Chapter 20 forced Family

Three months after the sentencing hearing, both Ranger and Stephanie were sleeping when Stephanie tapped Ranger on the arm. "What?" Ranger asked in a tired voice.

"Ranger, he is coming," Stephanie told her husband. Stephanie rubbed her hand over her tight abdomen. The contractions were bearable for the moment. Valerie had told Stephanie they get stronger as it gets closer to delivery.

"Right, Julie, the time is here," Ranger yelled. He got up out of bed and helped Stephanie climb out of bed. Everybody got dressed and ready to leave. Stephanie looked into Ranger's eyes as she tried to manage the contraction pain. Ranger could tell she was taking deep breaths.

Everyone put on their jackets, piled into the Rangeman SUV and left for the hospital. They arrived ten minutes later. Julie and Ranger helped Stephanie out of the SUV. Ranger will call everyone at Rangeman, but not until Stephanie is in the delivery room.

Ranger walked up to admitting department to fill out the insurance paperwork. Stephanie was in a wheelchair and got pushed to the Labor Room. About seven hours later, she was in the Delivery Room. "Ranger, I can't," Stephanie screamed.

"Yeah, babe, you have to. He has got to come out. Look at me and push," Ranger said.

Stephanie looked into Carlos's soft brown eyes, and she was holding one of his hands too. Stephanie gave one last push, and Joseph slipped from her body. The doctor caught the baby in his hands.

"Congrats, it is a boy. Dad, do you want to cut the cord?" the doctor asked as he placed the infant in the nurse's hands. He clipped a couple of clamps on the umbilical cord.

"Oh, yeah," Ranger said. He took the scissors from the Ob/GYN. Ranger cut the cord between the clamps.

Ranger held Joseph for the first time. "Hey, Joseph. You are named after someone, who gave his life so your mom and I could live," Ranger said, holding his son. Ranger walked towards the head of the bed to Stephanie, who was sitting up in bed. He handed Joseph to her.

Stephanie took Joseph and was just enjoying this time with him. Julie walked up to the bed and saw her baby brother. "Hi, Joseph, I am your big sister, Julie. I am going to teach you so much," she promised.

Ranger got on the phone to call Valerie, Frank, Edna, and the crew at Rangeman. He could have enforced a calling tree, but he wanted to spread the news.

After completing all the requisite calls, he noticed that Stephanie was sound asleep. Joseph was sleeping in the baby bed next to Stephanie. He walked up to her and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. He woke Julie up. "What?" Julie asked.

"Time for us to go home for a little bit," Ranger told Julie. "Stephanie will have a lot of visitors." He asked the nurse to take Joseph to the nursery for Stephanie to sleep.

Julie got up and left with Ranger. The two of them left the hospital and went outside. Valerie, Albert and the girls showed up to visit with Stephanie.

"Hey, she is resting right. Julie and I are going home to get a couple of hours of sleep. If you want, you can stay and be there when she wakes up," Ranger suggested.

"Yeah, we can do that. Where is Joseph?" Valerie asked.

"He is in the nursery. You can visit him if you would like. I gave the nursery nurse a list of approved visitors," Ranger said. Julie and Ranger went home for a few hours.

Stephanie woke up and saw Valerie, Albert, and the girls in her room. "Ranger, left to go get some sleep, huh?" Stephanie asked her big sister. Valerie nodded. Stephanie wasn't upset that Carlos went home. They had discussed what happens when she delivers the baby.

Just then, a nurse came in with Joseph. She had a bottle too. "I can't breastfeed him. He won't latch on, so we have to use formula. I feed Joseph during the day, and Ranger does the evenings," I explained when Valerie asked about the bottle of formula.

"Hey, what is going on for Christmas Dinner?" Valerie asked.

"How about Ranger and I host dinner this year at our house? I can have Ella cook the turkey with all the fixings," Stephanie said to everyone.

"Do you think she will do that for us?" Valerie asked Steph.

"Oh, I know she will," Ranger said. "I got used to having you by my side, so I could not sleep. I figured that I would come back. Valerie, I saw the new minivan."

"Oh yeah, and we love it. Mom paid someone to put a bomb under our car, but she failed in everything. We will be better off now that she is in prison," Valerie told everyone.

"Ranger, are you finished your shopping for Christmas yet?" Albert asked.

"Yeah, what about you guys?" Ranger asked his in-laws.

"Yeah, and we want to thank you for hiring Albert. It's the first Christmas that we were able to get everything and more," Valerie told them. Valerie was relieved they weren't struggling to pay the bills or buy groceries. Stephanie helped whenever she could, but it was nice not to need financial assistance.

"No problem. I am glad I could help," Ranger replied.

Just then, the doctor entered the room. "Well, you and Joseph can go home today," the doctor said.

"Nice. Thanks," Stephanie said. She hated hospitals.

"You're welcome, and Merry Christmas," the doctor said. He left the room so everyone could leave. Ranger helped Stephanie get ready to go home. Forty-five minutes later, Ranger was signing the discharge papers for Stephanie

Ranger had a surprise for Stephanie when they got home. He carried Joseph, asleep in his car seat, into the house. Stephanie entered the house in front of Ranger. She saw the banner and the people welcoming her home.

Stephanie was surprised they threw her a welcome home party. The core team of Tank, Lester, Hal and Hector were in the house. Her family, Frank, Edna, Valerie, Albert, their girls and Julie, were there. "Everyone, thanks for coming. Ranger, you did not have to do this for me," Stephanie said.

"I know, but we all earned the right to have a party," Ranger said. Everyone had a blast at the party. The core Rangeman team said their goodbyes for now and left.

Stephanie's family was the only ones to remain behind for dinner. Ella picked up a chicken and roasted it. The family sat down in the dining room to eat. Carlos carved the chicken, and everyone sat down to eat. They talked about how they were all going to start over. Stephanie spoke up, "After my maternity leave, I will work at Rangeman. I can take Joe with me, and he can be there at Rangeman while Carlos and I work. We'll have a lot of nannies to help." Stephanie couldn't wait to see her Merry Men holding a baby.

Valerie spoke up then, "Mom's plan to have you settle down backfired. Her forced family plan really backfired on her."

"The only person to get caged was mom," Stephanie added. Everyone started to laugh.