The Waiting One

Your life can change in a split second. I know mine did. Being the leader of the most well known gang in California has never been easy. Everyone knew who I was and everyone feared me. People ran when they saw me coming. In a way I liked it. I was never denied anything but in the end this life was slowly killing me and those I loved the most.

I was tired of this life and was ready to step down. Pass the torch on and be done with it. Not just for me but for the two most important people in my life.

My fiance Jenna and my daughter Abigail.

This was no way to raise a child and certainly not the way I wanted to raise my child. Abby deserved to have a normal life not one where she needed to stay hidden at all times. We had a lot of enemies. All of which would take her if given the chance.

I knew I should have stayed home and let the guys take care of everything but the job was taking too long and I wanted it done by the end of the day. This would be my last one then I was walking away for good and passing the leadership role onto The Rev. He already knew about it and had yet to say anything to anyone. I was glad. Shadows would not be too happy once he found out I hadn't picked him to take over.

We reached our destination and broke off into small groups. This was much easier then all of us barging in at once. Shadows and I went one way while The Rev, Vengeance, and Christ went the other.

I held my gun tightly in my hands as we slowly made our way to the door in the alley. I heard some shouting from the inside and as I was about to draw my weapon I felt something hit me from behind. I fell face first to the ground and looked around in a blurry daze before everything went black.



"Syn! Syn wake up!"

My eyes slowly fluttered open and my head was killing me. Vengeance and The Rev helped me to my feet while Christ kept a close eye on the door that never seemed to open.

"Are you alright?" The Rev asked as I rubbed the back of my head. There was a huge bump and a little bit of blood.

"I think so." My vision finally came back into focus and I realized that Shadows wasn't there. "Where's Shads?"

The three men exchanged looks before looking back at me. "We haven't seen him. We thought he was with you." Vengeance said.

"Someone call the house." I demanded.

Vengeance had the number dialed within seconds and had the phone pressed to his ear. He knew exactly what I was thinking. Everyone did. Shadows has an obsession with my fiance who wanted nothing to do with him. He had been trying to take her away from me years now.

"There's no answer." Vengeance said before calling back. I never left Jen and Abby alone when we were out so someone was there to answer the phone. We had a live babysitter, Lucy, and Jason Berry had stayed back to keep an eye on things.

I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach as Vengeance hung up for the second time. Without a word I headed straight for the car. The others followed close behind. Christ got into the driver's seat and sped home.

The second I walked inside I knew something was wrong. Chairs and tables were over turned and there was glass on the floor. I ran up the stairs and it wasn't much better up there but before I even made it to my bedroom door I heard crying coming from down the hall. I burst through the door of Abby's nursery and saw my little girl crying in her crib. She reached her little arms out to me and I instantly pulled her into a warm embrace.

"It's okay Abby-Pie, Daddy's here."

"Mommy." She cried.

I carried her down the hall and straight into the bedroom I shared with Jen. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the room was a complete mess. I was trying not to panic with Abby in my arms. I had to be strong for her no matter how much of a mess I was.

"Lucy's dead."

Whirling around I stared at Johnny as he stood in the doorway to my bedroom.

"Where's Jenna?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I don't know."

Abby wiggled around in my arms as Jimmy's head popped up from around the door. I watched him closely and could tell just by the look on his face that my suspicions were right. Jen may be my fiance but she's also Jimmy's best friend. He's just as protective of her as I am.

With a nod I handed my daughter to Johnny and headed down the stairs with Jimmy to start making plans to save my fiance.



I was a complete and total mess. One night away from Jen usually killed me but it's been seven and I'm about to rip my hair out. The house had a different vibe when she wasn't here and I wasn't the only one that noticed.

The guys were working hard trying to find any clues as to where Shadows had taken her. Each one of them were on edge. They were just as worried as me.

Then there was Abby. My precious baby girl who was currently eating her breakfast in her high chair. No one could cook like Jen and it was a wonder that I hadn't poisoned her yet. Thankfully Zacky had been preparing her meals. He was the only one of us that could cook a decent meal.

I had noticed a change in my little girl the second her mother had been kidnapped. Abby was practically glued to me. If I'd leave a room she's cry for me then cling to me the rest of the day. She may have only been two but she knew something was wrong.

I kissed the top of her head as she stuffed a piece of pancake into her mouth. She smiled before holding out her sausage link to me. I smiled as I leaned in and took a tiny bite of it. Her smile widened as we took turns feeding each other.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" I asked the others without taking my eyes off of my daughter.

"Trying to find some leads on Shadows." Jimmy answered. I knew he was going to make a great leader. He was already taking over for me so I could concentrate more on Abby. I was just thankful that Shadows hadn't taken her too.

"We'll find her." He said as he placed a hand on my shoulder. I nodded. I knew we would find her and I wouldn't rest until we did.



There weren't many people that I trusted with Abby. Lacey was one of the few exceptions. She was Johnny's girlfriend and simply adored my daughter. We had gotten a lead on Shadows so she was going to stay here with Abby while the rest of us went to get Jen. I had a hard time leaving Abby behind but Jen needed me and I was not about to let her down.

Jimmy could get pretty crazy behind the wheel but he also knew every short cut in Southern California. If there was a faster way to get somewhere Jimmy would drive.

As I sat in the passenger seat going over the plan mentally I took in the scenery around us. It didn't take long to realize where we were headed. Big Bear. Shadows had a cabin there. Why the fuck didn't I think of this sooner? If I had Jen would already be at home.

The car came to a stop and we all got out quietly. Everyone knew what they needed to do and we went our separate ways towards the cabin. Shadows wasn't stupid. He would know we were coming and he'd be prepared. He wouldn't give Jen up without a fight.

And neither would I.

I made my way inside as quietly as possible. Everything looked normal but I wasn't taking any chances. My gun was drawn as I made my way up the stairs. I had been here a few times so I knew the layout well. Making my way down the hall I stopped in front of what I knew to be the master bedroom. Taking a deep breath I slowly opened the door and made my way inside. My eyes connected with the king size bed and my heart skipped a beat in my chest.

"Jenna."

I practically flew onto the bed where she was laying. She was on her stomach covered with a sheet.

"Jenna baby." I said softly into her ear as I shook her. "Wake up baby I'm here to take you home."

I continued to shake her only to get no response. Taking a closer look at her face I felt the tears forming in my eyes. Her lips were blue and her skin was cold. I also noticed the hand prints along her neck as well as her wrists that had indents from what looked to be handcuffs.

"Please wake up." I begged into her hair but it was no use. She was gone. Shadows had killed her.

I didn't hold back as the tears began to flow. This was the woman I was going to spend the rest of my life with. The mother of my daughter. The only woman I had ever loved. Now she was gone and nothing I could do would bring her back.

"I didn't think it would take you this long to get here Gates."

Turning my head I narrowed my eyes at Shadows who was leaning again the door frame with an evil smirk on his face.

"You know she did put up a pretty good fight and I did think about letting her go but.."

I didn't care that he had hurt me but I had a little girl back home who would now have to grow up without her mother. That didn't sit well with me.

"But what? Was Abby not a good enough reason to let her live?" I growled.

I saw Shadows freeze for a split second as if he had forgotten that Abby even existed. That just pissed me off even more.

"I'm going to fucking kill you."

"I'd like to see you try."

Before I could even react my back made hard contact with the floor and my gun went flying across the room. Shadows punched me hard in the stomach almost knocking the wind out of me but I managed to get to my feet and kicked him hard in the jaw. He flew backwards and landed on the floor. I took that opportunity to grab my gun but before I could get to it Shadows grabbed my foot and sent me face first into the hard wood floor.

"You knew I wanted her Gates and you went after her anyway. She should have been mine." He screamed as he sent his boot into my stomach. "You stole her from me!"

He swung at me again but I sent my own foot flying into his bad knee. He screamed out in pain as he landed on the floor. I finally got my gun and pointed it at him.

"She never wanted you Matt." I said using his real name. "She wanted to be with me. She loved me. She put up with all of my shit because she saw the good in me. I was willing to change for her. Would you have done the same? No. You tried to make her love you knowing it would never work and when it didn't you.." I choked on a sob and glanced at the bed. "Why couldn't you just let her be happy with me?"

He said nothing as he held his knee and stared down at the floor. Deep down he knew I was right. He had to know that nothing good would ever come from this but as usual he put his wants and needs first before thinking of anyone else. He's a selfish prick that should be dead instead of my Jenna.

"I hope you're happy with yourself Shadows. Knowing that a precious and innocent little girl will grow up without her mother. I'm going to tell her what you did once she's old enough to understand. I will not lie to her about why her mother died. I'm going to make sure everyone knows what you did."

By the time I was done I was hoarse from screaming. My cheeks were wet with tears as I heard sirens off in the distance. I wanted nothing more than to kill Shadows. End his life for ending Jen's but I didn't. I wanted him to live with what he had done.

It wasn't long before he was hauled off and Jimmy came into the room. The second he laid eyes on Jen he lost it. Jimmy much like myself wasn't the type to cry but once look at Jen's lifeless body make him completely break down.

I slowly made my way over to the bed and knelt down beside her, running my fingers through her dark hair.

"I'm so sorry baby." I knew this was my fault. I should have gotten her out of this life long ago. Maybe if I had she wouldn't be..

"I love you so much."

I placed a soft kiss on her forehead just before the coroner came to take her away. I walked out of the room not able to watch as they placed her in a body bag. They placed the bag onto a stretcher before taking her out of the cabin. As soon as they were gone I slid down to the floor and cried.



-One Year Later-

"I like what you've done with the place dude." Jimmy said as he looked around. It's been a year since I lost Jen and so much has changed. After the funeral I took Abby and left. I was now raising her in a two story home just outside of Huntington Beach. There was a grassy area in the backyard for her to play in as well as a large fence surrounding the property.

Jimmy had take over Avenged Sevenfold and while he and the other guys still ran the business they had toned it down a lot. Giving them more free time to actually have lives.

"Thanks." I said shoving my hands into my pockets as we walked into the living room where Abby was chasing our dog Pinkly. She had wanted a puppy so bad so for her third birthday I got her one. She knew that Jen was in heaven with the angels but I had yet to tell her why. She was too young to understand what had happened. She still asked me about her and it broke my heart when I'd have to tell her that Mommy wasn't coming back. If I could give her any present she asked me for that's the one I'd get for her. I missed Jen so much.

Shadows was in jail and he wasn't getting out for a long time, if ever. I wanted him to rot in hell for what he had done and it gave me some closure knowing he couldn't hurt anyone else. If he ever got out I'd make sure he never laid a hand on my daughter. Abby was my life and I'll be damned if Shadows or anyone else hurts her.

"Daddy?"

Looking down I smiled at Abby who was tugging on my pants. I lifted her up into my arms and kissed her cheek.

"What's up Cupcake?" I asked.

Cupcake was a nickname I had given to Jen when I first met her. She was just so sweet and Abby was the same way. She was my little Cupcake.

"When can we go talk to Mommy?" She asked with hope in her little voice.

"We can go anytime you want Princess."

"Let's go now!" She said excitedly and nearly jumped out of my arms.

I grabbed Pinkly and walked to the door with Jimmy who was going with us. It hurt every time we went but I was not about to deny Abby anything. I knew she was just going to babble about Pinkly and her toys but I didn't care. Abby's smile was worth it all.

"Come on Daddy."

"Alright Abby calm down." I chuckled before we headed out to the car. I buckled Abby into her car seat before getting behind the wheel. Jimmy opted to sit in the back with Abby and Pinkly. I smiled slightly as I pulled out of the driveway and made the drive to the cemetery where Abby and I could once again be a complete family with the one woman who meant more to us than anyone else and I couldn't wait for the day where I'd be reunited with her. To hold her in my arms and know she was mine once again. Where we could finally be the family we always wanted to be.