Very slowly, pieces of sound returned. Those who had ducked for cover came back up to look what had happened. Lieutenant Swersky checked on Faith Yokas, who he had covered. She was okay, so he got up and started checking on the other officers. His look fell on who had taken the shooter down.
"You're okay?" he asked him, but the young officer didn't respond. He was still holding his gun up, his hands shaking, aiming at where the man with Bosco's gun had been standing.
"Gusler, are you okay?" Swersky asked again, this time putting his hand on the gun to secure it.
Slowly, Steven Gusler turned his head, realising his Lieutenant was talking to him.
"I killed him?" he asked, not replying to the earlier question. Swersky had a quick look to where the shooter was laying.
"You saved us, son."
A cry made Swersky turn around.
"Bosco!" Faith called out again, hurrying towards her partner, getting down on her knees to check on him.
Bosco looked at her, his eyes wide with fear. He felt he had been hit, he could feel the heat of his blood slowly running down his neck, seeping into his turtleneck NYPD shirt, soaking the collar. He wanted to say something, ask Faith if it looked bad, but all that was heard was a gurgling sound. Fear was coming up from deep down his guts. He couldn't take his eyes off of Faith, whose face was pale and eyes filled with tears. Bosco had never seen her that afraid, so he knew he must be hit bad. He couldn't keep his eyes focused anymore. He couldn't breathe right. The fear tightened his throat like a ligature and the blood loss made him feel dizzy and weak. So that was what it felt like…dying. Silently, Maurice Boscorelli said goodbye to his Mom, his brother Mikey and Faith – everyone who meant something to him – before darkness embraced him.
Kim was having her 5th cup of coffee. Her mouth felt as if a bunch of fur balls had camped in it. She was tired. Jimmy had finally fallen asleep in the chair next to their son's hospital bed. Joey's fever was still decreasing, but there was still no word from the experts on the origin of it. Occasionally, Nurse Mary was checking in, seeing if they needed anything and to see how Joey was. That meant a lot to Kim. Mrs Zambrano, Kim's mother, was still in the hospital as well, getting something to eat in the cafeteria. Joey was sleeping too.
Kim startled when the door opened and Dr Bailey came in. He was the paediatrician.
"Mrs Zambrano?" he whispered. "Sorry, I didn't want to startle you."
Kim sat up straight in her chair and looked into her coffee mug, disgusted.
"I just came to tell you that Joey's results are back from the lab…"
All of a sudden, Kim was wide awake again.
"And…?"
"We found anti-genes in his blood sample. It seems that the fever was actually an allergic reaction to something. But what we can't tell. We will need some more tests."
Kim turned around to face her son.
"An allergic reaction?" she echoed. She had never seen an allergic reaction like that before, not even at work.
"But those tests…we can do them ambulant. No need to keep Joey here longer than necessary," Dr Bailey smiled.
"You mean…?"
"Yes, you might take Joey home right now…"
Just as Doc and Carlos were about to follow Squad 55 to their assigned location, they got stopped by a female officer, coming running from the precinct across the street.
"We having a call!" Doc said after he had rolled down the driver's side window.
"There's been a shooting, we have officers down!" the woman yelled.
Immediately, Parker cut the engine and jumped out of the bus while Carlos was already radioing it in. Then they got their equipment and followed the officer inside the station house.
They found Faith and the Lieutenant working on an officer, performing CPR. While Yokas was breathing for the injured, Swersky was rhythmically compressing that man's chest.
Faith looked up when the paramedics entered the small holding cell room.
"Doc, it's Bosco! He's not breathing!" she pleaded, crying, as Doc approached, already wearing his blue latex gloves.
"Go on with the CPR!" Doc ordered while he prepared the necessary equipment to get Boscorelli's heart to work again. Carlos was taking care of the bleeding at Bosco's throat, so he wouldn't loose any more blood than he had already lost.
"Here, press that on the bleeding, but carefully so you won't suffocate him!" Carlos instructed Faith and handed her a blue bag with a transparent breathing mask attached, so she could get up from doing mouth-to-mouth again.
Doc knelt down beside Swersky, who's forehead was sweaty from the work of keeping Bosco's heart going for him. He used scissors to cut Bosco's turtleneck, revealing his bare chest where the paramedic placed electrodes on, while Carlos was returning to one of the red bags and pulled a syringe from it.
"He's in defib!" Doc said while his eyes remained on the monitor. He signed Swersky to continue the compressions and prepared the paddles for the defibrillator.
Tears were running down Faith's cheeks when she watched Carlos entering the syringe into Bosco's arm to start the IV.
"We're loosing him!" Doc stated and waited impatiently for the paddles to be charged.
"Clear!" he yelled and everyone retreated from Bosco's body. The shock went through him, forcing his body into spasms. It was dead quiet in the station house, everybody was only paying attention to what was going on in the holding cell room.
"Still nothing…"
