TITLE: One heart beat for every lost day.
AUTHOR: faith_in_Faith
E-MAIL: faith_in_Faith@hotmail.com
DISCLAIMER: Don't owe a thing, never has and never will.
SPOILERS: This taking place after season four.
AUTHORS NOTE: I'm VERY sorry it took so long for me to update this, but my computer broke down and it took THREE WEEKS to fix it. Well if anybody still reading, it's time for some Bosco angst.PLEASE R&R! and finally (as usual) thanks to Jenny and Carina for correcting this for me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.
About three years later:
"Hurry up boys! I'm gonna be late for work," Bosco said and looked at Samuel and Adam, who were playing with a ball behind him.
"OK Bosco," they said in unison as they ran up to him and started to walk beside him.
When they reached the apartment building the boys ran up the stairs ahead of him, trying to catch each other. Bosco smiled at them and unlocked the door to let them in. He went into the kitchen and expected to see Anna there, but the room was empty. He felt his stomach drop as always when the apartment was empty. He hated it, because it reminded him about the horrible time when she was at the hospital. When she was dying. She didn't die though. She pulled through, against all odds, but the recovery took forever. Her hip was totally destroyed by the infection, so when she was finally on the safe side, they had to replace it with a new one. She had been in the hospital for almost two months. Maybe God did like him a bit after all, or maybe it was the boys he cared for. Bosco didn't know for sure, and he didn't really care as long as she was there with him. The important thing was that he had got another chance, and he was never going to forget it. He threw his keys on the kitchen counter and called out her name.
"Anna!"
She came out from the bedroom, braiding her hair. She smiled at him and said:
"You're late. You'd better hurry up or we're both gonna be late for work."
He smiled lovingly at her and said: "Sorry, the boys and I had so much fun in the park that we forgot about the time."
"You're impossible," she said, but her voice was warm and filled with love. He embraced her and tried to kiss her. She pushed him away.
"Get out of here and get ready for work before you get us both fired for being constantly late!"
He grinned mischievously at her but went into the bedroom. Anna smiled happily to herself. Ever since she had recovered from her illness, life had been so good to her. Bosco had kept every promise he made three years ago. He had really changed. He didn't get into any trouble at all anymore, except for some minor screw-ups at work. That couldn't be helped though; because Bosco was Bosco and no one wanted him to change so much he wasn't himself anymore. Besides work, she and the boys were his whole world and she loved it. He was still a patrol officer and still riding with Faith, and right now none of them needed or longed for anything else. In other words: Life was as near perfect as it could be, and Anna thanked God for it everyday. There was a knock on the door and she went and opened it.
"Hi," Emily said and smiled at Anna." I'm sorry I'm late." Anna smiled back.
"You're not late. Actually you're exactly on time." Emily looked around.
"So where's Bosco? I thought you two had to go now." Anna smiled again.
"We have to, but you know how he is.." Emily smiled back.
"Some things never change huh?"
"I guess not."
"So where are the boys?"
"In their room, playing with their play station. Dinner is ready, just heat it in the oven, OK?"
Emily nodded and looked fondly at Anna. She really liked her. Anna had brought some kind of peace to her family. Her loving and living with Bosco had finally made her dad stop being jealous of him, and less ready to get on her mothers case about work. That made her mother calmer, and all these things together had brought a peace in her home that she couldn't remember ever having before, and for that she loved Anna.
"It's really nice of you to help us out. We didn't know what to do when Eve got sick," Anna said and smiled gratefully at Emily.
Emily shrugged. "It's no big deal. I need the money anyway." The truth was that she was happy to do it, because she loved Samuel and Adam.
******************
"So why were you late today? Didn't Emily show up on time?" Faith asked worriedly and glanced over at Bosco. He turned around a corner and said:
"Nope, it was me. I was in the park with Samuel and Adam and I kind of forgot the time."
"Bosco you can't be serious!" Faith said in disbelief. "Did Anna get late too?"
"No I dropped her off first. That's why I was late. It was a close call though," he said and grinned at her.
Faith rolled her eyes and said: "You know what Bos? I really feel sorry for Anna. I can't imagine how awful it would be to have to live with you all the time. I thank the good Lord everyday that I'm not in her shoes!"
"You're just jealous Yokas, because you didn't catch me first. Besides, if I'm that hard to be around, she's the lucky one. I spend more time with you than I do with her," he said and grinned at her again.
Faith smiled fondly at him and said: "I knew there was a catch."
She was so happy about the way things had worked out. After they had brought Cruz down and Anna had managed to survive her illness, things had been great between them. They still had their fights, and he could still be the biggest jerk and the most annoying man she had ever met, but there was never anything serious. He was calmer and showed more responsibility too. Anna had finally saved him from himself, and Faith was very happy for it.
"55-David respond to a burglary in progress in the jewellery store in the corner of fifth and Arthur." The dispatcher's voice shook Faith out of her thoughts.
"10-4," Faith said into her radio, and Bosco put on the light and sirens and took off.
When they arrived at the scene they went out of the car and took out their guns. They slowly made their way through the door. The storeowner lay on the floor in a pool of blood. He was shot in the head, and it wasn't hard to tell there was nothing they could do to for him. Bosco cursed under his breath and Faith swallowed hard as they proceeded their slow pace through the store towards the back door. They went out into the alley and looked around. Bosco saw the gun that pointed at Faith just seconds before it was fired. He quickly took a step to the right, placing himself in front of her, fired his own gun and yelled:
"GET DOWN FAITH, GET DOWN!"
Faith immediately dropped to her stomach behind him. She watched his body twitch twice as the bullets hit him in the chest. He got down on his knees and fell forward to the ground. Faith quickly fired her gun in the direction of the shot sounds and said in her radio:
"55-David to central 10-13, 10-13, shots fired. I request back-up and the EMS to this location. I have an officer down! I repeat; I have an officer down!"
A new volley of shots was fired and Faith threw herself over Bosco and returned the gunfire. She felt a slight pain in her right shoulder and heard the sound of running footsteps fading away. She said a silent prayer that the robbers were gone for now, and carefully turned Bosco over to his back.
"Bosco." He didn't respond to her, and his eyes were closed and his face pale.
"Damn it Bosco! Do you have to take everything I say so literally? When I told you yesterday that you were gonna get yourself shot one sunny day I didn't mean you had to do it," she said shakily and ripped his shirt open.
There were two bullet holes in his Kevlar vest and for a moment she felt a tiny hope inside. Maybe the vest had stopped the bullets. It felt like déjà vu when she put her hand under the vest to check for blood. Just like the last time, more than four years ago, she held her breath and looked at her hand. This time they weren't that lucky though. Her hand was covered with warm, red blood, Bosco's blood. The bullets had gone through his vest and he was bleeding heavily. Faith quickly strapped the vest off him, and put her hands on the wounds in his chest and stomach in an attempt to stop him from bleeding to death before the EMS arrived.
"It's so like you Bos. You can't do anything the easy way, can you? When you decided to get shot it had to be with cop killer bullets hadn't it?" she said shakily, tears stinging her eyes.
There was so much blood and it was trickling through her fingers. She swallowed hard and suppressed the sob that was threatening to slip through her lips as she put some more weight on him. Bosco moaned, but he didn't open his eyes. Suddenly she heard the comforting sound of sirens approaching and soon enough Doc and Carlos were by her side, as well as Sully and Davis
"Faith, what happened? Are you hurt?" Doc asked and kneeled down beside them.
She shook her head. "No, but Bosco is. He got shot. The bullets went through his vest. Please help him! " she said and looked desperately at Doc. He nodded and said:
"I will Faith. I will, but you have to move OK?"
"I can't. If I take my hands off him he dies."
"I'll take care of him for you. I'll put pressure on his wounds, I promise. Now please let me check on him," Doc said soothingly.
Faith felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up in Davis eyes. They were filled with concern and compassion. "Come on Faith, they'll take good care of him, but you can't be here right now. You'll only get in their way."
Faith knew he was right and she reluctantly took her hands away and stood up. Davis took her gently by her arm and they walked away a few steps. He looked at her and said worriedly:
"Faith you're bleeding!"
"No, it's Bos' blood," she said absently.
"No Faith. You're bleeding from your shoulder. Please let me have a look."
Faith held out her right arm and did her best not to look at her hands. The look of Bosco's blood on them made her sick. Davis saw that the material in her shirt was ripped and understood that she had been hit too. He called out to Kim, who was checking on one of the robbers who also had been shot.
"Kim! Over here! Faith has been shot too!" Kim jogged over to them and started examining Faith.
"Faith, does it hurt?" she asked softly, but Faith didn't respond. She just stared over where Bosco was lying and watched how Doc and Carlos were working frantically on him. She prayed that he would be all right, that she wouldn't have to tell Anna that the unthinkable had happened.
"Doc, he's not breathing!" Carlos said, panic in his voice.
"Then bag him!" Doc said and looked up from Bosco's wounds.
"I can't. There's too much blood!" Carlos said desperately.
"Then suck him!"
"I have. It doesn't help!"
" Move over here, I'll do it," Doc said and let Carlos put pressure on Bosco's wounds instead. He turned Bosco over on his the side and a lot of blood ran out from his mouth. Doc turned him back again and said to Johnson, the paramedic who had replaced Alex:
"Johnson suck here! Hold it to the left!" Then he quickly put the tube down Bosco's throat and pressed the bag. He nodded, pleased with himself, as he watched Bosco's chest rise and fall.
"Doc, we gotta get moving, his blood pressure is falling. He's bleeding out!" Johnson said. Doc nodded and looked over at Kim, who was still tending to Faith, and yelled:
"Kim, do you have it?"
"Yeah, just go!" Kim said, waving them off.
"Bos," Faith whispered and tried to take a step forward. "I have to go with Bos."
"No honey. You can't. You would only be in their way. Come on, you need to go to the hospital too. The bullet is still in there. I'll take you. You'll see him there," Kim said softly.
Faith nodded sadly. The shock and the blood loss were starting to make her feel weak and dizzy and she willingly let Kim lead her to the other bus. She felt Davis hand on her arm again and turned her head to look at him.
"I'm riding with you, OK?" he said and smiled reassuringly at her.
She nodded again and said absently: "Anna, I gotta tell Anna."
"I'll do it for you. I promise. Don't worry about it," Davis said, but deep inside he wondered why on earth he had volunteered to such an awful task.
*****************
Davis hesitantly approached the nurse's desk at the children's ICU. He was terrified. He had never before had to tell anyone that their loved one's had been shot, and he wished as hell that he hadn't promised Faith to do it, but he had. So here he was, scared almost to death, about to scare the shit out of an unsuspecting, innocent woman. He had no choice though. Faith had passed out on the way to the hospital and although she was awake again, she was far too weak to do it herself. He saw a nurse sitting by the desk and cleared his throat and prepared himself to ask for Anna. The nurse looked up, and he saw that it was Anna. Her face lit up when she recognized him. She smiled kindly at him and said:
"Ty, nice to see you. What brings you here?"
Anna didn't suspect that something was wrong, because in her mind Bosco being hurt at work was connected with Faith telling her. She didn't connect Ty with that kind of news, not at all. Ty on the other hand was completely caught off guard when he saw that it was Anna, and at first he didn't know what to say.
"I..um.well Bosco..he's..he got shot today, " he finally managed to get out.
Anna looked at him, her eyes growing wide with fear. No, she though. No, not again. She remembered the last time when Faith came to tell her the same thing, and when she thought about it she could still feel the fear she had felt that day. She didn't want to hear that once more. It just couldn't be true, but she knew it was. She took a deep breath and looked at Ty and asked; just as the last time.
"How bad Ty? How bad?" And just as the last time she begged God not to take him away from her.
Ty swallowed hard. "I don't really know, but the bullets went through the vest and he was bleeding pretty badly, but he's still alive. They took him to surgery ten minutes ago."
"Cop killer bullets," Anna whispered as she closed her eyes and prayed even harder to God to let him live. Cop killer bullets had always been her worst nightmare. Suddenly she realized that the one giving her the bad news was Ty, not Faith. She quickly opened her eyes and looked at Ty in horror.
"Oh my God Ty, where's Faith? She's not dead, is she? Please tell me she's not dead!" she pleaded with him.
"No, no. She's not dead, but she got hurt too. She's all right though. The bullet only hit her in the shoulder. She's gonna be OK. She's waiting for surgery right now," Ty said, somewhat happy to have some good news to tell her.
"Thank God," Anna whispered.
"She wants to see you."
Anna nodded. "Let me just tell them I gotta leave," she said and tried to keep her emotions at bay. If she was going to get Bosco, Faith and herself through this she needed to be strong.
She didn't have to tell anyone anything though. The head nurse had overheard almost the whole conversation, and when Anna turned around, her boss just looked at her and said:
"Just go. I'll pray for you all." Anna nodded and followed Ty through the doors.
When they reached the ER, Anna immediately spotted nurse Proctor and hurried towards her. She knew that Proctor had seen Bosco, and she knew that she would know how bad he was. Proctor saw her coming and wished she could run away. She knew there was no way she would be able to keep the truth from her colleague. Anna reached her and looked her in the eyes as she said breathlessly:
"Mary?"
Proctor knew that the chance for Bosco to survive this was very small, if there even was one. She tried to keep the truth out of her eyes but Anna was a nurse too. She knew their silent language, and Proctor was aware of that so she just looked sadly at her and said:
"I'm so sorry Anna. I'm so sorry."
Anna swallowed hard and nodded, then she said:
"Where's Faith? She wanted to see me."
"In exam two. She's gonna be fine," Proctor said and smiled weakly.
" I know," Anna said quietly and headed towards Faith's room.
Faith's eyes were closed, but she heard someone entering the room and felt dread rise inside. She knew it had to be Anna, and she had dreaded the moment when she had to face her ever since she woke up. How could she tell her that Bosco was on the operating table because of her? That he might die because of her? Anna was going to hate her, that's for sure.
Anna looked at Faith's still form and pale face, and felt tears forming in her eyes. Seeing Faith like this made the whole thing with Bosco feel more real and it took all she had not to break down. She went and sat down next to the bed and took Faith's hand.
"Faith," she whispered quietly.
Faith knew there was no escape now so she opened he eyes and looked at Anna.
"I'm so sorry Anna, I'm so sorry," she whispered with anguish in her voice.
Anna smiled at her through her tears and said:
"You have nothing to be sorry for Faith."
"Yes I have."
"No you haven't."
Faith tried hard not to cry as she said: "Yes I have. You don't understand.."
Anna cut her off. "Yes I do, believe me. He took the bullets for you, didn't he?"
"Yes he did. How did you know?" Faith whispered unhappily.
" I've always known he would do that if he could. I've been married to cops all my grown up life Faith and I have always known the rule. Bosco has always made it clear to me. Not that he had to. I knew it anyway."
"What rule?" Faith asked weakly.
"First Faith, then Faith, then Faith and then me and the boys. The partner is always most important, and you know it as well as I do. It's the same for you. The only difference is that the name in the rule is Bosco, not Faith," Anna said and smiled sadly.
"I'm so sorry," Faith whispered again. She felt incredibly guilty.
"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you're OK."
"But what if he dies?" Faith whispered desperately.
"Don't talk like that, please don't talk like that," Anna said and tried to hold back her tears.
They looked at each other in silence for a few moments and they both noticed how hard the other woman tried not to cry. Finally Anna said:
"Bosco's girls don't cry, huh?"
Faith looked down at her blanket. "I guess they don't."
"It's not like he can see us or anything," Anna in a shaky voice. Then she carefully pulled Faith into a hug, and with that they both started to cry. They cried like they never had cried before. They cried in fear of losing the man they both loved. It was like they hoped that the fact that they broke one of his rules would make him so mad that he'd survive just so he could come back and kick their asses for disobeying his wishes.
AUTHOR: faith_in_Faith
E-MAIL: faith_in_Faith@hotmail.com
DISCLAIMER: Don't owe a thing, never has and never will.
SPOILERS: This taking place after season four.
AUTHORS NOTE: I'm VERY sorry it took so long for me to update this, but my computer broke down and it took THREE WEEKS to fix it. Well if anybody still reading, it's time for some Bosco angst.PLEASE R&R! and finally (as usual) thanks to Jenny and Carina for correcting this for me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.
About three years later:
"Hurry up boys! I'm gonna be late for work," Bosco said and looked at Samuel and Adam, who were playing with a ball behind him.
"OK Bosco," they said in unison as they ran up to him and started to walk beside him.
When they reached the apartment building the boys ran up the stairs ahead of him, trying to catch each other. Bosco smiled at them and unlocked the door to let them in. He went into the kitchen and expected to see Anna there, but the room was empty. He felt his stomach drop as always when the apartment was empty. He hated it, because it reminded him about the horrible time when she was at the hospital. When she was dying. She didn't die though. She pulled through, against all odds, but the recovery took forever. Her hip was totally destroyed by the infection, so when she was finally on the safe side, they had to replace it with a new one. She had been in the hospital for almost two months. Maybe God did like him a bit after all, or maybe it was the boys he cared for. Bosco didn't know for sure, and he didn't really care as long as she was there with him. The important thing was that he had got another chance, and he was never going to forget it. He threw his keys on the kitchen counter and called out her name.
"Anna!"
She came out from the bedroom, braiding her hair. She smiled at him and said:
"You're late. You'd better hurry up or we're both gonna be late for work."
He smiled lovingly at her and said: "Sorry, the boys and I had so much fun in the park that we forgot about the time."
"You're impossible," she said, but her voice was warm and filled with love. He embraced her and tried to kiss her. She pushed him away.
"Get out of here and get ready for work before you get us both fired for being constantly late!"
He grinned mischievously at her but went into the bedroom. Anna smiled happily to herself. Ever since she had recovered from her illness, life had been so good to her. Bosco had kept every promise he made three years ago. He had really changed. He didn't get into any trouble at all anymore, except for some minor screw-ups at work. That couldn't be helped though; because Bosco was Bosco and no one wanted him to change so much he wasn't himself anymore. Besides work, she and the boys were his whole world and she loved it. He was still a patrol officer and still riding with Faith, and right now none of them needed or longed for anything else. In other words: Life was as near perfect as it could be, and Anna thanked God for it everyday. There was a knock on the door and she went and opened it.
"Hi," Emily said and smiled at Anna." I'm sorry I'm late." Anna smiled back.
"You're not late. Actually you're exactly on time." Emily looked around.
"So where's Bosco? I thought you two had to go now." Anna smiled again.
"We have to, but you know how he is.." Emily smiled back.
"Some things never change huh?"
"I guess not."
"So where are the boys?"
"In their room, playing with their play station. Dinner is ready, just heat it in the oven, OK?"
Emily nodded and looked fondly at Anna. She really liked her. Anna had brought some kind of peace to her family. Her loving and living with Bosco had finally made her dad stop being jealous of him, and less ready to get on her mothers case about work. That made her mother calmer, and all these things together had brought a peace in her home that she couldn't remember ever having before, and for that she loved Anna.
"It's really nice of you to help us out. We didn't know what to do when Eve got sick," Anna said and smiled gratefully at Emily.
Emily shrugged. "It's no big deal. I need the money anyway." The truth was that she was happy to do it, because she loved Samuel and Adam.
******************
"So why were you late today? Didn't Emily show up on time?" Faith asked worriedly and glanced over at Bosco. He turned around a corner and said:
"Nope, it was me. I was in the park with Samuel and Adam and I kind of forgot the time."
"Bosco you can't be serious!" Faith said in disbelief. "Did Anna get late too?"
"No I dropped her off first. That's why I was late. It was a close call though," he said and grinned at her.
Faith rolled her eyes and said: "You know what Bos? I really feel sorry for Anna. I can't imagine how awful it would be to have to live with you all the time. I thank the good Lord everyday that I'm not in her shoes!"
"You're just jealous Yokas, because you didn't catch me first. Besides, if I'm that hard to be around, she's the lucky one. I spend more time with you than I do with her," he said and grinned at her again.
Faith smiled fondly at him and said: "I knew there was a catch."
She was so happy about the way things had worked out. After they had brought Cruz down and Anna had managed to survive her illness, things had been great between them. They still had their fights, and he could still be the biggest jerk and the most annoying man she had ever met, but there was never anything serious. He was calmer and showed more responsibility too. Anna had finally saved him from himself, and Faith was very happy for it.
"55-David respond to a burglary in progress in the jewellery store in the corner of fifth and Arthur." The dispatcher's voice shook Faith out of her thoughts.
"10-4," Faith said into her radio, and Bosco put on the light and sirens and took off.
When they arrived at the scene they went out of the car and took out their guns. They slowly made their way through the door. The storeowner lay on the floor in a pool of blood. He was shot in the head, and it wasn't hard to tell there was nothing they could do to for him. Bosco cursed under his breath and Faith swallowed hard as they proceeded their slow pace through the store towards the back door. They went out into the alley and looked around. Bosco saw the gun that pointed at Faith just seconds before it was fired. He quickly took a step to the right, placing himself in front of her, fired his own gun and yelled:
"GET DOWN FAITH, GET DOWN!"
Faith immediately dropped to her stomach behind him. She watched his body twitch twice as the bullets hit him in the chest. He got down on his knees and fell forward to the ground. Faith quickly fired her gun in the direction of the shot sounds and said in her radio:
"55-David to central 10-13, 10-13, shots fired. I request back-up and the EMS to this location. I have an officer down! I repeat; I have an officer down!"
A new volley of shots was fired and Faith threw herself over Bosco and returned the gunfire. She felt a slight pain in her right shoulder and heard the sound of running footsteps fading away. She said a silent prayer that the robbers were gone for now, and carefully turned Bosco over to his back.
"Bosco." He didn't respond to her, and his eyes were closed and his face pale.
"Damn it Bosco! Do you have to take everything I say so literally? When I told you yesterday that you were gonna get yourself shot one sunny day I didn't mean you had to do it," she said shakily and ripped his shirt open.
There were two bullet holes in his Kevlar vest and for a moment she felt a tiny hope inside. Maybe the vest had stopped the bullets. It felt like déjà vu when she put her hand under the vest to check for blood. Just like the last time, more than four years ago, she held her breath and looked at her hand. This time they weren't that lucky though. Her hand was covered with warm, red blood, Bosco's blood. The bullets had gone through his vest and he was bleeding heavily. Faith quickly strapped the vest off him, and put her hands on the wounds in his chest and stomach in an attempt to stop him from bleeding to death before the EMS arrived.
"It's so like you Bos. You can't do anything the easy way, can you? When you decided to get shot it had to be with cop killer bullets hadn't it?" she said shakily, tears stinging her eyes.
There was so much blood and it was trickling through her fingers. She swallowed hard and suppressed the sob that was threatening to slip through her lips as she put some more weight on him. Bosco moaned, but he didn't open his eyes. Suddenly she heard the comforting sound of sirens approaching and soon enough Doc and Carlos were by her side, as well as Sully and Davis
"Faith, what happened? Are you hurt?" Doc asked and kneeled down beside them.
She shook her head. "No, but Bosco is. He got shot. The bullets went through his vest. Please help him! " she said and looked desperately at Doc. He nodded and said:
"I will Faith. I will, but you have to move OK?"
"I can't. If I take my hands off him he dies."
"I'll take care of him for you. I'll put pressure on his wounds, I promise. Now please let me check on him," Doc said soothingly.
Faith felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up in Davis eyes. They were filled with concern and compassion. "Come on Faith, they'll take good care of him, but you can't be here right now. You'll only get in their way."
Faith knew he was right and she reluctantly took her hands away and stood up. Davis took her gently by her arm and they walked away a few steps. He looked at her and said worriedly:
"Faith you're bleeding!"
"No, it's Bos' blood," she said absently.
"No Faith. You're bleeding from your shoulder. Please let me have a look."
Faith held out her right arm and did her best not to look at her hands. The look of Bosco's blood on them made her sick. Davis saw that the material in her shirt was ripped and understood that she had been hit too. He called out to Kim, who was checking on one of the robbers who also had been shot.
"Kim! Over here! Faith has been shot too!" Kim jogged over to them and started examining Faith.
"Faith, does it hurt?" she asked softly, but Faith didn't respond. She just stared over where Bosco was lying and watched how Doc and Carlos were working frantically on him. She prayed that he would be all right, that she wouldn't have to tell Anna that the unthinkable had happened.
"Doc, he's not breathing!" Carlos said, panic in his voice.
"Then bag him!" Doc said and looked up from Bosco's wounds.
"I can't. There's too much blood!" Carlos said desperately.
"Then suck him!"
"I have. It doesn't help!"
" Move over here, I'll do it," Doc said and let Carlos put pressure on Bosco's wounds instead. He turned Bosco over on his the side and a lot of blood ran out from his mouth. Doc turned him back again and said to Johnson, the paramedic who had replaced Alex:
"Johnson suck here! Hold it to the left!" Then he quickly put the tube down Bosco's throat and pressed the bag. He nodded, pleased with himself, as he watched Bosco's chest rise and fall.
"Doc, we gotta get moving, his blood pressure is falling. He's bleeding out!" Johnson said. Doc nodded and looked over at Kim, who was still tending to Faith, and yelled:
"Kim, do you have it?"
"Yeah, just go!" Kim said, waving them off.
"Bos," Faith whispered and tried to take a step forward. "I have to go with Bos."
"No honey. You can't. You would only be in their way. Come on, you need to go to the hospital too. The bullet is still in there. I'll take you. You'll see him there," Kim said softly.
Faith nodded sadly. The shock and the blood loss were starting to make her feel weak and dizzy and she willingly let Kim lead her to the other bus. She felt Davis hand on her arm again and turned her head to look at him.
"I'm riding with you, OK?" he said and smiled reassuringly at her.
She nodded again and said absently: "Anna, I gotta tell Anna."
"I'll do it for you. I promise. Don't worry about it," Davis said, but deep inside he wondered why on earth he had volunteered to such an awful task.
*****************
Davis hesitantly approached the nurse's desk at the children's ICU. He was terrified. He had never before had to tell anyone that their loved one's had been shot, and he wished as hell that he hadn't promised Faith to do it, but he had. So here he was, scared almost to death, about to scare the shit out of an unsuspecting, innocent woman. He had no choice though. Faith had passed out on the way to the hospital and although she was awake again, she was far too weak to do it herself. He saw a nurse sitting by the desk and cleared his throat and prepared himself to ask for Anna. The nurse looked up, and he saw that it was Anna. Her face lit up when she recognized him. She smiled kindly at him and said:
"Ty, nice to see you. What brings you here?"
Anna didn't suspect that something was wrong, because in her mind Bosco being hurt at work was connected with Faith telling her. She didn't connect Ty with that kind of news, not at all. Ty on the other hand was completely caught off guard when he saw that it was Anna, and at first he didn't know what to say.
"I..um.well Bosco..he's..he got shot today, " he finally managed to get out.
Anna looked at him, her eyes growing wide with fear. No, she though. No, not again. She remembered the last time when Faith came to tell her the same thing, and when she thought about it she could still feel the fear she had felt that day. She didn't want to hear that once more. It just couldn't be true, but she knew it was. She took a deep breath and looked at Ty and asked; just as the last time.
"How bad Ty? How bad?" And just as the last time she begged God not to take him away from her.
Ty swallowed hard. "I don't really know, but the bullets went through the vest and he was bleeding pretty badly, but he's still alive. They took him to surgery ten minutes ago."
"Cop killer bullets," Anna whispered as she closed her eyes and prayed even harder to God to let him live. Cop killer bullets had always been her worst nightmare. Suddenly she realized that the one giving her the bad news was Ty, not Faith. She quickly opened her eyes and looked at Ty in horror.
"Oh my God Ty, where's Faith? She's not dead, is she? Please tell me she's not dead!" she pleaded with him.
"No, no. She's not dead, but she got hurt too. She's all right though. The bullet only hit her in the shoulder. She's gonna be OK. She's waiting for surgery right now," Ty said, somewhat happy to have some good news to tell her.
"Thank God," Anna whispered.
"She wants to see you."
Anna nodded. "Let me just tell them I gotta leave," she said and tried to keep her emotions at bay. If she was going to get Bosco, Faith and herself through this she needed to be strong.
She didn't have to tell anyone anything though. The head nurse had overheard almost the whole conversation, and when Anna turned around, her boss just looked at her and said:
"Just go. I'll pray for you all." Anna nodded and followed Ty through the doors.
When they reached the ER, Anna immediately spotted nurse Proctor and hurried towards her. She knew that Proctor had seen Bosco, and she knew that she would know how bad he was. Proctor saw her coming and wished she could run away. She knew there was no way she would be able to keep the truth from her colleague. Anna reached her and looked her in the eyes as she said breathlessly:
"Mary?"
Proctor knew that the chance for Bosco to survive this was very small, if there even was one. She tried to keep the truth out of her eyes but Anna was a nurse too. She knew their silent language, and Proctor was aware of that so she just looked sadly at her and said:
"I'm so sorry Anna. I'm so sorry."
Anna swallowed hard and nodded, then she said:
"Where's Faith? She wanted to see me."
"In exam two. She's gonna be fine," Proctor said and smiled weakly.
" I know," Anna said quietly and headed towards Faith's room.
Faith's eyes were closed, but she heard someone entering the room and felt dread rise inside. She knew it had to be Anna, and she had dreaded the moment when she had to face her ever since she woke up. How could she tell her that Bosco was on the operating table because of her? That he might die because of her? Anna was going to hate her, that's for sure.
Anna looked at Faith's still form and pale face, and felt tears forming in her eyes. Seeing Faith like this made the whole thing with Bosco feel more real and it took all she had not to break down. She went and sat down next to the bed and took Faith's hand.
"Faith," she whispered quietly.
Faith knew there was no escape now so she opened he eyes and looked at Anna.
"I'm so sorry Anna, I'm so sorry," she whispered with anguish in her voice.
Anna smiled at her through her tears and said:
"You have nothing to be sorry for Faith."
"Yes I have."
"No you haven't."
Faith tried hard not to cry as she said: "Yes I have. You don't understand.."
Anna cut her off. "Yes I do, believe me. He took the bullets for you, didn't he?"
"Yes he did. How did you know?" Faith whispered unhappily.
" I've always known he would do that if he could. I've been married to cops all my grown up life Faith and I have always known the rule. Bosco has always made it clear to me. Not that he had to. I knew it anyway."
"What rule?" Faith asked weakly.
"First Faith, then Faith, then Faith and then me and the boys. The partner is always most important, and you know it as well as I do. It's the same for you. The only difference is that the name in the rule is Bosco, not Faith," Anna said and smiled sadly.
"I'm so sorry," Faith whispered again. She felt incredibly guilty.
"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you're OK."
"But what if he dies?" Faith whispered desperately.
"Don't talk like that, please don't talk like that," Anna said and tried to hold back her tears.
They looked at each other in silence for a few moments and they both noticed how hard the other woman tried not to cry. Finally Anna said:
"Bosco's girls don't cry, huh?"
Faith looked down at her blanket. "I guess they don't."
"It's not like he can see us or anything," Anna in a shaky voice. Then she carefully pulled Faith into a hug, and with that they both started to cry. They cried like they never had cried before. They cried in fear of losing the man they both loved. It was like they hoped that the fact that they broke one of his rules would make him so mad that he'd survive just so he could come back and kick their asses for disobeying his wishes.