I had several anon requests on my Tumblr for an AU of Dangerous Liaisons, with Eric and Jade as parents. This is a small ficlet I stashed away a while ago, that takes place outside of the DL sphere, but has the same characters. Children will not be in the picture right away...a little groundwork has to be laid first. Eventually there'll be sexy time, but mostly angst in the beginning. Obvious characters belong to Veronica, I own nothing but the plot. This won't be a long story, only about 6 or 7 chapters at most. Enjoy!
"Okay, well then just move my meeting with Amity to the second appoint-"
The door suddenly bursts open, making Jade jump. She looks up from her computer to see Eric storming into her office, rage emitting from every pore of his body. Jade gulps as he barrels toward her with the full intimidating look of the Dauntless warrior, his blue eyes flashing with fury.
She glances at Ashley, sitting in a chair across from her as they go over her schedule for the next month. Ashley glances between the two of them, confusion etched on her face. Eric was the last person either of them expected to see right now.
"What…what do you want Eric?" Jade finally manages to squeak out, trying to keep her surprise from showing.
She broke up with Eric three weeks ago, and avoided him like the plague ever since. She moved out of his penthouse while he was away on an overnight trip at Amity. She busied herself with setting up her new apartment, throwing herself into her work as a distraction. She's successfully evaded him this far. This is the first time she's seen him since the night of their last screaming match, when she decided to end things for good.
A minor dispute had spiraled way…way out of control. By the time they finished, Eric had destroyed almost all of the furniture in the place, and they both said things they could never come back from. With her heart completely broken, she made the most painful choice of her life. Though it wasn't what she wanted, she knew it was what was best.
Eric seemed to accept her decision, making no move to fix things, and seeming not to care that she'd left him. Eric has avoided her as well, so why is he barging in to her office like a psycho now?
Jade's heart beats faster as Eric stops at her desk, his eyes locked with hers in a furious gaze. "Seems you and I have a bit of unfinished business…that you conveniently forgot to mention," he snarls. He snaps his eyes to Ashley, still sitting there not quite certain what to do. "Get the fuck out," he hisses. She hurriedly gets up and glances at Jade.
"I'll come back later, and we can finalize your schedule then."
Ashley all but runs out of Jade's office, not wanting to be caught in the cross hairs of Eric's famous temper, and whatever is about to happen. Jade gathers her courage and regards him with a defiant glare, though she's petrified.
"What the fuck do you want, Eric? I'm working…I was right in the middle of something…"
Eric leans down and rests his knuckles on her desk. Jade's heart pounds wildly, though she doesn't break eye contact. After a long pause, Eric moves closer.
"Something you need to tell me?" he seethes.
Jade shakes her head, narrowing her eyes. "What the fuck are you talking about?" Eric pulls his phone out of his jacket, scrolling through for a moment. He brings his eyes back to hers as he presses 'play' on the voicemail.
"Good afternoon Ms. Crawford, this is Sarah from the OBGYN department at Erudite. Now that you're approximately six weeks along, the doctor would like to schedule your dating ultrasound for next Friday at 2:30 PM. Please call if you have any questions, or need to reschedule."
A weight drops in Jade's stomach, as blood rushes to her ears. Fuck…when she moved out, she forgot to remove Eric's house code line from her list of contacts. All of her messages…including the schedule of appointments for her recently confirmed pregnancy, default to the house line if she doesn't answer her cell. Shit, Jade curses herself silently. How could she have been so careless?
Taking a deep breath, she finally purses her lips defiantly. Eric throws his phone on her desk, his chest heaving as he visibly forces himself to remain calm.
"You're fucking pregnant?"
Jade's heart falls into her shoes, though she's determined to not let him see her affected. She forces a nonchalant look, shrugging disinterestedly while feigning boredom.
"So what if I am?"
She turns her attention back to her computer, desperate for this conversation to be over. She feels Eric's furious gaze burn into her face, though by sheer force of will keeps her eyes from meeting his. Abruptly all the papers on her desk, as well as everything else, are cleared off with one swift motion of Eric's arm. She jumps as his fist slams down against the oak.
"Fucking look at me, Jade."
With difficulty, she brings her eyes to his. Eric's eyes are storming with rage, whereas hers are clouded with anxiety, though she resolves to be strong. "What?" She finally snaps. "I have things to do, Eric. I don't have time for your bullshit right now." Jade is amazed that she hasn't passed out yet. Eric's nostrils flare as his eyes widen.
"You'll fucking make time. How long have you known?"
"What does it matter?"
"What the fuck do you mean, what does it matter!"
"Exactly what I said. What the fuck is it to you, if I am or not?"
Eric stares at her for a moment, caught off guard. "It matters, because it's my fucking baby, Jade." His voice is deadly calm, the same voice he uses when he needs to put the fear of God in someone. "Just when the fuck were you planning to tell me?" He waits with a clenched jaw. Jade takes a deep breath, looking at him squarely.
"I wasn't."
Thunderous silence falls between them. Eric's mirthless chuckle sends chills down her spine, as he finally shakes his head mockingly. "Enlighten me," Eric counters as he stands up straight and knits his palms together. "Just how the fuck were you going to hide it? You really didn't think I would notice that my ex-girlfriend has a pregnant stomach a few months from now? I know you didn't spread your legs for anyone else, I know every move you make. You really didn't think -"Jade cuts him off mid-sentence.
"I wasn't planning to hide anything, Eric. I haven't even decided if I'm keeping it yet. If I do, I don't want or need you around."
Eric looks at her in stunned silence as she fights back tears. She tips her chin up at him stubbornly, as the temperature falls to sub-zero. Eric shakes his head. "An abortion is not fucking happening, Jade," he hisses as his eyes glitter dangerously. Jade can't hide her surprise, as this is the last thing she ever expected him to say. She didn't think Eric would have any reaction at all, and certainly not this one. She takes another deep breath and looks at him stoically.
"That's not your decision to make, Eric. It's mine, and I'll be the one to make it."
"Not my decision! It's my fucking-"
"Eric, we are no longer together, and it's my body. Therefore, none of your business and not your problem."
He doesn't say anything for a moment, then lunges at her. Jade yelps as his hands close on her arms as she's yanked to her feet. "The fuck it isn't," he snarls, as her arms begin to throb. His breath is hot on her chin as he gets within an inch of her face. "You listen to me, you fucking bitch. You killing my child is not-" he stops when Jade brings a foot down on his knee, hard. He releases her, and she draws herself up, her rage fueling her courage.
"This right here, is a reminder why I'm even considering it in the first place. This is what an innocent child would be brought into…a toxic fucked-up mess that never should've started in the first place. If I had doubts before that shutting you out was the absolute best thing for everyone, you just completely erased them."
Jade feels her stomach tie itself in knots, as Eric slowly straightens and chills her with the ice in his eyes. As he steps toward her again, she speaks up.
"There are cameras in here, Eric. I wouldn't."
"Believe me Jade, that wouldn't stop me. You forget I'm a Dauntless councilman."
Jade swallows the lump in her throat as he steps in front of her, but makes no move to touch her. She realizes he's using his greatest strength. He used it on her when she was an initiate, and it still has the same effect now, as it did then. Intimidation. She refuses to back down, though. Eric leans in slightly, and her heart freezes in her chest. "You know what, Jade? You're right." He shrugs as his eyes rove her body, then finally he brings them back to hers.
"This isn't my problem. You aren't my problem. You certainly aren't worth it anyway."
Jade feels tears start to form as his words cut through her like a knife, but she's determined to not give him the satisfaction. "I'm glad we finally agree on something. Being as such, I don't expect to see or hear from you again, and hope that I don't. Have a nice life, Eric. Or don't. I don't give a shit either way." Eric's eyes flicker for a moment as his jaw clenches. Instead of feeling scared, she just feels tired and weighed down. Weighed down by the fact that despite what she just said, not a word of it was true.
She's still very much in love with him, and always will be.
Eric looks her up and down reproachfully, then silently shakes his head and clicks his tongue against his teeth. He turns and walks toward the door, then stops but doesn't turn around.
"Remember, Jade, this was your choice...and you'll be the one that has to explain someday."
Her office door slams behind him, as he stalks off. Jade waits for a few more moments until she's certain he won't come back, then finally sinks down into her chair. At first she feels numb, then the magnitude of what just happened hits her. She lost him. She just watched the only man she ever truly loved literally walk out of her life, for good. The dam finally bursts. As she surrenders to her grief, one fact glares out at her painfully.
He's not coming back…and she has no one to blame but herself.