My heart stopped. The sounds of a scuffle continued and I anxiously chewed my lip, desperate for answers. Finally Zero's voice came through the mike. "Subject is restrained Boss. We need an ambulance. Morelli has a stab wound on his right upper leg, didn't hit the artery and appears to have a concussion and possible broken ribs. Junior will remain on scene for police, Hector and I are heading back to base."

"Oh god, Joe." I whispered.

"I'll drive you to the hospital." Ranger said calmly, reaching out to help me up.

"No need. My stalker is caught, the threat is over. I'll drive myself." I said, in no mood to hang out with Ranger. It was his fault that Joe was out there injured.

"Babe." Ranger said and raised an eyebrow as he took my hands. I glanced down and was surprised to see them shaking. "Let me drive you there and then you can tell me to go away, or you can yell and rage if it will make you feel better."

I grumbled to myself but admitted he had a point- it was a not a good idea for me to drive myself anywhere right now. The drive passed in silence, with Ranger in his zone and myself not having anything to say.

We got to the hospital and I immediately went up to the front desk, recognizing the guy working from the Burg. Daniel had been a year younger than me and had dated one of my best friends.

"You want to know about Morelli." Daniel said before I even opened my mouth. I nodded shakily "He's ok. The doctor has stitched up his leg and sent him back for X-rays of his ribs. He's going to have to take it easy for the next little while." I must have still looked concerned because he smiled at me reassuringly. "Steph. He's had worse. Hell, you and your car have given him worse."

I flushed at bit at that reminder. "He was an ass. He deserved those injuries. These ones he got for me."

Daniel smiled at that. "I'm sure he doesn't regret getting either." He glanced down at the computer and then back at me. "He's just been brought back to his room if you'd like to go see him. Room 221."

I thanked him and moved down the hall with Ranger silently tailing me. Sadly I'm familiar enough with this hospital that I didn't need any directions and was soon hesitating outside Joe's room. Ranger leaned back against the wall and pulled out his phone.

"Come on Cupcake. Don't get shy on me now. Get in here." Joe called out.

I slipped in and looked him over. Besides a black eye and swollen face, he didn't look too bad and I carefully hugged him. "I'm still mad at you." Joe snorted. "No seriously. When you don't look so pathetic, I'm going to give you hell. So be ready for that."

"Anytime Steph, I look forward to it."

I kissed his cheek. "Thank you. But don't do it again. I don't want to lose you Joe. You're my best friend and I want to see how our friendship grows."

"No promises Cupcake. You're my best friend too and I'm always going to do what I have to, to keep you safe." He shifted to grab my hand before groaning and switching to holding his ribs. "Though if you could hold off for a little while so I can heal, I'd appreciate it."

"No promises." I shot back. I sat with him while we waited for the doctor to come in and we caught up on the last few weeks we'd spent apart.

Finally the doctor came in with his X-rays and confirmed that Joe had 3 broken ribs. He agreed that Joe could be checked out of the hospital but that someone should be taking care of him for the next week or so. He made his exit and I looked at Joe guiltily, knowing that watching him used to be my job.

"My mom will be thrilled." He said easily.

"The physical torture wasn't enough for you, now you're going to sign up for some emotional pain." I joked. "You know I could still stay with you. You've got the guest room."

"Tempting Cupcake. But probably not a good idea til we have the whole 'just friends' figured out. Besides that's your mom. Mine thinks I'm great."

"Ah right, loving and supportive parents. Whats that like?" I quipped back laughing. "I'm glad you're ok Joe. And I'm glad we're ok. You call me if you change your mind." I waved goodbye and slipped out of his room, having no desire to be there when Joe's mom arrived and found out he was injured because of me.

Ranger once again fell in step beside me and I chose to ignore him for now. I felt more reasonable since I'd seen Joe for myself, no longer picturing the worst from hearing him beaten. We got in the car and he wordlessly pulled out and started heading for my apartment. Partway there, Ranger broke the silence. "The police have Ricky in custody, they've listened to the tape and got Morelli's testimony. When they interrogated him he admitted to killing 4 men and where he buried the bodies. He insisted that once you heard about what he did for you, you'd understand and that you'd wait for him. Full confession, he's going to be in prison for a long time."

I nodded and tiredly spoke up. "Could you stop at the park up here. We need to talk about some things."

He stared at my wordlessly for a moment but pulled into the park as requested. I instantly jumped out and moved down the path, knowing he would be behind me. The park was a good mix of open area and light woods with a fast moving river through the middle. I walked to a bench in the middle of the grass, where no-one would be able to listen in without us knowing.

"You crossed a lot of boundaries today and I don't know if I can get over that." I said quietly. "I was trying today, trying to be honest and smart about the risks I was facing. I know I didn't start off well on this one and you guys were right to call me out on it but even when I was working with you, you still treated me like an inferior."

"I'm sorry that you were upset Steph. But I kept you safe and that's my bottom line." Ranger replied. "Yes you gave us the information and helped figure out the culprit but you still refuse to listen to our expertise. We know the safest way to handle these situations and you are still stuck on your pride and need to prove yourself."

"I don't have a need to prove myself! I get it. I am no where near as capable as you are, I can barely handle my FTA's and I know when I am out of my league!" I yelled. So much for keeping my temper. "You guys don't want me to be the one at risk. Your plans are not always the safest ways because you prioritize me more than anyone else! And its not fair Ranger. You guys are my friends, my family and I have to watch you guys risk your lives rather than have me get hurt. But worse than that is you take away my choice when I dare disagree with you. I am my own person. I choose what happens to me and what I do. I was willing to work with you, to wear the bugs, to have my bodyguards and to give up most of my freedom but it still wasn't enough for you. Would you have detained any of your men if they were the ones at risk, if they decided that they didn't want to hide away while their friends purposefully put themselves on the line? Of course not! You would argue, try ordering and then you would work with them to make a plan."

"You're right. God you make me crazy Babe. I am trained to compartmentalize, to make a plan of action without letting emotions get in the way. But when you are involved, it's impossible for me to keep my feelings separate. I know that you are more capable than any one of us give you credit for, you wouldn't be alive if that wasn't the case. And you can work a case with the best of them. But every part of me rebels at the thought of letting some scum ball get near you. You aren't inferior to anybody, and I promise that I'll remember that we are working together as a team."

"You better, because I swear to god Ranger. If you ever take away my choice again, I will walk away from you and I won't come back. Now that this is over I need some - team!" I suddenly shrieked, ranger's last words clicking in my thoughts. Ranger actually flinched at my sudden outburst. "Oh god, I'm such an idiot! Actually we both are idiots! How the hell did he abduct that guy at the station, murder him, print the photo and drop it off while we were still at the station! We couldn't have been more than 15 minutes! And it's at least 12 minutes to Rangeman."

Ranger froze staring at me. "Fuck."