Weathering the Storm

Part 4

******

Bosco dragged his lethargic body out of bed a little after noon. He stood up, and nearly tripped over his crutches, which reminded him of the doctor's orders to use his crutches. He went into the kitchen and grabbed a glass out of the cupboard. Then got the orange juice out of the fridge. He poured himself a glass, and leaned against the counter as he slowly drank the liquid. As he stood there he thought about the day before. Bosco really enjoyed spending time with Faith and her kids. Emily was still a bit cold toward him once in a while, but he figured that was just because she was becoming a rebellious teenager. He didn't take it personally.

After he finished the juice he pushed himself away from the counter, and placed the glass in the sink. His stomach growled, so he grabbed a bowl out of the cupboard and some cereal. Once he had the milk poured into the bowl, and a spoon in hand he grabbed his crutches and then picked up the bowl in one hand. He tried to figure out how he was going to use his crutches and make it over to the table with the bowl. He started to lean the crutches against the counter, and intended on just walking over to the table without them. As he started to step down on his cast he thought about the doctor's words from the day before. "Dammit!" he hissed. "I can't take anymore desk duty." He stood at the counter, and ate his cereal.

When he finished eating he rubbed his eyes hoping to get rid of the sleepy feeling he just couldn't seem to shake. It usually didn't take him this long to get going. He shrugged figuring it was because he had actually been sleeping lately, and he wasn't used to getting so much sleep. Bosco headed for the bathroom, and turned on the shower hoping it would help wake him up.

******

He was showered and dressed, and it was close to 1:15. He sat on the couch with the phone in hand, and dialed Faith's number, which he knew by heart.

"Hello?"

"What are you doing?"

"I was just thinking about you," Faith replied with a smile.

"Oh really?" he smirked. "And what exactly were you thinking about me?"

"Oh, nothing special."

"Nothing special?!" he tried to sound hurt, and she just laughed. "So, you ready for me to come over? That is if you still want me to come over."

"Of course I still want you to come over."

"OK I'm leaving now."

"Be careful. See you soon."

*****

Bosco knocked gently on the door, and Faith answered almost immediately. She had been just like a love struck teenager impatiently waiting for her boyfriend to come over. It had been a long time since seeing a man could make her this happy. Fred sure as hell didn't make her feel this way, but even the thought of Bosco put a smile on her face. Her heart fluttered whenever he looked at her, and her knees got weak whenever he smiled at her. This is what love was all about, and she was so incredibly happy to have a man like Bosco in her life.

"Hey," he smiled as she opened the door.

"Hey yourself," she replied as she took a step out of her apartment to greet him. She put her hands on the sides of his face, and kissed him hello. "I was just getting ready to heat up some leftovers for lunch. You want some?" she asked as she watched him walk into the apartment with his crutches.

"Nah, I just ate breakfast." He turned and looked at her. "On second thought, what are you having?"

She shook her head and chuckled. "It's 1:30, and you just ate breakfast?"

"Well actually I ate a little over an hour ago, and it was more like brunch. But if you're having something good I'm always hungry."

Faith waved him into the kitchen. "Come sit at the table, and I'll fix you something."

He took a seat at the table, and carefully placed his crutches on the floor. "Where are the kids?"

"Fred picked up Emily this morning. Turns out his girlfriend is a beautician, so she's going to cut Emily's hair and do her nails."

Bosco nodded. "Sounds like fun." Faith looked at him. "For Em. Sounds like fun for Em."

Faith grinned. "Spaghetti OK?" she asked as she was about to warm up the sauce in the microwave.

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm Italian. What do you think?" he joked.

"Just making sure. I didn't want it to go to waste if you weren't going to eat it."

"Come on Faith. Have you ever known me to waste food?" He smiled. "So where is Charlie?"

"It's his friend Matthew's birthday, so he left a little while ago to go to the party."

"So I missed both kids." He sounded disappointed.

"Yup, but they'll be home for dinner, so you could stick around."

He nodded. "What time is dinner?"

"Seven or so. It all depends."

"So…we have all this time alone?" He winked.

"Yes we do," she set the timer on the microwave, and walked over to him.

Bosco pulled her onto his lap. "Do you know what two consenting adults could do with all this time?" He asked as he put one hand on her knee, and the other around her waist.

She kissed him. "Yes. Yes I do," she whispered before kissing him again. It felt like it had been an eternity since the last time they were alone together. Their kisses grew longer and deeper. Until they were interrupted by the high pitched beeping of the microwave. Faith put her hands on his cheeks, and pulled away, resting her forehead on his. "The sauce," she whispered breathlessly as she started to stand up.

He pulled her back down. "Screw the sauce." His hand moved to the base of her neck as they explored each other's mouths as they kissed. The temperature in the room was quickly rising. Faith's hands roamed Bosco's chest as his hands crept underneath her shirt and caressed her back.

Bosco let go of Faith for a brief moment as he feverishly removed his shirt. Their lips only parted when he had to pull the fabric over his head. Faith took that opportunity to shift positions so she was straddling him in the chair.

His hands started to pull up her shirt. "I wanna feel your skin on mine," he whispered in her ear. She responded by helping him remove her shirt. Bosco sat back, and admired her black, lacy bra. He pulled her closer, and reached around her to unfasten her bra, but then stopped and looked at her. "Is this OK?" he asked softly.

Faith nodded. "Yes," she breathed.

He unhooked her bra, and it fell into their laps. Bosco slowly ran the backs of his fingers from her shoulders to the tops of her breasts. He took in her beauty, and then looked her in the eyes. "I love you Faith," he said sincerely.

She ran her fingernails down his bare chest. "And I love you."

They continued to assault each other with warm, passionate kisses. Bosco broke away for a quick breather. He looked at her, and placed his hand on her cheek. He quickly thought back to their last day in Florida when Faith was ready to take their relationship to the next level, but he wasn't. He had fallen head over heels in love with this woman. He smiled softly at her. "I'm ready this time Faith," he whispered before brushing his lips against hers. "Do you have any condoms or anything?" His hand moved to cup her breast as he began to nibble the crook of her neck.

"No," she whispered. Faith put her hands on his head, and gently grabbed his short hair. She pulled his head away from her neck, and looked him in the eye. "Just be careful."

He shook his head, and kissed her. "I'm not going to be able to control myself at that point Faith," Bosco replied softly. He kissed her again. "I can barely control myself now." He had wanted her for so long, but was always too afraid to mess things up. He didn't want to risk it.

"It'll be OK baby," she tried to assure him. Faith kissed him deeply.

He kissed her back. "Faith I…don't want…to get you pregnant…our first time…together." His words were separated by kisses. "I want you. Gawd I want you, but we shouldn't risk it."

She raked her fingernails down his chest a little harder this time, and he groaned softly. "We'll just have to be careful," she whispered as she nibbled gently on his earlobe.

"Faith," he breathed. "I love you, but I don't want to chance it. Not now anyway." He started to kiss her neck again, but then pulled back feeling that he needed to start controlling himself before this went too far. "I want to be able to enjoy our first time without worrying about anything other than satisfying you. I don't want to get you pregnant…not now."

He had to force the words out because Faith had continued to nibble on his ear, and it was driving him wild. And the longer it went on the more intense his desire was to throw caution to the wind, and take Faith to bed. Bosco wanted to prove his love to her, and he hoped she would understand what he was saying. He didn't want her to think he was changing his mind about being with her.

The serious tone of his voice broke through, and she looked at him. "I want this so bad Faith, but I'm trying to be responsible. I'm trying to do the right thing. God knows I haven't done that in the past," he sighed. "I really love you Faith."

She rested one hand on his shoulder, and the other on his chest. "Thank you," she whispered with a smile.

He looked confused. "For what?"

Faith smiled. "For loving me enough to think with the proper head."

Bosco chuckled, and pulled her close, pressing his body against hers. He kissed her passionately then looked into her eyes. "Next time we'll be more prepared," he grinned. "But for now we can still do this." He inched his lips closer to hers, and began to once again run his hands over her body. They continued to get to know each other on a more intimate level without going any further.

*****

A few hours later Bosco and Faith were cuddling on the couch watching television. Bosco rubbed her arm. They hadn't really talked about what had happened between them earlier, but Bosco felt it was time to bite the bullet. "So…uh what would you think about me um going and getting some uh…condoms in the near future?" He asked nervously.

Faith could hear how nervous he was, and was a little shocked that *he* would be nervous when it came to talking about anything related to the topic of sex. She turned and looked at him, and found that he was blushing. Faith put her hand on his cheek, and kissed him softly. "I think that would be fine." He didn't respond, instead he just looked away. "Reese honey you don't have to be shy about this." She smiled. "You weren't shy earlier."

"Yeah, but that was in the heat of the moment. I've had time to actually *think*."

"I guess I've just never thought you would be nervous about a discussion like this. I mean, we used to talk all the time about the women you used to--"

He cut her off. "Faith this is way different. Back then I was just protecting myself from…catching anything, and now there's a lot at stake. So yeah, it kinda makes me nervous, and it feels kinda awkward."

She kissed his forehead. "You are the most amazing man I have ever met."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she smiled as she ran her hand through his hair. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Why are you so worried about me getting pregnant?"

He wasn't expecting that question. "I just don't think I'm ready to have a little Boscorelli running around in nine months." He tried to give her a cocky smile, but it didn't turn out that way.

"Why not? You've always done fine with Emily and Charlie. You'd make a great father. Not saying that I'm ready for us to have a baby, I'm just saying if I did get pregnant I know you would be wonderful."

He shook his head. "I'm still pretty messed up Faith. I don't want to risk passing on any of my genes. I don't want to have a kid that's going to grow up like I did."

"Reese baby any child of yours is going to have a much better childhood than you did. You have to believe that."

"Right now I can't."

"Just give the counseling a chance to work OK? In time you'll be ready."

He smiled at her, and pulled her into a hug. "I love you."

"I love you too Reese."

******

Bosco had spent the rest of the day with Faith, and had stayed for dinner so he could see the kids. They had sat around the table like a real family. Charlie shared with them how great the birthday party was, and he was still extremely hyper from having way too much cake and candy. Emily had gone on and on about how Fred's girlfriend Sarah was the biggest idiot on the face of the earth, and how it was going to cost a fortune to have someone fix the damage Sarah had done to her hair.

He had spent almost the whole evening with a smile on his face. Bosco was almost sad to go back to his empty apartment, but he didn't get too down because he knew that there were people in his life who loved him. And that was something he hadn't had in a long time.

******

It was one in the morning, and he was still staring at the same spot on the ceiling. When he got home he was in such a good mood he didn't think that he would have to worry about any nightmares. For once he actually thought he could fight off his demons, but he'd been lying in bed for almost two hours, and couldn't fall asleep. He sighed heavily, and climbed out of bed.

Bosco opened the medicine cabinet, and pulled down the pill bottle. He shook two out, and looked at them before shaking another one into the palm of his hand. Maybe three would work faster.