"They're back," Gene called from the monitors. "I repeat, Batman and Wonder Woman are in the building."
Grinning, I stepped out of my office and glanced toward the monitors. They'd just entered through the garage and were waiting for the elevator. "Ranger will rip your voice box out with his bare hands if he ever hears you call him Batman," I said.
"Only Bomber gets away with calling him Batman," Ram said as he crossed from his cubical to stop behind Gene.
"Ah, but he wasn't here to hear me, now, was he?" Gene asked with a smile on his face.
"No, but I am," Tank replied as he stepped from his office. "Mats at five tomorrow, Caruso."
I rolled my eyes at Tank's surly tone. "When exactly did you lose your sense of humor?"
He eyed me with a warning look. "You want called to the mats too?"
"I think you need a vacation," I replied even as Gene shrugged and turned back to the monitors, then murmured, "It was worth it," under his breath.
It's funny how on one hand it feels like they've been gone forever, but on the other it's almost shocking at how quickly a month could go by. Hell, I was still amazed that it had already been almost a full week since Bobby, and I brought Casey back to Rangeman. In that time, she'd not only started to settle in here, but had managed to have two sessions with Doctor Cochran. Which of course means I've also had two sessions. As much as I hate to admit it, talking with him really has made a difference already.
While Casey chose not to go to the church service with me on Sunday, I had, over the last few days caught her reading her old and battered bible. A couple of times I considered the idea of getting her a new one, but that bible is one of the few things she has remaining from her previous life. I'm sure it's important to her. Maybe, eventually she'd be able to find her faith again, even if it ends up being somewhat different than before.
Not that I'm all that religious, but I do try to do the right thing in most instances. Still, with Casey's upbringing, I'm concerned if she doesn't make peace with what happened, she'll never truly be happy.
My hope was, now that Stephanie was back, Casey would start to settle down even more. Steph had this rare ability to make anyone feel cared about and wanted. It was just one of the many things we all loved about her.
A few minutes later, the doors leading to the elevator opened and Ranger and Steph appeared. Shockingly, my cousin was actually smiling. He looked good too. His complexion had always been a shade darker than mine, but it was obvious that he and Beautiful had spent quite a bit of time in the sun.
I walked over to them and leaned in to give Steph a hug. "Welcome back, Beautiful."
Her smile was a mile wide as she looked up at me. "Thank you, Les. I actually missed you guys."
Ram smirked from behind me. "Right. Like you even thought of us once the entire time you were gone."
"I didn't miss any of you," Ranger said, causing me to chuckle.
"I wouldn't have expected you to," I said as I gave him a half hug. "Good to see you, Primo. Married life looks good on you."
His grin widened as he gazed down at Steph. "That's because I have the right woman."
"Smooth talker," Steph said as she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Then she turned back to us. "So, what have we missed in the month we've been gone?"
We told them about Bobby passing his PANCE exam, and the work happening in the infirmary to upgrade it. That Hector and Cal were currently out checking on a potential breech in one of our client's security systems. And how Zero screwed up his knee a couple of weeks ago, when he and Zip stopped to help a family escape their burning home.
"Rangeman made the news for that," Bobby added.
"We also made the news when Lester stopped Casey from jumping off the Lower Trenton Bridge," Ram said.
"What?" Steph's eyes were wide as saucers as she and Ranger both turned their attention on me. "Casey? As in your Casey?" she asked.
I nodded.
"How? I mean why was she on the bridge? What happened to her?"
I explained what happened on the bridge, Casey's stay at St. Francis and how she'd settled in here at Rangeman. I made sure to tone down the more disturbing details for Steph's benefit. There wasn't any point in upsetting her over something already done and over.
"'She's upstairs?" Steph asked even as she began to pull away from Ranger.
I nodded again. "She's in my apartment."
Steph angled a thumb toward the elevator. "Do you care if I go up and see her?"
Her excitement pulled a grin from me. "Of course not. I'm sure she'd be so excited to see you. Don't knock. Just use my code to get in and then call out to let her know you're there." I barely finished my sentence before Steph disappeared back through the door leading to the elevator.
"Babe," Ranger called. "Your cane."
She poked her head back through the door. The smile she wore just seconds ago was now replaced with a frown. She held out her hand and made a give me gesture with her fingers. "Fine. Give me the damn thing."
He handed her the white and grey flowered cane and once again she disappeared back to the elevators.
Bobby exchanged a concerned look with me before turning back to Ranger. "Why is Bomber using a cane again? What happened?"
"Nothing happened," Ranger said and motioned for us to follow him to his office. He unlocked the door, flipped on the light, and stepped inside.
I was in the process of plopping my ass down in one of his guest chairs, when Ranger let out a contended sigh, as he eased into his own chair behind the desk. For a second, I froze as my brows winged up in surprise. Since when does my cousin sigh?
Bobby cut me a curious glance as I took my seat. No doubt he was wondering the same thing. "Little girl is rubbing off on you," Tank said as he leaned against the open doorframe and folded his arms across his chest.
"Probably," Ranger chuckled. "She ran me ragged. I'm fucking exhausted." He looked from Tank to me and then to Bobby. "Steph insisted on doing absolutely everything while we were away," Ranger continued. "Parasailing, snorkeling, kayaking, cave tours, whale watching, you name it, she wanted to do it," he said. "She even took a hula dancing class in Hawaii."
"She wasn't supposed to overdo it with activities," Bobby scolded. "No wonder she's limping."
"I know," Ranger replied. "I tried reasoning with her. I even made suggestions for alternate activities, like a glass bottom boat tour and a waterfall tour via helicopter. Which, by the way, we also did both of those in addition to the other stuff." He shook his head. "I just couldn't bring myself to tell her no."
"How long has she been limping?" Bobby asked.
"Three, maybe four days," Ranger said. "I told her I expected her to rest and relax now that we're back."
"She might need to temporarily increase her physical therapy to get her muscles and tendons straightened back out again," Bobby said. "I doubt that's something she kept up with while you guys were away."
Ranger shook his head. "I kinda hoped all the walking and swimming we did would be some sort of substitute, but she really didn't do as much stretching and pretty much no actual therapy."
"So, we'll give her a few days to rest, then she needs to start meeting me in the PT room again in the mornings before work."
"Agreed," Ranger replied.
"She's gonna fight you on it," Tank said. "You of all people know how she gets about others making decisions on her behalf."
"Let her," Ranger replied. "I'm willing to take on that challenge."
I didn't bother to hide my smirk. "You just got done saying how you couldn't say no to her and now you're going to stand your ground?" I shook my head. "Face it, primo. She's got you wrapped around her little finger, and you know it."
The scowl that crossed his face told me I was talking my way right into a meeting on the mats. Too bad for him that I was willing to take that chance. "You know it's true," I added just to see how far I could push him.
Much to my surprise, instead of calling me to the mats, he gave a slow nod. "You're right," he said on what distinctly sounded like a second sigh. Wow. Two sighs from the Mighty Manoso in less than five minutes. Beautiful really was rubbing off on him.
"Okay," he said. "So, I'll compromise with her. If she really insists on working, then she can lay in bed and work on her laptop for a few days. That way she's still giving her body a chance to recuperate." He shot Bobby a questioning look. "Will that work?"
"I'd rather see her not work at all, but knowing Bomber, yeah, that will do," he replied.
"Maybe we can recruit Casey to help," I offered. "She could use some girl time with Steph. Spending time with Casey would keep Beautiful occupied and away from any serious work."
"Speaking of which," Ranger began. "How is Casey doing now that she's been here a few days?"
"The first couple of days were awkward," I replied as I thought back to the nightmares and tears. "She was quiet and a bit withdrawn. She also had some trouble with nightmares, but she's had two meetings with Doctor Cochran, and I think she's finally starting to find her footing."
Tank pushed off the door frame and motioned back toward his office. "I'm gonna get back to work."
Ranger gave him a single nod. "As soon as Steph and I get settled in, I want you to take some time off." He turned to look at Bobby. "You too. I assume Tank told you about the vacation time I ordered for you."
"I don't need any vacation time," Bobby argued.
"Me either," Tank said. "We're just glad to have you and little girl back."
Ranger's lips turn down at the corners as he glanced between the two of them. "This isn't negotiable, gentlemen. I will expect both of you to take your vacation time and enjoy it."
Tank laughed. "You might be able to force me into some time off, but that doesn't mean you can make me enjoy it." With that pithy reply, he turned and headed back toward his office.
Bobby chuckled. "That's the first shred of humor we've seen out of him in weeks."
"I've put a lot on his shoulders this past year," Ranger said. "He deserves a lot more than just a couple of weeks off."
"We'd have to drug him, crate him up and ship him off somewhere in order to get him out of here for longer than that," I said. "He doesn't like leaving his cats for more than a day. A week would be torture."
Ranger smirked. "Agreed. While the cats would be fine without him, he wouldn't be okay without them."
"I should have them certified as emotional support animals," Bobby quipped. "That way he could take them with him wherever he goes."
I shifted in my chair to look at him. "Can you really do that?"
Bobby shrugged. "Probably, but he'd never admit to needing them like that. So, the point is moot." He pushed up from his chair. "The contractor is here today, laying the new tile floor. I think I'll head back down and check on them."
"So, I take it the upgrades are going well," Ranger asked.
Bobby paused next to the door. "Very," he replied. "We're going to have our own miniature version of St. Francis on Three."
"Excellent," Ranger replied.
"I want to thank you for authorizing the upgrades," Bobby said. "We didn't need any of them for me to continue doing my job."
"True," Ranger agreed. "But you have to admit, it will make things a lot easier."
"It definitely will," Bobby said, then disappeared out the door, leaving me alone with my cousin.
Ranger turned his attention back on me. "So, Primo. How have you really been?"
