Title: Journey to Nowhere - Chapter Two
Author: Lynne Facella
Category: Drama/Angst
Email: lynne1919@aol.com
Spoilers: Through current season 4
Disclaimer: All characters are the property of John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero. I wish they were mine but unfortunately they're not.
Summary: A trip takes a deadly turn for Bosco, Faith, Sully and Ty.
******
Ty and Sully struggled through some dense brush and came upon a large pond. Ty flung the things he was carrying down onto the ground and went over to squat on the bank, cupping his hands to dip into the water.
"Don't, Ty," Sully cautioned. "The water is likely safe, but I think we ought to boil it before we drink it, just to be on the cautious side. Faith and I found a couple of mess kits in with the food."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ty drew back from the stream and stood up again. "This is probably a good place to set up camp though. Luckily it isn't too far from the plane either."
"Hey we've got water?" Bosco grinned as he threw his bags down on the ground. "That's great."
"That is really great." Faith smiled as she put down her bag and sank down onto the ground. She felt a great deal of relief now that they had a water supply. Four quarts of water wouldn't have lasted them very long out here and there was no telling how long it would be before they were rescued...If they were rescued. She sighed and shook her head slightly as she mentally admonished herself. She couldn't think that way. She had to think positively. They would be rescued. She would see her family again. She had to believe that.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm kind of hungry." Ty regretted not eating the lunch that had been served on the commercial flight they had taken earlier to get to the airport in Canada. It hadn't looked very appetizing though and he had figured they could have found dinner somewhere that night. There wasn't a chance in hell of that happening now.
"Yeah, I could eat too," Sully replied.
Bosco began sorting through the provisions. "How are we going to do this? I guess we need to ration it out? There's tuna fish here. Hey Faith, you want tuna?"
Faith wrinkled up her nose and shook her head. "No thanks. I'm not really hungry right now."
"So...are we just going to eat tuna from the can?" Sully asked. "No bread or mayo?"
"Do you see any?" Bosco shot an annoyed look in Sully's direction. "Unless they come rainin' down from the sky I guess you're out of luck."
"Shut up, Bosco," Sully snarled.
"Why don't you both shut up?" Faith shouted, glaring at the two men. "Are you even comprehendin' what is going on here? We're stranded in the fuckin' wilderness. God only knows where we are. We have no way of contactin' anyone. We don't know if we are ever going to be found and you two are fightin' about tuna fish? What the hell is wrong with you? We have to depend on each other for God's sake, not fight about trivial things. We're not here playin' boy scouts. This is a matter of life and death. Ours..."
There were a few very long moments of silence following Faith's spiel. Ty stared down at the ground and kicked at the exposed root of a tree, feeling as uncomfortable as if he had been the one at the receiving end of her tirade. Sully sighed deeply and turned back from the pond he had been gazing at to meet Faith's eyes. "You're right. I'm sorry. He was silent for a few more moments before reluctantly adding "sorry Bosco."
"Yeah...I'm sorry too," Bosco said to Sully then turned towards his partner. "Faith...I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's alright, Bos." Faith looked up at him, offering a faint smile. It really was impossible to stay angry with him for very long. He could be the biggest pain in the ass, but she cared about him a great deal and she trusted him with her life.
"Soooo..." Ty cast a hungry look at the box of provisions. "How about we eat something now? I don't know about you all, but I think right now I'm in favor of beef jerky over tuna fish." He grinned as he pulled one of the plastic-wrapped sticks of beef out of the box.
"We don't exactly have a ton of food do we?" Sully asked as he looked down at the supply of food.
"Well...maybe there are fish in the pond," Ty said. "We can try to catch some."
"I didn't think you were the fishing type," Sully remarked, giving Ty an amused look.
"Yeah well...I'm not," Ty admitted with a shrug. "But how hard can it be?"
"Don't worry about it. I can catch fish. I won't let you starve," Bosco stated with a smug smile. "I was in the Army Rangers. I know a thing or two about how to survive in these kinds of circumstances."
Sully rolled his eyes. "I wasn't worried about it, Bosco. I can fish too. In fact, I'm pretty damn good at it if I do say so myself. But for right now, I think the first thing we need to worry about is setting up a camp. It's going to get pretty cold tonight." Sully glanced down at Faith who was wrapped up in a blanket and looked quite pale. "We need to gather some firewood."
"Bosco and I can go," Ty stated, eager to do something useful. "You two can wait here...maybe sort through the supplies or something."
Bosco would have rather stayed with Faith, but he realized that he and Davis were the logical candidates to do some of the more physical work that was required. "Yeah okay, let's go, Davis. We should try to do this before it starts gettin' dark."
"Don't go too far," Sully cautioned as he watched the two younger men set off. "Stay together. We don't need anyone getting lost."
"We'll be fine, Sully," Ty responded. "Don't worry."
"Man, Davis, how do you put up with him?" Bosco asked after they were out of earshot of Sully and Faith. "He'd drive me out of my friggen mind."
"Sully's a good guy. He's just been around a lot longer than us and he just has his own way of doing things. He's saved my ass more times than I can count though."
"That's what partners do. Save each others' asses." They walked for a short while before they found an area with a lot of loose sticks and branches strewn about. Bosco squatted down and began to gather them up. "Me and Faith...we work together like clockwork. I know her as well as I know myself."
"Well the two of you have been together a long time," Ty stated. "It's good you get on so well. I mean... a female partner and all..."
"What do you mean by that?" Bosco gave Ty an annoyed look. "There's nothing wrong with havin' a female partner. Faith's a great cop. I wouldn't want anyone else for a partner."
"Whoa." Ty couldn't help smiling as he picked up a large branch from the ground. "I didn't say there was anything wrong with it. I know Faith's a good cop. I just think it could be tough sometimes...you know, the whole male-female dynamic going on."
"That just shows how immature you are, Davis." Bosco deliberately crawled under some brush to retrieve some more sticks, wanting to hide the fact that his cheeks were reddening. "Men and women can be just friends for God's sake."
Ty raised an eyebrow, wondering if he was onto something here. Did Bosco have feelings for Faith? "You know...Faith is an attractive woman. I can easily see how..."
Bosco stood up, his cheeks flushed and his eyes flashing with anger. "Jesus, Davis, will ya shut up? I am not attracted to Faith. She's my partner for cryin' out loud. No wonder you don't mind puttin' up with Sully's bullshit. You're as aggravatin' as he is."
Ty looked back at Bosco in surprise, a faint smile still on his lips. He was pretty sure he was onto something here. Bosco was protesting way too much. He definitely had it bad for his partner. He wondered if Faith returned his feelings. Of course she was married which made it more complicated, but then again, nowadays marriage often wasn't all it was cracked up to be. "Sorry, man. I didn't mean to upset you. Let's just drop this, okay?"
"Fine by me..." The two worked in silence for a few minutes before Bosco's voice rang out. "Holy shit!" He dropped the stack of wood he was carrying and backed up a few steps, looking down.
"What's the matter?" Ty turned towards Bosco in utter confusion.
"Look at the size of that thing!" Bosco pointed towards an immense spider that was scurrying over a piece of wood. The spider was light brown in color and covered with hair. It was like nothing Bosco had ever seen in his life, except maybe in a zoo, enclosed in a glass case.
"Oh man...that thing is nasty," Ty remarked as they watched it disappear into the brush. "You think it's poisonous?"
"Not sure.'" Bosco shrugged then bent down to pick up the sticks he had dropped, carefully examining them for any other spiders that might be lurking. "I'll never understand people who live out in the middle of nowhere. Give me the city any day. Crooks and degenerates I can handle."
"I don't know...I mean yeah this is a little bit extreme, but it might not be that bad."
Bosco scowled. "Well you can have it. It's definitely not for me."
"Hey you think we have enough wood for a fire now?" Ty's arms were filled with just about as much as he could carry. "It's starting to get dark."
Bosco glanced at his own armful of wood and then at what Ty was carrying. 'Yeah...I think that's enough. Come on. Let's get back to the others."
Ty nodded and followed behind Bosco as they walked back to where Sully and Faith were busy setting up camp.
"Hey we're back," Ty stated as he dumped his armload of wood down onto the ground. He then glanced around and saw that everything had been organized and put into order. The provisions and supplies were stacked neatly. Their bags had all been put to one side and the blankets were all folded neatly in a small pile. "This looks pretty good."
"About time you two got back," Sully remarked gruffly. "He didn't want to admit how relieved he was to have the two of them back in camp. They hadn't even been gone long, but this was totally unfamiliar territory for all of them and there was no telling what could happen. He knew that sometimes he tended to go a bit overboard as far as being protective towards Ty was concerned. It was hard not to though. He'd known him for practically Ty's whole life.
Bosco rolled his eyes, but managed to remain silent as he dumped his wood on top of Ty's pile. "I guess I'll build the fire."
"You got the wood. I can make the fire." Sully stared back at Bosco with a hint of defiance on his face, then knelt down by the pile of wood and began to stack the sticks on the area of ground that he had cleared. Ty immediately squatted down to assist him. Bosco stood and observed them closely for a few minutes. He knew with his Army Ranger training that he would be best suited to perform these kinds of tasks properly, but Sully seemed to know what he was doing so he decided to just let it be for now. He walked over to Faith and sat down on the ground beside her.
"Hey Faith...you feelin' any better?" Bosco gave her a worried look. She still looked like crap. "You need anything? You want some water or somethin'?"
"I'm fine, Bosco. My headache is better. I...I...just...I can't believe this happened. I...I keep thinkin' that I'm asleep and I'm going to wake up and this will all just be a dream, you know?
"Yeah...yeah I know, Faith, but at least we all made it through the crash. I mean...someone's gotta be watchin' out for us for us to have made it this far, don't ya think?"
"Yeah...sure, Bos." Faith's response was automatic. She really didn't believe that things were going to be fine. She hoped that they were, but...she couldn't help the feeling of dread that had settled over her. The thought that she might never see her children again was almost unbearable to her.
He gnawed on his lower lip as he watched his partner, unsure how to make her feel better. They just sat quietly, watching as Sully and Ty worked on the fire. "Hey look, Faith," Bosco said, a little while later. "They've got it started." He pointed to the fire which was merrily crackling away. "Hey you know, Sully...a few scattered small fires are actually better than one big one to help keep warm."
Sully nodded. "That makes sense but we're going to need more kindling than what we've got here. I think this will do for tonight and tomorrow we'll see about getting more sticks and stuff to help feed the flames."
"Sure is dark here." Ty grabbed the bag containing his clothes and personal items and pulled out a heavy sweatshirt. He then took off his jacket, pulled the sweatshirt down over his head and put the jacket back on. "Cold too."
"Well we should just be grateful it's not winter," Sully stated. "If it was, we'd be in a world of trouble."
"Even so...it's still pretty cold," Ty responded.
"Davis, will ya stop whinin'?" Bosco snapped. "Geeze."
Ty shot an angry glance in Bosco's direction, but didn't reply. Instead, he drew a little bit closer to the fire and stared into the orange and yellow flames, grateful that they had at least a little bit of warmth and light. For some reason, in the light of day he'd been able to keep the severity of their situation out of his thoughts, but now, in the darkness, it was hitting him and he was scared...really scared...
"Bos...you need to lay off," Faith admonished quietly, her hand resting lightly on her partner's upper arm. "You snappin' and fightin' with everyone isn't helpin' anything. This isn't easy on anyone."
"Yeah, sure, whatever..." Bosco sighed wearily as he ran his hand back through his hair. He then glanced over to where Ty was staring sullenly at the fire. Everyone was being so damn sensitive. "Hey, I'm sorry, Davis." Bosco turned towards Faith, proud that he had actually managed to sound sincere. "Happy?" he whispered, grinning cockily at her.
Faith nodded as she offered him a slight smile. "It won't hurt you to try to get along with everyone while we're out here, Bos. We...we all need each other." She was trying desperately not to think of the pilot whose body was lying still and cold back in the plane. It could have easily been any of them or all of them. For whatever reasons, they had been spared and for them to be bickering over nothing didn't seem to be a very productive way to spend their time.
Bosco stared back at Faith, almost mesmerized by how beautiful she was, bathed in the warm glow of the campfire. She was right there in front of him, totally oblivious to the feelings she aroused in him. He wondered what she would do if he just leaned in and kissed her. Would she be shocked? Would she slap him in the face? Or maybe...just maybe would she kiss him back? He only wished he had the guts to find out, but he didn't. He tried to shake those thoughts from his mind and concentrate on what Faith was saying, they needed to get along, etc., etc. "I'll try to get along with everyone, Faith, okay? Really I will." Sure, Sullivan was aggravating, but the smile Faith bestowed upon him when he said he'd try was worth it a little bit of aggravation.
On the other side of the fire, Sully's eyes were focused on his young partner. He could tell the situation was starting to weigh on Ty. He could recognize the signs. He had gotten much too quiet and had an almost morose expression on his face as he stared into the flames of the fire.
"Ty...you alright?" Sully asked quietly, patting the younger man's shoulder.
"I'm fine, Sully." His voice was cold and almost emotionless as he answered Sully's question.
Sully sighed. Why did everyone always say they were fine when they weren't? It would be so much easier if people just told the truth, but then again, he himself had been guilty of saying he was fine when he wasn't. It was just something people did. "I know you're not fine, Ty."
"Yeah well I don't think you're fine either, are you, Sully? I really don't think anyone is fine here." Ty said, meeting his partner's eyes. "I just don't think there's very much we can do about it."
"It might help to talk."
"I'm fine," Ty repeated stubbornly. Everyone else was being calm, cool and collected on the outside. He wasn't going to be the one to break. He could keep his feelings inside just as well as they all could. Hell, Faith was a woman and she was keeping it together. He could do it too.
"Alright." Sully resigned himself to the fact that Ty didn't want to discuss the situation. Hell maybe it was just as well. He didn't really know. "If you change you mind..."
"Yeah I know...thanks, Sully..."
Faith and Bosco sat silently, listening to Sully and Davis as they talked. Bosco was beginning to feel a few slight pangs of conscience. Sully was older and more experienced. He didn't suppose it would kill him to listen to him once in a while. And he certainly didn't have anything against Davis. Faith was right. They were going to have to do everything in their power to make sure they all got through this situation safely.
"Hey, anyone feel like havin' some dinner?" Bosco asked.
Sully and Davis remained silent at first and Faith shook her head.
"Faith...you've gotta eat somethin'," Bosco protested softly. "You need to keep up your strength."
"He's right, Faith." Sully stated, his expression serious as he watched her.
"Fine...I'll eat something.'" Faith just didn't have the energy or the desire to fight about food. "I'll have one of those meal bars."
Bosco went over to the provision box, pulled out one of the meal bars and handed it to Faith. He then looked over at Sully and Ty. "How 'bout you guys? You gonna eat somethin'?"
"Nah I'm good." Ty shook his head. "I ate that piece of beef jerky earlier."
Sully hoisted himself up off the ground and walked over to look through the contents of the box. "Beefaroni." He grinned as he picked up the tiny can and opened the flip top lid. "Could be worse."
Bosco took a meal bar for himself and resumed his place on the ground next to Faith. "How are they?" he asked, noting that she had taken a bite of her bar and was chewing it.
"It tastes like chocolate-covered sandpaper."
Bosco ripped the wrapper off his bar, took a bite and made a face. "More like chocolate-covered crap," he stated. "What I wouldn't give for a nice juicy burger and some fries right now."
"I think you'd better get those kinda thoughts out of your head, Bos," Faith said. "It'll be a while before you're chompin' on a burger I think."
"Yeah well a guy can dream can't he?"
"You sure you don't want to eat something?" Sully looked over at Ty who was still staring into the fire. "This Beefaroni is a gourmet delight."
"No thanks."
"Okay." Sully nodded, forcing himself not to pursue the issue. Ty was a grown man and he certainly wasn't in danger of starving...at least not yet anyway.
Bosco forced down the remainder of his meal bar and absently started digging at the ground with a stick. "God this is boring. What the hell are we going to do with ourselves if we're here for days?"
"You can always read my book, Bos," Faith said with a sweet smile. "I'm willing to share."
"Yeah right," Bosco scoffed. "If I get that desperate for somethin' to do, shoot me and put me out of my misery."
*****
The next few hours passed exceedingly slowly. The four officers engaged in some small talk, occasionally feeding the fire and trying not to give in to the fears that could easily overtake them at any moment.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to try to get some shut-eye." Sully stretched his arms overhead as he stiffly got up from the ground. He walked over to where the blankets were and grabbed a few, tossing a couple over to Ty. "Faster we get to sleep, the faster morning will be here. Who knows, maybe someone will spot us tomorrow."
Bosco sighed. He wasn't sure that he'd be able to sleep but he had to admit that the part about waking up to daylight, instead of darkness, was more than a little appealing. He hated the dark, especially when they didn't really know what was out there. At least they had the fire. He shuddered to think of what it would be like without one. "Sounds like a pretty good idea to me." He took the remaining blankets that were left and gave most of them to Faith, unable to help thinking about how nice it would be just to lie underneath the blankets and hold her close. He knew he couldn't do it, but it was a nice thought in any case.
"Thanks, Bos." Faith took the blankets from him and began to form them into a makeshift sleeping bag. She then crawled into it and was pleased to find that the blankets combined with the heat of the fire were actually pretty warm. "Goodnight everybody...see you in the morning."
"Good night, Faith," Sully called softly and Ty echoed him.
"Sweet dreams, Faith," Bosco whispered. He began to arrange his blankets similarly to the way Faith had and stretched out on the ground next to her. Then he just lay there waiting for sleep to overtake him. Faith fell asleep first. Although she wasn't facing him, he could tell by the way her breathing evened out. Then Sully started snoring away. He wasn't sure about Ty, but in his own case, he found himself almost obsessively watching over Faith. She'd said that she was feeling a lot better, but they weren't doctors. He couldn't help but worry. Wanting to be safe, he awoke her every so often, just to make sure she was okay. The third time she snapped at him to leave her alone and just let her rest. Finally, just before dawn, his own eyelids began to droop and he too succumbed to sleep.
*****
Author: Lynne Facella
Category: Drama/Angst
Email: lynne1919@aol.com
Spoilers: Through current season 4
Disclaimer: All characters are the property of John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero. I wish they were mine but unfortunately they're not.
Summary: A trip takes a deadly turn for Bosco, Faith, Sully and Ty.
******
Ty and Sully struggled through some dense brush and came upon a large pond. Ty flung the things he was carrying down onto the ground and went over to squat on the bank, cupping his hands to dip into the water.
"Don't, Ty," Sully cautioned. "The water is likely safe, but I think we ought to boil it before we drink it, just to be on the cautious side. Faith and I found a couple of mess kits in with the food."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ty drew back from the stream and stood up again. "This is probably a good place to set up camp though. Luckily it isn't too far from the plane either."
"Hey we've got water?" Bosco grinned as he threw his bags down on the ground. "That's great."
"That is really great." Faith smiled as she put down her bag and sank down onto the ground. She felt a great deal of relief now that they had a water supply. Four quarts of water wouldn't have lasted them very long out here and there was no telling how long it would be before they were rescued...If they were rescued. She sighed and shook her head slightly as she mentally admonished herself. She couldn't think that way. She had to think positively. They would be rescued. She would see her family again. She had to believe that.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm kind of hungry." Ty regretted not eating the lunch that had been served on the commercial flight they had taken earlier to get to the airport in Canada. It hadn't looked very appetizing though and he had figured they could have found dinner somewhere that night. There wasn't a chance in hell of that happening now.
"Yeah, I could eat too," Sully replied.
Bosco began sorting through the provisions. "How are we going to do this? I guess we need to ration it out? There's tuna fish here. Hey Faith, you want tuna?"
Faith wrinkled up her nose and shook her head. "No thanks. I'm not really hungry right now."
"So...are we just going to eat tuna from the can?" Sully asked. "No bread or mayo?"
"Do you see any?" Bosco shot an annoyed look in Sully's direction. "Unless they come rainin' down from the sky I guess you're out of luck."
"Shut up, Bosco," Sully snarled.
"Why don't you both shut up?" Faith shouted, glaring at the two men. "Are you even comprehendin' what is going on here? We're stranded in the fuckin' wilderness. God only knows where we are. We have no way of contactin' anyone. We don't know if we are ever going to be found and you two are fightin' about tuna fish? What the hell is wrong with you? We have to depend on each other for God's sake, not fight about trivial things. We're not here playin' boy scouts. This is a matter of life and death. Ours..."
There were a few very long moments of silence following Faith's spiel. Ty stared down at the ground and kicked at the exposed root of a tree, feeling as uncomfortable as if he had been the one at the receiving end of her tirade. Sully sighed deeply and turned back from the pond he had been gazing at to meet Faith's eyes. "You're right. I'm sorry. He was silent for a few more moments before reluctantly adding "sorry Bosco."
"Yeah...I'm sorry too," Bosco said to Sully then turned towards his partner. "Faith...I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's alright, Bos." Faith looked up at him, offering a faint smile. It really was impossible to stay angry with him for very long. He could be the biggest pain in the ass, but she cared about him a great deal and she trusted him with her life.
"Soooo..." Ty cast a hungry look at the box of provisions. "How about we eat something now? I don't know about you all, but I think right now I'm in favor of beef jerky over tuna fish." He grinned as he pulled one of the plastic-wrapped sticks of beef out of the box.
"We don't exactly have a ton of food do we?" Sully asked as he looked down at the supply of food.
"Well...maybe there are fish in the pond," Ty said. "We can try to catch some."
"I didn't think you were the fishing type," Sully remarked, giving Ty an amused look.
"Yeah well...I'm not," Ty admitted with a shrug. "But how hard can it be?"
"Don't worry about it. I can catch fish. I won't let you starve," Bosco stated with a smug smile. "I was in the Army Rangers. I know a thing or two about how to survive in these kinds of circumstances."
Sully rolled his eyes. "I wasn't worried about it, Bosco. I can fish too. In fact, I'm pretty damn good at it if I do say so myself. But for right now, I think the first thing we need to worry about is setting up a camp. It's going to get pretty cold tonight." Sully glanced down at Faith who was wrapped up in a blanket and looked quite pale. "We need to gather some firewood."
"Bosco and I can go," Ty stated, eager to do something useful. "You two can wait here...maybe sort through the supplies or something."
Bosco would have rather stayed with Faith, but he realized that he and Davis were the logical candidates to do some of the more physical work that was required. "Yeah okay, let's go, Davis. We should try to do this before it starts gettin' dark."
"Don't go too far," Sully cautioned as he watched the two younger men set off. "Stay together. We don't need anyone getting lost."
"We'll be fine, Sully," Ty responded. "Don't worry."
"Man, Davis, how do you put up with him?" Bosco asked after they were out of earshot of Sully and Faith. "He'd drive me out of my friggen mind."
"Sully's a good guy. He's just been around a lot longer than us and he just has his own way of doing things. He's saved my ass more times than I can count though."
"That's what partners do. Save each others' asses." They walked for a short while before they found an area with a lot of loose sticks and branches strewn about. Bosco squatted down and began to gather them up. "Me and Faith...we work together like clockwork. I know her as well as I know myself."
"Well the two of you have been together a long time," Ty stated. "It's good you get on so well. I mean... a female partner and all..."
"What do you mean by that?" Bosco gave Ty an annoyed look. "There's nothing wrong with havin' a female partner. Faith's a great cop. I wouldn't want anyone else for a partner."
"Whoa." Ty couldn't help smiling as he picked up a large branch from the ground. "I didn't say there was anything wrong with it. I know Faith's a good cop. I just think it could be tough sometimes...you know, the whole male-female dynamic going on."
"That just shows how immature you are, Davis." Bosco deliberately crawled under some brush to retrieve some more sticks, wanting to hide the fact that his cheeks were reddening. "Men and women can be just friends for God's sake."
Ty raised an eyebrow, wondering if he was onto something here. Did Bosco have feelings for Faith? "You know...Faith is an attractive woman. I can easily see how..."
Bosco stood up, his cheeks flushed and his eyes flashing with anger. "Jesus, Davis, will ya shut up? I am not attracted to Faith. She's my partner for cryin' out loud. No wonder you don't mind puttin' up with Sully's bullshit. You're as aggravatin' as he is."
Ty looked back at Bosco in surprise, a faint smile still on his lips. He was pretty sure he was onto something here. Bosco was protesting way too much. He definitely had it bad for his partner. He wondered if Faith returned his feelings. Of course she was married which made it more complicated, but then again, nowadays marriage often wasn't all it was cracked up to be. "Sorry, man. I didn't mean to upset you. Let's just drop this, okay?"
"Fine by me..." The two worked in silence for a few minutes before Bosco's voice rang out. "Holy shit!" He dropped the stack of wood he was carrying and backed up a few steps, looking down.
"What's the matter?" Ty turned towards Bosco in utter confusion.
"Look at the size of that thing!" Bosco pointed towards an immense spider that was scurrying over a piece of wood. The spider was light brown in color and covered with hair. It was like nothing Bosco had ever seen in his life, except maybe in a zoo, enclosed in a glass case.
"Oh man...that thing is nasty," Ty remarked as they watched it disappear into the brush. "You think it's poisonous?"
"Not sure.'" Bosco shrugged then bent down to pick up the sticks he had dropped, carefully examining them for any other spiders that might be lurking. "I'll never understand people who live out in the middle of nowhere. Give me the city any day. Crooks and degenerates I can handle."
"I don't know...I mean yeah this is a little bit extreme, but it might not be that bad."
Bosco scowled. "Well you can have it. It's definitely not for me."
"Hey you think we have enough wood for a fire now?" Ty's arms were filled with just about as much as he could carry. "It's starting to get dark."
Bosco glanced at his own armful of wood and then at what Ty was carrying. 'Yeah...I think that's enough. Come on. Let's get back to the others."
Ty nodded and followed behind Bosco as they walked back to where Sully and Faith were busy setting up camp.
"Hey we're back," Ty stated as he dumped his armload of wood down onto the ground. He then glanced around and saw that everything had been organized and put into order. The provisions and supplies were stacked neatly. Their bags had all been put to one side and the blankets were all folded neatly in a small pile. "This looks pretty good."
"About time you two got back," Sully remarked gruffly. "He didn't want to admit how relieved he was to have the two of them back in camp. They hadn't even been gone long, but this was totally unfamiliar territory for all of them and there was no telling what could happen. He knew that sometimes he tended to go a bit overboard as far as being protective towards Ty was concerned. It was hard not to though. He'd known him for practically Ty's whole life.
Bosco rolled his eyes, but managed to remain silent as he dumped his wood on top of Ty's pile. "I guess I'll build the fire."
"You got the wood. I can make the fire." Sully stared back at Bosco with a hint of defiance on his face, then knelt down by the pile of wood and began to stack the sticks on the area of ground that he had cleared. Ty immediately squatted down to assist him. Bosco stood and observed them closely for a few minutes. He knew with his Army Ranger training that he would be best suited to perform these kinds of tasks properly, but Sully seemed to know what he was doing so he decided to just let it be for now. He walked over to Faith and sat down on the ground beside her.
"Hey Faith...you feelin' any better?" Bosco gave her a worried look. She still looked like crap. "You need anything? You want some water or somethin'?"
"I'm fine, Bosco. My headache is better. I...I...just...I can't believe this happened. I...I keep thinkin' that I'm asleep and I'm going to wake up and this will all just be a dream, you know?
"Yeah...yeah I know, Faith, but at least we all made it through the crash. I mean...someone's gotta be watchin' out for us for us to have made it this far, don't ya think?"
"Yeah...sure, Bos." Faith's response was automatic. She really didn't believe that things were going to be fine. She hoped that they were, but...she couldn't help the feeling of dread that had settled over her. The thought that she might never see her children again was almost unbearable to her.
He gnawed on his lower lip as he watched his partner, unsure how to make her feel better. They just sat quietly, watching as Sully and Ty worked on the fire. "Hey look, Faith," Bosco said, a little while later. "They've got it started." He pointed to the fire which was merrily crackling away. "Hey you know, Sully...a few scattered small fires are actually better than one big one to help keep warm."
Sully nodded. "That makes sense but we're going to need more kindling than what we've got here. I think this will do for tonight and tomorrow we'll see about getting more sticks and stuff to help feed the flames."
"Sure is dark here." Ty grabbed the bag containing his clothes and personal items and pulled out a heavy sweatshirt. He then took off his jacket, pulled the sweatshirt down over his head and put the jacket back on. "Cold too."
"Well we should just be grateful it's not winter," Sully stated. "If it was, we'd be in a world of trouble."
"Even so...it's still pretty cold," Ty responded.
"Davis, will ya stop whinin'?" Bosco snapped. "Geeze."
Ty shot an angry glance in Bosco's direction, but didn't reply. Instead, he drew a little bit closer to the fire and stared into the orange and yellow flames, grateful that they had at least a little bit of warmth and light. For some reason, in the light of day he'd been able to keep the severity of their situation out of his thoughts, but now, in the darkness, it was hitting him and he was scared...really scared...
"Bos...you need to lay off," Faith admonished quietly, her hand resting lightly on her partner's upper arm. "You snappin' and fightin' with everyone isn't helpin' anything. This isn't easy on anyone."
"Yeah, sure, whatever..." Bosco sighed wearily as he ran his hand back through his hair. He then glanced over to where Ty was staring sullenly at the fire. Everyone was being so damn sensitive. "Hey, I'm sorry, Davis." Bosco turned towards Faith, proud that he had actually managed to sound sincere. "Happy?" he whispered, grinning cockily at her.
Faith nodded as she offered him a slight smile. "It won't hurt you to try to get along with everyone while we're out here, Bos. We...we all need each other." She was trying desperately not to think of the pilot whose body was lying still and cold back in the plane. It could have easily been any of them or all of them. For whatever reasons, they had been spared and for them to be bickering over nothing didn't seem to be a very productive way to spend their time.
Bosco stared back at Faith, almost mesmerized by how beautiful she was, bathed in the warm glow of the campfire. She was right there in front of him, totally oblivious to the feelings she aroused in him. He wondered what she would do if he just leaned in and kissed her. Would she be shocked? Would she slap him in the face? Or maybe...just maybe would she kiss him back? He only wished he had the guts to find out, but he didn't. He tried to shake those thoughts from his mind and concentrate on what Faith was saying, they needed to get along, etc., etc. "I'll try to get along with everyone, Faith, okay? Really I will." Sure, Sullivan was aggravating, but the smile Faith bestowed upon him when he said he'd try was worth it a little bit of aggravation.
On the other side of the fire, Sully's eyes were focused on his young partner. He could tell the situation was starting to weigh on Ty. He could recognize the signs. He had gotten much too quiet and had an almost morose expression on his face as he stared into the flames of the fire.
"Ty...you alright?" Sully asked quietly, patting the younger man's shoulder.
"I'm fine, Sully." His voice was cold and almost emotionless as he answered Sully's question.
Sully sighed. Why did everyone always say they were fine when they weren't? It would be so much easier if people just told the truth, but then again, he himself had been guilty of saying he was fine when he wasn't. It was just something people did. "I know you're not fine, Ty."
"Yeah well I don't think you're fine either, are you, Sully? I really don't think anyone is fine here." Ty said, meeting his partner's eyes. "I just don't think there's very much we can do about it."
"It might help to talk."
"I'm fine," Ty repeated stubbornly. Everyone else was being calm, cool and collected on the outside. He wasn't going to be the one to break. He could keep his feelings inside just as well as they all could. Hell, Faith was a woman and she was keeping it together. He could do it too.
"Alright." Sully resigned himself to the fact that Ty didn't want to discuss the situation. Hell maybe it was just as well. He didn't really know. "If you change you mind..."
"Yeah I know...thanks, Sully..."
Faith and Bosco sat silently, listening to Sully and Davis as they talked. Bosco was beginning to feel a few slight pangs of conscience. Sully was older and more experienced. He didn't suppose it would kill him to listen to him once in a while. And he certainly didn't have anything against Davis. Faith was right. They were going to have to do everything in their power to make sure they all got through this situation safely.
"Hey, anyone feel like havin' some dinner?" Bosco asked.
Sully and Davis remained silent at first and Faith shook her head.
"Faith...you've gotta eat somethin'," Bosco protested softly. "You need to keep up your strength."
"He's right, Faith." Sully stated, his expression serious as he watched her.
"Fine...I'll eat something.'" Faith just didn't have the energy or the desire to fight about food. "I'll have one of those meal bars."
Bosco went over to the provision box, pulled out one of the meal bars and handed it to Faith. He then looked over at Sully and Ty. "How 'bout you guys? You gonna eat somethin'?"
"Nah I'm good." Ty shook his head. "I ate that piece of beef jerky earlier."
Sully hoisted himself up off the ground and walked over to look through the contents of the box. "Beefaroni." He grinned as he picked up the tiny can and opened the flip top lid. "Could be worse."
Bosco took a meal bar for himself and resumed his place on the ground next to Faith. "How are they?" he asked, noting that she had taken a bite of her bar and was chewing it.
"It tastes like chocolate-covered sandpaper."
Bosco ripped the wrapper off his bar, took a bite and made a face. "More like chocolate-covered crap," he stated. "What I wouldn't give for a nice juicy burger and some fries right now."
"I think you'd better get those kinda thoughts out of your head, Bos," Faith said. "It'll be a while before you're chompin' on a burger I think."
"Yeah well a guy can dream can't he?"
"You sure you don't want to eat something?" Sully looked over at Ty who was still staring into the fire. "This Beefaroni is a gourmet delight."
"No thanks."
"Okay." Sully nodded, forcing himself not to pursue the issue. Ty was a grown man and he certainly wasn't in danger of starving...at least not yet anyway.
Bosco forced down the remainder of his meal bar and absently started digging at the ground with a stick. "God this is boring. What the hell are we going to do with ourselves if we're here for days?"
"You can always read my book, Bos," Faith said with a sweet smile. "I'm willing to share."
"Yeah right," Bosco scoffed. "If I get that desperate for somethin' to do, shoot me and put me out of my misery."
*****
The next few hours passed exceedingly slowly. The four officers engaged in some small talk, occasionally feeding the fire and trying not to give in to the fears that could easily overtake them at any moment.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to try to get some shut-eye." Sully stretched his arms overhead as he stiffly got up from the ground. He walked over to where the blankets were and grabbed a few, tossing a couple over to Ty. "Faster we get to sleep, the faster morning will be here. Who knows, maybe someone will spot us tomorrow."
Bosco sighed. He wasn't sure that he'd be able to sleep but he had to admit that the part about waking up to daylight, instead of darkness, was more than a little appealing. He hated the dark, especially when they didn't really know what was out there. At least they had the fire. He shuddered to think of what it would be like without one. "Sounds like a pretty good idea to me." He took the remaining blankets that were left and gave most of them to Faith, unable to help thinking about how nice it would be just to lie underneath the blankets and hold her close. He knew he couldn't do it, but it was a nice thought in any case.
"Thanks, Bos." Faith took the blankets from him and began to form them into a makeshift sleeping bag. She then crawled into it and was pleased to find that the blankets combined with the heat of the fire were actually pretty warm. "Goodnight everybody...see you in the morning."
"Good night, Faith," Sully called softly and Ty echoed him.
"Sweet dreams, Faith," Bosco whispered. He began to arrange his blankets similarly to the way Faith had and stretched out on the ground next to her. Then he just lay there waiting for sleep to overtake him. Faith fell asleep first. Although she wasn't facing him, he could tell by the way her breathing evened out. Then Sully started snoring away. He wasn't sure about Ty, but in his own case, he found himself almost obsessively watching over Faith. She'd said that she was feeling a lot better, but they weren't doctors. He couldn't help but worry. Wanting to be safe, he awoke her every so often, just to make sure she was okay. The third time she snapped at him to leave her alone and just let her rest. Finally, just before dawn, his own eyelids began to droop and he too succumbed to sleep.
*****
