Chapter 7

Christmas was somber but I tried my best to keep the guys entertained. We had a small party and decided to have a gift exchange game. The guys would buy a gift and place it under the tree and during the game they could take a gift or steal from someone else.

My bowl came in handy again and I was drawing the order of the gift exchange. I opened the first paper. "Okay, Hal grab a gift."

Hal grabbed a medium sized box and opened it. It was a plump ass cheeks coffee mug and Hal turned blood red.

The next to draw was Tank. He drew a playgirl beer snuggie cover and he grinned. Hector picked the 'That's so gay sound machine' and flipped every one the bird again. Bobby picked the 'gun mug' and he seemed to be happy.

Woody opened a package that had a t-shirt that said, 'I'm hung like a black man'. Lester picked a package with a t-shirt that said, 'I'm a Drama Queen'. Lester jumped Woody and he was fighting him for his t-shirt. I laughed, "Dammit Lester you're not being a good sport. You're supposed to grab someone else's gift before you open a new one."

He looked up. "I am so not a Drama Queen!" The guys were bent over laughing at Lester. Ram picked a package and opened it and it was a Cock Rocket 3000. He snorted his disgust. Hector reached over and snatched the Cock 3000 and put the 'That's so gay sound machine" in Ram's hands. "What the fuck?" Ram bellowed. Hector was kind of scary so he finally just shrugged his shoulders and went with it. That brought hoots of laughter.

The last to pick was Junior. He opened the package and every one turned their heads in disgust. "Liquid Ass Spray? Who was the deviant that purchased that?" It smelled like a mixture of green poo, bad smelling moist butt crack, fart, and dead animals.

I wrinkled my nose and gagged. "How the hell do you bottle that?"

On Christmas Eve Tank brought a package to my office. "Your present from Ranger, Bomber."

I put my head on his big shoulder and sighed. "Did he arrange all these before he left?" Tank nodded.

I hugged Tank. "Merry Christmas Tank. You're a good friend to both of us."

"He's my brother and you're my lil' sister and I got your backs."

He turned and left. I opened the package and it was a dainty pair of diamond earrings with a large diamond in the middle and blue sapphires in a circle around them. They matched the necklace he had given me. There was a letter with the box. I read:

Beautiful Babe,

I'm sorry I'm not there to hold you and kiss you under the mistletoe. More blue sapphires to match your blue eyes that I love to lose myself in.

You will always be the one that I love and want to spend the rest of my life with.

My Love,

Carlos

I drove home in tears. I had decorated Rangeman for my guys. In my apartment there was no sign that a holiday was taking place. The only thing I had was a little stocking that Ella and I had bought for Jake.

I was curled up on the couch in the dark when the doorbell rang. Looking through the peephole I saw it was Lester. I opened the door and he looked at me and laid down a present and a cake he had brought. Then he put his big arms around me and let me sob until I couldn't any longer.

He looked at me and grinned. "Gorgeous, you've got to go take care of that nose. That don't fit with my picture of you laying seductively on a beach towel in a bikini." I snuffled snot and giggled. I went in the bathroom and honked my horn until it was dry and met him on the couch. He grinned, "That's better but for the record those noises you were making in there are just not sexy." I elbowed him.

"What are doing here anyway? Don't you have a date or family to go see or something?"

"No, I reserved tonight for you. I brought a red velvet cake from the bakery and a present. Let's eat cake and watch a movie." He got up and brought the present over. I opened it and rolled my eyes. It was a matching red and black bra and thong set with little bows and lace. "My gift, my fantasy," he defended.

I cut us some cake and got us a blanket and we curled up on the sofa and watched a movie. I looked at him during the movie and I said, "Lester I can't tell you how much I appreciate your friendship," and I kissed him on the cheek. He surprised me and turned my cheek and gently kissed me on the lips.

"I care for you Steph and I always have. I hate it when people hurt you. You are kind to everyone and you deserve to be treated better." He held me against his big warm chest and in a little bit we both drifted off to sleep.

Christmas at my parents was strained and quiet. My mother was somber and too quiet. I was beginning to show a little and was hiding it with my now baggy clothes. I was covering up with jackets and coats.

In January, I had gone to the cop shop one day to pick up some paperwork and check some fugitive files. The parking lot was full and I had parked across the street.

When I came out of the building Eddie and Big Dog were in the lot as well as Morelli. I stopped to chat and I saw movement in my peripheral vision. We all turned and watched a young man jump into my Lexus, hotwire it, and speed away.

I turned and glared at them. "So, this is the police station. You are all cops right?"

All three stood there with their stupid mouths twitching and not one had the good grace to look away. Eddie was shaking while trying not to bust. Big Dog took a deep breath trying to suck in the guffaws he was holding back, "That's Sherman Hughes. He just got out on bail for car theft."

Morelli chuckled, "Let me give you a lift Cupcake."

I turned and flipped them double Jersey birds.

Eddie laughed, "Hey I could give you a ticket for that lewd gesture."

I called back, "Yeah and you can 'bite me' too Eddie!"

On the way home I called the control room and told them to send some guys to fetch my car and not to hurt the idiot too bad. I got my car back with only a couple scratches and some minor electronic problems. Turns out Sherman just needed a ride to the liquor store and his house.

On Valentine's Day, Tank had brought me a gift. He said it was from Ranger. I opened it and it was a gold bracelet with the letters Babe and each one had an encrusted diamond. It looked to be custom made.

It had a been a while since we had gotten word from him and in Ranger style, I had put up the wall that kept me from thinking about the fact that he was gone and in danger and I didn't know when he would return.

Come the end of February the cat was literally out of the bag. I was showing and there was no denying that I had a 'bun in the oven'. I stayed between my apartment and Rangeman. I was trying to keep my secret from my mother and the Burg as long as I possibly could.

One day I was really low on groceries and Jake food and I had to go to the grocery store. I shopped and came out of the store and walked to my car. When I got close to the car, there were three guys inside stealing it.

I pulled my gun. "Get out of the damn car! I'm tired of this shit! I will blow holes in all your butts. Now scoot!" I yelled.

They didn't wait. They got out and ran like hell.

I smugly holstered my gun and put my groceries in the car.

I was shaking when I tried to stick my key in the ignition. It just wouldn't go. I was cursing under my breath. "Dammit, fucking shit, eat me bunch of car stealers, butt holes, sick of this crazy ass horse hockey, have enough stupid problems, aww suck it!"

I couldn't start the car. Then I looked over at the seats and I noticed a football that wasn't mine and some playing cards and two 12 packs of beer in the back seat and hanging from the rearview mirror was a topless Betty Boop looking air freshener.

I got out of the car and walked to the rear bumper and looked down the row of cars. There about four cars down was my Lexus.

Oh crap…

I transferred my bags to my real car and drove to the police station. I had broken a record for not making an ass out myself for the last couple months and now I was going to have to out my pregnancy in a blaze of stupid glory. I'm an idiot.

I walked into the station and up the desk. A fairly new TPD cop that I had talked to a couple times was working, Fred Tanner.

He said, "Hey Stephanie. How you doing?"

"Well, I'll let you decide." I told him what I had done and the corners of his mouth were twitching and he was shaking. Then he pointed to the end of the desk where Carl Costanza was taking a statement from three white faced young men.

I scooted over toward them to listen. They were reporting a car jacking by a white pregnant female, approximately 5'7, brown crazy hair and angry blue eyes, wildly waving a gun and threatening to put holes in their butts.

Carl pointed my way and they looked and all jumped and put their hands up. Carl and Fred were laughing their asses off. Fred fell off his desk chair. I apologized to the young men and told them that our cars were identical and I was sensitive because mine had been stolen last month.

They were nice about it and didn't press charges against me. I gave them their keys and $100 for beer money.

After the embarrassing situation at the police station, it took all of one hour for my mother to begin leaving messages on my phone.

I took a one-day breather to prepare and then I called her back.

"Mom?"

"Stephanie, is it true? Are you pregnant out of wedlock?"

"Yep."

"Who is the father? Do you even know? Have you no shame?"

I winced. Being that one of the possible fathers was dead and the other was in harms way right now, I felt my hackles rising and the hormones were slowly pushing them to the danger zone.

"How could you do this to our family? Joseph has called. He still wants to marry you! My phone is ringing off the hook! You resolve this awful mistake right now before the baby is born!"

I finally snapped. "STOP! I will not marry Joe Morelli! If you want to have a relationship with me and this child at all then you will stop this tirade right now. I am living my life the way I choose. Not the way you choose!"

"I raised you better than this young lady! How dare you speak to me that way!

"No, how dare you? You can't hurt me any more mother." I

disconnected.

Ranger's POV

I had been from Baghdad to Fallujah and now Pakistan tracking members associated with the jihadist group Al-Qaeda. I was trying to get my hands on one in particular who was known to be one of the leaders of the Mujahadeen council. His name was Musab Saeed al-Fayad. Al-Fayad was leaving an American trail of blood all over this Babylonian cesspool. He was systematically hunting and abducting high profile American citizens for the sole purpose of murdering them in the worst way possible.

I had hooked up with a US Army Delta Force team who had been working on the mission for a few weeks. So far, we were a few steps behind them and all we were finding were the bodies. With their contacts, they had a way of just disappearing and materializing in a new place like fucking ghosts.

On the third month of the mission we had gotten a tip from an informant that had told us that al-Fayad was hunting an American reporter in Pakistan and we moved as quickly as we could.

By the time we arrived in Karachi, al-Fayad had found Jason Daniels. Daniels was a Jewish American journalist famous for his freelance work in the Middle East.

Al-Fayad had a particular interest in this reporter because he was doing research on a terrorist linked to Al-Qaeda who had attempted to smuggle explosives on board to blow up an American airliner flying out of London.

We spent two days gathering Intel and speaking with informants and a local Pakistani detective who knew the family and was working on the case.

On the third day we finally got our break. Five men in masks were holding the journalist in an old warehouse in a decrepit part of the city. Daniels was on his knees speaking softly into a camera.

We burst into the room just as the machete sliced into Daniels' neck. I fired at the attacker as the other team members fired on the other four.

We were too late. I went to the dying man lying on the floor holding his throat with one hand and I whispered to him, "I'm sorry we didn't make it here sooner Mr. Daniels." He moved his other hand slowly over mine and choked. He was gone.

One of the men was positively identified as al-Fayad. The mission was almost over for me. The detective who knew the family was contacted. Jason Daniels' wife and father had been living in a small house in Karachi. The detective was still worried about their safety.

We had arranged a transport for the journalist's body and his family. The detective had gone to break the heartbreaking news to the wife and father and help get them packed and get them to the transport plane.

Two hours later a car pulled up next to the plane with lights on.

It was the family of Jason Daniels. I gasped when I saw the woman speaking softly to the detective with tears in her eyes and the detective pointed at me.

Liora Daniels walked up to me with tears streaming down her face. She was eight or nine months pregnant and almost ready to give birth. I thought of Stephanie. She said softly, "I understand that you were with my husband when he died?" I nodded.

"Did he suffer?"

I shook my head no. "It was very quick and quiet. He was very brave."

She smiled like this gave her a small bit of comfort. She put her hand on mine like her husband had for a moment and then walked away.

The transport plane was loaded and I started to step up onto the back and lowered my head. What I had seen on this mission had been so evil, so dark, and it had filled me up. I thought about Daniels' grieving wife ready to give birth any day.

I ran my hands down my face. Stephanie. I don't know if her baby is mine. How could I be a father right now? I only feel hate and anger. How can I go back with this kind of darkness inside of me?

I shook my head. Te quiero tanto mi Estafania (I love you so much) and because of that I can't come back to you right now.

I alerted the men on the ground that I wouldn't be taking the transport back and I disappeared.

TBC