A/N: Well hello all. Greetings from the other side of a wonderful vacation. I seriously need to get a cottage on a beach. Fantastic. The downside to that was all I felt like doing as lounging on the deck, listening to the ocean and reading. But I did come back refreshed and now you all get a lovely little chapter! Hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer: This is still Roth's universe and I am still the mad somewhat ginger in a big blue box tossing out bombs as I go.
Chapter 14
Eric's POV
Sam drags her over to the table where all five of her brothers have taken up residence along with Max and Andrea.
I take a seat as she laughs looking at her brothers piled up trays of food. "Did you guys save me any?"
Slade had already gotten both of us trays of food so he chose that moment to plunk down her tray in front of her. He then leans down and gives her a slobbery kiss to her cheek with a smirk on his face.
She grimaces and wipes her cheek. "Oh gee thanks Slater. How does your fiancee stand a kiss like that?"
His smirk gets wider and is about to reply exactly how Lola likes his kisses but Andrea stops him by slapping him hard across the back. "Refrain from answering the way you were about to Sir. There is a lady present." Andrea says regally and then points to Silver.
All her brothers look confused between themselves and back to Silver then roar in laughter. "Please! Little Miss Lady here taught us some of her more colorful terms." Tate chuckles out.
I can't help but to laugh because they do have to some really weird and inventive curses. I can completely see her coming up with them too.
"He is lying to you Andrea. I am a perfect paragon of goodness and kindness." She grins at them all cheekily.
Alex laughs in disbelief and I smile as I start to pour myself some soda into a cup. "Yeah? You didn't hear her in the car the other night when she drove to the aptitude test."
Oh lord...this should be good. I am already snickering under my breath.
Tate quirked an eyebrow and somewhat playfully glared her down. "What exactly were you doing that caused you to be colorful Sylvan?"
"I wasn't doing anything. Alex on the other hand was questioning my ability to remain at the velocity at which I was traveling in the shiny sleek pretty thing." Her tone was smooth and playful, making a smile spread across my face and Slade smirk at me.
Everyone around the table snickered but Alex pouted. I took a drink thinking that Alex was going to be the next Bryant to have all the girls swooning and not even having to try. "She told me to suck big hairy donkey balls!"
I spit out my drink in surprise at that; right into Slade's face. Silver got a look at Slade's expression and started to laugh so hard she was almost falling off the bench. I was busy choking on some of the drink that went down wrong. She finally fought back her laughter and started patting me on the back, trying not to laugh. People are looking at us in shock or confusion.
"You ok there, Sir?" She asks in mock concern but with her dimples showing. I hold up a finger and shake my head needing a moment to get my laughter and breath back under control.
She looks away from me and to her tray, building up a huge burger by putting anything and everything on it. By the time she gets it done the thing is possibly bigger than her head. She starts making these ridiculously cute faces as she tries to get a bite, her brothers are all grinning at her and holding back laughter.
"What are you trying to do Silver?" I ask amused that she is so determined to eat that thing in any kind of normal way.
She stops trying to eat, looking at me as if I have no intelligence. "Trying to fit it all into my mouth." She says with a shrug and not an ounce of knowing just how dirty that sounded.
There is a pause as we all let that soak in before I join the table as it booms with laughter. She puts the burger down, her eyebrows and forehead wrinkled in confusion. "What? It's too big!"
Oh gods that just makes it worse! I can't even handle how much I am laughing. My sides are hurting I am laughing so hard. She doesn't even know. It makes me want to kiss the shit out of the adorable look of confusion and building anger on her face.
"What god dammit? I am just trying to eat my damn burger! What is so flippin funny about that?" She asks full of fire and rage, looking sexy as hell so pissed off.
Slade moved over to sit beside her on her opposite side and wraps his arm around her shoulder then brings her closer. "Sweetie, have you ever heard the expression...that's what she said?" He asks in a loud whisper.
More laughter, but Silver isn't calming down. Now she is looking from her burger to Slade, her burger then Slade; until she reaches down and I know he is about to be wearing burger.
"He was making a penis joke Silver!" Alex yells out loudly, trying to stop her from starting a food fight.
Silver's eyes widen and she gasps as she drops her burger, face flaming, and then groans.
"I'm trying to fit it in my mouth. Oh good grief!" She slaps a hand to her forehead in mortification.
I reach out to her, again, to soothe her. My hand goes to her knee under the table, squeezing it quickly. This whole line of conversation has me feeling embarrassed along with her and amused.
Andrea clears her amusement and starts glaring at everyone. "Go ahead and eat your burger dear. If they start again we can go to the armory and pull out some neurostim darts and have target practice."
Silver gets a wicked grin at that. "Yeah those hurt don't they Slater? How did having three in your inner thigh and two in your right ass cheek feel again?" She slams her fist down on her burger hard and flattens it enough that she smiles then takes a satisfied bite.
Slade glares at her. "That wasn't fucking funny Silver. It hurt like a bitch. And don't call me Slater dammit." He grumbled to her. It must have been bad because I had never heard this story.
Alex laughs as I take a bite of my own food. "You are just mad because she got all those shots on you faster than you could bring up your gun Slade."
Silver is chewing her food with a smug as shit look while Max, Andrea and I are sharing looks wondering exactly happened. "What exactly were you doing?" Max asks with a raised eyebrow.
Silver had swallowed her food by this time so she looked to him with a smile. "You know those old westerns where they would have gun duels? Well, we had watched one the night before and we happened to be at one of the weapons labs where they work on those darts. Slade was picking me up because I helped to create a few before I moved on to some of the serum productions." She stops to take a drink but Alex picks up the story with a smirk on his lips.
"Slade ber her that he would be faster. They got a couple of guns and loaded the darts then stuck the guns in the waistband of their pants. I had to count to five and they would see who drew faster and fired. Silver was faster and got three in the inner thigh on him. He turned and fell to the ground in pain and she shot him in the ass." He finished with a shrug.
"Wow, well I can't wait until weapons then." Andrea said mirroring my own thoughts.
Tate shakes his head at some thought he is having and looks serious. "You should see her with a Staff. She is scary with that thing."
Silver grunts and scoffs around a bite of food before swallowing hurriedly, agitation is pouring off of her. "You guys seriously stop. You tell more tall tales than anyone I know. Next thing I know you will say I was the one that lead the mighty 300 Spartans against the Persian arm. Sal at the infirmary thinks I am some kind of super woman because of all you exaggeration." She says glaring all her brothers down.
"What kind of weapons have you used or obtained?" Andrew asks, amused.
The thing is we have all heard stories of Silver and what she had done with her brothers before they transferred but then also during their visits to her over the years. They did tend to seem like they were exaggerating or puffing those stories up but I couldn't help but think that most, if not all, were dead fucking true.
Silver had her head tilted in thought as she shrugged. "Well, I mean I have used handguns in the lab with live rounds and darts. My staff, which Tate has I believe. I own and can use Chinese throwing stars, knives, my Katana, and I have done some archery before. I didn't like the crossbow too much but I did like the re-curve bow. I got pretty good at that with a target we had set up in the back yard. The cool thing about archery and using arrows is they can do long range. But you can put different payloads in the arrow. It is also completely silent too. Well for the most part. There is a slight twang when the arrow is released and that can be a telltale sign that something has been fired."
Eyes are up on Max, Andrea and even some of her brothers. I can only laugh in amusement and nudge her with my elbow. "You are not helping your case at all, Silver. You know that right?"
I shake my head and take a bite of my burger thinking that training this year was just looking better and fucking better by the minute. Well, as long as I could control myself dammit.
"Eat Sylvan." Tate says in a firm tone when he sees her being upset but he softens it with a wink to her.
Max grins and gives his own wink to her. "I might have to step in during the weapon portions of training."
Andrea and I nod while she looks to Silver with a smile. "I think it is going to be fun to have you here Silver. I look forward to training."
Silver smiles at her. "You have no idea how glad I am to be here. It feels like coming home after a long and tiring trip." She picks up her burger to take a bite but then pulls it away with a frown. "Hey, is the training room open tonight?" She asks and takes a bite.
My entire body stiffens and I look to her with a scowl. "No. You just got back from the infirmary, so not happening."
I didn't realize until I was speaking that Tate had been about to reply, he looked to me with a quirked eyebrow and I knew I would be hearing it for not telling him before now. I had meant too...but then I just...got distracted gods dammit.
"I thought you said you were ok, Sylvan." He growled out.
"I am Tatum." She replied frostily to him. "My ribs are just a bit bruised. I have medication and they are taking care of it. But I will need Andrea or Tris with me tomorrow during the whole Spanish Inquisition." She grumbles out, frowns and then reached into her jacket pocket to grab the pills she was given. She pops them into her mouth and swallows them down.
Alex's eyes go a little wide and he tenses. "Silver, those weren't…." He starts out saying but Silver shakes her head, stopping him.
"No Alex, just anti-inflammatory. Really guys I'm ok. She had pain patches in stock and I have a standing prescription for when the fights start. She said something about needing to make a plan for the more serious ones if I need it but I think I should be good. I do have to go back into the infirmary to have her put a new patch on for me though." She shrugs and takes another bite of her food.
Neil and Sam look relieved but Slade and Tate have their normal silent communication going on. It always surprised me that Tate, the oldest and Slade the second to youngest, were as close as if they were twins almost.
Whatever that was about, Tate looks to Max pointedly after. "I will call Dr. Iverson tomorrow about that Nanotechnology. Would be a good investment either way."
Silver starts to literally bounce in her seat a little and looks like she is going to choke she is trying to swallow her food so fast. Her beautiful eyes are glimmering in excitement and when she finally gets her food down she beams at Tate.
"The Nano-gel is going to be awesome, Tate. Don't go for the serums if you can help it. They are a bit of a waste because they distribute into too wide of an area and take longer to treat the same type of wounds. The gelt is slightly more expensive if you are buying in smaller quantities." She started to gesture with her hands while she spoke in her excitement. "But larger operations like Dauntless, you get more value because of the time to heal and the number of applications you have to apply. You have less application and the person is back on their feet faster which means less time taken away from the patient's duties. For instance, take my incident. If Uriel had that on hand, I could have gotten away with not needing to have the closing of the wounds. And it would have been less agonizing for me since I had to be awake when he operated."
My eyes closed and my body tensed as hurt coursed through me. That was just one small detail. One small detail that I could tell immediately she hadn't meant to let slip through. Slade had let out a gasp of breath and tensed as well. Her entire body went rigid but I could also tell she was getting ready to bolt for it.
"I just remembered I wanted to go talk to someone at the tattoo parlor." She said with a frown and pushed her plate away. She moved to get up but I wasn't letting her go. Not only because she shouldn't feel the need to but because I wasn't ready to let her go.
My hands shot out to grab her and stop her when I saw Slade had done the same thing and he nodded to me. I let go quickly, moved to get up and walked away for a second on a mission to calm myself and get my pain at hearing that under control.
When I got back to the table, Slade was glaring at everyone. I guess warning them not to bring that up again. Not they he needed to, almost everyone at the table were her brothers although there were a few other leaders present as well.
I plopped the plate of cake I had gotten for her in front of her and took my seat back. "There you go Hero. I believe that was the agreement on the roof right? You jump and get cake." I try to keep my expression free of what I am feeling as I smirk at her.
"Silver." Max said, drawing attention to him and away from the situation. "So you have some knowledge of the nano-gel? Can you tell us what it can help with and how effective it is?"
Her excitement from earlier really did suggest she had good knowledge of it. It would be good to get an unbiased, so meaning a non-Erudite, opinion on the tech.
"Well, it won't instantly cure someone. So major incidents of injuries will still have to be seen to by a doctor and sometimes surgery will be needed. But say for instance someone has an open wound that is not life threatening. If you apply the nano-gel it will help to close the wound from the inside out. The nano tech will also work to clean the tissue around the wound and making sure there is no infection. It can help with deep bruises and honestly there was some indication that it would even help with severe muscle tears or scar damage. I don't think it will make the scars disappear but internally it can help the scar tissue to not obstruct the muscles surround it." She shrugs after she unloads all of that information and takes a drink before she continues.
"But like I said the gel is more cost effective for larger operations. The serum is effective but it is more expensive in the long run because during the testing it was shown that more doses were needed. The serum was basically being sent to areas that might not be as in need of the repair and so it wasted the resources of that dose...if that makes sense." She finishes with a frown and her nose scrunched up, making her look fucking adorable.
My lips tilt in a smirk but I reply to reassure her. "It makes sense because it is an oral dose, it goes through the bloodstream. Whereas the gel is applied directly to the affected area, so that area takes priority." I nod to her, seeing that Max and Andrea had been nodding their understanding as well.
She smiles widely at me. "Exactly!" She says then take a bite of her cake happily.
That smile and her happiness help to soothe me in a way I have never known before. She resumes eating while Max, Andrea and Tate discuss things outside of training that need to be done. During all of this information did come back about Hayes and it had me worried. Slade and I passed a few messages with Tate and agreed that until we knew why Peter hadn't shown back up to the fence after his leave was over, we were going to need to keep an eye on Silver.
We also agreed that we weren't going to tell Silver either. Slade said if I told her he was here she might go looking for him. We all knew we couldn't let that happen until we knew more about what he might want with Silver. Honestly...I don't really give a shit if he has nothing against her. I want him nowhere near her. He is unstable and has been from the moment he stepped foot into Dauntless. Now I had more of an idea about why that might be but I would not let it touch Silver.
The lunch is winding down and Silver looks around. "He guys, I do actually want to go to the tattoo parlor and a few other places. I need to see about getting some things designed. Did you want to go Alex?" Her eyes go to Alex but also Slade.
I know that she is going to need to make her own place here. Make friends and spend time with others but fuck if I want her far from my side. Even her sitting close to me isn't close enough. The thought of her going off after I just got her here…
Shit, I am in trouble here. How am I going to handle training? This is going to be hell.
I didn't even realize that as soon as the words had left her mouth I had reached out to make the contact I was craving. I had reached to put my hand on her knee and lightly started rubbing circles as my mind whirled with the worries I had.
"Ah!" Silver squeaked beside me and jumped a little as she laughed. Her face is red and eyes wide as she looks to me. I hold in the smile as I realize that I have found a very sensitive spot on her.
God the things that makes me want to do to discover what other places she has that can cause reactions from her.
Everyone is looking at her like they are worried and she answers their unspoken questions. "Sorry just excited. I just had an idea to get my hair cut and maybe dyed."
"No!" I am happy that my own growl of 'no', was covered by many other voices drowning it out.
Andrea was shaking her head with wide eyes, begging Silver not to do anything like that. "Silver, please do not color your hair or do anything wild. That would be a shame."
Silver nods and shrugs but looks to mean it. "No I am just going to get it styled a bit different. Still keep it long and the same color. I just want to finally be able to do with it what I have always dreamed of and shed the Erudite stuffiness."
She makes an adorable face by sticking her tongue out in disgust. Everyone chuckles a little at that but I can tell Tate and Slade look relieved too.
When Sam and Alex both agree that they will go with her Slade looks to me. I give a slight nod back and he tells her he might stop by too. I can say it is all just to make sure that she is ok and Peter doesn't do anything to her but I don't even care to lie to myself at this point.
"Silver, you can finally meet Tori." Sam says with a broad grin, making his chin dimple through the beard stubble he likes to keep instead of being clean shaven or bearded.
"Who is Tori?" She asks with a frown. Her tone is slightly miffed and I quietly chuckle. I knew her brothers are and will be protective of her but I hadn't thought she would be just as protective of her brothers.
I didn't think Tori and Lola had anything to worry about, they were ok, but heaven help any women that Silver didn't approve of here.
"She works in the tattoo parlor, she's my fiancee." He says sheepishly, as if ashamed he hadn't told her before now. Considering no one had known they were even really dating for a few years I can see how they kept it from her too.
"What!" She shouts and starts to bounce happily while she beams at Sam. Her happiness and reaction instantly makes the giant relax and return that beaming smile. "Oh, yay. I can't wait to meet her! Finally I won't be alone and bullied by Neanderthals!"
Neil scoffs at her and shakes his head. "Bullied my ass Silver. All you have to do is say our name and we have always spoiled you. I can't tell you how many times we got in trouble because you, dear sister, asked us to get you knives or whatever dangerous thing you decided you needed to have and learn how to use. Do you know how many times I wished you were spoiled and asked for things like clothes or jewelry, not Chinese throwing stars and other shit?" He has a grin all while he is saying this but I can also see the wheels of self-consciousness spinning in Silver's eyes.
She nods and frowns to him. "I know. Mom must have been disappointed that I wasn't the princess she wanted to do all the girly things with. Instead she got a Shield Maiden, as Dad always said."
Tate growls and reaches over to grab her hand, threading their fingers together and holding her eyes. "Don't be like that. You're our warrior and you inspire us Silver. Just like today on the roof. You reacted like a true Dauntless. Like we have always said you have a Dauntless heart and it is in your blood. You just had to follow who you are, that is what this all about Silver. You go where you belong because to not do that means death as surely as if you were to truly die."
I have always been in awe and slightly jealous of the closeness of the Bryant's. That was until I myself was taken in by the brothers as if I was one of their own. The level of love and affection they have for each other is nothing compared to what they feel for their one and only sister. I can see it in Tate's eyes and tone, something that each of them is reflecting back right now. They also have no shame in showing this openly.
Silver's expression clears of the self-doubt she had and smiles widely at her brother as she nods. She starts back on her food. "So what is the plan? Are you guys all busy or do you want us to meet you guys for dinner?"
She is looking around but Tate is on his touch-pad frowning so Slade speaks up. "We can meet here for dinner and if not we will hunt you down and find you in the pit." He replies with a shrug and the others nod.
Alex nods in agreement. "Sounds good. I wanted to go ahead and get more gear for training and make sure I have everything I need before we really get started."
Andrea nods in reply. "Good thinking."
Silver sighs for a moment before a hand slaps to the table. "Man, talking about training is making me think about sparring and fighting and is really getting me pumped up. I need to go do something." She is smiling widely as she bounces up and down.
I already know she is going to be a damn handful with how much energy she has. She has to still be in bad pain but it doesn't even seem to be putting a bit of a dent in that excitement and life she has. It is also contagious as hell I find as I join in with her brothers and Max as they laugh and smile at her.
"You can't go spar Silver. You just had to go to the infirmary." Tate informs her firmly, saving me from having to go there again.
She pouts. Full on pouts and it makes me shift in my seat with how sexy it looks. "Dammit!" She yells as she slams her fist on the table. "I want to go hit some shit!"
"And this is why we have all those stories about you Silver. Most of them start out with; 'Can we go punch stuff' or 'Let's go climb that 10 story building' or 'I want to' insert whatever new adrenaline junkie scheme you have." Slade says with a laugh as he hugs her from her other side.
"Well then, I need to get going on turning into Silver! Alex, Sam….shall we go poke holes in our body parts and inject ink in our skin?" She rubs her hands together with a wicked grin.
"We are so in trouble." Alex mumbles moodily as he eyes her and gulps.
I frown and look her over, hoping she doesn't feel the need to change too much so she fits in. I reach out to touch her knee again. "Just don't go changing too much Hero." I get out but can't say her name. As it is my tone is way too familiar.
She nods to me after holding my eyes for a moment then moves away to throw her food away and put up her tray. Slade scoots over immediately.
"So we need to keep eyes on her. I will make sure that since Sam is with her that either he or Tori are watching out for her in the parlor." Slade says lowly to me.
I nod and frown. "What do we know so far? Is he even here?"
Slade sighs and nods. "As far as we know he came here on leave and was supposed to return this morning. Last word that Tate just got was that he hadn't returned just yet."
"Fuck!" I hiss out lowly.
Tate had gone to talk to Silver while Slade and I were making plans on how to cover Silver but also Alex. Alex was just as much at risk as far as we were concerned if he was involved with Peter's sister. We had know way to know what the shit had going on in his mind.
Actually….there was something...but I would need to get with Four about that.
Alex had joined them and was looking at Silver with a smile. "Ready?" He asks with a smirk.
"Absolutely!" She gets out with a big smile and is bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Let's go!"
She turns back to the table and all the other brothers stand to give her hugs. Even Andrea joins in.
"You better come back so we can see how the Dauntless Hero looks now, Silver." Max commands her but with a smile and wink.
She blushes and nods before Slade pulls her to his side. Something I am itching to do but make myself stay in my seat before I do just that. "Hey Sil, we might come to find you or join you. Would that be ok?" He asks and points to himself and me.
Silver looks to me and raises her eyebrow at me. I can tell she is hesitant about it because it puts us close again. Hell I know I shouldn't but there is also no stopping myself. I just smile at her.
She takes a breath and nods. "Sure, I don't know where I will be. I will probably only get a small tattoo today. But there is all that other stuff I want to do." She says with a thoughtful frown.
Slade pauses a moment before he replies. He is looking her over and gets a serious but contemplative look. "You know it's not going anywhere Silver. You are here in Dauntless now. It isn't going to disappear. Just take your time and enjoy the nights after training. You are going to need something to unwind. Ok?"
This must have been exactly what was worrying Silver, maybe without her knowing it because she sighed in relief, rose on her toes and hugged him tight. "Thank you Slade. I do feel like this is a dream and that I will wake up back in Erudite."
She pulls back with a nod and smile. The serious Slade disappears as his customary charming smile graces his face and he ruffles her hair.
I hate that I wasn't the one to be able to comfort her. To reassure her that she was here and this is real. That she isn't going anywhere and I won't let her go anywhere either. I know in that moment that it is going to be impossible to separate myself from my feelings for her. I was always more than a little in love with Sylvan. From the moment I held her in my arms that night on the roof I have been a goner. I know what I am going to have to do, I just don't know how it is going to go over.
Silver's eyes had been on mine and a flush spreading across her skin. I smile and wink at her, breaking the moment of intensity. With the spell broken she blushes even more, whips around and pulls her brothers along with her as they head out of the dining hall.
I am craning my neck to keep eyes on her, knowing it won't do a bit of good when she goes beyond the walls. With a sigh I turn back to the others and am confronted with knowing smug looks.
"Maybe he was a little more happy to see our sister than we thought he would be." Neil says and takes a drink of his soda.
"Maybe she was a bit more happy to see him than we counted on as well." Tate grumbles as he narrows his eyes looking at me.
I don't get intimidated easily and not by Tate, at least I haven't in a long time. But the look and meaning he put into the words are leaving me gulping. The fact that Max is joining in on that also has me sweating a little bit.
"Is there going to be a problem where you two are concerned, Son?" Max asks lowly.
I think a moment before I reply. I already knew I was going to have to talk about it with him I just didn't think it was going to be right the fuck away. I sigh and run a hand through my hair.
"I think it might be best…" I pause and look to first Max, then Tate and Andrea "...if I am removed from being able to make any decisions regarding the scoring of Silver Bryant."
Tate's lips twitch slightly but I see he isn't going to let it just rest there. "And why would you need to have that done?"
I roll my eyes and sigh. "I would think it would be obvious. But if you need me to say it...and I am guessing by that evil smirk on your face you do...I…" the air leaves me for a moment as the weight of my realization hits me. "I love Silver and I know that even if she does want to wait…."
"So...what exactly happened on that walk to the infirmary?" Slade asks, interrupting me with a sly grin. "Or was it a replay of the roof the night before the aptitude tests?"
Tate and Slade exchange smirks at my expression. Which I am guessing has to be a cross between being pissed off and worried as hell.
"Seriously? You saw all that?" I ask incredulously.
Slade shrugs and smirks at me. "Yeah. I was going to head to the roof when I saw her there but then saw you had things covered."
"Ass." I snarl out to which the three remaining Bryant's laugh.
Max raises an eyebrow at me and I can see a question or something brewing there behind his eyes. "I can see there is something between the two of you. I think it would be good...for both of you. I am guessing she said something to the effect of her wanting to wait until initiation is over?"
I nod with a frown because I know I need to respect that even if it is going to pure hell on me. "Yes and I respect that. I just don't know how I am going to handle this all."
Max shrugs and his lips twitching. "Either way this stays out of training. If she changes her mind or things change in general you keep it discreet. I don't expect her to and in fact I know she will already be going out of her way to make sure she doesn't get any special treatment, but make sure it goes that way for you as well. You can't pay any more attention to her than you do the other initiaties regardless of if you two get together now or later."
His tone is final and using all the weight of Senior Leader behind it. I nod in agreement, satisfying that I have understood his command.
Then his face darkens and he turns to another matter. "Now let's talk about this Peter situation...what do we know?"