A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger, but the devil made me do it... lol...
Chapter 20
Ranger fell to his knees. He lost his Babe again. "Mr. Manoso, Stephanie's in the recovery room. I'm afraid I had to remove her uterus to stop the bleeding," Dr. Manchester said.
"She's alive?" Ranger asked.
"Yes. Your wife is alive," she replied. "Your son got moved to the neonatal ward. He needs to stay in the hospital until his lungs are stronger."
"Thank you," Ranger whispered.
"Stephanie's cervix opened prematurely. I noticed a genetic deformity in her uterus. Does she have sisters?" Emaline asked.
"One sister. Four normal pregnancies and deliveries," Ranger replied, giving the doctor all the information.
"Do you have children at home?" she asked.
"I have a daughter from a previous marriage," he replied.
"If your wife has nieces, it would be wise to get them screened," Emaline added. Ranger nodded. He made a mental note to notify Valerie.
Dr. Manchester took Ranger to the recovery room. He sat on the chair beside Stephanie and held her hand. "I'm sorry, Babe. Sandra crossed a line tonight. When I placed the microphone, she caught me unaware and kissed me. I did not kiss back. She's no longer employed at Rangeman," Ranger quietly said.
"Good," Stephanie mumbled. "Did you admit to being unaware of your surroundings?"
"Babe," he groaned. Stephanie interpreted the word to mean she was correct. She moved her hand to her abdomen. "Baby?"
"Ricardo is in the neonatal ward. Babe, the doctor had to remove your uterus," Ranger replied. "Why did you run?"
A tear dropped from Stephanie's eye. "Not running, thinking," she slowly answered. "Who got hurt?"
"Manny. Sandra led Blunder out the back door, where I waited with Manny. She stupidly looked in the direction where I hid, giving away our position. Manny jumped out to grab Blunder and got shot. The bullet hit a few millimetres beside his heart," Ranger explained.
"Is he going to be okay?" Stephanie asked. The fogginess from the anesthetic wore off.
"Bobby will call when he's out of surgery."
"I'm sorry," Stephanie said. A sudden thought entered Stephanie's mind. "Could Sandra charge you with sexual harassment or assault?"
"No. Our encounter got recorded. I started recording the second Sandra closed my office door," Ranger replied. "You mentioned not trusting her. I didn't want to leave anything to chance."
"When can I see our baby?" Stephanie asked. A nurse entered the room to check on her patient.
"I see you're awake. Would you like to see your son?" she asked. Stephanie nodded.
She helped Stephanie sit in the wheelchair. The nurse pushed her into the hallway. Ranger walked beside the chair, holding Stephanie's hand. They walked to the room containing the premature babies.
A nurse was feeding their son when they arrived. "He's handsome," Stephanie said, approaching her son.
"He's the only one here," the nurse stated. "Your son weighs exactly five pounds." She placed the boy in Stephanie's arms. "Mrs. Manoso, we have to keep his eyes taped closed. His eyes are sensitive to the light."
"I want to go home," Stephanie said.
"I'm afraid that's not possible," the nurse replied.
"Make it happen," Stephanie snapped. Ranger's lip twitched in amusement. "My best friend is a nurse, and Rangeman has a medic on staff. I am taking my son home today."
"Mrs. Manoso, please be reasonable," the nurse said. She stopped talking when she saw Stephanie's glare. "Fine. Mr. Manoso, if you could please follow me."
Ranger followed the nurse into the hallway. "I'll get the company medic caught up to speed and get the equipment delivered. My wife will have excellent care," Ranger stated.
"Your wife is intimidating," the nurse confessed. "I'll prepare the discharge papers."
"Thank you," Ranger said. He went into the waiting room area to call Bobby. "Report!"
"Manny is out of surgery. He has a tough recovery ahead of him. How is Stephanie?" Bobby asked.
"Recovering. Our son arrived," Ranger stated.
"Oh. It's early. What do I need to do?" Bobby asked, ready to prepare Rangeman for the baby's return.
"Incubator, UV lights for jaundice, pediatric heart monitor, and whatever else you and April can think of to bring my family home," Ranger replied.
"I'll arrange transport," Bobby said before hanging up.
~~~
Joe noticed the attractive blond entering Pete's bar. He'd seen her before with some of the Rangeman employees. "Can I buy you a drink?" Joe asked when the woman sat on the stool beside him.
"Sure, honey. Whiskey on the rocks," Sandra replied. "Sandra."
"Joe," he said before ordering her drink. "What brings you here tonight?" Sandra was wearing sexy clothes. The same kind of outfit Stephanie would wear for distractions.
"Drowning in my sorrows. I came onto my boss. He was giving me the I want you, look. You know? I knew he wanted me. We kissed, and I felt fireworks," she replied. "I got fired when one of the men got shot."
Joe raised an eyebrow. Ranger didn't fire people without a valid reason. "Who did you kiss, and who got shot?" Joe asked.
"Manny got shot. Another millimetre to the left, and he'd be dead," Sandra replied, shivering. "I kissed Ranger. How can he find his fat wife attractive is beyond me."
He couldn't stop the laughter. "Stephanie is pregnant. If I were you, I'd stay far away from Ranger and his family. You'd lose that battle," Joe said.
"Speaking from experience, are we?" Sandra wondered.
"I had a relationship with Stephanie several years ago. She got caught between Ranger and me. As you can see, she's married to Ranger. I lost," Joe answered.
"Maybe if we work together, we can get the person we want," Sandra suggested.
"Nope. Not going to happen." Joe dropped cash on the bar counter. "You should cut your loss. It wouldn't be wise to mess with Ranger and Stephanie," Joe warned.
"Whatever. You wait, I'll get Ranger from that bitch," Sandra snapped. "She not even pretty."
"You can't say I never warned you. Good luck, you're going to need it," Joe said. He walked out of the bar and called Rangeman.
"Rangeman, how may I help you?" Binkie answered.
"Hi, it's Joe Morelli calling. May I speak to Stephanie or Ranger?" Joe asked.
"Sure. I just left Pete's bar. An ex-employee named Sandra is plotting to get between Stephanie and Ranger. I don't know what she's planning, but I'm afraid she'd go after Stephanie," Joe stated.
"What made you call to warn us?" Binkie asked.
"Stephanie's been through enough. Please keep her and the child safe," Joe replied before ending the call.
Binkie called an emergency core team meeting. Zip took over the front desk so Binkie could inform the men regarding Sandra. Lester groaned, "Man. Stephanie said we shouldn't hire her. Why didn't I listen?"
"Because you were thinking with the wrong head," Bobby said, smacking Lester in the back of his head. "We need a team tracking Sandra. Stephanie had the baby today. I've made arrangements for their transportation back to Trenton."
"Does April know?" Tank asked.
"Not yet. I need help to set up the space for the boy," Bobby answered. "Speak of the devil."
April barged into Tank's office. "Where's Stephanie?" April screamed.
"Near Point Pleasant. She had the baby," Bobby replied. "I've got a delivery coming in tonight. I could use your help setting up the room."
"Where?" April asked.
"Medical suite. The infant requires round-the-clock care for the next few weeks. I'll have Anna and Monica take a shift too. They'll want to help Stephanie," Bobby replied.
"As long as the skank Sandra isn't around. I don't trust her," April added.
Lester groaned, "You didn't like her either?"
"Nope. Anna, Monica, Robin and Valerie agree with Stephanie and me. We think she only wanted to work for Rangeman to get closer to Ranger. It's a headache Stephanie didn't need," April explained. "I'd take the person responsible to the mats, but I'm pregnant. Hal would have to fight that battle for me."
"What time?" Lester asked.
"0600 hours," Hal replied, entering the office to find his wife. "Zip and Zero are on guard duty."
"Come on, baby. Steph's coming home, and we need to set up the medical suite for the infant," April said. Hal raised an eyebrow but didn't question why the baby was two months early. They had a lot of work to accomplish before the morning. Robin, Vince, Junior and Binkie helped get the medical suite ready for Stephanie and their nephew. It was 1 am by the time everyone finished.
Tank conducted the morning meeting, letting everyone know that Sandra officially got terminated from Rangeman. It didn't take long for Valerie, Robin, Anna and Monica to learn what Sandra did and that she planned to go after Stephanie.
"We're not going to leave her alone, right?" Anna asked.
"Nope. We'll take shifts to watch her. Valerie can only help during daytime hours. She has children," April answered.
"Give me a rotation comparable to everyone else. There's no need to alter it for my children. Cal and my dad will watch them," Valerie insisted.
"Okay. I'll draw up a schedule and email it. If there's a time that doesn't work for you, please let me know immediately," April stated. "Bobby and I will train everyone. Anna, Monica, your file stated you took early education for special needs children. You'll find some of the requirements are the same but on a tiny human. I'll let Bobby train you, and I'll take Valerie and Robin."
"Should I not know the answer to your question, I'll redirect you to April," Bobby added.
Cal raised his hand to ask, "Why can't we hire private nurses to take care of the infant?"
"Good question," Tank replied. "Binkie, please share the details from last night."
Binkie told the room about Sandra's plot to interfere with Stephanie and Ranger's marriage. Joe was afraid the woman would attack Stephanie to harm her child. "We need to set up surveillance to monitor her movements," Junior suggested. "Stephanie needs to stay in Rangeman."
"No," Stephanie said from the conference room door. "April, Bobby, Ranger needs you in the medical suite." She waited for them to leave before stating, "I'm not going to cower or hide from Sandra. Let her come after me."
"You just had a baby," Lester whined.
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "I know you insisted on hiring that viper, Lester. When I heal, expect a visit to the mats. I want at least two additional bodyguards on Julie. It wouldn't surprise me if she goes after a child," Stephanie explained.
"What about your nieces?" Junior asked.
"She wants Ranger. Sandra would go through Julie or me. The other children are relatively safe. Val, I would like guards watching dad's house at night. Please don't fight me on this. It would kill me if anything happened to the children."
"Okay, Steph. Cal and I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I'll tell daddy," Valerie replied.
"Anything else we should know?" Vince asked.
"If Sandra comes onto Rangeman property, let me handle the bitch," Stephanie snarled. Stephanie smiled and added, "Your nephew's name is Ricardo Carlos Manoso."
"Dismissed!" Tank bellowed.
Lester and Tank stayed in the room with Stephanie. She sat in the wheelchair, looking grumpy.
"How are you feeling, Little Girl?" Tank asked, kneeling in front of Stephanie.
"Sore. The hospital didn't want to discharge us. I had to sign AMA waivers. They only let me bring Ric home because April worked a few years in the neonatal unit in Honolulu. April and Bobby are responsible if anything goes wrong. I couldn't stand being that far away from home. It was stupid for me to leave," Stephane replied. "Can one of you wheel me back to the medical suite? I need to see my son."
Lester let Tank push the wheelchair. "Little Girl, was it wise to remove Ric from the hospital?" Tank asked.
"No. I had an uncontrollable need to get home. I'm not sure I could accurately describe the perplexing fear that overwhelmed me," Stephanie replied.
"Is fear still the predominant emotion?" Tank wondered.
"No. I felt better when the ambulance pulled into the garage. It's like the switch got flicked off," Stephanie attempted to explain. "I'm on bed rest for the next few days."
Hector waited by the open elevator for Stephanie to arrive. He kissed her forehead then held the doors open for her chariot to load into the car. "Have you selected godparents?" Lester asked. Stephanie knew he wanted the role, but she already had other people in mind.
"Carlos and I discussed the options. We've decided to go with April, Hal, Robin and Hector," she answered. Hector wrapped his arms around Stephanie's shoulders, pushing Tank out of the way.
"I'll protect him," Hector whispered.
"I know you will," Stephanie whispered before kissing his cheek. Her friend came to the hospital to watch over her and Ric until Ranger could arrive. She let Tank push her into the medical suite. When Hector moved away, Stephanie grabbed his hand, gently pulling him back towards the bed.
"Ranger, mats. NOW!" Tank ordered. Ranger raised an eyebrow while Stephanie laughed.
"Carlos, you should go. Tank, don't hurt him too much. I think he's suffered enough for a night," Stephanie stated.
"I love you, Babe," Ranger said. He tenderly kissed Stephanie before he followed Tank to the mats.
"Looks like someone worked you over, Les," Stephanie said, pointing to his face.
"Yup. First, Hal took me to the mats. Robin, Anna and Monica followed. I'm sorry for hiring Sandra. I had no idea she'd be that conniving," Lester stated.
"Really? Even after I told you she got fired from her last job because she slept with all of the married men in the company?" Stephanie asked.
"All of them? I thought it was only the boss," Lester replied.
"Idiot," Stephanie mumbled.
Lester thought for a few minutes before he realized what he had said. "Shit!"
"You got it. If you don't mind, I need to talk to Hector for a few minutes," Stephanie stated. Lester hung his head and exited the medical suite like a wounded animal.
"Angel?" Hector asked.
"Hector, I can't thank you enough for keeping an eye on my son. When I felt those pains, I didn't know who else to call. Ranger was on the job because of the bounty on the skip. Do you have the video from Ranger's office? I need to see it," Stephanie replied.
"I have it. Watch," Hector said, passing his phone to Stephanie. She used the Bluetooth earbuds to listen.
Everything happened the way Ranger stated. Her husband did not reciprocate the kiss. He pushed the woman away from his body. From the tension in Ranger's jaw, Stephanie knew he was an unwilling participant. "She tricked him," Stephanie said after watching the video multiple times.
"Yes. Sandra is a dangerous woman," Hector agreed.
"Can you get Valerie, Robin, Monica and Anna? I think April's with my son. I'll need someone to watch him for a few hours. I have a plan, and I need their help. Your help too," Stephanie stated.
He gathered the women Stephanie requested. She carefully explained what she needed to have done. Robin and April grinned. "I can get the drugs," April offered. "But I'll need to tell Bobby."
"That's fine, April. Maybe he can help too," Stephanie suggested. Valerie left the room briefly before she returned.
"April showed me how to care for Ric. Cal and Dad are with the children," Valerie stated. She kissed Stephanie's cheek and went on duty.
Bobby entered the room, "I like how you think, Steph."
"It's not my idea. I stole it from Ranger," Stephanie confessed.