Disclaimer: Anything familiar belongs to JE and the creators of Criminal Minds.

Warning: Adult language, adult situations

Chapter 57: Monday, August 29th, 2000-0100

Ranger's Estate/Marco's Home

Ranger's POV

Our first afternoon as a family of four was wonderful. Tommy had a great time in the pool this afternoon. I must admit that I enjoyed my time with him as well. I've always loved the water, whether that be the pool or the ocean, but I rarely allowed myself time to enjoy it, especially in Trenton where the season is so short and the water fairly cold. But being able to spend time just relaxing by the pool is an experience I want to duplicate.

Julie retreated to her room, which I understand her decision. It is hard being in a cast with a broken arm watching others in the pool when you can't get wet. I spent a summer with a broken wrist when I was eight after I fell off my bike trying to do a wheelie. I was a little surprised by Stephanie, though. I thought that she would be here with Tommy and me. Then again, I'm sure she is feeling overwhelmed.

Cooking dinner was fun, and now, thanks to Tommy, Julie and my Babe, I have that stupid taco song in my head. I watch as Stephanie leads Tommy upstairs for bed and shake my head. I don't know how she thinks she'll be a bad mother. She is already doing everything right. I need to work on her self-confidence. I wish Stephanie would see herself through my eyes.

Julie settles down to watch TV for a half-hour before she needs to go to bed. I am about to ask her about her show when my phone rings. I look at the caller ID and see that it's my mother. I wonder what this is about. I know that Mariela was looking for me earlier, but I blew her off because I wanted to give my undivided attention to Tommy. Then, when I had a moment to talk to her, she had already left with Lester, Bobby, and Javier to get dinner. I hope she didn't call my mother and complain.

"Hola, Mama. How are you?" I respond. I know better than to answer the phone with my customary 'yo' to my mother.

"Hola, mi hijo. How are you and my granddaughter doing?"

"We are both good. Julie's bruises are healing, and her arm is setting nicely. Bobby thinks she'll be out of her cast a couple of weeks early. Fortunately, it wasn't a bad break."

"That's wonderful. I'm so glad to hear Julie's doing well. How is she coping with everything that happened, emotionally?"

"A lot better than I anticipated." By this point, I have moved into the living room to continue the conversation. "Dr. Karen is helping her. I've seen a great improvement in her since she started with the new doctor."

"Good. Mariela told me that you adopted another little boy with Stephanie. Does this mean that you and Stephanie are finally together?"

Mama finally got to the point of her call. Once again, my sister has meddled in my business and caused me problems. When will I learn not to allow Mariela around me for long periods? I sigh before responding. "Mama, Mari had no business telling you that, because she gave you false information. Thomas is another little boy who lost his parents the same way Julie did. He has no other family. However, until we find out who hurt his family and Julie's, he is in danger. The police, FBI, and Children's Services all agreed that he will be safer in my custody than in that of a state facility or other foster family, so they have granted Stephanie and I temporary emergency custody of the child. Once the case is over and his safety is no longer an issue, he will return to the State's custody."

"Are you sure that's smart? Getting that little boy used to you, Stephanie and Julie only to be taken away again?"

"It's the best way. We were upfront with him. He knows his stay here is only for a short period."

"What about you and Stephanie? Are you two finally together?"

"It's complicated, Mama. Stephanie is dealing with a lot of repressed and unresolved issues right now. She is also seeing Dr. Karen. I am supporting her in whatever way I can. I hope that she chooses to stay here in Miami with Julie and me. I'll find out if she's staying on Saturday."

"What do you mean 'if she's staying?' I thought she was there with you for the long haul."

"That's what I hope as well, Mama. Look, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I promise that whatever we decide to do, whenever we make that decision, I will call you and tell you myself before anyone else can tell you. Mariela shouldn't have called you."

"Mi hijo, I'm sorry to push, but I just want to see you happy. From everything that Javier, Mariela, Lester, Maggie, and Ella have told me, she is perfect for you. Don't let her get away. You deserve to be happy, to have a love of a strong woman. Let her in, Carlos."

"Si, Mama. Te quiero. Buenas noches."

"Buenas noches, mi hijo. Te queiro." Mama replied before hanging up. As I put my phone away, Mariela enters the house with Lester and Javier.

"Mariela, when did you call Mama?" I ask her. I watch as her face pales.

"I'm sorry, Carlos. I called her this afternoon. I didn't think it was a big deal to update her on the changes that were happening here. I figured you already told her."

"Mariela, stop lying to me. You know I didn't say anything to Mama, nor would I. Why did you tell her?"

"Carlos, we are all tired of you blocking us out of your life. You need to share with us. We're your family, and we love you. Since I've been here with you, I have started to see glimpses of the person you were before Miami, before the Army. I like seeing the real Carlos again, and not Ranger. I hope that you stay. I wanted to let Mama know how great it was to see that you dropped that wall a little."

"Then that is what you should have told Mama. Telling her that I adopted a son when I didn't, wasn't fair to Mama or me. Telling her that Stephanie and I are together is not fair to us either. My relationship with Stephanie has always been complicated and unfortunately, the circumstances that are surrounding us now only make it more complicated. I don't need added pressure from Mama or you. Mari, please promise me that you won't tell Mama or our sisters about my private life again without my permission."

"I promise, Carlos, and I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," I respond. I hear Stephanie coming down the stairs. She's changed into sleep shorts and one of my t-shirts. She has her hair in a sloppy ponytail. She is as sexy as ever. All at once, my phone, along with Stephanie's, Lester's, and Bobby's goes off. We all pick up our respective phones and read the message. Stephanie looks at the message with confusion.

"Babe, Marco's house has been broken into. Whenever the alarm at a Rangeman employee's home goes off, the Core team, Branch Manager, and Branch SIC all get an alert."

"So why did my phone go off?" Stephanie asks, obviously confused.

"Beautiful, because whenever Ranger is off-line, he's often with you, we set it up for you to get the message as well, so if he turns his phone off, he'll still find out about it."

"How long have I been in the loop?" She asks.

"For that last year, Babe," I respond. "We need to head out."

"I'm going with you," Stephanie replies.

"Okay. Go get dressed, fully dressed, Babe." I tell her. It takes her a moment, but she realizes that by fully dressed I mean Kevlar and guns, loaded.

"I'll be down in five," Steph replies.

Bobby and Lester follow me into the utility closet to get our Kevlar, guns, knives and other ammo. We bring extra cuffs. Something feels off to me, and I'm not sure what it is. Just as we are finishing up, Steph arrives with her utility belt on and loaded. I hand her a Kevlar vest I ordered specifically for her. It's a woman's vest that will be more comfortable on her. She immediately notices the difference, as she places it on over my back Rangeman t-shirt, with black jeans and her CAT boots on.

"Wow, this is really comfortable." She says.

"It's a woman's vest. I figured it would fit your body better than the ones we wear."

"You were right. It's not squeezing my chest." She replies, quickly blushing when she realizes that Bobby and Lester heard her statement.

We quickly move into the garage. Mariela knows she's in charge and will watch Tommy and Julie. Javier will stay here to provide additional protection for my family. We get into my Cayenne, with Steph and Lester in the back and Bobby in the front. Hector is probably in his room, working with Garcia or monitoring the channels from Trenton. I wanted Steph in the front, but she hopped in the back before I could tell her. We make the normally twenty-minute drive to Marco's house in thirteen minutes. When we arrive, we find that the situation is already under control. Marco's wife picked him up at work to go together to their son's doctor's appointment. He had Robbie and Luke drop off his vehicle. They were in the house having a beer when the break-in occurred. His wife and kids were already asleep, and only the light in the back office was on. The perpetrators thought everyone in the house was asleep.

When I see the men, I recognize two of them from Julie's attack. I see that Stephanie does as well.

"Who do you work for?" I ask.

"If I tell you, I'm dead." The first guy responds.

"If you don't tell me, your dead anyway. Now I'll ask again, who do you work for?"

"Why do you care?" Number 2 asks.

"Do you know who I am?" They shake their heads no. "I'm Ranger."

"Fuck, we really are dead!" Number one exclaims. "We work for Cobra. He gets his orders from a woman called Viper and a man called Shark. I've never met Viper or Shark."

"What is Cobra's name?"

"Manuel Gallego." Number 2 responds.

"I know Manuel Gallego. He's been FTA a few times." Marco responds.

"What's your name?" I ask Number one.

"Leroy Carter." Leroy is a light-skinned black man, with a Haitian accent. Number two looks Dominican. I glance at him, asking, "you?"

"Elias Bolivar."

"Marco, I need to make a call."

"We'll head into the garage," Marco replies, taking the two perps with him, knowing that I want to make this call in private. Stephanie is about to follow them out. "Babe, stay," I say gently.

She nods her head. I sit on Marco's chair and pull Steph onto my lap. I need to feel her near me. I'm feeling off-center suddenly. I dial Emily.

"Prentiss," she responds.

"Hi, Emily, it's Ranger. Sorry to bother you so late. We have a break in the case."

"That's great! What happened?" She asks.

"It seems the B & E group decided to break into my Branch Manager's house tonight. He was home with two other employees visiting. They subdued the two individuals and found out they take their orders from Cobra, who answers to Viper and Shark. I think Viper and Shark are Terry and Dickie. Cobra is a known criminal, Manuel Gallego. Do you want us to turn them over to MDPD, or do you want me to hold them at Rangeman until you get back to Miami?"

"I think it would be best for you to hold them at Rangeman. I don't want to alert MDPD until we have Terry and Dickie in custody." Emily responds.

"No problem. I'll take care of it. Goodnight and good luck tomorrow."

"Thanks. Same to you." Emily states before ending our call.

"What did Emily say?" Steph asks me.

"To keep them at Rangeman."

"Do you think it's safe with the mole there?"

"We have eyes and ears on him. Besides, I'll have Hector, Lester and Bobby guard his cell. No one will get past them. Bobby and Lester are the Core Team, and Hector is just plain scary." I respond. Before I let Stephanie stand up, I pull her in for a kiss.

"What was that for?" Steph asks me, breathless, once we separate.

"I've wanted to do that all night. Babe, I don't know why you think you won't be a good mother. You have already shown everyone how great a mother you are with Tommy tonight. The way you interacted with him at dinner, afterward, then when you put him to bed. No one told you what to do, you just did it, and everything you did is what good mother's do. I love you, Stephanie."

"I'm trying to see myself through your eyes. It's getting easier, but I'm not quite there yet. Promise me you won't ever leave me or cheat on me."

"Babe, it has been only you since the deal. I don't want anyone else but you."

"Carlos, promise me."

"I promise Querida. Only you. You're mine, and I'm yours, forever."

With that statement, Stephanie leans in, kissing me like she's never kissed me before. When we break away, I feel like things have changed between us, for the better. I feel like Stephanie has made a turn, and that turn is leading her to me. I only hope that she will stay the course. Hopefully, her next session with Dr. Karen will be a good one and will allow her to make a decision. I already love Tommy and don't want him to leave. I only hope that Stephanie feels the same way.

"Come on, Babe, we need to get to the garage. I don't want to wake Marco's wife or kids."

Stephanie reluctantly gets off my lap, and we walk out of Marco's office. Before we reach the garage, I pull Steph to me and whisper in her ear, "I want you next to me in the car no matter where we go or who we are with. I feel better when I can see you. I know you are safe in the back, but I'm scared that if God forbid, we were in an accident, I wouldn't be able to reach you. Please always sit in the front. My men will understand."

I hate having to scare her like that, but I need her to understand how important she is to me. I can't protect her if there is a seat between us.

"Okay, Carlos," Steph replies, with a wide smile on her face. I will ask her about her reaction later. I open the door to the garage and talk to my men.

"Lester and Bobby, go with Robbie and Luke back to Rangeman. Hector will meet you there. Put both men in the holding cells. Hector will take first watch. Lester, relieve Hector in four hours. Bobby will relieve you four hours later. Hector will take the final shift. By that point, the BAU should be back in Miami."

"I'll crash in my apartment there. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon, Ranger." Lester replies.

"I'll be back once we arrive at Rangeman and Hector arrives. I'll stay at the house." Bobby responds.

I nod my head to Bobby. He knows I don't like being alone in the house when there's a threat. Javier is at the house, and while he was also in the Army, he did his minimum and left. He can hold his own, but this is not his life. I'll sleep better knowing Bobby is in the house.

"Marco, let me know if you need anything. Night."

"Goodnight everyone. Get some rest." Stephanie responds.

We walk to my Cayenne and climb in. Once we are on our way home, I take my Babe's hand, placing it on my thigh as I switch gears. Five minutes into our trip, I look at Stephanie, finding her fast asleep. When we arrive home, I park in the garage and shut off the car. I carefully climb out, walking around to her side. I open the door, removing her from the vehicle gently carrying her into our room, where I take off her utility belt, boots, and jeans before tucking her in. She removed the vest right before we got in the car. I kiss her forehead, then head to the bathroom to take a quick shower. When I get out, I'm about to climb into bed when I decide to put on a pair of boxers. We now have two children in the house, one who is only five. There is a good chance he might come in here during the night if he gets scared. I guess my days of sleeping in the nude are over. Once I get in bed, I pull Stephanie against me, whispering "I love you" into her ear before allowing sleep to come.