A/N: We're almost dooonneee.. or I am. I'm seriously considering a sequel to this, but we'll just have to see. I'm guessing I have anywhere from three to five chapters left. I'll work hard to get them done, but only if I get ten reviews for this chapter. So I'm a review whore. Sue me.

Explanation : Morelli and Stephanie were on a case (use your imagination) when Terry Gilman shows up for the other's side. She aims the gun to fire at STEPHANIE, but Morelli jumps in the way and takes the bullet in the head. He is in the hospital for months, or whatever, and when he finally wakes up, he doesn't remember anything or anyone. That is what the flashback was. The thing with the watching TV in the hospital at the end of last chapter was a hallucination or a dream or something. There ya go.

And now, for your feature presentation..

I hate hospitals.

"Good morning, Stephanie," said a voice from beside my bed. I looked over and saw Tia.

"Hi!" I exclaimed. She looked better than the last time I had seen her. Then again, I hadn't seen her in..

"How long have I been here?" I asked, wrinkling my brow.

She opened her mouth hesitantly, then glanced up and closed it. "Hey bro," she said instead. I turned my head and saw Ranger standing in the doorway. He, too, looked better than the last time we had spoken.

Well, I guess "spoken" isn't the word I'm looking for. More like.. collided.

"Good to see you awake," Ranger said to me, after giving his sister a nod.

Great, so we're still barely speaking. I would've bet money that if I hadn't've been lying in a hospital bed, he wouldn't've even looked my way.

"Thanks," I said dryly. If he can act like a bitch, I can too.

He shot me a look, but kept his mouth shut. Tia, feeling the tension, stood. "Sorry, Stephanie," she said to me, patting me on the hand. "I need to use the bathroom."

"You're leaving me," I told her. She was leaving me alone in a room with a semi-pissed Batman. That was considered traitorish.

"I'm not leaving you," she hissed, her eyes telling me that she was. I couldn't really blame her, I suppose I would've left too.

"Abandonment," I muttered, but by then, she was out the door.

Great.

"So," I said, trying to fill the awkward silence. Ranger walked forward and took the chair Tia had vacated. "How are the kids?"

"Fine," he replied. "Mary Alice found me within the day and led me straight back to where you were. Adriel is back with Rina in Florida, Tia has her children back, and your neices are back at home with your sister."

I closed my eyes in relief. "Thank you, God," I muttered. I looked back at Ranger. "How long am I in here?" I asked. "How long have I been here?"

"You've been here for three days," he said. It was only when he spoke that I really noticed the slightly dark circles under his eyes. Only one who had closely examined his face multiple times before would be able to see them, but they were there.

"Wow. They must've really gotten PMSy."

Ranger's eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you remember anything?"

I remember you telling me to go away because you couldn't waste your time on me.

"Why are you here?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Excuse me?"

"The last time we spoke, if that's what you want to call it, you told me to go away. So I did. Why are you here now?"

Ranger's eyes darkened.

Oh shit.

"I didn't mean that, and you know it."

I did.

"So why did you say it?"

He exhaled deeply and closed his eyes. I figured he was counting to ten in his head. "I said it because my daughter, my neice, and my nephew were missing. Because three girls who have only met me maybe three times before were in danger because of me." He opened his eyes and stared at me. "You know I'm more emotionally attached to you than I am to most. I couldn't, and still cannot, afford to lose you. It was a protective instinct."

Whoa.

"Oh," I said lamely. "Well, in that case then.. you're forgiven. I guess."

He gave me one of his infamous half-smiles, then it disappeared.

"There is something else you need to know," he told me. I could tell I wasn't going to enjoy what it was.

"Okay," I said, leaning forward. He continued to stare at me, then reached down and took my hand.

"Stephanie," he began, "A few days ago, Morelli-"

"No!" I yelled, yanking my hand away. I winced in pain as the needle from the IV dug deeper into my vein. "Shit, shit shit."

Ranger stood and walked to the door. "You have to face it," he told me before leaving. I rocked back and forth, my wrist with the IV held close to my stomach. I kept repeating 'no' in my head.

Morelli can't be dead, I kept saying. At the same time, however, I knew.. I didn't know HOW I knew, but I somehow knew.

"Aunt Stephanie?"

I looked up at the tiny voice in the door.

"Hey Mary Alice," I greeted, wiping away the tears from my face. "Come on in."

My neice padded her way into my room and took a seat on Ranger's chair. "Aunt Stephanie, I gotta talk to you," she informed me. I held out my hand and, with my help, she climbed up on the bed beside me.

"What is it?" I asked, wincing at the impatience in my voice. I couldn't help it, kids just weren't my thing.

"Aunt Steph'nee," Mary Alice began, "Do you love mommy?"

What in the world did Valerie have to do with anything?

"Of course I love your mother," I replied, wondering where this was going. "She is my sister."

Mary Alice nodded uncertainly. "Why?" I asked, curious. "Did someone tell you something bad?"

"No, no," Mary Alice said quickly. "I was just wondering, 'cuz.. Mr. Ranger and Mr. Eric are brothers, and you and Mommy are sisters, and Mr. Eric hurt Adri because she is Mr. Ranger's daughter-"

"Oh, no," I exclaimed. Despite the IV, I managed to wrap my arms around her. "I would never hurt you or Angie or Lisa," I promised.

Not physically anyway, I added to myself. This conversation itself proved that I had already caused them to be hurt emotionally and psychologically.

"Okay," Mary Alice said, but she didn't seem too convinced. "Do you love Mr. Ranger?" she asked.

I wish I knew that, myself.

"Mr. Ranger and I are friends," I told her.

"Oh," she said, disappointed.

"Why?" I asked, frowning at her.

She looked me over, then nodded. "Cuz, he loves you," she told me. I opened my mouth to question her, but she slid off of my bed in seconds and was out of the room. As she walked away, I wondered whatever happened to the little girl who galloped around acting like a horse. It made me sad to see her be forced into growing up. She was so much like me, when it all came down to it -- I figured it would be any week now that I would get all call from my mother, telling me Mary Alice had broken her arm while trying to fly off of the roof.

"I'm back," Tia announced, about ten minutes later. She had in her hand a cup of coffee and a bagel.

"Tell me about Eric and Ranger and Adriel," I said. She froze, her hand half-way to her mouth. Slowly, she put it down and looked at me.

"What about them?" she asked.

"Everything."

Tia stared at me, then shook her head and sighed. "I probably shouldn't do this-" I opened my mouth to protest, but she put up her hand and spoke over me, "-but I'm going to, because you deserve an explanation." She glanced at my slightly uncomfortable position on the bed and shook her head. "You might want to settle in for this one," she said. I obeyed and got shifted until I was content, then looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"As you might know, Eric is about two years older than Ricky. We used to have our little.. groups. When you're in a big family, you get used to it. It used to be Carla was Mommy's little girl - always bossing us around and helping Mom out around the kitchen -- things like that. She has always been the oldest of us all; she and Diego are five years apart. So, Carla was never really appreciated by any of us, but she had my mother, so she didn't care. Then, it was Diego and Eric. Those two were only nine, ten months apart, and they were inseperable. Then it was Ricky. He was also sort of a loner, but Carla always had a soft spot for him, so whenever he was really bored, those two hung out. Then, it was me. For some reason, I was always considered the baby. Ricky and I are seven years apart as well, so we didn't really talk that much until I was really old enough. Tony was the biggest outsider there was -- he and Ricky are twelve years apart, so by the time he was born, everyone but me was already off doing their own things, barely coming home at night, if they even came home at night at all. Tony always looked up to Ricky, especially once Ricky was in service. Ricky, Diego, and Eric all three went in at the same time, but only Ricky made it to the Ranger's.

"It was actually while the boys were in service when this all began. While they were overseas on a mission, they screwed up and got themselves caught. A special forces team had to be sent in to get them out of there -- and serving on that team was Katrina Bryers. Katrina was their commander's daughter, and strictly off limits. Of course, that just appealed to them even more.

"Ricky, like every other men on the base, thought of her as a hot peice of ass, but never pursued her. Eric, however, along with many other desperate men, did. While at first we thought Eric's infactuation was just that -- a crush, Ricky began to think otherwise. Eric tried and failed many times to get Rina to agree to go on a date with him. Diego was told to keep an eye on Eric's.. interest in Rina, but he told the family that Eric was just in love with a woman who was too blind to see what she was missing. Well, the seemingly harmless crush went on for over a year, with no retaliation from Rina to any of Eric's attempts. Then, Ricky was made Ranger 1."

Throughout the explanation, I sat with my jaw slightly open, comparing the two stories. Granted, Tia's made more sense, but I still wasn't completely convinced.

"When Ricky became Ranger, Rina became his temporary partner after his other got hurt. Needless to say, Eric was pissed. It wasn't until Eric threatened Ricky's life that Ricky realized how serious he was about Rina. So, Ricky warned Rina. He told her about Eric's obsession with her, and she wasn't stupid. She filed a restraining order against him. She got him dishonorably discharged from the Army. But the thing that changed everything is when Rina became pregnant.. with only one man that could be the father. Eric saw it was a betrayal, and he convinced Diego the same. He and Diego planned revenge against Rina's baby and against Ricky. Diego continued to act as though he cared about Ricky, but Ricky saw right through the act. He and Rina got married before the child was even born, and made sure that Eric knew it. He then, with the help of his new father in law, put Rina in a safe house until Adriel was born.

"Eric thankfully never got to Adriel until now, but he tried. He and Diego were thrown in jail as suspects for murdering one of Ricky's men. Diego had honestly not known anything about it, but Eric had framed him into getting caught as well. The case was dismissed for lack of evidence, but the damage was done. Diego saw that Ricky's warnings had been correct, and had told Eric never to contact him again. Eric became the new outsider, the one who was not welcome in the Manoso family anymore. Diego straightened up, but Ricky still doesn't trust him that much. I don't think Carla does either, but she hides it, surprising as it is. My grandmother got hit harder than anyone -- Eric and Tony are her babies. When she found out what Eric did, it almost killed her."

Tia winded her story down, giving me a smile as she did so. "Ricky and Rina never cared about each other as anything other than close friends, and Adriel knows that. Rina still works for the government on contracts and things, but when she heard about the kidnapping, she used her connections to get her pulled off the mission. She wasn't able to stay in Jersey, but she wanted me to tell you 'thank you'. She said Adriel told her that she likes you, so you have Rina's approval."

"Wait," I cut in, "Approval for what?"

Tia just gave me a smile, then looked out the window. "You'll figure it out," she told me, nodding her head and smiling. "You'll figure it out."

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