I thought this was interesting. According to Babynames-com, Cayden/Caden/Kayden/Kaden was the fourth popular baby name in 2009 and never was ranked before.

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The Best I Could Give

Chapter 2

"I'll talk to you when I get back," Stephanie told Connie and Lula in the bonds office closing the door behind her. She turned in her slips and was off to the bank. It was the first nice weather since the snowy cold from the winter and spring had been rainy, so Stephanie planned on going to Point Pleasant for a long weekend. All her bills were paid; she brought in all her skips with only one giving her trouble and ending up with ripped jeans and mud. Rex was staying with her parents. She had called it quits quietly before Christmas after seeing Joe with Terri Gilman looking very cozy in a restaurant on the edge of Trenton. Grandma Mazur wanted to try it out, but Stephanie could never get definite confirmation from her that it was a set up. It took twelve hang-ups on the cop, but eventually he got the picture and stopped calling. Ranger had been in and out of Trenton the last few months. He had been 'in the wind', but lately it was traveling to the other Rangeman offices for problems or doing his reviews of the operations. When he was in town, Stephanie knew it and her lips felt it. Without making it official, Stephanie was mostly working at Rangeman because her benefits were active, but she still went after some of her regular skips for extra money and to help the guys. Tank, Bobby, and Lester have been working on improving her take-down techniques which is why her jean supply hasn't needed to be replenished lately. Some of the guys had a problem getting Mooner out of the house knowing they would need to sit there through a 'Star Trek' marathon or 'Scooby Do' cartoons. Stephanie spoke his language so he was never a hassle for her, and she helped Lula if she needed it. Hence, the need for a little R&R in Point Pleasant, just herself.

"Point Pleasant I hear you calling me," Stephanie told herself starting up her Rangeman SUV. None of her cars have blown up in a while, but she insisted if Ranger was giving her a Rangeman SUV it had to be an older one that was about to be replaced just in case. Since she was taking a few days off, Tank had the Rangeman mechanic go over the older SUV to be assured it was running smoothly for her trip.

She was listening to Bon Jovi's new CD when the song 'If I Was Your Mother' began playing. "I'll have your baby, Jon, anytime, " she laughed out loud. Hearing a noise, Stephanie turned down the radio. She listened closely but didn't hear it again until she was reaching to turn the volume back up. There was a sound.

"Eh."

It was low. She checked the mirror, she didn't hit a pothole nor was there anything in the road she ran over.

"Eh."

Glancing over at the passenger seat, her purse was there. She turned the volume all the way down, thinking maybe it was the CD.

"Eh."

Stopping at the 'STOP' sign, Stephanie glanced over her shoulder because the noise seemed to be behind her. There was nothing on the backseat. No bird flew in the window.

"Eh."

Something caught her eye. It was light blue on the floor. Pushing herself back as much as the seatbelt would allow her eyes went down seeing a handle. "AUGH!"

"Ah! Ah!"

Pulling over to the curb by of all things, a playground, Stephanie slammed the Explorer into park and jumped out coming to the passenger side door. Yanking it open she saw it was a baby carrier with a crying baby.

"Augh! Jon, I didn't mean it!"

She bent down touching the squirming baby. "Sssshhh! I don't do babies! Where did you come from?" At her touch the baby quieted down. She saw there was a piece of paper beside him. Unfolding it she began to read the words.

"Thank you for always being so kind to me. This is Austyn Robert. I'm sick and I can't take care of him anymore. There have been people who want to take him and raise him, but they never seem as kind as you. Please take him and love him like I would have. He's three months old. I wish my life could have been better, but this is the best I can give my son. I know you will raise him right and teach him to be kind like you were to me. I love him, Krys."

'I don't do babies! Sometimes I forget to feed Rex!" Stephanie didn't intend to say so loud "I'm going to Point Pleasant!" She jumped up and down. "NO! Where's your mother?" Her breathing heightened with her fear and confusion. She closed her eyes fighting the wave of hysteria hoping when she opened them it was all her imagination.

A voiced asked, "Are you all right?"

Stephanie turned around. A mother with a stroller of twin girls was standing at the edge of a playground.

She blurted out the first thing coming to her mind, "Austyn woke up," seeing the bundle of blue still there. Her cell phone began ringing. "Hello?"

"Bomber," it was Tank recognizing his voice, "is everything OK? You stopped rather suddenly at a playground. Is that a baby crying?"

"I dropped something, Tank, and pulled over to pick it up. The playground has lots of kids today," she told him rubbing the baby's belly so he quieted down. When she went a little out of control the baby started to cry again. "Sssshhh."

"What, Bomber?"

"Nothing, Tank. I'll be at Rangeman soon."

Carefully, Stephanie opened a brown shopping bag that was beside the baby in a blue one piece outfit. There were some diapers, bottles in a bag of ice, a few baby clothes, a small teddy bear with a little blue shirt that said 'WELCOME', and a rattle.

He, Austyn, looked at Stephanie with big round eyes, tears in the corners as she was trying to sooth him.

"OK, we'll figure this out and find your Mom. Kay?" she said hopefully shutting the door and running to the driver's seat.

Having parked in her usual spot in the Rangeman garage, she looked down at the baby in her SUV and he looked back at her with a crinkled in his small forehead. Stephanie wasn't actually sure what he wanted but was pretty sure he was going to cry. Without thinking, she unbuckled him and picked him up. "We'll fix this," she said quietly hooking the paper bag on his carrier heading for the elevator. In the ride up to five, his head laid on her shoulder enjoying her touch. He smelled like baby-baby powder with a hint of yucky diaper.

Stepping off the elevator, Tank was waiting.

"That's a baby!" Bobby enlightened all the men dressed in black in the hallway.

Lester let out an explicit, "It's not mine! I use super strength rubbers just like Superman!"

Everyone stared at him.

"They have an 'S' on them!"

"Too much information, Santos!" Tank boomed taking the baby carrier from Stephanie. "Who's baby?"

"Krys's. His name is Austyn Robert and she left him in my Rangeman SUV," Stephanie explained pointing to the note. "She left a note."

Heads were trying to read the note around, over, and under Tank's massive shoulders. "She left him for you because you were nice to her?" Ranger's best friend asked.

"And she's sick," Bobby added.

The men were sniffing. "Use Ranger's office," Lester pointed down the hall.

Taking over, Tank began questioning, "Maybe she is a former skip of yours, Bombshell? Is the name familiar?"

"Not spelled like that," Stephanie told him grabbing a diaper and a bottle heading to Ranger's office.

"Santos, run a search on every skip Stephanie's been involved with either through Vinnie's or here."

"On it, Tank," Lester turned toward the direction of the employee cubicles.

"Bobby, the note says he's three months. Is he the right size to be that old?" Tank wanted his medic's opinion.

The medic shrugged his shoulders. "I guess. I take care of gunshots and sew people up. I don't know anything about babies."

"None of us do. We're Army men," Tank said squaring his shoulders. "After Stephanie takes care of him, do a quick check on him. Hal, check the recent birth announcements in Trenton going back three months for any 'Chris's or 'Christines' with a 'K'. We'll start there and I don't think I'll mention this to Ranger just yet."

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a link to a picture of Austyn is on my profile.