***Disclaimer: I'm not her and she's not me. She's making the dough and I'm having the fun.

Ranger smiled. It was always like that with her. She didn't care about his money or what he could give her with it. That's reason he wanted to give her the world. "Night my love."

She sleepily mumbled, "Night my heart". He knew by her stillness that she'd taken the plunge into dreamland. Lying there cradling her in his arms, he contemplated his life without her and knew without a shadow of a doubt that it had been empty and void of anything meaningful. As sleep came upon him, he thanked God for the precious gift he'd been given in Stephanie.

Chapter 12

'Homeward Bound'

They laughed as they bounded hand in hand off RangeMan's private plane. Their emotional high had nothing to do with the looming clouds above and everything to do with the fact that they'd barely gotten dressed in time to buckle their seatbelts for the landing. Their honeymoon had been beyond wonderful and they were still in vacation mode as they headed for the Turbo that sat waiting in the parking lot of the Newark airport. He'd shown her the world alright, Switzerland, Italy, France and Bora Bora. When they reached the car, Ranger spun her around and pinned her against the door.

"I know we have to go back to real life, but I wanted you to know that this is the happiest I've ever been." He saw the sparkle in her eye and knew what she was thinking. He'd be happier.

"Me too and I love the color of my skin. We'll have to go back to Bora Bora soon, but our next trip is going to be my surprise to you." She'd been thinking that Valentine's wasn't too far around the corner and she knew exactly where she wanted to spend it. Their cabin.

He helped her into the car and started toward Trenton holding her hand as they drove.

"Ranger, do you think that we can make a stop before we go back to the apartment?" She smiled as he squeezed her hand.

"Babe, anywhere you want to go. It's late, but we don't have to be on shift until noon." He was pretty sure he knew where she wanted to go.

As it started to rain, she watched as he let go of her hand to switch on the windshield wipers. When he took her hand again, she told him where she wanted to stop. "There's a Walgreens just off the Trenton exit. Stop there." He just nodded and went into his driving zone.

She couldn't wait to find out for sure. Settling back into her seat, Stephanie closed her eyes and dreamed of their honeymoon. Lazy days were spent sightseeing and hot sultry nights were burned into her brain. Every day they seemed to bring each other to new heights between the sheets, or where ever they found a moment to pleasure each other. In Switzerland, they'd lain before a blazing fire scorching each other's body with intimate touches.

Italy had brought them long walks during the day and romantic nights in their room at the B & B. Breakfast's were spent loving each other into commas. Each morning they struggled with the conflict of going back out to explore the country side or staying in and cuddling on the huge bed filled with goose feathers. Touring usually won out in the end, but they had found a secluded area or two that had allowed them to…um..experiment. She'd never thought of herself as an exhibitionist, but it definitely had an added thrill factor.

The night life had kept them from their hotel room in France. They'd made their way through the night club circuit. Their dancing had been more of a prelude to the sex that they shared once back in their room. Ranger had even taken her to some more illicit clubs. She knew she'd shocked him when she'd suggested they watch one of the 'shows'. Needless to say, that night between the sheets she'd allowed him access to parts of her that she'd always been hesitant to allow him to explore.

In Bora Bora, well that had been her favorite part of the journey, she'd shed all of her inhibitions by lying out topless on their private beach. Ranger had certainly appreciated the view. He'd reciprocated by wearing the black boy shorts she'd purchase for him. Their snug fit reminded her of a Speedo, but with legs that came to mid-thigh. Oh, yeah, they definitely accentuated the perpetual hard-on that he sported throughout the entire honeymoon. Yep. She was definitely one lucky girl.

As he maneuvered the raining streets of Newark, heading towards Trenton, Ranger's thoughts were along the same lines. Stephanie had always been beyond great in bed, but the extent to which she allowed him to explore on their honeymoon had him gripping the steering wheel at the vivid memory.

She'd completely undone him when she'd pulled him towards the 'show' in that club in France. And then what she'd let him do when they'd returned to their hotel room. Holy Shit, it had been erotic as hell seeing her tied to the bed with black, silk scarves. Then when she'd allowed him to turn her over and enter from behind, in that submissive position, the beast had roared up inside him. If he'd had the ability to brand her as his, with some kind of scent or permanent marking, he would have.

Imagine his surprise when she'd been the one to suggest they get matching tattoos, while staying in Bora Bora. He thought of the one at her hip and instantly got hard. They'd both gotten tattoos that were an interlocking loop of their initials, 'R' and 'S'. His was on his shoulder blade in black ink outlined in purple. Hers was just below her protruding hip bone in purple ink outlined in black. The backdrop of her tattoo was the Batman logo and his backdrop was the Wonder Woman symbol. He was surprised at how well they'd turned out.

Ranger pulled into the parking lot and turned to his dozing wife. Brushing her hair back from her face, he kissed her lightly on her brow before trying to wake her. "Babe, we're here."

Blinking her eyes open, Ranger's gorgeous face swam before her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to go to sleep on you. I was just going to close my eyes and run through our memories." She liked that he smiled tenderly at her and she knew he'd been thinking the same as her if his dark pupils were any indication.

She shifted and unbuckled her seatbelt while Ranger came around to open her door. Hand in hand they walked into the almost vacant store. Stephanie guided them towards the isle in the store that had what she was looking for.

When Ranger saw the isle full of sanitary products, he had a moment of pause. Maybe she wasn't coming for what he thought. Maybe he had miscalculated, but it'd been two weeks. They'd both been very cautious not to mention it, but now what if he was wrong. No…wait….she wasn't stopping. Ranger squeezed her hand as she reached for what he'd been sure was the reason for this stop.

EPT First Response.

The both stood for a minute transfixed on the box and then they both looked into each other's eyes. Ranger saw the hope and love there and knew that it was all being reflected back at her through his eyes. He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers and then gently tugged her towards the checkout counter.

Behind the counter was a woman who looked to be about fifty complete with the tradition salt and pepper hair that accompanied her age. Stephanie fidgeted as she rang up their one and only item. Ranger didn't miss the tender expression on the woman's face as he pulled out his credit card to complete the transaction.

As they left the store, Ranger heard her say quietly, "Good luck". He wasn't sure why, but the sentiment seemed appropriate. He wanted Stephanie to be pregnant and he'd take all the luck they could get to make that a reality.

Half-way to the car, Ranger stopped and pulled her in for a deep probing kiss. "Babe, no matter what, it's okay. I want you to be pregnant, but if you're not, we'll keep trying. I love you."

Stephanie nodded but smiled widely because she knew her body and the test…well, it was just a formality. As they turned and continued to walk to the car, Ranger used his keys to unlock the doors.

The hair stood up on her arms and she felt her Spidey sense tingle when the headlights didn't respond to the command of his keypad. Ranger must have felt it too, because they both slowed their steps. And that's when their whole world turned upside down. There was a brilliant flash as the car exploded in front of their eyes. The blast from the car threw them both spiraling through the air with Ranger coming down hard on top of her, knocking all the breath from her body.

Gasping for air, Stephanie looked up at Ranger who was frantically searching her body for injuries. That's when she saw it, fate came spiraling toward them. She only saw the movement above them for a second, and it happened so fast that she couldn't move or scream. The flying debris came spearing through the air slicing across Ranger's head.

She screamed at the top of her lungs, but it was short lived, because her survival mode had kicked in. Digging into her pocket she found her phone and punched star two.

Tank's groggy voice answered on the second ring. "Yo. I thought you two would be back already."

Gasping for breath, Stephanie tried to speak, but the panic was starting to well up in her and tears were stinging her eyes. Oh, God, please, let Ranger be alright.

"Steph, what's wrong." Tank jerked up from bed and started rummaging around for his pants.

"Tank. Walgreens…Trenton exit…. Help." That's all she was able to get out, because the pain became too intense and the darkness she'd been fighting came to claim her.

Tank went into warp speed as he finished getting dressed. He started to call 911, but decided that he knew someone who could speed up the process. Without questioning his decision, he called the one person he never thought he'd call for help.

Joe Morelli.

When Joe answered the phone, Tank didn't give him a chance to utter his complaint at being called a midnight. "Morelli, it's Tank. Meet me at the Walgreens on the Trenton exit. Bring the calvary, I think Stephanie and Ranger are hurt."

"I'll be there in ten." His voice was scratchy but alert.

Tank hung up and called the control room as he headed out of his apartment. Thank God, Bobby answered the call. "Meet me in the garage. Bring your medic bag. It's Ranger and Stephanie. I don't know what we're going to find, but I want to be prepared for anything."

"On it,Boss. I'll be there in two minutes. Want me to call Elvis?" Bobby said all this, while he sprinted to the storage closet to retrieve his bag and then took the stairs two at a time.

"No, I'll call him on the way." Tank realized that the phone was no longer necessary because he and Bobby were already walking side by side.

As Bobby careened out of the garage, Tank tried to steady himself as he made the call to Elvis. It made telling Bobby the details unnecessary, because he got them as Tank filled in Elvis. The drive took less than the ten minutes that Tank had told Joe. Tank wasn't surprised to see Joe pull in right beside them.

Both were grim faced as they took in the blazing inferno. Bobby took off at a jog towards the two bodies lying tangled on the pavement. Sirens could be heard coming closer, towards the scene. Tank and Joe both realized that Ranger and Stephanie would be lucky to be alive.

"Bobby?" Tank couldn't bear to say anymore, Bobby would know what he wanted. It would kill him if these two people, who'd become so important to him, were dead.

"I've got pulses on both. I think most of the blood on them is coming from this gash on Ranger's head. I'm not certain about the….other blood on Stephanie." He looked down and nodded towards her blood soaked jeans. He had a sneaking suspicion, but couldn't voice the horrible possibility. He didn't want to move them until the ambulance arrived with a board in case of spinal injuries. Instead he knelt beside them and talked to them, while he covered them with a blanket. Joe and Tank began scanning the area. Stephanie's purse was lying about ten feet away, the contents scattered about. Wallet, lipstick, hairbrush and……their eyes locked on the slim white box at the same time and knew the reason for the blood on Stephanie's jeans.

Simultaneously, they said, "Fuck." Bobby's head popped up, wondering what else could possibly be going on.

"Bobby, I think Stephanie is miscarrying." Tank's voice cracked and if he'd been a crying man, he'd have sunk to the ground and given in to a fit of wailing.

Joe's heart squeezed, first with the jealousy that lurked and then with grief for Stephanie. He stomped off to find something to do besides stand there and feel useless. The paramedics were unloading and he knew he should at least get witness statements. He'd start with the clerk of the store, since it appeared they'd been in there buying a pregnancy test.

Hours later, Joe ran a soot covered hand across his face and went to find Tank. The huge black man was snapping his phone closed as he turned towards Joe. "What's the verdict?"

Joe sighed heavily before giving the man the news. "It appears that the bomb was on a timer. If they hadn't made the stop, they'd have been blown to smithereens just outside the city limits. It looks professional, so I'm going to have to talk to your boss about what the hell he's gotten Stephanie into."

The last of Joe's words were said with just enough bite that normally, Tank would have been offended. However, if he wanted to stay inside the loop, he needed to tread carefully. "Joe, you know as well as I do that Stephanie is capable of getting into these messes all on her own. And before you start, I'm a hundred percent sure that when Ranger's awake, he'll be more than cooperative. He'll be just as pissed as you that someone not only tried to take his wife's life, but managed to take something that was precious to both of them, their child."

Joe looked away and tried to reign in his temper. Tank was right. Now was not the time to dredge up old wounds. "So, it's confirmed. She lost the baby."

Tank just nodded. "Bobby called and said that they're both are stable, but still unconscious. The doctors are keeping them sedated to speed up the healing process. The impact of the fall and Ranger landing on top of her caused Stephanie to lose the baby. She couldn't have been but a couple of week along. It wasn't necessary to do a DNC, but she'll be sore and understandably upset when she wakes up. Ranger's head injury was stitched, but doesn't appear to be very serious. There's some swelling and probably a concussion, but he's had worse."

"I take it you'll have security on their rooms?" Joe's voice was weary now.

Tank studied the man. He was a good cop even if Tank didn't like him very much. His reasons for not liking Joe had nothing to do with his abilities as a professional, but everything to do with his treatment of Stephanie. However, he'd have to trust somebody to help them find whoever did this and better the enemy you know than the one you don't.

"There'll be a twenty-four hour guard on both of their rooms. I'll pull both of their case files for the past three years and start going through them. In the morning, I'll call with an update." That was all he was giving him, no matter what he said.

Joe took in the big guy's demeanor and decided that was good enough for now. "Fine. I'm going to Cop Central to file a report and then go see what else the lab has to say about the device. I'll let you know what I can, when I can. Are you going to call her parents?"

At Tank's curt nod, they parted without another word, both dealing with their own pain. Worrying about Stephanie was a full time job for many people. Both men knew they'd have their hands full with her latest cluster fuck.

Finis

Epilogue to JYAMB/Prologue to After the Darkness

It's so dark. Where am I? Every fiber of my body hurts. That noise. Would somebody please turn off whatever is making that noise. Where am I? I need…what the hell do I need? Ranger. I need Ranger. He'll make the hurt go away. Why can't I open my damn eyes? Ranger, where are you? I need you. The darkness was too much and it I feel it pulling me under again.

In another room across the hall.

Dark and cold. That's all I know. Where the fuck am I? The tale tell beep beep of machinery. Hospital. Why am I in the hospital? I need….what the hell do I need? All I can remember is Connie calling me. Then there's a sea of blue. Blue? I need blue? That can't be right. Who the fuck needs blue? I keep trying to remember, but it makes my head hurt. The darkness is trying to pull me under again. I can't go until I remember. Blue, blue, blue…..eyes? Holy hell. I'm going insane. I need blue eyes? Shit, here comes the damn darkness again. I can't fight it…just going to let it….take me.

*****AN: Babes, don't hang me on the cross. I know that you were expecting a HEA, however…….that will have to wait until After The Darkness. Don't fret – I have always been and will always be a Babe. The first chapter of the third part of this trilogy will be ready for posting soon.