JE owns the rights to anything familiar. The many mistakes are all mine.

Thank you to highlandsgirl for the medical info and to LilyGhost for the Hector and Zip inspirational photos. ;)


"No offense, Woody, but if you don't fucking step on the gas I'm gonna shove you out the door and drive myself."

I could tell he wanted to lecture me on safety, especially in light of what had happened, but I couldn't give a shit at the moment. If we didn't get there soon I was going to lose my goddamn mind.

To his credit, he accelerated to an excessive speed through the next green light and didn't say a word until we reached our destination. It had been forty-two minutes since I got the call and I had no idea if they were alive or dead or…something in between.

When we arrived at the hospital, I hit the ground running before he brought the car to a complete stop. I heard him say something as I ran but it didn't register in my addled brain. Hector and Grace were the only thoughts in my head and until I knew if they were okay, nothing else mattered.

The waiting room was packed to capacity with what looked like the entire Rangeman Company and they turned as one unit when I came through the sliding door. My sister and Zero reached me first and Zyla slid her arm around my waist. "They're okay but Grace is in surgery."

Relief temporarily flooded through my veins. They were alive and so I could stay that way too. "What happened?"

Tank stepped up. "We're still trying to get all the details but it looks like a drunk driver ran a red light and t-boned them in an intersection." My stomach dropped like I'd swallowed a lead weight as I scanned the room for Hector. Where the hell is he?

"Unfortunately it was on the passenger side so Grace took the brunt of the impact." Bobby was eyeing me carefully as he relayed the news. "She's got some major damage to her right arm but they are repairing it as we speak and she'll be fine."

I felt myself nod but I didn't think I'd believe it until I saw her with my own eyes. "She's really okay," Stephanie assured me, placing a gentle hand on my arm. The warmth and truth in her blue eyes finally penetrated my brain but it still didn't tell me where the hell my husband was. Literally everyone I knew, with the exception of my Mother, who I assumed was watching my nephews, was in the waiting area but Hector was nowhere to be found. I brought my eyes back to Steph's face after another scan of the room and noticed a slight lift to the corners of her lips.

"He's outside with Ranger. When they wouldn't let him in the operating room he went a little ballistic and we didn't want him to get arrested..."

A breath left my lungs for what felt like the first time since Ram had called. "Where?"

"I'll take you," Bobby offered with a head tilt. We left the waiting area and headed for a corridor which led to the parking garage on the east side of the building.

"Is he okay?" I asked as we walked. "Did he hurt anyone?"

"A nurse may be slightly emotionally traumatized but Ranger kept it mostly contained. Hector did get a little banged up; dislocated his shoulder and there is a cut at his temple that needs stitches but he won't let me near him. Hopefully you will be more persuasive than I was."

I almost snorted out my response. "Yeah, right. Are we talking about the same Hector here?"

Bobby smiled. "I know but I'm worried about his shoulder. If it's bad, we shouldn't wait much longer to get it set."

"I'll try my best."

"Of course you will." He stopped in front of a metal exit door with one of those push release bars. "I don't want to end up eating a bullet or getting my throat slit so I'll wait for you here."

Normally I would say he was being dramatic, but not in this instance. We both knew exactly what Hector was capable of in his current state.

I pushed open the door and slid out into the damp night air. I located Hector wearing a groove in the asphalt and immediately felt the tension ease from my bones. He was up and walking and very much alive. I cut my eyes to the right and discovered Ranger leaning against the brick of the hospital wall with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes on Hector.

He gave me a nod but didn't move his gaze. "Your husband needs medical attention."

"So I heard. Thank you for…"

Ranger cut me off with a wave of his hand. "You'd do the same for me. Make sure he lets Bobby do his thing. We'll meet you inside." And then he vanished back into the building without a sound. I didn't even hear the door close.

Hector stopped his manic pacing and found my eyes in the low-lit glow emanating from the parking lot lamp posts. His right arm was tucked into his side, favoring that shoulder, and I could see the streak of blood on the side of his face. He definitely required medical attention but first I needed to hold him.

I crossed the space between us quickly and being careful of his injury, pulled him against my chest. "I don't think I've ever been more terrified," I whispered in his ear.

"I have," he replied and briefly touched the tattooed scar on my neck where a bullet had nearly taken me from him. "Is there anything new about Gracie?" His voice caught on her name and I tightened my grip around him.

"Still in surgery but they seem confident she is going to be fine."

"Yeah, they keep saying that but I won't believe it until I see her awake with my own eyes. I saw it…I saw it coming and tried to protect her…"

"Is that how you did this to your shoulder?" I was gently trying to poke around and see how badly it was dislocated.

"Probably. It happened so fast. I remember sticking my arm out but that's about it. The next thing I knew the ambulance and fire trucks were there and Grace was…"

"Okay," I soothed. "It's okay. She is going to be fine. And so will you but you gotta let Bobby get your shoulder back where it's supposed to be and this cut needs stitches."

"I know. But I don't want to do anything until they let me see her."

"Don't you think you should be cleaned up before she sees you? This might freak her out if you can't move your arm to hug her."

His only response was to blow out some air and then fit his forehead into the curve of my neck. The warm breath skittered across my skin before he said, "I've missed you," and kissed me in the sensitive spot just below my ear.

"Me too and though this isn't the homecoming I was envisioning; I've been dying to see you." I'd been out at the farm for two weeks for Rangeman's mandatory annual weapons and training re-qualification course. Tomorrow was supposed to be my last test, but I was hoping I'd get a free pass, considering. Although knowing Ranger's strict protocol, I'd have to make it up at some point.

Hector extracted himself from my embrace and gently brushed his lips over mine before taking a breath and a step back. "Okay, how bad is the shoulder?" He turned sideways so I could put my hands on him.

"What's your pain level?" I asked as I moved my fingers around, feeling for the scapula, as Bobby had taught me. As I'd suspected by the way he was holding his arm, it seemed to be an anterior dislocation. Should be easy enough to push back into place but I'd need help.

He shot me a look at the question and lifted his unaffected shoulder. "Never mind, I forgot who I was talking to for a second. Can you even feel it at all?"

"A little, mostly when I try and move it."

I gave him a dimpled grin and kissed him. "I love you, you freak of nature. Can we go see Bobby and get this fixed?"

"Alright, but only if it's quick."

"A couple minutes, tops," I promised.

He followed me back into the hospital where we found Bobby and Ranger and Michael and Gabriel gathered just inside the exit door. The twins were standing close, speaking in low tones to Ranger, and Bobby was listening along the peripheral. All four sets of eyes found mine the second the door closed behind Hector.

"Any news on Grace?" He asked immediately.

"Not yet, brother," Gabriel said, while eyeing the trail of blood marring the side of Hector's face.

"It's probably going to be another hour or two before she's out of surgery," Bobby jumped in, sliding his eyes from mine to Hector's. "So while we wait…" He tapped the medical kit slung over his shoulder. "You ready?"

Hector nodded his assent and I let Bobby know my assessment. "I think it's just an anterior dislocation."

"Good, that will be quick, but we need to get you on a bed. I'll see if I can sweet-talk a nurse into letting us use an empty room." He disappeared around the corner and Hector asked what I'd been wondering myself.

"What happened to the asshole who hit us?" I recognized the tone in his voice because it sent a shiver down my spine. I slid my gaze to his face and found that hard, unyielding look in his eyes and I hoped whoever the guy was, they hadn't brought him to this hospital.

"He died in the ambulance on the way here," Ranger informed us and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good thing," Michael said darkly, sharing a nod with Hector. Yes, it was, or between those two, he'd never make it out of here alive.

Ranger opened his mouth but whatever he'd been about to say was stymied by the return of Bobby and a harried looking nurse pushing a gurney down the hallway.

"This is the best I can do," she said, "since you won't let us admit you." Her accusing and irritated glance at Hector went unnoticed by him and she rolled her eyes before leaving us on a huff of frustration.

"What's up with nurse cranky pants?" Gabe said in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Apparently your flattery leaves much to be desired, Brown."

When Hector smiled, I knew everything was going to be fine.

We got him up on the gurney with the head of the bed at 90 degrees and his legs dangling over the side. He had to rest his unaffected shoulder against the upright portion of the bed and Bobby told him to relax his shoulder muscles while he moved behind him and grabbed my hands. "Okay, here's how it goes, feel that?" Together we located the scapula and then simultaneously pushed the tip medially and the acromion inferiorly using our thumbs. "Ranger," Bobby said and Ranger grabbed Hector's wrist with one hand and his flexed elbow with the other hand to exert the downward traction needed, and just like that, it was back in place.

"Well, that was easy," I commented.

"You didn't even flinch," Bobby said to Hector. "Can you feel anything?"

Hector rotated the now repaired shoulder a couple of times and lifted his arm in the air to stretch. "Not really but it's definitely better now."

Bobby shook his head. "You are not normal, my friend." He popped open his kit and extracted a packet of ibuprofen pills and a small bottle of water. "Take these and then every 4 hours for the next 24 to keep the inflammation down. Is there any way I can get you to wear a sling for a couple of weeks?"

Michael and I both made a sound which answered the question so Bobby sighed and took out a needle holder and a surgical suture packet. "Will you at least let me stitch that cut?"

He flicked his eyes to me and I nodded.

"I guess; if you think it's necessary."

"It is," Michael and Gabe said in unison.

Hector rolled his eyes but let Bobby clean and stitch the wound without further comment from anyone.

When he was all put back together, we made our way to the waiting room where we were immediately engulfed into Stephanie's arms, while the hospital security guard kept a wary eye on Hector.

Another hour passed while we waited. Some of them men rotated out and new ones came in as they changed shifts but the core of us remained. Hector was on the verge of losing it again when the surgeon finally arrived in the waiting room. The whole space went deathly quiet as he walked toward the intimidating group dressed all in black.

Hector and I stood and tried not to freak out at the grim expression on his weathered face. "Grace is doing well. We repaired the breaks in her arm with a plate and a few screws but she's young and it should heal nicely."

"Can we see her?" Hector asked immediately.

"She's on her way to recovery now, so yes, in a few minutes."

Everyone in the waiting room also stood at that declaration and the doctor was taken slightly taken aback. "Uh, just family."

"We are her family," the whole group said as one.

He tugged at the mask still around his neck and ran a hand through the short silver hair covering his head. "Alright," he agreed on a sigh, after being faced with the sea of people staring him down. "But only two at a time; there isn't a lot of room back there. I'll send a nurse to retrieve you momentarily."

We said our thanks and a tiny little thing with excessively long, platinum hair came to get us ten minutes later. Her name was Charlotte but she immediately told us to call her Charlie and gave us an update as we weaved our way through the halls to the recovery area.

"Your daughter is just the cutest. She immediately asked for her Dads the second she woke up and then she asked which bones were broken and proceeded to name each one in the human arm, including all 27 in the hand so I'm guessing she's a little advanced for her age?"

"That's a bit of an understatement," I confessed and Hector just seemed relieved Gracie was talking.

Charlie nodded with a grin. "She runs circles around you, doesn't she?"

"More like marathons," I countered.

"Yeah, I bet. This way," she said, turning a corner and then she pulled back a curtain hiding a gurney and our mangled daughter. Hector stiffened next to me and squeezed my hand so tightly at the sight of her I thought he might break a couple of my fingers.

Her whole right side was one big bruise and I spotted multiple tiny cuts covering her face. There was an IV needle taped to her hand, an oxygen monitor on her finger and her dark hair was matted with blood but her whiskey eyes, so like Hector's, were wide open with relief at the sight of us

"Hi Dads," she greeted with a small grin but her voice was a little groggy and Hector's grip on my fingers increased.

"Hi Baby," he managed to say.

"I'm going to have a cast, isn't that cool? Do you think everyone will sign it?"

Hector was struggling to hold it together so I stepped in for him. "How could they not?" I replied. "I bet you won't even be able to see it after everyone is done." I pulled Hector towards her bed and he stumbled a bit behind me, not expecting the movement.

"You got stitches," she said to him when we reached her side. "Are you okay?" It was just like her to worry about everyone but herself and I thought Hector was going to lose it so I answered for him again.

"He's going to be fine and so are you and that's all we care about, right?"

"Yeah," she said slowly, "but I'm kinda tired, can we go home now?" Hector cut his eyes to the nurse and she shook her head.

"Not for a couple of days, at least. Sorry."

"Bummer. I don't like this bed; the bars are annoying."

It won't be for long, munchkin. There are some other people here to see you, are you up for some visits from your aunts and uncles?"

"Sure. Who's here?"

"Everyone," Hector answered, finally speaking to her. He bent down and kissed her cheek and whispered something in her ear I couldn't make out, which made her giggle, and then we left her to fetch the next round of visitors. It would take at least an hour for everyone to see her.

They kept her for three days and I only got Hector to go home twice during that time and only when Ranger or Tank was able to be with her. I was sure the hospital only sent her home because the constant rotation of scary looking men was intimidating everyone.

The nightmares started the second night after we brought her home. The screaming was terrifying and Hector had taken to sleeping with her each night – it seemed to be the only thing keeping the dreams at bay. If it went on much longer, we're going to have Dr Gunderson, the man who has been helping Michael through his PTSD, come to see her.

It was way past her bedtime when I left her room a half an hour ago after reading several chapters of Harry Potter with her for the bajillionth time. She was becoming quite the expert at extending story time before going to bed but we knew she was afraid to go to sleep so we didn't push the issue too much. Hector stayed, and I heard her doing a spot-on British accent as I headed down to clean up the kitchen.

When a brisk knock sounded on the door at half past 10, I was just finishing the last of the dishes and nearly dropped the plate I'd been drying. We never had visitors this late at night and it sent a trickle of dread down my spine.

I checked the security monitors and was genuinely surprised to see Tank's face staring back at me through the high-definition screen. He looked up at the camera above the porch and raised an eyebrow. After disengaging the locks and the floor bolts, I swung open the front door and got my second surprise of the night.

Sitting on the doormat, right next to Tank's colossal leg, was the biggest dog I'd ever seen. It looked like Tank's twin, in dog form. They even had the same blank expression on their faces.

"Hey, Tank. What brings you by?" I glanced down at the dog and it cocked its head as if trying to decipher what I'd said.

"Sorry for the late hour, traffic from Boston was a bitch."

"What's going on in Boston?"

"Nothing, I was picking up Brutus." Apparently, this was the dog's name as it stood on all fours and tilted its head up to Tank, waiting for instructions.

Tank sometimes was a lot like Hector, giving as little information as possible so I had to drag it out of him.

"Cool," I said. "But I thought you were a cat person."

"I am. I brought Brutus for Grace."

He didn't elaborate further and I looked down at the animal again. "I'm sorry, I must have misheard. You said you brought this dog, which is the size of a mini cooper, for my tiny little daughter?"

Tank grinned and told Brutus to sit. "You know the dog tag bakery Dallas helped Alice Mancuso start?"

"Sure, the one that helps returning and wounded veterans?"

"Yes, and now they've branched out into training dogs and other animals to be therapy pets. Brutus here is the first graduate. I thought he might be able to help Grace…"

"What's going on?" Hector's question cut Tank off and I glanced over my shoulder at my husband and daughter, heading toward the door.

"Uncle Tank!" Gracie squealed with delight at the sight of her biggest fan and we watched her eyes widen with further delight when she got a look at Brutus. "And who is your friend?"

Hector reached for the collar of her pajama top to drag her back when she headed right for the massive dog but she was too quick for him. Without an ounce of fear, she patted Brutus on the head, which she didn't have to bend down to do, and he used his enormous tongue to kiss her cheek.

"His name is Brutus and I thought you could take care of him for me for a while."

"Seriously?" She glanced up at Hector with the big, hopeful eyes to which we could never say no. "This is perfect since these two are refusing to get me a baby brother. I can keep him, right?"

Hector really wanted to say no, I could tell by his body posture, but we all knew he wouldn't. "For now," he said instead and I could also tell by the smile stretching our daughter's cheeks, we would be keeping the dog indefinitely.

"Thank you, uncle Tank. I love him already!" She gestured for him to bend down so she could kiss his cheek and then spoke to her new companion. "C'mon Brutus," she said, taking the leash from Tank's hand. "Let's go see my room." Brutus immediately fell in step next to Grace and we all watched in wonder as they climbed the stairs together like it had been happening for years.

The faint smile on Tank's face faded under Hector's accusing stare. "You brought our daughter a dog without running it by us first? And is that even a dog? I've never seen one so big."

"It's definitely a dog. A Rottweiler and mastiff mix. He is big but also very gentle. Though, he is fiercely loyal and will be very protective of Grace and probably the two of you as well. He's been fully trained at Dallas and Alice's new place as a therapy dog, but if it doesn't work out, I'll take him back to Boston…if you agree to give it a shot, at least for a few days."

I knew Hector wouldn't say no, and I definitely wasn't going to so it wasn't a surprise when he let out a sigh tinged with defeat. "You haven't left me much choice, Tank. We'll try it out but what the hell does the thing eat? He looks like he could devour an entire cow in just a couple of bites."

Tank tried not to smile but failed miserably. He'd come prepared and brought in bag a food which could probably feed twenty normal sized dogs for a month. He also left us with a basket full of chew toys and another leash before abandoning us completely with the monstrous dog.

When I came back from using the bathroom, I found my husband staring at the bag of dog food we'd deposited onto the kitchen floor, near the sliding glass door. I settled my hands over his hips and kissed the back of his neck. "You okay?"

"We should have reconsidered adopting to get her a little brother. The savings on food alone would be worth it," he mumbled while tilting his head back to give me better access to his neck.

I laughed and ran my tongue along his tattoo. "Yeah, probably, but let's see how it goes for a few days. You ready to go to bed?"

"I am if you're going to keep doing that to my neck."

"I'll do it any place you want. Let's go upstairs." I took his hand and tugged him up the stairs. We paused in front of Grace's door to see how the two new friends were getting along. The sight before us filled us with relief and the tiniest bit of anxiety.

Grace was sound asleep, and that was the relief part. She hadn't fallen asleep without Hector in her bed for weeks. Brutus was also on the bed, with his head resting on Grace's stomach and the rest of his body taking up the entirety of the remaining space of the mattress. The fact we were now dog owners was going to take some getting used to.

"Shit," Hector said on another sigh. "We're keeping him."

Brutus lifted his head and eyed us loitering in the doorway. He let out a little muffled snort, as if to let us know he had things covered, and then settled it back onto Grace.

"Looks like it," I agreed. "But let's try to concentrate on the positive, like you getting to sleep in our bed tonight. With me."

"Hmm, that is positive." He gave me the little half smile that never failed to get me hard. "What else?"

"Well, I plan on being naked a great deal of the night."

Hector's eye's drifted to the growing bulge in the front of my jeans. "You'll be naked all night," he clarified and headed for the master suite.

I quickly followed in his wake, hoping Brutus would keep Gracie asleep because Hector and I were apparently going to be very…occupied.


AN: Also thanks to LilyGhost for the Dog Tag Bakery idea. :)