Chapter four: Forced Family

"If I had never accepted that bond on Stevens, this would not have happened," Stephanie told Ranger.

"Don't you dare blame yourself for this, Babe." Ranger pulled her into his arms. His intuition dictated that the events would have occurred regardless of who went after Stevens. The man was determined to target Stephanie. Ranger wanted to know how they got on his radar.

Stephanie's phone rang. She rolled her eyes when she saw it was her mother. "Mom, hi."

"When did you get back from work?" Helen asked. She expected Stephanie to call the second she got home.

"Last night, mom. Ranger and I are just a little too tired to attend dinner tonight, okay? I am sure you can understand, considering what happened," Stephanie snapped at her mother.

"Sure, honey. I will see you soon," Helen replied, then hung up.

"What, Babe?" Ranger asked. They were still outside Sandra's office door.

"My mom, we missed dinner with her tonight, so she called. I told her that I was a little tired to come to dinner tonight with you. She just said sure, honey. I will see you soon," Stephanie told Ranger, relaying the details of the conversation with her mom.

"Yeah, that is weird," Ranger agreed with her. Just then, Ranger's phone rang, "Yeah?"

"We found Morelli. He's dead," Tank told him. Tank didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, but Stephanie and Ranger needed to hear that rescuing Morelli was no longer an option.

Ranger hung up his phone and looked at Babe. "Babe, I need to tell you something, but I want you to be sitting down." Ranger guided her to a chair and knocked on Sandra's door.

"Hey, Ranger, what is going on?" Sandra asked. She noticed the anguish on his face before he slammed down the blank face to hide his emotions.

"I need some help for a few minutes," Ranger told Sandra.

"What is it, Ranger?" Stephanie asked him. She was starting to panic when Sandra appeared.

"Babe, that call I got, it was Tank. Hector and Tank found Morelli, Babe. I am sorry," Ranger told her as he looked into her blue eyes.

"No," Stephanie put her arms around Ranger's neck. She just started to bawl. Her body shook as she cried in his arms.

Sandra looked at Ranger. "Ranger, I want you to take her back to your penthouse. I will call Bobby to come to examine her," Sandra told him. "He should know what drugs are safe if she needs sedation."

"Right," Ranger picked her up and carried her into the elevator. He carried her into his apartment. Ranger put her on his bed. All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door.

"I will be right back, Babe. I promise," Ranger told her when she refused to release her arms from around his neck. Ranger went to the door and saw Bobby.

"Sandra told me," Bobby explained. Stephanie had already gone through enough in the past few months. Bobby was afraid losing Morelli would push her over the edge.

"Come on in, Bobby," Ranger said as he opened his door wider.

Ranger led Bobby to the bedroom, where Stephanie was lying on the bed. He laid down on the bed next to Stephanie and pulled her into his arms.

"I can give her a mild sedative. It will help calm her down. The sedative I have will not harm the fetus," Bobby told Ranger.

"She is pregnant?" Ranger asked. He knew the pregnancy test produced a positive result, but a blood sample was more accurate.

"Yeah," Bobby said. "I received the results while you and Stephanie were in your session with Sandra."

"If it is a boy, then I want to name him after Joe, please, Ranger," Stephanie begged as she looked at him.

"Yeah, I think that is a good idea, Babe." Ranger laid down next to her. Bobby grabbed a glass of water and handed Stephanie a pill.

Stephanie sat up for a few minutes and took the pill. "I am going to walk Bobby out. I will be right back. I promise," Ranger told her. He kissed her forehead before following Bobby out of his bedroom.

They walked to the door of Ranger's penthouse. "If I ever get my hands on Stevens," Ranger growled to Bobby.

'Yeah, you and all of Rangeman," Bobby said, then added, "Here she should take one every night. Don't worry. They are prenatal vitamins containing iron and Folic Acid for the baby." Bobby handed them over to Ranger.

"Thanks." Bobby walked out of the penthouse, pulling the door closed behind him. He heard Ranger engage the locks.

Ranger walked back into his bedroom and laid down next to Stephanie. He took her into his arms, and they fell asleep for a while.