AN: WOW! The feedback I got on the last chapter was overwhelming! All of you are so wonderful! I love hearing from everyone :-) You guys inspired me to get this chapter up as soon as I could! Thank you so much for all of your encouragement and reviews! So, without further ado, the next chapter!

Disclaimer: Don't own, just play!

Rediscovery

Chapter 38

Tank and Ranger caught Lester as he staggered. Hal pushed one of the chairs over to them. The look of shock on Lester's face was evident for all to see. Internally, he felt a swell of love and pride burst in his chest at the idea of Penelope carrying his child, but it warred with the beast that wanted to find her and protect them. He let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a growl and barely caught Penelope's next words.

"Pregnant? What do you mean I'm pregnant?" Her voice sounded panicked.

"Yes, you know, Bun in the oven. With Child, expecting…" Mary Lou's voice trailed off. "Hey don't glare at me!"

"Yeah, Pen, it's hardly Mare's fault you've got a visit coming from the stork," Stephanie snickered.

"Oh, geeze…how the fuck did this happen?" Penelope groaned.

"Well," Sheila started, sounding completely entertained by the situation, "When two people really love each over and they want to share that love—"

"—or in their case, were extremely horny," Stephanie supplied.

"I hate both of you."

"Yeah, yeah, all talk, Thayer," Stephanie chuckled.

Silence fell over the control for several minutes. The men stood, unwavering, unwilling to leave for any moment for fear of hearing something that could have vital information that would help them get the women.

"Hey, guys, did you notice anything when you were taken?" Stephanie finally asked.

"No," Mary Lou answered, "It just happened so fast. I saw the boys off to school and maybe ten minutes later, my front and back door were being broken down and in came these guys with guns. They weren't very big men. Kind of scrawny, especially compared to any of Ranger's men."

"Mary Lou, most men are considered scrawny compared to Ranger's men." Stephanie said with affection in her voice.

"I was drugged." Sheila said, "My guess is chloroform. All I remember is walking into the art studio at the community center. Next thing I know, I'm here with Mary Lou hovering over me. What about you two?"

"We were taken from the beach house. Whoever has us, if it is the Kazarras, knew to follow us." Stephanie sounded frustrated, "We got shoved into a van. Coming from the beach house to anywhere would take a few hours. I couldn't even see out a window."

The men could hear a door slam open and the women fell silent. The sound of a whimpering woman came to their ears, causing all the men to become rigid with apprehension. They could hear the painful creak of a cell door opening and slamming. There was cruel laughter that faded away as a door slammed.

Nothing was said or heard, save for the whimpering of the woman. A loud noise was coming through, which told Ranger Stephanie was probably moving. "Hey, are you okay?"

Before any answer could be given the door slammed open. "So you have new stock in, yes?" Came a heavily accented voice.

"Of course," There was a collective hiss around the room at the recognition of Everett Kazarra's voice. "What do you think?"

"I think they are lovely." The anonymous man said after a few minutes. "You have other buyers of course."

"Such is the way of business." Everett said smoothly.

"And they will be instructed?"

"Of course. Come, now that you've seen them, let us head back up and discuss what you'd like to see."

Mary Lou spoke first, "What are they talking about?"

"They're going to sell us." Stephanie said with no emotion in her voice.

"You can't know that."

"Yes I can. I was a buyer before I became a bounty hunter, Mare, remember? I recognize the look of appraisal. Whoever Kazarra's buyer is is looking at our worth."

"That makes us sound like we're nothing more than cattle."

"Until we get out of here," Stephanie said softly, "We are nothing more than cattle."

"She's right." The whimpering woman spoke. Her voice cracked with pain and was hoarse. "He'll sell you to the highest bidder, and if you won't do what your master tells you, then you get sold back and Kazarra will do what he likes then put you back down here until you've healed enough for him to sell you again."

There was a ferocious growl in the control room. Bobby and Tank pounced on Lester as he lunged for the nearest door. Together they wrestled him to the ground. Tank spoke quickly to his friend, "Santos, breathe. You've got to get it together."

"My woman—and my baby are being held to be sold!" Lester roared coming close to breaking free. That is, until Ranger pushed between Tank and Bobby and gripped Lester in a lock that Lester couldn't get out of.

"Calm down." Ranger growled. "We are going to get them back. We're a step ahead with this wire. It's going to keep us apprised of what they're dealing with. We know Kazarra has them. We. Will. Get. Them. Back."

Lester glared at his cousin for several moments then sighed and dropped his head. When he lifted it again he looked at Ranger. His voice was soft with anger and pain. "Carlos…they…I…"

"I know." Ranger said just as softly. "We'll get them back."

"Pen?" Stephanie's voice was soft, "How are you feeling?"

"I don't know." Penelope admitted. "How would you feel if you found out if you were pregnant?"

"Um…" Stephanie was very aware of the wire on her, but she knew Penelope needed some kind of comfort, "Honestly? Whenever the thought of children came up with Morelli, I felt like was going to break out in hives and it felt like there was a noose tightening around my neck. There was an unbearable feeling of suffocation that I couldn't handle. But, with Carlos? I don't think I can describe the idea. He's always been the one who helped me fly when everyone else told me I couldn't."

"You'd be okay with it?" Penelope sounded surprised.

"Well, right now, I'd prefer it we wait. He and I have spent so much time going in circles around each other…I think we need time for just us." Stephanie said hoping Ranger caught the silent message, "But someday? Someday a little boy who looks like his daddy would be wonderful."

"How can you not be concerned of what kind of mother you'll be when you have your mother?"

"Because I see my mother and know I would never be like her. Plus, Carlos, and my Merry Men, they'd never let me get away with it. Pen, you are not Diane. She is a self-serving bitch who only acknowledges her own needs. You became a lawyer to help people. You helped Kaylee when she was being bullied. You stand up for people, something your father taught you." Stephanie stopped talking when the door opened.

"Fuck." Bobby muttered. "I wish we could just implant a tracking device on Bomber. It would make finding her so much easier."

"Don't think I haven't thought about it." Ranger replied with a smirk.

"So you're the bitches Kazarra warned me about." A cold voice crept through the wire. Ranger could practically see Stephanie stiffen with apprehension. He willed her to stay calm. He willed himself to stay calm.

/\/\/\/\/\

But Stephanie wasn't feeling calm. She was feeling intensely protective. "Warned you about us? We're nothing special."

The man wasn't a large man. He was tall, and lean. Comparing him to a Merry Man was almost laughable. He had muscles, she could see that. His close cropped black hair did little to hide the scars that ran along his neck under his shirt. He leaned up against the cell bars and stared straight at her chest. Stephanie didn't move, refusing to give him the satisfaction of squirming.

Finally, he looked at her face and smirked. "I heard you like playing detective. Find your friend's killer?"

"Haven't got a clue what you're talking about." Stephanie said dismissively.

Penelope looked at Stephanie from where she was sitting in their cage. Stephanie was standing in the middle, arms folded over her chest, legs apart. She looked protective. Knowing her friend's capabilities she stood and walked over, wrapping an arm around Steph's shoulders.

The man leered at them. "They'll let me test you out. Make sure your merchandise is good. I do good work too."

"Really?" Stephanie drawled, her eyes falling to his crotch. "You don't look like you've got enough to satisfy."

"You just aint been with a real man." He growled. "When I'm done with you, you'll be begging."

"Not for you I imagine." She shot back. "Trust me. I've got a real man and no one else compares. Certainly not what you're sporting," she motioned toward his crotch, "there."

He slammed a fist against one of the bars, glaring at her. "Careful, bitch, or you'll end up dead like your friend."

"What do you know of it?" Stephanie demanded.

"She screamed." He grinned, watching her face drain of color, "Begged me not to do it. I enjoyed watching her squirm. Breaking her was so easy. She had the nerve to talk back to me too. Pity I had to kill her. I was gonna get a taster of her since she was so feisty, but don't worry, I'll make up for that with one of you."

Penelope gripped Stephanie's shoulders as hard as she could. Fuck, they were in deep shit. Especially since this man killed Kaylee. But she couldn't block Stephanie's mouth, which insisted on running. "You're pathetic—"

"Bruce!" Everett stepped down into the basement. He shot a look at his hired man. "I told you to wait."

"Boss, I wanted to see what the goods are." He replied.

"You've seen them. Now get to the task at hand." Everett ordered.

Bruce shot the four of them a look that promised more to come later. Stephanie swallowed against the vile feeling that crept up her throat.

"My dears, I hope you enjoy your accommodations."

"It's hardly four star." Penelope snapped. "If you give me a comment card, I'll be happy to fill it out with suggestions."

"Tsk, tsk, Penelope, I did not raise you to be rude."

Penelope's head whipped around and she saw Diane walking down the stairs into the basement. Her jaw dropped. "Diane?"

"Penelope, I have forms for you to sign." She wasted no time in what she wanted to speak to her daughter about. "You sign them, then we will go about our lives and you and I can pretend the other doesn't exist."

"Did you know he was doing this?" Penelope demanded motioning toward Everett.

"Of course I did." Diane looked surprised. "Why wouldn't I know? I've been sleeping with him for over thirty years. I know more about what he does than his wife."

Sheila and Mary Lou stood with their backs against a wall, watching the scene unfold before them. In a silent form of comfort, they grasped each other's hands. Penelope stepped back away from Stephanie, who stood protectively in front of all of them.

"Now," Diane continued, "These forms sign over everything you own to me."

"Why would I sign those?"

"Because, my dear, you won't need them where you're going." She replied.

"And where am I going?"

"To the highest bidder of course."

"You'd sell your own daughter?" Penelope felt like she was going to be sick, and with the knowledge that she was pregnant, that was a complete possibility.

"You were warned about going against Everett and his family." Diane said, looking down her nose at all of them. Despite the dirtiness of the basement, she stood there in pristine white, looking every bit of the upper class woman she was. "You chose to ignore it and now you're paying the consequences."

"You can't seriously think that would work." Stephanie interjected. "You put her on a bidding block and people are going to see Mark Thayer's daughter. Even you aren't that stupid. Well…you might be since you're willing to sell your child."

Diane raised her chin at Stephanie. "We don't sell to anyone in the country, you twit."

"What did you do, try to sell Kaylee and she got away?" Stephanie asked trying to buy more information.

"Of course not." Everett looked bored. "She discovered my business affairs and had to be taken care of. Derek was smart enough to find Bruce and have him take care of Kaylee. Bruce can be…intense at times. We told him to make it look like an accident."

"Clearly, he failed, since the police were investigating it and started doing it again." Stephanie growled.

"Yes, well, if she had listened to the video Derek sent her she would have lived a peaceful and quiet life." He looked thoughtful. "Well, perhaps not. She was a lovely young woman. I'm sure I could have sold her for a very good price."

"You deserve to rot in Hell." Sheila growled.

Everett smiled. It was a cold smile, one that had all the girls repressing a desire to shiver. "I will go to hell a very rich man, my dear. You, on the other hand, will spend the rest of your lives in hell on earth. The men who will buy you will pay a handsome price, and you will obey, or you will be punished for it."

Penelope's mind was racing. Everything he was saying gave them enough to have the Kazarra family put away, along with Derek and Bruce and even her mother. They would have to get away in order to find someone who they could get the information to. Everett and Diane seemed to have no qualms about discussing the past with them because they clearly believed none of them were going to escape and they would continue on with their lives as though nothing happened.

But one nagging thought crept into her mind. "Diane…you said you've been sleeping with him for over thirty years. He's not—I'm not—he didn't—"

"Really, Penelope, for a lawyer, you should work on coherent sentences." Diane said. "Sadly, he's not your father. Mark Thayer is your biological father. I guarantee if Everett were your father, you would not have such a prissy attitude towards everything. Now, since I do not want the banks to get control over your funds with your sudden disappearance, I really need you to sign everything over."

"Not happening."

"Penelope, I know you think that your assets will go to her," Diane waved a dismissive hand at Stephanie, "But she will be sold as well."

"Don't worry, Diane," Penelope gave her a cold look, "My assets won't be going to Stephanie—no offense, Steph—"

"None taken."

"—but they definitely won't be going to you. My will has been updated and I have it so locked that even if you contest it, it'll be tied up in courts for years."

"You ungrateful little bitch!" Diane snapped angrily. "I should have aborted you when I found out I was having you!

"Calm down, my dear," Everett said soothingly. "We'll get everything worked out. I'll make sure we get a very good price for her too."

Diane wasted no time in shooting Penelope one more dirty look before allowing Everett to lead her out of the basement area.

Penelope's legs shook and she felt Stephanie and Mary Lou lead her to the ground gently. She looked up at Stephanie with a vulnerability that was unusual to see on her face. "What are we going to do Steph? How are we going to get out of this?"

"Solidarietas." Stephanie said after a moment. "We'll stick together." She sat next to Penelope and wrapped an arm around her. "We just have to get more information from them. "

"I can't believe she would have aborted me." Penelope's eyes filled with tears. "How can I have a child when that kind of blood is running through me?"

/\/\/\/\/\

"Proud of you, Babe." Ranger muttered. She had managed to get information out of them that Jace and the rest of the Feds had been trying to pinpoint. Luckily for them, Hal had hit the record button so whatever was going to happen would be continuously recorded.

At hearing Penelope's words, Lester froze, unable to move. He had to hear what was being said next. Tank had hurried to find Jace and apprise him of the current situation and call Lenny to let him know they had found where Mary Lou was…sort of.

"You can have that child because that baby is part of you and Lester." Stephanie's voice was firm.

"Shit…I've fallen in love with him and if we don't get out of here, the poor bastard is never going to know he's stuck with me." Penelope said. All the men in the room could hear the shaken emotion in her voice.

"Oh…I wouldn't worry about that." Stephanie said, "I'm pretty sure he knows now."

"What are you talking about?" There was a rustling sound then a gasp, "You're wired? When did that happen?"

"This morning on the job. Carlos and I both forgot to take it off. Lucky us, huh?"

"So lucky!" Penelope's voice was laced with excitement. "Do you think they caught everything Kazarra and Diane said?"

"We'll find out when they get us." Stephanie replied.

"Oh…do you think Lester knows I'm pregnant then?"

"Probably."

"Fuck! That means Ranger probably heard me talk about the stakeout…is he going to send me to a third world country?"

There were muffled snorts of laughter on both sides of the wire. Stephanie's voice was filled with laughter when she started talking, "I doubt it, but I'm sure something he'll think of something dirty to do to you."

"You're not letting me forget that are you?"

"Not any more than I'm going to let Stephanie forget that she wanted Jace to invade her Gotham City." Sheila said.

"Says the woman who wanted to paint my husband with strawberry syrup." Mary Lou retorted.

"Hey, do you want me to show you all the dirty texts you kept sending to Lester?" Penelope demanded.

Ranger breathed marginally. Despite the severity of the situation, he was glad the four of them were with each other and helping one another to stay calm, even if it meant teasing each other mercilessly.

"You know what, Thayer? I hope you have a daughter. And because she'll be a combination of you and Lester, the world won't know what hit it." Mary Lou informed her.

"Maybe I want a son."

"The world can't handle more than one Lester, I'm sorry." Stephanie said.

"If our baby is a girl, she's staying locked in RangeMan until she's a hundred." Lester announced to the control room.

All the men looked at one another and nodded. They could do that.

"The baby just needs to be healthy." Lester heard the soft tenderness of Penelope's voice and knew she was keeping the baby. The fear that he had after listening to her mother's declaration dissipated into relief. Now all he had to do was find his woman and child. Then he was taking a vacation. Ranger owed him that much.

"I have an idea." Stephanie said. The sound of ripping along with a muttered, "Carlos, find tape that doesn't hurt to peel off the skin for these things." Cloth moved over the speaker of the wire.

"Steph, what are you doing?" Penelope asked.

"The wire will better be on you."

Before there was a chance for anyone to hear Steph's explanation, the door to the basement slammed open. Bruce's voice came on. "Now that I've done what I was supposed to, I get to play."

There were growls around the control room, showing exactly what they thought of the situation.

"And I think I want to play with the lawyer."

"Shit." Mary Lou and Sheila said simultaneously.

"Hey! Dipshit!" Stephanie said suddenly, startling everyone.

"What are you doing, Plum?" Penelope hissed.

"Lawyer up, Thayer." Stephanie hissed back. Her voice got louder, indicating her attention was back on Bruce. "You must've had fun when you got ahold of Kaylee. Did it make you feel like a big man, hurting someone so much smaller than you? I bet it didn't give you much of a hard on though. You don't look like you've got enough to do anything. I bet Kaylee could have fought you off. You probably had to have help!"

"I didn't have help to do nothing!"

"I bet you can't even get a woman to sleep with you!" Stephanie continued to taunt, "It must suck not to have a sex life."

"Changed my mind, boys, bring the smart mouth bitch to me instead."

"Stephanie!" Sheila whispered frantically, "What are you doing?"

"Dealing with anger issues." She replied.

The men in the control room looked at Ranger, trying to gauge whether or not to hold him down…or try to hold him down. They all listened quietly as the cell door was opened and Stephanie was dragged out of it.

When the basement door closed, Mary Lou's voice was thick as she said, "I thought we told her to put her anger issues into her sexual nature."

"She didn't have to do that." Penelope sounded frustrated. "I could have handled myself."

Mary Lou started talking again, surprising all of them at the sudden vehemence in which she spoke, "Really? And what would you have done when they realized you're pregnant? Hm? Your first instinct will be to protect your stomach. The moment they see you favoring it, they'll figure it out. And with Diane up there, you can bet she'll figure it out faster than anyone else. In the situation we're in, you know they won't let you keep that baby."

"But she didn't—"

"Yes she did! Ranger talked Stephanie into getting training. Bruce couldn't even take on the weakest Rangeman, if there is one. So Steph is going to make his life hell for a while. She is protecting you and your baby. Something you can't do. You're not a physical fighter, Thayer. You know that. We all know that. Right now, your baby is your first priority. We have another woman down here. You heard Steph. Lawyer up. Get all the information you can out of her. We need everything we can get to help them find us."

"The problem with Steph working through her anger issues now," Sheila's voice was soft, "Is she'll have to find a way to focus her anger into one spot. She blacked out last time."

"Then we all better hope she channels her inner Ranger and stays focused on Bruce and kicks the shit out of him for all of us." Mary Lou's voice was resolute.

Please review! You'll make me smile and make my day! :-D Promise!