I didn't see it coming and what's more once it did, I didn't fight it. The truth was I loved Bosco.

It started when I'd stopped by to see him. He was still unconscious at the time. Lying there all bandaged, he looked so vulnerable…so in pain…so un-Bosco. Over the years I could count the times we'd actually touched on just one hand. Now I just wanted to take him in my arms and hold him…shelter him from anymore pain…anymore suffering. I couldn't bear to see him like that. I know it may have seemed like I was trying to mother him again but it wasn't like that. I have two children. I know how it feels to want to protect your child. I know what its like to want to take away your child's pain. With Bosco, it wasn't like that. It wasn't the same thing.

As the weeks passed, my feelings for Bosco didn't change. If anything, they were stronger. When I heard that he was awake, I couldn't get to Mercy fast enough. Had Bosco known he would have laughed, telling me I'd gone too far. I'm a cop. Sometimes you gotta use lights and sirens and hearing that Bosco was awake was one of those times.

I arrived at Mercy…my heart pounding in my chest. I struggled to catch my breath. On one hand I was so happy to hear that Bosco was awake…that he was fighting to make it back. On the other hand…and I know it sounds clique but what do you say to someone who saves your life? Funny the hours I'd spent with Bosco and suddenly I was at a loss for words.

I made it to the elevator. Three times I watched the elevators doors open, Three times I unable to make my feet move. Three times I watched the doors close again. It was the fourth time that I found the strength to move from the safety of the elevator.

I prayed that he wasn't alone…that Rose or someone else was with him. I still wasn't sure what it was I had to say or how to say it. If Rose or someone else was there, it'd be easier. But, on the other hand, I hoped that he was alone. The last thing I wanted to do was cry in front of him…to cry for him. It had never been my style and I didn't want to start now…not like this.

Bosco had been strong for me…many times. He'd been strong when Fred had the heart attack and he'd been strong when Emily overdosed. He'd always been my strength when I needed him to be. Now I had to do that for him. I'd been there when he'd stopped breathing and I was there when Rose heard the truth. Now I had to do it one more time.

I made it as far as his doorway. He was turned, not looking right at the door. As I got closer I saw that he wasn't awake. I let out the breath I'd been holding in. I took a seat in a chair that had become more familiar to me than those in my apartment. I sat there for however long it was…watching him sleep. I watched his chest rise and fall…I listened to the sound of him breathing. In part that was a comfort but the stillness also left me feeling uneasy.

Losing my inner battle I reached out, my hand barely touching his before I pulled it back. It took me a few more minutes before I reached out once more, this time letting my hand rest on his. He moved slightly but didn't wake up. After a while longer, my strength mounted and I took his hand in mine, not only holding it but bringing it to my cheek, I closed my eyes feeling the warmth of his hand against my cheek. It was only when I opened them again that I noticed he was awake…that he was looking at me with those incredible blue eyes.

What I did next was exactly what I'd wanted to not do…I cried. And Bosco did what he'd never done before. He treated me like a lady, gently wiping my tears with his fingertips.

"I've missed you," I whispered between tears.

"Faith…" he replied, his voice still a little raspy partly from having been in a coma for so long and partly from having just woke up.

"Bosco…I thought I lost you…I thought I lost you and all I kept thinking was how much I needed you."

"I'm okay…." he said, his voice getting stronger as the sleepiness of it wore off. "You're okay….I saw…through the window…the shooter…all I could think of…you're really okay?"

"I am now," I said, the first smile on my face since I'd entered the room. "Seeing you awake…hearing your voice…I'm okay now."

"Ma said you were there…you told her?"

He said this as a question although he knew it to be true. He already knew that I'd been there to tell Rose. I think he just needed to hear that she had really been okay…that she hadn't been alone.

"Yeah…Lieu wanted to tell her but I knew it had to come from me…I stayed with her…I was with her until she fell asleep."

"Thank you."

"I should be thanking you…you saved my life Bos. If you hadn't pulled me out of the way…I could have…Emily and Charlie might not have a mother."

"That didn't happen…you're okay."

"I'm sorry Bos…for not believin' in you…for calling you useless…for saying you were selfish…you're not useless and you're not selfish. You protected me…you could have been killed…you almost didn't make it. I'll never forget this…I'll never forget that you saved my life"

"You were upset Faith…when you said those things…I know you didn't mean 'em."

"You have no idea how important you are to me…I don't know what I'd do without you. I can't talk to anyone else the way I can talk to you. I've missed you so much."

"Faith…ma…ma told me about Fred…"

"Not now Bos…I don't wanna talk about Fred. I just wanna sit here with you…I wanna sit here and talk to my best friend."

He nodded my head taking the hint that Fred wasn't important…at least not at the moment. Instead he held tighter to my hand; lacing his fingers with mine.

"Just so you know…whenever you need to talk…I'm here."

"Promise me something Bosco…promise me you'll get better…promise me you won't leave me?"

"I will…get better I mean. I'm not going anywhere…I promise."

The days that followed were pretty much the same. I visited Bosco whenever possible. It took me a couple weeks before I came clean about everything with Fred. I wasn't sure how much he already had heard so I started from the beginning…well almost the beginning.

"He had me served at work," I explained. "I came down the stairs with Sullivan and some guy handed me the papers…divorce papers from Fred. Sully was okay with it. He tried to talk to me about it…he was nice about it but it wasn't the same. I couldn't talk to him like I talk to you."

"At work…he knew your schedule…you're home most of the day…all morning…and he serves you at work…son of a …"

"Yeah well it shouldn't have surprised me. I mean if I think about it, my marriage was over a year ago…maybe before then. Things haven't been real good since he had the heart attack. He changed after that and we never really clicked again. Then Emily almost died…after that we fought a lot. He knew Emily was having sex…he told her it was okay as long as she used protection. It'd okay…you believe that?"

"I guess it shouldn't surprise me. She is sixteen but…I don't know…it seems like she grew up overnight. It wasn't that long ago that she was a little girl…"

"Yeah I know…seems like she went from six to sixteen. Anyway, when she almost died from those drugs…Fred and I…just like everything else, we didn't see eye to eye on it. We didn't get through that together. We got through it on our own in our own way. From there things just got worse."

"You should of told me…talked to me about things…"

"We weren't doing too much talking at the time. You and me…we were too busy arguing and calling each other names to talk about anything else."

"Except for Cruz…I should've listening to you when you warned me about her."

"Look how long it took me to catch on to the two of you. Shows how much we were listening to one another. Had I been paying attention I should have seen it…I should have realized the two of you weren't just working together."

"It wasn't one of my best moments. Not only did we stop talking but….I don't know what was worse…working with her and that mess or sleeping with her?"

"Tough call?"

"Not really…the working with her mess…that almost got you killed. I've done a lot of dumb things on the job but I never regretted any as much as that day…dragging you into that mess and then watching you get shot. I never forgave myself for that."

"I did…in fact there was never anything to forgive. Bosco you were trying to make things right. You couldn't stand by and watch someone go to jail for a murder he didn't commit. I got shot helping you do what was right. Besides, I could've said no…I could've stopped before I ever went in that hotel room. I could've left the room when Cruz showed up. I could've let Noble go and gone after him later. We could have done a lot of things differently. One thing's for sure. I don't regret helping you try to make a situation right."

"But you still got shot…"

"The only thing I regret about that day is telling you to go away not that you listened to me anyway."

When Bosco smiled with that trademark caught with his hand in the cookie jar smile, I had to smile too. I'd seen that same smile hundreds of times and whenever he did it, we both seemed to forget whatever it was that's brought it on. This time was no exception.

"A lot of people had their doubts…that you'd come back to work."

"They didn't listen to you when you told them otherwise?"

"Most of them weren't speaking to me period."

"But you knew?"

"I knew being a cop was important to you…I knew it was a big part of who you are. If there was any chance, you'd be back."

"You seemed surprised when I called you…asked you to meet me?"

"I was…I mean how long had it been since we talked? Yeah, I was surprised when you called."

"It was important to me…not just coming back to work but making things right with you. We'd been through too much together. I didn't want to lose you. And if I was going to come back to work, it had to be with you. I didn't want any other partner. I didn't trust anyone else the way I trusted you. I knew if anything happened…."

It was at that moment that I lost it…tears streaming down my face. Through my tears I managed a few words.

"Then the shooting started…when it stopped….you didn't move…I knew it was bad...I"

"Faith?" he replied, teaching out and taking my hand. I held onto him as the tears continued. I was sobbing as I spoke

"When I turned around…you'd been shot…I saw what the bullets did ….I saw all the blood…then you stopped breathing….I started CPR…I kept doing over and over…but you wouldn't breath…nobody was coming to help you...nobody came…you were dying in my arms and nobody came to help you…"

My last few words were mumbled as Bosco pulled me to him. I collapsed into him, my head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around me…holding me as I sobbed.

I don't know how long Bosco held me. I only know that I felt his arms around me and I felt his hands softly stroking my hair. I know I felt the warmth of his body next to mine. I know two more things…the two most important things. As I regained my composure, I felt the rise and fall of his chest and I could hear the beating of his heart. Weeks earlier on a cold tile floor, I'd begged him to breathe…I'd pleaded with him to live. And he did.