Chance Encounters

Chapter 40

oOoOo

Stephanie returned to the group of men in black with a serious expression on her visage, which contradicted her smug confidence and relief at seeing Manny. Her eyes quickly scanned the men, but she did not see Hector yet. She needed to maintain her Mrs Manuel Ramos persona for the time being with the nurses closely watching their group, albeit surreptitiously. The interest created by the presence of this stud-ly group of men was not a secret, given the furtive glances, the coy smiles, some overt eye flirting and some blushes at being caught out. It was a pleasant distraction from the normal routine in the emergency waiting area, for both sides. The senior ER nurse manager sorted her team back into action when the ambulances arrived with injured people from a pile up on Route 1, New Brunswick.

Ranger's POV

I watched Stephanie emerge from inside the emergency room. It was obvious to me that she had been crying which gave me cause for concern. We all quietened as she approached us, parting from the accompanying nurse, bracing ourselves for any news. Perhaps Manuel's injuries were more serious. Standing beside me, she leaned against me, nodding her head.

"I saw him and was allowed to stay until they took him away. He's okay, apart from the bullet wound. But that was strapped up and splinted."

I think we all breathed a sigh of relief.

"He's just been taken down for x-rays and possibly other tests before surgery. Yes, he's okay and quite lucid, as Zero said. He played along with me, but it did take two winks." Here she chuckled and rolled her eyes. "But because of his injuries I decided to cut him a bit of slack. Manny caught on to my ruse. I inspected his bruises and his arm. He called it "just a flesh wound". Pfft. He has two large bruises on his chest where the bullets hit his vest," and she paused as conflicted thoughts crossed her face. "they were too close," she uttered softly, "too close."

She leaned more into me and I squeezed her hand which she had grabbed, her blue eyes looking at me, glistening a bit, and then checking quickly behind us, before returning to me. Of course, she's waiting for Hector. Those eyes do things to me, even more when they are wide-eyed and glistening like now. I really wanted to bend down and kiss her softly. But, I regrouped quickly. This was not the time or place.

"They must be delayed. You know, Hector and Woody. And, I would have expected Bobby here sooner already. Zero did mention a pile up on Route 1. We must have just made it through before the traffic banked up."

"How did you do that? And why?" asked Tank.

"What? Going inside the ER?" All eyes were on the Vixen. "Well, you did say they were reluctant to give you any details and you were frustrated at that, Zero first, then you and Ranger here as well. Me too, to be honest. So, I just took evasive action to get some answers. I reckon Zero here nailed it. You did a brilliant assessment of Manny's condition and your on the spot triage minimized his blood loss. And thankfully from only one wound."

He shrugged his shoulders. "It's what we do." He was humbled by her praise.

Intermittently she kept looking beyond the waiting room to the doors that lead outside.

"But, I have to say Steph … that was such a cool move, "coffee for my husband" and then you burst into tears. And it worked. You made it look so easy." Zero returned with a compliment of his own.

"I agree. That was an amazing thing to do. People don't usually give us the time of day. As you saw. You just swanned in there like you had been there before. I'm sure Manuel was pleased to see you too."

"Yeah. He was, a bit stunned at first when I called him mi amor."

Did I tense up a bit, albeit with an involuntary reaction? Of course, I did and she nudged me for it with a single raised eyebrow.

"Of course, playing the distressed wife," I smiled at her, my spontaneous flash of jealousy gone.

"Mrs Ramos?"

I nudged Stephanie back. At the same time Bobby arrived with the paperwork looking visibly pissed off. The three of us approached the counter and sat on the chairs provided.

"Bad traffic out there. I got here as fast as I could. Had to make a few detours to get here because the traffic was so jammed up."

"Now, Mrs Ramos," and I stepped on Bobby's foot to halt any reaction, as she curtly cut him off.

"Bobby? Please? Can you handle this? I'm still a bit shaken up." And there it was, another tear again, and she clutched on to my arm, leaning against me, sniffling quietly. The stricken wife melted the registrar's heart and she looked hopefully at Bobby who immediately handed over the paperwork with Manuel's details and my medical power of attorney. She was satisfied with all that and the procedure was completed efficiently.

"He's in good hands, Mrs Ramos," she said, placing a reassuring hand on Stephanie's.

As we returned to Tank and Zero, I noticed that a few other Rangemen had arrived. Finally, Hector burst through the outer doors trying his best not to look too frantic. Stephanie squeezed my hand and nodded at me. I gave Tank a nudge and Zero was ready for back up if needed. In a swift move, Stephanie had released her grip on me and ran to Hector.

His eyes were dark and appeared angry, but I recognise that as disguised fear. Fear was not an emotion any of us would expect to see on his face, but it exuded from every pore of his tense body. Stephanie put her hand on his heart with softly placating words, once she had his full attention.

"Hector, mi querido. I have seen him. He is fine," she reassured.

It was like she had cast a magical spell over him. The Vixen is mother of the Den and very protective of her brothers. The other Rangemen noticed this too since they were mostly afraid of Hector and they had seen that dark look on his face before. They were in awe of her ability to calm him with just some soft words, with her hand firmly but gently rubbing his heart. She hugged him tightly before leading him off to a more discreet area. Woody arrived, looking a bit confused but glad to be here in support of his working partner.

But what surprised me even more, was when Stephanie spoke in Spanish, explaining how she pretended to be Manuel's wife and the endearments she had used on him to capture his attention with the information game. She made him smile and even chuckle. I was reading her lips, her lovely lips.

"When Manny said "Tell Hector I love him," the nurse assumed Hector was our son. They were his parting words as they led him to x-rays and surgery."

I looked away, smiling, giving them privacy, and I focused on the Rangeman support crew. They were standing against the wall, making way for other patients and family coming in. I looked over at Stephanie again, when Hector laughed. She's damn good.

The smile on his face broadened and he kissed her cheek. His eyes caught mine and I returned a look of support and encouragement. Stephanie brought him over, holding his hand, gently stroking his arm. He was visibly more relaxed.

"Just a flesh wound, si?"

She shrugged her shoulders and nudged me.

We decided to clear the ER waiting area. Manuel was in the right place of course, and the emergency had subsided. It was a relief.

I could see Tank already mentally rearranging the rosters for Manuel's recovery and return to work duties. Bobby too was planning his recovery OT program and PT, for him to make a smooth transition back to work. None of us liked to be away from the action and reluctantly accepted the enforced period of recovery. Tank lifted his eyebrow at me. Bobby too. They knew that I knew. They grinned and nodded, then departed with the others, leaving just Hector, Stephanie and me waiting, Stephanie holding onto both our hands, her head leaning on Hector's shoulder.

I love this woman more and more each day. I know my men love her too, but in a different way. I was prepared to accept that. Her presence was reassuring. Handling Hector without Stephanie would have been quite tricky. She makes a difference, to all of us.

o0o

Manny was standing facing Hector, Stephanie and I beside them. Tank, Woody and Zero were there, Ella and Luis too, standing in a semi-circle. As the sun rose above the tree tops into this lovely garden near a trickling stream on this beautiful peaceful morning, our group was bathed in the warmth of the sunlight. It gave this little clearing a surreal glow, already carpeted with autumn leaves.

The ceremony was short but so very heartfelt, leaving Stephanie and Ella with glistening eyes of joy. Stephanie and I, together, had walked Hector in, over the little bridge towards Manuel, who was beaming with utter joy, to give him away, so to speak, to give Hector to Manuel. They exchanged their personal vows, and rings, and were declared husband and husband. I was smiling at the sweet tenderness of Hector's kiss with his hands upon Manuel's cheeks, and then the mighty man hugging with hearty back patting and extra kisses from the exuberant happy couple. Such joy.

I was so pleased for my friend and brother, Hector. That he asked Stephanie to give him away didn't surprise me, but when he asked me as well, I was blown away by the request as he held Stephanie's hand.

"You saved me, Carlos, more than once. Stephanie, mi Chiquita, you saved me, too. After Manuel, you are the two most special people in my life and I feel blessed that you have always had my back."

Whoa. So much emotion from mi hermano, and I felt privileged to be asked.

I was watching Stephanie and I could barely hold back my feelings for her and wanted to kiss her passionately, but pulled back, since it was their wedding day. So, a chaste but lingering kiss on her lips had to suffice. I was just overcome with emotion and squeezed her hand tightly. Her glistening blue eyes smiled at me and I knew she felt the same.

The celebration was small and private with a special dinner at the Den in Stephanie's villa catered for by Tiny, Cal and Shorty, and Ella of course. Stephanie being the curious one wanted to see their black wedding bands. She smiled when she showed me. Of course, they had a few circuitry board lines etched on black titanium with a single diamond along the circuit lines as the closed locking switch. So very symbolic. Inside was engraved Siempre. I smiled at Stephanie and explained the circuit board lines significance with their expertise in computers and electronics. She smiled as she returned the rings, kissing both the grooms. Zero was taking photos, as he did at the wedding, and captured some very special moments. His stunning photographs featured on many walls at Rangeman, which documented our company's growth and development. He specialised in black and white photography.

A week later, Stephanie invited the Rangeman crew to the Den for another barbecue. It was a lot cooler but they had the tall gas warmers around the patio area and Shorty's pizza oven was a popular warm place to congregate. Ribs were in abundance, along with calzones and pizzas, empanadas and hearty Cuban sandwiches, as the main fare, easy finger food for men. After dessert of delicious fruit, cake, brownies and flan, Stephanie tinkled her beer bottle with her cake fork. She winked at Hector, standing relaxed with a beer, his elbow resting comfortably on Manuel's shoulder listening to Lester.

"We wanted another excuse to celebrate all things wonderful at Rangeman and what better way than to officially announce that Mr Hector Miguel Ramos Hernandez and Mr Manuel Victor Hernandez Ramos are now married!"

Before she could say anything else, and she knew this would happen, there was a massive roar and a resounding "HOOAH!"

"What the fuck, man?! That is so fucking awesome!" Lester uttered ebulliently. He kissed them both. "So happy for you, mi hermanos, so very very happy."

"Arriba! Salud Hector and Manuel!" Lester proclaimed.

"Salud Hector and Manuel!" everyone replied in unison charging their beer bottles in their direction.

Lester expressed the warmth and acceptance of all who were good friends with Manuel and Hector. There were a few surprised reactions, but nothing inappropriate. Their marital union was celebrated jubilantly, endorsed by everyone. And between lots of warm hearty man hugs, and back slapping, the atmosphere amped up even more with music and revelry.

Tank very cleverly had arranged for a large bus, so the drink and drive laws were respected and our men were safe in getting home.

Tank, Lester and Bobby stalked towards Stephanie. I stayed by her side.

"You knew all along. You truly are a cunning but wonderful Vixen," Bobby smiled.

"This was a wonderful way to celebrate. You have made such a difference since you joined our team at Rangeman three months ago. You pulled off the surprise of the year. Clever Vixen indeed." Lester endorsed Bobby's words.

"So … the leading question is … when are you two going to seal the deal as Mr Ricardo Carlos Plum Mañoso and Mrs Stephanie Michelle Plum Mañoso? Eh?" He chuckled at the reference to Stephanie announcing Hector and Manuel by their new legally married names."

"Oh, now wait a minute. There will be no Plum in any marital titles here! I am happy ditching the Plum from my name forever." She smiled at me knowingly with a sly wink.

oOoOo

TBC

Ooh. What a lot of fun after the shooting drama. I took the liberty of a time leap forward, but the gaps will be filled in the next chapter.

This, sadly might be the penultimate chapter. I may add an epilogue, but for now, the next chapter could be the end. In that case, this is possibly the antepenultimate chapter. (smile) Let's see how it pans out. I was really hoping to hit the 1,000 reviews on this story which has been so much fun and an epic journey for me.

I still cannot believe that from a possible one shot, Chance Encounters has progressed to forty chapters to the present. I am astounded and most appreciative of your wonderful support and reviews, and the follows and favourites. I want to take this opportunity to also thank my guests for their reviews too.

Enjoy. Be safe. Keep well. Be happy.