I wanted to say Thank You to Margaret Fowler, Elliemae789, and Janetfan150 for reviewing the last chapter. I hope you will enjoy this next one as well!

My New Life
It's Time
SapphireJ

We looked at the menu and had decided what we wanted. The waiter came and took our order. We ordered an appetizer of Quesadilla's ~ crispy tortilla with Monterey jack and cheddar cheeses, tomatoes, lettuce, green onions and homemade salsa. I had the Red Rooster ~ strawberry glazed charbroiled chicken breast matched with walnut and feta cheese. It came with broccoli and rice. Lester had the Bandito Fettuccine ~ fajita chicken, roasted red and green peppers, onions, tomatoes and mushrooms tossed with egg fettuccine and salsa Alfredo. It was smothered with Monterey jack and cheddar cheeses.

The dinner was exquisite. We left the champagne alone since I couldn't have any. However, I did have a virgin strawberry daiquiri.

We talked all through dinner and I enjoyed every minute of it. We sat there just enjoying each other's company.

"Steph, have you thought of any baby names yet?" Lester asked me as we relaxed after eating.

"I have a few, how about you?" I hoped he had a few names as well; I didn't want to feel that I was taking all the fun away.

He nodded. "You first."

"Well, I like Leslie Michelle for a girl. Kind of named after both of us. For a boy, I like Mateo Christopher. Named after you and my dad; both your middle names."

Lester smiled and squeezed my hand. "I like both of those names. The ones I came up with are Sofia Michelle and Joaquin Michael."

"Wow, I like them both. Maybe we will be having four kids so we can use all the names and then we don't have to pick just one," I teased him.

"Baby," he said looking in my eyes, "we can have as many kids as you want."

"Well, let's just see how well I do having this one first." I wasn't really sure I wanted more than one kid, but if he did, I knew in my heart I'd have more.

We finished our drinks and it was time to go. We passed by Ranger's table on the way out. "Have a good night Bossman. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Night Les. Night Steph. I hope you two had a wonderful night," he replied.

"We did. You have a good one as well."

The drive home was a comfortably silent one. I was stuffed and had thoroughly enjoyed the day and evening. Nothing could ruin the feeling I had right now. I looked over at Lester and smiled. He grabbed my hand, kissed my wrist, and put our hands on his thigh.

We pulled into the garage and I sighed. "What's the matter, baby?" Lester asked me.

"I had a wonderful day today and I just don't want it to end. I know that when we wake up tomorrow, it is going to be back to work."

He got out of the truck and came over to my side. Pulling me out of the truck, he nuzzled my neck and ran his tongue along the shell of my ear before pulling the lobe into his mouth and biting it. "The night's not over yet."

We walked into the kitchen and I saw a tray of chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne. "Did you do this?"

Lester shook his head no. "You didn't do it?"

I looked at the tray and saw a note. A treat for my pumpkin and her husband. I hope you two have many more Valentine's Day to come.

"They are from Daddy. He is so sweet. I almost feel bad for him, that he doesn't have anyone to share today with." I started to get sad when I thought about my daddy all alone.

Lester pulled me into a hug. "I'm sure he is fine. I bet he isn't feeling bad today. We will thank him in the morning."

Lester grabbed the tray and followed me to the bedroom. I figured we'd been alone enough today, and turned on the phones. Luckily there were no messages!

After we were done with the strawberries, we cuddled up with each other and fell asleep around midnight.

I woke up at 2:37am when I heard Lester talking.

"shit….can't it wait….no one else….fuck….no sir, I'll be ready." He slammed the phone down and swung his feet out of bed.

Lester sat on the edge of the bed with his head hanging down. I scooted closer to him and ran a hand up and down his back. I knew what was going on. I didn't like it, but I knew I would deal with it.

"When?"

He turned around to face me and held my hand. "I need to be ready to board the chopper in an hour." He looked so heartbroken. 'I'm so sorry baby. You have no idea how sorry I am."

"Les, I know. Nevertheless, you have to do this. Any idea how long you'll be gone?"

"No. Hopefully just a few weeks. I'll get more info when I get on the chopper." He pulled me up into his lap and hugged me tight. "God, baby. I don't want to leave you. I don't want to miss any of the pregnancy and here I am missing your next doctor appointment."

Lester was burying his face in my curls and felt tears drop onto my neck. I hugged him with all I had. "I will keep a record for you while you are gone, so that when you get back, you will be able to see all that happened"

He looked at me and I could see his eyes were wet. I wiped away the tears and kissed him. "Well, Mr. Santos, let's get you packed and over to RangeMan."

We got up and packed a bag for Lester and made sure he had all his weapons. Just as I was about to get dressed, the phone rang again. I was hoping it was someone calling to tell Lester there was a change in plans and he wasn't needed afterall.

"Hello?"

"Hey Bomber, I hope I didn't wake you." I knew the voice and it wasn't going to tell me that Les was off the hook.

"No Vince, I was already awake."

"I figured as much. Tell Lester I'm on my way to pick him up. The copper will be on the roof when we get back."

"Are you going too?"

"Yeah, I am," he sighed.

I sighed. "Okay, Vince. I'll tell him."

I hung up and wrapped my arms around Lester. "Vince will be here in a few; he's going with you."

"I know. He and I are meeting the rest of the team when we get there."

Lester hugged me tight and dropped to his knees. "Hey Little One. You take good care of your mommy while I'm gone, okay? Don't give her a hard time. You stay put, don't make her sick anymore and don't keep her up at night. I'm going to miss feeling you move around or feeling you jump when you have the hiccups. I love you and I'll be back as soon as I can." He kissed my belly and stood up again.

He took my face in his hands and looked in my eyes. "I love you so very much. I'll find a way to contact you if I can. Just know I'll be fine and try not to stress yourself out too much. You know the stress isn't good for you or the little one."

"I know. I'll try. You just stay safe and hurry home to me…to us."

There was a knock at the door and I knew it was time for him to go. I gave him a hug and a kiss. He grabbed his bag and we headed to the door. I opened it up and gave Vince a hug as well. "Take care of each other and stay safe. I'll see you both when you get back."

They headed to the truck and Vince pulled out of the drive. I watched the taillights until they disappeared. Please God, let them be safe. Let them return soon. Please, please, for me and the little one, keep him safe.

That's it for Tart Thursday this week... join me next week for the next chapter... ;)