Bosco pulled his car to the curb. The whole way home he'd thought about what had happened back at the hospital. "Why would she just walk out like that? She didn't even ask if I was okay," he thought to himself on the way.

He got out of the car and locked it, turning to walk to his building. He saw her sitting on his steps, staring straight ahead. He didn't know what to say to her. "What do you say to someone that just lost their sister in an explosion at a drug lab while trying to snort drugs off the counter?"

She didn't even seem to notice him approaching. He stopped in front of her, one foot on the bottom step and one hand on the railing. "Sergeant?" he said to her. No response.

"Sergeant Cruz? Are you okay?" he asked a little louder.

"Boscorelli. Hi," she said, finally realizing he was there.

"What're you doing here, Sarge?" he asked her. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "I couldn't save her," she said, looking up at him with eyes that said she was lost. "She couldn't beat it. She tried and tried and tried, but she just couldn't beat it." Bosco just nodded. After a moment, he sat down on the step beside her, sensing that she just needed to be with someone. He really wanted to get inside and check on Kim, but he knew that Cruz was messed up from this.

She pulled a picture from her pocket. It was a picture of her and her sister- who didn't look bad when she was straight. "This was taken three years ago. That's all it took. Three years to eat her up," she said.

"I'm sorry about your sister," Bosco said. She leaned closer to him.

"It wasn't her that saved me in the fire. It wasn't her that pulled me away from the explosion, was it?" she said, looking at him closely. "It was you. You saved me."

And suddenly, she leaned in and kissed him. He tried to pull away, but she held onto him and tried to deepen the kiss. Finally he was able to break away and pushed her away from him, holding her away by both arms.

"Sergeant. No. I can't do this. I WON'T do this. Now, I understand that you're upset and maybe even a little lost right now, but I'm married. To a wonderful woman, and I'd never do anything to mess that up," he said to her.

"C'mon, Boscorelli. She already hates me," Cruz said nastily. "Why not give her a reason. I've heard about your reputation around the station. The Big Romeo. A different woman every night," she said before he cut her off.

"No. That WAS me. But, not anymore. I've found a woman that I love more than life itself. I have a beautiful son that came from that love and a great stepson that I consider a son. She gave me a family and I won't throw that away," he said, standing up. "Now, I think that you should go. Is there someone I can call for you, or someone YOU want to call?" he asked, extending his cell phone to her.

"After all we've been through together? Miguel and now this? How can you just dismiss me like that?" she said with anger.

"No. Kim tried to tell me and so did Faith, but I didn't want to see it. You're dangerous and you're on the edge. There was a time when I would've loved that, but I've come too far and I can't - I won't go back down that road," he said, turning and walking up the stairs and into the house.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Kim had walked into the apartment after her confrontation with Cruz and been sitting on the couch, reliving the scene at the fire today. Finally, her emotions caught up with her and she felt herself start shaking. She came close to losing him today and she couldn't have survived losing someone else she loved. She was suddenly cold - so cold. And, dammit - she couldn't stop crying. She walked down the hallway and turned on the shower as hot as she could stand it, hoping that the water would warm her and take the tension from her body.

She didn't hear Bosco come into the apartment and call for her.

*^*^*^*^*^*^

"Kim?" Bosco called as he came through the door, closing it behind him. He laid his keys on the table by the door, dropped his soot-covered jacket on the floor. He heard the shower running and decided to let her finish her shower. He walked over to the window and watched as Sergeant Cruz walked down the street. "I hope she's okay," he said to himself, wondering if he should call the Lieutenant and tell him how messed up she was.

He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator. He was so thirsty. He couldn't stand the smell of himself - couldn't get the smell of smoke out of his nose. He sat on the couch waiting for Kim to finish in the bathroom, thinking about the woman from the fire that had the baby. He laughed as he remembered her asking him what his name was and then the face she made when she found out it was Maurice. "Oh well," he thought. "Louis won't be too bad for the kid."

Finally, he realized that Kim was still in the shower. He began to worry as he thought about how she had acted at the fire and at the hospital afterward. He remembered the look on Doc's face and knew that he was worried about her as well. He set his beer down and walked down the hallway.

He called to her through the door and got no answer. He tried the door and it was unlocked. He opened the door and walked in. The shower curtain was pulled across, but there was hardly any steam for the shower having run that long.

"Kim?" he called to her again with no answer. He heard a whimper at the same time he pulled the shower curtain back and was shocked to see her sitting under the shower, which was now running cold - the hot water used up. She sat with her knees pulled up to her chest and stared straight ahead.

"Kim!" he said louder this time, as he reached up and turned the shower off. He reached over and grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her, feeling her body shaking beneath it as he helped her to stand up.

He walked her out of the bathroom and to the bedroom, sitting her on the bed and pulling the comforter from the bed around her as well. "Kim! What's wrong? Tell me what's wrong," he pleaded.

Finally, Kim looked at him and the tears started to fall again. He embraced her, still feeling her body tremble, but this time he knew it wasn't from being cold. This was a purely emotional response to something.

"I thought I'd lost you today. Damn it, Bosco! I told you she was trouble. And you followed her right into that house and you almost got killed!" she said, striking out at him with her fists, striking him in the arms and chest. "I told you! I told you!" she yelled louder.

He let her hit him, holding her tighter. "Kim. I'm sorry. I had to follow her. I had to follow my partner-" he started to say, but Kim interrupted him.

"NO! She's NOT your partner! FAITH is your partner! And she never would have led you into a situation like that. Just like you never would have led her into a situation like that! Damn it, Bosco! We both tried to tell you. I can't lose someone else. It would kill me to lose you! Don't you understand that?!" she said, collapsing into him with sobs.