Jack's Rebirth Pt. 03

The cops returned fire, then ducked down a little. That's when we arrived.

Dave slowed slightly, hunkered down a little in his seat, and said to me, "Brace yourself, Jack." I braced against the dash as he rammed into the back of the Escalade, and shifted to park.

"Shut off your body cam, too. You know, the crash shook it up." He grinned at me, and we hit the doors and came out firing. He had the shotgun with the slugs, and the first two rounds took the driver in the ass and put him down. The collision had skewed the Caddy slightly sideways and the passenger up front got smacked with the door. I put one rubber bullet in his spine just for good measure, and then jacked two into Santos as he turned. It pinned him against the door jamb and he sagged, dropping his weapon. He struggled to get up as I approached him. I slung my shotgun, kicked his gun away as the troopers came around and approached the vehicle. I dragged him gasping to his feet and said, "Hi, shithead. I'm Jack Stone, Gloria's husband. If you've hurt her, you're dead. It will be justifiable, because these other cops won't say a word."

Then I slammed him against the door jam and I heard something crack. I punched him in the chest and was rewarded with another snap. Then I spun him around and cuffed him, and as I slammed his face against the window, the glass cracked. Blood all over. I checked my body camera (how about that, it was turned off!) and clicked it back on as I read him his Miranda rights. The Troopers then arrived and I delivered Rafael Santos to the custody of the Texas State Police.

I turned just as Gloria groggily almost fell out of the car. I caught her and held her and squeezed her like she was a wet dish rag. I was squeezing the air out of her and she started to gasp. She eyes snapped open and she took a few seconds to focus.

"JACK, JACK is it really you?? Oh, baby, I knew you would come. I just knew it. You came for us. I knew you would."

He smiled and looked past her, into the shattered Escalade. There on the back seat was an unconscious form of Lauren Bobert, my ex-wife. An ambulance and two more squad cars rolled up. I helped Gloria sit on the floor pan of the back seat, and then went around to the other side as Jason staggered out, and I brace him and picked him up by him fancy suit jacket lapels. He paled and struggled.

I looked him square in the eye.

"You know who I am." Statement. He nodded and the blood drained from his face. He pissed his pants and started to cry. I smiled. This was even better than I had hoped for. I tightened my grip.

"Thank you," I said. I stuck out my hand and shook his.

"You saved me from her" I said and jerked my head towards the groggy form of Lauren. I let his hand go and pushed him towards the Troopers on this side of the car.

"Read him his rights and cuff him. Kidnapping, and child endangerment. International and interstate transportation of drugs and controlled substances. Tack on being a shit head for good measure" I added. They grinned and slapped cuffs on him. Then I could hear Gloria calling my name. I rushed back to the other side and cradled her in my arms. She looked at me with fear in her eyes.

"THE CHILDREN! WE NEED TO GET TO THE CHILDREN! THEY'RE GOING TO STEAL THEM!"

Then as though God was listening and cuing the soundtrack, my tactical radio crackled.

"1 David 7, be advised the subjects in question have been secured and two perpetrators arrested. The school lockdown will end in approximately 45 minutes, per school policy. Situation secure."

I was grinning as she looked at me in awe. (I'll take that.)

"You took care of the kids??"

I smiled at her.

"Of course. I am the dad, aren't I?? And that's what dads do." I continued to hug her and cooed to her. She was trying to meld with my chest and she was sobbing gently.

What had happened? Well, it so happened that Officers Smith and Jones were patrolling down the block when the lockdown call went out. They cranked up to the Cafeteria entrance as was procedure. They made their way to the office and found Janice Soames. The Vice-Principal took them to the kids classrooms. Donna went into Marilyn's and she took Ollie to Micheal's. Marilyn knew Donna and her daughter and Mike had met Ollie before. The Vice-Principal introduced them to the two classes and said they were here as a 'public service exercise' to lecture the classes on stranger-danger situations.

Ten minutes later, three black and whites showed up,. Four uniforms and a Sergeant supervisor. They made their way to an empty classroom, and waited. Ten minutes after that, two individuals purporting to be from CPS arrived at the secure front desk. They needed to take Marilyn Ortiz and Micheal Ortiz into protective custody because of 'child abuse allegations'. They were escorted to the aforementioned classroom and introduced to four burly Conroe Police officers, and a shift supervising sergeant. Arrests were made and no one in the two classes were ever the wiser. Love it.

"I just KNEW you would come for us. I just knew it."

I pulled her head away and kissed her forehead.

"As I said baby, I only came for you. She doesn't mean squat to me. Only you." I was starting to get a little concerned that she might be hurt somehow.

That's when she snapped back to my Gloria, complete with that precocious little girl look.

"NO, you dummy. US!". She stared at me, then took my hand and placed it on her little tummy, raised her head, and hit me with that killer smile. "US!"

The big tough cop was nonplussed. Stunned. Shocked. Gobsmacked. Blown away. (I just ran out of expletives.) I raised my eyes and stared at her. She giggled.

"I kept waiting for you to make some wise assed crack about me getting 'fat'."

"YOU'RE PREGNANT??" I gasped. She laughed and took my face in her hands.

"And you're the detective. Good thing you're cute" she laughed. She had stopped crying and was glowing. All was right with her world again.

I, on the other hand, was still contemplating things.

"YOU'RE PREGNANT!!" I turned just as Dave came up from talking to the Stateys.

"SHE'S PREGNANT!!" I blurted. Dave looked at me, then Gloria.

"Jesus, Jack, I was only gone for about 5 minutes. It didn't take you very long!!" He smiled, reached over and kissed Gloria on the cheek, said 'Congratulations' and then shook my hand.

"How you managed to land her, I'll never know."

Then Sergeant Joseph La Pierre, Texas State Police strode up, followed by Trooper Marks, his partner.

"What's this about a baby?" he queried.

I reiterated my declaration.

"She's pregnant!!"

Sgt. La Pierre grinned, kissed Gloria on the cheek, and said, "You must be Gloria, or he's in big trouble. Congratulations!" He then turned to me and offered his hand.

"And you are Detective Jack Stone. Sergeant Jack Stone, if I understand Clint Wasser correctly. Also, Odell speaks very highly of you, as a police officer, and as a friend. Very pleased to meet you. Your technique," he gestured to the crunched vehicles, "is legendary." He grinned.

Dave chuckled. "Actually, I was driving. Jack was a little focused at the time." Trooper Marks was laughing at everything.

Gloria piped up. "Can't you just arrest anyone without crashing a vehicle? God Jack, this is getting old" she laughed. She started shaking, and looked like she was going to cry again. Then she put her hand to her head and closed her eyes.

"Oh, wow, what a headache!!"

Jack snapped alert. Headache? Car crash??

"Let's get you over to the EMT's." He grabbed Gloria's arm and the blanket wrapped around her and dragged her towards the ambulance.

The EMT's were busy treating the three bad guys for injuries, until they found out that Gloria was the victim in the kidnapping. Then the perps could have bled to death for all they cared. Everybody thought 'concussion' and when they found out she was pregnant, they were all over her. They drew blood, checked vitals, everything. But after about 45 minutes the lead medic let her stand up amidst verbal protestations that she just had a headache. Jack had never left her side.

"She's a tough cookie. She about gave us all headaches. But I think she is o.k. Keep an eye on her, don't let her fall asleep for about 6 hours, and have her drink plenty of liquids. If she even nods for a minute, get her to a hospital emergency room. ASAP. You her husband?" he asked Jack.

"Yeah. She's pregnant", was all Jack could think to say.

"Hey, Detective, get a grip. I believe she's just shook up. You can take her home, unless you want to argue with her about going to a hospital." He looked over at the Latina firebrand.

"If it was me, I'd just accede to her wishes and take her home. Like I said, keep an eye on her." He slapped Jack's shoulder and as he turned to get back to work, he said, "And congratulations!!"

Jack took a deep breadth, pasted a smile on his face and turned to collect his stubborn wife. As he approached, she saw him.

"I'm pregnant, not terminal!" she growled.

Her chuckled and said, "Let's go get the kids. They're o.k., too." She perked up.

"I know; I heard. Thank you, sweetheart", she purred and kissed him, long and hard.

While she was being treated, she had been debriefed by the State Police and newly arrived FBI agents. The dialogue she relayed of the conversation in the Caddy while she was captive was very enlightening. She was a good witness and she was motivated by a personal stake, and a severe case of 'pissed off'. They were compiling facts to bring additional charges, and Gloria's statement was low level dynamite.

We went back to the Expedition. She had taken the crunch with the Caddy much better than my poor Bronco had with the Suburban. The State Police crime lab boys had taken all their pictures and a wrecker rolled up to haul the Caddy away to impound. Dave and I signed papers to take our unit and we left to go back to H/Q. Dave told me to get in the back and 'monitor' the patient's status.

"But behave yourself. She's a married, pregnant woman, and I know her husband. He's a hard ass" he chuckled. Gloria looked deep into my eyes and cooed, "OOH, a hard ass. I like a man with a hard ass," she giggled. It would be a long ride back to police H/Q.

We arrived to much cheering and ragging and got into the Bronco and left for the school. I would get my brothers to pick up the Explorer in a little bit, but right now, we needed the kids.

We parked in the school parking lot. We just sat and talked.

"So how far along are you and when were you going to tell me?" I asked.

She hesitated. Then she started looking out the side window again. Then she turned to me.

"I didn't mean to it keep a secret. We said no secrets. But this was different. I was so happy. I was actually being a little selfish. I knew something and I knew it would make a lot of people happy, overjoyed, when I shared it. But until I shared it, I was the only one who knew. And that was exhilarating. So I kept it to myself. I know now that was wrong, especially keeping it from the man I loved so much, the man who was the other half of my happiness. I was going to tell you tonight."

She frowned. "Then, my world almost ended. My children, my unborn child, my husband, my life, all of it nearly went up in smoke.

"And you came. You came and saved us. And you didn't know about us. You came and saved ME. Just the way you did when you broke up that burglary. Just like Micheal said you did."

"Uhh, Dave was driving, not me. It was Dave. I was just along for the ride. Not my doing." I was babbling. She looked at me, and started to laugh.

It was all right after that. We kissed and made up. She promised, 'No more secrets.' The kids came out and we heard about school. We never told them about the days events, but the blessed news was spilled and the kids were ecstatic. Then Marilyn asked about a dog. Mom laughed and asked if I thought it was a good idea. I figured 'What the hell, if she's on board with it, no skin off my nose.' My mind was running to getting a house. THEN the real bomb fell.

"Dad, where will the baby ride, in the truck?" Micheal.

Truck? TRUCK?? MY POOR BRONCO!! There's no room in the back.

Granted, we have Gloria's Explorer, but my BRONCO! Gloria stared at me.

"Is everything alright?" she asked. I shook my head and slowly returned to the real world. Well, not my real world, but everyone else's.

"Yes, dear. Everything is fine" I groaned.

We got the kids in the truck and all the way to my parents house, she was looking at me. Strangely. I realized that I had to say something or this would soon become a 'secret' that might bite my ass. I sighed and finally said, "There's no extra seat back there. Your car is fine. We'll just get another baby seat and strap it in the back. But the Bronco .....My Bronco ....." My voice petered out and trailed off. She looked at me like I had just lost my dog.

"It's o.k., baby. We'll get it fixed. Like you said, we still have the Explorer. We'll make do." She smiled and squeezed my arm. Then she giggled and sidled up to me.

"Besides, I'd rather get rid of you than the big horsey." She raised her eyebrows and wiggled them. Nice to know I fit in there someplace.

We rolled up to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Everybody piled out and we went in to break the good news. The world continued to turn. Amazing how that works.

I figured the only way to handle this was to sell the Bronco. SIGH!! As John Wayne is quoted as saying, 'A mans got to do what a mans got to do'. I went to the 4-Wheel Drive House, the local off-road center. It's where I got all the trick stuff for my baby. They had a pretty good market line for people wanting to buy used trucks, and mine was very popular. I talked to Isaac, the owner and manager. He was shocked. He knew how much I loved the Bronco. Then I told him why. He laughed. First he said "Congratulations!" Then he told me I panicked way to easy.

"I can fix you up with a full back seat, harnesses included, that will do you proud. As a matter of fact, I know a guy (who knows a guy, who knows.... You understand) who's looking for two seats just like yours. A straight swap, and I'll throw in the installation, my treat". He grinned. "But you'll have to take care of the baby seat. 'I don't know nothin 'bout no babies'" he grinned.

Suddenly, my world was turning again.

She had about 71/2 months left till due date. I started to go to doctor's visits, especially when there were sonograms. Amazing what medical science can do. It was about the 6 months date when the fates stopped laughing, got another beer, and decided to enact the next scene to our life.

We were in the doctors exam room. Gloria was positively radiant of late. She lay on the exam table, legs akimbo, hospital gown up to her now slightly engorged boobs. The Doctor was waving the magic wand around her belly, mumbling to herself, looking for something. Ever the pessimist (me) I asked what was the problem. She looked over her shoulder at me and said she couldn't get a clear picture of internal organs on either of them.

'Either of them??' I thought. Then out loud,"EITHER OF THEM??"

"Yes, the twins. Haven't you been paying attention?"

"TO WHAT??" I gasped, feeling the walls closing in.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stone, at the last two exams I mentioned the possibility of multiple births. This one confirms it. Oh, congratulations. There appear to be two healthy babies growing in your wife's womb."

Excuse me, I have to sit down. THUD. Much better. Now, where were we?? TWINS???

Gloria was ecstatic. Absolutely glowing. Beside herself. Very happy. Then she turned her smiling face towards me in time to see me pass out.

Ten minutes later, I awoke to a concerned OB/GYN, a professional fussing nurse, and my worried wife. I shook myself and sat up. I looked around. Nothing had changed. Except I was on the floor.

I stood as the nurse and the doctor helped me. I shook them off, took a deep breath, and turned again to Gloria. She blanched, but didn't move. She knew it was just shock, and that I wouldn't hurt her. Ever. "Sigh!!" I sat down on the chair (again) and took another breath. Then I looked at her. Again.

"So, let me understand this. .....TWINS??" For some reason I was hung up on that word. Can't imagine why.

Then she started playing dirty. She pulled out the 'cute little girl loves her daddy' look, lowered her eyes, and said, "I thought you knew." As simple as that.

Another heavy sigh and life spooled up again after stalling and then restarting. The doctor briefed us on what to expect in the coming weeks now and the possibility that Gloria might need a C-section. I was paying attention now, and had progressed beyond the one word- to two words.

"But TWINS??"

Gloria was in a constant state of euphoric glee at my shock. When she wasn't tired all the time. Due date was about a month away and she was just uncomfortable. The doctor ordered her admitted to the hospital and I activated my 'maternity leave'. We arrived and settled in. Her doctor and a surgeon arrived and consulted and examined Gloria. They neglected to talk to me. That's all right. I was more concerned with my wife's state than anything else. Finally, they finished, picked up their notes, clip boards and laptops and turned to go. NAHH, I don't think so.

"HEY, YOU, ALMOST A DOCTOR!!"

Always loved that line. That got a reaction.

The OB/GYN shook and turned.

"Oh, Mr. stone. I'm sorry, we didn't see you."

"Well, you see me now. What's going on??"

The surgeon had left and it was just me and the doc and her nurse.

"I'm sorry. We are prepping your wife for a C-section. If you go with my nurse, she'll help you gown up and you can watch. Or maybe catch one or two" she deadpanned. I thought I was supposed to be the one making jokes. I'll talk to her about that later. Right now, ... "Is she alright?? Are the babies alright?"

"They're all fine, and we're going to keep them that way." She led me to the two chairs in the private room. Gloria was hooked up to all kinds of monitors and I/V's and was sleeping peacefully.

"Isn't she early, doc?" I asked, feeling a little better.

"Yes, about 1 month early. But that's o.k. We've got a handle on everything, and we are being pro -active with getting this done. I'm sorry we didn't keep you updated. But time is of the essence." She rose.

"Now, if you'll go and get ready, you can meet your new family." O.K., I feel a little better. The doc left and I went and kissed Gloria, and told her 'We need to talk. Later.' Then I went with the nurse to get ready.

The procedure went smoothly, if you consider watching the reason for your whole life being laid out and cut up like a piece of meat. Sorry. Just a little emotional. But like I said, it went smoothly, without a hitch. The doctors and staff at Conroe Medical Center were first rate, even if their primary patients asshole husband was a basket case. But I'd come so close to having a good life. I didn't want to lose it.

I didn't.

About two hours after the start, I was presented with Jonathan Micheal Mariano Stone, my son. Ten minutes later, Evelyn Maria Stone was cooing in her daddy's arms. We had agreed on names weeks ago. Our daughter after my mother and Gloria's mother. My son after me, my father, and Gloria's father. Three names for a little guy, but he will handle it. Gloria came through with flying colors, but really tired. We had talked about more kids, but this was number three and four and we figured the world couldn't handle any more Stones, so she had her tubes tied while she was under anesthesia. (At Gloria's request, the doctor had thrown in something called a 'Father's Stitch.' Even though it was a section. Thank you, doc. I owe you.)

We brought the kids up and they saw their new siblings. Gram and Gramps also met their newest grandchildren. Gloria had to spend about a week in the hospital, and I never left her side. We slept together. Snuggled, actually. She kept trying to initiate things and the first time I told her the doctor said no fun and games til the stitches healed. ALL of them. She leered and said she knew. But it sure was fun watching me climb the walls. The necking and groping, however, were not on hold.