"Finally," Kim said in relief as she pulled her cell phone from her pocket.
Carlos knew that she'd been trying to reach him for quite a while and was
getting nervous that she couldn't. No one at the Precinct would tell her
where he was - just that he was tied up with something. Deciding to give
her a little privacy, Carlos stood up and whispered that he was going down
with the guys.
"Hey. I've been trying to reach you," she said sadly into the phone.
"I'm sorry. I heard about Alex and the Lieutenant. Are you okay? Where're the kids?" Bosco asked, and Kim immediately picked up on the tension and sadness in his voice.
"I'm okay, I think. They're with my Mom. She's gonna keep them until I call her - she'll get them off to school this morning. What's wrong?" she asked, turning and walking away from the group.
"I..., um...., I'm at the hospital. Where are you?" he said, and she tensed thinking that the reason she couldn't reach him was that he was hurt.
"I'm at the House. What happened? Are you okay?" she asked urgently, starting for the stairs down from the roof. Jimmy, DK and Billy saw the expression on her face as she rushed past them in the kitchen. She threw Jimmy a look as she stopped abruptly and grabbed his keys from his coat pocket to use his car.
"I'm fine. It's uh..., it's Faith, Kim. She just got out of surgery. She got hurt pretty bad," he told her, his voice cracking.
"Bos? Oh God, what happened? I'm coming. Where are you?" Kim asked, picking up her pace.
"I'm in the ER waiting room. Fred didn't want me up there. He's pretty pissed at me. I screwed up, Kim. Really screwed up this time," he said, his voice finally giving way to his emotions. Kim climbed into Jimmy's car and started off toward the hospital.
After a few minutes of trying to get information out of him and only getting half-formed thoughts from him, she said, "I'm almost there, Baby. Just hang on."
A few minutes later, she pulled into the hospital parking lot, threw the car in park and jumped out, rushing to the ER entrance.
She turned the corner, scanned the room, and saw him sitting in a chair off by himself. He looked so lost, it broke her heart. But, she also saw the anger in his face - the tightening of his jaw and the way he chewed on the inside of his cheek when he was really mad. He looked up and saw her standing there and hung up his phone. She hung up and put her phone back in her pocket as she approached him, doing a visual inspection to assure herself that he was okay. He had the start of a black eye, but that was all that she could see - aside from the terrible sadness and anger on his face.
She walked over and he stood up in front of her, practically falling into her arms. "What?" she asked. "Bos, what happened, Honey," she asked him, but he only stood there, holding her so tight she could hardly breathe.
Bosco breathed in the scent of her, immediately making him relax somewhat. "Are you okay?" he asked her. "I mean, Alex and Lieu. I'm so sorry, Kim," he said, stepping back and looking at Kim as tears glistened again in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"
"I will be. I just don't know how much more of this I can take," she said, fresh tears falling again. "First Bobby, now Alex and Lieu. It was awful," she said, burying her head on his shoulder, the tears soaking into his jacket as she remembered the scene that played out at the accident.
After a moment, she regained control and looked at him. "What happened to Faith? How bad is it?" she asked, putting a hand on the side of his face and tracing the edge of the reddish-purplish bruise that was forming. He flinched slightly at her touch and then relaxed at the feel of it.
"We were at Noble's apartment. Well, Faith was there first...," he said and then went on to explain the events of the night. After he'd finished, Kim stood in front of him not really knowing what to say. "Now, she's upstairs with a bullet near her spine and a collapsed lung. The doctor said that it wasn't doing any damage so they left it in."
"How's Cruz?" Kim asked.
"She's gonna be alright. My shot glanced off her head," he lied, not wanting to tell her that Cruz got shot in the head by Faith as she was hit by Cruz's bullet. "She's got a concussion, I guess. She's conscious now and being questioned."
"Good. Then she'll get what's coming to her," Kim said, trying to hider her disdain for Cruz.
Bosco shook his head. "It's my fault, Kimmy. It's my fault that Faith's lying up there with a bullet in her," he said, tears forming in his eyes and the emotion threatening to make his voice crack.
Kim moved closer to him again. "It's not your fault. It's Cruz's fault. You didn't shoot her, Bos. Cruz did. You did the only thing you could've done in shooting Cruz. You said yourself that she was about to shoot Faith again. And, as far as Noble - well first, I can't believe that he was as involved as he was - I mean he had everyone fooled. He seemed like such a normal guy," she said, the shock of what Bosco had just told her still fresh. "Well, you had to shoot him. He was about to shoot at you and Faith," she finished.
"C'mon. Let's get you home," she said, seeing the weariness in his eyes. She needed to get him away from all the commotion - the Department brass, the other officers that milled about casting glances at him.
"I don't want to leave Faith," he said, torn between making sure that Faith was okay and needing to be there for Kim.
"Do you want to go up and see if you can see her?" Kim asked. He shook his head.
"Fred doesn't want me anywhere near her or the family. He made that clear," he said, touching his eye. "He blames me - like he should." He thought back to the look on Emily's face and shuddered.
"Oh c'mon, Bos. He understands that Faith was doing her job," Kim said, only to be interrupted by the anger in Bosco's voice - an anger she hadn't seen in quite some time.
He stepped back from her abruptly. "NO! It IS my fault. If it wasn't for me screwing up with Cruz, then Faith would never have been there. Faith told me, but I wouldn't listen. Hell, YOU told me! It was me, Kim, ALL ME!" he said, pacing in the room and getting nervous looks from some of the other people waiting in the room.
"Sshhh," Kim said, walking up behind him and putting a hand on his back. "C'mon. I'll go see how Faith is and then we'll go home. We both need to get some rest. Have you called your Mom to let her know you're alright. She's probably worried after watching the news," Kim said.
Bosco shook his head, "She said she gave up watching the news a long time ago - afraid that she'd hear my name and see some crime scene where a police officer was hurt or killed," he said quietly. "I'll call her later," he said, turning to her again.
"I mean it Kim. I really screwed up. The Department will probably come down hard on me for this," he said, thinking of how he'd told his Lieutenant that he shot Cruz when it was Faith who'd done it. He just wanted to keep her out of it as much as possible. He'd take all the blame - he earned it. He thought about the information he'd gotten from the FBI, still not believing that Cruz was working for them. He just hoped that it wouldn't affect his family too much.
"C'mon," Kim said almost in a whisper. "Let's go home. I'll call to check on Faith when we get home. I can have Dana check on her for me. Please, Bos," she said, gentle pressure pushing him toward the door.
They walked outside and hailed a cab, both of them leaning against the other in the backseat on the drive home.
()()()()()()()()
"Hello?" Her voice was quiet.
"Kim, it's Jimmy."
Kim sighed. "Hi Jimmy."
"Hey, where's my car?"
Kim winced. "It's at the hospital. I have the keys here with me. So sorry."
"It's okay. I'll get them when I pick up Joey."
"He's at Mom's."
"Oh. Okay. Is everything okay?"
Kim bit her lip and looked towards the bedroom door. "Actually, no. Can you come here?"
"I'll be over in a little while," Jimmy told her.
"I'll wait for you outside."
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
Kim was on the front steps of her building when Jimmy walked up.
"Hey," he said as he got closer.
She looked up. "Hey." She scooted over and let him sit down next to her. "Here are your keys."
"Thanks," he took them. "So, I know you didn't ask me over to talk about my keys."
Kim smiled faintly, "You always did know me way too well."
"Marriage will do that," Jimmy kidded.
"Yeah."
"What's up Kimmy?"
"It's Bosco."
"Is he okay?"
"Physically the only thing that happened was a black eye but mentally and emotionally I think he's really messed up."
"He feels guilty about Faith?"
"Yeah and I think there's something else. Something he's not telling me. It's just this look I catch in his eyes sometimes, ya know?"
"Have you asked him about it?"
"I don't want to push things right now but there's something tearing him up inside Jimmy and it scares me to think that he can tell me and he won't or that he's scared to tell me."
"Kim, I'm gonna ask you something, but before I do, I want your word that you're not going to hit me."
"No, Jimmy, I don't think he slept with Maritza Cruz."
"Okay. Then what do you think?"
"I don' t know." Kim said as she wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her chin on her knees.
Jimmy nodded and then he looked at her. It was only her profile but he could see a few tears running down her face. "Hey," he whispered.
"I hate this. I can't keep doing it Jimmy. I can't keep losing people," she said in a hushed voice.
Jimmy didn't think twice about pulling her into an embrace. "It's okay Kimmy. Shh..."
"Hey. I've been trying to reach you," she said sadly into the phone.
"I'm sorry. I heard about Alex and the Lieutenant. Are you okay? Where're the kids?" Bosco asked, and Kim immediately picked up on the tension and sadness in his voice.
"I'm okay, I think. They're with my Mom. She's gonna keep them until I call her - she'll get them off to school this morning. What's wrong?" she asked, turning and walking away from the group.
"I..., um...., I'm at the hospital. Where are you?" he said, and she tensed thinking that the reason she couldn't reach him was that he was hurt.
"I'm at the House. What happened? Are you okay?" she asked urgently, starting for the stairs down from the roof. Jimmy, DK and Billy saw the expression on her face as she rushed past them in the kitchen. She threw Jimmy a look as she stopped abruptly and grabbed his keys from his coat pocket to use his car.
"I'm fine. It's uh..., it's Faith, Kim. She just got out of surgery. She got hurt pretty bad," he told her, his voice cracking.
"Bos? Oh God, what happened? I'm coming. Where are you?" Kim asked, picking up her pace.
"I'm in the ER waiting room. Fred didn't want me up there. He's pretty pissed at me. I screwed up, Kim. Really screwed up this time," he said, his voice finally giving way to his emotions. Kim climbed into Jimmy's car and started off toward the hospital.
After a few minutes of trying to get information out of him and only getting half-formed thoughts from him, she said, "I'm almost there, Baby. Just hang on."
A few minutes later, she pulled into the hospital parking lot, threw the car in park and jumped out, rushing to the ER entrance.
She turned the corner, scanned the room, and saw him sitting in a chair off by himself. He looked so lost, it broke her heart. But, she also saw the anger in his face - the tightening of his jaw and the way he chewed on the inside of his cheek when he was really mad. He looked up and saw her standing there and hung up his phone. She hung up and put her phone back in her pocket as she approached him, doing a visual inspection to assure herself that he was okay. He had the start of a black eye, but that was all that she could see - aside from the terrible sadness and anger on his face.
She walked over and he stood up in front of her, practically falling into her arms. "What?" she asked. "Bos, what happened, Honey," she asked him, but he only stood there, holding her so tight she could hardly breathe.
Bosco breathed in the scent of her, immediately making him relax somewhat. "Are you okay?" he asked her. "I mean, Alex and Lieu. I'm so sorry, Kim," he said, stepping back and looking at Kim as tears glistened again in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"
"I will be. I just don't know how much more of this I can take," she said, fresh tears falling again. "First Bobby, now Alex and Lieu. It was awful," she said, burying her head on his shoulder, the tears soaking into his jacket as she remembered the scene that played out at the accident.
After a moment, she regained control and looked at him. "What happened to Faith? How bad is it?" she asked, putting a hand on the side of his face and tracing the edge of the reddish-purplish bruise that was forming. He flinched slightly at her touch and then relaxed at the feel of it.
"We were at Noble's apartment. Well, Faith was there first...," he said and then went on to explain the events of the night. After he'd finished, Kim stood in front of him not really knowing what to say. "Now, she's upstairs with a bullet near her spine and a collapsed lung. The doctor said that it wasn't doing any damage so they left it in."
"How's Cruz?" Kim asked.
"She's gonna be alright. My shot glanced off her head," he lied, not wanting to tell her that Cruz got shot in the head by Faith as she was hit by Cruz's bullet. "She's got a concussion, I guess. She's conscious now and being questioned."
"Good. Then she'll get what's coming to her," Kim said, trying to hider her disdain for Cruz.
Bosco shook his head. "It's my fault, Kimmy. It's my fault that Faith's lying up there with a bullet in her," he said, tears forming in his eyes and the emotion threatening to make his voice crack.
Kim moved closer to him again. "It's not your fault. It's Cruz's fault. You didn't shoot her, Bos. Cruz did. You did the only thing you could've done in shooting Cruz. You said yourself that she was about to shoot Faith again. And, as far as Noble - well first, I can't believe that he was as involved as he was - I mean he had everyone fooled. He seemed like such a normal guy," she said, the shock of what Bosco had just told her still fresh. "Well, you had to shoot him. He was about to shoot at you and Faith," she finished.
"C'mon. Let's get you home," she said, seeing the weariness in his eyes. She needed to get him away from all the commotion - the Department brass, the other officers that milled about casting glances at him.
"I don't want to leave Faith," he said, torn between making sure that Faith was okay and needing to be there for Kim.
"Do you want to go up and see if you can see her?" Kim asked. He shook his head.
"Fred doesn't want me anywhere near her or the family. He made that clear," he said, touching his eye. "He blames me - like he should." He thought back to the look on Emily's face and shuddered.
"Oh c'mon, Bos. He understands that Faith was doing her job," Kim said, only to be interrupted by the anger in Bosco's voice - an anger she hadn't seen in quite some time.
He stepped back from her abruptly. "NO! It IS my fault. If it wasn't for me screwing up with Cruz, then Faith would never have been there. Faith told me, but I wouldn't listen. Hell, YOU told me! It was me, Kim, ALL ME!" he said, pacing in the room and getting nervous looks from some of the other people waiting in the room.
"Sshhh," Kim said, walking up behind him and putting a hand on his back. "C'mon. I'll go see how Faith is and then we'll go home. We both need to get some rest. Have you called your Mom to let her know you're alright. She's probably worried after watching the news," Kim said.
Bosco shook his head, "She said she gave up watching the news a long time ago - afraid that she'd hear my name and see some crime scene where a police officer was hurt or killed," he said quietly. "I'll call her later," he said, turning to her again.
"I mean it Kim. I really screwed up. The Department will probably come down hard on me for this," he said, thinking of how he'd told his Lieutenant that he shot Cruz when it was Faith who'd done it. He just wanted to keep her out of it as much as possible. He'd take all the blame - he earned it. He thought about the information he'd gotten from the FBI, still not believing that Cruz was working for them. He just hoped that it wouldn't affect his family too much.
"C'mon," Kim said almost in a whisper. "Let's go home. I'll call to check on Faith when we get home. I can have Dana check on her for me. Please, Bos," she said, gentle pressure pushing him toward the door.
They walked outside and hailed a cab, both of them leaning against the other in the backseat on the drive home.
()()()()()()()()
"Hello?" Her voice was quiet.
"Kim, it's Jimmy."
Kim sighed. "Hi Jimmy."
"Hey, where's my car?"
Kim winced. "It's at the hospital. I have the keys here with me. So sorry."
"It's okay. I'll get them when I pick up Joey."
"He's at Mom's."
"Oh. Okay. Is everything okay?"
Kim bit her lip and looked towards the bedroom door. "Actually, no. Can you come here?"
"I'll be over in a little while," Jimmy told her.
"I'll wait for you outside."
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
Kim was on the front steps of her building when Jimmy walked up.
"Hey," he said as he got closer.
She looked up. "Hey." She scooted over and let him sit down next to her. "Here are your keys."
"Thanks," he took them. "So, I know you didn't ask me over to talk about my keys."
Kim smiled faintly, "You always did know me way too well."
"Marriage will do that," Jimmy kidded.
"Yeah."
"What's up Kimmy?"
"It's Bosco."
"Is he okay?"
"Physically the only thing that happened was a black eye but mentally and emotionally I think he's really messed up."
"He feels guilty about Faith?"
"Yeah and I think there's something else. Something he's not telling me. It's just this look I catch in his eyes sometimes, ya know?"
"Have you asked him about it?"
"I don't want to push things right now but there's something tearing him up inside Jimmy and it scares me to think that he can tell me and he won't or that he's scared to tell me."
"Kim, I'm gonna ask you something, but before I do, I want your word that you're not going to hit me."
"No, Jimmy, I don't think he slept with Maritza Cruz."
"Okay. Then what do you think?"
"I don' t know." Kim said as she wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her chin on her knees.
Jimmy nodded and then he looked at her. It was only her profile but he could see a few tears running down her face. "Hey," he whispered.
"I hate this. I can't keep doing it Jimmy. I can't keep losing people," she said in a hushed voice.
Jimmy didn't think twice about pulling her into an embrace. "It's okay Kimmy. Shh..."
