He sank to his knees, no longer able to stand. His lungs burned and he forced out unstable, erratic puffs of air. He wasn't one to panic, never had been, but this was about as close as he'd ever come. He knew he couldn't afford to lose it, not now, when she was out there somewhere, hurt or…

Not finding her wasn't an option. She was the only one who would be able to put him back together again.

With only a sheer force of will, Ranger concentrated on getting his breathing back to a normal cadence. He inhaled slowly and held the air in his lungs for a count of three before exhaling and doing it all over again. After he began to feel like he wouldn't pass out if he stood up, he started to push to his feet when a glint of something in the carpet near her bedside chair caught his eye.

He reached for it, having to slide his fingers slightly underneath, and they closed around the cool metal of the diamond ring she hadn't removed since he'd slid it on her finger months before.