Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2011 20:11:08 -0400 From: Chris Johns Subject: The Street Urchin Part2 The Street Urchin Part 2 True to his word, Bill went straight from work, every day, to see his little lad. Always with a care worker in sight when they were together, neither man nor boy were worried. Bill always asked about his day and Chris did the same. He loved to hear about how the buildings were demolished, particularly the tall ones where explosives were used. They never got tired of each other's company and questions flowed freely. Bill's biggest worry was Chris being hit on again by the bigger boys. Chris said it wasn't happening but Bill detected a hesitation in the answer when he questioned him. One day, well into the second week, Chris was very quiet and Bill was quite sure there was a serious problem and his mind decided it was other boys. He said goodbye to Chris at the end of his visit but remained behind, firstly to talk to the worker that supervised their visits. "Hello, I'm sure you know who I am, can you tell me your name?" "I'm Mrs. Sullivan." "Ok Mrs. Sullivan, Chris is very withdrawn today. I think the bullying from the older and bigger boys may have started again. Is there any way you can find out and stop it if it's happening?" "I'm afraid it happens all the time. We can't stop it, the boys just have to stick it out." Bill was scandalised at the casual acceptance of something that could have a devastating effect on someone like Chris. "I'm sorry Mrs. Sullivan, I won't accept that. Chris was bullied in his last home and ran away. We nearly killed him knocking down the house he was squatting in. I'm not going to allow that to happen again. I'd like to see the director, or warden, whoever it is responsible for this home." The meeting with the warden of the home was unpleasant so Bill took the unsatisfactory result to Janet. "I'm worried Janet, Chris is very withdrawn. I think he is being bullied again, maybe even worse, can you do anything about it?" Janet was uncomfortable, once the children were in care her influence ceased. "I'm sorry Bill, once the home has them I can't interfere." Bill was now seriously worried culminating in him arriving early the next day to see Chris. He was met by Mrs. Sullivan who apologised but Chris would not be available to see him today. Bill went ballistic and had to be removed from the premises by security. He went straight to the police precinct and contacted Simon. "Si, I'm seriously worried. Chris was very withdrawn yesterday and today they won't let me see him. This is the first time, I'm sure they are covering something." "Alright Bill, I'll get my boss to authorise a visit. We'll go together." The warden was very obstructive until Simon said he would take her into custody for obstruction if she didn't produce Chris, immediately. "I'm sorry Sergeant, I can't do that. He has run away. Apparently an older boy has been abusing him. We caught him this lunch time. Chris must have run away sometime this afternoon." "You knew the boy had been abused and you left him unattended, and you haven't contacted the police. Is that correct?" The Warden tried to wheedle out of responsibility but Simon said he would file a report and press for her to be relieved of her job for neglect. "Oh God, Si, he could be anywhere.' "I know Bill, we'll get an APB out for him. Every cop in the city will be looking out for him. Go home, stay in contact, with luck he'll head for your house." Bill hoped so beyond anything else he had ever hoped for in his life. Once at home, Bill turned on all the outside lights hoping it would act as a beacon for Chris. At midnight, he gave up waiting and piled into his pickup. He was going to cruise the city, all night if he had to, question every homeless person he saw, and hope. He saw, and questioned several young homeless boys, but none of them had seen Chris or could shed any light on where he might be. Dawn was breaking when Bill pulled into his drive again and nearly had heart failure. Curled up by his front door was a little bundle of boy. Bill scooped him up into his arms, checked it really was Chris and carried him inside. The boy was in shock and didn't respond to Chris other than to grip him like his life depended on it. Telephone immediately for an ambulance to take Chris to hospital, call to Simon telling him quickly what the play was and the same to Janet. Bill explained to the doctor on duty what he thought was the score. "Doc, he ran away from a children's home yesterday afternoon after staff caught an older boy abusing him. They won't tell me what the abuse was, my guess is something sexual. At midnight I left my house to go and look for him. When I returned home at six he was curled up on my doorstep but hasn't shown any recognition or said a word, but he won't let go of me." "Ok, who are you and why is the boy attached to you?" "I'm Bill Stevens, I rescued him from a demolished house a few weeks ago. I want to foster or adopt him and while the process is going on I've been seeing him every day at the home. We're pretty attached to each other now." The doctor nodded and spoke to Bill again. "You had better come with me then. We need to examine him to see if you are correct." Getting Chris out of his clothes was almost impossible he clung so hard to Bill. "Let up a little Chris, I'm not going anywhere and I'm not going to let anyone else hurt you." It helped a little, but getting him onto the examination table to have his anus checked elicited some powerful screams despite Bill gentling him. When he had finished, the doctor looked at Bill. "This is going to sound monstrous to you Mr. Stevens, but I would like to check your DNA to eliminate you. The boy has been raped and whoever did it has left us a sample." Bill looked aghast, picked Chris back up in a cuddle and then broke down, crying like a baby. "Oh no, oh no, not my Little Man, please no Doc." The look on Bill's face was ghastly, the doctor had to look away. He didn't want to be the rapist if Bill ever found him. He did get a swab from Bill's mouth and quickly eliminated him as a suspect. Chris was sedated and put to bed. "I'm staying with him all day Doc and for however long he needs me." The doctor nodded, he wasn't about to argue with anything Bill wanted until he had time to calm down. "Chris will sleep now for at least eight hours Mr. Stevens, so you can go into the waiting room to talk to the social worker and the police sergeant who are waiting for you." Bill went, spitting fire almost, he told Simon and Janet what he knew. "We've already got the boy Bill, he is fifteen and quite a big lad. He obviously overpowered Chris and raped him. The warden has been suspended pending the results of an enquiry and Janet and I are going to court this afternoon to try to persuade a judge to give you custody. I think we'll make it this time. That boy is going to need some serious loving to get over this trauma." When they had gone, Bill called his boss, explained the situation and took immediate compassionate leave. A very tearful boy woke at about six that evening and immediately threw himself into Bill's arms. When a nurse came in to check on Chris, she found him curled up in Bill's lap in an armchair, both of them sound asleep. It was very late when Chris woke again, his movement instantly waking Bill. "Hello Little Man, how are you feeling?" Chris just said three words, which he repeated, before dissolving in tears. "I hurt Bill, I hurt." Bill couldn't stop his own tears as he pressed the call button. The nurse came back in and saw the state of both of them. "He says he hurts nurse, can you do anything for him?" She nodded. "The doctor left a suppository for Chris. Once I implant it the pain will disappear quite quickly. It contains anaesthetic as well as pain killers. The doctor says there is no internal damage, he will just be very sore for a few days." Chris was asleep again a few minutes later. "I need to go home nurse, to gather up some things for Chris and myself. Will he sleep for the next couple of hours?" "Yes Mr. Stevens, and I'll monitor him from my station. Just drive carefully." She knew what a precarious state Bill was in emotionally, driving could be dangerous for him. Bill smiled. "Taxi one way and I promise to drive carefully on the way back." When Chris woke again, just after dawn, once again his movement disturbed Bill even though they weren't touching. "Hello Little Man, feeling better?" Chris nodded. "Like to shower and put your own pyjamas on?" Chris nodded again. "Ok, let me clear it with the nurse and we'll go." "I can't let you bathe a patient Mr. Stevens, I'm sorry." New nurse, not familiar with the situation. "So am I nurse, because I'm going to. Chris won't let anyone else do it and I know he'll feel a lot better in his own pyjamas." "How did you get them?" Bill didn't want a fight so he sat the nurse down and quickly told her what had been happening. "Oh, I can't sanction it but I can look the other way." Good enough for Bill. Half an hour later a clean and comfortable little man and a clean shaven big man were back in Chris's room anticipating breakfast. Chris was very quiet and withdrawn which naturally worried Bill, but he tried to keep him occupied. Chris continued to be withdrawn with Bill, and almost totally uncommunicative with everybody else. He quite obviously looked to Bill for his safety and according to doctors and nursing staff became very agitated and frightened when Bill was missing. The psychiatric department's assessment was that he was in denial of what had happened to him, but was, in his subconscious, aware that if Bill was near no more problems would occur. This became a problem for Bill. He would need to return to work soon and he hoped he would be able to keep Chris, but send him off to school every day, to be picked up with a neighbour's children and looked after until he finished work. A morning in court with Janet and Simon's support, plus medical opinion got him the custody, to most people's surprise. The previous hearing had been indecisive because Bill wasn't there. "Mr. Stevens, I'm taking this step because I believe that despite your age and domestic situation, you are likely to be the best that this boy can look forward to. I will however expect to see both of you back in this court in three months time to prove to me my decision is correct." Bill almost collapsed with relief and with tears in his eyes replied to the judge. "Thank you your honour. If love can make Chris whole again I will succeed." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++