Chapter 59

SPOV

Rodrigo Vanderez' body was found in pieces throughout the Pine Barrens. From the lack of evidence available, Hector will never be charged with his murder. With the amount of snakes and wildlife in the area, it was nearly impossible to determine cause of death. Only a few select Merry Men and I know Hector was responsible for killing the man who murdered Helen Mazur. When I asked the reason for the second tattoo, he replied, "I added the second tattoo to remind me I protected my hermana." The first one was to avenge his sister's murder.

Fourteen weeks later…

Oh my God. My back is killing me. It hasn't stopped hurting since last night. I had my last monthly appointment with Dr McNall yesterday morning. We graduated to weekly appointments. According to her, I've carried my babies to term. I know… I'm only 34 weeks, but Natalie assured me it's normal for multiples to be born early. Mallory and I still had our appointments at the same time, but our husbands always joined us. Between the two of us, we're having three girls and one boy. Dad's grandsons are still outnumbered by girls.

Whenever I have my prenatal appointments, I noticed Tank always volunteered to be my security detail. I have a feeling Mr Pierre Sherman is quite taken with Miss Natalie McNall. Those two should just get together already. Maybe Tank needs a not so gentle nudge.

My Merry Men were finding their significant others. Lester decided to give up his womanizer ways and is living with Kara. I was so happy when Ranger proposed to Karissa. They bought the house on the other side of mine. Lester purchased the house backing onto Ranger's new house. Bobby purchased the house backing onto Ram's house. They were talking about removing the fences between the yards to open up the space. Lucas and I thought it was a wonderful idea.

If more men purchase the houses in our established neighbourhood, we'll have to rename our neighbourhood as Merry Men way. I started laughing before I screamed in pain. Cal burst into my room and gently lifted me into his arms. "Get Rodriguez," he yelled as he carried me to the elevator.

He placed me on the backseat of the largest SUV. I noticed it was Ranger's personal vehicle. Karissa climbed into the back with me. She placed my head in her lap. When she started running her fingers through my hair, I started to relax. Much to my surprise, Kara climbed in the other side and pulled me feet into her lap. "Remember your Lamaze training. Deep cleansing breaths, slow breaths out. That's right," she directed me. I concentrated on Karissa's face as I listened to Kara.

My husband jumped into the front passenger seat as Ranger took the driver's seat. "Is she secure Riss?" he asked before leaving the garage.

"We used the straps you added a few weeks ago. She's secure. Even if you slam on the breaks, she would still be secured to the seat," Karissa said in a soothing voice. When her words registered, I tried to shift my hips and chest. While I was distracted breathing and watching Karissa, Kara strapped me into the seat. It was as if they choreographed this specific scenario.

I could feel his eyes watching me as I concentrated on breathing through the contractions. My attention was on Karissa. She was very soothing. Kara reached beneath me to rub my lower back muscles. "Let it relax you sweetie. It will help remove some of the pain," Kara gently stated. Between the two woman, I was focused and centred.

"You two should open a midwife practice," I joked.

They looked at each other and laughed. Karissa said, "Steph, Kara's been teaching me how to deliver babies and relaxation techniques. She wanted to make sure you always had someone close by to help."

"Thanks Kara, you're amazing," I said through a contraction.

"It's all a part of my job," she reminded me. "I already called Natalie. She's meeting us at the hospital."

"Tank?" I asked.

Lucas started laughing. "Only my wife would try to set up her OB and friend while she's in labour," he said amused.

"What? They'll look so cute together," I explained before a very powerful contraction ripped through my abdomen. "Sorry Kara," I groaned.

"Why are you... oh… I get it," she sighed. She grabbed her phone to make a call. Placing the call on speaker, she asked, "Hey sexy, did you remember to grab my emergency bag?"

Lester responded, "Sure did gorgeous. What's the 411?"

"Active labour and her water just broke," Kara answered.

"Oh I'm going to be an uncle again," Lester said enthusiastically.

"All over my leg," she deadpanned. Karissa stifled a laugh.

Lester asked, "I guess we'll see just how waterproof your seat covers are cousin."

"Santos," Ranger barked.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. How are you holding up Rodriguez?" he asked.

"He's unusually quiet," I replied.

"So… close to shitting his pants… got it. I'm making the guys give you an hour lead time. Once that hour's up…" he trailed off. "Kara, your bag's in the back with the others."

"HUA," I groaned as I motioned Kara to turn off her phone. "Sorry, his enthusiasm was starting to piss me off."

Ranger started laughing as he pulled into the hospital lot. He parked in front of the hospital doors. Cal and Tank were waiting with a gurney and an intern.

"Beds are worse than wheelchairs," I complained.

"Sweetie, you're having two babies today. You'll be more comfortable laying slightly on your left side," Kara explained.

She moved my legs from her lap and bent my legs slightly. Karissa unbuckled the strap across my chest while Kara handled the other one. Ranger gently pulled Karissa from the car before reaching in to grab me from my armpits. Kara shifted along the seat to keep my legs bent.

Once my hips were on the edge of the seat, Lucas moved between Ranger and the door to help lift me. Ranger could have handled me himself, but I was at an odd angle. He didn't want to drop me or accidentally hit my belly.

They gently laid me on the gurney and lifted the sides to prevent me from rolling out. Cal quickly shoved pillows under my right side, forcing me to lay more on the left. "You're doing very well my love," Lucas said as he stroked my fingers.

"Kari, Kara, can you help me change?" I asked.

"Sure," they readily agreed.

Bobby arrived at the hospital to fill out my insurance paperwork. He was happy to handle the mundane so the men could concentrate on their treatment.

I was taken directly to the delivery room. Dr McNall had the room fully stocked for every complication she could think of. Kara had me stand to make changing my clothes easier. While Kari and Kara were changing me, I felt a gush and the sudden urge to push. "Stephanie, please look at me," Karissa said gently while pulling up my face to get my attention. "Stay focused on me while Kara removes your shoes and clothes."

I had a feeling something was terribly wrong. "Okay Steph. Slowly lift your right foot," Kara directed as she pulled off my wet shoes and socks. "Now your left leg."

She tossed my shoes under the bed to get them out of the way. "You're doing very well Steph. Stay focused on me okay?" Karissa directed. "Okay, Kara needs to remove your pants and underwear. She can't talk, so she'll tap the leg she needs you to slowly lift."

Another pain ripped through my body. I stayed focussed on Karissa's face. She's a very remarkable woman. Kara gasped as she removed my panties. I wanted to know what she saw, but Karissa gently grabbed my hands to hold them between us. "Stay focused on me sweetie," she reminded me. "I'm going to help you raise your arms so we can remove your shirt."

"Leave it on," I groaned.

"Good idea," Karissa stated. I could feel Kara miming something from behind me. Even though she didn't break eye contact with me, I knew Karissa got the message.

Kara lowered the bed as much as possible. It was enough for them to lay me crosswise on my left side. I motioned to sit up, but Kara stopped me. "Stay there while I hood up the IV. I know you wanted to have them naturally, but that's no longer possible," she explained.

The door opened and I felt my husband enter the room. His face didn't display what he clearly saw when he entered. "This is going to be interesting," Dr McNall announced when she entered the room. She gave Kara a nod. Whatever they silently communicated cause a lot of action within the room.

Lucas was moved to the head of the bed. Karissa climbed on the bed behind me and molded her body with mine. She held me gently, but securely as Kara injected something into the IV. "Sorry Steph," Kara whispered as everything went completely dark.

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LPOV

When I walked into Stephanie's delivery room, I was instantly afraid. I saw what looked like a foot along side of a tiny hand. One or both of our babies were breach. Karissa was doing an amazing job keeping Stephanie calm.

Since Karissa and Kara moved in with Ranger and Lester, respectively, Stephanie, Mallory and the other women became very close friends. Kara was teaching Karissa and Yvonne how to assist with labour and delivery. She wanted Stephanie and Mallory to always remain calm. So many things could go wrong during the delivery of multiples. They ran drills for when the women went into labour.

I couldn't have been happier to be at Rangeman when Stephanie went into labour. We moved in shortly after she fell down the stairs. At first it was to pacify Ranger, but it eventually became something we both wanted. These amazing women genuinely care about Stephanie. My wife has a natural ability to draw people to her. They trust her with their darkest secrets and seek her to share their joy or sorrows.

Kara used her phone to page what I quickly learned was the emergency surgical team for c-sections. "I'm going to attach sheets to these poles so you can't see anything. Stay by Stephanie's head and talk to her. Some women appear to be knocked out, but can hear everything happening to them," Kara explained to me.

"Why does she need a c-section? Can't you reposition her?" I asked.

"Most of the time we can, but in this case, we have one baby's foot and hand in the birth canal. It's too dangerous," Dr McNall explained. "This is the safest option."

She organized her teams. One would be monitoring the baby belonging to my son and the other team would be waiting for my daughter. They worked quickly until Dr McNall shouted, "I need an extra set of hands."

"Can I help?" Bobby asked as he approached the bed. He was already covered in surgical clothes, gloves and mask.

"Yes. I need you to reach in to replace my hands," she ordered. "Do you have her?"

"I do," he replied. I couldn't see what was happening, but I imagine she needed to gently push Emily's foot towards Bobby's hands. "Got her," Bobby said as he gently lifted my daughter.

Dr McNall grabbed a few clamps before grabbing scissors to cut the cord. "Give her to the team," she ordered. "Stay close in case I need your assistance again."

Within a few minutes, my son was handed to the next team. She must not have needed Bobby's help. I heard a muttered, "Crap. Get the babies and Lucas out of here," she ordered.

Bobby immediately jumped in to help. Kara was busy assisting. I felt a small hand clamp around my arm and try to pull me from the room. "Lucas," Karissa said for the tenth time. "Come with me. We need to let them work." It wasn't until I felt a stronger hand tug me from the room.

"Lucas," Ranger said my name for the first time in years. "Stephanie's going to be okay."

"You don't know that," I said.

"But I do know," Mallory said as she reached for my hand. "I knew something was wrong and told Bobby to go into the room to help. They will make sure she's alright."

"Thanks Mal. I was so scared," I said when she pulled me into her arms. In fact, I'm still scared.

"I know Luke. Karissa told us what happened," she stated.

"Aren't you scared?" I asked while pointing to her protruding stomach.

"No. I can't control what happens to me, but I can control my reaction. Besides I'll have the Karissa-Kara team when I go into labour too," she joked.

Everything was going so well until this shit happened. I felt Stephanie's presence, but she wasn't with me. Placing my head in my hands, I silently prayed for my wife to survive. A quiet voice sounding like Steph said, "It isn't your time Steph. Go back. Em and Los need you. Lucas needs you… Carlos needs you."

"Do you want to see your babies?" a nurse asked.

"Yes, but I want to stay here with my wife," I answered honestly. It's not that I didn't want to hold my son and daughter. I wanted to make sure their mother will be able to hold them too.

"I understand sir, but it's also important to build a bond with your children," she kindly said.

Stephanie would want me to hold our babies. I followed her to the room next to Stephanie's room. My baby boy was laying beside my baby girl in the same incubator. It looked as though Carlos was trying to comfort Emily.

"They're beautiful," Ranger said as stood beside me. I felt Emily's presence enter the room. In that moment, I knew my wife was going to survive.

"Would you like to hold Em?" I asked him. He nodded. I lifted my daughter from the incubator and passed her to Ranger.

"You've named her Emily?" he asked as his eyes filled with tears.

"Emily Stephana," I answered as I lifted my son. "This little man is Carlos Julio."

A tear streamed down his face. "You named your son after me?"

"And my brother," I replied. He gave Emily a kiss on her head before placing her back into the bed. I handed his namesake to him. When my arms were free, I picked up my daughter. She felt lighter than her brother.

Speaking Spanish, he told his godson about his gorgeous mother. As he talked to my son, I told Em about her mother then laid her in bed. Ranger gave Carlos a kiss before laying him beside his sister. We left the nurses to weigh, measure and check the babies vitals.

Less than an hour later, Dr McNall came from the room to find me. "Stephanie pulled through surgery. I expect her to make a full recovery," she said loud enough for everyone to hear. "Can we have a private conversation?" I nodded and followed her to a secluded area.

"Just tell me what's wrong," I demanded.

"I'm sorry Lucas, but I had to give Stephanie an emergency hysterectomy," she said with sadness.

"What's the recovery time?" I asked.

"Two to four months," she answered. "No sex for at least six weeks."

"So no change in length of time before having sex. She'll be happy to never have a period again," I stated. Dr McNall looked appalled. She just told me we couldn't have more kids and I was making light of the situation.

"I'm sorry doctor. I mean no disrespect towards my wife. We already decided this pregnancy and delivery will determine if we have more children. Stephanie and I were nearly resolved in our decision to take permanent measures to prevent pregnancy," I stated.

"When I realized the hemorrhaging could only be stopped by removing her uterus, it was pointless to tie her tubes," she added. "And if she didn't need a c-section?"

"I had an appointment booked for the vasectomy," I replied.

"Fate intervened," she said almost too quietly for me to hear.

Tank carefully approached us. "Is everything okay?" he asked me, but was looking at Dr McNall.

"I'll update everyone in a few minutes," I answered. "Tank, I think Dr McNall needs a coffee break."

Taking the hint, Tank offered his hand to the doctor. She gave me a glance before placing her small hand in Tank's much larger one. "It's Nat or Natalie," she stated.

"Pierre, but I prefer Tank," he said. I swear I heard her mutter, 'I bet you do,' but I couldn't be so sure.