I slept thirteen hours, and when I woke up I was feeling much more positive. Ranger was awake but still in bed, and I cuddled in and kissed him on his chest. "How are you feeling?" he said softly. He brought his hand up and started to massage me at the base of my skull.
"Better", I said. "It scared me last night when my chest was so tight, but Kai is right. Now that I've had a good sleep, it does feel better."
"Maybe you can have a nap today, and it will continue to feel better into the evening."
"That's a good idea."
"Kai said that he believes you are healing and the pain was normal and it could take three months to disappear, and that your breathing after the pneumonia could take longer. But you are under a lot of stress, and that could delay your recovery."
I sighed. "That's what he said to me, too. I was hoping he told you something more positive."
"He suggested that we come up with a plan so that you don't go downhill again. He said it was heading that way if we didn't take care of you."
I rested for a moment and just sniffed. "He suggested that you take my phone, and you deal with Val and my mom. I feel bad to be sticking you with it though."
"Another option is to send a note to Dirk and Miguel and Nick and tell them that, if they want to get in touch with you immediately, to call my phone – and then turn your phone off."
I smiled. "I like that idea. While I don't want to have to deal with my crazy family, I don't want you to have to deal with my crazy family either. I know you would, but it isn't pleasant."
Ranger grinned. "Wasn't that in the marriage vows though?"
"To deal with my crazy family?"
"Yes. For better or worse."
I snorted.
"What about Heather?" said Ranger as he kissed me again.
"Kai suggested that I get proactive and research the shit out of her."
"Do you want to do that yourself? Or do you want Dirk and Nick and Miguel to do it?"
"I think I'd rather do it myself. It would make me feel like I am taking charge of things, rather than asking everyone to take care of me."
"I will support that as long as the stress doesn't get worse. If it gets worse, I'd like you to turn it over to your team."
"Okay, but I really think that being proactive will be good for me."
"I know. You've never been one to wallow. What about Lindsay and Angus?"
"They are lovely people. They don't add stress."
"And dealing with spreading Colin's ashes?"
"It's sad, but I think it will be good. It will help the coming together of the families."
Ranger smiled. "You've adopted them, haven't you?"
I sighed. "They are nice people. I like them a lot. Did you?"
Ranger kissed the top of my head. "Very much." He sighed. "I also want to work into each day at least a two-hour nap, and a long sleep at night. I'd like to see you go to sleep at the same time as the little ones."
I sighed again. "You know, I feel guilty requiring even more sleep than usual. I feel like it will stop everyone else from enjoying themselves if they have to be stuck around the castle while I'm in bed."
"No one will mind. It was actually Joe's and Tracy's suggestion. Julie said that it would give her some time to work out, and she was looking forward to going for a run with Kai around the property."
"Okay, good. I don't want to be thinking that I am holding anyone back."
"You aren't. Kai said that, if he had his preference, you'd take the next two weeks off to sleep and to get better."
"It's a little impossible. I need to get into the company and look at their research department, and you need to get into the rest of the company and talk to people, and set it up for when we are back in Trenton."
"Let's aim for two weeks off, and then starting work at half days again. In the meantime, I can work while you are having your afternoon nap and, if needed, in the evening. I can even work in the morning before you get up. I'm lucky that Tank is an incredible leader and is able to slog through a lot of work." He paused. "Because Tracy and Joe have to go back in a couple of weeks, I told them to take a car and do some sightseeing while we take care of you, and Kai said that he would look after the kids while we were in the company offices. He said that he loves the kids, they are used to him, and he would enjoy doing that."
"That sounds like it works out for me. Does that work for you?"
Ranger smiled and kissed the top of my head again. "Absolutely", he said. "Otherwise, we will all just worry about you."
I sighed. "I hate being worried about."
"I understand, but that is part of having a family. The more people you add on the family, the more people who will be worried about you." I sighed as Ranger kissed me on the head. "Live it up, babe. There are people out there that don't have any family to worry about them."
"I am very lucky, aren't I?"
Ranger smiled. "Yes, but you cultivate it. People are good to you, because you are good to them." He kissed me again, then rolled away, got to his feet, and stretched. "Coffee is calling."
"Oh God, yeah", I said. "And maybe a snack. With missing dinner last night, that might be a good idea."
He leaned over and kissed me lightly on the lips. "I agree", he said.
"Ranger? Thank you for taking care of me."
He smiled. "Babe, you're my life." He kissed me again. "And that is why, when I finish in the washroom, I am going to make you coffee."
I smiled and, as he walked away, I thought about my life and the people in it. I was very lucky, and I knew it.
I got up when Ranger left for the kitchen, did my morning ministrations, and left for the first floor. I walked into the kitchen and admired the sense of the old at the same time as a nod to the new. It was a cook's dream, according to Ranger, and I was glad that he loved it.
I waited while the coffee dripped through and, as soon as it finished, I poured Ranger and myself a cup. I went and sat at the island with my cup and pulled out my phone. I turned off the 'do not disturb' function and wrote a note to Dirk and Miguel and Nick. "Hey, guys. Things are good here in rainy Scotland. Colin unfortunately died shortly after I got here, but the good news is that I was with him. He did not die alone and he died with a smile on his face. We met his sister and nephew yesterday. They are very much like Colin and I am looking forward to spending more time with them. So that's the good news. The bad news is that my sister and mother keep calling. They are a little perturbed that I delayed Val's hearing. The other bad news is that Colin had someone trying to convince everyone that she was his daughter and she deserves a portion of his fortune. He has left her ten pounds so that she cannot contest the will. However, I have to deal with her and you know that I am going to research the shit out of her. The other other bad news is that I overdid it and my health is getting worse. Kai told me that he wants me to take the next two weeks without stress, as he thinks at this point that it is stress rather than me getting sick again. I am allowed to research Heather simply because she is a source of stress – and doing something to alleviate it is good for me.
"So what this means is that, for the next two weeks, I will be having an afternoon nap. I will be going to bed right after dinner so that I can sleep twelve hours at night. I will be researching Heather but not anything else, and we won't be going into the company for two weeks and, when I do, Ranger is limiting me to half-days for a while. On a more personal side, it means that I am turning off my phone so that Val and my mother can't upset me any longer. If you want to get in touch with me, call Ranger's phone. I think that is about it. How are things going there?" I sent the message and turned off my phone.
Ranger plopped a piece of peanut butter toast in front of me, with a side of fruit. "Eat", he said.
I ate the food and sipped my coffee, and when I was finished, Ranger asked softly, "how's your stomach?"
I smiled. "Better than it has been in weeks. I think turning off my phone was a good thing."
Ranger grinned. "Good", he said in relief. "What do you want to do now?"
I sighed and squirmed on my seat. "Would you mind if I started to research Heather?"
Ranger laughed. "I thought that was what you were going to say. Your computer is in the family room plugged in. I don't know where you want to work, but it's ready to go."
"Where are you going to sit?"
"In the family room. Tank said that he was going to send through some paperwork that he wanted me to look at when I got up."
"Okay. I'll sit in the family room as well."
I carried my coffee out to the family room, sat on the sofa, and put my coffee on the table beside me. Ranger handed me my computer and sat down and, like me, stretched out his legs and sipped his coffee while his computer logged in.
I noticed that I had an email, and I clicked into it. It was from Miguel. "Great to hear from you, but sorry to hear about Colin. I'm glad you made it in time. He seemed like a good man, and I know that you were great friends with him. I am glad that you are taking care of yourself. The last few weeks have been hell for you, and we are all glad that you are stopping to take a breather. Hal reported that people were betting on when you were going to collapse again. Of course, other people were betting on when you'd be diagnosed with pneumonia again. Now that I know that you are taking the next two weeks off, I'll adjust my prediction.
"You are probably wondering why we are here at this time of the night. There has been an Amber Alert and we have been researching the person we think has taken the infant. We think we found her a few minutes ago and an ERT has gone in to retrieve the baby. Nick took his kids to Dirk's house, and Cindy has been looking after them. If we are wrong and the baby isn't there, we will be back at the drawing board and working three-hour shifts, one-on, two-off, and sleeping in the corporate apartment, and will be until the child is found. It's a sad case that is particularly affecting Nick. With his history, he is especially sensitive to missing children. I have suggested that he take a couple of days off to spend with his kids after this case has been settled. I think that's about it. Take care of yourself, sleep lots, and if we have an emergency, we'll contact Ranger.
I told Ranger about the Amber Alert, and that the guys thought they had identified the person taking the child. It would be good to get the woman off the streets and the child back with his or her parents. It was, after all, one of the reasons that we did what we did.
