Here is the next part of Seanna's story. She finds herself in a bit of a predicament, yet stands strong. I hope that you all enjoy it.

The cautions for this part are mostly not due to events occurring at this time in the story, but events that had already happened. The one exception is the caution for violence, as there is a bit of that in this part of the story.

**********

The elevator doors opened, Seanna was just about to step into it after her mother, then thought of something and turned around, looking for Thaddeus. Spotting him by the reception desk, she called his name; when he came over to her, she gave him her cell number.

"Thaddeus, I want to get all the info you can about the woman in the mental health home and her child in the foster care system. Once you have everything, send a fax here at the company offices care of Jackie, then we can plan how to help that woman and her child."

"I'll get right on that, Miss Ramsay. I can see it will be a pleasure to work with you, Miss. Have a good day."

**********

Seanna smiled as she stepped into the elevator, standing next to her Momma on one side and Leilani on the other. On the way down, Seanna's Momma informed her that she would get a cab home, as she wanted to rest a bit before her Women's League meeting that evening.

Seanna waved to her Momma as she exited the elevator on the ground floor, then the elevator continued down to the first parking level.

When the doors opened again, Seanna and Leilani walked over to the car, Seanna having retrieved the keys while in the elevator. She unlocked the car, placed Leilani in her seat, strapped her in, closing that door, then opened her own, sat down and buckled up.

She started the engine, waiting for a moment, then looked behind her before she backed out, circling around the level to return to the exit from the underground parking beneath the company offices. She checked traffic, then entered, heading for a nice cafe in the downtown core.

She felt the need for a bit of coffee to lift her up. Little did she know just how much that simple decision would change her life.

**********

She'd known of Di Panetti's Cafe for a year or more, and had dropped in now and then for a wonderfully brewed coffee. She noticed a few spaces were available in the small lot by the cafe, so she pulled in and parked the car, turning the engine off. She released herself, stepped out of the car, grabbed her purse, opened the back door, then released Leilani, closing the doors and locking the car before they headed inside.

The second that Seanna opened the cafe's door, she knew something was very, very wrong. She could almost smell the fear coming from a small child, black as coal, sitting on a stool by the counter, her back to the counter itself, looking up at a very large man standing over her.

Seanna was shocked and horrified when the man pulled his arm back, then punched the little girl in the face, sending her tumbling backward over the counter. Seanna screamed and launched herself at the counter, grabbing the child just as she was going over the countertop. She then turned, saw an older woman sitting a few stools away, and passed the young girl to her, before turning back to face the man.

Seanna was so focused on the male that she failed to see the big camera of a news crew as they entered the cafe. Within seconds, the main camera was trained on the action by the counter, and several mikes and at least one camcorder were recording sound bites.

Seanna was livid, she yelled up at him, "How in hell could you do that to a little child? You... you pathetic slime!"

Speaking quietly, the woman holding a mike and standing in front of the rest of the news crew, passed on what was happening to the city around them. "This is Trish Patterson and Eye On The City, in Di Panetti's Cafe, we've just witnessed a child being assaulted, a brave young woman snatching the child as the little one tumbled over the countertop, then the woman turning to face the man who attacked the child."

The man just laughed, pulled his arm back and hit Seanna this time. Seanna saw the blow coming and managed to turn her head, catching the blow toward the side of her face rather than full on. She winced, shook her head, knowing she'd have a shiner later, but stood her ground.

"You're such a big man that you feel justified in hitting little girls and women, is that it?"

"He has just punched the young woman in the face, we have it all here on camera and sound, I also see people taking pictures."

The big black man, close to a foot taller than Seanna and likely double her weight, just laughed. "You think you're going to stop me?"

Seanna snarled back at him, "I may not be able to stop you myself, but I sure as hell will NOT let you harm a little child."

Seanna got a rather nice surprise when comments were made all around the cafe, each one along the lines of "Nor will I."

"This brave young woman is standing her ground against a man much, much larger than she is, and the people here look ready to help her."

The big man growled, pulled his arm back again to hit Seanna, and received a rather sharp surprise of his own. "Not this time, mate." Two people were standing close behind him, the one being a tall, slightly feminine looking male, the other a big man in his own right. The slightly feminine looking one announced to one and all, "I'm an off-duty police officer, folks. Sir, I'm placing you under citizen's arrest, I'm fairly sure one or more people here have put in calls to 911 about this." He then went on to Mirandize the male, then told him to sit down and shut up.

"Again, this is Trish Patterson and Eye On The City in Di Panetti's Cafe at Fifteenth and Main, the thug was about to strike her again when two people intervened. One announced that he was an off-duty police officer, placed him under citizen's arrest and Mirandized him. I have no idea at this time who the other gentleman is, but you can be sure that they've saved this brave young lady from any further harm."

He quickly looked around the cafe, several people then informed him that they had either called the police or filmed it all on their phones.

"Okay, folks, officers will be here to deal with him soon, stay calm and this will all be sorted out in a few minutes." Just as the slightly feminine male turned back toward the counter, the big black guy stood up and tried to take a swing at him.

The off-duty officer ducked, then grabbed the big man's other arm and twisted it hard, just then he felt the impact of someone hitting the big man from the other side. In seconds, the big guy was sprawled on the floor of the cafe, being pinned down by the two men.

"Trish Patterson here again in Di Panetti's Cafe, this guy just doesn't seem to learn, he just tried to attack the off-duty officer, the officer and another gentleman took him down in a classic one-two maneuver. I don't think he'll be causing any more trouble here today."

Seanna gaped, all she had done was defend a child from someone bigger and this newsperson was calling her a very brave young woman? She winced, reached up and felt around her eye for a moment; yep, she could definitely feel a beauty of a bruise coming up there.

Trish and her main camera man walked across the cafe to the young woman leaning against the counter. "Hello, Miss... I'm sure you've heard me say it already a few times, but you did a very brave thing saving that child and then defending her from any further possible harm."

"I guess I did. Oh, sorry, I'm Seanna Ramsay, I was bringing my niece in here so I could get a coffee, saw what was happening, and..." Seanna looked around for a moment, then noticed the older woman she had seen earlier, she was holding the little black girl on her lap. "Excuse me."

Seanna slowly walked along the counter, then around the curve of the counter, to stand beside the older woman. "Hello, Judge Thomas-Black, I definitely did not expect to see you here today. How have things been lately? And how is your husband?"

"Hello, Seanna, girl, I'm doing well enough, my cases are finished for the day. As for hubby, he's standing by the bathrooms behind me."

"Judge, I need to take a quick look at this girl, I suspect there may be ongoing abuse. If there is, she'll need a full medical exam ASAP."

"You always were a smart one, Seanna. All right, little one, I'm going to let you down for a moment, this woman will take a look at you." She slowly lowered the child to the floor; the young girl, perhaps four years old, stood there shaking in fear, tears sliding down her face.

Trish Patterson and the camera followed Seanna around the counter's corner, watching and recording.

Seanna knelt in front of the child, then gently reached up and wiped some of the tears away. "I'm not going to hurt you, little one, I just want to look at you for a moment, to see if there are any injuries that need medical care. If there are, I'll make sure you get that care, okay?"

The little girl nodded, then stood there utterly quiet as Seanna pulled back the collar of her dress. Almost instantly, the edge of a large bruise could be seen on the girl's right shoulder, Trish's camera man caught it on film, growling under his breath at the sight.

But that was only the beginning, brief lifts or pulls on other parts of the girl's dress revealed more varicoloured bruises, one on her left hip that looked like it might be very close to her kidney, several on the thighs below the knee length winter dress, smaller bruises across her back.

Trish Patterson sucked in her breath, appalled, as the cameraman caught every last little bit on film. "Trish Patterson and Eye On The City here again in Di Panetti's Cafe, what started as a fairly open and shut assault has turned into a case of physical abuse. I'm sure many of you out there have seen the bruises all over this little girl's body, despite the fact that the young lady is doing her best to keep her properly covered."

Seanna shuddered as she saw each injury, but she wasn't done quite yet. "Child, has he done anything else to you?"

None of them were prepared for the little girl's whispered reply, "He... he hurt me... me.... down there..." pointing between her legs. For all that she had whispered it, the camera and the various mikes caught it clearly, stunning live listeners all around the city.

Seanna looked up at the Judge sitting on her stool, something was missing. "Okay, Judge, what is it that I need to know?"

The Judge sighed, looked at Seanna and shrugged. "I don't see that I have any choice now. The little girl here is Asemba Louisa Charleston, the brute on the floor there is her father, Patrick Ambrose Charleston. There are two restraining orders out on him, he was supposed to have no contact with either his late wife or the child here since Annalise first filed for divorce almost four months ago."

Seanna's eyes bulged open wide, "Late wife? What happened to her?"

"The girl's mother was a hooker, Annalise Marie Charleston, she sometimes ran with one or two of the gangs on the bad side of town. Last Sunday night, she was in a motel room with a male from one of the gangs, a drug deal went bad big time, and she and the man died."

Sirens could be heard in the distance, but everyone ignored them, they were a common enough occurrence in the city.

"Around 9 PM that Sunday evening, he," she pointed at the man on the floor," broke into the building where Annalise lived with Asemba, threw some of the girl's clothes into a small case, then dragged the case and the girl out the door. They hadn't been seen since then."

"Judge, does she have any family at all, beyond that man there?"

The Judge shook her head, "He and Annalise were both single children, the grandparents on both sides have all passed away over the last ten years or so. To the best of my knowledge, she has no other living relatives. I guess the Amber Alert for Asemba here can be dropped now."

"Judge, this may be highly unusual, I wouldn't know, but I wouldn't ask it if I thought there was anyone else that could care for her. Would you authorize me to act in loco parentis for her, so she can get prompt and decent medical care at a hospital I feel is safe?"

"I believe I can do that, Seanna, give me a moment, please." She reached into her attache case lying on the counter, searching for a few minutes, then finding what she wanted, she wrote out the authorization, had Seanna sign it in the 'in loco parentis' role, then turned to her husband, asking him to sign as a witness. An elderly man nearby spoke up, saying he was a retired Criminal Court judge, he'd witness it also.

The note was as follows:

To all who may be concerned:

The woman holding this note, Miss Seanna Elisabeth Ramsay, is hereby authorized by myself, as a member of the Children's and Divorce Courts here, to act in loco parentis for the child known as Asemba Louisa Charleston. This child has suffered severe physical abuse, has likely been sexually assaulted by her one living parent, and Miss Ramsay is authorized to provide whatever care Asemba needs in the duration."

Signed and witnessed on this date: December 15, 2016 (Various names in their appropriate places on the document.)

Seanna gently grasped the document, then knelt down and hugged the dark-skinned child for a moment. "Let's go make sure you'll be okay." Seanna then smiled weakly, looking around the cafe. "Thanks to all of you for whatever help you gave, I need to get this girl to a hospital."

Three, no four police cruisers roared into the lot beside the cafe; a minute or so later, six officers entered, four heading to the man still pinned to the floor. After being informed of what had happened, and receiving corroboration from the news crew, an officer re-Mirandized him just in case, then two of the officers hauled him up onto his feet, locked him into a set of cuffs and began walking toward the entrance. "We'll take him in to the lock-up while the rest of you take witness statements." Then they were out the door, heading to one of the cruisers.

"And there you have it, folks, you saw it all happen here in Di Panetti's Cafe, this is Trish Patterson and Eye On The City, for Channel 4 News."

One of the officers stopped Seanna by the door. "We need your statement, Miss, you can't leave yet."

Seanna frowned, looking at the officer. "Do you need my statement so badly that you would violate a judge's order?" She handed it to him. "Besides, sir," she went on in a softer voice, "the news people have it all on film with full sound, I'm sure I could give my statement tomorrow?"

The officer quickly scanned the document, looked around the cafe, spotted the judge, raised the document and received her acknowledgment. "All right, Miss, I've met her a time or two myself in here, she's given her word that you'll take care of this child. Now go and do it."

Seanna smiled at him, saying while she took the document from him, "You have my thanks, sir," then she, Leilani and Asemba exited the Cafe.

**********

Seanna, Leilani and Asemba were soon in the car, Leilani in her seat, Asemba beside her wearing a seat belt, strapped in rather loosely as the slightest contact against her abdomen caused the child to wince from the pain. As soon as Seanna was buckled in, she started the car.

A moment later, she turned the car around, and once on the streets, headed for the Children's Hospital about a mile away. The hospital they were going to had the best reputation for treatment of children in the entire state, let alone their city.

It took them several minutes to reach the hospital, then Seanna had to drive around the site looking for the visitor's parking. They finally found it, Seanna picked a space as close to the hospital entrance as possible, then released the children, helping them from the car.

**********

Seanna and the two little girls entered through the main doors of the hospital, then walked to the information desk, Asemba walking with one hand resting on her tummy. Seanna looked at the young woman working the desk, then asked, "Could you please tell me where I can get the help I need for this child?" pointing to Asemba. She then handed the document over to the young woman and watched as she read it.

"Ahhhh, I believe Dr. Patricks is in charge of cases like this, I can page her now, could you wait over there please?"

Seanna didn't seem to have any choice at the moment, she took the two little girls over to a fake leather bench and they all sat down. The one thing that was bothering Seanna, though, was that the young woman hadn't returned the document to her after telling her to wait. She listened as she heard the doctor being paged over the public address system and watched to see who approached the information desk.

It was a good fifteen or twenty minutes before she saw an older woman in a lab coat approach the desk and talk to the young woman there. It was quite clear they were arguing about something, eventually the doctor made her wishes clear before turning and walking over to Seanna.

"Hello, Miss Ramsay, at least, I assume you are the Miss Ramsay specified in the document? I'm Dr. Eloise Patricks, by the way."

"Yes, Dr., I am that Miss Ramsay. As that document says, Asemba here is in rough shape. She needs to have a full physical and any tests that you may feel are necessary to provide physical evidence. She also needs a rape kit done, as well as an anal kit."

"I see that this gives you the authorization to provide any and all care for the girl. How do you intend to cover the costs of tests, etc.?"

"Doctor, do you know the corporation known as Ramsay Enterprises? Send the bills to them, I'll make sure they're paid in full."

"Ramsay Enterprises, eh? You do run with some mighty big fish, girl."

"I suppose so, Dr., just one thing you need to know; as of next Monday, I will be the big fish, as I am to be the new CEO for Ramsay."

"Oh, my, please do accept my apology, I assumed you were a secretary or receptionist there."

"That's fine, you know better now. Can you do all the tests Asemba here will need, giving her the best care possible throughout?"

"Yes, we can, although it might take a good half of the night or even longer before the tests are done."

"Hmmmm... I'll need to arrange a baby-sitter for Leilani here, I'm sure Asemba won't do many of the tests unless I'm present." Asemba was, at that moment, curled up as close to Seanna as she could get, even though doing so put her in a fair level of physical distress. Fresh trails of tears could be seen sliding down the dark cheeks, the almost silent sobs coming from the child were visible to all.

"Hmmmm... the document here notes suspected rape, it would be best if we did those tests first, you can be there with her."

"All right, give me a few minutes to take care of Leilani here, then we can start the wheels rolling with Asemba's treatment."

**********

The doctor walked off a bit, giving Seanna some privacy; Seanna called JJ and Pat, JJ said she could come by in a bit to pick up Leilani.

Once the call was finished, Seanna turned to Leilani, "I need you to go with JJ tonight, I need to be here for Asemba, she's terrified."

Leilani nodded, then turned and very gently hugged Asemba, whispering, "You lucked out, my new momma here is da awesomest!"

Asemba turned her tear-streaked eyes to Leilani, "She keeps me safe? She stays with me while all da tests are done?"

Leilani nodded again, "Yeppers, once she gives a promise, she keeps it! She promised to make sure you gets good medical cares here."

Asemba blinked through the tears. "Ifs she stays wifs me, den I'll do all da tests dey needs."

Seanna sat listening to the two little girls talking, tears sliding down her own cheeks. She laid her hands very gently on Asemba's shoulders, looking down at the crying girl, and spoke to her. "I'll be there for you, little one, as long as you want me to be there. You have my word."

Leilani giggled, a wide grin spreading across her face. "She promised, she promised!"

**********

A little over thirty minutes later, JJ and Pat entered the hospital's foyer, looked around and noticed Seanna sitting on a bench with the girls. The two older women walked over, said hello to Seanna and Leilani, and waited while Seanna informed them of what was happening. JJ and Pat became quite angry as they heard what the dark-skinned little girl had gone through, they had no problem with watching Leilani tonight. All that they asked before they left with Leilani was that Seanna give the same love and care to Asemba as she did to Leilani.

**********

Seanna pulled out her cell phone to check the time, it was 6:15 PM, the time always seemed to slow down in hospitals, she thought. Holding on to Asemba's hand, she walked over to the information desk and asked that Dr. Eloise Patricks be paged again.

They walked back to the bench to wait for the doctor.

About fifteen minutes later, Dr. Patricks appeared, beckoning to Seanna to join her by one of the wide hallways leading deeper into the hospital itself. "So we're going first to the bio labs, where they will do some scrapings and other tests for the rape kits, then we'll head to the physical labs for a full set of physical exams and several different scans to check for internal injuries, etc."

It took them several minutes to reach the bio labs, they entered to find several female techs waiting for them. Poor little Asemba was forced to strip completely; the women were horrified at the bruising all over the little girl's body, even more so that she might have been raped.

Seanna held Asemba close the entire time they were examining her, they took cheek swabs, vaginal swabs, anal swabs, blood tests. Little Asemba stood there shaking as they checked her, crying silently, Seanna holding her as close as she could without interfering with the tests.

The night passed slowly, Seanna taking Asemba from one area to another in the hospital. Almost ninety minutes was spent doing an exhaustive physical examination and several other tests, some blood, some other, like urine and stools.

Various physical tests continued until after midnight. By then, Asemba was drooping visibly and Seanna wasn't all that awake herself. Dr. Patricks came by from time to time, and informed them just before 1 AM that they wouldn't be able to do the CT scan or MRI for a few hours. However, in a short while, Asemba would be taken down to the EEG and EKG labs, then to radiology. Even though it might have seemed like overkill, Dr. Patricks was determined to check Asemba in every possible way that she had available.

By just after 5 AM, Asemba had been processed through EEG, EKG and radiology, only to be told the MRI would be ready in 30 minutes. So now they waited for that, Asemba actually snoozing while leaning against Seanna, until Dr. Patricks woke them up saying it was time for the MRI. Dr. Patricks then told them that Asemba was scheduled for a CT scan at 7:00 AM and a PET scan at 8:30 AM.

Finally, it seemed like there was an end in sight. After verifying that the PET scan would be the last test, Seanna groaned, just wishing that it had all been done already. At least little Asemba was grabbing any opportunity she could find to get some sleep.

The morning seemed to drag on interminably, Seanna watching nearby when she was not allowed to be in physical contact with Asemba.

Seanna was just about ready to start climbing the proverbial walls when the tech in the PET scan room told her they would be done soon. Seanna sighed, then laughed weakly. "We've been in this hospital since 4:00 PM yesterday, I'd think almost 19 hours here is enough!"

**********

Seanna waited for everything to be finished, then headed off to call JJ. "Hi, JJ, I'm way too tired to drive, can Pat bring my car home?"

"Sure, Seanna, should we head over there now?"

"If you two can be here in about thirty minutes or so, that would be fantastic, I've been daydreaming about beds since 2:30 AM."

"Okay, Seanna, we'll meet you where we picked up Leilani last night. Just so you know, she's been great, she had a nightmare, but she's okay."

Just as Seanna was turning to go in and get Asemba, Dr. Patricks appeared again. "Okay, now that the tests are done, we can send these last ones down to be checked and examined. We'll have all the test results for you in about six to eight hours, having our own labs helps."

Seanna nodded, too tired to do anything more than thank the doctor. She went in, found Asemba's clothes in a pile and helped her to dress.

It took over ten minutes before she finally found the bench by the information desk in the foyer, she and Asemba collapsed onto it.

The two dozed off for a bit, as they'd been doing for most of the night, only to be abruptly awakened by JJ, Pat and Leilani.

Seanna barely managed to fall into the front passenger seat of JJ's small sedan, JJ had to put the girls in herself. Pat had been given the keys to Seanna's car, and had already left the lot. Once everyone was in and buckled up, JJ started the car and headed back toward the house.

The drive home took about 40 minutes, Seanna spending most of it snoozing in the front passenger seat of the car.

Seanna woke up just as JJ parked not far from the back door of the house. She was a wee bit more awake than earlier, so she helped JJ to get the two little girls from the back, and carried Asemba into the house. Once they were in the house, Seanna asked Leilani to stay with JJ for a bit longer, as she wouldn't be able to stay awake and care for her at this point in time. Leilani nodded and followed JJ into her apartment.

Seanna half stepped, half staggered her way up the stairs, only the bannister kept from falling while she held on to Asemba's hand. The little girl made no sound, even though she had to be in some pain. Seanna and Asemba wandered into what had been Sue's bedroom.

Seanna detoured into Leilani's room to get a nightgown for Asemba, then put on her own nightgown and climbed in next to Asemba.

It seemed like only a few seconds, but was more than likely several minutes, before Asemba and then Seanna fell asleep, snuggled together.