Disclaimer: I refuse to write this. Check chapter 4. Which precedes chapter 5, which, coincidentally, is this chapter (see, Ally? I can count! Btw, I checked, and it turns out Sancia is wrong and I'm right. It was a u, not an a, and the book isn't out yet. Who knows what she's raving about? meh.)

btw, am I the only one who thinks VOSP sounds like some kind of awesome secret agent force thing? When I grow up, I want to be a VOSP agent….yes…I'm a loser. I'll shut up and write now.

Chapter 5

I was awakened the next morning by a quite, melodic sound outside of my room. I recognized it as the Batman theme song and knew that Ranger was calling my cell phone. I rolled out of bed and was halfway to my bedroom door when the sound stopped and I heard Diesel's voice.

"Yes, Batman?" There was silence for a moment and then, in a tone that was a lot more annoyed than it had been seconds ago. "I answered because I live here. But, since you asked so nicely, yes I'll go give the phone to Stephanie. I'm not sure she's awake yet, though." This second sentence was said very sarcastically. I'd started moving again after the pause, so I opened the door just as Diesel raised his hand to knock, the result being that he nearly knocked on my face. I ducked to the side. He looked surprised for a moment, then took my phone away from his face, handing it to me. "It's Lover boy. Either he isn't in a good mood this morning, or he doesn't like me, for some reason. I don't think he has a very good sense of humor." He gave me a grin at the same time as he gave me the phone.

I rolled my eyes and put the phone to my ear. "Ranger?" It didn't take a genius to figure out who "Lover boy" was.

"Babe." Ranger was silent for a moment and then, in a voice tinged with a bit of resentment, he said. "I really don't like that guy." For a moment, he sounded like a whiny little kid, and I almost laughed. But then he spoke again and sounded much more business like than he had before. "Can you do a distraction tonight?"

I started to say yes, then I remembered the baby. "Um…is it in a bar?"

I knew it was a dumb question even before he answered. "Yes." He sounded slightly confused.

I knew that, if I said yes, I'd have to drink alcohol to blend in. And, though my baby knowledge wasn't much, I did know that drinking while pregnant wasn't allowed. "No, then. Sorry."

Ranger was silent for a few seconds and I knew he was wondering why the bar mattered. I had decided while I was lying in bed last night that I needed to tell him about the baby. And that I loved him. Not necessarily at the same time. And definitely not over the phone. "Ranger, I need to talk to you, will you be at the office in an hour?"

"You can't talk to me over the phone?" He was sounding more and more confused each time I said something.

"No. I can't. This is really important."

"Sure. I'll see you then." Then he hung up. It wasn't quite goodbye, but, for him, it was rather impressive.

Having established the time I'd meet Ranger, I went into a getting-ready-frenzy. I threw up twice (stupid morning sickness...grr), got dressed, did the hair and makeup thing, and then got into the car.

Diesel walked out to the car with me. "So you're going to tell him about the baby and that you love him and all that gooey stuff?"

I smiled. "Yeah. That's the plan."

He smiled at me as we got into the car. Once the doors had closed and we were both in, he spoke as I started the car. "That's good. Sort of public though, isn't it?"

I bit my lip, thinking about it as I drove. Then I shrugged. "I guess. Maybe I'll think of somewhere better we can go by the time I get there. I just need a neutral meeting place, though."

Diesel didn't respond, and the rest of the ride was made in silence. As I drove, I thought. What would Ranger do? Would he be angry? Happy? Annoyed? Would I even be able to know what he was thinking? Would he react at all? As soon as I told Ranger, everyone would find out somehow. Probably, Lula and Connie would tell people, since I'd told them to make sure Ranger didn't know. If I told him, technically, they would be allowed to tell people, I guess. How would my mother react? And the rest of my family?

At this point, I pulled up in front of the bond office and parked. I took a deep breath and looked inside the bond office. Ranger was sitting on the couch, and Lula and Connie were both glaring at him. As I parked, he looked up and saw me, getting off the couch. I took another deep breath and then got out of the car. Ranger walked out of the office and stopped two feet in front of me.

"Babe?" He raised an eyebrow, obviously waiting for me to say something.

"Um…" I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to watch Diesel come around the car. He gave me an encouraging smile, then went into the office, flopping down on the couch and watching me and Ranger. I returned my attention to Ranger. "Can you think of anywhere private we can go? I need to tell you some—" I cut myself off with a cry of pain. Burning pain slashed across my stomach, followed quickly by pain in my forearm. I looked down and saw blood welling up in a shallow slash across my lower midsection, as well as that slash continuing across my forearm, which had been at my side. Black spots danced before my eyes as I heard the sound of a bullet hitting the sidewalk. Someone had just shot me. Luckily, they'd pretty much missed.

Ranger was at my side instantly and, as I swayed slightly, he wrapped an arm around me. Connie, Lula, and Diesel had all leapt to their feet and were rushing for the door. Ranger looked up at them. "Stephanie has been shot. I'm going to bring her to the hospital. Call the police so they can come check ballistics." He pointed in the direction the bullet had gone. "The bullet is somewhere over there. Also, call the hospital and tell them we're coming."

Then he swung me up into his arms and walked towards his truck. I was pretty sure I didn't need to be carried. I was fine, after all. However, even as I thought this, I felt darkness closing in.

Though I was on the brink of unconsciousness, I heard Ranger's voice. "Stephanie, you're about to black out I think." Thank you, captain obvious. I guess I said this out loud, because, just as I slipped away, I heard him chuckle.

I came back alive a bit later, as Ranger was lifting me out of his truck. I struggled a bit. "I can walk."

Very carefully, he set me down. He stuck very close to my side as we walked to the emergency entrance, wrapping a supportive arm around my shoulders.

He kept giving me little worried glances until we reached the check-in desk. There was a gurney already ready for me. I was pretty sure I didn't need it, but I got on anyway. The doctor turned in such a way that he could be addressing me or Ranger. "Any medical conditions that we should know about? Allergic to any pain killers?"

Ranger started to shake his head, but I put out a hand. "Yes." This was definitely not how I'd planned on telling Ranger. I kept my eyes locked on the doctor, though I was speaking to Ranger as much as I was to him. "I'm pregnant."

A/N: Ok, everyone, please review! Oh, and Ally, two things. Firstly, did we have some kind of discussion about a white car with orange wheels, or was that some weird dream I had? Secondly, what is the math hw?