Carlos raised a brow when Stephanie got in the car. He placed his book in the console. "Done already?" Carlos wisely waited in the parking lot, sensing Stephanie wouldn't stay at work long.
"Yup. I received the best news," Stephanie replied, slamming her door. "I got fired. We have eight days before we report for duty." Carlos was amused that Stephanie was happy about losing a job.
"Babe," Carlos growled. Stephanie giggled as Carlos broke every traffic law before squealing to a stop at their house in Ewing Township.
Tank heard the car and opened the front door. He laughed when Carlos carried Stephanie from the vehicle into the house. Lester waggled his eyebrows as the couple went up the stairs.
"Thank God we got the bedroom soundproofed," Bobby said, laughing at the situation. Bobby's phone beeped. As the medic, he tracked immunizations and other critical medical protocols. He noticed Stephanie was due for her birth control injection.
"What are you reading?" Tank asked, attempting to read Bobby's screen.
"Stephanie's due for the shot," Bobby said.
"Doesn't she usually remind you a few weeks early?" Lester wondered.
"Yes. I'm curious why she hasn't," Bobby replied.
Tank grinned, suspecting Stephanie and Carlos were trying to have a baby. "Her contract is nearly over. Hopefully, in a year, we will become uncles," Tank said.
Lester cheered and grabbed the bottle of wine he purchased earlier to celebrate the successful rescue of the children in Colombia. None of the children were violated or abused. It was the best possible scenario. However, they were malnourished and dehydrated. The US Military arrived to move the children to a safe location until they could find a safe home for the children to live in.
Stephanie and Carlos went downstairs after showering. They blushed when Tank, Bobby, Lester and Hector toasted them. "I think they know," Stephanie whispered from the side of her mouth. Carlos tipped his head back and laughed. Stephanie loved seeing her husband laughing. It was better than their expression after returning from a FUBAR mission where they witnessed death and destruction they were powerless to prevent.
"You are the light in my life," Carlos said, pulling Stephanie on his lap as he sat on the couch.
"Hear, hear," the others replied, raising their glasses to toast Stephanie.
"Should we expect a niece or nephew soon?" Lester asked.
"I thought there was more inside your thick skull," Stephanie teased. "Carlos and I decided to have a child before we get too old or hardened by the military to be acceptable parents to our children."
"Steph, you take excellent care of us," Bobby said, making Stephanie fall off Carlos' lap from laughing to hard.
"You guys take better care of me. I wouldn't know how to cook if Bobby and Hector didn't teach me," Stephanie confessed. She shoved Bobby's shoulder.
Bobby chuckled as he entered information into the calendar to track a potential pregnancy. He wanted to run blood labs in eight weeks to see if Stephanie got pregnant. Every woman's reaction to stopping birth control was different. Some got pregnant immediately, while others took several years. It all had to do with their hormones. He wondered if there was any truth to a couple frequently having sex and not getting pregnant.
Stephanie stretched her neck from side to side. She felt some tightness in her shoulders. "I have a tension headache," Stephanie groaned. Carlos spread his legs to make room for Stephanie to sit between them. He gently massaged her strained muscles. "You are very good with your hands."
"I'm all about precision, Babe."
"Hey, that's my line," Bobby whined. Stephanie giggled as Carlos continued to loosen the tight muscles causing her headache.
Her head fell forward as she fell asleep. Carlos tightened his legs, holding Stephanie in place. After trailing his hands down Stephanie's arms, he wrapped them around her, pulling her flush against his chest.
"You're wearing her out, cuz," Lester teased. Bobby smacked the back of Lester's head.
The men had fun spending time with Stephanie in Ewing Township. They visited with Jeanne Ellen and Kyle before catching the plane, flown by Ace, to Georgia. Frank, Tank, Carlos, Vince and Bobby exit the plane. Ace waits for permission to take off. He flies Stephanie and Lester back to Texas.
Stephanie met with her handler. He asked Stephanie to sign for another three years. Knowing she wanted to spend more time with Carlos and start a family, she politely declined. General Buckingham steepled his fingers as he placed his elbows on his desk. Stephanie patiently waited for Buckingham to get to the point. He obviously wanted something from Stephanie.
"I have another contract to offer," Buckingham said. Stephanie remained silent. She wanted to know what he planned to suggest. "You're an excellent pilot. We can use you to help rescue special operative soldiers when they get into a jam. It's a five-year contract."
"Sir, I'm retiring because I want to start a family with my husband," Stephanie replied. She looked General Buckingham in the eye and confessed, "I married Carlos Manoso."
"Your father told me," he replied. "I hope you don't mind."
"That's okay. I accept the offer for rescuing the special operatives in the field," Stephanie said.
General Buckingham smiled at Stephanie. "You have to get blood tests to check your HCG level before you're allowed to accept the mission. When it shows you're pregnant, you can't accept the deployment," Buckingham explained. Before printing it for Stephanie to sign, he changed a few items on the contract.
Stephanie read the terms. She only had to commit to twenty rescues, a maximum of five per year and nothing during pregnancy or the first six months after giving birth. Stephanie thought it was a reasonable agreement. She could help Tank and Carlos open the security company between missions. It would give her more time than she needed to get the business off the ground. Stephanie couldn't wait to get started.
She went home to lock her contract in the safe hidden inside her closet. Stephanie called Carlos to tell him the news. She expected to receive the voicemail but was secretly pleased when he answered, "Babe."
"Hi, Batman. Any news?" she asked.
"Isn't that why you called me?" Carlos teased. "Is everything okay? Are you okay?"
Stephanie heard the concern in his tone. She quickly reassured him, "I'm fine, and everything is okay. My handler offered me a contract I would be foolish to refuse. I'll rescue special ops teams for the next five years. Twenty missions total."
"Babe, I can't wait until you rescue us," Carlos said.
"Congratulations. I'm so happy for you and the guys. When?" Stephanie picked up on Carlos' not subtle clue. Carlos, Tank and Bobby got accepted into the Rangers program.
"We start training in a few weeks. If we finish the training, we must sign on for five years. It's going to put starting the company on the back burner."
"Even with Tank?"
"Yes. Babe, we will help whenever we can. It would help to have a company name before we open it."
Sighing, Stephanie said, "True. You can have it listed as something else and change it. We have Hector working on the software. He's using it to secure our home."
Carlos chuckled. "Tank and Bobby would find that humorous. Babe, take care of yourself. It would kill me if anything happened to you."
Stephanie wiped the tear off her cheek. "Back atcha, Batman. Please stay safe and show them you're the best. I've got to go, Carlos. I still have to complete the medical exam today," Stephanie said. "I love you."
"I love you too," Carlos whispered before ending the call.
After checking the time, Stephanie returned to base and visited the infirmary. She smiled at Lester, who waited for his turn to see the medic. "Did you hear?" Lester quietly asked. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone he got accepted into the Rangers program.
"I heard. Congrats," Stephanie replied. "Maybe they'll deploy me to save your ass."
"Man, I'm so glad you extended your service. How long?"
"Twenty runs or five years. I start training after I pass the medical," Stephanie replied. She didn't tell Lester about training with the other special ops groups. Stephanie would learn everything hands-on.
"Santos," the medic called. He smiled at Stephanie as Lester walked past him to enter the examination room. Lester returned a few minutes later. A bandage covered the injection site on his left arm.
"Plum," Stephanie heard when Lester sat on the chair beside hers.
Lester was still waiting after Stephanie completed her exam. The medic, Leo Bones, took samples to check her HCG levels. He promised to have the results available within a few hours. In the meantime, Stephanie wasn't allowed to train until she passed the medical exam.
"Well? When do you start training?" Lester asked, bouncing in his seat like a child high on sugar.
"You need to burn off some of that energy," Stephanie teased. "I have to wait for the bloodwork results." Lester grinned and nodded. He knew Bones would check Stephanie's HCG levels before clearing her for duty. The Air Force put pregnant women on desk duty.
Lester went to the obstacle course to practice for Rangers training. He couldn't wait to train with his cousin and friends. After running a few times around the circuit, Lester sat on the bench and drank water. Stephanie approached Lester and gave him a protein bar.
"Thanks," said Lester, accepting the snack. He tore open the package and ate half in one bite. Stephanie gave him a bottle of Gatorade.
"Did you eat breakfast?" Stephanie wondered.
"Not yet. I decided to come here instead," Lester confessed.
Stephanie bumped against his shoulder. "I'm cleared for training."
"I'm sorry, Steph. I hoped to be hearing baby news," Lester replied. He dropped his sweaty arm across her shoulders. Stephanie placed her head on his damp shoulder. She didn't care about sweat or other silly things like that.
"Bones will run another test in a few weeks, but it's unnecessary. I'm not pregnant. It's fine, Lester. Carlos has enough to worry about without adding a baby to the mix. He wants to succeed as a Ranger. I want him to succeed. We can have a baby when he finishes the training," Stephanie reasoned.
"Plum," someone hollered from a distance.
"I'm late. We'll talk later. Work hard with your training. I may not see you before one of us leave," Stephanie said. She kissed his cheek. Her training was in Miami. Stephanie was scheduled to leave within a few days.
Nolan Williams approached Stephanie as he continued calling her name, "Plum." A woman with short curly hair waved. She kissed the blond on the cheek before leaving him alone on the bench.
Stephanie smiled as she approached the tanned man. "Hi. Are you Plum?" Nolan asked.
"I am. Are you Nolan Williams?"
"Yes," Nolan replied. He extended his hand to Stephanie. "We got ordered to leave within the hour. The General wants us to fly to Miami and begin training immediately." Stephanie had already said goodbye to Lester. She didn't want Williams to think she was dating Santos.
"Do we have time to drop by my house to grab my bag?" Stephanie asked.
"Don't you live on the base?"
"No. I live a few miles away. The duffle in my locker only has a change of clothes," Stephanie explained. "Would you mind borrowing a Jeep since we must leave here?"
"Not at all. Let's go. If we have to drive to your place first, we don't have time to waste," Nolan replied. Stephanie raced Nolan to the parking lot. She hopped into her SUV and waited for Nolan to borrow a Jeep. He followed Stephanie home.
Nolan timed Stephanie to see how long it took her to pack for Miami. She parked her SUV in the garage and locked the house. Stephanie was on the phone with Ace, arranging for his buddy to check on her home and run the vehicle occasionally. Ace promised to drive the SUV to Miami when he had some time off. Nolan was pleasantly surprised that Stephanie only took fifteen minutes.
Stephanie and Nolan talked as they returned to base. She learned he preferred to go by his nickname, Zip, and they were the same age. "How did you get the nickname?" Stephanie asked, curious if he earned the name by remaining silent.
"You'll see when we start training," Zip laughed. He couldn't wait to show Stephanie how he earned his nickname.
They barely had enough time to settle into their barracks when they had to report for duty. Stephanie expected them to train rescue maneuvers. She was shocked when they went zip-lining. Zip taught Stephanie how to tie various knots to help when they prepared for rescues and drop-offs.
Stephanie learned how to tie the rope. "Man, you're more than my copilot. You can tie a rope like Spider-Man can spin a web," Stephanie teased.
"You're doing a great job. Are you ready to go zip-lining again?" Zip asked. "You have to tie your clip." Stephanie was excited to fly down the wire. She had a lot of fun the last time.
Zip laughed when Stephanie grabbed his arm to have some fun, letting the wind rush past her face.