19. Huh

By lunchtime on Friday, Lil's apartment resembled a high-end florist shop. Each of the Rangemen had sent her sizable bouquets. There were beautiful arrangements with lilies, daisies, and tulips. A myriad of colors and sweet fragrances filled the air. She had vases on every table, in the kitchen, even on the bathroom counter. Next to her bed, a glorious spread of purple gladiolas sat. Under the crystal vase was a card that read 'Lil, you are one of a kind. -Carlos.' She didn't know how he knew gladiolas were her favorite, or if it was just a lucky guess. Oh who was she kidding, of course he somehow knew. Tilde was thoroughly enjoying their indoor garden. She liked to feel the petals, sniff the flowers. She was also spending a good deal of time drawing each bouquet with her crayons.

Ella picked Tilde up for a 'play date' on six that afternoon. Those two were so cute together. It saddened Lil that Ella and Luis never had children. They would have made excellent parents, and even better grandparents. At least now with Tilde, they had the opportunity to experience some of those joys. Lil was reading a crafting magazine when Hector knocked on her door. "Hola Chica. What's going on today?" She laughed, inviting him in. "Not much, just relaxing. What are you up to?" Hector shrugged. "Nothing doing. I don't work til eleven. Thought I would visit my Mujer Caliente!" Lil rolled her eyes. She felt far from a 'hot woman' in her sweat pants and tee. After offering him a drink they got situated in the living room. "The men told me what you did the other day. That was very nice. Very special." Lil shrugged off his praise. She didn't want the attention on her.

"So", Hector wiggled his eyebrows and gave her a conspiratorial smile, "How was the club? Did you find a replacement for your toy drawer?" Lil threw her head back and laughed. He was too much. "No. But really I wasn't looking for one. So it's still just me and my battery operated boyfriends." It was Hector's turn to laugh. "You know Lil, sometime you need to let a man in… all the way in… if you know what I mean." She sighed over dramatically. "I know I know, I'm practically a virgin again. But I can't just invite a random person over to ravish me. I was raised differently than that. Plus, I have to think of Tilde." Hector nodded solemnly. He understood her desire to protect her daughter. He applauded her for it. But he also knew that Lil deserved more in her life. "OK, so don't make it a stranger. Shit, you're in a building full of hot men. Si?" His eyebrows were dancing again. Lil threw a pillow at him. "You're horrible!"

Quickly changing the subject, Lil filled him in on the events of last Saturday night. She told him all about the karaoke, trying her best to do justice to Bobby and Lester's number. Hector was sorry he missed it. They also spoke about her physical therapy scheduled with Bobby tomorrow. Hector told her about injuring his knee last year during a redecorating job, and how Bobby had really helped him to heal. Then, of course, he had to explain what a redecorating job was. This had Lil in tears. In another life, she would have enjoyed being a part of their crew. When he stood to leave she walked him to the door. He opened it a few inches and stopped. Turning his head and eyeing her wickedly he said, "You remember what I say now. Toys are great, but vibrators won't buy you dinner first. You should find a man." Lil chuckled sarcastically. Hector pulled the door the rest of the way open to find Ranger, his hand frozen in mid-air as if he was going to knock. Hector laughed and scooted down the hall.

Lil turned every color in the rainbow. The raised eyebrow and smirk on his face meant Ranger had heard Hector. She was mortified, but tried her best to hide it. "Hello Carlos", deep breath, "How can I help you?" She indicated the dining room table where he strode passed her to sit. On his way there she thought she heard him mumble 'sounds like I could help you', but his face was unreadable. "I have some news from my contact in Nevada. Charles Erikson has been asking questions about you. From what we can tell, he hasn't gotten anything worthwhile yet. There's no paper-trail leading to Trenton, so you should be fine until he puts two and two together about Cal being here. That will likely cause him to look in this direction." Lil clenched her teeth. Mother Fucker. She knew he was going to be trouble. She was glad she had never second-guessed her decision to leave. "Lil, we will keep you and Tilde safe. I don't want you to get too worried." Lil placed her hand on his, "I know Carlos. It just pisses me off. That asshole should be UNDER the jail, not free to roam around and cause us trouble. I swear, if I get the chance…" Her sentenced dropped off with a meaningful glance. Ranger nodded. "If that's the way you want to handle it, there's an incinerator in the basement. You just say the word."

Ranger was deadly serious. The look on his face should have frightened her. It was having the opposite effect. She squeezed his smooth hand. "I'll keep that in mind. As long as you and the others aren't implicated in any way. I can't think about any of that until I know how deep in this reaches. Do we know any more about his connection to the Maggio Family?" Ranger shook his head in frustration. "It's alright. I know you're doing everything you can. And, thanks for the update. I'm sure you don't share details like this with your other clients." It was true, but she was more than a client now. "When I know something, so will you. You can handle the information. You're trained and you're smart. And... you're a friend." Wow, she wasn't sure what to say. Hearing Ranger say those things somehow meant more than if one of the other guys had told her the same. They sat in easy silence. Lil was thinking about her situation with the Mob. Ranger was realizing that he just offered her a way to get rid of a body, and she seemed inclined to use it. Wow. Was it weird that he was turned on?

Before anything awkward could happen, Ella entered with sad Tilde on her hip. The older woman looked distressed. "We were having a tea party and she got sick. I only gave her water and grapes, I don't think it's anything she ate." Lil took Tilde and felt her head. "It's OK Ella, you didn't do anything wrong. This happens sometimes. How many times did she vomit?" Ranger watched with concern while pulling out his phone to text Bobby. "Only once, but it was rough. Like her little body was trying to get rid of a week's worth of food." Lil patted Ella's hand, "Don't worry. I can fix it. You go ahead and go, sorry you have a mess to clean up." Ella shook her head. "It's fine dear. Just let me know if there's anything you need." She rubbed Tilde's cheek gently and headed upstairs. Ranger stood, "Bobby is on his way. What can I do?" Lil pointed to the bathroom. "There's a blue medical bag under the sink, will you get it please?" Ranger was gone and back in an instant. He watched as Lil sat Tilde down on the couch. "You got the yucky tummies Peanut?" Tilde whimpered at her. "OK baby, mommy will fix it." Lil pulled a thermometer out of the bag and took her temp. When the device beeped she looked at the readout and relaxed her shoulders. Only 99 degrees. "Tilde, mommy needs to do the pinchies and pokies. I'll make it quick." Tilde just looked at her pitifully. Lil took Tilde's hand and squeezed down on her fingernail, watching how quickly the color changed. Then she lifted a chunk of skin on her forearm. "Not too bad Princess." She pulled a portable blood pressure machine out and slipped the cuff on her daughter's tiny arm.

Bobby had walked in as the thermometer had beeped. "How dehydrated is she Lil?" His own medic's bag was under his arm. "Do I need to start a line?" Lil shook her head. "No, Ella brought her down in time. Only a small fever, I have Pedialyte and baby fever reducer. That should correct it in a few hours. Her BP is good." She asked Bobby to grab the blanket off Tilde's bed, and the medicine from the cabinet. Ranger was already in the fridge, finding the needed electrolytes and a sippy cup. "Does this happen often?" Bobby was giving Tilde a once over, just for his own peace of mind. He had to admit, Lil did a great job. It was evident that she had too much experience dealing with these situations. "Not as much as it used to. Her first two years were really rough. We would go through bouts of vomiting that led to dehydration and hospital visits. Those were horrible. But her system has grown stronger. Now it just happens every once in a while. Her doctors are hopeful that her immune and digestive systems will strengthen more as she grows." Bobby was nodding in understanding. Ranger handed Lil the sippy cup with a blank face, "So this is because of the chemicals during pregnancy?" His voice was like ice. Lil had the feeling that if Tilde's birth mother wasn't already dead, she would be soon. She placed her hand on his arm as she took the cup. "Carlos." He was looking at Tilde. "Carlos." Ranger lifted his gaze, which softened slightly. "It's OK. I know what I'm doing. She's a trooper. She'll be right as rain in a few days." Ranger nodded once and sat down next to the little girl.

Bobby left with instructions to call, any time, if they needed him. Lil told Ranger he didn't need to stay. He simply leaned back further into the couch. Huh. Lil held Tilde on her lap while she slowly drank her fluids. The adults talked quietly about her past health issues and what Lil had done to avoid more instances like this. Without warning, Tilde got sick again. After she was done heaving, she turned watery eyes to Lil. "Sorry mommy. I made you yucky." As more tears leaked from her beautiful eyes, Lil held her close. "It's alright my love. You know mommy doesn't care. How about we get cleaned up, OK?" Tilde nodded. Ranger made his way to the bathroom, wetting a washcloth and grabbing a towel. He brought them to the couch and sat down. Tilde had managed to soak Lil, but kept herself mostly clean. Ranger gently washed Tilde's face and neck before drying her off. "Here, let me take her while you change." Tilde gladly snuggled into his arms. Lil was impressed, he hadn't bolted or even showed a sense of discomfort at the vomit. Without thinking about what she was doing Lil stood, careful to not let anything offensive drip from her front. She slowly peeled her shirt over her head and carried it to the kitchen to rinse in the sink. She placed the wrung-out top in a plastic bag the headed to her room to get a clean replacement.

Still holding Tilde to his chest, his eyes were glued to Lil. She was so caught up in being a mother, the fact that she was walking around in her low-hanging sweatpants and a pink bra didn't even register. Oh. Holy. Hell. In seconds, he had memorized every square inch of skin that was visible. It was also the first time that he got a good look at all of her scars. Was it weird that he was turned on? When Lil came back she laid down on the couch, Ranger placed Tilde on top of her chest. He covered them with the blanket. He sat and listened while Lil hummed sweetly until Tilde was asleep. He brushed her curls out of her face. Lil mouthed a thank you and closed her eyes. Ranger shut the door quietly on his way out.