Title: The Rules of the Game (3/?)
Author: X_tremeroswellian
Email: X_tremeroswellian@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Only in my dreams do I actually own anything. All are property of Edward Allen Bernero and John Wells.
Rating: PG-13 for language, violence and sexual content
Spoilers: Up through and including "233 Days."
Summary: Bosco and Faith find themselves in a predicament in which they can use only their instincts to survive.
Distribution: My site Only Time, 55-HQ, and fanfiction.net. Others, just ask and I'll probably say yes.
Category: Story
Subcategories: Action/adventure/thriller/suspense/romance/friendship/drama/angst...does that narrow it down too much? *wink wink*
Feedback: Makes me write faster.
Author's Note: I sort of got this idea from a third season episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But just for the very general plot idea. The rest came out of my own messed up mind. :)
Dedication: For Dem and Bree
The Rules of the Game (Part Three)
Faith woke up first. Sunlight was streaming down through the treetops and giving the forest an almost enchanting appearance. She sat up slowly and glanced over at Bosco, who was still sleeping. He was snoring lightly. She couldn't help but smile. His hair was all disheveled and a leaf was sticking to one of his cheeks. She covered her mouth to supress a chuckle, not wanting to wake him.
She leaned back against the trunk of the tree she'd slept under. Her muscles ached from laying on the hard ground and it reminded her of why she and Stanley had used their tent sparingly as kids. She looked around, trying to figure out how they were going to find their way out of the woods.
Her stomach growled and she wished that there was a McDonalds around because one of their cinnamon buns sounded really great at the moment. Obviously that's out of the question, she thought, frowning. But they were going to have to do *something* for food.
She pushed away all thoughts of eating because it was only making her hungrier. She found herself thinking about her kids. She wondered what they were doing, wondered if they were worried about her.
Faith pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them. She wondered what Fred had told them. Did they think she'd abandoned them? The thought sickened her.
Beside her, Bosco began to stir. He opened his eyes, squinting against the light filtering down on him. He looked over at her, yawning.
She smiled faintly as she reached over and pulled the leaf off his face and held it up for him to see.
He groaned and struggled to sit up. "How'd you sleep?" he asked, his voice rough.
"Not so much," she confessed.
"Yeah, me either," he grumbled, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. Then he winced and rested his head on his hand.
"You still have a headache?" Faith asked, concerned.
"Yeah."
She scooted closer to him. "Let me see."
He leaned forward, ducking his head so she could take a look.
She gently brushed aside the hair, wincing as her thumb felt the lump on the back of his head. "Sorry," she said instantly.
"For what?"
"That didn't hurt?"
"No. Was is supposed to?"
"No. I'm trying to be careful."
"I know. I trust you," Bosco told her.
She smiled and studied the wound for another moment.
"Am I gonna live?" he joked.
"I think so. But you'v got a nasty bruise. I wish I had some aspirin or something to give you for the headache."
"You could always kiss it and make it better," Bosco said with a broad grin.
Faith returned the smile. Then, to his surprise, she leaned closer and very gently brushed her lips against the spot. She pulled away to look at him. "Better?"
He stared at her. "Yeah," he said, swallowing hard.
She looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed, not sure why she'd felt compelled to take him up on that suggestion.
"So, uh...maybe we should try to find something to eat. I'm starving."
"Yeah, me too," she said quickly.
He nodded and they both stood up. "Maybe if we're lucky, there'll be an International House of Pancakes somewhere around here."
She snorted. "Yeah. One with a Holiday Inn right next door."
The hallways of the 55th Precinct house were eerily silent as Sully walked slowly toward the conference room.
Davis was sitting on the bench outside, his arms resting on his legs, a grim look on his face He looked up as his partner approached. "Any news?"
Sully sighed and sat down beside him. "I was gonna ask you the same thing."
They sat in silence for several long moments.
"You think they're still alive?" Davis asked, swallowing hard.
"God, I hope so," Sully replied, his voice low.
"Me too."
The door to the conference room opened a moment later and they both stood up, looking at Sgt. Christopher and Lt. Swersky.
"Sullivan, Davis," Swersky said, motioning them into the room.
The partners exchanged a look, then Davis followed Sully into the conference room, where they both sat down at the table.
"Any word on Bosco and Yokas?" Sully asked, already knowing what the answer would be.
"Nothing," Christopher responded.
Swersky shook his head, staring out the window at the street below. "We have every precinct in New York City on the lookout for them."
"If they're not found by tomorrow morning, we're calling in the FBI," Christopher informed them.
Sully nodded, sitting back in his chair, a deep frown on his face.
"I don't understand this," Swersky muttered.
Davis glanced at Sully, then at the lieutenant. "Lieu?"
"I don't understand how two New York City police officers can go missing and no one in this city has any idea what happened to them!" Swersky turned around, a mixture of anger and worry on his face.
"It's like they vanished," Christopher said, shaking his head.
"No one vanishes into thin air," Swersky snapped, glaring at him. "Somewhere in this city, someone knows something. And we're gonna find that person with information, and then we're gonna use it to track down Yokas and Boscorelli. And we're gonna bring them home," he finished, determined.
Sully and Davis exchanged another look, both praying that he was right.
"I'm hot. And my feet are killing me," Bosco complained, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand as he walked beside Faith.
"Yeah, well I'm not kissing your feet, Bosco, so you can forget it."
He grinned, but as he was about to reply, his gaze fell upon a bush a few feet away A bush loaded with wild blue berries. "Tell me I'm not seeing things."
Faith followed his line of sight and her eyes widened. "If you're seeing things, then I am too."
"Thank God," he said, sighing with relief as they moved faster toward the berry bush. "I'm starving." He took another step toward the bush, when suddenly he was yanked backward roughly. The force caused him to stumble back into Faith, who quickly reached out and steadied him. He glared at her. "What the hell was that for?"
She pulled him back another step, then nodded toward the ground in front of the bush. "Bosco, look."
He turned to see what she was looking at. There, underneath a pile of dead leaves, was a glint of something large and metallic. The glare left his face. "What is that?"
"I don't know, but you almost stepped on it," she informed him.
Bosco glanced around, then picked up stick that was lying by his feet. He cautiously poked at the metal, moving some of the leaves around with the stick.
A loud, wooshing sound filled the air, followed by a metallic clang that made his ears ring. Leaves scattered, then settled again a moment later.
"Jesus," Bosco said under his breath, staring down at the contraption.
"What the hell is that?" Faith demanded.
"A bear trap."
"It looks like some kind of medieval torture device," she muttered, her eyes locked on the sharp metal teeth that had snapped the stick in half.
They knelt down beside it. "I've seen these before. When I was in training for the Rangers," he told her, running his free hand on the metal surface. "They're dangerous as hell."
"No kidding."
"I don't understand why someone would set this unless--" A thought dawned on him. "Oh, shit." Bosco looked at her.
"Unless there are bears in these woods?" Faith guessed, glancing around nervously.
He nodded, swallowing hard.
She forced a smile. "Well, at least the only bears in New York State are black bears. I mean, they're better than grizzlies."
Bosco gazed at her. "Assuming we're in New York at all."
The smile froze on her face. "What?"
"We went into that factory at 9:00 at night. When we woke up, we were here and it was daytime. We have no idea where we are. We could be just about anywhere."
Faith stared at him, realizing he was right. "Damn it," she muttered, closing her eyes.
They were both silent for a moment.
She opened her eyes again, her gaze focusing on the sharp teeth of the snapped trap. "Hey, Bosco?"
"Yeah?"
Faith looked down at the handcuffs binding them together, then at the trap again. "You know how to reset this thing?"
He looked at her, then down at the handcuffs, his eyes widening. "I think between the two of us we can figure it out."
It took them several long minutes to determine how the trap could be opened and reset. When they had done it, they arranged it so the chain between the cuffs was draped over the teeth on the bottom of the trap, while they kept their hands back out of the way.
"You ready?" he asked her, picking up another stick from the ground.
Faith nodded and looked away, grimacing.
Bosco swallowed hard and poked at the trap with the stick, flinching when the jaws snapped shut once again. He looked down and saw Faith pull her hand away, half the chain dangling from her side of the cuffs, the other dangling from his own. "It worked!" he said with an excited grin.
"Looks like," she answered, smiling wryly as she rubbed her wrist gingerly around the bracelet of the cuff.
Bosco rose to his feet. "My partner is a genius!" he said as he reached down and helped her up, pulling her into a celebratory hug.
"I could've told you that," Faith joked, hugging him back.
His smile widened. He stepped back away from her and turned to the berry bush. He moved past the trap, plucking a handful of blueberries and popping them into his mouth, closing his eyes as he savored the taste.
Faith knelt down next to him and did the same, eating quickly.
"You know something?"
"What's that?"
"I don't even like blueberries, but these are the best damned ones I've ever had," he told her, stuffing another handful into his mouth.
She smiled, raising an eyebrow. "That's because you're so hungry it doesn't matter that you wouldn't normally eat them."
Bosco nodded his agreement. "You know something else?"
She glanced at him, waiting.
"I think we're gonna make it out of here just fine. I mean, look at us. This is our second day here--wherever here is--and we've managed to break ourselves out of handcuffs and find food to eat. I think we're doing good."
"You realize you just jinxed us, right?"
Bosco looked at her. "You always gotta be so negative?"
Faith shrugged. "Every time you say we're doing good or that it's a good day before the day is over, something always happens to reverse our luck."
He just shook his head.
"I'm just saying that now's not a good time to let our guards down," she said, gazing at him intently.
Bosco met her gaze, then nodded slowly, knowing she was right. They would have to be careful, even more so than usual. "We're gonna make it out of this, Faith."
Faith managed a small smile. "I hope you're right."
"God, it's hot." Bosco wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his shirt sleeve as they traipsed through the woods. "And I'm hungry again."
"It's starting to get dark. It should cool off soon," Faith said tiredly.
"Maybe we should think about stopping for the night."
"Yeah, that's probably a good..." Her voice trailed off and she stopped walking, her head turned to the side.
"Faith?"
"You hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"That sound."
Bosco stopped, listened. "I don't hear anything."
"No, it sounds like..." Without finishing her sentence, she turned and walked away.
Sighing, he followed her.
After a few minutes, Bosco found himself standing behind her on the banks of a river.
Faith turned and grinned at him. "And we have water."
He grinned back. "Thank God." Bosco quickly shrugged out of the long sleeve shirt he was wearing, then yanked his T-shirt off over his head. He felt her staring at him as he reached to unbutton his jeans. "What?"
"What are you doing?"
"Going for a swim."
"Yeah, but why are you getting undressed?"
Bosco gave her look. "What? You want me to walk around in wet clothes all day?" he asked, undoing his zipper.
"Well, no, but..."
Bosco slid his jeans off and headed for the water.
"Bosco, are you sure it's safe to go in?" she asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
He shrugged, giving her a half-grin over his shoulder. "Guess I'll find out." Without further hesitation, he waded into the water until he was in waist deep. He sighed as the temperature of the river cooled him down. He ducked his head under, then turned and saw Faith standing in the same place. "You coming?"
"I don't know," she said doubtfully.
"Come on, the water feels great," he told her, grinning.
Faith hesitated for another moment, then slid her shoes off. After another moment's hesitation, she unbuttoned her jeans and slowly stepped out of them.
He swallowed hard and averted his eyes as she pulled off her shirt and began to wade into the water. It's not like she was naked or he had never seen her undressing in the locker room before. He had, plenty of times. But somehow he'd never allowed himself to look at her. They worked together, they were partners, friends, it was against the rules. He respected her.
His gaze drifted back to her as she moved through the water. He swallowed hard again. But how had he worked with her for so long and never noticed how beautiful she was?
Faith smiled at him. "You were right. This feels great."
He smiled back weakly, feeling guilty. //I'm such a jerk.//
She moved closer to him and his heart pounded a little faster. "Hey, Bosco?"
"Uh...yeah?"
"Do you remember a few years ago when that guy Williams was robbing stores and putting the money in plastic bags and tossing them in the river?"
He nodded, frowning.
"Remember how when we chased him, he jumped in the water and you didn't want to get all wet so you made me go after him instead?" Faith was right in front of him now, her face the picture of innocence.
He nodded again, his eyes locked on hers, unable to look away.
"Hey, Boz?" she asked, her voice soft.
"Yeah?"
"It's payback time."
Before he could even comprehend what she'd said, she dunked him underwater.
He came up, wiping the water out of his eyes. She was laughing at him. He narrowed his eyes and without giving her a chance to react, he reached out and grabbed her shoulders.
"Bosco, no," she protested, her eyes wide.
He grinned. "You know what they say. Do unto others..." Bosco dunked her.
She came back up a few seconds later, choking on water.
The smile instantly left his face. He quickly wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her as she tried to breathe. "Shit, Faith, I am so sorry. Are you all right?"
Faith nodded her head, but continued coughing, covering her mouth with one hand. She took a few deep breaths and turned to face him. "I'm okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm good."
"I'm really sorry," he said again, his eyes worried.
She gave him a half-smile. "It was my fault. I started it," she said, shrugging.
"Yeah, but--"
"Bosco, it's all right," Faith assured him, resting one of her hands on his shoulder.
Bosco nodded, then realized just how close they were in the water. His arm was still around her, his gaze locked on her face, as hers was on his. He swallowed hard as they stared at each other for a long minute without speaking or moving. Then he gently lifted his hand to brush wet hair off her face, his hand lingering for an extra moment on her cheek.
He pulled away suddenly, letting go of her and backing up slightly in the water. "So, uh...maybe we should camp around here, then follow the river's path tomorrow," he suggested, fixing his gaze on a large rock on the bank.
"Yeah...yeah, that's...a good idea," she answered, her voice distant.
He glanced at her and saw that she was facing the opposite direction. He grimaced, wondering how badly he'd just screwed things up between them.
Had he really been about to kiss her?
Bosco closed his eyes, cursing himself in his mind. //Damn it, you are such an idiot.//
Faith picked up several small twigs and carried them back to the pile she'd already collected, near the river.
"I got another one!" She heard Bosco call.
She turned to look at him, impressed when she saw he'd managed to spear a decent sized fish with the large stick he'd found. She smiled and gave him the thumbs up before turning back to the wood pile.
She shut her eyes for a moment, exhaling slowly. She would have given just about anything to be at home in her bed right now. She sat down tiredly next to the pile, and let her gaze return to Bosco, who was standing on the bank of the river now, removing the fish from his make-shift spear.
//God, he looks good, she thought.//
Her face flushed and she forced herself to look away, embarrassed by her thoughts. Her eyes almost instantly returned to him. She found herself wondering how she'd manage to work with him all those years and never once notice how well-built he was.
"Stop it," she said under breath.
He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at her.
She managed to smile back, then watched as he waded back into the river once more. Her mind flashed back to just a little while ago when they'd been standing face-to-face in that river and he'd brushed the hair off her cheek.
She'd been so sure he was about to kiss her. But then he'd pulled away so suddenly.
//Maybe it's all in your head, Faith, she told herself.//
After all, why would Bosco kiss her? He'd never shown the least bit of interest in her before--at least not in that way.
No, she must have imagined it.
Faith absent-mindedly scratched at a mosquito bite on her arm, sad and disappointed.
The feelings startled her. Had she wanted him to kiss her?
She swallowed hard, forcing herself to admit that she had.
It had felt nice to have his arm around her, to be that close to him. And the gentleness in his hand as he had touched her cheek had been a pleasant surprise.
When was the last time Fred had shown her any kind of affection? She could hardly remember.
But the way that Bosco had looked at her--that was what had affected her the most. It was like he had looked right into her soul, and had found the answers to the universe.
She rolled her eyes, disgusted with herself for thinking like one of those weak women in some trashy romance novel like the ones her mom used to read all the time.
Faith shook her head and picked up one of the twigs in her hand, clenching it tightly in her fingers.
//For the love of God, this is *Bosco* you're thinking about, the voice in her head reminded her.//
She gazed at him as he cheered in victory when he speared another fish. "Yeah, it's Bosco," she said wistfully, her tone soft.
"It might be good to take turns sleeping."
Bosco glanced at Faith, who was sitting a few feet away from him, her knees pulled to her chest as she stared into the fire he'd managed to start.
"To keep the fire going and stay on the lookout for bears."
He nodded. "Good idea," he agreed.
She glanced at him sideways. "Hey, Boz?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for dinner," she said, a small smile on her face.
Bosco smiled back. "You're welcome. I'm just glad you like fish."
"I'm glad you got the fire started because I don't like sushi."
He chuckled. "Me either."
They both fell silent, gazing into the fire for several long moments.
"Faith?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think... anyone's out looking for us?" he asked, swallowing hard.
"Yeah, I'm sure they are. I mean, we never called in to Central and we've been gone for two full days. I'm sure everyone's doing their best to figure out what happened," she answered, her voice calm.
"Yeah, but what if..." Bosco stopped himself.
Faith turned her head to look him. "What if what?"
"What if Chevchinko made it look like we're dead or something?"
She frowned. "It'd be pretty hard to fake our deaths, Bosco."
"Yeah, but if anyone has the resources to pull it off, it's him," he pointed out. "I mean, what if we're stuck here for the rest of our lives?"
Faith sighed. "What happened to 'we're gonna get out of this just fine?'"
Bosco shrugged. "Realism finally set in, I guess."
She stood up, moved over beside him, then sat down again, resting one hand on his shoulder. "Look, we will get home, all right? It's just a matter of time. We know that someone else's been here because someone set that trap, remember?"
He looked at her and gave her a small smile. "Yeah."
"So it's not like we're totally alone out here."
"We wouldn't have been anyway," Bosco said quietly, giving her a meaningful look.
Faith met his gaze, and nodded slowly. "Right."
"I've got your back," he promised.
She squeezed his shoulder lightly, then moved her hand away. "You know I've got yours."
He smiled again, returned his gaze to the flames. "Yep." He heard her yawn, and glanced at her once more. "Why don't you try to get some sleep? I'll take first watch," Bosco offered.
"You sure?"
He nodded. "Yeah, go ahead."
"All right." She yawned again, then stretched out on her side, tucking her hands under her head. "If you get tired, wake me up," she told him as her eyes drifted shut.
"I will," he agreed, gazing down at her.
"Night, Bosco," she murmured.
"Night, Faith."
Bosco smiled slightly, feeling reassured that they were going to survive this little trip to the forest. He watched her face relax as she instantly fell asleep, the fire casting an almost surreal glow on her pale skin.
He swallowed hard and forced himself to look away, listening to only the crackling of the flames and the soft, even breathing of his best friend as she slept, neither of them aware they were being watched.
-End Part Three-