Coming Home
Ric stepped off the plane and kissed the ground underneath his feet. He was back in the US. He prayed to God every day he that he could just come home and be with his wife and kids.
While he was away he matured greatly. He saw things he never wanted to see again. He was relieved to be home after being gone for way too long. Longer than he had hoped to be. He had wrote to Stephanie ever chance he got, but it wasn't enough and she couldn't write him back. He anxiously wanted to know if she still loved him as much as he still loved her and if their newest child was a boy or a girl. When he got off the plane in Washington, D.C., he immediatley felt a relief. He met with the President and his staff and told them he couldn't do it anymore, at least nothing that was keep him away from his family for as long as he had been gone this time. This was it.
The first thing he needed was a ride back to New Jersey, so he found the closest car dealership, bought a black Ford Exporler, more for Steph than for himself, he had left her the Bronco when he had left. He headed north on I-95 and didn't stop until he got home.
The house was dark, the Bronco and the Skylark were in the drive way. The Skylark looked like it had seen better days and the Bronco looked as good as ever. It looked just as it had when he took Steph on that first date so long ago. She had taken care of it. It meant something to her, just as it did to him.
He pulled his key ouy of his pocket and slowly opened the door. The house was dark, except for the small light over the kitchen sink. That little bit of light gave everything enough of a glow he could see his way around. He quietly made his way around the living room. He picked up a framed photo and in that photo was Stephanie, Ricky and two smiling babies, a boy and a girl. Twins. Next to that photo was another one of just the kids. They were all beautiful.
He slowly walked toward the back of the house. It was around 2 AM, and he figured they would all be sleeping. He walked into the room he remembered to be Ricky's, but the two beds were empty. The third room, they had used for storage once before, was painted purple and blue and had a small bed that was suited for a princess. His little princess, but again it was empty like in the other room.
He quietly opened the door to the master bedroom and found what he was looking for. Stephanie asleep in the middle of the bed and 3 small heads cuddled up next to her. The glow from the street lamp outside lit up the room enough he could see everything. One of the heads looked up at him with the biggest brown eyes he had ever seen, his eyes. It was his daughter.
When he left she had just found out she was pregnant. Now he comes home after being gone for so long and finds out he has twins, 2 year old twins.
She moves from the bed carefully, not to disturb her brothers or her mom. Walks over in front of Ric. She looks up at this 6 foot tall man before her.
He looks down at her in her purple night gown, then squats down to get at eye level with her.
"Daddy?" she ask in a whisper.
Ric nodded his head and smiled at her. She smiled back and hugged him. He picked her up and just squeezed her. He held her out from him and asked, "What's your name, baby?"
"Lexis" ,she replied.
Stephanie shifted in the bed, she must have sensed Alexis was out of the bed. She sat up and called for Alexis. When she opened her eyes and looked up, she saw Ric holding her daughter. She just stared. After a few moments she pinched herself.
Ric sat Alexis down on the bed and moved closer to Stephanie, "Your not dreaming, Babe. It's me, I'm home.
She looked at him, he looked like he hadn't sleep in months. He had let his hair grow completely out. It was pulled back in a ponytail at the base of his neck. He looked like he had recently shaved.
He had recently shaved, just before the meeting with the President of the United States.
The boys had woke up by this point. Ricky was all excited to his his dad again. He was now 4 years old.
"Daddy!" He wrapped his around his dad's neck and gave him a kiss."I missed you Daddy."
"I missed you too, little man." Ric hugged him back.
He turned to the two year boy who was bouncing on the bed and grabbed him, just before he fell off. "Whoa, buddy!" Ric said as he grabbed him. Stephanie still in complete shock.
"What's your name?" He asked his youngest son.
"Alex" the small boy replied.
"So, we have Ricky, Alex and Alexis." he asked.
Ricky jumped up and down, "Yep daddy!"
"Ricky sit down!" Stephanie exclaimed. She looked to Ric, who was smiling so big. He moved so he could pull her into his arms. She cried. He rubbed her back and whispered in her ear.
"I missed you so much." He kissed her just over her ear.
"I missed you, too." She said through her sobs. He pulled back to look in her eyes.
"Let's get some sleep and we will talk later." He suggested. She nodded." I'll be right back." He stood up and went to the dresser and took out a pair of his pajama pants. He didn't notice until now, but the mirror over the dresser was covered in pictures and letters, the letters he had written her while he was away. It was like a shrine. She also had made sure Ricky remembered him and the twins would know who their daddy was. He was proud of her. He knew she was watching him, even though he couldn't see her in the mirror, he felt her eyes on him. He turned and went towards the bathroom.
When he returned, Steph was the only one still awake. All three of the kids had fallen back to sleep. Ric made a spot on the bed next to Alexis. When she cuddled up into him, he automatically wrapped his arms around her. Stephanie smiled, Ric leaned over Alexis to kiss Stephanie on the lips and they all fell asleep.
Ricky and Alex were jumping on the bed in attempt to wake everyone else up. Steph and Ric sleep in a loose embrace with their, still sleeping, daugther between them.
Ric was the first one to wake-up. He didn't open his eyes, just threatened the jumpers.
"If you two don't stop jumping on the bed like your mother asked you to, we are NOT going to the zoo today!"
"The zoo?!", Ricky exclaimed, "You took me to the zoo once before didn't you daddy?"
Ric sat up and opened his eyes. The boys had sat down near the foot of the bed. "You remember that, Ricky? You were still a baby."
"Mommy shows us pictures and tells us stories about things we all did the last time you came home. She even told me how I wouldn't take a bath unless it was with you."
Ric smiled and motioned for Ricky to come sit in his lap. Ric looked down to Ricky, "Did she tell you about the promise you made to me?" He nodded yes.
"Did you keep it?" Ric asked him.
"I took care of mommy and helped with the babies."
Ric hugged his oldest son, "I'm proud of you, Ricky."
"I'm glad your home daddy." Ricky hugged him back.
Stephanie sat up and pulled Alexis into her lap. "Good morning." She said strecthing.
"Morning, Babe" He leaned over nad kissed her.
"Time to potty, mommy." Alex told her.
She got out of the bed and took Alex to the bathroom. When Alex was done, it was Alexis' turn.
Once they were takne care of, Stephanie pulled Ric up off the bed and into her arms. The kids had taken off to play. They held each other and kissed for what seemed like forever. They pulled apart. Ric rested his forehead on Stephanie's and she asked, "What took so long?" He pulled her close to him and held her so tight.
"You don't want to know, Babe. Trust me. I'm just glad it's over and I'm home with you and the kids."
"Did I over hear something about the zoo?", Stephanie asked.
"I thought I would take you and the kids out, as a welcome home, spend time together as a family."
She smiled, "I'd like that." They kissed some more, it became very passionate and hard. The broke it breathing heavy and Stephanie was the first to speak.
"We better get them fed first."
"I'll get dressed." Ric said.
She looked back at him over her shoulder as she shut the door. She could hardly believe it. He was home and just like she hoped the kids knew him right away. Unfortunatley she had some bad news for him. She didn't want to ruin how happy he was. She was happy he was home, and couldn't muster up the courage to tell him that his grandmother had passed away last spring. She had spent 3 months living with his mother. She enjoyed the company and spending time with her grandchildren, but was in a deep depression. Stephanie suddenly thought that before they left, maybe she could tell him and they could take her to the zoo with them.
When Stephanie walked into the kitchen, there was a chair against the counter and cereal and milk all over the floor and table.
"Ricky! Why didn't you wait for me?"
"We were hungry mommy, I helped." Ricky said looking at his feet knowing he was in trouble.
At least they had their breakfast, she sighed and grabbed the mop and broom.
Ric came into the kitchen. "What happened?"
"I helped daddy, like I promised." Ricky said smiling.
Ric shook his head. There was a knock at the door so he answered it. It was Celeste and Penny, each with a small child on their hips.
"Omigod!" Penny exclaimed, "He came back sexier."
Ric smiled, "Ladies"
"We were wondering about the truck with D.C. paper tag. Wanted to check on Steph, but we see she is in good hands." Celeste explained with a smile.
Penny introduced the babies to him, "This is Dylan and Crissy. Shortly after you left Dan and Cliff came home for a few weeks. So we were right with Stephanie being pregnant. The kids are only about 4 months apart."
Stephanie came to the door, "Hey girls."
"Just checking on you since there was a strange vehicle out here this morning, but we found out why." The smiled at each other.
"Strange vehicle?" She craned her neck around them to see what they were talking about.
"I bought it for you, Babe." Ric said hugging her from behind and kissing her neck.
She walked out side and looked around the truck. She loved it. It was big enough to carry the kids around yet small enough she didn't feel like she was driving a tank, like the Bronco. She ran back to Ric and jumped into his arms, "I love it!" and she kissed him hard.
Ric brought up the fact that she was still in her pajamas and she blushed. She said bye to Celeste and Penny and went iniside. Ric said bye to the girls as well and followed behind Steph.
While she was getting dressed Ric came in the room. She was muttering something to herself and he heard her say " How am I going to tell him."
"Tell me what, Babe?"
She jumped, "Shit! You scared me!" He walked up to her.
"Something you need to tell me, Babe?" He looked her right in the eyes. He was slightly worried. Was she thinking about leaving him? Did she meet someone else? Was she sick?
She looked at him with sad eyes, then focused on her feet, "I have some bad news, Ric." She hesitated a little.
He placed his fingers under her chin and tipped her face up to look him in the face, "Tell me, Babe." He said with a straight face and serious tone.
"While you were gone.." She started. He felt his heart start to crack, "Last spring," she paused again. He was holding his breath, "Grandma Mena passed from pneumonia."
Ric sat back on the bed, letting out the breath he had been holding. He was almost relieved. Steph wasn't leaving him, she wasn't sick. His grandmother had passed away. He could handle it. He had dealt with death and lots of it while he was away. He stood up and pulled Stephanie into his arms. "Hows Mama doing?" he asked.
"She is fine, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to invite her on our little family outing today?" Stephanie answered him with a question.
"I wouldn't want it any other way, Babe. Give her a call, I want to surprise her." Stephanie nodded and went to the phone. Ric went to get the kids ready.
Ric's mother was ecstatic, she had agreed in the phone to go with Stephanie and the kids to the zoo, but was pleasently surprised to see her son home after a three year absence. They all went to the zoo and had a great day together. Lots of pictures and video taping was done. They were a happy family. Stephanie was praying he wouldn't leave again, not for that long at least.
At the end of the day, they settled in for dinner. Stephanie insisted on cooking for her husband and children despite Ric's thought of ordering out. Stephanie made spaghetti and you could tell everyone enjoyed it based on the amount they were all wearing in the end.
When dinner was over they all sat in the living room and watched the video of their day. After that the kids were asleep. Her and Ric put them to bed and went back to the living room. She decided to show him the video of when the twins were born. Then more videos of them growing up. Some of Ricky's 3rd birthday party and the last one was one that was just for Ric from Steph. It was a video of her getting a tattoo on her butt. The video wasn't that clear, so Ric asked her to show him. She pulled down the pajama pants she had changed into and showed her ass to him. Her tattoo was on her left butt cheek, it was the Army Ranger logo. She had branded her self with his nickname the guys had given him. He ran his fingers over it then kissed it. "I love it, Babe."
"My ass, or the tattoo?"
"Both" he said with a sly grin.
She climbed on top of him and straddled his lap. They kissed and touched each other intimatly.
"Shall we continous this in the bedroom?" She asked when the broke the kiss. He nodded.
Once in the bedroom, the crawled in to the bed and continued to kiss and touch each other. Ric thought he would ask her if she got he special gift.
"Did you like you gift I got for you?"
"Baby, I love it! It got pleanty of use, but I got the real thing now. I don't think I will need it for a while."
Ta-DA! I hope you liked that chapter... I apologize for the angsty parts. I think I got a couple more chapters in me. I appreciate all the great compliments and reviews. They keep me going!!!