Chasing the Clouds Away

Part 2

******

Nothing has changed since the last chapter…I still don't own Third Watch.

 

This is the 3^rd story in the "Partly Cloudy With a Chance of Rain" Bosco/Faith shipper series. If you haven’t read "Let the Sun Shine Through" and "Rainy Season" I suggest you do so.

*****

 

"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."

 

*****

"You ready to go home?" Faith asked him as she gazed across the table at him. He looked like he'd had a rough day, and talking about his nightmare seemed to have taken even more out of him.

 

"Yeah," he replied softly.

 

Faith stood up and threw their empty coffee cups in a nearby trashcan. She turned around to find that Bosco hadn't moved from where he was sitting. "Are you OK?"

 

He nodded. "Just really tired all of a sudden."

 

"You sure?"

 

"Well…I guess I'm a little embarrassed."

 

"Why?"

 

He looked at her then looked back down at the table. "I just cried Faith."

 

"So?" She stood behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. "What's wrong with that?"

 

"I'm not supposed to cry."

 

"Why not?"

 

"Cause I'm a guy. I'm supposed to be tough."

 

She moved her hands down his torso, and put her cheek against his. "That's just stupid Bosco. You *are* tough, and whoever told you it wasn't manly to cry was dead wrong. It takes a real man, a secure man to show his true feelings." She kissed his temple. "Fred only knew one emotion and it was anger. I can't handle that. I need a man who is able to get emotional. I want a guy who will cry with me when I'm sad." She stood up and once again placed her hands on his shoulders. She began to gently massage his muscles.

 

He tilted his head back and looked up at her. "So you don't think I'm a wuss?"

 

"You think I'd date a wuss?" she asked with a grin.

 

"Well," he chuckled. "You did marry Fred."

 

Faith smacked him playfully, and laughed. "Not funny."

 

"Hey, you laughed."

*****

Faith and Bosco rode the elevator up to Faith's apartment. Before the elevator doors opened she looked at him. "How about we leave the kids with the Hanson's a little longer? I'd like some more alone time with you."

 

Bosco grinned. "Oh really? And what exactly do you have in mind?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

She smiled as she wrapped her arms around him and put her hands in the back pockets of his jeans. "I just want to be close to you, and stare at you. I just want to sit and study your face.”

 

He kissed her forehead as the elevator doors opened. "Sounds good to me."

 

Faith opened her apartment door, and set her keys on the table. Bosco leaned his crutches against the wall and limped over to the couch. He sat down and stretched his legs out on the cushions. Faith walked over and stood in front of him. "So where am I supposed to sit?"

 

"Right here." In one swift motion he pulled her onto his lap. She leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. "How’s that?"

 

She snuggled close to him as he wrapped his arms around her. Faith put her hand on his chest. "I could sit here with you all night."  She looked at his well-structured face. Faith reached up and ran her hand along his cheek. She stopped when her fingers ran across a small pucker on the right side of his face. Faith turned his head so she could see what her fingers had felt on his skin. "This is where the stitches were," she said absently when she saw the scar. He nodded. Then she turned her attention to the scar in the middle of his forehead. She traced it with her finger.

 

Bosco closed his eyes. Her touch was soft and gentle. "Are they that noticeable?"

 

"Not really. They aren’t very big."

 

"But you can still see ‘em?"

 

She nodded. "This may sound odd, but they look good on you."

 

"Excuse me?"

 

"I don't know. They just kind of add something to your look." She shrugged. " I didn't think it was possible, but you are even more attractive than you were before. The scars just look like they belong there." Faith tapped the scar on his forehead. "Charlie's going to love this one," she grinned.

 

"Why’s that?"

 

"Cause Harry Potter has a scar just like it." They laughed as they sat there looking at each other. This was how things were supposed to be. They were supposed to be together; laughing about funny things, crying over sad things, and loving each other unconditionally.

 

When they stopped laughing Bosco looked deep into her eyes. He put his hand behind Faith's head, and kissed her with the passion that had been building up inside of him for days. In the next few heated moments they shifted on the couch so they were both laying down. Faith was lying on top of Bosco. They broke apart for air. "I've missed you so much Faith."

 

She kissed him again as she rubbed her hand over his tight muscular chest. "I've missed you too." Faith looked into his eyes and saw the love that she had been longing for over the last few days. It felt so good to be back in his strong arms. She knew that together they could get through anything.

 

"I wish I was ready to give you more," he whispered after another long kiss. "But after everything I'm still not ready to—"

 

Faith put a finger to his lips. "Shhhh. It's OK Bos. When I said I'd wait for you I meant I'd wait for all of you. I'll wait til you're ready. I just want to be with you."

 

He kissed her finger then took her hand in his. "Can I spend the night?" he asked shyly.

 

She lifted her head a little and looked at him. "You want to?"

 

He nodded. "I don't want to be alone."

*****

At 10:30 Faith went over to the Hanson's to get the kids. When she came back Bosco wasn't in the living room. "Bosco?"

 

"I'm in the bedroom," he called back.

 

She went back to her room and found Bosco sitting on the edge of her bed. "What are you doing?"

 

He looked at her like a kid who had just been caught by his mom when he was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. "It itches," he said as he once again jammed part of the metal clothes hanger into his cast.

 

"You really shouldn't do that. You could cut yourself and not know it, and it could get infected."

 

"As long as I can scratch the itch I really don't care." He moved the hanger back and forth trying to find the right spot. "I swear, you'd think they could find a different material to use in these things. You know, something that doesn't itch so much." Faith just laughed as Bosco continued to complain.

 

The kids came bouncing into the bedroom to say goodnight to their mother. "Did you brush your teeth?" Both kids nodded. "OK then, give me a hug and then it's lights out."

 

Charlie hugged Faith then looked at Bosco. "Are you staying here tonight?"

 

Bosco looked at Faith. The question made him nervous. He knew the answer to the question, but didn't know exactly how to answer it. Charlie and Emily were old enough to realize that he and Faith were seeing each other and both kids could figure out that he would be sleeping in the same bed as their mother. This was awkward for him. He had never dated anyone who had kids.

 

Seeing the look on Bosco's face Faith decided to take control of the situation. She sat next to Bosco on the bed. "Yes Charlie. Bosco is staying here tonight, and he's going to be spending more time with us now."

 

"So you're dating again?" asked Charlie with a smile.

 

Faith put her hand on Bosco's knee and gave him a reassuring pat. She nodded. "Is that OK with you guys?"

 

"Yup," replied Charlie enthusiastically.

 

Bosco and Faith looked at Emily who smiled back at them. "It's fine with me." Bosco breathed a sigh of relief. Emily hugged her mom. "Goodnight Em."

 

Charlie gave Bosco a high five and said goodnight before heading to his bedroom. Emily stood in front of Bosco looking a little apprehensive. She was pretty sure that things were OK between her and Bosco but she wasn't real convinced. His foot was broken because of her, and even though she had apologized to him she wasn't sure if he'd truly accepted the apology.

 

He read the doubt on her face, and smiled at her. "So you gonna hug me goodnight or you just gonna stand there?"

 

Emily hugged him. "I really am sorry."

 

"I know."

 

"Sweet dreams," she said as she let go of him.

 

"'Night kiddo."

 

Emily left the room, and Faith looked at Bosco. "You're really good with the kids."

 

Bosco shrugged. "Yeah I guess. Ya know we probably could have avoided a lot of trouble if we'd have just told them we were dating the day we got back from Florida."

 

"Yeah well you know what they say about hindsight."

*****

Bosco was extremely restless, and Faith had to move away from him in the bed. He was tossing and turning, and when he was lying on his back he kept thrashing his head back and forth. Faith was having trouble sleeping because he wouldn't stay still. Plus she was concerned about him.

 

A few times she heard him start to mumble, so she would put her hand on his stomach and whisper in his ear. It would settle him down for a little while.

-------

The nightmare kept coming back to him, and he tried to will it to go away, but he couldn't. But some how every time he'd get to the part where Emily and Charlie entered the nightmare something would interrupt his thoughts. Something would stop the nightmare from continuing, and a calm would wash over him.

-------

Exhaustion took over, and Faith fell into a deep sleep. Bosco was lying on his back, and she was next to him with her hand resting comfortably on his shoulder.

------

He kicked the covers off his legs; he was so hot. He was sweating, and his heart was racing. The nightmare was starting again, but this time there was nothing to interrupt its progress. Bosco knew what was coming next in the sequence.

 

Bosco watched as he raised his hand in the air. This time there was more detail. This time he could see the fear in Emily and Charlie's eyes. He could see them trembling, but he couldn't stop his hand from swinging toward them. He wanted to wake up and make it all disappear. He knew it was just a bad dream, and if he could just open his eyes it would go away. But he couldn't do it. Why couldn't he just open his eyes?!

 

He rolled his head from side to side trying to shake the images. He started tossing and turning with more force. He had to wake up. "No," he mumbled. "Stop! Don't do it," he told himself.

-------

Faith woke with a start as her hand fell to the mattress when Bosco quickly rolled over. She was still half asleep, and ready to close her eyes again when she heard him talking in his sleep. He was starting to thrash around, and his legs were moving; it was as if he was trying to run away from something.

 

She put her hand on his arm. His body was covered in sweat. "Bosco. Bosco wake up." He didn't hear her. She shook him with more force. "Wake up. It's just a bad dream. Bosco."

-------

"Show the bitch whose boss!" his father yelled.

 

"I won't do it," Bosco mumbled.

 

"You're my son. You don't have a choice!"

 

"Yes I do," Bosco was trying to fight his nightmare.

 

His father laughed at him. "You always were stupid Maurice. You just don't get it do you?! It's who you are!" His father wasted no time and punched him hard in the stomach.

 

Bosco doubled over in pain. "Stop," he said weakly as he wrapped his arms around his midsection.

------

Faith noticed a pained look cross Bosco's face as he wrapped his arms around his stomach. She put a hand on his face. "Bosco wake up!"

-----

"You don't have a choice Maurice. It's who you are."

 

Bosco watched in his mind as he balled his hand into a fist, and pulled it back to throw a punch. "NOOOOOOO!" he screamed as he sat up.

 

Faith jumped. She wasn't expecting him to cry out like that. She quickly sat up next to him, and put a hand on his cheek. "Bosco?"

 

He looked at her. His eyes were wide with fear and panic. Seeing the fear and uncertainty on her face, seeing her next to him made him panic even more. He started to think his nightmare was real.

 

She stoked his cheek. "Bosco it's OK. Nothing happened. Everything's OK," she reassured him. He was still panicked, and was gasping for air. She gently pushed him back down on the bed. "Just relax honey. Breathe. It's OK." She put her hand on his sweaty chest. He just stared at her. Faith used her other hand to push the damp hair off his forehead. He was still trying to catch his breath. "It's OK hon. It's OK. It was just a nightmare."

 

He swallowed hard. "It was so real," he whispered.

 

"Was it the same as last night?" she asked softly.

 

He shook his head. "It—it started out the same, but then it…I tried to fight him, but I wasn't strong enough."

 

"Who?"

 

He closed his eyes briefly then he looked up into her concerned eyes. "My father. I tried to…I tried to tell him I wouldn't do it." Bosco reached up and wiped some of the sweat off his forehead. Then he once again wrapped his arms around his stomach. "He punched me in the stomach and I felt it. It actually hurt. It was so real." Bosco put his hand on Faith's cheek. "I tried to stop. I didn't want to hurt you guys. I wasn't strong enough. I'm sorry."

 

Faith could hear the shame in his voice. She tenderly kissed his lips. "I know Bos. I know. We'll get through this. I'll help you."