Two Weeks Later

Though her father was now at home, seeing him so weak and unable to move without pain caused Angela to be furious with anger. There were countless times where her mother wanted to talk to her, but Angela had heard enough. Though young, she knew her father wasn't the same man and he may never be. Why did something like this always had to happen to their family?

She sat on the back porch and stared at Smokey and Skittles, two horses that her mother and father bought three years ago for Ray and her. Angela enjoyed Skittles, who was a small Palomino, but as of late she despised the horse. It was an item that her parents used to hide the fact her father wasn't the same. Something to take her mind off of what was happening to their family.

The screen door squeaked open and heavy footsteps made their way towards her. She didn't turn around to see who it was, instead she brought her knees tighter to her chest.

"Hey Angela." Jarod said as he sat down next to her. "I want you to do something for me."

Angela took a deep breath then turned to her uncle to see him smiling down at her. It was strange to see a man that looked so much like her father. Though Ray had no problem calling Jarod uncle, it still felt weird to her. He did help her with her tumbling skills which she did really appreciate, especially since now she can do a no handed back flip. Maybe she should give him a chance.

She rubbed her face against her arm then her eyes spotted a hair trimmer. "What's that for?"

"I want you," He held the hair trimmers out towards her. "To shave my head."

Angela shrugged at him. "Why?"

"Well, you remember when your father had to get his head shaved again last week?" Angela gave her uncle a slow nod. "As his brother, I'm going to shave my head to make him feel better. So, what do you say?"

This got a smile from Angela. "Can I give you a Mohawk?"

"Uh…" Her uncle's eyes drifted away from her then a big grin spread across his face. "Sure, but just a short one."

Angela quickly got to her feet as excitement raced through her for the first time in several months. She always thought her uncle was cool, but with him looking like her father she never really wanted to get close to him. After all her father was so conservative, he hardly did anything that would be remotely cool. Uncle Jarod however was into gymnastics, dressed completely different, and now he said it was okay for her to give him a Mohawk. Though he looked like her father, he was completely the opposite.

She took the clippers and he moved down one step to give her more room. "Start on the sides then move your way in." He took a deep breath as she turned on the clippers. "Okay, just take it easy. Don't go crazy now."

Inside the house Alex gradually helped Walker into the guest bed for his afternoon nap. Ever since he came home last week from having another surgery to repair the damage done to his skull he's been sleeping more than usual. Didn't help at all that he was taking several medications which made him downright miserable. Hopefully he'll began to perk up once his injuries healed.

"Thanks, Alex." Walker grimaced as he shifted his weight till he got a bit more comfortable. "I hate being drugged."

"Don't worry, the pain medication is only a temporary thing." She kissed him on the forehead. "Just relax and take it easy." Swiftly she grabbed a small travel pillow and gently placed it under Walker's injured arm. "How is it?"

Walker nodded. "Good." His good eye, which was still bruised began to droop. "Hopefully I won't sleep the day away."

Alex made certain her husband was sound asleep before she left the room to check on the kids. In the living room she could see Ray playing a board game with Gage. She smiled at them then checked around for Angela and couldn't find her. Curious, she made her way to the back porch where she could see her daughter shaving Jarod's head.

"What the heck is going on?"

Angela turned around with a smile that Alex hasn't seen in months. "Uncle Jarod said I can give him a Mohawk."

"He did now?" Alex walked down the stairs to see Jarod with a what-can-you-do look and smiled. "Well, that's something I'm dying to see."

"How's Walker?" Jarod asked as clumps of his dark hair fell into his lap. "Still in pain?"

Alex sat down next to her brother-in-law and slowly nodded. "Unfortunately, with the shoulder injury he's going to be in pain for awhile." She smiled up at Angela. "Let me get the trimmer guard so you can cut the middle."

As she stepped through the house she got a strange feeling and quickly made her way to the guest bedroom. Very slowly as not to wake up Walker she pushed the door open to see him still laying on his back, his right arm across his chest. She smiled, glad to see him sleeping soundly, though she could tell by his furrowed brow he was in pain.

She was about to close the door when she heard a loud grunt from the bed and quickly turned to see Walker convulsing just slightly. Quickly she ran up to his side, waited the seizure out then gently shook him till he blinked open his good eye.

"Honey, you had another seizure." She grabbed the notebook on the night stand and jotted down the information. Once through, she skimmed the last few weeks to see the grand mal seizures have been occurring more frequently ever since he was hit in the head again. She will have to definitely bring this up to Doctor Hayden. "Walker, you need to wake up."

He groaned then rolled his head towards her. "I'm tired, Alex." He closed his good eye then took a deep breath. "Just let me sleep."

Alex gently patted his left hand then kissed him on the forehead. "Okay, I'll do that."

Walker smiled up at her. "Don't worry about me." He lifted his left hand up which was still in a cast and gently traced the tip of his fingers along her cheek. "I'll be fine."

She took his hand, gave it a kiss then folded it against his chest. He was wearing a t-shirt so she was able to see the deep purple welts on his arms that she knew will leave scars. It didn't take long for him to fall back into a deep and painful sleep. Alex just wished she could do something about the pain he was in. She gently gave him another kiss on the forehead then stood back up to get the guard for Angela.

After she found the small black clip she went back out to the porch to see Angela talking to Jarod. It was strange how a simple thing as giving her uncle a Mohawk brought her spirits up. Alex made a mental note to thank her brother-in-law for getting her daughter to smile again.

Angela quickly got up and handed the trimmers to Alex. "You finish up, mom. I did most of it, but I'm worried that I will mess up the rest."

"Sure." Alex stepped up to Jarod then turned the trimmers on. "Thank you for doing this."

Jarod shrugged. "No problem. Always wondered what I would look like with a Mohawk."

After ten minutes Alex finally got Jarod's Mohawk at the right length that he wanted it at. As he stood to thank her she noticed Gage walking out on the porch. Her friend took one look at Jarod then his jaw dropped in surprise.

"Sorry." He smiled as he shook his head. "You just look exactly like Walker right now." He pointed to his hair. "Really dig the Mohawk. Wonder how Walker will look like with one?"

"Uhm…" Jarod began to point out what Gage had just said, but was stopped by Alex. "I'm going to go rinse off. Some of the hair went down my shirt and it's itching me like mad."

As Jarod went inside Alex slowly sat down on one of the porch chairs. "You should get going home to Sydney and Lyana."

He stretched then nodded his head. "That I should, but Harris is still out there." He saw Alex's head lower at the mention of the man's name. "We've looked everywhere for him, but he just disappeared. Unfortunately, he's too deep to just stop." Gage turned to the door as Ray came bounding out with scooter in tow. "Then we discovered two detectives that went missing out of Houston and Allen." He turned to Alex then shook his head. "Alex, the Company has discovered through Williamson's testimonies that there are at least twenty known officers that are for certain involved with Marcellinio. Two are from the Dallas area. Unfortunately, we don't know who those two are yet."

Alex slowly nodded, understanding. "Unfortunately it's not only Walker's life at risk, but Jarod's as well." She took a look at her son as he ran around the yard with Scooter close on his heels. "Ray, has no idea what's going on."

"He'll understand eventually, just give him time." He took a glance at the door once again to see Jarod walking out with a clean shirt on. "How's it feel?"

"Strange and refreshing at the same time." He rubbed his hand along the short Mohawk then laughed. "What do you think Cordell will feel about it?"

It still took Alex aback when Jarod called Walker by his first name. She didn't even call him by Cordell and it made her wonder why she never did. Maybe it was because ever since she had known him it was simply Walker, nothing else. Though CD did call him Cordell, so maybe he didn't mind close friends or family calling him by his first name?

She smiled up at Jarod. "I think he will like it."

Later That Night

When Walker awoke the first thing that greeted him was the pain in his shoulder and it took him nearly five minutes to slowly sit up in bed. He grabbed his arm with his left hand, or the best he could with a cast on then gradually got up, the muscles in his legs still sore after all the brutal hits. He slowly limped around the bed, but as he did it wore him out and he had to sit back down. Man, he hated feeling so weak.

He took a deep breath, wincing as the action pulled at his sore chest muscles. He had several bruises and some burns that were deep enough to involve skin grafting. Then of course there was his hands which were both broken. On his right, he had three broken fingers and on his left, two, but that hand had a spider web fracture which meant more surgeries later on.

The door slowly opened and in the dim light he could barely make out Alex as she came into the room. His good eye was still black, but thankfully the swelling has gone down enough for him to see clearly out of it.

"It's time for me to clean the stitches." She turned as Jarod came into the room. "What do you think of your brother's new haircut?"

It took Walker several seconds to figure out Jarod had shaved his head and now had a buzzed Mohawk. He smiled then nodded his approval at the younger look his brother was able to pull off. No way could Walker pull off a Mohawk like that.

"Come on, let me help you up." Jarod gently wrapped his arm around Walker's waist then assisted him to a standing position. "How's the shoulder?"

"Stiff." Walker slowly began to walk to the bathroom, embarrassed at getting help from Jarod. "Where are the kids?"

"Staying at Barbara's." Alex walked ahead and flicked on the light. "Have a seat." Once Jarod had Walker seating on the low bench seat she hefted a large bag of medical supplies onto the sink. "Okay, you know the drill."

Walker did and he absolutely dreaded this time of the day. Carefully with help from Jarod he got his t-shirt off, wincing as the fabric pulled at the stitches on his right shoulder. His brother quickly apologized as he checked to see if everything was all right with the surgery site. Once finished with that he got an alcohol coated q-tip and began to clean around the stitches.

He winced at the sharp pain then looked up as Alex checked the staples in his head. "I'm a mess, aren't I?" He chuckled which quickly went away when his wife dabbed a q-tip on the surgery site. "How does everything look?"

Jarod nodded as he grabbed another q-tip. "Some inflammation, but nothing major." He sighed heavily as he took a look at Walker's chest. "How's the burns?"

"Good, considering." Walker hated having people helping him like this, it made him feel so helpless. Unfortunately because of his hands and shoulder he could barely take care of himself properly. He grimaced as Jarod pulled away a bandage from one of the deeper cuts on his chest. "Wish I could do this on my own."

"Don't worry, I really don't mind." Jarod cleaned the cut then placed a fresh bandage on top of it. "Feel like doing some reading and studies tonight?"

Walker slowly nodded. "Yeah, I should."

"Good." He smiled at Alex. "I'm going to get something to drink."

Jarod knew the next step in the cleaning involved checking the injuries on Walker's legs. He also knew his brother got embarrassed with people helping him out. So, he let Alex finish up. He could tell in Walker's good eye the deep emotional pain he was in for being so dependent on people. Hopefully, he will get to know a Walker that wasn't injured.

He went into the kitchen, grabbed an orange from the basket on the counter then got himself a glass of water. As he began to peel off the fruit's tough skin he noticed something on the back porch. Curious he took a glance around and didn't see anybody so he went to check it out. Maybe one of the officers watching the house left something behind.

On the wooden porch he took a deep breath, taking in the smell of hay and other scents only found on the ranch. Man, to think he almost ruined this. He threw the orange peels in the yard then went to see what the mysterious object was. As he got nearer he saw it had a shine to it as though it was a badge. Suddenly everything clicked inside his brain and he began to look around frantically for Harris.

Footsteps from behind him made him whip around, his right hand instantly bringing up the orange to chuck at the person if they were an intruder. Instead who he saw was Billings with Scooter standing obediently behind him.

Billings chuckled as he pointed at the fruit in Jarod's hand. "What you plan on doing with that?"

Jarod took a look at the orange then brought his hand down. "There's something on the porch. It looks like a badge of some kind."

This got the smile to quickly fade from Billings' face as he walked past Jarod to check out the item glistening in the dying sunlight. "It's Walker's badge." He grimaced. "It still has blood on it from the attack." He quickly took out his cell phone. "I'll let Gage know."

"What happened to Trivette?" Jarod asked with his mouth full of food.

"Captain Wright signed on his retirement." He checked his watch. "Just two hours ago. As of today, he's no longer a Texas Ranger." He smiled at Jarod. "Gage is now Field Captain and Ranger Ortega is Captain. There'll be a ceremony next week."

"That's good. Gage is a great guy, I know he will do well." He turned as Alex appeared at the back door. "Oh, Alex." He quickly swallowed the food in his mouth then went up to her. "Listen, something just happened. Nothing big, but I think it's a note of some kind."

Alex's quickly got worried. "Jarod, please tell me what's going on?"

Jarod glanced behind him to see Billings pacing the porch as he talked on the phone. "It's Walker's badge." He saw her eyes quiver and he quickly put the food and glass of water on the nearest available surface. Then he stepped up to Alex and gave her a hug. "It's okay. Harris left it as a note, a way to keep reminding Walker of what had happened."

She nodded then pulled away from him. "I'm going to check on him and call Barbara." With that Alex went back inside.

"Gage is on his way with a CSI." Billings shook his head. "They don't need this, not right now."

"Hopefully Harris will mess up. They always do." Jarod picked up his orange and saw it was covered in dirt. He shrugged then tore a piece off and popped it in his mouth.

Billings gave Jarod a disgusted look. "That, is truly disgusting."

"It's just dirt." Jarod took a look through the screen door to see Walker slowly making his way towards him. "This should be interesting."