Hey, it's been a long time. Ooops! Go check my bio if you want to know the details of what's going on with me. Short version: life, pandemic, and being diagnosed with the big C word happened.
Short recap, although going back to re-read Chapters 1-4 would be helpful to see if you spot all the clues I dropped since chapter 1. Chap 4 left off with Ranger finding out Babe has a mini Babe. In this Chapter, S&R will meet again.
Thanks for the previous support on this story. As a thanks, this chapter is quite busy with multiple POVs. Did we really think Ranger could get back to Trenton and the status quo stay?
Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. The mistakes are mine.
History-Part 1
Ranger's POV
When the laughter subsided, I realized the video had ended. Mesmerized, I hit replay.
"Thought I'd find you here." Tank's booming voice startled me and I quickly realized I'd been holed inside my office for hours. The day had started without me. Rangeman had started without me. Guess even my company has worked out how to function and live without me.
Still, despite the realization, I didn't dare glance at him. My eyes were busy committing even the smallest of details to memory. In a matter of hours, I watched this tiny human, that's half of me, grow before my eyes. Endless pictures and videos gave me a good glimpse of what life has been like in the home front for Babe and the tiny human we made together. Our mini Babe.
Together.
I scoffed internally. She sure has been raising our little one alone.
Alone.
"Rangeman." Tank reached over to my side of the desk and paused the video on the device in my hand. He spoke as gently as he could possibly muster. "You need to talk to her."
"Yeah?" I shook my head angrily. Angry at what? The world? Angry at whom? Him? Her? Them? ... Myself? "And say what? 'Hey, Babe. I'm supposed to be dead, but guess what? I came back, so dump the doctor and let's be a perfect little family.'" I finished with a snarl.
"Talk to Stephanie." He gave me a pointed look before moving to resume the video.
"Why didn't you tell me on the drive yesterday?" If it came out with another snarl, Tank didn't react.
"Not my story to tell."
Guess more than one person's loyalty has shifted in my time away.
"Life sure has a twisted way of repeating itself, doesn't it?" I glared at him. Hard. Fury consumed me. And I couldn't really pinpoint the true recipient of my wrath. "How ironic." That I got another chance in life. Actually developed strong feelings for a certain someone to the point I let her into my life. Really let her see me. Actually let someone in.
And yet I missed the birth of my daughter. Again. Two different women. Two different pregnancies. Two different births. Two different opportunities. Two different lifetimes. Both missed. Why? Because I royally screwed up. Both times.
Maybe I do know the recipient of my wrath after all.
"No." Tank gave me a pointed look. "It's not the same situation and you know it." He planned to leave me with that parting thought before walking out. Only he must have changed his mind, because he stopped dead in his tracks before he reached for the door. "She's not her." His eyes bored into mine. "She has been through a lot of shit. Hardcore shit." My friend, the man that knows me more than I know myself sometimes, stared me down. "But she is not Rachel." His gaze turned intense. "Talk to her." Before I could protest he added, "Before it's really too late."
And for added measure before he left Tank gave me the final punch. "Tell her. Don't assume she knows."
My eyes involuntarily flickered to the screen. My fingers caressed the chubby cheek on display. "Talk? Easier said than done." I blew out a sigh before I clenched my fist.
Not a full thirty seconds had gone by when a sharp knock on my door interrupted my musings. Before I could respond, Lester poked his head inside."I come in peace."
My hard stare didn't deter him from fully entering.
"What do you want to know?" Lester looked serious of all things.
My eyes flickered back to the screen before me, swiping to the next video. "Everything."
"Short version or long version?" He asked tentatively. His cheeky charm gone.
"Everything." I repeated.
Lester blew out a sigh. "Alright."
S&R
Stephanie's POV
Despite the exhaustion of the previous day my sleep wasn't sound. Woody had been spot on. Princess was definitely antsy. God I felt like I got hit by a truck with how little sleep I actually got.
Yet when my eyes fluttered open and I saw the mass of black curls before me, a sleepy grin escaped. My fingers automatically reached out to lightly comb through those tiny curls at her nape. She's a little blur of energy when she's awake, rarely slowing down.
I got up, knowing the day had to start and that later I could have some bonding time with my wonderful mini me once she's all smiles and energy.
The moment she sensed my intent to get out of bed, Princess jumped off the mattress and stood at attention. "And you..." I bent at the waist to pet her head as she gave me a curled tail waggle. "What got into you last night?" Another pat. "Miss me, huh?"
I got up, but as soon as I crossed the room to grab warmer clothing I stopped. The scent of Bulgari seemed to be imprinted in the room. Taking a step back and then forward again just to retest my senses had me shaking my head. Maybe I was imagining things.
Dressed in sweats and a hoodie, I stuffed my feet inside the first pair of shoes I found.
Grandma Mazur already had the coffee brewing as I got the harness and leash from the foyer.
"Want some coffee?"
"As soon as I bring Princess back." As I practically wrestled the harness on her, I glanced back at Grandma. "I'll be quick."
We trotted down to the lobby where Manny was now on duty. We shared pleasantries briefly.
"I can walk her while I do my perimeter check." He offered sweetly without meeting my eyes.
Odd.
"No, I got it." I replied, wondering why he wasn't looking me in the eye.
"I insist."
"I got it." I assured him as I headed outside to the parking lot. WTF was that about.
S&R
Ranger's POV
Once Lester filled me in, without bullshit omissions this time, I decided to head back up to the penthouse. I must have paced the living room about a thousand times as all the information reeled in my head.
Babe had Mia about seven months after I left. She must've found out soon after I left too, because our last nights together she didn't mention being pregnant.
I also found out no one even knew she was pregnant. She quit skip tracing and asked Tank if he had any remote researching work. Tank thought it was her way of staying out of the Rangeman building in case I came back. Her plan worked, according to Lester, because the only reason Tank found out she was pregnant was because he went to check on her in person. She'd missed that morning's conference call to brief the team with her research on a high bond skip.
She went into labor right in the apartment and all alone. Well, not completely alone. She had the pooch. She got the pooch from her sister Valerie because they couldn't keep it and Babe never got around to re-homing the pup.
When I got fed up of replaying the full version in my head, I decided I couldn't be cooped up any longer. So I grabbed my keys and headed out.
The drive to the Burg was easy at this time of day. No traffic rush. Thanks to Lester, I knew Babe's routine. By this time, she's already dropped off Mia at Mary Lou's while she goes into the Bonds Office for the day. Thinking of that, her BFF may not be too happy to see me. Has Babe even told anyone I'm back? Probably not. Even my own men were shocked to see me.
S&R
Mary Lou's POV
I had a weird feeling. Like I was being watched. So as a good Burg wife, I followed my instincts and looked out the front window. Sure enough someone was watching. I moved to the front door, opened it and stepped outside to get a better look. Yup. "This asshole." I muttered under my breath as I walked out of my house and down the empty driveway. Lenny's gone for the day. My oldest boys are at school and it's just Mia, our youngest son and Princess in the home. Great.
"You need to leave." I said after a quick rap on the driver side window.
"Mary Lou…" He started to say something once he powered down his window, but I cut him off with a hand gesture.
"Leave. Now." I didn't want to cause a scene. The Burg grapevine would light up like a Christmas Tree and the news would get to her before I had a chance to get back into my home. "Or I'll have to call Stephanie." I bluffed, hoping that it did the trick. Steph looked like her usual self this morning when she dropped off Mia and Princess. She would have told me if she knew he was back.
The bluff seemed to work, because he powered up his window and drove away.
I blew out a breath and headed back to my front door. I didn't see any Burg wife with their face pressed against a window, so I figured no one must have seen him aside from me.
"Good girl." I said to Princess as I ushered her away from her guard of the front door so I could close and relocked it.
S&R
Stephanie's POV
The drive from Mary Lou's to the bonds office was uneventful. I parked on Hamilton behind Lula's Firebird, grabbed my shoulder bag and the obligatory box of donuts and angled out.
"Hey, girlfriend." Lula greeted, taking the box of donuts from me. "Where's little Princess and that fine Hunter?"
Hunter is over six feet tall, blond and has eyes that sometimes look green and sometimes blue. He's my Close Protection Officer, aka my personal bodyguard. He's Rangemen handsome and strong, but I hired him outside of Rangeman. Having a Rangeman as my bodyguard once I started dating Ben was just weird and uncomfortable. Hunter is neutral and can either be my shadow if I want him to or a ghost that I won't see but know will be there watching my back.
"Princess stayed at Mary Lou's and Hunter has the day off. He was with me last night at the Six Flags thingy." I said as an explanation, realizing at that moment I forgot to call Rangeman to get a guy for the day. Fuck. "Where's Connie?" I asked, wanting to occupy my mind with something else, like work.
"She went to bond someone out." Lula said by way of explanation as she chose her first doughnut of the day.
Before I could ask Lula if Connie left anything for me, I heard the phone in my office ringing. I moved with purpose, unlocked my office and answered on the fourth ring. "Plum Bail Bonds. Stephanie speaking."
"Babe."
I felt my chest tighten when I heard his voice. "Ranger." It came out whisper soft, as if my body was unsure how to respond.
"We need to talk. Meet me at the diner in 15 minutes." And he hung up.
I stared at the handset and frowned. Well, seems not much has changed with Mr. Manoso. Shitty phone etiquette and all. Ugh.
"I'll be back." I told Lula as I walked out of my office. "Call Connie if you need anything."
The drive to the diner where we met for the first time was done on autopilot. I barely registered I was about to arrive just before I passed the place. Quickly snapping myself out of my musings, I parked on the street in front of the diner. I grabbed my shoulder bag and angled out.
A sense of Deja Vu assaulted me when I walked in and spotted him in the same booth. He was in his usual Rangeman Black and his back was obviously to the wall. Yeah, this scene has definitely happened before. Except this time we have history. And lots of it.
"Babe."
"Ranger." I gave him a small nod as I sat down.
In a matter of seconds the location, the company and his scent assaulted my senses all at once. My heart started beating wildly in my chest and my palms became sweaty. I wanted to kiss him, but I also wanted to slap him. I felt like I couldn't breathe.
"I'm sorry." I apologized as I stood up. "I can't do this." I shook my head in the negative. "Not right now." I all but shouted as I retreated back outside.
"Babe."
Of course he'd follow me outside, I said to myself as I opened my driver's side door and tossed my shoulder bag inside. "No." Tears I swore would never fall for him again threatened to escape. "Not now."
"We need to talk about Mia." His tone was cold or maybe I just can't read him anymore. It's been so long. But just the mention of my daughter had me seeing red.
Slamming my door closed, I poked a finger into his chest to put some distance between us. "You have no right to ask…" I was cut off mid rant when his dark eyes shifted their attention to something behind me. Something I couldn't put my finger on flashed across his eyes before his arms wrapped around me to whirl us around, shifting our positions.
It all happened so fast. One second I was seeing red and wanting to give him a piece of my mind and the next I found myself on the asphalt trapped. Ranger was dead weight above me and I could tell my right hand was bent at an unnatural angle behind me. I could taste blood in my mouth and everything seemed to move in slow motion.
I was half expecting Hunter or a Rangeman to magically appear by my side, but then quickly remembered why that would be impossible. Crap.
"Ranger, you have to wake up." I shook him with my left hand but got no response. Shit.
Think, Stephanie, think!
My cell was in my shoulder bag and my shoulder bag is inside the car. Double Crap!
I looked around as best as I could, but couldn't see anyone that could help. So it was gonna have to be me to get myself out of this.
I looked around again and noticed that my keys were close to my left foot. I used my heel and hit the panic button on the key ring as hard as I could. That would send a 911 alert to the guys on monitor duty.
Just when I thought the worst was over I noticed a man headed our way. I guess I really was seeing things in slow motion before, because the man with silver blond hair was in the process of reloading his weapon. Oh shit!
Like out of reflex, my hand reached for the gun I know would be wedged against the small of Ranger's back.
I'm not a particularly good shot on a good day. I don't even like carrying a gun, much less shooting one. Let's not even talk about trying to do it with my non-dominant hand while the gun's grip was slippery with Ranger's blood.
I'm not sure how I managed to get the safety off, level the Glock as best as I could and start firing. But I did it.
I emptied the clip, but before panic could set in at not spotting the shooter I heard the sirens in the not so far away distance.
S&R
Ben's POV
The last person I expected to see when I heard a trauma with multiple GSWs was headed our way was Steph. I spotted her coming in right next to the EMTs pushing the gurney into the ER. Her usual white Plum Bailbonds T-shirt was soaked in red, as were half her jeans. My eyes flickered down to the man, wondering if it was Hunter. Instead of seeing the blond man I'm used to having us tail us whenever we're out and about, I saw a completely different man. It was a Latino man I've never seen before.
And that's when it hit me.
This is Mia's father.
The man of mystery Steph never talks about has suddenly resurfaced in her life.
S&R
Stephanie's POV
The ER wasn't as busy at this time of day, so I was fast tracked. I was sitting in one of the sections next to a hall. I had been fitted for a temporary cast for my broken right wrist. I was dying to know how Ranger was. How his surgery was going and all that, but no one would tell me anything. I don't even have my cell!
I was staring at the floor while sitting on the edge of the bed when a pair of scrub clad legs came into view. Thinking it was one of the medical staff I snapped my head up.
"Hunter!" He scared the crap out of me for a brief moment. I'm not used to seeing him wear anything aside from his usual jeans and T-shirt uniform.
"Stephanie." He gave me a pointed look, no doubt reprimanding me silently for lying to him. "How many times have I told you? You can call me at any time if you don't want one of the Rangemen as your close detail." With that he urged me to stand up as he pulled the curtain closed behind him.
Before I knew what was happening, Hunter removed my ruined T-shirt in one swift move. Well, then. If I were a lesser woman, I'd feel a bit self-conscious having my bodyguard undressing me. The T-shirt was replaced by a scrub top. My jeans had the same fate, only to be replaced by scrub bottoms. I looked like I worked here instead of being a patient waiting to be discharged.
Hunter's reasoning for the change in outfit was to blend in. Smart.
"If I found you, then so can the shooter." He said as a sort of after thought.
As soon as the statement left his lips, I thought about my baby girl. "Hunter, go to Mia. Don't leave her side until I can get there and be with her. She knows you."
Hunter gave me a look. He and I have discussed what I want done in case of a situation like today's. He knows Mia is my priority. Yet, he didn't like having to leave me to go to my baby. "Stephanie…" His tone was unsure.
I had to overrule him. "It's an order." I felt so shitty talking to him like that, but it would be the only way he would leave and get my baby girl to safety. God, she's not even two yet! "Mary Lou is aware of my wishes." I told him as parting thought before he disappeared to hightail it deeper into the Burg.
Not even a minute after Hunter left another pair of scrub clad legs caught my vision. Again I raised my gaze, thinking Hunter had come back to fight me on my order. Instead, I found Ben.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him.
"The Rangeman, Bobby, asked for Dr. Robertson instead." Ben replied as his eyes scanned me from head to toe. "Why are you wearing scrubs?"
"The cops needed my clothes for evidence." I fibbed, dismissing that nonsense question. "Why did you get removed? Trauma's your middle name." It had been a long morning and the last thing I wanted to hear was that the Merry Men were still holding a grudge against Ben. At least it was enough to get him removed from the case even though he's the best when it comes to GSWs. Fuck!
"I'm on your side and I know what you're going through is difficult."
That statement tore me away from my musings. "What am I going through?" I asked, incredulously.
"I never pried or asked questions. But having Mia's father re-appear in your life after all this time..." His blue eyes bored into mine. "I just... I get it, okay? I understand it must be very difficult for you."
How could I argue with this man? "Can you check if it'll take long to discharge me?" I switched the subject, which didn't go unnoticed by him. Once discharged I could go to the waiting room and find a Merry Man to give me an update on Ranger.
"Sure." He said, pushing the curtain open to go get an update for me.
I was left alone for the second time in less than 10 minutes. And just like the two previous times, a pair of legs came into vision seconds later.
Except these legs weren't scrub clad. When the gun pressed against my left temple, I knew it wasn't a friendly. Oh shit! Slowly, I raised my gaze only to find silver blond hair guy smirking down at me. Crap!
If he doesn't kill me, then Hunter sure will. I thought as the man nudged me to get up.
Slowly, I stood up with my hands raised up to chest level. He nudged me out into the hall and pushed me to the left, towards an area of the hospital I know is currently under renovation. Oh that's not good.
We were halfway down a grim looking hall when I heard footsteps behind us. Unfortunately, silver blond hair guy did too. His beefy arm snaked across my throat as he pressed me close to his front. His gun was held to my temple as he whirled us around to face the person trailing after us.
"Steph!" It was Ben.
"Ben, stay." I told him. He had no shot at this. He'd get himself killed coming after me. He's not used to this part of my life, because when he entered it these things were no longer a regular occurrence in my and Mia's lives. He couldn't even imagine the stuff I've been through.
"Listen to the lady." Silver blond hair guy said with a thick accent as he leveled the gun Ben's way.
In that split second I felt my life flash before my eyes. My body acted on instincts alone. Looks like my body still remembers all those near misses, close calls, kidnappings, etc. Hunter taught me a lot of self defense maneuvers just in case. I wasn't even sure I'd pull it off, but my body was already in mid maneuver. A hard elbow to the gut, a good shot to the balls thanks to my cast covered arm, and a twist of my hips had me tumbling down to the floor.
I'd be real proud of myself had Ben not lunged forward. Unable to interfere I had to watch as silver blond hair guy leveled the gun and shot Ben in the chest. Twice.
I was on my feet moving forward as I watched Ben stagger backwards. I didn't get very far before a large hand grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me back. Before I knew what would happen next, I was in the air only to slam against a wall a second later. Slamming to the floor thanks to gravity didn't hurt any less.
"I was told you were a feisty one." He said with his thick accent as he crouched near my bleeding face. "Bad intel I guess." Was the last thing I heard him say before everything went black.