Family Ties

Chapter 21

After a few minutes, I got to my feet and started pacing. Pat watched me, not saying a word.

I glanced at her briefly. "I'm not good at waiting." I explained.

"I've heard." She said with a smile. "Anything you need to talk about?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm good." Pat tilted her head and lifted an eyebrow at me. "No, really. I just..."

She patted my sleeping bag, and I sat down again. "Just what?" she asked quietly.

I shrugged, not sure where to start.

"Feeling anxious, nervous, eager, hopeful, tense, scared, what?"

I shook my head. "All of the above...and none of it. I feel like...shit, I don't know."

"It's like waiting for a root canal."

That startled a laugh out of me. "A root canal?"

She nodded, smiling a little. "Sure. You know it needs to be done, and you know you'll feel better once it's over. But the doing part is a little nerve-wracking."

I thought about that for a minute. "That's most of it, I guess."

"So what's the rest?"

I blew out a breath. "I'm worried about how Ranger will react once we find them. Hell, I'm worried about how I'll react. I'm nervous about getting them to Trenton once we find them. Scared for Sam, and what all this is doing to her. And while I'm happier than I'd ever imagined that Ranger and I have finally gotten together, I hate that it happened in the middle of this. And what if things change between us once this is over and we're back home? Life gets in the way, and his family needs him. And my family? Forget it. I don't imagine they are going to be very supportive of us. Mostly, I just want this to be over, so we can on with figuring out how to work 'us' into our lives."

"That's a lot of worries to be thinking about at once. Maybe you should try and focus on one thing at a time. First things first, we find Brennan and Yazzie. I was worried about Ranger at first too, but I'm not now. He's got it together."

"But will it stay together once he's standing in front of them?"

She nodded. "I think so. And whatever Sam needs help with, you know she'll get it."

"True."

"You and Ranger may have gotten together under extreme circumstances, but that doesn't mean things have to change once you go back to your normal lives. Besides, you both lead kind of extreme lives, so it shouldn't be that much different."

I laughed. "Point taken."

"And true, his family needs him. But you're part of his life now. That's going to mean sharing him with his family, and friends, and the men who work for him. Do you really need your family's approval to be happy with Ranger?"

I shook my head. "No. But it would be nice."

"Sure it would. And while they may disapprove at first, the people who care about you will see how happy you are and come around. As far as fitting your relationship into your lives, you don't have to have it all figured out by morning. It's a process. Jack and I still occasionally struggle with balancing being work partners and a married couple. It gets easier as you go."

I remembered what she told me not long ago. "It works if you want it to."

She smiled. "Exactly."

She was right. I needed to focus on one thing at a time, and quit borrowing trouble. I needed to think about Brennan, and getting him and Lydia caught and back home. I trusted Ranger, and we'd figure the rest out later. I closed my eyes and tried to relax.

Soon we could hear our men coming back. We both stood. Pat looked up at Jack. "Anything?"

He shook his head. "No. We're going to take a quick break before heading in the other direction." He dismounted and took her in his arms, and I moved away, trying to give them a little privacy.

Ranger smiled in their direction as he dismounted and led Cinder over to me. "Hey Babe, how are you holding up?"

I walked to him and put my arms around his waist. "Better now, you?"

He pulled me tighter against him. "Mmm, me too. You ready for this?"

I leaned back just a little so I could look up at him. "Ready as I'm going to be."

He searched my eyes. "You're ready."

Jack called out to him. "Ranger, we should go."

"Two minutes." He spent those minutes kissing me senseless. "Just in case there's no opportunity for that later." He said on a wink.

The two of them took off in the opposite direction, and Pat and I settled in to wait.

Pat smiled over at me as I sat down on my sleeping bag. "Okay, Steph?"

"Yeah, thanks."

We were quiet, both lost in our own thoughts. I wondered what would happen to Brennan and Lydia once we were back home. Then I wondered why I cared. I thought about trials and courts and jail, and knew none of it would make things better or easier for Sam. Before I knew it, Ranger and Jack were back.

"Nothing there," Ranger was saying. "Mount up. I don't want to waste any daylight."

Pat and I quickly stowed our sleeping bags and did as instructed. After a hasty reminder to be careful, we went our separate ways.

Ranger kept us at a fairly fast pace, hoping to catch up to them before dark. It wasn't meant to be though, because dusk was approaching before he stopped, staring.

"What is it?"

He pointed as he whispered. "There. Someone's putting out a fire, see it?"

I looked where he pointed, and I did. "How can we be sure it's them?"

"I'm going to sneak up just close enough to get a look. Radio Snake and Kap and let them know what's going on."

"Done. You be careful. Just a look, right?"

He barely smiled. "Just a look. I'm not going in for a takedown outnumbered and without my partner."

I leaned over for a quick kiss. "See that you don't."

He nodded, then dismounted. At my look, he explained. "Quieter on foot. If I'm not back in two hours, head toward Snake and Kappy."

I nodded, as much as I didn't like it. He was right. If something went wrong and they had him, I'd be foolish to think I could rescue him alone, especially since they would be on guard.

Ranger turned and headed in their direction. I watched him until he faded into the growing darkness. "I hate waiting." I whispered to myself.