Okay, so I meant to get this chapter out sooner, but my brain has been on autopilot and wasn't concentrating on the chapter. With school starting soon, packing has been in the forefront of my mind...

Hope you all enjoy!

Not mine, but you all knew that.

Stephanie's POV

The smell of coffee woke me.

"I figured you'd still be here. Here," Lester said, holding out a cup of coffee. "Cream and sugar, just like you like."

"Thanks." I replied, thankful for the large Styrofoam cup.

"Any change?" He asked.

I shook my head. "The doctor said it could be a few days." I replied quietly, caressing the bandage free skin on his arm.

"You can go home and shower and sleep. There's a guard posted. No one will get in without someone knowing."

"I know, but…" I looked down at his sleeping face. I knew that I could leave, but for some reason, I couldn't make myself leave his side. "I just need to be here when he wakes up." I whispered more for myself than for Lester. "I just have a feeling."

He nodded once. "I flirted with the nurses long enough to get you the use of their shower and Bobby's bringing a change of clothes. He won't wake up in the next hour. So please at least take a shower. We can argue about proper sleep later."

I looked up at Lester. "You flirted with the nurses?"

"I know," he faked shivered. "And some of them were real dogs."

"Be nice!"

"Be grateful. It was scary."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, what a hardship. You flirt for a living."

"True."

We smiled at each other.

Bobby came a few minutes later with the clothes and I was off to the nurse's locker room. I showered and changed as quickly as I could, racing back to Ranger's room. I couldn't explain the need to be near him every second of every day, but it was growing stronger as I watched his face in peaceful slumber.

A few hours later, Lester came in with donuts, looking guilty.

"Uh oh…someone must have been bad." I joked. Lester's face didn't change. "What's up?"

"Joe's outside."

I felt the blood leave my face. "What?"

"He's demanding to see you."

I sighed. Typical Joe. "Fine. Where is he?"

"Right outside."

I nodded once, kissed Ranger on the forehead and left the room. I crossed my arms over my chest. "What, Joe."

"You don't come home, you don't answer your phone. What's going on?"

"I'm sitting with a friend." No need to mention its Ranger.

"Well, say goodbye. Your mother and my mother are waiting for you."

"For what?"

"We're testing out caterers today.

"Excuse me?"

He sighed, like he was talking to a petulant five year old.

And in some ways, I was. I don't like being told what to do.

"I told you that we were getting married in three months. They were extremely happy that I…we had picked a date."

"We didn't pick anything. You did."

He shrugged his shoulders, like it was all the same thing. "Are you ready to go?"

"I'm not going anywhere with you. I'm staying here."

"Lula doesn't need you around all day! You're leaving"

Oh no he didn't!

"Who are you? My father?"

"No, you're fiancé."

Like that really meant he could boss me around.

Unfortunately, or fortunately if you look at it that way, the nurse came up to the guards. "It's time for Mr. Manoso's sponge bath."

Joe looked at me and stared. "Where's Lula?" He asked after a minute.

No need to lie now. He saw me come from that room. "At home, I guess."

"Then…you're… and he…" He stared at his shoes. "I thought you were going to stay away from him."

"Why would I do that? We're friends."

"I don't like the way he looks at you. And he's crazy."

"So? So he doesn't exactly follow the law. Who does?"

"I do! Look Stephanie, I know you two are close, but you should stop being friends…"

"Then you should stop being friends with Terry."

"That's different."

This'll be good. "How?"

"We work together."

"So do Ranger and I."

"It'll be hard to stop being friends when we see each other at work."

"Isn't this like the pot calling the kettle black? Can I be the kettle? They're cuter."

"Okay, but it's different."

I raised my eyebrows.

"I'm a man. I can resist her. You rub up against Ranger like a cat in heat!"

Okay, it was that one time! "And because you're a man, you can just resist her. That's rich." I scoffed. "Why don't you take your big ego and go home."

"Not without you."

"Not happening." I walked back towards the room.

"Then don't bother coming back tonight."

I stopped. "What?"

"If you won't leave with me now, then the engagements off and you're not welcome in my house."

I shrugged. "Okay."

"Stephanie, really think about this."

I froze again. The two Merry Men were facing the wall opposite, but I could tell they were interested in what I'd say and do next.

"You want me to really think about this?" I said, moving closer to him and lowering my voice. "I think that you're just pushing this because you want to say that you banged Stephanie Plum first, and now you're marrying her, effectively making you my last. I think that once you grow bored of me, or annoyed by me or so angry at me that you can't come home that you'll go straight to Terry and screw her brains out. I think that you think I'm a complete moron and that I wouldn't find out about Ranger's accident."

At this he looked surprised. I laughed.

"You're too obvious, Joe. When you don't want to tell me something, you try to look innocent. Try being the operative word." I twisted the ring off my finger. "As far as we're concerned, you can go to hell."

"You're going to regret this!" He yelled in a last attempt to get me back.

I looked at him over my shoulder. "I don't think so. Because on your best day, he's still a bigger and greater man than you. No matter what he's done in the past."

"You're such a liar."

"Unfortunately for you, I'm not. Although, it doesn't hurt that he's got more than you in width and length. And he lets me be on top every once in a while." I gave him a finger wave and a big smile.

After I heard Joe stomp away, I heard the guard chuckle and bump fists. This made me smile.

I just hoped that Ranger would love me as much as I loved him.

Whoa. Where did that come from?

Ranger's POV

While Stephanie was putting our child into the car seat, I started the engine to warm it up. "Babe, about the Batcave…" I started, thinking that she would be annoyed that we had another kid on the way and we were still living in the Penthouse.

"I know."

"You know?"

She nodded. "The contractor called. He told me that it'd be another week."

"What?" What the hell is she talking about?

"The addition won't be ready until next week." I stared at her for a moment. "You don't have to keep up the face, Carlos, I know."

The fact that she called me Carlos was getting me hard was something to think about later. Much later. But I was still confused.

"I'm not sure I know…"

"I think it's sweet that you're trying to surprise me by making the bathroom bigger and adding on to the baby's room, but you didn't need to. Don't spend any more money than absolutely necessary."

Did she still not know what lengths I'd go for her? "Babe," I said, picking up her hand. "I'd do anything, anything to see you smile."

She grinned. "I'm smiling now."

"Then I did my job."

She rolled her eyes. "Carlos, it's too…"

"You're my wife. I'm going to treasure you how no man has ever done before."

She sighed. "Okay."

"Good. Can we go now?"

She rolled her eyes again. I smiled at her and put the car into drive. A few minutes later, we were pulling into a tree lot just outside of Trenton.

"Don't go running too far ahead, CJ!" Stephanie yelled when he had put the little boy down.

The little boy, stopped, turned and purely like his mother, rolled his eyes.

"I wonder where he learned that, Babe." I said, snaking my arm around her neck.

She rolled her eyes as well. "It's not my fault."

I kissed her hair and followed our son.

"This one!" He yelled, pointing to one of the biggest trees, with a big smile on his face.

Stephanie frowned. "I don't know if…"

"We'll take it." I told the salesman.

Stephanie's frown deepened. "Are you sure?"

"More sure than anything in my life."

"He's asleep," Stephanie said, joining me at the table, where I was attempting to wrap a truck. She giggled.

"What? I was doing okay for the first few."

"Stick to boxes. I can wrap the toys better than you can. The paper's looking like Swiss cheese with all the holes."

I grimaced. She was right. I handed the toy over to her and picked up a square box.

"Pass the tape?" She asked.

Watching her wrap the presents for our son and then cradling our unborn child as we watched tv when we were finished, I fell more in love with her more than I thought was possible.

"What?" She said, looking at me with a funny face. "You're staring. Do I have something up my nose?"

"No." I said, smiling gently. "You're perfect."