Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. Typos are my bad.

Stephanie's POV

The moment I thought about blowing out my breath of frustration, Ranger's fingers swept my hair aside so he could massage the back of my neck. His big hand delivered a series of squeezes on my nape that tore a groan out of my pursed lips with how good his ministrations felt.

"Babe." He murmured against my forehead, slipping his other hand under the hem of my baggy sleep T-shirt. Wearing one of his T-shirts to bed helps keep me grounded when I wake up disoriented in the middle of the night after a nightmare. His familiar scent comforts me before I can even get a sense for my surroundings, finding him resting safely beside me.

"Can't sleep." I confessed, even though Ranger already knows that. It's not the first time, especially this week, that my insomnia has hit hard.

Ever since I was finally discharged from the hospital and I was sorta cleared by the men and women in suits, I flew with Ranger and the guys straight to Jersey. It's been just the two of us for the most part these past several months in what Ranger tried to pass off as a safe house initially, but I quickly deciphered is actually his decompression space. The Merry Men who were there in Arizona have kept in touch, yet have refrained from in person trips to lower the risk of the wrong party finding out that I'm alive and set to testify against Morelli. Necessities like food are no contact deliveries that Ranger brings inside. Surprisingly, the no outside world contact hasn't been super difficult to endure having Ranger by my side. We've had a lot of peace and quiet to coexist in our own bubble.

Without having to say a word, Ranger showed me that he understood. His touch was firm, yet comforting as he worked the knots product of my stressing for the day I've been waiting for so long. His magical hands had me dozing off without knowing it, relaxing me into a deep, dreamless sleep as he pressed me to his chest. Ranger is the best pillow.

I was jolted awake when I felt Ranger slipping away from my arms. He stopped his movements when he sensed me watching him closely, my arms automatically tightening around him.

"I'm heading to the gym, Babe." In another life I'd have scoffed at his invitation to accompany him on his workout before rolling over and going back to sleep. Currently, it sounds like a good idea to get moving. My time being cooped up has left me with the urge to be more active, unlike my more couch potato type lifestyle from the past.

"Yeah." I rasped in agreement, nodding through my yawn as I allowed him to pretty much drag me out of bed with him.

Ranger got ready faster, so I waved him to go to the basement gym ahead of me. One thing that hasn't and probably will never change is the fact that I'm not a morning person. It takes me some time to feel like a real human being after waking up, more so back when I was medicated up the wazoo.

Ranger was in his zone when I finally dragged myself onto one of the treadmills. After mere minutes it became glaringly obvious that even the mindless cardio workout wasn't enough for me this early in the day.

The arched eyebrow look Ranger shot my way as he was in the middle of a rep with his weights didn't go unnoticed by me. I told him walking or running wasn't going to cut it today. With his patented 'Babe' he showed me that he understood.

Luckily, the property has an indoor pool. It's a great size to swim laps in, which we've both taken advantage of these past several weeks. Knowing that Ranger doesn't have the indoor cameras activated in whichever room we're occupying, I shed my workout clothes and dove head first into the water in my birthday suit. Despite it being indoor and heated, the water's initial chill felt like a welcomed shock to my body.

I swam without worry, moving freely. Swimming has always been my favorite, to the point where I don't even consider it exercise. Mary Lou likes to joke that I'd be in the water daily if I could, growing some fins too.

I couldn't be sure how long it had been since I lost myself in the calming water when that distinct tingle on the back of my neck began. Despite being underwater, I knew Ranger was in here with me. Following the increasing tingling, I swam in the direction my body was telling me he was in. Sure enough, I surfaced straight into Ranger's strong arms.

"Babe." Just hearing his voice and being wrapped around him, feeling weightless, was enough to dissipate the near emotional drowning feeling attempting to have a chokehold on me.

"Ranger." I tightened my hold around his shoulders and hips as I kissed him with everything inside me.

Keeping the lip lock intact, I registered Ranger's movements as he got us out of the water. A small shiver wracked my frame as my body adjusted to being out of the heated pool. Trusting Ranger would get us to our destination, I focused on feeling as we shared kiss after kiss.

Like many previous early mornings while we've been cohabitating in his hidden space, we became one, clinging to each other repeatedly as we crested together under the multiple shower sprays. Zero words were exchanged as we expressed our love for each other, only the sounds of our passion and the water cascading over our heads reverberating around us.

Ranger had a travel mug of coffee and a quick yet healthy on the go bite to eat for me by the time I finished getting ready.

"Thank you." I took the offered items from his strong hands, leaning forward to kiss him. If one good thing has come from this whole nightmare, is that neither one of us is willing to waste another second. Long gone are all the second guessing and doubts. There's simply no time for the unnecessary self inflected torture.

The sun was just rising over the horizon as we hit the road, starting our over an hour long commute. For obvious reasons, we've stayed outside of Trenton. After today, the secrecy about my seeming resurrection will end and I'll be able to fully be free once again.

Ranger had just merged onto the interstate on-ramp when he got a call. The number that flashed on the screen was all too familiar.

"Hello." Ranger answered, opting to forgo his usual 'Yo' greeting.

"Mr. Mañoso…" My mother's voice floated out of the top of the line sound system. My heart began to race and a lump formed in my throat when she asked if he was going to be attending today's session. He's been notably absent for the previous trial days. Lucky for us that State trials are televised, so he stayed back with me as we streamed the trial online.

"Babe." Ranger asked as he kept his eyes on the road after disconnecting the call, knowing that this whole keeping away while regaining some semblance of freedom has been extremely difficult.

"I'm okay." It wasn't an outright lie, because I've been worse. Did I ever expect that my mother would reach out to him periodically during my time in captivity, sharing bits and pieces of my childhood with him? No, though I suppose it was a way to cope. Ranger confessed that he would look forward to my mother's messages, especially the photos she sent. I think she may have shared our whole family photo album with him in under a year.

As we neared the courthouse, I could see the commotion the media and spectators outside were already starting to create. I was extremely thankful for Ranger's tinted windows as we drove past the front of the courthouse, looping around to find parking in the designated underground garage. Also, it doesn't hurt that we have tight security details watching our back. From government peeps to Ranger's men, we've been anything but truly alone since my return to Jersey.

Taking a deep breath, I reached to unbuckle my seatbelt. It's showtime.

S&R

Ranger's POV

Babe's family, especially her mother, motioned for me to join them on the pew behind the prosecution's side. Being front and center gave me a limited view of the already packed courtroom. I would have rather had my back to a wall, yet this is better since I'll be closer to Stephanie as she's testifying.

Murmurs, whispers and the heat of several stares weren't enough to remove my focus from Babe as she took the stand. Keeping eye contact with her as much as possible will remind her that even though she went through so much torture alone, she's no longer on her own.

DA De Palma has had a long standing reputation as she rose up the ranks. She's known to go hard to ensure victims get the justice they deserve. Although you can't always win, DA De Palma makes sure all her ducks are in a row.

Starting off strong, De Palma asked Stephanie to share how she knew Morelli. Despite Morelli's lackluster defense attorney attempting to derail the line of questioning, his objection was overruled.

"We grew up a few streets over…" Babe swallowed when she was instructed to speak up. After closing her eyes briefly, she found me in the onlooking crowd and squared her shoulders as she recounted her turbulent history of abuse with Morelli.

"Objection! Irrelevant." Morelli's lawyer looks panicked, making it obvious that he hasn't kept up with his client's case like he should have. Had his head been in the game instead of being cocky about what he claimed would be an 'easy win', he would have had some time to prepare. Not a lot, but some.

De Palma grinned when Judge Romano overruled the objection, siding with the DA's reasoning as his curiosity peaked. From then, De Palma had an easy roadmap that led to Babe recounting the events of that night. Morelli was camping in her apartment, awaiting her return. He'd been drinking, stewing in his wounded pride after being told Stephanie had been spotted heading to Rangeman to spend the night. Babe explained that she and Morelli had not been together for a long time before that night, meaning his show was definitely out of place. Whatever pathetic excuses Morelli came up with in his head for his actions, not just that night but every single time he hurt Stephanie, are beyond pathetic. He knew ambushing her was his best bet, taking full advantage of that opening. Stephanie fought him off as best as she could despite the repeated low blows that morphed into stabbing shortly after. She scratched, slapped and kicked him to no avail. Morelli had the upper hand from the start, so once she was down it was nearly impossible for Babe to bounce back on her feet.

How did Babe end up in Mexico after Morelli thought he dumped her in the Atlantic, specifically near Point Pleasant as his final jab to her? The idiot thought he'd covered all his bases, yet never realized he'd been under surveillance for a long time. The same person who told him about Babe's late night trip was watching his every move all along. Wanting to have a bargaining chip, Morelli was played by someone who thought they were owed a lot more than what life had given them.

The Grizzoli clan was one of the bigger groups running Trenton in its heyday. The Grizzolis claim to be out of that old school mobster lifestyle, but we all know that's a load of bull. As old man Grizzoli has aged with the inevitable passage of time, his niece Terri Gilman has taken over not just the public liaison aspects of the business. Vito Grizzoli's past came knocking one day when an alleged son appeared out of the blue. Babe told me that it was a big buzz in the Burg, especially when said 'son' wanted to have his 'birthright throne' handed over to him. Grizzoli scoffed, told the young man that wasn't going to happen and moved forward with his transfer of power and influence to his niece, Terri. Or at least, that's what word on the street says. Grizzoli's alleged son, Vito Junior, did not take that lightly, brewing additional hatred for the man and his clan. It took a lot of digging after Babe escaped and shared every detail she had committed to memory despite her horrid trek for us to shift our angle. Vito Junior was out for blood, concocting what he thought was a fool proof plan. Either he got what he wanted, or he'd get what he wanted after applying some pressure. Grizzoli was not a fan of the blackmail, so let's just say Junior was recently served on a silver platter to the feds. It was difficult to believe that Grizzoli and his clan were really in the dark about everything his wannabe successor did behind the scenes with his friends from across the border, yet a compromise needed to be made. Hector is still working his connection on the streets to confirm that Junior really did keep his plans to himself here in Jersey. I've warned both Grizzoli and Gilman that I won't hesitate to retaliate against them if they're lying. There's a reason why I made an example out of Abruzzi all those years ago.

The defense scrambled to cross examine Babe, but it was innecfecrive. The murmurings in the courtroom were so rampant that Judge Romano had to call order. Morelli's smug expression, the one he's sported all trial up until today, finally vanished once and for all. Though he wasn't behind Babe's horrendous time in a less than qualified psychiatric clinic, Morelli intended for her to die. She would have drowned, her body scavenged by wildlife, had Junior Grizzoli not scooped her out for his own selfish gains. In my book, Morelli deserves to rot in prison. In fact, he should have been there long ago as death would be too good for him.

As Babe made her way off the stand, she didn't even give Morelli a second glance. Her blue eyes were locked with mine as her heels echoed as she made her way straight towards me. Scooting over to the right, I reached my hand out to take hers as she moved past me to take a seat on the pew between me and her Grandma Mazur.

"Babe." I whispered, knowing that she would decipher it to mean how proud of her strength I am. The squeeze she gave my hand was enough confirmation that she understood.

Flicking my gaze to Babe's lap, I basked in the scene before me as she clutched my left hand with her right one, and her grandmother's with her left one. Sandwiched between the two people who quite possibly love her the most, Babe let out the breath she'd been holding.

Home. She's finally free and home.