Title: The Rules of the Game (7/?)
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 Seven)
Faith had always hated that dream -- the one where she was falling -- though it wasn't really dream exactly, but a sensation experienced somewhere between being awake and slipping into unconsciousness But the sensation had always been so real, every time she'd experienced it, it managed to invoke in her an innate feeling of sheer terror.
But nothing quite like the fear that overwhelmed her as she felt her feet leave solid ground, her hand grasping Bosco's tightly as they leapt off that cliff, plunging toward the water blow.
In that instance, she saw her life flash before her -- Em, Charlie, Fred, her parents, Stanley, Bosco. All her regrets and her hopes for the future bubbled up within her, but she did not scream. And immediately following the panic was a feeling of calmness, of peace.
Though she didn't know where it came from, the calmness allowed her to remember to hold her breath just a couple seconds before she hit the water, her hand slipping away from her partner's as they both sank under the cold surface.
Sully held on to Tatiana's arm with one hand and knocked on Swersky's office door with the other.
"Come in," Swersky called.
He turned the door handle and pushed the door open. Swersky and Christopher both looked at him as he pulled his wife in behind him, closed the door and pointed to a chair for her to sit in. She sat down in it without a word, her eyes red-rimmed and downcast.
Swersky looked from Tatiana to Sully, a confused expression on his face. "Sully?"
"Tell them everything you told me," Sully told her, his voice cold.
She flinched at his tone, tears forming in her eyes. She raised a hand to her face to brush away the tears, but remained silent.
There was a knock on the door. They all looked toward it, then Sully pulled open to find Davis standing there, a worried expression on his face. "I saw you come in, and I thought..."
Sully stepped aside wordlessly and let him in, shutting the door again. He folded his arms across his chest.
Davis's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Tatiana, then at his partner.
"Officer Sullivan, what the hell is going on?" Christopher asked, beginning to lose his patience.
Sully moved closer to the chair his wife was sitting in. "Faith and Bosco may not be dead. Yet." He focused his gaze on Tatiana. "Tell them about Chevchinko and his sick little game."
All eyes in the room turned to stare at her.
She swallowed hard, unable to look up. "He is a powerful man. And he has this thing he likes to do. He calls it The Game." Her voice was soft, just barely audible. "He finds islands and then he takes people there. People who owe him or get in his way. And then men with money paying him to allow them on these islands, so they can hunt."
"Hunt?" Christopher repeated, his eyes wide with shock.
"Jesus," Swersky muttered, his face pale. "How long has this been going on?"
"Years," she whispered, a tear running down her cheek.
"We'll keep you in protective custody until we find Chevchinko. We're going to need you to testify." Swersky gazed at her.
She didn't answer.
"We'll put you into the witness protection program after that. So he can't find you."
"It doesn't matter," Tatiana said, shaking her head, looking down at the floor. "He always finds me." Without another word, she leaned over in her chair, put her head on her knees and began to cry.
The current from the waterfall pulled her deep beneath the surface of the water. All she could feel was the pain and the cold, the only thought in her mind was 'air.'
She was dizzy, disoriented as she kicked her legs, trying to force herself upward, whichever direction that was. Her lungs burned like fire and common sense told her she wouldn't be able to hold her breath much longer.
The water was murky, too murky to see very well, to see which direction was up. It only confused her more. So she closed her eyes and forced herself to keep her panic at bay as she stopped kicking, willing herself to keep holding her breath as she began to float naturally toward the water's surface.
After a few seconds, she kicked again and this time it propelled her upwards, to the surface. She gasped as she sucked in a lungful of air, her ribs aching. She looked around wildly, suddenly remembering that she was not alone, that Bosco was there somewhere, as well. She choked on a mouthful of water as the waves splashed into her face. "Bosco!" she shouted, coughing as she did her best to tread water.
The noise, the rushing-rumbling sound from the waterfall made it impossible to hear anything else. She looked around in the water, on the bannks, but didn't seem him anywhere. "Bosco!" Faith called again, knowing it was a futile effort.
Where is he? she thought frantically. She drew in a deep breath and ducked under the water again, forcing her eyes open. She forced herself further down under the surface, peering into the depths of the lake, her heart racing with fear. Where is he?
She began to swim, diving a little deeper after getting another mouthful of air. And that's when she caught a glimpse of him, sinking slowly toward the bottom of the lake, his body completely limp, his eyes shut.
Faith swam toward him, wrapping her arms underneath his from behind him and using her legs to kick them both upward to the surface again.
It only took them a few seconds to reach it and she gasped for air, kicking in the water, refusing to let go of his body despite the dead weight that threatened to pull them both under. She dragged him through the water in seconds that felt like an eternity, and managed somehow to pull them both onto dry land.
She didn't give herself a second to recover before she pressed her ear against his chest, listening, tuning out the sound of the rushing water.
Bosco wasn't breathing.
She didn't even think, her training as a police officer kicking in as she immediately began CPR--pinching his nose closed, breathing into his mouth, pausing, then doing it again. He didn't move.
Tears sprang to her eyes. "Don't do this to me," she begged. She started the CPR process again. "Come on, Boz, please! Don't die on me!"
"The FBI is organizing teams of men on helicopters to search the islands all along the East Coast," Davis informed Sully as they stood outside Swersky's office.
Sully didn't respond.
"How's she doing?" Davis asked, nodding toward the office where Tatiana was still sitting in the chair alone in the room, crying.
"She'll be fine."
He was startled by the harshness of his partner's tone. "Sully."
"What? Am I supposed to feel sorry for her? Bosco and Yokas could be dead because she didn't come forward with this information sooner. Not to mention who knows how many other people!"
Davis looked into the office at Tatiana's shaking form. "Talk to her, Sully. Something is not right here. There's more to this story than what we're seeing," he urged quietly.
Sully sighed heavily, closing his eyes. "Davis --"
"If you don't, you'll end up regretting it." He looked at Sully. "Despite the fact that you're pissed at her, she's still your wife. And you might not want to admit it, but you love her. I know you do. Just... give her the chance to explain."
Sully watched his partner walk away, then turned and stared at the woman he'd married, watched as she cried silently, uncontrollably, faced away from him.
He swallowed hard, took a deep breath and walked into the office, shutting the door behind him quietly.
Please God, don't let him die, Faith prayed as she kept breathing into her best friend's mouth, refusing to give up. It was the only thought running through her mind as she repeated CPR over and over, unwilling to stop.
And her prayers were answered.
Bosco began to cough, water spilling out of his mouth, out of his lungs as he turned his head to the side, finally sucking in a lungful of oxygen on his own. His body shook as he coughed, sputtering, his eyes finally opening.
Relief took hold of her. The crisis averted, she collapsed onto the ground beside him, wrapping her arms around her stomach as she began to cry. Softly at first, then harder.
"Faith." His voice was raspy as he struggled to sit up, feeling dazed as he watched her with blurry eyes as she sobbed. He wasn't sure exactly what had happened, why she was so distraught. Feeling weak and dizzy, he reached out and touched her shoulder, then the back of her head. When she didn't move, real fear took over. Had she been hurt? His gaze went from her to the waterfall, swallowing hard as he realized just how high up they'd been when they jumped.
How the hell did we survive? he wondered. His eyes drops back to Faith again. This time he laid both of his hands on her arm, gently turned her over so he could see her face. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Something between a laugh and a sob escaped her lips and she sat up suddenly, her eyes red from crying. She wordlessly wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Faith?" he asked in confusion.
"I thought you were dead!"
Bosco suddenly remembered the sharp pain in his head when he hit the rock, how everything had gone dark for an instant, and then how he had awakened on the shore. Realization hit him: she had pulled him from the water. Had saved his life. Again.
She pulled away from him without warning. "Don't ever do that to me again!" she said furiously, her voice thick with tears.
He swallowed hard. "Sorry," he said softly, reaching up to brush away the tears from her cheeks.
Wordlessly, Faith leaned toward him, pressing her lips to his gently. Closing his eyes, he could case the saltiness from her tears on her lips as he kissed her back. He started to pull her closer without a second thought.
A gunshot in the distance immediately caused them to jump and break apart.
"Dammit," Bosco cursed. "Don't these fucking people *ever* give up?"
Go to Part 8
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