"So is that why you've been so quiet lately?" asked Davis in the locker room of the 55 precinct. The third watch was hurrying to get ready for role call.

"What's it to you anyway?" Bosco said irritated.

"Oh, touchy this afternoon, are we?" commented Sully, as he took his gun out of his locker.

"What the hell is the sudden interest in my love life anyway. Any other time I ever mentioned anything about anyone I was seeing you could care less."

"Oh, so you and Kim are seeing each other," Davis said.

"I never said that."

"Yeah, don't you know he kisses every paramedic he sees on the street," Larson commented as he walked out of the locker room.

"Very funny," Bosco called after him, putting his gun in his holster, closing his locker and following Larson out of the locker room.

"Nice of you to join us on time today, Boscorelli," Lt. Swersky said from his spot at the podium in front of the role call room.

"I'm having a good day today, Boss," Bosco replied, as the officers already in the room laughed at the lieutenant's remark. He took a seat at the empty desk beside Faith.

A few minutes later all of the third watch was gathered in the role call room. Lt. Swersky quickly went through the items he had for the watch that day and sent them out on their patrols.

"Did you talk to Kim last night, Boz?" Faith asked as she opened the passenger side door of their RMP and got in.

"Yes," Bosco said as he got in the driver's seat. "And amazingly I actually got her to listen."

"And," Faith said wondering if her partner was being difficult on purpose or if he was doing it without meaning to.

"And I guess we're back together," Bosco said as he eased the car into the New York City traffic. "I'm just lucky that Kim is a very understanding person."

"Bosco, anyone you go out with has to be an understanding person."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Come on Bosco, you're not exactly a saint here. You usually manage to piss at least five people off during your shift. You shoot your mouth off before thinking 99% of the time and Hallmark would definitely never hire you to think up sayings for their greeting cards."

"Thanks a lot, " Bosco said to his partner, hurt by her words but able to see the truth in her words.

Before Faith could try to smooth over the situation a call for them came over the radio. . Faith was stopped from saying anything else by the call coming through for them on the radio. It looked like it was going to be another long shift.

"So what's going on with you and Bosco?" Jimmy asked, as he came into the firehouse that same afternoon and found Kim sitting at the table chatting with Alex.

"And good afternoon to you too," Kim replied, a little put off by Jimmy barging in asking questions about her personal life, especially after some of his past relationships.

"Don't dodge my question Kim. Walsh just told me he saw you two kissing in front of the precinct not too long ago."

"I don't see where it is any of your business but so what if I was," Kim told him, not looking up at him.

"Come on Kim, Boscorelli!" Jimmy said, the loudness of his voice drawing the attention of the rest of their co-workers in the area. "The guy is a jerk!"

"Have you looked in a mirror lately,"Kim said, starting to get angry with her ex-husband. It was well known that there had never been any love lost between Jimmy and Bosco. In fact, the two often were at odds. And yes, Bosco could have the personality as prickly as a porcupine sometimes, but that didn't give Jimmy any right to tell her she couldn't be with him. Kim couldn't believe his nerve, especially after he had cheated on her with her sister as well as cheating on his second wife at their engagement party. "And I married you," Kim said standing up and heading for the steps that led up to where the lockers were.

"I can't believe her," Jimmy said to no one in particular although Alex was now the closest person to him. Alex just calmly picked up a near by newspaper and started to pretend to read it. She had no intention of getting in between anything to do with Kim and Doherty. Jimmy walked into the other room without saying anything else and turned on the tv.

Alex discreetly looked up from her newspaper as Doherty sat down on the couch. She was secretly wondering exactly what was going on but she wasn't going to say anything around the fire house. She'd wait until she was out on a run with Kim and then casually bring it up.

As she looked back down at the newspaper and actually started to read the headlines, a call came in, for 55-Boyd.. ~Looks like I won't have to wait long,~Alex thought, as she put the paper down on the table and stood up. Kim came hurrying down the steps from the third floor and together the two paramedics headed to the ground floor and to their waiting ambulance.

After dropping a teenager suffering from asthma off at Mercy, Alex and Kim headed back out to the ambulance. As Alex climbed in the passenger side, Kim got behind the wheel and started the vehicle. Alex took a few minutes to consider how to bring up the topic she wanted to discuss with her partner and friend.

"So, are you and Bosco an item?" Alex finally asked, not able to think of any subtle way to start the conversation.

"You know that terminology always makes me think of a grocery store. Like an item on a grocery list that someone wants to buy," Kim commented, not really answering her partner's question.

"Kim!"

"Well, I guess its not exactly a secret anymore," Kim said from the passenger seat. "Bosco and I have been seeing each other for secretly for a while now."

"And you didn't tell me!"

"Neither one of us wanted a lot of people to know. If it didn't work out, we wanted to avoid the awkwardness that would follow. I also didn't want to deal with the questions on my sanity that I knew I would be fielding when people find out."

"A valid concern," Alex commented with a nod. "So seeing as you were reportedly kissing him in front of the firehouse, that means it is going well."

"Well, I guess you could call that kiss a make-up kiss," Kim told her. She could sense that her partner wanted more information after that comment. Deciding not to make her partner keep asking questions, Kim continued. 'He broke up with me the other day with no explanation. And then last night he came and explained things and apologized. I spent a lot of time thinking things over, and thinking about the time I spent with him. I decided I wasn't ready to let all that go so easily, so I guess we're giving it another go."

"That's great," Alex said.

Kim shot her partner a look. She was trying to decide if Alex was being sarcastic or not. Alex caught her looking at her through the corner of her eye.

"I really mean it," Alex said. "I think you need someone in your life and I've always thought there was something between you and Bosco anyway."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think he's had a crush on you since I got here. Bosco just doesn't know how to act around women when he's serious about them."

"So you really don't think it's a bad idea?" Kim asked. "I mean Jimmy is partly right. Bosco isn't exactly prince charming."

"Don't listen to Jimmy. He's probably just jealous."

"You think?"

"Yes. Besides, he did the same thing to Brooke as he did to you. I think that is pretty good proof that he isn't going to change. You need to move on. Find someone who is really going to care about you, not just having you. Someone who is going to care about Joey. I've seen how Bosco and Joey get along when you've had Joey here at the beginning or ending of a shift. Joey obviously adores Bosco and Bosco cares about Joey. I mean he went into a burning building unprotected for him. That's got to count for something."

"Yeah, I guess you have a point," Kim said finally smiling. Maybe she wasn't making a mistake taking Bosco back.

After the shift that night Bosco walked out of the precinct building chatting with Faith. They were still discussing one of the calls of the night that Faith didn't agree with the way that Bosco had handled it.

Bosco stopped defending himself to his partner in mid sentence when he noticed someone waiting by his mustang. It was Jimmy Doherty.

"Just great," Bosco muttered.

"Don't do anything stupid, Boz," Faith told her partner.

"Who, me," Bosco said innocently.

Faith let out a sigh and followed her partner over to her car. There were times that she felt a responsibility to keep her partner out of trouble, whether they were on the job or not. This was one of those times.

"What do you want, Doherty?" Bosco called out as he approached.

"I want you to stay away from Kim."

"I don't think that's your call. She's a big girl. She can make her own decisions."

"She isn't thinking right. If she was she wouldn't be dating you. She'd see through your act."

"What act?"

"Come on Bosco. You've never been serious about anyone in your life."

"Like you have. At least I haven't ever pretended to be and then slept with someone else after you're married or at your engagement party."

"This isn't about me," Jimmy said getting angry that Bosco would even bring that stuff up. What business was it of his anyways. "This is about you and the fact that you have never been serious about anyone and you never will be. Don't use Kim."

"Use her? What like you did when you slept with her sister when you were married to her," Bosco replied."You don't know a thing about our relationship, Jimmy and frankly, its none of your business. You have no claim on her and you might as well face it, your not getting her back, so why don't you just deal with that and get on with your own pathetic life."

"You son-of-a-bitch," Jimmy said and started to go after Bosco but Faith jumped in between the two of them.

"Jimmy you don't want to do that," Faith said seriously as she stood between them. Though she was staring down Jimmy she was also staying alert for any signs that her partner was going to go after Jimmy.

"If you hurt Kim or Joey, that uniform ain't going to help you any Bosco," Doherty said walking back across the street. He passed Kim on the way but couldn't look at her.

"What was that about?" Kim asked as she rushed over to where Bosco and Faith were standing watching Jimmy retreat.

"Doherty was just expressing his feeling about us going out," Bosco told her putting an arm around her shoulder. " I wouldn't worry about it. Nothing was exchange but words."

"Yeah, just barely," Faith muttered and Bosco shot his partner a look.

"Can I offer you ladies a ride home?" Bosco asked getting the subject off of the scene that just took place with Doherty.

"No thanks," Faith said. "The walk will do me good. Give me time to clear my head before getting home to Fred. See you tomorrow Boz," she said as she started walking in direction of home.

Kim took advantage of Bosco's offer. Joey was with Jimmy tonight so when Bosco pulled up outside of her apartment she invited him upstairs. It was almost two o'clock in the morning when Bosco finally left Kim's place and headed home himself.