A/N: I do not own the lyrics to the song.
Singing Vows
Stephanie and Manny woke up a few times during the night to satiate their sexual hunger. Every touch showed Stephanie how much he loved her. "I don't think I can go another round," Manny whispered when she rubbed against him.
"I'm sorry, Manny. You know sweets got banned from my diet. If I don't get the occasional sugar fix, I get extremely horny," Stephanie confessed.
His arms lifted from her body, giving her space to roll over to face him. Manny's brown eyes sparkled as Stephanie explained her hormones. He chuckled when she described how TastyKakes curbed her sexual appetite. "I love your sexual hunger," he said, pressing his lips to hers.
"Says the man who said he couldn't go another round," Stephanie joked.
He rolled Stephanie beneath him as he pressed into her drenched core. "I was wrong," he growled. He made love to his wife then left to collect breakfast from the kitchen.
Manny returned to their bedroom carrying a large wooden tray. He had two bowls filled to the rim with frosted flakes, milk, raisins and nuts. A spoon in each bowl pointed outwards. Manny had two chocolate croissants on a plate. Cut oranges and kiwi sat on the tray, closest to Manny's bare chest. He had two glasses of orange juice and a vase with a single Red rose to fill the tray.
"Where's the coffee?" Stephanie asked.
"It's brewing in the French press. We can grab it before leaving for work," Manny replied.
"You are the perfect husband," Stephanie said as she drank the last of the orange juice. She grabbed the tray and set it on the floor before climbing into his lap to show him how much she appreciated the breakfast in bed.
After they thoroughly fucked, they rushed through their shower to get to work on time. During the trip to Rangeman, they remembered to remove the rings.
"I'm proud to be your wife. We'll do this until our license gets filed with the state," Stephanie said. "Hiding our commitment from our friends somehow feels wrong."
"It's only for a few days. I'll get Hector to watch the records," Manny suggested as he parked the car. It wouldn't surprise Stephanie if someone noticed their arrival this morning. Then again, whoever worked the monitors a few days ago would have seen them leaving together.
"Thanks, Manny," Stephanie said before exiting the car.
Stephanie slid into a chair in the conference room on the third floor for the morning meeting. Lester sat beside her, grinning. Rolling her eyes, Stephanie looked into Lester's face. "Morning, Stephanie. You're looking absolutely radiant today," Lester said, wiggling his eyebrows.
"What do you want, Santos?" she asked.
He leaned over to whisper, "Who is the lucky guy?" Stephanie rolled her eyes. As if he didn't already know. Well, he knew Manny and Stephanie were together, but he couldn't possibly know they got married.
Stephanie resisted the urge to look at Manny and replied, "My sex life is not open for discussion." Lester fell backwards off his chair as Stephanie laughed. He had not expected that answer. From the corner of her eye, Stephanie could see Manny covering his mouth with his hand, stifling his laughter.
Tank entered the room, caught Stephanie's eye and smiled, giving her the impression he knew something that he wasn't sharing with the rest of the class. "Men!" Tank shouted to get everyone's attention. "I have new partner assignments. Ram and Junior are leaving on a mission in a few days. Stephanie, you are now Hal's partner. Manny, you're with Cal." He continued to announce the changes before stating the list would get posted in the employee lounge for reference.
"Why is everyone switching partners?" Stephanie quietly asked Lester.
"SOP. We change partners every six months," he replied. Stephanie nodded. She was unhappy to lose Ram but understood the necessity to keep the men on their toes.
Staying awake during the meetings was a bit of a chore for Stephanie. She felt her eyes glaze over as Tank passed the FTA assignments to the BEA groups. Once he concluded the meeting, he asked Manny and Stephanie to remain in the room.
He pressed a button on his key fob to scramble the cameras and audio inside the conference room. "I hear congratulations are in order," Tank said.
"Congratulations?" Stephanie stupidly asked.
"Yes," he replied. Tank removed an envelope from the folder. It was addressed to Manuel and Stephanie Ramos. "I received a courier yesterday afternoon. You need to update your Rangeman files." He opened the folder to give them the paperwork to update.
Stephanie shrugged as she changed the medical power of attorney to Manny. It wasn't right to leave the contact as Ranger now that she was married. Manny changed his emergency contact information to Stephanie. They finished filling out the remaining paperwork before Stephanie slipped the ring from her necklace and let Manny place it where it belonged.
"Are we done?" Stephanie asked, passing Tank the documents. Manny gave Tank his modified paperwork before giving Stephanie his band to slip onto his finger.
They watched Tank leave the remove before Manny opened the envelope. "Uncle Alex outed us," Manny stated, shaking his head.
"I'm going to kill him," Stephanie grumbled. She grabbed for her phone before realizing she had dropped it in the bath water in the hotel. Before Stephanie could exit the room, Hector gave her a new cellphone. He had transferred all her contacts from the other one.
"Welcome to the family," Alexander Ramos said when he answered his phone.
"How did you know?" Stephanie asked.
"Ah. My friend Luigi Perron owns the Casino. Luigi told me that my nephew got married to you," he replied. "I sent a courier to your apartment, but the superintended said you're not living there."
"I see," Stephanie replied. "I got evicted when my apartment caught fire six months ago." Manny opened the envelope to see the gift from his uncle. He showed her the cheque for an insane amount of money. "We opened our wedding present. It's too much."
"Nonsense," Alexander replied. "You deserve that and so much more."
Stephanie pinched the bridge of her nose and pleaded, "Please, tell me you didn't do anything else."
He laughed before saying, "Read the letter." Alexander hung up before Stephanie could respond.
"Steph, he left us his house in Deal," Manny said. Stephanie's face turned to look at Manny, hoping he was joking.
"That's what I thought," she mumbled. Manny pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead. Stephanie relaxed into his arms. "We should get to work. Oh, we need to repaint the house. I refuse to own a pink home."
Manny and Stephanie knew their secret would get shared around Rangeman. It would be a matter of time before the core team got notified. Tank was obligated to share the news with at least Ranger, Lester and Bobby.
"What's on your mind?" Manny asked.
"Hmm? I'm wondering if our current shifts would allow us to spend quality time together," Stephanie answered honestly. She was also concerned about seeing Ranger again. Ranger may have said he was okay with marrying Manny, but she knew he would be hurt all the same.
After kissing Manny's cheek when he took a seat at the monitor station, Stephanie walked to Tank's office and knocked on the closed door. "Enter," Tank yelled.
"I can come back later," Stephanie said after noticing Lester and Bobby in the visitor chairs.
"Stephanie, we may as well handle this today," Ranger said from the monitor. He must have returned to Miami after their call last night.
Lester moved from the chair, giving her the option to sit. Stephanie was afraid to have the conversation standing, so she accepted the offered seat. Feeling slightly on edge, Stephanie sat close to the front of the chair, giving her to freedom to stand quickly. "Is everyone informed?" she asked.
"We are. Congratulations, Stephanie. We're happy as long as you are happy," Ranger replied, answering for the other men. Stephanie wanted to believe him, but something in his eyes indicated his words were not entirely sincere. She felt guilty for hurting her best friend.
"I changed my medical contact," Stephanie suddenly announced. Ranger nodded. He surprised her by not insisting that she should change it back to him. "Thank you for understanding. I'll get back to work." Stephanie quickly exited Tank's office before anyone could stop her.
"You have to let her go, man," Stephanie heard Tank say before the door closed.
Ranger rubbed his forehead, a sign that he was frustrated. "I know, Tank. I'm truly happy for Stephanie and Manny, but I thought she'd change her mind," he quietly said.
"Ranger, we all know when Stephanie makes up her mind, nobody has the power to change it. She's not the same woman," Lester stated. "Stephanie is fierce. With her training, she's become a woman FTAs fear."
"That's all I wanted for her," Ranger confessed.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Hector found Stephanie alone in the break room. He held her face between his hands and kissed her cheek. "I'm happy for you and Manny," he whispered.
"Thanks, Hermano," she whispered.
"I have the video," he announced.
"What video?"
"Your wedding. I got Ernesto to send me the video. Every wedding gets recorded at the chapel. Ernesto recognized you from the photos in my home. He asked if I wanted copies," Hector patiently explained. Stephanie was surprised. She wasn't aware it was an option.
"Could he get into trouble? I don't want to cause problems between you and Ernesto," Stephanie stated.
"No trouble at all. Ernesto got permission from Luigi Perron. He knew you would want a copy of your wedding. I paid the chapel for the video. We will never do anything to harm you."
"Thank you, Hector. You're the best brother in the world," she whispered. "When are you and Ernesto getting married?"
"Who's to say we aren't?" Stephanie glared at him until he confessed they were not married but had discussed it in great detail. He loved Ernesto but wanted him to meet Stephanie first. "Once he gets your seal of approval, then I'll ask him to marry me."
"I want to be your best gal," Stephanie joked.
Hector nodded before saying, "I couldn't do it without you." Now didn't that just melt a girl's heart. She was happy her brother had found someone worthy of his love.
Stephanie felt Manny's hand touch the back of her neck. She laughed when Hector threatened to kill Manny if he hurt her.
The Rangeman gossips were in full force by the time dinner arrived. Ella insisted the employees use the largest conference room to celebrate Stephanie's marriage to Manny. It wasn't a secret after Lester heard the news. Stephanie could swear Lester is worse than the Burg biddies for gossiping.
Ella brought in a large two-tiered cake for the celebration. She got Pino's to deliver meatball subs and pizzas for dinner. Stephanie grabbed a meatball sub and sat at the table. Lester and Hector sat beside her, forcing Manny to sit across from them.
After they finished eating and shared the cake, Lester asked, "When do we get to see the wedding video?"
"Soon. Hector got a copy for us," she replied. Hector lowered the screen and played the video of the wedding ceremony for their Rangeman family.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Manny stood near the front of the chapel and sang while she walked down the aisle. She recognized the song as Beautiful In White by Westlife.
Not sure if you know this
But when we first meet
I got so nervous I couldn't speak
In that very moment
I found the one and
My life had found its missing piece
Manny's rich, baritone voice echoed in the chapel. Other visitors entered the chapel to listen to the song Manny chose as their wedding vow.
So as long as I live I love you
Will have and hold you
You look so beautiful in white
And from now 'til my very last breath
This day I'll cherish
You look so beautiful in white
Tonight
Stephanie stood in front of Manny, joining him in the next verse as he continued to sing. She wiped the tears off her cheeks before holding his outstretched hands. His thumbs rubbed the back of her hands before releasing them. Stephanie sang the next verse with Manny.
What we have is timeless
My love is endless
And with this ring I
Say to the world
You're my every reason
You're all that I believe in
With all my heart I mean every word
Manny pushed the wedding band on her finger as she put one on his hand. He cupped her face between his hands and gently wiped the tears with his thumbs. His voice slightly cracked as he sang.
And if a daughter is what our future holds
I hope she has your eyes
Finds love like you and I did
Yeah, and if she falls in love, we'll let her go
I'll walk her down the aisle
She'll look so beautiful in white
Stephanie's heart raced at the mention of a child but didn't break out in hives. She knew their union was forever. Before Manny could sing the chorus, Stephanie placed her fingers on his lips to sing.
So as long as I live I love you
Will have and hold you
You look so beautiful in white
And from now 'til my very last breath
This day I'll cherish
You look so beautiful in white
Tonight
Stephanie stared into Manny's eyes as they waited for the minister to complete their vows. "By the power invested in me, in the state of New Jersey, I now pronounce you husband and wife," the minister stated. "You may now kiss your bride."
"Wow," Lester said when the video ended. "I never knew you could sing, Manny."
Manny blushed. "I only sing to Stephanie," he mumbled.
"Were those your vows?" Hal asked. "I didn't hear anything traditional except for the minister's closing words."
"Yup. Manny and I didn't want the traditional wedding. We've done that with our first marriages. Our wedding was about us and how we felt about each other. It was perfect," Stephanie replied.
The men helped Ella clean the room before retiring to their apartments. Stephanie stopped by her cubicle to grab her purse and travel mug. Manny reached for her hand. They entwined their fingers as they entered the elevator.
When they got home, Manny swept Stephanie and carried her to bed after engaging the alarm. He spent a few hours reliving their wedding night before falling asleep.