Hi! Thank you all for the wonderful reviews for Chapter 2! I knew you guys could do it! If you asked for the outtake "Why IS Ranger Wearing Pink" and didn t get it, pls check your PM settings. Some of you have PM disabled. If I just accidentally skipped you, pls PM me? FF doesn't make it easy to send files.

a/n I am generally not at all fond of Steph-gets-pregnant stories, but here it is….I hope you all enjoy.

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Shelter from the Storm ~ Chapter Three

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Late

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[Ranger]

A chilly Friday night, early winter. I let myself into the apartment on the 7th floor, set my keys in the silver dish and followed the sound of the TV into the den. Unintentionally silent-—t's a habit, what can I tell you?—I was surprised to hear Steph's voice, saying, "I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!"

I glanced at the TV to see if she was watching Alice in Wonderland, but no….I said, "Reading Lewis Carroll, babe?" And she jumped in surprise and glared at me.

"Geez! Make a noise, Ranger! No! I was NOT reading—whatever!" She returned her attention to the TV, but I didn't think she was really watching it. She was just shutting me out. Why? I wondered.

I glanced at my watch and searched my mind for any possible forgotten appointments. Nope, nada. I said, "So what are you late for, babe?"

She slowly turned her head and glared at me.

Oh. Well, even the smartest man can be stupid sometimes. Since Steph and I became a couple—I stifled my cringe—and we were both healthy and committed, we had changed from using condoms to just the Pill.

97% effective rate and all that.

I said, "Are you sure?"

"NO! But…."

"So why don't you do the home test thing before you panic, babe. Let's take it one step at a time."

Steph's eyes were huge and her face looked pale. She said, "Good advice. But that's just the trouble with me. I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it."

"What's the issue here, babe?"

"I didn't want to buy a test box in the Burg—for sure someone would tell my mom!"

I sat down next to her and took her hand. It was icy and I could feel her fine trembling when I drew her to me for a hug. "I'll send one of the guys out to get a pregnancy test, babe. That way, we'll know for sure."

"But…"

"I'll send one of the guys who is married, low-profile and so on. Okay?"

She nodded against my chest. I kissed the top of her head and got up, walked into the kitchen and called Tank. Fifteen minutes later, Brett appeared with a CVS bag. I thanked him and took the bag to Steph who sat in miserable silence the entire time, refusing to talk to me, biting her nails.

Steph grabbed the bag and went into the bathroom. I followed her, but she shut the door in my face, said, "I don't need you to help me pee, Ranger."

The lock clicked loudly to emphasize her point. I was getting the idea that a baby wasn't a good thing in Steph's world. Through the door I said, "How long does it take?" doing my best to keep the excitement out of my voice.

"Geez, I haven't even peed yet!" Silence, then the toilet flushed, the water ran in the sink. Steph's voice said, "Can you wait in the living room? It takes three minutes to, um, decide."

I sat on the sofa with my head in my hands.

Awhile later I heard footsteps and Steph appeared yelling, "Omigod, omigod!—Omigod, what are all you guys doing here?"

Tank, Lester, Bobby, Hal, Manny, Binky, at least a dozen guys sat or stood, waiting with me. Male solidarity and all. They wanted a baby too, I was guessing.

Steph burst into tears and the guys all cheered and clapped me on the back, shook my hand and tried to kiss Steph who just wailed louder.

I jerked my head a little and two seconds later Steph and I were alone. On his way out Tank did the eye confrontation thing, You okay, Rangeman?

I nodded. Yeah I can handle this.

I was lying and he knew it.

Good luck.

When we were alone I went to Steph and l picked her up in my arms, sat on the sofa holding her on my lap. Unusually for me, I had no idea what to say or how to make it better…make it go away? I flinched inside at the thought.

"Babe? You don't want this child?" I finally asked carefully. "Or are you just scared?"

"I, I , I—you said, no babies! No pregnancies—remember?" she gasped.

Huh? I distinctly remembered telling her that I love kids and would like more children, a child that I was now in a decent position to raise. But Steph doesn't always listen so good.

I said, "What?"

"It was when Scrog took Julie, we were having breakfast outside the bonds office, don't you remember?"

"Vaguely but it was a long time ago, Steph."

"You said, 'No rings, no pregnancies, nothing non-consensual!' "

See, this was my problem with Stephanie—especially back then, at that point in our lives—she doesn't always get what I mean and she never asks me to clarify, she just holds her hurt inside and lets it fester.

I said, "I did say that, babe. But what I meant was that I'd never insist we get married or have a baby if you didn't want that. I knew Morelli and your family put a lot of pressure on you to get married again, settle down, have a kid, whether you wanted to or not….I meant we'd only have those things if we decided it together…."

"But we didn't decide! This baby is an accident! In fact, how could this even happen? Why me!"

Now was not the moment to discuss the 3% failure rate of contraceptive pills.

I tried to figure out what to say, but she went on, "I'll be fat, you'll hate it, you'll hate me! You won't want me and this baby! You won't love us! I am so sorry, I am so…." She started crying again.

"I will want you, Steph. I always will. When I told you I'd love you forever, what?-—you thought that was just bullshit sweet talk? I don't lie about things like that, Stephanie. And I told you I wanted kids, I can imagine no greater gift that you would give me, nothing is more precious than a baby, nothing except you."

"You like babies?" Her tearstained face was incredulous.

I shrugged. "Well, yeah." I didn't know the words to tell her that I'd dreamed of an infant with her eyes and my hair, all those hours, all those years on covert missions, I'd held that wish/hope/dream secretly in my heart.

"You want this baby," she asked again.

I said, "More than anything in this world, Steph. I love you. And I love our baby. Never doubt that for a second."

She threw her arms around my neck and we kissed.

… … ….

Later she sat quietly at my side, her mood shifting from bereft to ecstatic to pensive. Ah, hormones…. I said, "Are you okay, babe?"

"I'm scared, Ranger."

"We'll have the doctor give you good drugs." I knew that was a fib—they'd make her do natural childbirth, but I felt the lie was justified right t this moment. "And I'll be there holding your hand every second. I promise."

"What if you're in the wind?"

"I'll make sure I get home in time."

"What if I'm not a good mom?"

"You'll be the best mom a kid ever had, babe."

… ... ...

Baby Manoso aka Zoë Emilia Manoso was born August 12th, on her daddy's birthday. She weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce. And she was beautiful.

Ranger got it wrong, though—Zoë has his eyes and her mother's hair. But he still thinks she is perfect.

the end/ hea

series TBC