Here's the continuation from a Burg perspective.
Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. Typos are my bad.
Mary Lou's POV
Ginevra Amato loves to stir the pot, especially with anything that has to do with my BFF Stephanie. When I stopped at Giovichinni's for a quick grocery haul before my terrors were out of school, I planned on it being an in and out trip. A one, two, three and out type of thing. Of course, Ginevra made sure that was not possible.
Typical.
While waiting for my turn at the deli, Ginevra zeroed in on me. I'm not sure why the heck she was hovering near me and my grocery cart when she didn't even take a number. Clearly she doesn't need anything from the deli.
"Hi! It's been so, so long, Mary Lou." Her fake cheer irked me, because I knew she could care less about how I've been. She's as false as they come. In fact, Joyce Barnhardt's plastic boobs are less fake than Ginevra.
"Yes." Smiling politely I thought that it hasn't been nearly long enough since I last had the misfortune of being stuck in Ginevra's sights. High School flashbacks tried to creep up, but I quickly tamped them down. Clearly, someone's still stuck in their supposed glory days thinking she's still one of the popular girls along with Terri Gilman.
"Number forty-one!" The latest Giovichinni kid to be of age to help behind the deli called the next person, slowly moving the midday rush along.
I was already contemplating if I really needed lunch meats this much. Perhaps, I can put this off until tomorrow…
"Well, apparently none of us are doing as good as Stephanie." With a faux gasp of surprise, Ginevra let slip what apparently has started to circle through the Burg grapevine recently.
"Mmm." I pursed my lips, trying to be polite yet pointedly attempting to cut Ginevra at the pass.
"She's moved on from Joseph Morelli." With another fake sweet smile, Ginevra feigned being happy for my friend. As if!
"Stephanie Plum sure has a way with men, wrapping them around her finger." Loretta Bianchi added her two cents after taking her wrapped goodies from the deli counter, a smug little grin aimed my way to accompany her pointed look.
"She's quite brave." Ginevra added, smirking knowingly before scurrying off.
Suppressing the urge to roll my eyes, I kept my composure while impatiently waiting for my turn. After getting my deli order, I made quick work of the aisles to finish off my shopping list. Might as well finish my shopping now. I have a feeling the newest buzz is just starting, having the makings of being one of those gossip topics that will drag on and on and on. Naturally, several other Burg housewives just so happen to intercept my path to allude to another Stephanie centered scandal. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from telling them all to shove it!
To avoid further murmurings, I loaded my groceries in the back seat and headed straight home. Thankful that even my youngest has started a partial Pre-K program, I had enough time to cart my bags inside and shut my front door before anyone else stopped me. Away from prying Burg eyes, I scrolled through my phone to be up to speed.
My eyes nearly bugged out of my sockets when I went through the messages I'd received. Let's just say the Burg has gotten quite comfortable with new technology, sending me more than one angle of Stephanie's tongue heavy make out sesh with Ranger. In the middle of the TPD!
"Steph!" I hissed through a voice note when she didn't answer my call. "You French Kissed Ranger at the TPD!" I'm not mad that she planted one on Ranger, because the man is so freakin' hot. No, I'm baffled that she didn't reach out right away. She had to have known how much this would blow up in this gossipy town. The residents of the Burg see gossip, especially when it revolves around my BFF, as their main source of entertainment. Cable who? Reality TV Shows have nothing on this town and their scandalized gossiping.
Although I found Steph's lack of reaching out to me after the events of the TPD odd, I figured she must have had a good reason and would simply reach out later in the day.
After picking up my sons from school, I heard from Eddie that Stephanie was taken to St. Francis via ambulance. He was there escorting someone in his custody, so he couldn't dig for answers. Calling me, Eddie was hoping I would know what was the matter with our friend.
"I…I'm not sure." Assuring Eddie that I'd keep him posted, I called my mom after hanging up with him.
As soon as my mom agreed to watch my terrors until Lenny was home from work, I headed a few streets over to drop off my boys at my childhood home. Let's just say it took forever to corral them back into the minivan.
"Best behavior." I hissed at my boys, sternly asking for them to behave. The devious grins they flashed me in unison were not reassuring.
Racing to St. Francis, I was shocked to see that none of Stephanie's family was in the ER waiting area yet. Asking Loretta Bianchi's sister, Alessa, for any news on Stephanie's condition was futile. However, she did share that Steph's team is keeping things hush hush.
"Only those on her care team know what's going on." Alessa whispered, unable to share more with me.
I waited for close to half an hour, which felt like forever, before pulling up my contact list. Second guessing myself, I nearly didn't message him. In the end, my need to know that my BFF since forever is okay won the war.
Hi, this is Mary Lou. How is Stephanie?
Texting Ranger is not an everyday occurrence, at least not for me. Stephanie on the other hand, well, yeah. The only reason I have the Man of Mystery's number was because he called me during Steph's last kidnapping. I saved the number just in case, and well, here I am using it after all several months later.
I didn't wait long before Ranger and one of the Rangemen, the medic, I forget his name, came to find me in the now semi-cramped waiting room. Ranger made a slight gesture with his head before turning on his heel. I took that to mean that I should follow him, pronto!
Doing my best to keep up with their longer strides was a mission with my shorter legs. Never thought l'd find myself sandwiched between two muscular men, bookended on either side as if I were some A-lister or something. Except, under these circumstances all I could think about was my BFF.
"Oh my God." I gasped as we reached the side of Ranger's shiny black truck, trying to process the situation. It was a lot all at once.
"I'll meet you there." Bobby shared before running back to be able to make the trip with Stephanie to Capital Health since she's going to be admitted for observation. It took me a moment to remember his name, but as soon as Ranger called him Brown I instantly put a name to the face.
Ranger offered to drive me to Capital Health, yet I opted to drive myself. Being trapped in a moving vehicle with no escape with Ranger is super scary. Stephanie isn't scared of him, but even the worst of the worst over on Stark Street are afraid of him. Plus, when I get nervous I tend to blurt all my thoughts aloud a la Steph. What if I inadvertently divulge some of my BFF's secrets? Nope! Best to nip that possibility in the butt. Mmhmmm.
My head felt like it was spinning as we waited for Steph to be settled in a room upstairs, which didn't help matters any. In the meantime, Ranger, Bobby and somehow I, had a quick meeting with the head of neurology, Dr. Bankey. Guessing Ranger exerted his influence to ensure the best of the best are on my BFF's care team.
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head when Dr. Bankey questioned if Ranger and Steph have ever been married.
"Getting a sense of the source of the delusions can help us navigate our next steps." Dr. Bankey said a lot of medical stuff that flew over my head. Thankfully, Bobby dumbed it down for me. They want to know if whatever scenario Steph is currently experiencing after hitting her head has any root in reality.
"We posed undercover as a married couple years back." Ranger offered, leaving a lot out of his succinct explanation. They didn't just pose as newlyweds in Hawaii. They did a hell of a lot more than that, but okay dude.
"Got it." Dr. Bankey nodded his head in acknowledgment as he reviewed what I assume is Steph's file on his computer screen. "Regarding the pregna…" Dr. Bankey was cut off by Ranger's automatic response.
"Stephanie's never been pregnant." He sounded so sure that I honestly didn't doubt the possibility that Steph really does tell him everything. I mean, she tells me, but that's a given.
"That you know of." Bobby murmured, his big muscly arms crossed over his equally muscular chest as he gave Ranger a pointed look. It's safe to say that not many people dare look at The Ranger Mañoso that way.
Three sets of eyes suddenly looked at me expectantly, making me shift uncomfortably in the already uncomfy chair.
"Uhm…" Ah, so this is why I got sucked into this confidential meeting. They need me to spill the beans.
Biting my bottom lip, I was momentarily unsure if I should break the unwritten duty of confidentiality that rests on my shoulders for being Stephanie's BFF since childhood. Though breaking my promise of silence seemed wrong on so many levels, I decided this was a worthy exception to the rule. My friend is not doing well right now and I will do whatever it takes to ensure she's on her way to a speedy recovery.
"She thought she was after Hawaii." I finally shared. "Stephanie called me freaking out, because she was late and the at-home pregnancy test she took was positive." In my attempt to calm my friend, I remember how joking that instead of a teen pregnancy like my first one she was instead on her way to a geriatric one had my BFF laughing through teary blue eyes. "I went to her apartment, had her retake the test with the one I brought with me from home…" I blushed, hating how much I was rambling yet unable to stop myself. "…the test was negative." In the end, we found a clinic far away from the Burg for Steph to know for sure if she was pregnant or not. "Bloodwork determined she wasn't pregnant and she got her period the week after, so, yeah, Steph's never been pregnant." There I go again with the rambling!
From the corner of my eye I caught a fleeting break of Ranger's guarded expression. My BFF definitely never told him about the whole maybe pregnant thing and it shows.
Dr. Bankey did some more hmm sounds before we were notified that we could see Stephanie. Again, I'm sure Ranger has them pulling out all the stops, because I know usually it's a two visitors at a time rule, yet we all piled into her room after Dr. Bankey and the resident on shift.
I smiled at my BFF, standing near the back of the room so I wouldn't be in the way of anyone. Stephanie's droopy gaze connected with mine briefly, shooting a quick smile my way before returning her focus to the doctor as he spoke to her.
I had to school my expression as much as possible, swallowing a sob that seemed to be stuck in my throat so the tears pricking my eyes wouldn't start streaming down my cheeks. I know that once I start crying, I'm going to be a mess and won't be able to stop. Not wanting to derail the focus from my friend, I kept myself composed.
Stephanie's voice sounded so different, nearly unrecognizable to the one I've known for ages. Her accent sounded British-like to me, changing her pronunciation extremely. It was like hearing someone else speaking with how vastly unlike herself she sounded.
If the sudden accent wasn't weird enough, Steph knocked out mid-mumble as she was in the process of replying to Dr. Bankey. Bobby must have caught my confused look, whispering that Steph falling asleep like that was normal due to the medication she was on. Nodding my understanding, I hung back with Steph in the room while Ranger and Bobby stepped out into the hall with Dr. Bankey and Co.
Not even five minutes later my phone began to blow up. I'm not sure if it was me finally noticing the incessant vibrations in my pocket or the fact that I had a signal again after moving closer to the window. Trying to ignore the barrage of alerts was not going to be possible.
Just when I decided to switch myself to Do Not Disturb, knowing that my family would still be able to get through regardless, none other than Stephanie's mother called me. Grimacing, I declined the call and sent her straight to voicemail.
Undeterred, Helen Plum called me again and again and again. Each time I denied the call, but she was persistent.
"Who is it?" Ranger's question startled me despite his whispered tone. The man is stealthy with a capital S.
"Helen." I mouthed, declining the call once again.
Ranger outstretched his hand, so I handed my phone over. As I did so, Helen called back yet again.
Following Ranger into the restroom in Steph's room, I looked up at him as he answered the call. I could hear Helen ranting, but couldn't make out all the words since Ranger didn't put the call on speaker mode.
Was I expecting Ranger to shut Helen up with a simple yet powerful order? No, though if Ranger orders you to stop in that deadly calm tone, you do it. Period.
"How dare you?!" Helen's indignation came through loud and clear.
Unphased, Ranger cut her off without taking any of her crap. He ended the call without preamble, returning my cell to my hand.
"Holy shit." I whispered, in complete shock as he exited the tiny restroom.
Ranger literally just gave the Burg added fuel by responding to Helen's outraged 'How dare you?' and 'What gives you the right to speak to me this way?!' protests by flat out insinuating that he can make decisions to keep Steph safe because he is her husband!
Oh lord.
The Burg will explode with this news. That's if it hasn't already.