Author's Note: I realize that this is very out of the blue - I definitely did not plan on having a one-shot up so soon. But your reviews on my epilogue inspired me - and nearly brought me to tears. I started writing this and couldn't stop. Sitting in the waiting room at the hospital (everything is fine, my mom is just having surgery), I wrote it on my phone. I really, really wanted to put it up though, so, here it is.
Let me know what you think of my first one-shot and my first third person point of view attempt.
Make sure you're following me to be alerted when I post another one-shot!
-GerdyGertha
The Little White Stick
An Erudite High School One-Shot
Sunday, May 4th, 4206
Tris sets the timer for five minutes and leaves the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She sits down on the edge of her and Tobias' bed and switches between watching the small dial on the kitchen timer turn and staring at the closed bathroom door.
"Five minutes, I can wait five minutes," she says to herself. "That's only..." She attempts to do the math in her head to figure out how many seconds five minutes is, but she gives up and just stares at the timer.
Today is Saturday, and Tobias is working. Of course the day she decides it's finally time to take a test, he gets called in to work. Maybe it's better that he isn't here anyways; she isn't sure how he'll react. The talk they had a few months ago that ended her birth control was very real and very honest, but still, she knows how he feels about having kids - whether he admits it or not.
The small egg-shaped timer shows three minutes and fifty-two seconds left. It's like time is intentionally passing slower - that's how she feels anyway. She looks around their room as the timer ticks away. She tries to imagine what the place would look like covered in 'baby stuff.' Tiny clothes flung about, colorful blankets draped over the backs of the chair. There is another bedroom, so she wonders if the baby would sleep in there or if it would sleep in their room for a few months first. She looks around and decides that the corner by Tobias' side of the bed would perfectly fit a little bassinet. She sighs and shakes her head, she knows she shouldn't be thinking like that already - she might be setting herself up for disappointment.
She looks back down at the timer: one minute, twenty-eight seconds left. She sighs and flops down onto her back. She glares at the little timer, willing it to go faster - it doesn't work of course. Her anxiety over waiting for the little dial to hit the zero is driving her crazy.
Five, four, three, two, one, ding.
As she throws the timer onto the bed somewhere, and she thinks how lame the final buzzer sounded compared to the thing it was counting down for. She practically sprints into the bathroom. She picks up the little white stick, but suddenly, she can't do it. She can't look at the little symbol that could make or break her in this moment. She closes her eyes, flips the stick face down, and sets it back on the counter. It doesn't feel right to look at it without him.
She leaves the bathroom, closing the door on her way out. She glances at the clock: five hours until Tobias will be home. She sighs, picks up the fallen timer, and heads towards the kitchen.
She puts the timer back down on the counter and stares at her kitchen. She envisions baby bottles tipped upside-down on the dish rack and one of those funny little scrubbers next to the sink. She shakes her head and resists the urge to run back into the bathroom.
Tris spends the next two hours baking a cake - for no reason other than to burn time. She had work off yesterday, so the house is already clean. After the cake is put into the fridge, she begins preparations for spaghetti. It takes a while when she makes it homemade, so she takes her time and tells herself she is 'making it with love' - but really she is just burning time and trying to distract herself.
The cake is frosted and put back into the fridge, the spaghetti is staying warm on the stove, and now she is just sitting on the chair in the living room, staring at the front door, and waiting. She's feeling a sense of déjà vu.
She hears the rumble of Tobias' truck and hears it pull onto the gravel of the driveway. She sits up straighter, almost bouncing in her seat waiting for him to step through the door.
She watches his dark brown hair appear in the window of the door, only showing the top of his head. She's too short to see through it or be seen through it, but he's not. She watches the lock turn and the door open.
Tobias walks in, hangs his coat and his keys on their respective hooks and jumps when he finally notices his wife sitting there.
"Oh!" She gives him a small smile. "What are you doing?"
She shrugs, trying to contain her anxious movements. "Waiting for you."
He sits down on the couch to the side of her. "Do I smell spaghetti?" She nods and smiles. Tobias leans over and kisses her cheek. "How did you know I needed that today?" he sighs. He loves her spaghetti, and maybe it was an unconscious choice to make it to help brighten his mood.
She looks down at her hands in her lap. Hearing he had a bad day makes her more worried about breaking the news. She doesn't want to add to his stress, but it's too late for that now. "Tough day?"
He nods and runs his hand through his hair. By the way it's leaning she can tell he's been doing that all day. "You know Murphy Collins?"
"The crazy man who you think killed his wife?"
Tobias nods. "He took a hostage into his house: his daughter. We were coaxing him all day."
"Did she get out?"
Tobias shakes his head. "He shot her." Tris gasps. "And then he shot himself."
"My God," she says, shaking her head. "The poor girl."
"There is a little, tiny bit of good news though. He had a son too, a five year old. He wasn't at school today where he should have been. Being with his grandma today saved his life."
Tris shakes her head. "This is even worse for him." She wonders for a moment if she knew the kids; maybe she even had them in her class at one point.
Tobias nods. "The grandma is a good lady though. It's a good thing he is young I guess."
"Less he'll remember," Tris agrees.
Tobias shakes his head of the thoughts from the day. "Let's talk about something else. Why the spaghetti?" Tobias watches Tris look down at her hands nervously. She shrugs as though it's nothing, but her attempted act is terrible. "Tris, what's wrong?"
She laughs humorlessly to herself. "I don't even know."
Tobias looks at his wife in complete confusion. "What do you mean?"
Tris takes a deep breath and looks up into his dark blue eyes, laced with concern. "I took a test."
Tobias' frown deepens. "What kind of a test?"
"A pregnancy test," she says quietly.
Tobias freezes in his seat and stares at Tris. She looks up and sees the shocked expression on his face and becomes concerned herself. He lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "W-what did it say?"
"I don't know. I waited for you."
Tobias takes a deep breath and looks at Tris' moistening gray-blue eyes. Now he thinks his reaction is scaring her. "Do you want to go look?" he asks, trying to sound calm. She barely nods her head at him. He stands up and holds his hand out to her and she takes it.
She makes a move to walk, but he stops her. He turns her around and wraps his arms around her middle. "Whatever it says, I love you."
Her heart melts at his words, and it means a lot to her. Her arms wrap securely around his neck and she takes a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "I love you, too."
He pulls back and wipes away a tear that fell onto her cheek. "Don't be scared, honey."
She shakes her head. "I'm not scared, just a little nervous." He looks into her eyes and believes her. "Come on." She takes his hand again and they walk down the hall and into their bedroom.
They open the bathroom door and step inside, staring at the white stick on the edge of the counter. She slowly picks it up. She looks up at him and he takes a deep breath and nods.
She turns the stick over to reveal a tiny pink plus sign.
Both of their breathing catches in their throats and she has to grip onto his arm to keep from falling to her knees. "Pregnant," she says whispers - as if making too much noise would change the sign.
Tobias' eyes are glued to the little pink symbol. The symbol that changes everything. "We're having a baby?" The complete and utter terror that consumed him just minutes ago seems to suddenly fade. He wonders if it's possible that he's fallen in love with something he's never seen. How can that be possible?
Tris rests the palm of her free hand on Tobias face and looks into his shocked eyes. "Yes, Tobias, we are going to have a baby."
His eyes don't seem to focus for a moment, but when they do, he sees the joy and excitement in hers. "I'm... I'm going to be a dad?" He instantly pictures a tiny, baby Tris: little waves of blonde hair and bright blue eyes.
The floodgates finally break and they both start crying. Tobias never cries. She's seen him tear up, but she has only ever seen him cry twice. Once was their wedding day: one single tear when he said his vows, and the other was when they were teenagers and it was a situation with his father. "Yes, yes you are going to be a dad."
He looks to the little white stick, to her eyes, and down to her stomach. "There's a baby in you," he says lamely. The thought of another person inside his tiny Tris is unfathomable. Sure, he's seen pregnant women before. He remembers when Marlene was pregnant with Amelia. He thought it was downright horrifying. But, it's not like that with Tris; it just seems different. He doesn't think of her rounded belly and have the slightest urge to turn away in disgust and fear, he thinks of her belly growing around their baby and the thought makes him feel like he's floating.
She laughs lightly. "Yes, there is a baby in me."
He looks at her, sudden panic and concern present in his dark blue eyes. "Does it hurt?" She shakes her head. "But it will," he says sadly. Tobias feels guilty. It's going to be his fault when she is in pain. He'll be the reason she hurts.
She runs her hand over his cheek. "It will be worth it."
"I'm sorry," he says, looking down at her still thin middle.
Tris worries for him as she watches guilt cross his face. "Hey, look at me." He lets her hand tilt his face back up to see her. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You're the reason I am so happy right now. Pregnancy is not easy, Tobias, but that is nobody's fault - especially not yours."
"It is my fault," he says. "It's going to hurt and it's my fault."
"No, Tobias. Honey, please listen to me when I tell you this is a good thing and I love you so much for this. Thank you, Tobias." He looks at her in surprise. She is thanking him? "This is ours," she's says, taking his hand and putting it on her side.
His eyes flash down then back up. "Okay," he says quietly, letting himself believe her. He looks back down at her stomach. "What-What do you think it is?"
She's not sure what to make of her husband at the moment. There is a mix of emotions on his face and in his voice; she just wants to calm him. She wants him to be okay. "I hope it's a boy."
Tobias makes a face. "You want a boy?"
"You want a girl?"
Tobias nods. "A girl that looks just like you."
It becomes Tris' turn to make a face. "Why would you want that?"
He shrugs and his lips curve into a smile. "Because you're beautiful and she will be too." Tris is relieved to see him smile - even if it's small.
"Or he," she says with a small laugh.
Tobias' hand moves along her side as he stares down. "Or he," Tobias agrees. He doesn't really care what the baby ends up being, so long as it's healthy.
And he loves him or her. He knows that without a doubt. He loves their baby.