Author's Note: Your feedback is totally inspiring me to write more! Thank you to all my readers- whether you leave feedback or not I am so happy to have you read my story. And just so you know I won't be making it easy to figure out who our lovely Stephanie will find her HEA with. And I can promise you curveballs along the way J Read on and enjoy my lovelies!

Disclaimer: You know what isn't mine to take credit for, and what is. JE deserves the credit for providing the characters and plot so I could make this version of it my own.

Present Day:

Thanks to my neighbor and best friend Mandy I didn't have to worry about Aly getting to 'school' on time, but that did leave me alone with my thoughts. In the silence of the house it felt as though the walls were whispering my secrets and memories to me. Not letting me forget where I came from, what I've been through and who I have become. It's been 4 years and some months since I've been back to Trenton and a lot had changed about me. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, sometimes it was hard to believe the person staring back at me was the same Stephanie Plum I grew up as.

Sure my physical appearance was different, my wild curly hair was now almost down to the middle of the back and maybe it was just me- but my hair felt fuller. My curls weren't quite as wild but I kind of liked it better this way. I have always been the right weight for my height- but hardly was I ever actually in shape. That changed with the move as well, almost every morning I went on a 4 mile jog. During the winter it was so much more difficult and thankfully Mandy loved having Aly over, which allowed me to run. Running was my outlet, there was still some things I had a hard time thinking of and remembering and running had become a therapeutic method for me. When the weather was nice I strapped Aly into the nice jogging stroller I bought and she would come with. Aly loved our runs almost as much as I did, now there was no need to unbutton the top snap on my pants after a large meal. In fact, I was down a pant size and my body was toned in a way I never imagined it could be. I didn't have scary man muscles bulging out of my arms by any means but I was lean and fit.

The physical changes were nothing compared to the changes I had undergone. For once in my life I felt strong and independent, I was able to stand on my own two feet and be confident with who I was. I learned to look after myself and more importantly- think for myself. I stood in my bathroom brushing some mascara on my lashes to get ready for work. Sitting in my shower was a bottle of Bulgari shower gel, every time I saw it I couldn't help but smile and remember.

After Ranger left Wisconsin to go back to Trenton I only let myself have one full day to cry and mope around. I didn't come all the way out here to pout, the words Ranger left me constantly circled through my mind.

"Remember why you came here. Find your happiness, Stephanie Plum."

And that was just what I intended to do, I continued taking college courses throughout my pregnancy and finally decided I wanted to become a detective. I couldn't completely leave behind the bounty hunter side of who I was, because I felt like that was one of the first times I was being true to myself. But I knew being a bounty hunter while pregnant, even with a child wasn't okay anymore. I had an uncanny knack for attracting the crazies and having my car blown up every other week was no big deal in Trenton when I had Ranger there looking out for me. The thought of someone blowing up my car here though, when I had my baby in the car with me was something I could never do. It didn't take long for me to get to know my next door neighbors, Mandy and I hit it off right away. Her three kids were great and Mandy's husband came around ever once and a while. The best part though was he enjoyed using his riding lawn mower to take care of the entire yard so I didn't have to. One thing I learned about people in Wisconsin, if it was legal to drive their John Deere on the major roads- that would be their only mode of transportation. How common it was to see people on motorcycles in New Jersey, it was just as common to see someone riding around on their lawn mower.

Mandy's daughters Caroline and McKayla were both in sports, soccer was their favorite and every time they had practice or a game I went with them. Mandy became my everything-buddy, grocery shopping, baby shopping, everything she did- we did it together. The people in the neighborhood were great and were always over in our backyard gathered around the fire pit. Because nothing says a bonfire like 90 degrees outside. The kids in the neighborhood ran through the sprinkler in our yard and my swelled up so I felt like a beach ball with arms and legs. Mandy went to all my doctor's appointments for the baby with me, and when we found out I was having a girl she helped me pick out everything she would need.

But as good as things were here- that didn't change the way I left things with the people I cared about in Trenton. I decided to just throw out my old cell phone and not listen to the messages that would bring me back to my last few days there. I bought a new cell phone, every number I cared about I had committed to memory (even if sometimes I wish I would just forget). Once I found out I was going to have a daughter the pregnancy became real- no longer was I just going to have a baby- I was going to have my baby, my baby girl. I created a new email address and sent an email out to Joe and prayed he still had the same email or else this email would be embarrassing to hang in cyberspace for all of existence. To this day I still remember exactly what I wrote in the email:

Joe,

This is Steph, and my new email address. I wanted to say how truly sorry I am for leaving the way I did. I should have talked to you about it, about what was really going on. It just felt like talking never got us anywhere, I did what I felt was right and I need to be honest- I don't regret it at all. I'm happy here, I don't have to live up to anyone's expectations- other than my own. I don't want to ever cut you out of this child's life, because that would be truly tragic for them not to know their wonderful father. Unless you tell me otherwise, I will update you every time I know something new about the baby. Same with when the baby is born, I will send pictures and videos. The one condition though- I don't want to talk about what happened when I left. Everything I want to say about it was in the letter you got. So if you are fine with that then I don't see why this can't work.

For starters- you're going to have a daughter. Name is still up in the air, but I still have 5 months to go. I hope you're well.

-Steph

I was surprised by Joe's response back, he didn't pry open old wounds and talked only about his daughter. He would love updates and pictures whenever I had them. Over the years our conversations have remained this way. We didn't talk about our lives, we talked simply about Aly. I was okay with it, in a way. I missed Morelli and the way we were, the way we could just kick back and relax and enjoy each other's company. One thing that I never quite realized before was how much he kept me on my toes, at the time I thought he was irritating me- now I see he was challenging me. That doesn't change the way things ended but it felt nice to remember the good things. I constantly got updates from back home about Morelli's relationship status. He had gone through many women, never anything serious, and never anything lasting for more than a couple months. There was a part of me that hurt to hear it, but the other part of me was happy for him.

As for my parents and Grandma Mazur; when I called them to tell them news about the gender my mother cried into the phone for about an hour. My dad muttered a congratulations, told me he missed me- and asked about my car. (Which I am happy to report is the same black Dodge Stratus I picked out when Ranger was here). There was a part of me that almost missed getting my car blown up and getting a new one, but I loved my Stratus it was cute, great on gas, fit Aly in the backseat just fine and well… Ranger helped me pick it out. Anyways, back to Grandma Mazur- she was excited for me and wasn't the least bit sad that I did what I did. My Grandma was one of the only other people that truly understood me, and didn't just understand the person I had failed to be- the Burg wife. Since talking on the phone could only do so much good when it came to really missing someone I started to video chat with them on Skype. Okay, so it wasn't as easy as it sounds, my mother didn't want a computer in the house. She didn't have the money for a laptop and had no idea what the hell Skype was. Grandma Mazur tried explaining it to her but that didn't go very far either. That was when the one and only Ranger swooped in and saved the day, he gave them a new laptop that he claimed they didn't need at Rangeman. Not only that but he provided them with internet access, and even sat patiently while they tried to figure out how to work everything. Since then we video chat at least once a week and although it doesn't completely take away how much I miss them, it helps.

My friends back in Trenton, mainly- Connie, Lula and Mary Lou, well we all kept in touch and all of them have actually journeyed up to good old Wisconsin to see Aly and me. Let me just say- Wisconsin was not ready for Lula. Mary Lou traveled up a couple different times staying only for the weekend while the kids stayed home with her husband.

A week before Aly was born Grandma Mazur told me how Joe's Grandma Bella had died. I felt bad, not that Bella didn't scare the pants off of me- but it was sad none the less. When my due date hit in the beginning of October, and nothing happened Mandy and I sat around watching my belly like it was a ticking time bomb about to explode. Mandy actually demanded her husband stay at the house incase I went into labor in the middle of the night. Which at the time I told her it wasn't necessary but seeing that my water broke at about 1 in the morning I was glad Mandy was more prepared. She was my birthing partner and had gone to all the classes with me, and through the entire labor she held me hand and talked me through it.

Once I finally heard the first (of many) cries from the most perfect little girl I had ever seen I looked around the room. Mandy was there and I was so happy she was, but the emptiness that I had been able to push away all came rushing back to me at once. No mom or dad, no crazy but lovable Grandma, no Lula scaring me as she tried to tell me how she knew everything there was to know about newborns. No Joe to see his beautiful daughter and no Ranger to say few words out loud, but with a look in his eyes that would tell me just how proud of me he was. When the nurse asked me the baby's name I knew right away her first name would be Alyson. The middle name and last name is what I had been unsure of, there was a part of me that wanted Aly to have her last name be Morelli. But I just couldn't do it, what if she never met him, or he never cared to meet her. What if Joe and I both completely moved on from each other and I got married and started a new life with a new husband and Aly was still bearing the weight of the Morelli name. That was when I remembered Grandma Bella- crazy as she was I did like her name, and that would be something from Morelli's side without being too much. So on October 19th my daughter became Alyson Isabella Plum, and the love of my life.

My family, Lula and Connie all flew in the following week and gushed over baby Aly. It was great seeing them and having them around to help me. I sent pictures to Joe religiously and I heard from everyone he showed everyone his daughter's picture. He was a proud father, even states away- but it brought a smile to my face. Who knows what would come of me and Morelli but the most important thing was that Aly would always be able to know him. I even sent him videos of her, when she learned how to roll over, sit up on her own, take her first steps, eat with a spoon for the first time (good idea in theory- but I spent the rest of the day cleaning baby food off my entire kitchen). But even as time went on, Aly was all we talked about and only through email, never on a phone call. We never video chatted either, but I didn't trust myself to hold it together once we wouldn't have the convenience to check over everything we said by email first.

Then there was Ranger, the day he left my house to go home I found a bottle of his Bulgari shower gel in the bathroom wrapped in a bow. I used it as sparingly as I could, I never wanted to run out, and I never wanted to forget that smell. But I did run out, but when Aly was 6 months old Ranger surprised us with a visit. I knew I missed him, but it wasn't until I actually saw him again that I realized just how much I missed that man. To be completely honest, when I saw him pull away from my house I never thought I would see him again. Sure I was his Babe and would always hold a special place in his heart, but I was always having another man's child. There was no way to spin the facts there, and the day he left I saw it in his eyes. I was no longer just Stephanie Plum the girl who had made a cosmic splash in his life since he first met me. I was Stephanie Plum- the mother of Morelli's child, in his eyes, he saw me with Morelli. He didn't believe I would never come home and me and Morelli would never stay apart for all time. There was nothing I could say to him to make it better, it was all true. No matter what, I was always going to be the mother of Morelli's child and if I said I was never going to be with Morelli again- that would be a lie. Because I didn't know and when I first saw Ranger again I watched as he locked his eyes on Aly- he wanted to hate her. He wanted to hate Morelli's child, but she looked up at him with her big blue eyes she had luckily inherited from me and smiled at him. Until that moment I had never seen a smile so big on that girl's face, and from that moment he was hooked. Over the years we talked all the time, and he came up to see us usually twice a year, each time bringing me a new bottle of Bulgari wrapped in a bow. But we never crossed the line from friends to lovers, a few nights he slept in my bed. Not because we wanted to get physical but because it just felt good to lay next to each other again. To be by each other's side, he was impressed by the way I could keep up with him for runs in the morning even while pushing Aly in her jogging stroller. Ranger had become my best friend- truly. There was no point trying to be anything more, not while we were hundreds of miles away, and not if it risked losing what we had.

I did go on occasional dates, and it didn't take me long that Ranger was running credit checks and criminal backgrounds on everyone who asked me to dinner. But it amused me so I always happily gave him the name of whatever suitor was taking me out, but nothing came of the dates. Besides, I wasn't in Wisconsin because I needed a man, I could have stayed in Trenton for that. I came here to become someone I was proud of, someone my daughter could be proud of.

I started working an internship for my criminal justice classes at the local police station. At first all I did was file papers away or pass out mail, but one day of the homicide/crime detectives up and quit his job and the head detective needed help. Well he came to me, and it didn't take long for me to impress him. I had an insight into the cases he was working on that he didn't even see. When they brought in witnesses/suspects in for crimes he let me sit in on the interviews and eventually let me ask the questions. Once my internship had come to an end he rewarded me for all my good work with a full time job, benefits and a kick-ass salary. His name was Jackson Kimber, but everyone just called him Kimber, or detective. Detective Kimber also told me to keep taking classes and had the station pay for my tuition. Everything had fallen into place, everything I had wanted out of my move to Wisconsin was exactly as I wanted… So then why did I still feel so empty?

It was June, the air was thick and humid and if I could have just gone to work in shorts and a bra I would have. But even if it would have been a sight for many of the male workers to enjoy- it still wasn't allowed. So I threw on my black pencil skirt and blue ¾ length button up shirt with a white tank top underneath. This would have to do for now, I loved wearing heels now that my legs were toned and my butt looked, well… it looked great. But in this weather my feet screamed at me for wearing heels, so instead I slipped on a pair of black flats. I wanted to leave my hair down, it had to be something in the water here- but I swear my hair never looked better. My curls now curled almost perfectly down my back, but since it was longer and thicker- and I refused to get it cut off I had to settle on a ponytail. Which still didn't keep the ends of my hair from sticking to my neck when I stepped outside, but it was better than nothing.

The office was only about 5 minutes from my house and the drive was beautiful. Lake Winnebago out in the distance, a cute little downtown area that all state directly on Main Street. I pulled into the lot, grabbed my bad and walked to my desk saying hi to everyone I saw on the way in. On my desk was a note from Kimber that read:

When you get in, come to my office.

This wasn't unusual for me I swear he had these notes printed in bulk to match his handwriting so he didn't have to write it out each morning when he came in. I had started returning the notes to him telling him he could save paper and just reuse the note but he didn't think it was nearly as funny as I did. I threw down my purse, grabbed a coffee from the break room and went to his office. Since he was the head of his department he got a nice office with a window, walls for privacy and even shades to pull down if he wanted to keep people from snooping in his stuff. I'm just saying- Wisconsin knows how to take care of their own.

"What's up Kim-Bo?" Okay, so I forgot I call him Kim-Bo, I said it one day on accident and he thought it was kind of funny so it just stuck. Except, only I could call him that- another cop called him that one day and Kim-Bo sure told him off.

"Come in and close the door, Plum." I did as he said and sat in the chair on the other side of his desk.

"We need to talk about something." Kim-Bo was about 50 years old, tall, balding and had this weird mouth twitch thing he did when he had to deliver news you probably weren't going to like. He felt almost like a dad to me, and sometimes I had to remind myself that he wasn't my dad so when I wanted to blunt and come right out and tell him to quit the mouth twitching, I had to hold my tongue. His mouth was unfortunately twitching right now, and that made me uneasy- I wasn't usually on the receiving end of bad news.

"Okay, so talk."

"We to make some cuts in our department and well…" I knew where this was going.

"So you're seriously going to fire me, I have busted my butt for you the past 3 years to have you just toss me aside?"

"Cool your jets, Plum. There's more to what I'm saying, when I got word they were going to make cuts. I immediately put in some calls to other police stations I've worked with in the past- looking for anyone who could use a detective. Well I found one, and at first I was going to send one of my other detectives to them because I mean it when I say you are damn good at your job. You have this crazy intuition about things and for some reason you come up with exactly what we need to make our case. But when I realized what office there would be a transfer to, it just didn't feel right to offer it to anyone else."

"Why, what are you talking about?"

"It's more money, same hours, and well it's in Trenton." I choked on my big gulp of hot coffee and had to quickly pull his trash can to me, so hot spit up coffee didn't go all over his floor.

"Did you say, Trenton? As in Trenton, New Jersey?" As in the same police station I used to bring all my skips to, the same one where they guys kept track of how many explosions and dead bodies I had found. As in the same police station Joe Morelli- my Joe Morelli works at.

"Yeah, you're from there right?" I nodded.

"I told their guy all about you, I think he knows who you are. Anyways, I'm going to call him on speaker quick." I had no idea what to say, a part of me wanted to bolt to the door, another part of me wanted to dump my hot coffee on the phone- and pray it stopped working before the officer in Trenton answered the phone. But the other part of me really wanted to hear this.

"Hello." The guy on the other end answered.

"Yeah Officer Gazzara, this is Officer Kimber over in Wisconsin."

"Gazzara!" I yelled, "Like Eddie Gazzara."

"Holy Christ, it is you Stephanie!"

"You're a detective now!"

"Sure am, but the bigger question- are you really a detective now?"

"I sure am."

"Good for you, Steph." Kim-Bo didn't quite know how to respond to either of us.

"Eddie and I have known each other since we were kids." Kim-Bo nodded and smiled.

"So I just told Stephanie here about the job opportunity at your station."

"Yeah, Steph from everything Kimber's told me about the work you've done and he even sent me your progress reports and quarterly reports. I am impressed, we'd love to have you here, Steph. So what do you say?"

"Yeah Plum, what do you think?"

I just wanted to tell them they really didn't want to know what I was thinking. Sure it was Trenton, my home with my family and friends, but this was my home now too. Wisconsin had become a bigger part in my life than I ever thought it would. And let's be honest, I left Trenton for a reason- could I really go back? Could I really jump back into that life and remain the person I have been so happy to become?

"Steph- you still there?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah I'm here, how long do I have to think about it?" This threw Eddie off, I think he was expecting me to jump at the chance to get out of this town. I know he didn't know the whole story as to why I left- but I thing I did know was just about everyone that didn't know the whole story saw my move to WI as mandatory. Like I wasn't doing this because I wanted to, as if someone had forced me to move here and raise my daughter alone.

"Well uh… I got to know by tomorrow morning. We need to get someone in here and if you don't take it I need to start interviewing people."

"Okay, I will let you know by tomorrow morning."

"You need my number?"

"I'll get it from Kimber."

"Alright, and hey Steph?"

"Yeah, Eddie?"

"I sure do hope you take the job- you are missed more than I think you realize."

"Thanks Eddie." We disconnected the line and I placed my face into the palms of my hands, what was I going to do?

"Stephanie, you have a lot to think about. Why don't you take the rest of the day off- I'll make sure you still get paid for it. But I think you need to really figure out what's best for you and that baby girl of yours." I nodded, there wasn't much else I could say. I was practically in zombie mode when I grabbed my purse and drove home. I quickly changed into shorts and a tank top and went next door to see Mandy.

"Do you hear that!" She yelled when I walked in the door.

"You yelling?"

"No, just listen." I did, and we stood there for a few seconds. Mandy was definitely an odd ball, it was one of my favorite things about her- but right now I needed serious Mandy.

"I don't hear anything."

"Yes! It's so quiet and peaceful."

"Well at least it was until you started yelling." I said as I flopped down on the couch.

"What's up, aren't you supposed to be working?"

"My department has to make some cuts, so they want to transfer me." She plopped down next to me, her eyes looked like they might pop out of her head with how wide open they were.

"No shit, where?"

"Trenton."

"Holy shit!" She yelled again, now I knew where her kids got their screaming voices from.

"Yeah."

"Well what are you going to do?"

"I have no idea, Trenton is my home- but now so is Wisconsin." Mandy got that look in her eyes, the one all mother's got when they had to hold back their own opinion to do the best thing for their child. I wasn't Mandy's child, but since we first met she had been like a sister to me. She was more a sister to me than Valerie ever was, and I saw her kids as my family.

"I can't tell you what to do, Steph. But I can tell you that no matter what you do I'm always going to be here for you." She pulled me into her arms for a hug that I was definitely in need of.

Mandy told me she was going to pick up Aly from daycare, so I put on my running shoes and just ran. I needed the only thing in my head the rhythmic sounds of my breathing, the sounds of my shoes as they connected with the pavement and nothing else. When I finally returned home after my 5 mile jog, Aly was playing in the front yard with McKayla. I pulled her in for a big hug- which I realized right from the beginning, was the best medicine ever. I told her I was going to be inside and to be careful then I brought my laptop to the kitchen table powered it up and hopped on Skype. He was online- almost always now, I know he tried to make a big stink about video chat but I knew the truth- he loved being able to talk to me, just as much as I loved talking to him.

The call connected and the classic stoic face of Ranger popped up onto my screen.

"Babe." He said with a smile. "Maybe it's just the lighting, but you look really sweaty."

"It's hot as shit out and I just got back from a 5 mile run."

"Well that explains the smell." I couldn't help but laugh, my attempts to have a strictly serious conversation was already not working.

"Shut up, I need your help."

"With?"

"My department is making cutbacks, and my boss wants to transfer me." Even over the pixilated image I could see his mouth tighten, I'm sure he thought I was going to say somewhere farther away than I was now.

"To where?"

"Trenton." A hint of a smile touched his lips as they relaxed.

"Well, are you going to do it?"

"I don't know." I didn't want to feed him the 'this is my home too' line, Ranger would see through that. "I'm scared."

"Why, Babe?"

"I have worked so hard to become who I am now, and finally I feel like I know who I am. Like I don't have to be ashamed of anything, but that's when I'm hundreds of miles away from the place that made me feel that way." He thought for a moment and got a little closer to the screen.

"Babe, no one can take away who you are. You left to find yourself because you didn't know who you were here. Now that you have become the most amazing version of yourself, you aren't going to lose it by moving back." I nodded, I wanted him to be right. But there was no guarantee, life was about taking risks and taking chances- that was what I had done by coming here. Free fall into the unknown. Would I be the same Stephanie Plum I ran from, or would I be the Stephanie I was finally proud of.

"What do you think Babe? Are you coming home?" 'Coming home' there was something in the way he said it that for a moment pushed away my fears. Trenton was my home.

"Yes, I'm coming home." His 200 watt smiled flashed across my screen.

"That's my, Babe."

A/N: Hope you like! I stayed up until almost 4 am writing this because I wanted all of my wonderful readers to get the update they wanted!