We'd just gotten home when Rose realized she had a message. Charlie and Emily were due home any minute. I was pulling out a few things for dinner when she came back in. Her face ashen.
I'd froze. Blinking at the familiar expression. She lifted the phone back to her ear and called the house asking for an RMP to be sent right away.
"Go." She'd said to me after whispering there had been a car accident.
"Rose you should-."
"Faith go." She'd yanked me to the door way, thrusting my jacket into my hand. "Call me."
I had forgotten that I didn't know her number. Sully read it to me off of his cell phone. I ran my hand over my face while it rang.
"Mom?" Emmy shouts when she picks it up on the first ring.
"He's okay."
"Really?"
"Yeah. They wanna keep him another hour and then we'll be home."
"Are Sully and Davis still there?" I look over at Davis who's still bickering with Carlos.
"Yeah." My gaze moves to Sully he's calling the 55 to report in, still eying me suspiciously. "No Sir. He's fine. We just wanna make sure we get him home safely. Yes sir. Do you want me to send Davis back with the RMP?" He's glaring now. I look away.
"Are they going to bring you guys home?" She pauses. "Katie and Sam dropped off your jeep."
"Yeah." I press my lips closed, realizing for the first time that my keys aren't in the clear plastic bag the nurse handed me.
"I bet they were surprised."She whispers. "Sully and Ty."
"I better go Em."
"Okay."
"Bye."
"Mom?"
"Emmy I should go."
"Are you okay?" I'm about to tell her I'm fine, but Father Jack's drilled honesty into me during our first conversation.
"I don't know yet." Bosco was hurt. It was scary. Ty and Sully are watching me like a hawk. The guilt floods back almost as fast as the fear dissipates.
"So.. your coming home soon?" I'm about to remind her that I said Boz was fine. Until I realize that's not what she's asking. She's making sure that I'm coming home. I wonder if that's why she wanted Sully and Davis to bring us. Insurance? Or maybe even a support system for Bosco? I wonder how long my being upset will be linked to me leaving in my daughter's mind.
"Yeah." I try to sound casual. "They're going to release him, and Sully and Davis will drive us both back okay?"
"Okay. Bye." I hang up the phone with a whisper Goodbye and look at Sully.
"Yes Sir." His eyes zero in on mine. "We'll tell him Sir." He hangs up, still glaring.
"Swertsky?"
"Yup." He growls "I just lied my ass off to him."
Davis walks back towards us.
"The Boss want me to drop off the car?"
"He said Lt. Harrion got a desk guy to do it."
"Bless you Katie." Ty mutters.
"Katie the wonder Lieutenant." I mutter.
"You're jealous?" Sully yelps. "That's rich."
"Sul."
"I'm gonna take off." Carlos says, glancing at Bosco then at his watch. "You need to wake him in ten minutes." He nods, stopping next to me and touching my arm. "It's good to see you Faith."
I nod. I wonder if he still thinks I'm decent.
"Maryland huh?" Ty says after the door shuts behind Carlos the apparent informant.
"Maryland?" Sully looks from Davis to me. "What's in Maryland?"
"Not much." I say softly.
"Faith apparently." Ty sits down on one of the chairs.
"We must have forgotten to look there." Sully rubs his face. "You'd have though we'd gotten around to it in the almost two years we searched."
"You've been back two weeks?"
"Two weeks? Thanks for the phone call."
"Sully give her a second to answer." Davis is gentle, but his face is still wary.
"Fine." Sully's just plain mad. I smile when I realize that's the same contrast that my children had two weeks ago.
"Two weeks." I say softly. "I was in Drayden, Maryland. It's in St. Mary's County, nothingness. Less than 400 people."
"Perfect place to not exist." Ty says softly. I nod.
"You could have called." Sully spits. "Told us 'Hey stop looking for me! I don't wanna be found!'"
"I didn't really think that anyone would look Sully." I whisper.
"A New York City cop, recently wounded in the line disappears with out a trace in broad daylight and you don't think we'd look?" He snorts. "You think we all just went 'huh' and went on about our day?"
"If I was thinking clearly I probably wouldn't have left like that would I, Sul?"
"So it was some kinda mental break?" Davis asks slowly.
"No.." I bury my head in my hands. "I just.. wasn't thinking clearly."
"For five years?"
"Sul."
"You almost killed him." He's looking at Bosco when I look up, shaking his head slowly. "You did kill Fred."
"Sully!" Ty shouts.
"Well she did."
"Fred was cheating on me. His own damn guilt killed him not me." I spit.
"That how you justified leaving Bosco? He cheat on you with Cruz?" Ty whispers.
"She tried kill him you know that?" Sully sighs. "He tell you that?"
I nod.
"I was the first one. The first one Faith, to agree with you that Bosco should be the hell out of your life." He shakes his head slowly. "But he was a man possessed Faith. I've never seen anyone..." His mouth clamps shut and he looks at Davis.
"It was never the same without you." Ty smiles at me. I smile back. "None of us were ever the same."
"All I can do is say I'm sorry." I tell him. "And I am."
"Sorry." Sully breaths, looking at me with watery eyes. "Crap."
"You tell Swertsky?" Davis whispers.
"No." Sully tells him quickly. I look at my hands. "There could be legal stuff. Bosco could loose the house."
"Sul.." Ty moans.
"He knew she was alive." Sullivan shakes his head and I start to feel sick.
"He pulled her over in a traffic stop Sul." Ty explains. Sully looks mildly ill too as he moans before looking back at me.
"I.." I don't really have anything to say.
"No body can prove that." He shakes his head.
"Sam.." I whisper.
"Sam.." Sully shakes his head again.
"She didn't really do anything illegal." Ty looks back at him.
"I used Emily's social security number." I whisper.
"What?" Ty shakes his head.
"To work.."
"Governmental Fraud." Sully mutters.
"Sul. Cut her a damn break. She can't go back and undo it." Ty mutters. I shoot him a grateful look. "Doesn't mean I'm on your side."
"What did you do?"
"Waited tables mostly." I mutter. That's all I'd used Emily's social security card for anyway.
"Mostly?" Sully lifts his eyebrow at me.
"She's Emily Charles." Comes a hoarse whisper.
"Emily-." Sully's head stops shaking and he turns to stare at me. "The books?"
I nod, getting up and sitting on the edge of Bosco's bed. He gives me a quick smile before reaching up and wiping the tears from my cheeks.
"Remember? You said you thought it was her communicating with me from beyond the grave?" He chuckles. I'm starting to think he's loosing it with all the laughing, but at least he doesn't wince as hard this time. I move my hand across the black and blue patches on his face. "Turns out it was her communicating with me from Maryland." His eyes blink and he turns towards Davis and Sullivan. "We didn't look there."
I watch a small smile tug on Sully's mouth.
"No we didn't." He agrees.