Disclaimer: I don't own these characters but I'll return them with goofy grins.

Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers. Thank you to Heather (Txbabefan) for beating this for me.

Chapter 16

Tell Me

Warning: Angst

Steph POV:

I woke up to Carlos's phone ringing. I was sprawled out on top of him. I groaned and he chuckled. I grabbed it off the nightstand and answered, "What?"

"Well, you sure don't sound like the boss," Tank said. "His voice is usually deeper, less feminine."

I growled and Carlos slipped the phone from my hand. "I can't have one fucking night of uninterrupted time with you, can I?" I grumbled rolling off of him. I yanked the blankets towards me and buried my head under the pillow. Carlos ran his hand over my hip.

"Alright. I'll meet you in the garage," he said. Carlos rolled out of bed and went into the closet. He emerged three minutes later strapping on his utility belt. He crawled over the bed and pulled the pillow off my face.

"I'll be back soon babe. We'll sleep in and enjoy the morning together alright?" he said, smiling.

"I shouldn't complain," I said softly. He smiled and kissed me.

"Just stay here and stay soft and warm for me. When I get back you can have me until the core meeting at eleven," he said softly. His lips claimed mine again before pulling back.

I watched him walk to the bedroom door and a feeling of dread filled me. "Carlos, don't get shot. I love you."

"Don't go crazy, Babe. I love you, too." He shot me a grin before jogging down the short hallway. I rolled over and tried to go back to bed; eventually I was successful but still I was feeling off.

"Beautiful! Beautiful, wake up!" Les said was shaking my shoulder.

"Wha..."

"Come on." He urged. "Get dressed."

"Les, what's going on?"

"I'll explain once your you're dressed," he said. He had grabbed me a bra, a pair of leggings, and one of Carlos's shirts. He turned away from me and I dressed quickly. When I gave him the okay to turn around, he tossed me a pair of shoes.

"What's going on, Les?"

"I'll explain on the way." He said. I managed to snatch a hair tie off the nightstand as he yanked me out of the apartment. He pulled me down the stairs.

"It's Carlos, isn't it?" I asked. I felt a pang in my chest and my stomach churned.

"Stephanie, we don't have time to do this here," He growled. He picked me up and hauled me down the rest of the stairs to the garage. He placed me in the passenger's seat of an SUV. He ran around to the other side.

"Tell me, Lester!" I pleaded, as he pulled out of the garage. I gripped the oh-shit handle as he slid around a corner.

"Ranger was shot in the chest."

"He was wearing his vest, wasn't he?" I asked, my voice thick, vision blurry.

"It was armor piercing," he said. I felt a ball lump settle in my throat. He parked at St. Francis and helped me out. We found our way to the OR waiting room. Tank paced the room; his hands and forearms covered in dried blood. I could see the wet stains in his shirt and cargos although the color of his blood was hidden by the black. Carlos's blood.

"Steph," He said when he finally saw me. I stomped to him and pushed him in the chest. Of course, Tank stood strong like an oak tree.

"How could you let him get hurt Tank?" I yelled at him, pushing him again. "What am I going to do? What am I going to do? I love him!"

"He knows you do Steph," Tank said softly trying to grab my shoulders in his hands. I shuddered and tears ran down my cheeks.

"Why was it him, Tank?" I yelled/sobbed pounding, my fist into his chest. "I can't lose him." Finally, my words tumbled into complete sobs and my knees weakened. I felt a needle puncture my arm and I knew Bobby had sedated me. Tank caught me cradling me in his arms. The last thing I remembered was Tank whispering to me and rocking me softly in his arms.

I woke up to a familiar scent, but it wasn't Carlos's. I opened my puffy eyes to see Tank. He looked down at me sensing eyes on him. "I'm sorry," I said softly. He kissed my forehead.

"I know, Steph." he said.

I motioned for him to let me down and he did. Les came over from the nurse's desk. I glanced at the doors before walking to the bathroom. I splashed water on my face and tied my hair up. I took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom. I stood in front of the men gathered in the room, which was most of Rangeman.

"Tell me," I said. I stood with my back to the OR doors. I couldn't think about Carlos being back there fighting for his life and I couldn't be there.

"When we got there, they were coming out. Ranger shoved me out of the way. He took the bullet. Neither of us expected it to be armor piercing. It went through his chest and out his back, nicking his lung," Tank answered. "We were three minutes away from here. That's the only thing that saved him."

I nodded and wiped a tear from my eye. "How many men do we have stationed outside of the OR?"

"Two," Tank answered.

"Is the man still alive?" I asked. I saw a glint in Tank's eyes that gave me my answer. I nodded.

"All of you, go home. You'll be the first to know when we know something. Get some rest. I know your all worried about Ranger but there isn't anything you can do sitting in the waiting room. Tank will make a rotation for who guards his door. Eight-hour shifts, thirty-minute lunch breaks one at a time, four breaks at least one every two hours."

They all agreed. I received hugs and forehead kisses, words of sorrow and support; none of them filled the hole in my chest. I just nodded and thanked them. Bobby, Rage, Les, Tank, Hector, Cal, and Ram remained.

"You doing okay?" Ram asked. I nodded absently and sat in the chair closest to the doors. I felt a presence beside me and glanced back to see Hector next to me. He took my hand and squeezed it and I forced a smile.

I didn't know how long it had been, but I knew we had gone through two shift changes. Finally, a doctor emerged. He wore blue scrubs with blood down the front of them. "Family of Ricardo Manoso?"

"That's us," I said standing.

"And you are?" The doctor asked.

"His Power of Attorney and wife," Tank answered. I watched the doctor zero in on my left hand where Carlos's engagement ring resided. He nodded.

"Mr. Manoso suffered a gunshot to the chest. It broke two ribs, fracture three others, nicked his lung and barely missed his spine. It was a through and through and had he arrived two minutes later Mr. Manoso wouldn't have made it," He said. I felt Tank's huge hand close around mine and he squeezed it. I squeezed it back.

"That being said, Mr. Manoso's heart stopped two times during the operation." He said. I felt my chest constrict. "But we managed to resuscitate him both times. He's currently in recovery. In about twenty minutes we will be moving him to the ICU. He'll be allowed to have two visitors at a time."

"Thank you, Doctor," I said softly. He nodded and disappeared behind the door.

"We need to call his parents," I said, looking wide eyed at Tank. "I'm a horrible person Tank. I haven't even called his family."

Tank pulled me into a hug. "Ranger says not to call his family until the situation can be explained and he's semi out of the woods. I'll call them. You need to go back and sit with him. I'll have one of the guys bring you food and I'll work something out with the hospital so that you can stay with him after visiting hours are over."

"Thank you, Tank." I said softly. He smiled and kissed my forehead.

"You like my little sister, Bomber," he said. "I'll always take care of you."

A few minutes later a nurse came and got me, taking me to the ICU. Carlos laid in the bed, tubes and wires in his body, machines surrounding the bed. I sank down in the chair next to him taking the hand that wasn't full of tubes.

"Carlos," I said softly, my voice thick and my eyes blurry with tears. I brushed a kiss over the back of his hand and laid my head on the bed next to our joined hands.

I woke up to someone coming into the room. I heard three sets of footsteps and spun around without jarring Carlos too much. "Maria, Ricardo, this is Stephanie Plum. Carlos's fiancé." Tank said standing in the doorway. I looked at him and he smirked. He didn't give me any sort of warning that they were here. I'm sure my hair was a mess my clothes were wrinkled. I could have at least splashed my face with cold water before meeting my soon to be in-laws.

"Mr. and Mrs. Manoso..." I started softly. Maria rushed me and took me into her arms.

"It's Maria or Mama querida," she said. "Especially since you're engaged to my Carlito and your here with him."

"There's nowhere else I would rather be," I said. She smiled and Ricardo walked over. There was no denying these were Carlos's parents. His father looked like an older version of him. He looked fit in his mid-fifties, his stomach softer than Carlos's but his facial features were almost the same. If he didn't have a light peppering of grey hair, I would say he was Carlos's older brother.

"Estephana, how are you doing?" Ricardo asked, crouching down in front of me. much like his son does. Shit, here come the water works.

"As well as I can be right now," I said softly. I sniffled and I felt a large catcher's mitt size hand on my shoulder.

"We're here for you and Ranger, Steph." Tank said. I nodded at Tank.

"When's the last time you ate?" Maria asked.

"Dinner," I said softly. I saw a frown mar her face; she didn't look like a woman that frowned very often.

"When?"

"Last night, I guess. When Carlos was shot," I said softly. I couldn't seem to find my normal voice.

"Steph. That was almost two days ago," Tank said.

"Oh," I muttered, embarrassed. I hadn't realized that much time had passed.

"Pierre bring me my cooler bag. There is food in there. She needs to eat. How could you let her sit here with him and not take care of herself?" Maria scolded him. Normally I would laugh at Tank scrambling to follow orders from a woman half his size, but under the circumstances I couldn't find it in myself too.

I observed the Manoso's. Maria sat on the foot of the bed and since she had sat her eyes haven't left Carlos for more than a few seconds. Her hand rested on his leg though the blanket; I guess she felt the same need to touch him that I did.

"You need to take care of yourself." Ricardo said looking at me with eyes all too similar to his son's. "Carlos would not be happy if he woke up to find his novia withering away at his bedside because she wasn't taking care of herself."

This got the corner of my mouth to tip up. "You're right, Mr. Manoso."

"Ric or Ricardo," he said, patting my hand. He pulled up the other chair and sat next to me, watching his wife and son.

A few hours later Maria stood. I had been so focused on Carlos and watching for any signs he was waking up, that I didn't notice the tears falling from her eyes. "I trust you will let us know when he wakes up?" Maria asked.

I nodded not knowing what to say. "We would stay but we know Carlito wouldn't want us too. He doesn't like for us to worry although it's a stupid thought. I am going to go home and get his abuela Rosa and we will go to the church and pray for him," she said.

"I will let you know if anything changes," I said softly. She smiled and I watched Maria and Ricardo walk out of the room. Tank looked at me.

"Ella is sending you a bag. I talked to the staff, and you can use the bathroom. They're bringing a cot for you to sleep on," he said. I nodded.

"Tank..." I said softly.

"Yeah, Steph?"

"Can you sit with him? In case he wakes up."

"Sure, Steph." He said. A few minutes later one of the guys dropped off the bag and I made my way into the bathroom after kissing Carlos's forehead.

I stripped quickly and stepped into the shower not caring that the water hadn't warmed up all the way. All I could think of was Carlos laying in the bed, hooked up to all of those machines. Ella had included a bottle of Bulgari. I smiled but felt tears trickle down my cheeks. I wiped them away and finished up my shower quickly.

I made my way back into the room and Tank stood from the chair allowing me to sit. "I'll be back in a little bit to check on you," he said. He leaned down and dropped a kiss on the top of my head before walking out, and shutting the door behind him.

I took Carlos's hand in mine and rubbed my thumb over his knuckles. "You have to be okay Carlos," I said softly. "You have to be, you're not allowed to leave me. I need you here."

I sighed and laid my head on the bed next to our hands. I tried to ignore the beeps around me and the steady whoosh of the ventilator. I heard the door open and footsteps.

"Mrs. Manoso?"

"Yes?" I asked softly. It surprised me how easily I answered to being called Mrs. Manoso.

"I'm Doctor Rivera," he said. He was a new doctor, not the one from earlier. He stood at about six foot tall, with black hair that fell to his shoulders, his brown eyes piercing but right now they were sympathetic.

"Give it to me, Doc," I said. "I don't need it sugar coated. Will he be okay?"

"Your husband isn't out of the woods yet, but he is stable. Right now, he's still knocked out from the anesthetic from surgery. but We need permission to keep him in a medicated coma. He has a punctured lung that we were able to reinflate. We can't risk the chance of him waking up with the tube in his chest and the one down his throat," he said glancing at Carlos.

Tank walked in interrupting. "Doc." He nodded to him.

"They want to put Carlos in a medicated coma," I told him. Tank set his hand on my shoulder. "This is my husband's best friend and second in command."

Rivera nodded.

Tank sighed. "Normally, Steph I would tell you no, because he wouldn't want it, but I think this is too serious for him to just get up and brush off."

I nodded. "Where's the paperwork?" I asked softly.

Dr Rivera handed me it and I read it over, every page before signing it. Rivera He left soon after and Tank looked down at me. "Get some sleep soon," he said. I nodded.

I dug through the bag Ella had sent and laughed softly when I found the book she had sent. Apparently, Ella thought it would be a good idea for me to read to him. I couldn't say I hated the idea, though. Maybe he would get tired of my random thoughts about the book and wake up.

"Ella sent a book for you. So, I'm going to read it to you," I said softly. "It's called General Paton: A Soldier's Life. Why do I know that name?" I shook my head and opened the front to find a note from Ella.

Carlos bought this book a while back and has been meaning to read it. ~Ella

I smirked and flipped open to the first page and started to read out loud to Carlos. I fell asleep and woke up draped over the cot next to the bed. Carlos's hand still securely in mine. I sat up.

"I'm going to run to the bathroom. I'll be right back," I said before releasing his hand to go to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror. Was it crazy that I talked to him? Even though he wasn't awake, couldn't respond. I shook my head.

I took a deep breath and walked back into the room finding Tank waiting for me. He handed me a bag silently along with a cup of coffee. In the bag I found two Boston cremes. I smiled.

"Don't tell anyone, but you're my favorite. Behind Carlos," He chuckled.

"Good to know," he said. "I'll stop by around lunch to have lunch with you. I've got to go now; though, we had a break in at a huge account last night."

"Thank you, Tank." I said. He grinned at me and left soon after. A little while later I picked the book back up and read another chapter, before I heard a ruckus outside. I stood and left the book on my chair walking to the door. I opened it, Ramon and Bones stood on either side of the door and my mother stood in front of them yelling. She locked eyes with me, and I stepped out and shut the door behind me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her. I schooled my expression to the blank face the guys had taught me.

"I've come to take you home. You don't need to be here."

"And why is that, Helen?" I asked.

"Because you belong at home with Joseph, not here in the hospital with some man who isn't Burg," She said.

I stepped forward, a few inches between us. "You're treading on thin ice, Helen," I spat.

"Oh, come on, Stephanie. You cannot possibly believe you're in love with this man. We all know you're in love with Joseph. You're meant to marry him and give me more grandchildren," she said, rolling her eyes.

"He hit me!" I yelled at her, waving my arms. "You want me to be with a man who abuses me?"

"What is that on your hand, Stephanie Michelle?" She asked glaring at my left hand.

"It's an engagement ring," I said.

"You accepted Joe's ring?" she asked, getting excited.

"No," I said. "This ring was given to me by Carlos."

"Let me see," she growled. "You need to take it off."

"You need to leave," I said. "You're going to disturb the patients. I don't want to deal with you right now."

"Do not walk away from me, Stephanie!"

"Watch me. Ramon, make sure she leaves the hospital without disturbing the other patients. Grab a security guard and escort her out if needed."

Don't hate me...