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...
RATING: PG-13
SPOILER: Up to and including season four.
AUTHORS NOTE: Big thanks to wine_into_ water, and Jenny for all your help, and BIG THANKS to my reviewers for making this possible. I owe you big time. : ) Well the final counts down. when you have read this it's only one chapter left..
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Anna stood in the hallway and looked at the elevator doors with an empty stare. They had brought Faith up to surgery just a few minutes ago and now, when no one needed her to be strong, Anna was dangerously close to a complete breakdown. She had never been this afraid before. Not even Thomas had been able to make her feel this kind of fear. It felt like she couldn't breathe. She didn't even dare to pray, because she was afraid to use the line; "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." What if what God wanted and what she wanted wasn't the same anymore? What if God wanted to have Bosco back? Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and met Davis' eyes. They were filled with compassion.
"Are you OK?" he asked.
Anna took a shuddered breath and nodded.
"Nurse Proctor said we could wait upstairs. We'll be more comfortable there."
"OK," she said quietly.
Suddenly she saw Swerski and Sully hurrying towards them. They stopped in front of her and Swerski looked at Anna and said:
"Is there any news?" Anna shook her head.
"I'm sorry," Swerski said in a weary voice. "If there's anything I can do."
"Please turn back time," Anna whispered and looked down at the floor.
Swerski sighed and looked over at Sully. He nodded slightly.
"Anna," he said gently. "We can't get hold of Fred or Faith's kids. They don't answer the phone or the door. Do you know where they are?"
Anna looked at them with horror in her eyes when she realized that she had forgot to call Emily and the boys.
"Oh my God Sully! I've forgot to call the boys! Emily is babysitting for us tonight," she said hysterically. She saw the worry in his eyes and took a deep breath, in an attempt to pull herself together.
"Do you want me to call her for you?" Davis offered, silently wishing she would turn down the offer. He had had enough of this for one day. Anna shook her head.
"No I'll do it," she answered tiredly, and went down the hall to the payphones.
She dialed the number and heard it ring twice. It was just a little after seven pm and she prayed that Emily would be the one who answered the phone. The boys were probably still up and she didn't have enough strength to talk to them right now without scaring them. Emily picked up on the third ring and said cheerfully:
"At the Boscorelli's."
"Hi Em, it is Anna."
Emily heard the catch in Anna's voice and got scared. She had never heard Anna's voice sound anything but calm and confident. If Anna sounded like this, something had to be wrong.
"Hi Anna. What's wrong?" she asked, fear touching her voice.
Anna swallowed hard, took a deep breath and said:
"I'm sorry Emily. I don't want to scare you, but Faith got shot today."
She could hear Emily inhale sharply. She understood that Emily was afraid, so she tried to make her voice sound a bit more confident before she continued.
"It's nothing serious. She's gonna be OK. The bullet only hit her in the shoulder. She's in surgery right now."
"What happened? Why did she get shot? Where the hell was Bosco?" Emily said accusingly and her voice was filled with anger. Bosco was supposed to protect her mother from getting shot. That was the whole idea with this partnership thing.
Anna closed her eyes when she heard the accusation. She was happy that Bosco couldn't hear Emily right now, because that kind of accusation would have made him break down with guilt for sure. She couldn't get angry with her though. The poor kid was afraid, and when you're upset you say cruel things, but she could feel tears starting to fill her eyes again.
"Emily," she said softly. "He was there. He got shot too. The bullets went through his vest, and right now he's in surgery, just like your mother."
When Emily heard the words "He got shot too," she realized something that she knew she should have known all along. Of course Bosco had been there, and of course he was worse off than her mother. He had probably tried to keep her out of fire, just as a good partner should. Her mother used to tell her, every now and then, that she was a lot like her father, and in this moment Emily realized that that wasn't a compliment. She felt incredibly ashamed of herself.
"I'm sorry Anna. I'm so sorry, but he.h..h.e'll be OK, right?" she stammered.
"They don't know honey. They don't know. He's very badly hurt since the bullets went through his vest and.." Anna's voice trailed off. She knew that if she said another word she would start crying and she didn't want to frighten Emily any further.
Emily heard that Anna was very close to tears, and she knew it was time for her to prove that she was just as grown up as she always claimed she was.
"Do you want me to tell Samuel and Adam and bring them to the hospital for you?" she asked, trying hard to sound just as calm and confident as Anna usually did.
"No thanks Emily. It isn't you your call, and I don't want them to be here. I can't deal with them right now," Anna said wearily. "I'll call Steven and have him to come and pick them up and tell them. You need to come over here, because we can't get hold of your brother or your father. You don't know where they are, do you?"
"They are at a football game tonight, but they should be home any minute now. I call dad and tell him what have happened. He and Charlie will come down and stay with mom. I'll stay here," Emily said firmly. She knew that Anna really needed someone there with her right now, and Steven was the only one she had.
Anna ran her hand through her hair tiredly. Why couldn't that kid just do as she was told? She really didn't have the energy to argue with her about this.
"No Emily it's OK. You need to be with your mom. Steven will be with you soon, OK?"
Emily could tell that Anna was dangerously close to her limit right now, so she bit down her bottom lip and tried to choose the right words.
"No Anna, listen to me. Mom is gonna be OK, and Dad and Charlie are gonna be there soon. I'll call Steven for you and tell him what has happened and ask him to get down to the hospital and stay with you. Don't worry about the boys. I'll stay with them for as long as you need me to, OK?"
Anna gave up. She didn't have the energy to put up a fight, and she knew that when it came to stubbornness Emily was her mother's daughter, so she just sighed and said:
"OK, but you don't have to tell Samuel and Adam what has happened. I'll do it later, when I know more."
"Anna," Emily said softly. " They'll know. They aren't stupid and they're cop kids. If neither of you come home tonight they'll know something is wrong."
Anna rubbed her face tiredly. She knew Emily was right. God! Why did everything always have to be so complicated?
"OK, tell them then, but I don't want them to be here until I know if he's gonna make it or not."
"Is he really that bad off?" Emily asked quietly.
"Yes Em, he is."
"Anna?"
"Yeah?"
"He took the bullets for her, didn't he?"
"Yes honey he did."
"I'm so sorry."
"Don't be."
"I'll make sure Samuel and Adam know he did."
"Thanks," Anna said and hung up the phone. She felt her knees buckle and was about to fall over, but Davis had been watching her all the time and he caught her. He held her tightly and whispered soothingly:
"It's gonna be OK. Everything is gonna be just fine, " wishing more than anything that he was telling the truth.
*****************
Anna sat in a chair in the waiting room and twisted the wedding ring on her finger over and over again. She looked down at the plain gold band and sighed. They had been married for a little more than a year now. The love of her life had finally asked her to marry him. One of her biggest wishes had come true, but it hadn't been anything magic about it at all. The reason he asked her in first place was because of the situation they were in now. He was worried about what would happen to her if anything would happen to him. How she would manage to support the boy's and herself if he wasn't around anymore.
She remembered the day he proposed as if it was yesterday. It was a cold, rainy day in October. He got home late from work, and he was tired and had a cold, so he didn't look even the slightest bit like a prince. She remembered how he drew a Kleenex from the box on the coffee table, blew his nose and said:
"I've been doing some thinking lately and I think we should get married."
"What?" She hadn't believed what she heard. They had never talked about this before, ever.
"Yeah well, I thought that if anything would happen to me, you'd get my pension and insurance money and stuff. You'd be able to keep the apartment and afford a babysitter to the boys, and so on. You would all be provided for, if you know what I mean," he said and looked seriously at her.
"Are you proposing to me?"
He looked at her, a bit confused, blinked a few times, sniffed and said:
"I guess I am. So what do you say? Do you wanna marry me?"
Anna couldn't help but laugh.
"You're such a sweet talker Bos. How could I resist? You're offering me all your money, aren't you?"
Bosco gave her an embarrassed smile, sneezed and said:
"I'm not doing this the right way, am I?" Anna smiled.
"Don't worry about it. It's OK. I get the point."
"No wait, let me try again OK?" She nodded.
"Anna Lewis I love you. Do you want to be my wife?" he asked with a smile.
"Yes Bos, I'd love to be your wife."
And that was it. They got married three weeks later. It was a very small, plain wedding. Steven preformed the ceremony and the only people there were Samuel and Adam, Faith and her family and Bosco's mom. It was as far from a fairytale wedding as you could get, but Anna didn't care. Her life with Bosco had never been anything like a fairytale anyway. So the wedding fit just perfectly with the rest.
"Is there any news yet?"
Fred's worried voice made Anna snap back to reality. She looked up and saw him and Charlie talk to Sully. Suddenly Fred turned his head, and when he saw her, he quickly walked up to her and said:
"I told her he was trouble. I told her she'd end up dead because of him, but would she listen? No! Bosco will always protect me and be there for me," he said in a whiny voice, who obviously was meant to sound like Faith's." Protect her, my ass. Where the hell was Bosco when she needed him, huh? How come she ended up in surgery with a bullet in her shoulder if he was protecting her?" Fred shouted angrily at Anna.
Fred implying that Bosco hadn't been there for Faith became too much for Anna and she stood up, looked at him and said angrily:
"Yeah Fred, Faith is in surgery with a bullet in her shoulder and for that I'm sorry, but she will be fine. When the operation is over she will be just fine, and in a couple of days she will be home with you and the kids again. Bosco, on the other hand, is lying on an operating table fighting for his life, because of two cop killer bullets he took to protect HER. So stop accusing him for not being there for her and get the hell away from me!"
"Come on dad leave her alone, " Charlie said and took Fred by the arm. "I'm sorry," he said and smiled apologetically at Anna." I hope uncle B will be all right."
Charlie's kind words made Anna calm down. She sat back down on the chair and put her head in her hands. In that moment Steven arrived. He walked up to his sister immediately and knelt down in front of her.
"Anna," he said gently and stroke her hair. She lifted her head and looked at him with tear filled eyes.
"He got shot Steven. He got shot," she said with despair in her voice.
"I know honey. I know, but it's OK. He'll be all right. He's strong," Steven said soothingly and took Anna in his arms.
" But what if he dies Steven? I don't want him to die!" Anna sobbed and clung in to him like a little child.
"He won't die. God will watch over him," Steven said as reassuringly as he could.
"But what if God wants to have him back! It feels like he wants to have him back. It feels like I'm gonna lose him!" Anna cried hysterically.
Steven felt dread rise inside. What if Anna was right? What if God really wanted to have Bosco back? He quickly dismissed the thought. If he should be able to stay strong and help Anna through this he needed to trust in God. He needed to believe that Bosco would survive, but deep inside, a feeling of fear lingered, a feeling that Anna was right and he was wrong. He didn't say anything to her though. He just held her as she cried.
**********
The next day, 7:46 am:
Anna yawned. She was the only one awake. Steven and Davis had fallen a sleep some time during the night, but she didn't care. They were there if she needed them. Faith had come back from surgery almost eight hours ago and Anna had already talked to her once. She was OK, well as OK as she could be, considering the fact that no one could tell her if Bosco was going to make it or not. Suddenly she heard steps coming down the hall and looked up. She hoped it was the doctor, but it wasn't. It was Rose. They looked at each other in silence for a minute, and then Rose said:
"I told him it was a dangerous job. I told him he would get himself killed, but he never listens to me."
Anna closed her eyes, and said:
"Rose please, not now."
For some reason Rose and Anna didn't get along very well. Anna didn't really know why. It wasn't that she disliked Rose in any way. She hardly ever disliked people, but Rose always looked at her like she was something the cat had dragged in, like something that didn't belong there. If Anna hadn't known better she would have thought that Rose was jealous.
Rose looked at Anna and closed her mouth. She had never been able to stand Anna. The reasons to that were two. First of all because, for some unknown reason, when she looked in to Anna's big blue eye's she always saw the truth about herself and her sorry life, and she didn't like what she saw, but mostly she was jealous. Anna had always managed to do something for her Maurice that she had never been able to do herself. Anna could make him feel calm and happy. She could make him feel safe. She could make him feel loved. Rose had never managed to do any of that, and Anna made her feel like a really bad mother. For once though, she felt sorry for her, because today she saw something in Anna's eyes that she'd never seen there before, fear. She knew it was time to be nice, because whether she liked it or not, Maurice loved Anna and Anna loved Maurice, and so did Rose. She knew that if he died they would need each other. So she looked kindly at Anna and said:
"You're right. I'm sorry."
Anna just nodded and suddenly the doctor, who had operated on Bosco, stood in front of them. His name was Bobby Carter and when he looked at Anna he realized that he knew her. They'd worked together a few years ago.
" Anna," he said questioningly. "Are you Office Boscorelli's wife?"
"Yes," Anna said quietly. "How is he?"
Bobby looked at her, and just as Procter, he knew that he would never be able to keep anything away from her, so he just looked at her and said:
"He's still alive Anna, but that really is the only good news I have. The bullets didn't hit his heart, but that's also pretty much the only thing they didn't hit. We had to remove his spleen and his right kidney. There was some minor damage to his lever, and serious damage to the intestines, so we had to put up a colostomy. There's also severe damage to his right lung, but I think we managed to repair it quite good. I have to be honest with you though. It doesn't look good. The next 72 hours will be critical, but even if he survives that long, I can't promise you he will be all right. He pretty much bled out for us on the table and his blood pressure was under 60 and you know what that means."
"Multiple organ failure," Anna whispered almost inaudible. Bobby nodded gravely.
"Yeah, I'm sorry Anna. It really doesn't look good, but he has to be a fighter to survive this far, so who knows?" he said and shrugged, and with that he turned and left.
Davis looked questioningly at Anna and asked:
"What did all that mean in English?"
Anna looked at him with a look of shock and utter despair in her eyes and said:
"It means that Bos most likely will die, and even if he doesn't, he will never be OK again," and with that she sunk down on her knees and started to cry as she said over and over again:
"Please God let me keep him a little bit longer, please."
Steven got down on his knees in front of her and tried to sooth her. Rose just stood there and stared in front of her, and a stunned Davis tried to come up with a way to break the news to Faith.
AUTHOR: faith_in_Faith
E-MAIL: faith_in_Faith@hotmail.com
DISCLAIMER: Don't owe a thing...
RATING: PG-13
SPOILER: Up to and including season four.
AUTHORS NOTE: Big thanks to wine_into_ water, and Jenny for all your help, and BIG THANKS to my reviewers for making this possible. I owe you big time. : ) Well the final counts down. when you have read this it's only one chapter left..
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Anna stood in the hallway and looked at the elevator doors with an empty stare. They had brought Faith up to surgery just a few minutes ago and now, when no one needed her to be strong, Anna was dangerously close to a complete breakdown. She had never been this afraid before. Not even Thomas had been able to make her feel this kind of fear. It felt like she couldn't breathe. She didn't even dare to pray, because she was afraid to use the line; "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." What if what God wanted and what she wanted wasn't the same anymore? What if God wanted to have Bosco back? Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and met Davis' eyes. They were filled with compassion.
"Are you OK?" he asked.
Anna took a shuddered breath and nodded.
"Nurse Proctor said we could wait upstairs. We'll be more comfortable there."
"OK," she said quietly.
Suddenly she saw Swerski and Sully hurrying towards them. They stopped in front of her and Swerski looked at Anna and said:
"Is there any news?" Anna shook her head.
"I'm sorry," Swerski said in a weary voice. "If there's anything I can do."
"Please turn back time," Anna whispered and looked down at the floor.
Swerski sighed and looked over at Sully. He nodded slightly.
"Anna," he said gently. "We can't get hold of Fred or Faith's kids. They don't answer the phone or the door. Do you know where they are?"
Anna looked at them with horror in her eyes when she realized that she had forgot to call Emily and the boys.
"Oh my God Sully! I've forgot to call the boys! Emily is babysitting for us tonight," she said hysterically. She saw the worry in his eyes and took a deep breath, in an attempt to pull herself together.
"Do you want me to call her for you?" Davis offered, silently wishing she would turn down the offer. He had had enough of this for one day. Anna shook her head.
"No I'll do it," she answered tiredly, and went down the hall to the payphones.
She dialed the number and heard it ring twice. It was just a little after seven pm and she prayed that Emily would be the one who answered the phone. The boys were probably still up and she didn't have enough strength to talk to them right now without scaring them. Emily picked up on the third ring and said cheerfully:
"At the Boscorelli's."
"Hi Em, it is Anna."
Emily heard the catch in Anna's voice and got scared. She had never heard Anna's voice sound anything but calm and confident. If Anna sounded like this, something had to be wrong.
"Hi Anna. What's wrong?" she asked, fear touching her voice.
Anna swallowed hard, took a deep breath and said:
"I'm sorry Emily. I don't want to scare you, but Faith got shot today."
She could hear Emily inhale sharply. She understood that Emily was afraid, so she tried to make her voice sound a bit more confident before she continued.
"It's nothing serious. She's gonna be OK. The bullet only hit her in the shoulder. She's in surgery right now."
"What happened? Why did she get shot? Where the hell was Bosco?" Emily said accusingly and her voice was filled with anger. Bosco was supposed to protect her mother from getting shot. That was the whole idea with this partnership thing.
Anna closed her eyes when she heard the accusation. She was happy that Bosco couldn't hear Emily right now, because that kind of accusation would have made him break down with guilt for sure. She couldn't get angry with her though. The poor kid was afraid, and when you're upset you say cruel things, but she could feel tears starting to fill her eyes again.
"Emily," she said softly. "He was there. He got shot too. The bullets went through his vest, and right now he's in surgery, just like your mother."
When Emily heard the words "He got shot too," she realized something that she knew she should have known all along. Of course Bosco had been there, and of course he was worse off than her mother. He had probably tried to keep her out of fire, just as a good partner should. Her mother used to tell her, every now and then, that she was a lot like her father, and in this moment Emily realized that that wasn't a compliment. She felt incredibly ashamed of herself.
"I'm sorry Anna. I'm so sorry, but he.h..h.e'll be OK, right?" she stammered.
"They don't know honey. They don't know. He's very badly hurt since the bullets went through his vest and.." Anna's voice trailed off. She knew that if she said another word she would start crying and she didn't want to frighten Emily any further.
Emily heard that Anna was very close to tears, and she knew it was time for her to prove that she was just as grown up as she always claimed she was.
"Do you want me to tell Samuel and Adam and bring them to the hospital for you?" she asked, trying hard to sound just as calm and confident as Anna usually did.
"No thanks Emily. It isn't you your call, and I don't want them to be here. I can't deal with them right now," Anna said wearily. "I'll call Steven and have him to come and pick them up and tell them. You need to come over here, because we can't get hold of your brother or your father. You don't know where they are, do you?"
"They are at a football game tonight, but they should be home any minute now. I call dad and tell him what have happened. He and Charlie will come down and stay with mom. I'll stay here," Emily said firmly. She knew that Anna really needed someone there with her right now, and Steven was the only one she had.
Anna ran her hand through her hair tiredly. Why couldn't that kid just do as she was told? She really didn't have the energy to argue with her about this.
"No Emily it's OK. You need to be with your mom. Steven will be with you soon, OK?"
Emily could tell that Anna was dangerously close to her limit right now, so she bit down her bottom lip and tried to choose the right words.
"No Anna, listen to me. Mom is gonna be OK, and Dad and Charlie are gonna be there soon. I'll call Steven for you and tell him what has happened and ask him to get down to the hospital and stay with you. Don't worry about the boys. I'll stay with them for as long as you need me to, OK?"
Anna gave up. She didn't have the energy to put up a fight, and she knew that when it came to stubbornness Emily was her mother's daughter, so she just sighed and said:
"OK, but you don't have to tell Samuel and Adam what has happened. I'll do it later, when I know more."
"Anna," Emily said softly. " They'll know. They aren't stupid and they're cop kids. If neither of you come home tonight they'll know something is wrong."
Anna rubbed her face tiredly. She knew Emily was right. God! Why did everything always have to be so complicated?
"OK, tell them then, but I don't want them to be here until I know if he's gonna make it or not."
"Is he really that bad off?" Emily asked quietly.
"Yes Em, he is."
"Anna?"
"Yeah?"
"He took the bullets for her, didn't he?"
"Yes honey he did."
"I'm so sorry."
"Don't be."
"I'll make sure Samuel and Adam know he did."
"Thanks," Anna said and hung up the phone. She felt her knees buckle and was about to fall over, but Davis had been watching her all the time and he caught her. He held her tightly and whispered soothingly:
"It's gonna be OK. Everything is gonna be just fine, " wishing more than anything that he was telling the truth.
*****************
Anna sat in a chair in the waiting room and twisted the wedding ring on her finger over and over again. She looked down at the plain gold band and sighed. They had been married for a little more than a year now. The love of her life had finally asked her to marry him. One of her biggest wishes had come true, but it hadn't been anything magic about it at all. The reason he asked her in first place was because of the situation they were in now. He was worried about what would happen to her if anything would happen to him. How she would manage to support the boy's and herself if he wasn't around anymore.
She remembered the day he proposed as if it was yesterday. It was a cold, rainy day in October. He got home late from work, and he was tired and had a cold, so he didn't look even the slightest bit like a prince. She remembered how he drew a Kleenex from the box on the coffee table, blew his nose and said:
"I've been doing some thinking lately and I think we should get married."
"What?" She hadn't believed what she heard. They had never talked about this before, ever.
"Yeah well, I thought that if anything would happen to me, you'd get my pension and insurance money and stuff. You'd be able to keep the apartment and afford a babysitter to the boys, and so on. You would all be provided for, if you know what I mean," he said and looked seriously at her.
"Are you proposing to me?"
He looked at her, a bit confused, blinked a few times, sniffed and said:
"I guess I am. So what do you say? Do you wanna marry me?"
Anna couldn't help but laugh.
"You're such a sweet talker Bos. How could I resist? You're offering me all your money, aren't you?"
Bosco gave her an embarrassed smile, sneezed and said:
"I'm not doing this the right way, am I?" Anna smiled.
"Don't worry about it. It's OK. I get the point."
"No wait, let me try again OK?" She nodded.
"Anna Lewis I love you. Do you want to be my wife?" he asked with a smile.
"Yes Bos, I'd love to be your wife."
And that was it. They got married three weeks later. It was a very small, plain wedding. Steven preformed the ceremony and the only people there were Samuel and Adam, Faith and her family and Bosco's mom. It was as far from a fairytale wedding as you could get, but Anna didn't care. Her life with Bosco had never been anything like a fairytale anyway. So the wedding fit just perfectly with the rest.
"Is there any news yet?"
Fred's worried voice made Anna snap back to reality. She looked up and saw him and Charlie talk to Sully. Suddenly Fred turned his head, and when he saw her, he quickly walked up to her and said:
"I told her he was trouble. I told her she'd end up dead because of him, but would she listen? No! Bosco will always protect me and be there for me," he said in a whiny voice, who obviously was meant to sound like Faith's." Protect her, my ass. Where the hell was Bosco when she needed him, huh? How come she ended up in surgery with a bullet in her shoulder if he was protecting her?" Fred shouted angrily at Anna.
Fred implying that Bosco hadn't been there for Faith became too much for Anna and she stood up, looked at him and said angrily:
"Yeah Fred, Faith is in surgery with a bullet in her shoulder and for that I'm sorry, but she will be fine. When the operation is over she will be just fine, and in a couple of days she will be home with you and the kids again. Bosco, on the other hand, is lying on an operating table fighting for his life, because of two cop killer bullets he took to protect HER. So stop accusing him for not being there for her and get the hell away from me!"
"Come on dad leave her alone, " Charlie said and took Fred by the arm. "I'm sorry," he said and smiled apologetically at Anna." I hope uncle B will be all right."
Charlie's kind words made Anna calm down. She sat back down on the chair and put her head in her hands. In that moment Steven arrived. He walked up to his sister immediately and knelt down in front of her.
"Anna," he said gently and stroke her hair. She lifted her head and looked at him with tear filled eyes.
"He got shot Steven. He got shot," she said with despair in her voice.
"I know honey. I know, but it's OK. He'll be all right. He's strong," Steven said soothingly and took Anna in his arms.
" But what if he dies Steven? I don't want him to die!" Anna sobbed and clung in to him like a little child.
"He won't die. God will watch over him," Steven said as reassuringly as he could.
"But what if God wants to have him back! It feels like he wants to have him back. It feels like I'm gonna lose him!" Anna cried hysterically.
Steven felt dread rise inside. What if Anna was right? What if God really wanted to have Bosco back? He quickly dismissed the thought. If he should be able to stay strong and help Anna through this he needed to trust in God. He needed to believe that Bosco would survive, but deep inside, a feeling of fear lingered, a feeling that Anna was right and he was wrong. He didn't say anything to her though. He just held her as she cried.
**********
The next day, 7:46 am:
Anna yawned. She was the only one awake. Steven and Davis had fallen a sleep some time during the night, but she didn't care. They were there if she needed them. Faith had come back from surgery almost eight hours ago and Anna had already talked to her once. She was OK, well as OK as she could be, considering the fact that no one could tell her if Bosco was going to make it or not. Suddenly she heard steps coming down the hall and looked up. She hoped it was the doctor, but it wasn't. It was Rose. They looked at each other in silence for a minute, and then Rose said:
"I told him it was a dangerous job. I told him he would get himself killed, but he never listens to me."
Anna closed her eyes, and said:
"Rose please, not now."
For some reason Rose and Anna didn't get along very well. Anna didn't really know why. It wasn't that she disliked Rose in any way. She hardly ever disliked people, but Rose always looked at her like she was something the cat had dragged in, like something that didn't belong there. If Anna hadn't known better she would have thought that Rose was jealous.
Rose looked at Anna and closed her mouth. She had never been able to stand Anna. The reasons to that were two. First of all because, for some unknown reason, when she looked in to Anna's big blue eye's she always saw the truth about herself and her sorry life, and she didn't like what she saw, but mostly she was jealous. Anna had always managed to do something for her Maurice that she had never been able to do herself. Anna could make him feel calm and happy. She could make him feel safe. She could make him feel loved. Rose had never managed to do any of that, and Anna made her feel like a really bad mother. For once though, she felt sorry for her, because today she saw something in Anna's eyes that she'd never seen there before, fear. She knew it was time to be nice, because whether she liked it or not, Maurice loved Anna and Anna loved Maurice, and so did Rose. She knew that if he died they would need each other. So she looked kindly at Anna and said:
"You're right. I'm sorry."
Anna just nodded and suddenly the doctor, who had operated on Bosco, stood in front of them. His name was Bobby Carter and when he looked at Anna he realized that he knew her. They'd worked together a few years ago.
" Anna," he said questioningly. "Are you Office Boscorelli's wife?"
"Yes," Anna said quietly. "How is he?"
Bobby looked at her, and just as Procter, he knew that he would never be able to keep anything away from her, so he just looked at her and said:
"He's still alive Anna, but that really is the only good news I have. The bullets didn't hit his heart, but that's also pretty much the only thing they didn't hit. We had to remove his spleen and his right kidney. There was some minor damage to his lever, and serious damage to the intestines, so we had to put up a colostomy. There's also severe damage to his right lung, but I think we managed to repair it quite good. I have to be honest with you though. It doesn't look good. The next 72 hours will be critical, but even if he survives that long, I can't promise you he will be all right. He pretty much bled out for us on the table and his blood pressure was under 60 and you know what that means."
"Multiple organ failure," Anna whispered almost inaudible. Bobby nodded gravely.
"Yeah, I'm sorry Anna. It really doesn't look good, but he has to be a fighter to survive this far, so who knows?" he said and shrugged, and with that he turned and left.
Davis looked questioningly at Anna and asked:
"What did all that mean in English?"
Anna looked at him with a look of shock and utter despair in her eyes and said:
"It means that Bos most likely will die, and even if he doesn't, he will never be OK again," and with that she sunk down on her knees and started to cry as she said over and over again:
"Please God let me keep him a little bit longer, please."
Steven got down on his knees in front of her and tried to sooth her. Rose just stood there and stared in front of her, and a stunned Davis tried to come up with a way to break the news to Faith.