Ranger POV
When I woke up, the sun was shining through the window and I could hear Steph singing softly. I turned towards the sound and saw the baby monitor. It had a video screen and I could see her rocking Alex again, while he nursed. She was dressed for the day so I assume I'd been asleep for a while. I grabbed my crutches and hobbled to the bathroom and then into the closet to change my clothes. I'd need to have Steph help me wrap my cast so I can shower later.
I headed into the nursery and stopped in the doorway. She'd left the door open, probably so she could hear me if I called for her. She looked up and smiled. "You have a hungry little boy here. Why don't you head out to the living room and we'll be out in a few minutes. You can hold him while we talk." I nodded and headed towards the couch.
Once I got into the living room, I was greeted by Steph's parents. Her mom pulled me in for a big hug and told me how happy she was I was home. Her dad shook my hand and when I mentioned I wanted to talk to him, he said, "Don't feel like you need to ask us because Stephanie is her own woman, but if it matters to you, then you have our permission. Glad you made it home." We sat down and waited for Steph and the baby. She came out soon after and brought Alex over to me and put him in my arms. She sat next to me and couldn't stop touching me. Her hand was in constant contact me some part of me. If I didn't have Alex to hold, I would be doing the same thing to her.
Once we were all settled, I looked at Steph. "I'll go first and you can fill in the blanks areas for me, okay?" She nodded. I started talking and once I got to where I stopped at the gas station, she gasped. "You were only 2 hours away from here for the past six months?" "Yeah, I apparently got hit by a car in the parking lot of the gas station and my wallet and cell phone were in the rental car, along with my duffel. I saw you had my journal, how did you get that? The duffel bag was missing when I finally found the car in the impound lot. My wallet and phone were still where I had put them under the seat, but the bag was gone. Someone must have stolen it from the car, but didn't find my wallet or phone." Steph looked at him and said, "Tank got it sent to him from your handler. Apparently someone found it and turned it into a recruiting office and it made its way here. Tank had me go through everything, but he went through the notebooks first in case they had notes about your mission. He found the note in the front of your notebook about returning it if something happened to you and then gave me the notebook." She looked up at me and had tears in her eyes. "I didn't believe it though. I knew you weren't dead, but they didn't listen to me. I told them every day, but they didn't believe me." I motioned to her mom and she came and took Alex from me. I pulled Steph into my lap and held her. She sobbed and sobbed, all the while holding onto me as tight as she could. Her mom and dad headed into the nursery with Alex so Steph and I could be alone.
"Babe, it's okay. I'm sorry you had to read that page of the journal. I had hoped to take that page out and let you read the rest of it once I got home. I was almost home. I wish it hadn't taken so long for me to get back to you and Alex. I wish I could have been here for his birth. Did everything go okay with the pregnancy and the birth?"
She wiped her face and said, "My pregnancy had its moments, and the delivery wasn't too bad." I looked at her and quirked an eyebrow and she laughed. "Ok, the delivery was awful. Bobby and my mom were great and I was glad to have them with me since you weren't there. Alex took his time getting here, but I have a few photo albums put together for you and Hector videotaped parts of the delivery if you want to watch it later. I might have cursed you a few times."
I hugged her and gave her a very long and satisfying kiss. She moaned and then sighed. "I'm out of commission for another few weeks." I nodded and said, "So am I Babe, so am I." We sat together for a bit and then I pulled her face away and looked at her. "Babe, you and Alex complete my life. Make a family with me. Marry me?" She smiled and said, "You bet your ass I will." I laughed and kissed her again.
"Now, tell me what the hell is going on around here? When I could finally call, I got an answering machine? When do we have an answering machine? Where the hell were the guys? I tried to call Tank and Lester, but go no answer from them either. My RangeMan email account said it was invalid. Did they write me off as dead?"
"That was probably when I went into labor. RangeMan took over the hospital, except for Tank and Lester. They left about two weeks ago and haven't come back yet. I think Hector has talked to them, but no one else can ever get through to them. I don't know about the email."
"I know, I tried Tank multiple times over the past few days. I'll go downstairs to my office later and get a hold of my handler. I bet he didn't know about the accident and then didn't call to let Tank know that I was home since I made it back to the country and through debriefing without any problems."
"Why don't you go get Alex and my parents and I'll call Ella and get breakfast. You can surprise her with being back, hell, being alive. She was one of my strongest supports before I had Alex." She stood up and walked into the kitchen. By the time I could get standing, she was on the phone with Ella, asking for breakfast for four today.
I walked into the nursery and found Steph's parents cooing over Alex, while he lay in his crib. He wasn't sleeping, just lying there. I walked over and told them that Steph was getting breakfast and they could head on out to the kitchen. I waited until they had left the room before I started speaking to Alex. I told him how sorry I was for not being there when he was born and how I would never leave him or his mother again. I was so caught up in staring at him and talking to him that I didn't hear Steph walk up behind me. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around and saw her. She reached up and wiped the tears off my face, tears that I hadn't even realized were falling. I leaned down and kissed her and she picked up Alex. "Let's go eat Carlos."
We went out into the living room, just in time to see Ella walking out of the kitchen. Steph walked over to her and turned her around to face me. She let out a gasp and came running over. I hugged her the best I could without falling off my crutches and kissed her cheek. Steph invited her to stay to eat with us, but she said she had things to do. I asked to please keep my presence in the building a secret until I could get downstairs and see what kind of mess was in my office.
After we ate, Steph's parents left and Steph took Alex into the nursery to feed him and put him down for a nap. He had fallen asleep while we ate, but was not awake and upset. I followed soon after and sat and just watched. It was a beautiful sight to see. Alex was soon in his crib and I led Steph back into our bedroom. I made her lay down for a nap herself and I laid down with her and she was soon asleep. I couldn't sleep and headed out into the living room. I found the photo albums she'd put together during her pregnancy and looked through them multiple times before I found the dvd of Alex's birth.
I was just putting the video in when the front door opened and Bobby walked in. I motioned him over and he sat down next to me. We talked about my injuries and asked if he could change me to a walking cast. He said he'd find me an orthopedic doctor to go see as soon as possible and then get my care transferred over to him. I explained about the accident and what I knew of my injuries. He was amazed at how close to home I really was and yet no one could find me.
I started the video and by that time Steph had come out of the bedroom carrying Alex. She sat next to me and started to nurse him. I looked between her and Bobby and neither seemed uncomfortable with it, so I let it be. Steph took control of the remote and would pause the video every so often to give a commentary. When the video got to the actual delivery, I stared at it in amazement. It was such a beautiful sight to see my son coming into the world. Steph had tears running down her face when I looked over at her, but she just shook her head and wiped her face. "Makes me cry every time I watch it, even though I went through it the first time." I noticed that the onscreen Stephanie was almost sobbing by the time Alex was placed on her chest. I reached over and gave her a kiss. "Thank you Babe for giving me the greatest gift of all. I love you. I love both of you."
