FADE TO BLACK

Disclaimer: As usual, all characters are the property of JE. Unfortunately she won't even let me borrow Ranger for a day or two. I am making no money yada, yada, yada.

WARNING: This story is VERY Un-Morelli friendly. If you are a Cupcake then you will absolutely hate my story. Joe is a very bad guy in this story. I'm a total Babe and it shows. It's actually extremely unkind to Mrs. Plum too. There will be adult language, violence, and situations so don't even bother reading any more if this will offend you.

CHAPTER 54

SPOV

I quickly made my way across the roof and down the stairs. Before I could set foot on the ground, I felt a familiar pair of strong, muscular arms sweep me off my feet as Carlos picked me up and kissed me for all he was worth. I totally forgot about everything that was going on around us, and lost myself in the man that was wrapped around me. After a few minutes, we slowly separated, because someone kept clearing his throat. I turned to give that person a piece of my mind, expecting it to be one of the Three Musketeers, but boy, was I wrong.

"D-daddy?" I asked, stunned at the sight that greeted me. Here was my father, the mild-mannered, retired postman, dressed in full SWAT gear and looking completely comfortable in it.

"Pumpkin, are you okay?" he asked as Lester, Tank, and Bobby came over to join our little party.

"I'm fine. What are you doing here?" I turned to Carlos. "Please tell me you didn't let my father get shot at!" I hissed at him incredulously.

Carlos raised his eyebrow, but before he could reply, my Dad spoke up. "I'm a grown man, Stephanie, and I have been through much more dangerous things than this," he told me, slightly annoyed. "There was no way I wasn't going to help rescue my little girl. I had actually planned to use this as an opportunity to give Joe Morelli the ass kicking he deserved, but it seems I arrived a little late for that." He stared at me for a few seconds.

I could feel Carlos watching me, and the rest of the guys were looking around, confused, until finally Lester spoke up. "Okay, I give. Where the hell is Morelli?"

My Dad snorted, trying to keep from laughing. "He's in the warehouse, exactly where Stephanie left him," he told them with a smile.

Carlos and the guys walked over to the warehouse and looked inside. I followed behind them, with my Dad next to me.

Hal and Woody were standing inside the warehouse guarding Joe, and were grinning from ear to ear. As soon as the guys saw Joe, they busted out laughing. Even Carlos had tears in his eyes, he was laughing so hard. I looked Joe over, and noticed he was looking a little worse for the wear. His left eye had basically swollen shut. His throat had a really nasty bruise. His lip was swollen to almost twice its regular size, and the right side of his ribcage looked like it had been used as a punching bag. The sight actually made me smile, and I even felt a little vindicated over the whole shower rod incident.

When Joe realized I was standing there, he started screaming. "Stephanie Plum, you let me out of these cuffs immediately. You do realize you assaulted an officer, right? You will go to jail for that. And where the hell are my clothes? You can't leave me like this," he screeched. Obviously, he'd officially lost it, since he hadn't been a police officer in quite some time. He would have continued ranting had my father not walked over and decked him, knocking him out cold.

"Hey, wasn't today the first day of his trial?" I asked.

Carlos chuckled. "Yes, it was, and we have the papers to take him in," he told me with an evil grin.

My dad walked over to Carlos and me, shaking his head. "I was hoping to beat the shit out of him, but I guess seeing what you did to him and knocking him out once will have to do," he told me with small grin.

"Actually, Frank, I figure Stephanie and I will be pretty busy dealing with this mess. Would you mind taking him down to the station with Hal and Woody and turning him in, so RangeMan can get the body receipt? I think you deserve to watch as Joe gets put in a cell wearing nothing but his RangeMan panties," Carlos said, smiling as Hal and Wood took Joe down from the water pipe and started carrying him out to an awaiting SUV.

A full smile broke out on my father's face. I could tell he was going to enjoy parading Joe into the TPD looking like he did. "I'd love to, Carlos," my dad replied before turning to face me. "I'm proud of you, Pumpkin. I've watched you spend the past year turning into the woman I always knew you'd become." He smiled at me one last time, and then turned to Carlos, doing some ESP thing that I obviously would never be able to learn. I decided it must be a military thing.

My dad headed outside towards the sound of sirens that were screeching towards the pier. I sighed when I heard the sound, knowing that it was going to be a very long time before I could go home and take a long hot shower and climb in bed with my Cuban Sex God.

Carlos hadn't let go of my hand since I'd come down off the roof, and when I started to walk out of the warehouse, he used it to pull me back into him. I turned and looked at him, trying to raise my eyebrow, but alas, I still couldn't manage it. Luckily, Carlos got the idea.

"I'm so damn proud of you, Babe," he told me before his lips crashed down onto mine. When we finally separated, we were both gasping for air. We each took a deep breath, and then made our way out of the warehouse to face the music.

We spent the next ten hours being interviewed by every agency that existed, and even a few I'd never heard of. Evidently Jeanne Ellen/Jenna/Mantis wasn't joking when she told me about her professional career, and it seemed that every agency and its brother wanted to take credit for taking her down, but Carlos wouldn't let them. I could tell he knew more about her than I did, but we were never left alone, so he couldn't tell me what it was.

I was okay with that. Although I was curious about the woman I knew as Jeanne Ellen Burros, I was also incredibly exhausted, and I hadn't eaten anything in almost two days. My stomach was growling loudly, and the third time my head fell forward on the table while we were meeting with our third or fourth alphabet agency, Carlos decided we'd had enough.

"That's enough!" he ground out. "We have answered every one of your damn questions about a thousand different ways. We have fully cooperated with you and every other agency that's questioned us for the past ten hours. Stephanie hasn't slept or eaten in almost 48 hours. I am taking her home, feeding her, and then letting her sleep for as long as she deems necessary. We will be completely unavailable for at least the next 36 hours. If that is a problem or you have any questions before then, please feel free to contact our attorneys," he growled, and then threw a business card that I guessed belonged to our lawyer onto the table. I was too tired to care.

He gently pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arm around me, guiding me out of the building and into a waiting SUV. He opened the door and picked me up to put me inside. It was a good thing, too, because I honestly didn't think I had the energy to climb in by myself. He climbed in beside me and closed the door. I was out as soon as my head hit his shoulder.

I awoke a short time later, and realized I was being carried somewhere, but wasn't concerned with where. I knew I was in Carlos' arms, and I was always safe there.

The next time I opened my eyes, it was obviously daylight, and I realized I wasn't sure exactly where I was. I sat up and looked around for a second, and realized we were at Carlos' beach house. I started to get up to look for him, when he walked into the room, carrying a tray of heavenly goodness. I moaned as soon as the smell hit my nose, and my stomach felt like it was ready to dance a jig, it was so excited at the prospect of food.

I heard Carlos chuckle as he set the tray down in front of me. It was covered with every yummy breakfast dish I'd ever imagined. There were eggs, bacon, Belgium waffles, omelets, fruit, syrup, toast, and even a few things I didn't recognize, but I was positive I would eat. But the best thing of all was the steaming cup of coffee, just the way I like it, lot's of cream and plenty of sugar. Have I mentioned that I love this man?

"I tried to wake you up last night when we got here so I could feed you, but you were dead to the world," he explained as he watched with an amused look as I devoured everything on the tray.

I looked up at him and shrugged my shoulders, hoping that he would understand that speaking would mean I had to stop eating long enough to form the words, and that so wasn't going to happen. He shook his head and laughed, but didn't try to converse with me until the tray was empty.

"Better?" he asked.

I smiled and nodded my head. "Much. So why did you bring us to your beach house?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't want anyone to know where we were so we wouldn't be bothered, and I knew you loved the beach. I figured you could use some happy after the past few days," he explained as he picked the tray up off the bed. "Why don't you go shower and meet me downstairs so we can go for a walk on the beach?" he asked.

I stretched my body like a cat, causing Carlos' eyes to darken. I smiled at him, thinking it wouldn't be such a bad idea. "Shower, Babe. We have some things we need to discuss."

Well, crap. Looks like I wouldn't be getting my Carlos-induced orgasm this morning. I heard him bark with laughter. "Later, Babe. I promise you can have as many as you want later," he told me as he left the room. One of these days, I was going to learn how to keep my thoughts in my head where they belonged.

I jumped in the shower and took a little longer than normal trying to work out the kinks. Once I was clean, exfoliated, and relaxed, I climbed out of the shower and got ready. I decided to go au naturale, and just pulled my hair up in a ponytail. Ranger always made me feel beautiful, so I didn't feel like I had to fix my face for him. Once I was dressed and ready, I headed downstairs to find Carlos. He was waiting for me in the living room, and as soon as he saw me, he got up and came to give me a hug before leading me out to the beach.

It was a beautiful day out, and we spent most of it walking hand in hand up and down the beach. I told him everything that had happened after I was kidnapped, and he told me everything he'd learned about Jeanne Ellen and why she was after him. He told me his side of the story, and I could tell he still blamed himself, so I tried to put his mind at ease. When he tried to apologize for getting me into the entire mess to begin with, I actually had to put my foot down.

"Carlos, there were two crazies involved in this mess, and yes, one was after you, but the other was my crazy. You can't blame yourself, and don't you dare try to use this as an excuse to push me away, because I will not let you," I told him firmly.

He chuckled. "No, Babe, I'm not strong enough to push you away again. I can't live without you, so you're stuck with me," he reassured me.

"Good. As long as we're clear," I grumbled.

He smiled. "Crystal, Babe."

We spent the next few minutes in silence. Carlos was probably in that damn zone that he has, but my mind kept flitting back to the realization I'd had during my fight with Morelli. I didn't know what to do about it. When I first made my decision to make changes in my life, I had promised myself that I wouldn't settle, but I wasn't sure I would be able to walk away from Carlos just because he didn't want what I did. I kept trying to tell myself that marriage was just a legal sheet of paper, and I didn't need it to be happy, but there was this annoying voice in the back of my head that kept saying that I did.

"You going to tell me what's got you all worked up? Because I've been smelling smoke all day," Carlos said lightly.

Should I tell him? Would it ruin everything? Screw it, I'd never know for sure whether Carlos wanted the same things or not unless I told him what I was feeling. I sighed loudly, stopped walking, and turned to face him. He raised his eyebrow, letting me know he was curious, and I jumped right in.

"When I was fighting with Joe, he kept going on and on about our future together. Right before I knocked him out, I laid everything out for him. I told him that even when we were dating, the thought of marrying him and having little Morellis was quite literally my idea of hell." I took a deep breath before continuing. "The thing is, right after I told him that, I realized something." I felt Carlos tense, and couldn't understand why, so I just continued on. "I realized that when I think of our future, the idea of being married and having children with you is my idea of heaven."

I looked in his eyes as I said this last part, knowing that I would be able to read his reaction. At first, I saw shock, which seemed to turn to just surprise, and then I saw the one thing I'd never expected... Absolute Happiness.

He smiled and picked me up, swinging me around before setting me back on the ground and cupping my face. "That's what I want, too, Babe. It doesn't matter when. It can be today, next week, or next year, but there is nothing I want more than to marry you and start a family," he told me.

The worry and fear that I had been feeling since my revealation was quickly replaced with complete joy and a whole lot of relief. I smiled at him wickedly. "You know, I wouldn't be opposed to spending the evening practicing how to make a family."

I watched as his eyes dilated completely black seconds before he picked me up and sprinted back to the beach house, where we spent the rest of the night practicing. You know the saying, Practice makes perfect? Well, let me tell you, Carlos proved to me over and over again exactly how perfect he was. As the dark night started to lighten to dawn, Carlos wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close.

"I love you, Stephanie Plum," he told me with more emotion than he had ever shown.

"And I love you, Carlos Manoso," I replied, right before sleep overtook me and my world faded to black.

EPILOGUE
RPOV
8 MONTHS AFTER STEPH'S KIDNAPPING

I watched the love of my life run down the beach outside of our beach house, laughing, with her kite flying high above her. It still amazed me when I saw the innocence she possessed, even after all the darkness she's seen. Somehow, she still seems to find the simple joy in life, and now, thanks to her, so can I.

When Stephanie and I finally came up for air almost two full days after her kidnapping, we made our way back to RangeMan, knowing there was still a lot to be done.

I spent three weeks working with various lawyers, officials, and military personnel, proving that Jeanne Ellen/Jenna Buros was also Mantis. I spent two more weeks with the same lawyers, officials, and military personnel collecting on the reward money that had been offered for Mantis' capture or death. Thanks to Stephanie, RangeMan was awarded a total of 28 million dollars. I had tried to give it all to her, because she was the one that found out who Jeanne Ellen/Jenna was, and she was the one that took her out. Of course, Stephanie wouldn't hear of it, but I did manage to make her take a very large bonus, and gave all my other employees bonuses as well.

After Frank dropped Morelli off at the police station, he was held without bail. The fact that he was brought in wearing nothing but RangeMan panties fueled 'Burg gossip for almost a month. His hearing began two weeks after Steph kicked his ass. She preferred to refer to it like that, rather than the day he tried to kidnap her, and although reliving the memories of what Joe had put her through was hard, Stephanie did it without complaint, and I couldn't have been more proud of her. The 'Burg had shown up in full effect, hoping to see some sort of drama unfold, but was disappointed to learn the hearing was closed to the public, and only those testifying were allowed inside. I knew that it had been a huge relief to Stephanie, and for that, I was grateful.

Almost a month after the trial began, Joseph Morelli was found guilty of attempted rape, attempted murder, and kidnapping, along with numerous other lesser counts. He was sentenced to seven years total for the lesser counts, five for the attempted rape, ten for the kidnapping, and twenty-four for the attempted murder. All sentences were to be served consecutively, meaning he would have to spend up to forty-six years in prison, and he wasn't eligible for parole for at least twenty years. His family still believed he did nothing wrong, but the difference now was that no one believed a word they said anymore.

Stephanie's relationship with her sister was improving. I don't think it will ever be totally repaired, though. Some things just can't be forgotten. But Stephanie wants to be in her nieces' lives, and if that makes her happy, then I'm all for it. Val was trying to turn over a new leaf. Learning about her mother's past and watching her mother's views tear their family apart seemed to have opened her eyes. I guess only time will tell.

Unfortunately, Stephanie's relationship with her mother hadn't improved. She'd hoped that since her mother was seeing a counselor, things might be different, but Helen had showed up at Morelli's trial, blaming Stephanie for ruining a good man's life and driving apart her own family. Evidently she had only gotten counseling thinking it would keep Frank from divorcing her and when she found out it wouldn't, she decided to stop pretending she'd changed. I know it hurts Stephanie, knowing that her mother would always blame Steph for her own problems, but Steph has seemed to accept it and is moving on.

Frank went through with his divorce, much to Helen's dismay. Her life has taken a complete nosedive. No longer is she the perfect 'Burg wife and mother. Most people around the 'Burg want nothing to do with her, now that it is finally clear that she sided with a man that tried to rape and kill her daughter. She has no friends, and really, no family. Even Val had stopped visiting, because she feels the environment is too hostile to bring her daughters into. Helen's house has been vandalized numerous times by neighborhood kids. Things are so bad that she no longer leaves the house, claiming she is too scandalized by the divorce and Stephanie's lifestyle. Even I rolled my eyes when I heard that. She doesn't leave the house because everyone was still talking about what a horrible person she is.

Frank has met a very nice widowed nurse named Agnes, and they have really hit it off. Stephanie said that she has never seen her father this happy. Agnes and Stephanie get along wonderfully. Agnes has no children, but she seemed to have adopted Stephanie as her own. For the first time in her life, Stephanie has a motherly figure in her life that treated her with love, respect, and support, and I couldn't be happier for her.

Frank and Agnes started coming to RangeMan every Sunday afternoon for lunch about a month after Joe's ass kicking. After the first few weeks, my sister Celia and my father joined us. When Stephanie said she wanted to invite Grandma Mazur, I balked. She was still living in Stephanie's old apartment, like a queen in her court, especially since Stephanie was paying her rent for her. After almost a month of various forms of persuasion, I finally agreed to let Grandma Mazur come too, if she promised that she wouldn't grope me or my employees, and surprisingly, she had stuck to her word. Once the Three Musketeers found out about it, they managed to invite themselves, and finally Lula was added to the mix. It was now a weekly occurrence that sometimes lasts late into the evening, and I find myself looking forward to it more than I'd ever thought I would. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was surrounded by a loving and supportive family, and it was all thanks to Stephanie.

I hadn't spoken to my mother or sisters since Dad's birthday party, and it didn't bother me at all. I honestly didn't care if I ever spoke to them again. I've spent most of my life with a small part of me hoping they would learn to accept me for who I was, but now that I had Stephanie and the rest of my family, I didn't want or need their acceptance. Stephanie had given me more than I thought I would ever want or need. She gave me everything she is, and I have given her all of me, and I try to make sure she knows she has my love, devotion, and my never ending support.

I've stepped back a little from running the company, because there was nothing I enjoyed more than spending time with my Babe. Still, just because I've stepped back a little doesn't mean we don't work our asses off. Stephanie is a vital part of the core team, and RangeMan is growing leaps and bounds, thanks to her input, but I'd decided it was time we took a vacation. That was why we are leaving tomorrow for Miami. I wanted to show my Babe the parts of Miami I loved growing up. We were also going to spend time with Julie, and even though I was a little nervous about it, I knew with Steph by my side, everything would be okay. I also planned to finally give her the velvet box I've been carrying around in my pocket for almost three months.

When we discussed getting married and having kids, we both agreed we weren't in a rush. We wanted to just enjoy being with each other, but I felt like we are ready for this next step, and I was pretty sure she did, too. I couldn't wait to see how beautiful the ring looked on her finger... The sound of Stephanie's laughter pulled me out of my thoughts, causing me to look up and see her running towards me with her kite in her hand. Her faced was flushed from the wind, and her hair was whipping around her wildly, but she had never been more beautiful.

"This is so much fun, Carlos. Come on, you have to try it with me," she said, grabbing my hand and pulling me with her. Who was I to say no?

The past eight months had been the best of my life, and every day I spent with Stephanie was better than the day before. As we sat outside in the hammock holding each other, I said a prayer of thanks to whomever put Stephanie Plum in my life. I watched as the sun fell below the horizon, and the day slowly faded away, and I knew I was ready for the next chapter in our life together.

Steph's engagement ring:

/rings/files/2010/03/fusaro_

THE END!

P.S. They lived happily ever after!

I hope you all enjoyed my first fanfic. This started out as something I wasn't sure I would be able to pull off and turned into something I'm actually kind of proud of.

I want to thank everyone who took their time to read my story and for those of you who reviewed my story I can't even explain how much your words meant to me. I've saved them all so I have somewhere to go if I need a little happy in my world.

At the beginning of my story Vihrago (Lisa) also gave me a lot of help and encouragement. RL had it's way with her, but I still want to thank her for the help and encouragement she gave me.

Jenny aka JenRar is one hell of a beta. I have never seen anyone edit as quickly and as well as she does. She took my story to a whole other level. She made it more understandable and she also taught me a lot as I went along. She also wrote one of my smut scenes and made it even better than I thought it could be. Thanks so much for everything Jenny!

I know for a fact if it wasn't for Connie Herigstad this story would have never been finished. She gave me constant support and encouragement when I wanted to just give it up and say screw it. She's a great person and I consider her a good friend after all she's helped me do. She gave me some great ideas when I felt like my story was stalled and I'll be forever in her debt for her help. (I also think she should write her own story. She has fabulous ideas. ;o) Just putting that out there.) Thank you so much for all your help, Connie!