FADE TO BLACK

Disclaimer: As usual, all character's are the property of JE. Unfortunately she won't even let me borrow Ranger for a day or two. I am making no money yada, yada, yada.

WARNING: This story is VERY Un-Morelli friendly. If you are a Cupcake then you will absolutely hate my story. Joe is a very bad guy in this story. I'm a total Babe and it shows. It's actually extremely unkind to Mrs. Plum too. There will be adult language, violence, and situations so don't even bother reading any more if this will offend you.

Previously:

TPOV

Finally, I thought, as the plane touched down in Trenton. We were finally home. Granted, we weren't all in great shape, but we were home, and everyone would be okay. I could finally see my woman, get a good meal, and then I planned on sleeping until the next century. This is exactly why I didn't do this crap anymore. It was mentally and physically exhausting, and I just couldn't hang anymore. It sucks to have the fact that I'm getting older thrown in my face, especially when I think I'm still twenty years old.

I smiled at the thought while I dragged my tired body up out of my seat and moved to the exit. As I walked through the exit, I realized we had a pretty big welcoming committee. There were guys from RangeMan, Stephanie and her Dad, ah, and there she was. There was my woman, smiling at me. As soon as I hit the tarmac, she was running towards me. I smiled as she jumped into my arms and kissed me for all she was worth. Damn, this woman was something, I thought as we broke apart.

I looked around and saw all the guys greeting each other happily. I watched as my best friend was wheeled off the plane, and saw the woman I thought of as my little sister standing beside him with tears streaming down her face. The happiness and love on both their faces was evident for the world to see. God, it was good to be home!

CHAPTER 34

SPOV

I watched as Carlos was wheeled off the plane and down to the tarmac. As soon as the wheels of his wheelchair hit the ground, I was by his side. I had already been told about all his injuries, including his back and feet, but seeing them was a lot different than hearing about them. The only time I'd seen Ranger this vulnerable was when he was in the hospital after he had been shot by Scrog. I didn't even try to stop the tears that were streaming down my face, I was so happy he was home.

"Carlos, how are you feeling?"

"Okay, Babe. Just need a couple of bandaids," he told me, trying to smile.

I knew he was full of it, but I didn't see a reason to point that out. He and Ram were both being taken to a private hospital outside of Trenton. Evidently, RangeMan used it regularly, because it was privately owned and allowed guards without any questions. Ram was being taken there in an ambulance, but Carlos, being the stubborn man he is, refused to ride in an ambulance, so we were driving him in one of the Explorers. Hal and Woody got him loaded into the back of the truck, and I climbed in beside him. There was no way I was letting this man out of my sight for at least a month, possibly even two or three.

"So... how are you really feeling?"

"I'm tired and sore, but I couldn't be any happier than I am right now," he told me as he twined his fingers with mine.

"Happy? What are you so happy about?" I asked, confused.

"You were waiting for me when I got off the plane. I was afraid you might have changed your mind while I was gone," he explained, barely above a whisper.

I had never seen Carlos insecure about anything. I could tell it made him very uncomfortable, too, so I thought I'd lighten the mood a little and reassure him. "Hey, buster, I told you I wanted my someday. And if you remember, you are now the sole property of Stephanie Michele Plum. That in itself makes it worth the five month wait," I told him, grinning.

He smiled back and raised an eyebrow. "I'm your property, am I? Should I have it stamped across my forehead?"

"Nah.. I was thinking maybe you could get it tattooed on your ass," I said with a smug grin.

He barked with laughter, and I noticed Woody and Hal both were looking at him in shock, causing me to roll my eyes. Did they think he was always in combat mode?

"Okay, Babe, I'll make you a deal. I'll get 'Property of Stephanie Plum' tattooed on my ass, and you can get 'Property of Carlos Manoso' tattooed on yours." He gave me a wolf grin.

I knew how he thought I would probably react to his statement, so I decided to throw him off a little. Instead of instantly getting upset or trying to back-peddle, I pretended to be considering it. I watched as his eyes widened in shock, and then I started laughing.

"Hah! Gotcha. You actually thought I was considering it, didn't you?"

"No," he grumbled, but was still smiling. I loved his smile. When Ranger smiled, it was like a light was turned on. He was always drop dead gorgeous, but when he smiled, he was downright breathtaking.

"Yes, you did. Don't lie," I said, smiling as we pulled up to the hospital.

"Yeah, well, don't let it go to your head. I'm not at my best right now," he told me with a wink as Hal and Woody helped him into a wheelchair.

I wheeled him into the hospital. They were expecting us, so he was taken straight to a room and told the doctor would come see him in a few minutes. A few minutes meant a few hours at all the hospitals I'd ever been to, but evidently that wasn't the case here.

Less than five minutes later, a doctor walked into the room and began checking out Ranger's injuries. He removed some of the bandages on his back, and I got my first glimpse of how bad it actually looked. I couldn't control the gasp that escaped, and Ranger turned to look at me.

"Babe, you don't have to be in here if you don't want to. I'll be okay."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm not going anywhere, Carlos. I just hadn't realized how bad your back was," I explained. I could feel my heart breaking as I finally started to realize everything he'd dealt with while on the mission. I'd been so focused on getting him home, I hadn't thought much about what he had been through, what those monsters had done to him. Looking at his back, or what was left of it, made me realize he had been through hell and back.

I sat down in the chair and waited for the doctor to finish his examination. As soon as he was done, a few specialists came in and told us what to expect over the next few weeks. Carlos would be having at least two surgeries before he could go home. I knew he wasn't happy about it, but he was taking it well, and I was relieved. I didn't want to have to fight with him about getting the treatment he needed.

After the doctors were finished, Carlos lay down and got comfortable. I scooted my chair over to his bed so I could touch him, if only to reassure myself that he was really there. He didn't seem real unless I was touching him. I grabbed his hand, relaxing a little, and before I knew it, we were both fast asleep.

RPOV

I woke up feeling someone squeezing my hand. I opened my eyes and saw Steph asleep in the chair beside my bed, holding my hand. She must have been dreaming, because she seemed to be very restless and kept squeezing my hand tighter, as if she was reassuring herself that I was there. I looked at her and felt an amazing sense of peace. My world had never felt so right.

I knew the next few weeks were going to be a complete pain in my ass. Between skin grafts and the surgery on my foot, I was going to be stuck in this stupid hospital much longer than I wanted to be, but right now, at this moment, I couldn't care less. I had the woman of my dreams beside me, and that was all that mattered.

I lay in bed, watching my Babe sleep for a while, until someone opened my door. I knew Ram and I each had two guards on our doors, but I still tensed up. Steph opened her eyes just as Tank walked into my room, followed by Lula.

"Bomber, Boss, how ya doing?" he asked us.

"I'm okay. What are you doing here so early?" I knew he and the rest of the guys that had rescued me were taking a few days off.

"I thought I'd see how you and Ram were feeling before Lula and I headed out of town for a few days," he explained.

I just nodded and looked over at Steph, who was already listening to Lula tell her about their plans to go to the beach for a few days.

"You see Ram yet?" I asked.

"Yep, he's ok. Should get out of here in a few more days. He'll probably be out before you," he told me with a smug grin. "So what'd the doc say?"

"I have to have at least one surgery for the skin grafts, maybe two, and one on my right foot. The left one will heal okay on it's own, but the right will need some pins. Good thing it was my last mission, because I'd never pass the physical again." Even I could hear the bitterness in my voice. I found it ironic that my last mission was the only one that caused me any long-term physical damage. It just reinforced the fact that it was time for me to get out of the game.

"So how long you gonna be down for?" he asked.

"They are going to do both surgeries in the next few days. I should only be stuck here for about a week, but it will be at least another week before I'm cleared for any kind of work. I'll be in the wheelchair for at least a month, and then I'll be in a walking cast for another two weeks."

"Great, so you're going to act like a little bitch for the next two months. I'll be sure to warn the men," he told me with a shit-eating grin.

He was lucky he'd just saved my ass.

"You keep talking like that, and I'll make sure you're on monitors for the next year. I do still own the company," I scowled.

He laughed. "Yeah, I'm so not worried." He turned to Lula. "You ready, sweetheart?"

She flashed him a smile, and nodded before reaching over and giving Steph a hug. Then she turned to me.

"It's good to have you back, Batman. My man has to work way too much overtime when you're gone," she told me, grinning.

I just laughed as I watched them leave. As soon as the door shut, my eyes were drawn back to Stephanie. She was absolutely beautiful, and she was mine. I reached out for her, inviting her to sit on my bed with me so I could reach her easily. I loved touching her and I had missed it while I was gone.

"So... you ready to tell me about what you've been up to the past few months? All the guys told me you've been working really hard," I said, watching the blush spread across her face. She never took praise well, no matter how much it was deserved.

"Not that much; just training and helping the guys out where they needed me," she explained, making it sound frivolous.

I raised my eyebrow. I knew she had been busy, Tank had told me that much, but he wouldn't give me any details, and now it seemed like she didn't want to, either. After a few minutes of silence, she finally broke down like I'd known she would. My Babe hated sitting in silence, so it never took long to wait her out.

She explained everything she'd been up to while I was gone, from all the training, to all that she had learned about running RangeMan. I was extremely proud of all she had accomplished in the past few months. When she finally told me about landing the Excelsior account, I was beyond proud. I was quite literally stunned. Not because I hadn't thought she could do it, I always knew Steph could do anything she put her mind to, but because she had helped me reach the only goal I had set for my company that I hadn't achieved. I'd even started to think I never would.

"Babe, I'm so proud of you. I don't even know how to thank you for what you've done."

She looked at me strangely. "Why would you thank me? It was just an account, Carlos. You've landed hundreds of them."

"No, Steph, it was much more than "just" an account to me. When I first opened RangeMan, I had just gotten back from a mission that had me out of the country for over a year." As I thought about the mission, I could feel my emotions shut down and my blank face slide into place. Stephanie looked at me sadly, obviously realizing I was remembering something dark, but she didn't pry. After a moment, I shook my head free of the memories and continued

"I was in Miami visiting with some of my friends and family at a small party. One of my sister's friends had just gotten engaged and was proudly telling everyone that her fiance had gotten the ring from Excelsior. I had no clue what she was talking about, but my sister quickly told me it was a very expensive jewelry store. I had never heard of it before, but from the reactions the girl was getting when she said it came from Excelsior, I thought I'd ask around.

"I found out Excelsior was an exclusive jewelry store that only accepted clients on a referral basis, and that the best security firms in the country begged for their account, submitting bids yearly, but they had been with the same company since they'd opened and weren't interested in changing. As soon as I heard this, I knew I had to have that account. I told myself the only way I would ever believe RangeMan was a success was if I landed this one account. I did everything I could to try and get it, but they didn't want to leave the company they'd been using for so long.

"I've had about a hundred other goals I'd set for my company and reached each one, but this is the only one I've never been able to attain. I've tried for years to get this account, and you landed it on the first meeting," I explained to her in complete awe. "You've succeeded in helping me reach the biggest goal I've had for my company, and I couldn't be more thankful or proud."

I reached for her neck and gently pulled her down to kiss me. I tried to keep it soft and sweet. I wanted her to feel the love I had for her, not just the lust, but I should have known I never manage to keep to my plans when it comes to my Babe. Before I had a chance to let go of her, she took over and deepened the kiss. A few minutes later, we broke apart and were both gasping for breath.

I looked at Steph and realized for the first time that she had changed a lot over the past few months. She was stronger, more confident, less insecure, and I was surprised to realize it made me love her even more than I already did. Before I left, I'd thought I'd never love someone more than I loved Steph at that time, but this new, improved Stephanie was even more amazing, and I couldn't wait to get to know her better.

(I named the jewelry store after the 'Great Unknown' of famous diamonds. It's gorgeous. . )

TBC...

Thanks Connie & Jenny! You girls are the greatest, bestest beta's a girl could have.