Weathering the Storm
Chapter 6
*******
Welcome to chapter 6 of the 4th story of my Bosco/Faith shipper series. I would like to stress that I'm writing this series because Dem and Angie challenged me; not necessarily because I'm a shipper

*******
Bosco lay on his back. One arm behind his head the other holding Faith close. She had her head on his chest, and was playfully running her index finger up and down his side. She began to giggle softly, and he couldn't help but smile; she was so cute. "What's so funny?"

She looked at him and smiled. "And you used to think eight was a record." They both began to laugh.

"I'm sure I've still got the number for those record book people somewhere." Bosco wrapped both arms around her, and kissed the top of her head. "I'm gonna take a little nap if it's all right with you."

Faith shifted and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "You earned it."

"Thanks," he smiled and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe how great he felt. It was such an indescribable feeling. Here he was in bed with the only woman he had ever truly loved. It was a completely different feeling than anything he was accustomed to. "Faith," he whispered.

"Yes."

"Today…today was…man Faith, I can't even describe it."

She kissed his chest. "Get some sleep baby," she whispered softly.
********
It was a little before one o'clock when Faith slowly untangled herself from Bosco's embrace. He was sleeping peacefully, and she didn't want to disturb him. She took her clothes into the bathroom, and climbed into the shower.

She was drying her hair when she heard it the first time.
********
"NO! STOP!" Bosco's arms were flailing as he tried to wake himself from his nightmare. "Stop. No. Don't! Please!" His voice came out choked, and sounded like he was crying.
********
Faith put down the blow dryer, and listened for the sound again. "NO! FAITH! I’m sorry!" She could hear his shouts from the other room. Faith tightened her robe around her, and went back into the bedroom.

He was on his back. He was kicking his legs. He was extremely restless. "Faith. No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it!"

As she got closer she could see the tears streaming down his face. "NO. Don't leave me!"

Faith sat down on the bed. "Bos." She put her hand on his shoulder. "Honey. Wake up."

He continued to toss around in the bed. His head moving quickly from side to side. "No. No."

She grasped both his shoulders, and began to shake him. "Reese! It's a bad dream! Come on wake up."

Bosco jolted into a sitting position. Tears and sweat rolling down his face. He gasped for breath, and looked around the room. Faith was still holding his shoulders, and he turned into her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, and burying his head into the crook of her neck. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it Faith. I'm so sorry." His body shook as he sobbed.

She rubbed his back. "It's OK baby. Nothing happened." A few minutes later when she felt his body relax she slowly pulled away from him, and lowered her head to look him in the eyes. "Reese sweetie," she said softly. "What happened?"

He broke eye contact, and shook his head. "Nothin'."

"You can tell me. It's OK."

"It was bad Faith," he whispered.

"How bad?"

He gulped. "My dad, he was there again, like when I first had the dreams, and he was gonna hurt you. I yelled for him to stop, but then I…*I* hit you. Over and over again." His voice was tormented. His face was pale. He tried to shake the images from his head.

"It was a bad dream. You didn't hit me. I'm OK."

"No, you don't get it…I…I couldn't stop myself. I told you I loved you, and then—then I hit you."

"Shhhhh. It's OK baby. It was just a bad dream. It's OK."

He shook his head. "No it's not."

Faith wrapped her arms around him, and held him tight.
*******
Bosco came out of the bathroom after showering, and joined Faith on the couch in the living room. He didn't say anything as he sat down. Faith put her hand on his leg. "You feeling any better?"

"A little." He looked at her. "Why can't I get a grasp on this? Why do I keep having these nightmares?"

"I don't know." She shook her head, wishing she could come up with an answer. "You've got another counseling session tomorrow right?"

He nodded. "Yeah," he said quietly.

"Let him know what's going on. Maybe you need to add more sessions. Maybe that would help." Bosco nodded again. "Make sure you tell him. Don't try and play tough."

"Trust me, I'm tired of trying to tough it out."

Faith looked at him. "Do you have nightmares every night?"

Bosco shook his head. "No," he answered. It wasn't a lie. He hadn't had any nightmares in over a week, but then again he'd been taking at least two sleeping pills every night. He was quiet for a moment before meeting Faith's gaze. "I think maybe with what happened between us today. Ya know, taking things to the next level. Maybe that triggered it."

"That could be." Faith leaned in and kissed him. "I love you. Don't forget that."
*******
Together they sat on the couch, and watched television until Faith had to go pick the kids up from school. "I told the kids I'd pick them up from school. I should get going."

"Can I go with you?"

She looked at him an expression of shock on her face. "You want to go with?"

He shrugged. "Why not? It was their first day of school. Plus this is part of the parenting thing right? I wanna see what it's like."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really."

"All right then. Get your shoes on and let's go."
*********
Bosco spent the rest of the evening with Faith and the kids. He listened to Charlie as he excitedly rattled off every little detail of his first day in school. Then he listened as Faith pulled teeth trying to get Emily to say anything about her day. Bosco smiled on the inside as he sat at the dinner table with them. He was glad to be part of this, but every time he looked at Faith he couldn't help but think back to the nightmare he had earlier.
**********
The kids were in bed, and Faith and Bosco were lying on the couch. He had his arm wrapped around her waist. She twisted around a little so she could look at him. "You've been real quiet tonight. Are you all right?"

"Fine."

Faith sat up, and looked down at him. "Please don't lie to me."

He sighed. "Sorry. I guess I'm still thinking about what happened. I can't get it out of my head."

She ran her hand through his hair. "I know, but look you've got a session tomorrow, and you can tell your counselor all about it. Until then you gotta try not to dwell on it."

"You're right. I'm sorry." He sat up, and kissed her on the forehead. Then he stood up. "I'm gonna head home, and try to get some sleep."

"OK. Drive safe."

He had his hand on the doorknob, and then turned around. "Faith."

"Hmm?"

"Aside from the nightmare. I really enjoyed being with you today."
**********
Bosco lay in bed once again staring at the ceiling. Whenever he closed his eyes he would replay the nightmare, but to combat it he would think about how he and Faith had spent the morning. He would think about how much they loved each other, but that would only last for a little while and the nightmare would appear once again.

He groaned and marched into the bathroom. Bosco took the bottle of sleeping pills off the shelf, and made quick work of taking the cap off. "Three pills should work," he thought to himself as he downed the pills without water, and went back into his bedroom.