Extra long chapter! Enjoy! As always thanks for the reviews. Getting me up to 350 gets you another chapter!!!

I could tell Ranger was holding in a tirade. He wanted to yell and scream but he was thinking it through first. It would be just as bad as one of Joe's Italian lectures but with Ranger's fiery Latino temper.

I sat and waited but he still didn't say anything. He just stared at me. The Major General knocked on the door frame and walked in.

"Good to see that you're okay Lieutenant."

"Yes sir. Thank you," Ranger said.

"Mind if I borrow Ms. Plum for a minute before we get you ready for transport?"

"No, of course not."

I followed The Major General out; we sat on some chairs in the hall way, a few feet from Ranger's door.

"Ms. Plum, I've talked to a few of my superiors, we've looked at your records for catching skips, kidnappings etc. Basically we've gone over you with a fine toothed comb. We want to offer you a contract. It would be along the same lines as Ranger's. We'd be willing to give you a lot of money to handle some sensitive situations for us. Of course we wouldn't be sending you on missions until the babies were born. You'd be doing training at Fort Dix, learning how we operate et cetera. We are impressed with you Ms. Plum and we think you would be an amazing addition to the United States Army."

I looked at him, trying to figure out if he was kidding. He didn't seem to be. They wanted me in the Army?

"Absolutely not." This came from Ranger who was standing in his door way, supporting himself on with the frame.

"Ranger…" I started saying but he cut me off.

"Are you kidding me? Fuck Stephanie. This wasn't enough? This wasn't enough stupidity for you? Flying into the fucking jungle while you're pregnant? Busting into a drug lord's estate? Shooting people? Christ! YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN KILLED! Do you really think I would have wanted to be rescued if you'd been killed? Huh?! DO YOU THINK I COULD HAVE LIVED WITH THAT? I can't stop you from acting like an idiot but I can sure as hell stop you from doing this."

I motioned for the Major General to leave and he nodded once and walked away.

"I couldn't leave you here."

"You damn well could have. You fucking should have. It would be one thing if you weren't pregnant, but to risk the babies? Christ. Steph. God I can't even…if something had happened to you…"

I nodded solemnly. "I'm still going to think about the contract."

"Stephanie." His voice was low, dangerous.

Mine was the same, "Carlos." I stared at him for a minute and when he didn't break I spoke again, "They're identical."

Ranger nodded, "That's great. At least they'll have each other when both their parents get killed doing black ops missions."

"Ranger! God damn it, neither of us will get killed. You don't think I could do this? I couldn't be as good as you? Well fuck Ranger. I know that. You're the best. But maybe I could be good too. Maybe I could do this and not feel like a damn failure."

Ranger sighed and sat down next to me, "Stephanie, you are not a failure. You are an amazing bounty hunter. Yeah I think you could do this, but I don't think I could handle you doing this. I'm just not that strong. I'm trying like hell to finish up my contract alive and get the hell out, and you want to sign one?"

He was right. I'd have babies and I knew I wouldn't want to leave them to go on missions. I sighed and looked at Ranger. "Alright. No contract. Are you okay?"

"No Stephanie. I'm not okay. I'm pissed." He got back up and walked into his room, shutting the door behind him. I had a feeling Ranger wasn't going to forget this for a while.

I talked to the Major General and declined his offer of a contract. He asked about freelance and I said he could always check with me and see. We got everything we needed to taken care of and got Ranger ready for transport. He didn't speak to me as we boarded the plane. Cal was on board as well. Now that I wasn't on a mission I had time to be worried during takeoff.

Ranger's hand grabbed mine and held it tightly.

"Thank you."

"I'm mad Steph, but I still love you. Never doubt that."

I nodded and laid my head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. But you know how you said you couldn't live if I died? Well I feel the same way. I couldn't sit by and do nothing."

"Babe." Ranger slurred the word, his newest dose of pain medication kicking in.

"Go to sleep Ranger, we'll be home soon."

I felt his breathing even and I leaned my chair back, my head still on his shoulder. I put up the armrest and cuddled into his side.

Someone I'd never met woke us up when we landed, this time in Miami.

We disembarked and Ranger waved off the officer who told us when the next military flight to Jersey would be. Ranger said we'd fly commercial. Cal got on the flight to Jersey.

A private dropped us off at a nearby hotel and we checked in. We got to the room and I sighed. Always the best for Ranger.

"Would it be okay if we stayed a few days, maybe visited with Julie?" Ranger asked.

"I think that would be great. Call up Rachael. I'll call Tank, let him know we're okay."

I dialed Tank while Ranger pulled out his own phone.

"Steph?"

"Hey Tank. We're in Miami. I got Ranger back."

"Knew you would Bombshell."

"Yeah I bet. We're going to stay here for a few days. Keep in touch." I hung up without waiting for an answer. I realized I was starting to acquire RangeMan phone skills and shuttered.

"That would be great Rachael. Thank you so much. We'll come pick her up tomorrow morning. Have a good night." Ranger flipped his phone shut and looked at me. "Showers? Food? Sleep?"

"Sounds amazing." I walked into the bathroom and looked back out, "Are you coming?"

"I didn't know if you'd want me to." Ranger said and walked in after me.

He started to undress and I cringed. His whole body was mottled mess of bruises. He started to unwrap his ribs and I protested.

"You want to help me feel better?" I nodded and he motioned me over. "I don't have enough energy to heal my ribs. Mind if I mooch off of you?"

"Of course not. What do I do?" He grabbed my hands and put them on his ribs, covering them with his own. I felt a strange surge of electricity go through me and then I felt like my energy was being zapped. It only took a few seconds and I noticed an immediate improvement in Rangers breathing. I stumbled and fell into his arms.

"Oh shit. Babe, I'm sorry. I took too much." He reached over and turned the taps on the giant tub.

"It's okay, I just need to sit down for a minute. Can we order food?" Ranger nodded and sat me down on the edge of tub. He walked out and came back with a room service menu. I looked through it while Ranger added bubble bath to the tub. I asked for a steak and roasted potatoes. Ranger ordered, adding chicken, rice and vegetables to my order. He asked that the server let himself in and leave the food in the living room and add a $50 tip for the server. He stood me up and undressed me and then himself. He slid us both into the hot water and I moaned. I knew it had to feel ten times better to him. I laid in the water, cradled against his chest. I must've fallen asleep because Ranger nudged me awake.

"Babe? Food's here. Let's wash up and go eat."

"Mmkay." I said. Ranger lathered me up head to toe and rinsed me. He put conditioner in my hair and then lathered himself off. He rinsed us both again and helped me out, wrapping me in lush robe. We sat down at the table I made quick work of my dinner. We got into bed and I wrapped myself around Ranger as closely as I could.

The last few days finally hit me and tears started pouring down my cheeks. "God I was so worried Ranger."

"Shhh its okay, I'm okay." Ranger kissed my tears away and then continued to kiss me softly, murmuring to me in Spanish. He nudged my thighs apart and settled himself in between them. He slid into me gradually, letting me get used to his size. He moved slowly in and out of me, his lips on my ear, still whispering. The pace stayed languid, we moved together working at the same time. Ranger reached between us and rubbed my clit softly, just letting his fingers brush over it. I wrapped my legs around his waist and came within a few more strokes, digging my fingernails into his back. Ranger dropped his head and sucked on my neck as he came. He collapsed on top of me and I ran my hands up and down his back. He scooted off of me, rolling onto his back and pulling me to him.

"Te amo babe."

"Love you too." I nuzzled myself into him and fell asleep.

I woke up to Ranger rubbing my stomach. "You've gotten bigger."

"Mmmhmm. I'm actually wearing my maternity jeans, well, the small ones." I said and looked down. I could look over the swell of my breasts now and see the bump sticking proudly out from between my hips.

"How are our babies?"

"Good. Great in fact. Identical twins! I'm too big for us to hide this; we're going to have to tell Julie." We'd been planning on keeping the babies a secret until after the wedding but obviously that wasn't going to work.

"I told Rachael that you were pregnant last night. She was fine with it; apparently Julie is old enough to know that some people have babies before they get married." Ranger said and shook his head.

We got up and got ready for the day. I pulled on jean shorts with the stretchy waist and added a tank top.

"Babe, you have to be the hottest pregnant woman I've ever seen. You're boobs are huge."

"I had to buy new bras again." I said with a sigh. My boobs ached and I wasn't sure the added size was worth it. I slipped into some flip flops and grabbed my purse. I was ready. Ranger was standing naked watching me. "Ranger? Get dressed?"

"Oh yeah. Sorry." I laughed and watched him put on some shorts and a tank. He grabbed his wallet and followed me out the door. "We need to ask the hotel where we can get a rental car. We'll go get Julie and I thought we could go to the zoo?"

"Great and then we'll go shopping!" I said and Ranger sighed. "Ranger she's a preteen girl. She'll want to shop."

"Alright, you win. Shopping. How about we do that first in case you get tired?"

"Okay."

We got to the desk and the concierge had a car delivered within minutes. Rachael's house was easy to find and she opened the door within seconds of the bell ringing.

"Hello Carlos, Stephanie, congratulations." She was looking at my belly with wide eyes. "Are you sure there is only one in there?"

"Actually, we're sure there are two." I said with a smile.

"Oh wow! Do you know if they're identical or fraternal?"

"Identical," I answered. Rachael smiled and then looked at Ranger closer.

"What happened to your face?" She asked.

Ranger grimaced, "Small incident."

Rachael shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry, come in. Julie should be down in a few minutes. Would you like anything to drink?"

"I'd love some water if it's not too much trouble."

"Of course not, come on, we'll wait in the kitchen." Rachael grabbed me a bottle of water and set out a plate of chocolate chip cookies. I took a cookie one and moaned when I bit into it.

"Sorry. It's very good," I said and they both laughed.

"Thank you. I'm so glad you want to spend some time with Julie. After the incident last year…well, Julie would really like to get to know you, both of you. She asked me if she could spend part of the summer with you. I told her I wasn't sure…"

Ranger spoke up, "Of course she can. We get back from the honeymoon June 30th. She can spend July and August with us if she wants."

"That would be great. Why don't you ask her today? You must be getting excited, the wedding is so close!"

"I am. I thought maybe we'd stay here and take the same flight we have Julie booked on, that way she wouldn't have to fly alone." I said. Ranger looked faintly surprised but happy.

"I'm sure she'd love the extra time with you guys. Can you do that though? Don't you have things to plan?"

"I havea wedding planner who is taking care of everything. It's wonderful." I smiled and Rachael laughed. Julie came downstairs then and said hi. She gave Ranger a hug and then walked over to me. She stopped and stared at my stomach.

"Whoa, are you having a baby?" I looked at Rachael, surprised.

"I didn't tell her, I thought it would be fun to surprise her with the news."

"Actually I'm having two babies; you are going to be a big sister twice!"

Julie hugged me and smiled widely. "This is like so cool. I've always wanted a little sister or brother!"

Ranger laughed and looked at Julie, "I have a favor to ask you." Julie nodded her head vigorously. "Well after Steph and I get back from our honeymoon I'm going to be doing a lot of boring paperwork and I was wondering if you would come stay with us for a couple of months to keep Stephanie company, and to give me something to look forward to and get me through all the dull office stuff?"

"Really dad? That would be great!" I didn't miss that she had called Ranger dad, and neither did Ranger. His eyes lit up.

"Really."

Julie said goodbye to her mom and we promised to return her before nine that night.

"So what are we doing today? Going to the zoo or something?"

"No you're dad is way cooler than that, he wants to take us shopping!"

"Alright!" She hopped into the backseat of the SUV and Ranger gave me a grateful smile. He owed me big time.

"No worries babe, I always pay back my debts." Ranger said in a voice that made me a little wet.

"So am I going to have little brothers or little sisters?" Julie asked from the backseat.

I turned so I could see her a little better, "We're not sure yet. We'll find out while you're visiting!"

"I'm so excited! Is there anywhere to swim near you guys?"

"Yeah we have a pool in the building and there is a pool at my house and we're near the shore."

"Awesome."

What about our house arrest? Was that still going on? We hadn't heard anything from our stalker in weeks.

Ranger glanced at me, "We're going to relax on that a bit. You'll be guarded."

"Guarded from what?" Julie asked.

"You're…uh…Stephanie has a dangerous job, so some of my men keep an eye on her for me."

"Okay. What should I call you?" This was directed at me.

I thought for a second, "You can call me whatever you want. Steph or Stephanie is fine. Whatever you're comfortable with."

She nodded seriously, "But you're going to be my step-mom right? Like Bill is my step-dad?"

"Yep, I sure am."

"Mom says that you are just as much in charge of me as dad is. That means you can give me permission to do stuff. Can I get my ears pierced?" Ranger's eyes snapped over to me and I sat frozen for a second.

"Uh…actually that's probably not such a good idea. That's really a decision that your mom and Ranger and your step-dad should make."

"And you."

"Okay and me. But all of us together."

"Why do you call my dad Ranger?"

"It's a nickname mija. From when I was in the army." Ranger answered.

"Mom says your still in the army and that any woman that would marry you and put up with that must be incredibly brave."

I giggled and Ranger looked somewhat annoyed. "How is school going?"

"Awesome!"

"Really?"

"Yeah Friday was my last day!" We all laughed and Ranger sighed.

"Sorry I should've known that. I've been out of the country, lost track of time." He looked at me suddenly. "What day is it?"

"It's Saturday, June 6th." Ranger looked at me funny but nodded. Obviously he was missing some time. He nodded again. "We're getting married in a week. Julie is booked on a flight leaving Wednesday morning; we can all go back together." I said and Ranger nodded again.

Julie piped in with another question, "When are the babies due?"

"December 27th. Today I am 12 weeks pregnant. But usually twins are born a little early."

"Wow, maybe the babies will be born on Christmas!" Julie said. I smiled. Having Julie around was nice. Like mom practice. We got to the mall and Julie was practically hopping with excitement. Ranger grabbed my hand and we strolled behind her. She didn't ask for anything but Ranger bought her a few things that obviously excited her. We were coming out of a video game store when Julie shrieked. She ran about 20 feet and hugged some girls. We walked over when she motioned for us.

"This is Jill and Tina, they are my best friends! Guys this is my Dad, Carlos and my step-mom, Stephanie, and these are my little brothers or sisters!" She exclaimed, rubbing my tummy when she got to the baby introductions. There was some more girly shrieking and everyone got to rub my belly.

"We're going to Abercrombie now, you want to come?" Jill asked Julie. Julie looked at us and we nodded. We followed the girls who were talking a million miles a minute.

We got to Abercrombie and Ranger narrowed his eyes at the gigantic picture of a shirtless guy on the wall. I used to drool over those guys, now I just look at Ranger. The sales girls were watching Ranger closely and fanning themselves. Poor girls would faint if they saw him without his shirt. They'd die if they saw him without pants.

"Babe." Ranger said with a glance.

"Come on let's play dress up." I said.

"Sure what do you want?"

"Not me silly, you!" Ranger gave me the cocked eyebrow that meant good luck. I grabbed some jeans in his size and some t-shirts and drug him to the dressing room. The attendant looked like she wished she could have gone in the room with him. I waited outside while Ranger mumbled something about how he couldn't wait till the babies were born so I could dress them up.

"Shirt's too small. Time to test your theory babe." The door opened and Ranger stepped out in jeans that were slung low around his waist, they hugged his ass deliciously. He wasn't wearing a shirt. "Miss, do you think you could grab me this in a large? It doesn't fit around my biceps." He handed the girl the shirt and she stood there staring for a second.

"Oh…uh…of course! Of course. A new shirt. Yep. Ok. Be right back." She turned and stumbled off, looking slight dazed.

I giggled, "Now that was just mean." Ranger laughed and Julie and her friends walked around the corner.

"Holy crap. You're dad is a babe," said one of the girls.

I couldn't agree more.

THE END (Of Chapter 37)!