Five Days Later

In just a few days after having the blood clot removed there was a huge difference in Walker's attitude. With less pressure on his brain, Walker hasn't had a grand-mal seizure in days and has only suffered through mild tremors or "space out" episodes. With less seizures Walker's depression and anxiety has dwindled and Doctor Hayden is even talking about weaning him off the medication to see how well he does. The old Walker was slowly coming back which made Alex extremely happy.

She heard movement from the bed and turned that way to see Walker rolling on his back. He smiled at her then gradually pushed himself into a sitting position. Alex could tell this caused Walker much discomfort by the grimace on his face. She quickly got up from her chair, made her way to the bed then sat down next to her husband.

"How did you sleep, Cordell?"

"Really good." He gave her a big smile. "The best sleep I've had in awhile."

"That's good." Alex's eyes went to the line of staples above Walker's right ear. "How's the pain today?"

Walker gave her an innocent shrug. "Only a little discomfort in the head and strangely hardly any pain in my shoulder." He gently lifted his right hand and slowly rotated it. "Need to talk to Doctor Jenkins about it."

"Cordell, are you serious?" A huge smile spread across Alex's face. "If it has healed without surgery, then it's a miracle." She gently gave Walker a hug. "I'll call him later today and see what he says about it." The door opened and in walked Billings and Gage, their faces showing they weren't here for pleasantries. "What's the matter?"

Gage took a deep breath then shook his head. "Bad news. Clyde Brookdale will be released in three days. There just isn't enough evidence to keep him." He began to chew on his lower lip as he looked at Billings. "And Marcellinio posted bail."

All the happiness Alex had felt quickly went away with the sudden news. Brookdale the man that made Walker who he was today was now going to walk away with just a slap on the wrist. Will he try to kill Walker? And what about Marcellinio? Will he come after Walker as well?

"How could they be released at the same time?" Alex's hand tightened around Walker's. "What about Corbett? I know Marcellinio will be after him…."

Billings held up his hand. "Don't worry, we have two officers watching him, along with Angela and Ray right now at the ranch." He shook his head. "Just wish we could have put Brookdale away."

Walker shook his head. "I don't understand how Marcellinio was able to post bail. It was well over a million dollars."

"Something isn't right about how he managed to get the money." Gage grimaced. "His attorney suddenly disappeared." He took off his cowboy hat as he approached Walker's bedside. "Walker, I will not let anything happen to you or your family. You can count on that."

Walker Ranch

The house was relatively quiet which kind of troubled Jarod and he went around to check on his niece and nephew. First he went up the stairs towards the last room on the right. Here, he found Ray playing with some action figures on the floor in his bedroom. The young boy glanced up, smiled, then ran towards Jarod.

"Uncle Jarod!" He gave Corbett a big hug. "What are we going to do today?"

"Not sure yet. I need to talk to your sister." He knelt down to look the boy straight in the face. "Know where I can find her?"

Ray shrugged. "She doesn't like the officers."

Jarod ran that through his head trying to understand what Ray meant. Maybe she went someplace to hide? If true, with Marcellinio now out there once again the officers may not be able to keep an eye on her. He ruffled the boy's brown hair, gave him a hug and continued on his search for Angela.

As he went into the kitchen a DPS officer came in to get a cup of coffee. He gave Jarod a smile before he left once more to sit on the porch. Strange to have several officers in and around the house, but Jarod was thankful. With Marcellinio now free, he could once again gain power in the underground. Which put Jarod's life along with Cordell's family at risk.

He grabbed an apple from a basket on the counter then continued outside to see if Angela was on the porch. Sure enough he spotted her sitting on the steps looking out at the pastures. His work boots thudded against the wood planks signaling his arrival to the young girl.

"Hey Uncle Corbett." She reached down and plucked some grass from the lawn. "Have you seen dad today?"

"Not yet. But I got a call from your mom." He sat down next to her. "She told me that Cordell is doing really well." He took a look at the DPS officer standing not too far from them then back at Angela. "What do you think of all the police here?"

Angela shrugged. "I don't mind." She took a deep breath. "Uncle Corbett, will you still teach me some tumbling. We haven't done any in a long time."

"Well, let's do some now." Jarod patted Angela on the shoulder. "Have I shown you my back flip?"

"No!" Angela jumped up with a huge smile on her face. "You really can do one?"

Jarod let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, it's been awhile." He got to his feet, clapped his hands then went out into the lawn. "Let me practice first with just a back handspring."

It has been about a year since Jarod has done a back handspring and he started to wonder if he could even do one. He stretched his arms, rotated his neck then took a few deep breaths as he relaxed his mind. This technique always came natural to him, so he shouldn't have much of a problem pulling it off.

He crouched down with his arms above his head then, as he sprung up he swung his arms down then backwards. This helped arch his back and allowed him to plant his hands on the ground. Jarod flipped his feet around, landing them in the perfect position. He spun around to see Angela's eyes widen in surprise.

"Well, what do you think?"

Angela started to laugh. "You look like my father and it's funny seeing you do that. But, it's really cool." She quickly ran up to him while the DPS officer took a few steps closer. "Now, can you do the back flip?"

"Sure. Step back."

Jarod did the same as before, but this time instead of using his hands to flip him over he rotated his body in the air. As he landed he bounced up slightly then turned to see a sparkle in his niece's eyes. Since he was slightly warmed up, Jarod decided to go through a small routine. He took a deep breath, did three back hand springs then finished off with a back flip. It felt so good to complete the flips Jarod wanted to do more.

"Oh my gosh, Uncle Corbett!" Angela gave Jarod a big hug. "I didn't know you could do that!" She giggled. "Can you do anymore?"

He laughed at Angela's excitement. "Well, if I can find a gymnastics training center around here, I can show you." He squeezed Angela's shoulders then pulled back to look into her big blue eyes. "I should show you pictures of me when I was training for the Olympics."

The DPS officer stepped up to them with a shake of his head. "You may look like Walker, but you are definitely not like him."

"So I hear." He patted Angela's shoulder. "Let's get some frozen custard and see your father."

Angela eagerly nodded. "Definitely!" Her smile faded. "Just wish dad can eat ice cream."

"He will eventually. He just needs some of his teeth repaired." He gave her a reassuring smile. "We'll get him something else though." He turned to the DPS officer. "If you don't mind, can you take us?"

The officer smiled. "That's why I'm here."

Later That Night

It was getting close to the end of visiting hours and Walker knew his family will soon have to leave for the night. He hugged his son tighter to his body wishing he could pick him up again. Hopefully given enough physical therapy he'll be able to very soon. Walker's hand gently rubbed Ray's back as the boy fell into a deep sleep next to him.

The door opened and in walked a nurse with a tray in his hands. "Mr. Walker, it's time for your nightly medication."

Walker's head fell onto his pillow in annoyance. "Very well."

Alex went and very carefully picked up their son. "You have a good night, Cordell. Corbett will be coming in and staying with you tonight." She leaned down and gave him a kiss. "Don't push yourself. I'll see you in the morning."

"See ya, Alex." He reached up and gave her a hug. "Love you."

After his wife left Walker took hold of the first tiny medicine cup to see it was his seizure medication. Doctor Miller has been slowly cutting the dose down which brought on many tremors in Walker's hands. So far, Walker has been clear of grand mal seizures, but Miller warned him that could change any minute.

He popped the pills in his mouth then moved to the next cup to see the muscle relaxers. And after a brief glance he saw no depression medication. A smile actually crossed his face realizing Miller was switching him to a one-a-day pill. He took all the medications, swigged down a large drink of water then started to get comfortable for the night.

"I wouldn't get comfortable if I were you." Jarod came in with a small bag flung over his shoulder. "Have you gone to the restroom yet?"

Cordell blushed. "No." He flipped the blankets over and with Jarod's help shakily got to his feet. "I'm just glad I'm able to wear my own clothes and not the hospital gown."

Jarod threw his bag on a chair so Cordell can use his arm to lean on. "At least your not attached to an IV." He slowly inched forward and towards the bathroom. "Just take it easy. No real big hurry."

Once his brother was back on the bed, Jarod went to the cot and sat down. He rubbed his face, took off his work boots then opened his overnight bag. Since he slept without a shirt he dug around till he found his old workout shorts. He got back up and was about to go the bathroom when he heard a grunt from the bed.

He quickly turned expecting to see Cordell in a seizure, instead he saw his brother was just having difficulties laying down. Within seconds, Jarod went to Cordell's side and gently helped him to get comfortable for bed.

"Thank you." Cordell allowed Jarod to pull the blankets up and untie the eye patch from around his head. "Soon, I'll be able to do this on my own."

"Just don't push yourself." He stretched then rubbed his tummy. "I'm actually going to get a snack. See ya in the morning."

Early Morning

The night had come and gone with no problems which eased Alex's mind. But she knew better than to get her hopes up, she learned just yesterday that could only lead to more heartache. She just hopes that Marcellinio will leave their family alone. Unfortunately, Corbett had gotten in very deep with the criminal and knew secrets that many did not which put his life in danger.

She shifted her purse under her arm then showed the officer by Walker's room her ID badge. Because Marcellinio had men inside the police force only trusted officers with clean background checks were allowed anywhere near Walker's room. After she flashed her badge Alex went inside the room and smiled at her husband who was still sleeping.

As she approached Walker's bed, Jarod stirred on the cot then stretched under the blankets. "You know, it's really hard to sleep in here. How do you do it?"

"Unfortunately I had a lot of practice." She kissed Walker on the forehead then put her purse on the bedside table. "Hopefully he can go home tomorrow." She sat down with a heavy sigh. "Any seizures during the night?"

"Not that I could tell." Jarod sat up and quickly rubbed his bare arms. "Man, it's freezing in here." He dug around in his bag till he found a long sleeve t-shirt to put on. "Cordell, slept pretty good during the night. Must be the new sleep meds they have him on."

"Glad to see he's finally sleeping." She ran her hand down his arm causing him to stir slightly in his sleep. "Cordell, you waking up?"

His head rolled over to face her. "What time is it?"

"Eight o'clock in the morning." She took hold of his hand and watched his good eye open up. "Corbett told me you were put on a new sleep med."

"Really? Was wondering why it looked different." His voice was still rather groggy from sleep. "Is it a lower dose?"

Corbett made his way to Walker's other side. "Yeah, only two milligrams instead of three…." His voice faded off as Walker went into full body convulsions. "Thought he was done with this." He reached over and pushed the nurse help button.

"Doctor Miller warned us the symptoms might actually get worse before they get better." The nurse came in with Doctor Miller. "Doctor Miller, he had a grand mal seizure."

"I see." Doctor Miller went up to Walker's bed, checked his vitals then gently nudged Walker in the shoulder. "Walker, I need for you to stay with me." Walker let out a low moan as he rolled his head around. "He was on a very high dosage of Phenobarbital. I've been lowering his dosage down for the last three days. Hopefully we can find a good middle ground so he can live a relatively normal life."

Alex gently rubbed Walker's hand as she watched her husband open his good eye. "You had a grand mal seizure." Her voice was soft and reassuring. "Don't worry, it's just a step to get you better."

Once Walker was back in a deep sleep, Miller turned to Alex and Corbett. "Other than the seizures, how has he been emotionally?"

"Doing really good. He's started to become the old Walker again." Alex smiled at the doctor. "His anxiety levels have gone down which has helped his depression." She took a deep breath as her smile faded. "But, I still sense he has problems controlling his emotions. I'm guessing that's because of the brain damage, right?"

Miller slowly nodded his head. "Unfortunately, yes." He gave them both a reassuring smile. "But even I have seen an improvement in his attitude and so has Terry Mist. She's told me he's not getting as frustrated with reading and cognitive therapy. Just stay with him, it will get better."