We had a good weekend. On Saturday, we were able to buy two stuffed animals and a rattle each for the babies, and a stuffed sloth for Tia. She thought his face was funny, and every time she looked at him she laughed. I was glad that she was interested in more animals than cows. A few months before, cows were the only animal she was interested in, and I was afraid that she was going to be like my niece, Mary Alice. For years, Mary Alice thought she was a horse. She would whinny when she met you and toss her mane and paw her foot on the ground when she was angry. She was actually a very good horse. However, I didn't want Tia identifying with a cow. I could just see her eating grass and chewing her cud. That would be bad enough, but I would hate to see her trying to milk herself and getting upset when she couldn't. It would be a disaster.

However, I didn't know if sloths were so much better. They were slow-moving creatures, and I didn't think I would like Tia moving in slow motion all the time. However, with her energy I hoped she wouldn't be interested in moving in slow motion either. That would drive me nuts and, honestly, would probably drive me more nuts than seeing her chew her cud.

Probably.

While we were shopping, we bought a number of new preemie outfits and a couple of outfits for Tia – in blue. She was happy about it, and we were happy that she didn't have a screaming episode in the store. It was getting to be nap time, and she had been pushed to the limit. She had been looking put out when we'd been buying clothes for her sisters and not for her, and although she was happy, with her temper I knew she wouldn't be happy for long.

We got out of the store before she had her meltdown, and we put her in the car and took her home. She was asleep about two minutes into the drive.

On the way home, Anita called to tell us that Will had cut a deal and had been released. It was a good deal – he was to receive counselling and to provide information to the FBI to ensure the conviction of Devlin, and in return he was let go. With Ranger's offer to Will for a job, it had gone all the way up to the head of the FBI, and the head said that Ranger would look after him and he had an unerring instinct as to who would be good hires. That, also, had made an impression on the prosecutor and had helped him get his deal.

An hour after Anita called to tell us that Will had been released, Will called Ranger. Ranger invited him to stay with us for a few days, until he got his feet back under him, and over dinner talked to him about the information that Will had discovered about his wife's location. With that information, Ranger worked with PMC, a company of mercenaries that Ranger owned a part of, to find and rescue Will's wife. She was returned to the States by the end of the week, and Ranger told them that they could live in my old apartment for a few months until they got themselves established.

Fern was a lovely person who was traumatized from what had happened to her. I could understand. I felt bad for her, and I knew that my old apartment's form of neighborhood watch would provide the security she needed to recover. When Eduardo and I took them to the apartment to show them the place, I introduced the building greeter, Mr. Wolenski. He

grinned. "Way to go, chickie! Is this a new man?"

"No, Mr. Wolenski. This is a friend of mine."

"You still with that tall Latino man with all the muscles?"

"I sure am."

"If you ever get tired of him, you know where I am."

I grinned and kissed him on his cheek. "I certainly do."

He looked at Fern and Will. "Does this mean that we'll soon have a baby to love in the building?" he said. "Bertha and I are always available for babysitting."

I smiled. "You would be a good babysitter as well", I said. "Are things going well with Mrs. Bestler?"

"She's a pretty amazing woman. A little forgetful, but she's a lot of fun."

"I've always found her to be fun as well", I said. "She has an amazing sense of humor."

"I know", said Mr. Wolenski. "She told me this joke the other day. There were three ropes who wanted to go into the bar for a drink, but there was a sign on the window that said, 'no ropes allowed.' So the first rope goes into the bar and orders a drink. The bartender says, 'are you a rope?'. The rope replied that he was, and the bartender shook his head and told him that he didn't serve ropes and told him to get out. So the second rope goes into the bar and the same thing happens. He comes out, frustrated and dejected. So the third rope decides to go in. However, he ties himself into a knot first. He gets into the bar and orders a drink. The bartender looks at him and asks him if he is a rope, at which point the rope replies, 'no, I'm a frayed knot.'"

We laughed as I patted him on the shoulder. "I'd better show Fern and Will the apartment. Besides, my pregnancy bladder is making itself known and one of the babies is using it as a football."

Mr. Wolenski smiled. "I remember those days. Between that and the cravings, pregnancy is a bitch. I personally craved cherry cheesecake."

"But you weren't the one pregnant."

He chuckled. "Do you think that mattered? I still craved cherry cheesecake."

"Did the cravings stop after the delivery?"

"Oh, no. I craved my wife's cherry cheesecake from the day she married me to the day she died."

"Is that a double entendre?" I asked.

Mr. Wolenski grinned. "Well, her cherry cheesecake was particularly good."

I laughed, leaned over and gave him a kiss. "My new building doesn't have you. I miss you."

"Then you'll just have to bring the babies back for a visit. You haven't brought Tia for a whole month."

"I know. I will soon."

Mr. Wolenski patted my hand. "Take care of yourself."

"You too." I led Fern and Will to the elevator. "Mrs. Bestler often plays elevator operator, and she keeps track of who is coming in and going out of the building that way."

"How do you know the residents so well?" asked Will.

I smiled. "This is my apartment. When I was single, I lived in it for about ten years. It isn't fancy, the colors don't match, and it definitely has character, but the people who live here are amazing and incredibly supportive, it's quiet, and it has an elevator. I loved living here. It is a good place to get your feet under you."

"I'm just appreciative of Ranger lending us a place to stay for a few weeks", said Fern. "Nice neighbors make it even better."

Mrs. Bestler wasn't working the elevator that morning, and we rode up to my floor. I walked them down the hall to my apartment, opened the door, and let them in. I walked in after them. The apartment wasn't quite the same without Rex running on his wheel. It was too quiet. However, after using the washroom, I entered the bedroom and saw that Hector had delivered the surprise that we had arranged. He had been looking forward to doing it, and had been pleased to be the person selected to deliver it and put it together.

Fern and Will entered the bedroom and saw the crib that Hector had built. Fern started to cry as Will turned to me in amazement. "Your apartment has a crib?"

I smiled. "No. That is a gift from the Rangeman family to you. We figured you'd need one." Beside the crib was an infant carrier and a bouncy seat. "We figured you'd need those as well", I said.

Will looked at me with tears in his eyes. "That's too much."

I smiled. "It's as Ranger said. The Rangeman family takes care of its own. Welcome to our family."

"That's true", said Eduardo. "We are like a family and, even though we are getting to be a big company, we are still like a family and we care about each other just as much."

"But I don't start for another six months", said Will. "Ranger said that he wanted me to have some time to receive counselling before I started working."

"You're still on payroll, and you have been accepted into the family. Just you helping to get Devlin, the person who threatened me, taken off the streets has impressed the staff. I was the first female hired by Rangeman, and I have a special relationship with the guys, especially the guys in Operations. They are more like fifty big brothers than other employees. I would do anything to protect them, and they would do anything to protect me. The fact that you worked to protect me as well meant a lot to the guys. They are as behind you as Ranger and I are."

"You are like my little sister", said Eduardo. "We've been through a lot over the years, and those bonds won't break easily. If something happened to you, people would be upset just as much as you were upset when Jose's partner was killed a few months ago."

"What happened?" asked Fern.

"Steph identified the killer and found the information to hang him within the week. Vic's killer had been identified and arrested the day after Jose buried Vic. That's what I mean. People in our company look after each other."

"I can't believe that Ranger is paying me while I am on leave", said Will.

I grinned. "Ranger is, and always will be, a family man. He understands the lengths that you have gone to in order to find and protect your wife, and he sees that as a valuable trait in his staff."

"I'm just pleased that Will will be home with me for a while", said Fern. "I have to admit that I'm a little nervous to be going out without Will there."

"I understand that, and I know from experience that it takes a bit of time and a lot of courage to recover. But you will."

"You sound like you've been kidnapped before", said Fern.

Eduardo snorted as I groaned.

"Unfortunately, probably dozens of times", I said. "I was a bounty hunter before I was a researcher, and I was often kidnapped or assaulted or shot or so on. Being a researcher is a much tamer job."

Fern looked at me with her mouth hanging open. "My God. How did you survive?"

I smiled. "I had Ranger in my life. Whenever I fell apart, he would pick up the pieces and put me back together." I patted her on her hand. "You'll be okay. You have a lot of mettle in you, and I can tell that you'll recover well."

"How can you tell?"

I smiled slightly. "You've held it together so far under challenging circumstances. You'll bounce back. Just give yourself a break and let yourself recover." I turned to the kitchen. "Hector, who was the person who put together the crib for you, shopped and filled the fridge with food. He has left some petty cash in the drawer for you so that you have some money before your first paycheck comes in. Laundry machines are in the basement. The only thing we ask is that, when you leave the apartment, you clean it prior to moving out." I looked around. "I hope you like living here just as much as I did." I gave them a hug each. "I'll let you get settled, and I know that you probably want to go out and buy some clothes. Enjoy the apartment, take comfort in being with each other, set up an appointment with my obstetrician – he is waiting for a call from you – and relax. You'll be fine." I took the spare keys out of the drawer in the kitchen for them and put them on the counter. "Take care."

Eduardo and I walked out of the apartment and down to the Rangeman car, got in and left the building. We hadn't gone far when Eduardo looked in the rearview mirror and noticed a car getting very close. He sped up. The car behind us sped up. I turned around and looked, but I didn't recognize the car and I had a bad feeling. I called Ranger. "I think we're in trouble", I said.

I could hear the sudden tension in his voice. "Where are you, babe?"

"Just leaving the apartment on the way home."

"I'll route a team to your location. What's going on?"

"Eduardo and I have a car behind me, right on our tail." I told him the license plate number as we came to a stop light for a busy intersection and prepared to wait. While we were sitting there, I double checked my locks to make sure the doors were difficult to open. I mean, Ranger would have been able to open them in seconds, but the vast majority of people would find them difficult.

I looked behind us, and the man driving the car behind us sped up as we were sitting there, rear-ended our car and pushed us into the middle of the intersection. Cars going the other way were unable to stop in time, and cars t-boned us from both sides. The airbags deployed and, as Ranger called frantically for me, I lost consciousness.

I regained consciousness attached to a spinal board and lying on a stretcher. Ranger was standing beside the stretcher looking frantic, with tears in his eyes. I could hear Morelli talking to the paramedics. "Ranger?" I said a little frantically.

He smoothed his thumb down my cheekbone as he cupped my cheek in his hand. "Shh, babe. Everything is okay."

"Eduardo?"

"He's okay. Tank is with him. He has a concussion and a broken arm, but he will be fine."

"What happened to the other driver?"

"It was Bobo. He was dead upon arrival. Apparently he didn't think it through fully. He pushed you into the intersection, but forgot that he, too, would be in the middle of the intersection. While you got t-boned on both sides, the cars had been able to slow down a bit. However, the cars that hit Bobo were unable to stop or slow down and he died, probably upon impact."

"I'm on a spinal board."

"It's a precaution. They don't think it is necessary, but they don't want to take any chances, especially because you are pregnant."

"Okay. Ranger? The babies aren't moving."

"Maybe they were stressed by the crash and are quiet. Maybe they have gone to sleep. Maybe they just don't have enough room in there. There are all sorts of reasons that the babies might be quiet right now. Don't worry. When we get to the hospital they can do an ultrasound to see how they are doing."

I sighed and, just then, felt a whoosh of liquid. "Ranger? We aren't going to need an ultrasound. My water just broke."

"Amy?" said Ranger as he called the paramedic over. "We need to get to the hospital now, or you will be delivering twins on route."

"Oh, fuck", said Amy. "With Steph on the spinal board, she's not going to be able to push." She turned to me. "How long have you been having contractions?"

"I don't know", I said. "I mean, over the last couple of weeks I have been dilating. When I was in my obstetrician's office yesterday I had dilated to five centimeters. However, the contractions weren't bad until I was at the apartment about half an hour ago."

Ranger sighed.

"I was going to tell you when I got back to Rangeman", I said.

He sighed again. "I know, babe."

"They were only every five minutes, and it's a ten-minute drive. I was fine. I would have been telling you soon."

"Uh-hunh."

"If they are five minutes apart, we'd better get you into the hospital pronto", said the paramedic. She and her partner bundled me into the ambulance as Tank rushed over and Ranger quickly explained the situation. Tank left to give an update to Joe as Ranger hopped in, and soon the ambulance was on its way to the hospital.

Tears flowed down my face. "If I'm relegated to the spinal board, I likely will have to have a C-section, won't I?" I said.

"I don't know, babe, and I know that it is a bad idea to get worried about it at this point. There is nothing we can do."

I sighed.

Minutes later we were at the hospital and I was transferred to a bed in the ER. I was scared. I didn't want to have my babies by C-section. I wanted to birth them naturally. However, despite what I wanted, I was soon moved into an operating room and put under. And at 1:19 in the afternoon on October 11, Grace Charlotte was born. Alix Elizabeth was born a few minutes later. Grace was four pounds, six ounces and Alix was four pounds, eight ounces. And they were beautiful.

When I woke up from the anesthetic, both the babies were in our room in bassinets. They had been tested, and were able to maintain their own body temperatures. Their breathing was good. Unfortunately, their suck/swallow reflex needed to be developed more. "That's okay", said Ranger. "It will just take us some time to teach them. They have already had a bit of formula. It's just slow going until they learn how to do it."

I sighed as tears came to my eyes. I wanted to breastfeed them myself. Ranger looked over at me and saw the tears. "You are not a failure as a mother", he said. "The only reason that you were unable to deliver those babies is because you still needed to be tested for a spinal injury."

"Have I been tested now?"

"Yes, you have. You don't have a spinal injury, although you are going to be stiff and sore for quite a while. There is some inflammation from being knocked around, some internal bruising, but you are going to be okay." Tears came to his eyes. "I heard the crash, and when I called you, you couldn't answer."

"I'm going to be fine, Ranger. You don't have to worry." I looked at him. I could tell that he had spent a lot of time in tears while he waited for me to wake up. "I love you."

"I love you too. So fucking much."

"You said that Bobo was dead?"

"Yes. He was a mess when he was pulled from the car."

"Good."

Ranger smiled slightly.

"Did you phone the parents?"

"Yes. I asked them not to come until tomorrow, and said that you were recovering both from the car accident and the birth. I also asked them that, when they come, they don't stay long. I said that you won't be up to it."

I smiled. "You're my hero."

"Unfortunately, I think your grandmother was devising a good story while I was on the phone. I imagine that a number of people will hear some version of the events by the end of the day."

I sighed. "That was unavoidable."

Ranger smoothed my hair away from my face and cupped my cheek. He leaned down and kissed me gently, tenderly.

"Ranger?" I said.

"Yes?"

"Who won the pools? After all, I hit three of them today. Totaling my car, the birth of Grace and the birth of Alix."

Ranger groaned.