A/N : And now begins the follow-up story to "One Hot July Night". This is my take on "One for the Money". I hope you all enjoy it, review either way, lol Thank-you in advance. Rain (Jackie)

RPOV (Ric)

I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked into the diner today. I never expected to see her again after all these years, but here she is sitting across the table from me. Looks like holding onto a sliver of hope payed off. She hasn't changed too much, still as beautiful as I remember, her hair is a little longer and darker, her figure is still the same stunning shape, and her eyes are the same exact electrifying blue. As I glance over the table into her eyes, I begin to speak.

"So, Connie says I'm supposed to make you into a bad-ass fugitive apprehension agent?"

"I don't know if I will ever be as bad-ass as you look, but I want to try. I blackmailed my weasel of a cousin into giving me this job, I really need the money from Morelli's capture, but most importantly I don't want to embarass myself by falling on my face, or worse, my ass!" She tells me.

"Well I definately won't let you damage that, and I think it will be fun to help you out as we get to know each other again." I say.

"Maybe, I'm still freaking out. Why do you do this?" She asks.

"It's what I do best." I brag.

"I beg to differ there, if I remember correctly, and they are pretty vivid memories, too; there are some things that you do so much better." She winks.

I can't help but allow my blank face to slide off of my face as I give her a wolf-grin. "So do you know where to start looking for Morelli?"

"Not a whole lot, what do you know about why he was arrested?" She asks.

"The guy he shot was a gopher for the boxer Benito Ramirez. I would start there, but the gym he hangs at is on Stark Street and I wouldn't suggest you go there alone. It's a pretty rough neighborhood." I explain.

"Well you're the expert here, and my teacher so I would want you to tag along the first time. I can handle talking to Morelli's friends and family in the "Burg". What else do you think will help me along my way to BEA super-stardom?" She wonders.

I chuckle lightly. "I would start with a dependable piece, stun-gun, and pepper spray is always good when you don't have anything else."

"A piece of what? Cake?" She laughs.

"No, babe, a firearm, a gun. I'll take you to Sunny's later today and get you out-fitted right. That way you won't embarass me too much." I say with a turned-up smile.

"OK, enough about your huge ego and work. So what happens now between us? What do you want to do?" She looks timid, afraid to bring up the subject.

"I would love to pick up where we left off, but I think that would be too much, too soon for you. So however fast or slow you want to go is fine with me. I definately want to start a relationship with you and see where it leads." I tell her easily.

She seems to relax some after that. "I want to be with you, too. I think we should take things slow also, but I don't know how much I can trust my Hungarian hormones when I'm around you." She blushes.

"Giving information to the enemy, babe." I grin.

"You're not the enemy Ric, not now, not ever." She says.

"So what am I then?" I inquire.

"Sounds like to me that you just volunteered to be my boyfriend. You know that means meals with my crazy family, especially my Grandma Mazur." She says with a twinkle in her eyes.

"I think I'm up for the challenge, babe. I have invaded third-world countries, so your grandmother should be no problem at all." I think.

She actually laughed out loud in my face at that. What in the hell was up with that and what have I just gotten myself into?

"You have no idea what you just signed up for." She says to me.

"We'll see. So you ready to go see Sunny and get suited up?"

"Might as well get it over with, I really hate guns. I don't know if I could ever use one on another human being." She worries.

"You don't have to like them, babe, just get used to using one, in all aspects. Learn to disassemble, reassemble, clean, load, aim, and fire. I'll be right there with you every step of the way, no need to worry."

We get up from the table and I throw some money down to cover the cost of our meal and a generous tip for the waitrress. We head out to the parking lot and my black Ford F150 truck. A short drive later, we pull up outside Sunny's Gun Range and Shop. As we walk in the door, Sunny looks over to us and unveils her "sunny" smile; hence her nickname.

"What brings you to see me today, gorgeous?" Sunny asks me.

"Stephanie here is a new BEA and needs to get completely outfitted. I'm thinking small 6-round revolver, maybe Smith & Wesson, 38 caliber, and she also needs a stun-gun and defense spray." I tell Sunny.

"No problem Ranger, I think I have just the gun for her right here."

She unlocks the glass case and reaches in to pull out exactly what I asked for, a S&W six shot 38 revolver. She passes it over to Steph.

"See how it feels in your hand honey. Get used to it." Sunny says.

Steph handles the gun tentatively, turning it over in her hand to inspect it like it's going to explode in her hands.

"It's not gonna bite you, babe. It's not loaded yet."

I pay Sunny for an hour of range time and a box of 38 ammo so I can start to teach my babe how to handle her new weapon. After the whole hour, she seemed a little more relaxed, but still a terrible shot. This will take a while, but I will get her used to it. We go back out to the front of the store and I buy Steph a decent stun-gun and purse-size pepper spray. She was reluctant at first to let me pay for everything, but I finally talked her into doing things my way.

"You're my woman now, let me do thing for you babe. I enjoy treating you to things." I stop her before we get to the truck by touching her arm. "Babe, will you go out to dinner with me tonight?"

"I would love to, Ric. It will give us a chance to get to know each other again." She smiles up at me.

We climb back in my truck and I take her back home to her apartment. I can't help but think it is totally lax in security among numerous other things.

"It's almost 6:00, what do you say I come back to pick you up for dinner in an hour?" I ask her.

"Make it 8:00 and you have a deal." She looks up at me as we stand in her open doorway.

"I'll see you in two hours then, babe." I tell her as I turn to leave. I reluctantly make my way down to my truck and head to my apartment.

An hour and 45 minutes later, after a shower and a change of clothes, I headed back across town to Steph's apartment. I pull into her parking lot at 5 minutes to 8.

I walk my way toward her door holding a bouquet of pink roses and white lilies that I picked up on the way home earlier. I stand at her door and knock at exactly 8:00. I hear her voice through the locked door.

"Just a minute, I'll be right there."

A minute or so later she opens the door to reveal the work she has done over the past two hours. I am very pleased with the results. She is wearing a dark purple dress that stops just short of her knees. Her hair is down around her shoulders tumbling in light waves and she is wearing a pair of silver strappy sandals with enough heel to make her legs look a mile long. She is absolutely stunning!

"Wow, babe, you look amazing! These are for you." I say as I hand her the flowers.

"Why thank-you sir and these are beautiful, let me just put these in water right fast and then we can leave."

She goes to the kitchen to find a vase and do just that. I wait patiently in the living room so I can watch her every move. A short time later she returns.

"Ready to go now?" I ask her.

She picks up her bag by the door and tells me, "yes". So I take her hand and lead her out the door. After she locks up tight, well as tight as she can with that almost non-existant lock, I swear a 7-year old could pick that thing!

So after a quiet romantic dinner at Rossini's, I decide to take her back home, before I lose my control. When did she start that moaning thing while she eats? Dios Mio! I am extremely uncomfortable in my pants right now and I hope a cold shower will help, if not I guess I'll take matters in my own hands. It's a bit too early to pick up the physical side or our relationship just yet.

I walk her up to her door once again, really not wanting to be apart just yet. I wait patiently for her to unlock her door. As she turns back to face me I take a deep breath and begin to speak.

"I had a great time getting to know you again tonight. I look forward to more dates like this."

"Me too, I am so glad I found you again, or you found me. I am really excited to see where this relationship goes. I can hardly wait to go out with you again and get to know you even more." She tells me with what sounds like hope in her voice.

I can not resist the temptation, so I slowly lean in to take her lips with mine. I try to keep it tender and sweet but as soon as I taste her lips again I am flooded with memories. I wrap her in tightly in my arms and pour all my buried passion into this kiss. We soon need to come up for air. I look down into her cerulean eyes and tell her reluctantly.

"I better leave before you think I am a total ass."

"You could be right, I do think it is a little too soon. But one day soon I will say the hell with my conscience and let my hormones rule!" She giggles.

I kiss her gently one more time before I turn to walk away. "I'll see you later, babe."

R~S~R~S~R~S~R~S~R~S~R~S~R~S~R~S~R~S~R~S~R~S~R~S~R~S~R~S~R~S~R~S~R~S

SPOV

I stand inside my apartment leaning against the door for several minutes after Ric leaves. I never thought that we would be shown the way back to each other. I noticed he kept the bracelet I gave him all those years ago and still uses it as a hair tie. That really speaks to my heart about the type of man he is and what I mean to him.

I wander back to my bedroom to get undressed and ready for bed. I strip down, jump in the shower to wash the make-up and light dirt of the day off. I towel off and get ready for bed.

As I lie down and bring the covers up around me, I begin to think about the changes I have recently made in my life. A new job, a couple of new friends at the bond's office, and most importantly a new man. I drift off to sleep with these happy thoughts running through my mind. My last coherent thought is, 'Life is really looking up, I can hardly wait to see what the next few months bring!' ####

A/N : Well that's the first installment of my "Hot July Night" sequel. I would love to hear what you think and if there is anything that you would like to see happen, just let me know. I would be happy to throw in any of your suggestions. Thanks for your continued follows and review support.

Rain (Jackie)