Author's Note,
Ok, so I did not plan on writing a second chapter, but I couldn't help myself. I hope this turned out to be the right amount of fluff as I intended too, as I am currently only writing on emotional Stories and once in a while I just need to write something fun.
This one is for Jen, just to cheer you up a little :)
So here it is, Enjoy!
Erdi
P.s: there will be 1 more chapter.
Five years later
Steph's POV
"Alexander Carlos Manoso! Stop pulling at Diana Prince's Tail" I shout across our backyard. The sun has just come up and our three year old son is already far too awake for my liking. He woke me up with sticky, flour covered hands, handing me a plate with half cooked pancakes and a mug half filled with coffee. It was only half full, because he spilled most of it on his way from the kitchen to the bedroom.
All of that is fine, except for the fact that, when I walked into the kitchen, still half asleep, I got the biggest shock of my life. Pancake batter was everywhere. And when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere!
It was dripping from the ceiling and from the handles of the kitchen cupboards, the kitchen top was covered in a mix of pancake batter and coffee, but surprisingly the kitchen stove looked spotless. Sitting, amidst all of that mess, was our four year old daughter Eva, also covered from head to toe in batter.
I inwardly cursed Ranger for showing Eva how to make pancakes on Mother's Day and tried to calm myself. After all they tried to make me breakfast out of the goodness of their hearts. They know, even though these days I am quite good in the kitchen, when Ranger is not home, there is only cereal and toast available for breakfast. I assume they wanted something better this morning.
With a sigh, I opened the door for Diana Prince to get out into the garden and started cleaning up with Eva. Only I didn't notice Alex walking after our Dog and I found him pulling her tail over and over again, five minutes later in the garden.
"Babe" I hear a deep chuckle behind me and sigh as my husband's strong arms wrap around me. He just came back from a take down and I assume he is only here to change his clothes, as he has a date with a new set of recruits later on. "Why does the kitchen look like as if someone threw a grenade into the Pancake Batter?"
"Our kids tried to make breakfast for me" I state matter of factly and before pulling out of his embrace to go and get Alex away from the dog, before Wonder woman decides she has enough and snaps at him.
"I will go and grab him" Ranger says and takes my arm. "You go and help Eva."
As I walk into the kitchen, I find that Eva has climbed on the kitchen counter, drawing palms trees and stick figures into the batter/ coffee mix. Obviously she got tired of being the only one cleaning up.
"Eva" I sigh and hand her the squeegee "I told you, who makes a mess, needs to clean up after herself."
"But Alex made the mess too and he is outside playing" Eva complains.
"Your Brother will be helping too" I tell her. "Now, take the squeegee and push it all towards the end over there, so I can scoop it into the bucket" I add and move to grab the bucket from under the sink.
On my way to the sink, I step onto a slimy substance with my flip flop covered feet and slip. With a loud 'Thud' and 'Uff' I land on the floor, in that moment Eva pushes the batter with the squeegee over the edge and all of it lands on my face and hair.
In the same moment, my husband and son step through the door and our now doubling over laughing at me.
"Haha Mummyyyy" Eva laughs and nearly falls of the counter in the process. Thank God for Rangers quick reflexes, in two big strides he is next to her, keeping her from falling over.
"Babe" He smirks down at me and I close my eyes with a sigh. This is not my Morning!
After taking a long hot shower and Ranger cleaning the kids and the kitchen, we drop Alex off at my Mom's and Eva at Kindergarten together, before Ranger takes me to Rangemen and then drives on to pick up Tank, to relief Monster and Chez from Babysitting the new Rangemen.
I make my way through the garage and into the big 'Garden' behind Rangemen. Four years ago Ranger improved immensely, by having a dog as his constant companion. Nightmares and Flashbacks were fewer and after going with him to his counselling sessions, everything seemed to get a whole lot of easier for us.
Except when I discovered, that I was pregnant, it got more complicated. Thinking back, I don't even know how I didn't know that I was a little over five months pregnant at the time. I had my regular bleeding every month and kept taking the pill, until I had a check-up with my Doctor, who took some blood and then told me a couple of days later the good news.
I always laughed at those people, who exclaimed 'I didn't know I was pregnant', well now I know it is possible. The Doctor puts it towards the stress I was under, with everything that was happening with Ranger and me. I didn't even start to show until the 6th month or so and I feared that the Baby would be under developed, but the Doctors assured us, that everything was fine.
To say it was a shock, is an understatement. We were only in a dating phase; going on dates, spending quality time with each other and we hadn't even breached the subject of moving in together.
So like I said, things got a little more complicated. Ranger was excited and terrified at the same time and started going to more sessions with his therapist. He wanted to be ready, when the baby arrived.
One Night, after one of those sessions, he came to my place overly excited.
Flashback
"I am going to open a K9 Unit at Rangemen" He states excited, as I open the door for him and Diana Prince.
He presses a kiss to my cheek and walks past me into the living room, with the Dog hot on his heels. Diana Prince seems to feel the excitement of her owner, as she flaps her tail with just as much enthusiasm. She probably thinks she will get a Dog Cookie or something.
I gave Ranger a key months ago, but he has yet to use it. This is kind of funny, because he used break into my old apartment all the time.
"Uhhh...okay" I reply a little confused, close the door and follow him into the living room, where I find him pacing up and down in front of the TV. I have never seen him this excited outside of the Bedroom.
"You know... it will help all of the guys with their own PTSD issues and if the men are interested, we can get them certified as dog trainers." Ranger says still pacing my living room, before he stops and looks at me. "I have to find out, if the lot behind Rangemen is still available. We can convert that into … RangeDog" He adds and takes out his phone. Diana Prince's, who obviously by now figured that she will not receive anything from her owners excitement, jumps onto 'her Spot' on the couch and I sit down next to her.
"Ranger…" But as he doesn't listen, I say "Carlos!" His head snaps up and his eyes grow dark. "It's 9PM, money may buy you a lot of things, but I think that calling the Realtor or owner of that vacant lot at 9 PM at night, is not such a good idea."
"Yeah you are right...do you have a legal pad somewhere?" He questions, still with his phone in hand.
"Did you just say I am right?" I ask grinning, as I point towards the couch table where pen and paper are lying right on top of the Baby Books.
"Don't let it go to your head" He quips with a smile and starts writing.
End of Flashback
That night we stayed up all night planning RangeDog, well I tried to stay up with him, but our baby had other plans for me.
As I woke the next morning in my bed, I heard excited voices in my living room and after I went through my morning routine, I found overly excited Ranger, Lester, Bobby, Tank and Hector with legal pads, tablets and white boards (!) in my living room. Of course, as those men are, they had already accumulated all the information needed, to open RangeDog and hammered out a Business Plan in only a few hours with military precision.
It took them almost 6 months to get certified and licensed, before RangeDog was opened. After Eva was born, I needed something to do and took the courses necessary to become a K9 trainer. Of course Ranger didn't skimp out and hired the best company to train me and all of his men.
A few months after Eva's birth, I found out I was pregnant with Alex. Because my job at for a Newark Retailer was already taken again and I didn't want to go back to Bounty hunting with a small child on the way.
Unknown to me, Ranger and the Core Team had already a Plan for me and put me in charge of RangeDog. It gave me flexible working hours and Eva and Alex love being around the dogs.
I occasionally have to go out into the field, but only for training purposes, but it is a rare occasion.
As I walk along the cages, to open the doors for the dogs to come out and play, I see that all of the cages from our younger dogs are open and empty.
I rush through my routine and find a small Hershey's kisses wrapper lying next to Joker's cage, which gives away the perpetrator immediately. Only one man is seriously obsessed with them, since his wife got pregnant again and has a serious craving for them.
I pick up the wrapper and with a small smile on my lips I walk back into Rangemen and up to the fifth floor, to find it in utter Chaos. Our young Dogs are running around everywhere and I barely can duck an incoming ball. These guys get up to no good when Lester Santos is left in charge.
"LESTER SANTOS" I shout and suddenly everybody, dogs and humans alike, stop what they are doing and look at me.
"Someone is in trouble" Manny sing songs and picks his puppy, which he named Daisy, up.
Lester peeks around his cubicle with an innocent look on his face. "Oh hey beautiful, how are you?" He gets up and walks towards me, with Joker hot on his heels. As the dog sees me he jumps around Lester and comes running up to me with his tail flapping excitingly.
"If you don't want anyone to know you are the perpetrator, stop eating these at the crime scene!" I tell him and hold up the wrapper. All of the men start laughing and Lester just shoots them dirty looks.
"I promise beautiful, that it wasn't me!" He exclaims and I only roll my eyes at his excuse. "Someone is framing me! You know how Ranger banned all sweets on site; I do not want to get called to the mats again. It messes my hair up!"
"Oh you mean like you tried to frame Manny last week, for eating all the Doughnuts out of the staff fridge?" I question and push myself up again.
"Come on, those Newark cops didn't need them... they are already fat enough!" Les retorts.
"Well so are you…" To be honest Lester is anything but fat. He still looks as ripped as the day I met him. "Especially, if you keep eating these!" I inform him. "Maybe I should tell Ranger…"
"Please don't...he is going to make me train with the new recruits!" Les whines and I laugh.
"I am sure; we can come to some sort of agreement!" I state with a small smile. "Cleaning out the dog cages for four weeks!" I offer and he immediately shakes his head.
"One" Les retorts.
"Four" I reply firmly.
"Fine...two" He says and then sighs as he sees my face. "Alright I will do four…"
I nod and turn around. "Bring them back down, when you are done playing."
All of the men just nod and as I walk down the stairs, I only hear them ribbing Lester. I know that Manny set him up, but Les had it coming. 'Payback is a bitch, Les' I think with a small smile.
"Care to explain, why Lester needs to clean the dog cages for four weeks, Babe?" My husband asks as he walks into my office, with Diana Prince following close behind him, later on that afternoon.
"No, not really. He is getting his punishment and you don't need to interfere" I tell him and look up from my paperwork.
"Good. Tia Rosa would not be impressed, if I broke his fingers, before the babies are born" Ranger says and comes to stand behind me.
"You wouldn't see her flan for a decade" I point out and lean my head against him as he sighs.
"Damn...she always threatens me with that. Tia Rosa plays dirty" He chuckles. That is another thing that has changed since he got treatment: He laughs more and makes jokes. In the beginning, that frightened his men, but now they appreciate their Boss being a little more... happier.
"Ready to go home?" I ask, as I pack away my paperwork and shut down my computer.
"Yes" He simply answers and pulls me out of my chair. "Let's pick up the rug rats and go home. I need some quality family time."
Ranger has been working around the clock for the past two weeks. During the night he was either on surveillance or bringing in skips and during the day he trained the new Rangemen Recruits with Tank.
These days, Manny and Hal oversee Recruitment and Training of new Rangemen and get help from Monster and Chez, if needed. But once in a while Ranger and Tank, like to get their hands dirty and put the new guys through the wringer, just to prove that they still got what it takes.
As Eva was born, he took a step back and started only working a maximum of 10 hour days and if no one is sick or Trenton needs saving again, he spends his Sundays with us.
Ranger checks the cages for me, as I lock up my office, before the two of us get into his newest Porsche Cayenne. He only got this car two days ago and it still has the new car smell.
"It is surprising that this car still smells new...I mean after all, our kids proof to have a track record of getting quickly rid of that" I point out, as we pull out of the garage.
"I still cannot believe that Alex threw up in the new SUV" He shakes his head and smiles at the memory. Alex was sick that day and on our way to the Doctor, he threw up all over the back seat. Ranger had bought that car for me only that morning and he didn't know, if he was going to cry or laugh first.
"Well Eva, did better!" I remind him and he starts laughing. "Tank will hold that over her head for the rest of her life. I predict, that he will tell that story on her wedding day!"
Tank just had his car detailed and took his god daughter out to the Fun Fair. On their way home he bought her an iced Chocolate and Eva thought it was a great Idea to dip her hand into it and paint on Uncle Tank's leather interior and the windows.
"She made him cry" Ranger laughs, as he parks the car in the car park of the kindergarten.
"But so did you as, Julie had stored the Coca Cola in the small portable freezer and it got all over you and the Cayenne." I point out.
"What a sticky mess" He shakes his head with a smile. "I should call her and remind her of that!"
"Mummy...I am not feeling so well" Eva moans, 10 minutes later as we get into the car.
"What's wrong, Eva?" I ask and look back from the front seat. She looks a little green around her nose and is holding her tummy. "Does your tummy hurt?"
"Yes" She moans and the next thing I hear is a big fart from the back seat and her throwing up simultaneously.
"You had to jinx it" Ranger points out as he pulls up in front of the curb at my parent's place, speed dialling Bobby as we both hop out of the car to tend to Eva.
"I cannot believe she has Food Poisoning" I exclaim in a whisper, over Eva's Rangemen hospital bed. "What the f…" I stop myself and hold in the F word. "What did they give the kids to eat?" I shake my head and wipe my bloodshot eyes. Bobby gave her a drip; too keep up her fluids and antibiotics to help with the infection. "Oh god, I am such a bad mother...How did I not know she was sick?"
"You are not a bad mother, Babe. She was fine this morning." Ranger assures me, comes around and wraps me into his arms. "I have already notified the kindergarten and apparently more kids are sick. They have launched an investigation and shut down the facilities until further notice."
"That is supposed to be the best one around. How can the staff feed the kids bad food?" I ask a little louder.
"We will get to the bottom of this and it may not have been food" He points out and kisses my temple.
"We need to get your car aired out" I chuckle.
"Yes...yes we do" He says and I close my eyes.
The next Day we can take Eva back to our house and pick Alex up from my parents place on the way home.
"Mom, what happened to the wallpaper?" I ask shocked and look at the spot above the couch. There are circles and little stick man drawn on it and I already know who is responsible for it.
"Alex, got a little enthusiastic with the painting...But it doesn't matter" My mom waves off and I shoot her a puzzling look. My parents' house is always kept neat and tidy, you wouldn't find one spot of dust or dirt anywhere in this place and yet my mother is not screaming from the top of her lounges at me, for my son painting on her wall. The Apocalypse must be upon us!
"Your Dad got in on the fun as well, that's why there are stick man. And he said that he might get Alex and Eva to paint some more on it." My mother says with a smile. Yepp, the world is definitely ending!
"Mommy, can we go now?" Eva asks weakly from her spot in my father's recliner.
"Yes, we will. Let me quickly call your Dad and brother." I say and walk out towards the backyard. Ranger is sitting with Alex in his lap next to my Dad, who has Diana Prince's head in his lap, in one of the Outdoor Lounge Chairs. They are currently discussing the best way to air out the Cayenne. My Dad has long ago given up, convincing Ranger to buy Italian or American Cars.
I am glad that my Dad has welcomed Ranger back with open arms. Those two spend a lot of time together, after Ranger came back into my life, and even went fishing with Tank, Lester, Hector, Zip and Bobby.
I quickly snap a picture with my phone and smile. This one will be another great addition to my picture wall in our house, where all the special moments are framed for the ages.
We have come a long way and life could not get better, even though our family life gets a little crazy from time to time.