Everybody and anything familiar belongs to Janet. Mistakes are solely mine.

"What the hell are they doing down there?" Atlas asked, not for the first time either.

A variation of that question has been posed at various intervals by a half-dozen men in the last hour. As expected, Harper couldn't bring Angel for a visit without Kane insisting he play bodyguard even though there's a building full of them here. Cal also wasn't about to let a now-showing Kenzie drive herself to Steph's Girls Only gathering. Raphael was alright with Aubrey coming alone, but he figured he could spend the time shooting the shit with the guys, so he tagged along with his wife. But Tank, Frank, and Atlas, all being barely into relationships, were the ones concerned about what could come from a meeting of only female minds, which is why they've been sticking too close to my office.

Knowing that my sisters and mother were attending, Tank has far more reason for concern. Mabyn being around people who've known him for decades could give her a crash course in 'Pierre 101' that he'd prefer she be shielded from. Frank is in a similar boat. Stephanie, Valerie, Edna, Mary Lou, and Shirley being in the same space as Aideen, clearly makes him uncomfortable. I know his family won't intentionally mention Helen or screw up the friendship he's begun with the café owner, but he's not fully healed yet and some doubt still lingers.

Atlas is just scared because he and Stephanie have developed a bickering brother/sister relationship that neither want to call an actual friendship, and he questions the motives behind everything my wife does regarding him. He's wise to be cautious, but while Steph may tease the guys ... she would never hurt them, even him.

"The women are just talking, laughing, and fussing over Olivia, Angel, Steph's nieces, and Kenzie's baby bump," I said, repeating my early words.

Atlas snorted. "Yeah, that would be what normal women do, but yours ain't nothing of the kind. She's probably staging a mutiny and trying to convince ours to get out while they can."

I crossed my arms over my chest and waited to see if this was the end of his tantrum. When he just lifted an eyebrow at my stance, I pointed out what an idiot he's being.

"First off," I told him, "Stephanie would thank you for calling her abnormal. That's not an insult here. But if you try to bad-mouth her again, your mouth will be missing all of its teeth. This is your last warning. She doesn't get involved in the personal lives of others ..."

"Uh-huh, that's why she called up Amari and arranged this thing."

"I'll have to have a word with Dr. Paice about your lack of short-term memory, because we've already been through this. My wife was being considerate," I corrected, "not intrusive. And even if that was her intent, which it isn't, none of the women here are the type to be told what to do. Amari came because she loves you and wants to stay a part of your life this time. Don't let your fears sabotage a good thing. My wife wasn't exaggerating, this life isn't easy. And like with military families, having a support system for the men and the women who love those in harm's way is essential."

"You gettin' all shrinky again?" Kane said, sticking his head and then the rest of his body through my office's doorway. "You have a God complex, you know that? Always trying to save or heal somebody."

"I saved you," I pointed out.

"Nah, even if I had been charged the times I got in a little jam … I would've already broken out of prison by now, likely taking out a guard or two in the process."

One Shot jerked his thumb towards Kane. "I like him."

"I was afraid you would," I replied. "Steph assumes we'll be crashing her party in under an hour, so you'll all be put out of your misery soon."

"Hey, Dad?" Julie said from behind Kane. "I thought you might want a head's up that Stephanie just promised Aunt Celia a bridal shower here."

"That one I knew about, because your grandmother wants to be the one to host it," I told my daughter. "There's now a bribery-rivalry going on to see who your Aunt goes with."

"I seriously think she's considering two parties now."

"Great," I thought to myself but also said out loud.

At best, I'll have to attend one. Worst case scenario would be two bridal showers, a bachelor party, and then the rehearsal dinner and wedding, I'll be obligated to go to.

My eldest walked further into my office and took in the Uncles and adopted Grandpa gathered in it. "What's going on up here?"

Steph had called Rachel herself to ask if Julie could come to the gathering all our women were invited to. I wasn't surprised that Rachel would be on board with a female empowerment meeting, but I was pleased - and also proud - that my wife finally felt confident in reaching out to Julie's parents on her own.

"Your Uncles are here to drive me crazy as they speculate what their better halves are discussing," I said to Julie, nodding my approval when Kane got her a chair to sit down on.

With an eye roll I should've recorded to show Steph later, my daughter responded. "Why are you guys so worried? What's the worst they can say?"

Tank covered her mouth with his dinner plate-sized hand. "Don't ever tempt fate by asking that."

"Move your hand or I'll remove it from your arm," I warned him.

He could suffocate a yeti with just two fingers if he wasn't careful.

"It's okay, Dad. He's just scared."

"Who's scared of what?" My wife asked. "Now I'm really glad I came up to catch you in the act of turning snitch for your Dad. Seriously, guys … do you think we're plotting your demise or something?"

"No," Kane answered. "That we could protect ourselves from."

"Do you think having over a dozen accomplished, fascinating, and intelligent women all gathered together, we'd just be sitting around talking about you guys?"

Frank shrugged. "It's crossed our minds."

My wife's eyes found Julie's over Olivia's head. "Forgive Grandpa Plum for saying that. Fear of the unknown gets them every time … and we," she said, gesturing to Julie and then to herself and Olivia, "are unchartered territory."

Stephanie had chosen to wear black dress pants and heels, and paired them with a wine colored sweater that distracted me from her words because it left one shoulder completely bare. I had to mentally restrain myself from going over to her to kiss all that exposed skin. Earlier in our bedroom when I'd faced a similar dilemma, she'd promised not to change until after our girls were in bed so I could do what I wanted to with no time restraints or interruptions.

"You are that and more, Babe."

She let our baby's squirming body go and Olivia headed straight for me. Tank's eyes narrowed at the snub, but he relaxed when she smiled back at him from her seat on my forearm and open and closed her hand in his direction. She still idolizes him, but conditions have been placed on their mutual affection since Mabyn entered the picture.

"I'm sure Ranger told you that I was betting you guys wouldn't stay away for long, being 'run towards the fire' kind of guys, so along with keeping track of Julie, letting Olive have her hourly 'Daddy-fix', I also came to tell you that you can join us any time. I am sorry that I overruled Ella and had it catered so she could be a guest for once, though the food is from someone she recommended. But I'm warning you here and now that if anybody makes any of the women feel uncomfortable about coming, I will stun you. Got it?"

"Very subtle," I told her with a grin.

"I didn't say it right then, since I wasn't going for subtle."

"Mission accomplished, Steph," Julie told her. "Let's get back before Grandma switches into her 'it's not polite to leave your guests' lecture."

"I wish. Your Abuela is more likely talking Aunt Celia into a Newark shower while we're up here."

It made my chest hurt, how they've created their own relationship apart from mine with them. Bypassing a uniform, my three ladies instead decided on 'braid unity' for the party. Steph did Julie's hair, Julie fixed my wife's, and both collaborated on how to wrangle Olivia's baby fine strands into a braids that matched theirs. Half of Steph's curls were wound into some semblance of a crown of thorns with the rest flying free. Julie's long hair was braided from the bottom up into a ponytail. And Olive had two baby braids leading down into her pigtails.

"Speaking of Tía Celia," Steph said to Julie, "when you were here ratting out my attempt to bribe your Aunt, did you happen to tell your Dad what you got Uncle Raphael to do, Miss Has Hearing Like Her Dad's?"

"Ummm, you sorta found me before I could," my daughter admitted.

"Explain," I told one or both of them.

"I overheard Aunt Aubrey telling Ella that she and Uncle Raphael just adopted a puppy and …"

I wanted to sigh. "And you asked if you could see her," I stated.

There was no need to make that a question.

"Yeah. Wouldn't anyone?" She asked.

"Not me," Kane answered.

"I've had my fill of furballs with the Devil Cat who lives upstairs and her brothers who shed too damn much," Atlas added. "I'm with the Cole-man."

"You two, separate now," I ordered Kane and Atlas. "The world wouldn't survive the two of you teaming up."

Kane saluted me while Atlas just eyed the door again. Kane is one of us ... One Shot is still sporting Rangefamily training wheels.

"If you all come back to the party with us, I promise there'll be too many witnesses on hand for an evil alliance to be formed," Steph said to the group.

Kane grinned at her and then looked at me. "I've missed this place. It's the good kind of crazy."

"Like you?" Steph asked him, holding out a hand for Olivia to run to and hold onto.

"You got it, Babe," he teased.

The fucker could because I'd have to cross the room, and pass my two daughters, in order to punch him.

"Do you want me to deck him for you?" My wife asked me, reading my mind.

"Yes."

"No," Julie corrected. "Us girls are going back down to the conference room, you guys can follow us in a minute."

"Looks like her hearing isn't the only thing she gets from her Daddy," Kane told me. "She's bossy like him too."

"You're lucky you're married to Harper, and Angelique is a cute kid, or you wouldn't have been invited back," was my reply.

"Bet you're wishing you would've let me rot every time you got me out of trouble."

"You have no idea."

I gave my ladies a ten-minute head start before we did crash their party. But our entrance wasn't stealthy or immediate once Tank got a glimpse of who Mabyn was talking to.

"Oh shit, they're talking 'bout engagement rings," Tank noted. "We should go."

"She's looking at Celia's ring, nothing more," I reminded him. "She's dealing with enough right now to be thinking of being proposed to. Hard to believe you're the cool-headed one I trusted to watch my back during firefights."

"I'm not ready to get married."

"Mabyn knows that," I assured him.

"Don't mind him," Kane told Atlas. "He suffers from PTLD … Post Traumatic Lula Disorder. Steph told Harp all about her … how she tricked the big guy into being engaged to her. It's scary stuff."

"She ain't here, is she?" Atlas asked, looking mildly concerned.

"No," I answered. "For Tank and this building's sake, Steph meets Lula and Connie off-site."

"She's the least of Tank's problems if you ask me," Lester said, after inviting himself to the party when he saw where we were headed. "A woman sees an engagement ring, and all she pictures is one for herself immediately after."

"Sure, keep blaming the women for breaking up with you because you don't wanna get married, not admit that they ditched you because you're you," Bobby added, another tagalong party-crasher.

"Funny. NOT," Lester maturely replied.

"You waiting for us?" Raphael asked from the hallway, holding a black and white ball of fur.

The puppy's face is black, as is her hind end and curled up tail, everything in-between took turns being white or black.

"No," Kane told him. "Seems only the Boss' mini-Babe is waiting for that."

Raphael ignored him and held up his newest family member. "Guys, I'd like you to meet Hades …"

"You're shitting us, right?" Lester asked. "That ain't no hellhound."

"No, I'm not joking. Aubrey wanted to name her Sadie, but I didn't think that was an intimidating-enough name so we compromised. If we're gonna go through the trouble of researching 'protective breeds', and then find a Karelian Bear Dog rescue group after we decide that if she can handle a bear, we should be a breeze, she's getting a name worthy of her breed's reputation."

Atlas being Atlas asked …"You expecting many bears to wander your way?"

"Nah, but if she can scare a bear, she should be able to keep my wife safe when I'm at work."

I nodded in understanding. If Stephanie could stop trying to save everyone all on her own, Gunner and Ammo would be my family's first line of defense when I can't be with them.

"OMG, she's so cute!" Julie said, when she realized the second wave of the party had arrived. "Can I hold her?"

"You'll have to promise to give her back first," Aubrey teased, following Julie over to us.

"You've been friends with Steph too long, she used to say that every time someone wanted to hold Olive after she was born."

"She still says that," Kane said to my daughter. "But did I make her promise something when she wanted to cuddle this little Angel? No."

He managed to get an arm around Harper and then he placed a kiss on Angelique's forehead right below the bow barrette holding back her dark hair. Both smiled adoringly up at him. It was a sweet but also nauseating moment to witness.

"Guess that means you're a more trusting person than I am," my wife told him. "Or just less protective."

"Yeah, right," both he and Harp said at the time.

While our little group was still standing slightly apart from the other guests, Julie tried to work her magic.

"Hey, Steph?" She began, but paused in self-preservation when Hades started licking her nose, and Olivia's fingers came dangerously close to her big sister's mouth and eyes as she tried to pet the puppy too. "Do I really have to give her back eventually?"

That question was directed at Raphael and Aubrey.

"I'm afraid so," Aubrey told her.

"That's okay," Julie assured her. "I have a plan."

I caught Steph's eye. "Whatever she's about to say ... it's a no."

"No, you'll like this idea, Dad. It's a good one."

"What is it?" Steph asked her.

"My 'ears that hear everything' picked up a conversation between Grandpa Plum's friend and Grandma ... did you know that Aideen worked with emotional support dogs before she bought her café?"

Steph glanced across the room to where Frank and the woman in question were now talking with Raphael and Bobby.

"I didn't know that," Steph told Julie. "She gets more interesting every time I see her."

"Right?" Our eldest agreed. "Wouldn't it be great if Rangeman had a few dogs like that around to help Uncles, clients, or crime victims, feel better? And maybe Miss Aideen could help train them?"

Kane snorted. "Yep, she's bossy with exceptional hearing and a God complex, just like her Daddy."

"Thank you. I'm also good at payback like him too," she warned. "Hey, Grandma Mazur?! Uncle Kane says to save him a dance!"

"Hah, there's no music," he told the conference room. "Maybe another time."

Julie smiled so wide, I knew a moment of feeling immense pride is forthcoming. "You don't need to be God to have a phone with access to songs that will fit any situation. Now, we have to be real careful with Grandma Mazur's heart, so don't worry," she said, her thumbs working overtime on the screen of the cell she'd had hidden somewhere on her black and white dress, "I'll find something nice and slow."

"She is definitely our girl," Steph whispered when the classic 'Fools Rush In' filled the room seconds later.

And Kane proved he's one of ours too by saluting Julie this time before he turned, bowed in front of Edna, and then gently drew the blushing great-grandmother into his arms.