I wrote this awhile ago, but never posted it here. I'm not so sure about it now, but here it is. Apologies if you've seen it elsewhere. It was previously 'The Matchmaker', but I've since found a fic of the same name, so I changed it. R&R, please.
Part 1 – Memories and Hopes
The sun streamed in through the window and blizzards of dust sparkled in its rays. Piles of boxes were littered over the floor of the apartment, treasure troves of forgotten memories patiently biding their time until they would be remembered once more. Emily watched her mother as she flipped through an old photo album. She turned a page to reveal Bosco, smirking up at her through ten years of time. The page stayed turned for a long time as Faith stared at Bosco. Emily observed her mother closely, watching her face betray the range of emotions that engulfed her. First, a smile played across her lips and she sighed softly. A hand reached out and gently brushed the dust away. "What would I do without you?" she murmured.
Memories flashed through Faith's mind like snapshots, or rather, little video clips. Bosco on their first day at the Police Academy... Bosco teaching her to shoot... Bosco scrubbed up and smart in his dress uniform as they graduated from the academy... Her mind whirled faster and faster. Bosco tumbling from a window, limbs flailing as he fell... Bosco lying shot on the floor because she hadn't been there to back him up... Bosco falling into her arms as he broke down in tears... Bosco stepping into the bank unarmed... Bosco pleading with her to help him this one last time... Bosco's face as she told him to go away, to leave her and her family alone... Bosco learning of Mikey's death... Bosco frantically trying to help Rose as she lay trapped under the car... Bosco pulling her to the ground and shielding her with his own body as the bullets flew... Bosco lying bandaged and unconscious in a hospital bed, pale and vulnerable... Bosco, still in hospital, holding her hand, his eyes telling her everything would be all right. She snapped back into her living room, seeing Emily looking at her contemplatively. "What are you looking at me like that for?"
"He means a lot to you."
"Bosco? Yeah, he's my partner."
Emily smiled slowly. "I've never seen Sully look at Ty the way you do at Bosco."
Faith stared at her. She swallowed. "Look Emily, there's nothing going on between me and Bosco. That isn't what the divorce was about."
Emily held her eye contact steadily. "I know that. I'm just saying... maybe there should be." She couldn't hide her smile at the shocked look on Faith's face. "I mean he'd do anything for you. He took four bullets for you. He would have died for you without hesitating. If that isn't enough to think he cares about you, I don't know what is."
"He has my back and I have his. That's the job. We're friends, but he doesn't think of me in any other way." Faith looked away. 'And you have no idea how much that hurts,' she added silently.
"How can you know that he doesn't want anything more? Has he ever said that?"
"He doesn't have to. Anyway, Bosco's got a new girlfriend every week of the year; a younger, prettier girlfriend than me. I can't compete with them." 'I couldn't even keep my own husband,' she thought miserably, 'and he wasn't even much of a looker.'
Emily studied her nails closely. "I don't think you'd have to compete with them. Has it occurred to you that he has a new girlfriend every week because he doesn't like them very much? I'll bet Bosco would be devoted to the right woman." She looked up suddenly. "And you are that woman. I know it."
Faith's heart leapt momentarily. No. She pushed it down again and clamped it in its position. She could not open herself up to the possibility of that kind of hurt. If she lost Bosco it would tear her apart; she could not face the rest of her life without her partner. Better never to cross that line than to lose him forever, better to have the solidity of a deep friendship than to risk that for... what? His body? What else was there she didn't already have? A little voice spoke 'His love?' She sighed. It was easier to deal with the agony of being so close to him and yet so far than the dead numbness of never being able to speak to him again. At least this way she could kid herself, even if only for a few seconds at a time, that he really did care about her. The alternative certainty that he did not love her would be too much to bear. If he found out... She wouldn't be able to cope with his disgust and scorn, not even his pity. What would he want with her? She was a divorced mother of two who toted a gun for a living. Unless Emily was right, was she was misjudging him? The little voice that piped up from the back of her mind was quickly squashed down. No. She voiced it out loud "No." It was too great a risk to take. Emily watched her mother struggling with her insecurities. How could she convince her to open her heart and feel again? She knew... she just knew that if her Mom could let Bosco in...
