Song: Where you belong- Kari Kimmel

We wake up hours later. I get up and go to the kitchen to grab a drink and I hear him walking up behind me he places a folder on the counter. "What is that?" I ask.

"Papers...documents, go on take a look." The corner of his mouth rises up a little, almost into a smile. He turns to grab him a glass of water before turning back around to watch me.

I open the file and the front page has her picture. Then the documents, birth certificate, social security card...hell even doctor's information with her immunization records...everything. I glance at the name and look up at him with a small smile on my face. "Are these real?"

"Yes...I had a good friend help me out. She will be able to use these for now own. You just have to figure out when and how to tell her about the last name change."

I set the file down softly. "What if she doesn't want to be an Adler...Mekhi maybe we should have asked her before changing her whole life around?" My mind twist and turns inside...thinking of what is best for her.

"We did not change her life...her asshole brother did. You stepped in to save her." He wraps his arms around me. "Look she will adjust to the new name...she will adjust to us being in her life we just have to give her time."

"I don't want her to hate me. I don't want her to think that we had something to do with killing her family. Should we ask her if she really wants to stay here? I mean what if you are right...what if there are grandparents and aunts and uncles and..." My thoughts keep going back and forth with what to do. I don't want to make a huge mistake...I don't want her to hate me for any of this later in life but then again I know that if she stays her she will never have to want for anything...she will always be protected.

He stops me with a kiss. He looks back at me with caring eyes. He knows that my mind is spinning of all these thoughts. "She is an Adler now...we will take care of her. Look...the Violet Green that the world knows...died that day with the rest of the family. This is the Violet that we know...Violet Adler and you and I are going to be great parents."

Parents...me a mom. Is this really happening? Will she ever really see me as a mom? I am interrupted by those thoughts when I hear the front door open and she comes running into the kitchen with a huge smile on her face."Well there you are; where have you been?" I kneel down to hug her.

"Aunt Meagan let me stay the night with her and I got to play with Rylan. We even went out for doughnuts this morning." Her face lights up. I love the sound of Aunt Meagan and it makes me think just maybe we can do this.

"I see." I wipe her upper lip with my thumb and look at the chocolate with a smile. "Looks like they were delicious."

"They were...we brought you one too." She holds up bag for me to take.

"Why thank you." I glance up at Meagan with a smile; she knows that I don't eat these very often. "And thank you for taking good care of her."

"You know I don't mind, besides she was a big help with Rylan." She smirks. She walks over to the living room and puts Rylan on the floor.

Violet sits on the couch and grabs the remote. "Can I watch cartoons?" She bats her eyes thinking that way she will for sure get her way and it works.

Mekhi walks over and takes the remote from her. "Of course you can...now let's see what is on." He starts to flip through the options.

"Can I watch Frozen...please?" She practically begs him.

Meagan starts laughing. "That is all that she has wanted to watch...do you have any idea how many times I watched that in one day."

Mekhi puts it on anyway and walks back to the kitchen. Meagan shakes her head at him and follows him back to the kitchen. "So what's the plan here...are you taking her in for good?"

I push the file closer to her and we watch as she opens it up. Her face lights up. "This is for real...you are adopting her."

"Kinda sorta...I guess you could say that." Mekhi smiles back at her.

"Kinda...sorta...looks like you two made that decision already...have either of you even talked to her about it?" She gives both of us a look. We look at each other and shrug. "Well...maybe you could go ask her now." She points to her in the living room.

I walk over to her and hold my hand out for her to grab and she takes it immediately. I was a little surprised that she didn't mind not watching the TV. She jumps up and walks with me to the backyard. We sit down by the pool and let our feet dangle over to hit the water. Rebel comes running over and I have to hold my hand out for him to stop just in case he accidently bumps into her. I'm not sure if she can swim or not and I don't want her scared. Thankfully Rebel lays down on the other side of me. I let her kick her feet a few times and take in the sun rays.

 I glance over at her and she is smiling."Do you like it here, Violet?"

She turns her head and looks at me with a smile. "Yeah...it's ok but I want to go home." She looks back at her feet in the water and then kicks them playfully to let the water splash.

"I know you do...you do know that your parents are gone right...like in heaven...I can't bring them back." I don't know how to just come right out and say that they are dead. Any other time or person it would have been easy but with her I just can't come right out and say it bluntly.

"I know...and so is Carlie and Sammy and Jacob." She starts to tear up. "I'm scared Scarlett."

"I know you are sweetheart...I wish I could bring them all back but I can't. The world doesn't work that way and life is not fair at times." She looks down at her feet and watches the water splash up every time she kicks. I let my elbow graze her softly with a nudge. "Would you like to stay here with me and Mekhi?" I pause for a second for her to respond when she doesn't I say, "Or if you want I can find out about your other family that you could live with, like your grandparents or..."

"You don't want me?" Her bottom lip starts to tremble as her eyes swell with tears.

Oh my goodness she knows how to break a heart. I feel everything in me shiver...my heart aches for her. "Oh...no...I would love for you to stay here but only if you want to. I don't want you to feel like I'm making you stay here. I mean...you know if you have grandparents or an aunt or someone you would rather be with."

She shakes her head no. "I like it here."

"Good then it's settled then." I wrap my arm around her little body and pull her into me. "You can stay here as long as you want to ok."

She stands up with a slight jump and wraps her arms around me. "You are the best Scarlett."

As she is hugging me I look into the body of water in front on me and it looks so inviting. I notice the way she keeps looking and I know she is dying to get in it. "You want to get in the pool?"She nods her head rapidly. "Do you know how to swim?"

"Yes...it's easy...you want to see me." Her eyes light up.

"Of course...but let's put on your swimsuit first alright." I stand up and take her to the pool house. I let her put her suit on and I tie the back for her. I put on mine and we walk out and then take off running and dive into the deeper end of the pool.

She goes down and comes right back up with a huge smile on her face. "You want to race?" She wrinkles up her little nose.

It's been a while since I got to race with anyone in the pool and hearing her say that makes me smile. "Why sure...you think you can keep up with me?"

She laughs and takes off down the pool. I let her go half way before I make my strokes in the water. We make it to the end at the same time. She gleams... "You are really fast."

"Years of practice...one day you will be just as fast. Now go." I point to the other end of the pool. I let her go halfway again before I take off.

When we get to the end Mekhi is standing on the side of the pool looking down at us. "What are you two doing?"

"Racing!" we both say at the same time.

I know he wants to know if I asked her or not; I look over at her. "Violet...why don't you have fun now...I'm going to step out for a few minutes ok?"

She rolls her eyes and looks a little bummed out that I am getting out. "Okay." She makes her way back down to the other end.

I climb out and walk over to Mekhi. He hands me a towel and I start to dry off and then sit down next to him."Did you even ask her?" He asks as if I didn't have the nerve...he should know me better than that.

"I asked if she would like to stay here and she said yes." I watch her get out and go down the slide on the other end into the deep end. She squeals the whole way down.

"Scarlett...about her name...did you ask her?"

Shit...I knew I was forgetting something. Ok maybe I didn't ask her. "Not yet...look let's just not say anything for now alright and when the time is right we can ask her."

He shakes his head. "Scarlett...you are making this more difficult."

"No...look she is still missing her parents. She asked to go back home but she knows that they are gone. I can't ask her right now...it's just too soon." I watch as she plays in the water diving all the way under and coming back up.

"Well you are going to have to...what about doctors, and school and all that other stuff?"

Honestly I haven't thought past her living here and here he is with all this other shit, seriously...does it even matter at the moment. I thought about my life when I first came here...I was well taken care of, home school was the best option and now I know why and therefore she can do the same. "She will be home schooled...I was. And for the doctor...hell he can come here."

His eyebrow twitches upward at the thought. "Home school...uh!"

"Yes...I can...I mean we can provide the best for her here. Home school is the best option for now."

"And then what...you going to show her the ropes...continue the family practice." He says sarcastically and it hits a nerve.

"I don't know...I haven't gave it that much thought...hell she is just a kid you know."

He reaches over and touches my leg for me to stop and look up at him. "Yeah...I do know...and so were you."

I sit back silently and watch her in front of me...but my mind drones in on the past. I was just a kid...a little seven year old that had no idea what was going to happen to me. I went from a twirling ballerina dressed in pink to a killer over night dressed in black. The moment he came into my life and I stood before him I was so scared that I almost peed all over myself. I was scared he would kill me too if I didn't do what he said. My mother told me to go with him; she knew he would take care of me but I bet she didn't know I would clean up her blood that night. Or that I would learn how to not cry when the pain got unbearable. Or that I would be trained to not only be a cleaner...but to kill when needed too.

Yeah...I bet she didn't know that I would turn out to be exactly like my father, the one she never told me about. If I take her in...and I am taking her in, will I train her to be as good as me? Should she learn the practice or maybe even become an assassin...or should we just train her to protect herself and let her make that decision later on in life. I feel wetness all around me and it snaps me out of my thoughts.

I smile at her pretty little face as she splashes me again. "Oh is that how you are going to play." I stand up and run over to the pool and dive in. I come back up and splash her with the water and she giggles a high pitched squeal. That sound alone warms my heart.