A/N:

You must have seen this coming?

Welcome to the third installment, and I apologize for delays in other updates but you can blame my holiday for giving me ideas.

Enjoy :)

Mirrors, exposing your reflection, were a pathway to the soul.

Delicate fingers run down a thin chain, hesitating on the drop of a pearl, positioning it back to the middle of her chest. The soft fabric of her black and gray checkered dress jacket is flattened by her palm as she takes a minute to collect herself.

On the outside is a counterfeit act of pure composure, while on the inside the golden haired woman is not.

The years had taken only a small toll, gracing her with thin lines at the corners of her eyes, but beyond that, when she stared at herself, she was still the same familiar girl; only lacking naivety and absurd expectations. She wondered whether this was that the difference now between girls and women - experience of reality.

There is a row of three basic sinks below the mirror, her folder of bereft work balanced precariously on the edge of the tiled surface. Luckily, it is a quiet time, no one else being around to disturb this moment of peace - which she is thankful for.

With one swift movement, she snaps up the folder, throwing the public bathroom door open and taking the expertly decorated corridor to the Leader's suite all the way to the engraved golden letters - E. Coulter.

"Mrs Coulter!" Her name is called by a young woman almost half her age, the newest secretary that could stand Eric for more than a month as she passes the desk. "Mrs Coulter! Eric is extremely busy!" she insists.

But she pays no mind to the cluttering way the assistant tries to stop her, opening the door with the minimalist taps on the door. She catches her husband, the father of her two grown children, half way through a sentence while on the phone. And his look is one of complete and utter exasperation, he knew exactly why she was there already.

He mumbles, "I'll call you back," and hooks the phone to its stand, gazing up from his desk expectantly as if he had no other care in the world.

Mrs Coulter couldn't deny that her husband had kept his favored looks effortlessly. There was no mere change to his body, his hair still cropped short and manageable, the only guess of grueling hours and a stressful life were dusting hairs on his temple if anyone bothered to look close enough. And if anything, his frown was now a small etching of ghostly lines that persisted even if he smiled.

"Sarah," he states her name with fake cheer.

"Please do not tell me that this had anything to do with you," she says, fighting the quivering anger of her lips.

"He wanted to go," he says flippantly, waving her off with a hand as he leans back in his chair.

"Jack did not. You have forced him to go."

"That boy of ours is too fucking soft, Sarah. He needs to get away from here, he needs to take a leaf out of his sister's book and grow a pair."

For years their son Jack had not reached Eric's expectations. Unlike his father, he was a thoughtful young man and has always been a more hesitant boy to his father's conditioning. He didn't always agree with him, and more so over the years. Eric didn't like it, and there was a rift in their relationship.

"I'm going to cancel it."

"You will not. It's all arranged. He knows he's going. This will be good for him. You can't coddle him forever."

His words sting; to her, they would always be her children, her babies, and nothing would change that. If she wanted to protect them even in their fifties, she would. Eric's mind frame is that of some overruling commander and had been for a while. The more he found fault in the personality of their son, the more he fought back with ways to toughen him. And that fighting stance now was to send Jack to the factionless camp outside of Amity for a month to put him on guard.

"He's a grown man and can make his own decisions. He won't want to go."

"I've spoken to him and we both agreed he needs to do this-"

"You mean, you told him to go and he said yes to please you."

"I am his father, but I am also his Leader. I will do what's best for my son." He was not budging and merely scowls at her, pressing one of the many buttons of his phone.

"And April?" she asks, feeling the ebbings of defeat.

"What about her?" he looks at her with an arched eyebrow.

"I told you, I caught her smoking, again. I tried to speak with her about it and she told me to shut up."

"She's a grown woman," is all he replies, reusing her words against her. Eric picks up some work from his desk, appearing done with this conversation.

"One rule for one, one rule for the other. You can't pick and choose between the both of them." She grips her folder tightly to her chest as he angrily glances at her.

"He's going. I'll speak to April. Are we done here?" he asks, his tone nothing short of annoyed.

Sarah can't help but shake her head at him, at the ignorant sight of him as he tries his best to ignore her with idle work on his desk. At that moment, his secretary brings him a coffee in a polystyrene cup, placing it on his desk while he thanks her in the most kindest way.

"I hope you choke on it." His eyes dart to hers and she smiles sickly sweet before leaving the room.

Her feet patter the floor in heels she began to wear in her late twenties, past the secretary who was now as quiet as a mouse, and towards the elevator. Eric will not chase her, in some ways he had grown accustomed to their bickering and this subject obviously wasn't important enough. Years ago that would have been a different story.

The elevator dings and opens to the bright interior lights with a sharp hiss, exposing a young man she almost blindly walks into. "I'm sorry. Excuse me." With the folders drawn to her chest, she tries to step past but is put-off when his young gracing smile grows wider.

"I hope I'm on the right floor," he wonders out aloud.

Sarah was always skeptical of newcomers, glancing down at the long hang of his jacket, the navy material almost glittering with a pristine shine and fitted snug to his physique. "Depends on what floor you are looking for..." She scares a little as his hand juts out to stop the doors shutting, the metal clinking back loudly.

"I'm looking for a person actually, Mr Coulter."

She squints at him in thought, before she asks slowly, "You are the new provised Leader of Erudite?"

"Blake Hammond," he introduces himself, bowing his head. "I wasn't expecting such a warm welcome." Sarah doesn't miss the slick way he talks - self-assured, flirtatious at the very least.

"What an unusual name," she comments in the politest way she could gather. "It's nice to meet you, Mr Hammond." She steps past him into the elevator with a dance of awkwardness as he steps out.

"I didn't catch your name?" he calls after her.

Sarah pushes the ground floor button quickly, in hopes of finding her longest friend at her place of work before the midday mayhem of lunch started. "Mrs Coulter."

As the door closes, his smile finally disappears, and she felt like she had finally won at least one battle of the day.

Sarah's love never had limits and never stopped at just her immediate family. There was one woman above all who she favored the most, and at the very least she would consider her more of a sister than a friend. This same woman had done exactly what she had planned from the very beginning. She had never let idealities of motherhood encroach her career-driven and particular life, never had a man for more than six months. And thankfully for Sarah, she was always the next emergency contact after herself and Eric within Dauntless not long after the children were born.

Stacey.

The red luminous hair was changed to a dark brown and it flows over her shoulders as Sarah watches her from outside the double doors of the infirmary, eyebrows puckered and a furious pen-hand.

Sarah tries subtlety at first, pushing one of the double doors that creak on entry. The troubled look instantly dissolves as she catches her eyes. "Is it that time already?"

"I don't mean to drag you away from your work kicking and screaming."

Stacey scoffs at that, instantly twirling for her jacket hooked behind her chair and covers her black scrubs and shiny badge which highlighted that she was the Head Nurse. But a good a friend as any, she had a knack for knowing instantly when something was wrong. "What has he done now?"

"Who?"

"You know evasive doesn't work well with me." Stacey bumps her shoulder while they walk side by side, taking the dank maze of Dauntless they called home. They both instinctively head towards the Mess hall, unbothered by the scurrying of people around them and the youths of their boisterous society forming in groups. Sarah had long left her fears and Abnegation way of life behind.

"Let's just say, Eric wasn't joking when he said he was going to put Jack on guard duty."

"You checked the schedule again, didn't you?"

"Even if he is twenty years old, he is still my boy, of course I did." They reach the Mess hall, filtering inside and joining the queue to grab the mundane food served on rota each week. When filling their trays, Sarah decides to continue. "What's worse, is Eric knew I'd check. He didn't tell me himself." She chooses the minimal of food, suddenly not so hungry. "And then there is April. It's the first time I can truly say, as a mother, I'm lost. I'm not used to this feeling. Since her initiation, I just… I just don't know her anymore."

"Wish I could help you there, but I can't. I can lend an ear, though." Stacey shrugs, filling her own tray.

"Good," Sarah sighs, choosing a red apple over the green. "Because God knows I need it."

Stacey is a little more hard-wearing than Sarah, her posture and stride fit to rival a man's, but her body is just as dainty as it had ever been. She throws her leg over one of the farthest benches, situated to one side of the room. While the tables begin to fill up, they sit down next to each other.

"Right, so I'm just going to say it," Stacey mumbles, taking a forkful of some limp looking pasta. "You're not dealing with kids here anymore, they are full-grown initiated members of Dauntless and can pick and choose their own way of lives now."

"Doesn't mean I don't worry."

"I'm not saying you shouldn't, I'm just saying perhaps you worry too much. Besides," Stacey shrugs, "they still live with you, they obviously do recognize a good thing."

Sighing, Sarah puckers her lips in thought, rolling the apple to and fro. "I had dreams of being close to my daughter. I've grown up with a brother and sisters and done my best to keep the family together… even through all the…" Sarah picks up the apple and bites it viciously.

"Shit?"

"April is so like Eric, so ignorant, self-indulgent, careless, short-tempered. So much so that I'm afraid. She smokes, she drinks, and… who knows what else."

"Again," her longest friend points her fork at her, "she is eighteen years old. What were you doing at eighteen?"

"Whatever I was told to do. I am Abnegation-"

"In a Dauntless world. At her age now, you were already pregnant with Jack."

Aghast, Sarah clamps her palms to her cheeks. "Is it me?" she asks wide-eyed. "Is it because of me?"

The pointing fork is back to work, but moves from Sarah's increasingly whitening face to into the crowd, homing in on Eric and April walking in together. April has her arms crossed, her face perfectly immaculate and hair straightened from the family's obvious trait of waves and curls - another thing she blamed her mother for. When they stop by a table, Eric seems to be hissing something quickly at her with the most raging of scowls. The pair of them matched in their jet black uniforms and similar noses, though Eric seems sick to death at the sight of her and his daughter only seems to linger around him.

"It's nobody's fault, Sarah, some people are just born difficult." The meaning of her words are not lost on her and she understood that Eric was a divine character in his own right, let alone handing that gene down. "And…" Stacey squints as Eric spots them and begins striding his way over, daughter in tow. "He looks extremely pissed."

"I may have told him to choke on his coffee." Sarah meets Eric's steadfast eyes, tilting her chin up, remembering that she was still annoyed with him.

Stacey chortles but regains her composure quickly, scrambling to her feet. "I'm out of here." Her longest friend also appears to be a coward.

"Sarah," Eric tries, just acknowledging Stacey with a turn of his body as she walks off without looking back.

"Mom," April interjects with the advantage at the same time. "I'm sorry I told you to shut up. But you can't tell me what to do with my body."

Sarah only shakes her head. There was nothing sincere in her apology.

"Did you check the inventory for the warehouses like I asked? Have you seen Jack?" Eric asks, a deep scowl edging on his forehead.

"I put my favorite top in the wash last night and I tried to find it because I want to wear it tonight, and it is still in the wash basket," April whines next to him.

Eric ignores their daughter and rambles on, "I wonder if Glenn has seen Jack. Where is that fucking boy when you need him? Are we having dinner at eight?"

It all becomes too much and Sarah slams her sweating palms down onto the table.

"Uh oh, we broke mom," their daughter mumbles.

"April, leave us." The young girl is about to protest, but a quick lift of hand in dismissal from her father is enough to send her on her way. He takes Stacey's seat, facing towards her, his knees either side as he breathes out slowly. She doesn't look at him. "My little wife is unhappy. Is it because I didn't choke?"

She says nothing.

"You know, that wasn't a nice thing to say." He pulls at her sleeve. "Though, you do look provocative with an edge and sharp mouth."

"Stop it." She bats at him, but he's too quick, grabbing both her hands to make her face him. "Eric, stop." He only pulls her closer, manipulating her hands to caress his thighs. "I'm really, really angry and you are provoking me. I don't like it when you do that."

"Oh yes? Not that I'm provoking at all just so that I can see your pathetic little frown and coy attempt to hide your smile."

She tilts her head to the side to look up at him, unable to help the betrayal of her small grin. "Flirting with me is pointless."

"Flirting? I thought we got off on threatening suggestions? You can choke on a piece of me if that's what you are into."

Sarah's cheeks flame up and she turns back to the table. "Enough," she hisses.

Eric barks a laugh and stops invading her personal space. "If you want to talk, now is the time. But what is pointless is trying to persuade me otherwise on Jack's situation."

"He's our son, Eric."

"And I have made it perfectly clear about what I expect and I'm not going to change my mind," he insists with no give in his voice. The message was clear.

"Well then," she hesitates and she knows Eric doesn't like it as he can never tell what runs through her mind - so he says. "Mark is to go with him." Mark was her sister's husband. He had years of experience, running his own teams around the city and knew it like the back of his hand.

"He's twenty fucking years old, he doesn't need a babysitter."

"Mark goes with him," she repeats, snapping her head over her shoulder. "Mark goes or April. Your decision?" Now, this was not to hint that she wanted either of them to go, she just knew Eric wouldn't agree to have his little girl, their reckless but precious little girl, handed to the wolves on duty.

He leans back away from her, his eyes flashing with something dark. "You're being dramatic."

"Am I?" Sarah asks coyly.

"I'm not listening to this any longer, if you want me I'll be in my office." Eric stands, straightening the crease of his pants with an angry tap but still lingering next to her.

"I'll call Mark myself."

"You do that." He turns, heading towards the double doors as Sarah looks around to half of the Dauntless in the room watching him.

"And I don't know what time dinner will be," she calls after him - she was being petty, she knew, but she couldn't resist.

"Whatever."

Sarah doesn't manage to get home until after nine. She had sat in one of the board rooms of the suite to finish some council work from Abnegation, having taken longer than necessary as her mind had wandered.

She kicks off her heels by the door, spreading her toes wide and sighing at the ache of a long day. There's life inside the apartment - a shower running, music drifting from one of the rooms. Dumping her work on the counter, she heads down the hallway that leads to the bedrooms.

Finding Jack's door open, she peers inside cautiously. He's sat on the bed with his cropped brown hair under chunky headphones, the bright light of a pad illuminating his face. He doesn't see her at first and she takes a long moment to study his features. He was a broad and tall boy, muscular to an extent with the ebbings of still being a teen. He was handsome, of course he was, he was her handsome young man and April was their beautiful daughter who she had spent so much love and time bringing them up and into themselves. She smiles softly at the way they were just so different.

She cannot stand to wait and heads into his room, taking a seat next to him on the bed while he pulls off his headphones. "Mom? What's wrong?"

"I just…" She swallows thickly, showing her best smile. "I just wanted to see you. I missed you today."

"I was in the courtyard, keeping myself busy."

"Yes. Of course you were. Did dad find you?"

"He did." The grim look on his face is obviously in memory of where he's going in a few days. "But I'm cool with it."

"You don't have to lie to me."

He shrugs, putting his hands behind his head and stretches. "Dad made sandwiches with a fucking murderous look on his face. Said he didn't want to cook after the gym. Now he's in the shower."

"Don't swear."

Jack scoffs. "Sorry." Sarah stands, leaning down and kisses his cheek. "Have you eaten? I can make you a sandwich?" he asks.

"Don't ever worry about me, that's my job. I think I'll go to bed, today has been... well, today has been and gone, let's leave it at that."

"Goodnight." Jack slips the headphones back on, picking up where he had left off.

Sarah makes a quick detour to April's room. Empty, she thought as much. Clothes were strewn across the room, her vanity mirror still on, and upon it, hundreds of different lotions and makeup, more than any one girl could need. She shuts the door on the mess.

The bedroom she shares with Eric smells like him, the soap he uses drifting from the ensuite bathroom. While the water is still running, she strips out of the confines of her clothes down to her underwear and releases her long hair. But no matter how much she tried to occupy herself, there was still a menacing air that suffocated her. For years she and Eric smoothly sailed, agreeing to disagree at points, but this time it felt stronger. Something had cracked or shifted and she felt stricken by it. She couldn't seem to let it go and Eric wasn't seeing her point.

It was a sensitive subject. This was their children and this is all she had known for so long that suddenly one of them being taken away for an extended period of time pained her. Perhaps she was trying to hold onto the both of them as they reached adulthood, no mother wanted to let their kids into the big wide world, but she also didn't care. They were her resolve, her first thought. What was she going to do without them?

"Sarah." She jumps at Eric's touch, only now realizing she had been standing idle in the room by the concerned look on his face. "Where have you been?"

"I had some stuff from Abnegation to catch up on." Her voice is lost into the awkward atmosphere of the room. Eric stands with a loose towel hanging precariously around his waist, water droplets still sat glittering on his shoulders. "I'm going to take a shower."

"You could've joined me." He stops her and, as per usual, unclips her bra as she pushes her hair to the side. His touch is gentle and familiar, lingering longer than necessary on her arms, pulling at the straps. Without thinking, she shrugs him off and shies away. "What?" Eric's face contorts, confusion beginning to settle in.

"I'm not in the mood."

"Not in the mood?" Eric asks himself incredulously, watching her pass. "Not in the fucking mood? When have you ever said that?" Of course, Eric being Eric doesn't stop there or let her have a second by herself. He follows her to the shower where she closes the sliding door on him, his silhouette ghostly behind the glazed glass. "Sarah..."

"What, Eric?" She tries her best to ignore him, faking the enjoyment of the warm water, rushing her usual cleaning routine. As she steps out he hands her a towel. "I'm very tired. That is all."

He scours her face for a moment, darting furiously between her features. "I thought we got over this bridge earlier? Mark is going with Jack-"

"I don't want him going at all!"

He throws up his arms in exasperation. "You are the only person to have a problem with this! Jack isn't bothered!"

"How long?"

Eric shrugs. "A month max."

"A month!" she gasps into her hand. She can't bring herself to look at him when she moves past him and reaches into one of the many drawers and pulls out her night dress. She slips it on quickly, heading back to the bathroom to brush her teeth and comb her hair. Standing side by side with Eric while he brushes his teeth as well, he silently glares at her from time to time. Even when she plaits her hair over her shoulder, she can still feel his eyes on her.

But she doesn't utter a word, even when she heads to bed, pulling back the covers to slip inside.

The lights flick off, but she can still make out the picture through the darkness, of her and the two children on the bedstand of a time when they were very young.

Sarah lifts her head, the room is still dark, her arm trapped under Eric's, his bare back like her own personal radiator she gravitated to regardless of how much of an ass he could be.

The hallway light is on, beaming under the breach of the door, along with the minimalist noise.

She knew her duty now, and with a few year's practice she slips away from Eric, tucks the covers over him and leaves the room. The shared main bathroom is at the end of the hall opposite April's room, and Sarah isn't surprised to find April with her head down the pan.

Gracefully, Sarah tiptoes down beside her, pulling back the tangled blond locks of her daughter, checking her face covered in smudged makeup. She smells terrible, some concoction of cigarettes, booze, and faded perfume.

April begins gagging again, vomiting into the toilet, her voice muffled as she slurs, "Mom?"

"I'm here," she soothes and caresses her daughter's back.

April never remembers the previous night or refuses to acknowledge it. They all have breakfast, usually Eric and the two kids rambling on and laughing at bad jokes or insults over the table. Sarah couldn't fault April in her facade of being flawless. She was flawless, and nobody would ever be able to guess.

Envious that nothing seemed to trouble them, Sarah stands back and watches them with a coffee in her hand - another thing Eric had got her into over the years.

"...No, I don't agree. The law should be with Candor, a mix of truth serums and some type of containment center. We police, we guard, we have a say over…" April can't find the words, roll-calling from Eric who seems to have a sloppy smirk on his face as he listens intently.

"Productivity," he chimes in, picking up his coffee to sip.

"Yeah, like all that crap with Amity and the factionless quarter - But anyway that's not what I'm getting at. I don't agree that Dauntless should be responsible for overseeing criminals."

"But what you are suggesting is going to make Dauntless work harder." Jack taps the table, leaning closer into hunched shoulders. "Say we do move a shitty, whatever you called it-"

"Containment center," Eric corrects him.

"We are commuting to and from Candor - because we all know Candor won't hull ass, with the probability of permanently having staff situated on their ground when it's easier to have it here."

April leans back in her chair. "Sometimes the easy option isn't the best option."

"The best option is sometimes the easy option when it's staring you in the face. Sometimes you have to let things be."

"Whatever. I believe my ideas are better than yours and, quite frankly, they always will be."

Jack scoffs, getting comfortable in his chair and picking up his toast. "You can't bear to be proven wrong."

"I'm not wrong. I never will be." April smiles. She stands up, clapping her dad's shoulder as she passes towards her bedroom and Jack looks towards his mom, shaking his head.

Sarah finishes her coffee, cleaning the cup quickly. "I'm going to work."

"Where?" Eric's tone is as sharp as a knife, and he takes the little distance between them. "I have arranged some things for you this morning, so I hope it's not far."

"Abnegation. I have some files for the council and I was hoping to visit my mother."

"Why couldn't she be the first to go?"

His quip digs deep along with her recent feelings. "Eric!" she exclaims.

"What, little wifey?" He pulls her close and she fights him, her dark gray dress being lifted along with her leg up to his waist.

"Stop it." Her eyes flicker to Jack who is too involved with his phone. "You're being repulsive," she hisses.

"Let's wait for the kids to go and I can show you how repulsive I really am?" His voice is slick, a pure picture of glee with her struggling in his hands. She grabs a hold of him to balance herself and he lifts her entirely from the floor. "I like it when you have a little vicious streak. You've been hostile lately and I find it fucking hot."

"Get a room!" April swings her bag over her shoulder. "You seriously going to sit there and watch this?" she asks Jack on her way out.

He lifts his head and grimaces. "Ugh." And chases after her just as quickly out the door, toast in hand.

The minute they leave, Eric drops Sarah to her feet. "Works every time." He nods in self-glory, incredibly happy with himself, not noticing Sarah straightening herself out and grabbing her work from the side to leave. "I was half-serious. If you wanted-"

"No." She hears him take a breath and swivels on her heel, telling him, "No," again.

"Fine. Prance off but don't go too far, sweetheart," he drawls and Sarah stops with her hand on the door handle, the door slightly ajar. She turns around to him already smirking, arms folded and resting a hip against the counter nonchalantly. Pursing her lips, she is completely livid at how predictable she was. And it doesn't help when he asks huskily, "Where do you want it?"

She closes the door, damning herself - it works every time.

They rush together to the Leader's suite, Eric with a terribly annoying spring in his step. Any chance of escaping to do her work was lost. Eric was a smart man, too smart at times, and had perfectly delayed them so that she could see to a new assignment he was giving her, only briefly mentioned earlier at breakfast and filling in the blank lines along the way.

Sarah would be working with Erudite. She was to liaison with the new leader, cater to their needs while Eric concentrated on the offer from Candor to shift the containment center - ultimately trying to bring themselves into higher favor.

In the past, there had been a slip in the runnings of Amity's corrupt nature of not being able to fail any of their initiates. Since their program had been redefined, Dauntless were in higher standing order with most initiates, seven years running. At least ten of those years enrolling half of the entire number of initiates while the others were left quartered between themselves. In Sarah's eyes, it was a stupid game of popularity, a popularity that would ensure Eric as the most authoritative Leader. Candor wanted a piece of that. It gave Eric a very good dealing hand, and he knew it.

Eric lifts Sarah's skirt in the elevator just as the doors open. "Do you mind?" She smacks his hand away, fumbling with a folder and still trying to flatten kinks out of her hair. Though they had fallen into an old habit, it doesn't mean that she couldn't still hold a grudge against him and his decisions.

"Not in the slightest." He leans further down as they walk to the many bodies lingering in the corridor. "I'll be thinking of you today." Instantly she ignites in pure embarrassment while Eric claps his hands together to alert everyone of his presence. He may as well have openly announced that he had just screwed his wife before arriving here.

The group of people consists of Glen, a second-hand man of Eric's, the seven-year running leader of Candor, Brian Page, and the new leader of Erudite, Blake Hammond. Eric's secretary also pigeoned herself to and fro between them, along with a few idle members from Dauntless ready to take any order. They seem to be getting along nicely, drinking coffee, casually regarding Eric and Sarah like they had all been friends for years.

"I take it that your arrival went smoothly," Eric starts, shaking hands with Brian and Blake first.

"We have our own bays, how thoughtful." Blake's eyes flick to Sarah just off of Eric's shoulder, and she smiles to a degree of uncertainty. Other faction members who arrived by vehicle were singled out and kept under guard. Eric was fail-safe when it came to security.

"My wife, Sarah. Don't be fooled by the Abnegation ghost, she's well versed in all factions."

"A true idol of her faction," Blake nods in acknowledgment.

Eric only has to look at his secretary and she insists Brian of Candor to wait in Eric's office, along with the Dauntless.

"I hear your interest is on expansion?" Sarah arches an eyebrow. She had reason to be wary of Erudite after Jeanine's collapse, and not many that took her place faired any better. "But I have looked at your reports and your intake is no different then a was a few years ago. It's interesting that this, as a new provised leader, is something you're concentrating on."

Blake wasn't expecting that, and tilts his head, grinning to himself. "Exactly why I am here today. It's a proposal." Briefly, he looks to Eric who is smugly taking in every little bit of his wife standing next to him. "Shall we take this matter to the board room though, Candor gossip is exhausting."

Sarah peers from the open door where she can see Brian eavesdropping in the spare bucket chair up to Eric, slightly unsure of this situation and the responsibility that comes with it. It takes her a moment to also realize that Blake thinks Eric will be gracing him with his presence, and he couldn't be more wrong. But if she wanted a firmer say on their son's situation; to prove that no matter how someone appeared, they were still just as capable, she would take on all of the five factions. "You may put your proposal to me. I will be overseeing your concern."

"Yeah, I failed to mention my schedule is pretty hectic," Eric fakes sincerity, rubbing his neck. It was obvious he thought the Erudite matter was bullshit. He slaps Blake's shoulder roughly, and props to him that he takes it with a pinch of salt. "We're already behind so shall we get started?"

"The room on the left," Sarah points. Blake moves off and she turns to Eric, whispering, "He didn't know did he?"

He shows his teeth with his smile. "If he's smart enough to be in this position, he should know I'm not in the slightest interested."

"I can't believe you!"

"Believe it." He kisses her hard on the lips to cover his laugh and slaps her ass when she turns away, causing her to stumble ungracefully.

A few seconds before opening the spare board room doors, she breathes out, picking up her head and moving swiftly inside as if business was her only concern. It's a stark contrast from Eric's lively office, just the lone man already waiting with one of his ankles resting on his knee as he leans back in a chair.

"I'm sorry for any confusion," she apologizes, taking the end seat and opening up her notes.

"Don't apologize, everybody knows the limits of Mr Coulter's hospitality."

Sarah tightly smiles to herself. "It can be rather limited." She spreads the notes on the table for easy viewing.

"We all say his wife deserves a medal," Blake strangely continues.

"I didn't realize I would be the center of gossip. I recall you saying gossip was exhausting."

"Candor gossip is exhausting." He laughs deeply. "They strive for the truth but their loud mouths speak anything other."

"But you obviously don't do any better talking about me?" She looks sharply at him, and a silence falls.

After a while, his voice is so low she almost doesn't hear him. "Only good things."

Sarah can't figure out whether he's lying or not, and the room seems awfully quiet. She's stunted from speaking further, blinking at him and unknowing of how to react. Mr Hammond then sits up with a long breath, moving seats to get closer, and leans on his forearms.

"What I'm trying to prove, is that change is a good thing…" Mr Hammond begins, and Sarah forces herself to keep her eyes on the notes, swallowing down the confusion and the possibility that a man half her age is trying to flirt. But not only flirting, he's vying on her subject of change that is happening between her two children, though he is referring to work and couldn't possibly know anything about her situation. Maybe she was just being oversensitive and imagining it all… "For years, since Jeanine's downfall, Erudite has sat in the same position, living in the past. We need a refresh. I have already started on the initiation program, offering long-standing courses for continuous education even after members have fallen into their preferred roles."

The realization of why Eric couldn't be bothered with this meeting is apparent. There is no way her husband would sit through an Erudite bragging of his work or telling him of future prospects or higher education.

"Expansion and the smallest and beneficial changes to our structure is what Erudite needs. And let's be honest, the world cannot be bought up on the back of soldiers, we need variety. Exactly the reason why the faction system is there." He pauses for only a moment. "I suppose that it is the basis of my proposal. And I find it profusely evident that I must pursue this issue."

"I understand."

"You do?" he's quick to utter, never looking away from her.

"I work with the council. I have my own views. And I find myself agreeing, to an extent."

"All we need is the go ahead with Mr Coulter's permission. I've already broached the subject with Erudite's architects and plans are being drawn to present to him."

"To me," Sarah corrects him. "I am in charge of this operation."

"Mr Coulter wasn't awfully clear, how idiotic of me. You, of course."

Sarah slides the papers back into the folder, pauses to smile tightly and takes a breath. "Forgive me if I speak out of line, but I warn you not to take me for a fool, Mr Hammond."

"Wouldn't dream of it. I was honestly hoping I had somebody reasonable to take my case."

"We shall discuss this further when you have the plans drawn out. I would preferably like to see them before we go into details. If I had been aware earlier of this situation, I would have asked for them before this initial meeting and wasting your time," she speaks, making her words terminal. Blake's eyes rest on her face, a dark blue - which initially she thought were brown, are so unlike Eric's. They were deceiving in the fact she couldn't, at once, see his pupils or calculate his thoughts. Sarah had spent a lot of her younger life living off of the tell-tale signs of body language, and his were confusing.

"Just give me a time and date and I would be happy to show you the layout personally if you so wish it."

Sarah stands up, holding the folder to her chest. "Perhaps," she says coldly. "Thank you for your time, Mr Hammond." She heads to the door, but he's quick to counter, holding it open for her.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Sarah."

"Mrs Coulter," she corrects him again. She leads him to the secretary, her dress billowing behind as she walked quickly, nervous of him behind her. "We'll call down to have your car ready and cleared through security."

"Thank you." He nods his head to the both her and the secretary, his long jacket twirling with him as he moved off towards the elevator. When it dings and he steps inside, he winks handsomely at the secretary, and Sarah taps the desk once the doors close.

"Make the call, Betty." Betty fumbles as she always did, her hand knocking against multiple things for the phone. "And tell Eric that I'm heading to Abnegation this afternoon."

With the phone to her ear, Betty holds a hand out. "When will you be back?"

"I don't know. But let's face it, I'll be back home before he even asks." Sarah smiles, heading home to find her long jacket and boots, and to pin her hair back in its usual bun. She liked to keep to traditions when on her original factions ground.

A small dose of family therapy is probably all she needs.