Chapter 8 Forced Family
The week went by fast. Ranger worked a couple of days with Tank, deciding to work the same days as Stephanie. The night before their wedding, Ranger and Stephanie watched the news as they sat on the couch.
Stephanie let out a deep breath. "Babe?" Ranger asked. He was trying to decipher the exhaled breath but couldn't decide what it meant.
"I love you, and I can't wait to take your last name, Ranger. I know this will be good for both of us. For all of us," Stephanie said as she reflexively rubbed her stomach.
Ranger put his hand on her baby bump, which had grown more in size. There was a knock at Ranger's door, interrupting their conversation. "I think you better answer that," Stephanie told him.
Ranger got up to answer the door. When he opened it, he saw Julie grinning on the other side. Tank waited near the elevator until Julie entered the apartment.
"Hey, Dad, Sandra talked to my mom, and mom said I could come here. Mom said I should spend a couple of days here to attend your wedding and visit for a few days after, too," Julie quickly said. Julie walked right in and threw her bag on the floor. After she freed her hands, she hugged Ranger.
Julie entered further into the apartment and gave Stephanie a quick hug. "Have fun," Tank said as he got in the elevator and left.
Ranger closed the door and walked back in. Julie picked up her bag and started to go through it. She searched for the item she was hoping to find. Julie removed a DVD from the case and put it in the player. Ranger walked back into the living room and joined Stephanie on the couch again.
"Don't worry, dad, I will get the couch," Julie said with a huge smile.
"Do I want to know how you pulled this off, Babe?" Ranger asked Stephanie.
"I swear it was not me. Sandra thought it would be good for you to see her. She called Rachel and talked with her. Sandra told me what she wanted to do, and I agreed with the plan. Rachel paid for a ticket, and here she is," Stephanie said with a grin.
"Hey, dad, I can't wait until tomorrow," Julie said. She liked Stephanie and couldn't wait for her to be her step-mom.
"Just enjoy the time with her," Stephanie whispered to him. Around eleven o'clock everyone went to bed.
At nine am, Ranger's alarm clock sounded. He decided to sleep in this morning. Ranger kissed Stephanie lightly on the lips. "Hey, Babe, good morning," he said as her eyelids fluttered open.
"Morning, Carlos. Today is the big day. We're getting married in a few hours," Stephanie excitedly said.
"Yeah, are you ready?" Ranger asked. He was past ready to marry the woman sharing his bed.
"Yeah, I am ready to spend my life with you," she told him. He cupped her face and kissed her. They were too busy kissing that they didn't notice Julie had entered the room.
Stephanie felt someone shift at the foot of the bed. She broke the kiss and noticed Julie sitting on the bed, grinning at them. "Hey, my brother was right. It does work," Julie said before laughing.
"You, go shower. Now," Ranger ordered as he suppressed a smile.
"Okay, I'm going." Julie went into the shower laughing the entire way. Ranger waited until he heard the shower start before returning his attention to the woman in his bed.
Stephanie chuckled. "Okay, let's get the show moving," Ranger said. Julie came out twenty minutes later, dressed for the day. "You are next, Steph," she said.
Ranger stared as Julie exited the bathroom wearing a light purple dress with one-inch matching heels. "Dad, you are staring," Julie said as she walked into the kitchen.
"Sorry," was all he got out. His daughter looked more grown up than he recalled. She looked beautiful in her purple dress.
Twenty minutes later, Stephanie came out of the washroom wearing a light red dress with black heels. Her hair was down, and the loose curls fell to her shoulders. Stephanie was happy her hair cooperated for once.
"Okay, my turn," Ranger took a deep breath, grabbed his garment bag, and went into the bathroom to get ready.
By 11:30, everyone was ready for the wedding. Stephanie looked at Ranger, wearing black slacks, black shoes with a white button shirt, and a blue blazer. "Okay, let's go get married," he told Stephanie and gave her a deep kiss.
"Dad, let's go, or we will be late," Julie said, staring at Ranger and Stephanie. Julie noticed they were more affectionate with each other than Rachel and Ron. Her mom and adoptive father loved each other, but they didn't display their feelings publicly.
"Right." Ranger went to the safe and removed the wedding rings. "Let's go," he told them as he walked towards the door.
They walked out of the penthouse and took the elevator to the command room floor. Ranger peaked his head into the command room and saw the core team waiting for them.
"Right, it's time," Ranger announced.
Bobby, Lester and Tank looked at each other before they followed Ranger, Stephanie and Julie out of Rangeman. They piled into their SUVs and left for the Plums' house.
Julie squinted when they parked in front of the Plum home. She thought the brown and yellow were dated, but the greenhouse attached clashed with the overall look.
When everyone was out of the SUVs and inside the Plums' house, the final details got put into play. Helen rushed around to make sure everybody was in their place.
Stephanie's nieces came running up to Julie and started to talk. They were telling each other about their friends and school.
Valerie came up to Stephanie. "Look, Albert bought me a new ring," she bragged. Valerie got Albert to buy her a more expensive ring despite the lack of funds.
"Mine is still bigger," Stephanie smiled. She couldn't resist rubbing it in a little. Saint Valerie always had to have everything bigger and better than Stephanie.
"You are still annoying," Valerie said as she walked into the yard. Stephanie laughed at her sister's comment. It felt good to make her feel bad.
Everyone was in the yard waiting for the ceremony to begin. Ranger was standing under a Dutra Arch Curtain. It had a white curtain draped over an archway, held together with sticks. Tank was standing behind Ranger.
Valerie started to walk towards the arch. Frank came up to stand by Stephanie's side. "I know it will work for you this time," he quietly said, then kissed her cheek.
"Thanks, Dad," Stephanie said. After Valerie made her way up the aisle, Stephanie and Frank started to walk up to Ranger. "Who gives the woman away?" Pastor Evens asked.
"Her mother and I do," Frank replied, then kissed Stephanie once more on the cheek. Ranger took Stephanie's arm after he shook Frank's hand.
"We have gathered together to join these two in marriage. If there is anyone who has a reason why these two should not be married, please speak now, or forever hold your peace," Evens said. Everyone looked at Helen, who was surprisingly quiet.
"Okay, let's do this before Helen changes her mind," Evens said. Everyone chuckled.
"Do you, Carlos Manoso, take Stephanie to be your wife?" Evans asked him.
"I do," he replied.
"Do you, Stephanie Plum, take Carlos Manoso to be your husband?" Evens asked her.
"I do," she replied.
"Please, tell me that you two have rings?" Evens asked.
Stephanie went first. She took Carlo's wedding ring with the ⅜ carat diamond and gold band. Stephanie said, "Carlos, you are my rock. I love you and will love you until I die." She put the gold wedding band on Carlo's left hand.
Carlos turned to Tank. Tank gave Carlos Stephanie's wedding ring. "Stephanie, you are my heart and soul. I love you and will until I die." He placed her thin 18-carat gold wedding ring on Stephanie's left hand.
"I now pronounce you man and wife, "Go on, Carlos, kiss her already," Pastor Evens said.
Ranger cupped Stephanie's face with both hands and gave her a deep kiss. He kept the kiss in the PG version for the sake of Stephanie's nieces.
"I now introduce you to the new Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Manoso."
Stephanie and Carlos looked at each other with huge grins on their faces. She married the man of her dreams, and he married the love of his life.
Carlos and Stephanie walked inside the house, followed by Valerie and Tank. Everybody made their way inside too.
Once everyone entered the house, they helped themselves to the cake and food. After a few hours, Carlos noticed that Julie and Stephanie were getting tired. Stephanie and Julie were sitting on the couch, leaning against each other. Julie's eyes were closed, and Stephanie kept yawning.
"Babe, do you want to head home?" he whispered in her ear as he bent over the arm of the couch.
"Yeah, I am getting a little tired, Carlos," Stephanie told him softly. "Growing a baby makes you sleepy."
Carlos said, "Thank you, everyone, for coming. Each one of you made today really special for both Stephanie and me, but I think it is time I take Stephanie and Julie home."
"Get out of here, all of you. I house my house back," Frank said, wearing a huge grin.
The Rangeman crew, Carlos, Stephanie, and Julie, exited the house. Everyone piled in their SUV and drove back to Rangeman.
Once everyone was back in Rangeman, Tank asked Carlos, "Do you want me to watch Julie for the night?"
"No, I think we are just going to watch a couple of movies together. Just the three of us. I want to spend some time with Julie before she has to go back," Carlos replied.
"Okay, your call, boss," Tank told him. "Let me know if you change your mind." Carlos nodded at his friend's offer.
Julie, Stephanie and Carlos got up to the penthouse, and Carlos let everyone inside. Stephanie and Julie removed their shoes and went to the couch to sit. Carlos walked up to the couch but noticed Julie gone.
"Where is she?" he asked his wife. Carlos didn't see Julie slip out the apartment door.
"Relax, she went to get out of her dress," Stephanie told him. Stephanie shook her head. Julie would get upset if either Carlos or Stephanie had to change her clothes.
A few minutes later, Julie came out in a shirt and jeans and sat on the floor. He saw Julie put in a DVD, and they watched the movie.