"What did he mean, Sydney is alive? What's going on, Walker?" Gage asked, as Walker pointed the Dodge truck down the highway toward the reservation with the gas pedal to the floor, lights flashing and siren screaming.

Walker explained what happened the night of the explosion at Sydney's house, from Alex finding her at the HOPE Center, to what Sydney told him she heard while hiding in the garage in the alley.

"Why didn't anyone tell me? I spent the last month thinking she was dead, Walker, and all this time she was alive? I was going through hell, damn it! You and Trivette stood by and watched me suffer. You could have told me." Gage slammed his fist against the door of the truck.

"Easy, Gage. Trivette didn't know anything either. We had no idea who these men were at the time, and if they were watching the hospitals for Sydney to show up that night, I'm sure they were watching your place for her to show up there, too. Hiding her on the reservation was the best and safest thing to do until we could find out who was after her."

"I could have protected her, Walker. You could have put both of us in a safe house if we were in danger. She would have been safe with me."

"No, Gage, she wouldn't. Sydney heard Victor threaten you. He threatened all of us. I did the best thing for everyone involved. She was hurt and we couldn't take her to a hospital, so I took her to my cousin David who is a doctor on the reservation. I knew it wasn't likely that anyone would find her there, so we hid her in my Uncle Ray's old cabin. She's been safe ever since, and she'd probably still be safe if Westbrook hadn't pulled that little stunt."

"You just thought she was safe, Walker. How did Westbrook find her if she was so damn safe?"

"I have no idea, Gage."

"If anything happens to her, Walker, it's not just Westbrook's fault. You know that, right? You know I'm holding you responsible."

"Gage –"

"I mean it, Walker. You put her there. You better hope she's okay," Gage growled.

Gage sat in silence the rest of the way to the reservation, a rage inside him continuing to build as his thoughts raced. Friends he had trusted had kept information from him about the woman he loved, letting him think she was dead while she was, in fact, very much alive and now in serious danger. Those same friends didn't trust him to protect Sydney. He recalled memories of riding across Mexico to Casa Diablo to rescue Syd from the Ortega brothers, worrying about what they might have done to her, and now there was the fear of what Victor Ortega would do to her. And at the far corners of his mind lurked one nagging thought that he couldn't shake: if Sydney was in danger, why didn't she go to him first? The thought twisted and turned and danced with the rage that had already established itself in his head and heart. Syd had to know he'd do anything to protect her, didn't she? No length, not even death, was too great to go to keep her safe, yet she still ran. Why?

Walker stopped the truck short of the clearing where the cabin was located. He and Gage jumped out of the truck, joined by Trivette who had followed them. The three rangers crept up onto the cabin with guns pulled, hiding behind trees and brush.

"Sydney!" Walker called out.

The cabin door kicked open. Victor Ortega had Sydney firmly by her hair, her hands tied in front of her. He pushed her out of the cabin ahead of him, holding a gun to her head. Gage's breath caught in his throat. It was true! Sydney was alive!

"Walker? Where are you hiding, Walker? Don't come any closer, or I will kill her this time."

"Let her go, Ortega."

"Not a chance. She killed my father. You rangers destroyed my family. It's time to pay back what you owe the Ortega name."

Walker motioned to Trivette and Gage to cover him and he disappeared into the woods. He moved stealthily through the trees, stopping to collect a couple rocks that he put in his pockets. He eased around to the back of the cabin and climbed the alternating logs at the back corner to the roof. Once on the roof, and above Victor and Sydney, he threw the rocks into the woods to the side of the cabin.

The noise distracted Victor for a moment and Sydney felt him loosen his grip on her hair. She stomped her foot down hard on his, and when he backed away from her, she swung around, grasping her hands together and hitting him hard on the jaw. Stunned by the surprise hit, Victor let go of her entirely and Sydney dropped her clenched hands down on Victor's wrist, causing him to lose his hold on the gun. Freed from Victor's grasp, Sydney ran, kicking the gun away from him as she escaped him.

As soon as he saw Sydney break free from Ortega, Gage ran toward him, tackling him against the cabin wall. Ortega landed a punch on Gage's jaw and Gage struck back with a kick to the man's gut and dropped an elbow down onto the man's shoulders. Ortega hit the ground and rolled. He stood and ran toward Gage, but Gage was waiting with a roundhouse kick that knocked Ortega backwards and flat on the ground. Gage dragged Ortega up on his knees and started pummeling him, pounding out the rage that had built up and filled him on the drive to the reservation.

From the trees, Sydney watched as she used her teeth to try to untie the knotted rope around her wrists.

Trivette ran to her. "Syd, Where's Marco?"

"Marco? I never saw him. I only saw Victor."

Movement caught her eye. Marco had stepped around the corner of the cabin with his arm raised, pointing a gun at Gage. Trivette saw him, too, and pointed his gun.

"Gage!" Sydney screamed as the gunshots rang out.

Sydney saw Gage flinch and hit the ground. "Gage! No!" she screamed again, running toward him.

Ortega shook his head, slowly standing and coming to his senses. Bending over, he reached under his pant leg and pulled a knife from a sheath on his boot. He stood suddenly, raising the knife to throw at Sydney.

The moment Victor Ortega stood back up and raised the knife, Walker leaped off the roof, landing on top of him. Ortega landed on his knife, dying instantly.

"Syd!" Trivette yelled. "Syd, stay down!" Holding his gun at the ready, Trivette darted from tree to tree to the corner of the cabin where Marco had shot from. He found Marco on the ground, a single gunshot wound to his chest. Trivette checked his pulse and found none.

Sydney knelt on the ground next to Gage holding both his hands in hers.

"Are you okay?" Gage asked her, "Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine." Sydney answered. "It's you I'm worried about." She lifted his shirt to look at the wound on his side. It didn't look deep, but there was a lot more blood than she wanted to see.

Walker checked on his team. Seeing the blood on Gage's shirt, he helped the junior ranger to his feet and motioned to Trivette. "Let's get him out of here, I know someone who can help him."

Together, they helped Gage to Walker's truck and drove back to David Jackson's office on the reservation with Sydney following in Trivette's car. As they pulled in front of David's office, sirens and flashing lights grabbed the rangers' attention. Westbrook and several other FBI agents came flying up the street; dust flying, cars fishtailing.

"Well, here comes the cavalry," Walker said dryly.

Westbrook slammed his car to a stop and got out, striding up to stand chest to chest with Walker.

"A little late to the party, aren't you, Westbrook?" Walker quipped.

"Where are they?" Westbrook demanded.

"Who?"

"Don't mess with me, Walker. Ortega and Mendoza, that's who."

"Oh, the ones you knew nothing about? I'd say they're on their way to the coroner's office about now," Walker replied, turning to help Gage into David's office.

Westbrook grabbed Walker's arm. "This was the FBI's case. You overstepped, Ranger. I'm going to have a talk with Briscoe about you."

Walker jerked his arm away. "That's nothing like the talk I plan to have with the Director of the FBI about you. You gave us false information about a suspect, you went public with information you were not authorized to speak about, and you put Ranger Cooke's life in danger. You should be fired for what you did, and I'm going to do everything in my power to see that you are. Briscoe will back me up every step of the way."

Westbrook pushed on. "Don't forget, Walker, there's still that little bit of unfinished business about assaulting a federal agent back there on the border that I can get you for, too."

"Oh, you mean like this," Gage spoke up as he stepped up to Westbrook and punched the FBI agent square on the jaw. "Go to hell," Gage snarled as he turned and let Walker help him into David Jackson's office.

"That was a clear-cut case of assault," Westbrook said, turning to Trivette, "You're my witness."

"Don't look at me," Trivette replied, suddenly interested in something under his thumbnail. "I didn't see a thing this time, either."

Sydney sat on the hood of Trivette's car waiting for Gage to come out of David's office. She was exhausted after the last few weeks and all she wanted was to get back to Dallas and spend the night wrapped up in Gage's arms.

Gage walked out of the converted storefront, followed by David Jackson. Gage was pulling his t-shirt down over a large piece of gauze taped over his left side.

"Just a graze," David said. "It'll heal in no time."

"Oh, thank God," Sydney reached up to hug Gage and was shocked when he pulled away.

"Gage?"

"Just don't, Syd. It's been a long damn day and I'm tired."

"I don't understand. I thought you'd be happy to see me."

"I am happy to see you."

"Funny way of showing it," Sydney's voice had a bitter edge to it.

"Syd. Why didn't you come to me when you were in trouble?"

"Gage, I couldn't. I heard Victor and Marco in the alley and they said if they found me, they'd kill me. Not only that, they'd kill everyone else. Walker, Alex, Angela. Jimmy and Erika. And you. They said they'd kill you, too! I couldn't let that happen."

"But you went to Walker and not me."

"I did not go to Walker. I was trying to figure out what to do. I was trying to break into the HOPE Center. I didn't know Alex was there. She found me and she convinced me to tell Walker. I really didn't have much choice. I was hurt and couldn't go to a hospital because they were watching the hospitals and Walker said they were probably watching you too. What else could I do? Walker brought me here to see David and he knew I'd be safe here. He was only trying to help."

Gage rubbed his hands over his face in frustration. Down the street, Walker and Trivette leaned against the bed of Walker's truck and watched the two junior rangers. "Do you think they're okay?" Trivette asked.

"They'll figure it out." Walker replied wisely.

Syd reached out and brushed her fingertips down Gage's chest. Her touch was like a lightning bolt through his core. Gage grabbed her hand.

"I spent a month thinking you were dead. It was hell, Syd. Hell."

Sydney's heart broke for the man she had been in love with from the moment she had first laid eyes on him. "I'm so sorry, baby. I just couldn't let anything happen to you. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself. I knew that you could survive without me, but if anything would have happened to you, there was no way I could have survived without you." Syd looked up at the handsome blond ranger, searching his ocean blue eyes while her own eyes welled with tears.

"You call what I did the last month surviving? That's damned selfish of you, Syd," Gage's voice was cold.

"Gage, it wasn't just for me. It was for the two co-workers whose backs you have every single day," Sydney pointed down the street toward Walker and Trivette. "It was for their wives – my two best friends – who trust you to help get them home safe to them every single night. It was for a little girl who adores her Uncle Gage. It was for your sister who has already dealt with enough loss in her life without losing you, too. It wasn't just for me, Gage. It really wasn't about me at all."

"Syd, I just wish you would have come to me. I would have taken care of you, protected you, kept you safe. From the moment we met, it's all I ever wanted to do" Gage spoke softly. "You know, those words, everything I just said just now, were part of my wedding vows." Gage turned and walked a few steps away.

"Gage," Sydney's voice broke as the tears she'd been holding back let loose. "Do you still want to marry me?"

Gage stopped and turned around. In about three steps, he was back in front of her, crushing her to him, holding her, burying his face in the silk of her hair. He kissed her hair, her forehead, her eyelids, tasting her salty tears. Finally he reached her lips, tasting the sweetness that up until earlier that day he had thought he'd lost forever.

"Oh, God, Syd. Yes. More than anything, I still want to marry you."

They stayed wrapped together, Syd still sitting on the hood of the car, her arms curled around Gage's neck, her fingers twisted in his hair, Gage's hands on either side of her face, kissing her as though each kiss could bring back every lost minute of the month they had been apart.

Down the street, Walker strode around to the driver's side of his truck. "We ought to get going," he told Trivette.

"And break up that happy reunion?"

"I'm pretty sure they'll find their way home." Walker grinned.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING ALONG SO FAR! I HAVE ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO - IF YOU ARE A SYDNEY AND GAGE FAN, STAY TUNED! I THINK YOU WILL LIKE WHAT I HAVE IN MIND FOR HOW THIS STORY ENDS!