It was beginning to brighten in the apartment - the morning slowly creeping in. There was no noise - Melanie had taken the kids with her last night. There was just the sound of Kim breathing, her gentle breath across his chest. Finally, he'd been able to let go and tell Kim a lot of what he was feeling. Not all of it, because he wasn't sure of all of it himself yet. He was surprised that when he told Kim that he'd broken down at Faith's apartment she wasn't upset that it wasn't with her. She said she understood - that no matter how much their jobs had in common, there was no way for her to know exactly how a cop felt about all the crap they go through. Only another cop could fully understand that - one that had been right there with him for the last nine years as he went through it. She was just glad that it had finally come out. He'd let a little more out after that, letting the last little bit go and knowing that he didn't have to be the strong one all the time. He just let Kim embrace him and hold him tightly.

He'd consoled her about the anniversary of Bobby's death, apologizing frequently for not being there for her. She forgave him. "I don't deserve her," he thought to himself at the time. He'd have to remember to thank Alex for taking up his slack.

And finally, things were calm and they were close and touching and things went from there. They began exploring each other all over again as if for the first time. After a couple of hours of lovemaking, here they were - safe and warm and entangled in each other's arms - the way it should always have been.

He heard Kim's breathing change and realized that she was waking up. She kissed his chest, combing the hair on his chest with her fingernails. It tickled and Bosco jumped a little. She looked up and kissed him.

"G'morning. How are you feeling today?" she asked him, sitting up and looking in his eyes. She noticed a certain calm in them that had been missing for a while.

"I'm better. Thanks," he said, leaning over to kiss her. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good. It's been a long time since I slept that good. I was worried about you," she said.

"I know. I'm sorry. It won't happen again," he promised her.

Kim got up and threw on one of his NYPD t-shirts. "I'll make some coffee. Hungry?" she asked.

"Yeah, actually. I'm starving," he said in surprise. He hadn't had an appetite in quite some time. Kim walked out to the kitchen and Bosco heard the familiar sound of her fixing the coffee pot. He lay there a little longer, watching the sun work its way across the wall. He must have dozed off and suddenly, the smell of bacon crept in and his stomach growled loudly. He threw the covers back and headed into the bathroom to take a shower. By the time he was done, Kim had a huge breakfast ready with all his favorites.

"That's all you're having?" he asked; looking at the one egg, slice of toast and glass of orange juice in front of her.

"I have to keep my girlish figure," she said.

"Mmmm. You felt like all girl last night," he said to her with a smile.

"Keep it clean, Boscorelli," she said as she watched him eat. When he was done, he stood up to bring his dishes to the sink. Leaning over he gave her a tender kiss, holding it for a moment.

"Thank you - again," he said and turned to put his dishes in the sink.

"I forgot to tell you. Faith called last night right before you got here. She said she talked to Sully and got the name and number of Sully's friend for you. It's on the table by the phone," she told him. Sully had set up the last appointment for Bosco as a favor, but he'd never written the guy's name and number down. Faith had convinced him that he definitely needed to talk to him again - as someone that had no personal connection to him - and he agreed.

"Thanks," he said, looking at the paper and recognizing the name, Brian O'Malley, when he read it. "I think I'll go talk to him again," he said quietly.

"Good idea. He was okay?" Kim asked him.

"Yeah, he was. Despite my being an ass," he said, slightly embarrassed.

"I'm sure you weren't an ass. You were in trouble. I'm sure he understood that," she said walking up behind him and picking up the phone. "Now's as good a time as any," she reasoned.

He took the phone and looked at the clock to make sure it wasn't too early. He dialed the number and Kim listened as she began cleaning up from breakfast. Bosco told him a little bit about what had happened last night and he made an appointment for the next day.

"Not until tomorrow?" Kim asked him.

"Yeah. I told him about last night and he said that was a big breakthrough. He told me to just relax today, spend time with family and come see him tomorrow afternoon," he said, suddenly frowning.

"What?" Kim asked, gently rubbing her thumb across his frown lines.

"I may be able to relax everyday. I don't know if I even have a job anymore," he said, looking at her. "What am I gonna do, Kim? Being a cop is all I know."

"Bosco. I'm sure you still have a job. You just need to talk to the Lieutenant and explain what's going on. He's been good to you. He'll understand. You're a good cop and they need you. They know that," she assured him.

"I wonder if I can call him at home?" he thought, reaching for the phone to call the Desk Sergeant for Swersky's home number. Before he could dial, the phone rang while it was in his hand, causing him to almost drop the phone.

"Boscorelli," he answered and Kim watched his expression change. "Yeah. Hi, Lieu. I was just gonna call to get your home number," he said. He looked at Kim and she told him she was going to go in the other room to let him talk in private.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was just finishing from her shower when the door opened and Bosco walked in. She looked at him in the mirror as she combed out her hair. "How'd it go?"

"Good. Faith told him to call me, but she didn't tell him why. I explained everything to him. He told me not to worry about it - to come back when the doctor and I felt I was ready. He told me my job was waiting for me, but that he wanted me back healthy. He said I'm hard enough to deal with when I'm having a GOOD day," he said, chuckling.

"I like him," Kim said. "He's a great guy."

"Yeah, he is," Bosco said.

"Hey, I have an idea. It's beautiful out. Let's pick up the kids and take them on a ride Upstate. We can have a picnic, maybe stay somewhere overnight, and drive home in the morning," Kim said with a smile.

"What about school?" Bosco said. "And you have work."

"No. I took a few days off. I called Doc while you were in the shower before. He said no problem. By the way, he sends his best. And Joey can miss a couple of days - this is too important. He's sensed that something's wrong and he's scared. He needs to know that you're okay," she told him.

"Sounds great to me, if you're sure it won't put him too far behind in school," he told her.

"If anything, I think it'll help him do better in school knowing that everything is going to be okay. Everything IS going to be okay, right?" Kim asked him.

He grabbed her and drew her closer, kissing her neck and inhaling the fresh smell from her shower. "Better than okay," he said as he bit her neck.

"Bosco. I just took a shower," she protested. "And I have to call Mel and tell her to get Johnny's stuff together. You have to go get Joey from school, and âE¦," her protests falling on deaf ears as he slowly convinced her to let him have his way with her.