It was Always You

Chapter 6: And Then it Hit Me, Like Lightning

A/N: A little more descriptive, but I hope you like. It was inspired by a favourite author from my younger days...Sorry it took so much time, but i've been under some heavy stress from school!

Also, I've just created my Beta-reader profile. If any of you need someone to review your stories or give you help/suggestions, I'd be more than happy to help!

Bosco rubbed his bloodshot eyes. It felt like he was rubbing sand in them, they were so dry. He was somewhat ashamed of the fact that he'd been blubbering like a baby earlier. He was glad that Nieto and Finney's wife had cleared the room after they settled him in the nurses lounge and bandaged up his hand. He didn't really like looking weak in front of people, but that hardly mattered right now. All he could think about was Faith.

He leaned back in the faded old chair next to the coffee machine. He absentmindedly picked at the fraying green upholstery. The furniture in this room was old, and surprisingly comfortable. It was sort of like a room away from the sterile, unfriendly atmosphere that came from much of the rest of the hospital. To him it had always seemed like Mercy was designed for maximum efficiency, but not necessarily comfort. He was glad that he'd been allowed to sit here and wait for news on Faith. The last he'd heard was when Proctor had come in to tell him she was on her way up to surgery. She'd refused to comment any more on how Faith was. Following that, Bosco had called Emily on her cell-phone. He hated doing it when he had so little information for her, but he owed it to her kids to let them know what was going on. Emily had told Bosco she would call her Dad and go to his place. She had promised he'd drive her and Charlie to the hospital in the morning.

Bosco stood from the old green chair, and began to pace the small lounge again. Towards the coffee machine, turn. Back towards the doors, turn around again. He felt like he wanted to punch something. Patience wasn't exactly a Boscorelli virtue, that was for sure. He considered calling his mother, but then decided against it, it was 3 in the morning after all. He returned to the counter by the coffee machine, staring vacantly at the cupboard doors. The paint was green, like the furniture, and it was old and chipping off in most places. There were various posters taped to the doors in some places, many of them outlining hospital procedures and CPR protocol. Bosco was wondering to himself how much CPR was done in the nurse's lounge when the door opened with a loud creak behind him. He nearly jumped out of his skin, he was so startled. He turned around to see a nurse he didn't know standing there. Proctor must have finished shift and went home.

The nurse was young, with her blonde hair pulled back into a French braid, and she wore pink scrubs. In her left hand was a hospital file folder. She had a splattering of freckles and a look in her eyes that clearly showed she meant business. Though her blue eyes were stern and no-nonsense, they were very pretty and framed by long dark lashes. Just the type of girl he'd make a pass at in different circumstances. This was definitely not the time for this, Faith was his main concern.

The nurse cleared her throat, "I'm Trish. Nurse Proctor told me to look in on you."

"Uh, thanks. I'm Bosco. Have you guys heard anything down here about the Detective brought in earlier?" Bosco asked the pretty young nurse.

"She just got out of surgery, Bosco," Trish began, looking down at her matching pink shoes. "She's stable for the time being, but the next little while may be difficult for her. We have no idea which way it will go from here. She was hurt pretty bad." Bosco sat back down in the chair by the counter, and put his head in his hands. This didn't sound like what he wanted to hear. Trish walked over and plopped down in a chair facing him. "Go home Bosco. She's sleeping right now, I can't let you up there any ways. I wish I could, but the older nurses are pretty tight with visitation hours. I promise you if anything changes, we'll call you. I'll make sure of it."

Bosco looked up and gave Trish a tired smile. "I dunno, I think I'd just rather stay here until she wakes up."

"I understand, but it's unlikely that anything will change before tomorrow. I promise will call you myself the instant something changes."

"Alright, I know when I'm being told, you remind me of my partner." Bosco replied, ignoring the sudden tightness in his throat at the thought of Faith. "Do you need my phone number?"

Trish flipped through the file, examining some pages. "You're Maurice Boscorelli, right?"

"Yeah, that's my full name."

"Apparently you're in her medical records as emergency contact." Trish said with a mischievous smile.

"No kidding.." Bosco was surprised at that. The old partner he barely talked to these days wanted him to be the one contacted in an emergency? He blushed slightly. "See you in the morning, Trish." He made his way towards the door that led out to the ER. He paused and turned to face Trish again, "Thanks."

"No problem Bosco, see you in the morning"

Bosco headed down the hall towards the nurse's station in the ER. He recognized the nurse Dayna behind the desk, and was about to ask her to call a cab for him when he was tapped on the shoulder. He turned around to see a NYPD detective. He sighed inwardly, he was in no mood to answer questions about the night's events. The badge on the detective's jacket read "Cartwright". The name sounded familiar.

"Can I help you, Detective?"

"Yeah, I need to ask you a few questions about what happened tonight at the warehouse. Particularly how my partner and her ex-partner stumbled on one of the most notorious bank-robbers in the country." Now Bosco remembered, Faith's new partner at Major Cases was a Detective Cartwright. He was fairly certain that the man's first name was Jack. He was a decent looking guy, about 6'2, wavy brown hair and intense, dark brown eyes.

"Sure, Detective. Can we sit down though? I'm pretty beat." Bosco replied, gesturing towards the benches at the end of the corridor.

"Whatever you need, Boscorelli. I'll try not to take too much of your time." Jack stated as he followed Bosco to the bench and sat down heavily.

Bosco quickly rattled off the details to evening, as Jack scribbled down the information in his well-worn, leather bound notebook. His face remained passive as Bosco told of Faith getting hurt. As Bosco finished up, Jack slipped his notebook into his pocket and looked at Bosco.

"I really hope she'll be okay, Bosco. She's a fantastic detective and a good friend of mine. Keep me updated, okay?" Jack seemed to be sincere, and Bosco could tell he was upset.

"Will do." Bosco got to his feet and offered his hand to Jack. Jack rose from the bench as well and shook Bosco's outstretched hand. Jack turned and walked down the hall and out the doors, towards the parking spaces reserved for RMPs.

Bosco was desperate to get out of the hospital and home to bed. He doubted he'd be able to sleep or anything, but he hated hospitals and we was tired of waiting around and pacing here. He wished Faith were here to calm him down, and tell him what to do. She always made him see things a little more clearly. Unfortunately, she was the one lying in the hospital bed, and here he was to dwell on his thoughts alone.

Bosco sighed, and headed back to the nurse's desk to request a taxi be called. He waited outside the side doors to the hospital for the taxi to pull up, staring at the traffic whip by. Finally, a yellow cab came to a halt in front of him, and he climbed in and told the driver his address. Bosco leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. He was surprised how quickly they arrived at his building, rocking forward in his seat as the driver slammed on the breaks and demanded $4.90 as fare. Bosco paid him and climbed out of the cab onto the wet sidewalk in front of his apartment building.

This was a new building, he'd moved shortly after the 5-5 had burnt down so he could be closer to work and have a nicer place. As he walked to the main doors, he realized he had left the living room light on, as it shone onto his balcony that faced the street.

His fingers remembered the pattern of the door code, even though his mind was barely with him. His thoughts remained in that hospital room with Faith. He pulled open the doors and headed towards the stairs. He hoped his legs could get him all the way to the fourth floor, he was definitely exhausted. He began the climb, tightly gripping the railing and clomping his feet the whole way up. He didn't really give a damn if he woke someone up. They could take the hit considering the day he'd had. When he finally reached the landing on the fourth floor, he paused momentarily to regain his breath. Not as young as he used to be, and after being in the hospital so long after being shot definitely contributed something to his condition.

He continued down the familiar hallway to his apartment, 459. The door was dark, and made of heavy wood. It was a nice place, and since he had no one to really spend his money on, he'd thought he might as well live somewhere nice. He pulled his keys from his jacket pocket, and popped them in the lock. He noticed his car keys briefly, thinking to himself to call the precinct tomorrow to figure out where his car had been taken. He hand panged slightly where he'd been cut as he turned the key. Bosco hissed from the pain and slammed the door behind him in annoyance.

He entered the apartment and set the keys on the hallway table, and headed into the kitchen. Bosco pulled open the door to the fridge and surveyed the contents inside. A few bottles of Miller Genuine Draft, some milk that was most likely bad, an old pizza box, and few containers from Chinese take-out. He shook his head with a sigh and grabbed a bottle of beer before closing the fridge. He crossed the kitchen again and headed towards his balcony off the living room.

The night air was cool, it was only early May after all, and the air was still heavy with dampness that the earlier rain had left. The clouds had cleared off, and Bosco was able to make out a star or two beyond the light pollution from the big city. Bosco collapsed into his comfortable deck chair and propped his feet up on the balcony railing. He placed his beer on the table beside him, but didn't open it. He wasn't even sure he wanted it.

He put his head back and closed his eyes, allowing the cacophony of New York night sounds into his consciousness. Garbage cans knocked together in an alley nearby, the hissing sound of airbreaks on a city bus a few streets over. In the distance Bosco could make out the sounds of sirens. They got louder, the emergency vehicle was coming this way, Bosco opened his eyes in time to see the NYPD patrol car go speeding past. He closed his eyes again and let his thoughts drift.

He missed life in the patrol car with Faith. Those were the best times... The times when his job meant the most. He wasn't exactly sure what he'd do if something took a turn for the worse and she didn't make it. Sure he hadn't talked to her much in the past years, but she was always there in the back of his mind.

Bosco wasn't so sure he had a voice of reason of his own. Whenever he needed to slow down or think something through, he heard Faith's voice, remembered her advice, or simply thought of what she'd do in a situation like it. She'd definitely changed his life, made a lasting imprint, even though she wasn't always there to back him up these days.

She was so important to him. Just thinking now about losing her made it difficult to breathe, and he purposely slowed his breathing and forced himself to calm down. He cursed himself for not keeping in touch better. He realized that life in 55 David was always more meaningful because he'd had someone to share it with. At the end of the night he'd been able to drive her home, and even in silence they'd still be able to share their day. She was the only one that could understand, and the only one that witnessed his days.

He reached over to the side table, sitting up now, to grab his beer. He was a little worried about where this train of thought was taking him. Lately when his thoughts turned to Faith, he'd simply cut them off because it was easier. Simpler. But he realized he was onto something here. He took a swallow of beer, and placed it back on the table, noting that his hands were shaking.

Every night now he came to an empty apartment, flicked on the TV for a while, then went to bed. He had no one to really talk to, and nobody really understood him any ways. Not like Faith did.

Bosco sat forward with a start, his eyes flying open. His life only mattered when Faith was there to witness it, to live it with him. It was like a light came on all of a sudden. There was nothing he couldn't tell his old partner, and he'd let her drift away from him. When he got his promotion, when things had gone badly with the Fedrigo case, he'd only thought of telling her. Getting to his feet, he realized he had to talk to her now, and tell her how important she was, and how much he needed her to get better. To hell with visiting hours. This couldn't wait.

To Be Continued...