Title: Interlude (1/1)

Author: Demelza & X_tremeroswellian

Emails: demelza81@yahoo.co.nz & X_tremeroswellian@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: Still don't belong to us, darn it. They belong to Edward Allen Bernero and John Wells and a bunch of other people that we've never met before. Please don't sue.

Rating: PG-13 for some language

Spoilers: Up through and including "The Unforgiven."

Summary: Bosco experiences a moment of jealousy when he sees Faith with another man.

Author's Note: This is the tenth story in a series of Third Watch fics we're writing titled "Wherever You Will Go." The first one is "Confessions," the second is "Here With Me," the third is "Pain," the fourth is "Tears," the fifth is "Fear," the sixth is "Sadness," the seventh is "Reunion," the eighth is "Warning Signs," and the ninth is "The Ball." You may want to read those first before continuing. All fics can be found at the WYWG site: http://wywg.topcities.com/index.html .

Previously in Wherever You Will Go:

*"Guess who came to see me yesterday?"
Bosco looked over at her, surprised at her sudden change of tone. But surprised in a good way. "Who?"
Faith smiled slightly, a real one this time. "My brother."
"Wow. That's great!" he replied, smile appearing on his own lips. "So, what did he say?"
"They're moving, closer to us. They're gonna send Ryan to St. Elizabeth's with Em and Charlie. He wants to reconcile."

*Emily went to turn around, when her eyes settled on her mom. "You know there weren't any problems til you came home and started yelling at dad again!" she yelled.
Faith's eyes widened, taken aback by the anger in her daughter's tone and eyes. "Emily, I--" "Emily, you know that's no way to talk to your mother," he said, a quirk on the corner of his lips, which he changed immediately as he looked over at his shocked wife.
"No! She can't yell at you!"
Faith closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry, Em...you're right, I shouldn't have yelled." "No, you shouldn't have! But you always do!" she cried.
"Emily, sometimes there are things that your dad and I have to talk about that aren't pleasent and we get a little upset and raise our voices. We don't mean to upset you," she said quietly, taking a step toward her daughter.
Emily stepped back, tears flowing down her face. "I don't care. Just leave him alone! You're always mean to him!" she shouted, going back into her room and slamming the door shut behind her.

*"I just want this to be over with," she finished, not sure if that's what she really wanted to say or not, but feeling like she had to tell him something.
Bosco nodded, swallowing. "So do I," he replied, lowering his voice.
"They're gonna put him away, right?" Faith asked quietly, even though she knew he didn't know for sure anymore than she did.
"Yeah, they will. For a very long time. He'll probably never get out."

Interlude

Faith glanced around the semi-crowded cafe, but didn't see any familiar faces. She took a deep breath and looked down at her coffee cup, stirring its contents with a spoon. She gazed out the window, wondering what was going on at the precinct that day.

The door to the cafe opened and Stanley walked in, taking in a breath as he scanned all of the tables until his eyes settled to two tables down where Faith sat, staring out the window while she stirred her coffee. He swallowed, stepping silently over to the table she sat at. "Sorry I was late, Joan's doctor's appointment ran later than expected."

She looked up at him, immediately plastering a smile on her face. "How's she doing?"

Stanley smiled back. "Great," he said, quietly taking a seat before motioning toward the waiter looking in their direction from behind the counter. He turned his attention back to Faith. "She's great. How about you? How are you?"

Faith opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it, shook her head. "I'm good."

He looked back at her, arching his eyebrows in surprise. "That's good then," he said, nodding.

"Yeah, it's great," she said, forcing enthusiasm into her voice. She heard Bosco's voice echo in her mind, remembered the heartbroken look on his face the night before. //"What now, then? We just, go back in there, and continue on for the rest of...forever..." He swallowed hard, tears forming in his eyes. He sniffed to hold them back, but it didn't work, they just rolled down his face. "Like it never happened?"//

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, concerned.

She looked at him, swallowed hard, then looked down at the table. "Not so much," she admitted quietly, sighing as she ran one hand through her hair.

Stanley nodded. I didn't think so, Faith. "Care to tell me what's going on, then?" he asked, keeping his tone with the same concern as he had spoken with before.

Faith stared down at her coffee cup. "Just seems like everything's going wrong, you know? Like, no matter what I do, everything's just falling apart."

"Yeah, I do know," he replied softly. "Is it with Fred? Work?"

"All of the above," she muttered, shaking her head.

"Tell me about home, then."

She took a sip of coffee. "Not a lot to talk about, really. We're just not getting along so great," she said, shrugging.

Stanley cursed Fred inwardly. "How long's this been going on for? Since I showed up that day?"

"Longer," she confessed. "I work too much."

"You support your family," he stated, mentally flashing back to the days when Faith was the only one out of her and Fred that had a job.

"Yeah, and I'm missing out on everything my kids do."

Stanley looked intently at her. "Maybe you do, but you're still in their lives, aren't you? You still love them, spend every minute you can with them when you're not working."

"The only time I'm at home is after work, when they're already in bed, or before work, when they're at school. I have days off, but...it's not the same thing."

"Maybe it's not, but you try hard, Faith. I know you do."

"Not hard enough," she said softly. "I don't know. Emily's not even speaking to me right now. That's why she didn't want to go to the zoo with us yesterday."

Stanley felt his heart sinking, hearing her words. "Have you ever thought that maybe it's not you, that it's something Fred's doing, or just a growth spurt Emily's going through? I know Ryan's gone through the same thing often enough."

"Maybe. Or maybe she just resents that I'm never there for her when she needs me."

"She doesn't resent you, Faith. Maybe she just misses you, that's all."

"I don't think so, Stanley." She shook her head.

"I don't know, I just think she's going through a phase. Ryan did the exact same thing a few months back. It's a pre-teen thing."

Faith looked at him doubtfully. "Yeah?"

Stanley nodded. "Yeah. Joan's sisters' daughter is going through the exact same thing, and she's about the same age as Emily."

She managed a small smile. "I hope you're right."

Stanley smiled back, and placed his hand over Faith's. "Don't you worry, she will grow out of it."

Bosco stepped into the small cafe and went over to get a table by the window when he caught sight of Faith. She was sitting with a guy he didn't recognize, and the guy was touching her hand. She was smiling at him. Jealousy flooded through him and his eyes narrowed. Who the hell is that? he wondered.

"I really hope so, because I hate it when she won't talk to me," she told her brother. She paused momentarily, a strange feeling coming over her. She turned to look over her shoulder and saw Bosco standing a few feet away, his hands stuffed in his jeans pockets as he stared at her. Her mouth went dry but she couldn't look away.

Bosco swallowed the lump that was slowly rising in his throat and forced a half smile. He walked casually over to the table, his eyes staying locked on Faith's the entire time. "Hi," he said, his voice low.

Faith looked up at him, feeling suddenly nervous. "Hi. What are you doing here?"

"I ah, came to get some coffee," he said back, his gaze shifting over to the guy she was with.

"Faith?" Stanley asked, a little curious.

She nodded, then looked across the table at her brother. "Stanley, this is my partner, Bosco. Boz, this is my brother Stanley."

Stanley extended his hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Bosco." He smiled.

Bosco suddenly felt very stupid. "Likewise." He smiled, shaking his hand. He turned back to Faith. "I thought..." he began, but since Stanley was sitting there, he didn't finish.

She frowned, but didn't ask what he was about to say. She bit her lip, then motioned to the seat beside her. "Want to join us?" she asked, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering more.

Bosco reluctantly nodded. "Sure, I've gotta wait a half hour or so for Ma to show up, she's dropping something off for me."

She nodded, and slid over closer to the window to give him more room on the booth.

Stanley waited as Bosco took a seat beside his sister. He noted the uncomfortable looks on their faces, but didn't say anything.

Faith looked nervously at the table, then to Stanley, offering him a smile. "So..." She searched her mind, trying to find something to say, some neutral topic the three of them could talk about without tension. "It's raining again."

Bosco nodded. He nervously looked at Stanley, then to Faith. "Yeah. Seems to be the season for it this year."

"Yeah, seems like forever since the sun's been out."

"Been too long," he replied.

Stanley looked between them both. Oh please. "So you two on lighter duties since the bank heist?"

Faith immediately tensed at the mention of the word 'bank.' She gripped her coffee cup tightly in her hands.

Bosco swallowed. "Not really."

Faith didn't say anything, she just forced herself to keep her face passive.

"So..." Stanley said, stuck for what to say as he noticed the tension building between his sister and her partner.

She swallowed hard, then glanced sideways at Bosco. "So what are you doing today?"

"Just...nothing really," he replied.

Faith looked away again, wincing at the somewhat distant tone of his voice. "Yeah." She looked out the window, watching the rain.

Stanley hated what was going on, seeing the tension between them. But, he told himself, it's none of my business.

Faith took another sip of her coffee, her hands trembling slightly. A bit of the liquid splashed out onto the table and on her hand. "Damn it," she muttered, quickly setting it down and reaching for a napkin, her hand stinging.

Bosco looked at Faith. "Hey, what happened?" he asked, his tone low.

She wiped her hand off, then set the napkin on the table to soak up the puddle. "Just me being my usually clumsy self," she said with a disgusted sigh.

Stanley merely sat there quietly, watching with concern.

"Want me to get some more napkins?"

"No, I think I've got it covered. Thanks," she said, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes, irritated with herself.

Bosco nodded. "Are you sure? I can get a cloth from the lady at the counter."

"It's okay." She sighed tiredly. "I should be getting home. I need to figure out what to make for dinner tonight."

Again he nodded. "Okay," he said quietly.

Faith glanced across the table at her brother. "Thanks for meeting me here."

Stanley smiled. "We need to do it more often."

"Yeah," she said softly. She looked at Bosco. "I'll see you at work in a couple days."

Bosco nodded. "Yeah, you too," he replied, his voice fading as he stood up to let her out.

She closed her eyes momentarily, then slid out of the booth, her heart heavy.

Stanley watched in silence, the body language between the two officers. "Hey, is something going on?" he asked Faith quietly for her ears only just as she went to step past.

She paused, looked at him. She hesitated a moment. "No. Everything's good," she lied. "I'll see you later. Tell Joan and Ryan I said hi."

Stanley nodded, not believing her. "I will, pass on my love to Emily and Charlie."

"I will. See you later." She turned and left the cafe, stepping outside into the pouring rain, and for a moment, she just stood there, looking up at the clouds.

Lt. Swersky stalked through the precinct angrily. He caught sight of his sergeant a few feet away, at the desk. "Christopher!"

Christopher looked up to see the angered look on Swersky's face. "Lieutenant?" he asked, his brow creasing.

"He's out. Have someone contact Bosco and Yokas," he said shortly.

"Wait, they don't know!?" he exclaimed.

He shook his head. "Not yet."

"Damn."

"Yeah. Damn," Swersky repeated, turning away.

The walls of the jail cell were plain gray and Mr. Watson, from the law firm of Jenkins and Watson stood nervously in front of his client's cell. "Good news. Because of the brutality you suffered at the hands of the arresting officers, the judge has thrown your case. You're free to go, Mr. Myers."

Trent Myers rose to his feet, his eyes gleaming. He smiled.

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