That night was the first of many nights where Julie met "friends" while Ram just left without saying anything to the guys. Julie heard back about a week later about the townhouse and after a bit of negotiating, she was a new homeowner. She was beyond excited and so was Ram, but he didn't show it as much as Julie. She drug most of the guys out shopping for furniture at some point in the next month and by the time the closing happened, she had most of the house furnished. RangeMan was installing the security system and after some discussion with Julie, Ranger decided that he and Steph would pay to have a pool installed in the backyard. Julie didn't have a lot of stuff to pack in Trenton, as she had been living out of her suitcases. When she had moved back to Miami earlier in the year, she had taken most of her things with her. She did make a quick trip down on the company plane and with Ron's help, packed up the rest of her things from the house. Ron had gifted her with some items from the house that he knew Rachel would want her to have and he tagged along back to Trenton with her. As a surprise to Julie, Steph had organized some of the guys and had them painting walls and doing some minor repairs in the house that Julie had mentioned wanting to do.
When the RangeMan plane landed, Julie and Ron were greeted by Ranger. He helped unload the things she brought into the truck he had driven and then they were off to her house. They pulled up and she saw the street was lined with black vehicles. She turned to Ranger and said, "Is anyone left at the office?" He laughed and backed the truck into the driveway. Before she could get out, the back of the truck was opened and her boxes were being hauled out. She had marked on the boxes which rooms they were to go in to make it easier and within minutes, the truck was empty.
Ranger led her into the house and she stopped in her tracks. The walls were painted and it looked like most of the furniture she had bought had been delivered. She threw her arms around Ranger and hugged him tightly. He laughed and said, "I wasn't that involved, it was mostly the guys that are here now." She wandered around, thanking and hugging the guys as she came across them. She found Steph and Rosie in the kitchen, putting things away in the cabinets. She hugged them both and kept wandering. Lester and Bobby were in her bedroom setting up her new bed and from the windows, she could see Tank and Hector were walking her fence line most likely picking the spots to set up the security cameras. As she wandered, she came across Ram. He was in one of the spare bedrooms and when she walked in, he looked up and smiled at her. "You're back!" She smiled and nodded. She walked towards him, but he shook his head. "Later, after everyone leaves. I don't think what I want to do to you right now would be appropriate in front of your dads and Steph. Once the guys start to leave, I'll stay if doesn't seem awkward, otherwise, I'll come back later tonight." She sighed, but agreed and left him to the bookcase building he was in the midst of making.
Steph sent Lester and Bobby out for pizza and drinks and they ate outside on the deck, enjoying the quiet of the neighborhood. The backyard had the outline of the pool staked out, and Ranger told her that construction would begin in the next week. Ron was quiet during this time, and Steph picked up on it. She walked over and sat by him. "It's hard to see her so grown up, isn't it?" He nodded, but didn't say anything. "How have you been doing Ron?" He sighed and said, "I honestly don't know Stephanie. Some days I feel okay, just muddle through the day, but other days it's painful to even get out of bed in the morning. It was nice having Julie with me for a while, but I understand her need to move forward with her life. I just can't believe that Rachel is gone. We'd known each other since elementary school and she was such a big part of my life." Steph reached over and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze. "Do you have any family left in Miami?" He shook his head and said, "My parents both passed away in the last few years and I was an only child." Steph gave him a warm smile and said, "Ron, you're part of our family. Would you think about moving up here? Carlos can help you get a house, job, whatever you need. It doesn't make sense for you to be so far away from the family who loves you." He stared at her and finally said, "I'm part of your family?" She laughed and said, "Look around you. This is our family and all who are here are part of it. We may not be a traditional family, but each of these guys is like a brother to me, and I think of Julie as my oldest daughter." He agreed to think about it and she left him to go sit on Ranger's lap. She whistled and got everyone's attention and then Julie took over.
"First of all, thank you to all of you who helped get my house ready for me. Whether you painted or built things or hauled furniture or boxes, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'm planning on taking the next two weeks to get everything organized and put in its place, but then I'll be back to work at RangeMan." Ranger spoke up and said, "Julie will be taking over the investigation side of the company, similar to what Steph was working on." Before he could say anything, Lester piped up and asked, "Beautiful, what are you going to be doing? Sitting upstairs eating Tastycakes?" Steph's reached over and covered Rosie's ears before saying, "No you dumbass, I'm not going to sitting upstairs eating Tastycakes. I've decided to cut back my hours a bit more than I have in the past few years." Lester laughed and said, "I guess being married to the boss has its perks." The guys chuckled and Steph stood up off of Ranger's lap and said, "Carlos, cover Rosie's ears again." When he had done so, she continued by saying, "Lester, you are such a dumbass. I had this all planned out how I was going to tell you guys, but now you've screwed it all up." Les looked at her quizzically and she went on, "I'm pregnant you idiot. I'll need more time to take care of myself and not work so much." The guys all cheered and shouted out their congratulations. Lester gave her a hug and said, "Sorry Beautiful, I sometimes can't help my joking." She smiled and said, "Watch this." She turned to Ranger and said, "While you were gone to get Julie, I had a doctor's appointment and she did an ultrasound because the morning sickness is worse this time." He nodded and said, "Is everything okay?" She smiled and said, "It's as okay as it can get since I'm pregnant with twins." Ranger looked at her with big eyes and then promptly fainted in the chair he was sitting in.
