Authors Note: Okay, so I couldn't resist writing more. If I could have written all day I would have but I am taking summer college courses right now that are taking up a lot of my time but I just have to keep writing this story. Oh and there is something I meant to say last time but I forgot… Even though I have a picture in my head of the way this story is going to go, I do believe stories kind of write themselves. I may be the one typing, but sometimes it's as if I have no control over what comes out. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter… There is a lot of background information that needs to be filled and a majority of it will be filled in this chapter. However, there will also be flashbacks throughout the story for other information. Please keep leaving comments… I'd love to know what you think J Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The majority of the characters and places are Janet Evanovich's. This version of their lives is what I claim.

The next morning I awoke at 7 am, which on a day when I had work to do wasn't so bad but today work was not on my agenda. I had once again had a terrible fight with Morelli and a part of me that didn't hurt as badly when we used to fight… only ached today. That was not the way I wanted to tell him about this baby, my baby… our baby but it was like he left me with no other choice. It killed me the way we went from being my idea of perfection, to a screaming match in minutes. I knew it wasn't even all his fault, I egged him on, I took every single thing he said and the way he said it into account. Which caused me to throw up my wall and block him out, I didn't understand why I did this with Joe. I feel like it was totally opposite with Ranger, he could read me like an open book but I still found myself wanting to share things with him. I broke the news of my pregnancy better to Ranger than I did to the actual father of the child. Great! Now I feel guilty to go on top of everything else, just what I needed another terrific emotion to add to my hormonal blender here.

There was a soft but firm knock coming from my apartment door…that's right, I woke up cause I heard a noise. I quickly hopped out of bed and changed from my sob clothes the night before into my cotton blue pajama shorts and white T-shirt before going to the door. When I opened it an array of beautiful flowers all different colors and types were wrapped up in a large bouquet. Slowly Morelli's face appeared behind the flowers with a soft smile that told me he felt just as guilty as I did.

I wanted to grab the flowers and kiss and make up but that just wasn't my style.

"Are these flowers supposed to make up for everything?" Morelli shook his head with a small smirk playing at the corner of his lips.

"The flowers are for Rex, these are for you." He held up a bag from my favorite bakery, this man sure did know how to appeal to my sweet side. I took the bag and the flowers from him and let him follow me into the apartment. Needless to say I didn't get a whole lot of flowers and since I wasn't one to have extra cash lying around all the time I wasn't one to go out and buy flowers- so I didn't have a vase. Instead I pulled out an oversized souvenir cup I got from one of the baseball games I went to, filled it with water and set it on the counter next to Rex's cage.

"Look Rex aren't these beautiful. Someone must really feel guilty if they went through all this trouble to impress me through you." I darted my eyes back to Morelli and went to grab the bakery bag which he yanked out of my reach.

"Tease!" I yelled. On a regular day, waking me up at 7 am just to show me donuts and tell me I couldn't have any did not make me happy. Now that I was pregnant…This was not the way Morelli would want to start his day, pick a fight with me- you're going down.

"We need to talk first, Steph." I nodded, I knew we needed to talk that is what people do in this situation they talk about things and make future plans. I wanted to avoid this topic like the plague I had almost convinced myself that if I didn't think of the growing person in my stomach it wasn't a reality.

"If we're going to get into a big talk I need to almost sit somewhere more comfortable and grab something to drink first." I went to the fridge, there was a 6 pack of beer that I had bought the day before stupid Mary Lou suggested we take those tests. Now the beer was most likely going to sit there for the next year as a sad reminder to me on what I could no longer just drink at my leisure.

"Not too sure beer is the best way to start out your day, cupcake." Joe said, and I didn't even realize he had been looking over my shoulder into the fridge.

"I feel like that would taste the best."

"Here." He pulled out a small bottle of apple juice from the bakery bag and passed it to me. "I was saving it for when you had your donuts because I assumed you wouldn't have a lot to drink here."

"I can make a pot of coffee." Morelli was shaking his head before I even finished.

"I don't need coffee and you shouldn't drink coffee right now." I wanted to argue with him, I'm not even really sure why but I knew this was going to be a longer morning than necessary if I continued to nitpick at everything he said.

"Fine, let's talk." I walked into my room and sat against the bed frame and grabbed a pillow and hugged it close to my chest. Morelli hesitated at first at where to sit, this wasn't exactly a lets just lay together kind of talk, this needed attention. He settled on the chair in the corner of my room and pulled it closer to my bed. This was the chair where Ranger had sat on many nights and watched me sleep both of us finding comfort in just the simplicity of just being near one another.

"In the corner of the photos it said something about 8 weeks… is that how far along you are?" I nodded once.

"You aren't thinking of…um, getting rid of it, right?" I shook my head. I wanted to add more but I didn't trust my voice to remain calm and steady. A look of relief flooded his face, and behind that I could see dark circles under his eyes. Suddenly I felt worse than before, not only had he been on a crappy surveillance mission for the past couple of days where he had to sleep in the car. But then yesterday we fight and I throw him out of my apartment and just toss the news of him being a dad in his face. He was beyond tired but he was here at 7 am with donuts and flowers all to make me feel better.

"Stephanie, I need to say something and before you say anything you need to let me finish my thought completely… okay?" I waited a second, thinking of how awful this must be that he isn't even going to risk me cutting him off. But I nodded in agreement, expecting the same respect in return when I would undoubtedly argue everything he said.

"Okay, I didn't sleep all night. I left here and drove around and I didn't know where I was going or what I was thinking. I just had to drive away some of my emotions because they were so mixed up I couldn't tell what it was I wanted. Then after hours of driving, then hours of pacing around my house looking at those pictures you gave me I knew what it was I wanted. It's you Stephanie, I want you. I want us I know we have a lot of things we need to work out and a lot of things we don't see eye to eye on. But that can all be worked out in the future, our future. Now I'm sure it's no secret that I want to be married and it's no secret that you aren't ready for all of that. So instead of marriage we do this on our own terms, we don't listen to the pressures of family. We will do this for our family, I want you to move in with me, Stephanie. Even if you want us to sleep in separate bedrooms, I want to take care of you and this baby and keep you as safe as I possibly can."

"What do you want in exchange? I mean I'm not trying to sound like you don't mean what you're saying, but I can't just expect you want me to move in and everything will be gravy." He nodded, I could tell this was the part I was going to have objections to.

"I don't want you being a bounty hunter anymore, I'm not saying you shouldn't take a filing job at Vinnie's place but you running after skips that shoot at you is nerve racking as hell. You throw in the fact that you are carrying a child, my child, and I would have to be locked in the mental institution with how crazy I would get. Secondly, I don't want you working at Rangeman either, I know there is and always has been something between you and Ranger and I don't want to deal with the thought of you there everyday either. Now I'm not saying you can't talk to him but I don't want you to work there. Thirdly, I want us to start eating healthier food and actually go grocery shopping for food that we can prepare on our that doesn't require a toaster or a microwave. I want to make this work Stephanie, against all my better judgment I love you. If for some reason things don't work out I want to know it's because it wasn't meant to be, and not because we both went into this relationship half-assed."

This was a lot to take in and I was glad that Morelli had given me a moment of silence to think everything through. As much I hated to admit that Joe had a point about not being a bounty hunter anymore it still tore me up inside. Despite the hard ships of the job I loved it maybe because it was so unpredictable and unexplainable- just like me. Truth wasn't I wasn't the best at it though, I was afraid of my gun, I hardly remembered to charge my stun gun and I had lost more handcuffs than I care to think about. Vinnie wouldn't need another person sitting in his office filing especially if you were to add me sitting around with Connie and Lula all day… we would all be out of a job within a week. Besides, there was no way I could look at the files of FTAs and not go chasing after them. I hated the way Joe had to tell me it was okay for me to talk to Ranger, because no matter what if I wanted to talk to somebody- I was going to. Especially Ranger, but working at Rangeman- as wonderful as it would be and fun to be around the Merry Men and Ella's divine cooking, and just Ranger in general… I knew I couldn't. It would be too hard, not just for me but I'm assuming the others there as well, all of them had been secretly (and not so secretly) pulling for me to become Mrs. Ranger and for me to show up there with a child growing in my stomach by someone other than Ranger didn't feel right to me. My relationship with Ranger was going to change drastically and I couldn't picture myself being around him everyday and having things be any other way then how they always were.

Now to the tough part, living with Joe…moving in with him and out of my apartment. This was undoubtedly one of the hardest decisions I would have to make, just about every argument we had started while I was living there. At least then I had my apartment as my safe haven as my place where I could be alone to think. That was when a flurry of voices filled my head, those of my mother and Mary Lou, Valerie, Lula…. All sharing their opinions with me. I felt as if they had all put a microphone into my ear and decided to yell into it all at once. I pulled my knees to my chest and laid my head down on the pillow closing my eyes tight.

This wasn't just another relationship phase for us, because of the fact we had in one sense been careless we were now in this position together. He was right though, I needed to do this and try it- for the sake of our child if nothing else. Besides, it wasn't like I didn't love Morelli and it wasn't like I liked being away from him. Truth was I hated it, I missed him more than I cared to admit and I was constantly worried about the thought of him shacking up with some other girl. I looked him square in his waiting eyes, ready and confident in my answer.

"Okay, let's do it." The grin that spread across his face was one of the perfect smiles you saw on rare occasions. That smile made my heart skip a beat and I couldn't help but return it with my own (surprisingly genuine) smile. Morelli kicked off his boots and crawled into the bed next to me pulling me into his arms.

"What about work?"

"I took the day off, sort of. If there is something important of course they'll page me but I'm hoping no one gets killed until I at least get a few hours of sleep… but first." He rolled away from me and grabbed the bakery bag from next to him, I reached in for a Boston Crème and even ripped off some pieces to feed to Morelli. After we ate both donuts in the bag we laid together on top my blankets curled together. I could tell he was slowly falling into a deep sleep but his fingers gently traced over my stomach. It since chills up my spine knowing just how good it would feel if he had just a little more energy. But even now just the simplicity of being together made my heart flutter.

Over the next couple of weeks all of my belongings were packed up from my little apartment and moved into Morelli's house officially. I quit my job as a bounty hunter and tried to feel comfort in my new role. Not long after the move we told our families about the pregnancy and both sides demanded it resulted in marriage. Since we were already living in sin they thought the least we could do was make it official. I put my foot down, no way was I ready to rush into more than I felt I could handle all at once. Over the next month and a half I did what I felt I was supposed to, I walked Bob, vacuumed, swept, dusted, did the laundry. I even attended a few cooking classes for beginners and had dinner on the table when Joe got home. Everything was perfect- for Joe. He was getting everything he wanted and I was sacrificing everything I was to cook this man dinner. I enrolled in a few online college courses that I hid from Joe, but I needed something to do. I was turning into my mother, between the two of us we were going to make ironing an Olympic event.

Then one day as Joe left for work I dropped to my knees and sobbed nothing about this life made me happy. Sure I loved Joe and we still had plenty of steamy sex which became even better (if that was possible) due to the fact that I was pregnant. I couldn't keep doing this, my baby bump was just beginning to show at 3 and a half months but I held onto it for dear life- praying for an answer. I knew what I had to do, I quickly showered, shaved and dressed in jeans and a baggy T-shirt got in my Buick and drove to the bonds office. I was half relieved to see Vinnie and Lula were out of the office for the day. I missed Lula (Vinnie not so much) she came over on occasion and told me about her day and how I was really missing out. Since I quit Lula had to take my position which gave her more money, but I know she missed chasing down these guys with me as much as I missed having her by my side…. Even if we were some of the World's worst bounty hunters. I tried to check over files telling her I just missed looking at them, truth was, I was on a mission. Finally I found it- The Rangeman file, nothing but high bond skips usually criminals that could only be brought down by the gang of black cargo pants wearing guys I felt so affectionate towards. Connie had to sign every FTA form as permission for someone to apprehend. The Rangeman files were signed as they came in so Ranger could come in and collect the paperwork without wasting time waiting for Connie. The files all specified the right for a Rangeman employee to apprehend, well hell maybe I wasn't technically a Rangeman employee right now. But hell at any time if I asked for a job Ranger would give me something because I needed the money, not necessarily because he needed another employee… An employee that ended up costing more money in security and exploded cars than the actual salary I received. However, I knew the boys at the police station would never question a Rangeman employee, Ranger would back me 100%, at least until we were alone and he could yell at me in private. I didn't even look at the file I was grabbed, but I quickly sneaked it into my oversized purse that I normally didn't carry- but it had a purpose today.

After I left Connie's office I stopped at a fast food joint, I'm not even sure which one I was at. I wasn't particularly hungry, I was anxious. I needed to apprehend this skip tonight before Rangeman noticed the missing file, and took it away from me. I looked over the information; Ronald Ellis age 45 arrested multiple times involving drugs, stolen guns, abusing woman and a bunch of other things that made my skin crawl. He was released on a $500,000 bond, I did a mental happy dance! I snatched a good one that would be $50,000 in my pocket by tomorrow morning (hopefully). I looked through the rest of the file and felt like all the pieces of my crazy jigsaw puzzle life were finally coming together. This guy was a regular at the strip club just on the outskirts of Trenton, and it looks like that was even where he did most of his business transactions. But the one piece of information I needed jumped out at me, it was the strippers working there that had been abused by him- no doubt they'd help me.

I steered my refrigerator on wheels in the direction of the strip club and immediately found my way to the girls dressing room. There wasn't many people there at this time of day, but there was two women talking to each other. I was in no mood to screw around, I needed this money and I needed to get out.

"Can I help you?" The older woman asked me with an irritation that I was seen walking into her club looking like I did.

"My name is Stephanie Plum and I'm a bond recovery agent."

"Yeah we know who you are, I'm Olivia the club manager." Score.

"I need your help, do you know a man by the name of Ronald Ellis?" Her and the younger girl sitting at her vanity exchanged a glance, Olivia nodded.

"Everyone knows Ronald." I could tell from her voice she hated this man, he did illegal business in her club and beat her girls around.

"I need to apprehend him tonight, I know he's a regular tonight. I don't want your girls doing a lot besides well helping me with a few things." Confusion spread over her face.

"What exactly did you have in mind?" I smiled at her and looked the multiple racks of costumes, outfits and sexy lingerie.

"Undercover, I read in here he likes blonde hair blue eyed girls. I have the blue eyes but with the help of a wig, I'll have the blonde hair too. I want to pose as one of the dancers, not on stage but go from table to table until I get to his table. I plan to be extra flirty and offer him a free show in private, I know you have some sort of room that is secluded right?" Olivia nodded again.

"Once I get him there and make him nice and vulnerable I plan to stun gun him cuff him and call the police. I realize he doesn't come alone, but if they have no reason to think their boss is simply having a good time- they won't worry about him." Olivia stared off into space for a minute than a large smile spread across her face.

"Let's do it! I hate that man with every fiber in my being. He usually gets here around 10, get here at like 730-8 and we will prep you. Don't you worry about hair, make up or your outfit honey, the girls hate him as much as I do. They'll jump at the chance to help."

"Good, but they need to know the cover story, say that its my first day- a new hire. A regular would realize something was different. We need to be seen talking to each other like you're giving me instructions for my first shift so he believes it. Oh and don't call me Stephanie tonight, call me by a different name like…" I looked around the room looking for some sort of inspiration for a new name but all I saw was a bag Skittles that only made me hungry- that's it!

"Call me Candy."

A/N:Hope you enjoyed this long chapter, I promise present day stuff is coming up!