Thanks for the great reviews, you guys are amazing. Sorry for the delay, I've been swamped by last minute assignments and exams. Soon enough, that will all be over.

Thanks so much for reading, and I apologize ahead of time for the lack of plot progress in this chapter. As most of you know, I just get so caught up in thoughts and descriptions sometimes ;)

Enjoy this chapter,

~Joey~

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

-A Fine Balance-

Chapter 6

Bosco apprehensively guided his battered body into a more manageable position before leaning forward onto his feet. Faith watched from the corner of her eye - carefully letting her main attention fall on a decoy in her purse - knowing that if he could feel her stare, he would rush unnecessarily.

As he limped awkwardly into the station house - refusing to allow himself to rely solely on the crutches for balance- he felt every muscle suddenly contract in a tense reaction to the quiet unease that enveloped the usually bustling structure. Every step sent a new round of fire through his chest, and he silently pleaded for a chair or even a wall - something or anything to lean against would be much appreciated.

***********

Faith walked slowly behind her partner, allowing him to dictate the pace and preparing to catch him if need be. She saw his body suddenly stiffen as they walked through the large black doors that marked the entrance, and moved a little closer, anticipating a faltering step.

She felt a hand on her back, and spun around to be greeted by Lieutenant Swersky, a forced smile shaped his face as he unwillingly welcomed two of his officers, in spite of the bleak circumstances.

"Oh, hey, Lieu," Faith sputtered at the sight of the worried Lieutenant, dreading any news he could possibly have to offer - after coming to the realization that no news could possibly be good news.

"Yokas," he nodded, speaking quietly. After taking a deep breath, trying not to sound too sympathetic, he motioned his chin towards Bosco, who was attempting to turn around to face the conversation, "Bosco."

Bosco didn't respond, in fact, he barely raised his head to meet Lieu's empathy filled eyes. He gave a nearly undetectable nod and swallowed.

"Why don't you two come with me. I can't say I have much to tell you, but I thought you," he gestured towards Bosco, "would want to be here if any news came through."

"Um, yeah…," Bosco cleared his throat and tried to force his voice to sound more stable, "thanks, Lieu - for everything."

The Lieutenant nodded his acceptance of Bosco's gratitude, and opened a door to one of the offices. He winked at Faith, and she smiled back - realizing that he had purposely inhabited one of the lower level offices tentatively, to avoid the eminent struggle that would undoubtedly occur had Bosco been forced to tackle the stairs leading to the Lieu's usual working space.

Once both officers had taken their seats, the Lieutenant slowly shut the door and made his way to the chair behind the desk. He frowned deeply before lowering himself into the cracked leather, then intertwined his hands while leaning forward on his elbows.

"Not much has changed since I spoke to you last," he said, addressing Faith with a troubled expression, "However, back-up should have gotten there by now and I'm sure that Sullivan and Davis will let us know as soon as they can."

He swiveled slightly in the old chair, which let out an objective squeak, then turned his attention towards Bosco, who appeared to be holding on by a thread.

"Boscorelli," he said, firmness making up for his lack of exuberance.

Bosco half-heartedly lifted his gaze to meet Swersky's, pain and sorrow clearly written across his features.

"I need to ask you a few questions, just so I know exactly what we're dealing with here."

Bosco swallowed again, trying to suppress all the emotions that were quickly surfacing, "Okay."

It was becoming more and more apparent that simple, one word answers were all they were going to get out of Bosco today.

"Faith said something earlier about how you saw your mother on the night of the accident?"

Though it wasn't really a question, Bosco's brain began spinning, searching for any answers that could possibly assist in the safe recovery of his mother.

"Yeah, I was at her bar that night," his voice was clearly unsteady, which prompted Faith to shoot him a worried glare, as she tried to decipher whether the wavering was a result of emotional or physical distress.

Again, Bosco tried desperately to stabilize his voice before he continued, "I was there until around one in the morning… I think. I can't really remember," his eyes weren't focusing on anything in particular as he wracked his brain to recall the horrific night he spent the previous few days trying so hard to eradicate from his memory. "I know she was there when I left though."

Faith shot Swersky a warning glare, deciding that this was perhaps, after all, not such a good idea. The seasoned Lieutenant attended to her concern by returning her gaze with one that let her know he wasn't going to push it.

Far from satisfied, Faith turned her attention back towards Bosco, whose eyes were clenched shut, as if fighting off some intrusive internal demon.

"Okay, but you didn't see or hear from her following that night?"

Bosco deliberately shook his head slowly from side to side, keeping his eyes closed.

Swersky looked over to Faith, and gave a small shrug while turning his palms upwards.

Faith nodded back, arranging a silent agreement with the Lieutenant, to hold off on any further questioning until Bosco appeared to be recovered from whatever it was that appeared to have taken away his focus for the time being.

Several torturous seconds of deafening silence passed, and Faith's motherly concern for her partner continued to increase in magnitude with each rhythmic tick of the clock.

As if he was suddenly expelled from the turmoil that had held his brain hostage, Bosco drew surprised glares from both Faith and Swersky, as he grabbed his crutches and hastily exited the room.

The Lieutenant raised his eyebrows in obvious confusion, as Faith struggled with the decision of whether or not to follow her ailing partner. Deciding that it would probably be best to allow him all the space and time he needed to regain his composure, she leaned back into the wooden chair with a sigh.

"Was it something I said?" Swersky finally broke the silence, his eyebrows still raised in confusion.

"No, Lieu, he's just not feeling well. I'm sure that if we just give him some time, he'll come around," Faith did her best to convince her boss, who still looked quite doubtful.

"Okay," he replied, mimicking her actions by leaning back into the worn chair, "I won't even pretend to know him as well as you do."

Faith thanked her boss with an uneasy smile, then anxiously worried about the state of her partner - wishing that there was something more she could do to help him through what must be a tremendously difficult time.

**************

Davis gave an impatient sigh, as he again, strained his eyes and ears in an attempt to distinguish any sight or sound that would indicate back-up was soon arriving.

Sully turned to face him, annoyed with the pacing and sighing emitted every few seconds form his young counterpart.

"Relax, Davis, they'll be here soon."

"What's it been now, ten - fifteen minutes?" Davis shot back, flustered by the laissez-faire attitude of the veteran cop.

"They'll be here," Sully replied rather than answering the question, knowing that a more specific response would only spur on his disconcerted partner further. "What is with you, today? I've never seen you so… I don't know, 'raring to go'."

Davis shook his head while checking his watch again, avoiding the antagonistic question, "It doesn't usually take this long," he simply stated.

The cracking of ice-covered snow beneath tires, caught Davis' attention, and he spun around to be rewarded with the sight of another RMP.

"It's about time," he muttered.

"Don't," Sully warned his partner from pursuing the matter any further.

The officers in 55-Edward casually gathered their belongings before exiting the car. As if anticipating another angry comment from Davis, Sully shot him a glare that spoke volumes, dispelling any sarcastic remarks that Ty was preparing to shoot at the nonchalant officers.

"What've we got here, Sullivan?"

"Appears to be a break-in and entry - the place is pretty much trashed. I don't know if anyone's in there."

The other seasoned officer nodded, while dismantling his nightstick from its holster on his hip, "Who called it in?"

"Well," Sully sighed, allowing his voice to take on a more personal tone, "It's actually Boscorelli's mother's bar. They hadn't heard from her in a while and they sent us here to check it out. This," he pointed at the vandalized property, "is what we found."

"This is Bosco's mom's place?" the officer reiterated, making sure he had his facts straight, concern suddenly impacting his approach to the whole situation.

Both Davis and Sully nodded.

"Okay, well let's not waste any more time. Let's go." the other member of 55-Edward stated, starting the wheels in motion.

Davis, relieved that he could actually do something, led the group of four towards the rear of the building.



***************

Faith glanced at her watch, it was becoming more and more apparent that Bosco wasn't about to rejoin them any time soon.

Searching for any other form of amusement, she directed a question at Swersky, "Any news on that kid that caused the accident?"

Swersky looked relieved that another topic could entertain his thoughts for a while, "Apparently, he's healing well, but he's younger than originally thought."

The comment sparked Faith's curiosity, and she leaned forward while asking the obvious, "How young?"

"Sixteen."

Faith's eyes grew wide. What would a sixteen year old be doing driving around at one in the morning with a pick-up truck full of booze and cash? Immediately she thought of Emily, dreading the day her adolescent daughter takes the test that allows her to operate a vehicle, and praying that she could, for once, use the good judgment she had tried to instill upon her throughout the first 15 years of her life, when she finally gets behind the wheel.

Extracting herself from her disturbing thoughts, Faith looked back at Swersky, "So, what does that mean?"

"Well, it means a bunch of things, especially considering the kid isn't talking. The only time he speaks is when he asks about his dad."

"They can't contact his family?"

"They tried contacting his father for him, but haven't had any luck yet. He didn't mention any other family members. But they can't release him until a guardian of some sort shows up. Not to mention the extensive charges this kid is facing…"

Swersky was interrupted when the door clicked open, and a significantly paler Boscorelli, entered the room.

Bosco sensed the break in conversation upon his re-entry, which just served to add to the already sky-high discomfort that was consuming his mind and body. He stopped for a second, looking at Faith with questioning eyes.

Faith responded to her partners worried look and near-green complexion, by pushing his chair out so that it would require less arranging and struggling for Bosco to resume his seat.

As he made his way towards the vacant resting spot, a head peaked around the door, shortly followed by an announcement, "Lieutenant Swersky, there's a call on line 2 for you."

Swersky thanked the younger lady before excusing himself from the room.

Faith was almost positive that the phone that occupied the desk was functional, but knew that the Lieutenant did not want to be asking any potentially sensitive questions in front of Bosco, who looked like he couldn't handle much more stress at the moment.

Once the door was again shut, Faith turned to her partner, "You okay, Bos?"

Her voice was low, and despite the fact that she knew he hated that question more than anything else in the world, she couldn't let it go unasked.

Bosco took a shaky breath, averting his eyes from those of his prying partner's.

His lack of response spoke louder than any words possibly could, and Faith's heart ached for him. If he was her child, she would have enveloped him in a supportive hug, but needless to say, that wasn't really an option - nor was it what Bosco really needed right now.

Instead, she stared long and hard at his face, as if letting him know that he couldn't shrug her off so easily, but she wasn't going to make him do or say anything that he was uncomfortable with. It was an understanding they had - a trust and support structure that had taken years to build and solidify.

He responded the only way he knew how, he dropped his head and nodded. No questions asked, no answers given. It was the way it had to be, and neither of them was about to object.

************

Davis slowed his previously rapid pace, as he approached the battered building. He could feel his stomach growing more and more uneasy as he drew closer. This was no different than the thousand other times they had investigated a break-in and potential robbery, except this time, he felt the guilt of responsibility clutching onto his every nerve. No matter how many times he told himself that this was 'just another call', he couldn't rid his body of that awful feeling of liability.

Before pulling back the handle on the rear door, which was precariously propped open by an empty beer bottle, he glanced over his shoulder to the three officers following closely behind.

Sully nodded, "Okay, let's go."

'Let's go… it's that simple,' Davis thought to himself, as he watched his shaky hand reach for the cold metal bar.

Without any further hesitation, his instincts took over. Swapping into 'cop mode', he yanked the door open with one swift movement, allowing his years of training and experience to guide him through what was 'just another call'.

TBC. Please let me know what you think. Thanks ;)