"Would you look at it out there?" Faith stood at the window and looked out into the driving snow. "It looks like a blizzard."
Bosco joined Faith at the window. "I hope the power doesn't go out." he muttered.
"I have flashlights, candles and blankets if it does." Faith said. "Don't worry, you won't freeze to death."
"It's not freezing that I'm worried about." Bosco replied.
They could hear the wind howling against the window and Faith touched her hand to it. "You'd have to be insane to be outside right now." she said.
Bosco shrugged. "Well, according to you, there is a plague of rampant stupidity sweeping across this city and it looks like that sucker is one of its unfortunate victims."
Through the snow, a figure could barely be made out. It looked dimly like a person struggling down the sidewalk. "You think we should be at work Bos? What if they need our help?"
"And how are you planning on getting there? You gonna dig a tunnel under the snow and crawl there? We're on tomorrow, we'll help out then."
Faith stepped away from the window. "I'm gonna heat up some soup, you want some?" Bosco's head bobbed up and down but he didn't say anything. He just kept staring out the window, as if mesmerised by the falling snow.
Faith banged around in the kitchen and set a pot on the stove. "I only have vegetable soup, is that alright?"
"The kind with the letters in it?" Bosco asked from his post by the window.
"You got it." Faith replied and taking out a can opener, she opened the soup and dumped it into the pot. It made a squelching noise that always set Charlie off laughing.
"The kids would love this." Faith poured a can of water into the pot and turned the stove on. "The schools will be closed tomorrow for sure."
"Isn't it almost winter vacation?" Bosco moved to join Faith in the kitchen.
"Starts in a few days. I have it marked down on the calendar." Faith eyed Bosco. "Are your jeans damp?"
Bosco ran his hands over his thighs. "A little, but they're drying out."
"You could borrow a pair of my sweats if you want. You'd probably be warmer."
"I'm fine, and besides wearing your clothes? That's kinda weird."
"Fred left some clothes here, but somehow I think my stuff would fit you better." Faith reached out and fingered Bosco's shirt. "Your shirt's damp too! Why didn't you say something?"
"I'm fine!" Bosco protested.
"I'll go and dig up a pair of pants and a shirt for you." Faith said, ignoring Bosco's protests. "Can you give that soup a stir?" Bosco picked up the spoon and stirred the soup while Faith marched purposefully down the hall.
Bosco was bent over the stove, trying to form words in the soup when Faith returned bearing an armful of clothes. "Everything but the underwear." she said and handed the pile to him. "You're on your own with that one."
"Thanks." Bosco mumbled. "I'll go change. Oh and by the way, your soup swore at me."
Faith laughed and Bosco started off towards the bathroom. He dropped the socks in the hall on the way.
Faith looked down at the soup, but all she saw were the letters S, M, Q and R floating around with various peas and carrots. "Smooquer?" Faith said and then chuckled. She gave it a stir and the soup then said, how.
The lights flickered a bit and then returned to full brightness. Faith stuck a finger in the soup. "Come on! Heat up before the power goes out!"
The lights flickered again and finally went out completely. "Shit." Faith swore under her breath. At least the soup was lukewarm.
From down the hall, there came a loud crash and the sound of breaking glass. It was immediately followed by a bellowed, "Son of a bitch!" Faith grabbed the flashlight from off the top of the refrigerator and flipped it on.
"Bosco, you alright?" Faith called out as she walked down the hall.
"Peachy, but I'm afraid that picture you had hanging on the wall in here has seen better days." The bathroom door opened and Bosco appeared.
Faith shone the flashlight around the bathroom. The glass frame was shattered. "I'd better clean this up, you sure you're okay?" She turned the beam on him.
Bosco nodded. "I hit it with my arm after the lights went out."
Faith snickered. "Bos, you have the pants on backward. The writing goes across the back, not the front."
Bosco looked down. "Cutie?! What the hell Faith? You gave me pants that are supposed to say cutie across my ass?!"
"Emily got them for me. She thought it might be well, cute."
Bosco scowled. "You'll pay for this Yokas."
Faith simply smiled. "I'll go and grab the broom and some paper towel. You'd better fix your pants cutie."
_______________
"The soup's still cold." Bosco complained after he'd sucked back a spoonful. He let the spoon drop into the bowl and he looked down with a disgusted expression on his face.
Faith struck a match and lit another candle on the coffee table. "The power went out before it had a chance to get hot."
"You'd think the power in this city would be a little more reliable." Bosco stated and stirred his soup with the spoon.
"It's a blizzard Bosco! Wind, heavy snowfall. That's bound to knock out a few lines."
"I think my soup just said bite me."
"I wouldn't be surprised." Faith said and sat down with her own bowl of soup. She ate a few spoonfuls before giving up and putting the bowl next to the candles on the coffee table. The candles flickered, casting a eerie glow about the room.
"Do you have anything else to eat?" Bosco asked, putting his own bowl next to Faith's.
"You saw what was in my fridge this morning. I haven't had the energy to go shopping lately. But I think there might be some frozen meat in the freezer if you're interesting in gnawing away at that."
"Thanks, I think I'll pass." Bosco scratched the side of his face and then sighed.
"Something on your mind?" Faith asked. "Other than your stomach?"
"No, not really. I'm just thinking."
"About what?"
"Heather. We're probably gonna be stuck at work tomorrow and I'm supposed to meet her at a coffeehouse at 11:30."
Faith blew at a candle and watched the flame dance. "Maybe this is God's way of telling you that you shouldn't be with her."
Bosco made a noise of disgust. "If this is your idea of a good time Yokas, I'm not amused."
"What?" Faith asked innocently.
"Just because you've been burned by Fred doesn't mean you gotta pick away at my love life."
"Your love life?" Faith scoffed. "Don't you mean your sex life?"
Bosco pushed a pillow away and stood up. The candles flickered slightly. "You know what Faith? I'm startin' to wish that I'd never come in! I should have gone home when I still had the chance." He grabbed the flashlight that was sitting on the end table and stalked off down the hall. "I'm going to sleep in Charlie's bed, if that's alright with you! It's gotta be better than that lumpy couch." Bosco called down the hall and then shut the door with a slam.
Faith blinked a few times, surprised by Bosco's sudden outburst. She sighed and turned her gaze on the snow outside. Since the power had gone out, taking the heat with it, a cool draft had set up. Faith could feel it nipping at her heels and she tucked her legs up underneath herself. From the apartment next door there was a few muffled bangs and then silence.
Bosco woke up a few hours later shivering. For a brief moment he wondered where he was then he remembered he was at Faith's place, sleeping in her absent son's bed. He drew the covers up over his head and gradually drifted back off to sleep.
Faith lifted her head and tried to work out some of the kinks in her neck. The candles on the coffee table had burnt themselves out and melted pools of wax were left in their place. Faith got up from the couch, stretching her legs. She wandered over to the window and saw that the snow was still falling. It looked as through a plow had been down the street not long ago, but the snow was rapidly filling up the hollow left by it.
The apartment was cold and Faith shivered. She checked her watch and saw that it was only just after midnight. That made sense, seeing as she must have fallen asleep just after 7:00, when Bosco had left her. Faith hoped that Bosco was warm enough, as she knew Charlie's bed only had a light comforter and a sheet on it.
Faith decided to check on Bosco, so she grabbed a few blankets from the linen closet and quietly opened the door to her children's room. Bosco had propped the flashlight up on a dresser, so the room was lit up with a soft light. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked over at Charlie's bed. With just the top of Bosco's head showing under the covers - it could easily have been her son asleep in that bed. Faith walked over to him and pulled back the covers a bit. "Bosco?"
Bosco moved slightly and tried to pull the covers back up. "Bosco!" Faith said, a bit louder this time.
"Go away." he mumbled.
"I brought you a few more blankets if you're cold."
"Power still out?" Bosco sat up a bit, drawing the covers around him.
Faith nodded. "And it's still snowing."
Bosco yawned and then rubbed his eyes. "You're kidding. What time is it?"
"Just after midnight."
"That's it? It feels like it should be morning. What time did I go to bed?"
"Around 7:00."
Bosco looked faintly alarmed. "That's the earliest I've gone to bed since I was a baby." he said. He blinked a few times and looked at Faith. "Did you sleep at all?"
"I fell asleep on the couch, but I woke up because I was too cold."
Bosco swung his legs off the bed and shuddered as his feet hit the cold floor. "Sorry about earlier."
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have made that comment about your sex life." Faith replied. "It wasn't fair of me."
"Truth is," Bosco said. "I can't imagine anyone else I would rather be snowed in with. Well, except for maybe that really hot blonde chick from that domestic last week. Remember her?"
Faith rolled her eyes. "How could I forget her? 'Oh thank you Officer Boscorelli, I don't know what I would have done without you!'"
"Oh yeah, she wanted me." Bosco said with a grin. He looked down as his stomach rumbled. "God, I'm starvin' You know what I could go for right now?." Faith shook her head. "A nice big juicy hamburger, with fries and one of those chocolate milkshakes."
"Sounds good. I have some saltines in the cupboard, will those work instead of fries?"
Bosco groaned and then stood up. Faith shifted the pile of blankets in her arms, "So you don't need these right now?"
"It's too cold to go back to sleep and I need to eat somethin'!"
Bosco left the room, the comforter off Charlie's bed trailing along behind him. "You want some slippers Bos?" Faith called after him.
Bosco turned around. "If they're fluffy and pink, no. I already have cutie printed across my ass, I don't need anything else!"
"There's an old pair of Fred's in the hall closet, if you want them."
Faith dropped the blankets on the bed and followed Bosco from the room. While Bosco stopped off for the slippers, Faith went into the kitchen and pulled through the cabinets. When she heard soft footfalls behind her, she said, "Well okay, we have some crackers, pancake mix, a jar of those weird red cherries, an over ripe banana and a box of cornflakes."
"Give me the cornflakes and a bowl." Bosco replied. "They're better than nothing."
Bosco took the cornflakes box and a bowl and settled down on the couch. Faith nibbled on a few saltines and then put the bag back in the box and joined Bosco on the couch. "I don't think it'll ever stop snowing." she commented, her head turned towards the window.
"It's gonna be hell out there tomorrow."
"If we can get to work."
Bosco crunched on a mouthful of cereal and gave her a puzzled look. "The trains'll be running, won't they? We can walk to a station."
"I suppose so." Faith shivered and rubbed her arms to try and warm herself up. She looked over at Bosco, he had just finished his bowl of dry cereal and was yanking at his blanket. Before Bosco could even begin to form a protest, he found the blanket ripped off of him and Faith snuggling up.
"What the hell?" Bosco said, sounding confused as Faith draped the blanket over both of them.
"We'll be warmer like this." Faith replied. Her head was somewhere near his neck and he felt her warm breath on his cold skin.
Bosco put an arm around Faith and hugged her to him. "So, is this where we brush each other's hair and play truth or dare?"
"What?" Faith asked with a laugh. "You want to brush my hair?"
"Isn't that what girls do at slumber parties? It's been a long time since I crashed one."
"You crashed slumber parties?"
Bosco nodded. "Oh yeah, good times, good times. A bunch of girls in their skimpy pjs, giggling, having pillow fights and brushing their hair. It doesn't get any better than that."
Faith chuckled and shifted slightly, admitting a cold breeze under the blanket. Bosco tugged the blanket down over his legs. "You won't tell anyone at work about this will you?"
"About what?" Faith closed her eyes, suddenly feeling quite tired.
"Thank you." Bosco said and then closed his own eyes.
______________
"Well, it stopped snowing." Faith said, nodding her head as she stood in front of the window.
"Have the plows gone through yet?"
"Yup, but I don't think your car is going anywhere for a while unless you feel like digging it out."
The sky was still grey and threatening more snow. Bosco stood up and straightened his pants out. "Kids really will play anytime, anywhere won't they." he commented, looking out a small group of young kids, bundled up in snowsuits. They were rolling huge balls of snow on the sidewalk. Or rather where the sidewalk should have been.
"That's gotta be at least three feet of snow out there." Faith said. Part of her was full of wonder at the marvels of nature and another part of her wished all that snow would just suddenly melt.
"Do you have a battery operated radio?" Bosco asked. "We should probably listen to the news. Maybe find out when the electricity is expected to come back on."
"Uh yeah, somewhere in the closet in my room I think. Have it for emergencies." Faith headed down the hall.
Bosco frowned for a moment before reaching for his jacket that was hanging up by the door. He pulled out his cell phone and found the battery was dead. "Dammit!" he swore.
"What?" Faith had just returned to the living room with a small radio in her hand.
"My phone's dead." Bosco replied. "I wonder if the phone lines are still up." He grabbed the phone off the kitchen counter and held it to his ear. "Nope." Bosco shook his head. "No dial tone. I wanted to call my mom, make sure she's alright. If her cell phone hasn't died, that is."
"I'm sure she's fine Bos. Once we get this radio working, I'll find my phone. It might still work." Faith said, setting the radio down on the counter. She fiddled with the dials for a few moments before it crackled to life.
"And the schools are closed..." said the voice of a male announcer. "All over New York, people are digging out from the heaviest recorded snowfall since the great blizzard of 1996. Close to 30 inches of snow has fallen in the last 24 hours and more is expected to be on the way."
Bosco shook his head with disgust. "I hate snow. I really, really hate snow!"
"Calm down Bos. There's nothing we can do about it!" Faith said. "I'll grab my phone and see if the battery is still working."
Faith dug around in her purse and pulled out a small phone which she handed to Bosco. Bosco opened it and punched the on button. "Dead." he said and handed it back to Faith. Faith frowned and hit a few buttons.
A snow plow drove by outside, grating the pavement as it passed. It was followed by a truck that dumped salt on the road. "Citizens are requested to stay at home today. Emergencies workers have been kept busy throughout the night and into this morning. Thousands of people are without power this morning as a result of the storm. The electricity is expected to be restored to much of the borough by early afternoon." said the voice over the radio.
"Early afternoon?" Bosco groaned. "Is that the best they can do? What are we paying those assholes for anyway?"
Another plow drove by, this one going the opposite direction of the first. That plow was followed by an ambulance with flashing lights but no siren. Faith tugged a hand through her hair. "I think we should go into work Bosco. They probably need our help."
"Think we could commandeer one of those plows to get us there?"
Faith rolled her eyes. "There's gotta be a better way than that. I'm going to get changed, your clothes should be dry by now."
"I hope so, because there's no way in hell that I'm going to show up at work wearing these pants!"
Bosco went into the bathroom and found his pants hanging over the shower curtain. They were cold, but dry. He stripped off the sweatpants and quickly pulled on his jeans. "Cooooold." he said under his breath and zipped up the fly. To his dismay, his shirt was still damp but the sweatshirt Faith had given him wasn't offensive so he kept that on.
Bosco opened the door to Faith's bedroom a crack and tossed the pants in. "Relax, I'm not trying to peek at you!" he said when he heard Faith yelp. "I'm just giving you your pants back."
"Thank you!" Faith called. "Shut the door!"
Bosco shut the door and leaned against the wall. "I was thinkin'." Bosco said loudly so Faith could hear him through the door. "Just a gift certificate for my mom isn't much. I mean I love her more than just a piece of paper."
"You want to get her something else?" Faith's disembodied voice asked.
"Yeah. I'll still give her the gift certificate, but I want to get her something personalized too."
"How about some chocolates?"
Bosco pondered that for a moment. "Or how about one of those cute stuffed things. You know, like a bear that's wearing reindeer antlers or somethin'." Faith continued to shout out suggestions.
"We need to go shopping." Bosco said. "Not today, but after all that snow is gone. We need to go shopping."
"Excuse me? We?" The bedroom door opened and Faith appeared. She held a brush in her hand and yanked it through her hair. "I'm already done my Christmas shopping Bos."
"You have to come with me." Bosco whined. "I have to know whether she'll like the gift and besides, I haven't gotten anything for you and I thought maybe you could just pick out something you like."
Faith frowned as the brush got caught in a particularly bad tangle. "You don't need to get me anything, so why not take Heather along? That would be a good date, don't you think?"
"Taking a girl shopping for a present for my mom?"
"Sure, it shows that you love your mom. It's cute." Faith replied. She got the brush unstuck and continued running it through her hair.
Bosco shook his head. "I don't think so. I'd rather you came along."
Faith tossed the brush onto her bed and smoothed out her sweater. "Fine, but you have to promise to behave because honestly Bos, sometimes I think that I can't take you anywhere."
Bosco grinned. "I promise."
After putting on various layers of jackets, scarves, mittens and hats, Bosco and Faith left the apartment and faced the world. The wind had picked up again and was blowing the loose, powdery snow about. The kids that had been playing outside had since given up and gone inside, leaving their balls of snowing sitting on the sidewalk. Bosco kicked one.
"Hold on Faith." Bosco said, holding up a hand. "I just want to check on my car."
Bosco brushed some snow off his car and peered in through the window. "Everything looks okay." he said and then turned to look at Faith. "So, how do you plan on getting to the precinct?"
Faith shrugged. "We could walk I guess."
"No way. I am not walking! We'll just hail down the next ambulance or plow that goes by."
They stood shivering in the cold for a good ten minutes before another vehicle came down the street. Bosco leaped over the snow piled on the side of the road and flashed his badge. The snow plow slowed down and came to stop in front of them. Bosco turned to Faith with a big grin on his face. "Come on Faith, our ride is here!"
The driver threw open the side door and looked curiously at Bosco and Faith, who had just stepped into the snow bank. "Everything alright officer? Was I driving too fast?"
"No, but we need a lift over to the 55th." Bosco said. "That's at King and Arthur."
The driver pulled at his gloves. "I know where the 55th is." he said. "But I got a route to plow here. I can't be running a taxi service."
Faith tugged on Bosco's jacket. "Come on Bos, we'll just wait for a police cruiser to drive by or something."
Bosco ignored Faith's tugging. "Listen buddy, my partner and I need to get to work, now are you gonna help us or not?" He waved his badge around as though it were a gun.
"Well, I suppose I could drop you two off after I finish plowing. Hop in."
Bosco hopped into the seat and then helped pull Faith up. "I guess you're sitting on my lap." he said and pulled Faith down then shut the door. The driver sighed and the plow began moving again.
"This is actually kind of fun." Bosco said as he watched the snow fly up from the nose of the plow. "I think I went into the wrong profession."
"You as a snow plow driver?" Faith said, moving around a bit to try and get comfortable on Bosco's lap.
"It's not a bad job." offered the driver. "Pays the bills in the winter."
"What do you do during the summer?" Faith asked. "There can't be much plowing to be done then."
"I work road construction. Run the backhoes and steam rollers. My name's Kevin by the way."
"Nice to meet you Kevin." Bosco said. "You ever hit anything with this bad boy?"
"Hit anything?"
"Yeah, you know, cars, dogs, that sorta thing."
Kevin turned the snow plow down another road. "Yeah sometimes, but I'd rather not talk about it."
"Oookay." Bosco muttered. He wondered if he should be arresting the guy and not getting a lift with him.
Twenty minutes later the snow plow pulled up in front of the 55th precinct. Bosco and Faith hopped out and Kevin waved them a cheerful goodbye. "That guy was weird." Faith said, once the plow drove off down the road.
"Extremely." Bosco agreed. "Anyway, let's get in side and see where they want us. Or if they even want us at all. Maybe I can call Heather and my mom from here."
Bosco put a foot up onto the step and then began flailing about. "Whoa!" he cried as he fell backwards. Faith moved into catch him, but missed and Bosco landed on the ground with a thump.
"Ow." Bosco lay on the ground looking up at Faith. Faith knelt down beside him.
"Oh my God, Bosco! Are you alright?"
Bosco sat up and nodded. "I have a hard head."
Faith offered him her hand and yanked him up. "Be careful." Bosco said helpfully. "The steps are slippery."
Bosco joined Faith at the window. "I hope the power doesn't go out." he muttered.
"I have flashlights, candles and blankets if it does." Faith said. "Don't worry, you won't freeze to death."
"It's not freezing that I'm worried about." Bosco replied.
They could hear the wind howling against the window and Faith touched her hand to it. "You'd have to be insane to be outside right now." she said.
Bosco shrugged. "Well, according to you, there is a plague of rampant stupidity sweeping across this city and it looks like that sucker is one of its unfortunate victims."
Through the snow, a figure could barely be made out. It looked dimly like a person struggling down the sidewalk. "You think we should be at work Bos? What if they need our help?"
"And how are you planning on getting there? You gonna dig a tunnel under the snow and crawl there? We're on tomorrow, we'll help out then."
Faith stepped away from the window. "I'm gonna heat up some soup, you want some?" Bosco's head bobbed up and down but he didn't say anything. He just kept staring out the window, as if mesmerised by the falling snow.
Faith banged around in the kitchen and set a pot on the stove. "I only have vegetable soup, is that alright?"
"The kind with the letters in it?" Bosco asked from his post by the window.
"You got it." Faith replied and taking out a can opener, she opened the soup and dumped it into the pot. It made a squelching noise that always set Charlie off laughing.
"The kids would love this." Faith poured a can of water into the pot and turned the stove on. "The schools will be closed tomorrow for sure."
"Isn't it almost winter vacation?" Bosco moved to join Faith in the kitchen.
"Starts in a few days. I have it marked down on the calendar." Faith eyed Bosco. "Are your jeans damp?"
Bosco ran his hands over his thighs. "A little, but they're drying out."
"You could borrow a pair of my sweats if you want. You'd probably be warmer."
"I'm fine, and besides wearing your clothes? That's kinda weird."
"Fred left some clothes here, but somehow I think my stuff would fit you better." Faith reached out and fingered Bosco's shirt. "Your shirt's damp too! Why didn't you say something?"
"I'm fine!" Bosco protested.
"I'll go and dig up a pair of pants and a shirt for you." Faith said, ignoring Bosco's protests. "Can you give that soup a stir?" Bosco picked up the spoon and stirred the soup while Faith marched purposefully down the hall.
Bosco was bent over the stove, trying to form words in the soup when Faith returned bearing an armful of clothes. "Everything but the underwear." she said and handed the pile to him. "You're on your own with that one."
"Thanks." Bosco mumbled. "I'll go change. Oh and by the way, your soup swore at me."
Faith laughed and Bosco started off towards the bathroom. He dropped the socks in the hall on the way.
Faith looked down at the soup, but all she saw were the letters S, M, Q and R floating around with various peas and carrots. "Smooquer?" Faith said and then chuckled. She gave it a stir and the soup then said, how.
The lights flickered a bit and then returned to full brightness. Faith stuck a finger in the soup. "Come on! Heat up before the power goes out!"
The lights flickered again and finally went out completely. "Shit." Faith swore under her breath. At least the soup was lukewarm.
From down the hall, there came a loud crash and the sound of breaking glass. It was immediately followed by a bellowed, "Son of a bitch!" Faith grabbed the flashlight from off the top of the refrigerator and flipped it on.
"Bosco, you alright?" Faith called out as she walked down the hall.
"Peachy, but I'm afraid that picture you had hanging on the wall in here has seen better days." The bathroom door opened and Bosco appeared.
Faith shone the flashlight around the bathroom. The glass frame was shattered. "I'd better clean this up, you sure you're okay?" She turned the beam on him.
Bosco nodded. "I hit it with my arm after the lights went out."
Faith snickered. "Bos, you have the pants on backward. The writing goes across the back, not the front."
Bosco looked down. "Cutie?! What the hell Faith? You gave me pants that are supposed to say cutie across my ass?!"
"Emily got them for me. She thought it might be well, cute."
Bosco scowled. "You'll pay for this Yokas."
Faith simply smiled. "I'll go and grab the broom and some paper towel. You'd better fix your pants cutie."
_______________
"The soup's still cold." Bosco complained after he'd sucked back a spoonful. He let the spoon drop into the bowl and he looked down with a disgusted expression on his face.
Faith struck a match and lit another candle on the coffee table. "The power went out before it had a chance to get hot."
"You'd think the power in this city would be a little more reliable." Bosco stated and stirred his soup with the spoon.
"It's a blizzard Bosco! Wind, heavy snowfall. That's bound to knock out a few lines."
"I think my soup just said bite me."
"I wouldn't be surprised." Faith said and sat down with her own bowl of soup. She ate a few spoonfuls before giving up and putting the bowl next to the candles on the coffee table. The candles flickered, casting a eerie glow about the room.
"Do you have anything else to eat?" Bosco asked, putting his own bowl next to Faith's.
"You saw what was in my fridge this morning. I haven't had the energy to go shopping lately. But I think there might be some frozen meat in the freezer if you're interesting in gnawing away at that."
"Thanks, I think I'll pass." Bosco scratched the side of his face and then sighed.
"Something on your mind?" Faith asked. "Other than your stomach?"
"No, not really. I'm just thinking."
"About what?"
"Heather. We're probably gonna be stuck at work tomorrow and I'm supposed to meet her at a coffeehouse at 11:30."
Faith blew at a candle and watched the flame dance. "Maybe this is God's way of telling you that you shouldn't be with her."
Bosco made a noise of disgust. "If this is your idea of a good time Yokas, I'm not amused."
"What?" Faith asked innocently.
"Just because you've been burned by Fred doesn't mean you gotta pick away at my love life."
"Your love life?" Faith scoffed. "Don't you mean your sex life?"
Bosco pushed a pillow away and stood up. The candles flickered slightly. "You know what Faith? I'm startin' to wish that I'd never come in! I should have gone home when I still had the chance." He grabbed the flashlight that was sitting on the end table and stalked off down the hall. "I'm going to sleep in Charlie's bed, if that's alright with you! It's gotta be better than that lumpy couch." Bosco called down the hall and then shut the door with a slam.
Faith blinked a few times, surprised by Bosco's sudden outburst. She sighed and turned her gaze on the snow outside. Since the power had gone out, taking the heat with it, a cool draft had set up. Faith could feel it nipping at her heels and she tucked her legs up underneath herself. From the apartment next door there was a few muffled bangs and then silence.
Bosco woke up a few hours later shivering. For a brief moment he wondered where he was then he remembered he was at Faith's place, sleeping in her absent son's bed. He drew the covers up over his head and gradually drifted back off to sleep.
Faith lifted her head and tried to work out some of the kinks in her neck. The candles on the coffee table had burnt themselves out and melted pools of wax were left in their place. Faith got up from the couch, stretching her legs. She wandered over to the window and saw that the snow was still falling. It looked as through a plow had been down the street not long ago, but the snow was rapidly filling up the hollow left by it.
The apartment was cold and Faith shivered. She checked her watch and saw that it was only just after midnight. That made sense, seeing as she must have fallen asleep just after 7:00, when Bosco had left her. Faith hoped that Bosco was warm enough, as she knew Charlie's bed only had a light comforter and a sheet on it.
Faith decided to check on Bosco, so she grabbed a few blankets from the linen closet and quietly opened the door to her children's room. Bosco had propped the flashlight up on a dresser, so the room was lit up with a soft light. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked over at Charlie's bed. With just the top of Bosco's head showing under the covers - it could easily have been her son asleep in that bed. Faith walked over to him and pulled back the covers a bit. "Bosco?"
Bosco moved slightly and tried to pull the covers back up. "Bosco!" Faith said, a bit louder this time.
"Go away." he mumbled.
"I brought you a few more blankets if you're cold."
"Power still out?" Bosco sat up a bit, drawing the covers around him.
Faith nodded. "And it's still snowing."
Bosco yawned and then rubbed his eyes. "You're kidding. What time is it?"
"Just after midnight."
"That's it? It feels like it should be morning. What time did I go to bed?"
"Around 7:00."
Bosco looked faintly alarmed. "That's the earliest I've gone to bed since I was a baby." he said. He blinked a few times and looked at Faith. "Did you sleep at all?"
"I fell asleep on the couch, but I woke up because I was too cold."
Bosco swung his legs off the bed and shuddered as his feet hit the cold floor. "Sorry about earlier."
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have made that comment about your sex life." Faith replied. "It wasn't fair of me."
"Truth is," Bosco said. "I can't imagine anyone else I would rather be snowed in with. Well, except for maybe that really hot blonde chick from that domestic last week. Remember her?"
Faith rolled her eyes. "How could I forget her? 'Oh thank you Officer Boscorelli, I don't know what I would have done without you!'"
"Oh yeah, she wanted me." Bosco said with a grin. He looked down as his stomach rumbled. "God, I'm starvin' You know what I could go for right now?." Faith shook her head. "A nice big juicy hamburger, with fries and one of those chocolate milkshakes."
"Sounds good. I have some saltines in the cupboard, will those work instead of fries?"
Bosco groaned and then stood up. Faith shifted the pile of blankets in her arms, "So you don't need these right now?"
"It's too cold to go back to sleep and I need to eat somethin'!"
Bosco left the room, the comforter off Charlie's bed trailing along behind him. "You want some slippers Bos?" Faith called after him.
Bosco turned around. "If they're fluffy and pink, no. I already have cutie printed across my ass, I don't need anything else!"
"There's an old pair of Fred's in the hall closet, if you want them."
Faith dropped the blankets on the bed and followed Bosco from the room. While Bosco stopped off for the slippers, Faith went into the kitchen and pulled through the cabinets. When she heard soft footfalls behind her, she said, "Well okay, we have some crackers, pancake mix, a jar of those weird red cherries, an over ripe banana and a box of cornflakes."
"Give me the cornflakes and a bowl." Bosco replied. "They're better than nothing."
Bosco took the cornflakes box and a bowl and settled down on the couch. Faith nibbled on a few saltines and then put the bag back in the box and joined Bosco on the couch. "I don't think it'll ever stop snowing." she commented, her head turned towards the window.
"It's gonna be hell out there tomorrow."
"If we can get to work."
Bosco crunched on a mouthful of cereal and gave her a puzzled look. "The trains'll be running, won't they? We can walk to a station."
"I suppose so." Faith shivered and rubbed her arms to try and warm herself up. She looked over at Bosco, he had just finished his bowl of dry cereal and was yanking at his blanket. Before Bosco could even begin to form a protest, he found the blanket ripped off of him and Faith snuggling up.
"What the hell?" Bosco said, sounding confused as Faith draped the blanket over both of them.
"We'll be warmer like this." Faith replied. Her head was somewhere near his neck and he felt her warm breath on his cold skin.
Bosco put an arm around Faith and hugged her to him. "So, is this where we brush each other's hair and play truth or dare?"
"What?" Faith asked with a laugh. "You want to brush my hair?"
"Isn't that what girls do at slumber parties? It's been a long time since I crashed one."
"You crashed slumber parties?"
Bosco nodded. "Oh yeah, good times, good times. A bunch of girls in their skimpy pjs, giggling, having pillow fights and brushing their hair. It doesn't get any better than that."
Faith chuckled and shifted slightly, admitting a cold breeze under the blanket. Bosco tugged the blanket down over his legs. "You won't tell anyone at work about this will you?"
"About what?" Faith closed her eyes, suddenly feeling quite tired.
"Thank you." Bosco said and then closed his own eyes.
______________
"Well, it stopped snowing." Faith said, nodding her head as she stood in front of the window.
"Have the plows gone through yet?"
"Yup, but I don't think your car is going anywhere for a while unless you feel like digging it out."
The sky was still grey and threatening more snow. Bosco stood up and straightened his pants out. "Kids really will play anytime, anywhere won't they." he commented, looking out a small group of young kids, bundled up in snowsuits. They were rolling huge balls of snow on the sidewalk. Or rather where the sidewalk should have been.
"That's gotta be at least three feet of snow out there." Faith said. Part of her was full of wonder at the marvels of nature and another part of her wished all that snow would just suddenly melt.
"Do you have a battery operated radio?" Bosco asked. "We should probably listen to the news. Maybe find out when the electricity is expected to come back on."
"Uh yeah, somewhere in the closet in my room I think. Have it for emergencies." Faith headed down the hall.
Bosco frowned for a moment before reaching for his jacket that was hanging up by the door. He pulled out his cell phone and found the battery was dead. "Dammit!" he swore.
"What?" Faith had just returned to the living room with a small radio in her hand.
"My phone's dead." Bosco replied. "I wonder if the phone lines are still up." He grabbed the phone off the kitchen counter and held it to his ear. "Nope." Bosco shook his head. "No dial tone. I wanted to call my mom, make sure she's alright. If her cell phone hasn't died, that is."
"I'm sure she's fine Bos. Once we get this radio working, I'll find my phone. It might still work." Faith said, setting the radio down on the counter. She fiddled with the dials for a few moments before it crackled to life.
"And the schools are closed..." said the voice of a male announcer. "All over New York, people are digging out from the heaviest recorded snowfall since the great blizzard of 1996. Close to 30 inches of snow has fallen in the last 24 hours and more is expected to be on the way."
Bosco shook his head with disgust. "I hate snow. I really, really hate snow!"
"Calm down Bos. There's nothing we can do about it!" Faith said. "I'll grab my phone and see if the battery is still working."
Faith dug around in her purse and pulled out a small phone which she handed to Bosco. Bosco opened it and punched the on button. "Dead." he said and handed it back to Faith. Faith frowned and hit a few buttons.
A snow plow drove by outside, grating the pavement as it passed. It was followed by a truck that dumped salt on the road. "Citizens are requested to stay at home today. Emergencies workers have been kept busy throughout the night and into this morning. Thousands of people are without power this morning as a result of the storm. The electricity is expected to be restored to much of the borough by early afternoon." said the voice over the radio.
"Early afternoon?" Bosco groaned. "Is that the best they can do? What are we paying those assholes for anyway?"
Another plow drove by, this one going the opposite direction of the first. That plow was followed by an ambulance with flashing lights but no siren. Faith tugged a hand through her hair. "I think we should go into work Bosco. They probably need our help."
"Think we could commandeer one of those plows to get us there?"
Faith rolled her eyes. "There's gotta be a better way than that. I'm going to get changed, your clothes should be dry by now."
"I hope so, because there's no way in hell that I'm going to show up at work wearing these pants!"
Bosco went into the bathroom and found his pants hanging over the shower curtain. They were cold, but dry. He stripped off the sweatpants and quickly pulled on his jeans. "Cooooold." he said under his breath and zipped up the fly. To his dismay, his shirt was still damp but the sweatshirt Faith had given him wasn't offensive so he kept that on.
Bosco opened the door to Faith's bedroom a crack and tossed the pants in. "Relax, I'm not trying to peek at you!" he said when he heard Faith yelp. "I'm just giving you your pants back."
"Thank you!" Faith called. "Shut the door!"
Bosco shut the door and leaned against the wall. "I was thinkin'." Bosco said loudly so Faith could hear him through the door. "Just a gift certificate for my mom isn't much. I mean I love her more than just a piece of paper."
"You want to get her something else?" Faith's disembodied voice asked.
"Yeah. I'll still give her the gift certificate, but I want to get her something personalized too."
"How about some chocolates?"
Bosco pondered that for a moment. "Or how about one of those cute stuffed things. You know, like a bear that's wearing reindeer antlers or somethin'." Faith continued to shout out suggestions.
"We need to go shopping." Bosco said. "Not today, but after all that snow is gone. We need to go shopping."
"Excuse me? We?" The bedroom door opened and Faith appeared. She held a brush in her hand and yanked it through her hair. "I'm already done my Christmas shopping Bos."
"You have to come with me." Bosco whined. "I have to know whether she'll like the gift and besides, I haven't gotten anything for you and I thought maybe you could just pick out something you like."
Faith frowned as the brush got caught in a particularly bad tangle. "You don't need to get me anything, so why not take Heather along? That would be a good date, don't you think?"
"Taking a girl shopping for a present for my mom?"
"Sure, it shows that you love your mom. It's cute." Faith replied. She got the brush unstuck and continued running it through her hair.
Bosco shook his head. "I don't think so. I'd rather you came along."
Faith tossed the brush onto her bed and smoothed out her sweater. "Fine, but you have to promise to behave because honestly Bos, sometimes I think that I can't take you anywhere."
Bosco grinned. "I promise."
After putting on various layers of jackets, scarves, mittens and hats, Bosco and Faith left the apartment and faced the world. The wind had picked up again and was blowing the loose, powdery snow about. The kids that had been playing outside had since given up and gone inside, leaving their balls of snowing sitting on the sidewalk. Bosco kicked one.
"Hold on Faith." Bosco said, holding up a hand. "I just want to check on my car."
Bosco brushed some snow off his car and peered in through the window. "Everything looks okay." he said and then turned to look at Faith. "So, how do you plan on getting to the precinct?"
Faith shrugged. "We could walk I guess."
"No way. I am not walking! We'll just hail down the next ambulance or plow that goes by."
They stood shivering in the cold for a good ten minutes before another vehicle came down the street. Bosco leaped over the snow piled on the side of the road and flashed his badge. The snow plow slowed down and came to stop in front of them. Bosco turned to Faith with a big grin on his face. "Come on Faith, our ride is here!"
The driver threw open the side door and looked curiously at Bosco and Faith, who had just stepped into the snow bank. "Everything alright officer? Was I driving too fast?"
"No, but we need a lift over to the 55th." Bosco said. "That's at King and Arthur."
The driver pulled at his gloves. "I know where the 55th is." he said. "But I got a route to plow here. I can't be running a taxi service."
Faith tugged on Bosco's jacket. "Come on Bos, we'll just wait for a police cruiser to drive by or something."
Bosco ignored Faith's tugging. "Listen buddy, my partner and I need to get to work, now are you gonna help us or not?" He waved his badge around as though it were a gun.
"Well, I suppose I could drop you two off after I finish plowing. Hop in."
Bosco hopped into the seat and then helped pull Faith up. "I guess you're sitting on my lap." he said and pulled Faith down then shut the door. The driver sighed and the plow began moving again.
"This is actually kind of fun." Bosco said as he watched the snow fly up from the nose of the plow. "I think I went into the wrong profession."
"You as a snow plow driver?" Faith said, moving around a bit to try and get comfortable on Bosco's lap.
"It's not a bad job." offered the driver. "Pays the bills in the winter."
"What do you do during the summer?" Faith asked. "There can't be much plowing to be done then."
"I work road construction. Run the backhoes and steam rollers. My name's Kevin by the way."
"Nice to meet you Kevin." Bosco said. "You ever hit anything with this bad boy?"
"Hit anything?"
"Yeah, you know, cars, dogs, that sorta thing."
Kevin turned the snow plow down another road. "Yeah sometimes, but I'd rather not talk about it."
"Oookay." Bosco muttered. He wondered if he should be arresting the guy and not getting a lift with him.
Twenty minutes later the snow plow pulled up in front of the 55th precinct. Bosco and Faith hopped out and Kevin waved them a cheerful goodbye. "That guy was weird." Faith said, once the plow drove off down the road.
"Extremely." Bosco agreed. "Anyway, let's get in side and see where they want us. Or if they even want us at all. Maybe I can call Heather and my mom from here."
Bosco put a foot up onto the step and then began flailing about. "Whoa!" he cried as he fell backwards. Faith moved into catch him, but missed and Bosco landed on the ground with a thump.
"Ow." Bosco lay on the ground looking up at Faith. Faith knelt down beside him.
"Oh my God, Bosco! Are you alright?"
Bosco sat up and nodded. "I have a hard head."
Faith offered him her hand and yanked him up. "Be careful." Bosco said helpfully. "The steps are slippery."