Dear All, I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this story. I will update as often as I can but please bear with me as I currently have two at home on crutches ( :-o )

Anyway, without further ado...

o0o0o0o0o

Ranger blinked, then blinked again.

Was this tiny scrap his….daughter?! Had his Babe been pregnant when she left?!

"Well?" Charlie asked again, indignation clear in her voice. Patience was obviously not something she possessed, just like her mother, he thought wryly.

"Who am I speaking to?" Ranger asked gently even as his heart began to pound.

"Duh! I am CharlotteCardaRishon"

"Oh! Ok… is your Mommy there? Can I say hello? Please" he whispered out even as he rushed out of his office and onto the main floor. Snagging a pencil as he ran he rushed to the nearest desk to grab the first piece of paper he could find on which he hurriedly wrote:

TRIANGULATE THIS CALL

YESTERDAY!

The little voice at the other end said "I go find her but just so's you know my fwends call me Charlie but you no friend as you keep making Mommy cry."

"Why do you think I'm your Daddy. Charlotte?" he asked, playing for time as he stood stock still with every eye on the floor looking at him and several new sets appearing surreptitiously.

"Mommy said that my Daddy use ta call her Babe before the evil witch took him away." she explained patiently. "Are.. you… my… Daddy?" She asked again, more forcefully this time.

Ranger nodded, his tongue too thick to reply and a knot formed in his throat wasn't helping either. Realising she couldn't see him he cleared his throat then said "yes, I think I must be…" in a tiny voice.

He could hear his beloved in the background, talking to another woman before Charlie piped up, obviously holding the phone away from her as she hailed her Mom.

"Mommy! I pressed lots a buttons on your phone and look! I found Daddy." She said proudly, obviously pleased with herself.

Silence filled the air for a few seconds before the other lady spoke. "Stephanie, Sweetie, I'll entertain Charlie. You go speak to him."

Moments later (which Ranger thought took forever) and after the rustling sound of the phone being passed from one hand to another "C..C..Carlos?" a soft, broken voice asked tentatively.

"Babe? Is that really you?" his equally emotional voice replied. "Oh my God! I've found you! I'm so sorry, so very sorry. Will you ever forgive me, Babe?"

"Where's that woman?" She snarked out, in control of her voice once more.

"Gone, Babe."

"Did she crawl back under the rock she came from?" She added venomously.

"Yeah. It was a big rock, in a basin in a stream."

"Good." She replied before putting the phone down.

Ranger looked flummoxed as he stared at the phone for a few seconds. Processing the fact that she'd put the phone down on him. SHE had put the phone down on HIM!

Once he'd gotten over the shock, he gave an almost grin and internally did a happy dance with fist bumps and hip swinging.

In many ways she'd obviously changed if she had his baby but she was still clearly the feisty woman he fell in love with. His next thought was had they been on the phone long enough. Looking round the room he realised what he must look like. Pulling himself together he yelled "did anyone get the co-ordinates?" to no-one in particular.

"Sorry Boss." Came the reply from somewhere on the floor "But I do have Hector on the phone and he says it's urgent."

"Patch him through to my office." He growled out before stalking back to his lair, slamming the door behind him as he returned to his seat.

(Spanish is in italics)

"What?!" he gritted out testily into the phone. Now he knew that he still didn't know where she lived, he was in no mood to talk to anyone. He needed to find out where she'd called from. At least he now knew that she'd kept her phone number. Thank God for small mercies, he thought darkly.

"Boss! That's enough! Calm down or I won't tell you exactly where she is. I told you she was with good people – she's with members of your family who are keeping her safe and starting to build up her confidence. Don't fuck it up now by going all postal on her. She still needs time and my original suggestion still stands."

"But…"

"Boss, I know how much she means to you but if you don't want to scare her away you need to let her come to you on her terms. And before you ask yes, her daughter is your daughter too."

Ranger dropped his head onto his desk with a soft thunk. "What am I going to do, Hec? She's my everything and I fucked it all up."

"True, but all is not lost…"

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it." He added cryptically before putting the phone down.

Ranger closed his eyes and leant his arms out in front of him on the dark, cool wood of his desk. What did Hector mean?! What had been said that gave him hope?

Suddenly he had a lightbulb moment. She'd not told him to fuck off when he called her Babe…

o0o0o0o0o

Steph leant forward and laid her head down on her arms on the kitchen table, her curls covering her upper torso like a shield from the world. How in the hell had Charlie managed to call him? What were the chances that her daughter would have been able to find his name anyway? She'd changed his contact details to X**X and as far as she knew, Charlie couldn't read.

Then it dawned on her - she'd almost dialled him herself only an hour or so before.

She gave a soft snort as she sat back up. It seemed that she'd passed on her ability to create one of a kind curve balls to her daughter.

Now she was over the shock of hearing his voice, she began to analyse their brief conversation. He'd sounded desperate, broken even.

Good! Part of her thought. But a part of her ached for him- perhaps he was in as much of a mess as she was.

It seemed that that woman was no longer on the scene and if what he said was true she was gone forever. Probably into the bowels of the earth where with any luck she was getting a taste of her own medicine. Evil bitch.

But, she suddenly realised, he'd called her Babe and she'd...

liked it.

o0o0o0o0o

"Abuela, is Mommy cross wiv me? I fort she be peased." Charlie said as she cuddle/hid in Delfia's arms. Bunbun clutched to her chest in a seemingly unbreakable hold.

"Oh sweet child." Delfia began as she gently ran her fingers through Charlie's curls. "I'm not sure she's ready to see your Daddy just yet. He hurt her real bad and your Mommy's scared that he'll hurt her again."

"I'll protect Mommy! I's a big girl. I wave my magick wand and his sword will go way." The child said with the assurance only innocence brings..

"Charlie, it's not that kinda hurt. It's a bit like if I was to say something to you that wasn't nice and it made you sad. You might not like me anymore."

"But I lub you!"

"I know, and I love you too but just imagine I was really nasty. That's what happened between your Mom and Dad."

"How silly! I know Daddy and Mommy lub each other. He was so nice to me and he sounded so sad. He aksed me if I was Babe."

"Did he now?" Delfia murmured as she continued to stroke Charlie's hair and they settled into a comfortable silence. Looking down several minutes, she realised the pint sized trouble maker was asleep. "Oh sweet girl, if only they could see things as simply as you do."

o0o0o0o0o

"Are you going to call him back?" Delfia asked later when they were tidying up after lunch.

"Hmm? Oh no, I don't think I want anything to do with him. I don't think I could ever trust him with my heart again so think it's best if we steer clear of each other." Steph replied as she turned away so Delfia couldn't see the hurt that this decision was causing.

"But Stephanie, he knows he has another child. Do you really think he will let you go? You are both tied together for the foreseeable future."

"If it wasn't for Charlie's magic fingers, he would never have known of her existence…" Steph countered.

"But she did contact him and now he does." Delfia insisted, pulling Steph round so that she could look into her eyes. "You can't turn back the clock and undo all that has happened, but it is possible to move forward. Charlie may have turned out to be Captain Chaos, but fate has a way of intervening. For some reason you were supposed to be here with me, right now. Charlie was supposed to upset the apple cart and your husband was supposed to find out that you were safe. Now that you've been outed, I bet there's a line of people desperate to see you again."

"But that life is gone. I left without even saying goodbye to anyone." Steph whispered, her chin wobbling and her eyes glassy.

"I know, sweet girl. But you're stronger than you look and I'll be by your side every step of the way."

o0o0o0o0o

"Good evening. In tonight's news. Covid-19 infection rates continue to increase. The general public is urged to stay at home."

o0o0o0o0o

I know my time line is a bit off - winter has left Trenton and Texas is warm too but thanks to lots of creative accounting on my part, let's pretend Covid restrictions didn't start until May.