A fifteen-year-old girl was sitting in the living room of her house when the call came in. She was alone, of course just minding her own business and doing her homework. The phone rang and like every other time this happened, she answered it. "Hello" she answered in her everyday voice while she continued looking over a math problem she was trying to figure out. She could hear the person on the other end, breathing so she asked again. "Hello?" "Is this Sydney Cooke?" a strange mans voice questioned. She rolled her eyes and answered, "Yes". She was tired of all the wrong numbers that always seemed to call when she answered the phone. "Why who is this?" she then questioned when he didn't say anything else. "Aw… has he not told you about me? That's a shame. I'm a very important person, especially to him. Well, I guess I'm going to have to teach him a lesson about that," the voice kept talking in this eerie kind of voice. "Who's the 'he' you're referring to?" she inquired as she placed her homework on the coffee table in front of her and listened more intensely.
"Why your partner, Gage, of course," the voice boomed in a creepy voice a person who was nuts, would use. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. "Who is this? What are you talking about?" She was angry now and she let it show. "Well, well, well he didn't tell me you were feisty. My name is Clayton Milton and I've got Gage here with me and if you truly are a partner and friend of his, you wont have trouble finding him!" the voice told her. Her hands started shaking and her voice was quivering. "You've got exactly five days to find him. Times a gift and its ticking away," Clayton went on. "Wait, but I'm not –," he had hung up. "Sydney," she finished to herself.
The phone slipped to the floor after she pushed the off button. She sat there for what seemed like a lifetime. She finally got up and started pacing around the living room mumbling out loud. "Oh my gosh, what did I do? What did I do? What did I do? Why did I do it? Why did it have to be this time I had to lie? I mean I'm just fifteen, who would believe I'm older than that? I'm Madison, not a Sydney. I don't even know a Sydney Cooke anyhow," Madison finally stopped pacing and talking to herself long enough to run towards the family computer. She decided what she had to do, to make this right. And that was to google this Sydney Cooke lady, find her, and tell her about the phone call so she could deal with it. This was too much for a teenager and if that made her a selfish child then she just didn't care.
It took her ten minutes before she could find anything she could use. She found an article about a Texas Ranger, Cordell Walker, who was the head Ranger in a big drug bust a couple of weeks ago. His colleagues were listed as well and the two she was looking for were on there. She found more articles and got more information than she bargained for. She found out that they lived in Dallas, which wasn't that far considering she lived in Houston. She wrote down the address of the Ranger's Headquarters, where this Sydney worked. She then map quested hotels near the address and wrote that down as well. She turned off the computer and stood up. She looked at the homework that thirty minutes earlier was the most important thing and now, was nothing.
She threw all her stuff in her backpack and ran upstairs to her room. She threw her bag on her bed and fell to the ground. She reached under her bed and when she finally found what she was looking for, she got back to her feet. She placed the duffle bag on the edge of her bed, scrambled into her closet, and started throwing clothes in it. Then went to her dresser drawers and did the same. After she finished packing, she looked at the clock. It read 4:00, an hour had passed since this all started. She sighed, then grabbed her phone and all her money. She only had 600 dollars saved up but she managed to find her older sister's hiding place and took 400 dollars that she'd pay back when she could. She'd have to walk to the nearest bus stop, and board a bus so she'd be able to get to the airport. She went back downstairs, grabbed a piece of paper, a pen and quickly scribbled down a note for her parents. Then, she left.
Two hours later she was sitting in the lobby of the airport awaiting the announcement for passengers to board. She looked around and realized that she was the only teen by herself and that made her even lonelier than she was before. Everyone else looked so happy and carefree. If only they knew what she was going through or they were going through it as well. The announcement finally came and she boarded the plane that was headed towards her destination.
She got on the plane, found her seat, sat down, and tried to relax. Before she could even close her eyes for a minute, she heard a screaming baby and the noise was coming closer and closer, until it stopped right in front of her. The lady holding the screaming baby was about twenty-three, had blue eyes, blonde hair, and looked very worn out. The baby looked about five or six months old. It was a little boy who seemed to really not like flying.
The lady said her seat was right beside Madison's so Madison got up and let the lady in the aisle so the she could sit next to the window while she sat on the outside, leaving the middle empty between them. She could tell this was going to be a long flight. The plane took off ten minutes later. Right as they were given the clear to unbuckle their seatbelts and use their phones, Madison's phone started ringing. She jumped and whimpered. She was almost too afraid to even look at the caller ID. She looked at it quickly and it read 'Home'. She pushed the button on the side of the phone, which stopped the ringing and placed it in her lap. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying not to cry.
"Are you okay?" a soothing voice asked. She new it was most likely coming from the lady next to her. She opened her eyes and looked at the lady. Yep, it was, because she was staring straight at Madison. "Yea, I'm fine" Madison told her as she tried not only to be convincing to the lady but also, to herself. "Hmm. My name is Jynnie Bristow. What's yours?" Jynnie asked as she extended her free hand. Madison looked at the hand and then shook it saying, "Madison. Madison Stevens". Jynnie smiled as she placed her hand back around the now happy baby. "What's his name?" Madison asked suddenly feeling more talkative. "Bryceson" Jynnie answered as she played with the baby.
For the next hour to hour and a half, they sat there and talked about different sorts of things. They talked about their families, their friends, and just about their lives. She didn't tell Jynnie why she was on the plane and Jynnie didn't ask. When they landed and were allowed off, she followed Jynnie to the luggage pick-up place and waited with her for their luggage. With their luggage in hands, they parted ways, but not before giving each other their numbers so they could keep in touch.
It took Madison 10 minutes to flag down a cab, but when she did, she told the cab driver the address of the Ranger Headquarters. 5 minutes later, she was standing in front of a building she would probably never be standing in front of, if this drama hadn't happened. It was dark and empty considering the people working there had gotten off about 2 hours earlier.
She decided to find the nearest motel or hotel so she could get some sleep before everything unfolded. She finally found a motel she could afford and bought a room. It was only 3 blocks from the place she'd be going to in the morning. She opened the door with the key the manager had given her and shut it behind her. She turned on the lights and locked the door. The room was very small, dark, musty, and dirty. Ugh, she thought to herself, but then she reminded herself she'd be out of there in no time. Looking at the clock she realized right about this time, she would probably be laying in her bed, watching TV and chatting online with her friends. It was 8 o' clock and she was already exhausted. She took a quick shower and fell on the bed.
She took out her phone and dialed her sister's number. It rang 3 times before her sister's voice came on the other end. "Where are you?" the voice asked. "Did ya'll get my note?" Madison asked avoiding the question. "Yes, but you didn't say where you were going! Mom and Dad are worried. They almost called the police. Do you know how much trouble you're going to be in? Are you insane?" the voice was getting louder and faster. "Addison! Shut up!" she waited to hear just breathing then she continued. "Okay, something happened, something very bad. I have to help and the only way to do that was to just leave without telling ya'll. I'm fine, I just have to do this." She explained. "But, Mom has been calling non-stop and you haven't been answering. She thought you were kidnapped or you ran away." Addison replied. "Typical" Madison rolled her eyes. "I turned my phone off for that very reason. Look, I'll be back soon just not before I end this. Just tell Mom and Dad that I'm fine and that I'm not going to be answering my phone anymore until I can, okay?" she instructed her older sister, which didn't happen much since she was 2 years older. "Okay but you're really scaring me. Oh and did you take some of my money?" Madison laughed to herself. It was classic of her sister to be worried about her money. She was ditzy that way. "Yea, don't worry I'll pay you back. Okay I gotta go, bye." She waited for her sister to respond then she hung up.
She tried to get some sleep but didn't get much luck. She kept tossing and turning, and also thinking about what she was going to do tomorrow. When she finally got to sleep, the alarm went off. Feeling like she only got 10 minutes of sleep, she stumbled to the bathroom and got ready. By the time she was finished, she still had an hour to kill before she'd be able to talk to this Sydney. She grabbed her duffle bag, went to the front, signed out of the motel, and headed down the street. She remembered she saw a Denny's last night. She ordered her food and looked around at the early crowd. She was a people observer. She was always trying to figure out other people's lives by just looking at them.
There was an old couple, a man in a business suit, a woman with her 2 kids that were under at least 3, a cop, and another teenager by herself too. She was so dazed out that she didn't even realize her food was already sitting in front of her. She ate quickly, paid the bill, and left. While walking down the sidewalk towards the target, she looked at the time. 8 o' clock, it was perfect timing. The office probably opened an hour earlier giving her enough time to make sure Sydney would already be there. When she got in front of the building, it was already buzzing with people. She walked up the front steps and entered through the doors. It was very crowded and she definitely felt out of place. Everyone was wearing suits and was all dressed up, and here she was wearing jeans and a cute blouse.
She followed the directions that the map at the front gave her and went to the elevator. She entered it along with about 1o others and pressed the 3rd floor button. She got off the elevator along with a few others and headed to the left. As she was walking down a hallway towards her target, she wasn't paying attention and found herself bumping into a pregnant lady with tons of papers. Papers went flying everywhere. "Oh my gosh!!! I'm so, so sorry!" Madison apologized quickly as she bent down picking up all the scattered papers while the pregnant lady accepted them, trying to bend down as far as she could. "I am seriously so sorry! Are you okay? I didn't hit your stomach did I? Is your baby ok? Your not gonna go into labor are you? I should have been paying attention, I'm sorry," Madison rambled on and on. The lady laughed before she answered, "No, its okay. I'm fine. It was a tad bit my fault too. We just bumped each other in the arms, that's all, no big deal." She waited as the girl calmed down a bit before turning back into her curious self. "What's your name, Sweetheart?" Madison looked at her kind of questionably before she decided it would be okay to answer. "Um, Madison Stevens." "Well its nice to bump into you. I'm Alex Cay-hill Walker. You look kind of lost, do you need help?" Alex asked as she extended her hand to Madison. Madison laughed and took Alex's hand "You too. Actually, I'm looking for the Rangers office." Alex looked at the girl strangely before answering. " Its right there," She said as she pointed toward a closed door. "Just go through that door and you'll be there." "Um, yeah, ok. Thanks for your help," Madison said as she headed towards the door that she was pointed toward. "Yeah, right," Alex mumbled to herself, as she watched the strange young girl walk through the door. She then went back on her way, the way she had been going before she ran into the girl, she was going to meet Sydney in the workout room.
Madison walked through the door and stopped. There was a great deal of noise than she expected. Desks were all around the room with occupants in most of them. She looked around for Sydney, trying to remember the face she saw on the Internet. She could barley see any women in the room. There was only about 2, but they were blonde haired not black. Madison then spotted the guy from the article as well. 'Cordell Walker was his name, right?' She thought to herself. She walked towards the Ranger's desk, stood in front of it, and waited to be seen. When he looked up she asked, "Your Ranger Walker, right?" The Ranger looked at her oddly before shaking his head yes. "Ok I thought it was you. Um, is Sydney Cooke here by any chance because I looked around and I can't seem to spot her." Madison continued as she looked around the room. "She's here, but she is working out right now. She should be back any minute. I'm sorry, do I know you?" Walker answered. "No, but I saw your picture in an article and recognized you. I'm Madison. I just really need to talk to Sydney," Madison explained. "Ok, well nice to meet you. You can just have a seat by her desk over there and wait for her." He told her as he pointed to a desk that was up against another desk. "Thanks," She said as she walked over to the desk and sat in an empty chair beside it.
"So, you haven't spoken to him since yesterday?" Alex asked. "No, I know he was off yesterday, but I mean, maybe something happened. Maybe he's hurt or something." The lady told Alex as she dried her damp hair with a towel. They were standing in the Girls locker room located inside the gym area. "Or maybe, Sydney just maybe, you're in love with him and your just worrying." Alex told Sydney as Sydney used the blow dryer on her almost dried hair. She had been drying it when Alex walked in and had stopped to talk. "Nope sorry not true." Sydney told her loudly to be heard over the noise. "Come on Sydney, you don't have to keep telling yourself that, I mean he probably feels the same way." Alex tried to reason with her. "What that's crazy. I'm being serious. I mean why does everyone think I'm in love with him!" Sydney exclaimed as she turned off the dryer and placed it in her gym bag. "Well are you?" Alex asked hoping for the answer she knew she probably wouldn't hear directly. "No, of course not" Sydney answered a little unsurely as she swung the bag over her shoulder. "Sydney, look me in the eyes and tell me that" Alex instructed Sydney as she stood in front of Sydney, waiting. "Whatever, I gotta get back to work" Sydney told Alex as she rolled her eyes and walked out the door, leaving Alex standing by herself.
Trivette walked over to Walker. He had seen the girl walk in and talk to Walker. "Who's the kid?" he asked as he handed a file to Walker. "She said her name was Madison and that she's looking for Sydney," Walker explained as he took the file from his partner. "Family?" Trivette asked as they both looked over at Madison. "She didn't seem to even know who Sydney was or what she looked like. I don't see a family resemblance anyways, " Walker said as they watched Madison look around on Sydney's desk. She kept looking at the only photo on the desk, and then the only photo on the messy desk in front of it. "Well, we're about to find out," Trivette told Walker as they saw Sydney walk in and head towards her desk. She looked strangely at the girl who was sitting by her desk as she slowed down. She looked over at Walker and Trivette, who were both staring at her with questionable looks. She shrugged, stopped at her desk, and sat her stuff down. Madison hadn't seen her walk in. She quickly placed the picture frame back on the desk and stood up. "Um. Hi," was all Madison could think of to say. "Hi," Sydney said uncertainly as she looked at the girl then at the duffel bag at the girl's feet. "Do I know you?" "No, but I seriously need to talk to you," Madison answered. "Um, okay, I'm – " Sydney tried to say before Madison cut her off. "Sydney Cooke. I know. I'm Madison and I've got information concerning you." Madison clarified. "What about?" Sydney asked defensively. She was very confused. "It's seriously important, but can we go somewhere not as loud?" Madison asked. "Sure, as soon as you tell me what this is about" Sydney answered. "Fine, it's about your partner, Gage." Madison tried to tell her quietly. Sydney looked at her shockingly as she motioned Walker and Trivette to come over, and at that moment Madison noticed something in Sydney's eyes that she had never seen before and that was true love and the fear that it would be lost in a heartbeat.
They all had gone into the nearest interrogation room and all took a seat. "You said you know something about Gage? Well what is it?" Sydney asked impatiently. Madison looked at her but before she could respond, Sydney shot more questions at her. "Well where is he? Is he okay?" her voice was rising. "Syd, calm down," Trivette told her as softly as he could. "What!? How can I? Its Gage she's talking about!" Sydney shouted at him in frustration as she rubbed her hands through her hair. "I know, but she's just a little girl." Trivette informed her as if she hadn't snapped at him. "Wait I'm 15, I'm not a little girl." Madison informed him defensively. "Okay, everyone, the faster we hear her story, the faster we can figure out what to do." Walker told them as he quieted them. "Okay tell us what happened." Madison explained the story to them about how a creepy guy had called her and said he had Ranger Gage and how she only had 5 days to find him. When she finished, the questions began. "What I don't understand, is why he called you and told you to help, I mean why didn't he just call us?" Sydney asked as she referred to the other rangers as 'us'. Madison looked down and replied cautiously, "Yea, I might have left out a small detail about that part." Sydney looked at Walker and Trivette before responding, "What kind of detail?" "Well, you see, when he called, he asked if I was Sydney…I said I was," Madison responded slowly. "Uh-oh" she heard Trivette say under his breath, which didn't sound good to her. "You did what!!??" Sydney pretty much shouted at her.
"Uh…umm…" was all she could say at the response. "Why on earth would you say that?" Sydney asked. "Because I was tired of people calling and asking for people I have never heard of," Madison rambled out. " You've got to be kidding me! That's really a great answer!" Sydney hollered out at Madison as she slammed her chair back and started pacing around the table. "Sydney!" Walker calmly but a matter- of- factly said to her, telling her to cool down. She looked at him and sat back down. "Well for my defense, if I didn't say I was you, and don't yell at me, but he might have killed your partner right then and there." Madison stated.
She looked back between the 3 and when her eyes met each of them, she saw different looks. The Ranger she didn't know, but thought she remembered his name was Trivette, had the look of sincerity, like he felt sorry for her. Ranger Walker had the look of calmness and authority. As for Sydney, when she looked at her, she saw fear, but she also saw her glaring at her. She looked down at the desk and waited for someone, anyone to say something, breaking this minute of silence. "Unfortunately, Syd, she's right," Walker told her as he leaned back in his seat. "I'm sorry, but I gotta ask, how did he actually think you were Syd? I mean both of you have, big time different voices." Trivette stated. "He's right. That means he doesn't know Sydney, just that she's his partner." Walker observed. "Did he say his name?" Madison thought for a moment, trying to recall what he said it was, "Uh, he said it was Clayton…I think Clayton Milton." "I don't know who that is." Sydney jumped into the conversation. "I know. You weren't here yet. You were still a cop." He told her. "It was a drug bust, gone wrong. They wouldn't lower their guns, so we fired. I think his brother was among them. He was killed and this guy swore up and down that Gage killed him when it was really one of his own men, by accident." Walker told them about the case. "Okay, here's what we're going to do; Trivette and me are going to find all the information we can on this guy, while Sydney, you are going up to Alex's office and find the case file, and for you Madison, you can go home." Walker instructed them.
All of them stood up and turned around to see why she wasn't leaving. "He said you can go" Sydney stated kind of annoyed. Madison looked at her, then looked at Walker, "Yea, that's the problem, I can't." "Why not?" Trivette asked now interested. "Because I'm not from around here," she informed them. "Interesting," Trivette said aloud. "Where are you from then?" Sydney posed her. "Houston," She answered. "Even more interesting," Trivette said again.
Walker, Trivette, and Sydney sat back down at the table. "Where are your parents, then?" Walker asked. "At home," Madison answered as she looked down at her lap. "Do they know you're here?" Trivette asked. Madison looked up at them and shyly answered, "uh… no". "Then how'd you get here?" Trivette questioned. "Plane" she answered. "And you didn't tell your parents you were leaving?" Sydney asked in astonishment. "I did leave a note," Madison announced to them. "What do we do with her now?" Sydney asked Walker. "Hey, sitting right here. Plus, last time I checked, I could take care of myself, but thanks for caring," Madison shot at Sydney. "Ha" Sydney said sarcastically as she turned to Walker, "Seriously, what is she going to do while we work on this?" "I don't know" Walker answered. "When did you tell your parents you were coming back?" he continued. "More like, what did your note say," Trivette added in. "5 days. The crazy guy said ya'll had 5 days, so I figured that would be enough," Madison rambled out an answer. "Right. So I guess that means she's gotta stay here until she can go back right?" Sydney questioned. "Ya, I guess we could put her in one of the safe houses with police protection until we get back," Walker answered as he thought more about it. "Or Alex could stay with her," Trivette offered. "Yea, Ok, let's go," Walker instructed as they all stood up and followed him out the door. When they got back into the busy room, Walker turned to them and said, "Madison, go sit back over their by Sydney's desk and wait." He then turned to Trivette and Sydney. "Sydney, go up to Alex's office like we planned and Trivette and I will do the research," he instructed them as they parted ways.
Madison went over to the chair she had been in earlier, slumped back down in it, and watched Rangers Walker and Trivette work on their computers. At this same time, Sydney was rushing into Alex Cahill-Walker's office. She sat there for about 5 minutes before standing up and mumbling, " Screw this," and then she walked to the door she had entered and out into the hallway. She walked towards the elevator and looked at the map beside it. She found the office Sydney was suppose to be at and entered the opening elevator and pushed the level 4 button. She got off on the 4th floor and headed to her right, which if she had looked at the map correctly, was the direction Alex's office was. She found the office on the corner of a hallway. The door was open and she could hear 2 women talking.
"It's okay Sydney," Alex told Sydney. "No, its not!" Sydney exclaimed in a choking voice. "We're going to find him. Look we found the case file and Walker and Jimmy are doing research on him, we'll find Gage, don't worry," Alex tried to comfort her. "I guess you're right," Sydney admitted as she blew her nose. "Of course I am and anyways, I'm still confused, how did you know he was missing?" Alex asked. "This bizarre girl came in here liked she owned everything and told us that she got a phone call from Milton and everything." Sydney explained to her. Madison stood outside the door with her mouth wide open listening to every detail. "What did she look like?" Alex questioned. "Uh, she's short and has dark blonde hair… why?" Sydney replied. "I think that's the same girl that ran into me earlier today," Alex explained to her. "She was sweet. Helped me pick up my papers and kept asking me if my baby was alright."
"We must be talking about 2 different girls," Sydney notified her. "The girl I met was beyond sweet. She was rude, sarcastic, and told this Milton guy that she was me!" Sydney told her. Madison was astonished. She wasn't like that at all. She shifted her weight to her left but as she did that, she banged up against the window making a banging sound. She knew they had heard her so she ducked into the office next to Alex's and waited until it was clear to come out. She heard Sydney and Alex walk to the doorway and knew they were looking out into the hallway. She was at the far corner in the office but she could still hear Sydney say, "Okay well I'm going to get this to Walker so we don't waste any more time." And she also heard Alex respond, "I'm going with you." She heard Alex's heels clicking sound fade then come back. She heard her lock the door and heard them walk past the room she was in, towards the elevator.
She let out the air she had been holding and looked around. That's when she saw an older guy looking at her with his mouth wide open. "Hi…bye," Madison greeted him as she leaped towards the door, looked out it just in time to see Sydney and Alex get into the elevator, and then she walked out of the room. She found a door labeled 'stairs' around a near corner and pushed the door open. She skipped steps as she hurried down the flight of stairs until she saw the '3' telling her it was the 3rd floor. She opened the door and made her way out into the hall. She didn't see the elevators. She walked to the left and saw the doors that led into the Ranger Headquarters. She walked through it and walked back over to the chair she was suppose to be sitting in. She noticed Alex and Sydney had beaten her there, but she didn't let them see that she knew and sat back down. The whole group walked over and stood around her. "Where were you?" Sydney questioned her. Madison thought to herself 'if Sydney thought badly of her, then why not show it to her and only her.' "I had to go to the bathroom. Was I suppose to ask permission because next time I will," she answered sarcastically as she looked smugly at Sydney. "Are you sure that's where you were, or were you on the 4th floor?" Sydney asked her in the same tone. "Well last time I checked it was the bathroom, but you know I could have mistaken the elevator for a stall and went there. Yes, I'm sure I was in the bathroom. Why would I even go to the 4th floor? I don't even know what's up there." Madison answered her sarcastically as she looked at all of them. Sydney looked pissed, Walker looked calm as always, Alex looked shocked, and Trivette was just looking back in forth between her and Sydney. "We were up on the 4th floor and somebody was listening to us talk and I think that somebody was you." Sydney shot at her. "Why would I follow you anyways? There are plenty of interesting things to see and listen to in here, why would I waste my time listening to you? That would be way to, bizarre," Madison answered her question and smiled sweetly at her. Sydney glared at her as Walker ordered all of them into an interrogation room and told Madison to stay put.
Sydney stormed off. Alex told Walker she was staying with Madison as he walked after Sydney. Trivette leaned over and whispered something to Alex that made her smile, and then he was gone too, just leaving Alex and Madison in silent. Alex grabbed a nearby chair and dragged it over to Madison, placed it in front of her, and sat down. "So, you're the girl that's got Sydney acting like this?" Alex questioned Madison as she smiled at her. It took Madison a couple of seconds to realize it was a joke before she replied, "Oh she's not always like this?" "Believe it or not, she's a really nice lady" Alex told her. They sat there for about 2 minutes in complete silence. Madison finally asked, "So when's your baby due?" Alex smiled and answered, "Soon, very soon". "What are you having?" Madison continued. "A girl" Alex responded with a bigger smile. "And he's your husband?" she asked as she saw the trio coming back towards them. "That's correct" she responded as she stood up to meet them. "That's some drama," Madison mumbled as she twirled around in the chair she was in. "What are you 5?" Sydney asked her sarcastically. Madison smirked as she stopped the chair. "Okay, here's what we are going to do; Milton has a cabin in Canada located at 1599 Abbott Street. We're going to go there," Walker told them.
"We should be back soon," Walker told Alex as he turned to her. "Yeah I guess we will. I'm going with you," Alex told him. "Alex," he started but then stopped, "Fine". "Okay we meet back here in an hour, now go pack your bags," Walker told Sydney and Trivette. They both left and Walker turned to Madison, "Okay, we're going to put you in a safe house," Walker told her as she shook her head. "What? Why are you shaking your head?" Alex asked. "I know you've done this before and your in charge, its just this Clayton 'dude' has to be stupid to kidnap a Ranger but smart in some way right? If he has a cabin in Canada, how'd he get your Ranger across the border? He has to have some help at the airport right? So wouldn't he know ya'll are coming?" Madison explained her thoughts to them.
"She does have a point," Alex told Walker. "Yea, okay we'll get fake passports for all of us. And I'll call an officer to take you to a nearby safe house," Walker told them. "No, I'm coming with ya'll" Madison told them as she stood up and grabbed her bag. "He is expecting 3 rangers. Not 3 rangers, a woman, and a teenager. He won't suspect anything." She explained to them. "Fine, okay, you stay here and wait for all of us to come back, then we will all leave." Walker told her as he and Alex made their way to the door. She sat her stuff back down and looked around. She looked at the 2 desks that were placed together and gazed at the objects on the desks. She walked over to Walker's desk and looked at the objects on his desk, which was covered with pictures of Alex. She went over to Trivette's desk and saw a picture of him in a football uniform and a picture of him smiling with a woman. She glanced at the clock on the near wall and rolled her eyes. It had been 40 minutes since they all had left and she was beginning to get antsy. She was starting to think they left without her. She walked back over to Sydney and Gage's desks and picked up both pictures. She thought it was funny that on Sydney's desk there was a picture of Gage and likewise on Gage's. Gage also had a picture of him smiling and tickling Sydney as she laughed. She picked it up to get a closer look.
"What do you think you're doing?" Sydney asked as she stood behind Madison. Madison jumped and quickly put the picture back on the desk, before turning around to face her. "Um, nothing just looking at the pictures," she stuttered out. Sydney just looked at her before she squeezed past her and placed each picture exactly back in its place. Her bag was in the chair Madison had been sitting in so she stayed standing. Trivette walked in after her. He walked over to them and handed them each a passport. Madison looked at hers. According to her passport, she was now Lexie Gracie Hart.
She looked over at Trivette's and he was now Jayson Dean House and Sydney was AnnaBeth House. They were going on their 'honeymoon'. "Thanks Trivette, thanks" She told Trivette as she threw the passport at him playfully. He laughed before saying, "Come on Syd, it's the best they had," then he picked it up off the floor and handed it back to her. "So what are you still doing here?" Sydney asked as she turned her attention to Madison. "She's going with us," Alex answered before Madison could even get a word out. Her and Walker had just walked into the office. Trivette handed them both their passports as Sydney asked Walker, "But why, she's just a kid." "Wait you didn't know? Then what did you think the passport was for?" Trivette questioned her. "I thought she was going home!" she answered him shocked.
"Trivette where did you get these names?" Alex asked breaking the silence. "Why? Who are you?" Madison inquired. "Sara Cameron Hart, you?" Alex asked. "Lexie Gracie Hart, wait are we related?" Madison asked confused. "Yes, I explained everything Elliot and he came up with these. Syd and me are going as a newly married couple on our honeymoon and you all are going as a family on vacation." Trivette clarified. "Who's Elliot?" Madison asked. " He's one of the guys that gets these passports and everything ready for undercover," Alex told her. "By the way, who are you?" she asked Walker. Walker gave Trivette a look who smiled, then replied, "Tomas Gregory Hart." "I knew you'd like it," Trivette joked with him. "Whatever, Okay everyone ready?" Walker asked as he looked at all of them and they all shook their heads. "Grab your bags and let's go." Walker, Alex and Madison loaded up in Walkers truck while Trivette and Sydney did the same in Trivette's Corvette. Then they headed towards the airport.
It took nearly 2 hours to get through the lines and into the waiting area. Sydney and Trivette had entered the airport minutes before Walker, Alex, and Madison did. When they entered, Trivette and Sydney were already waiting in the waiting room. Walker, Alex, and Madison sat a couple of rows in front of them. They made eye contact a couple of times, but they didn't talk to each other. They all tried to act like the people they were suppose to be now. Madison tried to act like any other teenager and just sat there reading a magazine and watching the people around her. She noticed Walker and Alex talked like any other married couple. And when she looked over in the direction of Sydney and Trivette, she saw them attempting to act like a newly married couple and it made her laugh. Sydney either heard her or could feel her eyes on her because she looked at her and glared. Madison shook her head and looked in the other direction. The airport was a little more crowded then she expected. It took 30 minutes until they were finally allowed to board and they made sure they weren't being followed. Their seats were all together coincidently; being how not very many people were going to Canada this time of the year and guess the pilot wanted to keep all the passengers together. The seats were in 2's. Walker and Alex sat together. Trivette sat by himself, leaving Sydney and Madison to sit next to each other.
They were in complete silence while Madison looked out the window and Sydney read a book. Finally Madison asked her a question, "How come you're a Ranger?" "I'm trying to read here," Sydney shot at her as she looked up from her book. "Oh, sorry," Madison mumbled to her as she turned back towards the window. "Hey Madison, do you still have that magazine you were reading earlier?" Alex asked her as she turned around in her seat. "Uh yea, here," she answered her as she handed the magazine to her. After Alex turned around, Madison's phone began to ring loudly. She grabbed it out of her pocket and pushed the off button, turning it off, and placed it back in her pocket. "Who was it?" Sydney asked not looking up. "Nobody, besides if I start talking more, I'll disturb your reading time," Madison answered her as she grabbed her purse, squeezed passed Sydney, and walked swiftly down the aisle toward the front of the plane.
"Syd, What did you do?" Trivette asked jokingly. "Nothing! She just got a phone call and left," Sydney explained to him. "Maybe she just went to answer it," Trivette told her. "No I don't think so. She turned off her phone without answering it, then just left," Sydney told him. "Maybe you should go check on her," Trivette suggested. "Are you kidding me? She hates me!" Sydney advised him. "Or maybe she thinks you hate her," Trivette informed her. Sydney placed her bookmark in her book and stood up. "Fine. Happy?" she asked him. "Ecstatic," he answered her with a smile. Sydney rolled her eyes and started down the direction Madison had gone.
Sydney walked to the very front of the plane before she found Madison sitting in the front row, in first class, watching a movie. Sydney sat down next to her. "Is it any good?" Sydney asked as she pointed to the screen. Madison shook her head without looking away from the screen. "Thought you were reading," Madison asked still looking at the screen. "I was," Sydney said. "Why'd you leave our seats?" She continued. "Didn't want to disturb you," Madison answered her. "Look, I'm sorry that I've been rude to you since you arrived. It's just that when I found out Gage was missing, I got really upset and since I didn't know you, I took it out on you, and I'm sorry for that," Sydney apologized. "It's okay. I'd probably act the same way as you are, if I was in your position," Madison informed her as she turned her attention to Sydney and away from the movie. "What do you mean "in your position"? What are you talking about?" Sydney asked suspiciously. Before Madison could answer, 1 of the flight attendants came on the speaker. "Attention all passengers. We will be hitting strong turbulence shortly, so please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. Thank you."
"Come on lets go," Sydney commanded as she stood up. She waited until Madison stood up before continuing down the aisles, back to their seats. Before they could make it to 2nd class, the plane began to shift, causing them to stumble. It became stronger as they made it into 2nd class. The turbulence became so strong that some of the passengers began shrieking. Right as they entered the 3rd class, the left part of the plane shifted downwards, causing Sydney to fly into a row of people and Madison to stumble towards then sideways and slamming her head into the edge of the nearby armrest. She fell to the floor, tried to stand back up, but decided not to until the turbulence hindered. She could hear Sydney continually apologizing to the people she fell on and continued to lie on until she could get up. Madison stood up and found her balance quickly. She looked around and found Sydney trying to get off the people she had fallen on. Madison cautiously walked over to her and grabbed Sydney's free hand and pulled her back into the aisle. Once they were both standing, the turbulence stopped. "Oh how ironic," Sydney sarcastically said out loud and out of breath. Madison, along with the other people nearby laughed. Sydney motioned her to continue walking behind her, and then suddenly stopped. "By the way, if you say anything to anybody about this…" Sydney started. "You'll become the person I'll fear. Gotcha," Madison finished off for her as she waited for Sydney to keep walking. Sydney shook her head and continued.
As they got back to their seats, they were met with questions. "Where were ya'll?" " What took ya'll so long?" "Sydney what happened to your hair?" Sydney and Madison looked at each other. "What's wrong with my hair?" Sydney asked as she placed her hand on top of her head. When she did this, she could tell her hair was all over the place. She glared over at Madison and quickly fixed it back in place. Madison looked down trying not to laugh before she said, "I didn't say anything." Madison turned around and when she turned back towards the others, they were all staring at her. "What did I do now?" she asked annoyed. "Nothing but your head is bleeding," Alex answered. She placed her hand on the back of her head where she had hit it earlier, and brought it back down. Dark blood covered her head. "Huh," was all she said as she sat down into her seat. She grabbed the Kleenex box in the pouch in front of her and took a hand full of them and pressed them against her head to stop the bleeding. Sydney sat next to her. "Are you ok?" she asked. "Just a bump," she answered as she placed the bloody tissues in her lap. "I once heard that if you braid the hairs around the wound together, it stops the bleeding and costs less than stitches," Madison informed her as she braided a part of her thick hair. After she finished, she felt the spot with her hand and took it back down showing Sydney, "See?"
Madison looked out the window the last couple of hours on the plane while Sydney read her book. She could tell Alex was asleep in front of her by the way her face was pressed against the window. The only part of Walker she could see was his arm, so she assumed he was just sitting there. And as for Trivette, she didn't have to turn around to figure out what he was doing, she could hear his snores. She was tired but didn't want to sleep. She wanted to see them land.
Their plane landed in Canada around 5:00 pm. They got off the plane as they had gotten on, separately. Trivette and Sydney waited for Alex, Walker and Madison to get off before them, and then an additional 5 minutes. Alex, Walker, and Madison walked up to the rent-a-car counter and waited in line while Trivette and Sydney got their bags and left the airport heading to the hotel they all agreed to meet at. As Walker, Alex, and Madison waited in line, they decided to save time and split up. Walker was going to get their luggage while Alex and Madison waited in the line. They would meet up outside in the front of the airport when they were all finished. There were at least 6 people in front of them so they had kind of a long wait. Madison surprisingly didn't feel uncomfortable around Alex and found her talking to her about random things. She realized that this Alex character was quite a talker. She was talking more than Madison was.
They finally made it to the front of the line where a perky lady awaited them. "Hello my name is Emily, how can I help you wonderful people?" Emily gleefully asked. Alex waddled up to the counter with Madison next to her. "Hi, we need to rent a car, but preferably a larger type of car," Alex told her. "How many people are with you?" Emily asked as she stared at her computer. "Just 3," Alex answered her. Emily looked up from her computer. "Even if I could get you guys a bigger car, I can't: all we have left is smaller cars." Emily told Alex. "Okay, fine that'll work," Alex answered her disappointedly. "No its not," Madison thought out loud. Alex and Emily looked at her but before Alex could say anything to her, Emily asked, "Hi what's your name?" Madison thought for a second. "Lexie. My name is Lexie Gracie Hart," she answered. "Why wouldn't the car be big enough for just the 3 of you?" Emily asked. "Oh I just wanted to rent a bigger car than the one we have at home," Madison thought up an answer. "Huh, well can I see your license and passport?" Emily asked Alex. Alex searched her purse until she found them both and handed them to her. "Sara Cameron Hart. You guys have long unique names. What are you going to name your baby?" Emily asked as she took them from Alex and read the license. " My husband and I haven't picked one yet," Alex answered.
It took 10 minutes before they got the paperwork done and were able to get their rent-a-car. Alex grabbed her purse and carry on bag while Madison grabbed the receipt and keys. Before they could walk away though, Emily informed them, "You know, Lexie you look just like your mom! She is a spitting image of you, Sara." Madison and Alex looked at each other shocked. "Uh, thanks," Madison told her before she continued working. When they were out of earshot though, she added, "I think."
Walker was already waiting for them, with their luggage. Madison tossed him the keys and grabbed her bag. He grabbed his and Alex's and they all walked over to the parking space Emily instructed them to. They stopped and stood a couple of feet from the car. It was a 4 door, 5-seat car, just enough room for the 5 that came together, but how would they fit with 6 people? They looked at each other all thinking the same thing. Walker popped the trunk then handed the keys to Alex. She started the car then sat in the passenger seat while Walker placed the luggage in the trunk and Madison got in the back seat. The hotel they planned to stay at was only a couple of minutes away so when they got there, they weren't the least bit surprised that Trivette and Sydney were sitting in the lobby waiting for them.
When they walked in, Trivette and Sydney stood up and waited until they got over to them before they started talking. "We've got good news and we've got bad news," Trivette told them. "Which do ya'll want to hear first?" "The bad," Walker enlightened him. "Okay, they only had 3 rooms left, instead of the 4 rooms we wanted," Sydney told him. "What are we going to do?" Alex asked. "We're going to have share rooms. Alex and I get 1 room. Trivette gets 1 room. And the 3rd room goes to Sydney and Madison," Walker updated them to the plan. They all shook their heads in silence. "What's the good news?" Madison asked when no one else asked. "There's a diner at the end of the street!" Trivette answered her excitedly. "Of course Jimmy's got food on his mind," Alex exclaimed. They all laughed. "Okay it's 7:00 right now," Walker told them as he looked at his watch. "We can eat then come back here and try to get some sleep. We're going to leave here at 6:00 sharp. Lets put our bags up and get some food."
After putting there bags in their rooms, the group headed to the diner where they stayed until 8:30 before going back to the hotel and into their rooms. Trivette's room was directly across from Sydney's and Madison's and conjoined with Walker and Alex's. Alex and Walker's room only had 1 bed, along with Trivette's, but Sydney's and Madison's had 2, so they both got their own space. Within an hour, they were all in bed.
Madison slept surprisingly well, but it took her awhile to get to sleep because she could hear Sydney tossing and turning. Her alarm on her phone went off at 5 o' clock. She turned it off sleepily and sat up. She looked over at Sydney's bed but she wasn't there. She heard the bathroom door open and saw Sydney come out dressed in jeans, a tee shirt, and with wet hair. "Morning," Sydney greeted her as she tossed her towel and dirty clothes on the end of her bed. "Morning," Madison mimicked her words tiredly. "Not much of a 'morning person' are you?" Sydney asked jokingly as she brushed her hair. "No," Madison answered her as she went over to her duffel bag started digging threw it. "Okay, well I'm gonna go get some coffee and breakfast downstairs for everyone, do you want to come help or are you gonna take a shower before we leave?" Sydney asked her as she slipped her shoes on and grabbed the room key. "I took one last night," Madison told her. "Ill come with you but let me get dressed first." Sydney shook her head and continued getting her badge, gun, handcuffs, and putting them under her shirt, while Madison went into the bathroom to change.
She came out 2 minutes later, dressed and ready to go. They both made their way out of their room and knocked on Trivette's door. He answered already dressed as well. They got his order of coffee, eggs, bacon, toast, and pancakes. They then knocked on Walker and Alex's door. Walker answered telling them that he just wanted coffee and Alex would want coffee, milk, and pancakes.
Sydney and Madison made their way to the elevator and down to the lobby over toward the dining area. Only a couple of other people were up so the lines were empty. While telling the chef what they wanted, Madison looked around. She turned back quickly and tried to cover her face. "What are you doing?" Sydney asked her strangely. Madison didn't answer as she looked back up. "Crap," she whispered. "Madison! What are you doing here?" a girl her age questioned as she ran up, giving her a hug. "Um hi Reese. I'm just visiting my uh aunt. Ya this is my aunt," she answered as she pointed to Sydney. Sydney looked at her questionably. "What are you doing here?" Madison asked Reese as she shifted uncomfortably.
"Remember I told everyone I was going to my cousin's wedding," Reese answered excitedly. "This is so strange to see you here. You never said you were coming here. Where's the rest of your family?" "Oh their back home," Madison answered. Reese made a weird face as she looked at Sydney. Madison turned around soon enough to see Sydney's shirt going back over her gun. "Uh, she's a cop. She um carries it everywhere," Madison explained. "Huh, well I gotta go. Bye," Reese told her as she walked away quickly. "Ya, that's gonna be around the school in no time," Madison said as she picked up 1 of the trays. "Who was that?" Sydney asked as she slid the other trays on the rail towards the cashier. "A blabbermouth," she answered. "Ok well, since I'm your aunt and all, you can carry 3 trays!" Sydney joked as she carried 2.
They carried the trays worth of food and headed back up to their rooms. When they got up to their floor, they found Trivette waiting outside his room, smiling as he grabbed a tray from Madison. Trivette led them into Walker and Alex's room where there was a table big enough to fit them all.
By the time they all had finished eating, they still had 30 minutes left to get ready. Sydney and Madison went back into their room. Sydney took out her blow dryer while Madison took out her Straighter. After they both finished with their hair, they put on some makeup. After they finished getting ready, they still had 15 minutes to spare. With that, they put all their stuff back in their bags and placed them by the door. Sydney turned on the TV while Madison plopped down on her bed.
As Sydney watched the news, Madison reached over to the nightstand that separated the 2 beds and grabbed the book Sydney had been reading on the plane. She read the back to find out what the book was about. It was a detective mystery novel. She flipped to where Sydney's bookmark was, surprised that it wasn't a bookmark, but a picture. It was a picture of Gage wearing a suit and glasses, standing next to Sydney who was dressed in a dressy button down blouse and black pants, holding a baby. They both were laughing as the baby laid in Sydney's arms and had 1 hand clinching to Gage's index finger. "Aw, this picture is cute!" Madison exclaimed aloud. Sydney looked over at her and got up, "Hey! What are you doing?" "Don't worry I didn't loose your page," she informed her as she placed the book, opened to the right page, back on the table. "I like this picture. Who's baby though?" Madison asked after Sydney sat next to her on the bed and took the picture from Madison. She looked at the picture for a moment before answering, "We had gone undercover as a married couple wanting to adopt a baby from this company who were snatching the babies they were selling. We had just busted the sellers and were waiting for the ambulance to come and take this baby back to the hospital it was born at. Well, actually more like Walker, Trivette, and Gage busted them. I stayed inside with the baby. That was a fun day."
There was a knock at the door so while Madison answered it, Sydney quickly placed the picture back in the book, and went over to the door. Walker was standing there with his and Alex's luggage, ready to go. Sydney stuffed the book in her bag and grabbed it. Madison already had grabbed her bag and headed toward the elevator Trivette and Alex were holding for them. They went to the front desk, signed out, and walked over to the car they rented. They stuffed their bags into the trunk, and by stuffed, it was stuffed. Walker got in the drivers seat while Trivette got in the passengers seat. Alex, Sydney, and Madison squeezed into the back seat, with Madison in the middle. It was crammed but they all had fit. They drove for an hour before they got to the cabin area where Milton's cabin was located. Walker parked the car along the side of the road, hidden from Milton's cabin, by the trees. "Okay, we are going to go get Gage. Alex, you and Madison stay here and don't get out of the car until we come back," Walker instructed them. "Here's a gun. Keep it with you and if any of Milton's men come to the car, shoot them." The 3 rangers checked their guns and got out of the car. When they all had walked away, Alex locked all the doors.
They sat in silence for 5 minutes before they heard gunshots. They both jumped up. "Be right back," Madison told Alex as she unlocked her door and got out. "Wait where are you going?" Alex asked as panic rose in her voice. " I'll be right back, don't worry," Madison answered her and shut the door and ran into the woods. "This is just great," Alex said under her breath.
Madison ran along the side of the cabin. She was hidden behind the trees but she could see and absolutely hear where they were all shooting at. She continued to run straight ahead and stopped. She could see the back door of the cabin. There was nobody guarding that door. She checked all directions before charging toward the door. When she made it to the porch, she stopped to catch her breath. She hadn't been spotted. The gunshots had stopped but she could hear banging and assumed they were all fighting. She opened the back door slowly, and quietly walked into the cabin, and shut the door behind her. She figured she was in the living room, so she made her way towards one of the 4 closed doors that lined the walls. They all were empty.
Disappointed, she made her way to the kitchen. Bingo! There was another door. She opened it. There was stairs leading downward. It was a basement and she'd bet anything that he was down there. She flipped the switch in the doorway and carefully walked down the old stairs. It was dark, musty, and disgusting down there. Even with the light on the stairs, she couldn't really see down at the bottom. She saw light coming from the right corner and went over to it. She could make out Gage tied to a chair with duct tape over his mouth. She ran over to him and ripped the tape off of him. "Are you okay?" she asked as she started loosening the ropes around him. "I think so, but who are you?" Gage asked confused. "I'm Madison." Madison answered. "Where is that Clayton guy?"
"You mean me?" a voice from behind her asked. She stopped untying Gage and turned around. A guy in his mid 30's stood in front of her. He had a goatee, was tall, and skinny. "I guess. Are you Clayton Milton?" Madison asked calmly. "Yes but more importantly, how do you know that and what are you doing here?" He asked as he moved closer towards her. "I came for him," Madison answered as she pointed behind her. "How do you know my name?" Milton asked impatiently. "You told me, remember?" Madison told him. " Listen little girl, I've never met you before in my life! So don't lie to me! How do you know my name?" Milton yelled. "I'm not lying! You told me! You called my house and told me that you have him and if I wanted him back, then to come get him!" Madison shouted back.
Milton looked at Gage, then Madison, and back at Gage. "YOU!" he shouted as he lunged at Gage. Before he reached Gage though he stopped. Madison knew why he had stopped to. She looked up towards the ceiling. She heard voices. Voices that were familiar to her and they were coming closer and closer. Madison was caught off guard when Milton grabbed her and placed a knife on her neck. "Aw crap," she said aloud as she placed her hands on his arm trying to get out of his grip but he was to strong, so she stopped struggling. She was now his hostage and she didn't like that and she also didn't like the cold knife up against her neck.
Sydney and Walker came pounding down the stairs with their guns drawn. They stopped a few feet in front of Madison and Milton. "Put the knife down Clayton," Walker told him. "Don't do anything stupid." "Why shouldn't I? This girl is not even supposed to be here. She is!" Milton exclaimed as he took the knife away and pointed it at Sydney. When Madison couldn't feel the knife on her neck anymore, she slammed her elbow as hard as she could into his stomach. He grunted and let go of her. She ran over to the side where Gage was still sitting. She untied the top of him quickly. "Madison we're taking him up with the others. The local police and an ambulance are on their way," Walker told her. "Bring him up after you untie him." "I'll help her," Sydney invited but Walker shook his head as Milton struggled in their grips. "Interesting," Madison said to herself as she rapidly untied the remaining ropes on Gage's legs. It was quiet, too quiet. She looked up at Gage and realized that his eyes weren't open. "Gage?" she questioned. "Gage!" she shook him this time but didn't get any response.
"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" she started shouting as she grabbed his shoulders and tried to lower him to the ground. "HELP!" she yelled again but louder. Someone came running down the stairs quickly. "What? What happened?" Sydney asked as she lowered to the ground next to Gage. "I don't know, but I don't think he has a pulse!" Madison exclaimed nervously as she felt his neck. "Um, okay CPR!" Sydney said as she propped up his neck and blew air into his mouth. "What do I do? What do I do?" Madison asked freaking out. "Get help!" Sydney exclaimed. Madison ran up the stairs, down the hall, and out the front door. She saw the ambulance pull to a stop and ran over to it. The back door opened and an EMT jumped out with a stretcher type board. "Hurry! He's down in the basement! He's not breathing!" Madison cried out. "Lead the way!" the EMT said. She ran in back in the direction she had came from constantly looking over her shoulder. The EMT with the board was right behind her and the EMT, who had been driving, was telling Walker, Trivette, and Alex to stay back. She ran down the basement stairs and found Sydney sitting next to Gage who was now breathing but unconscious. The 2 EMTs lifted him on the board and swiftly but carefully carried him out of the basement while Madison and Sydney followed behind them.
"Sydney, are you okay?" Madison asked Sydney cautiously. "Ya, I'm fine. Better than fine!" Sydney exclaimed as she smiled. "Do you know what he said when he was breathing again? He said, "Thank you for the great kiss, Syd." Then he passed out," "Ya, that sounds oh so exciting," Madison joked with her. "I'm just kidding. That's great! I knew ya'll would end up, eventually." Before Sydney could anything about her comment, they made it outside. "See ya, later," Sydney told her as she ran up to the ambulance and climbed in the back before it drove away with the sirens on.
Madison walked over to the group of people she had been with for almost 3 days. She was met with silence. "Look, I know I wasn't suppose to leave the car and I'm sorry for that. I just wanted to help. I wanted to at least do 1 thing right," she apologized to them. "You do know that if anything happened to you, I would be responsible for it, for letting you come with us?" Walker asked her. "I realized that now and I understand why you wanted me to stay in the car," she answered him. "Okay, lets go to the hospital and see how Gage is," Walker told them all.
When they got to the hospital where Gage was taken, the all went into the sliding doors that lead into the ER. While Walker tried to get information, the rest sat down in the waiting room. Walker came over and sat down as well and told them that Gage was being examined. Walker and Alex were in a deep conversation within minutes leaving Trivette and Madison sitting in silence. Madison had dazed off when she kept hearing a noise. She looked around and realized that it was Trivette. "What?" she asked. "Want to do me a favor?" he asked. "Depends, what do you want me to do?" Madison asked listening closely. "I'm gonna give you some change, your gonna say your going to get a drink from the vending machine, but your really gonna go find Gage and Sydney and see what they are doing," Trivette explained to her in a whisper. "Why would I do that? That's invading somebody's privacy," Madison told him. "Oh like how you did the exact same thing with Syd and Alex?" Trivette joked and then laughed when he saw her jaw drop. "Fine, hand over the money," Madison said as she rolled her eyes. He handed her the change and she walked down the hall in search for Gage's room.
She walked down the long hallway, looking at each chart that was clipped next to each door. She finally found Gage's room and peered into it. She saw Gage in a bed with Sydney sitting in a chair right next to the bed. They were both smiling and just talking. Madison couldn't hear with all the noise. She did see them holding hands and then they kissed. Not like a peck or anything, the real thing. She shook her head and turned around. A nurse was standing right behind her looking at her oddly. "People these days," Madison said as she quickly slipped back down the hallway before the nurse could say anything to her.
She found a vending machine, got a coke, and headed back to the waiting room. "What took you so long, Madison?" Trivette asked suspiciously. Madison gave him a look before answering, "I don't know Ranger Trivette. I couldn't find a vending machine that wasn't broken." She sat down and whispered, "Gee, thanks." "Anytime. Now what did you see?" he asked energized. "Nothing really," she answered as she grabbed a nearby magazine and began flipping threw it. "Come on, what did you see?" Trivette asked again. "They just talked," she answered him still looking down at the magazine. "That's not interesting. That was all?" Trivette said disappointed. "That and they kissed," Madison slyly said as she looked up from the page she was on. "I knew it!" he said allowed. "Knew what?" Alex asked confused. "They kissed!" Trivette exclaimed aloud.
"Who?" the voice that asked this, came from far away. They all looked over to find Sydney standing there. "Who kissed?" Trivette stared at her. "Well? Are you gonna tell her?" Trivette asked Madison quickly. "Me? Hey you're the 1 that mentioned it, we all just want to know who kissed," Madison told him as she closed the magazine. "Fine. I'll tell ya'll who kissed," he told them. "Madison saw Gage and Syd kiss!" Sydney's face grew red and her mouth went wide open. "I- uh- what?" was all she could say as she looked at Madison. "I'm sorry, he made me," Madison apologized as she ratted Trivette out. "Of course he did," Sydney said as she looked at Trivette and gave him a look. "Who's here with Ranger Francis Gage?" a doctor with a chart asked. They all stood up and walked over to the doctor. He told them that he would discharge Gage at 1pm and that they could visit him now.
They all entered the room. They all gave him a hug except for Madison who stood in the back watching them talk. They all told him how worried they were and how glad they were that he was okay. After 10 minutes of talking, Walker finally said, "What I can't figure out is how Milton got her number. Where did that come in at?" They all looked at Madison who turned red. "Well, I figured I'd throw him off. I gave him a number I made up and figured he'd call the number and find out it wasn't the right number, but I guess he didn't," Gage told them. "Didn't you give him a whole separate area code?" Trivette asked. "Ya and that was the weird part. When I gave him the number, I thought he'd know that it was a different area code but he didn't. He left and when he came back, he told me that my partner was coming. That confused me. But what was even more confusing was when you did come. How'd you find out?" Gage asked Sydney.
They all looked at Madison. "I'll let her tell that story," Sydney said as she pointed over to Madison and motioned her to come closer. She moved closer and started the short version of her story. "I answered the phone and he asked if I was Sydney, I said yes, he said he and you and hung up. I looked up Sydney's name on the computer, found some articles about ya'll, found out where ya'll lived, got on a plane, and told them what happened." They all gazed at her. "I know I should have just gone to local police but they probably would of thought I was just some bratty teen, playing a prank," she rambled. "Huh, who are you?" Gage asked confused.
"I'm the girl whose number was the 1 you gave that psycho guy and I'm the 1 who answered it," she explained. "Her name is Madison Stevens. She's from Houston," Alex told him. "Wait so you told him that you were Sydney?" he asked still confused. "Ya," she answered slowly. "Was she mad? I bet she was mad," Gage said causing them all to laugh. "Ha ha," Sydney said sarcastically as she playfully punched him. "Ow, Syd watch it, I'm very hurt, you know," he joked.
The doctor walked in a little bit later and discharged Gage. They went out into the parking lot. They looked at the car. "This is the best you've got?" Gage asked. "This was all they had left," Alex said defensively. "Its okay we'll take a cab," Sydney told them as she grabbed Gage's arm. "I'll bet they will," Trivette said laughing until he got a glare from Sydney and stopped. "Fine, ok, we'll meet ya'll at the airport," Walker agreed. "Wait, what about food?" Gage asked. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" Trivette said in agreement. "There are fast food places in the airport," Sydney answered them as she flagged down a cab.
They all drove to the airport. Got food, waited for about an hour, and then boarded the plane they were destined to go, at 3' o clock. They rode yet another plane with 2 seats in each row. Alex and Walker, Sydney and Gage, and Trivette and Madison. They reached the airport in Dallas. Madison got a ticket back to Houston, but the plane wasn't leaving until 10pm, so she had an hour to spare. The group stayed with her until her boarding call came on. "Okay, well I think I'll be grounded for life, but it was worth it. I'm glad I met ya'll. If ya'll are ever in Houston, stop by," she told them as she wrote her address down on a piece of paper. "Here, and you already know my number!" She joked with Gage as she handed the paper to Sydney. "Oh and make sure you send me pictures of your baby, okay?" She said goodbye and boarded her plane heading back to reality.
Ten Years Later
At the Gage's House
"CHRIS! PIPER! CAT! DINNER'S READY!" Sydney yelled up the stairs, with a baby in her left arm. After that whole ordeal with Madison, Gage and Sydney had confessed their feeling for each other and had gotten married 7 months later. They had a huge wedding, inviting Madison, who they all had kept in tough with. On their wedding day, Sydney was pregnant with their 1st child, Chris, who is 9 now. Alex and Walker had had their baby 5 months prior, a baby girl, Angela, who is 10. Since then, the Walkers have also had a son that they named J.J., who is now 6. Trivette and Erica got married had have 2 kids as well. Danny who is 6 and Sammy who is 4. The Gage's children consist of so far, as Chris, Piper, Cat, and Baby Cody. Chris is 9, Piper is 6, Cat is 4, and Cody is 2 months old.
Sydney took Cody into the kitchen, sat him in his baby seat, that sat on the counter, and waited for the other 3 kids to come down. She was lost in thought as she made their plates; she didn't hear Gage walk in. He took advantage of this, snuck up behind her, and poked her in the side. She jumped up and turned around. "Hey I couldn't help myself. It was to tempting," Gage told her as he threw hands up surrendering as she glared at him. She was about to say something but Chris, Piper, and Cat came running into the kitchen, sitting in their seats. Sydney passed out there plates, grabbed a bottle, picked up the baby, and sat down herself. The happy family began their usual dinner, together, laughing and sharing their stories of what happened that day. This happened each day, every day, as their lives went on, in the normal way it would in the life of the Texas Rangers.