. His life ended the minute hers did. His desire to take a breath ended when she stopped breathing.
After he was sure everyone was gone, Ranger stepped out of the church and looked at the darkened sky. He cursed Mother Nature for mocking him that day. Rain fell from the dark clouds just like the tears fell from his dark eyes. The cold wind whipped his jacket around him and he felt the chill all the way to his soul. His life was empty without her and he didn't know how to live now that she was gone.
A/N - This chapter was actually the first one I wrote of this story. I know you all have questions, but stick with me! Let me know what you thought of the funeral chapter. It was hard to write, how was it to read?