This One's Personal
Chapter 15
~~~~~~~~~~~
Bosco carried Shaun into the ER at Mercy Hospital, with Kim following behind with the paperwork. Nurse Proctor showed them into a private exam room and made some small talk with Shaun while she prepared him to be examined by the doctor. Bosco never left Shaun's side and only reluctantly let go of his hand as Proctor removed his arm from the sleeve of his shirt to put him into the examination gown.
"So, Shaun. Are you feeling okay?" the nurse asked him.
"I'm okay," he said matter-of-factly, looking up at Bosco. "Bosco saved me from the bad man," he reported to the nurse.
"So I heard," she said to him with a smile. "He's a pretty great guy, isn't he?" she said as she looked at Bosco and winked.
"Yeah. I want him to be my new Dad. Mom says my real Dad can't be with us anymore because he's up in heaven with all the other firemen that got hurt that day," he said and Proctor looked over at Bosco who had a look of shock on his face. "But I think that Bosco would do a good job, don't you?"
"Don't look so scared, Bosco. It's normal," she said to him. "He just needs a male presence in his life. Someone he can count on and talk to," she added.
"Uh huh," he nodded, still shocked that he would want Bosco to fill in for his father. He'd never really thought it this far through, but after a few minutes he felt like he kind of liked the idea.
He was startled from his thoughts as the doctor came into the room. "Well, Shaun. You had a little bit of a scare so let's check you over to make sure that you're okay. Does that sound okay to you?" the doctor asked him carefully.
"Um, I, uh, I guess so," Shaun replied shyly, looking up at Bosco again. Bosco felt the boy's grip of his hand tighten slightly. He looked from Shaun to the doctor.
"Uh, Doc? Do you think it'd be okay if we waited for his Mom to get here?" Bosco asked him. "I think he'd feel a little better after he sees his Mom. He hasn't seen her yet since, well, the, uh, since we got him back," he finished.
The doctor looked at Shaun and gave him a big smile. "Absolutely. I'll just go check on some of the other patients until your Mom gets here," he said, winking at Shaun and nodding to Bosco.
"Thanks, Doc," Bosco said.
"No problem. I didn't know that his Mom wasn't here yet," he said, turning to go see some other patients.
"So, will you?" Shaun asked Bosco.
"Will I what, Buddy?" he asked back.
"Will you be my new Dad?" he asked, as Katy walked through the door with Lieutenant Swersky right behind him. She had Stephanie in her arms and Michael and Matthew were close behind her. She paused briefly at the door as she heard Shaun's question to Bosco, but her desire to hold Shaun and make sure that he was safe made her put the question out of her mind for now. She handed Stephanie over to the Lieutenant.
"Shaun," she said, picking him up off the table and hugging him tightly to her. "Honey, I'm so glad you're safe. I was so worried. I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to keep the bad man away," she said, tears sliding down her cheeks.
"It's okay, Mommy. Bosco caught the bad man and he said that he won't be able to bother me anymore," Shaun informed her. Katy made eye contact with Bosco who was trying to stifle a chuckle. The question that Shaun had asked him as Katy arrived was also put aside in his mind for the time being as he watched the light return to Katy's eyes now that her family was safe.
He looked around Katy and saw Michael standing off to the side of the room. He walked over to him and squatted down in front of him. "You okay, Champ?" he asked him.
Michael just nodded. "You sure?" he asked again, quieter. At that, Michael's eyes filled with tears and although he tried as hard as he could to hold them back, they fell. Bosco immediately reached out and brought Michael close to him. "Thanks for taking care of your Mom, Matt and Stephanie for me. You did a great job." He felt the sobs shaking the boy and held him tighter against him, feeling the tears fall on his neck.
"Buddy, everything's gonna be fine now. Everyone's safe. I promise," he said, trying to reassure Michael. He separated from Michael and held him in front of him. "You remember what I told you, right? This is in no way your fault. There's nothing anyone could have done to know that this would have happened. And you kept everything together at home while I went to get Shaun back. I was able to do that because I knew you had things at home covered," he said, reinforcing his previous conversation with Michael.
The boy nodded his head up and down as he was able to gather his emotions back in. "Alright. Now, how about you go over there with the rest of them and welcome your brother back," Bosco said, stepping aside to let Michael by.
The Lieutenant, who was still holding Stephanie, turned to Bosco. "Good work," he said to him, holding out his hand to shake it.
"Thank you, Sir," Bosco replied, taking the Lieutenant's hand and shaking it.
"Bosco," Stephanie said, reaching out for him. Bosco took the little girl from her grandfather's arms and noticed how good it felt to have someone reaching out for him. Suddenly, it struck him and he said, "Hey! You remembered my name, Stephi! Good girl."
"Bosco Dada," the little girl replied and everyone laughed. The doctor came into the room and Bosco and the Lieutenant took the other kids out to the waiting area to let him check Shaun over.
As they sat in the waiting room, the Lieutenant turned to Bosco. "The psychologist that was seeing Shaun after this all started contacted us today," he started. "He said that although he wasn't really supposed to discuss patients with anyone, he just wanted to let us know that from what Shaun is saying and showing him on the doll he uses, Palmer didn't do anything to him. He just talked about it, but hadn't acted on it yet."
"Thank God for that," Bosco said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank God for that," he repeated, looking into the room.
"By the way," Swersky said, looking at his watch. "You can have the rest of the shift off."
Bosco looked at his watch and realized that he should have been about two hours into his shift. He hadn't even thought about it. "Thank you, Sir," he said, standing up as Katy came to the doorway.
"Dad, could you bring the kids in and stay in here with Shaun? I'd like to talk to Bosco," Katy said to her father. The Lieutenant stood up and brought the kids into Shaun's room with him.
Katy walked over to Bosco and awkwardly stood in front of him. "So, is he alright?" Bosco asked her.
"He's fine. The doctor said that with time, this should all be just a distant memory for him. He should be absolutely fine," she said, starting to cry again. "Bosco, I don't know what I would have done if not for you," she said, putting her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug.
Putting his arms around her, he replied, "Hey. I'm just glad that I was able to bring him back." He gripped her shoulders and gently eased her away from him so that he was looking at her face. "But, it was a group effort. If not for the guys from the station and the firehouse, I don't know if it would have been as good a result," Bosco said, spreading the credit around where it was due.
"I know. But, I just knew that you'd be able to bring my son back to me," she said, suddenly leaning forward and kissing him.
Faith was coming around the corner. She'd brought in Palmer to get some stitches from his apprehension and thought she'd check to see how Shaun was doing. She saw Bosco and Katy in the middle of what looked to her like a pretty romantic kiss. She stepped back around the corner to give them a little privacy and overheard Katy say, "I heard what Shaun asked you as I was coming into the room - about you being his new Daddy."
"Look, Katy..." he started but was interrupted when Katy put a finger to his lips to shush him.
"Bosco. I've been having some pretty strong feelings about you. Feelings I haven't had in a while - even before all this," she said, blushing slightly.
"You have?" Bosco said, smiling. She nodded and he continued, "Because I've been having some feelings I don't think I've EVER had before."
"Well, what d'you say we take some time to explore both of our feelings," Katy said, leaning in to kiss him again.
"Mmmm. I kinda like the sound of that," Bosco said, kissing her back. "But, I want you to know that we can take it as slow as you need to. I know the kids come first and that's the way it should be," he said.
"I think I'm gonna like having you around more," she said as the two began to kiss again.
Faith stepped around the corner and cleared her throat so that they'd know she was there. "Oh, sorry," she said as she finally got their attention and they pulled away from each other. She tried not to laugh as she saw the embarrassment on Bosco's face.
"Faith. Everything okay?" Bosco asked, flustered.
"Just fine. I brought a prisoner in for some stitches," she explained to Bosco, not wanting to use Palmer's name and upset Katy. She knew that Bosco understood who she had with her. "And I thought I'd check to see how everyone's doing," she said, an awkward silence falling between them as she watched Bosco and Katy looking at each other.
"Well, I can see things are going great here, so I'll just..., head on back to the precinct," she said, trailing off. "I'll see you at work tomorrow, partner," she said turning to leave.
"Wait!" Katy called after her. "Faith, I just wanted to thank you for helping Bosco to bring Shaun back safely. I know he had a lot of help and I'll find a way to repay everyone," she said.
"Katy, the only payment we need is to know that Shaun is safe and happy again," Faith said. "Take care," she finished as she turned to leave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EPILOGUE....
It had been about a year since Shaun's ordeal and everyone had healed nicely. Shaun never talked about it anymore and his nightmares were gone. Part of the reason may have been because Bosco and Katy had gotten married about three months ago and they all lived in the house on Arthur.
Michael was growing into quite a young man, with all the girls after him, causing Katy much distress and Bosco much amusement. He'd even come to Bosco a couple of times for advice on girls - much to Faith's amazement and worry at what he was advising.
Matthew was growing quickly too and was totally consumed by baseball. He wanted them all to move to Florida so he could play year round - determined to be a professional baseball player with the New York Yankees.
Shaun was active in a lot of activities with his friends and was doing well in school. He was very close to Bosco and the two spent a lot of time together.
Stephanie had dropped the "Bosco" part of her name for Bosco and just called him "Daddy." They had decided that it was okay, but that they'd never let her forget that Mark was her real father and, as Bosco said, he was just there to do whatever he could to help her grow up healthy and safe.
Faith and Bosco were still partners on the Third Watch and took turns going to either Bosco and Katy's or Fred and Faith's for their meal breaks. Lieutenant Swersky remained their boss and was only too happy to walk his daughter down the aisle when she married Officer Maurice Boscorelli - something that no one in the 55th Precinct thought would ever happen.
The family of the NYPD and FDNY on King and Arthur remained as strong as ever and there were many get togethers among the families of the 5-5.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The End.
Chapter 15
~~~~~~~~~~~
Bosco carried Shaun into the ER at Mercy Hospital, with Kim following behind with the paperwork. Nurse Proctor showed them into a private exam room and made some small talk with Shaun while she prepared him to be examined by the doctor. Bosco never left Shaun's side and only reluctantly let go of his hand as Proctor removed his arm from the sleeve of his shirt to put him into the examination gown.
"So, Shaun. Are you feeling okay?" the nurse asked him.
"I'm okay," he said matter-of-factly, looking up at Bosco. "Bosco saved me from the bad man," he reported to the nurse.
"So I heard," she said to him with a smile. "He's a pretty great guy, isn't he?" she said as she looked at Bosco and winked.
"Yeah. I want him to be my new Dad. Mom says my real Dad can't be with us anymore because he's up in heaven with all the other firemen that got hurt that day," he said and Proctor looked over at Bosco who had a look of shock on his face. "But I think that Bosco would do a good job, don't you?"
"Don't look so scared, Bosco. It's normal," she said to him. "He just needs a male presence in his life. Someone he can count on and talk to," she added.
"Uh huh," he nodded, still shocked that he would want Bosco to fill in for his father. He'd never really thought it this far through, but after a few minutes he felt like he kind of liked the idea.
He was startled from his thoughts as the doctor came into the room. "Well, Shaun. You had a little bit of a scare so let's check you over to make sure that you're okay. Does that sound okay to you?" the doctor asked him carefully.
"Um, I, uh, I guess so," Shaun replied shyly, looking up at Bosco again. Bosco felt the boy's grip of his hand tighten slightly. He looked from Shaun to the doctor.
"Uh, Doc? Do you think it'd be okay if we waited for his Mom to get here?" Bosco asked him. "I think he'd feel a little better after he sees his Mom. He hasn't seen her yet since, well, the, uh, since we got him back," he finished.
The doctor looked at Shaun and gave him a big smile. "Absolutely. I'll just go check on some of the other patients until your Mom gets here," he said, winking at Shaun and nodding to Bosco.
"Thanks, Doc," Bosco said.
"No problem. I didn't know that his Mom wasn't here yet," he said, turning to go see some other patients.
"So, will you?" Shaun asked Bosco.
"Will I what, Buddy?" he asked back.
"Will you be my new Dad?" he asked, as Katy walked through the door with Lieutenant Swersky right behind him. She had Stephanie in her arms and Michael and Matthew were close behind her. She paused briefly at the door as she heard Shaun's question to Bosco, but her desire to hold Shaun and make sure that he was safe made her put the question out of her mind for now. She handed Stephanie over to the Lieutenant.
"Shaun," she said, picking him up off the table and hugging him tightly to her. "Honey, I'm so glad you're safe. I was so worried. I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to keep the bad man away," she said, tears sliding down her cheeks.
"It's okay, Mommy. Bosco caught the bad man and he said that he won't be able to bother me anymore," Shaun informed her. Katy made eye contact with Bosco who was trying to stifle a chuckle. The question that Shaun had asked him as Katy arrived was also put aside in his mind for the time being as he watched the light return to Katy's eyes now that her family was safe.
He looked around Katy and saw Michael standing off to the side of the room. He walked over to him and squatted down in front of him. "You okay, Champ?" he asked him.
Michael just nodded. "You sure?" he asked again, quieter. At that, Michael's eyes filled with tears and although he tried as hard as he could to hold them back, they fell. Bosco immediately reached out and brought Michael close to him. "Thanks for taking care of your Mom, Matt and Stephanie for me. You did a great job." He felt the sobs shaking the boy and held him tighter against him, feeling the tears fall on his neck.
"Buddy, everything's gonna be fine now. Everyone's safe. I promise," he said, trying to reassure Michael. He separated from Michael and held him in front of him. "You remember what I told you, right? This is in no way your fault. There's nothing anyone could have done to know that this would have happened. And you kept everything together at home while I went to get Shaun back. I was able to do that because I knew you had things at home covered," he said, reinforcing his previous conversation with Michael.
The boy nodded his head up and down as he was able to gather his emotions back in. "Alright. Now, how about you go over there with the rest of them and welcome your brother back," Bosco said, stepping aside to let Michael by.
The Lieutenant, who was still holding Stephanie, turned to Bosco. "Good work," he said to him, holding out his hand to shake it.
"Thank you, Sir," Bosco replied, taking the Lieutenant's hand and shaking it.
"Bosco," Stephanie said, reaching out for him. Bosco took the little girl from her grandfather's arms and noticed how good it felt to have someone reaching out for him. Suddenly, it struck him and he said, "Hey! You remembered my name, Stephi! Good girl."
"Bosco Dada," the little girl replied and everyone laughed. The doctor came into the room and Bosco and the Lieutenant took the other kids out to the waiting area to let him check Shaun over.
As they sat in the waiting room, the Lieutenant turned to Bosco. "The psychologist that was seeing Shaun after this all started contacted us today," he started. "He said that although he wasn't really supposed to discuss patients with anyone, he just wanted to let us know that from what Shaun is saying and showing him on the doll he uses, Palmer didn't do anything to him. He just talked about it, but hadn't acted on it yet."
"Thank God for that," Bosco said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank God for that," he repeated, looking into the room.
"By the way," Swersky said, looking at his watch. "You can have the rest of the shift off."
Bosco looked at his watch and realized that he should have been about two hours into his shift. He hadn't even thought about it. "Thank you, Sir," he said, standing up as Katy came to the doorway.
"Dad, could you bring the kids in and stay in here with Shaun? I'd like to talk to Bosco," Katy said to her father. The Lieutenant stood up and brought the kids into Shaun's room with him.
Katy walked over to Bosco and awkwardly stood in front of him. "So, is he alright?" Bosco asked her.
"He's fine. The doctor said that with time, this should all be just a distant memory for him. He should be absolutely fine," she said, starting to cry again. "Bosco, I don't know what I would have done if not for you," she said, putting her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug.
Putting his arms around her, he replied, "Hey. I'm just glad that I was able to bring him back." He gripped her shoulders and gently eased her away from him so that he was looking at her face. "But, it was a group effort. If not for the guys from the station and the firehouse, I don't know if it would have been as good a result," Bosco said, spreading the credit around where it was due.
"I know. But, I just knew that you'd be able to bring my son back to me," she said, suddenly leaning forward and kissing him.
Faith was coming around the corner. She'd brought in Palmer to get some stitches from his apprehension and thought she'd check to see how Shaun was doing. She saw Bosco and Katy in the middle of what looked to her like a pretty romantic kiss. She stepped back around the corner to give them a little privacy and overheard Katy say, "I heard what Shaun asked you as I was coming into the room - about you being his new Daddy."
"Look, Katy..." he started but was interrupted when Katy put a finger to his lips to shush him.
"Bosco. I've been having some pretty strong feelings about you. Feelings I haven't had in a while - even before all this," she said, blushing slightly.
"You have?" Bosco said, smiling. She nodded and he continued, "Because I've been having some feelings I don't think I've EVER had before."
"Well, what d'you say we take some time to explore both of our feelings," Katy said, leaning in to kiss him again.
"Mmmm. I kinda like the sound of that," Bosco said, kissing her back. "But, I want you to know that we can take it as slow as you need to. I know the kids come first and that's the way it should be," he said.
"I think I'm gonna like having you around more," she said as the two began to kiss again.
Faith stepped around the corner and cleared her throat so that they'd know she was there. "Oh, sorry," she said as she finally got their attention and they pulled away from each other. She tried not to laugh as she saw the embarrassment on Bosco's face.
"Faith. Everything okay?" Bosco asked, flustered.
"Just fine. I brought a prisoner in for some stitches," she explained to Bosco, not wanting to use Palmer's name and upset Katy. She knew that Bosco understood who she had with her. "And I thought I'd check to see how everyone's doing," she said, an awkward silence falling between them as she watched Bosco and Katy looking at each other.
"Well, I can see things are going great here, so I'll just..., head on back to the precinct," she said, trailing off. "I'll see you at work tomorrow, partner," she said turning to leave.
"Wait!" Katy called after her. "Faith, I just wanted to thank you for helping Bosco to bring Shaun back safely. I know he had a lot of help and I'll find a way to repay everyone," she said.
"Katy, the only payment we need is to know that Shaun is safe and happy again," Faith said. "Take care," she finished as she turned to leave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EPILOGUE....
It had been about a year since Shaun's ordeal and everyone had healed nicely. Shaun never talked about it anymore and his nightmares were gone. Part of the reason may have been because Bosco and Katy had gotten married about three months ago and they all lived in the house on Arthur.
Michael was growing into quite a young man, with all the girls after him, causing Katy much distress and Bosco much amusement. He'd even come to Bosco a couple of times for advice on girls - much to Faith's amazement and worry at what he was advising.
Matthew was growing quickly too and was totally consumed by baseball. He wanted them all to move to Florida so he could play year round - determined to be a professional baseball player with the New York Yankees.
Shaun was active in a lot of activities with his friends and was doing well in school. He was very close to Bosco and the two spent a lot of time together.
Stephanie had dropped the "Bosco" part of her name for Bosco and just called him "Daddy." They had decided that it was okay, but that they'd never let her forget that Mark was her real father and, as Bosco said, he was just there to do whatever he could to help her grow up healthy and safe.
Faith and Bosco were still partners on the Third Watch and took turns going to either Bosco and Katy's or Fred and Faith's for their meal breaks. Lieutenant Swersky remained their boss and was only too happy to walk his daughter down the aisle when she married Officer Maurice Boscorelli - something that no one in the 55th Precinct thought would ever happen.
The family of the NYPD and FDNY on King and Arthur remained as strong as ever and there were many get togethers among the families of the 5-5.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The End.