Julie picked Ram up at his hotel and they went to breakfast before his flight. Steph, Ranger and Rosie were planning to come down in the next week for a visit and she planned to talk to them and to Ron and tell them she wants to go back to Trenton. Ram was going to go back to work and not tell anyone that he saw her in Miami. She hadn't told Ron that Ram was in town, in fact, with the hours she had been working and reconnecting with her high school friends, she didn't see him too often, mainly at the breakfast table most mornings. Before she knew it, she had to say goodbye to Ram at the airport. She went inside with him and waited until his flight was called. He drew her into his arms and held tight. He leaned down and gave her a few soft kisses before she grabbed on to his face and deepened the last kiss. He leaned his forehead down to rest against hers and sighed. "I don't want to leave you, now that I've got you back." She wiped at the tears falling down her cheeks and said, "I don't want to let you leave. I feel the same as you, I just got you back. I'll talk to my two dads and Steph and hopefully be back in Trenton in the next couple weeks. Text me when you get there?" Ram nodded and said, "Absolutely kiddo." He let go of her, grabbed his bag and started to walk away. Before he got too far, he turned around and saw that she was crying. He walked back over to her and hugged her again. Wiping the tears away, he said, "Hey, it will be okay. We've been apart longer than a couple weeks. We'll be okay." He kissed her again and then headed off to his flight. She stood at the window and watched his plane take off and then headed into work. True to his word, Ram sent a text to her as soon as his flight landed in Trenton telling her that he arrived safely and he missed her. Lester was waiting to pick him up and saw him texting when he pulled up. Ram got in and Lester teased him and said, "Texting a woman? Huh, Ram's got a woman?" Ram just laughed it off but never answered him.
Steph, Ranger and Rosie came down a week later and came by the house to see Julie and Ron. While they were there, Julie brought up the subject of moving back to Trenton. Steph didn't seemed surprised, as she knew Ram was back at work. Ranger didn't seemed phased by it, but Ron was hesitant. "Julie, are you sure you want to move back to Trenton? I thought you were enjoying yourself here again. You were enjoying work and reconnecting with your friends that you haven't seen in a while. Plus, I enjoy having you here. It's pretty quiet when you're not here." Julie knew that out of any of her parents, Ron would be the one who wouldn't like it. He seemed to be clinging to her sometimes and she felt guilty for leaving him so soon after her mom died. All Julie could say was, "I have thought about it and I want to move back to Trenton. I am almost 22 years old and I want to work on my career." She reached over and grabbed Ron's hand. "Dad, I'm going to go but I want to go with your approval." It took some more talking and negotiating, but finally Ron relented. Steph and Ranger invited him to Trenton, offering one of the safe houses for him to stay in so he wouldn't have to stay in the RangeMan building and would be more comfortable than a hotel.
Julie packed up and went back to Trenton with Ranger, Steph and Rosie. One the flight back, she approached Ranger with the idea of getting her own apartment. If one was in the building, she'd take it, otherwise, she'd like his help to find one in a safe location and building. She said she had a lot of money saved up and was thinking about buying instead of renting. Ranger seemed stunned that she didn't want to live with them, but Steph took control of the conversation at that point. "Carlos, Julie is almost 22 years old and needs to be out on her own. She can't live with us forever." When Ranger didn't agree, Steph laid all of her cards on the table. With a wink at Julie, she said, "Well, if she stays with us, it's going to get a lot more crowded." He didn't say anything, just looking at her. She reached over and grabbed his hand. "Carlos, I'm pregnant." His eyes grew wide and he pulled into his arms and kissed her. "Babe, are you sure?" "Well, I'm about five weeks late, the last couple days I've been sick in the mornings and the stick I peed on turned blue, so, yeah, I'd say I was pregnant." Julie jumped up and hugged them both at the same time and then gave Rosie a kiss. Rosie had no idea what was going on, but she was happy that Julie was with them.
When they got back to the RangeMan building, it took everything Julie had not to go track down Ram. She went upstairs to the penthouse with the family and helped get Rosie settled in for the night. Ranger went down to his office and Steph went to bed early, once she knew Rosie was taken care of by Julie. Once she got Rosie in bed, she headed into the office, which had her bed and stuff stored in it. She sent Ram a text and said she was upstairs and would see him in the morning. He replied with "Glad you're back, kiddo. See you tomorrow in the range? Sweet dreams" and got back, "Absolutely!" He chuckled and put his phone away and headed to his own bed, just a mere three floors away from her.
The next morning, Julie ate a quick breakfast and headed downstairs. She stopped in Tank's office and got a stack of searches to work on and then headed to the empty cubicle they kept for her when she was in the building. She had been working for about an hour when Lester stopped by and sat down by her. "Hey Uncle Lester." "Julie my girl, it's good to have you back. Ranger said you were looking for an apartment of your own." "Yep, it's time to go out on my own. I haven't checked, but are there any apartments open here?" Lester shook his head, "No, that's why I'm here. Ranger asked me to take you on a tour of some places and find a couple that you like. He'd like to then go with you and make the final decision. You know, security and all that jazz." They laughed and made arrangements to go after lunch.
The first apartment on the stop was about a mile away, in a big complex that had RangeMan security. The manager showed them two different apartments that were available and Julie liked the one that had two bedrooms, but it was at the maximum end of her budget. She had a lot of money saved and since none of the apartments at work were available, she decided to buy a place, but wanted to be able to have enough left after the down payment to be able to buy furniture. The next stop was a similar complex, just farther away from work and Lester pointed out a few security issues. The third stop wasn't a stop after they drove up. Lester took one look at the house and said "Your father will kill me if I even take you in there. It looks like it should be condemned instead of sold. Let's keep going." The last stop was it and Julie knew as soon as they pulled up. It wasn't a typical apartment complex, but rather an area of townhouses. They were located about fifteen minutes from work in a quiet part of town. The one that was available was located at the beginning of the street and from the outside, Lester approved. They got out and went inside with the realtor. It was a three bedroom, two bath townhouse that was at the end of the row of four units. Julie wandered around and looked everything over while Lester spoke with the realtor. The kitchen was wonderful and had a great deck off the back of the house and the previous owner had left behind a hot tub on the deck. The backyard was large and fenced in well and seemed private from the unit next door and the houses to the back. Lester took one look at Julie by the end of the tour and knew this was it. He sent Ranger a quick text and spoke with the relator about the price. The current owners had to move out of state for work and wanted to get rid of the unit quickly. Lester got a text back and said, "Julie, Ranger will be here in a few minutes." He turned to the realtor and explained that Julie's father was coming over to check things out before she put in an offer on the unit.
Ranger showed up and had Steph with him. Steph wandered around with Julie and Ron, who was on a video call via Julie's phone, while Ranger, Lester and relator looked around and talked. Ranger approved of the unit and called his attorney to help with the purchase. When Julie and Steph got back to the guys, Ranger could see that Julie loved this place. He nodded to the realtor and said, "Julie, I'll contact my attorney to help you put in an offer. You should be able to make a good offer that the realtor thinks will be approved, after passing inspection, which will stay in your budget. I know you want to do this on your own, but know that Steph and I are here if you need it." She threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "Thank you daddy." They headed back to RangeMan and while Ranger and Steph headed upstairs, Julie headed down to the gun range. She hadn't heard from Ram yet today and was excited to share her news.
She stopped outside the gun range and waited until the gunfire stopped. She opened the door and peeked in. Ram was alone and had set down the gun he had been using. She knew there were cameras in the room so she didn't jump on him like she wanted to, she was so excited. She bounced her way over to him and he smiled when he saw her. He nodded towards the cameras and she smiled. "I know, but I had to come down." He picked up the gun and started the cleaning process while she talked. "I was out with Lester this afternoon looking for an apartment." He looked up when she said that and said, "And?" "And, I found a townhouse that I'm going to put an offer on if it passes inspection. Daddy talked to the realtor and hopefully I'll hear by the end of the week." Julie spent about an hour in the range, talking to Ram and eventually he showed her one of the newer weapons he liked and taught her how to fire it. While they kept their hands to themselves, Ram was itching to touch her. Once she was done firing the weapon, she started to clean it. Ram looked at her and said, "What are your plans for tonight?" She glanced up and smiled at him, "Not a thing, unless you can come up with something for us to do?" He chuckled and said, "Oh, I have lots we can do, but it's a matter of getting out of the building. Think you could get away and meet me somewhere about 6:00?" She nodded and said, "I have the urge to go to Point Pleasant with some friends." He smiled and as she turned to leave the range and when she got in the doorway, she turned around and said, "I'll text you."