Got stuck in a mandatory software training at work today, led as a group. My coworkers are in their 60s and 70s, so the demo went by super slow. That part of the office is a dead zone for cell service, but my notes app worked just fine, lol. This is a product of my boredom (you can only hear the same instructions being repeated so many -_-).
I hope to have the updates for Call It What You Want and Guilty Until Proven Innocent edited by the end of the week.
Let me know your thoughts on this oneshot.
Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. Mistakes are mine.
Stephanie's POV
Growing up, my mother always made sure to tell me that I was horrible at cooking or anything that had to do with food prep. Helen Plum had no patience to really teach me, always expecting that I'd be a natural like her and Val. So, from a young age I became the designated table setter and mostly solo clean up crew.
Tonight, however, my nieces were passed the torch. Angie was a natural in the kitchen, excelling simply by using measurements for everything. Mary Alice? She was like me. Neither my mom nor my sister had any real patience with her endless questions. To spare the poor kid, I roped her into being my helper.
After dinner while everyone was enjoying some down-time in the living room, my niece and I were making quick work of putting everything away. In a few minutes, my mom will come in and prepare to go baggies for us. Until then, it's just Mary Alice and I.
Mary Alice took advantage of the small window to ask me something. "Aunt Steph, could you teach me how to defend myself?" She asked me in a very timid tone. This kid is loud like the rest of my family, so hearing her sound so tiny made me instantly worried.
I hid my grimace, because if truth be told I'm not really good at defending even myself. Sure, I have a signature knee to the balls move that is pretty effective. And yeah, in situations of life or death I've been able to pull hidden strength to fight back. Yet, I wouldn't consider myself good at self defense by any means. The Merry Men and Ranger are a different breed. They can incapacitate bad guys with a single look. Maybe if Mary Alice really needs it, I can see if one of the Rangemen can give us some pointers. It can never hurt to be too prepared.
"Why do you need to defend yourself?" I answered instead, wanting to know if she was being picked on at school.
"Uhm…" Mary Alice looked around the kitchen nervously, which only made my abdomen clench with added worry. Something's up.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?" I reminded her. Growing up, it was mostly just Grandma Mazur who would really listen to whatever I had to say. I want to make sure my nieces have that someone too whenever they need it.
"Yeah." My niece nodded before telling me that every night for the last several weeks she's awoken to find someone in her bedroom. "I've never seen his face, but I know it's a man standing by the bedroom door in the darkness." It broke my heart to hear that no one believed her, even those inside the home with her. What the hell?
Before I could extract more information from her, my mom came into the kitchen. I asked Mary Alice to stay with her as I went in search of Valerie.
By the time I reached the living room, Valerie was wrangling her family. Albert followed Angie out to the minivan so they could start buckling up Lisa and baby Bert.
"Hey, can I talk to you?" I asked Valerie, pulling her out of earshot from my dad. It's not that he'd care, but he hates it when his shows are interrupted.
"Oh, Steph." Val shook her head, saying that Mary Alice was most likely imagining things. "I've checked and so has Albert. Angie's never heard a thing." With a defeated sigh, Valerie said that it's been about six weeks of the same nightly routine. "Every night, Mary Alice screams as she bursts into our room in the wee hours." Val said that sleep has been a struggle for the members of her home. "It's exhausting." My sister confessed as she collected her purse.
"Would you mind if I spent the night in their room?" Mary Alice and Angie share a bedroom that faces the street, right above the attached garage. Val and Albert's, the master bedroom, is towards the back of the house, connected to the room Lisa and baby Bert currently share. I highly doubt that they can hear the older girls all the way in the front part of the house even if they're on the same floor. Plus, Mary Alice gave me a lot of details. In my line of work, that usually means that the person is telling the truth. It's hard to keep even the smallest of details clear when you're trying to be deceptive. Additionally, I believe my niece when she says she sees something, whatever it is, late at night.
Val shrugged. "Knock yourself out." She said with a yawn. "Just don't complain when you don't get much sleep and find out for yourself that it's nothing more than a phase." My sister said kids go through phases all the time. To her, the situation with Mary Alice is normal. "In fact, I remember when you used to be afraid of the dark." Val reminded me, using her best teasing tone.
I glared at her. I was a kid! My bedroom was on the opposite end of her bedroom and our parents'. So yeah, I got spooked a lot as a kid. And yes, I screamed at the top of my lungs every single time!
Luckily, I had clean clothes here so I wouldn't have to make a quick pit stop at my apartment.
Riding with the Kloughns in the minivan would hopefully not tip off Mary Alice's nightly visitor, if she even had an in the flesh one.
Bedtime was chaotic to say the least. Valerie somehow wrangled her youngest two and then her husband. Once those three were down for the night, the noise level cut down considerably.
Mary Alice's bed is by the window, with Angie's against the opposite wall; hers is the one closest to the bedroom door.
"Aunt Steph?" Mary Alice whispered after a few minutes of silence in the dark room. I took her bed since we have similar curly hair. If someone's really sneaking into her bedroom, then in the dark they could easily confuse me with Mary Alice. Everyone in the Burg always says that she's my mini me.
"Yeah?" I asked as I plugged my cell phone to charge on the nightstand that separated the two beds. Much to Angie's protest, Mary Alice is bunking with her. Their beds are full-size so they both fit fine.
"Thanks." I couldn't really see her face despite the nightlight by the door or the moonlight spilling in through the window drapes, yet her voice was heavy with emotion. She was thanking me for believing her.
"Got to sleep!" Angie grumbled, turning to face the wall and giving her younger sister her back.
"Okay, goodnight." Mary Alice giggled.
"Goodnight, girls." I said to both, wishing them sweet dreams.
The hours trickled by slowly. I was just starting to get drowsy when I heard movement in the hallway. The faint sound of approaching footsteps reached my ears before the door creaked open. I didn't have to look at the time. I'm sure it's past three am. Mary Alice said that he always shows up at around that time.
I remained still as I watched the door opening wider and a figure filled the space. The nightlight cast shadows over his form as he moved slowly. He was too tall and slim to be Albert, but he was definitely human. The gait and build confirmed that it was in fact a man.
My heart was pounding in my chest as I watched him approach the bed I was in. As his hand reached out to me, I immediately tensed. Mary Alice never said anything about him touching her. Oh God!
As soon as the large hand closed over the horse themed covers, I kicked my legs up towards him. My right foot connected solidly with his abdomen, knocking him back several steps as he dropped something that clanked loudly against the metal frame. A knife. It was a knife.
"Umph." The man grunted as he staggered back, making a run for it. He knows he's been caught!
I was up on my sock clad feet as he exited into the hall.
As I followed him down the dark hallway, using the walls as guidance, I realized that he needed no help. He knows the layout even without a light source. Fuck!
You're not getting away, you sick bastard! I mentally promised as I flew down the steps, following him out of the front door.
S&R
Mary Alice's POV
I fell asleep easily for the first time in weeks. My dream about running with breathtaking white horses was interrupted when an icky feeling washed over my whole body.
My eyes flew open in the same way they've done all these nights. As always, I was too scared to move. Flicking my eyes to the doorway, sure enough the figure was there. The time on our glow in the dark alarm clock said it was 3:03 am. Right on time.
When he started moving into our room, I glanced over at Aunt Steph. Because of her curly hair, I couldn't really see her face. She was still as a statue, which made my heart pound in my chest. If she fell asleep, then no one's going to believe me now!
I choked back my sob as I watched in complete terror as the shadowy figure moved closer to my bed holding a big knife in one hand. When his large hand grabbed my blanket, I nearly screamed. I've usually woken up when he's standing by the door. Has he been groping me in my sleep?! Gross!
And then the most spectacular thing happened. Aunt Steph's body jerked, kicking him in the gut. He staggered back to make his exit, but Aunt Steph was right on his heels. She was barefoot and everything!
I reached for my aunt's cell phone, easily unlocking it. Her passcode is her birthdate. Amateur. Scrolling through her contacts, I easily found the one that I was looking for: Batman.
As I hit the dial button, I hoped he'd answer. It's super late and I'm not sure if they're a couple or not. The rumors seem to think so, but I don't know. He's never been to dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Plum's house like that Morelli guy used to do.
"Babe." He answered on the second ring, his voice sounding off somehow. It was all breathy and weird.
"Uhm, Mr. Ranger?" I asked, hoping it was him. I double checked just to be safe, yet didn't see a contact listed under his name.
"Yes." He said, suddenly his voice sounded a lot deeper. Good. Maybe that means he's awake now. "Where's Stephanie?" He asked before I had a chance to fill him in on the situation.
I quickly told him everything. "My Aunt Steph ran after him." I choked out, getting teary eyes out of nowhere.
"Where are you?" He asked as I heard movement on his end of the line.
"In my bedroom. Everyone is still asleep." I whispered as I tried to strain my free ear. All I heard was silence.
"I'm on my way. Stay where you are." He said he'd be here in under ten minutes and that if I needed anything to call him back.
"Okay." I said on a whimper, a few tears flowing down my cheeks.
It wasn't until after I hung up that I remembered that I never told Mr. Ranger where we live.
S&R
Valerie's POV
I woke up with a start. I blinked into the darkness as I tried to pinpoint why I was awake. Albert was snorting next to me, but that was an every night kind of thing. Looking around, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Moving towards the door connecting the master bed to the next bedroom, I gave the room a cursory glance. Both Lisa and Bert were fast asleep.
Despite my sleepy haze, I exited the bedroom and ambled down the hall. My eyes widened when I noted that the door was ajar in my eldest girls' bedroom. Poking my head inside, I instantly noted that only one body was still in bed: Angie's. She was sleeping soundly, even if both Mary Alice and Stephanie were not.
As I moved towards the stairs, muffled voices reached my ears. I frowned, wondering why my sister and daughter were downstairs. No one should be up at this hour. It's not even four in the morning! Steph's never been an early riser. Ever.
As I went downstairs the unmistakable flashing lights from at least one police cruiser flashed through the downstairs drapes. My feet propelled me towards the front door where I found Mary Alice peering out.
"What are you doing?!" I hissed, wrapping my arms around her form from behind and pulling her back inside.
Mary Alice squirmed in my hold so she could glance back at me. The wide grin she flashed me felt out of place. "She got him." My daughter declared.
"Who?" I asked as bile filled my throat.
"Aunt Steph got the guy." Mary Alice beamed before turning back to look at the activity outside.
S&R
Ranger's POV
"What happened?" Officer Constanza asked as Babe sat on the bed of my truck. The EMTs are doing their best to assess the bleeding cut on her forehead.
As Babe recounted her niece's tale about seeing a man in her room at night, I flicked my gaze towards the back of the cruiser where said son of a bitch was currently cuffed awaiting transport.
When the call came in, I'd been winding down for bed. It was a long day and I was looking forward to sleep after a late patrol. My boots were unlaced and my T-shirt was off when my cell buzzed on the nightstand. Seeing Babe's name flashing across the screen made me smile. We've fallen into a routine these last several months. We're finally giving ourselves that chance we should have explored years before. But when her niece's timid voice filled the line, I knew that something had to be wrong.
I flew out of my penthouse, calling the control room to fill them in. They would call any available patrols to head towards Babe's sister's place in the Burg.
Finding the street deserted did little to appease me. My truck skidded to a stop in front of the Klough's driveway, my whole body on instant alert. As I stood on the sidewalk, I scanned the area. The loud crash that came from the yellow two story dwelling one house over was my answer. Babe had to be there.
The tingling in the back of my neck went haywire the closer I got to the home. I alerted the nearby patrols and was relieved to know that a team was a minute out as well as knowing that the control room had already notified the police.
The place was cast in semi darkness, the only light source coming from the many candles littering the living room.
"Babe." I called to her as I watched her squirm out of the man's grasp. In a move that was jaw dropping, Babe pinned him to the wooden floor beneath them with ease.
"You sick son of a bitch!" Stephanie spat as she secured his hands with zip ties. Where she got those from, I didn't know. The fact that she not only chased, but also secured the perp, was impressive considering she was in her pajamas.
"Babe." I called again to make sure that she knew it was me approaching. No sense in spooking her.
"Ranger?" She blinked up at me, squinting her eyes as the candle light cast dancing shadows across her beautiful face.
"Babe." I gave her a small nod as I fully entered the living room. "You got him." I assured as I signaled for her to stand up.
"Yep." Babe confirmed as she got up, standing in her Gremlin socks.
"If you so much as think about running, I'll kill you. Understand?" I said to the man. He gave a minuscule nod as I hefted him onto his feet. I may have been rougher than needed, but he deserved it.
Zip and Binkie joined us in the foyer less than a minute later. I handed the man over so that I could check on Babe. I didn't like the look of the gash on her forehead.
"Babe?" I called out when I didn't find her in the living room. There was a door just off the archway that had light spilling out. I'd noticed the doorway upon my entrance, but the light had been off then.
"In here." She croaked out.
I found Stephanie standing just inside the makeshift shrine. It was filled with pictures of her niece. Some were in the daytime while she was at school or other places across town. But many of them were at night, while the girl seemingly slept in her bedroom.
"He's been watching her for weeks!" Babe said as she shook her head, pointing to a photo by the farthest corner. "No one believed her and if she hadn't told me before dinner tonight…" Babe usually babbles when she's really affected by something.
"I know, Babe." I crushed her against my chest as I gave her middle a reassuring squeeze. "You did good." I praised, planting a kiss on her left temple. "Come on. We have to let the cops process the scene." I coaxed her into following me outside. She did with minimal protest.
The cops were arriving on scene as we joined my men by my truck. Zip and Binkie went back to their patrol as soon as the responding officers had the intruder in custody.
"Just to recap," Constanza said once Babe had finished giving her statement. "Your niece told you she'd been seeing a man in her bedroom late at night. You decided to sleep in her room just to see if there was any validity. Sure enough, a man broke in. You kicked him when he tried to pull the covers off of you, then chased him out of the Kloughn home and into his?"
Babe nodded, much to the annoyance of the young EMT trying to tend to her forehead.
"He has a sick shrine in his home." Babe reminded Constanza to which he nodded his understanding.
"You got James Polacek and I'll do my best to make sure he pays." Constanza said before ambling over to the Kloughn residence. I could see Valerie and Mary Alice hovering just inside the front door.
"No, I don't want to go to the hospital." Babe said to the EMT, causing me to redirect my attention to her. The young man gave me a wide-eyed look. I shook my head minutely. There's no changing her mind. "Bobby can take a look." Babe shrugged, saying that it was just a scratch as the EMTs packed up.
The sun was about to rise and I could tell Babe was exhausted by the time Constanza finished taking everyone's statements. Polacek is in custody. His home is being processed for the loads of incriminating evidence. Best of all, Mary Alice is currently tucked in and fast asleep in her bed. She's safe and sound thanks to Babe.
"I… I…" Valerie shook her head as she launched herself at Babe. She buried her face against Stephanie's neck as a full blown bawling episode commenced.
"I thought it was just the normal fear of the dark thing." Valerie sniffled when she pulled away from Babe several minutes later. "I never saw anything and Angie never heard a thing." Valerie shared that Mary Alice would usually burst into her bedroom, but it wasn't until the man was long gone. Babe's niece didn't ever see his face and obviously had no idea that it was the neighbor a few houses down all along.
"He'd been stalking her for weeks, Val." Stephanie said, horror clear in her voice. "And the whole time she was telling you about it!" I placed my hand over her shoulder, knowing that Babe was struggling with the whole situation. Stephanie took a deep breath before patting my hand in reassurance. Babe knows that I'll always have her back.
"I know. I just…" Valerie didn't get to finish, new tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Based on what we know so far, it's likely that this wasn't his first attempted abduction. He was planning for this to be the night he was finally successful, Val." Babe drilled her sister with a fierce glare, because what could have happened tonight would've had a very different ending had those girls been alone in their room. Polacek obviously grew bolder every night he snuck in undetected and escaped unscathed. He was deranged enough to prepare his home so he could bring back Babe's niece, planning to do unspeakable things. I'm sure we'll find that at least one room in his house is soundproofed. I'd give my left arm for that assertion.
"I'm sending Hal and Cal over to install a security system." I shared, breaking up the heated moment between the two sisters. "They should be here within the next fifteen minutes." Before Valerie could protest, I told her it was free of charge. Just the thought that something similar could happen to any of my nieces, nephews or daughter made my skin crawl.
"Thank you." Valerie said gratefully.
On the drive to Rangeman, Babe was extremely quiet. Unusually silent. As soon as I parked in my personal spot by the elevator, I killed the ignition and angled my body to look at her.
"Stephanie." I called out as I caressed her left cheek with my fingertips. Her blue eyes shifted towards me, giving me a haunted look. The vibrant ocean blue color of her eyes was gone, making them look as dark as the thoughts currently running through her mind.
"No one believed me either." A tear rolled down her right cheek as Babe told me that when she was around her niece's age, she had a similar experience. "My family told me that it was all in my head." She shook her head so forcefully that her curls whipped across her face violently. "The Polaceks lived down the street from us at the time." Babe informed me that after his parents passed, James Polacek bought a home on Valerie's block. It's not hard to imagine why. Could be a twisted familial pattern, a remix of sorts.
"As always, your instincts were spot on." I reminded her, using my thumb to wipe the tear track on her cheek. "And Babe?" I asked as she shifted to open her door.
"Yeah?" The look she gave me made my heart beat faster. My usually brave Babe was stuck in a moment of darkness, feeling a bit lost. I'm going to make sure she understands that she never has to go through anything alone ever again. We're a team for life now.
"I'll always believe you." I promised, leaning closer to place a soft peck on her parted lips.
"I know." Babe choked out, her voice full of emotion as she wrapped her arms around my neck. Her lips sealed over mine, our tongues tangling inevitably.
"Come on." I breathed out once we parted for much needed air. "Let's have Bobby check that out and then we're going to bed."
By the time I rounded the back of the truck, Babe was already jumping off of her seat. "Promises, promises." Her teasing tone told me that she'll eventually be back to her usual self. Babe's resilient, bouncing back faster than most in her shoes.
"I always deliver on my promises." I reminded her as we loaded the elevator. Even if my promise of Someday took us a few years, we finally made it. And that's what counts.