~Brian’s POV~

I walked out onto the balcony and closed the doors behind me. I went to the railing and gripped it tight. I couldn’t think straight. The only thing in my mind was finding that bastard and killing him. I looked down at my hands and realized my cigarettes were still in my hands and I was gripping the railing so tight, I had crushed them all. I threw the pack over the balcony and sunk down in a chair. I dropped my face in my hands and closed my eyes. The doors opened and someone sat down beside me. It was Val.

“Are you okay?” She asked softly. I sighed and looked up at her.

“Never better.” I said dryly. She half smiled at lit a cigarette.

“Can I bum one off of you?” I asked. She nodded and slid her pack across the table. I took one and lit it and took a hungry drag.

“Thanks.” She nodded.

We sat in silence for a few minutes.

“Look, I’m kind of in the dark here. What exactly happened to Kate?” She asked. I took a long drag then turned to face her.

“She was with this guy for about a year and everything was fine until he started doing drugs, then he started hitting her. Once he beat her so bad, she had to go to the hospital. Then she got a restraining order and broke up with him. She changed her locks and everything. Well the day we were leaving New York, he went to her apartment. She thought it was us so she opened the door. Then he went crazy and started beating her and shit. When we got there, he was standing over her, holding a lamp and was going to hit her with it. Matt and I stepped in and probably saved her life.”

Val’s eyes were wide and mouth was agape. She shook her head from side to side.

“I can’t believe it! How could someone do that?” She was almost in tears. I shook my head.

“I don’t know. And I don’t know how a judge could just let someone like that out on the streets.” She shook hers too.

“Brian how…how bad did he beat her this time?” She asked quietly. I closed my eyes. I could still see her lying on the ground, bloody and crying.

“Bad Val. Her lip was split, her face was almost purple, her whole back was basically black. But somehow, she made it out of it was nothing more serious than the cut lip.” A few tears slipped from her eyes.

“That’s horrible Brian.” She said. I nodded and took another drag from my cigarette. She wiped her face and put her cigarette out.

“Val, try not to act different around her though.” I said. She nodded.

“Do you think that he’ll come after her?” I sighed deeply and stood up and went back to the railing.

“I’d like to say no. I really would. But I really don’t know.” I looked out at the sky and inhaled the nicotine into my lungs. I held it there for a minute then blew it into the sky.

“Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl.” She said. I turned around.

“I know. Imagine being Kate.” She shook her head and stood up and went back inside.

I finished my cigarette and followed her. Matt was standing by the door. He stopped me and put a hand on my shoulder.

“Hey, we’re gonna do everything we can to keep him away from her.” He said. I nodded and sat down on the couch.

The whole rest of the day was a complete blur. Around midnight, I called it a night. Kate stayed in bed the entire day. When I went into the bedroom, she was curled up into a tight ball and tears were rolling down her cheeks. I quietly walked over and wiped them away. She smiled slightly in her sleep, then shifted towards the wall. I sighed and got into bed and went to sleep.

~Normal POV~

Kate was awoken in the morning by the early morning sun creeping through the window. She groaned and sat up. Zacky and Brian were still asleep. She quietly got out of bed and went to her suitcase and picked out some clothes then went to the shower.

When she was done, she blow-dried her hair and plugged her flat iron in and walked out of the bathroom. Brian was grabbing some clothes out of his bag.

“Are you done in there?” He asked. She nodded.

“Yeah, my flat irons plugged in on the counter though.” He nodded and went in.

Kate went into the living room. Val and Matt were watching TV and Johnny Jimmy and Zacky were smoking. Kate took her cigarettes from the counter and went to join them. They smoked and talked until Brian came out of the bathroom. Kate put her cigarette out and went back in to do her hair and makeup.

Val fidgeted on the couch. She bit her fingernails, she played with the hem of her shirt and sighed repeatedly

“Something wrong babe?” He asked her. She shook her head.

“I was just thinking about something.” She said. Matt turned to face her.

“What about?” She leaned over and whispered something in his ear. He smiled and nodded. She giggled and clapped her hands then stood up.

Matt stood up too and went outside to talk to the guys. When Kate was finished with her hair and makeup, she went to join the others in the living room. Val was beaming. Kate raised an eyebrow and went to sit down. Val caught her arm.

“Don’t sit down! We’re leaving.” She said. Kate looked around and all of the guys were standing around her.

“Leaving?” Matt came up behind her and tied a bandana around her eyes.

“It’s a surprise.” He said. Brian took her hand.

“Come on.” He lead her out the door and to rental car the guys were using.

About 10 minutes later, the car pulled to a stop. The guys and Val got out of the car. Brian took Kate’s hands and pulled her out of the car.

“Okay Brian, take the blind fold off.” Val said. Brian stepped behind her and untied the bandana.

Kate blinked and looked around. She was in a tattoo studio. She looked at Val who was jumping up and down.

“Why are we here?” She asked. Matt stood in front of her.

“Well we were thinking about something.” He started. He put his arms around Brian and Jimmy.

“We’re a family. All of us. That’s why we all have the ‘Death bat’ tattooed somewhere on our bodies and our girls have it too. We’ve all decided that it’s about time we make you an official part of our family.” He said. Kate’s eyes filled with tears. Val ran over and hugged her.

“Thank you guys.” They all nodded. Brian walked over next.

“We want you to know that you are not alone. And we’re gonna do everything we can to keep you safe. You’re family now.” She smiled and hugged him next.

The tattoo artist came out of the back room and sat down on a stool.

“We all set here?” He asked. Kate wiped her eyes and nodded.

She walked over to the tattoo chair and sat in it. Val stood beside her.

“This is what she wants.” She said, holding out her wrist. The artist nodded.

“Where would you like it hun?” He asked. Kate thought about it.

“Let’s put it on my right wrist.” Val tilted her head.

“Well you all have it on the left because you belong to someone; I don’t so I’ll get it on the opposite.” Val nodded and smiled.

“Alright, ready?” Kate swallowed and nodded. Brian walked over and held her other hand. She smiled at him and squeezed it.

“Here we go.” Kate jumped a little when he started tattooing her. Brian squeezed her hand and they watched as the artist skillfully inked the ‘Death bat’ into her skin.

“I cannot believe that I have this tattoo.” Kate said about 20 minutes later. Brian chuckled.

“Why?” She giggled.

“Because, I’ve always wanted to get this tattooed on me and now I finally did.” He laughed and they all piled back into the car.

The gang decided to go out for dinner to celebrate their last night in Vegas. Val and Kate got dressed in her and Matt’s room, while the guys got dressed in Zacky and Brian’s room. Val wore a short black dress with red heels and Kate wore a blue halter top with a black skirt with blue heels.

The guys all dressed up too. Matt wore a black dress shirt with a red tie and a pair of black jeans, Zacky wore a red dress shirt, Johnny wore a white dress shirt, Jimmy wore a dark blue dress shirt and Brian wore a white dress shirt with a black vest over it. On his way out of the bed room, Brian put a fedora on his head.

Matt gave Val a kiss then she did a little twirl.

“What do you think?” She asked with a smile. He smirked and kissed her neck.

“Amazing as always.” She giggled and picked up her clutch.

Kate stood in the back of the crowd tugging on her skirt. Brian walked over to her.

“You look great.” He said with a smile. She blushed and smiled back.

“Thank you.” He nodded and they all walked out of the penthouse.

They went to a nice restaurant with a club type atmosphere. They ordered drinks but nothing stronger than beer.

“Let’s toast, to family.” Matt said, holding up his beer.

“To family!” They said, clinking their drinks together.

They talked and laughed and ate for about two hours then decided to call it a night and go back to the hotel. Val and Matt went straight to the bedroom. Val started to get a little sad on the way home so they went to talk.

Kate went into her room and changed into her pajamas and Brian and Zacky changed too. Johnny and Jimmy decided to go to a club for a while. Zacky layed on the couch and Brian and Kate went to smoke.

“I don’t know how Matt and Val do it.” Kate said. Brian looked at her.

“Do what?” She lit a cigarette.

“Being separated all the time.” Brian let out a breath of smoke.

“They just love each other so much.” She nodded.

“I don’t think I could do it though.” Brian said. Kate took a drag.

“What? Be in that committed of a relationship or being away from someone?”

“A little bit of both. With this life, it’s really hard to stay truthful to one person especially when you’re constantly moving around the country.” Kate nodded and let the smoke from her lungs.

“Are you saying you’ve cheated?” He shook his head.

“The opposite actually, I was cheated on while we were on tour.” Kate raised her eyebrows.

“Really?” He nodded.

“Yeah, we were together for about five months and I had to leave. Two months into the tour, we took an unscheduled break and came home. I found her with a friend of ours in bed.” Kate gasped.

“What did you do?” She asked. He inhaled the last of his cigarette then put it out.

“I left.” Kate finished her cigarette as well then tossed it in the ashtray.

“I’m sorry Brian.” He shrugged.

“It was a while ago. I’m fine.” She smiled, then shivered in her chair.

“You cold?” He asked her. She nodded then Brian went inside. When he came back, he had a hoodie in his hands.

“Thank you.” She said as she put it on. He nodded and lit another cigarette and they just sat in silence for a while.

It didn’t take long for Kate to fall asleep in the chair. Brian put his cigarette out and walked over to her. He picked her up and brought her into the bedroom. With one hand he held her and with the other he pulled her covers back and then he slowly layed her down in the bed. He tucked her in and reached over to turn off the light.

“Night Brian.” She said sleepily. He smiled and leaned down to her ear.

“Goodnight Kate, sweet dreams.” She smiled in her sleep and shifted around in the bed.

He smiled and turned the light out and got into bed himself.