Title: Warning Signs (1/2)

Author: Demelza & X_tremeroswellian

Emails: demelza81@yahoo.co.nz & X_tremeroswellian@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: Still don't belong to us, darn it. They belong to Edward Allen Bernero and John Wells and a bunch of other people that we've never met before. Please don't sue.

Rating: PG-13 for some language

Spoilers: Up through and including "The Unforgiven."

Summary: A dinner with the third watch crew turns out to be nearly disasterous as fights break out between significant others, partners and ex's. Meanwhile, Bosco grows more worried about Faith after a talk with Kim.

Author's Note: This is the eigth story in a series of Third Watch fics we're writing titled "Wherever You Will Go." The first one is "Confessions," the second is "Here With Me," the third is "Pain," the fourth is "Tears," the fifth is "Fear," the sixth is "Sadness," and the seventh is "Reunion." You may want to read those first before continuing.

Previously:

*"He's been kind of...distant," Alex confessed.
"Have you talked to him about it?" Kim asked.
"No! It's just..." She took a deep breath. "When he was in the hospital and I was visiting him, we were talking and I was holding his hand and his mom came in. And he pulled away really quick. I think he's...ashamed of me or something."

*"There was this chick at the bar last night..." he said.
Faith carefully avoided looking at him, made no acknowledgement of the new information. What was she supposed to say?
"We had a great time, just talked for hours, danced, talked some more... then we went back to her place."
Her hands tightened on the steering wheel. "Good for you," she muttered, staring out the windshield.
"Her name was Crystal, a real looker, tall, blonde..."

*"So tell me, Faith. I want to know about your past, about this side of you, that I don't know." She shook her head. "Why?"
"Because you mean that much to me."
Faith shuddered. "You really don't want to know, Bosco...trust me."
When he spoke again, his voice was firm and sure. "Yes, I do. Tell me, Faith... tell me what
was so bad about your past?"
For a split second, looking into his eyes, she considered telling him everything. She swallowed
hard and a wave of panic washed over her. She grabbed the door handle. "I can't. Not now. I'm sorry, Bosco."

*Faith took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Did you get your invitation to the policeman's ball?"
Bosco nodded quickly. "Yeah, mail yesterday. You?"
She nodded. "Yeah, this morning."
"You going?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I don't know. Are you?"
"Maybe. I'm not sure."

*Fred stalked toward the door, glaring at Bosco on the way. "Stay away from her, Bosco. I mean it. Or you'll be sorry."
Bosco followed him with his eyes. "You lay a hand on her again, you'll be the one who's sorry," he warned, his eyes set on Fred.
He turned to look at Bosco. "I didn't touch her," he said, scowling.
B osco didn't reply, just slammed the door shut with a swift movement of his hand.

*."I hate this feud between us, Faith, I...I want you back in my life."
Faith felt tears spring to her eyes. "Me too," she admitted.
Stanley stepped over to her. "I'm so sorry for all the shit I put you through," he said, before taking her in his arms and hugging her.
She hugged him back, closing her eyes tightly. "I'm sorry, too. I've missed you."
He closed his eyes, too, hugging her tightly. "I've missed you too, Faith," he whispered.

*Fred turned around hearing her, deep frown set on his face. "What the hell was that about?"
She shook her head, still feeling angry and disgusted herself. "Hell if I know. Those board members are gonna get an earful Friday night, though."
"Yeah, well you're on your own Friday."
She frowned, confused. "What?"
He let out a breath, hating to have to give his reasons for not being there. "I've decided to take some overtime at work. I work Friday night."

*Faith guided the paramedics back toward the door, glancing over her shoulder to make sure her kids weren't around. She shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.
Kim frowned, confused as to why she was apologizing. "For what?"
Faith looked at her. "For calling you out here for nothing."
"For nothing?" Carlos repeated, anger showing in his voice. "That wasn't 'nothing', Faith. You fainted."

Warning Signs (Part One)

Bosco put his mustang into park and climbed out, gazing up at the overcast sky. He hoped like hell it would clear up; he was sick of all the rain. He closed the door, and cast his eyes around him, watching for any sign of Faith, when he saw her and Fred's truck pull onto the road.

He swallowed hard, feeling like his life was playing out in slow motion as he watched the truck stop only three cars away. Faith looked unhappy as she looked out the side window, while Fred wore a deep scowl. His stomach knotted, and he let out a low breath.

Faith sighed inwardly as she stared out the passenger window of the truck as Fred parked it in front of the precinct. "I'll see you later," she said, reaching for the door handle.

"You're not going yet. We need to talk about this sitter you got," he stated, pulling her arm away from the handle.

She turned to look at him. "What about her?"

"How much?"

"Five dollars an hour."

Fred sighed. "You couldn't find anyone cheaper?"

She gave him a look. "For two kids? Not on this planet."

He looked away. "You could have tried."

"That's a little hard to do on short notice," she said, looking out the window again.

Fred turned back to her again. "Yeah, well."

Faith reached for the door handle again. "I need to go get ready for work."

"Yeah, well with that attitude, I'm glad you're working today," he huffed.

"You and me both," she muttered under her breath.

Fred shook his head, sighing angrily. "You know, I've gone out of my way to be nice to you, look at how you're treating me."

Her hand curled around the door handle. "Yeah, you sure have," she said sarcastically. She opened the door and started to get out of the truck.

"That sofa's uncomfortable you know!" he shouted to her.

She turned to look at him. "Yeah, I do know." She started to close the truck door.

"You better not spend any money on those damn snacks!" he warned, glaring at her.

"Whatever," she muttered, slamming the door and heading away from the truck.

"It'll do you good!" he shouted, winding down her side window from the control panel on his door. "You could stand to lose a few pounds!"

Her face flushed with embarrassment as she saw Sully and Davis standing a few feet away, staring at Fred, then saw Swersky and Christopher standing nearby, also. Christopher was grinning broadly. Thank you so much, Fred, she thought, biting her lip. She didn't turn to see him again, she just hurried toward the building, wanting to get away from him.

Swersky watched as Faith walked past. He felt bad for her. And for the crowd of onlookers that had seemed to gather for the show. He looked around him, his eyes instantly settling on Christopher. "You wipe that grin from your face or I'll suspend you without pay for two weeks," he warned.

Christopher immediately stopped smiling.

"All right, the rest of you, get back to your business!" he said in a loud voice.

Bosco sadly watched Faith as she walked past, her head hung low as she tried to ignore the stares she was receiving from those standing on the street. When she had reached the front doors to the station house, he shot his sight over to Fred. He wore a sly grin as he wound up the window again. Bastard, Bosco thought.

He didn't give him another thought as he looked away and started walking after Faith, glaring at a few of the onlookers as he headed for the front doors.

Faith swung her locker open, the door banging back against the locker next to hers. She pulled her uniform out and stuffed her bag inside. Don't even think about crying, she told herself as she took her jacket off.

The door opened, and Bosco walked in. He silently scanned the room, finding Faith was the only other person in the room besides himself. He contemplated walking over to her, telling her he was sorry for what Fred had done in front of everyone. But another part of him wondered if it was what she wanted to hear, specifically after what Fred had done.

So, he walked over to his locker and quietly unlocked it. He pulled the door open, letting out a breath. He couldn't not say anything, but, he didn't know what to say, either. So he just removed his jacket and shoved it inside the locker while he removed his shirt.

She didn't even have to look to know it was Bosco who walked in. She just knew it was him. She didn't say anything as she quickly changed into her uniform and sat down on the bench to tie her shoes with trembling hands. When she finished, she stood up again. She wouldn't even allow herself to look at him as she walked by him toward the door, still feeling incredibly embarrassed and not wanting to see the pity or the "I-told-you-so" look in his eyes.

Bosco stood up suddenly, dropping the laces of his right shoe as he called to her. "Faith...wait..."

Faith froze in her steps, squeezing her eyes shut. Feeling tense, she waited for him to say whatever it was he was going to say.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice low.

She shook her head slowly. "Don't be," she said quietly. Without another word, she headed for the door again.

"Faith..." he called again. He paused for a moment. "What he did out there...he had no right."

She didn't respond. She walked out the door, passing Sully and Davis on her way out without acknowledging either one of them.

Davis frowned as Yokas walked by without speaking. He looked at Sully, then followed his partner into the locker room. He spotted Bosco getting ready. "She okay?" he asked, nodding toward the door Faith had just left from.

Bosco looked up at him, he didn't say anything as he tied the last loop and set his foot down on the floor. "After what that jag-off did, what do you think?" he asked sarcastically.

Davis looked at Sully again, shrugging off the comment. He turned to open his locker. "He was pretty harsh."

Sully nodded his agreement, but didn't move from where he stood, looking at Bosco. "After all she's been through, that's the last thing she needs," he said, then looked over at Davis.

Davis nodded his agreement, then glanced at Bosco again. "He always like that?" he wondered aloud.

"No," Bosco agreed with Sully, turning to Davis. "Most times, but never as bad as this...he's just got a stick up his ass about something."

Bosco sat behind the steering wheel, one arm propped up on the window ledge, while his other hand gripped the steering wheel. His and Faith's entire shift had been really quiet, and he hated the thought that what had happened between them had caused it. What had happened at the bank, the next day...all of it.

But then he remembered the incident earlier that afternoon when Fred had dropped her off at work. He cursed inwardly, before turning to Faith. She wore a solemn frown and was looking out her side window. "So ah..." he began quietly. "How did Emily and Charlie enjoy McDonalds the other night?" he asked, looking at her a moment longer before returning his gaze to the road.

Faith blinked a couple of times, startled out of her thoughts by Bosco's voice. "Sorry...what?"

He looked at her again, this time more intently. "Emily and Charlie, how did they enjoy McDonald's the other night?"

"Fine..." she answered, her tone distant. Her mind flashed back to the fight with Fred.

//"Look, I made a promise to the kids tonight and I kept it. It was six dollars. I earn more than that in one hour, okay? So once in awhile, taking them out to eat isn't a big deal. Just let it go. "

Fred stared back at her, anger set in his eyes. "Yeah, a promise. That'd be the first one you've kept in the last few years, wouldn't it?" he asked, snarling.//

"They had fun, I think..." she said, trying to shake herself from the memory.

"You think?" he asked, but didn't press her on the question. "What about you?"

She looked at him, confused. "What about me?"

"Did you enjoy the night out? Away from everything, just being with your kids?"

//"Why are you being so down on Dad now? I thought you liked him better than Mom," Charlie said.//

"Yeah...it was great." She turned to look out the window again, feeling tired.

Bosco felt bad. He looked out the windshield again, trying to think of something to say to cheer her up. Then it hit him, and a smile stretched over his face. He turned to her again. "Hey, Sul and Davis extended an invite to dinner for the gang tonight, I forgot to tell you earlier."

She turned to see the hopeful smile on his face and she forced herself to smile, as well. He was trying so hard to get her her mind off everything. "That's great."

His smiled widened. "Yeah, well with everything happening the past months and not really having done it for a while, Kim and Taylor thought it might be a nice idea for everyone to really connect again."

She nodded, kept the smile plastered on her face. "Sounds like a good idea."

Bosco nodded back, looking out the window again, just in time as a Honda CR-X stopped suddenly in front of them. He slammed his foot on the break, blaring the horn. "Jag off!"

She grabbed a hold of the safety bar above the passenger window as she was thrown forward slightly from the sudden stop.

"Moron," he muttered, pulling the car out and passing the jerk in front of them. He shook his head as they went past, but the driver of the car, a little old lady merely gave him the middle finger gesture. "Did you see that!?" he shockingly asked Faith, looking back at the woman.

She stifled a laugh. "Yeah, I saw, Boz."

He just shook his head.

"Morons shouldn't have driver's licenses," she said, grinning for real this time and glancing at him sideways, echoing a phrase he'd once said.

Bosco looked at her, pleased to see a smile on her face. He turned his attention back to the road, sighing with a smile. He'd made her smile, and it made him happy.

"So where's this dinner gonna be, anyway?" she asked.

His brow creased as he thought, he looked sideways at her. "Haggarty's, I think."

Fred's words echoed in her head. //"You better not spend any money on those damn snacks!" he warned, glaring at her. "It'll do you good! You could stand to lose a few pounds!"//

She nodded and looked out the window again, biting her lip.

"Hey, you want me to pull over, get some coffee?" he asked, slowing the car down a little as they approached the diner up ahead.

She immediately started to say yes, thinking that maybe some coffee would help her wake up a bit, but Fred's words rang in her mind again. I don't really need it, she thought. "Nah, I'm good...you can, if you want," she said with a shrug.

Bosco's brow creased again. "Okay," he said, unsure of her reply. He pulled the car in the parking space on the road outside the diner and put it in park. "Are you sure? What about a bite to eat? You haven't had anything to eat the entire shift so far."

She shook her head. "Not hungry. Thanks." She turned her head to look at him. "I'll wait here," she said, giving him a small smile.

He shrugged, but the worry never left his mind as he climbed out of the squad and closed the door behind him. He walked around the car and headed inside the diner, looking back at Faith as he stood in line, waiting to order.

Faith leaned her head against the passenger window and closed her eyes tiredly. Why was she so tired? She'd gotten nearly 12 hours of sleep the night before...it didn't make any sense.

Bosco walked out of the diner a few minutes later behind an old guy who seemed in no hurry to get out of the officer's way. He impatiently waited almost a minute before walking past him and straight over to the squad car. He put the items in his hands on top of the roof, while opening the door, before grabbing the items again and climbing inside of the car. Resting the big bag of fries on his lap, he one handedly pulled the door shut. Sighing.

"Here," he said, turning to Faith. He handed her the second coffee.

She looked at him in surprise, then felt guilty as he handed her the cup of coffee. "You didn't have to do that," she said quietly, looking down at the floorboard of the car.

He half shrugged, taking his own coffee from the dash and taking a mouthful. "Maybe not, but you looked like you needed one."

"Gee, thanks," she said wryly.

Bosco gave her a quick look, feeling bad for the way what he'd said had come out. He had another mouthful of his drink, before setting it on the dash again. He picked up the bag from his lap and opened it, taking in a deep breath of the smell from the garlic seasoned fries that say stuffed inside the bag. He removed one, and placed it in his mouth, enjoying the texture and flavour. "Damn..." he murmured.

She turned away, the smell of the fries permeating the air. Her empty stomach growled lowly and she cringed. Ignore it, she told herself. She took a drink of the coffee, hoping it would satisfy her hunger, as well as her need for caffeine.

"You okay, Yokas?" he asked, mouth full.

Back to using my last name, she observed, feeling sad. "Yep."

Bosco nodded slightly, but didn't believe her. He watched as she had some more of her coffee, the way she held the cup in both hands, how she had her back slightly turned to him...that asshole. "You want half of these fries?" he asked, swallowing what was in his mouth.

Faith shook her head quickly. "No, thanks. I'm good," she lied.

He felt guilty. So without another word, he removed the second bag surrounding the fries and tipped half of them into it. "Here. And I won't take no for an answer," he said calmly, handing her the bag.

"Bosco, I'm really not hungry." She rested her arm on the window and leaned her head against it.

"I told you, Faith, I won't take no for an answer. I want you to have them, please?"

She sighed slightly and took the bag from him, feeling even worse that he was offering her charity food out of pity. "Thanks."

"How are you enjoying them?" he asked, munching on a few of the fries from his own packet, before taking another mouthful of his coffee. Quickly regretting that decision, when the bitter taste of garlic and coffee merged.

"They're great," she said, eating a couple of the fries and leaving the rest in the sack as she gazed out the window.

He looked at her, worried. There was a strange heavy feeling settling in his stomach. "He came to see me, you know," he said, but not really sure that he should have even said anything at all.

"Who?" she asked, distracted as she watched a couple of kids cross the street.

"Fred," he swallowed hard, hating even uttering the name.

She tensed. "Yeah, he told me."

He was taken back by her reply a little. "He did?"

She nodded slightly, not looking at him. "He told me you told him what happened at the bank."

"Like fuck," he said instantly.

"I know you didn't, Bosco," she said, her voice quiet.

"Just what exactly *did* he tell you?"

"That was pretty much it." She took a deep breath and looked over at him. "What did he say?"

Bosco swallowed. "He ah, told me I had to stay away from you."

Faith felt anger flood through her. "He what?"

"He came over demanding to know why we were always at the same place at the same time lately, then he started demanding to know what happened in the bank...I wouldn't tell him, so he told me to stay away from you."

She shook her head and turned to stare out the passenger side window. "I don't believe this," she muttered.

He swallowed again. "I'm sorry, Faith."

"Why? It's not your fault."

He looked away, lightly scratching the lid of his coffee with his finger. "Isn't it?"

She turned to look at him. "No. It's not," she answered softly, feeling guilty again.

"If I hadn't been there...none of this would have happened..."

She frowned. "If you hadn't been where?"

Bosco swallowed, taking in a breath. "The bank. McDonald's."

"Yeah, and if you hadn't been, I'd probably be dead right now." She looked away. "Maybe that would have been the best thing anyway," she added, her voice nearly inaudible.

"What!?" He looked right at her, putting his coffee and bag of fries up on the dash. "Don't you *ever* say that, Faith. Not ever!"

Her heart nearly stopped. He'd heard that? She bit down hard on her lip, continuing to stare out the window.

"You're a one in a million person, Faith....and, you can't say stuff like that, please," he begged, his heart sinking at her words.

She swallowed hard. "Sorry, Boz...didn't get enough sleep last night. I don't even know what I'm saying." She turned to him, forcing a small smile.

He gave a small fake smile back. "I worry about you, that's all. Hearing that....just..."

"I'm sorry. Really. I didn't mean it, Bosco." She shook her head, looked away. "You don't need to worry about me. I'm all right."

He didn't know how else to respond because he didn't believe her.

They were both silent for a moment. She thought quickly, trying to come up with something to tell him, something to say that would kill the akwardness that lay between them now. "Guess who came to see me yesterday?"

He looked over at her, surprised at her sudden change of tone. But surprised in a good way. "Who?"

She smiled slightly, a real one this time. "My brother."

"Wow. That's great!" he replied, smile appearing on his own lips. "So, what did he say?"

"They're moving, closer to us. They're gonna send Ryan to St. Elizabeth's with Em and Charlie. He wants to reconcile."

The smile on his face grew wider. "That's great."

She nodded. "Yeah." She remembered the anger in Fred's tone as he told her that he didn't want her brother anywhere around her or the kids and the smile faded from her face again.

"Fred had something to say about it, though, didn't he?"

She only hesitated a second. "He thought it was great," she lied.

"Why don't I believe you?"

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" she replied, her voice cool.

He had to choose his words carefully. He didn't want to cause any kind of bad air between them. "Just, from what you said last time...with Thanksgiving...and Fred..."

She let out the breath she'd been holding. "Yeah, well...he got over it. He knows how important this is to me." She looked away, wishing like hell her words were the truth and not a lie. She felt guilty for lying to Bosco, but she couldn't keep leaning on him.

"Well, I hope so," he said, his voice lowered.

She swallowed hard, blinking rapidly. "Bosco, I, uh...I have to do something tonight during our shift."

Bosco looked at her, a little worried. "Sure, what is it?"

"I have to go to a school board meeting at 7. At Emily's school."

He nodded. "Sure. What's it for?"

"That kid...we're trying to get him expelled."

He nodded again. "I hope he does. Want me to come in with you? Give them a piece of my mind?"

She smiled. "You sure you wanna go? These things are usually pretty boring."

"Oh I don't care if it's boring, as long as that kid is kicked out."

"I appreciate the support, Boz. Thanks."

"Hey, anytime. Maybe some day when I have kids, you'll do the same."

She looked at him, feeling a stab of pain at the thought of him marrying, having kids, leaving her behind. "Count on it," she said softly, looking away.

Kim sat down on one of the beds in the upstairs of the firehouse. She had worked the last shift with Carlos because Doc and Alex had both had the day off. She was working with Alex again that day, though. Surprisingly, working with Carlos hadn't been as bad as she'd thought it would be. He wasn't the same person he'd been a couple years ago when he'd first started there. She had a feeling a lot of that had to do with his baby daughter.

She pushed all thoughts of him out of her head as she laid down for a minute, staring up at the ceiling and letting her mind wander to the day before. An image of Faith Yokas flashed in front of her and she frowned. She'd known Faith a long time--though not well, but well enough--and she just had this nagging feeling that something wasn't right.

Over by his locker, Carlos took in a deep breath, slowly letting it back out. "You okay, Kim?" he asked, not looking at his colleauge as he opened his locker.

She sat up, startled by his sudden presence. "Yeah, I'm fine. Ready for dinner," she added with a slight smile.

"You sure? You've been kinda quiet today," he said, stuffing his uniform shirt into the locker as he removed his jacket. He turned to her, as if waiting for some kind of reply.

She looked down. "I've just been thinking. About Faith Yokas."

He felt a sudden sombreness come over himself, too. "Yeah, me too. You think she's gonna be okay?"

"I don't know. Do you?"

"I hope so. I really do."

She frowned slightly. "I wonder what's going on with her."

Carlos sat down on the edge of his cot. He shrugged slightly. "I don't know, but whatever it is, it's...I think it's got to do with that bank heist."

Kim looked at him. "Yeah? What makes you say that?"

He looked straight at her. "Because she was like that when I treated her when she came out. She just didn't seem like herself."

"That was a week ago...what could have happened in there that has her so upset?" she wondered aloud.

He shrugged again. "I don't know, but whatever it is, it has her shaken pretty bad. I'm just glad Bosco was in there, you know? Who knows what kind of state she would have been in if not for him."

Kim shook her head slightly. "Let's just hope *he* knows what's going on with her. Maybe he can shake her out of it."

"Let's hope so," he replied.

She glanced over at him. "How's Kylie?"

A wide smile appeared on his face. "Good, she's great."

"Yeah?" She smiled back, seeing the way his eyes lit up at the mention of her name. "I'm glad to hear it."

Carlos smiled more. "You haven't seen her in a while, though...do you, I dunno, want to come over sometime soon and see her?"

She looked at him, a bit surprised. "Yeah, that sounds great. Thanks."

"Great."

She smiled at him. "You ready to head to Haggerty's?"

He looked back at his locker, which he hadn't realised he'd already closed, before turning back to her. "Born ready." He grinned.

Kim laughed and shook her head as she stood up. She patted him on the shoulder as she headed toward the stairs. "Let's go."

Carlos was a little surprised by her gesture, but put his hand gently over hers, smiling up at her. "Yeah, let's go eat. I'm starved." He laughed, standing up.

Bosco and Faith had just entered the precinct, he wore a slight scowl from the meeting at the school they'd just attended. "Those board members are nothing but snooty men and women in suits who need to get the carrots outta their asses," he commented, glancing over at Faith momentarily before continuing. "Nothing but stuffy shirted snoots."

"Tell me about it," she muttered. "Did you know that none of those people even have kids that go to St. Elizabeth's?"

"They what?" he asked, shooting her a shocked look. "It's typical though, isn't it?"

She nodded her agreement. "Very." Just then she caught sight of Lt. Swersky headed toward them.

Swersky nodded to them. "Glad I ran into you two."

Bosco looked ahead, seeing Swersky. "Why, what's up, Boss?"

Faith looked at him curiously.

"I just thought you should know that Jamie Walters made bail a couple hours ago."

Her eyes widened slightly. "Yeah?"

"She did? How?"

Swersky nodded. "Well, apparently the judge felt that she wasn't to blame for the hostage situation. That she was forced into it by her boyfriend."

Faith nodded her agreement.

"Well, we know that. But, it still doesn't really explain it..."

Swersky glanced at Faith, then at Bosco, his eyebrows furrowing. "Well, your partner may have had a little to do with it, as well, but I'll let her tell you the details. I've got to go, I have a meeting."

Bosco nodded. "Okay Boss." He turned and looked at Faith, curious as to what she'd said to make the judge change his mind.

Swersky walked off down the hallway.

Faith noticed the look on Bosco's face and she shrugged. "I testified on her behalf."

"You did?" he asked, kinda shocked even still.

She nodded, glancing down at the floor. "Yeah."

"Don't hate me for asking, but why?"

Faith looked up and met his eyes. "Because...she was in a bad place and she needed help."

"Oh," he replied, not really sure what else to say.

She looked away. "I know you're probably upset."

"No, I'm not upset, it's just...I didn't think you'd do it. That's all."

"Why not?" she asked, feeling surprised.

He shrugged slightly. "I dunno, after all you went through in there...I didn't think...but I was wrong. Sorry."

She shook her head. "Bosco, it's over. I'm past it...and don't apologize."

He nodded. "Sorry."

She sighed lightly. "Let's get outta here."

"Yeah, let's blow this joint..."

Bosco had just pulled the squad into the parking space outside Haggarty's when he noticed Adam 55-3, Boy 55-3, and 55-Charlie's vehicles also parked in the parking lot. He climbed out of the car and waited for Faith a moment, before they walked up to the main entrance to the bar. He opened the door for Faith, and waited as she stepped inside, before walking in behind her. There was loud music playing on the Juke Box, where Alex stood alone, dancing solo to a song he couldn't make out the words of from the laughter of Sully and Davis over at one of the tables.

Faith hesitated a moment, not sure she wanted to be there right then.

Kim looked up from her seat across from Carlos and waved at Faith and Bosco as they came inside the bar.

Bosco turned to her when he noticed she'd slowed a bit. "It's okay, we don't even have to stay for dessert or anything," he said.

She glanced at him. "I'm okay," she told him.

He nodded, not saying anything else, when he noticed Kim waving over at them. "Come on, there's Kim and Carlos," he said back to Faith as he started over to the paramedics.

She swallowed hard, remembering the disapproval in Carlos's voice from the day before when she refused to go to the hospital. //Oh, God...what if they say something to Bosco?// She froze, her eyes locked on Kim.

Carlos noticed Faith's hesitation, and gently nudged Kim with his elbow, nodding over at her.

Kim looked across the room at Faith and offered her what she hoped to be a reassuring smile, feeling worried at the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on the police woman's face.

Bosco seemed to noticed the nudging and the looks and turned back to Faith. "Faith?"

Her gaze went from Kim and Carlos to Bosco, her heart pounding quickly. What do I do? She gave him a shaky smile and headed toward the table wordlessly.

Not sure what to do, but knowing something was wrong, Bosco followed Faith over to the table and sat down beside her. A frown was imprinted on his brow from the concern for his partner.

"How are you feeling?" he asked Faith, his tone of concern.

She looked at him, her eyes pleading for him not to say anything about the day before. "I'm good, thanks. How are you?"

His eyes squinted slightly, then he looked between her and Bosco. He quickly realized she hadn't told him. He nodded, swallowing. "I'm good."

Kim looked across the table at Faith, then glanced over at Carlos, quickly reaching the same conclusion as he had. She hadn't told Bosco what happened the day before. That can't be good, she thought. She glanced at Faith and Bosco. "Doc's on his way."

"Good. Wait, why isn't he here with Taylor?" Bosco asked, confused.

She shrugged. "Said he had a call to make before he joined us."

Bosco nodded. "Right."

Davis glanced over at them, just noticing that Faith and Bosco had arrived. "Hey," he said, nodding in their direction.

Carlos stood up from the table. "What do you guys want to drink?" he asked both Bosco and Faith, then looked over at Kim.

"Hey man!" Bosco said back to Davis with a nod. He turned back to Carlos. "Orange juice, thanks."

"Just water for me, thanks," Faith answered.

"How's the shift going for you two?" Davis asked.

Bosco shrugged slightly. "Good, couple of guys gave us the run around at the start, but it's been good otherwise."

"What about you, Kim? What do you want to drink?" Carlos asked her.

She looked up at him, surprised he was volunteering to get the drinks. "Um...a pepsi. Thanks."

He smiled, before heading over to the bar.

Bosco followed him questioningly, then shook his head slightly and turned his attention back to Davis. "What about you and Sul?"

"It's been slow. Not much going on today, I guess."

Carlos came back with the drinks and handed Faith hers first, then Bosco his, before walking back around to where he and Kim sat and handed Kim hers. "There you go," he said, smiling as he sat down.

"Thanks," she said to Carlos. Faith looked down at the tabletop, unable to rid herself of the nervous anxiety eating at her.

"Thanks, Carlos," Kim said, with a smile.

"Like they said," Bosco told him.

Davis turned his head to watch Alex dancing by the jukebox. He kept his gaze on her as he took a drink of his root beer.

Over by the jukebox, Alex was still moving to the same song she had when Bosco and Faith had came in. She didn't realize they were even there until the music stopped, and she stopped dancing. Feeling a little embarassed from the audience she seemed to have, she walked over to the table where Ty and Sully were seated and joined them, somewhat reluctantly, though, as she avoided eye contact with Ty.

Sully seemed to notice something was up between them, especially for the fact how Ty had been trying not to talk about his girlfriend all day the last two days. He didn't say anything though, just had some of his coffee.

Davis frowned as Alex avoided looking at him, and he wondered what was going on with her.

Kim glanced at Carlos, nudging him slightly. "Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise," she said, her voice low enough so only he could hear her.

Carlos looked at Kim momentarily, then over at Ty and Alex. He frowned slightly, before turning back to her. "Yeah, they've hardly been seeing each other lately, it's kind of not like them."

She nodded in agreement but remained quiet.

Just then, Doc came over."Sorry I'm late," he said to no one in particular, as he pulled up a seat next to Carlos.

"Why, what happened, do you know?" Bosco asked Carlos with interest.

"Hey man," Carlos said to Doc.

"Hey, Doc," Faith said.

"Doc," Bosco said, but didn't really mean it as he waited for his answer.

"I don't know. They just, seemed to have lost their spark," Carlos commented.

Faith glanced from Bosco, to Kim and Carlos, then down the table at Alex and Davis, wondering what she'd missed.

Kim frowned. "Maybe they just need to talk."

"Well, they fought last night after 'talking', didn't do them any good."

"You realize we can hear you, right?" Davis asked, shooting a glance down at the far end of the table.

Doc glanced around. "Everyone ready to order? I'm hungry."

"Yep, I'm ready to order. Boy am I hungry," Kim said, embarrassed at Davis's remark.

Bosco nodded. "Me too. So what are we having?"

"Good question. I'll flag down the waitress, get her to bring us some menus." Doc stood up and waved over the pretty blond waitress across the room.

Sully just seemed to sit at the far end of the table, a concerned look on his face as he looked over at Alex. She was frowning deeply, and it made him feel down inside about his own recent reunion with his wife.

The waitress, a petite woman in her mid-twenties, walked over and smiled at everyone, her gaze settling on Bosco. She smiled more widely. "What can I get for you?" she asked sweetly.

Kim glanced up at her. "Menus would be good."

Bosco smiled back at the waitress. "What do you recommend?"

Carlos sat over at the other side of the table, shaking his head.

"Well, anything hot here is great," she said with a grin.

Faith swallowed hard and stared at the tabletop.

Kim glanced from Bosco to Carlos, noting the disgust on her colleague's face. She reached out and put her hand on his arm for a brief second. "Don't worry about it," she said quietly.

"Really?" Bosco asked, wetting his lips slightly. "Well...what about some burgers?"

Carlos looked at Kim from her touch, giving a very small smile back in response.

The waitress leaned toward him slightly. "Yeah, those are good, too." She winked at him.

Doc rolled his eyes.

Faith clenched onto her water glass, her knuckles turning white.

"How about, you just give us the damn menus?" Alex demanded, looking down at the table.

The waitress looked at her, startled by the anger in her voice. "Sure. Coming right up." She hurried away.

Davis looked at her, taken aback by her tone of voice. "You okay?"

Alex shrugged slightly. "Fine. Just starved, if Bosco wasn't flirting with that damn waitress, our food would have been here by now," she muttered.

Kim glanced down the table at her partner, frowning slightly. What's with everyone today? she wondered.

Sully eyed Alex with concern again. Remaing quiet still.

Davis shook his head slightly and leaned back in his chair.

"Excuse me," Faith said quietly, not looking at anyone as she stood up and headed away from the table.

"Hey, you okay...?" Bosco asked after Faith as she went.

She glared at him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Would you stop asking me that like every five seconds? I just have to go to the bathroom. That all right with you?" she demanded.

"Geez, sorry I said anything," he said back, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at the tabletop. Kinda pissed at her tone.

She turned and headed away, ignoring his reaction completely.

Kim shook her head and glanced at Carlos.

Carlos looked back at Kim, shaking his head. "Hey, you want to eat at the bar instead?"

Doc looked between them, surprised at Carlos's suggestion.

Kim was surprised as well. "I just wish I knew what was going on with everyone."

Sully mumbled something at his end of the table and got up, walking to the men's room at the far end of the bar.

"Me too," Carlos admitted.

Bosco didn't say anything, he just frowned.

Kim looked across the table at Bosco, then down the table at Alex and Davis. "All right, it's obvious we're having some problems here, but can we just set them aside for an hour and eat, please?"

Bosco rolled his eyes.

Alex didn't say anything back to Kim's comment, she just rose from her seat and headed to the ladies room.

Kim sat back in her chair and sighed. "I'm starting to think this whole thing was a bad idea."

"Couldn't agree more."

"You still wanna go sit at the bar?"

Nodding, Carlos stood up. "Better than being in depressingville," he said, looking at her sideways for a moment, before making his way to the bar.

She stood up and followed him wordlessly.

Doc stared after them, trying to figure out when they'd become such good friends.

Faith washed her hands quickly and splashed some cold water on her face. She was about to head back out to the table when her cell phone rang. She quickly reached for it and pressed the 'on' button."Hello?"

"Where the hell have you been? I've been trying to get a hold of you the last hour."

She leaned back against the wall. "I don't leave the phone on while I'm working. You know that. "

"And what if it had of been some kind of emergency?"

"I check it periodically, Fred."

"It doesn't really serve the point then, does it? To have a damn cellular if it's never on!"

"What do you want?" Faith asked wearily, already tired of the conversation.

"I wanted to know what happened at the board meeting."

"It's still pending. They haven't made any decision yet. It'll probably be awhile."

Fred sighed angrily on the other end of the line. "See why the hell I'm glad I didn't go and waste my time at some stupid meeting?"

Faith didn't reply to his remark. "Are you still at work?"

"Yes. I told you I was working late tonight!"

"Yeah, well, I thought you may have gotten off early." Forgive me for thinking.

"You don't have to take that tone with me, you know."

She pressed a hand to her forehead and rubbed her temple as her head started to pound. "Sorry. I've got a headache."

"Yeah, well." He sighed with anger again. "What time are you getting off?"

"Usual time if nothing happens."

"Good. I don't want that sitter there any longer than she needs to be. I've got an extra couple of hours added on to my shift, so I'll be home later tonight."

"All right." She waited, hoping he was done talking.

"What are you doing? Anyway, that has your phone turned on?"

"Dinner break."

There was a moment's silence. "I thought I damn well told you you weren't to be spending extra money? Did I not explain myself clearly last night!?"

"It's not extra money, Fred. I have to eat dinner," she pointed out.

"And at who's expense? Mine! I gave you that damn budget, you were supposed to follow it."

"Well, maybe you'd rather me just pass out in the middle of my shift and lose even more money, or get shot because I'm too hungry to pay attention to what I'm doing!" she snapped angrily.

"Hey, don't get angry at me, Faith! You could have made a sandwich at home and taken it with you, you don't need to be wasting my money!"

"Your money?" she repeated in disbelief. "*Our* money, Fred. Not yours. *Ours*."

"You know I'm trying to work with you here, Faith! Trying to work this marriage with you! But sometimes I wonder what the hell I saw in you!" he shouted with bitterness, slamming the phone down.

Faith pulled the phone away from her ear. He'd just hung up on her! She stared down at it for a moment in disbelief, then quickly dialed his work number. It was busy. "God damn it!" she said, turning and kicking the door to one of the bathroom stalls. It flew back and clattered against the wall of the stall, echoing loudly. She leaned back against the wall and started to cry.

Just then, the door to the restroom opened, and Alex walked in. She walked straight over to the basin and went to turn the tap on, when she heard crying from behind her. She quickly turned around, to see Faith slumped against the wall, crying. "Oh my god, Faith...what's wrong?" she asked, hurrying over to the officer.

Faith jumped, startled at the sudden appearance of the other woman. Think, Faith. She shook her head, forcing a smile on her face. "It's stupid," she said with a fake, short laugh.

Alex knelt down beside her, putting her hand on Faith's shoulder. "When a woman cries, it's never stupid...what happened?"

"My cell phone died," she answered, shaking her head, hoping Alex would buy it. "I was talking to Fred on the phone and we got cut off and I didn't get to tell him about the school board meeting..."

Alex nodded, slightly biting her lower lip. "That's no reason to cry though, hon..." she said, a slight smile forming on her lips. "There's a phone just outside the door behind us, you can call him back."

She forced another laugh, and shook her head. "Yeah, see? Told you it was stupid." She took a deep breath and stood up. "Guess I'm just a little over-stressed," she said with a small smile.

Alex stood up with her, worried about the state of her colleague. "Have you thought about taking some extra time off?"

Faith shook her head. "Nah, I just had a few days off...I'll be okay," she said, trying to sound confident.

Alex nodded. "I'm sure the Lieutenant won't mind if you took some more."

She felt her defenses rise. "I'm okay," she said again, her voice a bit cold this time.

Alex could hear the tone in the officer's voice changing, so she backed off. She walked over to the basin and ran some cool water, splashing it over her face before turning the tape off and drying her hands and face with a paper towel.

Faith took a deep breath, trying to quell her emotions. She watched Alex for a moment. "Are you okay?" she asked, frowning slightly.

Alex nodded, turning back to Faith. "Yeah. I guess," she replied, trying to sound sure of her own words. But she just looked downcast, and slightly shook her head.

"Okay. Because you seem upset."

She looked up at Faith again. "It's Davis, that's all."

She nodded. "I figured. Don't all our problems seem to be with men?"

"Ever have Fred pull his hand away from yours just after his mother walked into the room?"

Faith stared at her. "Davis did that?"

She nodded, silently.

"Well, have you talked to him about it?"

"How? Every time I see him I get this sinking feeling in my stomach, and the words...I'm not angry, just confused, upset...why would he do that?"

"I don't know, but..." She hesitated. "I've worked with Davis for awhile now, and he's...a pretty good guy. Maybe you should just ask him." She shrugged.

Alex simply looked back at her. She was right, she should just ask.

Mistaking the other women's silence for resentment, she decided to butt out. "Sorry, it's probably none of my business. I shouldn't have said anything." She started toward the door.

"No. Thank you, Faith," she said, still standing where she was as she called after Faith.

Faith turned slightly and nodded. "Sure." She turned and left the room.

Faith headed back over to the main table. She was halfway across the room when she stopped suddenly, staring at Bosco for a long moment. A wave of guilt washed over her. Had she really snapped at him like that? She cringed as she recalled her words. She sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Then she walked over and sat down in her seat, hoping no one could tell she'd been crying.

Bosco didn't say anything as Faith sat down, he just kept his eyes down at the other end of the table as he listened to the conversation between Sully, Davis and Doc. However boring it was.

She took a drink of her water and frowned when she realized Kim and Carlos weren't there anymore. She glanced around the room and spotted them sitting together at the bar. She frowned, wondering what had happened while she was gone. She turned to look at Bosco, who was listening to the conversation at the other end of the table. When he didn't look at her, she bit her lip, swallowing hard. He's ignoring me...gee, Faith, I wonder why, you idiot.

"Where's that damn waitress go to?" Sully asked, frowning as he looked about the bar.

Doc looked around. "Good question."

Alex walked out of the bathroom a moment later, and sat down in the seat previously occupied by Carlos, she didn't feel like sitting next to Davis.

Davis stared down the table at her.

"What's with you two tonight?" Bosco asked, finally saying something. He looked over at Alex.

Davis shrugged. "I'd love to know that, too."

"Nothing," she replied, not saying anything else as she stared down at the table.

"Right," Davis muttered. He turned and motioned to the waitress, who was flirting with some guy in the corner.

"If this takes any longer, we'd be better off going to get some KFC," Sully said grumpily.

Faith stared down at the menu in front of her, glancing at the prices rather than the food.

"Yeah, you would, Sul," Bosco remarked.

The blond waitress walked over and smiled exclusively at Bosco. "So what can I get for ya?"

Bosco smiled up at her. "I'll take the Wednesday special, thanks."

She jotted it down, winking at him. She turned her gaze to Alex, her smile fading a bit. "And you?"

"I'll just have a club sandwich, chicken, please. Without the mayo."

The waitress nodded, then looked at Faith. "You?"

She hesitated for a moment. "A lettuce salad."

Bosco looked over at her, eyebrow arched.

The waitress glanced down the table. "And you boys?"

"I'll have the roast beef, tossed salad, tomato soup, and a bread roll, please," Sully said, looking up from the menu in his hands.

"I'll have a double cheese burger with extra tomato, and a large order of fries."

"Why don't you just order everything?" Alex muttered, rolling her eyes.

Davis stood up abruptly and walked to the other end of the table where Alex was sitting. "All right, let's go outside," he said calmly.

Alex kept her gaze firmly on the table. "I'm fine where I am, thanks."

"Fine, then we can have this out in front of all our friends and the rest of the nice customers here, if that's what you want."

A few people turned to stare at them.

Alex sighed, it wasn't what she wanted, so she stood up from her seat. She didn't even look at him once as she walked around the table and headed out of the bar. Great, always like you, Ty, to make a scene of everything.

Bosco watched as they left. "Great, there goes two more."

Faith turned to look at him, only looking at him for a second before turning her gaze to the table. "What does that mean?"

Bosco let out a breath in slight frustration. "Carlos and Kim have already gone..now Davis and Taylor. Give it time, Doc and Sullivan will leave too."

She took a sip of her water, gripping the glass a bit tighter as a wave of dizziness hit her without warning.

"And there I thought this dinner was supposed to bring every one together," he said, looking at Faith again, watching as she took a sip of her water. "You feeling better now?"

She nodded slightly, gripping the edge of the table nonchalantly. "Yeah."

"Good," he said back, his voice lowered.

When the room stopped spinning she took a deep breath and looked at him, her voice dropping. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For yelling at you before. I'm sorry, Bosco." She shook her head, feeling guilty.

He nodded, smiling slightly. "It's okay, I shouldn't ask if you're okay every five seconds. I'm sorry about that, I was just worried."

She looked down at the table, feeling even worse. "I know you were. I'm sorry," she said again.

Bosco put his hand over hers. " Don't be, please. It's not your fault."

"Yeah, you're right. It was the other person that has control over the things I say and do," she said wryly.

Bosco's brow creased and a smile etched over his face. A wider one than before. "Eh, it's only because you have a conscience, that's all."

"Or I'm just a bitch."

He shrugged slightly. "Could be that."

She smacked his arm. "Thanks a lot," she said, rolling her eyes.

Bosco laughed as he rubbed his arm. "My pleasure." He grinned.

She just shook her head.

Davis followed Alex out the door and looked at her. "What's going on with you? Are you pissed at me for something?"

Alex turned her back on him, slightly shaking her head. "What would give you that impression?" she asked, pitch of sarcasm present.

"Well, gee. I don't know," he replied, his tone just as sarcastic.

She turned to him, a dull ache in her chest. "What's going on with me, Ty, isn't as important as what's going on with you."

He stared at her, now totally confused. "What?" he asked, frowning.

"At the hospital, when your mother came in..."

His mind flashed back to the moment and he knew instantly what she was referring to and what this whole thing was about. He let out a breath. "I'm sorry about that, Al. I just hadn't told my mom about us, yet. That's all."

She shook her head slightly. "So then we could have told her, together."

He gave her a look. "I'd just been shot. I wanted to wait until we could all sit down and have dinner together or something so we could do that."

Alex looked up at him, searching his eyes. "Well why didn't you tell me?"

Davis looked down at the sidewalk. "I wasn't even sure you'd want to..." he said quietly.

A small smile appeared on her lips, a smile at how he'd think that after all the months they'd been together. "Are you kidding me, of course I would have...Ty, I love you, and of course I would have wanted to meet your mother."

Davis jerked his head up to look at her, his eyes widening. "You love me?"

She smiled again, not even thinking twice about the three little words she'd just said. "Yes."

He sighed with relief. "I love you, too," he said, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Really?" she asked back, not sure why she was so shocked to hear him say those words back.

He nodded. "Really...I just didn't think you felt the same." He shook his head. "Man, we both need to learn to work on our communication skills, don't we?"

Alex smiled again, laughing a little. "Yeah, I think we do," she said, walking up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. She smiled up at him, sighing slightly. "Do we really have to go back in there?" she asked softly.

He smiled, pulling her closer. "Nope. But there is something I need to ask you," he said, his voice serious.

Alex frowned slightly. "What's that?"

"There's an event tomorrow night...the policeman's ball...and...I want you to be my date," he said, hopefully, gazing down at her.

Alex couldn't believe her ears, shock, amazement, joy. She smiled widely. "Oh, Ty, I'd love to!"

He smiled broadly. "Great. Because if you look this beautiful right now...I can't wait to see how you look all dressed up."

"Wait, I have to dress up?" she asked, giving her best impression of hating that idea. She shook her head and smiled up at him. "Just let me know what time you'll be picking me up, and I'll be ready."

"I love you," he said softly, leaning down to kiss her.

"I love you, too," she whispered, kissing him back.

Go to Part 2

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