Morning Star
Chapter 5
"Gage?" Syd awoke the next morning in the hospital, groggy and confused.
"No Sydney, its Alex." Alex Cahill-Walker reached for Syd's hand and smiled to herself at the first name the young Ranger spoke since being brought into the hospital several hours earlier. "How are you feeling honey? Here, let's try to sit you up."
"Alex? Why...why... are you here?" Syd seemed muddled for a moment, and then her eyes clearing, looked to Alex with panic. "Gage? Is he alright? What about Walker? Trivette?"
"Gage is fine Sydney. Everyone is, don't worry. You're the one we're worried about. You were pretty badly injured last night and we didn't want to leave you alone. Since the guys all had to be in the office first thing this morning to deal with the paperwork on the case, I volunteered to come and pull first shift."
Well, that's actually not quite true, thought Alex; Gage was really on first shift. He had spent all night in the hospital waiting with Syd and keeping a close watch on her. The way Alex had heard it from Walker, the paramedics couldn't pry his partner from Gage's arms at the scene of the showdown, and it was only with great reluctance and assurances that it was absolutely necessary, that Gage had released her into the care of the emergency room doctors.
"What happened? Did we get Myser?" Syd's questions brought Alex back to the present. "I feel pretty awful. I remember kicking open the door to the house and it's all kind of fuzzy after that."
Well, that's actually not quite true, thought Syd. I do remember falling and the world felt like it was spinning, and then I saw Gage jump off the porch and as soon as he caught me in his strong arms I just let go and allowed the darkness to take over.
"You were shot Sydney. Two times, but fortunately neither wound looks too serious."
As if noticing her own body for the first time since waking up, Syd looked down to see her petite body covered in bandages and wires. She had an IV and oxygen tubes, actually she could barely move in the bed she was so laden down with hospital equipment.
"The injury on your shoulder was superficial and had stopped bleeding by the time you arrived at the hospital. The one on your leg though was much more severe. It was still bleeding heavily when you arrived and they had to remove the bullet. I know you required at least 2 blood transfusions. But the good news is that it missed the bone and should cause no permanent damage."
Alex held Syd's hand as she delivered the news about her injuries and watched as Syd breathed in a deep sigh of relief upon hearing that there would be no permanent damage. Alex understood, permanent damage would likely have meant removal from the Texas Rangers, and being a Ranger was more than a job, it was a calling.
Just then the doctor walked in and smiled at both Syd and Alex, pleased to see his patient conscious and alert. Knowing that the doctor would want to see his patient in private, Alex patted Syd's hand one more time and stepped out into the hallway to call Walker.
"Gage, Trivette. Good news! Sydney's awake and meeting with her doctor right now." Walker called out to his comrades as he finished his conversation with Alex.
"That's great!" Jimmy smiled the big goofy grin he always got on his face when he was genuinely pleased with something. "I told you she'd be fine Gage! See, it was a good thing that you finally let go of her and let the doctors look after her."
Smiling up at Trivette and beginning to turn red from embarrassment, he just knew Trivette would get a lot of mileage over this one, Gage finally let his shoulders relax and took a deep breathe to fill his lungs.
"That you did Trivette, that you did."
Gage had spent the morning embroiled in paperwork, something he dreaded on any day, never mind the day that his partner, that Syd, was in the hospital recovering from gunshot wounds. He was exhausted; they had been on stakeout all yesterday afternoon and well into the evening which had been tiring enough even without the confusing way that Syd had been acting, and then she was shot and Gage had managed to stay alert through pure adrenalin until he was sure that she was okay. He had then waited outside her hospital room until early in the morning when Walker came by, left Alex there and instructed Gage to go home, shower, change and report immediately to the office.
The files swimming in front of his eyes, Gage pushed himself away from the desk. "Walker, I'm pretty sure I got all the details done about the Myser case. My cell will be on if you need me, I've got to get out of here."
Walker merely nodded in understanding, and reaching up patted the younger Ranger on the back as he left the office. "Good job yesterday. Both of you."
"Syd's the one who did it." Gage stepped out the office and, choosing the stairs over the elevator, was soon on ground level, then outside and on his bike speeding mindlessly home.
When he arrived home Gage walked through to his bedroom and kicking off his shoes, lay down on the bed. As he was closing his eyes a blue shirt thrown carelessly on the ground caught his attention and he sat up suddenly and studied it. It was the shirt he had been wearing yesterday, the shirt he had been wearing when he held Syd as she lay unconscious in his arms. It was covered in blood, her blood, and Gage just stared at it, not knowing what to do. Part of him wanted to throw the shirt across the room or out the window, rip it up or burn it, anything to get rid of this reminder of yesterday's trauma. The other part of him wanted to hold the shirt tight, reminding himself that Syd was strong, acknowledging that he was stronger when she was with him.
After a few minutes of quiet internal debate, Gage chose the latter and curled up on his bed clutching the blood-stained shirt. 'I need her,' thought Gage, 'I don't know what I'd do with out her, I really need her.' And then as he drifted to sleep, another thought almost jolted him awake. 'What does that mean?'
Chapter 5
"Gage?" Syd awoke the next morning in the hospital, groggy and confused.
"No Sydney, its Alex." Alex Cahill-Walker reached for Syd's hand and smiled to herself at the first name the young Ranger spoke since being brought into the hospital several hours earlier. "How are you feeling honey? Here, let's try to sit you up."
"Alex? Why...why... are you here?" Syd seemed muddled for a moment, and then her eyes clearing, looked to Alex with panic. "Gage? Is he alright? What about Walker? Trivette?"
"Gage is fine Sydney. Everyone is, don't worry. You're the one we're worried about. You were pretty badly injured last night and we didn't want to leave you alone. Since the guys all had to be in the office first thing this morning to deal with the paperwork on the case, I volunteered to come and pull first shift."
Well, that's actually not quite true, thought Alex; Gage was really on first shift. He had spent all night in the hospital waiting with Syd and keeping a close watch on her. The way Alex had heard it from Walker, the paramedics couldn't pry his partner from Gage's arms at the scene of the showdown, and it was only with great reluctance and assurances that it was absolutely necessary, that Gage had released her into the care of the emergency room doctors.
"What happened? Did we get Myser?" Syd's questions brought Alex back to the present. "I feel pretty awful. I remember kicking open the door to the house and it's all kind of fuzzy after that."
Well, that's actually not quite true, thought Syd. I do remember falling and the world felt like it was spinning, and then I saw Gage jump off the porch and as soon as he caught me in his strong arms I just let go and allowed the darkness to take over.
"You were shot Sydney. Two times, but fortunately neither wound looks too serious."
As if noticing her own body for the first time since waking up, Syd looked down to see her petite body covered in bandages and wires. She had an IV and oxygen tubes, actually she could barely move in the bed she was so laden down with hospital equipment.
"The injury on your shoulder was superficial and had stopped bleeding by the time you arrived at the hospital. The one on your leg though was much more severe. It was still bleeding heavily when you arrived and they had to remove the bullet. I know you required at least 2 blood transfusions. But the good news is that it missed the bone and should cause no permanent damage."
Alex held Syd's hand as she delivered the news about her injuries and watched as Syd breathed in a deep sigh of relief upon hearing that there would be no permanent damage. Alex understood, permanent damage would likely have meant removal from the Texas Rangers, and being a Ranger was more than a job, it was a calling.
Just then the doctor walked in and smiled at both Syd and Alex, pleased to see his patient conscious and alert. Knowing that the doctor would want to see his patient in private, Alex patted Syd's hand one more time and stepped out into the hallway to call Walker.
"Gage, Trivette. Good news! Sydney's awake and meeting with her doctor right now." Walker called out to his comrades as he finished his conversation with Alex.
"That's great!" Jimmy smiled the big goofy grin he always got on his face when he was genuinely pleased with something. "I told you she'd be fine Gage! See, it was a good thing that you finally let go of her and let the doctors look after her."
Smiling up at Trivette and beginning to turn red from embarrassment, he just knew Trivette would get a lot of mileage over this one, Gage finally let his shoulders relax and took a deep breathe to fill his lungs.
"That you did Trivette, that you did."
Gage had spent the morning embroiled in paperwork, something he dreaded on any day, never mind the day that his partner, that Syd, was in the hospital recovering from gunshot wounds. He was exhausted; they had been on stakeout all yesterday afternoon and well into the evening which had been tiring enough even without the confusing way that Syd had been acting, and then she was shot and Gage had managed to stay alert through pure adrenalin until he was sure that she was okay. He had then waited outside her hospital room until early in the morning when Walker came by, left Alex there and instructed Gage to go home, shower, change and report immediately to the office.
The files swimming in front of his eyes, Gage pushed himself away from the desk. "Walker, I'm pretty sure I got all the details done about the Myser case. My cell will be on if you need me, I've got to get out of here."
Walker merely nodded in understanding, and reaching up patted the younger Ranger on the back as he left the office. "Good job yesterday. Both of you."
"Syd's the one who did it." Gage stepped out the office and, choosing the stairs over the elevator, was soon on ground level, then outside and on his bike speeding mindlessly home.
When he arrived home Gage walked through to his bedroom and kicking off his shoes, lay down on the bed. As he was closing his eyes a blue shirt thrown carelessly on the ground caught his attention and he sat up suddenly and studied it. It was the shirt he had been wearing yesterday, the shirt he had been wearing when he held Syd as she lay unconscious in his arms. It was covered in blood, her blood, and Gage just stared at it, not knowing what to do. Part of him wanted to throw the shirt across the room or out the window, rip it up or burn it, anything to get rid of this reminder of yesterday's trauma. The other part of him wanted to hold the shirt tight, reminding himself that Syd was strong, acknowledging that he was stronger when she was with him.
After a few minutes of quiet internal debate, Gage chose the latter and curled up on his bed clutching the blood-stained shirt. 'I need her,' thought Gage, 'I don't know what I'd do with out her, I really need her.' And then as he drifted to sleep, another thought almost jolted him awake. 'What does that mean?'