They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to Christmas Eve Visitor and Starting Our Life Together. This story is fiction any people, places and events that happen are not factual. Enjoy and please review. The more reviews, the faster the chapters will be posted. There are a lot more chapters to go.

Holy Matrimony, Batman!
By JayCee08

Chapter 11
At The Hospital

Bobby came into the room around 7:00 a.m. with a bag from the Tasty Pastry. He handed the bag to me, but I shook my head. I wasn't hungry.

"Steph you need to sleep and eat."

"I can't."

"Running yourself down it's going to help Ricky."

"I'm afraid." I whisper.

"Afraid of what?"

"That if I sleep, something bad is going to happen to Ricky." I whispered again.

"Steph, we would wake you if something happened. We wouldn't leave him unattended. He is being closely monitored. All these machines are being watched by someone at the main desk on the floor. One wrong blip and someone would be in here." Bobby said softly trying to reassure me.

I just shook my head. "He needs his mommy." I whispered again. I looked at Tank who was still sitting in the corner. He tried to give me an encouraging smile. "Any word on when Ranger is going to get here?"

"He's on a plane right now as we speak."

I just nodded my head and turned back to Ricky. His breathing became labored during the night and he now had a small oxygen mask. He looked so frail and tiny in that crib. His temperature had only come down a few degrees. Everyone said that was good. The doctor came in before his shift ended and said that Ricky shouldn't have any more seizures providing that the seizures were caused by the high fever. I continued to stroke his arm, his face or his head.

"Mommy's here, baby. Daddy will be here soon." I said softly to him.

At shift change a new nurse came in to check on Ricky.

"Hi, I'm Angela. I'm the day nurse. I need to see how Ricky is doing."

She checked the monitors and checked his IV. She took his temperature. It was still 102 degrees F. She changed his diaper.

"Ricky is doing fine." She said to me.

"He hasn't woken up yet." I said.

"His body is working on making him well. The body heals faster when it is sleeping. He is fine. He isn't dehydrated. He had a wet diaper. That is a good sign. His temp dropped a degree. He still is a sick little boy but he is slowly getting better."

"But shouldn't he be hungry?"

"He is getting nutrients in the IV. He may wake up later for a bottle. Can I get you anything? Juice, coffee, soda?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

"You should get some rest. Go lie down on the cot. That is what it is there for."

I just shook my head.

"I'll be back later to check on him. If you need anything just hit the call button." She turned gave Tank and Bobby a small smile and left.

I must have been dosing in the chair when I heard him enter the room.

"Babe."

"Carlos!" I flew into his arms. Sobs coming from me as my body shook. He held me tight rubbing my back.

"Sshhh. It is going to be all right." He said. We just stood there like that. Tank and Bobby left the room. I continued to cry. "You look exhausted, Babe. You need to lie down and get some sleep."

"No. I can't." I had stopped sobbing but tears were still running down my face. Ranger maneuvered us over to the chair by the crib. He looked at his son.

"So what is the status?"

"Uh. Um. His temp was 102 degrees F at last check. He isn't dehydrated. He has been getting IV fluids and an IV antibiotic. His breathing became labored and so they put him on oxygen. He hasn't woken up yet. The doctor said that he shouldn't have any more seizures if they were being caused by the fever. Oh God, Carlos. He is so little. He's just a baby. It was so scary. I didn't know what to do." I started to get a little hysterical.

"You did the right thing. Calling Tank and getting to the hospital." He said. His arms still around me. He was rubbing my back trying to soothe me.

"It all happened so fast. It is like a blur."

"Babe, go lie down before you collapse. I'm here. I'll watch over Ricky. Get some rest."

I just shook my head.

"Babe, please."

That did it. "O.K." I said. "But you have to wake me if there is any change." He nodded his head. He led me over to the cot. I lay down and he covered me with the blanket. He gave me a kiss. I watched as he went over to the crib. He sat down in the chair. He reached into the crib and stroked Ricky's cheek with his finger.

"Hey, Little Man. Daddy is here. I'll watch over you now so you can get better and your mommy can get some sleep."

Before I knew it, I was asleep.

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Ranger's POV

A nurse came in a while later. "Oh, hello. I'm Angela. You must be his daddy."

"Carlos Manoso. So how is he?"

"He is still not out of the woods yet. But he is doing better." She checked his temp again. "Temp is 101 degrees F. It is coming down, but slowly. He seems to be breathing better so I'll see if we can take the oxygen off. His heart rate is good. EEG looks good. There haven't been anymore seizures." She said.

She checked a few more things. "I see your wife is finally asleep. She looked so exhausted. I couldn't get her to lie down and rest."

I wasn't going to correct her on the wife part, so I just nodded.

"Is there anything I can get for you? Water, juice, coffee?"

"Water would be good if it isn't too much trouble."

"Not at all. I'll have someone bring in a couple of bottles for you and your wife."

I just nodded again and she left. I looked at Steph lying on the cot. She still looked exhausted. Someone came in with the water. I took them from her and she left. I opened one of the bottles and took a sip. I looked at my son. He looked so small. This was a nightmare. How could this be happening to my son?

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Steph's POV

Later that afternoon, something woke me up. A sound. I looked around. Oh yeah, I said to myself, we're in the hospital. Ricky. I looked over to the crib. There he was sitting up. Looking over at me. I felt movement from behind me. Ranger. He must have lain down next to me. Ricky was looking at us. Sitting up in bed. He was babbling.

"Dada. Dada." Ricky said.

That sound was the most precious sound. I couldn't believe it.

Ranger sat up and looked over. We both got up and went to the crib. Ricky put his arms up to be picked up. I reached in and lifted him up minding the wires and tubes that were still attached. He felt cool as pressed my cheek on his head.

"Oh my God! Ricky, my baby." I said as I cradled him in my arms.

Ranger had his arm around me. With his other hand he stroked Ricky's cheek. We stayed like that for a few minutes. Just the three of us before Ranger pressed the call button.

A nurse came in and saw us. "I see the fever must have broken. I'll notify the doctor. He'll want to check him out. I'll bring a bottle for him. He is probably hungry."

"Is it all right if I breast feed?" I asked.

"By all means if you are still breast feeding."

I settled myself in a chair and got situated for breast feeding. I nestled Ricky at my breast and he latched on and greedily sucked. Ranger brought the other chair over. He draped on an arm across my shoulder and held Ricky's hand with the other. We just sat like that. We didn't talk. We silently sent prayers of thanks to God for Ricky's recovery.

"Carlos?"

"Yeah Babe?"

"Why haven't any of our families shown up?"

"I gave Tank instructions to let everyone know but that they shouldn't disturb us. He would keep them posted with updates on Ricky's condition."

"Thank you. I don't think I could have dealt with people parading in and out all day long."

We became silent again. Just basking in the glory that our son was going to be all right.

The doctor came in shortly after. He noticed that I was breast feeding and said he would be back. But he did say that it was a good sign that Ricky was awake and eating.

The doctor returned. I had just finished buttoning up my blouse. He checked Ricky over. He said that the EEG and heart monitors could be removed. But he was still keeping the IV in so that Ricky would still be getting the antibiotics that he needed. He said that it looked like he was breathing better on his own. In fact Ricky must have pushed it off his face when he woke up. So that could be removed. If Ricky needed it, it would be returned. He said that he didn't think Ricky would have any more seizures. But he did say that if Ricky got sick again and his fever got high again that he could have another one. But he said that as Ricky got older the likelihood of that happening again would greatly diminish. He wanted Ricky to remain in the hospital another 24 to 48 hours.

Ranger went out to talk to Tank to update him on Ricky and to get someone to bring us food. I didn't realize how hungry I was. It had been over 24 hours since I last ate. I was too worried about Ricky to eat anything.

Lester brought us salads from Pino's. Pino's had the best salads. I loved the honey mustard chicken salad. With lots of honey mustard dressing, chicken strips, croutons, and shredded cheese. Ranger just had a garden salad with a light vinaigrette dressing. Lester brought a large coke for me and bottled water for Ranger. He gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek. He then went over to Ricky and tickled him and rubbed his belly. Then he bumped fists with Ranger and left.

Ranger and I lay down on the cot later that night. We were both exhausted from the emotional roller coaster ride of the last 24 hours. We were spooned together with my back to his front, facing the crib so we could watch our son. Ranger's arm draped over my middle and I had my arms wrapped over his so we could hold each other. Eventually we fell asleep. But woke up every time some came in the room to check on Ricky. They tried really hard to not wake us, but we did anyway. Especially Ranger who didn't sleep soundly to begin with.

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The next morning, Tank brought us a bag from the Tasty Pastry and coffee for both of us. Ranger had a bran muffin and I had my usual Boston Crème donuts. He got an update on Ricky. He updated Ranger on a few things with RangeMan and then left. We ate silently as Ricky was still asleep.

After Ricky woke up, I was able to feed him some cereal and fruit and give him a bath. Tank had brought us some clothes and toiletries and some things for Ricky. We each got a shower and freshened up. It made us feel better.

When Ricky was taking a nap later that morning, Ranger looked over at me. I knew something was bothering him.

"Babe, we need to talk."

Whenever he utters that phrase, I feel something bad is going to happen.

"What about?" I asked.

"The night you brought Ricky to the hospital."

"Yeah?"

"Morelli brought you. What was he doing at the house?"

"I don't know. He just showed up. I didn't get a chance to ask him."

"How did he get past the security?"

"I don't know. I guess I opened the gate."

"Why?"

"I heard the buzzer indicating that someone was at the gate. I thought it was Tank. So I pressed the button for the gate to open."

"Steph, Tank knows the code. He would have let himself in. Didn't you look at the monitors?"

"No, I didn't. I was concerned about our son. I wasn't thinking. It was 12:30 a.m. I was expecting Tank."

"Steph, I find it hard to believe that Morelli would suddenly be there when you needed a ride to the hospital."

"What are you saying? That I had Morelli over for the night? That I took advantage that you were out of town to sleep with my ex? What? Are you starting to believe that what Ernesto said is true? That I am a slut and a whore?"

"I don't know. I just find too convenient that he suddenly was there."

"Get out!"

"Steph, just tell me the truth."

"Get the hell out!" I was starting to shout. I woke Ricky who started crying. I went to pick him up. "I want you to leave. And I don't want you to come back." I said to Ranger.

Ranger got up to leave. He took one more look at Ricky and left. I sat down on in the chair with Ricky and cried. I couldn't believe what he was insinuating. I felt so alone.

TBC Chapter 12 - What Happens Now?