A/N: WOW! Look how quickly I got this story updated! I can't believe it, and this being one of the busiest weeks of my life!! With the help of your readers out there I did it, you're words of encouragement and replies certainly helped me! I'll continue to try and update as quickly as this, if not quicker.

Rating: PG-13

Summary: As if Bosco's life couldn't get any worse after being shot, he's been forced to pair up with Finney, a rookie fresh out of the academy. Things get interesting as the days pass, will they be good for each other or will it be a complete mistake?

Chapter Title: Hard Lessons

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything! Don't sue, for you won't make anything off of me!

Special Thanks: Yet again to CCA (Cosmic Castaway) for all her hard work and being patient with me. I owe you!

Responses to reviewers can be found at the end of this chapter!

Deep Blue Chapter Two: Hard Lessons

Bosco made it home at around 11:30 that night. He'd never been so happy to see his own walls around him, and he sat down on his couch with a heavy thud, taking in a deep breath as he closed his eyes. He rubbed his fingers over his temples, letting that temporarily soothe the pounding headache that seemed to be right at the edge of his skull.

He then noticed it was getting late, and it took every ounce of energy he had left to get up and walk to his bathroom. He took his shirt off, looking in the mirror as he did. He ran his hands over the scars that were tainted across his body, the scars that showed just how much pain he had taken in. Luckily his face didn't scar like his torso did.

The scars were slowly fading with each passing day, but he knew they'd never truly go away. They were there forever, a constant reminder of his past, a past so haunting that it could never be buried. He closed his eyes yet again; this time images of that horrific day came into his vision.

He remembered seeing Faith and Cruz just before Mann's men opened fire. He remembered feeling so confused about why everything bad was happening to him…-everything-. Thankfully the last thing he remembered was diving down to the floor to shelter Faith, and then waking up a few weeks after being in a coma.

He quickly fluttered his eyelids back open, and turned on the cold water to run over his face. He watched as each drop lingered down off of his skin, dripping back into the standing water at the bottom of the sink. He put on a white tank top and went straight to his bed where he curled up into a ball, only to try and rest before the start of another long day. He hoped his days would get easier than this.

Finney decided to stop by the bar before going home from work. He needed to unwind from the eventful day, and a drink at Haggerty's was just the way to do it. Maybe Grace would be there, that'd be the hilight of his day.

He walked in, immediately looking around for any familiar face, hoping Bosco wouldn't be there. Thankfully he saw Ty sitting in the back, a beer in his hand. He was talking to a girl that Finney had never seen before. Finney nodded at him, making his way over.

"Hey, what's up man?"

Davis shrugged, "Let me buy you a drink! I heard Bosco really tore into you."

Finney looked down at the bar and back up. "You seen Grace around?" He was hoping Ty wouldn't ask any questions about why he wanted to know, but his luck wasn't running that great.

Davis smirked at him, arching his eyebrow. "Grace? I thought she was avoiding you."

"Nah, I just want to talk to her." Finney took a sip of a beer he had ordered off of the tap, searching the bar. "I guess she's not here tonight." He drank down the rest of the amber liquid and began to get up, when he felt a hand push him back down on the stool. He jerked around, seeing Grace's smiling face behind him.

"Oh I know you aren't leaving." She sat beside him. "I'll have whatever he's drinking." She then swayed to the music that was playing in the background, 'Fire' by the Ohio Players.

"Oh you like this song huh?" Finney noticed how well she moved to the music. "I'm glad you are enjoying yourself."

"Have a bad day?" She asked as she stood up, pulling him up with her. "Well let's get your mind off of it." She then dragged him to the dance floor.

Bosco rolled over in his bed, trying to wipe the images out of his head. The room would fall completely silent, and then the echo of hundreds of gunshots would go through his mind, making his eyelids flutter with every sound that went through his eardrums. He sat up, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. The room was extremely cold in temperature, yet he felt as if he was running a fever. He kicked his legs off the side of the bed, and then walked to the kitchen where he opened up his cabinet. He rummaged through it, searching for anything that he could drink, and luckily found a half-empty bottle of Canadian Mist Whiskey. He unscrewed the top and took a small sip, feeling the burn instantly. It had been a while since he had even taken a drink of alcohol, and it was like he was starting all over again.

He sat down at his kitchen table, finishing off the bottle as he leaned against the wall, already feeling a buzz from it. The room began to spin. He stood up, discarding the bottle into his trash and walking to the living room. He sat on the couch and stared at the blank TV before dozing off into a light sleep, a sleep that wasn't restful. He was probably better off staying awake the whole night.

Bosco pulled into work the next day at 2:45, only to meet Finney in the parking lot. He didn't say anything as he passed the young cop, he only looked at him, but it almost seemed like he was staring straight through him. Finney gave a slight nod, though he knew Bosco was still pretty heated over the day before.

Swersky noticed both of them walk in at the same time. "You boys resolve whatever happened between you yesterday?"

Finney shook his head yes before Bosco could even attempt to say anything. "Yes sir, it won't happen again." He could feel the slight effects of a hangover coming up on him from the night before. He had stayed out longer than planned.

"Have you two looked in the mirror lately?" Swersky immediately took notice to how both of them came in with dark bags under their eyes, as well as a slouched demeanor, an evident sign that they didn't have restful nights.

Bosco remained silent, he knew he didn't look like he was ready for a beauty pageant and frankly it was none of Swersky's business so he turned to walk up to the locker room. "We are gonna be late."

Finney tapped his fingers to the rhythm of the windshield wipers as they patrolled. The silence that took over the car was so awkward that he couldn't sit still. Every now and then he'd glance over at Bosco, feeling the urge to say something but decided it was probably best to just keep his mouth shut.

Bosco noticed him fidgeting and turned to glare at him. "You have an ant crawl up your ass or something?"

Finney shrugged, tossing his hat around in his hands. "No, I'm just bored."

"You shouldn't be. You should be watching out your windows. Or wait, did you not learn that either?" Bosco shook his head as he made a left turn, stopping for a few kids in the crosswalk.

Finney nodded and looked out the passenger side. "Bosco, are we going to spend all of our days in silence like this? It's going to make me go crazy." He whistled as he wiped his hands over the glass that began to grow foggy.

"I don't really want to talk to you right now Finney." Bosco said that and for some reason regretted it the moment it came out of his lips. He really didn't want to talk to Finney, but he did know that his words probably hit Finney pretty hard.

"No wonder you…" Finney cut himself off, knowing that this would just cause more heat between them. He saw Bosco slowly turn and face him, his eyebrow arching. "I didn't mean anything by that Bosco."

Bosco pulled the car over to a curb, and turned to face him as he turned the ignition off, causing the windshield wipers to stop in the middle of the windshield. The rain pattered hard down on them as the gray clouds soared by. "No wonder I what?"

Finney looked down at the floorboard knowing he had opened up a can of worms with this. He didn't say anything, hoping that maybe Bosco would drop it. "I just said that in the heat of things."

"Bullshit." He hesitated, "I guess you are just like your father Finney, not man enough to say what's on your mind." He gritted his teeth. "That's fine, I really don't want to know, it'll be less stress than I need right now." He opened the door and got out, leaning against the car to get some fresh air. Luckily the rain had dissipated some, only sprinkles now fell from the New York sky.

The radio interrupted his thoughts. "5-5 David, respond to 10th and Parkway, apartment fire in progress. FDNY is also in route."

The drive over was a quick one; they were only two blocks out. You could see the smoke soaring from down the street, as well as the crowd gathering to watch the action. Bosco pulled the car up as close as they could get it and got out, pushing people back. "Go home, there's nothing to see!"

Finney was in awe by the fire, looking up at the orange flames that climbed higher and higher with every second. Instead of helping Bosco get the crowd back he walked up to the building, still staring up high at it like a kid looking up at a new discovery. He took his patrol hat off and felt Bosco grip his arm.

"What the hell are you doing Finney? Help me keep these people back!"

Finney didn't respond, just kept inching closer and closer to the entrance when a small girl ran out, clutched in her hands was a smoke damaged doll entangled in her tiny fingers. Finney knelt down beside her. "Are you okay?"

The little girl coughed, her beautiful hair was matted and her face was covered in black suit. "My brother.."

Finney's eyes widened. "What about your brother?"

A tear fell from her eye, smearing some of the suit that had caked to her delicate skin. "He's up there." She pointed her index finger up to the second story where the majority of the flames were. "He wouldn't get up!"

Finney stood up as he tried to run but Bosco quickly grabbed him. "Where the hell do you think you are going Finney?"

"To get the little boy!"

Bosco pushed him back, shaking his head. "Okay, we'll go in on one condition." He took in a deep breath as his adrenaline took over. "You stay right beside me, you practically hold onto my belt. Don't you leave my site!" Bosco was quite nervous about going in, but it was a little kid, and fire hadn't yet arrived.

Finney nodded as they both ran to the entrance where the smoke overtook their lungs. Bosco kicked the door open, finding the nearest set of stares that wasn't already engulfed with flames. He felt Finney beside him hoping Finney could possibly learn something from this experience. Debris fell around them, making the loudest clattering sounds that Finney had ever heard. He wouldn't admit this to anyone if they had asked, but he was scared. His heart seemed like it could jump out of his chest at any minute. He had never seen anything like it, but a kid's life was at stake and if they didn't go in, he'd die.

They reached the second story, dodging pieces of the building that had fallen, as well as the flames that seemed to be dancing before their eyes, as if they were alive and out for revenge. "Hello?" Bosco yelled as they searched room after room, hoping to get to him in time.

Sweat poured from their bodies like they had water poured on them. Bosco searched and got caught up in the action only to notice a few minutes later that Finney was no longer by his side. He turned in a quick circle, his eyes searching all around him, but there was no sign of Finney anywhere. "FINNEY!" Bosco yelled over the loud roaring of the flames, afraid that this would happen.

Then out of the corner of his eye he saw a lifeless body laying in a deep, thick layer of smoke in the bathtub of apartment 202. He got down low to the floor, holding his breath as long as he could as he crawled to the small, fragile body that was unconscious. It was the boy, and Bosco quickly picked him up, coughing as he did from his lungs being pretty much saturated with the toxic smoke. Black suit poured from his nostrils, but he couldn't give up now. He yelled one more time for Finney, but no response came from within the inferno. He then realized the boy had no pulse, and it was his priority to get him down to an ambulance as soon as possible and hopefully FDNY would find Finney.

He barely made it to the front entry of the apartment complex and was met by two firemen who took the boy from him and ran him to Carlos and Grace. Bosco knelt down on the curb, practically coughing up his lungs. Walsh approached him, seeing the worry on his face. "Bosco, where's your partner?"

Bosco coughed one more time before he answered, his lungs barely had enough oxygen to spit the words out. "Up their, second floor." With that Walsh and his men ran into the building, hoping to find their fallen comrade.

Bosco stood up, looking up at the flames, a bad feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. Finney was missing and he was worried to the point of throwing up. He never knew he would be so distraught. He ran his fingers through his disheveled, smoky hair as he waited impatiently, also keeping an eye on the ambulance where they worked the little boy before they drove off in a cloud of dust.

After what seemed like a century they brought Finney out, and thankfully he was able to walk, he just looked like he had been dragged through hell. They gave him an oxygen mask, which he only wore for a few moments. Bosco wasn't sure if he wanted to pat Finney on the back for making it out, or to kill him for being so stupid; he was just so happy and thankful that Finney was okay. He wasn't happy for the fact that Finney was his responsibility, he was actually happy for another odd feeling, like he actually emotionally cared for him.

"Are you okay Finney?" Bosco sat beside him, putting his hand on his shoulder.

Finney nodded, rubbing his eyes as he tried to get some debris out of them.

"Don't rub that, let them wash it out."

Finney looked up at Bosco, giving a half smile. "If I wasn't mistaken I'd think you are actually caring for me."

Bosco stood up, not sure how to respond to that. "Can you answer me this? Why didn't you do what I said?"

Finney stood up, a confused look erupting on his face. He didn't answer, but let the silence draw them in.

"Don't play stupid Finney. I told you BEFORE we went in to stay beside me! To hold onto my belt! Why did you leave my side!?"

Finney took another deep breath out of the oxygen mask. "I thought I heard the kid crying."

Bosco paced back and forth in front of him, his anger flaring, not because he wanted to be mean to him, but because he cared that much about his safety, though he wouldn't say that out loud. "Next time, if there is a next time, you do what I say." Bosco got in his face, their noses were practically touching. "You might be lucky right now, but it will one day run out. I'm living proof of that," referring to being shot at the ER. He then turned and walked to the RMP, letting the words absorb into Finney's mind.

Before even thinking about going to the stationhouse Bosco decided to go to Mercy and check on the status of the boy. He was pretty negative when it came to if the boy lived or died, but he needed to know for sure, for the sake of his sanity as well as letting Finney know also. They slowly walked into the ER, approaching the front desk where Dr. Smith stood, greeting them.

Bosco didn't have to say anything, they could tell they had came from the fire just by their appearance. Dr. Smith lowered his eyes. "Let's talk in private." He led them to the coffee room. "You are here about the little boy?"

They both nodded in unison, waiting for the news.

"We revived him long enough for his parents to say goodbye. He then coded again, and we were unable to resuscitate him."

The room fell silent as they digested the words. Bosco watched Finney out of the corner of his eye, knowing he wasn't taking it well.

Finny broke the silence. "What was his name?"

Dr. Smith shot him a questionable look.

"The little boy, what was his name?"

"Jake. Jake Thompson."

Finney nodded and exited the coffee room. Bosco waited and then followed, turning Finney around in mid-step. "You okay?"

Finney quickly wiped a tear away that had fallen, hoping no one had caught glimpse of it. "Just get away." He turned to walk away but Bosco grabbed his arm but knew what Finney was feeling.

"Meet me at the car in a few." He then let Finney go. It was a valuable lesson, losing a child, and from what Bosco could tell it was the first time for Finney.

That night after their shift it was the most awkward silence they had both endured. Bosco wanted to talk to him, to let Finney vent because that was the best way to let go and feel better, but Bosco didn't even like to vent to just anyone. Sully and Davis walked in, noticing the wall of silence.

"You two still not getting along?" Davis asked as he quickly unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it into his locker.

Bosco shook his head. "Bad call, that's about it." He slammed his locker. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. Finney, go home and rest, tomorrow will be better." He knew he sounded more sincere than he wanted to, but he didn't care. It seemed as if things couldn't get any worse, which they could only get better as time passed.

TBC…..

Responses to Reviewers:

BaileyBos: I'm glad you like my story! Yeaaah! And as long as you guys keep replying, I'll continue it!

ArodLoverus2001: Hope you thought this chapter was just as awesome! Did I update soon enough for you? I'm trying to be quick with it so I can keep your interest!!

Mr. Big Fish: You have no idea how happy I was to read that you could imagine this since you have a hard time with other stories. It means I have fulfilled my goal in being realistic, and I appreciate your review.

Jayne-190: Was the second chapter as good as the first? I hope I can keep your interest up, and I hope this turns out to be the best fic I've written in awhile. The idea just came to me one day about putting them together, I'm glad someone else likes the idea too.

Thirdwatcher: YES! Everything is in character! Hope it remains that way for ya! (winks)

Cosmic Castaway: AHH! You know where I live!! (ducks down) Did I update soon enough? LOL…Glad you are reading this, I appreciate all your help girlie! Can't say it enough.

Abby: Yay! You love it! Nice compliment, I appreciate it!

Again, thanks for all your wonderful replies! I can't thank you enough, hope you enjoyed this chapter just enough! (smiles) Let me know if you did or not!