Chapter 44- Epilogue

We arrived back in Trenton and headed back to Rangeman. I was completely relaxed and satisfied. I couldn't get the smile off of my face. We went to the fifth floor as Cal and Hal carried our luggage up to seven. I was ambushed with big hugs and kisses from the guys who missed us. Even Tank made his way out of the office to pull me up into his arms and spin me around. "So glad to have you both back safe and sound." he smiled as he gently set me down.

"I missed you all." I told them as I held back the tears. I hadn't realized how much I had missed my merry men.

"Hawaii?" Vince asked as I nodded.

"Again?" Bobby laughed

"Cuba?" Lester asked excitedly

"YES!" I exclaimed.

"Italy?" Woody asked

"Yes! It was the most amazing trip ever. Everything was perfect." I leaned into Ranger.

"With all of the site seeing are you sure you had enough time for honeymoon things?" Lester wiggled his eyebrows.

"We had plenty of time for everything." I told him

"Well, if you didn't get all of the attention you needed I would be happy to help you out beautiful." he smirked

"Santos, mats 0600" Ranger glared

"I sure missed you Boss." Lester teased before he went back to his cubicle.

"I'm tired." I announced.

"I bet you are." Lester hollered back at me as a coupe of the guys shook their heads.

"I will be back down later to catch up." Ranger told Tank before he led me to the elevator.

When we got into the apartment I flopped down onto the couch. "I am glad to be home, but would have happily kept traveling with you anywhere." I told him as he moved to join me on the couch.

"I asked Tank to start looking for some possible houses for us to check out." he told me.

"That sounds great." I reached up and pulled him down on top of me.

"Babe" he kissed me and leaned against the back of the couch pulling me onto my side with my back to his front.

"Ranger...Carlos..." I took a deep breath.

"Yes?" he whispered in my ear as he reached an arm around me.

"About what you asked me in Cuba?" I took slow and deep breaths.

"Babe." he pulled me closer.

"Let's leave it to fate." I suggested

He turned me a bit so he could look into my eyes. "Fate?"

I nodded "We'll stop using all birth control and see what happens. What do you think?"

He kissed me slow and with lots of tongue before puling back to stare into my eyes. "I think that's a perfect idea."

**************************************************5 years later*********************************************************

I hung up the phone and heaved out a sigh. I stood there in my kitchen for a moment unable to move. He was dead. The man I once loved was gone forever and there was nothing anyone could have done to save him. I had no tears to shed but I felt a small tug on my heart. I walked out onto the deck and made my way to the railing. I took a deep breath as the salty ocean air filled my nose. I closed my eyes and listened to the waves crash against the shore. I found myself suddenly overcome with memories as I opened my eyes to look out at the horizon. Hands came down onto the balcony trapping me in between them and I gave a jump of surprise.

"You gotta be more of your surroundings Babe." he told me as I moved my hands down to grasp his.

"Morelli's dead." I told him

"I know" he spoke quietly

"I'm not happy or sad. I feel bad for his family after he already put them through so much." I explained as I turned to face him. "Do you know the details?"

"They tried to keep him out of the general population as they do all cops. I know he still didn't do well with daily harassment and weekly trips to the infirmary." Carlos told me.

"I just never thought he would kill himself." I shook my head

"Some people can only take so much." he reminded me as he gently pulled me into a hug.

"Now they're both gone." I sighed

"I had nothing to do with this one." he assured me

When he said that I thought back to the day after we arrived home from our honeymoon. Tank called us into a meeting and explained Jeanne Ellen had been denied bail but some evidence against her had already started to disappear. I knew the guys feared she may get off but they didn't talk much. There was a lot of ESP going on between them. Two days later we got the call she had been murdered in jail. I felt guilty because when I heard the news I had been so relieved almost happy. I asked Carlos if he had anything to do with it and he replied in his usual one word answer of "Babe" and we never discussed it again.

"Need to get the food." he kissed my head before he released me

I smiled as I watched him walk away. Damn, my husband is a gorgeous man. I moved over to lay on one of the long lounge chairs and he came out with a platter he set next to the grill. He must have felt my eyes on him because he turned to flash me his typical 200 watt smile. "You checking out my ass Babe?"

I laughed because we both knew the answer. I was used to seeing him smile a lot more often now. He still gives many one word answers but he always shows me his love. He was always surprising me with flowers, chocolates and not just gifts but special moments together.

It was the fourth of July weekend and we were expecting some family to come and join us for a small gathering. I found him so incredibly sexy standing there in his swim trunks with no shirt on. I was just hoping I would be able to control myself. I wanted him more now than when I first met him. I looked down at my wedding ring and smiled to myself as I remembered our jet setting honeymoon. These last few years married to him had only made me love him more. We had some ups and downs but we never ran and we always talked it out or worked it out in the bedroom.

Grandma Rosa made her way through the french doors and came to sit next to me. "So beautiful" she told me as she looked down at the baby she held in her arms.

I looked over and smiled at the sleeping baby. Our precious Isabella Mariposa was barely a month old. She was also the main reason I was in a one piece bathing suit even though Carlos assured me that I still looked amazing in a bikini. I looked at my daughter as she opened her bright beautiful blue eyes and Rosa moved a soft brown curl from her face. "So much hair" she smiled.

I looked out at the ocean remembering the times Carlos and I had used the sand and water for thinking. Combing the sand from our favorite beaches into one when we were married. Now we spent part of the year living in our beach house in Point Pleasant and the colder part of the year on seven. I looked back to Isabella and my heart melted. I never imagined being a mother would fill my heart with such incredible joy.

"Daddy! Daddy!" the little boy came running out of the house and crashed right into Carlos' legs. "What is it Matteo?"

"Uncle Lester is annoying me." the four year old explained. I looked over to see my son. He was dressed in his tight little black t-shirt and his black cargo pants.

"He annoys me too." his father agreed.

"Hey! That's not nice." Lester stepped onto the porch as both Carlos and Matteo glared at him.

"Hello beautiful." Lester leaned over and kissed me on the top of my head. "And hello gorgeous." he moved to kiss Isabella on the forehead.

I watched Matteo tap his father's leg until Carlos leaned down to listen to him "Kisses mommy too much." I heard part of his whispering.

Carlos stood and let out a deep belly laugh. "Santos, my son is going to kill you if you don't keep your lips off of my wife."

Matteo looked up at Carlos and they did the ESP thing. "And his sister too."

"Matteo why don't you go and get your swim trunk on? You are going to be hot in that." I told him but he simply crossed his arms and moved to lean back against the wooden wall surrounding the porch.

Matteo Ricardo was so much like his father. He had deep brown eyes and almost black straight hair. He was already a master of the glare and the stone face. Only a couple of months after we decided to stop all birth control I found out I was pregnant with him. I was nervous at first but once I heard his heart beat I fell in love. When I felt his first kick I knew he would be like his father. It was no surprise to me that Carlos was an amazing and attentive daddy. I gave up bounty hunting while I was pregnant, but returned to Vinnie's when Matteo was a year old. He always preferred Carlos to anyone else. Carlos had a small desk and chair added to his home office when he noticed Matteo was spending a lot of time in there. They would sit together in silence for hours just looking through papers and making phone calls. Carlos on his cell and Matteo on his Fisher Price. Matteo glared at everyone for most of his toddler years. He never did anything if we tried to force him, but he could be persuaded with hugs and kisses from mommy. Yes definitely like his father

Julie strolled onto the porch followed by Mari as they both came over and sat down next to me. Carlos' daughter Julie had started visiting us shortly after we got married. I guess Rachel felt it was safe for her to visit now that Carlos had settled down. It had taken some time but we built a comfortable relationship together. I smiled remembering how Carlos struggled through Julie's teenage years.

"When do you leave for school?" I asked her

"Mom and Ron are coming up to check me into the dorms the first weekend in August." she laid back in the chair.

"Can we come visit the next weekend?" I asked her

"Of course." she slid on her sunglasses.

"Are you nervous?" I dropped my voice.

"Yes." she admitted

"My granddaughter going to Princeton University! I am so proud of our future lawyer." Mari smiled as she clapped her hands together.

"No pressure." I whispered as Julie laughed

"Mommy! Look! Uncle Bobby got me this stef-a-sco." Nicholas was at my side showing off a stethoscope. "Check?"

I nodded as I let him check my heart and he nodded I was fine before he planted a kiss on my cheek. "He's going to be a good doctor some day." Bobby scooped up Nicholas Anton into his arms.

I had been lucky Nicholas, little Nicky, had yet to go through the terrible twos. My kind little Nicky had brown hair like his father and blue eyes like his mother. He already had his heart set on becoming a doctor like his uncle. It was Nicky's pregnancy that helped me decide that I was done with bounty hunting. We actually bought Vinnie and Harry out and moved the business to Ranegman. Connie and Lula stayed with us and the men took turns collecting FTA's in the beginning until we hired more bounty hunters. Connie was now writing all of the bonds and Lula was the office manager for Rangeman Bail Bonds. Rangeman now did security, bail bonds and private investigations.

I didn't go chasing after skips anymore, and had to give up distraction jobs after Carlos broke the hands of three different skips. He still argues to this day that each man fell down or caught his hand in a door shortly after grabbing me with that same hand. I still did searches when my expertise was needed or if I was interested in a particular case. My main focus was being in charge of human relations and new clients that needed a woman's touch. Right now however my number one job was mommy. Believe it or not Stephanie Manoso is currently a stay at home mom. I plan on going back in a few months when I am ready to leave Isabella at the Rangeman nursery that Carlos had set up after Matteo was born.

Tank came out onto the deck followed by Anton and they joined Carlos at the grill. I looked around at everyone and smiled. I wasn't sure about marriage and babies and he wasn't sure about relationships. Look at us now, we had it all. I couldn't imagine our life without our babies and without each other. Santanna appeared and quickly turned on some music. I smiled as I watched Lester dance around with Isabella in his arms. Carlos came over and took my hand, pulling me onto my feet. "Mrs. Manoso." he whispered in my ear as he pulled me close into a dance. As others came out to the porch they were either talking or dancing. I smiled and laughed as we danced around together. Of course he still couldn't keep his hands to himself and soon held my hips while he covered my throat in kisses.

"Hey! Get back to that grill Carlos." I ordered as I pushed him away. He laughed and kissed my lips before he went back to the grill. Cal came out onto the porch followed by Javier and I greeted them before I sat back down.

Grandma Rosa patted my arm and leaned in close to me. "Beautiful babies." she smirked

"Yes, you were right." I admitted

"Beautiful family." she kissed my cheek and I took her hand in mine and gave it a squeeze.

"I love you." I spoke softly to her

"I know" she nodded as I let out a laugh.

I looked up and Carlos had his eyes on me. He let out a happy sigh and his eyes filled with love. I was still amazed at how well I fit into his family. My own Grandma Mazur had passed away last year. Of course we had an open casket and lots of cookies at Stiva's funeral home. We had dinner at my parent's house once a month. My mother loved to talk about our beautiful children and how successful Carlos was to anyone that would listen. The Burg considered me a success story but, I didn't care what they thought. I no longer worried about their approval. I was surrounded by the family who had always loved and supported me no matter what.

I stood up and walked over to Lester so I could kiss my little girl on the forehead. The music had been turned down so people could hear each other talk while they ate. Everyone was helping themselves to the food Carlos had just taken off the grill. Anton moved to take over the grilling as Hal brought him more food to cook. I walked across the porch headed towards my husband. I was stopping along the way to give hugs and kisses as more people arrived. Carlos made his way to me and pulled me into his arms as we met in the middle. I pulled my head back and kissed him softly. It wasn't long before the kiss heated up and tongues were added. My legs still got weak and my heart still raced at the connection between us. He held me up pressed against him keeping me steady on my feet.

"Ewww" Nicky called out

"Great, they're going to make another baby." Matteo rolled his eyes.

We both laughed as we pulled our lips away from the kiss and I laid my head against his chest. "I love you Babe"

"I love you too Carlos." I whispered against his chest.

"I love you too." Lester called out as he hugged Ranger from behind.

"Santos Mats 0500 Monday." Matteo growled as we both shook with laughter. Everyone then let out a laugh at our mini-Rangeman.

Carlos grabbed my face with both hands and looked into my eyes. "eres la lu de mi vida"

"Mine too!" Lester teased

"What?" I shook my head

"You are the light of his life." Julie explained "And apparently Uncle Lester's too."

"I was talking to Isabella." Lester gave an angelic look.

"You could never keep your hands away from chicks that don't belong to you." Bobby joked

"I can't help it if I am irresistible." he shrugged before his face suddenly fell.

Bobby looked at him and then held his fingers to plug up his nose. "Have fun changing that diaper." he laughed.

"Uhm" Lester panicked..

"I thought she was the light of your life." Angel teased

"But.." Lester stammered

"Give her to me." Celia rolled her eyes as she took the baby.

"Thank you." I told her and then looked up into Carlos' eyes "and thank you."

"For what?" he asked as he released my face and locked his hands together at my back.

"Everything we have made together." I tilted my head up and kissed him deeply as our bodies came together.

We came up for air and he flashed me that incredible smile. "You want me bad."

*********************************************THANK YOU****************************************************

Thank you so much for all of the reviews. Some of the chapters flowed out so easily and others I had a hard time starting but I knew you were all waiting for the next chapter and that pushed me.

Thank you to my friends and family who constantly put up with me telling them about my latest story ideas. Thanks for always supplying me with ideas when I told them about point A and point Z but couldn't get together the rest