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Summary: My take on why Bosco and Sully don't get along. Takes place shortly after Bosco graduates from the Police Academy

Disclaimer: I don't own Third Watch or any of its characters.

A/N: This story was previously posted on another Third Watch site but no longer available there. I was encouraged to post it here by Joey and Orison.

Thanks for your wonderful reviews.

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The locker room is bathed in silence again after the symphony of bantering and locker slamming that took place just a few minutes ago. Everyone who was in the room has left and gone to roll call.

I try to give Bosco some space, so I wait in the locker room while he's still hiding in that stall. I peek down to make sure I can still see his feet below the door.

I'm actually in no hurry to get him outta there 'cause I've made up my mind that this is gonna end today, and I have no problem waiting as long as I need to make that happen. As for Michaels, I don't bother going after him now, there'll be time for that later.

I check my watch and assume we missed roll call but I don't care.

I move over and sit on the bench and try to estimate how long Bosco and I are gonna play this game of cat and mouse. I know how stubborn the kid can be but he's not gonna outlast me today.

I lean back and make myself comfortable, dipping my chin just so I have a clear view of his feet. The minutes tick by slowly, quietly. He doesn't move, doesn't make a sound. He's never been this still before.

The locker room door swings open and Swersky stands in the entrance. He doesn't need to say anything; I can see the anger in his eyes.

He follows my line of vision as I stare back at the washroom. He enters the room and strides over to the stalls.

"Boscorelli, I need to see you in my office," he says without hesitation and then turns to leave without waiting for a response.

He shoots me a warning look as he walks by.

"We'll be right there, Lieu," I reply.

He steps out and I watch the door close behind him. I get up from my spot and walk over towards Bosco.

I lean against the stall door and listen for any sound or movement. The kid hasn't said boo since he's been in there and it doesn't look like he ready to come out just yet.

I need to think about my strategy. Let me see, there's nothing these military guys hate more than insubordination.

"Bosco - Lieu's not gonna stand for you disregarding his order. It won't look good if you have a report of insubordination on your file."

Silence, nothing...hhhummm, okay I know, if I cover for him, it'll drive him nuts.

"Fine, have it your way. If you don't come out of there, I'll go to the office and tell Lieu what happened." I pause and listen. "I'll tell him I walked in as Michaels was throwing a punch and you had no choice but to defend yourself."

I wait for his reaction. Nothing still. I bend over and look below the door. Yup, he's still in there, he hasn't disappeared on me yet.

I sigh as I realize how stubborn he's gonna be about this. I can't let him think that there's a way out. I walk back to the bench and sit down heavily.

"I can wait here all day, Bosco," I holler. "It's up to you."

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The blank paper stares back at me, taunting me.

I don't know how long I've been here, maybe hours. I play nervously with the pen and then close my eyes. The pounding in my head returns matching the steady beat of my heart.

I sit alone as I try to keep the images away...the images that have taken over my brain. I try to think about something else, anything else, even Sully and Swersky...they mean well, but they don't know...they think they can make it all better, but no one can, it's too late for that.

A chill runs through me as I remember that gap tooth smile laughing at me. I open my eyes to find Sully placing a cup of coffee next to me. I didn't hear him coming in. I must have zoned out for a while. He looks down at the paper and grabs it.

I see the annoyance and frustration in his eyes but he doesn't say anything. He just stares at it, trying to think of something to say that won't completely piss me off. He doesn't understand that I'm just so numb right now that I doubt he could make me feel anything.

"Bosco, this is not gonna cut it with Lieu," he says. He glances over at me then softens his tone. "Just tell me what happened and I'll write it down for you."

When I refuse to speak he begins to question me. "Did he threaten you?"

I turn away from him because what I really want to say is 'no he didn't threaten me, that gap tooth bastard tried to kill me.'

"Did he touch you?" Sully asks guiltily.

I feel the skin on the back of my neck begin to crawl as I remember the feel of the gap tooth's hand on me. I scrub at the area to try and erase the sensation.

He looks worried as he stares at the sheet. "Bosco. What does this mean?" He asks as he pushes the paper towards me.

I see the words scribbled on the page as I pull it closer to me, but I don't remember writing anything down. The room seems to fade away as I stare at the sheet. The words become larger and larger until they seem to scream out at me as I read my shaky handwriting.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?

WHY DID THEY LET ME LIVE?

I keep going over and over the questions until the search for the answers becomes unrelenting and I feel the room begin to spin. I grab the edge of the table with one hand and crumple the paper with the other.

Sully clears his throat. "Alright then," he says encouragingly, "we'll start over and give Lieu something that makes sense."

I suddenly feel the need to get this over with as quickly as possible. The walls, the questions, the images are overrunning my brain and I have to get out of here. I slowly push the pen towards Sully. He's surprised by my gesture but he takes it gratefully and grabs another piece of paper.

I lean forward and look at the blank page staring back at both of us.

Sully straightens up in his chair, poised and ready to write. "Okay, go ahead," he says eagerly.

I feel my leg start to bounce as I begin.
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I don't remember the rest of the shift or how I got here. But I sure as hell know what I'm doing here now. I reach for the next shot and down it quickly. Sully, Grady and Faith are standing right by me at the bar but they could be a million miles away for all I care.

The only constant, from the moment we were dismissed from Swersky's office, has been the incessant questions floating in my mind, gnawing at me, trying to tear holes through me. What happened to them? Why did they let me live? For the life of me, I can't figure out the answers, can't make myself remember what happened. Part of me doesn't want to but another part of me desperately needs to know.

The bartender places another shot in front of me and I wonder how many drinks it's gonna take for my mind to go as numb as the rest of me.

The next three shots come and go in a blur of noise, smoke and watchful glances from my three bodyguards. I fear my steady intake of alcohol is not having the desired effect and instead of allowing me to forget, it prompts me to keep searching for the answers until not knowing becomes unbearable.

I fish into my pockets and find some change. I get up shakily and make my way towards the washrooms to look for a pay phone. I spot one that's free; I get my courage up and approach it. I push the coin into the slot and dial.

"Hello," says a sleepy voice on the other end.

I pause, but not for long. The alcohol has fortified my resolve for this sort of thing.

"Hi, Stevie...it's me...Bosco."

I can hear him reaching out for something, maybe his watch before continuing. "Bosco, where are you?"

"Uh...in a bar..."

"Are you alone?" He questions.

"Yeah..." I say without thinking because I feel utterly alone, "I mean no..." I correct myself quickly.

"Are you okay?" I can hear him rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

He knows there's only one reason why I would call and I don't have the patience to beat around the bush. "Stevie...you have to tell me what happened. What happened to the people...the people from the village?"

He doesn't answer, he's thinking about what to say. "Bosco, why don't we get together tomorrow and talk about it then."

"Stevie, please...please just tell me what happened..." I'm not beyond begging at this point 'cause I don't think I'll make it until tomorrow.

"Bosco, why do you need to know?" he asks concerned.

"Stevie...don't do this now...I just need to know...please...tell me..." I sound desperate even to my own ears, and I can imagine what Stevie's thinking, me calling him from a bar in the middle of the night.

"Where are you?" He asks. When I don't answer he takes my hesitation as a sign of distrust and quickly adds, "I'll come."

In reality, I don't answer because I'm not sure where I am at this very moment and I have to search my brain.

"Haggerty's. It's on King...just north... of Arthur." I feel a knot forming in the pit of my stomach. I'm closer to the truth now than I've ever been before.

"Okay. Just wait for me there. Can you do that?" Stevie asks to make sure that I'm not gonna bolt.

"I'm not going anywhere." I tell him and hang up.

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From the corner of my eye I see Sully signal to the bartender. He thinks I've had enough to drink but I'm not even close to where I need to be.

Grady took Faith home a little while ago and I've been sitting here working on my blood alcohol level for the last 30 minutes.

"Bosco, you did the right thing." Sully says as leans in. "Don't worry about those bozos. They deserve what's coming to them. They're lucky, it could've been worse."

Sully tries hard to make me feel better about the report, but I don't. I think he understands why I refused to press charges. He eyes me before continuing, "ready to head out?"

I shake my head slowly. "No, but you go 'head. I'll see you tomorrow." I mutter.

"It's okay, I'll wait for you." He says tactfully. He doesn't trust me to get myself home in one piece.

"I'm waitin' for someone."

His eyes narrow suspiciously. I can tell he doesn't believe me. "It's okay. I'll wait for you," he insists.

When I don't fight him, he stands there not knowing what to say.

I try to order another shot but the bartender shakes his head no and offers me a soft drink instead, which I decline.

Thankfully, I manage to make Sully so uncomfortable around me that he moves to the end of the bar to retell some lame joke to a fellow officer. That's when I see Stevie walking in.

I get up and wind my way towards him. When he sees me, he nods his head and eyes me before speaking. "Bosco, you wanna sit over there." He motions to an empty booth near the back.

It really makes no difference to me at this point. We make our way over to the booth and settle in. An awkward silence hangs over us. My leg starts to bounce nervously and I'm glad Stevie can't see it.

I start tentatively. "Stevie...you gotta tell me what you know...'bout what happened to those villagers."

He pulls out his pack of cigarettes and offers me one. I take it and then he takes one for himself. "Why do you need to know now Bosco? Tell me what happened?"

He flicks his lighter and we both light our cigarettes. I inhale deeply and blow the smoke away from us.

"Nothing happened." I say angrily. "Just f-ckin' tell me already." I rub my hand against my leg in an effort to slow it down.

Stevie doesn't lose his cool with me. "Okay, but there isn't much to tell."

"Don't lie to me, Stevie. I really need this," I hear the edge in my voice and I can tell by Stevie's expression that he feels the urgency in my words too.

He starts slowly, eyeing me between each sentence, gauging my stability. "You left camp that morning headed for the airport. You were only supposed to be gone for a couple of hours." He puffs on his cigarette and flicks the ashes into the ashtray. "You went by yourself because we were short staffed due to the training exercises and the patrols we were conducting that morning. You never made it there," he whispers softly and turns away, staring at something beyond the walls of this booth.

After a few moments of puffing away on his cigarette, he composes himself enough to continue. "We got a call at about 15:30, asking us when you were gonna show up to pick up the supplies."

Stevie stares down at the embers on his cigarette. "You should have never gone by yourself," he mumbles awkwardly.

"Go on," I croak out. I could use about 100 more shots to wash down the lump in my throat that threatens to choke me. Stevie doesn't seem to notice my nervousness; he's lost in his own guilty memories.

"We flew over the area where you would have travelled. I knew something was wrong when we found the village burned to the ground and no one there."

"Where were they?" I ask apprehensively.

He looks up at me. "There was no one there." He sees the unspoken question in my eyes. "There was no one there...and there were no bodies. They must have all escaped as the rebels advanced on the village."

I close my eyes and feel myself shiver because my memory of the event tells me otherwise. I know - I know the villagers were there when the rebels arrived. I look back up at Stevie. "Are you sure about the bodies?"

"As sure as I can be from 150 feet in the air. I swear Bosco, I didn't see any bodies." He leans in closer. "I didn't see any bodies," he repeats emphatically.

I want to believe. I want to believe him but his words don't calm me, don't reassure me, and don't stop the feeling of dread descending down upon me.

TBC...