The hospital waiting room was far from where Will imagined his Friday night would lead him. Was it a curse that he heard the girl scream out in the night? Sue saw his face, he was sure of it.
"Excuse me, are you the family of Shelby Corcoran?"
He looked up at the young doctor addressing him. "Yes. How is she?"
"The beating she took left few visible marks, apart from the odd scratch of bruise."
Will stood up, grinning. "Well that's great! Is she ready to –"
The doctor placed a hand on his arm. "– There's something else, Mr Shue."
"How long has she had it?"
Will looked down over Shelby's delicate form in the hospital bed, drips and tubes feeding into her.
The doctor sighed. "Probably for a good few months at this stage. If we had caught it earlier it would be treatable but…"
Will nodded. He understood.
"I'll leave you two alone."
"Thank you."
He sat down on the corner of the bed, wiping Shelby's feverish brow. Her eyes flickered open, but she didn't resist against him. "I'm dying," she whispered through a strained voice. Will nodded, confirming her worst fear.
Suddenly her eyes opened wide. They were weak, and although she had to fight to keep them from drooping shut, Will could see the urgency behind them.
"My baby girl," Shelby murmured.
"Do you have a husband who can care for her? Any other family?"
She shook her head softly.
"What about friends at the Steel Mill?"
The beginning of sad smile touched the corners of her lip. "I was fired today, Mr Shue. Your foreman turned me away."
Will felt his heart sink two stories. He had looked the other way, trusting the foreman's judgment. He had stood by while a poor single mother was stripped of her livelihood. It was his fault she was wandering the streets tonight. It was all his fault. "I'll look after your child as if she were my own."
"The address is in my pocket. Please – go there and take her far away, where she'll be happy." Shelby's voice was soft and raspy, threatening to break at any moment.
"Of course. I'll do anything.
She slipped her small hand into his. "Stay with me, Mr Shue. Until I fall asleep. Tell Rachel that I'll be there for her when I wake up."
With that, her head fell back onto the pillow a little, and Will felt her hand encased in his go limp.
With a final kiss on the cheek, Will turned and fled the hospital, the address buried into the palm of his hand. It was time to make up for the wrongs he committed.
"24601."
A chill ran down his spine. It had been so long since he had heard that number uttered aloud. He turned, slowly, to find Sue leaning against the hospital exit, a pair of handcuffs in her grip.
"Chief Sylvester," he noted through pursed lips.
"You thought I wouldn't recognize you, huh? You have a lot to learn, son."
"Please – there's a motherless child who needs my help. She'll be abandoned if I'm not there for her."
Sue threw her head back in laughter. "Do you have any idea how many of those excuses I hear a day? Make this easy for yourself, 24601. You broke your parole – it's time to head back where you belong."
With a heavy sigh, Will extended his clenched fist.
Sue readied the handcuffs, but as she reached forward, Will grabbed both her wrists, turning the cuffs on her instead. Sue had forgotten about his strength over the years.
Leaving her stammering and twisting in his wake, Will headed for the darkness of the backstreets.
"Not tonight, chief!"
