Disclaimer still applies.
~oooOOOooo~
Chapter 3: Talking To the Guys
Monday
Stephanie's POV
The next morning, I woke to the bright sunlight filtering in through the curtains. Ranger had already gone downstairs to work, so when my stomach started rolling, I didn't hesitate to reach into the drawer and grab the crackers Ella had given me. The crackers helped settle my stomach enough that I was able to slowly get up and make my way into the shower.
Halfway through my shower, the crackers stopped working and I had to rush out of the shower, dripping wet, to the toilet. As soon as I'd thrown up, I felt better, so I made my way back to the shower, turning it up as I stepped inside. I finished washing, brushed my teeth with water and my finger, and then got out and dried off.
This was ridiculous. I was going to have to talk to Bobby and see if there was anything else I could do until I went to see the doctor. Talking to Bobby, Tank, and Lester was first up on my list today, so I quickly threw on my clothes, pulled my hair back, and then made my way into the kitchen. I started to reach up to grab my favorite sugary cereal from the cabinet, but my stomach rebelled at the thought. Instead, I grabbed a banana and one of the bran muffins Ella had made for Ranger and then made my way downstairs as I ate.
Tank said to come in when I knocked on his door, and he raised an eyebrow when he saw the remains of my breakfast.
I chuckled. "Is Ranger here?"
He shook his head. "He and Hal went to check on a client this morning. What's up, Bomber? Why the fruit?"
"Well, that's part of what I wanted to talk to you about. Can you call Les and Bobby in for a few minutes? I'd like to do this before Ranger gets back."
He shot me a look but picked up the phone and called the guys.
Five minutes later, the two of them came walking into Tank's office.
"Hey, Beautiful, what's going on?" Les grinned as he came up beside me.
"Hi, Les. Hey, Bobby. Shut the door, would you please?" I moved to the couch and sat down on one end. The look on my face must have concerned them because they were instantly in motion.
Tank came out from behind his desk and sat beside me. Bobby stood near us, and Lester squatted down in front of me, putting a comforting hand on my knee.
"Steph, what's going on?" Tank's voice radiated concern.
"Guys, calm down! I'm pregnant, not in trouble!"
I watched as a myriad of emotions flashed across their faces, from shock and surprise to sheer joy and happiness.
Les threw his arms around me, squeezing tightly.
"Les! Can't breathe!" I laughed as he instantly let me go, causing me to collapse back against the couch.
"Bomber! That's fantastic! Does Ranger know?"
"Nope, not yet, Tank. I just figured it out last night at Mary Lou's. I'm going to tell him in a week or so. I want to surprise him. To do that, I need your help." I looked around at all of them. "All of you."
Bobby moved up and took my hands in his. "Anything, Steph. Just tell us what we can do."
I smiled at him. "Well, first, everyone get comfortable. I want to talk to all of you about specific things. First, Tank... There's a rocking chair I saw down at the used furniture store a few weeks ago. I would swear it's an antique, but they don't have it marked as one. I'd like you to go down and buy it for me. I will pay you back for it, of course. I want to use it as one of the gifts and hints that I am going to use to surprise Ranger. If you can hide it at your house until..." I thought over the next week. Today was Monday. I would put my plan into action today, so the chair would be out at the house for the weekend. "If you could make sure the chair is at the house on Friday night, I'll surprise him with it when we go out next weekend."
"Sure, Steph. I'll go get it this afternoon and keep it at my house until Friday."
I nodded. "Thanks. It's in the room to the right of the door and is marked at fifty dollars." He moved back to his desk and wrote down the information as I continued talking to the guys. "Les, I'd like it if you could pick up some paint at the store and paint the office at the apartment here. I'm going to turn it a pale yellow and simply tell him that I wanted to brighten it up. But this way it will be ready to turn into a nursery when he does know."
"I can do that, Beautiful. Just let me know what color and when."
"Thanks. The color is Daffodil Yellow from Behr. I know Ranger is going to be gone most of the day on Thursday, so if you can do it then, that would be perfect."
"Thursday it is. I'll also tell Vinnie you're sick and I'm covering your skips until you can tell him that you won't be back for a while. I'll have Hal help me with them until we figure something else out."
"Oh, thanks! I hadn't even thought of how we would handle that. I know I won't be back out in the field for a while, but I hadn't thought beyond that."
"No problem, Beautiful. That's what I'm here for."
I smiled and then looked at Bobby. "Bobby, everything else on my list is stuff that I can do. I just wanted you to know, since you three are the ones Ranger and I are closest to. Also, I wanted to ask if you knew of some other way to help keep the nausea down until I get to the doctor's office. Ella gave me some crackers, and they helped this morning for a little bit, but I'm still throwing up every morning so far."
"As far as I know, ginger and peppermint are good. So drink some ginger ale or some tea with ginger or peppermint. You can also try sucking on some mint candies. But Steph, in reality, unfortunately there isn't a whole lot you can do. I'm sorry, Bomber." Bobby looked apprehensive as he watched for my reaction.
I laughed. "That's what I was afraid of, but I had to ask! I'll ask Ella to get me some ginger ale and peppermint tea. I have some mints upstairs, so I'll just start carrying a few around with me everywhere." I looked at each of them, my eyes filling with tears. "Thanks, guys. It means a lot that you all care so much."
I stood up, and Lester stood with me, pulling me into his arms. "Of course we do, Beautiful. We love both you and Ranger, and we're going to love this baby."
The others nodded their agreement.
I dried my eyes and smiled. "Enough tears. I have some things to do and then some searches to run. Let me know if there are any questions about the chair or the paint, okay?"
They nodded, and we walked to the door.
"Now, get out of my office so I can get some work done," Tank said, laughing.
Lester, Bobby, and I stuck our tongues out at him childishly and then left the room, laughing and talking until we went our separate ways down the hall.
~oOo~
I walked into my office and closed the door, wanting privacy for the phone calls I needed to make. First up was to put step one into action. I checked the phone book and then picked up the phone and dialed.
"Thank you for calling StateLine Florists. How may I help you?"
"Hello, this is Stephanie Manoso. I'd like to order ten bouquets of Baby's Breath to be delivered tomorrow morning, if possible, to RangeMan on Haywood Street."
"Let me double check and make sure we have enough for that many bouquets on that short a notice. Please hold."
I listened to the cheesy music for several minutes before she came back to the phone.
"Thank you for holding. It looks like we have plenty. Would you like a card with the order? Is it for a person or just a general delivery?"
"Just a general delivery for the building. I'll have someone meet the delivery person in the foyer if you can give me an approximate time."
"How about tomorrow at ten o'clock?"
"That would be perfect," I said. I gave her my credit card information and then hung up, jotting a note down about flowers at ten beside my computer.
I looked up the next number and dialed the phone again.
"Dr. Le's office, how may I help you?"
"Hi, this is Stephanie Manoso. I need to get in to see Dr. Le, today if possible."
"Hi, Stephanie. Is this an emergency?" I could hear clicking in the background and knew she was pulling up my file on the computer.
"Well, not exactly. I think I'm pregnant. I need to know for sure, since my job is a bit risky sometimes and my husband is a bit..." How did I want to phrase that? "Overprotective, sometimes."
"Ah, yes, you work at RangeMan. Let me check the schedule." There was a pause and some more clicking. Finally, she said, "Actually, there's a break this morning, in about thirty minutes. A patient called to cancel first thing this morning. Any chance you can make it in by then?"
I looked at the clock. "Absolutely. I'll be there. You have my cell phone number, so please call it if you need to contact me. This is a surprise for my husband, so I want to make sure he doesn't get wind of it before I'm ready to tell him."
"Certainly. We'll see you in a few minute, Stephanie."
I hung up and then dialed Mary Lou's familiar number.
"Hello?" Her voice was like an anchor in the sudden craziness my life had become.
"Hey, Lou. Any chance you want to go with me to the doctor and run an errand this morning? We can grab lunch afterward?" I could have gone by myself, but I knew it would be more fun with her by my side.
"Hey, Steph. Sure. The kids are at school, so I have time. Want me to pick you up, or do you want to come here?"
I thought for a minute. "Come pick me up as soon as you can. They're fitting me into the schedule in thirty minutes. Their office is only about five minutes from here, so we have plenty of time."
"Okay. I just need to slip on some shoes, so give me about twenty minutes. See you then."
I grabbed a pen and paper to write Ranger a note to let him know my plans for the rest of the morning and for lunch. I put my gun in my purse, grabbed my keys and the note, and then headed down to Ranger's office. Using my key, I opened his door and left the note on his desk and then locked his office and went back to Tank's.
At my knock, Tank looked up and saw me in his doorway. "Hey, Bomber, what's up?"
"Just wanted to let you know that Mary Lou is picking me up in a few. We're going to the doctor and then to the store to take care of one part of my surprise for Ranger. When that's done, we're going to lunch."
"The doctor? Is everything okay?"
"Oh, yes, sorry. Just going to have them run a test themselves to be sure I'm pregnant and get set up with anything I need."
"All right. I'm assuming you're dressed and have your tracker and panic button? I doubt you'll need it, but..." His voice trailed off as he grinned back at me.
I rolled my eyes. "I haven't needed them in over a year, but yes, I have them. See you in a couple of hours."
"Have fun." His attention was back on the stack of paperwork on his desk before I could even turn around.
I walked to the elevator and rode down to the garage, waving at the camera as I left the building.
