All familiar characters belong to Janet. The rest and the inevitable mistakes are mine. And thank you MamaJoyce for the advice, obviously it helped. :) The fanfic site still hasn't fixed their PM notification issue, but I've still been responding to reviews even though those emails don't appear now.

Chapter 24

Ranger's POV

Once Steph ended her call, she was quick to grab Trey as he went tearing past her and towards the front door.

"Grandma Mazur says 'Hi'," she said to me, completely unfazed by whatever our twin tornados do now. "And she told me to give all of my guys a kiss for her. That means you're up first, Trey, since I've got you in my clutches already."

He began to try to wiggle his way away from Steph's onslaught of not just one, but multiple kisses. He even tried to push her face away once, right before he turned his entire body into hers and began laughing at her attention to detail in not missing a single inch of his quickly reddening face.

She set him back on his feet and just for show looked dramatically around for Jamie.

"Ah ... there you are," she said, mock-stalking him as if we hadn't known all along that he was standing on the couch, elbows leaning on the back cushion so he could watch the play between his Mama and big brother.

I saw the flash of white from every one of Jamie's teeth after he caught Steph looking at him. He then dove under the blanket Stephanie had been wrapped in last night, hoping to avoid detection well after the fact.

"You can run, but you can't hide," my wife warned our youngest.

She picked him up, blanket and all, and smothered him in supposedly passed-along Edna kisses. I loved my boys even more when Jamie didn't even attempt to escape Steph's embrace while Trey grabbed my hand and started dragging me over to the pair.

"We catches Mama," Trey informed me, moving even faster now to be in on the action while it's still going on.

"You get Jamie and I'll get Mama," I instructed my son.

He nodded and wrapped both arms around what he could grab of his brother's legs. "I gotz you, Jamzie."

"And I have you, Babe. Let the boy go and no one gets hugged."

She grinned and held Jamie closer. "Screw that. I want this little boy and all the hugs you and Trey can give me."

"You heard the lady, Trey. Let go of Jamie and we'll launch Operation Hug Mama. On the count of three ..."

"You two don't scare me," Steph said, purposely trapping herself and Jamie in the corner of the couch, not even attempting an escape.

"One," I said, as our son and I took a step closer.

"Tube," Trey counted, holding up three fingers instead of just the two required.

"Looks like we have something to work on," Stephanie said, staring at the little hand.

"We do. What number's next, Jamie?" I asked the second mini-me, who's sitting up on his Mama more than anticipating the impending attack.

"One," he answered, as Trey and I advanced on them.

I reached them first and slid my arms under Steph's body. Since Jamie had been reclining against her, I effectively picked up both of them at the same time.

"Climb on, Trey," I suggested, leaning down so Steph could scoop him up.

I turned and sat down on the couch with my family spilling out around me, minus the most mature member of it, Julie.

Stephanie glanced up at me. "I think Grandma Mazur would be pleased with how I handled her instructions."

"You're forgetting someone," I pointed out.

"I didn't forget. I was just saving the biggest for last," she said, keeping up eye contact until my lips settled on hers.

The contact was worth savoring, but it's far from enough. Our third kiss got cut short when Trey pinched my nose shut so I had no choice but to release his Mama.

"We did dat," he told me.

"Yes. Mama did kiss you and Jamie. It was my turn."

I was lowering my head for number four once I was freed, but Jamie's head popped up between Steph's and mine.

She sighed in regret. "Guess we've officially moved onto the conversation part of the evening."

I felt her regret from the waist down, since I know we won't be alone tonight. "How's Edna doing?" I asked.

"I'm pretty sure they can see her grin from the space station. It got much bigger when you offered to extend her and Edwin's honeymoon for an extra week or two. They may never come back to Jersey."

"You, all of her great-grandchildren, Bridger, and Teuscher are here. Edna will return eventually with a new hairdo or hair color, a tan, and an exhausted group of RangeMen."

Steph helped Jamie put the straw in his juice box and then got back to me. "And you thought rotating the guys after you issued the vacation-extension would keep them from getting worn out."

"I underestimated Edna."

"Never a good thing to do. She's hell on wheels on a normal day. Pair her with the man and life she's dreamed of ... and she is unstoppable and invincible."

"I now know that you aren't exaggerating."

"I'm tempted to snag Julie and crash their honeymoon for a weekend with her and the boys, and let the kids and Grandma tire each other out while we take a nap."

"Just a nap?" I asked her.

Trey slid off the couch and tried for the door again. I got up and tracked him down even though I know he can't get the door open. We came back and I retrieved his and Jamie's socks and sneakers that they'll be needing to put back on soon.

"Maybe we could enjoy a little adult time before we get to take that really long nap," Steph told me, when I sat beside her again.

"Sounds good. Tonight felt like a better idea yesterday. It just hit me how many chaperones we'll have tonight."

"I'd already thought of that, which is why I all but attacked you this morning. Lucky for me, just feeling your body wrapped around me is almost as good as feeling it inside me."

My eyes closed as I spent time with that visual, but a sneaker thumping against the coffee table had me reopening them after only a beat. Seeing Jamie with a dino-sneaker in his hand, and Trey about to do the same with his shark-themed shoe, my wife smiled.

"I'm betting you boys are really excited about your first camping trip."

"We're sleeping in my parents' backyard, Babe. I'd hardly call that camping."

"Are there tents involved?" She countered.

"Yes, just so you and the boys will be warm and comfortable."

"And contained."

"That too. Hopefully," I added.

"And will we be sleeping outside?"

"That's where meteors are kept. So yes."

"Will your Mom be making snacks for us to eat outdoors as we're counting shooting stars?"

"You'd be hard pressed to stop her," I replied.

"That's camping. Or maybe it's a camping trip that has training wheels attached to it. If the boys lose interest in nature providing the night's entertainment, we can just head inside or come back home."

"Considering how their new hobby is trying to sneak out of the house in order to play outside, I doubt you have anything to worry about there."

"I hope so. I don't mind them loving cartoons, but I want them to have the same appreciation for doing physical outside-stuff as their Daddy and Uncles have."

"The appreciation you lack?" I teased.

"Hey ... I like being outside. I'd just prefer to be lying on a beach when I am, not running for miles in freezing cold rain just for kicks."

"And for health purposes," I pointed out.

"Nice try, but you can run on a treadmill in one of three temperature-controlled gyms. You choose the rain just to torture me."

"If you believe that, why do you come with me?"

She shrugged. "Call me shallow, but you look really good in a wet T-shirt and sweatpants."

I gave her a wolf grin. "As do you, Steph."

"Aha! So that's why you insist I come along."

"You'll never know," I told her, ending her line of questioning with a kiss.

One thing I've discovered since having kids that I'm actively here to raise, they don't allow for much time to contemplate the act of making more. Unless the boys are napping or out cold for the night, whenever Steph and I take a minute for ourselves, the boys come after it with a vengeance.

This time Trey ran off to get the small backpacks we bought them to complete the camping feel of tonight. The sound of nylon fabric being dragged across hardwood was also the sound of our alone time coming to an end until tomorrow.

"Okay, we can take a hint," Steph told them. "You're ready to go hunt some meteors, but remember what Daddy told you, they only start flying when the sky's super dark."

I passed Trey and his footwear over to Steph while I sat Jamie on me so I could help him get his bare feet locked and loaded again. "They'll have Nugget and Nimbus to kill time with, along with my parents, and Tank and Bobby later. We may get that nap opportunity after all."

Steph snorted. "Not likely. The only place busier than our house ... is theirs."

I couldn't disagree. A yearly meteor shower is hardly a holiday, but my mother's treating this one as a special occasion just because we were planning to come over and watch it with them. It's going to be a far cry from the glass of wine, cuddling under a blanket on a bench dragged close to their firepit, night they usually plan for any sky-gazing event.

As if to prove my thoughts right, once the boys were bundled up and carrying their T-Rex and Tiger sleeping bags with their little backpacks strapped and walking with us to their grandparents' place, we could already hear Nugget howling and a few Nimbus barks coming from the backyard.

When we reached my parents' house, the canine chaos moved from the outdoors, in through the house, and to the front door to greet us. Jamie and Trey could ride both dogs at this point, the dogs being double their size now, but they settled for just chasing them through the entryway and into the living room.

One look out of the sliding glass doors, showed our family-sized tent had already been set up. My parents have a smaller one erected on the other side of the backyard. Tank and Bobby nixed the tent idea, since it's going to be a relatively mild night, and had decided to just use standard bedrolls to sleep on.

The crime rate in Newark has gone down considerably since we set up shop in the area, but I will never bet my family's safety on a percentage or an assumption. Plus 'The Uncles' wanted T&J time, so they offered before I had to ask to provide additional security so I - and they - can keep watch over everyone tonight but also enjoy the natural light show.

"Is this a campground or the Ritz?" Steph asked my mother, when she took notice of the backyard's transformation.

"I was hoping to capture a little of both. This isn't a calendar holiday, but watching my grandsons witness something they've never seen before, was enough of a reason for a little party in my opinion."

"I couldn't agree more," my wife replied. "I've never looked forward to sleeping outside until now. I honestly think the boys are going to love seeing what they'll probably think are really, really far away fireflies which they now call 'battery bugs'."

"Fireflies, battery bugs, Celestial Christmas lights, or whatever else you want to call them, we're promised to be seeing the sky's equivalent to all of them tonight," my father added.

"That's what I hear," Steph said. "And I hope they're right so I don't feel like a bad Mom for letting our kids stay up past their usual bedtime."

"I agreed to this too, Babe. You can just blame me for allowing it," I assured her.

"Sorry, we're in this together. If one goes down, we both do."

"Every time I think you can't be any more perfect for my Carlos, you go on ahead and surpass yourself, Stephanie," my mother told her.

"I think the same thing about your son everyday."

Nothing makes Mama Manoso happier than someone praising one of her pride and joys, so she was lighting up herself when she smiled wide at my wife.

"I happen to agree with you there, Dear. My Carlos has always been special. Now ... we didn't want to light a campfire when the twins would be running around too close to it, so we utilized the grill again. We have grilled cheese roll ups, seasoned sweet potato slices, and whole-apple Crisps wrapped in foil, if the boys or you two get hungry. The heat's off, but the warming setting and the cover remaining down will keep everything warm for some time."

"The twins did eat really well at dinner. Ranger tricked them into eating veggie chicken nuggets and also some cheesy broccoli rice. I swear they're growing by the second and will probably want something else to eat if they're staying up a little later than usual. So thank you for thinking ahead. I packed snacks for them, but they'll appreciate hot food over portable snacks."

"This is one place where you will never have to worry about going hungry," my father told her.

"No kidding," I said under my breath.

"Did someone say hungry?" Brown asked, he and Tank letting themselves in and joining our small party. "Because I am."

"Clearly when I said they're growing by the second and will probably want food, I was referring to these boys, not ours," Steph teased, as the men got full-body hugs from both Trey and Jamie and then Nimbus and Nugget less than a beat after the boys let go of them.

It's amusing to know that my parents are living a parallel life to ours just a few houses down, except with dogs instead of boys.

"You can't maintain all of this," Bobby said, with an obnoxious hand-sweep of his body, "on just three meals a day."

"Of course you can't," my wife answered. "What was I thinking?"

"I know I was just thinking that there are currently two steaks in our refrigerator," my mother said. "And I know someone who can grill with the best of them."

"I love you Mrs. M.," Brown said, earning narrowed eyes from the resident grillmaster.

"You'd better stop making eyes at my wife or I'll 'accidentally' make one of those steaks very well done," Papa Manoso warned.

Brown's hands went up in defense of himself and his bonus supper. "We're cool. I really appreciate this invite."

"Pay him no mind, Bobby," my mother advised. "You know you and Pierre are always welcome here."

"Even more so when you put your time off to good use," I told Tank, who got a twin under each arm after three rounds of them playing 'run up, tag Uncle Tank, and then run away' again.

His reflexes are still on point and he arm-curled Jamie and did the same to Trey, placing a kiss to the top of each messy-haired head.

"This is the kind of assignment I enjoy," he shared. "It feels like time spent with family, not a job."

"Because you are family, Tank," Steph told him. "If it weren't for you, the guys, and Ranger's family, we couldn't have what we do now. It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes two Rangeman buildings full of Uncles and the entire Manoso clan to help us take care of our three kids."

"Well said, Stephanie," her mother-in-law said. "You all just sit back and relax. We'll go put the steaks on."

Steph looked at me and I nodded. No words needed to be shared. We were suddenly thinking the same thing.

"Uh, before you disappear to do yet another thing for us," Steph said to my parents, "Ranger and I want your opinion on something."

They both instantly appeared wary. "And that would be what?" My father asked.

"We were talking before we came over here, about how Grandma Mazur and Edwin may never want to come home ..."

"It's not true, but it prompted Stephanie to suggest that we crash their honeymoon for at least a long weekend," I added. "Would you two be interested in accompanying us when we do?"

It was dead silent except for the sound of Bobby and Tank's faces cracking into grins. But the quiet didn't last long.

"Are you serious?" My mother asked.

"Yes," I answered. "If you'd see a trip with the five of us to spend time with Edna and 'her honey' as a vacation you'd want to take."

"What else could it be?"

"My mother would call it hell," Steph said, "but you are definitely not her, so I really hope you'll consider coming with us."

"Oh, Stephanie, you should be able to tell by now that my wife has already packed and repacked our bags three times since the moment you surprised us with this," my father told her.

"Oh, good. So you'll come?"

"There is no stopping us now," Mama Manoso said.

I felt a twinge of apprehension at the similarity of her words and the ones Steph used to describe Edna, but the feelings emanating from them made any future pain well worth it.

"So it's settled, well it will be once we see if we get to have Julie join us too," Steph said.

"I'll check with Rachel and Ron tomorrow, Babe."

"Okay, so we'll worry about them saying no later and focus on enjoying tonight. Once the big boys are fed, we can get the little ones settled down a little."

Seeing how Jamie and Trey enjoyed a renewed burst of energy since arriving here, I was doubtful of them ever calming back down. But there is only so much running, playing, laughing, and barking to be done in an evening. After the sun disappeared completely, and the stationary stars started to come out, my wife and I moved to the piece of furniture that could accommodate all of us, a padded couch that is circular in shape. Steph sat close to the pillows lining one half of it and called the boys over.

"Jamie! Trey! Come sit with Mama!"

They didn't arrive alone, so we ended up with two dogs filling the other half and completing our family circle. Steph sat a twin on each leg and then bent her head between them as I spread out a blanket across them before sitting down myself.

"Every time you see a star fly across the sky," Steph advised our boys, pointing to the navy-colored canopy high above us, "you think of something you'd like to have. You can tell Daddy and I what it is too if you want. I don't think standard wish-rules apply to almost two-year-olds."

I watched one meteor shoot from one corner of the sky, sail above us, and head straight over our own home. I couldn't help but think that I'm good when it comes to wishes. In just these last three years, I've managed to get everything I've ever wanted in my life.