Third Watch, 12 Days of Christmas: Day 3: A Winter's Night (2/2)
Part Two
It was snowing harder than ever and she could barely see anymore. She couldn't feel most of her body she was so cold. And she was exhausted. She didn't know how long she'd been out in the storm and in fact, she didn't have any idea of where she even was. She hadn't found a road, or another house or anything resembling shelter. And she sure as hell couldn't go back to the cabin--if she could even manage to relocate it. Not after the horrible things she'd said to Bosco.
Unable to go any further, she rested her back against a tree and slid down to the cold ground slowly, her body shaking with sobs as she started to cry. It looked like she was going to get her wish after all. She was going to die out in the middle of a blizzard on Christmas Eve and no one would ever even find her body.
* * *
Bosco sat in front of the fire, his knees pulled up to his chest, his arms resting on top of his knees. He laid his head down on his arms. The warmth from the fire took the chill from his body, but it didn't touch the cold he felt in his heart. Ever since they'd been partners, and even at the academy they'd had words and their share of fights. They'd said terrible things to each other in the past, but what she said today hit him hard, and made him think that maybe all those other times they'd reconciled she'd just been lying to him.
Looking at his watch he realized Faith had been gone a long time. He'd expected her to eventually turn around, and come back to the cabin. He grabbed his socks from where they were hanging on the mantle drying off, and pulled them on before heading over to look out the window. Seeing how hard the snow was still falling made him sick to his stomach knowing that Faith was more than likely still out there somewhere.
* * *
She wished now she could take back all the things she said to him. That he would know she didn't mean any of it because as she grew colder, felt herself fighting to stay awake, she knew the chances of him ever getting to hear her apologize were growing even slimmer. After a few more moments, she gave in and let her eyes close as she laid her head down on the snow bank, too tired to fight the pull of unconsciousness. Within moments, everything was silent and dark.
Snow swirling down around her, covering her motionless body in tiny flakes.
* * *
Bosco pulled the cabin door open, and stepped out into the cold. He looked for their tracks from earlier so he could follow them, but they had already been covered. Remembering the way she'd started in earlier he hurried off in that direction. Hoping she hadn't gone far because he was already cold. "Faith?!"
* * *
Faith shivered in her unconsciousness state, but it was an involuntary response.
* * *
He went as fast as he could go, surveying the area. This was definitely not the type of weather that a person should be out in. Especially when they weren't dressed warm enough and didn't have shoes, plus on top of that they didn't know where they were going. Occasionally he glance over his shoulder to see if the cabin was still in sight. He stopped, and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Faith!"
* * *
The snow continued to fall down on her, beginning to cover her body in a cold white blanket.
* * *
Continuing through the woods he called her name over and over wondering how far she could have gotten. He shivered, and wrapped his arms around himself as he walked deeper amongst the trees. His eyes looking all around him, studying the trees and terrain for any signs of her.
A bird cried shrilly in the trees above him before taking flight, flapping its large wings and heading East against the storm.
Bosco looked up at the large bird, the only sign of life he'd seen since he'd been outside. Faced with the decision of going left or right, he followed the bird.
The bird landed in another tree several yards away, letting out another shrill cry.
He wandered around until he'd come to the tree that the bird was perched in. Leaning against it he took a few deep breaths, and rubbed his arms trying to stay warm. As he looked straight ahead he caught sight of something red in the snow. Curious to see what it was he made his way over to it.
A small patch of flannel material was visible from underneath a growing snowpile.
His eyes widened slightly. He knelt down, and began to brush some of the snow away from the material, revealing more of Faith's pajamas. "Oh God! Faith!"
She remained motionless, her lips blue.
Using both hands Bosco quickly brushed the remaining snow off of her. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest as he tried not to panic. "Faith! Faith can you hear me?" He pressed to fingers to her neck checking for a pulse.
She still didn't respond, though her body was shivering severely.
He swallowed hard, and began to carefully shake her shoulder. "Faith. Faith wake up."
Her pulse was slow, her skin ice cold to the touch, but she didn't awaken.
"Don't do this to me," he whispered, his voice panicked. Looking around the woods, not sure what else to do he stood up, and then bent over, scooping her up into his arms. He needed to get her back to the cabin so he could try and warm her. This was -not- good.
* * *
It was a long trek back to the cabin, but by some miracle he was able to remember the way. He stumbled a few times as he carried her through the woods, and he was relieved once he'd pushed open the cabin door. Still holding her in his arms he looked around the cabin, unsure of what to do. He'd learned about hypothermia when he was in the Rangers, but it was a long time ago to remember all the details. Laying her down on the sofa he paced back and forth for a few moments, rubbing his head. Small pieces of information were coming back to him.
He knew he needed to get her temperature back up, and was furious with his friends for not leaving them any blankets. Bosco looked over at her, frozen in his place for a moment as he realized what the best way to rewarm her body was.
She shivered uncontrollably in her unconscious state, all the color gone from her face. Her lips still a light shade of blue. Her pajamas were frozen stiff from the ice and snow after having been wet.
He took a deep breath, and then began to work the small sofa closer to the fireplace, but not too close because he didn't want it to be a drastic change in temperature. Once the sofa was moved he knelt down on the floor. He checked her pulse, satisfied when he felt a few beats under his fingers. Then he began to quickly unbutton her flannel top. He needed to get her out of her wet, cold pajamas. "Faith? Faith can you hear me?"
Other than more shivering, she didn't move, her breathing very slow, shallow.
Once he'd gotten her top off he began to carefully work off her bottoms. When her clothes were removed he went over and hung them from a nail on the mantle so they could dry out. Returning to the couch he then began to strip out of his clothes. He only hesitated for a second before crawling onto the sofa with her, snuggling close, and wrapping his arms around her. "It'll be okay," he whispered softly.
In her unconscious, she shifted closer to the warmth that was suddenly beside her. Still shivering. Her skin cold to the touch.
Bosco closed his eyes tight, and prayed that this worked. He moved his head a little closer to hers as he began to breathe in, and then blow his warm breath near her nose. "Don't die on me," he whispered.
* * *
A faint whimper escaped her lips as she shivered uncontrollably. She was so cold, and yet there was a solid mass of warmth beside her, and she tried to move closer to it. Wanting desperately to feel warmer.
He looked at her with hopeful eyes. "Faith?"
Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, but she didn't open her eyes. Her eyelids felt too heavy.
"Can you hear me?"
She tried to speak, but her chest ached. It felt like her vocal chords were frozen along with the rest of her.
"It's okay," he whispered as he held her a little tighter. "It's gonna be alright."
She swallowed hard, trying to open her eyes again. She recognized the voice but she wasn't aware enough to place it yet.
He lifted a hand, and placed it against her cheek as he continued to gently blow air around her nose and mouth.
She leaned into the touch, the warmth on her face as much as she could in her weakened state.
"That's it," he said softly, happy that she was reacting to the warmth.
After a few more moments, she moved her lips. "Love you..." she murmured.
Bosco closed his eyes, and shook his head. She was definitely out of it. "Should we move a little closer to the fire?"
"Don't leave me, Boz..." Her words were barely audible.
His eyes opened, and he stared at her, stunned that she realized it was him. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you."
Faith shivered, still unable to open her eyes. "Sorry...earlier..."
"Shhh. Not now." He took in a deep breath, and slowly exhaled the warm air.
She had to tell him she was sorry. He had to understand. "Didn't...mean it..."
"Later Faith," he whispered. "Let's get you better first."
Her eyebrows furrowed again and a couple of tears managed to escape from beneath her eyelids.
Bosco frowned, and wiped the tears off her cheeks. "Faith, I'm gonna get up for a minute so I can move the sofa closer to the fireplace," he informed her.
She whimpered softly at the loss of warmth when he moved away.
He made quick work of moving the sofa a couple feet closer to the fireplace. Going over to the mantle he checked her clothes to see if they were dry, and sighed when he found them still wet. He poked at the fire a little before going back over to Faith. Kneeling down he picked up the sweats that he'd been wearing earlier, and began to put them on her.
She heard a crackling sound close by, but didn't know what it was. She shifted a little closer to the edge of the sofa, feeling warmth in the distance.
"Easy," he whispered as he pulled the sweats up to her waist.
"Cold," she managed to whisper back.
"I know. I'm comin' back." He carefully crawled back onto the sofa.
She moved as close to him as possible, her head resting against his collarbone, her hand resting on his side as they lay face to face, their bodies pressed together.
Bosco ran his hand up and down her back, and nuzzled his face in her neck hoping to add some warmth. "It'll be okay."
The feel of his lips against her neck made her eyes open slightly, a small groan escaping her mouth.
He pulled back a little. "You okay," he asked quickly, concern in his voice.
Faith was a little dazed, her eyes still glassy as she looked back at him, nodding wordlessly.
"You feelin' any warmer?"
"Little," she murmured, her eyes starting to drift shut again.
"Okay, I'm gonna turn us over, alright? Just hold on to me."
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but she did as he asked, holding onto his side as tightly as she could.
Bosco held her against him as he pulled her on top of him, shifting onto his back and a little deeper into the sofa as he turned. She was now laying on top of him, her chest pressed tightly against his, and his body no longer blocking the warmth of the fire.
She swallowed hard, more than a little shocked as she slowly realized she had no shirt on and neither did he. And that she was now lying on top of him.
"You doin' okay," he asked softly as he rubbed her back.
Faith was silent for another moment. "Yeah," she whispered.
"Do you remember what happened?"
Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. She vaguely remembered fighting with him, and then feeling extremely cold. "I don't know..."
"It's okay. Don't worry about it right now. Just relax."
She closed her eyes tightly, resting her head against his neck. She kissed his skin very lightly without even thinking about it.
"What was that for," he asked softly.
"Hmm?"
"Nevermind," he whispered. "Get some rest."
Without further hesitation, she allowed herself to drift off to sleep once more.
* * *
It was hours later when she woke up again, her body still cold, but not nearly as cold as it had been the last time she'd been awake. She shifted slightly against the warmth beneath her, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she tried to remember where she was.
Bosco felt her move, and quickly opened his eyes, gazing up at her. "Faith?"
She lifted her head slightly, opening her eyes, as well, surprise there as she gazed back at him. "Bosco?"
"Yeah. How you feelin'?"
She was confused for a moment. "Cold," she answered, not taking her eyes off his.
He frowned. "Still?"
She nodded slightly, her eyes drifting shut. "What time is it?"
He felt around on the floor for his watch that he had taken off earlier. Finding it he lifted it so he could see the numbers. "Almost 10," he told her softly. He set the watch back down, and ran his hands up and down her sides hoping to produce some heat.
She shivered at the sensation of his hands on her bare skin and then she swallowed hard.
"I'd move you closer to the fire, but I'm still a little worried about getting you too warm."
She nodded faintly again, guilt flooding through her as she heard the worry in his voice.
"Do you feel up to eating something? I could make some soup," he offered.
"No, I'm okay," she murmured, resting her head on his collarbone.
"Just tell me if you need anything."
Faith was silent for a moment, her body trembling slightly for reasons other than the sensation of being cold. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.
"It was cold out there. It's not surprising you passed out or whatever."
Her eyes were filled with tears. "Boz, I didn't mean it."
He was quiet as he bit his lip, wondering if she really meant it or if she still wasn't quite with it.
She lifted her head up to look at him, her eyes full of sorrow. "God, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean any of it, I swear. I was just upset. I'm sorry, Bosco."
He met her gaze for a moment, and then turned his head. "Look, you don't have to..."
A sob escaped her throat as she realized he didn't believe her. She laid her forehead against his chest. Her body trembling.
Bosco closed his eyes against the tears that were forming. Either she really meant it or she had a great fake cry. Not sure what to say now he gently rubbed her back.
"I'm sorry," she whispered over and over again. "When I was out there all I could think was that I was gonna die and you would never know that I was sorry, that I hadn't meant it." Her voice was strained as the tears leaked from her eyes.
It broke his heart to hear her like this. "Please don't cry," he whispered. "It's okay."
"I love you, Boz, I didn't mean it. I swear I didn't." The words tumbled out of her mouth without any thought.
He lifted his head a little to look at her. "You...you what?"
"I didn't mean it," she whispered again, placing a soft kiss against his chest.
"Faith...the stuff I said..." He paused. "I was just tryin' to get back at you."
She kissed him again, closing her eyes as she tried to get a grip on her emotions. "I thought I lost you to her," she whispered, nearly inaudible.
Bosco ran his hands up and down her sides. "Faith, no matter what happened you and me would always be friends."
"It's not the same," she murmured.
"I didn't wanna leave you, but you know how bad I wanna move up the ranks," he whispered.
"I feel so alone," she said, her voice strained.
"I wish you woulda just told me."
"I thought you'd blame me."
"Blame you? Why would I blame you?"
"For not tryin' harder to make things work. For not beggin' him to stay." A tear slid down her face.
"He cheated on you, Faith. There's a time for makin' things work...this isn't one of 'em," he told her softly, wrapping his arms around her.
"I miss the kids so bad," she murmured, voice thick with tears.
"I know," he whispered, placing a kiss on her shoulder. "When we get outta here we'll figure something out."
She found his use of the word 'we' very comforting at the same time the light kiss sent a shiver through her body.
He was quiet for a moment. "You and me...we're really gonna work this out, right?"
"Are we?" she whispered, slowly lifting her head from his chest and opening her eyes to look at him.
"I meant what I said earlier, about not believin' we were over."
Faith nodded slightly before kissing his lips. She had meant it to be a brief, chaste kiss symbolic of their friendship but the moment their lips met she felt a spark of energy sweep through her body and couldn't bring herself to pull away.
Bosco was more than a little surprised by the kiss, but he didn't move away deciding instead to see what happened.
She lifted one hand to touch his cheek as the kiss continued for another moment. Then she pulled away, embarrassed. "God. I'm sorry, I wasn't...I shouldn't have..."
He smiled softly, and pressed his index finger to her lips. "Relax," he whispered.
She was caught off guard by his reaction, her eyes locked on his, confusion taking the place of embarrassment.
"Tell me somethin'," he said softly. "Did you mean that?"
"Mean what?" she whispered.
"The kiss."
Faith couldn't find her voice as she gazed at him, her heart pounding heavily against her chest. She nodded faintly, trying to prepare herself for the inevitable rejection.
Wordlessly he lifted his head, and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
Her eyes drifted shut as their lips met again.
Bosco smiled against her mouth before slowly parting his lips, taking her bottom lip between his.
She leaned into the kiss a little more, allowing him to deepen it, a flood of warmth rushing through her at the light contact.
He moved his hands up to cup her face as they continued to explore each other slowly. After a few moments he pulled away a little breathlessly.
She gazed down at him for a moment before resting her forehead against his and allowing her eyes to close.
"Let's take it slow," he whispered.
"I meant what I said before." Her voice was very soft.
"About what," he asked though he was pretty sure he knew what she was talking about.
"I do love you," she whispered, keeping her eyes shut. "And I'm not tellin' you because I want you to say it back, because you don't have to, I just...I needed you to know that."
He nodded his head slightly. "When I found you tonight...I thought I was gonna lose you. I was...afraid I didn't find you soon enough."
"I'm sorry I hurt you." She kissed his cheek lightly.
"I'm sorry for all the stuff I said," he told her as he wrapped his arms around her.
"I know." Faith laid her head down on his chest, closing her eyes.
He kissed the top of her head. "You want me to get my sweatshirt for you to wear," he asked softly.
She was silent for a moment. "No...I'm okay. Thank you."
"Are you feeling okay?"
She nodded slightly, not opening her eyes. "Thanks for findin' me," she said softly.
"I had a little help," he whispered.
"What do you mean?"
He chuckled softly. "You're gonna think I'm nuts, but there was this bird..."
"A bird?" Her eyebrows furrowed.
"Yeah. I wasn't sure which way to go, and I heard the bird and then it started to fly away. That's the direction I picked to go. Then it just...well it landed in this tree, and I stopped." He paused. "And there you were."
Faith was silent for a moment. "Bosco. Are you tellin' me that my guardian angel is a bird?"
"Well...that's the shape it took tonight," he told her softly.
"No," she said just as softly. "I think it took the shape of my best friend."
Bosco placed a kiss on her shoulder. "Maybe this won't be such a bad Christmas after all."
A soft smile touched her lips. "Yeah. Maybe not."
* * *
"I still can't believe we're out here at 6 a.m. on Christmas morning," Davis grumbled sleepily as Sully pulled the van to a stop.
"What were we supposed to do Davis? Let them spend Christmas in a cabin in the middle of nowhere?" He looked over at his young partner.
"We didn't have to get up this early."
Alex zipped her coat up a little more as she climbed out of the van. "This was you guys' idea," she pointed out as she headed for the door of the cabin. She glanced over her shoulder at her co-workers and pressed her ear against the wooden door.
Carlos looked at Doc. "Remember, my money's on Faith."
"I'm not the one who bet against you," Doc replied, nodding toward Jimmy.
"You're my witness though."
He nodded his agreement.
"Well, I don't hear any screaming. So either they're sleeping or they've killed each other," Alex told the group, raising her eyebrows.
Jimmy stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You know, I'm really startin' to wonder if this was such a good idea."
"Little late for doubts now, Doherty," she said with a slight smirk.
"Yeah, no kidding," he chuckled.
"I hope it's not too messy. I hate the sight of blood," Davis mumbled.
"Oh stop, Davis," Sully grumbled as he approached the door. "Let's just go inside."
Alex slowly turned the door handle and stepped inside the small cabin. She glanced around, frowning when she didn't see any signs of life. The crackling fire in the fireplace caught her eye and she tiptoed over toward the couch. It had been moved and her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she got closer. Then she stopped abruptly, her eyes widening.
Davis was right behind her and bumped into her. "What's your--" His gaze drifted over to where she was looking and his mouth dropped open. "Oh. My. God."
"Well. At least they didn't kill each other." She smirked.
"What's goin' on," Doherty asked as he closed the door, turning to look at his co-workers.
Doc glanced at Jimmy, then over to where Alex and Davis stood. "Yeah, what is it?"
Not getting answers fast enough Carlos walked over to the sofa. "Way to go Bosco," he chuckled.
Doc's eyebrows furrowed. "What are you--?" His eyes widened as he moved closer and saw the two officers snuggled up together only half-dressed.
Jimmy and Sully wandered over to join the others. Sullivan's eyes widened. "Geez," he mumbled.
"Holy shit," Doherty whispered in shock.
"Apparently they had a very merry Christmas," Alex commented, still smirking.
Hearing the commotion around him, and remembering the last time that happened Bosco jerked awake.
Faith felt him jump slightly and she snuggled closer, her eyebrows furrowing. "Boz?"
"It's okay," he whispered, rubbing her back as he blinked a few times to clear his vision. "You guys here to take us home?"
Faith opened her eyes slowly, confused by his words. She squinted against the light flooding in from the open doorway and saw several figures standing behind the sofa.
"Uh...yeah. Yeah...we're...here to...take you home," Davis mumbled, embarrassed.
"We'll I hope you brought us a separate car cause I'm not exactly ready to leave," Bosco informed them.
Doc stared at him in disbelief for a moment before diverting his eyes. "Is that a joke?"
"Did it sound like one?"
Alex smirked. "Well we didn't, but we can always come back later. It looks like you two reconcilliated."
Bosco glanced at Faith, and smiled softly before turning his attention back to their friends. "Well, a near death experience can really wake people up."
"A near death experience?" Davis repeated in confusion, glancing at Alex, then back at Bosco.
He nodded his head. "Yeah. Things got -really- bad, and Faith took off. I went looking for her, and found her unconscious. And thanks to you jag-offs we didn't even have a damn blanket."
"Body heat," Carlos smirked, nodding his head.
Alex and Doc suddenly looked worried. "We should check you out to make sure you're all right," she said, frowning.
"Oh, believe me, I'm -more- than all right." Faith smirked, as well, suddenly wanting nothing more than to embarrass the hell out of their friends for the predicament they'd left her and Bosco in.
"So, if you guys don't mind waiting outside...I still need to give Faith her Christmas gift," Bosco told them with a wink and a grin.
"Oh my God," Davis said under his breath, quickly turning and heading for the door.
Jimmy swallowed hard, and turned to follow Davis.
"Alright," Carlos practically cheered as he reached down, and slapped the back of the sofa. "You two...gettin' it on."
"Hey, Carlos." Faith glanced up at him, barely managing not to smile.
He smiled at her, nodding his head.
"Boz and I talked about it last night...would you like to join us?" She had to bite down hard on her tongue to keep from laughing.
"Oh God, this got out of hand," Sully said in shock as he walked toward the exit.
Carlos's face turned red, and he held up his hands as he backed toward the door. "Whoa. Whoa! I'm not...I'm not into that kinda stuff."
Alex was laughing so hard she had to lean against Doc for support as they headed toward the door, as well. "Oh, my God..."
As soon as everyone else was outside Bosco started to laugh.
Faith chuckled as well. "Oh, it was worth it just to see the look on Sully's face."
"And Carlos...oh man, you -totally- freaked him out."
She grinned. "Which is an accomplishment considering not much gets to him."
"Hell, it almost made me nervous." He smiled at her as he leaned in to kiss her lips.
Faith kissed him back softly, reaching her hand up to touch his cheek. "Please. Like I'd let Nieto touch me."
"Like -I'd- let Nieto touch you."
She grinned. "Good to know you care."
"Oh, I do," he whispered.
She kissed him again lightly, trailing her hand down to rest on his chest. "Hey, Boz?"
"Yeah?"
"What was that you were telling the others about givin' me a gift?"