All familiar characters belong to Janet. Sorry in advance if there are more typos than usual. Olive's bandage hugs can be bought online.
"I make da boo boo bedda," I heard Olivia tell her Uncle Lester, as she stuck a Hug-A-Boo-Boo bandage on his shoulder.
I can clearly picture the box they come in being brought out. All it took was her Mama getting a paper cut one day while looking through paperwork for our daughter to decide 'boo-boo covers' need to be in both of our desk drawers.
"Those hug fingers much better than arms or shoulders," Steph explained to our daughter, "but we'll just call that the manufacturer's recommendation."
My baby had been a little frightened by the brace holding Lester's arm in the proper healing position but being a comedian on top of a ladies' man, he was able to put Olivia's fears to rest pretty easily. That doesn't stop her from trying to make him better with a Band-Aid or two ... plus a lot of love.
"Thank you, Olive-Pit. I feel things healing even faster now," he said.
"Kiss da boo-boo," she said in reply.
He sighed in a purely put-upon way, but there's no doubt in anyone's mind that he's loving the attention and quickly moved to do whatever my daughter wanted him to. So, he likely leaned down further so she could drop a kiss on his arm.
"Quit it," Lester presumably told my wife.
"I didn't do anything," Steph replied.
"You've got that weird smile on your face. Since The Boss isn't in the room, I think you're using some Jedi mind thing on the Olive Pit to make her turn me into her walking sticker board."
"Not that you deserve an explanation after saying something like that, but my baby is kicking up a storm and I'm picturing him conducting some kind of martial arts class in there … which his Daddy would definitely approve of since it's not his organs being used like soccer balls."
"Little Rangedude is awake and active?" Santos asked her.
"Yep. Do you want to feel?"
I decided now would be a good time to announce the fact that I'm back in the building. "Keep your hands where I can see them, Santos."
"Were you just eavesdropping until you felt like you had someone to order around?" My wife asked, grinning because she already knew the answer. "You know, if I stopped breathing, he'd have to do chest compressions. That would be more hands-on."
"Steph, please don't poke the bear. Ranger doesn't have a sense of humor on a good day. Teasing him about anything involving touching or endangering you equals a death sentence even if you're someone he generally likes."
"Yeah, but Ranger knows you'd never be disrespectful or inappropriate, and that I'd hurt you long before he could if you were."
"That a girl," Santos said, beaming with pride like he personally turned my wife into a RangeMan.
If anything, Olivia is the one who completed Stephanie's transition to the woman she's always strived to be.
"Daddy!" My baby said, running into my open arms. "I bye-bye da boo-boo."
Lester did as well as he could to mimic a flexed bicep with a stationary arm. "She did. I feel ready to get back to work now."
I kissed my daughter before responding. "No," I told him.
"You're getting a paid vacation, Lester," Steph said, getting up from behind her desk to hug me and our daughter, "just enjoy it."
She stepped back and moved my hand to her stomach so I could feel a fraction of what she does. This has become an automatic move, but it never stops humbling me. I can take a life without even blinking, but feeling our little boy come to life under my touch has me blinking back some strong emotions.
"I don't do sitting still," Santos whined.
As if a power higher than me heard him, Ram called …"Delivery, Santos!" through Stephanie's open office door.
His features turned to pissed off. "I'm not falling for that sh … uh … stuff again. Send the Prime guy packing before I shoot him."
"I really think you're gonna want to see this delivery," Ram continued, his face now visible in the doorway.
Lester flipped him off.
I cut my eyes to my wife, lifting one eyebrow in question.
"The guys thought it'd be funny to order Lester an …"
"Ass doughnut," Santos interrupted to say. "They got me one of those inflatable butt cozies, like I can't do nothing now except sit on mine. I can do everything with one arm tied behind my back, it's just taken me a little longer to prove it since my right arm's the one out of commission."
"You'd be laughing your butt doughnut off right now if it was one of the other guys," Ram pointed out.
"But it's not. And I am not using that thing."
"Fine. Since you're hellbent on staying on your feet, you may want to use them to double-time it down the stairs before your lady comes to her senses and decides to drop her delivery and run."
"Ayanna's here?" He asked, snapping to attention faster than he did during Basic.
"Yep. Looks like she's trying to pump you full of nutrients to get you back into action."
"Outta my way," he said, almost shoving Ram halfway down the hallway so he could get out of the office faster.
"That was fun," Ram told us.
"It was fun to watch," Steph agreed, "but you'd better hope your words don't come back to bite you in the butt cozy. When your 'delivery' shows up for the first time at Rangeman, you can expect payback."
He visibly paled. "I'll make sure anyone I like stays far away from here."
Steph smiled the one that makes FTAs piss themselves. "Good luck with that. Tank tried that and Mabyn quickly became a member of the family, already agreeing to spend Thanksgiving with ours. Amari was living in a whole other state, and she still ended up buying a place only minutes away from our building."
His eyes flicked to me, but I have nothing to say to reassure him. My wife has skills that have nothing to do with what Rangeman's specialties are.
"I'm leaving now," Ram stated, backing out slowly as if turning his back would be risky.
"I really, really love it here," Stephanie said, amused by Ram's rapid retreat.
I stepped around Olivia's mound of toys to get her in my arms again. "I can tell."
Clearly Lester had second thoughts about running in blind and hung back in the hallway until Ram left. "Maybe wanting something serious is a stupid move?" He asked.
"Not if she's the right one it isn't. But give Ayanna a few more minutes alone in a building full of single men ... and this dilemma may be an issue anymore," I told him.
He flipped me off too but did haul ass down to the lobby this time. I turned my head to find my wife smiling at me.
"What?" I asked, with no small amount of caution.
"You're just as bad as I am when it comes to herding the guys towards their happily ever after."
"Never say that again, Babe."
"I thought you always want me to tell you the truth?" She teased, wrapping her arms around me and kissing my jaw.
"Olive kiss too," our daughter declared, pushing her way in-between us.
Steph lifted her up before I could and smothered our baby's face with kisses until Olivia turned to me to do the same. Despite Stephanie's assertions that she isn't an emotionally expressive person unless she's at a funeral, she's still more free with her affection than I am. So I turned this into more of a counting game.
We stopped at nine when Lester reappeared with Ayanna at his side. "WTF is going on in here? I've only been gone a minute."
"My daughter got affectionate after you left," I replied.
Ayanna tried to hide a smile behind her hand and I liked her on-sight. "Ummm, sorry to disturb you. I just wanted to say hi and Lester told me you weren't busy."
My wife smiled at her. "According to Lester, no one is busy unless they're talking to him."
Santos laughed but didn't argue. "Ayanna brought me some superpower soup to get me back into fighting shape."
"That was nice of her," Steph replied. "Don't make her regret it."
"Yes, Mom," he said to irritate her.
"Speaking of parental roles, make sure you enjoy your soup in the fifth-floor kitchen," my wife ordered him. "We're not allowing female friends on the fourth floor. Your apartment is NOT an option."
Whether she's protecting Ayanna or Lester is hard to say.
"Why do I put up with this?" He asked himself just to get a reaction out of Stephanie.
"You recently asked why Ranger couldn't have left me at home instead of 'letting' me go to the hospital with him, the same could be said about you. Why were you hanging out in my office all day bugging me when you should've been in your apartment resting like the doc told you to?"
"Your kid loves me and appreciated spending time with me. Ayanna, you remember Steph … and the guy holding my GodBaby is Ranger. Carlos if you prefer given names."
"Tank is Olive's godfather," my wife reminded him. "You're only a contender for that position for our son if you stop getting shot."
"You can't use an unborn kid against me. I have a job to do and I'll continue doing it."
My wife looked over his shoulder at Ayanna. "This is what you're signing up for if you decide to share more than food with Lester."
"Do something," Santos said through a locked jaw.
"I am. I'm holding my daughter and enjoying the show."
If he could've stomped his foot without appearing childish, he would have done it.
"I brought food for more than just Lester if you'd like to join us," Ayanna said to us, bravely wading into the stare-off.
Olivia also created a diversion by becoming interested in our guest and wanting to be put down to have a closer look.
"That's a sweet offer, but you don't know how much he can pack away. We'll happily keep you company though," Steph told her.
"What's deer?" Olivia asked, looking at the bag Santos was still trying to relieve Ayanna of.
"It's Uncle Lester's lunch," her Mama explained. "He needs good food to get big and strong again."
"Again?" He said back. "I got shot. I didn't shrink or lose muscle mass. If anything, I'm bigger from the repair work the docs did on me and will be even stronger from the PT I'm anxious to crush."
My wife rolled her eyes. "Next time, get shot in the ego so neither of us will be subjected to you having down time."
"Don't mind her, the pregnancy stuff makes her crankier than usual. And just for that, Steph, I'm taking the kid with us," he said, snaking an arm around Olivia's middle. "I'm willing to share Ayanna's gift with her."
"Lester …" his pseudo date warned.
"Fine. You two can come too, but you really should think about being nicer to me."
"Why?" Was my immediate reply.
"I'm guessing that's Olivia's handiwork?" Ayanna said, looking at the out-of-place cartoon bandage on his brace.
He gave her a one-shoulder shrug and what he no doubt hoped was a charming grin. "What can I say? Women love me and like taking care of me. The miniature ones anyway."
Not just the little females, since Ayanna did bring him food in hopes to speed along his recovery.
"What do you say, Olive-Pit, you ready to head to the kitchen for some food?"
Instead of answering him, she wiggled out of his hold and ran out of the office, quickly making her presence known. "We'd coming!" Olivia announced as she ran down the hall.
"That kid's as subtle as her Mama," Santos unwisely said out loud.
"We Manoso women don't hold anything back," was my wife's reply.
He grinned at how accurate that was, not only about her and our daughters but also my mother, sisters, and Abuelas He went to put his good arm around Ayanna.
He again thought better of a reactive move and just gestured with his hand. "Right this way, ladies."
When we reached the kitchen, Olivia immediately climbed up onto a chair at one of the tables by the fridge. But the tabletop was only at nose level for her.
"Would you like your big girl chair?" Steph asked her. "Or do you want to sit on Mama or Daddy? You won't be able to eat anything from there unless you have a spoon for a nose."
My wife held a spoon to her nose to emphasize her point, causing our daughter to laugh before she climbed back down and held her arms out to me. I lifted her up and she got comfortable while waiting to see what was pulled out of the large paper bag.
She's also like her Mama with the excitement she shows towards food. Unlike Stephanie, my baby will try almost anything … including things containing vegetables.
Ayanna hesitantly sat down in the chair Lester pulled out for her, but she didn't entirely relax. "I already ate, but please … help yourselves. If anyone else is interested, I can call and have more delivered."
"We can't insult Ella that way," Stephanie explained. "Bringing Lester food because he got himself shot …"
"Saved the day and caught a second bad guy, you mean?"
"Sure. That too. But let's not be too hasty with the not eating position. Ella made me some maternity muffins this morning. I'll go grab them. They're bite-sized so you can consider them a dessert for what you've already had. I'll be back in a sec. Do not get up," she told me, sensing I would get them for her. "I can still walk. And Olive's comfy."
"Maternity muffins?" Lester asked me as we watched my wife walk back to her office.
"It's what Ella is calling them so I won't say anything about the ingredients, which is whatever Stephanie's craving that day."
"If it's not rude to ask, when is the baby due?" Ayanna asked me.
Lester is in a particularly good mood, so I automatically expected a smartass response from him.
"You're assuming he's the father and knows the due date," Santos whispered loud enough so I'd hear him.
If it wasn't such a laughable statement, I would've fucked-up the rest of his body to match his arm. Not only do I make sure my wife has everything she needs from me but knowing me better than almost anyone else … she would never hurt me like that. She knows she has the power to destroy me, and she reminds me every single day with her words and her actions that she will do everything in her power not to.
"Stephanie likes to say he's due after her birthday but before Thanksgiving," I said, ignoring Santos completely.
I'd say ninety percent of his comments should be immediately discarded.
"All I can say is he'd better be out before the holidays," my wife said, coming back into the kitchen. "I need all the room he's currently occupying to fit in third servings of stuffing and pie. Ella tried to also sneak in a fruit salad for me today, so I put it on a plate and am calling it a fruit platter."
"I promise, I wasn't making an excuse," Ayanna told her. "I really did eat before dropping by."
"And?" She handed Olivia a piece of a peeled nectarine. "There's always room for more. Speaking of that, my surprise baby shower is next week. You really need to come if you don't already have plans."
"Wait … you know it's a surprise?" Ayanna asked.
My wife nodded. "Everyone knows it's not wise to ambush me."
Lester leaned down to rub his shin. "She nailed me with a steel toe when I walked up to the elevator once when she was about to get out of it."
"You never take the elevator," Steph pointed out. "None of you guys use it unless you draw Stephanie or Olive duty. There shouldn't have been anyone in front of me when the elevator opened."
"Like Ranger says, you need to be more aware of your surroundings," he reminded her.
"Or you should be smart enough to stay out of range of the toe of my boot."
"Ah," Ayanna said, already learning that the bickering between them could go on for longer than we have if it's not interrupted, "I'd love to come to the baby shower, but that feels like it should be a private party."
Lester risked further injury by sliding his good arm along the back of her chair. "Honey, you're currently sitting in the country's top security firm. Privacy is only an illusion around here."
