Mother Hood

Five years ago Stephanie Plum had a baby in secret. With her daughter now back in her life will she me able to become the mother she never wanted to be?

Stephanie

I am sitting at the police station not believing what they are tell me, I hid it so well, no one knew, only my mother, Lula, Connie and Grandma Mazur, and it is still hard for me to believe they manage to Kopp their mouths shut about it.

My name is Stephanie Plum, I work as a bounty hunter for my cousin Vinnie. My life consist of getting shot at, stalked and people always seem to want to kill me.

Five years ago, I was taking a break from the two men in my life, Joe Morelli, a incredibly hot cop who has moments he wants to marry me, and Ranger, he is a mystery, I know a little bit about him but he has a past, plus marriage is something he will never do, not that it is a deal breaker for me.

I had a one night stand with a man just passing through town, I didn't even know his name, I barley remember what he looks like but he finally did the impossible, he got me pregnant, now being a mother is not something I have ever wanted, I fought with my mother about it but I gave the baby up, I made sure it was placed with the perfect family, I didn't even know the baby's gender, but I was just told that the prefect parents are dead, died in a car crash, and in their will they specified that the child should go back to the biological mother, me.

"I don't know what to do"

I admitted to a cop that I do not know, he smiled

"would you like me to get your daughter"

I nod, well now I know what I had, somehow I knew it was a girl, maybe I do have a maternal bone in my body after all. A part of me did want to keep her but I knew I couldn't, she deserved so much better then me, I sigh, word probably has gotten to Morelli by now, we just ended our relationship last night, we were fighting about bread that turned into a fight about everything,

"Gabriella, this is your mother Stephanie" said an older lady hold the four year olds hand,

she looks like me, she has my nose, she has long dark brown hair that goes to her butt, perfect ivory skin and green eyes, she is small for a four year old.

"hi" she smiled at me,

I wave and try to force a smile, I can be so selfish, I am only thinking about myself and her parents are dead, I sigh and walk over to them,

"here is her bag"

she handed me a backpack

"okay"

I say, the little girl let go of the woman hand and held out her, I took it and walked out,

"beautiful girl" said Eddie,

Eddie is married to my cousin Shirley the whiner and is one of my best friends, he kneels down

"hello"

he rubs her hair,

"you look like your mommy"

I sucked in some air, I gave her up so I wouldn't be called mommy, I always assumed it was my catholic upbringing that made me feel even more guilty about giving her up,

"thank you"

she giggles when he tickles her, he gets up

"good luck"

he squeezed my shoulder and went back to work, we walked out of the police station to see my mother pacing, she looks over to us,

"your grandmother wanted to come as well but I thought it was better that I picked you up"

she looked down at Gabriella,

"what's your name" she asked

"Gabriella" she replied,

my mother picked her up

"everything is okay you are going to come live with grandma"

she started walking to her car, I sigh, on one hand I know it will be easier if she loves with my parents, I can always go see her, I can keep my job and my life style. We drove in silence, until we saw Grandma Mazur sitting in the middle of the road

"I want to see her" she said excited,

"mother go on the sidewalk then you can see her"

she nods and walks over, I can see some people looking out their windows, my mother takes Gabriella from the car

"your father is out driving the cab" she said walking in,

"she's so pretty" Grandma said looking at her more

"this has got to be the most beautiful child I have ever seen, she got her looks from my side of the family"

she smiled, I agree that Gabriella is the most beautiful child I have ever seen, it is so weird to think its because I am her mother, I am average looking and she looks angelic, I feel my phone ring and I frown when I see who it is, Morelli

"I have to take this, I will be right back" I say to them,

they are probably going to feed her a bunch of cookies

"hello" I say into my phone

"my mother just called and told me you have a child"

I sigh

"it's a long story"

he remains silent

"it isn't Rangers is it"

I could have laughed, Ranger already has one child, he vowed never to make that mistake again

"of course not, I was drunk, I don't even remember what he looked like"

but I think Gabriella must get her ivory skin and green eyes from him,

"why didn't you tell me" he almost yelled

"because as soon as I found out I knew what I was going to do, I didn't want anyone to know, luckily I didn't even have a bump at all"

I was so thankful for that, though I was worried about how she was doing in their

"now what?" he asked,

I have no idea, I could be a mother, get a stable job, get a bigger apartment, raise her myself, though the idea of that scares me,

"for now she is going to live with my mother"

I can hear him sigh

"why not just put her back up for adoption?"

I hung up on him at that comment, though it did cross my mind, but I know the older you are the harder it is to get adopted, I sigh and head back into the house, as I thought they were sitting around eating cookies while my mother was preparing lunch

"so Gabriella can stay here for a little bit?" I ask my mother

"of course she is family"

she is making grilled cheese

"Gabriella are you allergic to anything?" asked my mother

"just olives" she said,

poor kid, first her parents die and now I know she cannot eat my favorite thing,

"alright here is a grilled cheese"

she put in front of her

"thank you"

she smiled and dug in, and I waited for mine, we all sat down and ate our sandwiches in silence I got up

"I have to get back to work"

Gabriella ran over to me

"can I have a hug?" she asked,

she was giving a look that made my heart melt, I picked her up and hugged her, she's so small, but she is warm,

"just one second" said my mother getting up and getting a camera,

the kind that spit out the photo,

"I didn't know they still made those" I said to my mother

"smile, I am sure your friends would love to see a picture of her"

I smiled and she leaned into my face smiling, the picture came out

"here you are" she said waving it,

"I am going to have to take her shopping for some new clothes"

I look at her outfit, a white blouse, brown skirt with white leggings and a pair of brown Uggs, she was dressed a lot better then me, I am wearing jeans,t-shrit and sneakers

"they must have been loaded to afford named brand" said Grandma,

my mother sighed, I put Gabriella down,

"I will see you later"

I touch her hair, it's a little wavy but mainly straight, it feels so soft, I leave after saying good bye to my mother, I sigh as I start up my pos car, and drive to the bonds office, Lula was already outside waiting for me,

"is it true" she asked,

Lula is a 200 pound proud black woman, who likes to squeeze into small spandex outfits, she is now a bounty hunter in training, though we catch our FTAs mainly thanks to luck.

"yep I left her with my mom"

She waved her hands in the air,

"are you going to keep her? I better be the godmother or at least auntie Lula" she said smiling

I took the photo out of my pocket,

"here's a picture we took"

She took it and we walked into the office,

"hey" I said to Connie

Connie is the office manager, she is a few years older than me, and is a lot more Italian then I am,

"this is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen" said Lula

"her father must have been smoking" she added

I sighed, I wish I never had a one night stand, it just wasn't me, but I feel even worse for Gabriella, I never got to know or care about her, I just never wanted children, now I have one that my mother will probably more then willing to raise if I asked her too, she offered before when I was still pregnant but I didn't want anyone to know about her so I was against it but now everything has changed

"let me see" said Connie

She looked at the photo then back to me

"she has your nose" she said

I nodded and sat down

"thanks" I smile at her

Lula went back to look at the photo

"what's her name?" asked Connie

"Gabriella" I answered

I am not really a fan of that name, I would have named her something stupid though just to upset my mother.

"I like it" said Lula

Connie nodded

"she looks perfect"

Great I know I can't handle a normal child let alone a perfect one.

"any mew FTAs?" I asked

Connie shook her head

"been a slow week, seems like no one skipped bail"

I sighed, I am a little bit low on rent money, I really needed to steady job, I feel my phone ringing, Morelli again, I snapped my phone open

"can I help you" I put as much venom as I possibly could

"I'm sorry I was just upset that you didn't tell me"

I know he didn't mean what he said, but maybe he did have a point, Gabriella deserves the best parents possible, and I am not mother material, but it makes me feel a little sad to give her up again, at least if she is with my mother I can see her whenever I wanted too.

"I was afraid, I just thought if I pretended she didn't exist then my life would be normal"

"she?" he asked

I guess he didn't hear the gender of my out of wedlock baby

"yes her name is Gabriella"

"cute" he said

"I wasn't the one who named her, I didn't even know what I had before now"

"can I meet her?"

Morelli loves kids, no matter who they belonged too, I know if I told him about Gabriella, he would have stayed and helped me raise her, the problem is that I don't know if that's what I want, I am in love with two very different men,

"sure"

It wouldn't hurt if he at least met her, she is going to need all the help she can get adjusting to life in the burg.

"everyone been telling me how she is the most beautiful child ever"

He laughed

"if she looks anything like you she is"

I sighed

"I thought you were mad at me?" I asked

"not anymore, I am upset you didn't tell me but you had your reasons"

I smile, that's why I love him

"thanks but are you sure you want to meet her, people will talk"

He laughed

"people are already taking, Stephanie Plum, mother, it is making breaking news"

I know that is true, my whole family manage to keep it a secret, now the whole burg knows,

"I knew this would happen"

He chuckles

"how about you bring the little one over for dinner?"

My mother wouldn't be happy about that but I am willing to do it,

"if I can pry her out of my mothers hands"

He laughed

"see you later cupcake"

I hang up, I forgot why we even broke up, he is so stable and caring, even has a house and a dog named Bob, maybe I am crazy for not jumping at the chance to marry him but whenever I think about my mind shifts to Ranger, I walk back into the bonds office.

"Morelli?" asked Connie

I nodded

"Mr fine as cop better be okay with my little god child" said Lula

"he seems to be"

She nods

"good now when do I get to see my baby?"

I sigh and called my mother, she hasn't left to Gabriella shipping so Lula and I, or mainly Lula agreed to do it.

"we have to go get my mothers car, she thinks mine is a death trap" I said to Lula

"damn Skippy your not putting my god baby in that car"

I rolled my eyes at her, fifteen minutes later I was back at my parents house, grandma and Gabriella are sitting on the porch, Gabriella looks happy,

"my baby" called Lula running up to her,

She managed to give her a big bear hug

"hello baby, now you can either call me auntie Lula or godmama Lula the choice is yours"

She said shifting Gabriella to her hip,

"auntie Lula?" Gabriella questioned

"what a smart baby you are, I can see your graduating from one of those fancy schools"

I sigh, I cannot afford a fancy school.

"I know I am smart, ask me anything" she said with confidence

"okay smarty pants, whats 258*150" asked Grandma

"38700" she responded

I laugh

"that can't be right"

Lula out her done and took out her phone

"okay baby what is 15000/89" said Lula

I laughed, there is no way she could answer that, we could never do that.

"168.54" said Gabriella

Lula looked at me, looking freaked out,

"looks like we got a Rain man in the family" said Grandma

"175.25*452" said Lula

I was hoping she got that answer by luck

"79213"

Lula nodded to me, oh crap

"how did you know that?" I asked her

"its just basic math, that stuff is easy compared to what we do at school"

What kind of school did she go to? One to make little robots who can do math

"I went to a special school, they agreed to let me come in a year early but I guess I will be going to normal school now" she said looking down at her feet

So now I have a special child to deal with

"last time I was tested they said I have an IQ of 180"

We all remained silent, so I have a child who is not only beautiful but intelligent,

"lets go shopping all this math talk is making me want to go shoe shopping" said Lula, picking up my genius daughter,

We drive to the mall in silence

Grandma is in the back asking Gabriella questioned about the couple who adopted her, The Millar's, I remember their application, the wife was a cooperate lawyer, and the father was a plastic sergan, I sigh as we arrive at the mall,

"now remember to stay with me baby there are shady people in this place" said Lula taking her hand, she is right though, I have captured a few people from this mall,

"lets shop" I say as we enter a child's clothing store

"hello" said a sales lady,

"what are we looking for?" she asked

"just anything she likes" I say to the woman

"I have a few ideas" she said leading us to different racks

She picked out a few pairs of skinny jeans, plain t-shirts in pink, while and black, new a plaid blouse, Gabriella also tried on a couple of dresses she said that were perfect for her, I smile, as I pay, having a child is expensive.

"babe"

I turn around in the parking lot to see the other man in my life, Ranger, he is part owner of a company called Rangemen, he has mocha skin and the most beautiful body, as if it was hand crafted by the gods. I smile at him,

"hello"

He looks down at the small child next to me, luckily grandma and Lula are still in the mall, waiting for us to drive to the front to pick them up,

"what's your name?" he asks

"Gabriella" she replied

"I'm Ranger" he said in his normal bored tone but I could see he was surprised by her, Gabriella looked up at me, I smiled down at her

"he a friend" I say to ensure her

"yes, I have known your mother for years" he kneels down to her level

"you look like her" he stroked her hair

This is surprising, I was expecting this kind of behavior from Joe not Ranger, I thought he didn't want children.

"I don't want children doesn't mean I do not like them babe" he said as if reading my mind,

"Stephanie" called Gabriella

"yes darling" I ask

"can I marry him" she asks touching his face

I burst out laughing, Ranger gives her a 200 watt smile

"you're a little young for me, but I honored that you asked" he replied picking her up to hug her

"always the heart breaker" I tease him

He gives me a lool and puts her back down

"I will see you both later" he gently kisses my lips and disappears

"lets go get auntie and grandma" said Gabriella

I laugh and get back into my car, you never know what to expect from Ranger