For The Love of a Child

Here's to a happy new year for all you Literotica fans. May God richly bless you, each and every one...

MoogPlayer

~~~~~~

Chapter One

My name is Mark Howard and I'm forty-nine years old. I stand six feet, three inches tall; and I weigh two hundred and fifty-five pounds, with no fat whatsoever. I have dark brown hair and eyes; and it was right around my twenty-sixth birthday when what you're about to read happened.

I was a Navy Corpsman for eight years, and once I was honorably discharged, I challenged the Board of Health in my home state and got my license to work as a Surgical Registered Nurse. I got a job in the biggest hospital in my home city and worked four days on and four days off. My coworkers were all very nice people who treated me great, but the best part of the job was the money I made. Hell, my starting salary was just a little over seventy thousand dollars a year.

You see, I'd joined the Navy right out of high school, at seventeen, and was twenty-five when I got out so; I was still fairly young when the hospital hired me. I went to work for Dr. Alvin Schwartz, one of the leading pediatricians in the country at the time. He was so impressed with my work that he made sure I was always there when he was, except for my days off. Like I said before, I'd always gotten along with the O.R. staff and they'd always gotten along with me. And it wasn't too long before I came to be respected as someone who could always be counted on to do their job, and do it correctly the first time, as there's little to no room for mistakes in the Operating Room.

After serving for four years as a Corpsman in Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, California, I was assigned to the Marine Corps detachment that was guarding the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon from nineteen eighty-one to nineteen eighty-five; and yes, I saw some action, too much if the truth was really known. So, because of not only what I'd been through in the Navy, but because of what I'd learned from those experiences; I realized, at a tender young age, how fragile life truly is, hence the reason I wanted to be somewhere that I could do some good. It was then I decided that I wanted to work in a civilian hospital O.R. once I was discharged from the military.

~~~~~~

I'd been working at the hospital for almost four months when I got a call from the Chief of Surgery, Dr. Michael Gaines.

"Hello," I said, into the phone.

"This is Doctor Mike Gaines, Chief of Surgery," he authoritatively replied, "Am I speaking with Mark Howard?"

"Yes, sir," I said, "That's me."

"Great," he smiled, "I've heard some rally good things about you lately, and I was wondering if you had time to meet with me?"

"Sure," I replied, "When?"

"Right now," he said, "If you're not too busy, that is."

"Let me see," I told him, as I reached for the case schedule on the office wall, "We don't have anything coming our way for the rest of the day, it looks like so; I can be in your office as soon as I'm changed out of these scrubs."

"Don't worry about that," he chuckled, "Just come as you are."

"Yes, sir," I replied, "I'll be there right away."

~~~~~~

As I walked into Dr. Gaines' office, I was greeted by a very pretty girl with long dark brown hair the same color as mine and the biggest, most beautiful blue eyes that I'd ever seen. Her face was that of a classic all American girl-next-door.

"May I help you?" she asked.

"Uh, yes," I almost stuttered, "My name is Mark Howard and I think Doctor Gaines is expecting me."

"He sure is," she warmly smiled, "Please follow me."

She was wearing a billowing white silk shirt with black dress slacks, and I couldn't help but admire the way that they clung to her gorgeous ass when she walked.

~~~~~~

"Come on in and sit down, Mark," Dr. Gaines smiled, "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Excuse me, Doctor Gaines," I replied, somewhat confused, "But I don't think I understand what you mean."

"I'll get right to the point, Mark," he chuckled, "Doctor Schwartz has been going on and on about how good you are, ever since you came to work here. He also thinks that you've got what it takes to eventually become a very fine and gifted surgeon."

"I don't know about all that," I politely replied, "After all, I'm only a Surgical R.N."

"Yeah, but you've also been on the other side, too," he knowingly smiled, "I hope you won't be mad when I tell you this, but I talked to both of your Commanding Officers, and they each told me that you were always the first to respond in an emergency. I believe you got recommended for the Silver Star by your First Sergeant, am I correct?"

"What's that got to do with my work here?" I politely, but defensively asked, "Is there some kind of problem?"

"Relax, Mark," he smiled, "You're among friends, brother."

"Now I'm really confused," I said, "What's going on here?"

He simply smiled, and then pointing behind me, said, "Turn around and look at the wall behind you."

I turned around to see a shadow box hanging on the wall less than five feet from me. And upon closer examination, I saw three things that stood out, head and shoulders above the rest. One of them was a U.S. Navy SEAL Trident insignia; another was a Caduceus, or medical insignia, and the last one was the Master Chief Corpsman Anchor with two stars, one on the end of each fluke.

The ribbons that accompanied the insignia represented the following medals: The Navy Cross, and there were two of them, The Silver Star, The Distinguished Service Cross with Oak Leaf Clusters, The Purple Heart with Clusters, meaning he'd been wounded more than once, the National Defense Medal, The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, The Vietnam Service Medal with two stars, meaning he did three tours over there, and then two more rows of what I knew were commendation ribbons.

"Wow," I said, turning back around to face him, "So, you were a corpsman, too."

"That's right," he smiled, "And us "Docs" have to stick together so; I want to make you a proposition."

"And what would that proposition be?"

It's like this," he began, "The G.I. Bill will pay your tuition, and with of your experience in the Navy, as well as a recommendation from me; you could go to medical school and only have to do two years at the very most, maybe even less."

"Really?" I asked, "I didn't know you could do that."

"Sure you can," he chuckled, "How the hell do you think I became a surgeon?"

"Wow, that sounds great," I excitedly grinned, "Thanks, Doctor Gaines."

"One more thing," he laughed, "My name is Mike so; feel free to call me that, okay Mark?"

"Okay, Mike," I said, "I only have one question. Why are you doing this? You don't know me."

"Yes, I do," he pointedly replied, "Anyone who has served under combat conditions can recognize their own kind. Search your heart, kid."

After a moment's consideration, I realized he was right; and in doing so, I nodded my head and simply said, "Thanks...brother."

"You're welcome, kid," he widely grinned, "Now get the hell outta here. I've got a ton of work to do."

"You got it, Mike," I chuckled, rising from my seat and making my way to the door, "I'll see ya later."

~~~~~~

As I was leaving Mike's office, his secretary stopped me for a moment once Mike's door was closed, and said, "You're Mark Howard, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am," I smiled, "What's your name?"

"I'm Teela," she sweetly smiled, "Teela Miller."

"It's nice to meet you, Teela Miller."

"It's nice to meet you, too," she smiled, "Do you have any plans for this evening?"

"No," I grinned, "Not really."

"I'm going to a party," she shyly smiled, "And...um, I was wondering if you might like to come with me."

"That would be nice," I smiled, "I haven't been out on a date with a pretty girl in a long time."

"Wait a minute," she uncomfortably replied, "Who said anything about a date?"

"You just asked me out, didn't you?" I grinned, "Where I come from, regardless of who does the asking, a date is a date. What time should I pick you up?"

"Oh no, I can already tell that you're trouble," she grinned, writing on a slip of paper and handing it to me, "Here's my address, and my phone number in case you get lost. Pick me up at seven-thirty."

As I folded the piece of paper and put it in my pocket, I looked at her and smiled, "I'm really looking forward to it."

"Me, too," she giggled, "See you tonight, bye, handsome."

"Bye," I smiled, and then walked out of Mike's office, whistling contentedly as I made my way back to the O.R.

~~~~~~

"What're you in such a hurry for," Mom asked, as I came racing through the house that evening after I got home from work, "Slow down, boy."

"I can't," I replied, "I've got a date tonight and I don't want to be late."

"Oh, really," Mom smiled, "Who have you got a date with?"

"Her name is Teela Miller," I proudly smiled, "And she works at the hospital."

"I know who she is," Mom said, "Her mother is in my Sunday school group," and then she momentarily paused before she protectively told me, "She's a good girl, Mark, and she comes from a good family so; try to behave yourself this evening."

"Good Lord, Mom," I exasperatedly replied, "Believe it or not, I do know how to treat a lady. After all, weren't you the one who taught me?"

"Well, I wasn't really sure whether or not you paid any attention, but I guess so," Mom smiled, "Have a good time tonight, baby."

"Yes, ma'am," I replied, kissing her on the cheek before I went to get ready.

~~~~~~

I followed the directions that Teela had given me, and before long; my car stopped in front of one of the biggest houses I'd ever seen. And when I got out of my car, I felt like I was standing in front of the Whitehouse or something.

"May I help you, sir," replied an older English gentleman, answering the front door after I'd knocked,

"Yes, sir," I politely replied, "I'm here to pick up Teela."

"You must be Mister Howard then?"

"Yes, I am," I smiled.

"Right this way, please," he drolly replied, "I believe she's expecting you."

I followed him down a great hall until we came to what looked like a sitting room, where I was asked to have a seat and wait.

~~~~~~

As I looked around the room it was more than clear to me that Teela's family was obviously wealthy. Still though, I'm not one of those people who are intimidated by folks who have money so; I simply sat and waited until Teela came.

~~~~~~

"Hello, handsome," smiled Teela, appearing in front of me looking dazzling, "Are you ready to go?"

"I'd go anywhere with you," I accidentally blurted out, becoming more embarrassed by the second.

"That's good to know," Teela giggled, "Because you never know where we're liable to end up tonight."

Then to relieve my obvious tension, she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek and said, "Come on, cutie, let's go," and with that we were off.

~~~~~~

"So, tell me about this party we're going to," I asked.

"You'll love it," she smiled, "And you might even see some people there that you know."

"Really?" I asked, "Like who?"

"Well now," she coyly smiled, "You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"

~~~~~~

To say that I was surprised when we pulled up in front of Mike Gaines' house would be an understatement. I was, to say the least, astonished, and while I sat there with egg on my face, Teela sweetly giggled, taking my hand, and said, "Let's go handsome. I can't wait to show you off to everyone."

~~~~~~

"Well hey, Mark, "smiled Dr. Gaines, greeting us at the front door, "Leave it to you to bring the prettiest girl I know to this party...come on in, you two."

"Hi, Doctor Mike," Teela knowingly giggled, as she walked past him, "Thanks for inviting us."

Hey, girl," Mike smile, with a wink, "You better treat this one nicer than you did the last one."

"You shut up," she laughed, as she elbowed me for laughing, "Don't listen to him, Mark. He's just trying to start trouble." I wisely said nothing, only laughing as Mike brought us into his house.

~~~~~~

Mike's house was absolutely one of the most beautiful homes I'd ever seen. It was almost completely furnished with mid-to-late nineteenth century antiques.

"Man," I gasped, "This place is gorgeous, Mike. My Mom would absolutely go bananas if she saw all of these beautiful antiques. What are they, nineteenth century?"

"You've got a good eye, kid," he proudly smiled, "As a matter of fact, they are...some mid, some late."

"I don't have a good eye at all," I laughed, "It's just that my Mom used to drag me to all these antique stores and auctions when I was little, that's all."

"Well it sounds to me like your Mom is a connoisseur of fine antiquities," he said, "You wanna see something really cool?"

"Sure," I grinned, "What is it?"

"Do me a favor, Teela," he smiled, "Would you find my wife and then you and her meet us in the kitchen in about ten minutes?"

"Sure, Doc," she grinned, then she turned and kissed me on the cheek and purred, "See you in a few, sweetie."

"Okay," I squeaked, my face turning beet red with embarrassment, as she turned and sashayed away.

"Come on, kid," Mike smiled, as he led me down the hall to a locked door, "You're gonna love this."

~~~~~~

I followed him down a dark stairway to what I thought was a basement, until with the flip of a switch, I saw that I was standing in front of a small vault door. It was seven feet tall and five feet wide, with an electronic number pad mounted in the center of the door, right beneath the main locking wheel.

Mike stepped between the number pad and me, and then after he entered a code; I heard the door unlock as Mike stepped away and opened it. Then reaching in and turning the light within the vault on, he smiled at me and said, "Check this out, Mark."

He reached down and pulled the cover off of what seemed to be a glass walled compartment. Then after pushing a button on the side of the compartment, a light within revealed a solid gold statue of an Egyptian Sphinx. The statue was roughly eight to nine inches long, five inches wide, with a total height of about seven inches tall.

"Holy shit," I gasped, "Is that thing real?"

"It sure is," he smiled, "I won it in a poker game in Cairo from a corrupt member of the Egyptian government, right before the six day war with Israel in nineteen sixty-seven. He told me that it was excavated from the tomb of Akhenaten, you know, the one that was married to Nefertiri. This piece was definitely excavated from the tomb, but somehow ended up not being listed on the manifest. The guy that I got this from did say that the Sphinx has always been a long standing Egyptian symbol for strength and wisdom."

"Wow," I said in amazement, "That really is cool."

"I'm gonna ask that you not tell anyone what you've seen here tonight, Mark," he serious told me, "I could get into real trouble for having this, I hope you know that."

I thought about what he'd just said, and then realizing that he was basically trusting me with his life, I smiled and smugly said, "After what you've been through, you deserve to have that and so much more so; fuck Uncle Sam for what he'll never learn from me."

"I knew there was a reason that I liked you, kid," Mike laughed, placing his arm around my neck, and hugging me from the side, "You're alright."

~~~~~~

Mike looked like he was only about forty years old, but I later learned that he was in his early fifties. However, because of his training in the Navy, he was in great shape. And when I met his wife, Laurie, I thought she was in her twenties, when in reality, she was almost forty. She was a very beautiful woman in her own right as well. She was feet, ten inches tall to Mike's six feet four inches, blonde haired, blue eyed, and built very nicely as well.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Mark," she sweetly said, as the four of us stood in the kitchen, Teela at my side, Laurie at Mike's, "I've heard some really good things about you."

"If you heard it from either one of these two," I grinned, pointing to Mike and Teela, "You can be fairly sure that it's a lie."

Mike burst into laughter, and then patting me on the shoulder, he looked at Laurie and chuckled, "See? I told you that he was a smart ass like me."

"He's a smart ass alright," Laurie giggled, "But I highly doubt that he's as bad as you are, honey."

~~~~~~

As the evening went on, more people showed up. Some of whom I knew from working at the hospital, and then there were some people that I'd seen at the hospital and knew they worked there; I just didn't know them personally. Around eight thirty, Mike dimmed the lights in the great room and turned on a mixture of soft rock, with some slow ballads thrown in as well.

The tunes had been a good mix so far, and when I heard the voice of David Gates as he and Bread began to play the song, "Everything I Own", Teela pulled me out to the center of the room and cooed, "Dance with me, please Mark?"

"Okay," I smiled, wrapping my arms around her waist as she pressed her body against mine, "I haven't done this very much so; I'm a little out of practice."

"Mmm," she purred into my ear, "Don't worry about it, sweetie, just hold me closely and move your body with mine."

"Whatever you say," I breathed, "Just don't let go."

"Be careful what you wish for, handsome," she sweetly giggled, raising her right eyebrow while firmly pressing her nice sized breasts against me, "You never know what might happen."

We danced closely together while every so often; Teela would lean her face in just far enough to lightly graze my lips with her own. And the longer our bodies were pressed together, the more that the animal need began to churn within my groin, beginning to make its presence known. I still thank God that the song ended when it did, right before things really got out of hand and my impending erection softened back down to a more manageable state.

~~~~~~

Chapter Two

"So, tell me about yourself, Mark," Teela smiled, as we sat out back on the patio, the only light provided by small torches strategically placed there, "I want to know everything there is to know about you."

"There's really not much to tell," I laughed, "I grew up here and graduated high school here. And then after I graduated high school, I got into some trouble and then joined the Navy to make every one concerned happy."

"What kind of trouble?" she politely inquired, "If you don't mind my asking, that is."

"I don't mind at all," I smiled, "There was this jerk that I went to school with named, Terry Meyers. He was a bully, and a lot of kids were afraid of him, but not me. When we were in the fifth grade, he tried to take my lunch money; and because he was bigger than I was, I picked up a chair to defend myself with, and ended up having a teacher take it away from me as I was beating his ass with it."

"Good for you," she giggled, "I hate bullies, too."

"That's not the half of it," I continued, "Terry flunked the tenth grade twice and had to repeat it. I got wind of him beating up a friend of mine's little brother, pretty badly, too; I paid the son of a bitch a visit, where I proceeded to beat the living shit out of him...and to make a long story short, I joined the Navy to keep from getting charged with aggravated assault, which is a felony."

"That sucks," she replied, "So, how did you become a Surgical RN?"

I then told her about becoming a Corpsman and the places that I was stationed, as well as what my duties consisted of, leaving out the obvious parts. Everything I told her after that, including losing a couple of friends, which only reaffirmed her belief of how scary the times back then really were.

"Poor baby," she softly said, gently pushing my hair away from my face, "I'm really sorry you had to deal with all that."

"Don't be," I smiled, taking her hand and softly kissing it, "I'm not."