Author: Kate Anderson
Email: [email protected]
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine! They belong to Edward Allen Bernero and John Wells and um, some other people! No money is being made from this work. Don't sue!
Rating: PG-13, just be on the safe side
Pairing: Bosco/Faith, UST - eventual romance
Spoilers: None, I think (??)
Summary: After a criminal attempts to attack Faith's kids, Faith finds that her life is changing.
Author's Notes: Wow, my first attempt at a Third Watch fic. Any and all feedback is eagerly welcomed, I gotta know if I'm doing this Bosco/Faith stuff right!
"Faith? Faith? You alright?" asked Bosco with a concerned expression on his face.
Faith wrapped her arms around herself and shivered a bit. "I keep thinking about the kids Bos. What if we hadn't been there?"
"Fred say where he was takin' them?" Bosco asked.
Faith shook her head. "Didn't say. Probably as far away from me as possible."
"Don't bust yourself up over this Faith. It wasn't you fault. You had no way of knowing that that creep would go after Charlie and Em."
"I should have been more careful. Fred's always said that one day my job would hurt the family."
Bosco kicked a rock and watched as it skittered across the rough pavement. "You wanna grab something to eat?" he asked, hoping to get her mind off recent events.
Faith shrugged. "Not really hungry. Look Bos, why don't you go. You don't have to stick around."
"You planning on staying in your place tonight?" Bosco asked, casting his gaze at Faith's building.
"Yeah, why?" asked Faith.
"It's kind of a mess you know, what with the blood and the crime scene investigation crap all over it. Why don't you crash at my place tonight?"
"No way." Faith replied. "I can just grab some things and stay at a hotel."
Bosco didn't look satisfied with Faith's response. "Seriously Faith." he said. "It's no trouble. I'll even let you take the bed."
Faith studied her partner for a moment and knew he was serious. "Okay." she relented. "I'll just grab a duffle bag."
"Want me to come up with you?" Bosco asked.
Faith shook her head. "No, I can go alone. Why don't you get the car warmed up. It's freezin' out here!"
Bosco watched Faith walk away before unlocking the door of his car and getting in. He turned the engine on and flipped the heat to max. Before long, the car became almost unbearably warm.
_____________
Faith pulled a bag out of the closet and threw it on her bed. She grabbed a handful of bras and panties from a drawer and stuffed them in the bag.
The apartment seemed unnaturally silent. In her mind Faith still heard Charlie yelling for help and the sound of breaking glass.
Trying to block out those memories, Faith quickly threw some sweats and shirts into the bag and zipped it up. As she walked past Charlie and Emily's room, she didn't look in.
Faith hurried towards Bosco's car and opened the passenger door.
"Hey, hurry up and get in will ya? You're lettin' all the cold air in!" Bosco said with mock annoyance. Faith didn't even smile, she just threw her bag in the back, got in and closed the door.
"My offer for food still stands." Bosco said. "Haven't got much in the way of food at my place."
"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." Faith said.
"Tell you what." Bosco said. "We don't even have to stop any place. We'll just hit a drive-through."
Faith shrugged. "Whatever." she said, leaving Bosco to make the decision.
They drove in silence for a while before Faith suddenly said, "We've been discussing getting a divorce."
Bosco turned his head to look at Faith. "You and Fred? You serious? I mean, I know that you two don't always see eye to eye, but I thought you always worked things out."
Faith snorted. "Yeah well, somehow I doubt we'll be able to work through this one."
"Give yourself more credit Faith." Bosco said as he turned off the road and headed for the drive-through lane of an all night fast food joint.
"What are you having?" Bosco asked.
"I told you, I'm not hungry."
"You gotta eat something and besides, I'm paying. How often does that happen?"
Faith sighed. "Fine, get me a small fries and a drink."
"That it?" Bosco asked. "Usually you at least get a cheeseburger."
"Don't push it." Faith replied.
Bosco knew when to shut up, so he placed their orders and drove ahead to the pickup window. A young man appeared and Bosco shoved a few bills his way. "Thank you sir, your order will be right up!" the employee said.
Bosco and Faith waited in silence until their order was handed to them. "Here's your fries and drink." Bosco said. "You sure you don't want a bite of my burger?"
Faith wrinkled her nose and shook her head. Bosco shrugged and with one hand holding his burger and one hand on the wheel, he pulled back onto the street and headed for his apartment.
___________
"I'll put some clean sheets on the bed." Bosco said after they'd both entered his apartment. "Sorry about the mess."
Faith kicked aside a pair of jeans and set her bag down. "What do you do Bosco, just take off your pants the minute you're through the door?"
Bosco decided he didn't want to answer that question and said. "Make yourself at home!" before heading towards his bedroom.
"You know Bosco, you don't have to do that." Faith called after him. "I can sleep on the couch."
"No, it's alright." Bosco replied. "I'm going to be up for a while. I'd only keep you awake."
Faith looked around Bosco's apartment and made a mental note to herself to help him clean the place the up. A pile of twisted sheets landed in the hall with a soft thump and Faith picked her bag up and took it to Bosco's room.
"Flowery sheets Bos?" Faith asked with a small smirk on her face as she looked at the bed. "I'm impressed."
"They're for company." Bosco replied and tucked the last corner of the bottom sheet in.
"I can finish up with that." Faith said and grabbed the top sheet from where it was laying on the dresser.
"Have it your way." Bosco said. "I'll just grab some stuff and then I'll be out of your way. There's some towels and a facecloth in the cupboard under the sink in the bathroom. Oh, and an extra blanket in the top of closet if you get too cold."
Faith nodded. "Thanks Bosco."
"Hey." he said. "Don't mention it."
Faith nodded again.
"No, I'm serious." Bosco said. "Don't mention it. Everyone will think I've gone soft."
"Good night Bosco." Faith said and Bosco left the room with a pillow, blanket and a handful of clothing.
___________
Faith woke up the next morning and reached beside her for Fred. When her hand didn't make contact with anything, Faith sighed and the events of the previous day came flooding back to her. She was at Bosco's place and Fred and the kids had left. She closed her eyes again and saw the man standing over Emily with a piece of jagged glass clutched in his hands.
Faith opened her eyes again and shook her head, willing the image to go away. She swung her feet off the bed and sat up. The duffel bag sat at her feet and Faith rummaged through it and pulled out some clothes for the day.
"Mornin'" said Bosco as Faith appeared. He was sitting on the couch with a bowl of cereal in hand. "Sleep well?"
"Mmmm hmmm." said Faith. "I'm going to take a shower, alright?"
"Yeah sure, go ahead. We gotta go down the station today." Bosco said. "Lieu give you some time off?"
"Yeah a few days. Told me to get my bearings back."
"Great." Bosco muttered. "Looks like I get to pair up with Gusler. I'd rather be riding solo."
"You could talk with Lieu." Faith said. "Maybe he could put you at a desk."
Bosco did not look impressed with Faith's suggestion. "I'd rather be riding with Gusler than riding a desk." he said.
"You're not on today are you?" Faith asked.
Bosco shook his head. "Nah."
Faith turned around and left Bosco with his cereal to head for the shower. "Oh God Bosco!" she said once she was there. "When was the last time you cleaned this thing!"
"It's not so bad!" Bosco yelled back to her. "You just gotta keep your eyes closed!"
Bosco laughed to himself as he heard Faith groan and the water start running. He dug his spoon back into his bowl and just as he went to shovel the spoonful into his mouth the phone rang.
Bosco set the bowl down and reached for the phone. "Hello?" he said.
"My wife there?" asked the voice on the other end.
"Fred?" asked Bosco.
'Yeah, unless she's got some other husband that I don't know about. She there?"
"Uh yeah, she's here but she's in the shower right now."
"I'm not sure that I like the thought of my wife in your shower but I'll ignore that for the moment." Fred said. "You can tell her that I've gotten a lawyer and she can expect divorce papers soon. Should I have them sent to your place?" he asked snidely.
"Yes Fred. Have them sent to my place." Bosco replied and before he could say another word, Fred hung up.
___________
"Fred called while you were in the shower."
Faith's eyes widened. "What did he say? Are the kids alright?"
"He didn't say anything about the kids, I assume they're okay. But he, uh, he said to tell you that he's gotten a lawyer and you can expect the divorce papers soon."
Faith closed her eyes and willed herself to control her emotions. "I knew this would happen." she said. "I'm never going to see Charlie and Emily again."
"Don't be ridiculous." Bosco said. "Of course you'll see them again. You're a good mom Faith. He can't take your kids away from you forever."
"Yeah." was all Faith said.
"We'd better get down to the station." Bosco said. "Lieu was expecting us around 9:00 and it's already 10:00. We'd better do some grocery shopping afterwards."
"Look Bosco, if it's all the same with you, I'd rather go home after we're done at the station. I don't want to impose upon you."
"You're not imposing Faith and besides, I don't think that going back to your place is a good idea."
"I have to go back there sometime." Faith said. "Of course now I'm not going to be able to afford it." she said sadly.
"You're staying here at least another night." Bosco said. "I'm back at work tomorrow, so if you want to go back to your place then, I won't be here to stop you."
Faith nodded and tugged her shoes on her feet. She and Bosco had to go down to the station to make full reports about what they had witnessed. Faith didn't want to think about it, but she knew that if she wanted to convict the guy, she had to tell them what had happened.
Bosco stood by the door with keys in hand. "Ready?" he asked.
"Yep." she said and they left the apartment.