Disclaimer: See ch. 1

Spoilers: Through 14

A/N: So, apparently there is a limit to how many cliffhangers a writer can leave before her readers start getting restless. Also apparent is the fact that I have surpassed that number. So, without further ado, chapter 20 of Just Life. What? No cliffhangers here!


Hot tears and hotter blood seeped from me, staining my skin, staining the bed beneath me. The knife flicked over my wrist and across my cheek and I realized with a certainty that would not be denied that this was the time Ranger would be too late. There was no coming back from this one.


I was slipping over the edge into blissful unconsciousness when it finally registered that Mortars was no longer on top of me, no longer jabbing at me with his wicked blade. I struggled to pull myself out of the fog that I was in, but it was slow in happening. I could hear a commotion nearby; shouts, demands, what was unmistakably a gun being cocked very close to my head.

I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision. Images swam past; Mortars wielding a gun pointed in my direction, large men in black clothing swarming the room, dark chocolate eyes hard with rage.

There was a gunshot and I screamed, flinching away from the sound, sure that it was useless and I was dead anyway. There was no pain. There was no floating sensation. In fact, nothing changed at all except for the noises in the room.

"Bobby! Get your ass over here, now!"

"Call an ambulance."

"Cops are here."

"Fucking late as always."

"Hold them off."

"Babe?"

I melted back into the bed. Ranger. I knew he'd come for me, he always did. My dark knight.

"Babe, can you hear me? Bobby's going to try to stop the bleeding until the paramedics get here. Babe, c'mon, answer me, please."

I wanted to, I really did, but I couldn't make my mouth form words. I stared into his gorgeous eyes and tried to communicate what I was feeling; pain, of course; gratitude and relief that he was here.

"I think she's in shock," I heard Bobby say at the same time that I felt pressure on my arm.

"It's okay, babe, I'm here. I'm here now and nothing else is going to happen to you. You're safe now, Stephanie."

"R-Ranger," I managed to stammer.

"I'm here, amada." He stroked a hand gently over my hair. "Stay with me, okay? Just, please, stay with me."

He sounded scared, insecure even. I wondered just how bad I had to look to get Batman to sound like that.

"I kn-knew you would c-come," I whispered. Bobby was working on the cuts on my stomach now. I winced when he pressed gently.

"Sorry, bombshell."

"Of course I came, Stephanie," Ranger said softly. "I'll always come for you."

That was the utter truth, and I knew it. It was painfully obvious in his eyes, the fear and worry he had gone through in trying to find me.

"I'm so-sorry," I said.

"For what?" He asked, moving to my other side so that Bobby could tend to my left arm.

"Making you worry."

His eyes crinkled up, but his mouth remained straight and firm. "This was not your fault, Stephanie. Now relax, here come the paramedics."

He moved away from me briefly to let the paramedics take over. He was beside me again as soon as they had me on the stretcher.

"I'm riding," he told the closest guy.

The poor guy took one look at Ranger's face and nodded his acquiescence.

They rolled me down a hallway and carried me down a set of stairs and out a door onto the sidewalk. Cops and bystanders pressed in around us, but the Rangemen kept them at bay as best they could.

"We'll need her statement," I heard Gazarra say to Ranger, "but it can wait. I'll stop by the hospital tomorrow."

Ranger didn't reply, but I was sure he must have nodded or something, because Gazarra grasped my hand lightly as we passed, then stepped aside.

The whole ride to the hospital, Ranger sat beside my head and stroked my hair. I'm not sure he was aware of doing it, but I wasn't about to tell him to stop. Aside from how good it felt, I also kind of understood why he was doing it, either consciously or subconsciously. If it had been him strapped to the gurney and me waiting on tenterhooks to see that he would be okay, I'd want some kind of physical connection as well. When he'd been shot by Scrog, and I'd seen him lying there so vulnerable in that hospital bed, I hadn't been able to keep myself from touching him. I'd hated the look in Joe's eyes when he'd walk into the room and find me holding Ranger's hand or stroking his forehead, but I could do nothing to stop myself. Eventually, Joe had stopped coming into the room at all. Perhaps that had been the beginning of the end for us.

We were at the hospital before I knew it and I was being wheeled through a set of doors. Ranger made to follow, but a male nurse placed a hand in the middle of his chest and told him he wouldn't be allowed. Ranger's eyes blackened and I nearly cringed for the poor fellow who thought he could keep Batman out of someplace he wanted to be.

"H-husband," I called out just before they wheeled me through the doorway. I had never been to this hospital before, what were the odds of someone recognizing the lie?

The nurse watched Ranger for about two seconds before he nodded.

"Just let us get her cleaned up and settled and assess the damage, then I'll come and get you," I heard the nurse say just as the door swept closed.

They wheeled me back to a cold, utilitarian room with too-bright lights and two-white walls. I was drugged up on pain medication and antibiotic, and then they started poking and prodding. Luckily, the medication meant that I didn't really feel much of it. I really wished Ranger was here, though.

After an indeterminable time, everyone left the room and I was alone. I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew I was waking up. Ranger was sitting beside me, my right hand in both of his, his head so close to mine on the pillow that I could feel his breath on my cheek.

"Hey," he whispered as soon as he noticed that my eyes were open.

"Hi there."

"How are you feeling?"

I took a moment to think about his question. No pain, that was a plus.

"I think I feel like Mooner after a really good batch of special brownies."

That got a chuckle out of Batman. He pulled back slightly and his eyes raked slowly over my body, then back to my face.

"I keep..." he cleared his throat and his eyes darted from mine. "I keep thinking, what if I'd been too late? What if he'd decided just to kill you outright instead of playing around? What…what if…"

I grabbed his face between my hands and pulled him around to face me. His eyes sparkled with unshed tears. I felt my own eyes fill up.

"Hey," I whispered. "Hey. Stop it with the 'what if's', Batman. None of that did happen, okay. And even if it had, you couldn't go back and change it."

"I can't even…I just…"

"Shhh." I rubbed my thumb gently along his cheekbone. His hand came up slowly and covered mine. He leaned into my hand. "None of this was your fault any more than it was mine, you got it? Edwin Mortars is a crazy bastard. None of us could have predicted or controlled his actions, no matter how much we wanted to."

"Was," Ranger said.

"What?"

"Edwin Mortars was a crazy bastard."

It took a moment for that to sink in. The gunshot I'd heard, the one I'd thought was aimed at me.

"You?"

He nodded.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"For what?"

"I'm sorry you had to take another life. For me."

It was his turn to take my face in his hands.

"I would do it again," he rasped out. "I would do it every goddamned day of my life if it meant you were safe."

I nodded slowly, unable to speak. The tears that had been threatening slipped out and down my cheeks. Ranger wiped them away gently, then leaned in to lay a kiss on my cheeks, my forehead, the tip of my nose.

"I love you," he said just before his lips came down softly on mine.

The kiss was tender and slow and meant for comfort and reassurance. Ranger pulled back slowly, my lower lip slipping from between his.

"I love you, too, Carlos."

He was quiet for a moment, dark eyes boring into mine. It was the kind of look he gave me right before our clothes started flying. But we were in a hospital room, so really, I mean…

"So, your husband, huh?"

Oh, crap. He'd just have to focus in on that, right? Couldn't just let it go, could he?

"Uh, well, they let you in, didn't they?"

"Because they didn't know better."

My heart was thumping in my chest, I'm sure my palms were sweating rivers. I had to take a deep breath before I could reply.

"Umm, what exactly are you getting at?"
A wolf grin crept onto his face. "I'm just saying, what if we'd been at a hospital where people knew us? They would have known you were lying."

"They would have let you in anyway," I told him. "People are afraid of you."

That earned me a soft poke in the ribs and a full-on two-hundred watt grin.

"So, are you saying that you wouldn't want to make your lie a truth?"

I think I stopped breathing. Was he…was he…was Batman proposing to me?

"Babe? Breath, amada."

I took a deep breath and focused back on his face. He was still grinning from ear to ear. The smug bastard thought he had this one in the bag. But wasn't this exactly what I hadn't wanted with Morelli? I mean, life with Ranger would never be white-picket-fence-2.5-kids-stay-at-home-mom, but marriage was marriage, right?

"I…Ranger, I…"

He stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.

"Just think about it, okay? But while you're thinking remember that I love you, and I'm ready to do this. I want you to be mine, I want to be yours, forever. It doesn't matter if you want kids or you don't. It doesn't matter if you want to continue bounty hunting or if you want to stay at home and live off of my considerable fortune. It doesn't matter if you get fat and ugly and decide to never sleep with me again. None of that matters, Stephanie, because I love you. Para siempre. Forever, babe. The rest will come as it comes and we'll figure it out then."

I was speechless and breathless. I'm not even sure my brain had processed the whole of what he had just told me. He loved me, he wanted to start forever now, it didn't matter if I got fat and ugly. God, I wanted to cry. All my life I'd waited to hear those words, to be accepted for who I was, and to be loved unconditionally by someone who wasn't required to do so because they were family. But I couldn't just marry him, could I? I couldn't just throw my principles out the window and run to the alter with this man, no matter how much I loved him.

"Ranger, I…"

"Don't answer now, babe. I want you to think, and think hard. And when you give me an answer, I want you to know exactly why that's your answer. I don't want to hear why your mother thinks it would be a bad idea. I don't want to hear that Lula told you you'd be an idiot to say no. I want to hear what Stephanie Michelle Plum thinks. I want your honesty, babe. Nothing else will do."

I nodded silently.

"Good. Now you rest, I want you out of here in time for your grandmother's wedding reception and Ella's birthday."

"Oh, crap. I'd forgotten all about them."

"Taken care of, babe. Just get well, okay?"

"Okay."

"Listen, I've got Lester posted outside if you need him. I got a call just before you woke up that Hal's awake. I'm going to go check on him, then I'll be back, okay?"

I nodded. "Of course. Tell Hal I said hi."

He smiled. "I will." Then he leaned down and kissed me, tongue and all.

A throat was cleared from the doorway and Ranger pulled back, smile still in place.

"I'm supposed to check Ms. Plum's vitals," the young nurse said timidly.

"Have at her," Ranger chuckled. He kissed me once on the forehead, then went to the door.

"Try not to go too crazy, babe."

I had to smile. "Try not to get shot."

Then he was gone.

The nurse was looking at me like she wanted to ask what I was talking about, but was either too polite or too nervous to attempt it.

"Inside joke," I said simply, then sat back as she did her thing.


The next two days passed slowly. I was stuck in the hospital because they wanted to watch for infection. Ranger had stayed with me pretty much the whole time, but I was still about this close to flipping my lid.

"I think it would be okay for you to go home now, Ms. Plum," my doctor told me on the third day.

I was out of the bed so fast, Ranger had to grab my arm to keep me from tipping over.

"You'll want to take things slowly for the next couple of days," the doctor said as Ranger settled me on the edge of the bed and knelt down in front of me. "Come back if any of your cuts become red or irritated.

"Thank you, doctor," Ranger said. "We'll come fill out the paperwork in a few moments."

The doctor nodded and left the room.

Once the door was shut, Ranger walked over to the chair by the door and grabbed a duffle bag.

"Clean clothes," he told me. He took out a pair of sweatpants and a black t-shirt, followed by a sports-bra and a pair of panties. A smirk crept over his face as he surveyed the pile of clothes, then slid his eyes to mine. "I think you'll need some help with these."

"Umm, I think I can manage," I told him shakily. The look in his eyes combined with the warm feeling created by thoughts of him stripping me naked had me in a state. I wasn't sure we'd make it out of this hospital room if I allowed him to help me.

"Relax, babe, it'll be over before you know it." And with that, he pushed me gently back down on the bed and proceeded to remove my hospital Johnny. His eyes raked my body, naked except for a pair of standard-issue white panties.

"I can't wait to get you home," he murmured softly.

I shivered.

"Cold?" He asked with a wolf-grin. "Can't have that, now can we?"

His fingers trailed lightly over the bandages on my stomach until he'd slipped them into the waistband of my underwear. I gritted my teeth to keep from moaning as he slid them down my legs and then stepped back to survey his handiwork.

"Ranger," I said, wiggling uncomfortably. "Hurry up, someone could walk in."

He shook his head. "I locked the door. Besides, Ram's outside. He won't let anyone in."

I made to reach for the pair of panties he'd pulled out of the bag, but his hand stopped me.

"Ranger, I'm not going to sleep with you in a hospital bed again."

"It was an exam table last time."

I rolled my eyes. "Regardless…"

"Relax. Next time I have you, it's going to be in my bed, so I can hold you all night long afterwards."

I couldn't suppress the shiver his words elicited. Clearly, he didn't miss it, because he chuckled lightly as he slid the new panties up my legs and into place. My bra, t-shirt, and sweats quickly followed, then he slid a pair of flip-flops onto my feet and helped me out of bed.

"Let's get out of here," he said.

I wasn't about to argue.


"Did you catch the bank robbers?" I asked as we stepped into the elevator at Rangeman.

"Yeah. Tracked them and Lester about ten miles down the road to an abandoned building. Santos had them all pretty much incapacitated by the time the other guys got there."

I smiled at that. It wasn't that I was surprised at how skilled Lester was. I mean, he served with Ranger in the army. But I just couldn't picture that side of him. He was always so cheeky and playful, with his dimples and his earring. That reminded me…

"Why did you want me to give him my earring?" I asked. We hadn't really talked much about the robbery while I'd been in the hospital.

Ranger's blank face slid into place.

"Ranger?"

He remained silent.

"Ranger, just tell me."

"Once we get upstairs," he said simply.

The rest of the ride up to seven was in silence. He opened the door once we reached it and allowed me to precede him in.

He followed me to the kitchen and took out two bottles of water, handing one to me. Then he led me to the couch and pulled me down next to him.

"I need you to understand, Stephanie, that you have been the most important thing in my life for a long while."

"How long?" I asked softly.

He looked into my eyes for a moment before answering. "Scrog. No, before that. Ramos, Stiva, the redecorating job, the diner. I don't really know, Steph, but a really long time."

"You're very important to me, too," I told him.

He nodded, but remained silent.

"It's a tracker, isn't it?" I'd guessed as much when he'd asked me to give it to Lester. What else could it be?

He watched me for a moment and I got the strangest impression that he was waiting to get yelled at…or hit.

"Uh, yeah. They both are."

I fingered my earrings. Lester had returned the other one while I'd been in the hospital.

"How did you know?" Ranger asked quietly.

"What else could they be? Besides, you said you tracked Lester and the bad guys. I know his cell phone was still at the bank, and I don't think you make it a practice of putting trackers on all your guys."

He shook his head.

"Don't hate me, babe. I only did it to keep you safe. I would never use it to invade your privacy. Please, babe. Please forgive me."

I smiled gently up at him. "There's nothing to forgive, Ranger."

He just stared at me, clearly surprised by my answer.

"I understand. If I had the resources and the know-how to do it, I'd put a tracker on you, too."

He gave me a small, tentative smile. "But you'd do it to find out my secrets. You'd track me to the batcave."

I tipped my head. "Probably."

He kissed me lightly on the lips. "You wouldn't have to," he told me. "I'll bring you there whenever you want."

"Now?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Because right now, I'm taking you into our bedroom and I'm going to make you scream so loud the paint's going to be peeling off the walls."

I gasped as he swung me up into his arms and strode down the hall to our bedroom.

"Our bedroom?" I whispered in his ear.

"Oh, yes, amada. Our bedroom."

"I like the sound of that," I admitted. "And the paint peeling thing doesn't sound so awful either."

He growled playfully and tossed me onto the bed. Then he proceeded to fulfill his promise and rid the walls of their paint.


A/N: Ta-da! Thanks to everyone who's still reading and reviewing! Don't forget to let me know what you thought of this chapter. I think this is the last actual chapter, but there will be an epilogue up soon, and also an epilogue for Between the Lines.