Well it's good to know some people are still here on the site. Thank you guys for replying on my last chapter. Here is the next chapter, enjoy :)
Chapter 5-Like Father, Like Son
"55 David we are 10-98." Faith felt weird. It had been so long since she had heard and used that code name for their unit. It felt even weirder as she sat next to the guy who looked like he had Bosco's face.
"So....you have any family around here?" Mathews nodded his head.
Faith bit her lip. She was trying to have a conversation, trying to figure out where this kid came from but all she got was nothing but silence or, if she was lucky enough, a nod to her questions. She hated when people did this to her, especially when she wanted to know something badly.
"How long you been in New York?"
Watching his posture, Faith could see irritation written all over his features.
"Long enough to become a cop."
Faith decided not to ask anymore. She didn't want to push the kid into hating her and never being able to talk to her. So she continued to drive and fighting back the urge to ask whom his father was.
As Faith pulled the squad up to the light a man ran past their squad and ran down the street. Then looking in the mirror she saw a Chinese man running out and yelling in his language. Realizing what it was she put on the sirens and took off down the street after the running man.
When they pulled up to the guy who was running he took one look and off he was down the alley away from the squad car.
"Let me out, we're going to lose him."
"No."
"Look if we lose him then its going to be your fault now, open the damn door."
Faith always locked the doors. Maybe it was force of habit after her partner Boscorelli always jumped out of the car and left her sitting there.
"Fine, but you be careful."
"Yeah, yeah, Mommy I'll be sure to watch my back."
Watching Mathews' retreating back as he took off after the crook she couldn't help think how much he was beginning to sound like Bosco every day.
She reached the other side of the block and expecting her new partner for the day to slam the guy like Bosco did on top of their squad car she got the surprise. He wasn't anywhere in site.
Knowing they should have come out the alley she began to feel the worry set in. Faith tried radioing him but he would not answer.
Feeling like she had been there already she tried again to get in contract with him until she heard the crashing sound of glass and the thumping sound of somebody hitting the cement.
Her mouth dropped open. There on the sidewalk was two men entangled into one another lying on the ground. 'Talk about major daja vu' thought Faith. She ran over and stopped and looked down at Mathews and the perp. He rolled over and looked up at Faith.
"What?"
She just shook her head continually and couldn't help but yet again think how much he really was like Bosco. It was to eerie, same thing happened again just like it was her first day on the job with Bosco. He even had the same damn cut near his eye that Bosco had got from when he took the perp down.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Once more Faith stood beside her partner, watching as the doctor stitched up her partner. She wasn't sure what to make out of this situation. She shuffled her shoes trying to think what to say.
"Maurice."
Her head shot up.
"Mom?" Mathews voice cracked when he saw his mother coming into the room with a worried look on her face he rolled his eyes.
"Oh great, I'll never live this one down." His mother was still out of earshot but Faith wasn't. She shook her head.
"What the hell happened?"
"Ma, it's not that big of a deal, it just a small cut," the doctor stepped away the wound was completely sealed up by the stitches the doctor had put in. "see it's okay, just a couple stitches." Pointed Mathews and then gingerly touched his wound. Faith remembered Bosco doing the exact same thing when he fiddled with his new wound on his head.
Mathews looked his mother up and down.
"What are you doing here anyways, it wasn't serious or nothing I mean who let on?"
Faith watched as his mother looked a bit uneasy and Faith noticed that look from Mathew's mother. It was the look 'uh oh I've been caught in the act."
"Well," she cracked her knuckles nervously "I called the Precinct and,"
"Why did you call the Precinct?" asked Mathews.
"Well, because," she than mumbled really softly "I wanted to check up on you."
She looked up and her son hadn't heard what she said so she gave in.
"I was worried about you and I was calling to check up on you and to see how you were doing....they told me you been taken to the hospital because you had gotten hurt so I thought the worse so I came running."
Mathews stood up and then rolled his eyes. He looked over at Faith and she shrugged her shoulders and then commented on it.
"I would of probably done the same, can't worry to much over your kids."
Maurice Mathews threw his hands up in the air and then rolled his eyes.
"Great if I didn't already have an over worried mother I have another mother for a partner who is a worried hen as well...great if my life wasn't complicated enough."
Mathews then walked out of the room in a huff.
"I'm sorry, he sometimes he just, well you know, right?"
Faith smiled and then nodded her head.
"You have no idea how much I know." mumbled Faith.
"Oh I forgot to tell you and you probably figured it out but I'm Mathews Mom, Lauren Mathews."
Lauren reached out and Faith grabbed a hold of Lauren's hand and then shook.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Faith Yokas."
Lauren smiled. "Well I better go and find my son, oh can I ask you a question?"
"Sure go ahead."
"This is going to sound weird, but I was wondering how I would go about searching for someone. Well actually a particular officer."
Lauren was so uneasy asking this. But she wanted to know how she could find Bosco again. She had no idea he was dead. All she knew he was alive and well. She had come to New York a couple years back ago never approaching him but didn't know if he would of transferred to another Precinct or so forth.
"Well we have a data base, maybe I know the officer."
Faith crossed her fingers and toes mentally.
"Well, ummm Maurice Boscorelli, or maybe he goes by Bosco."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lauren sat there with tears in her eyes and her face in her hands as she listened to Faith's story. She never imagined this. Never thought she would come back a couple years later and Bosco would be long gone, taken from the world and leaving everybody in mourning. As tears fell from her face she looked up and saw that Faith had a complete straight look on her face. For Faith she had said the story so many times it had gotten easier over the years, making it not so hard when she would tell somebody like Lauren who would hear it for the very first time.
"You know, you truly never understand how somebody effects you until it's to late, until their gone....oh God he never knew. I kept it from him and he died not knowing, oh God forgive me."
"Maurice Mathews, that's his son." Faith stated this without even questioning it. She knew better then to question herself, she was solely convinced when Mathews acted just like Bosco and had been acting just like him since the day Faith met Mathews.
The woman in front of her began to break down. Faith looked to see some people glancing at her and Lauren and wasn't quiet sure what to make of them.
"Hey," Faith got Lauren's attention who looked up at her with an already beet red face "Hey now think about it, if you would of known, Mathews would have been here when Bosco was alive and still be here even after he passed away. You can't beat yourself up, you did what you thought you had to do so don't blame yourself."
"But Mathews grew up without a father, if only,"
Faith stopped her from continuing.
"Ifs or buts....if they sky was brown instead of blue and the grass was purple. If only. You can't live on those ifs or buts. Mathews may have grown up without a father, but it beats the hell out of what Bosco grew up with."
Lauren looked at her confused.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Look I'm not going to tell you all about Bosco's personal stuff for it's not my place to do so, but let's just say it wasn't an easy childhood for him, okay."
Lauren nodded.
Both of the ladies sat there in silence both being in their own thoughts until Faith finally spoke up.
"He just looks just like him. Acts just like him. God when I first saw him, Lauren, I really thought I was looking at Bosco again. I thought just for a moment, no, I hoped that maybe it was a dream you know. A long dream, a dream that just seems like it lasts forever but when you wake up it doesn't seem so long anymore, and when you wipe away that sleep from the corner of your eyes and you think about how short it actually really was. Oh God I would give anything to have him back, just anything."
Lauren looked down at the table and then agreed with Faith.
"Me to."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"So?"
Faith was walking into her office when Davis stopped her.
"Yes Davis, Maurice Mathews is Maurice Boscorelli,....Bosco's son. I'll tell you more but I really need to talk to Mathews. His mother told him a little over an hour ago and I haven't seen him since and I was wondering,"
Davis smiled a supportive smile.
"He's down the hall, I was told he was in the Memorial Hall."
Faith nodded and her eyes looked down the hall that would lead her there. She had always avoided that hall. She just didn't ever really want to come to terms that Bosco was dead, because in her heart he wasn't dead but still alive and well and still working and walking around the 55 Precinct.
"Thanks Davis, I'll catch you later."
Davis patted Faith's shoulder and than walked away.
Faith took in a deep breath and then began to walk down the hall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Mathews shook his head. He was looking right at himself but yet it wasn't him. He read the words over and over in his head. Maurice Boscorelli. That was his father yet he had no connection he didn't know him yet in some way he still felt like he known him since he was born.
"Hey."
Mathews didn't have to look at Faith. He didn't have to. He recognized her voice.
"It's like looking into a mirror isn't it?"
"Huh?" Mathews had been dazing and wasn't really listening to Faith and then when she finished her question he realized she had asked something.
"I was just thinking that you're staring at him and I thought maybe it felt like you were looking into a mirror, because you sure had me fooled."
Looking away now from the photo he looked over at Faith and then shook his head.
"You know, I grew up with this face and I had no idea somebody already had walked around with the exact same identical look, and I hate it that he was my father and I never got to spend any time with him. I never got to say, 'no he's not my brother he's my father.' I just hate it....I hate that I could never say, well my father was a Police Officer, you know the Finest of New York City Police Department. A survivor of the 9/11 attacks just, God I hate this."
Maurice Mathew's head sunk to his chest and Faith knew what he was doing. He was trying to hold back tears in front of her. Trying to act tough but breaking apart inside and nobody to turn to but once again her.
Putting her hand onto his shoulder he looked away. He let out a long breath out and then looked at her. She could see a tear but it was soon gone for he rubbed it away and he cleared his face, trying to cover up that he had just broken down apart of a barrier he had no idea he had built up around himself.
"Thanks."
She nodded her head and then taking her hand off his shoulder feeling already too weird, like she was stepping into his bubble space or something like that.
"No problem."
As Mathews took one last look at his father he turned and began to walk away and then stopped.
"You coming?" he asked Faith.
"Yeah just," Faith was caught up in the photo, it was the same photo that she had tucked in the case that she carried around with her every day and every night. She shook her head then mumbled the last words to herself as Mathews stood and waited for her "sorry, dazed off."
As both officers walked down the hall he looked at Faith.
"You know after this has all sank in and had a couple glasses of scotch and thought about this for a while you're going to have to tell me some of the stories of Bosc..." stopping himself and correcting himself "my father....I'm sure you have plenty of them, right?"
Faith began to snort and then laugh.
"You have no idea, like this one time your father was sent to Anger Management because...."
Mathews listened as Faith went and on and their laughter could be heard through out the entire hallway as they walked out of the Memorial Hallway.
TBC....In Chapter 6: Hard To Say Goodbye
Chapter 5-Like Father, Like Son
"55 David we are 10-98." Faith felt weird. It had been so long since she had heard and used that code name for their unit. It felt even weirder as she sat next to the guy who looked like he had Bosco's face.
"So....you have any family around here?" Mathews nodded his head.
Faith bit her lip. She was trying to have a conversation, trying to figure out where this kid came from but all she got was nothing but silence or, if she was lucky enough, a nod to her questions. She hated when people did this to her, especially when she wanted to know something badly.
"How long you been in New York?"
Watching his posture, Faith could see irritation written all over his features.
"Long enough to become a cop."
Faith decided not to ask anymore. She didn't want to push the kid into hating her and never being able to talk to her. So she continued to drive and fighting back the urge to ask whom his father was.
As Faith pulled the squad up to the light a man ran past their squad and ran down the street. Then looking in the mirror she saw a Chinese man running out and yelling in his language. Realizing what it was she put on the sirens and took off down the street after the running man.
When they pulled up to the guy who was running he took one look and off he was down the alley away from the squad car.
"Let me out, we're going to lose him."
"No."
"Look if we lose him then its going to be your fault now, open the damn door."
Faith always locked the doors. Maybe it was force of habit after her partner Boscorelli always jumped out of the car and left her sitting there.
"Fine, but you be careful."
"Yeah, yeah, Mommy I'll be sure to watch my back."
Watching Mathews' retreating back as he took off after the crook she couldn't help think how much he was beginning to sound like Bosco every day.
She reached the other side of the block and expecting her new partner for the day to slam the guy like Bosco did on top of their squad car she got the surprise. He wasn't anywhere in site.
Knowing they should have come out the alley she began to feel the worry set in. Faith tried radioing him but he would not answer.
Feeling like she had been there already she tried again to get in contract with him until she heard the crashing sound of glass and the thumping sound of somebody hitting the cement.
Her mouth dropped open. There on the sidewalk was two men entangled into one another lying on the ground. 'Talk about major daja vu' thought Faith. She ran over and stopped and looked down at Mathews and the perp. He rolled over and looked up at Faith.
"What?"
She just shook her head continually and couldn't help but yet again think how much he really was like Bosco. It was to eerie, same thing happened again just like it was her first day on the job with Bosco. He even had the same damn cut near his eye that Bosco had got from when he took the perp down.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Once more Faith stood beside her partner, watching as the doctor stitched up her partner. She wasn't sure what to make out of this situation. She shuffled her shoes trying to think what to say.
"Maurice."
Her head shot up.
"Mom?" Mathews voice cracked when he saw his mother coming into the room with a worried look on her face he rolled his eyes.
"Oh great, I'll never live this one down." His mother was still out of earshot but Faith wasn't. She shook her head.
"What the hell happened?"
"Ma, it's not that big of a deal, it just a small cut," the doctor stepped away the wound was completely sealed up by the stitches the doctor had put in. "see it's okay, just a couple stitches." Pointed Mathews and then gingerly touched his wound. Faith remembered Bosco doing the exact same thing when he fiddled with his new wound on his head.
Mathews looked his mother up and down.
"What are you doing here anyways, it wasn't serious or nothing I mean who let on?"
Faith watched as his mother looked a bit uneasy and Faith noticed that look from Mathew's mother. It was the look 'uh oh I've been caught in the act."
"Well," she cracked her knuckles nervously "I called the Precinct and,"
"Why did you call the Precinct?" asked Mathews.
"Well, because," she than mumbled really softly "I wanted to check up on you."
She looked up and her son hadn't heard what she said so she gave in.
"I was worried about you and I was calling to check up on you and to see how you were doing....they told me you been taken to the hospital because you had gotten hurt so I thought the worse so I came running."
Mathews stood up and then rolled his eyes. He looked over at Faith and she shrugged her shoulders and then commented on it.
"I would of probably done the same, can't worry to much over your kids."
Maurice Mathews threw his hands up in the air and then rolled his eyes.
"Great if I didn't already have an over worried mother I have another mother for a partner who is a worried hen as well...great if my life wasn't complicated enough."
Mathews then walked out of the room in a huff.
"I'm sorry, he sometimes he just, well you know, right?"
Faith smiled and then nodded her head.
"You have no idea how much I know." mumbled Faith.
"Oh I forgot to tell you and you probably figured it out but I'm Mathews Mom, Lauren Mathews."
Lauren reached out and Faith grabbed a hold of Lauren's hand and then shook.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Faith Yokas."
Lauren smiled. "Well I better go and find my son, oh can I ask you a question?"
"Sure go ahead."
"This is going to sound weird, but I was wondering how I would go about searching for someone. Well actually a particular officer."
Lauren was so uneasy asking this. But she wanted to know how she could find Bosco again. She had no idea he was dead. All she knew he was alive and well. She had come to New York a couple years back ago never approaching him but didn't know if he would of transferred to another Precinct or so forth.
"Well we have a data base, maybe I know the officer."
Faith crossed her fingers and toes mentally.
"Well, ummm Maurice Boscorelli, or maybe he goes by Bosco."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lauren sat there with tears in her eyes and her face in her hands as she listened to Faith's story. She never imagined this. Never thought she would come back a couple years later and Bosco would be long gone, taken from the world and leaving everybody in mourning. As tears fell from her face she looked up and saw that Faith had a complete straight look on her face. For Faith she had said the story so many times it had gotten easier over the years, making it not so hard when she would tell somebody like Lauren who would hear it for the very first time.
"You know, you truly never understand how somebody effects you until it's to late, until their gone....oh God he never knew. I kept it from him and he died not knowing, oh God forgive me."
"Maurice Mathews, that's his son." Faith stated this without even questioning it. She knew better then to question herself, she was solely convinced when Mathews acted just like Bosco and had been acting just like him since the day Faith met Mathews.
The woman in front of her began to break down. Faith looked to see some people glancing at her and Lauren and wasn't quiet sure what to make of them.
"Hey," Faith got Lauren's attention who looked up at her with an already beet red face "Hey now think about it, if you would of known, Mathews would have been here when Bosco was alive and still be here even after he passed away. You can't beat yourself up, you did what you thought you had to do so don't blame yourself."
"But Mathews grew up without a father, if only,"
Faith stopped her from continuing.
"Ifs or buts....if they sky was brown instead of blue and the grass was purple. If only. You can't live on those ifs or buts. Mathews may have grown up without a father, but it beats the hell out of what Bosco grew up with."
Lauren looked at her confused.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Look I'm not going to tell you all about Bosco's personal stuff for it's not my place to do so, but let's just say it wasn't an easy childhood for him, okay."
Lauren nodded.
Both of the ladies sat there in silence both being in their own thoughts until Faith finally spoke up.
"He just looks just like him. Acts just like him. God when I first saw him, Lauren, I really thought I was looking at Bosco again. I thought just for a moment, no, I hoped that maybe it was a dream you know. A long dream, a dream that just seems like it lasts forever but when you wake up it doesn't seem so long anymore, and when you wipe away that sleep from the corner of your eyes and you think about how short it actually really was. Oh God I would give anything to have him back, just anything."
Lauren looked down at the table and then agreed with Faith.
"Me to."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"So?"
Faith was walking into her office when Davis stopped her.
"Yes Davis, Maurice Mathews is Maurice Boscorelli,....Bosco's son. I'll tell you more but I really need to talk to Mathews. His mother told him a little over an hour ago and I haven't seen him since and I was wondering,"
Davis smiled a supportive smile.
"He's down the hall, I was told he was in the Memorial Hall."
Faith nodded and her eyes looked down the hall that would lead her there. She had always avoided that hall. She just didn't ever really want to come to terms that Bosco was dead, because in her heart he wasn't dead but still alive and well and still working and walking around the 55 Precinct.
"Thanks Davis, I'll catch you later."
Davis patted Faith's shoulder and than walked away.
Faith took in a deep breath and then began to walk down the hall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Mathews shook his head. He was looking right at himself but yet it wasn't him. He read the words over and over in his head. Maurice Boscorelli. That was his father yet he had no connection he didn't know him yet in some way he still felt like he known him since he was born.
"Hey."
Mathews didn't have to look at Faith. He didn't have to. He recognized her voice.
"It's like looking into a mirror isn't it?"
"Huh?" Mathews had been dazing and wasn't really listening to Faith and then when she finished her question he realized she had asked something.
"I was just thinking that you're staring at him and I thought maybe it felt like you were looking into a mirror, because you sure had me fooled."
Looking away now from the photo he looked over at Faith and then shook his head.
"You know, I grew up with this face and I had no idea somebody already had walked around with the exact same identical look, and I hate it that he was my father and I never got to spend any time with him. I never got to say, 'no he's not my brother he's my father.' I just hate it....I hate that I could never say, well my father was a Police Officer, you know the Finest of New York City Police Department. A survivor of the 9/11 attacks just, God I hate this."
Maurice Mathew's head sunk to his chest and Faith knew what he was doing. He was trying to hold back tears in front of her. Trying to act tough but breaking apart inside and nobody to turn to but once again her.
Putting her hand onto his shoulder he looked away. He let out a long breath out and then looked at her. She could see a tear but it was soon gone for he rubbed it away and he cleared his face, trying to cover up that he had just broken down apart of a barrier he had no idea he had built up around himself.
"Thanks."
She nodded her head and then taking her hand off his shoulder feeling already too weird, like she was stepping into his bubble space or something like that.
"No problem."
As Mathews took one last look at his father he turned and began to walk away and then stopped.
"You coming?" he asked Faith.
"Yeah just," Faith was caught up in the photo, it was the same photo that she had tucked in the case that she carried around with her every day and every night. She shook her head then mumbled the last words to herself as Mathews stood and waited for her "sorry, dazed off."
As both officers walked down the hall he looked at Faith.
"You know after this has all sank in and had a couple glasses of scotch and thought about this for a while you're going to have to tell me some of the stories of Bosc..." stopping himself and correcting himself "my father....I'm sure you have plenty of them, right?"
Faith began to snort and then laugh.
"You have no idea, like this one time your father was sent to Anger Management because...."
Mathews listened as Faith went and on and their laughter could be heard through out the entire hallway as they walked out of the Memorial Hallway.
TBC....In Chapter 6: Hard To Say Goodbye