Chasing the Clouds Away

Part 1

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Welcome to the third story of the “Partly Cloudy With a Chance of Rain” Bosco/Faith shipper series. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

 

Keep in mind that I don’t own any of the characters, or anything related to Third Watch. This is for entertainment purposes only.

 

If you haven’t read “Let The Sun Shine Through” and “Rainy Season” you may want to do so!

 

OH YEAH, the quote that I used at the beginning of the each chapter has a little more added to it :)

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“Every lifetime has a little bit of rain. This is just your rainy season. Trust me when I tell you, your sun will shine again.”

 

******

After Bosco got off of work he went home to take care of a few things. He and Faith had agreed to go out to dinner, and he told her that he would pick her up at seven. But before he could do that he had some important things to take care of.

 

He read the note one more time:

“Mrs. Pope- Sorry about the way I acted the other night. I know you were concerned and I appreciate that. Maurice”

 

Bosco folded the piece of paper and slid it under her apartment door. He knocked and quickly went back into his apartment. Sure, Mrs. Pope was nosy, but she was a good neighbor who would do anything she could to help someone out. Bosco knew that she had been worried about him the other night, and was only trying to help.

******

Emily and Charlie walked into the living room where Faith was sitting on the couch. “Mom, can we talk to you?” asked Emily.

 

“Sure.” Faith turned off the TV. “What’s up?”

 

“It’s about Bosco,” said Charlie as he leaned against the chair that Emily was now sitting in.

 

Faith took in the concerned looks on her children’s faces. “What’s wrong? Did something happen last night?” Faith asked with quiet concern.

 

Emily looked at Charlie then her mother. “Well he had a really bad nightmare.”

 

“Bosco did?”

 

Charlie nodded, and Emily continued. “We both woke up cause he was like yelling in his sleep. The door was open so we just stood there trying to figure out what to do. He kept mumbling and yelling and he was tossing and turning. We tried to wake him up, but we couldn’t. Then after a while he just sat up real quick and woke up.”

 

“He was all sweaty and he looked really scared,” said Charlie. Then he looked down at the floor. “I think he was crying too,” he added softly.

******

Bosco walked into the bar around 4:30. “We don’t open for dinner til 6:00,” came a voice from behind the bar.

 

“Mikey?”

 

Mikey looked up. “Hey Moe. What are you doing here?”

 

“I could ask you the same thing.” Bosco sat down on one of the bar stools.

 

“Ma got me a job here”

 

“Yeah? How long you been working here?”

 

“Almost three weeks,” Mikey smiled.

 

Bosco nodded. “So you doin’ OK?”

 

“Yeah.” He looked Bosco in the eye. “I’ve been clean for almost six weeks now. Ever since you arrested me last time.”

 

“For real?”

 

Mikey nodded. “I’m gonna make it this time. I really am.”

 

Bosco smiled. “That’s good Michael.”

 

“So why was it you stopped by?”

 

“Oh I was hoping to catch ma.”

 

“She should be here in a little while. You want something to drink while you wait?”

 

“How ‘bout some water?”

 

Mikey put a glass of water in front of his older brother. Bosco nodded a thank you and took a drink. Then the two Boscorelli boys just looked at each other. When they were younger they had always been pretty close, but once Mikey had gotten in with the wrong crowd all they had ever done was fight.

 

Bosco looked down at the glass of water and ran his finger around the lip of the glass. “I’m sorry Michael,” he said softly.

 

“You’re sorry?”

 

He nodded. “For always being so hard on you. For throwing you in jail.” He looked at Mikey. “I should have been trying to help you.”

 

“You did.”

 

“How?” Bosco snapped.

 

“This time in jail, I was locked up with some pretty shady characters. You know, like big time criminals. I realized that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life trapped in some tiny cell with one of those lunatics. I’m the one who owes you an apology. Thanks for being hard on me Moe. That’s what it took to straighten me out.”

 

“All I ever wanted to do was help you Michael. That was the only way I knew how.”

 

For the next few minutes they caught up with what was going on in each other’s lives. It had been a long time since Bosco had said something to his brother that didn’t start with “you have the right to remain silent.” He enjoyed talking to Mikey for the first time in ages. “So, is ma still pissed at me?”

 

“Why don’t you ask her?” Mikey replied as he pointed behind Bosco.

 

Bosco slowly turned around on the stool. “Hey ma,” he said softly.

 

“Hi Maurice,” she smiled.

 

“So, you uh, you still mad at me?”

 

She shook her head. “No baby. Everything worked out for the best. Turns out you were right. The question is are you still mad at me?”

 

Bosco shrugged. “That depends. You still feel like I think I’m better than you guys? Cause I’m not. Hell, I’m pretty sure I’m the most screwed up out of the whole family.”

 

“Yeah right,” chuckled Mikey from behind the bar.

 

“Really, I am.” Bosco said seriously as he looked at his brother. He then turned to his mother once more. “That’s why I need to talk to you ma.”

 

Angela took a seat on the stool next to her oldest son. “So you really want to talk to me?”

 

Bosco nodded. “Yeah. You’re the only one who could understand. Well, you and Mikey.” He looked at his brother as if to tell him that he was invited to be part of the conversation. This really was a family issue. Maybe talking to his family about it would help him understand or let it go or forget it or something.

 

Mikey put down the rag he was wiping the counter with and went over to his mother and brother. He leaned on the bar. Angela looked at her firstborn. “What’s going on Maurice?”

 

He ran a hand through his hair. “Well, remember I went on vacation to Florida?” His mother nodded. He sighed. “Faith went with me, and we kinda, well we uh, we fell in love.”

 

“Isn’t Faith married?” asked Angela.

 

“She had just gotten divorced. Things were pretty bad with her husband. Anyway we were pretty serious.”

 

“Were?” questioned Mikey as he picked up on the fact that his brother was using the past tense.

 

Bosco sighed deeply. “Yeah. I screwed up and Faith’s daughter saw us kissing and it kinda set the kid off. She was really rude to me and stuff. Hell, she’s the one who broke my foot.”

 

“Really?” his mom gasped.

 

“Yeah,” he half chuckled. “She threw a couple ten pound weights at my foot. One made *solid* contact. Anyway, I couldn’t handle putting up with that and I yelled at Faith and broke up with her.” He shook his head in disgust. Then he looked at his mother. “Now I know how the men in your life after dad must have felt. I treated them all so bad. I’m sorry ma. I really screwed up every chance you had to be happy. I did my best to chase them all away.”

 

“Oh Maurice it wasn’t your fault. If any of them *really* loved me they would have tried harder to get through to you.”

 

“Well I decided to try because I really love Faith, and luckily last night Emily and I kinda patched things up.” He paused and stared at the bottles of liquor lined up neatly behind the bar. “But now there’s another problem and I don’t know what to do about it.”

******

Faith looked from Charlie to Emily. “It was pretty bad huh?”

 

Emily nodded. “I’ve never seen him like that mom.”

 

“Me either,” said Charlie.

 

“He just, well he just looked so scared,” said Emily.

 

“Any idea what it was about? Did he say anything to you?” Faith asked even though she knew that Bosco wouldn’t have discussed his nightmare with the kids.

 

Emily shook her head. “He didn’t tell us about it. Just said it was a bad dream and that he was OK.”

 

“He said he was sorry he woke us up,” added Charlie. “When we were trying to wake him up though he kept saying stuff like ‘I’m not like you’ and stuff like that.”

 

Faith nodded. She would ask Bosco about it later. “I’m sure it’s nothing for you two to worry about. I’ll talk to him tonight and make sure he’s all right, but you two need to promise me that you won’t say anything to him about it. I think it would embarrass him.”

 

“OK mom,” said Emily.

 

“We promise,” said Charlie.

*****

Bosco’s mom and Mikey looked at each other, but neither of them said a word. They could tell by Bosco’s tone of voice and his far off look that he would continue when he was ready. Bosco continued to stare. “Ever since I was a kid I’ve had nightmares about what dad did to us.”

 

Angela remembered those nightmares all too well. Her son’s screams would wake her up in the middle of the night and she would race into his room. She always found him in a cold sweat, his heart racing and he would be gasping for air. On really bad occasions he would even fall out of bed. But her son had never told her what the nightmares were really about. He always said they were from some scary movie he and his friends had watched, and even though she thought there was something more to it she never pushed him to tell her.

 

Mikey remembered his brother’s nightmares as well. For a long time they had shared a room together, and Mikey would end up sleeping on the couch in the living room because he couldn’t handle his brother mumbling in his sleep. He always knew they had something to do with their father, but it wasn’t like he could help Maurice, he was just a kid himself.

 

“Well those nightmares, I still had them up until Faith and I started getting serious. I don’t know it’s like for some reason they just stopped. I was in love and things were going so well, but then last night,” he ran his hand over his face. “I was staying with the kids because she had to go out of town.” He swallowed hard. “And I knew that I was going to try and talk to Faith about getting back together. I mean I was kinda lost without her.” He took a long drink of the water that still sat in front of him. “Well last night…this nightmare…it was different…it was worse.” Bosco leaned his elbows on the bar and put his head in his hands as the nightmare replayed in his mind.

 

Angela rubbed her son’s back. “It’s OK baby. You can tell us.”

 

“Last night in my sleep I watched myself…I saw myself…dad was there, and I…I hit them. Dad laughed as I hit Faith and her kids. It was all so real. I was so scared, but I couldn’t wake up.”

 

“It’s not real Moe. It was just a nightmare.”

 

“I know, but it seemed so real. Dad was there and he kept saying that I was his son and that it was in my genes and that I was just like him. God it was so real.”

 

“Baby I know you’d never hit the people you love. You have to know that too,” his mother tried to reassure him.

 

“That’s what I thought too, but then that nightmare…now I’m doubting myself. I mean I yelled at Faith the other day, what’s to stop me from hitting her just like dad hit you.”

 

“Maurice you are not like your father. You don’t condone violence like that.”

 

“Mom I’m a cop with a bad temper.”

 

“Yes, that’s it, a bad temper, but you know how to keep it in check.”

 

“But what if I can’t. What if I snap?”

 

“You won’t baby.”

 

“But I can’t take that chance!”

 

Angela took her son’s face in her hands and made him look her in the eye. “Maurice listen to me. You are *nothing* like your father. You are kind and caring. Yes you have a temper, but you can work on that.”

 

“I don’t want to hurt them mom,” he said quietly.

 

“And you won’t.”

 

“But what if…”

 

“Forget the what ifs Maurice.”

 

“Moe,” Mikey said quietly. Bosco looked at his brother with sad worried eyes. “If you are so worried about it maybe you should get some help.”

 

“What?”

 

“You know, maybe you should see someone about it.”

 

“That’s why I came to you guys.”

 

“Come on Moe. We were there, but it screwed us up too. You should talk to a professional or something. Someone who can actually help you.”

 

Bosco nodded at what his brother said. He really didn’t want to see a shrink or anything. He looked at his mother. “Can you do me a favor?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Can you talk to Faith? Tell her what to watch for, you know, like tell her what some of the signs are, so she knows when to take the kids and run.”

 

“Maurice you don’t need me to do that. You aren’t going to be like your father.”

 

“But how can you be so sure?”

 

“Because I know you, and I know that you hate abuse. Hell, you beat up my ex-boyfriend after you found out he hit me.”

 

“I know, but…I just love Faith too much to take the chance.”

******

Bosco stepped into the office a little after six o’clock. “Lieu, can I talk to you?”

 

Swersky turned around. “Sure thing.”

 

Bosco turned to close the door for some privacy when Sergeant Christopher came in with a file in his hand. Christopher put his hand on the door not letting Bosco close it. “Move Boscorelli!”

 

“I need to talk to Lieu,” said Bosco.

 

“You think I care?! Get out of my way.”

 

Swersky turned around. “Christopher I’m talking to Boscorelli right now.”

 

“But Lieutenant I have…”

 

“Is it life or death?” asked Swersky.

 

“Huh?” asked Christopher with a confused look on his face.

 

“Is it a life or death situation?”

 

“Uh, no.”

 

“Then get the hell out of my office I’m busy!” Christopher left the office with his tail between his legs. Bosco just smiled as he closed the door. “So Boscorelli what brings you back to the station today?”

 

Bosco sat in the chair next to Swersky’s desk. “Well you said I could talk to you, right?” Swersky nodded. “Well I uh, I...” Bosco ran a hand through his hair. He hated talking to people about this kind of stuff. “I was wondering if you could set me up with some kind of counseling.”

 

Swersky looked at him. “Did I hear you right? You *want* to go to counseling?”

 

“Well I don’t want too, but I think I need to.”

 

“What for?”

 

“I uh, well my dad was abusive and stuff, you know like physically and stuff. Anyway I had this, this nightmare and in it I uh, well I uh,” he looked at Swersky. He was afraid to tell him. He was afraid of what Swersky would think about him, but if he wanted to have a relationship with Faith he felt he needed to bite the bullet. “In my nightmare I was physically abusive toward Faith and her kids, and it really freaked me out,” he said very quickly hoping that maybe if he said it fast enough Lieu wouldn’t pick up on what he was saying.

 

“I can set something up for you through the department.”

 

“That’d be good,” Bosco said quietly.

 

“Bosco I need to ask you something.” Bosco nodded. “Have you ever been abusive before?”

 

He shook his head. “Only to the low life scum that I arrest. I’ve never hit a woman or a kid or anything.” Bosco looked at Swersky nervously. “You aren’t going to tell anyone else about this are you?”

 

“No Bosco, this is just between us.”

 

“Thanks Lieu.”

*****

Bosco straightened his shirt, and ran his hand over his hair to make sure none of it was sticking up. He knocked on the door, and looked at his feet as he waited for someone to answer. The door creaked as it was opened, and Bosco looked up to find Faith standing in front of him. He had seen her this morning, but this was different. This was after she had read his note and after they had decided to try their relationship again.

 

“You look great,” he said as he took in her appearance. Her hair was down, and she was wearing a beautiful flower print sundress. He handed her a single red rose.

 

She inhaled the scent of the flower, and smiled. “Thank you. You don’t look too shabby either.” He was wearing a pair of baggy jeans and a gray and navy blue striped polo shirt.

 

“Kinda had to go casual cause I can’t find any other pants that fit over this damn cast,” he explained.

 

“It’s OK. You look sharp.” She moved out of his way. “Come on in.”

 

With the help of his crutches he walked over to the couch. “Where are the kids?”

 

“The Hanson’s took them out for dinner, and are going to watch them until we get back.”

 

“That’s nice of them. Jim and Irene sure are a nice couple.”

 

“Yeah, I’m so lucky that they live next door.”

 

Bosco nodded. He leaned his crutches against the couch and turned to look at Faith. He smiled at her. “What?” she asked as she smiled back at him.

 

“I’ve really missed you.”

 

“I’ve missed you too.”

 

“I never realized it was possible to miss someone so much when you see them almost every day.” Bosco approached her, and pulled her into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered into her ear as he embraced her. He never wanted to let her go.

*****

As they walked out of the restaurant Faith began to chuckle. “What’s so funny?” he asked.

 

She looked at him. “I really wish I could hold your hand, but with those crutches it might be a little difficult.”

 

“And you think that’s funny?”

 

“Well, not funny exactly, but it kinda made me laugh.” She looked at him. “I really am sorry that Emily did that to you.”

 

“I know, and I know she’s sorry too.”

 

“So how exactly did you and Emily makeup?”

 

“Well I made her a really good grilled cheese sandwich,” he smiled. “And then uh, later she just kinda…I guess I don’t really know how it happened.”

 

Faith stopped, and looked at him. “The kids told me you had a pretty bad nightmare last night.”

 

Bosco looked down at the ground. “Yeah,” he said in a hushed voice. “It was pretty bad.”

 

“The kids were pretty concerned. I think it scared them.”

 

“I didn’t mean to scare them Faith. I wish they hadn’t seen that.”

 

“Bosco there are some things that you can’t control.”

 

“I know, but last night…” His voice trailed off and he shook his head.

 

“You want to tell me about it?”

 

He started to say no, but then thought about it for a second. If this relationship was going to work he needed to start communicating with her. He couldn’t keep everything bottled up inside until he was ready to explode. “How about we go get some coffee?” She nodded, and they walked down the street to a small coffee shop on the corner. Bosco paid for their coffees. “There’s a little park a couple blocks over. It should be pretty quiet, and we can talk there.”

 

Faith carried their coffees as they walked in silence to the park. They reached the small park that was fairly secluded for being in a pretty busy district. Bosco walked over to a picnic table and sat down. Faith sat across from him. She handed him his coffee.

 

“Faith, that nightmare last night…you’ve seen what happens to me…but this one…it was the worst one I’ve ever had…by far.”

 

“What was it about?” she asked softly.

 

He took a deep breath, and his words came out in a rush. “What I’m going to tell you is going to be very upsetting. It hurts just to think about it, but I think the only way for us to have a relationship is if I start talking to you about my feelings. Every time I hold something in it just ends up blowing up in my face and ruining everything.”

 

“Bosco you know you can tell me anything.”

 

“But this…this is bad Faith.”

 

“It’s OK Bosco.”

 

“You know my dad used to be abusive right?” Faith nodded, she remembered all the bits and pieces of his past that he had been willing to share with her. “Well those nightmares I used to have, they were always about my dad. I’d been having those nightmares ever since I was a kid, but when you and I were in Florida they stopped. It was so nice to be able to actually sleep through the night.” He looked at Faith and started to reach across the table to put his hand on top of hers, but he stopped short and pulled his hand away. “Last night it started out like all the others. Just me and my dad and him telling me how I was just like him and all that crap. Then he hit me.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“It gets worse.” He raked his hand through his hair. Bosco took a drink of his coffee. “Then in my nightmares it was always me, my dad and Mikey; and dad would be yelling at us and then he’d hit us…” he swallowed hard, and tears started to form in his eyes. “But last night…it was me, Emily and Charlie, and my dad was standing there watching as I yelled at them, and then, then I slapped them,” he choked out the last part. He heard Faith’s sharp intake of breath. A tear rolled down Bosco’s cheek. “It was *exactly* what my dad used to do to me and Mikey.” He looked at Faith. “It doesn’t get better,” he said as he looked down at the table. “After that I usually saw my dad hitting my mom, but my nightmare changed, and I, it was, I saw myself hitting you Faith.” More tears rolled down his face. “God it was awful.”

 

Faith sat silently taking it all in. She had no idea what to say. This nightmare was horrible for her, but she couldn’t imagine the torment that Bosco was going through due to the fact that it was “him” doing the damage. She reached across the table and held his hand.

 

Bosco looked up at her, and saw the tears running down her face as well. “I’m so sorry Faith. Please forgive me.”

 

“Bosco you didn’t do anything.”

 

“But it was so real. I saw it all.”

 

“That wasn’t you Bosco. It was just a nightmare.”

 

“I can’t be like him Faith. I can’t put the people I love through that.”

 

“And you won’t.”

 

They sat in silence for a minute. “Do you still want to be with me?” he asked her.

 

“Of course I do.”

 

“Even after this?”

 

“Bosco nothing happened. I’m not going to walk away from you because you had a nightmare.”

 

“But Faith what if it happens?”

 

“Is this the problem you mentioned in the note you left me?” He nodded. “You said you knew that you couldn’t handle it on your own.”

 

“Right.”

 

“So what did you mean by that?”

 

“I went and talked to ma and Mikey. I told them about it and asked ma to talk to you and tell you what happened between her and my dad so that you’d know when to take the kids and run. But she doesn’t think it’s necessary.”

 

“Neither do I.”

 

“But Faith…”

 

“No buts Bosco. I love my kids more than anything, and I love you. But I know you better than anyone and I know you would never hurt us.”

 

“I’m not so sure anymore Faith. That’s why I went and talked to Swersky today. He’s going to set me up with some counseling.”

 

“Counseling?”

 

“Yeah, I have to make sure that I don’t go off the deep end or something. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I hurt you or the kids.” He wiped the tears from his face. “I’m really sorry Faith.”

 

“Bos there is nothing to be sorry for. The fact that you are willing to go to counseling to protect us is…well it just shows me how much you care.”

 

“I love you Faith. I really do. And your kids…I love them too. I just never realized how much I cared before.”

 

“I know Bos.” Faith leaned over the table and kissed his lips. “It’s going to be OK Bosco. You’ll get past this, and we’ll be fine.”

 

“You really think so?”

 

“I know so.”

*******

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Hope this chapter wasn’t too cheesy :)