Disclaimer: I do not own Third Watch or any of the characters associated.

Chapter 1

I stepped out of 55-David with a smile on my face. I couldn't believe that Faith had done all this for me, but I was glad, nonetheless. I had been anxious to get out of that hospital for the longest time, and I was happy enough when Faith and Emily showed up to take me home… But she had gone all out for me. She had brought back our car and called me partner, something that I'll be forever grateful for.

I took a minute after I had shut the door to look up at the sky and breathe in the cool city air. I never thought that I would miss being outdoors as much as I did. I guess that 'you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone' saying is really true. I was starting to realize that in more than one aspect.

"You know, breathin' in New York City like that has got to be a setback in your recovery, Bos." Faith stated wittingly.

I smiled at having my sarcastic partner back and telling me what I should and shouldn't be doin'. I missed that. "What was I thinkin'?" I laughed as I turned my head around to see my home for the first time in half a year.

Had it really been that long? A half a year. A half a year. I had been laying in that bed, hangin' on for my life, almost wasting away for that long. What a waste.

"Here we are," I said, "Home."


"Maurice honey can I get you anything?" Ma asked for the third time. I really appreciated the concern and all, but all the babying she was still givin' me had to go.

"Ma. Stop. I'm fine." I said firmly but gently. I knew she was just concerned now that I was back 'on my own', but I didn't want her acting like I was some kind of invalid. I had gotten plenty of that at the hospital. This was my time to prove to everyone that I could do things on my own. Prove it to myself, even.

Faith laughed at my barely less-than-snappy reaction to my Ma and gave me that 'you're too much' look. It was good to be back.

"Hey guys, I really appreciate you all takin' me home and comin' over, and everything, but I'm kinda tired…"

"Oh, yeah. Emily and I should probably get going. Um, I have to pick up Charlie at six." Faith cleared her throat, trying to come up with an excuse for herself.

"Ma, you should probably get goin' too. I don't want you doin' anything more than you have to. You've already done so much. Thank you." I tried to persuade her.

"Maurice, you know well enough that I'm staying here with you. I'm not about to let you stay here by yourself after just getting released - "

"Ma." I softly cut her off, not even needing to say the words. She knew that I wanted to be left alone so I could finally feel independent, but I didn't have the heart to say 'Ma, leave', so instead, I just gave her that look. She knows the look. It's the one where I kind of just stare with pleading eyes that say "Please, Mommy?"

Faith knows that look well.

Ma sighed her defeated sigh and agreed to leave. "But don't you dare hesitate to call me if you need anything, alright?"

"Of course, Ma." I gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek and then looked over to see Faith and Emily waiting at the door. I walked over to them, careful not to hurt my already throbbing leg, and stood in front of faith. "Thank you, Faith." I said sincerely. "Thank you so much. For everything." I made sure to look her in the eye to insure that she knew that I meant it. I really meant it with all my heart. I couldn't have made it this far if she hadn't been there.

"Of course, Bosco." Faith smiled and leaned in to hug me. We had never hugged before that day. Never. For being partners, and best friends for as long as we had been, I'd say thirteen years is much overdue.

"I'll stop by tomorrow, that alright?" She asked before leaving.

"Of course. That'd be great. We could… catch up." I smiled at how unlike me that was. 'Catch up'? Since when did I say 'catch up'?

"Bye Bosco. I'm glad you're feeling better." Emily chimed in, "Can I call you sometime? Just see how things are going, you know?"

"Yeah, of course, Em," I answered, suddenly starting to realize how truly tired I was. "You can call any time."

Faith and Emily turned around after each giving me a little 'bye for now' smile and headed out. "Oh, um, Bosco?" Emily turned around before she had gotten fully out the door. "I just, um… I wanted to say…" She paused for a minute while I waited for her to finish. Upon looking down at her feet in shame, she finished, "Sorry… About earlier. Um, I didn't mean to… I mean, I was just - "

"Em, it's ok."

She looked back up to me to make sure I meant it, and I did. "Okay, um… Take care."


After having had to stay in bed every day for six months, I thought that I was totally slept out, but damn, was I wrong. I hadn't been as tired as I was after being taken home than I had been all throughout my recovery. I about collapsed onto my bed the minute I stepped inside my room. My bed. I hadn't realized how uncomfortable those hospital beds had been, considering I had gotten used to them, but my bed was so welcoming. I swear the minute my head hit the pillow, I was out.

I fell into what was, at first, a very peaceful, needed sleep. No constant checking of monitors and waking me up every twenty minutes to make sure I was still breathing. It was just total, pure, comfortable sleep.

And then it started.

I was pacing around the room in complete frustration. What the hell was going on? That's what I was trying to figure out. Too many things were happening at once; everyone was confused, but most importantly, we were beginning to figure it all out.

"Son of a bitch. Hurt my whole team trying to get to me…except Yoshi." Cruz finally admitted to herself.

Davis stood in the corner, rubbing at his eyes "Yoshi's all right?" He asked, looking at the ground.

"Yoshi didn't get hurt at the wake." Cruz almost asked, confused. Things weren't fitting together. Something was missing, and everyone was starting to realize that. I continued pacing the room up and down, trying to figure everything out.

"I don't remember seeing Yoshi at the wake." Davis added, trying to make sense of things, if not only in his own mind.

I looked over at Faith, who was trying to process everything that was going on. "Yeah, me neither." She added in.

What was this big deal with Yoshi? Why did it matter? There had been three bombings in the same day effecting OUR precinct; killing some of our team, and all they wanted to talk about was whether or not Yoshi had shown up to the wake.

"Yoshi wasn't-"

"Oh, who cares about Yoshi!" I yelled, cutting off Cruz before she could go on about Yoshi any more. "What are we gonna do about this son of a bitch Mann? That's what I wanna know." I finished, angrily, running my hands through my hair in frustration.

"We're gonna be smart." I shook my head in disbelief. Did she not understand what was going on? Did she honestly think that we could 'be smart?' Look at how much good that had done for us so far. "We're gonna find out all the information that Laura had on him. We're gonna start locking people up one by one until someone gives him to us." Cruz with her little 'we can save the world one perp at a time' attitude, chimed in. She really thought it was that easy. She honestly thought that by locking people up, we fix this mess without anyone else getting hurt in the meantime? I tell you what, if she really thought it'd be that simple, she's got another thing comin'.

"You don't go to war with the New York City Police Department."

It was too late for that; this was already war. Whether or not she would accept that, we were already in a damn war. And we were losing.

I was back to my pacing and trying to think of what we should do next, when I heard Faith.

"Hey guys…"

Her voice sounded different. She wasn't trying to cut us off, and she wasn't about to give some kind of idea. She sounded scared. Really scared.

I looked at her and saw that she was looking at the windows. "Guys!" As I turned around to see what she was looking at, everything started to happen in slow motion. I saw the men; I saw the guns… And when I saw that last man stop at the window, pointing the gun in our direction, I immediately panicked.

Faith. Where was Faith? I had to get to her; protect her. I wasn't about to let her get hurt again. There was no way. I quickly grabbed her when I saw her standing up, and took a long leap behind the chairs, hoping that maybe they, along with my body in front of hers, would be at least some kind of shield between her and the bullets.

I was right. I shielded her; I protected her, and that's all I cared about. I felt the bullets one right after the other. My leg, my stomach. It hurt so bad. My chest… Was Faith alright?

My face…

I awoke with a gasp. "Faith!" I frantically looked around, trying to find her, but I never did… I was at home… It was a dream.

TBC...