Title: What Might Have Been
Authors: NYPDBosco and X_tremeroswellian
Rating: Totally okay for everyone as long as you don't mind a little swearing.
Category: AU, Fluff, Friendship
Storyline: What might have been if Faith and Bosco met in the Academy and she really did leave Fred after graduation....
There was a soft knock on the door and Bosco quickly shifted his attention from the yawning infant in his arms to the door. Emily was lying beside him on the sofa, covered with a blanket as she slept peacefully with her Pooh bear. Still holding Charlie he got up slowly, and made his way to the door.
Faith's eyes softened as Bosco opened the door with Charlie cradled in his arms contently. "Hi," she whispered.
"Hey." He smiled softly. "Come in."
She stepped into his apartment, her gaze falling upon her sleeping daughter on the sofa.
"I tried to get her to sleep in my bed, but she kept coming back out here, so I gave in."
Swallowing hard, she shifted her gaze to his face. "I can't ever thank you enough for all your help," she whispered.
"It's not a problem." He carefully adjusted Charlie in his arms. "How was work?"
"Good," she said softly, kissing her son's forehead. "Were they good?"
"Yeah, of course. Charlie only cried once, but I gave him a bottle and he settled down."
She smiled. "He really likes you, Boz."
"He's a good baby. Well...from what I can tell, but I wouldn't mind if he'd chill out some with making me change him," he teased.
She chuckled softly.
"They were both really good. No problems at all." He nodded toward the kitchen. "Go check out the refrigerator. Em was busy coloring and decorating."
A smile spread across her face as she made her way into his kitchen, her eyes widening at the sight of six pictures that were colored. "Wow, she really was busy today."
"Yeah. She said that my house was too boring."
Faith grinned. "Well your walls are pretty plain." She winked at him.
He smiled, and seeing that Charlie had dozed off he carefully placed the young boy in the playpen that Faith had brought with her when she dropped off the kids. "You want a drink or something?"
"You got any soda?"
"Oh, yeah." He nodded and headed over to the refrigerator, pulling out a couple cans of soda. "Here ya go."
"Thanks." She smiled softly and took a sip of her Pepsi.
"Sure." He leaned back against the counter, gazing at her as he popped open his can and took a drink.
"So I'm glad you talked me into the bouncer position."
"Yeah?"
She nodded. "I don't think I woulda been cut out for the waitress role. Too much ass kissing involved to get tips."
He laughed. "And for some reason I don't see you kissin' much ass."
A wry smile touched her lips. "Not really my style," she admitted.
"That's good."
"Depends on who you ask."
"Well...I'm pretty sure that my opinion is the only one that matters, so..."
She chuckled. "You think so, huh?"
"Think?" He gave her a look. "I know."
Faith smiled at him, leaning against his counter.
He was quiet for a moment and took another drink of his soda. "It's nice," he said softly.
"What is?"
"Getting to know you and your kids."
She lifted her gaze to meet his. "It's nice getting to know you too," she whispered.
Bosco set down his drink, continuing to gaze at her, noticing the soft small on her face and the warm look in her eyes.
She couldn't seem to look away from him and she swallowed hard as he took a step toward her.
When he was standing in front of her he rested his hands on the counter, one hand on each side of her.
The breath caught in her throat at his nearness.
He licked his lips. "Does this bother you?" he questioned, his voice soft.
"Should it?" she whispered.
"No," he whispered back, tilting his head slightly and leaning in even closer.
Her heart skipped a beat as she felt his warm breath against her cheek. She closed her eyes.
Closing his eyes he brushed his lips against hers gently.
"Mommy!" Emily's voice called from the living room.
Pressing his lips together tightly he pulled away from her.
She slowly opened her eyes, which were filled with a mixture of emotions. "I should..." she whispered.
"Yeah." He nodded.
Swallowing hard, she moved past him, feeling a little dazed as she headed into the living room where her little girl was sitting up on the sofa, clutching Pooh tightly.
As her mother approached, Emily opened her arms to her.
"Hey, Emmy," she whispered, wrapping her arms around her tightly.
"I woke up, and I heard you."
"How ya doing? Did you have fun with Bosco?"
Smiling brightly she nodded her head. "Mmhmm."
She kissed the top of Emily's head. "You ready to go home?"
"Do we have to?"
"Yeah, baby," she whispered. "But you'll see Bosco again in a couple days. You wanna go tell him bye? He's in the kitchen."
"Okay." She dropped her teddy bear and quickly threw off the blanket.
Letting out a breath, she watched her daughter scamper off into the kitchen.
Bosco ran a hand through his hair, still a little unsure about what he'd done, but he didn't have time to dwell on it too long as Faith's daughter came racing toward him. He quickly scooped her up into his arms. "What are you doin', missy?"
"Mommy said to tell you bye." She kissed his cheek.
"You're leavin' already? You just got here," he joked.
Emily smiled. "When do I see you again?"
"The next time your mommy has to work at night," he told her softly.
"Oh. Will you come see me, 'morrow?"
"I don't know if I can, Sweetie. You're gonna be with Mrs. Harris, remember?"
She stuck out her lower lip, pouting.
"Hey, now." He reached up and touched her lip. "No fair. Put that back."
She shook her head.
The little girl had him wrapped around her finger. "I'll see what I can do, okay?"
Emily grinned. "Okay." She kissed his cheek. "Bye, Bosco."
He kissed her cheek as well. "Thanks for coming over, Em."
"You're welcome." She hugged him tightly around the neck for a moment before he put her down.
"Be good, okay?" He said as he followed her into the living room.
"You too!"
"I'm always good," he informed her, smiling softly.
Faith smiled faintly at the exchange as she carefully zipped up Charlie's little jacket without waking him. Then she picked him up carefully, cradling him closely.
"Do you need help?" he asked softly, not wanting to disturb Charlie.
"If you could help her with her coat..." she whispered.
"Sure." He looked at the little girl. "Where's your coat, Kiddo?"
Emily tilted her head to the side. "I don't 'member."
"Uh oh." He reached his hand out to her. "Let's check my room."
Smiling, she took his hand and followed him, retrieving her coat off his bed.
"You knew where it was the -whole- time didn't you?"
"Maybe." She grinned.
Shaking his head he took the coat from her and knelt down on the floor, holding it open so she could put her arms in.
She giggled and put her arms in the coat.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothin'."
"Oh really?" He tickled her ribs.
She giggled again. "You're silly, Bosco."
"Yes. I am," he told her with a soft chuckle. Standing up he took her hand again. "Come on."
Swinging their hands back and forth she followed him to the door, where her mom stood holding Charlie and her Pooh bear. She quickly took the bear back, hugging it close.
Bosco smiled and leaned down. "One more before you go," he told her, pointing to his cheek.
Smiling, Emily kissed his cheek once more.
"Now I can sleep tonight." He straightened up and smiled at Faith.
Her eyes were soft as she gazed at him.
"I'm glad tonight went well for you," he told her softly.
"Thanks to you," she said just as softly.
"I'm glad I could help."
"So I'll see you tomorrow? Seven? So we can study for our test?"
He blew out a breath. "Yeah. That would be really good."
Holding his gaze a moment longer, she nodded. "Goodnight, Bosco," she whispered.
"Goodnight, Faith," he whispered back.
Her eyes soft, she touched his arm lightly, then took Emily's hand and headed out the door.
"Call me if you need anything," he told her softly.
"I will," she whispered, turning to look at him once more.
He smiled warmly. "'night."
"Goodnight," she said again, returning the warm smile. Then she walked down the hall, her mind still replaying the moment in the kitchen.
Once she was out of sight he closed the door and turned around, leaning against it. He was pretty sure that kissing her was wrong, but it sure made him feel good.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Faith arrived nearly twenty minutes before seven, just to get out of the apartment and away from Fred as soon as possible. He'd been in bed with a hangover, moaning about his head hurting. She'd moved to the sofa around three just to get some sleep. Sighing softly, she sat down at one of the empty tables in the cafeteria. It was a weird feeling, being the only one there. Everything was utterly silent. She stared off into the distance, not noticing the footsteps from behind her.
"And here I thought I was gonna be the first one here," he said as he tapped her shoulder on his way around to the other side of the table.
She glanced up in surprise. "You're early."
"It doesn't happen often so we should embrace it," he joked.
She smiled faintly as he sat down across from her.
He smiled at her, but it quickly turned to a frown. "You look like hell."
"Gee. Thanks," she said dryly.
"Did you not sleep or something?"
"Fred woke up with a hangover at three this morning. I moved out to the sofa."
"Geez." He shook his head as he started to pull his books out of his bag.
"Yeah." She raked a hand through her hair, closing her eyes briefly.
"Graduation can't get here fast enough can it?"
"It really can't," she whispered.
"You got any money saved up?" he asked curiously.
"Not a lot. Enough for groceries basically."
"Hmm. I was kinda hoping you'd be able to leave him sooner, ya know? You shouldn't have to put up with it any longer."
"Yeah, well. That's not gonna happen."
"Well it's too bad. I wish there was more I could do."
"I appreciate the fact that you just listen to me bitch."
He was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry, what? I wasn't listening," he joked.
She rolled her eyes. "Sure you weren't."
Bosco chuckled. "Hey, so how were the kids last night when you got 'em home? Did Emily sleep okay and stuff? She wasn't too wound up or anything was she?"
"No, she was out like a light by the time we got home."
"Oh, that's good. I was afraid I got her going before you guys left."
"No. But I got to listen to how cool Uncle Bosco was all the way home."
He looked up from his books. "Uncle Bosco?"
"Apparently you have a new nickname."
"Is that okay?" He asked softly.
"Yeah. Why wouldn't it be?" She looked up at him.
He shrugged. "I don't know. I just wanted to make sure, ya know?"
"Well...is it okay with you?"
"Yeah, of course it's okay," he told her with a smile.
She smiled faintly. "Good," she said softly.
"I really...last night with your kids...it was...You know."
"They really like you."
Bosco grinned. "What's not to like, huh?"
"Especially the arrogant egotism," she said lightly.
"Exactly."
Shaking her head a little, she gazed at him, her mind flashing back to the moment in his kitchen last night when he kissed her--even so fleetingly before Emily interrupted.
He met her gaze, smiling softly.
Faith swallowed hard and lowered her gaze to her books. "We'll be gettin' our precinct assignments soon."
"Yeah." He nodded his head. "Nervous?"
"Yeah, a little. You?"
"Nah. Of course not," he told her, more confident than he really was.
Biting her lip, she nodded a little. "So what exactly...happens after we graduate?" Her voice was very soft.
"Uh...we report to our precincts and hook up with a training officer to learn the ropes."
"That's not what I meant."
"Oh. Well...what'd you mean?"
"I meant with us." She looked up at him. "We could end up in different boroughs."
He nodded. "Yeah. I was thinking about that the other night," he told her softly.
"We'd never see each other."
"It wouldn't have to be that way."
"We both know how crazy things are gonna be."
"Well, you can't stop me from seeing my niece and nephew," he said lightly.
She managed a faint smile. "The kids would definitely miss you."
"Admit it. You'd miss me too."
"I never denied it," she said softly.
"After we get our assignments we'll figure something out."
"Yeah. You're probably right."
"Not probably. I am."
Faith met his eyes once more and nodded slightly.
"Now. We better stop gabbing and start studying or I can -forget- even getting a precinct assignment."
"Right. Sorry." She smiled faintly. "Okay. Are you ready to be quizzed?"
He let out a breath. "I guess."
She nodded and looked down at her notes, and began to ask him questions.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Faith heard the loud music as she approached her apartment tiredly, her eyebrows furrowing. Someone in the building was throwing a party on a Wednesday night? That was definitely odd. As she got closer, she realized that the sounds were coming -from- her apartment. "What the hell?" she mumbled, opening the door without trying the key. Sure enough it was unlocked. Her eyes widened as she saw a bunch of guys she didn't recognize dancing and singing loudly as they drank beer and mingled with women she didn't recognize.
"Faith! Hey, Faith," Fred called out from across the living room, holding up his beer in an attempt not to spill it as he made his way over to her.
She stared at him in disbelief. "What the hell is going on?"
"We're celebrating," he informed her. "You want a beer?"
"No, I don't want a beer," she snapped.
"Well there's plenty if you change your mind," he shouted over the music.
"Fred, it's Wednesday night!"
"Yeah? So?"
"So I have class at 8 in the morning!"
"Oh come on. They won't be here that long."
"It's already almost 11:30."
"Is it really? Time flies when you're havin' fun!"
"Did you get a job? Is that what you're celebratin'?"
He grinned and shook his head. "No, but I got an interview tomorrow afternoon."
"Where?"
"At that warehouse over on 97th. The shipping department."
"What time is your interview?"
"At noon I think...or maybe it's one."
Shaking her head in disgust, she glared at him. "Get these people outta here, Fred. Now."
"Live a little, Faith."
"The kids need to go to bed. So do I."
"The kids are already in bed. Have been for a while," he told her before taking a big swig of his beer.
"Like they're sleeping through this noise?" she shouted angrily.
He shrugged.
More pissed than she had been in years, she stormed past him, turning off the radio as she went. A moment later someone flipped it back on, giving her a dirty, albeit drunken leer. She headed down the hall and into Emily's room. She was sitting up in her bed with wide eyes. "Em?"
"Mommy!" She held her arms out.
"Come here, baby." She quickly picked her up, grabbing her stuffed Pooh bear, as well. Balancing Emily on her hip, she headed across the hall into her bedroom, horrified to hear her son screaming at the top of his lungs. She quickly set her daughter down on the bed and rushed to Charlie's cradle.
Tears started to roll down Emily's cheeks. "I didn't hear him crying," she told her mother.
"Oh, baby, it's not your fault." She picked Charlie up, cradling him close to her, then moved back over to her daughter. "Emmy, I need you to get your coat outta your room, and put some shoes on, okay?"
She nodded quickly and hurried into her bedroom as she wiped at her eyes.
Feeling ill and hurt, Faith murmured soothing words to her son, rubbing his back gently. She grabbed his diaper bag from the corner of the room, swallowing hard as she rocked him in her arms.
Emily was back a few moments later with her shoes on and velcroed, and her jacket on. "Where are we going?"
She looked at her daughter, hesitating a moment. "We're gonna go see your uncle Bosco."
The little girl smiled. "Okay."
She smiled faintly, wondering if she should call first. But she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to hear him over the phone anyway. Reaching down, she took Emily's hand. "Stay close to me, okay?"
Holding her mother's hand tightly she nodded her head. "I will."
Faith led them down the hall and toward the door, not stopping to speak to anyone.
"Should we say goodbye to daddy?"
"No, Daddy's busy, Sweetheart."
"Oh. Okay."
As they approached the door, she spotted her husband looking in her direction with a confused look on his face.
"Where you goin'?" He questioned, yelling above the music.
Not bothering to answer, she opened the door and headed out into the hallway with her kids.
* * *
Part Six
Bosco smiled softly at Brenda, putting his arm around her shoulders before leaning in and kissing her.
She sighed and returned the kiss, resting a hand on his thigh.
He lifted his other hand to her cheek as he shifted closer to her, deepening the kiss.
There was a loud knock on the door.
Groaning he pulled away from the woman then placed a soft kiss on her lips. "I better get that."
"It's late...who'd be knocking?" Brenda murmured.
"I don't know." He kissed her again. "But at this hour...it must be important."
Sighing, she nodded and watched as he moved toward the door.
He turned to look at Brenda, smiling. "I'm sure it'll only take a minute," he told her before unlocking the door and pulling it open.
Faith shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she tried to quiet down a fussing Charlie in her arms. "Shhh," she whispered.
His eyes widened. "Faith?"
She quickly turned to face him, visibly upset as she stood cradling her son in her arms and Emily stood beside her. "I'm sorry, I didn't really have anywhere else to go," she whispered.
"It's okay. What's wrong?" He questioned, concern in his eyes.
"I came home from work and Fred was drunk and a bunch of his buddies were there...they were all drunk and blarin' music and..." She glanced down at Emily. "I couldn't get him to make them all leave."
"Dammit," he mumbled. He noticed that Charlie was fussing in her arms. "Here, let me take him."
"I'm sorry, I just...I didn't have anywhere else to go." She reluctantly let him take her son.
"It's really okay. Come in." He lifted Charlie up, resting the baby against his chest and rubbing his back. "What's wrong, buddy?"
Swallowing hard, Faith leaned down and lifted her daughter into her arms, hugging her close and carrying her inside.
Bosco smiled at Emily who looked tired. "Hey, Kiddo."
"Hi, Uncle Bosco," she murmured, leaning her head against her mom's.
"You can take her into my room," he told Faith softly.
"Yeah, that's--" Faith's gaze locked onto Brenda, who was still seated on the sofa.
His eyebrows furrowed and he followed Faith's gaze. "Oh, I'm sorry. Faith this is Brenda. Brenda, Faith."
"Nice to meet you," she murmured.
Brenda gazed at her intently. "Ditto."
He turned his attention back to Faith and Emily. "I just changed the sheets on my bed this afternoon," he informed his friend. "I only put a thin blanket on though, so if you think she'll need a heavier one check the hall closet."
Hesitating a moment, and noticing the annoyed look on Brenda's face, she pulled Emily a little closer. "We should go somewhere else."
"No." He shook his head. "It's late. This is fine. Besides, Charlie's calmed down and Emily doesn't look like she can handle much more tonight."
"You have company." She tried to ignore the fleeting feeling of betrayal, of hurt that the realization caused her, but it was difficult.
"Just go get Emily ready for bed," he told her softly.
Stung, but not knowing what else to do, Faith carried her daughter down the hall.
Bosco kissed the top of Charlie's head and moved back to sit on the sofa beside Brenda.
"So who are these people?"
"Oh, well this is my little buddy Charlie, and Emily's his big sister. Faith's their mom. She's my friend from the academy."
"So she's just a friend?"
For some reason he hesitated a moment. "Yeah, of course. We study together."
"I see."
"She and her husband have been goin' through some hard times," he told her softly.
Brenda was silent for a moment. "You seem pretty attached to them."
He smiled. "I've always wanted kids."
She looked at him.
"What?"
"You like that woman."
"She's my friend."
"You love her children."
His eyebrows furrowed. "Well, yeah...I guess so."
Biting her lower lip, Brenda stood up.
"Where you goin'?"
"Home."
"Why?"
She gave him a look.
"Come on, don't be like that."
"Look...I'm not really looking for something serious, Maurice."
He carefully stood up with Charlie in his arms. "I never said anything about that."
"I know that."
"How 'bout I call you tomorrow?"
A faint smile touched her lips. "I'll pass."
He swallowed hard. "Oh...okay."
"You've already got someone in your life that's important to you." She glanced toward the hallway where Faith had disappeared. "Three of them...and I'm not about to get in the way of that."
"What? Brenda...Faith's my friend. I'm helping her out."
"You have feelings for her."
"Why do you say that? Cause I care about her kids?"
"Because I saw the way you looked at her when you realized she was on your doorstep," she said softly.
He bit his lip and looked away.
"It's okay, Maurice. People fall for their friends all the time."
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't realize..."
"That I was a smart blonde?" she teased.
He chuckled softly as he walked Brenda to the door.
She kissed his cheek. "Have a good night."
"Thanks for not being real pissed."
Brenda winked at him and headed out the door.
Letting out a breath he closed and locked the door behind the woman, then looked at Charlie. "Whadda you think? You think I got feelings for your mom?"
The little boy smiled and cooed at him.
"I'm gonna take that as a yes." He moved back over to the sofa and sat down. With his feet up on the coffee table he let Charlie make himself comfortable on his chest.
Faith hesitantly moved back out into the living room a little while later, swallowing hard as she saw him on the sofa with her son. "Hey," she said very softly.
"Emily all settled in?"
"She's already asleep."
He smiled. "That's good. I think this one's almost asleep too," he told her, resting his hand on Charlie's back lightly.
Biting her lower lip, she nodded a little. "I'm sorry, Bosco."
"You've got nothin' to apologize for."
"If I had known you had company..."
"Don't worry about it. You're welcome here anytime."
"I ruined your night."
"Don't worry about it. It's not like...she was 'the one' or anything," he told her with a smile.
She didn't return the smile, instead tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, well, still. I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted. Now come over here and sit down."
Hesitating a moment, she reluctantly moved over to sit on the sofa.
"So...rough night, huh?" He asked softly as he rolled his head to the side to look at her.
"You could say that," she murmured.
"We're gonna graduate soon," he whispered.
"Yeah. Thank God."
"Then you'll be independent," he told her, gazing at her.
Drawing in a breath, she closed her eyes. "That'll be a first."
"You scared?"
"God yeah."
"Well...whatever you need. You know where to find me."
"Next time I'll call first," she said, only half-joking.
He smiled softly, and holding Charlie against his chest he slowly leaned toward Faith.
Her eyes were still shut and she didn't notice his leaning.
Like the first time, he brushed his lips over hers gently.
She was startled by his action, and she quickly opened her eyes, looking at him in surprise.
Bosco pulled back a little to see her reaction.
Swallowing hard, she looked away.
"Shit. I'm sorry," he mumbled.
"Why'd you do that?" she asked softly.
"I just...felt like it," he whispered.
"Because I scared off your date?"
"No. Because I care about you, and I...like you."
"As a friend."
"Maybe it's more than that," he said softly.
"I thought maybe it was too after last night."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Then I came here and saw you with Brenda." She turned her head to look at him.
He swallowed hard. "I only kissed her."
"Yeah. You only kissed me too." Her voice was soft but hurt. She stood up slowly. "You want me to take him?"
"I don't handle alone well," he told her. "That's why she was..." He let out a breath and shook his head. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize."
"I woulda preferred havin' you here," he said very softly.
She gazed at him silently.
"I trust you, and I like being with you."
"I'm married," she whispered.
"Not for much longer."
"I can't cheat on him. No matter what he's done...that's the one thing that I can't do."
Bosco swallowed hard, but nodded his head.
"I like you, and...I'm attracted to you," she admitted softly. "But...committing adultery...it's just..." She bit her lip.
"Maybe in a few weeks," he whispered hopefully.
"You like me that much? That you'd wait that long?"
"I like you enough that I don't wanna lose whatever chance I've got." He slowly stood up, shifting Charlie in his arms as he walked over to Faith. He gazed at her for a moment before leaning in to kiss her once more.
Closing her eyes, she kissed him back softly, reaching out to touch his cheek.
His eyes drifting shut he let his lips linger for a moment before gently tugging her bottom lip between his.
A soft moan escaped her and she shifted closer to him.
"Mmm, Faith." He reluctantly broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers. "Charlie. I need to put him down."
"We should all get some sleep," she whispered.
He sighed softly. "Yeah, probably."
She kissed him once more, softly, carefully taking her son from him.
"You can put him in the playpen and he can stay out here with me," he told her softly.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Movin' his things into my room would just mean we'd risk waking up Emily. So I'll stay out here with him and you and Emily can share my bed."
"Thank you," she murmured softly. She carried Charlie over to the playpen and gently laid him down on the blankets. She gazed at him for a moment, then turned to face Bosco once more. "I appreciate you lettin' us stay."
"It's really no problem. I like having you guys here."
"We like bein' here." She kissed his cheek, hesitantly sliding her arms around him in a hug.
He smiled as he returned the embrace. "I never expected us to get so close, ya know?"
"I didn't either," she admitted, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Goodnight, Boz."
"I like when you call me that," he whispered as he rubbed her back.
"What? Boz?"
"Yeah." He kissed her cheek, then her lips.
His hands were warm against her back. She could feel the heat even with her clothes on. Returning the kiss, she leaned her forehead against his once more. "Goodnight," she whispered again.
"Goodnight. If you need anything come get me."
"Ditto." She touched his cheek briefly, then turned and headed down the hallway.
When she walked away he let out a breath and plopped down on the sofa. What was he thinking? Sure, he had feelings for her that definitely weren't platonic, but could he really wait that long for her when he didn't even know what exactly his feelings were?