DISCLAIMER: SO I don't own Ranger, or Tank, or any of the other charecters that belong to Janet Evanovich.

Thank you to everyone that reveiwed, it is nice to know that people are actually interested in the story.

I had been up for the past two nights thinking about what this meant. It was one thing to have a kid with a woman that I had been married to, but to have a child from a one-night-stand was completely different. I had done everything that I could to keep my mind off the new knowledge of me having a son, but that was all I could think about. The files that I had passed off to Tank came back with questions, which never happened because I never made mistakes.

I went up to my apartment and took a hot shower, thinking maybe the steam would clear my head. Instead of doing what I hoped, it just put pictures of how Jay had looked that night when I had taken her in the shower. Then as I stepped out and went to my bedroom, vivid pictures of her sprawled across her bed, and crawling towards me flooded me. I shook my head, turned off my phone and decided that maybe I just needed to get some sleep.

I don't know how long I had slept, or what had happened while I was asleep, but I had to have been out for at least eighteen hours. When I woke up I went back downstairs and found Tank waiting in my office. "How long have you been waiting?"

"About three minutes, I had a feeling you would be down here." We sat in silence for a few minutes as I sat back and slumped in my leather office chair. "You want to explain?"

"It was her wedding night, I went home with Jay, used a condom every time." Tank raised his eyebrows, knowing I was talking about Steph's wedding night, and waited for more. "She never told me, and I hadn't seen or talked to her since that night. That must have been the reason she never helped me at the bar anymore."

Once again a companionable silence settled as we both sat lost in thoughts. "What are you going to do?"

I honestly had no idea what I was supposed to do. This was new to me, well not completely new. I was used to the idea of my daughter down in Miami, never having to worry about her because she was with her mother and step-father, she was safe. Not that I doubted that my new found son was in any danger, but it felt different somehow not. Like an obligation, something I was supposed to be there and help with.

There was also a niggling feeling in the back of my head that I couldn't ignore. I couldn't help but wonder why Jay had never told me about this. Fathering a child was a large responsibility. She either didn't want me in her life any longer or didn't trust me to help. Possibly thinking that I would only be a burden, or putting them in danger or hurting them.

"What would you do?" It was a stupid question; I knew what he would do.

"Go play ball with my son until the day comes when I can't anymore." Tank's answer was exactly as I thought it would be. He pushed out of the chair and walked to the door and left without looking back. I had felt completely rested when I had entered my office, but now all of my energy was completely drained. I looked at the clock; it was seven in the morning, on a Saturday.

Before I knew where I was going, I realized I was driving over to Jay's. I looked at the GPS and finally noticed the Tank must have set it up for autopilot as I tracked the progress on the Turbo's screen. I sat in the driveway until I saw a little face peek out the front window. I couldn't make anything out, but I nearly smiled as a little hand waved out the window. My heartstrings tightened as the curtains slid shut and I got out of the car. My mind made up, I had a chance and I was going to take it, I wouldn't allow my pigheadedness to get in the way once again.

I was almost up on the small wooden porch when the heavy front door opened up. Jay stepped outside and crossed her arms over her chest after lightly closing the door. I took her all in for a moment; she had on a rumpled pink shirt that had bleach stains down the front, the green shorts she wore had what looked like egg yoke on them. Her familiar pink painted toenails wiggled on the smooth wood.

"What do you need?" Her voice was tight, like she was protecting something, trying to hide the truth.

"I know about the kid." She froze immediately, but I could tell she was trying to act as if it meant nothing.

"I am just watching my neighbors' son for a few days while they are out of town." I saw her glance at the house next door and saw and older woman peering out the window at us. "His name is Billy and he likes to look at birds out the window." I watched over Jay's shoulder as the door opened up a few inches, she apparently didn't noticed as she continued to take me all in with surprise.

I didn't know what to expect, but what I saw captured my attention. A skinny little boy in Superman pajamas, Ninja Turtles slippers, and round little glasses that magnified his large brown eyes stared back at me curiously. He held an old blue blanket in one hand and a matted yellow elephant in the other. His skin was lighter than mine, but obviously a mix between mine and Jay's, his hair was dark brown, almost the same black as mine and shaggy, nearly hanging into his eyes. He pulled open the door a little more and walked behind his mother's leg, scaring her from her inspection of me.

She turned and looked down at her son, joy automatically replacing the displeasure that had been evident when she was looking at me. She picked him up and kissed his cheek automatically without thinking. He whispered something in her ear and she looked over at me with a fierce glare. Jay hugged him closer, as if she thought I was going to snatch him from her arms, and nuzzled at him instinctively.

"Say goodbye Diego, we have to go finish breakfast." Diego waved for a minute, and then smiled brightly as he pointed out a spot of peanut butter on his shirt.

"Mommy I spilt," they were such simple words, from one of the scrawniest looking children I had ever seen. She looked down at his shirt and reassured him that she would get it clean, then she set him down and asked him to go inside, comforting him with the fact that she would be right in. "Bye," he blew a kiss, probably from habit of blowing them to his mother when she left him for work, and then he went inside. His blanket got caught in the door and I watched him tug at it through the screen door.

"I have to take care of my son, goodbye Ranger." She picked up Diego's blanket as she traveled inside, and was about to close the door as I stopped her by inserting my boot inside.


I didn't know why he was there, but he seemed determined about his mission. He had stopped the door from closing, but he still wasn't saying anything. I glanced over my shoulder at Diego who had crawled back up to the table and was eating his toast. The plate of eggs still lay overturned on the floor. I looked back at Ranger; his eyes were boring into me, a blazing intensity to them.

"You need to leave." I hissed out and realized how afraid I was just then.

"Let me see him, I'm his dad."

"His dad who left his mom alone, after having her everyway imaginable in one night. His dad who hasn't had any clue he even fathered a child until just now. His dad who doesn't have any interest in the son that has just started asking questions about why you are never here. I think that sums up your role in his life."

"You never told me." He pushed the door further open and I had no choice but to back up as he walked in. The door closed silently behind him and the phone rang immediately.

"I got it momma!" Diego scrambled to climb down from his booster seat and ran to where the phone hung on the wall. He stepped on the orange footstool I had put under it just so he could answer calls from his grandma and grandpa. "Hello?" His small voice was joyous at the opportunity to be a little more grown up. The phone was soon held out at arms length towards me and I realized that it was for me. I watched Ranger the whole time as I listened to Mrs.Edwards question me about the strange man that had been on my porch.

Without warning Diego grabbed Ranger's hand and began pulling him towards his bedroom. I attempted to get off the phone, but they had disappeared from sight before I could hang up. I could hear Diego talking with enthusiasm about his dinosaurs. When I finally disconnected and hurried into his room, Diego was holding up his favorite blue t-rex and showing it to his father. It was a sight that I wished I could see everyday, but knew it was never to be seen again.

As I stood back for a moment, watching as Ranger picked up a yellow longneck, I could really see the similarities between them. The dark skin, nearly black hair that almost matched Rangers, dark eyebrows, and the same chocolaty eyes. Ranger glanced over at me and then handed the yellow one to Diego before walking towards me.

"Want to play? Watch pooh?" Diego clasped onto Ranger's hand and I felt my heartbreak as I saw the longing in his eyes. He needed a father figure, and I knew that when Ranger said they could watch Pooh, that I wasn't going to be able to tell him to stay away anymore. Diego was his as much as mine, and if he thought he could be a decent father, then I would let him try, but the moment that Diego was hurt, physically or emotionally, I would castrate him with a dull spoon. "Come on!" Diego was pulling Ranger towards the door where I stood, but I stopped him and squatted down to see eyelevel with him.

"You can watch Pooh, Mommy has to talk to him okay?" Diego immediately started shaking his head at me, and his bottom lip began to quiver.

"Watch Pooh?" He looked between Ranger and me and then gripped the blue dinosaur in his hand tighter.

"You go find the movie Diego." Ranger's voice broke my cloudy thoughts; I had been trying to figure out how to break it to my son that he wasn't going to be watching Winnie the Pooh with Ranger anytime soon. I looked up to see him looking down at Diego, and there was something in the look that made me think of all of dreams of us I had being a happy family.

Diego ran past me out of his bedroom and I could hear his little feet as he went to the living room. "Look, you might think this is what you want now, but I think we both know that you won't want it in a few days."

"I don't know that."

"Ranger, I won't let you hurt him. If you think it is necessary that you have to see him, well fine, but I am going to be right there with you all the time. Go home and think about this, because if you aren't going to commit to being a full time dad, granted that doesn't mean you have to have anything to do with me, but if you can't be there for him, I will kill you with my bare hands." I felt the mean look contort my face and Ranger must have seen it to because something flashed in his eyes, not fear, but more like a deep understanding.

"I have a daughter in Miami. My ex-wife won't let me see her now that she got remarried. I don't want to waste another opportunity." He walked past me and I could hear his deep voice from the living room as he talked lightly to Diego. I heard Diego's protests and went to see what was going on. "You stay here, I will see you later, we will play with your dinosaurs then okay? Maybe watch," Ranger paused, I could tell he was mentally blanching at the thought, "Pooh."

"Stay and play!" Diego pulled on his hand and I went and picked him up. "Tell him to stay momma."

"He has to leave; maybe you will see him later. We have to go get ready to go see Auntie Macy, she bought you a new dinosaur." I kissed at his neck and tickled his side to make him giggle and forget about Ranger. I looked up and I saw that same look, almost of longing, in Ranger's eyes once again. It was brief, but it was still there. "Say bye and we will go get your swim shorts."

"Bye," Diego's wave was small as he climbed down from my arms and glanced one last time at Ranger before calling out one last goodbye and running to his room.

"We have stuff to do today."

"We'll talk later Jay." He was almost to the door when he turned back with his last comment, "you look good," before he slid out the door.

Was it to soon for Ranger to come over? I was contemplating waiting a few chapters, but I wanted him ti see his nerdy little son. If you have any ideas or suggestions let me know, let me know anything about the story in general that you are thinking. Thanks.