Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!

I stared at Carmella, desperate for her to tell me what to do. She sighed.

"I don't suppose there's any point asking who the father is. What do you want to do? I can go and stall dad and Morelli so they don't come in straight away but it's so obvious that you won't be able to fool either of them. Do you think you should tell them one at a time or together?" She asked. I shrugged. I needed someone to take control and tell me what to do. I couldn't think straight…if I told them together they might end up killing each other. If I told them separately then I the one I told first might tell the other and that would lead to all kinds of problems. This was all very confusing. Carmella rolled her eyes and muttered something in Spanish.

"Tell my father first. He can stand here with you when you tell Joe." She said. Ok that seemed to be logical. I looked down at my children. Woah that felt weird to say. One boy and one girl.

"The boy was born first." Carmella told me, smiling at her baby brother and sister. I smiled and went all teary. I just sat for almost an hour looking at my beautiful babies. Eventually, Carmella stood up and smiled.

"I'm going to get dad and bring him in to see the babies. Don't worry, I won't tell Joe where we're going." She assured me. I nodded and felt my heart flutter in my chest with nerves. This was singularly the most terrifying thing I'd ever been faced with. Carmella walked back into the room with Ranger following her. He looked different now. It wasn't an obvious physical difference but his eyes seemed…colder maybe. He smiled at me politely but didn't say anything.

"Hi Ranger." I smiled. He nodded

"What's up? How come Joe hasn't been in to see you yet?" He asked. No mention of the babies. I sighed and looked at Carmella. She smiled ad nodded encouragingly. I held the babies out towards him. He raised an eyebrow and then took them. He looked down at them with a small smile on his face for a few seconds, then the smile faded and he looked at me with a look of shock on his face.

"These aren't Morelli's, are they?" He asked. I shook my head apologetically. Ranger looked from the babies, to me, to Carmella and back to the babies. Then he smiled widely. A proper 200 watt smile. He handed the babies to Carmella and gave me a huge hug. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. Then Joe walked in.

"What the hell is going on?" He demanded. Ranger straightened up and stood next to me, holding my hand. Carmella shuffled closer to us, still holding the babies.
"Joe…the babies aren't yours." I said quickly "I'm so sorry, I thought that they were. I was so sure…I'm sorry." I told him sincerely. He looked furious. He stormed over to Carmella and looked at the babies. The shock registered on his face and she took a few steps closer to the bed. Ranger tightened his grip around my hand and I bit my lip.

"Steph, we can still make it work. I'll look after the kids no matter what." Joe said desperately. I looked at him in surprise. I don't know what I'd been expecting, but it hadn't been that. That thought hadn't crossed my mind; the only consequences I'd thought of were me raising the child alone or me raising the child with Ranger. Carmella stopped me from having to make any decisions.

"Joe it's not fair for you to look after someone else's kids. You're an attractive guy; you'll find someone else and have your own babies. I know that's what you want." She said sympathetically. He stared at her, slightly open mouthed. Then he nodded and walked out without another word. I stared in amazement after him, then at Carmella.

"How…how did you do that?" I asked. She shrugged and handed me the babies.

"Magic." She smiled weakly "I'll go phone your family." The door swung shut behind her. I looked up at Ranger and smiled nervously.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything I put the two of you through; it was an awful thing to do. I'll understand if you can't forgive me and if you don't want to be with me." I told him, feeling tears pooling in my eyes. Ranger looked quite confused by this outburst. He smiled and stroked our daughter's cheek.

"Babe, of course I want to be with you. But you have to understand that I'm still not marriage material. I managed to drag Carmella up somehow, but I still carry two guns and a knife. I'm a dangerous guy and I have an equally dangerous past. But I'm there for you if you still want me." He offered sincerely. I smiled and wrapped an arm around his neck, balancing the babies on the other arm.

"Of course I do. I wouldn't change you for the world." I whispered, feeling tears in my eyes again. Damn hormones. Carmella glided back in a 'queen of the fairies' manner, all magic and smiles. She sat on the end of the bed, nudging my feet out the way.

"I say Carlos and Liberty." She said shortly and firmly. I raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Why do you get to chose?" I asked "I didn't see you pushing these two out of you." She shrugged and continued to grin. Ranger looked down at the two wailing babies. A smile appeared on his face.

"I think Carmella's right." He stated. I glared.

"This is a Cuban conspiracy. It's racial bullying, you two are ganging up on me." I protested, not wanting to admit that once again Carmella was correct.
"Liberty Marie Carmen Mañoso." Carmella announced, having apparently decided on the girl's name. I sighed.

"Am I going to have any say in this?" I asked wearily, guessing the answer. Carmella shook her head. Ranger laughed softly. Just then, the door flew open and my mother, sister and grandmother barged in, waking the sleeping babies who promptly started bawling. The three women started cooing over the babies and making various faces in order to stop the wailing. I wondered how long it would take them to notice the skin colour. It was Valerie who looked up at me in confusion.

"Are they healthy? Are the doctors sure everything is ok?" She asked. I nodded and glanced up at Ranger. Valerie's mouth dropped open and she started squealing like an excited child on Christmas morning. My grandmother was next to catch on. I think this was because my mom was pretending that this wasn't happening. In her world the babies were Joe's and I was going to be Mrs Morelli. Her world did not consist of a badass bounty hunter being the father of her grandchildren, and the aunt being a crazy Cuban teenager. Valerie was bad enough. My mother's imagination wasn't that vivid so for her none of this was happening. Grandma Mazur was eying up Ranger.

"So, are you going to marry her?" She asked. Ranger's expression didn't change, but I could see fear in his eyes.

"We haven't discussed that yet." I said quickly. This earned me glares from my mother and Grandma.

"I'll marry Ranger!" Valerie offered.

"You're already married." Carmella pointed out. Valerie shrugged.

"It's not like I couldn't divorce him." She replied. We all went silent. I think my mother was considering beating Valerie with an oxygen container. That might be fun to watch. Thankfully, I was saved from any further torture by the nurse telling my family that I needed my rest. Everyone left except Ranger. He stayed with me while I slept.

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Carmella walked out the hospital and into the parking lot. She found her dad's car straight away being that it was huge, black and shiny. She unlocked the door and climbed in, knowing he wouldn't mind if she took it for a spin. But then, where would she go? Her and Harry had been on a break for a couple of weeks for various reasons so she couldn't go to him. Junior was too scared to go near her. The girls were all away on a French trip and the guys would all be at Harry's. Florida. She could go to Florida. It had been ages since she'd seen Oli and Freya, she'd go and see them. The car roared into life and sped out of the parking lot. She left a message on her dad's answer phone saying that she was fine but she was going to see friends in Florida for a couple of days and he could reach her on her mobile. It seemed logical for him and Steph to have some alone time with the babies and each other.

Carmella parked near the airport entrance and pulled her overnight bag off the back seat. She locked the car and walked in to the airport, looking for the flight departure times. The next plane to Tampa was in thirty minutes. She booked a ticket and went to sit in the departures lounge. She'd read two stories in her magazine before the call to board the flight to Tampa went out. Much to her disappointment, she was not sat by a hot surfer type but a rather fat balding man with awful BO. She could sense it was going to be a very long flight.

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Ranger sighed and hung up. I looked at him questioningly.

"Carmella's gone to Florida for a couple of days to see some friends." He told me. I nodded, confused at Carmella's sudden decision. Unless it wasn't that sudden.

"Has she planned on going for a long time?" I asked. Ranger looked at me blankly. Apparently this thought hadn't crossed his mind. He sighed again.
"I wouldn't know if she had. I haven't properly spoken to her for a while. But it's fine. I'm sure she'll be ok. We have family down there and she can stay in the RangeMan apartments there." He quickly phoned Carmella back and left her a message telling her this. Then he told her he loved her and to have a good time. The babies had drifted off to sleep in their little cots. Ranger sat by me with the babies on his other side, looking extremely content. He kissed the palm of my hand and smiled at me. Not a 200 watt smile, but a genuinely loving smile.
"Do you want to get married?" He asked me suddenly. I blinked up at him in shock, then shook my head slowly.

"I've already tried marriage. It didn't work for me. Maybe in a few years, but not right now; I saw the problems Valerie had and she was only marrying Albert." I pointed out. He smiled and nodded his head.

"Good. That works quite well for me." There was a knock on the door and my dad walked in, smiling and holding a bunch of flowers. He shook Ranger's hand, smiled at the babies and kissed me on the forehead.

"Well done sweetheart." He said. Then he left. Still a man of few words.
"I think you just got dad's blessing." I told Ranger. He smiled and stroked my hair out of my face. Then I went to sleep again.

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Carmella got off the plane at Tampa airport and stretched. She turned her phone on and checked her messages. Two voice mail messages. The first was from her dad, telling her to stay at the RangeMan offices and have a good time. The second was from an unknown number. Carmella almost dropped the phone when she realised it was from her mother.

"Carmella it's me. I just phoned…I don't know why I phoned actually. I miss you a lot. I had my baby. He's…well he's you little brother and he's two months old today. I think you'd like to meet him. He looks like you. James…James has been distant lately. He's never at home so maybe that would mean you could come and visit. I'd like that. I have to go now; Lucas is trying to eat a crayon." Then she hung up. Carmella flipped her phone shut and stared at it in amazement. A cab pulled up next to her. She jumped in and told him to take her to Washington Avenue. The cab journey only took a quarter of an hour and soon she was parked outside the all too familiar house. She handed the driver a twenty and climbed out. She walked down the path and knocked on the front door. The door was flung open by Freddy, one of her oldest friend. He grinned and pulled her into a hug.

"Caramel! What the fuck are you doing here?" He laughed. Carmella smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"I came to visit you, obviously. I guessed it would be best to come stay here because you're parents are always away and so it would be ok to stay for a couple of nights." She explained. Freddy let go of her and ushered her into the house.

"Well thought out Caramel, the parents are indeed in Europe. Visiting the city of love."

"Paris? I thought they went to Paris last year." Carmella said.

"Shit, is Paris the city of love? I was talking about Rome. What's that the city of then?" He asked. Carmella shrugged.
"Old buildings? Romans maybe?" She suggested. Freddy nodded and they went to sit in the lounge. They chatted for a couple of hours about everything they'd been up to since seeing each other at New Year. Carmella told him that she'd split up with Harry after their five months together. Freddy showed the appropriate level of sadness and empathy before changing the subject to the Simpsons in true boy form. At around six there was a knock at the door. Freddy opened it and a minute later the whole of Carmella's old friendship group filled the lounge, all squealing in surprise and delight at seeing her. Freya and Oli were still very much a couple and walked in with their arms around each other. They both pulled Carmella into a three way hug both laughing happily. Jasmine, Lilly and Carl flopped onto a sofa, brandishing popcorn and films from Blockbuster.

"I say in true fab gang style we start with 'The Ring' and work our way through the rest." Jasmine suggested. They all nodded and Freddy put the film on, then cuddled next to Carmella on the sofa.

"Welcome home Caramel." He whispered.

"It's good to be back." She replied. He kissed her on the forehead and went back to watching the film. When the film finished, they ordered large amounts of pizza and sat in a circle, eating and gossiping as if nothing had changed…as if they didn't have a care between them. The others went home at around eleven, leaving Carmella and Freddy to clear everything up.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" Freddy asked as he bin-bagged a load of pizza boxes. Carmella shrugged. She knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to go and hang out with her friends, to go back to all her old haunts and go back to what she used to be even if it was only for one day. Then she knew that she should go and see her mom…and her half brother. Yesterday she was an only child. Today she had two half brothers and a half sister. It was going to take a lot of getting used to. She glanced over at Freddy as he brushed his sun bleached hair out of his face. He'd always been amazingly good looking, but had never shown any interest in maintaining relationships. He was more of a one night kind of guy. He looked up and caught her gaze.

"Carmella, what actually happened between you and Harry? I mean, you said you broke up but you didn't say why." He asked. Carmella felt her blood go cold and she sighed.

"It's complicated. I thought I could help him but I couldn't. He was in to deep, turning up to school drunk and that kind of thing. He'd get pissy when I tried to help him. It's better for us this way; it makes it easier to stay friends." She finished sadly. Freddy smiled and gave her a hug. After a few minutes, she fell asleep. Freddy smiled down at his beautiful friend and carried her upstairs to bed.

Carmella woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs. She padded down stairs and saw Freddy serving up a cooked breakfast. She smiled and poured herself a glass of orange juice before sitting at the table. Freddy placed a plate in front of her and sat opposite. They ate in silence for a while, before Carmella finally spoke.

"I'm going to see Madre today." She told him. He nodded and chewed some bacon.

"I'll come with you." He said through a mouth of half chewed food. Carmella nodded. She didn't want to object; she wanted the company and emotional back up.

They pulled up outside Carmella's old house, the home of her mother, new brother and James. James should be out of the house, at work. Carmella noticed his car wasn't there. Freddy got out the car and ran across to the house. Carmella's mother opened the door. After a short conversation, Freddy turned and motioned for Carmella to come over. She hopped out the car and walked across the road. Her mother's eyes widened as she saw her, but she didn't start to scream or curse, which was always a good sign. There was a small baby balanced on her hip. He had a mop of dark brown hair, huge chocolate coloured eyes and skin a few shades lighter then Carmella's. Eva smiled and stepped aside to let her daughter and Freddy in. Carmella settled on a sofa in the living room opposite her mother. There was an awkward silence before Freddy offered to go and make everyone a cup of coffee. Eva smiled at her daughter.

"I'm so pleased you came to see me Carmella, I have missed you."

"I was in Florida already when I got your message. I just thought will I was here…" Carmella trailed off, glancing down at the floor where Lucas was sat playing with a teddy. Eva sighed.

"I've missed you Carmella. I think…maybe you were right about James. Lately he's been…distant, he won't even look at Lucas and he's just…I think he might be having an affair." She finished sadly. Carmella looked up at her mother. There were tears in the woman's eyes. She knew she should be angry at her mother; the woman had practically disowned her for no good reason. But at the same time, she was her mother. Carmella sighed and gave her mother a hug. The woman was a lot thinner then she had been before. Freddy walked in carrying a tray of biscuits. He coughed uncomfortably.

"I'll just go…get…biscuits." He excused himself and hurried out the room.

Carmella stayed for two hours chatting to her mother. She agreed to go back and see her and Lucas tomorrow. Eva seemed nervous for her to leave before James got back, which was understandable.

Freddy drove them into town to meet the others for lunch. For a couple of ours, it seemed like nothing in Carmella's life had changed; like she'd never met James, never been expelled, never found her dad…

"Hey Caramel, tell me something" Freya said when they were in the toilet touching up their make up "Are you and Freddy…you know…" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Carmella rolled her eyes.

"We're just friends." She said adamantly. Freya nodded knowingly.

"He likes you. He's good looking. Maybe-"

"Freya, we live in totally different states! We've been friends for years. Just no."

"What about a quick shag then?" Freya suggested

"No! Well, maybe…"

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I smiled when the nurse came in to tell me that me and the babies were free to go. Until I got in the car with Ranger. What if I was an awful mother? I had no preparation, and I was ok with Lisa but the second she started crying I got out of there as fast as I could. Oh shit. I should have stayed in hospital for as long as possible. I shouldn't be going home! Ranger smiled at me.

"I'll look after you babe, you and the babies. I had their nurseries done yesterday as soon as I heard…that you'd be staying with us. And Celia and Ella are both getting very maternal and…well its disturbing."

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Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter, I hope you all approve! Love it? Hate it? Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. I hope this was ok! So sorry I haven't updated for a while! I hope this is acceptable! Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato!