Forever and Always,
I Shall Love You
*Author's Note* Jackie is a digidestined with the silver digivice and the crest of compassion. (Basically she's me.) She protects the other digidestined, and has a special connection to Matt, T.K., Tai, and Kari. If you read my other fic, some of the stuff is the same, except I took out all the magical power stuff. (Which makes it a lot longer and more fun to write ^_^) I got some e-mails that it didn't make sense and it was hard to follow, so this fic is dedicated to you guys. Thanks for reviewing! I changed my crest cause I think this one suits me more. Oh, I forgot to put this in my other fic, but just so you know, I don't hate Mr. Ishida; I think he's a good father, and I have nothing against him. He's just evil in this little ficcie here, ok? ^_^ Well, read, review, and enjoy!
Italic = thought(s) *stuff in between* = emphasized
*Disclaimer* I do not own Digimon, cause if I did, the ending of season two would *never* have happened. ^_^
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Matt's POV
"You useless piece of shit!" Bellowed Mr. Ishida, the smell of beer heavy on his breath. "I was put on probation today, and I have to take a trip to Tokyo, to prove that I can work hard. Dammit! You know what? It's all your fault!!!" I'm backed into a corner, shaking. I can tell he drank even more than usual. Probably because he almost got fired. But I don't understand why it's *my* fault. "You little fucker!" He yells and throws the beer bottle at me. I cover my head with my arms. The sharp pieces of glass fly through the air and land all over the floor, but not on me. His aim was off because of the alcohol flowing through his veins. He reaches out to grab me. I try to get away but he catches me anyway. He holds me by my shirt and throws me towards the sofa. I flip over it and hit my head against the leg of the coffee table. Tears sprang, unwanted, into my eyes. "Get up you screw up and go to your room!" Hisses Mr. Ishida.
"Yes, sir." I obey, my head pounding. I start walking slowly up the stairs, but start walking faster and faster when I see that he's following me. I twist the doorknob and as the door opens, he pushes me hard and slams the door. I stumble backwards and trip over a pile of books. I flip over the windowsill, my back hitting the corner. As I fell I turn to grab something to stop the fall. I reach upward and just barely grabbed onto the ledge I flipped over. I hung there, on the second story window, afraid to cry for help incase *he* hears me. I was just about to panic when…
Jackie's POV
I was walking up to Matt's house where he had asked me to meet him to talk about something. He wouldn't say what on the phone. I'm almost there when I hear a mental plea for help. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the voice calling to me. Matt! Something's wrong. I followed my instincts to the side of his apartment.
*Oh my god*
"Matt!" I call up to him.
"Jackie!" He calls down relief shone in his azure blue eyes. "I was hoping our connection still worked."
******************************Flashback*******************************
We, meaning, me, Matt, Tai, T.K., and Kari, were in the Digital World one night. We were separated from everyone else. Then an angel appears. She identified herself as a digital entity. She spoke to each of us. She told us that we were all connected, that we all had a special bond to one another. If any of us needed help, we could call out mentally, and the others could hear. It could be directed to all or just one person in particular. "But," she cautioned us, "Do not take this connection lightly. You are not to call each other for fun or practical jokes. If called, it is almost like a command that you want and should respond to. However, if the Guardian of Compassion is summoned, she will have no choice but to obey." She sees the confused expression on my face. "This is not a decision that you can make, Guardian. It is not that you are weak and can not resist the call, there is something different about you." My crest starts to glow a light silvery color. "You are special, and have another power that you have yet to learn of. We all have different destinies." My crest flares and then goes back to it's original state. The angel disappears and we were all returned to where our other companions were and fell asleep. We never told anyone about our bond and I never found my other power.
*****************************End Flashback****************************
"Help me!" Matt cries.
Oh god what can I do? I have to help, but I don't know how! Wait! I have an idea, I just hope that I'm strong enough.
"Matt, do you think you could jump down and I'll catch you? I know it's risky, but I don't know what else to do!" I can do this, I can do this, oh kami-sama, I had *better* be able to do this!
Matt hesitates, unsure. Then he seems to make up his mind. "Ok." He prepares himself to let go, and I can see him trembling. He shuts his eyes and falls… I hold out my arms, bracing myself. He's falling directly at me…
"Gotcha!" I exclaim. We both ended up on the floor, unhurt. The fear in his eyes slowly disappears, and his breathing returns to normal.
"T-thanks." Matt stammers, really shaken up by the whole thing.
"I'm so glad you're ok!" I embrace him, relieved. Then I look at him, my blue eyes meeting his. Confusion showed in mine. "Why were you hanging from the side of your apartment?" I ask gently.
Matt's POV
I stammer, unsure of what to say. Should I tell her? I know she just wants to help me. We've been through nearly everything together and we even lived together at one point. Just then, I see my father turning on the porch light, out front. "What's all the commotion out there?" He yells. I knew I couldn't say anything now.
"Uh, I gotta go." I say quickly.
"But!" Jackie says
"Listen, it's late and I'd get in big trouble if he found me out here. See you tomorrow at the park?" She can't even imagine the trouble I'd get in if he did find out.
"Ok," She agrees. "See you tomorrow." She walks down the sidewalk and turns to wave goodbye. I signal her to hurry and go. I quickly knock over some garbage cans, and go back in though the back door. I run to my room, lay in bed, and pretended to be asleep.
"Damn raccoons!" I hear my dad muttering, as he fixes the trashcans. I thank my lucky stars that he didn't catch either of us. As I laid there, I memories of when Jackie did live with us came flooding back.
*****************************Flashback********************************
"Jackie it's ok, you can go live with them, I don't mind, really." I say. We had just found out that my Mom and T.K. wanted to adopt Jackie. She's been living with us ever since we came back from the Digital world, which was about two months. I guess T.K. told Mom that she had no family.
"But, Matt, you sure you won't be lonely by yourself?" She asks.
"I'll be fine. Besides, you can come and visit anytime." I lie. My heart was breaking at the thought of her leaving, but I had to get her out of here because Dad was becoming more and more violent. He hadn't hit me yet but he yelled all the time. I really wanted her to stay because he was nice when she was around. But if she got hurt by staying here with me, I'd never forgive myself. I knew it was better if she left now before she got hurt.
"Ok, I guess I'll go then." Jackie consented. "But I'll come back when ever you need me to, and sometimes even when you don't." She promised.
****************************End Flashback*****************************
Oh Jackie, I wish you were here now. You promised to always be there for me, no matter what.
******************************Flashback*******************************
It was just before I had sunk into the Caves of Depression…
"Matt!" Jackie runs up to me. I was surprised that she had followed me all this way. She said she would come with me, but I hadn't believed her.
"Matt, wait!" She looks at me with eyes identical to my own. "Matt, something's happening to you. I don't know if you realized it yet but something is. I just want you to know that I'll always be there for you if you need me. For anything."
"Right. Whatever." I reply coldly.
"I mean it! We'll be friends forever, no matter what. I promise, Matt." She vows. She knew I didn't believe her, yet she kept trying. It was like she knew what was going to happen, and that I would need friendship to fight it.
****************************End Flashback*****************************
Friends forever, no matter what… I fell asleep with renewed hope that things would turn out ok.
Jackie's POV
I reached home fast enough, but I wondered why Matt wanted me to leave so quickly. I opened the front door, and to my surprise, T.K. jumps into my arms.
"Hi, Jackie! You're home fast. What did Matt say?" T.K. asked.
"Hey, T.K. I didn't get to talk with your onii-chan, cause he said he was busy. He did say to meet him at the park tomorrow." I say.
"You know, Matt is kind of your big brother too. After all, you are a part of our family now." T.K. says innocently.
I smile, "He's not that much older than me, only a month and a half. But that's a nice thought, T.K. You'd better go to bed, it's getting kinda late."
"Ok," he agrees, yawning.
"Come on, I'll carry you." We pass the kitchen where our Mom's busy typing up an article. "Hey, Mom, I'm gonna bring T.K. up to bed, k?"
"Ok, honey. Goodnight T.K.!" She says.
"G'night, Mommy." T.K. replies sleepily. I bring T.K. up to his room and tuck him in.
"G'night T.K. Sweet dreams." I say.
"Night…" he murmurs, before closing his eyes. An hour later I'm in bed, too. I couldn't sleep though. It's not that I wasn't sleepy, just confused.
Why did Matt want me to leave so quickly? And how come he didn't answer me when I asked why he fell outta the window? He seemed really nervous when his Dad came out. I wonder why? I hope I get all the answers tomorrow.
My eyelids were starting to get really heavy so I surrendered myself to sleep.
Tomorrow morning, I awoke to the sound of the telephone ringing. I picked up and said drowsily, "Hello?"
"Hey Jackie! It's me, Matt. Can you meet me at the park in half an hour? I'll be standing under the tree."
"Sure, I'll be there. But I have to go and get ready, k? You kinda woke me up." I smile.
"Sorry bout that." Matt says sheepishly. "Well, see you soon. Bye!"
"Bye, Matt!" I say, as I climb outta bed. After a quick shower and some cereal, I was good to go. I told Mom and T.K. where I was going and left at about ten thirty. I walked up to the park and saw Matt standing under the tree where all of us had craved our names when we defeated Apocalymon and came back to the real world.
Matt's POV
"Hey Jackie," I say, as we sit under the shade.
"You had to tell me something?" She asked curiously.
"Oh yeah, I was wondering if you could come with us, me and my Dad, on a business trip to Tokyo. Dad has some work to do there and said that you could come and keep me company. He'll be off before dark, so we'll all be able to get together every night. I know it's not very far, but Dad, being the work-a-holic that he is, wouldn't let his boss send him any farther than that." Alright, so some of that is a lie…ok, all of it was, but if she comes, nothing'll happen to me.
"Of course I'll come! It'll be just like old times, huh?" I smiled. "This should be fun. When are you guys leaving?" Jackie asks.
"Tomorrow morning at eight. We're gonna catch a train and be there by nine. Dad has a meeting at nine thirty, so we gotta go early. Can you come to my house quarter to eight?" I ask, hoping she'll say yes.
"Ok, why not?" She says happily.
I reflected her smile and asked, "You hungry? Come on, I'll treat you to lunch."
"Matt, you don't have to!" Jackie says.
"I insist." I say.
"Alright, let's go!" She agrees. After lunch, we both went home. Back at my own house, I sighed happily. Dad wouldn't be home for a couple of hours and Jackie had actually agreed to come with me. And we had lunch together, too! This had been one of the best days of my life. I wonder what Dad'll say when she shows up at our front door tomorrow? He has no idea she's coming but he won't touch me while Jackie's around.
Jackie's POV
I let myself into the house. "I'm home!" I call out.
"Hi Jackie," my mom says. "T.K.'s at Kari's house playing. Do you want to go over too? Tai asked for you to."
"Ok, but Matt asked me to go with him and his Dad to Tokyo tomorrow morning. I already told him I could go. I can go right?" I ask.
"Of course you can, honey. Now go over to Tai's don't stay out too late." She answers.
"Right. Bye Mom!" I say halfway out the door. I walk over to Tai's house and ring the doorbell. "Hey Tai! What's up?" I ask.
"Oh, nothing much. I'm glad you're here; I've been pretty bored. Wanna play soccer?" Tai says all in one breath.
"Still the same old Taichi, huh? I'll play, and I'll beat you too!" I say grinning.
"Well not…" He sees I'm joking. "Let's play!" He says, matching my grin. We pass T.K. and Kari.
"Hey guys! We're going to play soccer! Wanna watch?" I ask.
"Ok, we're coming!" Chorused T.K. and Kari. We played for two hours ending with a tie. We were both hot and tired and happy.
"That was fun!" I say.
"Yeah, to bad nobody won. Can you come over tomorrow and play again?" Tai asks.
"I can't come tomorrow. Matt invited me to go with him and his Dad to Tokyo tomorrow. You're not upset, are you?" I say worriedly.
Tai smiles. She's still as caring as always, no wonder she's such a good friend. "It's ok, have fun tomorrow."
"Thanks, Tai. I should probably bring T.K. home now. I promised Mom we'd be home before dark." I get up and brush the grass off my shorts. "Come on T.K., let's go." We took our things and said good-bye to the Kamiya's. We arrived home just as the sun was setting.
"Hi Mommy! We're home!" Yelled T.K.
"Hey you guys, I just finished my article for the newspaper. I've been working on it all week. My, you guys look dirty, but very happy too." Mom says.
"We are. I'm gonna go take a shower, and then come down to eat, ok?" I ask.
"Ok dear. Hurry, you don't want your dinner to get cold." Mom says turning back to the kitchen. After dinner, me and T.K. say good night and go up to bed.
If that was all Matt had to tell me, why didn't he just ask me over the phone? If his Dad wants me to go with them tomorrow, why would he get mad if he found me and Matt outside talking? Wouldn't he know Matt had to ask me? Wouldn't he want Matt to ask me? It saves him the trouble. I'm don't think Matt's telling me everything, but I'm sure he'll tell me when he's ready. I trust him.
As I was thinking, I slowly drifted off to sleep.
I woke up tomorrow at seven to my alarm clock's persistent ringing. I groan as I reach to turn it off. I got out of bed and was ready to go by seven thirty. I left a note to remind my Mom where I was going. I left at seven thirty five, plenty of time to reach Matt's house.
Matt's POV
"Dad, Dad, wake up you're going to be late." I whisper, shaking him gently. He grunts as he opens his eyes.
"What the hell are you doing in my room? Who on earth gives you the right to be bothering me?" Mr. Ishida growls.
"I'm sorry sir. I just thought that you might be late for your meeting if you didn't get up now." I apologized.
"Nothing gives you the right to think that. Nothing gives you the right to think! So. Never. Bother. Me. AGAIN!" Roars Mr. Ishida, as he slaps me across the face.
I bit back tears and murmured, "Yes, sir." I run out of his room and into mine. I close the door, and only then did I dare to cry. I hear my Dad coming out of the bathroom and go downstairs to eat. I wipe my tears away and look into the mirror. I gasp at my reflection. I had a big red mark across my face.
Jackie's sure to notice this. What am I going to tell her?
Just then I heard the doorbell ring.
"I'll get it!" I yell, while running down the stairs. I open the door.
"Hey Matt!" I see her sharply draw in her breath. "What happened to your face? Are you ok?" She asks.
"Oh yeah, um… I fell off my bed this morning, trying to turn off my alarm clock. I forgot that I moved it so I wouldn't just turn it off and go back to sleep." I made up quickly.
"Aww…Here, let me put some ice on it." She says, concerned. I didn't want her to worry, but it was so nice to have somebody worry and care about me again. I happily
agreed.
"Good morning Mr. Ishida!" Jackie says brightly as we pass him on the way to the kitchen. "How are you today?"
"Fine, thank you." Mr. Ishida says confused.
While she was putting the ice on my face, she asked me, "Your Dad *does* know I'm coming right?"
"Uh… he might've forgotten. You know how his memory is…" I answer.
"Oh ok, I'll go and remind him." She says. "Excuse me, Mr. Ishida? You do know I'm coming with you and Matt to Tokyo, right?"
"Huh? You are? Since when?" He asked, still confused.
"Matt invited me to come yesterday. Is it ok with you?" Jackie asks my father. Oh boy, he's gonna be pissed with me when we get back.
"Oh yeah, silly me, of course, how could I have forgotten?" Answers Mr. Ishida smoothly. He turns to look at me. I see the dangerous glint in his eyes. Now I *know* I'm dead meat when Jackie leaves.
"That's good." Jackie smiles. "Come on Matt, I think you can take off the ice now." She was right. When I took off the ice pack, almost all of the imprint was gone. You could hardly see it.
"Thanks Jackie." I said smiling for the first time that morning.
"Well, we'd better get going you guys, or we'll be late." My Dad calls from the dining room. We took the train and had to switch three times. We didn't talk much. I felt myself falling asleep since I didn't get much rest last night.
Jackie's POV
"Matt, Matt wake up we're here." I said, gently shaking him. His crystal blue eyes slowly opened. He looked at me sleepily.
"Wha…?"Matt asks sitting up.
"You fell asleep during the ride, and now we've reached our stop. It's time to get off the train." I answer, watching him try to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes. He finally succeeded and now his Dad was calling us to hurry up. I grab my backpack and off we went. After we checked in at a hotel, Matt's Dad gave him some money, told us to be good, and then went to his meeting.
"Well what do you want to do now?" I ask Matt.
"How bout we get some breakfast and then buy some gifts for the other digidestined?" Matt suggested.
"Sounds good. Let's go!" I say. After we ate, we go to a souvenir shop and pick out some presents. A new soccer ball for Tai cause his old one is getting kinda worn out. A toy for T.K., a wooden flute for Kari, a book on flower arranging for Sora, a new computer game for Izzy, and a book on chemistry for Joe. Then I saw Matt looking at a bass guitar. I went up to ask the cashier how much it cost. I had just enough money, so while Matt went to look at some cameras, I bought it for him. After it was wrapped up, I went up to him.
"Here, Matt. You said to come get presents for the digidestined, so here's yours." I say smiling.
"Jackie! You didn't have to get me a present!" Matt exclaims.
"Take it Matt. I saw you looking at it and I know you want it." I say.
"You're right, I do." He says smiling. "But let at least let me get something for you too!"
"Alright," I give in, knowing he wouldn't be satisfied until I agreed. Matt picks out a light blue camera, and gives it to me.
"Wow! Thanks Matt." I exclaimed. "How did you know I liked taking pictures?"
"Well, I have known you almost my whole life… That could have something to do with it, you know." He jokes. I grin.
"How bout we go take some pictures and then head back to the hotel. I really want to try out the guitar." Matt suggests.
"Ok, that's a good idea." I agree. We spent the rest of the morning taking pictures, and went back to the hotel to eat lunch. After we ate, I watched Matt fiddle with his new guitar. He ended up playing it really well for someone who's never played before.
"Wow! You're really talented! I bet you'll become a rock star someday, Matt." I predict.
Matt's POV
"That sounds exciting, but I don't think so." I say, as I think about my father, and how he treats me.
"You will," Jackie says confidently. She doesn't know what I go through everyday.
I smile. "Maybe." I say, letting her enthusiasm and hopefulness convince me. I still don't think so, but there's no harm in wishing is there?
"Hey Matt, it's getting kinda dark out. When's your Dad getting off work?" She asks.
"He should be coming back right about now." I say as the door opens.
"Hey guys. I don't know about you but I'm starved. How bout we get something to eat?" My Dad asks, not drunk for once. He usually goes to bar once he gets off work and stays there till really late at night. Then he comes home and… Why can't he be nice to me when she's not here? Why does he like to hurt me? I never did anything to him.
I was pulled out of my thoughts by Jackie saying, "I'm pretty hungry. What about you Matt?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, of course. Let's go." I answer quickly. While we were eating dinner my Dad suggested that we go swimming, because he hadn't gone in so long. We thought it was weird to be going swimming at night, but we agreed nevertheless. It took about a fifteen-minute drive to get there. After my Dad paid for a private section we went to get ready. There was a separate place for men and women. I go into a changing room and see my Dad do likewise.
Jackie's POV
As I walked into one of those small rooms, when I felt that someone was behind me. I turn around and staring right at me were cold steel eyes belonging to Matt's father.
"You little bitch, this'll teach you to mess in *my* business." Whispered Mr. Ishida. With those words, he kicked me hard on my side and I flew backwards, knocking my head against the wall.
I struggle to remain conscious, but I slowly slipped into darkness…
Matt's POV
I slide into the water, and wait for the others to come. I see my Dad walking towards me. Oddly, he's smiling. He slips into the water and swims towards me.
"Hi Matt." He says dangerously.
"What do you want?" I ask cause it wasn't normal for him to act this way towards me.
He continues talking, as if he couldn't hear what I said. "Did I say you could invite that bitch along with us?" He whispers chillingly. "No, I don't think so." He's staring right at me. I could see the revenge written in his eyes.
"I'll make you pay for what you did. No one disobeys me!" My Dad says venomously. He tries to grab me, but I narrowly dodge him.
"Jackie! Where are you?" I yell hoping she was walking down the hallway.
"Don't bother calling for her." He says smiling.
My eyes widen with horror. "What did you do to her? If you hurt her, I'll…"
"You'll what?" He says as her finally catches me. "I don't think you're in any position to be making threats." He twists my arms back and holds me under the water. I struggle to get free, but no use. I couldn't breathe. My lungs were screaming for air, then world became dark…