Obsession (6/13)

A/N: Well, here we go guys, time for another chapter. This is my favourite so far, and I think you'll like it too: it's longer, there's a lot of Bosco in it, and you might even find out who's the man behind it all! :) Hope that's enough to keep you interested so please read it and let me know what you think.

Chapter six

Bosco sat in the dark of his apartment, staring at the bottle of bourbon sitting in front of him on the coffee table. He rubbed his temples wearily, feeling the low beat of a headache that had never left him alone these days.

The TV set was blaring loudly, but he wasn't listening. The voices in his head were far too powerful, and there was no remote to turn them down.

'This thing with Faith... Nothing's ever one person's fault.'

'You haven't spent enough time around me.'

Every night he would take a sip of the amber liquid, hoping to drown his sorrow out, then shake his head in disgust at the man he'd become and systematically put it away until the next evening.

'Goes down great, doesn't it? Like a little razor blade, scraping away that bile in the back of your throat?

He wished a real razor blade could end it all, wished that something on the job would happen so Death could take care of what he was too much of a coward to fix by himself.

Guilt can play horrible tricks on the mind, and not even he knew what sort of demons would leap out of his subconscious next.

'Together me and Yokas are one great cop.'

Life wasn't the same without Faith, and after ten years of partnership he felt like a part of him was gone and he couldn't speak, walk and act like everybody expected him to. The feeling was suffocating, and he found himself swallowed by it.

'As long as Faith's all right, I really don't care what happens to me.'

He grabbed the remote and shut the TV off.

Someone was threatening her. Some psycho had sent her flowers and stuff, and all he could do was watch from a distance and pray that she would show up for work the next day.

He leaned forward, his elbows resting on the knees of his rumpled pants.

No matter how mad she'd been at him, or how many times she'd said she didn't want him around, his first thought had been to check on her and make sure she had all the help she needed. Swersky's speech, although honest and caring, had done nothing to reassure him.

He needed to see for himself. He needed to do something, even if that meant spending the night in front of her place.

Pushing himself off the couch, Bosco walked to the kitchen and put the bottle in the cabinet where it belonged, then absently grabbed his keys and headed outside, nearly tripping over the lonely figure that sat hunched over by the wall, knees pulled up, face half-hidden by the poorly lit hallway.

He froze in his tracks and looked down just as she raised her head, startled by the sudden noise.

Their eyes met, and for a moment neither of them could move, talk, or even breathe.

Bosco was the first to recover.

"Faith?" he whispered, shock barely hidden beneath his blue eyes. He was on his knees beside her in an instant. "Faith, what happened?"

She tried to speak but couldn't get any words out so she looked away to keep from answering.

"Faith?" he called again, suddenly afraid of the reason that had brought her to his doorstep.

She draped her arms over her knees and slowly turned her head. Her eyes were sparkling with held tears but she didn't cry.

"He sent me a dress." She told him straight out, like a cop. "The son of a bitch sent me a beautiful, black dress. And you know what's funny? I've always wanted one, but Fred said I had no use for something like that..."

Bosco's lips thinned. His eyes grew darker at the thought of this creep sending her gifts, and he fought to try and keep his anger at bay. "How did you get here? I mean, they were supposed to..."

"I ran out the back door. I don't think they even saw me." She wasn't surprised to learn that he knew about the cops outside her building, and didn't bother to ask why he still cared. Right now, she was just glad he did.

"He knows where I live, Bosco. I... I couldn't stay in that house. But if you'd rather..."

Bosco gently put his hand on top of her and squeezed it. "It's okay, Faith. And I'm glad you're here."

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on the curve of her cheek. His thumb stroked her jaw line as he tried to process the fact that she was really there. After months of isolation and despair, he ached for this physical contact; afraid she was just a product of his drunken mind.

Without another word, he took her in his arms and held her.

Faith felt her emotions swell. Nobody had done that to her in a long time, and at that moment she realized how much she'd missed it. Someone else was finally taking care of her.

Warm tears of frustration slid under her closed lids. "I'm going to die, aren't I?" she asked, a hint of tremor in her voice.

"No, you'll be fine. I'm here now."

She tried to concentrate on his voice. He was telling her that everything was gonna be alright, and although that probably wasn't the truth, she chose to believe him.

He held her until the tears dried, then slowly helped her to her feet, gently leading her inside and sitting her on the couch. She breathed a sigh of relief, as if feeling less scared. Nothing would happen while Bosco was with her.

He went into the kitchen, fixed a glass of water and joined her back in the small living room, handing it to her. "You can stay as long as you want."

"Bos, I..."

"And I'm taking the couch."

Her lips broke into a small smile. "Whatever."

The man lay in his bed, eyes open. The thoughts swirling in his head made it impossible to sleep.

Images of the woman he'd fallen so desperately in love with kept playing in his mind, so powerful that he'd actually had to stop himself from going outside, flagging down a cab and going over to her place just to sit outside and stare at her window.

The dress had been a great idea, he was sure of it.

Italian style, best of the best, the girl at the store had told him with a big smile. 'Your girlfriend's gonna love it.'

'Yes, she will.' He'd replied, a glint of excitement in his eyes.

He remembered how beautiful she looked the night of the prom, and how proud he'd been to be her date. Of course she'd already met Fred at the time, but he wouldn't have given the guy any credit. He'd been wrong.

Two days later, she was cheering for the strong linebacker. A week later, they swore their love would be forever. That's when leaving had become the only option.

She'd seemed genuinely sad when he'd said goodbye, and had asked him to call her as soon as he came back. When he did, she was already married with a baby girl, and had apparently forgotten all their dreams for the future.

He didn't blame her though. He hadn't been sure of his feelings before, but he was damn sure of them now. She was the one, and he longed to spend every moment of his life with her.

A wicked smile curved his lips and he switched on the lamp on the nightstand, reaching for the phone on top of it. He couldn't see her, but he could hear her voice.

His fingers eagerly dialled the number, his heart beating at a faster rate as he waited for her to pick up. With each ring though, the smile faded, his features displaying the growing sense of anger that was slowly taking over.

She wasn't answering. Or she wasn't home.

His jaw tightened, his free hand clenching tightly into fist. What if she'd left?

But then again, he'd seen the pain in her eyes as she left Fred's new place so it was highly unlikely that she'd turned to him, and she hadn't had a partner at work in weeks.

Relax, he told himself as he lowered the receiver down and placed it back on its base. She's not going anywhere. And she'll be yours soon.

In the middle of the night, Faith bolted awake. Her breathing was harsh, her mouth dry and she had a splitting headache.

She waited until her heart slowed down, then glanced around with the kind of hesitancy of someone who'd just come to and didn't know where she was or how she'd gotten there.

The darkness of the night hindered her sight but she eventually recognized the familiar surroundings. Bosco's apartment.

Slowly the memories of the past few hours came back. The fear that had swept over her as soon as she'd opened the box, the sense of violation, the hammering in her chest, the relief as she'd found herself in Bosco's arms.

Tossing the covers aside, she slid off the bed and stood up, the tile floor cold against her bare feet. Walking through the darkened apartment and into the living room, she found him sitting on the couch, staring at the mute TV screen.

"Hey."

Her voice drew him out of his thoughts. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I... I just need a glass of water."

His outstretched legs moved from the coffee table and he started to get up, but she held out one hand to stop him. "I'm just tired not disabled, Bosco. I can take care of it."

He sank back on the couch. "Sure."

She needs her own space, he reasoned as he leaned back against the cushions and closed his eyes, but as the sound of glass shattering filled the room a few moments later, all his good intentions were quickly pushed away and he was up on his feet before he even knew what he was doing. The need to take care of his best friend even stronger than the fear of her reaction.

"Faith?"

No answer.

He hesitantly made his way to the kitchen. Faith was standing by the sink, her back to him. Her shoulders were hunched and he could see her hands trembling.

"You okay?"

"Yes." She said quickly. Too quickly.

"I'm sorry, Faith."

"Don't be."

He paused, unsure of what to say. His hand went to his forehead, rubbing it back and forth as if it'd make his thoughts run faster.

"I can't stand this." She said after the silence had stretched on too long. "Someone's taking over my life, and I don't even know why."

Bosco's eyes never left her side.

"But I do know something. I've never run from anything in my life."

"I know." Concern was etched on his face. "We'll find out who's doing this, and we'll make him pay."

"Why me?" she asked as she sniffed back her tears and turned around to face him, working on keeping herself from falling apart.

Bosco glanced nervously toward the floor and stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets, clearly uncomfortable with the question. "Sometimes there's simply no reason why things happen."

He sighed and went on. "You're the strongest woman I know, Faith. You'll get through this."

Her lips curled into a nervous smile. "There you go again. Pity. I don't need pity, Bosco." Her voice had taken on an anxious edge.

"Understanding is not pity."

"It's close enough."

The words hung in the air for several moments, silence looming over between them like a giant, black void. Faith stood there, her mouth suddenly too dry to utter even the slightest sound. Her gaze flickered to him as he slowly crossed the room and took her hands in his.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He whispered.

She shook her head. "You can't promise me that."

"Yes. I can."

"Bos..."

He looked right into her eyes, trying to show her how serious he was. "Listen to me. I'm going to find the son of a bitch who's behind this and he's gonna pay."

"And that will make things better?" she countered, unable to contain the anger in her tone.

If he'd been hurt by her words, he didn't show it.

"Look at what happened with that Skaget guy and your mom. You found him, beat the hell out of him. Did that make you feel any better?"

Bosco didn't say anything.

"That's what I thought."

She bowed her head and looked down at the shards of glass on the floor. "What do we do, Bosco? We make arrests, try to control crime, but we always get there AFTER the facts. How can you promise me everything's gonna be alright?"

Tears sprung in her eyes. "This guy's stalking me. He's invaded my life, and I feel so powerless... I thought I could do this alone but..." She felt the words die in her throat.

Despite the pain in his heart and the frustration that threatened to freeze him on the spot at the sight of his partner breaking down right in front of him, Bosco moved closer.

"Faith, I know it's hard, but you have to believe it. Some people are evil, some will hurt you, but trying to stay safe by being alone doesn't work. Trust me, isolation is not protection.

The words struck her hard, their meaning suddenly so clear, and she saw the shadows under his eyes, the hollow look of a man not sleeping at night. He looked pale. Thinner. He looked just like her.

"Bosco, I'm sorry I pushed you away." She blurted the words out before she even realized it.

He leaned back on the counter, as if the weight of what he was about to say was too much to bear. "I deserved it."

"No, you didn't."

"That night, I... I just wanted to tell you that they'd given me a new partner. That you could stop taking care of me. I swear I didn't know about Fred. I... I wouldn't... I mean, if I..."

He pushed away from the counter and started to pace the room like he usually did when he was tense. "I tried to apologize, Faith. Since that night at the hospital. I... tried to take the blame..."

He was right. She was the one who'd stopped returning his calls, who'd told him to go away. But he was supposed to know better. He was supposed to understand her reasons and still come after her. Only he hadn't.

"Think we can start over?" she finally offered.

Bosco's head shot up and he looked at her like she'd lost her mind, his eyes wide with surprise. "You... you sure you want to try?"

Faith smiled. "Yes."

Without bothering to ask himself if that was the right decision, he walked up to her and took her in his arms. Once again, his stubborn, independent partner didn't protest.

TBC...