Manny Reasons
Chapter 14
SapphireJ

And Manny Reasons is coming to an end... I hope you've all enjoyed the ride! Thank you for sticking with me for this one.

Stephanie was there for Jame's trial. He took the deal he was given and was sentenced to ten years in prison, with the possibility of parole after eight. He was to serve three thousand hours of community service. The time was to be split between working in a battered woman's shelter and in a teen drug center. James was also enrolled in a drug rehab program through the prison.

Once the sentence was handed down, James turned toward Stephanie and nodded to her. He knew she had talked to the prosecutor and came up with the sentence. As James looked at Stephanie, he noticed his wife was sitting there next to her.

He smiled a sad smile at his wife and was surprised when he saw her mouth, "I love you" to him. He mouthed his normal response of forever, and turned to the police officer who was waiting to take him to jail.

Once James was out of the court room, Stephanie turned to his wife. "I've made arrangements for you to get the medicine your son needs on a monthly basis at no cost to you. It will be delivered to your home, so if you move, please let me know. You will also have food delivered to your home on a weekly basis. If there are specific things your son likes, please let me know; otherwise, it will just be a random assortment of things to make meals with."

Mrs. Oden hugged Stephanie. "I don't know why you are doing this, especially after everything James did to you, but I do appreciate it. Especially the medicine."

"I'm doing it for you and for your son. Neither of you did anything wrong. I'm also hoping that by me doing this, James will concentrate on his sentence and turn his life around. I know he cares for you and your son. He just needs to find a better way of showing it."

Manny nodded to Mrs. Oden and pushed Steph out of the court room. "Time for you physical therapy, Wifey. If you are going to walk again, we need to get the strength back in your legs. We've been doing the exercises for a few weeks, and now I think it is time for you to get up on the legs."

"Me, too, Manny. I can't wait to be able to walk again. Although, I'm going to miss being driven around by you all the time. I love the extra time we've had."

Manny leaned down and kissed her head. "Me, too, Steph. Me, too."

They rode in silence to the office where Steph would be doing her physical therapy. Manny helped her into the building, and when he saw the therapist was ready for her, he leaned down, kissed her, and turned to leave.

"I'll be back for you in about an hour. I just have one errand to run real fast."

Stephanie smiled at Mannyand ran her hand down his face. "I love you."

"Love you, too, Wifey."

Stephanie looked at her therapist and groaned. "I'm ready to try this, but I'm not sure how long I can stay up."

Paul looked at her and smiled. "Steph, I'm sure if you put your mind into it, you'll be able to walk the full length in a few weeks. Let's just work on getting you out of the chair and standing, shall we?"

Stephanie nodded and wheeled herself to the bars. After she put the brakes on, she lifted up the foot rests and set her feet on the floor. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the bars and tried lifting herself out of the chair.

I can do this, I can do this, I can do this. She kept chanting to herself over and over until she looked and realized she was standing.

"Wonderful job, Steph. I don't want to push you too far, but do you think you can take a few steps? I'll be right behind you with the chair."

Stephanie nodded and moved one hand forward a little. Baby steps, just need to take baby steps. Stephanie was able to take five small steps before she felt her legs giving out. Paul must have been able to tell, because he was right behind her, helping her to sit in the chair.

"You did well, Steph. You keep doing those exercises as home and working out here a few days a week, and we'll have you walking again in no time." Stephanie could see the pride in Paul's face, and she knew he wasn't just telling her what she wanted to hear.

Manny came back an hour later and was surprised to see Stephanie standing up at the bars. When Steph looked up at Manny, she saw love, pride, and happiness in his eyes. She loved that she was able to put that on his face, but she knew she could do better. So, she took a few steps towards him and watched his face.

Manny came to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her to him. "You amaze me, Steph. I wasn't sure what you'd do today, but I did not think you'd be walking yet. I'm so proud of you and all the hard work you've done since the casts came off."

Paul stepped up to Manny and pushed the chair next to Steph. "She did this as soon as you left. She took five steps and was worn out. I wanted her to rest her legs for the rest of the session and just do the strengthening exercises, but she is determined to stand and walk. I couldn't tell her no when she said she wanted to stand and walk to you when you came to get her."

Manny laughed and nodded his head. "She is not one to listen when you tell her not to do something. She will do the opposite of what you tell her." Manny looked at Steph as she sat in the wheelchair. "You do need to take it easy and not rush things, but I'm so proud of you for standing and walking a few steps. You will be running around after skips in no time."

They thanked Dr. Paul and headed off to dinner. Manny wanted to celebrate Steph's success at therapy.

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

Stephanie had been in therapy for six weeks, and she was doing better every session. Manny dropped her off for her last session and waited out in the hall for her. When it was time to pick her up, he stood and noticed there was a wall of black coming towards him.

"What the fuck?"

Tank spoke up first. "We all wanted to be here for Bombshell's last session. So, we called in a few contract workers, and here we are. When is she done?"

Manny looked at his watch and nodded. "Now."

The door opened, and Stephanie looked up to see all of RangeMan walking into the room. Ranger, Lester, Bobby, Tank, Manny, and the rest of them lined up along the wall to watch her. Paul nodded to Stephanie, and everyone watched as she stood up from the bench and walked towards Manny with no help.

When she reached Manny, he hugged her tight and kissed her head. "I'm so proud of you."

Stephanie looked at him and saw his eyes were shinning. She leaned up to kiss him, and then heard the clapping of the Merry Men.

"Way to go, Beautiful."

"I knew you could do it, Bomber."

"Watch out Trenton. Bombshell is back."

"Babe."

Stephanie turned around to look at the guys. As she leaned back against Manny, she felt his arms come around her waist. She smiled out at the guys as a few tears slipped down her face. "I love you guys. You have never given up on me, even when I might have given up on myself. Thank you all for being here today. It means a lot to me."

"Hey, Beautiful, how about a celebration at Pino's?" Lester came over and gave her a wet sloppy kiss on the lips. He was then met with Manny's hand on the back of his head.

Everyone met at Pino's for pizza and beer. Just as the guys were starting to leave, Manny stopped them.

"Guys, stick around for a few more, will ya?" The guys all sat back down, wondering what was going on.

Manny turned toward Stephanie and cleared his throat. "Steph, I've been trying to figure out when to do this, but I think this is the best time." Manny slipped down to the floor on one knee and pulled a box out of his pocket.

Stephanie instantly had tears in her eyes at what Manny was about to do. The guys all sat there with the jaws on the floor and their eyes bugging out.

"Stephanie, you've changed me into a man who can believe in love again. Before you came into my life, I never thought I'd love anyone again, never share my life or time with a woman for more than a night. But somehow, you broke through that wall, and I couldn't be happier."

Manny took Stephanie's left hand in his, and looked in her eyes. "Will you please make me happy and show me love for the rest of our lives? Will you marry me?"

The guys all held their breath as they waited for her answer. Stephanie couldn't form the words past the lump in her throat. All she could do was nod her head yes and throw her arms around his neck.

There was clapping from every person in Pino's, along with some hoots and hollers.

"One more round of beers!" Lester stood up to get the glasses filled.

"I'll take that as a yes?" Manny pulled back and looked in Steph's eyes to make sure.

Finally able to swallow, Stephanie nodded and smiled. "Yes. I'd love to be your wifey for real."

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

18 months later

It was the first anniversary of Stephanie and Manny's wedding. Manny had been in Miami for a few weeks, helping take care of some issues there. Stephanie knew he would be home for their anniversary, and she wanted it to be special.

They had not spent a lot of time at the house in the past few months, as their work schedules didn't seem to line up. Since they had gotten married, they had changed partners. Stephanie was now partnered up with Hal, while Manny's new partner was Zip.

"Hey, Hal?"

"Yeah, Steph?"

"Thank you so much for helping me out. Manny has no idea what I've planned. He still thinks I work tomorrow, so we'll be spending the night at Haywood. I'm glad we were able to get this done. It will be a nice surprise for him."

Hal looked around, and when he was satisfied that everything was complete, he took off to let Steph get ready. "Have fun, Steph. We'll see you guys in a few days."

Stephanie got showered and dressed. When she looked at the clock, she saw she needed to head for the airport. She arrived just as Manny's plane landed. When she got inside to the luggage claim, she saw Manny walking down the hallway. Unable to stay still, she took off running and jumped in his arms.

"I've missed you!"

Manny kissed her hard and deep, not caring who was around. "I've missed you too, Wifey. More than you know." Manny put her down and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a long box and handed it to Steph. "Happy Anniversary, Steph."

Stephanie opened the box and saw a sapphire and diamond necklace with matching earrings. "Oh, Manny! They are beautiful."

"Beautiful jewelry for a beautiful wife."

They picked up Manny's luggage and headed to the truck. Manny went to get in the driver's side, but Steph cut him off. "I'm driving tonight. I have a surprise for you."

Manny smiled, kissed his wife, and jogged to the other side of the truck. Once they were in and seatbelted, Steph took off for the house.

When they were close to the house, Manny looked at Steph. "I thought you had to work tomorrow?"

"I did, but I changed with Lester. I have a surprise for you at home."

Manny smiled and took Steph's hand. He laced their fingers together and leaned his head back, closing his eyes and enjoying being near his wife.

When they got to the house, Stephanie began to feel butterflies in her stomach. What if he doesn't like it? Maybe I should have ran it past him first.

Steph led Manny into the house and up the stairs. When they reached the guest bedroom, Stephanie hesitated for a moment.

"What's the matter, Steph?" Manny ran his fingers down her jaw line and waited for her response.

"It's just I realized that I didn't talk to you about this, so if you don't like it, please let me know, and I'll have it changed back. I wanted it to be a surprise for you, but now I'm not so sure that is a good thing."

Manny could tell Steph was nervous, so he was very interested in seeing what she had done. "Show me?"

Stephanie nodded and opened the door, watching Manny's expression. When Manny stepped into the guest room, he sucked in his breath and looked all around. Their guest room had been totally transformed. There was new furniture in the room; some that had been store bought and some that had been handmade. Manny was stunned, but noticed that something inside him was screaming YES.

He slowly turned to Stephanie and looked at her wet eyes. "WIfey?" He held his arms out for her, and she ran into them. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Yes." Stephanie pulled back from Manny a little and looked at his face. "We're having a baby." Manny picked Stephanie up and swung her around, kissing her anywhere he could.

"I take it you're happy?" Stephanie was still unsure how Manny would react, since they'd never talked about it.

"I'm more than happy, Steph. I'm ecstatic!"

Steph kissed Manny's lips and smiled against them. "Happy Anniversary."

"Happy Anniversary."

THE END!

Let me know what you thought of the ending! I'll be back in a few weeks with the repost of another story... just not sure which one yet. So, I've created a poll on my profile page... help me figure out what story to post next ;)