The love she feels

is not enough

to keep him from his fate

She left his life

to keep him safe

but now it is too late

"He has to know James. Langley will get to him and you know it," Sydney said, her voice raised towards the elder FBI agent. For a moment everything was silent, and then Syd felt like she had been punched in the stomach.

"But that's what you want isn't it?"

The face of James Valenti didn't even twitch at the angry voice of the petite woman in front of him. It was like he was made out of stone. So Syd continued her rant, "How dare you? I risk my life to keep him safe, I get shot at, I can't even tell the man I love that I'm still alive. And now you tell me that you are using him to lure Pete Langley? I can't believe it…" She sighed deeply, willing the pain in her back to go away. Looking up to the agent who helped her after the shooting, with hurt in her now dark brown eyes she waited for him to react. And finally, after what seemed like forever, he turned sympathetic eyes towards her.

"Sydney, I know how you feel about this, but would you just think about it for a moment. If we don't get to Langley first, you'll never be safe again. So the most logic thing to do is, wait until he strikes again and when he does, we'll be ready for him. You have to think with your head now, and not with your heart."

Sydney managed to nod a little. And although she didn't agree with his methods, she knew she wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Suddenly, a deep feeling of despair threatened to overwhelm her, and after telling James she needed some time alone, she laid down on the guest bed in the house.

After positioning herself in a comfortable position, which was hard to do in her very pregnant state, she let the emotions overwhelm here for a while. She felt terribly guilty about not being able to tell Gage, and after seeing him this morning, she felt even worse.

Her thoughts drifted back to that faithful afternoon. She had been on duty, while Gage had a day off. But they had decided to come together at a small diner with Walker and Alex. Sydney had already seen them, sitting outside in the warm afternoon sun. But before she could wave, a flash on the other side of the sidewalk caught her eye. A man with dark clothes and a baseball cap was suspiciously making his way towards her, a small gun clasped in his right hand. But, what the others had failed to notice, was something she dìd see. Behind the man, there was some other activity. As fast as she had seen them, they were already gone, her attention rapidly turning back to the man with the weapon, but not before hurriedly casting a worried glance at her fiancé and their friends. After that everything happened so fast, she didn't even remember it completely. Before she had been able to reach for her gun, another had already gone off. A searing pane filled her left shoulder, and while a tortured scream filled her ears, her whole world turned black.

The moment she woke up, she had the distinct feeling something was wrong. On of her hands had immediately searched for her slightly rounded stomach. A sigh of relief had escaped her, when she found it in place. At that moment, FBI agent Valenti had made himself known. And he had decided to tell her the whole gruesome truth… How the Special Force team had been unable to stop what had happened. But that they did have a plan. How they had put her in a body bag, letting it look like she was dead. How they even made her fiancé believe she was dead, and that they needed to keep it that way.

Sydney had been listening intently to the older agent. However, after he told her about her so-called death, she couldn't hold it in anymore. And she expressed it the only way she could, by getting angry… She had called the men who came up with ´the plan names she never thought would leave her mouth. And after her little rant, she cried. She cried for her own death and the pain her friends must be going through. And Gage, god Gage. How could she do this to him?

The next three months had gone by in a hurry. Between recovering from her bullet wound and hiding from the wrong people, she had sunken in a deep depression. The only thing keeping her upright was their child. Every now and then she felt the movement inside of her and small sparks of joy filled her darkened mind. She stayed with James Valenti, counting the days until they caught the bastard that changed her and Gage's life forever. Up until two weeks ago she had filled her days with watching TV and reading the papers. That is, until Pete Langley had found out she was alive…

It had happened 13 days ago, and it was the beginning of two weeks of running. One day Syd had been staying with Valenti, the other she was fleeing from his place, hiding on the streets.

The whole thing had blew up in her face when she was sitting in the living room, watching TV. A small sound at the backdoor had made her turn the thing off, while she turned her attention on the not so familiar sound.

The following second everything happened so fast she reacted completely on instinct. The backdoor exploded in a million pieces, while two men made their way through it. And although her belly was in her way, Syd managed to swiftly kick them out, before fleeing from the house. Overwhelmed with a need to keep her child safe, she ran. She ran until she was out of breath, and even then she kept running. Not knowing who she could trust, she lived in shady motel rooms, waiting for a chance to speak with Valenti. He had been unreachable for 12 days. So for 12 whole days she had been running. She stayed on the outskirts of town, hiding from her family, but most of all, hiding from the men who were after her. Some days, she had the distinct feeling they were following her, and she managed to mislead them by taking them on a crazy tour through town.

On the 11th day, she finally found a way to contact James Valenti. He had filled her in on what had happened that faithful day at his house. Apparently, there had been a mole in the Special Task Force team. And because they didn't know who it was, Valenti was the only one she could be in contact with. Relieved that there was someone she could turn to, she left her motel room, and headed to the special safe house they had found. But on the way there, she had gotten the nagging feeling again. Someone was following her…

She had come close to the busy Mainstreet, but the only thought on her mind was, losing the one who was following her. And that was the moment she had seen him. The one person she would love the rest of her life, the one she had promised to keep safe. It had only been a glimpse, but she had recognized him and she was almost certain he had seen her too.

Turning on her comfortable bed, she sighed deeply. She missed him so much her heart ached for him. Every time the baby kicked her, it left her with a lot of love inside, but the hollow feeling stayed.

After hearing what Valenti was up to, she had also come to the conclusion that it could be over soon. Over. The word left a bitter taste in her mouth. It could be over soon, but at what cost? Would she and Gage still be standing? And most important, would he forgive her? Saying a little prayer on their behalf, she turned one last time, before falling in a restless sleep.

Meanwhile

"Pete, you up?" a tough voice called through the warehouse. "I got you some news man. I just happen to know where that pregnant chick is hiding. Heard you were looking for her? By the way, I even saw that stupid Ranger today. He the one you're after?"

An older man, scars covering his face, came out of a small bedroom after those words.

"You spoke with him? What did you say, little rat?" the voice boomed through the empty hall.

Suddenly nervous, Kyle replied, "Ehh, yes sir. You told me to come to you when I saw him. So here I am."

"What did you tell him?"

"What you told me to tell him. He knows you will kidnap someone he knows. Just not that it will be his supposedly dead wife…" he said, snickering over the little plan he had helped create.

"And you said you found her too?" the icily cold man asked.

"Yes sir, our man at the FBI found out where her safe house is. So getting to her will be no problem."

Pete Langley found a smile on his face for the first time in years. His revenge was finally there, and he couldn't help being proud of himself. He could live with the fact that the pregnant fiancé didn't die the first time. But seeing his old foster son in so much pain had felt like being in heaven. The boy had always been nothing but trouble, he had deserved the beatings, every single time. But most important of all, he was the one that caused his downfall by testifying against him, so now he deserved to die… But not after suffering, a lot.

So now he was back. And he had found a way to make Francis Gage pay. Not only had he made him grieve over his dead fiancé, he would make him grieve all over again, before killing him off himself.

He would have his revenge, and he would have it soon, very soon…