Disclaimer: Only characters that are mine are Ava, Chesi, Alejandro, Cian, and General Amie. The rest is Janet's and I'm playing. I will return them unharmed.
Ava's Request
Ranger's POV-
I was pissed. And judging by the way Tank continued to look at me through the rear view mirror, he knew I was pissed. I guess he thought that at any minute I would explode. He was right. I was on the edge of losing control and I wanted to kill someone. I wanted to kill that son of a bitch who dare hurt my daughter. I could feel the blood pumping through my veins and I needed to lose some of this edginess I had coursing through me. The only way I knew how to do that was to take someone to the mats or go on a take down. Or have wild, hot, and hard sex. But right now, none of that was a solution.
I knew I needed to calm myself down and focus on the fact that both Steph and Ava were safe. But I was too pumped up to keep that in mind. As soon as I found out that Ava was going to be okay, we were going to be on the first plane back to Trenton.
I felt Steph go lax in my arms and I knew she had fallen asleep. Ava's eyes were wide open but they too were drifting close. I knew she would be out before we reached the hospital. Which I believed was a good thing. That way when they examined her, she wouldn't put up a fight. I finally felt her body go limp and she too was out. Cradling my girls in my arms, a hand through each of their hair; I made myself relax. It would all be okay.
I couldn't put the blame on anybody but myself. When Steph's spidey sense went off, I should have grabbed my family and left. I put my own daughter in danger and my Babe too. Who I knew was pregnant. It hadn't been confirmed but I knew she was. Call it a gut feeling. So I put my entire family in danger all because Steph wanted to hear the Queen's speech. I should have high tailed it back to the damn hotel.
Hearing a whimper come from Steph, I made myself relax. I didn't realize I had tightened my hold around them. So buried deep in my thoughts, I didn't even realize that our driver had pulled up in front the hospital.
I whispered Steph's name until she roused. She made a little mewling sound and opened her eyes. "Babe, we're at the hospital. Ava is asleep and I kind of want to keep her that way." I explained. Steph nodded and tightened her hold on Ava. I gently lifted Steph off my lap and put her in Lester's lap who was sitting next to us.
"I'm going to get out and grab Ava." I told Steph; keeping my voice low. She nodded once more; keeping silent. I opened my door and climbed out. Tank and Cal were already there waiting for me. I turned around and went for Ava. Steph passed in my arms and I lifted her gently. Her head came to rest on my shoulder as we were chest to chest. Supporting her with one strong arm underneath her bottom, I offered my other hand to help Steph out of the car.
Lester gave her a kiss on the forehead before she grabbed my hand and climbed out of the vehicle. Once Steph was out, Lester got out and we walked into the hospital together.
A knock on Ava's hospital room door brought me once again out of my thoughts. All I could keep my mind on was that man holding a sharp piece of steel to my daughter's throat. The doctors did a full examination including x-rays and they declared that Ava was fine. They gave her a tetanus shot as a just in case emergency. They explained that the knife could have been dirty so the shot was just a precaution. Since he had been holding her so tight, they performed x-rays and nothing had been broken. Bruises were already forming around her waist where he had held her tight to him, but other than that she was fine. Even the nick on her neck had been shallow and caused no lasting damage.
The real damage had been to my frame of mind. It appeared that no matter where we were or where we went, something adverse was always going to take place. Even thousands of miles away from home and we still managed to find trouble. I was taking my family home as soon as possible. I was taking them straight back to RangeMan and locking them both up.
The knock sounded again so I got up to answer it. Ava and Steph were both in the same hospital bed sound asleep. Ava thankfully slept through the entire ordeal with her mother by her side. The nurses blatantly told me that I was too uptight to go in the back with Ava. So I stayed behind with Tank, Lester, and Cal. Now my two babes were resting well.
I opened the door to find Tank standing on the other side. "Talk." I barked out. I wasn't interested in anything but my Babe and my daughter.
"Officer Kent Abbott is here. He has already spoken to all of us and he understands what happened this afternoon at the park. He just needs to talk to you about whether or not you wish to press charges." Tank said.
I nodded and stepped out of the room; shutting the door behind me. "Yes I wish to talk to this Officer Abbott. I am going to press charges. That bastard deserves to be locked up." I stated as I clenched my fists tight.
"I know Lester and Cal admitted to not only myself but to Officer Abbott that they wanted to kill this Jory Silas. It took all of their control not to beat him to death for harming Ava the way he did." Tank stated as we walked to the waiting room where Officer Abbott was.
"It was a good thing they didn't beat the shit out of him. Then we all would be staying a lot longer in the process that they would have been arrested and charges brought up for a beating a man." I stated as fact and nothing else. If I was honest with myself I wished they would have beaten him to death.
We entered the waiting area and I had to confess that I was surprised to find General Ethan waiting along with Lester, Cal, and I'm assuming Officer Abbott. It now occurred to me that the General was there at the park with Sergeants Cristo and Bartley. They must have been there to listen to the Queen's speech and allied to help when Ava's terrified screams broke through the children's laughter at Pixie Park.
I cleared my throat and all eyes turned to see who entered the room. I gave a slight nod to my men and faced Officer Abbott. He offered a tight smile that I was unable to return. I offered my hand instead. "I'm Ranger Manoso." I introduced myself. "You must be Officer Kent Abbott." He clasped my hand and pumped it eagerly. "Nice to meet you Mr. Manoso. I'm sorry that it had to be under these circumstances." He presented himself.
I nodded my agreement. "I want to press charges against Jory." I stated.
Officer Abbott made a note in the little pad he was carrying. He nodded. "We will press charges against Jory Silas. Can you tell us how you were able to retrieve the little girl before he was able to do more harm?" He asked me; out of curiosity more than professionalism.
I shook my head. "I'm unable to describe how I was capable of getting to him." I said and he gave me a look that read he didn't understand. So I went with a different tactic. "Are you a father?" I asked him.
"Yes Sir I am." He replied.
"Then imagine it was your daughter he had trapped in his arms with a knife to her throat. Would it matter in what manner you were able to get her free?" I asked him.
Officer Abbott shook his head. "No Sir, it would not." He made another note before apologizing once again.
I shook him off. "Is the Queen well?" I asked. I became aware that the Queen had disappeared when ever Ava screamed when Steph informed me of this. She wanted to make sure the Queen was okay. And I knew once Ava awoken she would too.
Officer Abbott looked taken back by the question but he recovered quickly. "Yes Sir, she is. The guards managed to get her to safety. And her grandchildren also." He replied. I nodded. "Good to hear. Anything else, Officer." I asked.
"No I think that will be it. If we need anything else, we'll get in contact with you at your hotel." He said. We said our good byes and he left.
I faced General Amie and my men after watching Officer Abbott walk out of the room. I took General Amie's hand in a friendly man hand shake. "General, what do I owe this visit?" I asked.
"I'm sorry to be here under these circumstances as Officer Abbott is. I'm glad to hear that you and your men were able to extract Ava from the clutches of Jory Silas."
"Thank you, General."
"How is she?" He asked.
"She's fine physically. The nick to her neck was shallow and she received a tetanus shot. They performed x-rays and nothing was broken. As far as mentally, I have yet to know since she hasn't woken up." I explained.
"She hasn't woken up since falling asleep in the car on the way over here?" Lester asked; clearly worried.
I nodded. "The doctor said that was perfectly normal. Her body was simply allowing itself to heal in the best way it knows how." I answered. Although of course it wasn't his daughter he was talking about. But Steph was with her and I knew that if anything was to happen than Steph would contact me immediately.
"Are you sure?" Cal asked. I knew he was worried because he would never doubt anything I said.
"I'm sure, Cal. Ava will be fine." I told him. If not, Jory wouldn't be safe; not even in prison. He nodded his understanding.
"General, I want to thank you for your involvement. Sergeant Cristo and Bartley as well."
The General nodded. "Of course. I will pass the word along."
I nodded. "Am I safe in saying that it was you that had something to do with the secret service men backing off and letting us handle the situation?" I asked.
Ethan nodded. "When I saw Ava, I knew you and your men would be able to get Ava back safely. I advise them that you were highly trained in this situation and to let you handle it. And if something did go wrong in the hands of the secret service men, they would have had to face your wrath. They immediately backed off." He explained.
I was glad that he had became involved and talked to the secret service men. However if something bad had happen than the only person to blame would have been Jory Silas and no others. Well except of course for me. "Thank you." I simply replied.
He nodded. "So it was completely random?" Ethan then asked.
Tank nodded. "It was. He was upset his ex-wife had received custody of his daughter and to make matters worse, he was no longer allowed to see her." Tank answered.
Lester snorted. "Big surprise there. That man was fucking crazy." Lester exclaimed.
I raised an eyebrow at Lester before nodding my agreement. "He was. He better be thankful he's still alive." Lester said; his teeth clenched tight. I clasped his shoulder and squeezed. "She's okay. I promise. You guys can all see her as soon possible." I told him. He nodded and did something that was rare; especially in front of the other people. He pulled me into a hug.
I swallowed back the tears that sprung to my eyes and returned the hug. I knew what Lester was trying to say in silent communication. He was just as affected as I was. Maybe not as much, but he was. Ava was his niece. His flesh and blood. He had to watch the same horrible scene unfold just as I did. However, he was unable to retaliate in light of what country we were in.
If we had been in Trenton, Jory would have gotten his ass royally handed to him and Trenton Police Department would have looked the other way. After all this was not only my daughter; who they feared and respected, but Steph's daughter; who they loved and admired.
Lester pulled back and turned completely away. I knew by his body language that he was having trouble holding back his anger and his fear. "Again, thank you General. I'm going to go check on Steph and my daughter." I told him and shook his hand.
"Give Steph my best."
"I will. Please tell Sergeants Bartley and Cristo that anytime they decide to, there will be a position waiting for them at RangeMan. Always." I told him.
He nodded. "I'll tell them. I'm sure they'll appreciate that." He replied. I nodded once again before saying good bye and heading back to the room that contained my girls.
I closed the door quietly as I entered the room. Steph was awake and sitting up. She was so entirely focused on Ava, she didn't hear me enter the room. I cleared my throat once again hoping I didn't startle her. She looked over her shoulder at me and smiled. I smiled back as I walked to her side.
"Has she even made a move as to wake up?" I asked; hopeful.
Steph shook her head. "No she hasn't. She's not even dreaming." Steph commented.
"She's resilient. Like her momma." I replied. Steph sent me a look before turning back to Ava.
"I just hope she still wants to see more of London." Steph hoped. I was about to burst her bubble.
"It doesn't matter." I stated.
Steph's head whipped around to look at me. "What do you mean?" She asked.
"I mean as soon as Ava is awake and able to move around, we are going to be on the first plane out of London. If I have to I'll have the RangeMan jet come over." I told her.
She gave me a dirty look that had me stepping back. "We aren't going anywhere unless Ava wants to go home and even then I'm going to try and talk her out of it." Steph told me.
I raised my eyebrow and her dirty look just got dirtier. I pulled her away from Ava's bed side so as not to wake her. "Babe, that bastard had our daughter. Put a cut on her neck and bruises around her waist. I can't get Ava's face out of my head as that bastard held a knife to her throat. She was so scared and helpless. I was helpless. All I could think about was getting my hands around his throat and squeezing the life out of him. I still want to. How does a man do something like that to another man's child?" I wondered out loud.
"Carlos, remember how you felt when I left for North Carolina with Ava?" My head snapped up when at first she said my name but then bringing that up. I gave a shudder of horror. I remembered. All too well.
I nodded. "I do, but what does that have to do with this?" I asked.
"Imagine that I took her away and you never seeing her again. Ever. Can you even begin to imagine how that would feel?" She asked. I took a deep breath. I couldn't. When Steph was gone for those weeks, it was the worst feeling ever. Not just because Ava was gone, but Steph too. I couldn't envision life without Steph or Ava. Would I do anything to get them back? I nodded to myself. Yea I would.
"I can see doing something drastic to get Ava back, but hurting a child? Steph, that's just wrong." I knew she knew this, but what more could I say.
Steph wrapped her arms around my waist and I returned the embrace. "Ranger, I'm not saying what he did was justified, but now you understand what frame of mind he was in. He just lost it. He didn't even know what he was doing. Couldn't you hear him screaming as they dragged him away?" Steph asked me.
I shook my head. "He was screaming for his daughter. I felt sorry for him. Does that mean I forgive him and his actions? No it doesn't. He had better hope he never gets released from jail and comes to Trenton, because I would kill him myself." Steph stated.
I shook my head. I heard the words, but Ava's face was still front and center in the mind. Her sweet face filled with horror would haunt me for the rest of my life. "Babe." I tried to explain but I couldn't even begin.
"I know I'm having a hard time too accepting the reality of what happened. But I don't want to leave London on a sad note. I want to leave happy and full of good memories." Steph replied.
"At least back home, I know you'll be safe." I told her.
"Safe?" She questioned and I nodded. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Ranger, there is a quote that I heard somewhere and it goes something like this. A Ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are for." Steph quoted to me.
I cocked an eyebrow in question. "Explain."
She once again rolled her eyes. "It means that yes Ava and myself would be much safer locked up at RangeMan for all eternity, but our lives were not meant to waste away but to enjoy. Let us enjoy that life. Don't keep us in the harbor." Steph pleaded with me.
Before I could answer, Ava's soft voice broke through the room. "Mommy." She called out and Steph rushed to her side.
"Hey Ava-Baby. How are you feeling?" I was hoping that Ava said she was great and ready to go home. I was hoping that she would have completely forgotten the events that took place that afternoon. I wasn't hopeful enough.
"Mommy, who was that bad man?" She asked.
"His name was Jory." Steph answered.
"What did he hurted me?" She asked. Because he was a horrible excuse for a man and he needed to be killed.
"Oh sweetie, he was hurting himself and he wasn't thinking." Steph tried to explain. No shit he wasn't thinking.
"Why was he hurted?" She asked. Because he was crazy.
"Because he wasn't able to see his daughter anymore and it hurt him." Steph told her. I could understand why the courts wouldn't allow him to see his daughter.
"Why wasn't he?" Ava asked.
"Sometimes daddies are unable to care for their daughters as they should. So other people who are looking out for the child make sure those daddies stay away." Steph explained.
"So he hurted me cuz he was mad?" Ava asked.
Steph nodded. "He was mad and hurt that he couldn't see his little girl."
"Can he hurt me anymore?"
I should have let Steph handle it, but I couldn't help but jump in. "No Querida, he will never be able to hurt you ever again. I Prometo." I told her. (promise)
Ava nodded. "Will he be able to hurt anybody else?" She then asked.
Steph and I smiled. "No, Ava. He will be going to jail so he may no longer hurt anyone else." Steph answered.
Ava nodded once again. She was quiet for a minute before almost jumping up and into Steph's arms. "Is the Queen okay?" She asked.
I laughed and so did Steph. "The Queen is fine, Ava." I told her.
"Prometo?" She asked.
I smiled. "I promise." I told her.
"I wanna go back to the park." Ava announced.
I cringed. "Ava, I thought we should go back home." I tried to explain.
Ava shook her head. "No we can't." She protested.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Cuz we gotta go watched the guards change and saw the dinosours." Ava told me.
I could feel Steph watching me; waiting for me to decide if we were leaving or staying. "Please, Daddy." Ava's sweet voice begged me. How could I refuse my daughter? I couldn't.
I nodded. "Alright, we'll go see those guards change and the dinosours too." I told them both.
"Yay!" Ava shouted. She kissed my cheek before kissing Steph's. She sat back down and grinned at me. I couldn't help but smile back. "We gotta go to the zoo too and take Chesi-Babe." Ava announced.
"We do, huh?" I asked.
She nodded. "We do. We gotta gets Tio Lester with my Chesi-Babe." She replied.
"Why is that?" I asked.
"Cuz we matched markers." Ava said. I threw my head back and laughed. How could I turn down that request?