What are the chances to that two people who were together Before could meet again, a chance meeting in a store that would forever change the course of their lives? Could those two people even then return to the life that they once led and that was so cruelly taken away from them?

Without vivid memories of what happened, we are left with only fragments and hazy images. Something more a like a dream that you can grasp only the tail of. I remember feeling love and warmth and I know that inside, he does too.

______________

"What did you say?" Maurice looks down at me. His eyes are filled with emotion, a mixture of confusion and something else. Excitement.

I smile softly. "Boscorelli. That's what they told me my last name was."

Maurice shakes his head. "That can't be right. They told me that I was the only one. Why wouldn't they have told me about you?"

"I don't know." I reply and that's the truth. I can't begin to fathom why they would lie to us. They have no reason to have kept us apart.

Maurice's hands are playing over my back, tickling me. They find a particularly sensitive spot on my lower back and I moan. Maurice raises his eyebrows and continues to move his hand over that spot. "I want to show you something." he says and rolls off of me. I shiver as the cool air hits my body.

Maurice walks over to his dresser and pulls open the top drawer. He throws a few articles of clothing aside before finding what he's looking for. "What is it?" I ask as he turns around again and faces me.

"My ring." he says and hands it to me. "The ring I was wearing Before."

I take the small, gold band and sitting up, I look at it. "all my faith and love." I whisper and turn the ring over in my fingers. Maurice sits back down on the bed next to me and rests his head on my shoulder.

"I think you gave this to me Faith." he whispers and then takes the ring out of my hand. As I watch, he slips it onto his finger and then begins to kiss my neck.

"I can't stay much longer. I have to go home to Jamie, he'll be worried if I'm out too late." Maurice runs the tips of his fingers over my breasts and I shudder. He eases me back down onto my back and positions himself on me again.

"Just a while longer." Maurice murmurs and then presses his hot mouth against mine. I run my hands down his back and try to commit the curves of his body to memory. He moves slightly and I feel him enter me, thrusting gently until he's buried inside of me. "Oh god Faith..." Maurice groans and begins slowly rocking.

It doesn't take him long before he's there and I'm right there with him. As he collapses on top of me again, I run my hands over his head and whisper, "I love you."

"I love you too." Maurice replies and looks at me through half closed eyes. He has long eyelashes, something that you wouldn't expect to find on a man so rugged looking. In my mind I picture Jamie and realize that my son has the same lashes.

"Maurice," I say and gently touch his shoulder. I want him to look at me. "Jamie, he's yours. He's our son."

Maurice looks into my eyes and nods. "I know. I think I knew the moment I saw him."

______________

"Mama!" I'm greeting with a squeal of excitement as I step through the doorway into my apartment.

Emily is sitting on the couch, one of my novels in her hand. She smiles at me and I kneel down to give Jamie a hug. "Did you and Emily have a good time?"

Jamie nods. "We played some games and she read to me a bit and then she even played cars with me!"

Emily puts the book down and stands up. "Did you and Maurice have a nice time?" she asks and eyes me closely.

I run a hand over my hair which I'm sure is tangled and feel my face begin to burn. "Yes, we had a lovely time." I reply. Emily has obviously been reading far too many of my novels.

Emily grins at me and then looks to Jamie. "I'm going home now Jamie." she says. "Do I get a hug?"

Jamie lets go of me and gives Emily a big hug. Emily hugs him back and then ruffles his hair. Jamie frowns and tries to fix his hair. "I'll see you later Faith." Emily says and then lets herself out.

After I hang up my jacket and take off my shoes, I sit down on the couch. Jamie is sitting on the floor, carefully examining the underside of one of his toys. "Jamie, can you come sit here with me?" I say and pat the cushion next to me.

Jamie looks perplexed, but puts down his toy and joins me on the couch. "Something wrong mama?"

Jamie looks so concerned that I have to laugh. "No sweetie, nothing's wrong. I just want to talk with you."

"Am I in trouble?"

"No, you're not in trouble. I want to ask you about Maurice."

Jamie picks at a spot of something on his pants and then says, "What about Maurice?"

"You like Maurice, don't you sweetie?" I ask and know that I'll get an affirmative reply. Of course Jamie likes Maurice.

"Yes, I like Maurice mama. He plays me with and he brought me the car thing." Jamie replies and continues to pick at the spot on his pants. "He's got nice pants too."

"Would you like it if Maurice came to live with us?"

"Live with us?" Jamie looks up at me in alarm. "Doesn't Maurice have his own home?"

I frown and nod my head. "Yes, he does sweetie, but he would leave his home and come live with us. Would you like that?"

Jamie sticks out his bottom lip and sighs a bit. "I suppose. But why would he do that?"

"Do you remember how I told you about Before?" I told Jamie a bit about Before. He's really too young to understand though.

Jamie nods. "'Course I do mama."

"Well sweetie, Maurice and I knew each other Before. We were married Before."

"Married?" Jamie looks puzzled and I realize that Jamie really doesn't know what marriage means. "What's that?"

"It means that we lived together Before and were in love."

"You in love now?" Jamie asks and then picks up the book that Emily left laying on the couch. "Like this? Passionate?"

I chuckle. "Did you ask Emily what passionate means?" Jamie nods and looks absurdly proud of himself. "Yes, passionate Jamie. Maurice and I are passionate."

"Oh okay." Jamie says and then slides off the couch. "Can I play again now?"

"There's one more thing sweetie." I say and take his small hand in mine. "Maurice is your father."

Jamie nods. "Okay." he says and then pulls his hand out of mine. He doesn't really understand. How could he? He's never even had a father figure in his life up until now.

"Honey, Maurice is your father like Fred is Charlie and Emily's father."

"Charlie and Emily don't have a mama." Jamie says and looks saddened by that. "Emily wishes she did though."

"Charlie and Emily had a mama." I tell Jamie. "But she's lost now. Just like Maurice was, but we found him."

"When will Maurice come here?" Jamie sits down with his toys again and pushes the NYPD car into the FDNY car. "Pow." he says softly and tosses the cars to his side.

"Soon." I reply. "Maurice will come here soon."

_______________

"I'm pregnant."

"You're what?" He looks at me with disbelief written all over his face. "I mean, how? I thought we were being careful!"

I shrug. "I guess we weren't careful enough. You aren't happy?"

"Hell yes, I am happy Faith! I'm just a bit shocked. It's not everyday that a girl tells you she's pregnant with your baby."

I cuff him lightly on the shoulder. "I should hope not!" I say and laugh. He laughs too and then puts a hand on his chest. "Does that still hurt?" I ask, concerned that I might have inadvertently caused him pain.

He nods. "A bit, but only when I laugh or breathe too deeply."

"I'm glad that you're still here Bos." I say softly and kiss him lightly on the cheek.

"Are you kiddin' me? I wouldn't have missed this for the world!" he says, trying to make a joke to lighten the situation. Then his face turns serious. "We should get married."

"Married?" I squeak. He nods and puts his hand on my belly. As though he's gently cradling our unborn child.

"I love you Faith. It's not just because of the baby, don't you ever think that."

I feel the warmth of his hand on my belly and nod. "Okay, we'll get married."

I wake up with a smile on my face and I can still feel the pressure of Maurice's hand on my body. "Bos." I whisper softly and my smile widens. I used to call him Bos.

I sit up, easing the kinks from my neck. It's still dark out, I couldn't have been asleep for long. My heart thuds in my chest as I hear a knocking on the door. I get up and try to look through the small peep hole, but the hallway is dark, I can't see anything but a dim figure.

"Who is it?" I ask in a voice loud enough to be heard but not loud enough to disturb Jamie.

"It's me. Maurice." comes the reply. I smile and turn the lock.

Maurice greets me with a smile and a kiss. "What are you doing here?" I ask him after we break the kiss. "It's the middle of the night, you shouldn't be here. You're breaking curfew."

"I had to see you Faith." he replies and kisses me again. "I needed to feel you. Did I wake you up?"

I shake my head. "No, I'd just woken up. I had another dream." I tell him and smile.

"Was I in it?"

I nod. "Yes, I told you that I was pregnant and you asked me to marry you."

Maurice looks down at the ring he now wears on his left hand. "I wish I could remember." he says sadly.

"Maybe you will. Give it time." I say. Maurice looks doubtful and sits down on the couch.

"Did you talk to Jamie?"

I sit down next to him and he puts his arm around me and pulls me close. "Yes, I told him everything, but he doesn't understand. Not completely."

"Is he okay with everything?" Maurice asks runs his fingers over the backs of my hands.

"I think so. He'll get used to it pretty quickly I think. Do you like your name Maurice?"

I feel Maurice shrug. "It's alright I suppose. Why?"

"Because I didn't call you Maurice Before. I called you Bosco, or Bos."

"Bos." Maurice repeats the much shortened version of our last night. "I think I like Bos better than Bosco."

"Do you want me to call you Bos?" I ask, but in my heart I know that now, After, he'll always be Maurice to me.

"No, I think I like Maurice. It wouldn't feel right to be anything else."

I lean my head against his chest and feel the slow, rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. Maurice shifts a bit and with one hand, he grabs the blanket that's fallen to floor and pulls it over the both of us. I close my eyes and let myself drift away.

_______________

She's wearing a long, white dress with flowers in her hair. I look down and see that I'm wearing a black suit, with a white shirt. It feels uncomfortable so I tug on the sleeves.

"Bos?" She's looking at me, a smile crinkling the corners of her eyes.

"Yeah Faith?"

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" She smiles again and puts a hand over the gentle swelling of her belly.

I put my own hand over hers. "Hmmm," I say softly. "I don't remember. Maybe you'd better refresh my memory."

She laughs and presses her lips against mine. "I love you Bosco." she says after we break apart. "I'll always love you."