A Family Affair

Chapter 2

Tank was leaning on the bar swishing his beer bottle, he felt weary to his core. Ranger had gone on too many missions to count and the second-in-command took the reigns until his best friend's return. Now it was overwhelming to carry on knowing that Cuban man wasn't coming back. He had to hold it together for Stephanie and her daughter, Ranger would expect that from Tank and it was what he would do somehow.

The bartender placed a shot glass in front of Tank and filled it directed by Sergeant Bigelow who commanded the pallbearers. "Is that Jack Daniels you are drinking?" he asked.

Tank glared at his bottle of beer. "It's beer," Tank replied. Anybody could see that! The officer Tank never met before, he was in charge of the military group escorting Ranger's body from the Middle East. He was tall, but not tall as Tank and appeared muscular in his uniform. His Caucasian skin on his face was slightly ruddy from the desert conditions and his brown hair in a recent standard Army buzz cut. The green eyes were dark but Tank saw raw sadness in them. The Sergeant must have been acquainted with his best friend. He froze turning to the Army body leaning with his back on the bar holding a shot glass saying, "I only drink that with my friends in Albuquerque."

The glasses clinked together. "To my friend," Tank said.

Sergeant Bigelow watched intently as Stephanie was thanking guests for coming to Ranger's funeral making her way to Tank. Her daughter was sleeping snuggled contentedly on her mother's shoulder.

"Hey, Bombshell, how are you holding up?"

'I'm doing it." She turned to the Army officer holding out her hand. "I'm Stephanie. Thank you for honoring Ranger," she said tearing up.

The sergeant shook her hand. "He loves you," he said releasing her hand. A long pale finger touched a pink bootie on Addie's tiny foot. "She's beautiful."

When her hand was squeezed, Stephanie felt that familiar tingle again. She searched the green eyes for a moment, and then brushed it off to her emotional state. "Thank you. Please make sure you have something to eat. I'll catch you later, Tank." She walked away unsettled not understanding why she seemed to be aware of Ranger at these times. Stephanie turned back around remembering the Army officer said 'loves' in present tense and not 'loved' as in past tense. Maybe she was being oversensitive, but the officer had disappeared in a flash. Tank was the only one leaning on the bar now, Bobby and Lester were joining him.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Coming," Stephanie called. She just changed Addie coming out of the 7th floor bedroom. She had been living in Ranger's apartment since he left. He used that magical word 'please' before he left asking her to live in his apartment. He knew she would be safe, have 'TastyKakes' because Ella kept an endless stash in his apartment, and be right there when he returned.

Opening the apartment door, Tank was standing there changed back into his Rangeman clothes and the officer at the bar. She immediately knew something wasn't right. Before she opened the door, that Ranger prickle was back and her Spidey sense was going off. She couldn't handle much more, but hoped deep down the sergeant would provide details, no matter how small about the Cuban man she loved while he was away from her. "Come in."

Tank at times was as difficult to read as Ranger with his expressionless expression, but looking at him, Stephanie could see a volcano wanting to erupt. His brown eyes were electrified, energy was sparking off him that hadn't been there since they received the news of Ranger's death. Maybe, she didn't want to know anything.

"Bomber, Sergeant Bigelow," Tank began to say. He went between Stephanie and the ridged man standing next to him. The green eyes belonging to the newcomer were fixed on the baby in Stephanie's arms.

"Please! Anything you can tell me about Ranger," Stephanie begged between the sobs overtaking her. "Please, anything! I love him! Our daughter deserves more!" She was shaking both from her grief and the cruel trick her body was playing on her.

Sergeant Bigelow opened his mouth, but no words came out. It was a gut wrenching moan.

"PLEASE, TELL ME SOMETHING! I need something to hold onto!" Stephanie's voice cracked edged with mounting hysteria. Her knuckles were clutching the chair back for some strand of control. Addie was beginning to cry with her mother.

As if Stephanie was watching in slow motion, a pale hand in the uniform sleeve slowly came up to his face reaching behind an ear, it tugged at the skin with force. It stretched and began to pull away from the facial structure of the man. She stood watching a layer of flesh peel away, streaks of darker skin began to appear. "Babe," the officer whispered.

"AUGH!" Stephanie screamed. Tank jumped to catch Stephanie and Addie guiding her to the chair. Her blue eyes were wide with fright taken completely off guard. Her arms were cradling the crying baby to her. She sat there not able to move watching skin being pulled off in shreds on his face, neck, and hands to reveal mocha latte skin. In the fake skin, an angular nose came off. The firm jaw and sculpted nose she knew above all others were revealed. The eyes were still green in Ranger's perfectly handsome face. "RANGER!"

Stephanie said in ghost of a voice, "You died."

He walked slowly over to Stephanie not to startle her anymore than she was kneeling down ever so slowly in front of his woman and infant daughter he had no idea existed. They both were crying.

"No," he shook his head of short brown hair. "This was the only way for me to get out alive with the information I uncovered after my cover was blown. I'm sorry, Babe, for what I put you through." He was staring into the teary blue eyes watching Stephanie decipher his words. Tears were sliding down his cheeks.

Her hand came up to touch his face. There were pieces of fake flesh still hanging from Ranger's own skin. Ranger wasn't prepared for her hand knotting and connecting with his jaw. The force caught Ranger by surprise and off balance; he went back on his heels.

"YOU"RE SORRY! I thought I lost you! We lost you!" The grief and surprise boiled rapidly into rhino mood and dissipated as quickly. She was in a stunned shock in a surprising, unexpected way. The prayer she had been praying for days came true.

His hand, fake and real skin was rubbing his aching jaw. A smile formed on his somewhat mottled face. 'Babe, you never disappoint." The serious Ranger was back. "Can I hold our daughter?" he questioned unsure of his woman.

Stephanie focused on Tank for reassurance.

"It's Ranger, Stephanie. We had a code phrase at Rutgers between us that I almost forgot. We used it, if one met a girl and might want the dorm room and later if we had a situation in the Rangers," Tank explained. He forgot about the Jack Daniels code phrase in the passing years.

Stephanie was rocking Addie to quiet her; she shielded her with her arms. "Tell me something only Ranger would know," she demanded quietly.

He kneeled up straight so they were face to face not caring about the wetness sliding down his face. "I love you with all my heart. No qualifiers, just all of it," Ranger whispered. He spoke those exact words spoken to Stephanie before he walked out of the apartment over 10 months ago. "And you have a small mole on the back of your left knee." In a quick movement, the green eyes were gone and brown eyes now soft were revealed when he removed the contacts which cloaked them.

Her brow knitted. "I'm still really upset with you," she told him. The sternness in her features told him that like he wouldn't know it, but sitting there she was performing the happy dance of all happy dances. Stephanie gingerly placed their calming daughter in his strong arm. "Her name is Addison Marie Plum-Manoso."

"Hello, Addison." Ranger's voice cracked, his fingers were cupping her small head with a tuft of dark hair. 'Your Daddy made it home." He stared with soft, misty brown eyes at the creation in his arm, she was happy in the warm, secure spot. Addie rewarded him with a tiny smile and blew a baby bubble on her lips.

Drawing Stephanie to him with his free arm, his salty lips touched her. She didn't respond to his kiss at first. The shock of Ranger 'dying' and coming back from the dead as someone else on the same day as she 'buried' him was incomprehensible. It was even too weird for the 'Burg'. When her brain and body recognized his touch again only then did her lips move in unison with Ranger's.

"It's really you," she murmured against the full Cuban lips she knew so well, her arms locked around his neck holding Ranger there as if she would never let him go again. Stephanie pulled away. "What did you find out that made you fake your death?" she questioned.

"A terrorist group is going to attempt to kill the President very soon. The assassin is already in the country. All I have is this," Ranger told Stephanie releasing his hold on his 'Babe' and giving their daughter back to her. From a pocket in his trousers he pulled a dirty piece of paper which he unfolded carefully.

"Our President? " Stephanie looked at the unfolded paper being held up.

"I couldn't even guess at that," Tank said inspecting the paper again which Ranger had shown him after his friend realized Sergeant Bigelow had information about his best friend thinking Ranger told him that long ago code wording. He never would have guessed it was Ranger until he heard the voice and he pulled a piece of skin off a finger to reveal his darker Cuban skin. All Ranger wanted to do was get to Stephanie and hold his daughter. There was no way to even imagine Stephanie's reaction. Tank had to chuckle, that was one heck of a punch she gave him, but that was normal for Stephanie, unexpected.

There were for four small squares which would be corners of a square if there were connected to form the shape on the diagram. There were some dotted lines between solid ones and figures written in a script she didn't recognize inside the invisible outline.

'It looks like a map of something." Stephanie pointed to the symbols inquiring about them. "What does this say?" She knew Ranger would know.

"It's Arabic and not a word, Babe," he explained. "It's a number. 2510."

"2510?" Stephanie thought about it and the number didn't ring a bell with her.

"It could be an address of something or a date."

He shook his head saying, "I don't know, Babe. It could be anything anywhere, but we need to find it." Ranger laid the piece of paper down on the coffee table.

"Start researching the President's upcoming schedule, Tank, but do not let anyone know I'm alive but the core team," he directed his best friend. He walked over to Stephanie cradling his new infant daughter in his arm. "I'm going to acquaint myself with my daughter and I have some groveling to do right now," he said before kissing the mother of his daughter.

"Big Skippy time," she warned before returning his kiss.

Tank walked to the apartment door saying to no one, "I'll let myself out." He watched for a moment Ranger and Stephanie kissing lost in each other, things were back to normal. 'Hallelujah!'