Chapter 4:
Summary: My take on why Bosco and Sully don't get along. Takes place shortly after Bosco graduates from the Police Academy
Disclaimer: I don't own Third Watch or any of its characters.
A/N: This story previously posted on another Third Watch site but I was encouraged to post it here as well by Joey and Orison. Enjoy.
TW~TW~TW
Sully walks into Haggerty's, taking a moment to adjust to the loud music and the smoky haze. After returning to the house to change and pick up his car, he debated whether he should come here or go back to Bosco's apartment. Seeing Michaels laughing at the bar confirmed his feeling that he needs to take care of this tonight.
Sully walks directly towards Michaels, ignoring the other officers greeting him and inviting him to sit with them. Michaels notices Sully and smiles at him. "Hey, Sul, where's that partner of yours?"
Sully grabs Michaels by the collar and swings hard. Michaels falls back as Sully's fist connects with his jaw. Immediately, the other officers jump in to hold Sully back.
Michaels rubs his chin as he stares up at Sully. "What's your problem?"
Sully shrugs off the hands holding him. "I'm okay. It's over." He watches everyone back off slowly. "Move out," he orders gruffly.
Sully waits as the noise in the bar gets back to the normal loud volume. Michaels gets up slowly still rubbing his chin and moves to his stool. Sully leans in towards him and jabs him in the chest with his index finger. "You don't talk to my partner, you don't look at my partner, you don't even think about my partner. You got that. 'Cause the next time I catch you breathing in his direction, you're gonna have to answer to me."
Michaels pushes Sully's hand away and looks back at him angrily. "Well, you're a fine one to talk. You're the one who wanted him out of your hair," he says accusingly. "And I heard about that prank he pulled today. You need to teach that little punk a lesson, so stop whining 'cause I did you favour."
"You did me a favour?" Sully laughs sarcastically. "I didn't ask you to beat the crap out of him. So you and your idiot partner better heed my warning and stay the hell away from him," he warns before turning away and walking out.
TW~TW~TW
Sully stands in front of Bosco's door, keys in hand. He hesitates before unlocking it and letting himself in. He's the last person Bosco wants to see right now but he has to make sure he's okay.
The apartment is silent as Sully makes his way into the living room. Bosco is sleeping on the couch, sitting in the same position he was in when he left earlier.
Sully places the keys on the table, noticing the ice is semi-melted and the glass of water is still full.
He turns on the lamp next to the couch and moves in to take a closer look at Bosco who doesn't react at all. His breathing remains slow and even, and despite the blood and dirt caked onto his face and uniform, he looks like a little kid.
Sully is unsure of what to do next. Bosco is still wearing his gun belt and vest. If he tries to remove them it will probably wake him up. He sighs then takes a look around the apartment. The first thing that strikes him is how neat and ordered everything is. Although the furnishings are sparse, nothing seems to be out of place and everything is spotless. Must be the military training, he thinks.
He looks back down at Bosco, noticing the bruises forming under his eyes and the swelling of his lip. He decides it's best to let him rest for now then reaches down to touch his hand; it's ice cold. Sully walks toward the bedroom, searching for a blanket or a throw. He returns to the living room and covers Bosco before retrieving the ice bag on the table and dumping the contents into the kitchen sink.
Sully stands there contemplating the events of the night and his part in all of this. He sighs wearily before removing his jacket and draping it over one of the kitchen chairs. He returns to the living room, making himself comfortable on the couch across from Bosco and settling in for the night.
TW~TW~TW
The morning light begins to filter into the apartment causing Sully to stir. He blinks the sleep out of his eyes then scrubs his face with his hands. He takes a peek at his watch as he stifles a yawn. It's almost 7 a.m.
He remembers where he is and rises to check on Bosco. The kid hasn't moved at all since last night; he's still sitting there, his head turned slightly to one side, the blanket half way up his chest.
Sully works the kinks out of his neck before getting up. He definitely needs to get Bosco out of those clothes and cleaned up. If he's feeling this bad about sleeping on the couch he can imagine how Bosco's gonna feel.
Sully removes the blanket and moves Bosco's hands from their resting place on his abdomen. He takes a hold of Bosco's belt and deftly unhooks the buckle. He glances at Bosco when he senses a change to his breathing. Bosco has a slight grimace on his face but his eyes remain closed. "Bosco, can you hear me?"
"Um," is all Bosco can muster.
Sully positions himself in front of Bosco, pulls him forward and tugs the belt out from behind his back. He leans him back into the couch when Bosco blinks his eyes are blood shot and dilated with the bruising underneath his eyes turning a deep purple.
"I thought I told you to leave." Bosco croaks out dryly.
"I did, but I came back."
"Well, you can go now," Bosco whispers as his voice cracks.
"I'm just gonna help you get cleaned up, okay Bosco?"
"I don't need your help." Bosco closes his eyes to avoid Sully's gaze.
"Okay, then I'll call the house and tell them you're sick because you shouldn't be working today."
Bosco's eyes shoot open. "Don't tell them I'm sick…they'll notice...," his voice trails off, looking away from Sully. "Tell them I fell down the stairs," he says lowly.
Sully eyes him suspiciously. "You've got this all figured out, huh? They'll put you on desk duty until you're cleared by a doctor."
"Just tell them you took me to the hospital and everything checked out, just some bumps and bruises." Bosco looks at Sully intensely as if to say 'you owe me this much.'
Sully stares at him for a minute and feels the same sense of unease as the night before. "Seems like you've fallen down the stairs before," he blurts out unintentionally. He realizes his mistake, regretting his words as soon as he sees the shame etched across Bosco's features.
Bosco turns away. "Just leave," he says tiredly.
Sully chastises himself for a moment then turns to the washroom. "I'll run the shower for you," he says over his shoulder.
Bosco sighs deeply, tiltings his head back. He doesn't have the strength to argue. He can hear the water being turned on and he can almost feel the soothing effect it will have on him. He looks down, realizing he's wearing his turtleneck over his vest; that's gonna be a bitch to get off. He tries to get his arm out from the sleeve.
"There, it's all ready for you." Sully returns and spots Bosco trying to raise his arm.
Bosco allows his arm to drop back to his side and decides it might be best to do this in the washroom away from Sully's watchful eye.
"Let me help you get that off." Sully moves in quickly not allowing Bosco time to refuse or get up from the couch.
Bosco breathes a sigh of relief at Sully's offer but pretends not to care. Each movement causes pain to shoot through his shoulders and he does all possible to stifle any groans.
Finally, Sully extricates the turtleneck and vest from him and offers a hand to pull him up. Bosco ignores it, pushing himself up slowly. He somehow wills his stiff body to move into the washroom and closes the door behind him.
Bosco goes to work peeling off the rest of his muddy and sweat stained clothes, it is more of a chore than he imagined. The only thing keeping him going is the sweet sound of the shower. As the last item of clothing drops to the floor, he gazes at his reflection in the mirror. Dried blood and dirt cover most of his face. He looks likes shit. Slowly, he runs his hand across the bruises forming on his face and side. He tries to twist around to view the back of his knee but he can't manage that move.
He needs to use the head but the memory of last night causes him to hesitate. He turns on the tap and drinks greedily. He didn't realize how thirsty he was before and he needs to drink as much water as possible to help pass the blood.
He moves over to the toilet and relieves himself. He bites down on his lip to suppress any sounds Sully might be listening for. He feels hot and flushed at the effort and quickly dispenses the evidence.
He limps over to the shower and gingerly steps into the tub. The water feels like an oasis to his battered body. The temporary pain he feels from the water pelting him is replaced by the comfort of its warmth.
Bosco stands there and lets it flow over him for a few minutes. He reaches down for the soap and slowly washes away all the dirt, sweat and blood. He watches the water swirling at his feet and wishes it was just as easy to get rid of the bad memories and the hurt.
He feels his eyes water and immediately moves forward to let the water flow over his head. The shower provides him sanctuary from feeling the hot tears spilling out and he takes this opportunity to let his emotions get the better of him.
TW~TW~TW
Sully looks up at the clock again. It's been nearly 25 minutes, what the hell is he doing in there. He walks over to the washroom door and hesitates before knocking.
"Bosco, you okay in there?" Sully hears the shower running but can't make out any other sounds.
"Bosco, I'm coming in." He waits and slowly turns the handle. He notices the rest of Bosco's clothes in a pile on the floor and a bath towel hanging off a hook beside the tub.
"Bosco?"
There is a slight sniffle behind the shower curtain. "Can't you leave me the f-ck alone," he lashes out. "You didn't want me around, now you can't leave me alone. Get the f-ck out of my apartment. You're not welcome here."
Sully pauses before speaking because there's nothing he can say right now to make things better. "I just want to make sure you're okay."
"Well, you should have thought about that last night. But, thanks for the concern. Now leave."
Sully stares at the shower curtain helplessly then turns and exits. A minute later Bosco hears the front door shutting and he breathes a sigh of relief.
TW~TW~TW
Sully rode by himself that first day. He tried to call Bosco but all he got was his answering machine. He left a couple of messages but never got any callbacks.
On the second day, Sully decided to drive by Bosco's apartment to check on him and offer him a lift to work if he was up to coming in. It was a few hours before they were due to be at roll call.
Sully walks up the two flights of stairs and knocks lightly. He hears movement before the door is opened slightly and a woman peers out at him. "Yes, can I help you?"
Sully is slightly surprised. "Uh...yeah, I was looking for Maurice Boscorelli."
"Are you a friend?"
"I'm his partner...um, his partner at work," he clarifies.
The woman glances back and then quietly closes the door. Sully hears the chain being removed and waits for the door to open. She steps into the corridor, closing the door gently behind her.
She looks at Sully intensely. "What happened to Maurice?"
Sully swallows and looks away. "He had a bit of an accident. He fell down some stairs."
The woman eyes him and crosses her arms. "Sure he did."
"I'm sorry, I'm John Sullivan." He sticks out his hand relieved that this woman has no idea how he is involved in Bosco's 'accident'.
She takes his hand. "Rose Boscorelli. I'm Maurice's mother."
Sully speaks before Rose has a chance to read the guilt on his face. "How's he doing?"
"He's been better." She pauses briefly. "Did he tell you he fell down some stairs?"
"Yeah, he did."
"Well, I don't buy that and I don't think you do either John."
"Mrs. Boscorelli, I really don't know much more than what Bosco's told me." Sully was glad this really was the truth and he hoped she would believe him.
Rose continues to stare at him but then her eyes soften slightly. "Maybe, he'll talk to you about it," she says hopefully. "He never tells me anything, anymore. Says he doesn't want to worry me."
Sully nods and looks down at his feet. "Well, I just wanted to check on him and see if he was up to coming to work today."
"Well, that's his plan unless I can convince him otherwise. I'll stay with him for a while, and if he insists on going in today, I'll drive him."
Sully nods and turns to leave.
"John," Rose gazes at him imploringly, "please watch over him."
Sully tries to swallow down the guilt and shame before replying. "Of course, I will."
"Thank you." She turns, enters the apartment and shuts the door behind her.
TBC...