Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters or places.
Collision Course, Chapter 38
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Kathy had been kind enough to allow Rose to stay a few minutes past the end of the visiting period. Bosco was grateful for this. Rose had managed to make him feel better about things, even a little better about the dialysis.
Now he lay there thinking that maybe, just maybe things were not that bad. He'd get better with time. He just needed to be patient. 'Yeah, fat chance of that' he laughed to himself.
But his positive thoughts were quickly put aside when his stomach began to cramp. Having been fed liquid food through a feeding tube for nearly a week, his stomach was not quite prepared for all of the dinner he'd eaten. He was suddenly horrified by the realization that he was in no way able to get up and go to a bathroom. 'Maybe they have a bedside commode' he thought wishfully. Looking up he realized that it was almost 7:00 PM. He knew that Kathy was leaving then and he was embarrassed at the thought of her having to help him onto the toilet. So he decided to try to wait since some new nurse was coming that he wouldn't know. Maybe that would not be as embarrassing.
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Kathy updated Mary on Bosco's condition. The agency nurse had called in at the last minute saying she could not come tonight, so the only other option was to pull one of the nurses from the ER because they had training and experience with critically ill patients. Then they pulled a floor nurse to take that nurses place in the ER.
Kathy walked back into Bosco's room to tell him goodbye. Stepping up to the bedside, she noticed Bosco's wide eyes and a thin bead of sweat forming on his brow. "Are you ok, Officer…Bosco?" she questioned.
He quickly shook his head, but didn't speak.
"Are you in pain? You remember that you can push the button to increase your pain meds, right?" she asked.
Bosco again shook his head.
Kathy frowned. "Ok. Well, I'm going to go. I just wanted to say goodbye. I'm going to be off for two days and you're doing so well that you will probably be moved to a regular room before I get back. It's been a pleasure working with you."
Bosco nodded again. "Thank you" he mumbled. 'Now get out. Please!' he thought.
Kathy turned and left, passing Mary on her way. "Night Kathy" Mary said.
"Have a good night, Mary." Kathy replied.
Mary walked further into the room and looked down at a very surprised Bosco. "Hey there, Bosco. I'm glad to see you awake. You gave us quite a scare. How are you doing?" Mary questioned.
Bosco stared at her for a long moment, then decided that he might as well be truthful because he couldn't hold on much longer. "Honestly, Proctor, I have to take a dump."
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After a long debate over whether Bosco was strong enough to get up to the bedside commode or would have to use the bedpan, Mary finally triumphed. Bosco was fit to be tied when Mary finally shoved the bedpan under his backside, as one of the male orderlies helped pull him up onto his side. When he finished, he called to Mary in a defeated tone.
He had never been so humiliated in his life as when Mary rolled him onto his right side and held him up as the orderly cleaned him. He could feel his ears turning bright red with embarrassment. Unfortunately for him, his misery was not over. They repeated the process three additional times within the next two hours. He had a killer case of diarrhea.
Finally, on the fourth time cleaning him up, Mary and the orderly decided they might as well go ahead and give him his bath. Bosco had protested vigorously, saying he hadn't done anything to get dirty. When that didn't work, he simply refused. Mary insisted that he had to be bathed every day. It was hospital policy. Patients had to be bathed daily to help prevent infection.
Finally he relented, in part to get Mary to leave him alone. He was exhausted and his chest was killing him from all the moving to get on and off of the bedpan. As Mary turned him once more, he spotted the button that was connected to the pain pump and grasped it tightly in his right hand, pushing the button over and over trying to knock himself out and half wishing that he'd never wake up.
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Rose had gone over to the bar for a few hours, but made sure that she was back for the 10:00 PM visiting hour. She was disappointed to find Maurice asleep. The nurse for the night, one she recognized from the ER, had explained to her that he'd had a pretty rough few hours. So she didn't wake him. She just sat for a few minutes, stroking his forehead with her fingers and praying for his speedy recovery.
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Faith stumbled into her apartment and found Fred waiting up for her on the couch.
"Hey, Babe. How was your day?" Fred asked her.
"It was ok." Faith replied.
"How was Bosco? I heard that he is off the ventilator and awake." Fred informed her.
"Yeah, I heard it too." Faith responded wearily.
"What? You didn't go see him?" Fred questioned.
"No, I didn't." Faith said flatly.
"Why not? I thought you'd be sure to go by." Fred asked with surprise.
"I wanted to give Rose some time with him. Besides, he's probably exhausted." Faith answered.
"Well, maybe we can go by tomorrow and see him after the early church service. The kids are both going with me. You want to come with us?" Fred questioned hopefully.
"I don't know Fred." Faith answered.
"Oh, come on Faith. Let's go to church as a family for once, huh. What do you say?" Fred pleaded.
"I'll think about it." That was all Faith would say.
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Collision Course, Chapter 39
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Mary's night had been a lot easier than she thought it would. By the time she and the orderly had finished giving Bosco his bath, he was fast asleep. Mary didn't realize until she was charting later that he had pushed the button on the pain pump fifteen times in 25 minutes. Fortunately the pump had a lock out period of ten minutes so Bosco could not overdose. He only managed to give himself three doses of the medicine. But that was enough. He was out for the night. In fact, he was resting so peacefully that Mary hated to wake him.
"Bosco" she called gently. Tapping his shoulder lightly, she called out a little louder "Bosco."
Bosco tried to pull away from her while mumbling, "No Ma. I don't want to get up yet."
Mary let out a small laugh. She could only imagine what a terror Bosco must have been as a teenager. "Wake up, Bosco." She said more forcefully.
Again he pulled away, this time trying to role over onto his left side. This only caused him to moan out in pain. But he finally opened his eyes and glared at Mary.
"Good morning to you too, Sunshine." Mary greeted him. "Dr. Poole is getting ready to take that chest tube out. I'd push that little magic button if I were you." She added as she handed him the button to the pain pump.
"Thanks." Bosco mumbled, as he took her advice.
After a few minutes, Dr. Poole walked into the room with a handful of bandages and instruments. "Good morning, Officer Boscorelli." He greeted.
"Morning, Doc." Bosco mumbled.
Dr. Poole went about checking the drainage from the chest tube and then listening to Bosco's lungs. "I think we can go ahead and get this chest tube out, ok."
Bosco nodded.
Dr. Poole raised the head of the bed slightly. He lifted Bosco's casted arm and motioned for Mary to hold it up, then he pulled back the hospital gown. Grabbing at the bandage over the tube, he hurriedly pulled the tape off. Bosco was suddenly grateful that he didn't have a hairy chest. Dr. Poole then clamped the end of the tube closest to Bosco's chest and cut the remainder of the tube off. He clipped the stitches holding the tube in. Then he gathered up a piece of vaseline gauze in one hand as he grasped the remaining portion of the tube in the other. "Now, officer. When I tell you to, I want you to take a deep breath and hold it. Whatever you do, don't exhale. Ok."
"Ok." Bosco answered hesitantly. Dr. Poole's swift motions made him a little nervous, as did that warning.
"Good. Now, take a deep breath and hold it." Dr. Poole instructed. When Bosco did so, Dr. Poole quickly pulled the tube out and covered the wound with the gauze. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Dr. Poole said, as he went about placing another bandage over the gauze. Finally, he looked up to see why Bosco wasn't answering.
"Bosco, it's ok for you to breath now." Mary chuckled.
Bosco exhaled and took in a quick breath.
Dr. Poole listened to his lungs once more, then began to reevaluate his other injuries. When he finished, he addressed Bosco. "You're doing quite well officer. Hopefully we will be able to transfer you to a regular room tomorrow."
"Then when can I go home?" Bosco asked.
"You will probably be here at least another week, maybe two. And that is if everything continues to go well. You'll need some physical therapy before you go home and then after you're discharged." Dr. Poole answered.
Bosco frowned. "Well can I at least get this catheter out?"
"No. I'm sorry, but we have to keep close track of your urine output to see if your kidney is trying to recover. We need the foley in to make sure we can accurately measure the urine you're making." Dr. Poole explained.
"What happens if it doesn't recover?" Bosco asked warily.
"Well, then you will need to continue on dialysis. Most patients are dialyzed three days a week once their condition is stabilized. But that may only be temporary. You would definitely be a candidate for a transplant." Dr. Poole explained.
"You mean like getting a kidney from some stiff?" Bosco asked, the disgust evident on his face.
"Well, not necessarily. Living donors are much more common now. A lot of patients have a family member who will donate a kidney." Dr. Poole replied.
Bosco chuckled softly. "Yeah, right. Don't hold your breath, Doc. I don't think any of my family members will being jumping in line for that."
"You never know, Officer. And if there is no family member that can donate, sometimes unrelated donors can be found. You have a great deal of friends, Officer. Besides, we don't even know that it will come to that. Let's try to think positively." Dr. Poole encouraged.
"Yeah, let's do." Bosco mumbled. He wasn't doing a very good job of thinking positively lately.
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Faith sat on the church pew next to Fred feeling totally out of place. She still wondered how she had managed to get talked into this. Well actually, she knew. Fred and Charlie had ganged up on her this morning and she'd finally agreed to come with them to get them to stop. She also hoped that the distraction would get her mind off of Bosco. She had been so afraid that he would never wake up and she would not have a chance to apologize to him. Now she was afraid of how he would react when he saw her. She was afraid to face him after the way she had treated him over the past year.
A loud bang from the front of the church brought her attention back to the minister. Brother Mike, as Fred had called him, had banged his Bible down on the podium while trying to make a point. He was a small guy, shorter than Bosco actually. But he was stoutly built and seemed to be full of energy. She tried to focus on his words in order to distract herself from her other thoughts. He was talking about Hell. Faith wasn't sure that there was such a place. But if it did exist, from what Brother Mike was saying it must be awful.
She was relieved when he changed his course and began talking about God's love and the forgiveness He offered to those who obeyed, how their sins were blotted out. It all sounded really nice to Faith. She wished that she could forget her own faults, have them blotted out of her mind completely as the minister said God could forgive and forget sins completely.
Then the minister talked about loving and forgiving your brother, even if he sinned against you over and over. Her thoughts again went back to herself and Bosco, although she wasn't really sure she could call Bosco her brother. He was Catholic and she was…. well, she wasn't really anything. Her parents had gone to church occasionally, but she had never really committed herself to any faith. Still, she thought that Brother Mike made a good point. She realized that she and Bosco had both hurt each other many times. And, even if he wasn't her brother so to speak, he was at one time her best friend. She knew that she needed to forgive him and be forgiven.
Faith was beginning to think that maybe this preacher was onto something. Maybe there was something to this religious awakening that Fred had had. But then the preacher went on to say that not only should you love and forgive your brother, you should love and forgive your enemies. And that if you could not forgive, then God would not forgive you. Faith was taken back by this revelation. First, she thought it was absurd that she should be asked to forgive her enemy, thinking immediately of Maritza Cruz. Surely she wasn't expected to forgive Cruz after she had shot and nearly killed her. Never. She was never going to forgive Cruz for what she did. And if this man expected her to, he was crazy.
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Bosco rested for a while after Mary left, until an unexpected visitor came by.
"Hello, Officer Boscorelli. I'm Father O'Reilly. I'm making my Sunday rounds and wanted to stop by and speak to you. I've heard an awful lot about our city's newest hero." The elderly priest stuck out a hand to shake Bosco's.
"Hi, Father. O'Reilly?" Bosco questioned. "You Irish?"
"Yes" O'Reilly answered with an amused grin. "Is that alright? I would hope the Father would hear an Irishman's prayers the same as an Italian's."
"It's fine. I mean…. I'm sure He does." Bosco answered slightly embarrassed.
"So how are you today, Officer?" O'Reilly questioned. "I understand that you've had quite a time of it."
"I'm ok, I guess. Other than feeling a bit selfish." Bosco confided.
"Selfish over what? If I may ask?" O'Reilly inquired.
"It's just… well I've been wishing that I hadn't been there to intercept that Impala, or wishing that I had let it go and not driven out in front of it." Bosco continued.
"I can imagine that I would be wishing the same thing." O'Reilly assured him.
"If I hadn't been there, who knows how many people would have been injured or killed? But right now, I really don't care that much. I wish I hadn't been there." Bosco admitted.
"That's only natural, Officer." O'Reilly commented. "But you were there and you did a very courageous thing."
"I'm not feeling very courageous right now, Father." Bosco confided.
"Ah, but have faith, my boy. God will get you through this." He assured Bosco.
"Thanks, Father." Bosco answered.
"So can I help you with anything? I could say a prayer for you or take confessions." O'Reilly offered.
Bosco couldn't help but smile, thinking that Father O'Reilly didn't know what he was getting himself into asking for his confessions. "You'd better sit down, Father. This may take a while."
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After an early mass, Maritza Cruz stopped to have a talk with Father Rodriguez. She had told him about Bosco and asked him to have a prayer for him. But before he did this, she too made her own confessions. Somehow she even managed to wander onto the topic of Faith Yokas and the shootings. Even though she had technically shot Faith in self- defense, she did feel some remorse at being in that situation to begin with.
"Have you asked for her forgiveness or at least apologized?" Father Rodriguez questioned.
"What?" Maritza asked, brought from her thoughts by his question.
"Have you apologized to this Officer Yokas?" he asked again.
"No. No, I haven't." Cruz answered.
"Do you think that you should?" Father Rodriguez asked.
"Well, she hates me so I don't think she would forgive me anyway." Cruz replied, trying to avoid the question.
"Regardless, you are still obligated to ask her." Father Rodriguez admonished.
"I can't." Cruz answered.
"You can't or you want?" Father Rodriguez questioned.
"I can't and I want. Father, I've had to struggle for everything I've ever had in life. I'm not exactly in a habit of groveling for other people's forgiveness. And I'm not going to start with Faith Yokas." Cruz insisted.
"Maritza, are you willing to submit to God?" Rodriguez asked.
"Of course." Maritza replied.
"Well, sometimes submitting to God requires groveling, as you put it." Rodriguez continued.
Cruz was silent for a long moment. "I'll have to think about that, Father."
"You think about it, Maritza and I'll pray for you. Both of you." He replied.
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Collision Course, Chapter 39b
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When the 10:00 visiting hour began, Rose was surprised to find Bosco sitting up in a chair with his legs elevated.
"Hi, Ma." He greeted her with a slight smile.
"Good morning, Maurice." Rose replied as she leaned over to kiss his cheek. "You look like you are feeling better today. Did you sleep well?"
"Like a baby." Bosco answered.
Rose sat down across from Bosco and they talked for a few minutes before Rose once again stood. "You have some other visitors waiting, so I'm going to step out and let them come in."
Bosco frowned. "What other visitors? I don't want you to go."
"Now, now. Don't pout, Maurice. You have a number of friends who have been practically keeping a vigil here. I have to share you. I'll be back later." Rose assured him.
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Bosco sat, waiting for his mysterious visitors. He really would have preferred that his mom stay, but she gave him no choice. He was surprised when he looked up to see Faith entering the room and even more surprised to see that Fred was with her.
Looking intently at Faith, he mumbled "Hi."
"Hey yourself." Faith replied.
A sheepish looking Fred joined in. "Hey, Bosco. How are you feeling?"
Bosco was a little unsure what Fred was doing there. They had not exactly been on good terms. In fact, as far as he knew, Fred still hated him. "I'm doing ok, Fred." Bosco muttered.
"That's good. That's really good." Fred said nervously. "I'm glad your doing better. You gave us quite a scare."
Bosco stared at Fred for a few moments, unsure of how to respond. "Thanks, Fred." He finally managed.
Fred just shook his head up and down as if agreeing to something. Then he looked over at Faith. He could sense her nervousness, but also her need for some time alone with Bosco. "Well, I just wanted to say hi. I've going to step out and let you guys talk."
Faith looked at Fred in desperation, but he simply patted her back and turned to leave. She then stared down at the floor for a long moment.
"Faith?" Bosco questioned.
She jumped slightly at her name and looked up at Bosco.
"Yeah, Bos." She mumbled.
"What's gotten into Fred? I mean, I thought he hated me." Bosco questioned.
Faith stared at Bosco until she realized that he had no idea of what had happened to change Fred's attitude. "You saved his life, Bosco. And Charlie's." She answered.
Bosco looked at her in total confusion.
"Charlie was playing soccer in Huntington Park that day, Bos. Fred said that the Impala was headed straight towards them, when you intercepted it. You saved their lives." She repeated.
Bosco was silent. He had saved Charlie's life? And Fred's? In a way, that revelation brought him comfort. Those nameless people that he'd been injured protecting now had names and faces. No matter how bad things were for him, he knew now that it was worth it. He would give his life for Charlie any day.
"Bos?" Faith's voice brought him back to the present, as she sat down in the chair opposite him.
"Yeah, Faith." He half whispered.
"I'm sorry, Bos." Faith said quietly.
"Sorry for what Faith? It wasn't your fault that some idiot tried to run over a soccer field full of people." Bosco answered, confused.
"No, Bos. Not that." Faith corrected. "I'm sorry that I told you to go away…. and that I refused your apology. I'm sorry that I pushed you away last year. And I'm sorry for all of the hateful things that I said." Faith confessed.
"No, Faith. You're not the one. It wasn't your fault. I'm sorry. I never should have lied to you." Bosco argued.
"No, Bosco. It was my fault. I treated you like a child and I was jealous of Cruz. I pushed you away and…"
"No, Faith." Bosco interrupted. "You had every right to be angry. It was my fault. Everything was my fault. It was my fault that you got shot….."
"No, Bosco. It wasn't."
"Yes, it was Faith."
"No…" Faith sighed. "Bosco, do you realize that we are both trying to apologize and yet we are fighting."
Bosco smiled slightly. "Pretty stupid, huh. I don't want to fight anymore Faith."
"I don't either, Bosco." Faith confided.
"Then how about we just forgive each other and forget it." Bosco suggested.
"I'd like that." Faith replied, as she reached out and grasped Bosco's outstretched hand.
The two sat in silence for a long time with their fingers interlocked, nothing else needing to be said.
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Faith left the hospital feeling truly content for the first time in a very long time. It felt really good to forgive Bosco and to be forgiven, like a great burden had been lifted. She thought briefly about Maritza Cruz, thinking maybe Brother Mike was right. Maybe she should forgive Cruz. But that thought was short lived as she soon remembered how Cruz had come between her and Bosco. Then she remembered the night of the shooting. No. There was no way in Hell she was going to forgive Maritza Cruz.