You all amuse me! I'm glad you liked/hated the last chapter, lol, and you'll have to read on to see whether it's Stephs last days... Let me know what you think, as always.

Chapter 19

Ranger's POV

I felt panic well up inside of me as her eyes closed. 'Babe?' I said. She didn't reply and her eyes didn't flutter open. The panic increased and I felt for a pulse with shaking fingers. Faint and erratic, but her pulse throbbed under my fingers. Relief washed over me, but only temporarily.

'Where the fuck is the ambulance?' I snarled.

'It's here Ranger.' Tank said softly, 'Junior's just letting them in now.'

I didn't reply, I just looked at my Babe and willed her to open her gorgeous eyes and look up at me.

'Ranger, man, you need to move. Let the guys do their job.' Tank instructed. I blinked in surprise as I realised that the paramedics were here, and that I hadn't heard a word they had said to me. I held my Babe's hand but moved away enough that they could attend to her.

'How many shots?' One of them asked Tank.

'Three.'

The paramedics nodded and examined her injuries quickly.

'Her thigh's been shot but it's well bandaged – however, there's no sign of an exit wound. The bullets still in there.' One of them said.

'One bullet hit and broke her rib, it looks like the rib has punctured her left lung and it's filling up with blood.' The other said. 'She's been shot in the intestines and she's lost a lot of blood but it doesn't look like her stomach's ruptured.'

'Sir? Do you know her blood type?'

'No.' said Tank.

'It's AB positive.' I said softly.

The medics nodded and started tending to Steph, seeming to jabber away in a foreign language. After what felt like a millennia they carefully lifted her onto a stretcher and carried her out to the ambulance. I held her hand the whole way, and they didn't question me as I sat in the back with her.

The drive to the hospital felt like one second and, at the same time, it felt like one year. Every time the ambulance slowed I felt like screaming or crying, or perhaps both. But I did neither, and I held it together as I held her hand.

They rushed her into the emergency operating room, and they told me I had to go.

'No!' I protested, 'I can't leave her…'

'Sir, you'll only be in the way. You can wait in the hall. Sir?'

Reluctantly I kissed the back of Steph's hand – silently pleading for her to be ok.

I slumped down into a chair in the hall. I put my head in my hands and began to do one of the things I hate worse than anything. I waited.

And I waited.

And I waited.

The clock on the wall ticked and tocked, each second dragged agonisingly by, and the chiming echoed ominously in the sterile hall.

Eventually I lifted my head from my hands and was shocked as I realised that everyone was here. My family sat either side of me, and Tank and Lester were positioned at the corridor's entrance, protecting my back. Just like Steph had been.

I pushed that thought away and tried to think of something else, anything else.

'I should do the admittance papers.' I said shakily.

'I've already done them, man.' Said Tank.

'Oh God. I need to phone her family. What do I say?'

'I've already called them Ranger. I put them on the Rangeman plane. They'll be here soon.' Tank said, watching me warily.

How could they be here soon? The flights weren't instantaneous.

Tank met my eyes, looking worried, 'Ranger. You've been here for two and a half hours already.'

What? 'Then why haven't we heard anything?' I yelled at Tank.

'She's still in surgery man. There's nothing you can do now.'

Nothing but wait.

And I did.

I waited.

And I waited.

Three hours.

Three and a half.

I haven't prayed since before my mother died, but as the seconds passed I dropped to my knees, bowed my head over clasped hands, and I pleaded with God to keep her alive.

Anything you ask of me, Lord, and I will do it. Anything. I'll go to Church. I'll give to charity. I would give away all my wealth, all my material possessions, I would give away my life – just let her live.

I would give her flowers everyday, and buy her Boston Creams. I would make her happy. No matter what it took, anything to see her smile. To hear her laugh.

I know she is yours to call away, but she is all I have and all I need. She is my heart, my soul. Everything.

Please don't take her from me.

Over and over I prayed, begging for Stephanie to live. With one last plea, I got up. It was nearly five AM, and her family had arrived during my prayers.

Not just her mom and her dad, not just her sister and her sister's family, not just her Grandma, but Steph's entire family. Lula was there, hugging a distraught Mary Lou. Joe was there, sitting next to Eddie and Connie.

I realised abruptly that my chest was bare, and I was covered in Steph's blood. For once though, Lula and Connie weren't ogling at me, but staring solemnly at the emergency operation door.

Frank was sitting next to me, so I gathered all my courage, and turned to face him. I tried to say something, anything. But the words wouldn't come.

Frank scanned my face, reading the words I wanted to say.

'It's not your fault, son.' Frank said gruffly. 'Steph's always done what she wanted, consequences be damned. She chose to save you. She told me…' he paused and took a deep breath, 'she told me she loved you. I asked her how much she loved you. And she said that-' his voice cracked, 'that she would die for you. I said I hoped you were worthy of that love. I know now, that you are. You're a good man Ric, there's no blame here.'

'She told me…to tell you…to turn the TV down.'

Frank let a bark of laughter escape, 'Yeah, that's my girl.'

One by one I told them the messages that Steph wanted me to tell them.

'What about me?' Asked Mary Lou.

'Yes.'

'What?'

'She said to tell you, 'yes'.'

'Oh.' said Mary Lou, and then she started to cry. 'I asked her,' Mary Lou sobbed, 'Before she went to Miami, I asked if she could have seen her future when she was twenty, would she do it all again? All the pyscho's, all the fires, all the explosions, all the kidnappings. Would she live it all again if she had a choice? And she would. She wouldn't change a damn thing.'

'What about Lula?' asked Valerie, 'didn't she have a message for Lula?'

'Me and Connie already got our marching orders.' Lula said proudly. 'Skinny ass white girl left us instructions.'

No one asked what the instructions were – I'm not sure I want to know.

Reluctantly, I turned to Morelli. 'She said you were a great friend to her and you should never doubt that.' I forced myself to meet his eyes, ready to see a blazing rage in them.

He had told me, that night when we had had our man-to-man talk, that if I hurt Stephanie, he would see to it that I sang soprano – cop or no cop.

But there was no anger in Morelli's eyes, no condemnation. I must have looked surprised, because Joe's lips twisted in a wry smile, 'you didn't hurt her Manoso. Mr Plum's correct, sometimes you just can't stop Steph.'

The room nodded in agreement, and silence descended upon us again, each of us in our own thoughts and prayers, begging for Stephanie Plum to be alright.

It was six AM before a doctor stepped out into the hall.

He glanced around at the masses before settling on Frank, 'I need to talk to Miss Plum's family.'

'We're all her family.' Said Frank firmly, including my family in his gesture.

'Sir…' The doctor protested.

'Whatever you have to say, you can say it to us all.'

I barely noticed that I was gripping Franks arm.

'Miss Plum's condition is critical, but stable.'

'What the fuck's that supposed to mean?' Lula asked.

'It means that she is unconscious, and she's lost a lot of blood. Miss Plum has sustained serious injury, but, with the correct treatment, there is no reason why she shouldn't make a full recovery. She's on a drip at the moment, but she should come around in the next forty-eight hours.'

'Thank you.' Frank said, the doctor nodded and made his leave, obviously fatigued after so many hours in surgery.

'She's going to be ok.' Morelli said.

'Course she is.' I said, 'I knew that.'

A ghost of a smile flickered over Morelli's relieved face, 'yeah, me too.' Abruptly the smile disappeared and a small tear leaked out of Morelli's eye. Without thinking, I pulled the other man into a rough hug.

After a minute I stepped back, 'We're not ever going to mention this ever again, right Joe?' I said, addressing Morelli by his forename for the first time.

'Not on your life, Ranger.' Joe agreed, foregoing the usual 'Manoso.'

'That was real nice - you boys hugging, I mean.' Said Grandma Mazur, 'that'll fuel my fantasies for months!'

A/N Oh come on! I'm a BABE! When am I ever going to kill Steph? I need her so her and Ranger can live HEA! Hope you liked it! next chapter of something soon.