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 a challenge sent by the Twelve Sharp group. 'Ranger in the hospital of any point of view.' This is 12th in a series of 12. Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback…it is always appreciated.

I am sorry that it has taken me this long to get out this chapter…….I hope that it was worth the wait.

I took a moment to catch my breath, and then I slowly open the door. I raised my hands to show that I didn't have a weapon, my eyes searching the room. I find Julie slumped in the chair, and then I locked eyes with my babe. My heart was beating rapidly as I checked her over. Her beautiful eyes were filled with tears. I did my best to let her see what I was feeling. I wanted her to know that I made the decision to be here, and that I would gladly give my life for her. I keep my eyes on her face memorizing every feature for when I was at the gates of heaven or more likely the pits of hell. I wanted to have my babe's face embedded in my mind for eternity. I heard the bullets being fired but I kept looking at my babe. I felt the impact on my vest and the shots slicing through my shoulder and neck but it was my babe's haunting screams calling my name that caused the pain that overwhelmed me. I could feel the blood soaking the floor around me. I could hear gunshots in the direction of Scrog but my focus was on my Babe's anguish. I could feel the life draining out of me; this was not the way I wanted my life to end. I didn't want Stephanie to see me like this; I didn't want my Babe to live the rest of her life with this memory. A long time ago I came to grips with the fact that I could die at any moment. I knew that I had done everything I could to keep her safe including keeping her at arms length. And my last thoughts were of her as the room erupted into chaos but my Babe's cries followed me into the blackness.

The smell of stale anesthetic air flooded my senses. Pain was slowly penetrating through the haze of neurotics. I could feel weight on one side of the bed. I could hear at least three people breathing. One deep and steady, obviously asleep, another one was steady but alert- had to be Tank – and the last was a little frantic. I heard lungs straining to keep from hyperventilating, and instinctively I knew that it was Stephanie. I kept my breathing steady and deep, I wasn't ready to face the world yet. I listened to the room around me. I figured the deep and steady breathing was Julie. Relief and a feeling that I couldn't pin point flooded my body. My babe shifted in her chair and laid her head on the bed. Her breathing was still erratic, I wanted to lift her head and kiss her until she was breathing hard for another reason. I wanted to shoulder whatever troubled her.

I couldn't stop myself from touching her any longer. I sifted my weight in the bed so that I could reach out and caress a curl. Immediately she lifted her head. Our eyes locked together. Neither one of us could look away. I let myself let go of her blue eyed to assure myself that she was safe. Her face was pale almost ghost like. She had dark circles around her red swollen eyes; her nose was red and irritated. I brought my eyes back to meet hers and I could read and feel the concern radiating out of her. In that moment in time I wished that I were another man. I wished that I could give her everything that she needed. I wanted to tell her that nothing like this would ever happen again. I wish I could be the base of her food pyramid. She lifted her hand and put it over my heart.

"Babe," my voice was hoarse and my throat was dry.

"Ranger." My heart skipped a beat and I continued to lose myself in her eyes. I heard Tank get up and step out of the room. I knew that he would be right outside the door if I needed him.

I needed to push her away from me; I thought that she would be safe as my friend. But I know that I couldn't keep her away. I wasn't man enough to do the right thing in this situation. I continued to stare into her blue eyes that had filled with unleashed tears and I could still hear her screaming my name. She moved her hand into mine and gave me a gentle squeeze. She started to chew on her lower lip and then gave me a wobbly smile.

"Hey, the doctor said that you should make a full recovery but he wanted to know when you woke up. Just let me call the nurse and let her know that you are awake." She said as she reached for the call button. I grabbed her hand and pulled in back into mine. For a second we both studied our hands together, the contrast of our skin dark and light, ying and yang. Stephanie lifted her eyes and they seemed to look everywhere but at me. She finally looked at my eyes and I gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Her eyes were saying something that I didn't quite understand. There was something new and my stomach started to roll at the thought of Morelli being the cause of this new light. I decided to stop her I wasn't ready to hear about Morelli yet.

"Stephanie…."

"I love you, Carlos"