Not mine, never have been, never will. This is part two of the weekend. Hope Part one was to your liking. Mrs. Plum will make another appearance. You didn't think she would just accept the fact that Steph wasn't with Joe easily did you. Don't be silly. Hope you are having a good weekend. Now on with the story…..
Chapter Ten "The Weekend Part 2"
Stephanie woke to the aroma of bacon cooking. Looking around she noticed that she was alone, in Rangers bed, but he was absent, so she figured he was in the kitchen cooking. When she walked into the kitchen, she found him leaning over the breakfast bar, drinking a smoothie, wearing nothing but a pair of black silk boxers. Glancing over his shoulder he noticed her standing in the doorway, he smiled a sexy half smile and walked over to her.
"See something you like, Babe?" The wolf grin had come out to play.
Rolling her eyes, she reached up and kissed his cheek. "Always," she said before side stepping him and making her way to the counter. She poured herself a cup of coffee, and grabbed a plate of bacon and eggs and took a seat next to the one he had just vacated. "I'm sorry I feel asleep on you last night, you should've woke me up. I needed to go check on the girls."
"No problem, Steph, you were really out of it. I called over to the hospital and talked to the girls' nurse. They'd ate dinner around five and then went back to sleep. The nurse said she told them you'd been in to see them, but they were asleep and they understood. She told them that you would be in this morning and they were fine with that."
"Thanks, Ranger. I guess I better go get ready then." She finished eating and headed off to the shower. Thirty minutes later, she was showered and dressed. She decided to go light on the mascara and only applied one coat. When she walked back into the living room, Ranger walked over to her, took her hand and led her out the door.
They arrived at the hospital and walked into the girls' room, only to find it empty. Stephanie immediately went to the nurses' station to find out what was going on.
"Hi, may I help you?" The nurse sitting at the counter greeted them.
"Yes, I hope so. I'm looking for the girls in room 512 both of them are gone." Stephanie said sounding slightly panicked.
"Let me see if I can find out where they are for you." Ranger stood quietly by her side.
"It seems that Mary Alice had a problem with her cast and they took her down to make an adjustment. Angie was scheduled to have x-rays done this morning. The doctor wanted to find out how her ribs are healing. They should both be back in the room shortly." The nurse calmly explained.
'Thank you," Steph was feeling more at ease now.
"Why we wait Babe, do you want a cup of coffee?"
"Sure, Ranger, that sounds good." She gave in a nod and a smile.
An hour later, both girls had returned to the room. "So are you girls feeling any better?" Steph asked them.
"I am. The doctor said my ribs look a lot better." Angie was the first to speak up.
"I am, too. My cast was rubbing my foot and caused a blister. They had to make it a little bit looser." Mary Alice explained.
"I'm glad you're both feeling better. I wanted to tell you that I've made arrangements with Ranger, and we're going to move into an apartment in his building. We packed up your stuff yesterday. Some of the men that work for him will move it for us. I just wanted to make sure before you get released that you still don't want to live in your house."
"We're sure. We talked about it last night and we'd both be too sad living there again. That was where Mommy lived and it was her house, too. All the stuff in the house was hers, it would be too sad to see it all the time." Mary Alice said with tears in her eyes.
Steph went over and took her into her arms. "Oh, Honey, it's ok. I understand how you feel. I miss your Mommy, too. We all loved her very much and she'd want you both to be happy. Ranger has a big two bedroom apartment for us to move into on the fourth floor, don't worry Angie they have an elevator. He has a housekeeper named Ella that works for him and she makes the best food. I think you'll both love it."
"That sounds nice, Aunt Steph." Both the girls agreed and seemed alright with the idea. Steph was about to say something else, but the doctor walked in.
"Good morning. I was hoping to see you today, Ms. Plum. Both girls are continuing to improve, so I see no reason why they can't be released tomorrow. They'll need to stay on antibiotics to ward off infection. I'll send a prescription for pain medicine in their discharge papers. And they'll need to return in four weeks, to have the cast removed. Other than that, they're good too go. I'll have all the paperwork drawn up and I'd say they should be ready to go around lunchtime tomorrow." The doctor smiled at both the girls, shook hands with Stephanie, nodded to Ranger and left the room.
Shortly after talking with the doctor, Stephanie and Ranger told the girls they had a few things to do, so they needed to leave, but they would be back first thing in the morning to take them to their new home.
"So, Babe, what time do you need to be at your parents' house?" Ranger asked once they were back in the car.
"Not until six, I'm seriously thinking about canceling. I know my Mother's going to give me the third degree about Joe." She mentally cringed at the thought.
"I'll go with you, Babe, if that will make it easier on you." Ranger volunteered.
"Thanks, Batman. But, I better go by myself. I'm afraid if you go that would probably make it worse."
"If you're sure, Babe," at Stephs reluctant nod and sigh, he then asked. "What would you like to do in the meantime?"
"How about we go get some sandwiches at the deli and take them to the park. We can have a picnic. Then maybe go down to the lake and feed the ducks. I'm just in the mood to be outside."
"That sounds good to me, Steph. I haven't had a picnic in the park for probably fifteen years and that was with my sisters."
"Last picnic I went on was when Dickie and I were dating. Once we married he thought all meals should be eaten inside. Joe just wanted beer and pizza in front of the television and it's no fun going alone."
"We'll have to change that, Babe. Once the girls get better, we can bring them to the park and have picnics anytime you want." He picked up her hand, laced their fingers together and laid their joined hands on top of his thigh.
"That sounds nice, I'm sure the girls will like going to the park."
The rest of the afternoon flew by, after they finished eating, Stephanie got on a swing and Ranger pushed her, they'd brought a loaf of bread with them to feed the ducks. They even got into a game of Frisbee with a group of college guys. They spent the whole day laughing, talking and even shared a few kisses. All in all it was the perfect afternoon and just the way to let go of all the tension of the past few days. They stayed at the park until nearly 5:30. Steph knew they needed to leave so that she could go to her parents' house, so when they arrived at the Haywood Ranger turned to Steph and handed her his keys. "Here, Babe you can take the turbo tonight, I know it's your favorite. Just try to make sure I get it back in one piece." He told her as he handed her the keys, but she could see his eyes twinkling and knew he was just teasing her. I make no promises, Batman. You know my luck with cars." She smiled back at him.
"That's Okay, Babe. I don't care about the car, just make sure you come back in one piece," with that he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. Not breaking the kiss until he had to come up for air.
"Wow, what did I do to deserve that?" She asked trying desperately to catch her breath.
"Just being you, Babe. Now go before I decide to keep you here." They shared a couple softer kisses before she left.
She knew as soon as she pulled up in front of her parents' house how her night was going to go. Her mother was standing on the porch with her arms crossed and shaking her head in apparent disgust. As soon as she got out of the car, her mother started in on her. "Stephanie Plum, what do you think you are doing driving that man's car to my house? If you needed a ride you should have called your father, or better yet, Joe. You shouldn't have to borrow a car from that man."
"Mom, can we at least go into the house, all the neighbors are watching."
"Helen, let the girl come inside. You invited her for dinner, not to yell at her in the front yard." Frank said sharply from his position behind her Mother.
"Thank you, Daddy." She whispered to him as she kissed his cheek.
"You're welcome, Pumpkin."
"Where is Grandma tonight?" Steph knew if Grandma was here, she'd have been in the 'burg housewife position at the door with her Mother.
"She went back to Atlantic City this morning. She said it was too depressing here for her taste." Helen sniped out in a huff.
They were almost finished with dinner before her mother said anything else. "I talked with Joseph today on the phone, Dear and he's willing to give you another chance."
"Mother, you had no right to be talking to him about me. He doesn't need to give me another chance. I didn't do anything wrong." Stephs voice was quickly reaching a yell.
'He said you broke up with him and that you're now dating that Ranger fellow."
"I thought you liked Ranger."
"I do, Dear, but not as your boyfriend. He's just not right for you. Joseph's is better for you. You need to grow up and realize that. If not for yourself, think of those little girls, you need a respectable husband, not some street thug."
"Okay, first off. I broke up with Joe over two months ago when I found out that he was taking a job out of town to work with his former girlfriend and that they were going to be a couple. He's been sleeping with her for two months! Why would I need a man like that? Secondly, I'm not with Ranger like that. We are very good friends. He's been helping me out by driving me around, giving me a place to stay and anything else I might need. I don't understand why you think I need a husband in order to take care of the girls. I have been doing fine without one this long." Steph had to stop and calm down a little, but was quickly loosing the grip on her temper. "I'm going to be working a safer job, with steadier pay and better hours. I'll have a nicer place to live, a housekeeper to cook, clean and do laundry for us. And a flock of babysitters on hand, if I need them, so please tell me why I need Joe to be my husband?"
"He can provide for you. You wouldn't need to work. You can learn to cook and do laundry; you don't need a housekeeper for that. You need a man to look after you. It's the 'burg way. Valerie did it that way, what will the girls think if you don't? How will you raise them to be good 'burg girls if you don't settle down and get married?"
"Haven't you figured out that I'm not Valerie and I'm not the 'burg, that I never will be. Those girls know how I am, Valerie knew how I am. It doesn't seem to bother them. The girls will have a fine life and if they want to be 'burg girls when they grow up, I will not stop them. But, I'll not change myself into something I'm not in order to please you, Joe, the 'burg, or anyone else for that matter. I'll live how I want. I am thirty years old and you can't tell me what to do anymore, so I wish you'd stop trying to run my life. I love you, Mom, but enough is enough. Dickie cheated on me after we married and if I marry Joe, the same thing will happen again and I don't want that kind of a life." She was close to tears and desperately wants this conversation to be over.
"I think you are making a big mistake, if you don't take Joe back now. When you change your mind, it may be too late. Then you'll be left with nothing. No man is going to want to marry a woman who can't cook, take care of a house and already has two girls in tow. He's willing to overlook all that and marries you; don't throw it away."
"Mom, I need to go. I'm sorry you feel this way, but I will not be changing my mind." She got up and headed for the living room. "Goodbye Daddy. Please, tell Grandma to call me when she gets back." And Steph walked out the door, jumped into the Turbo and sped to Haywood Street.
When she arrived back at Rangers apartment, she found him in his office on his laptop. "Hi, Babe. Did you and the Turbo make it back in one piece?" He smiled up at her but then noticed that she didn't return the smile. Then he noticed that she had tear stains on her cheeks.
"Babe, are you okay? You look like you have been crying. Did your mother give you a hard time about Morelli?" Ranger fired the questions at her in rapid succession.
"Yeah, I'm alright. I'd rather not talk about my Mother tonight, if that's okay with you." Steph said in a quiet voice, not looking up to meet Ranger's eyes.
"Sure, Babe, whatever you want. I was wondering if you'd like to watch a movie with me."
"Ok, which one."
"I have the new GI Joe movie that just came out. Tank said it was good." He picked up the case he had laying on his desk and showed it to her. That sounds like a plan; I actually wanted to see that one. You put it in and I'll make some popcorn." Steph said before heading towards the kitchen.
Ten minutes later, she was lying with her back against his chest. He had his arms wrapped around her waist and the popcorn rested in her lap. Ranger didn't eat much of it; instead he played with her fingers, then with her curls. Occasionally he kisses her neck or nibbled at her ear. They were both content to just be in the other's arms and each secretly hoped they could stay that way. When the movie ended, they went to bed and continued to hold each other throughout the night.
Ok here is the next chapter. Hope everyone had a great weekend. I would like to say thank you to my new Beta Reader Angie. You did a great job girl. I am in the process of working on the next chapter. Have a great day….Tracy!