All recognizable characters belong to Janet Evanovich, I'm just playing.
A/N: It's the big day for them, and the end of the story…for now. Thanks for taking this ride with me.
#
#
#
"Hey, Ranger. Steph's family is outside and wants to pop in for a visit. Should I let them in?"
"Jesus fucking Christ, Santos! Do I look like I'm in the mood for visiting and chit chatting? I'm—"
Steph's tirade is broken off as another contraction hits and she grabs my hand hard enough that I have to hide the wince from my wide-eyed cousin. He stands there, stuck dumb by both Steph's angry words and the way her body stiffens. Once the contraction is passed, she relaxes and notices Lester still standing in the doorway.
"I'm sorry, Lester. Please tell them it's not a good time."
Between contractions she's still my sweet Babe, and Lester is now rooted in place, confused by the switch in personalities. He starts to say something but wisely heeds my headshake with a nod that screams, "Dude, better you than me," before backing out of the room. I see him give Zero and Cal, the two guys currently on guard duty, a "holy shit!" look before the door closes, and I make a mental note to tell Tank to take him to the mats.
We're in hour four of active labor and Steph's contractions are still five minutes apart. For all her talk of wanting drugs, she's refused them so far, wanting to tough it out after actually seeing the needle they use for the epidural. So far I've held my consel; if she wants the procedure, I'll have the doctor in here 60 seconds. I would do anything to take away her pain. Anything.
Les is in the doorway again. "Mrs. Plum wanted to make sure Steph knows she's here if she needs her."
Steph's head is back on the pillow, her eyes closed. "Tell her thanks, but we're good and I'll see her after the baby's here."
He nods his head and hauls ass away from the room as another contraction hits. Her breathing is hard, and she whimpers a little as the contraction tapers off. When she settles, I ask her, "Are you sure you don't want your mom in here? She might be more helpful."
The snort she lets out is inelegant and loud. "Seriously? The last thing I need is a witness to me threatening to cut your balls off."
"Don't the doctor and nurses count?"
"Doctor/patient privilege."
"Good to see you've got this all worked out, Babe."
"Damn skippy."
Because I love her, and want to keep my dick in working order, I do what I can to make this easier for her. Labor doesn't progress as fast as either of us would like, and after two more hours of it, Steph asks for the epidural in order to get some rest. I don't like that I'm asked to leave the room, even if it is hospital protocol that only a nurse and the anesthesiologist are present for the safety of the patient. I stand outside the door, blocked by Caesar and Binkie. My blank face is slammed down and I'm fighting the urge to pace. It takes eleven minutes for them to open the door to her room again and let me in.
We spend the next couple hours timing contractions and me feeding her some ice chips. The nurse finally indicates that it's time and a flurry of activity happens. Dr. Cortez waltzes in, tying on her mask. "I hear we're ready to have this baby."
Steph's face is buried in my neck, so I'm the only one that hears her mutter, "Fucking royal, 'we'. Don't see her over here trying to push a watermelon out."
It's only years of practice that keeps the laugh inside. The last thing I need is for my headstone to read, "Here lies the dumbass that pissed off his wife while she was in labor."
The doctor gets situated at the foot of the bed with Steph's feet up in stirrups. She's got a death grip on my hand throughout the contraction. Wiping her forehead down with the cool washcloth a scrub nurse hands me, I lean close to her. "You're doing great, Babe."
I get a small smile before the doctor tells her that she can start pushing with the next contraction. Eventually, after no work on my part, we hear "Congratulations, it's a boy!" followed by the most beautiful squawk and a cry. Our son is laid on Steph's chest and he's beautiful. The site of them together is a gut-punch I'll never forget. I'm able to blink the unanticipated tears of joy away, surprised that the process of getting him here has affected me so much.
Steph has no such qualms and lets the tears flow freely. "Hola, carino. Es mami. Te quero mucho."
Hearing her speak to our son in halting Spanish takes my breath away. "Babe?"
She blushes a little, embarrassed even as she watches the nurse carry baby Gabriel over to be cleaned up and checked out. "I figured I needed to know what you two were going to be saying about me, so I've been using an app to learn."
Gently dropping my head to hers, I murmur, "I love you. So much."
She smiles a little before deadpanning, "You better. I just had your kid."
"Smartass."
Gabriel Lucas Manoso is returned to us swaddled in a pink and blue striped blanket and wearing an impossibly tiny black stocking cap with Rangeman embroidered across the front. We both stare at the little beanie, then at each other, before shaking our heads and saying, "Santos" at the same time. Our son looks so right in Steph's arms that I step back to take a photo before the nurse offers to take our first family photo.
Activity still swirls around us, but we're oblivious to anything but the miracle that is clenching and unclenching his little hand that has escaped the blanket. Steph hands him off to me and I hold him close, whispering how much I love him and his mother, all the things I'm going to teach him, and how loved he already is. I hear a click and know that she's stolen my phone and snapped a picture. I don't even mind.
When he begins to fuss, I hand him back to Steph and the lactation specialist talks Steph through getting him to latch on and begin nursing. Once they get the hang of it, the nurse steps back, breaking the tunnel vision of my family in front of me.
"Santos, why are you in here again?"
He looks unsure and blurts out, "Apparently something on my face made them afraid to come in and they made me spokesperson."
Steph snorts, startling Gabriel who brings his arm up and stops nursing for a moment. Instinctively, Steph runs her index finger along his arm and allows him to grasp her finger as he goes back to eating.
Looking away from the beautiful sight, I see my cousin also transfixed. "Santos!"
His eyes snap to mine, a brief moment of terror at realizing he was staring in the vicinity of Steph's chest. After closing his eyes and shaking his head, he gets to the point. "I know, mats. Your families and the guys want to know when they can see the littlest Rangeman."
I'm about to send him away when Steph says, "Give me about ten minutes then you can send them back in small groups."
"You sure, Babe?"
"Yeah. We've been here a while and our parents probably need to leave soon. And if I'm going to use the guys as babysitters, then they need to get used to him."
Lester's jaw drops but he wisely snaps it shut at my glare. Steph is smirking, leaving Les to wonder if she's being serious. He turns around and exits, giving me a chance to send her an eyebrow raise.
"Some of them can be trusted to watch him long enough for us to shower, I'm sure of it."
"Babe."
Nine minutes and forty-eight seconds later, there is a knock on the door and our parents quietly enter. Gabriel is passed around for short visits before winding up back in Steph's arms. She takes the lead on answering questions, telling them only that Gabriel is named after someone important to us and Lucas was a name we both liked. A yawn from the new mother gets them to move along, with the promise of visits after we settle in back at home. My father pats me on the back and squeezes my shoulder, telling me, "You did good."
When I quietly remind him that I didn't do anything but hold her hand, he says, "You made a choice to love."
Looking over at my wife and child, I can see the wisdom in celebrating that victory.
Minutes after they leave, eight of my employees file in. A few look terrified, but most are curious. Steph angles her body a bit to show off Gabriel and introduces them to their newest charge. Surprisingly, it's Hector that steps forward first, asking to hold him. The small smile he graces our son with transforms his face and leaves more than a few of his co-workers startled. I hear surprised murmurs, "Hector smiles?" and realize just how much a baby in the building is going to shake things up.
Once all the visitors have left for the night, I settle into a chair with Gabriel cuddled close to my chest, watching Steph slowly slip into sleep. She's exhausted, worn out, and just fucking beautiful. I'm in awe of her strength...and more than a little relieved to escape the day with my balls intact. Labor is no joke and I have a new respect for my wife's ability to install fear in the men. It also has me making a mental note to send flowers to Rachel, who did this with only her mother present, and when she was little more than a kid herself.
Seeing Steph in pain, even for the best of reasons, was a form of torture that was brutal and unexpected. Every contraction felt like a physical stab of guilt, making me wish I could take away that pain for her. The whimper of exhaustion she let out at the end of each one tried to drag me back into the memories of the things I've had to do. Steph was battling the pain of childbirth, but I was battling demons and worrying about karma. A new life feels a little like redemption, and I'm not sure I'm worthy. I'll never tell her, but her deciding on the epidural is probably the only reason I could stay in the room with her and still stay in the present.
Gabriel lets out a small yawn before focusing his blue eyes on me. Gabriel, my son. I looked up the meaning after we made the default decision to name the baby in honor of my fallen brother. "God is my strength" and a guardian absolutely fits the soldier I knew. My little man has big boots to fill, but I have no doubt that with his namesake guiding him from above, he'll do just fine.
He, too, settles in for a slumber, leaving me alone in the quiet with my thoughts and plans. I've had months to prepare myself for being a father again but holding my child in my arms is surreal. The same love I felt for Julie is there, but it's somehow more; I've had months to watch him grow in utero, feel him kick and hear his heartbeat. Love entered the equation so much earlier this time.
With Julie on my mind, I carefully pull my phone out of my cargos and snap another picture of him. Adding in his stats one-handed, I push send. I would have preferred to introduce Julie to her newest little brother in person, but the timing is wrong. We'll Facetime when we're home from the hospital and plan a trip to Miami in a bit.
The heart emoji she sends back brings a smile to my face. Unconsciously, my gaze strays to Steph and I'm once again thankful that she pushed me out of my comfort zone to make more of an effort with Julie.
Leaning down to place a gentle kiss on Gabriel's dark fluffy hair, I'm transfixed by his little face. He's a good mix of us; her eyes and nose, but my chin and darker skin tone. The full head of hair isn't quite long enough to have a curl yet, so that remains a mystery for a bit longer. That little hand of his escapes the blanket again and I run my much bigger thumb along his delicate little fingers. By instinct he curls his hand around my thumb, and I'm amazed by his strength as another piece of the wall built around my heart crumbles.
Mine. I will slay dragons for the woman sleeping peacefully five feet to my left, but I will burn down entire worlds to protect the gift in my arms.
My head turns at the sound of the door opening and Tank quietly lets himself in. He offers a small smile at Gabriel but balks when I stand to transfer the baby. He backs away from us and offers up a middle finger salute when I call him a pussy. The man can't handle mice, tequila, Lula, or infants. He's about to be cured of one of those; Steph will make sure of it.
He nods his head toward my wife, asking, "She good?"
"She's great. Just tired." I settle back down with Gabriel, my thumb still grasped in his tiny hand. I revel in the connection and place another kiss on his forehead.
"Santos has the men convinced she levitated and spun her head around before coating you in pea soup."
My bark of laughter startles Gabriel, but he settles fairly quickly. There's a pang of disappointment when he lets go of my hand but that leaves me with a free hand to trace the shell of a tiny ear. The pea soup comment takes me back to the day I found out about the pregnancy. Hard to believe bringing her a meatball sub led to all this.
Tank watches us for a couple minutes before commenting, "Man, never thought I'd see you holding a baby again."
"That's ok, I never expected to be here, either. Out of all of us, I'm probably the one who deserves it the least."
He gets close enough to run one of his huge fingers over Gabriel's head. "Maybe your belief in that is why the universe chose to give you the people who are going to love you no matter what. No one ever said you had to walk the road alone."
I have nothing to say to that, and we sit in silence for a few minutes before he gives me a quick rundown of the day's reports. Before he leaves, we got through the plan for the next few days, and he promises to take Santos to the mats early in the morning.
Both Steph and Gabriel wake throughout the night, giving me a chance to watch them as they bond over nursing attempts. One of them usually falls back asleep before they're done, letting me step in and take Gabriel so Steph can recharge. Everything looks good, so we're probably going to be discharged late today and I want to enjoy this relative cocoon of quiet and calmness.
We have visitors off and on throughout the day, with the guys vetting who we let in. Several distant "friends of friends" have been denied entry after Steph said that she didn't even know them. Seems news of Gabriel's birth has hit the grapevine, even though we elected to use a hospital in Princeton rather than Trenton. Helen called with the warning that a few of her friends have stopped by this morning with congratulatory casseroles and desserts; she swears that she hasn't said anything to anyone other than to tell Valerie that we had the baby. The day I walked her down to her car, she apologized for not respecting Steph's choices or properly welcoming me to the family, promising to put Steph and her future grandchild first. To say I was surprised, and a little suspicious, was an understatement. But Steph's mother has really made the effort to respect our wishes since Frank opened her eyes and she and Steph have a better relationship now.
No one stays pregnant forever, so we were never going to be able to keep the birth quiet. They're probably just gossip seekers, but I'm not taking chances. Hal and Woody have been tasked with devising a hospital exfil that will ensure our privacy and safety until we get back to Haywood. It's just one of the contingencies that I tried to account for when the cop blabbed his mouth at the station where someone with a grudge against Steph or me could hear him.
When it's nearing time to go, I pull out a small "Dad's Little Dude" sleeper from the bottom of the hospital go-bag I packed and hand it to Steph. Since we kept the gender as a surprise, we received a lot of unisex clothing, but a few boy/girl things, too. Steph looks at the small pile of things on the bed as I start to repack the bag. I can see the gears turning.
"You knew!" Steph actually sounds a little scandalized.
"Babe."
Her eyes are scrunched up a little, making me wonder just how mad she might be. "Seriously, did they tell you?
How did you know?"
"Saw it on the ultrasound while they were doing it."
She snorts. "You can read ultrasounds now? How many hidden talents do you have?"
I did my best to maintain a blank face, but I know a smirk peaks through. "The tech wasn't kidding that there was a clear view. It was either a penis or a third arm. I figured they would have mentioned a third arm."
She blinks her eyes, stunned. It takes a moment for words to form. "Are you messing with me right now?"
Gabriel interrupts with a small squawk, stealing her attention. When he's calm, she gives me another assessing look. "The third arm thing sounds suspiciously like a joke. There's a girl outfit in that bag, isn't there?"
Pulling her close and planting a kiss on her temple, I pull the "Though she be little, she is fierce" sleeper out of the bag to show her. "I would have told you if I knew."
I hear a quietly muttered "ass" as Steph leans down and gives Gabriel's belly a few kisses before she slowly starts dressing him. Her movements start out hesitant but she's moving with confidence by the time she's done. She has nieces and nephews, not to mention Mary Lou's boys, so she's not exactly a novice, even if she shied away from having her own for so long.
When we're ready, Steph begrudgingly sits in a wheelchair and holds Gabriel for the trip downstairs. I trust that the men did their jobs, and we'll get loaded up with no problems. Just like we discussed, Steph hands me the baby and allows Hal to help her into the fleet Explorer. Once she's strapped in, I hand her Gabriel and shut the door before moving to sit in the passenger seat. Tank pulls away from the curb as soon as Steph indicates that the baby is secured. She looks out the back window, noticing the nurse still standing there and more fleet vehicles prepared to flank us. "That was quite the production."
"Babe, it's just until we know that the extra visitors were just gossips."
"I know. I'm ready to get back to Rangeman."
Gabriel sleeps for the entire trip, and if we were in the car much longer, Steph would have joined him. Men are milling about the garage waiting to greet us and we visit until Gabriel starts to fuss before heading to the elevator. There is an "It's a Boy!" sign on the back wall, making Steph smile. She kisses his forehead and sways back and forth a bit for the ride to seven.
As I pull out the key to open the door, waiting to step over the threshold with my family, I realize we're really doing this…and it's already good.