A Little "Family" Fun, Chapter 1

Premise: The muse needed to work on something a little lighthearted, so….Bosco awakens from his coma (mentally intact, well he'll get there at least, but almost totally paralyzed and unable to speak) to find to his horror that Sully and Rose have become very close. Humor and angst or shall I say humorous angst ensues on a "family" outing to the zoo.

Rated: PG or PG -13

Disclaimers: I do not own them. Thanks to a friend for throwing out ideas that got the muse's beady little brain churning.

Note: Double "quotes" are spoken words, Single 'quotes' are thoughts.

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"Are we ready to go?" Sully asked, giving Rose a one armed hug.

'Sul? What are you doing here?' Bosco thought, tried to say, but he couldn't get his lips to move, just like he couldn't get his body to move, or this wheelchair to move. He could only move a few fingers on his right hand and that took great effort.

"Yes, we're ready." Rose replied hesitantly, her eyes shimmering with tears.

"Hey" Sully spoke softly, turning Rose's face towards him. "What's wrong?"

Bosco looked on curiously trying to figure out what was wrong with this picture.

"Nothing, I'm ok." Rose replied quickly, wiping her eyes with her hand.

"Rosie?" Sully questioned.

'Rosie?' Bosco pondered.

"I'm ok, John. Really. I guess I'm just…well I'm excited and a little afraid at the same time." Rose confided.

"That's understandable. This is a big step and it won't be easy, but…hey, look at me…" Sully tipped Rose's chin up so he could see her eyes, "I'm here for you, Rose."

"I know. I know, John. You don't know how much that means to me." Rose answered, embracing Sully in a hug which he quickly returned.

'Rosie?' Bosco mentally shook his head.

"So what did the neurologist say?" Sully asked as he stepped back from Rose and looked over at Bosco's blank stare.

"She thinks he may continue to improve very slowly, but she can't say how much better he'll get. She's arranged for physical therapy and speech therapy at home three days a week and then I can work with him the other days."

"We can work with him." Sully reminded her, causing Rose to smile.

"We can work with him on the other days." Rose agreed. "And maybe do other things like take him to the park, anything to get him out of the house and around other people. The doctor says the more exposure he has to people and places he knows, the better chance there is that he'll start to respond.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Sully replied. "So, ready?"

Rose shook her head and Sully turned toward Bosco. "Hey, Bosco. How are you doing today, buddy? Are you ready to go home?"

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Bosco was startled as the door beside him jerked open and Sully's face suddenly appeared. 'Sul?'

"Hey, Bosco. We're home. Are you ready to get out of here?" Sully chirped.

Bosco looked down, suddenly wondering why he was sitting in the back seat of someone's car in baby blue pajamas with one of Rose's afghans draped over his legs. He pursed his lips slightly intending to ask Sully just that, but couldn't form the words. Looking back up he saw Sully smiling at him and suddenly wondered if ole Sul had himself a new woman. He hadn't seen the guy this happy in years. 'Must be SOME chick.' He mused, the corners of his mouth turning upward slightly.

"Is that a smile I see?" Sully asked. "I guess you are happy to be home. Ok, here we go." Sully reached forward slipping one hand behind Bosco's back. While tucking the afghan in around Bosco's legs, he realized the catheter bag was lying in the floorboard. "Can't forget that, can we?" He almost chuckled, placing the bag in Bosco's lap. "You'd never forgive old Sul for that one, would you? Alright, up we go!" Sully grunted as he lifted Bosco from the seat and moved the few feet to place him in his wheelchair.

As Sully stood up to straighten his clothes, Bosco saw Rose standing before him. 'Ma?'

Rose smiled lovingly at her son, stroking his cheek gently with her fingers, seeing something...perhaps a hint of recognition in his eyes. "We're home, baby. Welcome home."

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Four weeks later:

"John is such a sweet man. Don't you think, Maurice? He's been a big help to me, especially when….well, when we didn't know how things were going to turn out with you. Here, take one more bite." Rose instructed, pushing a spoonful of applesauce into Bosco's mouth. "Don't frown like that, Maurice. Applesauce is good for you."

Bosco cringed inwardly. Not in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that John Sullivan's new woman would be his mother. But it was obvious that the two had something going on. Sully was all Rose talked about these days. And if she wasn't talking about him, he was there with them. He came over every morning and either helped with Bosco's therapy or visited with Rose while the therapist worked with Bosco. And then he ate lunch with them before leaving for work.

Bosco frowned again as Rose continued to babble as if she were talking to a two year old. He had become much more mentally aware of what was going on around him over the last couple of weeks, but still could not make his body respond appropriately. When he moved his right hand, what little movement he could make, it felt as if it belonged to someone else and he still couldn't manage to form a word no matter how hard he tried. And Rose's talking to him like he was a baby and coddling him was infuriating. He just wanted to tell her to "STOP, MOM! I'M NOT A CHILD! I'M A GROWN MAN!" But he couldn't; much to his dismay he was completely dependent on her. She fed him, bathed him, even cleaned him when he took a dump. Bosco didn't know which was more humiliating, Rose cleaning him or Sully helping with his exercises. But then again, things could be worse. At least he'd never had Sully clean him up after a dump. He had to smile at that thought. Maybe Sully would get enough of him and Rose if he had to do that.

"What's so funny, baby?" Rose inquired seeing the growing grin on her son's face. She was happy that he seemed to be making some progress, although it was very slow. He was actually able to eat some soft foods and thickened liquids now, although she was still supplementing him through a gastric tube. He was moving his right hand more, but at times it seemed more random than purposeful. In fact, his physical therapist had been trying to teach him to maneuver his motorized wheelchair with a hand control but had had little luck. At times he seemed confused about what he was supposed to do and at other times he simply seemed disinterested. When he did manage to get the chair to move, he seemed to have no control over it and had already broken a lamp and a vase. On a good note, he was beginning to show more emotion through his facial expression, but he still couldn't talk. He could make noises, but nothing that sounded like a real word yet; although the speech therapist seemed certain that he was definitely trying to relay something to them. Rose still had to wonder how much of her son was in there somewhere and how much was gone forever. But for now she'd cherish every improvement, no matter how small.

"You like John too, don't you?" Rose asked as she shoved a spoon full of mashed up green peas into Bosco's mouth. "That's good, baby, because I'll tell you, if there was ever anyone for me after your father, I think John may be that special person."

In mid swallow as Rose said this, Bosco gagged then coughed violently, spewing mushy green peas all over the kitchen table.

"Are you ok, Maurice?" Rose questioned loudly as she came to her feet, wiping his mouth with a hand towel and pounding the middle of his back with her other hand.

"There now. That's better. Here, take a drink." She instructed, lifting his thickened cola up for him. "You never did like those green peas, did you? All better now?" Rose asked, as Bosco took a sip followed by a ragged breath. "Maybe that's enough for now. We need to get you cleaned up and ready for bed. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow." She continued to chatter as she began clearing the table. "John is going to pick us up at 9:00 AM to go to the zoo."

'THE ZOO! The zoo? This is a nightmare….it's worse than a nightmare…I've died and THIS is Hell. Not only is John Doughnut Butt Sullivan after my Ma, but they're actually taking me to the zoo like some overgrown toddler…in this wheelchair…with this CATHETER….and that horrible purple afghan….they're going to parade me around like some freak.' Bosco gasped mentally. 'What did I do to deserve this? What?'

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"Ok, Bosco, are you comfy?" Sully asked, straightening Bosco's shirt after placing him in his wheelchair.

'Oh yeah, I'm just peachy, Sul.'

"Here. We'll just put this right here and cover it right up." Sully said as he placed Bosco's catheter bag in the seat of the chair beside him and covered them both with an afghan.

'Hey, hands off the equipment, Old Man…..At least Ma picked the blue afghan today.'

"You ready, Rose?" Sully asked, as he stood upright.

"I'm definitely ready. I can't believe I'm this excited. I don't think I've been to the zoo since Maurice was eleven or twelve." Rose replied happily.

"Well, let's get started then. There's a lot more to see now I'm sure." Sully answered with grin.

Bosco rolled his eyes. 'Great…I get to tour the zoo with a couple of teenage love birds.'

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'How's it hanging, big boy?'

The elephant threw up his trunk and bellowed out sadly as if he'd heard Bosco's question.

'Yeah, my days have been about the same lately.'

The elephant stepped closer to the fence staring intently at the strange human.

'You must feel as trapped behind that fence as I do in this body.' Bosco thought sadly.

The elephant snorted loudly then moved forward again, snaking his trunk through the fence toward Bosco's right hand. He stopped just short as if he was afraid to actually touch the human beast then barely nuzzled his hand.

Bosco jumped slightly as he tip of the animal's trunk touched his fingers. But he was amazed at the gentleness in the massive animal's touch. Moving his hand, he stroked the rough underside of the elephant's trunk causing the elephant to pull back slightly. 'It's ok, boy. I won't hurt you. I can't hurt you.' The elephant responded in turn, nuzzling Bosco's hand again. 'That's it. It's ok.' Bosco reveled in his connection with this animal, suddenly feeling more alive than he had since the day he'd awakened in that hospital bed.

"I think he likes you, Bosco," Sully chuckled.

The elephant jerked his trunk back at the sound of the other human approaching.

Bosco closed his eyes, angry at Sully's interruption, wishing he'd just get lost and leave him and Rose alone.

"Your Mom wants you to see the tiger exhibit. What do you think about that?" Sully asked, pushing the wheelchair towards Rose.

'I think I'd like to feed someone to the tigers. That's what I think. Here kitty kitty.'

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