Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. Any other character is a figment of my imagination and any similarities to real persons is merely a coincidence

This story is definitely AU. The characters have the same physical appearance as in J.E.'s books; however I have changed ages of some characters. This will eventually be a Babe HEA and Cupcake fans may not be happy as Joe is not a good guy. Frank Plum fans may be upset as well, as he is not portrayed favorably, nor is Helen Plum. References may be made to any of the books in the series so if you haven't read them all, you may want to wait to read this. That said...

Chapter 1: First Time With A Babysitter

Stephanie's POV:

I looked in the mirror and put the finishing touches on my makeup. I had just finished when I heard Rafael call out. My eyes widened as I felt my blouse opening of it's own accord. I grabbed my blouse to hold it together and as I made my way into the nursery I said, "Rafael, you have got to stop doing that to mommy."

I came to a stop at the crib where my 3 month old son was lying on his back waving his hands and kicking his feet. I gave him my stern look but lost it when I took one look at his laughing face. I picked up my baby and held him in my arms as he nursed. I made my way over to the rocking chair and sat down, absently rocking him as he nursed. I smiled as I told him how much I love him and was very happy he had come into our lives. I told him about all the changes that had taken place in my life over the past year, and that it was just a couple days away from the first time I'd ever seen his father. I told him all about how Ranger had helped me and changed my life in so many ways. The whole time I was talking to him, Rafael lay in my arms nursing, his eyes locked on mine.

I knew the minute Ranger entered the apartment and part of me reached out to him, letting him know where we were. Within seconds he was in the room with us. He smiled as he watched Rafael nurse. When I finally lifted the baby to my shoulder to burp him one final time, Ranger came over to lean down and kiss me. "I'll be ready in a couple minutes Babe."

I smiled and gave a nod before asking, "Is Ella coming down here or are we taking him down to Ella?"

"Ella will come up here so Rafael can sleep in his own bed."

I continued to rock my son even after he had burped and his eyes had closed. I loved sitting and rocking him. I could sit like this for hours with his small body nestled against me. Even at three months of age, my son was a force to be reckoned with. I smiled as I thought of his way of telling me he was hungry. It started on the day of his christening. Whenever Rafael was hungry my blouse would magically unbutton. I was grateful that he showed restraint when we were out in public at least. I had just laid him in the crib and re-buttoned my blouse when I heard the door open and Ella called out to let us know she was here. I smiled and made my way out to the kitchen. Ranger was already there talking with her. He turned when I walked into the room and his eyes darkened. I walked up to them and reached up to kiss Ranger.

Ella smiled and said, "You have a great time tonight and don't worry about a thing."

I smiled at her and replied, "Thank you for coming down. He just ate so he should be good till we get back, but if he happens to wake up and need something else to drink; you'll find some frozen packets that will thaw quickly in hot water."

"Of course dear. I'm sure we will get along just fine."

I hugged Ella and whispered, "I hope he doesn't tell you he's hungry the same way he tells me."

Ella just laughed and shook her head. Ranger took my hand and said, "If you need us just call my cell."

Ella nodded and we made our way to the elevator. Once inside the elevator Ranger pulled me to him and kissed me thoroughly. When we came up for air he said, "You look beautiful Babe."

I smiled and our eyes locked, "You look pretty good yourself."

We headed to the Turbo and Ranger made sure I was seated before getting in behind the wheel. In no time we were on our way to a yet undisclosed location. When Ranger told me we were going out tonight to celebrate my birthday, he neglected to tell me anything about where we would be eating. All he would tell me was to dress casual. I took in his black clad body and couldn't help the smile. He was wearing casual, black dress slacks, a black dress shirt, and black shoes. In the year I'd known him, I could count on one hand the number of times he wore something that wasn't black. I just hoped the navy blue dress slacks, royal blue blouse with gold chain belt at the waist, and 4" navy FMP's was the right mix for our destination. I'd pulled my hair up into a top knot. The royal blue lacy push up bra and matching thong set I'd put on was going to make it's debut when we returned home.

Ranger came to a stop at Massimo's Ristorante Caffe. Ranger managed to get a spot right by the door to the restaurant. He climbed out and came around to help me out. He had his arm around my waist and I was leaning my head against him as we entered. We were met by the maître de, and when Ranger gave his name we were shown to a room in the back. I frowned, wondering what was going on. I mean, the rooms were always reserved for parties and it was just the two of us. I looked at Ranger and he leaned down covering my mouth with his. I couldn't think, all I could do was react to the pleasure of the kiss. When he released me I heard a group of voices saying, "Surprise!"

I turned to see a room full of people. Connie and Tom, Lula and Tank, Val and David, Bobby, Lester, Hector, Ram, Woody, Binkie, Hal, Cal, Vince, Manny, Grams, Rosa, Maria and Carlos and all Ranger's brothers and sisters were among the mass of people in the room. My eyes widened in surprise. I turned to Ranger, "How did you manage?"

At that moment I felt him. I turned and Diesel was standing there smiling at me. "Hello Princess."

I felt the tears burn my eyes and tried to keep them from falling. Ranger pulled me into his arms and said, "I wasn't sure if we could pull off the surprise or not. We worked it so everyone else would do their best to stay away so they wouldn't give anything away. I was the only one who'd be in constant daily contact so no one gave me any details. I just had the name of the restaurant."

After making sure I said hello to everyone, we all sat down and the waiters and waitresses started serving the food. We had a great time. I had never had a birthday party before in my life. As a matter of fact, the only presents I'd ever gotten were from Val. Just then, Val came over to me and held out a package. I gave her a watery smile and said, "You didn't have to get me anything."

She hugged me and said, "I wanted to make up for all the birthdays I missed."

We had a wonderful time. The food was wonderful, and Ranger surprised everyone when he had a micro small piece of birthday cake. My eyes widened when he took a bite. He just smiled and leaned over and whispered, "Something tells me I'm going to need the extra energy once we get home."

I blushed. Ranger just chuckled and winked at me. There had been numerous times over the past two weeks when I'd sensed something was up. I was extremely grateful I hadn't given in to the urge to just open myself up and see what was going on. Diesel spoke softly so no one else could hear, "It's because you knew it was nothing bad, but a pleasant thing in store for you. We are all pleased with the progress you've made."

I raised an eyebrow. He looked at me like he was still puzzled about something. "What?" I asked.

"We still can't figure out how you can do that when you had never been able to do it before."

I smiled, "You mean raise just one eyebrow?"

He nodded.

"Have you noticed that Rafael can raise just one eyebrow? He's been able to do it since the day he was born."

"Really? Babies don't display that skill till they're much older."

I nodded. "At least not in context. Rafael has been able to raise his eyebrow in context since he was born."

Diesel shook his head. "At least you're not going into this blind. You have abilities yourself, even if you aren't aware of all of them. They will help you with your son."

I laughed, "He's a handful, but I love him with all my heart. Even though I'm happy to be here with all of you, I had a hard time leaving him at home."

Diesel's eyes lit with an emotion I recognized. I knew that's what everyone saw when I looked at Rafael. I reached out and put my hand on Diesel's arm. His eyes met mine. "I love you too Diesel. I have from the minute I knew you. I feel like you are part of my family."

"Thank you Princess. You are the child I will never have."

"Why can't you have children?"

Diesel frowned, "Because I'm unmentionable."

"I remember. You told me that the first time we met. But I still don't understand why you can't have a child of your own someday."

I could see he was thinking about what he would say to me, but wasn't having any luck with the reasoning. Finally, he looked at me like he'd just had a thought. "I never thought to ask the elders about it. I mean, I know two unmentionables aren't allowed to be together because one of the partners loses their powers. I just never thought to ask if that meant we couldn't get married or if it just meant we'd have to find a "normal" human. You've given me something to think about."

I grinned, "So glad to be of help. So, will you be able to join us for Halloween?"

He grinned and nodded. "Unless one of the other unmentionables goes off the grid and the elders need me to bring them back."

I nodded. "We're getting together at Grams house. We're going to transform the whole house."

Diesel gave me an uh oh look and I raised an eyebrow and waited for the question I knew was coming. "Is that wise? I mean, she does still live in the Burg."

I grinned, "That's the point. Can you imagine how many people are going to come by just to take a look? We're going to have the best candy too."

Diesel's eyes lit with amusement. "I'll be there Princess."

"Good to know."

After a wonderful dinner, Lula brought out party hats and the gifts were set out. I was led to a chair in the center and everyone crowded around while I opened the gifts and Randy took pictures of the event. I was touched by the love shown by each of the party goers. Once I'd opened all the gifts and posed with all the guests for pictures, it was time for the party to end. I thanked everyone for the wonderful party and told them all that this was the best birthday I'd ever had. Not only did I get a party that was the absolute best, but I had all of them in my life and I felt so much love. I wasn't the only one wiping tears from my eyes when I finished speaking.

Ranger put his arm around my waist and pulled me close. He spoke softly, "Love you Babe."

"I love you Ranger."

We left a short while later. Cal and Hector said they would take care of transporting all the gifts back to Haywood. Ranger drove us back to the apartment and we made it upstairs in no time. Ella met us at the door and quietly told us that Rafael never woke up once. We thanked her and when she asked how my party was I hugged her and told her I wished she and Luis could have been there. She smiled and said Luis wasn't feeling well and although she would have loved to be there for me, she had a wonderful time watching Rafael sleep. We hugged again and Ranger saw her to the elevator.

I quietly made my way into the nursery and came to a stop at the crib. I looked down at the sleeping form of my son and smiled. He looked so beautiful lying there sleeping. A couple minutes later Ranger joined me and put his arm around me. I leaned my head against his chest and for several minutes we just stood there watching our son sleep. I closed my eyes for a moment and then smiled. I looked up to Ranger and said, "He's asleep for the night."

Ranger smiled at me and led me into our bedroom where we celebrated my birthday by giving each other a very pleasurable night. The bra and panty set was a definite hit. I knew the minute Ranger left the bed the next morning and I sat up and yawned. "If you give me a couple minutes, we'll come with you."

Ranger leaned over and kissed me. "You get ready and I'll get Rafael."

I smiled. I made my way into the bathroom and answered the call of nature before brushing my hair and pulling it back into a ponytail. I brushed my teeth before heading to Ranger and Rafael. I reached them just as they were leaving the nursery. My eyes lit as I took in the sight of them. Ranger had dressed the baby in an outfit that matched his own. Rafael let out a yell and I felt the tug on my tank top. Ranger and I both chuckled as I took the baby and let him nurse. Ranger scrambled the feed so I could have some privacy as we made our way down to the gym. I had just finished nursing and Ranger took Rafael to burp him while I readjusted my top. When the elevator doors opened I was fully dressed once again.

When we entered the gym, the several of the guys stopped what they were doing to wave. By the grins on their faces, I knew that even though they hadn't seen anything, they were well aware of what I had been doing in the elevator. Most of them got right back to their workout. Tank, Lester and Bobby headed over.

Tank took Rafael out of my arms and asked the baby, "So my man how was your first time with a babysitter?"

I smiled, "Ella said he slept the whole time."

Tank grinned. "That's because he's a smart little dude."

I thought I saw Rafael wink but couldn't be sure.

Rafael's POV:

I woke up hungry and gave a yell. When momma came in she was saying, "Rafael, you have got to stop doing that to mommy."

I was waving my arms and kicking my feet. I couldn't help laughing. Momma looked at me with her stern look but she lost it pretty quickly. She picked me up and held me in her arms. I lost no time in latching onto her nipple and starting to suck. She sat in the rocker and we rocked as I nursed. I felt all warm and squishy inside when she told me how much she loved me and how happy she was that I had come into her life. She told me about all the changes that had happened in the past year, and that in a couple of days she would have known dad for a whole year. My eyes were locked onto hers as she talked to me. I loved times like this when mom held me and talked to me.

Pretty soon dad came home. I knew something was happening tonight, I just didn't know what. I sensed momma was a little uneasy about something, but I just focused on what she was doing now. After a few minutes, dad left and momma lifted me to her shoulder and rubbed my back. I let out a loud noise and she laughed. I felt my eyes getting heavy and let my eyelids close. She continued to hold me and rock. I loved it when momma would sit and hold me. When she put me down I wanted to open my eyes and look at her again, but I sensed she needed me to sleep so she'd feel better about leaving.

I kept my eyes closed till I knew she was no longer in the room, and then I opened them and let myself find her. She and dad were talking with Ella. Momma was telling her if I woke up there was frozen packets in the freezer. I wrinkled my nose. I hated drinking that shit. It wasn't the same as when momma would let me nurse. I could see momma and dad leave and for a second I felt funny inside. I closed my eyes when I sensed Ella nearing my room. She came in and whispered softly, "You beautiful child. You be good now. Your daddy has taken your momma to a special party because today is her birthday. All her friends have planned a surprise party for her. She's never had a birthday party before. Now you be the good boy I know you are tonight so we don't have to call her and spoil this night for her…okay?"

I thought for a couple minutes and then smiled. Momma's birthday. That's what was going on. Momma was going to her birthday party and Ella was staying with me. Okay….I could deal with this. I'd never been away from momma and dad at the same time before, but as long as Ella was here, I knew I would be safe. I let myself fall asleep and determined I'd give momma the whole night as her birthday present from me.