Authors Note: Ok, woohoo, people do read this. I'll work on making this flow a little better for reading purposes. Thanks for pointing that out, I hadn't even noticed! Enjoy and review!

14. Later at an hour resembling morning…

So there I was, on the twin-sized bed while I watched my husband pack a bag of combat gear. Tucked underneath a blanket because I was freezing. The sun was not yet up and I was trying to discern just where he was going.

Randy had poked his head in the room and said something.

Hoot had hopped out of bed and ran around the room, as if his pager had gone off, which woke me up. I ran my fingers through my loose hair and made a face, "Baby," I whined, "Did you get called back to base?"

He literally jumped into his black raid pants with the millions of pockets. "Randy got us signed up for a paintball competition today." Hoot then had pulled a t-shirt on and found his boots, and I sagged back down in the bed.

While he shoved all manner of gadgets for mayhem in his bag, I inquired, "Whom are you boys playing?"

I heard sounds coming from Angela and Gordon's room too.

"The volunteer fire department…maybe twenty men."

Oh it was going to be a slaughter, while I snuggled beneath the covers I whined, "What about our baby-making?"

His head whipped around and his eyes found mine in the near darkness of the room, "Baby I promise when I get back I will work on gettin you pregnant. It is my biggest goal right now. But I have to go an beat the firemen."

Perfect.

My husband was leaving our warm bed to go shoot at rednecks.

With a sigh I looked at the ceiling, "Don't you think it's an unfair match?"

There was a pause.

He continued to fish through his duffel of items that were probably stolen from his locker at work. Items that were commonly used to find people.

"After all there are three of you against them," I felt the need to add.

"Saul's comin," Hoot elaborated.

I propped myself on my elbows and narrowed my eyes, which I knew he could see, "Saul has one leg Hoot."

He actually paused.

His hands were still, "Aw baby, you worried bout me gettin hurt?"

Oh God no, "No! I'm worried about you and your fellow delinquents decimating the volunteer fire department with paintballs. What if there is a fire here and they are angry? This trailer house thing could burn to the ground!"

I made him laugh. Which was apparently one of my wifely duties. Hoot came to my bedside and kissed me thoroughly before he left, bag of gear over his shoulder, off to go paint balling.

minutes later…

There was a creak in the door and in came Angela, in an oversized t-shirt and mop of hair on her head. She hopped beside me in bed and pulled the blankets over her head too.

"You are not allowed to buy anymore air conditioners, ever."

From beneath the warm blankets in Hoot's spot I told her, "It was hotter then hell before."

To which she spat, "Now it's colder then shit. Quit hogging the blanket."

A Godly hour in the morning…

There was a knock on Hoot's bedroom door. I was up. Angela was not a sound sleeper. Plus her knees where in my back. Not that it wasn't comfortable and all, she mumbled in her sleep too. How Gordon put up with her sleeping issues was a mystery to me. So I peeked out from under the sheet, "Yeah?"

The door cracked open.

Momma G peeked in, "Diana, darlin, could you come an look at Gabe. He jus got home an is hurt."

What the hell? He just got home? I swung my feet out from the blanket and hopped out of bed. Angela quickly took over and stole my blanket. The nerve.

I grabbed Hoot's camo jacket and pulled it on.

It was cold.

Momma G held the door open as I strolled out. It was sometime after nine, a decent hour.

She handed me a mug of black coffee. When I sipped it there was a lot of sugar in it. She was a beautiful creature. "I think he's sprained his wrist."

I sipped a good amount of coffee.

Groggily followed her down the hall, "I didn't hear him leave last night."

Momma G sighed loudly.

Then she swore, "Damn kid jus climbs outta his damn window at all hours. I'been thinkin bout nailin it shut."

"Good plan," I nodded.

Momma G shoved open his bedroom door. The room was Spartan. There was not a picture, poster, or any sort of decoration, computer, nothing but a bed and dresser. Plus Gabe on the bed holding his ankle that was swollen to the size of a cantaloupe. His bottom lip was swollen. Blood trickled down from his temple and he had a black eye.

I continued to sip my coffee, "How'd this happen?"

Momma G whipped her head around and waved her finger, "Lil liar tried to tell me he fell climbin outta that there window. I gave him that there swollen lip for lien to me."

Naturally. I stepped over to his bed and sipped more coffee, "Rotate your foot."

With his teeth clenched he did.

I sipped more coffee and reached down with my good hand. I felt the swollen muscle. "I need some ice Momma G."

Off she went, clucking like a hen at Gabe.

While I continued to sip coffee I told him, "You are going to tell me how this happened. If not and I don't treat it correctly you'll not get any use of it. Did you twist it? Dislocate anything? Break it? What'd you do to it? All your muscle is swollen."

He watched me closely, "I got it caught in a chain link fence in one of the links."

That was possible.

"Did you twist it or pull it?"

"I twisted it and fell."

"Can you walk on it," I wondered aloud.

"I walked home just fine."

Smartass, I narrowed my eyes at him and mouthed off like I mouthed off to Hoot, "No shit Sherlock. I'm not asking whether you can be a big boy and walk on an injured ankle. I'm asking if the pain is at a tolerable level, or if you can't put any weight on it. Don't jerk me around, I'm in no mood."

He gave me that look. Like I was the world's biggest bitch or something.

At that moment Angela peeked her head in the door, at the sight of her he turned three shades and red and his eyes hit the floor. Angela informed me, "Diana, that was Holly on the phone. She set up a meeting for me at some specialty diamond store out in the swamp. I know you and Hoot are still on the hunt for a ring, would you want to come?"
Of course!

I whipped my head around at her, "Yeah! Give me two minutes with dumbo here and another two to change."