I'm Adopted: Vengeance Edition.

*Matt's POV*

Jackie sat, staring out at the ocean, her mind going a thousand miles an hour. I could see it in her eyes. She hadn't spoken a word since she hung up the phone from Zack's phone call. I just let her think.

"You know what's weird?" She asked, pausing as I let her continue. "The ocean. Its so... so free. It has no rules. Nothing can hurt it. It's so big, harsh, dangerous... but incredibly beautiful at the same time. I mean think about it, you never hear about the ocean getting ruined like the land does... Hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes.. They all ruin the land. But nothing really ruins the ocea. Sure oil spills happen, but it dissipates sooner or later."

"It is kind of amazing." I nodded.

"It's so perfect." She sighed and tucked her knees under her chin "I want to be the ocean. I want to be dangerous, strong, but so simple and gentle at the same time." She wiped a tear from her cheek "But no, I'm a human. Literally everything is out to hurt me, us, all of us. We hurt eachother. You never hear about water hurting water... the ocean doesn't wake up one day and think oh I'm going to put a mean hurting on Lake Michigan today no. Water's wicked nuteral. " She kept staring out at the water then looked at me "I want a tattoo." She smiled "I want one. I want my first tattoo."

"Ok." I nodded "What of?"

She smiled and stood quickly, taking a handful of sand with one hand and reaching the second towards me "You'll see."

I took her hand and she held onto mine tight as I stood up. I quickly pulled her into me and picked her up.

"I'm sorry." I whispered into her ear as she gently pecked my cheek "I love you and I'm here for you no matter your decision."

"I love you." She whispered "But after this we have a lot to talk about." Her eyes trailed off to her car "We can park at the house and take one?"

"Yup." I smiled and set her down by her door, pulling her in by the hips and kissing her forhead "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled and got in her car, pulling her sunglasses over her eyes.

---

We made it to the tattoo parlor, I drove from the house, and we walke inside. Jackie's eyes lit up as they scanned the walls.

"Can I help you?" The guy behind the front desk asked.

"Yah, is Brent here?" I asked "Tell him it's Matt."

He nodded and disappeared for a second then came back "Sanders! It's so good to see you again!" Brent smiled and embraced me in a hug "Getting more ink?" He asked.

"Nope not me, the fiance." I pointed at Jackie as she stood staring at the pictures of inked bodies on the wall. Her head snapped towards us and her smile widened.

"Hi, I'm Jackie..." She tucked her hair behind her ear and stuck out her hand.

"Nice to meet you." Brent smirked at me and I rolled my eyes, we went way back to when the guys and I first started touring, he did a lot of our artwork then move out here a few years ago. "So what are we getting done today?" He asked "I have a couple free hours."

"Well I was thinking this.. on my shoulder blade." Jackie pulled out her phone and showed him a picture of a rib tattoo of birds. "But I want, like with pain comes strenth in script like writing under the birds... I want seven birds. Two bigger ones and the rest slightly smaller."

"Ok." Brent nodded "Lemme go draw something up I'll be right back." He knocked his knuckles against the counter and walked away.

Jackie sat down on the bench next to the window "So... Uhm... How was Maddy when you dropped her off at Derrens?" She asked "Was she ok?"

"Yah." I nodded and sat down next to her "She was good, I just told her Mumma needed to go out for a little."

"I feel like an asshole for freaking out." She stared down as her phone rang. "Hello?" She looked around and laughed under her breath "Yes I'm alive... Yes he's here. Ok. Yah, yes, uh huh. I'll call you later ok? Yah... yes, love you too. Tell him to stop it, yah, no no I'll call you later." She paused as Brent appeared "I have to go. Yes I'll tell him, ok love you." She hung up and looked at me "Zack says hi, so does Brian... Apparently Jimmy is renovating the spare room at his house into a sleepover room for Maddy because he wants to bond." She shugged and laughed.

"You ready to see?" Brent asked. Jackie nodded and looke at the paper "Do you like it? It'll be really easy to fit on your shoulder."

"I love it." She nodded "I like how the words look, and I love the birds." She smiled "I'm ready."

"Ok! Let's get at this then." Brent smiled "So Sanders what's new? I mean other than the fact you're suddenly engaged." He laughed "Last I saw you was like what?? Two years ago? You guys were just finishing up a tour?"

"Yah, it's been a while, a lot has changed." I smiled as he sterilized Jackie's arm.

"Well keep going, I'm intersted to find out how this gem of a lady got stuck with you." He laughed and shrugged at Jackie "Just saying, he's a little more than rough around the edges."

"Oh, I know." Jackie laughed.

"So how'd you meet?" Brent asked.

"Uhhh Zack's my brother." Jackie laughed as he placed the paper on her back to set the stencil.

"When'd you meet? Just start from the beginning and go." He laughed.

"Well." Jackie looked up at me "Matt's better at this story thing so I'll let him go."

"Ok... so it was when you flew in from New Hampshire four years ago..." I started, sitting down by the foot of the table. "The minute you walked in to Zack's house I knew... I was like damnit, this is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.. I knew I was going to marry you." I smirked as she laughed and rolled her yes.

"Yah, well we've been through our rough times." She laughed as Brent laughed "We have a two year old daughter, Madeline."

"She's the cutest." I smiled "She's been through a lot, but we're in a better placec now. It's going much better. We broke up for the past year, I stopped drinking, Jackie went through some stuff.. we're going through some right now but.. it's getting better."

"Better." Jackie smiled as Brent let the needle penetrate the skin. Her eyes winced.

"So what's this symbolize? If anything?" He asked as the metal buzzed away.

"The quote is because of a situation that happened recently... I think it made me stronger and it's definitely going to change my life one way or another. And the birds are symbols for people. The two bigger ones are Matt and Maddy.. They'll always be my foundation... the other five are Zack, Brian, Jim, Johnny, and Michelle, because they've always been there for me to have my back.." I could hear her voice wavering "No matter how badly I fucked up..." She glanced over at me "They've always loved, and I honestly wouldn't be here without them.. " Tears clouded her eyes "And I don't deserve it."

I couldn't tell if it was the pain of the slightly large tattoo she was getting as her first, or the words leaving her lips. But suddenly I understood what she was going through. She was afraid that this was going to ruin us, that somehow this baby was going to weaken that love. That it would inevitably eat away at both of us and somehow that raising another man's child was going to bother me..

"But you do deserve it." I took her hand and stared into her eyes as Brent took the hint that this was more than an explanation now "You deserve more than what we've given you... And nothing can change that, nothing on this planet. I will always love you, every piece of you. And I will battle Hell and all it can throw at us, with you, by your side. Everything this world can muster..." I smiled as tears spilled from her eyes "I love you, you can do this." I laughed.

"It just hurts... a lot." She winced but I think everyone of us knew that there was more meaning than just the needles piercing her skin. This pain was her way of coping with what was going on inside of her. This was her strength... And I was so happy to be able to hold her hand.

"I know... But no matter what I'm here with you. Not for you, not behind you. But right beside you. I love you." I whispered and stroked her thumb as the ink began to take form on her side.