Chapter 25

Carlos and Lester returned the day before my birthday. They were gone longer than any of us expected. Dr Portman put me on bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. At my appointment a few days ago, she said I was already 3 cm dilated. I could go into labour any day.

My husband found me on our sofa trying to find a movie to watch on Netflix. He pulled me into his arms and held me almost too tight. I missed him as much as he missed me. When he pulled back to get a closer look at me, he noticed my stomach was significantly larger. "Portman put you on bed rest?" he asked.

"She did. I'm already starting to dilate, so we could be welcoming our babies soon. You've lost weight," I observed. "What took so long? I was told last month your mission was a success. You didn't miss any check ins."

"Our extraction site was compromised. We had to hike for three weeks to a new location. Debriefing took another week. Neither of us were injured. Babe, I'm just glad to be home in time," he stated before giving me a kiss.

Just as I started to get into the kiss, I felt my pants getting soaked. "Carlos," I whispered. "I either just pissed myself or my water broke."

He helped me change my clothes, opting to pull one of his long shirts over my body. Carlos pulled a clean pair of panties up my legs before lifting me into his arms. When he entered the elevator, he pressed the button for the garage and another to communicate to the control room. "Steph's in labour, we're going to St Frances," he barked.

"HUA," Cal replied. Carlos was carrying me towards his Porsche Cayenne when I heard the stairwell door smash open. Manny and Lester were running towards us.

Lester jumped into the driver's seat and Manny took the passenger. Carlos climbed into the back and held me on his lap. The second our door closed, Lester peeled out of the parking garage and drove to the hospital.

Janet was waiting at the hospital doors with Dr Portman. They decided to grab a gurney instead of a wheelchair. I was thankful since sitting was definitely not comfortable at the moment.

In the early hours of the morning, sharing a birthday with me and Manny, my beautiful children were born. Ricardo Carlos Manoso was born at 0012 hours and Kennedy Pilar Manoso was born at 0045 hours. I was fortunate to have them naturally. It hurt, but it was also worth the pain. They weighed 4lbs 1oz and 3lbs 12oz, respectively. Rici was only half an inch longer than his sister Kenni's 16" length.

Both of the children have the same skin tone. They're currently bald with a bit of black fuzz and it was too early to see their eye colour. Our babies were spending the night in the NICU. Dr Portman wanted to be sure their lungs were absorbing enough oxygen.

The men visited us at a decent hour and brought us birthday gifts. I laughed when I opened multiple onesies with 'my uncles are badasses', 'if you think I'm cute, you should see my uncle', 'my uncle is stronger than your uncle', 'batboy', 'wonder girl', 'my godfather is sexy', 'my godfather is my protector' and black onesies with 'Rangebaby' stitched over the left breast.

Manny gave me a beautiful locket with a picture of him in one side, Val and me on the other. It was absolutely beautiful. He gave me a kiss and whispered, "I'm giving Val one too."

"Thank you Manny, I love it."

Carlos gave me a beautiful bracelet with our birth stones. "I replicated our stones for now. When we have another child, we can swap them out," he said as he placed the gorgeous bracelet on my arm.

Janet wheeled our babies to us during her break. Hal was following closely behind. "Hey momma. Your babies were missing you," Janet said as she lifted Ricardo into my arms. She gave Kennedy to Carlos. "They are gorgeous and both look just like their daddy."

"I guess we're having another child if you want one to look like me," I told my husband. His eyes darkened at the thought. "We need to wait at least six weeks," I reminded him.

Hector slipped into the room and quickly removed Kenni from my husband's arms. Lester grabbed Rici from mine. The godfathers were very happy holding the babies. Janet gave them bottles to feed them. Hector had no problems getting Kenni to take the bottle. Lester had some difficulty with Rici until Hal showed him how to hold the bottle.

I waited until Ricardo ate a few ounces before asking, "Janet, would you be Rici's godmother?"

"Oh Steph, I would love to," she said before plucking her godson from Lester's arms to burp him. She gave him back when her break was finished.

When Dr Annie Portman came in to check on me, I asked her to be Kennedy's godmother. She readily accepted. We'll need to plan the christening for early December.

We stayed in the hospital for a week before being discharged. Arianna helped me dress the babies in the onesies she had custom made. Ricardo's said, 'My sister is Wonder Woman' and the onesie was covered in black Batman symbols. Kennedy's said, 'My brother is Batman' and her onesie was covered in Wonder Woman symbols. I thought they were absolutely perfect.

Arianna has become a permanent fixture at Rangeman. She opened the daycare as scheduled, but Carlos built a secure walkway between the two buildings. I guess he was planning to use the daycare for our children. If the men wanted to visit with the twins, they could walk between the buildings. The babies only spent a few hours per day at the centre. Each daycare employee was carefully vetted to ensure they could follow proper protocol and didn't have a criminal record.

"If these guys keep getting married and having babies, I'll be watching all my nieces and nephews," Ari stated as she helped me change Rici and Kenni's diapers.

"Valerie should be having Lisa soon. She's been complaining about back pain. I wouldn't be surprised if she has them today," I told her.

"I still can't believe Janet quit her nursing job to work here," Arianna whispered.

"Jan's three months pregnant," I whispered. "They're getting married on the weekend."

She clapped her hands quietly after she placed Rici into the double stroller. I put Kenni into the seat behind him. My daughter didn't like being in the front.

"I love babies," Ari cheerfully stated. It was obvious she loves taking care of babies.

"The men do too. They'll only let the babies go to daycare for a few hours per day. It's fun watching them fight to get babysitting duty. Don't be surprised when you suddenly have extra hands throughout the day," I told her. She just laughed in amusement.

Arianna and Manny were already living together. They were getting married on New Year's eve. It's a little cliché, but it's what they both wanted. Hopefully I would have lost more of the baby weight by then. Ari asked me to be her matron of honour.

Dr Portman finally cleared me for exercises, but I still had a few weeks before I could make love to my husband. We found ways to relieve the pressure without penetration. I'll have to let Valerie know. After she had Angie and Mary Alice, she abstained. If Vince is like my husband, he would not like that one bit.

Vince sent me a text, 'Lisa Edna Holman was born a few minutes ago. She only weighs 6lbs 4oz, but she's 21 inches long.' I knew Valerie was planning to name her after grandma. If she were still alive, I knew she would love it.

"I guess we're making a detour," I said as I showed Ari the message. I copied the message text and sent a Rangeman wide announcement.

Mary Alice and Angie met us in the garage. They were using my office to do their homework while I helped Ari with my babies. I could tell they were excited to meet their little sister.

The following day, Valerie was discharged with Lisa. They decided to stay at Rangeman until Vince got used to having a baby interrupting his sleep. Does anyone ever get use to it? I know I certainly haven't.

Valerie was nursing so it made it easier for Vince. He would change Lisa's diaper before bringing her to Valerie to nurse. Once Lisa was burped and falling asleep, he took over. Before long, he bonded with his little girl. Watch out Vince, she's going to have you wrapped around her tiny finger.

Lisa already had Binkie, Cal and Ram wrapped around her finger. As he told me before, Manny gave Valerie a locket identical to mine. She loves it as much as I love mine. I had to store mine in the safe so I wouldn't lose it. Kenni loved to hold it while I fed her, but she broke the chain a few days ago. Manny was very understanding when I explained what happened.

Between work, the twins and spending time with my sexy husband, I barely had time to breathe. My days started much too early and ended too late. Unfortunately we only had a few weeks together as a family.

Carlos was away on another mission several months ago. He had to resume his cover from a previous mission. I was upset when he told me. Our first Christmas and New Years as a family was taken away from us because of this mission. The guys have been wonderful. It was nice having so many extra hands to help, but I only wanted my husband.

We made love several times before he had to leave… ten days before Christmas. Ella and Ari watched our twins so we could spend the last twelve hours together before he had to leave. This mission would take between five and six months to wrap up completely. Bobby, Lester and Ram were with him, resuming their roles.

The twins were already four months old. Time seemed to be moving faster than I could ever imagine. I was exhausted. For the last couple of months, I was feeling a little lightheaded and nauseous. It wasn't until I collapsed outside Ranger's office door when I learned why I was feeling under the weather… I was pregnant again. My last period was after I had the twins.

I lied to Tank, Manny, Valerie and dad. They think I'm suffering from low sugar. As acting CEO, I didn't need to notify anyone of my pregnancy. However, when I start to expand, they will know.

This pregnancy hit me harder than the last. I didn't get the nausea, but I would have preferred it to the fainting spells I've been experiencing. "You need to tell them," Dr Annie Portman insisted. "They need to know."

"I know, but I want to hold off as much as possible," I whined.

"Stephanie, you're starting to show. Besides, you're already twelve weeks pregnant. It's Valentine's Day. You could take advantage of the day to make an announcement," she suggested.

"It just feels wrong to tell everyone before my husband knows," I explained.

"Sweetie, they'll be gone for another three or four months. You're secret will not be a secret for much longer," she reminded me. I noticed she was only wearing a wedding band. She married Bobby before he left on his mission.

My abdomen was bare as she moved the ultrasound wand over the small bump. I couldn't believe the image she showed me. It was definitely time to tell the men. My head was saying I should tell them, but in my heart, I wanted to wait until Carlos comes home. For now, my heart won.

Four weeks later...

I was sitting on the sofa in my office. An off white blanket was partly under my butt, but mostly rolled at the back to relieve the pressure in my lower back. Technically it's Ranger's office, but I'm using it while he's away. I rolled my neck and shoulders hoping to release some of the tension. What I could really use was a neck massage.

Manny knocked lightly before entering the office. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"A little stiff. I've been reviewing the contracts. Now my neck and back are cramping." He brought over the low back chair and asked me to take a seat. I heard him gasp as I left the sofa. "What's wrong?" I asked and turned to see where he was looking. "The babies," I whispered.

With Bobby being away on a mission, we had one of our part time medics fill his position at Rangeman. He grabbed his phone to call Bones. "Ask control to call Dr Annie Porter. Stephanie's pregnant," he said before hanging up. "You're pregnant? How many?"

He was surprised when I said, "Yes and three." Bones ran into the office with his medic bag. Tank was following closely behind with a wheelchair and an IV bag. "Seriously?" I almost shouted.

"Steph, I'm following Dr Portman's orders," Bones said while preparing the equipment. "An ambulance should be arriving soon." He quickly hooked me to the IV bag. While Bones cleared the trash, Manny helped me move onto the wheelchair.

Tank refused to let me out of his sight as he wheeled me towards the elevator. The men were standing in the control room, confused by what was happening. Manny decided to inform them, "Stephanie's pregnant with triplets, she may be losing them. We're taking her to the hospital."

Several shouts of glee followed by growing concern for me echoed around the room. They were happy I was having more Rangebabies, but worried I would lose them. In a way I was happy they all knew my secret, but my heart still ached because my husband still didn't know. Carlos, I could really use your strength right about now.

When I was loaded into the ambulance, the EMT injected something into the IV port. I have no idea what they gave me, but I immediately felt sleepy. My last memory was Tank climbing into the back with me.

"Little one, you're going to be okay. Two of your babies are safe. I had to take little Henrik with me," grandma was telling me. As in my other dream, grandma was a young girl. She looks a little older this time. If I had to guess, I would say she was in her early twenties.

"You're so beautiful," I told her. A little brown haired boy with gorgeous amber eyes was running around having so much fun.

"Hi momma," he called when he saw me. My heart broke a little knowing I wouldn't be seeing this gorgeous little boy after today. "Don't be sad momma. I'm not your little boy, but I will be someone's little boy really soon. You'll see. See you soon." He ran off towards a beautiful woman resembling Pilar, dad's first wife.

"Why did you look younger when I saw you last?" I wondered.

"It's how I looked the day I met your grandfather. Now I look the same as I did when I was nineteen," she replied. "Don't worry about your little son and daughter. They will be fine."

I woke up wrapped in the arms of a very large man. "Hey big guy," I said while looking above me. His hand was resting on my baby bump and it felt very comfortable.

"You scared us little girl. Why didn't you tell us?" he asked.

"It felt wrong telling you before Carlos," I replied. "What did the doctor say?"

"Bed rest for the remainder of your pregnancy. I'm sorry Steph. No heavy lifting, no sex, no standing for extended periods of time. We'll need to get you walking several times per day," Bones answered.

Just freaking great. More restrictions for this time around. Tank smiled which made me think I said those words out loud. He whispered in my ear, "How far along are you?" His large hand rested on the large bump.

"Around sixteen weeks," I answered. Tank's expression went blank as he searched through his memories. His huge grin made me realize he made the connection. "You're absolutely correct big guy."