*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Stephanie walked into the 5^th floor control room early on Friday morning.  She smiled and waved at Hal, who was manning the security monitors, as she made her way to her cubicle.  She powered up her computer and dropped her pepper spray, stun gun and cell phone into her desk drawer.  While browsing through her email, she found a note from Ranger.

Stephanie was intrigued at the prospect of Ranger holding an off-site meeting, but where was the usual location?  When she worked at E.E. Martin, their off-site meetings were at the local bar complete with margaritas and nachos.  She couldn’t imagine the Rangeman crew going out for nachos so it must be something else.  Stephanie startled when a warm hand settled at the base of her neck.

She didn’t have to look up to know who was behind her.  “Hi Ranger.”

“Babe.  You got the message on the off-site meeting?”

“Yeah, I just read it.  What is the usual location though?”

“Don’t worry about it.  I’ll pick you up at 6 on Sunday.  Dress for work.”

“Uh, OK.”  She watched as he smiled and walked back to the control room. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sunday, 6:00pm

Stephanie was just tying her workboots when the lock tumbled on her front door.  Ranger stepped into her apartment and gave her a warm smile.  “Ready, Babe?”

“Yeah, just let me feed Rex before we leave.”  She dropped a few hamster nuggets into Rex’s cage and grabbed her jacket as they headed out the door.  When they got to the parking lot, Ranger opened the passenger door of the Porsche for her.  She slid into the soft leather seat and buckled up and he angled in beside her.  “So, where are we headed?”

Ranger just smiled and shook his head as the Porsche roared to life.  They rolled out of the parking lot and hit the Interstate.  Stephanie was shocked speechless when they took the exit to Quakerbridge Mall.  Ranger parked in a spot near the main doors and she saw most of the Rangeman “A” crew waiting for them.  Ranger pulled a gun from his back waistband.  He checked the safety and then opened the glove compartment and put the gun in.  “You want to lock up your gun, Babe.  Mall security tends to get a little nervous when we come through armed.” She added her gun to the glove compartment and Ranger locked it. 

It was 6:25 p.m. on a Sunday.  “Ranger, isn’t the mall closed?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are we here?”

“Semi-annual meeting.”  Stephanie sighed.  She obviously wasn’t going to get information from him so she just thought it best not to pursue it further.  She got out of the car and started walking up to the others.  The twelve of them walked into the mall and Ranger hooked an arm around her neck and pulled her close to whisper in her ear.  “This meeting is completely confidential, Babe.  What goes on in this room can never be repeated to anyone.  Understand?”

“Uh, OK.  Why?”

“Bad for business.”

They walked through the mall with authority.  She could see the employees of the food court staring goggle-eyed at them when they should have been cleaning their fryers and milkshake machines.  She couldn’t blame them.  They were an impressive sight.  Eleven tall, gorgeous men with bodies that would make Mr. Universe weep with jealousy, all in tight black t-shirts and cargo pants, and then her right in the middle.  They made their way past Macy’s and Barnes & Noble to their destination.  She stared at the store in complete and utter shock.  She looked at Ranger with wide eyes.  “You’re kidding.”

“Nope.  Come on, we don’t want to be late.”  He pulled her into the store and the others followed.  They met up with their guide in the back of the store.

“Hello!  My name is Kathy and I will be your guide this evening.  The Build-A-Bear Workshop would like to welcome Rangeman back for another fun-filled evening.  It’s wonderful to see you all again. The store is open completely for you to choose whatever animals and accessories you would like.  When you are ready to begin, please let me know.”

Steph looked at the men before her and saw that each of them was smiling.  They fanned out through the store and started checking out the different animals that were available.  She turned to Ranger, “What’s this all about?”

Ranger laced their fingers together and tugged her further into the store.  “Find something you like, Babe.  Usually the guys pick out two or three different animals to make.  There’s no limit so just go ahead.”  He let go of her hand and went to a barrel about mid-way through the line to pick out an 18” butterscotch brown teddy bear.  Tank was standing next to him, and picked out the biggest teddy bear they had.  It was a sable brown with big black eyes and a black nose.  The insides of its ears and it’s feet were a creme color.  He looked at Ranger and then at the plain teddy bear in his hands.  Ranger just smiled back at him and said, “Hey, it’s a classic.”

Tank laughed and went to pick out accessories for his bear.  Stephanie stepped up next to Ranger and looked at the different animals.  “You guys have done this before?”

“Every six months.”

“Why?”

“It’s a team-building exercise.”

“You guys make stuffed animals for a team-building exercise?  I thought you’d assemble assault weapons or something.”  Ranger just smiled at her.  “What do you do with the animals when you’re finished?” 

Ranger didn’t answer but just nudged her to pick something out. “You ask too many questions, Babe.”  He left to go over and look at the clothes and shoes while she pondered which animal to choose. 

Lester stepped up next to her.  “What’s up, Bombshell?”

“Please don’t call me that. And I’m trying to figure out which animal to pick. I haven’t seen any teddy bears on the 5^th floor, so what do you do with them when you’re done?”

Lester just shook his head.  “When we’re done with the meeting you’ll understand.  Just don’t pick something too foo-foo.”

Foo-foo?  Was that a technical term?  She finally settled on a 15-inch Vanilla colored bear with big brown eyes and a black nose.  She walked over to the clothing aisle, curious to see what the men had chosen.  When she saw what they picked she couldn’t stop the eye roll.  Every one of them had chosen some kind of military uniform complete with dog tags, black berets and combat boots for one of their bears.  Well, she wasn’t an ex-army Ranger; she was a Jersey Girl.  And Jersey Girls didn’t wear camouflage.

She picked up a black leather-look mini skirt and paired it with a white t-shirt that had a pink shrug sweater attached.  She added a pair of pink metallic high-heels and a black leather handbag.  She went over to stand in line behind Ranger at the stuffing machine.  Bobby was at the front of the line and if anyone had told her that a 6’4”, 205 lb mercenary ex-military man would be stuffing a teddy bear, kissing a satin heart to add love, dancing in a circle singing “You Are My Sunshine” to add joy and putting it all together in a camo outfit she would have thought they had several screws loose. 

The line moved quickly considering that each man went through the same thing.  Some of them actually had pretty good singing voices.  Stephanie could not wait to see Ranger put his bear together.  He smiled at the guide as she started stuffing the arms and legs of his bear.  When she handed him the satin heart, he kissed it and tucked it into the teddy bear.  She finished filling the bear and asked him to test the “snuggle factor” to see if it had enough stuffing.  He gave it a little hug and said that he thought it was fine.  She tucked in the finders tag and pulled the strings tight, tying them off with a complicated knot.  Ranger thanked her and went to the next station. 

Stephanie felt like she just got robbed.  She really wanted to see Ranger strut his stuff!  “Hey!  How come Ranger didn’t have to sing or dance?” she asked.

Ranger turned and gave her a 200-watt smile, causing the guide to let out a little gasp and swoon in her seat.  ”Because I’m the boss, and I only do my dancing in private.”  He winked at her and went to wash his bear.

“Holy cow,” whispered Kathy, “I knew he was hot, but yikes!”  Stephanie could only agree with her.  Yikes indeed. 

She went through the process of stuffing her bear and got a few wolf whistles as she did her little song and dance of joy.  Kathy giggled at the cat calls as she tied up the back of Stephanie’s bear.  “You know, all the girls want to work on the night these guys come in.  We have to have a lottery to see who gets to host for them.  They are all so yummy and it’s so sweet that they come in and make teddy bears.”

“So you’ve been here before when they have come in?” Stephanie asked.

“Oh yeah.  The first year they did it, three of our employees fainted.  These guys are so big and manly, you know?  It was difficult to concentrate with them all in here at once.  Especially the boss-guy.  My supervisor nearly passed out the first time he smiled at her.”

“Yeah, he tends to have that effect.”  Steph replied.   “So you guys don’t have a full crew, now it’s just you and that guy over there?” She looked behind the counter to see a dark-haired guy in his early twenties who was looking at Lester like he wanted to have him for lunch.

“That’s Dave.  Tina was supposed to work this party with me, but she got sick.  I think Dave bribed my boss into letting him work tonight.  He wasn’t on the roster at all this weekend.” Hmm.

Stephanie retrieved her bear and went to the lounge area, sitting on the floor between Ranger and Tank.  They both watched with amusement as she put her bear’s outfit together.  “So, are we calling this one ‘Distraction Bear’?” asked Tank.

“No.  This is ‘Jersey Girl Bear’,” said Stephanie.  “Somebody needs to school you guys on doll fashions. Camo just doesn’t cut it.”  She checked out Ranger’s bear and added, “Except Ranger.  Looks like his bear is doing OK.”  Ranger’s bear was dressed in black denim pants, black boots, leather biker jacket and wrap-around sunglasses.

After the bears were dressed, they went to the computers to create the birth certificates. She peeked over Ram’s shoulder to see what he had decided to name his German Shepherd dog.  The birth certificate name said “Ram”.   She walked down the aisle and looked over their shoulders.  Bobby’s bear was named “Bobby”. Lester’s lion was named “Lester”.  Tank’s bear was named “Tank”.  She turned to Ranger. “Is there a reason why the animals are named after the guys?”

“Yes.”

Master of the one-word sentence.  “And that reason is?”

“It works.”  Huh?  She looked in question at him.  “You’ll get your answers later, Babe.  We need to get done here so grab a seat.”

She sat down at the computer and tried to think of a name for her bear.  She never really liked her own name so she tried to find another one in the catalog that was provided.  She was just moving into the M’s when that warm hand settled on her neck again and a mocha-colored hand typed out a name for her bear:  BOMBSHELL.  She looked up over her shoulder at Ranger.  “Trust me,” he said.

Ranger stood in the middle of the store and got everyone’s attention.  “Time to go.  We’ll meet in the designated lot and go in together.  No weapons, no spray.  Handcuffs are OK to bring along.  We go in quietly.  No loud noises, no sudden moves.  Got it?”

 

The men all gave their affirmative and Stephanie continued to be confused.  She watched as the guys rounded up all of the boxes holding the stuffed animals they had created.  There must have been two dozen at least.  Ranger walked over and put a hand to the small of her back. “You and your Jersey Girl can ride with me.  Let’s go.”  He guided her out of the mall, following the group of Rangemen to their cars.  The crew drove in line formation out of the mall parking lot and down Quakerbridge drive.  They drove for about three miles and pulled into the parking lot for Children’s Specialized Hospital. 

Stephanie gave Ranger an inquiring look but he just got out of the car and motioned her to follow.  The guys pulled two small carts from the back of a van and loaded all of the stuffed animals and their boxes onto it.  The twelve of them walked into the hospital and into the main bank of elevators.  Ranger pushed the button for 3^rd floor and they exited the elevator at the Cancer and Leukemia Research and Care facility.

They stepped out and followed Ranger down the hall to a reception desk.  They were greeted by an older woman in a volunteer uniform.  “Mr. Manoso!  How wonderful to see you again!”

Ranger gave her a smile that would have made gurgling mush out of a younger woman.  Stephanie was actually feeling like gurgling herself at that moment.  “Mrs. Walker.  Nice to see you too.  I made arrangements with Dr. Morgan for me and my colleagues to deliver stuffed animals and spend time with the children today.”

“Of course!  We are so happy to see you all.  Please go ahead and go into the recreation room.  The children will be thrilled to see you.”  Ranger motioned Ram and Hal to push the carts into the recreation room and the others followed.  Stephanie watched in awe as Tank, Lester, Ram, Bobby, Ranger and the others took their boxes off the carts and made their way over to children sitting in different parts of the room. 

These big hulking guys sat down next to these small, frail children and introduced themselves.  They talked to them about their illness and the treatments they were undergoing.  They talked about cars, and bicycles.  About their favorite pets and their favorite TV shows.  Stephanie watched as Ranger knelt in front of a girl who was around 7.  She sat up in a small wheeled bed with an IV attached to her arm.  Her head was bare, her eyes huge and blue as she took in the man before her. 

“Hi, I’m Ranger.”

“Hi, I’m Amanda.  You’re not a bad guy are you?  Cause bad guys wear black, you know.”

He smiled at her.  “Nope.  I catch the bad guys and it’s easier to sneak up on them if I wear black.”

“Are you a policeman?”

“No.  I’m a bounty hunter.”

“What’s a bounty hunter do?”

“Well, the policeman catches them first, then they go to court and the judge makes them pay money to get out of jail but they have to come back to court later.  And, when the bad guys don’t come back, then the court calls me and I go and find them.”

“Cool.  Do you have a gun and handcuffs?”

“Yep.  I didn’t bring my gun with me though but I have handcuffs.  Want to see?”  He reached behind his back and pulled a set of cuffs from his waistband.  He handed them to the little girl. She played around with them and then handed them back. 

“Are the bad guys scary?”

“Sometimes.  But I’m pretty tough so I don’t give them much of a chance to be scary.”

“Ever been in a fight?”

“Sure.”

“Ever lose?”

Ranger smiled.  “Just to him,” he said and pointed over to Tank who was cuddling a fragile looking toddler in the crook of his arm. 

Amanda’s eyes grew huge.  “Wow.  So, you must be pretty strong to fight off all those guys, huh?”

“I do OK.”  Ranger’s expression softened as he asked, “So, what are you here for, Amanda?”

“I have ALL.”  Ranger gave her a questioning look. 

“She has acute lymphoblastic leukemia,” a nurse chimed in.  “But she’s doing pretty well.”

“All my hair fell out.  But I wear hats sometimes,” Amanda added. 

“Hats are cool.  I wear them all the time.”  He took off his black baseball cap and gently placed it on her head.  “There.  That looks alright.”  The nurse handed him a small mirror and he held it up for Amanda.  “What do you think?”

“Great.  Thanks!” 

“Hey, I got something else for you.”  He reached down and pulled up the box and set it down next to her.  He helped her open it up and she gave a little squeal of delight as she pulled out the teddy bear. 

“He looks like you.”

“Think so, huh?”  She nodded.  “Well, maybe he does.  You know, teddy bears are pretty great listeners.  I used to talk to my teddy bear all the time when I was your age.” 

“Really?  Did you talk to him when you got scared?”

“Sure.  I had a pretty tough teddy bear though.  He used to chase the scary stuff away.”  He tugged on the bear’s ear.  “Bet this one could do the same for you.”

“I get scared a lot.  Especially with the needles.  They’re pokey and it hurts.”  She turned the bear around to see it better.  “So, what’s his name?”

“His name’s Ranger.  But you could change it if you want to.”

“Nope.  I think Ranger’s a good name.  Thank you.”

He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.  “You’re welcome.”

Stephanie leaned against the wall and swallowed back some tears.  She looked around the room.  Ram and Hal were thumb wrestling to the delight of  two 5 year old boys.  Tank had the toddler he was holding earlier in one arm and an infant the other.  Lester was challenged to a game of checkers by a 12-year old girl who had an oxygen tube in her nose, and she was winning.  These guys who could make drug dealers wet their pants with a look, who dropped scumbags out of 3^rd story windows and took on armed murderers were so gentle and caring toward these kids.  They were genuinely interested in them and shared some of their stories with them impressing the kids with their adventures.  Ranger walked up and cradled her face in his hands.  He wiped away a stray tear with his thumb.  “You OK, Babe?”

“Yeah.  Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”

“Not for public discussion.  This is very personal for us and like I said, bad for business if word hits the streets.”  He ran his hands across her shoulders and down her arms, linking their fingers together. “Think someone like Eugene Brown would be scared of Bobby if he saw him in the store earlier?”

“I see your point.  My lips are sealed.”