Third Watch, WYWG Series, Fic 6: Sadness (1/2)
Title: Wherever You Will Go series, fic #6: Sadness (1/2)
Authors: Demelza and X_tremeroswellian
Email(s): demelza81@yahoo.co.nz and X_tremeroswellian@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: The characters don't belong to us. They belong to Edward Allen Bernero and John Wells and a bunch of other people that we've never met before. Please don't sue.
Summary: Faith's home life becomes more troubled as she and Bosco grow closer together.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Up through and including "The Unforgiven."
Author's Note: This is the sixth story in a series of Third Watch fics we're writing titled "Wherever You Will Go." The first one is "Confessions," the second is "Here With Me," the third is "Pain," the fourth is "Tears," and the fifth is "Fear." You may want to read those first before continuing.
Sadness (Part 1)
Emily sat next to Charlie on the sofa, their favorite afternoon cartoon 'Pinky and the Brain' was on. It was an old episode they'd seen before, but it was one of Charlie's favorites, she knew. They had been watching tv since they'd come home from school, their homework still sitting in their bags. An outburst of laughter came from Charlie when Pinky and the Brain climbed a ladder from the real Earth to the one they had made to live on by themselves. Emily couldn't hold back the chuckle that escaped her lips as they started moaning about how lonely they were.
She was content to just watch tv all afternoon when her arguing parents' voices could be heard from down the hall in their bedroom. She looked at Charlie, sighing. "They're fighting again," she said, keeping her voice low so she wasn't heard by either parent.
Charlie frowned. "What else is new?"
Emily looked at him for a single moment, turning back to the tv. "I wish they'd stop just once," she muttered to herself, trying to get comfortable on the couch.
He didn't respond this time, just reached for the remote control and turned the volume up.
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"No, Faith, I don't want you going...stay home, you can give them your report when you get back to work!"
Faith sighed deeply, her head pounding with the beginning of a headache. "I have to go. Lt. Swersky needs my report today."
He let out an angered groan. "Fine, but I'm going with you. I'm not letting you out of my sight again."
"You can't, Fred."
"Yes, I can. You either stay home and give your report when you get back, or I go with you."
"This isn't open for discussion, okay? This is an official meeting. You *can't* go."
Fred shook his head. "No, damnit, Faith. This *is* open for discussion. Something in this god-damned house has to be!"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You won't damned well tell me what happened in that bank last night!" he shouted.
Faith closed her eyes briefly and lowered her voice. "Nothing happened, okay? We were held hostage, we took down one of the robbers and we got out."
"There's something more, and you're not telling me what it is. I'm going with you, Faith, this isn't open for argument," he said, keeping his voice loud and clear.
"This is not about you. This is about my work. It's an official meeting with my bosses to make a report. It's not a public forum."
Fred let out a breath through his nose. "I'm your husband, Faith. I have a right to be there."
"You need to stay here with the kids," she pointed out. She took a deep breath and headed toward the bedroom door. "It shouldn't take that long anyway. An hour or so, tops."
Fred shook his head, not accepting that and went after her. "The kids can sit in the waiting room, Faith. I'm going with you!"
She stopped in her tracks, and turned to face him. "No, you're not," she said firmly, feeling very weary.
"Damnit, Faith, I want to be there for you!"
"And what I want is for you to stay here with our kids and not push this anymore. I told you, this isn't going to take that long, Fred." She headed for the couch where Emily and Charlie were watching cartoons.
Fred followed running his hand over his head. "Be reasonable!"
"I am being reasonable. I'll be home soon," she said. "I'll see you guys soon, okay?" she said to Em and Charlie.
Emily nodded up to her mother. "Okay, Mommy."
Faith smiled at her, and kissed her on the forehead. Then she kissed Charlie, as well. She turned to head for the door.
Fred grabbed hold of her wrist to turn her around. "Just listen to me, Faith!"
Pain jolted up her arm and she quickly pulled away from his grip.
"You're not stepping out that door until you talk to me!" he said, not shouting, but being authoritative.
"Mommy, can we go to McDonalds tonight?" Charlie interrupted.
Faith tried to ignore the pain in her arm as she knelt down to Charlie, who was now standing at her side. "We'll see okay, baby?"
Emily looked at Charlie, then to their mother, a funny knot forming in her stomach. "Please, Mommy, we haven't had it in ages."
Fred frowned at both children. "Get to your room. Your mother and I are talking!"
Faith stood up abruptly. "Don't yell at them," she said, angered.
"I can say what the hell I want in my home!" he replied, the frown on his face deepening. He then looked toward Emily and Charlie, who were both looking back at him. "I said go to your room!"
She glared at him briefly, then looked down at her kids. "I'll be back soon and then we'll go to McDonalds for dinner," she promised. "Why don't you guys go watch cartoons in your room, okay?"
Charlie frowned. "Okay."
Emily nodded, walking over to Charlie. She gave her mom a worried look, before putting her arm around Charlie's shoulder. "Okay," she replied.
Faith watched them go and waited until they were out of the room. "Don't talk to them like that again," she warned. "Ever." She turned to walk toward the door again.
Fred glared after her, following her with his eyes as she walked toward the door. "What, and suddenly you're parent of the year!?"
She ignored his remark and turned the door handle, afraid she'd say something she wouldn't be able to take back. Best to just keep moving, she thought.
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The hallway just outside Lieutenant Swersky's office was unbelievably silent. There were no shrill dial tones of phones ringing in all directions, no shouting and screaming from those arrested who thought their convictions were an injustice to whatever they had been caught doing.
Bosco let out a breath, feeling every molecule of air tickle the wall of his throat on the way out. I wonder where Faith is, he thought, finding himself nervously shaking his right leg, while tapping the arm of the bench he sat on with his left hand.
"Where is she?" He sighed, looking about him.
As if on cue, Faith rounded the corner in a rush. She saw Bosco sitting on the bench. "Am I late?" she asked, more than a little hint of anxiety in her voice.
He shook his head, quickly rising to his feet and taking in a slight breath, just as quickly letting it back out. "Nah, you're fine. What happened?" he asked, noting the anxiety in her tone.
"I had to fight with Fred just to leave the damned apartment," she muttered.
"What!? What's crawled up his ass this time?" he asked, quickly shaking his head. "Sorry, slip of the tongue."
She wouldn't look at him. "He thought he should come with me. Then when I told him no, he got mad and yelled at the kids." She sat down on the bench tiredly, leaning her head against the wall.
Bosco shook his head in disgust, before sitting down beside her. "Trying to live your life for you again?"
"Bosco," she said quietly, not wanting to fight with him, too.
"Sorry," he apologized, leaning back against the wall. "You doing okay, I mean otherwise?" he asked, looking in her direction.
She nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm fine."
"You look tired. You sleep any last night?" he asked, keeping his voice in the same caring tone.
Faith finally looked over at him. "Not so much," she admitted quietly.
"I'm sorry, Faith."
She shook her head. "It's not your fault." She took a deep breath. "Did you sleep?"
Bosco shook his head, letting out a breath. "Not much. I couldn't stop thinking about it...about what happened."
She swallowed hard and looked away. "Yeah, it was pretty intense."
He nodded, not taking his eyes from her even once. "Faith, I'm sorry," he swallowed, continuing. "For what happened, for...not being able to stop him..."
Faith's heart clenched. She looked over and met his eyes. "Bosco, nothing happened. I'm okay." She tried to sound reassuring, but her voice shook slightly and she cursed herself in her mind.
He just looked at her. "No, you're not," he replied, his voice lower.
She closed her eyes and rested her head on one hand. Shit. Why does he have to know me so well? she wondered.
"You can talk to me, Faith..." he continued. "I'm always here for you, you know that."
Faith looked at him, wanting nothing more at that moment than to crawl into his arms and hear him say that everything was going to be okay. "Bosco, I..."
Just then the door opened and Christopher stepped into the hallway. He looked at them, then frowned. "Didn't your husband come with you?"
Bosco shot a look at Christopher. Who the hell does he think he is? he thought, then looked back to Faith.
She glanced up, startled by the interruption. She frowned. "No, he didn't come with me...why would he?"
Christopher looked from her to Bosco, his eyes narrowing. "I was just under the impression that he'd want to be here to support you."
"This is a department only meeting, you know that," Bosco told Christopher, his tone anything but pleasant.
Christopher glared at him. "Exceptions can be made."
Bosco shook his head. My ass, he thought.
Faith frowned, feeling confused.
"Lt. Swersky is on his way. Why don't you two come in here and sit down?" he suggested, his voice holding a note of superiority.
Bosco rolled his eyes, then looked toward Faith. "You ready?"
She nodded, still thrown by the fact that Christopher had wondered why Fred, of all people, wasn't there.
Christopher moved back into the room.
Bosco stood up, waiting for Faith.
She swallowed hard, a wave of anxiety suddenly washing over her.
"Faith, are you okay?"
She wasn't, but she rose to her feet anyway. Words couldn't even cover how much she didn't want to do this meeting right now. "Yeah, fine."
Bosco nodded, but didn't believe her. "You don't have to do this right now, you know that, right?"
"Bosco, if I don't do this now, I won't do it at all. Ever," she added, her voice barely audible.
He nodded again. "Okay."
She took a deep breath and walked into the room, sitting down on one of the chairs at the conference table.
Bosco followed shortly after, closing the door behind him as he walked over to Faith and pulled out one of the chairs at the table and sat down.
No sooner had they sat down when the door behind them opened again and Lieutenant Swersky walked in and sat on the opposite side of the conference table than where Bosco and Faith were sitting. He carried a manila folder with him and placed it down in front of him as he sat. "All right. Thank you for coming in," he told the two officers, not once looking at Christopher.
Christopher, ever the eager suck-up, rose to his feet and saluted the Lt. as he walked into the room.
Faith glanced at Bosco and rolled her eyes.
Bosco grinned, shaking his head slightly. "Not like we had a choice, sir," he said.
Christopher sat down in the chair directly across from Faith, looking at her and then Bosco intently. "Why don't we start out by you two telling us why you were at the bank to begin with."
She frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"
Bosco's brow creased. What kinda dumb question is that? he asked himself
He focused his eyes on her. "Just want to establish the facts."
Lt. Swersky looked between Bosco and Faith, then to Christopher. "Christopher," he said in a warning tone. "That question isn't on the list."
Faith looked at Bosco again.
Christopher nodded. "Right. Okay, what time did you arrive at the bank?"
Bosco looked back at Faith, then toward Christopher. "Just before closing."
She nodded. "Me too...when I got there, Bosco was a few people ahead of me in line."
"The robbers came in what, three, four minutes after we got there?" he asked Faith.
"Yeah...five minutes, tops."
"So when the robbers came in, you were a few people ahead of her in line?"
Bosco looked at Faith, then to Christopher again. "I'd moved."
He frowned. "Moved?"
"Yeah, went back to where Faith was. Not that this has to do with what happened when those robbers came in."
"Just trying to establish everyone's exact locations when the situation began."
The lieutenant looked at Christopher for a moment, then wrote down some notes.
"What happened exactly when they came in?"
"They told everyone to get on the ground...and the tellers to open the registers." Faith replied.
"And did everyone do as told?"
Bosco nodded slightly. "We all dropped to the ground. But the teller couldn't open the register."
"They told Trent," she winced just saying his name, "That only the manager had the keys."
Bosco noted his partner's unease, and swallowed hard. "He got pissed, and then the cops showed up. The teller had tripped the alarm."
She swallowed hard, tried to remain calm. "We figured out a couple minutes later that it was the same people who'd robbed Center Bank a few days ago."
"And how did you figure that out?" A hint of doubt in Christopher's voice.
"The girl. Her name was Jamie. Same with one of the other robbers from Center Bank," Bosco told him.
Faith nodded her agreement. "Bosco realized it first."
Christopher's eyes narrowed slightly. "What happened next?"
"He had one of the other hostages...Dave...get up and close the blinds," She glanced at Bosco sideways. "Then he made Bosco lock the foyer doors."
Bosco looked at Faith once more, slowly turning back to Christopher. "Then Rodney, he started to panic. It pissed Trent off more."
"Jamie was upset, too. Trent stomped over to her, like he was going to hurt her or something..."
"Faith tried to reason with him to calm down...but, he just...got more mad."
"And what did he do then?"
Bosco swallowed hard, hating to do this to Faith. "He grabbed her..."
Christopher looked surprised.
"What happened next...?" Swersky asked.
Faith looked down. "He just...had me move across the room, away from Bosco."
"Why away from Bosco?"
"We were talking."
"Because....he tried to defend me when Trent came over toward us."
Swersky looked at them both, "And?"
"And he made me move..."
He nodded, penning down some more notes.
"That's when one of the officers outside came over the bullhorn and said the building was surrounded."
"Then what happened?" Christopher asked.
Bosco took in a light breath, "They took off their masks, Trent and Rodney... Rodney was still panicking, but Trent just laughed, saying this time was different, they had a room full of hostages."
"He seemed really confident they'd get out of there without a problem."
"Rodney wasn't so sure, though."
"What happened next?"
"A phone rang."
She took a deep breath. "It gave me an idea...I saw the phone behind the counter and I moved back and dialed 911 without them knowing it."
"They kept arguing, so they didn't even realize she'd moved until she came back."
Christopher looked at her. "They realized you moved?"
Her heart pounded in her chest and she nodded shortly. "Yeah. Jamie saw me."
"What did they do when they realized you'd moved?" he leaned forward in his seat.
Bosco closed his eyes tight, remembering.
Faith swallowed hard. "Trent came over...he told me to get up off the floor. He wanted to know if I was trying to escape."
Christopher glanced at Bosco, noticing his reaction. "What else?"
"I stood up, told him to leave her alone. But he..." his voice froze, and he swallowed.
She bit her lip and looked down at the table's surface, noticing the interesting pattern of marks on it.
"He what?" Christopher asked, insistent.
Bosco shook his head, not wanting to answer, but he had to, he knew that. "He shoved her...against a wall," he replied, his voice lower.
Faith gathered up every bit of her willpower and looked right at him. "He told me maybe he and I should go into the back so he could teach me a lesson."
Christopher stared at her.
She looked away.
"What happened then?"
"That's when he grabbed me and took me outside, threatened to kill all of us if the police tried to come inside the building. When he brought me back in, I sat down next to Bosco...I told him that I'd called 911 behind the counter...that the phone was still off the hook."
"Trent and Rodney, they were bitching at each other, when this woman...he caught her using her phone."
"What did he do then?"
"He kicked her. Then he took her phone, crushed it under his foot..." Faith replied.
"Then he started talking about making demands."
She took a breath. "Bosco tried to talk him into letting a couple people go so the police would negotiate."
"The dispatcher had put the call in by then," Swersky mentioned, writing down some more notes.
Christopher nodded. "We heard that part," he said, nodding towards Swersky. "That's how we knew Boscorelli was in the bank."
Bosco nodded. "That's when he took Dave outside, and demanded the pizza and pepsi," he nodded, acknowledging that they had heard.
"While he was outside, Bosco and I came up with a plan. To separate the other two from Trent and try to get them to turn themselves in."
Christopher nodded for them to continue.
"They went out, and when Trent dragged Dave back in, that's when Faith told him she needed to use the restroom. He came after her, so I stood up, too. Then Dave..." A small smile on his face at the courage the shaken guy had used. "He said he needed to go too."
"I went with Jamie and two other hostages...when I came out of the restroom, I tried to talk to her."
Her mind flashed back to her conversation with the frightened woman.
Swersky looked at Faith, putting down his pen. "What did she say?"
She shifted uneasily. "He beats her. She thinks he loves her...she didn't want any part of this, not really."
Bosco swallowed, inside wincing watching his partner.
"She said that?"
"Not in so many words, no."
Swersky wrote down a few more notes, once again looking at her. "What did she say?"
"She said it was too dangerous for her to leave. She was scared. Really scared."
"Why was she so afraid?" he asked.
She looked away. She had her suspicions, but she wasn't certain she was right. "I don't know for sure...I think she was afraid he'd kill her if she tried to turn herself in. Or leave him."
He nodded. "Sounds like he had a hold of her. Please, go on," he said, both to Faith and Bosco.
She glanced at Bosco, starting to feel really uncomfortable. "She made us go back into the main part of the bank, back with Trent and the others."
Christopher looked at Bosco. "Then what?"
Bosco cleared his throat, ready to pick up from there. "Trent ordered me and two others to go through with Rodney, leaving Faith...the others, too, alone with him. I tried to convince him it'd be best if he gave himself up. I knew he hated being there. That's when..." He took in a breath, and slowly let it out. "When he warned me."
"Warned you about what?" Crhistopher asked, sounding confused.
He swallowed hard, turning to Faith for a moment. He closed his eyes, turning his head back around as he opened his eyes again. "To be careful of Trent, the way he was constantly looking at her..."
Christopher looked at the lieutenant then back at Bosco, then at Faith. Then he turned to Bosco again. "Then what?"
Bosco closed his mouth, slowly looking over at Faith. "I came in..." he said after a moment. "And Trent...he had her up against the wall."
Christopher's gaze traveled to Faith. "What happened?"
She swallowed hard, her fingers gripping the edge of the table so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "He told me to get up off the floor. So I did...he shoved me back against the wall..."
"What did he say, when he held you against the wall?" Swersky asked.
She flinched. //"Do you know what I'm gonna do to you?" he asked, his voice just above a whisper as he leaned forward and put his face next to hers.
Faith swallowed again. "No," she replied, her voice shaking slightly.
A smile stretched across his lips and he leaned his face even closer, and licked her earlobe, his smile broadening more when she shuddered. "I'm gonna fuck your brains out."//
"Yokas? What did he say?" he pressed.
Christopher's voice jolted her out of the memory and she blinked a couple times. "He...asked me if I knew what he was going to do to me," she said, her voice quiet, distant.
"And?"
Bosco glared over at the sergeant.
"And I said no." Her voice was even more soft this time.
"Officer Yokas...?" Swersky said, noticing the lowness in her voice.
She gripped the edge of the table a little tighter, wishing she could sink right into the floor. "He threatened to rape me."
Bosco closed his eyes tightly, his fingernails burrowing deeply into the palms of his hands. He clenched his teeth, slowly opening his eyes to look at her again. 'Why didn't you tell me, Faith?' he thought.
"What did he say exactly?"
"What does it matter what he said!? He threatened her, that's enough..." Bosco raised his voice, angered.
Faith jumped at the sound of the anger in her partner's voice. She couldn't look over at him, afraid of what she'd see in his eyes.
"It matters because we're building a case against the son of a bitch and we need to know exactly what went down in there. And threatening a police officer is a pretty big offense, Officer Boscorelli."
Bosco gritted his teeth tighter, shaking his head in pure anger. "I don't give a fuck if you're building your stupid case! You don't need to push her! She told you what he told her...you don't need to know exactly what!"
Christopher turned his attention to Faith again, ignoring Bosco's outburst. "Yokas, what did he say?"
She felt sick to her stomach. Faith, her voice very soft, barely inaudible, replied, "He said he was gonna fuck my brains out."
Christopher frowned. "I didn't catch that."
Bosco shook his head at him, glaring furiously. Just leave it, he thought.
Faith bit down hard on her lip, then in a shaky voice, she repeated herself, louder this time. "He said he was going to fuck my brains out."
Bosco felt his chest ache and every fiber of him start to burn in anger. That bastard had said that to her? He'd said he'd... he couldn't even get the words into his mind, all he wanted to do was kill the sick bastard. His eyes settled on Faith, seeing the sad look on her face, the look that told him she didn't want to do this anymore, didn't want to remember. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and hug her tightly, apologize for what that creep had said and done and just never let her go.
"What happened then?"
"That's uh...that's when Rodney came back with Bosco and the other hostages."
"How about we take a break for five minutes or so?" Swersky asked them all, but didn't wait for a response as he nodded for Christopher to follow him out to the hallway as he stood up and left the room.
Christopher stood up, but stared at Faith for a long moment before heading toward the door.
Lieutenant Swersky stopped a short distance out from the door. He turned around, waiting as Christopher walked out. "Close it," he told him flatly.
Christopher instantly did as told, shutting the door behind him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? I want you to back off Yokas."
Christopher was taken aback. "I...uh..I was just trying to find out what happened."
"You were pushing her. You can see how fragile she is after what she went through. I want you to back off."
He nodded. "Yes, Sir."
"I don't want to have to warn you again," he warned sternly.
"You won't have to. I understand, Sir."
Lieu nodded. "You better." He didn't leave room for anything else to be said as he headed along the hallway.
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Faith stared down at the tabletop. She could feel Bosco's gaze on her and she shifted uncomfortably. "Don't," she said quietly.
"I didn't..." he said back, his voice just as quiet.
She chewed on her lower lip, trying not to cry. She took a deep breath and swallowed hard, trying to regain control over her thoughts and emotions.
Bosco noticed what she was doing, and moved in his seat slightly, closer to her. "Faith...I...I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault." She released a shaky breath.
He closed his eyes for a moment, letting out a breath. "I shouldn't have left you alone with him. It is my fault."
She shook her head. "Don't....blame yourself. Nothing happened. It's not like I haven't been threatened before," she pointed out.
Her reply took him aback. "Not like that, Faith...have you?"
She froze. "No...not like that. Just, you know, I'm a cop and I'm a female, and...it happens." She shrugged, trying to maintain her breathing.
He gave her a look, knowing for damn sure what she was saying was every word the truth. Hell, he'd seen a lot of scumbags hit on her, make advances, threaten her. Just never like that guy Trent. "It shouldn't happen, though."
Faith swallowed hard. "Yeah, well. I just shake it off. No big deal." She shrugged again.
"It is a big deal if it's affecting you like this, Faith."
"It's not affecting me...it was just the whole ordeal, you know? It was really intense."
He nodded, scratching at his head for a split few seconds before placing his hand on her shoulder. "I saw you freeze, Faith. I saw the fear in your face when he went near you."
Her heart pounded in her chest, remembering the look in Trent's eyes as he held her against the wall. She shuddered and stood up suddenly, shoving her chair backwards.
"Faith?" Bosco said, his voice filled with fear and worry as he stood up with her. "What's wrong?"
She shook her head furiously. "Nothing, nothing. I just...need some air." She turned around and yanked the window open.
"Faith..." he pleaded.
The cool air from outside rushed in as she stood there, her hands gripping the window ledge. She shut her eyes tightly. "I just didn't get any sleep last night, and I'm tense, and...the fight with Fred and...everything....I just...I'll be okay, I just..." She couldn't finish.
Bosco stepped right over to her. He went to put his hand on her shoulder, but he resisted, not wanting to do anything wrong. "You just what? Faith, please, talk to me."
"I just want this to be over with," she finished, not sure if that's what she really wanted to say or not, but feeling like she had to tell him something.
He nodded, swallowing. "So do I," he replied, lowering his voice.
"They're gonna put him away, right?" she asked quietly, even though she knew he didn't know for sure anymore than she did.
"Yeah, they will. For a very long time. He'll probably never get out."
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"What happened when he found the phone off the hook?" Christopher asked.
Faith rubbed her forehead gingerly, her headache getting worse as the meeting dragged on. "He assumed one of the tellers made the call," she said wearily.
"But Faith, she told him it was her." Bosco looked in her direction, noticing how tired she looked.
"Then Bosco stood up and said he made the call."
Christopher's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he didn't comment.
"He didn't believe either one of us. Not really."
"He got really upset. We tried to calm him down, but he...hit Bosco in the chest with his gun." She swallowed hard, wincing at the memory.
"Then, he asked if it'd upset me if he hurt Faith...I told him to leave her the fuck alone, but...he leaned closer, and told me..." He swallowed hard at the memory. "So I..." He looked over at the senior officers, no regret or remorse in his eyes, nothing but pure anger. "Let him have it."
Christopher looked confused. "Leaned over and told you what?"
"That he had already had his hands on her."
Faith looked down at the table, feeling sick again.
Christopher glanced at the Lt. "So when you say 'let him have it'...what do you mean exactly?"
Bosco looked directly at him, a steely gaze in his eyes. "I gave him the last cookie. What the fuck do you think I meant?"
"Boz," she said softly, not looking at him, afraid he was going to get in trouble.
Bosco resigned with a breath. "He punched me, so I kicked him." He cleared his throat, running his finger around a dark knot of wood in the polished conference table. "I kept kicking...kick after kick..." As the words came out of his mouth he used great emphasis, gritting his teeth. "Then I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the ground, and punched him."
Christopher's gaze drifted over to Faith. "And what were you doing when Bosco was fighting with Trent?"
She froze, completely unsure of what to say. "I...."
Bosco immediately cleared his throat, looking over at Lieu and Christopher. "She was trying to get me to stop, but I wouldn't listen."
Faith turned to look at him, her eyes wide.
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" he muttered under his breath.
Bosco shot Christopher a glare.
Christopher smirked at him, then turned serious again. "Then what happened?"
"Trent told Jamie and Rodney to help him, but they refused," Faith said.
"Then what?"
"We told him to get up. Faith managed to get hold of his gun," Bosco added.
"He wouldn't get up. Then he attacked Bosco."
Christopher looked back and forth between him. "How did you finally manage to subdue him?"
Bosco swallowed, not looking anywhere but at the knot of wood on the table in front of him.
She looked over at Bosco, chewing her lower lip. "I hit him in the back of his head with the gun and knocked him unconscious."
Christopher stared at her, a surprised look on his face.
"After that, Rodney and Jamie just gave themselves up. Dropped their weapons."
"And that was pretty much it. We all went outside after that."
Swersky looked between them both. "No, that's not exactly true. You two stayed behind for a while longer, why?"
She swallowed hard and looked down at the table. "Bosco just wanted to know if I was okay."
"I see," he replied, looking at her for a moment longer before writing down some more notes.
Faith let out a shaky breath. "Are we done here?"
Christopher looked at Lieu questioningly.
"I think we are." He looked at Christopher. "Unless you had anything else?"
Christopher turned to look at Bosco and Faith again. "No, I think that covers it for me."
Bosco nodded.
Lt. Swersky nodded. "You can go home now. Thank you for coming in, we'll be going over your statements."
She stood up immediately and headed for the door without waiting for them to change their minds.
Bosco stood up, glaring at Christopher once more before following Faith out the doors. "Faith..." he called, walking behind her.
She paused in her steps, only because it was Bosco. She waited for him to catch up to her.
He walked up to her, stopping by her side. "You okay? Need a ride or anything?"
Faith took a deep breath. "Actually...I...uh...I think I'm going to go see Jamie," she said, avoiding the first part of his question.
"Right. Okay. Maybe I can hang around, give you a ride when you're done, then?"
She hesitated. "You don't have to do that."
"I don't mind, really," he assured her.
Faith looked at him, then nodded. "Okay...that'd be great, Boz. Thanks."
"Sure. I'll just be in the squad room, working on a report from the other day."
"Okay."
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Faith ignored the glares and curses from the assortment of prisoners in lock-up as she walked down the hall to the last cell. She looked inside and saw Jamie lying down on the cot, staring up at the ceiling, totally unaware of her presence. "Jamie?"
Jamie blinked, not even turning her head to Faith, though she knew the officer was standing there. "What?"
"I just wanted to come by and see how you were doing."
"I'm fine," she replied, still not meeting Faith's gaze.
Faith looked down at the floor. "Yeah, aren't we all," she muttered.
Jamie turned her head to the other woman, her hands resting on her stomach. "What are you really doing here?"
Faith wasn't really sure how to answer her, because in all honestly, she didn't know why she was there. "I guess I just wanted to see if you needed anything. For you or for the baby. Vitamins or something. I don't know."
Jamie swallowed, returning her gaze to the ceiling again. "I'm fine...we're, fine..." She looked back at Faith again. "But thank you. For offering."
"Look, um...I just want you to know that I don't blame you. For what happened yesterday. And I'm going to do what I can to make sure you don't get into anymore trouble than necessary," she said.
Jamie sat up on her cot, nodding. "To be honest, I think maybe we'd be safer inside..." she said, running her hands over her stomach. "He can't get to us in there, " she said, her voice unsure.
Faith looked at her, her gaze steady. "He won't get to you again."
"You don't understand. If I'm outside, he'll get to me. He knows people. But inside, I'm safe, he can't..." She let out a sigh, staring at the floor. "I've been inside before, in juvie. He tried to get to me, but I was safe, there was no way he could. You have to understand."
Faith gripped onto the cell bars. She searched her mind, trying to come up with something, some way to help her. "What about the witness protection program?"
Jamie laughed. "I robbed a bank, they wouldn't give me witness protection."
She took a deep breath. "Normally, you're probably right. But if two police officers testified on your behalf, you might have a chance."
Jamie looked up at her, her brow creasing in confusion. "What, what officers?"
"Me, for one." She looked right at Jamie.
Jamie swallowed. "You're a cop? Then...the guy, the one you were with...he's a cop?"
She nodded. "Yeah, he's my partner."
"God. That explains a lot."
A smile tugged on the corner of her lips. "Yeah, like how you ended up with a cell by yourself, for one."
"And how you guys kicked Trent's ass." Jamie smiled widely, a laugh escaping her lips in seeing the image flash in her mind of Bosco kicking Trent in the groin. "You'd do that? Why?"
"Because I don't think you had a choice of whether to be involved or not. I think he forced you to help him." She looked down. "And because I've got two kids, and if anyone ever hurt them in any way..." Her voice trailed off and she shook her head.
Jamie nodded, shrugging a little. "Me and Rodney both. The three of us, we've known each other since we were kids....Trent always used to bring us stuff, we didn't have much...but, we had to do stuff in return." She paused, as though just hearing the second part of what Faith had said. "You have kids? But I thought..." She shook her head.
Faith looked at her. "Thought what?" she asked, curious.
"That you, and your partner...were...forget I said anything." She shook her head again.
She swallowed hard and felt her face flush. "No...I...uh...I'm married."
"Couldn't tell," she replied. "He cares a lot, though, that's why I thought...that you two..."
Faith looked down. "Yeah...he's...we're good friends. Best friends," she said softly, her mind flashing back to their kiss in the elevator.
Jamie looked away, slightly shrugging one shoulder. "Wish I had as close a friend as him."
Faith smiled, her eyes sad. "You will. And who knows? Maybe you'll be more than just friends."
"I hope so. I need someone good in my life, for a change."
She swallowed hard again. "I'm gonna do everything I can to help you," she promised.
Jamie looked up at her, nodding. "Thank you...Faith."
Faith nodded. "You're welcome. Look, if you need anything, just tell the guard on duty to call me, okay?"
"I will."
Faith offered her a brief smile, then turned and headed down the corridor again.
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Faith leaned her head on her hand as she stared out the window at her apartment building. "Here we are again," she murmured.
Bosco slowly nodded once, swallowing. He turned to look at her. "You all right, Faith?"
She took a deep breath. "Yeah...just tired, Boz." Her eyes closed briefly.
"It's been a long day, that's for sure," he said, lowering his voice for the last part.
She nodded her agreement. Her head was pounding. And the thought of going inside and dealing with Fred again only made it hurt worse.
Bosco put his elbow up against the bottom of the window, resting his head in his hand for only a moment before nervously putting his hand back on the steering wheel. He cleared his throat. "I coulda kicked Christopher's ass in there tonight."
"I'd love to see that happen any day," she said, smiling slightly.
He laughed, letting out a happy sigh. "I should go back there and do it now, actually. We could be off work together."
She snorted. "Yeah, we could just go back and tie him up, throw him in a cell with Trent and see what happens."
Bosco laughed, grinning. "I think Christopher might actually like that. I could see it now, Trent would be running around the cell, while Christopher is chasing after him...'I won't bite'...."
She laughed and shook her head. "They deserve each other. Sick bastards, "she added under her breath.
"I wonder how long we'd be suspended for?" he asked, looking out the front windscreen. He then turned to Faith. "If we really did that."
"Suspended? We'd either get fired or we'd get medals."
Bosco shrugged. "Medals. Lieu can't stand Christopher anymore than we can."
She nodded, distracted as she looked up at her apartment building again. "Yeah," she said vaguely.
He watched as she looked up at the apartment building, swallowing. He felt wounded inside, wounded that in the car, it was just them, a perfect moment shared. But upstairs, that was her life, her family. "Hey, Faith..." he said, shaking his thoughts away. "Last night..."
She turned her head to look at him, waiting for him to continue.
"What were you going to tell me?"
She frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"About your past..." he continued, swallowing again.
Faith froze, startled. She'd hoped that he had forgotten all about that. She swallowed hard, looked away.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." He looked at her a moment longer, then looked away, mentally kicking himself.
She felt guilty, hearing the hurt in his voice. "You know, it's just...it's not really important now." She shook her head. "It was nothing, Bosco. Really." Her voice was soft.
He turned back to her. "If it wasn't anything, why does it hurt you so much, Faith?"
She could feel tears start to sting her eyes. She tried to avoid his question. "It doesn't matter because I can't go back and change things that happened in the past."
"I'm sorry, Faith..." He shook his head. "I can't accept that. No, you can't change the past, but you can talk about it...I'm here for you, here to listen."
"I know that," she said quietly, not looking at him.
"So talk to me...please..." he said, lowering his voice.
She squeezed her eyes shut tightly. She wanted to tell him, wanted to tell him everything. She just couldn't form the words. "Bosco, I can't..."
"I don't expect you to tell me now, Faith...but when you can, when you feel like you can...I'm here."
She nodded, swallowing hard. "Okay." She looked over at him. Wordlessly she leaned toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist in an awkward hug.
Bosco was taken aback by her move, but moved in the seat and put his arms around her. Not saying anything, he just held her in his arms. She pressed her face against his shoulder and held on tightly.
He gently placed his hand on the back of her head, and leaned his face closer to hers. "I'm glad you're here, Faith..." he said, his voice soft.
It took everything in her not to start crying again. She just wanted to stay there, with him, curled up in his arms, feeling safe. Bosco closed his eyes, quietly thanking God for keeping Faith safe, for allowing him to have her in his life.
She finally managed to pull away, though she hated it. She swallowed hard and looked at him for a long moment. "Thank you," she said quietly.
He just nodded, holding onto her hand. "You're welcome," he replied, just as quietly.
She took a deep breath. "I should...go inside...."
Bosco reluctantly nodded. "Yeah..." He wanted to say something to keep her there, but he didn't know what to say, or if he'd just put more distance between them if he opened his mouth.
She wrapped her hand around the door handle, then hesitated. "Hey, Boz."
He arched his eyebrow a little. "Yeah?"
"We're taking the kids to McDonalds tonight...do you, uh...do you wanna come?"
Bosco hesitated to reply for a moment. "Uh, I would love to...but, I don't know...what with, us...Fred...I don't think, I could..."
She winced. "Right. Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..." She shook her head.
"No, it's okay...I appreciate the offer. I just, I don't know that I could be around him, not after...everything."
"Okay. So...I'll...see you in a few days then," she said, tiredly.
He nodded, hating to be parting like this. "Yeah. A few days...hey, maybe I could drop by some time, before then."
"Yeah, that'd be good..." she hesitated. "Maybe, uh...maybe you should call first though."
"I will."
She ran a hand through her hair. "Okay." She reached for the door handle and opened the door. "I'll see you."
"Yeah, take care, Faith," he said, hating himself for not saying anything else, or any differently.
She paused at his words. "Yeah, you too," she said softly. Then she climbed out of his Mustang and swallowed hard, closed her eyes as she shut the car door. Then taking a deep breath, she walked toward her apartment building.
Bosco watched as she walked away, and then went inside. He cursed aloud, leaning his head against the headrest. "Shit."
Authors: Demelza and X_tremeroswellian
Email(s): demelza81@yahoo.co.nz and X_tremeroswellian@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: The characters don't belong to us. They belong to Edward Allen Bernero and John Wells and a bunch of other people that we've never met before. Please don't sue.
Summary: Faith's home life becomes more troubled as she and Bosco grow closer together.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Up through and including "The Unforgiven."
Author's Note: This is the sixth story in a series of Third Watch fics we're writing titled "Wherever You Will Go." The first one is "Confessions," the second is "Here With Me," the third is "Pain," the fourth is "Tears," and the fifth is "Fear." You may want to read those first before continuing.
Sadness (Part 1)
Emily sat next to Charlie on the sofa, their favorite afternoon cartoon 'Pinky and the Brain' was on. It was an old episode they'd seen before, but it was one of Charlie's favorites, she knew. They had been watching tv since they'd come home from school, their homework still sitting in their bags. An outburst of laughter came from Charlie when Pinky and the Brain climbed a ladder from the real Earth to the one they had made to live on by themselves. Emily couldn't hold back the chuckle that escaped her lips as they started moaning about how lonely they were.
She was content to just watch tv all afternoon when her arguing parents' voices could be heard from down the hall in their bedroom. She looked at Charlie, sighing. "They're fighting again," she said, keeping her voice low so she wasn't heard by either parent.
Charlie frowned. "What else is new?"
Emily looked at him for a single moment, turning back to the tv. "I wish they'd stop just once," she muttered to herself, trying to get comfortable on the couch.
He didn't respond this time, just reached for the remote control and turned the volume up.
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"No, Faith, I don't want you going...stay home, you can give them your report when you get back to work!"
Faith sighed deeply, her head pounding with the beginning of a headache. "I have to go. Lt. Swersky needs my report today."
He let out an angered groan. "Fine, but I'm going with you. I'm not letting you out of my sight again."
"You can't, Fred."
"Yes, I can. You either stay home and give your report when you get back, or I go with you."
"This isn't open for discussion, okay? This is an official meeting. You *can't* go."
Fred shook his head. "No, damnit, Faith. This *is* open for discussion. Something in this god-damned house has to be!"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You won't damned well tell me what happened in that bank last night!" he shouted.
Faith closed her eyes briefly and lowered her voice. "Nothing happened, okay? We were held hostage, we took down one of the robbers and we got out."
"There's something more, and you're not telling me what it is. I'm going with you, Faith, this isn't open for argument," he said, keeping his voice loud and clear.
"This is not about you. This is about my work. It's an official meeting with my bosses to make a report. It's not a public forum."
Fred let out a breath through his nose. "I'm your husband, Faith. I have a right to be there."
"You need to stay here with the kids," she pointed out. She took a deep breath and headed toward the bedroom door. "It shouldn't take that long anyway. An hour or so, tops."
Fred shook his head, not accepting that and went after her. "The kids can sit in the waiting room, Faith. I'm going with you!"
She stopped in her tracks, and turned to face him. "No, you're not," she said firmly, feeling very weary.
"Damnit, Faith, I want to be there for you!"
"And what I want is for you to stay here with our kids and not push this anymore. I told you, this isn't going to take that long, Fred." She headed for the couch where Emily and Charlie were watching cartoons.
Fred followed running his hand over his head. "Be reasonable!"
"I am being reasonable. I'll be home soon," she said. "I'll see you guys soon, okay?" she said to Em and Charlie.
Emily nodded up to her mother. "Okay, Mommy."
Faith smiled at her, and kissed her on the forehead. Then she kissed Charlie, as well. She turned to head for the door.
Fred grabbed hold of her wrist to turn her around. "Just listen to me, Faith!"
Pain jolted up her arm and she quickly pulled away from his grip.
"You're not stepping out that door until you talk to me!" he said, not shouting, but being authoritative.
"Mommy, can we go to McDonalds tonight?" Charlie interrupted.
Faith tried to ignore the pain in her arm as she knelt down to Charlie, who was now standing at her side. "We'll see okay, baby?"
Emily looked at Charlie, then to their mother, a funny knot forming in her stomach. "Please, Mommy, we haven't had it in ages."
Fred frowned at both children. "Get to your room. Your mother and I are talking!"
Faith stood up abruptly. "Don't yell at them," she said, angered.
"I can say what the hell I want in my home!" he replied, the frown on his face deepening. He then looked toward Emily and Charlie, who were both looking back at him. "I said go to your room!"
She glared at him briefly, then looked down at her kids. "I'll be back soon and then we'll go to McDonalds for dinner," she promised. "Why don't you guys go watch cartoons in your room, okay?"
Charlie frowned. "Okay."
Emily nodded, walking over to Charlie. She gave her mom a worried look, before putting her arm around Charlie's shoulder. "Okay," she replied.
Faith watched them go and waited until they were out of the room. "Don't talk to them like that again," she warned. "Ever." She turned to walk toward the door again.
Fred glared after her, following her with his eyes as she walked toward the door. "What, and suddenly you're parent of the year!?"
She ignored his remark and turned the door handle, afraid she'd say something she wouldn't be able to take back. Best to just keep moving, she thought.
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The hallway just outside Lieutenant Swersky's office was unbelievably silent. There were no shrill dial tones of phones ringing in all directions, no shouting and screaming from those arrested who thought their convictions were an injustice to whatever they had been caught doing.
Bosco let out a breath, feeling every molecule of air tickle the wall of his throat on the way out. I wonder where Faith is, he thought, finding himself nervously shaking his right leg, while tapping the arm of the bench he sat on with his left hand.
"Where is she?" He sighed, looking about him.
As if on cue, Faith rounded the corner in a rush. She saw Bosco sitting on the bench. "Am I late?" she asked, more than a little hint of anxiety in her voice.
He shook his head, quickly rising to his feet and taking in a slight breath, just as quickly letting it back out. "Nah, you're fine. What happened?" he asked, noting the anxiety in her tone.
"I had to fight with Fred just to leave the damned apartment," she muttered.
"What!? What's crawled up his ass this time?" he asked, quickly shaking his head. "Sorry, slip of the tongue."
She wouldn't look at him. "He thought he should come with me. Then when I told him no, he got mad and yelled at the kids." She sat down on the bench tiredly, leaning her head against the wall.
Bosco shook his head in disgust, before sitting down beside her. "Trying to live your life for you again?"
"Bosco," she said quietly, not wanting to fight with him, too.
"Sorry," he apologized, leaning back against the wall. "You doing okay, I mean otherwise?" he asked, looking in her direction.
She nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm fine."
"You look tired. You sleep any last night?" he asked, keeping his voice in the same caring tone.
Faith finally looked over at him. "Not so much," she admitted quietly.
"I'm sorry, Faith."
She shook her head. "It's not your fault." She took a deep breath. "Did you sleep?"
Bosco shook his head, letting out a breath. "Not much. I couldn't stop thinking about it...about what happened."
She swallowed hard and looked away. "Yeah, it was pretty intense."
He nodded, not taking his eyes from her even once. "Faith, I'm sorry," he swallowed, continuing. "For what happened, for...not being able to stop him..."
Faith's heart clenched. She looked over and met his eyes. "Bosco, nothing happened. I'm okay." She tried to sound reassuring, but her voice shook slightly and she cursed herself in her mind.
He just looked at her. "No, you're not," he replied, his voice lower.
She closed her eyes and rested her head on one hand. Shit. Why does he have to know me so well? she wondered.
"You can talk to me, Faith..." he continued. "I'm always here for you, you know that."
Faith looked at him, wanting nothing more at that moment than to crawl into his arms and hear him say that everything was going to be okay. "Bosco, I..."
Just then the door opened and Christopher stepped into the hallway. He looked at them, then frowned. "Didn't your husband come with you?"
Bosco shot a look at Christopher. Who the hell does he think he is? he thought, then looked back to Faith.
She glanced up, startled by the interruption. She frowned. "No, he didn't come with me...why would he?"
Christopher looked from her to Bosco, his eyes narrowing. "I was just under the impression that he'd want to be here to support you."
"This is a department only meeting, you know that," Bosco told Christopher, his tone anything but pleasant.
Christopher glared at him. "Exceptions can be made."
Bosco shook his head. My ass, he thought.
Faith frowned, feeling confused.
"Lt. Swersky is on his way. Why don't you two come in here and sit down?" he suggested, his voice holding a note of superiority.
Bosco rolled his eyes, then looked toward Faith. "You ready?"
She nodded, still thrown by the fact that Christopher had wondered why Fred, of all people, wasn't there.
Christopher moved back into the room.
Bosco stood up, waiting for Faith.
She swallowed hard, a wave of anxiety suddenly washing over her.
"Faith, are you okay?"
She wasn't, but she rose to her feet anyway. Words couldn't even cover how much she didn't want to do this meeting right now. "Yeah, fine."
Bosco nodded, but didn't believe her. "You don't have to do this right now, you know that, right?"
"Bosco, if I don't do this now, I won't do it at all. Ever," she added, her voice barely audible.
He nodded again. "Okay."
She took a deep breath and walked into the room, sitting down on one of the chairs at the conference table.
Bosco followed shortly after, closing the door behind him as he walked over to Faith and pulled out one of the chairs at the table and sat down.
No sooner had they sat down when the door behind them opened again and Lieutenant Swersky walked in and sat on the opposite side of the conference table than where Bosco and Faith were sitting. He carried a manila folder with him and placed it down in front of him as he sat. "All right. Thank you for coming in," he told the two officers, not once looking at Christopher.
Christopher, ever the eager suck-up, rose to his feet and saluted the Lt. as he walked into the room.
Faith glanced at Bosco and rolled her eyes.
Bosco grinned, shaking his head slightly. "Not like we had a choice, sir," he said.
Christopher sat down in the chair directly across from Faith, looking at her and then Bosco intently. "Why don't we start out by you two telling us why you were at the bank to begin with."
She frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"
Bosco's brow creased. What kinda dumb question is that? he asked himself
He focused his eyes on her. "Just want to establish the facts."
Lt. Swersky looked between Bosco and Faith, then to Christopher. "Christopher," he said in a warning tone. "That question isn't on the list."
Faith looked at Bosco again.
Christopher nodded. "Right. Okay, what time did you arrive at the bank?"
Bosco looked back at Faith, then toward Christopher. "Just before closing."
She nodded. "Me too...when I got there, Bosco was a few people ahead of me in line."
"The robbers came in what, three, four minutes after we got there?" he asked Faith.
"Yeah...five minutes, tops."
"So when the robbers came in, you were a few people ahead of her in line?"
Bosco looked at Faith, then to Christopher again. "I'd moved."
He frowned. "Moved?"
"Yeah, went back to where Faith was. Not that this has to do with what happened when those robbers came in."
"Just trying to establish everyone's exact locations when the situation began."
The lieutenant looked at Christopher for a moment, then wrote down some notes.
"What happened exactly when they came in?"
"They told everyone to get on the ground...and the tellers to open the registers." Faith replied.
"And did everyone do as told?"
Bosco nodded slightly. "We all dropped to the ground. But the teller couldn't open the register."
"They told Trent," she winced just saying his name, "That only the manager had the keys."
Bosco noted his partner's unease, and swallowed hard. "He got pissed, and then the cops showed up. The teller had tripped the alarm."
She swallowed hard, tried to remain calm. "We figured out a couple minutes later that it was the same people who'd robbed Center Bank a few days ago."
"And how did you figure that out?" A hint of doubt in Christopher's voice.
"The girl. Her name was Jamie. Same with one of the other robbers from Center Bank," Bosco told him.
Faith nodded her agreement. "Bosco realized it first."
Christopher's eyes narrowed slightly. "What happened next?"
"He had one of the other hostages...Dave...get up and close the blinds," She glanced at Bosco sideways. "Then he made Bosco lock the foyer doors."
Bosco looked at Faith once more, slowly turning back to Christopher. "Then Rodney, he started to panic. It pissed Trent off more."
"Jamie was upset, too. Trent stomped over to her, like he was going to hurt her or something..."
"Faith tried to reason with him to calm down...but, he just...got more mad."
"And what did he do then?"
Bosco swallowed hard, hating to do this to Faith. "He grabbed her..."
Christopher looked surprised.
"What happened next...?" Swersky asked.
Faith looked down. "He just...had me move across the room, away from Bosco."
"Why away from Bosco?"
"We were talking."
"Because....he tried to defend me when Trent came over toward us."
Swersky looked at them both, "And?"
"And he made me move..."
He nodded, penning down some more notes.
"That's when one of the officers outside came over the bullhorn and said the building was surrounded."
"Then what happened?" Christopher asked.
Bosco took in a light breath, "They took off their masks, Trent and Rodney... Rodney was still panicking, but Trent just laughed, saying this time was different, they had a room full of hostages."
"He seemed really confident they'd get out of there without a problem."
"Rodney wasn't so sure, though."
"What happened next?"
"A phone rang."
She took a deep breath. "It gave me an idea...I saw the phone behind the counter and I moved back and dialed 911 without them knowing it."
"They kept arguing, so they didn't even realize she'd moved until she came back."
Christopher looked at her. "They realized you moved?"
Her heart pounded in her chest and she nodded shortly. "Yeah. Jamie saw me."
"What did they do when they realized you'd moved?" he leaned forward in his seat.
Bosco closed his eyes tight, remembering.
Faith swallowed hard. "Trent came over...he told me to get up off the floor. He wanted to know if I was trying to escape."
Christopher glanced at Bosco, noticing his reaction. "What else?"
"I stood up, told him to leave her alone. But he..." his voice froze, and he swallowed.
She bit her lip and looked down at the table's surface, noticing the interesting pattern of marks on it.
"He what?" Christopher asked, insistent.
Bosco shook his head, not wanting to answer, but he had to, he knew that. "He shoved her...against a wall," he replied, his voice lower.
Faith gathered up every bit of her willpower and looked right at him. "He told me maybe he and I should go into the back so he could teach me a lesson."
Christopher stared at her.
She looked away.
"What happened then?"
"That's when he grabbed me and took me outside, threatened to kill all of us if the police tried to come inside the building. When he brought me back in, I sat down next to Bosco...I told him that I'd called 911 behind the counter...that the phone was still off the hook."
"Trent and Rodney, they were bitching at each other, when this woman...he caught her using her phone."
"What did he do then?"
"He kicked her. Then he took her phone, crushed it under his foot..." Faith replied.
"Then he started talking about making demands."
She took a breath. "Bosco tried to talk him into letting a couple people go so the police would negotiate."
"The dispatcher had put the call in by then," Swersky mentioned, writing down some more notes.
Christopher nodded. "We heard that part," he said, nodding towards Swersky. "That's how we knew Boscorelli was in the bank."
Bosco nodded. "That's when he took Dave outside, and demanded the pizza and pepsi," he nodded, acknowledging that they had heard.
"While he was outside, Bosco and I came up with a plan. To separate the other two from Trent and try to get them to turn themselves in."
Christopher nodded for them to continue.
"They went out, and when Trent dragged Dave back in, that's when Faith told him she needed to use the restroom. He came after her, so I stood up, too. Then Dave..." A small smile on his face at the courage the shaken guy had used. "He said he needed to go too."
"I went with Jamie and two other hostages...when I came out of the restroom, I tried to talk to her."
Her mind flashed back to her conversation with the frightened woman.
Swersky looked at Faith, putting down his pen. "What did she say?"
She shifted uneasily. "He beats her. She thinks he loves her...she didn't want any part of this, not really."
Bosco swallowed, inside wincing watching his partner.
"She said that?"
"Not in so many words, no."
Swersky wrote down a few more notes, once again looking at her. "What did she say?"
"She said it was too dangerous for her to leave. She was scared. Really scared."
"Why was she so afraid?" he asked.
She looked away. She had her suspicions, but she wasn't certain she was right. "I don't know for sure...I think she was afraid he'd kill her if she tried to turn herself in. Or leave him."
He nodded. "Sounds like he had a hold of her. Please, go on," he said, both to Faith and Bosco.
She glanced at Bosco, starting to feel really uncomfortable. "She made us go back into the main part of the bank, back with Trent and the others."
Christopher looked at Bosco. "Then what?"
Bosco cleared his throat, ready to pick up from there. "Trent ordered me and two others to go through with Rodney, leaving Faith...the others, too, alone with him. I tried to convince him it'd be best if he gave himself up. I knew he hated being there. That's when..." He took in a breath, and slowly let it out. "When he warned me."
"Warned you about what?" Crhistopher asked, sounding confused.
He swallowed hard, turning to Faith for a moment. He closed his eyes, turning his head back around as he opened his eyes again. "To be careful of Trent, the way he was constantly looking at her..."
Christopher looked at the lieutenant then back at Bosco, then at Faith. Then he turned to Bosco again. "Then what?"
Bosco closed his mouth, slowly looking over at Faith. "I came in..." he said after a moment. "And Trent...he had her up against the wall."
Christopher's gaze traveled to Faith. "What happened?"
She swallowed hard, her fingers gripping the edge of the table so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "He told me to get up off the floor. So I did...he shoved me back against the wall..."
"What did he say, when he held you against the wall?" Swersky asked.
She flinched. //"Do you know what I'm gonna do to you?" he asked, his voice just above a whisper as he leaned forward and put his face next to hers.
Faith swallowed again. "No," she replied, her voice shaking slightly.
A smile stretched across his lips and he leaned his face even closer, and licked her earlobe, his smile broadening more when she shuddered. "I'm gonna fuck your brains out."//
"Yokas? What did he say?" he pressed.
Christopher's voice jolted her out of the memory and she blinked a couple times. "He...asked me if I knew what he was going to do to me," she said, her voice quiet, distant.
"And?"
Bosco glared over at the sergeant.
"And I said no." Her voice was even more soft this time.
"Officer Yokas...?" Swersky said, noticing the lowness in her voice.
She gripped the edge of the table a little tighter, wishing she could sink right into the floor. "He threatened to rape me."
Bosco closed his eyes tightly, his fingernails burrowing deeply into the palms of his hands. He clenched his teeth, slowly opening his eyes to look at her again. 'Why didn't you tell me, Faith?' he thought.
"What did he say exactly?"
"What does it matter what he said!? He threatened her, that's enough..." Bosco raised his voice, angered.
Faith jumped at the sound of the anger in her partner's voice. She couldn't look over at him, afraid of what she'd see in his eyes.
"It matters because we're building a case against the son of a bitch and we need to know exactly what went down in there. And threatening a police officer is a pretty big offense, Officer Boscorelli."
Bosco gritted his teeth tighter, shaking his head in pure anger. "I don't give a fuck if you're building your stupid case! You don't need to push her! She told you what he told her...you don't need to know exactly what!"
Christopher turned his attention to Faith again, ignoring Bosco's outburst. "Yokas, what did he say?"
She felt sick to her stomach. Faith, her voice very soft, barely inaudible, replied, "He said he was gonna fuck my brains out."
Christopher frowned. "I didn't catch that."
Bosco shook his head at him, glaring furiously. Just leave it, he thought.
Faith bit down hard on her lip, then in a shaky voice, she repeated herself, louder this time. "He said he was going to fuck my brains out."
Bosco felt his chest ache and every fiber of him start to burn in anger. That bastard had said that to her? He'd said he'd... he couldn't even get the words into his mind, all he wanted to do was kill the sick bastard. His eyes settled on Faith, seeing the sad look on her face, the look that told him she didn't want to do this anymore, didn't want to remember. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and hug her tightly, apologize for what that creep had said and done and just never let her go.
"What happened then?"
"That's uh...that's when Rodney came back with Bosco and the other hostages."
"How about we take a break for five minutes or so?" Swersky asked them all, but didn't wait for a response as he nodded for Christopher to follow him out to the hallway as he stood up and left the room.
Christopher stood up, but stared at Faith for a long moment before heading toward the door.
Lieutenant Swersky stopped a short distance out from the door. He turned around, waiting as Christopher walked out. "Close it," he told him flatly.
Christopher instantly did as told, shutting the door behind him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? I want you to back off Yokas."
Christopher was taken aback. "I...uh..I was just trying to find out what happened."
"You were pushing her. You can see how fragile she is after what she went through. I want you to back off."
He nodded. "Yes, Sir."
"I don't want to have to warn you again," he warned sternly.
"You won't have to. I understand, Sir."
Lieu nodded. "You better." He didn't leave room for anything else to be said as he headed along the hallway.
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Faith stared down at the tabletop. She could feel Bosco's gaze on her and she shifted uncomfortably. "Don't," she said quietly.
"I didn't..." he said back, his voice just as quiet.
She chewed on her lower lip, trying not to cry. She took a deep breath and swallowed hard, trying to regain control over her thoughts and emotions.
Bosco noticed what she was doing, and moved in his seat slightly, closer to her. "Faith...I...I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault." She released a shaky breath.
He closed his eyes for a moment, letting out a breath. "I shouldn't have left you alone with him. It is my fault."
She shook her head. "Don't....blame yourself. Nothing happened. It's not like I haven't been threatened before," she pointed out.
Her reply took him aback. "Not like that, Faith...have you?"
She froze. "No...not like that. Just, you know, I'm a cop and I'm a female, and...it happens." She shrugged, trying to maintain her breathing.
He gave her a look, knowing for damn sure what she was saying was every word the truth. Hell, he'd seen a lot of scumbags hit on her, make advances, threaten her. Just never like that guy Trent. "It shouldn't happen, though."
Faith swallowed hard. "Yeah, well. I just shake it off. No big deal." She shrugged again.
"It is a big deal if it's affecting you like this, Faith."
"It's not affecting me...it was just the whole ordeal, you know? It was really intense."
He nodded, scratching at his head for a split few seconds before placing his hand on her shoulder. "I saw you freeze, Faith. I saw the fear in your face when he went near you."
Her heart pounded in her chest, remembering the look in Trent's eyes as he held her against the wall. She shuddered and stood up suddenly, shoving her chair backwards.
"Faith?" Bosco said, his voice filled with fear and worry as he stood up with her. "What's wrong?"
She shook her head furiously. "Nothing, nothing. I just...need some air." She turned around and yanked the window open.
"Faith..." he pleaded.
The cool air from outside rushed in as she stood there, her hands gripping the window ledge. She shut her eyes tightly. "I just didn't get any sleep last night, and I'm tense, and...the fight with Fred and...everything....I just...I'll be okay, I just..." She couldn't finish.
Bosco stepped right over to her. He went to put his hand on her shoulder, but he resisted, not wanting to do anything wrong. "You just what? Faith, please, talk to me."
"I just want this to be over with," she finished, not sure if that's what she really wanted to say or not, but feeling like she had to tell him something.
He nodded, swallowing. "So do I," he replied, lowering his voice.
"They're gonna put him away, right?" she asked quietly, even though she knew he didn't know for sure anymore than she did.
"Yeah, they will. For a very long time. He'll probably never get out."
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"What happened when he found the phone off the hook?" Christopher asked.
Faith rubbed her forehead gingerly, her headache getting worse as the meeting dragged on. "He assumed one of the tellers made the call," she said wearily.
"But Faith, she told him it was her." Bosco looked in her direction, noticing how tired she looked.
"Then Bosco stood up and said he made the call."
Christopher's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he didn't comment.
"He didn't believe either one of us. Not really."
"He got really upset. We tried to calm him down, but he...hit Bosco in the chest with his gun." She swallowed hard, wincing at the memory.
"Then, he asked if it'd upset me if he hurt Faith...I told him to leave her the fuck alone, but...he leaned closer, and told me..." He swallowed hard at the memory. "So I..." He looked over at the senior officers, no regret or remorse in his eyes, nothing but pure anger. "Let him have it."
Christopher looked confused. "Leaned over and told you what?"
"That he had already had his hands on her."
Faith looked down at the table, feeling sick again.
Christopher glanced at the Lt. "So when you say 'let him have it'...what do you mean exactly?"
Bosco looked directly at him, a steely gaze in his eyes. "I gave him the last cookie. What the fuck do you think I meant?"
"Boz," she said softly, not looking at him, afraid he was going to get in trouble.
Bosco resigned with a breath. "He punched me, so I kicked him." He cleared his throat, running his finger around a dark knot of wood in the polished conference table. "I kept kicking...kick after kick..." As the words came out of his mouth he used great emphasis, gritting his teeth. "Then I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the ground, and punched him."
Christopher's gaze drifted over to Faith. "And what were you doing when Bosco was fighting with Trent?"
She froze, completely unsure of what to say. "I...."
Bosco immediately cleared his throat, looking over at Lieu and Christopher. "She was trying to get me to stop, but I wouldn't listen."
Faith turned to look at him, her eyes wide.
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" he muttered under his breath.
Bosco shot Christopher a glare.
Christopher smirked at him, then turned serious again. "Then what happened?"
"Trent told Jamie and Rodney to help him, but they refused," Faith said.
"Then what?"
"We told him to get up. Faith managed to get hold of his gun," Bosco added.
"He wouldn't get up. Then he attacked Bosco."
Christopher looked back and forth between him. "How did you finally manage to subdue him?"
Bosco swallowed, not looking anywhere but at the knot of wood on the table in front of him.
She looked over at Bosco, chewing her lower lip. "I hit him in the back of his head with the gun and knocked him unconscious."
Christopher stared at her, a surprised look on his face.
"After that, Rodney and Jamie just gave themselves up. Dropped their weapons."
"And that was pretty much it. We all went outside after that."
Swersky looked between them both. "No, that's not exactly true. You two stayed behind for a while longer, why?"
She swallowed hard and looked down at the table. "Bosco just wanted to know if I was okay."
"I see," he replied, looking at her for a moment longer before writing down some more notes.
Faith let out a shaky breath. "Are we done here?"
Christopher looked at Lieu questioningly.
"I think we are." He looked at Christopher. "Unless you had anything else?"
Christopher turned to look at Bosco and Faith again. "No, I think that covers it for me."
Bosco nodded.
Lt. Swersky nodded. "You can go home now. Thank you for coming in, we'll be going over your statements."
She stood up immediately and headed for the door without waiting for them to change their minds.
Bosco stood up, glaring at Christopher once more before following Faith out the doors. "Faith..." he called, walking behind her.
She paused in her steps, only because it was Bosco. She waited for him to catch up to her.
He walked up to her, stopping by her side. "You okay? Need a ride or anything?"
Faith took a deep breath. "Actually...I...uh...I think I'm going to go see Jamie," she said, avoiding the first part of his question.
"Right. Okay. Maybe I can hang around, give you a ride when you're done, then?"
She hesitated. "You don't have to do that."
"I don't mind, really," he assured her.
Faith looked at him, then nodded. "Okay...that'd be great, Boz. Thanks."
"Sure. I'll just be in the squad room, working on a report from the other day."
"Okay."
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Faith ignored the glares and curses from the assortment of prisoners in lock-up as she walked down the hall to the last cell. She looked inside and saw Jamie lying down on the cot, staring up at the ceiling, totally unaware of her presence. "Jamie?"
Jamie blinked, not even turning her head to Faith, though she knew the officer was standing there. "What?"
"I just wanted to come by and see how you were doing."
"I'm fine," she replied, still not meeting Faith's gaze.
Faith looked down at the floor. "Yeah, aren't we all," she muttered.
Jamie turned her head to the other woman, her hands resting on her stomach. "What are you really doing here?"
Faith wasn't really sure how to answer her, because in all honestly, she didn't know why she was there. "I guess I just wanted to see if you needed anything. For you or for the baby. Vitamins or something. I don't know."
Jamie swallowed, returning her gaze to the ceiling again. "I'm fine...we're, fine..." She looked back at Faith again. "But thank you. For offering."
"Look, um...I just want you to know that I don't blame you. For what happened yesterday. And I'm going to do what I can to make sure you don't get into anymore trouble than necessary," she said.
Jamie sat up on her cot, nodding. "To be honest, I think maybe we'd be safer inside..." she said, running her hands over her stomach. "He can't get to us in there, " she said, her voice unsure.
Faith looked at her, her gaze steady. "He won't get to you again."
"You don't understand. If I'm outside, he'll get to me. He knows people. But inside, I'm safe, he can't..." She let out a sigh, staring at the floor. "I've been inside before, in juvie. He tried to get to me, but I was safe, there was no way he could. You have to understand."
Faith gripped onto the cell bars. She searched her mind, trying to come up with something, some way to help her. "What about the witness protection program?"
Jamie laughed. "I robbed a bank, they wouldn't give me witness protection."
She took a deep breath. "Normally, you're probably right. But if two police officers testified on your behalf, you might have a chance."
Jamie looked up at her, her brow creasing in confusion. "What, what officers?"
"Me, for one." She looked right at Jamie.
Jamie swallowed. "You're a cop? Then...the guy, the one you were with...he's a cop?"
She nodded. "Yeah, he's my partner."
"God. That explains a lot."
A smile tugged on the corner of her lips. "Yeah, like how you ended up with a cell by yourself, for one."
"And how you guys kicked Trent's ass." Jamie smiled widely, a laugh escaping her lips in seeing the image flash in her mind of Bosco kicking Trent in the groin. "You'd do that? Why?"
"Because I don't think you had a choice of whether to be involved or not. I think he forced you to help him." She looked down. "And because I've got two kids, and if anyone ever hurt them in any way..." Her voice trailed off and she shook her head.
Jamie nodded, shrugging a little. "Me and Rodney both. The three of us, we've known each other since we were kids....Trent always used to bring us stuff, we didn't have much...but, we had to do stuff in return." She paused, as though just hearing the second part of what Faith had said. "You have kids? But I thought..." She shook her head.
Faith looked at her. "Thought what?" she asked, curious.
"That you, and your partner...were...forget I said anything." She shook her head again.
She swallowed hard and felt her face flush. "No...I...uh...I'm married."
"Couldn't tell," she replied. "He cares a lot, though, that's why I thought...that you two..."
Faith looked down. "Yeah...he's...we're good friends. Best friends," she said softly, her mind flashing back to their kiss in the elevator.
Jamie looked away, slightly shrugging one shoulder. "Wish I had as close a friend as him."
Faith smiled, her eyes sad. "You will. And who knows? Maybe you'll be more than just friends."
"I hope so. I need someone good in my life, for a change."
She swallowed hard again. "I'm gonna do everything I can to help you," she promised.
Jamie looked up at her, nodding. "Thank you...Faith."
Faith nodded. "You're welcome. Look, if you need anything, just tell the guard on duty to call me, okay?"
"I will."
Faith offered her a brief smile, then turned and headed down the corridor again.
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Faith leaned her head on her hand as she stared out the window at her apartment building. "Here we are again," she murmured.
Bosco slowly nodded once, swallowing. He turned to look at her. "You all right, Faith?"
She took a deep breath. "Yeah...just tired, Boz." Her eyes closed briefly.
"It's been a long day, that's for sure," he said, lowering his voice for the last part.
She nodded her agreement. Her head was pounding. And the thought of going inside and dealing with Fred again only made it hurt worse.
Bosco put his elbow up against the bottom of the window, resting his head in his hand for only a moment before nervously putting his hand back on the steering wheel. He cleared his throat. "I coulda kicked Christopher's ass in there tonight."
"I'd love to see that happen any day," she said, smiling slightly.
He laughed, letting out a happy sigh. "I should go back there and do it now, actually. We could be off work together."
She snorted. "Yeah, we could just go back and tie him up, throw him in a cell with Trent and see what happens."
Bosco laughed, grinning. "I think Christopher might actually like that. I could see it now, Trent would be running around the cell, while Christopher is chasing after him...'I won't bite'...."
She laughed and shook her head. "They deserve each other. Sick bastards, "she added under her breath.
"I wonder how long we'd be suspended for?" he asked, looking out the front windscreen. He then turned to Faith. "If we really did that."
"Suspended? We'd either get fired or we'd get medals."
Bosco shrugged. "Medals. Lieu can't stand Christopher anymore than we can."
She nodded, distracted as she looked up at her apartment building again. "Yeah," she said vaguely.
He watched as she looked up at the apartment building, swallowing. He felt wounded inside, wounded that in the car, it was just them, a perfect moment shared. But upstairs, that was her life, her family. "Hey, Faith..." he said, shaking his thoughts away. "Last night..."
She turned her head to look at him, waiting for him to continue.
"What were you going to tell me?"
She frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"About your past..." he continued, swallowing again.
Faith froze, startled. She'd hoped that he had forgotten all about that. She swallowed hard, looked away.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." He looked at her a moment longer, then looked away, mentally kicking himself.
She felt guilty, hearing the hurt in his voice. "You know, it's just...it's not really important now." She shook her head. "It was nothing, Bosco. Really." Her voice was soft.
He turned back to her. "If it wasn't anything, why does it hurt you so much, Faith?"
She could feel tears start to sting her eyes. She tried to avoid his question. "It doesn't matter because I can't go back and change things that happened in the past."
"I'm sorry, Faith..." He shook his head. "I can't accept that. No, you can't change the past, but you can talk about it...I'm here for you, here to listen."
"I know that," she said quietly, not looking at him.
"So talk to me...please..." he said, lowering his voice.
She squeezed her eyes shut tightly. She wanted to tell him, wanted to tell him everything. She just couldn't form the words. "Bosco, I can't..."
"I don't expect you to tell me now, Faith...but when you can, when you feel like you can...I'm here."
She nodded, swallowing hard. "Okay." She looked over at him. Wordlessly she leaned toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist in an awkward hug.
Bosco was taken aback by her move, but moved in the seat and put his arms around her. Not saying anything, he just held her in his arms. She pressed her face against his shoulder and held on tightly.
He gently placed his hand on the back of her head, and leaned his face closer to hers. "I'm glad you're here, Faith..." he said, his voice soft.
It took everything in her not to start crying again. She just wanted to stay there, with him, curled up in his arms, feeling safe. Bosco closed his eyes, quietly thanking God for keeping Faith safe, for allowing him to have her in his life.
She finally managed to pull away, though she hated it. She swallowed hard and looked at him for a long moment. "Thank you," she said quietly.
He just nodded, holding onto her hand. "You're welcome," he replied, just as quietly.
She took a deep breath. "I should...go inside...."
Bosco reluctantly nodded. "Yeah..." He wanted to say something to keep her there, but he didn't know what to say, or if he'd just put more distance between them if he opened his mouth.
She wrapped her hand around the door handle, then hesitated. "Hey, Boz."
He arched his eyebrow a little. "Yeah?"
"We're taking the kids to McDonalds tonight...do you, uh...do you wanna come?"
Bosco hesitated to reply for a moment. "Uh, I would love to...but, I don't know...what with, us...Fred...I don't think, I could..."
She winced. "Right. Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..." She shook her head.
"No, it's okay...I appreciate the offer. I just, I don't know that I could be around him, not after...everything."
"Okay. So...I'll...see you in a few days then," she said, tiredly.
He nodded, hating to be parting like this. "Yeah. A few days...hey, maybe I could drop by some time, before then."
"Yeah, that'd be good..." she hesitated. "Maybe, uh...maybe you should call first though."
"I will."
She ran a hand through her hair. "Okay." She reached for the door handle and opened the door. "I'll see you."
"Yeah, take care, Faith," he said, hating himself for not saying anything else, or any differently.
She paused at his words. "Yeah, you too," she said softly. Then she climbed out of his Mustang and swallowed hard, closed her eyes as she shut the car door. Then taking a deep breath, she walked toward her apartment building.
Bosco watched as she walked away, and then went inside. He cursed aloud, leaning his head against the headrest. "Shit."