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 was previously posted on another Third Watch site but no longer available there. I was encouraged to post it here by Joey and Orison.
I've taken the liberty of editing this story, as it was written on the fly when originally posted. Some of the chapters will be merged or changed slightly in the hope of enhancing the story.
Thanks for your wonderful reviews.
Sully sits patiently in the nurses' lounge. He cradles a lukewarm cup of coffee in his hands. He stares straight ahead, his eyes not focused on anything in particular.
The nurse who took Bosco up for his CT enters and quickly marches to her locker. She grabs a few items before turning towards Sully. "Officer Boscorelli is back in the ER," she says matter-of-factly.
Sully looks up at her, only realizing then that she was talking to him. Not sure he heard her correctly, he repeats her statement. "Officer Boscorelli's back in the ER?"
She rolls her eyes before answering. "Yeah, he's back in the exam room. The doctor will be with him shortly. He's reviewing his results now. I better get back to him and make sure he's not sleeping," she says with an evil grin.
Sully springs into action at the sound of her words. "If it's okay with you, I'll go and check on him. Take your time here." He stands and tosses the half filled cup of coffee into the wastebasket before exiting quickly.
Sully makes his way back to the exam room and finds Bosco in the same area as before. Actually, none of the players have changed since the nurse wheeled Bosco out over an hour ago. The old man on the opposite side is still coughing and the other patient is moaning and groaning about something.
Bosco is just lying there, his eyes drooping to half-mast before he catches himself and opens them wide to keep awake.
"Hey, Bosco." Sully moves right over him so he doesn't have to look sideways. Bosco smiles in recognition.
"Hey," he manages to croak out.
"The doctor is checking your results now and he'll be in to talk to you soon."
"I wanna go home," Bosco whines tiredly.
"The doctor will be here shortly," Sully says positively and smiles down at Bosco. "Just try and relax."
"Can I sleep?"
"I don't think that's an option according to your nurse." Sully looks up and scans the area outside the room. He sees Lieutenant Swersky walking towards them. "Lieu, is here," he says and then looks down at Bosco.
"I don't want him to see me."
"Too late, here he comes."
Swersky pushes the door open and walks to the opposite side of the bed from Sully. Bosco has his eyes closed and is breathing deeply. Swersky eyes him for a second before looking back up at Sully.
"How is he?"
"The doctor is reviewing some test results and he'll be in shortly." Sully says evenly.
"Does this have anything to do with the 'spill' he took a few days ago?"
Sully senses that lieu knows more than he's letting on and this could be his opportunity to get back at Michaels and Giambetti. "Yeah," he nods and stares at Lieu.
"Bosco?" Swersky asks impatiently. "Bosco?"
Bosco opens his eyes and searches out Sully before turning to the Lieutenant.
"Bosco, this is important, did Michaels and Giambetti do this?" Swersky can't contain the anger in his voice.
"What?" Bosco croaks out. His eyes reflect the lack of understanding of the question.
Lieu repeats the question a little more gently at the sight of Bosco's confusion. "Did Michaels and Giambetti have anything to do with this?"
Bosco looks around as if trying to decide what to do. "No," he says as he tries to shake his head but the collar prevents the movement. "No," he repeats emphatically.
"Bosco, you don't have to be afraid." Lieu says quietly.
Bosco's breathing gets heavier and he begins to clench his hands.
Sully intercedes as he sees Bosco's agitation intensifying with this whole line of questioning. "Lieu, maybe we should wait before having this conversation." Sully raises his eyebrows slightly and juts out his chin towards Bosco. Lieu takes his cue and looks down at Bosco and back to Sully.
Swersky softens his tone. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make this worse."
"I'll give you an update later, Lieu."
Swersky takes one last look at Bosco before nodding apologetically to Sully and walking out.
Bosco steadies his breathing before opening his eyes again and staring up at Sully. "You told him, didn't you?" he asks accusingly.
"No, I didn't tell him anything." Sully replies without wavering. He holds Bosco's gaze.
Bosco continues to stare at him, watching for signs of betrayal, when he finds none he relaxes slightly. "Then who, huh?"
"I don't know but Lieu's been around for a long time. He knows what's going on in his precinct and this wasn't the first time those guys have done something like this."
Bosco closes his eyes. "Then, why did you let them do that to me?"
"Bosco, I tried to explain. It was supposed to be Grady and Dubois. I never would have asked those two morons...I'm sorry, really, I am."
"Officer Boscorelli." Dr. Beck enters the area holding some paperwork. "I have your results."
"I'll be outside if you need me." Sully says as he moves from where he stands.
"You can stay," Bosco whispers and then slowly opens his eyes to look up at Sully.
Sully nods his head in acknowledgment and steps aside to let the doctor by.
"Well, the head CT is clear. No indication of any brain lesions or bleeding due to the concussion you suffered." The doctor looks concerned but continues.
"The other injuries caused some bruising especially to the kidney and that's why we found blood in your urine. The ultrasound did not show any permanent damage and the discomfort you feel when you urinate should clear itself out in a few days." He looks down at Bosco to make sure he understands.
"You blood work also shows some indication dehydration and exhaustion. Some rest and the IV should take care of that." He reads through a few more lines and flips through the other pages looking for something. "I can't say with absolute certainty if any of this contributed to the severity of your symptoms tonight but I am concerned. It could likely be post concussion syndrome but I'd like to keep you overnight just to rule that out."
"No... I wanna go home." Bosco moans out again.
"Officer Boscorelli, I really do recommend that you stay. We could monitor you overnight and then you can go home tomorrow." Dr. Beck says sternly.
Bosco groans in desperation. "I just wanna sleep."
"You can go to sleep right now. I'll have your nurse wake you up every two hours during the night, and if everything checks out okay we'll sign you out by lunch." Dr. Beck reaches over to remove the cervical collar.
Bosco moans pitifully at the thought of the nurse startling him out of a restful sleep throughout the night. "No...I wanna go home."
"Well, I can't keep you here. You can sign out AMA with some home care instructions. You'll need to be awakened every two hours during the next 24 hour period just to rule out post concussion syndrome."
"Maurice?"
The three of them all look up at the same time as Mrs. Boscorelli makes her way into the room. Her coat is unfastened and her scarf is hanging off her shoulder. Her expression is one of contained panic.
Mrs. Boscorelli pushes past Sully before he has a chance to slow her down and calm her fears.
"Maurice? Maurice, what happened?" She grabs his hand and visually checks him out. Her eyes run over him expecting to find blood or worse.
"I'm fine, Ma." Bosco sighs as he closes his eyes so not to look at her.
Mrs. Boscorelli looks up at the doctor expectantly. "What's wrong with him?"
"There really isn't anything wrong. He needs some rest and liquids, and he should be good as new."
"What happened?" She questions Sully now and he feels her eyes boring through him.
"Uh, he passed out." Sully's not sure what she wants to hear or what he should be telling her. He peers over at Bosco for help but he has his eyes closed.
"Maurice?" She takes his face in her hands as Bosco tries to turn away. "Maurice, look at me." She holds his face so that he'll be forced to look at her when he opens his eyes.
He blinks up at her slowly. "Ma..." It comes out more as a whine than an acknowledgement. He stares at her for a second before guiltily closing his eyes again.
Mrs. Boscorelli searches his face for answers then asks, "Maurice, was this like the other times?" Her voice is steady and firm but her eyes fill with tears.
"Has he had similar symptoms before?" Dr Beck asks.
Mrs. Boscorelli ignores the question. Her attention is focused solely on her son. "Maurice, tell me. I can't help you if you don't tell me," she pleads quietly while smoothing back the hair from his forehead.
Bosco doesn't open his eyes. "Please...don't do this now."
"Mrs. Boscorelli, if there's something I should know, it's best to advise me now." Dr. Beck looks at her enquiringly.
Mrs. Boscorelli, searches Bosco's face for a few seconds then turns to face the doctor, her hand still holding Bosco's.
"Can he come home with me?" She asks worriedly.
"No," Bosco blurts out. "I gotta stay overnight," he says with a shaky voice.
Mrs. Boscorelli turns back to stare at Bosco. He turns his eyes away from her and her face shifts from worry to anger as she looks down at the floor. The uneasiness in the room is palpable at this point. Sully shifts his weight from one foot to the other and no one dares look at anyone else.
"Fine. Call me if you need me," she says coldly before turning and walking away.
TBC...