Thanks for giving the story a chance:) As a thank you, here's a long chapter:D

Some of you were quick to catch the potential love jumble between the three J's. But all the players haven't been revealed yet…

Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE.

The offending sound of a phone ringing penetrated my sleep. With a groan, I buried my head under the pillow in an attempt to enjoy a few more glorious moments of sleep. A heavy arm snaked around me and suddenly the ringing stopped.

"Yo?" Ranger's voice was groggy from sleep, but I'm sure he was already alert. I scooted closer to him, waiting to see what was so important to merit a call in the wee hours of the night. When I felt Ranger tense, it was my turn to become alert. "Keep me posted."

"What was that all about?" I asked Ranger when he ended the call and returned to the phone to its cradle.

"There's some sort of emergency with Rachel. Julie wasn't given much detail. She's on her way to catch a plane."

"Wow." I really hoped everything's okay. When Julie decided to join the Rangeman team here in Trenton, Rachel wasn't too happy. I have it from good authority that their relationship was a little shaky after that. It wasn't until a few months ago that their relationship improved.

S&R

The next few days were beyond hectic at Rangeman. With Julie away, I had to partner Wendell Jankow, Merry Man in training, with Justin. Fortunately, the guys found a good momentum and got the job done. With that taken care of, I spent a good chunk of my workweek alternating between paperwork and meeting with clients. Thankfully, it was finally Friday and with that came a slower weekend schedule.

There was a knock on my open door. When I lifted my gaze I found Justin standing in front of me.

"You wanted to see me?" He held up the note I left in his cubicle while he was out working on system updates.

"Yeah, come on in." I motioned for him to take the seat across from my desk.

"There must be some sort of glitch, because I'm not in tomorrow's rotation."

"That's why I called you. There is no error. I'm giving you the weekend off." He deserved it.

"Oh, man." Justin flashed me a boyish grin. I sometimes forget that some of these guys are not much older than Julie.

Justin gave me an extensive 'thanks' before getting up to leave. Just when I thought I would be left alone Ranger came in.

"Babe." He gave me a slightly raised eyebrow.

"I gave him the weekend off." I said by way of explanation. Ranger nodded in understanding as he rounded my desk. I accepted his kiss, looping an arm around his waist for support.

"I came to take you to lunch." Ranger offered me his hand. I took it, allowing him to bring me to my feet.

"Food sounds fantastic right about now." The way things have been the past week I've had turkey sandwiches from the break room to save me some time. "I'm tired of sandwiches."

"Babe." Ranger's chuckle was contagious. We left my office hand in hand, laughing softly.

"Have you heard from Julie today?" I asked as we got into the Turbo. It turned out the emergency had to do with Rachel being the victim of a hit and run, but thankfully most of her injuries were superficial.

"Rachel's doing fine and everything is getting back to normal." He said he told Julie not to worry about Rangeman, that we had it covered. "She's flying in on Monday." Ranger gave me a shrug, saying Julie refused to take any more days off.

"I'm glad things are better." I love Julie and the last thing I want is for her to be hurt.

Ranger took me to the same diner where we first met. Where it all began. We had a good meal and chat.

Ranger paid the bill and as we left he made a proposition. "I have a very generous lunch break." The wink he gave me was enough indication for me to know what he had in mind.

"I know a place." We enjoy a very active sex life, but middle of the day sex isn't a very common occurrence. Especially during the workweek.

S&R

The next day there was an early morning pre-installation walk through at a chemical facility off of Route 1. I took Wendell and Lester with me so Wendell could continue with his training and Lester, because he owed me.

Dr. Kimberly Hollenbeck greeted us at the door and showed us around the facility. It was a two-story block of a building with underground parking. For a place housing some very hazardous chemicals, they needed more security.

"What are your concerns?" I asked when we reached the back of the building.

"Stock solutions are going missing." Dr. H told me that their existing security system hasn't detected any disturbances at night. "That's when things disappear." She told us she carefully cataloged everything, keeping a tight inventory.

"Are there any other employees?" Lester was interested in the good doctor, I could tell.

"My intern, Roger." Dr. H called a scrawny guy over, making introductions.

Once we were done inside, the guys and I took a look at the back of the building. It bordered a grassy, unkempt area.

I caught a flicker of movement from the corner of my eye. My instincts prompted me to take another look. I wadded through knee-high grass, bumping into an unpleasant discovery: a bloody body.

"Les!" I yelped his name as I backed away.

"Beautiful!" He was at my side in a heartbeat, immediately standing in front of me to shield me.

"Body." I mumbled, pointing ahead of us. Weapon raised, Lester moved forward. I watched him kneel, his form almost swallowed up by the grass.

"He's alive!" Lester informed as he stood, already calling it in.

"Whoa." Wendell had moved to my side the second Lester had moved away. He was shorter and less stocky compared to most of the guys, putting him a couple inches below my height. This was the first time I've been out in the field in a long time, as well as the first time Wendell and I have worked together meaning I have no clue to what's crossing his mind.

The younger man let out a whistle. "I guess all those stories are true." Wendell shot me a small smile. "Fieldwork is never boring with you."

Oh boy.

S&R

By the time I got to my office Ranger was already waiting for me. Judging by the look on his face there was no doubt that he already knew what happened.

"Hey." I gave him a two finger wave as I closed and locked my door. His posture said he was in no mood to deal with interruptions.

"Babe." Ranger was in my seat, his muscular frame seeming too big for the chair.

"It wasn't my fault." I rounded my desk so he could see that I was okay.

"Your first time out of the office in a long time…" Ranger started.

"Hey, nothing blew up. No one got shot." Except for the guy behind the chemical building.

"Babe." Ranger shot me a pleading look. "You have any idea what crossed my mind when I heard that place was swarming with cops and paramedics?"

I grimaced, knowing his fears were founded. I've sent so many cars to car heaven that I've lost count. I've been chased, shot at, threatened, kidnaped, almost buried alive that one time and had more enemies than dollars in the bank at one point or another in my life. Sure, all of that was behind me now, but I can understand his worry.

"I'm fine." I moved to stand next to him.

"Stephanie." He shook his head, pulling me onto his lap and wrapping his arms around me. I captured his lips with mine to soothe away any horrible scenario that might have invaded his thoughts.

We kissed until air became a must and we had to pull apart to breathe. The way our bodies were pressed together was a sure indication that he would reach for me more than once during the night.

S&R - Julie's POV

I didn't get much sleep in my time in Miami. Mom was okay and thankfully the responsible party was now dealing with the law.

But that wasn't the reason I was finding it hard to conceive sleep. These past few days I realized that I no longer consider Miami my home. In my relatively short time in Trenton, I've adapted to the way of life of Rangeman.

And it wasn't until I boarded my flight back that I realized it wasn't the city I was missing, but a person in particular. That person wasn't my Dad or Steph or Eddie, although I love them very much. No, the person I was missing was someone else. Justin. I was missing Justin, the last person I should have been thinking about. We're colleagues, friends even, and that's probably the way it is always going to be.

"Oh, Julie." I muttered to myself as I searched for Steph. She volunteered to pick me up when we spoke on the phone last night, when I confirmed the time I would be getting in.

It didn't take long for me to find Stephanie. She was wearing her Rangeman uniform, making her stand out as the white woman in black.

"How was the flight?" She asked me as we walked towards her car.

"Calm." I said before filling her in on what had happened in Miami. Steph's been like a mother to me and I'm real lucky to have her. When I used to visit, back when I wasn't eighteen yet, she would get my dad to ease up on his curfew. There are a billion other reasons why we're so close, most of which have to do simply with the way she is. Stephanie is just awesome.

I threw my bag in the back of the SUV as I got in. Stephanie turned the key in the ignition and backed out of the parking space.

"Are you hungry?" She asked me as she merged in traffic.

"Yeah." Lunch at her parents' sounded fantastic. Helen cooks delicious food and Grandma Mazur always makes the meal lively. When I grow up I wanna have the same energy and liveliness that Grandma Mazur has.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Valerie and Angie would be having lunch with us. When I spent my first summer here visiting Dad and Stephanie for the first time after they were officially a couple, Angie was my first real friend. Now that I work for Rangeman I'm in high demand, and don't always have time to socialize. What that boils down to is that I don't get to see her as often as I'd like.

Lunch revolved around questions about my stay in Miami. Grandma Mazur had a comment or two about wanting to see some naked men at the beach. I used to think that older people didn't think about sex, well, maybe not as frequently as someone much younger, but Grandma's proved me wrong.

"I have rice pudding in the refrigerator." Helen made a move to get up, but Angie and I offered to do it. We left the women chatting in the dining area, so we could do the same on our short walk to the kitchen.

"How's it going?" Angie said it had been a long time since we last had time to chat.

"It really has been a long time." I said we had to get together one of these days to catch up. "I've just been working." We started collecting bowls and spoons to take to the others, being deliberately slow in the process. "You?"

"Not much." She was paying her studies working at the bank after she tried catching skips for the family weasel, or at least that's what Stephanie claims, Vinnie. "Although, I met a guy." She flashed me a grin.

"A guy!" We giggled, knowing she was definitely interested if she was sharing the news. "What? When? How?" Sometimes you just have to live vicariously through your friends.

"I first saw him at the bank and then at the Snake Pit." Angie was quick to clarify that the Snake Pit was new and improved, a place designed for dancing and nothing to do with its old ways.

"Shut up!" I grinned, taking in the details. It seems she really hit it off with Mr. Hot and Handsome. "Are you seeing him again? Please, tell me that after a wonderful night of dancing you're not letting this guy get away?"

"We scheduled a da- outing later this week."

"You were going to say date!" Angie blushed.

"You probably know him." Angie grabbed the rice pudding so we could finally walk back to the dining table. "He works for Rangeman."

"Really?" I tried to picture who Mr. 'Maybe' Right was, but had no clue. "What's his name?"

"Justin Canela."

I felt the air in my lungs rush out as if I'd just been punched in the gut.