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xtremeroswelliaTitle: Wherever You Will Go series, fic #22: Synchronicity (1/2)
Authors: Demelza and X_tremeroswellian
Email(s): demelza81@yahoo.co.nz and X_tremeroswellian@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: The characters don't belong to us. They belong to Edward Allen Bernero and John Wells and a bunch of other people that we've never met before. Please don't sue.
Rating: PG-13 for language and sexual content
Summary: Chaos reigns when the Boscorelli's join the Yokas' for Easter dinner.
Spoilers: Up through and including "The Unforgiven."
Author's Note: This is the twenty-second story in a series of Third Watch fics we're writing titled "Wherever You Will Go." The first one is "Confessions," the second is "Here With Me," the third is "Pain," the fourth is "Tears," the fifth is "Fear," the sixth is "Sadness," the seventh is "Reunion," the eighth is "Warning Signs," the ninth is "The Ball," the tenth is "Interlude," the eleventh is "Hush," the twelfth is "Haunted," the thirteenth is "No Good Deed," the fourteenth is "Unexpected Surprises," the fifteenth is "Better Than Ice Cream," the sixteenth is "Just Another Day," the seventeenth is "Weight of the World," the eighteenth is "Faith's Lament," the nineteenth is "Broken Glass," the twentieth is "Secrets and Lies," and the twenty first is "The Grand Facade." You may want to read those first before continuing. All fics in the series can be found at the WYWG website: http://wywg.topcities.com/index.html .
Synchronicity (Part One)
Faith ran until she felt a sharp, burning sensation in her legs and had to stop. She leaned against a tree heavily, sweat running down her forehead. She'd pushed herself to go an extra two miles that morning and she knew she'd pay for it later. She was going to be sore the next morning, no doubt about it. She looked over to see Bosco a few feet away, his hands on his knees as he bent over, trying to catch his breath. She felt a flash of guilt, hoping he wouldn't be in pain, too. "You okay?" she asked between breaths.
Taking in another few breaths, trying to speak, Bosco then nodded. "Yep, fine..." he replied, his voice catching as stood up straight, letting his hands drop to his sides.
She nodded, closed her eyes and leaned back against the tree, breathing heavily.
"What about you?" Bosco asked, running his hands firmly against his lower back, feeling the pain that rippled through every inch of the muscles there as he stepped over to her.
"When I can breathe again, I'll let you know," she joked, not opening her eyes.
He laughed slightly. "That bad, huh?"
She grinned. "Let's just say that if I can walk tomorrow, I'll be lucky."
"Mmm..." he murmured back, stepping up so he was leaning up against the tree beside her. "Legs, feet or back?" he asked, glancing sideways at her.
"All of the above."
Bosco nodded slightly. "I give a pretty good massage...if you want one...it'd help ease the pain..." he suggested, his voice serious through his warm smile.
She turned her head to look at him, telling herself to say no, but startled when she instead replied, "Okay."
Pausing for a moment, having not expected she'd reply, he smiled again. "Okay...back, or feet first?" he asked, motioning toward the ground a few feet in front of them.
She swallowed hard. "Back," she said, the word catching in her throat.
"Okay," he nodded. "You want to sit down..." he then said, though it was more a question.
"Right." Faith winced as she sat down on the ground, feeling butterflies flitting around in her stomach.
Bosco took in a breath, stepping up behind Faith, before sitting down right behind her on his knees. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders, using the thumb of both hands to rub her back.
She closed her eyes and let her head fall forward. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as he massaged her back.
He continued massaging her back, but a frown creased his brow as he felt how tense her muscles were, even after the jog they'd run. Something was up, he thought. "You're pretty tense..." he began, his voice soft. He didn't want to make her upset, hoped that he wouldn't, but he wanted to know why she was so tense. "There anything you wanna talk about?"
Faith winced as he touched on a particularly sore muscle in her shoulder blade. "Easter dinner tonight," she muttered, dreading the evening.
Ye Gods, any wonder you're so stressed... "All the family going to be there?" he asked, still frowning.
"Yeah, Fred's. Which is actually as bad as going to dinner with my own family. Maybe even worse," she admitted.
"I don't blame you...dinner with the in-laws?" He shuddered at the thought, but continued massaging her back, his hands moving slightly lower as he gently rubbed his thumb along an intregal part of her vertabre.
"Yeah, give me a root canal anyday," she said, leaning her forehead on her knees. She shivered lightly as he continued to work his magic on her sore muscles.
Bosco resisted laughing. "Where are you guys going?"
"Fred's mom's house. So if I call you tonight and need bail money, you think you could lend me some cash?"
"Yeah, sure thing...you planning on committing a murder or something tonight?" he asked, though his voice was rich with sarcasm as he leaned sideways to get a better look at the expression on her face.
"Hey, I gotta put up with Helen, Ron and Patti Yokas, tonight, not to mention Fred. Anything is possible," she informed him, meeting his gaze.
He grinned. "Well, if you want me to give you a hand...you've got my number," he said, winking.
She smiled back. "And involve you in premediated murder?" Faith tilted her head to one side. "Although it would be justifiable homicide."
"Oh, exactly..." he smiled back. "But no, seriously, I mean it..."
"Watch what you offer, Boz, this is going to be a long day, and I just might take you up on it," she replied, winking back at him.
"Either you do or you don't..." Bosco replied, smiling widely. "Offer's yours for the taking..." he said, starting to rub her back again.
She closed her eyes. "God, Boz...you're great at this," she murmured, feeling her tension starting to ease away with every touch of his hands.
He smiled. "Make you feel better, I will..." he said, doing his best Yoda impersonation.
Faith chuckled. "And how many times have you seen Star Wars?"
"Make you guess, I will..." he replied.
"Apparently a few times too many."
He laughed. "Only seventeen times...that's not that many..."
"Seventeen...Geez, Bosco, where do you come up with the time?" Faith asked, shaking her head, amused.
"It was back in the day when the Jedi were fighting the Sith..." Bosco began, laughing. "I dunno, when do we ever find time to obsess over a movie or tv show we really enjoy?"
"Is that your favorite movie?" she asked curiously, turning her head to look at him.
He shrugged."Yeah...kinda figures, huh?"
"Not really. I kinda had you figured for a 'Die Hard' or 'Lethal Weapon' guy."
"You really thought that? Well, honestly, I like all genres..."
"Yeah, I mean...cop movies. I guess I thought..." She shrugged, feeling sad that she hadn't known him quite as well as she thought she did.
"Cop movies are great...but, there's nothing like a sappy romance...and don't you tell anyone at the department that."
She raised an eyebrow and looked at him, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Who? Me?" she asked innocently.
He tilted his head to the side slightly."Yeah. You," he replied.
She grinned. "I would *never* do something like that."
"I know," he smiled back."I just don't *ever* want that out there. If they knew? My life would be a living hell. They'd make sure of that."
Faith turned so she was facing him. "So what's your favorite romance flick?" she asked, still smiling.
"Oh geez...You've Got Mail," he stated."Wait, no...yeah, that's it. What's yours?"
"Titanic," she admitted.
"No shit...I mean, really?" Bosco grinned. "Gotta admit, I never sat through the entire thing."
Her mouth dropped open. "Never?"
"Never," he admitted. "I mean, maybe, one day...we could, watch it together...and I could sit through the whole thing..." he said, raising his eyebrows slightly, hoping she'd say 'yes'.
"One day very soon. I can't believe you haven't seen the whole movie," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Is it as good as everyone says?" he asked back.
"It's better," Faith informed him.
He rose his left eyebrow."Man...so, when are we going to watch it?"
She shrugged. "I don't know...can I get back to you on that?"
"Sure," he replied, nodding.
She nodded. There was a moment of silence. "So, uh...what are you doing today?"
"Me? Nothing much...taking Ma out to dinner at some restaurant she wants to go to," he replied. "Other than that...no special plans."
Faith smiled at him, feeling a bit wistful. Wishing that instead of spending the day with Fred and his family, she could spend the day with Bosco. She looked at the ground.
"So, you really going to Fred's mom's?" Bosco quietly asked.
"Yeah, unfortunately," she answered with a tired sigh.
"Any way you can get out of it?" he asked back, wishing he could be there with him today instead of her husband and his family.
"I could fake my own death."
He laughed slightly."Mmm, I think they'd figure it was a fake death sooner or later."
She let out an exaggerated sigh. "Yeah. Guess I'll just have to deal, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess..." he replied, regretably. "I wish...I could spend the day with you..."
"You and me both," she admitted softly. She hesitated for a moment, then wrapped her arms around his waist.
Closing his eyes, Bosco wrapped his arms around Faith in return. "I'll be thinking about you..." he whispered.
She tightened her arms around him slightly. "Me too, Boz," she whispered back.
He held her tighter against him, in that moment wishing the world they were living in was theirs and theirs alone, to be able to spend Easter together, spend every waking, breathing moment there in each others arms. He let out a sigh, wishing even more now that it were true. "I love you..." he softly whispered, holding her even tighter still.
The breath caught in her throat at his words. It wasn't like it was the first time he'd said them to her, but every time, it threw her off-balance. Like she was in a dream. "I love you, too," she echoed, closing her eyes as she rested her head against his shoulder.
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Fred walked straight up the front steps of his mom's home, soon followed by Faith and the kids. He scowled in his wife's direction, before knocking loudly on the door. "Now you'll get to see what real food is *supposed* to taste like," he bitterly remarked.
Faith let out a small sigh, but didn't answer, biting down on her tongue as she looked at the ground, waiting for someone to answer the door. She glanced at her long-sleeved white blouse, and knee-length black skirt, hoping that for once Helen Yokas wouldn't ridicule her for the way she was dressed.
At that moment, the door opened and Helen Yokas stood before them, looking as perfect as ever in her stylish, but very conservative ankle length black skirt and black shirt and jacket, a string of pearls around her neck. She smiled broadly at her son. "Fred! I'm so glad you could make it."
"Wouldn't have missed this for the world," he grinned back at her."How are you?"
"Good, good. You look handsome, as always." She smiled at him, then glanced past him to the kids. "Emily, Charlie! Come here and give your grandmother a hug and kiss!"
Charlie looked up at his mom, as if asking, 'do I have to?'
Faith met his gaze and nodded slightly.
Emily hesitated for a moment, before walking up to her grandma and wrapped her arms around her neck. "Hi, Grandma!" she exclaimed.
"Well, come on boy, give your grandma a hug," Fred told him.
"Hello, dear. My, you've grown at least an inch since I last saw you."
Charlie relunctantly hugged his grandmother, as well. "Hi, Grandma."
Helen smiled at him briefly. "You've got a stain on your shirt, dear," she told him. She glanced at Faith. "Hello, Faith," she said, her voice taking on an air of distance and coldness.
"Hello, Helen," Faith replied, forcing herself to smile.
"Well, why don't you all come in, don't stand outside. There's been a change of plans. We're waiting on your sister and her family, and then we're all going out to dinner," Helen informed Fred.
Fred looked between the two women, then smiled over at his mother when she informed them of the change in plans. "Aw what, none of your delicious meat loaf?" he asked, frowning slightly, though a smile tugged on the corner of his lips.
"I didn't feel like cooking today. I do everything else around here, why should I have to cook, too?"
Faith resisted the urge to roll her eyes and remind her that the only other person living in the house was her eighty-three year old mother-in-law. What did she expect Regina to do, anyway? Vaccuum and mop the floors?
Charlie shrugged out of his jacket and lingered at his mom's side.
"That's okay, Mom...it'll be nice to get out. We haven't been out in a while," Fred then said, glancing sideways at Faith, a glare in his eyes.
Emily stepped inside, looking around the house as she went.
"Oh, that's too bad. Of course, I'm sure Faith's *work* schedule makes it difficult to go out," she replied, a slight tone of distaste to her voice.
"Work, huh..." Fred mumbled, shaking his head. "Are any of the others here yet?" he asked his mom.
At that moment, Fred's older brother, Ron, walked into the room. "Freddie! How's it going?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.
Faith tensed even more at the sight of the other man. She'd never liked his brother, and hell, she wasn't even sure Fred liked him half the time.
"Ron!" Fred exclaimed, walking over to his brother and slapping him on the shoulder. "I thought you were out of town?"
"Well, family's more important."
"Is Natalie here?" Faith asked, her voice cool.
"True. How is that wife of yours?" Fred asked, glaring across at his own wife, pissed because she interrupted him, by asking first.
Ron turned to look at her, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Yeah, of course. Hello to you, too, Faith." He turned back to his brother. "Bitchy, as usual," he informed him.
"You don't know the fucking half of it," Fred rolled his eyes, taking his brother aside. He nodded toward Faith. "She's in one mood after a freakin other."
"Such language from my boys," Helen said, shaking her head, though more amused than upset.
Just then, Natalie walked into the room, one of her arms were across her stomach, while her other hand held onto her elbow. She smiled at Faith and her kids as she entered the room."Faith," she spoke softly, cringing when she saw the glare she got from both her husband and his brother. "How are you, luv?"
"I'm good, how are you?" Faith asked, smiling at her, the first real smile she'd had since arriving at Fred's mother's. She quickly moved over to her and gave her a hug.
Natalie wrapped her arms around sister in law. "I'm not too bad...it's so great to see you, it's been too long," she said softly, sniffing.
"Oh brother..." Fred remarked under his breath, seeing how the two women were acting.
"Definitely too long," she agreed, pulling away to look at her. Natalie was still as youthful looking and beautiful as the last time Faith had seen her. She was wearing a pretty, long-sleeved pink flowered dress, her long blond hair falling gently to her shoulders. Her blue eyes, however, appeared tired. "How's everything been?"
"Oh, you know..." the young woman replied, forcing a smile. "Great as ever. What about you?"
"Yeah...same here," she answered, her voice quiet. She forced a smile back.
Helen sighed loudly. "Your sister is never on time. I think she shows up late just to upset me," she said to Fred and Ron, shaking her head.
"Don't worry, Mom," Fred told his mother. "I'm sure she's not doing it deliberately."
"The kids have sure grown," Natalie said affectionately, looking over at Emily and Charlie.
Faith smiled. "Yeah, I keep thinking I should put bricks on their heads to make them stop it," she joked.
"Mommy, can Emily and I go outside and play until Aunt Patti gets here?" Charlie asked her hopefully.
"Can we, please?" Emily asked.
Faith glanced at him, then over at Emily. "Sure, go ahead. But stay right out back where we can see you from the house, okay?"
"Okay, thanks, Mom!" Charlie said, grinning as he ran for the door.
"Promise!" Emily exclaimed, rushing for the door behind her brother.
Helen glanced after them, shaking her head. Then she turned to Ron. "Why don't you and Natalie come into the kitchen and try to get a hold of your sister on her cell phone?" she suggested.
Natalie frowned, glancing sideways at Faith before walking over to Ron.
Ron gave his wife a dirty look, then followed his mom into the kitchen, leaving Faith and Fred alone in the living room.
Fred smiled faintly, watching as his mother, brother and sister-in-law left the room, then he turned to Faith. "You could have been politer," he remarked under his breath, walking over to her.
She resisted the urge to tell him that 'politer' was not a word. "I'm gonna go...check on the kids." She turned and started for the door.
He quickly followed behind her, grabbing her by the arm to turn her around before letting go once they were facing one another. "Come on, the kids are fine...why don't we...go upstairs..."
"Why?" she asked, confused.
"I want to show you my room, when I was growing up...that's all..."
Faith frowned slightly. "Fred, I've seen your room before," she pointed out.
"Well, yeah, but Mom brought out some of my old stuff, I just wanted you to see some of my old toys from when I was a kid," he pleaded with her.
She was startled by his change in attitude. He sounded so sincere. The frown slipped off her face and she gave him a small smile. "Okay."
Smiling back, Fred took her by the hand and led her up the flight of stairs. They walked along the small hallway until they reached the second door on the right and opened it, stepping aside to let Faith in first. "Ladies first," he smiled.
She smiled back at him and stepped inside the room, flipping on the light switch. The bulb in the overhead lamp was dim, and didn't help light the room much. She turned to look at Fred.
"Keep going," he said, motioning toward the far side of the room where there was a duchess with a series of medals and trophies.
She turned to where he was motioning to and walked across the room, looking at his high school football trophies. She smiled slightly, remembering when he'd been awarded some of them. She heard a noise behind her and glanced over her shoulder in time to see him lock the door. The smile left her face and a tiny knot began to form in her stomach. She turned back to the duchess, swallowing hard and trying to pretend like she didn't know something was up. "I remember when you won this," she said, her voice soft as she picked up one of the metal statues from his senior year.
There was a pause of silence."Me too..." came his soft reply. He was standing right behind her now. He reached out in front of her, taking the trophy from out of her hands, and set it back down on the duchess, at the same time pressing a kiss against the side of her neck, his other arm busy winding around her.
Faith cringed as he kissed her neck again, then her earlobe. "Fred..."
"What, come on...the kids are outside, Mom and the others are in the kitchen..." he whispered, placing another kiss against her earlobe, both his arms were wound around her stomach now. "We're all alone..."
"Yeah, at your mom's house," she pointed out, trying to pull away from him.
"Aw, what does it matter...it never stopped you when we were first dating," he said, holding her closer to him, not wanting to let her go.
She shut her eyes. "Yeah, but I was seventeen then."
He placed kiss after kiss against her neck again, his right hand slowly moving up her stomach, to cup one of her breasts. "Let's pretend we're young again then...relive the pleasure..."
"Fred, no," Faith said, a rush of panic hitting her. She tried again to pull away from him.
He continued to hold her against him. "Just relax, Faith, we're not going to get caught, if that's what you're worried about..."
He started to undo the top button on her blouse and she felt sick to her stomach. "Come on, Fred, not here, okay? Please," she said, trying not to lose control of her emotions.
"I remember how frisky you used to be..." Fred whispered back, continuing to unbutton her blouse. He slid his hand inside her shirt, touching her through her bra. "How adventurous..." He kissed her neck, lightly licking her skin.
//Harold stepped back straight away, aptly rubbing his cheek as he glared back at Faith. His eyebrows furrowed and he took in a long deep breath, puffing out his chest. "You always did like to play rough."//
Faith felt fear take over and she managed to pull free of him this time. She quickly turned to face him, her heart pounding in her chest. She quickly buttoned her shirt back up. "Not here."
"Aw, come on..." Fred exclaimed, shaking his head. He rubbed his hand over his head in that infuriated circular motion, letting her know how pissed he really was for the rejection. "No one's going to come in."
"No." She shook her head and started to walk past him, toward the door, just wanting to get out of the room, away from him.
He grabbed her by the arm again, turning her to face him. "You know what, I give up on you..." he said, pushing her aside and storming across to the door. He quickly unlocked the door, pulled it open, then walked out.
Faith closed her eyes tightly, relief washing over her. Then she followed him out the door.
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Faith smiled briefly at the hostess as the woman seated her and Fred's family at three large tables she'd pulled together. "Thanks."
"Sure," the woman told her, smiling back. She walked away.
Faith sat down on one end of the table, next to Fred. His mother sat down across from him, his brother across from her, and Natalie next to her husband, diagnolly across from her. Fred's grandmother sat on the other side of his mom, with his sister Patti next to Fred, her husband to her right, and then all the kids down at the other end of the table, away from the adults a bit.
"I hate coming to buffets," Helen announced, sighing heavily, in her oh-so-ever-dramatic way. "It's almost as bad as cooking yourself since no one waits on you." She cast a glance over at Faith, then looked away, frowning. "Honestly, if you give your children everything they want, they'll have no respect for you, and besides, they should learn to eat what you serve. You shouldn't have to go out of your way to make them something special. I certainly never did."
Yeah, there's a big shock, Faith thought.
"Here we go," Brandon, Patti's' eldest child at eighteen moaned down the other end, having heard his grandmother's ramblings.
Fred smiled down at his mother, nodding his agreement. "I think you've got a point there...kids these days have no idea, am I right, Ron?"
Emily glanced over at her cousin, then her mom, then over at her brother Charlie, still not saying anything.
"Amen to that," Ron agreed, glancing sideways at Natalie. "When we have kids, I'm going to make sure they're raised right."
Natalie looked back at her husband, cringing in thought, though she nodded faintly. She turned back to her plate, wordlessly.
"Good you do that," Fred stated, glaring at his own wife, then looking back over at his brother.
"Yeah, well, I guess I figure there's enough anorexia in the world, I'm not going to try to make my kids eat food they don't like so they don't want to eat," Faith said calmly, taking a sip of her water.
"Here here," Natalie said softly, her voice a bare whisper.
Helen smiled thinly. "I hardly think anyone in *your* family has to worry about anorexia, dear."
Fred laughed at his mother's comment.
"Yeah, I guess my kids don't have to worry about that from either side, do they?" she replied, smiling back.
"Hey, watch it..." Fred elbowed her. "Just mind what you're saying," he warned.
Faith rolled her eyes and scooted her chair away from his slightly. She looked at Natalie, but remained silent.
Patti shook her head where she sat, then looked at her grandmother. "So, Grandma Regina...how are you holding up?" she asked, resisting the urge to get in on the conversation, or to say, disagreement between her sister-in-law and mother.
"I'm still walking," Regina replied, grinning crookedly. "I'm going out on a date next weekend."
Ron nearly choked on his water. "You're what?"
The older woman smiled down the table and Faith and Natalie and winked. "What? Just because I'm eighty-three means I can't have a life?"
Faith grinned and chuckled. "Good for you."
"No...but, in your state..." Fred exclaimed. "You shouldn't be dating."
"What's he like?" Natalie quietly asked.
"In my state?" Regina echoed, glaring at him briefly, insulted. "I'm not dead, Freddy." She shook her head, then focused her attention on Natalie. "He's sixty-five, real adventerous fellow. Likes to camp and fish and hunt...and he's a great kisser," she replied, winking.
Patti's husband Roy glanced at his wife, amused by her grandmother's words.
"Details we don't need at the dinner table," Fred mumbled.
Patti glanced over at her brother, then back to her grandmother. "How long have you been seeing each other?" she asked, getting a nod of agreement from Natalie.
"Oh, you want details?" Regina smiled and looked at him. "I haven't even gotten to the night we spent--"
"Grandma!" Ron exclaimed, stunned.
"Oh, lighten up. Life's too short to be a stick-in-the-mud." She looked at Patti. "A couple months now."
"Good for you..." Patti told her, though slightly astonished at herself for saying that aloud. Especially in front of her mother and finicky brothers.
"Thanks, dear." Regina smiled at her granddaughter.
"Faith, how's your job going?" Roy asked curiously, glancing down the table at her.
"Oh, good. It's good," she answered, smiling at him briefly before taking another sip of her water.
"Liar," Fred snarled under his breath.
Faith looked at him, startled.
He rose his eyebrows back at her as if to say, 'what, you're going to deny it?'
She just shook her head, not willing to fight with him in front of everyone.
"So how do you ever accomplish anything around the apartment, Faith? With the horrid hours you work?" Helen asked, looking at her.
"Yeah, Faith...how do you do that?" Fred asked, being the bitter mother fucking asshole he was.
She glared at him for a second, then looked at her mother-in-law, trying to remain calm. "I don't sleep much," she informed her.
"I should think not, what with the getting shot at all the time..." Helen shook her head. "I don't know why you do it, dear. Your children need you at home."
"The children also need a roof over their heads, Helen," Regina said, leaning against the table.
You... Fred angrily thought, but didn't say anything.
"Well, I think Faith's doing a wonderful thing. Protecting others, as well as her family," Natalie spoke up, her voice still ever so quiet. She glanced over at Faith, then down at her glass again.
Ron glared at her. "She'll wind up getting killed and leaving her children motherless. Of course, I'm sure that wouldn't bother *you* any."
Natalie flinched at her husband's tone. She was only trying to be helpful after all.
"Hey, why don't we take turns going up to the buffet?" Roy suggested, trying to diffuse the rising tensions at the table.
"What a good idea," Patti said, smiling sideways at her husband. "Who's first?"
"Mom, why don't you and Patti and Fred go up first?" Ron suggested.
"That's a lovely idea, dear." Helen smiled at her eldest son, then at Fred and Patti. "Shall we?"
Fred nodded, pushing his chair back as he rose to his feet.
"Let's," Patti said, smiling as she rose from her seat.
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Bosco stood in the main doorway with his mother. He quickly glanced around the restaurant, letting out a sigh as the hostess came over. He gave the reservation name and they were then led over to their table. He turned to his mother just as she stepped up to the table and pulled her chair out for her. "This place looks pretty crowded..." he commented, as if hoping she'd give in and say they could go somewhere else, somewhere quieter, for dinner.
"It's always this crowded. It's the best buffet in the City," Angela replied, smiling at him as she sat down.
Bosco rose his eyebrow at her, before taking up the seat opposite her at the small round table. "Well, it better be, for the price we're paying," he said.
She chuckled. "Oh, it is." She set her purse down on the floor. "Mind if I go up first, Maurice?"
He looked back at her. "Go right ahead. I'll wait until you get back, so no one thinks of taking our table."
"Thanks." She smiled at him and headed for the buffet.
"Sure..." he faintly mumbled, letting out a low groan.
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Faith dished out a small amount of lettuce for a salad on her plate, tired at the thought of going back over to the table with Fred and his family. She hated holidays. She closed her eyes momentarily, wishing to be anywhere but there. Hell, she'd rather be involved in a high-speed chase than be there. She opened her eyes and turned to go back to the table when she ran right into someone. Her plate slipped from her hands and tumbled to the floor. Luckily it didn't break. However, the other person dropped their plate, too. She quickly knelt down, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she reached for the plates, apologizing. "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry..."
"Faith?"
She jerked her head up, shocked to find herself staring directly into Bosco's blue eyes. "Boz?"
"Hey," he grinned widely back at her.
She couldn't stop herself from grinning back. "Hey yourself. Wow, this is weird..."
"Very...what are you doing here? I thought you were having dinner with boring Fred and his boring family?"
Faith chuckled. "I am, but his boring mother decided she didn't feel like cooking because after all, it's such hard work to get up in the morning."
"Eh, that poor, poor woman..." he said back, though being extremely sarcastic.
"Oh, yeah." She rolled her eyes and reached for the plates again. "Sorry about this," she said, shaking her head tiredly as she motioned to the mess she'd caused.
"Don't be, I wasn't even watching where I was going," Bosco said. "I'll let the hostess know, so they can clean up."
"No, I've got it," she told him quickly, grabbing a handful of lettuce off the floor. She grimaced as she glanced down at her skirt, a bit of salad dressing having spilled on it.
"It's okay..." he said, pulling a clean white hankercheif out of his pocket. "Here..." he quietly added, handing it to her. He then started gathering the bits of food from the floor and placing it onto the two plates.
"Thanks," she said softly, her hand brushing against his as she took the handkerchief from him.
"Any time," he said, pausing as his eyes met hers.
She quickly wiped the dressing off her skirt and helped him clean up the mess, not wanting to stand up because she didn't want to be motioned back to the table. "So you and your mom are here?"
He nodded. "Yep, a few tables behind us. She says it's the best buffet in town...I had my doubts, but...now I've seen you..."
Faith felt her heart skip a beat as she gazed at him. "You always know exactly how to make me feel better," she said quietly. "How do you do that, Boz?"
He shrugged slightly, still smiling. "Guess I know what can make you smile..."
"You have no idea how glad I am to see you here," she told him seriously.
"Me too...wish you could come join me and Ma," he said softly.
She closed her eyes. "God, me too," she muttered, dreading going back to Fred's family's table.
Bosco's brow creased slightly. "So why don't you? You could bring the kids too if you like, so you don't have to be around Fred and his family."
"I'd never hear the end of it, Boz." She opened her eyes again and looked at him sadly.
"Yeah...you're right..." he replied, sighing.
"I don't even want to go back over there. I can't stand his mother. Or his brother." She shook her head. "His family's more screwed up than mine."
"I don't doubt it...if Fred is anything to go by..." he muttered. "Just come join us, they probably won't even notice you're gone..."
"Oh, they'd definitely notice. They're probably over there right now talking about what a bad mother I am because I'm not a stay-at-home mom," she muttered.
"What?" he exclaimed, shaking his head. "Bastards. You know what we should do then, don't you?"
"Kill them all?" Faith asked hopefully.
"Exactimono..." he replied, raising his eyebrows and grinning.
She grinned. "Somehow I knew that was what you were going to say..."
"Yep..." Bosco grinned wider still. "Unless you have a better idea?"
"Hmm...get someone else to do it so we don't go to jail?"
"Oooh, who do we know that we could blackmail into it?"
She thought for a moment. "Good question...there's gotta be a ton of people, right?"
"Right, I know five good guys we can use any one of...." he replied, thinking. "There's also Barbara..."
Faith shook her head and laughed. "Thank you."
"My pleasure," he smiled back at her, laughing too.
She hesitated for a moment, then leaned toward him and kissed him gently on the cheek. "You're a great guy, Bosco. Don't ever let anyone tell you different," she said quietly, her voice serious as she gazed at him.
"You don't know what the means to me, coming from you," he said back.
She pressed her hand against his cheek. "I'm just saying the truth."
"Thank you," he whispered softly, placing his hand over hers. He wanted in that moment to lean forward and place a kiss on her lips, but knew it wasn't the right place.
Faith gave him a small smile. "I should...get back before they think I disappeared. Knowing Fred's brother, he'd call out a hunting party to come find me," she said, only half-joking.
Bosco's smile faded, turning into a slight frown. "Yeah, I better get back to Ma, else she'll think I've chickened out...you be okay, though?"
"I will be now," she said softly, gazing at him.
"Good..." he whispered back, letting out a soft sigh.
"Tell your mom I said hi?"
"I will, give a hug to the kids for me?"
She nodded. "You know...even though we're not spending the holiday together...it's nice to to know that you're just right across the room," she admitted, almost shyly.
"Yeah, same with you...and if things get to be too much, you know there's a seat over this way for you, okay?" Bosco quietly asked, gently squeezing her hand.
Faith smiled at him gratefully and squeezed his hand back. "Thank you." She gave him another quick kiss on the cheek before she rose to her feet.
Bosco stayed where he was for a moment, before rising to his feet. "Any time," he smiled back at Faith.
She squeezed his hand one last time before letting go and grabbing another plate, quickly filling it with more salad. She glanced at him with a small, wistful smile, then headed back to her table.
Authors: Demelza and X_tremeroswellian
Email(s): demelza81@yahoo.co.nz and X_tremeroswellian@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: The characters don't belong to us. They belong to Edward Allen Bernero and John Wells and a bunch of other people that we've never met before. Please don't sue.
Rating: PG-13 for language and sexual content
Summary: Chaos reigns when the Boscorelli's join the Yokas' for Easter dinner.
Spoilers: Up through and including "The Unforgiven."
Author's Note: This is the twenty-second story in a series of Third Watch fics we're writing titled "Wherever You Will Go." The first one is "Confessions," the second is "Here With Me," the third is "Pain," the fourth is "Tears," the fifth is "Fear," the sixth is "Sadness," the seventh is "Reunion," the eighth is "Warning Signs," the ninth is "The Ball," the tenth is "Interlude," the eleventh is "Hush," the twelfth is "Haunted," the thirteenth is "No Good Deed," the fourteenth is "Unexpected Surprises," the fifteenth is "Better Than Ice Cream," the sixteenth is "Just Another Day," the seventeenth is "Weight of the World," the eighteenth is "Faith's Lament," the nineteenth is "Broken Glass," the twentieth is "Secrets and Lies," and the twenty first is "The Grand Facade." You may want to read those first before continuing. All fics in the series can be found at the WYWG website: http://wywg.topcities.com/index.html .
Synchronicity (Part One)
Faith ran until she felt a sharp, burning sensation in her legs and had to stop. She leaned against a tree heavily, sweat running down her forehead. She'd pushed herself to go an extra two miles that morning and she knew she'd pay for it later. She was going to be sore the next morning, no doubt about it. She looked over to see Bosco a few feet away, his hands on his knees as he bent over, trying to catch his breath. She felt a flash of guilt, hoping he wouldn't be in pain, too. "You okay?" she asked between breaths.
Taking in another few breaths, trying to speak, Bosco then nodded. "Yep, fine..." he replied, his voice catching as stood up straight, letting his hands drop to his sides.
She nodded, closed her eyes and leaned back against the tree, breathing heavily.
"What about you?" Bosco asked, running his hands firmly against his lower back, feeling the pain that rippled through every inch of the muscles there as he stepped over to her.
"When I can breathe again, I'll let you know," she joked, not opening her eyes.
He laughed slightly. "That bad, huh?"
She grinned. "Let's just say that if I can walk tomorrow, I'll be lucky."
"Mmm..." he murmured back, stepping up so he was leaning up against the tree beside her. "Legs, feet or back?" he asked, glancing sideways at her.
"All of the above."
Bosco nodded slightly. "I give a pretty good massage...if you want one...it'd help ease the pain..." he suggested, his voice serious through his warm smile.
She turned her head to look at him, telling herself to say no, but startled when she instead replied, "Okay."
Pausing for a moment, having not expected she'd reply, he smiled again. "Okay...back, or feet first?" he asked, motioning toward the ground a few feet in front of them.
She swallowed hard. "Back," she said, the word catching in her throat.
"Okay," he nodded. "You want to sit down..." he then said, though it was more a question.
"Right." Faith winced as she sat down on the ground, feeling butterflies flitting around in her stomach.
Bosco took in a breath, stepping up behind Faith, before sitting down right behind her on his knees. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders, using the thumb of both hands to rub her back.
She closed her eyes and let her head fall forward. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as he massaged her back.
He continued massaging her back, but a frown creased his brow as he felt how tense her muscles were, even after the jog they'd run. Something was up, he thought. "You're pretty tense..." he began, his voice soft. He didn't want to make her upset, hoped that he wouldn't, but he wanted to know why she was so tense. "There anything you wanna talk about?"
Faith winced as he touched on a particularly sore muscle in her shoulder blade. "Easter dinner tonight," she muttered, dreading the evening.
Ye Gods, any wonder you're so stressed... "All the family going to be there?" he asked, still frowning.
"Yeah, Fred's. Which is actually as bad as going to dinner with my own family. Maybe even worse," she admitted.
"I don't blame you...dinner with the in-laws?" He shuddered at the thought, but continued massaging her back, his hands moving slightly lower as he gently rubbed his thumb along an intregal part of her vertabre.
"Yeah, give me a root canal anyday," she said, leaning her forehead on her knees. She shivered lightly as he continued to work his magic on her sore muscles.
Bosco resisted laughing. "Where are you guys going?"
"Fred's mom's house. So if I call you tonight and need bail money, you think you could lend me some cash?"
"Yeah, sure thing...you planning on committing a murder or something tonight?" he asked, though his voice was rich with sarcasm as he leaned sideways to get a better look at the expression on her face.
"Hey, I gotta put up with Helen, Ron and Patti Yokas, tonight, not to mention Fred. Anything is possible," she informed him, meeting his gaze.
He grinned. "Well, if you want me to give you a hand...you've got my number," he said, winking.
She smiled back. "And involve you in premediated murder?" Faith tilted her head to one side. "Although it would be justifiable homicide."
"Oh, exactly..." he smiled back. "But no, seriously, I mean it..."
"Watch what you offer, Boz, this is going to be a long day, and I just might take you up on it," she replied, winking back at him.
"Either you do or you don't..." Bosco replied, smiling widely. "Offer's yours for the taking..." he said, starting to rub her back again.
She closed her eyes. "God, Boz...you're great at this," she murmured, feeling her tension starting to ease away with every touch of his hands.
He smiled. "Make you feel better, I will..." he said, doing his best Yoda impersonation.
Faith chuckled. "And how many times have you seen Star Wars?"
"Make you guess, I will..." he replied.
"Apparently a few times too many."
He laughed. "Only seventeen times...that's not that many..."
"Seventeen...Geez, Bosco, where do you come up with the time?" Faith asked, shaking her head, amused.
"It was back in the day when the Jedi were fighting the Sith..." Bosco began, laughing. "I dunno, when do we ever find time to obsess over a movie or tv show we really enjoy?"
"Is that your favorite movie?" she asked curiously, turning her head to look at him.
He shrugged."Yeah...kinda figures, huh?"
"Not really. I kinda had you figured for a 'Die Hard' or 'Lethal Weapon' guy."
"You really thought that? Well, honestly, I like all genres..."
"Yeah, I mean...cop movies. I guess I thought..." She shrugged, feeling sad that she hadn't known him quite as well as she thought she did.
"Cop movies are great...but, there's nothing like a sappy romance...and don't you tell anyone at the department that."
She raised an eyebrow and looked at him, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Who? Me?" she asked innocently.
He tilted his head to the side slightly."Yeah. You," he replied.
She grinned. "I would *never* do something like that."
"I know," he smiled back."I just don't *ever* want that out there. If they knew? My life would be a living hell. They'd make sure of that."
Faith turned so she was facing him. "So what's your favorite romance flick?" she asked, still smiling.
"Oh geez...You've Got Mail," he stated."Wait, no...yeah, that's it. What's yours?"
"Titanic," she admitted.
"No shit...I mean, really?" Bosco grinned. "Gotta admit, I never sat through the entire thing."
Her mouth dropped open. "Never?"
"Never," he admitted. "I mean, maybe, one day...we could, watch it together...and I could sit through the whole thing..." he said, raising his eyebrows slightly, hoping she'd say 'yes'.
"One day very soon. I can't believe you haven't seen the whole movie," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Is it as good as everyone says?" he asked back.
"It's better," Faith informed him.
He rose his left eyebrow."Man...so, when are we going to watch it?"
She shrugged. "I don't know...can I get back to you on that?"
"Sure," he replied, nodding.
She nodded. There was a moment of silence. "So, uh...what are you doing today?"
"Me? Nothing much...taking Ma out to dinner at some restaurant she wants to go to," he replied. "Other than that...no special plans."
Faith smiled at him, feeling a bit wistful. Wishing that instead of spending the day with Fred and his family, she could spend the day with Bosco. She looked at the ground.
"So, you really going to Fred's mom's?" Bosco quietly asked.
"Yeah, unfortunately," she answered with a tired sigh.
"Any way you can get out of it?" he asked back, wishing he could be there with him today instead of her husband and his family.
"I could fake my own death."
He laughed slightly."Mmm, I think they'd figure it was a fake death sooner or later."
She let out an exaggerated sigh. "Yeah. Guess I'll just have to deal, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess..." he replied, regretably. "I wish...I could spend the day with you..."
"You and me both," she admitted softly. She hesitated for a moment, then wrapped her arms around his waist.
Closing his eyes, Bosco wrapped his arms around Faith in return. "I'll be thinking about you..." he whispered.
She tightened her arms around him slightly. "Me too, Boz," she whispered back.
He held her tighter against him, in that moment wishing the world they were living in was theirs and theirs alone, to be able to spend Easter together, spend every waking, breathing moment there in each others arms. He let out a sigh, wishing even more now that it were true. "I love you..." he softly whispered, holding her even tighter still.
The breath caught in her throat at his words. It wasn't like it was the first time he'd said them to her, but every time, it threw her off-balance. Like she was in a dream. "I love you, too," she echoed, closing her eyes as she rested her head against his shoulder.
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Fred walked straight up the front steps of his mom's home, soon followed by Faith and the kids. He scowled in his wife's direction, before knocking loudly on the door. "Now you'll get to see what real food is *supposed* to taste like," he bitterly remarked.
Faith let out a small sigh, but didn't answer, biting down on her tongue as she looked at the ground, waiting for someone to answer the door. She glanced at her long-sleeved white blouse, and knee-length black skirt, hoping that for once Helen Yokas wouldn't ridicule her for the way she was dressed.
At that moment, the door opened and Helen Yokas stood before them, looking as perfect as ever in her stylish, but very conservative ankle length black skirt and black shirt and jacket, a string of pearls around her neck. She smiled broadly at her son. "Fred! I'm so glad you could make it."
"Wouldn't have missed this for the world," he grinned back at her."How are you?"
"Good, good. You look handsome, as always." She smiled at him, then glanced past him to the kids. "Emily, Charlie! Come here and give your grandmother a hug and kiss!"
Charlie looked up at his mom, as if asking, 'do I have to?'
Faith met his gaze and nodded slightly.
Emily hesitated for a moment, before walking up to her grandma and wrapped her arms around her neck. "Hi, Grandma!" she exclaimed.
"Well, come on boy, give your grandma a hug," Fred told him.
"Hello, dear. My, you've grown at least an inch since I last saw you."
Charlie relunctantly hugged his grandmother, as well. "Hi, Grandma."
Helen smiled at him briefly. "You've got a stain on your shirt, dear," she told him. She glanced at Faith. "Hello, Faith," she said, her voice taking on an air of distance and coldness.
"Hello, Helen," Faith replied, forcing herself to smile.
"Well, why don't you all come in, don't stand outside. There's been a change of plans. We're waiting on your sister and her family, and then we're all going out to dinner," Helen informed Fred.
Fred looked between the two women, then smiled over at his mother when she informed them of the change in plans. "Aw what, none of your delicious meat loaf?" he asked, frowning slightly, though a smile tugged on the corner of his lips.
"I didn't feel like cooking today. I do everything else around here, why should I have to cook, too?"
Faith resisted the urge to roll her eyes and remind her that the only other person living in the house was her eighty-three year old mother-in-law. What did she expect Regina to do, anyway? Vaccuum and mop the floors?
Charlie shrugged out of his jacket and lingered at his mom's side.
"That's okay, Mom...it'll be nice to get out. We haven't been out in a while," Fred then said, glancing sideways at Faith, a glare in his eyes.
Emily stepped inside, looking around the house as she went.
"Oh, that's too bad. Of course, I'm sure Faith's *work* schedule makes it difficult to go out," she replied, a slight tone of distaste to her voice.
"Work, huh..." Fred mumbled, shaking his head. "Are any of the others here yet?" he asked his mom.
At that moment, Fred's older brother, Ron, walked into the room. "Freddie! How's it going?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.
Faith tensed even more at the sight of the other man. She'd never liked his brother, and hell, she wasn't even sure Fred liked him half the time.
"Ron!" Fred exclaimed, walking over to his brother and slapping him on the shoulder. "I thought you were out of town?"
"Well, family's more important."
"Is Natalie here?" Faith asked, her voice cool.
"True. How is that wife of yours?" Fred asked, glaring across at his own wife, pissed because she interrupted him, by asking first.
Ron turned to look at her, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Yeah, of course. Hello to you, too, Faith." He turned back to his brother. "Bitchy, as usual," he informed him.
"You don't know the fucking half of it," Fred rolled his eyes, taking his brother aside. He nodded toward Faith. "She's in one mood after a freakin other."
"Such language from my boys," Helen said, shaking her head, though more amused than upset.
Just then, Natalie walked into the room, one of her arms were across her stomach, while her other hand held onto her elbow. She smiled at Faith and her kids as she entered the room."Faith," she spoke softly, cringing when she saw the glare she got from both her husband and his brother. "How are you, luv?"
"I'm good, how are you?" Faith asked, smiling at her, the first real smile she'd had since arriving at Fred's mother's. She quickly moved over to her and gave her a hug.
Natalie wrapped her arms around sister in law. "I'm not too bad...it's so great to see you, it's been too long," she said softly, sniffing.
"Oh brother..." Fred remarked under his breath, seeing how the two women were acting.
"Definitely too long," she agreed, pulling away to look at her. Natalie was still as youthful looking and beautiful as the last time Faith had seen her. She was wearing a pretty, long-sleeved pink flowered dress, her long blond hair falling gently to her shoulders. Her blue eyes, however, appeared tired. "How's everything been?"
"Oh, you know..." the young woman replied, forcing a smile. "Great as ever. What about you?"
"Yeah...same here," she answered, her voice quiet. She forced a smile back.
Helen sighed loudly. "Your sister is never on time. I think she shows up late just to upset me," she said to Fred and Ron, shaking her head.
"Don't worry, Mom," Fred told his mother. "I'm sure she's not doing it deliberately."
"The kids have sure grown," Natalie said affectionately, looking over at Emily and Charlie.
Faith smiled. "Yeah, I keep thinking I should put bricks on their heads to make them stop it," she joked.
"Mommy, can Emily and I go outside and play until Aunt Patti gets here?" Charlie asked her hopefully.
"Can we, please?" Emily asked.
Faith glanced at him, then over at Emily. "Sure, go ahead. But stay right out back where we can see you from the house, okay?"
"Okay, thanks, Mom!" Charlie said, grinning as he ran for the door.
"Promise!" Emily exclaimed, rushing for the door behind her brother.
Helen glanced after them, shaking her head. Then she turned to Ron. "Why don't you and Natalie come into the kitchen and try to get a hold of your sister on her cell phone?" she suggested.
Natalie frowned, glancing sideways at Faith before walking over to Ron.
Ron gave his wife a dirty look, then followed his mom into the kitchen, leaving Faith and Fred alone in the living room.
Fred smiled faintly, watching as his mother, brother and sister-in-law left the room, then he turned to Faith. "You could have been politer," he remarked under his breath, walking over to her.
She resisted the urge to tell him that 'politer' was not a word. "I'm gonna go...check on the kids." She turned and started for the door.
He quickly followed behind her, grabbing her by the arm to turn her around before letting go once they were facing one another. "Come on, the kids are fine...why don't we...go upstairs..."
"Why?" she asked, confused.
"I want to show you my room, when I was growing up...that's all..."
Faith frowned slightly. "Fred, I've seen your room before," she pointed out.
"Well, yeah, but Mom brought out some of my old stuff, I just wanted you to see some of my old toys from when I was a kid," he pleaded with her.
She was startled by his change in attitude. He sounded so sincere. The frown slipped off her face and she gave him a small smile. "Okay."
Smiling back, Fred took her by the hand and led her up the flight of stairs. They walked along the small hallway until they reached the second door on the right and opened it, stepping aside to let Faith in first. "Ladies first," he smiled.
She smiled back at him and stepped inside the room, flipping on the light switch. The bulb in the overhead lamp was dim, and didn't help light the room much. She turned to look at Fred.
"Keep going," he said, motioning toward the far side of the room where there was a duchess with a series of medals and trophies.
She turned to where he was motioning to and walked across the room, looking at his high school football trophies. She smiled slightly, remembering when he'd been awarded some of them. She heard a noise behind her and glanced over her shoulder in time to see him lock the door. The smile left her face and a tiny knot began to form in her stomach. She turned back to the duchess, swallowing hard and trying to pretend like she didn't know something was up. "I remember when you won this," she said, her voice soft as she picked up one of the metal statues from his senior year.
There was a pause of silence."Me too..." came his soft reply. He was standing right behind her now. He reached out in front of her, taking the trophy from out of her hands, and set it back down on the duchess, at the same time pressing a kiss against the side of her neck, his other arm busy winding around her.
Faith cringed as he kissed her neck again, then her earlobe. "Fred..."
"What, come on...the kids are outside, Mom and the others are in the kitchen..." he whispered, placing another kiss against her earlobe, both his arms were wound around her stomach now. "We're all alone..."
"Yeah, at your mom's house," she pointed out, trying to pull away from him.
"Aw, what does it matter...it never stopped you when we were first dating," he said, holding her closer to him, not wanting to let her go.
She shut her eyes. "Yeah, but I was seventeen then."
He placed kiss after kiss against her neck again, his right hand slowly moving up her stomach, to cup one of her breasts. "Let's pretend we're young again then...relive the pleasure..."
"Fred, no," Faith said, a rush of panic hitting her. She tried again to pull away from him.
He continued to hold her against him. "Just relax, Faith, we're not going to get caught, if that's what you're worried about..."
He started to undo the top button on her blouse and she felt sick to her stomach. "Come on, Fred, not here, okay? Please," she said, trying not to lose control of her emotions.
"I remember how frisky you used to be..." Fred whispered back, continuing to unbutton her blouse. He slid his hand inside her shirt, touching her through her bra. "How adventurous..." He kissed her neck, lightly licking her skin.
//Harold stepped back straight away, aptly rubbing his cheek as he glared back at Faith. His eyebrows furrowed and he took in a long deep breath, puffing out his chest. "You always did like to play rough."//
Faith felt fear take over and she managed to pull free of him this time. She quickly turned to face him, her heart pounding in her chest. She quickly buttoned her shirt back up. "Not here."
"Aw, come on..." Fred exclaimed, shaking his head. He rubbed his hand over his head in that infuriated circular motion, letting her know how pissed he really was for the rejection. "No one's going to come in."
"No." She shook her head and started to walk past him, toward the door, just wanting to get out of the room, away from him.
He grabbed her by the arm again, turning her to face him. "You know what, I give up on you..." he said, pushing her aside and storming across to the door. He quickly unlocked the door, pulled it open, then walked out.
Faith closed her eyes tightly, relief washing over her. Then she followed him out the door.
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Faith smiled briefly at the hostess as the woman seated her and Fred's family at three large tables she'd pulled together. "Thanks."
"Sure," the woman told her, smiling back. She walked away.
Faith sat down on one end of the table, next to Fred. His mother sat down across from him, his brother across from her, and Natalie next to her husband, diagnolly across from her. Fred's grandmother sat on the other side of his mom, with his sister Patti next to Fred, her husband to her right, and then all the kids down at the other end of the table, away from the adults a bit.
"I hate coming to buffets," Helen announced, sighing heavily, in her oh-so-ever-dramatic way. "It's almost as bad as cooking yourself since no one waits on you." She cast a glance over at Faith, then looked away, frowning. "Honestly, if you give your children everything they want, they'll have no respect for you, and besides, they should learn to eat what you serve. You shouldn't have to go out of your way to make them something special. I certainly never did."
Yeah, there's a big shock, Faith thought.
"Here we go," Brandon, Patti's' eldest child at eighteen moaned down the other end, having heard his grandmother's ramblings.
Fred smiled down at his mother, nodding his agreement. "I think you've got a point there...kids these days have no idea, am I right, Ron?"
Emily glanced over at her cousin, then her mom, then over at her brother Charlie, still not saying anything.
"Amen to that," Ron agreed, glancing sideways at Natalie. "When we have kids, I'm going to make sure they're raised right."
Natalie looked back at her husband, cringing in thought, though she nodded faintly. She turned back to her plate, wordlessly.
"Good you do that," Fred stated, glaring at his own wife, then looking back over at his brother.
"Yeah, well, I guess I figure there's enough anorexia in the world, I'm not going to try to make my kids eat food they don't like so they don't want to eat," Faith said calmly, taking a sip of her water.
"Here here," Natalie said softly, her voice a bare whisper.
Helen smiled thinly. "I hardly think anyone in *your* family has to worry about anorexia, dear."
Fred laughed at his mother's comment.
"Yeah, I guess my kids don't have to worry about that from either side, do they?" she replied, smiling back.
"Hey, watch it..." Fred elbowed her. "Just mind what you're saying," he warned.
Faith rolled her eyes and scooted her chair away from his slightly. She looked at Natalie, but remained silent.
Patti shook her head where she sat, then looked at her grandmother. "So, Grandma Regina...how are you holding up?" she asked, resisting the urge to get in on the conversation, or to say, disagreement between her sister-in-law and mother.
"I'm still walking," Regina replied, grinning crookedly. "I'm going out on a date next weekend."
Ron nearly choked on his water. "You're what?"
The older woman smiled down the table and Faith and Natalie and winked. "What? Just because I'm eighty-three means I can't have a life?"
Faith grinned and chuckled. "Good for you."
"No...but, in your state..." Fred exclaimed. "You shouldn't be dating."
"What's he like?" Natalie quietly asked.
"In my state?" Regina echoed, glaring at him briefly, insulted. "I'm not dead, Freddy." She shook her head, then focused her attention on Natalie. "He's sixty-five, real adventerous fellow. Likes to camp and fish and hunt...and he's a great kisser," she replied, winking.
Patti's husband Roy glanced at his wife, amused by her grandmother's words.
"Details we don't need at the dinner table," Fred mumbled.
Patti glanced over at her brother, then back to her grandmother. "How long have you been seeing each other?" she asked, getting a nod of agreement from Natalie.
"Oh, you want details?" Regina smiled and looked at him. "I haven't even gotten to the night we spent--"
"Grandma!" Ron exclaimed, stunned.
"Oh, lighten up. Life's too short to be a stick-in-the-mud." She looked at Patti. "A couple months now."
"Good for you..." Patti told her, though slightly astonished at herself for saying that aloud. Especially in front of her mother and finicky brothers.
"Thanks, dear." Regina smiled at her granddaughter.
"Faith, how's your job going?" Roy asked curiously, glancing down the table at her.
"Oh, good. It's good," she answered, smiling at him briefly before taking another sip of her water.
"Liar," Fred snarled under his breath.
Faith looked at him, startled.
He rose his eyebrows back at her as if to say, 'what, you're going to deny it?'
She just shook her head, not willing to fight with him in front of everyone.
"So how do you ever accomplish anything around the apartment, Faith? With the horrid hours you work?" Helen asked, looking at her.
"Yeah, Faith...how do you do that?" Fred asked, being the bitter mother fucking asshole he was.
She glared at him for a second, then looked at her mother-in-law, trying to remain calm. "I don't sleep much," she informed her.
"I should think not, what with the getting shot at all the time..." Helen shook her head. "I don't know why you do it, dear. Your children need you at home."
"The children also need a roof over their heads, Helen," Regina said, leaning against the table.
You... Fred angrily thought, but didn't say anything.
"Well, I think Faith's doing a wonderful thing. Protecting others, as well as her family," Natalie spoke up, her voice still ever so quiet. She glanced over at Faith, then down at her glass again.
Ron glared at her. "She'll wind up getting killed and leaving her children motherless. Of course, I'm sure that wouldn't bother *you* any."
Natalie flinched at her husband's tone. She was only trying to be helpful after all.
"Hey, why don't we take turns going up to the buffet?" Roy suggested, trying to diffuse the rising tensions at the table.
"What a good idea," Patti said, smiling sideways at her husband. "Who's first?"
"Mom, why don't you and Patti and Fred go up first?" Ron suggested.
"That's a lovely idea, dear." Helen smiled at her eldest son, then at Fred and Patti. "Shall we?"
Fred nodded, pushing his chair back as he rose to his feet.
"Let's," Patti said, smiling as she rose from her seat.
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Bosco stood in the main doorway with his mother. He quickly glanced around the restaurant, letting out a sigh as the hostess came over. He gave the reservation name and they were then led over to their table. He turned to his mother just as she stepped up to the table and pulled her chair out for her. "This place looks pretty crowded..." he commented, as if hoping she'd give in and say they could go somewhere else, somewhere quieter, for dinner.
"It's always this crowded. It's the best buffet in the City," Angela replied, smiling at him as she sat down.
Bosco rose his eyebrow at her, before taking up the seat opposite her at the small round table. "Well, it better be, for the price we're paying," he said.
She chuckled. "Oh, it is." She set her purse down on the floor. "Mind if I go up first, Maurice?"
He looked back at her. "Go right ahead. I'll wait until you get back, so no one thinks of taking our table."
"Thanks." She smiled at him and headed for the buffet.
"Sure..." he faintly mumbled, letting out a low groan.
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Faith dished out a small amount of lettuce for a salad on her plate, tired at the thought of going back over to the table with Fred and his family. She hated holidays. She closed her eyes momentarily, wishing to be anywhere but there. Hell, she'd rather be involved in a high-speed chase than be there. She opened her eyes and turned to go back to the table when she ran right into someone. Her plate slipped from her hands and tumbled to the floor. Luckily it didn't break. However, the other person dropped their plate, too. She quickly knelt down, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she reached for the plates, apologizing. "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry..."
"Faith?"
She jerked her head up, shocked to find herself staring directly into Bosco's blue eyes. "Boz?"
"Hey," he grinned widely back at her.
She couldn't stop herself from grinning back. "Hey yourself. Wow, this is weird..."
"Very...what are you doing here? I thought you were having dinner with boring Fred and his boring family?"
Faith chuckled. "I am, but his boring mother decided she didn't feel like cooking because after all, it's such hard work to get up in the morning."
"Eh, that poor, poor woman..." he said back, though being extremely sarcastic.
"Oh, yeah." She rolled her eyes and reached for the plates again. "Sorry about this," she said, shaking her head tiredly as she motioned to the mess she'd caused.
"Don't be, I wasn't even watching where I was going," Bosco said. "I'll let the hostess know, so they can clean up."
"No, I've got it," she told him quickly, grabbing a handful of lettuce off the floor. She grimaced as she glanced down at her skirt, a bit of salad dressing having spilled on it.
"It's okay..." he said, pulling a clean white hankercheif out of his pocket. "Here..." he quietly added, handing it to her. He then started gathering the bits of food from the floor and placing it onto the two plates.
"Thanks," she said softly, her hand brushing against his as she took the handkerchief from him.
"Any time," he said, pausing as his eyes met hers.
She quickly wiped the dressing off her skirt and helped him clean up the mess, not wanting to stand up because she didn't want to be motioned back to the table. "So you and your mom are here?"
He nodded. "Yep, a few tables behind us. She says it's the best buffet in town...I had my doubts, but...now I've seen you..."
Faith felt her heart skip a beat as she gazed at him. "You always know exactly how to make me feel better," she said quietly. "How do you do that, Boz?"
He shrugged slightly, still smiling. "Guess I know what can make you smile..."
"You have no idea how glad I am to see you here," she told him seriously.
"Me too...wish you could come join me and Ma," he said softly.
She closed her eyes. "God, me too," she muttered, dreading going back to Fred's family's table.
Bosco's brow creased slightly. "So why don't you? You could bring the kids too if you like, so you don't have to be around Fred and his family."
"I'd never hear the end of it, Boz." She opened her eyes again and looked at him sadly.
"Yeah...you're right..." he replied, sighing.
"I don't even want to go back over there. I can't stand his mother. Or his brother." She shook her head. "His family's more screwed up than mine."
"I don't doubt it...if Fred is anything to go by..." he muttered. "Just come join us, they probably won't even notice you're gone..."
"Oh, they'd definitely notice. They're probably over there right now talking about what a bad mother I am because I'm not a stay-at-home mom," she muttered.
"What?" he exclaimed, shaking his head. "Bastards. You know what we should do then, don't you?"
"Kill them all?" Faith asked hopefully.
"Exactimono..." he replied, raising his eyebrows and grinning.
She grinned. "Somehow I knew that was what you were going to say..."
"Yep..." Bosco grinned wider still. "Unless you have a better idea?"
"Hmm...get someone else to do it so we don't go to jail?"
"Oooh, who do we know that we could blackmail into it?"
She thought for a moment. "Good question...there's gotta be a ton of people, right?"
"Right, I know five good guys we can use any one of...." he replied, thinking. "There's also Barbara..."
Faith shook her head and laughed. "Thank you."
"My pleasure," he smiled back at her, laughing too.
She hesitated for a moment, then leaned toward him and kissed him gently on the cheek. "You're a great guy, Bosco. Don't ever let anyone tell you different," she said quietly, her voice serious as she gazed at him.
"You don't know what the means to me, coming from you," he said back.
She pressed her hand against his cheek. "I'm just saying the truth."
"Thank you," he whispered softly, placing his hand over hers. He wanted in that moment to lean forward and place a kiss on her lips, but knew it wasn't the right place.
Faith gave him a small smile. "I should...get back before they think I disappeared. Knowing Fred's brother, he'd call out a hunting party to come find me," she said, only half-joking.
Bosco's smile faded, turning into a slight frown. "Yeah, I better get back to Ma, else she'll think I've chickened out...you be okay, though?"
"I will be now," she said softly, gazing at him.
"Good..." he whispered back, letting out a soft sigh.
"Tell your mom I said hi?"
"I will, give a hug to the kids for me?"
She nodded. "You know...even though we're not spending the holiday together...it's nice to to know that you're just right across the room," she admitted, almost shyly.
"Yeah, same with you...and if things get to be too much, you know there's a seat over this way for you, okay?" Bosco quietly asked, gently squeezing her hand.
Faith smiled at him gratefully and squeezed his hand back. "Thank you." She gave him another quick kiss on the cheek before she rose to her feet.
Bosco stayed where he was for a moment, before rising to his feet. "Any time," he smiled back at Faith.
She squeezed his hand one last time before letting go and grabbing another plate, quickly filling it with more salad. She glanced at him with a small, wistful smile, then headed back to her table.
