A/N: Character's thoughts are in italics. Janet owns all recognizable characters, but plot line and mistakes are all mine. Thank you again Susan for being so quick to fix this chapter so I can get it posted before I leave.

Chapter 14

"Damage report. Now."

Bobby shook his head and did a mental eye roll that would have made Steph proud if she could have seen it. Knowing this would take a while before Ranger was satisfied with his answers, he pulled up a chair, then settled in.

"How much do you remember Ranger?"

Ranger closed his eyes and stilled his breathing for a few moments. Opening them up, he turned his head toward Bobby.

"I tried to get Steph out of the tree. She was hurt and I needed to get her down safely. I… remember a flash of light and falling. Where is she? Is she okay? Is she –?"

Bobby watched Ranger's heartrate start to climb on his monitors while Ranger was talking. He held his hands up to stop him from going any further.

"Just calm down, she's okay. She was in here earlier to see you. I'll tell you all about her after we talk about you."

Nodding understanding, Ranger swallowed a couple of times and took a deep breath. "Okay. Continue."

"Laceration on your shoulder. Indirect hit from lightning that caused you to go into a pretty deep coma. Some heart irregularities at first but that seems to have self-corrected. Branch impaled your right thigh. You've been out for three days."

Ranger processed this, cataloging each injury by sensing for the level of discomfort he felt at each location. Bobby couldn't possibly be right regarding the extent of his injuries. He felt banged and bruised up, but impalement and lacerations? Head wounds? What he was detecting wasn't consistent with what he just heard.

He looked over toward Bobby. "Are your exaggerating my injuries to keep me here, Brown?"

Doing a Stephanie-worthy eye roll, Bobby just shook his head. "What purpose would that serve? It would just make us all miserable if I did that. I'm telling you, this is what happened." Bobby paused for a second then raised his eyebrows as a thought occurred to him.

"You know, when Steph woke up, her injuries had healed extraordinarily fast. It's possible that could be happening here with you." Bobby looked up to make sure the door was closed, then scooted closer. "I did some private lab work back at Rangeman. Boss, when you two fell, that branch went through both of you – there was a lot of bleeding going on. The doctors here were expecting both of you to start getting sick from that, but it didn't happen. The lab tests that I ran show that you and Steph actually have the opposite happening."

"Explain."

"Basically, your blood mixed with Steph's blood and it strengthened your immune systems and healing abilities, instead of making you sicker. I've shredded all documents and made sure all blood samples have disappeared so that this stays between us."

Ranger nodded in approval. "I want to be moved back to Rangeman as soon as possible. Make it happen."

Bobby smiled. "I'm already working on it, but for once you're just gonna have to be a little patient. You're not going anywhere until you've been awake for 24 hours. Besides, it's going to take everything we've got to get Steph out of here and settled back home."

Ranger stared at him. "Home? As in her apartment?"

He closed his eyes as his stomach knotted up. He needed to be near her and couldn't fathom her staying by herself there. The thought that she might go home to Morelli skittered across his mind, but that triggered a memory of his dream he had. He remembered the harsh words, but more importantly he remembered how Stephanie felt hearing those words – the sadness and rejection. The hurt.

She has feelings for him, even after that. I gotta back off, give her space. But still…

Bobby shook his head. "No, I told her if she was going home this soon, it had to be back at Rangeman under my care. She had pretty much the same injuries as you, minus the shoulder injury. She has really bounced back amazingly fast, but she still has a lot of recuperating to do and needs medical supervision. I was going to put her up on seven."

"No."

That took Bobby by surprise. He didn't say anything.

"If she's coming back there, offer her a place on four. Besides, it's closer to you."

Bobby shook his head in bewilderment. "That makes no sense, Ranger. It would be easier to check on both of you together."

"Just do it, Brown. That's an order!"

Bobby stood up and raised his hands in surrender. "Okay Boss. Whatever you say." As he left Ranger's room, he muttered to no one in particular "I just hope you know what the hell you just did, you stubborn jack ass."

xxxxxx

Stephanie was sitting up in a chair when Bobby entered. He stopped inside the door and put his hands in his pants pockets, leaning against the wall.

"So, are you ready to blow this joint?"

Steph grinned. Gingerly, she moved herself to a standing position, balancing her weight on both feet. She raised her arms up like a magician's assistant and said "Ta-Da!" She then preceded to take a couple of slow steps from the chair to the side of the bed, and slowly turn around. She tried to sit but lost her balance and went down harder than intended on the side of the bed, causing her to wince and groan.

Bobby just shook his head. "Quit showing off, Steph. You're going to overdo it and wind up having to stay here."

Steph glared at him. "No way, no how, Buster. I'm about to walk myself outta here."

"Don't get all worked up. I just finished going over all of the discharge paperwork at the main desk and signed you out as your caregiver. We are just waiting for your ride."

Both turned their heads toward the door as it opened and Lester waltzed in.

"I hear someone is in need of some wheels." With a flourish, he pulled in a wheel chair and moved it so that Steph could easily climb in.

"Your golden chariot, milady."

He made an exaggerated bow in front of her, making her giggle in spite of still being pissed at him. She paused a minute and examined how she truly felt. The being pissed off portion was starting to fade but being hurt and feeling betrayed was still there, still very strong. Maybe she would talk with Lester and get some answers about why they lied to her. She just needed to decide how to go about doing it without giving away how she knew that they lied. Just needed to understand. Widening her eyes, she looked at her friends.

"Okay boys, what are we waiting for? Let's get this show on the road!"

Lester paused with the wheelchair just outside of Steph's room after she was loaded in. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"You wanna stop in and see Ranger before you go, Steph?"

Stephanie closed her eyes and sighed. In spite of feeling like she needed some distance from him in order to figure things out, she couldn't deny that she would worry endlessly if she didn't check on him before leaving. Familiar pangs started rattling around her heart, much to her chagrin.

"Yeah. Let's do this."

Steph was gently pushed into the room and up to Ranger's bedside. She tilted her head and studied him. He had the head of his bed elevated and was leaning back against it. He was bruised and banged up, but she could see everything that was visible was healing. Her eyes traveled to his face, connecting with his dark chocolate ones staring intensely back at her.

Steph felt her stomach roll with nerves and something else she wouldn't put a name to. There was just so much she wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come out. Her first instinct was to reach for his hand, but she managed to refrain. He lay there just like the stoic little boy in her dream memories that tugged at her heart strings. She smiled wanly at him. She knew she couldn't stay mad at him for long.

If only he knew how much he means to me, how much I love him. If only he knew how much he hurt me by doing and saying what he did. How do I make this right? Need him so much but don't know how to make it right….

She swore she saw Ranger wince. Leaning forward, she reached out and touched his arm.

"Are you okay?"

Ranger gave her a half smile and pulled his arm back.

"Babe. I should be asking you that."

Stephanie imagined she heard him say 'I've been broken for a long time. The only thing that hurts is my heart, Babe. Only you can fix it…..'

She shook her head to clear it.

Stupid imagination. You just want more of those dream memories, Plum.

"You didn't answer the question, Ranger. Are you okay?"

Ranger raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes. Nothing but some aches and pains. Going home tomorrow."

Steph nodded.

"I'm on my way out now." She glanced back at Bobby and scowled. "To Rangeman, whether I want to or not."

Ranger's lips thinned and his eyes wouldn't meet hers. He didn't like these damn feelings that where racing around inside. He had to get himself back in control.

"Brown, put Stephanie in an apartment on the fourth floor. Less hassle for everyone involved there. I'm tired. If you all are leaving…."

He looked up in time to catch a hint of hurt flutter across Stephanie's face. He almost capitulated. But he remembered how he imagined her voice in his head just a few moments ago saying 'If only he knew how much he means to me, how much I love him. If only he knew how much he hurt me by doing and saying what he did. How do I make this right? Need him so much but don't know how to make it right….'

He felt nauseated. He knew there was no way that was anything but an active imagination, but it seemed almost as real as all of those damn dreams that plagued him since the accident.

Damn body language. That had to be it.

No way was he allowing her back in his apartment, in his bed when he could almost hear her thinking about Morelli. He moved his hand to the bed control and lowered the head.

"You know the way out. I'll stop by tomorrow once I'm back in the building."

Ranger closed his eyes, pretending to try to sleep. He missed the two sets of eyes shooting death glares at him, and one set filling with unshed tears.

-tbc—

A/N: Don't kill me! I promise this is a babe story. I am going on another vacation, so there will be a bit of delay with the next posting. If you are in Myrtle Beach wave at me!