Some of you were quick with possibilities of what could have happened to Stephanie. Here's the continuation.
Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. Typos are my bad.
Ranger's POV
With Bobby riding with Babe, I followed behind the ambulance rig in my truck. Making some calls, I knew Hector would have some answers for me after he tracks Babe's movements for the day.
As I sped in the direction of St. Francis, keeping the ambulance in my sights, I wracked my brain for clues. I spoke to her at the Bonds office yesterday afternoon, and Babe was her usual self. I walked in while the women were sharing a box of donuts Babe likely picked up from the Tasty Pastry that morning. We stepped out to the alley, where I asked Babe for assistance on an upcoming distraction job. I also reminded her that Rangeman had plenty of work with her name on it if she wanted it. Before we parted ways, I kissed her so thoroughly that I knew which flavored donut she had consumed just minutes before. Unable to curb my curiosity, I periodically checked her trackers last night. She was back at her apartment by nineteen hundred hours, after stopping to have dinner at her sister's house. She was stationary until I myself called it a day, crawling into my empty bed around midnight.
Arriving at St. Francis, I parked in the first open spot I found and hauled ass inside the emergency room. As expected, there was no info the triage nurse could give me just yet, so I had to wait. Unable to sit still, I resorted to standing with my back to the wall as I faced the sliding glass doors leading out to the parking lot.
Hector thankfully works fast, pulling miracles when we need his expertise the most. Pulling out my wireless earbuds from my pocket, I took advantage of the privacy this corner section of the waiting room offered. Answering Hector's video conference call, I noted I'd been waiting for a little over an hour with no news from Bobby.
"Report." I said to Hector, wasting no time with pleasantries.
Hector explained that he started off by retracing Babe's steps, starting with her arrival at Rangeman minutes before me, back to the TPD and so on.
"Estefania left her apartment at eight oh six." Hector shared that Babe went after Randolph Marchelli, a medium bond. Marchelli was living with his elderly parents at the edge of the Burg, awaiting his court date for embezzlement. Keeping tabs on Babe with our trackers in addition to any cameras he was able to tap into along the way, Hector shared that Babe delivered Marchelli with no fuss, arriving at the TPD in less than forty minutes after leaving her apartment this morning.
After delivering Marchelli to the TPD before 0900, Babe headed towards the Bonds office. Connie confirmed Babe dropped off her capture receipt and got a check for her cut of the bond, however, Babe did not deposit the check despite driving straight to the credit union branch near the Burg she usually goes to. Hector tracked her movements and was able to tap into the bank's outdoor cameras, as well as neighboring businesses. Stephanie arrived at the bank, parked in the lot and was on her way inside when a foot pursuit ensued. Hector was able to dig up all of the calls that went out at that time. Using our police scanner to filter through the given timeframe, Hector connected the dots leading back to a robbery at a nearby jewelry store. The owner followed the suspect on foot while relaying back to his employees to help facilitate the call to authorities. The suspect collided with Stephanie, and both went down on the asphalt, hard. The surveillance quality isn't the best, yet Hector showed me the snippet of the incident. The suspect was up and moving within seconds, not even sparing a second glance at Babe. Stephanie was down for approximately three minutes, getting up slowly with the help of a Good Samaritan. The elderly woman who offered assistance to Stephanie remains unidentified at this time. From the looks of it, Babe waved her concern aside. The woman proceeded to head into the bank, while Babe remained stationary for about fifteen minutes. As the loud sirens of approaching patrol units circled the area, the blaring sounds must have snapped Babe out of her trance.
From then on, Stephanie spent hours wandering through her usual Burg hotspots.
"Our informant at the precinct say Estefania was wandering the halls for a good while, yet nobody intercepted her. Maybe they thought she was looking for her friend Officer Gazarra." Hector finally shared that bumping into me at the station effectively ended Stephanie's aimless stroll through the TPD's hallways. "She recognize you and came to Rangeman straight after."
I instructed Hector to keep me posted on any new findings, then proceeded to wait longer than I liked for any news from Bobby. I was on the verge of losing my mind when Bobby finally made an appearance, cocking his head for me to walk with him.
"We're awaiting the results of additional imaging." Bobby explained that the current diagnosis is Post Traumatic Amnesia. "It would explain her being disoriented and confused, yet retain some semblance of her motor skills."
"Hector found that Stephanie was knocked over, hitting her head against a wheelstop after being plowed into." Sharing the intel with Bobby, I forwarded him the clip Hector sent me.
"Ouch." Bobby took in the incident that led to Babe acting unlike herself. As Bobby made a move to go and share the intel with the rest of Babe's medical team, I asked if I could see her.
"Not necessary." I bit out before Brown could give me a spiel that was unnecessary. I have Babe's best interests in mind, even if my previous fuck ups where she's concerned don't necessarily corroborate that. I know our history hasn't been rosy, yet I really do care about Babe. How could I not?! I love her.
When Babe swept into my life, I had no intention of becoming so attached to her. Sure, the attraction was there from the start. I didn't miss how she raked those sparkling blue eyes over my fitted T-shirt, murmuring something about a famous statue being dipped in mocha. Getting a load of her in the nude, wet and handcuffed to her shower rod further ignited my curiosity. Over time an itch grew, becoming nearly all consuming. Through the years, what started off as physical attraction morphed into more than just carnal desire.
As I follow Bobby down the winding hospital halls, I can't help my heart from racing. The inextricable tingling on the back of my neck grew, intensifying the closer I got to Babe.
"She's going to be admitted for observation, at least overnight. They'll likely prep and move her soon." Bobby shared that I may not get to spend much time with Stephanie. Nodding that I understood, I was willing to accept even the slightest of snippets of time with her.
Bobby left me by Babe's bed in the ER before going to fill Stephanie's doctors in after reviewing Hector's findings. Taking a deep breath, I schooled my features before pulling the curtain aside.
"Ranger." Flashing me a soft smile, Babe tracked my movements as I approached. She looked too pale under this lighting, drained of her typical vibrant presence.
"Babe." Approaching the right side right side of her bed, I instinctively reached for her hand. Careful of her IV line, I shot her a soft smile as I placed a kiss over her knuckles.
"I don't wanna be here." She grumbled, giving me hope that my Babe isn't fully gone.
"You have to get fully checked out, Stephanie." I offered a suitable compromise where she would be able to rest and finish getting better at Rangeman with me, but only once her doctors gave the green light. This isn't one of those times where signing herself out against medical advice is something I'll allow.
"Uhm, using my government name, eh?" Stephanie tried to joke, but ended up wincing when she tried to cock her head to the left. "I don't remember how…" Frowning, Babe waved her left hand in front of my face to show me her bare fingers. "I…I lost my rings." With an apologetic grimace, Babe returned her focus to my face as if to gauge my reaction to such news.
"Babe." Helping her get comfortable, the last thing I was expecting was for her to drop yet another bomb on me. Offering an unprompted description, I realized that Babe was referring to the rings I slipped on her ring finger in Hawaii. "Don't worry about that." Leaning down, I placed a soft peck on her parted lips. "That's not important. You're important, Stephanie." Kissing her forehead, I vowed to do everything in my power to ensure Babe has a speedy recovery.
But of course, the surprises kept on coming. It's safe to say that despite my best blank face, I wasn't prepared to answer Babe when she asked who was caring for our babies.
I always wondered if Ranger ever knew that Stephanie had a pregnancy scare after their steamy time in Hawaii…