Rose looked at the Doctor, who had brought her some coffee. She took a sip and looked up at him as he sat back down, crossing his legs, putting the pad down. She sighed and took another sip, trying to avoid the topics he was going to ask about.
"What about your daughter, Mercedes?"
"She's a wonder unto itself."
"How so?"
"She survived living with my ex-husband, Anorexia, the Fire Academy, being trapped in the WTC collapse, being kidnapped and beaten, her husband being shot, her brother's death, 2 of her best friends and her father figure being killed, a miscarriage and a stillborn child. She goes strong, I don't know how she does it, but it happens. Even Maurice wonders how she does it. She just moves on, like it hasn't effected her."
"Are there any instances of her you remember that could have created this unemotional barrier?"
"She's not un-emotional. She just knows how to get over things fast. I think I remember one time, she and her brothers were getting beat on. She was 10 I believe. I was at work, and they ran out of the house, disappearing for hours."
~*~*~*~*~
10 year old Mercedes, 13 year old Michael and 15 year old Maurice are seen running down a footpath, jumping over, or sliding under a closed off rail. They run into the fort barracks and slid into the tunnel, stopping. The evening light showered from the top that had started to crack and was slightly brittle. They looked at each other as Mercedes started to cry. Mikey held her as Mo kneeled in front of her and pet her knee telling her it would be all right. He walked outside, and to the edge of the barracks, looking up at the Brooklyn Bridge. Mercedes walked up behind him and hugged him. He turned and held her to him as she sobbed on his chest. He talked softly to her, vowing to never leave her side. Mikey came up and they all talked, sitting there, in the dark, for hours on end. When the sun broke the horizon, Mo looked over and knew it was time to go. He picked up his little sister, who had fallen asleep and started to walk down the path, Mikey following closely behind. They knew by this time their father had left for work. They walked down the path as Mercedes opened her eyes, looking up at Mo in an adoring way. Her mouth moved, saying 'I Love You, Mo'.
~*~*~*~*~
The doctor nodded listening as a tear slid down her cheek. Rose looked down, stirring her coffee in a daze. He waited for her to look up at him before he spoke.
"So you believe that is where she learned to shell her feelings?"
"I don't think she ever learned how to shell her feelings. But she knew when she couldn't show them. My husband was brutal about that. If she cried, he hit her harder, if she didn't show it, he would stop, if he felt like it. I suppose they all learned how to develop the anti-emotional facade."
~*~*~*~*~
Carlos, Mercedes and Mo sit in the hospital. They are waiting to identify Mikey's body. Mo paces back and forth as Carlos watches him and Mercedes runs her fingers through her hair. She lays her head on Carlos' lap and gets comfortable. She knows IDing can take hours and knows pacing will get her nowhere. Mo stops and sits down, placing his arm on her hip, yawning. Their eyes are red-rimmed and puffy from crying. To them, they are all cried out. Carlos falls asleep as the doctor comes out, calling out their name. Mercedes slides off of his lap, letting him sleep as Mo moves to the doctor. The doctor leads them to the morgue and to a slab. Mercedes swallows hard and grabs Mo's hand. The doctor lifts the sheet and Mikey's bluish colored upper body is exposed. Mo closes his eyes and sways slightly as Mercedes fell to her knees, holding her stomach. The doctor moves to her after covering the body and she starts to cry in pain. Mo picks her up, cradling her in his arms and rushes her up to the ER. Carlos wakes up to the noise and goes after Mo, asking what happened. Mo lays her on the bed and the doctor gets the nurses. Mo moves to Carlos and holds him back.
~*~*~*~*~
"That was the day she miscarried?"
"Yes... on her birthday. That was the only time she never recovered after a week. Losing her baby was devastating to her. She didn't go back to work for almost 3 months. She doesn't think she will ever have children, which hurts her. All she wants is a baby, even with her job. Her dream is to give Carlos a baby boy. All I ever wanted out of my children is to grow up right and give me grandchildren. Mikey did that, but it took his death to find out about the baby. No one even knows who the mother is. I don't even know why I am talking about this."
"Let it out. Say what's on your mind."
"I remember when Mercedes' best friend died. Alex Taylor. She died in an explosion, caused by a car accident, involving a high-speed chase that involved Maurice. He was working ACU that day.
~*~*~*~*~
Mercedes stands of to the side, sitting at the bus, helping Carlos with a patient they extracted from the car. She looks over to see Lieu yelling at Alex to get off of the car. Mercedes is 4 months pregnant, and they won't let her near the fire, so Alex is helping do her job. Mercedes looks up to see Mo leaving and she glares at the woman standing next to him. She moves to him and grabs his arm. Her mouth moves with words unknown as she gets into what seems to be an argument. Bosco moves his arm and walks with Cruz and Mercedes shakes her head. She walks back towards the bus, looking at Taylor as the car explodes. Mercedes ducks and sees Alex fall, and Lieu fall back. She runs towards Taylor looking at the 2 pieces of her and looks at Carlos who is talking to Taylor. Mercedes knows Alex is dead, even though she is talking softly and looks up at Doc who is yelling for Alex. Moving to Doc, she tells him about Alex and he looks over. Mercedes eyes tear up as she runs to the bus with Carlos.
b"She wasn't quite the same after that. She felt that it was her fault because Taylor was doing her part of the job. But there was one person she blames more than herself, and that was Maurice's ACU partner, Sergeant Cruz. That lead to a fight that still haunts them."b
Mercedes sits in the waiting room, she knows Alex was confirmed dead, and is waiting to find out how Lieu is. She looks up to see Maurice walk in and look at her. She gives him a look that could kill. She stands up, moving to him. They start to talk and she asks him why he is there. He tells her about Faith and she shakes her head, having no feelings for his pain. They start to fight and she shoves him. He stands his ground, and doesn't shove back. She walks out, as the entire Station, both Cops and Firefighters witness them fighting as she runs into Cruz's room. She starts screaming at Cruz and is pulled back by Mo. Mo starts yelling at her to chill out and Mercedes punches Cruz across the face. Cruz jumps up and prepares to fight her. Mo jumps in between them and stops them from killing each other. Carlos walks in and takes his wife's arm, gently pulling her out. Mercedes is red, screaming threats and obscenities. Cruz is throwing them right back. Carlos picks up his wife and carries her outside, as Kim and Jimmy follow.
~*~*~*~*~
"It took them 2 weeks to reconcile. To avoid each other, she made Maurice stay at a hotel. At the one time they needed each other most, they weren't talking. Maurice's partner had been shot and wasn't talking to him, and their lives seemed to fall apart. But when Maurice found out a secret, he went to his sister and they worked together to bring Cruz down." She lit up a cigarette, sighing softly. The doctor blinked a few times. If anyone's family seemed doomed, it was the Boscorelli family. He cleared his throat as he finished writing, then looked up at her.
"Did you want to wait until another day to talk more?" He asked her softly. Rose nodded and stood up, quietly walking out of the office.
"What about your daughter, Mercedes?"
"She's a wonder unto itself."
"How so?"
"She survived living with my ex-husband, Anorexia, the Fire Academy, being trapped in the WTC collapse, being kidnapped and beaten, her husband being shot, her brother's death, 2 of her best friends and her father figure being killed, a miscarriage and a stillborn child. She goes strong, I don't know how she does it, but it happens. Even Maurice wonders how she does it. She just moves on, like it hasn't effected her."
"Are there any instances of her you remember that could have created this unemotional barrier?"
"She's not un-emotional. She just knows how to get over things fast. I think I remember one time, she and her brothers were getting beat on. She was 10 I believe. I was at work, and they ran out of the house, disappearing for hours."
~*~*~*~*~
10 year old Mercedes, 13 year old Michael and 15 year old Maurice are seen running down a footpath, jumping over, or sliding under a closed off rail. They run into the fort barracks and slid into the tunnel, stopping. The evening light showered from the top that had started to crack and was slightly brittle. They looked at each other as Mercedes started to cry. Mikey held her as Mo kneeled in front of her and pet her knee telling her it would be all right. He walked outside, and to the edge of the barracks, looking up at the Brooklyn Bridge. Mercedes walked up behind him and hugged him. He turned and held her to him as she sobbed on his chest. He talked softly to her, vowing to never leave her side. Mikey came up and they all talked, sitting there, in the dark, for hours on end. When the sun broke the horizon, Mo looked over and knew it was time to go. He picked up his little sister, who had fallen asleep and started to walk down the path, Mikey following closely behind. They knew by this time their father had left for work. They walked down the path as Mercedes opened her eyes, looking up at Mo in an adoring way. Her mouth moved, saying 'I Love You, Mo'.
~*~*~*~*~
The doctor nodded listening as a tear slid down her cheek. Rose looked down, stirring her coffee in a daze. He waited for her to look up at him before he spoke.
"So you believe that is where she learned to shell her feelings?"
"I don't think she ever learned how to shell her feelings. But she knew when she couldn't show them. My husband was brutal about that. If she cried, he hit her harder, if she didn't show it, he would stop, if he felt like it. I suppose they all learned how to develop the anti-emotional facade."
~*~*~*~*~
Carlos, Mercedes and Mo sit in the hospital. They are waiting to identify Mikey's body. Mo paces back and forth as Carlos watches him and Mercedes runs her fingers through her hair. She lays her head on Carlos' lap and gets comfortable. She knows IDing can take hours and knows pacing will get her nowhere. Mo stops and sits down, placing his arm on her hip, yawning. Their eyes are red-rimmed and puffy from crying. To them, they are all cried out. Carlos falls asleep as the doctor comes out, calling out their name. Mercedes slides off of his lap, letting him sleep as Mo moves to the doctor. The doctor leads them to the morgue and to a slab. Mercedes swallows hard and grabs Mo's hand. The doctor lifts the sheet and Mikey's bluish colored upper body is exposed. Mo closes his eyes and sways slightly as Mercedes fell to her knees, holding her stomach. The doctor moves to her after covering the body and she starts to cry in pain. Mo picks her up, cradling her in his arms and rushes her up to the ER. Carlos wakes up to the noise and goes after Mo, asking what happened. Mo lays her on the bed and the doctor gets the nurses. Mo moves to Carlos and holds him back.
~*~*~*~*~
"That was the day she miscarried?"
"Yes... on her birthday. That was the only time she never recovered after a week. Losing her baby was devastating to her. She didn't go back to work for almost 3 months. She doesn't think she will ever have children, which hurts her. All she wants is a baby, even with her job. Her dream is to give Carlos a baby boy. All I ever wanted out of my children is to grow up right and give me grandchildren. Mikey did that, but it took his death to find out about the baby. No one even knows who the mother is. I don't even know why I am talking about this."
"Let it out. Say what's on your mind."
"I remember when Mercedes' best friend died. Alex Taylor. She died in an explosion, caused by a car accident, involving a high-speed chase that involved Maurice. He was working ACU that day.
~*~*~*~*~
Mercedes stands of to the side, sitting at the bus, helping Carlos with a patient they extracted from the car. She looks over to see Lieu yelling at Alex to get off of the car. Mercedes is 4 months pregnant, and they won't let her near the fire, so Alex is helping do her job. Mercedes looks up to see Mo leaving and she glares at the woman standing next to him. She moves to him and grabs his arm. Her mouth moves with words unknown as she gets into what seems to be an argument. Bosco moves his arm and walks with Cruz and Mercedes shakes her head. She walks back towards the bus, looking at Taylor as the car explodes. Mercedes ducks and sees Alex fall, and Lieu fall back. She runs towards Taylor looking at the 2 pieces of her and looks at Carlos who is talking to Taylor. Mercedes knows Alex is dead, even though she is talking softly and looks up at Doc who is yelling for Alex. Moving to Doc, she tells him about Alex and he looks over. Mercedes eyes tear up as she runs to the bus with Carlos.
b"She wasn't quite the same after that. She felt that it was her fault because Taylor was doing her part of the job. But there was one person she blames more than herself, and that was Maurice's ACU partner, Sergeant Cruz. That lead to a fight that still haunts them."b
Mercedes sits in the waiting room, she knows Alex was confirmed dead, and is waiting to find out how Lieu is. She looks up to see Maurice walk in and look at her. She gives him a look that could kill. She stands up, moving to him. They start to talk and she asks him why he is there. He tells her about Faith and she shakes her head, having no feelings for his pain. They start to fight and she shoves him. He stands his ground, and doesn't shove back. She walks out, as the entire Station, both Cops and Firefighters witness them fighting as she runs into Cruz's room. She starts screaming at Cruz and is pulled back by Mo. Mo starts yelling at her to chill out and Mercedes punches Cruz across the face. Cruz jumps up and prepares to fight her. Mo jumps in between them and stops them from killing each other. Carlos walks in and takes his wife's arm, gently pulling her out. Mercedes is red, screaming threats and obscenities. Cruz is throwing them right back. Carlos picks up his wife and carries her outside, as Kim and Jimmy follow.
~*~*~*~*~
"It took them 2 weeks to reconcile. To avoid each other, she made Maurice stay at a hotel. At the one time they needed each other most, they weren't talking. Maurice's partner had been shot and wasn't talking to him, and their lives seemed to fall apart. But when Maurice found out a secret, he went to his sister and they worked together to bring Cruz down." She lit up a cigarette, sighing softly. The doctor blinked a few times. If anyone's family seemed doomed, it was the Boscorelli family. He cleared his throat as he finished writing, then looked up at her.
"Did you want to wait until another day to talk more?" He asked her softly. Rose nodded and stood up, quietly walking out of the office.