TA DA! Here's Chapter 6. I'm an author of my word! Think you know what's going to happen? Think again! Anyway, thanks for the reviews and keep 'em coming if you want more. Thanks guys,
Joey
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
-The Hours After-
Chapter 6
"Faith? Faith, honey, I'm here. It's okay, you're going to be okay."
I want to yell at the medical entourage that's hovering around me to just shut up so I can hear what's happening on the other side of the curtain. There are a lot of things I'd like to yell right now. You don't realize how desperately you need speech to communicate until it is completely taken away from you.
"Officer Yokas? Can you hear me?"
"Don't call her that! She's a person before she's an officer. Call her Faith, or if you must, Mrs. Yokas."
"Fine, sir."
Way to piss him off, Fred. At the risk of being hypocritical, the guy just doesn't know when to back off and shut his mouth.
"Mrs. Yokas? My name is Dr. Bell. Can you try to speak for me?"
Come on, Faith, talk to him. I just need to hear your voice.
"Water."
It must have been her, it was almost too low for me to hear, but I'm sure that was her voice.
"Here, honey." I can hear some shuffling, but it's hard to make out exactly what's going on over there when I'm being poked and prodded every two seconds by my own personal mod squad.
"Fred, where am I?"
Her voice is so low that it's barely detectable. I strain my ears as much as possible in my weakened state, but between the nurses and doctors conversing around me and the incessant pounding in my head, my efforts are pretty much wasted.
"You're in the hospital, honey. You're going to be just fine."
"Hospital?" her voice is much louder now, making my life at the moment so much easier. "Why am I in the hospital?"
"You were shot, Faith. But don't worry about that now. Just relax."
"Shot?" her voice cracks slightly under her shock.
"Don't worry about it right now. I want you to think about getting better, not about last night."
"I was shot last night…" she says it as more of a statement than a question. Her persistence in the matter seems to be toying with Fred's last nerve.
"Not now, Faith!"
It happened, Fred, and nothing you say or do is going to make it go away.
Jesus, with all the crap that they've pumped into my body over the last few minutes, you'd think they could have given me something for my head and throat. I want so badly to fall asleep, to be ignorant of the ceaseless pain, but I can't leave Faith, not now. She doesn't even know I'm here, but I need to know she can be strong - protect herself from Cruz.
"Besides, soon enough, the detectives will be badgering you anyway. They've been hanging around here waiting like piranhas."
"But, Fred, I…" Her voice has an added element of tired desperation.
"No, Faith, please, I'm begging you, don't put yourself through this right now. I want you to work on feeling better. Everything else will sort itself out."
"Mrs. Yokas, are you having any…." the doctors are running through the all too familiar questions. She'll learn to loathe them just as much as I do, I'm sure.
I wish I could feel relieved. I think that I should be, now that I know she's alive, talking, and on the mend, but at the same time, I have this dreadful weight of guilt and suspense. She has yet to say anything to contradict Cruz's statement. I wish Fred would let her talk. I'm sure the FBI is within hearing distance - they're never far away when they want something.
"Officer Boscorelli," the voice shocks me, causing me to jump a little. I have been trying so hard to hear what's happening on the other side of the curtain, that I wasn't expecting someone so close to talk to me so loudly. "I notice you're quite uptight. Are you in too much pain to sleep?"
No, you moron. Well, yes, but that's not the point. Please, just shut up so I can hear Faith.
"I want you to squeeze Nurse Carson's hand once if you're in a lot of pain."
I feel the older nurse gently take my fingers in hers again. I don't bother squeezing. I know that I will regret it in a few minutes - hell, I regret it now, but if they drug me up again, I'll surely be out of it and I just can't be that way right now.
"Okay, Officer Boscorelli, why don't you just try to relax then."
"Bosco?"
Oh God, she just called out to me.
"Don't WORRY about Bosco."
"Fred, was he shot too? Is he okay?"
"No, Faith, he wasn't shot. I don't want you to think about Bosco though, okay? Just think about YOU."
Go figure, she's worried about me. I guess she doesn't remember me standing over her, pressing on her chest, trying to stop the endless flow of blood. I wince in retrospect… I feel as though my physical and emotional pain are in some sort of competition to see which can put me under the fastest. I should have taken those drugs… I probably would have stayed awake longer, anyway.
Through my half-opened eyes I see Davis, frozen like a statue. I forgot he was even here. His look is beyond awkward. He's standing at the edge of the curtain so he can see into both sides. His glance shoots from Faith to myself. Geez, Davis, take a seat - you're even making me nervous.
"Officer Yokas?"
Oh, God, where to hell is Swersky this time? The FBI agents pass me and stop by Davis, the refraction of the light off of their precious badges blinds me. They probably spend a good twelve hours a day shining those puppies.
"We're from the FBI and we were wondering if you could give us your version of what went on last night."
"Do we have to do this now? She just woke up. She hasn't even had a chance to see her family yet."
Fred, I swear to God, I'm going to kick your ass. Let her talk!
"This will only take a second, sir. As soon as we get a statement from your wife, we'll leave."
"Fine, but make it fast."
Yeah, make it fast because I know through experience that I'm not going to be conscious for too much longer.
"I want to talk to Bosco."
"BOSCO?! NO, FAITH!"
Easy, Fred. He speaks my name with such vengeance you'd swear I was Satan.
"Officer Boscorelli is not available for comment right now, that's why it's particularly important that we speak to you," the FBI agent states, sounding more like an automated answering machine than a person.
"Why isn't he available? What aren't you telling me, Fred?"
"Why do you care so much about Bosco? Hasn't he done enough to hurt us?"
"No, Fred, you don't understand..."
My eyes are losing focus, causing me to blink more frequently. Stop worrying about me Faith and answer their damned questions. I'm losing it here.
"Officer Yokas, what happened in that hotel room last night?"
That's it, right to the point.
"Hotel room…?"
"Faith, just tell him what happened and then they'll leave us alone."
"That's just IT, Fred. That's what I've been TRYING TO TELL YOU!" She pauses, obviously fighting back tears, "I DON'T remember."
WHAT? No, no, no. THINK, Faith. How can she not remember? I hope this isn't some stupid ploy to protect me, or she'll get an ass kicking right after Fred gets his.
"You don't remember… anything?" Fred's forlorn question looms for several seconds.
"I'm… sorry… I just don't… remember."
I can hear Faith starting to sob. How could this happen? She didn't do anything wrong.
I feel myself starting to sweat, and I know that everything that's happened over the last little bit is now taking its toll on my body. Most of my life has been less than ideal, but nothing compares to the past day.
My eyes are watering from the growing pain in my head and throat. I close them in an attempt to dull the aching throb, and the effect is minimal, but welcomed. I thought that when she woke up and told the truth, I could stop fighting and slip back into the world of oblivion. Now I'm starting to wonder if I will ever rest peacefully again.
"We can't have her getting upset like this. I'm sorry but she's recovering from major surgery and this isn't helping the healing process. Can you please come back later?" The old doc is stepping in.
"I'm afraid we can't. You don't remember ANYTHING?" The FBI agent is getting in line for his ass-kicking. Wait, who am I kidding? Even Sully could beat me in a race right now.
"No…"
"Does the name 'Aaron Noble' ring a bell?"
Silence. I'm trying to recall if I had ever referred to Noble by his name to her. I don't think I ever did, he was always just 'the CI'.
After a few seconds, she finally responds, "No."
Again, nothing. The silence accentuates the pounding in my head that's filling my ears and now causing a continual stream of tears to flow down my cheeks.
Someone say something. I fight the dizziness and crack open my eyes to see Davis' reaction. He hasn't moved an inch, and still has that 'deer in headlights' look on his face. He breaks out of his trance and looks towards me, his concern evident.
He takes a couple slow steps towards me and whispers, "Bos, you ok?"
He must be within 6 inches of my face and I barely made out his whisper.
No, this time, I'm not okay. This is so bad. Faith was supposed to wake up and tell them what really happened, contradict what Cruz 'claims' happened. Now, she doesn't remember and I can't do anything to help her.
I can feel the sweat dripping off my forehead now. My throat has turned into my biggest physical concern. I feel like a knife is continually stabbing the tender tissue and I can barely take the overwhelming pain anymore.
I slowly blink my eyes, causing a whole new round of tears to fall.
"Bosco," again with the whisper. Go away, Davis. I never want to be this close to any man, ever again.
"Officer Yokas," the FBI agent's voice causes Davis to jolt back.
"I'm afraid we are going to have to place you under arrest."
WHAT?
"WHAT?" Fred is screaming.
I can hear the clinking of handcuffs on metal. How could they do this to her? How could those bastards side with Cruz?
"I'm sorry, sir, but this is our only option right now."
"Where do you THINK she's going to GO?!"
"Right now, your wife is under arrest for attempted murder of a police sergeant, and until someone else makes a statement that proves otherwise, we are going to have to hold her."
"Attempted murder?" Faith manages to squeeze out between soft sobs.
"What the hell do we do now?" Fred's explosiveness is surfacing. I'd probably be the same way.
"We wait. Wait on Officer Boscorelli, or wait until your wife gets over her bout of amnesia."
That asshole sounds so smug. I wonder where the hell they get these 'agents'.
I can't believe they cuffed her. Now they're waiting on me? Go figure, this all comes back to me. There has to be another way. Maybe Swersky can do something about this. Jesus, Faith, how could you forget? I don't think I'll ever be able to forget. In a weird way, I'm envious.
This is bad… I can't save her, I can't even save myself. My whole body is shuddering every few seconds. I'm so cold, yet I can feel sweat budding from every pore. My hands are involuntarily forming fists with every new wave of pain that builds on the last. I could really use that pain medication now. Now I have to fight. I have to fight for Faith. It would be so much easier to just give up - give in to the pain.
"We have to wait on BOSCO? He looks like death! What if he never comes out of this?"
Thanks, buddy. Remind me to kick your ass twice over.
"Then unless you can find something else, or someone else that can say differently than Sergeant Cruz, we'll have to follow through on this."
Silence resonates through the room. Davis remains in his statue-like pose. He looks like he's ten years old and he's just seen his first horror movie.
"Bosco…"
I can hear footsteps getting closer and through my barely-opened eyes, I see Fred standing at the foot of my bed, arms fixed at his side, hands balled in fists, face flush red with anger.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
TBC. Review, Review, Review! You know what to do if you want more ;)
Joey
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
-The Hours After-
Chapter 6
"Faith? Faith, honey, I'm here. It's okay, you're going to be okay."
I want to yell at the medical entourage that's hovering around me to just shut up so I can hear what's happening on the other side of the curtain. There are a lot of things I'd like to yell right now. You don't realize how desperately you need speech to communicate until it is completely taken away from you.
"Officer Yokas? Can you hear me?"
"Don't call her that! She's a person before she's an officer. Call her Faith, or if you must, Mrs. Yokas."
"Fine, sir."
Way to piss him off, Fred. At the risk of being hypocritical, the guy just doesn't know when to back off and shut his mouth.
"Mrs. Yokas? My name is Dr. Bell. Can you try to speak for me?"
Come on, Faith, talk to him. I just need to hear your voice.
"Water."
It must have been her, it was almost too low for me to hear, but I'm sure that was her voice.
"Here, honey." I can hear some shuffling, but it's hard to make out exactly what's going on over there when I'm being poked and prodded every two seconds by my own personal mod squad.
"Fred, where am I?"
Her voice is so low that it's barely detectable. I strain my ears as much as possible in my weakened state, but between the nurses and doctors conversing around me and the incessant pounding in my head, my efforts are pretty much wasted.
"You're in the hospital, honey. You're going to be just fine."
"Hospital?" her voice is much louder now, making my life at the moment so much easier. "Why am I in the hospital?"
"You were shot, Faith. But don't worry about that now. Just relax."
"Shot?" her voice cracks slightly under her shock.
"Don't worry about it right now. I want you to think about getting better, not about last night."
"I was shot last night…" she says it as more of a statement than a question. Her persistence in the matter seems to be toying with Fred's last nerve.
"Not now, Faith!"
It happened, Fred, and nothing you say or do is going to make it go away.
Jesus, with all the crap that they've pumped into my body over the last few minutes, you'd think they could have given me something for my head and throat. I want so badly to fall asleep, to be ignorant of the ceaseless pain, but I can't leave Faith, not now. She doesn't even know I'm here, but I need to know she can be strong - protect herself from Cruz.
"Besides, soon enough, the detectives will be badgering you anyway. They've been hanging around here waiting like piranhas."
"But, Fred, I…" Her voice has an added element of tired desperation.
"No, Faith, please, I'm begging you, don't put yourself through this right now. I want you to work on feeling better. Everything else will sort itself out."
"Mrs. Yokas, are you having any…." the doctors are running through the all too familiar questions. She'll learn to loathe them just as much as I do, I'm sure.
I wish I could feel relieved. I think that I should be, now that I know she's alive, talking, and on the mend, but at the same time, I have this dreadful weight of guilt and suspense. She has yet to say anything to contradict Cruz's statement. I wish Fred would let her talk. I'm sure the FBI is within hearing distance - they're never far away when they want something.
"Officer Boscorelli," the voice shocks me, causing me to jump a little. I have been trying so hard to hear what's happening on the other side of the curtain, that I wasn't expecting someone so close to talk to me so loudly. "I notice you're quite uptight. Are you in too much pain to sleep?"
No, you moron. Well, yes, but that's not the point. Please, just shut up so I can hear Faith.
"I want you to squeeze Nurse Carson's hand once if you're in a lot of pain."
I feel the older nurse gently take my fingers in hers again. I don't bother squeezing. I know that I will regret it in a few minutes - hell, I regret it now, but if they drug me up again, I'll surely be out of it and I just can't be that way right now.
"Okay, Officer Boscorelli, why don't you just try to relax then."
"Bosco?"
Oh God, she just called out to me.
"Don't WORRY about Bosco."
"Fred, was he shot too? Is he okay?"
"No, Faith, he wasn't shot. I don't want you to think about Bosco though, okay? Just think about YOU."
Go figure, she's worried about me. I guess she doesn't remember me standing over her, pressing on her chest, trying to stop the endless flow of blood. I wince in retrospect… I feel as though my physical and emotional pain are in some sort of competition to see which can put me under the fastest. I should have taken those drugs… I probably would have stayed awake longer, anyway.
Through my half-opened eyes I see Davis, frozen like a statue. I forgot he was even here. His look is beyond awkward. He's standing at the edge of the curtain so he can see into both sides. His glance shoots from Faith to myself. Geez, Davis, take a seat - you're even making me nervous.
"Officer Yokas?"
Oh, God, where to hell is Swersky this time? The FBI agents pass me and stop by Davis, the refraction of the light off of their precious badges blinds me. They probably spend a good twelve hours a day shining those puppies.
"We're from the FBI and we were wondering if you could give us your version of what went on last night."
"Do we have to do this now? She just woke up. She hasn't even had a chance to see her family yet."
Fred, I swear to God, I'm going to kick your ass. Let her talk!
"This will only take a second, sir. As soon as we get a statement from your wife, we'll leave."
"Fine, but make it fast."
Yeah, make it fast because I know through experience that I'm not going to be conscious for too much longer.
"I want to talk to Bosco."
"BOSCO?! NO, FAITH!"
Easy, Fred. He speaks my name with such vengeance you'd swear I was Satan.
"Officer Boscorelli is not available for comment right now, that's why it's particularly important that we speak to you," the FBI agent states, sounding more like an automated answering machine than a person.
"Why isn't he available? What aren't you telling me, Fred?"
"Why do you care so much about Bosco? Hasn't he done enough to hurt us?"
"No, Fred, you don't understand..."
My eyes are losing focus, causing me to blink more frequently. Stop worrying about me Faith and answer their damned questions. I'm losing it here.
"Officer Yokas, what happened in that hotel room last night?"
That's it, right to the point.
"Hotel room…?"
"Faith, just tell him what happened and then they'll leave us alone."
"That's just IT, Fred. That's what I've been TRYING TO TELL YOU!" She pauses, obviously fighting back tears, "I DON'T remember."
WHAT? No, no, no. THINK, Faith. How can she not remember? I hope this isn't some stupid ploy to protect me, or she'll get an ass kicking right after Fred gets his.
"You don't remember… anything?" Fred's forlorn question looms for several seconds.
"I'm… sorry… I just don't… remember."
I can hear Faith starting to sob. How could this happen? She didn't do anything wrong.
I feel myself starting to sweat, and I know that everything that's happened over the last little bit is now taking its toll on my body. Most of my life has been less than ideal, but nothing compares to the past day.
My eyes are watering from the growing pain in my head and throat. I close them in an attempt to dull the aching throb, and the effect is minimal, but welcomed. I thought that when she woke up and told the truth, I could stop fighting and slip back into the world of oblivion. Now I'm starting to wonder if I will ever rest peacefully again.
"We can't have her getting upset like this. I'm sorry but she's recovering from major surgery and this isn't helping the healing process. Can you please come back later?" The old doc is stepping in.
"I'm afraid we can't. You don't remember ANYTHING?" The FBI agent is getting in line for his ass-kicking. Wait, who am I kidding? Even Sully could beat me in a race right now.
"No…"
"Does the name 'Aaron Noble' ring a bell?"
Silence. I'm trying to recall if I had ever referred to Noble by his name to her. I don't think I ever did, he was always just 'the CI'.
After a few seconds, she finally responds, "No."
Again, nothing. The silence accentuates the pounding in my head that's filling my ears and now causing a continual stream of tears to flow down my cheeks.
Someone say something. I fight the dizziness and crack open my eyes to see Davis' reaction. He hasn't moved an inch, and still has that 'deer in headlights' look on his face. He breaks out of his trance and looks towards me, his concern evident.
He takes a couple slow steps towards me and whispers, "Bos, you ok?"
He must be within 6 inches of my face and I barely made out his whisper.
No, this time, I'm not okay. This is so bad. Faith was supposed to wake up and tell them what really happened, contradict what Cruz 'claims' happened. Now, she doesn't remember and I can't do anything to help her.
I can feel the sweat dripping off my forehead now. My throat has turned into my biggest physical concern. I feel like a knife is continually stabbing the tender tissue and I can barely take the overwhelming pain anymore.
I slowly blink my eyes, causing a whole new round of tears to fall.
"Bosco," again with the whisper. Go away, Davis. I never want to be this close to any man, ever again.
"Officer Yokas," the FBI agent's voice causes Davis to jolt back.
"I'm afraid we are going to have to place you under arrest."
WHAT?
"WHAT?" Fred is screaming.
I can hear the clinking of handcuffs on metal. How could they do this to her? How could those bastards side with Cruz?
"I'm sorry, sir, but this is our only option right now."
"Where do you THINK she's going to GO?!"
"Right now, your wife is under arrest for attempted murder of a police sergeant, and until someone else makes a statement that proves otherwise, we are going to have to hold her."
"Attempted murder?" Faith manages to squeeze out between soft sobs.
"What the hell do we do now?" Fred's explosiveness is surfacing. I'd probably be the same way.
"We wait. Wait on Officer Boscorelli, or wait until your wife gets over her bout of amnesia."
That asshole sounds so smug. I wonder where the hell they get these 'agents'.
I can't believe they cuffed her. Now they're waiting on me? Go figure, this all comes back to me. There has to be another way. Maybe Swersky can do something about this. Jesus, Faith, how could you forget? I don't think I'll ever be able to forget. In a weird way, I'm envious.
This is bad… I can't save her, I can't even save myself. My whole body is shuddering every few seconds. I'm so cold, yet I can feel sweat budding from every pore. My hands are involuntarily forming fists with every new wave of pain that builds on the last. I could really use that pain medication now. Now I have to fight. I have to fight for Faith. It would be so much easier to just give up - give in to the pain.
"We have to wait on BOSCO? He looks like death! What if he never comes out of this?"
Thanks, buddy. Remind me to kick your ass twice over.
"Then unless you can find something else, or someone else that can say differently than Sergeant Cruz, we'll have to follow through on this."
Silence resonates through the room. Davis remains in his statue-like pose. He looks like he's ten years old and he's just seen his first horror movie.
"Bosco…"
I can hear footsteps getting closer and through my barely-opened eyes, I see Fred standing at the foot of my bed, arms fixed at his side, hands balled in fists, face flush red with anger.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
TBC. Review, Review, Review! You know what to do if you want more ;)