Title: Through the Fire (3/6)

Author: X_tremeroswellian

Email: faithboscorelli1@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: Not mine, but I wish they were. Okay, well, I don't wish Cr*z or Fr*d were mine. Ed Bernero can keep them ;)

Rating: PG-13 for language, violence and sexual content

Spoilers: Up through and including "Crime and Punishment II"

Summary: Sergeant Cruz's true plans for Bosco are finally revealed and they're not good. Will Faith be able to help him? Or will she be too busy trying to protect her own family?

Distribution: My site, Only Time

Category: Story

Subcategories: Drama/angst/friendship...could evolve into romance, but we'll see ;)

Feedback: Is essential to every writer. Helps keep the muses flowing.

Author's Note: I know I'm in the middle of writing "Between Time" and my 'There For You' series, but this story was demanding to be written and wouldn't leave me alone until I gave in.

Dedication: For everyone who dislikes Sgt. Cruz as much as I do. This is not to confuse the wonderful actress, Tia Texada with her character.


Through the Fire (Part Three)

"Where is she?" Faith demanded, her voice hoarse as she staggered toward the crime scene.

"Faith, baby, wait for me!" Fred called after her as he tried to keep up.

"Where is she?" she said again, tears in her eyes.

Bosco turned around, his eyes widening when he saw her. His face was drained of all color as he reached out and put his hands on her shoulders to stop her from getting any closer. "You shouldn't be here," he said, his voice low, strained.

"Let go of me!"

"Faith, trust me, you don't want to see," he answered, his eyes pleading with her.

She ignored his advice and shoved him away from her, plunging herself into the midst of the masses and pushing herself past the hoards of people.

When she reached the front of the crowd, she froze, feeling the urge to vomit at the sight. She slowly raised her hand to cover her mouth. "Oh, God, no!"

She felt someone grip her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Faith," she heard Bosco whisper.

"No," she choked out, shaking her head as she stared down at the drowned, lifeless body of her daughter. "No!"

Someone grabbed her arm roughly. "This is all your fault!" Fred snarled, glaring at her with hatred flashing in his eyes.

"No! No! Oh, God, no!"

"Faith!"

"Please, no," she whispered, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

"Faith. Faith! Wake up! Wake up, Faith!" a voice urged. She felt someone shaking her lightly.

Her eyes flew open and she struggled to sit up as she found her husband staring down at her with worried eyes. "Where's Emily?" she asked frantically, her heart pounding like the hoofbeats of wild horses.

"She's at home with Charlie, remember?" he asked gently.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Babe, she's fine. You just had a bad dream."

She shook her head. "I want you to go home and make sure."

"Faith, I just talked to her on the phone, all right? She's fine. Charlie's fine."

"No!" She reached out and grabbed his arm, ignoring the pain in her ribs and shoulder. "Fred, I want you to go home and make sure the kids are okay!"

"Faith--"

"Please, Fred," she begged, her eyes wet with tears.

He sighed heavily, clearly not happy. "Fine. But I'm telling you, they're fine. She's a big girl, Faith. She can handle things at home for a few hours. You're the one I'm worried about."

"Please, I just need you to go make sure," she said, the image of her daughter's lifeless body lying on the ground emblazoned into her mind.

Fred sighed again. "All right. I'll be back soon," he answered as he headed for the door.

"Call me when you get there and let me know if they're okay," she whispered, her voice shaking.

"I will." Without another word, he left the room.


The time seemed to drag on for an eternity as Faith stared at the telephone on the table beside her bed, willing it to ring. Her stomach was twisted into knots and she had to fight a difficult internal battle to keep herself from screaming.

After several more moments, she'd had enough waiting. Something was wrong. He should have called by now, she thought, fear wrapping itself around her.

She winced as she swung her legs over the side of the hospital bed and glanced down at her hand. She hesitated only a moment before reaching down and yanking the IV needle out of her arm, hissing from the sharp pain. She dropped the IV wires to the floor. Her hand clutched onto the bed rail and she slid off the bed, her bare feet hitting the floor and sending cold chills up her spine. She ignored the pain, the cold, and her fear. The only thing that mattered was getting home to her daughter.

The shrill ringing of the telephone caused her to jump. She turned and stared at it for a moment. It rang again and she quickly crossed the room and pressed the receiver to her ear. "Fred?"

There was a pause. "Yeah."

"Are the kids okay?" she asked anxiously.

There was another brief pause. "Yeah. I told you they would be."

Faith squeezed her eyes shut tightly, and said a silent prayer of thanks. She sat down on the edge of her bed, releasing the breath she'd been holding.

"Look, I'm gonna get them ready, stop by McDonalds and get them somethin' for breakfast, then we'll be up there, okay?"

"No, you can't bring them here," she said instantly. It would be too easy for someone to grab them and flee without being noticed. As much as she hated it, her kids were safer away from her for the time being. At least until she was out of the hospital.

"Faith, what's going on?" Fred asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Nothing. I just don't think it's a good idea for them to be up here. To see me in the hospital."

"Baby, stop worrying so much. They're a lot stronger than you think. Besides, they saw me when I was in the hospital."

"Fred, it's just not a good idea," she said quietly, her voice firm.

"Okay, what aren't you telling me?"

She closed her eyes again, her head starting to ache. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she lied.

"Something's not right. You woke up from a nightmare crying, and insisted I come home and check on the kids, and now you don't even want to see them? What the hell is going on, Faith?" he demanded.

"Fred, nothing's going on, okay? Look, I'm probably going to be released in a few hours anyway, there's no point in coming back up here and taking the chance that you or Em or Charlie will catch something from one of the other patients. Really, I'm fine."

"You expect me to believe that?" There was a moment of silence. "This got somethin' to do with whatever was going on with you and Bosco last night?"

"No, it has nothing to do with Bosco," she denied, wincing as she moved farther onto the bed, her ribs protesting the movement.

"It always has to do with Bosco," he muttered, his voice barely audible. "Fine. You don't want us there, we'll stay here. Call me when you're ready to come home."

"Fred--"

The line went dead.

She laid her head back against the pillows for a moment, tears flooding her eyes. "Dammit," she whispered.

"You okay?"

Startled, Faith opened her eyes to see Davis standing in the doorway. She forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine." She motioned for him to come in and she started to twist herself around so she
could hang up the telephone.

Davis quickly moved forward. "Here, let me get that," he said, taking the receiver from her and placing it on the hook.

"Thanks, Davis."

"Sure." He sat down in the chair beside her bed. "I heard about what happened, thought I'd come by, see how you were doing."

"That's nice of you. I'm okay."

Davis gazed at her for a moment. "Are you sure? Cause you seem upset."

She smiled sadly, wishing she could tell him everything, wishing he could somehow help her. "No, just...Fred and I had a fight. But it's okay."

He nodded understandingly. "They gonna let you out of here today?"

"Supposed to. I hope. I hate this place," she said with a sigh, closing her eyes momentarily.

"You and me both," Davis agreed.

"How's Sully doing?" Faith asked quietly, gazing at him again.

"He's uh..." He shook his head, apparently unable to find the words.

"Is he still seeing that counselor?"

"Yeah...but I don't think it's helping. I don't know what to do for him."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," she said softly, recalling a few months ago when Bosco had gone through something similar. "Don't give up on him."

"I won't," Davis promised, shaking his head. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. "You know, I think they'd both hate that we're comparing them."

Faith smiled. "Yeah, well, they're more alike than they think."

"Don't tell them that."

"Oh, don't worry. I don't have a death wish," she replied, chuckling slightly.

"Good to know," a familiar voice said from the door.

Faith turned to see Bosco standing there. The smile slipped from her face as they gazed at each other.

Davis looked back and forth between them. "Well, I should get out of here." He stood up and looked at Faith. "Glad you're feeling okay, hope to see you back at work soon."

"Thanks for stopping by, Davis," she said softly, her voice sincere.

He nodded and then headed for the door. "See ya, Boz."

"Later, Davis."

Faith swallowed hard and focused her attention on Bosco again. He was dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt and a pair of blue jeans, his badge hanging around his neck. "You're working?"

He nodded. "Yeah, an early shift. Cruz requested me specifically."

She felt herself tense at the other woman's name. "Right."

Bosco let out a breath and moved hesitantly toward her. "Faith...last night, what I said? I was angry. I didn't mean to--"

"Boz, don't," she said quietly, shaking her head.

He gazed at her for a moment, regret in his eyes. But he didn't continue. He looked down at the tile floor. "I still don't understand what you were trying to tell me. I've been trying to figure it out all night, but..."

Faith's heart sank at his words.

"Why can't you just tell me?" he asked, his voice quiet as he lifted his eyes to hers once more.

"Bosco, I--" She cut herself off as Sergeant Cruz stepped into the room, holding a cup of coffee in her hands. Her eyes narrowed.

"How are you feeling?" Cruz asked, false concern in her voice. She took a sip of her coffee.

"I'm fine," Faith answered tensely. "And you?"

"I'm good. I thought I'd come by with Officer Boscorelli, see how you were."

"That was nice of you," she replied, barely able to keep the sarcasm out of her tone.

Bosco glanced from her to Cruz, a confused look on his face.

"Bosco?"

He turned to look at Faith.

"Do you think you could go to the vending machines and get me a soda?" she asked, not taking her eyes off Cruz.

"Uh...sure. Your usual?"

"That'd be great."

He looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it as he turned and left the room.

Cruz smirked. "I have to admit, I was impressed with your story last night. That was a great cover. You'd make a good addition to ACU."

"Why? Cause you're all a bunch of lying, good for nothing dirty cops?" Faith asked coolly.

The sergeant's eyes narrowed. "Don't forget that your partner is one of us now," she reminded her.

"He won't be once he sees you for the trouble-making, back-stabbing bitch you really are."

"He won't see anything except what I tell him to see. That's why I picked him. He's stupid and impetuous. He doesn't think before he acts and everyone knows it."

"You're not the brightest bulb in the socket yourself," Faith said darkly. "Because you're seriously underestimating him."

"And you have too much faith in him." Cruz turned to leave.

"You're not going to get away with this."

She smirked and turned to look at Faith once more. "There's nothing you can do to stop me. You try and your daughter's as good as dead. Don't be stupid here, Officer Yokas."

"You go anywhere near my daughter, I'll kill you myself," Faith said seriously, her voice calm.

Cruz smiled. "Guess we're really not so different after all, are we?" Without another word, she turned and left the room, running into Bosco on her way out. "Let's go, Boscorelli."

"Give me a minute," he answered. He didn't wait for her to respond as he stepped back into Faith's hospital room. He glanced at her, frowning at the tense expression on her face. "You okay?" he asked as he walked over and held the can of soda out to her.

"Yeah," she lied, trembling as she took the drink from him. "Thanks."

"Sure," he murmured, gazing at her worriedly.

"Boscorelli, move it!" Cruz commanded from the doorway.

He sighed. "I'll uh...I'll be by later, see how you're doing."

Faith reached out and caught his hand. "Bosco."

"Yeah?"

She looked at him, willing him to understand her words. "Watch your back," she said softly.

Bosco gazed down at her, knowing she was trying again to tell him whatever it was she'd tried to tell him the night before. But since he still didn't know what that was, he simply nodded. "I will," he promised, worried.

She let go of his hand and watched as he walked out of the room, following Cruz. She cursed inwardly. There had to be something she could to do protect her daughter and her best friend. There had to be.

But what?


Go to Part 4

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