I just wanted to thank everyone for their reviews, I really appreciate your kind words. Sorry this one's a bit shorter, but don't worry, there's plenty more to come!

Faith trudged wearily back into the apartment, feeling more exhausted then she had in a very long time. She knew it was only going to get worse. She only had two hours until her shift and, knowing Bosco, he was going to be in a foul mood all night. That was if he hadn't already requested a transfer to somewhere far away from her.

She was starting to see that he had a point. She shouldn't have just told him she was having an abortion, especially when she hadn't actually made her decision. She knew that terminating the pregnancy was the smartest move, but she just wasn't sure she could go through it again. But what about her kids? How could she do this to them? It would be hard enough to make ends meet as it was, how could she afford another baby? Besides, they were already experiencing enough upheaval. How much more could they cope with?

"Hey, Mom," she heard her daughter greet, and looked up to see her standing at the end of the hall.

"Emily? What are you doing home?" she asked. "I thought you were going to Felicia's to study this afternoon?"

Emily shrugged and walked into the living room. "I am. I just came home to grab some stuff I needed for our assignment."

Faith nodded. "Oh, okay." She took off her coat and hung it up. "Charlie's gone to Billy's?" she asked.

Emily nodded. "Yeah. Billy's mom said she'd drop him off around lunch tomorrow."

Faith smiled at her daughter, as she moved to sink down on the sofa. "Thanks." It'd been tough with them on vacation for the last couple of weeks, but they were both adamant that they wanted to stay with her and not go to their father's. She respected that wish, even if it did make things harder for her and for Emily.

Emily nodded, but her face looked serious. "Can we talk?" Emily asked.

"Of course we can, Em. Come and sit down."

Emily sat down on the sofa beside her and started wringing her hands. "I just wanted to say..." She took a deep breath and looked up at her mother. "I'm sorry for the way I was acting, Mom, with the drugs and with Eric and the whole attitude. I'm sorry for disappointing you."

Faith felt her heart twist at her daughter's words. "Oh, Emily, you could never disappoint me. You are my daughter and I love you."

Emily nodded. "I just want you to know that I support you. What ever happens with Dad and with us, I support what you do." She looked down at her hands. "I know you're pregnant, Mom."

Faith's eyes flew up to meet her daughter's. "What? How?"

Emily shrugged. "I was taking out the trash in the bathroom and I found the test."

"Oh," Faith replied, dumbly.

"Are you going to keep it?" Emily asked.

Faith shook her head. She really didn't want to talk to her daughter about this. She had no idea what to say that wouldn't have Emily hating her again in the next minute. "Em, it's complicated."

"Because you and Daddy aren't getting back together?"

"That's part of it," Faith admitted.

"Is the other part of it me and Charlie?" Emily asked.

"Emily-"

"Because we wouldn't mind, Mom, and we could do without some stuff so you could keep the baby."

Faith felt tears prick her eyes. "Thank you for saying that. It means a lot to me," she murmured, her voice thick with tears.

"So you're gonna keep it?" Emily asked.

Faith thought that she actually sounded excited by the idea, but she shook her head. "I haven't decided yet, Emily, but I want you to know I heard what you said, okay?"

Emily nodded. "I really am sorry for everything, Mom. I guess I was just so busy resenting you for never being around, I didn't realize that you were going through stuff as well."

"I'm sorry for not being around more, Em. You don't know how much it hurts that I'm missing out on so much of your lives. But this is the only way I know how to give you guys what you need. Being a cop is all I know."

Emily nodded. "I know that, Mom. I know you're only doing it for us. I was just being too stubborn to admit it."

Faith wondered at the change in her daughter, as they sat there gazing at each other. Had it been seeing her father raise a hand to her mother that had snapped her out of that rebellious phase? She couldn't believe that the young woman sitting by her side was the same person as the one whom she had been worried about losing only a few months before. Her daughter had grown up seemingly overnight and Faith felt a mixture of happiness and grief. She should never have had to witness what she had, but at the same time Faith hadn't felt as close to her daughter since she was a little girl. "Everything's gonna be all right," she assured her, hoping she was telling the truth.

Emily's only reply was a confident smile.

Faith wasn't sure what to expect when she got to work. A part of her had even wondered if she'd arrive to find that her partner had requested a transfer out of the precinct. Another wondered if he'd told everyone what had happened and she'd be faced with the knowing looks of her colleagues. She shook her head. No, he would never do that to her, no matter how angry he was. Besides, she knew he could never stay angry at her for long, though the circumstances were certainly different from their usual spats.

She walked into the locker room and found Sully, Davis and Bosco all changing. Sully and Davis were joking together, while Bosco quietly changed into his uniform, all but ignoring the others. She walked further into the room and Sully greeted her. She saw Bosco stiffen for a moment, before he quickly finished dressing, slamming his locker shut before striding from the room. Faith could only watch him leave, unable to think of anything she could say in front of the others to get him to stop.

"I see Bosco got up on the wrong side of someone else's bed this morning," Sully quipped.

Davis laughed, but Faith felt herself pale slightly. He wouldn't have left her place and gone out to sleep with another woman, would he? She shook her head at the thought and headed for her locker. So what if he had? It wasn't like they'd been in a relationship or anything. Still, the thought hurt far more than it should.

"You okay, Faith?" Davis asked, his hand on her arm jolting her from her thoughts.

She nodded and quickly started rummaging around in her locker. "Yeah, just tired," she told him. It sounded lame, even to her own ears.

"Are you and Super Cop fighting?" Sully asked.

"Just leave it," she told him, her voice harsher than she'd intended. She felt their eyes on her, but she ignored them as she changed into her uniform. They left soon after and Faith let out the breath she'd been holding and slumped onto the closest bench. So Bosco hadn't requested a transfer, something that relieved her to no end, but he was obviously still angry with her. It was going to be a long shift.

She stayed sitting there a little longer and then hurried to roll call. Bosco was slumped in his chair at the back of the room and didn't even look up as she sat down beside him. He was quiet throughout the briefing, no smart comments at all, and once the briefing was over he quietly got to his feet and walked out of the room. She caught up with him when he stopped to get their radios and then followed him out to the RMP. He got into the driver's seat and, once she was seated beside him, he started the car and pulled out onto the street.

Ten minutes later and he still hadn't said a word. Faith found herself searching for something to say to fill the smothering heaviness of the silence that surrounded them. "I told Fred this afternoon," she told him.

He jumped as she spoke, obviously surprised to hear her voice. He glanced across at her and she saw him give her a quick once-over, more than likely checking for injuries. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I told him and then high-tailed it outa there before he'd realized what I'd said." She gave a self-depreciating laugh. "Pretty gutsy partner you've got, huh?"

"Pretty sensible one, if you ask me," he murmured in reply.

She looked across at him as he continued to stare at the road in front of them. This wasn't him, he was never this quiet. She almost wished he was yelling at her; anything other than the silent treatment. "Bos," she began. "About last night-"

"What's left to say, Faith?" he interrupted, glancing across at her, before looking back out the windshield. "You made it pretty clear that you've made your decision."

She shook her head. "But I haven't, not really," she told him. "There's still this part of me that's not sure."

He stopped at a red light and then turned to look at her. "What are you saying?" he asked.

She opened her mouth to reply but their radios sprang to life at that moment, the dispatcher informing them they were needed at the scene of a shooting. Faith sighed and flicked on the lights as Bosco put his foot on the gas.

TBC