Hello all! It has been a long time, and I'm sorry for the hiatus. A long holiday leading into a December/January that were… cyclonic! And my muse went into summer hibernation. :) I'm back now, although this chapter is a little short. Good news though, I have the next four chapters planned and mapped out, so will hopefully be able to update again soon. Thanks, as always to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. It is always appreciated, very much.

Open Up

Things are going great guns with the building. It's approaching mid-December, and they have already framed out our apartment on the seventh floor, along with Marco's studio apartment as well. Our apartment will be one bedroom plus an office space with a convertible sofa if we have guests. There will be a large master bathroom with a large jacuzzi tub and a huge walk-in closet. There will also be a small bathroom beside the kitchen for guests. I couldn't help being excited thinking about moving in to all that brand new luxury. My little apartment is functional, but not really very attractive or luxurious.

The sixth floor and fourth floors were also being framed out, and they are starting to install the electrical and plumbing on the sixth and seventh. I still found it difficult to envision the rooms with just the framing; it just looked like a jumbled mess of beams and cross beams to me. Carlos had called in a specialist designer for the gun range in the sub-basement; it required a whole different set of regulations and standards for that. It looked like the gun range installation would be complete by Christmas, as well as the framing, fit outs, and drywall on the three floors with apartments. In the new year, they would begin work on the office levels; ground floor, plus two and three. Another specialist was being called in for the gym design. There were apparently specialists for just about everything. This week, we had taken delivery of the new elevator. It was now sitting in a huge crate in the sub-basement, ready to be installed in January. There were actually four huge crates; the second with the cabling and mechanical equipment, the third with all the outer doors and framing, and the fourth with all the electrical systems and motor.

Raoul Rodriguez had started work with Rangeman as a contractor. Carlos had been very satisfied with his consultation work for the building, and they were deep in security plans and designs. We had all quickly figured out there was an ongoing role for someone with his expertise in the company, and Raoul was thrilled to have such an opportunity. He was also going to start getting trained up in physical security systems so he could assist with sales in future. I was torn between joining him in that or setting myself up for field training. I still hadn't made up my mind.

We stepped out of the plane into a balmy 75 degrees. Carlos and I had just landed in Miami for his monthly visit. I had to appreciate the mild weather; New Jersey was already blanketed in snow when we left. I rolled my shoulders as I slipped off the jacket I had worn on the plane. Carlos insisted we travel first class, and I felt pampered from the experience.

We were going to spend three days working with the team; I had accompanied Carlos to work with Silvio on the training program he was going to deliver. We were staying through the weekend as well. Carlos had been invited to visit his daughter, Julie, for the holidays, and he had asked me to come with him. I was terrified. Meeting his daughter, for chrissake! Carlos and I had bought her a cell phone as a Christmas present, her first ever, and I hoped it would please her enough that she would accept me. Carlos kept telling me I had nothing to worry about; Julie didn't look on him like a father and would not resent my presence in his life. But I still worried. I couldn't imagine another woman standing beside my own father, even if my mom wasn't around, and couldn't help thinking that Julie might feel the same about it. Still, I was determined that we were going to be part of each other's lives forever, so I would have to try and forge some kind of friendship with Julie.

I could only hope she would let me.

The three workdays seemed to zoom past. Silvio and I had a solid training program developed now, with examples and exercises for the men to complete. He was running two different programs: one an overview for the people in sales and monitoring on the electronic security systems, and the other a more in-depth training for the installation and technical staff. He was happy with the programs, and I felt like I had received a crash course in security systems! Still, I knew it would help me with Rangeman Trenton in future. Silvio would come up to train the men when the office was up and running, and I hoped to sit into at least the overview sessions at that point.

The men had welcomed me back warmly and I was pleased to feel like they accepted me as part of the team. The previous training I had given had meant that all the men knew me, and I couldn't help the pulse of satisfaction as I walked through the offices and received hellos from everyone. Carlos had taken me out to dinner on Thursday night, and we were joined by Tank, Marco, and Lester. Lester had brought Luz as well and I had been thrilled to see her again. Tank had confirmed with Marco and Carlos that he wanted to move to NJ in the new year. Marco had been disappointed, but resigned, and they had started recruiting Tank's replacement. Marco had asked Lester, but he didn't want to leave fieldwork and he was also considering a possible move to Trenton in the future.

My tension was still an undercurrent about meeting Julie.

Carlos was also strangely tense as we stepped out of his car in front of the modest, two-storey, suburban home. I was almost vibrating with the tension I felt myself, but I reached out to brush Carlos' arm soothingly as he helped me out of the car. He looked at me, and with almost a sigh, deliberately relaxed. I slid my hand down into his and he gave me his lip-tipped smile.

Carlos led me up to the house, but before we could knock, the door opened to reveal a pretty, voluptuous woman about our age with Mediterranean-dark skin and smiling brown eyes. "Hello Carlos," she greeted him, "it's good to see you. You look well."

Carlos gave her a small smile, "Hi Rachel, you look good too." He leaned forward to brush her cheek lightly with a kiss. "This is my girlfriend, Stephanie Plum."

Rachel's eyes widened slightly at Carlos' use of the word girlfriend but reached out her hand to shake mine. I smiled as genuinely as I could and said, "I'm so pleased to meet you. Carlos has told me a lot about you and your family."

Rachel gave a double take at that and blurted, "If he's told you that much, he must be serious about you!" She blushed then, but Carlos just smiled a little.

"I am," he confirmed. "We are," he modified.

Rachel's smile beamed out at that, "I'm so happy for you both!" Her delight was obviously sincere, and she continued, "I always hoped you'd find the right woman for you someday, Carlos." He just nodded at that. "Oh, look at me keeping you on the doorstep," Rachel flustered, "come in, both of you. Julie has been looking forward to your visit."

Rachel led us into a bright living room, where a girl about eight or nine years old was playing on the floor with a toddler who looked to be about two. The older girl was obviously Julie; she could have been a feminine clone of Carlos. Her skin was at most a shade lighter, and her features were all Carlos, although finer and more delicate. She was already a beauty, and obviously destined to be stunning. The random thought flashed through my mind that Rachel and Ron had their work cut out when she was a teenager. Julie looked up at us, somewhat shyly, and then scrambled to her feet to say, "Hello Carlos." I tried hard to hide my jolt of shock at hearing her call him Carlos, but then realised to Julie, Ron was her 'dad'. Carlos had been an occasional presence in her life, but not much more. Julie looked to me, her curiosity and hesitancy equally obvious.

Carlos responded, smiling gently at her, "Hi Julie. It's good to see you, you look very well. This is my girlfriend, Stephanie."

Julie flashed me a shy glance and then looked down. I mustered up my best smile to say nervously, "Hi Julie. It's so nice to meet you. Your… Carlos has told me so much about you," I stumbled. She looked back up at me. It was apparent that she wasn't normally so shy or uncertain; that look was bright curiosity and intelligence. "Is this your sister?" I asked, gesturing to the babbling little girl playing with a My Little Pony.

Julie smiled slightly at me, "Yes, this is Olivia," she said. I bent to be nearer the toddler's level and reached out to gently touch her hand. Olivia looked at me with a bright, gummy smile. "Hi Olivia, I'm Steph," I said. I looked up at Julie from my squatting position, "Please call me Steph too, both you and your mom." She nodded, looking a little more relaxed.

"Where's Toby?" Carlos asked, "And Ron?" Carlos had told me that Toby was Ron and Rachel's middle child. He was five, almost six years old.

"Toby had his first Little League game today. We all went to watch. It was hilarious. They were playing t-ball but even then, they could rarely hit anything. And when they did, watching them run the bases was so funny. They'd get lost and confused and stumble around. Luckily the other team was just as clueless, so they almost never got tagged, even when they got confused halfway between the bases and ran the wrong way." Carlos and I were both chuckling at Rachel's description. "After the game, Ron and some other parents took the boys out for pizza and ice cream to celebrate, but we came back home."

"I'm sorry you didn't get to have pizza and ice cream!" I said, horrified to Julie.

She grinned at me, "We weren't really invited," she clarified. "Dad and the others were just chaperones for the players."

I grinned back at her, "Well, maybe we can make sure we get pizza and ice cream anyway." She laughed, and with that, the nervousness and tension seemed to dissipate as I laughed with her. Carlos smiled a full hundred watts at us both and Rachel just shook her head. Rachel invited us to sit down and disappeared into the kitchen to bring back coffee and juice for the kids.

We chatted for about twenty minutes about everything going on in Julie's life while Olivia toddled around the living room, handing random toys to us and babbling in a toddler's random thoughts. When Julie had described her excitement about their planned Christmas trip to Disney World, I nudged Carlos, and he raised an eyebrow at me. "Christmas!" I whispered, "Present!"

Carlos nodded and withdrew the gift from his jacket pocket. I had wrapped it carefully in paper with Santa, elves, and cute reindeers on it and attached an adorable gift tag card that had a Rudolph head on it with a push-button that played Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Julie looked at her mom as she was handed the gift. I knew she was asking without words if she could open it now or if she had to wait. Rachel nodded at her; we had discussed it with her, and she wanted Julie to have the gift with her when they were at Disney World. Julie grinned at the tag and Olivia squealed in delight as Julie pressed the button to play the song. She repeated it for Olivia and then tore open the wrapping on the box like any kid. Julie gasped when she saw the picture of the Nokia cell phone. We had decided it looked to be the most compact and easy to use model for Julie. She squealed almost as much as Olivia and thanked Carlos and me rapturously for the gift. It was obviously a hit, and I was glad she had been thrilled with it.

We ate a late lunch and sat talking at the outside picnic table in the Martine's backyard. Rachel had agreed to order pizzas delivered, and furnished us all with sweet iced tea, though Carlos declined for water. I rolled my eyes at Carlos and caught Julie's smirk at that. He just shook his head at me. Olivia sat in her highchair, eating small bites of cheese pizza and what looked like a bowl of mashed banana. She called Carlos, 'Carss' and called me, 'Eff'. She mashed her banana into her hair and her mother groaned, before darting into the house for a washcloth. Rachel came back with a damp cloth and a baby bottle with formula. She cleaned off Olivia's face and temple and handed her the bottle. Olivia began to drink thirstily from the bottle.

Julie had asked me how we met, and the story provided a lively tale that kept Julie and Rachel both entranced. I had to admit the elevator story was a good one, although it had not been a good experience at the time. From the perspective of a nine-year-old who had experienced no trauma, I suppose it seemed very romantic.

I went on to describe how we had started working together and our plans for Rangeman Trenton. Julie seemed impressed and I was embarrassed by the hint of hero-worship in her eyes. I hoped Rachel wouldn't be offended, but a glance at Rachel showed her looking indulgently at Julie. "Do you go after bad guys too?" Julie asked me, excited and fascinated.

I smiled at her, "Not really. Mostly I just do the research to find them and help Carlos with running the office. I don't really do that much fieldwork." I was worried if I made the bounty hunting too exciting that Julie would annoy Rachel with plans to follow in my footsteps.

I saw Carlos' raised eyebrow at that, and he didn't seem willing to let it go. I wondered if he knew what he might be provoking as he chimed in, "Steph does more than just sit in the office, she has been a real asset to me and the business." Carlos went on to describe how I had helped with several apprehensions, not sparing my blushes.

Julie asked me curious questions and I explained a little bit about how I tracked down information. Carlos went on to stress how important I had been in planning the Trenton branch and making it happen. He also told Julie about the courses I was doing at college and the computer training I had run for the Miami staff. My cheeks flamed again at the obvious admiration in Julie's eyes and Rachel's knowing smile.

After a couple more anecdotes, Julie turned to Carlos and exclaimed, "Carlos, I like her. She's cool! You should marry her! Don't let her get away." Julie's gaze grew fierce with that last sentence.

My cheeks were flaming, but Carlos just turned to me with his lip-tipped smile and warm eyes, "Someday."

Please review if you can, I always love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Begin rant! (Ignore if not interested)

It bugs me in Twelve Sharp when Julie calls him 'Ranger'. Why would she? I know she considers Ron to be her dad, but surely Rachel would call him Carlos? I suppose it's possible he was in the Rangers when he met Rachel, although unlikely I think, since he would have been about 20 (based on his stated age in the books and Julie's age in book 5 is nine yo). He did two years of college after high school and then would have had to do basic training and probably serve some time before applying to Ranger school, so would he have been a Ranger at 20? Even if he was, he certainly wasn't using this as a 'street name'. So why would Rachel call her ex-husband by it? And if Rachel didn't, Julie wouldn't. Sorry, but I just don't buy it. I think JE just overlooked this point or decided it wasn't important. But it bugs me – pedantic I know! So, in my version, Julie and Rachel call him Carlos, because I think they would.

End Rant!