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Stephanie's POV

The next three days passed in much the same way. The doctor would come in and check on Ranger, lowering his medication dosages. Then I'd sit and talk to Ranger for about 30 minutes before I would take a walk around the floor and have a shower.

After a shower, I'd have a few visitors. Depending on what they were all doing, different combinations of Ran, Tank, Lula and the kids would show up. Julie would come every day. There were even times when she came with Tank or Bobby and then spend the day with just me and a sleeping Ranger.

After the 3rd day, the doctor told us that he had turned off all of the medication keeping Ranger sedated. He expected Ranger to wake up at any time. Bobby didn't want to overwhelm him so only Julie and I were allowed to be in the room with Ranger. Julie told Ranger stories about her adventures with Tank and Lula and I talked about the buildings and what Ron was working on. We even discussed whether or not she should still call him 'Ranger.' She didn't think it was really appropriate anymore, especially since he would be playing a bigger role in her life. I made a few suggestions and she promised to think about them over the next little while.

Julie was disappointed when Ranger didn't wake up straight away, but I was worried. Maybe Ranger's injuries were worse than the doctor thought. I didn't want to scare Julie so I waited until she went back to the hotel that night before I asked Bobby. "Why hasn't he woken up yet Bobby? Does this mean he's in worse shape than they thought?"

Bobby came and sat beside me and said, "It could be any number of reasons, but most likely, the drugs he was on have not yet been fully metabolised and are keeping him under. He just needs time. We just have to be patient. His body will wake up when it's ready."

I smiled and thanked Bobby and bid him a good night. He left and I was left alone with Ranger. I wasn't really feeling tired, so instead of climbing up onto my bed, I used my crutches and walked around to the other side of Ranger's bed and sat in a chair. The chair was close enough that I could hold Ranger's hand and feel connected to the man.

I started telling him about all of the things that had happened since he was injured. I told him that the Miami office is now up and running at full capacity. They moved to their new office early, but only cosmetic work remained, and that has been accelerated and completed.

The Atlanta office is still doing monitoring services remotely for Boston, but a new temporary location has been found and they are scheduled to switch monitoring duty back to Boston by the end of the week.

The Trenton building was deemed stable enough for salvage, but not for occupation. As a result, a group of RangeMan, friends, family, TPD Officers and several other volunteers descended upon the building and carted out anything and everything that was still in one piece and usable.

Some of the people that showed up to help really surprised me, so I told Ranger all about it. "Grandma Mazur nagged both my parents during dinner the night before the salvage operation began. All three of them turned up the next day and from what Hal says, they even had a good time."

I then went on to tell him where everyone who had been displaced by the bombing was living. "Ella and Luis have moved into one of the safe houses after it was confirmed to be bomb free. The rest of the men are distributed amongst other RangeMan personnel, with the exception of Hal. He insists on sleeping on the sofa in his office. Even though Lester is back and in charge, Hal has really taken his leadership role seriously. He insists that he will find an apartment and move when things are a bit more normal."

I squeezed his hand and took a quick bathroom break. When I returned, I said, "You know, you really are going to owe Morelli one. He came through in more than one way for you. He arranged for the new office building downtown, and according to Lester, it is way better than he expected. Morelli was also pretty involved with the whole salvage operation. He even sent out word through his contacts for volunteers. A huge group of people turned up and the building was cleared out in one day. Builders have already gone in and have started to recover the more built-in components.

"Ella told them that any salvageable parts like granite work top surfaces, cabinets or other built-in furniture should be carefully removed. She doubts that we'll want to re-use it, but she does think it could be useful to somebody. She wants to donate it to charity or something. I think that's a good idea, don't you?"

I looked over at Ranger expectantly. I hoped that he would say something in reply but I was disappointed. He made no move and he didn't look like he was paying any attention to a word I said. Despite that, I kept on talking. I told him about Fiona going to Trenton. I told him about Riley and Bobby, and finally, I told him about me and how I've been coping.

I must have fallen asleep talking because the next thing I knew, the nurse was shaking my shoulder and saying my name. I looked up at her and smiled sheepishly. She helped me get to my feet, but before she let me crawl into my bed, she wheeled it so that it was directly beside Ranger's bed.

I looked up at her and said, "What if I roll over in the middle of the night and hurt him?"

She smiled and said, "Mr. Manoso's life threatening injuries should be healed enough that even he can get up and move around once he's awake. I'm sure if you roll over onto him, he won't even feel the pain. In fact, your closeness may help soothe him and bring him out of his coma sooner. Besides, the weight of that cast on your left leg will make it unlikely that you will move too much in your sleep."

I looked down at Ranger and then back at the nurse and asked, "Is he still in a coma? That's bad, isn't it?"

The nurse helped me into my bed and said, "It's not bad unless he doesn't wake up. It is quite common for a person who was in an induced coma to take a few days to wake up. The doctor has done things a little more slowly with Mr. Manoso by weaning him off the drugs over a period of days. This was because he didn't want to shock Mr. Manoso's body or use other drugs to try and pull him out of his coma. Other doctors sometimes give drugs to wake a patient up, but that can be hard on a person. Since Mr. Manoso's injuries were so bad, we want him to wake up more naturally. This will take longer, but it is much safer."

I think Bobby tried to explain that to me before, but I never really understood. Now that the nurse has explained things to me, I feel less worried. I thanked the nurse and managed to fall asleep holding Ranger's hand to my chest within seconds of closing my eyes.

Several hours later, something forced me awake. I looked around my room and could tell that it was still early because the sun wasn't even up yet. I didn't see anything that would draw me out of sleep so I closed my eyes again and tried to get back to sleep. Just as I was drifting off again, I was jolted awake again.

This time, I was getting a bit annoyed. The pain in my leg was getting to me. I was tired and now I was grumpy. I reached for the bell to call the nurse and noticed that there was a reason why my leg was sore. Ranger had moved in his sleep. He had curled up beside me and now his leg was draped over mine.

I reached over and patted Ranger and said, "Move over Ranger, you're hurting me." I don't know why I said this because I knew he was asleep. That's why I was so shocked when Ranger did what I asked. I was so relieved on both counts. My leg was less painful and Ranger obeying my request meant that he was waking.

I turned as best as I could to see his face and saw that his eyes were twitching. He was waking up and I wanted to be the first person that he saw. A thought went through my head at that moment. What did I look like? My hair must be a nightmare. I looked over at the bathroom and contemplated going in and making myself more presentable, but I didn't get a chance.

"Babe, I don't care what you hair and makeup look like. I just want to see your beautiful eyes."

I whipped my head around and saw the greatest sight of my life. Ranger was smiling at me and he looked good. "Babe, say something."

I struggled to control my emotions to find my voice. It took me a few moments before I could speak. I looked at Ranger and said, "You don't know how happy I am that you're awake. I've been talking to you non-stop for 5 days now, so I'm sure you woke up just so you didn't have to listen to me talk anymore."

Ranger reached out and touched my face and then said, "I'd gladly listen to you talk all day Babe. I woke up because I have so much to do. It's going to months to get RangeMan up and running again."

I smiled at Ranger and said, "RangeMan is in good hands Ranger. Boston is nearly up and running in an alternate office. Trenton is fine, Atlanta is good and Miami just moved to its new office a month early. Despite all of her attempts, Gina has not destroyed you in the way she wanted."

Just then, the nurse walked into the room. I guess she was just doing her early morning rounds, but as soon as she saw that Ranger was awake, she went to fetch the doctor. The nurse, the doctor and Bobby came in a few minutes later and the doctor poked and prodded Ranger. He looked at the wounds on Ranger's back and had him in a sitting position and talking by the time our breakfast was brought in.

"Now, Mr. Manoso, we currently have an IV giving you fluids and some nutrients. If you can manage to eat your breakfast, I will come back before visiting hours and have your IVs removed. That way you can move around, maybe even get out of bed. Mr. Brown here can help." Bobby moved forward and nodded at Ranger, show nodded back. The doctor was content with this non-verbal interchange so he left us to our breakfast.

Ranger's POV

I looked down at the tray in front of my and groaned. I didn't look at food the same way as other people. I ate because I needed the fuel, not because I enjoyed it. That is, unless I'm eating with my Babe. But then again, the enjoyment there is watching her eat and not so much my own enjoyment of the food.

I forced myself to eat the food because I wanted out of this hospital as soon as possible. I looked over at Steph and she was doing the same. Based on her grimace, her breakfast was no more appealing. I struggled with each bite of the gloopy oatmeal. A few times, I had to swallow very hard to suppress my gag reflex. I looked over at my Babe and said, "For the first time in my life, I am actually wishing that I could have one of those fat and sugar filled breakfasts that Ella insisted on making for you. This stuff is inedible."

My Babe smiled and said, "I'll send Lula a text and ask her to bring something edible. I'm sure a bit of fat and sugar will actually do you some good on your road to recovery."

I doubted that, but I wasn't going to argue with her. I smiled my thanks and watched as she pulled out her phone and sent a text message. I pushed my tray table away and tried to swing my legs over the side of the bed. Bobby moved to my side and just stood there until I asked for help. I knew he would make me ask before he would help, unless I fell on my ass. I looked up at him and said, "I'm going to try and stand on my own. If I'm a bit wobbly, I'll need your help to make sure I don't fall on my ass."

Bobby nodded, saying "Sure, no problem. Before we go anywhere, let's get you something to wear other than a backless gown. Just sit tight and I'll be right back."

I sat on the edge of my bed and looked over at Steph. She was standing by the door with her crutches and was looking at me. She smiled and said, "I'm going to go for my walk now. I'll just wait for Bobby to return and then I'll leave you on your own. The first time around can be pretty painful so I don't want you to have to worry about me while you need to be concentrating on yourself. Besides, I want to get back and have a shower before you return."

My Babe smiled and headed out when Bobby returned a few minutes later with a pair of scrubs. He helped me get the pants on and then carefully removed my IV so I could put on a shirt. He didn't remove the catheter just in case I needed it later for fluids and pain meds. That actually got me to thinking about my current status and pain. I was stiff but I wasn't really sore at this time. I knew that the effort of getting up and moving around would be painful, but it was something that I needed to do in order to get out of here.

Once on my feet, I stood there for a few minutes before attempting to take a step. My first few steps were tentative and awkward, but I didn't fall over or require Bobby's help. We moved out into the hallway and I managed to do a loop around the floor before I started to feel any pain. I must have verbally indicated that I was in pain because Bobby came to my side and said, "Lean on me if you need to Ranger."

I smiled at him and said, "I think I'll take you up on your offer my friend." I put my arm on his shoulder and let him help me walk back to the room I shared with my Babe. When I got inside, I could hear Stephanie moving around in the bathroom. I let Bobby help me climb back into bed and asked, "I think I need something to help with the pain. I would prefer something that won't make me drowsy. I want to visit with Julie when she comes and I don't want to be in pain but I don't want to be asleep either.

Bobby nodded and said, "I'll go talk to the doctor and get you something for the pain."

I smiled and waited for Bobby to return with some drugs and for my Babe to come out of the bathroom. While I was waiting, a nurse came in with a small tub of water. She set the tub on the table and said, "I'm here to give you a bath Mr. Manoso. Because of your stitches, it's not possible for you to have a shower."

I was just about to object to a stranger giving me a sponge bath when Stephanie came out of the bathroom and asked, "Can I do that?"

The nurse turned and looked at Stephanie and said, "Sure dear, just as long as you avoid the areas with stitches. Once Mr. Manoso is cleaned up, come and let me know and I'll come back to change his dressings. The doctor will be by just before visiting hours as well."

I smiled at Stephanie once the nurse had left and said, "Thanks Babe, getting a bath from a stranger would have been quite awkward."

I watched as Stephanie closed the door and hobbled over to the side of my bed. She dipped a wash cloth into the warm soapy water and wring out the excess. She spent the next 15 minutes thoroughly washing my body. It was one of the most erotic things I have ever experienced, and based on my body's reaction, my Babe could tell. Every time she touched me, she blushed.

When I was deemed clean enough, Stephanie helped me put on a clean pair of pants and then went to fetch the nurse. Bobby came in and then helped the nurse change my bandages. Once my bandages were changed, Bobby handed me a brand new t-shirt and helped me put it on.

We had about 20 minutes before visiting hours were due to start so I asked Bobby to excuse us and I spent those 20 minutes just holding my Babe and talking about all the things I'd like to see an do with her. We talked about the new RangeMan buildings and where I was going to live when we returned to Trenton. "Come on Ranger, you don't want to live in my apartment. It's small, ugly, cramped and unsecure."

"I want to be where you are Babe. Short of finding a new place together, it's our best option."

Stephanie smiled and said, "You mean you want us to get our own place?"

I nodded and then said, "I've been thinking about this for a while. I lived at RangeMan because it was convenient, but it's not really the ideal environment to do all those silly things I once said I didn't do."

I watched the confusion on my Babe's face turn to excitement. I thought it was because she understood what I was saying, but it was because we were no longer alone. She squealed when Lula handed her a bag and Julie came running. As soon as she was close enough, she wrapped her arms around me and said, "I'm so glad to see that you're finally awake Papa."

I took hold of her shoulders and looked into her smiling face. I was glad to see my little girl, but I was surprised by what she had called me. I raised an eyebrow and I saw Julie look up at Stephanie. She then turned back to me and said, "When you were sleeping, I explained to Stephanie that I didn't want to keep calling you Ranger. We discussed a few options and I decided on Papa. Ron can still be Dad, but you'll be Papa. Is that OK?"

"Of course it's OK Julie. What were some of the other choices?"

Julie laughed and started naming various things she thought about calling me. I'm glad she chose Papa because some of the other options weren't quite so appealing. Julie grinned at me and said, "In the end, it was a tossup between Papi and Papa. Emma said that Papi sound like the name of a puppy, so I didn't use that."

I looked up at Emma, who was smiling shyly and said, "I'm glad you didn't encourage Julie to call me Papi. She's far too grown up for that."

Emma looked at Ranger with a very serious face and said, "But I'm not too old. Can I call you Papi?"

Every person in the room except Emily turned to look at Ron. I caught Ron's eye and raised my eyebrow. Ron simply nodded and smiled at his little girl and said, "I think Papi is much better than Ranger. Don't you think so Emma?"

She smiled and said, "Yes Daddy, Papi is better than Ranger. He can be my Mommy substitute."

I wasn't sure what to make of this development. I knew Ron was worried about how his kids would cope with Rachel gone, and it was clear that he was struggling with his daughter's most recent comments. I caught Julie's eye and she winked at me, causing me to forget about most of my problems. I wanted to focus on getting better and making the most of the time I'd get to spend with my daughter and my Babe.

Diego decided that he wanted in on this debate as well. He left Lula's side and walked right up to my bed. He looked me in the eye and said, "I don't want to call you Papi, Papa or Ranger. Do you have another name I could use?"

"Well Diego, Ranger is just a nickname. My real name is Carlos, but only close friends and family use that name. You could use that if you'd like."

Diego nodded and said, "I'm family, so I suppose I will call you Carlos."

Emma jumped up and down beside him and said, "Me too, I will call you Papi Carlos."

I laughed out loud at all of the attention I was getting from these wonderful children. I was really looking forward to seeing them more often. That reminded me. I turned, looked at Ron and said, "Stephanie tells me the good news. You've decided to come and work for RangeMan and design us some new buildings."

Ron nodded and said, "The addition of the 2nd building is actually what convinced me. If I ever decide to start my own business, two buildings under my belt will be much better than one. Besides, it is clear that the kids will love spending time with you and your extended family."

Ron looked around the room at everyone and asked, "How long do you think you'll be stuck in the hospital?"

I wasn't sure so I looked to Bobby. Bobby said, "The doctor says he wants you here for at least three more days. That means that if everything goes well, you can get out of here on Sunday afternoon."

Three more days wasn't the best news, but then again it could be worse. I had just woken from a coma so in reality, three days was a pretty good. I looked over at Stephanie who started to speak. "Dr. Hahn has extended my stay, but now that you're awake, I'll likely be discharged today. My doctor will be here around 4, so I'll know for sure then. Bobby, if you could be here, that would be a great help."

Bobby smiled and said, "You can count on it Bomber. I'll be here with bells on."

I looked at Bobby, who refused to make eye contact with me and grinned. I remembered what Stephanie said about Bobby's feelings for this particular doctor, but I refused to call him on it. In fact, I even noticed the connection between Tank and Lula. I looked over at them and watched as Diego wedged himself between Tank and Lula. Tank glared down at the boy who in turn, looked up and grinned at Tank as Lula scooted away from Tank to make room for Diego. I actually laughed out loud at the sight.

Nobody could figure out what caused me to laugh except Tank. He grimaced and decided to walk over to me. "It's good to see you old friend. We were worried about you for a while there."

"Thank Tank. I was hoping to talk to you, Bobby and Ron for a moment." I looked around the room and said, "Hey kids, why don't you and Lula see if you can race Stephanie around the floor? You'll have to walk carefully and keep an eye out for other people. This is a hospital after all."

The kids all jumped up and I looked pleadingly at Stephanie. She must have understood my need to talk to the men alone. Either that or she overheard my request to Tank. Either way, she, Lula and the kids went out into the hall leaving the men alone. I looked at all of them and said, "Gentleman, I think it's time that we got back to the business of getting RangeMan back to strength. Tank, I want you to head back to Trenton tomorrow. I also want you to take Ron and the kids with you.

"Ella and Luis are already at the safe house and I'm sure they have everything ready for their arrival. Ron, you and the kids will live in the house and Ella and Luis will live in the guest house on the same property. Ella will take care of you. She will cook, clean, babysit, whatever you need. She will love to have somebody to take care of. Ever since her apartment and RangeMan was destroyed, I'm sure she's bored."

Next, I turned back to Tank and said, "I need either you or Lester to go up to Boston and take command. Dan is still in hospital and even though I'm sure his temporary replacement can handle the job, I'd rather have one of my core team there to do the administrative part of the job."

"As for you Bobby, I'm going to need you with me. As soon as I'm discharged, I want to head back to Trenton but I'm also going to need your help to make sure I get back into shape as soon as possible without overdoing it or getting hurt in the process."

All three men nodded but Ron was the first to speak. "I actually already have something to show you for the Boston building if you'd like to look at it later this afternoon. Stephanie has made a few suggestions and I was planning on adding them to the plans after we leave here this morning."

"Wow Ron, that was fast. According to Steph, you only started three days ago."

Ron nodded and said, "I figured the sooner the better. Tank and Lula have been taking really good care of the kids so that has provided me with a lot of time to dedicate to my work. So far, the plans are only in a rough format, but there's enough there for you to get an idea of where I'm going and what I've come up with."

I looked at Bobby and Tank. Both men were staring at Ron with their mouths open. They remembered the hassle we went through to get an architect to come up with acceptable blueprints for our original building. It took him months to come up with a first draft, most of which we rejected. I looked at Ron and said, "Bring your laptop. If Steph is discharged, they'll remove her bed and I'll ask for them to set up a desk. We can sit together and go through everything. If any changes are required, you can do that back in Trenton."

"That sounds good Ranger. I do have one request however."

"Sure, what can I do?"

"Well, before you send us back to Trenton, I'd like to talk with you and Julie. I have a feeling that she might want to stay here until you return to Trenton. Since Bobby and Stephanie are both going to stay as well, I'm not worried about Julie's safety. I'm worried about how she'll feel if she is forced to leave with the rest of us."

I could see where Ron was coming from and said, "If you are OK with her staying then we can let her decide if she stays or goes back to Trenton."

It was good that this ended our discussion because less than a minute later, Stephanie practically ran in the door on her crutches. She was giggling and sweating, but she won. The kids and Lula joined her moments later and they all collapsed onto the little sofa inside the door. Lula had both Diego and Emma on her lap and Julie was sitting on Steph's good leg. They all looked happy. Their happiness made me happy and I sat in silence, watching my Babe smile, laugh and joke around with our family. Yup, that's right. I thought of this gang of misfits as my family, especially my Babe. I just had to figure out the best way to tell her how I felt. Maybe date number 2 was in order sooner rather than later.

I'll post another chapter soon. Let me know what you thought of this one.