Title: Til Sleep Comes
Author: Demelza
Email: demelza81@yahoo.co.nz
Written: June 2002
Disclaimer: Third Watch does not in any way whatsoever belong to me. It belongs to John Wells, NBC, WB and all other parties that own it. No infringements of these copyrights are intended, and are used here without permission. All original characters are the property of the author.
Category: Bosco & Faith, Angst, Romance, Drama
Spoilers: SLV, Falling
Warning: Rated R, for some swearing, and sexual references
Summary: A shared nightmare after a hellish week late one night brings Bosco and Faith closer together. (shipper fic)
A/N: This is a one off fic I was inspired to write after watching the tear jerker ending of 'Titanic'. Kudos to Kate Winslet and Leonardo Dicaprio for doing an absolutely incredible job in their roles.
A/N2: If this were an actual episode (and I so wish it were), 'When We Recovered' by Toad the Wet Sprocket would be playing in the background in the end scene of the story. Lyrics can be found: http://www.tw-gateway.net/lyrics/
Dedication: To every Bosco and Faith shipper around the Globe. Most especially, Angie and Bee. Thank you both for our many wonderful and inspirational conversations. :) My many thanks, also, to Skye and Angie both for their help with this story.

~

"How'd you sleep last night?" Faith called over to Bosco from where she stood in front of her locker.

"I don't think I did," he replied, yawning.

Silence filled the room as Faith fastened the velcro on her vest and then slipped on her shirt. "Me either. I tossed and turned all night. I think I pissed Fred off."

"He'll get over it."

"I don't know. He was pretty pissed when he came home on his lunch break." She told him, the pitch in her voice lowered.

There was a moment's silence. "You guys have a fight or something?" Bosco asked, sounding concerned as he looked over at his partner.

"Yeah." Faith replied. She closed her locker and walked round to him where he was sitting on the bench, yawning again. "He said I had to sleep on the couch tonight if I was gonna keep him awake."

"Harsh. What'd you say back?"

She shrugged. "Nothing."

"What, you're gonna let him push you around like that?" Bosco asked, a little pissed of himself at what Fred had told her she had to do.

"He's right Boz. He works..."

"And you don't!?"

"It's not like I've never slept on the couch before, I'll be fine." She replied, not looking at him. "Anyway, we'll be late for roll call." She said, directly changing the subject before walking out of the locker room, not leaving him any time to respond.

~

"I can't believe we're stuck in this damn car for the next six hours while Sullivan and Davis get to parade the streets." Bosco moaned, looking at the building on the avenue up ahead from where he and Faith sat in an unmarked squad car. "And what's the point of getting dressed into uniform just to be told, 'Oh, wait, we need you in your civies for a special assignment', five minutes after roll call?" He said, promptly rolling his eyes before looking over at Faith. "You got a headache?" He asked, carefully watching as she rubbed her temples with the forefinger and thumb of her right hand, while her arm was propped up on the door.

Her eyes narrowed momentarily before she turned to him. "No." She stated, looking away again, out her side window.

"Then what's with the head rubbing?"

Faith sighed. "It's a remedy to get rid of this awful ringing in my ears." She replied, her tone sarcastic.

"Then why not rub your ears?" Bosco bit back, his tone just as sarcastic. He was shocked when she immediately shot him a glare and shook her head in his direction. "Why are you suddenly in a bad mood with me?"

Faith stared at him. "Because this is the first assignment we've had in months, and you're bitching like you wish we hadn't got it."

He sighed. "It's not that, Faith. It's just the principal of the fact Swersky completely refused to let us chase after this sick bastard three days ago, and now we're here watching his every move."

"Yeah, well I'm pissed about it too," she replied, sighing softly. "Ringwald's raping and murdering these women in their homes, and we haven't been so much as able to sneeze from a five-hundred metre distance til now. And all because Christopher took matters into his own hands, and punched him in the face."

"Given half a chance, I would've punched that bastard's face in too," Bosco said, his voice low but angered.

Faith looked sideways at him, believing he would have. "Least we're able to catch him now."

Bosco let out another sigh, "I'm surprised Swersky didn't give this assignment to Davis and Sullivan, and send *us* off on foot patrol."

Faith looked at him for a moment, then looked out the side window. "I don't think I could've done foot patrol today."

"Me either," Bosco agreed.

~

The two officers sat in the car for almost another two and a half hours before Davie Ringwald reared his ugly face across the road outside his apartment building.

"There he is," Bosco said, watching as the gruff balding man no taller than about five-foot-four looked all around him before heading left along the avenue.

"Suspect is moving west along Chester," Faith called into the small transmitter attached to the inside collar of the NYPD issue jacket she was wearing.

'All units be advised. Use caution.' Christopher's voice came over the radio in both officers' earplugs.

"Okay, let's move." Bosco said, starting the engine of the car.

"Not until he's in the car," Faith said, putting her hand on his arm. "Wait."

Ringwald seemed to walk back and forth along the footpath several times, as if expecting something to happen, when he then marched over to a red Honda CR-X and climbed in. Momentarily after starting the engine, he peeled out from the footpath and continued his journey west.

Bosco followed at a distance, while Faith called in the mark, model and plate number of Ringwald's car and alerted Swersky and the rest involved in the stakeout that he was on the move.

They followed him for a just about five blocks when Ringwald suddenly spun the car on a 90 degree right angle and went up a side street, the tyres screeched on the road and sent out black smoke as the rubber of the back tyres spun.

"Damn I hate this!" Bosco shouted, turning the steering wheel hard as Faith flicked on the switch to turn on the sirens and grabbed hold of the support bar above the door as their car swerved with a sharp right, and Bosco slammed his foot on the gas pedal, following Ringwald.

The chase went along four more back alleys and across three main roads when Ringwald made a sharp left up ahead of them between two old red brick seven storey apartment buildings. Bosco turned the steering wheel sharp to the left as they approached the turning point, the car slammed into a large blue round rubbish bin, not stopping for more than a split second, Bosco pulled away and aptly followed.

They had almost closed in on Ringwald, when suddenly the Honda slowed right down and Bosco and Faith's car collided into the ass end of it. Both cars came to a screaming halt. Both officer's were about to reach for the doors and open them when Ringwald sped forward about two metres. The white reverse lights appeared on the back of the Honda, only three seconds warning before he started reversing in their direction.

"Oh shit!" Bosco and Faith both shouted as the car impacted into theirs, damaging the rear bumper and front bumper of both cars. "Put it in reverse!" Faith shouted at Bosco.

He quickly put the gear stick into reverse and hurriedly drove backwards a short distance, inadvertently giving Ringwald the chance to speed off. "Damn it!" he muttered, slamming the gear into drive and sped off after the bastard again.

Ringwald was a good ten metres ahead of them and went across the main road on exit of the alley, crossing over into another alley across the road. It was a back alley to a delivery station, they realised, when a big truck reversed in their path.

"Jag-off!" Bosco shouted, slamming his fist into the horn, blaring it loudly. The driver of the truck turned in his seat and gave him the middle finger gesture. Bosco ignored him and knocked the car into reverse again, backing along to the side alley they had passed only moments before. He put the car into drive again and followed the alley, and drove along the back of several buildings and out along to the right again, reaching the main road Ringwald had to have exited onto. But they'd lost him.

"Damn it!" He shouted, bringing the car to a halt just out onto the road, looking around the road frantically for the bastard. He slammed his hand into the steering wheel. "Fuck!"

~

"How in hell can you have lost him, Boscorelli!?" Christopher demanded, pushing the shorter officer backward.

"Hey, don't shove me, *Christopher*!" Bosco replied, about to shove him back when Faith stepped in between the two of them. "Let me at him, Faith." Bosco snarled, glaring at the blonde sergeant in front of them both.

"Just settle down, Boz. It won't solve a thing." Faith told him, then turning her attention toward Christopher. "It wasn't our fault, that truck driver backed in front of us, by the time we got to the street, Ringwald was gone."

Christopher set his jaw. "He can't have just vanished into thin air."

"Then you explain it, jack-ass!" Bosco ordered, anger set in his eyes.

Faith pushed him backward, giving him a stern warning look. She once again turned back to Christopher, making sure to stand in front of Bosco so that he didn't do anything he'd later regret. "What we need, is eyes up in the sky."

Christopher looked at her. "A helicopter? There is no way we can get a helicopter, how we would explain it?"

"Because we're trying to catch a serial rapist and murderer." Lieutenant Swersky's voice reigned in. All three officers looked in his direction. He stepped over to them. "I just called it in, it's on the way."

"You have to let us go up there, Boss." Bosco told him, stepping round to the other side of Faith, away from Christopher.

"You have got to be kidding me! Come on Lieutenant, we need trained specialists up there, not Chandler and Monica." He retorted, motioning toward Bosco and Faith.

"Excuse me!?" Bosco exclaimed, glaring at him, while Faith's eyes narrowed and she shook her head angrily.

"Christopher, shut your trap. I make all final decisions regarding this case, and after your assault on Ringwald, you're losing your seniority for this case more and more by the minute." Swersky informed, before directing his attention to Bosco and Faith.

"We've done training, sir, and you know we're up to it."

Swersky just looked at Bosco, then to Faith, who was giving her partner a frightened look.

~

A single whoosh at each turn of the blades of the helicopter echoed in Bosco's mind. His heart stopped in that single moment of impact for a split few seconds before the burning crashing around him jolted him to the reality that seemed only too real. Like as if it were a dream that he couldn't awake from. The cries of help were stuck in his throat and all he could do was pray to God that someone was coming to rescue him from the certain death that felt so imminent around him.

A voice, a murmur from the pilot as he apologised with his last breath for not being able to prevent the crash. His voice trembled out those few words of 'I'm so sorry' and his head rolled forward. The metal from the front of the helicopter dug deep into his chest, the flame of the candle that held his life blown out.

Another voice and Bosco turned his head to the woman next to him. His partner. The best goddamned partner he ever had. He swallowed, seeing the blood stream down her face, mixed with the tears she was breathlessly crying. Her strawberry blonde hair discoloured and dampened from the blood that came from the wound on the side of her head.

He cried out the words 'I'm sorry' with his blue eyes and she gave a slight smile back to reassure him it wasn't his fault. But his heart burned with sorrow, it had been his fault, it was his fault they were here. Dying. He had been the one to get Swersky to give them the helicopter assignment to find that bastard Ringwald.

"Bosco," she breathed out, taking several quick bursts of air as her shivering body went deep into shock.

"Save your breath," Bosco uttered back in a whisper, his voice scratchy. "W-we're gonna be...oh-kay, Faith." He promised, trying his best to sound sure of those four words.

She looked back at him and more tears streamed down her face, stinging the cuts on her face from the shattered glass that had struck them both in the crash. "I-I guess w-we both knew..." she took in several breaths of air, wincing in pain. "Th-that it w-would come...come to this."

"W-we're not gonna die," he replied, trying to catch his breath with every word. "Y-you're n-not gonna die." He watched as her body started to go into shock more, the cries escaping her lips from the intense pain that was going through her legs and stomach. "Pr-promise me you w-won't die!"

"I-I can't..." she breathed, swallowing as she looked back at him, more tears streaming down her face. "I-I love you, Boz."

He looked back at her, tears stinging his eyes. He swallowed hard, taking in a breath and shook his head. "D-don't do that, d-don't y-you say g-goodbye, Faith." He breathed, trying to grasp onto every ounce of air he could. But his chest hurt too much, it felt like more air was leaving his lungs than there was coming in. "I'm not g-gonna lose you, n-not now."

More tears streamed down Faith's face and Bosco reached his hand over to hold onto hers. He squeezed her hand and refused to let go, not even as the screaming sirens in the distance could be heard. "I won't let you go," he breathed, but Faith's eyes closed and her head slipped backward.

"No!" He cried out, his chest getting heavier as he shook her hand, calling her name. Begging her to wake up. But the last breath had already escaped over her lips and now she was gone. "'No, please God, no...!"

~

Bosco's body jerked and his eyes opened widely. Tears stung his eyes as they streamed down his cheeks. It had been a dream, a bad dream. He let out a breath and wiped away the tears, automatically reaching for the cold beer standing upward by his right leg. He downed a long mouthful of the now warm beverage and automatically wished he hadn't. The drink fizzed in his mouth, and the taste was less than desirable.

He set the bottle down in front of the armchair and sat with his arms resting on his knees, his head resting in his right hand. He couldn't get the images from his mind, nor even the voices, either. It all felt so real, even his chest ached with the same dull pain it had in his dream.

Images of Faith's face flashed in his mind. Sorrow and the most unbearable stabbing pains came over him in hearing his own voice cry out to God to not be taking her from him. His eyes closed momentarily and the feelings flooded over him. He opened his eyes wide, sitting up straight as he tried to push it all away. But it didn't stop those few words echo through in his mind. Faith's soft and trembling voice, 'I-I love you, Boz'. His whole body tensed as he fought off any tears and tried to force that feeling of loss out of his system. It had only been a dream, a very bad dream that wasn't real. It was all fake, mere fabrications of events in the past week. He understood and accepted that, but it didn't help him wonder why she had uttered those words, even though only in his dream.

Bosco sat in the dark on the sofa for what seemed like hours just running the dream through his mind, trying to figure out what it had meant when there was a knock at his door. He blinked, thinking the soft tapping had been part of his imagination when the knocking came again, louder this time. He rose to his feet in a defensive stance and walked over to the door. "Who is it?" He asked, looking watchfully at the door as he waited for a reply.

"It's me." A woman's soft voice came from the other side, one he recognised instantly.

Bosco automatically reached for the deadbolt on the door and unlocked it, then opened the door and found Faith standing there. Without even saying a word, he stepped aside to let her come in. He closed the door behind her as she stepped inside, then walked with her through into the living area, switching on the lamp beside the sofa. "Is everything okay?" He asked, clearing his throat a little.

Faith nodded, digging her hands deeper into the thick navy-blue winter jacket she was wearing. "I ah, I just, couldn't sleep," she said, her voice soft, sad even. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, I was already awake," he said back, motioning for her to take a seat on the sofa. "Are you sure everything's okay?

After they both sat down, Faith sat there for a minute or so not saying anything, not even looking at him. Then, she slowly turned her head and met his eyes. "Yeah. I had a bad dream, and...I just keep thinking about what happened this week." She looked away from him and took in a breath before slowly letting it back out.

Bosco looked back at her, as if knowing what she was thinking. "Nothing we could have done would have changed what happened, Faith. Nothing."

She looked back at him. "I know. But it doesn't stop you from thinking about it. Wishing you could have been able to stop it."

"They went too low near power lines. It was the pilot's fault."

Faith shot him angered eyes. "How can you just talk like that? What if it was us in that helicopter?" She asked, her voice filled with pain.

"But it wasn't!" Bosco replied, raising his voice. "It wasn't us in there!"

"But it should have been!" She said back, her tone showing her pain. She looked away again. "It should've been us. Not Gorde. Not Davidtz. And not Sancho." She didn't say anything else for a moment, before she turned back to him, meeting his gaze.

"It should never have gone down like that, Faith," he said back, shaking his head. "If Lieu had of let us go after him when we first had the chance none of this would have ever happened."

"I know." Faith replied. "But...we got the killer. In the end, we still got the killer."

"Yeah, and at a great cost." He stated.

"Too great."

There was a long silence between them.

"It was the crash, wasn't it?" Bosco asked after a while, looking right at her.

Faith looked back at him, confused. "What?"

"Your dream."

She swallowed. "Yeah." She said, looking away. She closed her eyes momentarily; sudden bursts of images and sounds flooded her mind. The blades of the helicopter whooshing in long slow turns, screams of agony, Bosco begging her to promise not to die on him. 'I-I can't...' she could hear herself tell him back.

Her eyes opened slowly and she could see the same fear and anguish in his eyes that she'd seen in her dream. "I'm so sorry, Bosco," she said in a low voice, a tear flowing down her cheek.

Bosco turned on the sofa, taking Faith's hand in his. "Hey, no, don't cry...you didn't do anything, Faith," he said in a soft voice.

She swallowed, wiping the tears from her face. "I did, I hid the truth, and I didn't promise."

"Promise what?" He asked painfully, never seeing her like this before.

"Promise to never leave..." she told him, more tears flowing effortlessly from her eyes. She closed her eyes, shaking her head once as if to try clear her mind before speaking again. She opened her eyes again, meeting his gaze. "I wanted to, God knows I did, Boz, but I couldn't. I couldn't promise." She cried.

"It's okay Faith, it was only a dream...a very bad dream." Bosco said, clasping his hand over hers, squeezing them tight to assure her everything was okay.

"Was it?" She asked through tears. "I don't know," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"It was." He assured her, but she shook her head.

"After I woke up," she begun, swallowing the tears in her throat as she looked back at him. "I kept thinking about this last year, since the attacks. About the cancer, the surgery...how I never told you...how I was never there for you when you needed me..."

He moved closer to her, wiping the tears from her face. "Yes, you were...you were there for me. And all that other stuff, it doesn't matter any more."

"How can you just forgive me like that?" Faith sniffed, but it didn't stop the tears flowing down her cheeks. She went to wipe them away, not wanting to appear weak when Bosco pulled her hand back down and held it in his hand tightly. "Why, after all the shit I've put you through?"

"Faith, you have been the most honest person in my life, you tell me when I'm at fault, you help build me up when I'm down...we might fight like cats and dogs, but you've been the best thing in my life since the day I met you. And I never want to lose that, Faith. I love you too much to let some little thing come between what you give me in my life every minute of the day."

Faith stared at him. "Bosco..."

Bosco looked back at her, seeing the intense confusion in her eyes. He didn't say anything back, just leaned forward and gently brushed his lips against hers, surprised at the tenderness as she kissed him back. The kiss ended after a moment, and he pulled away just enough to look back at her. "Faith..."

She drew him closer to her and brought her lips to his in another tender embrace. "Don't..." she whispered back to him, her lips moving against his as she spoke. "Just..." she said, searching his eyes before allowing him to capture her lips in his as he leaned closer to her once more.

~

A click, and the answering machine on the bench in the kitchen switched on. 'You know the drill, leave a message after the beep,' Bosco's distant voice mumbled.

"Boscorelli, you and your partner are late for morning shift. You better get this message and get your ass into work." An angered sigh and Sergeant Christopher continued, "And if you see Yokas, give her the same message."

An elusive beep followed and the machine switched off with another loud click, causing Bosco's eyes to open. He blinked a couple times, wondering what message had been left, the thought fading quickly. He was lying flat on his back on the carpeted floor of his living room, throw cover from the sofa covering him. Every access point of his mind felt strangely forgotten, in a serene daze, when he went to move his arm and he suddenly remembered.

Their lips locked, every tender embrace intensifying after the other. He and Faith sat on the sofa, his arms were wrapped around her waist, while one of hers wound around his neck, and the other held the back of his head. He ran both hands firmly down her back, sensual hand movements that caused her to arch Faith's body toward his and a low moan to escape her lips. The vibration went over his lips, sweetly, and he reciprocated with a more intense kiss back.

They silently moved backward on the sofa at Faith's insistence, her hands moving to his chest, while he continued his search of her body. His hands moved over her breasts, down her stomach and to her lips in a continuous caressing motion.

Their lips parted, and Bosco sat up halfway, his intently locked on Faith's as he helped her unbutton the black shirt he wore. As the last button released, she ran her hands lightly over his shoulders and promptly pushed the shirt down his arms, swallowing as he tossed it to the floor. There was no reluctance, no hesitation, as Faith sat up and greeted his lips with hers, one of her hands gently holding the back of his neck as she glided him down against her, bringing them to recline on the sofa once more.

Their lips didn't part again. Not as Bosco helped Faith remove her own blouse, or as he slipped his hands behind her back and unhooked her bra, before helping her remove it, discarding it onto the floor like some trinket that no longer held any use. Choosing to prolong what they both wanted, Bosco slowly brought his hands back up along Faith's spine in circular motions that were intensified with every embrace of their still locked lips.

After another deeper kiss, their lips parted so each could catch their breath. They stared at each other, gaze intense, filled with desire and passion. "Make love to me, Boz..." Faith breathlessly whispered, holding his eyes in her gaze.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yes."

Bosco blinked, holding the moment in his mind and recalling with vivid clarity as he made love to Faith, hearing her voice again as she whispered out his name. It was the first time he'd ever made love to a woman like he had done to Faith. The first time with so much passion that he held inside of him, so much love. Wanting so much to love Faith like he wanted. Like she deserved.

His eyes opened once more as she stirred beside him, her head on his shoulder. He craned his neck and placed a tender kiss on her forehead. "How'd you sleep?"

Faith's eyes opened and she let out a low, happy, sigh. "Good," she whispered, slightly moving as she propped herself up to look back at him from where she lay in his arms. Their eyes locked. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Last night," she smiled.

Bosco reached a hand up and gently caressed her cheek. "You're welcome," he smiled back.

Faith closed her eyes at his touch, "Mmm..." she purred, opening her eyes again with a sweet smile. "You know you're the only other guy I ever..." she begun, but paused as he started to gently run his fingers through her hair. "The things you did, Boz...how you made me feel..." she resigned, looking into his deep blue eyes a moment longer before resting her head on his chest and sighing lightly. "I had no idea it could ever be like that."

"Me either." Bosco silently replied, laying his head back on the cushion beneath him. "I love you, Faith."

Faith smiled and let out a happy sigh. "I love you too." She whispered back, closing her eyes to the world and just lying there in his arms, not wanting the moment to ever end.

T h e E n d