December 10th, 2004

After the incident with Joey, Carlos was very scared. He was scared he would loose him or the girls. He couldn't shake that awful feeling. Kylie would be celebrating her fourth birthday in a week. They had to celebrate. They needed some happiness in their lives.

"What are you getting her?" Doc asked. Carlos looked at him.
"Huh? Who?" He asked.
"What are you getting Kylie for her birthday?" Doc asked with a smirk. Carlos stared at him with confusion and then realized Kylie's birthday was soon. He sighed and shrugged.

"I have no idea. What does a four year old want?" Carlos asked

"A bike I would guess or a Barbie house." Doc laughed. Carlos frowned as he thought about it. A Barbie house? That would be too much pink. It was already sickening how much pink was in his house.

"Do they make girl bikes that aren't pink?" Carlos asked.

"Um...Yeah." Doc smiled as he looked at his partner.

"Cool. Maybe I'll look at some after work." Carlos said.

"55-Adam, your assistance is requested at 55 Lewis blvd by 55-David." A call came out over the radio. Carlos frowned.

"55-Adam to central, we got it. We're going." Carlos flipped the sirens on, "Well, This can't be good if Bosco called for us."

"Let's hope Bosco is just over reacting." Doc said as he drove towards the scene. AS they pulled up, They saw Bosco and Davis standing outside the house. Carlos jumped out with his bag.

"What did you need us for?" Carlos asked. Ty looked at his ex-roomate.

"There are people that need you." He mumbled. Carlos looked at Doc. Doc shrugged and walked into the apartment building. A smell hit them. It was a disgusting smell. It was little a dirty diaper sitting in the sun on top of a rotten fish. Carlos followed the smell into a tiny room. His breath caught in his throat. There were five children sitting in that dingy room.

"Good god." Doc whispered. The children looked like they were all under five. They were malnutrioused and covered in filth. Carlos was frozen in his place. A little girl, maybe around Kylie's age looked at him. Her lips started to quiver.

"Hey hey. Don't cry." He knelt down in front of her. Carlos took his handkerchief and washed her face off. This little girl was so tiny. He could see her ribs. "Can you tell me your name?"

"L-L-Laura." She whimpered.

"How old are you, Sweetheart?" Carlos asked as he tried to clean the wounds on her feet. They were green with infection.

"Five." She said shyly. Doc walked up to him with a grim expression.

"There are twin infants, maybe around 6 months of age, with sores all over their rears. It looks like their diapers haven't been changed in weeks." He said.

"I t-tried to do it but we ran out." Laura said as she looked up at Doc. his heart lurched.

"You ran out of diapers, Sweetheart?" Doc asked her.

"Kameron and Kyle needed them." Laura said with a small lisp. She looked around the room. "Where are Liz and Lily going?" Carlos looked as Ty picked up the two middle children who were just as bad as Laura.

"We're going to take all five of you to the doctors. We're going to wash you and give you some food." Carlos smiled softly.

"The bread turned green yesterday." Laura said. "I got no money to shop."

"That's all right." Carlos picked her up. "Where is your Mommy?"

"She's asleep in her room. She hasn't woken up for a very long time." Laura said pointing down the hall. Carlos and Doc exchanged worried glances. Bosco stepped out into the hallway.

"You don't want to go in there." Bosco said wiping his forehead.

"I have to now." Carlos muttered walking into the room. He gagged at the smell.

"See? Mommy is sleeping." Laura said. Carlos stared at the corpse on the bed.

She barely resembled a person anymore. She must have been lying there rotting for a month. These children have bee here fighting for themselves for a month or longer. He looked at Laura. She looked tired. She obviously had to play mother at the tender age of five. It turned Carlos' stomach to see a child's youth be stolen away. He hoped that these five children would be placed into a loving home.

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