A/N: In my story, Rick was the police officer instead of Jo. Also, Jamie is twelve years old in 2009.
"Drat!" Jo exclaimed. She'd slammed on the brakes, but not soon enough. Wet and slick from hours of drizzling rain, the road hadn't yielded enough traction to prevent her 1998 Toyota Corolla from slamming into the car ahead of it.
"Oh no!" exclaimed Jamie, who was sitting in the front seat beside her mother. She had dark brown hair and eyes like Jo. "What are we gonna do now?"
"God, I don't know," Jo groaned. All she needed was a traffic ticket, on top of all her other worries. She could see the driver of the other car getting out and coming to talk to her now. He was middle aged and was tall and broad-shouldered, with dark brown hair and eyes.
"Oh, man, I'm sorry!" Jo exclaimed. "I tried to stop, really I did..."
"Well, I don't think I have any major damage," the man told her. "Looks like my back bumper just got scratched a little. I'd just as soon not get the police involved, if it's all the same to you."
Jo's car was in much worse shape, as her front hood was crumpled up like an accordion. She figured it would be in the shop for at least a week, during which time she'd have to hire a rental car. Her eyes filled with tears as she surveyed the damage.
"Would you like for me to call a tow truck for you?" the man offered.
"That's all right." Jo wiped the tears from her eyes. "I think it's still drivable. Why'd you say what you did about not wanting to get the cops involved?"
The man looked sheepish. "It's a little embarrassing, but I'm on probation right now. Nothing serious. Possession of a very small amount of marijuana. I haven't smoked it since then, and I never will again, that's for sure."
"Oh."
"Oh, I'm sorry! Where are my manners?" The man chuckled and held his hand out to Jo. "I'm Doug Norman."
"I'm Jo Bonner, and this is my daughter Jamie," Jo told Doug as she shook hands with him. She noticed that he looked just a little disappointed.
"So what does your husband do?"
"He was a policeman. He died in the 9/11 attacks."
"I'm sorry to hear that. So you're from New York, then?"
"Yeah."
"Well, Jo, I'm sure sorry about your car." Doug looked sadly at her crushed hood.
"That's all right. It wasn't your fault."
"I know a really good mechanic if you don't already have one."
"I do, but thanks anyway."
"Say, Jo...I know this isn't really the appropriate time to say this, but I'd really like to call you sometime, if that's all right. I'd really like to see you again."
To her surprise, Jo felt her heart begin to flutter. She hadn't felt like this since...
"Sure, that sounds great." She gave Doug her telephone number. He thanked her and waited to make sure she was OK before driving off himself. She wondered whether he was really serious about wanting to see her again. She hoped he was.