Uncle Francis and Aunt Sydney

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the actual characters from Walker, Texas Ranger. However, the original characters are mine…Though the three little girls are loosely based on characters from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Chapter One: The Phone Call

Texas Ranger Francis Gage reached over and clicked off the television. "Well," he said to his partner, Sydney Cooke, "that was the crappiest movie ever."

She laughed. "Yeah, it was pretty bad. What possessed you to rent Zoolander, anyway?"

Gage shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea at the time." Glancing at the clock, he got to his feet. "I should get going. See you tomorrow at work?"

"Bright and early," Sydney agreed. She stood, too, and followed him to the door.

Gage opened it, shrugging on his jacket at the same time. "See ya then, Shorty," he said with a wink.

Sydney reached out and punched him.

"Ow!" he said, rubbing his arm.

"Good-night, Gage." With a smile, Sydney shut and locked the door. Flipping off the lights, she headed down the hall to her bedroom.

------------

The next morning, Sydney was awakened by a ringing telephone. Fumbling for a few seconds, she finally managed to grab the receiver from the nightstand.

"Hello?" she said sleepily. A quick glance at her watch told her it was only five-thirty a.m.

"Hey, Shorty!"

Sydney groaned. "What do you want, Gage?" she asked grumpily. "It's not even light out."

"I need your help," her partner replied. "I just got off the phone with Julie."

Sydney sat up, wide awake. It wasn't like his sister to call at the crack of dawn. "Is she okay? What's wrong?"

"She's fine," Gage assured her. "It's David's mother." David Rollins was Julie's husband of one year. "She's got pneumonia, and she wants Jules and David to stay with her for a week or two."

"And?"

"Well, school just started, and David doesn't want the girls to miss so much so soon." Gage's brother-in-law had three daughters from a previous marriage: twelve-year-old Bridget and eleven-year-old twins Carmen and Christina. His first wife had died when the twins were two. "Jules asked if I would watch them."

Sydney scoffed. "You? What do you know about taking care of kids?"

"Exactly!" Gage exclaimed. "So—"

"Wait a minute," Sydney interrupted. "What, exactly, do you need my help for?" She had a sinking feeling that she knew where this was headed.

"Um, well, Syd…You know I've only got the one bedroom here," he replied. "And like you said, I know nothing about taking care of kids, especially a bunch of girls."

"Out with it, partner."

"Could we stay at your place?" Gage said in a rush.

Sydney laughed. "My place? Gage…"

"Come on, Syd," he pleaded. "The girls could sleep in the guest room, and I'll sleep on the couch. Please? You'd really be helping Julie and David out, not just me."

She sighed, and considered it for a minute. She did have a spare bedroom, and the sofa in her living room opened up into a bed. After another sigh, she answered, "All right, all right."

"Thank you so much," Gage gushed.

"You're welcome. When are they going to be here?"

"Um, well…" he hesitated. "Three o'clock."

"Three o'clock!" Sydney threw the covers off and jumped out of bed. "I've got so much to do before work!"

"I'll come over and help," her partner offered.

"Great," she said.

"See you in a few."

"Bye." Hanging up the phone, Sydney crossed the room and began rifling through her closet.

------------

It wasn't easy, but somehow they did it. By eight-thirty, when they left for Ranger Headquarters, Sydney's apartment was ready for Gage's nieces' arrival. There were clean linens on the double bed in the guest room, and a twin-size roll-a-way bed had been set up, as well, (Gage's contribution). Sydney had made room for their things in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, and set a stack of fresh towels on the dresser. She and Gage ran to the supermarket and picked up enough food for the week. The last thing they did was put sheets and a blanket on the sofa bed in the living room.

"Jules will drop off their stuff at the office around nine-thirty," Gage told Sydney on the way to HQ. "Her flight leaves at noon. The girls have school, so we need to pick them up at three."

"Sounds great," Sydney replied. "I just hope we're ready."