The pair of Rangers crept stealthily towards the main lodge, careful to stay low to the ground and move within the shadows to lessen their chances of being spotted. The rear windows of the building looked directly out onto the sloping lawn and to the water beyond, forcing the partners to make a slightly wider path, sticking close to a clump of trees to their right. Sydney was in the lead and she could hear Gage's soft footsteps and low breathing close behind her as she wove her way along the path, staying as close to the available cover as possible. She was amazed that she and Gage could share what they just had then change back into full work mode as easily as though they'd flipped a switch. It almost seemed too easy, as though he should be more protective of her now or she should want him closer to her. Neither was true, however – Sydney's mind was focused on the task at hand and she sensed that his was too.

At the back of the lodge, she stationed herself below one of the low windows that looked out onto the path they'd just traveled and motioned to Gage to move himself below the one next to it. Neither partner was armed, as they hadn't planned on doing any police work when they'd headed out for their walk. Sydney suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable as she realized that she was not only missing her weapon, but also the two other tools she was also never without: her cell phone and her silver star. If the situation inside the building was anything like her instincts were telling her, she and Gage were in a very dangerous situation. One false move and their cover would be blown, taking the entire case down with it.

Gage motioned to her with his hand and indicated that he was going to peek in the window. She nodded to show that she understood and watched him crane his neck stealthily upwards, straining to catch a glimpse of what was occurring within the lighted room. Sydney stayed down – one person looking in a window was far less likely to be spotted than two were.

Gage watched for a moment or two with no expression on his face to indicate whether what he was seeing was bad or good. Then he ducked down again and crawled over to his partner.

"It's the Tylers all right," he hissed. "And they're in there with the Ehrlichs."

"It sounds like our suspicions were right after all," Sydney responded in a low whisper.

"Did you ever find anything in the files that connected them?" Gage wanted to know.

"I was a bit distracted earlier," Sydney frowned slightly, her eyes twinkling knowingly at her partner. "But everything else that I looked at showed no connection whatsoever."

Gage acknowledged her slight dig with a quick grin, then sobered, his face all business. "We need to know what's happening in that room right now."

"What are they doing?" Sydney asked.

"They're just talking," he shook his head, frustrated.

"We'd better find a way inside then," Sydney concluded.

"Let's try the side door," her partner suggested.

"I'm right behind you," she replied.

Gage pulled his feet beneath him, assuming a crouched stance, and crept around the building until they reached the side entrance, its door dark. Sydney kept watch while he tested to see if it was locked and only looked at him when she heard the click that indicated it wasn't.

"Trusting, aren't they?" he smirked.

Sydney held a finger to her lips to shush him as the two Rangers stole inside, shutting the door softly behind them and making their way slowly towards the sole lighted room. Sydney noticed with a hint of irony that it was the Serenity Room, as she knew that whatever was being plotted inside would undoubtedly be anything but serene.

At the doorway, Gage halted and he and Sydney put their backs to the wall, ears straining to catch any snippets of the conversation they could. She hadn't thought that she was nervous until she felt her shoulder come to rest against Gage's and her brain gave a sigh of relief as it registered the security his presence brought. She had come to rely on him in a lot of ways since they'd been partnered up; that was for certain.

The voices inside were intense and worried and it was only due to the amount of time that the Rangers had spent with the people inside over the past few days that they were able to distinguish who was speaking.

"I'm telling you, it's time to move on," Dr. Ehrlich was saying. "Sooner or later the police are going to put two and two together and figure out that the people who are having their organs stolen have all stayed here."

"And I'm telling you that we stay put," came Mr. Tyler's voice, stronger than either Gage or Sydney had ever heard it. He sounded like an entirely different person. "The cops don't know anything."

"How can you be so sure?" Ehrlich insisted.

"You don't see them crawling all around this place, do you?" Tyler reasoned. "They haven't even come to question you about a connection – and do you know why? Because they don't see one."

Mrs. Ehrlich spoke up then. "That's just it – how do we know that they're not here and just undercover?"

"Somebody's been watching too much Law & Order," Tyler said disdainfully.

"She's got a point, Frank," Ehrlich said. "Besides, this is Texas – for all we know they could have sent Rangers in here!"

"Ooh – now I'm really scared, " Tyler laughed mockingly. His voice sobered as he continued. "Look, let's just pick our next lucky candidates and get out of here. We'll discuss plans to move at a later date."

"Frank, I…" Ehrlich tried again.

"I said at a later date," Tyler barked.

"Bob?" Mary Tyler spoke for the first time since Sydney and Gage had been listening.

"What is it, dear?" Tyler's voice grew gentler.

"I really think we should listen to Dr. Ehrlich," her tone held its characteristic soccer mom buoyancy and all-knowing fortitude. "He knows what's best for us."

"You're probably right," Tyler seemed to be soothing her with his words. "In fact, I'll even ask him about that new communication exercise we discussed earlier."

"Do that," Mary Tyler said.

In the hall, Sydney and Gage exchanged a look of pure confusion. The earlier part of the conversation had been expected and was easy to follow, but Mary Tyler's contribution had seemed completely unrelated. Still, in silence they continued to listen carefully.

"So which ones are you thinking of this time?" Ehrlich asked resignedly.

"I've been watching them since they arrived and I definitely think we should go for the Parkers," Tyler replied stonily. "They're both young, incredibly fit, and appear to be our best candidates from this lot."

"I thought you'd say that," Ehrlich concurred. "And I suppose you've already gotten their files and know exactly where to find them."

"Of course," Tyler told him. "Mary here pulled their file this afternoon while she was working in the file room for me – isn't that right, dear?"

"The Parkers are from Dallas," Mary Tyler put in. "I've given them our home address and I do hope we can have them over to dinner sometime, Bob."

"Oh we will, dear," Tyler told her. He then asked, "You didn't by any chance already invite them, did you?"

"Oh yes," she was apparently nodding her head yes. "But I'll have to get their phone number before they leave so we can set things up."

"Absolutely," her husband agreed. Sydney strained to figure out what exactly it was that she heard in his tone – was it condescension or pity? Perhaps a mixture of the two? But if so, why?

"Does that mean that we're all concluded here?" Mrs. Ehrlich demanded.

"Sounds that way," Tyler responded, sounding self-assured.

"Good," she said and it sounded as though she was moving towards the door. Sydney and Gage were instantly in motion, hurrying into the nearby entrance to the women's restroom and adjusting the door behind them so that they could still hear the conversation.

The voices were more muted now, but the Rangers could still make out the words as Ehrlich said, "And Frank? Just so you know, we will discuss your moving on very soon."

"Are you threatening me?" Frank countered. "I certainly hope not because that wouldn't be wise. I would hate to have to go to the police and tell them not only that you're practicing without a medical license, but that you're behind the entire organ stealing scam."

"You can't pin the entire thing on me," Ehrlich's voice took on a nervous quality.

"Want to bet?" Tyler replied. His voice lowered and grew intense. "You owe me, Gregory, and you've been of immense help to me, but don't think I won't let you swing for this in order to save myself."

"You're out of control," Ehrlich hissed.

"You'd better hope not," Tyler responded, then to his wife said, "Come on, Mary. Time for bed."

"Good night, doctor," she chirped and Gage and Sydney held their breath collectively as the pair walked past the door to the women's bathroom where they hid and exited the building.

Mrs. Ehrlich commented to her husband, "This is going to end badly, Gregory."

"Let's go, Louise," he sighed and they too passed by the women's restroom door on their way out.

Only after they'd heard the door latch did Sydney and Gage allow themselves to breathe again. Gage was the first to speak.

"Well, I'm confused," he whispered.

"Ditto," Sydney agreed. "Let's get back to our cabin and try to make sense of it."

"Right," Gage climbed to his feet and fumbled in the dark for Sydney's hand to pull her up beside him. She was surprised and yet pleased when he didn't let go until they'd returned to their cabin. Though it felt foreign to walk hand-in-hand with him, it didn't feel wrong at all.

"So let's figure out what we know," he said as she pulled the laptop from his hiding place and situated herself at the table.

"Right," she agreed. "What we know for sure right now is that the Ehrlichs and the Tylers are in on this scheme together."

"Yeah," Gage nodded. "We also know that they've picked us to be their next targets."

"I guess we were convincing," Sydney commented as she clicked the laptop's mouse and brought up the database she was looking for.

"Definitely," he agreed. "But now that we know they're definitely involved, there should be a way for us to get them without going to the trouble of getting a house set up somewhere in the suburbs and waiting."

"I'm guessing there's a paper trail somewhere," Sydney told him. "After all, they're selling the organs to someone."

"I'll call Trivette first thing in the morning and tell him what the current situation is," Gage said. "And then I'll ask him to check with his informants and see if any of them know anything about organ selling on the black market. Maybe we'll get lucky."

"Mm," Sydney was only half-listening as she went over Dr. Ehrlich's file again. She knew that she must have missed something the first time – now it was only a matter of discovering what exactly that was.

Gage was shuffling through a small stack of papers when she suddenly inhaled sharply and breathed, "That's it!"

"What did you find?" he wanted to know.

"Did Jimmy tell you what medical school Frank Timmerson went to?" Sydney asked him without looking away from the screen.

"I think he said Northwestern," Gage shrugged, waiting to see where things were going.

"Bingo," Syd smiled at him. "Dr. Ehrlich is also a proud graduate of Northwestern – class of 1977."

"They were college roommates," Gage leapt ahead of her line of reasoning and she nodded to indicate that his assumption was correct. He paused, though, and asked, "But why did Frank say that Ehrlich owed him? What happened while they were in school?"

Sydney pursed her lips thoughtfully and clicked the mouse a few more times. After a moment, her eyebrows raised and she looked up again. "It looks like our dear Dr. Ehrlich may have cheated on his medical boards. Want to hazard a guess as to who helped him?"

"Interesting," Gage commented.

"I guess he really does owe him," Sydney observed.

"And now Timmerson is using Ehrlich's facility to fulfill his Robin Hood scheme," Gage shook his head in disbelief. "Wow."

"Wow is right," Sydney agreed.

"That doesn't explain Loretta Timmerson's behavior, though," Gage added, puzzled. "I mean, she called him Bob and he spoke to her differently than everyone else."

"I know what you mean," Sydney said, "but I can't explain it either. I guess we'll have to do some more research when you call Trivette in the morning."

"Right," Gage nodded. He glanced at his watch, "And speaking of morning, it already is."

"You're kidding," Sydney glanced at her own watch and saw that it was already 1:30 a.m. She and Gage had been arguing and working for over four hours and she hadn't even realized it.

Gage stood and she watched his face turn pink again. "So, um…"
She read his mind instantly and decided that the best way to handle the situation was bluntly.

"Gage," she began, her tone knowing and yet soft at the same time, "why don't we just keep things simple at the moment? I'll take the bed again and you can take the couch. Let's not tread to heavily on everything that happened tonight just yet."

He blushed again, and then relief seemed to wash over his face. "That sounds good to me."

"Good," Sydney went over and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Shorty," she heard him say as she closed the bathroom door behind her. The words had never sounded so sweet.

***

Sydney woke early despite the fact that she and Gage had not gotten to bed until very late. Outside, she heard a chorus of birds and at first she struggled to remember where exactly she was and what had happened over the past few days. Yet as she thought about it a bit, the memories hit her with all the subtlety of a falling piano – at the exact same moment that a freshly showered and dressed Gage emerged from the tiny bathroom, his pale hair spiky and damp. He noticed instantly that she was awake and immediately turned pink – again. Apparently he wasn't the only one who was a bit overcome by the extreme quality of the emotions they'd expressed the night before.

"Hey, Syd," he ventured softly, then added, "Bathroom's free."

"What time is it?" she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Seven forty-five," he told her.

"Have you called Trivette yet?" she wanted to know, swinging her legs over and bringing herself to a standing position. She ran a sleepy hand through her tousled hair.

"I was planning to do that right now," he said.

"Good," she nodded. "I'll shower while you do that and then we can head to breakfast and do some more firsthand research."

"Right," he agreed as she moved past him.

"Hey Syd," he said before she closed the door.

"Hmm?" she responded.

"Now that we aired out all of that stuff last night," he began, "there's something I think I ought to tell you…"

Uh-oh, was Sydney's reflexive thought.

He was still talking. "I think you look great in the mornings." He blushed as he said it, looking surprised that the words had escaped his lips but added, "I always wanted to say it but I figured you'd hit me."

Sydney gave a half-smile and, noticing a wet towel balled up near her feet, she stooped, picked it up, and asked him mischievously, "You know what Gage?"

"Huh?"

"You were right," she grinned and hurled the towel, catching him squarely in the head. Without further ado, she closed the bathroom door behind her.

Holding the damp towel in his hands and staring after her, Gage smiled broadly. He'd thought that things would change drastically if he and Sydney ever spoke their feelings out loud. He was glad to know that wasn't the case.

*** Author's note – Don't worry, there's more to come! This chapter was just one I wrote really fast so you wouldn't think I forgot about you while I was taking my finals. One more exam and I'll get this thing wrapped up, I promise!