She let Dana Murphy wheel her into the room, too tired to move herself around, and with one arm hanging in a sling, she felt a little helpless, as though she couldn't do much on her own right now. She thought she might end up wheeling herself in circles if she tried.

So she had called for assistance to see her partner and check up on how he was doing. Dana was more than happy to oblige, and she had brought a wheelchair right on down. Faith had barely spoken on the way down, and she felt a little nervous outside the door to the room.

Taking a deep breath, Faith gave a silent nod, and let herself be led inside. Dr. Morales was jotting something down on her chart, looking down pensively at her patient for a moment, and then writing quickly.

She turned at the sound of the door opening, and threw a gentle smile in Faith's direction, one the female officer returned.

Dana pushed the wheelchair up to the bedside, and then left without a word, closing the door behind her. Faith watched her go, and then turned her gaze upon the doctor.

"How's he doin'?"

During Morales' pensive recollection of facts, Faith took the time to look at her partner as he lay breathing shallowly on the bed before her, his chest rising and falling every few seconds. He was hooked up to a heart monitor, which sounded quietly but noticeably, the rhythm steady and reassuring. There was an IV in his arm, leading up to a bag that hung over the bed. An oxygen mask covered his mouth and nose, helping him to breathe and clear his lungs. They had taken the time to clear up his face, and Faith smiled at the thoughtfulness, despite it being part of their job... or so she supposed. A bandage covered his left wrist where the handcuff had apparently broken the skin. Faith frowned, and reached up a hand tentatively, taking a hold of his and squeezing it slightly, as if in reassurance.

"He inhaled a lot of smoke, and so we're keeping the mask on to help him clear his system. He has a little bruising around the area where a bullet hit his vest at reasonably close range, and he has a mild concussion from a blow to the back of the head. Apart from that, it's just the cut on his wrist... there shouldn't be any scarring." Morales looked down on Faith, and landed a hand on her shoulder for comfort. "You and your partner are incredibly lucky... it could have been a lot worse for both of you, you know that?"

Faith smiled, looking down at Bosco's face. He looked so peaceful as he rested... it wasn't normal for him. She was used to the angry look in the eye, the passion that made him so damn good at what he did, and often got him into trouble. The mischief was gone too, and it saddened her, unable to see the youthful eagerness that went into his everyday attitude.

"He's always been that way," Faith told the doctor, and laughed quietly, to herself mostly. "I'm not so sure why I got off light."

Morales was silent for a moment as she considered two of her patients, partners, best friends. After a while, she nodded, and let a smile touch her lips as she said, "Maybe he shared some of his luck."

Faith looked up instantly, her eyes meeting the female doctor's, and she furrowed her brow ever so slightly in pensive contemplation. Then she smiled, and glanced back down to Bosco.

Morales turned and walked away, leaving the two officers behind.

Faith barely noticed Morales' absence after the woman was gone, her eyes never leaving the somewhat pained face of her dearest friend. She managed to move her wheelchair closer, her hand leaving his for a time. She rested it on the mattress beside him as he slept.

"Bos', I know you probably can't hear me," Faith began, feeling just a little foolish, before composing herself, and continuing, "but I appreciate what you tried to do, no matter how stupid it was."

She reached up and stroked his hair back off his forehead, her hand falling back to her lap afterwards as she spoke further, "You've always looked out for me... and I realised today as I was lyin' there worryin' sick about you..." she hesitated, staring at him for a moment in his helpless and weak state, before finishing her sentence with sincerity and affection, "I never told you how much it means to me... how much you mean to me, Bos'."

Faith shook her head; her feathered hair falling around her face to shroud her features slightly, before she reached up with her good hand and tucked it back again. "I thought I'd lost you today."

A tear rolled down her cheek, and she sniffed quietly, embarrassed, despite the blatantly obvious fact that she knew she was alone. "Bosco... I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you."

She waited for a response that she had gotten used to hearing almost instantly from him, and when it didn't come, she felt more tears well, annoyed that she was being so sensitive.

"I don't know why you always feel the need to scare the crap outta me," she laughed, her voice wavering, and she stroked his arm a couple of times, thinking about what else she wanted to say, what she needed to get out of her system whilst she had the chance she didn't think she would get again.

"When..." she paused, smiling in recollection, "when I was paired with you, I thought I would never get any serious work done... that you would constantly screw up procedure... but, dammit, Bos', you go by the book more than I do half the time."

She laughed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I don't know how you got so passionate about what you do, but it amazes me how much you care, when you seem so carefree all the time."

Her gaze lowered, her head bowing as she mumbled, "I sometimes wish I could be more like you." Her eyes came back up, and she blinked back tears.

The room was quiet, near on silent, seemingly cut off from the rest of the world, and it was just Bosco and Faith... nothing else mattered right now. Nothing could touch them or hurt them here, and Faith felt secure with her partner, by his side. She felt the sense of equilibrium return and settle comfortably in her being. She felt whole again, like a missing piece of her had been returned after being lost for an unbearable time that had pained her immensely.

"I get so scared sometimes, Bosco, and you're the only thing that I can believe in out there," she told his unconscious form. "I couldn't do this job without you, Bos'... and I wanted you to know that. I wanted you to know how much you really mean to me."

Taking a deep breath, she felt her emotions swell at the words she had just spoken, and she looked briefly to Bosco again, and then couldn't hold it in anymore, no matter how hard she tried. It all started to rise up within her, escaping after a great period of blocking it all out. It was too much for her to handle right now... her own experience, Bosco's disappearance, and then his dramatic resuscitation in the ER. She remembered it all, and it flowed out of her in her tears, and her shaking.

Faith lowered her head to the mattress, her hand coming up to hold the sheet that covered most of her partner's body. Her fingers curled around the fabric so tightly, it hurt a little, but she didn't feel it. All she felt was the overwhelming relief and gratitude.

A hand stroked her hair softly and slowly, and her eyes lifted, her head rising, and she gasped slightly, seeing Bosco's eyes open halfway, weakly. He was awake.

"Bos'," she breathed happily, and rose from her wheelchair, taking a hold of his hand, and they gripped each other for a moment, silently, eyes looking into one another.

She released his hand, feeling it loosen, laying it back down gently on the bed. She ran a hand over his hair to let him know she was still here. He seemed barely able to keep his eyes open.

"I thought you'd gotten yourself killed, you know that?" she said, her tone gentle, shaking her head. "You scared the crap outta me badly."

He closed his eyes briefly, apparently too fatigued to speak, and nodded slowly.

Faith sighed. "I'd ask you to promise me never to do that again... but I know you too well."

She thought she saw a smile, but she wasn't sure.

She wiped away a tear. "You'd never be able to keep it."

Bosco reached up a hand for her, and Faith leaned down and embraced him as tightly as she dared in his weak state, sobbing as she felt the movement of his chest as he breathed. She didn't want to let go. She didn't dare, for fear of losing him.

His left hand rested on her back, his right coming up to stroke her hair soothingly, and she shuddered, so unaccustomed to his touch.

Faith never wanted to let go.

* * *

She hadn't left the room all night, and when the sun rose slowly in the early hours of the morning, she had stared out at it, sitting beside the window now, the blinds open to let in the refreshing light after such a traumatic evening.

It felt good to have the sun touch her skin again. Yesterday, she had thought, just for a second as the bullet hit her, that she would never see it again, never witness its everyday beauty. It amazed her that something so gorgeous could -if only for a second- brighten a world that was so dark, so full of terror and destruction, where everyday she witnessed horrors that were unspeakable, horrors that sometimes kept her awake at night.

Faith turned her head to see Bosco was still sleeping, and smiled at the corner of her mouth, discreetly. His head was turned away from her slightly, and for a moment she simply sat and watched the rhythmic rising and falling of his chest.

He had been checked on several times during the night and early hours of the morning since he had been brought in, and Faith had been awake for pretty much all of it, and now she felt exhausted as a result. She just didn't feel comfortable leaving. She felt obligated to stay with her partner, keep an eye out for him, even in the confined space of the hospital room. Faith wanted to watch over him, like she knew he had for her. It was what had gotten him into this mess in the first place.

The door opened quietly, and she managed to turn her wheelchair with her good arm to greet the person who stepped inside, throwing a smile her way. It was Sully.

"Hi," he said in greeting, and pocketed his hands, as was his usual custom.

She nodded in acknowledgement, and mumbled a response, "Hey."

"How you feeling this morning?" Sully inquired curiously, stepping forward a metre or so, closer to Faith and the bedside where Bosco slept.

She took a silent moment to consider the reply she should give, before saying quietly, "Better, knowing that he's okay." Her eyes floated to Bosco.

"Yeah..." Sully agreed. "How is he?"

Faith shook her head, and shrugged her good shoulder, feeling a little off-balance for a second. "I'm not sure. Morales said he was gonna be fine, but he just seems so..."

She couldn't find the word, and she closed her mouth as she thought, her eyes never leaving her resting partner.

"Helpless?"

Faith glanced to Sully as the older man stood there, looking down on her with compassion and understanding, the level of empathy in his eyes astounding. She had always been able to confide in Sully, ever since she had first started, and the veteran police officer had always been there when she needed him. He was a decent man, one of the best she knew.

She sighed. "Yeah. I've never seen him like this before." She paused, swallowing dryly. "It's a little scary, you know?"

Sully nodded wisely, and let out a deep breath. "I know. Someone with Bosco's strength... when you see 'em like this, it throws you off, you don't know where you stand." He gave a small laugh. "I remember when he first arrived at 55th, you too. I took one look at Bosco, and thought 'My god, he's not gonna last six months'. I'd seen his type before. They came and went within their first year... realised they weren't as well-suited for the job as they had obviously thought they were." He cocked his head, narrowing his eyes. "But not Bosco. He was different... hell, still is. There's not two of him in the city."

"You've got that right." Faith smiled.

Sully considered the woman for a while, and Faith could feel his eyes on her, but she ignored it, managing to move a little closer to Bosco's bedside.

"Are you glad they paired you up with him?" he asked suddenly, the question confusing her for a moment.

Then she nodded. "Yeah. I never realised how lucky I was for that until now."

Sully didn't speak again, just nodded in understanding.

For a long while, the heart monitor made the only noise audible in the room, and all seemed peaceful. The scene would have been relaxing if not for the two hospitalised officers, one in a wheelchair, the other unconscious, resting. Both looked weak and worn, but somehow, seeing them together somehow made the picture whole, as though one would seem lonely without the other.

"Has there been any word on Thomson?" Faith asked, her words controlled, her anger subdued for the moment.

She didn't look up, couldn't see the expression or emotion on Sully's face as he replied, "None yet. Cops are combing the area; they figure he couldn't have gone far. They're checkin' up with locals, asking about his usual haunts."

Faith took in a long slow breath, and closed her eyes for a moment. "We can't let him get away with what he's done to us, Sully. We have to catch him."

"I know, Faith," Sully said to her in agreement.

Faith blinked back the swelling tears that threatened to betray her emotions again, and continued, "I want to see him stopped..." Her voice trailed off.

Sully removed his hands from his pockets. "Like I said, we're following some leads. You two have just gotta concentrate on getting better, you hear me?"

Faith looked up at him, ignorant through her anger of the hair that had fallen around her face like a limp frame. "Sully, what if he comes here? What if he comes to Mercy?"

The question seemed to have Sully taken aback, and he shook his head and shrugged for a moment. "I'll see if we can get guards posted outside your rooms, in case he comes back. I doubt he's that stupid, Faith. From what I've heard about the guy, he doesn't seem too bothered about what he has and hasn't done. He might not even remember you."

Faith wasn't convinced. She had a bad feeling. Something deep inside her was screaming at her to protect herself and her best friend... that even here in the hospital they weren't safe at all... danger was lurking just around the corner, and it had blood and death on its mind.