Title: Texas
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Third Watch,so please don't sure me.
Author's note: This is set right after Boz and Faith decided to split up, so they're still very much pissed at each other. The shooting and the whole thing with Noble hasn't happened yet, and if I had my way it never would have..but that's beside the point. This will be a scary story, even though the first chapter isn't scary at all. So don't worry, angst, dear death experiences, and strange town folk are in the chapters to come.
***********************
Bosco sat at the back of the roll call room with nearly 5 desks between him and Faith. She was at the front, paying close attention to what was being said, but he couldn't have cared less about Swersky's ramblings. He was lost in his own thoughts.
"Bosco and Yokas, Stay after"
That snapped Bosco back to reality, he sighed heavily hoping that Swersky wasn't going to lecture them on getting over their "differences".
Faith was waiting by the desk, only occasionally glancing in Bosco's direction. He stopped a few feet away from her and waited.
Swersky approached them carrying a blue folder. "I'm sure you're aware of the national police conference this weekend. You've both been selected to represent the 55, you'll be leaving tomorrow morning." He thrust the folder at Faith before finishing. "This contains your travel and hotel information, unfortunately all the flights to Texas were booked, so you'll have to drive there."
Bosco interrupted him, "You're kidding me right? No way, I'm not going."
"Bosco this is not a request. You will go, both of you. I know that you've officially split as partners and I'm not asking you to get back together, all I'm asking is that you go to this conference and both come back without having killed each other. You think you can manage that?"
"Yes sir, we'll be fine." Faith stared at the folder, refusing to look at Bosco as she spoke.
"Somehow that's not very comforting" Swersky shook his head. "You leave tomorrow morning, you've both got the rest of the day off to pack and get ready. Be good and for god's sake be civil to each other. Dismissed."
Faith left the room first with Bosco right behind her. She leafed through the folder, glancing over the road map and other travel information. "700 miles, oh this is going to be so much fun." She said in mock excitement as she tossed the folder to him.
"Yeah well, the thought of going on a road trip with you isn't exactly makin' me jump for joy either."
She slammed her locker shut and headed for the door. "Ditto"
"Hey." He shouted after her. She paused at the door not bothering to look back.
"I'll pick ya up at nine tomorrow morning to get the rental car, so you can leave the truck for Fred."
She opened the door and headed out. "Whatever."
**************
The ride to the rental agency was uneventful. Bosco had shown up to her place on time, which had stunned Faith at first. She couldn't remember the last time he wasn't running late. He had even picked up coffee for both of them before hand. He seemed to be taking Swersky's order seriously, although they had barely said two words to each other, he was trying to be civil, she'd give him that.
After locating their rental car and somehow managing to shove all of their belongings into the trunk, they were on their way, with Faith reading the map and Bosco driving. She had considered offering to drive but knowing him he'd get defensive or start some inane argument about how she was too controlling.
The first three hundred miles went by at an agonizingly slow pace, with her and Bosco arguing over the stupidest things. First it was her choice of music, then it was the way she read the map, which let to an argument over the way he was driving, which led to them each giving the other the silent treatment.
"Get off at exit 145, about 2 miles up."
"Why that's not even a freeway?"
"Because that's what the directions say. We're supposed to get off here, go through town and then go 40 miles on Rickett Rd. before getting back on the freeway."
"Fine."
They exited the freeway and headed through town. They'd been driving for miles with Faith rearranging the map and cursing at it under her breath when Bosco interrupted her.
"Where's Rickett Rd.?"
Faith shifted the map and directions again, nervously searching for the correct street. "I don't know, it should be right here."
He glared at her. "It's not."
"No shit Boz, really? You've got such a knack for stating the obvious!" She snapped at him but immediately regretted it, he was trying to be decent to her and she was the one who started snapping at him.
"Why don't ya stop somewhere and ask for directions?"
He glared at her again, something he was getting very good at. "We have directions, I'm not stoppin." He snatched the map from her and looked through the streets.
"Here! We're right there." He pointed at a spot on the paper.
Faith looked at where he was pointing and started snickering. "Boz, if we were there, which we're not, there would be a McDonalds on the corner, do you see one? Because I don't, all I can see is desert! Just go back, we're lost!"
"We are not lost Faith! I know exactly where we are and we're not lost!
"Riight."
Faith starred out the passenger window. She knew he had no clue where they were going. Bosco was directionally impaired, meaning he always got lost the moment he left the city. She surveyed the surroundings, no buildings, no trees, nothing. Just vast amounts of desert as far as the eye could see.
She was pulled form her thoughts by a sudden jerking from the car.
"What's that?"
"What's what?"
The car jerked again, this time rolling to a stop. "That!"
Bosco glanced at the odometer and banged his head against the steering wheel lightly a few times. "We ran out of gas."
"Didn't you make sure it was full when we left?"
He cursed and got out the car, kicking a tire for effect. "Of course I did, but we've been driving for hours! A full tank doesn't last forever."
She exited the car as well and sat down on a nearby rock, moving the sand around with her shoe as she stared at the ground. "So what are we gonna do?"
"We've got two options. Either we wait here for someone to drive by and pick us up, or we start walkin' to the nearest town." He leaned against the car hood and waited for her answer. The sun was beating down on them and he hoped they'd manage to get out of there without baking.
"We could be walkin for hours, we don't even know where the nearest town is."
"Well, I'm not gonna wait here in the off chance that someone will pass by. Have you noticed any other cars on this road since we started?"
Faith stood up and started pacing. "No."
"Okay, then the sooner we get going, the sooner we can find a place with a phone. We'll try to flag down anyone that drives by."
"Fine." Faith watched him start walking up the road and followed a few feet behind. This was not going to be fun. She held her hand up to her eyes to shield them from the sun, hoping to catch a glimpse of a street sign up ahead. Of course there was nothing, because that would just be too easy.
They walked in silence for a few miles when Faith suddenly stopped. "Let's rest for a minute Boz, my feet are killin me."
"Suck it up, We haven't even been walkin that long."
She was seething mad now, how dare he tell her to 'suck it up'! "I'm not exactly wearing the best shoes for the occasion" she said as she held up her right foot, a black heeled boot pointing at Bosco. She then plopped down on the nearest rock and sighed dramatically.
"Fine, you rest I'm gonna keep going"
"That's right leave, it's the only thing you're good at anyway!" She shouted back at him.
"What did you say?! Ya know what, forget it, I'm not gonna let you bait me into a fight again."
"I'm not baiting you, just stating the facts."
He turned around and faced her placing his hands on his hips. "Right, the facts. You mean you're twisted version of the truth."
"I'm not the one who gets a kick out of twisting the truth Bosco, that's always been you."
"Oh here we go again. You know that's great."
"What?"
"How you do that, twist my words around to make yourself look like the martyr."
Faith stood up from her rock and stared at him. She took a few deep breaths and turned and walked away. "I don't wanna talk about this."
"That's right walk away, it's what you do best." He shouted, throwing her own words back at her.
"We wouldn't even be in this position if you'd have stopped and asked for directions like I'd said before!"
"Of course this is my fault. Did ya ever think that maybe you read the map wrong?"
He was met with the sound of her snorting then a soft giggle that quickly turned into a full blown laugh. For a second he though she might have gotten heat stroke.
"Faith?"
She tried to control her laughter but failed miserably. "Look at us Boz. We're stranded in the middle of nowhere, not a car or person to be seen for probably miles, and somehow we've managed to get into an argument. I think we've both lost our minds."
He cracked a grin at her. "I guess that's something we're both good at huh?"
"Yeah." She'd managed to stop giggling and was headed back down the street. "You're right, we shouldn't stop. It's gonna be dark soon."
He nodded and began following her, hoping they'd find a place before the sun went down.
**********
TBC.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Third Watch,so please don't sure me.
Author's note: This is set right after Boz and Faith decided to split up, so they're still very much pissed at each other. The shooting and the whole thing with Noble hasn't happened yet, and if I had my way it never would have..but that's beside the point. This will be a scary story, even though the first chapter isn't scary at all. So don't worry, angst, dear death experiences, and strange town folk are in the chapters to come.
***********************
Bosco sat at the back of the roll call room with nearly 5 desks between him and Faith. She was at the front, paying close attention to what was being said, but he couldn't have cared less about Swersky's ramblings. He was lost in his own thoughts.
"Bosco and Yokas, Stay after"
That snapped Bosco back to reality, he sighed heavily hoping that Swersky wasn't going to lecture them on getting over their "differences".
Faith was waiting by the desk, only occasionally glancing in Bosco's direction. He stopped a few feet away from her and waited.
Swersky approached them carrying a blue folder. "I'm sure you're aware of the national police conference this weekend. You've both been selected to represent the 55, you'll be leaving tomorrow morning." He thrust the folder at Faith before finishing. "This contains your travel and hotel information, unfortunately all the flights to Texas were booked, so you'll have to drive there."
Bosco interrupted him, "You're kidding me right? No way, I'm not going."
"Bosco this is not a request. You will go, both of you. I know that you've officially split as partners and I'm not asking you to get back together, all I'm asking is that you go to this conference and both come back without having killed each other. You think you can manage that?"
"Yes sir, we'll be fine." Faith stared at the folder, refusing to look at Bosco as she spoke.
"Somehow that's not very comforting" Swersky shook his head. "You leave tomorrow morning, you've both got the rest of the day off to pack and get ready. Be good and for god's sake be civil to each other. Dismissed."
Faith left the room first with Bosco right behind her. She leafed through the folder, glancing over the road map and other travel information. "700 miles, oh this is going to be so much fun." She said in mock excitement as she tossed the folder to him.
"Yeah well, the thought of going on a road trip with you isn't exactly makin' me jump for joy either."
She slammed her locker shut and headed for the door. "Ditto"
"Hey." He shouted after her. She paused at the door not bothering to look back.
"I'll pick ya up at nine tomorrow morning to get the rental car, so you can leave the truck for Fred."
She opened the door and headed out. "Whatever."
**************
The ride to the rental agency was uneventful. Bosco had shown up to her place on time, which had stunned Faith at first. She couldn't remember the last time he wasn't running late. He had even picked up coffee for both of them before hand. He seemed to be taking Swersky's order seriously, although they had barely said two words to each other, he was trying to be civil, she'd give him that.
After locating their rental car and somehow managing to shove all of their belongings into the trunk, they were on their way, with Faith reading the map and Bosco driving. She had considered offering to drive but knowing him he'd get defensive or start some inane argument about how she was too controlling.
The first three hundred miles went by at an agonizingly slow pace, with her and Bosco arguing over the stupidest things. First it was her choice of music, then it was the way she read the map, which let to an argument over the way he was driving, which led to them each giving the other the silent treatment.
"Get off at exit 145, about 2 miles up."
"Why that's not even a freeway?"
"Because that's what the directions say. We're supposed to get off here, go through town and then go 40 miles on Rickett Rd. before getting back on the freeway."
"Fine."
They exited the freeway and headed through town. They'd been driving for miles with Faith rearranging the map and cursing at it under her breath when Bosco interrupted her.
"Where's Rickett Rd.?"
Faith shifted the map and directions again, nervously searching for the correct street. "I don't know, it should be right here."
He glared at her. "It's not."
"No shit Boz, really? You've got such a knack for stating the obvious!" She snapped at him but immediately regretted it, he was trying to be decent to her and she was the one who started snapping at him.
"Why don't ya stop somewhere and ask for directions?"
He glared at her again, something he was getting very good at. "We have directions, I'm not stoppin." He snatched the map from her and looked through the streets.
"Here! We're right there." He pointed at a spot on the paper.
Faith looked at where he was pointing and started snickering. "Boz, if we were there, which we're not, there would be a McDonalds on the corner, do you see one? Because I don't, all I can see is desert! Just go back, we're lost!"
"We are not lost Faith! I know exactly where we are and we're not lost!
"Riight."
Faith starred out the passenger window. She knew he had no clue where they were going. Bosco was directionally impaired, meaning he always got lost the moment he left the city. She surveyed the surroundings, no buildings, no trees, nothing. Just vast amounts of desert as far as the eye could see.
She was pulled form her thoughts by a sudden jerking from the car.
"What's that?"
"What's what?"
The car jerked again, this time rolling to a stop. "That!"
Bosco glanced at the odometer and banged his head against the steering wheel lightly a few times. "We ran out of gas."
"Didn't you make sure it was full when we left?"
He cursed and got out the car, kicking a tire for effect. "Of course I did, but we've been driving for hours! A full tank doesn't last forever."
She exited the car as well and sat down on a nearby rock, moving the sand around with her shoe as she stared at the ground. "So what are we gonna do?"
"We've got two options. Either we wait here for someone to drive by and pick us up, or we start walkin' to the nearest town." He leaned against the car hood and waited for her answer. The sun was beating down on them and he hoped they'd manage to get out of there without baking.
"We could be walkin for hours, we don't even know where the nearest town is."
"Well, I'm not gonna wait here in the off chance that someone will pass by. Have you noticed any other cars on this road since we started?"
Faith stood up and started pacing. "No."
"Okay, then the sooner we get going, the sooner we can find a place with a phone. We'll try to flag down anyone that drives by."
"Fine." Faith watched him start walking up the road and followed a few feet behind. This was not going to be fun. She held her hand up to her eyes to shield them from the sun, hoping to catch a glimpse of a street sign up ahead. Of course there was nothing, because that would just be too easy.
They walked in silence for a few miles when Faith suddenly stopped. "Let's rest for a minute Boz, my feet are killin me."
"Suck it up, We haven't even been walkin that long."
She was seething mad now, how dare he tell her to 'suck it up'! "I'm not exactly wearing the best shoes for the occasion" she said as she held up her right foot, a black heeled boot pointing at Bosco. She then plopped down on the nearest rock and sighed dramatically.
"Fine, you rest I'm gonna keep going"
"That's right leave, it's the only thing you're good at anyway!" She shouted back at him.
"What did you say?! Ya know what, forget it, I'm not gonna let you bait me into a fight again."
"I'm not baiting you, just stating the facts."
He turned around and faced her placing his hands on his hips. "Right, the facts. You mean you're twisted version of the truth."
"I'm not the one who gets a kick out of twisting the truth Bosco, that's always been you."
"Oh here we go again. You know that's great."
"What?"
"How you do that, twist my words around to make yourself look like the martyr."
Faith stood up from her rock and stared at him. She took a few deep breaths and turned and walked away. "I don't wanna talk about this."
"That's right walk away, it's what you do best." He shouted, throwing her own words back at her.
"We wouldn't even be in this position if you'd have stopped and asked for directions like I'd said before!"
"Of course this is my fault. Did ya ever think that maybe you read the map wrong?"
He was met with the sound of her snorting then a soft giggle that quickly turned into a full blown laugh. For a second he though she might have gotten heat stroke.
"Faith?"
She tried to control her laughter but failed miserably. "Look at us Boz. We're stranded in the middle of nowhere, not a car or person to be seen for probably miles, and somehow we've managed to get into an argument. I think we've both lost our minds."
He cracked a grin at her. "I guess that's something we're both good at huh?"
"Yeah." She'd managed to stop giggling and was headed back down the street. "You're right, we shouldn't stop. It's gonna be dark soon."
He nodded and began following her, hoping they'd find a place before the sun went down.
**********
TBC.