I'll be By Your Side

Disclaimer: I don't own Third Watch or it's characters

Spoilers: Kingpin Rising

Pairing: Bosco and Faith

Author's Note: This was only going to be about Bosco, and then I got another idea, so I thought I would use both ideas! Thanks for Nina for helping beta this for me, you are the best!

Chapter 1

"Your scar is something you live with...have to live with."

Bosco touched his scar through the bandage as he thought about what happened in the club earlier. It was true; he was stuck with this scar for the rest of his life and he had to deal with it. He looked at himself in the mirror and he saw a different person than who he was before.

He was happy that he was back at work again, but everything was different; he wasn't in 55David anymore and Faith wasn't his partner anymore. He had to watch her work a crime scene without him. He should have been in there with her. It should have been them working together, not him looking at her from the outside.

He pulled his shirt off, accidentally dislodging the bandage. He touched his scar without the bandage, and then walked over to his bag to get a new one. He didn't want anybody to see the scar. If they did... they would see how different he was. In his mind, as long as he had the bandage on, people would still see him as the same person he was before he got shot. He put his jacket on, and was just about to put another bandage on when he heard her voice.

"It's just me."

He turned around to face her. Even since they had that fight; he wasn't sure how to act around her... He wanted to tell her that he was sorry, but he was never one to say he was sorry.

She looked at him, and could see that he was tensing up, because she could see his scar. "It's just a scar."

"It's not just a scar, it's a reminder of what I've lost," he responded as he sat down.

She looked at him. "We all have scars."

"Yeah, but your scars you can't see, mine you can. Everybody can look at me, know what happened, and feel sorry for me. I don't want anybody to feel sorry for me; I'd rather have people hate me, than feel pity for me."

"Nobody feels sorry for you," Faith replied. "You should be happy that you're alive."

"You don't understand!" Bosco yelled.

Faith sighed. She was happy that she and Bosco were talking again, but she didn't want to get in an argument with him again. She didn't want to lose her friendship with Bosco.

"Then tell me, Bosco, you got what you wanted, you're back on the job, what else is there?" she asks.

He shakes his head. "Didn't you see me watching you work today? I realized that I wanted to be in there with you… working side by side with you, like old times. But I'm never gonna have that. Everything is different now. I want everything back to normal, like before I got shot. There's too much change."

"I thought you would be glad to have a new partner," Faith spoke softly.

"Of course not, Faith, I loved being in the car with you. I was your partner for 13 years, and nothing could destroy our partnership, not even when I was working with Cruz. But Mann was able to destroy it when he had me shot... I was partnered with Sully today, and it felt so weird to be in 55 Charlie... I should have been in 55 David with you, that's where I belong…, with you! I thought you would wait for me, but I guess as soon as they said that you could be a detective, you forgot about me and our partnership."

Faith looked at Bosco with this sad look on her face. "I didn't want to take this job; I wanted to wait for you, more than you know, but I had the custody of the kids to think about. If it wasn't for the divorce, I would have waited for you, Bosco, I hope you know that. You'll always be my partner, even if I don't ever ride with you again."

"Faith, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have even said that, you're a great detective, I meant what I said earlier, you're great at it."

She smiled at him. "Thanks." Faith stood up. "Just so you know… I miss you as my partner just as much as you do."

"You know, you're the best partner I ever had. I don't think I'll ever find anybody as good as you."

She smiled. "I'm sure you'll forget about me after awhile," she laughed. It felt so good to laugh like old times. "So how are you really doing, Bos?"

"I already told you at Mercy, my eye is fine," Bosco said, quickly. She knew that he was lying to her, but she wasn't going to argue with him.

"So how are the mom and daughter doing from the 'vampire' case?" Bosco asked.

"The daughter is going to need some serious help, I'm just so thankful that Emily isn't like that, that she doesn't get caught in a cult like that."

"Vampires on my first day back... very exciting," Bosco laughed.

Faith smiled. "I didn't say this to you earlier... but welcome back, Bosco. I know we argued before, but I only did it because I care about you. I'll always be there for you."

Bosco nodded. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"With bells on," Faith replied.

"I still don't know what that means."

Faith smiled to herself, as her cell phone rang. A few minutes later, she got off the phone. Bosco walked up to her and saw that she had a scared look on her face. "What's wrong, Faith?"

"It's Emily, she's in the hospital."