The aroma of garlic, tomato, onion, basil, and Italian seasoning drifts up to greet me as I trudge through the apartment door after a couple very long, stressful days at work, and my stomach growls loudly in anticipation of the delicious-smelling, home-cooked meal. It's unusual for Bridget, our kids' nanny, to cook but I'll take it. It's one less thing for me or Tobias to have to worry about tonight.

"I'm home," I call out as I hang my keys on the hook in the entryway, set my overnight bag down on the bench, and kick my new pair of combat boots off my aching feet and then make my way into the quiet living room. When I find the room empty, I can't help but wonder where everyone's at. After being in Abnegation for two days because of lengthy council meetings, I expected to be greeted by three very excited, hyper kids fighting for my undivided attention, so the unexpected silence piques my curiosity. "Where's everyone at?" I pad around the corner into the kitchen only to find it deserted as well. "Hhm." I slowly climb the stairs, and as I approach my bedroom door, I stop in my tracks. There lying in the middle of my king-sized bed, sound asleep, are Tobias, Tyler, Tessa, and, Teagan. A broad smile fills my face. I know that I've missed them but until right this second, I didn't know just how much. I'd love nothing more than to ease into bed on the other side of Tyler and take a nap myself, but I don't want to disturb them. Instead, I lower myself into the rocking chair that sits in the corner of the room that affords me a view of each of their peaceful faces.

Tobias has physically changed over the past few years but not to the extreme. He looks less like the strong but lost adolescent who helped me out of the net three years ago and more like the man unforeseen circumstances like stopping a faction war, crazy stalkers plotting against us, two adoptions, and an unplanned pregnancy forced him to be long before his time. I notice the faint worry line he's come to have between his brows is less pronounced while he's sleeping. I wish he could always be this carefree and relaxed, but it isn't always easy with three young children at home and a volatile faction to run. The one thing that hasn't changed is how he makes me feel. Sure, we have our fair share of disagreements and there are times I feel like pushing him off the Hancock Building, in a zip line harness of course, but I still get weak in the knees when he walks into a room, butterflies take up residence in my tummy when he kisses me, and when we make love … there are no words. It's more than the joining of our bodies; it's the joining of our hearts, minds, souls, and spirits.

I slide my eyes from my handsome husband to my three beautiful children who are napping peacefully under the protective umbrella of his arm. My sweet little Teagan Grace is on her tummy with her blonde waves framing her innocent face, her little tush stuck up in the air. She's got her tiny fist wrapped around her daddy's pinky, which is funny because it's actually the other way around. She has him wrapped around her little finger. She may look exactly like me, except for her father's indigo eyes and, to be completely honest, she acts like me most of the time, but she is a Daddy's girl through and through. The only time she really wants me is if she's tired, not feeling well, or hurt then she cries for her mama. It's hard to believe that in just a little over two short months she'll be 2 years old. I don't know where the time has gone. It seems just like yesterday we were celebrating her first birthday, and she took her first steps to impress all of her guests. Now we can't slow her down. She toddles behind her big sister, following her everywhere. I always knew that one day my girls would be inseparable, and I was right. They're best friends.

I look at Tessa who has a content smile on her angelic face. It's hard to believe that we've celebrated not one but two of her birthdays already. I vividly remember the moment Tobias gently laid her in my arms for the very first time. She was so tiny, soft, and warm, and I was a nervous wreck. I fell in love for the third time in that very moment. She's no longer my roly-poly baby though. She's slimmed down and shot up; I think one day she'll be taller than her father. Her nearly-black curls hang down past her shoulders, and her inquisitive bluish-gray eyes are the most beautiful I've ever seen. She may look just like Tobias but she's definitely her mama's girl, although recently she's developed an independent streak. Her favorite sentence is, "No! I do it!" Yesterday, before I left, she came downstairs in a bright red tank top, lime green capris, and a rainbow-colored tutu. She pulled the look together with her favorite pair of shoes, combat boots that look just like mine. A chuckle escapes my lips remembering, and she yawns and rolls toward her brother. Oops!

I look at Tyler and my heart constricts. He's the one who has changed the most over the past couple years. He's no longer the confused, frightened, malnourished, shy toddler we took in after Evelyn was admitted to the hospital with pregnancy complications that eventually took her life. Now he's a healthy, active, very happy 4-and-a-half-year-old boy who just happens to look more and more like Tobias each and every day. I still don't know what we did to get so lucky. Every time we look at Tyler and Tessa, we only see ourselves. No one even thinks of them as adopted anymore. They're just ours.

"Mama?" Teagan mumbles as she yawns widely. "Home?"

"Yeah, baby girl," I whisper. She sits up and rubs her eyes with her little fists then smiles brightly as I get up and stand at the end of the bed. "Come here." I hold my arms out to her, and she crawls down the mattress and directly into them. I hug her tightly and kiss her temple as she clings to me.

"Do you want to rock with Mommy?" I quietly ask her and she nods. I sit back down in the rocking chair and leisurely rock back and forth while I gently run my hand up and down her back. "I missed you so much, Teags." Tyler's nickname for his baby sister stuck, and it's what everyone calls her now.

"Miss you," she says. She leans back, puts her little hands on either side of my face, puckers up, and gives me a sloppy, wet kiss.

"Thank you, my sweet girl," I say. "I love you."

"Lub 'ou."

"Tris?" Tobias quietly asks, his deep voice thick with sleep as he lifts his head from his pillow.

"I'm home," I whisper when I see confusion on his face. He looks at the clock on his nightstand.

"You're early," he says as he rolls out of bed, being careful not to disturb Tessa and Tyler.

"Well, if you're not happy to see me, I could just leave again."

"No!" Teags admonishes.

"You were gone too long as it was," he says with a warm smile brightening his face just before his lips gently meet mine. He kisses me softly as he holds my face between his strong hands. He slips his tongue between my parted lips and sensually strokes it against mine causing me to sigh. "You are a sight for sore eyes, love." His lips never leave mine and desire stirs deep in my belly, but I'm brought back to reality when our daughter starts squirming in my lap between us.

"Mama, Dadda!" she giggles. "'Ucky!" Tobias drags his lips from mine, leaving me breathless and smiles down at our little Peanut.

"Are you laughing at your mommy and daddy, Teags?" he asks, breathing heavily then he looks at me. "Why do all our kids think it's so gross when we kiss?"

"It's a good thing Mommy doesn't think it's yucky," I say with a wink.

"I missed you, Tris," he says, running his knuckles down the side of my face.

"I missed you, too," I say. Teagan starts whining and holds her arms out to her father, and he effortlessly lifts her from my lap. She wraps her little arms tightly around his neck and presses her cheek to his, grinning like a loon.

"Shall we check on supper?" Tobias asks me. I nod and get to my feet. "I started someone's favorite."

"I smelled spaghetti sauce when I came in," I say as I take his proffered hand and follow him downstairs.

"There are meatballs in the oven and salad in the fridge," he says. "I'm going to make some garlic bread and cut some fruit up to round out the meal." He sets Teagan on her feet, and she waddles into the sunroom and pulls her favorite puppy dog puzzle off the shelf and sits on the slate floor and dumps the box. I feel Tobias' arms wrap around my waist and pull me to him as we watch our daughter flip the pieces over then determinedly put them back together.

"I know I was only away overnight, but I swear she's grown," I say as I caress his arms. "I missed you all so much."

"We missed you, too," he says against my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. He turns me in his arms, and I slide my fingers into his dark curls. He needs a haircut. "But I missed you the most."

"I know. I couldn't sleep either," I say. He lowers his mouth toward mine and just before our lips touch, what sounds like a herd of arguing elephants come trouncing down the stairs. I sigh and look toward the racket. When Tyler and Tessa see me, they stop in their tracks, eyes wide and mouths hanging open then huge smiles spread across their faces.

"Mommy!" Tyler yells as Tessa squeals, "Mama!" I squat down as they fly down the remaining stairs and straight into my arms. I hug them both tightly, kissing them repeatedly. Teagan comes rushing out of the sunroom and wriggles her way between her brother and sister, not wanting to feel left out, and I land on the floor on my butt. Tobias tries to cover his laughter with a fake coughing fit, doing his best to hide his amusement, and I roll my eyes at him as I gather all my babies in my arms.

"I missed you all so much," I say, squeezing them tightly to me and kissing their heads.

"I missed you, Mommy," Tyler says, kissing my right cheek.

"Miss you so much," Tessa dramatically says, nearly choking me with her hug.

"Miss 'ou," Teagan says as she first elbows Tessa and then Tyler, making them loosen their grips on me then lunges forward, hugging me tightly.

"Ouch," Tyler whines, rubbing his side as Tessa starts crying then pushes her little sister who falls onto the floor and bumps her head causing her to cry. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Welcome home, Tris.

"Mama," she cries, holding her arms out to me.

"Hey, hey, hey," Tobias says as he lifts Tessa out of my lap. I pick Teagan up and try to comfort her but she's inconsolable.

"That wasn't very nice, Tessa Beatrice. You don't push your little sister." She sniffs and frowns at her father, tears still sliding down her cheek.

"She hitted me," she mumbles.

"You don't push her even if she hits you," he says. "What do you say?"

"Sowwy, Teags," she says. He kisses her on the head then sits her on her feet. She runs into the living room and straight to the toy box. Tobias kneels in front of me. He runs his hand over the red mark on the side of Teagan's head and grimaces with concern.

"And you shouldn't hit your brother and sister, Teagan Grace," he sternly says. "That's not nice."

"Sowwy, Dadda," she whines, her bottom lip quivering.

"Why don't you go back to your puzzle," I say as I kiss the bump on the side of her head. "You love that puzzle."

"'Kay," she says then sniffs. She kisses me again then wiggles her way out of my embrace. She frowns at her dad then heads back to the sun room. I notice that Tyler is still quietly sitting on the floor looking at me. I hold my arms out, and he crawls right into them.

"Have you had a good day?" I ask as I manage to get myself to my feet while still holding onto him. I won't be able to pick him up like this too much longer. His feet are hanging halfway down my body.

"Yeah!" he says as his eyes light up. "Daddy took me to the training room. I played on the bags while him … him … um …?"

"Worked out," Tobias offers as he takes the perfectly baked meatballs out of the oven.

"Worked out," Tyler repeats. "Then we had breakfast in the cafeteria … just the two of us." His eyes slide to his father with such a look of admiration and adoration. "We had so much fun."

"We did, didn't we, buddy?" Tobias says, ruffling his hair affectionately. "We need to do that more often."

"Yeah!" he says then he looks at me. "Can we watch a movie after supper?"

"I think that can be arranged," I say. "Why don't you go pick one out while I talk to your father?"

"Okay," he says. After another hug I set him on his feet. He's heading towards the living room when he stops and turns back towards us. "I'm really happy you home, Mommy. Daddy was lonely while you was gone. I think he cried." He turns and disappears around the corner to search for a movie.

"He's a very smart boy," Tobias says as he rests his hands on my waist. I turn toward him with a look of confusion filling my face. "Except for the crying part … I swear I didn't cry but I did miss you like crazy. I'm so glad you're home." He slides his hands to the small of my back then down to my backside and draws me closer to him still.

"I missed you, too," I say as I go up on my tiptoes and wrap my arms around his neck. "I was lying in my old twin bed at my parent's house staring at the ceiling wishing I was in your arms, missing you. I wasn't kidding earlier when I said I couldn't sleep. I'm not sure I slept at all last night."

"Do you want to cancel our plans for tonight?" he hesitantly asks.

"Not on your life." Even though we met three years ago tomorrow, it's become our tradition to celebrate the night before. Two years ago, he took me to the net and last year we went to the chasm. He won't tell me where he's taking me tonight but I'm thoroughly looking forward to it. Sometimes we let life get in the way, and we don't get the chance to enjoy each other as much as we'd both like. "It's our anniversary, Mr. Eaton. I wouldn't cancel on you for anything."

"Glad to hear it, Mrs. Eaton," he says. He tightens his grip on me and lowers his lips to mine, but he pulls away after a minute, being careful not to get too carried away. "I can't wait to get my hands on you tonight but right now I need to finish supper, and you need to sit before you fall over." He releases me and moves toward the stove while I sit down at the island. He pours me a cup of piping hot, strong, black coffee then sets it down in front of me. "Here you go, love."

"Thanks, baby," I say, raising my lips to his for a quick peck. "How did the final preparations for initiation go? I'm sorry I wasn't here to help."

"I think I can hold one meeting without you," he says with a wink and I can't help but smile. I love when he's this relaxed. "Everyone's set for the new class of initiates to arrive tomorrow. We'll make our usual rounds unlocking all the necessary areas. Uriah, Christina, Brody, and Ana will meet us at the net to welcome the jumpers around 3 p.m. Will and Shauna will be representing Dauntless at the Choosing Ceremony; they'll leave for the Hub at around 11 a.m. James, Simon, and Tony will take care of business as usual in the compound. We'll all meet up in the cafeteria for supper then once all the initiates join us, we'll give a short welcome speech then we can go home and leave the rest of initiation to the professionals." Shortly after Tori stepped down from leadership, Will, Tobias, and I offered the spots vacated by Harrison and her to Shauna and James not because they're good friends of ours but because they were more than qualified and their vision for Dauntless was in sync with ours.

"That sounds great. I don't think I would have made it through one more initiation training the transfers," I sigh. Even though I told Tobias I didn't want to train initiates after that first stressful year, we helped Brody and Ana out last year when we had a record number of transfers join Dauntless. It was tough. Tyler was going through a particularly clingy phase, Tessa was teething almost nonstop, and Teagan was still breastfeeding and absolutely hated taking a bottle. Most days she would refuse one, so I had to leave the initiates and go to the daycare center to feed her. I was exhausted all the time and got quite grouchy. That was the longest nine weeks of my life.

"Brody and Ana will do a great job," he says. "I'm not worried about them at all, and they both know that they can come to either one of us if they have questions. What I'm concerned about is not knowing what to do with myself all day. I'm so used to being in the training room for hours on end. It's going to feel odd going to my office instead."

"You're just going to miss all the girls mooning over you," I say.

"There's my green-eyed goddess," he says as he smirks over his shoulder at me. "I was wondering when you were going to show up." I roll my eyes at him.

"You think you're funny but you're not," I say a little more defensively than I mean. "I'm sorry. It's not easy seeing other women undress my husband with their eyes day in and day out. I swear if any of them make a play for you this year, I'm going to kill them. There's no other options left." Two years ago, it was Olivia and last year it was Freya. I can't help but sigh thinking about her. At least I don't have to see the bitch openly flirt with my husband nearly every single day since she is locked up in the psychiatric unit at the hospital. Unfortunately, last year's annoyance made it all the way through initiation with a high enough ranking to be a thorn in my side on at least a weekly basis since she works in the control room.

"Please tell me you're still not jealous," he says as he pulls some strawberries, peaches, blueberries, nectarines, and yogurt out of the refrigerator for a fruit salad. He sets the bowl down on the island then slides a paring knife my way.

"Jealous?" I repeat with a sigh. "I don't think I'm jealous. I know you love me. I know you would never cheat but it's disrespectful for these … tramps to basically eye fuck you right in front of me." I whisper the last part, not wanting my children to hear me talk that way. "Don't you agree?" He sets his knife down on the cutting board and takes the one I'm holding out of my hand like he's afraid I might try to stab him with it.

"I do agree … 100%," he says as he wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head, trying to placate me. "I just wish it didn't bother you so much though because," he puts his mouth against my ear, "I'm yours. You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

"I know that," I say.

"I love you, Tris," he says, "and only you."

"I love you, too, Tobias," I say.