Snow Day
Steph sat on the couch and looked out the window, watching the snow fall. She was so engrossed in watching the snow that she didn't hear the apartment door open and close. She didn't hear anything until Ranger sat down next to her and dropped a kiss on her cheek. She looked over at him and said, "Hey, when did you get home?" "Just now Babe. The snow is really coming down and I made sure the guys who are on duty tonight were settled and the guys that left called in to let me know they made it home. Roads are getting closed and we should have over a foot of snow by morning. She laughed and said, "Someone will be happy that school will most likely be closed tomorrow." They both chuckled as they thought of their oldest child, Isabella.
Thinking back almost seven years ago, Isabella came as a surprise to both of them. They hadn't been married very long, just over six months, when Steph started feeling off. She was nauseous most of the time and finally admitted to Ranger that she was over three weeks late. They sat together in the bathroom and watched the lines on the home pregnancy test turn bright pink and then just looked at each other. Steph had tears in her eyes and started to apologize to Ranger, when he grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her. "I'm happy Babe. I know we weren't expecting this, or even thinking about this, but I'm glad it's happened. Sometimes God takes the choice from us when He knows the time is right." And Ranger was right, their time was right. His missions for the government were over and he had delegated a lot of his job responsibilities to some of the members of the core team. Steph had been working fulltime for his company and was good at what she did, and had been going to the gym and gun range. She was even taking some defense lessons from the guys when she could fit it into her schedule. He and Steph had gotten married quietly one weekend at the beach when they both had time off and then threw a big party to let everyone know they had eloped. Both sets of parents were happy for them and the news of a baby would cause them to be overjoyed.
The early part of pregnancy was a hard time for Steph. The morning sickness hit full force and she was in bed most of the first few months. Finally around the fourth month, she felt human again and came back to work. Her gym time was altered to fit her condition and the guys all brushed up on their first aid skills, including emergency childbirth. They planned to deliver at the hospital, but with Steph involved, they never knew what could happen! By the eighth month, Steph was going stir crazy. They didn't go out much anymore and she spent a lot of time rearranging the nursery the guys had helped them put in the apartment. The apartment didn't take up the entire top floor of the building, so there was plenty of room to expand. Ranger had decided to add two bedrooms and an additional bathroom. That way, he still got to keep his office and the baby would have a room, in addition to an extra room for Julie when she visited.
Steph was 38 weeks pregnant when it was time for the anniversary party for Ranger's parents. They were married 40 years and were throwing a big celebration for the entire family. They invited all of RangeMan, as well as Steph's extended family and friends. Ranger and Steph argued most of the week leading up to the party because he didn't want to go too far away so close to her due date. She argued that they were only going to be an hour away from home, and there were two hospitals on the way to and from the party. Finally, he relented and they arrived at the party early and Ranger had hopes of dragging her back home before spending too much time there. They made it through dinner and dessert and then it was time for the gifts. Ranger and his siblings had decided to send their parents on a dream vacation to Europe. They were giving them round trip airfare, a month of hotel vouchers and train passes so they could go anywhere in Europe they desired and spend as much or as little time in a city as they wanted. Ranger and his siblings had gathered around the table where his parents were seated and he started to talk about the love his parents had for each other, when he heard from across the room, "Oh shit!" The room was silent and he looked over to see Steph standing up from the table and looking down at the floor. She looked over at him and said, "Might want to hurry up your speech. Someone's not going to wait." She started walking towards him with a panicked look on her face. His eyes went wide and he just stared. His sister smacked him on the arm and that got his attention. He ended up throwing the envelope at his parents, saying, "Have fun" and then ran over to Steph. They made their way out of the party and got into the car. She looked at him and said, "Don't even say it." He smirked at her but said nothing. They made it back to Trenton in record time and got parked at the hospital just as the contractions started to get closer together.
While Steph was getting settled into a room and changed into a hospital gown, he sent Tank a text and told him to hold off the crowd at the hospital until he sent word. He had no idea how long the delivery would take and he didn't want their friends and family to cause any more stress for Steph then she already was experiencing.
Hours later, she was exhausted. She looked at Ranger with tears in her eyes and said, "I can't do this anymore." Ranger leaned down and kissed her in between contractions. "Babe, I know you are exhausted, but you can do this, I know you can. I wish I could do it for you, but I can't. Babe, please." "Damn you and your please." She took a deep breath and said, "Ok, let's get this out of me." She pushed for about an hour before the doctor motioned for Ranger to take a look. "Babe, I can see the head, it's almost out. Keep pushing." A few more pushes later, Steph let out a big groan and there was a cry in the room. Ranger looked down by the doctor and saw their baby. The doctor put the baby on Steph's chest and said, "Congratulations, it's a girl." Ranger looked at Steph and said, "Proud of you Babe." He reached down and ran a finger down the baby's cheek and she turned her mouth towards his finger. The nurses helped get the baby dressed and back to Steph for her first feeding. After she fell asleep, Steph followed within a few minutes. Ranger sat and watched the baby for a few minutes and then climbed into bed with Steph and closed his eyes.
He woke about an hour later to a quiet whimpering sound and was confused for a minute as to where he was. He was in bed with Steph, arms wrapped around her middle, in a protective nature. He untangled himself from her and slipped out of bed. He walked over to the bassinet and looked down at the baby wrapped in a pink blanket. He stared in awe at the child with a pink knit hat on her head, silky black hair sticking out the sides. There wasn't a whole lot of hair, but what there was had a bit of a curl to it. He hoped it was curly like Steph's, but just more manageable.
He noticed the baby's eyes were open and they were the same sparkling blue color that Steph had, and he hoped that never changes. He reached down and gently picked her up and settled her into the crook of his arm. He walked over to the rocking chair and sat down and started to slowly rock her. He still couldn't believe that she was here. It had been a long and bumpy nine months, but here they were. He gently slid his finger down the baby's cheek and under her chin. He reached down to tuck her hand back into the blanket but she grabbed onto his finger. They sat staring at each other for a few minutes before he heard Steph start to wake up.
He glanced her way and smiled at her. "She woke up but doesn't seem to need anything right now Babe. You can go back to sleep if you want." Steph shook her head and pulled herself out of bed. She gingerly walked over to them and picked up the baby from Ranger. She then sat both of them on Ranger's lap and he wrapped his arms around both of them. He looked at Steph and she had tears falling down her cheeks. "Babe what's the matter?" "I'm just so happy she's finally here." He wiped her tears away and continued to rock all of them.
They were still all sitting in the rocking chair when a nurse came to check on them. Ranger quietly asked her to take a picture of them and she was happy to do so. They made a striking looking family. The baby was the perfect combination of her parents. "I just wanted to see if you needed anything", she said, "but it looks like you have everything you need. Just hit the call button if you need me." She quietly left the room, closing the door behind her.
"Carlos, we should probably call our families now and let them know she's here. Our exit from your parent's anniversary party didn't go unnoticed. I'm surprised there isn't a gang outside our room, trying to break in here." "Don't worry Babe. Tank was in charge of crowd control. Let's get this little one back in her bed and get you showered and dressed. Then, I'll let Tank know who to let in."
Once Steph was cleaned up and back in bed, Ranger brought the baby to her. She finished feeding her and then handed her back to Ranger for a new diaper. He had just given her back to Steph when there was knock on the door. Ranger went over and opened it. He let everyone in and it seemed to Steph that everyone they knew was there. They all made their way over to her and the baby. Ranger came over and sat on the bed beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Everyone, we're delighted to introduce you all to our daughter, Isabella Gracelyn Manoso. I think that she is the perfect combination of both of us."
Isabella opened her eyes at that moment and everyone gasped. "Steph, she has your eyes" said her mom. "Yep, everything else seems to be from Carlos, except for the hair. It already has a kink to it so it will probably end up curly like mine. I just we can keep it under control better."
"Babe, it doesn't matter what her hair ends up like. We'll love her even if she was bald forever."
"I know."
"Babe, she's here and healthy and has a very large, extended family that loves her and that's what matters most."
~Present Day~
Steph let out a sigh and looked at Ranger. He pulled her into his lap and reached a hand out to rub her ever growing baby bump. Baby number two came as just a surprise as Isabella had been and was due in about three months. This pregnancy seemed to be agreeing more with Steph and he hoped that meant it would be a boy, at least that what's his mother and Steph's mother kept saying. They sat in the quiet for a few minutes before there were footsteps coming into the room. Ranger looked up and saw Isabella standing in front of them with her hands on her hips. "Yes Bella?"
"Papa, it's snowing outside. Does that mean it's time for Santa to come?"
Steph chuckled and said, "Bella, you still have a few weeks before Santa comes, but there should be enough snow by morning that school will be closed so you can stay home with us all day." Isabella started jumping up and down. "Yeah, no school, no school." Ranger looked at her and sighed. "Bella, why don't you like school? You like to color and read books and you get to see your friends." "Papa, when I go to school I don't get to see you, mama or the uncles. I like to do that more than go to school. I already know lots so I don't need to go. And, what I don't know I can learn from the uncles." Ranger rolled his eyes and sighed. Steph looked at them and said, "Well, since it's going to snow most of the night and probably tomorrow, why don't we decorate the apartment for Santa? Daddy can get the uncles to bring up the decoration boxes from the basement and we can put up the decorations. Maybe even tomorrow, Nana Ella will help us make cookies and we can share with the uncles." Bella started cheering and jumping up and down. "Yeah, we can put the ormanents on the tree. Mama, can you tell the stories again about the ormanents?" Ranger laughed and said, "Ornaments Bella." Ranger pulled out his phone and sent off a text and within fifteen minutes, there was a knock at the door and Bella ran to open it.
"Hi Uncle Lester and Uncle BobBob. Are you going to help us get the ormanents on the tree?" Lester leaned down and gave Isabella a kiss on the cheek. "You betcha Smelly Belly. Let's go find those boxes." He grabbed her hand and pulled her out and into the elevator. She looked back at Bobby and Ranger and said, "Well, aren't you two coming with us? We can't carry all the ormanets by ourselves." Bobby and Ranger headed out of the apartment and got into the elevator with the other two.
Within a half hour, the apartment was full of boxes that were marked with what decorations were inside. Bobby and Lester were helping Ranger set up the tree and get the lights working while Steph was helping Bella decide how to hang the stockings on the fireplace. Each year she decided the order of the stockings, based on who she thought was the best behaved in the apartment. This year, they were going to add a stocking for the baby, but not put a name on it. Bella thought that Santa would bring the baby some presents even though it wasn't born yet. Steph had to remember to get a couple things wrapped for the baby. Once Bella had the stockings in her order, which was Bella, Mama, Baby and Papa, then Steph attached them to the hooks. "Ok, kiddo, let's go get dinner out so we can eat and then do a little more before bed. We can spend all day tomorrow finishing up the decorations and all of the ornaments, with their stories." Steph pulled out what Ella had left for dinner and they all ate before getting back to work.
The guys had finally gotten all of the lights working on the tree and by the time they were done, Bella was falling asleep. Bobby picked her up and carried her to her room for Steph. Steph got her into the bathroom and changed into her pajamas before everyone came in for a good night kiss. Once she was in bed, they headed out into the living room and Steph flopped down on the couch and started rubbing her bump. Bobby came over and checked her out, but she pushed him away. "I'm fine, just tired. The baby is fine, just moving around a lot right now. Ranger, can you put things away for me? I'm going to take a bath and head to bed." She stood up and kissed the guys on the cheek and then headed into their bedroom. Bobby looked at Ranger and asked if Steph was okay. Ranger replied, "Yeah, I think she's just getting to the tired stage and Bella keeps her on the move. Tomorrow will be a snow day and that means non-stop Bella. I'll make sure she gets a good night's rest and then doesn't do too much tomorrow. Bella wants her to tell the stories for the ornaments so that way she can sit and I can help Bella put the decorations on the tree."
Lester looked at him and said, "Stories for the ornaments? What's that all about?"
Ranger sighed and said, "The kid has a huge memory and doesn't forget anything. About two years ago when she started helping decorate the tree, Steph would explain about some of the ornaments while they put them on the tree. Some are from Steph's childhood, a few are from my childhood that my mom gave us and some are ones that Steph has collected over the years. I've added a few to the collection and some have a special meaning, but some are just for fun. Those are the ones that Bella wants to know the most about, so last year Steph made up a couple stories. I hope she remembers for this year, because I know Bella won't forget."
The guys headed out and Ranger locked up after them and headed to the bedroom. He looked in and saw Steph half sitting, half laying in the bed. She had gotten partly changed into her pajamas before she conked out. He walked over and helped her finish changing and then laid her completely down in bed. He took a quick shower and then climbed into bed with her. Before he could even get situated, she had drifted over to his side of the bed and had attached herself to him. He dropped a kiss on her lips, even though she was sleeping, and then rubbed his hand over the baby bump. "Good night my loves."