Aw, you guys are so sweet! I see some newbies reading my stuff too, which is always nice.
Jenna, you're a sweetheart and I will be accepting donations… nah, j/k of course!
Anyway, here's the second part. I can't thank you guys enough for you kind words and encouragement, it sparks my urge to write.
Another note, though it may not seem like it after reading this chapter, this story IS going somewhere! Those of you that have read my other fic, have probably realized that I get a little caught up in the descriptive stuff. It's a bad habit that I just can't seem to break. Let me know if it gets too frustrating and I'll do my best to fix it.
Thanks again,
~JOEY~
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
-A Fine Balance-
Chapter 2
Bosco felt as if an elephant was sitting on his chest. Breathing was becoming increasingly difficult and every strained attempt sent violent shooting pains through his right side that reverberated through his skull.
He could hear himself moaning, which scared him because it was completely involuntary. He hated being so out of control of his own actions. He rotated from keeping his eyes open, trying to keep tabs on the situation, to squeezing them shut when the pain grew to unbearable levels.
He caught sight of Davis' worry-stricken face. 'It must be bad,' he thought to himself as another excruciating wave of pain shot through his chest, forcing his eyes closed yet again.
**************
Davis couldn't tear his stare away from Bosco's heaving chest. The sight alone made him nauseous, not to mention the sound of anguish filled gasps - the whole package made his mind spin and his legs unsteady. How could he have not seen that massive truck coming? The guilt tore him apart, despite the fact that he was at no fault for the accident - his light had been green.
He felt a drop of warm fluid fall onto his arm and quickly replaced the gauze over the slow bleeding cut on his forehead.
Damn, Bosco. You gotta hold on, man. Just a few more minutes now.
**************
The back doors flung open as the ambulance screeched to a halt in the emergency bay. Doctors and nurses flooded the vehicle before the stretcher hit the pavement.
Bosco winced as the pressure applied to his chest fluctuated while he was being transferred from the ambulance to the ER. The yelling of medical concepts and procedures overpowered the deafening roar of the blood rushing through his ears.
He felt as if someone was holding his head underwater. Doctors and nurses swarmed his vision and ignored his distress. He coughed a few times to try and gain an airway, but to no avail. His vision became spotty from the lack of oxygen, and the last thing he saw before he passed out was the bright red of his blood stained shirt being cut off of his quivering body.
**************
Davis aimlessly wandered to the window separating the trauma room from the ER. He could see Bosco's apparent struggle to breathe, and his cries pierced his ears, making him feel sick to his stomach.
"Officer Davis?" Nurse Proctor tapped Ty on the shoulder, "Why don't you let me suture that cut for you?"
"Is he," he pointed towards Bosco, who appeared to be unconscious. "Is he gonna be okay?"
"They're working very hard on him. He has a punctured lung and that's why he's having difficulty breathing. They should be able to fix him up. Bosco's as strong willed as they come. Now, come with me, so I can fix YOU up."
Ty nodded, and after stealing one last look at Bosco's helpless body, followed the friendly nurse down the crowded halls of the ER.
***********
Bosco stirred slightly, coming out of the anesthetic from the surgery to repair his wounded lung. He tried to lick his lips, but his mouth was too dry to perform the simple task. His eyelids slowly separated and he blinked a few times to focus on his surroundings.
"Officer Boscorelli," an elderly doctor said as he saw Bosco's eyes flutter open. "Glad you could join us."
Bosco cleared his throat and squinted to get a better view of the doctor. He felt tightness across his forehead and quickly realized that it was bound by thick layers of bandages.
Before he could ask the doctor any questions, a nurse approached him with a cup of water and adjusted his pillow while Bosco gingerly sucked the liquid through the straw.
Bosco tilted his head back as the nurse put the cup on the table by his bedside. He wracked his brain to recall what had placed him in the hospital. He closed his eyes and saw a truck streaming towards him. His eyes shot open and he gasped slightly as he remembered the horrible event that had transpired.
"Davis…" Bosco's rough voice was close to a whisper.
"Officer Davis is just fine. In fact, he's waiting outside - quite impatiently, I might add. I'll let him and the others know you're awake," the doctor smiled at Bosco and then left the room to calm Davis with the news of Bosco's awakening.
Bosco took a shallow breath and winced slightly at the discomfort in his right side. He looked down at his aching body, to try and get a better idea of what injuries he had sustained.
He saw that his leg was in traction, raised slightly off the bed. He mentally cursed, already dreading the physical therapy that undoubtedly loomed in his future. Other than the leg, his sore chest, and his head, he was pretty impressed with his condition. He thought for sure he was dead when he was crushed under that truck.
He resumed his attention to the pain in his chest. Every shallow breath he took sent a shooting pain through his back. Maybe, he thought, if he was upright, it wouldn't be such a struggle. He slipped his hand to the side of his bed, searching for the control.
"Is there something I can help you with, officer?" a nurse asked, noting the frustration in Bosco's face when he couldn't locate what he was looking for.
"I just," he coughed a little and cleared his throat, the dryness still yet to have subsided. "I was just trying to raise the bed a little."
She nodded sympathetically and grabbed the control that was lying on the other side.
'Figures,' Bosco thought to himself.
She raised his bed until he was sitting fairly upright and raised her eyebrows, to ask if he was satisfied with her work.
He nodded, "That's great, thanks."
She smiled as she picked up some papers and continued on her rounds.
"Bosco."
Bosco was too busy testing out his breathing in his new position to see that Faith, Davis, and Sully had wandered into his room.
"Hey," he gave a small smile to his company. More to wipe that worried look off of Faith's face than to parlay any happiness he was feeling. She could be so overprotective.
"How you feeling?" Davis asked, the guilt apparent in his voice.
"Well," Bosco whispered before clearing his throat again, "I've had better days…"
"Bosco, man, I just didn't see…"
"I know, Davis," Bosco interrupted him before he could ramble on with his apology. "He ran a red. It wasn't your fault."
"The guy," Bosco asked shifting his glance to the floor, "Did he…"
Davis shook his head, "No, he's miraculously going to make it. He's in pretty rough shape though," Ty stopped momentarily, prioritizing his thoughts, "He's just a kid, like 20 or something, but he wasn't drunk. They can't really explain why he ran the red. They found a lot of alcohol and cash in the vehicle, but nothing showed in his blood. They're gonna hold him for sure until they can question him further,"
Ty stopped, giving Bosco a small smile, "I'm just glad you're okay. You scared the shit out of me, man."
Bosco chuckled slightly, but quickly regretted it as pain ripped through his chest. He winced at the unexpected jolt, hands clenching in fists.
"Easy, Bos," Faith soothed, cringing at the sight of her partner in obvious pain. "Do you want me to get a doctor?"
Bosco shook his head without opening his eyes. "No," he took a shaky breath before finishing his sentence, "it's okay. I'm okay."
When he was satisfied that the pain has subsided enough to resume his conversation, he opened his eyes and directed his question to Faith, "How bad's the leg?"
"You fractured your tibia and tore out your ACL and MCL. If everything goes according to plan, they said they'd have to send you back into surgery tomorrow to fix the knee."
Bosco rolled his eyes in exasperation. 'Great,' he thought, 'That rehab's gonna be a bitch.'
"We can't get a hold of your mom, Bosco. We left her a few messages on her machine but we haven't heard anything from her yet," Sully stated with concern.
Bosco wasn't surprised. His mom was rarely home. Especially at night, which he discovered it was again, after looking at the digital clock affixed to the wall. She was probably back at the bar, oblivious to her son's condition.
Bosco nodded to Sully and took another shaky breath. He was starting to feel a little bit too uncomfortable. He tried shifting a little to see if it would decrease the ache, but it just resulted in a burning pain through his ribs. He gasped slightly and started to feel a little nauseous. That worried him more than anything. The last thing he wanted to do was throw-up in front of Sully and Davis… he would never hear the end of it, he was sure.
"We'll leave you alone. Get better, Bosco," Sully said, sensing the anxiousness in Bosco's body language.
Ty stole one last glance at his injured friend for peace of mind, just to ensure that his was indeed alive, before strolling out of the room behind Sully.
Faith remained in the room and inched closer to Bosco's bedside.
"You want me to get a doctor now?" she asked him softly, once Sully and Davis were out of earshot.
Bosco nodded quickly and exhaled, keeping his eyes closed.
He could feel sweat forming on his forehead as he fought the impending nausea that was soaring through his body in vicious waves.
Faith stepped towards the door and discretely flagged down Bosco's doctor.
The old doctor approached Bosco with a concerned look on his face.
"You feeling uncomfortable, officer?"
Bosco wanted to scream at the doctor. 'No,' he thought to himself, 'I always sweat like this!' Instead, he muttered, "Yeah, don't feel so hot."
"Okay," replied the doctor, as he lowered Bosco's bed back into a prone position, "I'll give you something for the pain."
Bosco could feel his muscles tensing, fighting the sickening feeling coursing through him. His respiration rate had increased, but each breath remained shallow and unsteady.
Faith could tell how much Bosco hated being unstable. He had that look on his face like he was disgusted with himself. She mentally smiled at his determination to be as macho as possible in front of his friends and colleagues. 'Such a Bosco thing to do,' she thought to herself.
He moaned and swallowed as he fought his stomach's urge to turn. He opened his eyes to see Faith staring back at him, then immediately shifted his gaze elsewhere.
Faith caught his nervous glance and realized she had to leave. She didn't really understand why Bosco was so uncomfortable showing weakness around her, but she respected his internal wishes and turned to exit the room.
As she was exiting, she heard him groan as he succumbed to the nausea. She didn't turn around to embarrass him, but continued to walk out, pretending as if she hadn't heard a thing. 'No use making him more uncomfortable than he already is,' she thought.
Bosco mentally thanked God that Faith didn't witness him spilling his guts into a bucket. His relief increased when he felt the painkillers begin to latch onto his cells. The relaxation that followed superceded anything he had ever felt before. He sighed in relief and allowed himself to drift off into the darkness.
TBC. Please review and let me know your thoughts on this one. I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
Jenna, you're a sweetheart and I will be accepting donations… nah, j/k of course!
Anyway, here's the second part. I can't thank you guys enough for you kind words and encouragement, it sparks my urge to write.
Another note, though it may not seem like it after reading this chapter, this story IS going somewhere! Those of you that have read my other fic, have probably realized that I get a little caught up in the descriptive stuff. It's a bad habit that I just can't seem to break. Let me know if it gets too frustrating and I'll do my best to fix it.
Thanks again,
~JOEY~
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
-A Fine Balance-
Chapter 2
Bosco felt as if an elephant was sitting on his chest. Breathing was becoming increasingly difficult and every strained attempt sent violent shooting pains through his right side that reverberated through his skull.
He could hear himself moaning, which scared him because it was completely involuntary. He hated being so out of control of his own actions. He rotated from keeping his eyes open, trying to keep tabs on the situation, to squeezing them shut when the pain grew to unbearable levels.
He caught sight of Davis' worry-stricken face. 'It must be bad,' he thought to himself as another excruciating wave of pain shot through his chest, forcing his eyes closed yet again.
**************
Davis couldn't tear his stare away from Bosco's heaving chest. The sight alone made him nauseous, not to mention the sound of anguish filled gasps - the whole package made his mind spin and his legs unsteady. How could he have not seen that massive truck coming? The guilt tore him apart, despite the fact that he was at no fault for the accident - his light had been green.
He felt a drop of warm fluid fall onto his arm and quickly replaced the gauze over the slow bleeding cut on his forehead.
Damn, Bosco. You gotta hold on, man. Just a few more minutes now.
**************
The back doors flung open as the ambulance screeched to a halt in the emergency bay. Doctors and nurses flooded the vehicle before the stretcher hit the pavement.
Bosco winced as the pressure applied to his chest fluctuated while he was being transferred from the ambulance to the ER. The yelling of medical concepts and procedures overpowered the deafening roar of the blood rushing through his ears.
He felt as if someone was holding his head underwater. Doctors and nurses swarmed his vision and ignored his distress. He coughed a few times to try and gain an airway, but to no avail. His vision became spotty from the lack of oxygen, and the last thing he saw before he passed out was the bright red of his blood stained shirt being cut off of his quivering body.
**************
Davis aimlessly wandered to the window separating the trauma room from the ER. He could see Bosco's apparent struggle to breathe, and his cries pierced his ears, making him feel sick to his stomach.
"Officer Davis?" Nurse Proctor tapped Ty on the shoulder, "Why don't you let me suture that cut for you?"
"Is he," he pointed towards Bosco, who appeared to be unconscious. "Is he gonna be okay?"
"They're working very hard on him. He has a punctured lung and that's why he's having difficulty breathing. They should be able to fix him up. Bosco's as strong willed as they come. Now, come with me, so I can fix YOU up."
Ty nodded, and after stealing one last look at Bosco's helpless body, followed the friendly nurse down the crowded halls of the ER.
***********
Bosco stirred slightly, coming out of the anesthetic from the surgery to repair his wounded lung. He tried to lick his lips, but his mouth was too dry to perform the simple task. His eyelids slowly separated and he blinked a few times to focus on his surroundings.
"Officer Boscorelli," an elderly doctor said as he saw Bosco's eyes flutter open. "Glad you could join us."
Bosco cleared his throat and squinted to get a better view of the doctor. He felt tightness across his forehead and quickly realized that it was bound by thick layers of bandages.
Before he could ask the doctor any questions, a nurse approached him with a cup of water and adjusted his pillow while Bosco gingerly sucked the liquid through the straw.
Bosco tilted his head back as the nurse put the cup on the table by his bedside. He wracked his brain to recall what had placed him in the hospital. He closed his eyes and saw a truck streaming towards him. His eyes shot open and he gasped slightly as he remembered the horrible event that had transpired.
"Davis…" Bosco's rough voice was close to a whisper.
"Officer Davis is just fine. In fact, he's waiting outside - quite impatiently, I might add. I'll let him and the others know you're awake," the doctor smiled at Bosco and then left the room to calm Davis with the news of Bosco's awakening.
Bosco took a shallow breath and winced slightly at the discomfort in his right side. He looked down at his aching body, to try and get a better idea of what injuries he had sustained.
He saw that his leg was in traction, raised slightly off the bed. He mentally cursed, already dreading the physical therapy that undoubtedly loomed in his future. Other than the leg, his sore chest, and his head, he was pretty impressed with his condition. He thought for sure he was dead when he was crushed under that truck.
He resumed his attention to the pain in his chest. Every shallow breath he took sent a shooting pain through his back. Maybe, he thought, if he was upright, it wouldn't be such a struggle. He slipped his hand to the side of his bed, searching for the control.
"Is there something I can help you with, officer?" a nurse asked, noting the frustration in Bosco's face when he couldn't locate what he was looking for.
"I just," he coughed a little and cleared his throat, the dryness still yet to have subsided. "I was just trying to raise the bed a little."
She nodded sympathetically and grabbed the control that was lying on the other side.
'Figures,' Bosco thought to himself.
She raised his bed until he was sitting fairly upright and raised her eyebrows, to ask if he was satisfied with her work.
He nodded, "That's great, thanks."
She smiled as she picked up some papers and continued on her rounds.
"Bosco."
Bosco was too busy testing out his breathing in his new position to see that Faith, Davis, and Sully had wandered into his room.
"Hey," he gave a small smile to his company. More to wipe that worried look off of Faith's face than to parlay any happiness he was feeling. She could be so overprotective.
"How you feeling?" Davis asked, the guilt apparent in his voice.
"Well," Bosco whispered before clearing his throat again, "I've had better days…"
"Bosco, man, I just didn't see…"
"I know, Davis," Bosco interrupted him before he could ramble on with his apology. "He ran a red. It wasn't your fault."
"The guy," Bosco asked shifting his glance to the floor, "Did he…"
Davis shook his head, "No, he's miraculously going to make it. He's in pretty rough shape though," Ty stopped momentarily, prioritizing his thoughts, "He's just a kid, like 20 or something, but he wasn't drunk. They can't really explain why he ran the red. They found a lot of alcohol and cash in the vehicle, but nothing showed in his blood. They're gonna hold him for sure until they can question him further,"
Ty stopped, giving Bosco a small smile, "I'm just glad you're okay. You scared the shit out of me, man."
Bosco chuckled slightly, but quickly regretted it as pain ripped through his chest. He winced at the unexpected jolt, hands clenching in fists.
"Easy, Bos," Faith soothed, cringing at the sight of her partner in obvious pain. "Do you want me to get a doctor?"
Bosco shook his head without opening his eyes. "No," he took a shaky breath before finishing his sentence, "it's okay. I'm okay."
When he was satisfied that the pain has subsided enough to resume his conversation, he opened his eyes and directed his question to Faith, "How bad's the leg?"
"You fractured your tibia and tore out your ACL and MCL. If everything goes according to plan, they said they'd have to send you back into surgery tomorrow to fix the knee."
Bosco rolled his eyes in exasperation. 'Great,' he thought, 'That rehab's gonna be a bitch.'
"We can't get a hold of your mom, Bosco. We left her a few messages on her machine but we haven't heard anything from her yet," Sully stated with concern.
Bosco wasn't surprised. His mom was rarely home. Especially at night, which he discovered it was again, after looking at the digital clock affixed to the wall. She was probably back at the bar, oblivious to her son's condition.
Bosco nodded to Sully and took another shaky breath. He was starting to feel a little bit too uncomfortable. He tried shifting a little to see if it would decrease the ache, but it just resulted in a burning pain through his ribs. He gasped slightly and started to feel a little nauseous. That worried him more than anything. The last thing he wanted to do was throw-up in front of Sully and Davis… he would never hear the end of it, he was sure.
"We'll leave you alone. Get better, Bosco," Sully said, sensing the anxiousness in Bosco's body language.
Ty stole one last glance at his injured friend for peace of mind, just to ensure that his was indeed alive, before strolling out of the room behind Sully.
Faith remained in the room and inched closer to Bosco's bedside.
"You want me to get a doctor now?" she asked him softly, once Sully and Davis were out of earshot.
Bosco nodded quickly and exhaled, keeping his eyes closed.
He could feel sweat forming on his forehead as he fought the impending nausea that was soaring through his body in vicious waves.
Faith stepped towards the door and discretely flagged down Bosco's doctor.
The old doctor approached Bosco with a concerned look on his face.
"You feeling uncomfortable, officer?"
Bosco wanted to scream at the doctor. 'No,' he thought to himself, 'I always sweat like this!' Instead, he muttered, "Yeah, don't feel so hot."
"Okay," replied the doctor, as he lowered Bosco's bed back into a prone position, "I'll give you something for the pain."
Bosco could feel his muscles tensing, fighting the sickening feeling coursing through him. His respiration rate had increased, but each breath remained shallow and unsteady.
Faith could tell how much Bosco hated being unstable. He had that look on his face like he was disgusted with himself. She mentally smiled at his determination to be as macho as possible in front of his friends and colleagues. 'Such a Bosco thing to do,' she thought to herself.
He moaned and swallowed as he fought his stomach's urge to turn. He opened his eyes to see Faith staring back at him, then immediately shifted his gaze elsewhere.
Faith caught his nervous glance and realized she had to leave. She didn't really understand why Bosco was so uncomfortable showing weakness around her, but she respected his internal wishes and turned to exit the room.
As she was exiting, she heard him groan as he succumbed to the nausea. She didn't turn around to embarrass him, but continued to walk out, pretending as if she hadn't heard a thing. 'No use making him more uncomfortable than he already is,' she thought.
Bosco mentally thanked God that Faith didn't witness him spilling his guts into a bucket. His relief increased when he felt the painkillers begin to latch onto his cells. The relaxation that followed superceded anything he had ever felt before. He sighed in relief and allowed himself to drift off into the darkness.
TBC. Please review and let me know your thoughts on this one. I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
