I thought I'd try my hand at something a little different. So here is my attempt at a "between the numbers" "Diesel" type fic. Please R and R, this one is out of my comfort zone a little!

Bound

Chapter 1

I awoke, my heart beating wildly. I was awoken suddenly from the throes of a nightmare. I was gasping, hauling in oxygen like I had run a mile. Fear was running through me. My main bedroom light was switched on.

It was Diesel, he looked rattled. He covered the distance between us and pulled me up. I checked the clock, 2am.

"We don't have time. " He said, "I'm sorry. You know how you share a connection with Ranger?"

I could tell now wasn't the time for bullshit. So I nodded, admitting something I had never acknowledged aloud to another human, or even myself.

"He needs you. Now. I'm amplifying the connection. I don't know if the change will be permanent or not. I can't interfere, shouldn't even be doing this, but Ranger dying isn't in my plans. Trust your instincts. Hurry. Tank will be downstairs in a moment."

I didn't know what the heck was going on.

Diesel reached out and touched a hand to my heart. "Hey!" I objected, and then he was gone. Pop. Like he had never been there.

I had always been able to feel Ranger. Just a tingle before he walked in, an added awareness that I refused to think about. When I was younger my Grandmaz Mazur had talked about my gypsy heritage, about some lucky ones forming a heartline bond with their other half. She had taught me how to seek the connection inside myself. It formed, she had told me, when you had sex with your other half of your soul. To be broken only by death. I had believed her, utterly, until at 16 I had watched Joe hightail it out the door. I had checked inside myself, and no connection had formed. I had never ever checked again. At 16 I had been convinced he was the love of my life. At 33, I wasn't so sure.

I had never tested for Dickie. Some part of me always knew I was settling for him.

After Ranger and I had our one night…I had thought about it. But I decided that knowing he was my soul mate was too much to bear. Especially as he hightailed it out of the door not dissimilar to the manner in which Joe had done some 17 years before.

I did it now, I reached inside of myself and felt the instant pull of a connection so strong it took my breath away. He was by water, he was restrained. He wasn't afraid, but he was resigned, and he was hurting.

I leaped out of bed. This was an actual emergency, no time to waste. I was in a crop top bra and shorts. I hauled on a loose big t-shirt and pulled on trainers. I ran down the stairs as fast as I could. Even at 2am it was warm out. As I arrived at the lobby of the building I could see a Black Ford Explorer pulling in. I hauled ass and ran to it. I opened the passenger seat. Tank was driving. Lester, Bobby and Hal were crammed in the back.

Tank was taken aback. I climbed into the car and put the seatbelt on.

Tank shrugged a little, "Ok, this might be less weird than I thought." He muttered. "Sometimes," He said to me, "When you get taken and we don't have a lead as to where, Ranger will close his eyes and tell me which direction to drive in. Somehow we always end up at you. I know it's weird but Ranger's been taken–"

I interrupted him. "He's near water, drive towards the Delaware. He's hurt." I looked into the back seat, "We'll need more men."

I closed my eyes and focused on him. I drew the connection to myself like Grandma had taught me. It was too noisy for me to focus. I turned the radio off. "Silence in the car." I ordered.

I breathed in and out slowly, calling to the connection all the while. I felt him, and I felt some resistance from him.

"Let me in Ranger," I said out loud as well as mentally along the connection. "Show me where you are."

I felt hesitance and a thought that he must be losing it. Nonetheless the resistance vanished and I pulled on the bond again, bringing us closer still.

"Show me." I ordered again.

Suddenly I could see a warehouse in mind's eye. Jack's Fisheries. Boxes and boxes rearing up out of the warehouse, wooden crates all stamped with the logo.

"Jack's Fisheries." I said aloud.

Slowly the image panned. I saw Rangers mom and dad were tied up to a radiator on a wall. Rangers mom was crying. His dad looked wan and helpless.

"They've got his parents." I said. "How many men Ranger?"

Slowly, deliberately, the image panned and paused on each man. I counted. "11." I said aloud. "They're all armed. We're coming Ranger." I assured him. I checked our location. "5 minutes tops."

I felt rather than heard his feeling that he would probably be dead but maybe we would be able to rescue his parents.

I swore. "He thinks he'll be dead in 5 minutes. Step on it Tank!"

Lester grabbed the car radio and called all available Rangeman in to Jack's Fisheries. He advised it was a hostile hostage situation and we were to go in hot and heavy. Kevlar and guns.

I was so tuned into Ranger I gasped when I felt him get stabbed in the leg. "Fuck." I swore. "He's been stabbed in the leg. He can feel the blood pouring out."

I turned to Bobby, "can you do a field transfusion? I'm the same blood type as Ranger."

Bobby nodded, like all of this was normal.

The truth is I was going to freak out soon myself, but now very much wasn't the time.

We pulled up in 3 minutes and the bond between Ranger and I was still there but weakening. "He's bleeding out." I said panicked.

Tank and the others started to get out of the car. "knife," I said to Tank. His expression didn't change as he removed a knife from his knife holster for me. He also passed me a Kevlar vest two sizes two big which I hauled on without complaint.

Tank and the others formed up along the warehouse wall, it was only a moment before 2 more Ford Explorers pulled out. Out came Ram, Woody, Cal, Slick, Ramon and Binkie. They were all armed to the teeth.

"Hurry." I urged.

Tank motioned me behind him, and then motioned Hal to use a battering ram on the door. I was glad Tank didn't waste his breath trying to force me to stay in the car.

In seconds we were in and all hell broke loose.