Let the Sun Shine Through

Part 15

*****

As we all know I don't own any of the characters…not even Vincent…even HE is a TW character from like first season…not that we ever saw him though…only heard about him…OK enough of my rambling!

 

This chapter picks up shortly after the events of the last one.

*****

 

Faith and Bosco sat at the kitchen table sipping coffee. They sat in silence. Bosco looked at Faith, but he didn't see his partner, he didn't see the woman he had fallen in love with. Instead in her place sat a sad and scared woman. Bosco knew he needed to do something. He needed to take action. Normally Faith was the one who knew what to do. She always knew how to take care of things, but now she needed him to take charge.

 

"Faith, what do you want?" he asked softly.

 

She looked at him with her empty eyes. "What?"

 

"What do you want? Do you want to keep your apartment? Do you want sole custody of the kids? I need to know what you want so I can help you get it."

 

"Bosco this isn't going to be that easy."

 

"Well it's going to be a lot easier if we make a plan or something."

 

"You don't have to do this Bosco."

 

"Do what?" he asked confused.

 

"I've been thinking, and I know you just got hit with a lot of extra baggage in this relationship." She looked down at the table. "So if you want to walk away I'll understand."

 

"What?! Faith, no, I'm not going anywhere! I love you. Don't you get that?! I love you." His eyes pleaded with her for understanding. "You've stuck by my side through all sorts of shit. Why would I turn you away when you need me?! I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm not like that!" He continued to look her in the eye as he waited for her response.

 

"You mean it?" she asked quietly.

 

"Damn straight."

 

"Thank you," she said as the corner of her mouth turned up into a fraction of a smile.

 

Bosco nodded. "So, sole custody?"

 

Faith nodded. "But I don't see how that's going to work with the shift I'm on," her voice sounded defeated.

 

"Faith relax." He reached across the table and took her hand. "I'm sure if we tell Swersky what's going on he'll put you on a different shift. Nothing is set in stone. You have to think of the possibilities."

 

"I'm really having trouble with that right now."

 

He smiled. "That's why I'm here."

 

She squeezed his hand. "I love you."

 

"How could you not?" For the first time since they had been home Faith's face lit up. "OK, so first thing is to talk to Swersky about putting you on a different shift."

 

"What about you?"

 

"This isn't about me right now. We'll think about me later."

 

Faith grinned and shook her head. Sitting across from her was the man she loved. The man who would do anything for her. If only she had met him years ago, before she had married Fred. "Oh well," she thought. "At least he's here now." She looked at him. "OK, so if I'm on a different shift I'll have a better chance of getting custody. But I can't afford the apartment and I doubt Fred's income would be much help even if he has to pay child support. Hell, we could barely afford it together."

 

Bosco put his elbow on the table and raked his hand through his hair. "We could uh, we could get a place together. I mean, if you want."

 

"Oh Bos. Thanks for the offer, but I don't think that's a good idea right now."

 

"I know. I just wanted to make sure you knew it was an option."

*****

"Well, it's almost two. I'm going to go shower and get dressed. Then we can head down to the station and talk to Swersky."

 

Bosco nodded. The phone rang. "Boscorelli."

 

"Hey Maurice. How ya doin'? How was the trip?"

 

"Vincent man it was spectacular. That hotel was unbelievable. Thanks man. I owe you."

 

"Nah, I think I still owe you for chipping in the dough for that apartment building remodeling job."

 

"Damn! Why didn't I think of it before?!"

 

"Why didn't you think of what Maurice?"

 

"Vincent I need a favor."

 

"OK."

 

"You met my partner, Faith, right?'

 

"Yeah a while back."

 

"OK here's the deal," Bosco looked toward the bathroom door to make sure Faith wasn't within earshot. "Well, she just got divorced, and well, it's a long story, but she's got two kids and she can't afford her apartment."

 

"And you were wondering if I could give her the family discount?"

 

"Yeah. Can you?" Bosco paced nervously.

 

"I think I can swing it. We have a couple apartments open."

 

"It can't be a dive Vinny. It's gotta be a place nice enough for your ma to live in. Faith, she's like family."

 

"Don't sweat it Maurice. Why don't you come by around five and look at the place then if she's interested we can fill out the paperwork." Bosco wrote down the address Vincent gave him.

 

"Vincent I owe you."

 

"Hey that's what family is for Maurice. I'll see you later."

 

Bosco hung up the phone with a smile on his face.

*****

It was a little after 3:30 when Faith and Bosco got to the station. Davis and Sullivan were on their way out. "Faith. Bosco. You guys look tan," commented Sully. "By the looks of it vacation did you some good."

 

"Yeah," nodded Faith with a smile.

 

"Yeah, but what the hell happened to your face Bosco?" asked Ty.

 

"Oh," Bosco touched his stitches. "Long story. Short version is I got hit with a beer bottle."

 

"Where did you go?" asked Sully.

 

Faith and Bosco looked at each other and smiled. "Florida," Faith replied.

 

"You guys go together?" questioned Davis.

 

"Yup," replied a smiling Bosco.

 

"Awe, got you some honeys on the beach eh Bosco?" Davis winked. "How many notches in your bedpost?" Davis grinned. Sully just shook his head in disgust.

 

"Well, no notches, but I did hook up with someone."

 

"What?! The 'Italian stallion' couldn't get her to take a roll in the hay," Davis laughed.

 

"Davis! Is this ANY of your business?" asked Sully.

 

"Yeah it's my business. My boy goes on vacation to Florida. I want to hear about it."

 

"It was great Davis. She's unbelievable."

 

Sully looked at Faith. "How did you put up with him for two weeks?"

 

Faith grinned. "He kinda grows on you after awhile."

 

Sully and Davis looked at each other then looked at the two officers standing in front of them. Faith pulled on her purse strap with her left hand. "You lose your ring?" Sully asked.

 

"What?"

 

He pointed. "You aren't wearing your wedding ring. You lose it?"

 

Faith looked at her hand. "Uh, no." She looked at Bosco who was no help as he stood there grinning like an idiot. "Fred and I got divorced."

 

Sully frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry Faith."

 

"Whoa. Back up. Back up," said Davis as he put his hands in the air. "I knew it. I knew it."

 

"Knew what?" asked an irritated Sully.

 

Davis looked at Bosco. "You hooked up with Faith didn't you?"

 

Bosco looked at Faith. "I cannot tell a lie. Faith and I have been seeing each other for almost two weeks now."

 

"Gross! Gross!" exclaimed Davis. "I mean, no offense. I'm not saying, well it's just…you…and you…together. Ewww."

 

Faith shook her head. "You have a way with words Davis."

 

"Come on Ty. Let's go." Sully pulled his partner toward their RMP.

 

"Man he needs to grow up," said Bosco.

 

Faith smacked his arm. "Two weeks ago you would have been giving him every last detail. I'm telling you right now, while we're together I don't want to be the topic of your locker room conversations."

 

He turned to her and put his hands on her hips. "Now what fun is that if I can't—" She lightly punched him in the stomach. "Oomph…OK. OK."

*****

Faith knocked on the office door. "Enter," came the voice from inside. Bosco and Faith slowly walked into the room. "Boscorelli. Yokas. Welcome back, but you're about 24 hours early for your shift."

 

"I needed to talk to you."

 

Swersky nodded and looked at Bosco. "Oh, I'm just here for moral support."

 

"What happened to your face?"

 

Bosco sighed. "I helped break up an attempted rape and got a beer bottle to the head for my troubles."

 

"You OK?"

 

"Fine now."

 

"Good. So, what's on your mind Faith?"

 

Faith fiddled with her purse. "Well Lieu. I uh, I just got divorced and uh, well I've got two kids ya know and---"

 

The Lieutenant held up his hand. "Say no more. You want to work a different shift am I right?"

 

"Yes sir."

 

"Days? Seven to three?" Faith nodded. "We're really going to miss you on our watch, but at least we won't lose you completely. Can you start working days tomorrow?"

 

"Sure thing Lieu."

 

"What about you Boscorelli?"

 

"Sir?"

 

"You wanna stick with your partner? Work days?"

 

Bosco's eyes got wide, and he looked at Faith. He hadn't really thought about changing shifts. He loved working the third watch because there was more action. But if he stayed on his shift and Faith went to days they would only see each other in passing or if they happened to have the same days off. But even that couldn't be guaranteed. "Uh, well, yeah I guess. I'd hate to have to break in a new partner."

 

"Yeah, and I'd hate to have to try and find you one," Lieu grinned. "So you two show up for the day shift tomorrow."

*****

Bosco took a right instead of a left. "Bosco where are we going? I thought we were going out to see the kids. You should have taken a left."

 

"We have one more stop to make first. It shouldn't take too long." Bosco pulled up in front of an apartment building.

 

"What are we doing here?"

 

He turned to look at her. "Just follow me." They entered the building and Vincent was waiting for them. "Hey Vincent. You remember Faith. Faith this is my cousin Vincent."

 

"Hi nice to see you again," said Vincent as he shook her hand.

 

"Likewise." She looked at Bosco. "What are we doing here?"

 

"Vincent has a couple apartments open."

 

Faith pulled Bosco to the side. "Bosco look at this place. I can't afford to live here."

 

"Would you relax?! Vincent is family. He'll take care of you."

 

"He's not my family and I don't need a handout."

 

"Faith can you afford an apartment on your own?" She shook her head. "Come on. Vincent is my cousin. He owns the building. He's doing this because he is my family and he wants to help."

 

"What all did you tell him?"

 

"Just that you just got divorced you have two kids and you can't afford your current place on your own. Nothing else I swear. He doesn't even know about us."

 

"Bosco—"

 

"Faith don't fight me on this. If you want Emily and Charlie to live with you then you need to think about this. Don't worry about it. He's going to set you up with the Boscorelli family discount. It's not about charity. It's about family. And you're my family."

 

Faith let out a long breath. "OK Bosco."

 

"All right Vincent, lead the way."

 

They rode the elevator up to the fifth floor, which was the top floor, and followed Bosco's cousin down to the end of the hall. "This is the best apartment we have. I really think you'll like it." Vincent turned the key and they followed him inside.  "There are four bedrooms, and two bathrooms. A nice size kitchen, living room and dining room. Plus you only have neighbors on one side, and they are a very nice retired couple."

 

"This place is huge," said Faith as she looked around.

 

"No shit," said Bosco. "Damn Vincent. Why didn't you hook me up with a place like this instead of the one I'm in?"

 

"Hey now Maurice your apartment isn't bad for a bachelor like yourself. So what do you think Faith? You want to live here?"

 

"Oh Vincent this place is great, but I couldn't afford to rent the bathroom let alone the whole apartment."

 

"Faith if Maurice says you're family. Then there is no problem. You pay what you can pay, and the rest is taken care of."

 

"You can't be serious. How can you run a business like that?"

 

"Well," he grinned. "Can you keep a secret?" Faith nodded. "There aren't a whole lot of Boscorelli family discounts given, and we overcharge everyone else for rent, so it makes up the difference."

 

"Should have known it was going to be something like that when I'm dealing with a Boscorelli."

 

"Hey don't knock us Faith," said Bosco with a smile. "The Boscorelli's just got you an apartment."

******

Bosco pulled into the driveway at Faith's parents house. As soon as Faith stepped out of the car both Emily and Charlie greeted her. After hugs and kisses were exchanged they all went inside. Bosco pulled Faith back a little. "Are you going to tell the kids about us?"

 

"I don't know Bosco. It's a little early don't you think? Maybe we should wait awhile." He nodded. "Besides first I need to do some explaining about everything else."

 

As soon as Emily and Charlie had settled down Faith had them come sit down on the couch. "Guys I need to talk with you about what's going on between me and your father." Both kids sat quietly.

 

"I'll be in the kitchen," Bosco said as he started to walk away.

 

She grabbed his hand. "No, you can stay." He nodded and took a seat in the chair. "OK, so where do I start?" She sighed. "I want you guys to know how sorry I am about leaving for two weeks. It wasn't because I don't love you. I just needed to get away and have some time to think and relax. You know Em like when you and Charlie spend the entire day together and you just need to get away from him for a while, just to clear your head. That's what I had to do. Things had been so bad between me and your dad that I needed to get away from him. I had to go somewhere to clear my head, and I want you to know that I didn't want to be away from you guys, but I didn't know how I was going to feel. I didn't know if I was going to be sad or mad, and I didn't want you guys to have to see that. I'm sorry for not being here for you. I know this must be tough on you, but I hope you can try to understand."

 

"I get it mom," said Emily. "You and dad fought a lot. I know that. I'm not mad that you went away. I mean, at least you came back."

 

"And I like staying with grandma and grandpa," chirped Charlie. "It was fun."

 

"So did you clear your head?" asked Emily.

 

"Yes I did. Look I really am sorry that I couldn't take you guys with me. I hope you can forgive me."

 

"Really mom it's OK. I think I'm a little old for the family vacation thing anyway."

 

"Oh really? You're only thirteen," Faith chuckled.

 

"I'm almost fourteen."

 

"Thirteen going on thirty," Faith smiled. "So have you seen your dad lately?"

 

"Yeah he took us out to eat the other day," said Charlie.

 

"You guys have fun?"

 

"Yeah," they both answered.

 

"You know that your father and I both love you very much right?" Both the kids nodded. "If you want to talk about anything I'm here for you."

 

Once again they nodded. "Can we go now?" asked an impatient Emily. "I wanted to watch something on TV."

 

"Yeah OK. You can go." Emily and Charlie stood up to go into the den where the big TV was located. "Oh, one more thing. I'm going to start working days now so I can spend more time with you."

 

"Awesome," smiled Charlie.

 

"That's cool mom," said Emily, and the kids headed into the other room.

 

"See Faith, I told you they'd understand."

 

"I don't know Bosco. Everything just seemed too easy."

*****

It was getting late and Bosco needed to head back to his place so he could get some sleep for their shift the next day. Bosco and Faith were standing out on the deck behind the house. "Are you sure you don't want to stay with me tonight?"

 

"Yeah Bos. I'm going to stay here."

 

"How are you going to get to work?"

 

"My mom is going to take me in. She has some errands to run anyway."

 

"You sure?"

 

"Yes I'm sure! Now go home. Get some sleep and try not to be late tomorrow."

******

"Grandma where's mom?"

 

"She and Bosco are out on the deck honey."

 

"OK." Emily opened the screen door.

******

"OK Faith. Then I'll see you tomorrow." Bosco wrapped his arms around Faith and kissed her lips.

 

"I HATE YOU!" Emily screamed as she saw Bosco kissing her mother. "I HATE YOU BOSCO!" She ran back into the house.

 

"Emily!" Faith called after her.

 

"Oh Gawd Faith. I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. I wasn't----"

 

Faith put a finger to his lips. "Don't worry about it. It's OK. She'll get over it."

 

Bosco swallowed hard. "I don't think so Faith. I really screwed up. I shouldn't have kissed you tonight. Not here. It was too soon for her to find out."

 

"It's done Bosco. Don't beat yourself up over it."

 

He shook his head. "Dammit!"

 

"Hey. It's all right. I'll go talk to her. I'll see you tomorrow OK?" She leaned in to kiss him, but he just walked away.

 

 

*******

tbc in another story