Title:
No Right's in a Wrong (1/2)
Author: Demelza H. Watt
Email: confounded@tw-gateway.net
Disclaimer: Third Watch belongs to NBC, WB, and its other owners, no infringments of these copyrights are intended and are used here without permission.
Warnings: Sexual references and some use of bad language
Rating: R
Author's Notes: This is the first of two stories. This first story skips through scenes a bit, the purpose of which is to build up angst, character, storyline and well, the blank spaces that lead to the ending of this first story. The second story works much the same, but is dealt with more in depth of the characters, what's happening in their lives, and so forth.
3.17pm
Bosco sat in the driver's side of the squad, while he looked over at Faith who looked about ready to let loose a string of obscenities at the moron a few blocks back when they were waiting at the intersection for the idiot to get out of their and seven other drivers way. Now the squad was parked in their sector, and all he could think about was how Christopher had decided to take it easy on them and basically gave them an early Christmas present by giving them one of the most boring sectors known to every cop of the Five-Five. He was smiling, when he felt a dull unphysical pain creep over his entire body, it seemed so continuous, always there, never leaving him alone. Even well after it faded. Sometimes it lasted for hours, it just wouldn't leave. He could have been trapped in his own thoughts, thinking about the pain, when he heard Faith let out a long sigh. He was quick to roll his eyes. Five, four, three, two,...
"I'm thinking about having a tv set attached to the ceiling above the bed," she told him, anger and frustration in her voice.
Right on time. He looked back at her with eyes that told her he could really give a damn. "Why? So you can fall asleep watching George Clooney reruns of ER?" he asked, his sarcasm evident.
She stared back at him with disgust, "No. Because my sex life is so boring, I..."
"Argh! No!" Bosco exclaimed, covering his ears. "I don't want to hear about your sex life!"
Faith huffed, "Sex life? If you want to call it that..." she paused, then angrily glared at her partner. He quickly lowered his hands from his ears, grumbling with a sigh as he crossed his arms across his chest. "Fred'd be just as excited if he was doing a single handed job. Hell, he probably wouldn't notice the difference."
"Mental imagery, Faith! Bad!"
She stared at him again, "How the hell do you think I feel!? I don't know which is worse, having to fake it, or having no sex because he can't get it up."
Bosco sat there, shaking his head. "These are the kind of things one doesn't need to know, so can we just change the subject?"
"Oh, that's right, because we can talk about *your* sex life with every sordid detail, but stuff mine, right?"
"Yours is about men stuff!" he said, cringing.
She sighed with reservation. "Mine is about having to fake an orgasm for the last five months because Fred's lost his damn mojo." She rolled her eyes, angered even thinking about it.
"So do something about it. *Other* than talking to me, okay?"
Faith looked at him again, this time seriously pissed. "You're a man! Can't you give me some kind of advice to make Fred..."
"No. No. No. And in case you didn't get that, N-O! No!!" he shouted back, his voice deadly serious. He watched her for a moment, could hear her muttering something about men and their inadequacies, wanting to please themselves but stuff what women want. "You finished?" he asked after a moment.
She frowned, "I used to get one almost every time, now it's like he wants to do his thing and get it over and done with as fast as he can."
Bosco shrugged, "It *is* baseball season."
Faith shot him a glare before smacking him in the arm. He quickly rubbed his arm, staring back at her, surprised and shocked that she'd just hit him. "It's like he just doesn't care that we're..." she didn't finish.
"Maybe he's getting a little on the side. Or...maybe he's getting it off on his own, so by the time you get home and the two of you do your little thing, he's spent."
"Spent?" she looked away, shaking her head. "If that rat bastard was having an affair, I'd know about it."
"Did you just call your husband a...rat, bastard?" Bosco asked back, Faith just glared at him. "And how exactly would you know if your husband was having an affair, hmm?"
Just then, a call came over dispatch, requesting them to take a call at a local supermarket where a bunch of teens were loitering against the owners wishes. Faith reached for her radio and radioed them back, "10-4 Central, D-D's on West 103rd."
Bosco started the engine and pulling into a u-turn as they headed to the supermarket.
* * *
They arrived on scene within five minutes, and Faith was the first out of the car, quickly followed by Bosco. "You know, you never answered my question!" he hollered, though they were a mere few feet away from each other. She stopped in her steps, turning to face him. "How would you know if he was having an affair?" he repeated.
"We're on a job, Boz."
"And you didn't answer my question, Faith," he sarcastically replied. She approached him by one step, and he withdrew by two. "But hey, we're on a job! It can keep."
Faith turned back around, rolling her eyes as she shook her head. Her gaze soon fell on five teens standing a few metres to the left of the main supermarket entrance. She frowned, wondering why the owner thought it prudent that they be removed. "All they're doing is singing," she told Bosco as he stopped at her side.
Three girls were singing the main chorus, while the two boys there with them were strumming on their guitars. "How do I deal with us, how do I know what's real, when I don't even trust myself and what it is I feel...how do I deal...yeah..."
Faith smiled, hearing the beautiful way the girls sung, and how well the boys played. She walked toward them, followed by Bosco, and stopped when she was standing a mere few feet away. "Hey..." she smiled at them as the girls looked in her direction. They instantly stopped and the guys with them set their guitars down at their side, nervously looking in her and Bosco's direction. "That was...beautiful..."
"Thanks," the taller of the three girls smiled back, her dark auburn hair blowing about her face in the cool winds.
Faith smiled. "The manager said you were loitering," she said, her voice calm. "You do realize it's illegal, don't you?"
"We weren't loitering," the older of the two boys said, "That old coot came out here told us to leave, started smacking Lyida and Jody 'round with a plastic pipe."
"What?" Both officers exclaimed, exchanging looks. "Why did he do that?" Faith asked.
"Said we were loitering," Jody spoke up, the shorter of the group, her hair was rich black with a selection of strands dyed red. She looked to be half asian, so did Lydia and one of the boys. "We're waiting for our adoptive parents," she explained, saddened.
Faith looked at Bosco again, "Your parents are inside?" she asked, being sure she heard wrong as she turned back to them. All five children nodded. "Okay," she nodded, before pulling Bosco aside so they were out of ear range of the teens. "Damnit, didn't we tell Christopher two weeks back this moron was a racist, that that's why he attacked those two kids who were waiting out here for their friends?"
"Come on, you don't seriously believe these kids, do you?" He asked back, and she scowled at him. "Okay, you do. Listen, I'll go talk to the manager, you keep an eye on the kids, okay?"
"I just hope their parents press charges," Faith told him as he walked off. She let out a sigh, then walked back over to the teens. "How's your arm?" she asked Jody, who shrugged. She glanced over in Lydia's direction and noticed the red marking on her neck. "Did he do that to your neck too, hon?" The girl looked between her foster siblings, but she didn't answer her questions, just stood beside the other boy, who Faith assumed was her brother. Damn that son of a bitch...
* * *
The large glass doors of the supermarket slid open and Bosco walked in, and, knowing exactly where he needed to go, he headed for the large 'information' desk to the left of the large building. He quickly spotted the balding man, Davie Prebble, and marched over to him. The man turned to him, appearing pleased to see the officer. "Mr Prebble?" Bosco asked.
"I'm glad you're here, those hoodlums won't leave," Mr Prebble told him, scowling. "Where's that bitch partner of yours?"
"Excuse me?" Bosco asked, doing a double take. "Oh no you didn't."
The man sighed, "Is she out there? With them?" Bosco just stared at him. "Oh great, now she'll soft talk them, and they'll make false claims like those last two little shits," he grumbled.
"Are you accusing my partner of making those kids make false testaments?" he asked.
The man nodded, "Ya-huh! She does it every damn time!"
Bosco stalked towards him, "Let me tell you something, Mr Prebble," he began, pausing as he grabbed him by the front of his shirt and jerked him toward him, "My partner didn't ask or tell those kids to lie. In fact, I was out there just now and heard how you assaulted two of the girls!"
"What!?! That's preposterous!"
"Is it?" he asked the man darkly, "You calling two helpless girls liars? Two little girls who still have the welt marks on their skin from the plastic tubing you beat them with!?"
"I never hit them!" Mr Prebble squealed as he tried to get free from Bosco's grip.
"That's bullshit!" Bosco shouted back at him, shoving him toward the ground where he landed in a slump on his ass. "You're a racist pig who beats little girls and your sorry, white, fat ass is under arrest! Now, lie face down!" he ordered as he crouched over the man and forcibly turned him over, proceeding to slap the handcuffs on his wrists.
Outside, Faith was talking to the teens when she heard her partner's voice. "Stop trying to run, jag off!" She looked in the direction of the doors and saw Bosco walking out with Mr Prebble handcuffed in his hands, followed behind him were a couple in their forties, each pushing a large trolley of goods.
"Mom!" Lydia screamed, running to the woman, and Faith knew in that moment they were the teens' parents. "Can we go home, please?"
"What's going on?" The woman asked, looking in Bosco and Mr Prebble's direction, her arms around her daughter.
"This man assaulted your kids," Bosco informed her and her husband, the husband of which looked about ready to burst he was so enraged from what he just heard.
"You son of a..." the husband began, when his wife placed her hand on his arm to stop him. "You're not going to get away with what you've done, I'll make damn sure of that, you sick son of a bitch!"
"Get him in the squad," Faith told Bosco with a nod toward the squad car. He grabbed the guy by the back of his collar, then shoved him in direction of the vehicle. She let out a breath, watching as the parents walked over to the teens, who, in turn, each took two bags from the trolley. "We'll need you to come down and make a statement," she spoke softly to Lydia and Jody both, who were hugging their mom now. Both girls nodded, while their mom ran her hand through both their hair. She swallowed hard, wondering if she would have reacted so calmly if any man had of ever attacked her two children.
"We have to take Lydia to the hospital," the woman began, getting Faith's attention.
She nodded, "My partner and I have to process Mr Prebble, but...we can send another squad down to get the statements from your children."
The woman looked at her, "It can all be done there, instead of at the station?"
"For now. If we need anything else, either my partner and I will contact you, or the detective's who'll take the case will," she explained, both the woman and her husband nodding before giving her their thanks.
* * *
Back at the precinct later, Faith had just finished filling out the incident report when a rustling noise to her right caught her attention and she saw Bosco standing there, bag of corn chips in his hands. "Want some?" he asked, his mouth full.
She shook her head, "No, I'm good thanks," she said, forcing a half smile. She turned back to her report and let out a sigh. "He's going to walk. That son of a bitch."
"We did the best we could."
"Did we!?" she demanded, turning to look at him again. "He attacked those kids, Boz, and his lawyer got him a damn good plea bargain, and now he's gonna walk."
Bosco let out a breath as he pushed himself away from the door pane with his foot. He walked over and took a seat on the edge of the desk, looking down at her. "We did everything by the book, like we're meant to. If his lawyer gets him a plea bargain...he'll still do time for what he did."
"I somehow don't think one hundred or less hours of community service is much of a 'time' after what he did to those girls, and the two kids the other week," she told him with a final sigh as she pushed her chair backwards and rose to her feet. She was about to step away when Bosco put his hand out and touched her stomach, stopping her. She stared down at the papers in her hand.
"We arrested him, and filled out a report, now it's up to the courts to decide what happens, okay?" he asked, but she didn't reply. His hand lingered on her stomach as he got off the desk and stood to her left, his eyes focused on her. "Hey, Faith...we did what we could."
She swallowed, then turned her head to look at him. Tears had formed in the corner of her eyes, but she willed herself not to let them fall. "There has to be something more we can do."
"Even if there were, which there isn't, what would it accomplish? The guy would file a harassment lawsuit against us and our asses would be in court, and not his. Do you really want that?"
"No, I want those two girls to feel safe and not prey to sick predators like Prebble," Faith said back, shaking her head as she shrugged. "I know we're not going to get that, but what if he does it again?"
"He..."
"Won't? How do you know, Bosco? How do you know the minute he walks out of that courtroom he's not going to go out and attack other teens that're waiting for family or friends outside his supermarket?"
Bosco stared at her, "I don't know that. I'm just saying we have to hope he doesn't," he replied, but she shook her head, not accepting that. "Faith..."
"No...don't," she told him back, not even looking at him as she pushed his hand away and headed down the corridor, leaving Bosco standing there, staring after her.
* * *
6.40pm
Faith stood at the side of the squad while Bosco hovered over the rubbish bin a few feet away. She cringed as he threw up again and wondered why of all days to choose to throw up on, he chose a Friday night. More specifically, a Friday night that was as beautiful as the night had so far shown herself to be. She frowned as she watched him wipe his mouth with the back of his hand and walk back over to her. "You know, you really don't look so good," she told him, her brow creasing deeply.
"Yeah, no shit," he said back, shaking his head as he sat up against the squad to her left. She stared at him, saying nothing. "I'm fine, really, Faith."
She shook her head, then, without thought, she reached out and placed her hand against his forehead. "You're running a temperature."
He grinned, "It's your touch baby, it drives me wild!" he laughed, but the look on her face was stayed and serious. "I'm fine, really, Faith," he told her back, a smile on his face as he pushed her hand away. "I'm. Fine."
"You're burning up with a fever, and you keep throwing up."
"Once!" Bosco exclaimed, "That was once, Faith. Only once."
She stayed staring at him, "You're going to tell me all this isn't linked to the other night's you've been throwing up for the last three weeks?"
"Like I told you, I'm, fine. Quit worrying about me, I'm not one of your kids Faith, I'm a big boy and I can look after myself."
Faith sat down beside him. "Yeah, well until you start telling me what's going on, I'm going to continue treating you like you're one of my kids."
He let out a breath, shaking his head as he stared at the building across the street from them. "There's nothing wrong with me."
There was a momentary silence. "Look me straight in the face and tell me that," she told him, he just smiled and shook his head. "Bosco," she warned.
He looked at her, "There's nothing wrong with me," he repeated, only his eyes shifted on the 'nothing' and she gave him a warning look. "Come on, Faith, let's just drop it, okay?"
"No, I won't drop it. Don't you remember when I was sick?" she asked him, but he turned his head away. "I thought, we agreed we wouldn't...that things were going back to normal, that we can talk?"
"Yeah, we can," Bosco replied, still staring at the building across the street. "But not if there's nothing to talk about. Which, there isn't."
"Look at me." He wouldn't. "Bosco, just look at me for one moment, please?" she asked again, this time pleading. He slowly turned his head to face her, and she could see the way he forced his smile, knew that on the inside he was straining to hide it. "What is it?" she softly asked, he swallowed hard, still not answering. "You have to tell me, please."
He faced away from her again, this time closing his eyes before he let out a breath. "My dad," he said, his voice scratching, nothing more than a faint whisper.
Faith's brow creased, "What...what about him?" she asked, wishing he'd turn back to her, tell her everything. But after the months of tension between them, how could she ever expect him to open up to her like this. Things weren't the way they used to be. Friends. Best friends. "Bosco?"
"He...came to see me...three weeks back..." Bosco whispered again, pausing when a car with a loud muffler when past. He slowly turned to face her, thinking he'd find the same tension between them in her eyes, when he saw the friend he always new, deep inside, that he would always have. "He...told me why he beat Ma...all those years...and me, and Mikey..."
"Boz, I..."
"He's not my dad, Faith," he said, letting out a strong breath of air. "Mikey's? Yeah. But...he's not, mine."
Faith looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean, he's not your father?"
Bosco swallowed hard. "He came to me...cos he needed a kidney...turns out he's real sick or something...so, I go, and I have all their stupid tests done..." he didn't finish, just shook his head.
"Just because the tests came back abnormal compared to his..."
"You don't get it. Everything was abnormal. Every single...I don't know who my father is," he said, shrugging. "And he knew I wasn't his. He knew all this...all this damn time!"
"Bosco..." Faith pleaded with him, but he shrugged away from her and walked around the front of the squad, then walked back so he was standing in front of her. "Then, why ask you to be his kidney donor?"
Bosco laughed, "Turns out, he knew I wouldn't be a match, just wanted to...stuff my life up even more than he has! That...son of a bitch!" he shouted, kicking the car tyre in his rage, but he crippled over, his right hand clutching onto the bonnet as he reeled in the pain. "Shit!"
"Bosco, Bosco, Bosco..." she tried to console him as she turned him by the scruff of his shirt away from the squad so they were standing face to face, though he was limping, his face near bright red from the pain. "You okay?" she asked, but he just stared at her with that 'what the hell do you think!?' look she knew only too well. "You want to go to Mercy?"
"If it lets me smash that bastard's face in..."
"Bosco..." Faith began, "Just, sit." She helped him sit on the car again, where he was before. Her hands lingered on his chest as she looked down at him, waiting. "You calm now?"
He let out an angered sigh. "I want to kill him," he darkly uttered, looking back up at her as he took in a breath and slowly let it back out. She was looking at him with an arched eyebrow, still waiting. He rolled his eyes, "I'm calm! Alright?"
Knowing this was the best she was going to get, Faith sighed with a nod. She stepped back as Bosco pushed himself away from the car, immediately wincing herself when he crippled over again, this time screaming out, "Son of a fucking bitch!"
"That's it. I'm taking you to Mercy," she said as she instinctively wrapped her arm around his waist and helped him into the front passenger seat of the squad. After he was comfortably seated, she closed the door and made her way round to the driver's side and climbed in. Once seated herself, she pulled the door closed and looked over at Bosco. He had his head leaning back against the grill, his eyes closed. "You probably broke a toe," she assessed for herself, but when he glared at her, she looked away. "But hey, kicking a tyre would do that to you."
* * *
Faith stood at the back of the room nearest the main door, while Doctor Collins, a bone specialist, fully explained the three fractures in her partner's big and second toe, and the bone he somehow managed to fracture in his ankle. "It's, unusually common after someone kick's a hard object at full force," he told Bosco, tapping onto the manila folder that contained the excess of Bosco's hospital records.
Bosco sighed where he sat on the bed, his left leg folder under his right leg, which was stretched out, his ankle and foot sitting on a large, and unbelievably hard, pillow. "So, what the hell does this mean then?" he asked, sighing again as he looked over at Faith, who wore a seemingly smug grin on her face.
"Well," Doctor Collins began, "For one thing, you won't be working for the next six weeks, and even then, we'll be needing to set you up for some physio therapy before you're able to resume all normal activities on that ankle, because of where the fracture is situated."
"Great," Bosco grumbled. "So when can I leave?"
The doctor smiled, "Right after we have one of the nurses come and cast it for you," he said, then, without another word, he walked out of the room, leaving Bosco and Faith alone in the room.
Faith let out a breath and walked towards Bosco, his belt strung up over her shoulder. She could tell just by the way he was glaring at his foot he wasn't happy. "Put it this way, Boz, it can't get any worse than this," she said, grinning widely.
He looked up at her, his own grin now stretching across his face. "Oh yeah, it can."
"Such a neg..." but before the words left her mouth, he reached out and grabbed her by the front of her shirt and pulled her toward him. She screamed at first, then started laughing hysterically when he tried to tickle her. "Bosco! Don't!" she screamed, finally pulling free of his grip and taking three large steps backward. Puffing, trying to catch her breath, she shook her head at him. "Asshole."
"Bitch," he shot back, grinning.
Faith rolled her eyes, still chuckling. She let out another breath, this time a longer one. "So, are you...okay?"
He shrugged, "Broken ankle and toes aside? I'm good."
"You're sure?"
"Positive."
She nodded, but didn't know if she believed him. She walked over and handed him his belt and radio, "I need to use the little ladies room," she said, getting a nod in response from Bosco, before she headed out of the room. As the door closed behind her, she let out a breath, looking over her shoulder with reluctance in leaving him alone, to see him removing his wallet from the back pocket of his pants. She held her breath as he pulled out the photo from inside it, the one of him, his brother, mom and dad together. Hating what she was about to do, she turned around and headed down the corridor, straight for the reception desk. There, she waited until Proctor had finished on the phone before talking. "I was, kind of hoping you could help me find a patient," she began, knowing by privacy laws the hospital was bound to secrecy.
Proctor looked around her, before turning back to Faith. "Sure hon, who're you looking for?"
Faith swallowed hard, "A patient by the name of Boscorelli. I don't know if he's in here, but...if he is..."
"Hon, you just came from down there, unless this is some kind of joke..."
"No joke," Faith said, her voice serious. "James Boscorelli."
"James?" The nurse questioned, but, not getting any answer other than a nod, she turned back to her computer and typed in the name. "I don't think..." but the computer beeped and her brow immediately creased. "Floor five, in ward 11..." but before she had a chance to finish, Faith was already walking off, leaving the woman standing there, even more confused.
* * *
Faith made her way up to the fifth level, she wasn't sure why she was going there, or even if she should. All she knew was that her best friend had been made violently ill by what his father had done to him, all those years as a child, and three weeks ago. She wondered how anyone could do such a thing to their own flesh and blood, but then she remembered, James Boscorelli wasn't Bosco's father. He was some stranger, a man who pretended to be something for so many years that he wasn't. She shook her head, her mind flooding with angered thoughts as she found the last room on the right with a white sticker that read, 'James Angus Boscorelli'.
Taking in a breath and holding it, Faith walked over to the far bed on the left. The curtain was almost completely drawn, and she didn't care why it was, she pushed the curtain aside and stopped almost dead in her feet when she saw James Boscorelli sitting on the bed, shocked frown on his face, while at his left was the one person in the world she'd never ever expected to see sitting there. Her husband Fred.
Anger boiling up through every pore, Faith glared at both men, more specifically her husband. "What the hell are you doing here!?" she demanded, but he offered no excuse or reason as he stared back at her just as shocked. She turned her attention to Bosco's dad. "You!" she exclaimed, shaking her head with more anger than she thought she had inside her, stronger than the hatred she already had for the man.
"Get out!" James Boscorelli hissed.
"Someone better the hell explain to me what's going on, and right damn now!" she threatened them both, looking between both men.
"You're right," James said, looking at Fred, "Menstruating."
"Excuse me!?!" Faith exclaimed again, her mind pulling blanks as she tried to reason with herself the possible reasons why her husband, of all men, was visiting with James Boscorelli. She half near slapped Fred across the face as he walked towards her and ushered her out of the room and back out into the corridor. "Just what exactly is going on in there!?" she demanded again, keeping her voice as low as she could, despite the rage she felt inside. He didn't answer. "Fred!"
"Nothing, he's an old friend," he defended.
"Old friend my ass!"
"Faith, come on, it's...we all have our friends in this crazy world. What, you think just because someone does something a little bad they can't have friends?"
She took a step toward him, "That's Bosco's father, Fred!" she hissed, pointing at him. "And what the hell are you doing hanging out with him!?"
Fred shrugged, and it was at that moment she noticed he was wearing a white robe.
"What the hell is really going on, Fred?" she asked again, this time her voice much calmer. "And why are you dressed in a hospital robe?"
"Oh this?" he began, pointing to the robe neatly tied with the matching waist tie.
"You're stalling," Faith warned, and he glared at her. "Unless if you want me to go in there and ask *him*, I'd give me a straight answer right this damn minute!"
"Alright, alright!" Fred exclaimed, taking her even more aside, out of the way of the doctors, nurses, patients and family members that were busy walking past. "I'll tell you, it's...a lot, though..."
"All I want is a damn answer, now either you give me one..."
"Damnit Faith, get the firecracker out of your ass and shut up for one god-damned minute would you!?" he snapped at her, shaking his head. "I'll tell you if you just shut your mouth..."
* * *
Although her attention needed to be on the road, Faith's mind was elsewhere. She was thinking about her conversation with Fred, and James Boscorelli after that. She didn't know if she should tell Bosco, firstly that Fred knew the man he'd called 'dad' all his life, or if she should have told him what his 'dad' had said to her upon confronting him with everything he'd put her best friend through.
"...but thirty minutes!?"
Faith blinked, confused, then turned her head in Bosco's direction. "What?"
"You, taking half an hour to use the little ladies room," Bosco said, raising his eyebrows in wait for a response.
"Oh, yeah, I had to do a couple things," she replied, swallowing.
"Yeah, I figured as much. Meanwhile I got stuck with the nurse from hell who, I swear to God was taking pleasure in causing me so much pain! Wouldn't even give me gas."
"Yeah," she murmured in response, her attention falling back to the road ahead.
Bosco looked at her, and even though she wasn't looking in his direction, he could tell she was deep in thought by the way her eyebrows furrowed. "You're not listening are you?"
"Sounds fun," she murmured with a slight shrug.
Damn, this is *never* a good sign. "Yo, Yokas!" he half near shouted, this time getting her full attention. "What's wrong with you? You've hardly said boo since you got back from the loo..." he said, chuckling, "Heh, I rhymed."
"Nothing's wrong," Faith replied, ignoring his 'rhyming' statement. But she could tell from the look in his eyes he didn't believe her. "I...saw, Fred..."
"I'd have thought that would be a good thing, considering he's your husband and all?" he asked back, his sarcasm evident.
"...with your dad," she finished.
Bosco quickly looked away, staring out the windscreen. "He's not my dad," he replied in that, 'I told you earlier, remember?' tone.
"Either way, Fred was there," she said back.
"You find out why?"
A pause of silence and Faith cleared her throat. "Best answer I got...Fred was being tested to see if he was a donor match."
Silence again.
"Was he?"
"No."
There was another silence, this time much longer, when Bosco finally spoke again. "Great," he exhaled with anger.
"I'm sorry, Boz," Faith spoke softly, looking at him again.
"It's not your fault," he said back, letting out another low breath, this time a sigh.
"No. I still feel bad though."
"Don't. It's...nothing worth worrying about anyway," he said with no care in his voice as he continued to gaze out the side window.
Faith sat there, looking at him, concern for her best friend in her mind. She turned her attention back to the road, easing down on the brakes as they came up to a red light. This is all my fault, I shouldn't have gone up there to see him. Damnit Yokas, you can never leave things be!
* * *
After slipping the taxi driver a twenty dollar bill, Faith had stood at the curb of the front entrance of the precinct and watched her partner being taken home to his apartment. There had been a sole request from him that she bring his car round to his place the following morning and she accepted, promising she would. That was the only thing they'd said in the ride back to the precinct, she knew what she'd told him had hurt him really badly, she had stood there, wishing she'd kept her trap shut. The rest of her shift she couldn't stop thinking about him, wondering if he was okay. She had tried seven times to muster up enough courage to ring him and check in, but a smile had stretched across her face, knowing he'd think she was trying to mother him. In truth, she did mother him, but he was her best friend and he didn't have all that many friends, so she did what she thought he needed in his life. A little best friend, a little counsellor, a little mother, a little of everything pretty much. It wasn't that she went out of her way to treat him like that, it was just something that developed over their time in the Academy together, and it stuck with her ever since. It was her nature to mother everyone and everything in her path.
Sighing, the events of the night faded somewhat from her mind and she realized she was now standing in the living room of her and Fred's apartment, watching her husband sitting on the sofa in his work uniform as he watched some stupid show on television. She let out a low breath, having forgotten she'd already removed her jacket, bag and shoes when she'd came inside a short while ago.
Taking a few steps into the living room, Faith's eyes fell on the tv set, saw the baseball coverage that was airing, then she turned back to Fred. "Sorry I'm late," she began, getting his attention. "I had to work an hour overtime," she continued, thoughts of her children rushing to her mind when she realized they both were over at a friend's house each until Sunday evening.
He looked back at her, "Why, something happen?"
She shrugged, "Bosco broke a couple bones in his foot."
He turned his head back to the tv set, then, after a moment, he lifted the remote and switched it off. Faith half expected some smart ass response to what happened, when he rose to his feet and stepped over to her. "He's dangerous, Faith."
"What!?" she exclaimed, shaking her head as she did a double take of what in hell he'd just said. "Where the hell is this coming from?"
"You don't know enough about this guy's past to honestly say you can trust him. "
"Fred, I've known Bosco for nine years, I know him better than anyone else," she replied, but he shook his head at her. "He's not dangerous! I trust him with my life!" she said, her voice strong.
"Right, and that's why you told him about your cancer, right?"
"I told him."
"Yeah, when you were on your final treatment. Hell, Faith, he almost got you fired when that stuffed up rape came about, all because he's too hot in the head to think before acting!"
Faith took a step toward him, "Hey, I had as much to do with that rape case as he did. I'm the one that told the girl to stay in the car for goodness sake!" she exclaimed. She then quickly shook her head, taking a few steps backward. "I don't want to fight with you, Fred."
"I want you to get a new partner," Fred stated, his voice firm, commanding. She just shook her head at him. "Either you get a new partner, or I want you gone."
She felt like a breath caught in her chest, "What??"
"Either you quit all ties with that little son of a bitch and the crap he's putting our family, and his, through, or you walk out that door and never come back."
Faith shook her head, "You're being pathetic, and you need to grow up, Fred," she told him, when he walked past her, headed down the hallway to their room. Rolling her eyes, she followed behind him, almost stopping frozen in her steps when she saw an open suitcase on the bed, already packed, with all of her belongings in it. "Fred!!"
He crossed his arms across his chest, looking at the suitcase for a moment, before turning back to her. "I knew you'd choose him so I packed some of your stuff, you can come back in the morning when I'm gone to get the rest of it when I'm at work."
"Fred, be reasonable!"
He took a step toward her, lowering his arms. "Reasonable is me no longer wasting my breathing now I know what a sad and pathetic loser that partner of yours truly is!" he shouted, closing the gap between them so there was only a foot length distance between them. "How he used to deliberately break everything that belonged to a man who was there for him, every waking moment of the day, giving him all the love he could, just so he could piss him off!"
Without thinking, Faith slapped him hard across the face. "You don't know a thing about Bosco, or the hell that bastard put him and his brother and mom through all those years growing up!"
"Get out!!" Fred screamed, pointing toward the door, his face going dark red.
"I'll gladly leave, I'm sick of all your selfish shit, Fred," she said, pushing him aside as she went for the suitcase and pulled the lid down and locked it shut. She lifted it off the bed from the handle and had it at her side when she looked up at Fred again. "Oh, and I'll be picking up the kids from their friends homes," she told him, "There's no way in hell you'll have shared custody of them if you have *anything* to do with that bastard! Do you understand me?" He didn't reply, and on that, she turned and walked out of the room, leaving him staring after her.
* * *
Bosco was using the crutches as he made his way to the kitchen in the dark when there was a knock on his door. He cursed aloud, wishing whoever it was wasn't bothering him at close on one in the morning. Sighing, the crutches supporting his weight, he hobbled over to the door and unsnapped the locks before awkwardly pulling it open as he simultaneously tried to move backward, but the door hit the left crutch before he had time to move it and he went spiralling backwards, landing flat on his back. "Great!" he hollered, growling deep in his chest as he lifted his head, surprise flooding over him as he saw Faith standing there, suitcase in her right hand. "What the...?"
"Sorry," she quickly told him, her voice a loud whisper as she stepped into the room and set her suitcase to his right against the wall and then proceeded to help him up. She grabbed him by both hands and pulled him to his one good foot, her arm instantly slipped around his waist while he put his own arm around her shoulder for support. "Ready to turn?" she asked, he grunted out a 'sure', and very quickly she'd helped him over to the sofa. Once Bosco was seated, she went back over to the door, gathered his crutches, then locked the door behind her as she made her way back over to the sofa. "I'm really sorry...about that..." she apologized, nervously sitting at his left on the sofa. "You okay?"
"My ass hurts," he moaned, shifting his weight as he turned around on the sofa to better face her. "So..."
Faith looked down at her hands for a moment, remaining silent until she shrugged slightly. "Fred, and I...we, had a huge argument..." she let out a sigh as she continued. "He gave me an ultimatum, so I...I left..." she whispered after a moment, slowly lifting her head to meet his gaze.
"What? Why? I thought things were good between you?"
She laughed, "On the outside, sometimes it looked like it...but in truth...after I failed the sergeant's exam, everything changed between us. He started to shut me out, Bosco, we never...never talked like we used to. I've been so blind, thinking that things were fine, that we'd moved beyond all our problems...but we didn't move forward, we just got new ones...I didn't even realize we had a problem until..." she let out a sigh, looking away, thinking about the conversation she'd had with Bosco earlier that afternoon. "I guess...I've always...suspected...I just..." her eyes fell on his again.
Bosco swallowed hard, "You guys can work through it, you always do."
Faith shook her head, looking away again "That's the thing though...we never have. I forgave, he forgave but nothing's ever dealt with. It's still there. And I can't...I can't go back to that. Fred and I have...we've been on rocky ground for years now, and the truth is, I can't see myself living that lie any more."
There was a silent exchanged and Bosco let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "So, you're just going to throw away fourteen years of your life? For what?"
Another silence, and she lifted her head to look back at him. "For me, for my kids...for you..."
"What?" He shook his head, confused. "Faith, you can't throw away the better part of your life...I'm...not worth losing that over. No friendship is," he replied, his voice lowered, but his tone was serious.
Faith looked away again as tears sprung to her eyes, she swallowed hard, trying to think. "He's not worth losing you over," she said back, her voice a mere whisper. She turned back to him, "You're worth more than a failing marriage that's only bound to get worse."
"You can't say that. What about...a marriage counsellor, they can help you work through everything..."
She stared at him, "If I *choose* my stuffed up marriage, I lose you, Bosco! I don't want to lose you," she whispered, the tears rolling down her cheeks.
He looked away, shaking his head. "You guys'll work through this, and...if you have to cut your losses, cut me..."
Hurting, Faith's chest rose as she tried to will herself not to cry any more than she had been. "What are you trying to say? That my friendship...isn't worth it?"
"I'm saying you shouldn't have chosen me...I'm nothing in your life."
"You're everything in my life!" she shouted, a rage of sobs coming over her, but she supressed each one of them, however painful it was.
He stared back at her, "But you *love* him! That's what you're supposed to be thinking about! Not our friendship!"
"So it's screw our friendship, huh? It doesn't count for anything to you? All the things we've seen, what we've been through, *together*!?"
He swallowed hard. "He's your husband," he told her firmly, his own emotions straining to reach the surface. "You're meant to be with the man you love, not take pity on me, okay? I don't *need* you in my life, I never have, *never will*. So just...go back to your damn husband, Yokas. Go back to your kids."
"Bosco..." Faith pleaded, but he turned away from her, blocking her out. She didn't plead with him any more, didn't ask for him to see what she was doing was the right thing, because in truth, now she wondered if she had. Was throwing away a fourteen year relationship with a man over a 'friend' worth it? She swallowed hard, rising to her feet, and without a word, she walked over to the door to his apartment, picked up her bag, and walked out, closing the door behind her as she left. Her back to the door, the tears streamed down her face.
Back in his apartment, Bosco sat staring down at his hands, What have I done!?
Author: Demelza H. Watt
Email: confounded@tw-gateway.net
Disclaimer: Third Watch belongs to NBC, WB, and its other owners, no infringments of these copyrights are intended and are used here without permission.
Warnings: Sexual references and some use of bad language
Rating: R
Author's Notes: This is the first of two stories. This first story skips through scenes a bit, the purpose of which is to build up angst, character, storyline and well, the blank spaces that lead to the ending of this first story. The second story works much the same, but is dealt with more in depth of the characters, what's happening in their lives, and so forth.
3.17pm
Bosco sat in the driver's side of the squad, while he looked over at Faith who looked about ready to let loose a string of obscenities at the moron a few blocks back when they were waiting at the intersection for the idiot to get out of their and seven other drivers way. Now the squad was parked in their sector, and all he could think about was how Christopher had decided to take it easy on them and basically gave them an early Christmas present by giving them one of the most boring sectors known to every cop of the Five-Five. He was smiling, when he felt a dull unphysical pain creep over his entire body, it seemed so continuous, always there, never leaving him alone. Even well after it faded. Sometimes it lasted for hours, it just wouldn't leave. He could have been trapped in his own thoughts, thinking about the pain, when he heard Faith let out a long sigh. He was quick to roll his eyes. Five, four, three, two,...
"I'm thinking about having a tv set attached to the ceiling above the bed," she told him, anger and frustration in her voice.
Right on time. He looked back at her with eyes that told her he could really give a damn. "Why? So you can fall asleep watching George Clooney reruns of ER?" he asked, his sarcasm evident.
She stared back at him with disgust, "No. Because my sex life is so boring, I..."
"Argh! No!" Bosco exclaimed, covering his ears. "I don't want to hear about your sex life!"
Faith huffed, "Sex life? If you want to call it that..." she paused, then angrily glared at her partner. He quickly lowered his hands from his ears, grumbling with a sigh as he crossed his arms across his chest. "Fred'd be just as excited if he was doing a single handed job. Hell, he probably wouldn't notice the difference."
"Mental imagery, Faith! Bad!"
She stared at him again, "How the hell do you think I feel!? I don't know which is worse, having to fake it, or having no sex because he can't get it up."
Bosco sat there, shaking his head. "These are the kind of things one doesn't need to know, so can we just change the subject?"
"Oh, that's right, because we can talk about *your* sex life with every sordid detail, but stuff mine, right?"
"Yours is about men stuff!" he said, cringing.
She sighed with reservation. "Mine is about having to fake an orgasm for the last five months because Fred's lost his damn mojo." She rolled her eyes, angered even thinking about it.
"So do something about it. *Other* than talking to me, okay?"
Faith looked at him again, this time seriously pissed. "You're a man! Can't you give me some kind of advice to make Fred..."
"No. No. No. And in case you didn't get that, N-O! No!!" he shouted back, his voice deadly serious. He watched her for a moment, could hear her muttering something about men and their inadequacies, wanting to please themselves but stuff what women want. "You finished?" he asked after a moment.
She frowned, "I used to get one almost every time, now it's like he wants to do his thing and get it over and done with as fast as he can."
Bosco shrugged, "It *is* baseball season."
Faith shot him a glare before smacking him in the arm. He quickly rubbed his arm, staring back at her, surprised and shocked that she'd just hit him. "It's like he just doesn't care that we're..." she didn't finish.
"Maybe he's getting a little on the side. Or...maybe he's getting it off on his own, so by the time you get home and the two of you do your little thing, he's spent."
"Spent?" she looked away, shaking her head. "If that rat bastard was having an affair, I'd know about it."
"Did you just call your husband a...rat, bastard?" Bosco asked back, Faith just glared at him. "And how exactly would you know if your husband was having an affair, hmm?"
Just then, a call came over dispatch, requesting them to take a call at a local supermarket where a bunch of teens were loitering against the owners wishes. Faith reached for her radio and radioed them back, "10-4 Central, D-D's on West 103rd."
Bosco started the engine and pulling into a u-turn as they headed to the supermarket.
* * *
They arrived on scene within five minutes, and Faith was the first out of the car, quickly followed by Bosco. "You know, you never answered my question!" he hollered, though they were a mere few feet away from each other. She stopped in her steps, turning to face him. "How would you know if he was having an affair?" he repeated.
"We're on a job, Boz."
"And you didn't answer my question, Faith," he sarcastically replied. She approached him by one step, and he withdrew by two. "But hey, we're on a job! It can keep."
Faith turned back around, rolling her eyes as she shook her head. Her gaze soon fell on five teens standing a few metres to the left of the main supermarket entrance. She frowned, wondering why the owner thought it prudent that they be removed. "All they're doing is singing," she told Bosco as he stopped at her side.
Three girls were singing the main chorus, while the two boys there with them were strumming on their guitars. "How do I deal with us, how do I know what's real, when I don't even trust myself and what it is I feel...how do I deal...yeah..."
Faith smiled, hearing the beautiful way the girls sung, and how well the boys played. She walked toward them, followed by Bosco, and stopped when she was standing a mere few feet away. "Hey..." she smiled at them as the girls looked in her direction. They instantly stopped and the guys with them set their guitars down at their side, nervously looking in her and Bosco's direction. "That was...beautiful..."
"Thanks," the taller of the three girls smiled back, her dark auburn hair blowing about her face in the cool winds.
Faith smiled. "The manager said you were loitering," she said, her voice calm. "You do realize it's illegal, don't you?"
"We weren't loitering," the older of the two boys said, "That old coot came out here told us to leave, started smacking Lyida and Jody 'round with a plastic pipe."
"What?" Both officers exclaimed, exchanging looks. "Why did he do that?" Faith asked.
"Said we were loitering," Jody spoke up, the shorter of the group, her hair was rich black with a selection of strands dyed red. She looked to be half asian, so did Lydia and one of the boys. "We're waiting for our adoptive parents," she explained, saddened.
Faith looked at Bosco again, "Your parents are inside?" she asked, being sure she heard wrong as she turned back to them. All five children nodded. "Okay," she nodded, before pulling Bosco aside so they were out of ear range of the teens. "Damnit, didn't we tell Christopher two weeks back this moron was a racist, that that's why he attacked those two kids who were waiting out here for their friends?"
"Come on, you don't seriously believe these kids, do you?" He asked back, and she scowled at him. "Okay, you do. Listen, I'll go talk to the manager, you keep an eye on the kids, okay?"
"I just hope their parents press charges," Faith told him as he walked off. She let out a sigh, then walked back over to the teens. "How's your arm?" she asked Jody, who shrugged. She glanced over in Lydia's direction and noticed the red marking on her neck. "Did he do that to your neck too, hon?" The girl looked between her foster siblings, but she didn't answer her questions, just stood beside the other boy, who Faith assumed was her brother. Damn that son of a bitch...
* * *
The large glass doors of the supermarket slid open and Bosco walked in, and, knowing exactly where he needed to go, he headed for the large 'information' desk to the left of the large building. He quickly spotted the balding man, Davie Prebble, and marched over to him. The man turned to him, appearing pleased to see the officer. "Mr Prebble?" Bosco asked.
"I'm glad you're here, those hoodlums won't leave," Mr Prebble told him, scowling. "Where's that bitch partner of yours?"
"Excuse me?" Bosco asked, doing a double take. "Oh no you didn't."
The man sighed, "Is she out there? With them?" Bosco just stared at him. "Oh great, now she'll soft talk them, and they'll make false claims like those last two little shits," he grumbled.
"Are you accusing my partner of making those kids make false testaments?" he asked.
The man nodded, "Ya-huh! She does it every damn time!"
Bosco stalked towards him, "Let me tell you something, Mr Prebble," he began, pausing as he grabbed him by the front of his shirt and jerked him toward him, "My partner didn't ask or tell those kids to lie. In fact, I was out there just now and heard how you assaulted two of the girls!"
"What!?! That's preposterous!"
"Is it?" he asked the man darkly, "You calling two helpless girls liars? Two little girls who still have the welt marks on their skin from the plastic tubing you beat them with!?"
"I never hit them!" Mr Prebble squealed as he tried to get free from Bosco's grip.
"That's bullshit!" Bosco shouted back at him, shoving him toward the ground where he landed in a slump on his ass. "You're a racist pig who beats little girls and your sorry, white, fat ass is under arrest! Now, lie face down!" he ordered as he crouched over the man and forcibly turned him over, proceeding to slap the handcuffs on his wrists.
Outside, Faith was talking to the teens when she heard her partner's voice. "Stop trying to run, jag off!" She looked in the direction of the doors and saw Bosco walking out with Mr Prebble handcuffed in his hands, followed behind him were a couple in their forties, each pushing a large trolley of goods.
"Mom!" Lydia screamed, running to the woman, and Faith knew in that moment they were the teens' parents. "Can we go home, please?"
"What's going on?" The woman asked, looking in Bosco and Mr Prebble's direction, her arms around her daughter.
"This man assaulted your kids," Bosco informed her and her husband, the husband of which looked about ready to burst he was so enraged from what he just heard.
"You son of a..." the husband began, when his wife placed her hand on his arm to stop him. "You're not going to get away with what you've done, I'll make damn sure of that, you sick son of a bitch!"
"Get him in the squad," Faith told Bosco with a nod toward the squad car. He grabbed the guy by the back of his collar, then shoved him in direction of the vehicle. She let out a breath, watching as the parents walked over to the teens, who, in turn, each took two bags from the trolley. "We'll need you to come down and make a statement," she spoke softly to Lydia and Jody both, who were hugging their mom now. Both girls nodded, while their mom ran her hand through both their hair. She swallowed hard, wondering if she would have reacted so calmly if any man had of ever attacked her two children.
"We have to take Lydia to the hospital," the woman began, getting Faith's attention.
She nodded, "My partner and I have to process Mr Prebble, but...we can send another squad down to get the statements from your children."
The woman looked at her, "It can all be done there, instead of at the station?"
"For now. If we need anything else, either my partner and I will contact you, or the detective's who'll take the case will," she explained, both the woman and her husband nodding before giving her their thanks.
* * *
Back at the precinct later, Faith had just finished filling out the incident report when a rustling noise to her right caught her attention and she saw Bosco standing there, bag of corn chips in his hands. "Want some?" he asked, his mouth full.
She shook her head, "No, I'm good thanks," she said, forcing a half smile. She turned back to her report and let out a sigh. "He's going to walk. That son of a bitch."
"We did the best we could."
"Did we!?" she demanded, turning to look at him again. "He attacked those kids, Boz, and his lawyer got him a damn good plea bargain, and now he's gonna walk."
Bosco let out a breath as he pushed himself away from the door pane with his foot. He walked over and took a seat on the edge of the desk, looking down at her. "We did everything by the book, like we're meant to. If his lawyer gets him a plea bargain...he'll still do time for what he did."
"I somehow don't think one hundred or less hours of community service is much of a 'time' after what he did to those girls, and the two kids the other week," she told him with a final sigh as she pushed her chair backwards and rose to her feet. She was about to step away when Bosco put his hand out and touched her stomach, stopping her. She stared down at the papers in her hand.
"We arrested him, and filled out a report, now it's up to the courts to decide what happens, okay?" he asked, but she didn't reply. His hand lingered on her stomach as he got off the desk and stood to her left, his eyes focused on her. "Hey, Faith...we did what we could."
She swallowed, then turned her head to look at him. Tears had formed in the corner of her eyes, but she willed herself not to let them fall. "There has to be something more we can do."
"Even if there were, which there isn't, what would it accomplish? The guy would file a harassment lawsuit against us and our asses would be in court, and not his. Do you really want that?"
"No, I want those two girls to feel safe and not prey to sick predators like Prebble," Faith said back, shaking her head as she shrugged. "I know we're not going to get that, but what if he does it again?"
"He..."
"Won't? How do you know, Bosco? How do you know the minute he walks out of that courtroom he's not going to go out and attack other teens that're waiting for family or friends outside his supermarket?"
Bosco stared at her, "I don't know that. I'm just saying we have to hope he doesn't," he replied, but she shook her head, not accepting that. "Faith..."
"No...don't," she told him back, not even looking at him as she pushed his hand away and headed down the corridor, leaving Bosco standing there, staring after her.
* * *
6.40pm
Faith stood at the side of the squad while Bosco hovered over the rubbish bin a few feet away. She cringed as he threw up again and wondered why of all days to choose to throw up on, he chose a Friday night. More specifically, a Friday night that was as beautiful as the night had so far shown herself to be. She frowned as she watched him wipe his mouth with the back of his hand and walk back over to her. "You know, you really don't look so good," she told him, her brow creasing deeply.
"Yeah, no shit," he said back, shaking his head as he sat up against the squad to her left. She stared at him, saying nothing. "I'm fine, really, Faith."
She shook her head, then, without thought, she reached out and placed her hand against his forehead. "You're running a temperature."
He grinned, "It's your touch baby, it drives me wild!" he laughed, but the look on her face was stayed and serious. "I'm fine, really, Faith," he told her back, a smile on his face as he pushed her hand away. "I'm. Fine."
"You're burning up with a fever, and you keep throwing up."
"Once!" Bosco exclaimed, "That was once, Faith. Only once."
She stayed staring at him, "You're going to tell me all this isn't linked to the other night's you've been throwing up for the last three weeks?"
"Like I told you, I'm, fine. Quit worrying about me, I'm not one of your kids Faith, I'm a big boy and I can look after myself."
Faith sat down beside him. "Yeah, well until you start telling me what's going on, I'm going to continue treating you like you're one of my kids."
He let out a breath, shaking his head as he stared at the building across the street from them. "There's nothing wrong with me."
There was a momentary silence. "Look me straight in the face and tell me that," she told him, he just smiled and shook his head. "Bosco," she warned.
He looked at her, "There's nothing wrong with me," he repeated, only his eyes shifted on the 'nothing' and she gave him a warning look. "Come on, Faith, let's just drop it, okay?"
"No, I won't drop it. Don't you remember when I was sick?" she asked him, but he turned his head away. "I thought, we agreed we wouldn't...that things were going back to normal, that we can talk?"
"Yeah, we can," Bosco replied, still staring at the building across the street. "But not if there's nothing to talk about. Which, there isn't."
"Look at me." He wouldn't. "Bosco, just look at me for one moment, please?" she asked again, this time pleading. He slowly turned his head to face her, and she could see the way he forced his smile, knew that on the inside he was straining to hide it. "What is it?" she softly asked, he swallowed hard, still not answering. "You have to tell me, please."
He faced away from her again, this time closing his eyes before he let out a breath. "My dad," he said, his voice scratching, nothing more than a faint whisper.
Faith's brow creased, "What...what about him?" she asked, wishing he'd turn back to her, tell her everything. But after the months of tension between them, how could she ever expect him to open up to her like this. Things weren't the way they used to be. Friends. Best friends. "Bosco?"
"He...came to see me...three weeks back..." Bosco whispered again, pausing when a car with a loud muffler when past. He slowly turned to face her, thinking he'd find the same tension between them in her eyes, when he saw the friend he always new, deep inside, that he would always have. "He...told me why he beat Ma...all those years...and me, and Mikey..."
"Boz, I..."
"He's not my dad, Faith," he said, letting out a strong breath of air. "Mikey's? Yeah. But...he's not, mine."
Faith looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean, he's not your father?"
Bosco swallowed hard. "He came to me...cos he needed a kidney...turns out he's real sick or something...so, I go, and I have all their stupid tests done..." he didn't finish, just shook his head.
"Just because the tests came back abnormal compared to his..."
"You don't get it. Everything was abnormal. Every single...I don't know who my father is," he said, shrugging. "And he knew I wasn't his. He knew all this...all this damn time!"
"Bosco..." Faith pleaded with him, but he shrugged away from her and walked around the front of the squad, then walked back so he was standing in front of her. "Then, why ask you to be his kidney donor?"
Bosco laughed, "Turns out, he knew I wouldn't be a match, just wanted to...stuff my life up even more than he has! That...son of a bitch!" he shouted, kicking the car tyre in his rage, but he crippled over, his right hand clutching onto the bonnet as he reeled in the pain. "Shit!"
"Bosco, Bosco, Bosco..." she tried to console him as she turned him by the scruff of his shirt away from the squad so they were standing face to face, though he was limping, his face near bright red from the pain. "You okay?" she asked, but he just stared at her with that 'what the hell do you think!?' look she knew only too well. "You want to go to Mercy?"
"If it lets me smash that bastard's face in..."
"Bosco..." Faith began, "Just, sit." She helped him sit on the car again, where he was before. Her hands lingered on his chest as she looked down at him, waiting. "You calm now?"
He let out an angered sigh. "I want to kill him," he darkly uttered, looking back up at her as he took in a breath and slowly let it back out. She was looking at him with an arched eyebrow, still waiting. He rolled his eyes, "I'm calm! Alright?"
Knowing this was the best she was going to get, Faith sighed with a nod. She stepped back as Bosco pushed himself away from the car, immediately wincing herself when he crippled over again, this time screaming out, "Son of a fucking bitch!"
"That's it. I'm taking you to Mercy," she said as she instinctively wrapped her arm around his waist and helped him into the front passenger seat of the squad. After he was comfortably seated, she closed the door and made her way round to the driver's side and climbed in. Once seated herself, she pulled the door closed and looked over at Bosco. He had his head leaning back against the grill, his eyes closed. "You probably broke a toe," she assessed for herself, but when he glared at her, she looked away. "But hey, kicking a tyre would do that to you."
* * *
Faith stood at the back of the room nearest the main door, while Doctor Collins, a bone specialist, fully explained the three fractures in her partner's big and second toe, and the bone he somehow managed to fracture in his ankle. "It's, unusually common after someone kick's a hard object at full force," he told Bosco, tapping onto the manila folder that contained the excess of Bosco's hospital records.
Bosco sighed where he sat on the bed, his left leg folder under his right leg, which was stretched out, his ankle and foot sitting on a large, and unbelievably hard, pillow. "So, what the hell does this mean then?" he asked, sighing again as he looked over at Faith, who wore a seemingly smug grin on her face.
"Well," Doctor Collins began, "For one thing, you won't be working for the next six weeks, and even then, we'll be needing to set you up for some physio therapy before you're able to resume all normal activities on that ankle, because of where the fracture is situated."
"Great," Bosco grumbled. "So when can I leave?"
The doctor smiled, "Right after we have one of the nurses come and cast it for you," he said, then, without another word, he walked out of the room, leaving Bosco and Faith alone in the room.
Faith let out a breath and walked towards Bosco, his belt strung up over her shoulder. She could tell just by the way he was glaring at his foot he wasn't happy. "Put it this way, Boz, it can't get any worse than this," she said, grinning widely.
He looked up at her, his own grin now stretching across his face. "Oh yeah, it can."
"Such a neg..." but before the words left her mouth, he reached out and grabbed her by the front of her shirt and pulled her toward him. She screamed at first, then started laughing hysterically when he tried to tickle her. "Bosco! Don't!" she screamed, finally pulling free of his grip and taking three large steps backward. Puffing, trying to catch her breath, she shook her head at him. "Asshole."
"Bitch," he shot back, grinning.
Faith rolled her eyes, still chuckling. She let out another breath, this time a longer one. "So, are you...okay?"
He shrugged, "Broken ankle and toes aside? I'm good."
"You're sure?"
"Positive."
She nodded, but didn't know if she believed him. She walked over and handed him his belt and radio, "I need to use the little ladies room," she said, getting a nod in response from Bosco, before she headed out of the room. As the door closed behind her, she let out a breath, looking over her shoulder with reluctance in leaving him alone, to see him removing his wallet from the back pocket of his pants. She held her breath as he pulled out the photo from inside it, the one of him, his brother, mom and dad together. Hating what she was about to do, she turned around and headed down the corridor, straight for the reception desk. There, she waited until Proctor had finished on the phone before talking. "I was, kind of hoping you could help me find a patient," she began, knowing by privacy laws the hospital was bound to secrecy.
Proctor looked around her, before turning back to Faith. "Sure hon, who're you looking for?"
Faith swallowed hard, "A patient by the name of Boscorelli. I don't know if he's in here, but...if he is..."
"Hon, you just came from down there, unless this is some kind of joke..."
"No joke," Faith said, her voice serious. "James Boscorelli."
"James?" The nurse questioned, but, not getting any answer other than a nod, she turned back to her computer and typed in the name. "I don't think..." but the computer beeped and her brow immediately creased. "Floor five, in ward 11..." but before she had a chance to finish, Faith was already walking off, leaving the woman standing there, even more confused.
* * *
Faith made her way up to the fifth level, she wasn't sure why she was going there, or even if she should. All she knew was that her best friend had been made violently ill by what his father had done to him, all those years as a child, and three weeks ago. She wondered how anyone could do such a thing to their own flesh and blood, but then she remembered, James Boscorelli wasn't Bosco's father. He was some stranger, a man who pretended to be something for so many years that he wasn't. She shook her head, her mind flooding with angered thoughts as she found the last room on the right with a white sticker that read, 'James Angus Boscorelli'.
Taking in a breath and holding it, Faith walked over to the far bed on the left. The curtain was almost completely drawn, and she didn't care why it was, she pushed the curtain aside and stopped almost dead in her feet when she saw James Boscorelli sitting on the bed, shocked frown on his face, while at his left was the one person in the world she'd never ever expected to see sitting there. Her husband Fred.
Anger boiling up through every pore, Faith glared at both men, more specifically her husband. "What the hell are you doing here!?" she demanded, but he offered no excuse or reason as he stared back at her just as shocked. She turned her attention to Bosco's dad. "You!" she exclaimed, shaking her head with more anger than she thought she had inside her, stronger than the hatred she already had for the man.
"Get out!" James Boscorelli hissed.
"Someone better the hell explain to me what's going on, and right damn now!" she threatened them both, looking between both men.
"You're right," James said, looking at Fred, "Menstruating."
"Excuse me!?!" Faith exclaimed again, her mind pulling blanks as she tried to reason with herself the possible reasons why her husband, of all men, was visiting with James Boscorelli. She half near slapped Fred across the face as he walked towards her and ushered her out of the room and back out into the corridor. "Just what exactly is going on in there!?" she demanded again, keeping her voice as low as she could, despite the rage she felt inside. He didn't answer. "Fred!"
"Nothing, he's an old friend," he defended.
"Old friend my ass!"
"Faith, come on, it's...we all have our friends in this crazy world. What, you think just because someone does something a little bad they can't have friends?"
She took a step toward him, "That's Bosco's father, Fred!" she hissed, pointing at him. "And what the hell are you doing hanging out with him!?"
Fred shrugged, and it was at that moment she noticed he was wearing a white robe.
"What the hell is really going on, Fred?" she asked again, this time her voice much calmer. "And why are you dressed in a hospital robe?"
"Oh this?" he began, pointing to the robe neatly tied with the matching waist tie.
"You're stalling," Faith warned, and he glared at her. "Unless if you want me to go in there and ask *him*, I'd give me a straight answer right this damn minute!"
"Alright, alright!" Fred exclaimed, taking her even more aside, out of the way of the doctors, nurses, patients and family members that were busy walking past. "I'll tell you, it's...a lot, though..."
"All I want is a damn answer, now either you give me one..."
"Damnit Faith, get the firecracker out of your ass and shut up for one god-damned minute would you!?" he snapped at her, shaking his head. "I'll tell you if you just shut your mouth..."
* * *
Although her attention needed to be on the road, Faith's mind was elsewhere. She was thinking about her conversation with Fred, and James Boscorelli after that. She didn't know if she should tell Bosco, firstly that Fred knew the man he'd called 'dad' all his life, or if she should have told him what his 'dad' had said to her upon confronting him with everything he'd put her best friend through.
"...but thirty minutes!?"
Faith blinked, confused, then turned her head in Bosco's direction. "What?"
"You, taking half an hour to use the little ladies room," Bosco said, raising his eyebrows in wait for a response.
"Oh, yeah, I had to do a couple things," she replied, swallowing.
"Yeah, I figured as much. Meanwhile I got stuck with the nurse from hell who, I swear to God was taking pleasure in causing me so much pain! Wouldn't even give me gas."
"Yeah," she murmured in response, her attention falling back to the road ahead.
Bosco looked at her, and even though she wasn't looking in his direction, he could tell she was deep in thought by the way her eyebrows furrowed. "You're not listening are you?"
"Sounds fun," she murmured with a slight shrug.
Damn, this is *never* a good sign. "Yo, Yokas!" he half near shouted, this time getting her full attention. "What's wrong with you? You've hardly said boo since you got back from the loo..." he said, chuckling, "Heh, I rhymed."
"Nothing's wrong," Faith replied, ignoring his 'rhyming' statement. But she could tell from the look in his eyes he didn't believe her. "I...saw, Fred..."
"I'd have thought that would be a good thing, considering he's your husband and all?" he asked back, his sarcasm evident.
"...with your dad," she finished.
Bosco quickly looked away, staring out the windscreen. "He's not my dad," he replied in that, 'I told you earlier, remember?' tone.
"Either way, Fred was there," she said back.
"You find out why?"
A pause of silence and Faith cleared her throat. "Best answer I got...Fred was being tested to see if he was a donor match."
Silence again.
"Was he?"
"No."
There was another silence, this time much longer, when Bosco finally spoke again. "Great," he exhaled with anger.
"I'm sorry, Boz," Faith spoke softly, looking at him again.
"It's not your fault," he said back, letting out another low breath, this time a sigh.
"No. I still feel bad though."
"Don't. It's...nothing worth worrying about anyway," he said with no care in his voice as he continued to gaze out the side window.
Faith sat there, looking at him, concern for her best friend in her mind. She turned her attention back to the road, easing down on the brakes as they came up to a red light. This is all my fault, I shouldn't have gone up there to see him. Damnit Yokas, you can never leave things be!
* * *
After slipping the taxi driver a twenty dollar bill, Faith had stood at the curb of the front entrance of the precinct and watched her partner being taken home to his apartment. There had been a sole request from him that she bring his car round to his place the following morning and she accepted, promising she would. That was the only thing they'd said in the ride back to the precinct, she knew what she'd told him had hurt him really badly, she had stood there, wishing she'd kept her trap shut. The rest of her shift she couldn't stop thinking about him, wondering if he was okay. She had tried seven times to muster up enough courage to ring him and check in, but a smile had stretched across her face, knowing he'd think she was trying to mother him. In truth, she did mother him, but he was her best friend and he didn't have all that many friends, so she did what she thought he needed in his life. A little best friend, a little counsellor, a little mother, a little of everything pretty much. It wasn't that she went out of her way to treat him like that, it was just something that developed over their time in the Academy together, and it stuck with her ever since. It was her nature to mother everyone and everything in her path.
Sighing, the events of the night faded somewhat from her mind and she realized she was now standing in the living room of her and Fred's apartment, watching her husband sitting on the sofa in his work uniform as he watched some stupid show on television. She let out a low breath, having forgotten she'd already removed her jacket, bag and shoes when she'd came inside a short while ago.
Taking a few steps into the living room, Faith's eyes fell on the tv set, saw the baseball coverage that was airing, then she turned back to Fred. "Sorry I'm late," she began, getting his attention. "I had to work an hour overtime," she continued, thoughts of her children rushing to her mind when she realized they both were over at a friend's house each until Sunday evening.
He looked back at her, "Why, something happen?"
She shrugged, "Bosco broke a couple bones in his foot."
He turned his head back to the tv set, then, after a moment, he lifted the remote and switched it off. Faith half expected some smart ass response to what happened, when he rose to his feet and stepped over to her. "He's dangerous, Faith."
"What!?" she exclaimed, shaking her head as she did a double take of what in hell he'd just said. "Where the hell is this coming from?"
"You don't know enough about this guy's past to honestly say you can trust him. "
"Fred, I've known Bosco for nine years, I know him better than anyone else," she replied, but he shook his head at her. "He's not dangerous! I trust him with my life!" she said, her voice strong.
"Right, and that's why you told him about your cancer, right?"
"I told him."
"Yeah, when you were on your final treatment. Hell, Faith, he almost got you fired when that stuffed up rape came about, all because he's too hot in the head to think before acting!"
Faith took a step toward him, "Hey, I had as much to do with that rape case as he did. I'm the one that told the girl to stay in the car for goodness sake!" she exclaimed. She then quickly shook her head, taking a few steps backward. "I don't want to fight with you, Fred."
"I want you to get a new partner," Fred stated, his voice firm, commanding. She just shook her head at him. "Either you get a new partner, or I want you gone."
She felt like a breath caught in her chest, "What??"
"Either you quit all ties with that little son of a bitch and the crap he's putting our family, and his, through, or you walk out that door and never come back."
Faith shook her head, "You're being pathetic, and you need to grow up, Fred," she told him, when he walked past her, headed down the hallway to their room. Rolling her eyes, she followed behind him, almost stopping frozen in her steps when she saw an open suitcase on the bed, already packed, with all of her belongings in it. "Fred!!"
He crossed his arms across his chest, looking at the suitcase for a moment, before turning back to her. "I knew you'd choose him so I packed some of your stuff, you can come back in the morning when I'm gone to get the rest of it when I'm at work."
"Fred, be reasonable!"
He took a step toward her, lowering his arms. "Reasonable is me no longer wasting my breathing now I know what a sad and pathetic loser that partner of yours truly is!" he shouted, closing the gap between them so there was only a foot length distance between them. "How he used to deliberately break everything that belonged to a man who was there for him, every waking moment of the day, giving him all the love he could, just so he could piss him off!"
Without thinking, Faith slapped him hard across the face. "You don't know a thing about Bosco, or the hell that bastard put him and his brother and mom through all those years growing up!"
"Get out!!" Fred screamed, pointing toward the door, his face going dark red.
"I'll gladly leave, I'm sick of all your selfish shit, Fred," she said, pushing him aside as she went for the suitcase and pulled the lid down and locked it shut. She lifted it off the bed from the handle and had it at her side when she looked up at Fred again. "Oh, and I'll be picking up the kids from their friends homes," she told him, "There's no way in hell you'll have shared custody of them if you have *anything* to do with that bastard! Do you understand me?" He didn't reply, and on that, she turned and walked out of the room, leaving him staring after her.
* * *
Bosco was using the crutches as he made his way to the kitchen in the dark when there was a knock on his door. He cursed aloud, wishing whoever it was wasn't bothering him at close on one in the morning. Sighing, the crutches supporting his weight, he hobbled over to the door and unsnapped the locks before awkwardly pulling it open as he simultaneously tried to move backward, but the door hit the left crutch before he had time to move it and he went spiralling backwards, landing flat on his back. "Great!" he hollered, growling deep in his chest as he lifted his head, surprise flooding over him as he saw Faith standing there, suitcase in her right hand. "What the...?"
"Sorry," she quickly told him, her voice a loud whisper as she stepped into the room and set her suitcase to his right against the wall and then proceeded to help him up. She grabbed him by both hands and pulled him to his one good foot, her arm instantly slipped around his waist while he put his own arm around her shoulder for support. "Ready to turn?" she asked, he grunted out a 'sure', and very quickly she'd helped him over to the sofa. Once Bosco was seated, she went back over to the door, gathered his crutches, then locked the door behind her as she made her way back over to the sofa. "I'm really sorry...about that..." she apologized, nervously sitting at his left on the sofa. "You okay?"
"My ass hurts," he moaned, shifting his weight as he turned around on the sofa to better face her. "So..."
Faith looked down at her hands for a moment, remaining silent until she shrugged slightly. "Fred, and I...we, had a huge argument..." she let out a sigh as she continued. "He gave me an ultimatum, so I...I left..." she whispered after a moment, slowly lifting her head to meet his gaze.
"What? Why? I thought things were good between you?"
She laughed, "On the outside, sometimes it looked like it...but in truth...after I failed the sergeant's exam, everything changed between us. He started to shut me out, Bosco, we never...never talked like we used to. I've been so blind, thinking that things were fine, that we'd moved beyond all our problems...but we didn't move forward, we just got new ones...I didn't even realize we had a problem until..." she let out a sigh, looking away, thinking about the conversation she'd had with Bosco earlier that afternoon. "I guess...I've always...suspected...I just..." her eyes fell on his again.
Bosco swallowed hard, "You guys can work through it, you always do."
Faith shook her head, looking away again "That's the thing though...we never have. I forgave, he forgave but nothing's ever dealt with. It's still there. And I can't...I can't go back to that. Fred and I have...we've been on rocky ground for years now, and the truth is, I can't see myself living that lie any more."
There was a silent exchanged and Bosco let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "So, you're just going to throw away fourteen years of your life? For what?"
Another silence, and she lifted her head to look back at him. "For me, for my kids...for you..."
"What?" He shook his head, confused. "Faith, you can't throw away the better part of your life...I'm...not worth losing that over. No friendship is," he replied, his voice lowered, but his tone was serious.
Faith looked away again as tears sprung to her eyes, she swallowed hard, trying to think. "He's not worth losing you over," she said back, her voice a mere whisper. She turned back to him, "You're worth more than a failing marriage that's only bound to get worse."
"You can't say that. What about...a marriage counsellor, they can help you work through everything..."
She stared at him, "If I *choose* my stuffed up marriage, I lose you, Bosco! I don't want to lose you," she whispered, the tears rolling down her cheeks.
He looked away, shaking his head. "You guys'll work through this, and...if you have to cut your losses, cut me..."
Hurting, Faith's chest rose as she tried to will herself not to cry any more than she had been. "What are you trying to say? That my friendship...isn't worth it?"
"I'm saying you shouldn't have chosen me...I'm nothing in your life."
"You're everything in my life!" she shouted, a rage of sobs coming over her, but she supressed each one of them, however painful it was.
He stared back at her, "But you *love* him! That's what you're supposed to be thinking about! Not our friendship!"
"So it's screw our friendship, huh? It doesn't count for anything to you? All the things we've seen, what we've been through, *together*!?"
He swallowed hard. "He's your husband," he told her firmly, his own emotions straining to reach the surface. "You're meant to be with the man you love, not take pity on me, okay? I don't *need* you in my life, I never have, *never will*. So just...go back to your damn husband, Yokas. Go back to your kids."
"Bosco..." Faith pleaded, but he turned away from her, blocking her out. She didn't plead with him any more, didn't ask for him to see what she was doing was the right thing, because in truth, now she wondered if she had. Was throwing away a fourteen year relationship with a man over a 'friend' worth it? She swallowed hard, rising to her feet, and without a word, she walked over to the door to his apartment, picked up her bag, and walked out, closing the door behind her as she left. Her back to the door, the tears streamed down her face.
Back in his apartment, Bosco sat staring down at his hands, What have I done!?