Eric's POV

"Get out of the way!" I shout at some stupid man who won't remove his person from the path. "My wife's having a baby," I growl threateningly, glaring daggers at him.

I'm running past the imbecile as soon he moves, trying to reach Alice, Tris' midwife, before the baby pops out. Just like with Daniel, I'm scared out of my mind that something will happen to Tris or the baby. Me not being there makes the situation worse because anything could happen and I wouldn't know.

"Alice!" The make-shift hospital looks empty when I rush through the entryway. "Alice!" I call again, walking further into into the deserted area, looking for anyone who might be able to help me, or at least find Alice.

"Eric?" The pink-haired Dauntless woman came out from a room marked supplies, a bright smile covering her dark complexion. "Is it time?"

"Yes, the baby's coming," I say fearfully, completely impatient to get back to Tris. Pushing her out the door, I drag her down the hallway, and down the stairs.

"We've done this before, Eric," Alice reminds me gently. "Everything is going to be fine."

I hope so. Everything has to be okay.

Inside our living room, I leave Alice to follow, and I dart into the bedroom like an army is on my tail. "Stiff?" I ask her, worried that something horrible I'd been imagining had happened.

"I'm fine, baby," she pants. Her brow shines with sweat, her hands are clenching the covers, her face already looks tired.

"Ready to have a baby?" Alice asks excitedly.

Laughing, Tris gives her a thumbs up. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Alice slaps gloves on while Tris groans through what looks like a painful contraction. "Okay," Alice says smiling reassuringly. "Let's get this show on the road."


12 hours later

"Can you believe it?" Tris whispers. "We have a little girl."

Said baby girl lying peacefully in her mother's arms. "Mercy," I say softly. "I want to name her Mercy."

Humming thoughtfully, Tris runs her pointer finger down the baby's soft cheek. "That's a pretty name." Grinning happily, she kisses my cheek lightly. "Mercy it is," she declares.

"Mommy? Daddy?" Daniel announces his presence to his parents. Standing in the doorway to their bedroom, the little boy looks up at them curiously.

"I'm sorry, but he insisted on coming in," Four apologizes, bending down to pick Daniel up.

"It's fine," Tris says. "Would you like to see your new sister, Danny?" she asks our boy, removing the blanket from around Mercy's face.

Daniel seems hesitant, his tiny face turned to Mercy, his grey eyes focused on her small face. Slowly, he nods his assent, and Four places him on the bed next to me.

"I want a brother,"Danny declares. He's leans towards the baby, his face scrunched up in consternation.

Tris chuckles under her breath, her eyes full of exhaustion, but still joyful. Her expression is complacent, which is her way of telling me that she wants me to handle the problem.

Four leaves the room, a smile on his usually somber face. He's probably loving this. Drawing my son to my side, I ruffle his shaggy brown hair playfully. "Maybe next time, Danny. I'm afraid you're stuck with your sister."

Innocent eyes look up into mine. "Can't we take her back?"

Tris and I both laugh at the question. "I'm afraid not, buddy." I stoop to press a kiss to his head, laughing when he pulls a face at the mushy gesture. Already he's an independent little tyke.

"Why not?" he demands, sounding a lot like I used to when I didn't get my way.

"Because it doesn't work that way, sweetheart," Tris chimes in.

Giving Mercy a considering look, Daniel pushes himself to his feet by his hands, climbing over my lap like a wild monkey get to his destination. "Will she play games with me?"

"Not for awhile," I say, giving him the bad news.

"Nuts," he grumbles.

Smiling at Tris over his head, I say, "You're her big brother, Danny. That means you have a very important job - I'm going to need you're help protecting her. We need to keep her safe like we do for mommy."

Turning to me, understanding begins to dawn in eyes that are so similar to Tris'. "Protect mommy," he states proudly. He glances at Tris, then Mercy. "Protect sissy?" he questions.

"Yes, we need you to help protect sissy," Tris murmurs, running her fingers through his messy hair, her nimble fingers trying to restore a semblance of order.

Falling to his knees between us, he hugs the bottom part of Mercy's blanket. "I protect sissy."

We'll protect each other. We're a team. A family.


18 years later

Mercy is a young adult, and she's in love. With Peter's son. Random, I know.

"I don't want him in this house," Eric fumes, his face red from repressed rage. "I don't want him anywhere near Mercy."

It's been a hard day. When Mercy came home with James, Peter's one and only child, Eric and Daniel both flipped, their furious glances and stiff postures were enough for Mercy to figure out her father and brother most definitely did not approve of her new boyfriend.

I knew this day would come. I knew Eric would disapprove of whoever stole our daughter's heart, no matter who the young man was, but I never imagined she would fall for Peter's son.

"We need to stay calm," I remind my husband. "Mercy is a smart young woman, she knows what she's doing, and if she cares for James, then we've got to respect her decision."

5, 4, 3, 2, 1... "Please, tell me you're kidding. Let her ruin her life? That's not going to happen," he says dismissively.

Patience has never been a virtue of mine; it has never come naturally for me. Two children and a husband for almost 19 years has made me learn the benefits of patience, however. "Eric," I soothe, getting up from the chair in the kitchen to stand before him. "She's 18 years old, which means she's entitled to be with this young man if she wants to be. Don't make her push us away."

His agonized expression breaks my heart. He's always loved Mercy so much. Him and Daniel both are overprotective of her, but she's always loved it. I love it as well. Knowing my daughter has us, gives my heart peace. I never want her to feel like I did - not understood and alone. "He's going to be bad for her, Stiff," he whispers, his eyes begging for me to fix what he considers to be a huge problem.

"We don't know anything about him. He might be completely different from his father, and if he's not then we will kick his ass," I proclaim fiercely.

He slides his hands around my waist, and takes a deep, calming breath, exhaling slowly. "I hate this," he murmurs against my throat. "My little girl is in love with Peter's son."

"It's going to be alright," I vow, meaning it with all my heart. We've gone through worse than this. We'll make it through this like we've made it through everything else. Sighing, I kiss Eric's cheek sweetly. "Now get back in there, and tell Daniel to behave. We hardly need him shooting James before we learn anything about him," I scold lightly. "The mess would be atrocious."

I'll probably write one more one-shot that's basically a sequel to this chapter. That way we can see Eric interact with Mercy a little more. After that I'll probably be done. I would gladly take prompts though, so keep that in mind.