Weathering the Storm

Chapter 7

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The "shipper in denial" is at it again with the help of her trusty new muse :) Here is part 7 of the 4^th story in this series.

Pointless Reminder: I don't own the characters, just borrow them, screw with their heads a little and then return them to the real owners and deny everything.

Research: Yes, I have done research for this story. But keep in mind, it is FICTION therefore I can tweak the research a WEE bit every now and then!

Also: I have NO CLUE what a counseling session might sound like so once again it's FICTION and I made it up :)

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"IMPORTANT" NOTE: For those of you who haven't been counting or lost track…Bosco has taken approximately 24 sleeping pills in 14 days.

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Bosco groaned, and rolled over to look at the clock on his bedside table. He could hardly keep his eyes open. Vigorously he rubbed at his sleep filled eyes, and was finally able to focus on the large red numbers of the digital clock. 11:43am. Bosco slowly rolled out of bed. Nature was calling. After taking care of business he went back into his bedroom, and got under the covers. "Just a few more minutes," he mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes.

The pounding in his head woke him up, and he once again tried to focus on the clock. 1:12pm. He took a deep breath, and kicked off the covers. He slowly shuffled into the kitchen. His counseling session was at 3:30, which gave him plenty of time to get ready.

Bosco pulled the carton of orange juice out of the refrigerator, and set it on the counter. There was a glass in the sink that was dirty, but it wasn't that dirty; and it looked like it had been used for orange juice. He shrugged, and took the glass out of the sink placing it next to the carton of OJ.

He walked over to the cupboard, and held it open as he peered inside to find something to eat. His tired eyes wandered the shelves. Raisin Bran. Frosted Wheaties. Smores Pop Tarts. He took the box of Frosted Wheaties down, and grabbed a bowl out of the next cupboard over. Bosco went back to the refrigerator to find some milk. He picked up the jug and stared at the small amount of milk wondering if it was enough for a bowl of cereal. Then he looked at the date on the clear plastic container, but wasn't sure what today's date was, so that didn't really help. He unscrewed the lid and took a whiff. He looked at the jug in confusion, and took another whiff. Rather than chance it he dumped the rest of the milk down the drain.

Bosco replaced the box of Wheaties, and pulled out a package of Pop Tarts. "Chocolate and orange juice. Perfect," he said sarcastically. After pouring his orange juice he took his lunch over to the kitchen table, and sat down. He took a drink of the juice to help get rid of the cotton feeling in his mouth. Then he stared at the Pop Tarts that sat on the table. He wasn't really hungry. He hadn't really been all that hungry lately, but eating was a habit. It was something he did at least three times a day.

He picked up one of the Pop Tarts and brought it to his mouth to take a bite. He was finally waking up a little, and noticed the nauseous feeling in his stomach. Bosco looked at the Pop Tart thoughtfully before putting it back down on the table where it would sit for the rest of the day.

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Faith sat at her kitchen table staring out the window as she nibbled at the ham sandwich she had made for lunch. She had gotten the kids off to school, and was thinking about calling Bosco to see how he slept. However, she knew that on their days off he rarely got out of bed before one, and if that was the case today he wouldn't have time to talk because he'd be too busy getting ready for his counseling session. So she sat in silence with her thoughts and her partially eaten sandwich.

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Bosco stood in front of the bathroom mirror. "Oh I look good," he mumbled to the sloven reflection that was looking back at him. He realized that he had failed to put the lid back on the prescription bottle last night, and reached for the bottle and the lid. Bosco noticed how light the bottle was, and looked inside. He dumped the pills into his hand. With the index finger of his right hand he pushed the pills around the palm of his left hand as he counted them. "Eight." He stared down at the pills. "Eight? How many have I taken?"

He didn't dwell on the thought. He was more curious than worried. Bosco put the pills away, and went back to getting ready for his day.

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He made it to the doctor's office earlier than he had expected, and ended up sitting in the waiting room for almost twenty minutes. He was still nauseous and a little drowsy, but thought nothing of it as he waited for his counseling session to begin. Bosco tried to suppress his yawns as he flipped through a very old issue of Sports Illustrated.

When he was called in for his session he was ready for a nap. Maybe his shrink would just let him curl up on the couch and doze off for a while. A way too cheerful Dr. Parker greeted him. "Good afternoon Bosco! How are you today?"

Bosco sat down on the couch. "Tired."

"Still having troubles sleeping?"

"Well, not really. Not until yesterday anyway."

"What happened yesterday?"

"I had another nightmare."

"Worse than previous nightmares?"

"Not really. Well kinda…I mean it was different," Bosco started to say something else, but stopped and looked down at his shoes.

"Go on," the doctor urged.

"Well in this one I had just finished telling Faith that I loved her, and the next thing I know I was beating her," he shook his head in disgust.

The doctor nodded. "This was the first time in your nightmare that you said you loved her?"

Bosco nodded, and looked up at the doctor. "Yeah," he said softly. "Yesterday she and I…well we…we kinda took our relationship to the next level. And I feel asleep afterward, and that's when I had the nightmare."

The doctor nodded his head again as he began to write on his notepad. Bosco hated it when the guy took notes, but figured if it would help then what the heck. "That is a possible trigger. So, after that what happened?"

"I talked to Faith about it. I apologized to her. Same old same old."

"And after that?"

"We spent the rest of the day and evening together, and then I went home."

"How did you treat her the rest of the day?"

"What do you mean?!"

"Did you shy away from her? Did anything change in your interaction throughout the course of the day?"

Bosco thought about it for a minute. "I don't know. I mean she said I was kinda quiet. We weren't alone much during the rest of the day her kids were around, so I guess it was normal."

"What about when her kids weren't around?"

He thought about it again. "We laid together on the couch."

"And how did you feel?"

"What do you mean 'how did I feel'?" he asked a little confused.

"Where you nervous? Angry? Scared?"

Bosco shrugged. "To be honest I don't really remember *feeling* anything. I was just kinda there. I couldn't shake the nightmare."

"So did you stay with her last night?"

He shook his head. "No. I went home."

"How did you sleep? Any nightmares?"

Bosco shook his head. "No…I took a sleeping pill to help me sleep."

The doctor once again began writing in his notebook. "Do the sleeping pills help?"

"Yeah."

"OK. Just be careful with those. They can be quite addictive."

Bosco nodded quickly. "Yeah. I know."

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He had stopped at the grocery store on his way home. Figured he might as well grab some milk while he was out. As he walked through the aisles of the store he stopped in front of the beer display. He reached for a case, but then stopped. "Probably not a good idea with those pills," he thought and then pushed his cart past the display.

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When he got home he put away his groceries, and then plopped down in his recliner. He turned on the television hoping to find something good to watch. Will and Grace was on, and even though he was a tad bit on the homophobic side he settled in to watch the show. It was always good for a few laughs, but today he didn't really feel like laughing, and he was having trouble concentrating on the show.

His phone rang around 6:45, and he answered it to find Faith on the other end. "Hey sweetie. How was your day?"

"Fine. How was yours Faith?"

"It was good. I couldn't stop thinking about you though."

He grinned. "Oh really?"

"Yeah," she replied softly. "I was worried about you."

Bosco's smile faded. "Well you shouldn't have worried," he tried to sound upbeat. "Cause I'm fine."

"How did the counseling session go?"

He sighed as he prepared to relay most of the conversation. "Well, the doc thinks that us taking the next step might have triggered it."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I'm not sorry," he smiled. "Anyway we talked, and starting next week I'm gonna be going on Monday, Wednesday and Friday instead of Tuesday and Thursday."

"Well that's good."

"Yeah, more sessions plus I'll have a session just before the weekend and then just after the weekends so it won't be so long without someone to talk to."

"You can always talk to me."

"I know Faith. I just meant…a professional." He really hated the p-word.

"OK well the kids and I are having a late supper. We're gonna go out to eat. I was wondering if you wanted to go with. I can swing by and pick you up on the way."

Bosco thought for a minute. His stomach growled at him, and he figured it was time he got some food in his system. "Yeah, sure sounds great. I'll be waiting."

"OK. We'll be there in a little bit."

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Bosco sat next to Charlie in the booth, and across from Faith. Emily sat across from Charlie, and glared at her little brother. Bosco had found out on the way to the restaurant that Charlie had accidentally told Faith that Emily had been asked out by an older boy. A *much* older boy, and Emily was pissed that Charlie had squealed on her. Charlie took it all in stride though. He may be Emily's little brother, but he knew when she was getting in over her head. He just had a sense for those types of things.

There wasn't much conversation at the table. Bosco wasn't really in the mood to talk, and Faith was too busy looking at him trying to figure out what was wrong to be able to carry on much of a conversation. So mostly they just listened to Charlie as he went on and on about how his friend Steven had tested the theory that cats always land on their feet. Near the end of his story Charlie informed his mom, sister and Bosco that cats don't really have nine lives.

Their food arrived, and the table grew even quieter. Complete silence would have engulfed them had it not been for the occasional scraping of a utensil or the conversations of the other patrons in the restaurant. Bosco looked down at his burger and fries. He picked up one of the small curly fries and put it in his mouth. He chewed slowly and tried to process whether or not he was hungry.

Faith looked up from her lemon chicken, and noticed Bosco basically staring at his plate. "You OK?"

He snapped out of his trance and looked at her. "Huh?"

"I asked if you were OK."

"Oh, yeah." He nodded. "I'm OK." He ate a few more french fries before pushing his plate away. He couldn't even force himself to eat.

"Reese?" Faith asked gently, her voice laced with concern.

"I'm just not real hungry," he smiled at her reassuringly. "I had a big lunch."

Faith nodded.

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When they had finished eating and paid their bill they walked out to the car. Bosco let the kids into the back seat, and then climbed into the passenger's side of the car. Faith kept a watchful eye on him. He had hardly touched his food, and he was quiet again today. "You wanna come over for a little while?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I'm kinda tired. Could you just take me home?"

"Sure." A few minutes later Faith pulled up in front of Bosco's building, and shut off the engine. She turned to her kids in the backseat. "I'm gonna go upstairs with Bosco. I need to talk to him for a little bit. I won't be long OK?" Both kids nodded, and Faith started to get out of the car. She looked back at her kids. "Emily, be nice to your brother."

When they got inside Bosco started to walk toward the couch. Faith grabbed his hand, and stopped him. He turned around to look at her. "What's going on with you?" she asked softly.

"Nothin'."

She put a hand on his forehead. "Are you getting sick or something? You don't look real good."

He chuckled. "Gee thanks Faith."

"I'm serious. You didn't even make a dent in your dinner, you've been really quiet, and you look tired. Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

He took a deep breath. "I just didn't really sleep much last night."

"The nightmare?"

Bosco nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, the nightmare," he lied. "It kept me awake most of the night."

"Didn't you say a while back that you got some sleeping pills from the doctor? Maybe you should take one of those tonight. Get a good nights sleep so you're ready for work tomorrow." She placed a hand on his cheek.

He swallowed. "Yeah. I think maybe I will take one of those tonight."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Faith wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him tightly. She then placed her lips over his, and kissed him deeply. "I love you," she said as she let go of him, and walked out the door.

He smiled. "I love you too," he whispered as the door closed behind her.

Feeling sick, and extremely tired he went straight into the bathroom, and reached for the bottle of pills. "Gotta be ready for work in the morning," he said to himself as he popped three pills into his mouth.