Thank you all so much for the positive reviews. I hope you're enjoying the story so far!

None of the characters are my creation (except for Trey) and am just taking them out for a joy ride. Thanks to Janet Evanovich for creating such loveable characters.

Previously:

We made slow, tender love for quite a while, and when we both came together, it was like a quiet whisper falling over both of us at the same time. There was a specialness to it that I'd never experienced before. Our love was unified, and our marriage was consummated. It was as if our souls became one. Surely the earth shifted, and time stood still.

Afterwards, as we lay together, we still couldn't get enough of each other. It was as if we had to have contact with each other at all times. Stephanie turned to kiss me deeply. "Did you feel it Carlos? Was it different for you? It was somehow…I don't know…"

"Yes Babe. It was magical. There are no words to describe it. I've never experienced anything like it. Dios! How I love you. I'm so thankful that you agreed to marry me. I'm honored that you're my wife."

Our kisses turned passionate and I pulled her to me yet again, and began to show her over and over exactly how much I loved my new wife.

/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \

The next morning found us tangled together as the sun started to peek through the windows of our bedroom. I pulled Stephanie to me and kissed her neck and nuzzled her ear. "Good morning Babe. Sleep well?"

"Mmmm. Yes, definitely."

I placed open mouth kisses on her shoulder and collar bone. "It's time to get up. We've got to go check on Trey, and I have to run in to the office today for a bit."

Stephanie nodded, in understanding, and I kissed her once more before making my way to the kitchen to start some coffee as she sleepily staggered into the bathroom. As I was finishing up, I noticed the pharmacy bag from yesterday lying on the table. Stephanie was supposed to start her pills today, but the box of condoms was still in the bag. Unopened. Shit! How could we have gotten so carried away last night? Not just once, but several times. Many, many times!

Ever since I had been with Stephanie, she had always been on the pill. And wearing a condom last night was the last thing on my mind! I guess that just goes to show what she does to me. Before I met her, I'd never even had sex with anyone without a condom. The world is just too risky of a place. Even Julie was conceived using protection. Albeit protection that malfunctioned, but still. Stephanie was the one woman who could always make me lose control.

I ran my fingers through my hair. Okay, let's be reasonable here. What are the odds of her getting pregnant this soon after Trey? And while she's breastfeeding to boot? Slim? Twenty percent? Fifty percent? Dios! This is Stephanie we're talking about. Nothing is ever able to be calculated where she is concerned. Not that I wouldn't love to have another child with her. But Trey is still in the hospital and is a preemie. He will still be in the hospital for at least 8 weeks! Stephanie is gonna kill me. My wife is absolutely going to kill me. The mighty Ranger Manoso will be dealt his final blow by a skinny white girl from the Burg.

I heard the shower start, so I waited a few minutes and then took the box into the bathroom with me. "Um…Steph?"

"Ranger, if you join me in the shower, we'll never get out of here in time for me to feed Trey this morning. And my boobs are about to explode! I didn't get to pump last night."

"Babe, as much as I'd love a repeat performance of last night, I just realized something."

Stephanie was silent for a beat, and then opened the shower door. "What are you talking about Carlos?"

I held up the unopened box of 36 condoms. "I think we forgot a little something last night."

Stephanie's mouth dropped open. "Oh! Well. Uh…"

"Yea, that was my thoughts exactly."

Stephanie turned the water off in the shower and I handed her a towel. She stood there, looking from me to the box I held in my hand.

"Steph, I didn't think anything about it. I guess I was just so eager to finally be able to make love to you that I didn't even think about protection. We've never used it before since you were always on the pill, and it was the last thing on my mind. I'm sorry Babe. I should have taken care of it before…well, before things got out of hand."

Stephanie had wrapped the towel around her by this time and her skin was still damp from the shower. Her face was clean from makeup and her blue eyes were wide and intense. She took the box from my hand and sat it on the bathroom counter, and then pulled me to her. "Carlos, I was just as caught up in the emotion, love, and intensity of last night as you were, so it wasn't your responsibility alone. Besides, it's not like we're teenagers sneaking around. We're married after all! Also, the possibility of me getting pregnant is probably very slim considering I haven't resumed my cycle yet and I'm breastfeeding. I'll call the doctor later on today to see if I need to hold off on starting the birth control pills until we know for sure. But if, and that's a really big if, if we did make a baby last night, I refuse to think of it as a mistake. Trey wasn't planned either. And look how much we both love him. If I am, then at least we know now, and it won't be like it was with Trey. We were really lucky that he was as healthy as he was, considering I had no prenatal care and he was born so early."

I pulled Stephanie to me and kissed her with all of the love I was feeling inside. "And this is one of the many reasons I love you, Steph. When life hands you unexpected things, you simply roll with the punches and keep going. I didn't mean to insinuate that another baby would be a mistake. I'd love to have lots of babies with you! But I know that yesterday, in the doctors office, you said you weren't ready yet to leave things up to chance."

"Well, Carlos, I'm not ecstatic about the possibility of having two children that are less than a year old. Can you imagine all the diapers? And having two kids that can't walk? But I guess we'd learn to handle it if we had to."

"Babe, if that happens, we could always hire some help."

"Oh no, Mr. Manoso. I refuse to let my kids be raised by someone else."

I chuckled and hugged her to me. "Babe, I just meant someone to help out during the day. You and I are going to be raising any children we have. And I'm looking forward to it. Very much in fact. I feel like we missed out on a lot with your last pregnancy since we didn't even know you were pregnant. You were training with me, and going out on distractions and take downs. If you are pregnant, things will be very different this time."

"Carlos, I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves. Let's cross that bridge when we come to it. In all likelihood, I'm not pregnant. So let's get dressed and go see Trey, okay?"

"Sounds good to me Babe." I kissed her once more and swatted her on her butt as I walked out of the bathroom to gather my clothes for a shower.

As I was walking into the closet, my cell phone rang. I found my cell lying on the bedside table where I had placed it last night. I didn't recognize the number.

"Manoso speaking."

"Mr. Manoso? This is Brittany from Newark NICU. I was wondering if you and your wife could come to the NICU as soon as possible. Trey has developed a fever."

"How high is the fever ? When did this happen?"

"His temp was 103 the last time I checked it, which was about 10 minutes ago. We first noticed it about two hours ago. I alerted his doctor, and he's gone for some tests right now. It's still too early to know for sure what's going on. One of your employees is staying in the room with him until you arrive. I think his name is Bobby. He was the one on duty last night. At any rate, he suggested I call you, even though it may be nothing. Some babies run a temperature as they battle off various colds and viruses. But the fact that Trey is premature, and only 6 weeks old, well…it could quickly turn into something more serious. We thought you would want to know."

"We'll be there in 15 minutes."

By this time Stephanie had threw some clothes on and was standing beside me. I could see fear in her eyes as she waited for me to tell her what was going on."

"Get your things together, Babe. Trey's developed a fever. We've got to get to the hospital."

Stephanie grabbed a sweater and her purse as we quickly made our way out to the Cayenne. I dialed Bobby as we sped out of the parking lot.

"Brown."

"Bobby, what's going on? How is Trey?"

"We've just made our way back up to the NICU floor, Ranger. He's ok right now, but he's running a temp of 103. They've done some x-rays and think he may have pneumonia. It's possible that he aspirated on some of his milk. Or it could just be because he has a weakened immune system and has caught a bug. They're starting antibiotics on him now, and have put him in a private suite until they figure out exactly what's going on."

"Stay with him Bobby. We'll be there soon."

"Got it Boss."

Stephanie was gripping my hand like it was a lifeline. "What did he say Carlos?"

"He's with Trey right now. They've put him in a private room due to the fever. And they started antibiotics in case it's pneumonia."

"How high is his fever?"

"103."

Stephanie gasped. "He's too little. This can't be happening. What if something happens? He's still so young…it can't…I…."

I pulled her hand to my lips and kissed her fingers. "Babe, calm down. Right now we don't know anything more than what Brown and the nurse has told us. Let's wait to speak with the doctor. Trey has already proven that he's a fighter, and we can't let ourselves start doubting that now. He'll be fine."

Silent tears were escaping Steph's eyes, and she turned to look out the window of the car. I was trying to be strong for her, but inside I was scared to death. Julie had always been very healthy, and rarely even caught the common cold. Once, when she had chicken pox, I flew down to Miami just to check on her. But overall, she had always been very healthy. Having a sick child was something new and very foreign to me. And I didn't like it one bit. I felt helpless. I was not used to feeling helpless.

We finally arrived at the hospital and ran to the elevators for the NICU. We quickly found Brittany and she led us to the room where Trey and Bobby were. Stephanie and I immediately went to Trey and we each took one of his small hands. His color was flushed, but he was sleeping. The feeding tube, which had been removed a few days ago, had been replaced and he was hooked up to more tubes than he was last night. Trey had been on oxygen to keep his sats up since being weaned off of the ventilator, but now he had a mask on instead of the thin cannula that he had graduated to in the days prior.

Bobby reiterated what he had told me on the phone for Stephanie's sake, and shortly after he finished Trey's pediatrician, Dr. Cooper, came into the room.

"Carlos, Stephanie …" he began. "It looks like Trey has developed pneumonia. Sometimes this happens with premature babies. We've started him on antibiotics, and in all likelihood we've caught it early enough that there will be no long term damage. I'd like to keep him in a private suite since his immune system is compromised further. Just in case one of the other babies in the NICU were to be sick as well. We'll keep him on a face mask for oxygen, just so he doesn't have to work quite as hard to get the oxygen that he needs. I know he recently was taken off of the feeding tube since he was doing so well, and was allowed to nurse."

Stephanie and I both nodded. "We placed the feeding tube back down his nose as a precaution, but also to allow him to store some energy. It takes energy for him to suckle and eat. If he's not having to do that as much, then that's more energy that his body can use to heal itself. Steph, I'd like for you to keep pumping breast milk for him since that has lots of immunity building properties to it. We'll continue using it in his feeding tube, and as he gets stronger, we'll try nursing again."

"I'll have some chairs brought in for both of you so that you can stay here in the suite with him as much as you'd like. Since he's not in the NICU ward, you can visit as much as you like, and can even stay overnight if you want to. Do you have any questions for me?"

I looked at Stephanie, who seemed as overwhelmed as I was feeling. "No, Dr. Cooper. Not right now. Thank you for checking on him and please let us know if there's anything else we need to be doing. We'll both be staying with Trey until he's better."

"You're welcome Carlos. Also, one other thing. Anyone who visits will need to scrub in and wear a gown to protect Trey. I'm going to place him on isolation precautions just to hopefully prevent him from picking up any other bug while his immune system is fighting the pneumonia."

"I understand. Thank you."

Dr. Cooper left Stephanie, Bobby, and I stand guard over Trey. Within a few minutes, two rolling recliners were brought to the room by orderlies, and I helped Stephanie sit in one. Brittany brought the familiar gowns into the room for us to put on so that we could hold Trey, and we both scrubbed our hands and arms at the sink over in the corner of the room.

Finally, when we had finished, Brittany picked Trey up from his isolette and handed him over to Stephanie. "I know it's hard not to worry, but a lot of preemie babies catch pneumonia. Just think of it as a bump in the road. It's a minor setback, but with any luck, he'll be better in no time. Luckily, the pneumonia that Trey has is only in one of his lungs, and not both. Since he spiked a fever first thing, we caught it a little earlier than we might have otherwise. So really, the fever was a good thing. It means his body is trying to fight off the infection. Would you like me to bring in a pump for you to use, Steph?"

Stephanie smiled a slight smile and nodded. "Yes if you don't mind. I haven't pumped since last night, and I'm more than a little uncomfortable."

"Sure thing. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Since Trey was in a private room, Stephanie and I decided that we were going to stay at the hospital until Trey improved. Stephanie sat rocking Trey, and I sent Bobby over to the condo to pick up some things for us. I went out in the hall to make a phone call to Tank to let him know I wouldn't be in the office today.

"Yo."

"Tank, it's me. Something's come up and I won't be to Rangeman today. Can you send someone over with the contracts for me to sign that have to be done today?"

"Sure Ranger. What's up? Something wrong?"

"Trey spiked a fever and we just found out that he has pneumonia. I don't want to leave him or Steph. I need to be here."

"Of course. I'll bring the contracts over myself after lunch. I haven't gotten to see Little Man in a few days. Anything else I need to bring?"

"Steph's looking a little scared. Maybe have Ella send her some cake. The doctor wants her to gain some weight. It'd be nice surprise for her."

"Got it. I'll see you in a few hours."

I rejoined my wife and son, and stroked his hair as Stephanie held him. His skin was warm, but he was sleeping peacefully.

"Carlos, I'm so scared. Does it ever gets easier? Being a parent? I know he'll have lots of fevers, and boo boo's in his lifetime. But I just want to protect him from everything that I can, you know?"

"I know exactly what you mean Babe. I was thinking earlier how lucky we've been so far. Hopefully, like Brittany said, this is just a small bump in the road. He'll do fine. Julie's always been very healthy, so this is unchartered territory for me too."

Brittany brought in the breast pump, and pulled the privacy curtain before she closed the door, saying that she placed a "please knock before entering" sign on the door for us. "Carlos, can you hold him while I pump?"

"Sure Babe." I picked my son up, taking care not to awaken him, and sat in one of the recliners while Stephanie sat in the other one. Steph adjusted her top, and attached the pump to her full breast. She winced as the pump began to work. "Are you okay Babe?"

"Yeah, I just wish I had pumped last night. They've never been this full before, and it's a little painful."

We sat there in silence, me rocking Trey and Steph finding relief from her overly full breasts. I have to admit that I felt a little better being here and holding my son in my arms. While I couldn't do anything to help him fight the pneumonia, I could hold him and comfort him. I think that maybe he's comforting me more than I am him, but still…it made me feel better regardless.

After Steph finished, Brittany came back to label the bottles for Trey and place them in the refrigerator in the nursery. Stephanie wanted to hold Trey, so we switched places and by that time, Bobby was knocking at the door. He brought our overnight bags in from the condo and then left to go back to Haywood.

Tank arrived around noon, and walked in wearing the mandatory yellow gown and scrubbed in as if he'd done it a thousand times. Truth is, he probably has. When we set up the guard rotation for Trey, Tank wasn't included in the schedule since he's running Rangeman while I'm away. But after a few days, I realized that he was often coming by to see Trey while using the excuse of "checking in with the men". Tank will be an excellent godfather for my son, and Steph and I had discussed asking him just last night.

Tank hugged Stephanie and handed her a container with cake from Ella, along with a couple of fluffy, nice blankets for us to use while we were in the private room. The hospital had plenty of blankets we could use, but Tank said that Ella thought it might make Stephanie more comfortable. Tank brought contracts for me to sign. Stephanie gets cake and fluffy blankets; I get work. Where's the irony in that? But seriously, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm so glad that Steph has made her way into my men's hearts. There's nothing that any of them wouldn't do for her or my son. It's nice to have that kind of support system, especially in times like this.

"Boss, have you called your family or Steph's to tell them about Trey?"

"No not yet. If we call them, they'll all want to come and see him. And right now, it's probably not a good idea since he's on isolation precautions. The doctor and nurses warned us that his immune system is compromised with him being a preemie, as well as having pneumonia. So while I know they'd want to be here, it's probably not what's best for Trey. Steph and I will be staying as much as possible while he's sick, and you can suspend the guard rotation unless I call you. If I have to come in to the office, I'll need someone to come and stay with Steph until I return. But otherwise, I'll be here so there's no need for additional security."

"Sure thing. Do you guys need anything before I go?

Stephanie spoke up. "Tank, would you like to hold Trey before you leave?"

"Bomber, do you think it's ok? I mean, with him sick?"

"I don't see why not. You're wearing a gown and scrubbed in. Besides, Carlos and I have a question we'd like to ask you."

Tank took Trey from Stephanie and sat in the recliner by the isolette. Trey looked even smaller in Tank's giant hands. You would have thought that Tank was holding the worlds most fragile crystal from the care he was taking with Trey. Stephanie looked at me and smiled while she nodded.

"Tank, Stephanie and I were talking last night, and we'd like it if you'd consider being Trey's godfather."

Tank is a man of very few words, but I have rarely witnessed him shocked. He's usually a man who hides his emotions well, and his blank face can only be rivaled by me. But now, the look of joy that flooded his face might as well have been an open book. "Are you guys serious?"

"Of course Tank. Who else would we trust to take care of Trey if we couldn't. We both know that you love him as much as we do. And we plan on asking Lula to be Trey's godmother, if you think she would do it," Stephanie added.

"Of course she will. And yes, I…well, I'm honored. Really guys. I promise to watch over him as if he were my own."

"Well, that's settled then," Stephanie proclaimed.

Trey chose that moment to grunt and start to fuss. Step took him from Tank and cuddled him into his baby blanket, and began to rock him in the rocking chair. He immediately quieted down.

"You know, Bomber. For someone who never really said much about wanting kids, motherhood sure does suit you."

Stephanie giggled. "Well thanks Tank. I have to admit, I'm enjoying every minute of it. I'll love it even more when Little Man here gets to come home and is all better."

"Before you both know it, you'll be back at Rangeman and this little guy will be keeping us all in line. Speaking of Rangeman, I better get back to the office. I'll finish processing those contracts Ranger, and if you guys need anything let me know. Do you want me to call your parents and give them the 411? I can let them know the basics, and tell them that right now visitors aren't 'encouraged' ".

"That'd be nice, Tank." I replied.

As Tank left, I chuckled to myself as I thought of how talkative he was around Trey and Steph. And he was smiling! But then, I suppose I'd been doing my fair share of smiling lately as well. Life was good. Who would have thought that a tiny infant could bring such joy to a bunch of gruff Army men?