Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. Typos are my bad and I post as I can.
Ranger's POV
A chill ran up the length of my spine, jolting me out of my slumber. Staring straight up at the ceiling, within two blinks I knew that I was in my bedroom on seven.
Working on my long ago perfected quick sleep method, a skill I learned while I was out in the field, my progress was derailed when my body sensed a presence. Snapping my eyes towards my bedroom door, I easily spotted a figure hovering by my open doorway. I've left my bedroom door open for a long time now, hoping to have this specific visitor coming back to me.
"Oh, sorry, Ranger." Her sweet voice and her nervous chuckle fills my bedroom as she shuffles slowly into the room.
Babe.
I'm not sure if I voiced my name for her, yet I do know that my mouth moved. Understanding me so well, Babe padded closer as if on autopilot.
"It was so freakin' cold in my apartment. Burrr." With a laugh, her way of making fun of herself instead of feeling down, Stephanie shared why she was barging into my bedroom this late. "Even with three blankets, I was freezing my ass off!" Tugging on the blanket she wrapped herself in to make the trip from her place to Rangeman, Babe emphasized her predicament. "I didn't know you were back already." Sheepishly, her smile making my heart skip a beat as I watched her from my spot on my bed. "I can sleep on the couch or if there's an apartment available on four, Rex and I can…" Trailing off, Babe bit her bottom lip when I raised my hand for her to stop rambling.
"Babe." Was as much as I said before I peeled the covers back in open invitation for her to join me.
Grinning wide, Babe didn't need to be told twice. She understood perfectly, instantly accepting the invitation. Crawling onto the foot of the bed, she quickly took her position beside me on what I've long ago considered her side of the bed.
"Thanks." Her breath ghosted against my neck as she huddled under my covers and her fluffy Ghostbusters blanket.
I watched, studied her even, as she shivered while trying to adjust the warmth. Reaching for my phone, I adjusted the temperature in the room to speed up the process. Settling my phone back on its charging pad on my nightstand, it didn't take long for the added heat to get to me.
"Sorry for disturbing your sleep." Babe murmured, her face obscured in partial shadows. She'd left the hall light on, not bothering to close the door in her wake either. That light spilling into my bedroom allowed me to see her mostly clearly, so turning off the light myself wasn't a high priority. "You must be tired." She stated, her blue eyes watching me closely.
"Tired isn't what I am when I'm with you, Babe." I replied, innuendo heavy in my voice as I continued to appease her worry that she was interrupting my slumber. She can barge in whenever she wants. "Especially when you're in my bed."
I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting as her response. Perhaps a nervous chuckle, or her legendary avoidance, but instead of changing the subject Babe's reply was a bold one.
"That's big talk, Ranger." Babe grumbled, telling it like it was right to my face. And it wasn't murmuring under her breath like when she lets her thoughts slip out without intending to. No, Babe spoke unwaveringly. "Your words and your actions don't tend to match." Her huff after pointing out that my innuendo and flirting should be acted upon further shifted the atmosphere between us. It definitely felt like she was egging me, daring me even, to put my money where my mouth is. It's that or piss off.
"You think it's a lie?" I roared, moving quickly before she could bolt out of bed and run away like she does whenever she feels overwhelmed. "Does it feel like a lie? Hmm?" I growled as I hovered over her smaller body, shoving the covers out of my way so that she could feel all of me pressing her firmly into the mattress. "Answer me, Stephanie?"
Her eyes remain locked with my dark ones, not daring to break the spell. This is when she'd typically take a step back, put some space between us and pump the breaks heavily. Tonight, she's looking at me like for once she has every idea of what I want to do to her and isn't going to stop me. She wants me. That's never been a question. No, it's the knowledge that she'll shatter me when she inevitably walks out of my life that typically holds me back.
Babe jutting her chin out, keeping the eye contact uninterrupted, caused my careful control to snap. Forgoing proper decompressing time after my latest government mission seemed like a good idea when I decided to drive straight to Haywood after getting off a plane instead of heading directly to a safe house, yet as I lean down to crash my lips roughly over hers I'm reminded of the animal I can be.
"You know it's real." I growled against her lips as we worked together to get her out of the multiple layers of clothing. "You know it, Babe." I declared, kissing every inch I could reach as she got as naked as I was. "You feel it…" Growling against her skin as I helped her peel off everything in my way, I threw restraint out the window.
Conceivably, rough and raw were apt descriptions of the couplings we shared. Repeatedly. Sleep only came after utter exhaustion and multiple joint orgasms, both of us feeling hoarse after screaming each other's name time after time.
When I woke up, the first signs of daylight were in the process of illuminating the distant horizon. Confusion, as well as a parched throat, had my heart beating erratically. I don't usually sleep late enough that dawn rays creep up on me, yet here I am.
In my partial confusion as consciousness attempted to take over, one person was fully on my mind: Babe.
"Babe!" I blurted out, immediately reaching over only to find empty, cold and undisturbed sheets beside me.
It was a dream. Again. She wasn't here with me last night. Stephanie hasn't for so long now.
Glaring up at the ceiling, the overwhelming reality hit me full force as consciousness fully took over. Unchecked emotions used to be uncommon for me in the past, before she came into my life, but not in the present. Tears, a product of sadness, impotence and anger, filled my eyes before inevitably running down my cheeks.
S&R
Bobby's POV
"He's been going at that bag nonstop this morning." Lester surmised when I joined the men's watch party in the gym. Glancing towards the punching bags, I confirmed with my own eyes that Ranger in fact was on the verge of wearing himself out with how violently he was hitting the inanimate object.
Sharing a silent look with Lester, Cal and Hal we all knew that Ranger must have had the same recurring dream last night. Glancing back at our friend, we each were swallowed up in our dark, silent thoughts.
A year ago today, Ranger returned from a pretty tough mission. He passed his check up and debrief upon his return, which was expected, yet he skipped his usual decompression time in one of our safehouses before returning to Rangeman to resume his civilian life. That night, although he had the sense of thought to delay visiting Bomber, like a moth to a flame she came straight to Rangeman in the middle of the night. Her cellphone and car trackers showed her moving directly here just after he arrived, the drive quick at that late hour. I don't think she knew she'd find Ranger in his apartment, however, I'm positive it was a nice surprise. Those two shared a love and deep connection that not many of us have experienced in our lives. It's possible Ranger may never feel that same connection with anyone else ever again, which makes the reality such a devastating one.
None of us know exactly what happened between the two that night. Ranger sported some serious, visible even, scratches and love bites the morning after, so we have a pretty good idea of how they spent some of their reunion. Stephanie was long gone by the time he rolled into the gym, super late for his typical schedule the morning after. That morning we speculated they'd had a fight or something, since it was unusual for him not to go straight to her apartment once he felt recentered enough. Hector pulled up the camera feeds, showing Bomber leaving just around dawn. Wrapped in a blanket, she climbed into her latest crap SUV and drove out of the underground parking garage. That's the last time she was caught on surveillance, save for a business on Hamilton Ave that caught her SUV driving past on her way back to her apartment.
No one has seen her since.
Based on our own investigation and the little the authorities have publicly shared, Morelli was camped out in her living room waiting for her. It's widely believed that he snapped, most likely when he saw the same obvious love marks on Stephanie upon her return to her apartment, yet I fully believe that he'd planned the attack. That's the only reason why he had such a head start to do the heinous things we can only imagine, clean up as best as he could, and resume his normal activities to evade suspicion. It wouldn't be until that night, that Ranger finally couldn't take the radio silence anymore and went in search of Stephanie. Despite his best efforts, Morelli was never going to be able to hide how much bloodshed happened in that apartment. Ranger immediately registered the heavy smell of clorox and other cleaning products, calling it in to get both Rangeman and the police on scene. He felt it in his core that something was very, very wrong. I'm positive the only reason Morelli is currently still breathing, particularly after Ranger caught up with him, is simply because the asshole won't talk.
The circumstantial evidence, along with how many fingers were pointed his way, ensured charges were brought up against Morelli. Luckily, Ranger's influence and Morelli's past meant that there was no chance in hell that Morelli would have a shot at bail. He's been sitting behind bars awaiting his trial. The motherfucker has looked smug through every preliminary hearing, feeling confident that no body means he'll get to walk free.
Ranger let out a pain filled howl type of sound, upping his movements. He will knock himself out if he keeps going like this. Sadly, this isn't the first time this has happened. We've learned to hang back, let him get the raw emotions out, and only step in when he's bordering on being a threat to himself and those around him. We can feel his pain, yet none of us really know what he's feeling.
Not finding Stephanie kept our hope alive for so long. Regardless of how much we want for her to be okay, realistically we know that we, along with the authorities, have shifted to look for remains. The most plausible theory given everything we've uncovered is that Morelli disposed of her body in the Atlantic. He ensured the most surefire way to inflict so much damage, yet strip us all of closure, extending our search infinitely.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, in sync with Lester and Cal beside me.
Hector got a call from Homeland Security. A border patrol agent came across a discovery by the Arizona/Mexico border during his night patrol. I'm joining the conference call to get details on the Jane Doe.
Locking eyes with my brothers in arms, my heart nearly beat out of my chest after reading Tank's emergency text. We all understood what this meant. This could be it. We may finally be able to bring Bomber home.
"Keep an eye on him." I said to both Hal and Cal, not even waiting for their affirmative head nod before Lester and I hauled ass to the fifth floor.
It took me longer than I'd like to admit to fully process what I heard as I burst into Hector's office at the end of the hall. It's safe to say that we all waited with bated breath as the secure connection loaded the incoming image. Hope wavered within us all, both wanting confirmation that she's been finally found yet being afraid of what we were about to see.
A collective rush of air left our lungs as we stared at the image on Hec's massive screen.
She's alive!
Looking very worse for wear, but there's no doubt in any of our minds, or our hearts, that we're staring at a current photograph of Stephanie. Our Bomber.
"Let's bring our girl home!" Lester shouted enthusiastically, earning him a glare from Tank as the loud cheer partially muffled out the agent on the line.
We're on our way, Bomber.