Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: This oneshot was inspired by the song of the same name by Jason Michael Carroll. I've been in a bit on a funk lately and felt like writing something sad and I think I succeeded. This may be one of the saddest things I've ever written about an issue that doesn't get enough attention. It's a pretty heavy issue - which is why I gave it a T rating - and I tried to treat it with respect. I didn't want to sugarcoat it and don't think I did, that said there's nothing graphic. It's a pretty tough read and I'm putting a tissue advisory, if you will, on this story. I'm not overly happy with the ending because I couldn't figure out a good way to end it. I might do a follow up to this, but that remains to be seen. I borrowed the children from my story That's How Love Moves, though this isn't directly related. It sounds odd to say I hope you enjoy this, because of the subject matter. Again - it's pretty heavy and I hope that if anyone reads this and, heaven forbid, knows a child like Alyssa that this might inspire them to call the authorities.

"So Kaitlyn made a new friend today," Kelsi informed her husband. She had just gotten back home after dropping off a car full of kids at the elementary school. She and Ryan had spent several years in New York City and had even had a couple of shows make it all the way to Broadway, where they had been successful. After so many years working full stop in the theater, however, they had decided to take a couple of years off in order to focus on their family. They had two daughters: Kaitlyn, who was six years old; and Rebecca, who had just turned three. It seemed like all of their friends had also made it back to Albuquerque over the years and had children of their own. Most of them happened to be close in age and, as such, went to the same elementary and preschools. So it had only seemed logical for them to form their own carpool. Carpools, actually, since they had needed to form two – one for the preschoolers and one for the older children. Usually one couple would drive the kids to school and another would drive them home, depending on how it worked out. This morning it had been Kelsi's turn to drive the elementary aged children to school, while Ryan had taken the preschoolers. Zeke would be picking up the older kids, including Kaitlyn, at the end of the day and dropping them off at their respective houses. That meant that Sharpay would be the one picking up all of the preschoolers, including Rebecca.

"Did she?" Ryan smiled at the idea. He had been a little worried about his older daughter at the beginning of the school year in that respect. Her friends mainly consisted of the children of his friends and pretty much all of them had been assigned to the same class: all except for Kaitlyn, who had cried when they told her. Ryan knew that she would see all of her friends during recess, but he had been worried about the rest of the time. She tended to be a little shy, just like her mother had been.

"Yes," Kelsi returned his smile, equally happy over the news. "On the playground at the school between the tires and the swings." The news about Kaitlyn making a new friend had put both Ryan and Kelsi in good moods for most of the day. They may have been taking a couple of years off of Broadway, but it hadn't taken long for them to start work on a new show. The big advantage to working on a show in Albuquerque over New York was that they could take more time with it. There was no deadline to follow and no pressure so it made for a much more relaxed atmosphere. So they ended up spending a large part of the day getting things done around the house and putting in a little time on a couple of songs for a show that may or may not make it to Broadway. The day seemed to fly by and it seemed like it wasn't long before Sharpay stopped by to drop off Rebecca, closely followed by Zeke with Kaitlyn. Ryan headed outside when he heard Zeke's car pull into the driveway and waited as both Kaitlyn and Zeke climbed out of it. Usually Kaitlyn would come bouncing up the walkway and into the house, but today she seemed subdued.

"Hi Daddy," the child said, softly, as she approached.

"Hey sweetheart," Ryan said in response, crouching down to her level to give her a hug. "How was school? Mommy said you made a new friend this morning."

"I did," Kaitlyn confirmed. "Her name's Alyssa." Ryan was shocked to notice that she had tears in her eyes.

"Hey," he said, gently. "What's the matter, honey? Why so sad?" The child let out a small sigh before answering.

"Daddy...Alyssa lies," she answered. Ryan's brow furrowed – that was not an answer he had been expecting.

"Hey Kaitlyn," Zeke spoke up. "Maybe you should go and say hi to your Mommy. I want to talk to your Daddy for a minute." Ryan had been about to brush off Kaitlyn's comment, but then glanced up at his brother-in-law. He was surprised to see that Zeke looked a little upset himself.

"Okay," Kaitlyn agreed. She walked over to give Zeke a hug. "Thanks for driving me home Uncle Zeke."

"Anytime, sweetheart," Zeke smiled at her, getting half a smile in return. Ryan watched his daughter head into the house as he stood back up. Once she was safely inside and calling for Kelsi, he turned to Zeke.

"What's going on?" he wanted to know.

"I saw something happen at the elementary school that really bothered me," Zeke frowned. "I got there a little early, about the same time this other couple did. They were picking up their little girl..."

"And?" Ryan pressed, confused.

"I guess Kaitlyn's class got out late today for some reason. The other kids showed up and I got them all settled in the car while I waited for Kaitlyn. Meanwhile, the husband is getting really agitated. I could see the couple bickering in the car and at one point he even raised a hand up like he might hit her," Zeke sighed. "He eventually gets out of the car, fuming, and then when their little girl shows up he starts yelling at her for keeping him waiting." Zeke's eyes narrowed in anger. "He grabbed at her and more or less shoved her into the car. It was all I could do not to head over there and give him a piece of my mind," he admitted. Ryan lifted his eyebrows in shock. Zeke was one of the most levelheaded people Ryan knew, so the idea that Zeke had almost confronted this man told him that the scene had been pretty terrible to watch. "The only reasons I didn't," Zeke continued, "was because the man's yelling had gotten Isabella upset and I didn't want to make it worse." Isabella was Troy and Gabriella's six year old daughter. "In any event, I'm pretty sure that the other little girl is in Kaitlyn's class because Kaitlyn got to the car within seconds after the first girl had been pushed into hers." Zeke shook his head in disgust.

"Do you think it's the same girl that Kaitlyn became friends with today?" Ryan asked.

"I think it very well could be," Zeke replied. "Kaitlyn was upset the entire way here and I couldn't get her to tell me what was wrong." Zeke paused. "It might be a different girl entirely, but I wanted to give you a heads up just in case."

"Thanks Zeke. I appreciate that," Ryan nodded, glancing back at the house.

"It just makes me so mad," Zeke practically snarled. "I don't know how anyone could treat their child like that. It's just...I just..." he trailed off. "I don't even want to imagine what goes on in their household." Both he and Ryan shuddered at the idea. Odds were that if the man was so openly hostile in public, that he would be much worse in the privacy of his own home. "Something has to be done to help that little girl," Zeke decided. "Like I said, she may or may not be Kaitlyn's friend, but if she is in the same class, that may help us figure out who she is. And if we can, maybe we can help. I don't know how..."

"There's got to be a way to help," Ryan agreed. "I'll try and see what I can find out."

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After Zeke left to drop the rest of the kids off, Ryan went inside and told Kelsi what Zeke had told him.

"Oh no," Kelsi whispered, horrified. "What do we do?"

"Talk to Kaitlyn first," Ryan decided. They waited until dinner time to bring up the subject, first making sure that both of their children were settled with their food. Kelsi glanced over at her husband, and Ryan nodded. "Hey honey," he said, gently, focusing his attention on Kaitlyn, "I want to talk to you about your new friend Alyssa. You told me that she lies…me and Mommy wanted to know what you meant." When Kaitlyn hesitated, Ryan smiled at her. "It's okay, sweetheart. You can tell us."

"Alyssa lies all the time, Daddy," Kaitlyn said, with a sigh. "She lies in the classroom. She lies to everyone at school. She lies to the teacher…" she paused, her face sad.

"What does she lie about?" Kelsi asked softly.

"Her arms." Ryan and Kelsi exchanged a puzzled look. "She tries to hide them from everyone, but I saw them at lunch when she had to push her sleeves up to wash her hands." She wrinkled her nose. "They were covered in those blue and purple marks, like the one I got when I fell in the backyard and hurt my knee. I don't remember what they're called."

"Bruises," Kelsi whispered.

"Yeah, those," Kaitlyn nodded. "She doesn't want anyone to see them…so she lies."

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Ryan and Kelsi slipped out of Kaitlyn's bedroom after finishing their nightly bedtime ritual, which consisted of a song and a story. Rebecca had been asleep for about half an hour already and now both Ryan and Kelsi lingered by Kaitlyn's door. They watched as she pressed her little hands together on her chest and closed her eyes.

"God bless my Mommy and my Daddy and my sister Rebecca and the rest of my family and my friends," Kaitlyn started, softly and sweetly. "And my new friend Alyssa, oh I know she needs You bad. Because Alyssa lies to the classroom every day in school and she lies to the teacher as she tries to cover all of her bruises. Please help her."

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Sleep didn't come easily to either Ryan or Kelsi that night. They both kept thinking about Alyssa and the terrible things the child must be going through.

"Oh Ryan," Kelsi sniffled. "It breaks my heart to think of that little girl." Ryan pulled her into his arms to try and comfort her.

"Me too," he said softly. "How can anyone hurt their child?" He shook his head angrily. "You do know what we have to do right?" He felt Kelsi nod.

"We have to tell the authorities," she answered. "And tell the teacher." She let out a sad sigh. "I don't know what's worse…the fact that Alyssa is getting beaten up by her father," she took a breath, "or the fact that it's probably been going on for who knows how long and no one's said anything."

"Maybe that's why Kaitlyn became friends with her," Ryan said, thoughtfully. "Because there was no way we could have found out about this and not done anything." Kelsi turned over and propped herself up on her elbow.

"What if we're too late?" she asked, fear in her eyes. "What if the authorities don't help? What if they try to ignore it?"

"They'll help," Ryan promised her. "Don't underestimate the power of the Evans name or of money." He raised his hand to her cheek, gently stroking it with his thumb. "Don't worry, baby. It'll all work out." He angled his head. "Maybe we should drive Kaitlyn to school on Monday ourselves so we can both talk to the teacher."

"Okay," Kelsi whispered, bringing her hand up to keep his on her face. "I just hope we won't be too late."

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The first thing that Ryan and Kelsi noticed when they walked into the elementary school on Monday with Kaitlyn was that most of the adults they passed seemed to be crying. They reached Kaitlyn's classroom and froze as they saw Kaitlyn's teacher talking to a police officer.

"Oh please…" Kelsi said softly. Ryan took hold of her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. The police officer nodded and slowly made his way out of the room.

"Kaitlyn, honey, why don't you go put your coat up?" Ryan asked.

"Okay," Kaitlyn agreed, looking back and forth between her parents. Ryan led the way to the teacher's desk.

"What's going on?" he asked. The teacher, a kind older woman with a sort of grandmotherly vibe about her, looked at them with tear filled eyes.

"We got some sad news about one of our students today," she said softly. "One of mine." Her voice broke at that point and it was obvious that this woman cared a great deal for her students. "A beautiful little girl named Alyssa." Ryan felt his heart sink to his knees at the mention of her name, though he already had a feeling he knew what had happened.

"What…" Kelsi started, but stopped, almost afraid to finish her question.

"She was from an abusive home. We had our suspicious and we tried to help but we couldn't…" the teacher began. Kelsi let out a small sob as the teacher went on to tell them that one of Alyssa's neighbors had called the police the night before after hearing a terrible commotion coming from the house. By the time the police had arrived it had been too late to save Alyssa. The father had been arrested and was now in the county jail, while the mother had been taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries she had sustained while trying to protect her daughter. "If only we had been able to help," the teacher finished. She looked back and forth between Ryan and Kelsi. "I know that your daughter had recently become friends with Alyssa. Maybe you should be the ones to tell her…though I must tell you," the teacher gave them a sad smile, "most of the children tended to ignore Alyssa because she was so quiet. Kaitlyn was probably the first friend she ever had." She sniffled loudly. "Alyssa was so excited to have a friend. That was the most I've ever seen her smile in a day."

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"How are we going to do this, Ryan?" Kelsi asked, leaning against him for support. She was barely able to speak through her tears.

"I don't know," Ryan admitted. Just then Kaitlyn came over to them looking upset.

"Why does everybody look so sad?" she asked, directing her question to Ryan, who by then had tears running down his face. "What happened Daddy? Where's Alyssa? Why isn't she here?" Kelsi bit back a sob as Ryan crouched down to their daughter's height.

"Alyssa's not going to be in school today," Ryan started, hardly able to speak over the lump in his throat. A lump that had seemed to grow bigger with each of her questions.

"Why not?" Kaitlyn looked at him with wide, innocent eyes – blue just like his.

"Because she doesn't lie in the classroom anymore. She's doesn't lie anymore in school...Alyssa lies with Jesus," he said gently.

"But," Kaitlyn's little brow furrowed. "Doesn't Jesus live in heaven?"

"Yes He does, sweetheart," Kelsi managed.

"Then…how can Alyssa be with him? Is she in heaven too?"

"Yes, she is," Ryan answered carefully.

"But…why? Why is she in heaven? Why isn't she still here?" Ryan had felt his heart begin to break when they had first heard about Alyssa, and a little more after they had found out what had happened to her, but now, as he watched his daughter's eyes fill with tears he felt it break completely.

"Alyssa is in heaven because…because something really sad happened," he started.

"What happened?" Kelsi brought her hand to Ryan's shoulder, once again using him for support.

"She got hurt really badly," he said softly.

"Why didn't she see a doctor then?" Kaitlyn asked, clearly confused and getting increasingly upset. Ryan put a hand on her small shoulder.

"She did, baby, but…but the doctor wasn't able to help," he answered.

"How'd she get hurt?" Ryan felt Kelsi kneel down beside him and watched as she put her hand on Kaitlyn's other shoulder.

"Someone hurt her," he said truthfully. Kaitlyn's eyes filled with an understanding that Ryan hadn't expected.

"Was it her daddy?" she asked slowly. "We talked about him…she seemed scared of him for some reason…"

"Yes, honey," Kelsi spoke up. "It was her daddy…"

"Why'd he hurt her? What'd she do? How'd he hurt her bad enough to send her to heaven?" Every question was like an arrow aimed straight at the hearts of both of Kaitlyn's parents.

"Oh baby," Kelsi whispered. "She didn't do anything."

"Then why'd he hurt her?"

"I don't know baby," Kelsi replied, gently wiping away some of the tears that were falling down Kaitlyn's face. "Her daddy needs to get some help…he's a very sick person."

"Did he give her all of those bruises?" Kelsi nodded slowly. "Why didn't her Mommy help her?" Kelsi looked over at Ryan.

"She tried to, sweetheart, but she wasn't able to," he took over.

"But…wasn't there someone else who could have helped? Why did she have to get hurt so badly she had to go to heaven?" Kaitlyn's tears were falling faster now. "Why? Tell me why, Daddy."

"I don't know why, baby," he whispered. "I wish I did."

"Alyssa was my friend," Kaitlyn whispered, causing Kelsi to let out a sob.

"I know she was, sweetheart," Ryan said softly. "She…she was very lucky to have you for a friend."

"Why'd she have to lie?" Neither Ryan nor Kelsi had an answer to that one.

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Ryan and Kelsi had decided to bring Kaitlyn home for the day and she had gone to lie down on the couch and had fallen asleep. Ryan let out a heavy sigh as he leaned against the refrigerator. "Why did I decide to wait until today?" he asked, more to himself than Kelsi. "I should've called the police the first night."

"It might not have made a difference," Kelsi said, bringing her hands to his shoulders.

"What if it would have? How can we know?" He searched her eyes for answers.

"We can't," she admitted. "But you can't beat yourself up honey…I didn't call either…"

"No one did," he sighed again, slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. "If the school suspected something was wrong, why didn't they do anything?"

"No one ever wants to get involved with things like this," Kelsi said, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I think people hope that they might be wrong. That maybe they're just being paranoid and the problem will go away. Maybe they think that if they ignore the problem, that it'll stop. Maybe it's just easier to stay out of it. I don't know." She let out a sigh of her own.

"Meanwhile, how many more children like Alyssa are going to be killed before people start speaking up?" Ryan asked absently. Kelsi gave him a squeeze.

"Too many," she answered. She eased back to look at him. "I was thinking…maybe…maybe there's something we could do." She paused. "It's too late for Alyssa, but maybe there's a way we can help other kids like her. Like maybe…"

"Maybe what?" he asked.

"You know the show we're working on?" When he nodded, she continued. "Maybe when it's done we can do a run through of it here as a sort of fundraiser. Like have half of the ticket sales and all of the merchandise sales go to a children's charity committed to ending abuse." She shrugged. "I don't know…it's just a thought I had…" she trailed off, biting her lip. He slowly smiled.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," he told her, leaning in to kiss her softly.

"Daddy?" Both of them looked over at the sound of Kaitlyn's voice, coming from the living room. They eased apart and headed towards their daughter. "Daddy?" Kaitlyn called again.

"I'm here sweetheart," Ryan said in response, sitting next to her on the couch. She moved to a kneeling position and surprised him by flinging her little arms around his neck.

"I'm really happy you're my daddy," she told him, her voice soft. "And Rebecca's daddy too." She pulled back to look at him. "You're the best daddy in the whole wide world. You take really good care of me and Rebecca and Mommy," she paused. "I wish you had been Alyssa's daddy too. Because you would've taken care of her and loved her like a daddy is supposed to instead of making her scared all the time. And she never would've had to lie if you were her daddy." She put her hands on either side of his face. "I love you Daddy."

"I love you too sweetheart," Ryan managed, tears once more filling his eyes. Kelsi moved to the back of the couch and put an arm around her husband and daughter.

"You know what else Daddy? I think me and Mommy and Rebecca are the luckiest girls in the world," she smiled sweetly at him.

"I second that," Kelsi whispered in his ear.