Disclaimer: I continue to lay no claim on Walker, Texas Ranger or its characters.

Chapter 7

It was shocking how a situation could turn from amazing to awful in such a short period of time. Sydney barely slept all night and to make matters worse, she awoke to the sound of Gage coughing. She quickly sat up, shocked to see him still sitting by the still unlit fire.

"Gage?" she questioned, trying her best to shake off the exhaustion that was still clinging to her head.

"Sorry Syd, I didn't mean to wake you."

"Forget about me. Did you sit out there all night?" Gage's silence confirmed her suspicions. Sydney carefully crawled out to him and pulled her blanket over his shoulders. She reached up and laid a hand across his forehead. "You feel a little warm."

"I figured. I've got a headache too."

"Well, that I can do something about." Sydney reached for her bag and pulled out a bottle of Tylenol. She offered it to Gage, smiling at his reaction. "Don't worry; they're fast-melt tabs. I hate swallowing pills."

Grateful, Gage took the bottle, "Thanks Syd." She rubbed his arm in response and snuggled in close in an effort to warm both of them.


The day went by slowly. There was nothing to do but sit. Much to Sydney's surprise, Gage was able to start a fire with a few sticks. He just chocked it up to Boy Scouts but both were grateful for the extra warmth.

Finally after a long day, the sun went down and the pair could retire to the shelter. They crawled back onto the branches and pulled the blanket tightly around them. Sydney huddled close to Gage's side, her arm wrapped around his waist and his around her shoulders. Gradually, the two grew warm and drifted off to sleep.


The next day, things looked even grimmer. Gage's cough had gotten worse overnight and he was still feverish. Even worse, they were running low on food. Even Gage was rationing himself, trying to make what was left last as long as possible.

As the day went on, Sydney's imagination was beginning to run wild as she considered worst-case scenarios.

"Gage?"

"Hmm?"

"What are we going to do if Walker and Trivette don't find us soon?"

"Don't think like that. They'll find us."

"I know. But what if we… you know, before they do?"

Gage took her by the shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. "Syd, we are not going to die. Walker and Trivette aren't going to give up until we're back in Dallas." He pulled her close and stroked her hair, "Why are you thinking like that? It's not like you."

Sydney looked down, intertwining their fingers. "I don't know. I guess I'm just… scared." She said the last word so quietly that Gage could barely hear her. The thought of his partner being scared shocked him. In all the years he'd known her that was the one emotion she always kept hidden from the world and he knew there were no words that could made it go away. He held her tighter into his arms and placed a gentle kiss on her temple and tried so hard to make her feel safe.

"I love you, Syd," he whispered, "and I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise."

As they sat there, they slowly became aware of a sound that they hadn't heard in days. It wasn't a natural sound; it was more mechanical and definitely man-made. Bewildered, they lifted their faces to the sky where they saw the source of the noise and realized what it was.

"Gage, get the flare gun!" Sydney cried happily.

He obliged and grabbed the gun they'd kept at their side just waiting for a chance like this. He pointed it up and fired a shot. They watched as the spark flew into the sky, exploded and then slowly fell back to Earth. "I told you they'd find us." The two shared another embrace, a happy one this time and kept their arms around each other as they anxiously awaited their rescuers.

Ten Minutes Later…

"Gage! Sydney!" The voices of none other than Walker and Trivette rang out from the direction of the crashed plane. After calling back, the pair saw movement in the trees as their friends came into sight.

"See Syd," Gage said breaking into a grin, "just like I told you." Sydney couldn't even reply, she just looked at Gage and then back toward her rescuers, too overcome with emotion to speak.

As Walker and Trivette came closer, Trivette called out, "Are you guys okay?"

"We are now," Gage replied, pulling Sydney closer while another cough racked his body.

"You sound okay," Trivette told him with sarcasm in his voice as he and Walker kneeled down in the snow beside him, "What happened?"

"We'll explain later," Sydney said, finding her voice and taking control. "Gage is sick; he's got a slight fever."

"And Syd's leg is broken," Gage added.

Walker looked to the petite ranger's leg, examining Gage's makeshift splint. "That's holding pretty well but you're going to need a cast. We're going to need to carry you out of here." He stood and then bent to pick up Sydney. As he shifted her slightly to keep himself in balance for the walk through the snow, Gage and Trivette grabbed what was left of their supplies and the four headed back to the helicopter. Soon they were in the air on their way home.

A/N: I've had a little trouble posting this chapter but here it is. I'm going to try to post another one by the end of the week as long as I can get some serious writing done in the next few days. As always, thanks for the reviews.