Disclaimer- See chapter 1. It's too long to repeat in every chapter, although it applies to the entire story.
Summary- Jack Stewart hits a young orphan with his car, and she is brought to Community General. New additions are made to the Sloan family in more than one area.
New Additions
Chapter 4- The Hard-Knock Life, Complete with Miss Hannigan
The morning after Virginia left the hospital, Mark walked up the sidewalk to Malibu Home for Orphans. He was not pleased with what he saw. Instead of a cheerful building with children playing happily on the lawn, he found a dirty white building with a gravel yard. The kids were playing happily, but not with toys. They played games they invented with pebbles and stones.
Mark turned his eyes, looking only at the sidewalk before his feet. Inside, he stepped up to a small desk.
"Dr. Mark Sloan to see Margaret Edwards," he said. The secretary put down her bottle of nail polish to look at a list.
"Margaret is room 3-B. Three meaning third floor," she said, smiling at Mark as though she thought him a fool.
"Thank-you," he said. As he walked up the stairs, he looked around him. The lights were very dim, but Mark could still see the dirt. A young boy walked past coughing. His face was dirty, his clothes tattered, and his feet bare. All the other children he saw were just as dirty. Mark stood by the door to room 3-B and contemplated the idea that had been growing in his mind all night. Finally, he left the door untouched and went back to the front desk.
"Kim McStiler," he said. Mark was led to a large office. He opened the door. Ms. McStiler was sitting behind a desk with her head resting on the back of her executive style chair.
"Close the door, you're letting the cold out," she said briskly.
Twenty minutes later, Mark Sloan walked down the hall to 3-B. There was no answer to his knock, so he opened the door a crack.
A sliver of light fell on Virginia. Her back was turned, and Mark saw the worst sight yet. Long bloody streaks were running down her back. Blood stained her dress and the mattress that she lay on.
"Virginia?" he asked. When she saw who it was, she flung her arms around his neck.
"Dr. Sloan. I'm so happy you came," she said.
"What happened to your back?" Mark asked.
"It was my punishment for running away. Oh, but I don't care. I'm so excited that you are here."
"I said I would visit," he reminded her.
"But you're so busy, Dr. Sloan."
"I'm not too busy for you," Mark said. He stopped. How would he put this? He decided on a blunt approach. "Virginia, I would like your permission to adopt you." The girl's eyes widened. She looked at Mark, tears of joy stinging her eyes.
"I would love to be your daughter," she whispered. Virginia hugged the doctor for a second time. Mark smiled. He had a daughter again. He gathered Virginia's few belongings, items he was already familiar with. Mark saw Virginia's grimace as he placed his jacket over her back. They walked out and climbed into the car together.
At the hospital, Jesse was surprised that the young girl was back. Mark ignored his looks, and Amanda's, as he took Virginia into an examination room. Jesse treated the lacerations on the girl's back. Mark filled them in on the conditions of the orphanage.
"Why don't you file a formal complaint with the health department?" Amanda asked. "From what you've told me, that orphanage is violating a dozen state ordinances."
"At least," Mark said. He did end up calling the health department, and they are going to send a social worker over to inspect."
"You know, that Ms. McStiler is probably going to be very angry that you ratted on them. Aren't you worried that Virginia will be beat even more when you take her back?" Jesse asked Mark out in the hallway.
"I'm not taking her back."
"So you're kidnapping her?" Jesse inquired, puzzled.
"No. I've adopted her," Mark said. Jesse was shocked, but he congratulated Mark on the big news. After Mark and Virginia left, he and Amanda shuddered over the thought of Steve's reaction. The problem wasn't figuring out what he would say, because they knew exactly what he would say. They just didn't want him to say it in front of the abused orphan that Mark was taking home, with less thought than Jesse put into it when he brought home his stray cat.