Author: Feather (Flightf)
Warnings: Spoilers all the way through Twelve Sharp.
Disclaimers: I own nothing…JE owns it all….I will return everything when I am finished
Rating (K-M) M (for language)
A/N: This was started from a challenge sent by the Twelve Sharp group. 'Ranger in the hospital of any point of view.' This is 5th in a series of around 9. J Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback…it is always appreciated. I am sorry that it has been so long since my last update, RL was crazy last week.
Also a very HUGE thank you to Melle who has been acting as my editor extraordinaire. Without her my story would be full of creative grammar and would consist of the never-ending sentence. I think that I am trying to set the record for the most use of "and", "but", "or" and of course just the plain commasJ in one sentence. MagnificentSin…..I salute you! Thanks for being my second set of eyes. I really appreciate your tough love J
The guys at the station and I joke that Stephanie Plum is both our supplemental income and our largest expense. Anyone who has spent anytime in a police station knows that cops love to gamble; well in Trenton we mainly gamble on Stephanie Plum. We also throw in a few sports games here and there, but Stephanie is our main attraction. I don't tell the guys but when I win I slip her 25. I figure without her my kids would be in public school.
When a call goes out with Stephanie Plum's name or address I try to be one of the first on scene. Stephanie has been in my life for as long as I can remember; we grew up a block away. We attended all the same schools, had the same teachers and were raised the same way. Hell, I'm even married to her cousin. So it amazes me how much bigger Steph is than the burg. She has a personality that lights up the lives of anyone around her. Her heart is bigger than an extra large Pino's pizza and she has the compatibilities to find the best in everything except for herself.
Standing outside Stephanie's apartment watching Ranger put on Kevlar, with a perfectly calm expression was a sight to be scene. From where I was standing I could see that he was talking to Tank but I could not hear the conversation. What do you talk about when you know that there is a great possibility that you wont be walking out alive? Being a cop I face the fear that I won't come home each night but I have never left knowing that I probably wasn't coming back.
The parking lot was covered in police personal; we were all in quiet mode hoping that we didn't alert Scrog to our presence. Everyone was on edge waiting until Ranger made his entrance into Stephanie's apartment. We didn't know what was happening behind that door, we could only hope that we were in time. Two cars away from me was Morelli, he was in cop mode, the only sign of his inner turmoil was the set of his shoulders and thetightness in his jaw. As Ranger started walking towards the building Morelli along with other various members of our group followed suit. I can't imagine what Morelli thought of the fact that Ranger was prepared to give his life for Stephanie.
The little voice in my ear brought me out of my own little world with "Bombshell Green", telling us that Ranger was at the apartment door ready to enter. I could see Morelli along with others standing in the stairway waiting for there cue.
A few minutes passed and complete pandemonium broke out as 6 shots rang out of the apartment. Followed by two more. The paramedics and the Feds broke out into a full sprint towards the apartment door. Morelli turned white as a ghost and followed about two steps behind them. I was on border control so I had to wait for the voice in my ear to ease my fears. So far the coroner hadn't been called so that was a good sign.
"Scene Clear, suspect in custody" barked the little voice. I could tell it was a stinkin' Fed because a local would have immediately let everyone know how Stephanie was.
I had to hold back a senior citizen with his Polaroid Camera trying to take a good picture while I watched the front entrance as they wheeled Ranger out on a stretcher with a mini Ranger attached to the side. I overheard the little girl telling off the EMT as she climbed in the truck. No doubt that she was Ranger's offspring. Then I saw Morelli leading Stephanie to his truck. It was one of those moments like 9/11 where there was chaos but time stands still. There was noise everywhere but it sounded like white noise. From where I was standing I could see the side view of Morelli and Stephanie. Morelli with a look of concern was hugging Stephanie while she never moved her eyes off of Ranger. When I first saw them come out of the building Stephanie looked broken, she had never looked that way before. The one thing that Stephanie had always been able to hold onto was hope. For that split second she had none.
My shift ended about 2 hours ago but I am still sitting in one of the upholstered chairs in the ICU waiting room. Thank God we didn't have to sit in the plastic ones down in the ER. Being a uniform and sitting in the car all day was giving me hemorrhoids, and a plastic chair would have been very unpleasant. Four hours ago the Doctor told Stephanie that baring any complications Ranger was expected to make a full recovery. A few minutes later she went into the glass walled room and haven't moved since. I am happy to see that she looks a little more like the Steph that I know but I can tell that she is still in distress. I wonder if this will bring the whole "how I really feel about Ranger" to a head?
I finished everything that I had been assigned to do for the case but I am still here to try to keep the tension down. Adrenaline levels were high tonight and everybody is on edge. One side of the room was full of the men in black uniform and one side was full of cops. Everybody in the room knew that a choice was about to be made and they were choosing sides. I just wanted Stephanie to know that I was on her side no matter whom she chooses.