For The Love of a Child

"Look at the son-of-a-bitch's diamond ring on his right hand," I said, "You'll find blood on it that more than likely belongs to Jessie."

"It's too late for that," Mike said, "You fucked him up so bad that he had to be taken into surgery immediately."

"Good," I spat, "I hope the motherfucker dies."

"If he does, you'll go to prison," Mike heatedly replied, "What do you think about that?"

"I've got nothing else to say, Mike," I replied, turning my back on him.

~~~~~~

I left the hospital no choice but to file criminal charges against me, aggravated assault, which was later elevated by the district attorney's office to attempted murder, a felony. I was later told that when Jim Sanders verbally accosted me, I flew into a silent rage and began beating him until he was nonresponsive; and then I beat him even more. When they finally managed to pull me off of him, he went into ventricular tachycardia, meaning that he had to be defibrillated in order to make his heart beat evenly again. In other words, he almost died.

All of the hard work I'd done in the Navy, as well as what I'd done at Vanderbilt had all been in vane, and now I was facing a more-than-likely severe prison sentence. I didn't care though. All I knew was that a fat motherfucker who didn't deserve to have children in the first place, had senselessly murdered a beautiful little child, and that justified everything in my mind.

~~~~~~

The police had come and taken me, in chains, before the local magistrate for my arraignment. Teela, Mike, Dr. Schwartz, Pete Miller, as well as Mom and Dad, all stood with me while the judge made a ruling.

"I've never granted bail on a murder charge, attempted or otherwise," Judge John Harris plainly said, "Bail denied, the prisoner will be remanded to the custody of the Sheriff's Office."

~~~~~~

"What do you want me to do, baby?" Teela tearfully asked, as I sat handcuffed behind a thick Plexiglas wall, awaiting a sheriff's deputy to come pick me up.

"Forget about me," I painfully replied, "I'm going to go to jail for a very long time, too long to ask you to wait on me."

Before she could respond, the sheriff's deputy arrived and began to escort me away, and as I looked back one last time, I saw, as well as heard Teela cry, "I love you, Mark, and I'm not giving up on you...I'm not giving up..."

~~~~~~

Because of the severity of the charges against me, I was placed in a separate cell from the other prisoners. On the bright side was the fact that I had no cellmate, nor did I have to share the toilet with anyone. Still though, the miserable surroundings only added to the feelings of disparity that were beginning to take a strong hold within my heart.

I also knew that I was going to be sent away for a very long time, and in order to survive in prison, I was going to have to become one of the animals, the likes of which I encountered many times while in Beirut.

~~~~~~

I was allowed visits from my family, and only my family, twice a week. Mom and Dad were both there every week. And the sad thing about it, was the disappointment in me that I saw in their faces every time I faced them. I found out that Mike and Pete had hired the best attorney in the country to defend me. Come to find out, he was one of Pete's fraternity brothers in college, and his name was Harold Bartholomew Sparks.

"I've been informed of what actually happened and why," he told me upon our first meeting after the first three weeks I'd been incarcerated, "I've also subpoenaed the ring that Jim Sanders was wearing at the time of the alleged incident involving his daughter's death."

"Alleged, my ass," I sternly replied, "That son-of-a-bitch is as guilty as sin, and everyone knows it."

"I know that and so does Mike," he knowingly grinned, "Who do you think made sure Jim Sanders' ring was confiscated and taken to the lab for testing?"

"Really?" I asked, "Why would he do that?"

"Because your girlfriend, his God daughter, threatened to disown him if he didn't," Harold laughed, "Man, she must love you to go to those kinds of extremes for you."

"She's something," I smiled, as I thought of her, "That's for sure."

"There's something else you need to know," he grimly replied, "Jim Sanders survived the ass beating that you gave him, but he's paralyzed from the neck down now, Mark, he's a quadriplegic."

"Good," I spat, "It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."

"You want the judge to have leniency on you," he warned, "So, you'd better start showing some remorse for what you've done."

"To tell the truth, I really don't care anymore," I replied, "I've made my peace with God."

"You don't understand, Mark," he now adamantly said, "You're going before Judge Kerrie Anderson, and she doesn't play around, man."

"I appreciate that, Harold, I really do," I plainly told him, "But like I've already said, I've made my peace with God, and I'm prepared to pay for my sins so; fuck it."

~~~~~~

The law allows the accused to choose between a judge and a jury trial so; under Harold's advisement, I chose a judge trial on the premise that one mind is easier to sway as opposed to twelve.

I'd been in jail for nearly five months awaiting trial. I had more than likely already lost my nursing license, and it was way past the time class had convened so; medical school had also gone down the shitter, too.

~~~~~~

The day of my trial had finally come, and to my surprise, Mike and Laura, as well as Sharon and Pete, all were sitting with my parents when I was brought into the courtroom. I looked for Teela, but I wasn't surprised to see that she wasn't there. After all, I'd already told her to forget about me and move on with her life. Her absence that day made it more than apparent to me that she'd done exactly that. Oh, well, so much for her promise that she would never give up on me.

Once I'd been escorted into the courtroom and was seated next to Harold at the defense table, I heard the bailiff loudly say, "All rise, court is now in session, the honorable Judge Kerrie Anderson presiding."

And then once the judge had taken her place, she looked up and said, "You may be seated."

Because all of the press were in attendance, the District Attorney himself, Ronald D. Hawkins, was the lead prosecutor, and damn if he wasn't trying to crucify my ass. In his opening speech, he tried using my service record against me, calling me things like, "a trained killer," and "a malicious misfit."

However, before Harold had the chance to speak, the judge looked at me and said, "Mister Howard, would you please approach the bench?"

"Yes, ma'am," I replied, as I walked to the bench, "What can I do for you, your honor?"

"You know the severity of the charges against you, yes?" she plainly asked, "And do you also know that, if convicted, you'll spend the rest of your natural life behind bars, without the possibility of parole?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said.

"Alright then," she told me, "I have two questions to ask you, and how you answer those questions will determine whether or not I send you to jail. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," I again answered.

"Okay," she began, "I've talked to all of the witnesses concerned in this case, and I know all of the facts. Now, question number one, if you could go back to that day and change anything, would you?"

"Yes, ma'am," I replied, "I most certainly would."

"Really," she replied, "Question number two, what would you change?"

"That's easy, ma'am," I boldly said, "I would've killed him outright for what he did."

"You see, your honor?" Hawkins suddenly spoke, "He shows no remorse. He deserves to be put away for good."

"Shut up and sit your ass down, Ron Hawkins," she viciously spat, "I've never liked you, and even moreso after the terrible things you said about me when we were opposing candidates for the seat I now hold so; if I hear you say another word unless you've been addressed, I'll have you disbarred."

"Yes ma'am," he meekly replied, taking his seat.

"Now, back to where we were, Mister Howard," Judge Anderson addressed the court, "I think that the world needs more men like you in it, men who are willing to risk their own lives for the safety and also the sanctity of an innocent. Furthermore..."

A sudden disturbance in the courtroom interrupted her, making me look behind me to see Teela running into the courtroom, out of breath as she took a seat next to my Mom, smiling at me.

"As I was saying," Judge Anderson suddenly smiled at me, "I do herby dismiss all charges against you, under the provision that you come to my office once you've been released from jail, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," I replied, happy tears raining down my face, "Thank you, your honor."

Coming from behind the bench to stand in front of me, Judge Anderson placed her arms around me, and said, "No, Mister Howard, thank you."

~~~~~~

"Okay, Mark," Judge Anderson smiled, "First degree murder charges have been brought against Jim Sanders concerning the death of Jessica Sanders. I want you to testify for the prosecution. Are you up for it?"

"Gladly," I happily replied, "I'm glad that asshole is finally going to get what's coming to him."

"You've been right all along about him, Mister Howard" she sweetly told me, "And I want to commend you for it, and I promise you that from now on; if you have any more suspicions like that, I want to bring them directly to me, and maybe we can prevent anymore tragedies like this from occurring in the future."

"Yes, ma'am," I replied, coming around her desk and hugging her, "And if you ever need some help campaigning at the next election, then I'm your man."

"You're a good man, Mark," she grinned, "And we need to cultivate the good ones, or there won't be any left."

~~~~~~

That evening, with my beautiful Teela at my side, I kneeled down, and placing a dozen red roses on Jessica Sanders' grave, I cried, "I'm sorry, Jess. I promised you that I would protect you and I failed. I hope that you can forgive me, baby girl," by now I was so overcome with grief that I could barely speak, but right before I left, I told her, "I love you, Jess, and I always will."

~~~~~~

I kept my nursing license and finished medical school. Teela and I married right after I graduated, and on the night of our honeymoon, I had a waking dream. I saw myself sitting in the park at a picnic table when, from behind me, I suddenly heard a familiar little voice say, "Hi, Mark!" I turned around to find Jessie standing there wearing a brilliant white dress, her aura shining brightly.

"Hi, baby girl," I cried, throwing my arms around her, " I love you so much."

"I love you, too," she giggled, releasing me from the hug, "But I have to tell you something."

"Okay," I smiled, setting her back down, "What is it, sweetie?"

"You and Teela are going to have a baby," she brightly grinned, "Nine moths from now."

"How do you know this?" I asked smiling.

"My father told me," she smiled, "And he knows everything."

"But your father is in jail," I told her, "He went to jail for the rest of his life."

"I was talking about my real father, " she brightly smiled, placing her hand over my heart, "And he lives right there, inside of you; where he's always been."

~~~~~~

Suddenly I opened my eyes to find that I was back in bed, in our hotel room with Teela lying asleep next to me. I simply smiled, and quietly said goodbye to little Jessie in my own special way. I guess it just go to show that people who truly have goodness in their hearts will risk it all for the love of a child.

THE END

I hope you all liked this one. Now, I appreciate all constructive criticism, but if someone wants to leave a nasty or ugly comment and not have the guts to identify themselves; then I want them to know that they will be ignored as well as deleted. In the mean time, Happy New Year to all, and to all, God Bless.

MoogPlayer