I woke up confused and disoriented, trying to figure out where I was. This was not my apartment and not Ranger's place either. A strangled scream caught in my throat as my fear heightened. Then the hospital bracelet around my wrist reminded me that I had spent the night at Meena's apartment. She had been flooding me with water every few hours. She said It had something to do with staying hydrated and protecting my injured kidneys. Now my bladder was overflowing. I got up to use the restroom, took a wrong turn and stumbled into the kitchen. The room buzzed with chatter and laughter, mostly coming from Lester, Meena and Bobby. I stood there frozen, watching everyone eat and talk. Lester was the first to notice me.

"Hey Steph," he said as he got up and ambled in my direction.

Lester was not wearing his trademark mischievous smile. His green eyes focused an intensive appraising looking that started at the top of my head, wandered down my body and settled on my eyes.

"Nice to see you how are you feeling?" He asked sincerely. Lester's tone was soft and uncertain, not his usual playful one I was used to.

Without warning everyone stopped eating and looked at me. Suddenly the number of people in the room seemed overwhelming. Their glances felt probing. Lester took my hand in his and gently threaded his finger through mine.A rush of complex emotions swept over me. Abruptly I wrenched my hand from his and stepped backwards. I hurried into the bathroom but not before seeing the hurt look register in Lester's eyes.

"I'm sorry Lester," I whispered as I slumped against the bathroom door.

When I opened the bathroom door I quickly looked around before heading back to the bedroom. I sat on the edge of the bed hoping no one would enter. Within minutes, I heard a single knock on the door and knew it was Ranger.

" Babe," he said as he stepped into the room.

Ranger strolled in my direction. I got to my feet and off of the bed as I backed away from him. His mood and energy had been off and it made me nervous. Ranger's mysterious persona now seemed edgier and dangerous. The anger I had seen him unleash on Meena had left me shaken.

" Babe ?" he said as he reached for me.

I scrambled backwards without looking and fell into an armchair. Ranger dropped his blank mask and a pained expression came into view.

"You're mad me?"

"No."

"Then what's wrong Babe ?"

"Something is off with you Ranger."

He did not reply to my statement.

"You left me all alone at the hospital, I never told you I did not want you there."

"I know, that was all me and my ego."

"I was afraid and needed help. You didn't even return my phone calls. Why didn't you check on me after you went home? Then you show up unannounced and uninvited and break in here. You really scared us Ranger! The thing's you are doing, they are not you, and not things the man I know and love would do! They make feel ….."

"I know Babe, I'm sorry, I was wrong. It won't happen again. I have apologized to Meena. You are right. I have been off and it's because I am worried about you."

Ranger gently lifted me out of the chair before sitting down and placing me onto his lap.

"I have no idea what happened to you while you were in that house and that scares me. Babe, how did you end up with so many injuries? Who beat you like that, was it Yuri or Dmitriy ?" Ranger asked sadly. He was quiet for a few minutes while he waited for me to answer.

"Stephanie tell me how this whole thing started. What really happened the night you met Yuri?"

"I already told you."

"NO, you didn't Stephanie. It will help you to talk about it. You can't keep this pain bottled up like you have been doing Babe."

" I'm fine Ranger !"

Ranger looked at me as if I had just told him that I had laid an egg.

"Are you serious, you're fine? If you are fine, when is the last time you ate? Tell me if you are fine, why did you need to be admitted to the hospital ?"

"So what, I'm not interested in pigging out, big deal. You are a making it seem like I have turned anorexic. It not like I haven't been injured before. You have taken me to the hospital before to get treated," I said defensively.

"What about this Stephanie?" Ranger said as his fingertips touched the bruises on my thigh that were not covered by the boxers I was wearing. He pulled one of the legs of the short to get a better look. There were large hand print-shaped bruises Dmitriy had left when attempted to pry my thigh apart. Ranger gently traced the bruise with his finger.

"How did this happen? You want to tell me about it or is this also not a big deal either?" he whispered.

My body stiffened as I slapped Ranger's hand away and yanked leg of my boxers back down.

"Don't go there, Ranger !" I hissed. I made an attempt to get away from him, but my escape was thwarted when he grabbed a fist full of my Tee shirt.

"Calm down Babe," Ranger murmured into my ear me as he held me close. "It's alright," he told then place a kissed on my head.

My entire body was trembling and I did not quite know why. Ranger held me quietly for several minutes

"Babe you are so deep in denial land that I am going to have to assemble a search team to find you. I can't let you keep doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Come on Stephanie, you know what I'm talking about. You are wasting away to a stick figure and shutting out everyone who cares about you. You're so quiet these days that it shocks you to hear your own voice. Stephanie, there is a room full of people out there who love and care about you. Babe, you need help to heal, let use help you heal."

Ranger's phone buzzed with a text message. He read it and stood up taking me with him.

"Lester !" he called.

As Lester entered the room I tucked myself behind Ranger.

"Yeah what's up man?"

"I got some Intel about Yuri and Dmitriy. I need you to go check it out with me."

"Sure man, but what about Tank ?" Lester said.

"Did someone call me?" Tank asked as he stepped into the room.

"Surveillance footage from the hospital is being delivered to the control room. I need you to go take a look at it and I.D. the Feds that questioned Stephanie."

"Roger that."

"Excuse me, what are all of you doing in my bedroom this is not a conference room." Meena laughed. "All of you out, Steph needs her rest."

"We are going," Lester said. "But what about her?" he said pointing to me.

"Bobby can take her back to Trenton," Ranger said. That's cool with you, right.

"Yes, but is she cool with it?" Bobby said looking around Ranger to me.

"She going to have to be," Ranger said. "Steph going to work on letting us all help her.

"Actually, I am not alright with that," Meena said. "It would be better if you let her stay another night so I can continue to keep an eye on her."

"I can handle that," Bobby said.

"Not like I can, not through the night. You're not going to sleep with her."

Lester almost doubled over laughing when she said that. Tank and Bobby were making faces trying their best to contain theirs.

"I would not mind staying another night," I said to Ranger.

"Bobby, can you stay here with them?" There may be some bad guys looking for Babe."

Bobby was concentrating on not laughing with his lips pulled tight across his face and did not answer Ranger.

"Bobby !"

"Yeah I got it, man," he said with laughter playing in his voice.

"Now that you have that all settled, all of you out of my bedroom," Meena teased.

I had been struggling to go back to sleep for the last hour, but the intense pain that rippled through my body kept me from resting.

"Hey, are you alright, your breathing does not sound good."

"I'm fine."

She turned on the light and looked at me.

"You look really pale," she said touching my forehead. "No fever, are you in pain?"

"I am going to hurl!"

Meena grabbed the trash can and handed to me just in time.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I hurt bad all over!"

"One to ten what your pain level", she asked.

'I don't know, like 5," I said not wanting to sound like a wimp.

"Liar."

Meena examine me thoroughly. She took my temperature checked all of my injuries as well as my blood pressure.

"Your blood pressure is elevated. I think it's because you are in distress from the pain. The meds you had in your system have worn off. I can't give you the pills because you vomiting even though all you have had was liquids. Your body is probably reacting to the pain."

"Why I am in so much pain I asked Meena "My whole body aches, everywhere."

She looked at me like I was crazy. This was the second time today I had gotten that look.

"That is a stupid question. You have bad bruises everywhere. They are not just on the skin, some of them are down to the muscle. Several of your ribs are broken. You no longer have a spleen. Someone cut you open and took it out. Normally that would be laparoscopic surgery. Yours was so enlarged you had to have open surgery. Do I really need to go on and list the rest of your injuries? Look I don't know what happened to you at the house or who did what to you..."

"Yuri Kuzma and his brother happened to me."

"Wait, you mean, Yuri Kuzma the Offensive lineman? Played for the Carolina Panthers?"

"Yes, that's him."

"That guy is huge !"

"So is his brother. Are you sure it's normal for my body to be in this much pain?"

"Yes, but what's not normal Stephanie, is your grasp on reality. I just gave you a list of your injuries and you are still asking the same question."

Meena picked up her cell phone and began to text. She waited for a few minutes for a reply. After reading she went back and forth several times before she blew out an exasperated sigh. Then Meena pulled on a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, her jacket and running shoes.

"I'll be back, don't tell Bobby," she said before scooping up my medical records, going out the window and down the fire escape.

Five minutes later I heard Bobby knock on the bedroom door.

"Hey munchkin, I just got a text from Ranger. I need to talk to you," he said opening the door.

Bobby walked around to Meena's side of the bed and noticed she was not there. Then he walked out of the room. I heard him pad down the hallway to the bathroom.

"Your look pale and you're shaking, you alright?"

"I'll be fine my pain meds have worn off."

"Did you tell Meena?" Bobby asked.

I nodded.

He, had worry etched all over his face as he looked at me and asked,"Where is she?"

"I don't know, she didn't tell me where she was going," I said.

"Do you want to try to eat so I can give you something for the pain?" Bobby asked.

"No, not right now,"I answered.

Bobby walked over to the window and locked it. He paced back and forth for the next fifteen minutes, pausing several times to look out the window and down the fire escape. Then something caught his attention and Bobby pulled a chair in front of the window to sit down.

I could hear footsteps climbing up the fire escape, then sound of someone attempting to opening the window. Bobby sat quietly for several minutes he pull the curtains back and stared at Meena.

"Come on Bobby, unlock the window it's not exactly warm out here!"

Bobby shook his head, unlocked and opened the window. Then he wrapped one arm around Meena's waist and effortlessly pulled her inside.

"Where have been!" he asked angerly holding Meena at eye level.

"The clinic, now put me down and I'll explain".

Bobby walked over and dropped Meena onto the bed next to me. Then he turned on the light.

"Talk."

She ignored him as she took a syringe from her jacket along with a smile vial of medicine. Wordless Meena pulled on a pair of gloves and filled the syringe from the vial. Then she took my arm and injected the medication. Normally the sight of a needle would have freaked me out but I was in too much pain to care right now.

"What is that?" Bobby asked.

She tossed him the bottle.

"Where did you get this? It's hardcore stuff."

"I'm a Physicians assistant. I am allowed to write prescriptions at the clinic. "

"Yes I know, but only the doctor's have access to pain meds at your clinic. It is the middle of the night, so how did you get this?"

"I called Dr. Sloan and explained the situation. He agreed to come to meet me at the clinic with the access code and sign off on the prescription for me."

"Is this the same doctor who keeps saying the two of you should make some curry babies. The one that called you his Desi princess."

"Yes".

"Do I want to know what you promised that man in return?"

"He needs a date to his parent's 50th-anniversary party. No one wanted to escort him. Go figure huh?"

Bobby looked at her and laughed, "Have fun."

"You don't care?" she whined.

"Yeah I care that you went out of here in the middle of the night alone. You don't live in the best neighborhood and the clinic is in a really bad part of town. That's not safe Meena. You can't do stuff like this," Bobby told her.

"Spare me the lecture, I know."

"Ranger want's to know if Stephanie can stay here another night. He is working on finding a safe house for her. This situation with Yuri and Dmitriy just got more complicated. Now we have to worry about hiding her from the Feds too," Bobby explained.

Or he can just keep Stephanie here. They don't know me or where I live. There is no way Yuri or Dmitriy would connect me and her.

"What's going on Bobby?" I asked fighting the medication as tried not to fall asleep.