All familiar characters belong to Janet. The inevitable mistakes are mine. The Mother's Day gifts I saw online.

"Did you get it?" Julie asked Stephanie from the screen on my cell.

"If it's a squishy package with Wonder Woman wrapping paper, then yes … your Dad just plopped it onto my lap. I thought presents would wait until I managed to get out of bed after your sister 'served' me breakfast in it, but I guess we're doing it now."

"Did Olive spill the juice again?" Our eldest asked.

"No, but Gunny got one of my pancake tacos when it slid completely off the plate."

"Bad, Gummy," Olivia scolded again.

"Don't blame Gunny, Olive," my wife said, hugging our baby to her and kissing the still messy bed head, "you and Daddy did such a good job making breakfast, Gunny couldn't resist trying it. He should've left Mo a bite though. Poor guy."

"Pourd Mo," Olive agreed, nodding sympathetically.

"You're going to need a bigger bed after the baby's born and I'm visiting if you keep using it as the family gathering spot. It looks like a tight fit already from here," Julie noted.

"I'll just cuddle up closer to your Dad to make room," my wife teased.

"Ewww. Gross, Steph."

"Sorry. Too early in the morning for RangeDad comments?"

"No. Those kind are not appreciated at any time of the day. Well, are you going to open my Mother's Day present or what?"

"You know you don't have to get me anything."

"Daa-aad, she's doing it again," my daughter said.

"I can hear that," I told her. "Julie sees you as more than just her stepmom, Steph. So just enjoy all the benefits that come from that."

"I am. I just meant that they don't require presents," my wife stated. "Jules, you're five feet of positivity that's a gift in itself."

"Jeez … this is your day, not mine," Julie said. "Stop deflecting. If it makes you feel better, it's not much. I just thought you'd like it. I asked Dad to give it to you before you get dressed. If you're really planning on telling everyone that I'm getting a baby brother, it could be a fun way to help with that."

"Sold. I'm unwrapping it as we speak. Olive, can you help Mama pull the paper off Julie's gift. We want to see what is."

"I elp too."

"This could take a while," I deadpanned to Julie.

"I know. But I've got some time."

"Oh, Jules. I love it. Wait … I love them."

Stephanie first unfolded a black T-shirt that had the words 'Boy Mom' written in the style of a classic AC/DC concert tee, with a lightning bolt instead of the hyphen. Then she unfolded a matching black onesie that read 'Mama's Boy'. Not to leave out her baby sister, Julie also added a third coordinating shirt for Olive stating 'Mama's Girl'.

"I'm digging around in the paper," Steph was saying as she was doing just as she said, "but I don't see a Julie-size shirt in here. You'd better have one for you somewhere in your room."

"That says what?" Julie asked.

"I don't know … 'Dream Girl', 'Steph's Sidekick', 'Killer Kid'?"

"Babe … killer kid?"

"Yeah. In the cool way, not the homicidal kind."

"How about you just wear the shirt today and we'll call it even?" Julie suggested. "I wanna see how long it takes for one of the Uncles to figure out what you're not saying."

"That's mean, but also perfect," Steph decided. "You just gave me a huge incentive to hurry through a shower and get myself dressed."

While I enjoyed the idea of helping our baby spoil my wife this morning, Stephanie insisted on wearing pajamas to bed last night when we were ready for sleep after enjoying each other. It surprised me how much I dislike having a fabric barrier between us. Even in the early days when Steph insisted on wearing my T-shirt to bed while Olivia was sleeping in a bassinet by our bed, my body had just as much access to all the soft skin beneath it as she had to mine.

"I wish I could be in two places at once," Julie said, "but there's only a month-and-a-half left of school and then I can come visit. We can go shopping for Olive and Dad's birthdays and for more baby stuff."

"First off, you're not 'visiting', Jules. You're coming home," my wife told her. "And not only are we going to be shopping for a ton of things, your Dad is working out a way to expand the apartment to accommodate our growing family, so we might hit you up for design ideas or paint colors."

"Really?" She asked.

"Yes," I replied, moving even closer to my girls so I'd be visible. "We only have you for a few years before you decide to branch out on your own, and we want to savor the time we have left."

"Says the guy who had to disappear for months on end when you were active duty. I'm not going that far, anywhere that dangerous, or for that long, Dad. Even when I'm old, I'm going to be showing up at your door."

"You heard her, Ranger. I'll double-check with Arlen, but that counts as a verbal agreement in a court of law, doesn't it?" Steph asked.

"It does."

"I love you guys," Julie said.

"Right back at you," Steph said.

"I'll call you tonight," I told our daughter.

"You'd better. I want to hear how everything went. I'm gonna call Grandma later and get her reaction straight from her."

"You're old enough to hear that your grandmother knows everything all the time, so she probably already sensed Stephanie's carrying a boy."

"I'd accuse you of trying to be funny, Dad, but I don't think you're kidding."

"I'm not," I told her, snaking an arm around Olivia before she could crawl all the way over Mo and off the bed.

"I'll see if you're right. I'll talk to you tonight. Enjoy Mom's Day, Steph."

"I already am."

The day was off to a good start, and it got even better when we left the apartment and headed to the fifth floor where Ella and the men had their own small surprise planned. You can tell it's a special day because Mado decided to join us and walked out of the apartment in-between Mo, Gunny, and Olivia.

Our family spilled out onto the fifth floor a minute later. Gunny went to the right, Mo went straight, and Mado didn't move.

"Come, kitty," Olive ordered, tapping her leg harder than she needed to.

Mado only does what she chooses to do, and it wasn't to follow our mutts or Olivia. She jumped up onto an empty desk chair not far from where Steph's old cubby is, clearly agreeing that this is the section of the control room that sees zero action.

Everyone yelled 'Surprise!' when we were spotted. Then the men rethought that idea when Stephanie appeared so surprised, she could've gone into early labor.

"Shit, Steph," Lester said. "We didn't mean to scare you."

My wife being my wife, she suddenly looked annoyed that they'd think they spooked her. "I'm not scared, more confused. It's not my birthday, so a surprise party seems a little out of place."

"Not if it's Mother's Day and you're a Mom, plus a Mom-to-be," Bobby told her.

"Doesn't a party fall into Ranger's camp, since he's half the reason I have one-and-a-half kids?" My wife asked.

"No," Woody replied. "We get to have Olive in our lives, that's celebration enough considering the crap we deal with on the job. And now we get another Manoso Menace to turn our days around. You deserve more than a store-bought cake for that."

"Don't be rude … store-bought cakes are one of my favorite kinds of cakes," my wife assured them.

That's when a silence fell in stages throughout the control room, followed by whispers as the words on Stephanie's shirt were noticed.

"Why …?" was said by Ram before Ramon cut him off.

"Olive's a girl," he said, stating the obvious.

"She is," I told him.

"So why does Steph's shirt say 'Boy Mom'?" Lester asked.

Bobby elbowed him. "Isn't it obvious? We're having a boy this time around."

The floor went silent again and Steph leaned into me. "What's happening?"

"They're processing the information. Give them a minute."

Thirty-seconds was all they needed. A cheer rang out and Olive's body went up high in the air as the Uncles' excitement mounted.

"We're having a boy?" Lester asked us.

"I'm having him, but yes … Ranger, Olive, Julie, and you guys are getting a mini-Range Man at the end of this pregnancy. I already put in my order for a boy just like Ranger, that'll have a lot of you guys mixed in. Jerks like Mireya's ex need not apply."

"That guy's nothing but a worm farm now," Lester said. "Who would've thought she'd be trading up with Bobby."

"Dude, being put above a stalker isn't really much of a compliment," Zero pointed out.

"True," Zip agreed. "All you have to be is not an abusive tool to be considered an improvement."

"I changed my mind," my wife said to the room. "I want my son to be only like Ranger. He saves his teasing for the third Monday of every month. You guys sound like my nieces in the background of every one of Val's 'Save My Sanity' calls."

"You summed them up accurately, Babe. When they aren't on the job or a mission."

"I know. I learned pretty quick that all the joking around is a stress reliever. I wish I could say the same about me. I'm just really immature and can find almost anything funny if I have enough time."

"We'd worry less if that were true, Steph," Hal told her. "You can be intense … scary even."

"Now I'm getting all those warm, fuzzy feelings I was expecting a few minutes ago. I'm ready to continue on with the day."

"We call dibs on the time you have left before you leave for Newark," Lester informed her. "We got cake."

"Cake? Where?"

"We just finished breakfast," I reminded her.

"You grow a whole new human and then tell me that cake isn't necessary at all times."

"Good one, Steph," Woody said. "You can do the only thing the Boss can't."

"And do it well, if this is the end product," Bobby added, snagging Olivia as she was running by with someone's phone in her hands.

"I'll take that," Zip said, retrieving his cell. "You'd make an excellent petty thief, Olive."

"Or you turn careless when you're working in the building so you're just an easy target," I told him.

"Where's that cake?" He asked to take the attention off himself.

"It's right here," Ella announced, wheeling in on a small cart a football field-sized sheet cake covered with purple icing roses.

I caught my wife's eye and we both relived the moment I was released from the hospital after Scrog when I fed her roses off the cake she'd brought me.

"You're my new favorite person, Ella," my wife said, eyeing the cake similarly to how she looks at me when we're alone.

"Don't fill up on cake, Babe. I don't want you exploding when my mother attempts to overfeed you."

Edna had the same goal in mind when we'd gone to her apartment to drop off her gift. We had invited them to come with us to my parents' house, but in a move that Steph and I approve of … Grandma Mazur and Frank will be joining Valerie today since Val no longer spends holidays like this one with Helen.

Olivia ate most of Steph's piece of cake, using the 'big person fork' so it was a moot point. I could tell the conversation that flowed through the fifth floor made my wife extremely happy. She had to nix the idea of our son learning to shoot before he gets out of diapers, the same way she killed that idea when it was suggested after she'd had Olivia. The Uncles aren't favoring one child over the other based on gender like Helen did. They're happy to torture Stephanie regardless with countless stupid and unsafe ideas to keep our children busy.

The good times continued to roll as we were leaving for Newark.

"Hey, Happy Mama's Day, Steph," Gene said when we stepped off the elevator into the lobby. "And congratulations on the baby boy. I just received the news via the employee group email."

I felt Steph's eyes on me before she spoke. "I've never asked before, but who's in charge of spilling Rangeman news?"

"Tank when it involves something important, Santos when it comes to something he wants to brag about or gossip he feels the need to share."

She nodded. "That's what I was guessing. Did Simone like her Mother's Day gift, Gene? I got a quick text from Jaxton, and it seemed like she did."

He turned a bright shade of embarrassed. But as his relationship with the mother and son has progressed, he's less reluctant to discuss it.

"She did. Thanks for helping Jax pick something out for her. I wanted to, but …"

"You're still in the beginning stages," she finished for him. "I get it. And anytime he needs something, he knows to call me."

I tried not to interfere with her helping the boy beyond initially sharing who I got her jewelry and our girls' charms from. But without her or Jaxton knowing, I arranged to pay for his gift and have the money Jax has earned from helping Raphael and Aubrey with Hades - and what Steph added to it to complete the purchase of his present for his mom - donated to the local women's shelter. I know my wife will find out what I've done, but I also know she won't be upset if the money was given to charity.

Since Jax picked just a single Black Pearl on a simple silver chain, I rounded up the donation to make it worth the time it took to write out an actual check. Ever since Simone's ex left her and their son, she and Jaxton have a recurring date to watch the Pirate movies every Saturday. His father isn't much of one, but she continues to show Jax not only how much she loves him, but also how much she loves spending time with him.

"Thanks," Gene said after a few beats. "This is new for me …"

"You're doing well," I assured him. "You're supporting Simone but not overstepping any boundaries. Give yourself a break. It's been just her and Jaxton for a while now. The fact that she is including you in these moments, is telling."

"You're a genuinely good guy, Gene," Steph added, after a quick sprint to keep Olivia from leaving without us. "Simone and Jax know that and really appreciate it and you."

His blush reappeared, but he appeared to sit up a little straighter. That seemed like a good time to leave. Steph clearly agreed by letting our daughter loose again. On the drive to my parents' place I kept cutting my eyes to my wife, concerned that Helen and this day would be haunting her.

As she often does, Stephanie surprised me. My mother had the front door open before I had turned off the Cayenne, and my wife's greeting was happily rushed ... 'Happy Mother's Day, Mama Manoso. We bought you something that Ella helped me wrap so it wouldn't look like Olive did it, but our real gift to you and Papa M. is we're having a boy that I hope you'll help me make as amazing as your son turned out to be'."

My mother got my wife in a concerningly tight hug, and I could see over her shoulder that Steph's eyes are overly bright. In my mother's care and company, I needn't worry that Stephanie is missing Helen. As Santos so in-eloquently stated, she's traded up big time when it comes to mother figures.