SEASON/SEQUEL: set late season 4

SPOILERS: Small ones for 'Spring Forward, Fall Back'; 'Snow Blind'

AUTHORS NOTES: Just so you know, I realize this timeframe should mean that Cruz is around, but her presence would really ruin the story, so for this fic she doesn't exist. I've also tried to make Emily a little less like the teenager from Hell. There's a scene in here that I feel would be a good catalyst for that change and I hope I pulled it off.

DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters and places are the property of Warner Brothers, NBC, and John Wells. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

FEEDBACK: Yes Please! I love to know what you think.

Copyright © Jez, June 2004.

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She wasn't even sure what had started it. One moment Faith was making herself a light supper, having just finished shift, and the next she and Fred were screaming at each other. He'd been drinking, that much she knew, and it scared her to think that he'd fallen off the wagon. She'd gotten used to her new husband and - even if she could do without the bible bashing - she certainly didn't want the old Fred to return.

"Where in the hell did you get booze from?" she shouted.

"Last time I checked, I was old enough to go and buy it myself," he sneered back at her.

"You know what I mean," she retorted. "Jesus, Fred, you're a recovering alcoholic for Christ's sake!"

"Oh, so now we're going to start with the name-calling, huh?"

She shook her head. She didn't want to deal with this. She remembered from before that it was impossible to reason with him when he was drunk. "I'm going to bed," she said, leaving her sandwich half made and walking past him toward the bedroom.

"Don't you walk away from me!" he raged, grabbing her arm as she walked past him.

"Get your hands off me!" she growled, wrenching herself free. Her wrist burned from his grip and she knew she'd have a bruise later.

"What are you gonna do about it, huh, Faith?" he taunted, pushing her in the chest. She stumbled back and hit her hip on the corner of the kitchen bench, wincing. He loomed in front of her and she suddenly felt scared. He was out of control and she had a feeling this wouldn't end well.

"Get out of my way, Fred," she told him, her voice low and controlled.

"Or what?"

She pushed him in the chest, hard. "Or I'll make you move," she growled.

He stumbled back and fell over one of the kitchen chairs. He looked stunned for a second, but then his face went as dark as thunder. "You bitch!" he roared, getting to his feet.

He started stalking toward her and Faith felt her heart race. The man before her looked nothing like her husband. His face was contorted with rage and his eyes were wild. She was suddenly afraid she wouldn't make it out of this. She backed up into the corner of the kitchen and got ready to fight. He was bigger than her, but that didn't mean she wasn't gonna fight back. She refused to cringe as he raised his hand, poised to strike...

"Dad, no!"

Faith looked over her husband's shoulder and saw both her children standing by the door. Charlie looked scared out of his mind, but Emily surprised her. She was looking at her father with such contempt it actually brought tears to Faith's eyes.

The appearance of his children seemed to deflate Fred's anger and his face turned from anger to mortification. "Faith--"

"Get out of here, Dad." It was Charlie this time, stepping forward from behind his sister. "We don't want you here."

Fred looked devastated. "Charlie, Em--"

"Just go, Dad," Emily agreed, her voice hard. "Come back when you're sober."

He turned to look at Faith, but there was nothing she could say. Even if she wanted to, the lump in her throat would never have allowed her. She couldn't believe that her children were standing up to their father like that. They were looking after her and she had never felt more loved then she did right at that moment. She'd always figured that if it ever came down to it, the kids would choose Fred over her, but she'd been clearly mistaken.

Fred skulked from the room and a few seconds later the front door slammed closed. The adrenalin Faith had been running on suddenly drained, making her legs turn to jelly. She slid down to the floor, shaking like a leaf.

"Mom?" Emily called, rushing to her side. "Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head, dislodging a tear and sending it cascading down her cheek. "I'm okay," she whispered.

"We won't let him hurt you, Mom," Charlie told her, curling up on the other side of her.

His determined promise made the tears come in earnest and she wrapped her arms around the both of them. "Oh, God, I love you both so much."

"We love you too, Mom," Emily assured her.

Faith wasn't sure how long they stayed cuddled on the floor. Eventually they moved and Faith called one of her friends, asking her to take the kids for the night. Diana agreed quickly, probably sensing her friend's distress, but Emily and Charlie took a little more work. They were both adamant that they wanted to stay with their mother, but the truth was Faith didn't want to be in the apartment if and when Fred returned and she certainly didn't want her kids there.

"I'll be okay," she assured them, as she dropped them off at Diana's.

"Go to Bosco's," Emily suggested. "He'll look after you."

She hadn't even thought of going to her partner's until Emily mentioned it, but as soon as her daughter said it, Faith knew there was nowhere else she could go. But could she dump this on him? Bosco wasn't exactly comfortable dealing with her personal crises. Besides, chances were he wouldn't be alone. It wouldn't be fair to disturb his night just because her marriage was in tatters.

Faith told herself all of these things as she drove, but she still ended up parked out the front of her partner's building. She looked up to where his apartment was, seeing the light shining in the window. It was like a beacon, shining bright to show her the way to her sanctuary. She sighed and got out of the car. If he was with someone, she'd make a hasty retreat, she promised herself.

Heading up in the elevator, Faith couldn't help but remember what had happened less than an hour ago. What had happened to her husband to push him back over the edge? But it wasn't even where he had been before his heart attack, he had been worse than before. She was used to him being loud and mouthy when he drank, but he had never raised a hand to her before. Had she driven him to this?

She was almost in tears again by the time she stood outside Bosco's apartment. Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand and gently knocked.

Bosco was lazing on the sofa, watching the Discovery Channel, when he heard the quiet knock on the door. He frowned, wondering who would be calling by this late. His dance card had been rather empty of late, so he didn't think it was some girl calling by for a little bit of action. Maybe he should just ignore them and hope they went away. He was in no mood for company anyway.

"Bosco? Are you there?"

He sat up quickly and then jumped to his feet. It was Faith and she sounded upset. He was at the door in an instant, pulling it open and immediately looking into her teary blue eyes. "Faith?" he questioned, reaching out to her. "What happened?"

She shook her head, allowing him to pull her into his apartment. "I'm sorry, Bosco, but I didn't know where else to go."

"Are the kids all right?" he asked, leading her across the room and gently pushing her down onto the sofa.

She nodded. "Yeah, they're fine. I dropped them off at a friend's."

Bosco's frown deepened. "Is it Fred?" he asked. She flinched as he mentioned her husband's name. "Faith?"

She looked down at her hands and he followed her line of sight, seeing she was playing with her wedding band. "Things haven't been so great since Emily came home from the hospital," she admitted. "He blames me and I guess I blame him for what happened." She sighed. "He's started drinking again."

Something twisted in his gut. "Did he hurt you?"

She shrugged, "I gave as good as I got," she assured him.

Bosco swore and jumped to his feet. "That bastard!" he growled. "I'm gonna kill him!"

"Bos, no!" Faith cried, jumping in between him and the door. "Please, it's not worth you getting in trouble over. It was only a bit of pushing and shoving."

He glared at her. "He has no right to touch you, Faith. You know that."

She nodded, eyes still teary. "I know," she assured him, placing a hand on his chest. "I'll deal with it when he's sober. I just..." she sighed. "I didn't want to be alone."

He had her in his arms in an instant. "You're not alone, Faith. I'll always be here for you."

She broke down completely at his words, clinging to him as she cried. Bosco wasn't sure what to say to help her, so he said nothing, just held her tightly and rocked her slightly. He wasn't used to his partner being the weak one. Normally it was her helping him, not the other way around. He was so used to her being the strong one and it made him hate Fed all the more to think that he'd reduced her to this.

"Come on," he said eventually, once her sobs had reduced to the occasional hiccup. "You need to get some sleep."

Faith pulled away from him and wiped at her eyes. "I'm sorry, Bos. I should go and let you get some rest."

He grasped her hand in his before she could turn away from him. "You're staying here tonight," he told her. She opened her mouth, no doubt to protest, but he cut her off before she could get a word out. "I promise, the sheets are clean," he told her, grinning in an attempt to lighten the mood.

A small smile graced her face and she gave his hand a squeeze. "Thank you."

He returned the hand-squeeze. "Come on, I'll find you something to sleep in."

He led her into his room, letting go of her hand so he could cross his room to the chest of drawers. He grabbed an old hockey shirt and then turned to her. "You want boxers or something?" he asked.

She shook her head. "That'll be fine, Bosco."

He nodded, placing it on the bed. "I'll just be out on the sofa if you need me," he said, making his way to the door.

She nodded. "Thanks," she said, her voice soft. "I really appreciate this."

He nodded. "We're partners, Faith," he told her. "I'll always be here for you."

Faith felt the tears well at his reply and turned to grab the shirt so he wouldn't see. She heard the door softly close and allowed her eyes to close for a moment. Her emotions were all over the place and she hated feeling this out of control. She sighed, swallowing her tears and glanced at the shirt Bosco had left out for her. It looked worn and was obviously loved. Without even thinking about it, she raised the shirt to her face and inhaled. It smelled like Bosco and the scent made her feel safe. Nothing would happen to her while he was around.

She changed quickly and then climbed under the covers, lying down in Bosco's bed. The smell was more powerful there and she couldn't help but close her eyes and savor the feelings it evoked. There was a knock on the bedroom door and her eyes snapped open. "Yeah?" she asked.

"Are you decent?" Bosco asked.

She smiled. "Yeah, you can come in."

He pushed the door open and peered around it, like he wanted to make sure she was really fully clothed before he walked in. He smiled when he spotted her in his bed and moved into the room. "Sorry, I just needed to get a pillow."

Faith held out her hand. "Come here, Bos," she coaxed. "Lay down here with me for a minute."

He didn't question her, just walked over and lowered himself down on the other side of the bed. Then he rolled himself onto his side so he was facing her, propping his head up on his hand.

"What am I gonna do, Bosco?" she asked. "I can't be with him anymore, but I don't know how to do it without him."

"You're gonna be okay, Faith," he assured her. "You know I'll help out any way I can and I know my mom would love to help out with the kids." He smiled. "I think she's resigned herself to the fact that they're as close as she's gonna get to grandkids."

She smiled at that. "You'll have kids one day, when you find the right person."

He shook his head. "Nah, I'd be too worried that I'd end up like my old man."

She shook her head. "You're gonna make a great dad, Bos. You're nothing like your father."

She reached out and ran a hand through his hair. His eyes closed and he appeared to be enjoying the caress. He was so handsome and lying there beside her, with his usual smartass façade gone, she didn't think he'd ever looked more attractive. It awoke something in her, something she hadn't felt for a long time. Arousal. She wanted him.

What would he do if she pursued her newfound feelings? Would he reciprocate? Was it even possible that someone like Bosco could be attracted to someone like her? She was certainly a far cry from his usual bedfellows. One more look at the content expression on his face had her moving closer and pressing her lips to his.

He did nothing for a few moments, obviously surprised by her bold move, but then his lips yielded under hers and he returned the caress. It was soft and gentle and Faith found herself pressing closer to him, wanting more.

After a few minutes Bosco pulled away, a look of surprise on his face. "Faith," he murmured. "This is crazy."

"I want you to love me, Bosco. Just for tonight." She allowed the desperation to show in her eyes and she saw something give in his. Then he moved toward her and captured her lips in a kiss that was far more potent than the first.

TBC