Reflections - Chapter 4
Faith was in the middle of a wonderful dream. She was out for a nice night of dinner and dancing with a mysterious person. She couldn't make out who it was although there was some familiarity about the man. She was trying so hard in her dream to see his face, but every time she was just about to, she would lose it. Whoever the man was, Faith felt so at ease and relaxed. They had a wonderful dinner and were now dancing slowly, very close to each other. Faith could hear nothing but the music and felt nothing but the warmth from her companion's body tight against her as they swayed with the music. She could see or hear no one else around her. She felt his hand slowly caress her back, up and down along her spine to the very base of her back and stop there, his breath on her neck. That smell - she knew that cologne. The song ended and the two parted. Faith was just about to look into the eyes of the man that made her feel so safe...
She was awakened by a loud crash and she sat bolt upright. She immediately thought that one of the kids had fallen out of bed or something and jumped up to see that they were okay. She smashed her shin on the coffee table and thought, "Who the hell moved the furniture around?!" when she suddenly remembered where she was. She gathered her bearings, mentally thinking of the layout of Bosco's apartment in the dark and headed back toward his room. She heard some swearing and incoherent mumbling and felt for and flipped on the hallway light and saw him sprawled on the floor along side the bed, the glass of water broken alongside him.
"Bosco! Are you okay?" she said as she reached him.
"Faith? What the hell...?" he asked as he tried to sit up, cutting his arm on the broken glass before she could move it out of the way. "Shit!" he said, not really understanding where he was or how he had gotten there. The last thing he remembered was being at the bar and fighting with Nick about his keys. He still had a lot of alcohol in his system and as he moved he was hit by a sudden wave of nausea. "Oh God!" he said as he started to look around for a bathroom, still not knowing he was in his own apartment.
Faith saw the look on his pale face as he broke out in a sweat and started looking around in a panic. "This way!" she yelled. "You're at your place!" she said as she tried to help him up, grabbing the waste can alongside his dresser in case he didn't make it.
He clawed his way across the room and almost made it to the toilet, throwing up in the shower instead. "Oh well, that's better than the floor and walls," thought Faith as she positioned him in front of the toilet and grabbed a towel returning the bedroom to clean up the water and broken glass. She flipped on the light and saw that Bosco had apparently gotten tangled up in the bed covers because they were pulled to the floor with him. They too were wet. She went back to the closet and pulled out another set of sheets, looking over her shoulder to see Bosco heaving again. "Oh, this is fun," she said out loud sarcastically as she returned to the bedroom. A loud moan escaped from Bosco between retches.
A little while later, Faith had restored order to Bosco's bedroom and was cleaning and bandaging his arm as he sat on the side of the tub. "I think you're gonna need a couple of stitches here, Bos," she said, moving her eyes to his face. "Nah, it'll be alright," he mumbled very quietly, the pain showing on his face from the beginnings of his hangover. "I don't think so, it's pretty deep and ragged, you might have gotten a tendon or something," she warned him.
"I can't even move right now," he said, rubbing his right side. "Can you turn off some of the lights?"
"Not if you want me to bandage the right spot," she said back to him. "So, are you gonna tell me what brought this on?" she asked him casually.
"Brought what on?" asked Bosco. "I just went out for a few drinks with Nieto," he said defensively.
"This is not a few drinks, Bosco. It's been about five hours since your last drink and you're still stinking drunk! Do you even remember last night? Where were you guys before Nick's?" she chastised him.
"Of course I do. I was, uh, I don't remember," he answered, not looking at her. "I need to lay down," he said, suddenly looking paler. "Why don't you take some aspirin and water before you lay down again," she suggested to him. He nodded and filled the bathroom glass with water and opened the bottle of aspirin Faith had brought in with her from the bedroom. But, as soon as he had swallowed the pills and taken a drink, the cycle of getting sick began all over again.
He had been in the bathroom for just over an hour of non-stop retching, even though there was nothing left in him. His arm was still bleeding and each time Faith had gone back to check on him all she heard between retches was, "Never again, not ever," and "Oh God, help." She chuckled - men were such babies when they were sick. But, she WAS getting worried about him getting dehydrated. She had seen Fred this drunk before but he had never gotten sick for so long.
"Hey Bos," she called out as she went back into the bathroom. "Why don't we take a ride over to Mercy? You can get stitched up and maybe they can give you something for your stomach," she suggested, thinking they would probably give him an IV to re-hydrate him.
"Nah, I'll be okay. Why don't you take off, you don't need to stay anymore," he said standing up very slowly, rubbing his right side again. "It's okay," she answered. "I don't have the kids until Saturday afternoon and I still don't like the way you look," she said as she noticed him reach for the towel rack and start to pass out again. She reached him and caught him before he fell and was able to get him back to his bed before he totally blacked out. "Okay, this isn't right," she finally said to herself, feeling his forehead and noticing that he now had a pretty high fever.
Because she was unable to bring him around and his fever seemed to get worse over such a short period of time, she decided to dial 9-1-1 and call for an ambulance to take him to the hospital. This was more than just being intoxicated, he was really sick.
About 10 minutes later there was a knock on Bosco's door and Faith quickly opened it to see Doc and Kim there, along with Officers Donovan and Schmidt from the day shift who were sent to the call along with the medics, partly because it was procedure, but mostly because it was a fellow officer that needed help. Faith spoke with the officers and they returned to service after finding out they weren't needed. They agreed to talk to the Lieutenant and let him know that Bosco definitely would not be in to work this afternoon and that Faith probably would be taking a personal day. Faith said she would call the Lieutenant later on and let him know what was going on.
"Hey Faith," said Kim. "What's up?" They followed Faith down the hall as she explained what was going on.
"Well, I thought he was just hung over. I had to pick him up at O'Brien's last night - rather this morning - and he was really bad. Nick called me to come get him. I've never seen him this bad. Anyway, he's been throwing up non-stop for the past 2 or 3 hours and now he has a fever. He passed out, but right before that he kind of grabbed his side," she said worriedly.
"Okay, let's check him out," Doc said, noticing the bloody bandage on his arm. "What's this?" he asked as he started to assess Bosco's condition. "Oh, uh, he fell trying to get to the bathroom and knocked a glass over and landed on it," she said.
Kim was checking is blood pressure and pulse and had put an oxygen mask on Bosco. The oxygen seemed to revive him a little and he groaned and flinched as Doc was checking for any tenderness or guarding of his abdomen. He was still very sweaty and Doc told Kim that his fever felt pretty high. They started a precautionary IV and got him "packaged" on the stretcher and were ready to move out.
"What do you think, Doc? Is it alcohol poisoning or something?" she asked with concern.
"I don't think so, Faith. I think it may be his appendix. Except I think it ruptured already," said Doc. "We'll get him over to Mercy right away. You coming?"
"Absolutely," she answered without hesitation, grabbing her purse and locking up on the way out.
They arrived at the hospital a few minutes later and Doc and Kim wheeled Bosco into the Emergency Room with Faith following close behind. Because she was known in the ER as a cop and they knew that this was her partner, Nurse Proctor made sure Faith was allowed to go in with him. The doctors examined him and ordered bloodwork and an ultrasound of his abdomen. With the IV fluids and other medications being administered, Bosco seemed to be a little more aware of his surroundings.
Faith heard him groan and looked over and noticed him beginning to wake up. "Hey," she said quietly as she stepped up to his side. "Just lay still, you're at Mercy," she told him.
"Why?" he asked, in obvious discomfort. "Well, it looks like you have a ruptured appendix to go along with your hangover. You're a pretty sick puppy, so just lay back and relax. It looks like their talking surgery, but the doctor said he'd be right back," she explained. He reached over and took her hand and held it as the medication helped him drift off to sleep again. "Thanks Faith," he whispered before falling asleep. She squeezed his hand and ran her other hand through his hair, willing him to be okay. "I love you, Bosco," she confessed to him, tears of worry finally escaping. A few minutes later, the doctor came back with a couple of orderlies and told Faith that the tests showed that he did indeed have a ruptured appendix and they took him up to the Operating Room.
Faith followed the stretcher back out into the hallway and was heading up to the OR waiting room when she heard someone call her name from behind and turned to see Sully walking over to her. "What's going on?" he asked as he took in the site of an unconscious Bosco on the stretcher.
"Ruptured appendix. I guess I should have brought him in sooner, but I thought it was just from the alcohol, Sul," she said. Davis saw Sully talking to Faith as he returned from washing up after their last call and walked over.
"Hey Faith, what's up?" he asked, noticing her serious expression. Sully answered, "Faith brought Bosco in with a ruptured appendix. Faith, how were you supposed to know. I would have thought it was his hangover too," he reassured her. "The important thing is that you got him here. If he was home alone, he'd probably still be there," he pointed out.
"Yeah, I guess. But he's pretty sick 'cause it ruptured and the poison is getting into his system. I'm gonna give the Lieutenant a call and head up to the waiting area. I guess I better call his Mom, too," she said.
"Okay, well, we'll try to stop in later and see how he's doing, but call Davis' cell phone if you hear anything sooner," said Sully as they headed back to work.
"Okay, guys. Be careful out there," said Faith as she pulled out her cell phone to call the Lieutenant and explain why she hadn't shown up for work on time.
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Sorry, if this is a little boring but they are slowly realizing their feelings for each other and what they mean. I hope you are still enjoying this story.
Faith was in the middle of a wonderful dream. She was out for a nice night of dinner and dancing with a mysterious person. She couldn't make out who it was although there was some familiarity about the man. She was trying so hard in her dream to see his face, but every time she was just about to, she would lose it. Whoever the man was, Faith felt so at ease and relaxed. They had a wonderful dinner and were now dancing slowly, very close to each other. Faith could hear nothing but the music and felt nothing but the warmth from her companion's body tight against her as they swayed with the music. She could see or hear no one else around her. She felt his hand slowly caress her back, up and down along her spine to the very base of her back and stop there, his breath on her neck. That smell - she knew that cologne. The song ended and the two parted. Faith was just about to look into the eyes of the man that made her feel so safe...
She was awakened by a loud crash and she sat bolt upright. She immediately thought that one of the kids had fallen out of bed or something and jumped up to see that they were okay. She smashed her shin on the coffee table and thought, "Who the hell moved the furniture around?!" when she suddenly remembered where she was. She gathered her bearings, mentally thinking of the layout of Bosco's apartment in the dark and headed back toward his room. She heard some swearing and incoherent mumbling and felt for and flipped on the hallway light and saw him sprawled on the floor along side the bed, the glass of water broken alongside him.
"Bosco! Are you okay?" she said as she reached him.
"Faith? What the hell...?" he asked as he tried to sit up, cutting his arm on the broken glass before she could move it out of the way. "Shit!" he said, not really understanding where he was or how he had gotten there. The last thing he remembered was being at the bar and fighting with Nick about his keys. He still had a lot of alcohol in his system and as he moved he was hit by a sudden wave of nausea. "Oh God!" he said as he started to look around for a bathroom, still not knowing he was in his own apartment.
Faith saw the look on his pale face as he broke out in a sweat and started looking around in a panic. "This way!" she yelled. "You're at your place!" she said as she tried to help him up, grabbing the waste can alongside his dresser in case he didn't make it.
He clawed his way across the room and almost made it to the toilet, throwing up in the shower instead. "Oh well, that's better than the floor and walls," thought Faith as she positioned him in front of the toilet and grabbed a towel returning the bedroom to clean up the water and broken glass. She flipped on the light and saw that Bosco had apparently gotten tangled up in the bed covers because they were pulled to the floor with him. They too were wet. She went back to the closet and pulled out another set of sheets, looking over her shoulder to see Bosco heaving again. "Oh, this is fun," she said out loud sarcastically as she returned to the bedroom. A loud moan escaped from Bosco between retches.
A little while later, Faith had restored order to Bosco's bedroom and was cleaning and bandaging his arm as he sat on the side of the tub. "I think you're gonna need a couple of stitches here, Bos," she said, moving her eyes to his face. "Nah, it'll be alright," he mumbled very quietly, the pain showing on his face from the beginnings of his hangover. "I don't think so, it's pretty deep and ragged, you might have gotten a tendon or something," she warned him.
"I can't even move right now," he said, rubbing his right side. "Can you turn off some of the lights?"
"Not if you want me to bandage the right spot," she said back to him. "So, are you gonna tell me what brought this on?" she asked him casually.
"Brought what on?" asked Bosco. "I just went out for a few drinks with Nieto," he said defensively.
"This is not a few drinks, Bosco. It's been about five hours since your last drink and you're still stinking drunk! Do you even remember last night? Where were you guys before Nick's?" she chastised him.
"Of course I do. I was, uh, I don't remember," he answered, not looking at her. "I need to lay down," he said, suddenly looking paler. "Why don't you take some aspirin and water before you lay down again," she suggested to him. He nodded and filled the bathroom glass with water and opened the bottle of aspirin Faith had brought in with her from the bedroom. But, as soon as he had swallowed the pills and taken a drink, the cycle of getting sick began all over again.
He had been in the bathroom for just over an hour of non-stop retching, even though there was nothing left in him. His arm was still bleeding and each time Faith had gone back to check on him all she heard between retches was, "Never again, not ever," and "Oh God, help." She chuckled - men were such babies when they were sick. But, she WAS getting worried about him getting dehydrated. She had seen Fred this drunk before but he had never gotten sick for so long.
"Hey Bos," she called out as she went back into the bathroom. "Why don't we take a ride over to Mercy? You can get stitched up and maybe they can give you something for your stomach," she suggested, thinking they would probably give him an IV to re-hydrate him.
"Nah, I'll be okay. Why don't you take off, you don't need to stay anymore," he said standing up very slowly, rubbing his right side again. "It's okay," she answered. "I don't have the kids until Saturday afternoon and I still don't like the way you look," she said as she noticed him reach for the towel rack and start to pass out again. She reached him and caught him before he fell and was able to get him back to his bed before he totally blacked out. "Okay, this isn't right," she finally said to herself, feeling his forehead and noticing that he now had a pretty high fever.
Because she was unable to bring him around and his fever seemed to get worse over such a short period of time, she decided to dial 9-1-1 and call for an ambulance to take him to the hospital. This was more than just being intoxicated, he was really sick.
About 10 minutes later there was a knock on Bosco's door and Faith quickly opened it to see Doc and Kim there, along with Officers Donovan and Schmidt from the day shift who were sent to the call along with the medics, partly because it was procedure, but mostly because it was a fellow officer that needed help. Faith spoke with the officers and they returned to service after finding out they weren't needed. They agreed to talk to the Lieutenant and let him know that Bosco definitely would not be in to work this afternoon and that Faith probably would be taking a personal day. Faith said she would call the Lieutenant later on and let him know what was going on.
"Hey Faith," said Kim. "What's up?" They followed Faith down the hall as she explained what was going on.
"Well, I thought he was just hung over. I had to pick him up at O'Brien's last night - rather this morning - and he was really bad. Nick called me to come get him. I've never seen him this bad. Anyway, he's been throwing up non-stop for the past 2 or 3 hours and now he has a fever. He passed out, but right before that he kind of grabbed his side," she said worriedly.
"Okay, let's check him out," Doc said, noticing the bloody bandage on his arm. "What's this?" he asked as he started to assess Bosco's condition. "Oh, uh, he fell trying to get to the bathroom and knocked a glass over and landed on it," she said.
Kim was checking is blood pressure and pulse and had put an oxygen mask on Bosco. The oxygen seemed to revive him a little and he groaned and flinched as Doc was checking for any tenderness or guarding of his abdomen. He was still very sweaty and Doc told Kim that his fever felt pretty high. They started a precautionary IV and got him "packaged" on the stretcher and were ready to move out.
"What do you think, Doc? Is it alcohol poisoning or something?" she asked with concern.
"I don't think so, Faith. I think it may be his appendix. Except I think it ruptured already," said Doc. "We'll get him over to Mercy right away. You coming?"
"Absolutely," she answered without hesitation, grabbing her purse and locking up on the way out.
They arrived at the hospital a few minutes later and Doc and Kim wheeled Bosco into the Emergency Room with Faith following close behind. Because she was known in the ER as a cop and they knew that this was her partner, Nurse Proctor made sure Faith was allowed to go in with him. The doctors examined him and ordered bloodwork and an ultrasound of his abdomen. With the IV fluids and other medications being administered, Bosco seemed to be a little more aware of his surroundings.
Faith heard him groan and looked over and noticed him beginning to wake up. "Hey," she said quietly as she stepped up to his side. "Just lay still, you're at Mercy," she told him.
"Why?" he asked, in obvious discomfort. "Well, it looks like you have a ruptured appendix to go along with your hangover. You're a pretty sick puppy, so just lay back and relax. It looks like their talking surgery, but the doctor said he'd be right back," she explained. He reached over and took her hand and held it as the medication helped him drift off to sleep again. "Thanks Faith," he whispered before falling asleep. She squeezed his hand and ran her other hand through his hair, willing him to be okay. "I love you, Bosco," she confessed to him, tears of worry finally escaping. A few minutes later, the doctor came back with a couple of orderlies and told Faith that the tests showed that he did indeed have a ruptured appendix and they took him up to the Operating Room.
Faith followed the stretcher back out into the hallway and was heading up to the OR waiting room when she heard someone call her name from behind and turned to see Sully walking over to her. "What's going on?" he asked as he took in the site of an unconscious Bosco on the stretcher.
"Ruptured appendix. I guess I should have brought him in sooner, but I thought it was just from the alcohol, Sul," she said. Davis saw Sully talking to Faith as he returned from washing up after their last call and walked over.
"Hey Faith, what's up?" he asked, noticing her serious expression. Sully answered, "Faith brought Bosco in with a ruptured appendix. Faith, how were you supposed to know. I would have thought it was his hangover too," he reassured her. "The important thing is that you got him here. If he was home alone, he'd probably still be there," he pointed out.
"Yeah, I guess. But he's pretty sick 'cause it ruptured and the poison is getting into his system. I'm gonna give the Lieutenant a call and head up to the waiting area. I guess I better call his Mom, too," she said.
"Okay, well, we'll try to stop in later and see how he's doing, but call Davis' cell phone if you hear anything sooner," said Sully as they headed back to work.
"Okay, guys. Be careful out there," said Faith as she pulled out her cell phone to call the Lieutenant and explain why she hadn't shown up for work on time.
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Sorry, if this is a little boring but they are slowly realizing their feelings for each other and what they mean. I hope you are still enjoying this story.