Chapter 11
At 1130 AM Bosco rolled over in bed.
Ringing...
There was a ringing in his ears.
Bosco rubbed his temples.
His headache had not gone away.
What the hell was that noise?
Ring...
Ring...
He tried to clear his head.
THE PHONE!
The damn phone was ringing.
Bosco sat up and reached over to the phone.
"Who the hell is calling me this early," he thought, "it had better be important."
"Hello," he groaned into to the receiver.
"Well, sounds like someone had a few too many last night."
It was Faith on the other end.
"Oh hey Faith," Bosco said groggily.
He shook his head, trying to stop the fogginess, concentrate on the conversation,
and wake up a little bit.
"Look Boz," said Faith, "I really just wanted to call to say that I really don't care what you do after the shift is over, and I wanted to say sorry for gettin all in your face yesterday at the house and stuff."
Yesterday.
Yesterday.
What the hell happened yesterday?
OK ...yea...Faith stormed out of the locker room.
It was all coming back to Bosco now.
"I just wanted to see if you were OK," Faith said to him.
She had still thought Bosco had gone out drinking with Ty last night.
"Yea," Bosco cleared his throat, "yea I'm fine Faith," just really tired."
"I just need to sleep, can we talk about this later?" he mumbled in to the phone.
If Faith thought Bosco had gone out drinking all night with Ty and was all hung over this morning then he wasn't gonna tell her any different.
At least then maybe she would get off his back about this being sick thing.
"Sleep? C'mon Bos, get your ass outta bed and meet me at Joe's for some lunch would ya," Faith said to him.
"Its practically the middle of the day already, and I've been craving their corned beef for like a week now," she said to him.
Bosco sighed.
He really didn't want to go.
His head still hurt, he was so tired, and the thought of food right now was enough to send him running to the bathroom again.
But Bosco didn't want to get on Faith's bad side, not when food was involved, and especially not when she was in craving mode!
"Maybe it will be good for me," he thought.
"All right, yea how about at one?" he said to Faith.
"I need to wake up and get a shower and get ready for the shift."
"One? Geez Boz, you are worse then a woman gettin all ready!
Remind me never to ask you out again after you've been drinkin all night," she chuckled. "see you at one then. Bye."
"Bye."
Bosco hung up the phone and rolled back over in bed.
What the hell time was it anyway?
Faith said it was practically the middle of the day.
He looked at the clock.
1150 A.M.
That may be the middle of the day to someone with kids, but to Bosco it meant nothing but a possible extra hour or two of sleep!
Bosco had slept for at least six solid hours, but he still felt so tired and his body yearned for more sleep.
His shoulders and neck were really sore.
Bosco thought maybe he would feel better if he got a hot shower and some lunch.
He threw the covers off and rolled out of bed.
As he stood up, Bosco started to feel dizzy and lightheaded.
He felt his head get really cloudy and he swayed.
Bosco fell backwards.
Luckily the bed was there, or Bosco would have been knocked out cold on the floor.
He sat up on the bed, then leaned over and put his head between his knees.
It did not make him feel any better at all.
"Why do they tell you to do that when you feel faint?" Bosco thought, " I feel like I am going through the spin cycle from hell!"
He slowly lifted his head up.
OK better.
He stood up slowly and walked into the bathroom.
"Damn if I'm late Faith is gonna shoot me," Bosco thought as he stripped of the sweats and tee shirt he had been sleeping in.
Bosco looked own at his stomach, remembering the bruises he had discovered earlier.
He was surprised to see that they didn't really look like bruises this time though, more like a purple splotchy rash.
"Great I'm turning into a one man freak show," he thought as he stepped into the shower.
Twenty minutes later, Bosco emerged from the shower, if not feeling any better, at least cleaner than he had ever felt!
He toweled himself dry.
His neck and shoulders still ached.
Bosco made a quick mental note to look for a mattress for his bed, because damn his neck and shoulders were really sore!
He felt like he had just lifted weights for a couple of hours at the gym and strained every upper body muscle possible.
His head was still killing him.
Bosco dragged himself into his bedroom and found some clean clothes to put on.
He threw on a navy blue NYPD tee that he could wear under his uniform shirt, figuring the less changing he had to do at the house before shift the better.
Bosco grabbed his gun belt and walked into the living room, grabbing his shoes on the way.
His off duty gun was on the top shelf of the closet locked in a safe.
Bos usually wore it on his ankle as an extra measure of protection, but today he just couldn't be bothered with the effort to even get it all out.
"Not like I ever need that thing anyway," he thought to himself as he sat down to put his shoes on.
Bosco glanced at the clock.
It was 1230.
He'd better get going or he would be late.
Midtown traffic was a bitch at lunchtime.
He made sure he had everything he needed, grabbed his keys and was out the door.
Bosco pulled up to the restaurant that Faith had wanted to meet at; Joe's; It was a favorite of a lot of the 55th precinct.
"The food is good enough," Bosco thought, "and Faith freakin loves this place."
Bosco had spent most of the drive to the restaurant trying to shake the dizzy feeling he had been having.
He just couldn't kick this headache thing and was starting to get really annoyed by it all.
Bosco glanced at his watch. 1255-perfect.
He walked into the restaurant and looked around for Faith.
"Good afternoon officer, can I help you?" came a voice from behind him.
It was the hostess.
"She must see a lot of cops," Bosco thought, "if she can
recognize one out of uniform!"
"Yea, I'm just meeting someone here for lunch," Bosco replied, "but I don't see her yet."
"OK, well would you like to walk around and see if she is on he other side?" the hostess asked him.
"Thanks," Bosco said as he started to walk into the dining area of the restaurant.
Faith was sitting in a booth by the front window and waved Bosco over when she saw him.
"Hey Faith" Bosco said as he slid into the seat across from her.
'Dam Bos, you look like Hell," Faith said to him as he sat down.
She noticed his skin was all pasty looking and he had big dark circles under his eyes.
"You must have really tied one on last night hey?" she said to Bosco as a smile spread across her face.
Bosco did not reply, just cracked a slight smirk in her direction and proceeded to open his menu.
"Well, I know what I am having already so don't take too long choosin OK?" Faith asked him.
Bosco looked at the menu.
The words were all blurring together.
He squinted his eyes.
"Damn," Bosco thought," I cant even see this freakin menu clearly, I'm really falling apart."
He squinted his eyes again and tried once more to read the menu.
The waitress appeared at their table.
"Hi how are you two today?
Faith and Bosco both looked up.
"Fine, thank you" Faith said.
Bosco just smiled in her direction.
"He sure isn't saying much today, wonder what's up his ass," Faith thought as she looked Bosco's direction.
"Are you all ready to order?" the waitress asked them.
"I'm ready" Faith said, and, "I need a minute" Bosco replied at the same time.
"OK," their waitress said, "I will be back in just a minute then."
"C'mon Bosco, I am starving, would ya just pick something already?" Faith said to him as the waitress walked away.
Bosco looked down at the menu.
Although his stomach was growling and he knew that he needed to eat, Bosco just didnt have his normal appetite for some reason.
"I'm picking here all right Faith," Bosco said to her." There's a lot to choose from, so gimme a minute."
Their waitress appeared again.
"Ready then?" she asked them, looking in Bosco's direction.
Faith didnt wait for his reply.
"Well, I am gonna have the corned beef special on rye with the steak fries and an extra pickle please," Faith said.
"And for you Officer?" the waitress asked Bosco.
"Uh, I...Uh..." Bosco stammered.
"C'mon Bos, this isn't friggin brain surgery here," Faith said to him in an annoyed tone, "just pick something already."
"Ok I'll take Uh...steak and potatoes" Bosco replied but instantly had second thoughts on ordering steak, feeling like he was right now.
"No wait," he blurted out, "can you make that a cheeseburger instead, extra well done, and I guess I'll take steak fries too." Bosco said to the waitress.
As much as he loved steak, on a good day it was a lot for his stomach to handle, let alone on a day that he was already feeling like crap.
"A cheeseburger and some fries would go down easy and hopefully be light on his stomach," Bosco thought.
At least he hoped it would, he didnt want to end up like yesterday in the alley.
"And for drinks?" the waitress asked them.
"Coke" Bosco replied quickly.
"Iced tea please," Faith said.
"Thank You so much" she added, wondering where Bosco's manners were today.
The waitress walked away from their table and out of sight.
"So what did you and Ty do at the bar then last night?" Faith asked Bosco hoping to snap him out of his funky mood.
"Crap", thought Bosco, "she's gonna bust me now."
Bosco thought what to do.
Was he gonna lie to Faith and risk getting caught later on, or was he gonna tell her the truth and get an earful anyway?
"Well, we kinda took a raincheck on the bar," Bosco said, " Davis was tired and I decided to go home and just call it a night too."
Faith looked at Bosco and opened her mouth to speak, but quickly decided against it.
She was gonna ask him why he still looked like he had just gone ten rounds with Jose Cuervo and he hadn't even gone out the night before, but she changed her mind at the last second.
"Uh huh," faith replied and left it at that.
This was one battle that Faith did not want to get started right before their shift began.
She didnt want it hanging over them for the whole day.
Bosco just looked down, ready to hear it from Faith.
Surely she was gonna lay into him any minute now.
But she said nothing more.
Bosco raised his head and looked at her.
This was gonna be a long ass day.
At 1130 AM Bosco rolled over in bed.
Ringing...
There was a ringing in his ears.
Bosco rubbed his temples.
His headache had not gone away.
What the hell was that noise?
Ring...
Ring...
He tried to clear his head.
THE PHONE!
The damn phone was ringing.
Bosco sat up and reached over to the phone.
"Who the hell is calling me this early," he thought, "it had better be important."
"Hello," he groaned into to the receiver.
"Well, sounds like someone had a few too many last night."
It was Faith on the other end.
"Oh hey Faith," Bosco said groggily.
He shook his head, trying to stop the fogginess, concentrate on the conversation,
and wake up a little bit.
"Look Boz," said Faith, "I really just wanted to call to say that I really don't care what you do after the shift is over, and I wanted to say sorry for gettin all in your face yesterday at the house and stuff."
Yesterday.
Yesterday.
What the hell happened yesterday?
OK ...yea...Faith stormed out of the locker room.
It was all coming back to Bosco now.
"I just wanted to see if you were OK," Faith said to him.
She had still thought Bosco had gone out drinking with Ty last night.
"Yea," Bosco cleared his throat, "yea I'm fine Faith," just really tired."
"I just need to sleep, can we talk about this later?" he mumbled in to the phone.
If Faith thought Bosco had gone out drinking all night with Ty and was all hung over this morning then he wasn't gonna tell her any different.
At least then maybe she would get off his back about this being sick thing.
"Sleep? C'mon Bos, get your ass outta bed and meet me at Joe's for some lunch would ya," Faith said to him.
"Its practically the middle of the day already, and I've been craving their corned beef for like a week now," she said to him.
Bosco sighed.
He really didn't want to go.
His head still hurt, he was so tired, and the thought of food right now was enough to send him running to the bathroom again.
But Bosco didn't want to get on Faith's bad side, not when food was involved, and especially not when she was in craving mode!
"Maybe it will be good for me," he thought.
"All right, yea how about at one?" he said to Faith.
"I need to wake up and get a shower and get ready for the shift."
"One? Geez Boz, you are worse then a woman gettin all ready!
Remind me never to ask you out again after you've been drinkin all night," she chuckled. "see you at one then. Bye."
"Bye."
Bosco hung up the phone and rolled back over in bed.
What the hell time was it anyway?
Faith said it was practically the middle of the day.
He looked at the clock.
1150 A.M.
That may be the middle of the day to someone with kids, but to Bosco it meant nothing but a possible extra hour or two of sleep!
Bosco had slept for at least six solid hours, but he still felt so tired and his body yearned for more sleep.
His shoulders and neck were really sore.
Bosco thought maybe he would feel better if he got a hot shower and some lunch.
He threw the covers off and rolled out of bed.
As he stood up, Bosco started to feel dizzy and lightheaded.
He felt his head get really cloudy and he swayed.
Bosco fell backwards.
Luckily the bed was there, or Bosco would have been knocked out cold on the floor.
He sat up on the bed, then leaned over and put his head between his knees.
It did not make him feel any better at all.
"Why do they tell you to do that when you feel faint?" Bosco thought, " I feel like I am going through the spin cycle from hell!"
He slowly lifted his head up.
OK better.
He stood up slowly and walked into the bathroom.
"Damn if I'm late Faith is gonna shoot me," Bosco thought as he stripped of the sweats and tee shirt he had been sleeping in.
Bosco looked own at his stomach, remembering the bruises he had discovered earlier.
He was surprised to see that they didn't really look like bruises this time though, more like a purple splotchy rash.
"Great I'm turning into a one man freak show," he thought as he stepped into the shower.
Twenty minutes later, Bosco emerged from the shower, if not feeling any better, at least cleaner than he had ever felt!
He toweled himself dry.
His neck and shoulders still ached.
Bosco made a quick mental note to look for a mattress for his bed, because damn his neck and shoulders were really sore!
He felt like he had just lifted weights for a couple of hours at the gym and strained every upper body muscle possible.
His head was still killing him.
Bosco dragged himself into his bedroom and found some clean clothes to put on.
He threw on a navy blue NYPD tee that he could wear under his uniform shirt, figuring the less changing he had to do at the house before shift the better.
Bosco grabbed his gun belt and walked into the living room, grabbing his shoes on the way.
His off duty gun was on the top shelf of the closet locked in a safe.
Bos usually wore it on his ankle as an extra measure of protection, but today he just couldn't be bothered with the effort to even get it all out.
"Not like I ever need that thing anyway," he thought to himself as he sat down to put his shoes on.
Bosco glanced at the clock.
It was 1230.
He'd better get going or he would be late.
Midtown traffic was a bitch at lunchtime.
He made sure he had everything he needed, grabbed his keys and was out the door.
Bosco pulled up to the restaurant that Faith had wanted to meet at; Joe's; It was a favorite of a lot of the 55th precinct.
"The food is good enough," Bosco thought, "and Faith freakin loves this place."
Bosco had spent most of the drive to the restaurant trying to shake the dizzy feeling he had been having.
He just couldn't kick this headache thing and was starting to get really annoyed by it all.
Bosco glanced at his watch. 1255-perfect.
He walked into the restaurant and looked around for Faith.
"Good afternoon officer, can I help you?" came a voice from behind him.
It was the hostess.
"She must see a lot of cops," Bosco thought, "if she can
recognize one out of uniform!"
"Yea, I'm just meeting someone here for lunch," Bosco replied, "but I don't see her yet."
"OK, well would you like to walk around and see if she is on he other side?" the hostess asked him.
"Thanks," Bosco said as he started to walk into the dining area of the restaurant.
Faith was sitting in a booth by the front window and waved Bosco over when she saw him.
"Hey Faith" Bosco said as he slid into the seat across from her.
'Dam Bos, you look like Hell," Faith said to him as he sat down.
She noticed his skin was all pasty looking and he had big dark circles under his eyes.
"You must have really tied one on last night hey?" she said to Bosco as a smile spread across her face.
Bosco did not reply, just cracked a slight smirk in her direction and proceeded to open his menu.
"Well, I know what I am having already so don't take too long choosin OK?" Faith asked him.
Bosco looked at the menu.
The words were all blurring together.
He squinted his eyes.
"Damn," Bosco thought," I cant even see this freakin menu clearly, I'm really falling apart."
He squinted his eyes again and tried once more to read the menu.
The waitress appeared at their table.
"Hi how are you two today?
Faith and Bosco both looked up.
"Fine, thank you" Faith said.
Bosco just smiled in her direction.
"He sure isn't saying much today, wonder what's up his ass," Faith thought as she looked Bosco's direction.
"Are you all ready to order?" the waitress asked them.
"I'm ready" Faith said, and, "I need a minute" Bosco replied at the same time.
"OK," their waitress said, "I will be back in just a minute then."
"C'mon Bosco, I am starving, would ya just pick something already?" Faith said to him as the waitress walked away.
Bosco looked down at the menu.
Although his stomach was growling and he knew that he needed to eat, Bosco just didnt have his normal appetite for some reason.
"I'm picking here all right Faith," Bosco said to her." There's a lot to choose from, so gimme a minute."
Their waitress appeared again.
"Ready then?" she asked them, looking in Bosco's direction.
Faith didnt wait for his reply.
"Well, I am gonna have the corned beef special on rye with the steak fries and an extra pickle please," Faith said.
"And for you Officer?" the waitress asked Bosco.
"Uh, I...Uh..." Bosco stammered.
"C'mon Bos, this isn't friggin brain surgery here," Faith said to him in an annoyed tone, "just pick something already."
"Ok I'll take Uh...steak and potatoes" Bosco replied but instantly had second thoughts on ordering steak, feeling like he was right now.
"No wait," he blurted out, "can you make that a cheeseburger instead, extra well done, and I guess I'll take steak fries too." Bosco said to the waitress.
As much as he loved steak, on a good day it was a lot for his stomach to handle, let alone on a day that he was already feeling like crap.
"A cheeseburger and some fries would go down easy and hopefully be light on his stomach," Bosco thought.
At least he hoped it would, he didnt want to end up like yesterday in the alley.
"And for drinks?" the waitress asked them.
"Coke" Bosco replied quickly.
"Iced tea please," Faith said.
"Thank You so much" she added, wondering where Bosco's manners were today.
The waitress walked away from their table and out of sight.
"So what did you and Ty do at the bar then last night?" Faith asked Bosco hoping to snap him out of his funky mood.
"Crap", thought Bosco, "she's gonna bust me now."
Bosco thought what to do.
Was he gonna lie to Faith and risk getting caught later on, or was he gonna tell her the truth and get an earful anyway?
"Well, we kinda took a raincheck on the bar," Bosco said, " Davis was tired and I decided to go home and just call it a night too."
Faith looked at Bosco and opened her mouth to speak, but quickly decided against it.
She was gonna ask him why he still looked like he had just gone ten rounds with Jose Cuervo and he hadn't even gone out the night before, but she changed her mind at the last second.
"Uh huh," faith replied and left it at that.
This was one battle that Faith did not want to get started right before their shift began.
She didnt want it hanging over them for the whole day.
Bosco just looked down, ready to hear it from Faith.
Surely she was gonna lay into him any minute now.
But she said nothing more.
Bosco raised his head and looked at her.
This was gonna be a long ass day.