I never thought it was possible to simultaneously feel relief and panic at the same time, but that's exactly what happened. I ended the call, shoved my phone in my pocket, and sprinted for the stairs.

I hit the garage door just as Tank and Ranger were pulling their gear from the vehicle. The sound of the door slamming open caused both of them to jump. Their hands whipped to their side arms.

Shit! I, of all people, knew better than to startle them. Especially since they were just coming off a mission. Guess my nerves are more twisted than I realize. "It's just me," I called as I held my hands up for them to see.

Both men relaxed, then turned back to their gear as I approached. "You're back early."

Tank nodded. "They didn't need us. The target was so soft that they could have sent anyone to free Striker."

That was good to know. "Easy money," I replied.

"Pretty much."

"How's Striker?" I asked.

Ranger slung his pack over his shoulder and turned to look at me. "He'll eventually be okay. They did work him over pretty well. Lots of broken bones. So, he'll need to spend some time at Walter Reed."

"He'll be coming here when he's well enough," Tank added. "Some of his injuries will prevent him from remaining on active duty."

That had my brows raising in surprise. Just how badly was Garrett injured? "That bad, huh?"

Ranger nodded.

"I'm sure he could take a desk job if he wanted," I said.

"We all know he's not desk jockey material," Tank replied.

He wasn't wrong. "And you think bringing him here will be better?"

Tank shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. We'll just have to wait and see."

"I can't wait to see Babe," Ranger said as he started toward the entrance door. "I'm surprised she wasn't the first one out here."

"Um…about Beautiful," I said. I'm not sure I'd finished my statement before he stopped short and turned to look at me. His eyes narrowed. "What about Stephanie?"

There were few people on the planet that could make me cringe and my cousin was one of them. Why did it seem that lately, I was always the one stuck handing out the bad news? "She's in the infirmary."

Ranger's eyes widened a fraction, otherwise, he didn't move or show any emotion. "Why is she in the infirmary? Who let her do something that got her hurt?"

I shook my head. "She's not injured. She's sick."

"What kind of sick," Tank asked.

"She has pneumonia," I replied.

Fear streaked across Ranger's face with lightning speed. He dropped his pack, turned, and ran for the door. Tank and I followed close behind.

Ranger was taking the steps two at a time, leaving me and Tank in his wake. He slammed through the stairwell door, then again, a moment later through the infirmary door. By the time we caught up with him, he was dropping into the chair next to Steph's bed while Bobby stared wide-eyed at him.

"You're back early," Bobby finally said.

Ignoring Bobby's statement, Ranger reached out and ran a finger along the side of Steph's face. "Babe." That one whispered word from him was laced with fear and pain.

Much to our surprise, Steph's eyes slowly opened. She turned her head slightly and locked her gaze on him. I could tell it was a fight for her to lift her hand, but she did in an obvious search for his. He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. "I'm here," he said, almost choking on the words. "I'm not leaving again."

She gave a nearly imperceptible nod, then slowly closed her eyes.

Ranger raked his free hand through his hair and turned his attention to me and Bobby. "What the hell happened?"

"It started with Sebastian Georgiou reaching out. He's opening a new business over and Cranbury. He knows that's out of our territory, but he wanted our input on the security system," I said.

"He asked for you," Bobby added. "Since you weren't here, Bomber took the call. She volunteered to meet with him a few days ago and she took Manny with her."

I picked up the story again. "They were returning to Haywood when they witnessed an accident. Apparently, a car came off a side road, crossed in front of them, and ran straight off into a pond. They stopped to help. When they realized, nobody was going to go into the water, Steph, and Manny dove into the pond."

"Steph had a pretty bad cold and probably should have postponed the meeting all together," Bobby said. "But you know Bomber. It's hard to talk her out of something once she has her mind set. "So, against my advice to postpone the meeting, she went."

"It turns out, there was a woman and a baby in the car," I said. "Manny got the mother out. Steph managed to get the baby out of the car seat in the back and to shore just as officers were arriving on the scene."

"According to Manny, the woman was knocked out cold," Bobby said. "He also said that he never even realized that there was a baby in the vehicle until Steph popped out of the water with her a minute or so later." He looked from where Steph lay then back to Ranger. "Bomber saved that baby's life."

"I believe Hector has the video saved," I said.

"There's a video of it?" Ranger asked.

I shook my head. "Not video of the incident. At least none we've found yet. There is a video of the news story." I pulled out my phone and texted Hector, who responded a moment later telling me to turn on the television on the wall in the infirmary.

As Ranger sat next to Steph's bed, holding her hand, he turned his attention to the screen.

"A New Jersey mother and daughter are alive today due to the quick action of two good Samaritans." The news anchor said. "NBC10's Erin Coleman has the report from Princeton Junction New Jersey."

"Well Jim, the incident happened right here on Cranbury Road at the edge of Grover's Mill Pond." She turned and motioned to the water behind her. "It was about this time yesterday afternoon when the Toyota Corolla barreled down this side road, blew through that stop sign-" She motioned to the sign. "Then crossed Cranbury Road, somehow missing the traffic, before proceeding straight into the large pond. Lucky for the female driver, it just so happened at that moment two good Samaritans would stop to help."

The video switched to pictures of Stephanie and Manny with the Rangeman logo between them.

"Stephanie Manoso, President of Sales and Client Relations, and Manuel Rodriguez, a security specialist for the Trenton-based security firm Rangeman, happened to be driving by when they witnessed the car plunge into the water. While other drivers called 911 for help, Mrs. Manoso and Mr. Rodriguez immediately jumped into action. Despite the cold temperatures and the chilly water, neither of them hesitated to dive into the pond, rescuing twenty-six-year-old Stella Ruiz and her four-month-old daughter Rosalyn from the sinking vehicle."

The video then returned to the reporter standing at the edge of the pond. "While the incident is still under investigation, we were told that Ms. Ruiz and her daughter were taken to a local hospital where they are reported to be in good condition. From Princeton Junction New Jersey, this is Erin Coleman reporting."

"With her being sick already, Bomber had no business jumping in the water," Bobby said. "But if she hadn't that baby might be dead right now."

I switched the television off and turned back to face Ranger. "All the swimming she was doing for her physical therapy ended up being so much more valuable than any of us could have imagined."

Ranger's gaze shifted back to Steph, and he leaned over to press a kiss to her temple. "Proud of you, Babe," he said.

"What's her prognosis?" Tank asked from where he'd been standing near the infirmary doors.

"We have her on antibiotics and her fever is nearly gone already, so Doctor Fisher and I are confident that she'll eventually make a full recovery," Bobby replied. "However, that scarring from her collapsed lung back in March is going to slow down the healing process. It's going to take her some time before she'll feel back to the level of normal, she'd recently reached."

"I should have told the General no," Ranger said. "If I'd been here, she would have never been in that water."

I knew he was going to travel down this path. "You can't do that, Primo. You can't blame yourself for what happened."

"Santos is right," Tank said. "You would have felt just as guilty if you'd passed on the mission and Striker died."

"Still," Ranger started to argue only to stop when Steph squeezed his hand. His gaze snapped to her face and all ours followed. Her eyes were open again and narrowed on him in what was an obvious expression of disapproval. Slowly she shook her head and tried to talk from behind the oxygen mask. "Don't," was the one word we all made out loud and clear.

I grinned. Even being as sick as she was, that spitfire personality was still showing through. "I think you better let that train of thought derail. Otherwise, she just might crawl out of that bed and kick your ass."

Ranger's lips tipped into a small smile as he stared down at her. "Message received, Babe. I just need you to keep getting better, okay?"

She nodded.

The infirmary doors opened, and Ram and Manny appeared. "There's the man of the hour." Tank slapped him on the back. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Manny replied as his attention focused on Ranger. The expression he wore was one of fear and remorse. "Ranger, I'm so sorry. It's my fault that Stephanie is sick. I should have protected her. I should have made sure she stayed out of the water."

I smirked at his apology. All of us knew there was only one person who could talk Beautiful out of doing something she'd set her mind to, and he was sitting next to her bed.

"Not that you could have," Ranger replied, "But if you somehow had been able to talk her into staying out of the water that baby would have died. As much as this situation sucks, you guys did the right thing."

The relief that crossed Manny's face was evident and his shoulders relaxed. "I'm glad you guys are back." He turned his attention to me. "I originally came to talk to you and Bobby, but since the entire core team is here, even better."

"What's up?" I asked.

"I went to see Stella and her daughter," he replied.

"And?"

"Well, originally, I only went to make sure they were both okay and to see if they needed anything. After talking with her, I think she might need our help."

"What do you mean?" Tank asked.

Manny looked over at Tank. "What happened wasn't an accident. Stella's ex-boyfriend beat the shit out of her, knocked her out, and stuffed her in that car with her daughter. He's the one who put the car in gear and let it roll down that road."

"Fucking dirtbag," Bobby growled.

I agreed and had to tamp down my rage as I turned my attention back to Manny. "I hope they found the prick."

Manny shook his head. "He's been on the run since it happened. Stella is terrified he's going to try it again."

"The police didn't provide her with any protection?" Tank asked.

Again, Manny shook his head. "I'd like permission to bring her and Rosalyn here until her ex is caught."

"The problem is, we don't have open apartments right now," I said.

"She can take my apartment," Manny said then motioned to Ram. "I asked Ram, and he said I could sleep on his couch until it's safe for her to return home."

"I don't have a problem with it," I said and looked at Ranger.

"Me either," he added.

"I'm good with it," Tank said, "But it's ridiculous for you to have to sleep on Ram's couch when I have an extra bedroom."

"Um…" Manny hesitated. "I appreciate the offer, but Applepuff doesn't like me."

Ram chuckled. "Applepuff doesn't like anyone but Tank, Ella, and Cal."

"And Casey," I added, pulling a raised brow from the big man.

"The maniacal Maine Coon likes your girlfriend?" Ram asked.

"Girlfriend?" Ranger echoed. "When did Casey go from being someone we were helping to your girlfriend."

I opened my mouth to reply only to have Bobby cut me off. "She'll soon be his fiancé."

"Woah." Tank held up a hand. "Wait a fucking minute." He looked over at Ranger. "Did we come back to an alternate universe?"

Ranger's shocked expression matched Tanks. "I don't know, but I'm pretty sure hell is officially freezing over."