All belong to JE

Chapter 20

Steph's POV

After celebrating making a baby by doing the very thing that created said baby I decided that today was a great day to set some records straight. Carlos kissed me on the head and went into the bathroom to shower and get ready for his day while I came up with a game plan.

I got into my thinking position and started to prioritize the "ass kicking list" mentally. Number one, confront the girls at the bonds office about spreading my business. Two, pay my mother a visit to see if her tempura tantrum is over. And three, pay the scum of the Earth Morelli a visit.

With this plot in my head I got dressed in all black. This was my sad attempt to assemble as much courage as my fiancé has on the regular. I was in the process of changing when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I couldn't help but think about my growing baby. Whether it was a boy or girl, it didn't matter, I was going to set up an atmosphere of love and acceptance that they deserve.

"Babe," Carols said softly, peering into the closet dressed and ready for the day. "I have to be out of the office most of the day meeting some new clients. I will have my cell on me, so you can reach me. Please be safe and don't do anything too dangerous. Today Lester is your shadow, so he will let me know if you're out there trying to be GI Jane."

I couldn't help but laugh. I walked over to him, still in just my under garments, and wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a short peck on the lips. "I don't plan on being GI Jane any time soon. Especially while carrying the Bat baby."

"What's your game plan for today?" He asks pulling me closer.

"I am going to handle my ass kicking list and hope that our lives can resume without any problems." He actually rolled his eyes at me on that one. "What?!"

"Our lives were built on problems, so I don't think that can be avoided." He said with a smirk. Carlos gave me a big hug, kissed my stomach then forehead and left me to get ready for the day.

I was walking towards one of the company SUVs when I felt like I was being followed. I slowed down my pace and turned to look behind me. Lester was behind the wheel of an SUV following closely. He came to a stop beside me and unlocked the door. I got in the vehicle without fuss because I knew it would be easier than driving separately.

"Where to first beautiful?" He asked making his way out of the garage.

"The bonds office." I said buckling up and pulling a pair of Carlos' sunglasses from their hiding place onto my face.

We arrived at the bonds office in record time to just catch the girls sharing their daily gossip. Lester walked in ahead of me and went straight to Vinnie's office to grab the Rangeman files for Tank.

"Where have you been girl?!" Lula asked from her spot on the couch. "We haven't heard from you in months!"

"I decided to take my life back into my own hands and that meant staying away for a little while, but now I'm ready to approach it head on." I sat in one of the chairs across from Connie. "I'm starting today by talking to you both about the gossip issue. I want you both to know that I am pregnant. I expect you both to keep this a secret as part of a friendship. The Burg has no right to know anything about me that I haven't said out loud myself. You guys are my friends and spreading the news of my engagement was uncalled for and just down right rude."

I looked between Connie and Lula. Their heads were hung low and they had sad expressions. Connie was the first to speak up. "We are very sorry for what we did. When you get news that big sharing it is the first thing you think about. What we didn't think about was the community we live in and how people love gossip. We will keep your secret and hope this will finally help repair the damage the last but of news did to our friendships."

"Yea girl," Lula said coming over to me. "we want to be a part of your life and share the highs and lows." She gives me a smothering hug and I think that it was all genuine.

"Now that we have that settled I want no hard feelings and everything to be put in the past to have a bright future." Lester came out of Vinnie's office and nodded to the girls.

"Ready when you are." He said looking at me.

I said my goodbyes and headed to the open car door that Lester was holding for me. "So Rangeman is getting a little recruit?"

"Like you didn't guess from the scavenger hunt I set up for Carlos." I said rolling my eyes.

He got into the driver's seat and just laughed as he pulled away from the curb.

"I need to pay my family a visit and possibly stay for lunch. You can come with if you want." I looked over and saw Lester shaking his head.

"I would rather stay out in the car than dodge your Grandmother's touchy hands."

Once we pulled up to my family home I took a deep breath and opened my door. Lester wished me luck as I got out. My mother was on the front porch with Grandma Mazur right behind her. They both had big smiles plastered on their faces.

"Nice to see you dropping in for once." My mother said making her way towards the dining room. "I haven't seen or heard from you since that day I dropped by Rangeman."

Dropping by was an understatement. You don't just walk into a place of business hooting and hollering and expect me to come around. I needed to address this now.

"Maybe I haven't come around because you had the nerve to come to my fiancé's business and act like you were raised with no manners. As your daughter I expected more from you but was sadly mistaken. I should have known better. In your eyes no one could compare to the fabulous 'do no wrong' Joseph Morelli." It felt good to get that out of my system.

My father was sitting at the dining room table reading the paper, so I gave him a kiss on the cheek and he gave me a small smile. He started to glare at my mother over his newspaper just questioning her to say something out of line. I had never seen this dynamic before in this house.

My mother looked at her husband, sighed, and pulled out a chair to sit at the table. She asked me to sit as well. "What I did was wrong, and I apologize." She looked at my father again and he had a look that said he wasn't satisfied with the apology. "Your father and I had a talk about what I had done when I was escorted home and I have come to realize a few things."

I saw sadness all over her face and real emotion for the first time ever. I wasn't ready for what was coming next. "Your father felt it was necessary that I got help for the problems I have had with obsessing over the lives of you and Val. Over the past 6 months I have found through therapy what was wrong and how to handle it. That's a discussion for another day."

She was playing with the hem on her apron and looking away from me, trying to hide her face. "All I want is for you to be happy. I want to see you with someone who loves you, surrounded by children, and not living away from us. You and Val have been my life's work and I can't lose that."

This is not the mother I knew. She never once made me feel like anything special or like I mattered. I always felt like I was unwanted, and a disappointment so why now am I hearing that she cares?

We all sat silently at the table until Grandma spoke up. "If it weren't for your father threatening divorce your mother would be in a worse position than she was."

I shot a look at my father. He was seriously going to divorce her after the damage was done when they were raising Val and I?

"The only thing your mother had left to lose was me so I bargained myself so the woman I fell for could get better. I'll let her tell you in her own time what has been the issue over the years but I want you to know that I will always be there to make sure she doesn't go off the deep end ever again."

I gave my parents and Grandmother a big hug and was asked to stay for lunch. I took up the offer and stayed a few hours. When I mentioned that I was going to visit Morelli to give him a piece of my mind for the las time the atmosphere changed.

"What?" I asked the three faces staring directly at me. They had confused looks on their faces.

"Word on the Burg gossip grape vine is that he was offered a job in Philly as a detective. I guess Terry Gilman and her mob world sucked him right in and they are still together." My dad said still looking at the sports section of the paper. "After coming out of the hospital from his trip down the stairs and over the railing he felt like he needed a change in his life."

I was glad that Morelli was somewhere away from my location, but I also felt as if I was robbed of an opportunity. "Don't worry pumpkin, he'll be dealing with me if he comes anywhere near you." He looked dead serious. "I had lunch with Ranger not too long ago and he let me know a few things."

I guess Carlos and I needed to have a little chat too.

With no one else on my list, and since I was already out and about, I decided it was time to schedule an Ob appointment to confirm this pregnancy.

I said goodbye to everyone and promised to bring Carlos around next visit and got into the SUV.

"From the look on your face I can tell you have some good stories to tell me about that visit." Lester said puling from the curb.

"You have no idea."

I told him everything that happened, and he was as shocked as I was.

As we were driving I didn't even have to tell Lester the address when I told him where I wanted to go next. These men needed to stop cataloguing my every location.

Thankfully my ObGyn was not in the Burg so I didn't have to worry about the gossip mill catching wind of me being here. I made my first appointment and sent the details to Carlos.

I couldn't wait to get the ball moving on this pregnancy and all the changes that will come with it. On my way back to Rangeman I placed my hand on my stomach and felt at peace with myself for once.

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