Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters or places.
Collision Course, Chapter 35
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Sully strolled into the locker room and spotted Ty in front of his locker. "Hey, Junior."
"Hey, Sul. What's got you so happy today?" Ty questioned, seeing a rare smile on Sully's face.
"Can't a guy just be happy?" Sully responded.
Ty gave Sully a curious look. "What gives, Sul?"
"What?" Sully gave a small laugh. "It's a beautiful day. We're both healthy. And Bosco's awake."
"WHAT?" Ty now gave his full attention to Sully.
"He's awake. He finally pulled that breathing tube out last night himself. And he's been awake and talking today." Sully explained.
"Have you seen him?" Ty questioned further.
"No, I let Rose go by herself. I didn't think he'd want my face to be the first face he saw." Sully replied.
"So you were there…. with Rose?" Ty quizzed, as his eyes lit up. "You two have breakfast again?"
"Yeah, we had breakfast, Davis. So what?" Sully sounded slightly annoyed.
"I wonder what Bosco's gonna think about you making a move on his mom while he was unconscious?" Ty teased.
"Oh, grow up, Davis! We're just…. friends. I'm not making any moves on anybody." Sully insisted.
"Uh huh." Davis grinned and shook his head.
The door to the locker room opened and Sasha Monroe entered. Seeing the silent looks on Ty and Sully's faces, she asked, " What were you two talking about?"
"NOTHING!" Sully half shouted and turned to his locker.
"Sully making moves on Bosco's mom." Davis replied with a wide grin.
Sully's face turned a bright crimson. "Davis, what did I tell you?" He turned toward Sasha and continued, "We're just friends."
"Yeah and that would be why your face is all red." Sasha commented with a smirk.
"You hear about Bosco?" Sully questioned her, trying to change the subject.
"Yeah, I thought I'd go by at 6:00 to check on him." Sasha answered.
The locker room door opened once again and Faith came in. Glancing around at the three other officers, she asked, " Sully, is your blood pressure up? Your face is all red."
With that, Ty and Sasha both burst out in laughter. Sully just shook his head. "Kids." He grumbled. Looking back at Faith, he asked, "Did you stop and see Bosco?"
"No, I was in the grocery store when Rose called. I didn't really have time to go home and back to the hospital before work." She answered, as she hurried over to her locker.
"Oh, well I guess you'll go by later then." Sully commented.
Faith didn't answer as she opened her locker door and started to change.
Just then, the door slung open and Maritza Cruz rushed in.
"Whoa, slow down, Sarg. You've got plenty of time." Sully assured her.
"I stopped by the hospital and the traffic was terrible." Cruz reported, slightly out of breath.
"Did you see him?" Sasha questioned.
"Yeah, I saw him." She didn't elaborate.
"How was he?" Ty questioned her.
"Alright I guess. He seemed tired. I think he was a little freaked out by the whole dialysis thing." She reported.
"Yeah, I can only imagine how it must be to go to work one day, get into an accident, and wake up a week later missing body parts and needing dialysis." Sully commented.
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Collision Course, Chapter 36
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Bosco could hear Kathy calling his name and feel her hand tapping his shoulder, but he refused to open his eyes. He was exhausted and he hurt all over. He just wanted to sleep. He decided if he just ignored her, maybe she would leave him alone. He was proven wrong when Kathy removed his oxygen mask and assaulted his nostrils with cold plastic tubing. "What the…"
"I'm sorry, Bosco. But I couldn't get you awake." Kathy apologized. "You can't eat with that mask on and Virginia will be here any minute with lunch. Well, I guess it's too late for lunch considering its 3:45, but its food just the same. Are you hungry?"
'Am I hungry? What kind of question is that?' "Yeah, I'm hungry." Bosco answered.
"That's good because I'm here," a tall, thin brunette with a singsong voice announced.
"Great," Bosco mumbled.
The brunette came closer and sat the tray down on the bedside table. "I'm Virginia, the speech therapist. Dr. Poole wanted me to make sure that it was safe for you to eat." At the confused look on Bosco's face, she explained, "Having the breathing tube down your throat for several days can sometimes affect your swallowing. My job is to make sure you can swallow safely."
'Whatever. What's for lunch?' Bosco thought, but he only nodded his head.
As Virginia began to uncover the items on the tray, Kathy watched the look of horror that crossed Bosco's face.
"What is that? Baby food?" he questioned, obviously appalled.
"No, it's not baby food, silly. It's pureed. It's not as bad as it looks." Virginia laughed.
Kathy stood back and watched. This was going to be fun.
"Now, let's get you sitting up a little straighter." Virginia instructed, as she raised the head of the bed. "Lean forward."
Bosco did as he was told and Virginia shoved an extra pillow behind his back. "Comfy?" She asked.
Bosco wanted to tell her just how uncomfortable he was, but he held his tongue.
"Why don't we start with a sip of water?" Virginia asked.
Bosco nodded again and reached up for the glass in Virginia's hand.
"Uh uh uh," Virginia chided, as she pushed his hand back down. "That's my job." She instructed, as she cupped her left hand under his chin. She eased the glass to his lips and gave him barely enough water to swallow.
Although it hurt slightly to swallow, the feel of the cool water in his mouth was heavenly. Bosco looked at Virginia eagerly anticipating another drink.
"That's very good, Officer." Virginia encouraged and finally gave him another few sips. "Now, how about some real food?"
Bosco wasn't sure he saw any real food. He looked carefully at the spoon in Virginia's hand. He assumed that it held potatoes. 'That shouldn't be too bad,' he thought as he hesitantly took a bite. Indeed it was not bad, not bad at all.
"I can do it." Bosco insisted, as he reached for the next spoonful.
"Not just yet. I don't want you to get too large a bite." Virginia countered.
Bosco looked at her as if he was about to pout, but he was interrupted by a spoonful of vanilla pudding coming his way. Bosco loved vanilla pudding, almost as much as chocolate. He closed his eyes and savored each bite.
"You like that, huh. Maybe you'll like this too." Virginia announced.
Bosco opened his eyes just as the spoon was entering his mouth. As the flavor hit his taste buds, he cringed and almost gagged. He looked around desperately trying to find somewhere to spit the bite out.
"What's wrong?" Virginia questioned with concern.
Unable to come up with any other solution, Bosco finally spit the food out and onto the front of his gown. He spit and sputtered for a few more moments before finally asking Virginia, "What….what was that?"
A shocked Virginia finally muttered "English peas."
"I hate English peas." Bosco scowled.
Kathy, who was still watching in the background, let out a small chuckle.
Bosco glared at her, as his face turned red. "It's not funny!" he half shouted. "I can feed myself! I'm not an invalid and I'm not a child! And I DON'T EAT ENGLISH PEAS!"
Kathy watched in shock as Bosco shoved the tray away, nearly knocking it off of the bedside table.
"Ok. Well, I think he's good to go, Kat." Virginia stated, as she gathered her things to leave.
Kathy apologized to Virginia as she was leaving, then looked back at her patient. He was staring down at his blanket while he twisted the edge of it in his right hand. His jaw was set and his face red. His lower lip quivered slightly as a large tear rolled down his cheek.
Kathy walked outside the room for a few minutes to give Bosco some time to compose himself. Then she reentered and slowly approached the bedside. "How about we get you a clean gown and let you rest for a while?"
"I'm sorry." Bosco mumbled so low it was barely audible.
"That's ok. I hate English peas too." Kathy smiled.
Bosco was grateful that Kathy was letting him off the hook. He didn't know what had gotten into him. He was just so frustrated by everything. First he woke up to find out that he had only one kidney left and it wasn't working. He would have to have dialysis for who knows how long, maybe a lifetime. And now he couldn't even feed himself. But most of all he couldn't stand the thought that he had no control over any of it. 'I can't live like this,' he thought sadly. 'It has to get better, because I can't live like this.'
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Collision Course, Chapter 37
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Rose sat, waiting for the 6:00 visiting hour to begin. She needed to go to work, but she hated to leave. She was anxious to see if Maurice was feeling better than he had been earlier. She looked up when she heard the door opening and was surprised to see Mikey and Anthony entering the waiting room.
"Hey, Ma." Mikey greeted her. "How is Maurice doing? We heard that he was awake."
Rose looked at Mikey in astonishment. "You disappear for days, Michael, and then just decide to show up again?" She gave Anthony a disapproving glare.
"I'm sorry, Ma. I just needed some time to sort a few things out." Mikey apologized.
"Don't you think that you could have let me know that you were alive and not overdosed in a gutter somewhere?" Rose scolded.
Mikey sighed as he tried to explain. "I've been at Pop's place, Ma. And I've been clean. He helped me get started in a rehab program and even went to my first meeting with me."
Rose was sorry for her harsh words, but was still angry. "Well, you could have told me, Michael. I've had enough to worry about with Maurice." She stepped forward and hugged her younger son. "I'm happy for you." She whispered, as she kissed his cheek.
"Thanks, Ma. So how is Moe?" Mikey questioned.
"He's awake. He talked to me earlier today, but was pretty exhausted after the dialysis. He slept through most of our last visit." Her voice gave away her worry.
"We thought we might go in and see him." Mikey reported, glancing over at Anthony.
"Hi Rose" Anthony greeted his ex-wife cautiously.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea." Rose replied. "I mean, he just came off of the breathing machine and he's still very weak. I wouldn't want to take a chance at upsetting him." She explained to Anthony.
"You're right. I should probably wait until he's doing better." Anthony reluctantly agreed. "Mikey can go in and I'll wait out here."
"Dad" Mikey was about to protest, but his father put up a hand.
"Your mother's right, son. You know how easily I set Maurice off. He doesn't need that right now." A voice over the intercom announced the visiting hour, as he spoke. "You go ahead." He continued.
Mikey gave his mother a questioning look. "Would you mind if I went in alone for a few minutes, Ma?"
"No, that's fine. I'll just sit right here." Rose assured him.
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Kathy had allowed Bosco to sleep for the rest of the afternoon. A dinner tray had arrived, but she had set it to the side. She wasn't about to wake him up to try to feed him, not after what happened with Virginia. She sighed as she contemplated how she would get him fed without another fight. She decided that it would have to wait until after the visiting period. She glanced up to see a young man approaching.
"Hi" the young man said nervously.
"Hi, can I have your name please?" Kathy questioned, as she hadn't seen this visitor before.
"I'm Michael." He offered. Then seeing the confused look on her face, he added, "his brother."
"Oh, I haven't met you before. I'm Kathy. Go on in. He's been resting for a while. Maybe he'll wake up for you." Kathy encouraged.
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Mikey stood at the bedside for a few minutes watching Bosco. He noticed the slight frown that creased his brother's forehead. Leaning over the bed, he whispered, "Maurice? Moe? It's me, Mikey. Can you hear me?"
Bosco mumbled incoherently, but slowly began to open his eyes. He blinked a few times and cleared his throat. "Mikey?"
"Yeah, Moe. It's me." Mikey affirmed with a smile. "How are ya?"
Bosco hesitated, then answered. "I'm ok, Mike." He tried to smile. He couldn't tell Mikey the truth. The truth was he was hurting, tired, and scared. But he had always been the strong one. He couldn't let Mikey down.
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Rose and Anthony sat in silence for a few moments, before Anthony spoke. "Don't be too hard on Mike, Rose. He's trying. I think he was afraid to call you."
"Why would he be afraid to call me?" Rose asked, confused.
"I think he's afraid that he will screw up again. He didn't want to disappoint you. He just wanted to keep things quiet for a while." Anthony explained. "He's really trying this time, Rose."
They sat in silence for a few moments longer. This time Rose spoke. "Mikey told me that you've quit drinking."
"Three and a half years." Anthony reported. "Not one drop."
"That's great. I'm glad for you." Rose replied.
"I just wish I'd done it sooner." Anthony sighed. "I really screwed everybody up didn't I, Rosie." He said with remorse.
"You weren't alone in it, Anthony. I did my part." Rose added.
"You were a good mother, Rosie." Anthony assured her. "And you were a good wife. Sure we had our fights, but what choice did you have but to fight back." Anthony looked up into Rose's eyes. "I'm sorry, Rosie."
"We both made mistakes, Anthony. There's no need for hard feelings. We just have to make the best of it now. Maurice and Michael both need us."
Anthony nodded and placed his hand over Rose's. "I'm gonna do my best, Rosie."
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Rose gathered Mikey into a big bear hug. "I know you can do this, Michael. You hang in there."
"I'm sure going to try, Ma." Mikey assured her, then turned to leave.
Rose said a quick goodbye to Anthony and then headed into the ICU.
She approached Bosco's room and found him staring at the TV, although he didn't look very interested in it. And it didn't seem to bother him that the sound was off.
"Maurice?" He hadn't noticed her enter.
"Oh, hey Ma." He answered.
Rose moved to the edge of the bed and took Bosco's hand in hers. "How are you feeling, baby?"
"I'm fine, Ma." Bosco replied flatly.
"Uh huh." Rose mumbled.
They chatted for a few minutes, until Rose noticed the dinner tray sitting off to the side. She wandered over to the tray to inspect it. "Looks like they brought you a dinner tray, Maurice. Are you hungry?" She questioned.
"Not really." Bosco replied, remembering the English pea incident.
"Well, you need to eat. You have to build your strength up." Rose urged, as she brought the tray over to the bedside table. "Look. Chocolate pudding. Your favorite."
Kathy saw what was happening from outside of the room and was about to warn Rose, but she decided it might be better if she just stayed out of the way.
"Here, let's sit you up." Rose said as she raised the head of the bed. "There, now. That's better."
Bosco just stared at Rose as she took out the napkin and tucked it into the neck of his hospital gown.
"How about some pudding? Huh? Open wide." Rose ordered as she brought a spoon full of pudding towards his mouth.
"Maaa, I'm not a baby." Bosco objected.
"I know you're not, Maurice. But you're still my baby, so humor me. Huh? Now open wide."
Bosco's mouth dropped open slightly in shock and Rose took that opportunity to push the spoon into his mouth. He wanted to protest again, but his stomach growled loudly and distracted him. He was famished and he loved chocolate of any kind. So he decided to just go along with Rose.
Kathy watched in disbelief as Rose fed Bosco. They chatted back and forth between bites and Bosco even laughed a couple of times.
"Do you remember that little game we used to play, Maurice?" Rose asked.
"What game?" Bosco questioned.
"The little chew chew game we played when you were just a toddler. It was the only way I could ever get you to eat English peas. I would pretend that I was going to feed them to Mikey and you'd finally open your mouth for the chew chew train. Mikey was just a baby." Rose smiled as she reminisced.
"Maaa." Bosco moaned.
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Rose looked at her watch as the end of the visiting hour was announced. "Well, I guess it's time to go. Look, you finished almost everything." Rose smiled as she turned up an empty bowl.
Bosco reached out and grasped her right hand in his, holding it tight. He swallowed hard.
"What is it, Maurice?" Rose asked when she saw the change in his features.
"Don't leave, Ma." Bosco whispered.
"What? Maurice, they're not going to let me stay in here much longer. The visiting hour is over, but I'll come back at 10:00." Rose assured him.
Bosco fought back the tears the welled in his eyes. He was ashamed that he couldn't control his emotions any better. "I'm scared, Ma."