TITLE: A Friend in Need
AUTHOR: trista groulx (the dustytiger)
DISCLAIMER: kim, faith, fred, joey, bobby, jimmy, bosco, davis, sully,
none of these characters are mine, i'm just borowing them to play with
them for a little while, they belong to their creator and the actors
and actresses who portray them, i promise i'll be gentle, don't sue
RATING: PG-13 tops currently
CONTENT: kim/faith friendship, fred/faith divorce, kim/bobby r, faith/bosco sex/ust
SPOILERS: 32 bullets and a broken heart (missing scene/continuation)
SUMMARY: Kim and Faith become friends after they share their heartaches that Valintines day.
AUTHORS NOTES: wow this after the surgery stuff is taking up a wee bit
more then i thought it would... hehe... anyway there's some fun stuff
in here, some bosco/faith stuff, and some jimmy/joey bonding, hope you
dig it, tell me if you do pls?
When Faith got off shift she asked Bosco if he could drive her to the hospital. When they pulled up, she began to get nervous.
"Would you mind just coming up with me?" Faith asked.
"I wouldn't mind at all," Bosco assured her.
Faith picked up the gift bag with the books she had picked up for her friend, and the two of them entered the hospital. When they got to the floor they found a nurse to direct them to Kim's room.
"Just one thing, though, only one of you can go in right now. She's only supposed to have two visitors at the time, and her fiancé is staying the night," the nurse told them.
"All right, thank you," said Faith.
The nurse went into another room, as Bosco went into the waiting room, to wait to drive his partner home.
"Bos, I can take a cab," she assured him.
"No, I'll drive you home, it's not a big deal," he assured her. "Take as long as you want."
Kim went into the room, half expecting Kim to be asleep.
"Shh," she heard Kim say.
"All right," whispered Faith. "How are you feeling?"
"A little sore, and a lot hungry."
Faith smiled. "The nurse says he's staying the night?"
"Yeah, he was asleep when I woke up, and I know that I won't be able to get him to go home. So asked if he could stay."
Faith nodded. "Oh, I got you a little something."
"You didn't have to."
Faith handed her the gift bag. Kim opened it, and seemed to be happy with the books she found inside.
"Thank you, this is one of my favourite authors," Kim told her.
"No problem, I'm glad you like it, I figured you might have some time to read. Actually Bosco was the one who suggested the genre."
"Really?"
"After he said I should get you the Kama Sutra."
Kim laughed a little then winced. "Ouch, that hurts."
"Sorry."
"No big deal."
"How's your son?"
"He's fine, he was a little overwhelmed when he saw me, but he's quiet excited about staying at Jimmy's for a few week."
"I'd imagine so. What's that thing in your nose for?"
"It keeps my stomach empty." Kim explained.
"It looks really uncomfortable."
"It is, but I need to keep in for at least another day."
"I guess it's better then the alternative."
"Yeah. How are you getting home?" Kim asked a little worried.
"Bosco's in the waiting room, he said he'd give me a drive."
"Isn't he turning into the white knight?"
Faith laughed nervously. "I don't think so. This is Bosco we're talking about."
"He's helping you with this, and he's taking your kids once a week, he's trying to change."
Faith shook her head. "I'm not looking for anything right now, I told him so. He wants me to go with them next time he takes the kids."
"Where?"
"Swimming."
"The problem?"
"I don't want him to see me in a bathing suit."
"He's seen you naked, what's the big deal?"
Faith smiled. "I guess you're right, and I might actually have fun."
"Then go."
"I think I might. I'll come by tomorrow at some point, you probably need your rest."
"Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
Faith left the hospital room, to find Bosco. He was sitting in the waiting room reading a magazine.
"You're done?" he asked.
"Yeah, thank you for staying," she replied.
"What are friends for?"
She smiled. "I really appreciate it, Bos."
He nodded. "How about I get of here before any more nurses hit on me."
Faith laughed. "How many numbers did you get?"
"None, didn't want them."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'm just not interested in that right now."
She smiled. "Oh?"
"Even if it was I'm too busy helping out my best friend."
"Really, thank you for everything." She said, following him out of the hospital.
They got to the car, and they both got in, and started toward her apartment.
"Kim liked the books you suggested," Faith told him.
"Oh, good, I thought it wasn't a bad choice. You never know if a person likes those really crappy romance novels, so it's better to go with those."
She laughed, "yeah."
"What did she think of my other suggestion?"
"She didn't like that idea quiet as much."
"I guess it's not the best recovering from surgery book either," he laughed.
"Not so much."
It was not long before they pulled up to Faith's apartment. Before she got out of the car, Bosco took her hand, then leaned toward her. His lips met hers in a gentle kiss. For a moment she relaxed into the kiss, and then pulled away.
"Bosco," whispered Faith. "I'm not ready for anything right now."
He looked away from her. "I'm sorry."
"It's not that I'm not interested, Bos, it's that- I'm just not ready for anything serious right now."
"It doesn't have to be serious."
She shook her head. "I don't want something casual with you, Bos. If I go for you, I want it to be something real."
He nodded. "I understand."
"Look, you're the only guy in my kids' life right now, I can't do anything to jeopardize that. If it was just me I'd see where things went, and deal with the aftermath, but I have to think about them too."
"As soon as you're ready just tell me, cause I'll wait."
She smiled at him. "Don't put your life on hold on account of me."
"I really care about you, and I want to prove to you, and myself that I can actually care about someone like this."
"Bos, it may take me a while to get over what happened with Fred."
He nodded. "As soon you think you're ready I'll be there for you."
She kissed him on the cheek. "As soon as I'm ready, you'll be the first one I'll call."
"Good night Faith."
"Good night, Bos, see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
She got out of the car, and walked up to her apartment. Everyone was already in bed when she got there. She went into the kids rooms and gave them each a kiss on the forehead, then went into her own room to think.
She wanted advise on what to do about Bosco, but she wasn't sure where to turn, since Kim was going to be in the hospital for another week. She guessed she would just have to keep it all inside until Kim was up to hearing it.
xxxx
The next day the doctor was checking Kim. Bobby was out in the hall, waiting till he was done.
"If you're up to, you can go for a walk up and down the hall with your fiancé," said the doctor.
"I think I'd like that," Kim replied.
"You're doing very well, but I think a few of the nurses are a little jealous of you."
"Why?"
"They keep seeing all the uniformed men coming to visit you, and they're very jealous that you're getting so much attention when you're engaged."
Kim smiled. "Maybe I shouldn't mention that I'm divorced from Jimmy."
The doctor laughed. "He's been very popular with the nurses."
"He always is. When do you think I'll be able to get the nasogastric tube out?"
"Hopefully tomorrow, everything seems to be going well, and hopefully by tomorrow your body will be ready, and we can also start you on some clear fluids."
"All right."
"I know it's uncomfortable, but at least you can talk and move around with it in."
"I know, I really shouldn't complain."
"You're doing very well, unless something unforeseen happens you should only have to be here the seven days, then you can home and relax there."
"Good."
"I'll go get your fiancé so you can go for your walk now."
"Thank you."
The doctor left for a moment, and returned with Bobby in toe. He showed Bobby what had to transported with her, the catheter, the IV drop, and to be careful with the nasogastric tube.
They carefully helped her up, and with his arm around her back, Kim and Bobby went for a slow, short walk down part of the way up the hallway.
"You know if you're not careful I'm gonna see your ass," Bobby whispered in her ear as they walked.
"It's not like you haven't seen it before," she reminded him.
He smiled. "True. So are you feeling all right?"
"Yes."
"You sure?"
"I'll tell you when I'm not. I can't wait until I can get this thing out of my nose."
"That's gotta be painful."
"It's certainly not pleasant."
She looked up and noticed two officers coming up the hallway. She knew that it was Bosco and Faith. She stopped walking when they caught up. She noticed Bosco try to peak around, to see what he could see until Faith smacked him playfully.
Kim gave her friend a puzzled, wanting to know what going on look, and without words Faith told her that she would fill her in on the details later.
"You're walking today!" Faith exclaimed.
"Yeah, the doctor said I could if Bobby helped me, and I jumped at the chance to get out of the bed."
"How are you feeling?" Bosco asked.
"I'm all right, in a bit of pain, but nothing that I can't handle with some pain killers."
"That's good to hear. I heard you liked the books?"
"Yeah, I did, I guess I should thank you too."
He nodded. "It was Faith's money, and she chose the author."
"We just wanted to check on you quickly while we were here," said Faith.
"I appreciate it, thanks."
Faith nodded. "But we should be getting back to work, I'll probably drop in again later."
"All right, sounds great."
Bosco and Faith left, leaving them alone again. Bobby could tell that Kim was getting tired so he helped her back to the room, and into bed. When she got comfortable in the bed, she fell asleep soon after.
xxxx
That night at Jimmy's he was woken up by Joey diving into his bed, terrified. For a moment Jimmy was confused, and then he remembered what was going.
"Hey what's wrong, Champ?" asked Jimmy.
"I had a nightmare, I wanna to talk to Mommy," Joey told his father.
"Can't I help?"
Joey started to cry. "I need talk to Mommy!"
"All right, all right, let me go get the number."
Jimmy got out of the bed, and went into the living room, knowing that he had the number and room extension somewhere. He was a little hurt that his son didn't want to talk to him about the nightmare, but there wasn't much he could do about it.
He found the number, and grabbed the cordless phone. He dialed the number, and the phone rang a few times, as he walked back to the bedroom.
"Hello," said a very groggy female voice.
"Hi, Kim?" asked Jimmy.
"Yeah, what's wrong?"
"Joey had a nightmare and he wants to talk to you."
"All right, put him on."
Jimmy handed the phone to Joey, "here you go."
"Mommy?" asked Joey.
"Yeah, Baby, it's me what's the matter?" she asked.
He started to cry. "I had a nightmare."
"Wanna tell me about it?"
"I can't in front of Daddy."
"Yes, you can."
"No, Mommy." He paused a moment. "All right he's gone."
"Now will you tell me about your dream?"
"I had a dream that there was a fire at the hospital."
"That's really scary."
"And you were there, and Daddy couldn't get you out in time."
"Oh, that's why you didn't want him to hear about it?"
"Yeah."
"It was just a bad dream, honey. I'm all right, and Bobby's right next to me. I promise that if you tell Daddy all about he won't be mad at you for having a nightmare like that."
He sniffled. "You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure, he'll be more mad if you don't tell him about it."
"Oh."
"Yeah, Daddy can listen to your nightmares just as easily as I can, you don't have to come to me every time you have one."
"All right."
"I like that you do tell me about you nightmares, cause I know it helps you. But I think Daddy can handle it now, too."
"Okay, I'll go tell him right now."
"All right, love you Joey."
"Yeah, bye." He said hanging up the phone.
He went into the living room to find his father. Jimmy looked over.
"Did Mommy fix everything?" Jimmy asked.
"Yup, but she says you can listen to my nightmares too," Joey explained.
"I can, if you want me to."
Joey smiled. "Yeah, but you gottta promise you won't get mad."
"About a nightmare?"
"Promise?"
"I promise, come 'ere and sit down next to me, and tell me all about it."
Joey jumped onto the couch, and curled up next to his father. Jimmy had never remembered being very close with his family, but Joey was still a little love bug, and his heart melted every time Joey did something like that.
"So, I had this dream that Mommy was in the hospital, and then there was a fire. It was a really bad fire, and she was stuck in the hospital. And you and everyone from your work went to the fire. But they couldn't get her out! It was so scary, cause I don't want Mommy to die and it was so real. And I thought that you'd be mad if I told you about it cause I know you're a good fireman."
Jimmy nodded. "That is a pretty scary dream, and even the best firemen can't save everyone sometimes, you know that."
Joey nodded. "I guess."
"And don't tell anyone, Champ, but sometimes I have bad dreams about some of the fires I've been in."
"Really?"
"Yeah, so don't be afraid to tell me about those nightmares, I want to hear about them."
Joey smiled. "All right."
"What does Mommy do when you have a nightmare?"
"After I tell her about it, she'll tuck me back in and read me another story, so that I'm not thinking about the same thing when I go to sleep."
Jimmy nodded. "All right. Then that's what I'll do."
"All right!"
"How about you go get one of your books, and I'll meet you in your room."
Jimmy put the phone back on the cradle, then he went into Joey's room to tuck him in. Joey handed him a book.
"How does Mommy do this?" he asked.
Joey shrugged. "She sometimes gets into bed with me."
Jimmy got into bed with his son, and began reading him his book. Before long he realized that Joey had fallen asleep, and there was nowhere he could go. He carefully moved to put the book down, and he too soon fell asleep. He had never realized before how great it was to spend time with his little boy. That night was one of the happiest night of his life since it was one of the times he felt closest to his son. Now he understood why Kim had done everything she had ever done for the child.
XX
Meanwhile, at the hospital Kim was worried about Joey all of a sudden. She knew, logically that Jimmy knew what to do, but a part of her still worried that he'd do something wrong.
"Bobby," she whispered, hoping he'd be up. "Hey Bobby!"
"Mm, what?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.
"You awake?"
"I am now, what's wrong?"
"Jimmy just called."
"Is Joey all right?"
"Yeah, he is, he had a nightmare."
"And?"
Kim sighed. "He had a nightmare."
"Jimmy can handle a simple nightmare I'm sure."
"I hope so."
"If you didn't think he could handle something as simple as that you would never have agreed to let Joey stay with him."
"I know."
Bobby stood up, and took her hand. "It's going to be fine. Joey needs his father to play an active role in his life."
"I know."
"Try to relax, it's going to be just fine. Before long you'll have Joey safe with you, and all will be well again."
She smiled at him. "I know that, but-"
"I know, I know, It's a mother thing." He ran his hand through her hair. "Just relax, and get some sleep all right?"
"Bobby?"
"Yeah, Kim?"
"Have I told you recently that I love?"
He smiled at her. "No, you haven't mentioned that recently."
"In that case then, I love you."
"Kim you know what?"
"What?"
"I love you too." He kissed her forehead.
"You know this whole thing would have been a lot easier had I just been pregnant."
Bobby laughed. "Yeah, but that's not the card we were given."
"Yeah. Do you still want to have kids someday?"
"Yeah, once you're better and you're up to it, you know I want kids."
"I know, I just thought that maybe you'd changed your mind."
"I think it'd be best if we waited to actually try to have one until you've been in remission for five years. But if it happens sooner then it was meant to be."
"I like that idea."
He began to caress her temple. "Now go back to sleep."
"You know I can hardly keep my eyes open when you do that." Her voice got slower and nearly trailed off at the end.
"I know, that's why I do it," he whispered, brushing his lips against her cheek lightly when he finished talking.
It was not long before she had fallen asleep. Bobby curled back up on the chair, and he took a while longer to fall asleep. He knew that he'd be more comfortable at him, but he wanted to be close to her.
Part of him was still scared that he would lose her again, and he wanted her as close to him as he could possibly have her, to make sure that nothing happened to her.
He logically in a couple of days he would have to return to work, and that he would not be able by her side so much anymore. He loved the woman who was laying in the hospital bed, and he would do anything to keep her close by.
He knew that he would not know what to do if he ever lost her, and he had to make sure that never happened. The hardest part was over, the rest was just a waiting game, and he somehow knew that everything was going to be just fine.
tbc...
end notes: i thougth some joey/jimmy bonding would be cute, and a nice little break from the drama too, i just have to tie up some things, and then i'm gonna cop out and skip ahead to kim going back to work, i just can't think of things taht won't be redundant, soooo... hehe i have some cool stuff on deck for kim's return so stay tuned!