AN: Huge thank you for all the reviews that make me smile and give me the courage to keep writing! Thank you also to my wonderful beta who keeps me inspired and moving forward.

Hope you enjoy some fourtris (finally) :)

Chapter 26

The building containing my father's friend's office is imposing. It stands tall, screaming at you its own importance, but somehow instead of making me nervous it brings me a steely resolve. As we walk through the front doors I stand a little taller, head held higher with determination.

This is just one more thing that Peter is putting me through, but, he hasn't broken me yet and he never will. I will make sure that he never lays a finger on my daughter, no matter what it takes.

My father speaks with a receptionist on the main level who gives him visitor passes and directions and we walk to the elevator. We get in and he presses the button for the sixth floor.

Walking off the elevator I notice there are three different reception areas. My father leads us towards the one that says: The law office of Jack Kang: "Honesty is our policy."

The receptionist greets my father with warmth, and then turns to me.

"You must be Beatrice. Your parents have spoken so much about you; it's nice to finally meet you. I'm Patricia, Jack's wife." She extends her hand for me to shake and I take it firmly in my own, a small smile on my face.

"It's nice to meet you also."

"Yes, well I won't keep you. Jack is ready for you in his office."

"Thank you Patricia." My father's tone shows that he is familiar with her and it puts me at ease a little.

He leads me back into a small office. A man sits at a large glass desk. I notice immediately the kind look in his eyes as he glances up from the papers covering his desk. The papers are all arranged in a fashion that looks methodic even though there are a good deal of them. The man stands and approaches my father and me. Yet it's me that he addresses as he speaks.

"I'm Jack Kang, please call my Jack. Your parents have explained your situation and if you are willing, I would like to help."

I shift awkwardly on my feet, most of my earlier confidence seeping into the floorboards as he mentions that he knows of my situation from my parents. I wasn't aware that they talked about it so freely.

Jack, observing my hesitation starts talking again. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I would just like to help you and your daughter."

I nod stiffly and reply, "Thank you. I appreciate that. I've done some research, and I know that I will need all the help I can get in this situation."

"Yes, well, shall we get started then?" He asks motioning for us to sit down in the large chairs in front of his desk, as he takes a seat back in his chair on the other side, and that begins the most important meeting of my life.

Two hours later we are walking out of the office building and back into the crisp Chicago air. In one hand I'm holding a large envelope containing a lot of information about custody cases that Jack gave me to read. It also contains information about my specific case in relation to other cases and certain laws. I clutch it tightly like the lifeline it could be for me.

Noticing the time, I send Tobias a quick text to let him know that I am running a bit behind.

"Would you like me to drop you off at the hotel?" My father asks.

I glance down at myself. I dressed casually for the meeting in jeans and a nicer shirt. It's similar to everything Tobias normally sees me wearing, but for some reason it doesn't feel like it. I decide not to dwell on it and shrug my shoulders.

"Sure, that'd be nice."

My father's gaze burns into me. I know he's curious what it going on between Tobias and I. I know my parents were looking forward to meeting him and when I phoned them to tell them he wasn't coming I gave them a vague reason about work. Obviously, both my parents have seen right through that excuse, with him coming into town now and getting a hotel room.

Thankfully my father doesn't say anything. Instead he turns and walks towards the car, leaving me standing outside on the curb lost in thought.

I take one last glance at the building looming behind me and take off after my father, jogging a little to keep up.

The car ride to the hotel is quiet and tense. I'm in thought the whole way, still clutching the folder tightly in my lap and staring out the window. My life has been completely thrown off tilt in the past few months. First, I met Tobias, a man that I finally felt might be worth opening up my walls for, only to have that be put completely in question by one very embarrassing night. Second, the man that I want most to pretend doesn't exist comes back to try to ruin the most precious thing in my life.

I'm lost in thought and I don't notice that we've pulled up in front of Tobias' hotel. It isn't actually until I see him standing there on the sidewalk scanning the cars pulling up that I snap out of my reverie.

"Thanks dad. For everything. I'll catch a cab home tonight so you don't have to worry."

"Of course Beatrice. You know your mother and I are always here for you and if you need a ride home just call."

I nod my head and then reach over to awkwardly wrap my arms around my dad. Our family isn't normally one for affection and I feel him stiffen at the gesture, but it only takes a second before his arms engulf me and he pats the back of my head tenderly.

As a step out of the car I glance up to catch the gaze of a pair of intense blue eyes. I notice they're darker than they usually are and the area underneath them is ringed with dark circles; the unmistakable sign of several sleepless nights.

We stand there for several seconds locked in place just staring into each other's eyes. Tobias breaks the contact first as he glances down at his shoes. He looks back up quickly and starts making his way towards me. I realize then that my father is still sitting in the car behind me and I hear the window rolling down. Tobias glances past me into the car.

I turn slightly. "What is it dad?" I ask curious as to why he's still here.

"Just wanted to remind you that your mother and I are nearby and available if you need anything."

I nod my head, but don't miss the slight edge to my father's voice or the way Tobias stiffens next to me.

"Thanks dad. By the way, dad this is Four. Four, my father, Andrew."

"Hello sir." Tobias greets him with a formal nod.

"Hello, Four." My father replies, but he's currently very busy scrutinizing Tobias. Tobias squirms beside me again shifting from one foot to the other.

I can't stand the tension anymore so I look to my father again. "Thanks again for watching Amelia for me. I'll call if I need anything. We should get to dinner."

He breaks his careful observation of Tobias and turns to me smiling slightly while rolling up the window and driving away.

We stand there awkwardly for a moment, Tobias clears his throat, "So shall we?" He motions his hand towards the hotel doors.

"I made reservations for the restaurant here. I hope that's ok?" he clarifies.

I nod my head and start moving towards the entrance. Tobias' hand drops into the space between us and I notice the way it twitches as if he wants to take my hand before he shoves his hands into his pockets. I try to keep my emotions masked, but it definitely hurts and feels a little like a rejection. This whole situation is so uncomfortable. All I really want is for things to go back to the way they were before that night. I want him to take my hand in his and smile at me, the smile that crinkles the sides of his eyes. I want to be able to take comfort in him the way I've gotten used to.

The restaurant inside is dimly lit with booths along the walls and in two rows in the middle. Tobias gives his name to the hostess who smiles coyly at him before leading us to a booth in the far corner.

She's still mostly ignoring me while she places the menus in front of us and she turns fully to him before asking, "What can I get you to drink?"

Without even glancing at her he looks up at me, "Tris?"

I smile slightly back at him, "I'll have a water to start please."

"Make that two." Tobias answers still looking at me.

The hostess huffs lightly before walking away to get us our drinks.

"What's that?" Tobias asks, gesturing to the folder I hadn't realized I was still holding.

"Oh, just some stuff I got from my meeting today?" I shrug my shoulders shoving the packet into my large shoulder bag.

Tobias looks at me curiously for a moment and I realize I hadn't told him we were meeting Jack today. He doesn't say anything just sits there patiently waiting for me to start a conversation, but I'm not really sure where to start.

Instead I pick up the menu lying in front of me and start looking through it. I stop when a warmth envelopes my hand. I nearly drop the menu, but I manage to keep my grip while glancing over it to Tobias. He sits there watching me with cautious eyes, a small frown on his lips, his eyebrows wrinkled together in concern.

I let the menu fall to the table. "I went to see one of my parents' friends, who happens to be a lawyer, today." I say, deciding to start with an easier topic than him and I.

"Oh?" He responds while his thumb massages circles into my palm. The motion comforts me in just the way I was seeking and I relax a little, letting some of the tension from today melt into his touch.

"Yeah, I learned a lot actually. I'm still not sure about this all, but I feel like he can really help us?"

"Us, huh?"

"Amelia and I, I mean." I answer stumbling over my words.

"Tris I…" he pauses rubbing his free hand along the slight stubble on his chin. His eyes catch mine again. "If you'd let me I'd really like to be a part of that us. I know I screwed up; I didn't handle the situation properly, but I was just trying to be a gentleman. I was trying not to hurt you, but I ended up doing just that."

"Tobias…" I start only to get interrupted.

"Please Tris. I've been planning what I would say to you for days now, I need to get this out." He pleads.

I lean back not allowing our hands to disconnect, but signaling for him to go on.

"Okay, so this whole time has sucked, like royally. I've been going crazy thinking that you hated me."

"I don't hate you." Tobias gives me a pointed look and I shake my head, but keep my mouth shut. Just at that moment the hostess comes back and sets our waters in front of us mumbling something about a waitress.

Tobias runs a hand through his already messy hair. It's the longest it's been since I've met him. I think he was meaning to get a haircut before we came here.

"Ugh, I swear I had this whole marvelous way to tell you how I was feeling and everything, but now that I'm here with you all I really want to do is tell you that I love you and I'm sorry and I really, really want to hold you close and show you how much I've missed you."

His tone is low, eyes pleading for me to understand, and I do. It doesn't erase the pain of what happened or the sting of rejection, but a calm sort of acceptance floats over me. It's like I needed to hear him tell me that he wants me. I squeeze his hand lightly and smile softly back at him.

"I missed you too." I reply shyly.

Our moment is again interrupted by our waitress coming up to the table. She tells us the usual spiel and then asks us what we want. Not having had a chance to really look at the menu we quickly open them trying to come up with a decision on what we want while she taps her pen against her pad impatiently.

"I'll have a bacon cheeseburger with fries." Tobias orders.

She writes it down before glancing back at me. "The clubhouse sandwich with fries, please."

She grabs our menus and leaves us without a second glance.

Tobias' lips quirk up into a playful smile. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"

My own face breaks out into an easy smile, "Not nearly, but it does mean I'm not willing to let you go so easily. I really should apologize too, for running away like I did and not talking to you. I've just gone through so much and it caused a lot of feelings I guess I haven't dealt with fully to come back."

"It's okay, I get it; we both have issues." He laughs ruefully.

I just nod, thinking about my current issue, Peter, and his ability to throw my life so completely off kilter.

Tobias seems to notice my distraction and he takes my other hand in his drawing my gaze back to him.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I shrug, "Not really, but it would probably help."

"Why don't you start with what happened at your meeting today."

I'm quiet for a long time, but Tobias waits patiently. "Well, I met with Jack, he's the lawyer friend of my parents. And he explained a lot about custody cases and different laws and such. I'm lucky I still have a lot of the text messages he sent me while we were dating, because they show his character at the time." I sigh, thinking back to that part of the conversation today when I had to recount my relationship with Peter to a complete stranger while my father was in the room. I suppose I could have asked him to leave, but that's not like me.

"That must have been hard for you." Tobias comments gently, almost like he's reading my mind and where my thoughts were headed.

"It wasn't a walk in the park, that's for sure, but it needed to be done. Then Jack gave me some information to read and we discussed the box that was sent to me and trying to link it back to Peter to show mal-intent."

Tobias' hands tighten around mine, "What package?" He questions.

"Oh." I stop realizing what I divulged, that I hadn't been intending to. "Someone sent me a box with pictures in it." I answer trying to downplay the affect it had on me.

"What kinds of pictures?" He asks, clearly not going to give up on this that quickly.

I don't answer for a long minute. "Tris?" he asks firmly, tone allowing no room for argument. I'm tempted to keep quiet, but I know that won't get us anywhere.

"Pictures of me." I whisper. "There were a lot. Dating back to almost two month ago."

"But that's just after you moved to Minnesota." He answers in disbelief, releasing my hands to run his hands through his hair.

I lean back into my seat, my stomach clenching remembering that I've been being watched for that long. Our food arrives then, but my appetite is lost. Tobias eyes his burger with a look that tells me he's also lost his appetite.

After a beat he looks back at me. "Would you want to take this to-go back up to my room? We could talk some more."

I think for a bit. "I have a better idea. Let's take these to my parent's house. You can stay there tonight, and as long as you want to stay. I know they won't mind and there will be plenty of distractions there. We can talk later."

It looks like he's going to argue, but I cut him off. "I know Amelia would really love to see you. She misses her favorite friend."

He smiles at me and I know I've won my argument.

"Fine. You know I can't say no to my favorite girl." He winks playfully at me.

I laugh lightly, happy that for now we are moving forward. Happy that maybe we can make things work.