I forgot to add the disclaimer on the earlier chapters. Sorry, Mr. Norris. These characters don't belong to me and I am not profiting from this story.

Chapter 4

Trivette is riding in the co-pilot seat and radios the St. Matthews hospital to inform them that they have a ranger with a gunshot wound in the chest. They are coming in by helicopter and their ETA is about two minutes. Sydney is strapped to the bench seat in the rear of the copter while Walker and Gage sit in the jump seats behind the pilots. The hospital staff is waiting at the heli-pad when the rangers arrive. Gage and Walker gently hand Sydney's petite body out of the copter and lay her on the stretcher. Gage jumps from the copter and takes her hand as the nurses and orderlies push the gurney back into the hospital. Gage has to run to keep up. Walker gives the pilot the thumbs up sign as soon as he and Trivette are far enough away. The pilot returns the signal and takes off from the hospital heli-pad.
Trivette turns to Walker as soon as they are inside the hospital and says, "Gage must be pretty shook up, because he didn't even ask why I'm not dead."
"I know," responded Walker with a concerned look on his face.

Gage stayed with the gurney right up to the trauma room door. Two very large orderlies very politely stopped him and told him he couldn't come in. Walker and Trivette found him outside the trauma room with his forehead resting against the wall.
"Hey buddy, let's find somewhere to sit down. They will let us know what's going on as soon as they know," Trivette said as he placed a comforting hand on Gage's shoulder and tried to lead him to the waiting room.
Before Trivette knew what was happening, Gage had caught Trivette's arm in a hold and punched him square on the jaw.
Walker stepped in to stop Gage from hurting Trivette too badly. "Easy Gage he's is still on our side."
Walker reached down to help Trivette get up. "Come on and we'll explain what has been happening." Walker said leading them both down the hall. He called Alex on his cell phone to let her know what had happened.

Sitting in the small waiting room Gage is trying desperately to comprehend all that Walker and Trivette are telling him. "So let me get this straight, Miguel Chavez approached you about working for him, right Trivette?" Trivette nodded in agreement. "Then when you refused he threatened Erica and Jet?"
"Right again, Gage," Interjected Trivette.
"So when that happened, you went to Walker and the two of you decided to use it to your advantage to find out who was really behind Miguel's operation?" said Gage as he began to understand what had really happened. "But why didn't you tell Syd and me?"
"There wasn't time," Walker pointed out. "We really didn't plan to kill Trivette in the beginning. The check for bugging devices in the office turned up two. One was at your desk and one at Trivette's. We couldn't remove them right away because we didn't want the Chavez to know we had found them."
"I had already planted a listening device of my own in the nightclub, the first time I met with Miguel," explained Trivette. "So when Walker heard them say I had served my purpose and they wanted to get rid of me, we decided to have Alex take Erica and Jet and go to a safe place, then we set up our little play so they would think they were safe. I'm sorry we didn't tell you beforehand but you two were already at the stakeout when this all happened."
"We couldn't risk them finding out that Trivette wasn't really dead. Not only would that have put Alex, Erica and Jet in danger, but they would have rescheduled the transfer and we couldn't have gotten them," continued Walker. "I never got a chance to talk to you about it, because we were always in the office."
"Okay, I think I understand it now, but I'm not sure Sydney will be so forgiving," explained Gage, "she was really upset after seeing Trivette carried out in a body bag."
Suddenly, at the mention of her name, he was brought back to reality and his fear of losing Sydney overcame him. He jumped up from his seat and started back down the hallway toward the trauma room. Walker and Trivette rose to follow him. As he reached the trauma room door it opened and the doctor came out to talk to them. Gage stopped in his tracks at the look on the doctor's face.
"How is she?" asked Gage, not really sure he wanted to hear the answer.
"Well, she is being prepped for surgery now," stated the doctor. "The bullet missed her heart but apparently it did quite a bit of damage to her right lung. She has lost a lot of blood and is suffering from shock. She is also having a great deal of difficulty breathing on her own but, we won't know the full extent of her injuries until we operate and remove all the bullet fragments." The doctor turned to leave then stopped and turned back. "If she has any family, they really should be notified."
This last statement hit them all pretty hard, but it really knocked the wind out of Gage. Walker and Trivette each took hold of his arms and led him back to the waiting room and sat him down. He could hold it in no longer. The tears came to his eyes and he buried his face in his hands and let them flow.
Trivette took the seat next to him and placed a supportive arm around the young ranger. He had always thought there might be more to their partnership than just being close friends, but he hadn't realized how much more. Trivette tried to offer comforting words but Gage simply continued to sob softly.
Walker left the waiting room and walked down the hall to make a phone call. Alex answered on the first ring, "Hello."
"Hi, Alex," Walker answered.
"How is she doing?" queried Alex.
"She is in surgery, but I'm more worried about Gage. He is really shaken"
"Erica and I have dropped off the kids at the HOPE center and we will be there as soon as we can."
"Good. Oh, and Alex..." started Walker.
"Yes?"
"I love you."
"I love you, too Walker"

Walker and Trivette are sitting with Gage when Alex and Erica arrive. They quickly rose from their seats to greet their lovely wives. Erica rushes to her husband and wraps her arms around him. It felt good to be able to hold him again after all that had gone on in the last two days.
Alex walked over to Walker and they embraced gently. "I'm so glad that you're okay," she said softly. "Have you heard anything new about Sydney?"
"No, she is still in surgery," Walker stated impatiently.
"Well, I hate to say it but, you two need to get back to work so you can make sure the Chavez brothers don't cause us any more trouble," Erica said.
"Right," Alex interjected. "Erica and I will stay here with Gage, and we will let you know as soon as we hear anything about Sydney."
Walker took advantage of his wife's offer by turning to Trivette and saying, "Well partner, since your feeling better, maybe we should get back to the office and see how the rest of the bust went down?"
"I'm right behind you partner," quipped Trivette.
He turned to his lovely wife and mouthed the words, "I love you."
They embraced each other again and she whispered in his ear, "I love you, too. Please be careful."
Jimmy flashed his famous grin at her and replied "I always am."
On their way out the door Walker placed a supportive hand on Gage's shoulder, and Jimmy knelt down to offer encouraging words to his young friend. "Hey Gage," Jimmy said in a soft, but serious tone. "Hang in their buddy, if Sydney is tough enough to put up with us guys day in and day out, then no little bullet is going slow her down."
Gage managed a small grin and laid a friendly hand on Jimmy's shoulder. "Thanks, Trivette, and I'm sorry about what happened earlier."
"Not a problem buddy," Jimmy said rubbing his jaw, "I had already forgotten about it."
Puzzled, Alex and Erica looked at each other but decided now was not the time for questions. Walker and Trivette left them in the waiting room.

Back at Ranger headquarters Jimmy was taking a lot of ribbing about his unfortunate demise. Of course, he took it good naturedly but, his mind was really on Sydney. Finally, after the fifth call asking where the wake was going to be held, Jimmy sent and E-mail to everyone on his address list that read, "The news of my death has been greatly exaggerated."
Walker was on the phone with the lead FBI agent from the bust this morning. They had stopped the arms for drugs deal and had the most of the men in lock-up, waiting to be interviewed. The bad news was, the Chavez brothers had escaped. Their car had been found abandoned in a parking lot near their nightclub. Blood was found on the back seat and they were checking out all the hospitals to see if anyone matching either of their descriptions had been seeking treatment. Walker thanked him and hung up the phone.
Walking over to Trivette's desk and Walker sat down on the corner of it. He filled Jimmy in on what had happened after they left the scene this morning. A look of terror crossed Jimmy's face when he found out that the Chavez brothers had escaped.
"If they are still out there then Erica and Jet are still in danger. We've got to go get them," Jimmy said urgently.
"Hold on a minute. The Feds found the car abandoned near their nightclub and there was blood all over the back seat," Walker said quickly, trying to keep his friend from rushing out the door. Jimmy thought for a minute and said, "I could have hit one of them. I fired into the back of the car just after Sydney was hit. I remember hearing Miguel's voice calling to his brother, but I couldn't understand all that he said."
"The Feds are checking all the hospitals already. If it was Mario that you hit, that might bye us some time." Walker said optimistically.
"Yeah, but if it was Miguel that I hit, then Mario is probably already setting up a hit on my family" Jimmy insisted. "I have got to go get them."
Just as Jimmy finished his statement his phone rang. Answering it, he almost shouted, "Trivette." Softening his tone he said, "Sorry, Alex. Okay, we'll be right there. Alex don't let on, but keep your eyes on Erica. Walker and I will pick up the kids on the way to the hospital. We will fill you in when we get there. Bye."
Turning to Walker, "Let's go, Sydney just got out of surgery."

When Walker and Trivette came into the waiting room carrying their precious children, their anxious wives came up to greet them. Walker took Alex aside and filled her in while Jimmy explained things to Erica. When they had decided on a plan of action to protect their families, Jimmy asked about Sydney.
Alex answered him, "She is out of surgery, and it went well, but she hasn't regained consciousness yet, and her vital signs haven't stabilized. She is still in critical condition. Gage is in the room with her now."

Gage was sitting in a chair close to the bed. He was holding her hand and very gently stroking her hair. The large hospital bed made her seem even smaller than usual. What Sydney lacked in stature she made up for in personality and determination. With the exception of Walker, she was as good at being a ranger as any man he knew, and she could handle all of the grief she got from the guys with ease. Now, she seemed so frail and weak. He could barely stand to see her hooked up to all the machines, with tubes going in and out of her beautiful body. The only sign that she was alive was the soft beeping of her heart monitor and the steady sound of the respirator.
Gage stood slowly, and with tears in his eyes he tenderly kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry, Syd. I should have been there for you. Please come back to me, Syd. There is so much I need to tell you. Please come back so I can tell you that...that...I love you."

Thanks for the reviews. I did this one over and tried to make it easier to read. If the dialogue format is still confusing PLEASE let me know. Thanks for the heads up. I am working on the next chapter but it might be a few days.