Inconstant

by Leserei

Events are under constant change without apparent or cogent reason, something that Stephanie and Ranger have to come to terms with.

49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

I take back my hasty conclusions that what I ate was okay with my stomach. As I woke up, I knew that I was about to hurl, so with a hand over my mouth made a dash for the bathroom. I wasn't sure how long I stayed there for, willing the coiling in my stomach to subdue. It must have been a while because I was starting to feel cold, only wearing panties and a strappy top didn't help very much against the cool air from the air conditioning unit or the cold of the marble flooring. I almost moaned out loud as I felt a robe go around my shoulders.

"Not a good morning"

That was an understatement but as my stomach must have been completely empty including the lining, I thought that it was time for me to move.

Ranger helped me back into bed where I saw a tray sat on the bedside table. He handed me the ginger tea that I'd come to rely on each morning so blowing across the surface I started to take slow sips.

"I'm sorry Babe, I wanted to leave you to sleep and thought maybe the sickness wasn't going to be as bad"

From the look on his face I'd say that Ranger looked guilty and that wasn't how I wanted him to feel. It made me feel very guilty. Hell, it wasn't as if I was ill, I was pregnant. Millions of women went through this so I knew that I would just have to get used to it.

"Not your fault"

But with a grin on my face, I couldn't help to add an ending to the sentence.

"Well maybe you did have something to do with it"

His response was to hand me a cracker, sheesh, I needed to go on the internet and research some better way to overcome feeling so sick.

An hour later I'd showered and dressed in shorts and T-shirt. A look at my hair and I was wondering if it was time to take out the braids before my hair became so tangled it would never return to normal. The problem as I saw it was having someone to do that for me. I couldn't see any of the guys volunteering to be my personal hairdresser.

Once downstairs I found some fruit in the fridge and armed myself before going over to the building. I didn't knock on the door but just walked in and instantly regretted it. I felt as though I'd just interrupted an important meeting. Everyone was sat around a table and their sudden silence hit me like a fist, especially as they were all staring at me.

"Sorry"

I said as I turned to go but was suddenly stopped by Les.

"Where're you going Beautiful? You're just in time, we've just got to the juicy bits"

I honestly didn't have a retort for that so allowed Les to lead me to a chair next to Ranger.

"Hi Bomber, how's it going?"

I looked around surprised to hear Bobby and it was only when Ranger pointed to the small screen at one end of the table that I saw a smiling Bobby.

"Doing okay, thanks. The morning sickness kinda ruins the day, but I've been good"

"I've given Ranger some suggestions for that, but remember it doesn't last long"

Ranger's hand rested on my knee, so I knew that he'd told Bobby about the sickness. In some ways it made me feel embarrassed, but I suppose that Ranger wasn't used to standing on the side lines not knowing what to do.

"That face Bobby?"

Okay I had interrupted a meeting and was confused what Ranger was asking Bobby.

"Yeah, I just came across him. He was hired here at Miami a few months ago, probably when you were out of the country, which is probably why you don't know of him. I only came across him because of carrying out the medicals. I've sent his file but to give a quick synopsis, he came from army intel. Probably older than our usual hires but he wasn't needed in the field. He works with Silvio and has been a good addition. Why do you need to know Ranger?"

I had no idea who they were talking about but knew it had to be important as Ranger's hand moved from my leg and he rested his elbows on the table.

"He's a person of interest. Brown, no one is to know that I'm looking at him. He needs to continue working without him or anyone else suspecting anything"

"Got it Boss"

As the screen went blank, I was looking at Ranger thinking that maybe there'd been an issue at Rangeman Miami and wondering why Ranger was dealing with it but then my eye caught a photo now on the screen and then a second one appearing next to it. I recognized the second photo, hell it was me who had come across it.

"It seems the driver was a Miami Rangeman"

I was going to say something, but my thoughts took priority. Bobby had said that this man was working with Silvio, so would he have seen the parcel that I sent to Silvio? Could he have opened it and then repackaged it exactly as it was when it arrived. Had we just found out how Raynor knew that I had a laptop and where we would be. So why hadn't this guy just taken it and passed it on?

"Who is he?"

"Jackson Lambert. Until we read his file, I don't know anything more"

I so wanted to do the search on him and smiled sweetly at Les.

"So you'll need to leave that job for a superior researcher like myself"

This time it was Les who had no answer to throw back at me.

"Let's decide on what we need to do. Babe, you mentioned opening up the program on the laptop"

I recognized that Ranger had gone into serious mode so without looking at Les, thought that the other men should know why I wanted to do that.

"The program reveals the whereabouts of any EMPs that use that configuration for detonation. I deactivated the one in New York City and we were working to do the same for two of the other ones. The last three looked to be somewhere in the Nevada desert. I suggested to Ranger that if we deactivate the two that we can, there's nothing for Lukavic to use. Hopefully he'll go back to where he came from"

More like crawl back under the rock where he lived, but hey, I was being polite here.

"You deactivated an EMP?"

I looked over to CJ and remembered when we'd first met, him telling me what he did in the army. I didn't mean to sound like I was boasting but it was fun to watch his face.

"Two actually. Don't worry I can take you through what you need to do"

I think that it was only Ranger who knew what I'd actually done and I was aware of the other four men looking at me, as though they couldn't believe me, I remembered why I had been so reticent to tell Ranger what I'd been up to. I mean the things that I'd done, had I been mad? and what would my friends think of me if they knew what I'd got involved with?

"Beautiful, you are an absolutely amazing woman. I always knew that you had the potential to be so much more"

I looked up to Les and then around the table at the men now looking at me.

"Steph, you are a very brave woman"

"Orgullosa de ti Estefania"

I had no idea what Hector had said but whatever it was it made tears come to my eyes.

"I thought that you'd see me as stupid, you know me, getting in too deep and making a mess of things"

I looked down at my hands as I said that, the feelings rushing through me, leaving me puzzled. These guys, these were my friends and family, but they hadn't been disappointed in me, they seemed to support what I'd done.

"Babe"

I looked up to see Ranger leant over toward me, his face only a few inches from mine.

"Is that why you thought I wouldn't like what you'd done. That I'd be annoyed at you or even disappointed?"

I nodded my head just waiting for what he'd say next.

"If I had known what you were doing, I would have been scared shitless just thinking about it and would probably have tried to stop you. But you've shown me, and yourself, just how resourceful you can be, how brave and determined you are. I'm so proud of you Babe and what you've accomplished"

I knew what he was saying to me and that he was being sincere with me. I'd been so worried about what he would think of me, yeah, me trying to play in the big league when there were men like him who would be so much better. Had I really done good through all of this? Yeah, maybe I had done, but it wasn't over yet, and I knew I had the best guys in the world to help me, to back me up.

"We have work to do Babe and then when this all over we can start our lives together"

I went across to the boat house where Ethan and Ellie were sat outside on the deck. I'd never spoken to Ethan and to be honest felt awkward seeing him. I suppose they hadn't been treated very well, like the enemy really. Though maybe that was still up for discussion.

"Ellie, could I have the laptop?"

I'd expected some argument from them so was surprised when Ellie stood up and went into the building. It left Ethan stood looking at me.

"Steph, I know that Ellie didn't tell you everything. She was scared with what she'd got involved with and I suppose felt insecure with who to trust. She is telling you the truth; she wants this over without anyone getting hurt. We both want to put the bad guys out of business but especially that man Hubbert. He really played her and made her feel worthless. Working with you, well she grew, she found her confidence and between the two of you you're a formidable force"

I heard what Ethan was saying, maybe seeing the similarities between us. Maybe I owed Ellie a chance to show me that she really was on our side and wasn't the one who had betrayed me. I turned as I heard Ellie behind me and saw the laptop in her hand, pleased when I saw a power supply.

"What are you going to do with it?"

I suppose that she deserved to know what we were planning but surprised me when she was talking to me again.

"Maybe if we destroy this, then it'll stop all of trouble. All it's brought is bad luck"

I raised my eyebrows at Ellie because I was surprised at what she'd said. Is that how she felt, that by destroying this laptop then everything would go away. I wasn't convinced of that especially if Lukavic had the other laptop.

"It won't go away Ellie. Lukavic has the other laptop, and we still have no idea which one was the decoy. I'm going to show the other guys what's on the program and maybe we need to finish what we started and deactivate the rest"

A sigh was what greeted me, as though Ellie was resigned to what I'd said. By the way she held onto the laptop, it seemed that either she was intent on being there when I used it or just didn't want me to have it. That wasn't going to be happening. I don't know why but I didn't want her coming with me.

"I'm just going to open the program Ellie, to show the guys what this is all about"

I felt very guilty as I walked into the building with the laptop, as though I wasn't trusting Ellie. To be honest there weren't many people that I did trust at the moment, apart from the men that I knew.

"This is the laptop that has been causing so much trouble. Elaina was the keeper of the laptop and I'm the keeper of the passwords"

Hector was really curious as I plugged in the laptop, at least he had an adaptor that worked with the plug. I turned the thing over and opened the lid revealing the screen and keyboard. I knew the first password by heart and had soon input it at the prompt, watching as the program changed to the screen that we were looking at. Ranger had only ever seen this screen because that was before I knew what the second password was and before the laptop was snatched by Raynor.

Once again Petco had used a quote from Einstein so I was soon converting the letters into numbers, to me this quote was so apt considering the devices that it would detonate.

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones"

Seeing the numbers down one side of the screen I opened them one at a time showing the people around me what the map now showed. The three in Nevada were as they had been, but it was when I opened up the fourth one that I instantly knew that something had changed. The location of this EMP wasn't the same. There was no longer a device situated at Quantico, instead it showed that it was somewhere north of New York City.

"It's been moved. Where the hell is that?"

I said as I tried to work out the location.

"Where was it?"

I looked over to Les as he asked me that question, but it was Ethan who was quick to reply.

"FBI at Quantico. That means that either someone has managed to open the other laptop, or someone told them the whereabouts"

I turned surprised that Ethan was behind me, when had he turned up? And how was he even here? I looked beyond him, expecting to see Ellie, so was pleased when it seemed that Ethan was on his own.

To me it also implied that the FBI man who we were trying to find had probably moved it because he would have had access into the very secure building where it was hidden. I was worried now so quickly closed that screen and went into the next device that had originally been in Washington.

"You deactivated that one Steph"

I looked over to Ethan knowing that, yes, I had removed the circuit boards from the globe in the American Museum of Finance, but this was showing that another device had taken its place. I didn't answer because I was too busy opening up the screen for the device that was supposed to be in Washington, not surprised when the map showed that it didn't exist.

"Someone has taken the boards from Washington and placed them in the EMP at the American Museum of Finance and then moved the one from Quantico to a different location"

It made me wonder what the hell Lukavic was up to and who had told him where the devices were. There were very few people who knew of their location and three of them were not sat around this table.

"Estefania, will this laptop detonate those devices?"

I looked up to Hector as he asked such an obvious question.

"I don't know. We always closed it down for fear of doing just that. Petco never told me. He just told me that I'd need to work out the passwords in order to locate them"

I suppose I wasn't thinking about that, about which laptop we had, because I was trying to overcome that sinking feeling of who could have divulged the information. Stanley, Lizbeth and Ellie were the only other people who knew where they were. Shit, I hated that it might be one of them. That had me looking to Ethan because he had known.

"Not me Steph. I would never divulge information as serious as this to anyone"

The look on Ethan's face was so formidable that I actually believed him and a quick look at Ranger had him nodding his head at me. Maybe if Ranger could trust Ethan, then so could I.

"CJ. How easy will it be to access the American Museum of Finance?"

It looked as though Ranger was determined to put the damn things out of operation. It was Ethan who walked over to CJ, after all he had been the one who had helped me and knew the layout of the rooms and where the cameras would be. The location of the other device was worrying me now but maybe when we knew where it was then we could work out the motive. I got to my feet and walked to where Hector was sat, busy on a laptop, pleased to see that he was already trying to do that. As he zoomed into a satellite image all I could see were towers and what looked to be something that resembled a factory.

"What is that?"

Hector sat back in his chair still looking at the image as he answered me.

"It's a power plant and large substation where gas comes to from Canada via underground pipes"

Okay, so why was it being targeted, what impact would it have it suddenly went offline? It seemed that Hector must have known what I would be asking becasue he was quick to provide me with an answer.

"If this place was hit by an EMP then it could push a surge of energy into the grid or it could impact on the supply of gas and electricity into the area"

I was of the understanding that New York City had smaller power stations that would be able to manage the demand for electricity. There had to be a very good reason for targeting this place. No doubt Hector and the guys could work that one out. Me, I wanted to find out who that Rangeman was and look for connections.

Looking around I saw that Ethan was busy with CJ and wondered where Ellie was. I bet she wouldn't have been pleased that Ethan had left her and followed me. Ranger, he would be suspicious of her until he had definite proof that she wasn't a threat.

"Where's Ellie?"

I asked Ethan as I stood behind him, my hands resting on the back of his chair.

"She asked for a laptop and wanted to try and chase down information on Lizbeth"

That did surprise me because I would never let her loose with a laptop, hell it would be too easy to communicate with someone and give away our location. I wandered over to where Ranger was sat working on a computer and sat in the chair next to him.

"You trust Ellie with a laptop?"

My answer was Ranger opening up a tab on the computer that he was working on. It showed the opening page of the search program but what was really strange was that letters were being typed in and the cursor was moving about.

"It's the remote access to her laptop, we can see whatever she is doing"

"Good idea. I'm going to do some work on Jackson Lambert"

As I reached down to the table to pick up a laptop Ranger caught hold of my wrist before pulling me down to give me a quick kiss on my lips.

"I'll find you at lunchtime. Remember to drink plenty of water"

I didn't want to be outside in the heat so chose to work inside our bedroom. It was cool, quiet and private. Trying to concentrate on what I was doing was really hard though. I kept wondering what Ellie was doing and if she really was working with us on this. Then my mind would divert to trying to come up with reasons for why those EMPs had been relocated. I knew that I had to just trust that Ranger had everything in hand. CJ and Ethan were working out if they could deactivate them, Hector? I had no idea, but I knew that Ranger was trying to catch a break on who this mysterious FBI agent could be. Les was following up on Lukavic and Ellie, by the looks of her searching, was trying to find out more on Lizbeth.

I knew that Silvio would have done an extensive search on Jackson Lambert and that it hadn't raised any red flags, but Silvio wouldn't know to look for certain connections which was where I did better.

Jackson Lambert was 48 years old and not the usual recruit that Rangeman employed. He'd served his time as a soldier and after being injured had transferred over into communications and was then based stateside working as a human intelligence (HUMINT) collector. His job provided support to battlefield commanders and was responsible for information collection operations. As a human intelligence collector, he supplied key army personnel with information about the enemy force's strengths and weaknesses, and potential battle areas by screening human intelligence sources and documents.

This man had serious skills and had access to all sorts of information. I had no doubt in my mind that he would have known about Ranger's work with Miguel. His reason for leaving his position was the pressure from the work load and the confining restrictions of working for the military. I found it interesting that he'd requested to work in Trenton as his first choice of location but seeing as he would need to learn the role needed by Rangeman he was in Miami to learn their procedures from Silvio.

I wasn't feeling optimistic of finding much more from the usual Rangeman search program so went into one of the more invasive programs that Hector had provided. Yeah, finances usually gave a lot away about people and their habits. During service I had to admit that he hadn't earned a lot of money but as a Rangeman employee was now on a higher wage. There were no unusual payments to be found but I knew that he could have hidden accounts. His outgoings, well maybe he left the army because it didn't cover his spending. For a single man he seemed to be living the high life, maybe catching up on all those years of being stuck on an army base. Whilst his outgoings came within his income, there were inconsistencies.

There were payments for gasoline and garage maintenance but nothing to say how he had bought a car, a car when I checked was a Ferrari California T. Then there was where he lived. Okay he could afford to pay the usual bills but there was no evidence of rental payments. A quick search of the address came up with a modern looking town house on the waterfront. I couldn't find out where he had got the money for that but when I checked on the ownership, I was surprised to see that it was owned by a holding company, a name that I was sure that I had heard before.

I was pretty sure that I hadn't come across it personally but between the four of us at the beach we'd covered a lot of ground trying to find something out about the mysterious man that I'd seen by that boat that blew up. I wrote the name of the company down and decided to find Ellie because it was her who had been following the money on the rental car and the boat and maybe that was where I'd seen it before.

Ellie was inside the boat house, her elbow on the table as she leant over the laptop.

"You find anything?"

A shake of her head told me that she had nothing new and from how she was sat I could tell that she was becoming frustrated. I sat down opposite her as she rested her head on her hands and looked at me.

"Nothing. It's all as she told us, but I have no idea where she is now"

"Ellie, do you remember coming across the name Vatrenima?"

I seemed to have Elaina's attention, but I was surprised with what she said, though I was sure that she was hearing my pronunciation.

"In Serbian, vatreni zmaj means fire dragon. I don't think I've seen the name before"

The words from Ellie seemed to slow down and as she went quiet, I could see her frowning as though she was looking for something from her memories or trying to recall something but just as suddenly as it came her face changed as though she had nothing new for me and didn't say anything.

To me finding that name was too much of a coincidence and I was sure that I'd just found my first link between Lukavic and Lambert. I needed to delve more into what that link actually was, but I had a feeling that just maybe Lambert may have been privy to information that he'd found when working for the army collecting data. I was feeling pretty damn energized as I left a confused Ellie and went back to my bedroom. I wanted to find out about that company, and I knew there were programs on the laptop that would do that.

The program that I used searched through everywhere on information that mentioned the name Vatrenima, so I knew that it would take time to bring everything together. As that worked, I decided that a nap was in order, it had been a busy morning and my brain had been working hard.

I woke needing to use the bathroom and realized that there was a smell that was causing my stomach to flip flop. I didn't waste time in dashing across the room, probably surprising Ranger who was stood in the doorway holding a tray. Once I'd emptied my bladder, I opened the door a crack and looked out. Yeah, the smell definitely wasn't agreeing with me.

"I can't cope with the smell, you have to get it out of here"

Was what I shouted before closing the door. A moment later I heard a knock on the door and Ranger talking through the door to me.

"It's gone Babe"

With a sigh of relief, I came out of the bathroom to find Ranger sat on the side of the bed with a small smile on his face.

"What had you brought up?"

"Pizza"

Pizza. How the hell could that have caused such a strong reaction? I loved pizza, the tomato base, the gooey cheese, garlic and any type of meat.

"Shit"

I said as I laid down next to him.

"How is it that the foods that I really like have me feeling like throwing up"

As Ranger laid down next to me, I felt like punching him at seeing the smirk on his face.

"Maybe Bebé likes what I eat"

Great, did that mean I was destined to eat green leaves and bark for the next eight months, no seven or maybe only six?

"How about we go downstairs and find something that agrees with you?"

It's amazing what you can make a sandwich with, though I was sure that Ranger was grimacing as I moaned at the saltiness of what I was eating. Wholegrain bread with fries and sliced boiled eggs. It tasted divine as I mentally told myself that it was healthy and good for me and the baby. I finished off my meal with a watermelon popsicle, thank you to whoever had bought those. Feeling sufficiently full and having slept I was ready to get back to what I'd been doing. I cleared away the dishes that we'd been using and yeah Ranger had a wholegrain sandwich as well but his had some turkey meat and salad in it.

"What are you up to Babe?"

"I'm pretty sure that your man, Lambert, has accepted bribes, or is blackmailing someone. He owns an expensive car and lives in a really nice place which I backtracked to a company called Vatrenima. If you say that in Serbian it means fire dragon and Lukavic has a tattoo of a fire dragon on his neck"

Ranger looked suitably impressed when I told him that, though I could tell from how the muscles in his jaw tightened that he didn't like that a man like that worked for him.

"I think that you just found the person responsible for us being hijacked"

I thought that as well but there was a piece missing. Had Lambert told Markovic or was Lambert in touch with that damn FBI mole?

"I have a program running so I need to check up on it"

I was about to get up and retrieve my laptop, but Ranger stopped me, and it was him who was suddenly running up the stairs. As he placed the laptop on the table so that we could both see it, I started to read through the results. It gave short sentences of where the name had cropped up and while short it definitely gave us useful information and some names. Emir Marko, Lambert, Hubbert a Doctor Neilson, and a few more, but there in black and white was Lizbeth Norton. My hand went to my mouth as the truth of the words in front of me hit me.

"How the hell did Lizbeth get involved with them?"

"There are only so many reasons Babe, but they cover a myriad of explanations"

I tried to go through what I'd learnt when I was younger and had been forced to go to church with my mother. Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. For each one I was looking for one that would apply to Lizbeth. Had she a secret lover that had involved her? Nah, surely we would have been aware of her having a man in her life. Of all of the conversations that I'd had with her she'd only alluded to short term relationships, unless of course she was like I'd been. In love with a man but not wanting him or anyone else to know.

Gluttony, I had no idea what that really meant and decided that sloth didn't describe the Lizbeth that I knew. Wrath was a possibility, but I had no idea what would cause that but maybe envy or greed could fit.

"Yeah well, I can't think of anything. Are there any names that you recognize?"

I asked as Ranger continued to look at the names.

"No. The ones we know aren't here either, like Markovic, Raynor or Correll"

The information that we were looking at had links to where the name of the company and the person had been found. I clicked on the name Hubbert seeing that he was listed as a share holder in the company. Doing the same for Lizbeth it had her as an employee as was the doctor.

"If that information is out there somewhere then how come we can't find anything on the company?"

"I suppose it depends on where in the world it's based and how good they are at keeping themselves undercover. The search I did on Hubbert didn't show his affiliation to this company, but to be honest I think it was fabricated"

"Did anyone find anything on Stanley?"

"No, but he'll be good at staying off the grid"

I sighed as the realization hit me, we maybe knew who was involved now but had no idea where they were or what they were planning. I suppose our only plan was what CJ and Ethan could do.

Two days later I was feeling despondent. The only people who seemed to be making progress were CJ and Ethan. They were leaving the next morning with Les, to head up to New York CJ was feeling uneasy and didn't think that it would be as simple to disarm the devises as I had done. From there they would travel north up to the substation to determine the exact location of the devise and how easy it would be to get close to it and do some reconnaissance on the museum.

Even Ellie seemed to be struggling with her research, but to be honest I was also feeling restless. It was as the two of us were sat at the edge of the beach, our feet in the water and our skin soaking up the last of the sun that Ellie told me exactly what was on her mind.

"I need to do something. Sitting around here isn't getting us anywhere. No matter where I look, I can't find anything"

I felt just the same, but I knew that my time for being proactive, for jumping into the unknown were over for now. I had too much to lose to be impetuous now.

"I know Ellie, but I can't"

I saw the look that she gave me, half shocked and half disbelieving.

"What's happened to you? Where is that sassy woman that I met? Are you so smitten with Ranger that you do everything he tells you?"

That hurt, probably as much as Ellie had intended. I hated her to think that about me, that I didn't want to be doing something, but there was no way I was prepared to tell her my reasons. She could think what she wanted.

"I may have an idea Ellie that will make you feel better"

I got to my feet and walked away from her hearing her asking me what it was. I suppose that I was on a mission as I went in search of Ranger. I had an idea forming in my head and I had the intention of making it happen. I found him in the building working over a computer. He looked tired as he propped his head up with his hand as he read the screen. I knew that he was annoyed at the lack of progress so maybe he'd more willing to listen to what I was going to ask. It seemed that I either made a noise or he sensed me behind him because as I'd approached, he turned to look at me and pulled me down across his knee.

"I hate to say this Babe, but you have that look to you"

"Which look would that be?"

Wondering if he thought my intentions were romantic. Seeing Hector and Ram leave the room maybe that was what they thought as well and didn't want to be witness to a lover's encounter.

"I want to go to Miami. If we can set it up for Ellie to meet up with Lambert then maybe we can find out what he knows. It would also give us the answer about Ellie and whether or not she's in cahoots with Hubbert or Lukavic"

I felt Ranger sigh, hell, he really was fed up if he was doing that.

"We agreed Babe, to keep him under surveillance and then he would lead us to the others"

There I was starting to feel sorry for him and he has to say something like that. Well that just pissed me off. Maybe Ellie was right, maybe I had allowed myself to be told what to do by Ranger.

"No Ranger, you never included me on that conversation. We're running out of time, what happens if Hubbert never has need to talk to Lambert or they decide he's a lose end and they need to get rid of him. Lukavic is really good at getting rid of any trail especially if he thinks that he can detonate those EMPs"

I ran out breath before I could finish because I was going to add that I was worried in case Lizbeth had worked out the passwords.

"Please Ranger"

I waited and watched as he sat there, the blank expression on his face was unnerving me. Hell, I hadn't seen him look like that for an age so what the hell did that mean? Had I pushed him too far and he was reining in his temper so that he didn't shout at me? Well to hell with that.

"If we are really in a relationship then that means that we listen to each other. It does not mean that I'm going to bend to whatever you say. That isn't me Ranger and you know it, I can't be like that, I won't"

Shouting at someone when you're sat on their knee is really hard to do. I wanted to get up and pace the floor, wave my arms about in the air. I felt stifled both physically and emotionally and as soon as I stopped yelling, I could feel myself tear up. Damn it why was I so emotional? I made to move but his arms around me held me in place, so I fought back the tears and tried to put on a defiant face.

"You're right. But I'm only doing it to protect you. I would never do it to hurt you"

Was that an apology or an excuse, because it certainly wasn't an answer. I didn't say anything, and I didn't look up at him, I was finding my dirty feet very fascinating.

"I wasn't thinking Babe. I suppose that I got so caught up with what we're doing that I could only focus on what was in front of me. You being pregnant, well your health became more important, so I pushed aside how you were feeling, how you hate doing nothing. If we do this, then it has to planned carefully"

I looked up then tilting my head to the side as though working through what he'd just said.

"Is that, I'm sorry and yes you're right we should be more proactive with Lambert?"

"Yes Babe. I'm sorry and yes you're right we should put in place a plan to trap Lambert"

That was when I smiled and leaned in closer, whispering into his ear.

"Thank you"

As I made to move, he deepened the kiss making me wonder why I had got annoyed with him. The ending of the kiss was abrupt which puzzled me until I saw movement from the corner of my eye. I turned to look at the doorway and saw Ellie stood there.

"What's wrong Ellie?"

Because to me she did look upset and she seemed to be jiggling from foot to foot.

"I am so sorry Steph. I had no right to say those things to you"

I felt relieved at what she was saying because I actually thought that she was here to have a go at Ranger, I wouldn't have put that past her.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me? I would never have suggested putting you in danger"

Okay now I felt goosebumps go down my spine. What did she mean I should have told her, told her what?

"I'm sorry. You had that look in your eyes which told me that you were up to something, so I followed you to see what you'd do"

That's when it hit me and I'm sure that my eyes got wider as realization dawned on me.

"You heard, you know?"

I was still staring at her as she came over to me and then I found myself being hugged by her.

"Steph, I am so happy for you, and you too Ranger. I wouldn't have said those things to you had you just told me that you're pregnant"

"I can't believe it"

Came from her before she hauled me off Ranger's knee and started bouncing up and down with me in her arms. Her behavior was contagious, and it wasn't long before I was laughing and crying along with her. It was Ranger who brought me back to earth by being behind me and holding his arms around me with his hands on my stomach.

"No way is she going anywhere near anyone Ranger, I promise"