Everyone familiar belongs to Janet. Any mistakes are solely mine.
"Whoa, little Boss Babe," Woody said, stepping out of the way before Olivia could mow him down as she crawled her way down the hallway from the elevator into the control room. "You should yell 'Timber!' when you get going ... or maybe we need a warning sign that states 'BABY X-ING' so we'll be on the lookout."
To her credit ... Olive stopped, sat back on her diaper, and gave her Uncle a drooly peek at her bottom tooth and the white spot of the one coming up right beside it. She doesn't understand what he said to her, but she can see and feel the affection behind every word he spoke to her.
"Yeah, right. You all stay on the lookout 24/7," Steph said to Woody. "Since Olive started butt-scooting, you guys have kept eyes shin-level as a precaution. You just now have to lower them a few inches to boot top-height to avoid an Olive-collision. Right, my little Olive Pie?"
"The men know to watch out for our daughter, Babe, whether she's scooting, crawling, or being carried," I said, watching Steph pick up our baby, noting how Olivia goes into an instant, four-limb hug whenever we pick her up.
Her little arms curl around our necks and her legs securely hold onto our waists before she'll then turn her head and survey the area with those brown eyes that can stop a heart in more than a few ways.
As she hugged her Mama and literally threw her Uncle Woody a kiss, I tried not to curse as my pocket buzzed, reminding me that yesterday never really ended.
"What's going on?" My wife asked me, likely recognizing the carefully blank expression I forced my features into.
I should know that's become a 'tell' to her. I've long since stopped needing and putting a protective mask between us.
"I thought Ranger told you and that's why you and the little one were in such a hurry," Woody answered. "We have a problem."
"That isn't funny," Steph told him. "Last time we heard those words ... they were said by Launcher, in French, and Ranger wound up being shot at shortly after."
"It takes a lot to kill me," I reminded her. "Espada didn't have a chance. He couldn't have cut my company's grass let alone cut my life short."
"This is why Cal and I shouldn't have left you unchaperoned in the Caribbean," Brown added, when he stepped out of the stairwell as our proverbial wagons started circling. "You kids wound up getting into more trouble."
"Excuse me for questioning how helpful you would've been. Olive had you begging for mercy," Steph reminded Bobby. "And she's never packing more than a full diaper or a rattle. Now stop trying to distract me ... what's going on?"
The order - it wasn't a question - was directed at me. Good thing I still have the earrings I bought for her in Miami. I'm going to need some help getting out of the doghouse for not telling her as soon as I heard. I'm more thankful now that despite the two dogs nudging Olivia's gray and pink puppy-faced knees to get her back down to play, we only have a mental doghouse.
"Raphael didn't return from his shift last night," I told Stephanie.
I was hoping to have heard from him or from the men I have looking for him before I had to tell her about this.
"What? One of our guys has been missing and I'm just hearing about it now?" She asked in a way that had both Bobby and Woody taking a step back towards safety.
Steph made Mo and Gunny's day by letting Olive down so they could all go exploring. My gut had the opposite reaction. It tightened at her releasing our daughter. Whenever my wife is upset, she tries not to pass it onto our baby, so unless she thinks she can control her emotions she won't subject Olive to them ... if only through body contact.
"I've got Tank and some people on it, Steph. I was sure I'd hear from him before I had to worry you ..."
"But you haven't talked to him, have you?"
"No."
"Mo, cover Olive's ears," she told our dog.
"Damn … look at that. He's actually doing it," Brown said, his mouth open a little in surprise.
Obviously Ammo doesn't have hands ... so to accomplish his mission, he sat by Olive's side and sort of curled his neck around hers, gently nudging her right ear towards the protection of his chest while covering her left ear with his black and tan muzzle.
"Son of a bitch!" Steph exclaimed, not being able to contain her anxiety. "If something happened to him, someone is going to pay."
It's not an idle threat. Her inner Mama Bear has been poked ... and it's now out for the blood of anyone who separated one of hers from her.
