CHAPTER 11
Three more months had passed and I was becoming more frustrated. My training schedule was reinstated, and I was in the best shape ever. Sophia and I talked at least twice a week, but not always as therapist/patient, we have become close friends. I was finally cleared to return to work, but I still haven't solved the mystery of 'who destroyed Stephanie Plum's apartment'. When I talked to Eddie, he told me the investigation was put on hold since nobody was injured. Apparently, the insurance company was pleased I moved out without contesting the eviction notice. Capital Insurance decided to process the claim prior to having the police investigation results. This was great news for the occupants of my old apartment building. Repairs were already in progress, nearing completion. It won't be long before the three apartments are ready to be rented. Eddie said they didn't have any viable suspects, but he suspected Terry Gilman's involvement. Terry's uncle was part of the mob. Proving she was involved would be very difficult, if not impossible. Who's to say she was involved. Unfortunately the list of probable suspects was quite long.
The next day, I received a call from the main floor security desk. "Stephanie speaking, how may I help you George?"
He reluctantly said, "Uh.. sorry to bother you Stephanie, but your mom is here insisting on speaking to you. Ranger said to contact him immediately if Helen Plum or Joe Morelli arrives on the premises. Ranger and Tank are busy visiting new clients, Lester and Hal are out of town and they left you in charge. I didn't know who else to call. I'm sorry."
I sighed, "That's okay George. I'll be right down. In the meantime, send Tank and Ranger a text. They need to be kept informed." I took the elevator to the main floor to see my mom. Even though I knew better, I figured I'd give her the benefit of the doubt, after all, she is my mom.
As soon as I exited the elevator, my mom started yelling, "Why do I have a daughter who lives with a bunch of thugs?"
"Mom, lets step outside to have this conversation," I calmly said.
She was reluctant to comply, so I grabbed her arm, pulling her outside where she continued her tirade. "You and Joe had a good relationship. He wants to marry you. You need to marry Joe, quit your job and have kids. No more of this nonsense with these men."
I was trying to find the words to make myself clear. "Mom, I am NOT going to marry Joe. Stop trying to convince me. He's a cheater, a liar and an abuser. I will NEVER have anything to do with him again. There is nothing you or anyone else can say to convince me to marry him." My mom slapped me. George ran outside preparing to protect me. "Don't. You. EVER. Hit. Me. Again," I spat out through clenched teeth. Turning to George, I asked, "Can you call upstairs for backup? My mom needs to be escorted off the property and to her car."
"How DARE you ask for your own mother to be removed," she screamed.
Before I could reply, Ranger appeared at my side. "Helen, leave! If you don't, I will personally remove you," he said through clenched teeth.
My mom's face contorted into an angry scowl and said, "You will do no such thing! If you lay one hand on me, I will charge you with assault." As she turned to leave she yelled at me, "You are an ungrateful, hateful bitch and you are no daughter of mine." I was a bit stunned that she disowned me so publicly, yet I wasn't surprised... we haven't talked in months. I returned to my shift in the control room and dismissed my mother's angry words. If this happened six months ago, I would have been a mess. I should call Sophia to thank her again.
Unknown to everyone, Morelli was sitting on his Ducati parked outside the Rangeman building, hidden just out of sight. He overheard the entire conversation. Smiling to himself, he was happy Helen pleaded his case to Stephanie. He turned his bike around and followed Helen when she left. Helen pulled into the closest Liquor store, needing whiskey to calm her nerves. Knowing her favourite drink, Joe followed her to the whiskey aisle where she grabbed the largest bottle of Jim Beam. He quickly left before Helen could see him. She sat in the driver's seat of her car, opened the whiskey and drank a quarter of the bottle. Smiling to herself, she thought 'that hit the spot. I'm already starting to relax'. As she drove away from the liquor store, she continued drinking from the bottle. Morelli was heading in the same direction as Helen. He only lived a few blocks away from the Plums. Morelli wasn't paying too much to the traffic around him. When he stopped at the first red light, he removed his helmet to catch the eye of the young, hot, stacked blonde waiting to cross the road. Helen was completely drunk and didn't notice the red light or the motorcycle stopped in front of her. She crashed into the motorcycle, causing the rider to fly over five feet, smashing his head on the pavement. Helen wasn't aware of what she did and continued to drive away. Ignoring the next red light, she flew into the intersection and into the direct path of an eighteen wheeler. The trucker was unable to stop from crashing into Helen's car and killed her instantly. Helen Elenor Plum (nee Mazur) passed away on June 5th. She was 57 years old.
I was still at the control room monitors when I heard the police scanner. There was an accident five blocks away which involved an eighteen wheeler and a silver Buick LeSabre. My face blanched and I ran towards the stairs. I was too impatient to wait for the elevator. As I raced down the stairs, I felt dizzy and lost my footing. Falling down a full flight of stairs, I heard my right arm snap and bumped my head on the third floor landing. The stairway door crashed open and Tank appeared above me. "Stephanie, are you okay? We saw you fall down the stairs on the cameras."
I pulled my right arm closer to me and cried. "I broke my arm and I bumped my head." Considering my arm was hanging at an odd angle, it was definitely broken.
Tank called Bobby. "Stairway 3, third floor. Bring the rescue board." Cal and Bobby arrived within minutes, Bobby carrying the rescue board.
"I contacted the EMT already. They're on the way and will meet us at the front door," Bobby informed Tank. Carefully, Bobby and Cal placed me on the rescue board and strapped me down, leaving my right arm carefully draped across my chest.
"Cal, hold the doors open while Bobby and I carry Steph down the stairs." Going ahead of us, Cal held the second and first floor stairway doors open for us. When we arrived in the front lobby, the EMT was already waiting with a gurney. I was placed on top of the gurney still attached to the rescue board and strapped down.
"I'll contact Ranger," Cal informed us. Bobby hopped into the ambulance to accompany me to St Francis. Tank and Hal followed the ambulance to the hospital. Cal was still on duty and had to stay behind.
UGH! I really hate hospitals. "Bobby, why couldn't you fix my arm?"
He sighed, "Steph, I don't have an X-ray machine. You also need a CAT scan or MRI because you hit your head." I grumbled as the ambulance pulled in front of the ER doors. How could I have been so clumsy? I thought the days of slipping and falling down the stairs were behind me. Stupid dizziness... why didn't I slow down? "Stephanie, did you say just you were dizzy before you fell?" Bobby asked.
I shook my head and asked, "Did I say that out loud?"
"Yes you did," he replied. Damn. I really need to learn to control saying my thoughts out loud. The doctor arrived in the Emergency room Pod A. After his preliminary examination, he ordered X-rays for my arm and a CAT scan for my head. The MRI will only be done if the CAT scan showed injury to my brain. Bobby pulled the doctor aside, asking to speak to him privately.
A few minutes later, a nurse arrived with a blood test kit. "What are you doing?" I asked the nurse.
"It was in your medical records that you had a blood transfusion within the last four months. The doctor ordered a few tests before we can proceed with the X-ray and CAT scan," she patiently said.
"Okay. But I really hate needles," I said as she prepared my arm.
"Take a deep breath Stephanie, you should only feel a small prick." A minute later the two vials were filled. The nurse removed the needle and bandaged the puncture site.
Another hour passed when the results finally arrived. Dr David Young entered the room while reviewing the results. Smiling at me he said, "Congratulations, you're pregnant."
"WHAT? How could I be pregnant, I'm on the pill," I screamed.
The doctor shifted uncomfortably and said, "You need to discontinue using them. We'll do an ultrasound to determine how far along you are. In the meantime, we still need to do the X-ray and CAT scan."
I was feeling anxious. Ranger is going to be furious. He said he doesn't want any more kids. "Is it safe for the baby?" Ranger entered Pod A as I asked my question. His smile was radiant. Huh... he looks happy to hear I'm pregnant.
"Yes Stephanie, it's safe as long as we take extra precautions," the doctor reassured. The orderly arrived with a wheelchair to take me to X-ray first. In the radiation room, the technician ensured my torso was completely shrouded in lead jackets. He placed an X-ray board under my arm, aligned the machine then went to his booth to take the X-ray.
In order to reduce my exposure to the radiation, he only took the one picture. "Okay, we're done in here."
"That's it? One scan? Usually you guys take 3 or 4 from different angles," I questioned.
"We can see everything on this X-ray. Exposing you to more radiation is unnecessary, given your current condition. Jennifer will be taking you to your CAT scan in the next room." Jennifer is petite with dark curly hair and green eyes.
Giving me a friendly smile, she pointed to the wheelchair, "Sorry, it's hospital policy." I mumbled 'stupid policy and stupid wheelchair'. Jennifer laughed, obviously hearing my complaint.
After the CAT scan, I was returned to emergency room Pod A. The doctor arrived within a few minutes with my results. He put the X-ray on the white light board and turned it on. "See this bone here, that's your ulna and that one there is your radius? As you can see, both are broken. I already paged the orthopaedic surgeon to examine the X-ray and your arm."
"I need surgery?" I asked in panic.
"It likely isn't necessary, but I still need to consult Dr Lee."
"Okay, I guess," I said feeling slightly mollified.
"Your CAT scan was clean. Which means you do not have a concussion," he said. I was relieved. Holding my left hand, Ranger rubbed small circles on my palm with his thumb. I smiled up at him in thanks for so calming me. His touch has always been soothing.
Dr Jonathan Lee arrived and stated, "Good news, you don't need surgery." I grimaced.
When someone says 'good news' there is usually 'bad news' to follow, so I asked, "And the bad news is?"
He simply said, "It's going to hurt when I reset your arm." Joy... it already hurts a lot. How much worse can the pain get? I really shouldn't have asked that question. Because the answer is... it hurts a heck of a lot worse than when it broke. Ranger held my left hand and placed his right hand on my back, rubbing soothing circles to relax me. Dr Lee set my arm, pulled a stockinette over my arm, wrapped it in cotton then covered my arm with plaster. He told me to wait for 15 minutes to allow the cast to dry.
On the other side of the curtain, there was a small commotion just before a tall, black woman entered the pod. "Hi Ms Plum, I'm Dr Christina Brown and I'll be performing your ultrasound."
"Hi Dr Brown... are you any relation to Dr Bobby Brown?" I had to ask.
She laughed and answered, "Yes, Robert's my younger brother." I thought I could see a bit of a resemblance. "I'm the obstetrician gynaecologist on call. Let's get your stomach uncovered so we can use the ultrasound to see your baby. Everyone else, please leave," she said, pointedly looking at her brother.
"I want Carlos to stay. He's the baby's father," I stated.
She shook her head and said, "I'm afraid not. I need to do the preliminary examination first, but he can come back in when I show you the baby."
"Okay, I can handle that," I said as I exhaled. I lie back on the bed, pulled the covers up to my hips and pulled the hospital gown up.
"This will feel a bit cold, just lie back and relax," she said in a comforting tone. She was right, the gel was cold, causing me to jump a bit. Using the ultrasound wand, she moved it over my lower abdomen to examine my baby. Pressing it down from my belly button and up from my pelvic bone. The pressure was a bit uncomfortable. After a few measurements, she called Ranger back into the room. "Carlos, you can come back in."
Ranger pulled back the curtain and stared at the ultrasound machine monitor, looking at our baby. I was watching his face when he came into the room. His expression was pure joy. He sat beside me on the bed and pulled me into his arms. "I'm the happiest man on earth," he said.
"Really? You're not mad?" I asked with unmasked relief.
Dr Christina Brown interrupted our moment to say, "I have more to show you."
I was confused. "What do you mean? I see our baby, what else is there to see?"
She smiled and said, "Let me reposition the wand." When she shifted the wand lower and tilted it up, we could see a second baby in the ultrasound. She quickly printed copies for us. One with both babies, one of baby A (top) and one of baby B (bottom).
I was shocked, "T..t..two babies?"
"Yes, congratulations Carlos and Stephanie, you are expecting twins. According to the measurements, you are 12 weeks and 3 days pregnant. Your due date is December 15th." That's when I fainted.
"Babe. Steph, are you okay?"
"Ranger, I'm fine. I was just a bit shocked." I noticed Bobby standing next to Ranger. Looking to the doctor I asked, "How did I get pregnant while on the pill?" She looked towards her brother Bobby who quickly explained.
"You were taking antibiotics which rendered your birth control pill useless."
"I never heard of that before. Why didn't the doctor warn me?" I asked with a shaky voice.
"Being on the pill wasn't part of your medical history when you had surgery on your leg. The doctor didn't know to warn you."
I looked at Ranger with tears in my eyes. "Babe. We didn't know. I'm not mad at you. I wouldn't change a thing." He leaned over and kissed me tenderly.
"So you're okay with me keeping them?" I asked. I think I already knew the answer, but I still needed to hear his answer.
"Yes Babe, I'm really okay with you keeping them. As long as we can raise them together." I threw my arms around Rangers neck and sobbed tears of joy.