Title: Deliver Us From Evil (Sequel to Punish the Children) (16/?)
Category: Drama/Angst
Rating: PG-13
Email: [email protected]
Spoilers: Through current season 4
Disclaimer: All characters are the property of John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero. I wish they were mine but unfortunately they're not.
Summary: An enemy returns, endangering the lives of Ty, Sully, Bosco and Faith.
Note: I know its been too long between chapters, I hope some of you are still reading. My holiday muse has left me so hopefully the updates can come more regularly now. As always, your comments are more appreciated than you know.
Hope everyone has a happy and healthy 2004.
******
Bosco shivered and pulled his jacket tighter around him as he tried to make himself comfortable on the hard, cold ground. Once the sun had begun to set, darkness had descended quickly and Bosco's thoughts had been growing increasingly darker as well. He had already been worried to death about Faith and now he was worried sick about Ty as well. He had no idea if the younger man had been shot and whether he might be somewhere in these woods, slowly dying as he waited for help that was never going to come...or maybe he was already dead. He had no way of knowing what fate had befallen Ty and it was making him crazy. He was cold and hungry and his leg seemed to be getting hotter and more painful with every passing minute.
"So damn stupid," he mumbled to himself as he gingerly tried to shift his leg. He couldn't believe he had let himself get caught in that trap and he wished to God he had thought things through before agreeing to let Ty go traipsing off by himself. He knew how easy it was to get lost in the woods. They should have been more careful and now it was too late.
"I'm so sorry," he murmured. He had let so many people down. He knew Sully had entrusted Ty's safety to him, but he hadn't come through. He'd let Ty and Sully down and he'd let Faith down as well. He wished that he had stayed with her, that he was with her now, holding her and comforting her. Instead, he was lying here, helpless and wounded out in the woods and he knew the chances were slim of that he would ever see Faith again.
******
Sully and Faith exchanged glances as they heard the familiar footsteps approaching. "Crap," Sully stated.
Faith felt a knot beginning to form in her stomach. She hated this. She wasn't used to feeling this way, scared and vulnerable. She knew a lot of it was because she was sick, but it was also because of Bosco. Every time Seth came, she was so afraid he was going to tell them that Bosco was dead.
"And how are my prisoners doing this evening?" Seth asked jovially as he stepped up to the bars of their cell. "Did you have a pleasant day?"
Sully and Faith looked at each other once again, but neither of them answered Seth's question.
"I'm talking to you," Seth said, raising his voice a few octaves. "When I ask a question, I expect an answer."
"Or what?" Sully asked, casting a hateful look in Seth's direction.
"Or I'll shoot your partner's kneecaps and then slit his throat," Seth stated, feeling an inward sense of satisfaction as Sully visibly blanched at the reference.
"Fine then, we had a shitty day," Sully snarled.
"Tsk, tsk. I truly thought you would be using this time more productively," Seth said. "You should be relishing this time to yourself, perhaps with some creative pursuits? I'd be more than happy to give you a notebook and a pen. You could write a journal."
"No thanks." The last thing he was going to do was to put down his thoughts on paper for this piece of crap Waters to read.
Bored with Sully, Seth turned his attention to Faith. "And how are you feeling this evening? Better I hope."
"How could she be feeling better?" Sully asked. "She doesn't have any medicine and you barely give her enough food to keep a squirrel alive."
"Was I talking to you?" Seth shouted in aggravation. "I don't think so!"
"I feel lousy," Faith said in an attempt to get Waters to just shut the hell up. Every time he came by their cell, her headache seemed to worsen in intensity. She just wished he'd stay the hell away. Then again, she wished a lot of things, but it didn't seem that any of her wishes were going to be coming true any time soon. If they were, she and Bosco would be together and far, far away from here.
"Sorry to hear that," Seth said unsympathetically. "You'll be happy to know though that I had a very fine day indeed."
Sully looked at Seth sharply. The man looked like he was about to burst with excitement over whatever it was he was going to tell them. "We're thrilled."
"You should be thrilled," Seth said. "I had your partner in the sights of my rifle for half the day. He's not too good at keeping himself hidden. I could have blown his head off at any time, but you'll be happy to know that I didn't."
"What about Bosco?" Faith knew she shouldn't ask questions, shouldn't be encouraging this maniac, but she couldn't help herself. She needed to know.
"Puzzling actually," Seth said as he met Faith's gaze. "I didn't see him."
"You didn't see him?" Faith asked, unsure whether she should believe him or not.
Seth shook his head. "Nope. Not a trace of him. I thought it was odd that they split up the way they did, but if that's their strategy so be it. Not too bright though. Tomorrow I might not be able to resist the temptation of shooting Officer Davis' head off."
Neither Faith nor Sully responded. Seth shook his head and smiled. "Well, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is a big day. Pleasant dreams to you both. Good night." He turned around abruptly and quickly headed down the hall.
"Bastard," Sully muttered.
"He's lying, right?" Faith asked as she turned toward Sully. "They...they wouldn't have split up. Why would they?"
Sully shook his head. "No. They wouldn't have split up...not intentionally anyhow..."
"You think something happened to Bosco?" Faith asked anxiously.
"I think Waters is playing us," Sully stated quietly. He's trying to get to us, that's all. You can't believe a word he says, Faith."
"I know...it's just..."
"What?" Sully prompted softly.
"Nothing..." Faith sighed softly to herself. She couldn't help worrying about Bosco. She knew how much he hated the dark. It was bad enough that he and Ty were out there, but if he was alone or hurt...she couldn't even bear to think about the possibilities.
******
"You're awfully quiet."
"I could say the same thing about you," Alex said, as she glanced over at Carlos.
"Yeah well..."
Alex sighed as she turned her attention to the passing scenery. "I know it must be hard..."
Carlos tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "It's hard for a lot of people. Ty's mom called me last night. I think she was just searching for comfort, something...I didn't even know what to say to her..."
"I'm sure just being able to talk to you helped her."
Carlos shook his head. "No. I don't think it did, Alex. I really think the only thing that's going to help her is to have Ty and the others back home safe and sound."
"That will happen," Alex stated, sounding much more sure of herself than she actually felt. This was getting to her much more than she let on to anyone, much more than she ever would have thought. She'd had nightmares the night before. Horrible images of Ty in trouble, Ty badly hurt, in pain. Even now, it made her feel sick to think about it. All of this was dredging up feelings that she had believed to be gone.
"You okay?" Carlos asked, giving her a concerned look.
She nodded. "I'm okay...I just...I really wish they'd find them, you know?"
"Yeah...yeah I do know," Carlos replied. He couldn't help thinking back to when Ty and Alex had been dating. Carlos had been such a jerk about it, making comments about Alex's 'skinny white ass.' He'd grown up a lot since those days. "Alex...I'm really sorry for the things I used to say when you were going out with Ty...I was a jerk..."
Alex turned towards Carlos. He was obviously really upset, but talking like this made it seem like Ty was dead and she refused to think that way. "Come on, Carlos...I mean you -were- a jerk," she replied with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood. "But that was a long time ago. Anyhow, Ty is going to be fine, okay? We just need to keep believing that."
"Yeah...yeah I know. Carlos knew that Alex was right in theory, but he just wished it was that easy to believe.
******
"Waters alive?" Swersky asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "I don't understand...how can this be?"
"Maybe it's a lie," Detective Trenton said. "Maybe its just another whacko calling to lead us on a wild goose chase."
"Yeah maybe..." Swersky stated, but in his heart he had a bad feeling it was true. Once again, he pressed the play button on the machine that was recording all phone calls relating to the disappearance of the officers.
"This...this is Rebecca Waters," the woman's voice began nervously. "I...I'm overseas so don't even try to find me. You won't be able to. I wanted to tell you that Seth is alive. His death was a well-planned hoax. I believe he's the key to finding the missing police officers."
"I want every available man on this," Swersky stated. If this was true, they needed to find Waters and find him fast.
******
Emily slipped out from underneath the covers and got up from her bed. She padded across the bedroom, pausing momentarily by Charlie's bed. Her younger brother was fast asleep, his breathing soft and even. She envied him his ability to be able to lose himself in sleep even for a few hours each night. At least it was some form of escape. She opened the bedroom door and made her way out into the dark living room. The apartment was still and silent. Her attention was drawn to a small, framed photograph on the end table. It was of Emily, Charlie and their mom, one of the few photographs that their father actually still allowed them to display. She picked up the picture and a single tear trickled down her cheek as she looked at it. "I'm so sorry, mom," she whispered.
"Em?"
Startled, Emily inadvertently lost her grip on the picture and it fell to the floor, the glass shattering on impact. "Oh no! It's broken," Emily collapsed on the floor beside the shattered picture and began to sob. "I broke it. I'm so sorry."
Fred hurried to his daughter's side and knelt down beside her, folding her up in his arms. "It's alright sweetie, we'll get a new frame," he murmured softly. "Everything's okay."
"It's not...it's not okay," Emily said, hardly able to get out the words in between her sobs. "I...I was so mean to her. I just...and now...now she...she might never come home, daddy. She might...she might even be...she might be dead..."
"She's not dead, baby...she's not..."
"You don't know that," Emily said, shaking her head. "You just don't know for sure, daddy..."
"You know your mom is strong, Emily. Whatever kind of trouble she's gotten herself into, if anyone can get out of it, it's your mom."
Emily nodded, her face still buried against her father's chest. She needed to believe he was right. More than any other time in her life, she needed him to be right this time.
******
Maggie hesitated outside the entrance to the bar. Suddenly coming here didn't seem like such a good idea after all. She wasn't even really sure why she had come. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped inside, taking a few moments to adjust her eyes to the dim interior. Finally she walked over to the bar, her eyes immediately drawn to the older woman behind it.
"Can I help you?" Rose asked as she gazed over at Maggie curiously. She had definitely never seen her here before.
"Are you Rose? I...I'm Maggie Davis...Ty's mother..."
It only took a moment for Rose to recognize the name. "I..." Rose looked at the woman dumbstruck. Somehow 'it's nice to meet you' didn't seem like the appropriate thing to say. "Yes, I'm Rose. Please sit down...can I get you something?"
"Some ginger ale would be nice, thank you," Maggie said as she took a seat on a bar stool.
Rose put some ice into a glass and filled it with ginger ale, then handed it to Maggie. "You haven't heard anything new?" she asked, her eyes filled with obvious pain. Ever since Lieutenant Swersky had told her that Maurice was one of four police officers who were missing, her life had been turned upside down. She was barely able to function. It seemed that every waking and sleeping moment were consumed by her son, either in conscious thoughts or in nightmares.
"No...nothing," Maggie admitted as she took a sip of the drink. She then stared down at the top of the bar, feeling more than a little ill at ease. "I'm not really sure why I'm here...I just...it seemed like the right thing to do."
"It's not easy, is it," Rose commented after a short silence. "No matter how big they get, they're still your children... this just makes you feel so helpless..."
Maggie nodded. "It does. I just don't understand how something like this could have happened.
"It seems like just yesterday, Maurice and his brother were little boys, playing ball and trading baseball cards, and now..." She trailed off, losing herself in her thoughts. Maurice had always been such a sweet boy...so caring. She couldn't even bear the thought that he might be hurt somewhere...or worse...
Maggie took another sip of her ginger ale, recognizing the lost look in Rose's eyes. She was sure it was the same look that had been in her own eyes these past few days. She was constantly thinking of Ty and of his father. She had already lost her husband. She just couldn't lose her son too...
******
Finally overcome with exhaustion, Ty had stretched out on the ground and had drifted off to sleep. As was the case almost constantly these days, it didn't take long for the nightmares to begin. "No! Leave him alone! Don't!" he shouted as he thrashed about on the ground. "Someone help us, please!"
******
Bosco wasn't sure how long he had been trying to sleep, but it seemed like hours. The pain in his ankle was steadily worsening. He was almost grateful for the darkness because he wasn't sure he wanted to see what his leg looked like. If it looked anything like it felt, it must look pretty bad. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by Ty's shouts somewhere off in the distance. Shit. What the hell was happening? "Davis?!" he screamed. "Ty! What's going on? Where are you?"
******
His heart pounding, Ty sat up and looked around in confusion, unsure of where he was. It took a few moments for him to adjust to his surroundings and to remember all that had happened. Still shaken, he settled back on the ground to try to sleep, but then he heard Bosco's shouts. No longer worried about Seth being in the vicinity, Ty got to his feet. "Bosco! Bosco where are you?"
"I'm over here!" Bosco yelled. "Davis! I'm over here!"
"Keep shouting!" Ty called as he started walking in the direction he thought Bosco's voice was coming from.
Bosco continued to direct Ty and just about ten minutes later, Ty found his friend. "Bosco!" He dropped down to the ground beside him.
"Man, Davis. What the hell happened to you?" Bosco asked. "Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you? I heard a gunshot earlier today."
Ty shook his head. "No, I'm not hurt, Bosco. I'm fine. I thought you were the one who was shot. How's your leg?"
"I know it's there, man. I know it's there..."
"Damn...I'm so sorry, Bos. I don't know what happened to me out there. One minute I knew where everything was, the next...I don't even know..."
"It's okay, Ty," Bosco said, clasping the younger man's shoulder. "You're here now, right? That's what's important. At least we're together again. Now we've got a fightin' chance."
"Yeah...yeah you're right, Bos."
"I know I'm right. Now why don't you try to get a little sleep. Mornin' will be here before we know it and we need to get some sleep. You can bet that Waters is getting' a good night's sleep.
"Yeah I'm sure he is," Ty replied. He was wary of sleeping, not wanting to get caught up in any more nightmares, but he really was exhausted. "I'll see you in the morning, Bos," he murmured as he stretched out on the ground.
"G'night, Ty..."
Category: Drama/Angst
Rating: PG-13
Email: [email protected]
Spoilers: Through current season 4
Disclaimer: All characters are the property of John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero. I wish they were mine but unfortunately they're not.
Summary: An enemy returns, endangering the lives of Ty, Sully, Bosco and Faith.
Note: I know its been too long between chapters, I hope some of you are still reading. My holiday muse has left me so hopefully the updates can come more regularly now. As always, your comments are more appreciated than you know.
Hope everyone has a happy and healthy 2004.
******
Bosco shivered and pulled his jacket tighter around him as he tried to make himself comfortable on the hard, cold ground. Once the sun had begun to set, darkness had descended quickly and Bosco's thoughts had been growing increasingly darker as well. He had already been worried to death about Faith and now he was worried sick about Ty as well. He had no idea if the younger man had been shot and whether he might be somewhere in these woods, slowly dying as he waited for help that was never going to come...or maybe he was already dead. He had no way of knowing what fate had befallen Ty and it was making him crazy. He was cold and hungry and his leg seemed to be getting hotter and more painful with every passing minute.
"So damn stupid," he mumbled to himself as he gingerly tried to shift his leg. He couldn't believe he had let himself get caught in that trap and he wished to God he had thought things through before agreeing to let Ty go traipsing off by himself. He knew how easy it was to get lost in the woods. They should have been more careful and now it was too late.
"I'm so sorry," he murmured. He had let so many people down. He knew Sully had entrusted Ty's safety to him, but he hadn't come through. He'd let Ty and Sully down and he'd let Faith down as well. He wished that he had stayed with her, that he was with her now, holding her and comforting her. Instead, he was lying here, helpless and wounded out in the woods and he knew the chances were slim of that he would ever see Faith again.
******
Sully and Faith exchanged glances as they heard the familiar footsteps approaching. "Crap," Sully stated.
Faith felt a knot beginning to form in her stomach. She hated this. She wasn't used to feeling this way, scared and vulnerable. She knew a lot of it was because she was sick, but it was also because of Bosco. Every time Seth came, she was so afraid he was going to tell them that Bosco was dead.
"And how are my prisoners doing this evening?" Seth asked jovially as he stepped up to the bars of their cell. "Did you have a pleasant day?"
Sully and Faith looked at each other once again, but neither of them answered Seth's question.
"I'm talking to you," Seth said, raising his voice a few octaves. "When I ask a question, I expect an answer."
"Or what?" Sully asked, casting a hateful look in Seth's direction.
"Or I'll shoot your partner's kneecaps and then slit his throat," Seth stated, feeling an inward sense of satisfaction as Sully visibly blanched at the reference.
"Fine then, we had a shitty day," Sully snarled.
"Tsk, tsk. I truly thought you would be using this time more productively," Seth said. "You should be relishing this time to yourself, perhaps with some creative pursuits? I'd be more than happy to give you a notebook and a pen. You could write a journal."
"No thanks." The last thing he was going to do was to put down his thoughts on paper for this piece of crap Waters to read.
Bored with Sully, Seth turned his attention to Faith. "And how are you feeling this evening? Better I hope."
"How could she be feeling better?" Sully asked. "She doesn't have any medicine and you barely give her enough food to keep a squirrel alive."
"Was I talking to you?" Seth shouted in aggravation. "I don't think so!"
"I feel lousy," Faith said in an attempt to get Waters to just shut the hell up. Every time he came by their cell, her headache seemed to worsen in intensity. She just wished he'd stay the hell away. Then again, she wished a lot of things, but it didn't seem that any of her wishes were going to be coming true any time soon. If they were, she and Bosco would be together and far, far away from here.
"Sorry to hear that," Seth said unsympathetically. "You'll be happy to know though that I had a very fine day indeed."
Sully looked at Seth sharply. The man looked like he was about to burst with excitement over whatever it was he was going to tell them. "We're thrilled."
"You should be thrilled," Seth said. "I had your partner in the sights of my rifle for half the day. He's not too good at keeping himself hidden. I could have blown his head off at any time, but you'll be happy to know that I didn't."
"What about Bosco?" Faith knew she shouldn't ask questions, shouldn't be encouraging this maniac, but she couldn't help herself. She needed to know.
"Puzzling actually," Seth said as he met Faith's gaze. "I didn't see him."
"You didn't see him?" Faith asked, unsure whether she should believe him or not.
Seth shook his head. "Nope. Not a trace of him. I thought it was odd that they split up the way they did, but if that's their strategy so be it. Not too bright though. Tomorrow I might not be able to resist the temptation of shooting Officer Davis' head off."
Neither Faith nor Sully responded. Seth shook his head and smiled. "Well, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is a big day. Pleasant dreams to you both. Good night." He turned around abruptly and quickly headed down the hall.
"Bastard," Sully muttered.
"He's lying, right?" Faith asked as she turned toward Sully. "They...they wouldn't have split up. Why would they?"
Sully shook his head. "No. They wouldn't have split up...not intentionally anyhow..."
"You think something happened to Bosco?" Faith asked anxiously.
"I think Waters is playing us," Sully stated quietly. He's trying to get to us, that's all. You can't believe a word he says, Faith."
"I know...it's just..."
"What?" Sully prompted softly.
"Nothing..." Faith sighed softly to herself. She couldn't help worrying about Bosco. She knew how much he hated the dark. It was bad enough that he and Ty were out there, but if he was alone or hurt...she couldn't even bear to think about the possibilities.
******
"You're awfully quiet."
"I could say the same thing about you," Alex said, as she glanced over at Carlos.
"Yeah well..."
Alex sighed as she turned her attention to the passing scenery. "I know it must be hard..."
Carlos tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "It's hard for a lot of people. Ty's mom called me last night. I think she was just searching for comfort, something...I didn't even know what to say to her..."
"I'm sure just being able to talk to you helped her."
Carlos shook his head. "No. I don't think it did, Alex. I really think the only thing that's going to help her is to have Ty and the others back home safe and sound."
"That will happen," Alex stated, sounding much more sure of herself than she actually felt. This was getting to her much more than she let on to anyone, much more than she ever would have thought. She'd had nightmares the night before. Horrible images of Ty in trouble, Ty badly hurt, in pain. Even now, it made her feel sick to think about it. All of this was dredging up feelings that she had believed to be gone.
"You okay?" Carlos asked, giving her a concerned look.
She nodded. "I'm okay...I just...I really wish they'd find them, you know?"
"Yeah...yeah I do know," Carlos replied. He couldn't help thinking back to when Ty and Alex had been dating. Carlos had been such a jerk about it, making comments about Alex's 'skinny white ass.' He'd grown up a lot since those days. "Alex...I'm really sorry for the things I used to say when you were going out with Ty...I was a jerk..."
Alex turned towards Carlos. He was obviously really upset, but talking like this made it seem like Ty was dead and she refused to think that way. "Come on, Carlos...I mean you -were- a jerk," she replied with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood. "But that was a long time ago. Anyhow, Ty is going to be fine, okay? We just need to keep believing that."
"Yeah...yeah I know. Carlos knew that Alex was right in theory, but he just wished it was that easy to believe.
******
"Waters alive?" Swersky asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "I don't understand...how can this be?"
"Maybe it's a lie," Detective Trenton said. "Maybe its just another whacko calling to lead us on a wild goose chase."
"Yeah maybe..." Swersky stated, but in his heart he had a bad feeling it was true. Once again, he pressed the play button on the machine that was recording all phone calls relating to the disappearance of the officers.
"This...this is Rebecca Waters," the woman's voice began nervously. "I...I'm overseas so don't even try to find me. You won't be able to. I wanted to tell you that Seth is alive. His death was a well-planned hoax. I believe he's the key to finding the missing police officers."
"I want every available man on this," Swersky stated. If this was true, they needed to find Waters and find him fast.
******
Emily slipped out from underneath the covers and got up from her bed. She padded across the bedroom, pausing momentarily by Charlie's bed. Her younger brother was fast asleep, his breathing soft and even. She envied him his ability to be able to lose himself in sleep even for a few hours each night. At least it was some form of escape. She opened the bedroom door and made her way out into the dark living room. The apartment was still and silent. Her attention was drawn to a small, framed photograph on the end table. It was of Emily, Charlie and their mom, one of the few photographs that their father actually still allowed them to display. She picked up the picture and a single tear trickled down her cheek as she looked at it. "I'm so sorry, mom," she whispered.
"Em?"
Startled, Emily inadvertently lost her grip on the picture and it fell to the floor, the glass shattering on impact. "Oh no! It's broken," Emily collapsed on the floor beside the shattered picture and began to sob. "I broke it. I'm so sorry."
Fred hurried to his daughter's side and knelt down beside her, folding her up in his arms. "It's alright sweetie, we'll get a new frame," he murmured softly. "Everything's okay."
"It's not...it's not okay," Emily said, hardly able to get out the words in between her sobs. "I...I was so mean to her. I just...and now...now she...she might never come home, daddy. She might...she might even be...she might be dead..."
"She's not dead, baby...she's not..."
"You don't know that," Emily said, shaking her head. "You just don't know for sure, daddy..."
"You know your mom is strong, Emily. Whatever kind of trouble she's gotten herself into, if anyone can get out of it, it's your mom."
Emily nodded, her face still buried against her father's chest. She needed to believe he was right. More than any other time in her life, she needed him to be right this time.
******
Maggie hesitated outside the entrance to the bar. Suddenly coming here didn't seem like such a good idea after all. She wasn't even really sure why she had come. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped inside, taking a few moments to adjust her eyes to the dim interior. Finally she walked over to the bar, her eyes immediately drawn to the older woman behind it.
"Can I help you?" Rose asked as she gazed over at Maggie curiously. She had definitely never seen her here before.
"Are you Rose? I...I'm Maggie Davis...Ty's mother..."
It only took a moment for Rose to recognize the name. "I..." Rose looked at the woman dumbstruck. Somehow 'it's nice to meet you' didn't seem like the appropriate thing to say. "Yes, I'm Rose. Please sit down...can I get you something?"
"Some ginger ale would be nice, thank you," Maggie said as she took a seat on a bar stool.
Rose put some ice into a glass and filled it with ginger ale, then handed it to Maggie. "You haven't heard anything new?" she asked, her eyes filled with obvious pain. Ever since Lieutenant Swersky had told her that Maurice was one of four police officers who were missing, her life had been turned upside down. She was barely able to function. It seemed that every waking and sleeping moment were consumed by her son, either in conscious thoughts or in nightmares.
"No...nothing," Maggie admitted as she took a sip of the drink. She then stared down at the top of the bar, feeling more than a little ill at ease. "I'm not really sure why I'm here...I just...it seemed like the right thing to do."
"It's not easy, is it," Rose commented after a short silence. "No matter how big they get, they're still your children... this just makes you feel so helpless..."
Maggie nodded. "It does. I just don't understand how something like this could have happened.
"It seems like just yesterday, Maurice and his brother were little boys, playing ball and trading baseball cards, and now..." She trailed off, losing herself in her thoughts. Maurice had always been such a sweet boy...so caring. She couldn't even bear the thought that he might be hurt somewhere...or worse...
Maggie took another sip of her ginger ale, recognizing the lost look in Rose's eyes. She was sure it was the same look that had been in her own eyes these past few days. She was constantly thinking of Ty and of his father. She had already lost her husband. She just couldn't lose her son too...
******
Finally overcome with exhaustion, Ty had stretched out on the ground and had drifted off to sleep. As was the case almost constantly these days, it didn't take long for the nightmares to begin. "No! Leave him alone! Don't!" he shouted as he thrashed about on the ground. "Someone help us, please!"
******
Bosco wasn't sure how long he had been trying to sleep, but it seemed like hours. The pain in his ankle was steadily worsening. He was almost grateful for the darkness because he wasn't sure he wanted to see what his leg looked like. If it looked anything like it felt, it must look pretty bad. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by Ty's shouts somewhere off in the distance. Shit. What the hell was happening? "Davis?!" he screamed. "Ty! What's going on? Where are you?"
******
His heart pounding, Ty sat up and looked around in confusion, unsure of where he was. It took a few moments for him to adjust to his surroundings and to remember all that had happened. Still shaken, he settled back on the ground to try to sleep, but then he heard Bosco's shouts. No longer worried about Seth being in the vicinity, Ty got to his feet. "Bosco! Bosco where are you?"
"I'm over here!" Bosco yelled. "Davis! I'm over here!"
"Keep shouting!" Ty called as he started walking in the direction he thought Bosco's voice was coming from.
Bosco continued to direct Ty and just about ten minutes later, Ty found his friend. "Bosco!" He dropped down to the ground beside him.
"Man, Davis. What the hell happened to you?" Bosco asked. "Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you? I heard a gunshot earlier today."
Ty shook his head. "No, I'm not hurt, Bosco. I'm fine. I thought you were the one who was shot. How's your leg?"
"I know it's there, man. I know it's there..."
"Damn...I'm so sorry, Bos. I don't know what happened to me out there. One minute I knew where everything was, the next...I don't even know..."
"It's okay, Ty," Bosco said, clasping the younger man's shoulder. "You're here now, right? That's what's important. At least we're together again. Now we've got a fightin' chance."
"Yeah...yeah you're right, Bos."
"I know I'm right. Now why don't you try to get a little sleep. Mornin' will be here before we know it and we need to get some sleep. You can bet that Waters is getting' a good night's sleep.
"Yeah I'm sure he is," Ty replied. He was wary of sleeping, not wanting to get caught up in any more nightmares, but he really was exhausted. "I'll see you in the morning, Bos," he murmured as he stretched out on the ground.
"G'night, Ty..."