A/N: So, I had been wracking my brain for the name of the actor who I always saw in my mind's eye for Elijah. Low and behold it hit me hard when I got a craving to watch some True Blood. So loves, if you need a mental image of who Eric's brother is….it is Eric…the vampire…the one and only Alexander Skarsgård!

Here is a new chapter for you to consume and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: 'Mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of all children.' (James O'Barr, The Crow) V Roth is still Mother to this world and I am just one of the children singing my own tune into the night.

Rating M ( Language, Violence, There will be smut, Angst, Tragedy, Romance, Fluff)

Chapter 7

"You are looking extremely happy. I take it that the tour and meetings went well?" Tori asked as we all gathered once again at the Erudite tower and headed towards a conference room that we would all use to go over some last minute details from each group.

I smiled at her widely and nodded. "Better than I had imagined."

The lunch hour had been emotional but it gave me an insight into Eric. I also felt that Elijah and I had really bonded as well. We didn't go too deeply into anything else regarding Eric and the past.

He did let me know that part of the reason the Erudite are responding to Eric the way they are, is mostly because of him being viewed as a savior of sorts to the faction. But there is also the fact that before Eric had transferred to Dauntless there had only been two people that could rival or beat Jeanine's IQ. Eric was one of them and Cara, the new main leader, was the other.

In Erudite, they regarded that above all others. It was how Jeanine got her place as leader despite her not being suited for the position at all. In Erudite's eyes, even if he is Dauntless now, Eric deserves a position of power there. It was also why Jeanine had been desperate to get him to Dauntless and out of the running for being a threat to her position but still keep him tied to Erudite.

While he is proud of Eric, both the brothers find this amusing and ridiculous as hell. They aren't above using it to their advantage though. Which is how I think he has been able to get things for the clinic and how I believe he is getting everything he can for Dauntless now.

I walk into the conference room beside Tori, quietly talking about some of the things I am hoping actually happen that Eli and I have worked out. The table in the conference room is a long glass rectangular thing with that same thick blue-tinged glass that can be found everywhere here. There are two white chairs at each end and either side has evenly spaced chairs along it.

Eric is standing at one end of the table and when he sees me walk in beside Tori, he pulls out one of the chairs. At first, I think it is for Tori, considering the other end already has the two main leaders of Erudite at theirs. But she breaks off from me, with a smile tilting her lips, and heads to the first chair on the long edge.

I pause, confused for a second and thrown off. Eric raises an eyebrow and barely beckons me with his head. I feel as if every eye is on me as I walk to him, slide into the seat and then feel him push my chair in for me before sliding into his own seat. A glance around and I don't see anyone overtly looking at what just happened, well besides Tori, but I feel as this was a display of some kind.

I am probably making more out of it than what it really meant but regardless it has my stomach fluttering. My hands are shaking slightly in my lap and I turn my head towards Eric. The corners of his eyes are wrinkled as he looks me over with worry in them.

"You good?" He asks lowly with that same emotion in the tone.

I smile and nod in answer, not trusting my voice. He exhales through his nose just a little bit too forcefully as if he was holding his breath, and he briefly takes my hand in his, giving it a squeeze before we both let go and turn our attention to the others filling the room and taking their seats.

Elijah has a car that Eric and I join him in directly after that final meeting. I watch the sector go by as we drive through it onto the way where Erudite have actual houses for families or those of some higher standing in the faction. I am surprised that they have something like that honestly. I thought that much like Dauntless or Candor, they would all live in apartments inside the main compound.

I am in the passenger seat that both brothers insisted I take while Eric is in the backseat. We are all talking about the normal living situation in Erudite.

"They honestly just started opening up and having more of the houses available. Your thoughts about Erudite mainly living in apartments were correct. That was what we grew up in. It was easier for the families and those caretakers that would be the ones to take care of the kids." Eric

said from behind us.

Elijah nods. "You'll see that the ones who choose to live in the houses are the ones like me, who would rather not have other people raising their kids while they barely have a presence in their life. My stipulation to heading up the department and helping leadership out was that I would be able to set my hours so that I could be the one to parent Olivia."

"While Amity has houses, there were a few people that lived in the huge complex. Choosing to have single rooms instead of apartment-like housing. Those were usually the single members that either just went through initiation or worked in some capacity at the compound." I say with a shrug, trying to let them it wasn't a totally foreign concept.

That would probably have been where I lived if I had stayed. Well, before I married Vicente anyways. I actually shudder at the thought entirely.

"What about the kids too young for school but whose parents work out in the fields?" Eli asks with a brief look to me as he makes a turn into the housing subdivision.

"There were women that had childcare set up in their homes. They could have as many as ten kids in their home from sun up to just before sundown. They usually had a few helpers, some of them older dependents, to assist in whatever they needed. Honestly, Erudite aren't the only ones that can have parents to get caught up in their jobs and be away from their families for the majority of the time. Before my parents passed they were the same. We had Abuela though, so we didn't have to go to the childcare centers."

We continue to talk, mainly Elijah and myself with Eric adding something in everyone once in a while until we finally pull up to his house. All the houses in the subdivision have a uniform look to them. They are all very sleek and geometrical. They almost remind me of the Abnegation houses, which are all just big grey concrete rectangles. Erudite use the combination of rectangles and squares for a very symmetrical look, but they are a combination of large windows, a warm beige stone, and stucco. Materials that I am familiar with being used in some Amity homes. It turns out that this housing area is newer and the reason the materials look familiar is that they come from my old faction. Amity has even been contracted build them.

When we stop, the nerves hit and hard. I am intimidated and nervous about meeting the little girl that means so much to Eric. I can admit I am also a little unsure about it. Elijah obviously tried to reassure me that Eric had never really felt 'that way' about Jules but there is a big part of me that wonders.

All my insecurities and questions are all, not forgotten really, but set aside the moment we enter the house and I catch sight of the little girl that so obviously has the two Coulters wrapped around her little finger. I immediately understand why.

She is beyond adorable. One look at her father and uncle and she completely forgets about the puzzle blocks she was so absorbed with on the living room floor. She shot to her feet and launched herself towards her daddies outstretched arms. Her shoulder length chocolate brown curls bouncing and her laughter and smile making her chubby cheeks show deep dimples in her warm bronze skin.

Elijah barely gets a hug from her before she is already trying to launch herself from his arms straight into Eric's. He catches her with a laugh and starts to talk to her. He never once engages in what is called baby talk but he starts asking her things that make me almost think I am in some alternate reality, they are just so out of character for how I have seen him be.

Elijah moved to speak with her nanny, Connie, about her day and just the general updates you would expect from a parent. It is very apparent that his main focus was she generally happy during the time he was away. The older Erudite smiles at him with reassurance and I guess this is something that she is regularly asked when she has the little girl.

I hear my name being called, drawing me from listening to the conversation between father and nanny and look to where Eric has his hand held out to me, calling me over. I hear him telling Olivia my name and for her to say hello. I walk slowly to his side and watch the little toddlers eyes focused on me. Looking a combination of shy and appraising.

Caramel colored eyes are looking at me with the familiar intensity that both her father and uncle have and it throws me off a little bit so I don't return the greeting right away. Her cheeks dimple as she smiles at me and I find myself returning the greeting. There is a slight hesitation from her, a look of concentration and then she holds her arms out in a gesture I recognize; her wanting me to hold her. The moment she is transferred into my arms, I melt.

Most of the dinner was spent with Olivia in one of our laps, though she spent a good amount of it in mine. During it, the Erudite in both Elijah and Eric could be found as they asked questions or interacted with Olivia. Trying to engage her in ways that were developmental in some fashion.

I found out the reason Eric was able to understand me when I speak in Spanish was from Jules. She was bilingual as well and it was something that Elijah was promoting in their daughter.

I also found out why Eric never responded in Spanish, his accent was….pretty horrible. It was funny actually that it was so terrible. There had been a joke between the three friends about it. Elijah's was pretty good. When I joined in the conversation with Olivia, teaching her new words, I swear Eric was pouting at his inability to roll his r's.

Olivia's energy, which I learned she had loads of, started to fade. I realized it must be well past her normal bedtime.

"Say goodnight to Devi and Eric, Olivia." Eli instructed his daughter with a smile as she was curled up in his arms where he is sitting on the couch.

She yawns even as she is scooting out of his lap and toddles over to Eric, who scoops her up, causing her to giggle.

"'Night, Eric." She tells him in her soft voice.

"Night, princess. I'll see you next week for dinner."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart."

My heart feels like it is going to burst with how the entire interaction makes me feel. Then that gets even more intense when the little girl makes her way over to give me a hug and tell me goodnight as well.

"'Night, Devi."

"Good night, ángel," I replied as she snuggled into me.

Olivia pulled back and smiled at me. "You come again?"

My smile widened. I wanted to laugh even if I was unsure how to answer. It seems that the ability to make a command and masquerade it as a question is a genetic one. Olivia certainly inherited that from Eric.

Before I can reply, said uncle replies for me. "Of course she will, princess."

Elijah chuckles as he scoops up the little girl and takes her off to get ready for bed. Both Olivia and Eric had been wearing smug little smiles after his declaration.

With Olivia off to get ready for bed, Eric fills the wine glass that I had only been sipping from and pulls me close to his side on the couch we had been sitting on. It is an intimate gesture that I wonder how it doesn't feel awkward at all to me. Considering all our interactions so far have been so charged with tension of all kinds. There is still the heavy attraction and the feeling being nearing him, it's buzzing underneath my skin. But it is faint with just the pleasure of being with him like this.

I can feel that he must be feeling the same thing in how he melds into me and the couch. Truly relaxed and not holding himself so stiffly. Even his face is relaxed. It is funny how you don't realize how tense someone is until just the absence of it seems to transform them. He looks younger and if it is at all possible, even more handsome.

Eric takes a deep drink of his glass of whiskey then lets out a long sigh. His eyes close briefly and he looks at me when I ask him softly if he is ok.

His lips tilt up. "Right now, fucking fantastic." His arm tightens around my waist a little at those words. "Tomorrow though is going to be another story."

I take a sip of my own wine with my eyebrow raised in question. After I swallow I voice it. "What is tomorrow?"

"Abnegation." He says, a sneer in his voice. "Tomorrow I have an even earlier start to the day to be at The Hub where will be starting out from."

"You aren't just having meetings with them?"

He gives a tired shrug. "It's what we are calling them. Meetings, tours….but they are all really the same thing."

My earlier guess had been correct that Erudite was being inspected, but why was Abnegation?

"So they are being inspected like Erudite was today?"

He looks over at me as he drinks from his glass and there is a smile along with pride in his eyes. After he swallows he nods. Elijah had walked into the room and grabbed a drink for himself from the small hidden bar in the room.

"What are we talking about?" He asked as he took up a lounging position.

"We are talking about the inspections that aren't to be called inspections because God's forbid the city knows how bad we all fucked up." Eric drawls out sarcastically before draining his glass.

"You make it sound like every faction is having them."

"They are," both men reply in unison.

They see my confusion so explain. This falls on Eli after Eric waves him to it, content to just have his arm wrapped around me while listening.

I felt bad for how oblivious I have been to what is going on until Elijah told me that this all wasn't being publicly announced. It isn't being hidden either, anyone that cares to go over the public records for the government meetings, especially directly after the whole Erudite shakedown, would be able to know this.

Basically when everything was going on the faction leaders or representatives of all factions were held accountable for a number of things that had, in essence, led to the state the city had been in. Elijah didn't go into all the details but gave examples.

Abnegation has allowed corruption in the form of Marcus Eaton, who was ousted as a result. They had also made decisions that were going to lead to another war brewing if a few hadn't come forward in warning, with the factionless.

Erudite, we all knew. Experiments, hoarding of supplies that could help the city or extorting other factions for those supplies in order to get more power.

Dauntless was the abuse of power that would have led them to be the lap dogs and muscle for Erudite.

Candor turned out there were several in the faction that was helping to use the law they were supposed to uphold to help Erudite and Dauntless.

Amity was the refusal to take sides or provide information that could have stopped things with Erudite well before they started to spiral. It also turned out that my old faction had known and ignored the actions of factionless that were trying to build up for their own coup.

Every faction is guilty of something. So in an effort to move forward, an agreement was made that every faction has the right to perform inspections of the others to make sure that things that had been ordered to be corrected have been done.

Dauntless had two of these without me knowing. The first was from Abnegation the day of my blow up on Eric. That morning it had been Abnegation who Marlene burst into the office to announce had arrived. The other had been from Erudite.

It sounded like there were specific things each faction were concerned with or in charge of overseeing during their inspections. It made me curious enough that I made a mental note to look the information up myself when I could.

With Eric needing to be up early, we didn't stay at Elijah's for much longer. He had called a car for us to take back to Dauntless, made me promise that I would come for dinner next week and even got both of us to agree to come earlier than dinner to spend more time with Olivia.

Like this morning there was a driver, but unlike in the morning, Eric didn't keep his distance. He didn't do more than hold me close and run his fingers lightly over my bare knee. He was tired I could tell but he was also deep in thought.

"Was the trip to the wall during our initiation the last time you were in Amity?"

"Mmhmm." I hum my agreement quietly with my eyes closed, enjoying the touch. "Why?"

He lets out a quiet sigh and I look at him.

"The rest of the week will be filled with more of what I had today. Abnegation takes up two days and then the factionless sector another. Plus we have the patrol stations to do. Which means I will hardly be in Dauntless for the remainder of the week."

I feel disappointment flood me at this. It means I won't be seeing Eric at all.

He nods slightly. "So, I was thinking…" he says slowly while his thumb traces circled over the fabric of my dress on my thigh, "I was hoping you would join me when I have to go to Amity this weekend. I will have to stay overnight so we can do what needs to be done over two days instead of trying to cram it all in one."

I tensed at this, debating. I didn't relish the thought of going back to my old faction. As far as I was concerned there was nothing there for me to draw me back. There was also the part of me that I had been denying, that some small bit was scared to go back. Scared of what it would make me feel or what I would discover there.

"I understand if you can't," Eric said but in his voice, I picked up that he didn't really, there was even a bit of annoyance in it. There was also something else that I couldn't place but wasn't concerned about.

I focused on what I knew was there and how it felt like a challenge to me. A dare. Unspoken but if it weren't dark I am sure I could see it in his eyes.

"Do you really want me to go with you?"

He leans in close so that his nose brushes my ear. "Would I be asking if I didn't?"

I huff at the smartass tone and reply but also at the feel of his teeth nipping and tugging slightly on my ear.

"I'll go, but I refuse to be forced through a tour of the fields." I breathlessly give my first stipulation.

He chuckles quietly but nods against the skin of my neck where he had moved his attention to. He pulled back and moved my hair to my other shoulder, completely uncovering the side he is attending too.

"I can live with that." He agreed in a purr before placing a kiss to my shoulder that is bare as well since I had taken off the blazer I was wearing.

I swallow and close my eyes. "And you better be prepared for what a lack of carbs is going to do to me because I refuse to eat any bread while I am there. Which is going to suck."

He gives a small growl, his arm pulls me closer and his teeth nip at my collarbone. "Noted, but you won't have to avoid it if they have done as they have been instructed."

My forehead wrinkles and I pull back, trying to get him to look at me. He resists at first then pulls back with a scowl.

"What do you mean?"

He shrugs nonchalantly. "They aren't allowed to serve dependents or visitors anything that has been laced with peace serum anymore."

My breath catches and I watch him carefully. "Dependents….you mean like dependents of other factions right? Like when they take baked goods to school and offer them?"

"Well, that definitely has stopped but no." He says and looks me dead in my eye. "No, I meant that they are no longer able to give any of their own dependents the serum. At least only in extreme cases meeting certain scenarios and then it will be documented and reviewed. They are no longer able to use that as a means to control the faction but especially the dependents. That's abuse and will not be tolerated."

"Eric…" I whisper, a bit overwhelmed.

I can't continue. I want to ask him why but can't. I want to ask him if this was his doing but I don't. Something in me tells me it was part his doing. Something also tells me that it was partly because of me but I can't confirm that or think about it.

It scares me to even have the thought fluttering in my mind. It feels too big. Too monumental. It also scares me so much because I want to be right so badly that if I am not it might crush me. Because if I am right then just maybe he feels the same way I am coming to see I truly feel for him. That this isn't just some intense physical thing between us.

Stick with what you know, Nunez.

I reach around and grab his uniform jacket and pull him to me. To hell with being a stick up the ass Erudite.

I must have said that aloud because I swear he grumbled out an agreed or something like that in between us coming up for air again after the first kiss I initiated. In this, at least, we were both on even and familiar ground.