A delicious aroma woke Stephanie. She was alone, laid out on the sofa with a throw pillow under her head and an afghan over her. She stretched, wiggling her toes as she realized she was wearing her socks but no shoes. The skin on her face felt stiff where the tears had dried and there was an awful taste in her mouth. It had been a very long time since she'd had a crying jag. At least this time, she hadn't been alone.

Small sounds came from the kitchen: the ting of metal on metal; a glug of liquid pouring; a muffled but repeated thunk which made her think of a knife against a wooden cutting board. It was easy to picture Ranger moving around the kitchen as he cooked dinner. Sitting up, she pushed the afghan aside. A glance toward the kitchen confirmed her theory. Granted, from this angle the only part of the kitchen visible was the breakfast bar that separated the kitchen from the dining room, and part of the counter with the sink. But she saw him from the back as he briefly stepped to the sink to rinse something before disappearing, likely returning to the stove.

Ranger had put her shoes next to the sofa where she'd easily find them. Stephanie took a minute to put them on, then headed to the bathroom to freshen up. After using the facilities, she wiped the residue of her breakdown off her face with a damp washcloth. Brushing her teeth rid her mouth of that nasty taste, making her feel one thousand times better. Raising her arms, she did a quick sniff test. Seemed okay, but just in case, she did a little clean up there and then reapplied her deodorant. She spent a few minutes finger-combing her hair but it was fighting her thanks to a day spent in the damp salty breeze from the ocean. The best she could do without starting over was to make it less unkempt. Good enough.

Stephanie entered the kitchen from the end closest to the bathroom. Ranger was busy at the stove, adding something to a large frying pan. A small pot at the back of the stove was at a rolling boil. She tried to see what was in it, but the water was churning too quickly. The countertop convection oven was ticking merrily as well. She wanted to give him a hug and kiss but knew better than to distract a chef in the middle of cooking, especially considering how lost they could get in kisses. She didn't want anything to burn or boil over because of her. Besides, she was hungry. Kisses could mean delays, and she was all for eating as soon as possible. Conversation, however, was usually welcome.

Pointing to the pan, she asked, "What's cooking, Hot Stuff?"

"Chicken piccata with capers and artichoke hearts," he replied as he spooned some of the sauce over the chicken. Nodding to the convection oven, he added, "And julienned zucchini." At her questioning glance, he clarified, "Cut like French fries."

Pointing at the small pot, she asked, "Funny looking rice?"

"Orzo," he replied.

"Ah. Good, because Italian dishes need pasta, even if it's shaped like rice."

Stephanie watched him move effortlessly around the kitchen stirring this, checking that, adjusting temperatures. Trying to gather her nerve, she rubbed at the spot where her fake wedding set had been for so many years. Trenton Stephanie would have pretended that the emotionally charged exchange with Lester and her subsequent breakdown with Ranger had never happened. New and Improving Stephanie was trying to put into practice things she'd learned in therapy several years ago, including acknowledging such events. It felt clunky and weird but she was going to do it. Needed to do it. Deep breath, Plum. You've got this.

"Sorry for crying on you, and falling asleep on you," she said. "And thanks for getting me comfy on the couch."

Ranger stopped all movement, his full attention on her. "I'll always take care of you, if I can. That hasn't changed and it never will."

His voice was husky, rich with emotion that went straight to her heart and parts further south. Stephanie's breath caught in her throat and she felt herself sway toward him, and she could swear he leaned in toward her. Then there was a harsh buzzing noise from the convection oven and the moment was broken. Ranger grabbed an oven mitt and pulled out the roasted zucchini, setting the hot pan on a cutting board nearby.

"Um, can I help?" she asked. "Set the table maybe?" At his nod, she pulled out the silverware drawer and got started.

Dinner was delicious. She even liked the roasted zucchini. For dessert, he brought out an angel food cake and sliced up some fresh strawberries. The cake was store bought, but incredibly light and tasty. The strawberries were the perfect degree of ripeness making them juicy and sweet. Never had she thought she'd enjoy a low-fat, low-sugar dessert, but clearly she was wrong. In fact, she was pretty sure the entire dinner was healthy, but she couldn't tell from the taste of it. A few more meals like this and she'd be willing to re-think her stance on healthy food.

Once dinner was over, they worked together to clear the table and wash up. When every dish, pot, pan, and utensil was clean and put away, Ranger wiped down the counters and sink. He put the sponge down and Stephanie offered him the towel. While drying his hands he looked at her, and it seemed to her that he was mulling something over. Or maybe she had a caper stuck in her teeth. She wasn't sure which to hope for.

Eyeing him suspiciously, she rubbed her hand over her mouth then checked her shirt for stains. "What?"

He shrugged. "I'm trying to decide how much of a hit my badass persona will take with what I'm about to suggest."

"I watched you buy a cotton-candy pink fluffy otter. If that didn't push you off the Batman pedestal – and it didn't – then nothing will."

Ranger gave a short laugh. "Fair point. Okay then, follow me."

Stephanie trailed behind him as he went to the hallway and opened a closet door. Much of the closet was packed with board games, decks of cards, jigsaw puzzles, building blocks, and other indoor activities. She could see that some were designed for children of various ages, and some were for adults. There were even word games like Scrabble, and dice games like Yahtzee.

Ranger was looking through the stockpile. "When we were kids, jigsaw puzzles were a family activity at my house, and at Lester's. We got away from them when we were in the service, but when Mateo was old enough for the toddler versions, Lester started it back up. Since I'm a good uncle, I got back into them, too. Not that I minded. There's something relaxing yet challenging about the simple tasks of sorting and assembling the pieces. I find it's also a good way to keep my hands occupied while my mind works on a larger problem. I thought we could work on one together."

He pulled out two boxes, one in each hand, and showed her the covers. Gesturing with the one that was a photograph of a landscape with a river and trees in the foreground and a mountain in the back he said, "This one is larger. More pieces and a higher degree of difficulty, since a lot of the pieces are very close in color." Then he put the other one forward. This had a drawing of three cats, each with different colored eyes, and covered with swirls and geometric shapes in a variety of colors. "This one is smaller, not quite as difficult, but those patterns will fool you. What do you say? The choice will be yours, both for whether we do this, and which puzzle we work on."

"We used to do jigsaw puzzles at Grandma and Grandpa Mazur's house. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed them." She touched the one with the cats then smiled brightly at him. "Let's do this one in honor of Mr. Pants."

In a matter of minutes, one end of the dining table was covered in puzzle pieces, all turned so the picture side was face up. Stephanie and Ranger were sorting through them, looking for the border pieces and picking out things they could identify. Laid out like this, the puzzle took up more than half the table. It was easier to work if they stood so they pushed the chairs out of the way.

"I'm putting eyeballs here," said Stephanie as she added a piece to a pile, "and ears are next to it."

"Heavy gold lines are here and paws are here," replied Ranger. After a short pause, he said, "I know you're worried, but you and Lester will be okay if you talk with him the way we've been talking. You'll like Marianne, too."

Stephanie sighed. "I hope you're right. Here's a nose. Do we have a pile for those?"

"Put it with the eyes," he suggested. "We'll make that a face pile."

"Are you sure? I mean about Lester, not the faces. He seemed to have very strong feelings on the subject." Even though he'd said they'd be okay, she wasn't sure he'd be able to get past, well, the past.

"Lester was hurt, angry, and confused," Ranger explained. "He was at a loss trying to understand what had happened, why it had happened, and nothing made sense from his understanding of your thoughts and motivations at that time. When he found no other explanation there's a natural tendency to turn inward. To him the only logical conclusion was that it was his fault. He did something that drove you away. In a situation like that, when you can't figure out what that thing was, it's taken as proof that you're somehow to blame. That self-blame turns to anger."

"Is that …" Steph clenched her hand around the little bits of cardboard in her palm. "Is that how you felt?"

"Let's just say that there was a lot of that going around. Here's another border." Ranger set the piece with the others. "Then as time went by and it became more obvious that you had no intention of returning, I added stupid into the mix. You told Lester that you felt like an idiot for leaving. Well, I felt like an idiot for waiting. After two years with no word I was sure you weren't coming back, and yet I waited two more years before venturing out into the social scene."

"Why the two extra years?" Stephanie wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer, but she couldn't help asking the question.

"I didn't date because I didn't want someone else. I wanted you." He sighed. "And even though you'd made it very clear that you didn't want me, I held off those two extra years just in case I was wrong. I wanted so much to be wrong. It sounds pathetic now, but I hoped you'd suddenly appear one day and want to be with me.

"Keep in mind," he continued, "that I took your departure as a sign that I was a failure as a romantic partner. That I was fundamentally flawed to a degree that made any long term relationship a pointless pursuit. It was a pipe dream, something I could imagine but never reach. So, I needed those two extra years to build up my nerve. Here's a tail. So, what were you up to while I was quietly having an existential crisis?"

Stepping around the table, Stephanie tried a piece in three different places before it fit. She used the time to think about how deeply she'd accidentally scarred him. It was kind of like him using "Babe" and making her guess his meaning. The way she'd left, what she'd said on the way out, and, most importantly, what she had kept to herself. Yeah, now that it was far too late, she could see how he'd interpret that.

"Well, I've already filled you in on why I left initially, with the whole returning in glory fantasy," Stephanie slotted two more pieces into place. "I really nose-dived after leaving Trenton with how quickly I managed to alienate everyone I worked with in Pittsburgh. The Incident happened six months into my stint there. After that came three months of increasingly heavy drinking, which culminated with the call to Grandma Mazur. That right there was my rock bottom. I had no money left, no friends, no work, and hadn't been sober for more than a couple of days at a time.

"I thought I'd go out and make a splash and people that saw me would look on in awe." She laughed wryly. "I made an impression in Pittsburgh all right, the same way a shovel upside the head leaves an impression on your skull. I hadn't even been gone a full year, but had failed in such a public and catastrophic fashion that I should have come with a hazard warning." Her nose was running and she had to sniff. "It's like one of those be careful what you wish for things. I wanted to be memorable, incredible. And I got that wish only instead of it being in the 'oh wow, I wish I was her' way, it was in the 'holy shit, you are not going to believe this' way."

Ranger came around to her side of the table and handed her a paper napkin. She dabbed at her eyes and wiped her nose then continued. "I knew at that point I couldn't go back home. Not just because I was so ashamed of how I'd behaved before I left, and of what I'd done in Pittsburgh. I couldn't come back to Trenton because I wouldn't have been able to stay away from you, and you deserved so much better than me."

Ranger enfolded her in one of his wonderful hugs, one hand on the back of her head as she laid her cheek on his chest. She felt his voice rumble in his chest as he spoke. "Oh, querida. Aren't we a pair?" He held her close for a few minutes then said, "I know this isn't easy, but thank you for seeing it through. I truly think that we can make it work this time."

She nodded, the fabric of his shirt rubbing against her face. A thought came to her and she laughed.

"What?" he asked.

Smiling, Stephanie turned her face up to look at him. "We're going to do this, and it's going to be good."

Ranger pulled her tighter, she felt him shake with silent laughter. Then he kissed her temple and released her. "Come on. That puzzle's not going to assemble itself."

They concentrated on the puzzle after that, getting the border and some of the interior bits done. Eventually, Stephanie had to call it a night. It was earlier than she usually went to sleep, but physically and emotionally this had been a long day. She turned all the lights out while Ranger checked the doors. He gave her a quick kiss good night at the door to her room, then went to his own room alone. She changed into her pajamas, then tucked herself into bed. Within minutes she was asleep.

0 o 0 o

Early to bed, early to rise. There must have been some truth to the old saying, because on Sunday morning Stephanie was awake by 7:00 a.m. Florida time. Since her body clock was still on Chicago time, it was more like 6:00 a.m. but she wasn't tired. Putting on her slippers, she went through the dark house toward the living room. The only light was from the kitchen, but it was enough for her to see Ranger sitting on the couch, sipping a mug of something while he looked out the front window.

She joined him, sitting close enough for their thighs to touch and his arm came around her shoulders. She leaned into him and looked out the window. Mostly all she saw was the house across the street, another bungalow like this one. Above that, though, she could see that the sky was beginning to lighten. There were darker puffs of clouds, and while much of what she could see of the sky was dark, streaks of deep rose and gold were showing.

Impulsively, Stephanie said, "We should go down to the water. We could take a long walk on the beach and watch the sunrise."

He turned his head, his eyes roaming her face as if to gauge her sincerity. "Sunrise over the water can be beautiful. You get dressed while I get the bikes."

Ranger stood first, then reached out to help her up.

"It's only four blocks to the beach," she said as she rose. "We don't have to bother with the bikes."

Even as the words left her lips, her brain finally caught up to her mouth and heard what she was saying. What the heck was she thinking? That would be eight blocks altogether, unless they got washed out to sea and never returned to the house. And a walk on the beach? There were few things more exhausting than trying to trudge through soft sand.

And none of that would do her feet any good. They were already kind of iffy thanks to all those hours standing and walking on the hard tile floors of the airport Friday. Yesterday's decision to go for a bike ride had been a relief to her feet and her ego. Maybe if this was the only big thing they did today then it would be okay, but she hesitated to ask. She didn't want to suddenly change her mind about walking, because that might draw attention to her issue and there was no way in heck that she wanted to admit to Ranger that she had Old Lady Feet. At least it wasn't bunions, but she could tell him all about the benefits of arch support, and heel cups, and wouldn't that conversation just bring the sexy?

Preparing herself to follow through on the walk and then tough it out for the rest of the day if she had to, Stephanie looked at Ranger, intending to double down on the 'no bikes' thing. Instead she discovered that while she'd been in her head, he'd been watching her. Judging by that eyebrow lift he had conclusions of some sort.

"What's that look for?" she asked warily.

There was a long enough pause that she thought he wouldn't answer.

Then he said, "When I picked you up at the airport Friday night, your gait was a little stiff. I know you had had a long day of traveling, but I recall seeing something like it when we were walking to your car after our visit to the aquarium. It's very subtle, so maybe I'm imagining it, but will you be okay with a long walk like that, especially in the sand?"

Well, crap. Bluff her way out of it, or admit to the ravages of time?

"Remember," he added, "we said we'd be truthful to each other no matter how difficult the subject."

Dammit. No fair using her own words against her.

Sighing, she told him, "All those stiletto heels and cheap shoes I used to wear caught up with me a few years ago. I had my first trip to a podiatrist when my feet hurt so bad that I could barely walk, thanks to plantar fasciitis. Now I can trade tips and hints on where to find shoes with the best blend of fashion, arch support and removable insoles so there's room for orthotics. It's just," she nibbled her lip, as she considered how best to word the next bit. "The last time you saw me I was young and turned heads when I dressed up. Now, I've got fine lines and bad feet and if someone says I look good I can hear the implied "for your age". It's weird, because inside I'm still that same person from fifteen years ago but I've got body parts starting to fail and it makes me feel …." Huffing, she threw her hands in the air, at a loss for words. "I don't think I can explain it in a way you'd understand."

"You don't have to. I already know how you feel." Ranger gave her a rueful smile. "I've got a bad knee. I've put off the surgery as long as I can but it can't wait much longer. The beach is only an eight block round trip from here via paved road over level ground and I can't walk it. Why? Because my orthopedist said so. That sounds like something my father would say, not me."

Stephanie snorted. "When did we start needing specialists? And don't talk to me about feeling old until you've had to shop for generic orthotics right in front of other customers and the hot guy at the pharmacy counter. And two white-haired old ladies, trying to be helpful, loudly gave me advice on the different kinds, and then they asked if I needed any help choosing hemorrhoid creams or pads for 'sneeze protection'! Everyone around us was staring, and I was so embarrassed! That was the first day I felt old and dowdy. The very opposite of alluring."

"Oh, querida," he whispered as he brushed his fingers along the side of her face. "You're as enticing as the day we met."

His eyes had that warm smoky look that promised sensuous delights in their very near future and she felt her body respond. Her very old, very unsexy body. If she didn't want him to see her in a bathing suit, she really didn't want him to see her without any covering at all. Holding his wrist, she moved his hand from her face, placed a kiss in the palm, then released it. One side of his mouth crooked up a little, but he took the hint and put his hand by his side.

Stephanie decided to move along as if she hadn't been very tempted. "Actually, I need to know what else we have planned for today because even with my expensive, arch-supporting, orthotic-enabled shoes there's only so much walking that I can do."

"I thought we'd visit Flamingo Gardens. It's a botanical garden and a sanctuary for Florida wildlife that's less than an hour from here. We go there a lot. Enough to get annual memberships."

And here was another question that she'd have to ask, but wasn't sure if she wanted the answer to. Did 'we' mean him and his former girlfriend Rosario? How would it feel to go wandering the same place that he'd enjoyed with someone else? Would the people working there know him well enough to notice him with someone new? It had felt awful yesterday, when the kids had rushed past her as if she didn't exist while calling excitedly for Rosario. Stephanie wasn't sure she wanted to go to the same place that he'd taken —

Oh. My. God. Sudden realization interrupted her thoughts mid-sentence. Ranger had called her on this when they were at the aquarium. This was exactly what she'd done before. Here she was fussing about whether he'd been to this place, this garden, with someone else when back in Trenton, she'd flitted between his kisses and Morrelli's bed and expected them both to accept it as Standard Operating Procedure. And they did. Yet here she was, once again, with that double standard. There were going to be places she went with Ranger that Rosario had gone to as well. Heck, Ranger had said they'd stayed friends, and the kids' reaction sure proved that, so she might even run into Rosario herself. Time to be an adult – lord knows she was more than old enough – and accept Ranger's past dating history and partners as no big deal.

She was still going to ask, though. Her curiosity wouldn't let her do otherwise. "Who's we?"

"Lester, Marianne, and the kids. Sometimes we all go together, and sometimes it's just them, or just me. It's peaceful and soothing but also fun. And," Ranger smiled and wiggled one eyebrow at her, "they have otters."

At the word otter Stephanie squeaked with excitement, and started grinning so hard that her cheeks hurt, but she couldn't seem to stop herself.

Ranger laughed, enjoying her response. "These are river otters, so they're much smaller than the sea otters at the aquarium."

"Then they'll be even more adorable," she declared. "What else do they have?"

"The wildlife sanctuary has flamingos, of course, plus alligators, bobcats, Florida panthers, black bears, and such. There's a butterfly enclosure and an aviary. The gardens won't be in bloom but even so, they are very nice for strolling."

"Wow. This place sounds great!" Stephanie was getting really excited about their outing. "Okay. What if we bike to watch the sunrise, but sand is hard to walk on so we won't. Instead, we'll sit on the benches at that little park area where the trail meets the beach so nobody strains a body part. Then we'll go have a great time checking out the sanctuary, grab lunch there, then come back and rest up before dinner."

Smiling, Ranger initiated a fist bump. "Sounds like a plan. Now go get dressed while I get the bikes."

Their plan went off without a hitch. The sunrise was indeed beautiful and Stephanie had a great time at Flamingo Gardens. They spent time watching each animal, and walked every inch of the garden paths. She wished she lived close enough to come as often as Ranger, Lester, and his family did.

Once back home, they sat on the couch, feet up, and Ranger put an ice pack on his knee. Dinner was a casserole pulled from the freezer, with angel food cake and the rest of the berries for dessert. They spent another quiet evening working on the puzzle, but this time there was no deep discussion, just a companionable quiet interspersed with inconsequential chat.

It was a little slice of heaven, but as she got ready for bed, Stephanie was very aware that tomorrow was Monday. There was only one night left, then it was off early Tuesday for Chicago.

0 o 0 o

As was becoming their habit, they started Monday with a leisurely ride to the beach, followed by an equally leisurely breakfast. They left for Rangeman midmorning.

Ranger led the way as they stepped off the elevator onto the control room floor. The low buzz of a busy office quieted for a moment as the employees noted the arrival of their boss. A few people glanced their way, and some of them let their gazes linger on Stephanie. There was a hint of curiosity on a couple of faces, but most of them seemed to have no reaction to her presence.

The layout of the floor, the configuration of the various workstations, the type of technology, and the amount of hardware – all was so different from Trenton fifteen years ago. Yet, as she'd discovered at Hawkins Protective in Chicago, modern control hubs managed to have the same atmosphere, the same outwardly patient observation overlying a honed readiness for action, that distinguished them from any other office environment. And, as with Chicago, she found that she missed it.

Amid all the activity, there were two people making a beeline for her. There was a row of offices lining one wall. A large office in the center of the row was dark, and Tank had come out of the office to the right of it. Bobby was coming from a different direction. He had come out of what, from what little she could see, was the breakroom. The men were immediately recognizable, with only faint signs of aging. Ranger wasn't the only one with a touch of grey in his hair, but where his was confined to his temples, Bobby's was a light sprinkle throughout. Not much, just enough to notice. Tank still favored the clean-shaven cue ball look so no clue there as to whether there was any grey. She spied Cal in the background. He'd let his hair grow out to a light brown high and tight.

"Remember, guys," Lester's voice came from behind her, then the man himself appeared in front of her, "she's not a hugger so don't do this."

He wrapped her in his arms and she automatically put her forearms against his chest to stabilize herself. Then he lifted her off her feet, spun around once, and planted a big noisy MWAH! of a kiss on her cheek.

Stephanie burst out laughing and thumped him lightly on the shoulder. "Put me down, you big goof!"

Obeying, he gave her a cheeky grin and said "Good morning!"

As she got her feet under her, she felt almost giddy as his antics lightened her spirits. This was the Lester of old. She knew they still had work ahead of them to finish the discussion that had started Saturday, but if this was any indication, there'd be no big issues. Explanations and apologies, certainly. She absolutely owed him those. But it seemed as if she could look forward to acceptance and peace on his part.

"Let me greet you properly, Steph," said Bobby. He gave her a quick one-armed hug and a peck on the cheek. "It's good to see you."

A deep rumbling noise came from Tank, signaling his disapproval. He pointed from Lester to Bobby. "Heathens, the pair of you. Now this is a proper greeting." He kissed the back of Stephanie's hand and said, "Lovely to see you again, Little Girl."

She couldn't help smiling at Tank, or at all of them really. "Lovely to see you, too, Big Guy, and you, Bobby." She nodded at each man as she said his name, then gave a nod to Lester as well. "Thank you all for the warm welcome. It really means a lot to me."

"We hope to see you more often," said Tank. "Now, if you don't mind, we need to steal this guy away from you for a minute."

He jerked his thumb at Ranger who'd been standing off to the side, an amused smile on his face as he watched his friends interact with her.

Stephanie shrugged. "I've said it before. CEO Manoso is a busy guy. Go. Duty calls."

"I won't be long, Babe." Ranger put one hand on her shoulder and pointed with the other. "There's coffee and snacks in the break room."

She'd guessed right about the breakroom. "Yum. Granola bars that are so dry they explode when you try to bite them. Can't wait to not have one of those."

Playing along, he replied, "We've got the chewy ones, too. You'll also find fresh fruit, bottled water, and enhanced water."

"Oh, sounds like someone finally sprang for the upgrade," she teased.

"Smart aleck." He chucked her under the chin, laughter in his eyes.

The four men headed for the dark office next to Tank's. Ranger entered first, turning on the light as he stepped inside. Tank, the last through the door, closed it behind him.

When Steph turned to head for the break room, she saw that Cal was in the same spot. He hadn't stepped back while she'd been saying hello to the Core Team, but he hadn't come forward either, just kept his eyes on her. She thought his expression was hopeful, but didn't quite reach expectant. Stephanie wasn't sure if he wanted to be part of this reunion but figured a simple hello couldn't hurt.

"Hi, Cal." She added a small wave of her hand, trying to emphasize the friendly intent.

Cal's face lit up. She'd heard that phrase before, and read it too, but this was the first time she remembered seeing it in real life. A huge smile took up the lower half of his face and his eyes were twinkling.

"You do remember me!" he exclaimed as he came up to her.

It took everything she had not to look at the giant flaming skull tattoo that covered his forehead. "Of course I do! We worked together for three years. I remember all the Trenton Rangemen, but you've got to admit you had a special introduction to the Crazy World of Plum, what with being assigned to me during that whole Webmaster and his game thing."

Even if she hadn't seen him nearly every day for years, Stephanie would have remembered him, and not just because of that tattoo. While Cal was tailing her to provide security from the game players, he was part of some very memorable incidents. Among other things, he damaged the Rangeman SUV trying to keep up with her driving; then he was there when she and Lula accidentally crashed a mob sting that Morelli had set up with the FBI; and he was part of the team searching for her in the pitch-black maze of the TriBro Tech warehouse after the Webmaster had grabbed her. Most importantly, if it hadn't been for Cal, no one would have known that she'd been snatched right off Morelli's back stoop in the first place. At least she didn't hit Cal with the pepper spray when the team found her in the darkness. She would always feel bad for tagging Junior.

And anyway, her entire family remembered him because that was also when a very pregnant Valerie had given birth to Baby Lisa. Cal had been with Stephanie when her sister went into labor, which meant that he was there with the family as Valerie was being rolled along the hospital hallways on a gurney, knees up and contractions squeezing the bejesus out of her. And it was Cal who got covered in goo when Valerie's water broke in an explosive torrent, bursting out of her like some kind of liquid-based rocket-propelled alien life form. Later he'd said that it wasn't the goo all over his face and chest that had made him pass out, but the sight of a tiny foot sticking out of Val's lady bits. Unfortunately the tile floor was harder than his head, and he ended up with a concussion.

"Yeah, that was pretty wild but it sure makes for great stories now," he said with a grin. The grin faded as he paused, then asked, "Is it okay if I text you now and then?"

"Absolutely." Stephanie was pleased, and relieved, that he'd asked. That made one more person who wasn't mad at her after all. "Do you need my number?"

He shook his head and looked embarrassed. "No, I have it. I'm sorry I didn't use it, but I wasn't sure what to say."

"I understand." Stephanie put her hand on his arm and leaned in a bit. "Frankly, I'm having the same issue. Just say 'Hi' and I'll say 'Hi' back and we'll go from there. Oh and the first time you say hi, let me know that it's you so that I can add you to my contact list."

"You got it." Cal put his hand over hers for a moment then they both pulled away.

"Is Manny around?" she asked. She'd been keeping an eye out for him but had come up empty.

"Nah. He's got Monday's off this month."

"Well, shoot." Steph was disappointed. She'd been looking forward to seeing the current version of Manny. "Tell him I said hi, will you?"

"I will," promised Cal. "I gotta get going, but I'm glad I got to see you this morning."

"Same here, Cal. Take care." Stephanie gave him a wave goodbye as he headed for the stairs. He waved back and gave her one last smile as he went through the doorway.