Disclaimer: The characters and their world belong to Janet Evanovich. I'm just playing with them for fun, and all mistakes are my own.

AN: If Ranger is speaking in italics, assume he's speaking in Spanish.

The response to this little story has blown me away - just over 450 reviews as I write this. Thanks everyone for reading!

Epilogue

I'm what?

I woke on the Friday before our first wedding anniversary to the sight of a single red rose and a Boston crème donut on the night stand. But before I could stuff that little bit of Heaven in my mouth, my stomach rebelled and I barely made it to the bathroom in time. I'd thought the recent outbreak of stomach flu had passed me by, but apparently it hadn't.

My side trip put us behind, and I barely had time to hustle Julie out the door for the school drop off. Woody, Julie and I made it to Our Lady of Sorrows just before the bell, and since it was raining, I walked Julie to the door. Since this is me we're talking about, on the way back to the Jeep, my umbrella blew out and Joyce Barnhardt splashed me as she flew past me in her SUV.

"Jesus," I muttered. I knew she didn't have kids, but what relative of hers was crazy enough to entrust their child to her? I hadn't had time to do more than pull on some sweats and put my hair up in a sloppy pony tail, so the wet poodle look didn't detract from my overall appearance. Lucky for him, Woody didn't say a word. After all most two years of dealing with my PMS-induced rages, he knew better.

I got back to the RangeMan building at a quarter 'til nine, and was grateful for my flexible work schedule. There was no way I was starting work without a hot shower. By 9:30 AM, I was at my desk and finally enjoying my donut. Unfortunately, it made a reappearance about half an hour later. By noon, I was getting fed up with running background searches and called my best buddies, Lester and Mary Lou, to see if they were up for lunch.

But before I could make a break for it, there was a knock on my office door. "Dammit," I muttered. It was like I couldn't get a break. But my visitor turned out to be one that was always welcome.

"Well, hello handsome," I purred as my husband of (almost) one year rounded my desk and hauled me up into his arms. "I missed you," I said the instant before our lips met. I'd kissed Carlos thousands of times, but each one still felt like our first. I was moaning and seriously considering standing up Les and ML when he finally pulled away. "Wow," I breathed. "I thought I was going to have to wait until tonight for some of that."

"Speaking of tonight, there's a slight problem."

No! We'd been planning this weekend for the last month and after the morning I'd had, I needed a little happy. But I was supposed to be an adult, so I didn't stamp my foot and cry. "Oh?"

"A client out by Manalpan Township had a break-in. Nothing was taken, but I still have to check in on them." He glanced at my clock and grimaced. "I'll try, but I'm not sure I'll be able to make it back here in time for us to get Julie to my parents' and still make our reservations."

I thought quickly. "You'll already be halfway to the shore by then, so why don't I take Julie to Newark as soon as school is out and then I'll meet you at the house. Lester can drop me." Carlos had surprised us by buying a house on the beach near Avon-by-the-Sea last year. We'd used it to get away from the media attention brought on by Scrog's trial the previous Summer, and afterward, it was still convenient enough for us to make it out there at least one or two weekends a month. We usually had Julie in tow, but Marisol had been demanding her grandmotherly rights, so we'd decided to take advantage and have a grownups-only weekend away.

He grinned and pressed a quick kiss to my forehead. "Great thinking, Babe." And then he was gone, like the superhero I'd once thought him to be.

I dashed upstairs for our overnight bags and the dress I was going to wear to dinner, just in case lunch went long, and by 12:30, Lester and I were headed toward Pino's.

ML had beat us there, but as we made our way toward her, my stomach suddenly heaved. Normally, the scent of tomato sauce and grease is like ambrosia to me, but today….

Lester steadied me. "Whoa, Beautiful! You OK?"

I slid into the booth and took a long, grateful sip of the water ML had thoughtfully gotten for us. "I'll be fine, it's just this damn stomach flu that's been going around." I practiced breathing through my nose to quiet my stomach, and when I looked up next, Lester and Mary Lou were staring at me. "What?"

They shared a long look and then Lester got up. "I'll get the usual, to go."

ML sat looking at me for several more long moments. "Uh, Steph, that flu made the rounds months ago." She leaned in toward me. "Is there any chance you could be pregnant?" She whispered.

"No!" People were staring, so I lowered my voice. "I don't think so…" Then I did a little mental math. "Shit," I whispered. "I'm over a week late." My thoughts were in a whirl. I couldn't be pregnant! We'd barely been married a year. I was so busy with Julie! I wasn't sure we had room for a nursery on the seventh floor!

"Breathe, Steph!" ML reached out and patted my hand. "No use panicking until you actually know."

"But I'm on the pill," I hissed.

"The pill has an eight percent failure rate, Beautiful," Lester said quietly as he sat back down next to me. "I personally always insist upon wearing a condom, too."

I snorted. "I always thought that was because you're a man-whore and don't want little Lester to fall off."

Lester clutched his chest. "You wound me, Beautiful."

I rolled my eyes. "You know I love you, Les." I turned back to ML. "If I set foot in a drug store in this town, my mom will hear about it."

ML smiled and patted my hand. "I've got ya covered."

Our order was ready a couple of minutes later and then we were on our way to Mary Lou's. While Lester was setting out the food, she showed me where she kept her pregnancy tests.

"EPTs come in an economy pack?" I asked incredulously.

She shrugged. "I've gotten pregnant three times on the pill. I like to be prepared." She gave me a quick hug. "It'll be OK, I promise." With those words of encouragement, she left me alone, with a six pack of pregnancy tests.

I was more than a little scared, but I put on my big girl panties and opened one of the boxes. It took me a minute to read the instructions, but a couple of minutes after that, all I had to do was wait for the answer.

"I'm not sure I can do this," I told Les and ML when I rejoined them in the living room.

"It's only another minute or so," Lester said, helpfully.

We both glared at him. "You're such a dork." But then the alarm on my phone went off. I covered my eyes and handed the test to ML. "I'm afraid to look."

They both were silent for so long, I was starting to wonder if the test had malfunctioned or something. "Well?" I asked, cracking one eye open.

ML was beaming. "Congratulations, Mom."

Oh God. It's hard to describe the mixture of emotions that shot through me at her words. Sheer panic. Confusion. And just a tiny bit of exhilaration. I was pregnant with Carlos' baby. But the panic mostly won.

"But I don't know nothin' about birthin' no babies!" I cried out. Lester and ML completely lost it.

"Oh, good God!" ML wheezed as tears streamed from her eyes. "I can't believe you said that."

Les chuckled and tugged the end of my ponytail. "So, you hungry yet, Scarlett?"

The thought of even a Pino's meatball sub turned my stomach. "Uhhh." Then it occurred to me. "This baby is Ranger's. Of course it hates donuts and Pino's," I groaned. This was going to be a long nine months.

ML snickered. "Allow me." So, while Les and ML chowed down on cheesy, meaty goodness, I got to gnaw on graham crackers and sip ginger ale. Amazingly, it worked.

"So how are you going to tell mi primo?" Les asked around a mouthful of sub.

"Oh Lord, I have to tell him, don't I?"

"Yep, and I read where it has to be creative." Lester smirked. "And special."

Oh God. I checked my phone. "It's almost two. I have less than an hour until I have to pick up Julie, and then I have to somehow make it to Newark in rush hour traffic and then to the beach house." My voice was rising with every syllable. I grabbed a handful of Lester's T-shirt. "And I also have to fix myself up at some point, all so we can make our 6:30 dinner reservations. And you want me to think of a creative way to tell Ranger that he's knocked me up with his super sperm?" I shrieked. Was he crazy? And what if Carlos was disappointed? What if he didn't want our baby? What if I were a horrible mother?

Next thing I knew, my head was between my knees and Lester was rubbing soothing circles on my back. "Breathe, Beautiful."

When I finally came up for air, Mary Lou had a cool cloth for my forehead and another can of ginger ale for me. When I'd finally calmed down, ML proved that she was the best friend a girl could ever have.

"OK, this is what we're going to do," she said briskly. "You'll get ready here, and I'll help you with your hair while Lester takes care of setting up the baby announcement for you." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Since he thinks it's so important."

"We'll do what I did for my third pregnancy." She scribbled something on the back of an envelope. "Barnes and Noble should have this, but if they don't, just grab any pregnancy book you can."

Lester looked at what she'd written and grinned. "Sure thing." He leant over and kissed the top of my head. "You're already a great mother, and Ranger will be thrilled."

He brought in my bags for me and then turned to leave. He was already out the door when ML suddenly stood and rushed after him. "Pick up a gift bag or something!" She came back muttering. "Men. If you don't say something, they'll just try to wrap it up in a paper bag."

That wasn't my experience – gifts from Carlos were always beautifully wrapped in thick, expensive paper. But then, my man was exceptional in every way.

ML rejoined me on the couch and squeezed my shoulder. "He's right, you know. You're great with Julie."

I sighed. "But she can tell me if she needs something."

She snorted. "Trust me, the baby will have no problem letting you know there's a problem. You'll just have to learn to interpret a little." Her eyes grew a little misty. "Can you imagine what your and Ranger's kid would look like?"

"Yeah, he's hot, isn't he?" And he'd already proven that he could make pretty babies. Julie was going to be a heart breaker. But before I could get too dreamy-eyed over visions of little curly-haired Cuban babies, ML was hustling me into the bathroom. I took the fastest shower ever, and when I hopped out, ML was there to tackle my hair while I slapped on some makeup. I slicked on my reddest lipstick and applied an extra coat of mascara, for courage. By 2:30, I was slipping on the little red dress and heels that always made Carlos lose control and ML was putting the finishing touches on my hair. Carlos loved it down, so she'd arranged it in loose curls that framed my face. My hair actually cooperated, proving that my day was finally looking up. My stomach was feeling much better, and it turned out that the baby didn't mind a turkey on whole wheat sandwich, but ML gave me more ginger ale and crackers for the road.

Lester came back for me just as ML was leaving for her own school pickup, and by 3:15, we'd picked up Julie and were headed toward Newark. By mutual agreement, we didn't tell Julie she was going to be a big sister, yet. Carlos deserved to be at least the third to know.

Traffic was unbelievably bad, but by 5 PM, I'd kissed Julie goodbye and said hello to Marisol. Binkie and Zero were already there – they were going to spend the weekend in the Mañoso's spare room. Maybe we were being paranoid, but none of us wanted a repeat of the Scrog fiasco, and I knew that Binkie in particular loved Marisol's cooking. Over the last eighteen months, I'd come to accept that Carlos could only rest easy if he knew his loved ones were protected. His parents didn't have a full time security detail, but they had a state of the art panic room and one of Carlos' Army buddies lived down the street.

We pulled up to the beach house at a little after six, and Carlos was waiting for us on the front porch. He took one look at me in my red dress and his gaze went dark and hungry.

"Screw the reservations," he growled as he tossed me over his shoulder. From my vantage point, I had a view of his most excellent rear end, but I could also see Lester.

He was doubled over in laughter next to the Jeep. "I'll leave your bags next to the door."

Ranger didn't waste any extra time getting me inside. I was breathless and giggling by the time he laid me on our bed. "Dios," he growled. "You don't know what this dress does to me."

"I can guess," I said breathlessly. "Want to help me out of it?"

I didn't have to ask twice, because in the next instant he was crawling up the bed toward me, lifting and supporting me as he hooked both of my legs over his shoulders. He ripped my panties from me with one, quick motion, and I gasped as his tongue parted my folds.

"Oh God, oh God," I chanted as his lips closed around my clit. I screamed his name when I came. My breaths were coming in gasps as he kissed his way back up my body. He lifted me up against his chest, as his clever fingers found my zipper. A few seconds later, my dress was sailing through the air. He was naked about thirty seconds later.

I screamed again when his fingers entered me roughly, driving me toward another orgasm. I could always tell he was about to lose control when he switched to Spanish, and thanks to a couple of years with him and Julie, I could understand almost every sweet, dirty thing he was whispering to me.

"God I love you, my… sweet, sexy woman," he panted against my neck. "Gonna fill you up. Gonna take you until you scream."

He entered me in one long thrust and all I could think was that I didn't know how I'd ever survived without this. "God, you feel good," I moaned.

"So tight…. Can't get enough…. never get enough," He groaned as he began to move. I was so revved up that I was coming again after his third thrust and the last thing I remembered was him filling me up just like he'd promised.

I don't know how long I'd drifted along in happy oblivion when I felt something cool wrap around my wrist. Cracking open one eye, l stared at my left arm. And I promptly sat up, almost knocking heads with Carlos. "Wow," I stuttered. "What's this?"

Carlos slid back into bed next to me. "Looks like your anniversary present to me," he said with a smirk.

It was a freaking gorgeous sapphire and diamond bracelet, that's what it was. And it probably cost a fortune.

"No price, Babe. Ever." He murmured to me as he placed a lingering kiss on my palm.

"I love it," I murmured as I skimmed my lips over his once, twice. Our kiss grew more and more heated before I finally remembered the gifts that were tucked into my overnight bag. I tried to spring up from the bed. "Your presents!"

Carlos chuckled as he rolled out of bed. "Relax, Babe. I'll grab the bags."

I was sitting up in bed by the time he returned. "Open the small box, first," I told him as I found the two packages I'd stashed away in the side pocket of my bag.

Ranger grinned as he pulled out the shiny silver TAG Heuer watch. "How did you know I needed a new watch?"

I shrugged. "I noticed you weren't wearing your old one, and I thought this one was pretty."

His lips twitched. "Babe, this is a Link chronometer and it's water resistant to 100 feet."

I smiled. "Yeah. It's pretty, too." I handed him the gift Lester had picked up for me that afternoon. "This one's next." I watched his face carefully as he reached into the gift bag and pulled out a slim paperback book.

His brow wrinkled in confusion. "My boys can swim, the guy's official guide to pregnancy?" He looked from me to the book a couple of times before his lips lifted into a beautiful 1000-watt grin. "Does this mean what I think it means?"

Something loosened inside of me, and all of the tension I'd been holding onto since the afternoon flowed out of me. "I haven't seen a doctor yet," I told him with a smile of my own. "But the pregnancy test told me that in about eight months, Julie's going to be a big sister."

He gathered me up in his arms in a hug so tight I almost couldn't breathe. But I'd never felt safer or more cherished. I could feel his joy and love wrapping around me like a warm cloak. "Babe," he breathed. "I've never been happier."

Alejandro Mateo Mañoso was born on Thanksgiving Day and he was very much loved by everyone, including his parents, grandparents, big sister and a whole building full of honorary uncles.

The End.

AN: So this is it. Everyone's happy, and they're together. I was going to write a sweet, romantic date for them, but Carlos saw Steph in her dress and had other ideas. I used a pregnancy calculator to determine the dates. A baby born around Thanksgiving would have a probable conception date in early March, which fits in with my time frame of their anniversary being in late March. My boys can swim! is the title of an actual book.

Thanks to: deviates322, Stephannie1014, annalynn88, Anonymous, DawnsWhimsy, Angela Mueller, frostdance, Daffybduck, alix 33, Selene Aduial, bgrgrmpy, caregiver, Margaret aka whymelucylu, jkgk, shellbell78, Barb4psu, erdi99, caregiver, trhodes9, highlands girl, carrotmusic, JenRar, DebK, jules3677, and guest reviewers. Everyone's reviews have meant a lot to me.