72 HOURS - CHAPTER THREE

Ranger's POV

I've been at the hospital for almost three hours now. After the incident with Tank, Hal had filled me in on Steph's condition. Since then everyone had pretty much stayed away from me. Especially Tank. I was fine with that. If it weren't for Morelli, I think I would have killed him. Tank was like family, he had been for a long time, but the rage and the fear that I couldn't show caused something to snap inside me, and as soon as I saw him in the hallway he'd become the target.

The nurse had come in about an hour ago. She said that Steph had come through the surgery. She explained that they had her in I.C.U. and that the doctor would be out to talk to the family shortly. I took a deep breath and held it in. It was the first time I was aware of breathing since getting Tank's call almost ten hours ago. I don't remember much about leaving the meeting I was in or how I got to the airport in Miami. Mostly I remembered taking the longest flight of my life.

I was standing there, not moving and not talking to anyone when Grandma Mazur came out of the waiting room. Tears were rolling down her face, and I involuntarily took a step forward before I realized what I was doing. It shouldn't have surprised me when she walked up to me and put her little bird arms around me. I looked down, not really sure what to do. Finally I removed my hands from my pockets and enfolded her gently into my arms. I've often told Steph that her grandmother creeped me out, but the truth is I thought she was pretty amazing. No secret where Steph got her never quit attitude from. The woman in my arms was spunky, amusing, stubborn, a little wild and determined to keep on living life without worrying too much about what other people thought. She reminded me so much of her granddaughter that I just had to love her.

Grandma Mazur pulled back a little bit and looked up at me and smiled. "She's going to be fine. The doctor said she's going to be just fine." The little old lady's voice trembled but she straightened her spine and pulled herself together.

"I knew she would, of course. She's got a lot of me in her, in case you haven't noticed. Not going to lay down and give up, that one isn't. She's a pip. She's got a lot of fight in her."

I nodded my head. "Yes, ma'am, she sure does. I was just standing here myself thinking she's a lot like you."

"Well, aren't you the one. Well, I promise I won't tell her about us if you don't. I always knew you had a thing for me, only I didn't say nothing on account of Steph being in love with you and all. And, well, the truth is I think you might be a little young for me, and I wouldn't want to hurt you, if you know what I mean. I've been around the block a time or two, and I ain't as gentle with a man as I used to be. Of course, you do have an excellent package, so it's been hard stepping back and letting my granddaughter have you to herself."

Suddenly I was feeling uncomfortable with Steph's granny holding onto me so tight.

"Ah, I'm sure she appreciates that, ma'am."

"But she is in love with you, so I feel it's my duty to make the sacrifice. Plus it ain't easy for a young girl to find a guy who has a great package and knows how to use it these days. You do know how to use it, don't ya?"

Amazingly I found I could smile. I looked over her head to where Hal and Tank were standing, and I could see they were desperately trying not to laugh out loud. After all, they wouldn't want to hurt Grandma Mazur's feelings.

"Ah, yes, ma'am, I do."

"Figured you did."

"But I think you misunderstand Steph's feelings for me. She's not in love with me. We work together, and we're really good friends."

"Well, of course she's in love with you. Who do you think she's trying to impress while she's running around out there playing Wonder Woman? You don't think she's getting any praise from her family, do you? And god knows Joseph Morelli is a fine looking man. I mean, he's got a great ass, but have you ever heard him give that girl the least little bit of encouragement? No, he has not! Trust me, big guy, I know my granddaughter, and she ain't gonna go and marry no fool man who expects her to stay home and cook his meals and raise his babies." I watched Grandma Mazur do something scary with her face, and it took me a second to realize she was trying to raise her eyebrows up and down.

"Not that she wouldn't enjoy making the babies, if you know what I mean."

I smiled. "Yes, ma'am, I do."

"Thought you might." At that point she turned at the sound of the rest of the family coming out of the waiting room.

She whispered back to me, "Now, I'm making that family of mine go home. The doctor said no visitors tonight, but we'll be back in the morning."

Once again her eyes sparkled a little as she looked up at me. "I imagine a man who looks like you wouldn't have a problem persuading the doctors to make an exception on that no-visitor rule. Tell her I love her when you see her."

"I don't think --"

"Go. Break in or sneak in or whatever you have to do, but you be there. I know my Stephanie, and she needs you to be there watching over her like you always do. And she needs you to be there when she wakes up."

"Ma'am, Morelli --"

"Young man, Morelli my patoot. You ain't never let Morelli stop you before."

"Yes, ma'am."

And then she surprised me, and her voice went quiet and soft again. "We almost lost her. The doctor said it was touch and go for a while. Guess there's still some concerns, infection and all." She wiped a tear from her cheek. "Sorry, I'm all done in. I'm feeling mighty tired." I stood there waiting for her to pull herself together.

"Now" she said with the snap back in her voice "I expect to get a full report in the morning on how she did through the night."

"Yes, ma'am." This time I reached out and pulled her to me and hugged her. I leaned down and dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

"Mrs. Mazur, I'm sorry Steph got hurt. I can't tell you how sorry I am that I wasn't here to protect her."

For a moment I didn't think she was going to answer me.

"Now, see, I've gone and given you the wrong impression. Ain't nobody in this here family that blames you for what happened. You ain't known my granddaughter as long as we have, but the things she did as a kid were enough to stop my heart, I mean to tell you, and I was a heck of a lot younger then. She ever tell you about jumping off the roof and trying to fly?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, I swear my heart just stopped dead in my chest, but with her mother carrying on like she was and her sister having hysterics wasn't nothing for me to do but pick her up and get her to the hospital. She ever tell you what happened the day after she got that cast off her arm?"

"No, ma'am."

"Why she got right back on that roof and jumped off again. Spent the next two months with a cast on the other arm." At that she put her head back and gave a hoot.

"Eight weeks of lectures from her mother didn't phase her a bit. That girl believed she could fly and, by god, wasn't anybody going to tell her different. Of course, she got tired of having to wear those casts and I guess her mother finally wore her down, so she just gave up. I swear it was one of the saddest days of my life when that little girl looked at me and told me that her mother was right and she knew she couldn't fly. Why, it was like half the life just drained right out of her. I've watched her with you the last couple of years. You wanna know why my granddaughter fell in love with you?"

I nodded my head not entirely sure I could speak.

"You've done everything you can to protect her, and you've given her room to try first on her own without telling her she just plain couldn't do it. You make her believe she can fly again. Now, the point to my story is this. You had two choices to make with Stephanie. You could have turned your back on her and walked away or you could have done exactly what you have. But I'm gonna tell you, if you had turned your back and walked away, she would climbed right back up on that roof and she would have jumped right back off. And between you and me, I don't think she could have lived with not being able to fly this time around. You're the best thing that's happened to that girl in her entire life, and whether or not you want to admit it, she's the best thing that's ever going to happen to you. Don't be foolish and let guilt or fear rob you both of that gift."

I was stunned. This bird-like little woman had turned me speechless. I leaned over and pulled her into my arms again. "Thank you, ma'am."

"You're a good boy, Carlos." She turned her face and kissed my cheek, and she turned and walked away.

As I stood there watching her walk away I felt a shudder go through my body at the thought of what would have happened to Stephanie if I hadn't been around to help her out over the last couple of years, wondering what might have happened to her if I had just walked away.