Chapter 38

LPOV

Our first stop on the way home was a tattoo parlour. Mallory insisted on staying with us for a few days. She needed to be close to her sister. Her mannerisms were directly in line with Stephanie. Both women have a big heart and they welcome everyone with open arms.

When I first met Mallory, she was more cautious and reserved. It took almost a full week for her to relax around the men. Stephanie, on the other hand, was more open from the moment she was introduced. She's a remarkable woman. Her sister is a very close second. These two women grew closer together during their mission.

"Why are we stopping here?" I asked my wife.

"I'm keeping a promise I made to Mal," she answered.

"It's a surprise," Mallory added. "You can escort us into the building, but you can't come into the tattoo area."

"How did you hear about this place?" I wondered.

Manny opened the curtain separating the two areas and said, "From me. This is my shop."

"Our shop," Cal said as he joined the group.

"I do most of the work," a pretty girl joked. "Hi, I'm Yvonne Phillips, Cal's wife." I wasn't aware Cal was married. He never said anything and his Rangeman file didn't indicate a wife.

My wife leaned over and stage whispered, "They got married last week. She probably hasn't applied for a name change yet."

"I'm keeping my last name until we have children," she said while laughing. "Are you two ready?"

"We are. Thanks for organizing this for us Cal."

"I didn't. It was all Manny. He heard your arrangement and booked your appointments for today," Cal quickly corrected Steph.

Mallory grabbed Stephanie's left hand and followed Yvonne into the back area.

"Congrats man," I said shaking Cal's hand.

"We've been together for awhile. Seeing you and Steph make your marriage work gave the rest of us some hope," he replied.

Yvonne yelled, "Thanks Rodriguez, I owe you one. Hey, after I'm finished with your wife and sister in law, can I interest you in a tattoo as a belated wedding gift?"

"I can get Cal or Manny to handle mine," I answered.

"Okay Rod, what will it be?" Cal asked. He gave me some books to search through.

"What I want isn't here. If you grab some paper, I'll draw it for you," I answered. Manny gave me a pad of paper and a pencil. He watched as I drew a silhouette outline of a man wearing a top hat and glasses. Around his shoulders was a golden lasso with a silhouette of Wonder Woman holding the end. It would take up a sizeable portion of my shoulder, but it's exactly what I wanted. Our initials were engraved on the hat inside a red heart.

Cal took a few pictures and sent it to his computer. He sat in his chair and made several modifications to the tattoo. Manny leaned over his shoulder and offered his input. When they finished with the design, they printed a copy and showed it to me.

They shrunk the size to fit into a 4 inch tattoo. Wonder Woman had shoulder length curly hair and blue eyes. Incognito had short curly hair and amber eyes. I laughed when I noticed the necklace they gave Wonder Woman, it was a lunar eclipse.

"Can I get this one added too?" I heard my wife ask. I have no idea what she's adding to her tattoo. Yvonne quickly agreed.

Manny set up the equipment so Cal could work on my tattoo. I removed my shirt and indicated towards my left shoulder. Cal prepped the area and transferred the image. He got to work on my tattoo. "Go help Yvonne," Cal told Manny.

"Got it," he said before leaving.

"Do mine?" I heard Mallory ask.

"Sure," he quickly replied. The rest of their conversations were too quiet for me to hear. I was curious what Stephanie was adding to her tattoo. If I think about it, I didn't even know what tattoo her and Mallory were getting.

"What tattoo did Stephanie and Mallory agree to?" I asked Cal.

"No clue. From what I heard, they couldn't agree on a design," he answered. "Your wife said if she didn't absolutely love it, there was no way it was going to permanently etched into her skin."

"I guess when you're permanently marking your body, you want to be sure it's something you really like," I agreed with my wife's assessment.

"Heard from Lester your wife's an amazing cook," Cal stated. "He said the pasta casserole was so delicious he licked the container."

"Her casserole is really good. She also makes wicked baked mac and cheese too. We should have you and Yvonne over for dinner," I offered.

"Thanks, we would love to," he replied.

"Is tonight too soon?" Steph yelled.

Cal laughed before replying, "If Yvonne says it's okay."

"It was her idea," my wife replied.

"Tonight it is," I laughed.

"Us too," Manny and Mallory shouted.

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SPOV

Manny brought me a copy of the tattoo Lucas was getting on his left shoulder. It's an amazing tattoo. I loved the symbolism he thoughtfully created. "Hubby," I whispered. "I want this one too, but instead of the lunar eclipse charm, I want a golden heart. Leave the rest as is."

"Okay, I'll work on this one while Yvonne does the other one," he quickly agreed.

Manny had our other design already stencilled on Mallory's right hip, between the hip bone and her fleshy ass. She found a set of Wonder Woman's cuffs in the design book. A few modifications was made to the right arm cuff. We're having 'sisters' written instead of the WW symbol.

I remained as still as possible for Manny to put the stencil on my right shoulder. As he carefully outlined the design, Yvonne finished the tattoo on my right hip, in the same location as Mallory. "How does it look Mal?" I asked before Yvonne covered my tattoo with gauze.

"Pretty good. I'd be totally creeped out if I hadn't already seen you naked," she joked.

"You promised to never to talk about it," I groaned.

Mallory laughed, "I did not promise anything. You asked me to promise and I didn't answer." Okay, she got me on a technicality. "Manny already knew. Yvonne doesn't care since she spent the last half hour staring at your firm ass."

"She's right you know," Yvonne said with a laugh. "I got a very good look at your ass. How did you get such firm, sexy ass?"

"Lots of squats, lunges and yoga," I answered.

"Huh," Yvonne said as she started Mallory's tattoo. "Must be genetics. Your ass is firm and sexy too."

I had to laugh. I've never thought my ass was firm or sexy. The only person I know with a sexy firm ass is my husband. Mallory started laughing. I must have said that out loud. She said, "That's not what I heard sis. You think all our Merry Men have sexy firm asses." She was telling the truth. It's exactly what I think. "So do I," she quickly added as she stared at Manny's ass.

"Mal, when did you get the pink rose tattoo?" I decided to ask. It was a beautiful partially open pink rose with a blue ribbon wrapped below the bloom. I assumed she got it after Emily and her son died.

"On the first anniversary of Em's death," she confirmed. "I wanted something permanent to remember them. I'm having Yvonne add their initials to the ribbon. The rose is partly open because she didn't get the chance to live a full life. I added the blue ribbon for my unborn nephew. EMP for Emily Miranda Price and RCM4 for Ricardo Carlos Manoso the forth." Manny paused a few seconds before continuing.

I stretched my hand towards my sister. "It's a shame I never got to meet her," I said as I squeezed her fingers.

"You might have reacted to her the same way you did my twin. Dad Victor thought she was the perfect child, while I was always the wild one. Kind of like your dynamic with Val. Don't get me wrong, I loved her, but she was always a pain in my ass," she squeezed my fingers back.

"Kind of like Val was always a pain in mine," I stated. "I get it. When it comes to the heart of everything, there isn't a single thing I wouldn't do for my sister."

"Me too. I would have done anything for her. Just like I would do anything for you and Valerie," she added. "Okay Steph… enough of this mushy conversation."

"I agree, there's only so much mush I can handle," I said with a smirk. "Are you coming home with me?"

"That's the plan. Is Lucas alright with me staying at your house?" she asked.

"You're family Mal. Of course he's alright with you staying with us."

"I wouldn't want to impose," she added.

"Make sure you wear earplugs when you go to bed," Manny joked.

"Why would she need earplugs?" Yvonne asked.

Manny laughed, "Let's just say Stephanie has a good set of lungs." My face turned bright red.

"So she's a screamer during sex," Mallory quickly stated. "Got it." She got a mischievous look on her face as she looked towards Manny. I had a feeling she was plotting something.

Mallory lifted her chest from the table by resting on her elbows. With her chin resting on her hands, she checked out my second tattoo. "Is that the one Luke is getting?" she whispered.

Yvonne whispered, "Yes, but he has a lunar eclipse on the necklace."

"It's amazing. Where did he find the design?" Mallory asked keeping our conversation quiet.

"Designed it himself. Cal tweaked it a bit," Manny replied. He just made this tattoo more special. What felt like an hour later, Manny tapped my left hip and asked me to sit up.

"Mal, I have something very important to ask you," I reluctantly started as Manny treated my shoulder. "Did you know Ranger's birth name is Ricardo Carlos Manoso the third?"

Her face went pale before replying, "I only know him as Major Ric Manoso and Ranger. I never met Emily's fiancé so I didn't know."

"He mainly goes by Ranger or Carlos, but he prefers Ranger," I told her as I reached for her hand. "It's okay Mallory." She entwined her fingers with mine, needing a close connection without hugging.

"We can cuddle later," she said with a smirk.

"I'd like that very much," I said smiling at her.

"Do you think Luke would get jealous?" she joked.

"Only if we add Yvonne to the mix… that is if she's interested," I added with a small giggle.

I watched Yvonne look towards Manny before she winked at me and said, "Sure, I could go for some cuddling with your sexy firm asses."

Manny mumbled something that sounded like, "Women are evil." We burst out laughing. It was just too easy to tease him. "You're done wifey. Be careful pulling your shirt over your head."

"Thanks guys. How much do I owe for the tattoos," I asked.

Yvonne and Manny were having a silent stare down before she texted Cal. Her phone chimed a few seconds later. "Nothing," she announced. "It's our way of saying thanks for coming back home to us Steph."

I tried tried to protest, but Mallory grabbed my hands. "Stephie, all the men at Rangeman see you as their sun. You brought light into their dark lives. Even when I came here, I was almost lost in the darkness. Without your light, we would never have found our way home. We all love you," she said squeezing my fingers. She jumped off her table to help me with my shirt.

"Steph, Cal and I have been together for a long time, but he refused to commit fully because of his time in the SEALS. When you married Rodriguez, you showed him how easy life could be with your soulmate. He proposed the day Manny and Mallory here left to rescue you. Don't you see yourself clearly? You are the most important person in this room, at Rangeman and in their lives. Even though we just met today, I love you because you showed my man it was possible to have everything he wants. Please accept our gift to say thanks," Yvonne insisted.

Feeling a bit left out, Manny decided to add, "Wifey, we owe you more than just our gratitude. We owe you our lives. As both Mal and Yvonne said, you are our light. Without you, we would have been lost forever in the darkness. You make all of your Merry Men better men, better soldiers and better partners. If we are injured, you stay with us in the hospital. Can't you see it? Every mission we do, we fight hard to come back home to you."

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LPOV

Cal and I could clearly hear their conversation. It seems our tattoos are on the house, thanks to my amazing wife. We quietly entered their room as Manny was saying wonderful, truthful words to her.

"Even when we don't leave on missions," Cal started, "Every time you see us, you make us feel like we're coming home." He wrapped his arm around his wife. "You gave me and Von hope. We would never have married if you and Rodriguez didn't show us exactly how easy it was. When you left on your mission, I thought he would have gone crazy after a few days. Like you would have done, he focused on his job. The day Ranger and his team left, he was very stoic. I asked him how he could stay so focused, he said it was exactly what you would have done. You trusting us to have your back and asking Mallory for help, sealed the deal with me and Von. It was your singular act of complete trust that made us take the plunge. We wouldn't be where we are today without you showing how wonderful it could be. I love you because you are simply you."

Tears were dripping off Stephanie's chin. She carefully got down from the table and wrapped her arms around Cal's chest. Then she wrapped her arms around Manny's before she finally buried her face into my shoulder.

"I think you guys broke my wife," I joked.

"Does this mean our dinner plans are cancelled?" Manny asked.

"Dinner is not canceled. I'm still cooking my special casserole for you. Cal, Manny, Mallory and Yvonne, I hope you all know I love you too," she cried.