I woke up earlier the next morning than the previous morning, but Ranger didn't. I woke up with his body around me and his arms surrounding me and his erection nudging my ass and I was happy till the nausea took over. I crept out of bed and did my thing including my early morning vomit routine and then showered and primped in the bathroom. I crept through the bedroom and went into the closet to dress in jeans and a long sleeve tee shirt.

He was wrapped around my pillow when I exited the closet still fast asleep.

I smiled and climbed up on the bed to straddle his reclined form and began to kiss his back.

He sighed and rolled to his stomach to expose more flesh and I smiled and went with it kissing down his back to his ass and nibbling.

"Is this an invitation," he muttered into the pillow.

"No," I smiled and kissed back up to his neck. "I was just waking you up. You have therapy this morning and I know you were up late protecting your wife and child."

He rolled to his back and grabbed me and pulled me against him and buried his face in my neck. "Yes I was. And I should be rewarded."

"You just were," I giggled as his scruffy face moved in my neck. "When you can say the words, I'll show you more."

"Oh, that's not fair," he groaned as I pulled away.

"Consider it incentive," I smiled at him from the door, "get in the shower or you won't have time for breakfast before therapy."

He sighed, "You're a hard woman Stephanie Manoso."

"I have a hard husband," I waggled my brows suggestively.

He dived off the bed for me just as I went safely through the door.

"You need to work on your reflexes Babe," I grinned and headed down the stairs. I know I heard him growl on the other side of the door.

Mitch was in the kitchen drinking coffee over the morning paper.

"Good morning," I smiled.

"Good morning," he echoed tiredly. "You know, chasing around after juvenile delinquent pop stars was easier than this."

"But this is so much more rewarding and a lot more fun," I smiled and turned to dig in the refrigerator.

"Yea, it is," he sighed.

I straightened and saw his eyes on my ass before his lids slid down, "so…what time is Ranger's appointment with Dr. Addison?"

"Ten," he said.

"Then we have time for breakfast. I think I'll make a breakfast casserole," I said thoughtfully and started digging out bowls.

"Sounds good," he agreed.

Okay, Mitch was looking at my ass. That really wasn't a surprise. Most of the men who worked for Ranger had taken a look or seven million at my assets. Sometimes the assets were far more exposed than the loose pair of jeans currently covering them. Of course Mitch had broken up with his girlfriend and he wasn't getting any, so it could also be that. Let's face it, I get hard up. Men get hard up…literally.

By the time Ranger came down for breakfast the casserole was in the oven and the kitchen smelled divine.

He kissed my neck and wrapped his arms around me, "smells good."

"Breakfast casserole," I smiled stretching my neck to give him more access.

"You were very naughty this morning," he whispered as he nibbled my ear.

"Was I," I smiled.

"You will be punished," he nipped at my neck.

"I'm terrified," I smiled and pulled away. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Yes please," he agreed watching me fill the cup. "I have definitely figured out where you get the flavored coffee fetish."

"Of course you have. Dr. Addison has a different flavor every day of the week," I sighed. "It was so exciting to get there and see what he had."

He shook his head, "that's why you like him?"

"That and he sounds like Gary Sinise," I shrugged.

"And he looks like Gary Sinise," he agreed.

"He's also a good doctor," I said seriously.

"I'm sure he is," Ranger nodded. "I've just had one session so far."

"Well, before you leave today make our couples counseling one."

"I will," he nodded. "Do you think I could get a couple of sessions behind me before we start," he said softly.

"Of course," I agreed. "I want you to be comfortable."

"Thank you," he said kissing me as the oven timer went off.

Two hours later Mitch and I were in front of Dr. Addison's office and Ranger and Lester exited the building together. Gabe waved and drove away the other SUV that had delivered Ranger to therapy and guarded his safety while he was inside.

Lester got in the front with Mitch and Ranger joined me in the back seat.

"The new property first," Mitch met Ranger's eyes in the rear view mirror.

"Yea," he nodded.

"How was it," I whispered as he reached for my hand and merged our fingers.

"A little rough," he said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry," I said and pulled his hand up to my mouth and kissed his fingers.

"Hopefully it will all be worth it in the end."

"I'm sure it will be," I said with a smile.

"It's eleven o'clock, are either of you hungry yet," Lester asked.

"No, I'm good," Ranger said. "We had a breakfast casserole. I know you got some."

"Yea," he nodded. "But I'm getting hungry."

"We'll view the new property, then we'll get lunch and then we'll go to Unit. Is that okay? Will your stomach survive that long?"

"Yea," Lester shook his head.

Mitch pulled up to the gate and flashed his badge at the box securely fastened to the ground.

"Do the workmen all have badges," I said thoughtfully.

"Yea, they have to be checked out by us before they can work on the project," Ranger said seriously. "They have to sign all kinds of paperwork and we've paid them three times the market rate. In this economy, they're pretty loyal."

"I'd guess," I said as the SUV came to a stop in the dirt. "Not paved yet?"

"Not till last," Lester said.

"Ah," I nodded.

"They've got the dry wall up and they're painting these days. Don't worry, we're using safe paints," Mitch said. "You can walk through without worry."

"Good," I nodded.

Ranger walked around the truck and lifted me out and swung me up in his arms. "I don't want you to ruin your shoes."

"I appreciate it, but they're Nikes."

He grinned, "And I just want to carry you."

"You're not even released for light duty," I said and raised a brow at him.

He sighed and set me to my feet.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"You're welcome," he said taking my hand.

We walked to the stone sidewalk that surrounded the building and what I assumed was to be the public parking area. "This is nice stonework."

"Yea it is," Ranger nodded. "The craftsmanship on this project looks good so far."

"I think you'll be pleased," Mitch said opening the door for us.

I walked through the building letting my fingers linger over the wallpapers, paints, hardwoods, and tiles I'd picked out that now adorned the walls and floors of the offices. Ranger watched me as I touched and studied the contrasts and blends.

"Well, what do you think? Are you happy with your choices?"

"I'm more concerned about what you think," I said as I turned to look at him leaning in the doorway.

"I think it's beautiful," he admitted. "The place has no furniture in it yet and it already feels warm and… I want to work here. Tank loves it. He wants to work here."

I smiled, "good."

"That's what we're going for right," he said with a smile.

"Yea," I nodded. "So can I see the apartments," I asked.

"They're in the other building," he said. "We can take the tunnel."

"The tunnel," I frowned.

"Yea," he nodded. "It's a way for the guys to get back and forth without giving anything away. Nobody will know where the bulk of them are. The tunnel and all the buildings are outfitted with something that doesn't allow anyone to take a heat or movement sensor. This is totally state of the art."

"Wow," I blinked.

Mitch stuck his head in, "we're going through the tunnel?"

"Yea," Ranger nodded.

Mitch waited for us to precede him through the door and we went straight to the elevator. The workmen we passed along the way exchanged pleasantries with Ranger and the guys. They appeared to be familiar with all three of them. When we got to the lower level we met even more workmen attending to various projects. A few were obviously important enough to garner an introduction to me including the project foreman who studied blueprints in the corner with another man in a tie.

"Stephanie, this is Max Prince and this is Jim Winston," Ranger smiled. "Max is our architect and Jim is our contractor/project foreman. Gentlemen this is my wife Stephanie."

Max grinned and held his hand out to me at once. He was a good looking man. He was probably only in his mid thirties, but his black hair was graying at the temples. He had blue eyes that twinkled and I suspected that he was a prankster. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you Stephanie," he grinned. "Ranger has been telling us about you for years."

"Has he really," I smiled at him before diverting my suspicious gaze to my husband. Ranger had the intelligence to avoid eye contact. "It's a pleasure to meet you. But I would take everything he's told with a grain of salt. I'm not that bad. I haven't killed anyone in some time."

He threw his head back and laughed, "Well, that is good to know."

I saw Mitch's lips twitching and knew that Ranger's were probably twitching as well.

"He does talk an awful lot about you," Jim said shaking my hand. Jim was about fifty with a head full of grey hair and emerald green eyes that would give Harry Potter a run for his money. "But I assure you, he's only said loving things."

"I'm sure," I smiled. "It's good to meet you."

"How are you two feeling? We hear that you got tossed around when Unit blew," Max said crossing his arms thoughtfully and shaking his head ruefully.

"We were," Ranger admitted, "but we're going okay. I got a nice quiet stay in the hospital and we found out that we're having a baby. It wasn't so bad when you get down to it."

"Congratulations," Max grinned. "I have to tell you man, I was beginning to believe you were never going to get your head out of your ass and make an honest woman out of her. For all of your talking…"

"Thanks Max," Ranger grimaced. "You've said enough."

"Oh I don't know," I smiled at Max, "I think you can say more."

He winked at me, "do you have any sisters?"

"Yes, but she's married," I said with a laugh.

"Too bad," he sighed.

"You don't want a burg girl anyway," I said seriously. "They're all pretty much insane."

"All but you," he asked.

"Oh no, I'm the nuttiest of the bunch," I smiled.

"Stop making time with my wife Max," Ranger shook his head. "We're heading down Tunnel A to the barracks."

"Got cha," he nodded. "The path is clear to all tunnels."

"All tunnels," I grinned.

"You'll see," Ranger said looping his arm around my neck with a grin. "It's good to see you guys."

"It's good to see you mobile," Max said as we walked away.

Ranger gave him a backwards wave with his good hand. "Why did I think it was a good idea to marry you? Every man we meet wants to steal you."

"Yep," Mitch grinned and unlocked the tunnel door with his access card.

"You're not helping," Ranger scowled.

"I'm not trying to," Mitch raised a brow at him.

We walked a couple of hundred feet through the tunnel and went through another access door into a room that had another access door. Then we got onto the elevator and went up. The lower floor housed the laundry facilities, a work out room and all of the mechanicals. The second floor had a large commercial kitchen, a dining room and a separate apartment that would be for Ella and her husband. The third floor was the recreation facilities and the three floors above were apartments. They were bigger than the ones at the current facilities and some were two bedrooms. There were also a couple of bunk rooms on each floor for those that had to stay over for emergency reasons. Everywhere we went there were men's and women's restrooms. Rangeman was finally open to both sexes.

"These are really nice," I slid my hand over the stainless steel appliances. "You did good."

"You did good," Ranger smiled. "You picked everything out, remember?"

"Yea, but you listened," I beamed. "I want to see the next tunnel."

We repeated the process till we arrived at the true Rangeman gym and recreation area. This facility had places for the men and women to work out, to run, to swim, to play racquet ball and all sorts of other things. There was a small kitchen with a snack bar set up that Ranger told me would be operational through most of the day with an attendant. In these rough times, Rangeman would hire more people from the community to work for them. They would have access to specific areas of the compound only.

There were also locker rooms for both sexes and a lounge area with a bar set up that would be stocked. There were pool tables and ping pong tables as well as dart boards and other things.

"Is there another tunnel," I asked.

"Come on," Ranger nodded.

The next tunnel led to what I can only describe as the arsenal and labs of Rangeman. The weapons would be located here along with our own CSI team and state of the art equipment. It was an amazing set up.

"Wow," I blinked at the lab.

"Wow is right," Ranger nodded. "This is the most expensive part of the whole thing. It's even more expensive than the security systems we have in place."

"I'm truly impressed," I assured him.

"We're scouring the country for people to fill the positions. It's not as easy as I thought it was going to be to find people to do this that can pass our background checks."

"Hmmm," I nodded. "I suspect not. You should talk to Mooner."

He blinked at me.

"He has a doctorate in biochemistry. He might get off the weed long enough to help you out. He gets into trouble, but he's honest as the day is long and he's brilliant."

"I'll consider it," he said thoughtfully.

"You may also want to consider Manuel," I sighed.

"I thought he was on your shit list," he frowned.

"He is," I sighed. "But he's also brilliant. Before he became a drug lord, he worked in a crime lab in LA. He was really good at what he did."

"No shit," he said wide-eyed.

"No shit," I agreed. "Plus, he doesn't actually have a criminal record for anything. You know?"

"Yea…I'll think about it."

"He doesn't have to work, but I think he'd appreciate the challenge."

"Okay," he nodded.

"Are there any more tunnels," I asked.

"Two or three," he grinned.

"Two or three," I raised a brow. "You're not sure? I don't believe that."

"Come on," he shook his head.

The next tunnel led to the parking garage. This was a separate facility than the other buildings completely. It was also heavily secured and all vehicles coming in were subjected to a thorough scanning process for bugs, homing devices and bombs. It was pretty impressive.

"That tunnel leads back to the main building," Ranger pointed. "There is also a direct tunnel from the rec area and from the lab. There's one more tunnel, but you've already seen it."

I frowned.

"Babe, you were in it."

I blinked at him, "from the house?"

"Yea," he nodded. "If something happens, you and the bean can get to safety or the people at Rangeman can get to us. Then we can move out from there."

"You've looked at the yacht," I said seriously.

"I've looked at the yacht. It's pretty heavy duty. We can move a large number of people from there. We're thinking of building a facility between the two compounds to house other boats. Then we can move out faster if we need to."

"I think it's a good idea."

He seemed surprised.

"What," I smiled. "We're having a baby. Naturally I'm more concerned about safety now than before."

"I like this," he grinned. "I like this a lot."

We went back to the main building and I made some notes from the blue prints. Then we found Jim and I asked him when I could start bringing furniture in. He studied his time line and gave me a time in five days. I should have been surprised, but with the way Ranger was doing things, I wasn't. He told Max to go ahead with the excavation and tunnel to the river.

Max grinned, "I'm way ahead of you. It's done. Tank said you'd say yes, so we did it. The tunnels not wired yet, but it's poured and stable."

"Good man," Ranger nodded. "We'll see you guys soon."

"Count on it," Max nodded.

We went outside and found Lester leaning against the wall when we left the building.

"Did you have a good visit," he asked me opening the door to the SUV for me.

"It was amazing," I grinned.

"Yea, it is," he grinned at Ranger and got into the front passenger seat.

Ranger scooted in beside me. "You're really impressed?"

"Yea and I thought you couldn't impress me anymore," I said with a slight smile. "I am very impressed."

"Good," he kissed my head. He leaned in to whisper, "and I can impress you any time you're willing to let me."

I felt the heat go straight to my hoohah, "cheater."

He just smiled.

"Can we eat now," Lester sighed.

"We can eat now," Ranger nodded in satisfaction.