Thank you once again for your reviews. Some think that I left you a cliffie. Me?
Chapter 9
Lula woke up very, very stiff. She could hear the boys moving around in their cribs and prepared to get up and attend to their needs. She flipped the covers off and tried to swing her legs over the edge. Her back hurt to move and she grimaced in pain.
She stopped as another pain racked through her body.
Lula tried to shift in bed and that's when she saw the bottom sheet under her was red, blood red.
Lula reached as far as she could and pressed the intercom and Amanda picked up.
"Amanda, I need your help now!."
Amanda raced up the stairs and headed to the master bedroom. Lula had not elaborated if one of the boys needed help or if she did.
She walked into the bedroom and stopped in horror. Lula was crumpled on the floor in a fetal position and she was now crying in pain.
She rushed over to her. She saw the state of the bed and gulped. Lula was gasping and tear streaks were flowing down her cheeks. She was gripping her stomach area and writhing back and forth.
Amanda picked up the phone by the bed and dialed 911, and explained the emergency. The operator wanted her to stay on the line but she said she had to phone her employer's work to alert the husband and needed to put down her phone for just a minute and use another. She picked up Lula's cell phone on the night table and pressed the number to Tank's direct line but it went to voice mail immediately signalling that he was on the phone.
She did not leave a message but hung up and then called Rangeman. Vince was on the phones and noticing that it came from Lula's cell he picked up immediately.
"Rangeman, Vince speaking."
Amanda barely let him finish the sentence before she started to speak.
"Vince, this is Amanda. I need to talk to Tank. I tried his phone but it went directly to voice mail. Can you get hold of him for me?"
He could hear the distress in her voice.
"Amanda, how can we help?"
Amanda responded with a tremor in her voice.
"I have called 911 for Lula. I found her crumpled on the floor and the bed is covered in blood. I will look after the boys, but I do need some help. I can't lift heavy objects right now and they are too heavy for me to carry around."
Vince kept his voice calm as Amanda began to show signs of falling apart on the phone. He immediately signaled Woody on the other monitor to come over and quickly he wrote a note.
"Amanda, my partner is phoning Tank right now but until we get hold of him, I want you to stay on the line with me. I am sending a vehicle and two men from Rangeman. They are just a couple blocks away and will be there in just a minute or so. They have the codes and can let themselves in and help with the emergency personnel."
Amanda had a phone to each ear and spoke.
"I am on the house phone to the 911 operator and I have you on Lula's cell."
Vince was pantomiming to Woody that she was on two phones.
Woody nodded and grabbed a phone. The monitors sat unattended as they worked.
Woody signaled to Vince that he had Tank on the phone and he nodded.
"Amanda, I have Tank on the line so I'm putting you on hold for just a minute while we get the two of you talking to each other."
Tank was on his phone and Vince quickly explained.
"I am patching Amanda onto you, Tank. Something is wrong with Lula and Amanda has called in a 911. I have a unit heading there to assist as needed. I have checked with Boston and James just lifted off to pick up a captured FTA for Boston."
Vince put Amanda on the line and he hung up.
There was an uncomfortable silence on the floor. The news had spread like wild-fire.
Ranger phoned the control room direct line and once again Vince picked it up.
"Control."
Ranger spoke.
"I told him to change his flight plan and divert to pick us up. He will contact you with an ETA. Have two vehicles at the airport waiting, one for Tank and Bobby to head to the hospital and the other one for Les and I. Arrange a police escort for Tank and Bobby."
Vince was writing down all the instructions and Woody was looking over his shoulder. He had motioned and Binkie was now on the other monitor, keeping an eye on everything while they processed the emergency.
Woody had a phone to his ear and was making the arrangements with TPD. He then made a notation who was still out on the road, who was at Tank's house and who was available for picking up the men.
It was one of those hurry up and wait scenarios. Everything had been done and now it was time to wait.
~~~o0o~~~
Stephanie was on her way to one of the rancher's spreads when she got a call on her cellphone. It rang with the batman signal and she pulled over to the side of the road to answer it. Ranger never called unless there was something important during the day and she immediately had a bad feeling.
Stephanie pushed the button and spoke.
"Ranger, you never call during the day unless it is important so what's wrong? Is Grandma Mazur OK, has something happened to my parents, my nieces, my sister, Mary Lou?"
Her questions came so fast that Ranger couldn't get a word in edgewise. He waited for her to take a breath, then said, "BABE!".
She stopped talking and waited for him to speak.
Ranger did not hesitate and spoke. "Babe, your family is OK, but unfortunately, something is wrong with Lula."
Ranger hesitated.
He hated to let her know there was a problem but knew that if he waited until later tonight that she would be upset that he had held something back that she wanted to or needed to know.
"Babe, we are on the way back to Trenton. Lula is in the hospital but until we get there, we have no idea what is wrong. Tank had a feeling yesterday that something was up with her but she didn't pass on anything, but she woke up this morning bleeding very heavily. The housekeeper called 911 and she is at St. Luke's now. Ella has gone over to help at the house and I have enlisted Mary-Lou to work on a schedule to help with the boys since Amanda cannot lift them or carry them around."
Stephanie put a shaking hand through her hair. Lula had mentioned that after her boys were born that her periods were quite heavy and she would be watching to see if it improved.
Stephanie felt bad. She had made tentative plans to visit her on her day off but with the change in plans and the Summit she had had to fore go her time with Lula and go to New York for the fittings. Now she was feeling very sorry that she hadn't.
"I can fly back to Newark tonight if you need me Ranger. Most things I am doing before next weekend's show can be moved."
Ranger thought about it.
"Babe, until we know what's going on, this is just to advise you. As soon as I know I'll let you know but you might as well stay where you are but keep your phone handy. It could be as simple as a simple problem or it could be as serious as," and he hesitated, "something serious."
Stephanie nodded her head. She was imagining all sorts of terrible things that could be happening, but she had had her own scares in the past and until there was a diagnosis, it was a time just to wait and worry.
"Let me know Ranger. I cannot promise that I will be giving my complete attention to my appointments today now, and I will call you for an update when I get back into my hotel room. Hopefully it is minor and we all can relax, but if it is not..." and she stopped.
Ranger spoke again.
"I'll let you know, Babe, as much as I can find out. Until then, be safe," and he hung up.
Stephanie sat shaking on the side of the road, her phone still in her hand. She put the phone back in her purse and pulled back into traffic continuing on her way. Her mind would have difficulty keeping on task today, and deep down she hoped that the calls she was going to would only be courtesy calls.
For the first time ever, she hoped that what she sold, wouldn't be required today.
~~~o0o~~~
A Rangeman vehicle stood ready as the four men hastily threw their belongings and office papers into their duffels and briefcases and raced down the stairs. It had taken off heading to the airport to wait for James and the plane. The men were at the airport waiting as the Gulfstream landed and taxied over. The engines never stopped spinning and they were already on board as soon as James opened the door and dropped the steps. They had all thrown their gear inside the cabin not waiting to take the time to stash them in the hold.
James revved the engines and they inserted themselves into line to take off. He had punched up the speed knowing that Ranger wanted him there as soon as he could safely fly. He took off smoothly and turned toward Trenton.
Two SUV's were sitting at the airport and a police car sat waiting to escort.
Tank was standing by the exit as the plane slowed down. He opened the door and jumped out of the plane without dropping the steps and leaped into the first SUV. Bobby was right behind him.
Maurice was behind the wheel and sped away following the police car with his lights and siren operating.
Ranger and Les gathered up all the bags, and hastily assembled office materials and made their way to the second vehicle.
They too headed for the hospital, but Caesar kept the speed somewhat within reason. They walked into the emergency department and were directed to a waiting room.
Tank and Bobby were nowhere to be seen. Bobby's face was well known at the hospital and he would be able to talk his way into the right area and talk to the right person.
Ranger and Les settled in to wait.
~~~o0o~~~
As Les sat in the waiting room he refreshed what he had gleaned from an interesting bit of chatter while in New York and vowed to follow up on it as soon as he could.
One of the organizers had an obscure but interesting background and while she was very open with most of her life, one detail had been kept very, very quiet.
Les loved to dig for dirt; he was just wired that way. He mentally starting to work which contacts he could suck for this tidbit.
Les smiled as he lit on a name.
~~~o0o~~~
Stephanie sat in her hotel with her phone in her hand. She had flipped it open a number of times to check with Ranger, but each time had closed the lid without dialing. She had made plans to fly back to Newark and was now waiting in the hotel reception area for her cab with her bags. Not knowing if she could help, she wanted to be there for her friend, even just to give her a hug and lend her support if the news was bad.
Earlier she had met with Gordon Fergusson and while he had been happy to see her, could also notice that her mind was not on the meeting. Finally, after asking her the same question three times with no reply, he put his hand on her arm and asked.
"Stephanie, you are obviously under stress from something. Can I help?"
Stephanie shook herself and looked in his kind eyes.
"I just received a phone call that is concerning just as I pulled up to your ranch. A very good friend is in the hospital and until they find out what is wrong, I am sorry that my mind will not be on my business. If it's OK, Gordon, I'll just drive back to my hotel and see if I can find out some more information."
He nodded his head in sympathy.
"If you want to use my phone, you can save some time if you need to book a flight back to Newark, and maybe you can get back sooner than sitting and waiting, then deciding to fly back."
Stephanie smiled for the first real time since walking into his house and gave him a quick hug.
"Thank you, Gordon for your kind offer. Maybe I can help, or maybe I can just head in to lend my moral support. She is a new mother of twin boys and I am sure that everyone is scrambling to look after them."
Gordon showed her to his office and after sitting her down in his comfy office chair, left the room, closing the door softly.
He stood by the door and could hear her on the phone, talking and listening, then talking again. He heard the cordless phone click down on the desk and waited for her to walk out the door. He waited, then realized that he could hear her blowing her nose and hiccuping softly.
Gordon waited for her to compose herself. He had been through enough hardship in his own life and could recognize someone trying to put themselves back together to face the world after bad news.
The door opened and Stephanie emerged. Her eyes were red rimmed and her nose had that tell-tale look of someone blowing their nose numerous times.
He stepped up to her and enveloped her in a hug and she put her head on his shoulder and started to weep again.
He let her cry. She would be in no condition to drive right now and he had already made the decision to drive her back to her hotel and have his car with a driver follow.
Stephanie began to pull herself together. She pulled out of his comforting embrace and looked sadly at him.
"I want to get back to Newark. There is a flight leaving from Lexington at 8:15 pm and I have booked a ticket on it. I spoke to the husband and they are conducting tests trying to find the problem."
Gordon took her hand and led her to her purse and coat sitting on a chair by the front door.
"I will arrange for your car to be brought around and I will drive you back to your hotel. You can drop the car off there and still have time to get to the airport in time."
Stephanie sniffled again. Here was a customer going the extra mile to help her.
She smiled and walked with him to the front entranceway, trusting that he would get her back to the hotel safely.
~~~o0o~~~
Tank walked into the waiting room and slumped down in the chair beside Ranger. His facial color was off, almost pale and he moved as though he was shaky, something few people had ever observed of Tank.
He put his elbows on his knees and leaned forward with his head in his hands.
Ranger waited for him to pull himself together. Anybody else and he would have slapped them on the back and said that it would get better, but dealing with Lula, well, she had had enough scares in her life that if she consented to go to a hospital, it must be serious.
Tank shuddered then sat up. He looked at Ranger and Les watching him, waiting for some information.
Just then Bobby walked in. He stroke over to Tank and slapped him on the back and spoke.
"I can tell that Tank has been his usual verbose self, so I will explain it as much as I can."
He looked at Tank as he spoke.
"They suspect that Lula is suffering from fibroids. Unfortunately they are bleeding quite heavily and while they were able to slow the flow, she has lost a fair amount of blood. She is receiving some medication right now and should feel better soon. From the sounds of it her last period just a few days ago was extremely heavy, even more so than normal and they have been unusually heavy since she had the boys. She is quite anemic and that was probably one of the reasons she has been feeling so tired lately. They will be performing a couple more procedures to pinpoint the problem later after giving her a chance to rest. If it is indeed fibroids, the doctors are hoping that with some medication and a simple procedure she should be back on her feet soon. Failing that, she will be on complete bed rest and may as a last resort require a hysterectomy."
The men sat and digested the information. It sounded like this was not going to be a short term problem but could drag out for awhile.
They all were thinking of the Summit in less than a month, and already in his mind Ranger had taken Tank off the detail, needing him to stay close to Lula in Trenton.
"Your first concern is Lula, Tank. I am taking you off the Summit detail and depending on what happens how long you go on leave."
Tank nodded. He was needed at home. His boys needed him and his wife certainly needed him.
He looked at Ranger.
"I want to be there but I just cannot with what is going on right now. My Lula Belle is everything and I want to be with her as she faces whatever is ahead."
Ranger nodded, thinking who he could insert on the team. Tank was one of those almost irreplaceable kind of men. He could sense things that needed to be done almost before they knew it themselves. He would be missed.
A nurse came to the door.
"Mr. Sherman, I believe your wife requires your presence. She has had some pain medication but is really restless. I think she is worried about something, but won't confide in us. Hopefully she will tell you."
Tank stood up and headed for the door, then turned around.
"I have a feeling that Stephanie will show up. She has a spidey sense about a lot of things and if she knows that Lula is having difficulties, I wouldn't be surprised to see her race in here. Just in case, I would be checking the flight arrivals from Lexington, Ranger."
With that, he walked out the door and down the hall to Lula's room. Rangeman had instituted guards on the door protecting her and Tank.
He walked in and as the door closed, the men could hear very plainly.
"I'm here Lula Belle and I'm not leaving your side until we both leave the hospital together."