TITLE: Just Another Call
AUTHOR: Pedellea
E-MAIL: pedellea@hotmail.com
DATE: March 17, 2000
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Bosco has to learn to put a domestic dispute call gone awry behind him, with Faith's help.
SPOILERS: Patterns
DISCLAIMER: Third Watch belongs to John Wells Production and Warner Brothers. There you are. Short and sweet.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is my first crack at a fan fic. There's a very small reference to Patterns. All comments appreciated! :o)
JUST ANOTHER CALL
By PedelleaIt was just supposed to be another domestic dispute problem. Go in, see what's wrong, get it resolved, and move on. This wasn't supposed to happen...
Maurice Boscorelli cradled his injured arm, looking lost in thought. Sitting in the ambulance, he stared at the form in front of him, lying on the gurney. Kim Zambrano kept close tabs on person on the gurney, scribbling something on the clipboard every so often.
"How's she doin'?," Bobby Caffey called from the driver seat.
"She's stabilized," Kim answered, "just hurry it up."
"How about Bosco?"Kim looked at Bosco. He didn't seem to see her. He looked pretty bad in shape himself. His neck showed signs of strangulation, and his arm had a splint.
"Bosco? Hey, Bosco," she called softly. He looked up.
"You okay?" He nodded.
"How's your arm?"
"Fine."He looked and sounded weary. Kim decided to leave it at that. She knew he didn't really want to talk. Bosco looked at the person, his partner, on the gurney once again. With his good arm, he took hold of Faith Yokas' hand, and closed his eyes.
Half Hour Earlier
Just what he needed. Another boring domestic dispute call. As if two others in the same day wasn't enough.
"You know, Yokas? I need some real action."
"What? A domestic dispute isn't fiery enough for you?"Bosco gave her a look.
"C'mon. Even you have to admit this is boring."
"Well, I'd rather do this than sit at a desk. By the way, how was last week?"
"Hell."Faith laughed.
"Shut up, Yokas."
"Well, you should be happy about being back out on the streets, Boz. And stop complaining so much, gives me headaches."Bosco sighed dramatically.
"Hey, here it is on the left."
Bosco parked the car beside the apartment building, and the two climbed out.
"Four seventeen?"
"Yeah."They strode up to the guard, seemingly waiting for them.
"You here for the fight?"
Faith nooded. "Yeah, the domestic dispute, right?"
"Yeah, whatever... they're pretty loud up there. Yellin', screamin', shoutin'. They're at four seventeen."
"Yeah, thanks."Faith and Bosco rode up the elevator silently. As they stepped out of the elevator, they heard shots being fired. They looked at each other, and Faith radioed for back up. With Bosco leading the way, they half walked and half ran to the source of the shots.
"...fifteen ...sixteen ...seventeen."
Inside, a man's voice yelled something, and a woman crying hysterically. Faith did a silent count to three, and Bosco kicked the door down.
"Police!!!"
What they saw was a heavy-set man holding a gun, leveled at a small woman's head. She had bruises and a gash on her face. The woman screamed as the man spun around, pointing the gun at them.
"Put your weapon down, sir."
"I'm gonna shoot... I'm gonna kill all o' ya...," the man rambled, turning back to the woman, and back again to the two, gun pointed.
"Put your weapon down, sir. You put your weapon down, and nobody gets hurt."The man shot at the wall beside Bosco, and the two officers jumped. The woman screamed again. Bosco lunged at the man, and managed to knock the gun out the man's hand. The gun slid towards Faith, who picked it up. Bosco shoved the man up against the wall, and pulled out his cuffs. He was about to cuff the squirming man when the man grabbed hold of Bosco's wrist and twisted it. There was a loud crack, and Bosco let out a big yelp. The man charged at Bosco, and the two crashed to the ground.
"Bosco!," Faith yelled, and moved to seperate the two.
The man, on top of Bosco, began to strangle him. Bosco gripped the man's left wrist with his good arm, trying to pull the man's hands away, but to no avail. Slowly his world darkened. Suddenly, the hands that were squeezing his breath away came loose, and he gasped for breath. Yokas had pulled the man off of him. Then he heard it. BANG! He turned in time to see his partner take the bullet, and fall to the ground. The man was carrying another gun.
"NNOOOOOOOO!!!!!"
Bosco lunged at the man once again, knocking his gun away. He drew his gun and shot the man in the abdomen. The man fell backwards with a thump and a moan. Seeing that the man won't be getting up anytime soon, Bosco knelt by Faith.
"Yokas? Faith? Faith?!"
Faith groaned, and opened her eyes.
"Bozzz...."
"Shh... don't try to..."She closed her eyes again. Bosco took her hand and looked the wound. It was on the upper part of Faith's leg, her blood spilling onto the floor, non-stop. He gulped. Just then, John Sullivan and Ty Davis Jr. came into the room.
"Oh my god... Davis, call for an ambulance. Bosco, what happened?"
"The guy... he *shot* her... we have to stop the bleeding... stop it..."Sully took off his jacket, and tried to wrap it around the wound. Faith let out a moan. He put the jacket on top of the wound instead, and applied gentle pressure. Faith squeezed her partner's hand tighter and clenched her jaw, trying not to cry out.
"Oh god... Faith, you'll be... you..." Bosco stopped his stammering and held his partner's hand tighter.
"They're on the way, Sully. Is that the suspect?" Davis looked at Bosco for confirmation, but Bosco was focused on Faith. He looked at Sully.
"Yeah... hey Bosco. Bosco! You do this, I'll check on the suspect." Bosco looked at Sully with an uncertain look, reached out his injured arm, and hissed.
"You hurt your arm?" He nodded, the pain evident on his face.
"Davis, you check on the suspect."Davis approached the man, and knelt down. The man moaned softly.
"He's still alive, Sully."
He radioed for another ambulance. Seeing he could do nothing more for the man, he stood up again. Turning around to inspect the room, he saw a woman sitting on the couch, hugging her knees. He went over to her.
"Ma'am?"
The woman looked up at him.
"Ma'am? What happened here?"
"My husband... he had a gun... I dunno where he got it from... he never used a gun before..."Davis could tell the woman was clearly in shock.
"Ma'am, you'll have to come with me to the police station."
"Am... am I being arr... arrested?"
"No ma'am. We have to ask you some questions."She looked down as the paramedics entered the room.
"My god, it's Faith," Kim exclaimed as she knelt down beside the fallen officer.
"I got it, Sully," Bobby said, relieving Sully of his job.
"Bosco, we need some room."Bosco didn't seem to hear. Sully tapped on his shoulder.
"Hey... c'mon."
Bosco looked up, sighed tiredly, and pushed himself off the floor with his good arm. He cradled his injured one. Monte "Doc" Parker and Carlos Nieto entered the room.
"Oh my god, is that...," Carlos began. Sully nodded.
"Hey Carlos," Doc called. Carlos quickly joined him.Bosco leaned against the wall. He watched silently as the paramedics worked on their two patients. Bosco wanted so much just to kill the man, just to shoot him in the head, to beat him to a pulp. He knew Yokas wouldn't want him to do that, and he fought the urge. Bosco looked at his partner's face again, now covered with a mask to help her breathe. He looked to the ground, feeling ashamed and helpless, and slid down to sit.
Sully watched Bosco. His eyes seemed distant, and he looked weary. Sully understood. He also watched his partner fall, dying right before him. And he could do nothing to stop it. He offered a silent prayer to God that it wouldn't happen to Faith. She's young, and she has children. She doesn't deserve die. Not now.
After what seemed like hours, Kim and Bobby stabilized Faith.
"Bosco, can you come help get Faith to the bus?" Bosco didn't reply, nor did he move. He just stared blankly at his partner.
"Something's wrong with his arm," Sully explained, "I'll help ya."
"Bosco, let me take a look at your arm."Kim went to Bosco, and touched his cradled arm. He winced.
"C'mon. Come sit here and let me look."
Kim helped Bosco up, and lead him to sit down on the couch.
"I think it's broken."
Kim examined it. Bosco winced and hissed.
"Yeah, it is. Let me splint it and we'll get a cast on it at the hospital, okay?"
He nodded. Once done, they headed out to catch up with Bobby and Sully.
"C'mon, you can ride with us. Gotta check out your arm and neck," Bobby said to Bosco, getting out of the ambulance.
"The squad..." Bosco looked around for it.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it," Sully assured.Bosco nodded.
"Get in," Kim commanded. He followed Kim up into the bus, and Bobby shut the door. They made their way to the hospital.
Angel of Mercy Hospital
3 Hours LaterBosco sat on a waiting room chair, head against the wall, his eyes closed. His injured arm had been put in a sling. Fred Yokas, Faith's husband, sat across from him, staring at the floor. The two only acknowledged each other when Fred arrived, and didn't say a word to each other since.
Bosco was lost in thought, thinking of the day's events. Faith ended up in the hospital because of a stupid domestic dispute. He wanted to beat the crap out of the suspect, right here and right now, but he already shot the suspect, and he was in surgery. Maybe after he gets out of the hospital… Bosco shook his head. He knew that Faith would not let him get his revenge. It was just not her way. He heaved a sigh.
A doctor came out and broke the silence.
"Mr. Yokas?"
Fred got up wearily. Bosco followed suit.
"How is she?"
"Faith is in serious but stable condition. She lost quite a lot of blood. Her leg wound is quite severe, but it should heal fully."Fred sighed a breath of relief, and nodded. Bosco closed his eyes briefly, also relieved.
"Can I go see her?"
"Yes. I'll have a nurse take you there. Only immediate family, though."
"Okay. Thanks, doctor."The doctor nodded and left. A nurse came and led the way. Fred looked at Bosco.
"You comin'?"
"You go first."Fred nodded, and turn to follow the nurse. Bosco made his way back to the waiting room chairs, and sat down. He closed his eyes once again.
"Hey Bosco."
It was the voice of Kim. He didn't respond.
"How is she?"
After a pause, Kim answered her own question.
"She'll be okay."
Bosco looked at her with weary eyes. He sighed quietly.
"I hope so."
Angel of Mercy Hospital
3 Weeks Later"Mommy, can I have your ice cream?"
"Sweetie, you had it yesterday already. Give it to Emily, okay? You can have my juice."Charlie looked at his sister, and then nodded.
"Okay, fine."
Faith smiled and kissed her son on the forehead. He took the juice off the night table, while Emily reached for the ice cream. She smiled contentedly at her mom, and her mom returned a smile.
Things were just starting to get better. The past three weeks have been rough on her, her family, and Bosco.
Faith had been in and out of consciousness pretty much for the first week after the shooting. During the first few days of the second week, she sat up more and chatted briefly with her visitors, but dozed off for the rest of the time. She started physical therapy at the end of that week. It still killed when she had to move her injured leg, but the pain lessens a little each day. The doctor says that was a good sign.
Fred is exhausted from doing the household chores and taking care of the kids, but Faith is glad her husband is taking the responsibility. He dropped the kids off today with Faith in the hospital as she had promised to watch them for the day while he relaxed a little. She hoped to God he wasn't drinking.
Emily and Charlie miss their mommy very much, so they visit her everyday after school. They tell her all about their school day, new jokes they've learned, draw pictures for her to put up on the walls so her room doesn't look so boring. Though they really want mom back at home, they report that daddy is doing a good job taking care of them. Faith is glad to hear that.
Faith knows Bosco still blames himself for her getting hurt, but neither of them has brought up the topic. He visits her daily during the morning, telling her about work, and looking after her kids if they were there with her, usually during the weekends. He always looked really worn out, and she knew it was from the lack of sleep. It was unlike him to not talk about things that occur at work. He always liked to resolve things and not leave anything unspoken. Faith figured he is still pretty shaken up by the incident, but it was about time they talked about what happened that day.
Bosco arrived just as Fred had come to pick the kids up. Fred decided that he'd look after the kids after all. He was going to take them to the movies to see "Stuart Little", much to the kids delight. Bosco, Fred, Emily and Charlie exchanged greeting, and the three headed out. Bosco settled himself in the bedside chair.
"Hi Faith." Bosco smiled tiredly.
"Hi Bos." She returned the smile.
"So, how are ya?"The same question every day.
"I'm doing better."
The same answer every day.
"How about you? How are you doing?"
Now this was something Faith had never asked Bosco before these past three weeks. He knew that she would bring up the subject sooner or later. He sighed, but spoke truthfully.
"Tired. Arm hurts, but the doc says the cast can come off in a week or so."
"Not getting enough sleep, huh?"He looked down on the floor, and shook his head. There was an awkward silence. Then Bosco spoke up.
"I'm sorry.
"Bosco..."
"I'm sorry I didn't..."
"It's not your fault I got hurt."After a small pause, he responded.
"I know. But it's... hard..."
He stopped, losing his train of thought. His brain was overflowing with feelings and thoughts of that day's events. Faith studied his face, and continued.
"Don't blame yourself for anything, okay? It's not your fault. Look, you were hurt too. There was nothing you could have done to prevent that man from shooting me."
He looked up at her, but said nothing. She took hold of his good hand.
"I know you would have done something if you could. You know it too."
Bosco spoke up again, softly.
"I did do something. I shot the man. I almost *killed* him. I was so scared I'd... you'd..."
"...but I didn't. Look Bos, I would have shot the man too, if you were in my place. You were just doing your job. But don't dwell on it, okay? It doesn't do us any good."
"...I'm sorry."
"No, no. Don't... don't be sorry."Another pause. Bosco sighed.
"But I just can't help but think what would happen if you did... it'd be my fault. At least somewhat my fault."
"Bos, listen to me. It was never your fault, and it would never be your fault. It's the man's fault. Don't blame yourself."Bosco closed his eyes and sighed again. He will just have to accept all that she was saying. He knew what she said was all true, but it's hard not to think otherwise. He will have to accept it. Faith has moved on from the incident, and it's time that he does too. Bosco opened his eyes, and smiled at Faith.
"Thanks."
She nodded, knowing what it was for.
"You're welcome."
THE END
Hope you enjoyed my first fanfic! :o)
Feedback is always apreciated!!! Please send it to pedellea@hotmail.com. Thanks a bunch!
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