Disclaimer: I don't own the original characters or places. So sad.
Collision Course, Chapter 17
After allowing Mrs. Boscorelli a few moments to compose herself, Faith along with Sully and Cruz began to escort her towards the ICU waiting room. Ty went to check on Sasha and update her on Bosco's condition.
As soon as the officers and Rose exited the surgery waiting room, they were bombarded with reporters asking Mrs. Boscorelli questions. An infuriated Maritza Cruz shoved several reporters away while shouting "STAND BACK! MOVE BACK, NOW!" Sully moved himself between Rose and the reporters while holding his jacket open to block their view and their cameras. Faith held on to Rose's arm and hurried her along. They were met by Lieutenant Swersky who escorted them into the ICU waiting area and posted officers at the doors to keep the crowd back.
Once inside, Maritza was seething. She shouted several sentences in Spanish. Sully recognized a few of the colorful expressions and blushed slightly, hoping that Rose couldn't understand her. Then Cruz continued in English "VULTURES! Can't even show a little respect!"
"It's a big story." Sully commented. "Bosco's gonna be a hero."
"He wouldn't want that." Rose said quietly.
Swersky joined in, "It's been a madhouse out there all night. I'm going to post officers here around the clock." "Maybe you guys and Ty can rotate." Swersky added. He had a feeling that none of these officers would be very useful on the streets or at the station until Bosco was out of the woods.
"That'd be good, Lieu." Faith replied, realizing what he was doing.
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Ty opened Sasha's door to find her sitting on the side of her bed arguing with her nurse.
"I'm not staying here!" she shouted. "I'm going to check on my partner!"
Ty held back a laugh as the nurse tried again to explain to Sasha why she couldn't go.
"I don't care what the doctor said!" Sasha continued to argue.
The nurse sighed and looked over at Ty as he entered. "Maybe you can do something with her."
"Doubt that." Ty answered.
"Ty, tell this…this… woman that I'm fine. I've got to check on Bosco." Sasha muttered.
"There's nothing you can do up there." Ty assured her. "Bosco's out of surgery and is being moved to the ICU." He explained.
"How is he?" Sasha asked, the fear evident in her voice.
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Kathy sighed as she watched Dr. Summers working patiently to stitch up the gashes on the young officer's head and face. Dr. Summers would remove one stitch for every three or four that she placed. She was an excellent plastic surgeon and took great pride in her work, but Kathy knew that there was a family waiting outside to see her patient.
It was nights like these that made Kathy not like nursing. This was the very reason she had left the ICU several month before. She had seen too many tragedies in her 5 years in the unit. She'd seen enough young men shot by gang members or injured in drunk driving accidents to last a lifetime. It had become too discouraging. She'd finally gotten so depressed by it that she asked to be moved to a regular floor. But one of the ICU nurses was out on maternity leave. And with the shortage of nurses, Kathy's skills were needed. So here she was in the ICU once again, and working the night shift at that. How could she be so gullible?
She looked again at the officer before her. The poor man was clinging to life. And it wasn't because he was being reckless or irresponsible. He had been doing his job, protecting the public. And now, if he lived, he would have a long hard road to recovery.
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Faith had called to update Fred on Bosco's condition. She was still amazed at the change in his attitude. He had told her to stay as long as she was needed and that he'd call back to check on them later. Faith looked up to see Mary Proctor entering the waiting room. She glanced at her watch. It was 11:05. She was slightly alarmed when she realized how long they had been waiting for Bosco's nurse.
"Hi, guys. How are things going?" Mary asked with concern.
"We're waiting for the nurse, so Mrs. Boscorelli can go see him." Sully replied. "It's been a while though." He briefly wondered if something bad had happened.
Mary approached Rose Boscorelli. She remembered her from the time she had come into the ER after being beaten by her boyfriend. She also remembered how angry Bosco had been. "How are you doing, Mrs. Boscorelli? Is there anything that you need?" Mary asked.
"I just need to see my son." Rose replied wearily.
"Maybe I can go back and see what's taking so long." Mary offered.
"That would be great." Rose smile slightly.
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Mary approached Bosco's room and noticed Kathy. "I thought you had moved downstairs?" Mary questioned.
"I had, but I got rooked into covering while Martha was out on maternity leave." Kathy smiled. She had known Mary for a long time. "What brings you up here?" she asked.
"I was just coming to check on Bosco. His family is getting restless." Mary paused as she got her first good look at the patient. She bit her lip, then turned to Kathy. "He's stable?"
"For now." Kathy replied. "You know him?"
"Everybody in the ER knows Bosco." Mary answered with a broad smile.
"Well, Dr. Summers is just finishing up and then I'll come out to get his family." Kathy assured her.
"Ok." Mary turned to leave, but then turned back. "Take good care of him, Kathy." Mary said with a sad tone.
"You know I will." Kathy replied. She had known Mary for a long time and knew how tough she could be. If Officer Boscorelli had found a place in Mary's heart, she knew he must be pretty special.
"All done." Dr. Summers smiled in satisfaction. "What do you think?" she added.
Kathy thought it might be some of Dr. Summers' best work yet.
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Sully looked up to see Carlos and Kim entering the room.
"It's a zoo out there." Carlos noted.
"Sorry, it took us so long to get back guys. The whole night was crazy." Kim apologized. "How is he?" She added hesitantly.
"Still critical, but he made it through surgery." Sully answered as Kim sat down beside him.
"Thanks for your help out there, Sul."
"No, thank you, Kim. If it hadn't been for you and Jimmy, we'd have never made it this far." Sully answered.
Everyone turned as the doors to the ICU opened. "His nurse should be out to get you in a few minutes." Mary assured them. "Kathy's excellent, Mrs. Boscorelli. He's in good hands." She gave Rose a slight hug and then said her goodbyes.
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Kathy surveyed her patient one last time. He was still unconscious. His heart rate had been increased on arrival. But with a minimal amount of pain medication and sedatives it had slowed to a more reasonable rate. His blood pressure was still on the low side, but not worrisome. She had placed bandages over the cuts on his scalp and under his eye. And she had placed the drains for the chest tubes to the side of the bed away from the door, along with the foley bag and drains from his abdominal incision. Families usually handled things better when they didn't see all of those things. She pulled his blanket up over his chest, but left his right hand uncovered. Then she headed out to the waiting room to meet his family.
Collision Course, Chapter 18
Peeking through the glass into the waiting room, Kathy finally spotted one lone middle-aged woman among the sea of blue uniforms. That must be her patient's mother she noted, because he definitely had her nose. He must have gotten his size from her as well. Kathy was surprised at how small he looked. But then, someone did say that dynamite came in little packages. He had to be tough to have survived his injuries. She straightened her own tiny frame and pushed the door open.
"Mrs. Boscorelli?"
Rose looked up to see a petite blond nurse coming toward her. She wasn't sure whether to be relieved or terrified that she would finally get to see her son. "Yes." She answered hesitantly.
"I'm Kathy. I'm going to be Maurice's nurse for the night." She introduced herself and shook Rose's hand.
"How is he?" Rose questioned.
"He's resting. His blood pressure and heart rate are stable." She paused; then added, "I'm sure that Dr. Poole told you that he is still requiring some help from the ventilator to breath." She always tried to make sure that families expected that before they came in.
"Yes." Rose answered.
Kathy looked around the room at the concerned officers and paramedics, then looked back to Rose and said, "You can come back, two at a time." "I'll ask you not to stay for a long visit tonight. He needs to rest." She added.
"Of course." Rose muttered.
"Well, whenever you're ready. Just take your time. We're in room 12." She turned back to the ICU. The poor lady looked terrified and Kathy didn't want to push her to come back before she was ready.
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Rose sat silently for a moment, wringing her hands. Then she looked over at Faith who sat beside her. Her voice was almost a whisper. "Could you go with me, Faith? I don't think I can do this alone."
Faith stared at her in shocked silence. When she recovered her voice she answered, "I…. I don't know, Rose? Bosco, I mean Maurice and I haven't exactly been on good terms lately."
"Nonsense." Rose insisted. "Maurice adores you."
"Well, things change, Mrs. Boscorelli. Maurice and I have said some pretty awful things to each other over the last few months. I'm not sure he'd want me coming in with you." Faith replied.
"None of that matters now, Faith. Besides, Maurice could never hold a grudge for more than a few days. Oh, he might act mad. But he's usually just hurt. He's one of the most forgiving people I've ever known. Sometimes too forgiving for his own good." She added, "Please, Faith, for me."
Faith was saddened by Rose's words. She was right. Bosco had forgiven her once, but she'd hurt him in return. Again she regretted rejecting his apology. She still didn't believe that he'd want her to come back with Rose, but she could hear the desperation in the other woman's voice. "Ok." She finally agreed.
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Rose hesitated as she neared the door to Bosco's room. Her breath caught when she saw him. She almost had to remind herself to breath again. She felt Faith's hand on her shoulder and proceeded on into the room. She was hesitant to look directly at him. She noted all the machines around the bed and the tube coming out of his mouth. Several IV bags were hanging beside the bed. One of them was a blood transfusion. She could only imagine what the others were. When she reached the bedside, she finally focused on his face. She let out a small gasp. He actually looked comfortable, but he was extremely pale. She noticed the large bandage on his head and another under his left eye. He had bruises under his eye and on his cheek. She looked down to see his right hand uncovered and noticed that his fingers were swollen. Then she looked back up at Kathy.
"His hand is swollen." It was more of a statement than a question.
"That's probably from all of the fluids they gave him for his blood pressure." Kathy assured her.
"Can… Can I hold it? I don't want to hurt him." Rose questioned.
"I don't think you'll hurt him." Kathy replied quietly.
Rose reached down and touched Bosco's hand, but then jerked hers back. "He's so cold." She gave Kathy a concerned look.
"That's not uncommon after the kind of surgery that he's had." Kathy told her.
"He doesn't like to be cold." Rose said with a frown.
"I'll get him another blanket." Kathy offered and moved to do so.
As Kathy covered him, Rose took his hand once more and leaned over the bed towards his face. "Maurice? Maurice, baby, I don't know if you can hear me. It's your Ma. I'm here, baby. I'm going to be right outside all night. And this nice young nurse is going to take good care of you." She reached up careful to avoid the breathing tube and ran her fingers over his brow and then through the edge of his hair. "Maurice, do you remember what you promised me?" Her voice became a little more forceful. "You promised me that you wouldn't die before me. And I'm going to hold you to that. Do you hear me, Maurice? You have to be strong. I need you, baby." With that Rose stepped back and sat down into the chair that Kathy had moved behind her. She took Bosco's hand and kissed it. Then she held it against her cheek with her right hand and gently rubbed his upper arm with her left hand as she sobbed silently.
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Faith stood just inside the doorway watching Rose Boscorelli. She felt like she was trespassing, invading the most private moments between a mother and her son. Her heart wept for Rose, but also for her best friend. 'Yes,' she realized. 'You're still my best friend, Bos.' He looked so fragile in that hospital bed surrounded by all that machinery. But he also looked peaceful. Gone was the anger of the months before. Gone was his nervous, restless energy. Gone was the look of despair that she'd caused him to have. 'I forgive you, Bos' she thought. 'If only you'll have the chance to forgive me again. I'm sorry, my friend."
Collision Course, Chapter 19
Carlos rocked back and forth on his heels as Kim and Sully sat talking. Lieutenant Swersky had already headed back to the station and Maritza Cruz had quietly excused herself.
"What's gotten into Doc, Kim?" Sully questioned.
"I don't know, Sully. But today he went too far. I sent him home as soon as I found a replacement; and I'm meeting with my supervisor tomorrow to discuss the situation. He hasn't been the same since Taylor and the Lieutenant died." Kim replied sadly. "I'm hoping they'll force him into counseling rather than fire him." She added.
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After several minutes, Rose kissed Bosco's hand again and laid it down under the blankets. Then she stood and, leaning back over his bed, whispered, "I love you, Maurice." She turned to leave, but then looked back at Kathy who was standing at the foot of the bed. "Could you make sure that they keep a light on?" She hesitated before continuing. She knew that Maurice would be unhappy if he knew what she was about to say. "He doesn't like the dark."
Kathy smiled as she walked Rose and Faith to the door of the room. "We always keep at least one light on. I'll let you know if anything changes. And I'll stop by on my way out in the morning to update you, but you'll probably see Dr. Poole before then. The next visiting time is at 10:00AM."
"Thank you, dear." Rose replied softly.
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Sully and Kim looked up as Rose and Faith came back into the waiting room.
"I think I'm going to go freshen up." Rose muttered as she headed towards the restroom.
"She ok?" Sully asked.
"I think she just needs a few minutes alone." Faith answered. "Where's Carlos?"
"He headed back to the station. Jimmy is going to come by and pick me up." Kim replied.
"Oh," Faith nodded, then her brow creased. "Where's Cruz?"
"Don't know." Sully replied. "She just mumbled something and walked out, shortly after you guys went in."
'Hmmm….' Faith wondered briefly if Cruz had been upset that Rose had asked her to go back with her to see Bosco.
"How is he?" Sully interrupted her thoughts.
"Pretty much like the doctor said. Except for all the tubes going in and out of him, he almost looks like he's sleeping." "I think I'm going to take a little walk." Faith added, then headed towards the door to the hall. Rose wasn't the only one who needed a few minutes alone.
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As Faith exited the waiting room, she noticed two of the night shift officers standing guard at the door. They both nodded at her as she passed. She wandered aimlessly for a few minutes, and finally stopped outside of the chapel. She hadn't prayed in a very long time. She had always taken it upon herself to fix everything. 'Why turn to God, when you can fix it yourself?' Even when Fred had had his heart attack and Emily her overdose, she hadn't prayed. She'd focused all her energy on controlling everything that she could. Now she felt totally out of control.
She hesitantly placed her hand on the door and pushed it open. Once inside she froze, amazed at what she saw before her. Maritza Cruz was on her knees in front of the altar, her head bowed, and her shoulders slumped. She was praying aloud in a mixture of Spanish and English. Her voice wasn't loud enough for Faith to understand more than a few words here and there. But the urgency in her tone was chilling. Faith stood and stared for a long time. She'd never imagined Maritza Cruz to be a religious person. Nor had she believed that Cruz actually ever cared about Bosco.
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Faith reentered the waiting area to find that Rose and Sully were the only ones left. "Where's Kim?" She questioned.
"She left with Jimmy just a few minutes ago." Sully replied as Faith walked over and sat beside him. "Rials and Jorgenson from the night shift will be standing guard tonight," he continued.
"Yeah, I saw them outside. I'm going to stay with Rose tonight as well." She announced.
"Yeah, that's what I figured. I talked to Lieu again and he's ok'ed Ty and myself for the dayshift tomorrow. Then that will leave you and Cruz for the third watch." "If that's alright?" Sully gave her a questioning look.
Faith bit her lip, but then shook her head. "Yeah, I guess that's ok." 'Oh Joy. I'll look forward to that like I would a root canal.' She added silently.
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As if she knew they were talking about her, Cruz entered the room. "How is he?" she inquired of Faith.
"Same as the doctor reported. Nothing has changed." Faith's answer was brief.
Sully rose to his feet. "I guess I'm going to go find Ty, and we'll head out. Sarg, are you ok with standing guard here tomorrow evening, rather than patrolling?"
"Sure" She replied.
Sully stepped over to Rose and took her small hand in his, patting it lightly with his other hand. "You hang in there, Mrs. Boscorelli. Bosco's as tough as they come. I'm sure he'll be ok."
"Thank you, Officer Sullivan." She responded and tried to force a small smile.
Sully turned to go to the door, but heard Cruz calling after him.
"Wait up, Sully. I think I'll go down and stay with Monroe for a while." She turned back to Rose Boscorelli. "Goodnight Mrs. Boscorelli. I'll see you tomorrow."