Title: Bloodlines

Rating: K+, for swearing- This is the Boscorelli brothers we're talking about!

Spoilers: Up to and including the fourth season. This fiction does not extend past that point in the series.

Summary: Bosco and his brother get into a heated argument, Bos is seriously injured shortly afterwards, leaving his younger brother guilt ridden.

Special Note: Here's chapter three revamped, should be 10x easier to read!

Brotherly Love

Chapter Three: Letting It Out

Rose shivered in the frosty air as she wrapped her coat closer to her body. Being careful not to slip, she made her way towards her car and was just about to get in when she heard a car honk its horn at her. Turning around curiously, she found herself looking at a large black truck, whose passenger side window was currently down.

"Rose! C'mon, I'll give you a lift." Faith shouted from the driver's seat.

Rose blinked and quickly made her way towards the black pick-up truck. She hurriedly got in and buckled up her seatbelt as Faith pulled away from the curb. Glancing over at her son's partner, she immediately noted that other woman's eyes were bloodshot. Guess I'm not the only one who was crying.

The two women stared out the windshield in silence as Faith drove carefully down the street. The snow was still falling gently, the warm glow of the streetlights giving the road an enchanted look.

"Are you okay?" Faith finally asked, she'd had enough of the heavy silence.

"No, but I will be when I find out that Maurice will be okay." Rose's voice cracked with emotion, "God Faith...how could this happen? Why is it always Maurice?" A lone tear slid down the elderly woman's cheek.

Faith blinked the tears out of her own eyes and whispered, "I don't know Rose...I don't know..."

Rose took a great, shuddering breath and whispered, "I just hope that Michael has some answers. The woman on the phone said that he had gotten Maurice out just before the car had exploded..." Her voice faltered slightly, "God...if Michael hadn't of gotten him out in time..."

Faith shivered at Rose's words. The image of Bosco burning to death in his Mustang flashed through her mind. She shook her head violently, trying to shake the horrible picture out of her brain. He didn't burn to death, he's at the hospital fighting for his life, she told herself repeatedly. She needed to stay positive and strong, no matter what the outcome might be.

"We're here." Faith finally said as Angel of Mercy finally came into view. After a few minutes of searching, she finally found a parking spot close to the emergency doors. Both she and Rose jumped out of the truck and slammed their doors shut.

The two women could feel the queasiness in their stomachs as they hurried inside, both were afraid of what they would find.

Meanwhile…

Mikey fiddled with his hands nervously in his lap. Dr. Carson had just told them that Maurice was being taken up to surgery. Apparently his left lung had been punctured by one of his broken ribs; they needed to fix it before he bled out.

Sighing, Mikey looked up at the clock for the fifth time. He was nervous, his ma and Faith would have so many questions...he'd have to tell them about the fight, and how he got Mo out.

The young Boscorelli quickly stole a glance at the firefighter who had phoned Faith and his ma for him. She was talking to the other firefighter, the guy with the dimples. The three medics from earlier had all left after they had found out that his brother was headed up to surgery, evidently that were needed for another emergency.

Alex sighed and looked at Bosco's little brother with sympathy. He seemed like a nice guy, and she couldn't help but wonder why Bos had never mentioned him before. Frowning worriedly, she walked over to the young man and sat down beside him. "What's your name?" She asked curiously, trying to break the silence.

"Mikey." Came the dull reply.

Alex opened her mouth to say something else but stopped when she heard footsteps. She, Mikey and Jimmy all looked up to see Rose and Faith hurrying towards them.

Mikey swallowed and stood up, waiting for the flood of questions that they were bound to assault him with. But none came; instead, his mother rushed over and embraced him tightly. After a few minutes of just standing there in complete shock, he slowly brought up his arms and hugged her back. It had been a long while since his ma had hugged him like that.

"Oh Michael...are you alright? What's going on with Maurice? P-Please tell me that you're both okay." Angela sobbed into her youngest son's shoulder uncontrollably.

Mikey rubbed his mothers back comfortingly. "It's going to be okay ma..." He said in a very soft, soothing voice. Inside, he couldn't believe how emotional he was currently feeling, he had this overwhelming urge to cry along with his mom, but he held it back. He needed to stay strong, for his ma, and for Maurice.

Mother and son stood in their embrace for a few minutes longer. Alex swallowed the lump in her throat back down as she and the other two watched the loving exchange that they were witnessing.

After a few minutes, Mikey and Angela broke away from each other.

Faith rubbed her eyes furiously and walked over to Jimmy and Alex.

"It's going to be okay Faith." Jimmy said reassuringly, he squeezed the officer's shoulder comfortingly.

Faith nodded and looked straight at Mikey. Her eyes pleaded with him to explain what had happened. Bos should be frantically wrapping up last minute presents, at home…safe and sound. He shouldn't be in the hospital, potentially fighting for his life…

Mikey held her gaze, and Faith was surprised to see them riddled with what looked like guilt. She also couldn't help but notice that he seemed to have become much stronger mentally than she had ever seen him before. I wonder if he's clean now? She thought to herself, recalling what Bosco had told her a few weeks ago.

"I was talking with my ma last night and she told me that Mikey got a job and had been clean for a few weeks."

Those had been his exact words in the RMP that day. He had seemed doubtful, but hopeful to say the least.

Mikey closed his eyes for a second before saying in a quiet voice, "I guess that I should tell you guys what happened?"

Everyone went quiet.

"Let's sit down okay? Take your time telling us Mikey, there's no rush." Faith said softly, motioning to the chairs before them.

Mikey nodded his head silently and everyone pulled up a chair.

Alex and Jimmy felt awkward sitting there; Bosco wasn't as close to them as he was to these other people. "Uh, we should probably get going anyways Faith. Captain is going to have our heads already for skipping calls." Jimmy said.

Faith nodded and said, "Of course, don't worry...I'll phone you guys as soon as we learn something."

Alex hugged Faith tightly and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry Faith. Bosco's been through hell and back. He's just got to make it." She smiled reassuringly at her before saying a good-bye to Rose and Mikey.

Rose and Faith turned to Mikey and waited for him to start speaking. The clock behind them signaled that Bosco had been in surgery for about forty- five minutes, with still no word on his condition.

Mikey took a deep breath and began, "Uh, well when ma left Maurice and I got into an argument. I-I said something to him that I really shouldn't of said and he got really upset about it and left without saying anything. Um, right after he had left I did some quick thinking and figured that I better apologize to him before I didn't have the guts to anymore. I paid my tab and walked out after him, but he had already left…I saw the fresh tire marks. I heard tires screeching in the intersection right ahead of your bar ma, and um...well..."

His voice faltered. Damn...this is hard, he though to himself.

"It's okay Mikey, take your time." Faith said soothingly, she wasn't sure herself if she was ready to hear what he was about to tell her. She found Rose's hand and squeezed it. The woman squeezed back, surprisingly strong for a woman of her age and build.

Mikey took a deep breath and continued, "I looked up and this SUV was crossing the intersection when it was a red light. Maurice's car was right in the trucks path, he tried to swerve around him but the truck was going too fast..."

Mikey gulped and continued, "It clipped his car and then the bastard took off, he didn't even get out! Maurice's car um, it flew through the air and started to roll over and over, before it smashed up against a telephone pole."

Rose had started to cry, Faith had her arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders.

"I ran up to the car after phoning for help. I smelt gas and I figured that I better get him out in case the Mustang exploded. When we were about seven feet away from the car, it blew… and I jumped on top of Mo, that's where I got these burns from." Mikey rolled up the sleeves on his shirt and revealed his red arms to Faith and Rose.

"I didn't know that you had been hurt!" Rose cried out in horror.

"Its okay ma, the doc checked 'em out and said that they weren't severe." Mikey reassured his horrified mother quickly. He then showed her the bottle of cream and explained that he just had to apply it to the burns a few times a day for as long as needed.

After Rose had calmed down significantly, Mikey finished explaining why his sibling had ended up in the hospital.

"After the explosion, those firefighters from earlier found us and called over some paramedics. They all knew Maurice. I asked the girl firefighter to phone you guys while the doctor checked out my burns. Oh, and just before you arrived, a doctor told me that Maurice was being taken up to surgery to uh, fix something wrong with his lung. It was punctured by one of his broken ribs during the crash…" Mikey's voice trailed off into silence.

Faith had sat there quietly during his entire explanation. She was shocked; Bosco had gotten into an argument with Mikey and then had left only to get into a car accident seconds later. At least now I know what the guilt in his eyes is all about, she thought.

Snapping back into the present, Faith suddenly stood up. Rose and Mikey needed some alone time. "I'll be right back; I need to make a few phone calls." She said to the two. They nodded and she left the room, praying to herself that Mikey would stop blaming himself for Bosco's accident. If not, she would just have to talk to him, he needed to let his emotions out and cry a little bit.

Faith asked the nurse at the front desk if she could use the phone. The nurse smiled sweetly and nodded her head.

The female officer picked up the phone and dialed Sully's number.

Sullivan Residence

Sully heard his phone ring and groaned as he rolled over. "It's two in the morning! Who the hell is that?!" He mumbled to himself as he picked up the phone, its annoying ringing sound still echoing in his ears.

"Hey, this is Sully." He said into the receiver.

"Hey Sull, its Faith."

"Faith, is something wrong?" Sully asked, now fully awake.

"Yeah, uh...Bosco was just in a really bad car accident. His brother got him out just before his car exploded. He's in surgery as we speak." Faith explained softly.

"Damn...do you want me to come over?" He asked, already pulling on some socks as his shoulder held the phone to his ear.

"No, that's okay. His mom and brother are here with me. There's no point in you just coming down here when you're obviously in bed."

"Okay..." He replied, unsure of what to say.

"Listen Sully, the guy who hit Bosco ran a red light and was speeding. It wasn't Bosco's fault. His brother saw the entire thing and said that it was a large truck, an SUV. It took off right afterwards, fled the scene before the authorities arrived. I know you aren't a fan of hit and runs and I know it's a lot to ask but do you think that you could look into it for me? I would but...well...I need to stay with Bosco's family..." Faith asked quickly.

"Of course I'll do it Faith, anything to help out a friend. I'll phone Davis after we hang up and ask him to help me out. We can ask some people if they saw anything in between calls, maybe someone got a license plate. Where was Bosco hit, what road?" Sully asked.

"You know where Bosco's moms bar is?"

"Yeah, we went there once after a shift."

"The intersection right ahead of it." Faith said firmly.

"Got it." Sully replied.

"Oh, and Sull?"

"Yeah?'

"Thanks." Faith whispered.

She and Sully chatted for a few minutes longer; she told him the Davis might already know what happened, as Carlos was one of the medics that had worked on Bosco. After hanging up, she phoned Fred, who had picked up on the first ring. After assuring him that she was holding her own and had talked to the kids individually, she had ended the call, promising to phone later.

Finally, Faith made her way back to the waiting room, the doctor walked in minutes later.

The doctor greeted the three adults and introduced himself as Dr. Carson, the surgeon who had repaired Bosco's lung.

"Maurice is currently being held on the ICU floor. We managed to repair the lung not a minute to soon. His right wrist was fractured and he received a mild concussion. He's suffering from temporary paralysis; we had to give him a lot of painkillers for his ribs and wrist. His condition is still critical; we've got him hooked up to a heart monitor and a ventilator. He is currently unconscious." The doctor said carefully, "If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me whenever need be." He added.

"A ventilator?" Rose asked weakly.

Dr. Carson nodded, "His lung is very weak, it sustained a lot of trauma, the ventilator will help ease the stress off of his lung until it has healed somewhat."

"Can we see him?" Asked Faith.

"Of course, but I would prefer if you saw him individually and not for too long. He needs his rest, so he can concentrate on healing." The doctor answered politely.

Faith looked at Rose and said in a firm voice, "You go first, Rose."

Rose nodded her head gratefully and walked away with the doctor.

Faith and Mikey sat down and waited for their own turns.

Faith suddenly spoke, "He's going to be okay Mikey, he's probably extremely proud. I know I am. You were really brave."

"Do you know the last words he spoke to me after I pulled him out of that car? 'Cause he was awake for a few seconds before he fell back unconscious. He apologized for not protecting me enough against our dad. Damn Faith, he apologized! It-It should have been me who was apologizing. This whole mess is my fucking fault!" He cried, angry with himself.

Faith looked straight at him and said, "Don't you dare blame yourself for this Michael Boscorelli! What happened was NOT your fault...it was, it was just fate. Bosc-Maurice would never want you blaming yourself, do you hear me?"

Mikey nodded his head numbly and tried to hold back his tears, he was exhausted and everything was really starting to hit him really hard.

"Mikey, its okay to cry. You hear me? It's okay to cry." Faith whispered, tears starting to stream down her own pale cheeks.

So he did.

He cried in Faith's arms and let it all out. He cried for his own stupidity, he cried for the pain that his ma and all of Mo's friends were going through. But most of all, he cried for Maurice, his big brother, who was one of the very few people on this Earth who gave a damn about him.

TBC

Alrighty, that's chapter three fixed up! It's hopefully an improvement!

Onward!!

: ) Ashley…