The Truth

Summary: Bosco and Faith talk after he gets out of the hospital, and comes to
some realizations.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Author's Note: This is a Faith and Bosco shipper story.. so if you don't like them.. you might want to stop reading now..

Chapter 1

At times like these she is glad that she is a cop, because otherwise, she's certain that she would be a collar for trespassing by now. She has spent the last twenty minutes milling around his neighborhood. She could probably name every store on the block and trace the distance from one place to another.

As she gulped down her coffee, her frayed nerves only seem to intensify. This
was ridiculous, she thought to herself, this is Bosco. There was no reason for her to be nervous about seeing him again.

You just saw him a couple of hours ago, her practical side whispered, what has changed in a few hours?

Closing her eyes, she let out a shaky breath. Grabbing her purse, she dashed out of the coffee shop. It was just a hug - a simple way of thanking you.
As she knocked on his door, her fingers playing with her hair, she desperately wanted to believe that those words were true.

"Faith!" he said, surprised to see her, as he opened the door.

She looked up at him. "I just wanted to come by and see how you are doing." She explained.

He smiled at her. " I'm fine, Faith. You didn't have to come by and check up on me."

She walked into his apartment, forcing herself to look at anything but him. "I
am not here to mother you, if that's what you are worried about." She snapped. Forcing herself to breathe, Faith shuffled her feet, begging herself to calm down. "I should just go."

Frowning at her jumpy behavior, Bosco moved towards to the door. "I would really like if you stayed, Faith." He whispered softly.

Forcing herself to look at him, she smiled sheepishly at him. "I promise not to snap at you again. So how does it feel to be out of the hospital finally?" she asked, as they walked over to the couch.

Stretching his legs, Bosco looked around the room. "Ah, this apartment of mine has never looked lovelier. I wasn't made for being cooped up in one place of that long."

Nodding, Faith smiled at the memory flashing in her mind. "I can still see the doctor's face when you walked out without your wheelchair, but they don't know you as well as I do." she said, laughing.

He grinned at her comment. "But you know that I would walk out."

"Of course I did, Bos."

"We have been through a lot these past few months, haven't we? Why does it always take a tragedy to get us back together?" she asked.

He shrugged at her question, his eyes watching for her face for a moment before looking way. " I guess because we are both so stubborn." he said, as the doorbell rang. "That should be my dinner," he said as he stood up.

((

Faith and Bosco were sitting in the kitchen. "If I known that you were going to come by, I would have got you something to eat. "

"Its fine, I'm not hungry." Faith said. "I thought your Mom would be here."

"She was here for a few hours and wanted to spend the night, but I told her that I would be fine. So she said that I had to phone her every few hours. Why does she think I can't take care of myself?"

"She just worries about you. She almost lost you, I think she has every right to act like that." Faith replied.

He nodded, letting out a shaky breath. "You always know what to say to me, don't you?"

"I should, I have been your best friend and partner for 12 years." Faith remarked softly, shivering slightly at the memories tugging at her consciousness. Being here with him was a constant reminder that she had come too close to losing him.

"Faith! Hey come on, don't zone out on me like that."

She looked at Bosco. " What?"

"Are you alright? You seemed like you were in another world." He said, worriedly.

She smiled at him. "I'm fine, I just can't believe that we are sitting here and talking like we used to. You don't know how many times when you were in your coma that I hope that we would have the chance again to do this."

"Well we can now, can't we? What do you want to talk about?" he asked.

"You are definitely not the old Bosco" she said, laughing at Bosco. "Because you uttered the words 'talk' and 'want to' in the same sentence."

"Don't laugh at me, Faith, you were the one that said we need to talk again." he said, as he grabbed her hand, and held onto it tightly. Glancing at him curiously, she was a bit taken a back when she realized that he was serious.

"Well what do you want to talk about first?" she questioned.

He gazed at her. "You were the one that wanted to talk, not me."

"Well if you don't want to talk that is fine. We can watch some TV." she said, as she stood up and walked over to the living room.

"Why do you want to work with me again when you come back to work after getting shot. You didn't have to work with me so why did you?"

Bosco stared at her back, swallowing nervously, suddenly wishing that he had kept his mouth shut. There is a reason why some things are better left unsaid, Boscorelli, a voice hissed.

She turned around, and moved towards him, and locked eyes with Bosco. "Bos, I already told you why." She replied, trying to hedge the question.

Sighing, Bosco shook his head. "No, you never told me. All you told me was it was not a matter of want. But you never actually told me the real reason."

She didn't know what to say, she never thought that Bosco would ask her about that day. He had never been one to dwell on the past and she had thought that she had been in the clear.

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does, you said that you need to talk, well let's talk." he answered sternly.

She looked at him, and could see that this was important to him. She led him to
the couch. "It wasn't really a hard decision to think about it, I wanted everything back to normal, and you have been my partner for 12 years, Bosco. And if I was going back to work, I was going back to my old partner – the one I had before he left me for Martiza Cruz. I trust you and know that you would keep me safe."

"But I didn't keep you safe that day, did I?" She looked over at Bosco, and could see by the expression on his face, that he still feels guilty about that day. She didn't blame him for what happened that day.

"You want to know what I regret the most, Bos." she spoke softly, as she grabbed his hand.

He looked up at her. "What, Faith?"

"I wish that I didn't push you away that day in the hospital, but I was just so scared about everything. I didn't know if I was going to ever walk again, so I did what Fred ask me to, and told you to leave. But I missed you, Bos. I know that you felt bad about that day, but I don't blame you, that is another reason I wanted you to be my partner again. I wanted you to show you that I still trusted you to be my partner. Because deep down, I knew that you were my partner, the one who would do anything for me."

Faith froze for a moment. As her eyes widened in shock, realization hit her like a ton of bricks. That day, those four bullets, he almost sacrificed himself for me. And she wondered when everything had suddenly changed.

"Is everything okay?" he questioned her, as he walked up to her.

She looked up at him. "I'm fine."

He wasn't sure if she was telling him the whole truth. He grabbed her hand. "Faith, please don't lie to me. Everything is not fine."

She should have known that he would know when she wasn't telling him the whole truth. He always did.

"When I said that I knew you would do anything for me, I was right, even since we been partners you always made sure that I was okay. When I got shot, you still looked out for me making sure that I didn't go to jail."

Bosco bowed his head, clasping his hands, his voice solemn and earnest. "There is nothing I wouldn't do for you."

"Okay I answer your question, so now I have a question, and you have to answer it truthfully."

Bosco grinned. "I'll tell you the truth, I promise."

"Why did you save me that day in the hospital, and don't tell me that you did it because I'm your partner."

Startled by Faith's question, Bosco shifted uneasily on the couch, knowing that he had to tell her the truth. As his eyes locked with hers, he seized the opportunity before the little courage he had abandoned him.

"I saved you that day because I love you."