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.

I didn't see Ranger or Carmella again for two weeks. By this time, I'd been to the doctor's. It was confirmed, I was pregnant. I even had a due date. In eight months I was going to be a mother. A mom. Mary Lou was probably more excited then I was. She finally had someone to give all her old baby things to and someone to pass advice onto. Her and Valerie kept getting together and organising various baby related events. The morning sickness was very irritating but I was assured that it would wear off. I wasn't getting any distinctive cravings, apart from the fact that I frequently found myself want Tastycakes, but then that was normal.

I was sat in the office, just looking through the stack of new FTA's and trying to think of an excuse to avoid going out on a bust (the 'I'm in a fragile state' one was getting a bit old, though technically still had eight months of use) when the door swung open and Ranger walked in with Carmella in tow. I looked up and smiled. Ranger gave me the briefest of nods, whereas Carmella grinned broadly and waved frantically.

"Hey Stephie!" She greeted enthusiastically "How's the lil bebé?" she asked. I looked at her in surprise, wondering how she knew. I guess Ranger must have told her. I smiled.

"Everything's fine. I've got a due date and everything. In eight months I'm going to be a mother, providing all goes well." Carmella smiled and gave me a quick hug.

"I'm so glad; it's going to be way cool. And I think it's great you're not going to marry the cop, at least for the moment. A modern day woman needs to be independent and keep her options open." She smiled happily and sat down, sending her father a meaningful look. He simply stared back. She sighed.

"Papa is pleased for you as well. He is simply being an arrogant, egotistical ass at the moment; you will have to excuse him." Ranger glared at her but kept his silence. I though Carmella had made an excellent point. I could see Connie and Lula grinning behind the files they had pressed to their noses to stop Ranger from seeing their faces. Ranger stalked over to the desk and picked up a file. He glanced over the top one and looked at Connie.

"I think I can get information on this one, but it's only a $50,000 bond." Only? I thought. He really was being very arrogant. Connie sighed.

"Ok, fine. Stephanie can take it. That is, if you're willing to pass any information you have onto her." She asked. Ranger glared at her. If I had been sent that glare, I'd have been cowering under the desk. Connie, however, came from a family that set it's foundations on dirty looks. Ranger glanced over at Carmella.

"Is it ok if we make a quick stop before we go to the mall?" Carmela shrugged.

"Sure, I guess. Oh, Stephie should come with us!!" I was beginning to wonder where this sudden 'Stephie' had come from, but I was willing to let it slide as Carmella seemed to have good intentions at heart. Ranger was grinding his teeth and looking like he was about to cough up a hairball. Ok, this was really starting to piss me off.

"Ok, that is it. Ranger I need to talk to you outside. Now!" I commanded. Lula and Connie took a deep breath and grinned at each other. Carmela was doing her Cheshire cat smile again. I followed Ranger outside. We were stood in the alley next to the office, to ensure no one in the office could hear or see the conversation that was to follow.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I burst out, surprising myself. Ranger looked stunned and opened his mouth to reply, but I cut in before he could say anything "Carmella is right about you. You are being arrogant and egotistical. Yes I am with Morelli now, but that's never been such a problem before. And yes, I am pregnant, so it would be nice if I could have a bit of support from the people I consider friends. Especially you." I had tears in my eyes now and was struggling to speak between sobs "You have Carmella. I thought that you would understand." The tears were now falling freely down my face. Ranger looked slightly panicked. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me to him. I could smell the Bulgari shower gel that was his scent.

"I know I'm an ass, but things have been difficult for me at the moment, I shouldn't have taken it out on you/ I've just been so stressed lately, with all the court arrangements and everything." He sighed "I'm sorry babe, I am really happy for you." I nodded.

"That's all I wanted to hear. I hate when we're not friends, it's too weird. I'm used to fighting with Joe, but not with you." I processed something he said "Wait, what court arrangements?" I asked. Ranger suddenly went tense.

"I'm applying for full custody of Carmella It's not particularly friendly, her mother is not co-operating. The court is swaying towards my favour because Carmella wants to stay with me. There's also the whole issue of the child support money. It's very confusing. I haven't seen Eva, Carmella's mother, for six years and I am not looking forward to meeting with her again." I held him close.

"You can always talk to me about it and if you ever want a hand with Carmella then you just have to ask." I felt Ranger nod.

"Thanks babe, I appreciate it. Now, let's go get this information on our friend."

Ten minutes later, I was sat in the passenger seat of Ranger's turbo, with Ranger driving and Carmella sat in the back singing along with the radio.

"Tap on my window, knock on my door…are we almost there yet? I want to go shopping!" she exclaimed. Ranger pulled into a parking lot and turned the engine off. He swivelled in his seat to look at Carmella.

"You are going to stay in the car, ok? We will be about ten minutes at the most. Just sit here. I'll leave the radio on." He instructed. Carmella glared.

"I do not see why I have to stay in the car. It is just a manky little bar and no one will hurt me if I'm in the presence of two bounty hunters. I think I should come with you." She said indignantly and got out the car. Ranger looked at me.

"I have absolutely no control over her." I smiled at him.

"Don't worry about it. Just give it time." I clambered out of the car and stood next to Carmella while Ranger locked the car.

"Don't give your dad a hard time, he's new to this whole father thing and I know that is partly his fault, but he is trying." I whispered to her. She looked up at me.

"I know" she sighed "but I just don't want to be left in the car like some little baby." I could understand where she was coming from on that one, I'd felt like that many times. Ranger joined us and we walked towards the bar.

"That car doesn't really fit in around here. People are going to think that you're a pimp or something, driving around in a car like that with two lovely ladies following you around." Carmella grinned. I laughed. Ranger raised an eyebrow at her. "You think that you're a lovely lady?" he asked her. Carmella smiled "Hell yeah." We walked in silence for a few minutes, before Carmella asked

"So, who are we after?"

"Simon Pasin, wanted for assault with a deadly weapon." Ranger explained.

"What was the deadly weapon?" Carmella asked.

"A flame thrower." We both glanced at each other in shock and then looked up at Ranger. He half-smiled.

"Some guy accidentally bumped Pasin's car. For some inexplicable reason, Pasin had a flamethrower in the trunk. Things got a bit out of hand and Pasin was arrested for assault." Carmella looked a bit stunned, but recovered quickly. I, on the other hand, was in shock. I hadn't read that part of the file. Ranger opened the door of the bar and we all walked in. The room was dingy and there was hardly any light. The only windows were covered in grime and dirt, making them impossible to see through. I shuddered involuntarily and tried not to touch anything. Carmella wasn't as subtle.

"Ewww! This place is really manky!" She exclaimed. Half the bar turned to look at is and frowned. Ranger shook his head and made his way over to the bar. After a brief conversation with the bartender, he led us over to a small table in the corner where there was a man sat alone. He had a shaved head and a fat beer belly. Tattoos covered his arms and, shockingly, his scalp.

"Ewww!" Carmella whispered again. Ranger had taken a seat opposite the fat tattoo guy while Carmella and I stood next to him, not wanting to risk touching a seat in this place with any part of our anatomy.

"You know Simon Pasin." Ranger said to tattoo-head, statement, not a question. The guy looked at him warily.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. That's my business." Ranger continued to stare at him.

"I need information on where to find him. I believe you have that information." The guy stood slowly and grinned a toothless grin.

"Well, there's gonna be a price on that information." Ranger stood as well to meet his eyes and spoke slowly.

"What kind of price?" The guy grinned again and slapped on of his hands onto Carmella's ass. She yelped and leapt forward. The guy smiled and draped an arm over her shoulder, with his hand resting on her chest.

"This kind of a price." He whispered, his lips brushing across Carmella's neck. In a second, Ranger had flipped the table over and had his gun pointed at the guys head.

"Get your fucking hands off of my daughter." He hissed dangerously. The guy gulped, raised his hands and backed away from Carmella. She shuddered.

"Dude, you stink! You need to have a decent wash or something because you really reek, I mean-" Carmella was cut off by Ranger pulling her to one side. Then he punched the tattoo guy in the face. There was a satisfying 'crunch' noise and Ranger's fist connected with his nose. Tattoo-head moaned and stumbled backwards with blood gushing from his nose.

"Ah dude, that fucking kane's! It's not my fault I misunderstood; I mean you walk in here with two bitches following you, ask about some guy and prices and you drive around in that car that no one except a pimp or a gangster could afford. Anyway look at her, it's easy to mistake her for a 'ho!"

"Hey!" Carmella exclaimed indignantly "I resent that!" We all looked at Carmella's outfit; she didn't really look anything like a hooker. She was to…sophisticated. Black halter-neck top, mid thigh length black skirt, a pair of black Doc. Martin's and she had a black bag draped over her shoulder. She really was the female Ranger. By now, half of the bar had guns out and were pointing them in our direction. A big guy holding a Glock wandered over.

"I don't appreciate you coming in here and beating on my friends." And then he punched Ranger in the stomach, hard. Ranger stumbled back and dropped his gun. The big guy smiled and pointed the gun at Ranger's head. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, but before any could do anything, Carmella had whipped a gun out of her bag and was pointing it at the big guy's head. He froze. Ranger was staring in amazement at his daughter, who had assumed the correct shooting stance and was holding the gun perfectly.

"Here is what you're going to do. You're going to put your gun on the floor, slowly, and kick it under the table. Then you are going to turn around and walk away. If you do all of that then maybe I won't blow your fucking brains out." Carmella whispered softly. There was fear in the guy's eyes but he tried to remain cool.

"Oh yeah? And what if I don't?" Carmella raised the gun slightly and shot a hole in the ceiling just above the guy's head. Everyone flinched and ducked as a rain of plaster fell onto his head. The guy instantly dropped the gun and kicked it under the table. He turned and bolted for the door. Carmella dropped the gun back into her bag and smiled.

"Well, shall we go?"

We walked to the car in a stunned silence.

"I told you that you'd look like a pimp." Carmella finally said as she climbed into the car. I smiled and pulled my seatbelt on.

"Where did you learn to shoot like that?" I asked her.
"Tank and Lester taught me when dad was working." She explained. Ranger smiled.

"I knew those lessons would come in handy, but where the hell did you get the gun from?" he asked. Carmella grinned.

"Tank gave it to me." she said. Ranger suddenly stopped smiling.

"Tank gave you a gun?" he asked. Carmella shrugged.

"Yeah. He said I might need it. And I did. Just let it go." Ranger looked like he was going to say something, but thought better of it. We sank back into silence and Carmella started to sing along with the radio. She had a good singing voice so it wasn't annoying in the slightest. We parked the car right next to the mall and me and Carmella got out and walked towards the door. Carmella suddenly stopped and looked back. Ranger was still in the car. She sighed and walked back to him.

"Get out the car, come on I need some new clothes. Get your ass out the car!" she commanded.

"If Steph is with you then you don't need me to come with you. I'll just give you some money and pick you up later." He reached for his wallet. Carmella pulled the door open and glared.

"You said you would take me shopping and that is what you are going to do. Now out!" she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the car. To be honest, I don't think he was resisting very much but it was still funny to watch. He locked the car and walked to the doors of the mall, muttering under his breath.

"Where are we going first?" he mumbled. Carmella smiled.

"Victoria's Secret." Ranger looked horrified.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, and special thanks to LOTRFREAK77. Please keep all the reviews coming and again, if anyone has any suggestions I am always pleased to hear them. Hope you all like this chapter and I will try to update soon. Arigato!