Was That My Life Part Two
Part Three Coming Soon! Don't forget to review!
She'd only been there one day and she was already tired of laying down. She needed to get out, but Bosco, Sully and Davis were watching her like a hawk. It didn't help that she'd had a nightmare the night before. She didn't remember much about it, just that Bosco had shaken her awake and told her she was safe. She realized how good of a friend he was, and how fortunate she was to have him in her life. She only wished she had her kids with her. She was supposed to be with them. It was a hard time for them and she wasn't sure they understood what was going on with her and Fred.
She'd been sleeping a lot, and knew she must need a lot of it. Her body had been through a lot, and she was starting to feel the pain that went along with her injuries.
She scanned the room and saw what looked to be a couple of pill bottles. They were sitting on a table by the window. She didn't want to bother Bosco. He had been so great, she couldn't bear to drag him out of his shower. It was the one time in the last day or so he could relax. She shifted her weight, slowly, trying to sit up. It would be hard, but she'd figure out a way to get to the table. Gingerly, she eased herself up into a sitting position. It wasn't an easy to feat with a cast and broken ribs. Sliding over toward the edge of the bed, she brought her feet around so they were hanging over the bed. She panted, gasping at the pain that went shooting through her body with each movement. She knew it was a mistake to have tried it, but all she could think of was how close she was to getting up. If she could just get out of bed, she would be okay. Sliding forward, her feet touched the ground. She stood up and found herself face to face with the floor.
"Faith? Faith? Oh God, how'd you get out of bed? What are you doing down there?" His heart was pounding so hard he thought he could hear it through his chest. He had heard a noise and was afraid Fred had somehow found them. Seeing Faith facedown on the floor scared him. He couldn't live with himself if she'd been injured again. "Come on, let's get you back in bed." He pulled her up, wincing as her face contorted in pain. It had been six hours since she'd had her nightmare and he'd given her medication to take. It was time for another dose, and he knew she'd be needing it more than ever. Helping her back into bed, he covered her up and grabbed his cell phone. "Doc, it's Bosco. I need you to do me a favor. Faith fell. I don't know if she's hurt, but I don't know anything about this stuff. Can you come over and see if she's okay? Great, we'll be here. Thanks. Oh, and Doc? Hurry, will ya? I hate seein' her like this." He hung up the phone and held his friend's hand, kicking himself for not being more careful. He wanted to take a shower so bad. He couldn't stand feeling all gross. Last time he checked on her she was sleeping. He didn't know she'd try and get out of bed.
"Hey, you okay? Wanna tell me what you were doin'?" He saw her eyes fill with tears. He'd seen her cry too much lately. He just wanted his friend back. He listened as she told him what she wanted to get up for. "Hey, if there's anything you need, ever, you let me know. I'm supposed to back you up. I didn't know you'd try to do a swan dive, or I'd have waited until the guys got back. They'll be back later on with food. I had Ty pick up some crackers last night so you could take your medicine this morning without having to wait for food to come." He walked over and grabbed the two bottles. "Here's some juice you had left over from yesterday. It's kinda' old, but it'll do. Doc's comin' over. He'll have you checked out in no time." She downed the pills and started coughing. Tears were starting to stream down her cheeks. He hated to see in her in pain. He knew her ribs were hurting her just breathing, and he wished he could make her feel better.
"Bosco, it's us." Bosco looked through the peephole and saw Carlos and Doc waiting for them, gear ready. "She's over here. I hope I didn't hurt her more by getting her in bed. I didn't know what else to do." Doc knew he was only trying to help. "You did fine Bosco. Now, let's see if we can look at this lovely partner of yours, shall we?" He winked, knowing Faith could use the boost. He carefully unwrapped her bandage around her midsection, feeling for new breaks. Feeling none, he rewrapped her up and checked her legs and arms. Just to be sure, he checked for head injuries while Carlos checked her blood pressure. Finding she was just bruised, he reassured Bosco. "Her breathing is labored, but that's to be expected with the ribs and all. Not much you can do for broken ribs. Just have to wrap them and let them heal. It'll be painful, but that's all. If she complains of difficulty breathing or if anything else comes up, call me." He wasn't a doctor, but he would do everything in his power to help his friend. Carlos patted Bosco on the back and saw the men to the door.
Carlos stopped on the way out, turning around. "You need us, just call. I mean it." Bosco nodded and shut the door.
It had been a half an hour since the fall, and Faith was doing better. Her breathing was raspy, was getting better as she calmed down. Her medication had kicked in, allowing her to have only a hint of pain. It wasn't gone completely, but it was better than before. She promised Bosco not to try and do anything by herself again until she was ready. She heard the door open, and it was Sully and Davis, back with food. They stocked up a mini fridge they had bought and sat down on the other bed. "How you doin' Faith? Feeling better?" She did her best to smile, trying to reassure them. She knew they didn't know what to do to help, but just being there was help enough. She only hoped they knew it. "Yeah, lots. Amazing what those drugs can do." She stifled a yawn, feeling irritated with herself for being tired again. She closed her eyes and went to sleep, wondering to herself it she should apologize for falling asleep while talking to the guys. She figured it could wait until she got up.
Sully shook his head. What a mess she had been through. He was glad Bosco had asked them for their help. He didn't want her to have to go through it alone. He figured Ty felt the same way. The two men realized Bosco wasn't fully dressed. "Uh..Bosco...I know we're used to seein' each other change and all, but don't you think you're taking this a little too far?" Bosco looked down and felt his face going red. He only had on a towel that was barely covering what was beneath. He'd been in such a hurry to help Faith he never thought about getting dressed. He told Davis and Sully about Faith's fall and that he wasn't concerned with what he was wearing. "Geez, I'm glad she's okay. What a mess. Let's say from now on we don't leave her by herself. She thinks she's a bother and won't admit it when she needs help. It's our job to not let her admit it. We're gonna just help her." Bosco and Davis agreed. Still feeling embarrassed, Bosco excused himself to the bathroom to get dressed. He emerged less than two minutes later, wearing a t-shirt and jeans. He was feeling less macho, as he realized Kim or Alex could have come with Doc earlier to check on Faith. He would have never heard the end of it if they'd seen him. The infamous towel would go down in history.
She could hear the television on. It was barely audible. She realized whoever was watching it must have turned the volume down so they wouldn't wake her. She opened her eyes and glanced around the room. Sun was coming through the curtains, so she knew it was still daylight out.
"Hey, sleepyhead. How you feelin'?" Bosco looked over at his partner. She had a confused expression on her face. He knew she was probably wondering how long she had been asleep. "A couple of hours. Not as long as I thought you'd be asleep. It's about about noon." He saw her nod and lay back down on the pillow. "If you want, I can help you sit up. I know it's probably not very comfortable layin' there in the same position all the time. She nodded again, giving him permission to help her. He only hoped he didn't hurt her. "Thanks. That feels so much better. I'm sick of layin' around." When he was done helping her, he grabbed a pillow from his bed and put it behind her back for more support. "I know you are, but Doc said by tomorrow you should be ready to be up and around. You need to take it easy though. No more getting up unless you have help. You need to be gradual. After laying in bed, you cant just expect to get up and walk around."
"Sitting up will help. Later on, if you want, you can sit at the table when dinner comes. Davis and Sully have a microwave in their room. They're going to bring you some soup and me a tv dinner. So, um...do you want to talk about it?"
She bit her lip, remaining quiet. She knew it would help, but there were so many emotions going through her head, she didn't know if she could sort them out enough to tell him. She wanted to. She needed to.
"kay." It was barely audible, and he knew she needed time. "Well, I came home from work the other night and he um...he was angry about me gettin' home late. I told him there was nothin' I could do, that we were runnin' short 'cause some guys called in sick. He thought I was out with another man and he...so after that he told me not to leave the apartment. He didn't want anyone to know." Bosco watched her. He knew she was afraid to tell him, but was glad she confided in him. He was only sorry she had to go through it. "You're safe now, Faith. He can't hurt you anymore. It's his loss. You could have any guy out there, Faith. If you were the kind of person, you would have done somethin' about it. But, you're not. Like I said, it's his loss." She held out her hand and he walked over to give her a gentle hug, careful not to hurt her. "Don't ever forget that, Faith. You got great kids and a lot of friends that want to see you around. Don't waste your time even sayin' his name. He doesn't deserve you."
"Thanks, Bosco. I really need to her things like that right now. Hey, do you think I could call my kids, ya know, see how they're doin'?" Bosco grabbed the phone and set it on the bed. "Hey, i'll leave so you can have privacy. I have to shave, but if you need me, let me know." She smiled and watched him leave.
"So, how are the kids?" He knew she cared about her kids more than anything, and he wanted to make sure they were taken care of.
"They're fine. Charlie misses me and Em is upset. They're such good kids. Why did they have to go through that?" She sighed, as Bosco sat down on the bed beside her.
"Faith, kids bounce back. Just having their mom alive is enough for them to move on with their lives. You guys are gonna' be okay. For what it's worth, you didn't deserve what happened to you either, and I wish I hadn't said anything to you the other day. I'm sorry, Faith. I was way out of line. I didn't know all this was going on."
"Bosco, we're going to have our fights. The important thing is we made it through. I made it through, thanks to you."
Sully and Davis came, bearing meals. They all ate in silence, watching each other. Sully and Davis knew their friend needed them, and were happy to help. Bosco saw in Faith a terrific mom, and a great friend. He hoped someday he'd find a woman like her. They both knew it would change their partnership, so they didn't dare try anything. Just being friends was fine by them. Davis and Ty left after an hour, seeing that Faith needed her sleep. Bosco picked up dishes and looked down. She had eaten all she could eat, and was staring down at her bowl.
"Hey, you finished, partner?" She nodded and started to get up. "Hey, let me help you. Here you go." He helped her over to her bed and made sure she was comfortable, before speaking.
"Faith, what's up? I know you're upset about something. You have every right to be, but I'm just wondering. If you don't want to tell me you don't have to." He saw her fight with herself, trying to find words.
"Bosco, you'll never know until you have kids. I just don't know how I got into this mess. How I let my kids be around all that. I keep thinkin' of my kids and how I should have never let them be exposed to drinking, and violence. What kind of mother am I?" She shook her head and stared down at the bedspread.
"Don't say that. You're a great mom. The same mom who took her kids all over town to every McDonalds within thirty miles one day because Em wanted the cat beanie baby and Charlie wanted the spider one. Only a good mom would do that. If I had a kid and they were out of the ones they wanted, I'd tell them to live with it. Not you. Seein' how happy they were was worth it for you. You're a great mom. No, they shouldn't have gone through that but neither should you. You're gonna' pull through, and your kids are gonna' thank you someday for saving them."
She thought about what he had said and how lucky her kids were to have a mom like her. She thought about them every day while she was at work and when she got home she'd come into their rooms and kiss them goodnight. If she woke them up, so be it. She just wanted them to sleep peaceful and know they were loved. It's times like this that she missed them the most. She couldn't bear being without them. She thought about all the bedtime stories and all the trips to the shore they would share in the future. She was so thankful to be alive. From then on, she was going to live for the future. She was going to work decent hours and spend time with her kids. She didn't want to find herself ten years down the road asking herself when live passed her by. She wanted to take part in life and she was going to be sure her kids had the best one they could get.
I close my eyes and think how lucky I have been
To hold the ones I love and share my dreams with them
All those sunny days and all those starry nights
Good morning kisses and sweet goodnights
Oh I can't tell them enough
Just how much that they are loved
Disclaimer: I don't have any rights to this song. This song belongs to Curb Records and everyone else affiliated with it and/or the album.