Two Days Later

The first thing that greeted him as he came out of the fog was pain; indescribable pain that seemed to take over his entire body. His mind had problems focusing because of it and just trying really wore him out. He wanted to fall back into the darkness, let sleep overcome him once again. However a presence to his right made him fight to keep awake.

Ever so slowly he moved his head which caused pain to shoot through his mouth. What the hell had happened to him? Why was he in so much pain? He tried to talk, but found that hurt him even more. But he did get a low groan out which quickly got somebody to hold his right hand. Whoever it was comforted him enough that he was able to relax and think on other things than the pain that ravaged his body.

"Walker…" A female voice that sounded very familiar to him came through the fog. "How you doing, Cowboy?"

It was his wife, Alex and just knowing that she was around him took away most of the pain. With all he had left, he squeezed her hand then tried to open his eyes. The latter proved rather difficult to do and it quickly wore him out. He was about to let the darkness take over his mind when a blinding light pierced through his thoughts. This irritated him to no end and he let out a grunt of disproval as he tried to wave the annoyance away.

"…Doctor Nguyen…" Came a male's voice. "If you can hear and understand me, squeeze my hand." Walker felt somebody take hold of his hand and he instantly gave it a squeeze just to get rid of the light. "Good, good…" The voice faded off as Walker's tired brain fought to keep awake. "…he'll be more awake…for a few days…drift in and out."

Alex watched in glee as Walker followed Nguyen's instructions to the letter till he finally fell back to sleep. This was indeed great news to everybody, it showed Walker was waking up and didn't suffer any known brain damage. She gently kissed his forehead then patted his hand as Nguyen checked the surgery sight on his chest. Walker was cut straight down from below his neck all the way to his belly button. Doctor's had decided because Walker was so weak from the injury to his lung that they will remove the kidney through his abdomen. But because of this, her husband will now have a very thick scar for the rest of his life.

"He's doing remarkably well." Nguyen gently pressed his stethoscope against Walker's chest. "He's breathing is much better, but he still has a long way to go." He smiled at Alex. "But so far, he's healing a lot quicker than we thought. Your husband is a fighter, wish all of my patients were like him."

Alex patted Walker's right hand. "He proves many doctors wrong."

She held back the urge to cry at seeing the line of staples on Walker's chest and abdomen. Most think bullet holes are perfectly round scars and in fact they are the complete opposite. Sure Walker has some scars that are like that, but those were mainly from entry wounds. The exit wounds; those do the most damage.

"He will have a thick scar." Nguyen said as though reading Alex's thoughts. "But, with laser surgery that can be toned down." He wrote in his electronic clipboard then pushed a button. "Everything so far is going rather well. If Walker keeps fighting like this, he'll fully recover within the year."

"That's so great to hear." Alex's attention went to the door as their daughter came walking in. "Angela, your father almost woke up today."

Angela smiled and stepped up to Walker's right side, next to Alex. "Hey dad, it's me." She took hold of her father's hand and quickly noticed it was cold. "Glad to see you doing much better." She rubbed his hand to get warmth back into it. "Before you know it dad, you'll be out of this bed and back home with us."

It was hard to see her strong father so weak, but Angela knew that he will get better. So far there has been no complications and he seems to be healing rather well. Soon, her father will be back home with them. Even though it has only been a few days she already missed the talks they had daily while he drove her to school. Though his job kept him busy, sometimes he didn't even arrive home till past midnight, he always made sure to spend one day a week with her. Part of her loved this, after all she was daddy's little girl, and yet another part didn't want anything to do with her father. Probably because she was getting to the age where boys were more appealing to her than long talks with a parent.

"Mom, dad will be the same right?" Angela turned to her mother to see her eyes misting. "What really happened to dad?"

Her mother gently rubbed her shoulders then kissed her forehead. "You will learn in time. Right now, you're just too young." She began to rub Angela's back. "Dad may have some demons to face once he recovers. He'll be feeling a lot of guilt over what had happened…"

"Mom, I've been watching the news reports. I know that four officers were killed in the riot." Angela's eyes drifted to Walker as her young mind remembered what she saw on the news this morning. "Did Dad see them get killed?" Her voice was barely audible.

This question shocked Alex enough to get her to sit down and look at her hands. It just made her realize though their daughter was just eleven she was much smarter than the average child of her age. Angela definitely got the brains from both Walker and Alex, along with their stubbornness. Sometimes she acted so much like Walker it caused shivers to crawl up Alex's spine. Their daughter was growing up right before her and Alex had to realize Angela wasn't five years old anymore.

She took hold of her daughter's hand then gently pulled her down till she was sitting next to her. "I'm not sure what your father saw that night. But he won't tell anybody." She took hold of Walker's hand and slowly rubbed his thumb with hers. "As he recovers, he might act a little different. Just give him space and time to clear his head."

Angela smiled at her. "Thanks mom."

"For what?"

"Treating me like an adult and not like a kid." Angela gave Alex a strong hug. "But I'm only eleven after all, I still get to act childish on occasions."

"I keep forgetting how quickly you grew up." Alex pulled back and brushed her daughter's long blonde hair out of her face. Though she looked very similar to her from afar, up close Angela definitely took after her father. For one, she had the same eyes and mouth as he, but a lot of people don't even notice. "Dad needs his rest right now. Want to get something to eat?"

"Sure." Angela stood up, took hold of her father's hand once again and gave it squeeze. "We'll be right back, dad."

XXXX

Gage had a job to do, and no matter how much he hated doing it, he had to get answers from Zeigler. As he stepped into the ICU room he could see Bryant, his oldest son along with Zeigler's twin teenage boys, Anthony and Zachary sitting by their father's side. He smiled at the family then stepped up to his friend's side to see him wide awake.

"Zeigler, how you feeling?"

"Great. Doctor say that if I obey their orders and don't push myself I can leave at the end of the week." A shadow crossed his friend's face and Gage knew he was thinking of Walker. "How did I fair so well?"

Bryant instantly took hold of his father's hand. "God, wanted you to be here for the twins. They still need you at home." He leaned back then smiled at Gage. "I gave it some serious thought and come next year, I'll be leaving the police for narcotics. Already got the paperwork rolling." He laughed. "Now, I won't become a Ranger overnight, but it's definitely something I want to do."

"They grow up so fast." Zeigler smiled then nodded his head at Bryant. "Why don't you take Anthony and Zach to get something to eat? I need to talk to Captain Gage privately."

Once the boys left the room Gage sat down and took out a small notepad from his chest pocket. "I have to ask you questions."

Zeigler gave Gage a slow nod. "Understandable. It all started when the rioters surged the gate…"

XXXX

The next day Trivette found himself sitting all alone by Walker's bedside. He personally didn't want anybody here with him, he just wanted to spend some time with his friend. Shame Walker wasn't awake, but just being near him was enough. He took hold of Walker's right hand then gave it a friendly squeeze.

"Marcus said his first word last night." He smiled brilliantly at remembering his little boy's first word. "It was dog." He laughed. "We don't even own a dog." Walker's hand flexed around his then gave it a soft squeeze. "Are you awake?" Another squeeze which got Trivette to smile in happiness. "Welcome back, Walker." Walker's left hand slowly moved to his chest, but slowly dropped it back to his side. "Don't worry, just a few more weeks and those staples will be out."

It was strange hearing his friend talk to him and yet not able to respond. Though Walker was more coherent then the last time, he was still fighting off the pain that blurred his mind. Why was he in this much pain? What had happened to him?

Slowly and very carefully he attempted to open his eyes, but that proved near impossible to do. He then attempted to speak which caused severe agony to pulse through his face. After what seemed like hours of rest to his tired mind he finally got one eye to open. However, when he did, all he could see was a blurry image.

"Hey!" Came Trivette's excited voice which caused Walker's head to throb even more. "Alex and Angela went to get something to eat. Want me to get them?"

Walker slowly shook his head no then tried to get a better view of his friend, but as he moved his head, the pain increased. He winced rather loudly then decided it was best to let sleep take over his mind once again.

Even though it was just small movements Trivette was extremely happy to see his friend finally waking up and trying to communicate. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much longer before Walker actually woke up and was coherent. So far, he has proven many doctors wrong and Trivette knew he would keep doing that till he walked out of this hospital at his own will.

The door to Walker's room slowly opened and in walked Doctor Nguyen with four nurses and interns. He smiled at Trivette then went to Walker's bed where he pulled up the guards.

"Going to take him to x-rays and surgically put in the tracheotomy tube." With the some help from the nurses he got Walker ready for transport. "Did he wake up yet?"

Trivette beamed at the doctor. "That he did, actually opened his eyes."

Doctor Nguyen gave Trivette a smile then bent down to get a better look at Walker. "Mr. Walker, if you are awake please open your eyes for me." When he didn't get a response he shone a light in Walker's eyes. This did get a reaction from Walker's right hand which slightly lifted off of the bed as he let out a soft moan. "I'm taking you to surgery right now to repair your jaw. We're also going to be taking x-rays to see if we need to do something with your nose."

Walker's right eye slowly opened and Trivette could see that the white of his eye was completely red. "Doc, is that normal for an eye to get that color?"

"Yes, we usually see that in severe beatings like this. He has some ruptured blood vessels in both of his eyes, but they will heal in time." Nguyen patted Walker's shoulder then turned to the nurses in the room. "He's currently awake. Let's take him to pre-op and get him ready for surgery."

Trivette glanced down at Walker then smiled. "Doc here is going to take good care of you." He took hold of his friend's hand and gave it a good squeeze. "Hang in there. Just a little longer to go. You're doing good so far." He turned to Nguyen. "Take good care of him."

XXXX

After hearing what Zeigler had to say, Gage now knew he had to talk to the other surviving officer, Samuel Porter. Unfortunately, Porter had his mouth wired shut which could make it difficult for him to talk. He had to try though, he had to know what had happened to him and Zeigler. As he made his way down the hallway, he spotted several police officers who gave him a slight nod as he passed by. These men lost four of their own that night and he could tell by the long faces he saw. Wonder if any of them held him accountable for what had happened that night?

He found Porter's room rather easily since it was the only one with a guard waiting out front. He showed the guard his ID then slowly opened the door to a room that was much different than Walker's. Porter was no longer in intensive care, but still had a room to himself for safety reasons.

As he stepped in, he was quickly greeted by Jennifer who gave him a friendly hug. "Ranger Gage, what brings you here?"

Gage took a look at Porter who was sitting upright in bed and was rather surprised to see him with little bruising or swelling in his face. What a difference from Walker whose face will once again be swollen from the surgery to repair his jaw and possibly his nose.

"Is Sam able to talk yet?" He saw a frown spread across Jennifer's face. "I just need to ask him a few questions."

Jennifer shook her head. "FBI has already been in here along with somebody from the Texas Department of Public Safety. You can learn everything from them."

"It's okay." Came a muffled voice. "Jenny, I just need some time alone with Gage."

She seemed surprised but nodded her head. "I'm going to get some coffee."

When Jennifer was out of the room, Gage sat down next to Porter. "How you feeling?"

Porter shrugged. "Been better." His right eye was black and only slightly swollen. "How's Ranger Walker and Zeigler?" His voice was muffled, but coherent.

"Zeigler is going home in a few days. As for Walker, he's in surgery right now to repair his jaw and possibly his nose."

Gage didn't want to tell him that Walker will have a breathing tube inserted in his throat to help him breath till the swelling goes down from surgery. Porter didn't need to hear that, not right now anyway. Hell, Gage didn't even want to hear the news when he did which was about five minutes before he had left Zeigler's room to head over here. Hopefully the breathing tube will remain in Walker's neck for only a few weeks.

"Hope it goes well." Porter swallowed hard then lifted up a notepad and pen. "What did you want to know?"

"Zeigler told me what had happened…" He could see Porter slowly nod as he began to jot down something on the note paper. "Did Walker really save you two by giving up his life and the lives of the three SWAT officers?"

Porter slowly nodded his head and showed Gage what he had written down. "I was to be the next officer killed. The gang members had a gun to my head and was about to shoot me when the call came through." He sighed heavily which made him cough painfully. "I owe Walker my life." He said, his voice weak and muffled.

The words did comfort Gage's heart which was starting to doubt Walker's decision. Though four officers were killed, two more were saved and possibly others. Hopefully that will help Walker's conscience once he fully wakes up.

"I hope that helps…" Porter began to write again and didn't finish till almost ten minutes later. He ripped out two pages, folded them neatly then wrote Walker's name on it. "I only want Walker to read that."

Gage tucked the letter into his breast pocket then gave Porter a nod. "I will make sure he gets it." He stuck his hand out for a shake. "Hope to talk to you again."