Archive of Our Own ^beta

Bosco slid into the driver's seat of the RMP, and buckled his seatbelt as he waited for Faith to get in. It was a rather uneventful evening so far. Most of their calls just consisted of the typical shoplifting that took place during the holiday season, and even those didn't amount to much. He looked over as his partner settled into the car. "You ready?"

"Yep." She snapped her seatbelt in place, leaning her head back against the seat.

He put the car in gear, and slowly pulled away from the curb. They didn't have any calls waiting for them so he headed for their spot under the bridge.

Faith gazed out her passenger window silently for a long time. There was a lot of silence between them these days, ever since she'd been back. They were partners again, but everything was different. "So have you got all your shopping done?" She didn't look at him, but felt the need to make conversation, even if it wasn't over anything meaningful.

"Almost." He paused, taking a breath. "Just got a couple people left."

She nodded mutely, looking out at the water.

"Charlie still likes Harry Potter, right?" he asked looking over at her.

A small smile touched her lips. "Yeah. Some things never change."

"Good." He nodded his head, and fell silent for a few moments after turning to look out the driver's side window. "Whadda you want this year," he asked softly.

Faith was quiet for a moment. There were a lot of things she wanted for Christmas, but she wasn't sure there was anything he could do about any of it. "Don't worry about gettin' me anything this year."

Bosco turned to look at her. "What?"

She shrugged. "Neither one of us is rich, Boz, so..."

"Yeah, but...I always get you somethin' even...last year," he finished in a whisper.

She almost flinched, closing her eyes. "I know, but it's not necessary."

"I know it's not, but..."

"Look, we both know things have changed." Her voice was soft, not harsh. Just sad. "I just don't think we should worry about it this year."

He stared down at the steering wheel, nodding his head slightly. Things had definitely changed. They were riding together, but they weren't as close as they used to be. Together they functioned as one when it came to doing their jobs, but other than that things had a tendency to be forced. "Okay," he whispered.

"So uh...what are you...what are you doin' for the holidays?" she asked softly.

"Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve like always, then my mother's for dinner on Christmas day, and that about covers it." He gazed out the windshield. "You?"

"Fred's got the kids Christmas Eve. They're comin' over Christmas day." She propped her head up on her hand, leaning her elbow against the window.

"Make sure you remind me to bring the gifts for the kids to work." His voice was as distant as his gaze.

"You can come by Christmas Day if you want, give 'em to them yourself."

"I don't wanna get in the way."

She was silent for a moment. "It's not the kids who had the problem with you, Bosco."

"Right," he whispered. "But are you gonna be okay if I come over?"

"If I can handle sitting beside you for eight hours in an RMP six days a week, I think I can handle you dropping by my apartment." There was a faint smile on her lips as she turned to look at him.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Just tell me when to show up."

"Come by whenever you want. Kids'll be over by 8 and we'll be there all day. I'm cookin' dinner, so...you can stay for that if you want, too."

"Maybe we should see how things go before you go invitin' me to stay for dinner," he told her softly.

Faith looked away, stared out her window again.

Bosco closed his eyes as he let out a breath, and dragged a hand over his face. There was one thing he wanted for Christmas, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to get it this year.

* * *

Faith stood at her locker, feeling more tired than she usually did after a shift. Especially one in which they didn't really have any big calls. They'd barely had to get out of their squad the whole day. She pulled her jacket out and slipped it on, casting a glance over at Bosco, who was sitting on the bench, tying his shoes. She closed her locker door and when the sound resonated throughout the room she realized how utterly silent it was. Sully and Davis had both left already, and so had most of the other officers on their shift. She hesitated a moment. "Bosco?"

He didn't look up as he finished lacing his shoes. "Yeah?"

She bit her lip. "Nothing. Have a good night." Her voice was soft as she turned to head for the door.

He stood up, and walked around the bank of lockers to look at her. "What is it," he asked softly.

She paused, turned to face him. "Are you in a hurry to get home?"

"No," he answered as he shook his head. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering...if it's not too much trouble...you think you could give me a ride? I don't have enough for a cab, and...I don't feel like walkin' to the subway."

"Sure. Just let me grab my jacket."

"Okay. Thanks," she said softly, slipping her hands into her jacket pockets.

Bosco walked back over to his locker, and removed his leather jacket and winter hat. He was a little shocked that she'd asked him for a ride. But there was no way he was going to say no to her because he knew that it had taken a lot for Faith to ask him for a ride. He closed his locker. "All set."

She offered him a small, faint smile as they headed for the door. Just as she reached out to grab the handle, it opened and she found herself facing Maritza Cruz. She tensed immediately, refusing to look away, her eyes cold.

Cruz glared at the other woman as they both stood in the doorway. It was over a year since the incident, but that hadn't changed how the two officers felt about each other.

He swallowed hard. "Excuse us, Sarge." Bosco gave Faith a gentle nudge to get her to move.

Her jaw was tense and she moved past Cruz without saying a word to her.

Bosco shot Cruz a look as he brushed past her, and followed Faith.

She was silent as they exited the station, her body still tense just from the sight of the sergeant. It was bitterly cold outside and she pulled her coat around her a little tighter.

"You okay," he asked softly.

"I'm fine," she answered tersely.

"Right," he whispered. "So..."

Her emotions were jumbled together as she stood in the middle of the street motionless.

Bosco turned to look at her. "Anything I can do," he asked softly.

"I think I'm gonna catch the subway after all."
He looked down at his shoes, then back up at her. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

She was silent for a moment, not looking at him. "I don't blame you anymore. But I don't wanna take it out on you either. I just need to clear my head."

He let out a breath. "Yeah. Okay."

Faith inhaled slowly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Bosco nodded his head. "Faith?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you gonna be alright?"

"Always am," she answered quietly, avoiding his eyes. She turned and walked away, her shoulders slumped forward slightly, her hands buried in her coat pockets as she walked against the cold December wind down the darkened street. Alone.

* * *

Bosco hurried into the locker room, stripping off his jacket as he headed for his locker. He glanced around the room at his fellow officers as he began to change into his uniform. As he strapped on his vest he looked toward Faith's locker, surprised that she wasn't there. He checked his watch, and his eyebrows furrowed. Roll call was in a couple minutes, and Faith wasn't there yet.

"Roll call in two minutes!" Christopher shouted as he opened the locker room door.

"Anybody seen Yokas," Bosco asked as he pulled on his sweater.

Davis glanced over at him. "Haven't seen her since last night."

"She's never late."

He shifted his gaze to Yokas's locker. "Maybe she's stuck in traffic," he said with a shrug.

Bosco shook his head. "She doesn't drive."

"Don't know what to tell ya." He shrugged again and headed for the exit. "See you in roll call."

He nodded. "Yeah," he whispered, his voice barely audible as he stared over at Faith's locker. Something had to be wrong if she wasn't at work. Ever since she'd been back she'd done everything in her power to be at work every day.

* * *

Swersky glanced around the roll call room. "All right, that's it. Boscorelli, you're ridin' solo today. Eyes and ears open out there."

Bosco stared at the lieutenant, his eyes narrowed. As the rest of the officers filed out of the room he walked up to Swersky. "I'm solo?"

"That's what I said." He nodded.

"Where's Faith?"

"She called in, took a sick day."

A worried look crossed his face, and he swallowed hard. As awkward as it could be working with Faith these days he still got concerned when she wasn't around. It had been over a year since she'd been shot, but he couldn't help the fear that coursed through him when she wasn't there. In the back of his mind there was always the worry that the bullet that was still resting near her spine would shift, and cause her pain or some kind of setback.

"She said she thought she was gettin' the flu," Swersky said, his voice quiet as he gazed at Bosco.

He nodded his head, and zipped up his jacket as he made his way to the door.

The lieutenant watched him go, sighing softly and wondering if the two partners would ever get back to the way they had been before.

* * *

Faith lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling blankly. Feeling numb, distant from herself.
She exhaled slowly and let her eyes drift shut. She had woke up feeling fine, but as time approached for the shift to begin, she started to dread going into work. So she'd called in sick and she didn't feel guilty about it as she normally may have. She'd spent the afternoon going through photograph albums and listening to Christmas music while drinking a wine cooler. The pictures and albums were still strung around the living room floor and the coffee table, and she knew she should go and pick them up but she didn't feel like it. It wasn't like there was anyone around to complain about the mess and frankly she didn't care right then. A soft knock pulled her from her thoughts and her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

She sat up on the bed and paused until she heard the sound again. Then she slowly made her way out of her bedroom, down the hall and to the front door, not bothering to check and see who was there before she pulled it open.

Bosco stood with his hands resting on his gunbelt, and as the door opened he looked up slowly. There was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes.

She was more than a little shocked to see him. "What are you doin' here?"

"Uh...Lieu said you were sick, so I uh..."

"Oh." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, lowering her gaze from his, unsure of what to say. She certainly hadn't expected him to drop by and check on her.

He stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets. "So you're not feelin' so hot, huh?"

She shrugged slightly. "I'm all right."

"Do you need anything," he asked softly. "Cause I could run to the store."

"I'm not sick, Boz." Faith paused, realizing that was the first time she'd call him that in months.

He looked at her, a slightly confused look on his face. "Oh."

"I'm just tired."

"Okay, well then I guess I'll leave you alone," he said softly as he looked down at the floor.

She was silent for a moment. "You want some coffee?"

The question stunned him, and he quickly looked up at her. "Uh...Yeah." He nodded his head. "That'd be great. It's kinda cold out there."

"Yeah, the weather reporters are callin' for snow." She stepped aside to let him in, glancing at the wreck in her living room of pictures and photo albums strung everywhere.

Bosco took a few steps into the apartment, and then turned to watch her as she closed the door. It had been a very long time since he'd been at her place, and it was the first time he'd ever felt like a stranger inside these walls.

Faith slid her fingers through her hair as she headed for the kitchen, carefully stepping around the scattered images. "You can sit down if you want." Her voice was soft.

"Thanks." He looked around the living room at the albums that were scattered about. Being careful not to step on anything he moved over to sit on the sofa. His eyes settled on a picture that was on the coffee table, and he reached out to pick it up.

"You still take your coffee black?"

Bosco jumped at the sound of her voice. He'd been lost in thought for a moment as he stared at the picture, and her voice had startled him. "Yeah."

"Okay." She pulled a mug down from the cabinet, waiting for the coffee maker to do its thing after she dumped more coffee grounds into it.

He turned his attention back to the photo in his hand. The picture was from Christmas a few years back. One of Emily's gifts had been a camera, and she'd wanted to test it out. When she'd aimed the camera at him he'd immediately grabbed hold of Faith's arm, and pulled her into the picture with him.

Faith carried the cup of coffee into the living room, pausing in the entryway as she caught sight of him staring at a photo he held in his hand. He was gazing at it intently, a sad, almost lost expression on his face. She closed her eyes for a moment, then slowly walked over to the sofa. "Here."

Bosco quickly set the picture down, and turned to take the coffee from her. "Thanks," he said softly.

Her gaze dropped to the photograph he'd set on the table. She sat down beside him, silent for a moment. Then she spoke, her voice very soft. "I don't think I can do this anymore."

"Do what," he asked in a whisper, afraid of what her answer was going to be.

She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "I been lookin' through these pictures all day, and...I don't know, it just...it feels like it was somebody's else life, you know?"

He bit his lip, and nodded his head slightly. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice barely audible.

"Don't," she said, her voice still soft. "I told you, I don't blame you."

"Yeah, that's what you say." His voice was hushed, sad as he looked at the picture once more.

"If I blamed you, I wouldn't have chosen you," she said sharply.

He flinched at the tone of her voice. "Chosen me?"

"Forget it." She stood up slowly, tired and headed for the kitchen again.

Bosco set down his coffee, and pushed himself off the sofa. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Why can't we ever just talk? Why do you always start to say something then stop?"

"Because it never leads to a good place, so why talk?"

"And since when has -not- talking led us to a good place?"

She closed her eyes, leaned against the kitchen counter. He had a point there, as much as she hated to admit it.

"It's been a year Faith, and we've hardly talked." His voice was soft as he gazed at her.

"I know," she said quietly, reaching up and rubbing the back of her neck with one hand, staring down at the countertop.

"I know you're not over what happened. Hell, it's never gonna go away. I realize that." He paused. "And I realize that I'm a huge part of the problem, Faith."

She closed her eyes again, drawing in a breath and letting it out slowly. "I don't want -you- to go away." Her voice was nearly inaudible.

He stared at her for a moment. "You don't?"

"No," she whispered.

Bosco ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't wanna go away. I know I said that I would, but..."

She turned around slowly to face him, her eyes cloudy, unreadable. "I don't know what to do. To make things better. I don't even know if I can."

He exhaled. "I don't either. I guess...I guess I just kept thinkin' that seeing as we were working together it'd just kinda come, ya know? It'd just fall into place."

"Doesn't seem to be workin', though, does it?" she asked softly.

He shook his head sadly. "No," he whispered.

Faith was silent for a moment. "Fred gave me a choice. He said I could stay home from now on, or I could go back to work and come home to an empty apartment."

His eyes widened slightly, and he didn't know what to say.

"The funny thing is, I don't really miss him." Her voice was soft. "I think he was actually glad on some level that I got hurt cause then he got the wife he always wanted. The one who stayed home while he went to work, and had dinner ready when he got home, and took care of the laundry and the housework. But that's not who I am."

"He actually made you choose," he asked once he found his voice.

"He didn't understand how I could even consider going back to a job that almost got me killed."

"It wasn't the job that almost got you killed," he said softly.

Faith lifted her gaze to look at him. "No. I did that."

His jaw was clenched tight, and he shook his head. "No. She did that."

"Don't get me wrong, I don't like her. If she died tomorrow, I wouldn't go to her funeral. But I'm the one who misread the situation."

Bosco had to look away. That night in the hotel room had been the first time in their partnership where their lines of communication hadn't been clear out in the field. And it had cost them severely.

"This wasn't your fault. You were lookin' at the whole picture. All I saw was her, and all I felt was hate. It blinded me," she said quietly.

He took a deep breath, but still didn't look at her.

She lowered her gaze to the floor. "You want more coffee?"

Bosco looked at his watch and sighed. "Shit. I gotta get back to work."

"Yeah." She nodded without looking up. "Catch ya later."

"Maybe...I could come over after the shift. We could talk some more?"

"If you want."

"I'll stop by Krispy Kreme on my way over. Get some of those doughnuts we like."

A smile tugged at her lips involuntarily and there was a hint of amusement in her blue eyes as she looked at him.

"What," he asked with a small chuckle.

She shook her head. "Nothing."

"So...I'll be by around midnight or so, okay?"

"Sure." She nodded slightly, gazing at him.

"I'll see you in a few hours," he told her as he headed for the door.

"Boz?"

He turned to look at her. "Yeah?"

"Be careful out there." Her voice was soft.

Bosco nodded his head. "I will."

Faith nodded and exhaled slowly as she watched him walk to the door.

He was about to pull the door open when he stopped, and looked over his shoulder. "Maybe you could keep out some of those pictures. We could go through them together."

"I'd like that," she said quietly.

A small smile touched his lips. "Later." He pulled the door open, and disappeared into the hallway.

"Later," she echoed, staring after him long after he left.

* * *

Bosco carried the box of doughnuts in one hand, and a cardboard drink carrier with two large cups of Cinnamon Hazelnut coffee in the other hand. Since his hands were full he gently kicked the door.

It opened a moment later and Faith stood before him, a slightly nervous look in her eyes. "Hey. Come on in."

He gave her a small smile that faded a moment later as he stepped inside her apartment. "How uh...how was the rest of your day," he asked softly.

"Uneventful. Yours?"

"It was okay." He shrugged. "Had an armed robbery over at one of those stores with all the specialty sports jerseys over on Front Street."

"Tis the season to steal expensive merchandise," she commented wryly.

"Yeah, no kidding. Talk about Merry Christmas."

"Catch the guy?"

Bosco nodded. "There was a witness that saw which way the guy headed. I chased the guy on foot into an alley while Sully and Davis blocked the other end with their RMP."

"He give you any trouble when you cornered him?"

"He pulled a gun."

Her eyes widened slightly.

"Davis and Sully got out of the RMP, and the guy got a little flustered seein' as he had three cops to deal with. He turned to face them, so I moved in. Grabbed him from behind."

"But you're okay? You weren't hurt?"

"Scraped my knee, and that's about it," he told her softly.

She bit her lip, nodding slightly. "Did you clean it?"

He shrugged. "I slapped a band-aid over it."

"You should clean it with peroxide so it doesn't get infected."

Bosco nodded his head, appreciating her concern. "Yeah. I will later."

"Why don't you put that stuff down and we'll do it now?"

His normal reaction would have been to protest, tell her that it was no big deal and that he was fine. But it had been a long time since she'd shown this much concern for him, and he had to admit that right now he was enjoying it. "Yeah. Okay," he sighed, acting like she'd forced him to give in.

"Don't give me that look," she warned, a glimmer of distant amusement in her eyes as she headed for the bathroom, pulling the peroxide out of the cabinet behind the sink.

He smiled softly as he put down the things he was carrying, and followed her down the hall.

"Sit down." She patted the counter of the sinktop and moved aside to make room for him.

Bosco did as instructed, and hopped up on the counter.

A sensation of familiarity washed over her and her mind was flooded with memories of the many times she'd insisted on patching him up after he'd been hurt. She pulled a cotton ball out of the package and carefully dumped some peroxide over it. "You wanna take that bandaid off?" Her voice was soft.

"Not exactly," he mumbled, reaching down to pick at the corner of the bandaid so he could pull it off.

She smirked at his comment.

He quickly yanked the bandaid off, wincing as it pulled the hair on his leg. "Damn."

"You're such a baby, Boz," she said, her voice light. She leaned toward him to clean the scrape on his knee and her baggy shirt drooped off her left shoulder, exposing a small amount of the skin beneath, the top of her scar showing.

He hissed slightly at the feel of the peroxide on his cut. "Well, if you had that much hair on your leg," he chuckled as he watched her for a moment. Bosco looked up, his gaze immediately settling on her scar.

"I'd be a guy?"

Bosco didn't answer her. His eyes were still locked on the scar.

She shifted her gaze to his face, then glanced down to see what he was looking at. She quickly moved away from him, pulling her shirt back up on her shoulder and covering the scar. She tossed the cotton ball into the wastebasket. "You want another bandaid?"

He swallowed hard, and blinked a few times. "What?"

"Do you want another bandaid?"

"Oh...sure."

She nodded and removed a case of bandaids from the medicine cabinet, handing one to him silently.

He took it from her, and slowly took off the wrapper, taking his time as he applied the strip to his skin.

Faith closed her eyes for a moment, sighing softly. Then she hoisted herself up onto the counter beside him, gazing down at the floor.

After a few moments of silence he turned his head to look at her, his expression sad.

She met his eyes, her own reflecting his sadness. "Can I ask you somethin'?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah, of course."

"Would it be easier for you if I transferred?" Her voice was quiet, serious.

"No," he answered immediately. "But...do you want to?"

"Not really. But I don't want you to think about what happened every time you look at me, and I think that's all you see."

"Not always," he whispered. "But often. When there's nothin' else goin' through my head. Nothin' to distract me from thinking about it."

She looked away. "That's all I see every time I see her."

Bosco nodded his head. "I know. I can tell."

Faith closed her eyes. "I can't seem to get past this hatred I have for her."

"It's not the same situation, but it took me a long time to get over everything she'd done." He took a deep breath. "I think...I think gettin' shot by her...bein' paralyzed for a while. It makes it that much harder to get past."

"Seems like I'm the only who's not past it." There was a hint of bitterness to her voice and she slid off the counter, moving past him and toward the door.

"Hey, hold up," he said softly.

She stopped, but didn't turn around, her body tense.

"I didn't mean that the way it sounded."

She stared at the wall of the hallway, forcing herself to take a deep breath. "I wasn't just referring to you."

"Cruz," he asked in a whisper.

"Everyone." Her voice was distant.

"Whadda you mean?"

She was silent for a moment. "The others on our shift...they talk and joke with her like nothin' ever happened. Like it didn't matter. It matters. This is my fucking life." She walked out of the room.

Bosco quickly slid off the counter, and followed her. "Not everybody, Faith."

"You know what the really ironic part is?"

He remained silent.

"I saved that bitch's life. And she almost took mine. If that's not irony for you, I don't know what is."

He leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes. "I really am sorry."

"I don't know if I can do this job anymore." Her voice was barely audible and she moved out into the living room, sank down onto the couch cushions.

"You're a great cop, Faith."

"How can I do my job when I doubt everybody around me?"

"Do you doubt me?"

She was silent for a moment. "I don't think you'd shoot me."

"But you doubt me," he stated.
"I doubt myself," she answered quietly.

He walked over, and sat on the coffee table in front of her. "All this time you've been back...you've doubted yourself?"

"How can I not?"

"Faith, that night...She was..." He shook his head. "If Noble hadn't pulled that gun. I'da shot Cruz myself."

"No, you wouldn't have."

"Yes, I would have."

She shook her head silently.

"She and I were on the outs already, and I'd -never- seen her like that. Never."

"But you must have sensed she wasn't the greater danger because you pulled your gun on Noble." Her voice was quiet.

"I knew you didn't see him. And he wasn't gonna hurt Cruz. You were a threat to his drug supply." He paused. "She was gonna run her mouth...Noble was just gonna...," he let his voice trail off.

"Exactly," she said softly.

"I had to pick one or the other, so I picked the one you didn't have a bead on."

She closed her eyes, rested her head in her hands as she leaned her elbows on her knees.

"Unfortunately..." He paused, and bit his lip for a moment. "You were gonna get shot either way," he whispered very softly.

"Lucky me, huh?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."

Tears stung her eyes and she quickly blinked them back as best she could. "Wasn't your fault."

He shrugged. "Doesn't really feel like that matters."

She lifted her head to gaze at him, her eyes still shiny with tears.

His eyes were sad as he saw the tears in her eyes. "You ever thought about going back to a counselor?"

"It didn't really help to start with so I kinda doubt it'd help now."

"You don't think it helped, but did it hurt? Maybe it helped more than you thought."

Faith looked at him dubiously. "Okay, who are you and where's the real Bosco?" She wiped a tear off her cheek.

He smiled softly. "I grew up."

"Damn. And I missed it." She smiled faintly.

"There's plenty of time to catch up."

"Yeah. I guess so," she said softly, suppressing a yawn.

"Will you do me a favor?"

"What's that?" She gazed at him.

"Don't make any rash decisions about work, okay?"

Faith exhaled slowly, lowered her gaze to the floor. "Deal."

"Now that I'm all grown-up you can talk to me about this stuff," he told her with a smile.

A small chuckle escaped her lips. "I talked before you grew up. You just didn't listen," she said lightly.

"I know." He nodded his head. "But now I'm listenin'."

"I'm gettin' that." Faith's voice was soft.

Bosco patted her knee. "It's gettin' late. I should probably go."

She nodded slightly and stood up, walking him to the door. "Tomorrow's Christmas Eve. If I don't talk to you again before then...merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Faith." He touched her arm. "That invitation still out there for comin' over Christmas day," he asked softly.

She glanced down at where his hand rested on her arm. "Yeah. It's still out there."

"I'll see you then for sure."

She nodded. "Okay. I'll see you."

"'Night Faith." He smiled softly then turned, and headed out the door.

"Boz, wait."

He turned around to look at her.

As soon as he was facing her once more, she moved forward and slipped her arms around his waist, resting her chin on his shoulder.

Bosco only hesitated for a second before wrapping his arms around her.

Faith closed her eyes, exhaling slowly. "I've missed you." Her voice was barely audible.

He gently rubbed her back. "I missed you, too."

"I want us to get past this so bad." She swallowed hard.

"So do I." He pulled away just slightly to look at her. "Today was kinda like our starting point."

She smiled faintly as she nodded her agreement. "Yeah." She was quiet for a moment. "Thanks for...not givin' up on me."

"After everything you've done for me...there was no way I was givin' up."

She kissed his cheek lightly. "Goodnight, Boz," she whispered.

"Call me if you need anything." He smiled softly before turning to walk away, feeling much better than he had in a long time.

* * *

Faith stood in the middle of the store, feeling more than a little claustrophobic with all of the people rushing around to buy last minute Christmas presents before all the shopping complexes closed early for Christmas Eve. She glanced around, not even sure where to start. She knew that she and Bosco had agreed not to exchange gifts, but the only people she was buying for this year was her kids and after her kids, the only person in her life that she felt at all close to was Bosco. They weren't back to normal, yet. Far from it. But they'd made a delicate start the night before. She wanted to get him something--something meaningful and from the heart.

The problem was she had no ideas of what that would be.

"Is there anything I can help you with," asked a soft voice.

She turned around to see who had spoken and found herself facing an older woman with curly gray hair. The woman instantly made her think of a kindly old grandmother type, and she was wearing a red sweater and a pair of black pants. "Oh, uh...do you work here?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing slightly.

The woman nodded her head, a warm smile on her face. "I'm helping out for the holidays."

"Oh. Well...I don't know if you can help me or not," Faith admitted softly.

"How 'bout we give it a shot?"

She smiled faintly. It was worth a try. "I'm lookin' for a gift for a friend. Somethin' meaningful. We've uh...had a rough few months and...it's been hard to get back to the way things were."

The woman nodded her head. "Tell me about your friend. Maybe we can think of something together."

"Oh. He's...complicated. He's changed a lot the last few months, really grown up a lot. He's..." She paused. "Been my best friend for ten years. Always stood by me when things were bad, even when I pushed him away."

"Okay. Now...do you want something he can have with him at all times? Like a necklace or a watch. Maybe a nice keychain with an inscription? Or do you want it to be something for his home? Like a nice clock?"

Faith paused. "I like the idea of it bein' somethin' he can have with him all the time. What about...I don't know, a watch with an engraving or something?"

She smiled. "Let's go look at our selection of men's jewelry. Maybe something will catch your eye."

Faith returned the smile. Confident that she was going to be able to pick out something for her partner that would be special and meaningful.

* * *

Bosco took a deep breath, and raked his hand through his hair. This was impossible. He'd decided that he was going to get Faith a Christmas gift even if she didn't want anything from him. In their eleven years of partnership he'd never gotten her a gift out of obligation. He'd always gotten her a gift because he wanted to, and this year was no exception. But he couldn't figure out what to get. On his first trip through the store he'd picked up a sweater that he thought she'd like, but a sweater just didn't seem like the right gift for the occasion. This year it had to be something symbolic of their friendship. Something to remind her that even though things were rough they still had a special bond.

"Procrastinate til the last minute again, Maurice?"

He turned around, his eyebrows furrowed. "Huh?"

The man smiled. "You always have waited til Christmas Eve to do your shopping."

"Do I know you?"

"Well, you used to."

He nodded his head slowly as he studied the older gentleman who was wearing jeans, and a plaid shirt with suspenders. He does look kind of familiar, Bosco thought. "I wasn't really procrastinating this year."

"No." The man smiled. "You've just gotten your faith back."

Bosco raised an eyebrow. "You could say that."

"And I did."

He rolled his eyes, and shook his head. "So anyway, I've only got one gift left to buy, so..."

"Maybe I can help you out."

"Yeah?" His voice was hopeful.

The man nodded. "You've gotten your faith back...but has she gotten hers back?"

"No, she's still..." He stopped midsentence. "How did you know?"

"Just a hunch."

Bosco eyed the man up for a moment, and came to the conclusion that he was harmless. "So, you really think you can help?"

The man smiled. "I'll do my best. Why don't we step over this way..."

He didn't ask any questions as he followed the man. Bosco knew he needed all the help he could get picking out Faith's gift. It had to be special this year.

* * *

Faith stood on Bosco's apartment doorstep later that evening, small gift bag in her hand. She knocked lightly on his door, hoping he was home. And alone. The thought of running into one of his "dates" didn't really appeal to her.

Bosco looked over at the door wondering who would be knocking on his door on Christmas Eve. He grabbed another Christmas cookie off the plate of baked goods his mother had given him, and took a bite as he walked over to the door. "Who is it?"

"Uh, it's me."

He quickly unlocked the door, and pulled it open. "Everything okay," he asked immediately.

She was a little surprised by how quickly he opened the door. "Yeah. Everything's fine, I just...Can I come in for a minute?"

"Of course." He stepped aside, and motioned her in.

She offered him a small smile and stepped inside his apartment, waiting til he'd closed the door again before she turned to look at him. "I know we said that uh...that we weren't gonna exchange gifts, but..." She held up the bag she was holding.

He smirked, and a soft chuckle escaped him.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

Bosco held up a finger. "Hold that thought." He walked over to the small Christmas tree in the corner of his living room, and came back with a package. "This is for you."

Faith couldn't help but grin. "I'd tell you that you shouldn't have but since that would be really hypocritical of me..."

"Yeah, it would." He handed her the gift, and took the bag she held out to him. "I wanted to get you something," he told her softly.

"Yeah. Same here," she admitted just as softly, meeting his gaze.

"So...do we open them now or wait until tomorrow?"

"Let's open them now." She smiled faintly.

He motioned toward the sofa. "Have a seat."

She nodded and made her way over to the couch, sitting down and scooting over to make room for him. She glanced at his television set. "Miracle on 34th Street?"

"It was this or 'It's a Wonderful Life', and I've had my fill of that movie."

Faith chuckled then turned to look at him. "So...you wanna go first?"

"If that's what you want."

She nodded again, gazing at him. "Yeah. Go ahead." She bit her lip.

He smiled at her as he opened the gift bag. After pushing aside the tissue paper he found a long black box. He pulled it out of the bag, and looked at it for a moment before looking up at Faith.

She smiled faintly, watching as he started to open the box.

Bosco set the lid aside, and stared at the silver watch that was tucked neatly in the box. "Wow."

"Turn it over," Faith said softly.

He carefully took the watch out of the box, and turned it over. "To Boz--the other half of 55-David. Love, Faith." He read aloud, and then rubbed his thumb over the engraved words.

"You like it?" she asked quietly.

"It's great, Faith." He pulled up the sleeve of his sweatshirt, and put the watch on. Then held his hand out in front of him as he looked at the gift. "Thanks," he whispered.

"You're welcome," she whispered back, her eyes soft.

He nodded toward the package she was holding. "Your turn."

Faith smiled faintly and slowly pulled the paper off the box he'd wrapped. She glanced at him briefly, then opened the box, removing a small angel. "That's beautiful," she murmured, gazing down at it.

"There's a card in there somewhere that explains it. It's the Angel of Hope," he informed her.

She looked over at him silently, her eyes full of warmth.

He smiled. "So, you like it?"

She smiled back. "Yeah. I love it. Thank you." She carefully set the angel down on the coffee table and hugged him.
Bosco shifted a little on the couch, and wrapped his arms around her.

She kissed his cheek softly. "You know...it's kinda weird...when I was in the store, I was tryin' to figure out what to get you and this old woman helped me figure it out."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. And I swear I knew her from somewhere, but..." She shook her head slightly. "I still can't remember where."

"That is weird, cause there was this old guy who helped me get your gift. It was kinda creepy cause he called me by my first name, and he kept telling me how I'd gotten my faith back."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Okay..."

"He was sayin' somethin' about how I'd gotten mine back, but my friend hadn't." Bosco shook his head a little, and looked down at the sofa. "I asked if I knew him, cause nobody really calls me Maurice, and he said I used to."

"That is...really bizarre," she murmured.

"Totally. And the really strange thing was...he led me right to the perfect gift. I mean, it was -exactly- what I was looking for even though I didn't really know what I was looking for."

"Yeah, that's...exactly what happened with me too." She stared at him.

Bosco looked at Faith for a moment, and then glanced over at the television. "You know, this is gonna sound really dumb, but...he kinda looked like..."

She shifted her gaze to the screen, her eyes widening slightly as she saw Santa and Mrs. Claus on the television. "Oh, my God."

"That's right, Officers. There really is a Santa Claus." He winked as he looked toward them. Then the image disappeared.

His face was almost white when he turned back to look at Faith. "Did you see that?"

Her mouth was hanging open. "If I say yes does that mean we're both schizophrenic?"

"Nobody has to know."

"Then, yes, I saw that."

Bosco took a deep breath, and looked at the watch Faith had given him. "It couldn't be. Could it?"

She glanced at the angel. "I don't know," she admitted, at a loss for another explanation.

He turned his head to look at her. "He was right," he whispered.

"Right about what?" she asked softly.

"I got my Faith back."