Standard Disclaimer: Not mine, not making money, yadda yaddacakes. I didn't put this in part one, but spoilers up through LMT.

Overheard Part 11

Stephanie's hotel room, around 10 o'clock

Stephanie awoke with a start. She couldn't figure out what had woken her up. For that matter, she couldn't figure out where she was. Suddenly a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Housekeeping. Do you need service or should I come back later?" Stephanie realized she was in a hotel room. Not ready to face even an anonymous stranger, she raised her voice "Please come back this afternoon." With a muffled "Certainly ma'am" Stephanie heard the maid's cart squeaking away.

She yawned and stretched. Looking over at Rex's cage, she smiled. Her hamster son was busy sleeping, just like his Momma loved to do. She got out of bed and walked over to the table. Lifting the lid, she stuck some hamster nuggets and a couple of grapes in the cage. "There you go my little man. Eat your breakfast and guard the room while I take a shower. Then we need to figure out what to do next." Stephanie decided not to think about the mess that was her life while she took her shower. She needed to put off making decisions and thinking about things for a little while longer.

Stephanie ended up taking an all too short shower, due to the lack of hot water. As a card carrying Jersey Girl, it was a requirement that showers be long, make up gun be set on stun and hair be as teased and high as possible. Right now though, Stephanie wasn't exactly thinking about her appearance. She sprayed in her de-tangling spray and quickly combed through her hair enough to be able to throw up in a ponytail. With a quick swipe of mascara and a slick of lip gloss, Stephanie left the bathroom without once gazing at her reflection. She grabbed a pair of jeans, an underwear set and a T-shirt and quickly dressed. Pulling on socks and her Bates boots, she dropped into a chair next to Rex and sighed."Okay Rex, what should we do? Keeping driving? Head back to Trenton? Stay here?" Rex twitched his whiskers at her as if to say Mom, you know you need to get back and talk to Ranger. Putting it off is only going to make it harder. Stephanie rolled her eyes at Rex. "You know, I don't know why I ask you anything. You obviously don't have my best interests in mind. If I stay away form Trenton for a while, I can forget that Ranger is moving on. Rex rolled his eyes. Mom, come on. For once in your life, take a stand. Go back, wish Ranger well and tell him you want to stay friends and that you respect his need for some distance. Stephanie did a double take. "Rex, did you just roll your eyes at me?" Rex sat silently for a moment and then dived head first into his soup can. Stephanie shook her head. "I must be losing it. Thinking that a hamster could give me advice and then roll his eyes at me."

Stephanie sat next to Rex for an hour. Her mind whirling with thoughts, she stared blankly into space. Coming to a sudden decision, she jumped up and started stuffing her clothes and personal items into her duffel. She looked at Rex and said "Come on buddy, we are hitting the road." She grabbed his cage and her duffel and headed down to the car. Placing everything inside, she headed to the office to check out.

Back in Trenton

Ranger sat at his desk. In front of him were several contracts he needed to review but his mind was elsewhere. Where are you Babe? Why did you run and not talk to me? Shaking his head like a wet dog, Ranger pulled the contracts to him and tried to concentrate while he waited for news from Vince. He looked up at a short tap "Come in."

Vince opened the door. "Boss, we have Stephanie checked in at a Comfort Inn in Springfield Missouri. She told the clerk she planned to stay at least two days. Tank booked the two of you on a flight that leaves Newark in two hours. There will be a car waiting at the airport for you." Ranger took the paperwork Vince handed him. "Good work. Thank you." Vince smiled. "No need for thanks. Just bring Bombshell home. We all love her and miss her."

Ranger stuffed the contracts into his desk. Standing up, he cracked his back and grabbed his gun. He headed down to the garage, knowing that Tank would have gotten his emergency duffle. When the door opened, he stepped out and nodded to Tank. Flipping open his cell, he dialed Lester. "Lester, you are in charge while I am gone. Make sure that Vince and Hal are monitoring Steph's credit cards. Call immediately if there is any use on her cards. I will touch base when we land in Springfield." With a snap, he closed the phone and clipped it onto his belt. "Okay Tank, let's get on the road."

Tank got in the passenger seat. "Ranger, what do you plan on doing once you catch up to Bomber?"

Ranger cut his eyes briefly over at Tank but didn't respond.

"Ranger, I am going to give you some advice so you don't screw this up even more. When she opens the door, grab her and lay a kiss on her. Then tell her you love her. The rest can be straightened out later." Ranger sounded pained when he replied. "What if she doesn't listen to me? You know how my Babe can be. Hard-headed and stubborn to a fault."

Tank sighed. "The two of you are so much alike it isn't funny. Make her listen to you, even if you have to tie her up. As a last resort, I will stick my nose in and explain to her that it was Sasha you were talking about getting away from so you could be with her. In fact, that might work better anyway."

Ranger glared at Tank. "I am not hard-headed and stubborn. Where the hell did you get that idea?"

Tank chuckled. "Ranger, who was it that kept pushing Stephanie away, even to the point of sending her back to the cop. Who said that the reason he did such foolish shit was because his life was too dangerous. And who still stubbornly stayed away from Steph because he was afraid of bringing more psychos into her life when it was as clear as day that she attracted plenty on her own? It wasn't Lester or Hector."

Ranger mumbled under his breath "It better not be fucking Lester." Pulling into the airport parking structure, he pulled into a spot right up front. Stephanie would be exasperated at me if she were here. She always gets that way when I get a good parking space. "Let's go Tank. We need to get through the special screening."