Julie went into the apartment and ran to her room. Steph and Ranger were sitting in the living room and she went flying past them before either could say anything to her. Ranger looked at Steph and said, "What's that all about?" Steph shook her head, she had an idea, but didn't want to say anything to Ranger. "I don't know. I'll talk to her tomorrow. I think I might take Rosie to the beach house for a few days and I'll see if Julie wants to go with us." He nodded and said, "Spend a few days there and I'll come out at the end of the week." Steph liked living in the RangeMan building, it was convenient for Ranger if a problem came up during the night, but she loved the beach house. It was where they got married and spent time when they needed to get away. She thought it was time for Julie to get away.
Julie jumped at the chance to spend a week away from the building. She planned to avoid Ram as much as possible without it looking like that's what she was doing. Rosie loved the beach house as well and they spent most of the day on the beach, either playing in the sand or out in the water. Steph tried to talk to her about the night before but before she could say anything, Julie said, "I don't want to talk about last night. I had a good time at the party, but I'm not talking about how it ended so please don't ask." Steph nodded and didn't say anything the entire week. Julie seemed to be in a good mood most of the time and was very helpful with Rosie. Ranger came out at the end of the week and he talked to Steph that night once they were in their bedroom. "Babe, Julie asked me tonight if she could go back to Miami and work at the building there for a while. I told her yes, but I wanted you to hear it from me. She seems desperate to get out of Trenton. Did you find out what's going on with her?" Steph shook her head. "The first time I tried to ask her, she stopped me and said she had a great time at her graduation party, but something happened at the end of the night and she didn't want to talk about it. I haven't tried again. I have an idea, but I don't want to push her. Maybe some time away from Trenton will do her good." Ranger leaned over and kissed her and then spent the rest of the night making her forget about everything.
They headed back to Trenton at the end of the weekend and Julie spent that night packing her things for the trip back to Miami. Rosie was sad that she was going away, but Julie promised she'd come back and they could talk over the computer. Julie didn't say anything to the guys downstairs that she was leaving because she didn't want Ram to find out and try to stop her. She was so confused over him. Steph and Rosie drove her to the airport the next morning and stayed with her until it was time for her to board her flight. When she hugged Julie goodbye, Steph whispered in her ear, "Do you want me to tell him where you went?" Julie shook her head no and then said, "I'll text him eventually, just not now." Steph pulled her away and said, "Did he hurt you?" Again, Julie shook her head no and then turned and walked away to board her flight.
Julie texted Steph when she got back to Miami and was at the house with Ron. It was the first time she'd gone back to Miami since she left after Rachel died. Ron picked her up at the airport and drove her to the house. She decided to stay at the house instead of the RangeMan building. She had some demons to put to rest and staying at the house, where her mom had died, was the first step. She settled into a comfortable routine after she moved back. She spent the mornings at RangeMan working with Silvio and then came home in the early afternoon. She spent a lot of time in her parent's bedroom, going through her mom's things. Ron had asked her to pick out some of Rachel's things that she wanted. The first time she walked into her mom's closest, she sat on the floor and cried. Ron hadn't done anything to her mom's belongings since Rachel had passed away, and once she opened the closet door, the smell of her mom's perfume overwhelmed her and she broke down in tears. Ron came home a few hours later and found her, still sitting on the floor in the closet. He slid down the wall and sat beside her and just held her. They both cried some more and eventually Ron stood up and pulled her to her feet and took her out to the kitchen for dinner.
She'd been in Miami about a month before she got the first text since she left. Ram had texted her after she ran from him, and she replied and asked him to not text her. She was so confused over her feelings for him. She always thought of him as her best friend and while she had some underlying stronger feelings about him, she didn't do anything about it. The kiss that got misdirected really rattled her and while she tried to, she couldn't stop thinking about it. The text tonight said, "I'm sorry you felt that you needed to leave town because of what happened. I didn't mean to make you feel this way. I have to go to California for a few months to do some training for a specially trained group, but I'd like to text you while I'm gone. I miss talking to you, I miss my best friend and I'm sorry." Julie sat and stared at his message for a bit before replying. "I'm sorry I ran, I got scared. Be safe in Cali. I miss you too and I'm sorry." A few minute later she got, "I really do miss you kiddo, maybe more than I should, but we need to talk about the kiss." "Not now, come back through Miami and we can talk." "Ok, it will be about three months. I'll let you know."
The next three months went by quickly. Ram would text every few days and most of the time Julie replied, but she was taking this time to think about her relationship with him. She decided she wanted to have more of relationship with him, but she didn't want her parents to know about it yet. She knew Steph would be okay with it, but Ranger would go berserk. The few boyfriends she had in the past were put through the wringer whenever Ranger or Ron met them. She knew Ranger did background checks on them, even if he didn't tell her he had done so. She was doing well at her job and got along with all of the Miami guys. Silvio appreciated her help with whatever he gave her to do and every so often some of the Trenton guys would come down for a visit. They would always take her for pizza or drinks after her shift was over and while she enjoyed spending time with them, but they weren't Ram.
Finally, she got a text from Ram that said he would be in Miami the next evening. She replied that she would pick him up at the airport and he responded with his flight information. The next day was torture for her. Finally, her shift ended and while his flight wasn't due for a few hours, she got in her car and headed to the airport. She paced around the terminal and finally, his flight was announced. She was nervous and bouncing around while she waited for him. The passengers started coming in from his flight, but she didn't see him anywhere. It was a crowded flight and finally, he was there. She stared at him and he walked over to her, standing in front of her. He dropped his bag and reached out and pulled her into his arms. She started crying and clung to him. She just kept saying "I'm sorry" over and over to him, but he shushed her. With one arm still around her, he reached down with this other hand and tipped her chin up so he could see her face. He searched her eyes for what he wanted and she gave him a teary smile. "Julie, I missed you so much," he said while leaning down and kissing her. Her hands reached up and went around his neck. He kissed her once and then again before pulling back and looking at her. "I was an idiot and I'm sorry." He wiped her tears away, grabbed his bag in one hand and reached down to hold her hand, entwining their fingers together. She walked him out to the car and handed over her keys. He drove to a beach he had found on a previous trip. It was a quiet part of the beach, with very few people around. They got out of the car and holding hands, started to walk.
They walked for over two hours, talking the entire time about what happened and what they wanted to do about it. Julie admitted she have more feelings for him than just friendship and he broke down and agreed he wanted the same thing. He was worried about their age difference and then brought up Ranger. They sat down and she leaned back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and sighed. "Are you planning on staying in Miami?" She shook her head and said, "I don't want to stay if you're going to be in Trenton, but I don't think we should make our dating known to anyone." He agreed and said, "Do you think we could go back to how we were before "the kiss" and no one would have to know what we do outside of work together?" They discussed it some more and then finally, they got in her car and left. Julie drove him to the hotel he was staying at for the night and after a few minutes of kissing, she reluctantly left him there with the promise of picking him up for breakfast and taking him to the airport for his flight to Trenton.
