Hi! Thank you all so much for reading, reviewing, and keeping up with this story. I am so happy that y'all like this story so much.

I hope y'all look forward to this chapter because there is a strong moment between Maya and Sadie. The ballet recital is going to happen in this chapter, with a few shocking elements into it.

Enjoy!

Lucas sits down on his mother's red couch after being invited in, contemplating on his choice of words to use with Sadie regarding Maya's situation. Lucas's mother walks to her bedroom where her granddaughter is sleeping, and she gently wakes Sadie up.

"Sweetie," Lucas's mother gently says, "Daddy's here. You wanna see him?"

Sadie sits up quickly and yawns. Before she is able to jump off her grandma's bed, Lucas's mother stops her.

"Sweetheart. Daddy has something to discuss with you. It's pretty serious, so you need to pay attention and do what he tells you, okay?"

"Yes ma'am," Sadie responds. Lucas's mother picks her granddaughter up into her arms and carries her to the living room, where Lucas is waiting for them. Sadie hops down from her grandma's arms and rushes over to her father, giving him a great big hug.

"Hey, daddy! Is Maya okay? When can I go see her?" Sadie asks.

Lucas tightens his arms around her, "Maya's gonna be fine, kiddo. But I have to explain a few things to you about what happened to her."

"Is she sad?" Sadie asks.

"I don't want to lie to you. What happened to her, has happened to her before, and yes, it does make her sad," Lucas explains.

"What happened to her?"

Lucas sighs and chokes on his words a little bit before he continues, "Maya was in a really bad relationship with a really bad man. That man would show his anger towards Maya in a way that shouldn't have been shown," Lucas swallows the big lump in his throat before finally spitting it out, "He hit her."

Sadie is now quiet. All of her attention is on what Lucas is talking about, and even though she is confused as to why the bad man hit Maya, she understands that what is happening isn't a good thing.

"There are people in this world who are going to do and say mean things to you. But I want you to know that if you are ever in an uncomfortable situation where a bad person is being mean to you, that you don't have to hide it from me. In fact, I advise you not to hide it from me. If you're too scared to come to me, then go to Maya. Maya loves you, and she doesn't want to see you get hurt. Just like I don't want to see you get hurt," Lucas explains.

"Is Maya ever gonna be happy again?" Sadie asks.

Lucas smiles, "I can guarantee it. She really wants to see you, and I'm going to take you to see her, but I need to tell you something."

Sadie nods and listens as Lucas continues, "Maya looks different. She has bruises and scratches on her face and arms, but I promise that she is still the same Maya that you know. If you want to ask her any questions about the bruises and scratches, then she told me that she will answer any of your questions. Okay? You don't have to be scared to see her."

Sadie nods again before jumping off Lucas's lap and running to go get changed.

"Hey, Riles?" Maya asks.

Riley turns her head to look at her best friend and rises to her feet quickly, "What? Is everything okay? Do I need to call the nurse in here?"

"No, Honey. I just wanted to ask if you and my godchild are okay," Maya responds with a smile on her face.

"Oh," Riley says, "Well, we'll both be okay when we know that you're okay. I can't tell you how scary it was to see you laying in the floor of your apartment. Your living room was flipped upside down. Your bedroom was in disarray. But, the scariest part for me was seeing the blood in your carpet. I thought I was gonna find something worse laying in your bedroom floor."

Riley has tears in her eyes as she says this. Maya can't help but let out a few stray tears as well.

"And look at you," Riley says, "You're the one in the hospital bed, and you're asking me if I am okay? I don't know if I should feel lucky to have such a caring best friend, or if I should feel guilty for making you feel like you have to ask me if I am okay."

"You shouldn't feel guilty. If you didn't come to my apartment and force me to wake up, I would probably still be in my bedroom floor. Don't you dare blame yourself for this. It's not your fault anyway. It's mine," Maya says.

"No it's not," Riley says with a hint of anger in her voice, "It's Tony's fault. I don't care what you did. He should've never laid a hand on you."

Riley sits next Maya on her bed, "Maya? How are you staying so strong through all this?"

Maya sighs and grabs Riley's hand, "It helps a lot that you guys are here for me. And I guess I've just been through this before," She says.

"But I promise, this is the last time. I am done with Tony."

"Knock knock!" Lucas says as he and Sadie walk into Maya's hospital room.

Maya's face immediately brightens when she sees Sadie. She sits up and makes room for Lucas and Sadie to sit on her bed. Sadie struggles to climb up the bed, so Lucas picks her up and sets her down on the bed in front of Maya. Lucas takes a seat behind Sadie.

"I am happy that you're okay, Maya," Sadie says, "And I'm sorry the bad man showed his anger on you."

Sadie turns around and pulls something out of her coat pocket, "I made this for you last night. I hope you like it"

Maya takes the "Get Well" card from Sadie and reads it:

Deer Maya dady told me you got hert. I am mayking this card for you to get betur becase I no Riley sed tat get betur cards help you get betur fast. It is trew. My frend Tanner got sick so Riley mayd us mayke get betur cards for him. And he cayme bac the next day. You arr stronge. I no yull get betur soon. Yur won of my fayvrite pepull. I love you! Love Sadie.

Maya brings her hand up to her mouth. Reading Sadie's letter truly bring tears of joy to her eyes. She folds the letter back up and gives Sadie a big hug. Maya notices that Sadie is afraid to hug back.

"It's okay, sweetheart, you can hug me back. Hugs heal me," She sniffles. Sadie wraps her arms around Maya and they stay in the embrace for a long time before Maya pulls back.

"I am going to keep this letter forever," Maya tells Sadie, "And whenever I get sick, or sad, I'm gonna look at this letter, and everything will be okay again."

"Are you okay, now, Maya?" Sadie asks.

Maya nods, wiping away her tears, "I am perfect when you're around me."

After Maya was released from the hospital two days later, she and Lucas go to her apartment to get some of her things. Maya stops in front of the door of her apartment and grips Lucas's arm. Lucas looks at her and notices her apprehensiveness.

"We don't have to do this today, if you're not ready," Lucas says.

Maya shakes her head, "No. I need to do this. I need to get my stuff. And I need to get my strength back."

"I don't remember you ever losing it," Lucas says.

Maya opens the door to her apartment, and she is shocked to see that it has been cleaned up a little bit. Her couch was turned right side up again. Her glass coffee table has been cleaned up. A lot of her pictures were removed from the wall. She looks at the blood stain on her carpet before looking in the corner of her living room where her broken pieces of art were set. She walks over to the pile of colored canvasses and picks one up.

"It honestly looks better with the hole punched in it," Maya says, setting the picture back down.

Lucas follows her to her bedroom. The door was completely removed and leaning up against the wall. She looks down at her feet where another blood stain is. She walks over to her vanity and sees that most of her pictures were taken down except one of her and Riley from middle school. She picks the picture up and smiles at it, putting it in the back pocket of her jeans. She notices another picture that must've fallen out of the collection. Maya picks it up and sees that it's a picture of her and Tony.

Her mind flashes back to every time that Tony has ever hurt her. Her breathing gets heavier as she crumples that picture up in her hands. She throws it at the mirror of her vanity and throws other things, lying around the vanity at the mirror. When she runs out of things to throw, she throws her fist and breaks the mirror. Lucas wraps his arms around her tightly and rocks her back and forth to calm her down.

"Don't forget the letter," Lucas says, referencing the letter that Sadie had given her a few days ago.

Maya takes a few deep breaths and turns away from her cracked reflection in the mirror. She buries her head in Lucas's chest and embraces him.

"I can't be here right now. I thought I was ready. I'm sorry, Lucas," Maya says.

"It's okay, Maya. Whenever you're ready. Let's go," Lucas says. Maya nods and walks with Lucas to go back to his apartment.

Lucas wakes up in the middle of the night, and he can't get back to sleep. He checks on Sadie and Maya before walking up to the roof to look at the view. The wind is blowing, causing goosebumps to rise on Lucas's arms and torso. But he doesn't want to go back down stairs to get a blanket. He soaks in the peacefulness of the night sky and the lights of cars and some buildings far away. It's a whole different world out there, and he likes to think about that sometimes.

He thinks about how different his life would be if he made different decisions. He imagines going to college with Sadie and becoming a veterinarian, like he always wanted. He imagines going back home to Texas with Sadie and starting over. But there is one thing he can't think about how different things would be if he made a different decision, and that is Sadie.

He feels the warmth of a blanket being thrown over him, which startles him at first. He turns around to see Maya looking out at the city with him.

"Thank you," Lucas says, pulling the blanket tighter around him.

"You couldn't sleep either, huh?" Maya asks, pulling her own blanket tighter around her.

Lucas shakes his head, "No. I know the ballet recital is tonight, and I am just nervous."

Maya has a small smile on her face, "Why? Are you worried about Sadie? Because she is going to do just fine in the recital tonight. I saw her practicing in your gym. She looked really beautiful and graceful."

"Yea, she puts a lot of work into something she's passionate about," Lucas responds.

"Just like her father."

The two of them get quiet again. Enjoying the serenity of the moment. Lucas isn't looking at the city, anymore. His focus is completely on the woman beside him.

He has been looking for a mother-like figure for Sadie to rely on. He used to think that he would have to get married for Sadie to have another mother, but he isn't married to Maya. And Lucas realizes that Sadie sees Maya as her mother figure. Maya cares about Sadie. She worries about Sadie, encourages Sadie, and loves Sadie. That's what Sadie needs in a mother figure.

"Maya. Thank you for everything that you do for Sadie. I don't want to sound weird, but I think she sees you as a mother figure," Lucas says as Maya turns her head to look at him, "And I couldn't ask for anyone better for Sadie to look up to. I'm really lucky that she looks up to you."

"I'm really lucky that she does look up to me," Maya responds. Lucas sees her shiver and moves behind her. He wraps his blanketed arms around her to warm her up.

And they stay that way until sunrise.

Lucas takes a seat in the front row of the large theater. He places a bag with two bouquets of sweet pea flowers in the floor beside his feet. He feels anxious. But in the excited kind of way. A few people walk up to him and ask him for his autograph and a picture, which he kindly accepts before it is time for everybody to take their seats.

Riley and Farkle arrive and take their seats beside Lucas.

"How's Maya doing?" Riley asks.

"She seems to be doing better since she moved in with me. I hope she's doing better," Lucas responds.

Riley nods and pats his shoulder before the lights dim, signaling the beginning of the recital. The crowd gets quiet and watches as Madame Hart walks out from behind the large red curtain. Lucas's heart skips a beat when he sees her on the stage, smiling.

"Good evening!" Maya begins, "We would like to thank all of you for coming out tonight to see our production of The Nutcracker."

Everybody claps before Maya continues, "Your children have worked extremely hard on the production, and I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of every single one of your children. So, without further ado, The Nutcracker."

The crowd claps again, and Maya walks behind the curtain again. The crowd is silent as the curtain rises to reveal the adorable little ballerinas in their costumes. Lucas sees Sadie right off the bat. Her hair is curled but pulled back, half up, out of her face. She is twirling on her tippy toes, and she bumps into one of her friends. Sadie's face turns red, so Lucas knows that she messed up.

What surprises him is how she recovers.

"Pardon me, Flitz."

Lucas, as well as the other people in the crowd, giggle at Sadie's recovery, and her mispronunciation of the name "Fritz". But, she continues with her twirling.

-.-.-.

The recital turns out to be really good. Madame Hart taught her students well. There weren't a ton of mess ups. The students remembered most of their lines. It was a beautiful production put on by these four to seven year old girls and one boy.

Lucas's favorite parts included Sadie's big scene, which was Clara's dream. Lucas had proud dad-tears in his eyes as he watched his beautiful little girl dance gracefully across the stage. Another one of his favorite parts was when Maya came out for her scene. Lucas has never seen Maya dance before. No wonder her students looked so graceful when on the stage.

-.-.-.

Although The Nutcracker is usually a longer performance, Madame Hart and her students got finished with their production in a little under forty-five minutes. Maya comes out on stage again after the final scene and introduces her students, who come out on stage beside her and take a bow.

"Sadie Friar as Clara!" Maya calls out, and Lucas rises to his feet to cheer for his little girl. Sadie waves at the crowd and takes a bow before waving at her daddy.

After Maya finishes the crowd cheers, and they all take a bow before all of the little girls, and boy, rush backstage to get out of their costumes.

"I'll be right back," Lucas tells Riley and Farkle. He picks up the bag that holds Maya and Sadie's flowers in them and makes his way backstage to greet his excited daughter.

"Daddy! Did you see me?" Sadie asks.

Lucas laughs and picks Sadie up, giving her a big hug, "I did, kiddo. You did an amazing job, and I am so proud of you for working so hard on this."

"Thank you," Sadie says. Lucas sets her down on the ground again and pulls out a small bouquet of sweet peas and hands them to Sadie.

"Thank you, daddy! I love these kind."

"You're welcome, sweetie. Now go get dressed, so that I can take you and Maya out for dinner," Lucas tells her. Sadie nods and rushes to the dressing room to change out of her costume. Lucas looks around to find Maya's dressing room.

He didn't think that the auditorium could be as big as it, but it takes him a few minutes before he hears arguing in one of the dressing rooms. Lucas rushes over to the door and opens it to see Tony with his hand in the air. He quickly makes his way in front of Maya and stops Tony's hand from smacking her in the face.

Tony jerks his wrist from Lucas's hand, and he snickers.

"Well, well. Lucas Friar. Looks like one of us has to be the hero, huh? I try, but she's ungrateful," Tony says.

"I don't know what makes you think you can show up here and start this bullshit," Lucas responds. Tony's smirk disappears from his face.

He takes a step back, holding his hands up in defense, "I know you'll come running back to me, Maya. You've done it before. You just can't stay away from me."

"Why don't you just leave? Maya doesn't want to run back to you," Lucas says.

"Why don't you make me leave, big shot? Huh?" Tony asks.

Maya feels a low growl rumble in Lucas's chest before he says, "Because I'll have you running away after our fight. I know you think you can beat my ass because you think you can do that to anyone, but I have news for you. When we get in that ring in three days? I will show no mercy on you."

"We'll see Friar. I'll see you in my corner in three days, Maya. Have a nice night," Tony says.

Before he walks out he turns around and says, "Oh, and Friar?"

Lucas turns to look at him, but as soon as he does, Tony sucker punches him in the lip. Lucas stumbles and falls to the ground. He spits out a little bit of blood and wipes his lip from it.

"Lucas! Are you okay?" Maya asks, kneeling beside him. She take a look at his lip and helps him back up to his feet. Lucas has his fists clenched, as well as his jaw. He takes a few deep breaths, and he thinks about Sadie and Maya to calm him down.

"Are you okay?" Maya asks again.

Lucas takes another deep breath before wiping his lip from more blood, "Yea. I just, wasn't expecting that."

He turns around and grabs the bigger bouquet of sweet pea flowers before he forgets to give them to her. He is happy to see Maya's face change from fear and anger to happiness. She takes the flowers from Lucas and thanks him.

"They are beautiful. Thank you so much," She says and gives him a hug. Lucas wraps both of his arms around her and just wonders how anybody could lay a hateful hand on her.

Lucas really couldn't wait to get Tony in the ring.

Okay that's all for this chapter! I hope y'all liked it. Some of y'all probably suspect that Tony was going to show up, but I needed the dramatic flare added to it.

The next chapter is going to be a short one. It will discuss Tony's sucker punch, and we will get a conversation between Riley and Maya that has her thinking.

Then it will be fight night! (Plus a shocking plot twist)

Y'all are gonna love it!