Waiting Is The Hardest Part
Chapter 20
Bosco glanced at his watch as he filled out the paperwork for their latest arrest. Faith watched him from across the desk while she worked on her paperwork.
"Why don't you just call her?" Faith asked. "It's perfectly normal. You used to do it before," she noted.
"I know. But, this isn't before. I don't want her to think I don't trust her with her own kids," he explained. "She's aggravated enough with everyone checking up on her."
"Can't say that I blame her," Faith said, staring over at their prisoner in the cell. "It's gotta be pretty freaky waking up and not remembering that your husband died years ago; you re-married and have another kid."
"Sounds like a soap opera," quipped the prisoner.
"Shut up!" they said in unison. Bosco emphasized the sentiment by throwing a discarded ball of paper at the door to the holding cell.
"Jeez, I'm just sayin'," the prisoner whined back.
"And I'm just sayin', 'shut up!'" Bosco repeated, sliding the chair back and walking over to pour his fourth cup of coffee.
"Bos, you're gonna be up all night. At least have the decaf stuff," Faith suggested.
Bosco looked into the cup of thick, dark coffee he'd just poured, made a face and threw the whole thing in the garbage. "Who the hell makes this stuff anyway?" he asked rhetorically.
"Just go call her!" Faith ordered him. He threw her a look as if saying, "Don't tell me what to do," and then walked out of the room toward the phones across the hall.
"I saw that!" he yelled across to her as she tried to stifle a smile.
Jennifer sat in the corner of one of the empty ER rooms and pulled a chart out of her pile of charts to dictate on. She stared at the cover for a moment, absently fingering the curled pages as she looked at the medical record number and name on the chart -
"Medical Record No. 147863, Boscorelli, Maurice L."
She flipped open the first page and flipped through the cover page to the admission sheet. This page listed the standard information – date and time of admission, reason for admission, initial diagnosis:
"Admitting Diagnosis: Through-and-through gunshot wound to left shoulder; closed mid-shaft fracture of right tibia and fibula; deep laceration to scalp with concussion; laceration of spleen; multiple bruises and contusions, slight hypothermia from exposure. Patient to be admitting from recovery room to ICU.
Admitting Physician: Jennifer Tate, M.D.
Surgeon: Jennifer Tate, M.D.
Admission Note:
... white male, police officer, who sustained injuries suffered from a gunshot wound and subsequent rollover vehicle accident. Paramedics report that patient was apparently ambushed while transporting a prisoner from Albany to New York City. Patient's partner was killed during the ambush. Subsequent investigation by the New York State Police shows that the Officer Boscorelli suffered a gunshot wound prior to the car wreck.
Patient was unconscious upon arrival to this Emergency Room and was triaged with the standard protocol. Findings upon initial evaluation are as stated in the admitting diagnosis, above. Patient was stabilized (see care notes within this chart) and moved to the Operating Room for exploration of the injury to the spleen, the gunshot wound, and laceration to the scalp. No surgical repair was deemed necessary and all wounds were well cleaned and irrigated. Sutures were administered by Dr. Tate and the patient was then moved to the Recovery Room before being moved to the ICU for further monitoring as stated in the physician's and nurse's notes within this chart."
Jennifer stared at the page until the words blurred. She thought back to her initial reaction to seeing the officer that was brought into the hospital tonight. He bore a striking resemblance to Maurice and she couldn't shake the feeling of dread she'd felt at seeing him lying there. It was a feeling of déjà vu and it took her a moment to re-group and go on with her initial assessment and treatment of the patient.
Now, after reading Maurice's chart, she shivered again at the eeriness of how similar the injuries were. She was startled by the sound of her cell phone ringing in the pocket of her lab coat.
She reached for it, hoping that there wasn't a problem with one of the kids. The babysitter had called a short time ago to report that Jordan and Jason were doing well and eager to see her. She'd assured them that she would be home shortly.
"Hello, this is Dr. Ta.., um, Dr. Boscorelli," she answered and was rewarded with silence on the other end. "Hello?" she repeated.
"Um, hi. It's me – Maurice. Can you talk, or is this a bad time?" he asked, not missing her stumble over her name.
"Oh, hello. No, it's quiet right now. Are you alright?" she asked, suddenly remembering that he was working. She flashed back on the scene from a short while ago in her own Emergency Room. There were still plenty of police officers and such around waiting to hear news of their co-worker.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thought I'd give a call and see how you were doing? I was going to call the kids, but I got tied up on an arrest and it got pretty late. I figured they'd be sleeping. Did you talk to them today?" he asked, making small talk, but just grateful to hear her voice.
"I talked to Lisa, the sitter, a short time ago. She said they were doing good, but waiting for me to come home. She said they miss you," she offered also.
"Yeah, it's weird being away from them too. It's been so long..," he said and then trailed off. "So, how's your day going? Busy?" he asked.
"Not too bad. Steady," she said, surprised by how soothing it was to hear his voice as well. "You?"
"Not too bad. Just some minor stuff. I should get out on time though. You still have the number for the place down here in your phone, right?" he asked.
"Yeah. I saw it there when I was looking for another number earlier. So, does it feel good to be back at work?" she asked, making small talk.
"Kind of. I miss you guys though," he said, hoping that she realized he meant her too.
Jennifer felt a blush to her cheeks at what he said. She put a hand to her lips, remembering the tenderness of his kiss last night. "We miss you too," she offered.
"Well, I guess I'll let...," he started when she interrupted.
"I had a police officer come in tonight through the E.R. He had some serious injuries and I had some memories I think. It shook me up for a minute, but I was able to hold it together," she said.
"You're okay, though?" he asked.
"Yeah, but.., well, it was weird," she said, not sure how much more she should say about it.
"I'll bet. Anyone we know?" Bosco said.
"What?" she asked.
"The cop. Anyone we know?" he repeated.
"Oh, no. It was a new guy. He was shot while driving by an abandoned building and then crashed his car.
"Sounds familiar," Bosco said, thinking back to how they'd met.
"Yeah. I was just looking over your chart from your incident. Very similar injuries. He'll be fine too," she told him.
"Of course – he had the best taking care of him," Bosco said.
"I couldn't do the surgery though," she said, and Bosco heard the disappointment in her voice.
"You will, Jen. Soon," he reassured her.
"Yeah. I hope so. I can't believe how much I miss it," she said, trying to brighten her tone.
"Well, you sound tired. You heading home soon?" he asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I was just getting ready to leave, actually," she told him, standing up and walking around the room while she talked.
"Okay. Look, give me a call anytime. If I don't answer, its because I'm on a call, but leave a message and I'll call right back," he reminded her.
"I will. You too," she said.
"Okay. Give the kids a kiss for me and tell them I'll call them tomorrow," Bosco told her, feeling slightly better after talking to her.
"I will. Be careful," she told him.
"Okay. G'night. Love you," he said, hanging up the phone.
"G'night, Maurice," she said, catching the last of what he said as she closed her phone. 'Love you,' she thought about what he said.
And so, the week progressed. Bosco slept poorly, went to work, called home for the rest of the week. Now, it was finally Friday and he could head home after work. He usually didn't come home until early Saturday morning, but he really wanted to get home, so he told Jennifer not to be alarmed when she heard the door opening around 1:30 in the morning.
He was changing into his street clothes after their shift. Faith closed her locker and walked over to him as he was gathering up his stuff.
"So, you're heading up tonight?" she said.
"Yup," he said absently, putting some things into his locker and slamming the door.
"Okay. Say hi to everyone. Drive carefully," she told him.
"I will. Have a good weekend. I'll see you on Monday," he told her as they walked out together.
"See ya, Lieu," they called in unison as they walked by his office.
"Boscorelli!" called the Lieutenant.
"Yeah, Lieu," he answered, taking a step back toward the office. Faith waited a few steps ahead of him.
"Everything go okay this week?" Lieutenant Swersky asked, referring to Bosco being back at work and things going on at home.
"Yeah, Lieu. Thanks. I'm heading home right now," Bosco told him.
"That a good idea? Maybe you should get some sleep first," he told him. Faith smiled at the sound of Swersky giving his fatherly advice.
"I'm fine. I just need to be home," Bosco answered.
"Okay. See you next week then," he said, dismissing him.
"Right," Bosco answered and started walking toward the door with Faith again.
Bosco settled into the driver's seat of his car with an upbeat feeling at the news that Jen was starting to have some more memories. He hoped it wouldn't be long before her memory returned and they could go on with their lives. He waved to Faith who insisted on taking the train so that she didn't delay him getting on the road home, he started the engine and headed home, looking forward to spending some time with his family.
TBC...
