Disclaimer: See Part One

Author's notes: Once again, thanks for those reviews. In this chapter there is a reference to Chloe and Kenny Parker and Gianni De Marco. The story behind those events can be found in Chloe's Legacy. You don't need to have read that to understand this, but it would help.

VICTIMS

(PART THREE)

"Dad, I need you to come to the station."

"Why? What's wrong?" Mark frowned at the undercurrent of tension in his son's voice.

"It will be easier to explain when you get here," Steve answered. "But things could get complicated."

"Alright, son. I'll be there just as soon as I can. I'll just need to speak to Jesse first."

"How's he doing?"

"He picked up an infection during the night, but it's nothing to worry about. This news might be just what he needs to cheer him up."

"I wouldn't count on it."

Steve hung up before Mark could ask him what he meant by that cryptic comment. Mark, however, didn't allow himself to dwell on it. With a shrug, he headed back to Jesse's room.

When he got there, he found his friend sitting up in bed, but still seeming uncharacteristically quiet. The young doctor barely even acknowledged Mark's entrance. He also, Mark noticed, hadn't touched his breakfast.

"You really ought to try and eat something," Mark admonished. "You need to keep your strength up."

Those words earned him another half-hearted shrug. Mark perched on the edge of the bed.

"I've just spoken to Steve. It's good news. They've arrested the man who shot you. I'm going to the station now."

That at least provoked a flicker of interest in Jesse's eyes, but he still didn't say anything.

"Jesse, are you sure you're alright?" Mark was, by now, genuinely worried. "If you're feeling at all unwell, I'll stay here. Steve can fill us both in on the details later."

"I'm fine. Just tired."

With those muttered words, Jesse lay back down and turned onto his side, with his back to Mark. He closed his eyes. Mark just looked at him for a long moment, but didn't know what else he could say. Putting his friend's strange mood down to his interrupted sleep, Mark headed off to the station.

*****

"So what's the problem?" Mark asked Steve, a short time later. The two men were in Steve's car, heading towards a poorer suburb of LA.

"The guy who shot Jesse is Kim Ho. He was arrested trying to use one of Jesse's credit cards." Mark just looked at Steve with raised eyebrows. "Pretty stupid I know. Anyway, Ho got completely hysterical. He claimed that his baby daughter was dying and he had to buy medicine."

"So that's where we're going now? To see the little girl?"

"It is, but that's not even half the story." Steve sighed. "It gets worse. Dad, Kim Ho is thirteen years old."

"Oh my God."

"We don't know much about the mother, only that her name is Maria. The baby is Bethany and she's about three months old."

"And you don't know what's wrong with her?" Mark had turned to look out of the window, watching as the buildings became more and more run down.

"No, he just kept saying that she was real sick, that she was dying." Steve pulled up outside what looked to be an abandoned house, but before he got out of the car, he turned back to his dad. "There's one more thing about Ho, he's got no previous. He's never been in trouble in his life before. Up until last year, he was attending school, doing well too. Then he just quit."

"Around the time Maria got pregnant. What about their parents? His and Maria's?"

"I don't know. It took us long enough just to get this address off him. It wasn't until I mentioned that you were a doctor."

"Are you sure he's sent us to the right place?" Mark asked, getting out of the car and peering at the ramshackle building. He couldn't imagine anyone living in such a place, much less trying to raise a child.

"One way to find out."

*****

"Hello! Anyone home?" Mark called out as he pushed open the battered front door. The hallway was a mess, piled with dirt and rubble, but Mark could see a light shining from under a door at the far end. "Hello, Maria?"

The door opened a fraction and a frightened young face peered through the crack.

"Who are you?" she asked, trying to keep her tone firm, even though she was clearly terrified. Mark judged her to be barely a teenager herself. "We've got nothing worth stealing."

"It's alright." Mark spoke soothingly, advancing slowly. "I'm a doctor. Kim said that your baby's sick."

"Kim?" At the mention of her boyfriend's name, Maria opened the door wider and looked out beyond the two men. "Is he with you? He never came home."

"I'm sorry, miss..." Steve stepped forward, reaching for his badge.

"Gilbert. Maria Gilbert."

"Miss Gilbert. I'm Steve Sloan and I'm a detective with the LAPD. I'm sorry, but Kim has been arrested."

Maria's hand shot to her mouth and her eyes filled with tears but, before she could respond, there was a piercing cry from within the room behind her. Steve winced at the sound. The baby wasn't crying, she was screaming.

"Let me look at her, please," Mark offered.

Maria merely nodded her head and stepped back to allow the two men access. The room was a startling contrast to the squalor of the rest of the building. While it was by no means spotless, Maria had obviously worked very hard to make it as homely as she could. But still, it was easy to see how a child would get sick in such surroundings.

There was a cot in one corner. It was shabby and obviously second-hand, but someone had tried to brighten it up with white paint and cartoon transfers. It was from there that the screaming came. Mark ignored the rest of the room's meagre furnishing and headed straight over to the cot. Very gently, he leaned over and lifted little Bethany out.

"She's really running a temperature," he said, rocking the baby in an attempt to calm her. "How long has she been like this?"

"Two or three days now. She just won't stop crying and she can't keep any food down." Maria's anguish was clear on her face and in her voice.

"We really need to get her to hospital."

"No, I can't. I mean," she gestured hopelessly at their surroundings. "Do I look like I've got medical insurance?"

"Don't you worry about that," Mark hurried to assure her. "Don't you worry at all. Let's just concentrate on getting her better. Steve, will you call an ambulance, please?"

"What about Kim?" Maria caught Steve's arm as he prepared to go outside to use his phone. "You said he'd been arrested. What did he do?"

"There's no easy way to tell you this," Steve answered. "But Kim's in a lot of trouble. Maria, he shot somebody."

*****

Mark rode back to Community General in the ambulance with Maria and Bethany. The girl was absolutely distraught when she learned the details of Kim's crime. Not only did she have her baby to worry about, but now she had to face the foreseeable future without her boyfriend.

When they got to the hospital, Mark not only admitted Bethany, but Maria as well. In spite of her protests, he settled her into a room and gave her a sedative. He waited with her until she dropped off to sleep, then quietly left. Steve was waiting for him outside.

"Somebody her age shouldn't have to go through something like this," he said, looking at her through the window. "She's only a kid herself."

"But old enough to get into a lot of trouble. How is she ever going to manage alone?"

"I've been thinking about that. I spoke to the guys at the station and Kim Ho has made a full confession. Now he knows his baby's safe, he's prepared to take whatever punishment's thrown at him."

"Juvenile detention?"

"More than likely. Unless... someone were to intervene on his behalf."

"I don't know, son. He shot Jesse, after all. Sick baby or not, that's a very serious offence."

"I know but, in his statement, Ho claims that he never meant to shoot anyone. He only took the gun as a threat. Then he said that he was so scared, that he couldn't even aim straight. He was shaking so hard that the gun went off. It was an accident, dad and he is truly sorry."

Mark thought about it for a moment, asking himself what Jesse would do in such a situation. He found that it was a question he couldn't answer. Jesse had almost died. It would be hard for anyone to consider leniency under such circumstances.

"I think you should speak to Jesse first," he answered eventually.

"I'd planned to talk to him in the morning. Then I'll speak to the DA and I think we might have a chance, Kim's never been in trouble before, but he'd be more likely to escape a custodial sentence if the victim, Jesse, were to speak on his behalf."

"That's a lot to ask of him."

"I know, but this is Jesse we're talking about." Steve spoke with a confidence that Mark could not share. "He's a doctor and one thing he's not short on is compassion."

*****

Steve called by the hospital on his way into work the next day. It was early, but Jesse was already awake and picking at his breakfast.

"Hey, Jess. How are you feeling?" In spite of his assurances to his dad, Steve was a little nervous about the task he had set for himself. It didn't help matters when Jesse barely grunted in response to his greeting.

"So, dad told you that we caught the guy who did this?" Steve pressed on, putting his friend's reticence down to the fact that he'd just woken up. "Jesse, that's what I really need to talk to you about."

"Why? You caught him, lock him up."

"It's not quite that simple. The guy who shot you, Kim Ho, he's just thirteen years old."

"So? Like that makes a difference?"

"Jesse, he's not a bad kid." Steve was becoming distinctly uncomfortable with Jesse's almost hostile responses. "He just got himself into a Hell of a mess and he was desperate. He didn't mean to hurt you, the gun just went off."

"Where are you going with this, Steve? What do you want from me?"

"I want to help Kim Ho and his girlfriend. They have a..."

"No."

"What?" By now, Steve was more than a little put out by his friend's behaviour. He wasn't even giving him a chance to explain. "If you'd just let me finish..."

"No," Jesse repeated, firmly. "I can't believe you're doing this. He almost killed me, Steve and you want to let him off?"

"Jesse, you don't understand..."

"No, I don't understand. An inch and a half, that's all it was. An inch and a half and we wouldn't be having this conversation." He held his fingers apart for emphasis, as if Steve needed reminding how close he had come to dying. "And I sure as Hell hope you wouldn't be trying to get him off a murder charge."

"It was an accident..."

That prompted a snort of disbelieving laughter.

"He pointed a gun at me. What's so accidental about that?"

Steve was becoming increasingly annoyed by the constant interruptions, but he somehow kept a lid on his temper. He knew that Jesse was scared and hurting and they were the reasons behind his behaviour.

"Jesse, please, just hear me out," he tried again.

"No, I don't want to. I don't care about Kim Ho. He shot me and I want to see him go down for a long time."

Steve just looked at him for a long moment, then shook his head.

"I just don't understand you," he said quietly. "Kenny Parker kidnapped you and threatened to kill you and yet you could still show him compassion."

"That was different. Kenny Parker needed help. His daughter had just died."

"Kim Ho has..."

"And seeing as you brought it up, what about Kenny Parker? What did he die for? He died because he didn't believe in justice and he was right."

"Jesse..."

"Gianni De Marco's thug killed that little girl and what did you do about it? Nothing! He got away with it. Why is that, Steve? Is De Marco that untouchable? Is the whole of the police force on his payroll?"

Steve stared at him as though he'd been slapped. He felt the colour drain from his face, as he absorbed those cruel words. His anger was growing again, but this time he didn't even try to keep it in check.

"How dare you?" He hissed. "How dare you even suggest that? De Marco threatened me with a law-suit because I tried so Damned hard to find out what happened to Chloe Parker. I almost got a suspension. You know that! And I did it for you, Jesse. I did it because I could see how much her death was hurting you. But you know what? Now I'm wondering why the Hell I bothered!"

Steve's voice had got progressively louder, until he practically yelled those final words. Then, without giving Jesse the chance to respond, he stormed from the room.

TO BE CONTINUED...