For The Love of a Child

~~~~~~

As we walked down the hall of the hospital on the way out to the parking lot, Teela smiled as she cuddled into my arm and said, "You're going to make a great father someday."

"You think so?" I asked smiling.

"No, I don't just think so," she giggled, "I know so."

"Hmm," I teased, "I'll have to keep that in mind when it comes time for me to pick out a woman to bear my children."

"You are such a shit," she giggled, playfully smacking me on the butt, "I loved watching you interact with Jessie, Mark. I thought it was absolutely precious."

It was then that I proceeded to tell her about Jessie's injury as well as my feelings and thoughts about it, and when I was done, Teela had tears in her eyes as she asked, "How could anyone be that cruel to a child so beautiful?"

"I don't know, my love," I softly replied, holding her hand as we walked, "But I'm gonna get to the bottom of this, regardless of the consequences."

"Be careful, baby," she warned, "The hospital is real funny about...."

"I know," I politely interrupted, "Doc Schwartz has already given me the lecture about making accusations with no proof."

"I know it's frustrating, baby," she said, "But child abuse is very hard to prove."

"All I have is the feeling in my gut," I told her, becoming slightly angry, "But I know that the father is behind it, somehow."

"Take it easy, baby," Teela smiled, "I've got something that will take your mind off of it."

"Oh yeah?" I smiled, raising my eyebrows up and down, "And exactly what would that be?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," she giggled, "Dirty boy."

~~~~~~

"Well, hey Mike," said Colonel Miller, when Teela and I walked into his house, "How're ya doin, kid?"

"Not bad, Colonel, "I smiled, "How are you, sir?"

"I'm good," he smiled, as we shook hands, "It's good to see you."

"Hi, Mark," Sharon smiled, "It's good to see you again. Are you staying for dinner?"

"Yes," Teela smiled, answering for me, "Is Miss Ida making Mexican food tonight?"

"I'm not sure," Sharon replied, "She's in the kitchen, if you want to go ask her."

"I think I will," Teela smiled, kissing me on the cheek," I'll be back in a minute, baby."

"Okay," I grinned.

~~~~~~

"How are things at work, Mark?" Sharon asked, "Teela tells us that you're very good at what you do."

"I enjoy it," I smiled, "And it's rewarding knowing that we're helping children."

"It always helps when you enjoy your work," Colonel Miller grinned, "Doesn't it?"

"Yes, sir," I replied, "I've been there when it wasn't so enjoyable so; I definitely agree with you, Colonel."

"Speaking of which," he smiled, "I ran into a mutual friend of ours when I was in Washington yesterday."

"Oh, really?" I grinned, "And who was that, sir?"

"General Haskell Markinson," he knowingly smiled, "And he spoke very highly of you, Mark."

"Damn," I laughed, "And all this time I thought he didn't like me."

"Nah," he laughed, "The old son-of-a-bitch likes to act that way. The truth is, he thinks you're the best he ever saw."

"I was always getting shot at," I pointedly replied, "I'd hate to see what would've happened if he didn't like me."

Needless to say, Pete thought that was funny and broke into an uproarious fit of laughter and said; "Markinson also told me that you made a better Marine than any swabbie he'd ever seen in his whole career in the Corps."

"That figures," I laughed, "The old bastard."

"That he is, m'boy," Pete laughed, "That he is..."

~~~~~~

I ate the best Mexican food I'd ever had that night, and when we were done, Teela smiled at me, and to her mother, said, "You ought to see Mark with his patients, Mom."

"Oh really," Sharon smiled, "Do tell, baby girl."

Teela told her mother, who sat totally engrossed while listening to her daughter, about my interaction with little Jessie Sanders. "You should've seen him with that little girl Mom, it was so sweet," Teela smiled, while winking at me.

"It sounds to me like Mark will make a great father someday," Sharon sweetly smiled, "It's a rare thing to find a man with a heart like that, Teela honey."

"Jeez," Pete playfully groaned, "Give the kid a break, you two."

"Oh hush, Daddy," Teela giggled, "You've been the same way with me for as far back as I can remember so; there."

"If you're going to date my daughter, Mark," he said, "Then you need to know that she talks entirely too much."

"Uh huh," I laughed, "I've noticed."

"You better watch it, Mister," Teela playfully scolded, "Or you just might find me not here the next time you call looking for me."

"Oh, that is such a load of bullshit," her father grinned, "Why don't you tell that shit to someone who doesn't know you, young lady?"

"You'd better leave me alone, Daddy," Teela giggled, as she hugged her father, "Or you'll have to find someone else to rub your feet when they hurt."

~~~~~~

Teela and I were sitting on a swinging double chair that was mounted inside a small gazebo in their back yard after dinner that night, when she leaned over and softly kissed my lips.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"That was because I want to tell you something," she tenderly replied, "But I'm not real sure how you're going to react to it, baby."

"It can't be that bad," I smiled, "Tell me, what is it."

"I'm in love with you, Mark," she softly cried, leaning her head on my shoulder, "And I realized it when I saw you with Jessie earlier today. I hope I don't scare you off now that I've told you how I feel."

"Don't be afraid, my beautiful girl," I softly told her, "Because, to tell the truth, I fell in love with you that night at Mike's party."

"I love you, Mark," she openly told me, "And I promise to love you my whole life, with all my heart."

"I love you, too," I replied, "With all my heart, baby."

"So, what do you propose we do about it?" she tenderly said, "I'm still not ready to make love with you yet, I hope that's okay."

"You take all the time you need, sweetheart," I smiled, "We've got the rest of our lives to spend together, and we'll make love when the time is right."

"I knew I was right to fall in love with you, Mark," she giddily smiled, "And I can't wait to tell all my friends at work."

"Tell whomever you wish, my love," I replied, "And that includes Michael Gaines as well."

"I love you so much," she breathed, hugging me softly and tenderly.

"I love you, too," I replied, throwing my arms around her in order to hold her body closely to mine.

~~~~~~

That night as I drove home, I realized that in meeting Teela, my life had taken a turn for the better, and that I had a beautiful woman that loved me; I mean she really loved me. I also didn't forget to thank God either, I mean, after all, he was the one responsible for placing her in my life to begin with so; why not be thankful?"

~~~~~~

The next morning at work found me sitting in Mike Gaines' office with Teela waiting for his arrival.

"How did you sleep last night, my love?" I asked Teela, while I waited.

"Mmm," she purred, "I would've slept a whole lot better if you'd been lying next me, baby."

"Is that right," I grinned, "Well, one of these days soon we'll have to see what we can do about changing that, huh?"

Before she could respond, Mike walked into his office, looking at us with a smile on his face, saying, "I hate to break up you two lovebirds, but I need to see you in my office, Mark."

~~~~~~

"I understand that you think Jessica Sanders has been abused," he said, the moment his office door had closed.

"I sure do, Mike," I said, "But I'm going to have to get proof before I can do anything about it."

"No," he adamantly replied, "You're not going to do anything, do you understand?"

"You didn't see that child's injuries, Mike," I explained, "There was no way in hell she could've received those kinds of injuries from falling from a damned tree."

"Hey, calm down, sport," he smiled, "I believe you."

"Great," I excitedly replied, "So, when do we start the investigation?"

"I hate to tell you this, Mark," he told me, "But there will be no investigation. We're doctors, not police officers."

"Well, sure," I agreed, "But we're going to call them in to at least take a look, aren't we?"

"Take a look at what?" he asked, "You said yourself that you didn't have any proof, yes?"

"All we need to do is let them talk to me and Doctor Schwartz, and then....

"No, Mark," he interrupted, "I'm trying to be as nice as I can about this because not only you're young, but you're new, too. So, I'm telling you, as a friend, to drop it and leave it alone. Do I make myself clear?"

Needless to say, I was highly pissed off, but as opposed to raising any more fuss about it and putting my job at risk; I simply looked at Mike and said, "Are we through here?"

"Yeah," he smiled, "Do you want to...."

"If you'll please excuse me," I curtly interrupted him, "I've got a lot of work to do, Doctor," and with that said, I stood up, then turned around and walked out of his office, not even stopping to talk to Teela on the way.

~~~~~~

If I wasn't going to be allowed to look into Jessie's wounds, then I decided, that because she was my patient, I would stop by her room on my way to work to see how she was doing that morning.

"Hi, Mark," Jessie smiled, the moment I waked onto her room.

Her mother was also there, and in greeting the two of them, I simply smiled and replied, "Hi, Jessie, hi, Missus Sanders, how are the two of you this morning?"

"The doctor was just here," Jessie excitedly replied, "He said I was healing."

"Oh, he did," I said, trying to be pleasant, when I was pissed off at no end to hear that particular piece of news that morning, "That's great, sweetie."

"Thank you for bringing Jessie a new bear," Jayne Sanders smiled, "That was a very nice thing to do even though you didn't have to."

No sooner had she spoken than her husband walked into Jessie's room and said, "What did the Doctor say?"

"He said I was healing," Jessie smiled.

"I wasn't talking to you, God dammit," he loudly bellowed, "I was speaking to your mother."

This was all the excuse I needed to have his ass thrown out of there, but as opposed to making a scene, I stepped between him and Jayne and Jessie and coolly said, "Excuse me, sir, but would you please keep your voice down. We have other patients that are trying to rest."

"Fuck you," he laughed, "I'll kick your ass, you long haired motherfucker."

I was ready to pulverize this fat fuck, but once again, not wanting to raise too big of a fuss and put my job at risk, I simply smiled and said, "Fine, have your way then," and left Jessie's room and headed toward the security office.

~~~~~~

"What can I do for you, sir?" asked Benjamin Jones, the head security officer.

After explaining what had taken place and telling him that I had been threatened with bodily harm, I looked at Ben and said, "I want that fat fuck thrown out of here on his ass, and if he tries to come back in, arrest the son-of-a-bitch."

"Well, we certainly have cause to throw him out," smiled Ben, "Would you follow me please?"

Certainly," I grinned, "Lead the way."

~~~~~~

"Who the fuck do you people think you are, son of a bitch?" shouted Jessie's father, whom I found out went by the name of Jim Sanders, "My child is a patient here, God dammit."

"I'm asking you nicely to leave under your own accord," smiled Ben, "Or else I'll bring the police in here and have you arrested. Do you understand?"

As he left the room, he glared at me and said, "This ain't over with, asshole."

"You've got that right," I grinned, "Now, don't go away mad, just go away."

~~~~~~

"Would you like to tell me what the hell just went on upstairs," Dr. Schwartz angrily inquired, "And why did you feel the need to call security?"

I explained what all had taken place in Jessie's room, and the fact that he's threatened me with bodily harm, and when I was done, I looked him squarely in the eyes and said, "I followed hospital procedure, Doc. Besides, the son-of-a-bitch threatened me again right before he left; and I pray to God that I get the opportunity to meet up with that fat cock-sucker outside of this hospital."

"Oh yeah?" Dr. Schwartz laughed, "And just what're gonna do, bad ass?"

"I'm going to beat his fat redneck ass," I growled, "And when I'm done, I'm gonna leave his ass to rot in the fucking sun."

"What happens outside of this hospital is of no concern to me," he smiled, "Now, get to work ya bum."

I was so busy the rest of the morning that I was grateful when lunchtime came.

~~~~~~

"Hi, handsome," said a familiar female voice behind me as I sat in the cafeteria eating lunch, "Do you mind if I sit down and eat with you, baby?"

"I don't know," I teased, "My girlfriend might get pissed off if she finds out that I'm eating lunch with a strange woman."

"Strange woman, hell," Teela giggled, sitting down next to me, "You are such a shit, I swear."

"And your point is?"

"Silly boy," she smiled, "Are you alright after this morning?"

"Yeah, I'm alright," I said, "It's just that this hospital's bullshit politics pisses me off."

"I know, baby," she replied, "But I wouldn't let it bother me too much if I were you."

"And why not?" I pointedly asked, "Is it right that I shouldn't report a redneck asshole for abusing his daughter, because if that's the case, then what the hell are we all doing here to start with?"

"But you have no proof, Mark," she replied, "You said so yourself."

"Maybe not," I said, "But I know what my gut tells me."

"So, your gut feeling is your proof," she argued, "And I suppose you're going to tell the police "Excuse me officer, arrest this man because my gut tells me he's abusing his daughter," come on, Mark honey, get real."

"I would think that you, my girlfriend of all people, would believe me," I snapped, "But I guess that you're so caught up in turning a blind eye just like everyone else around here that you can't see it either. Look, I've got to go back to work," and with that said, I rose from the table, and without looking back, walked swiftly away before she had the chance say anything

~~~~~~

After checking the schedule as well as asking permission from Doctor Schwartz, I took some personal time off that afternoon to collect my thoughts. I'd always found when I was a boy, that I always felt less at odds with myself when I was near the water. So, with my father's permission, I took his boat out of the nearby harbor and out onto the open ocean.

~~~~~~

Chapter Five

The ocean wind in my face allowed me to clear my head and be seemingly able to look at things objectively. However, the more I thought about Jessie, the more I was reminded of a time when I was in the Navy and went out with the Marines to help evacuate allied civilians who were stranded deep in the western regions of Beirut.

A lot of fighting and shelling had taken place there the night before; and what I saw once we reached the area almost brought the contents of my stomach out of my mouth. Bodies were laying everywhere, some were in pieces, and others were whole and/or missing limbs. But what really got to me the most was the aftermath of where one of the shells had hit a children's hospital.

Several small and disfigured little bodies were recklessly strewn about, their tiny little faces frozen in horror from what had most likely killed them before they knew what hit them, my God; it was the most terrible thing I'd ever seen.

And once our objective had been completed, the civilians safely evacuated, and we were all back in a secure compound, I found a private place and fell to my knees in tears, asking God to find a safe haven for the little souls who's lives had been so violently taken from them. I prayed that wherever they were, God had his arms around them and was keeping them safe, no longer having to live in fear for their young lives.

Those children had been casualties, but I knew in my heart that sweet and precious little Jessica would not be another one Come hell or high water, I was going to find a way to protect her, hence the reason I made a promise to God right then and there that I would never again let the life of a child be uselessly thrown away.

~~~~~~

I'd been out on the water for about four hours when I noticed two things, one, I was getting low on fuel, and two, it was beginning to get late and I needed to get home to call Teela and apologize to her for being such an asshole at lunch earlier that day.

~~~~~~

As I headed back to shore I thought about Teela and how much she'd come to mean to me in such a short period of time. She was the epitome of everything beautiful that I'd ever seen in my life, and I'd been to several different countries all over the world by this time. Still though, I loved her now and that was all that mattered, well, at least for the time being anyway.

~~~~~~

As I pulled the boat from the fuel dock into the slip at the marina, I was pleased to find Teela sitting on the tackle box that was mounted on the dock, waiting for me with a smile on her face; and I could've sworn that my heart skipped a beat just then. I made sure that the boat was docked, moored, and as I'd already stopped and done so on the way in, the tanks had been topped off.

"Hi, Teela," I smiled, "Baby, I'm really sorry about wh..."

"Shh," she interrupted me, softly placing her index finger upon my lips, "There's nothing to apologize for so, don't even try."

"I love you, Teela," I said, gently pulling her body to mine in a tight embrace.

"I know, baby," she tenderly replied, "I love you, too."

"Wait a minute," I smiled, suddenly wondering how she knew where to find me, "How did you know I was here?"

"Your Mom told me," she giggled, "She told me to tell you, and I quote, "Tell that damn stubborn boy to get his head out of his ass and talk to you" so, here I am."

"I love you so much," I laughed, "Don't listen to Mom. She'll get you into trouble or lost."

"Ooo, Mark," she playfully scolded, "Wait till I tell her what you said."

"I don't care," I lied, "Tell her whatever you want."

"You are such a liar," she giggled, "I know you'd rather bite a rhinoceros's dick than have your mother on your ass."

"I don't know sweetheart," I uncontrollably laughed, barely able to speak, "I've never bitten a rhinoceros on the dick before."

"Come on, silly boy," she delightfully giggled, "It's time to go home."

Okay," I grinned, as we began to walk up the pier, hand-in-hand, "But I want to stop by the store at the marina and get some Gatorade® to drink on the way home."

"Alright, baby," she smiled, after kissing me.

~~~~~~

When we walked into the store I saw two old men, Gabe Price and Ernie Skinner, that had known me since I was a little boy, and loved to mess with either me, or in this particular case, any new friends that they saw me with. I decided not to say anything to Teela to see how she reacted to them.

Now these two old guys were just as nice as could be, but they had it within them to be able infuriate anyone within earshot, and I was fairly sure that this time would be the same. That's why I silently winked at them when they saw my beautiful Teela at my side as we entered the store.

"Hey, Gabe," Ernie, who the closest to us, loudly said, when we approached the cash register to check out, "You ever see a pair of shorts stretch across something that looks this fine?" referring to Teela, of course.

"I don't know, old buddy," Gabe laughed, "She looks a little young to me. You know, still wet behind the ears and has Mamma's milk on her breath."

It was all I could do to keep a straight face, when Teela turned to Ernie and indignantly, said, "Excuse me, but I know you're not talking about me."

"Why would you think that," Ernie teased, "You got a guilty conscious or something."