This is one of my favorite Syd/Gage stories! Please R&R and let me know what you think of it.

LAST ROUND

Gage knew that Syd was surprised when he asked her to go to the gym with him while he worked out.

"Would you like to go with me to the gym while I work out Shorty?" Gage asked her.

Syd was just taking a bite of her doughnut when she glanced up, her teeth still in the donut.

"You want me to go with you to the gym while you work out?" Syd asked in a surprised voice.

Gage nodded his head.

"That's right Shorty. You want to join me?" Gage asked again. "Sure, I need to get a good workout also. Walker was just kidding me the other day, I was starting to get a little flabby." Syd said with a grin.

Gage gave her a strange look.

"You don't look flabby to me Shorty. You ready to go?" Gage asked.

Syd nodded her head as she finished her doughnut.

"There, now I'm ready." Syd said as she left with him.

When they got to the gym, Syd changed into her workout clothes.

Gage was over by the weights waiting for her.

"You ready to get started?" Gage asked. Syd nodded her head as she picked up a couple of weights. About a half-hour later, Syd laid them down as she rubbed her arms.

"You okay Shorty?" Gage asked.

Syd nodded her head.

"Yeah, just a little stiff." Syd said as Gage took a hold of her arm and gently rubbed them.

"There, feel better?" Gage asked. Syd smiled as she nodded her head.

"Much better. Now, do you need a sparring partner?" Syd asked.

"You know I can't very well box by myself." Gage said as he tossed her a pair of gloves.

Syd put them on as she held them in front of her.

"Just watch it this time Gage. Remember the last time you and I were doing this? You about knocked me out." Syd kidded him.

Gage grinned as he nodded his head.

"I'll be careful this time Shorty." Gage said as he started.

They hadn't even been doing it for 10 minutes when Syd seen Carlos and Trent coming in.

Not knowing she had done it, the gloves came down as Gage took a swing. It caught Syd right in the jaw and knocked her to the ground.

Carlos and Trent came running over to her as Gage knelt down next to her.

"Syd? You okay?" Gage asked in a worried voice as he pulled the gloves off his hands.

Syd rubbed her jaw as she winced at the pain.

"I guess it was my fault this time Gage. I should have kept the gloves up." Syd said with a grin as Carlos and Trent got Syd to her feet.

"You sure you're okay Syd?" Carlos asked.

Syd nodded her head.

"I'm fine Carlos. I guess I should have had my mind on what Gage was doing." Syd said as Trent brought her an ice pack. "This'll help Syd." Trent said as he handed it to her.

"Thanks Trent." Syd said as she placed it against her jaw which was starting to swell.

"You're gonna have some explaining to do to Walker when he sees your jaw. He'll think you got into a fight with someone." Carlos told her.

Syd rubbed at her jaw, it was sore.

"Well, I'll just tell him that I was sparring with Gage and I let my guard down. I'm not blaming you for it Gage, it was my fault that it happened." Syd told him as she put her hand on his.

"Thanks Shorty. I thought you were gonna blame me for it." Gage said with a smile.

Syd shook her head.

"I wouldn't do that to you Gage." Syd said as she got up to change back into her other clothes.

When the two got back to Ranger Headquarters, Trivette saw the bruise on Syd's jaw.

"What in the heck happened to you Syd?" Trivette asked in a worried voice as he came over to her.

Syd explained to Trivette what had happened.

He sat there as he chuckled.

"You should have kept your guard up. I can see the look on Walker's face when he sees it." Trivette said with a laugh.

Syd started to laugh, but held onto the side of her face.

"It even hurts to laugh." Syd said as she gingerly rubbed it.

Just then, Walker came in along with C.D..

"Well, what in the heck happened to you Syd?" Walker asked in a worried voice.

"Gage needed a sparring partner, and I accidentally let my guard down as he was taking a swing toward the gloves and I got hit right in the jaw." Syd said with a grin.

Walker shook his head as he put his hand on her shoulder. "You gotta be more careful Syd." Walker told her.

Syd nodded her head as she grinned.

"I should have been Walker." Syd replied as she went over and sat down at her desk.

Alex came through the door and seen Syd's face. She didn't know how it happened.

"Syd! My gosh! What happened honey?" Alex asked in a concerned voice.

"It's okay Alex. I was Gage's sparring partner and I accidentally let my hands drop right when he was taking a swing toward the gloves." Syd explained to her.

"Well, I'm taken' you home to put some ice on that bruise." Alex told her.

Syd shook her head.

"I'm fine Alex. It only hurts when I try to laugh." Syd told her.

"SYDNEY COOKE! Will you do what I'm suggesting to you?!?" Alex replied.

Syd finally nodded her head as she got up and left with Alex.

"Okay Alex. I'll do what you suggested." Syd said. When Gage came out of the evidence room, he didn't see Syd anywhere around.

"Where'd Syd go to Trivette?" Gage asked in a curious voice. "She went home with Alex." Trivette told him.

When Alex got Syd home, she had her lay down on the couch.

"You just lay down on the couch honey while I get the ice." Alex told her.

Syd laid down on the couch, she kept trying to tell Alex that it didn't hurt as bad as it looked.

Alex came back from the kitchen with an ice bag.

"You just keep this on that jaw for about an hour." Alex said as she gently placed the bag on Syd's jaw.

"Okay Alex. It'll give me a chance to take a nap." Syd said as she closed her eyes and was soon sound asleep.

What Syd didn't know was that Alex called Walker and told him of the bruise on Syd's jaw.

"It just looks terrible Walker. Syd claims it was an accident, but I don't think it was." Alex told him.

"Alex. Will you quit worrying? Both Syd and Gage explained to me what happened, and that's all it was a simple accident." Walker told her.

"If you say so Walker. She's laying down on the couch now sound asleep with an ice pack on her jaw." Alex said as she hung up the phone.

When she came back into the living room, Syd was still sound asleep, but the ice pack had fallen to the floor.

She picked it up, but was hesitant to put it back on Syd's jaw.

Instead, she took it back to the kitchen.

Just then there was a knock on the front door.

When she opened it, she was surprised to find Gage standing there with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

"This is a surprise. Come on in Gage." Alex said, opening the door.

"I just came by to see how Syd was." Gage said as he saw Syd waking up.

"I'm fine Gage." Syd said as she got up off the couch and came over to where he was standing.

"These are for you Shorty. It's my way of apologizing for what happened." Gage said as he handed her the flowers.

Syd gave him a grin as she started laughing.

"Ow! That was very sweet of you Gage. But, like I told you earlier. It wasn't your fault. I should have been paying attention." Syd said as she gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

THE END!