Thank you all for the great feedback. I hope you continue to enjoy.

As always, all the characters you recognize belong to JE and I'm just having fun with them.

Previously:

A wave of nausea hit me so hard that I gasped out loud. "Oh God, stop the car." I yelled as I put my hand over my mouth. I jumped out of the car and ran between some parked cars and got sick, throwing up all the pancakes I had eaten that morning, as well as what felt like about 50 gallons of water. Lester stood behind me with his hands on my shoulders. "It's okay, Steph. Just take it easy. It will be okay."

Finally, my stomach was empty and the dry heaves subsided. Lester ran over to the car and reached in for a bottle of water. He came back around the car, trotting towards me, when there was a brilliant flash of light and huge explosion. "Les!" I screamed. Then everything went black.

I felt like I was being buried alive and I struggled against the massive weight I felt on my chest. For a minute I didn't know where I was and I couldn't seem to get my eyes open. Then I smelled the smoke and felt the heat from the fire. "Lester! Oh my God. Les?" My eyes flew open and I realized the massive weight was Lester. I struggled to sit up and roll him off me.

"Ma'am? Hang on. Let us help you."

I looked around and two men in white coats were running from the office building I had just left. "We saw the explosion from the office," one of the men said.

"Are you okay? Can you wait a second while we check him before we try and move him?," the man asked me.

"Yes. Please help him!" I answered.

As the men worked on Lester, checking his pulse and back and neck, I began trying to take stock of his injuries myself. He had cuts all over and there was blood oozing from wounds all over his arms and the side of his face that I could see.

A wave of nausea swept over me again and I swallowed hard. "Do either of you have a cell phone?" I asked the men.

One of the men reached into his coat pocket and handed me a phone. "We've already called 911 and EMS is on the way," he said. "We'd like to wait until they get here with a collar and backboard before we move him. Okay?"

"I'm okay," I said. "Just take care of him."

I dialed Ranger's number.

"Speak!" he yelled into the phone.

"It's me," I answered.

"Babe? Thank God! What happened? We're on the way. Your car went off the grid and the Control Room called about a report of an explosion they picked up on the police scanner."

"The SUV blew up," I said, my voice shaky. "It wasn't my fault!" The tears started at that point and I couldn't stop them. "Les is hurt."

The distant sound of sirens got louder and closer and suddenly we were surrounded by police cars. "The police are here," I managed to croak out and then began shaking and sobbing uncontrollably.

One of the men grabbed the phone. "Hello? My name is Dr. Atkinson. I work in the building here. The paramedics and police are arriving." He listened intently for a minute and then looked at his phone and shrugged, snapping it closed.

"Ma'am? I think we were cut off, but your friend said to tell you he'd be here in 3 minutes."

I tried to get my breathing under control. "He has..terrible…phone..manners!"

The men stepped back as paramedics bent over Les and fastened a collar around his neck.

"Steph? We're going to move him now. Just hang in there." I realized one of the paramedics was Steve Smith. This wasn't our first shared explosion. I tried not to think about what it said about my life that I was on a first name basis with every paramedic in a 4 county radius.

Lester was lifted off of me and carried a distance away. I groaned as I started to feel pain once the weight was gone.

"Do you remember what happened?" Steve asked me.

"I had to get out of the car because I was nauseous. I was throwing up and Les went to get me a bottle of water out of the car. When he was coming back, it exploded. I'm not sure what happened next. I think I fainted or passed out or something, but it must have only been a minute or two after the explosion."

I heard the roar of an engine and the screeching of tires, followed by door slamming.

"Babe!" I heard Ranger's voice. He was trying to get to me, but space was tight in between the cars and the paramedics were around me.

"Ranger, I'm okay," I said trying to reassure him. Unfortunately, I chose that moment to begin sobbing hysterically again. The next thing I knew, the cars around me were being moved. Huh. Merry Men don't need keys apparently.

Ranger was on the ground at my head in an instant, kissing my forehead and my eyelids.

"You're okay, you're okay. I'm not going to leave you. Shh, Steph. Try and calm down. Take a deep breath." His words and his touch calmed me, as they always do.

"How's Les?" I asked him.

"Tank is talking to the other paramedics. He'll let us know." Ranger looked at Steve, who was taking notes and sitting back. "How is she?"

"She has some superficial cuts and she is going to be bruised. Apparently she did lose consciousness shortly after the explosion for several minutes. Two doctors from the building were the first on the scene and she was already coming around by the time they got to her. She probably has a concussion. She doesn't seem to have broken anything when she was tackled."

"Tackled?" Ranger looked at me.

"I don't know if Les tackled me or if the explosion knocked him into me," I replied.

"You weren't in the car?" Ranger asked.

"No, I was sick. I got out of the car. Les followed me. He went back to get me a bottle of water and then there was a flash and then…" the tears started again. "I'm s-s-s-sorry, I c-c-c-can't s-s-s-seem to s-s-stop."

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Babe. Don't worry about it now. Just close your eyes and rest."

I heard Ranger on his phone. "Get me Hector." He waited a few beats. "Hector. Get the car towed to the lab. I want a report immediately." His phone snapped shut.

Tank walked over and spoke to Ranger and I. "Lester is stable, but still unconscious. He has a lot of glass and metal embedded in his body. He has a nasty gash on the back of his head. They've got him in a C-collar and on a backboard as a precaution until they get scans at the hospital. Bobby is going to ride with him in the ambulance. You going with Stephanie?"

"Yes, I'll be staying with Steph. Hector is on his way to deal with the car."

I heard an ambulance leave with Les, and shortly after I was loaded into the back of another ambulance and Ranger climbed in after me. I was lying back with my eyes closed, which seemed to help my pounding headache somewhat. I felt Ranger brush tears from my cheeks that I didn't even realize were falling from my closed eyelids.

"Babe, are you in a lot of pain?"

"I feel like I've been run over by a truck and my head hurts, you know, just the usual after another car bomb." I thought Ranger would leave it alone if I acted nonchalant. I was wrong, of course.

Ranger leaned over brushing kisses across my forehead and eyelids. "What's wrong, Babe. Why are you crying?"

"I love you, Carlos."

"I love you too, Babe, but you didn't answer my question."

"I don't know how to tell you," I cried.

We were interrupted when we arrived at the hospital and Ranger had to step back while the paramedics got me out of the ambulance and rolled me into the ER.

Tank was waiting inside and immediately began speaking to Ranger. I was wheeled into a triage room and moments later Ranger stepped in, just after the doctor. The doctor turned to tell Ranger that he would have to leave, but seeing who it was, immediately turned back to me. This isn't the first time Ranger has accompanied me to the ER and the entire staff knows from experience not to argue with him. If Ranger wanted to be there, nothing would stop him.

"How's Les?" I asked Ranger.

"He's still unconscious, but he's stable. Don't worry about him. Let's get you checked out, okay?"

The doctor asked me what I remembered and I repeated my story again. He wanted to get an x-ray of my ribs and a CAT scan of my head. He told me that I couldn't have anything too strong for the pain until the results of my scan came back.

I looked at Ranger and back at the doctor and sighed, shaking my head. "I have to tell you something first," I said.

Ranger looked at the doctor and back at me. "What is it Babe? Do you hurt somewhere else?"

"I was at the doctor this morning. My gynecologist. It was just a routine visit, but…." I had to close my eyes, as my head was pounding and my heart felt like it was being squeezed in my chest.

I opened my eyes again. Ranger was looking at me, nothing but love and concern in his eyes and I tried to take courage from that.

"I'm pregnant," I blurted out, and the sobbing and waterworks started all over again. Shit! I hate feeling so weak and vulnerable and now my head is going to hurt worse.

Ranger's eyes got big and then he squeezed my hand, which hadn't left his the entire time we had been in the exam room.

"Babe, look at me. We'll figure it out, okay? I love you. We have to make sure you're okay. Trust me. Please?"

The ER doctor picked my chart back up and started making notes. "Do you know how far along you are?" He asked me.

"No, not really. I've been on Depo shots and haven't had a period in like a year. They took blood and I'm supposed to have an ultrasound in a few weeks. Dr. Gordon thought it was too soon to have one now."

The doctor closed the chart and looked at Ranger and then back at me. "I'm going to have the nurses contact Dr. Gordon's office for your records and to inform her that you are here, in case she wants to see you. She's an excellent OB/GYN and you're in good hands with her. I'll be back in a few minutes and we'll discuss what we do next, okay?"

I just nodded. Ranger didn't say a word, but his eyes never left my face.

"I'm so sorry, Ranger. I swear, I've been on birth control. I never miss my shots. I never meant for this to happen. I wouldn't do that. I know you don't want…."

"Shh, Steph, stop." Ranger interrupted me. He pulled a chair as close to the gurney as he could. He continued to hold my hand with one of his, and with the other stroked my hair and my cheek. I nuzzled my face into his hand and he brushed the tears which continued to fall silently.

"No Ranger. There is more. I love you so much. I have to tell you."

"What is it, Babe?"

"Do you remember the day in Vinnie's office, the day you asked me to do the distraction for the Parker case? I asked him.

"Yes."

"I had broken up with Morelli that morning, for good."

"I remember, Babe. You had been on a 'break' for a couple of months before that." He answered.

I sighed. "He had come over to my place the night before. We were both lonely." I couldn't look at Ranger, but had my head turned and was staring at the wall.

Ranger got very still. I finally got the nerve to look at him. Surprisingly he didn't have his 'blank face" on, but I couldn't read the emotions that were flashing in his eyes. "You and he made love," he said quietly.

"No, Joe and I had sex, we slept together. You and I make love." I said. "I know what the difference is now. I didn't then."

Ranger squeezed my hand and I allowed myself to hope that somehow this would all be okay. "So, you had sex with Joe. A couple of days later you and I were together and have been ever since." Ranger frowned. "We don't know who the father is."

"We?" I managed to squeak.

"Do you want to go back to Morelli if he turns out to be the father?" Ranger asked.

"Oh my God, no, Ranger! I can't go back. I can't marry a man that I don't love. It wouldn't be fair to him. I don't know how much happiness I deserve, but Joe deserves a wife who really loves him, who will really make him happy. I love you and I can't make myself stop. I don't want to make myself stop loving you."

"Babe. You deserve to be happy, don't ever doubt that. I won't ever stop loving you either. If Morelli is the baby's father, we'll deal with it. I'll still love you and I'll love the baby. I never had a chance to be a real dad with Julie. I want that chance now. I want us to be a family."

Our discussion was interrupted by the ER doctor.

"I've spoken to Dr. Gordon. She'll be here shortly. She wants to do a pelvic exam. We're going to hold off on the CAT scan and x-ray right now. You'll need to stay in the hospital for a couple of days until we make sure that you don't show signs of any brain hemorrhage or lung problems from possible broken ribs. I don't suspect either of those things, so I think the risks of an x-ray and CAT scan while you are pregnant outweigh any benefits. We could do them if necessary, and minimize the risks to your pregnancy, but I don't think we need to do them at this point."

We spoke a few more minutes about what to expect while I was under observation and then Dr. Gordon came into the room.

"Hello, Stephanie. How are you feeling?" She asked me.

"Just a really bad headache and I'm sore all over," I replied. I gestured to Ranger. "This is my….umm…this is Ranger."

Ranger smiled and reached out to shake Dr. Gordon's hand. "I'm Carlos Manoso. Ranger is a street name. I'm Stephanie's boyfriend."

Ranger grinned at my fish face. He considers himself my boyfriend?

"Of course I do, Babe."

"I said that out loud, didn't I? I've got to stop doing that!"

Dr. Gordon just smiled and patted my arm. "I need to do a pelvic exam. Do you want Mr. Manoso to leave?"

I squeezed Ranger's hand harder. "Do you mind staying? Please?"

"If you want me here, I'll stay Babe."

Dr. Gordon washed her hands and pulled on gloves. She had me scoot down and lift my knees. I tried to just block out what was happening. Ranger never moved his gaze from my eyes. I just concentrated on his beautiful face and he continued to stroke my hair and my cheek.

Dr. Gordon finished up and pulled off her gloves, tossing them into the garbage.

"Everything looks good right now, Steph. Your cervix is closed and there is no sign of bleeding. We already drew blood for hormone levels this morning. We'll draw more in 2 days. At this point, your HCG levels should be doubling every couple of days. That will give us an indication that everything is continuing normally."

Ranger stood up as Dr. Gordon moved to the doorway. He shook her hand. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome. I'll be in to see Steph every day that she is in the hospital and we'll talk about followup when she is discharged."

Dr. Gordon left and Ranger's phone rang. "Report" he barked into his cell. He listened for a few minutes, then spoke into the phone. "Good work. I'll expect the full report on my desk tonight." He closed his phone and slowly turned to look at me. "That was Hector. He was able to piece together parts of the bomb. Apparently there was a timer that was triggered by the ignition. It was set to explode 5 minutes after the car was started."

He came over and sat by my bed again. He laid his head on my chest and whispered to my stomach. "Thank you, little one."

"Ranger?" I wondered what he was talking about.

He ignored my question and continued speaking softly. "You saved your mommy's life today. Having you inside is making your mom a little sick, but that's okay. Mommy got out of the SUV and ran between some parked cars. That helped shield her from the explosion. She's safe now and you're okay and I won't let anything happen to either of you. I promise."

Ranger pressed a kiss to my belly and then looked up at me. I was speechless. I was crying again and there were tears in Ranger's eyes as well.

"I meant what I said, Babe. I love you. I couldn't stand to lose you now that we are finally together. You'll let me protect you and the baby, right? Please, babe?"

I sighed. I hate being on lock down. "I can't promise I won't get bitchy about it," I smiled at Ranger, "but I have too much to lose now, too. I won't fight you about this."

I was so tired and everything seemed to catch up with me at once. I let out a huge yawn.

"Sleep, Babe. I'll be right here." Ranger kissed my lips lightly.

And so I slept.