Here is the next chapter.

Zip and Ram had been gone for two months. It was now the beginning of August and, while most things stayed the same, some things had changed. Sophia was now crawling around a lot, pulling herself up to stand, trying to feed herself, and beginning to babble; of course, dada was her first babble.

Stephanie was still working at the spa and loving every second of it. Julie and Derrick loved having her there and loved it more when she brough Sophia to work. On the days that Sophia wasn't with Stephanie she was either with Geoffrey, two of the guys from Rangeman, or the Manoso's. Yes, Ranger's parents took Sophia one weekend a month and occasionally during the week.

Stephanie looked in on Sophia while she napped in her crib. Seeing the little girl clutch her teddy bear made Steph smile. The teddy bear, wearing fatigues, arrived the day after Zip left for his mission.

Stephanie and Sophia were enjoying playtime in the living room with the front door and windows open for the breeze. Steph heard a car door and looked out the window to see a FedEx truck in the drive. Walking to the porch, she met the driver. "Ms. Plum?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I have a package here that requires a signature," he said as he handed her the handheld device. Once she signed, she handed it back and took the box. "Have a great day, Ma'am."

Looking at the box, she was a little worried, but then laughed. She had no reason to worry; no one had sent her unwanted packages in over a year. Looking for a clue, she searched for the return address … nothing.

Going back inside, she sat the box on the table and looked at Sophia who was kicking her feet on the toys dangling from her gym mat. Opening the box, she saw a card.

My Sweetheart and Princess,

I'm sorry I can't be there for a while. I will miss my morning dance and bedtime routine with my little princess. I'll miss holding you in my arms all night, Steph. Know that you two will be in my heart always and I can't wait to be back home with you.

Steph, Sweetheart, please give this teddy bear to Sophia and press the right paw for her.

I love you both. Stay safe and you know who to call if you need anything.

All my love,

Justin / Dada

Stephanie stood next to the crib, brushed Sophia's hair off her forehead and pressed the right paw on the bear. Hi there Princess. It's Dada. I'm sorry I'm not there, but remember I love you. I'll see you soon. Be good for your mommy.

Zip wanted to be sure Sophia didn't forget his voice; and she wouldn't. Every time someone pressed the paw on her teddy bear, she smiled and looked around for Zip. Stephanie made sure to keep pictures of Zip all around the house. There was a picture of Zip and Sophia on the fridge, one in Sophia's room and lots of others around the house.

Quietly walking out of Sophia's room, Stephanie went to the living room to tidy it up before naptime was over. As she finished putting the toys away, there was a knock at the door. Looking up, she saw Junior and Manny standing outside. Opening the screen door, she invited them in.

Manny looked around after hugging Steph, "Where's the munchkin?"

"She's napping," she replied. When she saw him start to pout she laughed, "You just saw her a few days ago."

"Yeah, but I wanted to see her now."

"Fine, if you are quiet, you can sneak in her room and peek at her." Steph and Junior both laughed when Manny took off down the hall. Looking at Junior she smiled, "You can sneak in, too."

Shaking his head, he replied, "I'll go in a little bit."

Taking a closer look at Junior, she could tell something was on his mind. "What's up?" Junior headed to the couch pulling Stephanie with him. "Oh God, it's Justin. What's happened?"

Junior saw the tears starting to well up and tried to quickly assure her, "NO, it's not Zip."

"Ram?"

"No. Steph, we've not heard anything good or bad about the guys, I swear."

Taking a deep breath, she then asked, "One of the other guys from Rangeman?" Junior shook his head. "Then just tell me damnit."

"Ranger is back in Trenton. He got back this morning. No one knows how long he'll be here. I wanted to tell you because I didn't want you to come to Rangeman and run into him. Also, just so you are alert when you open your door incase he shows up here unannounced."

Stephanie closed her eyes and then lightly punched Junior in the shoulder. "You scared the hell out of me. I seriously thought someone was hurt." Taking a deep breath she continued, "As for Ranger, well, he gave up his rights so I don't see him coming here to see my daughter, but thanks for the heads up."

Just then her phone rang, "Excuse me for a second." She reached for her phone and smiled, "Hello Maria."

"Hola, Estephania. How are you and my granddaughter today?"

"We are good. How are you and Ricardo?"

"We are well, thank you for asking. I'm actually calling to let you know that we shouldn't take Sophia any this week or weekend. Carlos is in Trenton and I don't want to take a chance on him showing up here while we have her. We don't want to go against your wishes."

"Maria, thank you for letting me know. I actually just heard he was in Trenton. I'm not sure how long he will be here; but if is more than a week, you are welcome to come visit with Sophia here in my home."

"Thank you, dear. We will see what happens. We will miss her, but I feel this is probably best for this week. Now, have you heard anything about your man and when he'll be home?"

Stephanie smiled when Maria called Justin her man. "No, no one has heard anything yet. I don't know when he'll be back, but it won't be soon enough for me or Sophia."

"I'm sure she misses him. Looking at all the pictures you've send us, I can tell he is special to her and to you. I hope he's back with you soon. I need to get going; I just wanted to touch base with you about Sophia."

"Thank you. Have a great afternoon, Maria."

They hung up and Steph turned around and started to laugh; "You had to wake her up, didn't you?"

Manny smiled down at the baby in his arms, "I did no such thing. She woke up on her own."

"Mmhmm. Normally she'd sleep for at least another thirty minutes. What did you do?"

"I hit the paw on her teddy bear. I didn't think she'd wake up; I've done it before." Manny kissed Sophia's head and smiled at her.

"That would do it if she were conscious enough. She loves to hear his voice; she will look all around for him and it kills me that he's not here to see it. But I do record her for him so he can watch a TON of videos when he gets back."

"What all videos do you have?" Junior asked as he took Sophia from Manny's arms.

"Of her sitting up on her own; when she first started crawling; her pulling herself up and cruising along the couch; her first time with solid foods; things like that. Oh and I did record her when she first heard his voice on her teddy bear. I just wanted to do something so that he doesn't feel like he missed everything."

Manny and Junior stayed for a few more hours and played with Sophia while Stephanie took a bath and relaxed. They knew it was probably the first time she'd had a chance to pamper herself since Zip left. "Hey, Man. Do you think with Ranger back in Trenton that maybe one of us should stay here with Steph in case he decides to show up?"

"Might not be a bad idea but let's run it past her first. I don't think she'd take to us making decisions and not asking. If she says no, then we don't stay."

"Right, we just take turns sitting down the street keeping an eye out, right?"

"No," Steph said as she walked into the living room. "You will both go back to Rangeman and not worry about it. IF he shows up, he is not getting in. He has no reason to come here. Right?"