Third Watch fic: For the Love of a Child (3/?)
Part Three
Before Rose left she'd helped him clean his apartment while the kids slept and then gone to the corner store to pick up some milk and cereal so Bosco could offer them something other than chocolate chip pop-tarts for breakfast. It had been his first of what would be many lessons in parenting from his mother. Whatever you do, she'd said, don't pump them full of sugar in the morning. So Raisin Bran it was.
He finished washing the dishes and tossed the dishtowel aside. As soon as he'd done so he realized what he'd done and snatched up the towel quickly, folded it just so and placed it on the edge of the sink to dry. Leaning his back against the counter he looked out into the living room where Emily and Charlie were watching the Cartoon Network. They'd both asked about their parents and he figured it was time they knew.
Taking a deep breath he headed into the living room.
Emily looked up at him silently, her dark eyes full of worry.
"You guys watchin' anything good?"
She shook her head, remaining silent.
"This cartoon's boring," Charlie announced.
He managed a faint smile then sat down on the sofa between Emily and Charlie. "Maybe we should turn it off then," he told them softly. "So we can talk."
Swallowing hard, Emily picked up the remote and switched the TV off. "About Mom?"
"Yeah," he whispered. "It's about your mom...and your dad."
Emily tensed a little, glancing at her brother.
Needing a minute to collect his thoughts Bosco reached for Charlie. "Come here, buddy," he said softly, pulling the small eight year old onto his lap.
Charlie frowned. "What's wrong, Uncle B?"
He wrapped his arms around Charlie. "Well...last night...your dad, he got hurt really bad," he whispered. "And he...he didn't make it."
His eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"He died, Charlie," he whispered, instinctively rubbing the boy's back gently.
Emily drew in a sharp breath, shock written all over her face.
"I'm really sorry, guys."
"But...but where's Mom?" Charlie whispered, tears in his eyes.
He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. Faith had told him to tell the kids the truth, but it seemed like a terrible thing to tell them. But it was what she'd wanted. He let out a breath. "Your mom...she was the one who hurt your dad," he whispered back.
"What?" Emily stared at him wide-eyed.
Bosco turned his attention to Emily. "I don't know what happened, Em. But your mom she hurt him and...he died."
Swallowing hard, she looked away, her face pale.
"So your mom...she has to go away," he whispered.
"You mean...to jail?" she whispered.
Biting his lip he nodded his head.
"Will we ever see her again?" Charlie whispered.
"Sure you will." He held the boy a little tighter. "I'll take you to see her every chance we get, okay?"
"In jail?"
"Yeah, that's what we're gonna have to do for...a while."
Both of the kids fell silent for a moment, then Emily spoke again.
"So what's gonna happen to us?" Her voice was barely audible.
"Well...you're gonna live with me," he told them softly. "I'm going to take care of you."
"Really?" Charlie turned his head to look at him.
"Yeah." Bosco nodded his head. "I hope you'll be okay with that."
He bit his lip, nodding. "Where are we gonna sleep?"
"For now you two are going to share my bed and I'll sleep on the couch. We're going to have to look for a bigger apartment soon and once we do that we can get your beds, okay?"
He nodded slightly. "Okay."
"I'm really sorry about your parents," he told them both softly. "But I want you to know that I'm going to take care of you, and make sure that you have everything you need."
Emily stood up, a lost look in her eyes.
"Em?" His eyebrows furrowed slightly. "You okay, kiddo?" He shook his head slightly realizing what a stupid question that was.
"I wanna go lay down," she whispered.
"Oh, okay. If you need anything just holler all right?"
Nodding wordlessly, she turned and headed down the hallway.
Bosco turned to look at Charlie. "How are you doing?" He asked him softly.
"I wanna see Mom," he whispered.
"I know you do, but I don't know when you'll be able to," he whispered back. "But I'll find out, okay?"
Tears in his eyes, he nodded, leaning his head against Bosco's shoulder.
"It's okay to cry," he murmured as he rubbed the boy's back.
"Uncle B?"
"Yeah?"
"Why did Mom hurt Dad?"
He swallowed hard. "I don't know, Chuck," he whispered.
"Was it on purpose? Or was it an accident?"
"I really don't know," he told him softly.
"Oh." He rested his head against Bosco's shoulder again, and closed his eyes.
"I'll tell you what I do know though. I know that your mom loves you and your sister very much, and that she'd do anything to protect you and make sure you stay safe. So that's what I'm going to do too."
Swallowing hard, he nodded. "Okay."
"I love you, buddy. You know that?"
"I love you too, Uncle B."
"Everything's gonna be okay," he whispered.
***
Faith let out a breath as the prison guard guided her into a small room with a large table inside. He took off the handcuffs, but not the chains on her legs as she sat down at one end of the table. Leaning back in the chair, she closed her eyes when she heard the door shut with a click. Her hair was dirty and unkept, her face pale and a bruise on her jaw. They didn't take kindly to police officers at Riker's. But she figured she'd better get used to it. It was going to be a long time before she got out.
"Yeah, thanks...No, I don't need a guard with me," Bosco informed the other guard as he opened the door to enter the small room. Shaking his head he stepped inside and closed the door.
She quickly sat up and opened her eyes, a little surprised to see Bosco. They had told her she had a visitor, but she figured it was probably just her lawyer. "The kids?" she asked without hesitation.
"They're with my mom. Grocery shopping."
"They're okay?"
He ran a hand through his hair and then pulled the other chair in the room closer to her. "As well as can be expected I guess."
Her eyes were weary as she nodded a little.
"Emily's pretty quiet. Charlie gets teary once in a while...cries a little, but I think they're both doing okay," he told her softly. "How are you?" He asked, motioning toward the bruise on her face.
"I'm okay," she told him.
"I talked to your lawyer."
Faith drew in a breath and looked away.
"You gotta start cooperating, Faith. If we're gonna get you outta here you gotta help yourself."
"I already told you, Bosco. I killed Fred. I knew what I was doing. I'm not gonna pretend like I didn't."
"But why? Why did you do it?"
Faith rubbed her temples, closing her eyes and not answering.
"I know you, Faith. So I know there had to be a reason. Was it the drinking?"
She let out a humorless chuckle. "That was just the tip of the iceberg."
"I can't help you if you don't tell me," he told her, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"I don't want your help. I just want you to take care of the kids."
"And I'm trying. I swear I'm doing the best I can, but I can never replace you. They miss you."
"I miss them too," she whispered, resting her head in her hands.
"They wanna see you," he whispered back.
She was silent for a moment, then she lowered her hands from her face to look at him, her eyes full of anxiety and sadness. "How's Emily? Is she okay?"
"Emily? She's quiet, like I said. But other than that...I don't know." He shrugged. "I don't think she's sleeping much, and sometimes...sometimes it's like she doesn't wanna be around me, but who could blame her, huh? It's pretty new for the three of us."
"It's not you," she whispered.
"That's what I keep telling myself," he told her, managing a short chuckle.
"Maybe um...maybe you should...take her to see someone."
"Yeah? Like a shrink, I mean counselor?"
"Yeah." She nodded a little, swallowing hard.
"Maybe I should take Charlie, too, huh?"
"Probably," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. She quickly blinked them back.
Bosco leaned forward, resting his arms on the table and was quiet for a moment. "I want you to know that I'm doing everything I can for them. I'm probably not the best parent...in fact I know I'm not. But my mother...she's been helping, giving me little pointers and stuff. She even helped me clean up the apartment." He looked at his hands as he began to draw patterns on the table. "I'm gonna start looking for a bigger place. Your lawyer said he turned in all the paperwork you signed, you know, for your bank accounts being transferred over. But I'm gonna do my best not to touch that money unless I have to."
"Bosco, I want you to have that money. For you, for the kids...for whatever you guys need," she said seriously.
"You're gonna need that when you get outta here."
"That's gonna be a very long time from now."
"Well...whenever it is...I'll make sure there's money for you, okay?"
Sighing, she rubbed the back of her neck.
"I'm gonna figure out a way to get you outta here, Faith," he told her softly.
Faith started to shake her head.
"Don't. Just...just let me work on it, okay? I have to."
Closing her eyes, she leaned back in her chair, letting out a breath.
"You're my partner," he whispered. "I know that there's something more to this, and I'm not gonna stop until I figure out what it is."
"Listen to me," she whispered back. "There's a reason I'm not explaining everything. I need you to trust me on that."
"But if it's a reason that could get you outta here---"
"It's not." She cut him off.
Letting out a breath he nodded his head slowly, relunctantly. He then reached out and placed his hand over hers. "Don't worry about the kids."
"Can't help it," she whispered.
"Yeah. I know what ya mean." He gave her hand a squeeze. "I should probably go. They'll be done shopping soon and ma's gotta get to work."
Swallowing hard, she nodded, slowly pulling her hand away from his. "Bosco?"
"Yeah?"
"Tell Emily that I said...it's not her fault."
His eyebrows furrowed as he nodded. "Okay. I will." He
hesitated a moment before standing up. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Thank you...for everything you're doing. I know it's a lot," she whispered.
"I'd do anything for you," he whispered back.
"That makes me a very lucky person."
"Don't speak too soon. Your kids are getting a steady diet of pizza and ice cream for breakfast every day," he joked.
A smile tugged at her lips. "Then I'm sure you have some hyper children to deal with."
"Actually I don't. I believe my mother's first parenting lesson was 'don't pump them full of sugar in the morning'."
"Good first lesson."
Bosco smiled at her. "Ma said she'd give me these lessons for free. That was nice of her, huh?" He chuckled.
"Very." She paused, looking up at him. "Thank her for me," she said softly.
"I'll thank her enough for the both of us."
She slowly rose to her feet, her eyes full of sadness. "I'd hug you but they'd probably shoot me."
"What if I made the first move?" He asked softly, a faint smile on his lips.
"If you're willing to risk it..."
Bosco looked toward both doors then spoke loudly. "I'm gonna hug my partner now," he announced before stepping closer to Faith.
She smiled faintly and closed her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her.
He held her tight and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. "I'll take care of everything. I promise."
"I know. I trust you." She swallowed hard, resting her head against his for a moment.
"Stay strong and take care of yourself. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Nodding, she slowly pulled away from him as the guard stepped inside.
"Sorry...I gotta break this up," he told them, his voice quiet.
He sighed softly, and nodded his head. "I'll see ya, Faith."
"Tell them I love them," she whispered.
"Count on it." He managed a smile and slowly backed toward the door, giving her a small wave as he went.
Closing her eyes when he left the room, she had to hold her breath to stop herself from crying.
He stepped out of the room and as soon as the door shut he leaned against the wall and sank down to the floor. Resting his arms on his knees he put his head on his forearms.