Chapter: Waiting

Disclaimer: I don't own Third Watch nor do I own any of the characters from the tv show.

A/N: Thanks again for all of the great reviews! I'm really glad that you all are enjoying my story. I hope you like this next chapter. Comments and suggestions are always welcome! Please tell me what you think in a review!

After what seemed like hours, but was in reality only a matter of minutes, the doctor finally arrived to the waiting room. Bosco's head shot up, as he heard the doctor enter the room. She flashed a smile, as she walked towards them.

"Are you here for Faith Yokas?" the doctor asked.

"Yes," Bosco replied quickly. "How is she?"

"My name is Doctor Miley," she said, as she extended her hand to shake Bosco and Kim's. "I have examined Miss Yokas, and i'm going to be honest with you, her condition doesn't look so good. I'm not quite sure what happened to your friend, but it must have been quite horrible for her to go through,"

"What is the extent of her injuries?" Bosco asked.

"Well, Miss Yokas has suffered from Hypothermia, her hands and feet have been frostbitten from exposure to the cold. She is very underweight, and very malnurished. Her whole body is covered in cuts and scratches, along with scars from healed wounds. There is a lot of bruising. She has 2 broken ribs. Given all of the other injuries, I also checked her for sexual assault. There is a lot of scaring, evidence of sexual assault for sure. Her wrists have deep cuts and scars, i'm assuming from restraints. Overall, your friend is in very bad condition. However, we do have her stable, and she should make a fairly quick recovery physically. Emotionally, well... that might be another story altogether. I'm not sure what happened to your friend, but she has been through hell and back. She's going to need psychological help," Doctor Miley explained.

Bosco just stood there, it was almost as though his body was frozen. It was as though he just couldn't move. He had heard every single word that the doctor had said, every one, cutting deeper and deeper into his already broken heart. This was his partner, his best friend that they were talking about her. He couldn't stand knowing that she had gone through all that pain and suffering. He still didn't know exactly what had happened to Faith, but whatever it was, it had been very bad. A volt of anger flew through his body, anger at the person or persons who had done this to his friend. They were going to pay, somehow or another, he was going to find them, and make them pay for what they had done to Faith. But, at the he felt heartbroken. Still unable to totally grasp the cold hard truth about what had happened to his friend.

"Can I... can I see her?" Bosco finally managed to get out.

"Yes, you can see her... but she's still not awake yet. We started her on some pretty strong pain medications, so it might be a while before she wakes up," replied Doctor Miley.

Bosco nodded, "That's fine... i'll wait," he said.

The doctor nodded, and motioned for Bosco to follow her, as she took him to Faith's room. They walked through several long hallways, before they finally arrived at the room. Bosco stopped at the door, although he had longer for such a long time to see Faith again, now that the time had actually come, he was afraid. He was afraid of what he was going to face when he went into that room. From what the doctor had said, Faith was in pretty bad condition, and he knew it was going to be really hard to see his friend like that. Finally, he reached for the door knob, his hands shaking as he did so. Slowly, he entered the room.

There she was, his ex-partner and best friend. The person who he had worked side by side with for over 13 years, the person he always knew he could come to when his world was falling apart, his best friend, the person who probably knew him better than anyone else. There she was, laying there in the hospital bed. Oh God, she looks so lifeless. He couldn't help thinking, as he slowly moved closer and closer to her beside. Finally, he was standing right beside her. It was then that he could see the full extent of her injuries. She looked horrible, more than horrible... she looked so lifeless, so broken. Never, in the entire time that he had known Faith Yokas, had he seen her look like this. A lone tear slowly trickled down his cheek, as he reached his hand out, softly touching hers.

"Oh Faith, what the hell did they do to you?" Bosco said, it was more of a statement then a question.

Bosco sat down in the small wooden chair that was placed right beside the hospital bed. He tightly held her fragile hand in his. The doctor had said that it might be a while before she would wake up, but that didn't matter. There was no way that Bosco was going anywhere. He would wait, no matter how long it took for Faith to wake up, he would wait. After everything that she had been through, there was no way in this world that he was going to allow her to wake up alone.

Just then, Bosco heard someone walk into the room. He looked up, and saw Sully standing there. "Hey Bosco," he said, as he approached Faith's hospital bed. "I came down here as soon as I got the call, the doctor told me about her condition. Has she woken up, yet?"

"No, the doctor said it might be a while before she does," Bosco replied.

Sully nodded. "Have you called Fred and the kids, yet?" Bosco asked.

"I haven't been able to get in touch with them. I did get in touch with Fred's girlfriend, she said that Fred and the kids are heading to his parent's house for the holidays, but she said that she will let Fred know, as soon as he calls her when he gets there," Sully explained.

"This is going to be a real shock to them," Bosco said.

"Yeah, I can imagine it will be," said Sully. "How do you think they're going to take the news?"

Bosco shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, i'm sure the kids will be happy, especially Emily. I'm not too sure about Fred," he said.

"Well, I have to get back on the street, i'm still on duty," Sully said. "Call me when she wakes up, someone's going to need to come down and talk to her too, when she's feeling up to it. Hopefully, we can catch whoever did this to her,"

"We will, i'll make sure of that," Bosco said.

After Sully left, Bosco spent the rest of the day at Faith's bedside. The hours slowly trickled by. He wanted her to wake up, yet in a way, he was afraid. He was afraid that he wouldn't know what to say to her or how to help her. Still, he was going to try. He had once told her that he would always be there for her, and he meant it. He would always be there for her. Now, it was his time to prove it. Darkness fell over the city of New York. Bosco was still holding Faith's hand, as he finally drifted off to sleep.

To Be Continued...