"Falling" is the sixteenth episode in the sixtieth episode overall of the third season on NBC series Third Watch. It was written by Janine Sherman Barrois, then directed by Jesus Salvador Trevino. It aired on April 1, 2002.
Plot
Bosco starts having panic attacks and goes to see a therapist, but it doesn’t work and later he turns to the only person who’ll listen. Carlos is discovering the trials of single parenthood and starts thinking about adoption. Faith is studying for the Sergeant's exam. However, her concerns about Bosco’s mental and emotional health cause her to fail and this angers Fred, and he blames her for it and storms out of the house. But later, he comes back and sees Faith comforting a sobbing and weeping Bosco after Bosco admits that he couldn’t go back to the World Trade Center Towers after they fell down.
Short summary
Bosco's emotional turmoil escalates when he begins to experience panic attacks and flashbacks, but he denies that there's anything wrong. After he has a panic attack while driving the patrol car and nearly causes a crash, Sully insists that Bosco see his friend Brian O'Malley, a therapist and a former cop.
Bosco angrily resists O'Malley's suggestion that the panic attacks and flashbacks to the incidents with Shaquana Golden, Jared McKinley and Glen Hobart are the result of September 11 post-traumatic stress disorder and storms out of the counseling session. His personal crisis comes to a head when he is suspended from duty for a week and ordered into mandatory counseling for punching a suspect already in custody.
Carlos starts an open adoption process for Kylie, but he fails to follow through on appointments as he becomes more attached to her. Ty pitches in to help with the babysitting and saves Kylie's life when she suddenly becomes very ill and stops breathing.
Fred invests his hopes for a better future for his family on Faith passing the sergeant's exam. However, the pair get into a heated argument after he realizes that Faith is worried about Bosco's well-being. He realizes that it may have caused her to fail it. He angrily snaps at her and storms out of the house. Later on, Bosco comes to see Faith. He tells her that he is going to get counseling after what he did. He admits that he wasn’t able to go back to the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. He says he saw some people jumping from the North Tower. He says he saw people holding hands and holding their dresses down. He admits that he couldn’t do anything to help. He says he was afraid. He realizes that he ran away from the Towers after seeing them fall down. He finally breaks down in tears and Fred comes back into the house and witnesses Faith comforting Bosco and his anger goes away.
Cast
Main
| Portrayed by | Name | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Beach | Monte Parker | FDNY Paramedic |
| Coby Bell | Ty Davis | NYPD Officer |
| Eddie Cibrian | Jimmy Doherty | FDNY Firefighter |
| Amy Carlson | Alex Taylor | FDNY Paramedic/Firefighter |
| Molly Price | Faith Yokas | NYPD Officer |
| Kim Raver | Kim Zambrano | FDNY Paramedic |
| Anthony Ruivivar | Carlos Nieto | FDNY Paramedic |
| Skipp Sudduth | John Sullivan | NYPD Officer |
| Jason Wiles | Maurice Boscorelli | NYPD Officer |
Also starring
| Portrayed by | Name | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Bauer | Fred Yokas | Faith's husband and Emily's father |
Recurring
- Josh Hamilton as Dr. Thomas
- Joe Lisi as Lieutenant Bob Swersky
- Charlie McWade as Officer Steve Gusler
- Saundra McClain as Nurse Mary Proctor
- P.J. Morrison as Emily Yokas
- Jeremy Bergman as Charlie Yokas
- Alyxx Morgen as Nurse Morgen (listed as uncredited)
Guest
- Ted Levine as Brian O'Malley
- Crystal Bock as Rami Lincoln
- Andrew Weems as Lion
- Catherine Curtin as Zebra
- Chuck Ardezzone as Eddie Denali
- Elizabeth Flax as Bella
- Don Clark Williams as Newscaster
- Morgan Ferguson as Kid #1
- Raye Zaragoza as Kid #2 (credited as Rayanna Zaragoza)
- Rydell Rollins as Kid #3
- Jessica Pimentel as Josie
- Claude Vincent as Lt. Jasper
Trivia
- Kim Raver (played as Kim Zambrano) and Eddie Cibrian (played as Jimmy Doherty) are both do not appear in this episode.
- Josh Hamilton and Charlie McWade are both final appearances in this episode.
Music
- None
Quotes
- Taylor: [about Kylie] Look at her, she's so beautiful.
- Davis: Yeah, she's real cute.
- Taylor: Who would have thought? The spawn of Carlos.
- Carlos: [to Kylie in a baby voice] That's a mean old Uncle Ty. He got shot in his Mr. Wiggles.
- Bosco: So, you're a cop?
- Brian O'Malley: I was a cop. Now I counsel guys like you.
- Bosco: Listen, I really don't want the department knowing.
- Brian O'Malley: Like I said, guys like you. These episodes, are they affecting your job?
- Bosco: No.
- Brian O'Malley: Okay, bye.
- Bosco: Excuse me?
- Brian O'Malley: Get out. If you're going to stand there and lie to me, you might as well go home. Why waste our time? You drinking?
- Bosco: Not too much. A few days a week, maybe. A few shots.
- Brian O'Malley: Bourbon.
- Bosco: How'd you know?
- Brian O'Malley: Goes down great, doesn't it? Like little razor blades scraping away at that bile in the back of your throat.
- Bosco: Yeah. Definitely.
- Brian O'Malley: Quit. Definitely. Unless you want to end up in AA with another problem to solve. Life's hard enough.
- Bosco: I was off duty. I woke up at some chick's place. I heard the roaring of the plane, so I ran down.
- Brian O'Malley: Down what street?
- Bosco: I don't remember the street.
- Brian O'Malley: Most guys know exactly where they were.
- Bosco: I was pulling people out.
- Brian O'Malley: Out of the rubble? What Tower?
- Bosco: See, people don't know. You watch Channel 4 news, and you think you know, but listen to me, you don't know.
- Brian O'Malley: Okay, I don't know. Yet everything that causes your PTSD happened after the 11th.
- Bosco: Who said anything about PTSD?
- Brian O'Malley: I did. Post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Bosco: I know what it is. Listen to me. A bank bag exploded in my face. That's it. That's all.
- Brian O'Malley: Okay, thank you for coming.
- Bosco: That's it?
- Brian O'Malley: Yeah, that's it. I told you not to lie to me. That's it.
- Bosco: I'm-- I'm not coming back.
- Brian O'Malley: You're not invited.
- Bosco: You know, I got down there right when the second tower was being hit...
- Faith: What?
- Bosco: And they were already jumping from the North Tower. People falling, you know? And I'm watching them, all the way down. There was nothing that I could do.
- Faith: There was nothing that any of us could do.
- Bosco: They were just falling. But so hard and so fast and then, it seemed like it took forever, ten seconds, fifteen, I don't really know. I saw a couple people holding hands. Faith, I saw women holding their dresses down. And that sound, that thump. And I'm just standing there. I'm just standing there doing nothing. I pointed a few people this way and that way, but... I was frozen. It was like I was frozen. I was numb. I couldn't believe it. And then, and then there was this rumble. It was like nothing I ever heard before. This huge wave of sound. So, I ran. I ran away, Faith.
- Faith: Bosco, the tower was coming down.
- Bosco: I just... I ran. I kept running. I remember I just kept running. I kept running. And that, that, that, that cloud came. And I couldn't see a thing. I could see nothing. It was just pitch black. But I was still running. (starts crying and breathing shakily) I couldn't breathe. I thought that was it. I must have run right into a building ‘cause that's when I finally stopped running.
- Faith: Everybody ran.
- Bosco: I didn't go back.
- Faith: Yes, you did.
- Bosco: I sat on the street and I just, I couldn't… I couldn't, I could not go back.
- Faith: Bosco, I saw you there.
- Bosco (Softly starts crying): I sat there. I was…I was afraid.
- Faith: Bosco, I saw you there. You were helping people.
- Bosco: No, later, you saw me later. ‘Cause I sat there. And it must have been for like… it just must've been for an hour. I was there sitting for an hour. I don't know how long. I could have been there for two hours.
- Faith: Bosco, you were probably in shock.
- Bosco (starts crying harder): Faith, I ran. God help me, I ran… (mumbles and sobs at the same time)
- Faith (softly): Bosco... (hugs him as he is still crying and soothes him) It's okay, it's okay. Bosco, it's okay.
- Fred: [to Faith] You can just stand there and tell me that Bosco distracted you from nailing this test? Is that what happened?
- Faith: I don't know, maybe I just choked.
- Fred: That's crap. You don't choke. You could've taken this test hanging by your ankles and you would've passed it.
- Faith: Fred, you know what, this is my career...
- Fred: No, it's not! It's our life! It's about a better life for yourself, for your kids and for me. You let Bosco get in the way of that.
- Faith: No. Bosco had nothing to do with this. It was me.
- Fred: Yeah, yeah. Defend him as usual.