You know that Marco Maloney from series three to five- loves to dress up…And I´ve been thinking. Maybe there´s a reason…

Marco Maloney

"You´re useless, and I wish I´d never got you" Mrs. Maloney kicked her seven year old son, Marco in the stomach so he fell down on the kitchen floor.

"I´m sorry mum." Poor Marco sobbed "I´m sorry."

Mrs. Maloney, lifted putted her hands around Marco´s throat and lifted him up. She carried him out of the kitchen, opened the door to the cupboard under the stairs and threw Marco in. Then she closed the door.

Marco sat down on the floor, next to his bed. With his back against the door. Then he saw his blanket, and a scissor.

"Mum." Marco shouted a few minutes later. "Open the door, I want to show you something."

"What," Mrs. Maloney pulled up the door, and then, Marco stood in the door. With his blanket over his head, and he had cut two holes for his eyes in it.

"You said I was useless. So I thought that if I were someone or something else you could like me."

"Alright, that´s it." Mrs. Maloney pulled the blanket of Marco´s head, took his arm and pulled him out of the door. To the car. And she started driving. She drove for half an hour and then she stopped and when Marco opened the door, she pushed him out and rushed away.

"Mum…mum." Marco tried to run after his mum. But soon he couldn´t see the car anymore. So he walked back, to where his mum had pushed him out. By a supermarket. He sat down on a bench right outside the door. It was dark outside.

Then the doors to the store opened a tall man with grey hair came out and locked the doors, he started walking down the street, when he heard sobbing from behind, he turned around.

"What are you doing here so late?" The man sat down beside Marco.

"Mum pushed me out of the car, and then she drove away, really fast. And I couldn´t catch her." Marco sobbed.

"Oh dear." The man looked thoughtful.

"Who are you?" Marco asked.

"My name is Joe, what´s your name?"

"I´m Marco." Marco thought that Joe looked nice. He had really kind- looking eyes.

"Can´t you take care of me? You can help me find my mum."
"No son, I´m afraid I can´t, but let´s do it this way. You can come home with me for tonight. And in the morning I´ll make some phone calls, and check if there is someone else that can help you find your mum."

Marco nodded. Joe lifted him up and started walking towards his car.

"Joe?" Marco said tiredly.

"Mm."

"Have you got any children?"
"Yes but they´re adults now, and they´ve got children of their own."

"Do you have any dress up clothes then?"

"I think we´ve got something in the attic. Why?"
"Can I have them? My mum said I was useless, so maybe she´d love me if I dressed up as somebody else."

"Oh, sweetheart."

Joe placed Marco in the back seat of the car. Marco had fallen asleep already before Joe had started the car.

"Joe, is that you?" Joe´s wife Lily asked when he came into his house.

"And who´s this?"

"This is Marco, found him outside the store. I couldn´t just leave him. He´s staying over the night. His mum pushed him out of her car, so I´ll call social services in the morning. He wants some dress up clothes. Could you go up to the attic and see if you find some?"

"Of course I will" Lily said, and she went upstairs.

Joe carried Marco to his own and Lily´s big bed. Laid Marco down in the middle of it , and started to take of Marco´s clothes. The poor boy had bruises all over his body.

"I found some of Ethan´s old clothes." Lily came sneaking into the room. She gave Joe a pajamas. And he started dress Marco in it.

When Joe had made himself ready for bed, he laid down beside Marco. And laid his quilt over himself and Marco. Lily came to lay on the opposite side of Marco. She fell asleep right away, but Joe stayed awake for a while. Marco was so cute, he couldn´t have done anything so bad, that he could deserve to be hurted and pushed out of the car by his own mother. In the middle of these thoughts, Joe fell asleep.

The next morning Marco woke up when the sun started to shine through the bedroom window. Marco sat up. Where was he?

"Good morning." Joe came into the room, and Marco remembered the night before. "Have a good night´s sleep?"

Marco nodded.

"Remember that I said yesterday I told you I would make some phone calls, and arrange for somewhere else for you to live?"

Marco nodded.

"Well, while you were asleep I made some phone calls, and there is one in the kitchen with my wife."

Marco stood up, and changed to his own clothes. And then followed Joe to the kitchen.

"Hi Marco," a dark- haired woman who sat by the table said. "I´m Elaine, and these people had told me a bit about you and your mum. So I´m going to take you to live at a place called Stowey House, doesn´t that sound nice?"

"But why can´t I stay here?" Marco said

"Marco," Joe sat down on one knee. "I told you earlier. You can´t stay here, it´s just not possible."

Joe gave Marco a big trunk.

"Here you´ve got loads of dress up clothes. It was everything we could find. But just remember, that you are amazing, just the way you are, as Marco.

Marco nodded. Elaine took the trunk and Marco followed her out to her car.

When Elaine putted the trunk in the back seat of her car. Marco turned around, Joe and Lily were standing in the door. Marco couldn´t help it, he ran towards them. Joe lifted him up.

"I want to stay with you." He sobbed.

Joe putted Marco on the ground again. And stood on one knee.

"I´ve already told you that´s not possible. I want that too. But I´ll never forget you, and if you ever need me. I´ll be right here." He putted his hand over Marco´s heart. And with tears streaming down his face, he watched Elaine drive away with Marco in the back seat, until he couldn´t see the car anymore.