Arrival Overdue

Chapter 13
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Bosco was waiting for Jennifer to get done with a case in the operating room. Luckily, they didn't need the bed for another patient and he was able to stay there until she was done. All of his paperwork was completed and he was just hanging out watching the game on television until Jennifer was done.

Finally, she came into the room. "Sorry it took so long. It was a pretty messy job," she said.

"No problem," he said, climbing off the bed and maneuvering into the wheelchair alongside the bed. He wasn't able to use crutches yet because of his shoulder injury and abdominal surgery, and he could only put a little weight on his leg with the cast, so he was stuck in the wheelchair for the time being.

The nurse came in and said, "I'll call for an orderly to take you down, Bosco."

"No, that's okay, Lisa. I'll wheel him down. I'm going down that way anyway," she said, trying to hide the fact that they were going to the same place.

"Okay, Doctor. Have a good night and you take care Bosco," said Lisa with a smile.

"Thanks, Lisa. Thanks for everything," Bosco said, giving a smile back to the young girl.

As Jennifer wheeled Bosco toward the elevators that led to the back entrance of the hospital where the doctor's parking lot was, she said, "Enjoyed that, did you?"

"What?" he asked.

"Oh, she was soooo flirting with you," Jennifer said, tapping him on the head as she pushed the chair.

"Really? I didn't notice," he said innocently.

"Yeah, right. So, how're you feeling today? You look a lot better," she said.

"I feel pretty good. It must be knowing that I'm getting out of this place. Are you sure I won't be in the way at your place, because I can just get a room somewhere," he said.

"Yes, I'm sure. Jordan's all ready for you. She said she's going to be your nurse and she'll get you anything you need," Jennifer told him.

"I was kind of hoping you'd be my nurse," he said, tipping his head back to look up at her. She laughed and put her hand on the side of his face.

"We'll see. Maybe I'll let you play doctor and you can let me play cop," she said in almost a whisper as they reached the rear entrance.

"Ooh. I think I'd like to try that," he said as they reached her car. She helped him into the car and handed him the seatbelt to put on. As she was bent over him he leaned forward and turned her chin toward him and slowly began kissing her and felt her start to respond. After a moment they broke the kiss and she stood up, closed the door and returned the wheelchair inside the doorway. He was looking forward to the next couple of days because Jennifer had taken a couple of days off to stay with him.

She got into the car and started out of the parking lot, neither she nor Bosco knowing that Mason's man was waiting for Bosco to come out the front of the hospital instead of the back.

They made small talk on the short trip to her home and she pulled into the garage and helped him into the house using the wheelchair that she'd made arrangements to have delivered to her home earlier in the day.

They were hardly in the door when they were swarmed by a very excited Jordan who should have been in bed, but who was obviously too excited about the visitor to sleep.

"Jordan, wait! Let me get Bosco to the couch so he can rest," Jennifer told her daughter.

"It's okay. Hey. You want to ride over there with me?" he asked the little girl as she carefully climbed onto his lap.

"Go, Mommy, Go!" she squealed.

"This isn't the Daytona 500 and you're not helping," she said to both Jordan and Bosco," Jennifer said, laughing.

"Go, Mommy, Go!" Bosco repeated, as Mrs. Donaldson came into the room.

"I'm so sorry, Dr. Tate. She was just too wound up to sleep. I did try," the woman told her.

"I know Mrs. Donaldson. Don't worry about it. Thanks for staying late. I really appreciate it. This is Officer Boscorelli, a friend of mine," Jennifer told the woman as they both helped Bosco to the couch.

"It's no trouble. Nice to meet you. Jordan's talked about you non-stop all day. It's so nice of you to give me the next couple of days off. I'm going to go visit my grandchildren," the woman said.

"Great! Tell Gary and Linda I said hello and say hi to Billy and Sarah for Jordan and me," Jennifer said, walking Mrs. Donaldson to the door. "Goodnight and drive carefully," she said, closing the door and turning back to see Bosco reading a book to Jordan who finally started to calm down as the late hour started to hit her.

"Okay, young lady. It's bedtime for you," Jennifer said coming over to take her upstairs.

"Aw, Mom! I want to visit with Officer Bosco," she complained.

"It's okay, Jordan. We can have breakfast together in the morning, okay?" Bosco said.

"Okay," she said with a smile as Jennifer took her upstairs to her room. Bosco looked around the room, done in warm, comforting colors. He noticed the police officer's badge and American flag mounted on dark blue velvet in a dark wood frame on the wall next to the fireplace and the pictures of Jordan and Jennifer with a man that Bosco assumed was her husband. "That must have been hard," he thought to himself as he let the big couch swallow him up.

The next thing he knew, he smelled something cooking and opened his eyes. He must have dozed off and he woke up just in time to see Jennifer walking toward him with a tray of food. She had changed into comfortable clothes and let her hair loose. He couldn't believe she could be more beautiful, but she was.

"Thought you might be hungry. It's nothing much, but it should hold you over until breakfast," Jennifer said, setting the tray on the coffee table in front of him. "Did you have a nice nap?" she asked him.

"Sorry about that. I didn't think that little bit of moving around would wear me out so much," he apologized.

"Don't worry about it. You should eat and then I'll get you into the guest room so you can get a good night's rest. I think you'll need it for Jordan tomorrow," she teased. They sat together talking and eating and before they knew it the clock chimed 1:00 a.m. Bosco didn't want the night to end. He was enjoying getting to know about her. He couldn't get enough and wanted to know everything about her. She had even gotten him to talk about his childhood which he didn't do with anyone. Even Faith didn't know the whole story, but Jennifer listened and didn't judge.

"Well, Maurice. Let's get you into bed," she said, standing up and moving the wheelchair closer to him. He fought the urge to make a comment and maneuvered himself into the chair and they headed toward the guest room, immediately off the living room.

"I left some pajamas on the bed. I hope they're the right size and you have a small bathroom right in there. There's a toothbrush and some other things I thought you might need while you're here, but if you need anything let me know and I'll be glad to pick it up," she said, indicating a small room off the other side of the bedroom. "If you need help, just call me. I'm a light sleeper," she said. "Oh! You get changed and I'll go in the kitchen and get you one of your pain pills. Even if you don't feel too bad, you should probably take one to prevent any discomfort during the night," she said, leaving him alone.

Bosco maneuvered the wheelchair to the bathroom and balanced himself to get his teeth brushed and change his clothes. When Jennifer returned he was leaning against the bed, ready to put his t-shirt on. She took in a sharp breath at the site of his bare chest and arms, despite the bandages that remained and felt her pulse quicken. "Jennifer! You see bare-chested men every day," she said to herself, but had trouble taking her eyes off of him. She walked over and handed him a glass of water and his pain medication. She put a bottle of water on the nightstand in case he got thirsty during the night.

He took the medicine and handed her back the glass as their fingers touched. He held onto her hand as she took the glass with her other hand and set it on the nightstand. "I'm sorry, but you're just so beautiful and I just can't help..." he said as he pulled her toward him and they began kissing. She kissed him back and he felt the urgency of her kiss. They had started to explore each other, but were interrupted with Jordan's voice calling her mother for a glass of water.

Their lips parted, leaving them both breathless. "I'm sorry. We go through this every night," she said, slightly embarrassed. "You should get some sleep though. Goodnight," she said, leaving him sitting on the edge of the bed.

After she left, he let out a deep breath. "Wow," was all he said.

On the other side of the door, Jennifer stood catching her breath. Her eye caught sight of her husband's picture on the mantle piece and a wave of guilt came over her as tears sprang to her eyes. "I'm sorry, Jeff," she said to the picture before she went upstairs to get her daughter a glass of water.

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"What do you mean, he's not there anymore?" Paulie asked Danny over the phone shortly after Bosco and Jennifer had left.

"I mean, he's gone, but he didn't come out this way. I went back upstairs and went past his room. He's gone. The nurse's were cleaning up some of the equipment that was in the room and I heard them talking. Apparently, this Boscorelli and his doctor have something going on and he went home with her. I'm trying to get the address," Danny explained.

"Jesus!" Paulie said to himself. "Mr. Mason's not gonna be too happy about this Danny," he said to the man. "Look, what's the doctor's name?"

"Tate. Dr. Jennifer Tate," Danny reported.

"Okay, Paulie. You go to the bar that we talked about. I'll meet you there shortly and we'll talk about it more," Paulie said, knowing that Danny wasn't going to be talking to anyone shortly.

"Okay, Paulie," Danny answered, hanging up the phone. Paulie dialed the man he'd talked to about taking Danny out and told him to take care of it - tonight.
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TBC...