*I OWN ONLY PLOT*

*Jerome*

I felt my mother grab my hair. She threw me and I hit a hard thing. The car drove off while the world spun above my head. Something moved and something gentle picked me up. "Hello. Are you OK?" A sweet voice whispered.

I broke down and nestled close to the warm girl thing. I buried my face on her neck and cried. She softly gasped and carried me in. A nasty man said "Trudy, put that thing down."

She said "Victor! He's our newest resident! Come on."

When I looked up, I saw a pretty young lady with big, dark eyes. She looked a lot older than me but she was still very young. I softly stroked her cheek. "Pretty."

She blushed. "You're so cute!" She cooed and handed me a cookie. I think she noticed the bruises, because she got hold of my arm. "What happened, baby?" She asked. She looked at me with those pretty eyes. She reminded me of Bambi with those eyes.

I shrugged. "Mum threw me at a door. The other bruises are just because she hit me."

"What are you doing?" I protectively pinned my shirt down.

"Honey, I need to bathe you. Look, your hair's all grease. Come on." I let the kind creature get me ready for a bath. She gasped. "Baby, what happened here?"

There were a few marks from a whip all over me. "A whip. Nothing big. I'm lucky that it wasn't the shotgun she threatened."

The pretty lady gasped and held me close. "Oh, baby boy!" She was gentle while bathing me, making sure my cuts weren't stinging, gently washing the blood out of my hair. When she got me out, the formerly clear water was a murky brown-red. She wrapped me in a massive towel that warmed me. "Darling boy, has she hurt you a lot?"

"Every day. Some days more than others." I told the lady who was dressing me.

She got tears in her lovely eyes. How did they get so much like a doe's? She said "Honey, I'm sorry. You'll have to stay with me. I'm going to report that woman to the social services."

Victor, the scary man, was given custody of me. I discovered that the pretty lady was only fifteen. Victor waited until the social workers had left our house, then growled at the pretty girl "I don't care what they say, you're in charge of the boy."

She smiled. "I'm glad to look after him. You're such a gorgeous little boy. You're going to grow up into a real charmer, aren't you?"

I snuggled up to her. She was so warm. "You're the charmer." I whispered.

*Trudy*

After fifteen years of waiting, I finally had a beautiful child to care for. He looked so perfect, that beautiful blonde hair, those stunning blue eyes. I loved him so much. What on earth could make a woman hurt such a lovely baby boy? "You precious baby. Come with me."

As my beautiful baby boy fell asleep, he whispered "Night night, Mummy."

My heart swelled with pleasure, pride and love. "Night night, baby."

I slept, my new child snuggling in. I woke to his screams. My instinct made me wrap him close to me in protection. Then I realised. "Jerome? Honey, wake up." I woke him and he buried his tiny face on my chest. "Oh, darling baby, what was your nightmare?"

"She was hitting me for preferring you." He sobbed into my shirt.

OK, that does it, my heart is broken. He is so beautifully perfect! When he was asleep, he whimpered in a nightmare, inhaled, smiled and carried on. He looked so wonderful, just... there. I clung to my baby, enjoying his warmth and special baby look.

It'd been eleven years. My Jerome was sixteen! He had friends and a girlfriend now. He had slept in his own room since he was ten. But he never told me anything unless he needed help now. In just two more weeks, he'd be off to college. I'd still see him in the evenings and all the time in the holidays, but I'd miss having him! Meanwhile, I'd managed to find the time to date, as well. The man doesn't mind that I'm in my late twenties, he doesn't mind that I'm always stressing over the kids and he's caught me in my stained old tracksuits before. Jerome walked in. "Trudy! We need biscuits!"

I handed him a huge tub of biscuits and cookies. "There, honey. You kids having fun?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Hey, listen. About that Jasper guy."

"Oh, yeah, what about him?" I grinned to think of him.

Jerome looked uncomfortable, which is never a good sign. "He plans to propose to you."

"Aww! Does he, now? He's so lovely. Anyway, why are you so uncomfortable? Chances are, his proposal will be a lot of stuttering until I work out what he's saying, just like when he asked me out."

"Trudy, he seems really keen to marry you. Is there any particular reason or is it just your natural beauty and he just wants to be sure no one will take you from him?" He asked, looking very concerned.

"I don't know. Whatever it is, I'm going to just fake like I know nothing."

"Trudy, this is important! There is nothing to make him want you two legally bound besides your natural prettiness and charming ways that may take you from him?" Jerome demanded, looking scared.

"Jerome, honey, is there something you need to hear? Because if so, just blurt it out, I won't punish you!"

He lowered his voice. "Are you two going to become three?"

I turned that over in my head. "Of course not, love! Not unless a kiss does that."

He smiled in relief. "Great. I just wanted to be sure he was proposing to you because he loves you, not because it's proper."

I laughed. "He'd be lucky. I've got less chances of being a mother than a human being does of counting every grain of sand in the world in one week."

Jerome looked at me. "Well, there's still a shred of chance."

That thought was odd, but whatever kept Jerome happy. If my sweet boy was happy, then so was I.