AN: Thank you so much for all the notes and comments, it's keeping the muse happy. Oh and sorry for the cliff hanger last chapter. That was mean.
As always, all rights to familiar characters belong to JE - the mistakes are mine, and so is Happy. ;)
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Tank drove because he said he was afraid I would get arrested for trying to break the land speed record and when we pulled up to the hospital I saw Happy carrying Steph in through the emergency room doors.
I was out of the car and hustling inside before Tank brought it fully to a stop.
Happy's arms were empty when I reached him and I immediately started grilling.
"Where is she? What happened?"
"Not sure," he replied. "She said she felt nauseated, vomited, and then collapsed holding her stomach. I brought her directly here."
Fuck. I knew something was wrong when I saw her this morning. "How long has she been sick, Hap?"
He shoved his hands in his pockets and his eyes darted to the doors where Tank was making his entrance. "A few days. I tried to get her to see a doctor or at least Bobby, but…"
"She's stubborn as shit."
"Yeah," he agreed and nodded a greeting to Tank who sidled up beside us.
"I called Bobby," he said. "Know anything yet?"
"No." I cut my eyes to the woman behind the counter who was on the phone. "But I'm about to get some information."
Tank laid a colossal hand on my arm. "I'll go. Don't want you frightening the poor girl."
"Why does he think he won't scare her?" I asked Happy rhetorically and he lifted a shoulder in response. We watched Tank talking – no, make that flirting with the curly haired blonde who had the information I desperately wanted and Happy gave me a raised eyebrow when she smiled and then giggled at something he said.
I gave it another minute and was about to go up there when Tank spun around and headed back to us holding a clipboard with paperwork attached. "She doesn't know anything except that Steph was admitted, but Cleona is here and I got her to agree to page her." He handed me the clipboard. "Fill this out while we wait."
I gave him a look that let him know I didn't appreciate being ordered to do something but I took the paperwork and began the bullshit process. Stephanie didn't know, but I've had her listed as an employee of my company for the past four months so she would have medical insurance. She's been getting a base salary she also doesn't know about so Rangeman can keep in line with the IRS. I was eventually going have to tell her - before she filed her own taxes - but I didn't want it to be because of something like this. I looked up from my task to find Tank watching me. He was the only other person that knew Steph was an employee. He'd been telling me for months that I needed to let her know what I'd done and the expression on his face right then had a definite, 'I told you so' quality about it.
I ignored him and went back to filling in Stephanie's pertinent information. When I was almost through, Cleona materialized in the room and sat in the empty chair beside me.
"So, there is good and bad," she said.
"Bad first," Tank jumped in, voicing my thoughts as he and Happy crouched down in front of us.
Cleona focused her emerald eyes on me after a brief glance to the two massive figures squatting at her knees. "She has a gall stone about the size of a golf ball blocking the duct in her gall bladder. The organ is severely infected and they're prepping her for surgery right now to remove it before it ruptures."
I was almost afraid to ask but managed to get the words out. "And the good?"
She flashed me her perfect white teeth. "It's a fairly routine procedure so she'll be fine. It will be about an hour, maybe two and you'll probably be able to take her home today."
"That is good news. Thank you." I briefly squeezed her hand and she smiled again.
"I'll come get you as soon as it's done." Tank and Happy stood up to let her by and we all watched her disappear into the interior of the hospital.
"Bobby is a lucky guy," Tank said almost wistfully.
"I agree," a voice said and we turned to greet the man himself. "What's the deal?"
We filled him in and he confirmed it was a routine surgery and she would be fine. I of course wouldn't rest easy until I saw her, being fine, myself. I leaned back in the plastic chair and handed Tank the completed paperwork. I would try not to worry, but that was nearly impossible where Stephanie was concerned.
Word must have trickled out because as we waited half of my staff started appearing and I began to wonder if they left anyone on the monitors.
Cleona came out once to give a brief update and after she left I listened to them talk about her with Bobby.
"Seriously man - that is one fuckable piece of ass. Those legs – Jesus, I get a chubby just thinking about what she could do with those crazy long legs."
I shook my head, seeing Bobby's fist before he even had a clue it was coming. The man had severe diarrhea of the mouth. He was holding his throat and to Bobby's credit, he did make sure Lester was still breathing after he punched him there.
"Not to be crude, but Lester is right." Ram this time. I was starting to be grateful we were in a hospital.
"She doesn't happen to have a sister, does she?" Woody wanted to know.
"As a matter of fact, she does. Identical twin." I watched the corners of Bobby's lips twitch slightly but didn't think anyone else noticed. I was pretty sure he was bullshitting them.
"Really?" Vince asked and I nearly laughed at the hopeful look on all their faces.
"No," Bobby said and rolled his eyes. "But even if it were true, I would be sure to keep her away from every one of you assholes."
That made me smile. After an hour we were starting to get looks from the staff and from people coming in. A room full of men all dressed in black and armed to the teeth could be quite an intimidating presence so after promising to give Steph their well wishes I sent away everyone except Happy, Tank and Bobby.
Tank was once again dazzling the reception girl with his charm and Bobby had gone in search of his woman so Happy folded his frame into the seat beside me. "You okay?" He asked quietly, eyeing me peripherally.
"Yeah, I'm good." I wasn't, not really, but Happy already knew that.
"Steph is a fighter," he said and I agreed. "She reminds me of my sister," he added softly.
I turned then, to look at him fully. I knew that was the reason he agreed without question to partner with her on a daily basis. Happy's sister, Veronica, was why he was… the way he was. It also didn't hurt that Stephanie - with the right make-up and straight hair - could pass as Veronica's twin.
"Have you told her?" I asked and the dangerous glint in his eyes softened when they met mine.
"Yeah. I told her."
"All of it?"
He looked away and settled his hands on top of his knees. "Most."
That was huge. Happy didn't talk about his personal life with anyone. Ever.
"How long did Stephanie hug you?" That got me a genuine smile. It was brief but it was definitely a smile. Teeth and everything.
"I'm going to find some coffee," he said in response and I let him walk away. It's best not to push too hard with Happy.
He hadn't returned when Cleona finally arrived with Bobby in tow and Tank had gone outside to take a call so I was alone when she delivered the good news.
"Surgery is done and everything went well. She's still under but I assume you want to be there when she wakes up?"
"You assume correctly," I confirmed.
"I'll take you back, but…" she cut her eyes to Bobby.
"Congrats," Bobby said picking up her dangling sentence. "Your wife is a real looker."
I thought I knew what was coming but I gave them a questioning lift of my brow.
"You have to be family to get back there for any extended period so I changed her forms to list you as her spouse," Cleona finished warily.
Well, that would be interesting. Hopefully I'd be able to get Steph out of here before she found that out and before any nurses from the Burg got wind of it and spread it like herpes through the neighborhood.
"It's fine," I assured her because she looked a little panicked.
Her shoulders relaxed slightly and Bobby kissed her on the cheek. "I gotta go, but I'll be over later," he told her and then turned to me. "Give Steph my best and I'll check on her when you bring her home."
We did the complicated hand shake that was typical of all of us when we didn't know what else to say and I caught a glimpse of Cleona's face as she watched Bobby walk out of the hospital. I'd seen the look on Stephanie's face more than once. Cleona was in love.
"Let's go see your wife," she said to me with a cheeky grin and I had to smile back. I didn't care if anyone thought she was my wife and I hoped Steph wouldn't care what the burg or anyone else thought anymore either, but old habits die hard.
"Don't worry," Cleona said as we made our way down the antiseptically white hallway, "she'll be too drugged up to care about the forms or anything else. She'll just be glad to see your face when she opens her eyes."
"I sure would be," a nurse muttered when we passed her in the hall and I saw the scan she did of my body out of the corner of my eye but didn't pay it any mind.
"That happens to you a lot, doesn't it?" Cleona queried as we rounded a corner.
I gave her a non-committal shrug. Truthfully, I'd quit caring about what other women thought the day I met Stephanie.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." She opened a door and I followed her into a small room where Stephanie was laid out on a bed. She was in a gown with little pads attached to her chest and a oxygen monitor on her finger. Her heart rate was beeping a steady rhythm on the screen next to her.
"She should be awake any minute so let me go over a few things with you first. There were 4 incisions." She lifted the gown to show me and pointed to the one that had a tube coming out of it. "That is the drain. This pouch here at the end will need to be emptied twice a day and measured. I'll give you some cups and gloves."
"She is gonna hate that. How long does the drain stay in?" Cleona dropped the gown and tucked the blanket up around her.
"Two – maybe three days tops. It will be hard for her to sit up, but you should try and get her up and walking around by tomorrow."
"The problem will be getting her to rest, not getting her up."
"Yeah, I understand. She's hates being stuck at home right?"
"You have no idea."
Cleona laughed. "I probably do. I'm the same way. Recovery time is actually pretty quick. I had this same procedure two years ago and I was mostly fully functional within a week and pretty much back to normal after two. She'll be in the most pain the first couple days so she'll need these pills." She held up a prescription and I took it and tucked it into my pocket.
"What's that beeping?" We heard a groggy voice say and turned as one to see Stephanie's eyes fluttering open. She lifted her hand and waived it in the air. "There's something on my hand."
Cleona and I shared a smile and she moved to the monitor to turn off the offending noise and remove the finger monitor and the chest pads.
"Hey Babe," I said taking her other hand in mine.
"Ranger!" She gave me a goofy grin. "I love waking up and seeing your face."
I kissed her on the lips. "How do you feel?"
She narrowed her eyes and then looked around the room before they widen in revelation. "Oh shit," she whispered and Cleona and I both said "What?" at the same time.
"Where's Happy? I have to apologize." Her bed was titled at a forty five degree angle and she tried to sit up fully but groaned as soon as the pain hit.
"Relax," Cleona said, pushing her gently back by the shoulder.
"Happy's out in the waiting room with Tank. What could you possibly have to apologize for?
"I threw up on his boots."
I tipped my head back and laughed out loud. "I'm sure he doesn't give a shit about his shoes, Babe. He'll just be glad you're alright."
My phone rang at that moment and it was Happy calling. "Speak of the devil," I said, showing Steph the caller ID window. "Is this okay?" I asked Cleona before answering.
"Yes, but keep it short."
I swiped the screen and said, "What's up?"
"She okay?"
"Yeah. She's says she's sorry about your boots." I looked down at Steph and she gave me two thumbs-up.
"Tell her to stop being stupid. I had Ella bring some of her sweats and a loose t-shirt. They'll be more comfortable than the clothes she was wearing earlier."
"That's great, thanks. I'll be out in a minute to get them."
Happy disconnected without responding and I tucked my phone into my pocket.
"What'd he say?" Steph wanted to know. "I feel funny," she added and closed her eyes.
"He said don't be an idiot and what kind of funny?"
"Like you're gonna hurl funny?" Cleona asked.
"No…just weird funny."
"That's the anesthesia. You need to try and eat something," she surmised.
"Great. Do you have any doughnuts?"
Cleona gave me a raised eyebrow and I just shrugged and shook my head. She had an addiction.
"No, but I do have this delicious soda cracker. Open up." Cleona held the cracker in front of her mouth and she took a small bite.
"Okay?"
Steph nodded and Cleona fed her the rest of the cracker and let her have a sip of water to wash it down.
"When can I go home?" She asked a second later.
I grinned at Cleona. "Bobby owes me twenty. He said it'd be ten minutes before she asked that."
She looked at the clock on the wall. "Just over three."
"You guys need to stop betting about me, it's rude," Steph mumbled and pried open an eye.
"As long as you keep that cracker down we can have you out of here in twenty minutes."
"Happy brought you some comfy clothes, Babe. I'll go get them while Cleona's working on your discharge papers."
"Kay," she said. "Hurry."
I gave her a quick kiss and went to get her clothes. I handed the prescription to Happy and asked him to get it filled and then I took the sweats and t-shirt back to the room. The shirt was one of mine and it made me smile. Steph would love that.
Cleona was true to her word and I was wheeling her out twenty minutes later. Happy and Tank were waiting and she got a kiss from both of them before I settled her into the front seat of Tank's Navigator and buckled her in. He gave me his keys and caught a ride back with Happy.
She slept most of the way back to the building and only woke up when I lifted her out of the car. "Ranger, I can walk," she protested automatically even as her arms wrapped around my neck.
"I know, Babe. But I really want to carry you."
"Mmm," was her only response as she pressed her face into my neck. I carried her to the elevator and pushed the button.
When I got her inside our apartment I took her right to the bedroom, pulled back the covers and laid her gently on the sheets. Her bottle of pain pills and all the after-care instructions were already on the nightstand and I was grateful for the efficiency of my men. And Ella. There were two bottles of water and a package of crackers there as well and I knew that was Ella's doing.
I pulled the covers up around her and Steph briefly opened her eyes. "Don't go anywhere," she said.
"I won't," I assured her, kicked off my boots and crawled in beside her. She fell asleep and surprising myself, I slept with her. It was two hours before I awoke to the sound of her shifting beneath the covers beside me.
"You okay, Babe?"
"Gotta pee." She tried to sit up like she normally would and cried out in pain. "Shit, that hurts."
I was up, lifting her out of bed and carrying her to the bathroom before she could protest. She did her business and let me carry her back to the bed.
"Well that was humiliating," she muttered as I settled in beside her. "You probably loved it. You like carrying me around."
"I like any time I can get my hands on you, Steph. And there is no reason to be humiliated. You just had an organ removed from your body, give yourself a break."
She snorted out a little laugh. "When do I get to take one of those pills?" She cut her eyes to the bottle beside the bed.
I glanced at the clock. "Couple hours. All the anesthesia needs to be out of your system first. Is it bad?"
"I've felt better but as long as you're here I can handle it."
"I'm not going anywhere, Babe."
A small smile touched her lips and she closed her eyes again. She dozed but it was restless and I tried to soothe her as best as I could until I could dole out the medication. When it was time, I got her to eat a couple of crackers and she washed them and the pill down with a pull on a bottle of water. It didn't take long before her breathing evened out and she was sleeping relatively peacefully. I stayed in bed with her for an hour before I migrated to my office to finish up some things I'd abandoned earlier, but would soon find out they would have to continue to wait.
The land line on my desk rang as I sat down in my office chair and I saw it was the lobby. I don't think anyone from the front desk has ever called me directly but as I glanced at the schedule I saw Ace was on that rotation. He was relatively new. "What can I do for you, Ace?" I asked after snatching the receiver out of the cradle.
"Oh….umm, sorry to bother you sir, but there is a detective Morelli here demanding to see Ms. Plum…I…"
I turned on my monitor and pulled up the camera feed from the lobby. Sure enough, Joe was leaning on the counter, both palms flat on the surface trying to be as intimidating as he could manage.
"It's okay, Ace. Put him in holding cell four and let him sweat there for a while." I almost laughed when the line went completely silent. I glanced at the monitor and Ace's eyes were the size of saucers.
"It was a joke. Relax. Set him up in conference room two and I'll be there shortly."
Ace released a slow breath of relief before responding, "Yes sir, right away."
I killed the line and called Bobby's apartment.
"Yo."
"Can you come up and sit with Steph for a while?" I asked without preamble.
"You're leaving?"
"Not exactly. The illustrious detective Morelli is here and requesting an audience."
"Asshole," Bobby declared.
"No argument from me. I'll get rid of him quickly but I don't want to leave her alone."
"I'll be up in two." He disconnected and I went back to the bedroom. Stephanie was still asleep and would probably stay that way but I wanted someone here. I brushed her hair from her face and pressed my lips to her forehead. She didn't move a muscle so I left to let Bobby in.
"She sleeping?" He wanted to know when I swung open the door and he stepped inside.
"Yeah. I gave her a pain pill about an hour ago and she passed out within a few minutes." He followed me to the bedroom and I turned the lights on dim so he could see to move around. He placed his hand gently on her forehead.
"No fever, that's good. They told you to keep an eye on that, right?"
"Yes, I have the list."
"Good," he said and moved across the room. "She'll probably sleep for a few more hours. It's gonna hurt like a bitch when she wakes up." He settled into the chair in the corner and flashed me a grin.
"That's what Cleona said."
"She's not one to sugar coat things. Morelli going to be a problem?"
"Nothing I can't handle."
Bobby nodded and I gave him a salute before stepping out. "Don't kill him," he called and I shook my head. I was pretty sure it wouldn't come to that, but you never knew with Joe.
I picked up my gun on the way out and slipped it into the small of my back on the outside of my shirt. Didn't want Morelli to accuse me of trying to hide anything.
Tank was standing outside the door of the conference room when I arrived on the second floor.
"He's pacing like a caged animal in there. It doesn't help that Ace locked the door." I glanced at the frame and the deadbolt was indeed engaged. I gave Tank a raised eyebrow.
"I don't know," he said. "The kid is new. He panicked."
I rolled my eyes and reached into my pocket for my keys. Tank stopped me with a hand on my wrist before I got the lock opened. "Do you need me in there with you?"
I shook my head. "No. I think Joe and I need to have a one on one heart to heart. But…send Happy in with some bullshit paperwork in a few minutes. He scares the shit out of Morelli." It was juvenile, but I couldn't help myself.
A wide smile spread across Tank's face. "Happy scares the shit out of most people."
I unlocked the door and slipped inside the conference room. Joe was pacing in front of the window and spun around at the sound. "What the fuck, Manoso? You can't lock me up in here like a criminal. I could have you arrested for this."
I made a point of showing him my back when I shut the door so he could see my weapon. I didn't respond to his outburst and only gestured to a chair around the long table as I took a seat at its head.
"I don't want to sit. I want to see Steph."
I settled my elbows on the table and steepled my fingers under my chin, waiting.
"Jesus Christ," he finally muttered after we spent a few seconds staring each other down. He yanked out a chair close to me and dropped into it. "Will you at least tell me if she's okay?"
I leaned back in my tall chair and crossed my arms over my chest. "Where was all this concern for Stephanie when you were sticking your dick into anything that walked by you in a short skirt?"
Anger flashed hot behind his eyes and his hands curled into fists on top of the shiny gloss of the wood table, but he did not take the bait.
"Is she okay?"
"She's resting comfortably in our bed, but not up for receiving visitors."
As I'd intended, he bristled at the 'our bed' part and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. I wasn't sure what he thought he would accomplish by coming here but I was willing to let this play out – for a short time. If it went on too long I would remove him – physically, if necessary.
He opened his mouth to respond and Happy took that perfect moment to enter the room with a folder. I saw the fear in Joe's eyes for a split second before he locked it away behind his cop face.
Happy focused his most frightening gaze on Morelli and handed me the folder without a word and without looking away from Joe.
I glanced down as I opened it and saw it was filled with blank paper except for the first page which contained a note written in Happy's familiar, slanted script.
"I want to know what it feels like to put my foot up his ass."
I wanted to laugh, but thought that might send the wrong message to our guest. I cut my eyes to Happy's face and he handed me a pen, once again not looking away from Joe. I took it, responded to his note and scrawled my signature like it was an important document.
After I closed the folder, Happy took it from me, gave a curt nod and left the room. I would take bets the entire staff was gathered around a monitor, watching…and hoping for a fight.
"Was that little show supposed to intimidate me?" I knew it did - and he knew I knew.
"You're not going to see Steph so is there anything else I can help you with this evening?"
He ran a hand through his unruly hair in frustration. "When did you get married?" He asked after darting his eyes around the room.
Ah. And now we get to it. Since Stephanie's mother left a message earlier asking that same question, I should have known he would have heard the rumor.
I guess I could have told him that we're not actually married but I didn't want to give him any thread of hope he still had a chance, however miniscule it might be. "Her business stopped being any of your concern a long time ago, Joe. Look – I get it, I really do. I nearly let her end up with you and I would have spent the rest of my life regretting it, but this isn't doing any of us any good. It's time to let her go and move on or you're going to piss her off and she'll cut you out of her life completely. I know you don't want that and neither does she."
I, on the other hand, wouldn't have a single complaint about that.
I was expecting an ugly retort so when he slumped down in his chair in defeat, I was very surprised. "I fucked up," he nearly whispered and I was surprised again. I don't think I've ever seen this side of Morelli. I could be a dick here, but taking the high road was probably the better option.
"Yeah. But we all fuck up sometimes, it's human nature. The trick is not to do it again." I pushed back from the table and rose out of my chair. As a peace offering I stuck out my hand and Morelli stared at it for a good twenty seconds before he reluctantly conceded and shook it briefly.
"Tank will show you out," I said and then I left him, still slouched in the chair.
I knew it wasn't the end, but it felt like he was a least willing to except reality and the fallout from that doomed relationship might actually be on the upswing. I didn't care if he disappeared from the face of the earth but I knew if she could, Steph would always want to remain friends with him and making Stephanie happy was my number one priority.