A/N: Decided what I wanted to do with the two of them, you'll be happy to know him and Cruz are still together. As for Bosco and Ashley well just read on. Next chapter well, just going to have to wait! Hayden gets some screen time
He hadn't came to see her the other two days she was in the hospital, nor the two weeks she spent on complete bed rest, her in bed for two weeks that drove her crazy she did it for a day and had enough, she spent her time doing things that needed to be done, her not as easily as she would have like but at least she had attempted them, what the doctor didn't know couldn't hurt him.
He still hadn't talked to her by the time she went back to work, well desk work but at least she wasn't driving herself nuts by sitting at home doing nothing. She knew they needed to talk but when she didn't know, it was up to him. But she wasn't going to wait her whole life either.
She'd heard that Cruz had woken up a week ago, making around the time that Ashley went back to work, and from what she had learned a few minutes ago Cruz was going home today. She couldn't be happier for her.
Her ribs hurt a little less each day, meaning they were healing, another week or two she could be back out on the street fighting crime. In Anti-Crime or back to uniform she didn't know yet, she'd deal with that when the time came. Bosco was back in uniform having no one to partner up with him, Timmin's partner came back from vacation two weeks ago.
Everyone knew something had had happened between them, noticing how they went from talking to each other to not even looking at each other when they walked by one another, some had even gotten up the courage to ask, but all they got were death glares from both. It was no body's business except hers and his, even the desk Sgt had asked if everything was ok between them, he'd lucked out and got a 'fine' from her but nothing else.
He looked extremely stressed today, he should be happy his girlfriend had went home yesterday, not looking like he was ready to kill, was taking care of her that upsetting? He was still her friend even though he would never admit it, she decided since the desk Sgt was talking on the phone she could take her escape without him saying too much. She had seen him go into the locker room only moments before. He sat on the bench across from his locker head in hands, something was really bothering him. She'd find out what was bothering him and then leave. With him still hating her, something she would have to deal with for now, that was if he told her what was bothering him. Couldn't hurt to try.
She slid down on the bench beside him; she didn't think he noticed her, too caught up in whatever he was caught up in.
"Bosco what's wrong?" he held up an envelope, the problem was really big if he actually was going to tell her.
She took the envelope and read the address, the hospital. She took the letter out, skimmed it a bunch of medical gargle until she reached the bottom of the page her jaw dropping
"That's a lot of money" a small fortune, a large small fortune.
"Money she doesn't have" she then saw who it was addressed to. Maritza Cruz.
"Doesn't her insurance cover it?" she didn't know what else to do so she continued to try and understand the mumble jumble of the doctor's language.
"Not all of it, they cover two thousand of it" that left the small fortune still large.
"I'm sorry Bosco" she was it would take years to pay off that kind of debt.
"Don't worry about it, I'll just work overtime" he went back into his own world again, leaving her alone, she stood up, her ribs protesting she ignored them and placed the envelope in his opened locker. And left him alone.
Later that night she sat in her car at a red light, no one behind her, just like her life, no one was there backing her up, except Hayden, even him hadn't talked to her in a couple of days.
Unsure of yourselfYou stand divided now.
Which road will lead you there?
Left went home, right went to a place where she hoped in time she hoped he would forgive her.
Last time you fell and you hit hard
Your wounds have healed by now
But you still see your scars yeah
She couldn't stand it anymore and turned. She got home feeling better than she had in a few weeks her ribs weren't even bothering her at the moment. She busied herself with making something to eat, pushing all that paperwork made her hungry. She was cutting celery for her salad when Hayden knocked on her door. It was the last and first person she thought she would see.
"Hey darlin" he leaned in for a kiss and wasn't disappointed as she kissed him and took a few bags from his hands.
"What's in the bags?" she sat them on her kitchen counter.
"Food"
"Food's good" she reached in the cupboard for some plates.
"No need for plate's its Chinese" she put them back.
"What do you want to drink, I have water and" she looks in her fridge "beer"
"Beer's fine" she grabs two and closes the fridge. She grabs a bag and carries it to her coffee table.
"What no table?"
"Just wanted to eat in here" he carried the rest in here and started rooted through the bags.
"I'm sorry I haven't called or stopped by, I was working on this case that took up all my free time, I even forgot to sleep one night"
"It's fine"
"Why do you keep saying it's fine when it's not?"
"Because it is" she looked at him directly in the eye. Everything was fine or would be.
"So how was your day darlin?"
"It sucked paper work all day, next week I get to go back to uniform so things will pick up" He nodded and dug into a carton of food.
"So how was yours?" he swallowed
"Oh not exciting as yours, I was in court most of the day and just waiting on the jury to come back on the evidence"
"You think you'll win?"
"It's actually quite hard to tell, we both had some good evidence so I guess we wont know until the jury comes back"
"I hope you win"
"Me too"
"Enough talk, I'm starved" he put the carton down, Ashley unaware continued eating. She finally felt his stare and stopped eating.
"Did I slop or something?" she looked down at her shirt, seeing nothing she looked back up.
"No" her eyebrows drew together in confusion
"Then what?" he moved closer to her taking the carton from her. His lips met hers. And soon kissing wasn't enough as her hand slipped to his buttons taking her time with each ones. She ran her hands down his exposed chest, dropping down further to his pants, his hand stopped hers.
"Are you sure?"
"I've never been more sure of anything than this" he hand moved away from hers to rest in her hair as her hands continued to undo his belt.
If she never read again then she'd be ok, so many papers had been pushed in her face today that it must have taken a small forest to produce them. She had her heart content on falling into bed, and not waking up for the next five years. She'd just gotten in the door when it flew open again, Bosco leaving a trail of imaginary fire as he sped past her into her living room
"Hello to you too"
"Why'd you do it?"
"I'm tired I'm not in the mood to play games"
"I know it was you that paid her bill" her secret was out, she turned right last night and made a quick visit to the billing department before going home.
"What else was I supposed to do? Let her suffer, let you suffer?" "I didn't want you or her to suffer for something I did"
"This is our problem not yours"
"How can I not be mine, I'm the reason she got shot!"
"No your not, she is, I know you don't want to admit that but could you stop her from going to them? No, no one could have"
"Why cant you just let this go as a good deed?"
"Because I know you don't do anything as a good deed, you always have an alter motive"
"This time I didn't"
" I know you, why did you do it?"
"Because I thought maybe if I did do it you would stop blaming me, your good at that aren't you blaming people for things"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know exactly what it means"
He stood there shaking his not believing she was accusing him of blame people for his problems.
"You know why no one likes you? Because you don't say anything about your personal life, I live with you and know nothing about you"
"Well that's about to change, I'm moving in with Cruz"
"Does she know your past, then at least someone will. I told you everything and what do I get in return? Huh? Nothing, no insight, no one little memory nothing"
He remained silent,
"You know friendship goes both ways. I don't even know your mother's name and we've been partners for six years!"
"I DON'T NEED TO BE SOME CHARITY CASE"
"YOU THINK THAT WHAT THIS IS?"
"PAYING OUT FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS SEEMS LIKE A CHARITY CASE TO ME"
"I PAID HER BILL BECAUSE I'M YOUR FRIEND, OR AT LEAST I THOUGHT I WAS BUT ALL YOU SAW ME AS WAS SOME ONE TRYING TO TURN YOU INTO SOME CHARITY CASE!"
" I NEVER SAID THAT"
"YOU WERE IMPLYING IT"
"WHY WONT YOU LISTEN TO ME?" his anger got the best of him and throws a vase across the room, shattering upon impact against the wall.
"BECAUSE YOU WON'T LET ME LISTEN!"
"IT'S HARD, THE ONE PERSON THAT I TRUSTED IS DEAD, OK IT'S NOT EASY FOR ME TO OPEN UP TO SOMEONE"
"IT WAS FOR ME TOO BUT DO YOU THINK I LET THAT STOP ME? I DID IT TWICE IN A WEEK PLUS SLEPT WITH YOU, I THINK THAT'S SAYING SOMETHING"
"WELL THE TOWN SHOULD JUST GIVE YOU A MEDAL FOR YOUR BRAVE ACTS"
I know I've been mistaken
but just give me a break and see the changes that I've made
"You're a prick"
"I'd rather be a prick than a murderer"
I've got some imperfections
But how can you collect them all and throw them in my face
"This has nothing to do with my past"
"You were just talking about it"
"I was using it to tell you, you know everything about me and I know nothing about you"
"YOU WANNA KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT ME? OK HERE IT IS. I'M AFRAID OF THE DARK BECAUSE MY FATHER USED TO BREAK INTO HOUSE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT TO BEAT MY MOTHER, I SUFFERED A PANIC ATTACK BECAUSE OF 9/11, I GOT POISON IVY FROM AN EX GIRLFRIEND BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHY, I WAS ALMOST KILLED IN A FIRE BECAUSE SOME IDIOT THOUGHT IT WAS COOL TO WATCH A BUILDING BURN, I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR A PARAMEDIC DYING, IT WAS THE GUY'S CAR THAT BLEW HER UP, DONALD MANN KILLED MY BROTHER BECAUSE I WELL I DON'T KNOW WHY, 'SUPPOSEDLY KILLED HIS SON', WAS IN THE HOSPITAL FOR OVER THREE MONTHS BECAUSE DONALD, SENT MEN TO THE HOSPITAL AND TRIED TO KILL ME, CRUZ AND YOKAS, THAT ENOUGH OR SHOULD I GO ON?"
She stayed quiet, not sure what to say.
"OK I WILL, YOKAS MY OWN PARTNER TURNED ME IN BECAUSE I ASKED HER TO SHOOT FOR ME BECAUSE OF MY EYE" so that was why he had the bandage when he first came "THEN I WATCH MY EX-GIRLFRIEND BLOW HERSELF UP HAPPY NOW?" not even close
"You think that by telling me all this is somehow going to change all of this?" his anger was once again taking out by throwing a glass object any place he knew that would make it shatter,
"Would you stop trashing my place, you don't have to clean the place up" he broke a couple more objects just to infuriate her. She walked over t her door jerking it open with more force than necessary.
"I WANT YOU OUT, AND YOU ARE NOT TO SPEAK TO ME AGAIN UNTIL YOU CAN APOLIGIZE FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE" he was done, he'd alienated the only person that understood him, his shoulders low, he walked over to the door, always having to have the last word he said in the most normal tone he could muster at this moment
"Her name is Rose" he walked out the door, the door slamming shut behind him.
She sits among the pieces
of broken glass and photographs
Reluctantly releases the
Last of what was her past
it struck without a warning or
Did she just ignore the signs
In those dark clouds forming
Behind her silver lines?
The door
It slammed like thunder
And the tears
They fell like rain
And the warnings
Whirl like a hurricane
She's drowning in emotions
And she cannot
Reach the shore
She's alive but
Can she survive the storm?
She was done, done with Bosco, done with people, and that meant Hayden too. Why did this hurt so much? She walked into her bedroom to a box in her closet, that no one knew about, she pulled it down and picked up the only thing that tied her with her grandmother. The music box she'd gotten when she was seven, she opened it the ballerina still twirled around as music played, tears clouded her vision as she threw it on the floor, the dancer bouncing off, and the glass shattering, she left her room, not being able to stand looking at it.
A broken jewel box dancer
Lies in pieces down the hall
She's finding out the answers
Don't change nothing at all
It's time that
She stopped searching
For who's to blame or
What went wrong
The only thing
For certain is he's gone
She's got to move on
She'd gotten along just fine by herself, she didn't need anyone. Time to put that mantra to use. She grabbed her keys and left, to have the dreaded conversation that she didn't want to have but had to with Hayden.
Someday days just roll on by
Without a gray cloud in the sky
She keeps telling herself
"I will make it on my own"
Her courage left her as she made it closer to his apartment, she'd never been here before, but he had told her the story of how he got the apartment and he'd let it slip the address and number. Now or never I can make it on my own. She knocked on the door, waiting a few seconds before he answered, shirtless his hair still wet from the shower she must of interrupted.
"Hey Ash, I was just going to come over" she pushed her way in
"We need to talk"
A/N: Used a lot of songs in this one, the first and second little lyric verse is This Time by Three Doors Down, the third and fourth are Right Here by Staind, the rest is The Storm by Garth Brooks.