TITLE: One heart beat for every lost day.
AUTHOR: faith_in_Faith
E-MAIL: faith_in_Faith@hotmail.com
DISCLAIMER: I don't owe a thing, as usual.
RATING: PG-13
SPOILER: Up to and including season four.
AUTHORS NOT I: Big thanks to all the usual people: Jenny, Carina, Wine_into _water and all you kind people the R&R PLEASE keep doing that!
AUTHORS NOT II: I know that a lot of you love the way I'm following the thing that happens in the show, but I'll have to start cheating a bit. Mainly because of two things: 1) I couldn't in my wildest dreams imagine that they would to such a mess of season four, and if I should write about everything this story would go on for ever, and I don't think anyone wants that. 2) They haven't even shown all of season four in the country I live in so if I've got something wrong; please forgive me and try to endure it OK?
Well enough talking! Over to the story! I hope you still enjoy!
CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
Anna wrote down the last thing on her shopping list, and looked at her watch. It showed 12:30 pm, and Bosco was still asleep. If he didn't wake up by himself soon, she had to wake him. She stood up, and went to the kitchen counter and poured herself a cup of coffee. She went back to the table, sat down again, and started to think.
Once again she was worried about Bosco. About the things he did, and about the way he acted. After he had had that nervous breakdown and started to really talk to Faith and the shrink, life had been good. Really good, but now. He wasn't heading towards another nervous breakdown, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that he was changing, and not in a good way.
In a way it was as if it all started with Fred's heart attack. Faith had called Bosco useless and that had really gotten to him, and to Faith too. Anna had rarely ever seen anyone look and feel so guilty about anything, as Faith did about that. They had sorted it out though, but then one bad thing after another had happened in Faith's life, and suddenly they started to grow apart. It was like none of them could handle that she needed him more than he needed her.
Now things were worse then ever before. They hardly talked to each other anymore. Anna didn't know for sure what had happened, because none of them wanted to talk to her about it. She had a feeling though, that it had a lot to do with Bosco working Anticrime. The thing was; it was when he started to work with the ACU, and sergeant Cruz, that he really started to change. He got tougher, harder and showed less compassion, at home as well as at work. It was like the power and danger was intoxicated him, and that probably was as close to the truth that you could get. Anna knew. She had seen it all before. She also knew how it usually ended, and she didn't look forward to it.
She was pretty sure that Faith had seen it too, and that probably was one of the reasons why things were strained between them. The fact that she basically gave up her career to be there for him, and then he moved on as if nothing had happened, probably didn't help at all. She sighed. He really was talented when it comes to messing things up. Suddenly she heard a noise from the bedroom and soon enough he walked into the kitchen. He looked very sleepy and his hair was a mess. Actually he looked more than tired. He looked exhausted, and that concerned her, considering he'd been sleeping for more than twelve hours.
"Morning sleepy head," Anna said and smiled.
"Morning," he answered, and smiled back, wrapping his arms around her. "What's the time?"
"Almost one o'clock." He let go of her.
"Shit! You should have woken me up earlier. I have to be at work at half past two."
"At work? I thought it was your day off, " Anna said, and tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice.
"It is, but I have to work an extra shift. It's a very important case, Cruz specifically asked for me," he said proudly.
"Do you really have to?" Anna asked carefully. She didn't want him to get mad at her, but she was worried about how tired he had been looking lately.
"Anna!" he said warningly.
"Sorry," she said, and raised her hands in surrender.
Bosco's anger immediately disappeared. "Don't do that," he said softly.
"Do what?"
"Raise your hands like that. Like you're afraid of me or something."
"I'm sorry. It's just another bad habit," she said and smiled. He kissed her tenderly.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get angry. It's just that this is really important to me. This can be my chance to get a permanent assignment in Anticrime." Anna felt a knot forming in her stomach. She didn't like this, not at all.
"I know, I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to get on your case about work. It's just that you've been working a lot of extra shifts lately, and you've been so tired the last couple of days."
Bosco sat down on one of the chairs and pulled her down on his lap.
"I'm OK. Don't you worry about me."
"Are you sure? You don't look so great," she said and looked at him worriedly.
"Thanks! You really know how to make people feel beautiful, don't you?" he said and grinned at her.
"Bosco," she said pleadingly. He grew serious.
"Honestly Anna. I'm fine." She sighed and looked down at the floor.
"Anna?" Bosco said questioningly, and lifted her chin so that he could look at her. She looked at him, and he could see the fear in her eyes.
"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.
"I just wish that you would at least ride with Faith, that's all," she said quietly.
"Anna," he said lovingly. "You don't have to worry. Cruz is great, and you can count on her covering my back just as good as Faith would, OK?"
"OK," she said doubtfully.
"Anna, please trust me on this. I wouldn't work with anyone I didn't trust. You know that."
"Yeah, I know that," Anna said, but you usually trust the wrong people, she thought tiredly.
"So it's OK then, me working today?" he asked eagerly, and looked like a little boy who wanted his mother's approval. She had to smile at his childish behavior.
"Yeah, it's OK. One more thing though."
"What?"
"If you're gonna work today I need the car."
"Why?"
"We were supposed to go grocery shopping today, remember, and if I'm gonna do it by myself I need the car. You don't want me to drag it all on the subway, do you?"
Bosco hit his forehead with his palm. "Shit! I'm sorry. I forgot. Can we do it tomorrow?"
"Only if you want the boys to starve until then." He made a face.
"I'm so sorry."
"Relax Bosco, it's OK. Just let me have the car." Bosco looked at her seriously.
"No it's not OK. Your hip is bothering you, right?"
"Bos," she said softly. "I'm fine, It's gonna be OK. Don't worry about it." He shook his head.
"No, no! You're not fine, and this is not OK. You shouldn't have to carry all those things by yourself. I don't want you to be in pain all night. Can't you ask Faith to help you or something?"
"Bosco! You can't be serious! You can't expect Faith to do a thing like that. She has her own family to think about. Have you even talked to her lately?" Anna said in disbelief. She knew he was a bit self-absorbed, but this was ridiculous.
"Not really, no," he murmured and looked a bit ashamed.
"Why?"
He shrugged. "I don't really know. Haven't seen her much. We don't work together that much anymore."
"Well I have, talked to her I mean."
"You have?" he looked slightly surprised.
"Yeah, she called me yesterday and wanted to talk. Something was bothering her. Sounded pretty serious to me. I'm gonna meet with her tomorrow."
"Yeah? Did she tell you what it was about?" he said worriedly.
"No."
"Well, I guess you'll find out tomorrow. It's probably that damned kid again," he murmured angrily, referring to Emily.
"Doesn't it bother you at all that she didn't come to you, when she needed someone to talk to?" Anna said reproachfully.
"Don't start with me Anna. We've grown apart, OK? It happens, I'm moving on. She isn't. There's nothing to do about it," he said impatiently, but she could see the guilt and uneasiness in his eyes. "I'm happy though, that you two are still good friends," he added softly.
Anna sighed, but didn't respond. Instead she said:
"Back to what we were talking about in the first place. Can I have the car?"
He sighed heavily. "Of course, that's not a problem, but I wish there was another solution."
"Drop it Bosco. I'll be fine. Will you do me a favor and pick up the boys at preschool before you go to work?"
"Sure, no problem."
"Good! Now go and get dressed. I'll fix you something to eat."
**************
Samuel and Adam ran through the door with Bosco following close behind. They hugged Anna and then sat down at the kitchen table and started to eat their snack.
"I'm leaving now, OK?" Bosco said and kissed Anna.
"Yeah, be careful," she said and kissed him back.
"Bye champs!" he said, and headed towards the door.
"Bye Bosco!" they yelled after him.
"Bosco!" Anna called. He turned around.
"What?"
She smiled. "The car keys."
"Sorry." He grinned and tossed them towards her. She easily caught them with one hand and Bosco's grin grew wider.
"That's my girl!"
She grinned back and said: "I'll drop them of at the precinct later."
"You don't have to do that. I'll take the train."
"No, I don't want you to. You usually work so late when you work Anticrime. It's safer with the car."
He shrugged. "OK, have it your way. Might see you later then."
"Yeah, later," she said and threw him a kiss.
Bosco smiled and headed out through the door.
***************
Anna walked up to the desk sergeant. Samuel and Adam held her hands tightly, and looked around with big eyes. They loved the station house. She released her hands from their grasp and put the car keys on the counter.
"I'm looking for Officer Boscorelli. He's working anticrime today," she said and smiled at the desk sergeant. The man spotted Cruz, who was coming down the stairs.
"Sergeant Cruz," he called out to her.
"What?" she said. She didn't look like she liked to be interrupted in whatever she was doing.
"Is Boscorelli with you?"
"Why do you ask?"
"He has a visitor," he said and motioned with his head towards Anna.
Cruz approached Anna with a curious look on her face.
"Who are you?" she said shortly.
Anna wasn't stupid. She knew the enemy when she saw it, and this was definitely the enemy. When she looked into Cruz's eyes her worst fears came true. This was not a nice person. This was an evil, backstabbing bitch. She was sure about that, and she didn't trust her with Bosco's life, not even for a minute.
"I'm Anna Lewis. Officer Boscorelli and I live together, and you have to be Sergeant Cruz," she said sweetly, offering her hand to Cruz.
"Well, well isn't it the little housewife who has come to visit us," Cruz said with a sarcastic smile on her lips.
"Nice to meet you too Sergeant Cruz," Anna said politely and smiled her most beautiful smile, but her eyes were cold as ice.
All the years she had spent saving Bosco's ass from all kind of trouble, and the fact that she'd managed to survive eight years of beating, had made her a master at this kind of games. Cruz got caught off guard for a moment by Anna's actions. She hadn't expected her to put up a fight. The way Bosco had described her, and the fact that she had known Thomas Lewis and had heard him brag about how he had his wife acting like a dog, hadn't prepared her for this. She quickly recovered though. She was a master at game playing too. . "I didn't know you played games honey," Cruz said her voice pleasant, but the smile on her face was more than unpleasant.
"I only play games I know I'll win," Anna said calmly, her eyes never leaving Cruz's. They showed no fear, no uneasiness, only determination.
Cruz laughed meanly. "You can't win. As a matter of fact you're as good as losing it already!"
"You don't understand. You think you're gonna win, and in a way you are, but the thing is; he always comes back to me. Always. I always win in the end," she smiled nicely, "and then you're gonna lose, and you're gonna lose big. Believe me!"
Cruz narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to respond, but in that moment Bosco came running down the stairs, so instead she just glared at Anna.
"Bosco!" Samuel and Adam exclaimed happily when they saw him.
Bosco's face lit up, and he smiled widely when he saw them. He knelt down and let them run into his embrace.
"Hey there champs! How's it going? Did you help your mom with the groceries as I told you to?" They both nodded eagerly.
"Yeah, we carried all the toilet paper and our cereals by ourselves, just as you told us," Adam said proudly.
"And we helped her unpack the cart too," Samuel said just as proudly as his brother.
Bosco tousled their hair fondly and said: "That's my boys!"
He stood up and looked lovingly at Anna. "Hi."
"Hi yourself," Anna said and smiled. She shifted her weight to her other leg, in an attempt to ease the burning pain in her hip. She winched a bit when she did. It didn't pass undetected to Bosco and his eyes immediately got a worried look.
"You're OK?"
She smiled again. "I'm fine." He looked at her doubtfully.
"Honestly Bos," Anna said softly.
Cruz had watched them with a disgusted look on her face. "Boscorelli!" she barked.
Bosco jumped slightly, and blinked a few times before he turned to Cruz.
"What?"
"We gotta get moving. We're working, remember?"
"Sorry sarge," he said.
"I gotta go Anna. See you at home," he said, and she could see his eyes flicker as he tried to avoid meeting hers. The way he acted towards her when Cruz was around only confirmed what she already knew. Cruz was definitely the enemy.
"OK. See you," Anna said and smiled. She turned to Cruz.
"Nice to meet you sergeant," she said politely, but Bosco noticed the cold look in her eyes.
Cruz just nodded shortly in return, and Bosco could feel how tense she was. What was it about the women he loved and Cruz? Why couldn't they see how great she was? Women, he thought. He would never understand them, not even if he lived to be a hundred. He turned to leave when he heard Adam's voice call:
"Bosco wait." He turned to look at him.
"What is it?" he said softly.
"Can I ask you something?"
Bosco smiled. "Sure."
Adam looked at Cruz with frightened eyes and said: "I wanna whisper."
Bosco sighed slightly. Now what was going on? He glanced over at Cruz to see if she thought they had enough time for this. She sighed dramatically.
"Make it short!" Bosco nodded and crouched down in front of Adam and said gently, careful about not letting his impatience show in his voice:
"Now tell me." Adam put his lips against Bosco's ear and whispered:
"Why are you working with a bad cop?"
Bosco was stunned. He looked at Adam in utter surprise. Where was this coming from? "I'm not working with a bad cop" he said, his voice very low. He didn't want Cruz to get pissed about this. "She's a great cop, why do you think she's a bad cop?"
Adam just looked at him with sad eyes. Bosco took him by his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Come on Adam, you know me. I would never work with a bad cop. You know that, right?"
Adam nodded. Bosco smiled relieved. "There you are, then she has to be a good cop, right?"
"Whatever you say, " Adam said obediently. Bosco frowned. He didn't like the way Adam was acting.
"Boscorelli!" Cruz said impatiently.
Bosco looked at Adam. "Look Adam, we'll talk about this more later, when I'm not in a hurry, OK?"
Adam nodded. " Please don't be mad at me," he whispered, and Bosco could see his bottom lip starting to tremble. Bosco felt confused about the whole ting. What was going on? Why was Adam so afraid?
"Of course I'm not mad at you, but you've misunderstood something. We'll sort it out tomorrow. Don't worry about it, OK?"
Adam nodded again and hugged him. Bosco hugged him back and then stood up and waved at all of them before he followed Cruz through the doors.
************
Bosco sat in the RMP with Cruz, who was driving, and tried to think. He had had an uneasy feeling in his stomach ever since they left the precinct. Anna's cold eyes, and the strange question Adam had asked, wouldn't leave him alone. Why didn't Anna like Cruz? Anna liked everybody. She always understood and saw something good in people. Why would she not like Cruz? Cruz was great, right? Maybe a bit ruff, but it was not like Anna to dislike someone because of a thing like that. That was not how she was. So why on earth didn't she like her?
Faith doesn't like her either; a voice in the back of his head reminded him. She thinks she's no good. He quickly suppressed the memory. Faith didn't understand this. She was just jealous or something, but the most disturbing question of them all was: Why did Adam think she was a bad cop? She really couldn't remind him of his father, right? She was a bit ruff though, and she didn't like children, so that might be the reason. The boys were a bit sensitive about those things, and God knows they had a reason to be. Yeah, that had to be it. That was why he was afraid if her. Satisfied with the explanation he had come up with, he leaned back and tried to ignore the fact that he wasn't able to come up with an explanation for Anna's behavior, or Faith's for that matter, at least not a believable one. In the back of his head an annoying little voice kept telling him that if all the people who truly cared about him didn't like Cruz, then there had to be a reason, a good one.
************
Anna tucked Adam in and placed a kiss on his forehead. He looked at her with big, sad eyes and said:
"Mom, why does Bosco work with a bad cop?"
" Was that what you asked him this afternoon?" she asked carefully. He nodded.
"And what did he answer?"
"That he doesn't, but mom he does. You know that too, right? That's why your eyes were angry when you talked to that police woman, right?"
Anna sighed. "Yes you've got it all right."
"So why is he riding with a bad cop? Why can't he ride with Faith like he used to? She's nice."
"I don't know honey. I really don't know, but I don't think he understands that she's a bad cop."
"Why?"
"Because he likes to believe that all people are good people, and because he wants to show everybody that he's a good cop."
Adam looked confused. "But he is a good cop already. We already know that."
"I know honey. I'm afraid I can't really explain this to you." Adam was silent for a while and then he said:
"Does he feel lonely?"
"I don't know, maybe a little."
"If we tell him we love him, and Faith does too, then maybe everything will be alright again. You know, like when he was sick," he said eagerly. She smiled.
"Yeah maybe, "Anna said softly, knowing that all the love on earth couldn't fix this.
"I'll tell him tomorrow," Adam said. Anna blinked away some tears.
"You do that honey, you do that." She kissed him once more and then went out into the living room, and sat down on the couch.
She rubbed her face tiredly. She was very happy that she was going to meet with Faith tomorrow. She really needed to talk to her too, and she had a feeling they wanted to talk about the same thing.
AUTHOR: faith_in_Faith
E-MAIL: faith_in_Faith@hotmail.com
DISCLAIMER: I don't owe a thing, as usual.
RATING: PG-13
SPOILER: Up to and including season four.
AUTHORS NOT I: Big thanks to all the usual people: Jenny, Carina, Wine_into _water and all you kind people the R&R PLEASE keep doing that!
AUTHORS NOT II: I know that a lot of you love the way I'm following the thing that happens in the show, but I'll have to start cheating a bit. Mainly because of two things: 1) I couldn't in my wildest dreams imagine that they would to such a mess of season four, and if I should write about everything this story would go on for ever, and I don't think anyone wants that. 2) They haven't even shown all of season four in the country I live in so if I've got something wrong; please forgive me and try to endure it OK?
Well enough talking! Over to the story! I hope you still enjoy!
CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
Anna wrote down the last thing on her shopping list, and looked at her watch. It showed 12:30 pm, and Bosco was still asleep. If he didn't wake up by himself soon, she had to wake him. She stood up, and went to the kitchen counter and poured herself a cup of coffee. She went back to the table, sat down again, and started to think.
Once again she was worried about Bosco. About the things he did, and about the way he acted. After he had had that nervous breakdown and started to really talk to Faith and the shrink, life had been good. Really good, but now. He wasn't heading towards another nervous breakdown, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that he was changing, and not in a good way.
In a way it was as if it all started with Fred's heart attack. Faith had called Bosco useless and that had really gotten to him, and to Faith too. Anna had rarely ever seen anyone look and feel so guilty about anything, as Faith did about that. They had sorted it out though, but then one bad thing after another had happened in Faith's life, and suddenly they started to grow apart. It was like none of them could handle that she needed him more than he needed her.
Now things were worse then ever before. They hardly talked to each other anymore. Anna didn't know for sure what had happened, because none of them wanted to talk to her about it. She had a feeling though, that it had a lot to do with Bosco working Anticrime. The thing was; it was when he started to work with the ACU, and sergeant Cruz, that he really started to change. He got tougher, harder and showed less compassion, at home as well as at work. It was like the power and danger was intoxicated him, and that probably was as close to the truth that you could get. Anna knew. She had seen it all before. She also knew how it usually ended, and she didn't look forward to it.
She was pretty sure that Faith had seen it too, and that probably was one of the reasons why things were strained between them. The fact that she basically gave up her career to be there for him, and then he moved on as if nothing had happened, probably didn't help at all. She sighed. He really was talented when it comes to messing things up. Suddenly she heard a noise from the bedroom and soon enough he walked into the kitchen. He looked very sleepy and his hair was a mess. Actually he looked more than tired. He looked exhausted, and that concerned her, considering he'd been sleeping for more than twelve hours.
"Morning sleepy head," Anna said and smiled.
"Morning," he answered, and smiled back, wrapping his arms around her. "What's the time?"
"Almost one o'clock." He let go of her.
"Shit! You should have woken me up earlier. I have to be at work at half past two."
"At work? I thought it was your day off, " Anna said, and tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice.
"It is, but I have to work an extra shift. It's a very important case, Cruz specifically asked for me," he said proudly.
"Do you really have to?" Anna asked carefully. She didn't want him to get mad at her, but she was worried about how tired he had been looking lately.
"Anna!" he said warningly.
"Sorry," she said, and raised her hands in surrender.
Bosco's anger immediately disappeared. "Don't do that," he said softly.
"Do what?"
"Raise your hands like that. Like you're afraid of me or something."
"I'm sorry. It's just another bad habit," she said and smiled. He kissed her tenderly.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get angry. It's just that this is really important to me. This can be my chance to get a permanent assignment in Anticrime." Anna felt a knot forming in her stomach. She didn't like this, not at all.
"I know, I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to get on your case about work. It's just that you've been working a lot of extra shifts lately, and you've been so tired the last couple of days."
Bosco sat down on one of the chairs and pulled her down on his lap.
"I'm OK. Don't you worry about me."
"Are you sure? You don't look so great," she said and looked at him worriedly.
"Thanks! You really know how to make people feel beautiful, don't you?" he said and grinned at her.
"Bosco," she said pleadingly. He grew serious.
"Honestly Anna. I'm fine." She sighed and looked down at the floor.
"Anna?" Bosco said questioningly, and lifted her chin so that he could look at her. She looked at him, and he could see the fear in her eyes.
"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.
"I just wish that you would at least ride with Faith, that's all," she said quietly.
"Anna," he said lovingly. "You don't have to worry. Cruz is great, and you can count on her covering my back just as good as Faith would, OK?"
"OK," she said doubtfully.
"Anna, please trust me on this. I wouldn't work with anyone I didn't trust. You know that."
"Yeah, I know that," Anna said, but you usually trust the wrong people, she thought tiredly.
"So it's OK then, me working today?" he asked eagerly, and looked like a little boy who wanted his mother's approval. She had to smile at his childish behavior.
"Yeah, it's OK. One more thing though."
"What?"
"If you're gonna work today I need the car."
"Why?"
"We were supposed to go grocery shopping today, remember, and if I'm gonna do it by myself I need the car. You don't want me to drag it all on the subway, do you?"
Bosco hit his forehead with his palm. "Shit! I'm sorry. I forgot. Can we do it tomorrow?"
"Only if you want the boys to starve until then." He made a face.
"I'm so sorry."
"Relax Bosco, it's OK. Just let me have the car." Bosco looked at her seriously.
"No it's not OK. Your hip is bothering you, right?"
"Bos," she said softly. "I'm fine, It's gonna be OK. Don't worry about it." He shook his head.
"No, no! You're not fine, and this is not OK. You shouldn't have to carry all those things by yourself. I don't want you to be in pain all night. Can't you ask Faith to help you or something?"
"Bosco! You can't be serious! You can't expect Faith to do a thing like that. She has her own family to think about. Have you even talked to her lately?" Anna said in disbelief. She knew he was a bit self-absorbed, but this was ridiculous.
"Not really, no," he murmured and looked a bit ashamed.
"Why?"
He shrugged. "I don't really know. Haven't seen her much. We don't work together that much anymore."
"Well I have, talked to her I mean."
"You have?" he looked slightly surprised.
"Yeah, she called me yesterday and wanted to talk. Something was bothering her. Sounded pretty serious to me. I'm gonna meet with her tomorrow."
"Yeah? Did she tell you what it was about?" he said worriedly.
"No."
"Well, I guess you'll find out tomorrow. It's probably that damned kid again," he murmured angrily, referring to Emily.
"Doesn't it bother you at all that she didn't come to you, when she needed someone to talk to?" Anna said reproachfully.
"Don't start with me Anna. We've grown apart, OK? It happens, I'm moving on. She isn't. There's nothing to do about it," he said impatiently, but she could see the guilt and uneasiness in his eyes. "I'm happy though, that you two are still good friends," he added softly.
Anna sighed, but didn't respond. Instead she said:
"Back to what we were talking about in the first place. Can I have the car?"
He sighed heavily. "Of course, that's not a problem, but I wish there was another solution."
"Drop it Bosco. I'll be fine. Will you do me a favor and pick up the boys at preschool before you go to work?"
"Sure, no problem."
"Good! Now go and get dressed. I'll fix you something to eat."
**************
Samuel and Adam ran through the door with Bosco following close behind. They hugged Anna and then sat down at the kitchen table and started to eat their snack.
"I'm leaving now, OK?" Bosco said and kissed Anna.
"Yeah, be careful," she said and kissed him back.
"Bye champs!" he said, and headed towards the door.
"Bye Bosco!" they yelled after him.
"Bosco!" Anna called. He turned around.
"What?"
She smiled. "The car keys."
"Sorry." He grinned and tossed them towards her. She easily caught them with one hand and Bosco's grin grew wider.
"That's my girl!"
She grinned back and said: "I'll drop them of at the precinct later."
"You don't have to do that. I'll take the train."
"No, I don't want you to. You usually work so late when you work Anticrime. It's safer with the car."
He shrugged. "OK, have it your way. Might see you later then."
"Yeah, later," she said and threw him a kiss.
Bosco smiled and headed out through the door.
***************
Anna walked up to the desk sergeant. Samuel and Adam held her hands tightly, and looked around with big eyes. They loved the station house. She released her hands from their grasp and put the car keys on the counter.
"I'm looking for Officer Boscorelli. He's working anticrime today," she said and smiled at the desk sergeant. The man spotted Cruz, who was coming down the stairs.
"Sergeant Cruz," he called out to her.
"What?" she said. She didn't look like she liked to be interrupted in whatever she was doing.
"Is Boscorelli with you?"
"Why do you ask?"
"He has a visitor," he said and motioned with his head towards Anna.
Cruz approached Anna with a curious look on her face.
"Who are you?" she said shortly.
Anna wasn't stupid. She knew the enemy when she saw it, and this was definitely the enemy. When she looked into Cruz's eyes her worst fears came true. This was not a nice person. This was an evil, backstabbing bitch. She was sure about that, and she didn't trust her with Bosco's life, not even for a minute.
"I'm Anna Lewis. Officer Boscorelli and I live together, and you have to be Sergeant Cruz," she said sweetly, offering her hand to Cruz.
"Well, well isn't it the little housewife who has come to visit us," Cruz said with a sarcastic smile on her lips.
"Nice to meet you too Sergeant Cruz," Anna said politely and smiled her most beautiful smile, but her eyes were cold as ice.
All the years she had spent saving Bosco's ass from all kind of trouble, and the fact that she'd managed to survive eight years of beating, had made her a master at this kind of games. Cruz got caught off guard for a moment by Anna's actions. She hadn't expected her to put up a fight. The way Bosco had described her, and the fact that she had known Thomas Lewis and had heard him brag about how he had his wife acting like a dog, hadn't prepared her for this. She quickly recovered though. She was a master at game playing too. . "I didn't know you played games honey," Cruz said her voice pleasant, but the smile on her face was more than unpleasant.
"I only play games I know I'll win," Anna said calmly, her eyes never leaving Cruz's. They showed no fear, no uneasiness, only determination.
Cruz laughed meanly. "You can't win. As a matter of fact you're as good as losing it already!"
"You don't understand. You think you're gonna win, and in a way you are, but the thing is; he always comes back to me. Always. I always win in the end," she smiled nicely, "and then you're gonna lose, and you're gonna lose big. Believe me!"
Cruz narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to respond, but in that moment Bosco came running down the stairs, so instead she just glared at Anna.
"Bosco!" Samuel and Adam exclaimed happily when they saw him.
Bosco's face lit up, and he smiled widely when he saw them. He knelt down and let them run into his embrace.
"Hey there champs! How's it going? Did you help your mom with the groceries as I told you to?" They both nodded eagerly.
"Yeah, we carried all the toilet paper and our cereals by ourselves, just as you told us," Adam said proudly.
"And we helped her unpack the cart too," Samuel said just as proudly as his brother.
Bosco tousled their hair fondly and said: "That's my boys!"
He stood up and looked lovingly at Anna. "Hi."
"Hi yourself," Anna said and smiled. She shifted her weight to her other leg, in an attempt to ease the burning pain in her hip. She winched a bit when she did. It didn't pass undetected to Bosco and his eyes immediately got a worried look.
"You're OK?"
She smiled again. "I'm fine." He looked at her doubtfully.
"Honestly Bos," Anna said softly.
Cruz had watched them with a disgusted look on her face. "Boscorelli!" she barked.
Bosco jumped slightly, and blinked a few times before he turned to Cruz.
"What?"
"We gotta get moving. We're working, remember?"
"Sorry sarge," he said.
"I gotta go Anna. See you at home," he said, and she could see his eyes flicker as he tried to avoid meeting hers. The way he acted towards her when Cruz was around only confirmed what she already knew. Cruz was definitely the enemy.
"OK. See you," Anna said and smiled. She turned to Cruz.
"Nice to meet you sergeant," she said politely, but Bosco noticed the cold look in her eyes.
Cruz just nodded shortly in return, and Bosco could feel how tense she was. What was it about the women he loved and Cruz? Why couldn't they see how great she was? Women, he thought. He would never understand them, not even if he lived to be a hundred. He turned to leave when he heard Adam's voice call:
"Bosco wait." He turned to look at him.
"What is it?" he said softly.
"Can I ask you something?"
Bosco smiled. "Sure."
Adam looked at Cruz with frightened eyes and said: "I wanna whisper."
Bosco sighed slightly. Now what was going on? He glanced over at Cruz to see if she thought they had enough time for this. She sighed dramatically.
"Make it short!" Bosco nodded and crouched down in front of Adam and said gently, careful about not letting his impatience show in his voice:
"Now tell me." Adam put his lips against Bosco's ear and whispered:
"Why are you working with a bad cop?"
Bosco was stunned. He looked at Adam in utter surprise. Where was this coming from? "I'm not working with a bad cop" he said, his voice very low. He didn't want Cruz to get pissed about this. "She's a great cop, why do you think she's a bad cop?"
Adam just looked at him with sad eyes. Bosco took him by his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Come on Adam, you know me. I would never work with a bad cop. You know that, right?"
Adam nodded. Bosco smiled relieved. "There you are, then she has to be a good cop, right?"
"Whatever you say, " Adam said obediently. Bosco frowned. He didn't like the way Adam was acting.
"Boscorelli!" Cruz said impatiently.
Bosco looked at Adam. "Look Adam, we'll talk about this more later, when I'm not in a hurry, OK?"
Adam nodded. " Please don't be mad at me," he whispered, and Bosco could see his bottom lip starting to tremble. Bosco felt confused about the whole ting. What was going on? Why was Adam so afraid?
"Of course I'm not mad at you, but you've misunderstood something. We'll sort it out tomorrow. Don't worry about it, OK?"
Adam nodded again and hugged him. Bosco hugged him back and then stood up and waved at all of them before he followed Cruz through the doors.
************
Bosco sat in the RMP with Cruz, who was driving, and tried to think. He had had an uneasy feeling in his stomach ever since they left the precinct. Anna's cold eyes, and the strange question Adam had asked, wouldn't leave him alone. Why didn't Anna like Cruz? Anna liked everybody. She always understood and saw something good in people. Why would she not like Cruz? Cruz was great, right? Maybe a bit ruff, but it was not like Anna to dislike someone because of a thing like that. That was not how she was. So why on earth didn't she like her?
Faith doesn't like her either; a voice in the back of his head reminded him. She thinks she's no good. He quickly suppressed the memory. Faith didn't understand this. She was just jealous or something, but the most disturbing question of them all was: Why did Adam think she was a bad cop? She really couldn't remind him of his father, right? She was a bit ruff though, and she didn't like children, so that might be the reason. The boys were a bit sensitive about those things, and God knows they had a reason to be. Yeah, that had to be it. That was why he was afraid if her. Satisfied with the explanation he had come up with, he leaned back and tried to ignore the fact that he wasn't able to come up with an explanation for Anna's behavior, or Faith's for that matter, at least not a believable one. In the back of his head an annoying little voice kept telling him that if all the people who truly cared about him didn't like Cruz, then there had to be a reason, a good one.
************
Anna tucked Adam in and placed a kiss on his forehead. He looked at her with big, sad eyes and said:
"Mom, why does Bosco work with a bad cop?"
" Was that what you asked him this afternoon?" she asked carefully. He nodded.
"And what did he answer?"
"That he doesn't, but mom he does. You know that too, right? That's why your eyes were angry when you talked to that police woman, right?"
Anna sighed. "Yes you've got it all right."
"So why is he riding with a bad cop? Why can't he ride with Faith like he used to? She's nice."
"I don't know honey. I really don't know, but I don't think he understands that she's a bad cop."
"Why?"
"Because he likes to believe that all people are good people, and because he wants to show everybody that he's a good cop."
Adam looked confused. "But he is a good cop already. We already know that."
"I know honey. I'm afraid I can't really explain this to you." Adam was silent for a while and then he said:
"Does he feel lonely?"
"I don't know, maybe a little."
"If we tell him we love him, and Faith does too, then maybe everything will be alright again. You know, like when he was sick," he said eagerly. She smiled.
"Yeah maybe, "Anna said softly, knowing that all the love on earth couldn't fix this.
"I'll tell him tomorrow," Adam said. Anna blinked away some tears.
"You do that honey, you do that." She kissed him once more and then went out into the living room, and sat down on the couch.
She rubbed her face tiredly. She was very happy that she was going to meet with Faith tomorrow. She really needed to talk to her too, and she had a feeling they wanted to talk about the same thing.