A/N. Standard FF disclaimers apply, most of the characters belong to JE. Bonnie (bgrgrmpy) is responsible for the concept and ideas for this story. I was privileged to play with both of their worlds. Thank you ladies.

Love Reigns

Chapter one:

8 Months and Counting…

With a click of the lock and the abrupt turn of the door knob, Vinnie walked out of his office shaking his head. He started pacing the floor, and Connie watched as he turned to go back through his door. But he stopped and stared at her for a moment. Then he looked around the room. "Last month Lucille said that she needed to paint the living room," he said to no one in particular. His pacing started all over again. Vinnie was wringing his hands together. "The month before that, we needed all new furniture in the bedroom." Throwing his hands up in the air he shook his head, "now she wants a home theatre room." He stopped and stood with his hands stretched out in front of him. "A home theatre room," he repeated. "We don't even have room for a home theatre room!" he exclaimed. Connie was trying to suppress a laugh. Vinnie had been having similar conversations with himself for months now. If she stopped to think about it, their house must be completely remodeled with all new furniture by now.

His wife Lucille was 8 months into her pregnancy and was taking the "nesting" thing all the way. It was all she could do, to keep her mind off of being sick 24-7. Who knew that pregnancy could be so difficult? Her 'morning sickness' started before she got up each morning and lasted until after she went to bed each night. Vinnie could be glad that she was now in her last trimester. Only a few more weeks until she no longer had to eat soda crackers in bed before she could even sit up. No more sound effects, echoing throughout the house every time she gagged and threw up. No more grumbling as she waddled into the bathroom a hundred times a day to pee. No more constant complaints of heartburn, of back aches, of swollen ankles, of Braxton Hicks contractions, of nausea. No more lectures on how lucky men were that they didn't have to carry a child, and suffer the endless problems associated with pregnancy. Yes, she was in the last month of her pregnancy, but there were still over three long weeks to go.

OoOoO

Cruising down Hamilton Avenue, Stephanie Plum was fighting for control over her latest POS car. Usually she would say she liked a standard transmission, but today the clutch was being touchy and she stalled out every time she slowed down below 20 MPH. Again the car stalled, she hit the steering wheel and muttered a few choice words, and then she rolled the useless car into the last parking space she could find on the street. With all her strength she cranked the steering wheel to guide the car into its final resting spot. She knew it wasn't going anywhere without a tow truck now. With a big sigh she opened the door, just what she needed, another broken down car.

Eventually she would have to decide whether she was going to call Ranger, or her dad, knowing that one or the other of them would be able to help her solve her immediate need for transportation. Grabbing her handbag, she left the car, slamming the door, but not bothering to lock it. If she were lucky, maybe someone would steal it. Ha. With one last disgusted look, she turned away from the car and walked down the street to the Bonds office.

Even before she reached the door, Stephanie knew that Vinnie had company. She could hear the loud, deep voice, along with Vinnie's own unique nasal sound, all the way outside. She pushed open the door and shot Connie a questioning look.

"Harry," Connie mouthed.

"Harry the Hammer?'' Stephanie whispered. Connie nodded yes. "Is everything okay?" she asked, still whispering.

Connie smiled. Again she nodded. "They are planning Lucille's baby shower," she said, almost laughing out loud.

Before Stephanie could respond to that, Vinnie's door burst open and Vinnie nearly jumped out of his office. His beady little eyes looked around frantically, locking onto Stephanie; he smiled and moved over to grab her arm, pulling her with him. If she had had a moment to think, she would have turned and run out of there as fast as she could. But that did not happen, and she was dragged into Vinnie's office.

"Stephanie will plan the shower for us," Vinnie said, pushing her forward in front of Harry. His face looked almost human as he told his father in law that Lucille had gone to the shower that Stephanie had put together for her sister Valerie.

"Lus talked about that shower for weeks!" he said. "She said it was the greatest."

Now both men turned and looked expectantly at Stephanie. Harry came up to her and grabbed her hand in both of his own large, meaty ones. He started shaking her hand; pumping it up and down with so much force she was afraid that he was going to dislocate her shoulder.

"You will do that for us?" he asked. "You will give my little Lucille the best baby shower ever?!" his eyes were bright with tears; this meant so much to him, to make his daughter happy. He continued to pump her arm and tell her what an angel she was, and how grateful he would be for her help.

Her first instinct was to be super annoyed at Vinnie. How dare he volunteer her for something like this, he knew that it was Sally Sweet that planned the shower for Val. She didn't have any skill set to plan the world's most important baby shower. And, more importantly, she really didn't have the time to do this. Her rent was overdue, skips were evading her, and she had to find herself a new car. The timing couldn't have been worse, but there she was looking into the red-rimmed eyes of this huge man, how was she going to say no now?

"Uh..okay," she started. "We'll give it our best shot." She was relieved to see the smile brighten Harry's worried face, he relaxed and finally let go of her hand. Taking a step back he took a plaid handkerchief from the breast pocket of his jacket and wiped the beads of sweat from his brow. He led Stephanie out of Vinnie's office, all the while talking about the fun 'his Lucille' would have with this party. Then he swung himself around and pinned her with a penetrating look. At this point, Vinnie felt it prudent to duck back into his office, closing and locking the door, relieved that the responsibility of his wife's party was now on somebody else's shoulder.

Harry was deathly serious now. "It needs to be the best party ever," he began. "This is for my Lucille, and it has to be the biggest, and best baby shower this city of Trenton has ever seen."

"Oh great," Stephanie thought. "How am I going to pull this off?"

Harry was not done talking, he had some specific requirements that he needed her to pay close attention to. Gone was the weepy father, grateful for her help. She was now dealing with a demanding mob boss whose daughter deserved only the very best of everything. First he started listing many of the people that needed to be on the guest list. Behind him, Connie was furiously typing, to note down all the names he was throwing out. Stephanie looked at her gratefully, that would have been a big detail to mess up.

Next, he started making suggestions about the menu. Lucille was allergic to nuts, so she was to avoid them. And because of the constant nausea, she didn't care for meat very much. Stephanie was the one to take notes on the food preferences, not looking up from her paper until Harry started talking about an open bar. She shot a glance at him to see if he could possibly be serious, and seeing that he was, she gently reminded him that his own daughter would not be able to drink, and so the bar idea was not going to happen. Reluctantly he agreed and nodded his head.

"Okay, okay," he said. And just then he remembered to tell Stephanie that he wanted the venue to be somewhere special. "Not going to be held down at the VFW Hall, not for my Lucille."

Now Stephanie knew that she was in trouble, where could she hold the shower that was big enough for the long list of guests, that was "special" enough? Not to mention the fact that they did not have very much time, Lucille was due in three and a half weeks, and Harry totally intended for this party to be held while she was still pregnant. "What have I gotten myself into this time," she asked herself.

Suddenly Harry shoved a check in her hand and said, "That should cover the bulk of the expenses," and then he headed to the door. "Let me know if you need more." And with that, he was through the door and gone. Stephanie slumped down on the couch, Connie walked over and sat down next to her.

"It's going to be one hell of a party," she said. And then she handed Stephanie the guest list. "These are all mob connections," she told her. "Lucille doesn't really have many friends. It's hard to make friends when your dad always has a body guard following you around." Stephanie looked at Connie, who just shrugged. "Probably it would be a great idea to invite your family and your friends too, it will be a lot more fun that way." Stephanie just nodded, still stunned at what had just happened. Looking down at the check in her hand, she nearly choked. It was an outrageous amount! Harry really wanted this shower to be spectacular. Connie laughed as she stood up and went back to her desk. Steph had really bitten off more than she could chew this time.