Chapter One.

A young girl sat on one of the plastic chairs, and sighed. Just another celebrity appearance for Safe Haven Childrens House. All they did was show up, sign some autographs, and leave. Really, the only reason they came was because they needed to uphold their stupid reputation.

Everyone settled down, and silence came over the room. The head of the house, James Franklin, started to talk about what an honour it was to have the WWE Superstars at Safe Haven Childrens House. The girl hunched her back and folded her arms over her chest. All the kids were made to come and at least see the Superstars, as the staff thought it was rude if they didn't. There was a ruptious applause as the Superstars entered the room. The girl kept her head down, making eye contact with no-one. All the other kids jumped up and down, and ran towards the big men. She stayed where she was.

Randy Orton watched in amusement as 30 or so little kids ran towards him. His arms opened for hugs and autographs. They jumped up and down and squealed. He chuckled and looked over at his friend, John Cena, who was also being swarmed. He winked at Randy and opened his arms as well. When each child came up to him, Randy made sure that he had a short conversation and a hug with all of them. Children's homes were something that really touched his heart. They were denied the innocence of their childhood and all they wanted was some love, and Randy was going to give it to them.

His eyes wondered away from the children for just a second when he noticed a skinny, mousy haired girl sitting on a chair, at some distance away from the others. She didn't seem interested in the activities that were going on in this room. Heck, she didn't seem interested in anything. Her head was bent down, and she looked extremely tense. She only looked about seven years old. Randy frowned. He didn't like to see anyone unhappy, especially girls. He couldn't see her face under the mess of her hair, but with the way her body was positioned, he could tell she was very unhappy. Something drew him to that girl in that moment. Subconsciously, he made a promise that he would do whatever it took to make her happy.

Randy made his way over to James Franklin, hoping that he'd know who the girl was. Some kids followed him over, making Randy smile. Mr. Franklin was talking to Adam 'Edge' Copeland next to the makeshift stage. Randy studied him. James Franklin was a very large man, with a chin wobblier than jelly. He had tiny little spectacles that sat on the edge of his nose, giving him a stern look. When he laughed, it was booming and hearty, and it made everyone who was around him at ease. The way he stood made it seem as if you were two feet tall, though he couldn't be far off five. Randy stepped forward.

"Sorry to interrupt, Adam and Mr Franklin." Randy started. "But I wanted to ask you something."

When Adam didn't move, Randy added, "In private."

Adam got the hint and walked away.

Mr Franklin turned towards Randy and smiled. "So, you wanted to talk about something, son?"

"Yeah, Mr Franklin-"

"Please, call me James."

Randy smiled again. "Alright, James. I just wanted to know who that young girl is." He pointed towards the girl. She hadn't changed her position. At all.

James followed Randy's gaze and smiled sadly. "That, Mr Orton, is Gracie Ordenes. This is mainly an orphanage, though we do have some abused children placed here. She is one of the few, though it is safe to say that she is by far the most traumatized. In all the two years she's been here, I've never seen her talk. The only way she communicates is through her writing and her drawing."

He paused.

"The most we know about her is her name, age, that she has an incredible ability to write and draw, and that someone called 'Alex' haunts her past. She's so traumatized by her past that she feels as though she can't trust another human being."

That last sentence tugged at Randy's heartstrings. "Can I try and talk to her?"

James hesitated, then nodded. "Sure, why not? It's worth the try."

That was as much approval as Randy needed. Within seconds, he was walking over to her, away from the swarm. Again, some kids followed him, but when they saw he was approaching Gracie, they walked away. Randy wondered why.

When Randy reached her, she didn't acknowledge him. He sort of expected this. Instead, he pulled a chair up next to her and they both sat in silence. Her muscles tensed and her breathing increased. She looked like she was getting ready to leave. Now or never, thought Randy.

Randy reached over and grazed her arm, for just a second. He removed his hand. She startled a little bit, but didn't move. He reached over again, grazed her arm for a little longer, and removed his hand. He reached over, grazed her arm a little longer, and removed his hand again. He repeated this process for about two minutes, until his hand was gently squeezing her forearm. He saw her muscles relax. This was a sign. Now for plan number two.

He knelt down in front of her, with his arm still resting on hers. He tried to make his expression as gentle as possible.

"Hi Gracie." he murmured. She didn't respond so he continued. "James told me about you. He said you like to draw." Randy paused. "I like to draw too, baby girl."

Her eyes flickered up for a second at the mention of drawing. For the first time, Randy looked at her. Gracie had big hazel eyes that perfectly complimented her hair. She had a slight tan which was all natural. Her bones stuck out of her cheeks and penetrated her skin. Though she was questionably skinny, she was undoubtedly beautiful. Gracie's eyes lowered as soon as she made eye contact with Randy.

When Gracie made that eye contact, Randy smiled softly. Though he was happy that he had made a 'start' with her, he was very concerned at the lack of life he saw in those eyes. No zest, no energy, no personality. Nothing.

An intense half hour followed the eye contact. Randy told her about himself, but she didn't look up again. While Randy blabbed, his mind was on other things. All he wanted to do was lean over and hug the little girl, but Randy was scared that she'd reject him.

"Now children, we've had a great time with the WWE Superstars, but it's time for them to go."

He had run out of time. Randy was devastated. Cursing himself, he mumbled a goodbye to Gracie before getting up to leave. Suddenly and surprisingly, he felt a tug on his forearm. Randy looked back down, and saw Gracie looking up expectantly at him. Before he could speak, she shoved a piece of paper into his hand.

"What's this?" he smiled.

Gracie narrowed her eyes. "It's my address. So you can write to me, and I can write to you. You can show me your drawings as well. You can tell me more about you. I can tell you about me. We'll be pen-pals. If you want to." She rushed, hesitation evident in her scratchy voice.

Randy was jumping up and down with glee, inside of course. For a second he wondered why her voice was so husky, then he realised that this was a girl who hadn't spoken in two years.

"Of course I want to." Randy said. "I'd love to."