Freedom

Chapter 30

SPOV

I love the zoo! And Lester is just the person to take me. Oh my gosh he's a riot! It's a good thing I don't care as much about what other think, because watching that man imitate that many animals and even get a few of them riled up was a real hoot! Bobby frustrated the crap out me though. He kept insisting that I drink water and damn if I don't now know where every bloomin' restroom is at the Philadelphia zoo! We had a great time though, the three of us. I didn't realize how badly I missed being amongst other people doing regular activities. Going to the beach with just Carlos was great, but this time of year, no one is there and we had to stay indoors most of the time and at Shorty's it was all Rangemen. So besides shopping for twenty minutes at the mall with Carlos to find 'it's a boy' stuff, this was my first big outing in public. By the time we left though, I was ready to be away from the crowds. We hit great weather today; it was in the fifties and even though we had to bundle up a bit, all of the animals were out and highly visible. I remember going to the zoo as a child in the summer and all the animals would be in the far corner of their habitats or hiding under the trees trying to find shade to stay cool. I've never been to the zoo in December. It's great. My favorite animal, the zebra was right up by the fence so close I could actually pet it. We took so many pictures with our camera phones it's unreal. It feels like we've walked several miles and by the time we got in the car to head home I felt like I would pass out, but that's just when my second wind appeared. So instead of quiet time which all the guys seems to expect from me in their cars when I sleep, we sang to the songs on the radio. Lester completely brought out the goofball in me today. Bobby had fun too, and laughed right alongside of us, but I know he took his self-appointed duty of protector and medic seriously. At first I was put out by it, but then I realized I was able to have more fun because I didn't have to worry about my surroundings. When we reached the city limits of Trenton, I closed my eyes, trying to not think about the negative I associate with the town.

LPOV

Stephanie is the whole package. Sexy as hell, beautiful without realizing just how much, fun as all get out and so easy to be around! I've said it a hundred times before, and I'll say it again. Damn, my cousin is one lucky man! I haven't been to the zoo since the last field trip in elementary school and we had more fun today as adults than I had back then. That's saying a lot since I was always getting in trouble for hamming it up too much on field trips.

Singing to the radio on the way home, I had no idea what a great voice Steph had. We should have karaoke night at Rangeman. Now that would be something! Steph got pretty quiet as we pulled into Trenton and when I looked back at her, she had closed her eyes tightly, no doubt trying to not be reminded of all that's happened in this good ol' city of ours.

We pulled into Rangeman and I went around to Steph's car door. She was out like a light, slumped over against the side of the door. I caught her as she started to fall towards the opening and unbuckled her, picking her up and out of the SUV we took. I cradled her in my arms and she just snuggled closer. I hadn't even gotten to the elevator before Ranger burst through the basement stairwell door.

"What happened?" He asked, quietly, but deathly serious.

"Cool your jets, cuz, she just fell asleep after we drove into Trenton. I wore her out and she fell asleep hard." I whispered, trying to let her get some much needed sleep.

"Did she do well?"

"Ya, didn't you get all the pictures I texted you? Make sure to print out the great one of her petting the zebra. It turned out fucking fantastic if I do say so myself. I didn't know it was her favorite animal. Want me to carry her upstairs?"

"Sure. I'll get the doors." Bobby rode up in the elevator with us telling Ranger all about Stephanie's day from a stuck-in-the-mud medic's point of view. He told her he kept her well hydrated and that she'd eaten some of a turkey leg, but that was all he could get in her. He reiterated what I said about her having a fabulous, carefree time and how much good it did for her. And us.

I sat Steph on the sofa once Ranger let us in the apartment and she struggled with the loss of human connection. Ranger sat next to her and pulled her up into his arms, and she settled right back to a peaceful slumber. Ranger asked me to call Ella and have dinner delivered in an hour so Steph could take a nap. I wonder if he takes naps with her or just enjoys the view. I know if it were me, I'd be enjoying the view.

RPOV

Gordon has called in every day with updates on the trial and yesterday I wasn't surprised to get a phone call from him warning Steph that she'd have to testify via skype today, Friday. I didn't have the heart to tell her last night after she woke up from her exhausting zoo adventure. She was so excited to tell me all the details, and I didn't want to interfere with her sleep by causing her worry. I broke the news over breakfast and I have to say she took it well, wanting to get it over with. The judge wanted her as the first witness of the day at 0900 hours. She got dressed in a feminine but conservative blue blouse and yoga pants since she'd only be seen from the waist up. Her makeup is simply lipgloss and her hair was its usual crazy curls that I love to run my fingers through. She looks devine, her natural beauty and glow of the pregnancy suiting her.

Steph sat at the head of the conference table and myself, the core team and Hector sat along the sides of the table. We all had a perfect view of the large monitor on the wall at the opposite end of the table. The feed of Steph had a plain background as the only thing behind her was the tan wall of the room.

Gordon Duprie, Rangeman's trial attorney would be in the courtroom as usual, and the court sent a bailiff to take Steph's oathe to tell the truth and make sure everything in our end was copasetic, that she wasn't being forced or coerced in any way with what she was saying.

Promptly at 0900, the feed was live and court was in session. Our attorney, Gordon, called Stephanie Plum to the stand and the judge had the bailiff on our end swear Steph in. She was cool and collected so far, not seeming the least bit nervous as she took her seat.

Gordon asked her a few questions about how she felt surrounding certain events already submitted into evidence via affidavit or video. She did a great job of expressing her emotions at the time of each event as Gordon listed each one. After quite some time recalling all the horrible memories, she was asked to recount her abduction and being held against her will for two days. She got through it like a trooper, giving every small detail she could remember, some we didn't even know about. We were all feeling quite tense, imagining all she went through at Morelli's hand. By the time she spoke of being paralyzed and the subsequent pain she endured while her muscles regained their feeling, she broke down. She was unable to keep her emotions at bay when the memories came flooding back, overwhelming her. The judge interrupted the questioning and told the jury the reason for Stephanie being on skype was due to her pregnancy and that the court had granted the obstetricians recommendation that she prevent further stress on her and the fetus. He then told her to let him know if she needed a few moments and that's when all hell broke loose in the courtroom.

"She's pregnant? That fucking bitch! She's MINE! I didn't have a chance to get her pregnant! HOW DARE HE!" Morelli could be heard in the background going nuts screaming at the top of his lungs. I could hear chair legs on the floor and the judge was livid. He kept pounding his gavel ordering order in the court. Morelli just raised his voice further. "I should've killed her when I had the chance! You're supposed to have my babies! YOU'RE MINE CUPCAKE, DON'T YOU FORGET IT!" We could hear Morelli's attorney try to quiet him and the judge order the bailiff to take Morelli into custody. He wasn't cooperating and punches could be heard in the background. The camera jerked and Morelli's face came into view. "YOU'RE MINE YOU WHORE! MINE!"

We were all in such a state of shock over what was happening but I never took my eyes off of Steph as she tried to process the scene. When Morelli continued to scream that she was his, Steph fainted, slumped over in the chair. The bailiff started towards her and stepped back when we all approached her, anger no doubt clouding our features. I picked her up and laid her on the table. Steph woke back up with the change of position and looked scared as Bobby applied the blood pressure cuff to test her blood pressure.

"It's through the roof. We've got to bring it down, quickly." Steph looked up at him and was gasping, hyperventilating.

"Babe, breathe with me, look me in the eye, you need to stay with me. Copy my breathing, you can do it." She grabbed my hand and tried, but it wasn't working. Her eyes were still wide and she was shaking her head in frustration. I nodded at Bobby and he gave her a mild sedative to calm her. Within seconds she was out and it was then that I looked up to see the bailiff had been holding the camera on her. He wanted the judge to see the effects of Morelli's rant. I looked up at the monitor and saw the judge standing behind his bench, his hands in front of him on his desk, leaning in to get a better view of his skype feed.

"Bailiff! Is she alright?" The judge demanded. The bailiff looked at me dumbfounded and I could barely contain my rage.

I answered the judge, looking right into the camera before the bailiff could. "No, she's not alright! Her blood pressure was dangerously high. We had to sedate her to bring it down before she had a stroke! There's no way she can testify again, even via skype if that bastard is going to be in the courtroom!" And with that I picked her up and carried her upstairs, the rest of my team paving a path through a sea of Rangeman employees who turned out to offer Steph their support. They looked on with confusion and concern as we passed and took several steps back when they saw our rage. Tank stayed back to fill them in since they weren't privy to what had just happened behind closed doors. Bobby, Lester and Hal accompanied us upstairs.

"Son of a bitch! I would kill that bastard if he wasn't already in custody!" I am so fucking mad right now I think I'd piss fire. Looking around the apartment, Lester looked how I feel and Hal was staring out the window, hands in fists at his sides. Bobby was knelt down by Steph who is in our bed, taking her pulse.

"It's come down to nearly normal, but we can't have another episode like that. Her heart nor the baby's can handle it." He looked at me, his anger in check. "How could he get away with that? He was supposedly shackled!"

Hal sat down next to Steph, "Except for how it affected Steph," he started while stroking her arm, "this might work in our favor. He just royally fucked himself!"

Tank walked into the apartment with Ella. Ella stood in the doorway and asked if there was anything she could do. I asked her to bring us up some lunch when she was ready, that the guys would all be up here for the next hour or so and Steph and I were offline for the rest of the day.

My babe started stirring when Tank bent over to kiss her cheek and she struggled physically against him just as his lips met her skin. Just before her fist made contact with his chest, he pulled her up to him in a gentle hug, whispering in her ear, "It's me Steph, you're ok. You're safe inside Rangeman. We're all here with you, girl." She sat up and hugged him with all she had. It was a touching moment between friends.

We ate lunch with stories from the day at the zoo as entertainment as we tried to take Steph's mind off of what happened earlier. I knew she caught on to what we were doing, but she played along and was relaxed. After my men left, Steph and I spent the afternoon watching movies and napping. Bobby came up every couple of hours at first to take Steph's blood pressure. She's holding her own but her obstetrician recommended bed rest for the next couple of days.

SPOV

Carlos and I, and occasionally Lester, Tank, Bobby, Hal, or Hector spent the weekend watching movies on pay-per-view, playing cards, and eating Ella's wonderful food. We spent Sunday afternoon surfing the internet for baby furniture and the bedding to go with it. Carlos is going to remodel his home office and turn it into the nursery. We found a theme called 'Wings' by Lambs & Ivy on that we both instantly loved. It's all boy without being too babyish so he can grow into it, and the colors are patriotic which will go with the light blue walls we want. I personally liked that it reminded me of a story Carlos told me about his childhood and how much he loved playing with his toy airplanes and later on, his model airplanes, even having them hang from the ceiling in his room. Carlos liked the motif because it reminded him of me and how much I always wanted to fly. We won't actually decorate until I'm further along, but just ordering items makes it all so real. As I rub my little baby bump, I can't help but get excited about our growing family.

We had to wait through the weekend until court was back in session today, Monday, before we heard the news on Morelli's stunt from Friday morning. He was of course sent back to jail immediately after being sedated. The noises we heard in the background while on skype was him assaulting two guards and the court reporter who Gordon said are all pressing charges. The court reporter is still in the hospital since he mowed the poor woman over to get to the camera.

RPOV

Gordon rested our case with Steph not having to testify further. Thankfully, the defense chose not to question our only witness called to date, Stephanie. She wouldn't have to see that courtroom or judge again. Morelli wasn't in the courtroom when his defense rested their case as well. It was a surprise at first, but considering the insurmountable and irrefutable evidence against him compounded by his verbal admission as he lost it in the courtroom, it would have been fighting a losing battle. The judge sent the jury into deliberations telling them to weigh Morelli's case based on the evidence submitted and the testimony from Steph, not the outburst they witnessed in the courtroom. I was glad they got to see a piece of what he's capable of and the anger seething below the surface. He would still be accountable for the charges around the assaults in the court room, but that would be handled in due time.

Feeling a bit cooped up, we decided to go for a walk to a local park a few blocks away, sneaking out the back. I was trying to get Steph's mind off of the inevitable and kill some time, knowing we wouldn't receive a call for hours. We had just sat on a park bench when my cell phone rang. "Babe, it's Gordon."

"Well, get answer it already!" I can't imagine this being the verdict already, they only just sent the jury in a little over an hour ago.

"Gordon…" I put him on speaker so Steph could hear.

"Ranger, the jury just came back. He's guilty on all counts. The charges against him carry a minimum sentence of 132 years. There's no way he'll ever be eligible for parole, so looks like someone will never again see the light of day."

"Please tell me you're not joking." Steph said, trying hard not to jump up and down.

"No, Ms. Plum, this is one thing I would never joke about. You are safe. Mr. Morelli will never again be able to hurt you or anyone else. We have to wait for his sentencing hearing before it's all completely over, and until then, he remains in solitary so he has no contact with the outside world."

"Thank you, Gordon! Thank you so very much!" My babe screamed as she jumped into my arms. I dropped the phone as I kissed her senseless and then held her high in the air, her arms outstretched above her in a victory pose.