Faas, snippet five

[gilascave]

"Right, I've got him." And it was Jimmy's voice, from right behind his ear. Bosco leaned back, a little, and he felt Jimmy's hands on his waist and on his good arm. It almost made him want to relax.

It didn't take long for them to get his arm strapped down - once Kim glared him into submission. The painkiller helped, too, he admitted to himself. Whatever they'd put into the IV Bobby stuck him with made him feel like they could yank his arm back into place right here, and let him get on with things.

He knew better than to suggest it, though. Faith had finally joined the group, standing just behind Kim and giving him that look that said if he even thought about saying he didn't need a trip to the hospital and everything the doctors prescribed, he'd be lucky to survive what *she* was gonna do to him.

So he sat quietly, let the paramedics tie him up and throw him onto the gurney, and didn't say much of anything as they carted him downstairs to the ambulance. Faith said she'd follow them in - a sure sign he really was gonna be OK and that she wasn't too incredibly pissed at him. Then they were loading him onto the bus and Bobby was climbing in after him and Bosco wondered if anyone minded if he closed his eyes for awhile.

Paramedics got weird about that sort of thing. After a short debate with himself, he decided not to risk it. Stared at the roof instead, counting quietly to himself how many minutes before they got to the ER, how many minutes they'd likely have him there, and just how freakin' long it would be before he could go home.

He'd reached the three hour mark before he realised Bobby was staring at him. Bosco glanced over. "What? Am I supposed to pass out?" Caffey was acting like he was half-ready to leap forward as the first sign that Bosco wasn't just lying there counting ceiling tiles.

"Why didn't you-" Bobby started to ask in a subdued tone.

Bosco raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't I what?"

It didn't look like Bobby was gonna finish his sentence. He looked away, seemed to be arguing with himself. Then he looked back at Bosco and said, "Why didn't you say something?"

Bosco started at him, not sure he'd actually heard what he'd heard. "Say what? What were you gonna do, treat it while we waited for back-up?"

The glare he got was almost as bad as Kim's. He wondered which of them had got it from the other, or if they just reinforced each other's maternal instincts. "You should have told me."

"Oh, what for?" Bosco couldn't believe it. He should have just mentioned it casually, like the itch he'd had on his nose? "I wasn't gonna drop you," he added, as it occurred to him that Bobby might be working himself up to freaking out, now. Like anything was gonna change, after the fact.

"You coulda said something," Bobby just insisted.

"It wouldn't have mattered," Bosco said, still not sure what the problem was. But Bobby had to know he wouldn't have dropped him. There was just no way.

Bobby watched him silently. He looked torn, probably between arguing with him and giving in. Bosco held his gaze, then closed his eyes for a second, turning his attention back to the ceiling. He wondered if they were gonna keep Bobby around, or if he'd head right back out to work. He felt a hand on his arm. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Bosco was happy to let it drop, finally. He started to revise his estimate of how long before he'd get home. How long after he got home, would Jimmy be around? That sounded like something better to think about. A night of tender loving care was just what he needed.

"Bos-"

He glanced over. Bobby was still sitting there like they hadn't just settled things. "Yeah?"

"I-I know you're gonna say I don't owe you anything...."

Bosco grinned. "Are you kidding? Owe me dinner, at least. Geez."

That seemed to startle a smile out of him. After a second, Bobby laughed. "Dinner, huh?"

"Save a guy's life and he doesn't even wanna spring for pizza," he groused.

"All right. All right, fine. I think I can spring for dinner."

"Drinks?"

"If you're not on meds, yeah."

"Movie?" Bosco gave him a hopeful look.

"Shouldn't you be asking Jimmy to take you to a movie?"

Bosco deliberately misunderstood him. "He won't mind. He'll just want details - do I get a kiss, too?"

Bobby stared at him, unblinking, for a long minute. Then he lowered his head into his hands, and muttered something under his breath. Bosco just grinned, while Bobby wasn't looking.