Author's Note: Okay, so I know it's almost 8 months later, but at least I am back, right? I'm sorry that this took so long. I wanted to say thank you to those of you who have reviewed and expressed a desire for me to update soon. You helped motivate me to get this up.
Here's the first part of the Without a Sound/Unsafe Speed story. The entire story is rather long, so I've decided to post it in two parts. I'm still working through editing the second part, but I hope to have it up soon. If not for moviemom44's editing and good advice, this probably still wouldn't be up and it would be at least 5 pages longer, 5 pages of unnecessary and uninteresting scenes.
So, after many, many months... here it is. I hope you enjoy it.
Without A Sound
When Francis Gage decided to become a Texas Ranger, he knew that he would have to spend some time doing things that would make him uncomfortable. But he never would have expected that he would have to spend much time in strip clubs. However, that's exactly what he was doing at that moment. He was sitting at the bar of a Men's Club, with his partner, Sydney Cooke, sitting next to him. He was watching men make fools of themselves and women make objects of themselves with his very female partner sitting right next to him. It was a situation that made him rather uncomfortable, leading him to fidget.
"Here's your cola, sir. Will there be anything else?" the waiter asked as he set down Gage's drink.
"No, thank you," Gage responded, watching as Syd slid the napkin out from under his drink and started wiping the lipstick stains off of her glass. Deciding that he would never completely understand his partner, he shook his head, choosing to ignore it. "I hope this Freddy character shows up soon."
"Well, our informant Chester said he'd be here today," Syd said, while still not removing her attention from trying to clean off her glass.
"Oh, listen Syd. By the way, thanks for agreeing to go to my class reunion with me tonight." Gage hadn't been sure if Sydney would want to go with him to his reunion, but there wasn't anyone else that he'd rather go with. He had been delighted when she had agreed to go.
"Oh, no. It'll be fun," Syd said, honestly looking forward to Gage's reunion. They hadn't spent that much time together outside of work lately, and she really missed the extra time with him. She also was very pleased that she was the one he had asked to go with him.
"I just, are you sure?" Gage asked, worried that Syd wouldn't really enjoy herself. It wasn't as if she knew anyone that was going to be there, other than him, of course.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Syd reassured her partner.
"Okay." Gage still wasn't very sure, but he decided that he would worry about that later, as he noticed the man they were waiting for heading for the stairs. "There's Freddy now, the little ferret. Let's give him a second to get upstairs." They sat in silence for a moment before Gage decided that they had waited long enough. "Ready?"
"Mm hmm." Syd nodded, taking one last sip of her drink before turning and starting to stand up.
"Alright," Gage said as he also stood up. The two rangers walked over to the corner of the club and up the stairs. They reached the top of the staircase and were stopped by a guard.
"Where you two goin'?" the man asked, obviously not about to let them through.
"I was just gonna use the men's room," Gage said, trying to find a way around the man.
"Slick, that ain't the men's room," the guard responded.
"Oh good. It's the women's," Syd sighed in faked relief, as she squeezed past the guard.
"Hey, get outta here," Freddy shouted as he noticed Syd's presence.
"Sorry, Texas Rangers," Syd said, moving her jacket to the side to show her badge. She didn't wait for a reaction from Freddy, instead kicking the tray of drugs that was on the table into his face. At the same time, Gage punched the guard in the face, sending him tumbling down the stairs. Syd grabbed a couple of beer bottles off of the table and used them to knock out one of the remaining men. A few kicks and punches later the fight ended with Gage throwing one of the guards over the railing and all the other drug dealers in a pile on the floor.
A little later, seeing that the cops had arrived to escort the drug dealers from the club, Syd ran down the stairs and headed towards the door.
Gage noticed her running past him and stopped her. "Hey, Syd, Syd, Syd. Where ya goin? We gotta... still." Gage pointed upstairs, trying to remind her of everything that they had to do to wrap up the bust.
"Well, I know but I gotta go if I'm gonna get ready for your reunion," Syd said, before starting to leave again.
"Okay, now, are you sure?" Gage stopped her again.
"Don't ask!" Syd warned. She was starting to get frustrated with Gage's questioning. She had already told him a million times that she wanted to go with him to his reunion, but he didn't seem to believe her. She turned and left the club, leaving a slightly embarrassed and befuddled Gage behind.
"Hold on Syd," Gage yelled as he ran around to the other side of his car. "You gotta open it from the outside," Gage explained to Syd, who was still struggling to open the door from the inside. Gage opened the door, which screeched as it opened, and Syd shrieked as she fell out of the car onto the ground.
"Whoa, whoa," Gage said, as he reached to help her up. "Okay, good. I'm gonna fix that. I'm gonna get that fixed." Gage turned to close the car door while Syd started to brush herself off. "Sorry," Gage said, embarrassed.
"It's alright," Syd said, still trying to brush some of the dirt from the parking lot off of her dress.
Gage leaned back against the door of his car, looking at his partner. It wasn't often that he got to see her in a dress, and he was certainly affected by what he saw. "You know what Syd? I have to say you look absolutely beautiful." It was an inadequate description, but he couldn't find the words to express how amazing she looked at that moment.
"Really?" Syd questioned shyly. It wasn't very often that she got a compliment like that from her partner, but when she did, it meant a lot.
Gage nodded. "Yes, you do."
"You look really handsome," Syd said in return, a little shyly.
"Thank you," Gage responded. Feeling that things were starting to get a little awkward, Gage cleared his throat. "Let's go."
As soon as they entered the reunion, Gage dragged Syd over to the buffet table and started piling as much food as he could onto his plate.
It only took a moment before a blonde woman headed over to the table, clearing her throat when she was close enough to be heard. "Francis Gage?"
Gage turned to face the woman, smiling when he saw who it was. "Marilyn Elkins."
"You remember me," Marilyn said, smiling flirtatiously at Gage.
"How could I forget? Your father did chase me around with a shot gun," Gage responded, chuckling.
Marilyn laughed. "Sorry, I never apologized for that."
"It's alright," he replied, turning as a man approached him from across the room.
The man reached out a hand to Gage, shaking his hand as he introduced himself. "Ted Moran."
"Hi," Gage said, trying to figure out if he was supposed to know who this man was.
"Hi, I'm Marilyn's fiancé," Ted explained, seeing the confusion on Gage's face.
"Very nice to meet you," Gage said, smiling, happy to see that Marilyn had found someone to share her life with.
"I've heard a lot about you," Ted said, to Gage's amazement. He raised his eyebrows, looking from Ted to Marilyn, unsure how to take that comment.
"You, uh, came alone?" Ted asked Gage, sincerely hoping that the answer would be no.
"Oh, no, no. Uh Syd." Gage turned around to where Syd was standing directly behind him. He turned around again, bringing her with him, with his arm around her waist.
"Yeah," Syd responded, pretending that she hadn't been listening to Gage's conversation with Marilyn. In reality, she had been hanging on every word and was struggling to keep from muttering sarcastically regarding their conversation.
"Ted, Marilyn, this is Sydney Cooke," Gage made the introductions, ashamed that he had been ignoring Syd for the last couple of minutes.
"Hi," Ted said.
"Hi," Syd responded, unsure what else to say.
"Nice to meet you," Marilyn said to Syd, smiling.
Syd took a sip of her punch, and then choked on it as she heard the question that Ted asked next. "So, you two, uh, married?"
Gage was shocked. He had not been expecting that question, and wasn't sure how to respond. His answer came out as a high pitched squeak. "To each other? I mean... I mean no."
Marilyn laughed at Gage's fumbled response. Syd, as she was recovering, cleared her throat. "Excuse me," she muttered. Then she pointed towards Gage and explained. "We just work together." Syd shook her head, wondering if that could have possibly gone worse.
Gage was rather embarrassed. "Yeah, yeah."
"Oh, well, Francis is a great guy to have around. In high school Francis and I spent a lot of time together. Did some, uh, crazy things," Marilyn said, looking Gage straight in the eye. The two obviously had quite a history, and Ted wasn't very happy with that. "Ted, honey, why don't you, uh, dance with Sydney, and Francis and I will get caught up on old times," Marilyn suggested, not noticing her fiancé's unease.
Syd set down her drink, eager to avoid hearing more about the times that Gage and Marilyn had spent together. "That's a great idea, come on Ted." She grabbed his hand and led him over to the dance floor.
"Yeah, sure," Ted mumbled, obviously not happy. Once they reached the dance floor, Ted tried for some conversation. "That's Francis Gage."
"Yeah, sounds like they were pretty close at one time," Syd replied, looking over at Gage and Marilyn and then shrugging. She wasn't that comfortable watching them together either, but she knew that everyone had a past, and there was nothing that she could do to change that.
"Yeah, Marilyn still talks about him," Ted said, looking over at his fiancée. His jealousy obviously went much farther back than just from that night. "You know thanks for the dance, but I think I need some air," Ted said as he walked away. Syd nodded, watching him leave, and then headed back over to where Gage was.
She arrived just in time to hear Gage say, "You know I'm just glad it was only rock salt. I still have a scar over here. I swear to you, look." Deciding that she was relieved that she hadn't heard the beginning of that story, Syd interrupted them. "I lost my dance partner." At Marilyn's questioning look, Syd continued, "He went to get some air."
"Oh, I better go check on him," Marilyn said, smiling at Gage once more before heading out to look for Ted.
Gage looked at Syd, questioningly. She looked back at him, shrugging to show him that she didn't know exactly what was going on.
When Syd felt the warmth of Gage's arm settle around her waist and pull her into his embrace, her heart stuttered in her chest. The dance was slow and as she inhaled the warm scent that was Gage and some wonderful cologne, she couldn't recall ever being more comfortable or at ease.
When Gage heard Sydney's soft sigh, he inched his hand farther around her waist, subtlely pulling her closer to him. If he was entirely honest with himself, this was the reason he had been so eager to have his partner accompany him to his reunion. He would take any chance he had to hold Sydney close in his arms and a dance was too good to pass up.
As the song came to an end, Sydney and Gage slowly came to a stop, both reluctant to let go, of the moment and of each other. They slowly started to walk together towards the hallway, talking together quietly.
"Syd, what are you talkin' about?" Gage asked her as he followed her through the door.
"Well, you heard me. You made Ted je-" Sydney stopped speaking suddenly as she noticed Ted and Marilyn walking down the hall. "You made him jealous, look," she said, pointing at the couple walking away from them.
"Wow," Gage muttered. He hadn't believed Syd at first. It seemed ridiculous for Ted to be jealous of him since he hadn't even thought about Marilyn in years, but now he was starting to wonder if maybe his partner was right.
"I betcha they're goin' home," Syd said, noticing as Gage started to realize that she was right.
"You think they're leavin'?" Gage asked, looking back at his partner.
"Yeah," Syd replied, wondering how such a smart man could be so dense about certain things sometimes.
"You know what? I'll go stop him, and I'll tell him that I'm already crazy about somebody else," Gage said. He gave her a little smile and turned to walk away, wondering if she was going to figure out that he was talking about her. Halfway down the hall, he turned back to see her reaction to his words before starting to run down the hall after Ted and Marilyn. Sydney was left behind, watching him leave and wondering if he could have possibly meant that he had feelings for her. Knowing that she was probably being too hopeful, she decided to just wait and see what happened when he got back.
Gage got outside just in time to hear a gunshot. He had been ambling slowly towards the door, smiling as he had remembered the look on Sydney's face a moment ago, but now he immediately started running in the direction of the shots. He ran as quickly as he could, seeing Marilyn kneeling over Ted's body and a man pointing a gun at her. "Hey!" he shouted, just in time to see the man shoot Marilyn in the head. He looked directly at the shooter, watching as he pointed the gun in his direction. The man fired, causing the car directly behind Gage to explode. Gage screamed as pain burst forth in his ears, grabbing his head as he fell to his knees in the middle of the parking lot. His agony soon grew to unbearable levels, causing Gage to pass out into blissful unconsciousness.
When Sydney heard the sound of the explosion she was standing in the hallway, still thinking about the meaning of Gage's comment. She immediately began running towards the door. Partway down the hall she stopped to rip off the high heels that she had worn for Gage's benefit and started to run again. She reached the door and sprinted towards the burning car, arriving just in time to see a car speed out of the parking lot. She tried to read the license plate, but the car was too far away and moving too quickly. She turned back towards the burning car, seeing three bodies lying on the ground. She ran closer to them and found Ted and Marilyn with obviously fatal gunshot wounds. Then she saw Gage. She kneeled down on the ground next to him.
"Gage? Gage!" she shouted, cradling his head in her lap. "Please, wake up, please, Gage. You have to be alright." She checked for a pulse, relieved to find one. She reached into his jacket pocket, finding his cell phone and dialing 911.
"Hello, police? This is Texas Ranger Sydney Cooke. I have a ranger down. Send an ambulance immediately!" She gave them the address, hanging up the phone and giving her full attention back to Gage. The only sign of an injury that she could see was the blood in his ears and a few other scratches. She hoped to God that meant he would be okay. She didn't know what she would do if he wasn't alright. "Gage, Gage, please, you have to be okay," she whispered, brushing his hair back gently from his face, preparing for the interminable wait for the ambulance.
When the ambulance finally arrived, Sydney insisted on riding with Gage, holding his hand the entire time and praying that he would be alright. When they arrived at the hospital, the doctors refused to allow her in the room as they examined Gage, so she was left sitting in the waiting room at the hospital, worrying about her partner.
It was hours later, and Sydney was still sitting in the waiting room. Now, however, she wasn't alone. She had called Walker at the ranch and now Walker, Alex, and Trivette were at the hospital with her. She had also had Alex stop at her apartment to bring her some different clothes. It was already morning, and Sydney was exhausted. She had been awake the entire night worrying about her partner, but she wasn't about to rest until she knew that he was going to be okay.
A little while later, an older man bearing a name tag that identified him as Dr. Clark walked over to them. "Hi, I'm sorry to keep you waiting."
Sydney stood up immediately, eager to find out how Gage was doing. Walker, Alex, and Trivette also stood, gathering around the doctor.
"How's he doing?" Sydney asked.
"Well, Ranger Gage is alert and there are no major external injuries." The momentary relief that the four friends felt was dispelled as Dr. Clark continued, "but, well, the sound of that explosion has damaged his hearing."
"How serious is it?" Walker asked, concerned about one of his best rangers, one of his friends.
"Well his eardrums are ruptured and there's nerve damage. In fact at the moment he's totally deaf," the doctor explained.
Sydney was shocked. She couldn't quite believe what Dr. Clark had said. Gage was deaf. Her perfect, strong, never been sick a day in his life partner, was deaf. Of course, she had to put things in perspective; at least he was alive. If he had been much closer to that car when it had exploded, then he wouldn't have survived. With that realization, Sydney determined that she had to maintain that positive outlook when she was around Gage. He would need all the support and encouragement that she could give him.
When the doctor led them in to see Gage, he was sitting propped up in the hospital bed, looking aimlessly around the room. He looked over at the door when he noticed Dr. Clark walking into the room, followed by Syd, Alex, Walker and Trivette. He smiled at them, glad to see his friends. However, when he realized that all he could hear was the ringing in his ears and that he heard nothing from his friends, he soon became depressed again. Syd came over and stood right next to him, gently rubbing his shoulder in encouragement.
Trivette looked over at the computer that was on the table in front of the bed, assuming that its use was to allow them to communicate with Gage.
"Well go ahead, just type in anything you want to say," the doctor said, noticing where Trivette's attention was focused.
Trivette typed into the computer, "Hang in there buddy." Gage nodded, giving Trivette a thumbs up sign.
"Doctor, what are his chances of hearing again?" Walker asked.
"Well, unfortunately, loss of hearing due to acoustic trauma can be difficult to rehabilitate. Since the eardrums are no longer intact, bacteria can enter, causing infection and scarring," Clark explained.
"Is there anything you can do?" Walker asked, having never been very good at just sitting back and doing nothing.
"Steady course of antibiotics, keep those ears clean and dry."
"And then what?" Sydney asked, still not taking her attention from Gage. She had been watching him for the past few minutes, concerned about him. He kept turning his head away, looking around the room, and was obviously very upset that he couldn't understand what they were saying.
"We wait. We have to see whether those eardrums can rehabilitate on their own. If not, I'll keep looking for options," the doctor replied, clearly disappointed that he didn't have anything more promising to tell them.
Gage looked over at Sydney, who looked back at him and tried to smile reassuringly.
"What about hearing aids?" Trivette asked, not willing to just accept that Gage might never hear again.
"Well, a loud explosion can also result in severe tinnitus, a ringing in the ears. The use of any listening device is only going to amplify that ringing."
"Can you guys hear me?" Gage asked loudly.
"Loud and clear," Alex answered. At Gage's questioning look, Trivette typed out what she had said. At the same time, Sydney nodded at him, seeing Gage's obvious relief that they could hear him.
"He can't hear his own voice, he's going to need your reassurance," the doctor explained as he left.
"How's Marilyn and Ted?" Gage asked, looking to Syd for the answer. She looked down, gently shaking her head and saying lowly, "They didn't make it." Again, Trivette typed out what she had said.
Gage read the message and laid his head back against the pillow, closing his eyes. Sydney knew the guilt and grief that he had to be feeling and tried to let him know that he wasn't alone as she rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.
"Gage, did you see the killer?" Walker asked, and Trivette typed out the question.
"Yes," Gage responded, still trying to accept the fact that Ted and Marilyn were dead.
"Can you describe him?" Walker asked. Gage read the question as Trivette typed it out on the screen.
"I think so," Gage replied. He was still speaking loudly and was not using his voice very confidently.
"I'll get the description, Walker," Trivette said to Walker.
"Okay," Walker responded. With a wave to Gage, to which Gage gave a thumbs up, Walker turned to go. Alex followed her husband out of the hospital room. Sydney was still standing beside Gage, hesitant to leave, but knowing that she had to. She squeezed his shoulder gently, smiled slightly at him and slowly left the room.
Trivette turned to Gage, opening the computer program that he was going to use to help produce a sketch of the killer. "Describe his eyes." Trivette spoke the words while he was typing them. At Gage's perplexed expression, Jimmy typed out a question. "What do you see?"
Gage flashed back to the night before. Right after he had seen the man shoot Marilyn, he had gotten a clear look at the man's face. Visualizing his face, he started to give Trivette the best description that he could. "Deep... hollow..." Jimmy chose a pair eyes from the program. "Yeah... yeah... yeah..." Gage said, seeing the eyes on the computer screen.
"Alright... wh-" Jimmy started to say before realizing once again that Gage couldn't hear him. He tried again, typing this time. "What else?"
"Um... sharp bones," Gage said, gesturing to his cheekbones. Trivette picked a pair of cheeks from the program. "And he had a thin lipped smile, kinda like that," Gage said, pointing to a pair of lips on the computer screen.
"His hair?" Trivette asked and typed, pulling up the different hair styles available as possible choices.
"Short, dark... bottom left I guess." Gage pointed, and nodded as Jimmy added the hair choice to the sketch. "Yeah, hair like that." Gage pointed at the screen. "Yeah." Jimmy smiled as he saw the completed sketch, then typed a message to Gage. "You did good, we'll find him." He then turned to Gage and said, "We'll find him."
Gage gave Jimmy a thumbs up. "Okay," Gage said, watching as Trivette left the hospital room, leaving him alone in the never-ending silence once again.
After leaving the hospital, Sydney had gone home to get some rest and take a shower and then had headed into work. She only lasted about half an hour before getting Walker's permission to head back to the hospital to check on Gage. When she arrived, she was surprised to learn that Gage had been released. While Gage was packing his stuff, she went and found Dr. Clark to get any final advice or instructions.
"This is a speech recognition computer, an 'I-Communicator.' You just speak into that microphone there, and Ranger Gage will be able to read what you say," the doctor said, handing over the small handheld device to Syd.
"You mean right here? Like this?" Sydney asked, holding the microphone directly next to her mouth, and then watching, surprised, as the machine wrote down what she had said.
"That's right." Dr. Clark nodded. "It translates simple speech into written text."
"Well this should help a lot," Sydney said, relieved to finally have an easier way to communicate with Gage than having to type what she wanted to say out on a computer.
"Alright, I'm ready," Gage said loudly before Syd had really finished what she had been saying.
"Uh, Ranger Gage, I wish you'd reconsider. We could get you into an outpatient program where they teach lip reading and sign language," Clark said, speaking into the handheld communicator. Confused about why the doctor was speaking to him, Gage motioned to his ears, showing that he couldn't hear what they were saying. Syd noticed Gage's frustration and pointed towards the device as the doctor turned it around for Gage to be able to read. Gage read what the doctor had said, surprised and happy that he finally had a way to know what the others were saying.
As he read the end of the message, he responded to Dr. Clark's comments. "Nah, none of that stuff's for me. I'm gonna wait for you right outside," he said directly to Syd.
Understanding his eagerness to leave the hospital, she motioned to him that she'd be right out. "Okay," she said, figuring that he would understand what she was saying. He turned and headed out the door, thanking the doctor on his way.
"You know, hearing is the hardest of the five senses to lose, even if it's temporary," Dr. Clark said to Syd. "The newly deaf often underestimate their handicap and place themselves in danger."
"I'll make sure that doesn't happen," Syd replied, determined that nothing would happen to Gage, even if she had to keep him in her sight twenty-four hours a day.
"You're going to have to remember, although Ranger Gage looks the same, his life is very different now."
Sydney nodded, showing that she understood what the doctor was saying. "Thank you, Doctor." She then left to go join Gage.
The unnatural quiet in the car as Syd was driving Gage home was making her very uncomfortable. Usually, they would be talking and laughing together, but now they just sat in silence. Syd had started to say something to him a couple of times, before realizing once again that he couldn't hear her.
Gage was sitting staring out the car window and thinking. "Hey, Syd? Before we go home, there's someplace I wanna go."
"Okay," Syd replied, nodding to let him know that it was okay with her.
After stopping to get flowers, Sydney and Gage arrived at the cemetery. They walked over to Marilyn Elkins's fresh grave site, Sydney standing back to give Gage some privacy as he kneeled by his old friend's tombstone. She was, however, watching him very closely. She hated to see him in pain, but didn't know exactly how to help him through his grief. He looked up into the sky, and Syd could see the beginnings of tears in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry Marilyn, I wish that I could have gotten there in time," he whispered, setting the flowers down on the grave. He then turned and stood, heading over to where Syd was standing waiting for him. He signaled to her that he was ready to leave and she took his hand in hers as they walked towards her car, trying to offer him any comfort she could.
Gage was at his apartment, putting in a doorbell that turned on the lights in his hallway instead of making noise. He smiled slightly as he pressed the bell and the lights turned on. His feeling of accomplishment was short-lived, however, as he realized that he wouldn't need to have this device if it weren't for the fact that he was deaf. He tried pushing the doorbell again, but the light did not flicker like it had the first time. Sighing, he climbed back up on his ladder to try and fix it again.
Sydney had decided to bring over some food and make lunch for Gage. She knew him well enough to realize that he probably wouldn't take care of himself very well. She was also worried, as she remembered what the doctor had said about the newly deaf putting themselves in danger. Therefore, she decided that she was going to stay with him until he got his hearing back, or at least until he was more adjusted to his new situation. That was why she was walking up to his apartment door with a bag full of groceries and a duffel bag of clothes for herself. She was surprised when she saw that his door was open, looking in and seeing him standing on a ladder in his hallway. She walked in, trying to get his attention.
"Gage?" she said, before realizing that he couldn't hear her. She reached out and gently touched the back of his thigh.
He looked down, startled. "Syd?"
She smiled up at him. "Hi."
"What are you doin' here?" Gage asked, confused. She had just left him at his apartment a little over an hour ago, and he had no idea why she had returned.
"Well I br- ugh." She stopped speaking and pointed to the grocery bag, smiling slightly as he realized why she was there.
"Oh!" Gage said loudly. "Uh, thank you."
Syd smiled and nodded, then turned to walk into kitchen, leaving Gage to work on the doorbell. She set the groceries down on the counter, then placed her duffel bag in the living room. She hadn't yet told Gage that she was planning on staying with him, and she wasn't sure how he was going to take it. She decided that she'd have to wait until just the right time to tell him. She returned quickly to the kitchen, noticing the teakettle whistling on the stove. She turned the stove off, then turned and grabbed a towel and moved the kettle onto a different section of the stove.
She looked around the apartment, realizing that Gage had turned on the TV, but since he couldn't hear, he didn't know that the volume was extremely loud. She went over to it, mumbling quietly to herself, and turned the TV off. She went back over to the kitchen and started to unpack the food that she had brought.
Meanwhile, Gage was still trying to fix the light. He was starting to get tired and frustrated with his lack of success. He reached up and started to fiddle with the wires again and felt an electric shock travel up his arm. "Ow!" he yelled, then screamed as he fell off of the ladder into the corner, hitting his head on the way down.
Syd heard his scream and immediately headed over to the hallway. "Gage?" She saw him slowly getting up off of the floor and ran over to him to help him up. "Gage!"
"I'm fine," Gage said, loudly.
"You alright?" Syd asked him, worried that he might have been seriously hurt.
"I'm fine, yeah," Gage shouted, incredibly frustrated. It seemed as though nothing was going well in his life right then.
"Well, wh-" Syd tried to make it clear what she wanted to ask without speaking.
"Ugh... slipped... it... I... I'm fine." His arm was hurting, and he was holding tightly to it, but he still insisted that he was alright. He didn't want Syd to worry about him more than she already was.
Sydney noticed the way that he was cradling his arm and was a little irritated that he was keeping it from her. She knew him well enough to know that he was not going to admit that he was hurting. Figuring that he would be okay, she shook her head and went back into the kitchen to start cooking the food.
Sydney had just finished making lunch, and Gage was waiting for her to bring over the food. His arm was still throbbing, but he figured that it would eventually go away. He was rubbing at it, trying to relieve some of the pain, when Syd came over to the table and set a plate in front of him.
"Okay, there you go," she said, smiling at him. She started to sit, looking around his apartment as she did. "You know your apartment lo-"
She was interrupted as Gage looked up at her and said, "Thank you." He smiled at her.
"You're welcome." Syd smiled and sat down to start eating. "I was just gonna say..." she began again before noticing that he wasn't looking at her. She reached her arms over the table to get his attention, trying again once he was looking at her. "You know, your apartment looks very clean."
Gage picked up the handheld communicator and read what she had said. "I have nothing to do," he responded, not used to being unable to work and having no idea what to do with all his free time.
Syd smiled sadly at him. She should have known that it was something like that. It seemed that everywhere she turned there were reminders of Gage's deafness. She shook herself out of her thoughts and looked up at him once again. "Good?" Once again, Gage was not watching her and was unaware that she had spoken.
"So how's the case going, did you find the killers?" Gage asked, clearly hopeful. He was also feeling out of the loop. This was one case that he was not allowed to be involved in, and not knowing what was going on was driving him crazy.
"No," Syd said, shaking her head gently. Disappointed, Gage went back to eating, and the rest of the lunch was spent in silence.
It was the middle of the afternoon, and Gage was sitting at his apartment with nothing to do. He had already cleaned his apartment from top to bottom before Sydney had arrived bearing food. After she had left, he had cleaned up the kitchen, and other than finding an interesting duffel bag that he would have to ask Sydney about later, it was utterly boring work. Now, he was just sitting in his living room, staring at some television show he couldn't hear. It had been awhile since he had had an entire day free, and he didn't know what to do without having to go to work. He also was depressed by the complete and total silence, only broken by the ringing in his ears. He knew that even if he was at work, he would still have to deal with silence, but at least there he would have something to do, even if it was just paperwork. With that thought, he left his apartment and hailed a cab.
Gage stepped out of the taxi at Ranger Headquarters and started heading upstairs, knowing that he was going to be facing a lecture from Sydney. He walked into Headquarters, a place where he spent a great deal of his time, a place where he should have been perfectly comfortable. However, looking around him, seeing all the familiar faces, but not hearing a single sound, other than the buzzing in his ears, he felt out of place. When he looked over at his desk and saw his partner standing there, he felt unbelievable relief flow through him.
On the other hand, relief was definitely not what Sydney felt when she saw him walk into the room. Shock was more like it, and not a little worry. She hurriedly hung up the phone. "Gage?"
"Oh, hey," Gage said, not noticing her speaking.
"How did you get here?" Syd repeated as she walked over to him. He finally realized that she was talking and brought out his handheld communicator.
"Oh, uh, very delicately," he replied after reading what she had said, giving her his most innocent and charming smile. He knew that she was going to be upset with him, after all, she had told him to stay at home and be careful before she had left his apartment earlier that day.
Seeing his attempt at looking innocent, she gave him a half smile. It was typical Gage, and she was almost ready to laugh, but the fact that he could have been hurt overshadowed any amusement that she may have felt.
He looked around and noticed the absence of his boss. "Where's Walker and Trivette?"
Syd answered him, remembering to speak into the handheld communicator part way through her sentence. "Well they, they got a lead on the stolen vehicles."
"Well let's go, let's give 'em a ha-" Gage began, eager to help on the case in any way he could.
Syd interrupted him, "No, no, no, no, they took a chopper, so there's nothing we can do." She waited a moment, trying to see how he would respond to what she said. What she saw made her insides ache. He looked like he felt useless. "Alright?" she asked gently, understanding how he was feeling. "Just... sit down." She reached towards him, placing her hand on back of his arm and guiding him into the chair. "Come on," she said while getting him seated at his desk.
Gage reluctantly settled in behind his desk, still frustrated and bored, but at least he was with Sydney.
Syd drove Gage back to his apartment after she was done at work for the evening. She still hadn't been able to get up the nerve to tell Gage that she was planning on staying with him. She had told him that she was driving him home; she hadn't told him yet that she wasn't leaving. She followed him into his apartment, deciding that it was now or never. She just had to figure out the best way to tell him.
"Syd?" Gage yelled, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"Yeah?" she looked up to find him staring at her.
"I think you left a duffel bag here when you came for lunch. I found it in the living room, behind the couch."
Well, it looked like she wouldn't have to find a way to tell him after all. She should have known that he would find the bag, he had probably even figured out that she was planning on staying with him.
"Um, Gage? I left that bag here on purpose." She waited while he read what she had said.
"Yeah? Why?" Gage smiled, knowing exactly what she was going to say and enjoying this discussion immensely.
"Well, I know that it's going to be an adjustment for you, and I wanted to stay with you, for a little while, just to help you... get... adjusted," Syd said, stumbling over her words a bit towards the end. She knew her partner well enough to know that if he thought that she believed that he needed her help, he would never agree to let her stay.
"That's nice of you, Syd, but also completely unnecessary."
"Come on, Gage, it would make me feel better knowing that you were alright. I mean, after all, you could have been killed the other night in that explosion. Please, it would just be for a little bit, and it really would make me feel better." Syd looked up at Gage, with a pleading look on her face, watching as he read what she had said and took a moment to consider his response. She knew the moment that he decided to allow her to stay and didn't even wait for him to give her his answer. She just smiled, and gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Gage. I think I'm gonna go make dinner," she said, ducking around him and heading into the kitchen, leaving him standing there in dumbfounded silence.
It was a few days later, and Sydney had, once again, just finished making dinner. Gage wasn't eating, but was instead staring off into space. Syd looked at him, trying to figure out a way to cheer him up. "Gage... Gage." She got his attention by putting her hand up in front of his face. She pointed to the plate of food sitting in front of him. "You better eat."
Gage just grimaced and shrugged, saying without words that he didn't feel like it. Syd tried again. "Come on, you gotta eat something, you got to." Gage gestured to his ears, indicating that he couldn't hear her.
She shook her head at his stubbornness. "You... If you don't eat, do you know what's gonna happen to you?"
Gage read the handheld communicator, then looked up at her, confusion evident in his expression. Syd stood slowly, leaning forward and bringing her leg up in his face and in slow motion pretended to kick him. She smiled a goofy smile and sat down again. Gage reluctantly smiled back at her, laughed, and picked up his fork. "I'm eating." The phone in his apartment started to ring, and Syd looked to Gage, half expecting him to answer it. Instead, he pointed his fork at her. "You're a goof." She smiled at his teasing and then gestured that the phone was ringing. She picked up the phone, saying, "Syd."
She then walked over with the phone and sat down at the table. "Yeah... Okay... Thanks." She hung up the phone and looked at Gage. "They found the cars, but not the leaders," Syd said in response to his questioning look. Gage read the communicator and was clearly upset by her response. Syd watched him, worried about him. She reached across the table and got his attention by putting her hand gently on top of his. He slammed down his other hand to pick up the handheld. "Look, Gage. I know this is really hard for you," she said gently.
Gage read her words and could no longer contain his frustration and anger. "How do you know, Syd?" he yelled. "How do you know? Does your head throb right now 'cause your ears are ringing so loud?"
Syd pulled her arms back from the table and put them by her sides, pulling back from him, both physically and emotionally. She stared straight at him as he continued yelling, blinking back tears from her eyes.
"Huh? Are all your colleagues treating you like a five year old? How do you know, Syd?" Gage really looked at her for the first time since he had started to yell. He immediately started to feel horrible as he saw how tightly she was holding herself and the tears she was fighting not to shed. He waited for a moment, then began speaking in a much lower, much gentler voice. "Syd, I'm sorry. You've been wonderful to me."
She pressed her lips together, knowing that he wasn't really angry at her, but simply angry at the world. She cleared her throat and started to eat again, this time without trying to break the silence. Gage was still watching her, feeling terribly guilty about the way he had treated her, but not knowing how to fix it.
Later that night, after Gage had gone to bed, Syd was lying on the couch, crying quietly. She was crying for many reasons, not the least of which was Gage's reaction to her attempt to comfort him earlier that evening. The hurt that she was feeling as a result of his yelling was overshadowed by her worry about him.
She didn't know what would happen if he never regained his hearing. He would never be able to join her at work again; she would never get her partner back. There was also the risk that he would continue to refuse to accept the fact that his life would have to be different and that he would get himself hurt, or worse. She might lose her best friend, forever. She wouldn't let that happen; she couldn't let that happen.
If worst came to worst, and he didn't get his hearing back, she would find a way to deal with it then, but for now, she'd just have to try and be positive. With that thought in mind, she snuggled down further under the blankets, and tried not to end up crying herself to sleep.
Gage was having trouble sleeping. He had been tossing and turning for half an hour, and he still was unable to get comfortable. The ringing in his ears was driving him crazy. He longed to hear some noise. Any sound would do, but he especially longed to hear his partner's voice. He had never before realized just how much he appreciated that sound.
But now, with how he had been behaving, she might never speak to him again. When he had looked at Syd from across the dinner table and had seen her curling up into herself and blinking back tears, it had been as if someone had kicked him in the gut.
He rolled over and finally climbed out of his bed, quietly walking towards the living room. He wanted to see Syd. He tiptoed towards the couch, stopping close enough for him to be able to see her in the moonlight. His heart stopped as he noticed the tear tracks on her cheeks. He had made her cry. His partner, his best friend, whom he had never seen cry, had cried herself to sleep that night. Because of him. The guilt that he felt at that moment was almost more than he could bear.
Looking down at her tearstained face, with her features bathed in the silvery moonlight, he noticed once again her incredible beauty. Even when she was crying, she was more beautiful that any other woman he'd ever met, inside and out. She had such an incredible soul and a bigger heart than anyone he'd ever known. She was the best friend he could hope to have, and he had hurt her.
Watching her troubled sleep, he decided that from that moment on, he would do better. She had shown him incredible kindness over the past few days, and he had acted like a jerk. Now that was going to change. He was going to work harder to accept the changes in his life, and would not hurt the people he loved in the process. With that decided, he headed back to bed and was finally able to get to sleep.
Sydney stood off to the side, watching as the doctor at the hospital looked into Gage's ears. She watched the doctor anxiously, hoping to see some sign that there was hope that Gage would regain his hearing soon. She was disappointed at the look on Dr. Clark's face as he glanced at her before turning back to Gage. "Ranger Gage."
"It's not good, is it?" Gage asked, also noticing the expression on the doctor's face.
"The nerve damage is still there, and the eardrums haven't healed. In fact, they've continued to scar badly," Clark stated, to Gage's obvious distress.
"You said there were other options?" Gage asked, looking for some source of hope.
"Well, the injury is so severe that a conventional cochlear implant won't work. However there is an experimental graft operation, but the chance of success is very small," the doctor said, clearly hesitant about the operation.
Gage read what Dr. Clark had said on the handheld computer and immediately responded, "I'll do it."
The older man reluctantly nodded. "Alright, but on one condition: you check out the Dallas School for the Deaf first."
The next day as Sydney and Gage walked into the Dallas School for the Deaf, Syd looked around her, trying to find something positive about the place.
"It's cheery," she said, shrugging slightly, knowing that it was going to be hard for Gage to find anything good about the fact that he had to be there. Gage frowned, not understanding what she was saying, and started to reach for the communicator in his pocket. Syd made a motion with her hands and a bright smile and tried again, "Cheery."
"No, no... I'm fine," Gage responded, misinterpreting her motions to mean that she was trying to tell him to cheer up. Syd smiled and shook her head slightly, figuring that it wasn't worth trying to get him to understand. They both turned as a woman walked over to them, smiling welcomingly.
"Rangers? I'm Miss Hamilton."
"Hi, I'm Sydney Cooke, and this is my partner, Ranger Gage."
Gage shook the woman's hand, saying loudly, "Hi."
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
Gage reached for his pocket and took out the handheld communicator. Miss Hamilton, understanding what he was doing, repeated herself, while also signing what she was saying in sign language. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Dr. Clark told me that you were coming. Let me give you a tour?"
Sydney smiled, glad that this woman seemed to be very friendly. "Great."
Gage waited for the computer to finish writing what she had said and then responded, "Thank you."
As they turned to walk towards one of the classrooms, Syd kept her partner from walking into a group of people that were behind him with a hand on his back, smiling a little sadly as she did so.
While continuing the tour, Miss Hamilton led Syd and Gage into one of the classrooms. The teacher at the front of the room turned and then said and signed to her students, "Oh, here's Miss Hamilton."
Miss Hamilton said and signed, "Hi boys and girls. This is Ranger Cooke and this is Ranger Gage. He recently lost his hearing."
A boy in the class raised his hand with a question.
"Yes, Billy?" Miss Hamilton acknowledged the boy.
Billy signed his question.
Miss Hamilton said, "Billy wants to know, are you a real honest to goodness Texas Ranger?"
Gage smiled as he read what the young boy's question was, then responded, with Miss Hamilton signing for him, "Tell Billy we're both real Texas Rangers." He gestured to Syd as he spoke. "And here's my proof." He reached into his pocket and held up his badge, to the delight of young Billy.
"Oh, let me show you how to sign that," Miss Hamilton said, excited about getting Gage started on learning how to sign. "Proof," she said as she demonstrated the sign for Syd and Gage by slapping her left palm sharply with the back of her right hand.
Syd immediately copied the motion, saying, "Well, that's easy. Proof."
Gage put away his handheld communicator and tried to sign the word. "Proof," he said as he brought his right hand down into his left palm, stopping as his badge cut his hand. "Ow."
As all the kids burst into laughter, Syd smiled gently at her partner, proud of him for trying.
On only his second day at the Dallas School for the Deaf, Gage was starting to get frustrated. He had been working with Miss Hamilton for the past couple of hours, going through flash cards with different words in sign language on them. "I can't do this!"
"Ranger Gage. If your operation doesn't work, you're going to have to come to terms with your disability first by learning to accept it," Miss Hamilton said, reminding Gage of his promise to himself try harder, if not for his own sake, then for Sydney. With a renewed determination, he turned back to pay attention to what Miss Hamilton was saying.
"During the week that you are here, you are going to learn to listen without your ears. You'll learn to develop your other senses."
It only took Gage until later that afternoon to realize what Miss Hamilton had meant about needing to develop his other senses. His partner had apparently decided that he needed a few years scared off his life. He had been sitting with Billy, working on learning to sign his name, when all of a sudden, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Other than scaring him half to death, Syd had also managed to convince him that he really did need to work on being more aware of the world around him. With an encouraging back rub, Syd then joined him and Billy and started to learn the alphabet.
Over the next week, Syd was with Gage constantly. Everything he learned, she learned. She watched as he improved with the help of the other students at the Dallas School for the Deaf. She looked on fondly as he worked with the kids, signing for them, "We'll be friends forever, yeah?" She watched with a smile as all the kids nodded, grinning at their new friend. She helped him set up his new Uniphone, which would enable him to answer the phone himself once she left his apartment.
And it was with immense pride several days later that she tried to sneak up on him in the hall, and failed. He turned at the last second, startling her rather than the other way around.
She sighed and with a smile, signed and said, "You're getting better."
"Thank you." He smiled at her, pleased at the obvious pride in him he could see in her eyes. He had no idea what he had done to deserve her, but whatever it was he was incredibly grateful. She hadn't left his side the entire time since the accident.
"You're welcome." She smiled back at him, glad to see his spirit returning.
At the end of Gage's time at the Dallas School for the Deaf, Sydney and Gage went to say goodbye. Syd really felt a great debt of gratitude for the help that they provided to her and her partner. Thanks to them, she could communicate with him once again. In an attempt to show this gratitude, she signed for all of the students, "Thank you all for helping."
Miss Hamilton replied, "It's our pleasure. Ranger Gage is an excellent student."
"Nah, I got a good partner." Gage nodded his head towards Syd, causing a smile to break out on his partner's beautiful face.
Miss Hamilton, realizing that she hadn't signed her comment from earlier, said, "Ooh, and your lip reading has come a long way."
Gage smiled and replied, "Thank you."
"Especially when it comes to understanding compliments," Syd said, giving him her best innocent smile as he glared at her in response to her comment. While he did not know exactly what she had said, he knew her well enough to know that it was not flattering to him.
"So, Gage. What are your plans?" Miss Hamilton asked, smiling at the interaction between the two partners.
"Ah, get back to work."
"Well, we are all sad to see you go," Miss Hamilton replied, gesturing to the kids.
Gage turned towards the kids in the room and signed to them, "You have all been an inspiration to me." He noticed Billy pacing at the back of the room and headed over to talk to him. He got his attention and sat down in front of him. He signed to Billy, "I must leave." Billy signed something in return, and Gage replied, "I'll miss you too." Gage reached out and gave the young boy a hug.
Syd watched this scene from the other side of the room, thinking to herself what a great father her partner would be one day.
They had left the school with a promise to keep in touch and let them know how Gage's surgery went, and now Sydney was driving them back to Headquarters. They came to a stop sign at the end of the road and Syd turned to her partner, slapping his thigh gently to get his attention. "Hey, how about a double double cheeseburger, and a super-sized fry?"
Gage winked at her, and then said, "Jalapeño burger."
"Hey, chocolate shake?" Syd signed, smiling. They were both happier than they had been in quite a while. Gage had regained his ability to communicate without the handheld, and Syd had her best friend back.
Gage was smiling and was about to respond, when he noticed a car driving up next to them, with a gun sticking out the window. He yelled, "Syd!" while pushing her head down and covering her with his body, just as the man in the car fired the gun, shattering the car window.
"You okay?" Gage yelled to Syd as they both sat back up brushing shards of glass off of themselves.
"Yeah," she said distractedly while starting to drive after the car. Unfortunately, they were cut off from the other car as a steady stream of traffic kept them from their pursuit.
"Ough. Come on!" Gage yelled in frustration as they watched their attacker's car disappear into the distance.
It didn't take long before Syd and Gage were surrounded by Dallas Police Department officers. Syd was on her cell phone talking to Walker, as Gage leaned against one of the police cars, watching her. She turned and walked over towards him, still talking. "Yeah, Walker, we're fine. I'll just have a DPD officer bring us in. Alright. Bye." She hung up the phone, reaching out to put her hand on Gage's arm. "Thank you."
Gage's actual response was somewhat different from what he was thinking. He knew that he would never let anything happen to her if he could help it, and he was incredibly relieved that he had noticed the approaching car. He didn't even want to think what would have happened if he hadn't. His actual response was to shrug off her thanks with an easy, "You're welcome. You know, Walker was saying that sometimes when you lose one sense, that all the other senses pick up the slack. I guess maybe that's what happened."
"It's a good thing," Syd responded, and Gage nodded his agreement. They then headed back to Ranger Headquarters, hitching a ride with the local law enforcement.
A little while later, Syd and Gage were sitting at their desks at Headquarters and working on paperwork when the phone rang.
"Company B Texas Rangers, this is Sydney Cooke."
"Sydney, get me everything you can on a Raoul Hidalgo, a.k.a. Skull," Walker said, hanging up immediately after giving Sydney her orders.
Sydney turned to her computer and pulled up all of the information she could find about Raoul Hidalgo. She managed to find a picture, and Gage, who was watching over her shoulder, started pointing to the screen. "That's him."
"That's him?" Syd asked, just to make sure.
"That's him," Gage replied, without a doubt in his mind.
Syd picked up the phone and called Walker back.
"Walker."
"Walker, it's Sydney."
"What have you got?"
"Hidalgo's record reads like a criminal's greatest hits list. Auto theft at fifteen, armed robbery at nineteen, possession, you name it. He was in prison a year ago, but when he got out, he disappeared."
"Any idea where he is?" Walker asked.
"According to the prison phone logs, he made several calls to an old warehouse on B Street just before he got out."
"Okay, meet us there."
"Alright, uh, Walker," Syd paused, turning her head away from Gage slightly before continuing, "Gage is here, too."
"Tell him to stay put."
"Alright." Syd sighed as she hung up the phone. She then turned to face Gage. "Um, I have to go meet Walker and Trivette. Alright... but, um... but he said for you to stay here... Okay?" Syd knew that telling him that he couldn't come with them would hurt him. Personally, she thought that he was ready and could handle this, but it wasn't up to her. Also, she wasn't exactly eager to take any risks with his life.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Gage said, reluctantly sitting back down at his desk. With a gentle pat on his shoulder, Syd turned to leave.
It didn't take Walker, Trivette, and Sydney long to arrest all of the car thieves at the warehouse. As Syd was looking around, she noticed the absence of their main target. "Hidalgo's not here."
Walker turned to one of the car thieves, demanding, "Where's Skull?"
"Why don't you ask your deaf ranger?" the thief responded.
"Gage," Syd said, feeling her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. She ran out to her car without waiting for permission from Walker and Trivette, speeding all the way to Headquarters. She only had one thought on her mind: Gage was in trouble.
Gage was sitting at his desk doing paperwork and thinking about his partner. He had really thought that she believed that he could take care of himself now. Apparently, he was wrong. Although, her orders had come from Walker, and she had seemed to be hesitant to tell him that he wasn't allowed to come along.
His musings were interrupted as he got the feeling that someone was behind him. He spun around and in one move kicked the gun out of Skull's hand. They fought, with Gage finally managing to get the advantage. He wrapped his arm around Hidalgo's neck, cutting off his air supply, and held him until he passed out. Gage dropped him down to the ground and reached to grab the gun from behind him. He turned back to the man who had killed Marilyn, a man who had made him deaf, who had turned his life upside down. He pointed the gun at him, almost ready to kill him but at the same time knowing that he couldn't. He emptied the gun and sat back to wait for Walker, Trivette and Syd to arrive.
A minute later his three friends ran in, guns drawn and at the ready. Gage turned to them, and said sarcastically, "Meet Skull." He looked to Walker and Trivette, noticing the look of surprise on their faces. Then he looked at Syd, saw the look of pride on her face, and felt better than he had in weeks.
A few days later, Walker, Alex, and Trivette were back in the waiting room at the hospital. They all looked up anxiously as they noticed Dr. Clark walking towards them.
"Ah, well, Ranger Gage's operation is complete."
"How did it go?" Alex asked the doctor.
"Well as I said, it was a risky procedure at best, and I'm afraid we won't know whether it's successful until he wakes up."
"Thank you, Doctor," Walker said, reaching to shake the older man's hand.
"You're welcome," Clark replied, hoping sincerely that everything would work out for Ranger Gage.
Sydney had been sitting by Gage's bedside ever since he had been returned to the room after his surgery. Sitting and thinking. These past couple of weeks certainly had given her a lot to think about.
"You know Gage? There are some things I wish I would have told you when you could actually hear me say them..." she said, brushing the hair back from his face gently. "I love your voice. I just... I just... love the sound of your voice. And every morning, when I wake up, I can't... I can't wait to hear it. And every night, when I go to sleep, I wish you were there. I can't believe I never told you that. I can't believe... I can't believe I never told you how much you mean to me."
"What're you talkin' about, Syd? You don't need to tell me, I already know. You're my best friend," Gage mumbled as he woke up, opening his eyes to look at her.
"Did you hear me?" Syd asked, wanting to wait for confirmation before allowing herself to hope.
He smiled softly at her, and replied, "Loud and clear."
"Oh my God, you can hear?" she shouted in excitement, leaping up out of her chair to throw her arms around him in an enthusiastic hug.
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. "It's good to hear your voice."
"I can't believe it! You can hear me, you can really hear me!" She pulled back from his arms, giving him a radiant smile. "I gotta t-" She ran over to the door yelling to the waiting room, "Walker, Walker, Gage can hear! He can hear!" She turned back towards him, and slowly the realization of all that she had said dawned on her. "Hey wait a minute, how.. how long have you been hearing... I mean did you hear... you know... um?" Gage didn't have enough time to figure out what she was talking about as the others ran into the room.
Alex ran over to the bed, giving Gage a quick hug. "Oh my God."
"Talk to me!" Gage said as she pulled back from him.
"Hey bud," Walker said, smiling, relieved that his friend was alright.
"Hey boss," Gage said as he gave Walker a quick hug. Then he turned to accept the hug from Trivette. "Hey."
"Ah Aha," Trivette yelled in his happiness, as he pulled back from his friend, "Remember, you owe me money."
"What, what?" Gage said loudly, gesturing to his ears.
"Oh, he can't hear anymore," Walker said to the amusement of the group of friends.
Syd however, was still trying to get Gage's attention, "Gage... Gage.. how... how.. how long. So how long.. like from right when you came out of the thing, or was it just?"
"Not long Syd, why? Why, do you ask?" Gage smiled, trying to figure out what Syd was talking about.
"N.. No reason." Syd sighed, hoping that his confusion showed that she was in the clear, that he hadn't heard all of what she had said to him. She may have said that she wanted to tell him certain things when he could actually hear her, but truthfully, she wasn't completely ready for him to know how she felt about him.
...
He was sitting in his apartment, looking through a family photo album when there was a knock at the door. Moments later the door opened and she walked in. He turned to face her, noticing that her jacket was undone and her shirt untucked, and she seemed to be upset about something.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Salt Lake City, Utah. Transfer effective immediately." She watched him turn away from her, and still she continued, "I already gave Skinner my letter of resignation."
"You can't quit now, Scully."
"I can, Mulder. I debated whether or not to even tell you in person..."
...
"You would never do that to me, would you?" Gage asked as he paused the movie, looking over at Syd who was sitting next to him on the couch.
"Do what to you?" she asked, not knowing quite what he was talking about.
"Decide to resign or something without telling me yourself?"
"Of course not, Gage. Now come on, put the movie back on. I wanna know what's gonna happen." Syd was happier than she had been in a while. She and Gage had decided to celebrate the success of the operation by watching a movie together at his apartment. They had decided on the X-Files movie which neither of them had seen before. So now they were settled on the couch together, a bowl of popcorn between them, stopping the movie every couple of minutes to talk to each other.
"No, I want you to promise me that you won't ever make a decision like that without at least talking to me first." Over the past few weeks, Gage had come to realize just how much he needed Syd as his partner and his friend. He needed her in his life, and he needed a promise from her that she would always be there.
"Of course, Gage. I promise. Come on, you know I love being a Ranger and your partner. I'm not going anywhere, and if I ever was considering it, I would definitely talk to you about it before I made any decisions. Now come on, movie time. If you don't turn the movie back on, I'm gonna have to take custody of the remote," she teased, starting to reach over him for the remote.
"Okay, okay. I'm putting the movie back on." He smiled, satisfied with her response. Then he turned his attention back to the movie.
...
"We are close to something here!" Mulder said, before turning to face her again. "We are on the verge!"
"You're on the verge, Mulder. Please don't do this to me," Scully begged.
He stood up and walked over to her. "After what you saw last night, after all you've seen, you can just walk away?"
"I have, I did, it's done."
"I need you on this, Scully."
"You don't need me, Mulder. You never have. I've just held you back," Scully said sadly, trying to ignore the pained look he was giving her. "I gotta go." She turned and walked out into the hall, followed moments later by Mulder.
"You wanna tell yourself that so you can quit with a clear conscience, you can. But you're wrong."
At his words, she stopped walking away and turned back to face him. "Why did they assign me to you in the first place, Mulder? To debunk your work, to rein you in, to shut you down…"
"But you saved me. As difficult and as frustrating as it's been sometimes, your goddamned strict rationalism and science have saved me a thousand times over. You've kept me honest... made me a whole person. I owe you everything, Scully, and you owe me nothing..." Listening to the pained honesty in his voice, her eyes began to fill with tears. "I don't know if I wanna do this alone... I don't know if I can... and if I quit now, they win," Mulder said, pouring his heart out to the woman before him, desperate to keep her from leaving him.
Scully looked at Mulder in complete awe, no longer trying to stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks. He had never before expressed his emotions to her so clearly, which had left her doubting his affection for her. She walked slowly into his arms, holding him tightly as his arms enfolded her. She pulled back slightly and brushed her lips against his forehead. Then she gently rested her own forehead against his. He pulled back slightly to look at her, cupping her face with both of his hands. She looked into his eyes, her arms resting around his neck, and started to lean towards him. He dipped his head, and just as their lips were about to touch, she pulled back from him suddenly.
"Ow!" Scully said as she reached back towards her neck.
"I'm sorry," Mulder said immediately, fearing that he had done something wrong.
"Something stung me," she said.
He reached down and pulled a bee from the collar of her shirt. "Must've gotten in your shirt."
"Mulder... something's wrong."
...
"Gage, why'd you stop it this time? At this rate, it's going to be morning before we finish this movie," Syd teased, not really all that frustrated. The longer it took to finish the movie, the more time she got to spend with her partner.
"Sorry. It's just, that's so ridiculous."
"What's so ridiculous?"
"That scene, I mean, come on. Anyone who's ever seen a single episode of the television show knows that those two belong together. I mean it's so obvious! Now, they get them so close to actually getting together, and then they do something like that! It's so frustrating! What are you smiling about, Syd? Are you laughing at me?"
"Me? Laugh at you? No. Never," she teased him, secretly pleased that he seemed to be a romantic at heart. Personally, she felt the same way about the scene of the movie that they had just watched, but she wasn't about to tell him that.
"Sure, whatever. I'm starting the movie again, okay?" he sighed, thoroughly enjoying her teasing, and loving that he could once again hear her beautiful laughter.
...
Mulder was sitting on a bench by the reflecting pool reading a newspaper. He looked up to see Scully walking towards him. When she arrived, he handed her the newspaper.
"There's an interesting work of fiction on page 24. Mysteriously, our names have been omitted. They're burying this thing, Scully. They're just going to dig a new hole and cover it up," Mulder said, clearly frustrated.
"I told OPR everything I know. What I experienced, the virus, how it's spread by the bees from pollen in transgenic crops," Scully said.
He got up and started to walk away, Scully joining him moments later.
"You're wasting your time, Scully. They'll never believe you, not unless your story can be programmed, categorized, or easily referenced."
"Well, then we'll go over their heads."
He stopped walking and turned to face her. "No. No. How many times have we been here before, Scully? Right here. So close to the truth and now with what we've seen and what we know, to be right back at the beginning with nothing."
"This is different, Mulder."
"No it isn't! You were right to want to quit! You were right to want to leave me! You should get as far away from me as you can! I'm not going to watch you die, Scully, because of some hollow personal cause of mine. Go be a doctor. Go be a doctor while you still can," Mulder practically yelled. He had almost had to watch her die, and he was not willing to go through that again. If leaving him was what it took to keep her safe, than he would have to live without her.
"I can't. I won't. Mulder, I'll be a doctor, but my work is here with you now. That virus that I was exposed to, whatever it is, it has a cure. You held it in your hand. How many other lives can we save? Look..." She reached down and clasped his hand in hers. "If I quit now, they win."
He finally gave in, realizing the truth in her words. Still holding tightly to her hand, he walked with her along the reflecting pool, knowing that they would be together wherever life led them.
...
As the credits started to roll on the screen, Gage stopped the movie, turning to face Syd. "So, Syd, what'd ya think?"
"I think the ending could have been much better, but it wasn't bad. What'd you think?" Syd said, stretching slightly after hours of sitting in the same position.
"I agree about the ending. Suddenly at the end of the movie, Mulder turns into an idiot. When your partner's in danger, you don't try to get her out of your life. You don't let her out of your sight!" Gage said forcefully. For some reason, while he was watching the movie, he couldn't help but parallel his partnership with Syd to the partnership between Mulder and Scully. And the ending had bothered him more than it should have.
"Even though Scully was only in danger because of being around Mulder?" Syd asked, wondering at the strength of his reaction to the movie.
"Yeah, even though. If he kicks her out of his life, he has absolutely no way to know she'll be safe. If something happens, she's on her own. If he keeps her close, then at least he knows it's in his power to protect her," Gage answered, thinking about how impossible it would be for him to ever leave Syd alone to face any sort of danger.
Syd smiled as she realized what Gage was thinking. "So, I don't have to worry about you kicking me out of your life for my own good any time soon?"
He practically shuddered at the thought of not having her in his life. "Not in a million years."
"Well, good. Because I already told you I'm not going anywhere." She smiled sweetly at him.
Once again, Gage was left to wonder exactly what it was he had done to deserve having her in his life. And he was reminded of something very important that he still hadn't done. "Speaking of which, it occurs to me that I haven't said thank you."
"For what?" Syd asked, wondering what her partner thought he needed to thank her for.
He looked at her incredulously for a moment before he found his voice again. "For what? Come on, Syd. You haven't left my side since the accident! You learned sign language with me; you made me smile when all I wanted to do was sulk; you kept me going, and didn't let me give up. You believed in me when no one else did!"
"Yeah, well what are partners for?" Syd replied, brushing off his thanks. "You would have done the same for me, right?"
"Of course. That doesn't mean that I don't get to say thank you," Gage said softly. His partner truly was an amazing woman. She had put her entire life on hold for him, and yet didn't seem to feel that anything she had done needed his thanks.
"You're welcome," Syd murmured. Suddenly feeling a need to change the subject, she asked, "So other than the fact that the writers clearly have no idea how good partnerships work, what did you think about the movie?"
Recognizing what she was trying to do, he accepted the topic change easily, giving her a smile. "Wasn't too bad. Not my typical kind of movie. How 'bout next Friday you come over, and we'll watch a movie that's more my style?"
Syd looked over at him, loving how adorable he was whenever he smiled. "I'd love to. How about I bring over some food and we'll have dinner beforehand?"
"Sounds great!" He looked over at the clock, surprised to see what time it was. He had been having such a great time with Syd that he hadn't even realized that it had gotten so late. "Geez, Syd, look at the time."
"Oh, how did it get so late? I guess I'd better get going," she sighed. Tonight was going to be the first night in weeks that she wouldn't be staying at Gage's apartment. She had grown incredibly comfortable living at his place. She loved the extra time that she got to spend with him, and they had grown even closer during the time that she was there. Even though the reason that she had been forced to stay with him was horrible, she couldn't bring herself to be sorry about being his roommate.
"Hey, Syd, you look kinda tired. Why don't you just crash here for tonight? I mean, you've already got all your stuff here."
"No, really. I should get going."
"Come on, I don't want to worry about you driving. Just take the couch, please? I'll sleep better if you do."
"Okay, Gage. I'll stay."
"Good, now let's get ready for bed. I'll even give you bathroom access first."
"Oh, why thank you, good sir." She laughed softly.
"Anytime, fair maiden," Gage replied, chuckling.
Sydney leaned over and brushed her lips softly across his cheek. "I'm glad you're okay. Goodnight, Gage," she whispered as she grabbed her stuff and walked towards the bathroom.
"Goodnight, Syd." Gage sighed. "I love you," he whispered to himself once he was sure that she wouldn't be able to hear him.
To Be Continued