Returning the Favor
Chapter 12
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Faith and Rose were in the Recovery Room and Rose had just stepped out to go and tell Mikey what was going on.
"Bos, if you can hear me, you're gonna be fine so just relax and get well," she said to him quietly. She saw a frown come across his face and it looked as though he were trying to wake up. "Shhh, it's okay Bosco. You're okay. You're in the hospital and your out of surgery. The doctor said you're going to be fine," she said again, trying to reassure him and putting a hand on his shoulder.
Another moment passed and he was able to open his eyes and focused on his partner. "Faith," he said in a whisper, his throat dry from the anesthesia and medications. He looked her over to see that that his partner was unhurt. He didn't really remember much after getting shot. He noticed blood on her uniform and gave her a puzzled look.
"Bosco, welcome back," she said with a smile. "I'm fine. This is your's," she said noticing the look on his face as he took in her appearance. "Just relax and don't try to talk. I'll tell you everything that the doctor told me."
"Can't move," he managed to get out, the frown returning to his face.
She nodded her head and said, "Yes, I know. It's a combination of the medicine and the injury. They want to keep you still so that you have a chance to heal. The bullet went up against your spine, but they were able to remove it. It didn't do any damage to the cord, but it's bruised and inflamed. They want to keep you still so that it has a chance to subside."
"Don't like it," he said wearily, closing his eyes momentarily.
"I know, Bos, but it's okay. You're not paralyzed," she said as Rose came back into the room. "Your Mom is here so I'm gonna let her get in here. I'm gonna go let everyone know in the waiting room that you're awake and talking," she said to him, waiting to see if it was okay for her to go. He nodded slightly and Faith gave his shoulder a squeeze and stepped away.
"He's awake," she told Rose as she walked over to the door.
Rose stepped up to her son. "Maurice. You gave us quite a scare, but the doctor said that you're going to be just fine. Mikey's outside and so are all your friends from the police station and the fire station," she said to him as she gently ran her hand through his hair in a soothing gesture like when he was a little boy.
"Ma," Bosco started. Rose looked at him and started to tell him not to try to talk, but by the look in his eyes she knew there was something he had to say.
"What is it Maurice? Do you have pain?" she asked, looking him over.
"No. Ma," he started again. "I just wanted to tell you that I love you and to thank you for everything over the years," he managed to get out before he grew tired again.
"Oh, Maurice. I love you too. Now, you just try to get some rest. Close your eyes and take a nap. The doctors and nurses will be in here soon enough poking at you and then soon you'll be starting the physical therapy to help your back. Then you'll WISH you could take a nap whenever you wanted to," she said with a smile as he drifted off again.
She watched him sleep for a few moments then sat down in the chair next to his bed and closed her eyes as she listened to the sounds of his breathing and the everyday sounds of a hospital. All too soon the nurse was back to check on him.
*^*^*^*^*^^*
"So, how is he?" Sully asked Faith as she came out into the waiting room and everyone looked to her for information.
"He's doin' good. He's awake a little. He doesn't like that he can't move, but I told him that was only temporary from the medicine and stuff," she said, letting out a breath that she didn't realize she'd been holding. She immediately felt some of the tension of the past hours leave her as she realized that he was going to be okay. She felt a slight dizziness and reached out to steady herself on the wall.
"Whoah," Ty said, reaching out to hold her arm. "Are you alright, Faith?"
Alex, Kim and Doc came over. "Yeah. I think I'm just, I don't know, really tired and now that I know that he's gonna be okay.... I don't know, but I'm better," she said, shaking off the feeling with slight embarrassment.
The Lieutenant came over to her. "Why don't we go down and get you something to eat and maybe something to drink," he suggested to her.
"I'm okay, Boss. Really," she said, looking at him.
"Yeah, well I'm not. And I need to go over what went on in the Prescott Building for my reports, so let's go, Officer," he ordered more than asked her. Actually, it would be good to get away to a quiet area, away from all the people waiting around.
"Sure, Lieu. Let's go," she said. She turned to Sully and said, "If anyone needs me I'll be down in the cafeteria with the Boss."
"Take your time, I'll be here 'til you get back," Sully said. Faith nodded and walked with the Lieutenant to the elevators.
^*^*^*^*^^*
Once the elevator doors closed, Sully turned to Kim and Alex. "She looks like crap," he stated.
"Yeah, well she hasn't really had any time to absorb everything that happened. The Lieutenant did a good thing making her go sit down somewhere away from all this," Alex said, looking around at the mass of people.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sully said as he went over to sit down.
^*^*^*^*^
"Okay. Feeling a little better, Yokas?" asked the Lieutenant as he watched her drink some juice and take a few bites of a muffin.
She nodded. "Yeah, thanks Lieu. I didn't realize how tired I was," she admitted.
"Feel up to talking about it yet?" he asked her. "I could really use some answers for Chief Hancock. He's breathing down my neck, but I told him I wanted to make sure my officer was going to be okay first," he explained.
"Yeah, Lieu. No problem. Let's see," she said, thinking back to what seemed like months ago, but was only yesterday. "We made our way up to the floor below the suspect - we could hear shots being fired on the floor above us - Sully, Davis, Bosco and myself were covering the medics while they evacuated the injured civilians. We saw ESU go up the stairwell to the next floor and heard some shooting. We hurried up the medics as much as we could and then all hell broke loose," she said, taking a breath to take another drink of her juice and another bite of muffin.
"Okay, so you weren't in the stairwell," the Lieutenant clarified in his mind.
Faith shook her head, "No, not yet. We were getting the last of the people out. Sully and Davis were covering them in the stairwell. They were almost all out into the stairwell when we heard more gunshots and then the stairwell door on the opposite side of the room slammed open. We heard over the radio that one of the ESU guys was down and the suspect had his weapon and was headed our way," she said, the tension of those moments starting to be felt again.
"Yeah, that was Thompson. He's gonna be okay, but out of commission for awhile," the Lieutenant told Faith.
"Good. I'd forgotten all about him," she said solemnly. The Lieutenant nodded his understanding.
"Then what?" he said.
"Well, Bosco was closest to the guy and he turned around and aimed his weapon at him. He yelled to me - I was by the door to the stairwell with Doc and the last of the injured. He yelled to me to get Doc out. That he'd cover the guy. He yelled to close the door, I guess so that no bullets ricocheted into the stairwell," she said, seeing the scene unfold in her mind.
"Anyway, the door locked and I couldn't get back in. Then I heard more shots. I heard ESU say they were gonna break through the door and throw a concussion grenade in. I got on my radio to see if I could find out where Bosco was in the room for them, so they didn't throw the grenade right next to him and to warn him about what was gonna happen. He answered me and I relayed the information to ESU," she said, taking a deep breath and picking up her juice.
"Then, I heard ESU go in, the explosion from the grenade and more shots. Then it was silent and I heard someone - not Bosco - on the radio saying the scene was secure and they had an officer down," she said, the glass falling from her hand and breaking on the table, the juice splashing against her uniform - the uniform that still had Bosco's blood on it.
"Yokas, are you okay?" the Lieutenant said, standing up and putting some napkins on the table to soak up the juice.
Faith was shaken from her thoughts by the Lieutenant's voice. "What? Oh yeah, sorry Lieu," she said, starting to help him clean it up and cutting herself on a piece of broken glass.
One of the staff from the cafeteria came over with a cloth and a tray. "I'll take care of that. Oh, now you cut yourself. Why don't you go clean that out and get a bandage for that and I'll finish this," she said in a motherly tone.
"Thanks. Sorry," Faith said as she and the Lieutenant walked toward the door. "The next thing I know, I was next to him on the floor and he was bleeding and saying he couldn't move. Then the medics came in and started treating him. And then, we were in the ambulance on our way here. You know the rest," she finished, peeling the napkin away from her cut to see if it had stopped bleeding yet.
"Okay, you're gonna have to write that up sometime today or tomorrow for me, but it'll give me enough information for Hancock for now," the Lieutenant said. "Yokas, you should really go home and get cleaned up and get some rest," he said.
"Yeah, I'm just gonna hang around here for a little while more. Fred's coming back after he gets the kids off to school and I'll ride home with him for a little bit," she said, looking at her watch and seeing that it was just about time for the kids to get to school.
"Okay. I'm gonna head back to the station to brief everyone after I check with Boscorelli's doctor. I'll come back later on, but if you see him again before you leave, tell him 'good job' for me," he told her.
"Yeah, thanks Lieu," she said as he turned to go find Bosco's doctor. Faith felt cold all of a sudden as she walked alone back to Bosco's floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...
Chapter 12
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Faith and Rose were in the Recovery Room and Rose had just stepped out to go and tell Mikey what was going on.
"Bos, if you can hear me, you're gonna be fine so just relax and get well," she said to him quietly. She saw a frown come across his face and it looked as though he were trying to wake up. "Shhh, it's okay Bosco. You're okay. You're in the hospital and your out of surgery. The doctor said you're going to be fine," she said again, trying to reassure him and putting a hand on his shoulder.
Another moment passed and he was able to open his eyes and focused on his partner. "Faith," he said in a whisper, his throat dry from the anesthesia and medications. He looked her over to see that that his partner was unhurt. He didn't really remember much after getting shot. He noticed blood on her uniform and gave her a puzzled look.
"Bosco, welcome back," she said with a smile. "I'm fine. This is your's," she said noticing the look on his face as he took in her appearance. "Just relax and don't try to talk. I'll tell you everything that the doctor told me."
"Can't move," he managed to get out, the frown returning to his face.
She nodded her head and said, "Yes, I know. It's a combination of the medicine and the injury. They want to keep you still so that you have a chance to heal. The bullet went up against your spine, but they were able to remove it. It didn't do any damage to the cord, but it's bruised and inflamed. They want to keep you still so that it has a chance to subside."
"Don't like it," he said wearily, closing his eyes momentarily.
"I know, Bos, but it's okay. You're not paralyzed," she said as Rose came back into the room. "Your Mom is here so I'm gonna let her get in here. I'm gonna go let everyone know in the waiting room that you're awake and talking," she said to him, waiting to see if it was okay for her to go. He nodded slightly and Faith gave his shoulder a squeeze and stepped away.
"He's awake," she told Rose as she walked over to the door.
Rose stepped up to her son. "Maurice. You gave us quite a scare, but the doctor said that you're going to be just fine. Mikey's outside and so are all your friends from the police station and the fire station," she said to him as she gently ran her hand through his hair in a soothing gesture like when he was a little boy.
"Ma," Bosco started. Rose looked at him and started to tell him not to try to talk, but by the look in his eyes she knew there was something he had to say.
"What is it Maurice? Do you have pain?" she asked, looking him over.
"No. Ma," he started again. "I just wanted to tell you that I love you and to thank you for everything over the years," he managed to get out before he grew tired again.
"Oh, Maurice. I love you too. Now, you just try to get some rest. Close your eyes and take a nap. The doctors and nurses will be in here soon enough poking at you and then soon you'll be starting the physical therapy to help your back. Then you'll WISH you could take a nap whenever you wanted to," she said with a smile as he drifted off again.
She watched him sleep for a few moments then sat down in the chair next to his bed and closed her eyes as she listened to the sounds of his breathing and the everyday sounds of a hospital. All too soon the nurse was back to check on him.
*^*^*^*^*^^*
"So, how is he?" Sully asked Faith as she came out into the waiting room and everyone looked to her for information.
"He's doin' good. He's awake a little. He doesn't like that he can't move, but I told him that was only temporary from the medicine and stuff," she said, letting out a breath that she didn't realize she'd been holding. She immediately felt some of the tension of the past hours leave her as she realized that he was going to be okay. She felt a slight dizziness and reached out to steady herself on the wall.
"Whoah," Ty said, reaching out to hold her arm. "Are you alright, Faith?"
Alex, Kim and Doc came over. "Yeah. I think I'm just, I don't know, really tired and now that I know that he's gonna be okay.... I don't know, but I'm better," she said, shaking off the feeling with slight embarrassment.
The Lieutenant came over to her. "Why don't we go down and get you something to eat and maybe something to drink," he suggested to her.
"I'm okay, Boss. Really," she said, looking at him.
"Yeah, well I'm not. And I need to go over what went on in the Prescott Building for my reports, so let's go, Officer," he ordered more than asked her. Actually, it would be good to get away to a quiet area, away from all the people waiting around.
"Sure, Lieu. Let's go," she said. She turned to Sully and said, "If anyone needs me I'll be down in the cafeteria with the Boss."
"Take your time, I'll be here 'til you get back," Sully said. Faith nodded and walked with the Lieutenant to the elevators.
^*^*^*^*^^*
Once the elevator doors closed, Sully turned to Kim and Alex. "She looks like crap," he stated.
"Yeah, well she hasn't really had any time to absorb everything that happened. The Lieutenant did a good thing making her go sit down somewhere away from all this," Alex said, looking around at the mass of people.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sully said as he went over to sit down.
^*^*^*^*^
"Okay. Feeling a little better, Yokas?" asked the Lieutenant as he watched her drink some juice and take a few bites of a muffin.
She nodded. "Yeah, thanks Lieu. I didn't realize how tired I was," she admitted.
"Feel up to talking about it yet?" he asked her. "I could really use some answers for Chief Hancock. He's breathing down my neck, but I told him I wanted to make sure my officer was going to be okay first," he explained.
"Yeah, Lieu. No problem. Let's see," she said, thinking back to what seemed like months ago, but was only yesterday. "We made our way up to the floor below the suspect - we could hear shots being fired on the floor above us - Sully, Davis, Bosco and myself were covering the medics while they evacuated the injured civilians. We saw ESU go up the stairwell to the next floor and heard some shooting. We hurried up the medics as much as we could and then all hell broke loose," she said, taking a breath to take another drink of her juice and another bite of muffin.
"Okay, so you weren't in the stairwell," the Lieutenant clarified in his mind.
Faith shook her head, "No, not yet. We were getting the last of the people out. Sully and Davis were covering them in the stairwell. They were almost all out into the stairwell when we heard more gunshots and then the stairwell door on the opposite side of the room slammed open. We heard over the radio that one of the ESU guys was down and the suspect had his weapon and was headed our way," she said, the tension of those moments starting to be felt again.
"Yeah, that was Thompson. He's gonna be okay, but out of commission for awhile," the Lieutenant told Faith.
"Good. I'd forgotten all about him," she said solemnly. The Lieutenant nodded his understanding.
"Then what?" he said.
"Well, Bosco was closest to the guy and he turned around and aimed his weapon at him. He yelled to me - I was by the door to the stairwell with Doc and the last of the injured. He yelled to me to get Doc out. That he'd cover the guy. He yelled to close the door, I guess so that no bullets ricocheted into the stairwell," she said, seeing the scene unfold in her mind.
"Anyway, the door locked and I couldn't get back in. Then I heard more shots. I heard ESU say they were gonna break through the door and throw a concussion grenade in. I got on my radio to see if I could find out where Bosco was in the room for them, so they didn't throw the grenade right next to him and to warn him about what was gonna happen. He answered me and I relayed the information to ESU," she said, taking a deep breath and picking up her juice.
"Then, I heard ESU go in, the explosion from the grenade and more shots. Then it was silent and I heard someone - not Bosco - on the radio saying the scene was secure and they had an officer down," she said, the glass falling from her hand and breaking on the table, the juice splashing against her uniform - the uniform that still had Bosco's blood on it.
"Yokas, are you okay?" the Lieutenant said, standing up and putting some napkins on the table to soak up the juice.
Faith was shaken from her thoughts by the Lieutenant's voice. "What? Oh yeah, sorry Lieu," she said, starting to help him clean it up and cutting herself on a piece of broken glass.
One of the staff from the cafeteria came over with a cloth and a tray. "I'll take care of that. Oh, now you cut yourself. Why don't you go clean that out and get a bandage for that and I'll finish this," she said in a motherly tone.
"Thanks. Sorry," Faith said as she and the Lieutenant walked toward the door. "The next thing I know, I was next to him on the floor and he was bleeding and saying he couldn't move. Then the medics came in and started treating him. And then, we were in the ambulance on our way here. You know the rest," she finished, peeling the napkin away from her cut to see if it had stopped bleeding yet.
"Okay, you're gonna have to write that up sometime today or tomorrow for me, but it'll give me enough information for Hancock for now," the Lieutenant said. "Yokas, you should really go home and get cleaned up and get some rest," he said.
"Yeah, I'm just gonna hang around here for a little while more. Fred's coming back after he gets the kids off to school and I'll ride home with him for a little bit," she said, looking at her watch and seeing that it was just about time for the kids to get to school.
"Okay. I'm gonna head back to the station to brief everyone after I check with Boscorelli's doctor. I'll come back later on, but if you see him again before you leave, tell him 'good job' for me," he told her.
"Yeah, thanks Lieu," she said as he turned to go find Bosco's doctor. Faith felt cold all of a sudden as she walked alone back to Bosco's floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...