I got the idea for this oneshot thanks to a guest review for one of my other stories. Basically the review was very nice in saying they enjoyed my writing (punctuation, grammar, etc). I have an office job. I work for a tax firm that has 15 offices across Los Angeles and Orange Counties (California). As you can see, I don't really get to write, write at work. But, the review reminded me of the one time I did have to write and it was a lot. So, all 15 locations are connected by the same network. Short version: angry client from a different location came to my office. She was on an aggressive rant. There was no talking this person down. I didn't even get a chance to stand up. She's in my face, yelling and arms waving. Eventually, I realize 'I'm going to jail' (me, who's never even been pulled over came to the realization that she was within striking distance and there was no way I wasn't going to defend myself). She ended up backing off when she realized I was serious about willing to risk going to jail. As soon as she left, you better believe I narrated the whole encounter in essay format on the client's profile. I censored nothing. It was a word for word recount. (Ironically the only person who could resolve her issue was me.) My coworkers still tease me with 'you write essays on client's profiles'. It was one time and it was justified;)

Everyone has a breaking point. I always wondered when Stephanie would finally snap during one of Joe's infamous arm waving berating spectacles at a crime scene. This is how I think it could go.

Let me know your thoughts.

Disclaimer: The Plum Universe belongs to JE. Mistakes are mine.

I closed my eyes, trying to block out all the negativity. I took a deep breath and braced myself for what I knew was coming.

My name is Stephanie Plum and I'm a bounty hunter. I track down people who miss their court dates. Usually, I'm the one escorting someone back to jail for being FTA.

Today, however, my usual trip to the TPD will be anything but an ordinary one.

Why?

Because this time around I wont be the one doing the escorting.

Fishing my cell phone from my back pocket, I continued to silently track Morelli's movement. When he took a step closer, clearly invading my personal space, I dialed the control room at Rangeman. Normally, I'd call Ranger directly, but he's in New York busy with back to back meetings all day.

"Stephanie?" I heard Hal's sweet voice break through my haze. "Are you okay?" He added when I didn't immediately reply.

"Hey, Hal." I greeted in my sweetest voice. "I'm just calling to let you know that I'm going to jail." Silence. Poor Hal. He's shocked speechless. "Please bail me out." I had to hang up abruptly, because it was show time.

Morelli's eyes had widened at my words, but not even that gave him pause.

I sighed. Resigned, I returned my cell to my back pocket.

S&R

Eddie's POV

My head shook out of habit as I watched Morelli being his usual asshole self. He was doing the arm waving and blaming spiel he's known to do whenever Stephanie is involved with a crime scene. Today, he's being a bigger asshole than usual.

I always wondered how Stephanie could stand there with her head down and listening to his bullshit. She's known for having an explosive temperament when she's pissed off. Hell, the whole Dickie and Joyce scandal had solidified her reputation of rebelling against Burg standards. Any other Burger wife would have looked the other way after finding their husband fucking someone else on their dining table. But not Stephanie. Everyone found out, followed by a quickie divorce.

Which brings me back to the baffling scene before me. Why doesn't she stand up to him? Half the time it's not her fault what she stumbles upon. Yet, Detective Italian Asshole always finds a way to make her feel like it's her fault.

I watched as Morelli took a step closer, arms still waving and red faced. I also watched as Steph discretely reached for her cell tucked into the back pocket of her jeans.

Oh, this is new!

She made a call. I couldn't hear what she said, yet clearly saw the anger flash across Morelli's face as he moved to obliterate any sense of personal space.

Steph had tucked her phone back into her pocket before he reacted to whatever she'd said.

It was so quick, I'd of missed it if I had blinked. Her legendary lethal knee connected with his balls. Once he doubled over, his hands quick to try and soothe his prized jewels, Steph used a back of the hand strike to his face. He crumpled to the floor a second later.

His cries of agony where swallowed by the roar of laughter from everyone at the scene. Finally!

Since we were all too busy laughing our asses off, we were unprepared for Morelli's retaliation.

We were obviously not expecting for him to roughly pull Steph's arms behind her back to cuff her. Horrified, I watched as he slammed her face first against the hood of the nearest patrol car.

"Hey, hey, hey!" I found myself shouting as my feet propelled me forward. Despite the shock on everyone's faces, Stephanie kept her cool. She'd definitely known what was coming, moving her head at the last moment to avoid a full on faceplant. Her eyes briefly closed as the side of her face made contact with the hood, quickly followed by the rest of her upper body.

"What the fuck?!" I shoved Morelli away from her. Looking over my shoulder, I found Constanza already bending at the waist to check on Stephanie. Satisfied that he had it covered, I refocused my attention on Detective Asshole.

"She assaulted me." Was his cheap comeback.

I rolled my eyes, unable to stop myself. "You were gaslighting her!" Stephanie was just doing her job. She tracked down her latest FTA and when she showed up to apprehend him a dark reality was revealed. Her sick skip had been living with his family's corpses for weeks! Stephanie apprehended her skip right before she discovered the bodies. And luck would have it the case landed on Morelli's lap. How he thought that what happened was her fault is beyond me.

Ignoring me, Morelli pushed past me and yanked Stephanie back on her feet. He made quite the spectacle as he moved her to his official vehicle.

"He didn't even read Stephanie her rights." I heard Big Dog mutter behind me.

That SOB continued to talk shit, trying to get her to engage. When I caught the tight line of her mouth before he shoved her into the back seat of his POS, I realized she'd mentally prepared herself for this.

Had she always known it would go like this? Is that why she never stood up to his outbursts before?

We were all so blind.

As Morelli pulled away from the scene, I grabbed my cell and rushed towards my cruiser.

S&R

Stephanie's POV

I didn't know how long I'd been in the cell before I decided to sit with my back against the wall and close my eyes.

Morelli made quite the production out of my arrest. I'm sure the whole Burg grapevine lit up like a Christmas tree before I even made it to the TPD.

Sleep was just about to claim me when I heard approaching footsteps.

Staying where I was, I popped one eye open to see if it'd be worth it to move from my super comfy position. I almost snickered at my own internal sarcasm.

I silently tracked the well dressed blond that walked in with a female officer I've never interacted with before. The tingle in the back of my neck alerted me of his presence before I even laid eyes on him. Automatically, my body moved towards him. Ranger and his personal magnetic field never fail to suck me in.

My attention had been on Ranger as I neared the bars, so I completely missed the first part of what was said.

"Before you can leave we need to document your injuries." Her assessing gaze was fixated on the right side of my face where I suspected a good sized bruise had already formed. Ranger's lawyer did not look happy.

Neither did Ranger.

And they haven't even seen my wrists yet!

"Babe." Ranger whispered when I was ushered past him. Babe can mean a lot of things. This one meant 'proud of you'.

I shot him my best barely there smile over my left shoulder. Knowing that I get to go home with Ranger makes this whole experience worth it.