Weathering the Storm
Part 3
*******
Faith woke, and stretched her arms over her head as she sat up. She'd slept through the entire night, and was feeling refreshed. She looked over at the man still lying in her bed. Bosco was curled up on his side, his back to her and he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

She moved over so she was closer to him, and propped herself on her elbow as she wrapped her arm around him. Faith kissed his neck. Then moved up to his cheek. She kissed him again then patted his chest. "Hey hon," she whispered in his ear.

Bosco felt something tickling his ear. He reached up and rubbed his face. Faith just laughed. As soon as he moved his hand away she whispered in his ear again. Once again he rubbed at his face this time looking annoyed. Faith's laughter woke him. He rolled over toward her. He grinned at her sleepily. "Hi."

She rubbed his chest. "How'd you sleep?"

He rubbed vigorously at his eyes. "Good. Really good. How 'bout you?"

"Slept better than I expected." Faith kissed him. "Did you even wake up at all?"

He shook his head. "I was out like a light." Bosco pushed himself into a sitting position. "Are the kids up?"

"I doubt it. It's only eight o'clock."

"So what are the plans for today?"

"Well the kids will probably sleep in, so I figure once they're ready we'll go out for lunch then head over to Wal-Mart and get their school supplies. Then maybe we'll go to the mall to get them some new clothes."

Bosco nodded. "Think I got enough time to head over to Mercy and see if I can get rid of this cast? Since I basically slept the day away yesterday I never got a chance to go see the doctor."

"Sure, get yourself ready, and I'll drive you."

"Oh hey, you don’t have to do that. I can go by myself."

"No really, I don't mind. Just get ready."
******
Faith stood in the kitchen preparing a pot of coffee. She turned away from her work when she heard the soft, unmistakable thunk of Bosco's cast as he came down the hardwood hallway.

Bosco suddenly felt extremely nauseous. He didn't realize Faith was watching him. He closed his eyes, put his right hand against the wall for support and his left hand on his stomach. Bosco swallowed hard. He thought for sure he was going to be sick.

She put the coffee mugs she was holding on the table, and walked toward him. She noticed his eyes were closed tight. "Reese?" she asked softly, not wanting to frighten him. "What's the matter?" Her voice was full of concern.

"I just---" he started without opening his eyes. "---don't feel so great all of a sudden." He took a deep breath, and opened his eyes as he exhaled.

Instinctively Faith moved closer to him, and put her hand to his forehead. His eyes closed when he felt her touch. "You don't seem to have a fever. What's wrong?"

He swallowed hard, and slowly shook his head. "I'm nauseous." He doubled over as another wave of nausea hit him hard. "Owww man," he groaned quietly.

Faith bent down next to him. She rubbed his back. "You feel like you're going to throw up?"

He straightened up a little. "Maybe," he paused. "I don't know."

"Come on, let's get you back in bed."

"No. We got a big day today. I can't be sick," he tried to smile.

"Reese if you're getting sick you should really take it easy. You should rest."

"I'll be OK. Maybe I'll just lay on the couch for a little while," he slowly walked into the living room, and eased himself down. Faith sat on the coffee table, and cupped his cheek.

"You want me to get you anything?"

He closed his eyes as he searched his mind. "You got any Pepto or anything?" he asked quietly as he hugged himself.

She kissed his forehead. "I'll be right back." Faith came back into the room with a bottle of Pepto Bismol, a glass of water and a blanket. She poured a dose of the pink stuff into the dosage cup, and held it out for him. "Here." Faith helped pull him into a sitting position.

Bosco quickly downed the pink, chalky substance. He swallowed hard trying to get rid of the taste. "Yuck," he said as he quickly shook his head.

"You're just as bad as Charlie," she grinned as she handed him the glass of water.

He put his hand on his stomach, and took a deep breath. "I don't know if taking this was a good idea." He took the water from Faith, and downed it. Bosco closed his eyes as he waited for the contents to settle in his stomach. He held the glass out, and Faith took it from him.

"You should lie down." She ran her hand over his hair, and helped him put his feet up on the couch. When he stopped squirming around, and had made himself comfortable she covered him with the blanket. Faith kissed his forehead. "Just rest OK. Don't worry about today."

He nodded his head.
*******
Bosco woke up an hour later to a quiet apartment. "Faith?"

"I'm right here." She came around the couch. Bosco shifted a little so she would have room to sit on the couch. Faith put her hand to his forehead, again checking for signs of a fever then kissed him. "How you feeling?"

"Better." He sat up slightly, and looked at the clock on the VCR. "We should head over to Mercy, so we can be back in time to take the kids to lunch."

"I don't know if you should be going anywhere. You may be coming down with something."

"Like what?"

"Like the flu."

"The flu? Faith, it's August."

"What? And people can't get the flu in August?"

"It's probably just from something I ate. I feel better, and we've got stuff to do, so lets not waste anymore time." He stood up.

Faith stood up next to him. "Making sure you're OK and healthy is *not* a waste of time."

"That not what I meant Faith." He smiled shyly. "I just…I want to spend the day with you guys." He paused, and shrugged. "I'm really looking forward to it, and since I'm feeling OK right now lets take advantage of it."

She kissed his forehead. "You sure you're up to it?"

He nodded. "Yeah."
*******
The doctor held the x-rays up to the light. "I'm still not happy with how this looks." He put the x-ray back into the big envelope it had been delivered in. "I want to put another cast on."

"For how long?" Bosco groaned.

"One week." The doctor noticed Bosco trying to interrupt, and he held up his hand to stop him. "Then we'll take the cast off no questions asked, on *one condition*."

"What's that?"

"You use your crutches, and not just when you feel like it. Use them all the time. If you'd been using them like you were supposed to these last few weeks we'd be talking about getting you back on patrol. I'll send someone in to cast you." The doctor left the room.

"Dammit! Can you believe this?!"

"It's your own fault," Faith replied calmly. He rolled his eyes, and she chuckled. "Well, I know someone else who's going to be pretty upset about this too."

"Who's that?"

"Emily. She's grounded until two days after your cast comes off."

"Oh man, don't tell her the bone didn't heal cause I was walking on it. She'll never forgive me."

Faith smiled mischievously. "I think I might just have to tell her."

"Oh come on Faith, please, I'm begging you," he whined.

She thought about it for a moment. "And what's in it for me?"

"Isn't my love enough?" He smiled.
*****
Faith opened the door for Bosco. Emily was sitting on the couch reading a book. "Oh no. You're using crutches again. Did you like, hurt your foot more or something? I mean, I thought the cast was coming off soon."

Bosco looked at Faith sheepishly. "Uh…the doctor wants to keep it on for another week. Just to make sure."

"Oh," Emily said. "I was just hoping the cast was coming off today." Faith looked at her daughter. "You know…cause I feel bad about everything. I just…you know."

Bosco chuckled. "Don't worry Em. I know about your punishment. Sorry to disappoint you."

Faith walked over to the entertainment center and put her hand on top of the television. "TVs warm. You were watching TV?"

Emily's eyes got big. "Uh…no."

"Emily, do you want to add more days?"

"Ok, ok. I was watching TV, and I turned it off when I heard the elevator." She looked from her mother to Bosco and back to her mother. "I'm sorry. Please don't add to my punishment."

"I don't know Em. I thought I could trust you on this one."

"Mom! Please!," she begged.

"Why don't you go tell your brother to hurry up and get ready." Emily headed down the hall, and Faith grinned from ear to ear.

"What's so funny?"

"I love seeing her squirm."
*****
"OK Charlie, what's on your school list?"

"I need glue, markers, pencils, five folders…." Charlie continued reading down the list.

"Mom, can I go over there?" asked Emily. "I wanna go look at the binders and pens and stuff."

"I don't want you going off by yourself Emily. Let's get Charlie's stuff first and then we'll find the stuff you need."

"But mom, it's just over there. Like one aisle over."

"Hey Faith why don't you go with Emily. I'll help Charlie get the rest of the stuff on his list, and we'll meet you in a little bit."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, no sweat."

Charlie and Bosco walked down each aisle throwing different things into the shopping cart that Charlie was pushing. "Hey these are pretty cool Charlie." Bosco held up a package of pencils that had the logos of all the NFL teams on them. "Wish they would have had these when I was a kid."

"Can I get them?"

Bosco shrugged. "I guess. I mean, they say their number twos. That's what the list says right? You need number two pencils." Charlie nodded, and Bosco tossed the pencils in the cart. "OK squirt, what's next?"

"I need a backpack the one I had last year is all ripped and stuff."

"OK lead the way." Bosco hobbled along on his crutches behind the young boy. Charlie stopped in front of the backpacks. He quickly grabbed one, and threw it in the cart. Bosco picked it up out of the cart. "A *clear* backpack? What grade are you in?"

"Fifth."

"And you have to have a clear backpack?!"

Charlie shrugged. "Kids bring guns and stuff to school all the time."

"Your in *fifth* grade!"

"I know."

"That's just not right." Bosco shook his head. "Let's go find your mom and sister." As Bosco and Charlie walked through the store Bosco couldn't help but think about what Charlie had said.

"Kids bring guns and stuff to school all the time."

He couldn't believe it. Faith's son was in the fifth grade and had to worry about kids bringing weapons to school. What the hell-kinda world were they living in?
*****
Faith and Bosco sat on the couch watching television. "Reese honey you feeling ok?"

"Huh? Yeah. Why?"

"You just seem kinda distant. I thought maybe your stomach was upset again or something."

"No, I was just thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"Charlie's backpack."

"What about it?"

"It's clear."

"Yeah, all the kids have to have clear ones these days."

Bosco shook his head. "It's not right Faith. I mean, he's just a little kid."

Faith nodded. "I know," she said softly.

"I guess I'm just starting to realize what you've been talking about all the years we've been partners."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, about the shitty world we live in, and how you want to try and protect your kids." He paused and looked at her. "It's hard isn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah it is." She replied as she reached over and held his hand.
******
Bosco left Faith's apartment around midnight, and had promised to come back the next afternoon just to hang out. He brushed his teeth, then stripped down to his boxers and stood in front of the bathroom mirror. Without another thought he opened up the medicine cabinet, and pulled out the prescription pill bottle. He shook two pills into his hand, and swallowed them without water.

The shitty world wasn't going to ruin his sleep tonight.