Misunderstandings & Heartbreak

A/N: Thanks for the reviews and for sticking with me. I have several chapters of this story finished and then I'll be working on Letters and my other unfinished stories. They are not abandoned. Reviews help me write. I know that seems like a ploy, but they honestly motivate me. So tell me what you think.

Many thanks to my awesome Beta Jenrar. Also to Jennifer aka Jenio1 who talked this story out with me many moons ago, miss you and hope you are well.

Please listen to the song Decode by Paramore.

Steph's POV

When Ranger stood up to leave, I was shocked. Then his eyes cut to mine, and I wanted to gulp as he stated, "Fine, Babe. You win this round. But this discussion is far from over," before turning on his heel and leaving the room.

It was completely unsurprising to see him stop as soon as he stepped outside the room and lean back against the wall.

The nurse let out a puff of air before asking, "Do you need anything else, dear?"

I shook my head no. "Thanks for your help."

She smiled. "Men are more trouble than they are worth sometimes, but you can tell how much he loves you by the look on his face. Now, I'll keep him away for a bit. You get some rest, dear." Then she followed him out of the room and pulled my door shut behind herself.

I rolled over to get some sleep. A short time later I heard the door open and sighed.

"Bomber, stop the sighing. It's just me," Bobby called out.

I rolled my eyes as I gingerly maneuvered over to look at him.

"You know, one of these days your eyes are gonna get stuck like that," he teased.

"You sound like my mother."

"That was my intention. I'm just warming you up for all the fun things you're going to hear when you go stay over there, when you get discharged tomorrow."

"Well, I sure as shit can't go to Ranger's apartment, and they won't release me to go home by myself. So my mother's house it is," I huffed out in exasperation.

"What if there was another option?" he stated with a smirk on his face.

"Another option? Like what? It's not like you have a spare bedroom in your apartment on four."

He grinned at me. "Well, actually, there is an apartment that is attached to mine. I use it to care for anyone at Rangeman who's injured and might need help while they heal or, like you, need to be woken up every few hours while they recover from a concussion. There is a door that separates the spaces. It gives the guys privacy but helps me be there if need be."

I bit my lower lip slightly. He knew this was a tempting offer. Anything that helped me avoid long extended periods of time with my mother was always typically a win-win situation.

Unfortunately, this was a very untypical situation.

"I don't know, Bobby. I really don't know about being that close to your boss right now."

"Steph, you two need to talk. But that's not why I'm offering this. I'm offering this because I want to make sure you're okay. That's my only agenda and priority right now. Ranger's fuck-up is his problem. It's his job to try to fix that, not mine. My job is getting you well. That's my only concern."

I looked at him. "Can I think about it and let you know tomorrow?" I asked as a yawn escaped." Who knew that being kidnapped, tortured, and almost blown up could make you so sleepy?

Bobby nodded and then stood up and walked over to kiss me on the forehead. "Get some rest, Bombshell. I'll be out here in the corridor if you need me."

I pulled the covers over my head to do some major thinking. Did I trust Bobby? Yes! Was staying in the apartment on four a better option than going home to my parents' house? Yes! Did I trust Ranger?

And wasn't that the ten million dollar question.

A little while later…

"Ms. Plum, I'm sorry," a female voice said. "I need you to wake up!"

"Huh? What? I just…wanna sleep."

"I know, sweetie. But you've got to answer a couple questions."

I heard Ranger chuckling from the door and saw red.

"It's not funny! Why are you even here? Go away!"

He gave a rather audible sigh but didn't comment further.

"Can you tell me your name?" the nurse asked, ignoring my tirade.

"Stephanie Plum," I huffed.

"What's the name of the guy in the hallway?"

"I don't know who he is."

The nurse became a little alarmed. "Are you sure, Ms. Plum?"

I could see Ranger getting ready to walk into the room.

The nurse held up her hand, telling him to stop. "You knew him earlier. I'm just trying to figure out if I need to call the doctor."

I huffed in frustration. "Someone who used to be my friend."

I could hear Ranger sigh from the doorway. "I'm still your friend, Babe."

"Why are you even still here?" I repeated. "Go home!"

The nurse rolled her eyes as Bobby walked into my room.

"Bombshell, the sooner you answer her questions, the sooner you can go back to sleep. What's my name?"

"Bobby." I almost pouted while crossing my arms.

He smiled at me. "What's your hamster's name?"

"Rex. Can I go to sleep now?"

He looked at the nurse, who nodded.

I pulled the covers back over my head and prayed that I could fall right back to sleep.

A couple hours later…

I could hear a male voice saying my name.

"Steph, wake up. Come on, Bomber. Open those baby blues," Bobby said while tucking a stray curl behind my ear.

"I just want to sleep." I whined before trying to get back to sleep.

"Just a couple questions. I promise." He placed his hand on my arm. "Open your eyes."

"You don't have to see my eyes. Ask your dumb questions."

"Steph, wake up."

"Huh…wha…"

A minute or two later. "You fell back asleep, Steph," Bobby sighed with a chuckle. "What's your job?"

"Bounty hunting..."

I must have started to drift off again as he asked his next question.

"Who's your best friend?"

My eyes welled up with tears as I whispered, "Ranger was my best friend, but I don't have one anymore."

I heard footsteps start to come in the room before Bobby stated, "If you don't stay the hell out of this room, I'm going to take her away and hide her."

Ranger let out a frustrated growl. I heard the door click shut a couple seconds later.

Bobby grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "Stephanie…" His voice dropped off, and the next thing I knew, the bed was moving underneath me, causing me to open my eyes fully.

"Why are you raising the head of the bed?" I shrieked. "I just want to sleep."

"I need you to actually wake up and listen to me."

"Bobby, it's hella late. My head is pounding. All I want to do is sleep."

"I know that, Steph. I also know that you really need to listen to me. You've been through some pretty heavy emotional trauma, not to mention the physical trauma. Trying to reason with you when you're a hundred percent is…well let's be honest… Reasoning with you is a typically a pain in the ass. But you need to listen to me when I say this to you."

He ran his hand through his hair before continuing.

"It's not my place to get in the middle of the issues between you and Ranger. I know that after what happened, you have every right to feel like you can't trust him, but that man standing outside this room loves you. If you don't believe me, that's fine. As I said before, it's not my job to fix his fuck-ups. But I also feel like you should know some things. Do you realize that Ram gave him 50/50 odds of getting you out of that vest successfully? Do you realize that he was less than a minute away from telling Ram to leave the room and holding you while the bomb went off? It was his fault Auric got ahold of you in the first place. He's standing outside not only worried about you and terrified he can't fix things, but he's also standing out there blaming himself and beating himself up. He absolutely hates himself right now."

I sighed. "It's not his fault that crazy shit happens to me."

"You're right about that, but Auric is his crazy. Ranger's worst nightmare come to life is what just played out. You really need to think here. If you really want him out of your life, keep pushing him away. He'll convince himself that his life is too dangerous for you to be in it. It will break him, but he'll do it."

"I don't want him to leave and blame himself, and I don't want him to leave…but he already did. I waited for him for a year! A year, Bobby! He broke me." Tears started to fall as I grabbed my head.

Bobby gingerly moved me over and climbed into the bed with me, wrapping me in his arms. "Please don't cry. I didn't mean to make cry." He held me gingerly until my tears stopped falling.

"Can you at least promise to go with me to four? We can figure out the rest later."

I nodded my head. "Can I please go back to sleep now?"

He kissed my head before starting to get out of the bed.

"Can you hold me for just a couple more minutes? Just until I fall asleep?"

"Of course. Sleep now, Steph."

TBC…