Title: Between Time (4 /?)
Author: X_tremeroswellian
Email: X_tremeroswellian@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, but I wish they did.
Rating: PG-13 for language, violence and sexual content
Spoilers: Up through and including "233 Days"
Summary: A serious accident forces Faith and Bosco to re-evaluate their lives as well as their relationship with each other.
Distribution: My site, Only Time, http://www.geocities.com/angel_roswell/onlytime.html
Category: Story
Subcategories: drama/angst/romance/friendship
Feedback: Have you hugged your author today? *grin*
Author's Note: I'm aware there's a similar story being written about this idea, but I've already talked to the author of that story and she encouraged me to go ahead and write mine. I'm pretty sure we're going in different directions with the fics anyway. Any similarities are only coincidental of great minds thinking alike, not of plagarism.
Author's Note: I have *no* medical knowledge whatsoever, so if any of the medical stuff is inaccurate, please don't flame me.
Dedication: For Bree, Dem and CCA, who all encouraged me to write this months ago.
Special thanks to CCA, who gave me the idea for the beginning part of this story. :)
Between Time (Part Four)
"Ha, ha. Very funny," the man replied, rolling his eyes as he took a step closer to her bed.
Faith opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again, faltering for words as he stared at her, a blank expression on his face. She began to feel uncomfortable and anxious as he moved closer.
The fingers of her uninjured hand curled involuntarily around the bed rail. She attempted to pull herself into a sitting position, but the movement sent unbearable pain jolting through her ribs and head.
She couldn't help the cry that escaped her lips.
"That was smart," the man said sarcastically. "You have broken bones." There was no hint of compassion in his eyes or on his face.
Tears sprang to her eyes and she quickly squeezed them shut, reminding herself to breathe. She siliently prayed for Bosco to return with that doctor.
Soon.
The first thing Bosco saw as he walked back into Faith's hospital room was Fred Yokas. The other man was standing a couple feet away from her bed, arms folded across his chest, a disgusted look on his face.
Uh-oh, he thought. He opened his mouth to say something to Fred when he caught sight of Faith. Her face was contorted in pain. He quickly moved to her side. "Faith, what's wrong?" he asked, alarmed.
"Bosco, it hurts," she choked out, her eyes flooded with tears.
Fear shot through him and he ran to the doorway. "We need a doctor in here now!" he shouted. He waited until he saw one of the nurses heading toward the room before he returned to her side. He picked up her hand. "It's okay, Faith, just breathe. Help's on the way."
She squeezed his hand tightly, trying not to cry out again.
"Look at me, Faith," he urged, lightly squeezing her hand back. When she met his eyes, he held her gaze. "Breathe in through your nose, then exhale slowly," he instructed, his voice steady and soothing.
"Well, isn't this sweet," Fred said, anger obvious in his tone.
Bosco shot him a glared and started to respond when he felt Faith squeeze his hand once more. He returned his gaze to her face.
"Who is he?" she whispered, still in pain, but her eyes begging for answers.
"Why am I not surprised you're in on the stupid joke with her?" Fred demanded.
"Why don't you shut your--" Bosco was cut off by a new voice.
"What's going on in here?" Dr. Thomas asked as he walked into the room.
"That's what I'd like to know," Fred muttered, shaking his head angrily.
Bosco shot him another glare, then looked at the doctor. "She's in pain, a lot of it."
Dr. Thomas walked over and Bosco stepped aside so he could examine Faith. "Faith, can you tell me what hurts?"
"Everything," she answered weakly. "But mostly my head. And my ribs." She grimaced as another wave of pain threatened to overwhelm her.
Dr. Thomas turned to look at Proctor, who stood in the doorway. "Okay, let's give her a 2 ml morphine drip."
"Got it." Proctor left the room.
He turned his attention back to her. "This will probably make you sleep for several hours."
She simply nodded, squeezing her eyes shut.
Dr. Thomas looked at Bosco, then at Fred. "I need to speak with both of you outside, please."
Bosco glared at Fred, then turned to leave the room.
"Wait."
He looked back over at Faith. Her gaze was locked on him. He hesitated only a moment before walking over to her side. "What is it?" he asked, worried.
She bit her lower lip nervously. "You'll come back right?" she whispered.
He could see the fear in her eyes. He swallowed hard and nodded slowly. "I promise." He squeezed her hand gently.
Just then, Proctor came back. "Okay, Faith, you're gonna be feeling better in no time." She injected the painkiller into Faith's I.V. bag, glancing at Bosco.
He gave Faith a reassuring look, then let go of her hand, ignoring the very pissed-off expression on Fred's face as he followed Dr. Thomas into the hallway.
"You're saying she really doesn't remember anything?" Fred asked doubtfully.
"That seems to be the case at this point, yes," Dr. Thomas answered.
"Then how come she remembers him?" he demanded, motioning angrily toward Bosco, who was leaning against the wall outside Faith's room, arms folded across his chest.
"She doesn't," Bosco replied shortly. "I was there when she woke up. We talked, I told her who I was. She doesn't remember me, either."
The two men looked at each other for a long, tense moment.
Dr. Thomas cleared his throat. "You both need to know that at this point, Faith is still in serious condition. Her injuries are quite extensive and as you saw before, she's in a great deal of pain. We all need to work at making sure she remains as calm as possible."
"She's gonna be okay, though, right?" Bosco asked, feeling tense the moment he heard the words 'serious condition' in the same sentence as his partner's name.
"She's awake and her vitals are relatively normal, so those are positive signs. But with her injuries and the amnesia, she's in a very delicate state now."
"Should we even be telling her about who we are and about her life?" Fred asked, shooting an accusatory glare in Bosco's direction.
"There's no harm in it as long as she doesn't start to feel overwhelmed or upset by the information. Like I said, she needs to remain as calm and quiet as possible in order for her body to heal faster. I do want to run some more tests in the morning."
"What kind of tests?"
"Another CAT scan, for starters."
"When can she come home?" Fred questioned.
"I'd like to keep her here for at least 72 hours to monitor her condition. After that, we'll see how she's doing." He paused. "The morphine will probably make her sleep for the next few hours. I'd suggest that you both go home and get some rest." Dr. Thomas nodded to both of them, then turned and headed down the hallway.
For a long moment, both men remained silent.
"Well, this is wonderful," Fred said finally. "How the hell can I afford to pay a three day hospital bill?"
Bosco set his jaw. "The NYPD has pretty good health insurance."
"Won't cover all of it," he muttered.
He bit back a sarcastic remark about Fred actually having to work for a change.
"Now I have to go home and figure out a way to tell my kids that their mother doesn't even know they exist," he said bitterly, turning to walk down the hallway.
"Don't you make this sound like it's her fault," Bosco warned, on the verge of losing what little patience he had left for the man. "You want someone to blame? Blame the jag-off who caused the accident in the first place!"
Fred glared at him for a moment. Then he turned and left without another word.
"Is it true?"
Bosco looked up from where he sat in the hallway to see Sully standing there. "What?" he asked, though he was pretty sure he knew exactly what his colleague was talking about.
"Yokas. She doesn't remember anything?"
He shook his head slowly, lowering his gaze to the floor again. "Nope. Nothing."
"Damn," Sully muttered. "Hard to believe."
You're telling me, he thought.
"You okay?"
"She's alive. That's all I care about," he said honestly.
Sully stared at him for a moment. "She sleeping?"
Bosco nodded. "Doctor gave her some painkiller, said she'd probably be out for a few hours."
"Why don't you go home for awhile?"
"No."
"You've been here since yesterday afternoon. You need to change and get something to eat, get a few hours of sleep."
"I can't leave her here alone."
"Bosco, have you checked out the waiting room lately? Half the department is out there. Hell, half of the 55th precinct FDNY is out there, too. She's not alone."
"I want to be here when she wakes up."
"You said yourself she'd be asleep for a few hours. So go and come back. You're not going to be of any help to Faith if you don't take care of yourself."
Bosco looked up at him. Somehow he had the feelng that if she was awake and herself, Faith would tell him the same thing.
"You know I'm right."
He sighed and reluctantly stood up. "You'll call me if anything happens?"
Sully nodded. "Of course."
Bosco hesitated, then started to walk into Faith's room.
"Uh, Bosco? The exit's the other way," he said, nodding toward the waiting room down the hall, a small smile on his face.
He looked at Sully, but didn't return the smile. "I need a minute." Then he took a deep breath and stepped inside.
Bosco stared at her sleeping figure for a long moment before he moved closer to the bed. He closed his eyes and listened to the calm, reassuring sounds of her steady breathing. Then he touched her hand gently. "Faith," he whispered. "I'm gonna go home for a little while, okay? But I'll be back before you wake up."
He swallowed hard, then leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Thanks for coming back to me." He squeezed his eyes shut again, but not before one tear escaped and dripped down his cheek. "I promise you, Faith, we're gonna get through this. I promise." He pressed another light kiss to her forehead, then headed for the door.
Go to Part 4
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