Notes & Disclaimers: Anything you recognize as familiar belongs to Janet Evanovich. I am just borrowing her characters for fun and am not making anything from the story. Enjoy.

(This story picks up with Stephanie working for Ranger at Rangemen. She has been doing apprehensions and also assisting in the control room. She has not been feeling well for several weeks, and Ranger has to leave on an assignment. Please review and let me know if you like the direction the story is going in. It's my first attempt at a FanFiction.)

Stephanie's POV:

"Good morning Babe", Ranger said, as he stroked a soft kiss across my shoulder. I opened my eyes and looked into his deep brown eyes.

"Good morning, what time is it?" I moaned as I snuggled down under the covers in his bed, hoping that Ranger wasn't planning on making me start exercising this early.

"It's 5am" he said. Ranger continued to place soft kisses on my skin and made soft circles on my neck with his tongue.

I squinted at the clock on the bedside table. I started to raise myself up on my elbow, and realized I had moved too soon. The room started spinning and my head was pounding. Now I remembered why I had turned in early last night. This headache had been going on for weeks. At first I thought it was the flu, but now I just don't know. Does the flu last for weeks? Ugh.

"Not feeling any better, Babe?" Ranger asked. He had tried to get me to concede to going to the doctor for the past two days. I had even skipped my shift in the control room last night, in favor of lying in Ranger's bed, and sleeping. SLEEPING! Me, Stephanie Plum, sex maniac, simply slept in the Wizard's bed. Ranger had Hector cover my shift and asked Ella to bring up some hot tea and toast. I nibbled on it, but ended up turning in around 7pm, feeling drained and exhausted.

"Not really. I think I just need some more rest."

"Babe, you have done nothing but rest for the past 2 days. You haven't been yourself for months now. I am having Bobby come up in a bit and check on you. Then, he is going to make an appointment for you with the doc."

"No, Ranger, I am fine…really! Besides, what are you doing up and dressed at this time of day? I really don't feel like I can go down to the gym this morning. Honestly, I just…"

Ranger interrupted me by placing his finger over my lips. It was then that I noticed a small duffel bag packed and sitting on the end of the bed. Ranger wasn't dressed in his usual t-shirt and running shorts for his morning workout. He was dressed in black combat pants, black boots, his black long sleeved shirt that clung to him in all the right places, and a Kevlar vest. He was in full Ranger mode. His gun belt was full and loaded around his waist.

"No gym this morning. Lester and I are going on an apprehension. Nick Alagaro and his family are believed to be making counterfeit money. The Feds have been looking for him for a while. He is scheduled to arrive in Atlantic City tonight. I hope to be back in a week. Two weeks tops. Depends on how long it takes us to work our way into his inner circle. I want you to stay here and rest!"

I nodded and agreed with him. "Rest…that's exactly what I need. I'm sure I will be feeling better by the time you are back. I will cover Lester's shift today …."

"No you won't Babe," Ranger interrupted. "Hector is covering it, and Tank will have the schedule for the rest of the week covered by this afternoon. I have left strict orders that you are not to work or cover any shifts until you are feeling better. That means no FTA's either. Steph, you really don't look well. Headaches, dizziness, nausea…those don't last weeks. Really, Babe!"

"Ranger, I am FINE", I glared, doing my best to intimidate him in my frumpy state. "I think I'm just a bit under the weather. It will pass. "

"Steph, I'm still sending Bobby up to check on you. Do what he says and don't argue…Please!" Ranger replied.

Please. Why does he have to use that word. He rarely uses it, and when he does, it melts me like butter. Even in my less than perfect state, he sends me to my knees.

Ranger took my hand and kissed my palm. Then he turned it over and kissed my finger tips, working his way up my arm and eventually making his way to my neck and my ear. He let out a deep groan and ran his fingers into my hair. He tugged it slightly, and laid me back onto the pillows.

"Babe, I'm going to miss you," he whispered, his voice all husky in his throat. His hands were gliding across my knee, up my thigh, over my hips. His fingers traced the lace on my underwear, and then he slid his hand under his Rangeman t-shirt that I slept in. I had no bra on, and he rubbed his hand across my back and my shoulder blades. He pulled me to him and I inhaled the heavenly scent of Ranger.

"I'm going to miss you too," I sighed. Please be careful. Will you be able to call?" I replied, as I snuggled into his chest.

He propped himself up on one elbow, and looked at me. He stroked my face and began talking. "I'm leaving Tank in charge. He will know how to get in touch with me while I am away if it's an emergency. He has the numbers. Otherwise I won't be in touch. It's just for a week or two. If you are well enough, you can take a shift or so next week. Just let Tank know. Want me to send Ella up with some breakfast? You didn't eat that much last night."

"No thanks. I don't think I could keep anything down right now. I think I'll just lie here a little longer, and then I'll get up and shower. Maybe I'll visit mom later today.

"Babe," Ranger replied, "you already feel bad. You're just asking for it if you do that."

I nodded and knew he was probably right. The last thing I wanted was my mother fussing over me. I'm sure she'd be cooking her Monday night meatloaf, and the thought of it made my stomach flip. Normally, I would love meatloaf. And all the things that went along with it. Mashed potatoes, peas, rolls, and of course upside down pineapple cake. But right now, the thought was making me feel like my stomach was on a roller coaster ride.

As I tried to clear the images from my mind, another wave of nausea swept over me and I threw the covers off. I pushed past Ranger and barely made my way to the cool tile of his bathroom. I slumped to my knees and started dry heaving. I hadn't eaten very much at all in the past few days, and now there was nothing more to come up. But that didn't stop me from the vicious dry heaving at the toilet. I should have been embarrassed, but my dignity was way beyond repair at this time.

Ranger came into the bathroom and wet a washcloth. He handed it over to me, and pulled my hair back from my face. He rubbed my back as I closed the lid to the toilet and laid my head down on its' cool lid. I closed my eyes and saw stars – a result from all the dry heaving.

"You ok, Babe?" Ranger asked. "This nausea is becoming a regular occurrence for you. I don't feel good about leaving you here like this. I am going to call Bobby. He's down in the gym anyway. "

"No, please. Just help me back in to bed. Bobby can come up later and check on me, ok?" I replied. I figured a little more sleep might help, and I really didn't want any of Rangers men seeing me looking like this. I needed a serious shower before anyone else came in to the apartment. Maybe Ranger would accept this compromise. Compromise. Not something that Ranger was used to doing.

Ranger let out a long sigh, and surprisingly, he nodded. He kissed the top of my head, pushed a curl behind my ear, and picked up the bag.

"Ok Babe, I have to get going or I'm going to be late. Lester is waiting. I'm going to call Bobby and that's the end of it. Please take it easy, ok?"

I nodded and smiled my best fake smile to him. "I promise I will. Be careful, ok?"

Ranger nodded, kissed me once more, and walked out the door. I heard him call Bobby and ask him to check in on me later today. Then he asked Bobby to have Ella bring up some juice, fruit, and toast later on in the morning. Bobby must have asked if something was wrong because I heard Ranger say "she will be fine. She's just a little under the weather. No, she won't be working today. Yeah, I know… put her on for the weekend if she's feeling better by then. No, she hasn't been to the doctor. Good luck trying to get her to go." He paused, and then said "Yeah, thanks. Tank has the emergency number and all of the information about the case."

I heard him shut and lock the apartment door, and then I drifted off to sleep. I woke up several hours later and made my way to the bathroom. I could still smell the wonderful scent of Ranger- the mixture of Bulgari still lingered from his shower earlier. After using the bathroom, and washing my face, I squeezed out some of Ranger's toothpaste onto the spare toothbrush that he kept in his apartment for me. I tried my best to brush the nausea from my mouth but only succeeded in gagging each time the toothbrush raked across my tongue. Blech! The nausea was still there. And the headache was worse. I padded back to the bedroom and saw that Ella had brought Ranger's suggested fruit, juice, and toast into the bedroom while I was sleeping. I'd have to remember to thank Bobby and Ella later. I sipped some of the juice and took a bite of the toast. I chewed slowly, but as soon as the food hit my stomach, I regretted the decision to try to eat something. Ugh!

I started to lie back onto the dark mahogany bed that took up a large portion of Ranger's bedroom. As I closed my eyes, and pulled at one of the overstuffed pillows, pain seized me. Cramps. Bad cramps. Shit! Is this why I have been feeling so lousy? Period cramps? Surely not. PMS is a bitch, but it doesn't usually make me feel this bad. My period had been very irregular for the past several months. The monthly spotting I had been experiencing was a nice change from the flood I was used to. My dear sister Val wouldn't know anything about that. She was angelic during her time of the month. No acne, no bloating, no cramps, no PMS. Meanwhile, I was the alien from Mars. I blew up, cramped, and got cranky. Life's just not fair. The spotting was probably from stress I imagined. And probably from the birth control pills I had recently started taking a couple of months ago. I keep forgetting to take them, and had to double up on more than one occasion. Ok, who am I kidding? I had to double up on several occasions. But rarely did I miss more than one dose, so after reading the package, I figured I was ok. I needed one of those neat watches like Ranger had to remind me to take them. The kind with an alarm. Mental note.

I curled up into a ball and pulled the covers up around my shoulders. I barely managed to drift off to sleep between cramps. They were awful annoying. About an hour later I decided to get up and shower.

I turned on the hot water, and the steam enveloped me. I showered with some of Ranger's soap, washed my hair, and toweled off. The steam had made me a little light headed but the shower had felt nice. I dressed in sweats for the day and toweled off my hair. I dried it with the hairdryer that Ranger kept in the cabinet for me. I glanced at the clock and noticed that the clock said 10:45am.

By this time I was still feeling horrible. I was putting the hairdryer away and decided that maybe a day spent watching old movies wouldn't be so bad. Ranger's television had tons of channels, so surely I could find something to watch. I took a step out of the bathroom, into Ranger's bedroom, and was doubled over with a paralyzing pain. It gripped me from deep inside and brought me to my knees. The room began to spin and before I knew what was happening, I was on the floor. The pain was relentless, tearing away at me. Much like a cramp, but much worse. I tried to stand up but couldn't. I was still on my knees, and all of a sudden, I realized that the room was spinning, and was going black. I couldn't see very well, and I couldn't hear. The room was a dark tunnel, and the bedside light was growing dimmer and dimmer. And then darkness. I passed out.