A/N: Hey guys, I want to say THANKS so much for your replies on this. I think your support is the reason I'm getting this story updated so quickly, so keep it up, I appreciate it more than you can imagine! Also I wanted to say that if Bosco seems out of character in this chapter/story, I just want you guys to know that he's doing it out of training Finney. I know Bosco probably wouldn't say some of the things he's said in this chapter, but to make this as realistic as possible I had to work it in that way. Also remember Bosco has matured a great amount!
Also I wanted to say that this chapter might seem a little slow, but I'm trying to build the characters up a little! Sorry if you get bored with it!
Rating: PG-13
SummaryAs 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?
Disclaimer: Still don't own them, so don't sue me cause you won't get ANYTHING! This is for entertainment purposes only!
Chapter: Three
Special Thanks: Yet again to Cosmic Castaway, for this would not even be done without her. I still am so thankful for you, and again I can't thank you enough!
Responses to Reviewers can be found at the end of this chapter
Deep Blue Chapter Three: An Evident Connection
When Bosco reached the parking lot he saw Faith walking to her car, and hesitated about going over to talk to her. The last time he really spoke to her was when he was still laid up in the hospital, and not once did they brush the fact that she was now a detective, and their partnership had been brought to a sudden halt, that would never get going again. His feet carried him towards her, but his mind was trying to push him towards his own vehicle.
Faith looked up after rummaging through her purse to find her keys and smiled instantly. "Hey Bosco, how are you doing?" Her eyes looked really sincere but Bosco could tell that she felt just as uncomfortable as he did.
He nodded, giving a small grin. "Trying to get home." He tossed his keys from one hand to the other.
"Oh yeah? I heard you got paired up with Finney Jr. How's that going?" She leaned against her car, hugging herself to keep warm; the New York temperature had dropped drastically in the past few days.
He shrugged. He knew she knew –exactly- how it was going, and just talking about it made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. "Faith, you know better than to ask me something like that." He then looked at his watch. "I need to get going, it's getting late and it's been a rough day." He turned to walk away but Faith gently grabbed his arm.
"Boz?"
He turned around quickly, "Yeah?"
"We should have lunch sometime, get caught up on things." She brushed some hair out of her face that had been tousled from the wind that began to pick up.
"Okay, sounds good. I'll see you later Faith."
He got home within 15 minutes; the traffic seemed to be lighter than usual. He tossed his keys on the end table beside the door and went straight for the refrigerator where he grabbed a Heineken from the bottom shelf. He drank half of it in one gulp as he sifted through the mail he had received. He grabbed another bottle and drank it down also, savoring the flavor.
"Bill, bill, bill, junk." He tossed the envelopes across the table and smirked. "Man I've become such a loser."
He finished the beers off, noticing those were his last alcohol items that he had in his entire apartment. He quickly turned to the door, grabbing his jacket and keys. It was time for a beer run or else it'd be a long night for him. He had to drown out the memories somehow, why not with his good friend Jack Daniel's?
Finney decided to go back to Haggerty's for the second night in a row. He searched the entire bar but saw no one but shrugged it off. He sat down at the bar, ordering a beer off the tap. He turned the stool around to look out into the entire room, hoping maybe he had missed seeing someone but there was all unfamiliar faces.
"You looking for someone?" The bartender asked as he wiped out the inside of a beer mug.
Finney shook his head no. "Nah, I was just checking out the scenery." He tapped the mug he had in his possession, asking the bartender for another round.
Bosco slowly walked down the sidewalk, trying to decide where he wanted to go to get some drinks. It was between Howell's on 5th avenue, or Haggerty's, a place he had went to so many times in the past. He was right across from Haggerty's and decided it'd be best to stick around the neighborhood. Haggerty's had the best drinks anyway.
He crossed the street and opened the door, hearing the entry bells ring. He didn't see Finney sitting at the bar, but sat down and ordered a shot of Jack Daniel's. He drank it down, feeling the burning sensation that felt just like tiny razor blades that were sent gliding down his esophagus. He drank two more shots before he finally slowed down. He then turned to his left, seeing Finney a few barstools down. He sat the shot glass down with full force, making a hard knocking sound on the wooden counter. For some reason he was already feeling different, after two beers and three shots he was buzzing quite early, but his system was still in a somewhat state of shock.
Finney finally noticed Bosco and gave a small wave. "Wow, the savior actually goes out and drinks?"
Bosco arched his eyebrow, sitting to Finney's right. "What is that supposed to mean Finney?"
Finney looked away, giving an arrogant laugh. He could tell Bosco had already had a lot to drink, and it'd be a site to see when taunting him. Bosco slapped his hand down on the table, gritting his teeth. "Don't look away from me Finney."
Finney slowly turned back to him. "What I meant was, you seem to be walking around the station like you are holier than thou and I was surprised to see your ass out here drinking."
"Which goes to show that you don't know shit about me." Bosco leaned against the bar, his temper flaring. For some reason Bosco had a very short fuse with Finney tonight, even shorter than he did at work.
Finney nodded, "Yeah, that's right, the only thing I know about you is that you're a tight wad who is too chicken shit to do anything on the job."
With Finney's comment all Bosco could see was red, and he gave Finney a small shove, making him lose his balance off of the stool. Finney was quick with reflexes and caught himself. He returned Bosco's shove with his own back at him, but Bosco didn't budge. They were now up in eachother's faces, but neither moved, as the altercation became an all out staring contest.
"Get out of my face Finney." Bosco broke the silence. He didn't feel well, he was pretty much drunk or near it, and he didn't want to end up doing something he'd regret.
Finney stood strong though, giving Bosco another shove. Before Bosco could let go and hit him Holly stood in between them, pushing Finney back. "What are you two doing? Break it up!"
Bosco shot her a questionable look. "Who the hell are you?" He had seen her working before but he was pretty much unfamiliar with her.
She turned to face him. "Holly Levigne." She replied, pep to her voice. "You must be Bosco."
He just stared at her, not really comprehending what was going on before his eyes.
"Why are you boys fighting? Split up. One of you go to one end of the bar, and the other go to the opposite end."
Bosco turned to walk away. "It's okay, I'm leaving anyway."
Bosco walked into work the next day pretty much expecting the events that happened the previous two days. He remained silent all throughout role call, didn't wait on Finney at radio check and went straight to the car, just remained completely unsociable. It was raining yet again today. He watched each raindrop hit the windshield, almost in a rhythmic pattern. Finney opening the passenger side door made him jump, though he tried to cover it as best as he could.
Finney didn't say anything as well; he just leaned back in his chair, waiting for the day ahead of them. Bosco didn't put the car into gear but just sat, staring at the windshield that began to grow foggy from them breathing. He could see the awkwardness Finney was showing, and for some evil reason felt good about that.
Bosco ran his hands over the fog on the window, wiping it away as he turned the round knob for the defroster. "You look uncomfortable Finney."
He shrugged. "I was just wondering if we were going to start our tour or just sit and admire the parking lot."
Bosco looked out the side window, watching other cops walk to their RMP's. He then turned and looked Finney straight in the eye. He wasn't used to talking to someone like he was about to with Finney, but it was time that they got on the same page.
"Finney, we need to get a few things straight with each other before we start another day out there." He paused, scratching his eyebrow. Finney kept his eyes on Bosco, his mind wondering where this would lead. Bosco then broke the silence again. "I understand that both of us have our pride. I understand that you are a rookie on this job. We all began as rookies, it's a rule of life. We need to start agreeing on things, or it's going to result in one of us getting hurt, or even death." He stopped with that, letting the words soak in.
All that could be heard was rain falling hard on the car, and the deep breaths coming from Finney's lungs. He couldn't believe he was saying the things that had just came out of his mouth, but he was the training officer, the mature one that needed to step up and take the responsibility over an officer on probation, an officer that needed his guidance.
Finney ran his hands over his pants, almost nervous about the situation. "That goes both ways."
"I know it does. It's a two way street. We don't even have to be friends outside the job, but while we wear this uniform we get along or we don't go home." Bosco then put the car into gear, hoping that'd help solve SOME of the problems. It was totally out of character for him but they are right in saying you have to grow up sometime.
"5-5 David, respond to 23rd street, apartment 10. Domestic in progress."
Bosco motioned at Finney to respond to the dispatcher. "5 David, responding to 23rd street, apartment 10."
"Okay Finney, this is your first domestic with me, just follow my lead. If you don't know by now I can't stand them, so let's do this as quickly and painless as possible."
They both ran up the stair case to the second floor where their destination was, knocking on the door. "Police! Open up!"
There was no response from the other side of the door. A few faint voices could be heard, as if the people fighting didn't want to be heard. Finney knocked again, yelling again that the police were at their doorstep but still no response. Finney moved in to kick the door open but Bosco grabbed his arm, pulling him back.
He turned the doorknob, opening the door. "Finney, always check the door knob first, it could be unlocked." Bosco gave out a short laugh, trying not to but it just slipped from his lips.
They walked into the living room where tons of trash lay sitting every which direction. Old food cartons with leftovers in them were scattered, newspapers from months ago carelessly thrown around, as well as laundry piled up on the furniture. The smell of the place hit them like a brick wall, causing both of them to cover their noses with their hands.
Bosco spoke through his fingers. "Anybody home?"
They then heard footsteps and both of them put their hands on their guns, ready for anything. An older lady came through the shadows, kicking an old pizza box as she entered the living room. She had a black eye, as well as a huge gash across her forehead.
"What are you two doing in my house?"
Bosco nodded towards Finney to let him handle this. Finney stepped forward, an uneasy look on his face. "Ma'am, we were called here about a domestic."
The woman shook her head no, backing up. "Nothing going on here, I'm the only one home."
Bosco scoffed. "So who were you talking to? The rats that call this place home?"
Finney arched his eyebrow towards Bosco, taking over the conversation. "If there's anything going on ma'am, you can tell us. We are here to help." He looked down at the floor and back up at her. "Where did you get that cut across your head?"
She didn't answer, but ran her hands over the wound. She was evidently scared about whatever or whoever was in her house, and she definitely had a trust issue. Finney and Bosco walked past her, canvassing the other rooms that were just as messy, if not more.
Finney opened up a door that was half way cracked, exposing a man that held in his grip, a metal baseball bat. Bosco stood beside Finney as they both reached for the bat. The man seemed to be drugged on something, for he had very short reflexes and tried to swing once the bat was out of his possession.
"You are under arrest." Finney spoke as he put the handcuffs on him. Bosco stood back and let Finney handle it, letting him get in as much experience as he could. Domestics were the most common call, and the more practice the better.
After they got the man processed they both sat at the desks, writing up their paperwork. Finney couldn't help but think about how awesome they were getting along today and not once did they clash about something. He learned new things today, as well as enjoying the job. He looked up from his report as he clicked the lid shut on his pen.
"Boz, can I ask you something?"
Bosco didn't look up from his work but nodded as he quickly wrote out the events that happened.
"I noticed back at the scene you seemed, oh like you had a short fuse with that lady." Finney didn't know if he was pressing his luck with bringing something like this up but you never learned things unless you asked.
Bosco shot him a glance but took a second to answer, causing the butterflies in Finney's stomach to come on full force, the anticipation killed him. Bosco sat his pen down in front of him and watched it roll off onto the wooden desktop.
"Yeah, well I told you I don't like domestics." He didn't want to go into detail as to why. It was just mainly the fact that his mother used to get beat and she never admitted to it, and it just hit him hard to see other women taking it. He'd never tell that to Finney though.
Finney nodded, running his hands over the smooth surface where all their papers were. "Are they all like that?"
Bosco leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "It all depends. They all don't end like this one tonight. Sometimes the victim absolutely refuses to press charges. Sometimes they are even more annoying than that, sometimes they are a breeze."
Finney stood up. "I guess it's quitting time." He said as he glanced at the watch on his wrist.
"You did good today Finney. Let's make everyday like that." Bosco said as he also stood up. For some reason Bosco still couldn't believe how he was acting, almost more mature than he was used to. Normally he wouldn't even care about Finney, but there was this connection, and he swore he sounded more and more like Faith everyday when it came to training the rookie.
"I'm going out for a beer, you want to come?"
Bosco shook his head, smirking. "What did I tell you earlier today Finney? We won't be friends outside the job." It sounded harsh but there was no taking it back now. "I'll see you tomorrow, and don't forget your brain."
Bosco finished off his night with the bottle of Jack Daniel's he had bought the day before. It almost seemed like he couldn't sleep without the aid of whiskey or some alcoholic beverage in his system. Deep down he knew what he was doing wasn't right, that he should NOT be relying on something as vial as that to get him to bed every night, but the level-headed Bosco seemed to not be as strong as the careless one.
He peeled the black label off of the glass bottle as he sloshed the liquid around. He had drunk over half of it, but intended on finishing the whole thing before he retired for the night. His eyelids felt heavy and he eventually fell asleep, right on the couch with the half empty bottle clutched in his hand.
TBC…..
Responses to Reviewers:
Arodloverus2001: Glad you are still enjoying this! I tried to update ASAP, and thanks for your reply! I appreciate it!
Jayne190: I think you are right about Bosco and the drinking. I'm trying to work this into the story without making it sound too much like a Sully story line. And I tried fitting Faith into this chapter, though it's not much, but rest assured, she WILL be in it much more in the chapters to come, I promise you that. Thanks for your wonderful review, I thoroughly appreciate your honesty and the time you've given to review me. Thanks so much.
Alice-in-wonderland1: I hope you see in this chapter even more how Bosco has grown without it being out of character! And yes, Faith will be in it more, I promise! I did put her in this chapter, just not as much as she will be present later. Thanks for your support!
Thirdwatcher: Flashbacks are so fun to write, I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for your review, I appreciate it!
Cosmic Castaway: As I have told you many times, I LOVE YOU MAN! Thanks for replying, thanks for reading, basically in a nutshell THANKS FOR EVERYTHING! I could just hug you!
Mr. Big Fish: As I said before, my ultimate goal is to make the fic as original as possible, and for you to tell me it is makes me smile so big. Thanks for appreciating my talent and thanks for your kind words. Hope I can keep your interest up.
Quacksd: Did I update soon enough? Hehe. Glad it seems real too you, thanks for your reply!