Promise from the heart

Chapter 5

When Charlie had calmed down some, Lucas let him go, and pulled out the chair and sat beside him again.

"Do you know their names?" he asked gently.

"She is called Lucy White and I don't know the surnames of her mates, but one is called Hank, another Mark and the other two Janus and Elaine." Caden said and took a deep breath. "But I can't be sure those are their real names." He added in a small voice.

"Thank you, son," Lucas said, and smiled bleakly as he wrote it down.

"And your father?"

Charlie was quiet for a bit.

"I don't know where he is."

"I see." Lucas said through his teeth. "Name?"

"Jonathan Stewart." Charlie said.

"Stewart?" Lucas frowned.

The boy nodded. "He didn't want me to have his name."

Lucas took a deep breath to will himself calm.

"Son, do you have any other relatives you can stay with, until all this is sorted?"

He shook his head. "My mom, Agatha, died when I was born. She has a younger sister, but she has been travelling all my life. I've never met her. I don't think I have any grandparents, and my father doesn't have any siblings."

Before he could respond, there was a knock on the door. "One minute" he said to Charlie who nodded.

"Yes?" Lucas opened the door and there stood Heidi with the boys. "They wouldn't be apart from their brother any longer." She smiled apologetically as the youngest ones wailed and Julian tried his best to stay brave in a new place, but his eyes were also wet.

"I see. You can all come in, we're almost done now anyway."

When Ezra and Brooklyn settled in Charlie's lap as he rocked them back and forth and patted their backs, Lucas looked at Heidi and then back to the boys.

"Charlie? I need to speak with Heidi, but we'll be but a moment. Will you manage?"

The boy's eyes remained on his brothers as he soothed them, "I always manage" he said quietly.

Lucas tried to ignore the twinge in his chest and followed Heidi out of the room. He told her about what Charlie had told and showed him and by the end of it, Heidi was crying in his arms. As police officers, horrors were part of the job, but it always hit them harder when kids were involved.

"I want to ask you something," Lucas started to say but Heidi silenced him with a kiss. "Yes."

Lucas smiled as he stared into the warm eyes of the woman he loved. "Are you sure?"

"They have nowhere else to go, of course I'm sure."

He kissed her again and turned to walk back into the room. "Oh, and the eldest knows we're expecting" she added and Lucas whirled around with wide eyes.

"What? I thought we weren't telling people yet. It's not past the safe stage yet."

Heidi smiled and shook her head. "Oh, we aren't, and I didn't. He just knew. Said I'd make a good mama" she said and her eyes dampened.

Lucas didn't know what to say so he just smiled. He knew there were things in this world they couldn't explain and this was one of those things.

"Even if it's just for a few nights, let's show them what a happy home is, okay? Those boys are starved, and not just for love and affection." She lowered her voice and just above a whisper she added "They're skin and bones. I think we need to take them to the doctor. I changed the little ones diapers and... something's not right. I..." she sniffled, "They haven't been fed. They seem to be both malnourished and dehydrated." she frowned.

"We must." Lucas agreed, feeling incredibly protective toward them all, but Charlie in particular. There was something about him. The look in his eyes did something to Lucas. It struck a cord.

They walked back into the room and smiled at the sight of the two little ones sleeping in Charlie's arms, while Julian sat as close to him as he could, clutching the teddy bear in his arms.

Lucas looked at the eleven-year old boy in front of him. Clever enough to collect evidence of the abuse he and his siblings suffered. Strong enough to bear with it and care for his younger siblings like a father, while attending school. Bright enough to look after himself and his brothers for a long time, even though he should not have had to. This boy has had to grow up fast, faster than he should have. Lucas felt for him, and he resented the father who had left him in that woman's care, and the woman who had neglected her children and abused them all.

"Do you want to stay with us until you find your forever home?" Lucas asked and took Heidi's hand.

Charlie's face lit up, but then he frowned as his gaze flickered to Heidi's abdomen. "But you already have a family to care for? We... You'll just get tired. The boy's don't sleep through the night yet, Ezra is teething and--"

Heidi let go of Lucas hand and walked up to Charlie. She crouched down and put a hand on each of his cheeks. "You're a child. You should not have to think about such things. Let us look after you until we figure all of this out. You can trust us. We can take it and we won't hurt you."

The boy's eyes filled and his lip trembled. "You won't hit us even if we're in the way?"

Heidi's heart shattered as she saw the little boy tremble. How had no one seen his struggle? How many cries for help had the people in his life ignored? She couldn't even begin to fathom how the school or the sitters never noticed. It seemed more likely that they all had noticed, but had decided not to interfere. The thought made her blood boil.

"I have never and would never hit a child. Children are never in the way. They are a gift." She said softly. "You are a gift" she added and smiled at both Julian and Charlie.

Charlie couldn't speak. He looked to Lucas who smiled and he nodded.

"What will happen now?"

"I will set out a search warrant for Lucy and her friends. I will contact your father and he will be brought in for questioning once he's found."

"Now then, how about we call it a day and go home and cook up a feast? It's not every day we have such precious visitors." Heidi beamed.

Charlie blushed and nodded. "Thank you."

"You're most welcome" she gently ruffled his hair.

"I'll go fetch the pram and then we can pick up some groceries as well as some clothes for you four." Lucas said.

Charlie's eyes widened. "I couldn't ask you to do that." He panicked.

"W-we have clothes." He added shyly as he stared at the table, not daring to look up. 

"Now son, I didn't say that to make you embarrassed, and you didn't ask me, we offered. Someone should have given you clothes that fit and fed you well a long time ago. Let us do what we can to help you. And before you ask, no, it's no bother; we want to do it.

"I know it's hard after all that you've been through, but see this as a blessing and accept it. You deserve the world, but let's start with clothes and food, alright?"

Charlie opened and closed his mouth a few times, speechless. Then he nodded and mumbled "Thank you" before he hid his face in his baby brother's neck.

"I'll fetch the pram." Lucas beamed and ran off. Heidi watched him go and shook her head and chuckled.

How quickly all their lives had changed...