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

Morelli's POV

Finally! I thought as I angled behind the wheel. Scrubbing my left hand over my face, I cranked the engine of my SUV and let out a long sigh as my AC blasted much needed cold air. After being in a POS unmarked cruiser that has shitty ventilation since the wee hours of the morning, this is glorious. I was sweating my balls off and it's not even summer!

As my stomach rumbled, I contemplated my options. Hitting a drive thru would be the most convenient, but not as good as one of Pino's signature subs. Making up my mind, I reached for my cell and scrolled through my contacts as I waited at a red light.

"Pinos." Ignoring the snappy greeting, I placed my order for pick up and disconnected just as the light turned green.

Grumbling, I sighed too heavily in my hangry state when I realized the only parking spot left was right next to the full dumpster by the back of the cramped lot. Holding my breath to avoid ruining my appetite, I hauled ass towards the entrance. Seriously, did the whole town decide not to cook dinner? The place is bustling, busier than lunch rush.

Suppressing the urge to roll my eyes was quite the effort as the waitress/cashier was busy taking a long order on the phone while simultaneously trying to ring up an indecisive patron. The rumbling in my stomach won over being polite, so I stepped around the woman still perusing the paper menu. Grabbing the paper bag with my name scribbled on it, I gestured to Pino that I'd be taking a seat at the solo table in the far corner. The one seater is usually where the staff takes their meal breaks, yet despite the cramped space it'll do for my purposes. Swiping an ice cold beer bottle from the fridge next to the register, I took a seat and devoured my meal.

Once I cleared my plate, I sipped the remainder of my beer while looking out the window. Once my body began to ache, I knew I had to get a move on it before I fully cooled off from a day of activity. It's getting harder and harder to ignore the fact that I'm getting older. Plus, every time the weather gets a little colder and gloomier my leg loves to remind me of the time Cupcake jumped the curb and hit me with her father's Buick. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

"Did you hear about what happened to Stephanie Plum?" Ginevra Amato was a little too giddy in sharing the newest Cupcake gossip. So much for Amato's wannabe old fashioned Burg housewife facade, out here buying dinner instead of making it from scratch. Who's the fraud, huh?

"Uhmm, no." Pino's daughter, Elizabeth, is now old enough to man the register after school. The poor teen is in her last year of high school and likely doesn't give a shit about this town's gossip unless it pertains to her peers. She couldn't look less interested if she tried.

"Well, let me tell you." Amato went on to say that Cupcake was taken via ambulance to St. Francis and then transferred to Capital Health to be admitted.

My ears perked up, wanting to know what was up. Frowning, I'm actually surprised that my phone hasn't gone off with endless calls yet. Even though we've been broken up for a solid while now, the Burg doesn't care about that. The gossipers love to keep me informed about Cupcake's mishaps. They get some sort of sick, twisted kick out of it.

"Uhmmm." Elizabeth's eyes got wide as she cleared her throat, trying to silently give Amato the heads up that I was hovering behind her. That's one thing Manoso is on point about. Gotta be aware of your surroundings at all times. I'll give him that.

"Rumor is that this time Joe Morelli's temper got the best of him." Amato laughed that bitchy cackling sound she does, spreading some bullshit gossip about me putting my hands on Cupcake.

"Where the hell did you get that bullshit rumor from?!" I bellowed, getting in Amato's face. One thing about the Burg gossipers is that they'll say all kinds of shit behind your back, but never to your face.

"Oh, my." Amato tried to backtrack, clearly wanting to retract her lies after I confronted her.

Slamming a twenty on the counter, I glared at Amato before I turned on my heel and stormed out. By the time I reached my truck, I was already on the phone to find out if it was true that Cupcake was admitted and why.

When my cousin couldn't give me much insight, saying that whatever is going on with Stephanie was being kept very hush hush, I planned on calling Helen as soon as I disconnected. This may just be the first time that no one at St. Francis was able to give me an update on Cupcake's condition. That was odd. Very, very odd.

"Only thing I know is that the Ranger guy is calling the shots." My cousin, Gabriella, whispered, telling me in no uncertain terms that word around the halls of St. Francis is that there will be severe administrative punishments for anyone attempting to access Cupcake's file that wasn't on her care team.

"Hmm." I muttered under my breath that of course Manoso had to be involved in the whole secretive conspiracy of it all.

"Is it true?" Gabriella's question cut through my racing thoughts as I cranked the ignition. "Are you really responsible for, you know, with Stephanie?"

"What?!" I growled, shocked that she too believed the gossipy grapevine. "Of course not!" It's unbelievable that even my own cousin is listening to the wagging tongues of this town! Nevermind the fact that I haven't even seen Cupcake for the past several months. We'd have to be in each other's orbit for me to be able to do the deluded monstrosity this town I just invented and accused me of.

"Gotta go." Gabriella was quick to cut our conversation short, not wanting to be the one to take the heat for the lies already circulating in the Burg.

"Joseph!" Helen answered on the first ring, rushing to fill me in on the recent phone call she just had with Mary Lou and Manoso.

"Yeah, it sounds like he has some sort of legal document to do that." I said to Helen, acknowledging that I've also heard that Manoso is heading off Cupcake's medical decision making at the moment. "I'm on my way to Capital Health." After promising to keep her updated, I sped towards the hospital.

There's no way Manoso and Cupcake are legally bound. There's absolutely no fucking way! He's got to be bluffling. Yeah, that's gotta be it. The lunatic is trying to isolate her from everyone, including her family, so that he can do whatever his controlling asshole mind comes up with. He's taking advantage of Cupcake's indisposed state to take over. That's gotta be it.

"Fucker probably has a power of attorney or some shit." I muttered to myself, maneuvering heavily to go around slow moving vehicles. It's past traffic rush, so the cars should be moving, not driving slow as hell!

Cupcake is not Manoso's wife. There is absolutely no way she married him and not me. I refuse to believe his mercenary lies.

S&R

Ranger's POV

I walked to Babe's bedside, sitting on the lone chair after positioning it just right so that I could watch her sleeping form and still have a clear shot of the doorway. After telling her mother to back off, I anticipate that Helen Plum will try to get her way. I expect she'll let her pal Morelli in on our conversation and send him to do her dirty work. The woman will not let this go so easily.

The heat of Mary Lou's stare wasn't enough to distract me from scanning my eyes over Babe's still form. Stephanie has been through so much, yet has managed to navigate the aftermath of horrific and traumatic events that many others wouldn't be able to overcome. If her mother or Morelli sink their claws into Stephanie during this vulnerable state, they'll ruin her for life. I won't let that happen.

"Please keep me posted." Mary Lou's voice cracked with the request, her soft voice making her seem tinier than she already is.

I nodded minutely, just enough for her to know that I heard her. Her footsteps resounded in the otherwise quiet room, meshing with the beeping sounds of Babe's monitoring equipment.

"Get better, Stephanie." After walking to the other side of Babe's bed, Mary Lou bent to whisper her well wishes against Babe's left ear before she kissed her cheek.

When we were alone, I couldn't help but let my mind wander. Would Stephanie have told me about her pregnancy suspicions had I not been such an idiot? What if she had been pregnant? Could that have changed her silence?

So many questions that I likely won't get answers to until Babe's truly back. Doctor Bankey's priority is tackling the brain swelling while performing additional tests. Although there's no guarantee that once the swelling subsides Babe will be back to her old self, Bobby thinks it's a good place to start.

My phone buzzing in my pocket interrupted my memories of Babe's sensual lips scattering open mouth kisses across my bare chest while we enjoyed our private slice of paradise in Hawaii. Answering without checking the screen, I knew who it was before the line connected.

"Morelli's tracker puts him headed your way, Boss." Ram, on monitors, called to give me the heads up and ask if I wanted one of the patrol units to intercept him.

"I'll deal with him." Disconnecting, I stood to cut Morelli off before he disturbs Stephanie or causes a scene downstairs. "I'll be right back, Babe." I promised, bending at the waist to be able to kiss her forehead.

Bobby was on his way back to Babe's room, giving me a curt nod as I reached the hall. Without a word, he knows I want him to be by Stephanie's side until I return.

Taking the stairwell, I made quick work of the steps. By the time I reached an exit leading to the front parking lot, I noted how gloomy the sky was. A dark, rainy end to the day seems fitting given the events of the day.

Easily spotting Morelli's green SUV, I stayed where he could easily see me. The scowl that filled his face was my indication that he saw me. As I knew he would, he took one of the reserved spots for law enforcement right near the hospital's front doors.

"You can't keep Cupcake from her family and loved ones." Morelli spewed his typical loud tirade as soon as his door swung open. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"You're not a loved one." I drilled him with my gaze, keeping my arms crossed over my chest so the fucker doesn't try to cry wolf and say I had my hand on one of my weapons. "And, yes I can."

"No you can't…"

Before he could continue, I told him that I absolutely can and will keep him and the Burg away from Stephanie. If I get my way, they'll never be able to hurt her again.

"I can do whatever I want."

Morelli shut his mouth as soon as I reminded him that he's already on extremely thin ice with his department. The new Chief of Police has taken a vow to clean up the streets, including the halls of his precinct. Morelli's long history of abuse of power has finally landed him on the business end of disciplinary actions. As much as he wants to make a huge scene and wield his badge around, he knows that he can't. Like the coward he is, Morelli isn't shit without using his authority to intimidate to get what he wants.

"You're not married." Morelli bit out instead, remaining rooted to the asphalt under his feet. "Cupcake would never marry you." Crossing his arms across his chest, Morelli tried his hardest to mirror my stance as he puffed up his chest.

"No, Stephanie wouldn't marry you." Without wasting another second, I turned on my heel to head back inside. The slew of expletives Morelli let out once my back was turned was quite pathetic.

Knowing that regardless of how much hell Morelli, Helen or both raise, none of their efforts to disprove my claims will be successful allowed me to shift my focus back on Babe. Solely on Babe. As hard as they look, no one will be able to weasel their way in to demand answers to questions they aren't privy to know at this time. Or ever, if I get my way. Legally, I am Stephanie's husband. We committed ourselves in Hawaii, the beauty and magic of the island giving us our much needed slice of heaven as we created what was an impenetrable bubble, even if it was short lived. That last morning we spent in Hawaii was gloomy just like it is now, causing Stephanie to curl herself against my side in response to the chilly air. The close contact of our nude bodies led to some amazing lazy sex that morning as we loved each other for long hours. And just when we'd finally peeled our slicked with sweat bodies from the sheets, showered and dressed to head out to have a late breakfast, Morelli had to show up and ruin it all.

As I retook my seat by Babe's bedside, I pondered the possibilities. Had I not been focused on beating the shit out of Morelli for not only interrupting but also making him retract all the degrading shit he spewed at Stephanie, it's possible Babe wouldn't have zapped us both and bolted from Hawaii. I know I'm just as responsible for not working things out when we returned to Trenton. If I'd known there was a possibility that Babe was pregnant, a product of our time in Hawaii…

Fuck!

"You know she's gonna kick your ass when she finds out about it." Bobby isn't much of a jokester, yet he was spot on with this brief moment of levity.

I couldn't help the smile that tugged on the corner of my mouth in response to the mental image of what that will look like. "Oh I'm counting on it."

When, not if, Babe remembers everything, I'll be ready to face head on the consequences of what I've unleashed today. Hector could have dissolved and made our marriage disappear from the paper trail the moment I gave him the order, yet I never did. Babe can focus her full wrath on me for the brewing storm that's morphing into a deluge right about now.