Third Watch, There For You series: Fic Eight: The Waiting Game (1-2/2)
Title: The Waiting Game (1/2)
Author: X_tremeroswellian
Email: faithboscorelli1@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: I keep wishing, but they *still* don't belong to me. But hey, Edward Bernero, if by chance you're reading this, if you want to give the characters to me for some reason, they'd make a *really* great Christmas gift. :)
Rating: PG-13 for language, sexual content and mild violence
Spoilers: Up through and including "Act Brave."
Summary: Bosco cancels his weekend plans in order to remain at Faith's side as they wait on news of her test results.
Distribution: My site, Only Time.
Category: Story
Subcategories: A bit of humor, but mostly angst/drama
Feedback: Keeps me writing
Author's Note: This is the 8th story in a series of TW fics I'm writing called There For You. The first one was "Crossing Boundaries," the second was "Partners," the third was "Changing of the Tides," the fourth was "Surprise," the fifth was "For Every Ending," the sixth was "...There is a Beginning," and the seventh was "A Night to Remember." Might wanna read those first.
The Waiting Game (Part One)
"What does that mean?" Faith asked as she stared at Dr. Case from where she sat on the exam table at the hospital in Jersey. Her heart was pounding loudly in her eardrums and she wondered if he could hear it.
"Well, it could be any number of things. But given your medical history, I think it would be wise to run some more tests just to be on the safe side."
"My medical history," she murmured.
"It could be anything."
"Including cancer."
"We don't want to jump to any unnecessary conclusions without having a reason to," Dr. Case said, giving her a reassuring smile.
Easier said than done, she thought. "What kind of tests?"
"I'd like to run some more in depth bloodwork and do another mammogram, just to be on the safe side. Nothing too painful or time-consuming on your part," he promised.
"Okay. How long will it take before the results are back?" Faith asked anxiously.
"Not long. They should be in first thing Monday morning."
Two days. Not a long time unless you're waiting to see if you're still going to be alive by Christmas, she said silently.
"Try not to worry. It's probably nothing," Dr. Case said soothingly.
"Right. Nothing." Because I always have such good luck with everything in my life.
"If you just want to wait here, I'll have my nurse come in to do the bloodwork." He stood up and shook her hand, then headed for the door.
Faith lowered her gaze to the floor, her vision blurring with unshed tears as she heard her own words from months ago echo in her mind. //" It comes back for some."//
She shuddered.
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Bosco smiled as he reached apartment 3B. He raised his hand and knocked on the door. He hadn't seen her in over a week and he was looking forward to spending the evening with her. He just hoped she was home and didn't have other plans.
The door opened a moment later and Faith looked at him with surprise. She was wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a gray, baggy NYPD sweatshirt. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. "Bosco, what are you doing here?"
"Just thought I'd come over, see if you were busy."
For a moment, she appeared to be confused. "No, no...I'm not busy." She stepped aside and motioned for him to come in. "Is everything okay?" He could hear the concern in her voice.
Bosco turned to face her. "Yeah, everything's great. I thought maybe we could hang out."
"It's Friday night."
He frowned. "Yeah...so?"
"So....why aren't you out having fun and scoping out potential dates?"
"Because I'd rather hang out with my best friend," he told her.
Her eyes softened and she suddenly felt like she was about to start crying. She dropped her gaze to the floor.
"Faith? What's wrong?" he asked, worried by her silence.
She commanded herself to stop acting like such a baby. "Sorry. I've just...got this headache..."
"Have you taken anything for it?"
"Yeah, aspirin." She forced a smile and glanced at him. "I had a little too much to drink last night."
"Been there, done that," he remarked, though he felt a twinge of concern. Faith had never been a big drinker.
She noticed the way he was looking at her and she shifted uncomfortably. "Girl's night out with Kim and Taylor."
Bosco nodded despite the surprise he felt. "Have fun?"
The memory of Scott shoving her up against the bathroom wall--his hands all over her--flashed into her mind. She cringed, trying to force the memory into the back of her brain. "Yeah..." she murmured, turning and heading for the kitchen.
Frowning deeply, Bosco followed her and watched as she pulled a can of soda from the fridge, her back to him. "Got any Sprite?"
She turned, startled as she realized he was right behind her. She took an involuntary step backward. "No, I...sorry." She dropped her gaze to the floor, her hands tightly clutching onto the can of soda.
He stared at her, trying to figure out what was going on. He reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders. He felt her flinch under his touch. "Faith, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," she denied. She turned away and faced the counter, her hands resting on the surface for support. Her eyes filled with tears that she quickly blinked back. She was not going to start crying. Not now.
"Faith."
His voice was gentle, but firm, concern tainting it.
"I'm fine, Bosco. Really." The slight waver in her voice was unmistakable and she felt disgusted. Hell, she couldn't even convince herself she was fine and she knew him well enough to know that he wasn't going to back off until he figured out what was wrong with her.
Bosco folded his arms across his chest. "What did Fred do now?" he asked, barely able to contain the anger he felt.
"It's not Fred," she said softly.
"Then what?"
She closed her eyes tightly, not wanting to say the words. Knowing that when she did, it would make things more real than they already were. "Last night when I got home...there was a message on my machine. From my doctor in Jersey."
He felt a knot form in his stomach, but he remained silent.
"He said there were some abnormalities in my bloodwork. I went in to see him this morning and he ran some more tests."
"And what'd the tests show?" he asked, worried by the paleness of her face.
"They won't know anything til Monday," Faith answered, giving him a small, forced smile.
"Monday?" Bosco repeated, shaking his head. "Don't these people have to work weekends?"
She shrugged and looked at the floor.
"Well, did he say what might have caused the abnormalities?"
"He said it could be a lot of things."
Bosco gazed at her, hearing what she didn't say. That one of those 'things' could be a return of her cancer. He swallowed hard.
Faith gave him what she hoped was an optomistic smile. "It might be nothing."
"You don't have to do that. Not with me."
"What?" she asked, confused.
"Pretend that you're not scared and that everything's fine. I'm not Fred," Bosco reminded her quietly.
She stared at him for a moment. "I know that." She fiddled with the pop top lid on her can of soda, then turned and set it back in the refridgerator, closing the door.
"Do the kids know?"
Faith shook her head. "They're with Fred for the weekend. I'm not gonna bring it up until I know something for sure. There's no sense in worrying them."
Bosco leaned back against the counter, gazing at her intently.
She caught the look he was giving her and sighed. "Boz, I'm sorry. This is why I didn't want to say anything."
"Faith, I'm glad you told me. There's no reason for you to have to go through this alone. That's what friends are for."
"Yeah, but now you're worried and I've ruined your weekend when it could be nothing," she argued.
"Of course I'm worried. You're my best friend. But every time I've ever needed you, you've been there for me. Let me be there for you for a change."
Faith met his eyes. She knew it wasn't easy for him to express his feelings, but she also knew that he cared very deeply about her. Here he was, standing before her, saying exactly what she wanted--no. What she *needed* to hear. The sincerity he was expressing was reflected in his blue eyes. Wordlessly she stepped toward him and wound her arms around his waist.
Bosco closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her tightly, not wanting to think about what would happen if her test results came back with bad news. The thought of losing her...
He swallowed hard and shoved the thought away. He wanted--needed--to be there for her. This wasn't the time to be focusing on his own fears. He reluctantly pulled away from her. "Why don't you go and take a nice, hot bath and try to relax for awhile? I'll go out and get us something to eat and come back and we can have dinner and hang out. Okay?"
"Bosco, you really don't have to--"
"Hey, hey, hey, shhhh. You're in good hands," he said, grinning at her. "What do you feel like? Chinese? Mexican? Italian?"
Faith couldn't stop the smile that crept onto her lips. "I love Italian."
Bosco raised his eyebrows. "I'll keep that in mind."
She chuckled lightly and he grinned again.
"So what should I get? Pizza, pasta, lasagna..."
"Pizza sounds good."
He nodded his agreement. "Okay, so a large pizza, extra cheese with everything but mushrooms and an order of breadsticks?"
"You know what I like," she said, smiling as she leaned against the fridge.
He smiled back at her. "All right. So I'll be back in a little while."
"Okay." Faith watched as he headed for the door and left her apartment. She sighed lightly and turned to walk down the hall toward the bathroom, thinking that a long, hot bath sounded pretty good. Halfway there, she paused in her steps, replaying the last half of her conversation with Bosco in her mind.
Her eyes widened slightly. Had they just been flirting with each other?
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"Hello?" a familiar female voice said on the other end of the line.
"Hey, it's me," Bosco said, smiling slightly as he sat in his car.
"Hey, you," Cynthia said warmly. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow night."
He felt a momentary flash of guilt which he chose to ignore. "Yeah, that's uh...that's actually why I'm calling. Something's come up. I'm not gonna be able to make it to the party."
"Is everything okay?" she asked, concerned.
Bosco hesitated. "I'm not sure."
There was a moment of silence.
"I thought you were going over to your friend's place tonight."
"I am. That's why I'm not going to make it tomorrow. She's got some stuff going on and really shouldn't be alone this weekend."
"Oh."
"I'll make it up to you," he promised.
"Don't worry about it. I think it's sweet that you're such a good friend."
"Thanks for understanding."
"No problem. I'll see you soon."
"Yep. Bye."
"Bye."
He hung up and gazed out his windshield for a few minutes, his mind drifting back to Faith. She'd been through so much in the past few months. Surely things had to start getting better.
Didn't they?
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Faith had just finished drying her hair when she heard the door being unlocked.
"Honey, I'm home," she heard Bosco call a few seconds later.
She smiled, unplugged her hair dryer and stepped out of the bathroom. She could smell the pizza all the way down the hall and it made her stomach growl. She was surprised to see him carrying not only a pizza, but also a carton of chocolate ice cream and an armful of videotapes. "Bosco, what--"
"I thought we could watch some movies," he said, heading into the kitchen and setting the pizza and ice cream on the table.
"Great idea, but do you really think we can get through six in one night? I mean, it's already 7:30," Faith pointed out, nodding toward the clock.
"Of course not. But they're older ones, or at least five of them are, so they're not due back for a week. I thought we could watch a couple tomorrow and Sunday."
"Tomorrow and Sunday?" she repeated.
"Yeah. Unless you want to go out somewhere." Bosco gazed at her.
"No, but..." Her voice trailed off. "I appreciate the gesture, Boz, I do, but...your really don't have to waste your whole weekend with me."
He shook his head. "If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be here. It's not a waste, Faith. All right?"
She met his eyes and nodded slowly. "Okay."
"Good."
Faith looked through the movies he'd picked out. Spiderman, Lethal Weapon 1, Lethal Weapon 2, Lethal Weapon 3, Armaggedon and Random Hearts. She raised an eyebrow and looked at Bosco questioningly. "You rented a movie called Random Hearts?"
He shrugged. "The clerk at the store said it was a good movie."
"Did this clerk happen to be a female?"
"Yeah..."
She smiled. "So you thought she was cute?"
He looked at her confused for a moment, then realized what she was getting at. "No, I thought maybe *you'd* like to see a chick flick."
Faith was silent for a moment, taken aback by his words. "Thank you," she said softly.
Bosco smiled at her. "You're welcome." He opened the pizza box, then inhaled the scent deeply.
"Smells good," she murmured.
"Oh, yeah." He put the gallon of ice cream in the freezer and opened the refridgerator. "What do you want to drink?"
"I'll just have a soda."
He grabbed it off the shelf and handed it to her, then grabbed another for himself. She picked up the pizza box and grabbed two plates out of the cupboard. "Let's sit in the living room. More comfortable."
"Works for me." He followed her to the other room, then sat down beside her on the couch. She set the pizza box down on the coffee table, then pulled a slice out, set it on a plate, and handed it to him. Then she pulled out a piece for herself.
She'd barely taken three bites when the telephone rang. She set her plate down on the table and stood up. She grabbed the phone off the wall in the kitchen. "Hello?"
"Mom, it's me," Charlie said. He sounded upset.
"Charlie, what's wrong? Are you okay?" she asked, worried.
Bosco looked up from his seat on the sofa, a frown on his face.
"I'm fine. But can you come and get me? I don't want to spend the weekend with Dad."
"Did something happen?"
"His girlfriend is here."
Faith flinched and closed her eyes tightly, the image of Fred making love to the other woman flashing through her mind.
"I don't like her. Can you come get me?"
"Charlie, does your dad know that you called me?"
He hesitated. "No."
"Sweetie, you know it's your time to be with him," she said softly, her heart aching.
"But I don't want to!"
"I know, but he's your dad and he loves you very much. He'd be sad if you didn't want to see him this weekend."
"I'd rather be with you! He's got Emily and Sheryl and you're all by yourself."
"Actually, I'm not," she admitted. "Bosco's here."
"Really?"
"Yeah. He rented some movies for us to watch."
"Can I talk to him?"
"Sure, hold on a second." She turned and glanced at Bosco, covering the mouth piece with her hand. "Charlie wants to talk to you."
He looked at her, surprised, then stood up, walked over and took the phone from her. "Hey, Charlie. What's up?"
Faith watched Bosco as he talked to her son. She tried to read the expression on his face, but couldn't. A few minutes later, he said, "I promise. Okay. I'll talk to you later, Champ. Here's your mom again." Bosco handed the phone back to her, his fingers brushing against her hand lightly.
"Are you going to be okay there?" she asked, worried.
"Yeah, I think so. I miss you."
"I miss you, too," she whispered. "Tell your sister I love her, okay?"
"I will. I love you, Mom."
Faith leaned against the wall, blinking back tears. "I love you, too, Charlie. I'll see you on Monday, okay?"
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye," she echoed. She heard the line go dead and she closed her eyes as she hung up the phone. She drew in a deep breath and opened her eyes again. Then she turned to face Bosco, who was gazing at her intently.
"Everything okay?" he asked gently.
She nodded. "Apparently Fred finally introduced the kids to his new girlfriend. Charlie was pretty upset."
Bosco felt anger coil up within him, but he resisted the urge to start bashing his best friend's soon-to-be-ex-husband. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Faith lied, forcing a smile on her face. "What'd Charlie make you promise?" she asked curiously.
He shrugged. "Just to play soccer with him next weekend. Haven't seen him in awhile."
"He misses you," she said quietly.
Bosco smiled. "I miss him, too. He's a great kid."
There was a moment of silence.
"Why don't we watch a movie?" she suggested, wanting to forget about Fred and Sheryl for awhile.
"Which one do you want to watch first?"
"Spiderman. It's due back tomorrow, right?"
He nodded. "I've heard it's a good movie."
"Yeah, me too," Faith agreed, sitting down on the sofa again.
Bosco plugged the tape into the VCR and joined her on the couch.
She laid her head back against the pillows and tried to forget all the worries on her mind.
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Bosco stared at the t.v. screen, bored out of his mind. This has got to be the dullest movie ever, he thought as they watched Random Hearts. He'd hoped it would be a decent movie since Harrison Ford was in it. And Ford's character was a cop. Yet somehow the movie seemed to drag on and on and on...
The only highlight had been when Ford's character went to the airport to talk to one of the workers there. The woman he'd interviewed had been cute. Unfortunately, she was only on screen for a minute or so. Figures, he thought, laying his head against the back of the sofa.
His gaze landed on the nearly empty pizza box. He'd eaten almost the whole thing himself, and Faith had barely finished her first piece, saying she wasn't all that hungry. He wondered if she'd been eating on a regular basis at all. She looked like she'd lost fifteen pounds since he last saw her. Something else he could hate Fred for.
He turned his head to look at her and in the flickering light from the tv screen, he saw a single tear rolling down her cheek. Her eyes were closed.
Bosco felt his chest tighten. This stupid fucking movie, he thought angrily as it occurred to him that the plot was a little too close to Faith's life at the moment. "Faith," he said, his voice quiet.
She didn't open her eyes. "Sorry, I'm just tired," she said, sounding as if she'd been half-asleep.
He glanced back at the screen, then wondered if it had been the movie after all. Maybe she really was just tired. God knows she had reason to be. "Maybe you should go to bed," he suggested.
"Can't," she answered, shifting positions on the couch so her legs were curled up beside her.
Bosco scooted over closer to her. "Why not?"
"Can't sleep in that bed," she murmured, her voice barely audible.
Her words from a few weeks ago echoed in his mind. //"I came home from work and found them together in our bed."//
"Oh, Faith," he muttered. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, grabbing a pillow from behind him and laying it on his lap. She didn't resist his efforts as he gently guided her head to rest on the pillow.
"What did I do wrong?" she whispered, another tear sliding down her cheek.
He rubbed her back, trying to soothe her pain. "Nothing," he told her.
"Then why doesn't he love me anymore?"
Bosco cursed inwardly, wanting to hunt Fred Yokas down and kill him right then. Instead, he gently brushed some hair out of her face. "Because he's an idiot, Faith. It's not your fault," he whispered.
After several long moments of silence, he thought she'd fallen asleep as her breathing became steady and even.
"I don't want to die, Bosco," Faith whispered, her voice barely audible, her eyes still closed.
Bosco's heart clenched at her words. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, startling himself with the gesture. Yet somehow it felt right. All of it--him being the one to hold and comfort her. It felt...natural. He idly wondered if this was how Faith felt all the times she'd taken care of him. "You're not going to die," he said softly, continuing to rub her back.
"How do you know that?"
"I just do." He pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and covered her up with it, kissing her forehead once more.
"Thank you for being there for me, Boz," she murmured.
"You're welcome. Get some sleep," he said gently. "I'll be right here." He rested his head against the sofa once more.
Bosco closed his eyes, then opened them again and gazed down at Faith's pale, tear-stained face, suddenly realizing that just a couple of months ago they'd been in a similar position, only that time she'd been the one holding him.
Charlie's voice suddenly rang through his mind from their brief telephone conversation earlier.
//"She's been so sad, Uncle B. I don't want her to be sad anymore. Promise you'll take care of her for me."
"I promise."//
Bosco had every intention of keeping that promise.
* * *
Part Two
"Look out! Faith, get down! Get down! Shoot him! Holy shit, he's got a machine gun!" Bosco shouted as he stared in horror as the scene before him unfolded.
"I know, I know!" she said, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to focus.
"Hurry! Now, before he reloads!" he urged, wanting to reach out and grab the gun out of her hands and shoot the guy himself.
Faith raised the gun with steady hands, aimed and fired six shots without hesitation. The guy fell to the ground and then disappeared. She pressed the button on the side of the gun and turned her head to look at Bosco, an amused look on her face. "Boz, you always get this excited when you watch somebody else play Time Crisis?"
He looked at her. "Hey, I was just trying to help."
She smiled and handed him her son's Playstation gun. "It's your turn."
Bosco grinned and took the orange weapon from her. "Thanks."
"Sure." She shook her head, trying not to laugh as she watched his face turn serious as he unpaused the game.
"Get up, you jag-off," he muttered as he waited for one of the onscreen bad guys to come out from his hiding spot. The second he did, Bosco shot him and smiled. "Got him!"
Faith couldn't supress a chuckle this time as she stood up and headed for the kitchen. "If Charlie finds out how obsessed you are over that game, you're going to be over here every weekend he's with me playing it with him."
"Damn it!" Bosco cursed as his video game character died when one of the bad guys threw a knife at him. He set the gun down on the coffee table and leaned his head against the back of the sofa as he stared at the words 'Game Over' on the tv screen.
She watched from the doorway between the kitchen and the living room as she leaned against the wall. "You could always try again."
He sighed heavily. "Nah, cause if I don't beat it next time, I might end up chucking the whole system out the window and somehow I think your son might be a bit pissed off about that."
"Just a bit," she answered, grinning.
Bosco looked up at her. "Never thought I'd say this, but...I'm sick of Playstation."
"Gee, I wonder why," Faith replied, chuckling as she looked at the clock. "We've only been playing it for the last five hours."
He grinned broadly. "We kicked ass on Point Blank 3, though."
"True." She returned to the sofa and sat down beside him, laying her head against the pillows. It was late Sunday afternoon. Bosco had gone home earlier that morning for a very brief amount of time, just long enough to shower, shave and change clothes before returning to her apartment.
She'd tried to tell him he didn't have to stay with her all weekend, that she would be okay, but he'd insisted on coming back. She didn't argue with him too much. The truth was, she didn't want to be alone. If she was alone, she knew the only thing she would think about was the test results and if she dwelled on that too long, she'd surely go insane.
Bosco had managed to successfully keep her mind off everything. They'd watched movies all day the day before, and then when he'd gotten back that morning, after they'd eaten and talked for awhile, they'd started on Playstation at her suggestion. She hadn't really ever played it much herself, but she knew that Bosco had one at his place and that he enjoyed playing it. He'd been thrilled when he'd found out that Charlie had both Point Blank 3 and Time Crisis. At first she'd been content to just sit back and watch him play, but then he'd insisted that she join in on the fun.
In truth, the last several hours with him had been the most fun she'd had in...weeks. Since before she found out that her husband was cheating on her, and probably longer than that. She and Bosco had always been good friends, best friends, even, but outside of their work together, they hadn't really socialized that much. She had to admit that it had felt pretty good to spend so much time with him, just the two of them with no perps to chase down or gang members to be shooting at them. Something about it just felt...right.
She turned her head to look at him. He lay with his head back on the sofa, his eyes shut. She smiled slightly as he opened his eyes and looked at her.
"What?" he asked, gazing at her.
"Nothing," she said quietly, shaking her head. "Just...thinking, that's all."
"About...?"
"This." At the confused look on his face, she gave him an apologetic smile. "Us, hanging out like this." She glanced down at the sofa cushions, knowing what she wanted to say, but not sure how to say it.
She didn't have to.
"We should do it more often," Bosco said, a small smile on his face, as well.
Faith looked up and met his eyes again. "Yeah. Yeah, we should."
They gazed at each other for a moment.
"You wanna go out, grab something to eat and take these videos back?" he asked, yawning.
"Sure, sounds good to me. Let me change clothes real quick."
Bosco nodded and closed his eyes again as she stood up and headed down the hallway. "I'll wait here."
A few moments later, Faith returned, having changed into a long-sleeved red shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans. Her strawberry-blond hair fell gently to her shoulders.
He stared at her.
"What?" she asked, feeling self-conscious.
Bosco blinked a few times, then looked up and met her eyes. "You look nice."
Faith made a face and walked over to the coat rack to grab her jacket. "Yeah."
"You do, you look...you look really great, Faith." He stood up and walked over to her, gazing at her intently.
"Thanks," she said softly, looking down at the floor. She swallowed hard, feeling awkward and not sure of what to say.
He slid his NYPD jacket on and walked back over to the coffee table, picking up the videotapes he'd rented for them. "Let's go."
Faith followed him out the door, then paused to lock up her apartment.
"You know, it's pretty nice out here," he commented as they headed toward his car. "You wanna walk? I mean, it's not really that far to the video place."
She glanced at him, surprised that he didn't want to drive his beloved mustang. "Okay," she agreed.
Bosco smiled at her and she smiled back.
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"You want to eat here?" Bosco asked as they paused in front of Mario's Pasta House.
"Sure, why not?" Faith held the door open for him, then followed him inside. "You been here before?"
"Couple of times, but not recently," he told her, glancing around the crowded restaurant.
"Fred never wanted to eat here," she said absently, her eyes distant.
"Yeah, well Fred's an idiot," Bosco replied immediately. In more ways than one, he added silently.
"Are we supposed to seat ourselves?" she asked, moving closer to him after some guy bumped into her.
He turned his head to look at her. "Yeah, last I was here, anyway." He spotted a small, empty table toward the back and nodded to it. "That okay?"
"Works for me," Faith murmured, following him. She was a bit startled when he pulled one of the chairs out for her. "Thanks."
"Sure." He sat down across from her and picked up a menu off the table.
"So what's good here?"
"Well, the spaghetti's good, but so is the chicken fettucini."
"That sounds good."
Bosco nodded then looked up as the waitress walked over.
"Welcome to Mario's Pasta House. Can I get you something to drink?" she asked, glancing at him first, then at Faith.
"I'll have a large pepsi."
"I'll have the same," she agreed.
"Okay, I'll be right back." The waitress returned a few moments later and handed them their drinks and took their orders. She left again.
Faith looked down at the table, wondering how she would break the news to the kids if her blood test results came back with bad news. Charlie would be devestated. And Emily...she wasn't even sure Emily would care. She bit her lip as her heart ached at the thought.
"Faith?"
She glanced up at him. "Yeah?" she asked softly.
Bosco gazed at her. "You okay?"
"Yeah."
He gave her a doubtful look.
"I was just...trying to think of how to tell the kids," she admitted, swallowing hard.
His chest tightened at her words. "Faith...we don't know anything for sure yet," he reminded her gently.
"I know, but..." Her voice trailed off and she looked away.
"I know you're scared. And that's okay. I am, too."
Faith met his eyes once again, unsure of what to say to his admission. She wasn't sure she'd ever heard him say he was scared of anything before.
Bosco took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Whatever happens, whatever your doctor says...I'm here. I don't know if that helps any, but..." He shrugged, looked down at the table.
She blinked back tears as she gazed at him. "It helps a lot," she said softly.
He looked up at her, then without thinking about it, reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers gently grazing her cheek, their eyes locked on each other. He swallowed hard and pulled his hand away again, letting it drop to the table and cover her hand with his, squeezing it lightly.
"Hey, guys."
They both looked up to see Alex Taylor and Ty Davis standing next to their table.
"Hey," they said back at the same time.
Alex's gaze dropped to their joined hands, her eyebrows raising slightly. She remained silent.
"What's up?" Davis asked.
Bosco sat back in his chair, nonchalantly pulling his hand away from Faith's. "Just hanging out, getting a bite to eat."
"Yeah, us, too," Alex said, smiling. She looked at Faith curiously.
"You guys want to join us?" Faith asked, glancing across the table at Bosco.
"Nah, actually we were just leaving and saw you two. Thought we'd come say hi," Davis explained, smiling at his friends.
"Haven't seen you around much," Alex commented, her gaze shifting to Bosco. "Been keeping you busy at STS?"
"Very," he answered.
"How's that going?" Davis asked.
"Good. Everything's been good."
"Glad to hear it."
There was a moment of silence.
Alex looked at Faith once more, concern taking the place of curiosity as she recalled the last time she'd seen the police woman. "How have you been?" she asked, her voice gentle.
Faith looked up at her, then away again quickly, shifting in her seat uncomfortably. She knew without question that the other woman was thinking about the incident with Scott three nights ago. "I've been fine," she lied, forcing a smile on her face.
Bosco glanced between his best friend and Alex, wondering what that was about.
"We should probably..." Davis nodded toward the door and Alex nodded. "Good to see you, man," he said to Bosco.
"Good to see you, too," Bosco answered, nodding back.
"See you at work tomorrow," he said to Faith.
"Yeah, see ya, Davis."
"Take care, Faith," Alex said, concern reflecting in her tone.
"I will, thanks. You too." Faith stared down at the tabletop, avoiding Bosco's curious gaze.
"What was that all about?"
"Nothing," she said quickly. Too quickly, she realized as she felt his eyes still on her. She drew in a deep breath and released it slowly, trying to think of what she could say that would be believable. "That night we went out...me and Kim and Alex...they didn't know that Fred and I were...I guess I was kind of upset." She shrugged, then lifted her gaze to his face to try and determine whether or not he bought it.
Bosco nodded.
Faith felt a flash of guilt surge through her for the lie and she momentarily wondered why she hadn't just told him the truth. This was Bosco, after all. Her best friend. The only person on the planet she trusted without a doubt. She shoved the thoughts away. She wasn't going to tell him because it wasn't really that big of a deal. It's not like he could do anything about it anyway. She just wanted to forget that night all together, and dragging it out and upsetting him over it wasn't going to help her do that.
It was better for everyone if she just kept her mouth shut.
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Faith and Bosco walked back to her apartment, taking their time to enjoy the night. They'd been silent since they left Mario's, but it was a comfortable silence that only best friends could really share and understand.
"I can't believe there's only a month before Christmas," he said finally, shaking his head as he walked along beside her, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket.
"I can't believe it's still this warm a month before Christmas," she answered.
He smiled. "Nice change, though."
"Yeah, it is," she agreed. She used to look forward to snowfall when she was younger, but that had all changed when she worked her first shift as an officer in a New York City snowstorm. It hadn't been a pleasent experience. There had been traffic accidents all day long, both minor and major, not to mention all the homeless people that had been on the streets. She'd been horrified when she realized how many of them wouldn't survive the long, cold winter. Ever since that day, she'd hated snow and the cold.
"Any plans for the holidays?" Bosco asked, his voice interrupting her thoughts.
She glanced over at him. "Oh. Uh...the kids are supposed to be with me on Christmas Eve, and with Fred on Christmas Day. We haven't talked about New Year's yet." She closed her eyes briefly. This would be the first year ever she hadn't at least *seen* her kids on Christmas Day. Maybe she'd volunteer to work to help keep her mind occupied. "You?"
He shrugged. "Hadn't really thought about it actually."
"Why don't you and your mom come over to my place Christmas Eve and have dinner with me and the kids?" she suggested, not sure if she startled herself or him more with the question.
"That sounds good. I'll talk to her," Bosco agreed, surprised by her offer.
"Good," she said softly. Her mind drifted to thoughts of her children, specifically to thoughts of her daughter. "She's still not talking to me."
Bosco turned his head to look at her. "Emily?"
She nodded slightly, swallowing hard as she stared at the pavement as they walked. "Yeah."
"But she knows that Fred's seeing someone," he said, confused.
"Yeah, she does. But she thinks that I pushed him to it."
"What? That's such a load of crap!" he said, shaking his head angrily.
"Is it?" Faith stopped walking and stood in the middle of the sidewalk, a sad, hurt look reflected in her eyes. "I mean, I was never there. Not for him, not for my kids. I can't really blame him, can I?"
Bosco walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders, gazing intently into her eyes. "You were there, Faith. You've been a damn good mother to your kids. You and Fred have always had problems, but you didn't force him to have an affair with another woman. He did that all on his own."
She looked away. "It just feels like everything's falling apart, you know?" she said softly, her voice barely audible. "Fred, Emily, my health, all of it. When the hell are things going to start getting better?" A single tear slid down her cheek.
He swallowed hard and reached out, carefully brushing away the tear. Then he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, pulling her into his arms wordlessly. He closed his eyes as he held her close.
Faith closed her eyes as she buried her face into his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Bosco," she whispered, shaking her head.
"For what?" he asked, confused.
"For dumping all this crap on you."
"Hey." He pulled away and gazed at her again. "That's what friends are for, remember? You don't have to apologize."
She looked at the sidewalk. "Thanks."
Bosco reached down and slid his fingers through hers. "Things are gonna get better, Faith. I don't know when, or how, but...they will. I promise."
Faith met his eyes and managed to give him a small smile. For some reason, when he said those words, she actually believed them. She squeezed his hand lightly and he smiled back at her.
Then, in comfortable silence once more, they started to walk again.
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"Go fish."
Faith drew a card from the card pile and grinned as she laid it and its match down. "Game over. I win."
Bosco glared at her and set down the five cards he'd been holding. "You're cheating."
"I am not!" she protested.
"Nobody wins twelve times in a row unless they're cheating!"
"Unless they're really good," she answered with a smirk.
"Nobody's *that* good, Faith." He tilted his head slightly, a grin on his face. "At least not at cards."
Faith rolled her eyes, but couldn't supress the chuckle that escaped her lips. It was 8:45 a.m. Monday morning and they'd been awake all night, playing every board game and card game she'd been able to find in her kids' bedroom closet.
"Roll your sleeves up."
"What?"
"Roll your sleeves up, I wanna see how many cards you stashed."
"Bosco, I did not cheat."
"Prove it."
"I think my word's good enough."
"Don't make this hard on yourself," he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
Faith raised her eyebrows. "Is that some kind of threat?"
"Do you really want to find out?"
"Do I look scared?"
"I'll give you one more chance to do this the easy way."
A smile tugged at her lips, but she didn't give in. "Still not worried."
Bosco shrugged his shoulders. "Just remember, you made your choice." Without warning, he sprang forward and gently pushed her down onto the sofa on her back, a wicked grin on his face.
She stared up at him, totally thrown off guard. "Bosco, what the hell are you--"
He cut her off. "You ticklish, Yokas?"
Before she could even comprehend his words, he began tickling her in the ribs. She laughed helplessly, trying without much effort to push him away.
"Give it up, Faith. Admit you cheated."
"I didn't!" she maintained her defense through her laughter.
Bosco shook his head. "I don't believe you." He continued to tickle her.
"I swear!" she protested, tears forming in her eyes from laughing so hard.
"Gee, I'm sure no guilty person's ever tried *that* line before."
Faith started to cough, turning her head away so she didn't cough on him.
His movements instantly ceased as he looked at her with a touch of concern on his face. "You okay?"
She looked up at him, then without speaking, moved suddenly, flipping them over so he was now at her mercy, his arms pinned underneath him. She grinned. "I'm just fine," she informed him as she straddled his hips.
He stared at her in disbelief. "That was a dirty trick, Yokas."
She smiled. "So...now the question is...are *you* ticklish, Boz?"
"You wouldn't."
Faith raised her eyebrows, then let her hands drop to his ribs. "You wanna bet?" Without waiting for a response, she began to tickle him.
Bosco laughed and after a couple minutes of tickling, he managed to get his arms free and quickly reached up and grabbed her hands. "All right, all right. I give up."
She chuckled. "So soon? Guess the great Maurice Boscorelli isn't as tough as everyone thinks," she teased.
He raised an eyebrow, then gently pulled her down by her wrists so that their faces were only inches apart. "Better watch it, Faith," he said softly, gazing at her.
Faith swallowed hard, her hands resting against his chest. She could feel his heart beating through his shirt and was acutely aware of the feel of his hands on her hips as he held onto her. "Why? What are you gonna do?" she asked back, her voice just as soft as they gazed at each other.
Before he had a chance to respond, the telephone rang, causing both of them to jump.
She sat up again slowly and slid off him, heading for the telephone in the kitchen.
Bosco sat up on the sofa and ran a hand through his hair, feeling slightly dazed. He swallowed hard as he shot a glance toward her retreating figure. What the hell was that? he wondered. Was I just flirting with Faith?
He shook his head and drew in a deep breath. He hadn't really thought she'd been cheating at the card game, but he had wanted to hear her laugh. She had a very contagious laugh, a sound he had never heard from her often enough. But then he'd had this overwhelming urge to kiss her. He shook his head again. She was his best friend and she was going through a rough time and neither one of them had had much sleep in the last three days. That's all, he told himself.
His thoughts were interrupted by her voice.
"Are you sure?"
Bosco jerked his head up to look at her. She stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, the expression on her face unreadable. He rose to his feet and stared at her, waiting.
"Okay. Thanks, Dr. Case." She hung up the phone and lifted her gaze to meet his.
"Faith?" he asked worriedly, his heart pounding hard in his chest.
"That was my doctor from Jersey," she said, her voice wavering slightly. "He said that...there was some kind of a mix up with the tests from last week, and that the ones that he ran on Friday were fine."
Bosco's eyes widened. "You're okay?"
Her eyes filled with tears and she nodded, a huge smile on her face. "I'm okay."
He crossed the distance between them and engulfed her in a huge hug. "Oh, thank God," he said, closing his eyes in relief.
She wrapped her arms around his waist tightly and released a shuddering breath as she rested her head against his chest. "Thank you for being here, for staying with me."
Bosco held her tightly. "You're welcome. I'm just...I'm really glad you're going to be all right, Faith." He let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding.
"Me too."
He opened his eyes again and pulled away from her just enough to look at her. "I told you that things were going to better," he said quietly, gazing at her seriously.
"Yeah. You did." Faith leaned toward him and kissed his cheek softly.
Bosco swallowed hard as they stared at each other. "You uh...you better get some sleep, you have a shift in a few hours," he said gently.
She nodded her agreement. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea." She smiled at him.
He smiled back and reluctantly pulled away from her. "We should do something tonight, celebrate."
"I'd like that."
Bosco nodded, hesitated for a moment, then kissed her on the forehead. "Drinks at Haggerty's after work?"
"What if we go to your mom's bar instead?" she suggested, not quite ready to go back to Haggerty's yet.
"Sure, that's fine. I'll uh...see you then." He turned and headed for the door.
"Bosco?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For everything," Faith said seriously, her voice soft.
Bosco smiled at her. "Anytime, Faith."
Author: X_tremeroswellian
Email: faithboscorelli1@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: I keep wishing, but they *still* don't belong to me. But hey, Edward Bernero, if by chance you're reading this, if you want to give the characters to me for some reason, they'd make a *really* great Christmas gift. :)
Rating: PG-13 for language, sexual content and mild violence
Spoilers: Up through and including "Act Brave."
Summary: Bosco cancels his weekend plans in order to remain at Faith's side as they wait on news of her test results.
Distribution: My site, Only Time.
Category: Story
Subcategories: A bit of humor, but mostly angst/drama
Feedback: Keeps me writing
Author's Note: This is the 8th story in a series of TW fics I'm writing called There For You. The first one was "Crossing Boundaries," the second was "Partners," the third was "Changing of the Tides," the fourth was "Surprise," the fifth was "For Every Ending," the sixth was "...There is a Beginning," and the seventh was "A Night to Remember." Might wanna read those first.
The Waiting Game (Part One)
"What does that mean?" Faith asked as she stared at Dr. Case from where she sat on the exam table at the hospital in Jersey. Her heart was pounding loudly in her eardrums and she wondered if he could hear it.
"Well, it could be any number of things. But given your medical history, I think it would be wise to run some more tests just to be on the safe side."
"My medical history," she murmured.
"It could be anything."
"Including cancer."
"We don't want to jump to any unnecessary conclusions without having a reason to," Dr. Case said, giving her a reassuring smile.
Easier said than done, she thought. "What kind of tests?"
"I'd like to run some more in depth bloodwork and do another mammogram, just to be on the safe side. Nothing too painful or time-consuming on your part," he promised.
"Okay. How long will it take before the results are back?" Faith asked anxiously.
"Not long. They should be in first thing Monday morning."
Two days. Not a long time unless you're waiting to see if you're still going to be alive by Christmas, she said silently.
"Try not to worry. It's probably nothing," Dr. Case said soothingly.
"Right. Nothing." Because I always have such good luck with everything in my life.
"If you just want to wait here, I'll have my nurse come in to do the bloodwork." He stood up and shook her hand, then headed for the door.
Faith lowered her gaze to the floor, her vision blurring with unshed tears as she heard her own words from months ago echo in her mind. //" It comes back for some."//
She shuddered.
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Bosco smiled as he reached apartment 3B. He raised his hand and knocked on the door. He hadn't seen her in over a week and he was looking forward to spending the evening with her. He just hoped she was home and didn't have other plans.
The door opened a moment later and Faith looked at him with surprise. She was wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a gray, baggy NYPD sweatshirt. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. "Bosco, what are you doing here?"
"Just thought I'd come over, see if you were busy."
For a moment, she appeared to be confused. "No, no...I'm not busy." She stepped aside and motioned for him to come in. "Is everything okay?" He could hear the concern in her voice.
Bosco turned to face her. "Yeah, everything's great. I thought maybe we could hang out."
"It's Friday night."
He frowned. "Yeah...so?"
"So....why aren't you out having fun and scoping out potential dates?"
"Because I'd rather hang out with my best friend," he told her.
Her eyes softened and she suddenly felt like she was about to start crying. She dropped her gaze to the floor.
"Faith? What's wrong?" he asked, worried by her silence.
She commanded herself to stop acting like such a baby. "Sorry. I've just...got this headache..."
"Have you taken anything for it?"
"Yeah, aspirin." She forced a smile and glanced at him. "I had a little too much to drink last night."
"Been there, done that," he remarked, though he felt a twinge of concern. Faith had never been a big drinker.
She noticed the way he was looking at her and she shifted uncomfortably. "Girl's night out with Kim and Taylor."
Bosco nodded despite the surprise he felt. "Have fun?"
The memory of Scott shoving her up against the bathroom wall--his hands all over her--flashed into her mind. She cringed, trying to force the memory into the back of her brain. "Yeah..." she murmured, turning and heading for the kitchen.
Frowning deeply, Bosco followed her and watched as she pulled a can of soda from the fridge, her back to him. "Got any Sprite?"
She turned, startled as she realized he was right behind her. She took an involuntary step backward. "No, I...sorry." She dropped her gaze to the floor, her hands tightly clutching onto the can of soda.
He stared at her, trying to figure out what was going on. He reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders. He felt her flinch under his touch. "Faith, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," she denied. She turned away and faced the counter, her hands resting on the surface for support. Her eyes filled with tears that she quickly blinked back. She was not going to start crying. Not now.
"Faith."
His voice was gentle, but firm, concern tainting it.
"I'm fine, Bosco. Really." The slight waver in her voice was unmistakable and she felt disgusted. Hell, she couldn't even convince herself she was fine and she knew him well enough to know that he wasn't going to back off until he figured out what was wrong with her.
Bosco folded his arms across his chest. "What did Fred do now?" he asked, barely able to contain the anger he felt.
"It's not Fred," she said softly.
"Then what?"
She closed her eyes tightly, not wanting to say the words. Knowing that when she did, it would make things more real than they already were. "Last night when I got home...there was a message on my machine. From my doctor in Jersey."
He felt a knot form in his stomach, but he remained silent.
"He said there were some abnormalities in my bloodwork. I went in to see him this morning and he ran some more tests."
"And what'd the tests show?" he asked, worried by the paleness of her face.
"They won't know anything til Monday," Faith answered, giving him a small, forced smile.
"Monday?" Bosco repeated, shaking his head. "Don't these people have to work weekends?"
She shrugged and looked at the floor.
"Well, did he say what might have caused the abnormalities?"
"He said it could be a lot of things."
Bosco gazed at her, hearing what she didn't say. That one of those 'things' could be a return of her cancer. He swallowed hard.
Faith gave him what she hoped was an optomistic smile. "It might be nothing."
"You don't have to do that. Not with me."
"What?" she asked, confused.
"Pretend that you're not scared and that everything's fine. I'm not Fred," Bosco reminded her quietly.
She stared at him for a moment. "I know that." She fiddled with the pop top lid on her can of soda, then turned and set it back in the refridgerator, closing the door.
"Do the kids know?"
Faith shook her head. "They're with Fred for the weekend. I'm not gonna bring it up until I know something for sure. There's no sense in worrying them."
Bosco leaned back against the counter, gazing at her intently.
She caught the look he was giving her and sighed. "Boz, I'm sorry. This is why I didn't want to say anything."
"Faith, I'm glad you told me. There's no reason for you to have to go through this alone. That's what friends are for."
"Yeah, but now you're worried and I've ruined your weekend when it could be nothing," she argued.
"Of course I'm worried. You're my best friend. But every time I've ever needed you, you've been there for me. Let me be there for you for a change."
Faith met his eyes. She knew it wasn't easy for him to express his feelings, but she also knew that he cared very deeply about her. Here he was, standing before her, saying exactly what she wanted--no. What she *needed* to hear. The sincerity he was expressing was reflected in his blue eyes. Wordlessly she stepped toward him and wound her arms around his waist.
Bosco closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her tightly, not wanting to think about what would happen if her test results came back with bad news. The thought of losing her...
He swallowed hard and shoved the thought away. He wanted--needed--to be there for her. This wasn't the time to be focusing on his own fears. He reluctantly pulled away from her. "Why don't you go and take a nice, hot bath and try to relax for awhile? I'll go out and get us something to eat and come back and we can have dinner and hang out. Okay?"
"Bosco, you really don't have to--"
"Hey, hey, hey, shhhh. You're in good hands," he said, grinning at her. "What do you feel like? Chinese? Mexican? Italian?"
Faith couldn't stop the smile that crept onto her lips. "I love Italian."
Bosco raised his eyebrows. "I'll keep that in mind."
She chuckled lightly and he grinned again.
"So what should I get? Pizza, pasta, lasagna..."
"Pizza sounds good."
He nodded his agreement. "Okay, so a large pizza, extra cheese with everything but mushrooms and an order of breadsticks?"
"You know what I like," she said, smiling as she leaned against the fridge.
He smiled back at her. "All right. So I'll be back in a little while."
"Okay." Faith watched as he headed for the door and left her apartment. She sighed lightly and turned to walk down the hall toward the bathroom, thinking that a long, hot bath sounded pretty good. Halfway there, she paused in her steps, replaying the last half of her conversation with Bosco in her mind.
Her eyes widened slightly. Had they just been flirting with each other?
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"Hello?" a familiar female voice said on the other end of the line.
"Hey, it's me," Bosco said, smiling slightly as he sat in his car.
"Hey, you," Cynthia said warmly. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow night."
He felt a momentary flash of guilt which he chose to ignore. "Yeah, that's uh...that's actually why I'm calling. Something's come up. I'm not gonna be able to make it to the party."
"Is everything okay?" she asked, concerned.
Bosco hesitated. "I'm not sure."
There was a moment of silence.
"I thought you were going over to your friend's place tonight."
"I am. That's why I'm not going to make it tomorrow. She's got some stuff going on and really shouldn't be alone this weekend."
"Oh."
"I'll make it up to you," he promised.
"Don't worry about it. I think it's sweet that you're such a good friend."
"Thanks for understanding."
"No problem. I'll see you soon."
"Yep. Bye."
"Bye."
He hung up and gazed out his windshield for a few minutes, his mind drifting back to Faith. She'd been through so much in the past few months. Surely things had to start getting better.
Didn't they?
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Faith had just finished drying her hair when she heard the door being unlocked.
"Honey, I'm home," she heard Bosco call a few seconds later.
She smiled, unplugged her hair dryer and stepped out of the bathroom. She could smell the pizza all the way down the hall and it made her stomach growl. She was surprised to see him carrying not only a pizza, but also a carton of chocolate ice cream and an armful of videotapes. "Bosco, what--"
"I thought we could watch some movies," he said, heading into the kitchen and setting the pizza and ice cream on the table.
"Great idea, but do you really think we can get through six in one night? I mean, it's already 7:30," Faith pointed out, nodding toward the clock.
"Of course not. But they're older ones, or at least five of them are, so they're not due back for a week. I thought we could watch a couple tomorrow and Sunday."
"Tomorrow and Sunday?" she repeated.
"Yeah. Unless you want to go out somewhere." Bosco gazed at her.
"No, but..." Her voice trailed off. "I appreciate the gesture, Boz, I do, but...your really don't have to waste your whole weekend with me."
He shook his head. "If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be here. It's not a waste, Faith. All right?"
She met his eyes and nodded slowly. "Okay."
"Good."
Faith looked through the movies he'd picked out. Spiderman, Lethal Weapon 1, Lethal Weapon 2, Lethal Weapon 3, Armaggedon and Random Hearts. She raised an eyebrow and looked at Bosco questioningly. "You rented a movie called Random Hearts?"
He shrugged. "The clerk at the store said it was a good movie."
"Did this clerk happen to be a female?"
"Yeah..."
She smiled. "So you thought she was cute?"
He looked at her confused for a moment, then realized what she was getting at. "No, I thought maybe *you'd* like to see a chick flick."
Faith was silent for a moment, taken aback by his words. "Thank you," she said softly.
Bosco smiled at her. "You're welcome." He opened the pizza box, then inhaled the scent deeply.
"Smells good," she murmured.
"Oh, yeah." He put the gallon of ice cream in the freezer and opened the refridgerator. "What do you want to drink?"
"I'll just have a soda."
He grabbed it off the shelf and handed it to her, then grabbed another for himself. She picked up the pizza box and grabbed two plates out of the cupboard. "Let's sit in the living room. More comfortable."
"Works for me." He followed her to the other room, then sat down beside her on the couch. She set the pizza box down on the coffee table, then pulled a slice out, set it on a plate, and handed it to him. Then she pulled out a piece for herself.
She'd barely taken three bites when the telephone rang. She set her plate down on the table and stood up. She grabbed the phone off the wall in the kitchen. "Hello?"
"Mom, it's me," Charlie said. He sounded upset.
"Charlie, what's wrong? Are you okay?" she asked, worried.
Bosco looked up from his seat on the sofa, a frown on his face.
"I'm fine. But can you come and get me? I don't want to spend the weekend with Dad."
"Did something happen?"
"His girlfriend is here."
Faith flinched and closed her eyes tightly, the image of Fred making love to the other woman flashing through her mind.
"I don't like her. Can you come get me?"
"Charlie, does your dad know that you called me?"
He hesitated. "No."
"Sweetie, you know it's your time to be with him," she said softly, her heart aching.
"But I don't want to!"
"I know, but he's your dad and he loves you very much. He'd be sad if you didn't want to see him this weekend."
"I'd rather be with you! He's got Emily and Sheryl and you're all by yourself."
"Actually, I'm not," she admitted. "Bosco's here."
"Really?"
"Yeah. He rented some movies for us to watch."
"Can I talk to him?"
"Sure, hold on a second." She turned and glanced at Bosco, covering the mouth piece with her hand. "Charlie wants to talk to you."
He looked at her, surprised, then stood up, walked over and took the phone from her. "Hey, Charlie. What's up?"
Faith watched Bosco as he talked to her son. She tried to read the expression on his face, but couldn't. A few minutes later, he said, "I promise. Okay. I'll talk to you later, Champ. Here's your mom again." Bosco handed the phone back to her, his fingers brushing against her hand lightly.
"Are you going to be okay there?" she asked, worried.
"Yeah, I think so. I miss you."
"I miss you, too," she whispered. "Tell your sister I love her, okay?"
"I will. I love you, Mom."
Faith leaned against the wall, blinking back tears. "I love you, too, Charlie. I'll see you on Monday, okay?"
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye," she echoed. She heard the line go dead and she closed her eyes as she hung up the phone. She drew in a deep breath and opened her eyes again. Then she turned to face Bosco, who was gazing at her intently.
"Everything okay?" he asked gently.
She nodded. "Apparently Fred finally introduced the kids to his new girlfriend. Charlie was pretty upset."
Bosco felt anger coil up within him, but he resisted the urge to start bashing his best friend's soon-to-be-ex-husband. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Faith lied, forcing a smile on her face. "What'd Charlie make you promise?" she asked curiously.
He shrugged. "Just to play soccer with him next weekend. Haven't seen him in awhile."
"He misses you," she said quietly.
Bosco smiled. "I miss him, too. He's a great kid."
There was a moment of silence.
"Why don't we watch a movie?" she suggested, wanting to forget about Fred and Sheryl for awhile.
"Which one do you want to watch first?"
"Spiderman. It's due back tomorrow, right?"
He nodded. "I've heard it's a good movie."
"Yeah, me too," Faith agreed, sitting down on the sofa again.
Bosco plugged the tape into the VCR and joined her on the couch.
She laid her head back against the pillows and tried to forget all the worries on her mind.
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Bosco stared at the t.v. screen, bored out of his mind. This has got to be the dullest movie ever, he thought as they watched Random Hearts. He'd hoped it would be a decent movie since Harrison Ford was in it. And Ford's character was a cop. Yet somehow the movie seemed to drag on and on and on...
The only highlight had been when Ford's character went to the airport to talk to one of the workers there. The woman he'd interviewed had been cute. Unfortunately, she was only on screen for a minute or so. Figures, he thought, laying his head against the back of the sofa.
His gaze landed on the nearly empty pizza box. He'd eaten almost the whole thing himself, and Faith had barely finished her first piece, saying she wasn't all that hungry. He wondered if she'd been eating on a regular basis at all. She looked like she'd lost fifteen pounds since he last saw her. Something else he could hate Fred for.
He turned his head to look at her and in the flickering light from the tv screen, he saw a single tear rolling down her cheek. Her eyes were closed.
Bosco felt his chest tighten. This stupid fucking movie, he thought angrily as it occurred to him that the plot was a little too close to Faith's life at the moment. "Faith," he said, his voice quiet.
She didn't open her eyes. "Sorry, I'm just tired," she said, sounding as if she'd been half-asleep.
He glanced back at the screen, then wondered if it had been the movie after all. Maybe she really was just tired. God knows she had reason to be. "Maybe you should go to bed," he suggested.
"Can't," she answered, shifting positions on the couch so her legs were curled up beside her.
Bosco scooted over closer to her. "Why not?"
"Can't sleep in that bed," she murmured, her voice barely audible.
Her words from a few weeks ago echoed in his mind. //"I came home from work and found them together in our bed."//
"Oh, Faith," he muttered. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, grabbing a pillow from behind him and laying it on his lap. She didn't resist his efforts as he gently guided her head to rest on the pillow.
"What did I do wrong?" she whispered, another tear sliding down her cheek.
He rubbed her back, trying to soothe her pain. "Nothing," he told her.
"Then why doesn't he love me anymore?"
Bosco cursed inwardly, wanting to hunt Fred Yokas down and kill him right then. Instead, he gently brushed some hair out of her face. "Because he's an idiot, Faith. It's not your fault," he whispered.
After several long moments of silence, he thought she'd fallen asleep as her breathing became steady and even.
"I don't want to die, Bosco," Faith whispered, her voice barely audible, her eyes still closed.
Bosco's heart clenched at her words. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, startling himself with the gesture. Yet somehow it felt right. All of it--him being the one to hold and comfort her. It felt...natural. He idly wondered if this was how Faith felt all the times she'd taken care of him. "You're not going to die," he said softly, continuing to rub her back.
"How do you know that?"
"I just do." He pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and covered her up with it, kissing her forehead once more.
"Thank you for being there for me, Boz," she murmured.
"You're welcome. Get some sleep," he said gently. "I'll be right here." He rested his head against the sofa once more.
Bosco closed his eyes, then opened them again and gazed down at Faith's pale, tear-stained face, suddenly realizing that just a couple of months ago they'd been in a similar position, only that time she'd been the one holding him.
Charlie's voice suddenly rang through his mind from their brief telephone conversation earlier.
//"She's been so sad, Uncle B. I don't want her to be sad anymore. Promise you'll take care of her for me."
"I promise."//
Bosco had every intention of keeping that promise.
* * *
Part Two
"Look out! Faith, get down! Get down! Shoot him! Holy shit, he's got a machine gun!" Bosco shouted as he stared in horror as the scene before him unfolded.
"I know, I know!" she said, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to focus.
"Hurry! Now, before he reloads!" he urged, wanting to reach out and grab the gun out of her hands and shoot the guy himself.
Faith raised the gun with steady hands, aimed and fired six shots without hesitation. The guy fell to the ground and then disappeared. She pressed the button on the side of the gun and turned her head to look at Bosco, an amused look on her face. "Boz, you always get this excited when you watch somebody else play Time Crisis?"
He looked at her. "Hey, I was just trying to help."
She smiled and handed him her son's Playstation gun. "It's your turn."
Bosco grinned and took the orange weapon from her. "Thanks."
"Sure." She shook her head, trying not to laugh as she watched his face turn serious as he unpaused the game.
"Get up, you jag-off," he muttered as he waited for one of the onscreen bad guys to come out from his hiding spot. The second he did, Bosco shot him and smiled. "Got him!"
Faith couldn't supress a chuckle this time as she stood up and headed for the kitchen. "If Charlie finds out how obsessed you are over that game, you're going to be over here every weekend he's with me playing it with him."
"Damn it!" Bosco cursed as his video game character died when one of the bad guys threw a knife at him. He set the gun down on the coffee table and leaned his head against the back of the sofa as he stared at the words 'Game Over' on the tv screen.
She watched from the doorway between the kitchen and the living room as she leaned against the wall. "You could always try again."
He sighed heavily. "Nah, cause if I don't beat it next time, I might end up chucking the whole system out the window and somehow I think your son might be a bit pissed off about that."
"Just a bit," she answered, grinning.
Bosco looked up at her. "Never thought I'd say this, but...I'm sick of Playstation."
"Gee, I wonder why," Faith replied, chuckling as she looked at the clock. "We've only been playing it for the last five hours."
He grinned broadly. "We kicked ass on Point Blank 3, though."
"True." She returned to the sofa and sat down beside him, laying her head against the pillows. It was late Sunday afternoon. Bosco had gone home earlier that morning for a very brief amount of time, just long enough to shower, shave and change clothes before returning to her apartment.
She'd tried to tell him he didn't have to stay with her all weekend, that she would be okay, but he'd insisted on coming back. She didn't argue with him too much. The truth was, she didn't want to be alone. If she was alone, she knew the only thing she would think about was the test results and if she dwelled on that too long, she'd surely go insane.
Bosco had managed to successfully keep her mind off everything. They'd watched movies all day the day before, and then when he'd gotten back that morning, after they'd eaten and talked for awhile, they'd started on Playstation at her suggestion. She hadn't really ever played it much herself, but she knew that Bosco had one at his place and that he enjoyed playing it. He'd been thrilled when he'd found out that Charlie had both Point Blank 3 and Time Crisis. At first she'd been content to just sit back and watch him play, but then he'd insisted that she join in on the fun.
In truth, the last several hours with him had been the most fun she'd had in...weeks. Since before she found out that her husband was cheating on her, and probably longer than that. She and Bosco had always been good friends, best friends, even, but outside of their work together, they hadn't really socialized that much. She had to admit that it had felt pretty good to spend so much time with him, just the two of them with no perps to chase down or gang members to be shooting at them. Something about it just felt...right.
She turned her head to look at him. He lay with his head back on the sofa, his eyes shut. She smiled slightly as he opened his eyes and looked at her.
"What?" he asked, gazing at her.
"Nothing," she said quietly, shaking her head. "Just...thinking, that's all."
"About...?"
"This." At the confused look on his face, she gave him an apologetic smile. "Us, hanging out like this." She glanced down at the sofa cushions, knowing what she wanted to say, but not sure how to say it.
She didn't have to.
"We should do it more often," Bosco said, a small smile on his face, as well.
Faith looked up and met his eyes again. "Yeah. Yeah, we should."
They gazed at each other for a moment.
"You wanna go out, grab something to eat and take these videos back?" he asked, yawning.
"Sure, sounds good to me. Let me change clothes real quick."
Bosco nodded and closed his eyes again as she stood up and headed down the hallway. "I'll wait here."
A few moments later, Faith returned, having changed into a long-sleeved red shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans. Her strawberry-blond hair fell gently to her shoulders.
He stared at her.
"What?" she asked, feeling self-conscious.
Bosco blinked a few times, then looked up and met her eyes. "You look nice."
Faith made a face and walked over to the coat rack to grab her jacket. "Yeah."
"You do, you look...you look really great, Faith." He stood up and walked over to her, gazing at her intently.
"Thanks," she said softly, looking down at the floor. She swallowed hard, feeling awkward and not sure of what to say.
He slid his NYPD jacket on and walked back over to the coffee table, picking up the videotapes he'd rented for them. "Let's go."
Faith followed him out the door, then paused to lock up her apartment.
"You know, it's pretty nice out here," he commented as they headed toward his car. "You wanna walk? I mean, it's not really that far to the video place."
She glanced at him, surprised that he didn't want to drive his beloved mustang. "Okay," she agreed.
Bosco smiled at her and she smiled back.
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"You want to eat here?" Bosco asked as they paused in front of Mario's Pasta House.
"Sure, why not?" Faith held the door open for him, then followed him inside. "You been here before?"
"Couple of times, but not recently," he told her, glancing around the crowded restaurant.
"Fred never wanted to eat here," she said absently, her eyes distant.
"Yeah, well Fred's an idiot," Bosco replied immediately. In more ways than one, he added silently.
"Are we supposed to seat ourselves?" she asked, moving closer to him after some guy bumped into her.
He turned his head to look at her. "Yeah, last I was here, anyway." He spotted a small, empty table toward the back and nodded to it. "That okay?"
"Works for me," Faith murmured, following him. She was a bit startled when he pulled one of the chairs out for her. "Thanks."
"Sure." He sat down across from her and picked up a menu off the table.
"So what's good here?"
"Well, the spaghetti's good, but so is the chicken fettucini."
"That sounds good."
Bosco nodded then looked up as the waitress walked over.
"Welcome to Mario's Pasta House. Can I get you something to drink?" she asked, glancing at him first, then at Faith.
"I'll have a large pepsi."
"I'll have the same," she agreed.
"Okay, I'll be right back." The waitress returned a few moments later and handed them their drinks and took their orders. She left again.
Faith looked down at the table, wondering how she would break the news to the kids if her blood test results came back with bad news. Charlie would be devestated. And Emily...she wasn't even sure Emily would care. She bit her lip as her heart ached at the thought.
"Faith?"
She glanced up at him. "Yeah?" she asked softly.
Bosco gazed at her. "You okay?"
"Yeah."
He gave her a doubtful look.
"I was just...trying to think of how to tell the kids," she admitted, swallowing hard.
His chest tightened at her words. "Faith...we don't know anything for sure yet," he reminded her gently.
"I know, but..." Her voice trailed off and she looked away.
"I know you're scared. And that's okay. I am, too."
Faith met his eyes once again, unsure of what to say to his admission. She wasn't sure she'd ever heard him say he was scared of anything before.
Bosco took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Whatever happens, whatever your doctor says...I'm here. I don't know if that helps any, but..." He shrugged, looked down at the table.
She blinked back tears as she gazed at him. "It helps a lot," she said softly.
He looked up at her, then without thinking about it, reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers gently grazing her cheek, their eyes locked on each other. He swallowed hard and pulled his hand away again, letting it drop to the table and cover her hand with his, squeezing it lightly.
"Hey, guys."
They both looked up to see Alex Taylor and Ty Davis standing next to their table.
"Hey," they said back at the same time.
Alex's gaze dropped to their joined hands, her eyebrows raising slightly. She remained silent.
"What's up?" Davis asked.
Bosco sat back in his chair, nonchalantly pulling his hand away from Faith's. "Just hanging out, getting a bite to eat."
"Yeah, us, too," Alex said, smiling. She looked at Faith curiously.
"You guys want to join us?" Faith asked, glancing across the table at Bosco.
"Nah, actually we were just leaving and saw you two. Thought we'd come say hi," Davis explained, smiling at his friends.
"Haven't seen you around much," Alex commented, her gaze shifting to Bosco. "Been keeping you busy at STS?"
"Very," he answered.
"How's that going?" Davis asked.
"Good. Everything's been good."
"Glad to hear it."
There was a moment of silence.
Alex looked at Faith once more, concern taking the place of curiosity as she recalled the last time she'd seen the police woman. "How have you been?" she asked, her voice gentle.
Faith looked up at her, then away again quickly, shifting in her seat uncomfortably. She knew without question that the other woman was thinking about the incident with Scott three nights ago. "I've been fine," she lied, forcing a smile on her face.
Bosco glanced between his best friend and Alex, wondering what that was about.
"We should probably..." Davis nodded toward the door and Alex nodded. "Good to see you, man," he said to Bosco.
"Good to see you, too," Bosco answered, nodding back.
"See you at work tomorrow," he said to Faith.
"Yeah, see ya, Davis."
"Take care, Faith," Alex said, concern reflecting in her tone.
"I will, thanks. You too." Faith stared down at the tabletop, avoiding Bosco's curious gaze.
"What was that all about?"
"Nothing," she said quickly. Too quickly, she realized as she felt his eyes still on her. She drew in a deep breath and released it slowly, trying to think of what she could say that would be believable. "That night we went out...me and Kim and Alex...they didn't know that Fred and I were...I guess I was kind of upset." She shrugged, then lifted her gaze to his face to try and determine whether or not he bought it.
Bosco nodded.
Faith felt a flash of guilt surge through her for the lie and she momentarily wondered why she hadn't just told him the truth. This was Bosco, after all. Her best friend. The only person on the planet she trusted without a doubt. She shoved the thoughts away. She wasn't going to tell him because it wasn't really that big of a deal. It's not like he could do anything about it anyway. She just wanted to forget that night all together, and dragging it out and upsetting him over it wasn't going to help her do that.
It was better for everyone if she just kept her mouth shut.
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Faith and Bosco walked back to her apartment, taking their time to enjoy the night. They'd been silent since they left Mario's, but it was a comfortable silence that only best friends could really share and understand.
"I can't believe there's only a month before Christmas," he said finally, shaking his head as he walked along beside her, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket.
"I can't believe it's still this warm a month before Christmas," she answered.
He smiled. "Nice change, though."
"Yeah, it is," she agreed. She used to look forward to snowfall when she was younger, but that had all changed when she worked her first shift as an officer in a New York City snowstorm. It hadn't been a pleasent experience. There had been traffic accidents all day long, both minor and major, not to mention all the homeless people that had been on the streets. She'd been horrified when she realized how many of them wouldn't survive the long, cold winter. Ever since that day, she'd hated snow and the cold.
"Any plans for the holidays?" Bosco asked, his voice interrupting her thoughts.
She glanced over at him. "Oh. Uh...the kids are supposed to be with me on Christmas Eve, and with Fred on Christmas Day. We haven't talked about New Year's yet." She closed her eyes briefly. This would be the first year ever she hadn't at least *seen* her kids on Christmas Day. Maybe she'd volunteer to work to help keep her mind occupied. "You?"
He shrugged. "Hadn't really thought about it actually."
"Why don't you and your mom come over to my place Christmas Eve and have dinner with me and the kids?" she suggested, not sure if she startled herself or him more with the question.
"That sounds good. I'll talk to her," Bosco agreed, surprised by her offer.
"Good," she said softly. Her mind drifted to thoughts of her children, specifically to thoughts of her daughter. "She's still not talking to me."
Bosco turned his head to look at her. "Emily?"
She nodded slightly, swallowing hard as she stared at the pavement as they walked. "Yeah."
"But she knows that Fred's seeing someone," he said, confused.
"Yeah, she does. But she thinks that I pushed him to it."
"What? That's such a load of crap!" he said, shaking his head angrily.
"Is it?" Faith stopped walking and stood in the middle of the sidewalk, a sad, hurt look reflected in her eyes. "I mean, I was never there. Not for him, not for my kids. I can't really blame him, can I?"
Bosco walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders, gazing intently into her eyes. "You were there, Faith. You've been a damn good mother to your kids. You and Fred have always had problems, but you didn't force him to have an affair with another woman. He did that all on his own."
She looked away. "It just feels like everything's falling apart, you know?" she said softly, her voice barely audible. "Fred, Emily, my health, all of it. When the hell are things going to start getting better?" A single tear slid down her cheek.
He swallowed hard and reached out, carefully brushing away the tear. Then he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, pulling her into his arms wordlessly. He closed his eyes as he held her close.
Faith closed her eyes as she buried her face into his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Bosco," she whispered, shaking her head.
"For what?" he asked, confused.
"For dumping all this crap on you."
"Hey." He pulled away and gazed at her again. "That's what friends are for, remember? You don't have to apologize."
She looked at the sidewalk. "Thanks."
Bosco reached down and slid his fingers through hers. "Things are gonna get better, Faith. I don't know when, or how, but...they will. I promise."
Faith met his eyes and managed to give him a small smile. For some reason, when he said those words, she actually believed them. She squeezed his hand lightly and he smiled back at her.
Then, in comfortable silence once more, they started to walk again.
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"Go fish."
Faith drew a card from the card pile and grinned as she laid it and its match down. "Game over. I win."
Bosco glared at her and set down the five cards he'd been holding. "You're cheating."
"I am not!" she protested.
"Nobody wins twelve times in a row unless they're cheating!"
"Unless they're really good," she answered with a smirk.
"Nobody's *that* good, Faith." He tilted his head slightly, a grin on his face. "At least not at cards."
Faith rolled her eyes, but couldn't supress the chuckle that escaped her lips. It was 8:45 a.m. Monday morning and they'd been awake all night, playing every board game and card game she'd been able to find in her kids' bedroom closet.
"Roll your sleeves up."
"What?"
"Roll your sleeves up, I wanna see how many cards you stashed."
"Bosco, I did not cheat."
"Prove it."
"I think my word's good enough."
"Don't make this hard on yourself," he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
Faith raised her eyebrows. "Is that some kind of threat?"
"Do you really want to find out?"
"Do I look scared?"
"I'll give you one more chance to do this the easy way."
A smile tugged at her lips, but she didn't give in. "Still not worried."
Bosco shrugged his shoulders. "Just remember, you made your choice." Without warning, he sprang forward and gently pushed her down onto the sofa on her back, a wicked grin on his face.
She stared up at him, totally thrown off guard. "Bosco, what the hell are you--"
He cut her off. "You ticklish, Yokas?"
Before she could even comprehend his words, he began tickling her in the ribs. She laughed helplessly, trying without much effort to push him away.
"Give it up, Faith. Admit you cheated."
"I didn't!" she maintained her defense through her laughter.
Bosco shook his head. "I don't believe you." He continued to tickle her.
"I swear!" she protested, tears forming in her eyes from laughing so hard.
"Gee, I'm sure no guilty person's ever tried *that* line before."
Faith started to cough, turning her head away so she didn't cough on him.
His movements instantly ceased as he looked at her with a touch of concern on his face. "You okay?"
She looked up at him, then without speaking, moved suddenly, flipping them over so he was now at her mercy, his arms pinned underneath him. She grinned. "I'm just fine," she informed him as she straddled his hips.
He stared at her in disbelief. "That was a dirty trick, Yokas."
She smiled. "So...now the question is...are *you* ticklish, Boz?"
"You wouldn't."
Faith raised her eyebrows, then let her hands drop to his ribs. "You wanna bet?" Without waiting for a response, she began to tickle him.
Bosco laughed and after a couple minutes of tickling, he managed to get his arms free and quickly reached up and grabbed her hands. "All right, all right. I give up."
She chuckled. "So soon? Guess the great Maurice Boscorelli isn't as tough as everyone thinks," she teased.
He raised an eyebrow, then gently pulled her down by her wrists so that their faces were only inches apart. "Better watch it, Faith," he said softly, gazing at her.
Faith swallowed hard, her hands resting against his chest. She could feel his heart beating through his shirt and was acutely aware of the feel of his hands on her hips as he held onto her. "Why? What are you gonna do?" she asked back, her voice just as soft as they gazed at each other.
Before he had a chance to respond, the telephone rang, causing both of them to jump.
She sat up again slowly and slid off him, heading for the telephone in the kitchen.
Bosco sat up on the sofa and ran a hand through his hair, feeling slightly dazed. He swallowed hard as he shot a glance toward her retreating figure. What the hell was that? he wondered. Was I just flirting with Faith?
He shook his head and drew in a deep breath. He hadn't really thought she'd been cheating at the card game, but he had wanted to hear her laugh. She had a very contagious laugh, a sound he had never heard from her often enough. But then he'd had this overwhelming urge to kiss her. He shook his head again. She was his best friend and she was going through a rough time and neither one of them had had much sleep in the last three days. That's all, he told himself.
His thoughts were interrupted by her voice.
"Are you sure?"
Bosco jerked his head up to look at her. She stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, the expression on her face unreadable. He rose to his feet and stared at her, waiting.
"Okay. Thanks, Dr. Case." She hung up the phone and lifted her gaze to meet his.
"Faith?" he asked worriedly, his heart pounding hard in his chest.
"That was my doctor from Jersey," she said, her voice wavering slightly. "He said that...there was some kind of a mix up with the tests from last week, and that the ones that he ran on Friday were fine."
Bosco's eyes widened. "You're okay?"
Her eyes filled with tears and she nodded, a huge smile on her face. "I'm okay."
He crossed the distance between them and engulfed her in a huge hug. "Oh, thank God," he said, closing his eyes in relief.
She wrapped her arms around his waist tightly and released a shuddering breath as she rested her head against his chest. "Thank you for being here, for staying with me."
Bosco held her tightly. "You're welcome. I'm just...I'm really glad you're going to be all right, Faith." He let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding.
"Me too."
He opened his eyes again and pulled away from her just enough to look at her. "I told you that things were going to better," he said quietly, gazing at her seriously.
"Yeah. You did." Faith leaned toward him and kissed his cheek softly.
Bosco swallowed hard as they stared at each other. "You uh...you better get some sleep, you have a shift in a few hours," he said gently.
She nodded her agreement. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea." She smiled at him.
He smiled back and reluctantly pulled away from her. "We should do something tonight, celebrate."
"I'd like that."
Bosco nodded, hesitated for a moment, then kissed her on the forehead. "Drinks at Haggerty's after work?"
"What if we go to your mom's bar instead?" she suggested, not quite ready to go back to Haggerty's yet.
"Sure, that's fine. I'll uh...see you then." He turned and headed for the door.
"Bosco?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For everything," Faith said seriously, her voice soft.
Bosco smiled at her. "Anytime, Faith."