***NOT MINE…WISH THEY WERE, BUT THEY BELONG TO JANET EVANOVICH. ALTHOUGH I LIKE TO PLAY WITH THEM ANY CHANCE I GET. ******

TANK'S POV

Gabi and I had been taking turns pacing back and forth since Steph and Les went upstairs to meet with Ranger. It was my turn, as Gabi was sitting on the floor playing with Bruce. He was giggling and grabbing his feet with his hands, and laughing as Gabi played peek-a-boo. Watching her with him tugged at my heart, and made me want to change the way that I have been living my life. I am 35 years old, never been married, or had any children. My entire life had revolved around my military career, and now Rangeman. I don't have many regrets in life, but I wished that I had a family. A wife and kids to come home to at night, instead of microwave popcorn and episodes of House on my DVR. Looking at Gabi with Bruce tugged at my heart. I missed Lula, and I wished that she and I could have made it. Maybe I should just move on. Gabi looks amazing sitting with Bruce, and in a way I wished that this was my own private family moment. I sighed, my chest heaving dramatically.

"Tank?" Gabi asked, stopping me in my tracks. I raised my eyebrows at her. "What do you think is going on up there? Do you think that Ranger is making an ass out of himself?"

Walking up to where she was sitting, I plopped down on the sofa across from here. "He's a good guy, Cricket. He loves her, but I am sure that they are going to have to work through some of the hurt."

"I am sure that he is going to crumble when he sees this little guy." She blew a raspberry on the bottom of Bruce's feet, causing him to giggle and snort loudly. "Who wouldn't love such a handsome little guy?" She cooed to him, rubbing her fingers through his long dark curls.

"You look good with a baby, Cricket." I said softly, not wanting to make eye contact.

"Well, soak it in now, Boss." She sighed. "Cause it ain't ever going to happen." She picked Bruce up and walked towards the kitchen. "I'm going to feed him."

I shook my head and as I stood to follow her to ask her what she meant by that, my phone chirped loudly. "SPEAK." I bellowed into the phone.

"Tank, I need you to come down to the lobby. We have a situation here." It was Binkie.

"Explain."

"The Cop is here, asking about Bomber. He's pretty drunk and getting stupid."

A growl escaped before I could contain it. "Keep him there." I hung up the phone and quickly headed towards the kitchen. Gabi was standing, Bruce in one arm, making up baby food for him. She was humming softly and snuggled into his soft curls and kissed his head gently. This brought a smiled to my face, and a flutter to my stomach.

Shaking my head clear I cleared my throat. "Gabi." She turned to me and smiled. "We have a problem. Joe is in the lobby looking for Steph. I am going to go take care of it, stay here with Bruce."

"Save some of the ass-kicking for me." She said, carrying the food and Bruce to the table to feed him. I kissed the top of her head and quickly headed for the door.

LES' POV

I choked back a tear watching my cousin and one of my best friends embracing. I know that they are going to have to work through a lot of things, but this is a good sign. I have known Ranger my entire life, and I know that he wouldn't say ANYTHING that he didn't mean. Feeling a little like a third wheel, I slowly made my way towards the door. Neither of them noticed me opening the door and backing out. I was sure that they needed some time alone.

The COMM room was in an eerily quiet state of panic. Men were rushing around, arranging their gear and flicking on extra monitors.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked Cal who was handing over his COM duties to Zero.

"Shit, man." He said, passing over the last of the paperwork after signing it. "The Cop is downstairs. Tank's called a full-alert."

I broke into a dead run, skipping the elevator and flying down the stairs two and three at a time. That mother-fucker is going to pay for what he did to Beautiful. When I reached the lobby, Tank had Morelli by the throat up against the wall.

"You stupid fucking shit-bag!" Tank was screaming. "You must have a fucking death wish to show your nasty mug here."

"Put me down you fucking thug!" Morelli spat out, although it was a lot quieter than I am sure he had anticipated as Tank had him held up by his jugular.

I walked up behind Tank, and put my hand on his shoulder. Tank turned, his face reddened with anger and his knuckles almost white with force.

"Let me at him, Tank." I said calmly, cracking my neck.

"By all means." Tank quickly released Morelli causing him to crash to the floor gasping. He curled protectively, glaring at us.

"Pathetic." I snorted. "Big tough fucking cop can only beat on women, huh?" I reached down and pulled him to his feet by his t-shirt. He swung for my face, but I quickly ducked out of the way jabbing him in the kidneys. "I was the one that carried her, half-unconscious to my bed." I smirked, hoping that he took that statement for anything that it was worth. Joe's face turned purple with anger and he swung at me again. Once again, he was too slow. But my fist connected happily with his chest. With this he was gasping horribly, which made me smile. "Oh, and don't worry about her getting medical treatment. We had a trauma doc come in and take care of her" Crunch. "….and take pictures" Crack. "…and get your DNA. Don't worry, I am sure that you will get to see all the pics during the trial." I punched him in the face with each pause. He was sobbing like a bitch by the end of my little speech. I let him go, watching him slide into a puddle of pathetic to the floor. Pulling out my cell phone I called Trenton PD.

"Hey, I need a car at Rangeman." I smiled. "Yeah, we want to file a domestic assault complaint, and start a restraining order." I kicked Morelli in the nuts. "Oh yeah. He'll be here when you get here." I hung up the phone and turned to Tank. "Thanks, man."

"Well, I guess that everyone knows that she's here, huh?" Tank smiled.

"Yeah. I guess so." I ran my fingers through my hair. "Do you want to have a meeting, let everyone know what's going on, or should we let Ranger do it?"

"Let's let him do it. If anyone asks, tell them the basics. We can let Steph decide exactly what she wants everyone to know."

"Roger." I said, walking over to the elevator.

"Hey, Les." Tank called. I turned to him, raising my eyebrows. "How is it going up there?"

"Good, man." I smiled. "Real good."

RANGER's POV

My heart was pounding in my chest as I held her. I have been aching to do this since I left her at her apartment over a year ago. My head was still swimming with what she had told me. How could I have left her so vulnerable, especially with my son? My heart swelled again, a lump choking me….my son. She had been through hell, protecting my family….and my son.

I pulled her back, putting a hand on either side of her face. Her eyes were red from crying but still that amazing blue. I wiped the tears from her cheeks with my thumbs and kissed her nose gently.

"Ranger," She whispered, her gaze straying from my eyes. "I can't apologize enough to you for all of this. I can't blame you for being angry. I am angry with myself for being so weak, and stupid." New tears were falling.

"Shhhh, Babe." I wiped away the new tears and sighed. "I am angry. No. I am more than angry, I am livid. My insides are twisted, but not for you. I am angry at myself for leaving you. For not making my men force their way into that house and take you the second they felt something wasn't right. More than anything, I am angry that I trusted Morelli to be a man." My jaw clenched, as my anger started bubbling. I took a deep breath to gain control before continuing. "I am pissed that he put his hands on you. That he threatened you. Threatened my family. And threatened my SON." The last words came out in a growl and I felt her wince slightly. I took a few more deep breaths to control myself. I can't let her see exactly how angry I was, exactly what I wanted to do to him. "You are not the one that I am angry at. I love you more than I thought I could love anyone. And you have given me a son."

She smiled, leaning her forehead against my own. "Do you want to go and see him, now?"

"Yes." I put my finger under her chin and tilted her head back up so we were once again eye-to-eye. "Will you introduce me to our son?" She nodded as I kissed her, pulling her tightly towards me wanting to take away her pain, her guilt and her frustration.

Breaking the kiss, I pulled her to her feet, wrapping an arm around her waist. As we walked to the door, I stopped hand on the handle. "Babe?"

"Yeah, Ranger."

"What's his name? His full name?"

She smiled. "Bruce Wayne Plum. He's my little Batman."

I laughed, kissing the top of her head. "Babe." I smiled as she giggled. "Can I ask a favor?"

She looked up at me. "Anything."

"Can he take my name? Can I make him a Manoso?"

"Of course, Ranger. He is a Manoso."

"Yes. He is." I smiled as I pulled open the door. "He's my boy."

STEPHANIE POV

Ranger and I took the elevator to the fourth floor, his arm never leaving my waist. I was really grateful for this, because I hurt so badly that I was afraid that if he let go I would crash to the floor. Reaching Les' door, I watched as he took a deep breath before he opened the door. Gabi was sitting on the floor, legs v'd out in front of her with Bruce between them. She looked up as we walked in, pulling him into her arms and standing.

"Everything good?" Gabi asked, holding him protectively against her chest.

"Yeah." I smiled up at Ranger. He was staring at Bruce in Gabi's arms with my mouth slightly agape. I nudged him and whispered. "He's not going to bite. He doesn't have any teeth yet."

I released myself from Ranger's arm and staggered over to Gabi. She handed me Bruce and I sat down onto the sofa, patting the cushion next to me.

"I think that I am going to head up to the COMM room. Call me if you need anything, okay Steph?" Gabi said, before nodding to Ranger as she walked past him out the door.

Ranger stood stuck in his tracks for a minute. "Ranger." I smiled again, patting the sofa harder. "Come here." Cautiously he walked towards me on the sofa and sat down, staring at the little boy in my arms.

"Bruce." I sat him up on my lap so that he was facing Ranger. "This is your Daddy." I looked towards Ranger. "Ranger. This is your son, Bruce." Minutes past without a sound from any of us, but it felt like hours…or even days. I watched Ranger's face, hoping to find some sort of emotion, some sort of something. Suddenly, he shook his head as if to clear it and reached out his hands.

"Can I hold him?" His voice was soft, and I could finally see a glimmer of something in his eyes. I nodded, handing Bruce gently to him. Ranger laid the baby on his lap, his feet resting gently against his stomach. I watched as Ranger looked over Bruce from head to toe, examining every finger, every curl on his head. When his inspection was complete he turned to me, holding Bruce gingerly in his arms. "Dios Steph. He's beautiful."

"Yes, he is." I whispered, running two fingers through Bruce's curls. "He looks like his Daddy." I watched Ranger's face, and it looked like something clicked within his head. A soft smile came across his face, and he nodded his head. Bruce let out a shriek of a laugh and blew a raspberry, causing Ranger to chuckle softly.

"I don't know Babe…there's a lot of you in him." He turned and placed a tender kiss on my lips. "Babe. I want us to be a family. Would you stay with me, up on seven? We can start looking for a house, something safe, and big."

"Ranger, I would love that." I gently grabbed his face and pressed a kiss to his lips, shivering excitedly as his tongue passed through my lips. I moaned quietly.

"Let's go home, Babe." He said, leaning Bruce against his chest and cradling his bottom with his hand. "We can send the guys down to get your things. I know you don't want to, but we have a lot to talk about. A lot of decisions that need to be made."

"Okay."

He flipped out his phone. "Move Steph and my son's things up to seven and ask Ella to come up as soon as she can." He flipped his phone shut and looked to me. I nodded and grabbed the diaper bag that was sitting by the couch as we walked out the door. We were going home, finally.