Acceptance- Chapter 36

Sorry it has taken so long for this chapter. Please leave reviews, as I live for them.

Steph's POV

My eyes were open slightly, and Bobby and a medic were hovering over me in the ambulance. They had put me on oxygen, a heart monitor, and started an IV, the medic was taking my blood pressure every few minutes. Neither of them had answered my question about what was happening. I was in pain, and I could feel a throbbing going through me. Bobby just held my hand and whispered to me to stay calm, that he'd take care of me. I was terrified that I might be losing Vince's baby- our baby. Bobby and the medic kept talking back and forth between them, numbers and medical stuff, something about clamps or something. But when I asked Bobby, he just said that I should relax and try to stay calm. I could feel tears leak out of my eyes, and Bobby's hand wiped them away.

"Bobby, it hurts," I said. He squeezed my hand and gave me a worried look. " I know, sweetie, but we can't give you anything yet until we know what's going on with the baby. Just try to relax and breathe deeply." He smiled, " And you can squeeze my hand as hard as you want to." That sort of made me grin, since I already had a death grip on his hand.

My eyes clouded up with tears. I knew Bobby would take care of me, but I wanted Vince. If I was losing this baby, I wanted Vince there to help me through it. I wanted his strength and his arms around me. Then I remembered Ranger. " Did you see Ranger?" I asked Bobby. He was there. He violated the restraining order. " Bobby just said he knew and he'd take care of it and told me to try to stay calm.

Bobby's cell phone rang as we were pulling into the ER bay. He looked at the number, then answered it quickly. " Yo, Brown," a pause. He half turned away from me so I couldn't hear his conversation. I knew that it had to be Vince calling. And that Bobby didn't want me to hear. "Yeah, she's here. Its not life threatening as of now, " he said in a low voice. "They're just bringing her in, so I'll call you back in a few. You should get back here ASAP." He made eye contact with me and then smiled. " ok, I'll tell her. See ya, man."

He closed the phone and looked at me with a slight grin. " That was Vince. He's on his way home. He said to tell you to be strong and that he loves you.

Vince's POV

I was hot, sweaty, and smelly from training in the scorching Nevada desert, but that was the least of my worries since I'd gotten the call from Hal that something had happened with Steph and I should get home. Fast. He didn't know what had happened, only that Bobby had gone with her in an ambulance to the hospital. I called Bobby, but he was pretty cryptic, too. I knew he'd been in the ambulance with Steph, and didn't want her to overhear. It probably had something to do with the baby, and I knew Bobby would call me as soon as he knew anything. My whole body was tense, overcome with an overwhelming need to get home- now.

Ok, I was training in the middle of the fucking desert in Nevada. Getting emergency leave wouldn't be a problem. I could just tell them my wife was having a medical emergency. But there were no commercial flights from Vegas or Reno until late tomorrow morning. Then it would be at least six hours from there, with a possible layover to change planes. Steph needed me faster than that. There was a military C-130 cargo plane here that has been going back and forth with supplies. The pilot is a friend and he is leaving in an hour to head back East. C130s are cargo planes, and not designed to carry passengers, but he said he'd take me if I could be ready and get permission to go. The CO didn't really want me to go on a cargo plane, but when he saw how frantic I was to get home, he relented and gave permission.

Can you imagine, me ,frantic? I have never been frantic in my entire life. About anything. Until today I didn't think that word was even in my vocabulary. But I was absolutely out of my mind and all I could think of was getting back to Steph and my son when they needed me. I trusted Bobby implicitly , with my life, and Steph's, and I knew he'd take care of her. But I could feel a stinging behind my eyes at the thought of Steph going through that without me there.

Hal's POV

I followed the ambulance to the ER, the cans of paint for the nursery now forgotten on the floor of my truck. I was on the phone the entire time. To Vince, to Bobby, to Tank. Whatever had happened to Steph had been triggered by Ranger showing up at the duplex. Shit. This was my fault. I shouldn't have left her alone there, even for such a short time. He was probably watching the place and knew when I left, then made his move. Thank God Bobby had been close enough to answer her 911 text.

I wasn't much of a religious person, because I'd seen enough terrible stuff to know that sometimes God could really be a bastard. But I said a silent prayer that Steph wouldn't lose the baby. She and Vince had already been through so much shit, they deserved to have something good happen to them.

I got to the ER and Bobby was in the waiting room.

"How is she?", I asked worriedly.

Bobby sighed. " I don't know. Her blood pressure was extremely high, and I think its preeclampsia. The docs will have to see if they can get it under control."

Shit. That sounded bad. " Did you tell Vince?"

" I spoke with him briefly in the ambulance, so he knows she's here. I am not going to call him back until I have something definitive to tell him. He's getting here as fast as he can, and there's no point in him worrying until we know for sure what we should worry about." I could actually see the concern in Bobby's eyes. It was probably in mine, too. Even though Steph was married to Vince, all of us guys loved her, and Vince had been my friend for years.

Ram, Zip, and Woody showed up in the ER waiting room. They'd been fired from Rangeman, but this wasn't about Rangeman. It was about Steph and Vince and that fucker Ranger.

Bobby briefed them on what we knew so far about Steph's condition.

Ram said, "Tank and Lester went to the cop shop. They are demanding to go WITH the cops to have Ranger arrested for violating the restraining order. That ought to be enough to revoke his bail and keep him locked up. Tank also called Rangeman's attorney about Steph filing additional harassment and stalking charges against Ranger."

Lester's POV

We had been meeting with lawyers to see about the possibility of buying out Ranger's half of Rangeman. Hal, Vince, Ram and I were all interested. If we split it between the four of us, we can probably do it. Depending on the results of Ranger's trial and the media backlash, we might be taking the reins of a dead company. It will take a lot to restore Rangeman's reputation, but we all love the business and are willing to do it. Ranger will probably have to sell the assets, like the cars, too, so we can possibly get some of those cheap.

Right now, though, the only important things are taking are of Steph and the baby and keeping that bastard Ranger behind bars. He violated a restraining order, so the putting him behind bars part shouldn't be a problem.

Tank and I were on our way to the cop shop right now, to insist that Ranger be arrested immediately, and to help with that process. We finally got a couple of cops that had arrested Ranger last time to come with us to his apartment on the 7th floor.

It was as clean and tidy, as usual. Even more so, since his clothes were gone, his gear was gone, and his weapons lockbox was completely empty. "Fuck," I yelled. Ranger had taken off. He wasn't anywhere in the building.

"Shit. He split. He could be anywhere by now." Tank said. " Well, he has to be in the country . The judge made him surrender his passport," one of the cops said, stupidly. What a stupid fuck. I was pissed that the local cops were so stupid. " He doesn't need his passport. He has the ability to make a new one under any variety of aliases. And, thanks to his Special forces training and contacts, he can sneak into any country without any papers at all."

The cops put out an APB and a BOLO saying there was a warrant out for his arrest. Tank and I went to check the local Rangeman safe houses, in case he was holed up there. But Ranger wasn't stupid. He knew how to hide.

"I'll contact Rangeman Miami to see if he is there and send the cops there. Also, there is a Rangeman in Boston." the cop said. But I knew that was a waste of time. Ranger would never hide in such an obvious place.

Shit. I guess we'd have to hunt Ranger down like the dog that he was. Sure he had skills, but so did we.

Bobby's POV

Ram, Zip, Woody, Hal and I sat there in the waiting room, looking like a huge wall of muscle. I was the only one with an actual Rangman uniform on, but the other guys looked plenty intimidating in their civies. And of course, we were all heavily armed. I didn't think Even Ranger would have the balls to come here, but if he did, we were ready.

It had been almost two hours since they'd brought Steph in, and we were still waiting to hear a report on her condition. Vince had called me two more times, but I hadn't had any new info for him.

Lester had called and told us about Ranger's disappearing act, so we were making good use of our wait time by calling all our contacts to get info about Ranger. Zip was on his laptop, sending emails to his contacts and the other Rangeman offices. We were going to find that fucker and put him behind bars before he had any more chances to hurt Steph or Vince.

Finally, a grey haired doctor in his mid-forties came out. "Which of you is Stephanie Sonterra's husband?"

"Um, none of us is. He is out of town on a military mission and is on his way here. I am Bobby Brown, and I am Steph's medical next of kin when Vince is gone."

The doc looked at me hard up and down, obviously deciding to believe me rather than piss off a huge guy who is obviously armed.

" Mrs. Sonterra has a condition called preeclampsia." I knew all about that, but I let the doc explain for the other guys. " It causes extremely high blood pressure in the pregnant woman. If it isn't controlled, it can cause seizures and can even result in maternal death." He continued quickly before the guys could react to that. " The only cure for preeclampsia is the birth of the baby. Mrs. Sonterra is in the early stages of preeclampsia. We are trying to get her blood pressure down and stabilize her. If we can do that, she'll need to be here a few days so we can monitor her. Then, she'll need complete bed rest at home. But this is a very serious condition, that, if not controlled, can kill her. Right now, though, we seem to be getting it under control."

All of the guys had looks of shock on their faces. This could kill Steph or the baby if it isn't controlled. Fuck. This was serious.

"Right now, we are trying to stabilize her and will get her settled in a room. She will be able to have visitors, but only one and for a short time. Since we are trying to keep her blood pressure down, it is esssential that she be kept as calm as possible. The nurse will let you know when she can have visitors." He shook my hand and walked away.

Fuck. This was not good. I got out my phone to give Vince an update.

Lester's POV

Bobby had called us to update us about Steph's condition. Apparently, it was pretty serious, but they were trying to get it under control. Tank and I had checked the Trenton safe houses and were headed to the hospital when my cellphone rang.

"Yo, Santos."

" Les, its Jose Rojas." Rojas was a cop and a good friend in the PD. One of the only cops I liked and trusted.

"What's up , Jose?"

" Well, you called about trying to find Carlos Manoso. Well, I don't have him, but we've been called to the scene of a homicide. Its that associate of Manoso's, guy named Carter Norwich. He's got a bullet in the center of his brain. Figured you'd want to know."

Fuck. Ranger had fled town and apparently was taking care of loose ends. He was getting rid of the few people who could testify against him. Norwich had given Ranger the info on potassium and told him where to buy it. Norwich's testimony could prove that Ranger intended to kill Vince, thereby making it murder. Fuck. Now Ranger killed Norwich so he couldn't testify.

"Um, Jose, let me know about the ballistics you get on the bullet, if they are traceable to any of Ranger's registered guns. Thanks for the info."

Shit. Now, not only was Ranger gone, he was getting rid of anyone who could prove anything against him. And I'd bet my fucking paycheck that Ranger used an unregistered gun to kill him. Ranger is too smart to make a mistake like that.

What a giant clusterfuck. Now, even if we find him, we may not be able to convict him. We also needed to worry that he might go after Vince again, since Vince could also testify. But Vince wasn't weak and helpless anymore. If it came down to Ranger vs. Vince, with Vince as pissed as he is at Ranger, I'd put my money on Vince.

I raced to the ER to let the guys know about this new development.

Vince's POV

I finally made it to the hospital, and Bobby greeted me outside Steph's room.

"How is she?" I asked immediately.

Bobby looked concerned. "Well, they seem to have stabilized her for now, and gotten her blood pressure down. Her vitals are better and the fetal heartbeat is good."

"She'll probably need to be here at least a few days, and then most likely bed rest at home. Preeclampsia is bad news, but if we can keep it controlled, she'll be able to continue the pregnancy. " The unspoken message was that there was also a chance that she might not be able to continue the pregnancy. But that wasn't an option. I'll do what it takes to keep her healthy and stable.

Bobby slapped me on the back. " I'll fill you in on the rest later, man. Go in and see her. She's been asking for you. She is pretty sedated, though."

"Thanks, Bobby, I said, returning the back slap. Once again he'd had to deal with a crisis while I was gone.

I went into Steph's room silently and saw her lying in bed with her eyes closed. She had an IV and a heart monitor and a BP cuff around her arm. There was also a device that monitored the fetal heartbeat.

Bobby said they'd stabilized her, and she looked peaceful. I took her hand and gently kissed her face. I was so fucking glad to see her alive. I'd been so scared. More scared than I'd ever been in my life.

For a minute, there was only the sound of the machines beeping.

Steph stirred slightly and her eyes opened slightly. "Hey, sweetie," I said, and her mouth bent into a tiny grin when she saw me. " Vince, I am so glad you're here," She rasped out, her voice hoarse. I squeezed her hand, and kissed her on the cheek.

"Its ok, sweetie, I'm here. Its going to be ok, I promise. Now go back to sleep."

She closed her eyes and I felt her drift into sleep. I had promised her everything would be ok. How the fuck was I going to keep that promise? Everything was far from ok. She could die, or the baby could. I kissed her cheek again, then settled into a chair next to her bed, never letting go of her hand. I was exhausted from the whirlwind of getting here so quickly, and I closed my eyes too. I had promised her it would be ok. I would keep that promise. I would make sure everything would be ok. It had to be.