Living by the Rules

by Michiganlex

Embarrassingly Bad Story written in 2002. Stephanie and Ranger story.

Chapter 1

"About the proposal, Cupcake...." Joe's tongue slid down my neck and I shivered with desire. I didn't care about his proposal. He could forget about it. I just wanted to have a Morelli induced orgasm and then maybe after, if I wasn't too sleepy, I would run like hell.

I am Stephanie Plum, baddest bounty hunter in the whole damn town. Well, I would be if all the other bounty hunters will suddenly struck by lightening or fled in a swarm to avoid the mass destruction that I usually cause. I am getting better at my job. My arms were wrapped around the best vice cop and best ass in Trenton, Joe Morelli. My sometimes on and mostly off again boyfriend.

"Joe." I whispered, wrapping my arms tighter around him and crushing his lips with mine. Stop him talking. No one wanted to hear him talk right now. We wanted his mouth busy and his hands busy. I heard the door open. Ignore the door, my mind screamed. Joe must have heard my screaming because he continued trailing wet kisses down my neck.

In a whoosh of air, Joe and I were pulled apart. I could almost hear the pop like we were suction cupped together. My breath was gone and I was tossed over a shoulder gently. The kidnapper was very nice in the care that he took not to bump my arm. When Ranger was FTA, I'd been shot by a dead man, but that's another story. I was almost tempted to stop screaming. Almost. I could see Lester holding Joe off.

"What the hell is going on?" Joe yelled after me. I looked at the back of the neck of the person who was carrying me. Not Ranger. I was being carried off by a neck that was unknown to me. The neck tossed me into his Bronco and I saw that it was Bobby. He winked at me and I attempted to look surly. He climbed into the Bronco, closing the door and blocking my exit.

"We can do this thing the easy way or we can do it the Bombshell way." Bobby said, smiling.

"What's going on?" I asked. My voice around the same level as it had been when I was screaming. Hell, I was still screaming. I could hear sirens somewhere in my head. Bobby and Lester work for the truly baddest bounty hunter in the whole damn town, not to mention best body in Trenton, Ricardo Carlos Manoso aka Ranger. Ranger and I seemed to have had something starting when he was FTA for killing the guy who eventually shot me, but it was hard to tell where you stood with him.

"We gotta roll." Lester said, jumping into the Bronco. I noticed that Tank was in the drivers seat. I looked out of the side window to see Joe running for the Bronco with his gun. His shirt was out of his pants and all askew. He looked sexy. Oh, if they'd only let me go back for five minutes! I sat back and sighed heavily.

"Someone answer me or I will scream until your ears bleed." I said, as calmly as I could. Tank tore away from the curb and I heard a gunshot. Something bounced off of the back window. I sunk into my seat and Bobby laughed.

"Bulletproof." he explained. It wasn't that I didn't believe him, it was just that I was very comfortable slouched down in the seat and I am comfortable with the number of holes already in my head.

"What do you want to know, Bombshell?" Tank asked.

"Where are we going?"

"Classified." Bobby said, smiling. I was going to slap that smile off of his face.

"Where's Ranger?" I asked.

"Where we're going." again with the smile. Bobby had better tie up my hands or something.

"You'd better try to relax." Tank said, "We're going to be driving for awhile."

"This is kidnapping." I informed them, narrowing my eyes.

"Yes," Bobby agreed, "Yes it is. The best thing for you to do would be to relax. You want a Coke?" he opened a cooler on the floor.

"No." I snapped. I was cranky. I closed my eyes. I would show them. I fell fast asleep.

When I woke it was dark and Lester was driving. Tank and Bobby were asleep. I looked out of the window. What I could see of the landscape looked so different than New Jersey.

"Where are we?" I whispered.

"South Carolina." he said, smiling as my mouth fell open. "We're just about to cross into Tennessee." Tennessee! This was almost too bizarre.

"Where are we going?" I whispered. I tried to sound threatening, but when you're whispering it's just not possible. My squeak sounded more terrified than a promise of an ass whooping.

"I can't tell you. I really wish that I could." Lester said, almost sadly.

"You pull me out of Joe's arms when he's just proposed and leave me without even a badly needed and very deserved...." I couldn't say orgasm. Lester was smiling broadly, so I know that I hadn't needed to finish that. "I just have to know what's so damn important."

"The boss needs you." Lester said, shrugging by way of explanation.

"And Ranger couldn't have waited five minutes?" I asked.

"Shit, is that all he takes, Bombshell, you're getting ripped." Lester said, laughing. I blushed.

"I'm hungry and I have to pee." I pouted.

"There are carrot sticks in the cooler and a jar somewhere back there." Lester said laughing. He stopped laughing when I hit his arm. "Okay, okay, I'll stop. No funny stuff. You watch for a McDonalds." he ordered.

"There's one!" I squealed as we flew past an exit. He swerved onto the ramp and the car slowed. Tank and Bobby were instantly alert.

"What's wrong?" Tank asked.

"Bombshell is hearing the call." Lester explained.

"We've got a jar back there." Tank joked. I narrowed my eyes at him. I'm glad that they were having fun. As soon as I got a gun I would be shooting each and every one of them in their big toes.

Lester pulled into the parking lot and I looked around for my purse. I glanced in the rearview mirror and didn't recognize the crazy haired woman staring back. I almost screamed. My makeup was smeared from sleeping and my hair was standing almost on end. I looked desperately for my purse and then realized that this wasn't homeys on a road trip, they'd kidnapped me and, what was worse, had left my makeup and hairbrush back at the OK Corral. My face found my hands very easily. I was not going to show my face to anyone ever again. I would stay like this.

I felt a soft piece of cloth touch my hand and took the handkerchief that Bobby offered. I wiped the makeup from my face and handed it back to him. Tank handed me a comb, but I scoffed at his comb. My hair would break the tines with a glance. I tried to style my hair the five-finger way but it only came up looking worse. I moved to open the door.

"Don't try anything, Bombshell." Tank warned.

"What am I going to do Tank. I have no money and no weapons, which I may have been able to use to make money. I could sell myself, but who would buy me with the way that I look right now. God knows where we are. Nah, Tank, I'm sticking to you like glue." he smiled.

"Smart move. Big Mac combo?" he asked.

"You know it, cheese and a coke. Make that extra cheese." I shivered and Tank tossed his "security" jacket around my shoulders. I sighed. Tank is really kind of sweet. They all are really.

I made my way into the restaurant and glanced around the room. Only a few people who seemed to be fellow travelers were gathered around tables. I could only imagine what they thought as they gaped at the chick with the really bad hair and her three hulking body guards. Something crashed to the floor behind the counter and the staff stared, open mouthed. I smiled and waved at the assemblage and rushed for the restroom trying not to look like a punk rock star from the 80's.

I entered the restroom and stared glumly at myself in the mirror. What had happened? Joe and I were....entangled. Joe and I were pulled apart. I was tossed into a vehicle with three men that I totally trust to be taken to another man whom I completely trust. What was I so worried about? Tank's jacket rang. An alarm system? Actually it sounded like a phone. Would Tank be so careless as to leave his phone? Obviously. I felt around and found the phone in the pocket. Bingo!

I hit the send and end buttons to cut the caller off and dialed Joe's home phone number. He picked it up on the first ring.

"Did you find her?" he asked.

"Who you looking for?" I joked. He was so relieved that he forgot to yell.

"Oh thank God, Cupcake! Are you okay? Where are you?" his words were rushed. No cop face this time, I'll bet.

"I'm fine, Joe. I was kidnapped by three of the seven dwarves....the three really big ones. They're not going to hurt me." I assured him. He did not calm down.

"Where are you? I'll come get you right now." he said, anxiously. I felt sorry for him, but happy that he cared enough to be so worried.

"We're in Tennessee. I think that we just crossed the border. I've been sleeping most of the way. I don't know where we're going. They won't tell me."

"They let you call?" he asked, confused.

"No. Tank gave me his jacket when we stopped for food and a potty break. His jacket rang and I realized that I could let you know that I'm fine." There was a knock at the door.

"Bombshell, you okay in there?" Lester's voice called out.

"I'm fine." I called back. "I'll be out in a minute."

"We're waiting. Just remember, if you're looking for a window, that there are snakes and bears in these here parts." Lester faked a southern twang. I laughed.

"Glad you're having fun, Cupcake." Joe said, bitterly. "I've been worried sick."

"I'm sorry, Joe."

"About that proposal...." Joe began.

"Yes?" I asked. The door to the restroom swung open and Lester took the phone from my hand, hitting the end button.

"He knows that you're okay and that's all he needs to know." he said.

"You knew I had the phone?" I asked.

"Hell, Bombshell, what do you take us for? Amateurs?" he asked. "You've got food waiting and we need to get back on the road." I trotted after him almost happily. I'd endure most anything for Mickey-D's french fries.

Chapter 2

I could feel myself coming awake slowly. I couldn't bear to even think about opening my eyes. It must be very early in the morning. I wondered how long I had slept. I pulled the blanket closer around my neck. Blanket? I had fallen asleep in a moving bed. My bed was no longer moving. I heard a chair rattle and felt a face very close to mine. I opened my eyes to stare straight into big brown eyes framed by silky looking brown curls. I was jealous. I should have hair like that.

"DADDY! THE LADY IS WAKING UP!" the owner of the brown curls and brown eyes screamed. I sat up. This was obviously Ranger's child. The curly hair was to her waist and her skin was a lighter shade of mocha, but the eyes and features, though very feminine, were the same. She would be breaking hearts very soon. Ranger walked through the door. He looked good enough to eat. He was wearing exercise shorts and a long muscle tee-shirt. His biceps gleamed with sweat.

"Emmy." he scolded softly, "When I asked you to let me know when Miss. Plum woke up, I meant for you to come and tell me."

"I know, Daddy, but Uncle Tank said not to leave even for a minute 'cause this one is sneaky." Her smile was angelic. I could forgive the little indiscretion even though she'd practically torn my head off. I felt woozy, almost as if I had a hangover. What a waste to have a hangover without having had the fun first. Ranger smiled at me.

"Would you like some Tylenol?" he asked. "Tank threw a few sleeping pills in your Coke to help you....relax." I groaned and Ranger left for parts unknown. Good, he could stay gone. I looked over at Emmy, who was still staring at me wide eyed.

"Where are we?" I asked. I assumed that we were in Florida, but I have been known to be wrong.

"Uncle Tank says that I shouldn't tell you. He said that if I tell you, you'll just tell your nasty old boyfriend and he'll come steal you."

"What's wrong with that?" I asked.

"Uncle Tank says that you're a nice lady and should be treated like a princess and your mean old boyfriend treats you like a maid." She seemed smart. Why hadn't I thought of that? Seems she and Tank had a heart to heart about my life and had me all figured out.

"I've wanted to meet you ever since I was a little kid." she said. "Daddy told me about how you blow up cars and about your nice Grandma and your Bob and your Rex."

"How old are you?" I asked.

"10." she answered, proudly. Ever since she was a little kid, huh?

"You seem to know a lot about me." I said, feeling as though my head would explode.

"Daddy and Uncle Tank tell me stories all the time. My favorite stories are about your Gramma. I would really like to meet her someday."

"Maybe you'll get that chance once I get out of here." Ranger came back into the room and handed me a cup of steaming liquid. I stared at it suspiciously. It looked like coffee but it could be drugged or worse, it could be healthy.

"It's just coffee." Ranger said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Drink it." I took a hesitant sip. It tasted okay. Ranger handed me two Tylenol. I took them.

"What am I doing here, Ranger? Do you know what your men did?" I asked, glancing at Emmy.

"hehehehe."

"It's not funny, Ranger." I said, narrowing my eyes. "Here I am having...." I glanced at Emmy. "A friendly conversation with Joe and next thing I know I'm ripped out of....the conversation and tossed into a Bronco and hauled to God knows where several states from where I started."

"I'm just gonna consider that a bonus." Ranger said, struggling not to laugh. I glanced at Emmy. Nice buffer zone, Ranger. He knew that I wouldn't do anything with her there.

"What's going on, Ranger?" I asked. It was almost too amazing not to want to stare at the little female Ranger. I wondered if her mother was here. Focus, Stephanie. He read my mind.

"Her mother left us a long time ago." he said, softly. Emmy didn't seem bothered in the least. I wondered what he meant by left. Did she die or had she just walked out for milk one day and never come back? No fears of running into the mother here then. I wondered if we were in Florida. I looked for a window.

"We're in Alabama." he said, reading my mind again. Stop that! Only invited guests were welcome in my mind and I wasn't sure that Ranger would ever be invited again.

"I'm sorry about the way that this all happened. I didn't mean for it to happen like that." he said, softly. "I just wanted them to bring you here." That had almost sounded like an apology, and me without a tape recorder. No one would believe this one. He turned to the little girl.

"Emmy, will you get Miss. Plum some clothes, please? Just get a pair of my sweatpants and a tee-shirt." Emmy wrinkled her nose.

"Your clothes are boys clothes, Daddy." she said, looking incredulous. I laughed. Oh that hurt!

"Miss. Plum can wear boys clothes until you take her shopping to get some new ones. She left New Jersey too quick to have time to pack anything. Now go." he said, swatting at her bottom. She scurried out. Time to go postal on his ass.

"What the hell do you think you're doing kidnapping me?" I asked.

"Hey, kidnapping was not a part of the plan that I was in on, they did that for fun." Ranger was trying not to laugh and I was trying not to kill him.

"What exactly was the plan and would it have kept Joe from shooting at the car?" I asked. Ranger's face turned dark.

"Joe shot at the Bronco?" he asked.

"You don't understand, Ranger, I was ripped from Joe's arms. Bobby carried me to the Bronco while Lester held Joe back. I was kidnapped. Wouldn't you shoot at someone who was trying to kidnap your girlfriend? Try to stop them somehow?" My voice was starting to rise and I wouldn't be stopping it.

"How's your arm?" he asked, touching the bandage lightly. An electric shock flew through my body.

"It's fine. The guys said that you need my help, with what?" I asked. He could try to change the subject all he wanted, but it wasn't working with me. Ranger smiled slowly at me.

"I just wanted you here, is that wrong?" he asked. His smile was melting my insides. "I hear congratulations are in order." I shot back to reality.

"What?" I asked.

"You're getting married. You must be very happy." I couldn't read Ranger's face, but all of his muscles were tensed.

"How the hell did you hear that?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Tank told me. It's why he moved the plan up to kidnap. I gather you didn't have a chance to accept." I sighed and stared at my hands.

"What?" Ranger asked. Ha! So he couldn't read my mind.

"I'm not sure it was a real proposal. I think that he just wanted to get rid of his mother and grandmother." I flashed back to Joe's porch. We'd been ready to devour each other when his mother had knocked on the door. Joe had told his mother and grandmother that we would be married as soon as possible. Too bad that he forgot to ask me. I wasn't sure of my answer, but I was sure it wouldn't be a whole hearted yes.

"Do you want to call Morelli?" Ranger asked, breaking into my reverie.

"No." I said, softly. " I just want to know what I'm doing here. I trust you, Ranger and I'm sure that you had a good reason to do what you did." Ranger smiled broadly.

"You never doubt me, Babe. You're amazing." he sighed heavily and then continued, "but my reasons for bringing you here aren't entirely altruistic."

Chapter 3

"Okay, but first tell me what altruistic means." I said. Ranger was bilingual. He spoke both ghetto and boardroom fluently.

"It means innocent." he said, smiling a wolf smile. I was saved by Emmy who chose that moment to come tearing into the room. She was holding sweats and some boxer briefs. I laughed.

"Daddy doesn't have any bras." she explained. "but he says that I can get a training bra so we can buy one for you when we get mine." I held the boxer briefs up and could have sworn that I saw Ranger blush. Just thinking of Ranger only wearing the shorts that I was holding made me sweat in strange places.

"Miss. Plum can't wear my underpants." Ranger said, "But that was very thoughtful, thank you, honey."

"But, Daddy, you said...." she began.

"I know, but that doesn't mean boy's underwear."

"She HAS to have underwear, Daddy." Emmy stage whispered.

"I'll be okay, Emmy, thanks." she smiled at me.

"You run and find Uncle Tank, okay?" Ranger said. He seemed like a great dad.

"Okay." she said happily. She turned to me. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss. Plum, I do hope that we'll be seeing a lot more of you." she was so formal, I couldn't help but smile.

"It was really nice meeting you too, Emmy." she turned to go.

"Freeze." Ranger ordered. His voice would have made my heart stop, but Emmy just turned back. "Where's my kiss?" he asked.

"Daddy!" she hissed. "I am not a little girl."

"Miss. Plum won't tell anyone, will you?" he winked at me. I wondered what he could be talking about. I smiled weakly and nodded. Emmy sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes. Impressive, but not up to my long and hard 32 years of practice.

"Where's my kiss?" Ranger asked.

"In my pocket." she said, wearily.

"Then where's my sugar?" Ranger asked.

"It's in my kiss." Emmy giggled and tossed her arms around Ranger's next, kissing his cheek. I laughed. It was so sweet. Emmy tore from the room yelling for her Uncle Tank.

Ranger showed me where to find a bathroom. The bathroom was mostly ultra modern glass block and black tile construction. There was a shower stall separate from the Jacuzzi. The toilet was in another room. I nearly screamed when I glimpsed myself in the mirror. My hair was fluffed and puffed into a frizzy brown afro and I looked 10 years older. I groaned audibly.

"It's not that bad." he said laughing, "Your hair is a little scary."

"A little?" I asked, "Have you actually looked at me?"

"I look at you all the time, Babe." he closed the space between us and my heart stopped. He leaned in and pushed some hair out of my face. I leaned back almost instinctively. He seemed to think better of whatever he had planned and moved back. I wondered if I should be frightened. I was alone in some secret hideaway with Ranger. We weren't alone though; there was Emmy, Tank, Lester, and Bobby and who knows who else. I glanced in the general direction of the mirror again.

"I really need a shower."

"Need some help?" he leaned in again. I could feel his hot breath on my face.

"N-no." I stammered. Yes, I thought. Now Stephanie, no need to be easy. I narrowed my eyes. "I'll do just fine on my own."

"Your call." Ranger said, leaning back. "I could stay to make sure that you don't try to escape. It wouldn't be the first time that I saw you in the shower."

"Nice of you to remind me." I said, blushing. I turned away so that he wouldn't see my face turn 20 shades of crimson.

"De Nada. Anytime." I turned back to say something clever and he was gone.

I stayed in the shower for a long time, the hot water poured over my body. I'd never had a shower that felt so good. When I opened the door and stepped out I noticed that there were cosmetics, a hairbrush, and a hairdryer that hadn't been there before. I shivered thinking that Ranger had been in the bathroom while I'd been in the shower and I hadn't noticed. I found myself fantasizing about Ranger surprising me in the shower. Stop that Steph! I ordered, this is business. This is not Ranger trying to get friendly. Maybe it was, he'd never said what he wanted.

I pulled the sweats on as quickly as I could and styled my hair in big fluffy curls. I would almost kill for soft curls like Emmy's. I sighed. I noticed that my dirty clothes were gone. I'd left them in an organized little pile on the floor. The thought of Ranger washing my bra and panties sent another shiver down my spine. Control yourself, Stephanie.

I found a door and opened it. I stepped in an almost cave like bedroom/ library. There was a loft with shelves and shelves of books and a ladder to climb to them. An oak railing circled the balcony/ library area. Impressive. There was a four post oak bed covered in an oddly patterned quilt in neutral colors in the middle of the room. The carpet was plush and a hunter green color. I heard a soft chuckle behind me.

I looked around and there was no one there. I looked up at the balcony behind me and saw Ranger holding a book bound in black leather.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yea. Just trying to find my way back to you." I said. I hadn't realized how that could be taken until it left my mouth. I blushed.

"Good to hear." he said, descending the ladder. The muscles in his back and legs mesmerized me and I tripped over the too long leg of the sweatpants falling forward. Ranger jumped from the ladder catching me before I fell on my face on the floor.

"My hero." I said in an attempt to be sardonic. He raised an eyebrow. "You have GOT to teach me that!"

"I'll teach you anything you want to know." he said, winking. I blushed again.

"You could tell me why I'm here." I asked, narrowing my eyes to cover my embarrassment.

"That's cute." Ranger said.

"What?" I screeched.

"You trying to look tough." he chuckled again and I swatted at him. Swinging threw me off balance again and I fell forward again. He caught me and pushed me back until I was seated on the bed. He sighed and kneeled in front of me. I laughed to myself. He almost looked like he was getting ready to propose.

"Are you going to tell me why I'm here?" I asked. Ranger sighed heavily. Was he nervous? Impossible.

"I need a wife." he said, simply. I'm pretty sure that that's when I passed out.

Chapter 4

Ranger was standing over me with a concerned look in his deep brown eyes when I opened mine. He had gotten a glass of water and had splashed some on my face.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He handed me the glass and I sat up, drinking some of the water.

"I just had the weirdest dream, Ranger." I looked around the room. Maybe it hadn't been a dream. "Did you just ask me to marry you?" I hadn't realized that my hands were shaking until I saw the water bouncing in the glass. Ranger smiled and took the glass from my hands.

"Yes, I did." he said, simply.

"Wha...."

"Maybe I should explain...." he began. I cut him off.

"Maybe you should."

"I was married years ago to Emmy's mother. She died suddenly and I was forced to leave the military to take care of my daughter. I shouldn't have left her alone so much and was sorry that I did. Carla's parents are opportunists. They saw an opening for control and they tried to take Emmy from me. They used everything that they had against me and I almost lost her. What saved me was that I had a sympathetic judge who saw that I had changed and wasn't the reckless kid that I'd been." he paused and I reached for his hand. This was obviously hard for him. I wasn't used to seeing Ranger looking so vulnerable. I smiled weakly as encouragement. Curiosity was killing me.

"My former in laws got wind of the recent arrest and have decided to use it to try to get custody of Emmy. They're going to dig up whatever they can. It'll help me to look like a family man. Wife, kid, dog, CEO of Rangeman Inc." OH! That's why he proposed. This was a job.

"Would we really be married?" I asked.

"Would you have a problem with that?" Ranger responded.

"Well yea....no....I mean yea." I sat back against the headboard. This one was a little tough to wrap the mind around. A question shot through my brain.

"Why me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"You are my first choice for anything like this. I like you and Emmy seems to like you." he said. "She loves the stories." I narrowed my eyes again.

"I wondered about that." I said, nervously. I wondered just what he'd been telling her.

"What if I won't?"

"I can work up some paperwork so that it's not real. Actually, Babe, you're my only choice for this one." I felt heat rising to my face and I must have been beet red. "I'm really banking everything on you doing this."

"Can I think?" I wasn't sure about this. Being married to Ranger would be great, but I'd be married to Ranger. It wouldn't be real. It would be so that he could keep his daughter. That's noble right? I could be noble.

"Of course." Ranger said smiling. It was obvious that he thought my thinking was a yes. I hate to admit it, but he's right.

"I would have to talk to Joe first. I couldn't just show up in town as Mrs. Manoso and have him hear about it." Ranger's face darkened.

"You can tell Morelli." he said hesitantly, "but no one else."

"I'll need to call him." Ranger picked a phone up from the bedside table and handed it to me.

"Not now!" I screeched. "I don't even know what I'd say!"

"Let me know when you're ready." Ranger stood and offered me his hand. I stared at it. "You can stay in my bed if you want, Babe, but I may be tempted to climb in there with you." His wolf smile was at full beam. I jumped up as though my butt had been burnt. It had never occurred to me that this was Ranger's bed! He laughed.

"Hungry?" he smiled at me and pulled me close to him.

"Ummm...." I began. Emmy ran into the room and screeched to a halt. She stared at us wide eyed. I'm sure that I turned bright red. I jumped away from Ranger. A smile spread across Emmy's shocked features.

"Uncle Tank asked me to get you, Daddy." she said, smiling almost coyly. She swayed from side to side looking like she was excited about her new secret.

"Okay, honey, thank you. Will you show Miss. Plum to the living room, please? I'm going to start dinner in a few minutes." Ranger amazed me, he was a different person with Emmy. His whole demeanor changed. He was not the stoic and non-communicative Ranger that I knew so well.

"Yes, Daddy." Emmy said, taking my hand. She practically pulled me from the room and down the hallway. The house seemed to be mostly open concept and the living room was huge and beautiful. Overstuffed couches and chairs in tan and beige littered the room. Oak tables were placed in front of the two sofas and a huge oak counsel lined one wall.

I sank into one of the couches and Emmy settled next to me.

"Are you going to be my new Mommy?" Emmy asked. That startled me, I hadn't expected her to know.

"I'm not sure." I answered, as honestly as I could.

"Uncle Tank says that you love my Daddy and don't know it."

"Uncle Tank seems to say a lot of things." Emmy looked confused. "I'm sorry. I mean that I don't know your Daddy all that well." Didn't help. Emmy looked more confused, if that was possible. Best to drop that. "What grade are you in?"

"Third grade. I don't go to school. Daddy says that mean people might want to take me. People come in and teach me here." she informed me.

"Tutors?" I asked.

"Yes." Ranger must be better off than I thought. Marry for money and sex, that sounded good to me. Emmy continued.

"Uncle Tank says that lots of bad people would like to hurt Daddy but those of us that love him, we've got to get Daddy's back."

"That's true." I agreed. I would know, I always needed someone getting my back.

"Daddy said that you got his back when he was in trouble. He said that's what happened to your arm." she touched it gingerly. "Does it hurt a lot?" Emmy's brown eyes were wide.

"It did at first. I just can't use it now. It'll heal." I assured her.

"Can I look at it?" she tried to lift the edge of the bandage. "I can wrap it back up. Uncle Lester said I'm really good a bandages when he let me practice on him."

"Miss Plum doesn't want to show you the bullet hole. It needs to stay covered." the voice clearly surprised both of us, Emmy jumped up.

"Okay, Uncle Tank." she said, smiling at him. He walked over and she threw her arms around his neck.

"You doing okay, Bombshell?" he asked carefully. He was obviously afraid of my reaction. I narrowed my eyes, I would give him a reaction. I glanced at Emmy. Damn! I smiled.

"Emmy has been sharing some of your opinions about my situation with me." I informed him, smiling wickedly.

"She likes hearing about you. She was excited when she saw that we brought you home, didn't want to leave your side." Tank smiled innocently. Oh, just wait until I could get him alone! Ranger entered the living room.

"I've ordered dinner. It should be here anytime." He sat down next to me and hung his arm casually across the back of the sofa.

"Pizza!" Emmy squealed.

"And salad." Ranger chastised. "You've got to have vegetables." Emmy groaned. I couldn't help but agree. I fell asleep before the pizza arrived. I woke up starved. It was dark. There was a weight on my stomach. I slid my hands over the weight. It was an arm. I heard a sharp intake of breath next to me and the weight tightened around my waist.

"I wondered when you'd wake up, Babe." Ranger whispered in my ear. I'm almost sure that I screamed.

Chapter 5

The lights flashed on, blinding me. I jumped from the bed.

"Bad dream?" Ranger asked. I narrowed my eyes at him. I could almost see him smiling though all the colors in the room were running together while my eyes adjusted. He was smiling!

"No exactly bad." I said, crossing my arms and shooting him a look that I hoped would at least maim him. "What am I doing here?"

"You fell asleep." Ranger explained, still smiling.

"I'd guessed that. What am I doing in your bed?" I thought back quickly. Had I done anything that would have made my mother run for the gin cabinet or the ironing board? No, not that I could remember.

"You must have been tired." Ranger commented, changing the subject. "You left before the pizza got here. Lucky for you, Emmy insisted that Tank leave you a few slices." My stomach grumbled and I looked down hoping a nasty stare would hush the gurgling. No chance. That Emmy is an saint. My attention properly diverted, Ranger and I headed for the kitchen.

I sat down in front of the window in the breakfast nook and stared out into the darkness. My mind tossed and turned while I considered how I felt about waking up with Ranger's arm around me. Had I known that it was Ranger's arm, it might have been kind of nice. I had been too frightened to think. A lot had happened....there was a lot of to process. I could almost make out mountains in the darkness. I'll bet that this place is really peaceful during the day. I thought back over the day as Ranger silently placed a plate in front of me. I wished that I had remembered to ask him not to warm it up. I bit into the steaming slice and burnt the roof of my mouth. I waved my hand in front of my face and swallowed painfully. Ranger raised an eyebrow.

"The cheese was hot." I explained. Ranger smiled. A thought flashed through my mind. I wondered why I hadn't thought of it before. I guess I just wasn't used to having to consider children.

"Ranger," I asked hesitantly. "Do you think it's a good idea to sleep in the same bed with your 10 year old daughter in the house?" he smiled.

"If you're uncomfortable with the arrangement I can sleep in Tank's room. When you got here you were sleeping in Emmy's room." I thought back to the room. That couldn't be right. It was so Spartan and bereft of girly things. Not a stuffed animal or pink anything in sight.

"Really?" I asked amazed. Ranger did the eyebrow thing again. "It was just so....generic. I would have never known that a little girl lived in that room." He shrugged.

"Emmy was in bed before I carried you upstairs. She'll figure out sooner or later that we're in the same bed, she's a smart kid. She doesn't have the preconceptions that some kids have because she really has only been around the guys and me. She doesn't watch television."

"What does she do for fun?" He thought a little too long about the one and I sighed.

"She has a great life here. She's a good kid." Ranger was defensive.

"I'm sure she is." I agreed. "Maybe I'd have kids if I could be sure that they'd be like Emmy and not like my sister's kids."

"Not pushing you, Babe, but...." he began. I cut him off.

"Yea, I'll do it. I'd rather do it the fake way, if you can make it believable." I sighed. This would not be easy. I would love being married to Ranger, but knowing it would be a sham tainted the experience. "Will we be going back to Trenton?"

"Probably."

"Can we keep the marriage quiet there." I asked.

"Sure. Only the courts in Florida and whoever they hire to dig dirt will need to know."

"Okay, then we can leave Morelli out of it. I do need to call him though." Ranger handed me the phone and left the room. I sighed and glanced on the clock on the microwave 2:00am. It would be best to catch Joe off guard. I only hoped that he would be sleeping. I tried his home, no answer. I called his cell phone number.

"Morelli." he answered, gruffly. There was giggling in the background.

"Hey Joe." I said, feeling steam rising.

"Cupcake!" I had his full attention. "Where are you?"

"Alabama, from what I hear." I answered, "Not really sure beyond that."

"When are you coming back?" he asked. There was another giggle.

"Not sure. I'm doing a favor for Ranger. He didn't say how long it's going to take."

"What kind of favor?" Joe's voice had a suspicious edge. The giggling got louder.

"What's going on where you are?" Joe sighed.

"I'm at a party." he explained.

"A party!" I was furious. "I get kidnapped and you go out to celebrate?"

"You told me not to worry. You said that you trusted these guys."

"I do, Joe, but geez!" His casual attitude was pissing me off and the giggling wasn't helping..

"Call me when you get back in town." he said.

"Maybe I will and maybe I won't."

"Cupcake, don't be...." I hung up on him. I didn't want to hear anymore. I covered my face with my hands and sobbed. I had never trusted Joe as much as I should have and the giggling in the back ground was just too much for my insecurity to handle. I heard soft footsteps in the kitchen and a small hand touch my back. I looked up into Emmy's worried brown eyes. She was wearing a long nightgown with a little bow at the neck. He hair was pulled back into a sloppy ponytail.

"Are you sick, Miss Plum?" she asked.

"You could call me Stephanie." I said, wiping my eyes and trying to smile. Strange, it was almost as Emmy had never seen anyone cry before.

"Daddy says that I should respect my elders." she said, "he says that it's respect to say their last name." I smiled.

"I know that you respect me, so you can call me Stephanie." Emmy flashed a mini-version of Ranger 1,000 watt smile. The smile faded quickly as she seemed to remember that I'd been crying.

"Why were you crying? Was someone mean to you? I can ask my Daddy to....." Ranger entered the kitchen and saw Emmy on her knees in the chair next to me.

"Emma Leigh, what are you doing up?" he asked, sternly. She attempted to divert his attention.

"Stephanie was crying, Daddy. I wanted to make her feel better."

"That's Miss. Plum, Emmy." Ranger was scaring the heck out of me. He seemed to have little effect on the child.

"It's okay, Daddy. Stephanie says it's okay."

"We can talk about that in the morning, you get back to bed, young lady." Emmy turned to me.

"I hope that you feel better, Stephanie." she said, softly and kissed my cheek. I was astounded. Emmy ran from the kitchen.

"Walk." Ranger called after her. He turned back to me. "You okay?"

"Yea." I sniffled.

"I prefer that Emmy uses titles. It teaches her respect." Ranger said, firmly. I was feeling brave.

"I simply told her that know that she respects me. I'm going to pretend to be your wife, Ranger, which means I'm going to pretend to be her mother." he seemed to take my meaning and nodded. I decided to push my luck.

"Does she have any friends?" I asked. Ranger turned defensive.

"She likes the guys."

"Does she even know anyone her own age?" I asked.

"Lester has a son that's just a little younger. Mostly it's just been us." he sat down in the chair that Emmy had vacated. "I know she's sheltered, but I don't want anything happening to her."

"I notice that you said 'anything' instead of 'anything bad.'" I pointed out. Ranger shrugged.

"Ready for bed?" he asked. He smiled a wolf grin. I still felt like crying.

"I guess." I answered feeling like the queen of the weak willed people. "Are you going to stay with me?"

"Do you have any objections?" he asked.

"No," I thought back to my conversation with Morelli, "none at all."

Chapter 6

I woke the next morning with a plan. Emmy was going to start experiencing life. I got up and found my way to the kitchen determined to make something fun for breakfast. I checked the refrigerator and cabinets. No luck. Tank entered the kitchen and pulled a container containing granola out of the cupboard. He was in a haze and didn't see me. He was wearing rumpled sweats and his feet were bare.

"Tank." I said. He jumped and turned toward me, hand over his heart, eyes wide.

"Don't do that to me!" he chastised.

"I want to go to the mall today....and the grocery store. First I want to go get breakfast from McDonalds." I was all ready to take charge.

"McDonalds sounds good." Tank agreed. "I'll go get it. What do you want?"

"Sausage McMuffin with egg combo. Two hash browns. Also get whatever Emmy usually gets." Tank smiled.

"Emmy doesn't usually get anything from Mickey D's. You talked to Ranger about this?" he asked.

"Are you telling me that Ranger doesn't take her there sometimes even as a treat?" I asked, amazed.

"I don't think she's ever been there." he answered, shrugging.

"Does the one near here have a playland?" I asked.

"Yea, I think so."

"Let's go get her up." I pulled him with me to Emmy's bedroom and knocked on the door.

"She's probably jogging with Ranger. Was he up when you go up?" Tank had an evil smile. I thought back and remembered no Ranger in the bed with me this morning.

"She's what? She's too young to jog." I sputtered. "You go back down and make sure she doesn't eat when she comes back. I'm going to take a shower."

"Ranger is not going to like this." Tank said, shaking his head.

"I know that Emmy is Ranger's child, Tank, but doesn't her life strike you as kind of sad? She's not a kid, she's jogging! How many ten year old kids jog? Thats not even healthy." I was very close to distressed.

"She likes it and she and Ranger spend time together." Tank said, shrugging.

"I'm going to show her what she's missing."

Ranger was sitting on the bed waiting for me when I came out of the bathroom. The look on his face told me that he was the firing squad and I was the skeet that he was going to practice with. He didn't waste a second.

"What do you think you're doing, Babe?" he asked.

"Well, I showered and now Emmy and I are going to McDonalds for breakfast and shopping." I was feeling very brave.

"Emmy is my daughter. I make the decisions for her." Ranger said sternly. This was too much. He was pissing me off. I narrowed my eyes.

"The child has NEVER been to McDonalds, Ranger." I informed him. I was naive if I thought that he would recognize that wrong.

"I know that." he informed me. "I teach Emmy that healthy eating is a lifestyle."

"But Ranger, the occasional trip to McDonalds wouldn't hurt her. Kids need fat to grow." That sounded perfectly reasonable to me.

"You can take Emmy shopping, I don't mind that. Don't tell me that I'm not doing what's right for my daughter. You should know that too much junk food...." he stopped himself.

"Go on, Ranger, what should I know?" I was seriously pissed now. Ranger wasn't going to get away with calling me a junk food junkie even if it was true.

"I'm just saying that I want my daughter to grow up as healthy as possible."

"And I'm a walking corpse?" Ranger laughed. "No come on, I want to hear why I'm so objectionable an influence on your daughter who has never stepped out of this house or seen life."

"You're not an objectionable influence, Babe." Ranger said, softly, "I'll be lucky if Emmy grows up to be like you." He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. Slick. Too bad it worked. "No McDonalds though, okay."

"Can I make dinner tonight?" I asked.

"You cook?" Ranger asked, amazed.

"I can cook a few things." I was pretty sure that I could wing it if I had to.

"It's a deal. You cook tonight." Ranger was laughing at me. I'd show him.

I followed Ranger to the kitchen where Emmy was seated. She was wearing a pink warm up suit eating granola. Her face lit up when she saw me. There was a brown and red bag on the counter.

"Uncle Tank is taking us shopping today." she informed me. "He says that you need clothes so that you can stop wearing Daddy's. I put the clothes that you were wearing when you got here in Daddy's bathroom." she frowned at me. "Why are you still wearing Daddy's clothes? You look funny in them."

"I didn't see them." I said, sitting next to her and opening the bag. Kids weren't so hard to get used to once you got to know them provided that they weren't little demon spawn. "I'll change before we leave for the mall." I assured her.

"Ranger wants you to get a w-e-d-d-i-n-g dress." Tank said. He glanced at Emmy.

"I CAN spell, Uncle Tank!" she said, rolling her eyes. "I KNOW that Miss. Plum is going to be marrying my Daddy. He told me when you were gone to get her." Ranger had told her before I even arrived that we would be getting married. What an ego! He was lucky that this was for Emmy or I would dump his ass on the spot.

"What do I need with a wedding dress?" I asked.

"You're gonna have to ask Ranger that." Tank informed me. I finished my Sausage McMuffin and went in search of Ranger.

"What do I need with a wedding dress?" I asked Ranger.

"For the ceremony." Ranger said, simply. He was a ladder in the garden hanging lanterns. "It's going to be here tomorrow night."

"We're having a ceremony? Why?"

"For the pictures and the happy memories." he said, smiling down at me. I got it. It had to look real in every way, I shrugged.

"I'm not sure about this, Ranger." I said.

"I won't come near you tomorrow at all. I have a beautician coming in to do your hair and makeup. Your parents and Grandma will be here later today. I'm flying Mary-Loua out to be your maid of honor. I have to fly Lula and Connie out too as a bribe so that this won't spread over the Burg." I grinned. Too late. Everyone would know if Connie knew.

"And I have one day to find a wedding dress."

"Yea. I didn't think you'd be looking for the white princess dress. Do you need more time?" he asked.

"No, I can do it."

"Get everything you need." he said, kissing me gently. My knees refused to stay steady. "Tank has the plastic."

Chapter 7

I changed into the clothes that Emmy had laid out for me and went looking for her. I found her in the kitchen with Tank. Her excitement led me to think of Bob and Rex and how sad they must be with only Morelli to keep them company. Morelli, there was someone to think about. If my parents, Connie, and Lula were coming, he would be bound to hear about the wedding. Serves him right, I thought haughtily. Still didn't stop me from feeling bad about the situation. I stared down at Emmy's anxious face. She was wearing blue jeans and a pink tee-shirt.

"You sure do wear a lot of pink." I observed. She glanced down at her shirt, embarrassed.

"Daddy likes pink. I keep telling him that I'm not a little girl." she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. Better by the day, she would be a pro in no time.

Ranger issued a few words of warning before we headed for the mall: No new holes in Emmy's head, no ice cream, only juices or water, no candy. He was just not very reasonable.

"She's my daughter." he told me when I questioned him. That dance was quickly getting old. I dropped the subject noticing that he hadn't said no donuts and Emmy would just love Boston Cremes, I can tell these things.

Tank led us to a helicopter and we flew to Atlanta. The mall in Atlanta was a religious experience. Three levels and 500 stores. Emmy was unimpressed having obviously been there before. She was leading me through the crowds by the hand excitedly pointing out her favorite stores. We shopped for hours. I bought a complete wardrobe and almost matching dresses for Emmy and me for the wedding. Both were champagne colored silk. Emmy's dress had a yoke neck while mine plunged a bit more.

I wasn't trying to undermine Ranger, but I picked up a book about the healthy development of adolescents telling about how young girls can have developmental problems from such activities as jogging. I would just show Ranger, he could do what he wanted with the information. I almost felt elated that I could prove him wrong.

Emmy stopped at the window of a pet store and we watched the kittens in the window playing. The animals made me long for Rex and Bob and a tear rolled down my cheek. Emmy's little hand reached up to wipe it away.

"What's wrong?" she asked, she wrinkled her nose, "You sure cry a lot."

"I'm not crying. I'm just a little sad, I miss my animals."

"I wish I had an animal." Emmy said, wistfully. " I would just LOVE a kitten like one of those." she looked up at me hopefully. My impulse shopping chemical started overproducing and the gray tabby kitten was just looking at me too woefully.

"Let's get one." I suggested. Emmy's brown eyes grew wide with shock. Tank paled. Emmy ran into the store before either of us could stop her.

We were exhausted when we stopped in the food court and surveyed the options. Tank pulled me aside and whispered into my ear. I glanced at Emmy who was happily clinging to the box with airholes and talking to the gray tabby.

"We should just get something at home. Ranger is not going to be happy and the sooner we get home the better off we'll be."

"We're just going to have a snack, Tank," I said, glibly, "we'll stop for groceries on the way home. Ranger said that I could cook tonight." Tank shrugged.

I found a pasty stand and Emmy looked as though she might jump out of her skin. Tank wasn't happy, but he didn't try to interfere.

"What are you gonna get?" she asked.

"What do you want." I smiled graciously at her. She would like me, I was her friend.

"Me?" she was astounded. She had the look of someone who felt like she was living in a dream. Her face turned skeptical and she looked at Tank. He shrugged and her smile spread. "I REALLY want to try the one with the chocolate sprinkles. " I watched her eat the donut and smiled. That must be what it's like to watch me eat. She ate it in three bites, moaning and licking her fingers clean.

"That was SO GOOD." she said, happily. "That tastes SO MUCH better than those yucky chocolate cookies that Daddy makes."

"It's called Carob, Emmy." Tank said, smiling.

"Carob! Ohmygosh you poor child." I was so horrified that I ordered a dozen of the donuts to take home. Something would have to be done about this child. We stopped on the way out and bought nailpolish to match our dresses. I promised to do Emmy's nails for the wedding which brought another bout of eyebrow aerobics from Tank. What's up with that? She can't paint her nails either?

We stopped at the grocery store and I bought everything needed to make the only think that I know how to make, Spaghetti Carbonara. I threw in the ingredients for a double chocolate cake with chocolate icing for dessert. Ranger may not love the meal, but I knew Emmy would. She walked with her hand on the cart and her eyes grew wider with each thing that I tossed into the basket.

By the time we made it back to the house she was on a sugar high and talking a mile a minute. Tank unloaded the groceries while we met a smiling Ranger at the door. I noticed Tank slide by Ranger, the box with the airholes carefully concealed behind a grocery bag.

"OHMYGOSH, Daddy," Emmy hugged him as he took the bags from her. "We had THE BEST time. Just wait until you see the dress that Miss Plum bought for the wedding. She looks SO BEAUTIFUL and mine is JUST LIKE IT. And I got the PRETTIEST KI..." she stopped speaking seeming to only have just noticed that Ranger was staring at her.

"What did she have at the mall?" he asked me, quietly. I held up the pink bakery box.

"Chocolate donut." I answered, bracing myself for the blast. Ranger just turned and carried the bags into the bedroom. I stood at the door. No blast of anger? No "she my daughter" lecture. I walked into the bedroom and saw him seated on the bed, head in his hands. My heart fell and whatever elation I had experienced in my supposed one-upping of Ranger flew out of the open window.

"You didn't say no donuts." I said, hesitantly. He didn't look up.

"Is this how it's gonna be, Babe? Am I going to have to outline what Emmy can and cannot have every time you go anywhere with her?"

"What?" I asked.

"I made clear that I don't want my daughter having junk food and I outline the obvious junk foods found at a mall. I don't mention donuts, though they are implied by my saying junk food, so you buy my daughter a sugar encrusted fat capsule and feed it to her." It wasn't like Ranger to ramble. His shoulders were hunched and he was clearly exasperated. "If I could have, I would have left Emmy out of this deal, but she likes you. I like you. I want you to respect my opinions, or at least act like you respect them for Emmy's sake." Not the time to pull out the book, obviously. I sat next to him on the bed.

"I'm sorry, Ranger, I just know nothing about kids. I want Emmy to like me and I want her to think that I'm fun." he looked up at me.

"She already likes you and thinks you're fun."

"I want to expand her horizons." I decided to take a page from the Ranger Manuel.

"She doesn't need expanded horizons, she's only 10 years old." I slid an arm around Ranger's back and rested my head on his shoulder. His muscles relaxed. "The job of an adult is to be a guide, not a friend. It doesn't help my case when she sees another adult going against what I say." I hadn't thought of that and a wave of guilt crashed over me. Emmy and Ranger were perfect together, and I was causing problems. I rushed for the bathroom feeling a crying jag coming on.

Ranger jumped up and caught me in his arms before I reached the door.

"This is a bad idea." I whispered into his chest.

"It'll be a good idea as long as we can get along and can agree to the basics." I looked up at Ranger. His features were very soft and caring and there was something in his eyes.

"Let's go work on dinner. What are you planning to make?" he asked, shooting me a 1000 watt smile. One tragedy averted. The only thing left to plan is how do we keep the cat out of sight?

Chapter 8

I found aprons for Emmy and me and shooed Ranger out of the kitchen. This was going to be meal and I didn't need him having coronaries over the amount of fat over my shoulder. There would be no low fat substitutes in my cooking. I read the recipe that I had demanded that Tank find on the Internet.

"First thing we need is bacon drippings." I told Emmy, "Your Daddy is just going to LOVE this." She wrinkled her nose and held up the strip of extra thick bacon that the recipe demanded.

"What is this?" she asked.

"Bacon." I answered, patting her cheek. Kids were so cute and naive.

"Pig?" she asked.

"Yes." I answered, still smiling. She shook her curls, amazed. I threw the bacon in the pan and watched it sizzle. Some grease jumped out and hit Emmy's hand. She jumped back and let out a little scream. Ranger tore into the kitchen, fire extinguisher in hand. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Not funny." I said.

"Not meant to be funny." he answered, wrinkling his nose at the pan.

"Pig." Emmy informed him.

"Without the curly pink tail." he said, looking as though he just might slip and maybe laugh. I shooed him out of the kitchen.

"Recipe." I commanded my assistant. She held up the sheet of paper. I studied it carefully. "Do not allow the roux to color more than blond" I read aloud. "What's roux?" I asked Emmy, she shrugged. "Okay, so we'll just make it and hope that we make it right." Emmy giggled. I kept tasting the sauce, but it never seemed to taste right.

"We've got to balance this meal." I informed Emmy. I am Queen of the kitchen, " Time to make the chocolate cake. When my Mom gets here we'll ask her to make pot roast. Do you like pot roast?" I asked.

"I LOVE pot roast." Emmy informed me. "Daddy makes it on the barbecue and it's so good." Somehow didn't think that the child and I were speaking the same language. We made a huge mess while making the chocolate cake. We managed to get flour everywhere. We ate the icing while we waited for it to bake.

"Miss. Plum," Emmy began hesitantly, "I don't feel so good."

"I don't either, Emmy, " I agreed. "I think we ate too much icing. I looked at Emmy struggling not to laugh. She had flour all over her face and in her hair. Chocolate was all over her nose and mouth. Finally, she looked like a real child.

"Have you named your kitten yet?" I asked.

"No. he got away when I got him out of the box. He's like Lightening. I think that's what I'll name him." I nodded, sounded sensible to me.

"You go get a shower, Emmy." I ordered, "And come back with a rubber band. I'll clean up this mess and french braid your hair for tonight."

"Can I wear a dress too and not a pink one?" she asked, excitedly.

"Sure, whatever you want." I answered, smiling. Emmy tore from the kitchen.

I started to mop up the mess when Ranger entered the kitchen with a gray tabby in one hand. The other hand appeared to be bleeding.

"What is this?" he asked, angrily. I pretended to look closely.

"It's a cat." I said, after a close examination.

"It's a vicious little monster. Where did it come from?" I sucked in my breath.

"Well, in all fairness to me, I bought that cat for Emmy before you and I had our talk and I agreed not to undermine you." I squeezed my eyes shut and waiting for the onslaught, I didn't have long to wait.

"What did you think you were doing buying my daughter a cat?" he asked, anger barely controlled.

"I thought that she could use a friend and he was so cute and I really miss Rex." It all came out in a rush of breath.

"Rex is a hamster and he and Bob are on their way here as a surprise for you. This cat, he's just a snack for Bob, or Rex is a snack for him. Your choice. He handed me the cat. "The cat stays in our bathroom until I figure out what to do with it. Emmy cannot get attached."

"Too late." I almost whispered. Ranger shook his head. "I'm too tired to fight this one, Babe, the cat stays, but no more, okay?"

"Okay?" I said, giving him my wide eyed, innocent promise and making sure he didn't see the fingers crossed behind my back.

Ranger, Tank, and Emmy sat around the table and stared suspiciously at the pasta on their plates.

"What is it?" Ranger asked.

"Spaghetti Carbonara, Tank got the recipe off of the Internet for me. Just like the Olive Garden's." I smiled and put the grated parmesan in the middle of the table.

"Not JUST like the Olive Garden's." Tank muttered pushing the pasta around.

"Just try it!" I urged. Just to show them that they would expire painfully with one bite, I took a tenuous taste, it was pretty good. Emmy seemed encouraged and nibbled at hers. She was wearing a green velvet dress that looked better suited to a Christmas party, and still seemed a little pale from our icing binge. Amateur, I thought.

Tank and Ranger tried the sauce and each took a few bites before pushing their plates back and declaring that they couldn't eat another bite. I put my best puppy dog eyes on and pointed them toward Tank.

"I can understand Ranger not eating, but you, Tank, I expected more form you. If you don't eat your pasta I don't see how you'll have room for double chocolate layer cake." I had learned that one from my mother. Tank grudgingly shoveled a few more bites into his mouth.

"Is that good?" he asked.

"Geez, Tank, you'd think it was some green and smily healthy thing and not yummy pasta." Psychological warfare. Tell him it's yummy and maybe he'll believe. One day, in the very distant future, I'm gonna make the best mother ever. Tank stared at me for a moment and then took another bite. I win.

"When will everyone be here?" I asked Ranger.

"In a few hours. Bobby and Lester are off gathering them. Your Grandma insisted on a stop at the beauty parlor before heading out." Great, everyone knows. It's all over the Burg now. The Burg is a Latin word for "Place where news flies faster than sound." Usually the news is bad and usually the really bad news is about me. The Burg is also the old world area of Trenton where families converge and disappear and bad thing rarely happen. I'd grown up in the Burg, which had forced the substitution of "rarely" for "never" in the description. Ranger smiled at me, his ESP in rare form.

"It's okay, Babe, Lester is with her and is going to make sure that she doesn't say anything."

"Who's gagging Connie?" I asked, skeptically.

"Connie is too afraid of me to say anything after I impressed on her how important it is that this stay a secret. She understands." Emmy looked confused and was staring at her plate.

"Daddy, why is Connie afraid of you?" she asked.

"Remember Miss Hanna and how she would act when I was around?" Ranger asked. Miss Hanna, huh, I would have to check into that.

"Yes." Emmy confirmed. "It was 'cause of your muscles and how strong you are..." she thought, "and 'cause you always look cranky." she smiled, broadly.

"Exactly." Ranger smiled broader. He enjoyed scaring people, I could tell, "That's why. It's all about image, honey." I could tell that now. After seeing Ranger with Emmy I couldn't imagine the fierce Ranger that nearly always made me feel like I should be wetting my pants. Emmy turned to me.

"People aren't afraid of Uncle Tank 'cause he's always so nice to the ladies." I laughed. What a strange thing for a small child to say. She helped me clear the table. My plate was the only one that looked significantly different from when I'd set them on the table.

"Why don't you go see who wants cake." I advised Emmy. She ran off. She walked back slowly a few minutes later. I could have guessed what happened. I waited for the explanation.

"Uncle Tank wants cake. Daddy says no thank you and he says that I've had a lot too much chocolate today." she stared at her feet.

"Maybe he'll let you have some when everyone gets here." I said, brightly in an effort to cheer her up. Just a little piece. She slid into one of the chairs at the table.

"I really like chocolate, Miss. Plum." she said, seriously.

"Of course you do, it's all part of being a woman." Emmy considered this.

"Maybe Daddy doesn't understand because he's not a woman?" Emmy asked. My brain screamed DANGER ZONE, but I ignored the flashing alarm.

"Probably that's the problem." I handed her Tanks plate and smeared some chocolate on her nose.

"You go see if your Daddy likes chocolate now." I said, smiling broadly at her. She ran off. I hoped she wouldn't fall and waste that wonderful cake.

Chapter 9

Ranger and I were in the living room when my mother arrived like a whirlwind through the door.

"Stephanie Plum!" My mother said, angrily. "Not a word from you about this. You just send goons. Don't I deserve a phone call? How many times have we even met Ranger? And what about Joe Morelli, Angie told me just yesterday that you were engaged to him." My father was staring at the ground and Grandma Mazur was looking around amazed.

"This is some place you got here." she said, nudging Ranger, "I'll bet there are gonna be a lot of sad women when you're off the market."

"Not too many." Ranger answered nervously. My father stepped forward and mumbled something to Ranger. Ranger raised his eyebrows and nodded, they shook hands.

"Anyone want cake?" I asked, "I made it chocolate layer cake."

"YOU made it?" my mother seemed astounded. Always the perfect guest, she bypassed the fear and said that she and my father would love a slice.

"Not me." Grandma Mazur said, "I got to be this old I'm not gonna stop my lucky streak with food poisoning. No thank you, I want to be here for this here happy day." Ranger laughed, but I shot him a look and he followed me into the kitchen.

"Where's Lula and Connie?" I asked.

"Hotel. They'll be around tomorrow. Lester will drive your parents and me to the hotel tonight. Emmy will come with me unless...." he looked at me pointedly. Did I think I could follow his rules? Hell, why not.

"Emmy will be okay with me." I assured him.

"As long as you're sure." Again the look.

"I am not going to force feed her chocolate chip cookies and salty fries, she'll be asleep mostly. What time is this thing tomorrow?"

"It's going to be at 1:00pm." Ranger's mask was in place. I smiled and waggled my eyebrows.

"Will there be a honeymoon?" I asked.

"Yes." Ranger confirmed, "it's all planned." I stood, mouth open, staring at him. I finally recovered enough to speak.

"And somehow you never find it necessary to tell me these thing?" I asked, crossing my arms and narrowing my eyes.

"I guess I didn't." Ranger agreed, shrugging. My mother peeked around the kitchen door.

"Can I help?" she asked.

"Sure." I handed her the plates. "Please take these out while Ranger puts on some coffee and I get Emmy."

"Emmy?" she asked.

"Ranger's daughter." One of the plates fell to the floor. My mother quickly recovered. Ranger was helping her clean up the plate so I thought I'd just abandon ship while we were only taking on water.

I found Emmy in her room, curled up on the bed and clutching her stomach. Lightening was curled up next to her. I sat down next to her and stroked her hair. Lightening hissed at me. He really did have a nasty attitude.

"Are you okay, honey?" I asked gently. I was secretly hoping that whatever she was holding onto her stomach would not be coming out on me.

"I don't feel so good." I checked her forehead. It was warm but I wasn't sure if I could tell if there was a fever or not. Putting my hand on her head at least made me feel like I knew what I was doing.

"Maybe you ate too much chocolate." I suggested. "Your body isn't used to being so happy." she smiled weakly. I stroked her hair again. "You get some sleep. You can meet everyone in the morning." she shot up.

"They're here?" she asked excitedly. She clutched her stomach. "Could I meet them, please? I have been waiting my WHOLE LIFE."

"I suppose. But only for a minute. Okay?" she agreed. She scooped Lightening up. He struck me, literally.

"Maybe you should leave the cat here. Didn't Ranger say that he should stay in his bathroom?" I asked.

"He was lonely." Couldn't argue with that. She followed me to the living room, carrying the cat.

Emmy clung to my side showing me that she was, despite my influence, a very wise child.

Everyone stared when we walked into the room. Grandma Mazur was the first to speak.

"Well, aren't you just the cutest little thing ever." she stepped forward and leaned down. Emmy's grip on my waist tightened. "Whatcha got there?" she extended her hand toward Lightening. He hissed and snapped at her hand. "Oh my." she said, jumping back.

"He's a cat." Emmy said, softly.

"Her alarm system." I elaborated, laughing. "Emmy isn't feeling too well so she just wanted to meet you guys and get to bed." Ranger was obviously surprised and looked worried. I waved a hard airily at him, hoping that he knew that it would be okay. He nodded, but the worried look stayed.

"It's so nice to meet you, Mrs. Mazur." she said, shyly.

"Well isn't she a picture?" Grandma Mazur responded excitedly.

"I think I got some chocolate somewhere in my bag." My mother said, picking through her purse. "That is the prettiest dress, come sit next to me." Emmy obediently released my waist. Ranger shot me a 'talk to her.' look.

"Emmy's had a lot of chocolate today already, Mom, and she's not feeling well...." she stopped me.

"She can save it." my mom said, rubbing Emmy's back. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"My stomach hurts. I ate too much sweets." Emmy explained, "Usually I can't have sweets and Miss. Plum said that my body isn't used to them. Daddy doesn't understand about chocolate 'cause he's a man." I glanced quickly at Ranger and his look had changed from worry to controlled anger. I shrugged as if to say, 'where do they get these things?' It was obvious that Ranger wasn't buying it.

"Emmy should probably get to bed now." I said. Emmy stood.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Plum." she hugged each of the three adults. She was the picture of polite society. Tank scooped her up and carried her to Ranger who kissed her on the cheek. Ranger took her from Tank's arms.

"You can call us Grandma and Grandpa, honey." my mother said, smiling. She turned to Grandma Mazur, "she the sweetest little thing." Grandma nodded and I could have sword that I saw dad smile.

"I'll take her, Tank, thanks." he started out of the room and I scurried to follow. He turned to me. "It's okay, Babe, I can put her to bed." he kissed me on the cheek and walked down the hallway. Common sense told me to stay with the others, but I was never one for common sense. Ranger was seated on the bed when I hurried into Emmy's room.

He looked up.

"She's changing." he said,. "what was that about men not understanding?" he raised an eyebrow and I could have sworn that he almost looked amused.

"It just slipped." I assured him, perching on the edge of the bed.

"I think that I'm going to stay tonight." he informed me.

"She'll be fine, Ranger, it's just an upset stomach. I'll stay here with her, if you'd like." Emmy came into the bedroom dressed in a long nightgown similar to the one she'd worn the night before.

"You gonna be okay, kiddo?" Ranger asked softly, helping her onto the bed and tucking her in. She nodded, smiling weakly. He kissed her forehead.

"You want me to stay?" Ranger looked hopeful.

"I'll be fine, Daddy." she reached up for his face. It was a normal reaction but so intimate that I felt like I shouldn't be there. Maybe it was because Ranger is a single parent, but his bond with Emmy was stronger than I'd had with either my Dad or my Mom. I was briefly jealous. I felt like I was watching the whole thing on television. Ranger turned to me.

"There's a doctor on site. I'll show you where the guys sleep. Just pick up the phone and press the pound sign and 19 and that hooks you right to the doctors room. Keep a close eye on her." He was giving a mission plan and I thought that maybe I should salute. Better not, he might not take it the right way. I attempted to commit the instructions to memory but had a hard time getting past the whole 'on site doctor' thing. Was it bad to be so impressed?

"It's important that you take good care of her, Steph." he rarely used my first name so the urgency was understood. I nodded and he kissed me lightly on the lips. "I'm going to take your parents and head to the hotel now. The next time we meet you'll be minutes away from being Mrs. Manoso. If you want to back out, the time is now." I was becoming more nervous with each word and I'm sure Mr. ESP was reading me loud and clear.

"Nah. Who wouldn't want to marry you?" I asked, nervously.

"Exactly." he said, kissing me deeper and leaving me weak at the knees. When he let me go, I glanced at Emmy. She was smiling beautifully at us. No doubt from her, that was evident. I felt a twinge of guilt. Was I doing the right thing where Emmy was concerned?

Chapter 10

My parents and I send our good-byes and I walked them out to the Bronco. Grandma Mazur hung back.

"I should stay here with the young girls. Your mom just isn't fun anymore. I don't know where I went wrong that I raised a daughter with such a big stick up her...." I cut her off.

"Grandma! You need rest for tomorrow, it's gonna be a big day."

"Not like I ain't ever seen you get married before." she pouted. "Just never seen you marry someone with a package so good." she smiled broadly at Ranger. "Too bad you and me are gonna be related, hotstuff." I could have sworn he blushed. Must have come to some relief to him to know he'd be married into the Plum dynasty. He's probably happy it isn't for real. The thought that this was a sham made me feel kind of sad. I would have liked to marry Ranger for real sometime in the future, maybe. Right now, I knew that probably because of all this, that would never happen. I sighed and my mother walked over.

"This is all a real surprise, Stephanie, I hope that you know what you're doing. Joe Morelli's heart is going to be broken." I stared at my feet, it probably would be and I wasn't sure how comfortable I'd be if he found out before I could tell him everything. This really wasn't fair to him. I couldn't think of anything to say, so I resorted to the truth.

"I like Emmy." I said, shrugging.

"She seems like a wonderful child." mom said, smiling.

"She is a great kid. Ranger's raised her so well." That earned me a smile from Ranger. My spirits lifted just a bit.

"Where are Bob and Rex?" I asked.

"Bob is in the compound and Rex is in the bedroom." Ranger informed me.

"Don't you worry about them, Stephanie. Ranger is having us take them back when we leave so that you can go on your honeymoon. It sounds wonderful, dear, I would love...." Ranger stopped her.

"It's s surprise, Mrs. Plum." he said, mocking anxiety. She smiled.

"Sorry. You may call me 'Mom.'" she told him.

"Mom." he repeated looking as comfortable as he would have if he'd just laid an Ostrich egg. Ranger hurried everyone in the Bronco and turned back to me.

"I'm counting on you, Babe, take good care of my baby." his eyes were very dark and serious. His arms were around my waist and I could feel all points in my body tingling.

"I will." I whispered, placing my hands on his chest, "like she was mine." I don't know where that came from, but Ranger's smile upgraded a few thousand watts.

"Glad to hear it." he said, leaning down and kissing me deeply. Good show for the folks, I understood. My body didn't seem to understand and it melted into Rangers and I moaned slightly. He pulled away.

"I'll see you tomorrow." he said, softly. He disappeared into the night while I struggled to stay on my feet.

I had been asleep for a few hours when I heard a vicious hissing noise. I was awake instantly and stared blearily at Emmy and Lightening.

"I can't sleep." she said, "and my tummy still hurts."

"You can't sleep because you're not tired or because you're tummy hurts?" I wasn't sure if it was necessary to get this straight, but I figured if it was the latter we should call the doctor.

"I don't know." said the very helpful Emmy. I didn't know if she was too old to climb in with me, so I went with my next thought.

"We should do our nails for tomorrow." I suggested, "It seems like such a shame to be up and wasting time." I stumbled to the dresser and checked on Rex. We'd had a tearful reunion, me tearing and him ignoring me. I would ignore me too if I had abandoned me with Morelli and went off fraternizing with children and cats. He was still angry judging for the jiggle in his hind quarters as it protruded from the soup can.

"Is that your Rex?" Emmy asked. I nodded, still asleep. She put the cat in the aquarium.

"What are you doing?" I squealed, she looked shocked and hurt.

"I just wanted Lightening and Rex to meet. I know that they would like each other." Surprisingly, no tears were forthcoming. I relaxed and pulled the cat from the cage. He nipped at my hand.

"That cat only loves you. He'd probably sooner eat Rex than look at him." I informed her. He probably sooner eat me than look at me. "Let's go do our nails and have some cake. It'll be like a slumber party."

"Slumber party?" she asked. I gasped and her eyes went wide with fear.

"You have NEVER had a slumber party?" Of course she hadn't, she had no friends with which to have one. "We stay up half the night," best to leave out the all night part, "and do each other's hair and nails and eat stuff that's really bad for us. We should probably forget the food part since you're not feeling well." Emmy's tired brown eyes turned excited. The illness, whatever it was, was still pulling her down, I could tell.

I was starting to think that maybe the best idea would be to just call the doctor. The way that Emmy had been clutching her stomach reminded me of something though. It hit me in a rush. She was too young, right? We sat down at the table and Emmy doubled over. I decided to call the doctor.

"I'll be right back." I assured her. I practically ran to the phone. A deep and bleary voice answered.

"Yea." it said.

"Hi, this is Stephanie Plum...." he stopped me.

"I've heard of you Miss. Plum. Ranger called and told me that Emmy was sick and you may be calling, is she okay?" he seemed to come awake instantly. All business.

"This may sound crazy, but I think that Emmy is having menstrual cramps. I'm wondering if maybe I sound call you just to be on the safe side. Isn't she too young?"

"It wouldn't be too usual, Miss. Plum, some girls menstruate as early as 7 years old, it really depends on the person."

"I was 14." I blurted, instantly regretting it. I did remember my mother wanting to take me to be checked for developmental problems because she'd been 12. The doctor chuckled. I determined I would give him the evil stare if we ever met. The realization that Emmy probably had no idea of what was happening to her and was probably scared as hell flooded me.

"I had better get back to Emmy. Will you come look at her?"

"I'll be right there, don't worry, Miss. Plum. Everything will be fine." Nice for him to say not to worry. Ranger would probably blame my arrival for his daughter turning into a woman and, if it wasn't her period, he would just continue to blame me because my diet isn't entirely balanced. I hung the phone up and walked back into the kitchen. Emmy was crying. I always got overwrought too. I sat in the chair across from her. Ranger wasn't here and the talk would be up to me.

"Emmy," I asked gently, I was nervous. "Have you ever had your period." her eyes were wide and it was obvious she had no idea what I was talking about. Oh god, what to do?

The doctor arrived and Emmy hugged him. He introduced himself as Carl Wolf. He seemed very nice. He was older than most of Ranger's men, probably late 30's and built like all of Ranger's men...big. He was blond and had probably played tackle or something in college. He looked like the "All-American." Emmy seemed very comfortable with him as he led her to her room for an examination. I stood near the door and watched as he handed her a cup and then went into the bathroom to examine it. They bantered casually but I was caught up in wondering what I would tell her if actually forced to talk to her about this. The examination took about 15 minutes. He led me from the room leaving Emmy seated on the bed.

"Your diagnosis is correct, Miss. Plum." he said, smiling. "Emmy is tonight a woman."

"She already thought she was a woman so it'll be no surprise to her." He laughed. His laugh was deep and rich. I could easily see him as an old man, muscles turned to fat and belly jiggling when he laughed. Odd visual, I must be really tired.

"She gave me a urine sample and there were small traces of blood and eggs. I'm sure you have the equipment that she needs so I'll leave you to it." he turned to go. I grabbed his arm.

"Wait! What do I tell her? It's obvious that Ranger hasn't talked to her, couldn't you talk to her?" He smiled and patted my hand.

"I'll send someone out for feminine products if you need, but the rest is up to you. You are going to be her step-mother."

"Not really, though. Won't Ranger want to talk to her about this?" I was near panic.

"Call him." he suggested. "Someone will be back." He left, leaving me in a heap of nerves on the floor. I found the hotel number that Ranger had left. I called. A too happy female answered.

"I need to speak to Ranger." I said in a rush of breath.

"Ranger?" she asked. His real name had totally slipped my mind for a moment, I thought back. It can't be healthy for a heart to beat this fast, I thought. Emmy would have her period and I would have my first heart attack all on the same night.

"Ric-Ricardo Manoso." I faltered. I could hear her typing. "This is an emergency. It's about his daughter." I said, in an effort to hurry her. I was put on hold and treated to a horrible muzac version of "Candle in the Wind." I tapped my foot and stared at my nails. There was a knock at the door and I rushed over. Lester with a package of feminine items. He had a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Looks like the honeymoon is going to be....." I slammed the door in his face. The music stopped and Ranger sounded like he hadn't been asleep at all.

"What's wrong?" he asked, anxiously, "I'm on my way, Babe."

"No, Ranger, it's okay. The stomach ache turned out to be a little more routine than we thought. Emmy got her period." There was a pause and a heavy sigh.

"You're joking." he said, wearily.

"No. Have you talked to her?" I asked.

"No, I thought that there was plenty of time."

"I think that she's going to want an explanation, Ranger." I was tapping my foot now, ready to call Emmy to the phone.

"Can you," he began, "Is it too much?" he was nervous again, Ranger was a constant mystery to me.

"You want me to talk to her?" I asked.

"Yea."

"What do you want me to say?" I had never talked to a child about really anything before. This would be embarrassing, what if she asked questions?

"Just tell her all about it. You obviously know better than I do." he said. "And try to get some sleep." The line went dead. Jerk, I thought, she's your daughter until something like this happens and then she's mine.

Chapter 11

I trudged into Emmy's bedroom, carrying the package. She sat on the edge of the bed clutching the cat as though he was where she hurt. She looked at me expectantly.

"Get a pair of underwear." I instructed. She ran to her dresser and brought back a pair the said 'Monday.' I hesitated, she was really too young, but we wear faced with this now. How to tell her?

"Every month," I began, speaking very slowly, "you are going to need these." I held up the package. "It really depends on the person but usually you won't need them for more than a week." Her eyes were wide.

"What do I need them for?" she asked. Oh god, I'd had a sister, my mom and I had never had this talk. What to say?

"Every month a woman produces eggs and when they're not used they have to leave the body." she wrinkled her nose.

"Like a chicken?" she asked. My head fell into my hands.

"Yea, but the eggs are a lot smaller, about the size of the head of a pin. They fall into this." I held up the product. "And I'll show you how this goes into your underwear. Every time you go to the bathroom you should put a new one on." she nodded and stared at me as if I was speaking Greek with just a little Spanish thrown in. I applied the pad to her underwear.

"Go put this on now." I instructed. She ran to the bathroom and came back a few minutes later looking very pale.

"I'm bleeding." she said, tears welling.

"I know."

"Am I dying?" I had to struggle not to laugh.

"No, the eggs come out in the blood." I explained.

"You didn't say that." she sat on the bed, clutching the cat.

"Come on," I said, touching her shoulder lightly. "Let's go get you some Tylenol. We can talk about this while I do your nails." she smiled and her smile reminded me of Ranger. I would get him back for this one, for sure.

We went into the kitchen and Emmy sat clutching Lightening. She looked so tiny and helpless. I searched around the cabinets for hot tea. I knew that Ranger would have some. I hit the jackpot and found some herbal tea in a jar on the counter. I made Emmy a cup and stroked her hair while she drank it. I could really get used to feeling like this child's mother, I would have to chase those thoughts away. It was a good idea for Emmy not too get too attached to the cat and for me not to get too attached to Emmy. I watched her as she swallowed the Tylenol pill.

"It'll take about twenty minutes." I explained. I spread out the manicure equipment and took her hand. "Do you have any questions?" I asked, hoping that Emmy would have read all in the tea leaves. No luck, she looked confused.

"Why do I have to get rid of the eggs?" she asked.

"So you can make new ones." I filed her nails.

"Why do I want to make new ones?" I thought about how to answer that. The truth is best and Ranger had left this to me.

"So you can have babies."

"I don't want to have babies." she said. Couldn't argue with that.

"No one likes having their period, Emmy, but it's all part of being a woman." I sighed and started to apply the gold colored polish.

"I've never had my nails painted before." she said. Good, she was distracted. Not for long, "That's all part of being a woman, I guess."

"Yea." I answered.

"Daddy knows a lot of stuff, but he doesn't know about being a woman. I'm glad you're here." she smiled, weakly.

"Me too." I whispered, hugging her.

Emmy and I were on the couch sleeping when the beautician arrived. She was about 20 and the sight of her happy face at 8:00am irritated me. Emmy looked a little worn around the edges, but like she'd been up for hours.

"Time to get up, ladies." the girl called in a high pitched, child-like, voice.

"I'm staying right here." I grumbled. You can go first. Just about at that moment my mother and Grandma Mazur poured into the room making further sleep impossible.

"What are you still doing asleep?" my mother squealed in her 'lead me to the gin cabinet' voice. "Get up and go get showered." She patted Emmy's head, "Look at what a morning person! You are going to have to teach your step-mommy about being a morning person." Several curse words floated to the top of my conciseness, but I left them where they lie. Even half conscious it wouldn't be a good idea to curse in front of Ranger's child. His specter would probably rise from the carpet and strike me dead. I settled for groaning again.

I slowly drug myself up and headed for the shower. I went by way of the kitchen so that I could get a much needed grape for Rex. I wasn't sure that he would have recovered from having the cat in his aquarium. Sure enough, he still wasn't speaking to me. We Plums know how to hold a grudge.

Mary Lou was hopping around the bedroom when I came out of the shower. There was a dress bag on the bed.

"OHMYGOD," she said, reverently, "I wonder if Ranger has read all of those books." she spun around slowly gaping at the balcony around the bedroom. I smiled.

"Probably." I fell into a chair. "Emmy got her period last night, you do not even know how bizarre it is to look mini-Ranger in the face and tell her about her period."

"You are going to be her mother." Mary-Lou flopped into the chair next to me.

"I'm not sure I can get used to that. I always knew that Ranger had a daughter, well, almost always. I just never expected her to be so sheltered. Do you know that the child has NEVER been to McDonalds." Mary-Lou's eyes widened in shock, finally, someone who understood the wrong being done to the child.

"Never?" Mary-Lou asked.

"Never, and he nearly had a heart attack because I gave her a donut." Punctuate with a lesser wrong.

"No!" Mary-Lou exclaimed. "I can't believe you're marrying him! What about Joe?"

"What about him?"

"He's not going to be happy when he finds out about this." Something in her tone told me that she already knew that for sure.

"You told him?" I asked. "You shouldn't have told him. "

"I had to tell him, Steph, he had to know. You can't be engaged to him and marry someone else, it's not right."

"I was going to tell him." I leaned back and sighed, "but when I called some bimbo was giggling in the background and he said that he was at a party." Mary-Lou nodded solemnly. She understood. Mary-Lou and I had been best friends for as long as I could remember and I could count on her for anything.

"Let's make this a happy day." I pleaded. Mary-Lou nodded and we went out to be puffed and painted by professionals

Everyone was dressed and poised at the top of the path leading to the gazebo that Ranger had erected for the ceremony. Mary Lou looked beautiful in a floor length cornflower colored dress. She carried a small bouquet of white roses. Ranger had planned everything to the last detail. I wondered how he'd done so much in such a short time, but I suspected that he'd had more time that I had to get used to the idea and plan.

I tried to catch a glimpse of him, but couldn't see all the way up the path. Emmy had been hugging me and telling me how proud she was of me all day. It was nice except that it made me feel a bit like the ancient spinster who everyone is just dying to marry off. The beautician had done a wonderful job with Emmy's hair, sweeping most of curls into a french twist and leaving a few hanging. Mine was done almost the same way, but Emmy's looked more sleek and adult. My Dad sidled up to me.

"You sure you want to do this?" he asked, skeptically. I'm pretty sure my Dad isn't racist, but I know he'd rather I married Morelli and gave him Italian grandchildren.

"I'm sure." I said, smiling. This felt so real. A photographer fussed with me dress and then snapped a picture where I was leaning down and kissing Emmy's cheek. It would be a nice picture.

"You look beautiful," he whispered. I love my dad and I'm pretty sure that, despite my bonehead stunts, he loves me. I smiled and squeezed his arm. I could see Lula and Connie flirting with Ranger's men. Grandma Mazur was fussing with someone. I only hoped that it was Ranger and that Ranger was regretting abandoning me last night. My mother fluttered into my line of vision.

"Be sure to smile." she said, dabbing her eyes and waving a disposable camera. I shivered. She was too into this whole idea. I had to think of a way to stop her. I glanced at Mary Lou and she shrugged. What could I do? I just smiled.

The music started and Emmy headed up the path first. I heard the people ooooing and ahing over her. Mary-Lou went next. My heart was on edge, it was screaming RUN! The Love theme from Romeo and Juliet began and I knew that was my que to walk.

I walked around the corner and stared straight into Ranger's eyes. He looked edible in his tuxedo. I had expected a black suit and tie instead Ranger was wearing a tuxedo with a black vest. A button cover sat in place of the tie. I swallowed hard and my dad squeezed my arm.

I looked over at Lula and she mouthed "way to go, girl!" I smiled. Connie was crying, her mascara running in clumps down her face. Tank stood as the best man. He was dressed like Ranger and looking very handsome. Lula and Connie would be fighting over him. Dr. Wolf was wearing a collar and standing at the podium. Way to go, Ranger, I thought. No one will know that neither of us really want to be here.

I took Ranger's arm. He led me to the steps of the gazebo.

"You look almost too good to be true." he whispered.

"You too." I said, smiling.

"How did it go last night?" The nerve. I tried to pinch his arm. The muscles kind of got in the way. I felt a trill in funny places.

"Okay." I said, finally, admitting defeat. I was wearing some pretty good heels, I could stomp on his foot when we were dancing.

"Dearly beloved," the doctor began, "We are gathered here today." We heard running footsteps on the path and the Lula and Connie gasped. The doctor stopped. I turned around.

Standing in the middle of the path looking like he had crossed the country on his belly in his tee-shirt and jeans stood Joe Morelli.

Chapter 12

Ranger tightened his grip on my arm and made some sort of eye movement that seemed to act as a remote control for his men. They were out of their seats and had Joe surrounded.

"Come on, Ranger. I climbed your damn fence. I need to talk to Steph." He looked me right in the eye and saw the hurt and betrayal hiding behind the cop face. I couldn't hold his gaze.

"Is that Miss. Plum's mean old boyfriend?" I heard Emmy stage whisper to Tank. He must have nodded, because I didn't hear a response. Emmy stepped forward powered by PMS.

"You're not very polite. You should sit down and not ruin my Daddy's happy day." she said, firmly. Joe gaped at her. Her little arms were crossed and the ball of roses hanging on the string was around her wrist. Ranger chuckled.

"I just want to talk to Steph. If she still wants to do this after I talk to her, she's all yours." The emotion in Joe's voice was killing me. I turned to Ranger.

"I should talk to him. He came all this way." Ranger just nodded. I started down the path.

"I wouldn't talk to him, girl, I'd send his skinny Italian ass packing. He missed the boat and now you marryin' a superhero." Lula postulated.

"Thanks, Lula, I'll keep that in mind." I tossed her a smile. Ranger's men "helped" Joe into the house. I followed. Joe turned to me to speak, rage and hurt evident, I beat him to it.

"I tried to tell you but there was that giggling and you were at a party, it just wasn't the time." I said.

"I'm glad that Mary-Lou called. I may have never known." he was talking a lot with his hands, but his cop face was unmoving. "You're kidnapped while I'm proposing...." I had to correct him.

"I was kidnapped when we were about to have sex, what you might have said is no longer admissible." I held up a hand to punctuate my point.

"So you're marrying Ranger, is that what you want?" he asked, staring at me intently.

"I want you to trust me." I said, seriously.

"Are you marrying Ranger so his daughter has a mother?" He asked. There was a sarcastic edge to his voice that I chose to ignore.

"Yes." I said, simply. "I know what I'm doing. You have to trust me." I tried staring the words into Joe's brain, but it wasn't working.

"Do you love me?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Than why?" he was amazed.

"I like Emmy." I said, "Come out and be happy for me and maybe someday if you still want to marry me, Ranger will do the same at our wedding."

"You are sick." Joe proclaimed. "I am insane to be in love with you or trust you for a minute when you're marrying Ranger."

"But you do trust me?" I smiled. Ranger came through the door.

"Yea." Joe said, sighing. "I just don't trust him." he pointed at Ranger.

"It's mutual, Morelli. Are you done here? We're leaving tonight, Babe." Ranger wrapped an arm protectively around my waist. Lift your leg, whydontcha, I thought.

"Leaving?" Morelli asked.

"Honeymoon." I answered. Morelli shook his head. "Whatever." He started heading for the door.

"You want to stick around?" Ranger asked. "I can have the guys fly you back with the other guests."

"Thanks, but I have a round trip ticket and a rental car, I'll just head back now." His attitude and posture screamed, 'I don't need anything from you.' he pulled me to him and kissed me deeply. "Don't forget about me, Cupcake." he let me go and I stumbled back into Ranger.

"Someday I'll be able to tell you, you have to trust me." I wasn't sure who I was talking to because Morelli was gone. I turned to Ranger. I looked down at my dress and some of the dirt from Morelli's clothes had come off. I absentmindedly dusted myself off. Ranger stared at me quizzically.

"You sure?" he asked. "No backing out after he pronounces us man and wife." I laughed and shook my head.

"Lead on," I said, trying to force an ecstatic smile on my face.

Chapter 13

My heart skipped a few beats as I walked back to the gazebo with Ranger, clinging to his arm. He took my hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. The surprise visit from Joe had silenced the audience and the doctor continued the ceremony. I was hesitant when he asked for the rings because it had never occurred to me that we would need them. Mary-Lou slid a thick gold band onto the book that the doctor was holding and Tank handed him the largest and most beautiful diamond I had ever seen. Ranger's smile was too real as he slipped it on the third finger on my left hand. I just stared.

"Stephanie," the doctor said, breaking my thought. The audience giggled. It seemed to me that he'd called my name a few times. I stared at him and then back at the ring on my finger.

"Your turn." The doctor said. I took the thick gold band and repeated the words after the doctor almost automatically. I didn't hear when he told Ranger to kiss his bride so the feeling of Ranger's lips on mine and his tongue probing my mouth came as a bit of a surprise. I stood back and smiled. All little bits and pieces in my body were quivering.

"That wasn't necessary." I said, "I already married you." The audience roared with laughter and I blushed. I hadn't realized that I'd said it so loudly. Ranger led me to the end of the path and we greeted the 20 or so guests in a makeshift receiving line. Ranger kept his arm around me the whole time making my mind scream HONEYMOON HONEYMOON HONEYMOON! I tried to stay focused. Lula and Connie approached and I felt Emmy grab at my dress. Lula looked like a tucked and spandexed lemon in her bright yellow getup. She leaned toward Emmy.

"Ain't you just a little bit of Batman." she cooed. Emmy looked up at me.

"Lula thinks that your Daddy is Batman." I explained. She still looked confused. Didn't know who Batman was and she's 10 years old!

"I'll tell you later." she nodded, brown eyes looking as though they might pop out of her head. Connie was next, black mile high hair standing stock still. Emmy's eyes grew wider, if that was possible.

"I am so happy for you." she said, hugging me, tears still running down her face. I hoped that she wouldn't get mascara on my dress. "I was rooting for Joe Morelli, but I could live with Ranger." Ranger's eyes turned dark, but he smiled at Connie and leaned in to kiss her cheek. She nearly fell to the floor. For the first time I noticed the caterers milling around with drinks and finger foods. I grabbed a glass of champagne and downed it in one fell swoop. Emmy's hand seemed suction cupped to mine.

"Enjoy yourself, Babe, tomorrow we leave for a two weeks away." Two weeks? He hadn't mentioned that. I wondered about my rent. Should I be wondering about my rent? He read my mind.

"I'm paying for the rest of the lease and you'll move in with me." News to me. I wished that we'd talked about this, but I guess that we were supposed to be married and I couldn't carry on the single life in my bachelorette pad. Reality was going to have to crash in sooner or later. We would go on a long trip and I would come back to a home never really knowing where we were. Emmy hugged my waist again and I stared down at her. An emotion flooded over my and I shooed it away.

My Dad walked over and mumbled something to Ranger. Ranger nodded and he moved on to me.

"I want to talk to you." dad said, "Can we go inside?"

"Sure." I led him into the house. We sat on the overstuffed couches facing each other. Sitting with my dad without a game on the television seemed strange. He reached into his pocket and brought out a box.

"I brought something for you, but now maybe you should give it to Emmy." he smiled, slightly and I could tell that he really liked Emmy a lot. I opened the book and stared at the little golden ring with two hands joined in a bond.

"It's a cladagh." he explained, "it's Irish." he looked at me as though that should explain everything. When I didn't respond, he sighed and continued.

"It belonged to my mother. When she was on her way here from Italy she met a young Irish woman on the boat. The woman gave my mother the ring as a symbol of friendship. I always meant to pass it on to you. I think now maybe that you should give it to your daughter." I smiled through my tears.

"Thank you." I whispered, kissing his cheeks. He smiled at me.

"No problem, now get your old dad a beer." Some things never change.

I walked back out into the garden and stared at the box. Emmy would never be able to wear the ring on her finger. I found Tank.

"Do you have twine or something?" I asked. He stared blankly at me. I showed him the box. "For Emmy to wear around her neck until I can buy her a gold chain." He reached under his tuxedo shirt and pulled off his chain.

"Use mine until you can find one. I can't think of a greater honor." I smiled and wrapped my arms around him, kissing his cheek. Ranger sidled up to us.

"Married 10 minutes and already I catch you in the arms of another man." his smile told me that was joking, a week ago I would have wet my pants.

"Tank just did me a huge favor." I explained.

"Yea, what's up with that, Boss. I'm always doing things for you and you never hug or kiss me. I feelin' wronged here." Ranger laughed.

"Maybe next time." he promised. I left them to talk and went to find Emmy. She was sitting on my mother's lap and looking very uncomfortable. Maybe it was time for another Tylenol.

"I just want to borrow Emmy for a few minutes, Mom." my dad smiled broadly at me. Mother looked confused.

"Go ahead, honey." she said to Emmy, "But you come right back to me. When we get back to Trenton you'll have to come with your mommy for dinner every Sunday." Was that a hint or what? I took Emmy by the hand.

"I like your mom and daddy, but your Grandma is kind of scary. I know what Uncle Tank meant now when he said about not wanting to meet her on a dark night." I laughed.

"I wouldn't want to either, honey." I said. I led her into the house and we sat on the couches.

"I have something for you." I explained. She looked excited.

"Chocolate?" she asked. Turning into a true woman already, I was so proud. I laughed.

"No, something else. I did see some chocolate covered strawberries circulating out there, though, we'll have to hunt them down." Emmy sat with her hands folded in her lap. She looked so much like Ranger. Her features and her eyes. I felt a pang of something like pride and again, shooed it away. I opened the box and showed her the ring.

"This was my grandmother's," I began, "it was given to her when she came here from Italy by and Irish girl that she met on the boat. It's a symbol of friendship." I slipped the ring on the chain and hung it around her neck. "I want it to be a symbol of our friendship. Is that okay with you." Emmy picked up the ring and stared at it. She finally looked at me and nodded.

"No matter what happens Emmy, I always want to be your friend." she hugged me tightly.

"And I always want you to be my mommy." Oh shit, I thought.

I fell asleep on the couch before everyone left. I woke when I felt myself moving through the air.

"Go back to sleep, Babe." Ranger whispered.

"My parents...."

"They're safely on the chopper and headed for Trenton. The others too. They understand." He placed me on the bed and I felt the zipper on the back of my dress go down and the dress slid off the front. I was wearing a slip and was too tried to be dignified, so I just let Ranger undress me. He unclipped my stockings from my garter belt and pulled them off. He was very skillful. I was sure that with one touch his rough hands would run them, but his hands seemed very smooth on my legs. I laid back and I felt him crawl in behind me. I snuggled up to his chest.

"Goodnight, Mrs. Manoso." he said, as he snuggled next to me. I was instantly awake. How could I be expected to sleep now?

Chapter 14

I listened as Ranger's breath became even. I tried not to focus on the muscles on his bare chest touching my skin. I sighed. Ranger was instantly awake. he's such a light sleeper that I don't know how he gets any rest at all.

"You okay, Babe?" he asked.

"Ranger, weren't we going to leave tonight?" I was confused.

"Yes, we were going to fly to Trenton and then leave from there tomorrow. I changed the tickets, we can leave from here just as well. I know how you like to sleep in." I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Where are we going?" The mystery of this whole event was getting kind of scary for me. This was the honeymoon. What would he expect? He didn't answer and I rolled over and stared at his eyes in the dim light.

"It's a surprise." he said, smiling. I could feel his breath on my face and smell the toothpaste. I thought about my breath and lowered my head.

"Why does it have to be a surprise?" he lifted my chin and I stared into his eyes. We were sort of frozen. All I could feel was the ring on my finger and his eyes on mine. I was married to this man, surely one little kiss wouldn't matter. I leaned forward and placed my mouth on his, wrapping my arm around his neck. I felt my breasts pressed to his chest and heard him moan. I finally pulled away and stared at him. He slid out of the bed and grabbed a pillow.

"I'm going out on the couch." he announced. OHMYGOSH! What had I done?

I was tempted to follow Ranger but was too much of a wuss. He turned to look back at me when he was at the door. There was something in his eyes, I rolled over and let the tears fall. I hadn't meant anything by that kiss, well I had, but I hadn't really. I should apologize. Was I sorry? No, but I could still apologize. Better just to stay in bed. Better just to avoid the situation and not face him. We were married for now and not for real and it probably wouldn't have mattered to him if I'd been anyone off of the street. I'm not sure why, but I cried myself to sleep.

The next morning I woke to Ranger saying my name softly and kissing my neck. I was still dreaming. Last night when I'd kissed him he'd run for the couch like I was sitting in the middle of the dump that we affectionately call "Mt. Trashmore."

"Time to wake up, Babe." I stared into his smile. Oh, how irritating. He could take his sunshine and happiness somewhere else, I was going to sleep.

"We have an hour until the plane takes off, you're not going to want to miss this trip." I jumped out of bed. My slip had gotten tangled around me during the night and was hitched up over my panties.

"I'm ready." I said, blearily.

"I hope not." Ranger said laughing, "Not that I mind, but...."

"Oh shut up." I was in no mood. I fell back onto the bed. Ranger scooped me up and carried me to the bathroom. I snuggled up to his chest. I listened as he turned on the shower.

"You know, if I get wet you will too." I pointed out, feeling very smart. He stepped under the spray.

"There's a difference, Babe, I don't mind." I screamed and practically jumped out of his arms when the ice cold water hit my skin. I slapped at his chest when his laughter started . Bad idea. I think I may have sprained my wrist. It was like hitting a brick wall. A REALLY hard brick wall. Ranger chuckled when I winced.

"You are so mean." I said, as he set me on my feet.

"Me?" he batted his eyes innocently. "Never." I narrowed my eyes, that would show him. He just laughed.

"Where's Emmy?" I asked.

"You act like to expect her to be in my bathroom, Babe." he was too cheerful, something was up.

"Isn't Emmy coming with us?" I asked.

"She was going to, but I think maybe it's best if she hangs out with Tank. I don't want her to miss any class time." Likely excuse, I would take it at this point.

"I have to say, Ranger, these plans of yours seem awfully flexible. You always struck me as someone who likes to plan ahead and know what he's doing in order to be prepared for anything." I was pretty sure that was his motto. Ranger smiled. Water was dripping from his hair and his bare chest glistened. His clothes were soaked hiding nothing, and I'm sure mine weren't concealing much either. Ranger had already seen me naked, thanks to Joe Morelli handcuffing me to the shower rod when he was FTA, but I'd never seen his body. It was magnificent. Ranger stared at me long and hard, wolf grin forming.

"You'd be amazed at how flexible I can be." I was sure that I would faint or in the very least swoon. Anything to get close to that, my hormones screamed.

Chapter 15

My only hint for the honeymoon destination came when we headed for the international terminal at the airport. Emmy was disappointed at not being able to go, but was ecstatically showing everyone her ring. Ranger smiled.

"It's pretty, honey, you better take good care of it." Ranger advised. Emmy and Tank followed us to the gate.

"Are you sure I can't go, Daddy?" Emmy asked, hopefully. Ranger touched her cheek gently.

"We would love for you to go, honey, but Stephanie and I kind of want to be alone for a little while." No one had asked Stephanie about that.

"But I just met Miss. Plum...." Ranger stopped her with a glance.

"I'm pretty sure that it would be okay to call her Stephanie now. You can get to know her really well when we get back." Ranger said, his tone letting Emmy know that the subject was closed. "Why don't you go help her pick out some magazines for the flight." he turned to me, "Can you get me a paperback, Babe? I like mysteries." How did I not know that about him? I knew nothing about him really.

"Sure." I said and turned to go.

"Babe." he grabbed my arm and spun me around planting his mouth hard on mine. I would not get used to that. My knees shook and I felt goose bumps on my skin. I looked down at Emmy who was smiling the little Ranger smile. She was in on this, I could tell. Throw Stephanie off and confuse her hormones until they rage and then laugh at her. I could tell now that this was how this game was playing out.

Emmy and I looked over the paperbacks and I chose a nice one about a bookstore owner with a teenaged daughter who speaks in capital letters. The novel looked pretty funny and I thought that Ranger would get a kick out of the main character being female and a single parent. Makes being in the wrong place at the wrong time very awkward. I found some magazines to suit my tastes.

When I walked back out into the terminal, I noticed that all female eyes were on Ranger and his painted on black shirt that did nothing to hide his bulging muscles. I felt a pang of something like jealousy and hurried to his side flashing a sickningly sweet smile at all the women and making sure that my ring was showing. Ranger chuckled.

"Maybe I should do that for the men staring at you, Babe?" I narrowed my eyes at him. Anyone staring at me was wondering what the fat loser was doing with the male model.

"Don't think like that." he said, sternly.

"Thank you, Big Brother." I whispered. "Making my way to Room 120 now." Ranger cocked an eyebrow at me. "Nothing." he turned back to Tank.

"Make sure that whatever she needs she's got." Ranger instructed.

"I've done this a million times, Boss. Emmy and I are buds, this is going to be fine. You go and have fun and don't worry."

"I'm always gonna worry." Ranger said, sighing, "I'll call."

"Maybe I'll answer." Tank joked. Ranger shot him a look that could have won a war. "Okay, okay, I'll answer." Ranger's jaw had been clenched and it relaxed nicely.

"That's all I ask." Tank glanced at the gate.

'Your plane is already boarding, you better hurry." I hadn't heard a boarding call. Where we were going? I like surprises, but this was just too much. We were at the airport. Why hadn't he told me yet? Ranger picked Emmy up and hugged her.

"I am going to miss you so much." he said, kissing her cheek. "I already miss you. And I'm going to worry everyday so you be sure to take really good care of your Uncle Tank so that I have nothing to worry about. Okay?"

"Okay, Daddy." she smiled broadly. He placed her gently on the ground and she walked over to me.

"Have a wonderful time, Stephanie. I'm going to miss you." she hugged me and then stepped back. "Could I call you mommy?" she asked, "I never had a mommy." she glanced at Ranger he deferred to me. Shit, Ranger, don't leave this to me.

"Of course you can." I said, leaning down and stroking her hair. She hugged me again.

"I have wanted to call you that FOREVER now." she said. I felt a slight pain shoot through my chest.

"Anything you need to talk about, Emmy, you just call me." Where had that come from? She hugged me again.

"I love you, Mommy." she said. Ohmygod, what had I gotten into?

Chapter 16

We had been in the air for about an hour when I noticed that there hadn't been a word from the captain as to where we were going. I don't usually fly, but when I have the captain always comes on and says we are flying at this airspeed and ETA is this time and we're over these states. No words like that at all. I was sitting at the window and looked out at blue water as far as the eye could see. I'm close to a genius (that would be Ranger, he was sitting right next to me), so I guessed we were headed for Europe or beyond.

"Where are we going?" I asked for probably the fiftieth time.

"You'll find out." he was reading his book and his answer seemed automatic now. The entertainment was over. The flight attendant had already dumped the basket of peanuts on Ranger's lap and spilled my coke as she was pouring. All the women who had been staring were either asleep or arguing with their husbands. The flight attendant passed our seats.

"Excuse me." I called out. She stopped and turned, stumbling a little and catching Ranger's shoulder for support. She jumped back looking guilty.

"Where are we going?" I asked. Ranger looked up. He smiled a mini-watt smile.

"It's our honeymoon and I'm keeping the destination a surprise." The flight attendant opened her mouth and the closed it. She tried again and made a squeaking sound before she scurried off.

"Not very helpful, is she?" I asked.

"It's a shame, Babe." he agreed, staring back at his book. I was bored. I stared at my ring.

"You like it?" Ranger asked.

"What?"

"You like it? The ring?" he stared at me.

"Yea, it's great. Too bad I can't keep it." I toyed with the stones, must be a couple karats at least.

"You could keep it if you wanted." Ranger said, closing the book and folding his hands in his lap. His resemblance to Emmy when we were talking about her period, struck me and I giggled.

"Is that a yes?" he asked.

"To what?" Okay I was confused again.

"You just let me know if you want to keep it." he opened his book again with one hand and reached the other over, taking my hand. I didn't try to pull away. We were comfortable and looked very normal and happy. I liked feeling normal and happy.

The movie was the "Matrix" and even Keanu Reeves couldn't keep me awake. I woke when I felt Ranger clipping the seatbelt around me.

"Preparing to land." he said. Was he blushing? Not possible.

"You could have woke me." I said, grumpily.

"I haven't had good results with the whole waking you thing. I thought maybe you'd want to sleep until we were on the ground." I noticed that he book was unmarked. He must have read it all.

"Was it good?" I asked. Ranger smiled a slow wolf grin.

"I enjoyed it. Maybe it would have been better if we weren't surrounded by people." He was talking about the seatbelt, I blushed.

"I meant the book." He smile broadened.

"Yea, it was great. Good choice, Babe." Damn, I thought. We waited in line to leave the plane.

"You gonna tell me where we are now?" I asked.

"Gatwick." he said. I searched back into my file like memory and seemed to have lost that one.

"Gatwick?" I asked. "Where's that?"

"Doesn't matter, we're hopping a private plane as soon as we're through customs and heading somewhere else." Ranger's smile told me that he was just enjoying this way too much. "You'll know where we are when we get through customs." We stood in line waiting to speak to the customs agent. The only time I'd spoken to a customs agent was rare trips to Canada, and I was pretty sure we weren't in Canada. We walked over to the booth.

"Citizenship." the agent asked, curtly. His accent was definitely British.

"United States." Ranger answered, handing him our passports. I hadn't even known that I'd had a passport. I stood looking around.

"Miss." the custom agent said, "Citizenship?"

"United States." I answered.

"Right then." The agent was writing something down.

"Purpose of trip?"

"Honeymoon." Ranger said, smiling and wrapping an arm around my waist. I touched his chest lightly blinding the agent with my ring.

"Length of stay?"

"We're here for a few hours now and then we're coming back into the country for about a week before returning to the United States." The agent nodded and handed the passports back.

"Thank you, you may go." Easy as that. This was cool.

"Where to now?" I asked, trailing Ranger who was in search of our luggage.

"Did you think I'd be that easy to fool, Babe?"

"I was hoping." This was almost too much. I had to know. It was a biological need now.

"Next stop Brussels." Ranger said looking like he'd swallowed the cat instead of the canary. I wasn't aware that I was gaping until he closed my mouth.

Chapter 17

The plane ride to Brussels was very short and the train ride into Belgium was very romantic. It was just like the movies. We were alone in a first class car with six seats. We sat next to each other holding hands. I wasn't quite sure why we were clinging to each other, but I wasn't prepared to complain. Ranger had told me that we were headed for Ghent when we got on the train. I had never heard of the town and Ranger told me that it was a very small picturesque type of place.

"You've been everywhere." I said, jealously. He could do everything, read minds, raise eyebrows, and now I find out that he's been everywhere too. It was too much.

"Not everywhere. You'll like Ghent, Babe, trust me. We'll have dinner at the 'Duke' you'll love it." He knew my appreciation for food so I had no reason to doubt him. We pulled up into the station and I stared out at what I could see of the city. Very pretty. We stepped off the train and out of the station. The street was cobblestone and Ranger stepped into the street. There was a car coming and I let out a little screech, clawing at his arm. Ranger chuckled and kept walking. The car stopped.

"Pedestrians have the right of way, Babe." I was amazed. In Trenton when you step into the street, you take your life into your own hands. Ranger would have been a grease spot on the concrete.

Our hotel, the Hotel Chamade, was very close to the train station. A young lady named Chantel was at the desk. She was a true professional and didn't bat an eye when she saw Ranger and me entering the foyer of the hotel dragging our luggage.

"Mr. and Mrs. Manoso, you are in the honeymoon suite. Top floor." she said, her accent was very French and very charming. Ranger had explained to me in the train that most of the people of Belgium spoke French and Dutch and most people knew enough English to get by. I felt so uncultured with Ranger. I was glad that I had him to hide behind. He said a few words to Chantel in another language while we waited for a bellboy to take our luggage. She smiled and answered casually.

The elevator was too small for us and the bellboy with our luggage, so we went up ahead of him. When we were on our way up, I whispered to Ranger.

"What language were you speaking?"

"Dutch." he said, casually. Dutch? Ranger knows Dutch? He never ceased to amaze me with his wide range of knowledge. I wondered how much formal education he'd had. He read my mind.

"I never went to college, if that's what you're wondering."

"I actually was wondering that, you seem so well educated." he chuckled.

"Don't sound so surprised, Babe, call it a thirst for and active pursuit of knowledge."

"How did you ever learn Dutch?" I asked, I couldn't imagine what situation in life would make Dutch necessary for Ranger.

"Classified." Cop out if I ever heard one. Thank you very much, Mr. Manoso. Just tell me none of my business.

"Maybe someday I'll tell you." He promised.

"I can't wait." I grumbled. We stepped into the room and I stopped at the door. I was a little living room decorated in mauves with a beige couch on one wall and chairs set around it.

"Where's the bed?" I asked. Ranger glanced at me and I blushed.

"In the other room. This is the honeymoon SUITE." he laughed.

"Oh yea," I'm totally cosmopolitan. I had it all figured out. The bellboy opened the bedroom door and put the luggage at the end of the bed. There was an electric fireplace on one wall. Nice. The room was done in the same colors and had a balcony overlooking the city. I stepped out and gasped.

Ghent is a beautiful city with a river winding through it. I could see boats on the river and the castle in the distance. There were beautiful churches and buildings. This was all so old world and peaceful. There were no sounds from the streets and I noticed only an occasional car pass by. I would never be able to sleep without some sort of city noise. I glanced at Ranger. He was standing at the sliding door with his arms crossed, face unreadable.

"It's beautiful." I said, "This is really great." he smiled slightly and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"I'm glad that you like it."

I found the bathroom to freshen up. It was huge and very white. There was a whirlpool tub and a shower stall, like Ranger's bathroom. Maybe we'd actually get to use the tub here. Did I just think we? There was truly something wrong with me. Damn hormones. I must need shots or something.

Ranger was right about the food at the "Duke" it was amazing. I got the shrimp alfredo and Ranger surprised me by getting Beef Wellington. I inhaled my food moaning. It seemed when I took the last bite and opened my eyes that all eyes were upon me. I blushed and Ranger laughed.

"You just enjoy your food." he said, "Nothing to be ashamed of."

"The pasta was SO good, Ranger. I don't think I've ever had anything that good." I sat back and debated discreetly popping the top button on my jeans. Not a good idea. Ranger read my mind.

"We'll take a walk to a bakery and get some dessert. People in Belgium usually only have big meals twice a day, now you know why."

"Walk?" I was kind of fixated.

"Most people walk around here. It's a small town. Tomorrow we'll walk into the 'downtown' area and get a look at the castle and do some shopping." Ranger knew me well, why didn't I know much about him. "The castle in this town is unique in that it was actually seiged twice." I was barely listening.

"We're staying here for a few days and then we're moving on." Ranger informed me.

"Moving on to where?" I asked.

"It's a surprise." God, that song was getting old.

"Can't you just tell me?" I asked, wearily.

"I could, but what fun would that be?"

"It would be a lot of fun for me." I said, I truly meant that. All this mystery was wearing me out.

"What fun would I get out of it if I told you?" he lifted one eyebrow and the wolf grin spread across his face. Oh boy.

Chapter 18

Ranger and I passed a chocolate shop on the way to the bakery. If I know anything, I know chocolate and I know that Belgium is known for their chocolate. I stared in the window drooling. Ranger sighed heavily and pulled me into the shop.

"What do you want, Babe?" I couldn't decide, I couldn't think, this was just too beautiful. Chocolates of every kind surrounded this shop in glass cases. Ranger spoke to the man behind the counter in Dutch and the man went around choosing a few of every kind of chocolate they had to offer. Ranger said something else to the man, glancing at me, and they had a good laugh. I narrowed my eyes. I didn't like it when he could talk about me and I didn't understand what he was saying, not that I always understood when he spoke English, but this seemed more devious. We stepped back out into the street with two large boxes, I hated to do it but I had to turn on the man carrying the chocolate. I had to know.

"What were you laughing about in there?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"What?" Ranger looked genuinely confused, I knew better.

"You were laughing with the guy behind the counter after you said something really long in Dutch and looked over at me. He looked at me too. Tell me now or I won't share." Nice threat. I could pretty much bet he wouldn't tell me and then the beautiful chocolate would all be mine. I am smarter than I look.

"I just said that as this was our honeymoon I wasn't sure that I should be buying you chocolate." He'd lost me. Who would ever wonder if they should by chocolate or not. He read my mind. "You know what they say? It's a replacement for sex." My brain finally kicked in.

"That wasn't a very respectful thing to say about your wife." That would show him. He quirked an eyebrow at me. I ignored it and looped my arm through his. I could feel his muscles relax. It was almost too romantic to be walking through the streets like this. Too natural. Why did we have so many problems with other things. I wanted to ask, I looked at Ranger. I could ask him anything, right?

"Ranger," I began and then stopped. He stopped walking and turned to me.

"What is it, Babe?" he asked facing me. His dark eyes were burning holes through my skin. I sighed. Luckily, he read my mind.

"You're wondering why I slept on the couch last night?" he asked. I nodded. It was nice not to have to say the awkward things with someone. Nice sometimes when they could read your mind. We were near a main street and there was a beautiful park in the median. I had never seen anything like it before. Ranger pulled me over to a bench and I sat next to him. He held my hands.

"I couldn't trust myself and I didn't want to do anything that you'd regret." Ranger was very serious and his eyes were dark. "I could almost hear your thoughts when you were kissing me and it was too much like 'what the hell' for my tastes. When you kiss me I want it to matter that it's me. I know that you're not taking this whole marriage thing seriously, Babe, but for me this was what I wanted all along. It was only inconvenance in timing and necessity that forced us into this before you were ready too." Ranger had been ready to get married? And he had WANTED to marry me. That was interesting. I stared at Ranger's hands holding my. My pale skin against his beautiful smooth mocha hands that had pulled the stockings off my legs just last night. Ranger put a finger under my chin and lifted my face so that I was looking into his eyes.

"I hope that rushing into this won't ruin what we might of had if we'd had the time." Ranger was waiting for me to speak, but I didn't know what to say.

"Ranger," I began.

"You don't have to feel like you have to say anything right now, Babe. Think over what I said. I was serious about you keeping the ring. Anytime you decide you want to keep it. Just let me know." I nodded. I wouldn't have known what to say if a response had been required. I could hardly think.

Chapter 19

We stopped at a small bakery that was very old word and very much like the candy shop. Ranger bought a few slices of a divine looking chocolate tower that I just had to try. He grumbled slightly but also bought some cheesecake, just in case the chocolate tower wasn't good. Who was I kidding? It was chocolate, it would be great. I was almost afraid to be alone with Ranger now and I wasn't sure why.

Ranger unlocked the door to the suite and started arranging the small refrigerator to store the pastries. I went in and flopped on king sized bed in my thinking position, arms extended and on my back. Ranger walked into the room and chuckled.

"Tired?" he asked. So he couldn't always read minds. I'd go along with the tired idea.

"Yea." I stood and walked over to the window, staring out at the city. It was beautiful at night. Not as many lights as most cities, but the castle was illuminated along with a few other important looking landmarks. It was all so romantic and here I was with a man who didn't want to take advantage of me. What's up with that, anyway? If he felt the way that he seemed to about me he would definitely be working the situation, right? Or maybe that's what all my clearly dysfunctional past relationships wanted me to think. Men had always wanted something from me whether I wanted to give it not and here was one who cared about me. That was a good thing?

I walked out onto the balcony and leaned at the railing with my chin in my hand. This was a great place to think. It was no mountain meadow, but there were shops so I was going to have to rate by convenience factors. I must have been outside for about 10 minutes, but it seemed like hours when Ranger came out.

"You ready for dessert, Babe?" he asked, holding a plate. I wondered where he'd gotten the plate.

"You had to ask?" I joked. Ranger smiled and handed me the plate. "Let's go in. It's chilly out here."

"I'm okay. I like it out here." I was actually feeling a chill. I glanced down at my tee-shirt and jeans and felt a jacket come around my shoulders.

"Thanks." I said.

"Anytime." we ate in silence, staring at the city.

"I called Emmy." Ranger said, finally. I sat up.

"I would have liked to talk to her." I said, almost automatically. I could feel Ranger's eyes on me.

"Would you?" he asked. "You can call if you want."

"No. It wouldn't have been important. I just would have liked to say hello." Ranger chuckled.

"You really like her." he stated. No questions there.

"I really do." I sunk into my seat and felt desolation wash over me. It was nice having Emmy around she was a....buffer zone where I didn't have to think about dealing with Ranger at all.

"She likes you too. I kind of worried about bringing her in and her feelings but I think that this is going to work out really well." I could hear the smile in his voice. I wish that I could have been that confident, but then he seemed to know all about what was going on and I was never sure.

"I've kind of worried about that too. She's a good kid and I don't want to see her hurt.'' Ranger reached over and took my hand. We sat in silence like an old married couple. I fell asleep in the chair.

I woke up wearing only my panties and a sweatshirt. I could feel the realization that Ranger must have undressed me, quickly followed by embarrassment at whatever obvious flaws that I could imagine on my body. My thoughts quickly changed to how gentle he must have been and then I decided that I was probably better off not thinking at all. I rolled over but Ranger wasn't in bed. I looked out at the patio. Where had he gone? An unreasonable fear that I had been abandoned seized me and I sat up in bed wondering how I would get back to the United States with no money.

I jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom and looked around. I ran back into the bedroom and was headed out to the living area when Ranger appeared at the door. He looked rumpled and was only wearing shorts. He'd cut his hair when he'd been FTA and it was still pretty short. Very sexy.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked.

"Shit Ranger, you scared me." Quick, cover up the panic. He could read minds. Resist the urge to throw your arms around him and drag him to the bed. Ranger leaned against the doorjamb. The muscles in his legs became more defined and I felt myself involuntarily catching my breath. Ranger chuckled.

"Sorry."

"Where were you?" I asked.

"Worried?" his smile broadened.

"Sort of. I was trying to figure out how I would get home if you left me here." Ranger's eyes darkened and his smile faded.

"You don't really think that I would leave you here?" he asked, crossing the room quickly and wrapping his arms around me. I knew that he could feel me shaking.

"I don't know you all that well." I answered, okay, that didn't sound right. Ranger appeared to consider that. "You know me a whole lot better. I'd like to know more about you." Ranger stared at me for a moment and then whispered.

"There are things that I wonder about you too." I opened my mouth to answer and he covered my lips with his, pushing his tongue into my mouth as if he would find the answers he wanted somewhere near my tongue.

Chapter 20

I was ready for him this time. I was half dressed and he was half dressed and this was going to happen. If he wouldn't take advantage of me, I could take advantage of him. I wrapped my arms around Ranger tightly to keep him from running. I knew from experience that I couldn't let him get away.

Our tongues were battling and I gave almost as good as I got considering that my brain had turned to mush and my body was a raging hormone. I ran a hand down my chest and felt and involuntary response from Ranger. He moaned into my mouth and the satisfaction of knowing that I was turning him on only made me want to do more. I felt his hands go up the back of my shirt.

I started moving Ranger back toward the bed. I could tell that he wanted this as much as I did because otherwise he would have been the inmovable object. Ranger was just about running. I pushed him down onto the bed and straddled him kissing his neck and shoulders. My hands in his hair.

"Babe." he began, hoarsly. No talking, no thinking, I covered his lips and he didn't resist. His hands worked around to the front and the electric shock that his hands caused on my breasts made me scream with pleasure. My scream succeeded in making Ranger more frantic. He flipped me onto my back and practically ripped the sweatshirt off my body.

"Babe....I don't...." Ranger gasped as I struggled to pull his shorts off. No talking. I kissed him again and he forgot whatever it was he'd planned to say. I heard my panties tear and watched Ranger toss them away. His shorts were down to his knees and he kicked them off leaving only boxer briefs and a definite sign that maybe I still had something going for me. I couldn't help but be a little frightened watching him take his shorts off. I wondered if I would remember exactly where things went. It had been awhile.

Ranger stood staring at me for a full minute. I was about to jump up and pin him to a wall. He finally settled on the bed and stared into my eyes. Okay, this was making me nervous.

"Are you sure?" he whispered.

"All I'm sure of is that I will die right now if we don't do this." Ranger chuckled and reached down lightly touching THAT SPOT with his fingertips. The waves of pleasiure were excrutiating. I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold on. I jumped up. Ranger stared at me surprised. I pushed him on his back and climbed up. We screamed in pleasure together, his deep voice mixing mine. I stayed on top of him, sweating and sated. The waves of pleasure continued to roll through me in happy little gales.

"That was..." I began. I paused and just laid there.

"I know." Ranger agreed. "Me too."

"Better than I ever imagined." Ranger chuckled but didn't call me on the imagining having sex with him thing, gotta love that. We stayed in that position until I finally rolled off. He wrapped his arms around me. A thought flashed through my mind.

"I wonder if the neighbors are..." Ranger stopped me.

"This is the honeymoon suite."

Ranger and I were in the shower when a horrifying thought hit me.

"Ranger, we didn't..." I began, fearfully.

"I know." he answered. "If you're keeping the ring it doesn't matter. I know that you wouldn't be ready, but we could deal with it if it happened." I wrapped my arms around him.

"I'm keeping the ring." I smiled at him and his expression turned to pure joy. I have never seen someone so happy before. I made me feel really important and loved. I liked the part about feeling loved. "But it's going to be awhile before I'm ready to do it for real."

"Do what for real?" Ranger asked.

"You know....the marriage thing." What did he think I was talking about?

"Babe, we did it for real." he looked like he was bracing for the firing squad.

"What? No? The doctor married us." I fell back against the wall. This was not a funny joke.

"He's ordained." Ranger shrugged. "I had to get some real records. I thought you knew that."

"I thought you had fake paperwork." I practically ran from the shower wrapping a towel around me. This was a whole different ballgame now.

"My connections aren't THAT good." Ranger informed me. He tells me now! He'd misled me, maybe he hadn't meant to but he had. This was too much. I stared at the ring. I was Mrs. Manoso for real. This was too soon. I dressed quickly, suddenly feeling awkward about being naked in front of Ranger. Ranger wrapped a towel around his waist and followed me into the bedroom.

"Cards on the table, Babe, how much of a problem is this for you?"

"I'm not sure." I answered. I was shaking. I could feel it and Ranger could probably see it.

"Funny, I thought that this would be easier if we had sex and decided that this is what we wanted.." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Having sex with you was great. Knowing that I had sex with my husband...." I considered that, "makes me feel cheap." Ranger turned on his heel and walked back into the bathroom. Okay, that hadn't sounded right?

Chapter 21

Ranger stayed in the bathroom and I could hear the Jacuzzi running. Probably this is one of those things that we should talk about. I was not clear about why Ranger was upset. The phone rang and I picked it up.

"Hello." I said, tentatively. I hoped that it wouldn't be for Ranger, I didn't want to go in there until I'd thought things through.

"Mommy! Uncle Tank said if I called now I could probably talk to you. I wanted to talk to you when Daddy was on the phone but he said that you would call me tomorrow." I should have been happy to hear Emmy's voice, but my heart fell a little and tears started to fall. I struggled to keep a smile in my voice.

'Hi Emmy! How's Uncle Tank treating you?" What do you say to a 10 year old.

"We're having fun. Uncle Tank took me to the zoo in Atlanta and threatened to throw me into the monkey cage. You don't have to worry, he wouldn't do that." I could just see her lying on the floor like the little adult that she thought she was.

"How are....things?" I couldn't ask, I didn't want to embarrass her. She didn't seem to mind.

"It stopped. I don't want it to come back. It wasn't a lot of fun." I laughed.

"I think that millions of women around the world would agree with you on that. Trouble is that next month it'll be back." Emmy sighed.

"Are you crying again, Mommy?" There was an exasperated tone that told me that she didn't take my crying too seriously.

"I just miss you so much, Emmy." That sounded good. I would have bought that at 10. There was a long pause.

"I miss you too, Mommy," the teary voice said, "I love you. Is Daddy there."

"Hold on and I'll see if he's busy." I said, putting the phone down and wiping my eyes. I knocked at the door, softly.

"What?" Ranger sounded tired.

"Emmy's on the phone, do you want to talk to her?" I asked. I heard splashing as he climbed out of the tub. I went back to the bed and watched Ranger walk over to the phone. He didn't look at me at all.

"Hey Baby." he began, "I know you're not a baby....I miss you too...." there was a long pause and he glanced at me, "I'm not sure why mommy was crying, honey....don't worry. Sure you can talk to mommy again, love you." he handed me the phone. I put the reciever to my ear as I watched him get dressed.

"Hi Emmy."

"Daddy sounds sad. Could you cheer him up for me." The tears came again.

"I'll try." I whispered. "Can I talk to Uncle Tank?" Ranger walked out onto the balcony.

"Sure, Mommy, Bye." I could hear her screeching for Tank and smiled.

"Bye Emmy." I whispered. I carried the phone into the sitting room.

"Hey," Tank said, "having fun?"

"I screwed up Tank, tell me what to do." I laid on the couch and closed my eyes.

"Don't you have girlfriends for this?" he asked, obviously not thrilled with the idea.

"You're on the phone and they're not so you are an honorary girlfriend. I messed up, Tank, I have to talk to someone." I sniffled and it wasn't entirely for effect. There was a heavy sigh.

"Go ahead." Tank could be satisfied in the knowledge that if he acted any more like a martyr he could get sainthood, I was desperate though. I told him what had happened. I could have sworn that I heard the phone go flying and Tank scrambling to recover it.

"Shit, Bombshell, I can't get into the man's mind." Tank did sound shocked. I was happy with that.

"Well, what would you have been upset at?"

"If I knew Ranger he poured his heart and soul out on that bed and you dissed him cold. I wouldn't be happy either." Tank sounded like he was shrugging. I could agree with that, I wouldn't be happy either. I thought over what I had said. I had basically told him that I'd wanted sex and not a commitment from him and he'd made clear that's what he'd wanted in the park.

Did I want to marry Ranger? Of course, but I had been married before and that hadn't worked out. I wanted to be sure. Was I sure about how I felt about Ranger? No. I knew nothing about Ranger really.

"Thanks Tank. I know what I have to do."

"Good luck, Bombshell." he said, I heard a smile, "and I mean that."

Chapter 22

I took the phone back into the bedroom. Ranger was out on the balcony. I walked out and wrapped my arms around his bare shoulders. He pulled away. Should I do this? I didn't really have a choice.

"Ranger." I said, lightly.

"Not a good time, Babe." Ranger growled.

"I have to say this now." He looked at me and I just about lost my nerve in his hostile stare.

"What I said, I didn't mean it the way it sounded." I closed my eyes and hoped that he would ask me how I meant it. I wasn't disappointed.

"What did you mean?" his tone had softened. He could always read my mind. I hoped that he was reading it now.

"Ranger, I know so little about you. What I do know I like and I want to get to know you better. I thought what we did was part of that. I don't regret any of it, but I just...I've done this before, Ranger." I was rambling and Ranger staring at me was not helping.

"You want to be sure." he stated.

"Yea." I stared at my hands.

"I wanted for you to be sure before...." he let the thought trail off.

"I was sure about that." I smiled slightly remembering.

"Me too. I wonder now how I waited so long.....or how I will wait again." His intense stare was sending shivers through my body now. Happy little shivers that were just dying to be back in bed.

"Why would you have to wait again?" I asked. Ranger stood and walked over to me scooping me up in his arms. He carried me straight to the bed and showed me why I would never want to wait so long again.

We spent most of the next two days in bed only going out for meals. I never did get to see the castle that we seiged twice any closer than the balcony of the hotel room and it seemed like such a waste, but there were more important and desirable things within the room. I was never one for history anyway.

After a few days we moved on to Vienna, where we next left our hotel room and then Rome, where we never left the hotel room. I was happy with the arrangement and Ranger promised me that anytime that I wanted to return to Europe we would be on plane in a moments notice. For now I was happy to be with Ranger. This was our honeymoon and, whether I was ready for it or not, it was our real honeymoon.

We were in London and had actually planned to go see the Tower and Buckingham Palace. I had dressed for the occasion in a dress that I'd bought in Paris that had seemed very Jackie Kennedy sans the pillbox hat. It was black and sleeveless and a tailored sheath. Very stylish, I would have thought that a burlap sack was stylish if we'd bought it in Paris. Ranger had bought me a sapphire necklace and earrings as a memento and I was just putting them on when the phone rang. Ranger was still in the bathroom when I picked up the phone.

"Hi." I said, not focusing on the phone. I was still trying to work the earring into the hole in my ear.

"Oh thank god, Stephanie." it was my mother and she didn't sounded like she was on the wrong side of a heart attack. "Stephanie, you have to get back here now." I stopped fiddling with the earring and focused.

"What's wrong?" I asked, starting to panic. Ranger came out of the bathroom and watched me carefully. My mother took a deep breath.

"Ranger has to come back now." she said, she sounded as though she'd been crying.

"What's wrong, Mom, tell me?" I tried to send a calming wave over the phone to her, but I wasn't calm and I needed all the waves that I could hang onto.

"He's going to be upset." she was in hysterics.

"Put Dad on." I ordered.

"Dad isn't here, he's trying to get Vinnie to bail Tank out." I stopped and stared at Ranger. He sensed the panic and wrapped his arms around me.

"Mom, why does Dad have to arrange bail for Tank?" I asked, very slowly. Ranger's grip tightened and he reached for the phone. I didn't have a chance to hear the answer.

"Where's Emmy?" Ranger asked. He sank to the bed. "We will be there as soon as possible. Please, Mrs. Plum, keep this as quiet as you can. It's important. And I want you to know, Tank didn't kill anyone." I dropped to the floor.

Chapter 23

Ranger hung up the phone and I had the suitcases out before he could say anything. He arranged for us to be on a flight that left in two hours. I started rushing around the room throwing everything I could into suitcases. Ranger sat on the bed and grabbed my wrist in one of the passes. He pulled me down to his lap.

"Where's Emmy?" I asked, staring at my hands.

"She's with your parents. She'll be fine." He rubbed my back and I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"What about Tank?" I asked.

"We'll find out when we get there. I couldn't get much from your mom." I nodded. "What I gathered from your mom was that Tank was handling a take down and the FTA died. Tank is being accused of muder."

"Tank wouldn't....." Ranger stopped me.

"No need to panic until we find out what's going on. We'll be back to Trenton soon. Let's just pack and head to the airport. I swear we'll come back, Babe, just when all of this wraps up."

Chapter 23

Ranger barely talked on the way back and I focused on catching up on some much needed sleep. I was not used to being so active. My muscles ached. I now knew what the phrase 'hurt so good' was all about.

Lester and Bobby picked us up at the airport.

"It's not good, boss." Lester said, sadly, "The guy was pretty beaten up and Tank had a few bumps and bruises. Tank said that he'd been hanging in the van when some hooded guys hauled the FTA out of the bar and started whaling on him. Tank stepped in and they got a few in on him before he chased them away. The guy died of internal bleeding." I shuddered. Ranger was in a zone.

"That's not Tank." he said, simply. "Let's get Emmy. Tank out on bond?"

"Yea, no worries, we're keeping Emmy away and spreading the word that she's been with the in-laws this whole time. The Plums are good with that story." Bobby seemed pleased.

"Good." Ranger looked guilty, but I knew that no one could find out that he'd left his daughter with someone who then went on to allegedly kill while she was in his care. She hadn't been there, but that wouldn't make a difference in a judge's eyes.

We reached my parents house in record time and Emmy ran out to the curb to meet us.

"I missed you so much!" she squealed throwing her arms around Ranger.

"I missed you too, kiddo." he tousled her curls.

"Grandma made dinner. She is the BEST cook." I saw Ranger shiver slightly. I knew that he must be imagining what Emmy had been eating. We followed Emmy into the house.

"Mommy and Daddy are back." she called. Emmy was doing a good impression of a real child. She was happy and carefree and wasn't so careful of what she said. Emmy had obviously been setting the table and ran back to her task. I followed the odors to the kitchen where I found my mom bent over the over basting the turkey.

"It was really nice of you to take Emmy in." I said. My mother stood and looked surprised.

"Stephanie! You look wonderful. What's different?" she appraised me. Same old mom. Don't say that I looked like hell before, just imply it. I didn't say anything and she waved her hand. "Emmy." she said, airily, "she's the best child. I have never been around a better mannered child." Translation, I was a hellcat. I smiled. This was my kid now and time to be proud even if I hadn't had anything to do with her upbringing.

"She is great. I hope that she was good for you." I don't know what made me say that, just seemed like the thing to say.

"She was great, Stephanie, we are all a little worried about this thing with Tank but Emily is our granddaughter now...." I stopped her.

"It's Emma Leigh." I said.

"That's what I said." my mom looked confused.

"No, two words, Emma Leigh you said it like one word."

"I thought it was one word. She never said and you never said. That is a very cute name. How did Ranger come up with it?" Okay here's one I could look stupid with.

"Not sure. He never said." I shrugged. My mom gave me one of her 'you should know everything about your husband' looks. If she only knew.

"Where's Grandma Mazur?" I asked, looking around. My mother sighed. This was not good.

"She moved in with Harold." I fell into a chair at the kitchen table.

"Harold?" I asked.

"Her boyfriend. She's going through her second childhood, I swear. Harold came to dinner and threw some food at your father. Your father went crazy and Grandma left that night." mom sat next to me. "It was quite a scene. I'm only happy that it was before Emmy came so she didn't have to see it." If only Ranger had known what he was marrying into. I wondered where he was now, probably with my dad watching television or talking with Emmy. Emmy skipped into the kitchen ruling out the latter. She threw her arms around my neck.

"I missed you so much, Mommy." The title was growing on me, it wasn't as uncomfortable as it had been. This was the way to have kids. No pain and you get them after that up all night phase.

"We missed you too, Emmy. I hear you've had funny here."

"Grandma is SO much fun." Emmy said, excitedly. Who? My Mom? Since when? "She knows about chocolate and she makes cakes. Her face fell. "I just wish that Uncle Tank could be here having fun too."

"We all wish that, honey." I answered, hugging her tight.

Chapter 24

The front door slammed and I heard Grandma Mazur saying something to Ranger. Oh boy. I rushed out to intercept.

"I figured that if Steph could get a stud muffin like you, I could get me a man. This is my man, Harold. We're lookin' at Viagra for him. He's not as young as he used to be but he's got it goin' on. I heard that somewhere you like it? Got it goin' on?" Ranger looked stunned. The man hanging from Grandma Mazur's arm was ancient and looked like he was clinging for support. He was also half the size of my raw boned Grandma and resembled a sun dried prune.

"You're lookin' like you're getting it regular." Grandma Mazur said, obviously approving. "I was worried that you weren't from me, but you look like you're gettin' on just fine." she winked. That always creeped me out when Grandma Mazur winked. She'd told me once when I was a child that if you wink too often, your eyelid falls off. I was waiting for that to happen to hers. I heard a gasp and turned to see my mother standing at the door. She recovered quickly.

"Emma Leigh, could you set two more places." she stared at me pointedly and Emmy ran for the kitchen. She shooed everyone else in the general direction of the dining room. Ranger pulled me aside.

"DO NOT leave me alone with your Grandma." he whispered. Grandma appeared at the doorway.

"Look at the newleyweds, Ellen, necking out here. If you need some private time you cam go up to my room. I think I still have some of those things on account of me and Harold aren't able to do it yet." I blushed and buried my head in Ranger's chest. What have I done, god, just tell me! I'll fix it, I swear. I heard my mother's gasp of horror and my dad's grumble that always seemed to include the words 'crazy old bat.'

"It's all over the Burg about the guy of yours. What you gonna do about it?" Grandma asked. She didn't wait for an answer. "Do you know that it was Joe Morelli who took him in? Joe was downright rude when I asked him about it. He said that I was trying to interfere with police business just because I took his gun to look at it. Is it a crime to look at a gun?"

"Did he hand you the gun or did you take it?" I asked.

"I asked him to hand it to me and he said some rude things that his mother would smack him for, so I had to take it. How else could I get a good look?" Ranger chuckled and I shot him a narrow eyed glare.

"I told Joe that you and Ranger were coming back and he said he'd stop in. I didn't miss it did I? I tried to come early." Great, dinner and a show. Ranger clasped my hand.

"I think that maybe we should go, Mom." I said, catching his hint. "Jet lag can be really bad and...." she saved me from having to think up further excuses.

"Let me wrap some leftovers up for you to take home." I couldn't think of anything I wanted more. I had been ravenous lately.

Mom retreated to the kitchen and Ranger sent Emmy to get her things. She obeyed without a word. The child was impressive. My mother returned with a paper bag.

"I don't know where you live." she said.

"I don't know yet either. I guess that's just going to be one more surprise." I squeezed Ranger's hand. He wrote his home phone number out for her.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking care of Emmy." Ranger said, hugging my mom.

"Don't be silly, Ranger. She's a Plum now." Poor kid, I thought. "Please, send her over anytime."

Everyone came out and Ranger was helping Emmy load her stuff into the car when a familiar Ducati pulled up to the curb.

Chapter 25

Everyone was frozen and all eyes were on Joe as he threw one, long, jean clad leg over the Ducati and pulled his helmet off, setting it on the seat. He ran a hand through his dark hair and his eyes flashed with something like laughter.

"Nice honeymoon, Cupcake?" he asked. I opened my mouth to answer, but Ranger stepped forward.

"We had a great time, Morelli, but we just got home and we're tired so we're going to be going now." He took Lightening from Emmy and helped her into the Bronco. Tossing the cat in just as he nipped at Ranger's fingers. Joe's cop face masked his emotions but something flashed in his eyes.

"I need to talk to your wife for a minute." he said, leaving no option for argument. He choked a little on your wife, but his face was unreadable.

"That's up to Steph." Ranger glanced at me. My feet were ready to run but my shoes seemed to be glued to the concrete.

"Okay." I squeaked. Ranger shrugged, but I could see that wasn't the answer he'd wanted to hear. Joe walked quickly to me and took my arm.

"Let's go inside." he advised. He pulled me along with him. I looked back at my assembled family and my eyes wandered to Ranger. His arms were crossed and his eyes were dark. I sent him a pleading glance. "Five minutes" he mouthed. I got the message and nodded gratefully. We passed Grandma and thought we were almost in the clear.

"Just remember if you're goin' in my room I want to hang on to the glow in the dark ones. My eyesight's not so good." Oh yes, picture complete. Thank you, Grandma.

Joe shut and locked the front door behind us and led me into the living room. I fell onto the couch and Joe sat on the coffee table across from me. He leaned very close.

"I know what's going on, Cupcake." Joe said, in a low and threatening tone. I could have sworn that there was an edge of amusement, but would not have wanted to make any bets. I narrowed my eyes.

"Than maybe you can tell me. Why did you arrest Tank?" Joe's cop face stayed on, but he smiled slightly.

"The evidence that he killed a skip is overwhelming. All circumstantial, but overwhelming. I don't think he did it, but I have a job to do." Joe shrugged.

"In other words wrong place at the wrong time?" Joe nodded. "Bullshit, Morelli." The emotion flashed through Joe's eyes again, but he settled it and smiled slightly.

"What I know all about is why you married Ranger." he said, slowly. I narrowed my eyes again and crossed my arms.

"I married Ranger because I love him." I explained.

"Bullshit Plum," Joe mimicked. "You love me. You married Ranger so he'd have a happy family for his day in court. It makes more sense now that I know that Emma's grandparents are claiming that Ranger can't possibly provide Emma with what she needs emotionally with no positive female role model in the home." Shock colored my face. Joe explained. "They came to the station with a court order, looking for Ranger and Emma. They've been awarded temporary custody by the court." I jumped up and Joe grabbed my arm. I was having an anxiety attack of epic proportions. They could not take Emmy.

"I've got to tell Ranger," I shrieked.

"It will be okay, Steph." Joe said, firmly. "I told them that Ranger was out of town and that Emma was with them. You're lucky that Carl turned it over to me."

"They have a COURT ORDER!" I shrieked. "They will be back."

"I know that they will and Ranger will be ready but let's not lose sight of the fact that you still love me and I'm not sure that I don't love you more for what you're doing for this child." I just stared at him, shocked. What sort of drugs was he taking.

"This is NOT the time." I said. Ranger appeared at the door and his eyes darkened with fury at the way that Joe was holding my arm and the tears that were falling. Joe and I stared at Ranger and in a quick movement Ranger was across the room and before I could speak, Joe was on the floor and looking like he was going to have one heck of a shiner. Ranger turned to me.

"Are you okay, Babe?" he asked, softly. I fell against his chest.

"Oh Ranger." I whispered. Ranger glanced at Morelli, who was sitting up dazed.

"My suggestion would be that you stay down." he growled. He sat down on the couch and pulled me into his lap.

"Tell me." he ordered.

"Emmy." I choked. His eyes widened and his expression became alarmed. I couldn't speak. Joe helped me out.

"Her grandparents were in town. They have a court order for her custody that they were trying to enforce." Ranger groaned and fell back. Joe continued. "I told them that you'd hit the road and took Emma with you." Ranger almost looked grateful.

"Thanks." he said, a little surprised.

"No problem. It explained the sudden 'love.'" Joe made it sound nasty and Ranger sat up.

"Not so sudden." he said, simply. "What about Tank? I heard that you were the takedown."

"All evidence points to him." Joe said, shrugging.

"The actual evidence or the evidence stemming from your resentment at losing out." No explanations needed. Joe made no effort to hide the anger. He stood.

"Whatever you want to think, Ranger." he headed for the door and I ran after him.

"Keep us posted, Joe?" I pleaded.

"You bet." Joe cupped my face in his hands and covered my mouth with his. I shoved him back.

"And NEVER do that again." I ordered.

"Never say never, Cupcake." Joe smiled a wolf smile and walked quickly away.

Chapter 26

Emmy chattered all the way home. Ranger and I only half listened. I knew that we were thinking the same thing, what do you do about the grandparents. Looking back at Emmy, I just wanted to cry. She was my daughter for real now. I had never believed that I could be so protective of another human being. I looked back to see her waving Lightening over Rex's cage.

"Remember, Lightening doesn't like Rex." I tried to keep the panic out of my voice.

"He likes him a lot. They really got to know each other at Grandma Ellen's house." Emmy said in a 'you don't know him like I do' voice. "Lightening is really sweet when you get to know him." she pouted. I hadn't seen that before. Ranger said something sharply in Spanish and Emmy slid down to slouch in her seat. Her whole face took on a petulant look. Ranger said something else and she sat up. Remote control child, I would have to learn Spanish, it seemed like a magic language. Something else to learn while studying eyebrow raising and mind reading.

We pulled into a cul de sac on a street that I had not known existed and pulled up in front of a two story, colonial style, home. It was very symmetrical and ordered. The yard was beautifully manicured and there was a pole barn in the back. The garage door swung open and Lester and Bobby emerged. I stepped out of the Bronco and stared at the slate blue house with black shutters. It was perfect and this was my home. Ranger walked around the car and slung an arm across my shoulder.

"Like it?" he asked.

"Love it," I said, "It's perfect." I headed for the door but Ranger scooped me up.

"We're going to do this right." he said, smiling his 1000 watt smile. Oh yea I wanted him to carry me inside. I glanced back at Emmy.

"Don't worry about her." he whispered. "She'll be happy with Uncle Lester and Uncle Bobby for an hour or so." He looked back, "Lester!" he called, Lester looked over. He was holding the cat out and his forearm was bleeding. I giggled. He glared at me. "Get Emmy some ice cream." I couldn't see Ranger's face but I knew from the grin that spread across Lester's face that he'd gotten the message loud and clear.

"Gotcha boss." he turned to Emmy. "Let's bring the stuff in kid, I think you can handle most of it." Emmy let out a dramatic sigh and followed Lester into the house through the garage. Ranger pushed the front door open. I waved a hand airily.

"The service at this hotel is much better than the last one. The bellhop didn't even offer to carry me to the room there." Ranger laughed.

"You should have told me, Babe, something like that could have put a serious dent in his tip." I blew out an exaggerated sigh of relief.

"For a moment I thought that you were going to say face."

"Yea, that too." I glanced around the foyer while Ranger carried me to the stairs. The floors were hardwood but the stairs were carpeted with a homey patriot blue colored carpeting. The walls were wallpapered with some sort of ivory brocade wallpaper. Very Martha Stewart. Ranger did not stop for a closer look, he practically ran up the stairs. I had to admire a man who could run while carrying 130-something pounds and not even be winded. There were several doors left and right, but Ranger went to the one at the end of the hall. He swung it open and I gasped.

The room was very masculine. The floor was covered in a thick and expensive looking green carpet. The walls were a lighter green color and Dali prints hung all around. Melting clocks and large flies and very surreal sort of scenes. The bed was a work of modern art in itself. Intricate black metal with sculptures at each of the four posts. I gasped as Ranger tossed me onto the black comforter. I was overwhelmed.

"Too much, Babe?" he asked.

"Never enough." I smiled what I hoped was a seductive smile. His eyes darkened as I stood. "I'm so tired." I said stretching my arms behind my head, causing my shirt to pull tightly across my breasts. Ranger's breath caught and I tried to hide the satisfaction. He started to advance on me, but I stepped back. His eyes took almost a frustrated light. I wasn't sure of what I was doing, but it was working. I ran my hands slowly down my side, catching my shirt at the bottom. Ranger moved toward me again and I dodged him.

I sat on the edge of the bed and slowly pulled my FMP's off. I rolled my stockings down and tossed one at Ranger. His eyes were wide and the intensity of his desire was burning into me. I smiled innocently.

"I think that maybe I could use a long, hot, bath." I drew out the last words. Ranger groaned and rolled his eyes. Not bad for a beginner.

"You're killing me, Babe." I smiled slowly.

"Maybe you should be fighting fire with...." I swallowed hard as Ranger ripped the black tee-shirt from his body. "fire."

"You don't have to worry about that." wolf grin again. He looked like he was prepared to spring at me. I touched the bottom of my shirt and started to lift. Ranger spung towards me and I jumped away.

"Babe!" he groaned. Unbuttoning his pants and ripping them off. His desire was very evident underneath the black boxer briefs. I smiled. That was too much for Ranger. He jumped at me. He caught me and tossed me on the bed, pinning me with his body. Ranger's smile was slow.

"Who's in control now?" he asked, teasing my nipples.

"I am." I said, smiling. I reached up and pulled his mouth down to mine. It was good to be in control.

Chapter 27

Two hours later Ranger and I were in the kitchen. I was at the bar and Ranger was focused on pulling together some god awful healthy looking dish. I just wanted to go back upstairs. I glanced over at Emmy who was on the floor with her cat and sighed. Just a few more days and I would be ready to be a mother. I looked back at Ranger and he winked at me.

"Just wait until she goes to bed." he whispered. I smiled. Emmy looked up confused.

"What happens when I go to bed, Daddy?" she asked.

"We're going to have a really great party and everyone will be here except you because you'll be asleep." Ranger smiled.

"Daddy, I am NOT a little girl." Emmy protested. She walked over to him. Arms crossed and eyes rolling.

"Methinks you doth protest that a little too much." Ranger said, flicking her nose.

"Daddy!" another exaggerated sigh. A ten year old teenager. I giggled. Emmy smiled.

"Mommy agrees with me." I held up my hands.

"Mommy said not a word." I struggled to keep a smile off of my face. No luck.

"Well, if you're not going to tell me what you're really going to do..." she stood on her toes. "I hope you're going out for pizza because that looks terrible."

"Emma Leigh!" Ranger said, sharply. "Go sit down." Emmy slunk over to a chair and fell into it. "What did you eat while we were gone?"

"Uncle Tank took me to Jim's a few times and we had ribs and greens." she was clearly thinking back, "and Grandma is the yummiest cook. Mr. Morelli took me to Pino's and bought me a pizza. It was so much yummier than your pizza's, Daddy." Emmy was clearly oblivious to the frozen faces of Ranger and me. I was in shock and I could only imagine what was going through Ranger's mind.

"How was it that you happened to have dinner with Mr. Morelli?" I asked, slowly trying to turn the concept over in my mind.

"When he took Uncle Tank away he took me and we had pizza and then he drove me to Grandma's." She had a look that screamed 'duh' on her face.

"You were....with, Uncle Tank?" Ranger gasped. He was pale and I wondered if his heart had stopped.

"No, Daddy, Mr. Morelli came here and took Uncle Tank away." I had been under the impression that Tank had been arrested on site and from Ranger's face, he had too.

"What did Mr. Morelli....say?" Ranger was still gasping and whatever was on the stove was burning. I walked over and turned the burner off.

"He just talked about Mommy mostly." Emmy said in an offhanded way. "He asked about when she came to stay with us and about the wedding and stuff."

"Think hard, Emma, did he say anything about Uncle Tank?" Emma placed a hand on her face and stared into space for a moment.

"He didn't say anything to me, but he told someone on the phone that Uncle Tank was in the mob and worked for a grizzly. I thought it was pretty funny. Uncle Tank works for you, Daddy, and you're not some silly bear." she giggled.

"Grizzoli." I whispered. Ranger nodded and pulled out his cell phone. he waited.

"Lester! This FTA, he work for Grizzoli?....No....Tank there?.....send him over." he pushed the end button and tossed his phone on the counter. He tossed me the car keys.

"Take Emmy to McDonalds." he said. Emmy jumped up and I stared at him. This was a trap, right? Ranger read my mind.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." he said, shrugging.

Chapter 28

Emmy and I stood staring at Ranger unable to shake the shock. He chuckled.

"Nothing too bad and, Emmy, this is not a habit this is a one shot deal so enjoy it." I heard Emmy take a deep breath.

"Yes, Daddy." she said, primly. She pulled at my arm. "Let's go." she stage whispered. I didn't move. Emmy hugged Ranger and then ran to the door.

"I'm going to get Uncle Lester before Daddy changes his mind." she ran out into the garage. Ranger enveloped me in his arms. Not a good idea as it only made me think that maybe Lester could take her and that Ranger and could stay and....talk or something. Ranger's smile widened as he stared at my face. I shrugged.

"I'm a nympho, what can I say?" Ranger's dark eyes went slightly smoky and he leaned in to kiss me deeply. He pulled away.

"Sometimes that's not all bad, Babe. I promise to tell you every word that Tank says when you get back but I'm going to need for you to take Emmy out of the house for awhile." he ran his thumb gently along my jawline. I melted. How could I say no to him? I'm queen of the weak willed people.

"I'm not sure that I'm comfortable...." I began. I was worried about the grandparents still being around, and Ranger again read my mind.

"That would be a good reason to send Lester. With him the three of you look like a happy family, with Bobby...." he let the thought trail off and I nodded. I got the picture.

"Wouldn't they recognize Emmy though?" Ranger's mouth tightened and he seemed to be considering how to answer.

"No, they haven't seen her in about 5 years." I sensed from that way that Ranger tensed that this was not the time to ask. As if to back up that point, Emmy chose that very moment to tear back into the house dragging Lester behind her. She planted herself in front of Ranger, feet slightly apart and arms crossed.

"Tell him, Daddy." she ordered. Lester was grinning, but looked slightly confused.

"Tell him what, Emmy?" Ranger asked.

"Tell him that he can take me to McDonalds." she looked like she might start crying. McDonald's french fries do that to me too.

"Where would you get that idea, Emma Leigh?" he asked sharply, a sparkle in his eyes.

"DADDY!" she screeched, rolling her eyes.

"Oh okay, if it means that much to you." Ranger was clearly suppressing laughter. Lester shook his head.

"Never thought I'd see the day...." he mumbled, he turned to me. "I don't know what you've done to the boss, but I like it."

"I'm not sure how long this spell with last so let's get going." I reached up and kissed Ranger gently and Emmy and I ran to the car giggling. Lester followed slowly, shaking his head.

Emmy gasped as we stepped into McDonalds as though she had reached Mecca. She ran to the door leading to the playland and then ran to the counter to survey her options.

"What should I get?" she asked quietly. I heard Lester mumble something, but chose to ignore him.

"You should get a happy meal with a cheeseburger." This was my area, I know all about McDonald's. I have even thought of applying once or twice when FTA's were really getting on my nerves. The girl with the orange hat stared at us expectantly.

"But that looks like a kid thing, I don't want a kid thing." Emmy wrinkled her nose.

"You get a toy. Everyone likes toys." her eyes brightened, but she was a picture of resignation.

"Oh okay." she said as if I had asked her to ski Mt. Everest and it conflicted with a manicure. I asked Lester to take her into the playland and I ordered a Big Extra with cheese combo for me and a Double Quarter Pounder Combo for Lester, probably not what he would have ordered, but the man needs to learn to live a little.

I placed the tray near the entrance to the playland and called them out. Emmy was at the top of the jungle gym and was climbing over and Lester was rushing around looking like a fireman with a net. Emmy rushed down the ladder just a little too fast and fell to the floor, her ankle at an odd angle. Lester rushed over to her and started examining her foot. Tears were in Emmy's eyes, but she was very brave as I stood over her screeching. Ranger would kill me. Emmy's first visit to McDonalds and I damage her. Lester came back with a first aid kit and wrapped Emmy's ankle.

"It's just a sprain." he said, holding my shoulders and clearly thinking about slapping me. "She'll be fine." He scooped Emmy up and carried her to the table.

"May as well enjoy my last mean, Chica." Lester advised Emmy, "After your Daddy sees your foot it might be my last." he popped a french fry into his mouth. Emmy giggled.

"You kept telling me to be careful, Uncle Lester, Daddy will kill Mommy instead." I must have been shocked because Lester and Emmy took one look at me and descended into giggles. I narrowed my eyes and they both stopped laughing. I was thinking that my methods were very effective now honed by my formidable title as Mrs. Manoso when I realized that they were gaping in the general direction of the jungle gym. Grandma Mazur and Harold had just walked into the playland and Grandma Mazur was clearly encouraging Harold to try to climb the jungle gym. Could things get worse?

Chapter 29

I rushed out into the playland just in time to hear Grandma's encouragement and felt a strong urge to rush back out.

"I like a little daredevil. You get to that top and I may be so turned on that...." I couldn't take it.

"Grandma!" I screeched. She turned to me.

"Stephanie, what are you doing here? I thought that man of yours would never let you out of his sight." she squinted and them waved cheerily to Lester and Emmy, "married a month and steppin' out with somebody else. You really should have left Emmy with that bounty hunter. Kids can really cramp your style. I know that Harold here wasn't thrilled when he found out about Ellen." I rolled my eyes and wasn't sure that they wouldn't stay that way.

"That's Ranger's guy, Lester." I explained.

"And if that isn't worse." Grandma Mazur said, sharply. I wasn't going to question why it would be worse.

"Emmy just fell from that ladder, Harold will kill himself trying to get up there." I said, dryly.

"We're into that cheating death thing. I saw a show about how it turns all kinds of people on. We're hoping that after Harold will be able to....." I didn't want to hear what Harold would be able to do.

"It's not a good idea." I was the voice of experience despite the 40 year age difference.

"You sure are rude always interrupting me. You should have respect for your old grandma." I paused to look my old grandma up and down. Biker shorts and a tee-shirt her hair a tamer shade of orange.

"You're right, I should. Now take Harold home." I ordered in my brand new Mrs. Manoso voice. Grandma sighed.

"Okay. You're no fun. I know you can't possibly be from me." she stalked away dragging Harold with her. Oh the sting of that comment. I rolled my eyes and made my way back over to Emmy and Lester.

"You could kill my Grandma, right?" I asked Lester, sliding back into the booth.

"I wouldn't want to try. Your Grandma has some sort of luck like I haven't seen. I'd wind up in the hospital missing my...." he glanced at Emmy, "arm." I giggled.

"Why would you want to kill Grandma Mazur?" Emmy asked, seriously, "she is so cool." I nodded slightly. Ah the innocence.

"You will understand one day, Emmy." I said in my best mentor voice. We finished our food and Lester glanced at his watch.

"Do you think they're done?" he asked.

"Probably." I shrugged, he would know more about these meeting than I would. Lester cleaned up the trash while I tested Emmy's weight to see if I could carry her. I could but would have a permanent hunch so I decided to wait for Lester.

"That was SO yummy." Emmy said, playing with her toy, "I hope that Daddy lets us do this again sometime." I smiled. She continued talking. "Maybe we could have pizza sometime? That place that I went to with Mr. Morelli had the BEST pizza." she stared at her hands as though wondering if she was saying that right thing. "I thought that Mr. Morelli was mean when he came to the wedding but he was real nice to me."

"He is really nice." I agreed. Emmy let out a heavy sigh.

"You're not going to leave my Daddy and marry Mr. Morelli, are you?" she asked and I could see the tears in her eyes. I was touched. It was very possibly the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me. I wondered how honest I should be. I took a deep breath.

"Emmy, I love your Daddy and I'm not going to leave him for any man. I'm not promising that everything will be easy but your Daddy and I are going to do everything we can to love each other and stay with each other." Emmy smiled, but the tears were still in her eyes.

"I love you mommy." she whispered.

"I love you too, Emmy." The tears had spread to my eyes now. Lester broke in and scooped Emmy up.

"Let's get going." he advised. "I called Ranger and he's ready for us to come back now."

Emmy and I were silent in the car. I was thinking about what had just happened between us. Whatever Morelli said to Emmy had put doubts in her mind and that wasn't fair. I was engrossed in my thoughts when I heard Lester swear and noticed for the first time the flashing red lights behind us. I looked in the mirror and saw an elderly Hispanic couple seated in the car. An officer walked up to the car.

"Evening folks." he said, with a smug smile.

Damn! Officer Gaspick!

Chapter 30

"What can I do for you Officer?" Lester asked sweetly. I made a quick wish that I would not have to use the gun in my handbag. I wasn't sure what I'd do if Officer Gaspick tried to take Emmy.

"I stopped you because I'm looking for Ricardo Manoso and I think you might know where he is." he leaned on the door. He hadn't seen Emmy, I said a quick prayer for whoever had invented window tinting.

"I'm sorry, Officer, I don't know." I smiled. "You could check his home."

"His listed address is a men's shelter." Officer Gaspick sounded petulant. "I have two very anxious people in my car who only want to make sure that their granddaughter is being well taken care of. They have a court order and Mr. Manoso is nowhere to be found. You let him know that I'm looking for him if you see him?"

"If we see him." I said, smiling broadly. "I'll be sure to pass on that message." I looked back in the rear-view mirror as the Officer walked back to his car and studied the couple. They looked respectable enough, but I wanted to make sure that I would recognize them if faced with them again. Officer Gaspick pulled out from behind us and we watched him disappear down the street. Lester closed his eyes and blew out a sigh of relief.

"I thought for sure that he'd take Emmy." he said, quietly.

"Me too." I agreed. Emmy was sunk down in the backseat, she looked confused. I wasn't going to be the one to explain all this to her. I tossed a look at Lester and he nodded. If sooner or later we would be faced with this, we were both voting for later. Ranger would know what to do. Lester pulled out and headed home.

Emmy limped into the house when we pulled into the driveway, but I hung back.

"What do we tell Ranger?" I asked. Lester was the voice of experience with this one.

"We've got to tell him the truth, Bombshell, and I'm voting that you're the one to tell him. He loves you. He likes me, but I don't know him all THAT well." I smiled involuntarily. I did not want to be the one to talk to Ranger but Lester may have had a point, he may take it better coming from the woman who shares his bed.

"Okay." I said, hugging Lester, "Wish me luck." I trudged into the house as if I were going to face a firing squad. I couldn't help it if Officer Gaspick thought that I might know where Ranger was, could I? Ranger HAD told me to take Emmy to McDonalds so really, this was his fault. I straightened what remained of my spine and walked into the house. Ranger met me at the door.

"I sent Emmy up to her room to play." he said, quietly. "What happened? She said that police stopped you." I took a deep breath. "and what happened to her ankle?" I choked on the deep breath.

"She fell off of the jungle gym in the playland. Lester says it's a sprain." Ranger's brow furrowed and he walked over to the intercom.

"Get the doctor in here to look at Emmy." he ordered. He turned back to me.

"And the police?" he asked.

"Officer Gaspick. He had Emmy's grandparents in the car and he was looking for you." I blew out the breath that I'd been holding and waited for a reaction. Ranger nodded slightly.

"I expected that. I checked into their court order and found that I only have to give Emmy to them when I return to Florida for the court date. I have my lawyer working on that one." Ranger fell into a chair and pulled me into his lap. I rested my head on his shoulder.

"The FTA did work from Grizzoli and likely the hit was from the family. The FTA was a petty gangster named Nick Caravaggio. He had his fingers in the wrong pies and they cut them off. I guess that Tank was really in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I still don't think it was an accident that he wound up in Tanks lap. Someone killed him and then someone else brought him to Tank. I'm sure of that." Ranger was talking his thoughts through.

"Maybe Terri Gilman would know what happened." The moment that I said her name I realized that my brain had shut down. Ranger stared at me for a moment and then shrugged.

"Worth a shot." he said, "You know how to get in touch with her?" I thought about that. Did I want to do this? This was for Tank, this had to be done. Besides, I would like to talk to Morelli and find out what happened with this whole Pino's thing with Emmy.

"No, but I know someone who does." Ranger cringed.

"For Tank." I reminded him. His eyes darkened.

"I'm sure it is just for Tank." he said, slowly. Now what was that supposed to mean?

Chapter 31

I walked over to the phone and dialed. Ranger came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I love how I feel so tiny in Ranger's arms. There's only a three inch difference in height, but his body is a work of art with his broad chest and huge muscled arms. I was tempted to forget about the phone call and drag him down on the kitchen floor slowly having my wicked way with him. Focus. I dialed Joe's home phone first. No answer. I tried his cell phone.

"Morelli." he growled. The tone of his voice sent shivers of fear down my spine.

"Hi Joe, how are you?" I asked, tentatively.

"Cupcake! I never expected to hear from you." It was a demand for information and I couldn't refuse. I took a deep breath.

"I'm calling to see if you can tell me how to get in touch with Terri Gilman." there was a long pause at the other end of the line.

"Why?" he asked, taking a deep breath.

"I need some information that probably only she would have." I closed my eyes and hoped that he would give in. I knew him too well.

"What sort of information does Ranger think that she has?" he asked, back to the growl.

"Emmy kind of picked up that the FTA worked for Grizzoli when you took her to Pino's." I paused to let that knowledge sink in. "Ranger put two and two together and talked to Tank about it. We need to know what Terri knows."

"Give me Ranger's phone number, I'll ask her to call." Joe said in a very resigned voice. I could hear him kicking himself for underestimating Emmy. Ranger took the phone from me.

"Morelli? Ranger here, I want to meet there are a few questions that I'd like to ask.....wherever you say...." he glanced down at me, "she can be there, but are you sure you want that?" Ranger hung the phone up. "We're meeting him tomorrow at 10:00am." Ranger said to the top of my head. I turned around in his arms and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Everything will be okay?" I asked. I needed some reassurance and Ranger seemed to have all the answers.

"Don't doubt it, Babe." Ranger said, smiling. I heard footsteps behind us.

"Do you REALLY have to do that in public?" Bobby voices wafted to us from behind me.

"I want the whole word to see how much I love Stephanie." I giggled. Ranger could be so sweet. He smiled a 1000 watt smile at me sending that familiar heat surging through my body.

"You guys are disgusting." Bobby said rolling his eyes and grabbing a water from the refrigerator.

"Someday you'll understand, kid." Ranger said, softly. He leaned in and kissed me gently. The phone rang. He reached back and picked it up. His lips didn't leave mind until the phone was to his ear.

"Yo." he said, simply. I smiled up at me and ran a finger up and down his biceps. I saw his face tighten and stepped back. Something was wrong.

"Calm down, Mrs. Plum, it's going to be okay. You tell me what happened......you're at the hospital?....It's going to be okay, I'll have one of the guys find Grandma Mazur and let her know, you just stay strong for Mr. Plum." My Dad? My mind screeched, what's wrong with my Dad? This day was just getting worse and worse!

Chapter 32

I rode as silently as I could to the hospital only breaking the silence once or twice to screech at Ranger. He hadn't told me what was going on, only giving some lame story about my mother being too hysterical. When are Plum women hysterical? We deal with pressure very well.

When we got to the hospital, Ranger led me to a waiting room. He had both hands on my shoulders and pushed me gently down into a chair.

"Wait here." he instructed, kissing me softly. I wasn't feeling very well so I didn't even try to argue. "I'll be back soon." he promised. He'd better be and he'd better have some answers.

I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. I waited for what seemed like forever before opening my eyes and looking around the waiting room. No Ranger. Probably he was lost this was a really big hospital and he had no bread crumbs, I had better go look for him. I walked into the hall and stared straight into Joe Morelli's puppy brown eyes.

"Cupcake." Joe said, smiling slowly. He held my arms to stop my forward momentum "Just the person I needed to see."

"What?" I asked, wrenching from his grasp and crossing my arms. Joe Morelli was very low on my list of people that I wanted to see.

"Teri's not going to talk to Ranger..." he began. I stopped him.

"Why not?" I asked, distressed.

"Settle down, Cupcake, she will talk to me. She did wonder what she'd be getting out of this." Morelli's cop face was on. What did he think she should get? Tenderness flashed through his eyes, "are you okay, you look awfully pale."

"I'm fine. What does she want?" I asked cautiously.

"The usual, probably. I don't know what Ranger usually gives her." His smile told me that he could guess and that he wanted me to guess too. I had no idea that there would be a "usual" between Teri Gilman and Ranger. The knowledge scared me. I started to feel woozy and fell to the floor.

I woke up in a hospital bed. Morelli was by my side talking to a doctor who looked like he was barely out of high school. The doctor smiled at me.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Morelli." he said. Some saliva went down the wrong pipe and I started choking. Joe handed me a glass of water. I made sure that I remembered how to breathe before handing the glass back.

"We're not married." I informed the doctor, narrowing my eyes at Joe. Joe had a huge grin on his face that only served to make me suspicious.

"I thought he was your husband. He authorized the blood sample. This cannot be good for the hospital." The doctor turned a paler shade of white and looked like he might faint. I didn't have time for his waffling.

"What's wrong with me, doctor?" I asked. I tried not to seem worried but I was. I could be dying right here and where was Ranger? Off on some fact finding mission. He could have taken me with him instead of stranding me with Joe. Oh wait, he didn't know that Joe was here. The doctor broke my internal argument.

"You're pregnant." he announced. I fell back on the pillow. Pregnant? How was that possible. I counted back. Ranger and I had been having sex for about two weeks, that was too soon right? I glanced at Morelli and wondered how long it had been since I'd had sex with him. He smiled.

"About seven weeks." he said, reading my mind. Damn him. The thought that this might be Morelli's baby sent shivers down my spine. I closed my eyes.

"How far along am I, doctor?" I asked.

"I'll be able to tell you in about an hour and a half." he said. Great. I would have to wait for this. I couldn't wait. I had to know now. I felt my stomach. No kicking. So I was not about to give birth, that was a good sign. The doctor mumbled something to Morelli, who laughed. I shot him the sharpest look that I could. This was not the time to be making fun of me.

"I'll be back shortly." the doctor promised before leaving the room. Morelli turned to me.

"How long have you been having sex with Ranger?" Joe asked.

"None of your business." I said, haughtily.

"Not that long, huh?" Joe's smile spread. "You know there's no way that symptoms would show this soon if it was Ranger's." I glanced at him.

"Thank you, Morelli, way to cheer me up. You cannot tell anyone about this." I said in my best threatening voice. He held up his hands.

"No a word, Cupcake. I wouldn't want anyone to know that another man's wife is carrying my child."

"This IS NOT your child." I screamed.

"Let me ask you this, Cupcake," Joe said, "When you have our child will Ranger love it like it was his own? I would if it was his." Normally that would have been a terribly sweet thing to say. In this context, it made me want to pick up a bedpan and knock Morelli out cold.

"I know he would." I said, smugly. Inwardly I had doubts. What if this was Morelli's? What would Ranger say? He knew that I'd been sleeping with Joe. He would always wonder even if it was his. It was too much for me. I started sobbing gently at first but then the sobs grew. Where was that damn doctor? How could he do this to me?

Ranger chose that moment to come flying into the room. His face was a mask but his eyes were full of fury. He glanced at Morelli and then at me sobbing on the bed, my arm wrapped in gauze where they'd taken the blood.

"What happened?" Ranger growled.

"I was talking to Steph and she fainted." Joe explained, shrugging. "They took some blood and did some tests. We're waiting for results."

"You just didn't think to have me paged?" Ranger asked, raising an eyebrow. His hostility was evident. I hoped that he wouldn't deck Morelli right there.

"I actually didn't know you were here. Steph didn't mention you at all." That got me a sideways glance from both of them. I held up my hands in protest.

"Person who fainted over here." I announced as if that would heal all ills. Ranger's face softened and he sat on the edge of the bed, clutching my hands in his. I suddenly remembered my father and jumped slightly.

"Ranger...." I began. Ranger stopped me and cupped my face in his hand. He whispered something softly in Spanish before beginning.

"Babe, your father has been shot." I passed out again, fortunate to already be in a bed.

Chapter 33

When I woke I was alone in the room with Morelli. He was grinning down at me.

"You're really starting to make this a habit, Cupcake. All this fainting can't be good for the...." I held up a finger and he trailed off.

"One word, Morelli, and if this is yours this will be the last child that you ever have." he smiled a little wider at the threat.

"Sure, Cupcake." I looked around the room.

"Where's Ranger?" I asked. Morelli was starting to resemble a Cheshire Cat and really starting to piss me off.

"I can't see your secret staying secret for much longer." Morelli began, I narrowed my eyes at him. He sighed, "Ranger went to find the doctor and probably hold him upside down by his ankles and shake your condition out of him." I could feel the blood draining from my face. I fell back onto the pillow and closed my eyes. I heard Joe chuckle.

"Joe?" I asked softly, "Do you know what happened to my father? How could he get shot? All he does is drive the cab and hang out at the VFW." Another chuckle. I didn't like this at all.

"Can't you guess?" he asked. I sighed. I could guess but I hadn't wanted to try.

"Grandma Mazur?" I said, another heavy sigh from me.

"Harold, actually, your dad called your Grandma Mazur something that Harold thought was offensive and he challenged him to a duel." My heart stopped. Another chuckle from Joe. "Your dad told him that he was crazy and Harold shot him." Didn't sound funny to me.

"Is he going to be okay?" I whispered.

"He should be fine. It was actually a pretty close call considering that the shooter can't see three feet ahead of him. Actually, your dad has probably been released now." Morelli looked at his watch, " Harold will be sitting in lockup until he turns to dust. Won't be long now." If Morelli was laughing at this, I could only imagine what the rest of the guys were saying.

"Where was my Dad shot?" I asked. The door opened and Ranger came back into the room. He wasn't smiling, but he didn't seem to know about the test result. I sighed inwardly and breathed a little prayer that I could keep this from him until I found out how far I was along.

"In the leg. Or did you mean where as in location?" Ranger asked. "I couldn't find your doctor. What did you say his name was Morelli? Wyznoski?" Ranger gave Joe a look that make it obvious that he knew that Joe had made the name up. I silently thanked Joe. Ranger turned back to me.

"They're going to keep your father here overnight to make sure that there's no infection. The gun and ammo were pretty old. I'm surprised that the gun didn't blow up in his face. Maybe you should stay here overnight too?" His brown eyes were worried and his voice became very soft. He caressed my face gently. "I want to make sure that you're okay."

I smiled and took his hand.

"I'm fine, Ranger, don't worry." There was a slight snort from Joe and we both stared at him.

"Okay, okay, I need to go anyway. I just need to talk to Ranger before I leave."

"Talk." Ranger commanded. I would have melted from fear but Joe just smiled casually.

"In the hallway." he advised. Ranger touched my face again.

"I'll be right back, don't go anywhere." I rolled my eyes at him. Where would I go? Joe kissed my forehead.

"Call me when you know." he whispered.

"Maybe." I answered. Ranger seemed interested, but asked no questions. He followed Joe into the hallway. I laid back on the bed and closed my eyes. I was almost asleep when I heard yelling the hallway and jumped up, running to the door. I threw it open to find Ranger with his hand around Joe's neck, holding him against the wall. Ranger's expression was dangerous.

"This was YOUR idea, not Teri's." he said in a menacing voice. A crowd was gathering and I walked over the Ranger and touched his arm lightly. He recovered slightly and dropped his hand from Joe's neck. He stared at the floor. He was silent for a moment and then started speaking slowly.

"You tell Teri that if she has information that I would appreciate her help, but I'm married now and I'm prepared to give her anything else that she might want." Despite what people think, I am not stupid and I figured that one out right away. I know that my mouth was wide. I had suspected Teri's price, but to have Ranger spell it out. Before I knew it my hand was flying through the air and the loud smacking sound told me that I had connected with my target.

Chapter 34

It took me a moment to realize that I had slapped Ranger. I saw my handprint forming on his face and I ran back into the room closing and locking the door. I didn't think he'd hit me, but I didn't want to find out. I waited for what seemed like forever and there was a slight tap on the door. I wondered about Joe briefly and then my mind flew back to Ranger and what he would do when he caught me. Lady Liberty would laugh at me.

"Babe." Ranger's voice was muffled by the heavy wood door. "You don't understand. Let me explain."

"It's okay, Ranger," I croaked, realizing the I was crying, "You don't have to explain anything to me. You don't owe me anything." There was a heavy silence on the other side of the door. I saw the lock turn and I turned it back into the locked position. Thought he was clever, I'd show him. Here I was probably carrying the baby of a man who'd been selling himself to Teri Gilman for information. I sank into a chair. I hoped that it was his anyway, I didn't like the way that my line of thought was going. Okay, so I was no purity poster girl, but I had never sold myself to Morelli like that. It was just cheap.

I walked over to the bed and fell into it covering myself with the thin blanket. I curled up into the fetal position. This was not turning into the pretty picture that I thought it would be.

I heard the lock turn again and didn't move to stop it. It didn't matter if Ranger came in. I wouldn't be able to stop him anyway. I covered my head with the blanket. I could hear Ranger's footfalls on the tile and heard him sigh as he sunk into the chair by the bed.

"Babe, I'm not going to do it." he said in a resigned voice.

"Don't let me stop you." I said, a muffled sob escaping. "It's for Tank, right? Everything will be okay as long as we get what we want in the end." I could be a martyr right? I could offer up my husband for Tank. I wasn't sure that I could ever bring myself to touch Ranger after, but I could risk that.

"Don't be silly." Ranger said, gruffly. It sounded like he was rubbing his face. I sat up and stared at him.

"I'm sorry. I know it shouldn't matter what you did in the past...." he cut me off.

"I've never done that in the past. I think that maybe this was Morelli's idea." The ragged gasp that came from me had Ranger smiling.

"I'm so sorry." I said, new tears falling. Ranger sat on the edge of the bed.

"No real harm done." he said. I touched the slightly red hand mark on his face and he winced.

"Oh Ranger." I whispered. His mouth covered mine. I heard someone enter the room. There was a delicate cough and Ranger and I looked over to see the young doctor shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably.

"I have the results." he said, faltering only slightly. Ranger sat at attention. The young doctor seemed daunted but continued only stuttering slightly. "M-maybe you should s-step outside, sir." he advised. Ranger raised an eyebrow and stood crossing his arms. His biceps bulged and my heart fluttered.

"I'm her husband and I'm staying right here." Ranger growled.

"I thought..." the young doctor stopped and shook his head. He opened my chart. Oh god, my heart had stopped. I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer. When I opened my eyes, Officer Gaspick was standing in the doorway.

"Mr. Manoso, I need to have a talk with you. Could you step into the hallway, please, sir?" I stared heavenward. There was someone up there and he didn't hate me as much as I thought he did.

Ranger looked toward the Officer and growled audibly.

"Go ahead Ranger, he just wants to talk with you." I advised. Ranger stared at the young doctor intently as he stood.

"I expect a full report when I get back." Ranger said, dangerously. The doctor looked as though he might have wet his pants. That was my Ranger, ever affable. Ranger left the room and I motioned the doctor to the bedside.

"Tell me now." I ordered.

"But...." he looked back at the door.

"Trust me, buddy, I'm a lot scarier than that guy so you just tell me now or you're gonna find out what I can do." The young doctor turned deathly pale.

"I-I'd like to do an ultrasound." he said, timidly. "I'm a little confused by your HCG levels but I'd have to say, without examination and just with the numbers, that you're about two months along. " Oh shit, I thought. Just what I needed.

"Not a word about this to my husband." I ordered. "I want to tell him the happy news myself." He nodded, seemingly unable to speak. "As far as Ranger knows I just need more tests, right?" The doctor nodded again.

"Good to know that we understand each other. You may go now." I waved my hand airily and the doctor stood stock still for a moment.

"Oh," he said, nervously realizing that I was allowing him to flee. "I'll order the tests and the nurse will be in to take care of you."

"Thank you." I smiled my best gracious and reasonable lady smile and the doctor ran from the room. I leaned back into the pillow. Oh god, what do I do now?

Chapter 35

First things first, I thought. I rang for the nurse who came flying into the room. I smiled inwardly. She must have gotten a good look at Ranger. My suspicions were confirmed when she looked around the room and he disappointed eyes settled on me.

"Do you need something?" she asked in a petulant voice. I smiled my best sugary sweet smile.

"The doctor said that he was going to order an ultrasound." I informed her. "I'd like to schedule that before my husband gets back." The nurse's eyes fell to the rock on my finger and shock froze her features. She was a solid professional, I could tell by the quick recovery.

"Okay," she said, narrowed eyes back in her 'you are bothering me' expression. "I'll call down now." She left the room. I laid back and closed my eyes. I heard Ranger come back into the room. I felt the bed sink where he sat down. I couldn't look at him. I couldn't even think about looking at him.

"You okay, Babe?" Ranger asked, his voice worried. Damn it! He was making it worse. Don't be nice to me, Ranger, yell at me. He probably would when he found out. "Your Dad is in a room. You feel up to seeing him?" I opened my eyes and stared at Ranger for a moment. He sighed.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked.

"No." I squeezed my eyes shut. I heard the nurse clip clop back into the room. I opened my eyes to see her eyes glued on my husbands pecs, a goofy grin on her face.

"Yea." Ranger growled. The smiled faded. I laughed. That'll show her not to look at other women's husbands. The thought made me sick with guilt.

"M-Mrs. M-Manoso, your ul...." I glared at her. She was careful not to look at Ranger. "ummm....test, is scheduled for tomorrow at 10:00am." she tossed a card in my direction. "J-just m-mark w-what you w-want for dinner." she fled the room. I looked at the card.

"I'm not staying, Ranger, I want to go home." I gave him my best 'don't mess with me' look. His stoic mask melted and he smiled.

"If that's what you want, Babe, all I want is for this to be nothing and for you to be okay." Ranger gave me a stern look. I wished that this was nothing too, but my luck was never that good. I stared down at my belly. The thought of a little Morelli growing inside of me made me sick, but I had been getting sick a lot at night anyway. I thought that it was called morning sickness because it happened in the morning. Yet another thing to wonder about.

I felt Ranger's fingers under my chin as he lifted my head.

"Babe?" he asked. I tried to smile, but I was really starting to feel woozy.

"I'm okay. Let's go see my Dad." Ranger smiled and scooped me up off of the bed.

"Okay, but I get to carry you." I giggled slightly and gave an exaggerated disgusted sigh.

"If you INSIST." Ranger leaned in and kissed me.

"I do." he said, sweetly. I smiled but my brain was tearing apart with urges to be fair to Ranger and tell him. I really should wait, right? Until I know for sure what's going on? The doctor did say that the level was messed up, he could be wrong. I could have drunk raspberry ice tea or something, Mary Lou had told me in high school that raspberry iced tea messes up pregnancy test results. I wouldn't want to tell Ranger that I was pregnant and then it just be something that I drank. I just couldn't do that to Ranger, it would be best if I just kept it to myself.

We rode the elevator up a floor. I was really impressed that Ranger was allowing himself to be so exposed on my account. My mother was seated at my father's bedside and she jumped up when we entered the room.

"What's wrong with Stephanie?" she asked. Her hands were flailing as if on auto-pilot and searching for something to do.

"Nothing's wrong with me, Mom, it's probably just the flu." My mothers stood stock still boring holes into me.

"Are you pregnant, Stephanie?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. I had learned that move from her and had surpassed her. I was now impervious to the narrowed eyes. I laughed and hoped that my mother would take my laughter as an answer and not force me to lie to her. She smiled slightly.

"How's Dad?" I asked. I glanced toward the bed. Morelli had said it was nothing, but my Dad was out cold. Actually, he didn't look a whole lot different than when he was awake, and he moved a lot more when he was asleep. My mother fussed over the blanket covering him.

"He's better. The nurse had to give him something to settle him down when your grandmother stopped by, but he's sleeping now." she gave us another disapproving glare, Ranger was still holding me in his arms. "You can put her down over there, Ranger." she said, gesturing to an empty chair. Ranger smiled and kissed the top of my head before settling me down. I caught a glimpse of myself in the gleaming IV pole and nearly screamed. My face looked deathly pale and my hair was a mess, no wonder Ranger was worried.

My mother perched on the edge of the bed, presiding like a true Burg hostess.

"How is Emma?" she asked.

"She's okay." I said, Ranger smiled evilly.

"She just has a bad sprain, her ankle. She fell off, what was it Steph? A jungle gym?" My mother's hand flew to her mouth.

"Oh dear, Ranger, how did that happen?"

"I let Steph take her out alone. The car is still in one piece so something had to happen, right?" My mother had the nerve to laugh at that. No amount of narrowed eyes stopped her. This was obscene! I wasn't going to stick around for this. I stood and felt around in my pockets. No money, where was my purse? I needed a coke. Something cold. Ranger did his ESP thing and handed me a five.

"Do you want anything?" I asked.

"No, thanks." Ranger said. "I can go get it if you'd like to stay with your mother."

"No, I need to get out." Ranger understood, his attempts to tease were not welcome. I took the money from him and stepped out into the hallway. I closed the door and turned to walk towards the nurse's station to ask where I could find a soda machine when I tripped over the long legs of Joe Morelli. I practically fell into his lap.

I stared into his eyes, both hands on his shoulders.

"Well, Cupcake?" he asked. "You didn't really think that I was going to leave until I found out did you?"

Chapter 36

"Joe." I whined. He helped me to my feet. He smiled a shit eating grin at me.

"That was some slap you laid on Ranger, I'll bet he has a handprint on his face for a few days." his chuckle was irritating. I narrowed my eyes.

"I've got a good left hook too, Morelli." he stopped laughing. His puppy brown eyes turned serious and his cop face slid on.

"You know what I want to know, Cupcake." he said softly.

"I'm not in the mood for games, Morelli. I don't know, I have a test tomorrow, I'll know after that." I found a chair near the nurses stand and sank into it.

"You really don't know yet?" he asked. The emotion in his voice made me feel almost as guilty as I had with Ranger. This could not continue.

"There are only suspicions, Morelli, and it's not fair to anyone to talk about suspicion." He nodded.

"Good chance it's me though." My head sunk to my hands. He chuckled lightly, "Better than good chance?" Morelli knelt in front of me and rested his hands gently on my knees.

"If this baby is mine, Steph, I want to be a part of it's life and I want to raise it. I know that you think you love Ranger, but don't think about getting rid of it because you hate me." my head shot up so fast that I nearly fainted.

"Joe Morelli! How dare you imply that I would do something so stupid and immature. Don't judge everyone else by your own standards. I married a wonderful man who I love very much and all you can do is crow about how miserable you make me. Get out of my face and get out of my life." I pushed him back, barely realizing that I was screaming. I didn't care. I started to stomp over to the nurse's desk when I saw Ranger and my mother standing in the hallway staring at me. Oh shit. How much had Ranger heard? I walked over to him.

"Ranger...." I began softly. His iron facade melted and he smiled, taking me in his arms.

"I love you too, Babe." he said, sweetly.

By the drive home, I had rationalized myself out of feeling guilty, after all, this was all Ranger's fault. He hadn't told me how he felt about me and Morelli had. I had been in a relationship with Morelli. Probably it was nothing, probably it would blow over. Ranger was in a zone, staring straight ahead with his hand on my knee. The warm weight was comforting and I wished that the sick feeling would go away so that I could enjoy the beautiful night. Ranger broke the silence.

"What do you want for dinner, Babe?" he asked. "It'll be best to pick something up. Emmy's bedtime is in an hour." I glanced at the clock, 9:00pm. Was it that late already? The day had just flown by. I chuckled to myself thinking about how I never expected Ranger to let Emmy stay up so late. I figured he would be an 8:00pm on the dot kind of dad, that had been my bedtime when I was her age. I thought about dinner and was filled with an overwhelming desire.

"Quiche Florentine." I announced. Ranger slammed on the breaks and pulled off to the side of the road. He stared at me for a moment and panic started to rise.

"What?" I screeched, tears rising to my eyes.

'You don't want pizza or greasy chicken?" he asked, staring at me intently.

"I'd like Quiche Florentine." I said, haughtily raising my chin.

"Okay." Ranger shrugged. He turned around and found a French restaurant and bought a Quiche to go.

"You can still change your mind." Ranger's raised eyebrow told me that he expected a change, not me. I shook my head.

"Let's go home, I'm tired." he shrugged and drove home. Emmy met us at the door. Once glance and her happy expression changed to worry.

"Mommy, are you okay? You don't look so great." she said, little hand pressed to my forehead. She was sweet. I kissed her cheek.

"I'm fine, Emmy, I just need some rest." Emmy didn't appear to be convinced. She stared at me intensely through dinner, unnerving me with her serious brown eyes. We'd finished eating and Ranger was carrying the plates into the kitchen when Emmy came over and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. I could feel tears through my tee-shirt.

"What's wrong, Emmy?" I asked, softly pulling her forward so I could look into those beautiful eyes.

"Nothing." she swiped a hand across her eyes and ran upstairs. I sat silently for a moment. Ranger walked back into the dining room.

"Ranger, what's wrong with Emmy?" I asked. His expression became alarmed.

"I hope she's not catching what you have." He said anxiously. Not likely.

"Where's her room?" I asked, standing.

"The door in our room to the rear left connects to Emmy's room." he said, calmly. I stared at him.

"Her door CONNECTS?" I asked, not meaning to sound so alarmed. I would never have sex again.

"I like to keep her close when we're in Trenton. Just in case." Ranger shot me a look that spoke volumes. He turned back to the kitchen and I headed up the stairs. I could hear sobs through the door leading to her room. I knocked gently.

"Emmy." I called. The heartbroken sobs stopped instantly. I opened the door. The room was the opposite of her room in Alabama. This was a princess paradise. Everything was lace and pink. Bears in dresses and a rocking horse in the corner. Hadn't Ranger found a happy medium? This was a Pepto Bismal nightmare. Emmy was sitting on the bed and I walked over and sat next to her.

"What's wrong?" I asked gently.

"I love you, mommy." she said, sweetly.

"I love you too Emmy, but why are you crying?" she stared at the comforter.

"I don't want you to die." she said seriously.

"I'm not going to die, honey, I'll be fine." I smiled as if to prove how healthy I was.

"You're pale and you cry all the time just like...." she stopped and stared at the comforter again.

"Like...." I prompted.

"Like my first mommy did before she died. Daddy doesn't think that I remember, but I remember plenty. I had to be brave for him. Uncle Tank said it was our duty." That was nice Tank, but who was being brave for Emmy?

Chapter 37

I didn't go back downstairs after my talk with Emmy, I settled into bed and thought about what the ultrasound would be like tomorrow. From what I had heard about ultrasounds, it was where the baby's parents stand around and oooo and ahhhh as a mouse-like object is rolled over the tummy. I would be alone. Ranger would insist on coming and I had to find a way to stop him. He would be suspicious. Ranger was no fool.

Thinking about the ultrasound just made me depressed and the depression made me sleep.

I woke up when Ranger crawled into bed next to me. I kept my eyes closed and hoped that he wouldn't know that I was awake. Ranger wrapped his arms around me and rested his head on my shoulder.

"We should talk about what's going on, Babe. Something is really bothering you and I hate seeing you so torn up." Ranger's voice was soft and tender. Why couldn't he be a jerk once in a while?

"It's nothing, Ranger." I protested weakly. His muscles tightened and his voice turned sharp.

"It's not nothing, Babe. Why won't you talk to me about this?" I sighed and he relaxed.

"I'm sorry." as if he had anything to apologize for. I should be on my knees begging him to forgive me for sleeping with the boyfriend that I'd had before him. Wait, that didn't sound right, I was SO CONFUSED!

"I really wish that I could wrap my mind around everything that's happened, but it's a lot to absorb." I began slowly. "Morelli being around every time I opened my eyes was no help at all." I felt Ranger tense when I mentioned Morelli. "Everytime I see him he brings me down emotionally. I feel guilty." the last bit slipped out.

"You have nothing to feel guilty for. You love me and I love you. That may not be why we got married, but it's why our marriage will work." I sighed a little and the tears started again.

"Emmy was right, you sure do cry a lot." I could hear the smile in Ranger's voice. I leaned against his bare chest. I thought about my talk with Emmy and I remembered the picture that she'd shown me of her mother. Carla Manoso had been the kind of beautiful that I could never be. I had thought that Emmy looked a lot like Ranger, but now I knew that she looked like her mother. Her hair had been long and her curls were silky looking. Her smile was genuine and perfect and her skin was flawless. The only thing that Emmy had not inherited were her mother's clear green eyes.

"I really love you, Ranger. I just want you to know that when I tell you I love you that I really mean it." I sniffled a bit.

"I know, Babe." I ran a hand over his chest. He slipped his hand up my nightshirt. A tremor rushed through my body and to my toes.

"Ranger, Emmy is just in the next room." I whispered in protest.

"I locked the connecting door." he informed me, "If she comes in, she'll have to use the main door and we'll hear here coming." He nipped at my neck and tossed a leg over mine.

"You are evil." I said, smiling. He leaned up on his arm.

"You are too sweet." he said as he lifted his body on top of mine and proceeded to give me the most mind-blowing muffled-scream orgasms I've ever had.

The next morning Ranger was gone when I got up. He was probably out jogging. I found my way to the kitchen and found the answer to my prayers.

"Hey Lester." I said, settling across from him at the kitchen table. "I have a problem." He raised an eyebrow, a disgusting habit.

"Whatcha need, Bombshell?" He asked skeptical of my cheerful attitude. So I wasn't usually a morning person, how would he know?

"I need for you to keep Ranger away from the hospital this morning." Again with the eyebrow!

"Why?" Lester asked.

"I can't tell you, please do it." I begged. He shrugged.

"No promises. I've got Emmy duty today." I understood completely. Ranger jogged into the house and stopped at the refrigerator for a bottle of water.

"I'll be ready to go to the hospital in about twenty minutes, Babe." he promised.

"Ranger, maybe you shouldn't go." His hand froze with the bottle halfway to his mouth.

"What?" he asked, stunned. That was talent, stunning Ranger. The stunned quickly faded and the hurt settled in.

"I just don't think it's so important and you have a lot of stuff going on." I said, lamely. Ranger's eyes went dark.

"None of what I have to do is as important to me as you are." he said in a low and dangerous voice.

"I could take the Bombshell, Boss. You ask me, Emmy could use you around for a day." Ranger turned to Lester. Using Emmy was low. Ranger's expression was now drawn and worried.

"What's wrong with Emmy?" Ranger asked.

"She's been down, not really herself." I could see that. No reason to feel bad, Ranger could use a day with his daughter. He was clearly struggling.

"You should stay with Emmy." I agreed.

"You don't mind, Babe?"

"As long as it's Emmy and not some other woman." I joked. Ranger smiled. His eyes told me that he was still worried and suspicious. How long could I keep this up?

Chapter 38

Lester pulled up to the hospital and I turned in my seat to look at him.

"Lester, I really don't want to be alone. Will you do this with me?" I asked. Lester smiled soothingly.

"Sure, Bombshell, but wouldn't the boss...." I stopped him.

"This has to be top secret." The look in my eyes must have told him how serious I was. Because the smile faded and concern settled in it's place.

"What are we doing in there?" he asked. I sighed deeply, time to tell someone.

"I'm pregnant. It's an ultrasound." Lester's features relaxed.

"That's great!" he began, I held up a hand.

"Looks like it's Morelli's." Understanding washed over Lester's face and he stared at the steering wheel.

"That can't be good."

"Thank you, Mr. Sunshine." I settled back into the seat and rolled my eyes. It was at about that time that I noticed a much used and little repaired Plymouth parked in the corner and a tall Italian man getting out.

"Damn it." I whispered, under my breath hoping that my baby would not hear me swearing. Lester and I watched as Morelli strode to the Bronco and tapped on the window.

"Shoot him." I ordered.

"Bombshell." Lester whined.

"I'm not getting out, I'm just going to have to miss my ultrasound." I pouted. I wasn't ready to deal with Morelli just yet.

"You know, Bombshell, if this is Morelli's, maybe he should be the one to go with you." Lester looked as though he was bracing for an onslaught. How could he confirm the guilty feelings I'd been having? I pretended to relent, but deep down I knew he was right. I swung the door open, whacking Morelli with it. He doubled over groaning. I smiled inwardly, there's always a price, Morelli.

"Here are the rules. When we're in there you don't speak. You don't look at me. You just stand by and watch the monitor. No wise ass comments at all. Got it?" Morelli nodded, still unable to speak. I looked at the directions and led him to the room to which I'd been asked to report.

We only waited for a few minutes before the technician came out.

"Mr. and Mrs. Manoso, please follow me." I smiled at Morelli's reaction. To his credit, he was keeping his mouth shut. No need to correct the technician. The technician led us to a room where he gave me a hospital gown.

"Change here and then go into the next room to the left when your ready." The technician closed the door and Morelli stared at me, smile on his face.

"Leave." I ordered. He shook his head to indicate that he had no intention of leaving, his smile gave me the reason. I sighed. Can't argue with a mime.

"Turn around then." He did as instructed, but kept casting backward glances. Not anything he hadn't seen before. I just felt weird now that I was actually married, but then this whole thing was weird not that I'm actually married. I held the back of the gown shut and walked to the door. Morelli followed me into the next room.

I assumed that I would have to get up on the table and decided that it would be best to wiggle back while there was only one man in the room. I didn't want to be flashing anyone. I wiggled up until I was perched on the edge. The technician came in.

"Great, Mrs. Manoso, now lie back." I did as ordered and he threw a blanket over my legs.

"Put your feet in the stirrups" he ordered. Now why would I have to do that? Probably because it makes the tummy lie flat so that he can get a better reading with the mouse thingy. Instead the technician picked up a large white object that looked like a giant.....OHMYGOD, that crazy man thought he was going to put that thing into me. I watched in horror as he lubricated it.

"W-what's that?" I asked, as little nervously.

"It's a stick with a camera on the end so we can see into your womb." he smiled a little evilly. "No one told you that this would be trans-vag?" he asked.

"N-No." I answered. Morelli was smiling, but he walked over to and clutched my hand.

"It won't be bad." He glanced under the blanket, "But you will have to remove your underpants." Oh great. I wasn't sure I wanted to go through with this now. I wiggled out of my underpants and clutched them, closing my eyes tightly. If this was going to happen, I wouldn't have to see it.

"You may feel a little discomfort." the technician advised. No shit, have you seen the size of that thing? "I'll do the reading and then you can go back to the room where you changed and wait for the doctor."

"Okay." I whispered. Morelli squeezed my hand and I felt the discomfort of which the technician spoke. I heard Morelli's sharp intake of breath.

"Is that what I think it is?" he asked. The technician chuckled.

"Maybe you should ask if they are what you think they are. I think we found the reason for your HCG levels." I opened my eyes and stared straight into Morelli's big brown eyes. His eyes were full of an emotion that told me that they really shouldn't be pointed at a married woman.

Chapter 39

I left the room shocked and dismayed. Morelli was tagging along after me happily chattering.

"This is so great, Cupcake! I can't believe how wonderful that was. Little Morelli's growing right inside of you! Two of them. I will be the BEST father....we'll be the best parents. I can't wait to tell everyone." His chatter was making me sick. I turned on him, narrowing my eyes.

"I don't know that these babies are yours, Morelli, so you're not gonna whisper a word to anyone." I stuck my finger in his chest and he got the message.

'I'm just excited, Cupcake." Morelli said, sheepishly. "You come straight to me when Ranger kicks you out. I can take care of you, he won't. He'll be kicking you out when he finds out about this. Doesn't matter how bad he wants to save Emmy. And the courts! They'll have a great time with this!" I was going to vomit, I could feel it and I would aim straight for Morelli.

What was I going to tell Ranger? At least I would have time to come up with something. I opened the door to the room that I'd changed in and came face to face with my not so happy husband. I gasped and held the hand that had been holding the back of my gown shut to my chest. Bad move. There was a snicker from Morelli. Ranger glared at him and the horrible noise stopped.

"Leave us alone." Ranger yelled at Morelli. My mind screamed, NO! Stay! He won't kill me with a cop in the room. Morelli stood still. Thank you, I said silently. A nurse entered the room and walked over to Joe.

"Mr. Manoso. I need for you to sign some paperwork." She handed a clipboard to Morelli. Ranger stood still for a moment just staring and the kicked the bottom of the hospital bed viciously and growled. I had never been so afraid in my life. The nurse ran from the room.

"I'm going to leave you alone." He said, handing Ranger the paperwork. Ranger read quickly through whatever it was and threw the clipboard against the wall, papers going everywhere. I had never seen Ranger so uncontrolled and animal. Maybe in another situation and aimed at someone else it would have been a turn-on.

Ranger stared at me for a long moment and then drove his fist into the hospital bed. Scared the shit out of me. He was so close to the edge. He sat on the bed and put his head in his hands.

"It's not so bad that you didn't tell me, what I hate right now is that you told HIM!" His face was a contorted mask of rage and hurt. He stood and kicked the bottom of the bed.

"I wasn't going to tell him, Ranger, he was there." I blundered, tripping over words. Ranger just stared at me intensely for a moment and then left a fist sized dent in the metal trash can.

"I want you to trust me, Steph, didn't you feel like you could trust me?" I could have sworn that there were tears in his eyes.

"I-I-I." I stammered. He hit the bed again.

"FUCK!" he screamed and hit the mattress again. What did the poor mattress do? He should be hitting me.

"I wanted to be sure." I found my voice but it was very small. I was shaking and felt like sitting down, but I didn't dare move.

"I could understand that, Babe, but couldn't you have told me?" he asked. "You are pregnant, aren't you?" I nodded. "I knew that you were the other day, I didn't want to push too much. It's Morelli's?"

"They're Morelli's, I think. I don't know how far along I am." I studied the floor. Awfully dirty for a hospital. I heard Ranger sigh heavily.

"That doesn't matter to me as long as you don't plan to run to Morelli." I looked at him, tears streaming down my face.

"If you still want me, I'm here forever." Ranger smiled, slightly. He was hurt, this wasn't just going to fade away. I was going to have to work really hard to make this up to Ranger. He smiled.

"Twins, huh?" he asked. "We're gonna have to go house hunting." I smiled through the tears. The doctor came in trailed by Joe. He saw Ranger holding me and his cop face slid on, eyes narrowing. Not what he'd expected.

I turned around in Ranger's arms and stared at the doctor expectantly. The doctor froze when he saw Ranger and looked as though he might turn to go. I narrowed my eyes to remind him of my threat and he stood stock still.

"Well?" I prompted after a moment of silence.

"Mrs. Manoso, the ultrasound was very unclear. The only thing that we're really sure of it that you're going to have twins. You could be anywhere from a few weeks to a few months along." I started crying and Ranger held me up. Morelli looked like he was about to start handing out cigars. Ranger's grip tightened on me reassuringly.

"Emmy is going to love having brothers or sisters or both." he said, quietly. I couldn't see his face, but I knew that his eyes were on Morelli. Joe hadn't expected Ranger to be so understanding. His cop face stayed on, but his eyes took on a sad gleam. I wondered how Ranger would feel when he'd had time to think about all of this, would he still want us then?

Chapter 40

Ranger drove home in stoney silence. He was still angry and that was scaring the hell out of me. We pulled up to the house and Ranger led me into to the kitchen. He sat in a chair and pulled me down into the one across from him.

"We don't know that they're not mine, Babe. Should we wait to tell Emmy?" he asked with a heavy sigh.

"Are you going to leave me if they're not yours?" I asked bluntly, tears welling.

"You know that I won't." Ranger said, his voice with a bit too much of an edge. "I love you Steph, and it doesn't matter whose babies those are because they're yours. I will love them just like I love Emmy, you can count on that." I hugged Ranger.

"You have GOT to be the sweetest man ever. I was so worried." Ranger tensed. Maybe I should still be worried?

"You shouldn't have been worried, Babe." he said, "You know that I love you." His eyes were disturbed. Emmy came running down the stairs and slid to a halt in front of us. Her eyes wide. She stared at us for a long time before Ranger reached for her.

"Emma Leigh, I have something very important that I want to tell you." she nodded, brown eyes wide and silky curls bobbing.

"Stephanie," he began. I was surprised that he hadn't said 'mommy.' He should have said 'mommy!' Ranger continued. "is pregnant and sometime in the next year we're going to have two new babies in the house." He smiled as if this was his private gift to her. That didn't sit well with me.

Emmy's face settled into shock before a huge grin broke out. She threw her arms around my neck.

" I am SO HAPPY, Mommy!" she squealed. "They're gonna be girls and they can live in my room." I looked past her at the frowning Ranger. Definitely not a good sign. She fingered the ring that hung around her neck, still on Tank's chain. "I just knew that you would be good luck for us." she said, breathlessly. Emmy was so sweet.

"You don't want to live with little babies." Ranger interjected. "They cry and make messes and you're practically an adult. I think that the babies should live next to my hammer and saw in the garage." I wondered if he was serious, nah he couldn't be, could he?

"When mommy sees the doctor again, maybe you could come? It would be nice to make this a family experience." Ranger said graciously emphasizing family.

"Do the guys know, Daddy?" Emmy asked.

"Only Uncle Lester." he said, slowly. So Lester had called him, I wondered how he'd known.

"I knew anyway." he said, answering the thought. "I'm not stupid, Babe, I'm surprised that you thought that I was."

"I never thought that you were stupid, Ranger." I pleaded for mercy with my eyes. Emmy kissed me quickly and then ran off to share the news.

Ranger kept his distance most of the rest of the day. He left after dinner to go after a skip. I woke when I felt the bed sink next to me.

"Ranger?" I asked, sleepily.

"Who did you expect?" a sardonic chuckle was in his voice. I sighed and he wrapped his arms around me. I felt like crying, Ranger caressed my hair.

"I didn't mean it the way it sounded." he whispered.

"I KNOW how you meant it, Ranger." I choked back the tears.

"I want so much for the babies to be mine." he slid his hand around to my stomach.

"I want that too." I whispered.

"They'll be mine anyway." he answered, "No matter how things turn out, they will be Manosos." I thought about that. If they were Joe's shouldn't they be Morelli's. They had to have a heritage, right? We could talk about this later. I twisted around so that I was facing Ranger.

"You love me?" I asked, softly. Ranger smiled in the dark.

"You know that I love you. I love you more than I ever thought..." I covered his lips as he mumbled against my mouth. At least tonight we would have mind-blowing sex and I could get my mind off of Morelli.

Chapter 41

I woke the next morning to see Ranger milling around the room and throwing clothes into suitcases. Emmy was running back and forth between the rooms. My first reaction was panic. He was leaving me. Ranger looked toward the bed and smiled broadly. This was a change.

"We've got to go to Miami, Babe. I figured you'd need some sleep." he said, his wolf grin telling me why he thought that I needed sleep. He seemed relaxed. I wondered why. If we went to Miami, we would loose Emmy. I didn't want to loose Emmy, however briefly. Ranger read my mind.

"Ranger...." I began, trying to shake the cobwebs. He filled in the blanks.

"My lawyer called this morning and said that they'd moved the court date up. They probably found out about Tank and didn't want any room for his situation to be worked out before we left." Made sense to me. If I were evil I would definitely be trying to rip apart a home at 8:00am. I shook my head groggily.

"Emmy has been packing for you." Ranger said, smirking. "Don't worry, whatever you need, we can buy." he paused, "If it's not a good time for you to go you can stay here. I'll have the guys stay with you." OHMYGOD, he didn't want me to go! He read my mind. Maybe it was the mouth hanging open and the way I sat stock still in bed. He sighed.

"I want you to go, I'm just saying that I know that this is quick." Sitting up too fast forced the necessity of a hand clamped over the mouth and a run to the bathroom. Note to self, the babies don't like fast movement. I came back from the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Babe," Ranger said softly, "I don't expect you to drop your life and come to Miami." Since when? This is what we'd been leading to all along. I fell back on the bed and extended my arms in the thinking position.

I felt someone's face very close to mine and opened my eyes to stare straight into Emmy's soft brown eyes.

"Are you okay, mommy?" she asked, "Daddy said that the babies can make you sick sometimes."

"It's the babies' job, Emmy." I explained, weakly. "Don't worry, I'm gonna be right with you as soon as they stop wiggling around in there." Emmy wrinkled her nose and placed her hand flat on my belly.

"I don't feel anything." she said accusingly.

"You will in a few months." I promised. She skipped away. Ranger's face replaced hers.

"Glad you came to your senses, Babe." he said, grinning. I narrowed my eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about, Ranger?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're awfully emotional?" he asked.

"Fuck you."

"Not with Emmy around, thanks though. I'll take a raincheck." I couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh god." I groaned. I ran for the bathroom again. This was not going to be fun. I had just finished brushing my teeth and was just about to open the door when I heard Ranger softly talking to Emmy.

'Don't worry, honey, she'll be fine. The babies are making her a little sick and maybe a little moody, but when the babies are born she'll be fine again and we'll have new babies to love." Ranger sounded like he might be tearing up.

"I'm really happy about the babies, aren't you, Daddy? I have wanted babies since I was a little kid." Ranger chuckled.

"Well, I wanted Stephanie so the babies are a bonus because your Daddy must have done something really good." I could hear the smile in his voice and sunk back against the door. I was almost too happy to move, maybe I was too sick, but I like to think I was too happy. I stood up and opened the door. I walked straight over to Ranger and hugged him. He was surprised, but smiled warmly and hugged me tightly. I noticed how tense his body was. He was being happy for Emmy, but he was worried. I kissed his neck close to his ear,

"It's going to be okay." I whispered. He gave me a quick squeeze.

"Now get going." he said, swatting playfully at my butt.

Chapter 42

Miami was bright and almost painfully sunny. I had never been there before and the sun beat down like it was trying to press us to the pavement. Jersey was humid, I could deal with humid, hot is another story. I planned to walk straight from air conditioned airport to air conditioned car to air conditioned hotel. I wasn't feeling too hot from the flight. Ranger's mother met us at the airport. I found it odd that I'd never even heard of her before. The minute that we stepped into the terminal, she slapped Ranger and yelled something in Spanish.

"Mama!" he said, smiling softly. "This is Stephanie." he pulled me forward. She pushed past me and scooped Emmy up.

"Emeeee, How are you?" she asked, kissing her noisily. Emmy wiped the slobber from her cheek.

"Hello Grandma Rosa." she said, with only slightly tarnished dignity. Grandma Rosa smacked Ranger again.

"What? Are you ashamed of your wife that you not tell me you're getting married?" she asked. Good question, Grandma Rosa! I couldn't wait to hear the answer to this one. She turned to me as if seeing me for the first time and smiled.

"Stephanie," she said warmly, hugging me. "My Ricardo, he's so secretive." she flailed a hand at him as if to smack him, he reeled back. Now I knew what he meant about his family hitting each other.

"My Eduardo, I was there for the wedding and the birth of every baby. My Ricardo, he now married twice." she held up the fingers to accentuate the indignity. "And I no invited to either of them. Maybe he's ashamed of me?" Tears came to her eyes and Ranger stepped forward.

"You no, come near me!" she screeched. "I am talking to Stephanie!" he jumped back. Emmy skipped up beside her grandmother.

"Mommy's having babies, Grandma, two of them." Emmy said sweetly. Her grandmother looked at her incredulous and then started a string of loudly spoken Spanish words. Emmy froze and Ranger cringed. I wished that I knew what she was saying. Ranger smiled weakly at me.

"Mama is concerned that we got married because you're pregnant. She says that everyone will know and she'll be shamed." The old woman stared at the ground sobbing and making the sign of the cross.

"That's not how it happened at all." I explained. "We just found out about this after we got back from the honeymoon." It sounded weak, but I was believing me. How would she take it if she found out that these babies were maybe another man's?

We somehow made our way to the car, a garish pink Caddy with vanity plates that said SXY-MA. Oh dear God, I thought. We loaded into the car and his mother drove at death defying speeds to her home where my worst fears were confirmed, we would be staying with her.

The house was a large Spanish style brick in a calm neighborhood. I could just picture the people running into their houses and locking the doors when they saw her coming. Outwardly she was a matronly Cuban woman who wore long flowery dresses and her hair in a bun. She looked like someone's Grandma, not mine, but someone's. Inside, she was a rebel.

There was a party of sorts waiting inside for us. Eduardo introduced himself first. He was slightly older than Ranger, but looked a lot like him. He shook Ranger's hand.

"I wanted to meet you, but Mama insisted that we stay here." he looked over at me, "We don't argue with Mama." he explained. He took my hand and kissed it gently. "You are more lovely than Ricardo said." I blushed.

"Thank you." I wasn't sure of what else to say. His wife pushed her way past.

"Mama says that you are pregnant and having twins. Is this true?" she asked, not introducing herself. She was short and dark and had flashing eyes.

"Melia, really." Eduardo said, "Maybe they had meant that for a surprise." Children pooled at Melia's ankles.

"It's a blessing." Melia said, hugging me. "So if you lose Emmy it won't hurt so much." I froze. That was the probably the worst thing that anyone had ever said to me. I knew that I was going to cry and I looked around for somewhere to run. Ranger was frozen, he was hurt too. I could tell. He seemed to shake it off and glanced at my face.

"Excuse us." he said, smiling. Eduardo nodded. I could hear her scolding Meila. Ranger pulled me into the kitchen and out the patio door. We sat down on a chaise lounge.

"She didn't mean it." he whispered. I stared at the ground. "Melia doesn't always think before she speaks."

"It was a horrible, stupid, thing to say." I said, wondering why Ranger wasn't more upset. He read my mind.

"I've learned to expect certain things from my family." he explained, shrugging. "This is what I expect from Melia. This is not going to be an easy week. My family is not the easiest to get along with, but we'll be okay. You have me Stephanie, you're not here alone." I smiled. Ranger learned in and kissed me deeply. I felt the wind of something hitting Ranger's head.

"Ricardo! Not out here! What will the neighbors think?"'

Thanks to DB for a bit of tech help on this chapter.

Chapter 43

By the time Ranger and I made it to our room that night, I was ready to scream. Any excuse I'd had to leave the room, I did. I took an extra long time putting Emmy to bed. Ranger's family would definitely take some time to get used to them. My family was bad, but they were a completely different kind of bad. I fell back onto the bed, arms extended. Ranger chuckled.

"You okay, Babe?" he asked, softly. "They're really nice people once you get to know them."

"I'm sure they are, Ranger. What time do we have to be in court tomorrow?" he sighed.

"We go in front of a judge at 9am and Mama is insisting on being there." he pulled out his cell phone and hit the message button. He sat on the edge of the bed and started pulling off his socks. I heard him swear lightly. He quickly ended the call and hit speed dial.

"Lester, Ranger, tell me why Tank is on his way down here?" he paused and the strain was evident in the muscles in his back.

"Following a lead makes him FTA. Tell him when he calls that he had better stay FTA until we get this worked out. What's this new information he's chasing?" There was a long pause this time and I wondered if Lester had hung up. Ranger's shoulders hunched.

"Yea, I know who their lawyer is, and I wouldn't put it past him. Tell Tank to contact me when he gets here. I'll make sure that Mama knows that he's coming and impress on her how important it is that she keeps it to herself." He flipped the phone shut and fell back on the bed, arms extended, next to me. And I thought that I was the only one who needed the thinking position. We were silent for a long time until he rolled on his side to look at me.

"The lawyer that Carla's parents hired, he's very high profile. Our luck is that he takes cases whether he can win them or not if they'll get him a lot of money. The problem is that he'll do almost anything to win. Looks like he's done that. If we can pin this guy who died on him, we've got it made. Lester thinks that Tank has information that will do it." he settled back again, "Maybe this is important for you to know and maybe not, but Carla's parents, they're not the most honest people in the world. When Carla died I was devastated and they used my hurt to steal Emmy away then, not because they cared about her, but because they thought that they could get an exorbitant child support. I have to keep Emmy away from that." I do believe that is more than I have ever heard Ranger say in one sitting. I stayed silent and motionless letting it all sink it. A thought occurred to me and I propped up on one elbow.

"How did Carla die?" I asked gently, touching Ranger's arm. He pulled away and stood up. He pulled off his pants and shirt and settled on the bed. The muscles in his shoulders were tense and I rubbed them gently. He sighed.

"She was pregnant and didn't know it. The pregnancy was in the tube and it burst. We knew for twelve hours before she died that she was pregnant again and we were so happy. Carla had been having terrible pains, and the ultrasound just came too late. She died on the way to the hospital, she'd lost too much blood." Ranger's back was to me, but I knew that there were tears streaming down his face. I hugged him gently and he turned toward me encompassing me in his arms.

"Steph," he began uh-huh, no Babe? "I was pretty thrown when I found out that you were pregnant and pretty hurt that you had kept it from me. I was even a little scared because of what had happened with Carla. In that room in the hospital it all came back to me and I knew that I couldn't live if anything happened to you. These babies, I don't care if they're Morelli's or mine, I want them and I want to be their father." My turn to cry. I couldn't believe that Ranger was being so sweet and the emotion covered the room like a blanket. We lay on the bed, holding each other and crying.

When I woke I saw a figure rummaging through my luggage. Too feminine to be Ranger. I opened one eye and Melia smiled at me.

"Ricardo is out running. I have dressed Emmy and am just looking for something for you to wear. I could tell from your outfit yesterday that you have no sense of propriety. Ricardo was wise to get himself a white wife for court, but he could have chosen more wisely." If I had not been still in a dream-like haze and not totally sure I was awake, I would have jumped up and slapped her. I was saved the need by a sweaty Ranger walking into the room. He stood still assessing the situation.

"Melia, leave." he ordered calmly.

"I must find something...." she began. Ranger stood with his hands on his hips and she scurried away. "I have a black suit. I will bring it. It will be too small for you, but may still work." she tossed over her shoulder. Bitch, I thought. I buried my head back in the pillow. I was too nervous for this sort of thing, and wasn't really feeling all that great. I glanced at Ranger who had not moved. He was not smiling. He sat next to me on the bed.

"You ready for this, Babe?" he asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I groaned.

Chapter 44

We were a united front marching into the courtroom. I was wearing a black suit that I hadn't known that I'd owned, but had been packed in my bags. The heels were black and strappy with only very modest three inch heels. Ranger and I walked straight to the defendants side of the courtroom and sat next to an elderly, Hispanic, man with thinning hair that I had never met before. I looked over at the plaintiffs and saw the modest looking elderly couple that I'd seen in Officer Gaspick's car so long ago. They didn't look so bad. Their lawyer, on the other hand, was wearing sharkskin shoes. Bad sign.

"Steph, this is Javier Marqeuz, our attorney. Javier, this is my wife, Stephanie." I extended my hand and he took it, kissing the fingertips. I smiled graciously. Javier motioned for us to sit down.

The bailiff called the court to order and everyone stood while Judge Alvin Connell walked to the bench. Judge Connell was benevolent looking. He reminded me of what Tank might look like in 40 years. He stood tall and was only slightly gray at the temples. When he started speaking, his voice was deep and raspy.

"Is the child here?" He asked. Ranger's lawyer stood.

"Emma Leigh Manoso is in the courtyard with her aunt and cousins." He sat back down.

"I'd like to speak with the child before we get started, Mr. Marquez. Can it be arranged?"

"Of course, your honor." He turned to Grandma Rosa and whispered. She practically flew from the room. Judge Connell turned to the attorney for the plaintiffs.

"Mr. Fleming, would you care to make any opening statement while we wait for the child to be brought to the my chambers?" I recognized the attorney from high profile cases on television, John Fleming, high ticket ambulance chaser. He was at every disaster practically before it happened suing for millions. John Fleming rose from his seat and smiled ingratiatingly at the judge.

"We would your honor. My clients, Jose and Rita Raquela, have not seen the only child of their only daughter since she was 5 years old. Ricardo Manoso, though wealthy, lives a dangerous life and is in no position to raise a child at this point in his life. It has come to our attention that Mr. Manoso recently rectified the problem of a female influence in the household by marrying the former Ms. Stephanie Plum but, your honor, as I will show, the former Ms. Plum is far from a positive influence. The tip of that iceberg is that Mrs. Manoso worked as a bounty hunter before her marriage." Judge Connell held up a hand.

"Has she worked as a bounty hunter since her marriage?" he asked. Mr Fleming studied his papers.

"Not to my knowledge, your honor."

"Then I fail to see the point, Mr. Fleming." John Fleming straightened his back and glanced at us. He smirked as though he was going in for the kill.

"Mr. Manoso is also a bounty hunter." He said, as if he'd won a brass ring.

"Let's get beyond the bounty hunter question, Counselor." The judge's patience was wearing thin.

"I have countless articles that show that Mrs. Manoso is dangerous. She seems to have a penchant for blowing up cars." The judge looked amused. He turned to me.

"Is this true, Mrs. Manoso?" he asked. Javier urged me to stand.

"It's not my fault, your honor." I said weakly. "It just seems to happen." I looked up to see him smiling.

"Anyone hurt?" he asked.

"No?" I answered, shyly.

"Anything else, Mr. Fleming?"

"Just that Mr. Manoso's right hand man and recent business partner is up on murder charges and that young Emma Manoso was left in his care while the defendants gallivanted around Europe." Judge Connell sighed.

"Has he been convicted?" he asked.

"No, your honor." Mr. Fleming answered, sheepishly.

"In this country we are innocent until proven guilty, Mr. Fleming. It seems your case will have to stand on it's merits. Anything else?"

I'm finished for now, your honor. I would just like Mr. Manoso to know that marrying someone he hardly knows will....."

"You said that you were finished for now, Mr. Fleming. I am well aware of your reputation and will not put up with your histrionics in my courtroom." Judge Connell turned to Javier Marquez. "Mr. Marquez, your turn."

"Your honor, Ricardo and Stephanie Manoso are good people who love their daughter. They have formed a happy little family despite the many attempts that the Raquela's have made to extort money from Mr. Manoso. It was Carla Raquela Manoso's wish that her child not be placed with her parents and Mr. Manoso has honored that wish by limiting contact with them." Mr. Fleming jumped up.

"My clients have had no contact, your honor."

"In that case we will arrange for Emma Manoso to speak with her grandparents. Anything else, Mr. Marquez?" Judge Connell wrote something down and shifted some papers.

"No, your honor, thank you." the judge nodded.

"You may be seated then. I'll speak with Emma and we'll break for....." there was a light knock at the courtroom door and the bailiff walked over and slipped out of the doorway. He returned a few minutes last and whispered to the judge. Judge Connell nodded and stood. The bailiff walked to the door, pulling it open to allow Joe Morelli to enter.

"Follow the judge to his chambers." The bailiff ordered. Joe glanced at me and smiled reassuringly, but I was too shocked to say or do anything.

The bailiff called a recess and just as he reached the door, Joe turned and winked at me.

Chapter 45

Emma Manoso was brought to the judge's chambers. She was frightened. The room was big and the walls were all wood and dark. She sat in a ruffly pink dress that she hated because it made her look like a little girl. Daddy loved the dress and she would do anything for Daddy. Daddy had been really sad until recently and Emmy considered it her job to make him happy.

She sat in the chair at it's edge, patent leather encased feet just touching the floor. The judge walked in and smiled at her. He looked nice. He sat down.

"Hello, Emma, how are you today?" He talked in the voice that older people always use to kids. Emma straightened her back, she was no kid.

"I'm fine, thank you, and how are you?" she asked, throwing the judge a mini-version of her Daddy's smile. He sat down across from her.

"My name is Judge Connell and I want you to feel very comfortable with me, Emma. I'm going to ask you a lot of questions and you answer them as well as you can. Okay?" Emma folded her hands in her lap and held her head high.

"Yes sir." she said, sweetly.

"You may not know the answers to some of the questions, but think real hard, okay?"

"Okay."

"Do you know what your Daddy does for a living, Emma?" he asked, staring at a steno pad in his lap.

"He owns stuff and he helps people go to court." She said, thinking very hard. Daddy didn't talk much about work, but she heard things.

"Are you scared about the people that your Dad helps go to court?" The judge asked.

Emmy smiled.

"No. Daddy makes sure that they stay far away from me." The judge asked such silly questions.

"Does your Daddy spend much time with you?" he asked, scribbling on the pad. Emmy wanted to see what he was drawing but knew that the adult thing to do was to stay seated.

"Yes, we do lots of fun things together. We used to jog together in the morning, but Mommy told Daddy that little girls shouldn't jog so I get to ride my bike." her face lit up at the mention of her mommy.

"You like your new Mommy?" he asked.

"She's great. I knew she would be great because Daddy and Uncle Tank told me such funny stories about her but she's 10 times better in person. She's so pretty too." Emmy said, her voice accelerating from the excitement.

"Did they have a nice wedding?" Judge Connell asked, staring at the paper. Emmy liked these questions.

"It was wonderful but Mr. Morelli interrupted and Mommy had to go talk to him. He is nice though. He took me for pizza when they took Uncle Tank away." The judge looked up at her and she sat straighter.

"Why did Mr. Morelli interrupt the wedding?" he asked.

"Uncle Tank said that it was because he'd been Mommy's mean old boyfriend before she got smart and realized that she loved Daddy." Emmy knew the answers to these questions, this wasn't hard.

"What about your Uncle Tank, Emma, why did the police take him away?"

"I don't know, Daddy said that he's innocent and we have to stand behind him." she became distracted. "Mr. Morelli said that Uncle Tank worked for a grizzly and that was just silly." The judge's sharp laughter surprised Emmy and she jumped slightly.

"Has your daddy known your mommy for a long time?" The judge went back to scribbling and Emmy leaned up to try to see what he was writing. She couldn't see.

"Ever since I was a little kid." she said.

"How do you feel about your parents?" he asked. He asks a lot of silly questions, Emmy thought.

"I love them." she said, no hesitation.

"And you're happy with them?" he asked.

"Yes." she answered simply, focused on seeing the notepad. The judge stood.

"When was the last time that you saw your grandparents?" he asked.

'When Grandma Rosa brought me here." she answered, trying to resist the urge to stand.

"No, honey, your Mommy's parent." Emmy's eyes lit up.

"When I stayed with them when Uncle Tank had to go away. Grandma is the BEST cook." Judge Connell stared at her for a moment and then realized his misstep. He smiled.

"You other Mommy's parents." he said. Emmy hadn't even thought about them. "Do you know why you're here, Emma?" he asked.

"I haven't seen them since I was a little girl." she said, shrugging. She ignored the question about why she was here. Judge Connell waited and then nodded at her.

"I'm going bring them in so that you can talk to them, okay?" he asked. Emmy shrugged and hopped back up into the seat.

"Yes Sir." she said, sweetly. Judge Connell sent the bailiff for the Raquela's.

Chapter 46

Judge Connell settled behind the two way mirror and switched on the speakers. He watched Emma push herself back into her chair. Such a sweet child, and very well behaved, Mr. Manoso had done well on his own. He glanced at the information that Detective Morelli had given him. Too bad about that.

He watched as the Raquela's were escorted into the room. Mrs. Raquela moved toward Emma and the child shied back looking frightened. Mrs. Raquela's reaction was to scold.

"Emma, don't you remember your mother, we're her parents." Emma did not look convinced. She sat back in the chair, little hands folded on her lap. Her posture was stiff. She said nothing.

"Wouldn't you like to come live with us, Emma?" Mr. Raquela asked. Emma jumped up, she was shocked.

"No! I have to stay with Daddy, he needs me. Mommy needs me too and when the babies are born they're gonna need me there to help them grow up." This was news to Judge Connell. Babies? Was Emma speculating? She was sobbing. "If you take me I'll run away. Daddy needs me!" She clutched Mrs. Raquela, who jumped back from the touch.

"Look what you did, this blouse is silk! All that money your father has, you're such a spoiled little brat. Sit down and stop that." Emma sank back into the seat, obviously not accustomed to those tones. Judge Connell turned to the bailiff.

"Stop this and take them to the courtroom. Emma can go back with her cousins."

****************************************************************

We all stood as Judge Connell made his way to the bench. He sat down and sighed heavily. Was that a good sign?

"I spoke with the minor child, Emma Leigh Manoso. We had a very nice conversation. You are to be commended, Mr. Manoso, you have raised a well behaved child. Normally I would listen to the arguments presented by each side, but I have information courtesy of Detective Joseph Morelli which compels me to cut this hearing short." I froze and Ranger stiffened next to me. What could Joe have said? Is this why the judge let Emmy see her grandparents. I glanced at Ranger.

"First of all, if I understand correctly, I should congratulate you, Mr. and Mrs. Manoso. Is it true that you're expecting, Mrs. Manoso?" I stood nervously.

"Yes. Twins." I fell back into the chair.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you, your honor." Ranger said, smiling perfectly. I knew what he was thinking, was this Joe's information? What would the judge think if he knew that they might be Joe's?

"Now," he turned to the plaintiffs side of the courtroom "Under normal circumstances this court would take these proceedings under advisement and render it's decision at a later date, however, based on information and discussions that I had with the minor child

Emma Leigh Manoso and equally as important my discussions with Detective Joseph Morelli, I am not only denying the plaintiff's request for visitation, I am issuing an order, effective immediately to sever all ties between the plaintiffs and Emma Leigh Manoso until her 18th birthday at which time she will have reached the age of majority. I am further ordering that an investigation begin immediately into the matters that have been brought before this court regarding Attorney Fleming and the Raquela's attempt to frame a business associate of Mr. Manoso's in order to sully Mr. Manoso's reputation. " He stood and the bailiff called the for the court to stand. "I would suggest that you review the evidence, Mr. Manoso, I think your friend has one hell of a case." Judge Connell left the courtroom and we all stood, silent and stunned.

After a few minutes, Ranger hugged me and then hugged Mr. Marquez. "This is amazing." he said, happily guiding us from the courtroom. Joe was in the hallway, leaning against the wall. I started to walk over but Ranger stopped me. He smiled and kissed me.

"How could I stop you?" Ranger asked lovingly.

Chapter 47

I walked toward Joe and had just about reached him when Emmy burst through the doorway at the end of the hall.

"Mommy!" she squealed. She hugged me and put her mouth near my belly. "Can you hear me in there?" she asked. "I'm never going to leave you." I looked up at Joe and he looked as though someone had punched him in the stomach. He started for the door and I tried to catch him. Ranger was there before me blocking the doorway. He held out his hand.

"Thanks." he said, smiling. Joe took his hand.

"What else could I do?" he asked, glancing at me. "You guys probably want to celebrate so....."

"When did you get in?" Ranger asked.

"I drove in with Tank, we came straight here." Joe said, looking like he wanted to run.

"You're coming home with us." Ranger said leaving no room for argument. "Tank in the car?" Joe nodded. "He'll take you to my mother's house." Joe shrugged and walked out. Emmy's arms stayed around me until Ranger pulled her away and picked her up. There were tears in his eyes. She kissed his cheek.

"I love you, Daddy. I am never ever gonna leave you." Ranger smiled sadly.

"I love you so much, Emmy." he buried his face in her silky curls. I hoped that my babies would have silky curls just like that. I smiled at Ranger and he pulled me to him with one arm and kissed me deeply.

"Time to go home, Mrs. Manoso." he said, smiling as though his face would split in two.

When we got to Ranger's mother's house, we found everyone in the back yard throwing together a huge barbecue. Joe was seated on some flagstone near the edge of the yard with a beer in his hands. He was alone and I walked over to sit next to him. I lowered myself carefully. These babies were starting to pull at my stomach.

"That was really great what you did." I said. He glanced at me sadly.

"What else could I do?" he asked. "I couldn't hold it back. " he sighed heavily.

"What is it?" I asked, softly. Ranger glanced at me and blew a kiss. I smiled.

"I never realized how much of a family you really have here. Emma running up to you in the courthouse, that was a real eye opener." He turned to me, brown eyes very serious. He took my hands.

"If those babies are mine I'm not going to try to mess up your life. Emma is a great kid and if Ranger raised her that well on his own I can only imagine how he'd raise my kids." Joe stared at our hands, "and I'm not sure how good I'd be." I lifted his chin. It seemed that his fears washed over me and I finally knew how Ranger did the ESP thing.

"You are not your father." Papa Morelli had been a drunk who had in no way spared the rod on the Morelli boys, "If these are your babies I want you to be in their lives. You would be a great dad. I will be staying with Ranger. I love Ranger and Emmy and they love me. It's perfect for all of us." I smiled. "But you are always going to have this special corner in my heart." I placed a hand on his chest. "You were my first." He smiled.

"And you got me back for that." I laughed. I had been 18 when I'd tried to run him over in my Dad's Buick.

"Hey, you only had a broken leg." he helped me up and kissed me lightly on the lips.

"It was worth it to be your first." he whispered, smiling. I glanced over at Melia and Mama Rosa. Melia was whispering and furiously gesturing toward us.

"And the games begin." I said, rolling my eyes at Joe. He chuckled and we went off to look for Ranger.

Joe and Tank had just left when Melia first approached me.

"Is that the father?" she asked, hands on hips.

"Maybe." I admitted. She had obviously expected me to vehemently deny and that just wasn't going to happen. Stephanie Manoso, queen of the bad asses, that's me. She huffed and walked away. Ranger came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist placing his hands flat on my belly.

"No kicking yet." he observed.

"Only because she's your sister in law." I answered.

Chapter 48

I am the biggest wimp in the world when it comes to pain so when I started having abdominal pains, Ranger insisted that we see a gynecologist. I wanted to wait until we got back to Trenton but I knew that because of what happened with his first wife, he would not wait that long. I would never have thought of putting him through the wait, well, not much anyway.

The doctor tried to relax us by talking about his plans to retire but nothing was going to relax Ranger. I was worried about the babies and he was worried about me. I had never seen him so wound up before. I was awestruck at how much he really seemed to love me.

The doctor sent me for another ultrasound and Ranger and I waited in the examining room for him.

"How are you feeling, Babe?" Ranger asked.

"I feel like throwing a party." I said in my best cranky voice, "to celebrate the 150th time you've asked that." I smiled at Ranger and he hugged me.

"I'm just worried."

"I know you are but I'm going to be fine and with the ultrasound maybe this doctor can tell me how far along I am." Ranger flinched and I regretted bringing it up. Mr. ESP read my mind.

"It's not that, Babe. It's how to tell Emmy?" I hadn't thought of that. What would Emmy think of all this? "She'll get used to it, but will she understand? I can just imagine what Melia is telling her right now. Didn't occur to me until you said about how far along. Maybe we should have brought her with us?" I considered that for a moment.

"No, whatever happens we deal with but I think we should know for sure before we tell Emmy." the door opened. "Hold your breath." I whispered.

"Mr. and Mrs. Manoso, you have nothing to worry about. The babies are fine and exactly where they're supposed to be at 12 weeks." My heart stopped and my voice telling Joe that he would make a great father kept running through my mind. I started to sob softly before I realized what I was doing. In a perfect world these would have been Ranger's babies.

"I don't think that Mrs. Manoso heard me correctly." The doctor said, worried.

"Tears of joy." Ranger explained blandly. We drove back to his mothers house in silence. We pulled into the driveway and Ranger shut the engine off and rubbed his face. I stared at my lap tears running down my face.

"Where do we go from here?" I asked.

"Where do you want to go?"

"I love you and I want to stay with you but I know it's not fair asking you to take on another man's children." Ranger chuckled.

"You took on another woman's child." I looked up surprised. Ranger was smiling at me.

"I wasn't lying when I said that I wanted these kids, Babe. I'd also like to have one of my own with you but maybe with three children we could have just one. Is that okay with you?"

"Perfect." I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him.

We decided to wait until the return to Trenton to share the news with anyone. I almost felt bad keeping it from Joe but talked myself into thinking that it was for the best. I am the queen of rationalization.

We told Emmy first. She sat staring at us and silent for a long time before a single tear popped out and rolled down her cheek.

"Does that mean that the babies won't live with us?" she asked. "I really wanted them to live here. I could teach them a lot of stuff." I hugged her.

"No, honey, it means that sometimes they'll spend time with their daddy and most of the time they'll be here with us." Emmy gave us the "oh, than why are you bothering me" smile.

"Mr. Morelli is nice." she said. "The babies will like him."

"I'm sure they will." I kissed her.

Ranger agreed that I should tell Joe alone and this was not a conversation that I was looking forward to having.

Chapter 49

Joe stared at me unmoving and I wondered if I should call an ambulance. He finally gasped and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Cupcake," he began, another deep breath, "You wouldn't tease me about this?"

"Never." I waited and Joe closed his eyes and seemed to be absorbing the information. A smile broke across his face.

"Me?" he asked, " A dad?"

"You'll be a great dad." I took his hand. He glanced down and I pulled away. His expression became very serious.

"How does Ranger feel about all of this?" he asked, seriously.

"He couldn't be happier." Joe looked skeptical. "Are you sure? Trust me there's no suggestions for me to make here, I just want to make sure that....I don't know." he shrugged and sighed heavily before speaking again.

"Can we tell my mom together?" he asked. "She might not take this too well and Grandma Bella, well her visions are all she has. I'd hate for her to lose faith."

"We did kind of dance at my wedding. Danced around each other." I reminded him, smiling.

"I'm never going to forget that." he said, his eyes sad. "And not just because I got all cut up climbing over Ranger's fence. He has some killer bushes around that property."

Telling Angie Morelli was exactly the nightmare that I thought it would be but it was nothing compared to my own parents. My mother was ecstatic when I told her that I was pregnant with twins but less than impressed that they weren't my husbands. No one was complaining 6 months later when I gave birth to a healthy boy and girl.

Ranger and I had promised Emmy that she could name on of the babies and she chose the girl. She named her after her first best friend in her new school. Ranger had given up the bounty hunter business and was a little easier when I would talk him into allowing Emmy to have a little more freedom. School had been a big one and one that he'd fought hard against. He'd eventually relented and Emmy had entered school at the 4th grade level.

Joe had named the boy and had surprised everyone by not naming him Joe Jr. Joe would sit for hours in the nursey at the hospital staring in awe at his children, afraid to touch them. Several of the nurses had fallen for him but he was oblivious to them. He would stare at the babies and the nurses would stare at him. It was comical.

Dominick Anthony and Alissa Leigh Morelli were both healthy and gorgeous. Both Ranger and Joe had been in the delivery room and the birth was the most painful thing I'd ever experienced, but the results more than made up for it. There were no problems so Nikki and Ally came home with us after three days. Ranger insisted on setting Joe up in the guest room so that he could share in the joy of three-o-clock feedings and diaper changes. After two months I no longer had to wake up. The babies would cry and I would go into autopilot. I found Joe sleeping on the floor of the nursery. I shook him awake.

"Come on." I whispered, "go to bed." He opened his eyes and stared at me. A look that I had never seen there before surfaced.

"Stephanie." he whispered, his voice full of love, "I never want to leave them. I never thought that I could love anything so much." he picked Nikki up and handed him to me. I liked brestfeeding Alissa first because Nikki bites, but I took the baby and said nothing. Joe watched me breastfeed amazed.

"I wish I could do that." he whispered.

"You're not the only one who wishes that you could." I said, laughing. Joe didn't smile.

"You don't understand." he said, shaking his head."You're always going to have something with them that I never will." I stroked Nikki's hair.

"It's natural. I'm their mother, but you're their dad and you can see them whenever you want. Don't even call. Just come by and anytime you're welcome." Joe kissed me gently and then kissed Nikki's head.

"Don't think that I won't take you up on that."

Chapter 50

Stephanie kept her promise about Joe seeing the kids whenever he wanted and Joe kept his about seeing them often. Every year Ranger and Stephanie went away for two weeks for a romantic getaway leaving Emmy with Tank and the twins with Joe. Stephanie had noticed how at attention the twins were with Ranger and how wild they were with their dad. Joe usually loved every minute of it, there were times though, like today.

The twins were three and Joe had fallen asleep on the couch watching "Tarzan" for the fifteenth time. He woke to screaming. Nikki's hazel eyes were wide and scared and Alissa was tossing her long, dark, curls around screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Settle down." Joe ordered as he pulled Nikki into his lap. He inspected Nikki to find that the child had a nose full of pasta. Penne, to be exact.

"What happened?" Joe asked, looking pointedly at Alissa. She was always making her brother do things like this telling him that she was older than him and that Uncle Ricco said that they had to mind older people.

"Nikki put noodles in his nose." Ally explained.

"Who told him to do that?" Joe asked, sternly. Ally's eyes went wide.

"I didn't MAKE him, Daddy." the child was too smart for her own good and too much like her mother.

Joe picked up the phone book and anxiously looked for a pediatrician. He closed his eyes and pointed, his finger landing on an ad for a Dr. Wendy Taylor. He called the office and discovered that his cousin was the receptionist making an emergency appointment very easy to get.

They didn't have to wait long for Dr. Taylor and when she stepped into the waiting area Joe did not look up, instead he tried to gather his errant children who were running around the waiting room.

"Halt." Dr. Taylor ordered and Nikki and Ally slid to a stop. Joe looked up amazed. His eyes slid up her body from three inch heel to shapely leg to full bust to amused green eyes to thick reddish blond hair.

"Mr. Morelli." Dr. Taylor said, voice soft and lilting. "You can bring Dominick in and I'll get those noodles out of his nose." she turned on her heel but he heard the laughter that she tried to supress. He followed her into the examining room enjoying the view from the back. He lifted Nikki onto the table.

"You must think that I'm the worst parent in the world." he said finally. Dr. Taylor didn't look at him.

"No, this happens more often than you might think, Mr. Morelli. It's a rite of passage. For the parent and the child." she looked up, smiling at Joe and his senses froze. He was too out of practice. He had to ask her out, now how did that go? Oh yea.

"Dr. Taylor?" her green eyes settled on him. "If I promise never to bring my children back to you, will you have dinner with me?" her smiled broadened.

"Is that a bribe, Mr. Morelli?"

THE END.