Stephanie POV
"Tank, I can't tell him something like this over the phone. Besides, he doesn't need to have anything else to worry about. I'll tell him as soon as he gets home," I said.
Tank looked at me and raised an eyebrow. I need to practice that some more upstairs. I still can't do it.
"Tank, if you were in Ranger's place and you were able to call and talk to Lula, would you want to hear this kind of news? Don't you think your mind wouldn't be in the right place?"
Tank sighed and said, "You're right." I smiled at him and said, "Of course I am!" We both laughed and then I said I was going to head upstairs for a bit to lay down. My stomach was still not great and I needed a few minutes to myself without one of the guys hovering. Ever since I found out I was pregnant, and shared the news at the next staff meeting, the guys were always hovering. The morning sickness started about a week after I moved into the building and for some reason, I'm one of the lucky that get morning sickness all day long. Of course, I do…
I opened the apartment door and went inside, dropping my keys on the side table as I walked by. The contractor that I had hired, with Tank's approval, was almost done with the new rooms. I wanted a second bathroom, as the only one was in the bedroom and a nursery. I had ideas on what I wanted in the nursery and hoped that Ranger would be back before it was time to paint. I knew the guys would help, but I wanted Ranger there with me.
I grabbed a bottle of water and went to sit on the couch for a bit. The next thing I knew, Bobby was shaking my shoulder, waking me up. "Hey Bomber, Tank said you got sick again downstairs."
"Yeah, this little one is not me feel too good. Oh, did you hear that Ranger called? I got to talk to him for a few minutes. I didn't tell him about the baby, though. I don't want him to worry about us, he has a job to do and doesn't need to have him mind wander back to us."
"I agree with you. Ranger needs to have his head in the mission, not here with you. I know that you're always on his mind, but this time, the mission is more important. I hope you understand what I'm saying."
"Bobby, I do understand. I would never want to interfere with something so important. Maybe you can talk to Tank and make him understand?" I asked.
"I will when I go back downstairs. Now, look at what I found that might help you." He pulled out a bag of suckers. "These are made to help with morning sickness. Give them a try and if they help, I'll get you some more and you can leave some in different places so you will always have some, no matter where you are in the building."
"Thanks Bobby." I gave him a kiss on his cheek and pulled one out of the bag. I opened the wrapper and gave it a try. "I'll let you know how they work."
He left a few minutes later and I followed him down a few minutes later. I went back to my desk and got a couple hours of work done before Lester stopped by. More hovering. "Ready to go shoot some paper people?" he asked.
I let out a sigh. "I guess." "Come on Beautiful. You know you like to spend time alone with me." He pulled me out of my chair and we headed to the gun range. The guys had decided to make my range time as enjoyable as they could for me. I still hate my gun, but I was at least now a bit better at using it, at least in the range. I was off field work due to the baby, but that was fine with me.
Today the bad guys had Dickie's face on the paper bodies and the good guys had Lester's face. I laughed at him and started shooting Dickie's. Each one had a shot in the chest and one between the eyes, well at least close to between the eyes. The last one I added a few groin shots, just for fun and besides, it made Lester cringe. We cleaned up and I called it a day.
I went upstairs and found a couple books for flooring and paint choices left by the contractor. I guess it couldn't wait much longer. I hoped Ranger liked whatever I picked out. I flipped through them and then headed into the kitchen to see what Ella had left for dinner. Soup, bread and a bowl of fruit. Of all the things this baby could do to me, making me throw up every time I ate something sweet for dessert, was not my favorite. I just hoped that when this was all over, donuts would taste good again.
I cleaned up after I ate and then headed into the bedroom. A quick shower, with Ranger's shower gel of course, and then I headed to bed. Once in bed, I reached into the drawer on the night stand and pulled out my journal and a pen. I was trying to keep a journal of the time since Ranger left so when he gets home, he can read about how every day without him went for me, and now for me and the baby. I also took a picture once a week and printed it off to add to the journal. I now had a little bulge and you could finally see a change in the pictures. A few prayers said for Ranger's safety, a good night pat to the baby and a kiss to the picture I have of Ranger and I from the last RangeMan Christmas party, and I fell asleep.
