I'm sorry I'm late again, but it's been a rough couple of weeks!

Thank you very much for your kind reviews and suggestions and don't worry, I will get to that part :)

A special thank you to Stayce for all the help and encouragement, not to mention her tireless editing efforts!

Disclaimer: All characters are borrowed from JE, the title is borrowed from Bon Jovi

Warning: Bad language and adult content

Keep the Faith

Chapter 18

I watched as Dr. Hartung reached into the pocket of his white coat, and even before he withdrew it, I knew with absolute certainty I wouldn't like what he'd produce.

"What do you mean?" I asked, mostly to stall for time. Maybe I was making this up again and the accent had freaked me out. Probably all Germans sounded the same and I was still wigging from the kidnapping. This nice young doctor had nothing to do with it. Except that didn't explain my spidey sense.

I needed help. Should I yell for Junior? Could he be in here before 'Dr. Hartung' could shoot me?

He was probably closing his fingers around his gun at that very moment. How much longer would Ranger be? If he opened the door right now, Hartung would at least turn and I could jump him. Or hide under the bed, but either way, I could get out of the direct line of fire.

He ignored my question and slowly put my chart down.

Whoever he was working for was definitely smart. I didn't know if they had faked a medical license or if one of them happened to have it, but they'd managed to scam their way into St. Francis somehow.

Suddenly I knew why his voice had sounded familiar. It was the voice on my answering machine!

I was so fucked. I didn't dare breathe as I watched this blond giant take a step towards me. What were my odds? Was he holding a gun? Would he get it out and pull the trigger and hit me before Junior could open the door, assess the situation and subdue him?

My head started pounding again and suddenly, time slowed down, and I saw everything in slow motion.

I held my breath as his hand came out of the pocket, not holding a gun but a syringe. And at that moment I knew that the only one who could save me was me. No one else would make it in time.

In a moment of clarity, I remembered what had worked 'last time'. When Guzzarella ambushed me, I'd been just as paralyzed as I was now, and he had been surprised enough to enable me overpower him when I did move. So all I had to do now was snap out of my inability to move, as Thomas or whatever his name was, was lifting his arm to hold me down.

The weirdest thing happened next. I remembered my dream. This all happened in split-seconds but I saw Joe sitting on my bed, telling me it wasn't my time. And that was the thought I clung to.

"It's not my time!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, because that was on the tip of my tongue, I didn't much care about making sense, I needed some kind of warrior cry. I saw his eyes marginally widen in surprise at my sudden outburst.

As if the sound of my voice had woken me up, the slow motion feeling stopped and everything happened really fast. Where the prior fifteen seconds had felt like a half hour, the next fifteen felt like one second.

I kicked his arm away with one leg, while I reached out for anything my hand would grasp on the nightstand to hurl at him.

The plastic water cup connected with his forehead and he growled as the water sloshed over his face. He reached out to grab my leg and the hand with syringe came up, so I kicked with both legs.

I realized I had to get up, but for that to happen I had to stop kicking, and I didn't know if I could attack him any other way.

Looking back, I realize it must have looked pretty comical, but at that moment, it felt anything but. I reached behind me, pulled my pillow out and threw it at him, using his moment of confusion to get out of bed.

He just swatted the pillow away and grabbed my arm, but at least now I was standing.

"Vere ah you going, Stephanie? Ze doctor says to stay in bed," he said with his thick accent as his grip on my biceps tightened painfully.

He was still holding the damned syringe and tried to hold me still enough so he could stick it in me. He might have been good, but he was far from perfect. Any moron knows that a real doctor would call a nurse to help him subdue the patient if a shot absolutely has to be given, he doesn't try to do it himself. I didn't know for sure, but I thought it was a pretty fair bet they did things similarly in Germany.

Okay, so that thought didn't occur to me until later, but still, you know what I mean.

I knew I didn't have the strength to overpower him though, he was about a foot taller than me and outweighed me by 50 pounds easily, I could only try to be faster, surprise him, trick him.

I wasn't thinking so much as acting on pure instinct. He had my arm, but I still had another arm and two feet to work with.

I ducked, mostly to distract him, then I lifted my knee to kick him where it hurts. Unfortunately, he saw that move coming and blocked me with his free arm. It was all I could do to pull back before he could get a hold of my leg. The good news was he had to drop the syringe to defend his crown jewels.

I grunted in frustration and did what any proper girl would do, I punched him in the nose. It was a lucky shot, but it worked. He dropped my arm as his hand flew up to his face and I used that moment to repeat my kick. This time, there weren't any body parts to block me and I shoved his gonads so far up, they might have passed for tonsils afterwards.

He howled and doubled over, clutching his crotch. I was about to follow up with a right hook or something as cool when I was distracted by a curse and movement in my peripheral vision.

I looked up to see Junior rushing forward, cuffs in hand, taking care of Hartung. Ranger was grinning from ear to ear. "You never disappoint, Babe."

"You were watching me?" I asked incredulously. "You were here the whole time and didn't help me?"

I swayed on my feet and suddenly the room started spinning again. I tried to take a deep breath, but failed. In fact I was closer to hyperventilating. Ranger closed the distance between us and gathered me in his arms, lifting me off the floor.

"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner," he said, brushing my hair out of my face as he sat me down on the bed. "I wasn't watching, I just now got in. And I was waiting for a clear shot. But you handled the situation pretty well on your own."

I only now noticed that he was still holding his gun as he put it back in its holster.

He bent down and kissed me. "Proud of you, Babe."

I let out a long shaky breath. I'd done it! And I'd done it by myself, I had no idea backup had been steps away! As soon as the nausea would pass, I was sure I'd feel proud of myself, too.

Hartung was still howling while Junior secured the cuffs on him and hauled him up by his cuffed hands, standing him upright. One look from Ranger and Junior shoved Hartung towards the door.

Ranger stepped into my line of sight and stooped down to look at me. "I mean that. You did great."

I nodded. "Who…who is he, do you know?"

Ranger frowned, running his hands up and down my arms. "I don't know what's going on, Junior called in a code red just as I came down the hall. I was hoping you could tell me."

"She sa…haid his name is Ha…ha…Hartung," I stammered and leaned forward to rest my head against Ranger's shoulder.

Although I was trying to avoid it, I was reliving the last few minutes in my head and was very close to freaking out. As happy as I was that I'd kept it together long enough, I didn't really want to break down now either.

Ranger wrapped his arms around me and started stroking my back.

"It's okay," he said, noticing the change in me. "It's over. I got you."

I nodded, rubbing my face against his shirt, but now I had to bite my lip to keep the sobs in. Ranger's arms tightened around me and he put his chin on my head. "It's over. I'm here to take you home."

I could hear the relief in his voice and that made me realize how worried he'd been. And Ranger didn't worry unless shit was hitting the fan. Although I didn't know if what was in the syringe would have just knocked me out or killed me, I couldn't help thinking that it had been close, very close.

"You're shaking," Ranger said, his mouth close to my ear now. He threaded his hand through my hair and pulled my head back gently until I met his eyes. He studied me silently for a moment, then he kissed me lightly. "You're gonna be okay."

I wanted to believe him, I wanted to think he'd seen something in my eyes that made him believe that, but I was still fighting tears and nausea.

"I d…don't feel okay," I admitted, almost hiccupping.

"Just the adrenaline overload, Babe," Ranger said and cupped my face in his hands. "It's normal. If I weren't used to it, I'd be shaking along with you."

I knew he was kidding, but I appreciated the effort. His voice was calm and soothing, his hands warm on me.

"Just hold me for a little while longer," I whispered and I wasn't sure he'd heard me until I felt him nod.

"Forever, if that's what you want."

At the total sincerity and emotion in his voice, I couldn't hold back any longer. A tear popped out of my left eye, followed by another. I wrapped my arms around Ranger and held him to me.

Slowly, the nausea subsided and was replaced by a pounding headache. Tears were flowing freely down my cheek and soaked Ranger's shirt, and he didn't seem to mind. We stayed like that for what felt like hours, until I was able to draw a deep breath without shaking.

I heard the door to my room open and felt Ranger turn his head, but I didn't look up and I didn't try to hear what was said. I'd done all I could do, Ranger was taking over now, he'd keep me safe.

His chest was vibrating under me when he spoke. "Take him with you to headquarters. Go with Tank and leave me a car, we'll meet you there."

I heard the door close and burrowed deeper into Ranger, holding him so close for a moment that I had trouble breathing, then I leaned back.

"Okay," I said, taking a deep breath. "I'm better now."

Ranger locked eyes with me. "You sure?"

I nodded but didn't release him from my grip just yet. "Thank you. You got here just in time."

He took a step back and ran his fingers through my hair. My loose ponytail had long since come undone, so it was probably just a mass of curls.

"I still need to talk to hospital security and to Dr. Ramirez to find out what happened and who this Hartung guy is," he said, brushing a wayward curl out of my face. "Do you want to wait here or come with?"

I chewed on my lower lip. I hadn't thought of that. Well, I hadn't really given anything much thought since Ranger arrived, I'd been too busy calming down, but I should have known Ranger would want to get as much information as possible as soon as possible.

I really only wanted to leave, but I knew how important it was to get clues while they're fresh. And since I did not want to be left alone for even a minute, I really didn't have much choice.

"Forget it," Ranger said into my thoughts. "I'll call a team to talk to the hospital staff. I'm taking you home now."

He was studying me intently and I knew my emotions were written all over my face. I smiled and leaned into him. "You and that ESP…"

He took my hand and helped me off the bed. I held onto him to make sure my legs would carry me, and that's when my eyes fell on the syringe on the floor. I sucked in some air and just pointed at it, trying to tell myself again that it was over.

Ranger nudged me forward, towards the door. "I'll let them know," he said and took his cell phone off his belt, flipped it open and pushed a button.

By the time we reached his SUV, Hal and Bobby had instructions to take care of my discharge paperwork, collect all evidence they could find and interview every member of the hospital staff assigned to my floor.

Ranger held the door open for me and took my elbow as I climbed inside. "I'm fine," I assured him. "I can get in by myself."

But secretly, I was glad Ranger was taking such care of me. I might have been able to overwhelm Hartung, or whatever his real name was, by myself, but I would have definitely had a nervous breakdown if Ranger hadn't been there for me afterwards.

I took his hand when he got into the driver's seat and squeezed it. He looked up at me and returned the smile before he kissed my hand and put it in my lap so he could start the car.

We didn't talk during the short drive to Haywood Street. Ranger was in his 'zone' and I was watching him and I was having all kinds of deep thoughts about how I would never tire of drinking in the sight of him, no matter how familiar each inch of him was. He caught me staring but just winked at me. And suddenly I was thinking a Ranger induced orgasm would be just what I needed to get over the last few days.

Ranger's phone rang just as he had parked the car. "Yo," he greeted the caller and then listened for half a minute before disconnecting.

He glanced at me as he reattached the phone to his belt. "Hal and Bobby got the evidence. But they couldn't find Dr. Ramirez."

I shrugged. "She's probably off duty."

"She was on duty this morning, and should still be there. They're combing the hospital now."

I tried to remember if I'd gotten any kind of weird feeling about Dr. Ramirez, but I couldn't think of anything. She'd seemed nice, professional. This had got to be a coincidence.

Ranger got out of the car, but I didn't wait for him to open my door. I like to be taken care of, but I don't like to be treated like an invalid. He still walked around the car and held his hand out, but I ignored it. I wasn't feeling 100 percent yet, but I had to appear stronger than I felt or else Ranger would bench me, I just knew it.

We rode the elevator up in silence and I kept staring down at the floor because I could feel Ranger's eyes on me. Probably he'd ask me how I was feeling in another minute and I knew I couldn't lie to him. Physically I felt lousy. But I wanted to get this over with. I'd just gotten Ranger back, I wanted to be able to enjoy him!

The elevator car stopped with a sudden thump. I looked up to see Ranger point his key fob at the camera before he came over to where I stood.

"What's wrong?" he asked, in a tone that made it impossible to feign ignorance.

"I'm okay," I said and bit my lip. He hadn't asked me what was wrong with me and yet I'd defended myself. Now he'd definitely think something was wrong. I sighed.

Ranger put his hands on my shoulders and ran his thumb over my jaw. "Are you trying to tough it out so I won't keep you out of the loop?"

I pressed my hand against his and leaned into it. He knew me too well.

"Just because I'm not feeling at the top of my game doesn't mean I want to sit back and watch you clean up my mess," I said and looked into his eyes.

The corners of his mouth came up in his famous almost-smile. "Now who's the one with the ESP?"

He chuckled quietly and pulled me closer, hugging me to him. I rested my head against his chest and took a couple deep breaths.

"You promise me to take it easy though? Tell me when you need a break?"

I nodded against him and wrapped my arms around him. "Promise."

I felt him move against me and a second later, the car started moving again. We arrived on 5 and Ranger put his hand onto the small of my back, leading me onto the floor.

"You're back!" Lester exclaimed as soon as he saw me and jumped up from his post at the monitors.

Cal next to him looked like he was thinking about getting up too, but one look at Ranger and he remained at the monitors. He joined the clapping and the cheers to welcome me back though. I blushed and sent a finger wave to the room in general.

Lester reached me and enveloped me in a bear hug, almost lifting me off the floor in the process. "Back in one piece," he pointed out as he released me with a peck on the cheek.

With a side glance at Ranger, he sat back down just as Junior joined us.

Ranger and Junior exchanged a look, and Ranger motioned towards his office. "Let's get everyone on the same page."

Tank knocked on the door just as Junior and I sat down in the visitors' chairs. He gave me a quick hug, handed Ranger some papers and then stayed to the left of Ranger's desk.

"Junior had Tank run the checks," Ranger explained as he scanned the pages Tank had handed him.

"Status update?"

Junior cleared his throat. "I checked IDs of all individuals entering Steph's room," he said, squirming a little in his seat. I knew Junior was one of Ranger's best men, but he was also one of the newest and usually nervous when he had to speak in front of a group.

"Both Dr. Ramirez and Dr. Hartung had hospital issued IDs that checked out."

"You're saying he's a legitimate doctor?" I asked incredulously.

Junior cut his eyes to me, then to Ranger and then quickly back to the papers in his hands.

"No…the IDs were legit, the hospital only has records of Dr. Ramirez. I didn't run the reports for the ID…"

"While we're young, Junior," Tank cut in.

I thought I knew why Junior was so nervous, he thought he'd messed up when checking IDs. Since he had been assigned as my guard outside the hospital room, he held himself responsible for what happened.

"Here's the log," Junior said and handed Ranger his papers.

Ranger took it and scanned it. "Let's meet when Hal and Bobby get back," he said as he dropped the papers on the pile of files in front of him. "I'll go through these by then and compare the reports with the logs."

Junior all but jumped up when he sensed that he was dismissed. "I'll book the conference room," he offered, already on his way out.

Tank took the seat Junior had vacated and leaned over to me. "How're you feeling?"

"I feel good," I repeated my standard answer and Tank smiled. He touched his index finger to my nose.

"I remember," he said and winked. It took me a moment to understand what he meant and then I felt the heat creep into my face. Probably I should have just said 'I'm okay', instead, I had walked right into the double entendre.

Tank chuckled. "Let me know if there's anything you need, kay?"

With that he got up and left. I looked up to find Ranger's eyes on Tank's departing form and for a second, I thought I saw him narrow his eyes, looking as if he was wondering what Tank had meant, but when I blinked, his face was blank.

He flipped open his phone and punched a number, then he waited for the call to connect and said a single word, 'ETA?', before he disconnected.

"Hal and Bobby are still at St Francis. Let's get you upstairs so you can rest before the meeting," he said, getting up.

And suddenly a nap sounded wonderful. Ever since Ranger had promised to keep me in the loop, I'd stopped being super alert, and now the morning was catching up with me.

Ranger walked around the desk, then he held out his hand to help me up and I took it and let him lead me out of his office to the elevator.

A while ago, when Gardner had terrorized my life, Ranger had promised me he would always keep me informed and I believed him. I've always known Ranger withheld information to protect me, but I'd finally made him realize that he hurt me by treating me like the incompetent damsel in distress and he'd seen my point. Now, even if I was to miss the meeting, I knew Ranger would fill me in.

"What time are you calling the meeting for?" I asked when we were alone in the elevator.

Ranger checked his watch. "It's 1:20 now. I'd say 3, that should give me time to go through all the information and get a better picture of what's going on."

"Are you sure you can spare so many men just to…"

Ranger held up a hand to stop me. "If you're gonna say to take care of your mess, I'm gonna pull your hair," he said and playfully tugged on one of my curls.

I sighed. "It's just that I feel bad you spend all this time," I gestured wildly, "And all of the guys' time on something that is technically my fault."

"It's not your fault you attract the whack jobs," Ranger clarified. "If my suspicions are confirmed, this fake doctor was working for DalBo."

I raised my eyebrows. "Because he's German?"

"Because DalBo is the one we currently have on the list as your stalker, are you telling me there are more?"

"No," I said and laughed at Ranger's expression of exasperation. "I just didn't think…" Actually, I didn't know what to think, I'd only concentrated of getting rid of him, I hadn't spent a thought on who he was working for. "Never mind," I said and stepped off the elevator as the doors opened.

Ranger keyed his apartment door open and I made a beeline for the living room, stretching out on the couch.

He joined me a minute later, handing me a bottle of water as he lifted up my shoulders and sat down, cradling my head in his lap. He started massaging my scalp and my headache began to get much better.

The last thing I remember was making a sound that came very close to a purr and feeling completely relaxed, and then I woke up on the couch alone.

I had a moment of panic until the clock on the cable box told me it was only 3:30, I hadn't slept away the afternoon. I grabbed some Advil from the kitchen and went into the bathroom to change and freshen up.

There was a note from Ranger on the kitchen counter. 'I call you for the meeting', it said and I smiled as I read it. It made me feel comfortable to know he knew me so well, because without the note, I would have called the control room right about now.

My stomach grumbled loudly, reminding me that I hadn't eaten since breakfast. I raided Ranger's fridge and came up with the ingredients for a peanut butter and olive sandwich, and I really wanted a beer with it but opted for water instead. Probably my concussion wouldn't appreciate the alcohol as much as I would.

The house phone rang just as I was rinsing my plate in the sink.

"Yo," I said, guessing it was Ranger calling.

"How're you feeling, Sleeping Beauty?" he greeted me and I smiled at the unusual pet name.

"Much better."

"We're meeting in 5 if you still want to join us?"

"I'll be down in a minute," I told him and we disconnected.

I checked my reflection in the hall mirror and went straight back to the bathroom to apply an extra coat of mascara and some lip gloss. No use scaring the guys.

Tank, Junior, Hal and Bobby were already seated in the conference room when I joined them, Ranger came in right behind me. He pulled me to him quickly and kissed my temple before I took my seat and he went on to sit at the head of the table.

Ranger gave Junior an almost imperceptible nod and Junior got up to hand out two pages of information each to all of us.

Next, Ranger nodded at Tank and he straightened in his seat.

"Okay," Tank said. "Here's what we know. Ranger and I were on our way to Steph's room to pick her up when Junior called in a code red and was about to enter."

"I heard a scream," Junior supplied. Good thing he hadn't heard what I'd screamed, he'd probably question my sanity.

"We picked up the Code Red at 11:22," Bobby added.

Ranger nodded again. "Junior and I came in just as Steph subdued the individual, a guy who called himself Dr. Thomas Hartung and had ID to back it up."

I glanced at the papers on the table in front of me. All this information was stated on it in bullet points, so I got the impression everything was being spelled out for my benefit.

"We took the suspect into custody and he remains here at RangeMan. We haven't been able to get much out of him because he claims he speaks no English," Hal spoke up.

I scoffed. "Bullshit. He sounds like Schwarzenegger's cousin, but it's still English!"

Hall nodded. "That's kind of hard to prove though. And his claim would hold up in court. But we're running his fingerprints from the syringe he threatened Steph with right now, we should know more in an hour or so."

I wasn't surprised Junior hadn't taken Hartung to the police. We needed to know more about him and who sent him before we could give him the chance to hide behind a lawyer. It was what Ranger would call marginally legal, morally right.

"We talked to everyone on Steph's floor in the hospital, but no one remembered a Dr. Hartung. They all knew Steph's doc, Dr. Ramirez, but we were unable to locate her. No one had seen or heard anything or anyone unusual today," Hal continued.

"So the hospital was a dead end," Ranger summed up.

"We haven't been able to dig up anything on DalBo," Bobby said. "He hasn't been heard from since he posted bail. Neither has Guzzarella."

"Are you watching Harry the Hammer's compound?" I wanted to know.

"His base of operation, the couple of betting places he runs, all locations we know of," Bobby replied. "Neither of the guys has shown up there."

"So really we have nothing," I said and leaned back deflated.

"We have this Hartung," Junior said. "He could be a good lead."

"Put on the pressure," Ranger said and Tank grinned. "With pleasure."

"We're still following the St Francis lead," Hal said. "Something's fishy about this Dr. Ramirez. We may get some information from her once we locate her."

It was frustrating. We really didn't have much to go on so far. I sighed as I went over all the information on the sheet of paper again, hoping that maybe I'd get an idea.

"Find her," Ranger said to Hal. "Yesterday."

There was a knock on the door and Ram stuck his head in. "The report you wanted as soon as it came in," he said to Ranger and held out a sheet of paper.

Tank got up and met him half way, taking the paper from him. He glanced at it as Ram disappeared and handed it to Ranger.

Ranger didn't say anything, but I saw a muscle work in his jaw, and when he finished reading he looked up and locked eyes with me.

He got up and walked over to stand behind me, then he put his hands on my shoulders and started massaging them gently.

"We'll find them," he said softly. "Just give us some time."

Ranger must have signaled the others because they cleared out of the conference room without a word and he squatted down beside me.

"But until we do, you're gonna have to stay here. You're apartment isn't safe."

Oh, the hardship, I thought sarcastically. But I knew Ranger remembered how much I'd always resisted being kept in a safe house of any kind.

"I can still leave though, right?" I asked to make sure he wasn't trying to lock me up.

He did his version of a sigh and stood up. "Yeah, you can still leave. But not alone. I, or one of the men, will always be with you."

He pointed at his stack of papers. "Ram gave me the analysis of what was in the syringe."

"And?"

He took a deep breath and I saw the muscle work in his jaw again, as if he was fighting for control.

"Strychnine," he whispered and swallowed hard, his voice hard and tight. "It would have killed you."

I got up slowly, trying to come up with a way to distract myself and Ranger. I had to push what Ranger had just told me to the far corners of my mind to be dealt with much later, when the horror had worn off. I didn't know much about strychnine, but I knew it was a poison that killed slowly and painfully. I had been right, if I had waited for help or if I had not snapped out of my paralysis, I would have died. I had to go with total denial, denial was my friend.

"What about Sunday dinners at my parents' house? Would I need company for them too?" My voice belied my careless question, but I straightened my shoulders defiantly. I was not going to cry!

Ranger closed his eyes for a second and pulled me to him. He hugged me tight and I could feel his tension vibrating off him. After a moment, he took another deep breath and kissed the juncture of my neck and shoulder.

"Those would fall on me 'cause my men would demand hazard pay for that," he smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes and his voice had the same strained undertone as mine. He put his arm around my shoulders, walking us out of the conference room.

"Dinner tonight?" I asked. "I still have to pick up Bob and I haven't spent any time with my parents all week."

He took another deep breath and I knew he was trying to play along. "You drive a hard bargain, Babe."

I had a feeling I was going to deplete my mom's liquor stash tonight, concussion or no concussion, I needed to distract myself in the worst way possible if I didn't want to freak out over what could have been. Again.

TBC

A/N: I hope Steph will have time to get to the things that really matter now: How to get Joyce out of Vinnie's life. Do you think she should make more of an effort to get it done or take care of her life-threatening issues first? I appreciate your thoughts!