Disclaimer: All recognizable characters or song lyrics do not (yet) belong to me.

AN: Inspired by the Law and Order: SVU episode, "Shaken."

Limitations

"Okay, so placing bets now: how long until Megan starts crying?"

The boys of the Young Justice team were lounging around the living room of the Cave, waiting for their female counterparts. The weekend before, after breaking up an unexpected hostage situation, one of the rescued kids practically begged them to visit his little sister in the hospital, saying how big of a fan of superheroes she was. His parents had hastily insisted that it wasn't necessary, but it was hard to say no to his pleas, and the Team agreed to go. Of course, the news was leaked (thanks, Kat Grant, really), and a quick stop to see one child with a new kidney became a goodwill tour through the pediatric unit.

Connor crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Wally, who looked back innocently. "Dude, c'mon, she is going to shed a few tears when she sees all those kids cooped up and sick."

"It's not like they're dying or anything," Connor protested.

"I mean, realistically, some of them are dying," Dick objected nonchalantly, hanging upside down over the armrest. "They just don't know that yet."

"I suggest we take an optimistic approach to today," Kaldur interjected. "We are to be a break from their illnesses and ailments, a moment of reprieve in their lives."

"In the arms of the angels," Wally warbled, followed by Robin's off-key falsetto, "fly away from here."

A pillow crashed into the side of Wally's face, stifling the next lyrics. "Knock it off, Dweedle Dee and Dweedle Dum," Artemis demanded, grabbing another projectile. "This is serious stuff."

"It's called gallows humor, babe." The speedster leaned forward to place a quick kiss on her cheek. "Gotta mentally prepare ourselves."

"Are the others almost ready?" Kaldur asked. He was nearly as nervous for the visit as he was for missions: while they were normally shrouded by shadows and maintaining their stealth, they were now in the public eye, very much open to scrutiny. Furthermore, they had no idea what exactly they were about to see; the hospital records were all sealed, and Kaldur had politely declined Dick's offer to hack them, which left them to face the multitude of ill patients without knowing quite how sick or hurt they were. As leader, the Atlantean liked to pride himself on being resilient and unwavering, but he could not deny that he had a soft spot for children, especially now that he was godfather to Artur. The mere thought of the young prince in distress spiked his anxiety, and he was not fully confident that he would be able to maintain his composure in the face of actual suffering children.

Of course, he could not allow himself to lose focus, not when the other girls had entered and were waiting to depart. Instead, he took a deep breath to calm his nerves and led them to the Bioship—as Wally had put it, "We have to arrive in style. For the kids."

It was a relatively short trip, filled with Dick and Wally trying to keep the atmosphere light-hearted, and as Megan carefully landed on the hospital roof, Kaldur turned to address the others: "I recommend we go in quietly, out of respect to the patients and their families. We do not know how critical anyone is, and it is vital not to disrupt the routines of nurses and doctors. Our goal is to improve the day of those here, not to cause complications."

Although everyone nodded and followed his lead, it turned out not to be needed. After being led to the pediatric floor, they were greeted by kids and parents alike cheering and shouting, some waving signs and others dressed in superhero regalia.

"Do we still need to be quiet?" Raquel asked teasingly, gently nudging Kaldur.

"I suppose that is no longer necessary," he returned, somewhat overwhelmed by the display and not entirely sure how to proceed. Luckily, Dick had it handled.

Launching himself over Connor, flipping twice in the air, he landed deftly in front of the crowd and bowed low, earning gasps and applause. "Well hello, one and all! Looks like there are a lot of special kids to get to know. Come on, come on, don't be shy!"

"What a show off," Artemis muttered, but she quickly threw on a smile as the bolder children rushed forward, shouting all at once and frantically trying to get everyone's attention. It took a few minutes to settle the crowd and get the younger or sicker kids to join in, but there was finally a relative calm, with each hero surrounded by their own group.

From then, the event proceeded smoothly, patients and even some parents going from hero to hero, and Kaldur found his previous anxiety disappearing. Besides Artur, he did not have much interaction with young children, and he had feared that he would not be as entertaining or warm as the others. However, everyone who spoke to him were fascinated with Atlantis and his work with his king, listening intently and wide-eyed as he recounted stories, both above and below the surface.

It was nearly two hours before staff began gently guiding children back to their rooms, some for treatments, others for medicine, and some merely for rest after so much exhilaration. As Kaldur said his final goodbyes, he noticed, from the corner of his eye, a nurse entering one of the rooms. None of the children had gone in prior, and each had been accompanied family, so the occupant must not have been able to join the rest.

He or she must be too sick, Kaldur thought, and he felt a pang of pity for the poor child who could not even leave the bed.

With his teammates still busy with a few remaining children, he approached the room and knocked gently. After a few moments, the nurse opened. "Yes?"

"Hello. Is there a child in here who was not able to meet us?"

She sighed and glanced back. "Yes. Samantha. She came in late last night, poor thing. She's been touch and go for most of the morning, and once we had her stabilized, we couldn't afford to cause her too much excitement. Doctors are trying to be optimistic, but her recovery will need to go perfectly, and that means plenty of rest. Besides, she can't leave her bed yet, and wheeling her out would have drawn so much unwanted attention."

"What is wrong? If I may ask."

Scrunching her mouth, she thought for a few seconds. "Honestly, I probably shouldn't be saying but…she has brain damage. Shaken baby syndrome."

"Shaken baby syndrome?" Even the words alone tasted strange on his tongue. "Is…is that exactly how it sounds?"

"Unfortunately, yes. When guardians get so frustrated with a baby's crying, they sometimes resort to shaking the baby to silence them. We warn parents when they leave the hospital that if crying or screaming gets too much, they need to walk away and collect themselves." Her eyes narrowed. "Samantha's father failed to do that. He's denying it, of course, but…" Her mouth snapped shut, and she looked away. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be discussing this sort of information."

"No, I completely understand." He peered into the room, though he could not see Samantha. "Would it be okay if I saw her now? Or is she too unwell?"

"She had to get surgery this morning to alleviate the pressure on her brain, so she's still pretty out of it from the anesthesia, but I'm sure she'd like to see you for a few minutes while I do my check-in."

"Is there anyone with her?"

The nurse shook her head. "Father is in custody, mother abandoned her a few months after giving birth. The police are looking for her, but they haven't had any luck."

"And there is no other family?"

"Doesn't seem like it." She stepped back. "So any friendly face will probably do wonders. Hospitals are scary enough when you're as young as she is."

Kaldur nodded but did not speak, for he had entered the room and caught sight of the little girl, seemingly swallowed up by the hospital bed and the multiple wires and tubes coming from her body. The right side of her head had been shaved, and her eyes were only half-open, as though she did not have the energy to do more.

"Hello, little one," he said softly, subconsciously slowing his walk, as though approaching a wounded creature. "How are you feeling?"

"Bleh." Her tongue lolled out of her mouth on the word, and it took some obvious effort for her to return it to its rightful place.

"You have had a long day, I can see." He took a seat in the chair beside the bed. "Do you know who I am, by chance?"

"Doctor?"

"No, no, not a doctor. I am Kaldur'ahm, but I am known as Kaldur by my friends. I fight alongside the king of Atlantis."

"Atlantis?" At that, her eyes widened a little. "Ariel?"

The name triggered something in his head, and he remembered the Disney movie night Raquel had insisted they all had. "Yes, just like her. Do you like Ariel?"

"My fav'rite princess," she murmured. "I wanna be mermaid."

"You would like to visit Atlantis?"

"Mhm."

"Perhaps when you are feeling better, I will be able to take you. Would you like that?"

"Really? Really real?" she asked, a sudden burst of energy in her voice. She struggled to move herself upward, and a machine started beeping. The nurse hastily rested a hand on the girl's forehead and eased her back to her previous position.

"You have to relax for me, okay honey? You have to stay laying down until you're a little stronger."

"But, but 'lantis!"

"When you are feeling better," Kaldur repeated, taking one of her hands in his and giving it a gentle squeeze. "For now, you must listen to the doctors and the nurses and get strong. I will be back to visit. Now, you must rest."

"You 'ave go?"

"Yes, little one. You need rest. Tomorrow I will return."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

He stood, then leaned down to kiss her hand. "Goodbye."

"Bye."

Leaving the room, hearing the faint, "Thank you," from the nurse, Kaldur walked into the hallway. His heart was hammering, though he could not tell if it was more from sorrow or anger. The thought that someone could cause so much damage to their own child…

For a moment, he pictured Artur in that hospital bed, and his fingers clenched involuntarily, and his gills flared. Collect yourself, he chided, forcing himself to breath through his nose. It took a minute, but he finally regained composure, and he returned to the lobby, where the others were obviously wondering where he had gone.

"There you are!" Wally exclaimed. "Dude, we've been looking for you."

"I wanted to visit another child," he explained. "One who could not come out with the others."

Raquel frowned. "What's wrong?"

"She…needed surgery this morning." He was hesitant to reveal the more personal information, aware that he should not know as much as he did. At the concerned looks on his friends' faces, he continued, for their sake and his own, "But the doctors are optimistic for a full recovery."

It seemed enough to placate the others, but Kaldur stayed quiet for the flight back to the Cave, unable to forget how small Samantha had looked, surrounded not by family but by medical equipment that ensnared her tiny frame. He remembered the few times he'd been stuck in the infirmary for more than a day, and he could not imagine going through that without his friends at his side to distract him from his injuries. Perhaps he could not cure Samantha—neither Atlantian medicine nor magic was advanced enough to heal the brain at such an extreme rate—but he could be there for her.

That evening, he spent his time exploring the shopping centers of Happy Harbor, seeking gifts for Samantha, little things to hopefully brighten her stay. It was at the final store that he found, perhaps, the greatest present of all, and he could not help but smile at the thought of returning to the hospital with it.

He arrived the next day mid-afternoon, clutching the various bags, and approached the nurse's station. Before he even had a chance to speak, the man behind the counter said, "Here to see Samantha?"

"Yes. How—"

"Jennifer said you'd be stopping by at some point. Go right on in. And any time you want to stop in, just go ahead."

"Thank you."

Samantha was propped up on the bed, looking only a little better than the day before, watching cartoon characters dance across the television screen. When he entered the room, her eyes flickered to him, and she smiled weakly. "Kaldah?"

"Yes, little one," he murmured, taking a seat and setting down the bags. "I have brought some things I hope you will enjoy. Not now, perhaps, but when you have more energy." He set a stack of coloring books on the counter, followed by markers and crayons, then a small set of Legos. "I can also read to you, if you would like," he continued, pulling out a handful of children's books and setting them on his lap.

"I like," she replied. "Daddy reads."

"Your father would read to you?"

"Sometimes. Not mad. Sorry."

He nodded, deciphering the words. "Then I will read to you. But first…" The final gift he pulled out slowly, and Samantha gasped when she saw the purple mermaid tail blanket he had gotten. "Until I can properly bring you to my city, I thought you would enjoy pretending."

"Yes! Yes!"

Carefully, treating her as though she were fragile crystal, he eased her into the fabric, smiling as he saw her entire face light up and the feeble attempts to kick her feet and make the tail swish. It was as though a surge of energy had overtaken her, and she seemed more alert, paying close attention as Kaldur read The Little Mermaid, reaching over to tilt his hand should she need more time to look at the illustrations. By the middle of the second book, however, her eyes are fluttering, and he quietly closed it and put it aside. Tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, he whispered, "You need rest."

He stood, but, with a surprisingly strong grip, she took hold of one of his fingers. "Stay?"

His throat felt tight, and he sat back down and nodded. "Of course," he managed, though his voice was hoarse. "I will stay."

She was in and out of sleep for most of the day, but when she was awake, Kaldur did his best to engage her, reading or helping her color. It was only at shift change did he finally leave, promising, "Tomorrow."

And he kept his covenant each day, and each day she seemed a little more alert, a little more talkative, a little more like a healthy toddler. At the end of his sixth visit, as he was about to part, she met his eyes and grabbed his hand with both of hers. "Atlantis?"

"Yes, little one," he said. "Once you are released, I will take you to see my kingdom. If you continue to rest, and listen to the nurses and doctors, you will be out soon."

She sighed and flopped against the pillow. "Outside?" she asked, pointing to the window. "Please?"

Kaldur could only imagine how tired she was of being stuck inside the hospital. "I will speak to the nurses tomorrow about bringing you outside. I cannot guarantee it, but if you are feeling well enough, it might be allowed. Only for a few minutes, however. You need to be very, very strong to go under the sea. Okay?"

"Okay!"

"Goodnight." He readjusted the blanket and tucked her in. "I will see you tomorrow."

When he returned the following morning, he was surprised to see a solemn doctor standing outside her door, and his heart thundered painfully as he approached.

The doctor held out her hand, and Kaldur shook it, pretending not to see his own slight tremble. "I've been waiting for you," she said. "There is no easy way to say this, but Samantha had a stroke early this morning."

"A stroke?"

"Yes."

"But…but she was fine yesterday. She has been improving."

"One of the complications of a craniotomy is intracranial hemorrhage. We've been keeping on eye on her, but there was a rupture in one of her brain blood vessels in the middle of the night, which caused the stroke. We managed to stabilize her, but it destroyed her cerebral cortex. She's on life support now."

Kaldur did not respond, could not respond, for almost a minute. "Does…will she recover?"

"Her chances are almost zero. Even if she does recover, she will be permanently brain-damaged, and she will be in a vegetative state."

"Is she suffering?"

"With the severity of the stroke, she is likely experiencing central pain. The brain stops being able to process normal messages sent from the body in response to typical stimuli, so even minor sensations are considered to be painful." She was fighting to maintain her composure, but Kaldur could see her professional façade starting to slip, and he felt pinpricks behind his eyes.

"Will she be taken off life support then?"

"Not unless her father signs the consent form. Which, considering he is the reason she is here in the first place, is highly unlikely since it was increase his sentence from child endangerment to manslaughter."

"There is no one else?"

"He's her only family. The police cannot find her mother, and even if they did, she had already signed away her parental rights as soon as she abandoned Samantha. All the grandparents are deceased."

"So…there is nothing that can be done?"

"We can make her as comfortable as possible, but unless he signs the consent form, she has to stay on life support."

"Am…am I able to visit her?"

"If you would like. She's been moved to the pediatric ICU. I can take you there."

He followed in silence, still not quite believing this, not after speaking to Samantha the day before and seeing the brightness in her eyes as she spoke of Atlantis. Then he saw her, still tucked into her mermaid tail, a jarring brightness in the blinding whiteness of the ICU room, even more tubes and wires jutting from her body, and the reality of the situation settled upon his back, a new-aged Atlas, the weight threatening to bring him to the floor. Feet unsteady, as though he was learning to walk on land for the first time, he tentatively took a seat beside her. The books and toys had been brought up, and he reached for The Little Mermaid, reading despite the waver in his voice, not even asking the doctor if Samantha could hear him because he did not want to know the answer.

He read without ceasing, cycling from book to book, feeling utterly helpless knowing that he had nothing else to give. So focused on his task, he was startled when a man said, "Excuse me?"

Turning, Kaldur saw two men standing in the doorway. The one who had already spoken continued, "You're Aqualad, right?"

"Yes." He stood, waiting for more.

Both pulled out badges. "Detective McDonald, my partner Detective Muller. We've been assigned to Samantha's case. The nurses say you've been seeing her?"

"Yes. She was here the day my team and I visited the pediatric unit. Do you need me to leave?"

"No, no, you can stay." Detective Muller turned to McDonald, then back to Kaldur. "Actually, I'm glad we caught you. Is there any chance you'd be willing to help us out?"

"Help you out?"

"Mr. Collins is currently in police custody for felony child endangerment, as I'm sure you're aware, and his lawyer is discouraging him from pulling life support since this would up the charge to involuntary manslaughter," McDonald explained. "We've been pushing for him to remove support, but he's refusing unless the manslaughter charge is dropped. Our DA is refusing to meet him on those terms, so we're stuck in a stalemate right now. He's still insisting he didn't cause the damage in the first place—says she fell off of a chair—but this isn't the first sign that he's been abusive, plus there was damage to her ribs as though someone had violently grabbed her there, so it seems pretty obvious he's guilty."

"He has been abusive before?"

"Never to his extent, and there's no definitive proof, but it seems that way. Samantha's been in and out of the hospital or urgent care ten times in the past year and a half."

"And nothing has been done prior to this occurrence?" There was a snap in Kaldur's voice, but he couldn't control it.

"None of the injuries were extremely serious—minor head trauma, a broken arm, minimal hot water burns, tibia fracture, clustered contusions. Now, I know that sounds bad, but honestly, toddlers are little suicide machines, and they can manage to hurt themselves in a lot of strange ways. My son, when he was less than two, ran smack dab into the coffee table, full speed. Busted open his skull, blood everywhere. And some are more accident-prone than others. Anyway, CPS got involved, but their home visits didn't yield enough proof that Mr. Collins was abusive, and there was no indication that the injuries Samantha had sustained were not accidental self-inflictions. Now, of course, is very different, and we were hoping you'd come in and have a little…chat with him. Maybe help him see the error of his ways."

"Is that allowed?"

McDonald shrugged. "Rumor has it that Gotham lets Batman out to play on the serious cases, and you seem much more composed than he does, so it's worth a shot. You can't rough him up, but brining in a superhero might be enough to show him that we aren't playing around."

Kaldur turned from the detectives to Samantha, so very small and so very still. The doctor's words ringing in his head, he nodded slowly. "I will help you."

"Great. He's meeting with the DA in a few minutes. You able to go now?"

The young hero stared at the girl for a few moments, and swallowing hard, knowing there was nothing he could do for her here, he said quietly, "Yes."

It was a short drive to the precinct, not nearly enough time for Kaldur to prepare what he wanted to say, but he kept his head high and his face stoic as he followed the two men toward the back of the building. The DA was already there, as were Mr. Collins and his lawyer.

He never had a clear mental image of Samantha's father, but he imagined someone much more imposing that the lanky, disheveled man slumped in a chair, the one whose eyes were trained on the metal table, barely even flickering at their entrance.

"What's this?" his lawyer demanded. "This isn't a matter for the Justice League!"

"I am not a member of the League," Kaldur objected coolly.

"He's been seeing your client's daughter since her injury," the DA explained. "Him and a few other heroes were there to visit the pediatric ward, and he chose to visit Samantha personally since your client injured her too severely for her to be able to be with the other children."

"My client has not yet been convicted of any crime, and if you brought in a superhero to try and intimidate him into confessing or to pulling her off life support, I will end this meeting right now and report you all to the judge."

"I have no intention of intimidating," Kaldur said. "I am only here to speak on behalf of Samantha since she cannot speak for herself."

"I'm not going to kill my kid." Mr. Collins's voice was raspy, and he still did not make eye contact. "She's in good hands, she'll be okay until she heals up."

"She will not heal up." Kaldur fought to keep his temper at bay. "There is no chance of recovery."

"Says who? The doctors? They don't know for sure. They're wrong all the time."

"Her brain was destroyed by the stroke."

Mr. Collins shook his head. "She's a tough cookie. She'll bounce back. And then I'll take her home, and…" He trailed off.

"And then you'll put her back in the hospital?" McDonald muttered under his breath.

"That's it, this meeting is over!"

"Now, wait a second," the DA interjected, throwing up a hand, as though that would prompt the lawyer to return to his seat. "Unless you want to go to trial, I suggest we talk this through."

"I want to go to trial," Mr. Collins protested. "A jury, a jury's gonna see that this is all a big mistake. I'm just a dad who loves his daughter and—"

"Do not say you love your daughter," Kaldur snapped. "She would not be where she is if you loved her!"

"Who are you to say?" Now he focused on the Atlantian, dull brown eyes narrowed in a glare. "Do you know how hard it is, being a single dad, going through every day by myself? I did the best that I could!"

"The best that you could do? You abused her!"

"Don't say that! Don't, don't you say that I did that to her!" His voice cracked. "I…her mother abandoned us, and…I…it's hard, okay? It's hard, and thankless, and frustrating, and…"

"And you would lose your temper. And you would hurt her." Kaldur stated it as fact.

"Alright, I am calling this meeting now," the lawyer snapped. "And I am going to have all of you—all of you—put under review for this. Let's go, Nigel."

Mr. Collins stood, seemingly unsteady on his feet, and they made their way to the door. Kaldur felt his chest tighten, and he could not imagine Samantha remaining on life support, stuck in never-ending pain. "She spoke of you."

"She did?" Mr. Collins asked, whirling back around, his face a mix of hope and fear.

"I brought books to read to her. She told me that you would read to her, when you were not angry. When you were sorry." Taking a risk, Kaldur approached him, tilting his head to force eye contact. "I believe that you did not want to hurt her. But she is hurt, and she is suffering, and there is nothing that the doctors can do for her now. She is but a shell of herself, living because machines pump her full of life. And if you love her, if you truly love her, then grant her this one kindness and let her off the life support."

"C'mon, Nigel, you don't have to listen to this." His lawyer opened the door, but Mr. Collins refused to move.

"I…I'll take her off life support."

"Is that a final statement?" the DA asked.

"No, it is not!" the lawyer countered. "My client is under a lot of stress, and your hero over there is—"

"Right." Mr. Collins's was crying now. "He's right. The doctors, they've already said…I just, I just didn't want to admit…but, but if she's suffering, I can't just leave her there. I, I have to help her. And, and this is the only way." Turning to Kaldur, he pleaded softly, "When, when they turn off the machines…will you stay with her? Please?"

"I will do that," he agreed, though it took a few tries to form the words.

The lawyer only shook his head before returning to his seat, Mr. Collins in tow. Muller turned to Kaldur. "I can take you back to the hospital. They'll get the call when everything is ironed-out. Thank you."

He only nodded, too afraid to speak, and followed him out.

Even though nothing had changed physically, the ICU room seemed colder than before, and Samantha looked even tinier, ready to disappear at any moment. The chair felt more uncomfortable, the machines looked more foreboding, and the window barely gave any glimmer of the world outside.

"Do not worry, little one," he whispered, taking her hand. "I am here."

He spoke in hushed tones for nearly an hour, describing as best he could his home, until a team of nurses and doctors entered. "We got the call," the one he had spoken to prior said. "It's time."

"I…I understand," he managed, tightening his grip.

They began, removing Samantha from the bounds that kept her tethered to the Earth, and Kaldur did not fight the tears as the dribbled down his face. Once the last machine had been detached, he took a deep breath and asked, "Can…please, can I take her outside? She, she wanted to go outside, and…I do not want this to be where she…"

Dies he thought but did not (could not) say.

There were looks exchanged. "Yes, you can," the head doctor finally agreed.

"Thank you." Carefully, he cradled Samantha in his arms and took her to the courtyard. It was warm, and the sun was bright behind white, wispy clouds, and the sky was a magnificent blue, and Samantha steadily grew cold, and her heart grew still, and the world did not even to notice the loss it had suffered.

"I am so sorry that I could not do more, little one," Kaldur whispered, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "And I am sorry I could not take you to Atlantis."

He sat with her for a few minutes more, mentally collecting himself, before he got to his feet to carry her inside. Tonight, he would return to Atlantis and mourn, for her and for all the children like her, all the ones he could not save. And then he would return to the surface, to be a hero, to save those who were left.

He had to.

For himself, and for Samantha.

In America alone, five children will die from child abuse every single day. They are murdered by the people who should love them the most, and they never get the chance to experience a true childhood. No child deserves to be abused in any manner, and no child deserves to be killed.

Charities like ChildHelp rely on donations to run prevention, intervention, and treatment programs. The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption seeks to increase the number of adoptions from foster care. Donate if you can. If you can't, write to your legislators demanding better laws against child abuse and an improvement in foster care. If you think someone is being abused, intervene, and don't stop until he or she is safe. Do what you think is best, even if it's not the easy path to take.

To all the victims, you are in my thoughts and prayers always. If you need help, reach out. Someone will believe you. I do. Never give up hope, and never believe that you deserve anything other than love.

No more concrete angels.