Title: The Rules of the Game (4/?)
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 Four)
"You're a worthless piece of shit, you know that, Maurice? Always have been, always will be," his father told him.
"You don't even know me," Bosco said angrily.
"I don't have to know you to know that you're trash."
He pointed to his badge. "You can't talk to me like that anymore. I'm a cop now!"
Without any warning, his father punched him in the face, hard. Bosco fell backward onto the ground. "You've got a fucking badge. Big damn deal. What the hell does that prove?" he demanded.
Bosco lifted a hand to his mouth, his fingers brushing the blood off his lips.
His father toward over him, glaring down. "You're gonna be just like me," he said darkly.
"I'll never be like you," Bosco spat.
His father promptly kicked him in the ribs. "You already are."
Faith returned to the campsite after going to the bathroom and washing up a bit in the water from the river. The sun was starting to rise and she sighed heavily as she thought about another full day of walking in the woods.
"Never gonna be like you..." Bosco whispered.
Faith looked over to see Bosco's face contorted as he slept. Her heart broke for him as she realized he was in the midst of a nightmare.
Without thinking about it, she reached out and gently touched his cheek. His expression softened and she could see his tense body relax, though he didn't wake up.
She leaned down and pressed her lips to his forehead in a soft kiss, then sat up again, resting her hand on the side his head. "Oh, Bosco," she whispered sadly. "I wish there was something I could do to help you."
"Get away from him," he heard a familiar voice command.
"Who the hell are you?" his father demanded.
Bosco's eyes were swollen shut from the beating and he laid on the ground, unable to move.
"You're a sick bastard, you know that? How could you do that to your own son?"
"Mind your own business," his father snapped.
"I won't let you hurt him again!"
The voice clicked in his mind, and somewhere mixed in with the pain, he felt relief. Faith. Faith was there. She was going to help him.
"You can't stop me, bitch!"
A second later he heard the sound of flesh connecting with flesh and he winced, fear rushing through him. "Don't... hurt her," he pleaded with his father. "Please don't hurt her."
"Bosco?" He heard her voice again, this time closer. "Can you hear me?"
"Faith," he whispered.
He felt her hands gently touching his face. "I'm right here, Boz."
"It... hurts."
"I know," she whispered back. She gently kissed his eyelids.
He opened them, surprised to realize the pain there was gone. He watched as she leaned over him, her beautiful brown eyes full of sorrow as she kissed his bruised cheeks, causing the pain there to quickly fade and disappear, as well. He stared up her in amazement. "Faith?"
"I'm sorry he hurt you," she whispered, tears in her eyes.
Bosco reached up and touched the side of her face. She turned her head and pressed a kiss into the palm of his hand.
She looked down at him again, mesmerizing him with her eyes. "I love you."
His heart clenched, joy flooded through him. "I love you," he whispered back.
Faith smiled softly, then leaned over and gently kissed his lips, the cuts and bruises vanishing. She pulled away to look at him.
"Don't leave me," he pleaded, threading his fingers through her silky, strawberry blond hair.
"I'll never leave you, Boz," she promised, her eyes sparkling.
Bosco gently pulled her face down to meet his, kissing her on the lips, his eyes drifting shut.
She broke the kiss a moment later. "Bosco. Bosco. Boz, wake up," she said, a hint of urgency in her tone.
He opened his eyes and looked up at her. "What?"
"I heard gunshots off in the distance," Faith told him, her eyes wide with excitement.
"Gunshots?" he repeated, confused. He struggled to sit up, looking around for his father.
"Yeah, someone's out here hunting. Bosco, whoever it is will be able to help us. He probably lives around here, and if not, he probably has a car and can drive us to a phone."
Bosco blinked a few times, shaking his head to clear his mind.
"Boz? You okay?" she asked worriedly.
"What? Oh, uh, yeah."
"You were having a bad dream."
"A dream," he repeated slowly, staring at the ground.
Faith laid her hand on his shoulder. "You want to talk about it?"
He looked up at her, swallowing hard as he met her brown eyes. "No," he answered, remembering the sensation of kissing her only moments ago. //In my dream, he reminded himself. It was just a dream.//
She nodded, then looked around. "We should get going. We need to find this guy," she said, turning back to him again.
Bosco nodded and stood up, exhaling slowly.
"We're going to be rescued," she said, her eyes shining.
He smiled. "Thank God." To his surprise, she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. He hesitated only a second before hugging her back, his eyes drifting shut.
Faith pulled away slightly and gazed up at him.
He opened his eyes and looked back at her silently.
"Boz?" she whispered.
"Yeah?" he said, his voice low.
"We uh...we need to put this fire out," she said, nodding toward the campfire.
"Right," he said, stepping back. "I'll just do that." He turned away from her, heading for the river to figure out how to get some water to extinguish the fire. He ran one hand through his hair as he looked at his reflection in the water's surface. "Oh, boy," he muttered, shaking his head. "I'm in big trouble."
Doc stared down at the tabletop in the fire house as he sipped his coffee. Carlos sat beside him to his right and Alex to his left. They were both silent.
"I can't believe this is happening," Kim murmured, as she ran a hand through her hair and sat down across from him.
"Me either," Alex said quietly, not looking up.
"Davis said they'd be calling in the FBI today," Carlos spoke up.
Just then, Jimmy walked in the room. "Any word?"
"No, nothing," Alex responded with a sigh.
He leaned against the counter, folding his arms across his chest. "I still can't believe Boscorelli and Yokas are missing."
I know. It's so weird," Carlos said, resting his arms on table.
"It's not weird. It's awful," Kim said, frowning.
"No, I just meant... I see them all the time when Doc and I go on runs and now..." His voice trailed off and he shook his head.
They were all silent for a moment.
"Yokas has kids, doesn't she?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah, two of them. A boy and girl," Kim responded.
"Emily and Charlie," Doc said quietly, sipping his coffee.
"How'd they take the news?"
Carlos glanced over at Jimmy, then at Alex. "Sully and Davis told her husband. I guess he was going to tell the kids," she supplied.
"What about Bosco's family?" he asked.
"Does Bosco even have a family?" Carlos asked, frowning.
"As far as I know, it's just his mom," Alex answered. "Sully gave her the news."
"I didn't even know his mom lived around here," Kim said, looking at her partner.
Alex shrugged. "She runs a bar down on 83rd."
"I guess I just always assumed that the closest thing to family he had was Yokas. They were always so close, and I never did understand why she cared so much," Jimmy said.
"Stop talking about them in the past tense," Kim said sharply. "They're *not* dead."
He stared at her, then looked at the ground. "It's been three days," he said quietly.
She rose to her feet, glaring at him.
"Whoa, easy," Alex said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Kim took a deep breath and tried to hold her temper. "They're not dead," she repeated, her voice calmer this time.
"She's right."
Everyone turned to look at Doc.
"I've known them longer than anyone here. And if there's one thing that I've learned about Faith and Bosco, it's that they always beat the odds. Always," Doc said, looking at each of them, his gaze finally settling on Kim.
Their eyes met and she gave him a grateful smile.
"They're probably on their way back right now," Carlos agreed, sitting back in his chair.
"God, I hope so," Alex murmured.
They grew silent, each lost in his or her own thoughts and prayers that the two officers that were missing would make it back safely.
"I can't wait to go home and crawl into my nice warm waterbed," Bosco said, grinning as he stretched his arms over his head.
"I just want to take a hot shower, change my clothes, see my kids and never, ever go anywhere near a forest again," Faith answered as they walked.
He stopped, putting his hand on her arm. "What? You mean you're not having a good time?" he mocked.
She rolled her eyes and started walking again. "Oh, yeah. Being stranded and lost in the middle of the woods is my idea of a dream vacation."
He followed her, a smile tugging at his lips. "If you say so. Personally, though, I'd prefer Hawaii."
Faith snorted. "On our salary? Dream on, Boz."
He chuckled. "Yeah, good point."
"Bosco, look!" she said suddenly, pointing.
He followed her line of sight and caught a glimpse of someone in a bright orange vest several yards away.
Faith grinned at him and they both moved toward the man, walking quickly. When they were within shouting distance, Bosco called out. "Hey! Over here!"
The man turned around, a shotgun in his right hand, pointed at the ground.
"We need some help!" Faith called, waving at him.
The man smiled and waved back. Then he raised his gun and pointed it in their direction.
"What the hell is he doing?" Bosco demanded, alarmed.
She backed up into him, grabbing his arm.
He heard a loud boom and felt a bullet wizz by his head. "Oh, shit! He's shooting at us!"
"Run!" she said urgently.
He quickly grabbed Faith's hand and took off running back in the direction they'd come from. He heard the gun go off again and cringed when the bullet splintered the wood on one of the trees right in front of him.
Bosco dodged further into the tree line, pulling her along with him. The guy fired two more shots--one that just barely missed his arm, and another that was way off target.
They ran for a long time, occasionally glancing over their shoulders to see if the man was following them.
"I think we lost him," Faith panted as they stopped to catch their breath.
He leaned over, put his hands on his knees. "I hope so." The minute he caught his breath, he stood back up, growing angry. "Why the fuck was he shooting at us?"
"Keep your voice down," she warned, leaning against a large oak tree for support.
"I can't believe this! That stupid fuck Chevchinko dropped us in the middle of some forest with a God-damned psychopath!"
Faith watched him pace back and forth angrily."Just stay calm, all right?" she said, her voice low.
"Stay calm? How the hell am I supposed to stay calm when we're lost in the woods, unarmed, with a deranged man and his shotgun?" he demanded.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, struggling to control her own fears. "We'll figure something out."
"Yeah, I'm sure the 55th precinct house is really just up the river," he said sarcastically, looking around.
She sighed and opened her eyes again. "Let's just follow the river's path back the way we came from. It has to eventually lead to something," she said wearily.
Bosco turned to look at her, his anger quickly changing to fear as his gaze locked on her right arm. "Oh, my God, Faith, you're bleeding." He rushed over to her side just as she looked down.
"Yeah, one of the bullets grazed my arm," she muttered.
"Jesus, why didn't you say something?" he asked, immediately shrugging out of the long sleeve shirt. He quickly ripped off one of the sleeves.
"I was a little busy running for my life," Faith replied, grimacing as he pressed the cloth against her wound.
"Sorry," he said softly, glancing at her face briefly.
"It's okay."
"No, it's not," he muttered, shaking his head as he tied the sleeve around her arm. "When I find that guy, I'm gonna rip his fucking hand off."
Faith looked up at him, and gently touched his cheek with her left hand. "Bosco, I'm all right. It's just a flesh wound."
"I don't care, Faith. I'd rather me get hurt or shot than you," he said, his voice cracking slightly as he stared at the blood seeping through the makeshift bandage on her arm.
Wordlessly she pressed her lips against his forehead.
He closed his eyes tightly, swallowing hard before he wrapped his arms around her, leaning his head against hers. "Tell me were gonna make it outta this all right."
She held him a little tighter. "We will, Boz," she whispered in his ear. "I promise."