I don't know too much about complications, only that my entire life has been one big complicated mess. From my growing up with a jagoff father to my brother's murder, nothing has ever been simple when it comes to the life and times of Officer Maurice Boscorelli. What can I say? I'm a trouble magnet. When I'm not out looking for trouble, I expect it'll come and fine me, biting me in the ass just for the fun of it. Like what happened with Cruz. It was nearly a year ago and I'm still kicking myself over it. It sickens me to think how many times I jumped into bed with that filth. I swear, she's evil incarnate. She's done nothing but complicate my life from the day we first met. She not only tried to turn me dirty and was I believe somehow responsible for Mikey's death, but to top it off she shot my partner. I don't care if Faith thinks Cruz redeemed herself. For me, I'll never forget all the shit she's done and I'll never forgive her for nearly taking Faith from me.
But if there's one person that ranks higher than Cruz on my shit list, it's Fred. Jagoff Number One if you ask me. Not only did he cheat on Faith, he took her to court, won custody of her kids, and then proceeded to move them all the way to the other side of the damn country. Lucky for Fred, Faith made me promise I'd leave him alone. But in a way, I guess Fred finally showing how truly jagoff-worthy he is, got me and Faith back on the right track. During that month and a half of custody battles, for the first time in our partnership she broke down to me, she let me be her rock, her source of strength. For too long she'd always be my safety net, I'm glad to have finally been hers. But the night she lost her family, I don't know what came over us but we actually slept together. She had told me she needed it, told me she needed to feel something again because losing her family left her completely numb. It was so much more than comfort sex for me. I never imagined I could ever feel that good, it was as if I was finally at peace with myself and up until that moment my complicated life was complicated no more. The next morning When I woke up, she was gone. I never really expected her to be there anyway. It was just a one time deal, no strings, nothing, it's what she needed from me, and I sure as hell wouldn't push the subject further. It's never came up since then, but I don't care because I finally got my partner back. Finally I got my Faith back.
It's been a week since Cruz asked us to work Anti-Crime. And a week since Faith has been, I hate to say it, distant. I know it's got something to do with Grace. Ever since that one time before work when Grace came and threw herself all over me, I think that's probably what did it. I'd been seeing Grace for about a month before Faith found out last week. It's not that I was trying to keep this thing I've got with Grace a secret, I just didn't want Faith thinking I'm gonna let Grace take up all of my off duty time now that I'm with her. I mean, I'm still gonna do the little midnight get-togethers I have with Faith every other night at the coffee house, And I'm still gonna drop by her place constantly to check if she's alright. But I really don't know why it would bother Faith that much if I'm dating Grace. I've dated a lot of women throughout the 12 or so years I've known Faith. Women come and go with me, but Faith has always been constant in my life, and that's saying something.
Though, I have to admit, this thing I got going with Grace, it's pretty nice. It's nothing like what I had with Cruz, but that's a good thing. With Cruz, I fell hard, And I fell fast. And I completely disregarded anything bad Faith would say about her. But with Grace, hell she saved Ma's life. I can never express how much I appreciate her for what she did. Maybe that's why I was always nice to her When I saw her around. I didn't think I'd end up dating her, but she's a great girl. And I'm really over that two week fling charade I used to do. I wanna have a serious relationship for the first time in my life. I wanna finally settle down, have a couple of kids. And I've gotta say, Grace is amazing.
"Six bastards down, one more to go." Cruz utters as she looks at the head shots of perps posted on the bulletin board in front of her. I can't stand being in the same room with this woman, I wish Faith would hurry up, she's taking forever in that damn bathroom. Cruz looks over her shoulder at me, a sly grin on her face, "what ya think, Boscorelli? Think you And Yokas can handle the last one?"
"Whatever, Sarge." I reply. I'm completely uninterested in anything she has to say to me right now. We haven't even left the Anti-Crime office because of Faith's sudden love for the bathroom, "if it'll help us wrap up this collar faster then you'll hear no complaining from me."
"Your girlfriend stopped by when you And Yokas were in the locker room." She tells me. I'm glad her back's to me because I can't help the stunned expression that spreads across my face. That was 20 minutes ago and only now she tells me. Boy, her And Grace must have had a pretty interesting conversation.
"She leave a message?" I ask casually, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning back against the table behind me.
"Yeah, but I forgot to write it down." Cruz shrugs and starts to take down the pictures of the guys we already locked up. What's her deal? If she bad mouthed Grace, I'm gonna be pissed.
"What she want?" I push the matter. Why is Cruz even playing this game? She acts like she's the jealous wife or something. SHE throws away the pictures in her hands and then finally turns to look me straight in the eyes. I'm not the same person I was before, those eyes can't burn holes through me the way they used to. I'm not her lap dog anymore.
"By the looks of it, you found a keeper in that one." SHE says to me in an annoyingly sarcastic tone. Can she take that stick out of her ass for just a moment? "Just dropped by to pay her 'man' a visit. I told her she shouldn't have been allowed pass the front desk let alone step foot in my part of the House."
I nod my head, "it's official. I can't date anyone who isn't marked with Cruz Approval. I don't want you talking to Grace again."
"That her name? Wow, Faith And Grace, nice soulful names, aren't they?" She's trying to get under my skin, but hell if I'm gonna let her.
"Give me a break." I say and turn away from her. I walk out of the room and thank God, Faith is there When I turn the corner. Though, it's not the Faith that left me alone in the room with Cruz 15 minutes ago, instead, I see I very sick looking woman in front of me. My overly protective instincts immediately kick in as I lead Faith down stairs and out of the building. I think fresh air could do her some good. Come to think of it, Faith hasn't been looking quite well lately. She spends a lot of time in the bathroom And When she comes out she just smiles at me and says she's fine, When I can tell she's not. I'm not going to give it much thought right now because I'm only going to worry myself sick When I think of the worst.
"You okay?" I ask when we finally get outside. SHE nods as she pulls out a hair clip from her jacket pocket and twists her hair up into one of those elegant buns I've grown so used to seeing on her. "You sure, cause you left me in that room alone with her for a while." I tease, giving her a small smile. SHE looks at me, her eyes bright, but her face too weak to smile back. I'm getting really worried about her.
"What Cruz say?" she asks as she gets into the car, I reel around to the driver's side, explaining in as few words as possible, the essence of my conversation with Cruz. I leave out the part about Grace, I know hearing about her won't make things better for Faith. It seems like Faith's got something against Grace. I don't know, but When I was looking at Faith last night at the coffee house, I had a strange feeling that she's keeping something from me. SHE should know that one way or the other, I'm gonna find out. SHE can't keep things from me for long. The same way I can't keep things from her.
"So this last guy, Lord Mercado, is his name? Cruz wants us to deal with him, alone?" Faith asks as we drive past the fire station. I can't help a glance to see if Grace is there. I can't say I'm disappointed that she not.
"She's got her guys trying to find Mann's right hand, Rick Fuentes. I don't care if she expects us to do this alone, I'm just glad to be out of the HOUSE." We stop at a red light and I'm grateful for this time that I can stretch my aching back. I let out a long yawn, feeling my eyes tearing up because of it.
"You've been working night And day on this collar, maybe you should just take a day off or something," Faith suggests. I look at her, seeing the slight bags under her eyes, And I can't help but respect her more than I already do. She's still concerned about me even when it's her that looks like hell. It's her motherly instincts again.
"I told you, I'm not leaving you alone With Cruz." I'm glad she nods her head in agreement because I really don't want to argue with her on the matter. I'm tired, she's tired, but together we're still one great cop, right?
We ride in silence for a few minutes, I glance a few times at Faith. She's just staring out the window. Sometimes I wish I could read her mind, I want to know what's going on in that head of hers. Then the last time I glance at her, she sits up in her seat, staring at something outside along the sidewalk. I follow her eyes till I see what she's looking at. It's Lord Mercado, and he just spotted us. He takes off down the street.
"Dammit." I hiss under my breath as I speed up, trying to cut him off. Faith should be the one driving, I should be the one ready to jump out of the car and run after that jagoff.
"Stop the car, Bosco." She orders When Mercado takes a turn into a back alley. I've got no choice but to listen to her and as soon as I pull up to the curb she gets out and starts after him. I call after her as I shift the car into park and jump out. I make my way around the car and curse at myself when Faith is no longer in my sight. When did she start running so fast?
I shout into my radio for back up, but I know Cruz won't be here for a good 10 minutes. She's probably still sitting on her ass back at the House. I call into my radio for Faith, my heart racing. I can't help but panic when she's out of my sight, especially when she doesn't answer me. Why is there so many damn back alleys in this city? I turn a corner And I finally see Faith, hunched over in a dead end alley.
"Faith!" I call out to her, grateful when she turns around And looks at me. She's breathing deeply, and sweat trickles from her hairline. Other than that, she seems okay.
"I lost--him." She tells me, between breaths. I nod, but my eyes still search the area, my gun firmly in my grasp. I don't want to take any chances that Mercado's still hiding somewhere. But my attention quickly turns back to Faith when she hunches over a trash can and starts throwing up.
I move behind her and gently run my hand up and down her back, trying to soothe her.
"I shouldn't have run so hard." She tells me as I give her a napkin from my back pocket. She thanks me and wipes her mouth. "Sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me."
"The last time you threw up like this you were--," I stop myself, my eyes widening and realization washing over me as I look at her. How could I have been so blind? HOW could I have not known? She's been so distant lately, always in the bathroom, always uncomfortable when it comes to Grace. Faith's looking at me with a horrified expression, she knows I know.
"Boz." she utters but I'm not looking at her anymore. I'm looking down at the ground, speechless.
"--you were pregnant." I finish, just above a whisper, my mouth still hung open. I can't believe this. This is her secret, I know she was keeping something from me. I snap out of it, trying to find the right words to say. I look up and notice Faith's eyes are now looking pass me. In her eyes I see the same fear I saw that day in the hospital right before...
I turn around just as Faith screams fro me to get down. I see Mercado, he's holding a gun pointed straight at me. Before I can react, I'm suddenly shoved to the side. My world completely falls apart as I turn And watch two bullets take Faith to the ground.