Author's Note: I don't own any of these characters.

I really didn't intend to write this at all, but the ball got rolling this morning and now five hours later, I feel like I should post it just so I haven't completely wasted my time. I've not yet seen the "Unsafe Speed" episode that this is based on, so I have to give most of the credit for this to a great story based on that episode that was posted back in 2005 by piaffe417, called "Poor Planning". If you haven't read it yet, check it out. I have taken a few details from her work, in particular the description of the room where Sydney and Gage are to spend the night, but the rest is my take on what happened once they got in there. The end doesn't really feel like the end, so after I actually watch the episode (should be on in a few days, I think), I may continue this and maybe even combine it with a completely original S & G story I started last week, but got kind of stuck on. As always, if you view it, please REview it!

Inevitable

by

Moviemom44

"I guess it was inevitable," Ranger Francis Gage whispered as he and his partner, Ranger Sydney Cooke, followed a Raptor gang member named "Beast" to the room where they would be spending the night – together.

Sydney knew Gage had spoken to her, but his words didn't register. Her thoughts were stuck in a sort of bizarre time loop in which the kiss she and her partner had just shared played over and over.

In her mind's eye, she saw the other gang members applauding as their leader introduced "Ronnie" and "Nail" as their newest members. The next thing she knew Gage had swept her into a big bear hug, a celebratory gesture in response to being initiated into the gang. The dynamic duo of Company B had pulled off another successful performance.

But Gage hadn't let it end there. Instead of letting her go, like she expected him to, he held her in his arms and looked directly into her eyes. His intention was apparent in an instant. He was going to kiss her and there was nothing she could do about it.

Gage wasn't sure at exactly which point the idea struck him, but somewhere between scooping Sydney up in his arms for the hug and when he looked into her eyes, it dawned on him that the situation called for a kiss, something short but believable. In a heartbeat, a series of memories came flooding back to him like a slide show of the recent past in his head -- Sydney kissing him at C.D.'s after Alex and Walker's wedding, Sydney denying that the kiss was real, Sydney kicking him in the face rather than showing him what a real kiss from her would feel like. Did he really want to risk that again? One look at the anxious anticipation in Sydney's eyes as what was about to happen became clear to her and he knew he'd risk all that and more.

Yikes! Sydney thought. He's really going to do this. Ronnie and Nail were supposed to be a couple, so she couldn't very well kick him in the chops this time like she had in Sage City. No, she had no choice but to stand there and let him kiss her. And, boy, did he kiss her. Her heart was still fluttering in her chest and her knees hadn't stopped shaking. And all she could think about on the walk to their sleeping quarters was, "Was that Nail kissing Ronnie, or Gage kissing me?"

"What did you say?" Sydney asked, casting her eyes around the tiny back room that was to be theirs for the night and noticing that the only accommodations were a sofa bed, a rickety rocking chair, and a filthy rug.

"I said, I guess it was inevitable," Gage repeated, checking to make sure the door was locked behind them.

"What was inevitable, Gage?" Sydney asked, realizing that he was trying to downplay the kiss. Any other night, she'd have probably gone along with him, but tonight had been different. He'd blindsided her, not only by kissing her in a place where she had no choice but to let him, but also by pouring such genuine passion into it that the kiss moved from the realm of undercover work to something purely personal, something she wasn't prepared to let him get away with.

"Do you mean that tonsillectomy you gave me out there in front of the whole gang?" she asked with the slightest wisp of disgust in her voice.

Sydney saw Gage's eyes darken and she immediately regretted her sarcastic remark.

"Is that what you really thought?" he asked, obviously crushed. "Because it sure didn't feel to me like you hated it that much! Then again, I guess I never have gotten anything right when it comes to kissing you."

Now it was Sydney's turn for the little movie to play in her head. First she kissed him, then she kicked him in the head for asking her to do it again. Oh, Lord, why was she being so mean to him? He had every right to be angry and confused.

Unable to stand to see him so hurt, she reached out to touch his shoulder, but he shrugged her hand off and stomped toward the door. For a second she thought he might actually rip it off its hinges, but as he grabbed the doorknob, he stopped, threw his head back like he was looking toward heaven for support and let out a loud sigh.

Still facing the door, he said quietly, "I can't leave. We might blow our cover."

"Forget our cover for a second, OK? Gage, I'm sorry. You're right. I didn't hate it. I didn't hate it one bit," she said, reaching for his shoulder again. This time, he let her turn him around to face her.

"Then why -- ," he started to ask, but she cut him off.

"Because until this minute I wasn't sure if that was Nail kissing Ronnie or you kissing me. It was you kissing me, wasn't it?"

"It didn't start out to be, Syd, honestly, but once my lips touched yours, then yes, it was all you and me," he said, softly, his eyes investigating the dusty floor like it was a fresh crime scene.

"Why did you do it? And don't say it was all about the act, because I know that's not true. I saw the look in your eyes, Gage. It was just a flash, but I know you saw an opportunity and you just couldn't pass it up."

"I think you just answered your own question," he said, nervously scratching the back of his neck and smiling a little.

Sydney looked at him with an expression that said she needed a more detailed explanation.

"The truth is, the whole thought never completely formed in my head, but it was something like, 'Here's my chance to put the shoe on the other foot, to let her see what it's like to be kissed and then left to wonder why, but…"

"Oh, I see," Syd said softly, sorry she had probed deeper. "I guess you are entitled to a little retribution."

"No, Syd. Let me finish. I wasn't looking for retribution. OK, maybe just a little, but once I kissed you I knew that wasn't ever the real reason." He shook his head in frustration. "Damn! Why is it so hard to just say this to you?"

"Say what, Gage?"

It was now or never. He knew this wasn't really the time or the place to do this. There was an important investigation on the line here, the kind that could make or break a career depending on how it turned out, but if he didn't get things right with his partner, his career might not be worth much anyway. He plunged ahead before he could talk himself out of it like he had so many times over the past few weeks.

"When you kissed me at C.D.'s, something inside me snapped. No, not snapped, more like crumbled. It was a wall, Syd, the wall I had built around my heart so that I could keep working with you every day. I was sure that if I let you know I had deeper feelings for you that that would be the end of our partnership, so I hid behind my wall. Then you kissed me, the wall fell and for a second there, I thought maybe I didn't need it anymore. I tried to let you know how I felt that day in the gym, but as usual I messed it up and got kicked in the head for my trouble."

He looked at her with such misery in his eyes that she put a hand to his lips to quiet him. He started to protest, but she gave him a look that said it was her turn to confess a few things.

"Gage, you know you were right all along about the kiss at C.D.'s, don't you? I just couldn't admit it, because I don't want to lose you as a partner either. I really am sorry I kicked you. I regretted it as soon as I did it, but it was like it wasn't even me doing it, like I was watching it happen to someone else. Like tonight, when I made my tonsillectomy crack. I couldn't say what I was really feeling, so I lashed out at you instead. I guess that wall of yours was a pretty good idea since my defense mechanisms seem to be violence and bitter sarcasm."

Gage sat down on the sofa and patted the cushion next to him. Sydney sat next to him and let him enfold her in his arms. It always felt so wonderful when he held her, like nothing could ever hurt her so long as she stayed within the protective confines of his embrace.

After a minute, they looked at one another and Gage gently rested his forehead against hers. Their attraction sizzled in the air between them like a live wire.

"So, Shorty, where do we go from here?" he asked.

"I have no earthly idea, Gage, but I do know one thing,"she replied, her voice husky with desire.

"Oh, what's that?" he asked, noting the change in her tone.

"The next time we kiss, I don't want it to be painful for either one of us," she said, inching her lips closer to his.

He moved slowly, too, loving the sweet torture of delaying the moment. "I'm really glad there's going to be a next time" he whispered, just before their lips melted together in a long, deep kiss that left them both breathless.

The End