Pregnant

A/N: A standalone one-shot that explores alternate scenarios within the original plot centered around Bosco and Faith. This one was originally written in 2006.

Disclaimer: I do not own the show; I merely play around with its characters and situations.

Spoilers: 1.22 "Young Men & Fire"

"I'm pregnant." She said it so blatantly, so out of the blue, that it stopped Bosco dead in his tracks. Faith turned to look at him. His face had flushed from the shock of her news, and a wave of worry blended with overwhelming guilt fell over him.

He lowered his voice dramatically, "Is it…mine?"

She read the panic in his eyes, how much he was regretting that one night they spent together. She searched for the right answer to his question, one that wouldn't ruin their partnership. "No," she lied, in hopes that he wouldn't tell the difference. "It's Fred's." Ha, another lie. For the past couple of months her husband would be too drunk to even get it up. Hence why she told him she was working a double shift, when in reality she spent the night at Bosco's, feeding her starving sexual desires.

"Then what's the problem?" Bosco inquired.

"Look, we're barely scraping by as it is, and with his drinking…we can't afford to have another kid. We just can't."

Faith started walking back towards the car, but Bosco grabbed her arm, "Wait…how pregnant?"

His touch was dangerous to her senses, causing her to look at his lips instead of his eyes. Oh how much she wanted to kiss him…and tell him the truth. Instead, she forced her eyes away and looked at her feet. "I…I'm three weeks late; I took one of those home kits this morning."

He let go of her arm as another wave of guilt weighed heavy on his shoulders. "Faith," he worried, making sure she was telling him the truth.

"It's not yours," Faith lied again.

He let out a deep sigh, some of the guilt disappeared. "What'd Fred say?"

She shook her head. "I haven't told him yet."

Bosco moved to touch her arm again, but stopped himself. "What are you gonna do?"

Faith read the worry and fear he had for her, and it made her feel a little good in a bad situation. At least he still cared about her. She couldn't face him when she answered though, so she started back towards the car. "I don't know."

But for the sake of her rocky marriage, her children, and her partner, Faith had already made up her mind. As drunk as Fred was, he'd still notice when the baby would have reddish-brown hair and evening blue eyes. And she had to protect Bosco; she didn't want him to deal with it. Not that she doubted his paternal instincts…just that she wanted him to have a legit family, one that didn't happen by accident. He had been talking about getting more serious with Nicole, no way could she screw that up for him.

Still there was this sick feeling in her stomach, not from the baby, but from the guilt that the little Boscorelli forming inside her will never know their father.