**12 years earlier**
As a high school sophomore, she got the lead in the musical. Not too many underclassman were even in the musical, let. alone a lead. In the past year, she'd gotten over her shyness and found her inner Beyoncé. As the days counted down, getting closer to opening night, Julie was so excited for the musical at school. Ranger was coming down for quick visit so he could catch one of the shows on the first day. The opening was in the afternoon and then again with an evening show. He had confided in her the previous week that he was planning a surprise wedding for him and Stephanie on her birthday. He had made arrangements with her mom and Ron to bring them all back to Trenton after her show tomorrow night for the wedding and then the next morning, they would fly home so she could finish the rest of the shows. She only had to have a substitute for the one night and couldn't wait for the wedding.
When they got to Trenton, her and her parents stayed in a hotel not too far from Ranger's house. She went over and helped Ella and the guys with the set up for a few hours and then headed back to change. She and her mom had gone shopping the weekend before and found a beautiful blue dress for her to wear. She decided that they should stay towards the back of the group at the wedding so Steph didn't see her until it was over. Once the wedding ceremony was over and Ella announced that the reception was starting outside, Julie decided that was the time to make her move. When she saw the last of the well-wishers step away from Steph and her dad, she went running towards them. Her dad reached out and caught her as she jumped at them. Her dad hugged her and then handed her off to Steph. "Julie, I didn't know you were here," Steph said. Julie smiled and said, "Mom and dad brought me up so I wouldn't miss your wedding. We can only stay until tomorrow morning because I have to get back for the musical at school. I got someone to take my spot for tonight but need to get back for the rest of the show." Steph gave her another hug and said, "I hope I get to see you sometime. Carlos said you did a great job and showed me a bit from his phone. I wanted to call you, but he said you weren't home. Now I know why you weren't home." They joined hands and walked over to where her mom and Ron were standing, talking with her grandparents. Rachel gave Steph a hug and welcomed her to the family, while Ron shook her hand. Rachel gave Carlos a hug and whispered something to him that he replied with just a quick nod of his head. Julie wondered what they said and hoped it was about having a baby. She wanted a baby brother. They all headed outside, ushering the rest of the guests with them who were still inside.
Soon it was time to eat and once everyone had been through the buffet line of wonderful food, Bobby tapped on the microphone to get everyone's attention. "Hello again everyone. I hope you are enjoying yourself so far. This is the time where we would usually have the toasts to the bride and groom, but I thought we'd mix it up a little tonight. Everyone has advice for newlyweds, especially on their wedding day. I'm going to pass the microphone around and ask that you offer some advice to Carlos and Steph. Please, keep it clean. There are little ears in the crowd and I know I don't want to have to explain things, so the men of RangeMan, that means you Lester, keep it clean! I'll go first. Steph and Carlos, my advice to you is to always kiss each other before you say goodnight. Even if you're mad at each other, a kiss helps the boo-boos go away." He turned and handed the microphone off to Tank and it went from there. Some of the advice included 'marriage should not be about looking at each other but looking in the same direction', 'never laugh at your wife's choices, because you are one of them', 'two things are necessary to keep wife happy. First, let her think she's having her own way. And second, let her have it'. The microphone ended up with Julie last. She paused for a moment and then said, "Congrats on your promotion from "When will you marry?" to "When are you going have babies?" Everyone laughed except Carlos who just shook his head. Julie laughed and said, "I'm serious dad. I want a baby brother or sister." Steph laughed and grabbed Julie and gave her a hug. Her dad got up and thanked everyone for coming, blah, blah, blah. She was ready for the music to start. She and Lester had put together a song for Steph and her dad and she was anxious to sing.
Finally, Lester grabbed the microphone and said, "Quiet down everyone, it's time to dance. Carlos, grab your beautiful bride and head over here." Ranger pulled Steph out on the middle of the lawn, which was serving as the makeshift dance floor. Both were still barefoot and smiling. Lester was on the stage and grabbed a guitar that had been propped up and started playing while Julie picked up to the microphone and said, "Daddy and Steph, I think this song fits you both perfectly. I love you both so much and this is for you" and then she started singing.
Perfect – Ed Sheeran (2018)
I found a love for me
Oh darling, just dive right in and follow my lead
Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet
Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me
'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love
Not knowing what it was
I will not give you up this time
But darling, just kiss me slow, your heart is all I own
And in your eyes, you're holding mine
Baby, I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song
When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath
But you heard it, darling, you look perfect tonight
Well I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know
She shares my dreams, I hope that someday I'll share her home
I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets
To carry love, to carry children of our own
We are still kids, but we're so in love
Fighting against all odds
I know we'll be alright this time
Darling, just hold my hand
Be my girl, I'll be your man
I see my future in your eyes
Baby, I'm dancing in the dark, with you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song
When I saw you in that dress, looking so beautiful
I don't deserve this, darling, you look perfect tonight
Baby, I'm dancing in the dark, with you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song
I have faith in what I see
Now I know I have met an angel in person
And she looks perfect
I don't deserve this
You look perfect tonight
Once the song was over, her dad and Steph hugged and kissed her and she went back to the table with her mom and Ron. The rest of the night was fun. She danced with both dads, some of her cousins and most of the guys from RangeMan. She knew most of them, as they all had been with her dad for many years, but there was a new one that she hadn't met before and she thought he was really cute.
He looked younger than most of the other guys, probably about 25 or so. Lester introduced her to him and she found his name was Ramsey, but all the guys called him Ram. He was fresh out of active military duty, having been slightly injured on one of his last missions, and decided to call it quits. He'd seen too many of his buddies leave on a mission and not come back. He had worked under Ranger before and the last time they were together, Ranger gave him a business card and told him to look him up after he was out if he wanted a job.
That's exactly what he did, and had been working for RangeMan for almost a year. He did his fair share of monitor shifts and working on patrols, but his passion was guns. He worked with Ranger to get the gun range up to par and introduced some of the guys to a few newer models. Being a shy guy and not very social, he was a bit awkward in social situations still, he spent a lot of his time alone at the gun range. Ranger had asked him to work with Stephanie and hopefully get her to like her gun and carry it, loaded, on herself and not in a bag. He had only been working at RangeMan a few months when he first approached her about training. She gave a few excuses and each day he would go to her cubicle and bribe her down to the range. He tried to make it fun and eventually, over the course of a few months, she got it. She learned to like her gun and Ranger thanked him for his help and he ended up getting a nice bonus for his work.
About two weeks later, in a staff meeting that Steph wasn't attending, Ranger laid out his plan for her birthday and surprise wedding. Some of the guys were directly involved in the planning but Ram was not one of them. He was worried about letting something slip so he spent the next two weeks staying in the gun range, especially when Steph was in the building. The guys had filled him in on the relationship between Steph and Ranger and sometimes when he thought about it, he just shook his head at them. All the back and forth between Steph and the cop, all the while Ranger was lurking in the background, waiting to make his move. He was glad they were finally together, and hopefully after her birthday, together forever. He was told about Ranger's daughter and he seemed impressed with the story of how she shot Scrog and he couldn't wait to meet her. When he mentioned this to Lester, Lester grinned and said, "You'll be impressed. That happened a few years ago and since then, Ranger has made sure she had some training from the Miami guys. She can sing too and she's planning to sing a song at the reception."
At the reception, he finally got a glimpse of Ranger's daughter, Julie. He thought she was cute, but he reminded himself that one, she was still a kid, 15 or 16 he guessed, and two, she was the boss' kid. He heard her sing with Lester playing the guitar and then afterwards, Lester introduced him. He talked to her briefly and then wandered away so he wouldn't say something stupid. Again, he was awkward in social situations. The dancing got underway and he was approached a few times by different women and he danced with them, but he wasn't after anything serious. He left alone that night and headed back to his apartment at RangeMan, but he kept thinking about Julie. "Shit," he thought, "I can't think about Ranger's kid like this, plus she is just a kid. Pull it together Ramsey."
