Familiar characters belong to Janet. The mistakes are mine alone.

"Guess what? It's your lucky day," I was told as soon as I answered the call.

"How so?" I asked.

"I picked you to be my one phone call."

"What did you do now?" I asked Kane.

"I got arrested ... again. But it wasn't my fault."

Stephanie used to say something to that effect, so I had an answer handy.

"It never is."

"This time I'm telling the truth. Some asshole was fucking around with his friends and knocked Harp down as she was walking out of a Mall-store with Kenzie." He went quiet ... always a dangerous sign when it comes to Kane. "Harp tried to break her fall, but she landed on her stomach, Ranger."

"She and your daughter are alright?" I asked, looking down at my own baby girl who's currently sitting on my lap, playing with the toys and non-toys on my desk, her tiny Pebble's-like ponytail tickling my chin whenever I moved in closer.

Stephanie's scheduled to go out and bring in one of her regular FTAs today and I was supposed to have our daughter and the dogs all to myself for the hour, but Kane's call changes things.

"The doc in the ER where I dragged my wife, swore both Harp and our baby are okay. I know she could be born right now and be small yet still healthy, but one half-baked member of the Cole family is enough ... and I'm it." I felt the emotional weight of his silence this time. "If we lost our baby, or something went wrong because if this, there'd be an eighty-percent chance I would've also lost Harper. She's tough as hell, but I know in my gut that she would choose to go with our daughter ... because she'd never be able to say goodbye to her. The fucker who caused this needed to be taught that actions have consequences. And if I lost anything, he'd lose a hell of a fucking lot more."

I try to always be someone my men and friends can look up to and model themselves after if they're in need of an example, but I can't see anything except Kane's side this time. If someone hurt Stephanie or endangered Olivia before or after birth, a police officer wouldn't be showing up, a medical examiner would be on the scene instead ... or just Tank agreeing to meet me in a heavily-forested area, promising to bring along a shovel.

"Where's Harper now?" I asked him, handing Olive her musical mouse teether so she wouldn't pull the landline off my desk as she lunged forward for it again.

"She's back at home, with her mom and Kenzie fussing over her. I made sure she was settled and then I hunted down the asshole. Apparently protecting and defending your wife is a crime."

"It shouldn't be," I told him, catching Steph's eye as she came in with her shoulder bag, jacket, and her FTA's file in hand.

"What's going on?" She asked me over Olivia's 'Ma ...ma ... ma ... ma' song and excitedly-bouncing body.

"There's been a change in plans for today," I told her, as she gave Mo and then Gunny rubdowns, despite only being away from them for the time it took to gather her things, before she kissed Olive and me.

All our comings and goings take a total of ten-to-fifteen minutes now, between greeting our canines and each other and kissing Olive.

"Harper was hurt and Kane needs to be bailed out because of it," I continued, watching my wife freeze at hearing that news.

"Oh God," she immediately said, knowing how catastrophic this could be. "How is she? And please ... please tell me that baby girl Cole is okay."

"Everyone's alright according to a doctor and Kane, but I need to go fix this."

"Of course you do. And Olive and I are coming along. You can drop us off wherever Harp is and then free the beast."

"Harper's at home with her mother and Kenzie," I informed Steph.

"That's perfect! I can get Harp's mind off this with Olive's non-stop energy and by grilling Kenzie about her date with Cal, since he's refusing to give anything up except that they're already working on a second one."

"I hate to intrude on Steph's plans to shakedown Kenze," Kane told me, "but can you give me an ETA of when you can get me the hell out of here and back to my wife?"

"I'll get your release started en route and pick you up in under an hour. Try not to knife anyone in that amount of time."

"You're a fucking riot ... but thanks, Man. I appreciate this more than you know."

"Anytime. I mean that. I can't blame you for protecting what's yours when I've done worse."

Steph paused in picking up Olive to cut her eyes to me. Abruzzi's memory passed between us and I still refuse to feel sorry for his apparent suicide. He didn't deserve to live, and Stephanie had every reason to ... Olivia being the most recent way she has improved just my life.

"This is why I always call you," Kane was saying. "You may bust my balls, but usually it's for my own good."

"Keep your mouth and your balls out of trouble. We're leaving now."

I disconnected and glanced at Steph.

"How is everyone really?" She asked me.

"I'm going to say Harper is handling things better than Kane."

"Was an arrest warranted?"

"Depends who you ask," I told her. "I say no, the police disagree."

"Who would hurt Harper?" She asked, as I followed her and Olive, and the dogs, out of my office. "She's the nicest person alive."

"It sounds like an accident caused by immaturity and stupidity, but that doesn't change the outcome. Kane had every right to go after the guy."

A career spent tracking down people who are actively trying to keep themselves and their vital organs concealed, would make getting the face, name, and address, of this idiot child's play to men like Kane and I.

"I'm not arguing with you," Steph told me. "I get it. With you guys, any pain caused to those you love gets turned around on the inflictor. I'll go get Olive's coat."

"I'll get it, Babe. Just tell Ram he's now on hound-duty."

"We're on it. Come on, boys," she directed our dogs, using the hip Olive is on to point them towards the control room. "We've got a new game plan for the day."

I took the stairs to our apartment and grabbed Olivia's current Winter slowly morphing into Spring jacket. I got my keys and met my girls on five again. I put Olive's coat on her while Steph kissed Gunny and Mo goodbye for now. If the Coles really needed a distraction, I'd bring the entire family along. But I resisted the urge to turn Kane and Harper's home into a mini-Rangeman by adding the mutts, and I drove from Rangeman's gate to the gated property owned by Kane.

"Maybe I should've called before just dropping in," Steph said to me, as I unbuckled Olivia from her car seat, getting me a gurgling 'Dada Baba' from my daughter.

I took that moment to kiss the smile she gave me, like she was laughing at her own Dada-joke, once again feeling kicked in the gut at how fortunate I am.

"I don't know Harper as well as I do Kane," I said, emerging from the car with Olive, "but if she purposely married him, a well-check visit from you isn't going to faze her."

"Kane's a good guy," she reminded me.

"He's one of the best, but he is work."

I was proved right, that our visit is a welcome one, when we were let inside the house Kane would never have splurged on or settled in if he hadn't met Harper. I could see Harp's shoulders relax when she spotted me. She looked paler than usual, and she was careful with her arm as she hugged Stephanie and Olivia, but she appeared unharmed beyond that.

"Oh thank God he called you," Harper said to me. "I begged Kane not to do anything crazy, but he can get a little unreasonable when it comes to protecting me and now our daughter."

"I just spoke to him," I assured her. "He's on his way home. Stephanie and Olivia wanted to check on you and see for themselves that you're alright, and I'm going to head out to make sure your husband gets home to you with no additional delays."