When is more Ranger coming? Next chapter! I'm trying to keep a few chapters ahead, plotted out and written. Thank you all for your reviews. I'm excited to see your reactions on what's coming up.

A few weeks later I'd left the house early for once and had stopped for coffee and doughnuts on the way. I presented Mary Lou with her coffee and a Boston Crème with a flourish when she walked in the door. Mary Lou gagged and ran for the bathroom.

"Mare? What's wrong, are you okay?" I asked her.

"I'm fine, Steph. I'm fine. Better than fine. I'm, uh, actually… well…"

"You're pregnant!" I squealed.

"I am!"

"Oh that's so fantastic. How far along are you? When are you due?"

"I'm only a few weeks. Not due for a long time but before the heat of summer, thankfully. And coffee and doughnuts are making me feel sick at the moment."

"I will eat all your doughnuts for you, Mare, because I am that good of a friend," I told her. Then something else occurred to me. "Wait, you're not going to quit on me like Valerie did are you?" I asked anxiously.

"No way! I'll probably have to have a few weeks off, but that's okay, we can plan ahead and I'm only a phone call away. Really. But are you okay, Steph? I know you and Dickie have been trying for a while now."

"Yeah, I'm happy for you. Really. I guess it's just not our time yet."

"Maybe you should try a paleo diet?" Mary Lou suggested. "Stacey Brennan said she tried it and she fell pregnant the next month. It's meant to get your body healthy for pregnancy. I was thinking about it, but then this happened."

"I think I'd go into a sugar shock. I'm not sure that my body would go for that," I said. "No pizza, no ice cream, no pancakes?"

"You're right, that doesn't sound like you at all," Mary Lou said, laughing.

Later that night, I found myself googling it. Maybe I could try it. Maybe I could live without pizza and doughnuts and pancakes and ice cream. And have my coffee black and without sweetener. Ugh. But I supposed when I became a mother I'd have to eat healthier anyway, so maybe I should start now.

My body could be a temple. I thought of Ranger. I was sure that he ate a paleo diet. Maybe I could ask him for advice. I hadn't seen or heard from him for a while. Lester had stopped in to Plum Lingerie a few times while he was on business in the area, but when I'd asked how Ranger was, I'd gotten a one-word answer – "Offline". I sent Ranger a text but he didn't respond. I guess he didn't do small talk about diet advice. Maybe he was busy invading a third world country. Or possibly both.

I was rushing to leave and make the 6pm family dinner time. I was going to be late again. This time I would ruin the roast chicken. Possibly the potatoes would get cold too. And the spinach soggy. Soggier. The cake would be fine. It didn't fit in with the paleo diet that I was trying to stick to but I was willing to make an exception. I locked the door behind me and turned to rush to my car, immediately colliding with someone warm and solid.

"Oof!" I said, dropping my bag.

"Babe." There was some amusement in the voice.

"Ranger!" I said, looking up. He bent down to pick my bag.

"Let me guess, 6pm dinner date with your family?"

"Yep. And I'm going to be late again."

"Then I won't hold you up. I was checking the alarm in a unit nearby and thought I'd say hi."

"I haven't seen you for a while. Is everything okay? I texted you."

"I was offline for a while but I'm back now."

"Lester told me the offline part. But not anything more," I told him. I hadn't seen much of Ranger since the Slayers issue when I'd wound up staying at Rangeman. "How is Ella?" I asked him.

"She misses you. Do you want to come for dinner one night? I'm sure she'd be happy to cook for you."

"Yes!" I said, wanting to drool at the thought of Ella's cooking. "Next week sometime? Dickie is away then and I'll be all alone."

"Next week then," he said, handing over my bag. I hugged him goodbye, then jumped in the car. If I didn't get any red lights, I could make it in time!

This was Trenton, who was I kidding, it was all red lights. Saint Valerie was on time though, and she had Joe with her for extra points. Dickie arrived five minutes after I did, and my mother assured him that it was no problem at all, of course he wasn't late, blah blah blah. That man lived a charmed life.

"Uncle Dickie, look at me!" Mary Alice said.

Mary Alice was wearing the unicorn onesie that Joe had given her for Christmas. I loved that kid. Baby Bella was dressed in unicorn print feetie pyjamas, which Mary Alice proudly showed off to us.

"We match! I'm a grown up unicorn, and Bella is a baby unicorn. She's going to be a real unicorn when she's bigger," Mary Alice told me.

"What if she doesn't want to be a unicorn?" I asked. Mary Alice looked at me like that was the stupidest question she'd ever heard.

"She will," she answered firmly, and that was that. Joe looked at me and grinned.

"At least she's not trying to fly off the garage roof," he said. Valerie nudged him. "What? It's cute. I'd forgotten that's how you broke your arm." I rolled my eyes.

"How did you break your arm?" Dickie asked.

"Trying to fly off the garage roof," I told him.

"Why did you think you could fly?" Angie asked, eyes wide.

"I was trying to be like Wonder Woman," I said.

"But Aunty Steph, Wonder Woman can't fly. She can just jump really really really really really really good," Mary Alice said.

"Really? Well that explains why I wasn't successful," I said.

"Unicorns can fly though," Mary Alice told me. I looked across the table at Valerie. Her eyes widened and I could see her trying to think of something to say before she found Mary Alice on the roof of the garage about to jump off.

"Only if they are born with wings," I told Mary Alice.

"Oh. I wasn't born with wings."

"You'll just have to get really good at jumping," I told her. She brightened.

"I could do that! We have races at school and you have to jump over things!"

"Hurdles?"

"Yeah!"

"We can practise on the weekend," Joe told her. "We'll set some hurdles up and you can practise your jumping. From the ground." Val squeezed his hand. I loved how much Joe seemed to understand Mary Alice. Valerie and Angie were alike and understood each other, but Mary Alice had always been a bit of an outsider in their little family with her quirkiness. Joe seemed to know how to channel it, like turning her from a horse into a unicorn (more on trend), or helping her to practise her jumps. I couldn't believe that I was thinking this, but I was glad that Joseph Morelli was part of my family.