Disclaimer: The following story is based on characters from the television series "Walker, Texas Ranger," of which I own no part. If you recognize anything, it does not belong to me. The following chapters are written solely for my entertainment.

Author's Note: As much as I enjoy this series, the final season did not, in my opinion, close out the series, but left some story lines incomplete. I am attempting to pick up where they left off. This is my version of Season 10, Episode 1.

Title: "Roles"

By: T.M. Hoagland

Chapter 1

The sun shone warmly through the window of the sedan, but the young woman behind the wheel was oblivious to it. Her face was tight with apprehension as she drove along, wide-eyed and constantly checking her mirrors. Glancing into the baby mirror she saw that the infant in her backseat slept soundly. Suddenly she noticed a dirty pick-up gaining on her fast. Panic mixed with terror shone in her eyes as she watched the driver speed up and pull along side her. The car jerked as the truck slammed into the side forcing it off the road and up onto the curb. As soon as the vehicles had stopped the driver of the truck jumped out and headed angrily to the passenger door of the car.

"Kendra!" he yelled. "Kendra! Get out of the d--- car!" After yanking open the door he reached in and grabbed her by her hair, then dragged her across the seat and out of the car.

"What the h--- do you think you're doing?!" he yelled into her face as he twisted and pulled her hair, causing her to squirm and cower. "What makes you think you can run out on me?"

"I wasn't, James!" she said timidly. "I was just going to visit my folks. I wanted them to meet their grandson. I would've come back. I swear it!"

"You will NEVER take my son from me!" he yelled. Then stepping back he raised his right hand and backhanded her, knocking her to the ground stunned.

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As Sydney Cooke drove to work that warm May morning her mind reviewed the events of the past few months. Things had quieted some in the two weeks after the funerals for the fallen Rangers. It was hard losing good friends, but loss and moving on was something they had all come to grips with in their chosen profession. Alex was home on maternity leave now, settling into a routine with baby Angela. Jimmy was fully recovered and back on duty. Looking out the window of her car Sydney noticed a young couple walking along with their arms linked. The young man smiled at his lady friend, then leaned in and kissed her. Swiftly Sydney's mind returned to the moment at the Raptor gangs' camp when Gage had kissed her. She smiled, enjoying the memory. She realized that ever since the unexpected kiss she had given him at CD's after Walker and Alex's wedding, which had been as much a shock to her as to him when she grasped what she had done, things had slowly begun to change between them. She began to go over the many instances when they had flirted with each other. Acknowledging that she cared deeply for her partner, she wondered how their relationship would develop.

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a dirty pick-up that sped by on her left. She watched it pass a couple of cars ahead of her, then side-swipe a sedan forcing it off the road. As she pulled near the vehicles she watched a man exit the truck, drag a woman from the car, then knock her to the ground. Grabbing the mike to her radio she called in the incident.

"Dispatch, Ranger Cooke. I'm on NW 20th St by Northside Park. Assault in progress. Send back-up." Though incensed by the man's actions, Sydney maintained her composure as she got out of her car and approached them.

"Hey! Texas Ranger. What's going on here?" Sydney called to the man. She saw that he was a few inches shorter than Gage, with a barrel chest and thick limbs. Startled, he looked up and scowled at her.

"Listen, little girl," he said condescendingly as he sized her up, "this is not your concern. So unless you want some yourself, just get back in your car and drive on."

"Like I said, Texas Ranger," Sydney replied as she pointed to her badge. "You beating on that woman IS my concern."

"Have it your way," he sneered as he headed toward her. Balling his right hand into a fist, he swung at her. Stepping out of the way, she grabbed his arm and used his own momentum to flip him and throw him to the ground. He looked up at her with shock on his face.

"What?" Sydney said as she glared at him. "You don't know what to do with a woman that fights back?"

Enraged, the man rose up and rushed toward her. Sydney kicked him in the chest knocking the wind out of him, and then spun twice giving him two back to back roundhouse kicks to the head, once again propelling him into the grass. She quickly pulled her leg up high, and when he looked up at her she brought her heel down hard on his jaw and knocked him out. Just then she heard sirens and saw a patrol car pull up from one direction and Gage's car from the other. Stepping out of his car, Gage strode over to her, watching the officer do the same.

"Hey, Shorty. Any problems?" asked Gage.

"Naw, it's just one little one," Sydney replied with a grin, welcoming the smile she received back. Turning to the patrolman she said, "Please cuff him and put him in your car until we can find out what this was all about. And call for a tow truck to impound these vehicles."

"Yes, Ma'am," he said and turned to his duties.

Turning back to Gage, she asked quizzically, "What brought you here?"

"I heard your call on the radio, Syd, and thought I'd see what was up. I wasn't far from here on my way to work."

Just then the young woman by the car began to rouse from her daze. Sitting up she saw Syd and Gage coming toward her and the patrolman moving the unconscious James to his car. Panic filled her face.

"Oh no!" she cried. "What have you done?"

"Take it easy, Ma'am," said Syd soothingly as she knelt in front of her. "I'm Texas Ranger Sydney Cooke. This is my partner, Ranger Gage. Why don't you tell me what was happening here?"

"Please! You have to let him go! He'll kill me!" Syd and Gage could see the dread in her eyes. "I don't want to press charges! You have to let him go!"

"Ma'am, what's your name?" queried Syd.

"Kendra. Kendra Turner. Please. You have to help me."

"And him? What's his name? How is he related to you?"

"His name is James Sutton. He's my….well…. my boyfriend, I guess."

"Kendra," Syd said with confidence, "we can protect you. We can get you some place safe."

"It's not just me. He swore if I ever crossed him he'd kill my parents, too, just out of spite. I can't do anything knowing they aren't safe."

Gage and Syd exchanged glances, instinctively understanding they had the same idea.

"I'll tell you what, Kendra," Gage began. "You tell me where your parents are and I'll go pick them up. You can go with Sydney to Ranger Headquarters and we'll meet you there. Then we can all sit down and talk about this. Where are they?"

Just then a tiny cry was heard coming from the car.

"Oh, Jesse!" said Kendra. Getting up, she opened the back door and removed the infant carrier car seat. "Shh, baby, it's okay," she spoke soothingly to her son. Turning back to the Rangers she said, "James will never let me go, or Jesse. He'll kill me first."

Syd had risen when Kendra did and was standing next to Gage. Looking at the defeat on Kendra's face, she was determined to help her.

"We can help you, Kendra. Just give us a chance," she said. "Tell us where your parents are."

"They're at home," replied Kendra with a weary sigh after a pause. Taking paper and a pen out of the glove box, she proceeded to write down their names and address. "I told them I would try to come by today. James hasn't let me see them for a long time. I guess I should at least try to get out. Who knows what he would have done after today anyway." Resignation filled her voice as she handed the paper to Gage.

He looked at Syd and saw the grim determination in her eyes. Filled with pride, he smiled at his partner and said, "See you back at headquarters," then returned to his car.

Syd walked over to the patrolman. "Take him in and book him on battery and assaulting an officer, please. Thanks," she said with a smile.

"No problem," the officer responded as he smiled back and left.

"Well," Syd continued as she returned to Kendra, "let's get you two into my car and go see your parents." Her confident smile brought a bit of hope into Kendra's eyes, and she gave a slight smile back.

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Kendra sat quietly in Interrogation Room 4 at Ranger headquarters. Syd had asked her to wait there while she checked in with her superior, Ranger Walker. The baby slept quietly in his seat, which was beside her on the floor, as she rocked it with her foot. The apprehension was evident in her eyes. Slight relief came when she saw Sydney reenter the room.

"It shouldn't be long now," said Syd with a smile.

"I hope Ranger Gage gets to them first," replied Kendra somberly.

"What do you mean?"

"James has three brothers. A twin, the kind that doesn't look like him --"

"You mean fraternal?"

"Yeah, that's it. And two that are younger. They're just as mean, and they all stick together like glue. There are also several guys on the place regularly that work for them. If James gets a hold of them they might go after my folks."

"What are his brother's names?" Sydney pulled out a notepad to write on.

"James' twin is John. The second is Jake and the youngest one is Joe. Their Daddy wanted them all to have "J" names," finished Kendra wryly.

Right then the door was opened by Gage who followed a couple into the room. Kendra jumped up and rushed to her parents, threw her arms around them both, and wept. Her mother held her and cried along. Her father tried to fight back tears as he grasped Gage's hand with a husky, "Thank you."

Gage moved closer to Syd and put his arm across her shoulders. Gazing deeply into her eyes with a soft smile he whispered, "You done good, Shorty."

Smiling back she replied, "You did, too." Then she turned to the family and said, "Gage and I have to go check in with Walker. We'll be back in about ten minutes."

As they left Gage noticed a wistful look come into Syd's eyes.

"Everything alright, Shorty?"

"Yeah, Gage, I'm fine," she replied unconvincingly as she looked up at him.

Gage followed Syd through the door to the Ranger Company B offices and together they approached Walker at his desk, where they were joined by his partner, James Trivette.

"How's everything going?" asked Walker.

"The family is reunited. I thought it would be alright to give them a few minutes before we begin questioning them," began Syd. "You know, Walker, I just have this feeling that there's more going on here than just James Sutton beating her."

"I haven't asked her yet how much she enjoyed kickin' that guy's ass," interjected Gage, which earned him an elbow in the ribs from Syd. But Walker and Jimmy displayed knowing smiles.

"I think we should run a check on him, as well as his brothers. Kendra told me he has three," continued Syd as she pulled out the paper she had written their names on and tried to gloss over their teasing.

"That's a good idea," said Walker. "Trivette, you get on that while Sydney and Gage question the Turner's." With that, Syd handed Jimmy the paper and they dispersed to their individual tasks.

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In the den of a worn ranch house outside of town, a husky man slammed the receiver down on his phone.

"Jake, Joe, get in here!" he yelled.

Two men joined him, one tall and broad-shouldered, the other shorter and more lean with an ugly scar that cut a swath across his forehead from his left eyebrow up into his hairline.

"What's up, John?" asked the smaller man.

"Joe, that was James on the phone. You're never going to believe what happened. He found Kendra, alright, trying to get to her folks. While he was trying to bring her back he got cut short. This girl that some idiot had the nerve to give a Rangers badge to attacked him. Evidently she's been trained to fight. She knocked him out and he woke up in jail. Now the Rangers have Kendra and Jesse, as well as her parents. Buster saw them leaving with a Ranger just as he got to their house."

"Do you think she'll tell them about the operation?" asked the larger man.

"I'd be surprised if she didn't, Jake," said John with disgust. "I knew letting James have her was a mistake. We're going to have to get them back. But most of all, that girl playing Ranger has gotta pay. Now, here's what I want you to do."

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Syd knocked on the door to Room 4 before she and Gage entered. They found Kendra sitting between her parents at the table. Kendra's mother was holding Jesse. Syd noted how much alike the women looked. Both were several inches taller than she was, with slightly fuller frames. Kendra's hair was sandy brown, while her mother's contained shades of gray. Her father was almost as tall as Gage, slender with salt and pepper hair. Syd and Gage were glad to see the smiles on their faces when they came in.

"Ranger Cooke," began Kendra, "These are my parents, Bud and Gloria Turner."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," replied Sydney with a broad smile as she shook their hands.

"The pleasure is ours," said Kendra's father.

"We can't thank you enough for helping our daughter," chimed in his wife.

"Kendra, tell me, how long has it been since you've seen your parents?" asked Syd.

A bit of the light faded from her eyes at the memory.

"Since I was two months along with Jesse. He's three months old now. Once James found out I was pregnant he was sure I would try to leave him. I had to sneak out this morning, and you saw how far that got me."

"Luckily it got you to Syd," put in Gage. "It got you to help. We're going to do whatever we can to put an end to this for you."

"Tell us about the Suttons," Syd instructed.

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An hour later Gage and Syd returned to the offices.

"What did you find out?" asked Walker as they approached his desk.

"Kendra told us she's known the Sutton's for several years," began Syd. "Most of that time James has been after her. About fifteen months ago, he decided he was going to get her. He kidnapped her and brought her to their house and threatened to kill her and her parents if she left. I'm sure you can figure out what he did to get her pregnant. Walker, besides beating her regularly, he also gives her some kind of sedative to control her and he keeps her locked up."

Seeing Syd becoming visibly upset, Gage took over and said, "But the best part is, about three months ago, she accidentally came across a large quantity of what sounds like Meth. She told us there is a large barn on the property that James told her she was never to go near. It sounds like they're cooking more than barbeque out there."

Jimmy had been listening from his desk and came over. "Now that wouldn't surprise me," he began as he held up their rap sheets and pictures. "All of the brothers have records, each with an assortment of violations. Possession, possession with intent, theft, assault, in fact Joe got in such a bad bar fight once that knives and bottles were pulled. He put a man in the hospital, almost killed him, and ended up with a nasty scar on his forehead. The list goes on. And all of them have had complaints against them from women who claim one kind of mistreatment or another."

"Well," said Walker, "It's not enough for a bust, but it warrants putting the Turner's into protective custody until this is over. Good work. I'll get the process started. To begin, Sydney, introduce me to the Turner's."

Walker and Syd entered Room 4. After exchanging introductions Walker explained what was going to take place.

"Not to sound doubtful, Ranger Walker, but are you sure you can protect my family?" asked Mr. Turner.

"We'll make sure that by the time this is over the Suttons will never bother you again," replied Walker. After returning to the office Walker told Gage and Syd that he would make the arrangements for the Turner's and informed them they could take lunch.

"Syd, you want to grab a bite somewhere?" inquired Gage.

"Sounds good, as long as you're buying," replied Syd with a giggle.

They went to a small sandwich shop not far from headquarters, settled comfortably into a booth near the back and chatted quietly about nothing in particular. After their food was brought, Gage looked intently at Syd. He had been watching her all morning and had noticed that a cloud seemed to mask her usually upbeat spirit.

"Syd, is everything alright? You've seemed a bit down all day."

She knew her partner knew her well and she wasn't going to lie about his intuition, but she paused, not knowing how much to say.

"Let's just say this case brings back some memories I wish I could forget." She smiled ruefully, hoping that Gage wouldn't push.

Sensing her desires Gage smiled at her and simply reached across the table and squeezed her hand. Looking into his eyes and knowing what a gentleman he was she returned the squeeze and held on for several seconds, drawing strength from his comfort.

When they had returned to headquarters after lunch Walker notified them that the Turner's were headed for a safe house with two officers to act as a guard. They all began working on various parts of this new case and finished out the afternoon. At the end of the day, Syd approached Walker.

"How are Alex and Baby Angela doing?" she asked.

"They're doing fine. Alex is understandably exhausted. She told me this morning she just wants to lie low for a few weeks until she adjusts to this new role as Mother and gets some of her strength back," Walker replied.

"Well, give her a hug for me and tell her I'll try to call her sometime this week. If it's okay I'm going to take off for the day."

"Sure. I'll see you in the morning."

Syd went back to her desk and began to collect her things.

"Shorty, how about dinner?" asked Gage.

"No thanks. I think I just want to go home and relax," she answered with a tired smile. "Rain check?"

"Absolutely," Gage said, smiling back. Walker noticed that Gage watched his partner walk all the way out the door, and then he exhaled softly as he ran his fingers through his hair, before collecting his own things and turning to go.

"See you in the morning, Boss," Gage called to Walker as he headed for the door. "Bye, Jimmy."

"Yeah, see you," called Walker.

"Have a good night, man," replied Jimmy.

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Sydney reached home that night hoping to relax, but finding it difficult to get her mind off of the Turner's and their situation. After entering her small two bedroom rambler, she flipped the switch to turn on the overhead light in the living room to her right and locked the door behind her as she glanced down the hall to her left. Walking straight ahead a few paces she laid her mail down on the table in her small dining area, and then turned to her left to check her answering machine which sat on a narrow bar between the dining room and kitchen. After stepping into the kitchen through the opening on the left end of the bar she poured herself a glass of wine then returned to the living room. At the front of the house was a bay window covered with thin white drapes, under which sat Syd's couch. After setting her wine down on the glass topped coffee table in front of it, she settled into an overstuffed chair facing away from the kitchen and gazed absentmindedly into the fireplace across from the couch. Then picking up the remote she looked across the room to her television wondering what was on.

All of a sudden Syd's senses went on the alert. She had a strange feeling that she wasn't alone. Turning abruptly she saw a man reaching for her. Grabbing his arm she flung him over her shoulder, sending him flying into the living room and smashing down on her coffee table, which shattered. Jumping out of her chair she grabbed her cuffs and moved to restrain him. Just then, Syd felt someone behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and gripped her wrists, then forced her arms into an "x" across her chest. At the same he pulled her toward the floor and rolled, wrapping his legs around hers, effectively immobilizing her.

Syd fought hard to escape. The man had to hold on tight to keep her from getting away, as he lay down on the floor with her back against his chest. The first man came over and grappled her legs holding tight. Then a third man appeared out of the shadows of the hall. Syd watched him saunter into her living room with an evil sneer on his face. As he turned to face her, her eyes opened wide with recognition as she saw a jagged scar over his left eyebrow. Slowly he knelt beside them as she continued to struggle against her captors.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked as he ran his finger sinisterly across her face.

"Yes," was all Syd could manage.

"Good," he said. Then looking maliciously into her eyes he sneered, "You need to learn your place, girl," and swiftly backhanded her hard.

She watched with growing alarm as he pulled a syringe out of his pocket and laughed viciously.

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To be continued.