On entering the room Jack gave Sue the stockings and led her to each child in turn. They spent between ten and fifteen minutes talking to each child and helping them open their gifts
First of all was Vicky, she was 5 years old and had ended up an orphan when her parents died of a drug overdose, Grace had seen her hunting for scraps on the street outside the soup kitchen and taken her inside, she had contacted Kiki who took her to the centre where Dr Mack had examined her, after he had done some routine test they discovered she had Leukaemia and would probably die within the next few months. Sue gave the fragile little girl her stocking and saw her eyes light up for a moment when she saw the teddy bear she had received, after a hug from Jack and a kiss from Sue she drifted back to sleep.
Next was Mason aged five, his story was similar to Vicky and he too had Leukaemia, but unlike Vicky, he had gotten treatment earlier and was in remission for the time being, his eyes also lit up at the sight of the police car in his stocking, next were twin girls in chairs next to each other, Jack introduced them as Alexia and Sophie aged six also known as the troublesome two, a name Sue realised they had earned for a reason despite both of them have tumours in the stomach and a weakness on their heart they were forever arguing and teasing each other but the love that they had between the was always evident.
Next to the girls was a young man aged eight and currently the oldest child in the home, James, he was orphaned just under a month ago when his mother was put in prison for killing her abusive husband, it had been thought that he was angry with her when James was diagnosed with a brain tumour and took his anger out on her and one afternoon she had enough and snapped, his mother had told him to go to Kiki and she would soon know why, the next thing Kiki knew the police came to the centre telling her what happened, his mother had left a note for her saying 'take care of my boy, I'm sorry'.
Next to James was a one year old baby boy in a high chair, Cameron, he looked much weaker than any of the other children, Jack explained that his mother had been addicted to drugs during her pregnancy and because of this he had multiple organ failure and that if he couldn't get a heart, kidney and partial liver treatment in the next three months he would not survive any longer than a few more weeks.
Jack looked at Sue at this point and noticed the heartbreak in her eyes it was the same heartbreak he had seen in his mothers, fathers, Bobby's and his younger sister Jill's when they all came here.
"Do you want a minute or continue" he asked
"No, I'll be Ok it is just heartbreaking to think that these children are orphans, and that without Kiki and this home many of them would have already died and would have died alone." She said while wiping the tears from her eyes
"I know what makes it worse is when you realise that by next Christmas at least five of these would be in heaven." He said wiping away his own tears
On reading this Sue lost it and the tears flowed freely from her face, Jack pulled her into a big hug comforting her until she had calmed before leading her to the next chair, where Levi had been lying, not moving since they had arrived in the room
Jack began explaining that this little four year old was called Suzie and that she was deaf, she had been abandoned outside the centre when her parents found out that did she not only have kidney failure and needed a transplants but also that they could communicate with her because she was deaf so basically had given up on her.
Sue gasped in shock at this story
"How could someone do that to a child Jack?"
"I honestly do not know."
Jack continued telling her that things were on the up for Suzie, she was scheduled to have a kidney transplant in the next few days and that one a couple from the church who could not have their own children had applied to adopt her after falling in love with her the minute their looked into her sky blue eyes. The next chair was Kyle, he too had liver problems and had also been made homeless when his father just left one morning and never came back, Kyle was in school at the time and his tutor fetched him to the centre four months ago, he is six years old next week.
The next chair was empty thinking that the child had recently gone to heaven to be a special angel, Sue looked at Jack.
"She's fine don't worry you'll meet my little star very soon"
The final space in the room was occupied by not a chair but by a wicker bassinette Sue looked inside where a small fragile baby was sleeping soundly oblivious to the noise of the medical equipment around her. Sue noticed that unlike the other spaces this place had no name above it; all the other places had the name of the child above it indicating that this was their special place and something that they could call their own. Sue again looked at Jack.
Jack explained that they didn't know her name or even if she had one yet, she was estimated to be roughly two weeks old given her size, and was thought to have gone to full term in the pregnancy. Sue kept looking at her; it was then that something inside her clicked and she recognised the baby
"Jack isn't this the baby found outside Frank's Deli, from the case we worked on a week ago, a case that is still active and on-going"
She remembered that case of how the manager had gone outside to take out trash and heard the baby crying; on looking inside the garbage crusher he found this baby girl with a note saying 'I can't do this, I should have gotten rid of her when I had the chance, do what you want with her when and if you find her, the drugs are more important than she is' Sue shivered as she thought of how evil this woman was not caring of her baby lived or died and more disturbing was her choosing the drugs over her own child.
Jack interrupted her thoughts
"Yes it's her, Bobby and I took her straight to Dr Mack when Metro called us, he carried out tests and determined that she is very sick and isn't going to last beyond Easter, she has Leukaemia, liver disease, kidney failure, heart failure, tumours on most of her organs, she has little or no sight, at the moment the drugs and monitors are making her comfortable nothing more"
Sue once again started crying, Jack pulled her into another hug while just soothing and holding her as the emotions flowed. She looked up after a few moments and said
"She needs a name"
Kiki on hearing this walked over to Sue and tapped on her on the shoulder
"I agree, why don't you give her one"
"What about Holly? With it being Christmas" Sue said after thinking for a few moments
"Perfect" Jack and Kiki said in unison
Kiki left the office, returning a few moments later with a small card with the word 'Holly' written on it and gave it to Sue to place above her bed, before unwrapping her pink teddy bear gift and placing it on the end of her crib.
"Um Jack there is only one stocking left, whose Megan?"
"Megan is my four year old little star and is feeling unwell today so is lying in her room, is she awake Keeks?"
"She is now I've just checked on her and she is sat up in bed wide awake wearing her hockey jersey waiting for her favourite man to go see her, but Jack no sweets!"
"I know, I know No sweets, what's wrong with her is she ok?" he asked concerned
"Her temperature is high, she has been sick all morning but she had a round of chemo last night you know how much that takes it out of her, when I went in to see her this morning she was pale and withdrawn, I stayed here last night with her not wanting to take her home"
Sue interrupted them apologising as she did "Did you say home? I thought all the children were orphans and homeless?"
Jack replied "they are, except Megan, Megan is different, Come on I'll show you"
With that he took Sue's hand and led her to a pink door with the Megan written across it, they walked in and on seeing Jack's face Megan smiled and shouted Jack!
Sue looked at the little girl lying in the bed, she was pale in colour with big green eyes, long dark hair she was wearing a hockey jersey similar to the one Jack had bought her years ago only with a different number on it, she was hooked up to two machine, one was a heart monitor and the other looked to be a dialysis machine, there were about ten different tablet bottles on the side of her bed along with asthma pumps, needles, insulin.
Sue looked at the girl who even though she was only four years had the features similar to that of a sixty year old woman; she looked as old as Sue's mom.
Jack walked over to the little girl and greeted her
"Hey my brightest princess star girl how are you?"
"Much better now I can see you" with that she gave Jack a big hug and a sloppy kiss
"Ah Jack whose that is she your new girlfriend" she asked
"No Sweetie that's Sue, you remember me telling you about Sue and Levi, She works with me and I thought it was about time she met the other woman in my life."
Megan giggled at this and whispered "ah this is the girl you want to be your girlfriend" causing Jack to blush slightly but thankful that Sue hadn't seen what she had said he gave Megan a 'you'd better behave look' before taping Sue's arm saying...