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

Warning: Adult situations

Chapter 79: Saturday, September 3rd, 1100-1300

Trenton

Ellen's POV

It's been fourteen days since Stephanie left Trenton for Miami with that thug. Fourteen days since she left Joseph behind. In those fourteen days, she managed to lose Joseph, most likely for good; implicate a good woman, Theresa Gilman, in a horrific crime along with her ex-husband, Richard, who really did nothing wrong in the first place. Then, she had to go and cause Connie Rizzoli to be arrested as well. I don't know where I went wrong with her.

In the meantime, Frank had me locked up in a mental institution. Fortunately, I was released on my own merits after only two days of being in that hell. Since then, Frank has been missing in action. He hasn't been home and refuses to talk to me. I mean, really, how he can support Stephanie I'll never know.

I have tried calling her, but she is not answering my phone calls. She said that she was returning home on September fourth, which is tomorrow. I want to make sure that she is still intending on coming home. I was panicking when I first heard that Joseph was moving to Atlanta, Georgia early this week, that was until I bumped into Carmine Nicoletti. Carmine is a good boy from the Burg who just moved home after accepting a job in the registrar's office at Princeton University. He is single, never married, and looking for an eligible Burg girl. My Stephanie is the perfect woman for him. Now, I need to get her home.

I have had enough of Stephanie embarrassing my family and me. It is time that she toes the line and conforms to the norms and values with which she was raised. Once she comes home tomorrow, she will quit that ridiculous job with that pathetic Vinnie, she will stop mingling with those, those thugs at Rangeman, and she will commence cooking lessons. She will date Carmine, and she will marry him before the year is out. By this time next year, she will have a baby or will be expecting a child. I hear a car pull up in front of the house. I go to the door, seeing that Valerie is here with my granddaughters. I open the door, letting Angie, Mary Alice, and Lisa into the house while Valerie takes the baby out of the car seat. She walks up to the door, handing me the groceries.

"Hi, Mom. I hope we're not too late. There was a long line today. Gina was sick, so they were down a cashier."

"No, Val, you're right on time. Let's get everything put away in the kitchen, and we'll talk while I start preparing lunch."

"Girls, you may watch television until lunch is ready. Angie, please keep an eye on Lisa for me. Thank you, sweetie." Valerie tells her daughters, and they nod in agreement.

Once we arrive in the kitchen, I decide to tell my plan to Valerie. "Valerie, do you remember Carmine Nicoletti?"

"Yes, I think he was a year ahead of me. He's an accountant, right?"

"Yes, Val, he is. He just moved back here and is working at Princeton University. He is still single. His mother, Margaret, told me that he's looking for a wife. I think I'm going to invite him over to meet Stephanie."

"What about Joe, Mom? Isn't Stephanie dating Joe?"

"No, sweetheart. Apparently, they broke up when he went down to Florida. Then, when he returned for Bella's funeral, he decided to move to Georgia. He is no longer an option for your wayward sister. Carmine is her best bet."

"So, she's returning tomorrow?"

"I think so. Steph's not answering any of my calls."

"Do you want me to try calling her?"

"No, Valerie, let it be. I'm sure she'll call later. Besides, it's her job as a good daughter to check in to see how I am doing. I shouldn't have to be chasing around after her."

"You're right, Mom."

"First off, we need to make sure she comes back home. Maybe we'll tell her that we need her to help you with the girls. She'd come home for them. Or, we can tell her she needs to help Grandma."

"You will do nothing of the sort, Ellen. I raised you better than that, or so I thought." I jump as I hear my mother's voice.

"Mom, what are you talking about?" I ask my mother, who just walked into the kitchen. I didn't even know she arrived home from the Clip 'n Curl.

"You need to leave Stephanie alone and stop meddling in her affairs. She isn't coming back to Trenton any time soon. She's staying in Florida with that hot bounty hunter with the good package. She and his daughter, Julie, have bonded. Julie is having a hard time adjusting after her attack, and they have grown incredibly close. Also, she and Ranger are the legal guardians to a young boy who lost his parents and sister to the men who hurt Ranger's daughter." My mother informs Valerie and me.

"That's ridiculous. Stephanie's place is here in Trenton, starting a family of her own with her husband, not raising someone else's brat." I reply.

"Grandma, you can't possibly think that what she is doing is proper? I mean, what kind of example does that set for my girls?" Val states in agreement with me.

"Valerie, what Stephanie is teaching your daughters is to be there for someone who needs her help. Ranger's daughter was brutally raped. She's only fourteen, not much older than Angie. How would you feel if that happened to your daughter? Now, imagine you and Albert being killed along with your other girls. Now, Angie must go back and live with Steve, who she barely has a relationship with. Wouldn't you rest easier knowing that he has a good woman who was willing to support and help your daughter get through that ordeal? Stephanie is an extremely caring person. She is doing what is morally correct."

I don't understand my mother. "Mother, her place is here, not living in sin with a thug."

"Ellen, Ranger is far from a thug. Did you know that he is a Purple Heart recipient? He was in some war zone, got injured, and managed to survive. Whatever he did was great enough for the President of our country to honor him with a medal, and that's not his only medal. He has rescued Stephanie numerous times, he has given her cars and a job when she needed them, never asking for anything in return. That man risked his life twice for your daughter, yet you call him a thug. I don't know how I went wrong with you." My mother replies, shaking her head.

"But she is still living in sin."

"And so, did Valerie and Albert. Your precious Valerie, your perfect daughter, got knocked up out of wedlock three times! She had a bun in the oven when she and Steven got hitched, she already had Lisa and was pregnant a fourth time when she and Albert got married. She and Albert were living together before they were married, yet that was okay. You have a double standard, Ellen, and that needs to stop."

"But Stephanie keeps sabotaging good relationships. She divorced Richard because he had sex with Joyce. Big deal. Steph should have looked the other way. And then with Joseph, she reacted the same way. I don't understand why she just can't turn a blind eye like every other Burg woman."

I watch as my mother sighs before continuing, "Ellen, based on what you said, Valerie should be in California right now, still married to Steven and miserable. Who cares that he slept with the babysitter. She should stand by him."

"No, mother, don't be ridiculous. The circumstances are entirely different. He left her, not the other way around."

"Ellen, no woman deserves to be cheated on by her husband. Frank and I may have our differences, but he has always honored you and respected his vows. He has never stepped out on you. Had he, I would have demanded that you kick him to the curb, and your father, God rest his soul, would have been right there with me. Frank would be lucky to have a package."

I don't understand my mother. Valerie and Stephanie are two completely different cases. "Mother, until Stephanie learns to cook, clean, and behave appropriately, she will never find a Burg husband."

"That's my point, Ellen. Stephanie doesn't want nor need a Burg man. She has Ranger. Ellen, whether or not you want to believe it, Ranger loves your daughter. He loves her for who she is. He doesn't care that she can't cook, nor does he care that she doesn't want to clean. He has a housekeeper who cooks and cleans for him. He is extremely wealthy. What Ranger wants is for Stephanie to be happy. That's it. End of story. I know that he would give Stephanie whatever she wanted. I feel, in my gut, that if she wants a baby, he'll make sure that she has a baby. If Steph wants ten babies, he'll make ten babies with her. If Steph is happy without them, then he'll be happy with her. Isn't that what life is all about? Finding the person who completes you, who understands you, and who helps you to fly? Stop trying to clip Stephanie's wings. Your life would kill Stephanie."

I don't know what to say. My mother is not usually so eloquent or logical. I guess Valerie and I will need to find another way to make Stephanie be the Burg woman she needs to be, only we can no longer talk freely here. I'll need to go to Valerie's in the future to plan.

"Fine, mother, I'll let it be, for now."

"You better, Ellen. You too, Valerie. Val, you need to worry about your family before you start to try to fix Stephanie. You better make sure you keep your legs crossed because you can't afford any more children."

With that, my mother walks out of the kitchen. I finish setting out the lunch meats, bread, and salads. Between Val and I, we have the table set in minutes. As we all sit around the dining room table to eat, I can't help to send a little prayer to God to give me a husband for Stephanie.