Page 22 of The Gunnery Sergeant's Ready-Made Family

That night, Stevie and Chase sat on the porch together, talking about her new job, Stevie broaching something that she had been thinking about for a while now.

“Chase, when I was at my first women’s social club meeting, one of the other ladies there was telling me about a neighbourhood day-care centre, it is more like a kindergarten really, it feeds directly into the base school, and caters to mainly base kids. Her son is the same age as Ranger and he goes there twice a week, just to get some socialisation with other kids before going to school next year. I’m thinking about sending Ranger for the two days that I am going to be working. I mean, we could send Finn too, I just think that Ranger might get to meet some friends before school next year.”

“I think it’s a great idea. Talk to Nikki about it, I don’t think it would hurt to send Finn there as well, and it might give Nikki a chance to try something new, there is a senior’s art centre nearby, they have all types of classes there, she might also like to get out and meet new people.”

Decision made, Stevie took both Finn and Ranger to the neighbourhood day-care centre the following day and enrolled them both for their Monday and Tuesday sessions. They stayed a little while, Ranger going and playing with some of the other children, settling in a little before he would start next week. Stevie’s grandmother took Chase’s advice and went to find out more information about the senior's art centre, returning later that day having enrolled herself in a pottery class, a quilting class, and a painting class.

Chapter Fourteen

Stevie pulled into the community-based childcare centre and parked. This had been a good idea, enrolling the boys two days a week, although she was glad to be picking them up, after work today she had stopped by the house and done a quick tidy up before driving here, and she had missed the noise from the boys around the house.

“How were they today?” She addressed the worker in charge.

“They were good, Finn is a little darling, I don’t think it will be long before he is up and walking.” Stevie thought so too. “Ranger was fine earlier but he has been complaining of a sore tummy for the past half an hour or so. We would have called you, but we knew you would already be on your way.”

“Okay, thank you, hopefully it isn’t anything major.” The doors to the inside of the centre opened and a worker walked out with Finn and Ranger, handing them over to Stevie with a wave and a goodbye. Ranger was quiet on the short walk out to the car, and once she had the door opened, he climbed in without comment. Stevie secured Finn in his baby seat and then came back around to Ranger to make sure that his booster seat was done up properly, slyly checking his temperature as she went.

He didn’t feel overly warm to her, which was a good thing, she would hate for him to be off day care, today was only the second day he had been there, she wanted him to give it time, to settle in properly. She sent her gran and Chase a quick text message, both of whom met her in the driveway once she got home, Chase opening Ranger’s door and ruffling his hair, helping him out of the car, her gran fussing over Finn. Chase and Stevie got Ranger settled on the sofa in the lounge room, agreeing that he could just relax and watch television until dinner was ready, tucking him up with a soft blanket and bringing him some juice.

“Have you called his doctor?” Chase asked from over her shoulder.

“No,” Stevie turned away from Ranger to look at Chase, “I think he’ll be fine; kids are resilient, it is probably just a stomach bug he picked up from day care, that’s all.” Stevie watched Ranger; he really wasn’t being himself. “If he is still feeling unwell tomorrow, I’ll call the doctor, but until then, we’ll just make sure he has plenty of fluids and plenty of rest.”

Stevie made an easy spaghetti bolognaise with garlic bread for dinner, and although usually a favourite of Ranger’s, he barely touched his plate of food at all. After Stevie had put both the boys through the bath and dressed them for bed, she placed a still wriggling Finn in his crib, and turned to Ranger. Checking his forehead again, Stevie was surprised to find him still warm, and decided that it wouldn’t hurt to give him a dose of children’s Panadol, which he took without complaint. Sitting in bed with him, Stevie snuggled Ranger close to her side as she read him four of his picture books, doing all of the voices, just as he liked. When she closed the last book, Ranger’s eyes fluttered shut, and Stevie sat there, holding him close, for a little while longer, relishing the love and trust her young nephew had in her. When Stevie finally stood, Ranger didn’t even stir, and she deftly tucked his blankets up around his shoulders, whispering a goodnight as she turned off the light and closed the door behind her.

“Argh!” the ear-splitting scream had Stevie sitting bolt upright, flinging her covers off and running from the room, almost colliding with Chase who was bolting up the stairs. Her fingers found the doorknob and she twisted it, swinging the door open and flicking on the light. The sight that greeted her made her heart twist. There was Ranger, sitting on his bed, sheets all twisted at his feet, his little arms wrapped around his middle, tears rolling down his face.

“Sweetheart,” Stevie was at his side in a heartbeat, gathering him up into her arms, “what’s wrong?”

“My tummy hurts,” Ranger wailed, fresh tears welling up.

“Here,” Chase sat on the bed next to Ranger and pulled him off Stevie’s lap onto his own. “You go get dressed while I hold him, we’ll take him to the hospital.” Stevie didn’t need to be told twice, hurriedly throwing on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, slipping her feet into a pair of loafers and running a comb through her hair as she brushed her teeth. She emerged from the bathroom to find her grandmother waiting for her, and she quickly filled her in on what was happening, asking her to please stay and watch Finn.

Stevie strapped Ranger into his booster seat while Chase slid into the driver’s seat. The drive to the hospital was tense, the silence punctuated only by the sounds of Ranger's sobs. Chase dropped Ranger and Stevie off at the front entrance before going to find somewhere to park. Stevie carried Ranger inside to the triage desk and got them checked in. Before they had time to sit down, his name was called, and Stevie carried him through to the examination room where the nurse did some preliminary checks.

“Okay Ranger, I’m going to go and get the doctor now so that he can have a look at your tummy, you stay here okay, I won’t be long.” Once the nurse left, Stevie texted Chase to let him know where they were, and he joined them a couple of minutes later, regaling Ranger with stories to distract him until the door opened again and the nurse returned, a doctor in tow.

“Hello Ranger, I’m Doctor Mike, Nurse Martha tells me that you are not very well, can you show me where it hurts?”

Once Doctor Mike had finished carrying out his examination on Ranger, he turned to Chase and Stevie.

“Are you Ranger’s parents?”

“No, his parents are deceased, we’re his legal guardians, Stevie and Chase, his aunt and uncle,” Chase replied.

“Ranger is one very sick little boy, he has appendicitis, if we don’t operate, we run the very real risk of his appendix bursting, which could be fatal.”

“No!” Stevie gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.

“We need to operate straight away, I’ll get my nurse to bring you the consent forms.” Both Doctor Mike and his nurse left the room, and Stevie turned to Ranger, tears welling up in her eyes as she pulled him close to her, breathing in his scent, memorising every small detail about him. The next hour passed in a blur, the nurse returned with the consent forms and both Stevie and Chase signed them with heavy hearts. The anesthesiologist came next, explaining the procedure to Stevie and Chase, as well as the potential complications that could arise, and there were more forms for them both to sign.

Eventually, the time came for Stevie to help Ranger change into a hospital gown and get him settled on the gurney. She held him close as they administered the gas that would put him to sleep, kissing him softly on the forehead and whispering that she loved him as his eyes fluttered shut. Stevie watched, helpless, as they wheeled her nephew away and into the lift that would take him up to the operating room. The nurse showed both Stevie and Chase to the parent's waiting room in the children’s ward, a large room with wide windows and plush sofas. There was an overflowing bookcase along one wall, opposite a large television, a kitchenette with a fridge and coffee machine, and potted plants dotted around the room, adding a nice sense of calm to the space. Stevie sank down onto one of the sofas, and send her grandmother a text message, knowing how worried she would be. Stevie picked up the remote and mindlessly flicked through the channels, finding nothing to keep her focus, she sighed, tossing the remote aside. She couldn't believe that this was happening, not to Ranger. He was fine yesterday, or she would never have sent him to day-care.

“Stevie? are you okay?” Chase interrupted her thoughts, his voice full of compassion that she didn’t deserve.

“How can you even ask me that? Ranger is laying on an operating table right now, possibly fighting for his life, because of me.” Stevie’s voice broke and she angrily brushed away her falling tears.

“Stevie,” Chase’s voice was firm, “this is not your fault.”

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