He turned around and looked at the person who had spoken to him, he smiled smugly.
"Likewise Ritza"
"You two know each other?" Ashley stared at them both in shock. Then she remembered, they'd worked together at the 55th, she had blown herself up to take down a drug/gang leader, she was supposed to be dead. She read it in the paper.
"You could say that" Cruz drawled out nice and slow
"We have…history" "and unfinished business" he wanted to know why the hell she would kiss him and then go and "blow" herself up, not a letter, phone call or email explaining, telling him she was alive.
"But we were just leaving C'mon Ash" if Ashley knew what's best for her she would say thanks but no thanks, she'd think he was on crack if he asked her to say no. He would have to tell her the history between them and that's something he didn't want to relive any time soon.
"Wow" Ashley sat in her car just having listened to Bosco explain why she shouldn't go to Anti-Crime, not when Maritza Cruz was the head of it. She didn't know what to say, it seemed unreal, but yet so entertaining, so thrilling. That only made her decision harder. Maybe it would be different this time, she knew what was crossing the line and not, but the line was narrow and thin.
What defined the line? And what defined crossing it?
She sensed that they had unfinished business they needed to talk about, and she was going to be the one who gave them that time, she just had to think of a way how. It would come to her eventually. Always did.
"So what was her reason for being at Stan's last night?" She would have to tell him so he didn't make a scene.
"She's working undercover"
"In Stan's bar, why?"
"She said that Stan is running a drugs, his bar a cover"
"I really believe that one" his tone saying that he really didn't.
"How long have you known her?"
"What does this have to do with anything?"
"Just answer the question"
"I don't know maybe seven years"
"In that time how many times has she been wrong?"
She had him there, she had never been wrong, except when it came to Mikey and Dade, it was Mikey's car but it wasn't him driving. Hell he would have thought that too, if it hadn't been Mikey. So that really didn't count. Dammit, Stan! Of all people why the hell him? How many times had he sat there in the bar, sharing his stories with Stan about his cases that he worked on and he was just let him listen. How could he have been so stupid?
"You don't need to beat yourself up about it"
"I could have told him things that no body was supposed to know!"
"Your not like that"
"How do you know that?"
"Because whether or not you like it, I do know you" It was true.
"Now if I say yes will you be there backing me up?" How could she ask him something like that, of course he would.
He nodded
It was good to know
"Then it's decided, either you come with me or I say no thanks"
"Put 'err there pardner" she said in her best southern accent and extended her hand.
"Sure thing kiddo" he replied in the same southern tone, and shook her hand.
"Come on your buying" she got out of the car, him following.
"Do I have to buy your every meal?"
"For now you do" and walked into the diner.
"Alright, now that you know my problems, time for you to spill yours"
"Ya..No" she began digging into her food avoiding him, she was stubborn, maybe even more than him.
"Do I have to ask Ramirez?"
"You wouldn't" she looked at him, anger flaring in her eyes
"Try me" he took a fry and dug it in her ketchup and to his mouth, smiling.
She wanted to tell him, she really did but everyone in her life that she though cared for her ended up hurting her, she didn't want to let him in and have him hurt her. She'd been foolish enough to allow that with David and look where that ended up.
"Not here, its not something you say in a roomful of people" he nodded his understanding, he wondered if once that she told him, her life story that he would too. He didn't know if he could do that.
They finished eating in silence, him again paying for the cheque and soon they were on their way, she pulled to a stop at a red light.
"Umm could you take me to my place, I need some clothes"
"Ok and then where?"
"Where ever you want to go to talk about your problems" her shoulders sunk, she thought he'd forgotten about that
"Where are you staying?"
"With you"
"Thanks for asking, you know I would love my if you stay with me" he detected sarcasm in her voice.
"See I know you wouldn't mind"
The light turned green and she made her way to his apartment.
He unlocked the door and walked into a darkened apartment, maybe she was staying at her mother's or Emily's, he was grateful that she wasn't here.
He quickly grabbed what he could stuff into his duffel bag and came back out, she hadn't moved from spot he'd left her.
Her arms tucked around her middle protecting from what he didn't know.
"Alright I'm ready"
"Do you want to follow me so you have your car?"
"Ya ok"
They were about to leave when the rustling of keys in a lock diverted their attention. Faith walked in, so many emotions on her face but most apparent was sadness and relief.
"Hello Ashley"
"Faith"
"Bos, I'm really glad that you came back, I love you so much and now we can work things out"
She rushed over to him and pulled him into a kiss, Ashley became very uncomfortable very fast. He pulled away from her as quickly as it started
"No Faith that's not why I came here"
"I'm going to go, I'll see you later Bosco, Faith" she bolted to the door, not wasting a second to get out of there. She didn't do well in those kinds of situations; her own husband had called her the ice queen.
She had her mother to thank for that, never having a gentleman friend for more than two weeks, always ditching them for bigger and better, meaning more sleazy. It wasn't any better when her father was alive, he was just like them. She had always known that her father did drugs, he tried so hard to keep them from him, but she knew, everyone on the damn block knew. Look out when he was high, if you get caught your in for one hell of a beating. The day she turned sixteen she finally realized that he needed help and told him, that she loved him but he needed help, he had a problem. His answer was beating her to an inch of her life and claimed that she fell down the stairs on her own. Social services never did anything they always send some guy fresh out of college who was easily manipulated by her mother and they always had glowing reports.
Her mother did nothing when she told her that she saw dad raping Rachael, she just laughed and had another drink. So one night when he came home she was waiting for him, with his gun that had mysteriously appeared a few weeks ago. She hid but it was within reach as he tried to rape her, he never did though because a bullet stopped him in his chest.
Nothing like a good night of pitying yourself was there? She didn't do it often and kept quite when others were telling stories of their childhood, she did a couple of memories of her grandmother when she was allowed to visit and that she would keep inside of her for all time.
She looked at the clock in her kitchen, ten after nine. Hmm he'd been gone over four hours. She guessed that was good, that meant they were talking and quite possibly they could get back together. Which she wasn't too keen on, there was something about her that just rubbed her the wrong way. She knew Faith was a good person, even better detective but she just didn't see her and Bosco having a future. Which lead her to think about ways she could get Cruz and Bosco together it would have to be something subtle, nothing too obvious, hmm she needed them together but how? She thought of ways for a few minutes but nothing seemed to stick. She was in a middle of thought when her door knocked, well someone knocked on her door.
She opened the door to a person looking like shit, his face looked like they had extra worry lines etched into his forehead, maybe he been doing a lot of thinking, Ha Bosco thinking now that's a first. Now was the time for jokes. She told the truth.
"You look like shit" she told him as she moved away so he could get in, it seemed he'd packed more stuff. She didn't know what else to say, her friend's well people she knew didn't include her in things like this and she didn't either.
"She's pregnant" that definitely made things better. Not.
"But its not mine" that was a sucker punch to the solar plexus.
"Are you happy or disappointed?" why the hell would she ask that? That was none of her business and she regretted asking it but he answered.
"You certainly have a way to get to the point" he put his bag down near the couch and sat down stretching out and his head leaning against the back of the couch, his eyes closed.
"Life's too short not to" she had a point there
"I don't know, at first I felt disappointed, but then as she kept talking it changed to relief. Her two other kids didn't get to see much of her when they were growing up"
"You think this time will be different?" she sat in the oversized chair beside him.
"I don't know but I don't have to worry about that it's not mine" he leaned over to his bag, looking for something and produce a bottle of champagne with two glasses.
"This calls for a celebration" he very carefully popped the cork off with just a pop. He poured her a glass then his; he set the bottle down on the table between them and took his from her.
"To not being the father!" she didn't like him like this it kind of scared her; he just threw a relationship away without a second glance. She watched him over the rim of her champagne flute as she drank, his face change as quick the seconds ticked away the time.
He looked at her as if he was expecting something, right the damn talk they had to have.
"There's nothing to tell" he gave her a look that told her he didn't believe that.
"Honestly" he expression didn't change
"Ok you wanna know, my life? My past ok"
"My father was a druggie who liked to rape my sister, he beat within an inch of my life on my sixteenth birthday cause I asked him to get help, social services did nothing, my father tried to rape me one night so I shot him with his own gun"
"Then I spent six months in the loony bin because my mother thought I was out of control and needed help, she put the best show I'd ever seen her do crying wondering where she went wrong in front of the judge, the next day she came to visit me, she told me she never wanted to see me again"
"Then when I got out, it was like she was completely different, she had a new guy every week, more sleazier than last"
"Then just went I think I've found a guy that doesn't care about my past he uses that to try to get me committed again so that he gets the money that my grandmother left me. And my mother was in on it too"
"There now you know my life story, don't pity me, feel sorry for me, nothing"
He didn't expect he to tell him, but she did and he was glad, that she had chosen him to confide in. He wondered how a guy could do something like that to her, sure she had her moments when he wanted to shoot her but she didn't deserve that.
"Thank you"
"For what?"
"Telling me"
"Ya well you got annoying" she looked away hiding the truth, that she was glad she had told him. She moved off the chair and into her kitchen, he heard her tinkering around there and wondered what she was doing.
She was drinking she had the bottle and glass in front of her, her arms bracing her against the counter, thinking he supposed.
"The funny thing is my sister is married and has two kids"
She shot back more amber liquid.
"My childhood wasn't any better"
He wasn't the one to be comforting her; he'd never had anyone comfort him before. The last time he tried to comfort someone they ended up sleeping together that was a whole other road that didn't need to be take again. He could hug her what was the worst that could happen?
He pulled her into his arms and just held her; he felt tears seep through his shirt. She pulled away suddenly walking away from him wiping her tears in secret.
"Enough of me, what happened once I left?"
"I don't want to talk about it" he moved back to the living room
"That's not going to work with me mister, I told you"
"Fair enough, but first I wanna do something"
"What exactly?" her eyebrows drew together, her eyes followed him as he got up again and stood in front of her
"This" he said as his lips came crashing down on hers.
A/N: I did say eventually did i not?