Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story.

Mary Lou stared at me for a few seconds, then grabbed the stick out of my hand and started examining it intently.

"Are you sure? I mean, you're actually pregnant?" She garbled. I shrugged and nodded at the same time. There was no point trying to avoid it or deny it. I was pregnant. Thoughts were flooding in all at once, drowning me.

"I've got to tell Joe." I announced. Mary Lou nodded

"Well duh, it kinda goes without saying. I can't believe you and Joe are going to have a baby! This is so huge! Do you think you'll get married now? I mean, it's the perfect reason. Will you have to stop work?" Of all the thoughts in my head, I hadn't thought of marriage or work. Shit. Right on cue, the front door opened.

"Hey Steph, are you home?" Joe called from the hall. I took a deep breath and grasped Mary Lou's hand.

"Yeah I'm up here; I'll be down in a second." I called back and started taking steps towards the stairs. Each step seemed to be a mile long and the stairs didn't seem to be getting any closer. Mary Lou was still with me, guiding me towards the staircase and stopping me from falling. I eventually made it down the stairs and into the kitchen. Morelli had his back to me and was getting a bottle of beer from the fridge. He turned to look at me as I sat down at the table.

"Hey Mary Lou, I didn't know you were here." Mary Lou smiled and glanced nervously over at me.

"Do you want a beer?" He asked us, offering us each a bottle. I shook my head as Mary Lou took the bottle. Joe sat opposite us, looking worried

"Steph are you ok? You look really pale." He asked. I nodded and opened my mouth to speak. My throat was so dry; it felt like I'd just swallowed a bucket of sand. Mary Lou still had my hand in a death grip and was looking at me encouragingly. I took a deep breath and looked at Joe intently. His gorgeous chocolate brown eyes were full of concern.

"Ok" I sighed "There is no easy way to tell you this..." I started. Joe looked like he'd just received an electric shock.

"Oh my God, you're pregnant!" He exclaimed, smiling. Mary Lou and I stared at him in absolute shock.

"What the...? How did you know?!" I exclaimed. The smile slipped off his face.

"I...I didn't, I was just joking!" He looked panic-stricken "You're being serious aren't you?" He asked. I nodded and smiled apologetically. He jumped out of his chair and ran over to my side. He lifted me out of my chair and embraced me lovingly. I felt tears filling my eyes. I didn't know what I was crying about, it was a mix of relief, happiness and fear. I heard Mary Lou stand up behind me.

"I think on that note, I'll be going" She announced and walked out the door, before I could even thank her. I smiled and snuggled into Joe. After a while, he pushed me back gently to look at me.

"We're going to have a baby" He grinned broadly. I couldn't help laughing. He looked ecstatic. I realised that this was what Joe had wanted for a long time. I remembered him saying to Grandma Bella that it would be nice to have a child.

"Yeah, we're going to have a baby." I grinned.

"You've got to make a doctor's appointment, to check that everything's ok. We have to tell our families!" He exclaimed. A new fear dawned on me.

"Shit, the families. I completely forgot about them. Who should we tell first?" I panicked. Joe looked equally scared by this prospect.

"Oh shit, yeah. Whoever we tell last will never forgive us! We could tell them together..." He suggested. I considered this.

"We could, but the thought of Grandma Mazur and Grandma Bella in the same room terrifies me." I thought out loud.

"Yeah, same. It makes my blood run cold. But at the same time, we don't really have a choice." He pointed out. God help me, he was right. I nodded.

"Are you working late tomorrow?" I asked. Joe looked shocked

"No I'm not. You want to tell them tomorrow?" I shrugged in response.

"Sooner the better. The longer we keep it from them, the scarier they'll be when we eventually tell them. Plus, it's not really something we can keep a secret for long." He nodded "But I don't think we should tell anyone else until we tell the family." I added quickly. Joe nodded again.

"Mary Lou won't tell anyone, will she?" He asked. I shook my head. He kissed my lightly on the lips. "Come on, let's get up to bed."

I woke up the next day to the sound of the shower. I wondered into the bathroom to find Joe in a wet state of nudity. He looked up and grinned.

"Wanna join me?" He asked. I smiled and shook my head.

"I need to call the parents soon, to invite them over tonight. You should do the same." He nodded and shut off the water. I padded down stairs and picked up the phone. I took a deep breath and dialled my parents house and waited for them to pick up.

"Hello?" My mother answered.

"Hi Mom, its Stephanie. Me and Joe were wondering if you'd like to join us for dinner tonight. Joe's family are coming over as well. We wanted you, Dad and Grandma wanted to come over." I garbled. I heard my mum sigh

"What have you done? You wouldn't be inviting us over unless you'd done something!" She asked accusingly. I sighed.

"I haven't done anything Mom, are you going to come over?"
"Yes of course, I'll bring desert, I know how you hate to cook." I hung up and called up to Joe.

"My parents are coming and they're bringing desert."

"Ok" He called back "I'll ask mine to bring the main course!"

I walked into the office an hour later and flopped onto the couch. Connie and Lula looked up at me. Lula grinned broadly.

"Hey girlfriend, you are glowing this morning. D'you get lucky with Morelli last night?" She asked, with a raised eyebrow. I smiled and shrugged.

"In a way..." The door open and Ranger walked in. I looked at him in shock. He looked almost as shocked as I did. We hadn't seen each other for about a month. It was strange to see him again. I smiled weakly. He gave me a nod of acknowledgement, then blanked me and turned to the desk. Connie handed him a pile of FTA files. He flicked through them, nodded and walked out without saying a word. I jumped up and ran out after him. He was unlocking his black BMW when I walked out the office.

"Ranger!" I called out. He stopped and turned to look at me. His face was emotionless, clouded over.

"Ranger, I'm sorry I just left that morning. I never meant to hurt you I swear, everything just got...weird after Junkman and everything. I'm just really sorry and I want us to be friends again, if that's ok. I've really missed you." I could feel tears filling up in my eyes. Dammit I had zero control over my emotions these days! Ranger sighed and stared into my eyes. The tears were now rolling down my face; I was powerless to stop them. He walked over and wrapped his eyes around me. I smiled and threw my arms around his shoulders, resulting in my feet leaving the ground by a few centimetres. He put me down on the side walk and looked at me again.

"I've been acting like a real jerk the past few weeks. I'm sorry. I've just had a lot on my mind lately. I never meant to hurt you ether." He touched my cheek affectionately, turned and got in the car.

"See you later babe." He called and then he was gone. I walked back in the office to find Lula and Connie both grinning at me like Cheshire Cats.

"What?" I asked, knowing well what they were grinning at.

"Dang girl, that man is so hot he's practically on fire!" Lula exclaimed. I laughed and walked up to the desk.

"Ok, who've you got for me today?" Connie thumbed through a few of the files.

"Depends, are you feeling up to anything particularly strenuous?" She asked. I considered this for a few moments.

"How strenuous do you mean?" I replied. Connie handed me three files. I flicked through them, carefully reading the details. First was Harry Terrace, wanted for theft. Harry had been in Joe's year at High School and had been sort of friends with my sister, Valerie. He'd had a tough day at work, gone to the shop to get some alcohol, realised he hadn't got enough money and tried to walk out the shop with three bottles of vodka, two bottles of wine and four bottles of whisky. He'd been stopped and the shop keeper had been adamant about pressing charges. He would either be at work, pretending this wasn't happening or at home, pretending this wasn't happening. Easy. The second was Gregory York, arrested for indecent exposure. I'd never met Gregory before and this was his first offence. He seemed like a reasonable guy, he'd just got drunk after an argument with his girlfriend, gone out and tried to take a stripper home with him. As a weird kind of revenge, he'd got up on the podium with her and shown the club a little bit more then they'd wanted to see. The manager had been outraged and called the police. Gregory had been dragged away by the police in all his naked glory. He was unemployed and lived with his Grandmother. She had put the house up as bond and he seemed like a reliable grandson. He'd be at home, making his Grandmother a cup of tea. The last on the list was Alice Harrison. She was arrested for assault after an argument with her ex-boyfriend. She'd gone to his apartment to collect the rest of her things, only to find him in the bedroom trying on her Victoria's Secret underwear. Things had got nasty and Alice had left three beautiful nail marks down his face. She worked at a hair and nail bar in the mall. She desperately needed money and it was doubtful that she'd have missed a day off work for a tiny thing like a court date. I walked out to my car and threw the files onto the seat next to me. I decided to go after Harry first, hoping I'd be able to play the friendship card and guilt trip him into coming with me. I phoned his work and was informed that Harry had called in sick. I drove over to his house, which was about a block away from his work. That's dedication. The curtains were all drawn. It was a good thing he didn't live in the burg, drawn curtains at this time of day would have started all sorts of rumours. I parked and walked to the front door. I heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. How perfect. I knocked on the door. It was opened seconds later. Harry was stood in the doorway, wearing a scrappy old dressing gown and looking hung-over and half dead. He stared at me for a few seconds before recognition kicked in.

"Oh shit..." He muttered before taking off through the house.

"Hey!" I shouted and started off after him. He was pushing over lamps and tables in his wake as he made his way to the back door. I finally caught up with him as he made his way through the back yard. He slipped on a patch of grass and went over onto his back. I skidded to the floor next to him and cuffed him before he could get up. I felt a moment of pride before I realised that there was no one with me to witness my momentous capture. I pulled him up to his feet and dragged him back through the house.

As we drove to the police station, I glanced in the rear view mirror and noticed tears pouring down Harry's face.

"Oh for crissake..." I muttered. I did not need a sobbing FTA in the back of my car.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked. I hated it when they started crying. It made me feel like the bad guy. He sniffed and looked at me via the rear view mirror.

"I'm going to jail. I'll never be let out; they'll throw away the key. I'll never be allowed to see my kids again!" He burst out crying. I raised an eyebrow.

"Nice try Harry. I know you don't have kids." The tears suddenly stopped and he glared menacingly at me. The rest of the drive was silent, with Harry sat, sulking like a moody teenager. I pulled up outside the station and got out the car. I opened Harry's door for him, but he just sat sulking.

"If you keep glaring like that then you're going to need botox." I informed him. That just made him glare some more. I stood back and sighed. I hated it when they were difficult. Just then, Carl Constanza walked past. He grinned broadly at me.

"I don't know what the hell you did to Morelli last night, but he's been smiling like a mindless idiot all day!" He announced. I laughed and smiled back.

"Carl, could you give me a hand with this FTA? He's being very difficult" I asked, trying to look as sweet as possible. Carl did a huge fake sigh then walked up to the car. He took a look in side and laughed.

"Hey there Harry. Looking good. I hope for the sake of Steph's car that that's mud up your leg." He reached in and grasped the top of Harry's arm and pulled him out of the car. We walked into the station and handed Harry in.

I was walking back out to my car with my body receipt, when I saw Morelli. He looked up at me and smiled.

"Hey cupcake. I talked to my mother; her and Grandma Bella will be over at about quarter to six. She's bringing a lasagne." He dropped a light kiss on my forehead and said "I've got to go, bad guys to catch, paperwork to attack, doughnuts to eat y'know the usual. I'll see you later." He promised and walked down the corridor, out of sight.

Next on my most wanted list was Gregory York. Strangely he wasn't at home. I knocked on the front door and the back door. I looked through windows and looked for a non-illegal way to get in. Nothing. There was no one in. As I walked back to the car, the front door on a house across the street opened. A middle aged woman looked out at me.

"Are you looking for Gregory?" She hollered. I nodded

"Do you know where he is?"

"Sure, I know everything that happens on this street. His Grandma had a stroke last night. He'll be with her at the hospital."
"Ok, thank you!" I called back. The woman nodded and retreated back into her house. I jumped in the car and drove to the nearest hospital. I checked at reception and sure enough, Grandma York had been admitted. I ran up the stairs to the ward where she was being treated. I could see the little old woman lying asleep on the bed with the young man I recognized as Gregory sat by the side of the bed. I couldn't apprehend someone in this situation. I sighed and turned to go when the door to the ward opened and Gregory walked out.

"Hi, were you looking for me? You're that bounty hunter aren't you?" He asked. I nodded in response. I couldn't apprehend someone who was looking after his ill grandmother.

"Yeah I am. You missed your court date." I said. Even as I said it, I felt like the lowest form of being.

"I know, I should have called or something. I just couldn't leave her..." His voice broke. I nodded and patted his arm.

"Just call in when you get a free moment and please turn yourself in when everything's sorted out. I don't want to have to come after you again. I hope your Grandma gets better." I said sincerely. I turned and walked back down the stairs and out to the car, feeling like my good deed for the day was done. I glanced down at my watch and saw it was already two o clock. I drove to the nearest MacDonald's to get lunch then set off to the mall in search of Alice.

'Hawaiian Hair' was a small but popular beauty salon. I walked in and approached the receptionist. She looked up and smiled broadly.

"Aloha and welcome to Hawaiian Hair!" She chimed her mantra. I smiled back.

"Hi, is Alice Harrison in?" I asked pleasantly. The woman looked through the day plan and nodded.

"Yeah, but she's with a client right now. Would you like to book an appointment?" I grimaced. The nail and hair salons in Trenton were the gossip headquarters. If I apprehended someone in a hair salon, I would never hear the end of it.

"This is a bit difficult but she's missed her court date. I'm a bounty hunter and I need to take her to the police station to reschedule." I explained, trying to sound as pleasant as possible. The receptionist stared at me with eyes as wide as saucers.

"Oh I see." She whispered "Is this about the thing with her boyfriend? Because he was a real dickhead. He deserved everything he got." She whispered

"I just need to talk to her." I replied. The receptionist nodded.

"She's through that doorway. Go straight in." I thanked her and walked through the doorway. Alice was sat facing the doorway, manicuring an elderly woman's nails. I cleared me throat and they both looked up at me. I recognized the old woman instantly. Grandma Mazur. Oh shit. I groaned inwardly, then smiled falsely. Alice seemed to know why I was there.

"There is no fucking way that I'm going to jail." She stated. I sighed.

"Alice, please don't make this difficult for us!" I pleaded. Grandma Mazur looked up with excitement.

"Are you apprehending her? You should have said something, I'd have helped. I could have been your inside person, like a mole or something." I smiled.

"I appreciate the offer but I usually work alone. I'll keep it in mind though." I promised. Alice was now on her feet and walking towards the doorway. I stepped in her way and tried to look intimidating. With one hand, I reached for my cuffs which were attached to the back loop of my jeans. As she got closer, I took the cuffs in one hand and attempted to get them onto her wrist. She pulled a sharp metal nail file out of her back pocket and pointed it at me. I instinctively took a step back and realised I'd left my stun gun and pepper spray in the car. Alice lunged at me, shouting and cursing. Fortunately, I'd been in this kind of situation before and Alice was just pissed off. As she lunged again, I stepped to the side and stuck my foot out. She went flying across the polished floor of the salon. I ran over to her and pulled her to her feet. There was a gash across her arm where the nail file had ht it. I had no sympathy for her, the woman was psychotic. I cuffed her and dragged her out the salon. She was flailing and scratching and cursing at the top of her voice. Everyone in the mall was staring in shock at us.

"Just stop it, you're making a scene!" I shouted at her.

"Damn fucking right I'm making a scene! You stupid fucking bitch, let go of me!" She shrieked back. I pushed her into the back of the car and locked the back door. I climbed in the drivers seat and sighed.

"What kind of a woman are you? Whatever happened to girl power?" She screamed. I rolled out of the lot and set off towards the police station. The second I opened the back door at the police station, Alice started kicking out and screaming. I looked around, hoping to see Constanza or any other policeman I knew to help me but no such luck. I growled and tried to pull Alice out of the car.

"Just co-operate, it'll be so much easier for the both of us if you just co-operate. Please, I am asking you nicely. I have too much else on my mind right now. Just get your ass out of the car NOW!" I screamed. Alice stopped flailing in shock, giving me the chance to grab her and wrench her out the car. I pulled her into the station by her arm and handed her over to the docket lieutenant. I collected my second body receipt for the day and set of to the office to collect my money.

After settling up with Connie, I got back in the car and headed home. It was already five thirty. The day seemed to have flown past. As I approached the house, I saw my parents' car and Mrs Morelli's car parked outside. I felt a sense of dread in the bottom of my stomach. I parked the car and approached the front door. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, it's much appreciated. Oh, and to answer some questions...:

zoeykitty: You'll just have to wait to find out, this chapter may have given a few more clues!!!

Cecilia-Black: I think I'm a bit of a fan of both, though Morelli is more secure. Ranger is just more mysterious and cool!!!!

Everyone feel free to review and give suggestions etc! Arigato!!