Saving All My Women

by Rangerbabe21

What can Ranger do when Stephanie is taken and the threat that comes in is for all his women: Julie, his mother and sister's too. Where and how can he protect them, when the bad guys can find them where ever they go? Babe HEA

35. Chapter 35 Flying High in Honolulu

Chapter 35 Flying High in Honolulu

Saturday May 29

In the Port of Honolulu, Oahu, HI

At 19;00 I followed her to one of the theaters that was having a comedy show. It was pretty good and kept me entertained so I didn't just sweep her back to our bedroom for some night time lovin'. After the show we walked on the deck again to see the stars and just hold hands. When we had our honeymoon, I wanted lots of alone time with her. Knowing I was going to be getting everyone up early I texted my family to get up at 06:00 so we could leave the ship by 07:00. Then I took Stephanie to bed so she could get enough sleep.

My alarm hadn't gone off but at 04:50 Stephanie woke and ran to the bathroom. She was in there for a long while and finally came out looking for her luggage. After finding her toiletries bag she disappeared back into the bathroom. She had gone through it twice and was talking rather loudly to herself. Then she looked out at me with an odd expression on her face.

"You, you packed my toiletries."

"Yes, I grabbed everything from your bathroom that you use or would need."

"Not everything." She whispered.

I sat up. "Babe what do you need?"

"Tampons" She whispered.

Oh I know I didn't pack any of those. In fact they had never crossed my mind when I was grabbing everything out of her bathroom.

"I'll go to the ship store and get you some." I offered.

"Thanks but I can manage." She said as she got up and dressed. Putting on some jean shorts and a red t-shirt.

She was slipping on shoes as I got up and dressed too. I knew there was no threat but I felt funny just letting her walk away unescorted. Now that she was with me I wanted her to have a bodyguard with her all the time.

I was tying my boots as she opened the door.

"Wait I'll go with you."

"You don't need to. I can buy personal care products by myself."

"I'm already up, I might as well come with you." I insisted as I walked to the door.

I held the door open and let her lead the way. I took her hand in the hallway. Obviously, there was no way she was pregnant and I was relieved. The idea of her pregnant with my child may be appealing on a primal level but until I got her situated in my life and under an acceptable level of security I didn't need to add any other complications.

She was already going to be upset with the security measures I wanted to put in place. I was going to start high and she was going to start with none and hopefully we can compromise somewhere in the middle.

I followed her down several green carpeted hallways, until we reached the main level. I was not surprised that she would know without looking on a ship map exactly where the only store on the ship was located. When we arrived, I was shocked that the store wasn't open twenty-four hours, as she stood gaping at the sign that said store hours were from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM.

"Fuck" She declared, "they aren't open."

"Come on we can go ask my mom." She looked at me horrified. "Or maybe Oshanna?" I wondered if that was better.

"Carlos, I can't ask your mom. That would be too awkward. They open at 6:00 we'll just come back in an hour."

"Well, since we're up do you want to go get breakfast before we have to leave the ship?"

"Sure, I guess."

I took her hand and asked a stupid question. "Dining room or buffet?"

"Buffet" she quickly responded. I knew that was going to be her answer but I had to ask. I of course would prefer the dining room where I can order an egg white omelet with sautéed vegetables. There wouldn't be any vegetables on the buffet, only some fruit, so I would just go with it.

She made a waffle in their waffle maker, got some scrambled eggs, sausage, and bacon before she sat down to eat. I got some fruit, cottage cheese, a bagel I toasted myself with a little cream cheese and wondered where she put it all. I got some fruit for her and joined her at our table. The food was put out earlier today because more people would be up wanting to eat before they leave the ship.

I got up and made us each a cup of coffee and got a glass of orange juice for each of us as well. I balanced it all on a tray and came back to serve her.

"My lady." I offered as I set the coffee and juice in front of her. She smiled at me, mouth full and mumbled her thanks.

I have been around her while she was 'on the rag'. I know because I would always check her bathroom when breaking in to see how she was doing, that was always one thing I checked. I knew that being on the rag meant she needed more iron but there were no leafy green vegetables or steak on the menu. I would just have to make sure she got some later in the day.

During breakfast I texted Tank and Bones to see if there was anything suspicious happening on the Twitter or Instagram accounts or anything suspicious anywhere regarding my family. I was given the all clear from both and a quick update from Tank on the happenings in Trenton. I let him know that I had given all the men the week off next week and to let Miami know as well that the men wouldn't be back for another week. He gave me crap for not asking him before giving a third of his personnel time off and I told him to go suck it, the men had dealt with my family for more than two weeks of being on high alert and they deserved a week downtime before coming back.

After breakfast we made our way back to the shop and walked the few aisles they had for the pharmacy area. The tampons were right next to the Depends of all things and she stood there looking at the limited options. There were Tampax and OB, in different sizes and quantities. She stood their staring and I wondered what the problem was. She mostly used regulars though she had a box of supers under her cabinet she didn't seem to use that often.

She still stood their staring. "Which one do you need? Buy enough to last you till we get home." I encouraged.

"But Carlos they are twelve dollars! Twelve dollars for a pack of 24. I pay like six dollars at the grocery store for a pack of 32. This is a total rip off."

"Buy two, you know they won't go bad."

"Two! I was thinking we could wait till we were off the ship."

"Babe, busy day. We have a lot to do today. This morning we have to get everyone off the ship, situated in the hotel, and then we have a 9:30 appointment with Julie. We don't have time to go find a store and buy tampons when we can buy them right here and now. I'll pay for them." I grabbed a box and started making my way to the register. As I passed the medications part of the aisle I got some Midol. What I needed was to get some happy pills or a drink into her. A skydiver never wants to jump impaired but with tandem jumping a few drinks couldn't hurt. At this point in my life I could never tandem jump. I could never put my life in the hands of another jumper. Well, maybe Tank or some of the other men I have jumped with but not a Hawaiian beach bum. Even if they did have more jumps under their belts than me.

It was eighteen dollars for the whole purchase and I knew it was worth it. But Stephanie was so use to counting her change and making all her purchases count. I wondered how long it would take to break her of the habit and get her used to having money.

At 07:00 we were out of our rooms, with our luggage, ready to depart the ship and quite a bit of my family were ready to go as well. All my men were packed. I didn't see Julio, Oshanna or Angelia. I called Marc over.

"I hate to dump the crap on you but I am going to take the members of my family and men that are ready to go. Will you get the rest to the hotel? I will have the key cards and room assignments waiting in your hotel room. I will leave your room key at the front desk."

"Sure"

I called all my men around me and gave out their assignments for the day and night shifts. Assigned men to be on duty tomorrow and get us loaded on the airplane. Then I wished all of them a lot of fun in Hawaii. I was asked when they were going to get their money and I did a mental head slap. I told them I would ask to have it done today and the money should be in their accounts on Monday.

The morning sun was shining down brightly on us as we exited the ship. Once we were all loaded up on the busses to go back to the same hotel, I texted Bones with a list of the men on the trip and asked him to transfer the bonus money to them. When everyone was assigned their rooms and were handed key cards I told the group that cars were reserved in my name at the airport and everyone can go themselves or have their man assigned for the day to go get their vehicle. I left the information in Marc's room for him and texted him his room number.

I got Stephanie, Julie, Tiger, Junior and Ram and we took a bus to the airport. I had the guys get their own vehicle and rented another convertible. From the airport we started driving out to the private airstrip where Skydiving Hawaii ran their planes. The air temperature was in the seventies and climbing with the bright sun and lots of white puffy clouds filling the sky.

"So Julie, did your mother tell you what we are doing today?" I started.

"No, she just said that if I loved ziplining I would love this even more." She smiled at me.

"Yes you will. We are going to do the ultimate thrill ride."

"We are going on roller coasters?" She asked.

"No we are going to jump out of an airplane."

"Jump out of an airplane?" She sounded scared.

"Skydiving. We are going skydiving. You are going to do a tandem jump. You will be attached to a professional skydiver and they will get you down to the ground safely."

"Really? Skydiving?"

"Yeah. Julie you are going to love it. It is the ultimate rush."

"Wow, Dad that's awesome!" We turned onto an open highway and I sped up increasing the wind noise in the car. I reached across the console to take Stephanie's hand and smiled at her. She had not responded to the skydiving comments and I didn't know if she wanted to do it or was expecting it was only for Julie.

Once we arrived I secretly left all my weapons in the car. Inside we had a bunch of paperwork to fill out and sign. Stephanie had to sign several forms too and still she did not question what she was doing there. We watched a video about the process: the plane ride, our equipment, how you hooked up for a tandem jump, jumping out of the plane, how to fall, the release of the chute and the landing. It showed them jumping out of a plane and the fall from 20,000 feet.

The guys that worked here came in with our equipment. They dropped full packs to Ram, Tiger, Junior and me and took the harnesses to Stephanie and Julie. One guy, Grace was his name, was all too cheerfully putting his hands on Stephanie as he helped her climb into her harness and I gave him a harsh glare. He quickly took his hands off her and was very careful to not touch her too much when he strapped her in.

"Wait I'm not jumping." She tried to protest.

"You signed the paperwork and he paid for you so I think Yeah, you are jumping."

"No wait." She came over to me.

"I thought this was for Julie, not me."

"Babe it is for both of you. You love roller coasters and you loved ziplining. You're going to love this too." I smiled at her. "Just get the harness on and don't think about it too much. You will do fine."

She nodded to me and went back over to Grace who finished getting her ready. Then the guys disappeared and came back with packs on. There were four guys suited up ready to jump with us. They brought helmets out for us handing them over, watching us strap them on. Then they spun us around, checked out our harnesses and packs, and went over everything with us. From how to jump, fall and when to pull our chutes. I was being terse and not tolerant of being treated as if I didn't have tons of jumps under my belt. This was a light pack as I was used to jumping with full equipment packs and weapons.

"Dude, it's our job to make sure you make it back to the ground in one piece. We've never had a serious accident in all the years we have been open and we are not going to start now with a hard headed military man who thinks he knows better than we do. We all do 10 or more jumps a week. Several jumps every day. We have hundreds of jumps under our belts and no one wants you to make it safely to the ground more than we do." Jumper, the guy that Julie was going to be attached to explained. "So listen to us, we aren't just talking to move the air."

If I could sigh out loud and roll my eyes I would have but I just stood there blank faced.

"And have fun Dude. We are doing this to have fun. If you can't have fun you might as well stay on the ground." Steve, one of the cameramen said.

They swapped to check Julie's and Stephanie's harnesses again and handed all of us safety goggles.

I had paid for the full packages for us, including pictures and videos of the jumps. Julie and Stephanie each had their own guy to jump with and a guy to take video, while we had Go Pro video cameras on our helmets. In my mind once I had strapped on my gear I became Ranger again, the military guy that ran a tight ship and had control over everything. Carlos was the lover, friend and family man.

When all the gear was triple checked, the guys had us all stand on the steps and pose for a picture. They led us out to a truck and we all climbed into the back, Julie and Steph sat on the wheel wells but all of us guys with the big packs on were sitting on the bed. It was a short drive but I was already sweating with the large pack, all the straps and the helmet we were required to wear. We got to a small plane and I didn't think we would all fit but there were actually twelve seats inside. Enough for four tandem jumpers and four camera men. That was not counting the two pilots who had driven the truck.

Stephanie was shocked as we got going and realized there was no door on the back of the plane, that it stayed open the whole time we were in flight with a little gate that covered the lower half of the door. She noticed me watching my altimeter that was strapped on my wrist. She pulled my hand closer and looked at it. Even upside down she could see it counting the feet as we climbed.

At 12,000 feet they passed out oxygen masks and we all put them on. Stephanie didn't have a watch on and stared at me and out the door. As I watched her it seemed like it took longer to reach 20,000 feet than she had expected. She was starting to look a little anxious. They had promised her we would still be able to breathe once we took the oxygen masks off and when we climbed into the plane she was excited. Now she was looking totally ready to be down on the ground just not sure jumping was how she wanted to get there.

During the flight Grace and Jumper, sitting behind the girls, had attached to them. All the seats in the plane were just flat seats with no backs so the girls sat facing Ram and me with their camera men sitting behind us. Tiger and Junior were behind Grace and Jumper.

Once we were at 20,635 feet they started gathering up everyone's oxygen masks and the cameraman sitting behind me opened the gate and stepped out, getting ready for Julie and Jumper. Jumper patted her arm and told her to move towards the door. They stood together and the cameraman was ready as they stepped out of the plane. Grace and Stephanie stood to follow. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it, smiling at her as she nervously passed.

Julie and Jumper jumped, their cameraman right with them. Jumper flipped Julie several times and then straightened out letting them fall. The next cameraman stepped out and waited for Stephanie and Grace. Stephanie seemed scared but Grace kept her moving forward. I stood ready to jump as soon as they went. I wanted to go down with her and as soon as they were out the door I followed.

Grace flipped, head over heels, two times with Stephanie and I appreciated the fun he was bringing to her jump. I had fought to try to be her tandem jumper but as I had never jumped tandem before the request had been quickly denied. As many times as I have jumped I had never flipped in the air. So I flipped just to feel what it was like. It felt freeing and crazy to watch the earth and sky spin around you in a dizzying circle. I smiled then flipped two more times.

Stephanie was just below me and I worked to catch up as Grace pulled his drag chute. I immediately pulled mine so I didn't pass them and slowly worked my way down to be aligned with her. As I went to take her hand Grace got them spinning, and she screamed out loud as they spun around and around.

The wind rushed passed us, loud in our ears, and I smiled at the huge grin on her face letting me know in no uncertain terms she was loving this. Grace signaled to me and the cameraman and we all three pulled our chutes. I was taken too far away from her and watched her drift below me.

I looked at the beautiful mountainous island below covered in lush foliage and focused on Julie, who was so much further below us gently drifting down. I kept my eyes on both of my girls who with the weight of two people were falling faster than me. When we had jumped out of the plane you could see the whole island of Oahu. Now as the ground rushed towards us you could only see the south side of the island.

I guided myself to land near them as I watched them smoothly land and unhook. Julie cheered and jumped up high fiving Jumper and her cameraman. Seconds later Steph was landing and I couldn't watch any more as I pulled down hard on my chute to stop my decent and land myself.

I took off my pack and left it behind me, chute and all so I could reach my girls. Julie jumped in my arms.

"That was fantastic Dad." She squealed. I swung her around and held her close to me realizing she had never jumped in my arms before or hugged me so tight. When we were done Stephanie was waiting a few feet away and without setting Julie down I took her into my arms too and squished them together. Julie squealed again before letting go of me.

I set her down and took Stephanie into my arms and passionately took her lips like I was going to lay her out on the grass and take her right there. She was so high on endorphins she wrapped one leg around me and pressed her core to my throbbing center. I wondered how much I would have to pay everyone to climb back in the truck and leave so I really could take Stephanie. I saw Julie standing there with a funny look on her face and quickly released Stephanie and stepped back from her.

"Aww Dad, that was just getting good. You looked like you had a porno going there." Julie smiled at us. I looked around to see all my men were down on the ground watching our display. I smiled at Stephanie and thought about falcons that mate while falling to the earth and how much of a rush it would be to skydive naked, pull the chute and copulate on the way down. As if she knew what I was thinking, Stephanie hit me lightly on the chest and said, "Don't even think about it."

Skydiving releases so many endorphins it would definitely add to the human mating ritual and certainly somewhere people had tried it. But my little 'can't even stand to be naked in front of me' girl was not going to be one of them. I took her hand and apologized to the guy who was collecting up my chute and pack. I led the girls back to the truck and all my guys had responsibly collected up their chutes and were carrying them back. Fifteen minutes later we were back at Skydiving Hawaii waiting for our videos and pictures to be burnt onto disks. Julie was still bouncing off the wall.

"So what are we going to do next?" She asked enthusiastically.

"I think we are supposed to meet up with your parents at the Arizona and drop you off."

"Oh Dad. I've spent my whole vacation with them. I want to just hang out with you today."

I turned to Stephanie, "What are we doing today?" I know she had told me but after we got through with the skydiving I was pretty open to doing anything.

"Shopping," Stephanie said elatedly. "There is a huge outdoor market with 400 vendors and I have some souvenir shopping to do."

"Julie that is up to your Mom and Dad." I explained.

Next thing I knew she had her phone out and was texting away. Then she came back to me.

"Mom said it was okay with her as long as it was okay with you. You have to call or text her."

For courtesy's sake I called Rachel. "Hey Rachel."

"Julie says you invited her to go with you today."

"Yes Stephanie and I would love to spend the day with her. We don't have that much planned, just some shopping and sightseeing but she is welcome to come with us."

"Ron and I think that is fine. Just keep a close eye on her."

"Of course Rachel, we will have Ram with us also."

"That sounds good. We'll catch up with you tonight."

I disconnected, still not use to saying goodbye to anyone. I still hadn't had to talk to Stephanie on the phone yet and that was something I was putting off as long as possible. Riding around town in a convertible was one of my fun thrills for this trip. We were in a Mustang again, they didn't have any higher end convertibles available on such short notice but it was fun to ride around in the sun with the top down.

As we pulled up at the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, the sun was still shining bright and the temperature was quickly rising. There were hundreds of cars in the parking lot but it was a large lot and I quickly found a place. Ram had ridden in the car with us as Tiger and Junior were off today and took their vehicle. The four of us started inside and I asked Ram to follow us and keep an eye out. I of course was going to stay on guard but I liked having backup when Stephanie's and Julie's lives were at stake.

It was one dollar per person to get in and I was surprised at the large booths that were covered with 20 foot by 20 foot white canopies. Each booth had lots of tables and stands underneath them that held racks and tables full of discounted merchandise. After an hour I acknowledged that the only thing in danger here was my credit card.

There were so many vendors here with so much great merchandise. Jewelry places with cheap seashell necklaces and lots of other beaded jewelry. They were so cheap Stephanie got necklaces for all the women in her family, friends and Jewels got one for herself. Vendors with carved statues. Vendors with Hawaiian clothing, where Stephanie got a few shirts for her dad and Albert, desperately trying to talk me into a few colorful shirts for myself. I declined, it was nothing personal, but one sighting in a Hawaiian shirt and I would lose all my hard earned street cred.

There were hand woven baskets and a vendor that had all kinds of cooking gadgets so Stephanie got her mother a pretty floral apron and I got two, one for my mother and one for Ella. In another clothing store she got some women's shirt and short sets for her granny.

In another jewelry vendor she got a set of dolphin earrings and a necklace for Angie. We passed booths full of purses, and one set up that was all collectors knives. In one booth there were t-shirts at seven for twenty dollars so Stephanie and Jewels each had to get seven. Stephanie got some for her sister Val, Connie and Lula and Julie got some for her sister and brother too. There were lots of vendors with Hawaiian memorabilia that had Hawaii or Honolulu painted on them and the girls loaded up on several different things for themselves, friends, and family.

There were board shorts, bikinis, large towels and all kinds of beach gear. Of course each girl needed an extra large Hawaiian beach towel and at five for twenty five dollars I had them get five. There was one booth that had all kinds of Hawaiian brightly colored and flowered luggage. Certain they were buying more stuff than could fit into their current luggage, Stephanie and Julie each got a roll around carry-on sized bag. There was one vendor with different Disney stuffed animals and dolls. Stephanie got a princess doll for Angie and a Lilo and Stich set for little Lisa.

There was a vendor with different kinds of leis and Stephanie had to get some for everyone in her family, Connie, Lula and then everyone in my family. Of course at less than one dollars each I could afford it. There was a vendor with sunglasses for three to five dollars a pair and we all got a pair. Stephanie got several pairs for people back home including a rhinestone covered one for Lula. We had passed many clothing vendors and Stephanie found one with plus sized women's outfits and bought some sequined covered stuff for Lula.

There were a lot of vendors with fresh fruit or packaged and jarred food for visitors to try and take home. With a personal recommendation Stephanie and Jewels tried mochi ice cream. About the size of a silver dollar these were different flavors of ice cream wrapped in a chewy outer layer made of rice. They both loved it and had to try several different flavors.

Finally we left to get some lunch and stopped at one of the many roadside shrimp trucks. As the day had progressed the clouds had started congregating and looking like rain. Stephanie got the pineapple sweet and sour shrimp and was told if she loved pineapple to go to the Dole pineapple farm. We plotted a course through Honolulu that showed us some of the main tourist sites and led us to the pineapple farm.

When you enter the Dole complex you see DOLE out front in big red flowers. We walked through the gift shop filled with everything pineapple, bought tickets to go on the train and walked the gardens that told about many plants from the islands. The twenty minute train ride was very informative and we got to see acres and acres of pineapple plants. While we were on the train it started a light rain and it cooled off the hot air just a little.

When we got back, it was still raining so Stephanie led us to the shop where they sold pineapple whip as they called it. It was pineapple soft serve ice cream and Julie and Stephanie moaned their way through it. Stephanie declared if there was one food she could bring back with her it would be the pineapple whip. I thought about it, as much as she loved ice cream, soft serve was lower in fat and calories and pineapple soft serve even more so. It might be worth it to invest in a soft serve machine that she could put her own flavors into and try to find some that like this soft serve were made from real fruit and not packed full of preservatives.

I was ready to go but now it had stopped raining and Julie wanted to get lost in the biggest permanent maze on the island. The walls were over eight feet high and Julie went right in and set about getting lost as she searched for the big pineapple in the middle of the maze. Once we found it she had to walk around it and then lead us out another path opposite the one we had come in through. Fifteen minutes later she led us out of the maze happy as a clam that she had gotten lost and found so quickly.

Stephanie brought up going to see the Arizona, I wasn't going to mention it but if they wanted to go I was game. I plotted it into my phone and we drove there in the hot Hawaiian sun and I was glad we weren't here in the peak of the summer. Glad we weren't fighting hordes of summer tourists and glad we weren't sweating our butts off in ninety degree weather.

"Dad I never knew Pearl Harbor was so far inland." Julie told me as we looked at a 3D replica of Oahu and the many sites listed on it. Pearl Harbor was really a large cove several miles inland that was protected from the ocean by land on all sides with one large river that flowed back out to the ocean. The cove was huge allowing for a quarter of the Pacific Fleet to be stationed here at the time of the attack.

The USS Arizona was only one of many ships sank in that attack but it is so near the surface it can easily be seen and was turned into a memorial. We took the boat over to the memorial and got off to find that you could barely see the ends of the Arizona it was so long. The memorial was open on both sides allowing an unobstructed view of the ship and there was a cut out in the middle of the floor so you could look straight down onto the ship. Everyone was quiet here and respectful for all the lives lost that day. A guard that Julie and Stephanie was talking to told them reverently stories about that day and that only nine men that had been stationed on the USS Arizona lived.

There were 1177 men killed aboard the USS Arizona when it sank. Eighteen ships were sunk or run aground during the attack on December 7 1941 but none of them lost their entire crews like the USS Arizona. In all 2403 Americans died and 1178 were wounded during the attack on Pearl Harbor. After seeing all the names listed on the wall of the memorial and talking to the guard we were ready to leave and took the next boat back.

Then we walked the grounds and viewed the memorials for all the submarines sunk in World War II and another memorial for all the ships sunk in World War II and all the men who died on them. Knowing how close men who work in teams and at sea on ships for months at a time become and the losses that are felt when a whole ship of men is lost I felt these deaths more deeply than either girl but they were very somber looking at the long lists of names of all the men and women who died at sea during the war.

In the school systems the attack on Pearl Harbor is taught extensively as the way we got into the war. D-Day is taught as the point where we invaded the mainland from England and began to take Europe back. The dropped bombs on Japan as the way the war was brought to an end but the thousands who died during the years in between are skimmed over. The US fought on both sides of the world, the Atlantic invading Europe and taking it back from Germany and Italy; and the Pacific taking back endless islands from Japan and fighting over the ocean itself.

I finally led the girls back to the car underneath bright white puffy clouded skies. Stephanie wanted to see Waikiki beach and I thought a little more cheer was needed after all the death of the war. As we approached the beach some of the clouds split and a beautiful rainbow appeared before us.

Julie pointed and I nodded to her that I saw it as well. I was surprised to get down to the beach with Stephanie's big bag and have her pull out the towels we had just bought and sunscreen. She and Julie stripped down to their bikinis. I know that she had said that the beach was one thing she wanted to do today but didn't realize she was so prepared. After Stephanie was lotioned up I left my guns in the car, knowing Ram would stay armed and on high alert and followed Julie in my cargos into the ocean to play. We body surfed and swam in the crystal clear waters while Stephanie laid out. After a little while I called Stephanie to join us and she did. Julie tried to teach her how to body surf and was somewhat successful. We played and splashed and enjoyed the sun and the warm water. We had just over an hour at the beach and it was a relaxing fun time.

My watch beeped letting me know it was time to get ready for dinner. We returned to the hotel and got a key card for Julie then set off to prepare for the luau. We all carried a few of Julie's bags in with us and it was then that I realized the girls had been handing me and Ram their bags the whole time they were shopping and since they were not heavy we kept accepting them. Plus they were each carrying some bags themselves so between the two girls there were over twenty five bags plus their new luggage. I was not so much looking forward to the luau as I was looking forward to spending more time with Julie, Stephanie and the rest of my family that was going to be there.

Upon arriving we found Isabella. Angelia and Leyla with their whole families and Abuela Sanja and their men sitting at a group of tables. We sat at another table nearby and prepared for the feast and the show. The feast started with long buffet tables laden down with food. Along with the roasted pig there was lomi lomi salmon, pipikaula (Hawaiian beef jerky), poke (ahi fish) Hawaiian grilled fish salad and chicken long rice. There were lots of vegetable sides including Aloha sweet potatoes, haupia, kalua, kulolo, laulau, a long buffet of salad toppings and lots of tropical fruits.

We all happily ate with a band that played traditional Hawaiian music serenading us. Stephanie tried several of their deserts but fell in love with the Haupia Pie, a traditional pie of coconut pudding, and astonishingly had room to go back for seconds. After the meal, as the sun began to set, we were all ushered to outdoor stadium-like seating in front of a two foot high stage. Lovely female dancers came on and danced to the live band. Male dancers came on and danced to the band. Then both came on and danced together and I was sure this was going to be another boring show like we had seen on the ship.

After a lot of dancing and costume changes the chief took the microphone and it was nothing like I expected or could have imagined. He talked all serious, like he was telling us the truth, but he was hilarious! I found my lips twitching into a smile while I stifled a laugh and Stephanie elbowed me with a stern look to let go and enjoy myself. She was laughing uproariously and obviously this show was created, well-practiced, and orchestrated to be funny as well as informative.

The Chief gave a long strung out explanation of how they traditionally used to start fires by rubbing certain kinds of sticks together and then 'whispered' to his assistant to go get matches. Next he asked the audience if they wanted to see a big fire and 'whispered' to his sidekick to go get gasoline. On and on he went throwing out jokes the entire way. Finally he made fire, rubbing sticks together and lit coconut fibers that were dried and then the stage went dark. When he lit one of the torches used for the fire dancing he started spinning the fire around and around, working it in front and behind him.

This started the more interesting 'hula' fire dancing as different men came up with fire torches and spun the fire and did different tricks with the fire. Over, under, around and through I knew they did these tricks night after night, still I was impressed at how fast they could spin the fire, so fast it was a blur while still doing tricks. They tossed them high and caught them, as well as between their legs and jumping over the flames. I kept waiting for the leaves hanging off of their calves to catch fire.

The whole show was a total of an hour and a half but the last ten minutes was the best for me. Men working the fire spinning it and flipping it, with them at one point having ten men out there at the same time juggling the fire. At the end it turns out that several of the men are world champion fire jugglers and I didn't even know there were world competitions for such things. They ended with more dancing and thanking everyone and honestly the part with the chief was funnier than part of the comedy show we had seen on the ship.

The trip back to the hotel was filled with Stephanie chattering on about the fire luau and her favorite outfits and parts. Especially about the Chief and how funny he was. When we got there I took her up to the room, both of us laden down with the packages we hadn't gotten out of the car earlier. I was really glad we had bought the extra suitcase with all the gifts she bought; we were going to need it.

I gave her the black baby doll negligee I had gotten her and she accepted it reluctantly. When she came out of the bathroom changed I was lying in bed waiting for her with my grass skirt and nothing else on.

"Babe" I said to her as she came out and she looked shy, like a bridal virgin about to do the deed for the first time.

"Carlos, I can't have sex right now."

What? Why? was flitting through my head but I just waited quietly for her to explain.

"I'm on my period." she said embarrassedly.

"There is no reason we can't have sex, it all still works and it feels better for you. Sex while on your period helps with the cramps." I explained.

She looked at me astonished.

"Babe I have done this plenty of times trust me it works fine and feels good too."

"B..but doesn't it make a big mess?"

I don't know what she has been doing with Morelli these past few years but this is ridiculous that a woman of thirty who has been married doesn't know she can still have sex on her period and that it is quite pleasurable.

"No the female body is an incredible thing. When you start having sex your body stops bleeding and produces your wonderful juices that I love so much."

"Really?"

"Really, let me prove it to you."

I dragged her to me and started kissing her passionately. When I went to lay her down on the bed she protested.

"Babe it will be fine, I promise."

"Shouldn't we lay something down to protect the sheets so they don't get all bloody?"

"The sheets aren't going to get all bloody."

"Just in case." She slipped out of my arms and returned with a white hotel towel and laid it long ways on the bed and carefully positioned herself on top of it.

I started at her feet kissing and licking my way up her body and she stopped me when I got to the apex of her legs.

"Babe it will be okay."

"Carlos, I'm not very comfortable doing this in general and I am definitely not comfortable with your head between my legs because next you are going to want to kiss me again and your mouth will be all bloody and I can't do that."

"It's not going to be all bloody."

"Well it is just weird and I am not ready for that. Let's just try having sex first and if that works we will see about more things at a later date."

I climbed up her body and started kissing her again. I slowly sank into her hot depths enjoying being bare inside her. We made love the rest of the night repeatedly and she was shocked when I showed her that there was no blood on me and that the white towel she had been laying on was as white when we were through as it had been when we started. That single act had her loosening up more than anything else I did to relax her but she never could fully relax always ready to run back to the bathroom to put a tampon in.

Sunday May 30th

I had turned my alarm off for the morning and woke fully rested at 06:35 and started packing for both of us. I knew the hotel had a gym and part of me wanted to go running but I was tired of doing variations of my workouts and knew that tomorrow we would be home and I could get back to my regular routine.

At 08:00 I ordered breakfast in and woke Stephanie slowly wanting to make love to her one more time in Hawaii before we left. I made it sweet and special and kept it under twenty minutes so that we were up, even if we weren't dressed, when breakfast arrived. She took off for the shower and I joined her thinking we could be fast and eat when we were done. I started kissing her in the shower thinking one more time wouldn't hurt when she pushed me away and said she didn't want her breakfast to be that cold. I just grinned and started soaping her up.

I texted the family to gather in the lobby at 9:30 for the trip to the airport. I sent a text reminding my men to assist us with luggage and getting the family settled onto the plane. Everything went smoothly and by 10:15 my family was kissing and hugging my men goodbye. Wishing them lots of fun on their week long holiday and making plans to see them again when they returned. I knew my family would appreciate my men more after spending time with them but I hadn't expected them to become so attached.

I told my men I would see them in Trenton next Monday morning and to have a good week. They waved goodbye and I wondered with the bonus money I gave them if some of them would not come back until it was all spent. They better come back in a week, Tank was already giving me shit for letting a third of his staff have a week off at the same time without telling him in advance.

The flight was uneventful. Emile and Sabine were very attentive, turning on several movies for the kids and offering to put on a movie for the adults. Not shockingly all the women congregated around Stephanie and wedding planning began again in full force but this time Stephanie was more happily involved and giving her opinion of the pins that others were pinning. There were over a thousand pins on the wedding page and they had a rousing discussion about the dresses.

Stephanie was totally at a loss. She could imagine what she wanted but none of the dresses fit the bill. Finally my mother said. "Oshanna can sketch dresses. Let's set a date and you pick out all the parts of dresses you like and Oshanna can sketch it then we can hire a designer to make it for you."

"Oh but I don't want to be any trouble." Stephanie insisted.

"It is no trouble, it will be fun. Once we get detailed sketches of what you want then we send them out to different dressmakers to find someone that is interested and can see your vision. Then voila you will have the perfect dress."

After that there was in depth discussions about different dresses and what she liked and didn't like about each one.

The pilots arranged for us to stop in a smallish airport in Missouri to get refueled and I walked to the back to sit next to Hector and discuss what was next in finishing up our trip to Colombia and more about the job I wanted him to take at RangeMan. He was surprised I wasn't giving the job to Silvio. I explained that Silvio was older and wanted to be home with his wife and kids now and didn't want the hassle of traveling. That his wife had some health issues and he wanted to stay close to home.

We discussed Antonio and where the last traces of him had been spotted in India doing new business deals. He told me the contact he had with Snark regarding the other people I had asked him to track down and that so far he had not come up with anything. We discussed me buying this extra fast airplane and the pros and cons of it. It could fly across the US on one tank of gas but the faster engines used more fuel than a normal plane flying at half the speed. We discussed modifications that could be made to it and I fully intended to explore these options when we returned to Trenton.

The plane landed smoothly at 05:18 and taxied to the warehouse we had left from eighteen days ago. In front of the warehouse was a line of black SUVs and grey murky skies with a chance of rain showed out the windows.

I hugged Julie tightly.

"Jewels, I love you so much and I am so proud of the woman you are becoming. Thank you for all the time you have spent with Stephanie and me on this trip and I hope you will have time to come out and visit this summer."

"Sure Dad. I want to come. It's been nice getting to know you and hang out with you and Stephanie. Do I get to keep my phone?" She asked expectantly.

"Yes you get to keep your phone. If you will call me once a week and text me occasionally. I'd like to stay in touch but I know you are really busy." Once I knew her schedule I would keep in touch with her regularly.

"Sure Dad. I will." Julie moved on to hugging Stephanie and I took Rachel in my arms.

"Rachel, thank you for trusting me to keep your family safe. I have a surprise for your family that is out in my vehicle."

"Carlos, I was so scared when this happened, but this has been one of the best family vacations we have ever had. Florida was nice, California was awesome but Hawaii blew it out of the water. It was really nice getting to see your parents and for the kids to get to know their cousins. I hated having your men follow me around. I have hated having to have them follow Julie around since Scrog, but now that I have gotten to know several of them I'm happy to let them shadow her."

"Yes they seem big and scary but when you get to know them most of them are good men."

"And now that you have spent more time around Julie and she around Stephanie and you I think we can arrange for her to come and visit this summer."

"Thanks Rachel, I'm glad this worked out as well as it did and we look forward to seeing her soon." I released her and turned to Ron. I shook hands with Ron.

"Ron you and Rachel are doing such a great job. I'm really proud of the young lady Julie is becoming. Thank you. She will always be more your daughter than mine and I appreciate all the years of hard work you have put into her education and her personally. It really shows that she has grown up in a healthy loving home."

"Thanks Carlos and this has been quite the adventure. I can tell you I was not pleased when this whole thing started but it has turned out quite well and I know we as a family will feel more comfortable with you and your men in the future should the need ever arise."

While I had been talking with Ron, Julie and Rachel had been saying goodbye to Stephanie and my family. Julie was making a pact with Becky and Maggie to stay in touch. Becky said she was going to start planning for Julie to come this summer. Mama and Papa hugged Julie, Freddie and Cassie and invited all of them to come and visit this summer. Freddie was saying goodbye to Ricky and Mikie and exchanging email addresses.

I got my checkbook from the car and wrote a couple of million dollar checks. Then I climbed back up onto the plane. I collected Ron and Rachel's fake IDs and RangeMan credit cards from them and asked them if they wanted to keep their phones. Rachel wanted to but Ron just wanted his old one back. I gave both of them their old ones and told Rachel to keep hers but to take it to her carrier and have her old number transferred to her new phone. I told her not to worry about Julie's phone, as long as she was allowed to have one I would pay for it. But that at any time if it needed to get cut off or anything they just needed to let me know.

Then I handed Rachel two checks and her face flushed as she handed them to Ron.

"Carlos you don't have to pay me this money." She said. I cut her off.

"It's not from me. It's money from Sergio to cover your pain and suffering for this unfortunate event. I gave you a check for Julie but don't cash it. I will be down in the next few weeks and we will start a trust fund for her that, if you want, you and Ron can manage. It will be for her college, a down payment for her first house, whatever she needs. I'll pay for her wedding when she is ready to get married but I want the rest of it to go towards her future. Rachel your check is yours to do with whatever you want. If you want my advice I would say invest it and put it towards yours and Ron's retirement. Pay off your house, buy a new car. Take care of your family but think about your future and plan for it."

"Wow, thank you Carlos." She gave me a big hug.

"Don't mention it. Rachel I could never pay you enough for you to be as good of a mom as you have been to Julie. That is something that is priceless to me. I am starting to grow up now and maturing and ready to really be part of Julie's life, but you and Ron have been there for her every day for the last twelve years. While I have been off doing my army thing and getting my life together. There is no way I can say thank you enough."

I went through the same routine with Abuela Sanja.

"Keep the credit card. If ever you need to use it you can always have it as a back-up."

"No Carlos, I don't need it."

"Abuela keep it for me. It will give me a measure of peace to know that if you ever need anything or have any emergency it will be there for you."

"Fine" She huffed a little.

"Do you like the phone?"

"Yes now that I have gotten used to it I like it. The camera and battery are much better than my old phone."

"You keep it and cancel your old phone plan. If you want to transfer your old number over you do so, but you keep your phone on my plan and I will pay for it."

"Carlos I can pay for my own phone."

"I know you can especially after I give you this check, but you took care of me for years. You paid for the roof over my head, the food on my plate, the electricity that kept me cool. You straightened me out and got me on a better path for my life. The least you can do is let me pay for your phone."

I handed her the check.

"This is from Sergio Valentino. He is sorry for the trouble he caused and gave me money to give to each of the women he threatened. This is to make your golden years a little more golden." I told her.

"Carlos, I can't accept this."

"You have to; it's not my money it is yours. Remember from lunch. Sergio paid me plenty of money and sharing it is just a little way for Sergio to apologize for what he did and tried to do."

She ripped the check down the middle.

"I'll just send you another one for Christmas. All the other women including Mama, my sisters, Rachel and Julie are getting that money. I'll keep giving it to you till you accept it." I kissed her on her cheek and gave her a big hug. "I love you Abuela, thank you for coming with us."

"Carlos it was my pleasure. You gave me so much on this trip. You got me back in touch with my family and that to me is worth more than any money you could give me." She kissed me on my cheek and turned to find Stephanie.

"You my dear are so good for my Carlos. I'm so glad he found you and decided to keep you. Come down to Miami and I will show you my photo albums and tell you stories about our little Carlito."

Mama pulled Rachel and Ron aside and said that she would like to take all three kids for at least one week over the summer and they could go on a vacation for themselves. Saying that now she has gotten to know them they are family too and she can't go years without seeing them again. Rachel dabbed at her tears and agreed.

I went up and thanked the captain and co-pilot for their services and told them a bonus would be coming. My family had slowly been getting off the plane and my men from the SUVs had been unloading all of the luggage and loading them up into the vehicles. I led Stephanie off the plane and went out to make sure the Martine's and Abuela Sanja's luggage stayed on board the plane.

To be continued….

A/N: Thank you all for your reviews! They are all loved and appreciated. Only one more chapter left. Here is where I need your feedback. I have an outline for a follow up story to Saving all my Woman. It would cover the summer, the wedding and the aftermath. Do you think I should write it or do you think I should write something new? Please let me know what you would prefer.

As always big THANK YOU to my beta Sassysaint I really appreciate all your suggestions!

Second Big THANK YOU to my sister, Jonelle. Thank you for fixing all my many little mistakes.