This is it then. This is the last of this story. I'm not sure I am capable of continuing, but I do agree that it should join the others back in the Fanfiction universe. I am very appreciative of all the messages I received requesting I return this story to the fold. I humbly submit this final chapter.

Again, Jane Evanovich…creative genius, owns the characters she created. I own those that I created. I make no money off the publication of this story on this site and I will never make money off of a single Evanovich character. Enjoy!

The next morning Jack came to our suite and we sat down and had a long talk about how the case went, how it was solved and what they at Buena Vista Police could do better.

"Honestly," he said stirring his one sugar into the coffee I'd poured him, "I thought I'd be a prime suspect based on your profile. I am in a position of power and all."

Ranger grinned, "What makes you think you weren't?"

He laughed, "Good. I'm glad to hear that." He seemed to disappear inside himself for a moment as though he was trying to figure out if he wanted to say something or not.

I smiled, "I find that if I am unsure as to whether to say something or ask a question, it's usually best to just go on and do it. Just preface it with something that makes whoever you're speaking to understand where you're coming from."

He smiled and put his cup down. "When I called my boss to first turn the case over to you he was adamantly opposed. He'd heard from…what I can only surmise are extremely unreliable sources that Rangeman as a group and Ranger Manoso in particular were…was a loose cannon. I debated while we gathered that first bit of evidence. The whole time I was debating I was praying we, inept that we may be, didn't do anything to compromise the crime scene."

Ranger smiled, "you guys did fine."

"We were fine," he agreed. "We weren't especially good at it. We didn't even know what we were looking for."

"What was the deciding factor," I asked.

"My boss told me it was my decision and my career would either live or die by it. As we're going through the crime scene and I'm telling people to watch their steps for about the fiftieth time, I said to hell with it. So what if you were a loose cannon, you had to be better trained to deal with this than myself or my people were. I owed it to Sandy to do the right thing. In that case, it was the right thing to hire you."

"I'm glad you did," Ranger said quietly.

"Plus…I figured you didn't really want to do it in the first place. I could tell you were frustrated as hell. I figured if you said yes, then you were saying yes for the same reason that I was asking you to do it. It was the right thing." He smiled and reached for his coffee cup.

Ranger chuckled, "and you were right."

I sighed, "Sandy grew up down the street from me."

He gasped and put the cup back down with shaking hands.

I stared off into space. "Even as a small child, she was lovely," I said quietly. "She was quiet and didn't really play with the other children in the neighborhood that were her own age. She kept to herself. My mother and her mother are really good friends," I said with a slight smile. "My first baby sitting job, when I was 12, was watching her for about an hour while Lucille went to the Deli." I looked up with a smile, "it was my TEST run. You see, Jack, I wasn't the most reliable child. When I was nine I was convinced I could fly and jumped off the garage to prove it. I broke my leg."

"How terrible," he said seriously.

"It was terrible," I laughed. "I was convinced I could fly and after that everyone laughed at me and made fun of me for over a year…long after the cast was gone. But that little girl, she was almost four at the time, came over to the house after I got out of the hospital and took my hand in hers and told me I'd do it better the next time. She whispered it. She said she knew I was magic. She said the magic was all over me."

Ranger slid his hand over my knee in comfort.

I looked up at him, "I had to do this…for her. She believed in me. I believed in her. You know?"

He nodded.

"So even if you hadn't given us the case," I smiled through welling tears, "I'd have harassed my husband into letting me snoop around and eventually you'd have gotten annoyed with me and let us help you."

"You are a force to be reckoned with Mrs. Manoso."

"Yes," Ranger said and kissed my head, "she is."

"I am here, hat in hands…if I had one," Jack smiled lopsidedly, "to ask a favor of you."

"Of course, what do you need," Ranger asked.

"I need my people better trained. Your people are so good it's scary."

"There are schools…"

"They've been to the schools. They have the degrees or the certificates or whatever was available to them, but because we don't get any real action here and I'm grateful that we don't, they haven't had the opportunity to hone those skills."

"I understand," Ranger nodded.

"I'd like to rotate them through your facility and have you retrain them. I have a feeling that a few weeks with you will be like a few years in a more professional training program."

"It's not something I've ever thought seriously about doing," Ranger said honestly. "You have to understand that we're pretty high tech and pretty high security."

"I understand that," Jack nodded. "I just want to feel better about myself and my team and I think you're the team that can make us work better."

Ranger took a deep breath, "I'll need to talk to my partner…Tank and my core team and see if it's really doable." He frowned, "I'm not making you any promises Jack, but I'll see what I can work out."

"I appreciate that," he nodded and got to his feet. "Now, I'm going to leave you alone here for you last two days of honeymoon."

Ranger laughed, "oh trust me Jack…we've still had a honeymoon."

"Ric," I groaned and smacked his arm.

Jack laughed. "I'm sure."

Ranger followed him to the door. "I'll let you know."

"Give me a call anytime you want to come back here and have that real honeymoon, I'll make it happen."

"No worries," Ranger assured him. "This was a truly incredible trip."

"Yeah and we need to get used to this kind of thing," I said serenely from the couch.

Jack frowned and Ranger glared at me.

"See you guys," Jack waved and walked out the door.

Ranger came over and flopped beside me on the sofa. "What do you mean we need to get used to this sort of thing?"

"Oh come on, do you really think this was a one shot deal?"

"You're killing me Babe," he groaned and rubbed his hands through his hair.

"It's the way life works Ric, get used to it," I got to my feet and took the empty coffee cups to the kitchen. "Now," I said leaning against the counter. "We have about thirty-six more hours of honeymoon here? What are we going to do about it?"

A gleam came into his eyes and his grin turned wolfish. I squealed and ran…for the bedroom of course. Frank and Ellen didn't raise no dummies.

Orlando International Airport is nice to come into. Leaving wasn't quite the same thrill. Security is pretty rough…or so I'm told. That's what Lula wailed to me on the phone while they waited for their flight. I wouldn't know I was boarding Rangeman's private plane heading to Miami to pick up Julie and her worldly goods. They had signed the papers and reversed the adoption. Julie was all for it. She was also all for moving to Trenton with us. I was glad. We needed some real time with her. Ric needed his daughter.

He was back in full Rangeman work mode. He was on the phone with Tank and then the rest of the core team discussing the viability of training Jack's team. Tank was all for it. So was Cal, of course they had seen Jack and knew he needed the help. There was also a grudging respect in everyone's mind because he was asking for help.

I personally suspected that eventually Jack would work for Rangeman. He got them. They got him. And while he was good at what he did, he wasn't super happy doing it. One thing you have to say about Rangeman employees, they do what makes them happy. They have this kink in their DNA that just makes it so.

I looked out the window as we took off. It was so different from leaving Jersey. Below us weren't any factories or row houses. Instead we took over neighborhoods and more than half of those houses had pools. Of course, we had a pool too, but it was indoors…usually. We could open the ceiling and the walls and bring the outdoors in, but we never had. Of course, it wasn't really warm enough to swim in Trenton when we left.

In my head I went over every detail of Julie's room. Natalie had promised to take care of the one thing I knew was missing. She didn't have a desk. At the time I made the room for her I didn't think she'd ever do any studying there. Now that she would be living with us full time, I had to take that into consideration.

Ric sat back in his seat with his eyes closed. He could have been taking a cat nap, but his perfect face was marred by a single line between his brows.

"What's wrong," I asked taking his hand.

"Nothing," he smiled at me.

"Don't lie to me Ricardo Carlos Manoso," I glared at him.

He sighed, "I'm worried that bringing Julie to Trenton to live with us is going to be too much for you right now. I mean…"

"You mean because of the bean," I raised a brow.

He sighed.

"Julie has already lived through having younger siblings. She's going to be a big help to me," I reminded him. "Not only that, she needs her Daddy right now and trust me when this Daddy's girl tells you that when a girl needs her Daddy, she freaking needs her Daddy."

He smiled. "Yea," he said hopefully.

"She brought this up to us remember? We didn't ask her to come. Rachel didn't tell her she was coming. She volunteered. She wants this."

"I'm just afraid that because she's a pleaser that she's doing it to make life easier on everyone else and…"

I got up and moved to straddle his lap, "now you listen to me. Maybe she is a pleaser. I understand that most first born children are, but be that as it may…she has something going for her that most of those first born children don't have."

"What is that," he sighed.

"You for a father," I said softly. "She has your DNA in her. She is a Manoso. Trust me, if our little adventure with Scogg last year hadn't proven that…"

"She was tough," he smiled.

"Very," I agreed with a nod. "Do not underestimate her. Do not begin to think that this child does not know her own mind. She may be a little scared and out of her depth, but I guarantee you that she'll figure out her place really quickly. She's a survivor. She's your daughter."

He pulled me close and hugged me to him. "You always say the right thing."

I shrugged and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Trial and error," I smiled against his neck. "I tested stuff on everyone before you till I became the genius I am now."

"You tested stuff," he pushed me away and raised a brow at me. "Is this about Goodman?"

I rolled my eyes, "ass!"

"I love you Stephanie."

"I love you Ric," I said and put my palm to his cheek. "Everything will be fine. Don't you understand yet? You and I…we're happy ever after."

He leaned forward and kissed me gently. "I know. I do know that."

Finis