This one's a little shorter than the previous couple, but I'm sure you won't hold that against me. Please enjoy.

Carlos' POV

On my morning walk, I found that my back was feeling a lot better. I twisted and flexed my shoulders and back as I did my rounds. Each time I passed the nurses' station, a nurse would add a tick to the board. I finally called it quits when she crossed out the 4th set of 5 marks, indicating that I had just walked around the floor 20 times.

It wasn't a 5 mile jog, but it did get my heart rate up. I walked into my room and pulled out some fresh clothes from the bag Bobby had left. I had a quick shower and was back out in my room checking my email when Bobby walked in around 8:30.

"Hey man, how are you feeling today?"

"I'm fine Bobby. I just did 20 laps of the floor and I haven't had any pain meds in over 12 hours. The doctor also came by last night and listened to my lungs when I blew into that stupid tube. He seemed satisfied with what he heard and because there was a cancellation, I had a scan done."

Bobby looked at me and said, "What time is the doctor due in today?"

"I'm not sure. He said that he might release me early if the scan comes back clear."

"That's great news. I'll go see if I can get a look at your scans and find out when your doctor is due back."

Before Bobby disappeared, I asked, "Bobby, how was your date last night?"

I saw pain cross Bobby's face for an infinitesimal amount of time before he smiled and said, "It was great actually. Riley's a great girl. I just wish she didn't live all the way down here."

I smiled at Bobby and said, "Keep the faith man, it'll work out the way it's meant to."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I don't suppose you want to open a RangeMan branch in Baltimore?"

"Maybe not Baltimore, but I wouldn't rule out D.C. somewhere down the road."

Bobby gave me a small smile and threw me the breathing tube before he headed out of the room. I picked up the contraption and took a deep breath. I knew I could reach the 15 second mark because I'd done it the night before, so it only took me 3 tries before I pushed the tube away and set it on the table.

I walked over to the table and booted up the laptop. I checked my email and found an invitation for a meeting with Joe at 2PM on Monday. I accepted the meeting request and read through the other messages. There were several messages from clients thanking RangeMan for our continued high levels of service even though we had suffered a serious setback.

A few emails expressed a desire to increase their levels of protection and there were also many requests from new customers. I thought about these requests and then sent Tank an email explaining that Stephanie and I would handle all upgrade and new customer requests. Since we would both be on restricted duties, it actually made sense that we worked together on this project. It would bring money into the company and it would reinforce our place in the community. On a more personal level, it would allow me to work closely with my Babe and it would be good experience for her as I hoped she would be able to do this sort of thing on her own in the future.

After I finished with the emails, I started doing a few Google image searches for things I wanted to put in the house. I looked at fireplaces, pools, windows, doors and a lot of other things. If I found something that I wanted to show Stephanie, I bookmarked the site or saved a picture. I was busy looking at the different types of worktop surfaces for a kitchen when Bobby came back in.

He looked at the screen over my shoulder and looked a bit confused. I didn't think it needed to be a secret so I said, "I'm building a house. I'm just passing the time by looking at various things that I might want to put in it."

"I guess we'll all need to find somewhere new to live eh? I haven't really thought about it too much."

"You don't have to Bobby. Tank has allocated the safe house closest to the new RangeMan offices to you. There isn't a lot of space in the office for you to set up an infirmary so you'll have to do that at the safe house. It's only 2 blocks away from the new office and it's actually a pretty nice place. It's pretty big just for one person, but I figured you might want to set up your office there rather than run back and forth to the office for the time being."

"That sounds good Ranger. It doesn't make sense to have the infirmary and my office in two different locations. Two blocks isn't that far. We'll also need to figure out where to do our physical fitness work and our firearms training."

"There are a lot of things still up in the air, but at least our customers are covered and happy. The publicity we received over this whole thing has actually encouraged a lot of new business. I just hope we can handle it."

"Me too. Hal was saying that the offices are really cramped, but they're doing their best. Maybe we need to look for additional office space and hiring more men."

"I think you're right Bobby. I'll get on that as soon as we're back in Trenton. Even if I get released today, I don't expect to fly home until tomorrow. That means that your evening is free if you want to spend more time with Riley."

"Thanks Ranger. I'd actually like to see her again before I leave. Your doctor is coming by around 11 and I want to be here then. I'll call Riley and see if she's free this afternoon or this evening. What time are Bomber and Julie coming?"

"They should be here any moment. They're bringing breakfast. Why don't you stay and join us?"

"Thanks. I will, I just want to call Riley and see if we can make some plans. I'll be back in a bit."

Bobby disappeared and I was alerted to the presence of Julie and Babe by the smell of something wonderful. They walked into the room pushing a trolley similar to the ones the nurses brought the hospital food in on. I looked at my Babe and wondered how she managed to get all this food here without falling over. She must have sensed my wonder because she said, "Two lovely young men from the hotel helped us with the food. I gave them a nice tip and they carried the trays and bags here. I borrowed a trolley from a nurse when we got to the floor."

I looked at the trolley and saw that there was plenty of food. I was just about to say something when my stomach growled as loudly as Babe's was known to do from time to time. "Whoa there, I think we need to get you some food before your belly rebels Carlos. You are beginning to sound like me."

I laughed and said, "I can't explain it, but the smell of that food just set it off. I'm starving again."

"What's that smell?" Bobby joined us and walked in to help Babe and Julie set up breakfast. As soon as they were done, Babe handed me a plate and said, "You first Batman."

I took the plate and added some scrambled eggs, sausages, a pancake with syrup and even some sautéed potatoes. Bobby watched me with an appraising eye and patted me on the back once I sat down on the chair. Julie helped Babe with her plate and then she and Bobby had a turn. We talked and laughed as we ate. While we ate, I noticed that Bobby was in a pretty chipper mood. After we all had our fill, Stephanie and Julie started to clean up. I pulled Bobby over to the side and asked, "How did it go with Riley? Will you get to see her today?"

Bobby's grin told me everything I needed to know. "Yeah, she's off today. She's just sticking close to home and catching up on some of her chores, but she invited me over to keep her company. I'm going to take her lunch after the doctor comes by."

I wished Bobby luck and was surprised when I looked over to find very few leftovers. I guess we were all hungry. I for one had three helpings and was contemplating a 4th when I thought better of it. Babe condensed the dirty dishes into two easily manageable bags and then made a quick call. Less than 5 minutes later, two hotel employees turned up to collect the remains. I took note of their names and made a plan to ensure that they were well compensated before we checked out of the hotel. Babe returned the trolley and then came back in the room to wait for the doctor to arrive.

Stephanie's POV

I was beginning to get tired of being at the hospital. There are only so many things you can talk about or look at before you start to go bat raving mad. Breakfast occupied a lot of our morning. I think it probably lasted a whole hour. By the time we had everything cleaned up, it was 10:30.

Bobby kept looking at his watch, and based on his good mood and constant grin, he was seeing Riley later today. I have to admit that I was kind of glad that Bobby would be occupied this afternoon and this evening. It meant that I could spend some alone time with Carlos and Julie. I was looking forward to some alone time with Carlos even more. Just thinking about it made me blush.

I looked up to find Carlos staring at me. This caused me to turn even redder. He simply grinned at me and winked before returning to the conversation he was having with Bobby. Julie was content with the laptop in the corner, so I decided to go into the bathroom and start packing up the things in there. I knew it was a bit of a gamble. What if the doctor didn't release Carlos today? I might be wasting my time. In the end, I decided to pack anyway. I knew that if Carlos was released today, he'd not want to waste any time standing around. This small task would save a few minutes later, so why not.

I came out from the bathroom and placed the small toiletries bag on top of the duffel bag sitting in the corner. Carlos looked at me and I just shrugged. He let it go and returned to his conversation with Bobby.

I went over to the sofa and sit beside Julie. I wasn't really looking over her shoulder, but something on the screen caught my eye. I looked at Julie and she was looking at me, waiting for a reaction. I looked up at Carlos, who hadn't noticed us so I quietly closed the lid of the laptop and whispered, "Let's leave that for now. We can talk about it later if you want."

Julie nodded and put the laptop away. In fact, she gathered all of the DVDs and various other peripherals and put them in the bag so there was little else to do. She sat down beside me and looked around the room. I knew she wanted to talk about what she had seen, but I didn't think right now was the best time or place.

Carlos and Bobby stood and Carlos said, "I'm going to stretch my legs. We won't be long."

As soon as Carlos was out of the door, Julie looked over at me and said, "I can't believe my mother made the news. I'm kind of glad we're not home right now. My friends wouldn't understand and they probably would have teased me relentlessly. That picture of her being booked wasn't very flattering."

I looked down at Julie and my heart broke for her. I hugged her close and said, "I'm pretty sure that you'll make some new friends in Trenton. Just know that there are a lot of people who love you and will not hold your mother's actions against you. You are not defined by what she did."

Julie sniffled a little and said, "I know she did something horrible to Dad and Papa, but she's still my Mom. Is it wrong that I miss her?"

"Of course it's not wrong sweetheart. Once things are a bit more settled, we'll try and figure out a schedule so you guys can visit her if that's what you want. Neither your Dad nor your Papa will keep you away from your Mom if you want to see her."

Julie nodded and cuddled up to me. I looked down at her and smiled. "What did you want to do this evening if your Papa is released from the hospital?"

"I think we should go out somewhere and celebrate your engagement to Papa."

"Engagement? When did this happen?"

We looked up and saw Bobby and Carlos in the doorway. Carlos looked a bit like a deer in headlights while Bobby looked shocked and annoyed. Carlos turned to Bobby and said, "I asked Steph yesterday. You were preoccupied so I never got a chance to share the news with you. Please keep this to yourself. We want to be the ones to tell the guys back home."

"OK. I'll keep it to myself. I'm not going to want to talk to any of the guys tonight anyways. I'll be with Riley and I don't anticipate doing any RangeMan business if I can help it. I'm officially taking the night off."

I watched Carlos grin at him and said, "As your boss, I whole heartedly approve your request for time off. I will not contact you and I will instruct Tank to make it known that Bobby Brown is offline until 09:00 tomorrow morning."

Bobby looked a bit sheepish and Julie and I laughed at his reaction to Carlos' declaration. "Thanks Ranger. I appreciate the time off."

Carlos' doctor chose that time to knock on the door and come in. He looked around at everyone, focused on Carlos and said, "Hello, I have some good news and some bad news."

I saw Carlos' face drop. I think he assumed at that moment that he was not getting out of the hospital. He looked at the doctor but said nothing. "I'll start with the good news. Your scans came back clean. There is no sign of infection and the damage to your lungs looks like it is healing nicely."

"Then what's the bad news?"

"Ah, well, in order to leave the hospital, you're going to have to ride in a wheelchair. It's hospital policy."

Carlos' face turned from a blank expression to one that made my breath catch. He was smiling so widely that that I couldn't take my eyes off of his face. Then, he tilted his head back and barked with laughter. "For a moment there, I thought you were going to tell me I couldn't leave the hospital. I'll take this kind of bad news any day. I can manage a ride in a wheelchair if it means I can get out of here."

"Just come and sign some paper work and you can be out of here within the hour."

I watched Carlos jump to his feet and say, "Lead the way."

Julie and I were left alone in the room so we gathered up all of Carlos' belongings and threw them in the bag on his bed. Bobby and Carlos returned 15 minutes later, both with grins the size of Texas on their faces. Carlos looked at the packed bag on his bed and said, "As soon as an orderly turns up with a wheelchair, I'm good to go. Are you two ladies ready to get out of here?"

We both nodded and Bobby said, "Do any of you mind if I head out now? I want to stop at the store and get a few things for my afternoon with Riley. You know, flowers, some food for a picnic, that sort of thing."

I looked over at Bobby and smiled. He looked back at Ranger, waiting for permission to leave. Carlos finally took pity on him and said, "You are offline as of this moment. Have a great time and we'll see you tomorrow morning when we head to the airport. I'll text you the flight details, but don't feel obligated to read them until later."

Bobby grinned and was gone. Carlos turned back to us and said, "I guess the next thing on the agenda is lunch. Is there a good place to stop between here and the hotel?"

Julie nodded and we gathered up our things to wait for the wheelchair. Julie insisted on carrying my purse and Carlos insisted on carrying the duffel bag, leaving me with just my crutches to manhandle. That was probably a good idea as balancing a bag with mu crutches wasn't the easiest thing in the world. We were joined a few minutes later by an orderly with a wheelchair and the nurse that had reassured me when Carlos was still in a coma. She looked at me and smiled and said, "Mr. Manoso, I do believe that your chariot awaits. Please climb aboard so that your lovely wife and daughter can get the hell out of here."

There was no need to tell Carlos this twice. He practically jumped into the chair with his duffel bag on his lap. Less than 5 minutes later, we were standing on the sidewalk in front of the hotel. Carlos looked around and said, "Lead the way to a place where we can get lunch." Julie took his hand and led him with me following along in their wake.

The next chapter will be up in a couple of days. Encouragement is always welcome.