The Waiting Is The Hardest Part
Chapter 6
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Faith had tried calling Bosco's cell phone, but only got his voicemail. She assumed it was because they weren't allowed in the hospitals usually - something about the signals possibly messing up the monitors and stuff. Anyway, she called the hospital and left a message for him at the nurse's station, not wanting to interrupt him if he was in with Jennifer.
She sat now watching the all night news channel. She had it on more for company than for actually listening to it. Everyone had been asleep when she came home and she decided to let Fred sleep.
Fred came out of the bedroom, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked, knowing that if she hadn't come to bed when she got home from work, something had happened - usually to someone she knew.
"Bosco couldn't get hold of Jennifer earlier and he sent an Albany car by to check. They found her on the floor of the house," she told him as he sat down next to her.
"What? Well, what happened?" Fred asked, concern waking him up fully.
Faith shrugged. "We don't know any details. They took her to the hospital while Bosco was driving up there. He didn't even know about it until Jordan called him on the cell phone all hysterical, I guess," she said. "I tried call him, but I could only leave a message."
"Well, he'll call back when he knows anything, I'm sure," Fred assured her. "Why don't you come to bed and get some rest. If he needs you for something, you don't want to be too exhausted to help."
She looked at her husband and remembered how not too long ago, the two men in her life did not get along at all. This was like a total turnaround and she'd never thought it would happen - at least from Fred's perspective. "I guess, now that Bosco's married with a family of his own, he doesn't feel threatened by him anymore," she thought to herself.
"Yeah, sleep sounds like a good idea. I'm not looking forward to telling Emily and Charlie in the morning. They're pretty attached to Jennifer and the kids," Faith said as she got up and followed Fred down the hall to bed.
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"Excuse me, Officer Boscorelli?" the nurse whispered to him from the doorway. He'd been dozing in the chair alongside Jennifer and was startled. He looked quickly at Jennifer, thinking that she'd woken up and was calling him. Realizing that she was still unconscious, he looked around to see where the voice had come from.
Finding the nurse at the doorway, he sat up straighter. "Yeah," he said in a sleepy voice, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
"I'm sorry to wake you, but I just wanted to let you know that a 'Faith Yokas' left a message for you with the operator earlier. They just managed to catch up with you here," she said, stepping in to hand Bosco the slip of paper. Bosco stood up and met her halfway. He took the paper and tilted it toward the light that was spilling into the doorframe from the hallway.
"Please call and let me know what's going on and if you need anything. Doesn't matter what time - just call. -Faith Yokas," he read from the slip of paper.
He looked at the nurse. "Thanks," he said, looking at his wristwatch to see that it was about 4:00 a.m. He wasn't sure he should call her, but knew that if he didn't he'd certainly get an earful from her when he finally did call her.
"You can use the phone on the nightstand," said the nurse, pointing to the other side of Jennifer's bed. "It's been turned on for you."
"Wha... Oh, thanks," he said, giving the nurse a slight smile.
"If you need anything else, I'll be here until 7:00. I'm Marlie," she told him before stepping back out of the room.
Bosco walked back over to Jennifer and leaned in to get a look at her face. He hoped he saw some sign that she was coming out of it - even if it was just the wrinkle of her nose that he loved so much. Nothing. He took hold of her hand and gave it a slight squeeze. "I'm gonna call Faith and let her know what's going on. I know, it's really early, but you know Faith. If I don't call her, she'll have my ass," he said to Jennifer, as if she were sitting there telling him it was too ungodly of an hour to call anyone.
He walked around to the other side of the bed and picked up the phone. He dialed to get an outside line and when he heard the dial tone, he dialed Faith's number. It rang about three times when it was picked up and he heard Faith's familiar voice in the other line.
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"Hello," Faith said, the panic of a "middle of the night" phone call - even one she was expecting - causing her to sound out of breath.
"Hey. It's me," Bosco said and she heard the tired sound of his voice. She sat up.
"Hey. What's going on? How's Jennifer? Are the kids okay?" she asked in rapid succession.
"Whoa. Slow down, Faith," he said, almost laughing at the grilling she was giving him. "Some things never change," he thought to himself.
"Sorry. What can I do?" Faith answered as Fred woke up and turned over to face her.
"Um, well, it looks like she had some kind of a bleed or something in her brain. The doctor said a weak blood vessel or something. Anyway, Albany found her on the floor in the house. Jordan was with her, but Jason was still in the car seat, so they think it happened as soon as she got home - probably around 6:00 or so," he said, looking over at his wife.
"She's um..., well, she's still unconscious," he said, not able to hide the sound of his voice that told Faith he was scared to death.
"Okay. That's probably normal right now, right? I mean, her brain is keeping her knocked out so that it has time to heal," she said, trying to reassure him through a phone line.
"Yeah, I guess... I mean, the doctors say she's stable. They're gonna do another scan in the morning to see if the bleeding got any worse," he told her.
"Where are the kids?" Faith asked.
"Um..., they're at home. Peter, Kathy's husband, is staying with them. Kathy left so that she'd be there when Jordan and Jason woke up," he told Faith. "I'm gonna have to go over in a little while and let Jordan know what's going on. She was scared to death on the phone last night, but I wanted to get right to the hospital."
"Okay. Well, is there anything we can do? I mean, are you okay? I could come up there," she offered.
"No, I'm okay. You've got work and the kids. I'm just waiting. That's the hardest thing - the waiting," he said, his voice trailing off.
"Bosco?" Faith said.
"I'm..., uh..., I'm scared to death, Faith," he admitted to her, a catch in his voice.
"I know, Bos. It'll be okay. I'll tell the Lieutenant what's going on and that you'll be up there for a while anyway. He'll take care of the paperwork here giving you a leave. Please call me if there's anything I can do. Anything - even if you just need to talk, okay?" she insisted.
"Yeah. Thanks, Faith. I'll call you later, I guess," he said, the fatigue sounding heavy in his voice now.
"Did you call your Mom yet?" Faith asked. "I'll do it if you want me to."
"No. I'm gonna call her in a little while. There's nothing she can do right now anyway," he told her.
"Okay. Call me, Bosco," she reminded him.
"I will," he said. "Bye."
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Bosco hung up the phone and looked at Jennifer. "Jen?" he called her softly.
"Jen, can you hear me?" he repeated, taking hold of her hand again. With his other hand, he rubbed his thumb back and forth along her forehead, hoping for some sign that she knew he was there.
At first, he wasn't sure if it was his imagination or if it was real. He looked at the hand that had just very lightly squeezed his own and then back at her face. "Jen?"
He felt the slight squeeze again, although it was weaker - if that was possible - than the first time. "I'm here, Jen. I love you. The kids are fine. Kathy and Peter are with them. I'll go check on them in a little bit. I'm gonna get the doctor and let him know you squeezed my hand. I'll be right back," he said, leaning over to give her a kiss. "I love you," he told her again before letting go of her and going to get the nurse to call the doctor.
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TBC...
Chapter 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Faith had tried calling Bosco's cell phone, but only got his voicemail. She assumed it was because they weren't allowed in the hospitals usually - something about the signals possibly messing up the monitors and stuff. Anyway, she called the hospital and left a message for him at the nurse's station, not wanting to interrupt him if he was in with Jennifer.
She sat now watching the all night news channel. She had it on more for company than for actually listening to it. Everyone had been asleep when she came home and she decided to let Fred sleep.
Fred came out of the bedroom, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked, knowing that if she hadn't come to bed when she got home from work, something had happened - usually to someone she knew.
"Bosco couldn't get hold of Jennifer earlier and he sent an Albany car by to check. They found her on the floor of the house," she told him as he sat down next to her.
"What? Well, what happened?" Fred asked, concern waking him up fully.
Faith shrugged. "We don't know any details. They took her to the hospital while Bosco was driving up there. He didn't even know about it until Jordan called him on the cell phone all hysterical, I guess," she said. "I tried call him, but I could only leave a message."
"Well, he'll call back when he knows anything, I'm sure," Fred assured her. "Why don't you come to bed and get some rest. If he needs you for something, you don't want to be too exhausted to help."
She looked at her husband and remembered how not too long ago, the two men in her life did not get along at all. This was like a total turnaround and she'd never thought it would happen - at least from Fred's perspective. "I guess, now that Bosco's married with a family of his own, he doesn't feel threatened by him anymore," she thought to herself.
"Yeah, sleep sounds like a good idea. I'm not looking forward to telling Emily and Charlie in the morning. They're pretty attached to Jennifer and the kids," Faith said as she got up and followed Fred down the hall to bed.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
"Excuse me, Officer Boscorelli?" the nurse whispered to him from the doorway. He'd been dozing in the chair alongside Jennifer and was startled. He looked quickly at Jennifer, thinking that she'd woken up and was calling him. Realizing that she was still unconscious, he looked around to see where the voice had come from.
Finding the nurse at the doorway, he sat up straighter. "Yeah," he said in a sleepy voice, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
"I'm sorry to wake you, but I just wanted to let you know that a 'Faith Yokas' left a message for you with the operator earlier. They just managed to catch up with you here," she said, stepping in to hand Bosco the slip of paper. Bosco stood up and met her halfway. He took the paper and tilted it toward the light that was spilling into the doorframe from the hallway.
"Please call and let me know what's going on and if you need anything. Doesn't matter what time - just call. -Faith Yokas," he read from the slip of paper.
He looked at the nurse. "Thanks," he said, looking at his wristwatch to see that it was about 4:00 a.m. He wasn't sure he should call her, but knew that if he didn't he'd certainly get an earful from her when he finally did call her.
"You can use the phone on the nightstand," said the nurse, pointing to the other side of Jennifer's bed. "It's been turned on for you."
"Wha... Oh, thanks," he said, giving the nurse a slight smile.
"If you need anything else, I'll be here until 7:00. I'm Marlie," she told him before stepping back out of the room.
Bosco walked back over to Jennifer and leaned in to get a look at her face. He hoped he saw some sign that she was coming out of it - even if it was just the wrinkle of her nose that he loved so much. Nothing. He took hold of her hand and gave it a slight squeeze. "I'm gonna call Faith and let her know what's going on. I know, it's really early, but you know Faith. If I don't call her, she'll have my ass," he said to Jennifer, as if she were sitting there telling him it was too ungodly of an hour to call anyone.
He walked around to the other side of the bed and picked up the phone. He dialed to get an outside line and when he heard the dial tone, he dialed Faith's number. It rang about three times when it was picked up and he heard Faith's familiar voice in the other line.
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"Hello," Faith said, the panic of a "middle of the night" phone call - even one she was expecting - causing her to sound out of breath.
"Hey. It's me," Bosco said and she heard the tired sound of his voice. She sat up.
"Hey. What's going on? How's Jennifer? Are the kids okay?" she asked in rapid succession.
"Whoa. Slow down, Faith," he said, almost laughing at the grilling she was giving him. "Some things never change," he thought to himself.
"Sorry. What can I do?" Faith answered as Fred woke up and turned over to face her.
"Um, well, it looks like she had some kind of a bleed or something in her brain. The doctor said a weak blood vessel or something. Anyway, Albany found her on the floor in the house. Jordan was with her, but Jason was still in the car seat, so they think it happened as soon as she got home - probably around 6:00 or so," he said, looking over at his wife.
"She's um..., well, she's still unconscious," he said, not able to hide the sound of his voice that told Faith he was scared to death.
"Okay. That's probably normal right now, right? I mean, her brain is keeping her knocked out so that it has time to heal," she said, trying to reassure him through a phone line.
"Yeah, I guess... I mean, the doctors say she's stable. They're gonna do another scan in the morning to see if the bleeding got any worse," he told her.
"Where are the kids?" Faith asked.
"Um..., they're at home. Peter, Kathy's husband, is staying with them. Kathy left so that she'd be there when Jordan and Jason woke up," he told Faith. "I'm gonna have to go over in a little while and let Jordan know what's going on. She was scared to death on the phone last night, but I wanted to get right to the hospital."
"Okay. Well, is there anything we can do? I mean, are you okay? I could come up there," she offered.
"No, I'm okay. You've got work and the kids. I'm just waiting. That's the hardest thing - the waiting," he said, his voice trailing off.
"Bosco?" Faith said.
"I'm..., uh..., I'm scared to death, Faith," he admitted to her, a catch in his voice.
"I know, Bos. It'll be okay. I'll tell the Lieutenant what's going on and that you'll be up there for a while anyway. He'll take care of the paperwork here giving you a leave. Please call me if there's anything I can do. Anything - even if you just need to talk, okay?" she insisted.
"Yeah. Thanks, Faith. I'll call you later, I guess," he said, the fatigue sounding heavy in his voice now.
"Did you call your Mom yet?" Faith asked. "I'll do it if you want me to."
"No. I'm gonna call her in a little while. There's nothing she can do right now anyway," he told her.
"Okay. Call me, Bosco," she reminded him.
"I will," he said. "Bye."
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Bosco hung up the phone and looked at Jennifer. "Jen?" he called her softly.
"Jen, can you hear me?" he repeated, taking hold of her hand again. With his other hand, he rubbed his thumb back and forth along her forehead, hoping for some sign that she knew he was there.
At first, he wasn't sure if it was his imagination or if it was real. He looked at the hand that had just very lightly squeezed his own and then back at her face. "Jen?"
He felt the slight squeeze again, although it was weaker - if that was possible - than the first time. "I'm here, Jen. I love you. The kids are fine. Kathy and Peter are with them. I'll go check on them in a little bit. I'm gonna get the doctor and let him know you squeezed my hand. I'll be right back," he said, leaning over to give her a kiss. "I love you," he told her again before letting go of her and going to get the nurse to call the doctor.
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TBC...
