Faith was watching her partner doze in the chair by her side when the door opened and Doctor Fields stepped in. She flushed slightly at being caught out, offering the doctor an embarrassed smile.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked.

Bosco jumped awake at the sound of the doctor's voice, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Can we go now?" he asked.

"That depends on how your partner feels," Fields replied.

"I feel fine," Faith assured them both. "I've got a bit of a headache, but that's all."

"No nausea?" the doctor asked, checking Faith's eyes with his penlight.

"No," Faith replied.

"That's good," Fields said. He reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a small pill bottle. "These are painkillers. Take one every four hours or as you need them."

"Should she be having those with the baby?" Bosco asked.

Faith was surprised by the concern behind the question, her head snapping across to look at him. He didn't notice, his focus instead on the doctor.

Fields nodded. "They're perfectly safe for pregnant women," he assured him.

Bosco seemed happy with the reply and turned to her. "You ready to go then?" he asked.

She nodded and slowly sat up. Her head swam a little, but it soon passed and she allowed Bosco to help her to her feet. "Thanks, doc'," he said, as he led her out of the room.

"You're welcome," Fields replied.

She signed out and then Bosco took her home in the RMP. She could feel his eyes on her every couple of minutes and she felt a mixture of aggravation and warmth. She hated being hovered over, but at the same time she loved that he cared enough - despite his anger - to worry about her. She bit her tongue against saying anything, not wanting to inflame the situation anymore than it was. Besides, if she was honest, she liked it far more than she loathed it.

"Okay, here we are," he said, pulling up outside her apartment building.

"Bosco, you can't double-park," she told him. "Just pull up down the street."

He shook his head and turned off the ignition. "You're not going to be on your feet any more than you have to," he insisted, getting out and hurrying around the car to help her out.

Faith sighed and decided to just humor him, letting him help her out and lead her into the apartment building. They rode the elevator in silence and then he hovered by her side as she opened the door to her apartment. Pushing it open, she stepped inside, knowing that he would close it behind him. She just wanted to sit down for a moment and let her head stop spinning.

"Mom?"

Faith looked up to see her daughter sitting on the sofa, her face showing her surprise by their unexpected arrival. "I'm okay," she said. "Just an accident at work."

"Your mom hit her head," Bosco added. "How about you go and get a blanket and pillow for her, Emily?" he suggested.

The teenager nodded and hurried off down the hall. Faith moved to sit on the sofa her daughter had just vacated, turning and then lying down. She felt Bosco take her shoes off, but couldn't summon the energy to tell him to stop fussing.

"You okay?" he asked, hovering worriedly.

She nodded. "Just a headache," she assured him.

"You want one of those pills Fields gave you?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I don't want to take any medication if I can," she replied.

"He said they were safe for the baby," he reminded her. "There's no reason for you to be in pain."

"I'll take one if it gets any worse," she compromised. She looked at her watch. "You better get going," she told him.

"You sure you're gonna be okay?" he asked.

Faith nodded. "Yeah. You better get back to it."

"Working the desk, yay," he muttered.

She smiled. She knew he hated not being out there, but she was glad he wouldn't be riding solo. "There're only a couple of hours left, Bos. I'm sure it'll fly by."

He nodded and headed for the door, but paused with his hand on the handle. "You'll call me if you need anything, right?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at her.

"You bet."

With that, Bosco left the apartment. Faith stayed staring at the door, wondering about the last few hours. He'd seemed so worried about her at the hospital and, even once he'd brought her home, he'd tried to be attentive. She really didn't understand him sometimes. He'd been so angry the night before and withdrawn throughout the shift. They really needed to talk, she decided. She couldn't handle second-guessing his moods.

So intent on her thoughts, she started at her daughter's voice. "Dad's not the baby's father, is he?" Emily asked.

Faith's head snapped up to look at her, shocked. "Em-"

"It's Bosco, isn't it?" she continued. "You're having Bosco's baby."

Faith looked down at her hands. She wasn't sure what to say. Should she lie? Make up some story that would inevitably drive a larger wedge between them if the truth were ever to come out? No, it was time that she was honest with her daughter. "We weren't having an affair, Emily. Despite what your father might think."

"I believe you," Emily replied. "That night, when Dad hurt you... I wanted to do something to hurt him too."

Faith looked across at her daughter, holding her eye. "It wasn't like that, Em. Your dad scared me that night and I needed to feel safe. Bosco made me feel safe."

"And loved?"

Faith shook her head in amazement at her daughter's perception. "When did you grow up and become so smart?" she asked.

Emily smiled. "This doesn't change anything, Mom. What I said before... I'll still support you, no matter what."

With those words, Faith broke down. "Oh, God, Emily. I don't know what to do," she cried.

Her daughter wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly. "It'll be all right, Mom. You just wait and see."

Bosco had tried hard to avoid Sully and Davis at the end of shift, not ready to face the questions he knew that they would have. He thought he'd succeeded, making it halfway down the front steps of the precinct before he heard a voice calling him.

"How's Faith?" Davis asked, stepping away from where he'd been standing, obviously waiting for him.

"She's got a concussion, but the doctor said she'd be fine with some rest."

"And the baby?"

"Baby's good."

They were silent for a minute, before Davis looked across at Bosco. "Sully's pretty sure you're the dad," he said.

"Sully's got a big mouth," Bosco retorted.

"But is he right?"

Bosco glared. "Leave it alone, Davis."

"Come on, man. I'm not tryin' to snoop. I just know that if I was in that position, I'd be pretty freaked out."

Bosco let out a snort. "I think I'm over freaked out. Now I'm just confused."

"Come on," Davis said, placing a hand on Bosco's shoulder. "Let's go get a drink."

Bosco sighed and nodded. "Fine, but not Haggarty's."

Davis nodded. "Okay, let's go somewhere else."

They found themselves at an anonymous bar fifteen minutes later and Bosco was just relieved that there wasn't a familiar face in sight. They ordered drinks and headed for a corner booth in the back, far enough from the other patrons that they could talk in peace. Davis hadn't asked any questions on the drive there, but Bosco knew as soon as they were seated the questions would come. Instead of putting up the usual barriers though, Bosco found himself wanting to talk. He needed to release some of the frustration he was feeling and he knew that Davis would never betray his confidence.

Davis took a sip of his beer and looked across the table. "So, how long have you and Faith been?"

"We're not," Bosco interrupted. He saw the look his friend gave him. "It was only once. She'd had a fight with Fred and didn't want to be home in case he came back."

"He was hurting her?" Davis asked.

Bosco nodded. "She said it was nothing serious, but she had bruises." He shrugged. "Anyway, she came to my place and..."

"One thing led to another?"

Bosco smiled slightly at the cliché. "Something like that." He sighed. "We kind of brushed it under the carpet the next morning. She told me she didn't regret it, but I think she does." He snorted. "Especially now."

"What about you?" Davis asked. "Do you regret it?"

Bosco shook his head. "No," he replied. "It was... It was like nothing I've ever experienced before, Ty. I mean, I've had sex with plenty of women, some who I've had pretty strong feelings for, but with Faith... I've never connected with someone on that level before." He shook his head and chuckled. "Listen to me, will you? I sound like some pansy-ass."

Davis grinned. "Sounds like you're in love if you ask me."

Bosco's head snapped up. "What? No! I'm not..." he trailed off, thinking about what Davis had just said. The realization hit him; Davis was right. "Shit!"

Davis raised his glass to him. "Congratulations, man."

Bosco shook his head. "This is not good."

"Why not? Faith and Fred are over. She's having your baby-"

"A baby she doesn't want!" Bosco interrupted.

Davis looked at him for a moment. "Do you want it?"

Bosco thought about that. Did he want Faith to keep the baby? It wasn't a hard question to answer. "Yeah, Ty, I think I do. I want to be a dad."

"Then you've got to tell her, Bos. Yes, it's her body, but it affects you as well and I don't think she would have told you if at least a part of her didn't want to keep the baby."

Bosco wasn't convinced. "Yeah, maybe."

They were quiet for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts, before Davis started chuckling.

"What's so funny?" Bosco asked.

Davis shook his head. "Sorry, just thinking about a baby Bosco running around."

"And that's funny?" Bosco pouted.

"Oh come on, I bet you were a hellion as a kid," Davis teased.

Bosco shrugged. "I didn't have much of a chance to be a hellion. I was too busy ducking blows from my old man."

Davis immediately sobered. "I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean to dredge up old memories."

Bosco shook his head. "You didn't. To be honest it's something I've been thinking about since Faith told me about the baby." He took a sip of his beer. "You think that people always turn out like their parents?" he asked.

"Bosco, you're not gonna be like you old man," Davis told him, his voice forceful. "You're a good person and you're gonna be a great dad."

"I'm not so sure about that." Bosco shook his head. "It won't matter anyway, will it? Not if she has an abortion."

Davis shook his head. "You two have got to talk and lay it all out in the open. I mean, come on, Bosco. You're the last guy I'd have thought would want to be a father and I bet Faith's thinking the same thing. Maybe she needs to know you'll do your part in this."

"I told her I'd support her," Bosco reasoned. "What more does she want?"

Davis shrugged. "I don't know and neither will you if you don't ask her."

Bosco nodded and downed the last of his beer.

"You want another?" Davis asked.

Bosco shook his head. "Nah, last time I came out with the intention of getting drunk, I almost ended up in bed with a shrink."

Davis laughed. "You what?" he asked, incredulously.

"Don't ask," Bosco replied. "Can we get out of here?"

"Sure." They got to their feet and headed out to Davis' car. Bosco felt sure he would have been okay to drive, but didn't feel like going back to the station house to retrieve the Mustang. He'd get it in the morning. It'd be safe enough at the station house until then.

They were silent on the trip to his place, but not uncomfortably so. Bosco had felt more comfortable talking to the man beside him than he'd ever felt talking to anyone other than Faith and his mother. He didn't know when it'd happened, but Ty Davis had become a friend, someone he could trust and Bosco was thankful for that.

"You gonna be okay?" Davis asked, as they pulled up out the front of Bosco's apartment.

Bosco nodded. "Yeah." He looked out the window and saw a lone figure sitting on the steps of his building. Faith.

"Good luck, man."

Bosco glanced across at his friend and noticed he had also spotted Faith. "Thank you. For everything," he murmured. He had a feeling he'd been more sincere that night then he had in his entire life.

"Anytime."

Bosco got out of the car and slowly made his way over to his partner. Faith saw him as he approached and got to her feet. "Shouldn't you be resting?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I'm fine." She looked at him for a long moment. "I was starting to think that you weren't coming home," she said, as he moved to stand in front of her.

He shrugged. "I had a few drinks with Davis," he replied, cocking his thumb over his shoulder, toward the retreating car. He headed toward the door, fishing into his pocket for his keys. "You wanna come up?"

She nodded, but said nothing until they'd made it up to his apartment. "So, did you tell Ty?" she asked, as he closed his door.

"I didn't have to tell him, Faith, he already knew. Hell, half of New York knows, thanks to Fred." He sighed and turned to look at her. "I needed someone to talk to."

"And you couldn't talk to me?" she asked.

He shook his head. "How could I talk to you when you're the problem?"

She looked hurt at that. "I'm the problem?"

He sighed again, running a tired hand across his face. "I didn't... that's not what I meant. I'm just confused, Faith. I don't understand why you told me about the baby if you don't want it."

"And what insight did Ty Davis have?" she asked.

"He thinks that maybe you do want this baby and you want me to convince you that you're makin' the right choice."

Her face gave nothing away. "And what do you think?" she asked.

He looked at her for a moment, before his eyes slid away to the floor. "I think maybe you're punishing me. For doing this to you in the first place."

He felt a hand on his chin and reluctantly looked up, meeting her teary eyes. "I'm not tryin' to punish you, Bos, I swear to God. I'm confused as well. I don't understand why it's so much harder to give up this baby. Why should a baby made after one night be harder to give up than one made after years of marriage?"

"That's not a question I can answer."

Faith nodded, accepting his response. "Then can I ask a question you can answer?" she asked. He nodded for her to continue. "What do you want, Bos?"

He sighed, but didn't look away from her. "I want you to be happy, Faith. More than anything, I just want you to be happy. But if this isn't what you want, I need you to tell me, because I already love this baby and that's only going to get stronger the more time goes by." He looked down at his feet. "I'm not telling you this to try and pressure you, I just wanted you to know what I was feeling." He looked up at her. "I want you to know that I'll be there for you, both of you." He shrugged. "But I think the decision has to be yours, because the last thing I want is for you to end up hating me for pressuring you into something you regret."

She offered him a tremulous smile at his admission. "I told you about the baby because of what you said to me when I was pregnant before. You said that Fred had a right to know, to be part of the decision process. So, I wanted you to know and be part of the process." She sighed. "But you're right, the final decision has to be mine because this is my body and it's going to affect my children."

He nodded. "So, what exactly did we just figure out?" he asked.

She smiled sadly. "Nothing. I just need some time, Bos, and I want you to know that I heard what you said. I just really need your support right now."

He stepped forward and, without another word, wrapped her in his arms.

TBC