Third Watch Fic: Fallen (2-3/16)
Title: Fallen
Authors: NYPDBosco and X_tremeroswellian
Emails: mauriceboscorelli@yahoo.com and faithboscorelli1@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Not ours.
Rating: R
Summary: What if life as Bosco and Faith knew it were completely different?
Categories: Angst/Alternate Universe/dark.
Author's Note: Titled after the wonderful song "Fallen" by Sarah McLachlan.
Fallen--Chapter Three
Davis glanced over at Bosco as he drove their squad down Main Street. "So...how'd it go last night? With your stripper friend?"
He shot his partner a glare. "Her name is Faith."
"Right. Sorry. How'd it go last night with Faith?"
"Good," he lied as he nodded his head.
He raised his eyebrows. "Which of course, is why you haven't said more than five words so far all day."
Bosco sighed as he looked out the window. "I thought I was gettin' through to her...well, a little anyway."
"So what happened?"
"I don't really know." He glanced over at Davis. "I mean, one minute I was gettin' a massage..."
"A massage?"
"She refuses to just talk to me cause she's basically losing money if she does, so I paid her to..."
"Well, there's part of your problem right there."
He shook his head, confused. "Huh?"
"Have you tried askin' her out for a drink or somethin' after she's done workin'? That way you're not makin' her lose money and you're not treatin' her like every other guy there probably treats her."
"Davis she won't even call me on the phone, you -really- think she's gonna agree to go out for a drink?"
"You tried askin'?"
"Yeah, well...no, not exactly."
He nodded but remained silent, his eyes focused on the road.
Bosco turned to look out the window. "Am I really that stupid," he asked softly. "Or am I that perverse?"
Davis glanced at him briefly. "You're attracted to her. Any guy would be."
"I've never paid for that kinda stuff before."
"Can I ask you somethin'?"
He nodded his head, but didn't say anything.
"This just about you wantin' to catch up with an old friend, or are you hopin' for more with her?"
Bosco bit his lip for a moment, and stared out the window. "It started out with me just wantin' to catch up, and wantin' to help her."
"And now?"
"Now? Now I'm confused."
"What's to be confused about? Either you're interested or you're not."
He let out a breath. "Well then...I guess I'm interested."
Davis shook his head slightly. "You really are a glutton for punishment, Boz. First Cruz, now this."
"Ma always said you don't get to pick who you fall in love with."
"Whoa! Whoa!" He nearly slammed on the brakes. "In love with? You're in love with her!?"
He turned to look at his partner, shocked by his reaction. "What?! Is that so bad?"
"Bosco. Man, come on. You haven't seen this...woman in like, five years. She hasn't even talked to you. How the hell can you be in love with her?"
"I don't know." He slouched down in the passenger's seat. "I just know that I want something more, but I don't want it to be like an on again off again thing like with Cruz."
"And you think gettin' involved with this woman is the answer?"
"Well, I think I need to figure out how to help her first."
He was silent for a moment. "Has she said anything at all?"
Bosco took a deep breath. "I found out that her daughter died," he told him softly. "And that she doesn't really trust anyone. She said somethin' about me not being able to help her, and then she said she didn't want my help."
"Whoa. Her daughter's dead? I thought her kids were young."
"Yeah. She said Charlie was in first grade, so....Emily would only be like, ten. Maybe eleven." He ran his hand through his hair. "I wanted to ask her more about it, but I didn't
wanna push, ya know?"
"Yeah. Yeah. Damn." He shook his head again. "I wonder what happened to her."
"She's only got her son now," he whispered. "I really wanna help her, Davis."
There was a sincerity to his partner's tone that Davis was somewhat unaccustomed to and he glanced over at Bosco. "Maybe I can help."
Bosco straightened up in his seat, and raised an eyebrow. "Would you?"
"Yeah. I mean, you're my partner."
He grinned. "Thanks Ty."
"Sure. So...maybe our first step is to figure out what happened to her daughter."
"Yeah." He nodded his head. "There's gotta be a record of her death." His voice was soft as he thought about the happy go lucky kindergartner he'd met back when he and Faith were in the academy.
"Maybe we could swing by city hall on our dinner break."
Bosco nodded his head. "Should I go see her tonight? Ask her out for drinks or somethin', like you said?"
"Might as well. I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?"
"Only if she decks me or somethin'," he said lightly.
Davis grinned. "She seems like the type that might, too. Tread lightly, my friend."
* * *
Faith pulled her hair back into a ponytail before glancing in the mirror to where her son sat behind her on her bed, watching as she got ready for work. She smiled softly at him and turned around. "You lookin' forward to seein' Tammy tonight?"
He shrugged. "Sorta."
"Just sorta? I thought you liked Tammy."
"I do." He nodded his head. "But I'm too old for a babysitter."
She suppressed a chuckle. "Right. Sorry."
Charlie grinned. "What time are you comin' home?"
"Not til around two, baby." Her voice was soft.
"Can I wait up?"
"No. You got school tomorrow, remember?"
He groaned. "I know. I know."
She moved over and sat down beside him on the bed, putting her arm around his shoulders and kissing the top of his head. "Tell you what. How about I come in and kiss you goodnight when I get home?"
His face lit up as he looked at his mother. "Yeah?"
She smiled. "Yeah."
He wrapped his arms around her. "Don't forget."
"Wouldn't dream of it." She hugged him tightly, closing her eyes.
"Maybe you could stay home one night, and we could watch TV together," he said softly.
"Maybe," she whispered, her chest tightening at his almost pleading words. "I love you."
"I love you, too." He shifted, and got up on his knees so he could kiss her cheek.
Faith bit down on her lip as she held him. She hated her job almost more than anything in the world. But if it kept her son alive, she'd do it for as long as she had to. Because nothing else mattered.
* * *
Bosco took a deep breath, and glanced at his partner as they approached the desk in the Vital Statistics Department. "Hi." He gave the woman a small smile. "I'm Officer Boscorelli, and this is Officer Davis. We're looking for some information...a death certificate actually."
The woman smiled back politely. "Shouldn't be a problem. Name of the deceased?" she asked.
"Emily Yokas. Y-O-K-A-S."
She typed the name into the computer. "Okay, looks like there's only one. Wait here for just a moment and I'll get the certificate for you." She headed toward the back of the room where there was a large section of hundreds of file cabinets.
Bosco let out a breath, and looked around the office. "We're kinda invading her privacy."
"Death certificates are public record," Davis reminded him.
"I know, but..."
"You wanna leave?"
He shook his head. "If I'm gonna help her I gotta do this."
He nodded his agreement. "Besides, anyone coulda read the obit in the newspaper."
"Yeah." Bosco looked down at the floor. If he was going to help her he had to be willing to dig into her life a little. Especially if she wasn't going to tell him willingly.
The woman returned a moment later. "Here you go, Officers." She held out the paper.
"Thanks." Bosco took the paper from her. "Could you do me another favor?"
"I can try." She smiled.
"Could you see if there's a Fred Yokas in the system?"
"You mean, check for a death certificate?"
"Yeah." He nodded his head.
"Sure." She typed in the name, studied the screen for a moment. "No record of a Fred Yokas."
"Okay." He smiled softly. "Thanks for your help."
"You're welcome. If you need me, I'll just be in back. Give me a holler." She smiled once more, then turned and headed away.
Bosco handed the paper to Davis. "You read it."
He took the paper from him and studied it for a moment, staring at the words. Then he looked up at Bosco, a shocked expression on his face.
"What? What is it?"
"She was nine. Her body was found in the harbor."
His eyebrows furrowed. "In the harbor?"
"A year ago next week. Says the cause of death was strangulation."
He swallowed hard, instantly feeling sick to his stomach.
"Damn," Davis whispered.
Bosco placed a hand on his stomach, and took a deep breath. "Does it say anything else," he asked, his voice barely audible.
"Time of death was recorded as 4:15 a.m."
"We should go back to the House." He closed his eyes. "Look through the police reports."
"Yeah. Wait a minute. Let's make a copy of this first." He walked over to the copy machine in the corner and dropped a dime into the slot, xeroxing the document and leaving the original on the desk.
He didn't wait for his partner to finish making the copy, instead he headed out of the office needing to get outside and get some fresh air.
* * *
"I think I found something."
Bosco looked away from the computer screen that he'd been staring at for what seemed like an eternity. "Yeah?"
"Yeah...yeah. Emily Yokas, age nine."
"What it is?" He rolled his chair over to where Davis was.
"Here, let me print it out. That way we can read it at the same time."
He nodded his head, and raked his hand through his hair.
Davis hit the print button on his computer and waited until the printer had finished before standing up and removing the paper, handing the hard copy to Bosco before sitting down at the desk again.
He looked down at the top page of the print out, and read through the information. "The case was closed...and nobody was caught," he whispered.
"But the father was suspected," Davis murmured, gazing at the computer screen.
Bosco started to turn to the next page, and froze when he realized it was a picture of the young girl's body. His face paled.
"Oh, my God." His voice was barely audible as he stared at the same picture his partner was looking at. Her skin was completely white, and there were dark bruises around her throat. "God."
His hands shook slightly, and he dropped the papers on the desk. He stood up, and quickly left the room.
Davis watched him go, swallowing hard before turning his attention back to the report. "Victim's mother, Faith Yokas, 28 years old, identified the body as nine year old Emily Amanda Yokas."
He knelt in front of the toilet, dry heaving after having emptied the contents of his stomach. He hadn't realized that things were going to turn out this way. Faith's daughter had been murdered, and no one was paying for it. Bosco took a deep breath, and pushed himself off the floor. He flushed the toilet, and went to the sink to rinse his mouth out. "She was just a little kid," he whispered as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.
* * *
Faith slid off the man's lap, tucking the twenty dollars into her bra. Mentally counting up her savings for the week. If she was figuring correctly she'd earned nearly 2,000 so far. She closed her eyes briefly, rubbing the back of her neck. It wasn't enough. Not for all the bills. She drew in a breath, reminding herself she still had two days before she had to make a payment. Surely she could another 1,500 with the weekend starting the next day. She had to. It wasn't a choice.
She glanced around the bar, trying to spot someone willing to fork over some cash for services rendered.
Bosco entered the establishment, and headed straight for the bar figuring that if Faith was working she'd eventually come over that way after taking an order. He leaned against the high counter as he looked around.
"You again?" Dennis shook his head in disgust.
He turned around to look at the man. "What? You don't appreciate paying customers?"
"Not ones like you," he grumbled.
"Ones like me?"
"FAITH!" another voice shouted angrily from down the bar.
Dennis smirked.
Bosco was a little taken aback by the outburst. "What's that about?"
"Bitch was late to work."
"Hey don't call her that."
"What? You gonna beat me up?" he mocked.
"Don't tempt me."
Faith flinched as her boss screamed at her again. She quickly headed over, not even glancing at Dennis or spotting Bosco standing there. "I'm here. God. What's your problem?"
"My office. Now," Richard growled, glaring at her menacingly.
He turned to Dennis. "All this cause she was late?"
"She's gonna wish that's all," he said with a smirk.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"That's not really any of your business. Last time I checked you weren't on the payroll."
Faith wrapped her arms around herself and headed for Richard's office, him following closely behind her.
"What? Did you say you wanted me to start waving my badge around?"
Dennis's eyes narrowed. "Let's just say she hasn't been performing to the best of her abilities."
Bosco leaned against the bar. "I thought her performances were pretty good."
"Your opinion doesn't count." He walked away without another word.
"What's been goin' on with you lately?!"
"I don't know what you're talkin' about." Faith leaned against his office door.
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? So you know -nothing- about why I keep getting complaints about you?!"
There was only a few seconds hesitation before she said, "No."
"Well..." He stood up, and walked around his desk. "Some of our -best- customers are telling me that you -refuse- to do your job!"
She flinched as he shouted in her face. She could feel his anger without his yelling.
"I'm not paying you to serve drinks!"
"I know!"
"Remember, -you- don't get to pick your customers. -They- choose you!"
"Richard, some of those guys are just--"
"I don't care! You're the one who keeps tellin' me how badly you need this job!" He crossed his arms over his chest. "So I strongly suggest you do your job unless you wanna be looking for another one!"
She closed her eyes, her shoulders slumping.
"Your body's good for my business, but I won't hesitate to fire you if I hear one more complaint."
"I understand." Her voice was resolved, flat.
"Good. Now get back out there."
"Yes, Sir." Faith turned and opened the door, flinching slightly when he smacked her ass as she walked out.
Bosco was sitting on a bar stool, his eyes focused on the door where Faith had followed her boss a few minutes before.
She walked slowly over to the bar to get her order book, not looking at anyone.
"Hey Faith," he called her name softly when she got closer.
She cursed inwardly as she instantly recognized the voice. She seriously contemplated ignoring him entirely, but realized that her boss was probably watching her. He didn't know Bosco was a cop. Which meant he was a potential customer. She was screwed. "What?"
"I was just thinkin' that maybe we could...go for a drink or somethin' when you're done tonight."
Faith stared at him for a moment, thrown by his question. "What?"
"You wanna go for a drink?"
He was serious. "I--"
"Forget it. You're not stickin' me with all the clean up tonight," Dennis snapped at her, glaring.
Bosco turned to glare at him. "Do you -always- listen in on people's conversations?"
"That's my job." He smirked.
He rolled his eyes, and pulled a twenty out of his pocket before turning to Faith. "Maybe this'll buy us a little privacy?"
She sighed softly. "Fine." She took the money from him, a defeated look in her eyes.
"Hey. Faith."
She looked over to see a tall, familiar man grinning at her, her heart sinking. Harold Noland was undoubtedly one of the men who'd complained about her to the boss since she'd refused him twice in the past week.
"I talked to Richard. When you're done with him, it's you and me." He leered.
She took an involuntary step toward Bosco. "Yeah. Whatever." She suppressed a shudder as she headed for the back.
Bosco looked at the other man, a questioning look on his face. He shook his head, slid off the barstool, and followed Faith into the back.
She unlocked the door, flipped on the light and stepped inside wordlessly, waiting until he was inside before closing and locking the door. "What'll it be?" she asked flatly, not looking at him.
"I just wanted to know if you'd wanna go grab some coffee later, when you're done working? Or maybe tomorrow morning?"
"I can't really afford coffee."
He was about to make a crack about the load of money that she must make at this place, and how coffee didn't cost all that much, but he managed to hold it back. "My treat."
She leaned against the door, closing her eyes. "I can't tonight. I promised Charlie..." She cut herself off. "I can't tonight."
"Okay well...maybe after Charlie leaves for school," he asked hopefully.
Faith was silent for a moment. "If I say yes, will you leave me alone after that?"
A smile tugged at his lips. "I can't make any promises."
She didn't look up at him. "Fine. One cup of coffee after Charlie goes to school. That's it."
"Faith...I don't want anything more from you. I mean..." He swallowed hard. "This stuff here, I guess I was just hopin' you'd talk to me if I was a uh...customer."
It took her a moment to respond. "Yeah. Whatever." Her voice was quiet and she held his twenty dollars out to him before unlocking the door.
"Keep the money," he told her softly. "You probably coulda made more than that if I hadn't taken up your time."
"I don't want your money."
"What's wrong with my money?"
"I didn't do anything. You're not payin' me for nothing."
"Oh, so you'd feel better if I sat down and you gave me a lapdance?"
"I'd feel better if you just left me alone." There was no anger to her tone, just weariness.
"I care about you, Faith. I know you don't believe me, but I do care. That's why I can't just leave you alone."
"And that's all there is to it?" Her eyes were full of doubt.
"All I want from you is the opportunity to get to know you again...see what happens," he whispered.
Faith closed her eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Should I pick you up, or are we just gonna meet somewhere?"
She hesitated. "Let's just meet somewhere."
"Just tell me where and when," he told her softly.
"There's a diner on the corner of Houston and Dividen. You been there?"
He searched his mind for a moment. "Yeah I think so."
"I take Charlie to school at 8. I can be there by 9."
He nodded his head, and smiled. "Okay, I'll see you at 9."
"Yeah," she said softly, turning around and opening the door. "See ya."
* * *
Faith was shivering as she stood in her son's open bedroom doorway, watching him sleep. Tammy had gone home nearly an hour ago and she had taken a long, hot shower the minute the babysitter had left. She had dressed in a warm, oversized sweatshirt and sweatpants. Her hair was still wet, little ringlets of water running down the back of her neck as she stood motionless in the semi-dark. The only light in the apartment was from Charlie's Harry Potter nightlight by his bed. Her gaze shifted to the large digital clock on her son's headboard. 3:30 a.m. She moved forward silently and sat down on the edge of his bed, leaning over to kiss his forehead.
He shifted slightly. "Mom," he asked sleepily.
"Yeah, baby, it's me." Her voice was very soft.
A tired smile formed on his lips, and he slowly opened his eyes.
"You have fun with Tammy?" she whispered.
Charlie nodded his head, and then reached up, wrapping his arms around her neck. "Missed you."
She hugged him back, kissing his forehead again. "I missed you, too."
The young boy yawned. "How was work?"
"It was fine," she whispered. "I just wanted to come in and kiss you like I promised. You can go back to sleep now."
"Stay with me?"
"Sure, I can stay with you." She lifted his covers and slid in bed beside him, resting her head on the pillow beside his.
He smiled, and scooted closer to her. "'Night mom."
"Night, Charlie," she whispered, resting a hand on his back as he snuggled up to her. She watched as he easily drifted back to a peaceful state of sleep. She swallowed hard as her gaze drifted across the room to the other small bed. The one that was now empty and cold. A tear slid down her cheek and she bit down on her lower lip. She kissed her son's cheek lightly, swallowing hard, her throat raw from the crying she'd done earlier. She was grateful that they'd made it through another day. She just had to keep her mind focused on getting through the next. One day at a time, one hour at a time, one minute at a time. She'd made it this far.
Only 850 dollars left to earn by the next night.
* * *
Bosco stood inside the entrance of the diner, and looked at his watch. It was after nine and he was beginning to think that Faith wasn't going to show up. He exhaled loudly, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. After all that time he and Davis had spent searching through the police records, and all the money he'd spent at the bar she wasn't going to show up.
Faith climbed out of the back of the cab, her body aching with the movement. She pulled her coat around herself closer, stuffed her hands into the pockets after paying the driver. She stared at the diner on the corner for a moment before drawing a deep breath and walking toward it.
He looked at his watch once more, and with a sigh he headed outside.
She stared at the ground as she walked and ran right into someone exiting the cafe. "I'm sorry, I--" She looked up, a little startled to realize she'd run into Bosco.
His hands instinctively moved up to her arms, making sure that they both kept their balance after running into one another. "Hey," he said softly. "I thought you weren't gonna show."
Faith winced slightly as he touched her arm. "I didn't hear the alarm when it went off. I was late gettin' Charlie to school."
"Oh." He nodded his head, and dropped his hands to his sides.
She was silent for a moment, not sure what else to say.
He swallowed hard, not exactly sure why he was more nervous today than he had been when she'd been half naked and straddling him at the bar. "So..." He hooked his thumb over his shoulder. "Can I buy ya breakfast?"
"I'm not real hungry...but...coffee would be good."
"Okay." He smiled softly, and pulled the door open, motioning her inside.
She hesitated a moment before stepping inside the cafe, her hands still tucked in her coat pockets. She glanced around the restaurant, searching for familiar faces and was relieved when she found none. Maybe she could relax for a few minutes. As much as possible while she had coffee with a cop.
"How 'bout that booth in the corner?" Bosco nodded his head in the direction of the table.
"Sure. That's fine," she said quietly, not looking at him as she headed for it.
He slid into the booth, and picked up the menu that was on the table. "So you overslept, huh?"
"Yeah." She sat across the table from him, shifting uncomfortably as she shrugged out of her jacket. She hadn't really paid much attention to what she'd dressed in that morning as she rushed to get Charlie ready for school. She'd just grabbed the first thing she'd found, relieved to be wearing jeans and a shirt that covered her chest completely. But the violet short sleeve shirt she wore didn't come close to covering up the bruising on her upper arms.
Bosco noticed how she seemed to be physically uncomfortable. He was just getting ready to ask if she was all right when he saw the bruises on her arms. His eyes widened slightly, and he couldn't help but stare.
She didn't even notice, her gaze darting around the small, somewhat crowded cafe nervously.
"Faith," he whispered. "What the hell happened?"
Her eyes rested on his face. "What?"
"Your arms." He looked up to meet her gaze. "Are you okay?"
Faith cursed herself inwardly, quickly slipping her coat back on. "I'm fine."
His eyes were full of concern. "What happened?"
"Nothing," she said quickly. She looked away from him. "Should I flag down a waitress?"
"Yeah. Sure." He wasn't really interested in coffee or food right now, instead he just wanted to know what was going on. "Who did that to you?"
"No one," she lied, waving her hand in the air and motioning to try and catch the attention of one of the waitresses.
"I know better than that. I'm a cop remember," he whispered as he leaned across the table.
"Yeah. I remember." She didn't look at him, frustrated that no one seemed to be paying attention to her waving.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
She dropped her hand to the table, closing her eyes for a moment. "I'm fine." Her voice was barely audible.
"Would you tell me if you weren't," he asked softly.
"Why wouldn't I be fine?"
"For chrissakes Faith, look at your arms."
"It's no big deal."
Bosco let out a breath, and ran his hand through his hair. "That's what my mother always says."
She stared at him in confusion. "What?"
"My mother...her boyfriends tend to..." His eyes narrowed slightly at the thought. "Well, they all seem to like to hit."
Faith was more than a little surprised by his words. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah." He looked away, and nodded slightly. "I am too."
She shifted in the booth slightly, not sure what to say.
"I just wanna help her, ya know? Keep her safe." He pressed his lips together and shook his head. "But she always says she's fine, that it's no big deal. Then the next time I see her she's all bruised up again." There was a hint of anger to his tone.
She swallowed hard, her gaze lowering to the tabletop. "I'm really sorry." Her voice was soft.
He turned to look at her, almost as if just realizing that she was there. "If I can help you..."
"It's not what you think."
"What is it," he asked softly.
"I'm not even seein' anyone so, it's not like that."
He nodded his head. "Then what happened?"
She folded her arms across her chest uncomfortably. "Some of the customers have a tendency to get a little rough."
His face fell. "This is from work?"
"I handled it."
"That kinda stuff shouldn't be happening."
"Yeah, well. One of the drawbacks of the job." She looked away.
He let out a breath. "Can't you complain?"
"Not if I wanna get paid."
"Damn Faith. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It goes with the territory."
Bosco swallowed hard, remembering when she'd been giving him the massage, and he'd reached out to run his fingers through her hair. "So...is that why you kinda...got upset when I tried to touch you the other night," he asked in a whisper.
Faith shifted uncomfortably again. "I guess."
He closed his eyes. "I'm really sorry about that. I just..."
"Please, just...don't. It's not a big deal."
"Right. You know, we don't even have to talk about work."
"That'd be good."
"So Charlie...how's he? Gawd he was just a baby last time I saw him."
A small smile touched her lips. "He's good. He's a really sweet boy. And he's smart, really smart. He's already readin' fifth grade level books. I think he's some kind of child genius or somethin'." Her eyes sparkled.
He smiled, happy to see the change of expression on Faith's face. "That's great. He takes after his mom when it comes to that stuff I bet."
"No, not at all. I hated to read til I was in high school. No, Charlie takes after his big sister. Emily loves to..." Her voice trailed off.
Bosco frowned. "I'm real sorry 'bout Emily," he whispered.
"Yeah." Her voice was barely audible. She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "She used to read to him for hours. He adored her. They weren't like regular siblings who fought all the time." She stared down at her hands, folded on the tabletop.
"How's he handlin' the fact that she's...gone?"
"He has nightmares. Almost every night. He's gotten in trouble a couple times at school." She rubbed the back of her neck.
He bit his lip, and slowly reached across the table until his fingers were just barely touching her hand. "How are you?"
Faith was silent, motionless for a moment. "I'm all right."
"I'm sure it's really hard," he whispered. He gently ran his index finger along her pinky. "If there's anything I can do...for you or for Charlie. If you just wanna talk..."
She stared down at his hand as he lightly touched her finger, unable to do anything but nod to acknowledge his words.
"I'd like to see him some time," he told her softly, continuing to run his finger over hers. "Maybe he and I could toss a football around or somethin'...I mean, if he likes sports. Cause otherwise..."
"He actually...he likes soccer."
"Yeah? Well, we could all go to the park."
Faith lifted her gaze to his, her expression unreadable.
"If that's okay. Cause I don't wanna interfere if you guys have a routine or somethin'."
She was silent for a moment. "It might be hard to work somethin' out with our schedules. I work a lot."
He nodded his head. "Okay well...maybe we could work somethin' out when I've got a day off?"
"We'll see," she said softly.
Bosco smiled softly, and hooked his finger around hers.
She gazed at him for a moment, then shifted her eyes to the door when she heard the bell above it jingle. Her stomach tightened at the sight of the two familiar men glancing around the cafe. "I gotta go. I'll uh...I'll see you later."
"When," he asked softly as he watched her stand up.
She hesitated a moment, a flicker of fear on her face as the men started in her direction. "Just...come by the bar if you get time."
"Yeah definitely." He nodded his head. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," she murmured. "See you." She quickly headed away from him, stuffing her hands in her pockets as she walked toward the men.
The larger of the two men smirked as Faith got closer to them. "Well well well, look who we have here."
"It's not time yet," she said, her voice quiet as she avoided his eyes.
"We just wanted to come check on you. See how you were doin'," he told her with a smile.
"I'm fine. Thanks for askin'." She headed for the door and bit down on her lip as they followed her.
The other guy rested a hand on her backside, pushing her in front of him, grinning at his friend.
He laughed. "How's that job of yours?"
Faith pulled away as they stepped outside. "It's fine," she said tensely.
He looked her up and down. "I'll say it is."
"What do you want?" Her voice held barely contained hatred.
"The boss just wanted us to check up on you. Make sure you weren't gettin' any stupid ideas about not payin'."
"I'll have the money at the warehouse as soon as my shift is over."
"Guess we'll see you there. Unless of course we decide we wanna stop by for some of that great customer service of yours." He winked.
"Go to hell," she said darkly, turning around and walking away.
"We'll see you there."
She flipped him off over her shoulder, her body tense with anger and fear.
"Oh you did -not- just do that!"
"I think she did."
He smirked. "That's all right. I like chicks with spunk."
"Besides. We can always teach the bitch a lesson about respect when she brings the money." The other man looked at his friend, also smirking.
"Yeah." He nodded his head, and rubbed his hands together. "I love my job."
* * *
Part Three
Bosco strolled into the locker room, and headed for his locker. He was in much better spirits today than he had been since his birthday. Things hadn't gone exactly as he'd hoped they would this morning with Faith, but it wasn't exactly a disaster either.
Davis glanced over at him as he walked in. "Hey. How's it goin'?"
"Good." He nodded his head as he worked on his locker combination.
"Yeah?" There was a hint of surprise to his voice.
He grinned. "She had coffee with me this morning. Well, actually she had to leave abruptly so we never actually got coffee, but things went well."
Davis grinned back. "See? Told you it would work. Coffee is good. Neutral."
He wasn't about to tell Davis that he had to pay twenty bucks just to get her alone so he could ask her out for coffee. He figured that was a little detail that his partner didn't need to know. "Yeah. It was...nice."
"Nice as in she actually talked or nice as in she gave you a free lapdance?" he joked.
"Would you stop jokin' about that stuff?!"
Davis was a little taken aback by his reaction. "Geez. Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."
"Well just stop, okay?"
"Right. Sure." He shook his head slightly and worked on changing clothes.
Bosco took a deep breath, and let it out. "We talked a little about her son. How he likes to read, and how smart he is and stuff." He stopped in the middle of unbuttoning his shirt. "And her face just totally lit up. It was amazing."
"How old did you say her son was?"
"First grade. What's that, like six or somethin'?"
"Yeah, six or seven, depending on how old he was when he started kindergarten. My nephew was six."
There was a small smile on his face as he thought about how Faith's entire demeanor had changed when she'd been talking about her son. How her eyes had been so bright, and full of life.
Davis looked at him silently for a long moment, his partner's smile and far off look not escaping him. "You really do like her."
He looked at his partner, the smile still on his face. "Yeah...I do."
"You guys musta been good friends back in the day."
Bosco grabbed his uniform shirt out of his locker. "We were. People would probably say we were best friends."
"Who was best friends?" Cruz asked as she strolled into the locker room.
"Oh...just me and this uh, guy from the academy."
Davis raised his eyebrows but remained silent.
"Oh." She sounded bored, but walked over to him and pushed him back against the locker, kissing him.
His eyes were open in surprise as she kissed him, and he put his hands on her shoulders. "What are you doin'?"
"Kissin' you. What do you think?" She sounded annoyed.
"In fronta Davis?"
"Oh, please. You tell him everything anyway." She rolled her eyes and headed over to her locker.
Davis had a disapproving look on his face as he shook his head and finished changing clothes.
He turned to look at Cruz. "No I don't."
"Right. So you're comin' over tonight, right?"
Bosco quickly glanced at Davis. "Uh...I'm not sure."
"You're not sure?" she repeated.
"Yeah, it's just...well I'm not feelin' so great," he lied, unsure of what he should say to get out of this.
Cruz frowned. "Oh. Well then stay away from me, cause I don't want to catch whatever you've got."
He nodded his head. "I know it kinda puts a damper on things. Sorry."
"Some other time." She grabbed her badge from her locker. "Have a good tour," she said, heading for the exit.
"Yeah. You too, 'Ritza."
She waved and left the room.
Davis glanced at Bosco for a moment, then closed his locker.
"This is not good," Bosco mumbled as he grabbed his gunbelt.
"I know I've said it before, but I'm gonna say it again. I don't like her."
"Tell me again why I'm involved with her."
"Cause you think with the wrong head?"
"Yeah." He nodded his head, and closed his locker. "That's it."
Davis headed for the door. "So you gonna keep seein' her while you're pursuin' this Faith chick?"
"In case you haven't noticed, I haven't exactly been seein' Cruz since the first night I saw Faith."
"Yeah, but you haven't exactly told her to piss off, either."
"Have you ever tried tellin' her 'no'?"
"Fortunately, my karma has been good and I haven't gotten close enough to her to have to."
"You know, sometimes...when we're alone, Cruz isn't all that bad."
"You realize you're eventually gonna have to choose between them, right?"
Bosco sighed. "Yeah. I know. It's just right now I don't really know a whole lot about Faith, but man, I really like her."
"No kidding. Two days ago you were using the L-word."
He smiled. "She's really somethin'."
Davis grinned, unable to disagree.
"You think it's too soon if I stop by the bar again tonight? Should I wait a day?"
"I don't know. What are your instincts telling ya?"
"They're tellin' me to go tonight. I mean, things went pretty well today." He paused. "And she did tell me to stop by the bar if I got time."
"Well, there's your answer then."
He nodded his head as they walked toward roll call. "Oh, there was one thing that really bothered me though."
"What's that?" Davis asked curiously.
"She's got these bruises on her arms." He grabbed his upper arm indicating where on her arms he was talking about. "Said some of the customers get a little rough."
He stopped walking. "Rough, like...what exactly?"
"Didn't really say anything other than they got rough, and I really don't like the sounds of that. I mean...how exactly do you get rough during a lapdance?"
Davis was silent for a moment. "Unless it went farther than a lapdance."
"Do you think?" He frowned. "I mean...I'm a cop. All she had to do was tell me."
"Yeah, but maybe she didn't want you to know. You said yourself she doesn't seem to trust anyone."
"Davis, she told me it comes with the territory." His voice was soft, and the wheels were starting to turn in his head.
"You think..." His voice trailed off.
He swallowed hard. "They've got beds in the back," he whispered.
"You think she was raped?" he whispered back.
"Gawd Ty, I hope not."
Davis rubbed the back of his neck. "We gotta get in to roll call."
"Yeah." He nodded his head slowly, and followed his partner into the room. This definitely wasn't turning out as he'd hoped.
* * *
Faith dressed quietly as she slowly moved off the bed, not looking at the customer who still lay naked beside her. "Thanks for the tip." She took the money off the table and tucked it inside her bra. It was barely midnight, but she'd managed to finish collecting the money she needed to make the payment later that night.
"Thank you," he told her with a tired smile.
"Sure," she whispered. "You can stay back here as long as you want. I gotta get back to work."
He nodded his head, and reached for his boxers. "I'll see you again some time."
"Yeah. Have a good night." She left the room, closing the door behind her and walking down the short corridor to the main part of the bar.
When Martie saw Faith come out of the back room he moved down toward the end of the bar. He knew she always left her order pad behind the counter, and he always did his best to meet her after she'd been with a customer to see how she was doing. Ever since Faith had been working here he'd known that there was something different about her. She wasn't like the other girls who would leave the bar with a different guy each night. Plus as far as he knew she didn't smoke or drink. She was pretty straight-laced except for the job. "Hey." He smiled softly.
"Hey," she said softly, grateful that Martie was the one working the bar tonight instead of Dennis.
"How ya doin'?"
She shrugged. "Only two more hours til I'm outta here for the night. I'll survive."
"That's good to hear." He looked around. "I'm pretty sure all the tables are covered right now. You want a soda?"
"Yeah, that'd be good. Thanks, Martie."
"No problem. 7UP?"
She nodded and slowly sat down on one of the barstools, leaning her head on her hands for a moment.
Bosco pulled open the door, and headed inside. It had started to rain just before his shift had ended and he was nearly drenched by the time he stepped into the bar. He immediately began to scan the room for Faith as he made his way toward the bar.
Martie grabbed the soda out of the cooler, and turned back to Faith as he unscrewed the cap for her. "Hey, looks like your cop friend is back," he told her softly as he handed her the drink.
She sighed softly. "Yeah. Again."
"He been comin' around a lot lately?"
"Just about every night."
"As a customer," he asked with a raised eyebrow.
She looked down at the bar for a moment. "Depends on the night."
He leaned against the bar. "Whaddya mean?"
"It's a long story," she said softly. "I'll tell ya later."
"Look, Faith, if he's hasslin' you..."
"No, it's not like that. We used to be friends."
"I know, but I'm just sayin' that if you don't want him comin' around...I can talk to him."
"I'll let you know, okay?"
He nodded his head. "Just call me 'big brother Martie'," he told her with a grin.
A small smile touched her lips as she looked at him.
Martie turned his head when he heard a customer calling for him, but before leaving he turned back to Faith. "Remember, I'm always available if you need anything."
"I know. Thanks, big brother." She smiled faintly.
He winked before heading to the other end of the bar.
Bosco gave the man a nod as he sat down on the stool next to Faith. "You on break," he asked softly.
"Not exactly, but...I think I've got a few minutes."
He grabbed a napkin off the bar, and wiped the water that had dripped from his wet hair onto his face. Bosco looked down at the bar as he folded the napkin over. "I just couldn't stay away," he told her quietly.
Faith was quiet for a moment before she reached out and took the napkin from him, gently wiping his cheek off with it. "You look cold."
"It's pourin' out there, and that mixed with how chilly it is in here..."
"You wanna go to one of the rooms in the back? There's more heat back there."
"Is that okay?" He shivered slightly.
"Yeah. Like I said, right now everything's quiet, so..." She slid off the barstool. "Martie? We're goin' in back."
Martie gave her a questioning look.
She simply gave him a nod, letting him know she was all right before heading toward the back of the bar. She nearly reached the connecting door when a familiar figure stepped out of the corner, a grin on his face.
"Hey Faith. We on again for tonight?" He reached out, and put a hand on her hip.
She flinched, pulling away from him. "Later. I got another customer right now."
"Don't take too long. I can hardly wait."
Bosco noticed how Faith pulled away from the man, and he remembered seeing him there the night before. In fact, he was the same guy that Faith was scheduled to see after him.
"Yeah." She avoided his eyes as she pushed the door open.
"Later baby."
She closed her eyes at the words and held the door open for Bosco, leading him into the back.
He turned to look at the other man before stepping into the hallway. "Who was that guy?"
"Just a customer."
"I recognize him from last night."
"Yeah, he's in here a lot."
"Is he the one who did that to your arms," he asked softly.
She unlocked the door to the first available room. "There's a space heater in there. You can turn it on if you want."
"Faith, did he do that to you?"
"Just drop it, okay?"
He stepped into the room. "I'm really havin' a hard time droppin' this one."
Faith didn't respond, simply leaned against the wall for a moment. "You be okay in here by yourself?"
Bosco sighed. "I'd prefer some company."
She closed her eyes, in truth relieved for the short reprieve of her duties. She shut the door, then locked it.
He smiled softly, and went over to turn on the space heater. "So...I was hopin' we could get together again. Sometime soon."
"Sure."
His face lit up, and he turned to look at her. "Really?"
She shrugged. "Yeah. Why not?"
He sat down directly in front of the heater. "What time does your shift usually start?"
"Depends on the night. Sometimes 6, sometimes 7."
"Maybe we could meet for lunch tomorrow?"
She looked down at the floor. Between the payment she had to make in a couple hours and the rent, food and utility bills due in the next two weeks, she knew she couldn't afford to do anything that cost money.
"What's wrong," he asked softly.
"I can't really afford to eat out."
"Shoot! I'm sorry. I didn't even think." He shook his head in disgust.
"It's okay."
"Well...I could buy you lunch, or you could come over to my place and I could make lunch," he suggested.
She hesitated. "I don't know."
"About which one?"
"Either," she answered softly.
He frowned. "So...what should we do?"
"I don't really know." She leaned against the wall tiredly.
Bosco gazed at her for a moment, and then reached up and patted the bed. "Come sit down."
Faith folded her arms across her stomach and reluctantly crossed the room, sinking down onto the mattress a couple feet away from him.
"Can I ask you something," he asked in a whisper.
"Since when do you ask for permission to talk?" She smiled faintly.
He grinned. "It's not often."
"No kidding."
"Well...it's kinda a personal question, so..."
She drew in a breath, waiting.
"I guess I was just kinda curious...with this job, you must make some pretty decent money right?"
Faith tensed slightly. "Yeah. Why?"
He shrugged. "What happens to it," he asked softly.
"Bills," she said without hesitation.
"You got that much in bills?"
"I'm a single mother with two--one kid."
He nodded his head. "I'm sorry. I guess I was just curious cause I'd really like to go out with...meet up with you again, and..."
She looked at the floor. "I think it would probably be best if you forgot you ever saw me."
"I can't do that, Faith." He shook his head. "I...I think about you all the time."
She closed her eyes. "Look. I don't have anything to give you, okay? I don't have time, I don't have money, and I'm not interested in gettin' involved with anyone."
"Faith just give me a chance."
"A chance for what?"
He took a deep breath, and turned his body toward her. "I haven't felt this way in a really long time," he told her softly. "And it started out with me just wantin' to help you, but every time I see you..."
She felt her heart sink. "Please don't...don't finish whatever you're about to say."
"Why not? Why can't I tell you how I feel?"
"Because I can't. There's too much at stake for me to get involved with you or anyone else." She stood up.
"Whaddya mean," he asked quickly as he looked up at her. "What's at stake?"
For a moment she froze, her mind racing at her slip-up. "I just mean that I gotta take care of my son, okay? He needs me and I can't be worryin' about someone else when I should be takin' care of him."
He stood up. "I'm not gonna interfere with you and Charlie. I'd never take you away from your son in any way."
"I'm sorry. I can't." Her voice was barely audible.
There was a sad expression on his face, and his heart felt heavy. He hadn't realized just how much he cared for her until she turned him down.
"I wish things were different, but they're not. They never will be." She slowly walked toward the door.
"Faith," he whispered as he followed her, quickly moving in front of her. "At least let me help somehow."
She shook her head. "You can't."
"There's gotta be something I can do."
"Can you bring my daughter back from the dead? Because that's the only thing that could help me."
Bosco closed his eyes, and his shoulders slumped in defeat. "I wish I could, Faith."
"Me too," she whispered, shifting past him.
"Hey, maybe I can find out who did it."
Faith froze, her body completely tense. "Stay out of it, Bosco." Her voice was hard.
"Somebody needs to pay for what they did."
"Don't get involved."
His eyebrows furrowed. "Do you know," he asked softly.
"Drop it." She unlocked the door.
He quickly reached out, and put his hand on the door to keep her from opening it. "What happened to you Faith? How'd your life end up like this?"
She didn't look at him. "When I figure that out, I'll let you know."
"Why won't you just let me help you?!"
"Maybe your life is simple. But mine's anything but. You can't help me. You're only gonna make things worse if you don't let this go."
"I could take you away from all this. I could make it better."
She gave a short, humorless laugh. "The only thing you're gonna do is end up gettin' yourself killed. Leave me alone, Bosco."
"I can't Faith." He shook his head. "I can't walk away, and leave you here like this. I can't leave you here to get raped by your 'customers'."
"Who the hell said anything about gettin' raped? Jesus, Bosco." She avoided his eyes as she tried to open the door.
"You didn't have to -say- anything, Faith," he spat. "Look at your arms! Nobody gets that rough during a lapdance!"
She flinched.
"Just tell me what happened." His voice was softer, gentler.
"It doesn't matter, okay? I told you before, it goes with the territory. I'm not stupid. I know the risks of this job."
"So you're just gonna let them force themselves on you. You're okay with that?"
"I can handle myself," she said sharply.
"You need the money -that- bad?!"
"Yes."
"I'm sure your kids are real proud."
Without thinking about it, she smacked him across the face.
His head snapped to the side, and he winced.
"Don't -ever- talk about my kids again." Tears stung her eyes and she flung the door open, disappearing down the hallway.
"Faith!" He hurried after her. "Faith wait!"
"I have a job to do. Get the hell away from me."
"I didn't mean that. I'm sorry."
She turned to face him, her eyes angry and full of tears. "Look. I don't know how many times you gotta hear it before it sinks in. Leave me alone. Stay out of my life. You can't help me. Go back to your job and your friends, and save some other damsel in distress."
Bosco shook his head as he walked up to her. Deciding to make a bold move he put his hands on her hips, and kissed her.
To say she was caught off guard by his action would be understating things. For a moment she couldn't react at all. Then her eyes drifted shut.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her a little closer as he caressed her lips with his.
The kiss was more tender than the ones she was used to. There was no forcefulness or demanding behind it. But it was intense. It shook her to her core, her heart beating quickly in her chest.
After a moment he pulled back, and gazed at her. His arms still wrapped around her waist. There was an uncertain, almost frightened look in his eyes.
She gazed back at him, unable to speak. Still breathless. Her eyes weren't frightened, but they were filled with confusion.
"Please don't slap me," he whispered.
His words were almost as unexpected as the kiss and she swallowed hard, feeling guilty for hitting him moments ago.
"I'm sorry I said that before," he told her softly, rubbing her back gently.
"Why are you doin' this to me?" Her voice was barely audible.
"Because I fell in love with you," he whispered.
Faith closed her eyes. "You don't even know me."
"But I remember you." He leaned in to kiss her again.
This time she lifted a hand to his lips to stop him. "No. I'm not that person anymore."
He frowned. "That's why I want to get to know you again. That's why I can't just go away."
She lowered her gaze to the floor for a moment. "You're a good guy, Bosco. I really believe that. But you're gonna have to trust me when I tell you that this isn't what you want."
"Why don't you let me make up my own mind?"
"If you wanna come by sometime and see Charlie, that's okay. But this? Us? It can't happen," she whispered.
"Faith, please."
"I'm sorry," she said softly, tears sparkling in her eyes.
Bosco lifted a hand to her cheek.
"Please. Walk away."
He closed his eyes for a moment, and then kissed her forehead. "I'm gonna leave my number with Martie again," he whispered.
A tear slipped down her cheek. "Don't wait for me to call." Her voice was very soft, just barely audible.
He used his thumb to brush the tear away, and then placed a quick, soft kiss on her lips. "I'll uh...see ya around."
She couldn't answer him and she remained standing in the hallway for a long time after she'd heard his footsteps disappear down the hall and into the main part of the bar.
Bosco walked over to the bar, a somber expression on his face. His cheek stung, and his chest was tight. He leaned against the bar waiting for Martie to come over.
Martie walked over a few moments later, studying the man. "What can I do for ya?"
"I'd like to leave my number for Faith again," he told him softly, barely making eye contact.
He was silent for a moment, then slid a pen across the bar to him.
Like he'd done once before he grabbed a coaster, and wrote his name and number on it. He started to get up to leave, but paused and pulled out his wallet.
Martie was quiet for another minute, then he shifted his gaze to the man lingering by the back door. His eyes narrowed. "You wanna help her?"
He nodded his head as he pulled out the money he'd gotten at the ATM before coming over. "Yeah."
"See that guy standin' over there?"
Bosco slowly turned his head to look then turned back to look at the money in his hand. "The one in the suit?"
"Yeah. His name's Harold. He's a real bastard. Gives the girls around here nothing but trouble."
"What kinda trouble?"
Martie looked at him but didn't respond.
"That how she got the bruises?"
"And it wasn't the first time."
Bosco closed his eyes. "Did he rape her?"
He remained silent again.
"I gotta have somethin' I can charge him with."
"And if there's nothing?"
He let out a breath. "Well I can't really do much other than pick a fight with him," he told him with a humorless chuckle.
"You could drag him out back and put a bullet in his skull. What the bastard deserves," he muttered.
"Excuse me?"
Martie leaned forward on the bar, gazing at him. "He's a real son of a bitch."
Bosco rubbed his forehead. "I'm willing to agree with that after seeing the reaction Faith had when she saw him, but you gotta give me something to go on here. I mean...if I could get one of the girls to tell me that he got too rough, that he assaulted them in some way I could do something about it."
"That'll never happen."
He looked back over at the man, and stared at him for a moment. "I really wanna help."
Just then, Faith stepped out from the back, immediately coming face to face with Harold.
"Hey gorgeous. You ready?"
She swallowed hard, forcing aside her fear and disgust. "Yeah, I guess."
Bosco quickly looked at Martie. "Call her over here."
He didn't hesitate. "Faith!"
Harold frowned, but reached out and ran his hand down Faith's arm. "Tell Martie not to keep you too long."
She pulled away from him. "Sure thing." Her voice was flat, emotionless. She walked over to the bar. "What's up?" She shifted her gaze and saw Bosco standing there. She quickly looked away again.
Bosco grabbed the coaster and pen once more, and added his cell phone number. He then set his money down on the counter. "Martie, any chance any of your waitresses are available?"
A flicker of confusion crossed over Faith's face.
"Possibly. What do you need?"
"Not really sure what I'm lookin' for." He glanced at his watch. "But I need something to keep me occupied until this place shuts down for the night."
Now she was really confused. "What the hell is going on?"
He looked down at the bar. "It's your choice Faith...me or Harold."
Faith wrapped her arms around herself, glancing at Martie with accusing eyes.
"You don't need to put yourself in that position again," Martie said softly.
"Come on Faith. I know you wanted me to leave, but...I can't. Not like this."
There was determination in his voice, in his eyes when he looked at her. She swallowed hard, looked down at the floor. "Fine." Her voice was nearly inaudible.
He nodded his head, and grabbed his money and the coaster off the bar.
She turned away, slowly heading toward the back again, trying to avoid Harold best she could as she walked to the door.
Bosco smirked as he walked past Harold. "Sorry buddy. We weren't done yet."
Harold glared. "I'll wait." He folded his arms across his chest, glaring at Faith as she moved past him.
"Yeah. You do that."
She slowly unlocked and opened the door to the same room they'd come out of only moments before. She stepped inside, slipping the key back into her apron.
He didn't say anything to her, instead he just walked over, and set his money and the coaster on the table before sitting down on the bed.
Faith leaned against the door after she locked it.
Bosco took off his shoes, and stretched out on the bed. "It's been a long night."
She didn't say anything. She simply gazed at him.
"You got what? Like an hour until your shift is over?"
"Hour and a half," she said softly.
He nodded his head. "Well, sit down, lay down. Make yourself comfortable."
Faith stared at him doubtfully.
He scooted over on the bed. "There's plenty of room."
She lowered her gaze to the floor, unsure of why she was so hesitant. It wasn't like she hadn't lain in bed with a hundred different guys in the span of her 29 year lifetime. She slipped her shoes and apron off, resting them on the table before slowly moving over to the bed.
"I got an alarm on my phone. We can set it in case we fall asleep."
"Okay," she said softly. "I gotta be outta here at exactly 2:00 a.m."
He dug his cell out of his pocket. "I'll set it for quarter to two?"
"That'd be good." She carefully sat down on the very edge of the bed.
Bosco nodded, and went about setting the phone. He then set it on the pillow. "You gonna lay down," he asked softly.
Faith hesitated a second, then reluctantly laid down beside him, swallowing hard.
"You warm enough?"
She shook her head slightly, not speaking.
"Do you uh...well, you can move closer if you want," he whispered.
"I'm okay," she answered, wrapping her arms around herself protectively.
"Okay. Well, goodnight."
"Night." She closed her eyes.
He let out a breath, and turned over on his side so he was facing her, though his eyes were closed.
She opened her eyes, gazing at him for a moment, biting down on her lower lip. Then she closed them again, letting herself sink into unconsciousness.
Authors: NYPDBosco and X_tremeroswellian
Emails: mauriceboscorelli@yahoo.com and faithboscorelli1@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Not ours.
Rating: R
Summary: What if life as Bosco and Faith knew it were completely different?
Categories: Angst/Alternate Universe/dark.
Author's Note: Titled after the wonderful song "Fallen" by Sarah McLachlan.
Fallen--Chapter Three
Davis glanced over at Bosco as he drove their squad down Main Street. "So...how'd it go last night? With your stripper friend?"
He shot his partner a glare. "Her name is Faith."
"Right. Sorry. How'd it go last night with Faith?"
"Good," he lied as he nodded his head.
He raised his eyebrows. "Which of course, is why you haven't said more than five words so far all day."
Bosco sighed as he looked out the window. "I thought I was gettin' through to her...well, a little anyway."
"So what happened?"
"I don't really know." He glanced over at Davis. "I mean, one minute I was gettin' a massage..."
"A massage?"
"She refuses to just talk to me cause she's basically losing money if she does, so I paid her to..."
"Well, there's part of your problem right there."
He shook his head, confused. "Huh?"
"Have you tried askin' her out for a drink or somethin' after she's done workin'? That way you're not makin' her lose money and you're not treatin' her like every other guy there probably treats her."
"Davis she won't even call me on the phone, you -really- think she's gonna agree to go out for a drink?"
"You tried askin'?"
"Yeah, well...no, not exactly."
He nodded but remained silent, his eyes focused on the road.
Bosco turned to look out the window. "Am I really that stupid," he asked softly. "Or am I that perverse?"
Davis glanced at him briefly. "You're attracted to her. Any guy would be."
"I've never paid for that kinda stuff before."
"Can I ask you somethin'?"
He nodded his head, but didn't say anything.
"This just about you wantin' to catch up with an old friend, or are you hopin' for more with her?"
Bosco bit his lip for a moment, and stared out the window. "It started out with me just wantin' to catch up, and wantin' to help her."
"And now?"
"Now? Now I'm confused."
"What's to be confused about? Either you're interested or you're not."
He let out a breath. "Well then...I guess I'm interested."
Davis shook his head slightly. "You really are a glutton for punishment, Boz. First Cruz, now this."
"Ma always said you don't get to pick who you fall in love with."
"Whoa! Whoa!" He nearly slammed on the brakes. "In love with? You're in love with her!?"
He turned to look at his partner, shocked by his reaction. "What?! Is that so bad?"
"Bosco. Man, come on. You haven't seen this...woman in like, five years. She hasn't even talked to you. How the hell can you be in love with her?"
"I don't know." He slouched down in the passenger's seat. "I just know that I want something more, but I don't want it to be like an on again off again thing like with Cruz."
"And you think gettin' involved with this woman is the answer?"
"Well, I think I need to figure out how to help her first."
He was silent for a moment. "Has she said anything at all?"
Bosco took a deep breath. "I found out that her daughter died," he told him softly. "And that she doesn't really trust anyone. She said somethin' about me not being able to help her, and then she said she didn't want my help."
"Whoa. Her daughter's dead? I thought her kids were young."
"Yeah. She said Charlie was in first grade, so....Emily would only be like, ten. Maybe eleven." He ran his hand through his hair. "I wanted to ask her more about it, but I didn't
wanna push, ya know?"
"Yeah. Yeah. Damn." He shook his head again. "I wonder what happened to her."
"She's only got her son now," he whispered. "I really wanna help her, Davis."
There was a sincerity to his partner's tone that Davis was somewhat unaccustomed to and he glanced over at Bosco. "Maybe I can help."
Bosco straightened up in his seat, and raised an eyebrow. "Would you?"
"Yeah. I mean, you're my partner."
He grinned. "Thanks Ty."
"Sure. So...maybe our first step is to figure out what happened to her daughter."
"Yeah." He nodded his head. "There's gotta be a record of her death." His voice was soft as he thought about the happy go lucky kindergartner he'd met back when he and Faith were in the academy.
"Maybe we could swing by city hall on our dinner break."
Bosco nodded his head. "Should I go see her tonight? Ask her out for drinks or somethin', like you said?"
"Might as well. I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?"
"Only if she decks me or somethin'," he said lightly.
Davis grinned. "She seems like the type that might, too. Tread lightly, my friend."
* * *
Faith pulled her hair back into a ponytail before glancing in the mirror to where her son sat behind her on her bed, watching as she got ready for work. She smiled softly at him and turned around. "You lookin' forward to seein' Tammy tonight?"
He shrugged. "Sorta."
"Just sorta? I thought you liked Tammy."
"I do." He nodded his head. "But I'm too old for a babysitter."
She suppressed a chuckle. "Right. Sorry."
Charlie grinned. "What time are you comin' home?"
"Not til around two, baby." Her voice was soft.
"Can I wait up?"
"No. You got school tomorrow, remember?"
He groaned. "I know. I know."
She moved over and sat down beside him on the bed, putting her arm around his shoulders and kissing the top of his head. "Tell you what. How about I come in and kiss you goodnight when I get home?"
His face lit up as he looked at his mother. "Yeah?"
She smiled. "Yeah."
He wrapped his arms around her. "Don't forget."
"Wouldn't dream of it." She hugged him tightly, closing her eyes.
"Maybe you could stay home one night, and we could watch TV together," he said softly.
"Maybe," she whispered, her chest tightening at his almost pleading words. "I love you."
"I love you, too." He shifted, and got up on his knees so he could kiss her cheek.
Faith bit down on her lip as she held him. She hated her job almost more than anything in the world. But if it kept her son alive, she'd do it for as long as she had to. Because nothing else mattered.
* * *
Bosco took a deep breath, and glanced at his partner as they approached the desk in the Vital Statistics Department. "Hi." He gave the woman a small smile. "I'm Officer Boscorelli, and this is Officer Davis. We're looking for some information...a death certificate actually."
The woman smiled back politely. "Shouldn't be a problem. Name of the deceased?" she asked.
"Emily Yokas. Y-O-K-A-S."
She typed the name into the computer. "Okay, looks like there's only one. Wait here for just a moment and I'll get the certificate for you." She headed toward the back of the room where there was a large section of hundreds of file cabinets.
Bosco let out a breath, and looked around the office. "We're kinda invading her privacy."
"Death certificates are public record," Davis reminded him.
"I know, but..."
"You wanna leave?"
He shook his head. "If I'm gonna help her I gotta do this."
He nodded his agreement. "Besides, anyone coulda read the obit in the newspaper."
"Yeah." Bosco looked down at the floor. If he was going to help her he had to be willing to dig into her life a little. Especially if she wasn't going to tell him willingly.
The woman returned a moment later. "Here you go, Officers." She held out the paper.
"Thanks." Bosco took the paper from her. "Could you do me another favor?"
"I can try." She smiled.
"Could you see if there's a Fred Yokas in the system?"
"You mean, check for a death certificate?"
"Yeah." He nodded his head.
"Sure." She typed in the name, studied the screen for a moment. "No record of a Fred Yokas."
"Okay." He smiled softly. "Thanks for your help."
"You're welcome. If you need me, I'll just be in back. Give me a holler." She smiled once more, then turned and headed away.
Bosco handed the paper to Davis. "You read it."
He took the paper from him and studied it for a moment, staring at the words. Then he looked up at Bosco, a shocked expression on his face.
"What? What is it?"
"She was nine. Her body was found in the harbor."
His eyebrows furrowed. "In the harbor?"
"A year ago next week. Says the cause of death was strangulation."
He swallowed hard, instantly feeling sick to his stomach.
"Damn," Davis whispered.
Bosco placed a hand on his stomach, and took a deep breath. "Does it say anything else," he asked, his voice barely audible.
"Time of death was recorded as 4:15 a.m."
"We should go back to the House." He closed his eyes. "Look through the police reports."
"Yeah. Wait a minute. Let's make a copy of this first." He walked over to the copy machine in the corner and dropped a dime into the slot, xeroxing the document and leaving the original on the desk.
He didn't wait for his partner to finish making the copy, instead he headed out of the office needing to get outside and get some fresh air.
* * *
"I think I found something."
Bosco looked away from the computer screen that he'd been staring at for what seemed like an eternity. "Yeah?"
"Yeah...yeah. Emily Yokas, age nine."
"What it is?" He rolled his chair over to where Davis was.
"Here, let me print it out. That way we can read it at the same time."
He nodded his head, and raked his hand through his hair.
Davis hit the print button on his computer and waited until the printer had finished before standing up and removing the paper, handing the hard copy to Bosco before sitting down at the desk again.
He looked down at the top page of the print out, and read through the information. "The case was closed...and nobody was caught," he whispered.
"But the father was suspected," Davis murmured, gazing at the computer screen.
Bosco started to turn to the next page, and froze when he realized it was a picture of the young girl's body. His face paled.
"Oh, my God." His voice was barely audible as he stared at the same picture his partner was looking at. Her skin was completely white, and there were dark bruises around her throat. "God."
His hands shook slightly, and he dropped the papers on the desk. He stood up, and quickly left the room.
Davis watched him go, swallowing hard before turning his attention back to the report. "Victim's mother, Faith Yokas, 28 years old, identified the body as nine year old Emily Amanda Yokas."
He knelt in front of the toilet, dry heaving after having emptied the contents of his stomach. He hadn't realized that things were going to turn out this way. Faith's daughter had been murdered, and no one was paying for it. Bosco took a deep breath, and pushed himself off the floor. He flushed the toilet, and went to the sink to rinse his mouth out. "She was just a little kid," he whispered as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.
* * *
Faith slid off the man's lap, tucking the twenty dollars into her bra. Mentally counting up her savings for the week. If she was figuring correctly she'd earned nearly 2,000 so far. She closed her eyes briefly, rubbing the back of her neck. It wasn't enough. Not for all the bills. She drew in a breath, reminding herself she still had two days before she had to make a payment. Surely she could another 1,500 with the weekend starting the next day. She had to. It wasn't a choice.
She glanced around the bar, trying to spot someone willing to fork over some cash for services rendered.
Bosco entered the establishment, and headed straight for the bar figuring that if Faith was working she'd eventually come over that way after taking an order. He leaned against the high counter as he looked around.
"You again?" Dennis shook his head in disgust.
He turned around to look at the man. "What? You don't appreciate paying customers?"
"Not ones like you," he grumbled.
"Ones like me?"
"FAITH!" another voice shouted angrily from down the bar.
Dennis smirked.
Bosco was a little taken aback by the outburst. "What's that about?"
"Bitch was late to work."
"Hey don't call her that."
"What? You gonna beat me up?" he mocked.
"Don't tempt me."
Faith flinched as her boss screamed at her again. She quickly headed over, not even glancing at Dennis or spotting Bosco standing there. "I'm here. God. What's your problem?"
"My office. Now," Richard growled, glaring at her menacingly.
He turned to Dennis. "All this cause she was late?"
"She's gonna wish that's all," he said with a smirk.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"That's not really any of your business. Last time I checked you weren't on the payroll."
Faith wrapped her arms around herself and headed for Richard's office, him following closely behind her.
"What? Did you say you wanted me to start waving my badge around?"
Dennis's eyes narrowed. "Let's just say she hasn't been performing to the best of her abilities."
Bosco leaned against the bar. "I thought her performances were pretty good."
"Your opinion doesn't count." He walked away without another word.
"What's been goin' on with you lately?!"
"I don't know what you're talkin' about." Faith leaned against his office door.
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? So you know -nothing- about why I keep getting complaints about you?!"
There was only a few seconds hesitation before she said, "No."
"Well..." He stood up, and walked around his desk. "Some of our -best- customers are telling me that you -refuse- to do your job!"
She flinched as he shouted in her face. She could feel his anger without his yelling.
"I'm not paying you to serve drinks!"
"I know!"
"Remember, -you- don't get to pick your customers. -They- choose you!"
"Richard, some of those guys are just--"
"I don't care! You're the one who keeps tellin' me how badly you need this job!" He crossed his arms over his chest. "So I strongly suggest you do your job unless you wanna be looking for another one!"
She closed her eyes, her shoulders slumping.
"Your body's good for my business, but I won't hesitate to fire you if I hear one more complaint."
"I understand." Her voice was resolved, flat.
"Good. Now get back out there."
"Yes, Sir." Faith turned and opened the door, flinching slightly when he smacked her ass as she walked out.
Bosco was sitting on a bar stool, his eyes focused on the door where Faith had followed her boss a few minutes before.
She walked slowly over to the bar to get her order book, not looking at anyone.
"Hey Faith," he called her name softly when she got closer.
She cursed inwardly as she instantly recognized the voice. She seriously contemplated ignoring him entirely, but realized that her boss was probably watching her. He didn't know Bosco was a cop. Which meant he was a potential customer. She was screwed. "What?"
"I was just thinkin' that maybe we could...go for a drink or somethin' when you're done tonight."
Faith stared at him for a moment, thrown by his question. "What?"
"You wanna go for a drink?"
He was serious. "I--"
"Forget it. You're not stickin' me with all the clean up tonight," Dennis snapped at her, glaring.
Bosco turned to glare at him. "Do you -always- listen in on people's conversations?"
"That's my job." He smirked.
He rolled his eyes, and pulled a twenty out of his pocket before turning to Faith. "Maybe this'll buy us a little privacy?"
She sighed softly. "Fine." She took the money from him, a defeated look in her eyes.
"Hey. Faith."
She looked over to see a tall, familiar man grinning at her, her heart sinking. Harold Noland was undoubtedly one of the men who'd complained about her to the boss since she'd refused him twice in the past week.
"I talked to Richard. When you're done with him, it's you and me." He leered.
She took an involuntary step toward Bosco. "Yeah. Whatever." She suppressed a shudder as she headed for the back.
Bosco looked at the other man, a questioning look on his face. He shook his head, slid off the barstool, and followed Faith into the back.
She unlocked the door, flipped on the light and stepped inside wordlessly, waiting until he was inside before closing and locking the door. "What'll it be?" she asked flatly, not looking at him.
"I just wanted to know if you'd wanna go grab some coffee later, when you're done working? Or maybe tomorrow morning?"
"I can't really afford coffee."
He was about to make a crack about the load of money that she must make at this place, and how coffee didn't cost all that much, but he managed to hold it back. "My treat."
She leaned against the door, closing her eyes. "I can't tonight. I promised Charlie..." She cut herself off. "I can't tonight."
"Okay well...maybe after Charlie leaves for school," he asked hopefully.
Faith was silent for a moment. "If I say yes, will you leave me alone after that?"
A smile tugged at his lips. "I can't make any promises."
She didn't look up at him. "Fine. One cup of coffee after Charlie goes to school. That's it."
"Faith...I don't want anything more from you. I mean..." He swallowed hard. "This stuff here, I guess I was just hopin' you'd talk to me if I was a uh...customer."
It took her a moment to respond. "Yeah. Whatever." Her voice was quiet and she held his twenty dollars out to him before unlocking the door.
"Keep the money," he told her softly. "You probably coulda made more than that if I hadn't taken up your time."
"I don't want your money."
"What's wrong with my money?"
"I didn't do anything. You're not payin' me for nothing."
"Oh, so you'd feel better if I sat down and you gave me a lapdance?"
"I'd feel better if you just left me alone." There was no anger to her tone, just weariness.
"I care about you, Faith. I know you don't believe me, but I do care. That's why I can't just leave you alone."
"And that's all there is to it?" Her eyes were full of doubt.
"All I want from you is the opportunity to get to know you again...see what happens," he whispered.
Faith closed her eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Should I pick you up, or are we just gonna meet somewhere?"
She hesitated. "Let's just meet somewhere."
"Just tell me where and when," he told her softly.
"There's a diner on the corner of Houston and Dividen. You been there?"
He searched his mind for a moment. "Yeah I think so."
"I take Charlie to school at 8. I can be there by 9."
He nodded his head, and smiled. "Okay, I'll see you at 9."
"Yeah," she said softly, turning around and opening the door. "See ya."
* * *
Faith was shivering as she stood in her son's open bedroom doorway, watching him sleep. Tammy had gone home nearly an hour ago and she had taken a long, hot shower the minute the babysitter had left. She had dressed in a warm, oversized sweatshirt and sweatpants. Her hair was still wet, little ringlets of water running down the back of her neck as she stood motionless in the semi-dark. The only light in the apartment was from Charlie's Harry Potter nightlight by his bed. Her gaze shifted to the large digital clock on her son's headboard. 3:30 a.m. She moved forward silently and sat down on the edge of his bed, leaning over to kiss his forehead.
He shifted slightly. "Mom," he asked sleepily.
"Yeah, baby, it's me." Her voice was very soft.
A tired smile formed on his lips, and he slowly opened his eyes.
"You have fun with Tammy?" she whispered.
Charlie nodded his head, and then reached up, wrapping his arms around her neck. "Missed you."
She hugged him back, kissing his forehead again. "I missed you, too."
The young boy yawned. "How was work?"
"It was fine," she whispered. "I just wanted to come in and kiss you like I promised. You can go back to sleep now."
"Stay with me?"
"Sure, I can stay with you." She lifted his covers and slid in bed beside him, resting her head on the pillow beside his.
He smiled, and scooted closer to her. "'Night mom."
"Night, Charlie," she whispered, resting a hand on his back as he snuggled up to her. She watched as he easily drifted back to a peaceful state of sleep. She swallowed hard as her gaze drifted across the room to the other small bed. The one that was now empty and cold. A tear slid down her cheek and she bit down on her lower lip. She kissed her son's cheek lightly, swallowing hard, her throat raw from the crying she'd done earlier. She was grateful that they'd made it through another day. She just had to keep her mind focused on getting through the next. One day at a time, one hour at a time, one minute at a time. She'd made it this far.
Only 850 dollars left to earn by the next night.
* * *
Bosco stood inside the entrance of the diner, and looked at his watch. It was after nine and he was beginning to think that Faith wasn't going to show up. He exhaled loudly, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. After all that time he and Davis had spent searching through the police records, and all the money he'd spent at the bar she wasn't going to show up.
Faith climbed out of the back of the cab, her body aching with the movement. She pulled her coat around herself closer, stuffed her hands into the pockets after paying the driver. She stared at the diner on the corner for a moment before drawing a deep breath and walking toward it.
He looked at his watch once more, and with a sigh he headed outside.
She stared at the ground as she walked and ran right into someone exiting the cafe. "I'm sorry, I--" She looked up, a little startled to realize she'd run into Bosco.
His hands instinctively moved up to her arms, making sure that they both kept their balance after running into one another. "Hey," he said softly. "I thought you weren't gonna show."
Faith winced slightly as he touched her arm. "I didn't hear the alarm when it went off. I was late gettin' Charlie to school."
"Oh." He nodded his head, and dropped his hands to his sides.
She was silent for a moment, not sure what else to say.
He swallowed hard, not exactly sure why he was more nervous today than he had been when she'd been half naked and straddling him at the bar. "So..." He hooked his thumb over his shoulder. "Can I buy ya breakfast?"
"I'm not real hungry...but...coffee would be good."
"Okay." He smiled softly, and pulled the door open, motioning her inside.
She hesitated a moment before stepping inside the cafe, her hands still tucked in her coat pockets. She glanced around the restaurant, searching for familiar faces and was relieved when she found none. Maybe she could relax for a few minutes. As much as possible while she had coffee with a cop.
"How 'bout that booth in the corner?" Bosco nodded his head in the direction of the table.
"Sure. That's fine," she said quietly, not looking at him as she headed for it.
He slid into the booth, and picked up the menu that was on the table. "So you overslept, huh?"
"Yeah." She sat across the table from him, shifting uncomfortably as she shrugged out of her jacket. She hadn't really paid much attention to what she'd dressed in that morning as she rushed to get Charlie ready for school. She'd just grabbed the first thing she'd found, relieved to be wearing jeans and a shirt that covered her chest completely. But the violet short sleeve shirt she wore didn't come close to covering up the bruising on her upper arms.
Bosco noticed how she seemed to be physically uncomfortable. He was just getting ready to ask if she was all right when he saw the bruises on her arms. His eyes widened slightly, and he couldn't help but stare.
She didn't even notice, her gaze darting around the small, somewhat crowded cafe nervously.
"Faith," he whispered. "What the hell happened?"
Her eyes rested on his face. "What?"
"Your arms." He looked up to meet her gaze. "Are you okay?"
Faith cursed herself inwardly, quickly slipping her coat back on. "I'm fine."
His eyes were full of concern. "What happened?"
"Nothing," she said quickly. She looked away from him. "Should I flag down a waitress?"
"Yeah. Sure." He wasn't really interested in coffee or food right now, instead he just wanted to know what was going on. "Who did that to you?"
"No one," she lied, waving her hand in the air and motioning to try and catch the attention of one of the waitresses.
"I know better than that. I'm a cop remember," he whispered as he leaned across the table.
"Yeah. I remember." She didn't look at him, frustrated that no one seemed to be paying attention to her waving.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
She dropped her hand to the table, closing her eyes for a moment. "I'm fine." Her voice was barely audible.
"Would you tell me if you weren't," he asked softly.
"Why wouldn't I be fine?"
"For chrissakes Faith, look at your arms."
"It's no big deal."
Bosco let out a breath, and ran his hand through his hair. "That's what my mother always says."
She stared at him in confusion. "What?"
"My mother...her boyfriends tend to..." His eyes narrowed slightly at the thought. "Well, they all seem to like to hit."
Faith was more than a little surprised by his words. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah." He looked away, and nodded slightly. "I am too."
She shifted in the booth slightly, not sure what to say.
"I just wanna help her, ya know? Keep her safe." He pressed his lips together and shook his head. "But she always says she's fine, that it's no big deal. Then the next time I see her she's all bruised up again." There was a hint of anger to his tone.
She swallowed hard, her gaze lowering to the tabletop. "I'm really sorry." Her voice was soft.
He turned to look at her, almost as if just realizing that she was there. "If I can help you..."
"It's not what you think."
"What is it," he asked softly.
"I'm not even seein' anyone so, it's not like that."
He nodded his head. "Then what happened?"
She folded her arms across her chest uncomfortably. "Some of the customers have a tendency to get a little rough."
His face fell. "This is from work?"
"I handled it."
"That kinda stuff shouldn't be happening."
"Yeah, well. One of the drawbacks of the job." She looked away.
He let out a breath. "Can't you complain?"
"Not if I wanna get paid."
"Damn Faith. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It goes with the territory."
Bosco swallowed hard, remembering when she'd been giving him the massage, and he'd reached out to run his fingers through her hair. "So...is that why you kinda...got upset when I tried to touch you the other night," he asked in a whisper.
Faith shifted uncomfortably again. "I guess."
He closed his eyes. "I'm really sorry about that. I just..."
"Please, just...don't. It's not a big deal."
"Right. You know, we don't even have to talk about work."
"That'd be good."
"So Charlie...how's he? Gawd he was just a baby last time I saw him."
A small smile touched her lips. "He's good. He's a really sweet boy. And he's smart, really smart. He's already readin' fifth grade level books. I think he's some kind of child genius or somethin'." Her eyes sparkled.
He smiled, happy to see the change of expression on Faith's face. "That's great. He takes after his mom when it comes to that stuff I bet."
"No, not at all. I hated to read til I was in high school. No, Charlie takes after his big sister. Emily loves to..." Her voice trailed off.
Bosco frowned. "I'm real sorry 'bout Emily," he whispered.
"Yeah." Her voice was barely audible. She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "She used to read to him for hours. He adored her. They weren't like regular siblings who fought all the time." She stared down at her hands, folded on the tabletop.
"How's he handlin' the fact that she's...gone?"
"He has nightmares. Almost every night. He's gotten in trouble a couple times at school." She rubbed the back of her neck.
He bit his lip, and slowly reached across the table until his fingers were just barely touching her hand. "How are you?"
Faith was silent, motionless for a moment. "I'm all right."
"I'm sure it's really hard," he whispered. He gently ran his index finger along her pinky. "If there's anything I can do...for you or for Charlie. If you just wanna talk..."
She stared down at his hand as he lightly touched her finger, unable to do anything but nod to acknowledge his words.
"I'd like to see him some time," he told her softly, continuing to run his finger over hers. "Maybe he and I could toss a football around or somethin'...I mean, if he likes sports. Cause otherwise..."
"He actually...he likes soccer."
"Yeah? Well, we could all go to the park."
Faith lifted her gaze to his, her expression unreadable.
"If that's okay. Cause I don't wanna interfere if you guys have a routine or somethin'."
She was silent for a moment. "It might be hard to work somethin' out with our schedules. I work a lot."
He nodded his head. "Okay well...maybe we could work somethin' out when I've got a day off?"
"We'll see," she said softly.
Bosco smiled softly, and hooked his finger around hers.
She gazed at him for a moment, then shifted her eyes to the door when she heard the bell above it jingle. Her stomach tightened at the sight of the two familiar men glancing around the cafe. "I gotta go. I'll uh...I'll see you later."
"When," he asked softly as he watched her stand up.
She hesitated a moment, a flicker of fear on her face as the men started in her direction. "Just...come by the bar if you get time."
"Yeah definitely." He nodded his head. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," she murmured. "See you." She quickly headed away from him, stuffing her hands in her pockets as she walked toward the men.
The larger of the two men smirked as Faith got closer to them. "Well well well, look who we have here."
"It's not time yet," she said, her voice quiet as she avoided his eyes.
"We just wanted to come check on you. See how you were doin'," he told her with a smile.
"I'm fine. Thanks for askin'." She headed for the door and bit down on her lip as they followed her.
The other guy rested a hand on her backside, pushing her in front of him, grinning at his friend.
He laughed. "How's that job of yours?"
Faith pulled away as they stepped outside. "It's fine," she said tensely.
He looked her up and down. "I'll say it is."
"What do you want?" Her voice held barely contained hatred.
"The boss just wanted us to check up on you. Make sure you weren't gettin' any stupid ideas about not payin'."
"I'll have the money at the warehouse as soon as my shift is over."
"Guess we'll see you there. Unless of course we decide we wanna stop by for some of that great customer service of yours." He winked.
"Go to hell," she said darkly, turning around and walking away.
"We'll see you there."
She flipped him off over her shoulder, her body tense with anger and fear.
"Oh you did -not- just do that!"
"I think she did."
He smirked. "That's all right. I like chicks with spunk."
"Besides. We can always teach the bitch a lesson about respect when she brings the money." The other man looked at his friend, also smirking.
"Yeah." He nodded his head, and rubbed his hands together. "I love my job."
* * *
Part Three
Bosco strolled into the locker room, and headed for his locker. He was in much better spirits today than he had been since his birthday. Things hadn't gone exactly as he'd hoped they would this morning with Faith, but it wasn't exactly a disaster either.
Davis glanced over at him as he walked in. "Hey. How's it goin'?"
"Good." He nodded his head as he worked on his locker combination.
"Yeah?" There was a hint of surprise to his voice.
He grinned. "She had coffee with me this morning. Well, actually she had to leave abruptly so we never actually got coffee, but things went well."
Davis grinned back. "See? Told you it would work. Coffee is good. Neutral."
He wasn't about to tell Davis that he had to pay twenty bucks just to get her alone so he could ask her out for coffee. He figured that was a little detail that his partner didn't need to know. "Yeah. It was...nice."
"Nice as in she actually talked or nice as in she gave you a free lapdance?" he joked.
"Would you stop jokin' about that stuff?!"
Davis was a little taken aback by his reaction. "Geez. Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."
"Well just stop, okay?"
"Right. Sure." He shook his head slightly and worked on changing clothes.
Bosco took a deep breath, and let it out. "We talked a little about her son. How he likes to read, and how smart he is and stuff." He stopped in the middle of unbuttoning his shirt. "And her face just totally lit up. It was amazing."
"How old did you say her son was?"
"First grade. What's that, like six or somethin'?"
"Yeah, six or seven, depending on how old he was when he started kindergarten. My nephew was six."
There was a small smile on his face as he thought about how Faith's entire demeanor had changed when she'd been talking about her son. How her eyes had been so bright, and full of life.
Davis looked at him silently for a long moment, his partner's smile and far off look not escaping him. "You really do like her."
He looked at his partner, the smile still on his face. "Yeah...I do."
"You guys musta been good friends back in the day."
Bosco grabbed his uniform shirt out of his locker. "We were. People would probably say we were best friends."
"Who was best friends?" Cruz asked as she strolled into the locker room.
"Oh...just me and this uh, guy from the academy."
Davis raised his eyebrows but remained silent.
"Oh." She sounded bored, but walked over to him and pushed him back against the locker, kissing him.
His eyes were open in surprise as she kissed him, and he put his hands on her shoulders. "What are you doin'?"
"Kissin' you. What do you think?" She sounded annoyed.
"In fronta Davis?"
"Oh, please. You tell him everything anyway." She rolled her eyes and headed over to her locker.
Davis had a disapproving look on his face as he shook his head and finished changing clothes.
He turned to look at Cruz. "No I don't."
"Right. So you're comin' over tonight, right?"
Bosco quickly glanced at Davis. "Uh...I'm not sure."
"You're not sure?" she repeated.
"Yeah, it's just...well I'm not feelin' so great," he lied, unsure of what he should say to get out of this.
Cruz frowned. "Oh. Well then stay away from me, cause I don't want to catch whatever you've got."
He nodded his head. "I know it kinda puts a damper on things. Sorry."
"Some other time." She grabbed her badge from her locker. "Have a good tour," she said, heading for the exit.
"Yeah. You too, 'Ritza."
She waved and left the room.
Davis glanced at Bosco for a moment, then closed his locker.
"This is not good," Bosco mumbled as he grabbed his gunbelt.
"I know I've said it before, but I'm gonna say it again. I don't like her."
"Tell me again why I'm involved with her."
"Cause you think with the wrong head?"
"Yeah." He nodded his head, and closed his locker. "That's it."
Davis headed for the door. "So you gonna keep seein' her while you're pursuin' this Faith chick?"
"In case you haven't noticed, I haven't exactly been seein' Cruz since the first night I saw Faith."
"Yeah, but you haven't exactly told her to piss off, either."
"Have you ever tried tellin' her 'no'?"
"Fortunately, my karma has been good and I haven't gotten close enough to her to have to."
"You know, sometimes...when we're alone, Cruz isn't all that bad."
"You realize you're eventually gonna have to choose between them, right?"
Bosco sighed. "Yeah. I know. It's just right now I don't really know a whole lot about Faith, but man, I really like her."
"No kidding. Two days ago you were using the L-word."
He smiled. "She's really somethin'."
Davis grinned, unable to disagree.
"You think it's too soon if I stop by the bar again tonight? Should I wait a day?"
"I don't know. What are your instincts telling ya?"
"They're tellin' me to go tonight. I mean, things went pretty well today." He paused. "And she did tell me to stop by the bar if I got time."
"Well, there's your answer then."
He nodded his head as they walked toward roll call. "Oh, there was one thing that really bothered me though."
"What's that?" Davis asked curiously.
"She's got these bruises on her arms." He grabbed his upper arm indicating where on her arms he was talking about. "Said some of the customers get a little rough."
He stopped walking. "Rough, like...what exactly?"
"Didn't really say anything other than they got rough, and I really don't like the sounds of that. I mean...how exactly do you get rough during a lapdance?"
Davis was silent for a moment. "Unless it went farther than a lapdance."
"Do you think?" He frowned. "I mean...I'm a cop. All she had to do was tell me."
"Yeah, but maybe she didn't want you to know. You said yourself she doesn't seem to trust anyone."
"Davis, she told me it comes with the territory." His voice was soft, and the wheels were starting to turn in his head.
"You think..." His voice trailed off.
He swallowed hard. "They've got beds in the back," he whispered.
"You think she was raped?" he whispered back.
"Gawd Ty, I hope not."
Davis rubbed the back of his neck. "We gotta get in to roll call."
"Yeah." He nodded his head slowly, and followed his partner into the room. This definitely wasn't turning out as he'd hoped.
* * *
Faith dressed quietly as she slowly moved off the bed, not looking at the customer who still lay naked beside her. "Thanks for the tip." She took the money off the table and tucked it inside her bra. It was barely midnight, but she'd managed to finish collecting the money she needed to make the payment later that night.
"Thank you," he told her with a tired smile.
"Sure," she whispered. "You can stay back here as long as you want. I gotta get back to work."
He nodded his head, and reached for his boxers. "I'll see you again some time."
"Yeah. Have a good night." She left the room, closing the door behind her and walking down the short corridor to the main part of the bar.
When Martie saw Faith come out of the back room he moved down toward the end of the bar. He knew she always left her order pad behind the counter, and he always did his best to meet her after she'd been with a customer to see how she was doing. Ever since Faith had been working here he'd known that there was something different about her. She wasn't like the other girls who would leave the bar with a different guy each night. Plus as far as he knew she didn't smoke or drink. She was pretty straight-laced except for the job. "Hey." He smiled softly.
"Hey," she said softly, grateful that Martie was the one working the bar tonight instead of Dennis.
"How ya doin'?"
She shrugged. "Only two more hours til I'm outta here for the night. I'll survive."
"That's good to hear." He looked around. "I'm pretty sure all the tables are covered right now. You want a soda?"
"Yeah, that'd be good. Thanks, Martie."
"No problem. 7UP?"
She nodded and slowly sat down on one of the barstools, leaning her head on her hands for a moment.
Bosco pulled open the door, and headed inside. It had started to rain just before his shift had ended and he was nearly drenched by the time he stepped into the bar. He immediately began to scan the room for Faith as he made his way toward the bar.
Martie grabbed the soda out of the cooler, and turned back to Faith as he unscrewed the cap for her. "Hey, looks like your cop friend is back," he told her softly as he handed her the drink.
She sighed softly. "Yeah. Again."
"He been comin' around a lot lately?"
"Just about every night."
"As a customer," he asked with a raised eyebrow.
She looked down at the bar for a moment. "Depends on the night."
He leaned against the bar. "Whaddya mean?"
"It's a long story," she said softly. "I'll tell ya later."
"Look, Faith, if he's hasslin' you..."
"No, it's not like that. We used to be friends."
"I know, but I'm just sayin' that if you don't want him comin' around...I can talk to him."
"I'll let you know, okay?"
He nodded his head. "Just call me 'big brother Martie'," he told her with a grin.
A small smile touched her lips as she looked at him.
Martie turned his head when he heard a customer calling for him, but before leaving he turned back to Faith. "Remember, I'm always available if you need anything."
"I know. Thanks, big brother." She smiled faintly.
He winked before heading to the other end of the bar.
Bosco gave the man a nod as he sat down on the stool next to Faith. "You on break," he asked softly.
"Not exactly, but...I think I've got a few minutes."
He grabbed a napkin off the bar, and wiped the water that had dripped from his wet hair onto his face. Bosco looked down at the bar as he folded the napkin over. "I just couldn't stay away," he told her quietly.
Faith was quiet for a moment before she reached out and took the napkin from him, gently wiping his cheek off with it. "You look cold."
"It's pourin' out there, and that mixed with how chilly it is in here..."
"You wanna go to one of the rooms in the back? There's more heat back there."
"Is that okay?" He shivered slightly.
"Yeah. Like I said, right now everything's quiet, so..." She slid off the barstool. "Martie? We're goin' in back."
Martie gave her a questioning look.
She simply gave him a nod, letting him know she was all right before heading toward the back of the bar. She nearly reached the connecting door when a familiar figure stepped out of the corner, a grin on his face.
"Hey Faith. We on again for tonight?" He reached out, and put a hand on her hip.
She flinched, pulling away from him. "Later. I got another customer right now."
"Don't take too long. I can hardly wait."
Bosco noticed how Faith pulled away from the man, and he remembered seeing him there the night before. In fact, he was the same guy that Faith was scheduled to see after him.
"Yeah." She avoided his eyes as she pushed the door open.
"Later baby."
She closed her eyes at the words and held the door open for Bosco, leading him into the back.
He turned to look at the other man before stepping into the hallway. "Who was that guy?"
"Just a customer."
"I recognize him from last night."
"Yeah, he's in here a lot."
"Is he the one who did that to your arms," he asked softly.
She unlocked the door to the first available room. "There's a space heater in there. You can turn it on if you want."
"Faith, did he do that to you?"
"Just drop it, okay?"
He stepped into the room. "I'm really havin' a hard time droppin' this one."
Faith didn't respond, simply leaned against the wall for a moment. "You be okay in here by yourself?"
Bosco sighed. "I'd prefer some company."
She closed her eyes, in truth relieved for the short reprieve of her duties. She shut the door, then locked it.
He smiled softly, and went over to turn on the space heater. "So...I was hopin' we could get together again. Sometime soon."
"Sure."
His face lit up, and he turned to look at her. "Really?"
She shrugged. "Yeah. Why not?"
He sat down directly in front of the heater. "What time does your shift usually start?"
"Depends on the night. Sometimes 6, sometimes 7."
"Maybe we could meet for lunch tomorrow?"
She looked down at the floor. Between the payment she had to make in a couple hours and the rent, food and utility bills due in the next two weeks, she knew she couldn't afford to do anything that cost money.
"What's wrong," he asked softly.
"I can't really afford to eat out."
"Shoot! I'm sorry. I didn't even think." He shook his head in disgust.
"It's okay."
"Well...I could buy you lunch, or you could come over to my place and I could make lunch," he suggested.
She hesitated. "I don't know."
"About which one?"
"Either," she answered softly.
He frowned. "So...what should we do?"
"I don't really know." She leaned against the wall tiredly.
Bosco gazed at her for a moment, and then reached up and patted the bed. "Come sit down."
Faith folded her arms across her stomach and reluctantly crossed the room, sinking down onto the mattress a couple feet away from him.
"Can I ask you something," he asked in a whisper.
"Since when do you ask for permission to talk?" She smiled faintly.
He grinned. "It's not often."
"No kidding."
"Well...it's kinda a personal question, so..."
She drew in a breath, waiting.
"I guess I was just kinda curious...with this job, you must make some pretty decent money right?"
Faith tensed slightly. "Yeah. Why?"
He shrugged. "What happens to it," he asked softly.
"Bills," she said without hesitation.
"You got that much in bills?"
"I'm a single mother with two--one kid."
He nodded his head. "I'm sorry. I guess I was just curious cause I'd really like to go out with...meet up with you again, and..."
She looked at the floor. "I think it would probably be best if you forgot you ever saw me."
"I can't do that, Faith." He shook his head. "I...I think about you all the time."
She closed her eyes. "Look. I don't have anything to give you, okay? I don't have time, I don't have money, and I'm not interested in gettin' involved with anyone."
"Faith just give me a chance."
"A chance for what?"
He took a deep breath, and turned his body toward her. "I haven't felt this way in a really long time," he told her softly. "And it started out with me just wantin' to help you, but every time I see you..."
She felt her heart sink. "Please don't...don't finish whatever you're about to say."
"Why not? Why can't I tell you how I feel?"
"Because I can't. There's too much at stake for me to get involved with you or anyone else." She stood up.
"Whaddya mean," he asked quickly as he looked up at her. "What's at stake?"
For a moment she froze, her mind racing at her slip-up. "I just mean that I gotta take care of my son, okay? He needs me and I can't be worryin' about someone else when I should be takin' care of him."
He stood up. "I'm not gonna interfere with you and Charlie. I'd never take you away from your son in any way."
"I'm sorry. I can't." Her voice was barely audible.
There was a sad expression on his face, and his heart felt heavy. He hadn't realized just how much he cared for her until she turned him down.
"I wish things were different, but they're not. They never will be." She slowly walked toward the door.
"Faith," he whispered as he followed her, quickly moving in front of her. "At least let me help somehow."
She shook her head. "You can't."
"There's gotta be something I can do."
"Can you bring my daughter back from the dead? Because that's the only thing that could help me."
Bosco closed his eyes, and his shoulders slumped in defeat. "I wish I could, Faith."
"Me too," she whispered, shifting past him.
"Hey, maybe I can find out who did it."
Faith froze, her body completely tense. "Stay out of it, Bosco." Her voice was hard.
"Somebody needs to pay for what they did."
"Don't get involved."
His eyebrows furrowed. "Do you know," he asked softly.
"Drop it." She unlocked the door.
He quickly reached out, and put his hand on the door to keep her from opening it. "What happened to you Faith? How'd your life end up like this?"
She didn't look at him. "When I figure that out, I'll let you know."
"Why won't you just let me help you?!"
"Maybe your life is simple. But mine's anything but. You can't help me. You're only gonna make things worse if you don't let this go."
"I could take you away from all this. I could make it better."
She gave a short, humorless laugh. "The only thing you're gonna do is end up gettin' yourself killed. Leave me alone, Bosco."
"I can't Faith." He shook his head. "I can't walk away, and leave you here like this. I can't leave you here to get raped by your 'customers'."
"Who the hell said anything about gettin' raped? Jesus, Bosco." She avoided his eyes as she tried to open the door.
"You didn't have to -say- anything, Faith," he spat. "Look at your arms! Nobody gets that rough during a lapdance!"
She flinched.
"Just tell me what happened." His voice was softer, gentler.
"It doesn't matter, okay? I told you before, it goes with the territory. I'm not stupid. I know the risks of this job."
"So you're just gonna let them force themselves on you. You're okay with that?"
"I can handle myself," she said sharply.
"You need the money -that- bad?!"
"Yes."
"I'm sure your kids are real proud."
Without thinking about it, she smacked him across the face.
His head snapped to the side, and he winced.
"Don't -ever- talk about my kids again." Tears stung her eyes and she flung the door open, disappearing down the hallway.
"Faith!" He hurried after her. "Faith wait!"
"I have a job to do. Get the hell away from me."
"I didn't mean that. I'm sorry."
She turned to face him, her eyes angry and full of tears. "Look. I don't know how many times you gotta hear it before it sinks in. Leave me alone. Stay out of my life. You can't help me. Go back to your job and your friends, and save some other damsel in distress."
Bosco shook his head as he walked up to her. Deciding to make a bold move he put his hands on her hips, and kissed her.
To say she was caught off guard by his action would be understating things. For a moment she couldn't react at all. Then her eyes drifted shut.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her a little closer as he caressed her lips with his.
The kiss was more tender than the ones she was used to. There was no forcefulness or demanding behind it. But it was intense. It shook her to her core, her heart beating quickly in her chest.
After a moment he pulled back, and gazed at her. His arms still wrapped around her waist. There was an uncertain, almost frightened look in his eyes.
She gazed back at him, unable to speak. Still breathless. Her eyes weren't frightened, but they were filled with confusion.
"Please don't slap me," he whispered.
His words were almost as unexpected as the kiss and she swallowed hard, feeling guilty for hitting him moments ago.
"I'm sorry I said that before," he told her softly, rubbing her back gently.
"Why are you doin' this to me?" Her voice was barely audible.
"Because I fell in love with you," he whispered.
Faith closed her eyes. "You don't even know me."
"But I remember you." He leaned in to kiss her again.
This time she lifted a hand to his lips to stop him. "No. I'm not that person anymore."
He frowned. "That's why I want to get to know you again. That's why I can't just go away."
She lowered her gaze to the floor for a moment. "You're a good guy, Bosco. I really believe that. But you're gonna have to trust me when I tell you that this isn't what you want."
"Why don't you let me make up my own mind?"
"If you wanna come by sometime and see Charlie, that's okay. But this? Us? It can't happen," she whispered.
"Faith, please."
"I'm sorry," she said softly, tears sparkling in her eyes.
Bosco lifted a hand to her cheek.
"Please. Walk away."
He closed his eyes for a moment, and then kissed her forehead. "I'm gonna leave my number with Martie again," he whispered.
A tear slipped down her cheek. "Don't wait for me to call." Her voice was very soft, just barely audible.
He used his thumb to brush the tear away, and then placed a quick, soft kiss on her lips. "I'll uh...see ya around."
She couldn't answer him and she remained standing in the hallway for a long time after she'd heard his footsteps disappear down the hall and into the main part of the bar.
Bosco walked over to the bar, a somber expression on his face. His cheek stung, and his chest was tight. He leaned against the bar waiting for Martie to come over.
Martie walked over a few moments later, studying the man. "What can I do for ya?"
"I'd like to leave my number for Faith again," he told him softly, barely making eye contact.
He was silent for a moment, then slid a pen across the bar to him.
Like he'd done once before he grabbed a coaster, and wrote his name and number on it. He started to get up to leave, but paused and pulled out his wallet.
Martie was quiet for another minute, then he shifted his gaze to the man lingering by the back door. His eyes narrowed. "You wanna help her?"
He nodded his head as he pulled out the money he'd gotten at the ATM before coming over. "Yeah."
"See that guy standin' over there?"
Bosco slowly turned his head to look then turned back to look at the money in his hand. "The one in the suit?"
"Yeah. His name's Harold. He's a real bastard. Gives the girls around here nothing but trouble."
"What kinda trouble?"
Martie looked at him but didn't respond.
"That how she got the bruises?"
"And it wasn't the first time."
Bosco closed his eyes. "Did he rape her?"
He remained silent again.
"I gotta have somethin' I can charge him with."
"And if there's nothing?"
He let out a breath. "Well I can't really do much other than pick a fight with him," he told him with a humorless chuckle.
"You could drag him out back and put a bullet in his skull. What the bastard deserves," he muttered.
"Excuse me?"
Martie leaned forward on the bar, gazing at him. "He's a real son of a bitch."
Bosco rubbed his forehead. "I'm willing to agree with that after seeing the reaction Faith had when she saw him, but you gotta give me something to go on here. I mean...if I could get one of the girls to tell me that he got too rough, that he assaulted them in some way I could do something about it."
"That'll never happen."
He looked back over at the man, and stared at him for a moment. "I really wanna help."
Just then, Faith stepped out from the back, immediately coming face to face with Harold.
"Hey gorgeous. You ready?"
She swallowed hard, forcing aside her fear and disgust. "Yeah, I guess."
Bosco quickly looked at Martie. "Call her over here."
He didn't hesitate. "Faith!"
Harold frowned, but reached out and ran his hand down Faith's arm. "Tell Martie not to keep you too long."
She pulled away from him. "Sure thing." Her voice was flat, emotionless. She walked over to the bar. "What's up?" She shifted her gaze and saw Bosco standing there. She quickly looked away again.
Bosco grabbed the coaster and pen once more, and added his cell phone number. He then set his money down on the counter. "Martie, any chance any of your waitresses are available?"
A flicker of confusion crossed over Faith's face.
"Possibly. What do you need?"
"Not really sure what I'm lookin' for." He glanced at his watch. "But I need something to keep me occupied until this place shuts down for the night."
Now she was really confused. "What the hell is going on?"
He looked down at the bar. "It's your choice Faith...me or Harold."
Faith wrapped her arms around herself, glancing at Martie with accusing eyes.
"You don't need to put yourself in that position again," Martie said softly.
"Come on Faith. I know you wanted me to leave, but...I can't. Not like this."
There was determination in his voice, in his eyes when he looked at her. She swallowed hard, looked down at the floor. "Fine." Her voice was nearly inaudible.
He nodded his head, and grabbed his money and the coaster off the bar.
She turned away, slowly heading toward the back again, trying to avoid Harold best she could as she walked to the door.
Bosco smirked as he walked past Harold. "Sorry buddy. We weren't done yet."
Harold glared. "I'll wait." He folded his arms across his chest, glaring at Faith as she moved past him.
"Yeah. You do that."
She slowly unlocked and opened the door to the same room they'd come out of only moments before. She stepped inside, slipping the key back into her apron.
He didn't say anything to her, instead he just walked over, and set his money and the coaster on the table before sitting down on the bed.
Faith leaned against the door after she locked it.
Bosco took off his shoes, and stretched out on the bed. "It's been a long night."
She didn't say anything. She simply gazed at him.
"You got what? Like an hour until your shift is over?"
"Hour and a half," she said softly.
He nodded his head. "Well, sit down, lay down. Make yourself comfortable."
Faith stared at him doubtfully.
He scooted over on the bed. "There's plenty of room."
She lowered her gaze to the floor, unsure of why she was so hesitant. It wasn't like she hadn't lain in bed with a hundred different guys in the span of her 29 year lifetime. She slipped her shoes and apron off, resting them on the table before slowly moving over to the bed.
"I got an alarm on my phone. We can set it in case we fall asleep."
"Okay," she said softly. "I gotta be outta here at exactly 2:00 a.m."
He dug his cell out of his pocket. "I'll set it for quarter to two?"
"That'd be good." She carefully sat down on the very edge of the bed.
Bosco nodded, and went about setting the phone. He then set it on the pillow. "You gonna lay down," he asked softly.
Faith hesitated a second, then reluctantly laid down beside him, swallowing hard.
"You warm enough?"
She shook her head slightly, not speaking.
"Do you uh...well, you can move closer if you want," he whispered.
"I'm okay," she answered, wrapping her arms around herself protectively.
"Okay. Well, goodnight."
"Night." She closed her eyes.
He let out a breath, and turned over on his side so he was facing her, though his eyes were closed.
She opened her eyes, gazing at him for a moment, biting down on her lower lip. Then she closed them again, letting herself sink into unconsciousness.