I don't own them, and I'm not making any money… I hope you enjoy.
CHAPTER 23
"Time to go, Babe," Ranger said, coming around the couch to stand in front me.
"Help?" I asked, holding out my hands and giving him a big, blue-eyed stare.
"Anything for my wife," Ranger said with a smile, as he pulled me off the couch.
We'd been married a full three weeks yesterday and we were still both insanely happy. We were hoping today would only add to it, but we were trying not to get our hopes up. Isa's custody hearing was this afternoon, and I was a nervous wreck. I could tell Ranger was too, but on the surface he was still wearing a calm, cool mask. God, please let him get custody, I prayed. He wanted it so much.
The ride to the courthouse was silent, the only concession to Ranger's zone being my hand held firmly in his. After a lot of legal wrangling, he had gotten the case to be debated in Trenton since I wouldn't be able to take the flight to Florida. The judge had also agreed to interview Isa in private so she wouldn't have to give any testimony, or be subjected to more than absolutely necessary.
Despite my nerves, I thought we had a good chance. Ranger's lawyers were some of the best in the state and they had been working on putting his case together for nearly seven weeks, since we had told them to factor in Ranger married and a father to my child. That, combined with Eva's near negligence and him being completely out of the military should tip the scales.
"Here we go, Babe," Ranger told me, pulling into the courthouse.
"We have nothing to worry about," I said as much to myself as to Ranger. "The judge is bound to see we can provide a better family atmosphere than Eva."
"God, I hope so," Ranger said, helping me out of the car.
I was having more trouble moving around than usual the last few days. The baby seemed to be sitting lower in my belly and had nearly stopped moving. The stillness had frightened me until I'd called Ella crying and she'd reminded me it was probably getting a little crowded in there. I was due in a week and the baby was probably looking forward to getting out.
Entering the courthouse, the bailiff searched both Ranger and I. It took quite a while to search Ranger, because even thought he really wanted to be family material, it just wasn't safe for him to go around without his two guns and a knife. Eventually, we made it through, bereft of all weapons and small metal objects.
From there, we made our way to the courtroom where the custody debate would be taking place. Once everyone was assembled, the proceedings were started and the lawyers began to debate.
Many, many, many hours later… Okay, it was more like three, but it felt like much more, the lawyers were still debating. I was leaning on Ranger's shoulder, not sure how much longer I could stay awake. I'd had tons of energy this morning, now nothing. Eva, had hardly said a word, allowing her lawyers to pretty much run the show. She had spent the entirety of the afternoon shooting Ranger dirty looks and I was pretty sure it looks could kill, I'd be dead.
Thankfully, the judge was just about as enthralled with the lawyers' debates as I was and called for closing debate. Half an hour later, he closed himself off, to come up with a verdict.
When he reemerged, Ranger gently poked me awake and the bailiff went in search of Eva who had wandered off, not wanting to bless Ranger and I with her presence. Once everyone was present and accounted for, the judge sat down to tell us his decision.
"I have decided to award full custody to Mr. Ricardo Manoso. Based on the testimonies of all parties involved, particularly Miss Isabella Manoso, as well as the present circumstances of both parents, I believe it will be best for Isabella to live with her father.
"Ms. Eva Garcia, will be awarded visitation. She will have full access to Isabella two weekends each month, but due to distance and Isabella's age, only one monthly visit may be conducted in Florida."
With that, the judge rapped his gavel and Eva and I let out simultaneous screams. I believe hers was from rage, while mine was the sudden, searing pain in my abdomen.
"Babe?" Ranger asked, worry written clearly across his face as my scream died down.
"I think that was real labor," I gasped, reeling from the pain.
"Mrs. Manoso, are you alright?" asked the judge.
"Yes, fine," I responded once I caught my breath. The pain had only lasted about half a minute, but it was half a minute of the most intense pain I had ever experienced.
"Do you think you need to go to the hospital, or do you want to go home for a bit?" Ranger asked, nodding towards his lawyers for them to take care of anything further.
"Home," I said. I knew you could often wait hours for the contractions to get close enough for delivery, and I really didn't feel like spending that time in a hospital. I'd have Ranger call Emma once we got home though, just in case.
"Alright," Ranger said, and then whipped out his cell phone. "I'm calling Tank and having him call the guys and Emma. Do you want him to call Ella or your parents?"
"Umm, just Ella, please. I'd feel better with her there with us. I'm not sure if I'm up to my mom. Can we just let everyone else know when we leave for the hospital?"
"Sure, Babe," he said, holding me to his side while he spoke softly to Tank. I didn't really care what he was saying; I just wanted to get home.
As if reading my mind, Ranger flipped his phone shut and ushered me outside. Helping me into the Bronco, he hurried around to the other side and had us home in no time. Once there, he helped me into one of his t-shirts, settled me in bed and began trying to make me comfortable. I just wanted to take a nap… I had a feeling I was going to need it.
"Ranger, I just want…" I started to say, when I was cut off by another contraction.
I grit my teeth, and Ranger sat on the edge of the bed and took my hand. I squeezed his wrist for all I was worth and when the pain subsided, I saw clear finger marks left from my hand.
"Thirty-six minutes since the last one," Ranger said, looking at his watch on the other wrist. "Babe, Emma said to check in again when they were ten minutes apart. What do you want to do until then?"
"Will you hold me while I nap?" I asked. I felt silly asking that, but I really wanted a nap and didn't want to be alone right now.
"Of course," Ranger said, disappearing into the closet and reappearing moments later in nothing but his black silk boxers.
When he slipped into bed, I immediately snuggled into his arms, taking comfort from the strength I felt there. He gently and rhythmically stroked up and down my back and I eventually fell asleep. I managed a twenty minute nap, before another contraction woke me. After that we fell into a pattern. Ranger would sooth me to sleep, I would sleep until the next contraction and then Ranger would hold me close until the contraction passed.
Eventually, I was barely able to get to sleep between the contractions, and I just gave up. I was getting too excited and nervous to sleep. I had been simply resting with Ranger for about two contractions, when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in," Ranger called out.
"How are you feeling, Dear?" asked Ella peeking her head into the room.
"Labor hurts," I said, figuring that just about summed it up.
"Do you want something to eat? You'll need your strength later."
"Please," I said. I hadn't thought of that. Probably I should fuel up while I still could.
"Alright, I'll be right up with something."
When she left, another contraction hit full force and I buried my head in Ranger's chest. I was still clutching his arm during contractions, and I was pretty sure that by the time I was through with the whole childbirth thing, I'd have left enough bruises to earn myself a trip to a third world country.
"How close?" I asked, once the contraction was over. That one had lasted nearly a minute.
"Eighteen minutes. During your last nap, Ella came in and said they should start speeding up."
Right now, I wasn't sure if that was good news or bad news.
Minutes later, Ella brought me a tray filled with various carbohydrates. She said I'd need the energy. I ate whole-wheat toast, some spaghetti and a bowl of macaroni salad with veggies.
Completely full, I rested back against Ranger once again only to jolt forward with another contraction. I had really hoped it was just a huge lie about how painful labor is, but I was quickly coming out of denial and facing the painful truth.
"Fifteen minutes, Babe," Ranger said, rubbing my back and shoulders.
I leaned back against him and listened as he talked about inconsequential things he knew would distract me. He told me everything from how he decided to found Rangeman to how he broke his arm wrecking his bike when he was seven. He knew I was fascinated with details of his life and I was extremely grateful to him for exploiting that.
Some time later, Ella checked in again and my contractions were coming about every twelve minutes, so she started bustling around the room packing a bag for me. We hadn't really done that, since I was still a week from my due date. While she packed, she chattered on about little things, and I was grateful she wasn't telling me things like 'it won't be that bad' because from my vantage point, I wouldn't believe her.
While she worked, I had a few contractions and by the time she was finishing up, Ranger announced I was having them every ten minutes. He called Emma and she said to bring me to the hospital, so off we went.
Once there, I was sent to a delivery room. The nurses told me I could stay in Ranger's t-shirt and covered my bottom half with a sheet as they checked things out.
Alone with Ranger, he held my hand and talked gently to me as the contractions got more and more frequent and more and more painful. Eventually, when they were coming about every two minutes and lasting for about two minutes when the nurse announced I was dilated to ten cm, which was apparently what they had been looking for down there.
Emma came into the room then, and did her doctor nodding thing as the nurses talked to her. I was ready to scream, I had been given something earlier for the pain, but it was wearing off.
"Can I get more drugs?" I asked as soon as Emma approached my bed.
"I'm sorry Steph. What you were given earlier, was a short lasting drug, but you progressed faster than expected. You're now past where we can safely give you anything but a mild pain killer."
"I'll take that," I said, wanting anything that would help.
The nursed injected something, but I didn't really notice any difference in my next few contractions.
While I had been focusing on the pain, I hadn't noticed that Emma had been looking under the sheet and checking things out.
"You ready to push, Steph?" she asked, lifting her head.
"You're the doctor! Am I?" I shouted. Really I didn't mean to yell, but a contraction hit and they hurt a lot by this point.
"Yes. You're ready," she said, smiling at me. Why was she smiling? This was not a time to smile.
"Okay," I said, suddenly scared. This was the part I had been really worried about.
"Push!" she yelled with the next contraction.
I pushed. I pushed really hard, and I squeezed Ranger's hand until I heard him swearing in Spanish.
"Don't you swear," I screamed. "Your hand doesn't hurt nearly enough to deserve it." I was developing a whole new outlook on pain.
The pushing seemed to go on for hours and later I learned that it did. I was crying and near exhaustion when Emma finally told me the head was beginning to crown.
"I just need a few more big pushes," she said.
"Okay," I gasped. I was passed yelling and screaming. I just didn't have the energy any more.
"Push!" she yelled once more with my next contraction.
"It was so much easier going in," I ground out, through the pain. Then I felt it. The head was coming out and it was the weirdest sensation I had ever experienced in my life.
A few more pushes and I felt the rest of the baby slide from my body. Ranger cut the cord and moments later, I heard a loud cry from across the room. My eyes filled with tears as I turned to look up at Ranger.
"You did it," he said, leaning in to kiss me.
"Yeah," I managed.
Then Emma suggested the unfathomable. She said I had to push again. I don't think she understood that there was just no more 'push' left in me. Damn, she was sounding pretty insistent. So I pushed. Again.
By the time the placenta was delivered, they had the baby all cleaned up and a nurse set it in my arms and helped me begin breastfeeding.
"A girl?" I asked, smiling, when I saw the pink blanket it was wrapped in.
"Congratulations," she said, leaving me to stare into the wide blue eyes of my daughter.
"She has your eyes," Ranger said, sitting close to me and looking at her with wonder as well.
"All babies have blue eyes," I told him. That was one of the things I learned from my baby book, but I really hoped they'd stay that color.
"I'd know those eyes anywhere," said Ranger, kissing my cheek. "They're not gonna change."
Suddenly, I felt a massive yawn rip through my exhausted body. I looked at my baby and then at Ranger. I felt so conflicted. I was fast loosing the battle with sleep, but I didn't want to leave my baby.
"I'll watch over her, Babe," Ranger said. "You get some rest and we'll be here when you wake up."
"Thank you," I said, allowing him to take her.
It wasn't until then, that I noticed that my bed and I had been cleaned up as well. I didn't question it. One last look at my man in black holding the tiny pink bundle and I drifted off to sleep.
Feeling myself float slowly back to consciousness, I wondered what had happened to me. I had never been this sore in my entire life. Opening my eyes, I recognized I was in a hospital. The next thing I noticed was that the massive bulge of my stomach was gone. I began to panic, before it all came back to me. I'd had a baby.
"Hey, Babe," I heard, from my left.
Turning my head, I saw Ranger, sitting in chair beside my bed and realized he was holding my hand. That would be all well and good, but he should have been holding a baby.
"Baby?" I asked, not ready to attempt more.
"She's doing great. More people showed up to see her than the nurses would let in the room, so they took her up to the nursery. Do you want me to send someone to get her?"
"Please," I said.
Once Ranger had called the nurse and asked her to bring my baby, he helped me get sitting up. My abs were still way too sore to manage that on my own.
"Here you are Mrs. Manoso," said a nurse, entering the room and settling the baby into my arms.
"She's so beautiful, Babe," Ranger said, once we were alone.
"Yeah," I said, looking at the sleeping baby. "Is anyone still here?" I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep or how long people would stick around after they saw her in the nursery.
"Your parents, my parents and Isa, Mary Lou, the guys, Ella and Connie and Lula are all still here."
"Can they come in here?" I asked, unsure as to the hospital's policy on that sort of thing.
"It's up to you, Babe."
"I'd like to see them. Would you go let them know?"
"Sure," Ranger said, leaning in to kiss my forehead and the baby's before disappearing.
"So, kiddo, you decide on a name yet?" I asked the sleeping baby. I hadn't really thought of names at all, since I didn't know the sex. Also, I didn't want to get attached to a name then see the baby and realize it just didn't fit. "How about we both think about it, and we'll talk later, when I'm up to flipping through books with you?"
She didn't respond at all, so I took that as an affirmative.
Moments later, Ranger reappeared, followed by quite a crowd. Everyone cooed over the baby and said how adorable she was. I had to agree. Thankfully, no one tried to hold her, since I didn't feel ready to let her go.
Twenty minutes later, Mom, Gloria Ella and Mare were chattering on and on about something to do with the baby, I had a feeling they were up to something, but I wasn't going to worry about it. Let them have their fun. Once my dad had seen the baby given us both a kiss and said 'good job Pumpkin' he had hurried out of the over-crowded room. I laughed when Manuel quickly followed his lead and then the Merry Men disappeared. Connie and Lula had followed them out. Nothing distracts those two from their ogling for long.
Isa was on the bed with me, snuggled into my side and Ranger was sitting beside us, looking more content than I had ever seen him. Smiling myself, I felt a massive yawn split my face.
Mom must have noticed, because suddenly, she, Gloria, Ella and Mare were all at my bedside saying their goodbyes.
"Congratulations, Hon," said Mare, leaning in to hug me and kiss the baby. "Let me know when you're feeling back to normal and we'll go shopping. I'll have to enjoy all the cute baby-girl clothes vicariously."
"She's absolutely precious dear," said Ella. "Don't forget to bring her around the office."
"And the house," said, Gloria. "The girls are all going to be dying to see her. Congratulations again, she's beautiful."
"She is, Stephanie," my mother said. "I'm so proud of you, Baby."
I thanked them all, managing to get the words out without a yawn. I was really fading fast.
"Let's go Isa," said Gloria. Isa had been staying with her grandparents, and would tonight too, since Ranger wouldn't leave me.
"Do I have to?" she asked, looking suddenly dejected.
Thinking back, to the little girl who had rushed into the room earlier, dying for a glimpse of her baby sister, I felt my heart clench. She had still been bouncing around, ecstatic, when Ranger had told her the other big news. He had custody. She had declared today the greatest day of her whole life. I remembered when she had been visiting and she had spoken so wistfully of us being a family, and I couldn't send her away.
"No, Sweetie, you can stay. If it's okay with Daddy and Abuela."
"Are you sure, Steph?" asked Gloria.
"Yeah," I said, smiling and holding Isa to me.
"Alright," Gloria nodded.
With that, the room cleared out, Ranger settled the baby in her bassinet, and Isa on his lap. Turning my head, so I could see all three of them, I drifted off to sleep.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
A day and a half later, Ilona Manoso and I were discharged from the hospital. I had spent last night and this morning, sleeping, holding Ilona and pouring over baby name books. Isa and I had been immersed in my name search while Ranger held the baby, when Mom and Grandma showed up. Much to Mom's horror, I was getting dangerously close to picking a name at random.
It had been Grandma Mazur who came to the rescue, suggesting Ilona. It had been the name of her godmother and was a Hungarian name meaning beautiful. I'd immediately fallen in love with it and when I asked the baby if she wanted to be Ilona she gurgled at me, which I took as a yes.
Now we were all on our way home in a Bronco that had magically appeared in the parking lot, fully equipped with car seat.
At the Batcave, we settled Ilona in her crib and I stood leaning back into Ranger while Isa leaned back into me. Life was good. We stayed like that for quite awhile, eventually dispersing through the house only to be summoned back to the nursery by loud cries.
Isa looked on in fascination as Ranger and I established that Ilona was neither hungry nor wet. As far as we could tell, there was nothing the matter at all. We've got a lot to learn, I though, smiling. And I was looking forward to each and every day of it.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
A/N: Please Review and tell me what you thought. When I began this chapter, it hit me that I was going to have to describe childbirth and I had no idea how to go about that. I almost did it from Ranger's POV, but couldn't really make it work. I hope you like how it turned out! I've really enjoyed writing this, and thank you all for reading. Only the epilogue left to go, so let me know of there are any loose ends that are bugging you and I'll do my best to tie up :)
As always, sorry for any mistakes about custody and any about childbirth… I was kind of making it up as I went.