A/N: Sorry this took so long! This chapter is relatively short, but I have a good idea now where this story will go. Now, for the long awaited, much anticipated (I hope) chapter four!

By SirenJunkie

I felt his thumb tracing the top of my hand gingerly, and it calmed me further. In the inky darkness I could hear his breathing slow as he struggled to rein in his panic.

"Bos?"

"Yeah?" He replied, his voice barely above a whisper.

"How you holding up?" I asked gently.

"Well I'm missing a few pints of blood, and you know how I feel about the dark." He stated simply, and I wished I could see his face. There was so much Bosco said with his eyes that he never said aloud. He startled me when he spoke again. "Can I ask you something?"

"Why not. Looks like we'll be here for a while." I answered acerbically.

"What are you afraid of, Faith?"

I had not been expecting a question like that, and it took me a minute before I could even begin to put together an answer. I was afraid of a lot of things, but I wasn't sure how many of them I wanted to tell Bosco in this moment. This was tricky territory, a corner in my mind where I didn't explore unless I had to. I considered for another moment, closed my eyes against the darkness and gave him the first answer that came to my mind.

"That something awful will happen to my children when they leave my sight."

He snorted. "Come on. Every mother is afraid of that. What else?"

"Well apparently someone died and made you the expert on fears, so why don't you tell me?" I returned, voice dripping in my own brand of sarcasm reserved especially for Bosco.

He was silent for a moment, which was unexpected, considering when I gave Bosco that kind of sarcasm he usually gave me a snarky return. He finally answered, "You're afraid of me."

I was thankful for the total blackness in the room, because my jaw actually fell open in shock. Not wanting to give him a hint about the absolute accuracy of his statement, I covered quickly. "You?" I snorted. "Why would I be afraid of you, Bosco?"

"Because after Fred split, you realized we finally had a chance. There's something about you Faith, something you're afraid of that keeps pushing me out of your life." I felt like my body wasn't my own, I could hear a roaring in my ears. It made me uneasy to hear my own thoughts articulated back to me, by the man I had tried so hard to hide them from. He sighed before he finished, "I just wish I knew what it was so I could prove to you…"

He was cut off abruptly as the door flung open, and dim red light from the club outside flooded the room. I quickly dropped Bosco's hand, and inched away from him. Darius stalked into the room and the lights came on in the room. I winced with pain as my eyes tried to adjust to the change.

I felt my eyes go wide with fear when I noticed what Darius carried in his hand. He clutched a small silver blade in one hand and a glass in the other. He squatted down next to Bosco's chair and gave me an evil grin. "Ready to see your friend bleed in front of you, Detective?"

"Don't hurt him any more, you asshole. Take some of mine instead." I said, using my low, commanding tone, trying to keep from pleading.

"No." He replied as he untied one of Bosco's wrists. "I want the one who killed my brother to die first. I also think that I want you to see someone you care about die." With that, he took his blade and dug in deeply into Bosco's already bloodied wrist.

"No!" I yelled hoarsely, and watched with horror as the blade bit much too deep into his flesh. From the way the blood gushed from the wound, I could tell that he'd hit something vital.

Darius chuckled as he positioned his glass, smiling as it filled quickly. I focused on Bosco's face, and although I thought it would be impossible, he was becoming more and more pale as his blood drained from the cut. I knew it wouldn't be long before he bled out, and I started to panic, straining against my bonds. The rope bit into my own wrists in my struggle.

Darius rose, balancing the glass, which was now filled with my partner's blood. I badly wanted to throw up, but swallowed a few times until my nausea passed. Darius glanced at me struggling in my chair, smirked, and slammed the door shut again.

Bosco looked like he was struggling to keep his eyes open, I could tell he was about to lose consciousness. Darius had left his wrists untied, and I knew this was our only chance. I moved my chair closer to his, and got as close to him as I could.

"Bosco." I said firmly. "Bosco. You've got to untie me. We have to get out of here, or we're both dead."

His eyes seemed to register, and to my relief he lifted his good hand to my ropes. It didn't last long, as he plucked half-heartedly at the knots, he didn't have much strength left.

"F…Faith." He whispered. "I. I…can't. S…s..so cold." His head rolled back.

I knew I had seconds before he totally lost consciousness. "Look at me, Bosco. I'm not losing you, Bos. Untie me, so I can save us!" I said, my voice panic-stricken. "I'm scared of losing you, Bos! That's why you have to do this for me. I will NOT lose you again. That is my biggest fear. Don't let it happen, please, Bos. Stay with me."

His eyes lost some of their fogginess, and my heart leapt as his bloody fingers went to work on my ropes.

To be continued…

Reviews always appreciated!