A/N: Thanks everyone for the great reviews! Keep them coming!

Chapter 5

I hesitantly knocked on the door a second time, uneasily knowing that I was waking her up. I patiently waited outside the door of her bare apartment until I finally heard the sound of the locks turning. 'This is it.'

The door opened slightly and I caught a glimpse of Faith's tired, yet intense blue eyes. My heart started beating faster in my chest and my stomach seemed to be eating away at itself. I was nervous.

"Bosco?" Her sleep-filled voice whispered my name in question. "Are you okay?"

"Uh…" I hesitated, glancing into her neat, warm apartment. "Can I come in?" I decided it was better not to say too much before I was inside and a little bit more at ease.

"Oh yeah, of course." Faith stepped aside, opening the door wider so I could pass through. The room smelled of cinnamon and ginger. It was real nice; very different.

I hastily made my way to the couch, not bothering to waste time with uneasy small talk. Once sitting, the turning of my stomach and the pounding of my chest seemed to calm. This was Faith, I didn't need to be nervous… but it wasn't like I was there to talk about just anything… this was worry-worthy stuff.

"Listen, Faith," I started, "I'm sorry for comin' by so early…" I paused, waiting for any kind of indication that she was understanding, hoping to God that she wasn't mad at me.

"It's no problem, Bos." She replied, hugging her robe tighter around herself as she sat next to me. "Bosco…" She wavered, "What is goin' on with you? First you call wanting to talk, and then randomly hang up, and now you show up here?"

"I know. I'm sorry." I lowered my head, staring down at the ground. "I said earlier that I needed to talk to you…" I ran my hands through my messy hair, shifting my weight. "I, um… I'm ready to talk now, okay?"

Faith simply nodded, understanding that this wasn't easy for me. She sat with her body turned and her right leg tucked underneath her so she was facing me, just waiting for me to start… no rush.

"I… uh… I've been havin' these nightmares.' I swallowed. "That day… that day in the hospital… it just keeps replayin' in my head." I stopped, taking in a deep breath to allow me to continue once again. "I just keep goin' back to that place. The men, the guns, the glass… it's like everything is so real, but my senses are a thousand times more intense… almost like slow motion. I was scared, Faith. Real scared. When I saw them start shootin', my first instinct was to pull you out of the way." I finally looked up at her, needing to show her that what I was saying was the truth. "I mean, I don't wanna sound like a hero or anything, 'cause I'm not… It happened so fast, ya know? It was instinct… But you know, I've been thinking'. I've been wonderin' why it was instinct for me to throw myself in front of you."

Faith was still looking at me intently as I told her only the surface of what was going through my mind.

"Bos," She whispered, placing her hand on mine. She knew what I was trying my best to say. She always does… I took another deep breath, my heart nearly bursting out of my chest, and kept going.

"You're my partner, Faith. No matter if we're both sitting in 55-David, or if I'm in a hospital bed and you're working' as a detective… We'll always be partners, ya know?" Faith nodded, gently smiling at the statement.

"Of course."

"And partners means protecting each other no matter what. That's what I've been telling' myself since the day I woke up in the hospital. I just kept sayin' to myself that that's why I did it. To protect my partner; my best friend…" I swallowed hard, trying to calm down my nerves. She wasn't saying anything… was that good? Bad? I didn't know, but whatever it meant, I knew that I had to finish what I came there to say. I was almost there.

Laying my opposite hand on top of hers, I gently stroked it with my thumb. "But I've realized…" I looked away, trying to fight the feeling of uncertainty about what I was doing. Was this really me? Was I, Maurice Boscorelli, really having this conversation? A year before, I would have said Hell no… there was no way I would ever have opened up like this to anyone… not even Faith… But having almost died made me realize I can't put things off all the time anymore. I'd come to realize that there is no guarantee for tomorrow.

"I…"

"Bosco,"

"You're the only one for me." I squeezed her hand tighter, "You've always been the only one why has stayed with me and helped me when I needed it…"

"Bos…" Faith slid her hand out from between mine and brought it up, softly touching the right side of my face… the scar that I hadn't bothered to cover up… and gently stroked my cheek with her fingertips. A chill crept up my spine and I couldn't help but close my eyes at her comforting touch. I felt myself slowly leaning into her, and the nervousness began to fade as I realized that this was it. This was the moment that I had been waiting for, for thirteen years.

Lifting my own hand to take hold of Faith's, I leaned in to kiss her, but in a sudden, sharp motion, she snapped back, turning her head away from mine.

'Damn it' I immediately regretted even going there, knowing for sure that she had pulled away from me because she thought I was crazy. Maybe I was crazy… falling for my partner? …Maybe I was just crazy…

Looking into her face, I realized that she was staring at the door with a slight fear in her eye. She hadn't pulled away because she thought me crazy… She had pulled away at the unpleasant voice of her ex-husband…


Fred stood in the doorway, just staring at us. His eyes were as big as golf balls, I swear, but he didn't move.

"What the hell is goin' on here?" He practically yelled.

"Fred, what the hell are you doing?" Faith retaliated.

"I should be asking you that!" He yelled again, getting angrier as the realization of things began to settle in.

"How the hell did - "

"I used my key, Faith! I told you yesterday I was comin' by this morning to pick up some of Charlie's things! And you… you greet me with this!"

"Fred!"

Faith got up off the couch, walking towards her angry ex. I quickly followed, making sure I was close enough to prevent anything from happening if Fred decided to do anything stupid.

"Boscorelli, I should have known you'd be here!" He yelled, and I gently took Faith's arm, moving her slightly farther away from him. He focused his eyes back on Faith, seeming ready to explode. "What, are you screwin' him now?"

What the hell did he think he was doing? Barging into her apartment, then blaming her for cheating when he was the one who had cheated in the first place… It was enough to get me really pissed off. I pushed myself in front of Fred, now staring fiercely into his eyes, ready to kick his ass, but the better part of me held me back…for the time being…

"You son of a bitch, Fred. What the hell makes you think you can just come barging in here and start accusing Faith of things that you've already done?" I said with a strained voice, trying my best not to get into a yelling match with him.

"Don't make me kick your ass, Bosco. You know I'll do it, I've done it before."

The room went to silence, and I felt a lump in my throat forming as Faith looked at me with confusion drawn all over her face. "What?" She whispered angrily to Fred, glaring at him.

"What? Bosco never told you?" He replied with his sarcastic tone, "Yeah, the day you were shot, Bosco here insisted on checking in with me on how you were doin'. Son of a bitch didn't even fight back."

Faith just stood there, unmoving. I hadn't ever told her about that night and I hadn't planned on it… It wasn't anything she had needed to know.

Fred continued to stand there with a little smirk on his face, thinking he had defeated me. His eyes were pinned on Faith, waiting for any kind of sign of rout, but she just stood there, contained.

"You need to leave, Fred." I said as calmly as I could. I didn't want to do anything I would regret in front of Faith. I just wanted him gone, before he could do any more damage.

"You gunna make me?" He asked, violently. "Go ahead, Bosco, make my day." He continued to coax me, but I refused.

"I'm not gunna fight you, Fred." I said firmly, keeping my stare on his face.

"Yeah? Well I wish I could say the same." At that, Fred took a sudden lunge at me, pulling me to the ground with a hard crash. The pain radiated through my chest and stomach as I felt the recent bullet wounds re-surface. It was enough to almost paralyze me long enough for Fred to take a good strong punch to the right side of my face.

"Bosco!" Faith's voice called out, and I was back again if not only for an instant. Me lying unmoving on the ground, Faith calling out my name… The pain…

"Fred, get the hell out of here before I call the police!" Faith yelled, full-force at Fred, while kneeling down beside me, bringing my head onto her lap.

"The police, huh?" He said, "This cop seemed to do much good of getting me out of here!"

"GET OUT!" Faith screamed, almost in tears.

Fred, getting the picture, made his way back over to the door, but still looking at me on the ground. "Your face has never looked better, Bosco."

With that, he left.

TBC...