I couldn't help myself! Enjoy!

Chapter 15

Steph's POV

I woke up this morning and decided to enjoy a few restful moments of peace before confronting the real world. I stretched out and yawned and suddenly realized that no one was sleeping next to me. I felt Carlos's side of the bed and found it stone cold and so was the spot where Julie slept with us.

I rolled over towards Carlos' bedside table and glanced at the clock only to see that it was already 11! McDonalds was onto their lunch menu and I haven't even had breakfast yet!

I slowly left the warm confines of the bed sheets and made my way to the bathroom to handle mother nature's call. That's when I realized I had a serious dilemma, I had no tampons here.

I took care of business and made it a priority to find out where my dear fiancé and future step daughter had gone to. Once in the kitchen I noticed a note taped to Rex's hamster cage that was in Carlos' script.

Babe,

I took Julie out for a bit so we could have a nice long talk and settle the major issue at hand. We are handling a few legal issues along with going to the store to pick up a few things. I plan to come right home and make a lunch for us, as a family. I think this time spent strengthening our relationships would be a great way to lift Julie's spirit and help her realize we are always here for her. Call me after you have read this.

Love you,

C

I crumpled the note in a ball and threw it into the trash. I leaned against the counter and thought of poor little Julie. Although I know how strong she is emotionally, especially after the Scrogg incident, I wasn't sure where she would be mentally with this situation. I wasn't sure if she would retreat into herself, be full of rage towards everyone for not seeing what was happening, or be as normal as ever and seek justice through the legal system. I wanted so bad for this situation to work itself out but knew it would rely mostly on Julie and how she wanted to proceed.

I walked out of the kitchen and made my way to the living room to use the house phone, Carlos hasn't had the chance to return my cell phone to me, and I dialed the one number I would never forget. I was glad to hear the sound of light laughter.

"Yo"

"Yo yourself," I said pacing the living room. "How's Julie doing?"

"She's doing pretty well considering the situation. I had a nice long chat with her and we have come to the conclusion that we will pursue this through the legal system and will do everything in our power to bring Ron down." Carlos said in a tone that sounded very determined. "As of this morning, while you were playing sleeping beauty, Julie asked me if we could talk to the police and get any possible evidence to support our case and she unfortunately ended up having a rape kit done, which brought on some unwonted feelings."

I couldn't imagine Julie having to go through the pain of every bruise catalogued for police records along with an internal exam to collect samples. I just want her to feel like a normal person already and not like some victim.

"It was a bit emotional for her but she got through it and was able to explain everything that has been happening at home to me and the authorities. Our lawyer has been brought up to speed and will represent Julie in this and speak with Rachel on our behalf."

I listened and came to a bewildering question. "Does Rachel even know that Julie is here?!"

I heard a long drawn out sigh from Carlos before he spoke. "I called her this morning, with Julie, on speaker, and had her explain everything. Rachel wouldn't have believed me if I said anything of this nature. The conversation ended in Rachel speeding home from her business trip to collect her kids and staying with her parents. The Miami Rangemen are dealing with Ron for right now. I hope to discuss any further plans over lunch, when we return. There are a lot of things that need to be addressed."

I took a deep breath and calmed myself. I was worried that Rachel would have blown up about Julie seeking our help, but relieved to know that she had the right idea to gather her children and get away from that man as fast as she could.

"I'm glad to hear Ron is under Rangeman security measures right now until we can sort things out fully and that our Julie is taking this situation well. Before you come home I have one small favor to ask of you that I really need, it's an emergency." I wasn't anticipating having to ask such an embarrassing question to a man but had no other option.

"What's the matter babe? What do you need that's an emergency? I can be home right away if something needs my attention." Carlos said in a rushed concerned voice. I couldn't help but giggle.

"It's nothing serious. I just woke up and went to the bathroom only to realize I have no tampons here. All of them went with me the last time I came to stay on seven. Can you please, pretty please, pick up some on your way home?" I waited for his answer bracing for his reaction.

There was a long pregnant pause and a mumble of what sounded like dios mio (oh my god). "Of course I'll pick up some tampons for my menstruating fiancée. Just like any good future husband would."

I heard a high pitched girly laugh in the background and couldn't help but smile at Carlos' sarcasm. I told him the brand and size and hung up on him when he growled about the female anatomy being a complete mystery.

Instead of waiting around doing nothing I decided a nice hot shower would calm my nerves and alleviate the annoying aches I had throughout my body. I took extra care in wrapping this blasted cast to prevent any water from getting in and was in heaven when the hot water cascaded over me.

Just as I was about to wash up I felt arms wrap around my waist and pull me into a hard chest. "Babe, Tampax Pearl Super Plus? I thought buying condoms was weird but women take the cake. How you manage to understand the sizes down there is beyond me." Carlos nuzzled his head into my neck and kissed me there softly. "Although, now I know a dirty little secret about you that I never would have known before this."

I turned in his arms with a confused look on my face that slowly turned to a look of shock when I realized his size innuendo. OF course when I slapped him on the chest hard he laughed a cute laugh and pulled me in for a serious, bone melting kiss.

I was about to be lost in his touch when I realized that there is a teenager in the house and I was not up for sex while on the rag. I bowed out of the kiss before we went too far.

Carlos could read my mind instantly and kissed me on the forehead before finishing our shower together. Once dressed for the day we made our way to the living room to find Julie snuggled on the couch watching the TV while on her laptop.

I made my way over to the couch and kissed her on the top of the head and she smiled up at me. "How have you been?" I asked wanting the whole truth.

Julie put her laptop on the coffee table and turned to me. "I know that what has happened to me has been mortifying, and beyond anything anyone could possibly imagine happening, and your waiting for the next shoe to drop but it won't." I took her hand as strength and just sat back to listen to her speak. I watched Carlos nod at me silently and head towards the kitchen having heard this speech already, no doubt.

"I have had my chance to cry and mourn what happened and now it's time to stand up for myself and do what I know needs to be done. I wasn't taught to cry over what happened but learn from it and justice will be brought with it in return. I feel bad for my little brother and sister and especially my mom but I needed to do what was right for me and that was to press charges to protect myself and possibly them. I don't want to be the victim, the damsel in distress that always needs to be rescued. I want to be the one who comes out on top with a smile on my face because I knew I won." I couldn't help but be proud of this beautiful young woman I front of me. She reminded me of her father so much.

"I actually wanted to talk to you before dad did, so you wouldn't feel ambushed." Julie said pulling nervously on a loose thread on the couch. "I wanted you to know that I plan to change my name asap from Martine back to Manoso, so Ron can no longer have any custodial claim on me in case he is let out early. I don't want to step on your toes since you guys are going to be planning a wedding and maybe, possibly, a family of your own."

I pulled Julie to me tight and tilted her chin so she would look into my eyes. "You may not have been born from me but you are the daughter I never had. I will be there for you whenever you need me. I am so proud of you for getting up from this bad situation and taking the necessary steps to resolve it. I hope you know there may be some times when you want to cry because of what happened but know you are worth far more than the way you were treated. We love you very much Jules." She smiled up at me and hugged me close.

When our little sap session was over I offered her and hand up from the couch and made our way towards the dining room where I could smell the delicious scent of homemade mac and cheese. I was shocked at Carlos' ability to prepare such a comfort food since he is a health nut.

"Don't worry babe, all the ingredients are as healthy as can be. Comfort food at its best, without the extra crap that'll kill ya."

We sat down and were in a comfortable silence until Carlos cleared his throat to speak. "As you both know I have my lawyer on everything, along with some high ranking officials, to move this process along rather quickly. While you two were having you private discussion I had one of my own with said people. We wish to pass this matter along without setting foot into a court room because of the publicity your disappearance managed to gain. As of right now Ron is being brought here to Trenton and going to be kept under Rangeman's watchful eye until all matters are settled legally."

I knew Carlos had some connections but I didn't know he had such powerful connections. If we were ever to divorce I bet it would look like world war III compared to my divorce with the Dick.

"Julie, your mother wants you to stay with us until she is able to come up here herself with your siblings and bring you back home. Your mother and I have agreed to keep you out of the main conflict and to have the lawyer represent all your evidence since you are still a minor. We hope to nail him with endangerment of the welfare of a child as well as rape and have the terms of custody changed so I have partial custody of you. This way of handling things is rarely done but I want this as discreet as possible so my family's dirty laundry isn't out in the open. I hate having my personal life public knowledge, because of my past." I looked between Julie and Carlos and saw stoic faces until Julie broke the silence.

"Thank you for being there for me when I most need you. I know it was a hard decision to choose to be with me and mom or your career with the Army all those years ago when you were just a kid yourself. I am happy for the years I had with a so called 'father' but also mourn them because it was all just an illusion. He never really cared about me because I was just Manoso's kid. He never did or said anything in front of me or my mom but he would to my siblings. He was mad that you were buying me things he couldn't afford for my siblings and that he had to spend his money on a id he didn't even create. I have lived with it so long that this explosion wasn't a surprise but a wakeup call that Ron really has some mental issues that need to be adjusted. Dad I hope you beat some sense into him the second he walks through those holding cell doors because if you don't I'm pretty sure a whole line of Merry Men are right behind you."

This revelation of Julie's really hit the heart of this situation and made me realize that Julie actually felt a little bad for Ron but not enough to not see him suffer. It never ceases to amaze me at how much of Carlos was in Julie. If such wonderful qualities of the man I loved ended up in the daughter he never raised I couldn't wait to see what our children would be like. Stubborn would be my best guess.

Wait, did I just contemplate future children at a time like this? Would Carlos want to have any more children after this incident or would he make this an incentive to prove that he can succeed in fathering a well-rounded child the way he sees every other regret he has had in his life. I could tell we had a lot more to talk about in dealing with our future before we say those two binding words.

"Babe,"

That was all it took to be snapped out of my deep thoughts and focused on the two people in front of me. It took me a bit to realize that the table was clear and Carlos was kneeling front of me with a hand on my thigh. "We will have a very detailed discussion about where we are headed in terms of our engagement, but as for right now-"

He was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. I looked up at Julie when I noticed his expression at the phone and nodded towards to living room. I wanted to give Carlos some privacy in case it was about a matter other than the one we were dealing with.

I put my hand on the small of Julie's back and led her to Carlos' office that also held a futon for any visitors that might pop up, which was rare. I could add that to the list of things to do, make the office into a spare bedroom for my step daughter. I had suggested a nap until later and she thought it was a great idea since she was up early this morning and didn't get much sleep.

I helped Julie with making her bed and tucked her in with the promise of a shopping trip before she had to leave for Miami when her mother would eventually come to get her. I knew that we needed to have another heart to heart while Carlos wasn't around and felt like this visit would be the best time to do it. I wanted her to know that no matter what Carlos was her father and she had priority over me in any situation and shouldn't feel neglected, yet again, by a father figure.

"Good night Steph." Julie said with a smile as I turned out the light to the makeshift bedroom. "You are good for my dad and I'm happy he has you."

I couldn't do any more than nod and smile through tears because her approval has been all I've wanted. I choked out a good night and made my way to the bedroom I now shared with my fiancé.

The sight I saw had me a bit by shock but I was soon able to connect the dots. My lover was decked out in all black from his work boots to the Kevlar vest. I watched from behind him as he concealed his custom two guns and a knife and turned at the feeling of my presence.

"I know what you were thinking earlier and you were right and wrong about the fathering aspect." He said without looking me in the eyes but instead adjusted his holster on his shoulder. "Right now I am not father material, I am Ranger. Ranger is the type that carries two guns and knife, but when I come home to you I am Carlos and Carlos is willing to add another pair of arms to hug as he comes home from fighting off the dangers of New Jersey."

I was a little more than taken aback at his admission but took it all in stride. He has never opened up so much to me ever in the past years I have known him. "I love you Stephanie and will always be that Carlos you have just gotten to see and learn about in the past few days but as of right now I need to go down stairs and destroy the man who tried to destroy my daughter for the sake of Carlos' sanity. I need to be Ranger for a bit, the mentor and man you learned from. I will be back soon, get some rest." With a kiss on the forehead he was gone.

I knew then that there was way more to that man than I ever thought was possible.

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