Summary: A ransom leads to a very long weekend for Walker and Alex
Disclaimer: I do not own them
A/N: First attempt at a Walker fic, be nice
Now to the reviewers who make my day!
Trinitytheshedevil: snicker his is coming!
danhyde girl: send your addy to my addy! and thanks!
Jazzcat: Yes, Culliver is in for a world of hurt
HopeGrace-MLH: thanks!
louise1717: yes! I searched and found NO walker/alex fics on ff so this is mine
Space-Case7029: Thanks Audra!
Person of this World: Thanks for the wonderful! review! made me smile
Now on with the fic!
Chapter 3
All day Walker sat holding Alex, praying that somehow he could find a way out of this nightmare. The only thing that brought him from his thoughts was the sound of Alex stirring in her sleep.
He knew why she was shaking. It was not from fear any longer it was from the temperature in the room. The windows although they had bars on them, also had holes, and the cold winds of winter were blowing through. Walker himself was cold, but he knew that Alex did not need this extra burden on her. Her skin was so pale and yet she was burning with fever, he did not understand.
Walker knew Alex had been poisoned, but what else had Culliver done to her? What other things did she have to endure before unconsciousness took her. Walker shook his head, he didn't want to know. Again Alex stirred beneath him, and this time she opened her eyes.
"Walker?" she mumbled.
"Sshh Alex, you just rest. I will figure out a way to get us out of here."
Alex fell limp again at his side. He was just about to lay her down to pull the covers to her chin when she started to twitch. He shrugged it off, thinking it was nothing... until the convulsions started.
Over and over again Alex thrashed about on the bed, sending her shirt up as she did and exposing the bruises littering her abdomen. Walker could see now that one of her ribs were broken, and he did not wish for her to harm herself any further, so gently he held her still against the bed. His arms pinning hers down, and glad she was asleep so she could not see the lines of worry etched on his face.
Alex's body went limp in another minute but it brought her back to the world of the waking and she stared deeply into Walker's eyes. Tears pooled there and soon were cascading down her face.
"Walker, I'm so cold," she managed to utter, as her teeth began to chatter.
"I know Alex I know, just hang on for me. CD and Trivette will come soon and we will be back at the ranch in front of a nice warm fire."
Alex was going to speak, but the door to the room flung open and in walked Roger Culliver grinning from ear to ear.
"Awww how sweet, picturing you and your girlfriend here escaping do you ranger? Well I am here to inform you that will not happen. You see, I was having all sorts of fun getting information out of Ms. Cahill here before you arrived and I believe you interrupted that. Now I intend to finish what I started."
Walker jumped to his feet at this proclamation. He knew Alex feared being cornered and had spent weeks laying in his arms crying over the LaRue episode. The mere thought of it sent her into a panic attack, and once she had even stopped breathing from it. He was not about to let this man send her back into that nightmare.
"Your problem is with me leave her out of this!"
"On the contrary she serves as a very vital piece in the scheme of things. You see I wanted revenge and first thought of that old man you think so highly of, but he is not valuable enough. Then my second thought was your partner; what is his name, but again I threw this notion out. No by far Ms. Cahill here holds the most leverage with you. My plans however are not to harm you yet ranger, but I think I will break you, by having you watch me hurt her," Culliver said, pointing to the now cowering Alex on the bed. This was all it took to send Walker into a rage.
Before Culliver knew what hit him a spinning back kick connected to his head sending him flying across the room. Quickly he grabbed Alex as Culliver laid on the floor shaking the remnants of that off and walked out the door. He made it just outside the entrance to the room when he came face to face with the twelve gauge shotgun. Staring back at him was Roger Culliver's brother, Chuck.
Walker was slung into the chair and his wrists were bound behind his back. Next were his feet, and then the gag was placed in his mouth.
"Now as I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me. I was thinking nothing would be sweeter than for you to watch your lovely girlfriend here suffer, and know there was not a damn thing you could do about it. Now should you have any ideas in your head of getting out of that chair, know that the shotgun pointed at your head will blow a hole into the lovely Ms. Cahill here."
Walker's icy stare at Culliver was all he could do. He watched with fearful eyes as Alex moved further back on the bed, and was grabbed by her hair and pulled off it. She did not stand long on the floor as Culliver delivered a slap that sent her flying back onto the mattress.
"Come now honey show me some of that love that you reserve for your ranger."
Alex pulled her arm back and before Culliver knew it she had punched him square in the nose. It was broken, the blood pouring from it, but Culliver simply swiped his hand across his face, smearing the blood as he did, and laughed.
"So you wanna play that game do you honey? Well, two can play that."
Culliver's fist made contact with the side of Alex's face sending her back against the mattress hard. She was stunned and did not see the next blow coming, but the sound of another rib breaking, was confirmation that Culliver's punch had done damage. He was drawing back to strike her again, but the gasps coming from her stopped him.
"Chuck will you lookie here. Seems our Ms. Cahill here is finding it hard to breathe. Now I am a God fearing man, and I believe if she is destined to live she will, so I am going to untie you Ranger Walker, and if the Lord sees fit you will be able to save Ms. Cahill here."
Roger Culliver went to stand beside Walker and he could see the muscles beneath the man's shirt tensed up with adrenaline. He knew if Cordell Walker got the chance he would kill him.
"Now ranger if you get any ideas about trying to do me in when I untie you, I want you to know my brother will pull the trigger on your Ms. Cahill there."
Walker knew Culliver meant what he said, that he would indeed kill Alex given the chance, and he could not risk it. When Culliver untied him he stood up and stared directly into his eyes.
"When we get out of here I am coming for you Culliver.. Nothing will stop me, and it will not be Ranger Walker coming for you, it will be man to man."
Culliver took two steps back, reeling from the hatred coming from Walker and he and his brother left the room swiftly, locking the door behind them.
Walker ran over to the bed, and placed Alex back atop the pillows. She was still gasping for breath.
"Alex don't let them win, breathe Alex.. breathe!" he pleaded, but Alex kept flailing, her gasps for air becoming more frantic.
Walker tried to rub her face to calm her, tried holding her hand, but the fear in Alex's eyes showed him she was trapped in a world he could not get to her in.
Alex pounded the bed, the beads of sweat forming on her face as the air would not come. Her lips were turning a pale shade of blue, and tears were leaking out of the corners of her eyes.
"Dammit Alex fight it, breathe Alex!" Walker screamed in frustration.
He could not watch her die, not this way, not here with him helpless to stop it. None of his thoughts would save her though and her body started to seize up with each gasp. It had only been seconds but it felt like a lifetime had went by, and Walker watched with tears in his eyes as Alex's face turned blue. He wanted to help her, wanted to make her suffering stop, but it was not possible.
"Alex calm down, breathe for me Alex," he begged her over and over to no avail, and he watched her grasp on his shirt fade with one last breath taken, and she fell beneath his arms.
"Alex..No!" he screamed.
Knowing he had but precious few minutes Walker placed his hands above her navel and started compressions. He didn't know why she had stopped breathing completely. It could have been the poison flowing through her body, or the panic attack or both, or some other culmination of things Culliver had done to her before he got there, but he was determined she would not die now.
Walker pumped her chest, and tried to blow a breath of life into her, but his actions seemed futile. When he heard another rib crack under the strain of his actions, he winced, but the sound of Alex taking in a breath, was like music to his ears.
Alex rolled away from him and crawled out of the bed. She tried to stand but in her delirium she fell back to the floor. Crawling to the corner of the room she retched. The cool air coming in from the window, did little to ease the fever raging inside her, and she didn't notice Walker coming over till he sat down beside her.
She no longer could breathe without sounding raspy, the cracked ribs making Walker worry even more. He knew Alex could not survive much longer no matter how strong she was, and he would not hold together much longer watching her suffer.
Carefully as he could he picked her up and put her back down on the bed. He couldn't bundle her up in his coat anymore, for the pressure on her broken ribs made her whimper in pain, so he pulled her close to him and wrapped his arm around her chest, falling into a fitful sleep.