In the Light
A/N: Found this fic in my computer and realized I had never posted it on this site. Merry Christmas to all the TW fans.
Disclaimers: Don't own them. Don't make any money off them. Just enjoy borrowing them for my own personal pleasure.
Summary: Bosco has a spiritual experience. Yeah, you read right. Enjoy.
TW~TW~TW
"5-5 David to central. We are in pursuit of the armed robbery suspect. We are travelling eastbound on 84th. Suspect is wearing a blue t-shirt and khaki shorts," Faith shouts into her radio to update central.
"Get out-of-the-way, jag-off!" I scream at the motorist in the red Nissan blocking my way. "Can't you see the lights and hear the sirens - MOVE," I yell impatiently.
I really want to nail this perp. He's been wreaking havoc robbing convenience stores in the neighbourhood for the past three weeks. I try to keep my eye on him but I have my hands full trying to avoid the cars on the road.
The radio crackles to life. "5-5 Charlie, responding to pursuit of armed robbery suspect. Approaching from 102nd," says Sully.
Faith grabs the dash with one hand and wraps her other hand around the seatbelt strapped across her as I weave my way around the cars in the street. We lurch from side to side as I try to manoeuvre around all the idiots blocking my path.
"Pull over there," she instructs by pointing to her right. "He just ran into that alley. 5-5 David to central, we are pursuing the suspect in an alley on 84th between River and King," she radios in.
I park the RMP across the alley. We both jump out at the same time and run to the entrance but find it deserted. I motion to Faith to block off the other end while I stay on this side. She nods, pulls out her gun and jogs around the corner.
I draw my weapon and cautiously make my way into the alley without waiting for Faith. I search behind garbage cans and containers and I check the doorways. I'm about a quarter of the way into the alley but there's no sign of him - so far.
I look to see if he's climbed up the fire escape and as I do the sunlight catches my eye. It looks different today almost like it's cascading down between the rooftops. It flickers off the metal and the glass like a million dancing fireflies. The sight mesmerizes me and I dumbly stand there and stare at it. I have never seen anything like this before. I wonder how something so beautiful can touch this ugly, grimy alley?
I shake my head and look back down. "What's wrong with you Bosco? You're chasing a suspect, not looking for art."
But, I can't stop myself from looking back up. The light…it has a hold on me so that I don't want to tear myself away from it. I'm staring up at the sky in wonderment when I feel the world slow down. It physically slows right down. The air quiets and the light surrounds everything and softens all the hard edges. The ugliness of the alley disappears as everything begins to glow.
Suddenly, my vision narrows and in the blink of an eye the world rushes towards me and into my brain and I no longer feel my body, or my self.
'Breathe Bosco, breathe.' I remind myself because I'm so overwhelmed at this moment that I'm not sure if I'm still breathing.
In the tiniest sliver of a second, a frenzy of feelings and images flash through my brain and I can feel everything in the universe. But more than that, I have become every atom in the universe and every cell in my body is invaded by an unbelievable feeling of…joy. It's so strong that it overpowers me.
The light surrounds me, and fills me with happiness. I feel it all the way to my bones. I've never felt this happy before and I realize that I probably never will again. All I know is that I don't want this moment to end even though my senses are about to explode.
The sound of my breathing brings me back to the now. Eventually a calm comes over me and my heartbeat slows until I no longer hear the blood coursing through my veins. Although I feel intensely alive, the sensation of the moment fades and I begin to see my surroundings again.
I realize I'm in an alley but I don't remember what I'm supposed to be doing. All I know is I feel unbelievably happy.
I remember Faith. I have to tell Faith. I turn to look for her but all I see is a pipe rushing towards my head and I can't put my arms up in time to stop it.
TW~TW~TW
I peer into the alley as I reach the other end but see no sign of the suspect or Bosco.
"Bosco," I whisper into the radio. I wait for a reply. Nothing. I take another peek into the alley and inch my way into it. I hold my gun out in front of me and keep my back to the wall. I wait and listen. I grab my radio again.
"Bosco." The radio beeps and I wait for the incoming message.
"5-5 Charlie to central, we are on scene at the alley on 84th."
I release the breath I was holding and look back to see 55 Charlie pulling up behind me. I hold my position while they approach. I speak to Sully who's now standing right behind me, but I keep my eyes trained on the alley.
"The suspect ran in from the other end. Bosco was waiting for me to come around to this side. There's no sign of either of them now."
"Okay, let's check out the alley," Sully says to both Ty and me. I cover Sully as he moves forward and searches behind a dumpster. Ty motions for me to move out and ahead of him as he covers both of us. We continue searching until we get to the other end of the alley.
No sign of Bosco.
I grab my radio again and call out to him, "Bosco, where are you?"
Sully looks around worriedly and then walks towards our RMP. "I'll call it in," he says. I nod and follow Sully. Ty continues to keep his eyes on the alley. I hate this. How could he disappear so quickly? This was just a routine chase with a routine suspect in a routine ally.
"We'll find him, Faith." Ty offers as I walk by him.
"I know we will," I say more to encourage myself than anything else. I look around and notice the civilians across the street stopping to look to their left. I pass Sully as he stops at the RMP and opens the door to get in. Then, we hear what sounds like trash cans being pushed over. The sound doesn't come from the alley but from around the corner. I jog out to see Bosco stumbling around as civilians try to hold him up. They see me and immediately motion for me to hurry.
"Sully, Ty, this way. He's here." But I don't wait for them. Bosco has his back to me and there are about four people trying to help him.
As I approach on the run, I can hear the civilians speaking to him," Officer, you have to sit down…you need help…here comes another officer…"
"Bosco?" I grab his arm as he's being held up and he turns to face me. Blood is running down his face. He's got a deep gash above his right eye and his nose is bleeding profusely. He stumbles forward and I try to stop him with the help of the others. His uniform is covered in blood and I worry that it's coming from some other wound. I grab Bosco from behind as his knees buckle and he slumps forward. Luckily, the civilians keep him from falling and hitting his head on the sidewalk.
"Bosco," I call out to him but he's almost dead weight. "Let's lay him down," I instruct them. We gently turn him onto his back and lay him on the sidewalk. He's semi-conscious and I start to pull open his uniform to check under his vest for any other wounds. "Bosco, can you hear me? Bosco, what happened?" I'm relieved to find no other source for the blood on his shirt. Bosco's head lolls from one side to the other almost as if he can't support its weight. He hands and fingers spasm weakly and the fact that he doesn't respond to his name worries me. Sully and Davis arrive and view the scene in front of them.
Sully calls into his radio, "5-5 Charlie to central, we require a bus forthwith at this location, officer down. I repeat officer down." He turns to face the crowd. "Did anybody see what happened?"
"He came out of that alley looking like that," says a young kid pointing at Bosco's head. "He fell down there," gesturing to the wall by the grocery store. I notice the bloodstains where the boy is pointing. "Then he gets up and walks away. Can you believe that? Look at him."
Ty removes Bosco's gun belt and notices the gun is missing. "Sully." Ty holds up the belt so Sully can see the missing weapon. Sully asks the crowd about it but no one volunteers any information.
Bosco tries to sit up. "Bosco, lie back. It's okay." His eyes don't focus on me and he starts coughing, probably the blood running down the back of his throat. I struggle to remove his vest and then place it behind his head. Bosco's hands keep grabbing for something to help pull himself up and I try to hold them down but he's surprisingly strong.
Ty intercedes and leans over him. "Bosco, you gotta stay down." He holds Bosco's shoulders and keeps talking to him gently. "Bosco – Bosco, look at me." Bosco's movements start to slow down and Ty's words begin to get through to him. "That's it Bosco. Just relax. The bus is on its way. " Ty smiles at him and I feel better when I see recognition in Bosco eyes as he smiles back.
"All right folks, let's give them some space. Sully starts to move the crowd back a few feet and questions them on what they saw.
I look back down at Bosco. The cut above his eye is deep, his eye is swelling and bruises are forming all around the right side of his face. He must have been hit pretty hard and I wonder how he managed to remain conscious. I try to slow the bleeding from his nose with a couple of tissues but I have a feeling his nose and possibly his cheekbone are fractured.
"Bosco, can you hear me?" I ask but he still doesn't respond.
Bosco coughs some blood and Ty lifts his head a little. "You're okay Bosco. I got you."
Bosco shuts his eyes but reaches out and grabs Ty's shirtsleeve as if to bring him closer.
"He's…he's here… with you." Bosco sputters and his eyes continue to open and close as if in slow motion, his words are slurred but understandable although neither Ty nor myself have any idea what he's talking about.
"Who's here?" I ask Bosco. I want to keep him talking, but I have the feeling his answers aren't going to make much sense.
Bosco opens his eyes and stares right at Ty. "He's watching his tiger cub."
I wasn't expecting that and I snort trying to hold back a nervous laugh. "Bosco, have you been watching those animal shows again." I look up at Ty and see the crease in his forehead as he scrunches his face with concern.
"What did you say?" Ty asks Bosco in a serious tone.
Bosco ignores him and lets his head drop towards me and asks, "Am I here?"
"Yeah Bosco, you're right here." I look up at Ty again but he's staring down at Bosco with a questioning look on his face.
I don't notice Sully approaching and he startles me as he leans over my shoulder to look down at Bosco. "How's he doing?"
"Oh…I think his nose is broken and he seems pretty out of it right now. Did you get anything from them." I jerk my head back to motion the bystanders a few feet away. Bosco reaches up towards Sully with a blood stained hand. I grab it and bring it down gently but he continues to push it up.
"Nah, nobody seems to know what happened to the suspect. All they saw was Bosco coming out of the alley." Sully stands up and looks around at the crowd.
"You're… in… the way." We all look down at Bosco as he points to Sully.
"What are you looking at, huh Bosco?" I ask as I wipe away the blood dripping into his eyes.
"You're in the…" he doesn't finish before he starts to cough again. Ty lifts his head up slightly to help Bosco.
"Bosco, I'll move over here. Is that okay?" Sully shifts over behind Ty. Bosco's arm drops limply to his side and his face relaxes. I follow his line of vision over my shoulder but I can't figure out what he's looking at. I dab at the blood around his eyes and he remains motionless so I think he may have passed out.
"Faith?" he asks but his eyes remain closed.
I feel a small sense of relief wash over me when he calls my name. He recognizes me. "Yeah Bosco."
"Can you feel me?"
I squeeze his hand. "Of course, I can feel you Bosco. You're right here." He's definitely not making any sense.
"I'm not here anymore," he mumbles.
"Where are you Bosco?" asks Ty. When Bosco doesn't respond he leans in closer. "Bosco, what did you say before?" Ty asks with urgency while he searches Bosco's face for a clue to the answer.
Bosco looks up at Ty and smiles and whispers something neither Sully nor I can hear. Ty gets up suddenly, walks a few steps and leans against the wall.
Sully looks over his shoulder towards Ty. "Davis, you okay?" Davis pushes himself away from the wall and walks around like an athlete shaking off an injury.
"I'm alright. I'm okay," he mutters.
I feel Bosco tugging at my sleeve. "Don't let them take… it away from me."
"Don't worry about your gun, Bosco. We'll find it." I can see how much it's taking for him to talk and I don't know how much longer he'll be able to hang on.
"The light…" he whispers. I shift over to block out the sunlight from his sight. I imagine it's hurting his eyes.
"No." he moans. "Don't let them take… the light." His hand reaches up to me and he tries to push me away weakly.
"Bosco, you're not making any sense. Do you remember what happened?" I ask.
He nods his head slowly as a smile works its way along his lips. "I'm so happy, " he says contentedly. He stares up at me and I swear I see something different in his eyes. He does look happy. Then he flashes me an impish grin and says, "Faith…you are so beautiful."
I hear Sully laughing and I look up to stare him down. "This isn't funny, Sully. I'm worried about him."
"Sul… " Bosco smiles at Sully with the same goofy look on his face.
"Bosco, I hope you're not gonna tell me you love me too." Sully chuckles, looks up at me and gives me an apologetic shrug when he sees the look on my face.
"No… she does…" Bosco's voice trails off as he closes his eyes.
Sully smiles and gives me a wink to let me know he's just trying to keep Bosco talking. "What, Faith loves me? I think she's already spoken for."
"Sul…she wants you to know…you have to know… that her love is still as deep as the ocean." Bosco says softly.
"She does, huh? Well I'm sure it is," replies Sully. Bosco shakes his head slightly and looks somewhat upset as if Sully didn't understand. He reaches his hand up and grabs Sully by the wrist.
"No…you have to remember…that day…that day by the ocean. She wants you to remember what she told you as you walked on the beach. You have to know…she's still like the ocean…" I look up to see an unsmiling Sully nodding down at Bosco. Bosco relaxes his grip on Sully and closes his eyes. He continues to mutter, "she was so beautiful…don't hate her…"
"Sully, what the hell is he talking about?" But Sully just shakes his head as he looks away from me but not before I see the pain in his eyes.
This is getting too weird. Both Sully and Davis look like they've seen ghosts and Bosco seems to be speaking a language only they can understand. I'm brought back to reality by Bosco's moaning. I lift his head and place my jacket behind it. He's still swallowing blood from his nose. He suddenly shuts his eyes tightly and reaches out to steady himself. I hope he's not going to throw up.
"Bosco, take it easy. Just breathe. You'll be okay." He breathes deeply as he clenches his teeth but this just causes him to choke and cough out blood.
He tries to turn towards Sully. "Sully…don't be scared…Sully…you're hurting her," he manages to say between gasps. He reaches up and wraps his arms around himself to ease the pain. Sully snaps out of his trance suddenly as he hears Bosco's groans.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He says sincerely but almost as if he's speaking to someone else.
Bosco continues to groan and arches slightly from the pain. "Sul…don't be scared…don't hate her…you're hurting her…" He twists slightly as if to roll on to his side. I place my hand on his shoulder to keep him on his back.
"Sully!" I yell out. "Sully, damn it, do something." He looks up at me with concerned filled eyes and then looks down at Bosco.
"Bosco – Bosco," he yells out in a panicked voice. "I'm not scared, see? I'm not scared."
Bosco swallows hard and nods half-heartedly. "Don't hate her," he implores of Sully.
"I won't. I won't, Bosco," Sully reassures him. And then, almost as an after thought, he whispers, "I never could."
Bosco relaxes at sound of these words and his arms lay limply on his chest as his breathing slows. Sully places a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Just take it easy Bosco...everything's going to be okay...you're okay."
Sully looks at me and his eyes reflect the same unanswered questions he sees in mine.
That was four weeks ago.
Bosco spent a few days in the hospital and he didn't even complain or try to escape. He was different, changed, and almost angelic. He saw the good in everyone and even managed to soften up nurse Proctor.
He didn't really talk much about what happened, he claimed he didn't remember. But whatever happened, whatever he saw, had changed him.
Sully and Davis sort of kept their distance at first. I think they were afraid of him. Bosco broke the ice when he called them to come visit him and he thanked them for what they had done. It wasn't like Bosco to officially thank anyone, but he put both of them at ease instantly and they felt comfortable around him again.
Bosco didn't even mind the ribbing back at the house on his first day back and despite that, he made sure to personally thank the paramedics and firefighters that were on the scene that night and all the officers that stopped by to check on him.
No one really knew what to make of the 'new' Bosco. Everyone joked how the blow to the head had knocked some sense into him. It didn't phase Bosco one bit. He laughed right along with them.
One day he walked into the locker looking down. I asked him what was wrong because it wasn't like him to be unhappy lately. He just said something to the effect that he didn't feel the happiness in his bones any longer. I looked around and everyone else had heard it too but it wasn't unusual for Bosco to talk this type of mumbo jumbo now and no one gave it a second thought.
Shortly after, he reverted to his old, loud mouth self again and you may think I'm crazy but I was grateful because I missed the old Bosco.
But every once and a while, I'd catch him looking up at the sky, or sunning himself in the RMP and that goofy smile would come across his face and for a brief moment he'd look as happy as he was that day in the alley. And that makes me smile too.
The end.