Title: Between Time (2 /?)
Author: X_tremeroswellian
Email: X_tremeroswellian@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, but I wish they did.
Rating: PG-13 for language, violence and sexual content
Spoilers: Up through and including "233 Days"
Summary: A serious accident forces Faith and Bosco to re-evaluate their lives as well as their relationship with each other.
Distribution: My site, Only Time, http://www.oocities.org/angel_roswell/onlytime.html
Category: Story
Subcategories: drama/angst/romance/friendship
Feedback: Have you hugged your author today? *grin*
Author's Note: I'm aware there's a similar story being written about this idea, but I've already talked to the author of that story and she encouraged me to go ahead and write mine. I'm pretty sure we're going in different directions with the fics anyway. Any similarities are only coincidental of great minds thinking alike, not of plagarism.
Dedication: For Bree, Dem and CCA, who all encouraged me to write this months ago.
Special thanks to CCA, who gave me the idea for the beginning part of this story. :)
Between Time (Part Two)
Bosco sat in a chair in the waiting room of Angel of Mercy, his arms resting on his knees as he stared at the tile floor.
"How's she doing?"
He blinked a couple times, then looked up to see Sully and Davis standing there. He lowered his gaze to the floor again. "I don't know. The doctors haven't come out to talk to us."
Sully glanced across the room to where Fred Yokas sat watching television, a blank expression on his face. He nodded to a few officers he recognized from te 55th who had come to wait for news on Faith's condition.
"Her husband's okay?" Daivs asked, his voice low.
"A couple of bruises," Bosco answered, unable to keep a hint of bitterness out of hs voice. "He was driving and both the vehicles that collided with the truck hit on the passenger side." He tried not to wish that it had been Fred in the passenger seat instead of Faith, but he couldn't help it.
"Central to 55-Charlie. Possible 10-52 at the corner of Oak and Main."
"10-4, Central," Davis said into his radio. "Sul, we gotta go."
"Right." Sully looked at Bosco, wanted to offer him some words of hope, but wasn't sure what to say. "We'll be back later."
"Yeah. See ya," Bosco responded, not looking up. He heard his colleage's retreating footsteps and he leaned back in his chair with a sigh. He let his eyes drift shut.
Almost instantly he saw her face in his mind.
He opened his eyes again, his gaze landing on Fred. How the hell could the man just sit there and watch television while his wife might be in the next room--
Bosco didn't allow himself to even finish *that* thought.
Faith was strong. She was going to be fine.
She had to be.
Because he wasn't sure he could survive without her.
"What the hell is taking so long?" Bosco muttered as he rose to his feet and headed for the nurse's desk. He caught sight of Mary Proctor walking toward the vending machines. "Proctor!"
She turned and looked at him.
Bosco hurried and caught up with her. "Is there any news yet?"
She hesitated, then shook her head. "Sorry, Bosco."
"You don't know anything?" he asked doubtfully.
"I wish I could help you out."
"Mary, please. It's Faith. I need to know."
She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. Then she looked at him again. "I don't know anything for sure, but...it doesn't look good," she said, her voice soft.
He stared at her, feeling his body go numb again.
"I'm really sorry, Bosco." She gave him a sympathetic look, then walked away, leaving him to stare after her.
"Mr. Yokas?"
Bosco jerked his head up at the sound of the doctor's voice. His eyes shot across the room to where Fred sat calmly in one of the chairs. He rose to his feet at the same time the other man and walked over to where Dr. Thomas stood holding a clipboard in one hand.
"That's me," Fred said, his voice rough.
"Mr. Yokas, I'm Dr. Thomas." They shook hands and the doctor nodded at Bosco.
"How is she? Is she okay?" Fred questioned.
"I'm afraid your wife has suffered some very serious injuries, Mr. Yokas. She's in stable but very critical condition."
"What injuries?" Bosco heard himself ask.
"Some cracked ribs, a broken arm, lots of cuts and bruises. We've put a cast on her arm and stitched up some gashes on her shoulder and forehead. But it's the head injury that we're the most concerned with."
"How bad?" Fred asked. If he was upset, he was hiding it very well. The expression on his face was blank.
"Your wife has a skull fracture and a very serious concussion and there's a great deal of swelling in her brain."
"But she's gonna be okay, right?" Bosco asked anxiously, searching the doctor's face.
Dr. Thomas hesitated. "The truth is, there's a strong possiblity that she's not going to recover from this."
He felt his heart sink.
"When you say may not recover--" Fred began.
"She may never regain consciousness, Mr. Yokas." The doctor's voice was quiet, sad. "I think that you need to prepare yourself for the worst." He looked from Fred to Bosco, to all the officers gathered around behind them. "I'm very sorry."
"No, no, I don't believe this. There's still a chance she could come out of this and be okay, right?" Bosco stared at him, waited for his response.
"There's always a chance, Officer. But in Mrs. Yokas' case...it's a very small one," Dr. Thomas said quietly. "I'll let you know if there's any change."
"Can I see her?" Fred asked.
"Yes, of course. But only one visitor at a time, and for short visits only. I'll show you to her room."
Bosco watched as Fred followed Dr. Thomas down the hallway and disappeared into a room. Then he turned away slowly.
"Boscorelli, you okay?" one of the officers asked.
He looked at the man, but didn't make an attempt at remembering his name. "Yeah. I'm just peachy," he answered dully. Then he walked toward the exit. He needed some fresh air.
Now if he could just remember how to breathe.
"Doc, is there any news on Yokas?" Alex asked as she and Kim walked over to where he stood at the nurse's station filling out paperwork from his and Carlos' latest run.
He looked up, his gaze traveling from her face to Kim's. "Yeah. It's...it's not good news."
"Well, is she gonna be okay?" Alex asked, worried.
"They don't know. She has a skull fracture, concussion, swelling of the brain..." He shook his head sadly. "The doctors, they're...uh...they're not expecting her to recover."
They both stared at him.
"Poor Faith," Alex whispered, shaking her head.
"Where's Bosco?" Kim lifted her gaze to look at Doc, her voice barely audible.
Doc turned and nodded toward the officer who was sitting by himself in a corner of the waiting room looking lost.
"I'm gonna go talk to him," she said quietly. She didn't wait for a response. She drew in a deep breath and walked over slowly toward Bosco, whose eyes were closed, his head leaning back against the wall. "Bosco."
He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Has something changed?" he asked immediately, a mixture of hope and fear in his tone.
She swallowed hard. "No, I just heard. I wanted to see how you were doing." Kim sat down in the chair next to him.
"I'm not the one with a skull fracture," he replied flatly.
She glanced around the waiting room. She recognized at least a half dozen off-duty officers in the room, but realized there were at least fifteen people standing around all together and she figured she just didn't know the others. "She has a lot of friends," she murmured.
"Family," Bosco answered absently.
Kim turned her head to look at him. "Right," she said. Her mind flashed back to the night that Bobby had been shot. Paramedics and firefighters from the 55th had been in and out of the hospital right up until the doctor announced that he had died. They'd all been one big family. Everyone had grieved for his loss. The same way everyone here would grieve if Faith didn't make it.
She blinked back tears at the memories and at the thought of losing another friend. She and Faith had never been very close, but she'd always liked the woman. Truth be told, she couldn't think of a single person who didn't like Faith. Even Carlos Nieto had nothing but nice things to say about her.
Kim reached over and squeezed Bosco's hand briefly. "Don't give up on her."
Bosco blinked, then looked at her. He remained silent.
She released his hand and stood up. "Take care of yourself, Bosco," she said softly. Then she turned and walked away, praying silently.
It felt like he'd been sitting in the waiting room for an eternity, but according to the clock, it had only been about five hours.
Bosco's gaze traveled to where Fred Yokas stood a few feet away, looking over at him. His heart quickening in his chest, he slowly rose to his feet and walked over to him, wondering if there'd been some change in her condition.
"I'm going to go pick up the kids from their babysitter."
"I can do that if you want," he offered quietly. He may not have liked Fred very well, but Faith needed her husband there.
The man looked at him as though he'd grown a second head. "No, I'm going to pick them up from the babysitter and take them *home*."
Bosco stared at him. "You're not coming back?"
"My kids need me."
"Faith needs you!"
"They need me more."
"Why don't you just bring them here?"
"Because it would upset them to see her hooked up to all those damned machines!"
"She needs her family right now," he pointed out.
"You heard the doctor. He said to be prepared for the worst! She's probably not going to wake up!"
Bosco shook his head in disbelief. "So what, you're just gonna give up? It's only been a few hours!"
"I can't be here right now." Fred turned and started to walk away. Then he paused and turned around. "If anything changes, please call me."
Bosco stared after him and watched as he left the hospital. "Son of a bitch," he muttered.
Bosco hovered in the doorway to his partner's room, his stomach in knots. She looked so...lifeless. He swallowed hard, his gaze traveling from the white cast on her arm to the I.V. wires on her other arm to the tube that ran down her throat and connected her to the ventilator to keep her breathing. His gaze flickered over to the heart monitor that was beeping steadily, the only real form of assurance he had at the moment that she was truly still alive.
After a very long hesitation, he finally managed to will himself into the room and he walked over to the chair by her bed. He sat down, then scooted closer. He reached out and gently touched her cheek with his fingers. He winced when he saw the line of stitches on her forehead on top of some very dark purple bruises.
"Faith," he whispered. He pulled his hand away from her face, afraid that somehow he'd injure her further. He reached down and covered her hand with his. Then he took a deep breath. "I uh...I don't know if you can hear me, but...the doctors out there are saying that they don't think you're gonna come out of this." Bosco swallowed hard. "But they don't know you, not like I do. I know you're gonna wake up. I know you are, Faith. Because you're not a quitter."
He paused, looked down at the floor for a moment, then lifted his gaze to her face again. "Besides that, too many people are depending on you to be okay. Em and Charlie...they need you. They need their mother. And Fred. And everyone at the 55th. Half the precinct's out in the waiting room right now just waiting to see if you're okay." He swallowed hard again. "And me," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I need you, too, Faith. Who's gonna keep me in line and out of trouble if you're not there to do it? You're the only one who can put up with me." Involuntary tears sprang to his eyes. "But it's more than that and we both know it. You uh...you're my best friend, Faith. And before I met you, I never had a best friend, so, see? You have to wake up, okay? I need you to. Please. Please wake up. Don't leave me," Bosco whispered, a tear rolling down his cheek.
He reached up with his free hand to wipe it away, his right hand still holding onto hers. After a long moment of silence, he leaned his forehead on the matress of her hospital bed, closed his eyes and began to do something he hadn't done since he was a kid: pray.
Okay, God, he thought nervously. I know I don't do this very often, but if you just let her be okay...if you just let her wake up and be all right, I swear I'll try to be a better person. I'll be nicer to people, I'll stop being so self-centered, I won't take her for granted anymore, ever. I'll never ask for anything ever again if you just make some miracle happen and let her stay here. Don't take her, please.
After nearly two hours of bargaining in his mind to God, Bosco fell asleep.
Bosco opened his eyes with a start, not sure what had awakened him from his restless, dreamless sleep. He winced at the pain that shot up his neck when he moved. He wasn't sure how he'd managed to fall asleep in the first place. He blinked a few times and realized that a faint light was pouring into the room. He squinted and glanced over at the windows. Even with the curtains closed, he knew the light wasn't coming from there.
Frowning, he turned and realized it was just light from the hospital corridor filtering in beneath the door. Surely that wasn't what had woken him up. But glancing around, he saw no other explanation and he laid his forehead back down on his partner's bed.
That's when he felt it.
A very, very faint pressure on his hand.
He instantly jerked his head up, his gaze locking on her face. She was still, her eyes closed. Involuntary muscle spasm, he thought, his heart sinking.
Then he heard an extra beep on the heart monitor, interrupting the slow, stead beeping sounds it had been consistently making for the past several hours. Then another extra beat. And another.
The pressure on his hand came again and he looked at her face once more. "Faith," he whispered hopefully, rising to his feet. He watched as her eyelids began to flutter. "Oh, my God...Faith? Faith, can you hear me?" He felt her fingers curl around his hand weakly as her eyes opened.
Bosco's heart leapt into his throat and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. Her blue eyes were the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. "Thank God you're awake," he told her, relief threatening to overwhelm him.
Her eyes locked on his and there was no mistaking the confusion and fear there.
"Faith, what's wrong? Are you okay?" He nearly smacked himself in the forehead as he realized she couldn't respond to his questions. She had a damned tube down her throat. No wonder she looked like she was on the verge of panicking. "Okay, I'll be right back with a doctor. Just...keep your eyes open, okay?"
Without another word, he removed his hand from hers and rushed to the door. He yanked it open and ran into the hallway. "Hey! Hey! I need a doctor in here! Hurry!" he shouted, not caring if he disturbed the other patients.
Proctor looked up and saw him and quickly sent out a page for Dr. Thomas.
Bosco hurried back into Faith's hospital room and returned to her side. He picked up her hand again. "It's gonna be okay. Dr. Thomas is on the way," he told her. "You're gonna be all right."
At that moment, the doctor walked into the room with Proctor and some other nurse Bosco didn't recognize. "What's going--" Dr. Thomas began, flipping on the light. His eyes widened and he stared at Faith. "You're awake."
Bosco grinned broadly, resisting the urge to say, I told you so.
Proctor studied the hart monitor. "Heart rate's normal," she announced, smiling.
He turned his gaze back to Faith's face. He was startled to see the look of near panic still in her eyes as she gripped his hand. "It's okay, Faith. You were in a car accident and you hit your head, but you're okay now," he said gently, trying to reassure her as he squeezed her hand lightly.
"Mrs. Yokas, I'm going to remove this tube from your throat now," Dr. Thomas told her. "We had to intubate to help you breathe for awhile, but we'll see how you do without it for now." He told her to exhale as deeply as she could on the count of three to help him remove the tube.
She coughed a few times, gagging as Dr. Thomas took the tube out of her throat. Her eyes shut and a few tears leaked out from underneath her eyelids at the pain that coursed through her from the coughing.
Bosco winced, remembering how badly it hurt to cought with cracked ribs. He tried to distract her. "Fred's okay. He went home to take care of the kids, but I'll call him and I'm sure he'll come back up right away." And if he doesn't, I'll track him down and shoot him myself, he thought viciously.
She opened her eyes again, still in pain, though it had lessened a bit. Her gaze focused on him and she looked at him with confusion. "Who are you?" she whispered, her voice just barely audible.
The smile faded from Bosco's face and he stared at her for a moment. Then he shifted his gaze to Dr. Thomas, who wore a worried expression.
He felt his heart sink.
Uh-oh.