This sounds remarkably familiar. After Robert and Ethan Black's interrogations, Jack Kang took Tobias aside and let him know that he figured out his true identity, and now here he is again wanting to talk after Jeffrey Walsh's interrogation. Jeffrey's examination under truth serum revealed that he is not the person who assaulted my father either. He said he witnessed two Dauntless members beating my father, and they sounded suspiciously exactly like Tobias and Zeke of all people.
"Do you have any idea who these Dauntless members could be?" Jack asks.
"We don't know for a fact that it is Dauntless members who did this," Tobias says. "We've been fooled at every turn with this case. First we think it's Robert Black. Then we find out that it isn't him and that the DNA on Andrew is a perfect match to Jeffrey Walsh. Now today, we find out that's because he was tending to his wounds and gave my father-in-law CPR. I'm not saying that Jeffrey's memory isn't correct, but remember Cameron Wright. He dressed in a faction's color to blend in. This could be anyone in the city dressing in black to throw suspicions off of themselves and onto a faction that isn't always looked upon favorably." I look at Tobias and see that he's angry. "But there is something that you need to know. I don't want you to think I'm keeping anything from you. Jeffrey just almost perfectly described … my best friend, Zeke Pedrad, and me. But we did not do this. Andrew, I swear. I would never do anything like that."
"I know that, Four," he says. "You would never hurt Beatrice that way."
"He's absolutely right," I say. "He would never do something as horrendous as assault my father." I see Tobias cringe slightly beside me. I know what he's thinking. He may not be capable of hurting my father but he was able to assault his own not a full month ago and most everyone in this room knows it. I reach out and take his hand and silently apologize to him with my eyes. "Plus he was with me that morning. I could give you a timeline. Every single minute of that day is ingrained in my memory."
"I believe you, all of you," Jack says. He looks at us like he's contemplating a huge dilemma. "I'm not going to take any action unless we receive actual evidence pointing at you and your friend. I'm sure there are a lot of Dauntless members who look similar to you."
"You're not wrong about that," he says sounding relieved. I'm sure he doesn't want to go through a truth serum interrogation again anytime soon. Mine was months ago, and I never want to do it again.
"I know how to get ahold of you if I have any questions," he says. He reaches out and shakes Tobias' hand then walks away from us. I look at the clock on the far wall and see that we've been here about two hours. My mind wanders to Tessa. I wonder how she's doing. She's more than likely sleeping right now.
"Thinking about my granddaughter," Mom says with a warm smile.
"Yeah," I say. "How did you know?"
"You kind of had a far off longing in your eye," she says. "I've seen it many times over the years on the faces of first time mothers."
"Does it ever go away?" I ask. "The panic to leave your child, I mean?" Her smile never falters one bit.
"Never, I'm afraid," she says.
"That's not what I wanted to hear," I say with a sigh. "I almost made us late getting here because I kept telling my friend, who is a mother of six by the way, what she needed to do with Tessa. I think she was silently laughing at me."
"I doubt that," she says sounding very serious. "I imagine she was remembering when she had to leave her oldest for the first time." I wonder if she's thinking about the first time she left Caleb.
"Thanks, Mom," I say. "You're so wise. I don't know what I would do without you." I see movement out of the corner of my eye and find Jeffrey approaching us.
"I owe you a debt of gratitude, young man," my father says when he sees his savior approaching. They both nod their heads at each other, respecting their customs. "I had no idea how bad things could have turned out that morning. My wife could be a widow and my children fatherless. Thank you for stepping up when you did and caring for me. I will never be able to repay your kindness."
"Please stop, sir," Jeffrey says with a blush on his fair-skinned cheeks. It seems that Robert, Susan, Jeffrey, and Laurel mostly take after Mr. Black while Tobias, Tyler, and Tessa resemble Evelyn more. "I was selfish that morning and stood by and watched two men beat you nearly half to death. I don't deserve your thanks."
"But you get it nonetheless," Dad frankly says. "You were scared, not selfish, and once you could, you helped me. That says a lot about your character. Beatrice, honey, your mother and I will wait for you in the lobby. I imagine Jeffrey is wanting to talk to Four. I want to see those pictures of my granddaughter before we go home. Caleb tells me you have a lot."
"Yes, I have tons of pictures! I just can't stop. She's so stinking cute," I say, smiling brightly. "We'll see you downstairs as soon as we can."
"I wanted to introduce myself to you," Jeffrey timidly says addressing Tobias after my parents and brother walk away. "Do you prefer Four now? When I spoke to Evelyn she called you Tobias." Wow! He talked to Evelyn? I wonder when that happened. Tobias looks his slightly younger brother over. His expression is guarded, which doesn't surprise me. He's protecting himself right now.
"I do go by Four now," he says. "I know it's an odd nickname, Jeffrey, but it was given to me during my first days of Dauntless initiation and it kind of stuck. May I ask when you saw Evelyn?"
"Jack Kang said he didn't want me sitting in a cell all day, every day not being a productive member of society. He made me volunteer at the hospital. I delivered flowers to an Evelyn Johnson a few times. I mentioned this to Robert when he was visiting me one evening. He told me that was my birth mother's maiden name. I got the nerve up to ask if she knew my father, Ethan Black, and when she confirmed that she did, I asked if she was Evelyn Eaton. I could tell by the look on her face she didn't like answering to that name but she finally said yes. I introduced myself and told her my story. She seemed very happy to meet me. When I told her about Laurel, the nurses kicked me out of her room. I think it was too much good news for one day, and it added undue stress to the baby. I felt really bad. After asking the nurses the next day, I brought Laurel to meet her. I'm looking forward to our next meeting." Tobias and I look at each other. He doesn't know about her death.
"Jeffrey, you need to sit down," Tobias says. He gives my husband an odd look but does what he says. "There's something you need to know. Evelyn went into labor on April 15. The wear and tear of the complicated pregnancy took its toll, and she had a massive heart attack. The doctors worked hard to save her and the baby but they were only able to save the baby."
"She's dead?" he asks, barely above a whisper, looking brokenhearted.
"Yes, I'm afraid she is," Tobias says. "I'm so sorry that no one let you know."
"What happened to the baby?" he asks.
"Her name is Tessa Beatrice, and my wife and I adopted her," Tobias says with a smile. Jeffrey sits staring off in space. I look into Tobias' eyes and see the pain that had started to lessen over the past two-and-a-half weeks return full force. I put my arm around his waist and hold him tight. It reminds me of the multiple times I held him these past couple of weeks as he cried over the loss of his mother. It hurts my heart to think about it. He leans over and lightly kisses me then sits down next to Jeffrey. He puts his hand on his shoulder and squeezes lightly.
"What's wrong, Jeffy," a petite girl with short wavy blonde hair, light olive skin, sparkling pale blue eyes, and a beautiful bright smile says. Tobias looks her over and grins.
"Hey, Laurel," Jeffrey says. "I would like to introduce you to our brother…"
"Tobias Eaton," he says interrupting Jeffrey. "You can call me Four though. That's what all my friends call me." She puts her hands over her mouth and giggles sounding remarkably similar to Tyler.
"I'm Laurel Walsh," she says. "It's nice to meet you, Four."
"It's nice to meet you too, Laurel," he says.
"Hey, kiddo," Jeffrey says, "I just got some bad news. Evelyn died giving birth over two weeks ago."
"Oh!" she says, her happy smile immediately turning into a pained frown. "That's terrible. I'm sorry for your loss, Four. It must be terrible for you since you knew her your entire life. Jeffy and I only met her recently." This little girl who is standing before me is wise beyond her years.
"Thank you, Laurel," Tobias says. "It's been a difficult few weeks."
"Where's the baby?" she asks sadly.
"She's at home with a babysitter," he says. "My wife and I adopted her."
"You're married?" she asks looking a little stunned.
"I am," he says smiling brightly. "This is my wife, Tris." He motions toward me.
"Hello, Laurel," I say.
"Have we met before?" she asks, looking me over.
"I don't actually remember meeting you before," I say, "but I grew up in Abnegation, too. When I learned you and Jeffrey were Four's sister and brother I remembered seeing you both around the faction over the years. As a matter of fact, I had several classes with Jeffrey in middle and upper levels."
"Are you Beatrice Prior?" she asks. I nod at her, surprised that she knows my name. "I do remember you. You volunteered at the soup kitchen with me and my mom sometimes."
"I did?" I say. I remember Saturday afternoon's serving hot lunches to the factionless in the basement of The Hub. It was something I did every week for nearly four years from the age of 10 to 14. "I haven't thought about those Saturday's in ages. You must have been quite young if we worked together."
"I was," she says. "I still wipe off tables there every Saturday afternoon."
"May I ask what happened with Evelyn remains?" Jeffrey asks.
"She was cremated," Tobias quietly says. "There was a service in the factionless sector with all her friends. I couldn't bring myself to go. We haven't scattered her ashes yet. I honestly don't know where to do it. I need to talk with Ethan Black. I think he knew her better than anyone." When he says Mr. Black's name, Tobias cringes a little. I hope Jeffrey and Laurel didn't see how he reacted to the mention of their birth father.
"When you decide where that would be, is it possible for my sister and me to be involved?" Jeffrey asks.
"Of course," he says. "She was your mother also. I'm hoping that we can get to know each other better, maybe have a relationship."
"I would like that a lot, Four," Jeffrey says. He looks over his shoulder toward his parents and brother after hearing his name being called. "Laurel and I need to be going. It was nice officially meeting you, Four, and you too, Tris. I look forward to getting to know you both and Tessa. Come on Laurel. Mom, Dad, and Aaron are ready to go."
"We go to Abnegation from time to time to visit my parents," I say. "Maybe you and Laurel could join us for lunch next time. I'm not sure when it will be. We haven't ventured out with the baby yet."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," he says. He nods towards Four and then toward me. We both respond automatically with nods of our own.
"It was nice meeting you, Laurel," Tobias says. "It was nice seeing you again, Jeffrey. We'll get together soon."
"Bye, Four, Beatrice," Laurel says nodding. They both turn and walk back to their family. It seems strange to see a child of that age not running all over the place carrying on like the kids in Dauntless do.
"I like them. I was afraid that meeting them would be awkward but it seemed very natural. For me at least," he says watching his younger brother and sister walk through the big wooden door with their adopted family.
"I liked them, too," I say. "I don't have a lot of memories of them from growing up but from what I remember the entire family was very nice and much respected. You don't have to worry about them anymore. They were raised well and look like a very close happy family."
"You don't know how that makes me feel," he says. "I worried about Laurel for so long before I knew who she was. That burden lifted today. We better get downstairs before someone locks us in here by accident." We laugh lightheartedly together before he takes my hand and leads me toward the elevator. We ride down to the lobby in comfortable silence. When we reach our destination, we sit in a small grouping of white leather loveseats and glass and metal tables with my parents and Caleb. I give my mom and dad my phone and let them scroll through the numerous photos I've taken. I've become quite obsessed. I'm thinking of taking Tessa for a walk one day soon and visiting Kirsten at the electronics store and buying a nice camera so I can document every moment of my kids' childhoods. Mom and Dad sit there with goofy grins I've never seen before on their faces, oohing and ahhing all over the place.
"Who are you people, and what have you done with our parents?" Caleb says staring, looking quite astonished. I can't help but laugh at his expression.
"Once you meet this little darling," Mom says holding up the phone with a picture of Tessa lying in the bassinet looking like a little angel in a pink gown and matching hat with a black and pink diagonally striped heart on the front, "you'll know why we're acting this way."
"Thank you, Natalie," Tobias says. "We think she's pretty special, too."
"When is the custody hearing?" Dad asks.
"Friday morning," Tobias says. "I'm taking tomorrow off, and the four of us are going to spend the day together as a family. I hope the hearing goes our way but in case it doesn't I want to make sure he has the best memory possible of our last day together."
"I hope things go your way. You deserve to be his parents," Dad says. "Natalie and I gave the judge our affidavits last week, and we told him you are wonderful with him."
"Thanks, Dad," I say. "We're keeping our fingers crossed." The mention of Tyler brings the panicky feeling back. I know how much Tobias resents his mother for abandoning him when he was a child. If we lose the fight on Friday, is that how Tyler will view me or will he just forget about me. I don't know which thought is worse.
"Let's not talk about Friday anymore," Tobias says, tightening his grip on my shoulders. "It isn't a very happy subject for either of us." My family respects our wishes and the subject of Tyler's custody hearing is forgotten, well not exactly forgotten but tucked away neatly in a corner of my mind. "I wasn't kidding earlier when I invited you and Cara over soon, Caleb. You can meet your niece and Cara can see her brother."
"I know she would love that," he says. "She's been talking about wanting to get together with Will and Christina since your wedding. I'll talk to her then I'll give you guys a call and we'll make some plans."
"That sounds great," I say.
"Is something wrong?" Tobias asks.
"I think we should get home," I say. He gives me a knowing look and nods his head.
"I think Tris is going through withdrawals," he says. "She needs to see the kids." I give him a dirty look but he's not wrong.
"Here you go honey," Mom says handing me my phone. "Why don't you come to our place Sunday for lunch?" I look up at Tobias and raise my eyebrows at him.
"Can we play it by ear?" he asks. Mom and Dad know exactly what he's saying. "We'll let you know."
"Okay, Four," she says. We get up, say goodbye to my family with hugs and handshakes, and walk out to the car. I lean my head back in my seat and within minutes exhaustion overwhelms me and I fall asleep. The car turning onto gravel wakes me, and I look around totally confused. We're not home. We're at the Navy Pier.
"What are we doing here, Tobias?" I ask. "We really need to get home."
"We gave Stella three bottles. She hasn't even had to use the second one yet," he says. "We can take an hour and have some alone time."
"I'm not sure," I say slowly shaking my head, my brain and heart battling each other as to what I want right now. "I think we should go. I don't want to take advantage of Stella's good-natured generosity. What if she finds out we didn't come straight home after the interrogation?"
"I think she would understand," he says, getting a very intense look on his face. Right before he pulls me close to him, he hits the release button on my seatbelt. He moves his mouth painfully slow toward mine, never taking his eyes off mine. The smoldering gaze he's giving me makes me feel like I'm melting in a desire-induced fire. When his soft warm mouth gently touches mine, I sigh and automatically part my lips. He takes full advantage and thrusts his velvety soft tongue into my mouth and meets mine aggressively. I wrap my arms around his neck, tangling my fingers in his curls as the kiss deepens past the point of yearning. We move our lips ferociously together, our tongues tangling wildly. When he moves away from me, I try to pull him back. I'm not finished.
"Do you still want to go home?" he asks, his eyes locked on mine.
"No," I roughly say. "We need time just you and me. I know that. I'm sorry I keep fighting you on it."
"Do you want to take a ride on the Ferris wheel?" he asks. Although that isn't exactly what I want in this moment, I nod my head. We both get out of the car and cross the empty street hand-in-hand. We walk beside the partially abandoned buildings, past the carousel and trellis where we got married to the giant wheel.
"Hey, Four," the Amity operator says. "How are you?"
"I'm good," he says. "How has business been since opening it up to the public?"
"Busy," he says. "We've actually made enough money to start on the carousel restoration soon. Hopefully, one day this will be a city-wide destination like it was back when it was new. Are you two here for a ride?"
"We sure are," Tobias says. "We really haven't had a chance to enjoy my wedding gift." As he's handing the operator his identification card, it slips out of his hand and falls to the ground. They both lean over to pick it up at the same time and laugh.
"I'm sorry about that," the operator says handing the card back to Tobias. "I'm a bit clumsy today."
"That's alright. After you, Tris," he says putting his hand on the small of my back and leading me into the car. We sit down on the cold metal bench side by side, and the wheel starts moving. He wraps his arm around me and pulls me close. I rest my hand on his knee as I enjoy the feel of the cool breeze as the wheel slowly turns and look at the breathtaking view. From near the top, I swear I can see the entire city and when I turn my head to look toward Amity, I see the lighthouse.
"Are you okay?" Tobias asks interrupting my daydreaming.
"Of course," I say, looking up into his eyes. "Why?"
"You just sighed," he says moving his hand up to run his fingers through my hair.
"I did? I didn't realize I made a sound," I say. "If you look that way," I point off in the distance, "you can see the lighthouse. I was thinking about the honeymoon … reliving every moment."
"I miss it," he says. I feel his lips lightly moving on my neck and a shiver runs down my spine.
"So do I," I say. "I think we need to go back there every year on our anniversary."
"That's an absolutely wonderful idea. I wish I would have thought of it," he says obviously excited at the idea. "Every year, either the weekend before or after, you, me, and the lighthouse. Deal?"
"Deal," I say.
"I miss you," he says with a low sigh. I stare into his eyes and see a deep love radiating back at me. I also see much more. There is need, desire, longing, and arousal.
"We can't make love here, Tobias," I whisper. "Someone could see us. I want you, too, but," I shake my head, "we can't."
"Yes we can. We're nearly 15 stories up, love. No one can see us or hear us up here," he says as the wheel stops turning, leaving us stranded at the top.
"You planned this didn't you," I say accusingly.
"Yes, I did," he states. "I want you. I know you want me. I can see it in your eyes. You need it as much as I do."
"But they'll know what we're doing," I say barely audible, a blush heating up my face.
"I don't care," he says matter-of-factly as he takes my hand and drags it across his lap to the hard bulge in his pants. "Feel this. I need you, Tris." Can I do this? At the very least the Ferris wheel operator would know we're up here having sex. Amazingly enough not only does that knowledge embarrass the hell out of me, I also find that it excites me. "Please." My body moves before my brain catches up with me, and I lunge at him knocking us off balance, and we crash to the cold, metal floor of the gondola with me sprawled on top of him. I kiss him fiercely as our hands run all over each other's body. I'm busy undoing his jeans as he is unwrapping my wrap dress so he can have full access to my overly excited body. He flips us over so he's laying between my parted thighs and places his lips over one of my fabric-covered mounds and kisses then sucks gently. A moan escapes my parted lips at the long overdue contact. I move his jeans and underwear down in one fluid motion as his hands reach down and slide my panties off my body. He positions himself at my moist entrance and plunges into me in one driving thrust, never taking his eyes off of mine. When I feel him deep inside of me – hot, hard, and throbbing – a calm settles over me. I'm home when I'm in his arms. I reach up and caress his flushed face.
"Make love to me, Tobias," I huskily say. "You're right, I want this." I pull his swollen lips back to mine and kiss him deeply as he slides himself slowly in and out of me. This unhurried pace doesn't last long as the profound desire we are both feeling overtakes us. I wrap my legs around his waist as he rapidly moves deep within me. After not much time, I feel his strokes shorten as he hammers into my tight depths searching for fulfillment. My breathing quickens and my heart races as I lift my hips to meet every one of his powerful thrusts. I know that neither one of us is going to last long. I pull his mouth to mine once again and kiss him fiercely as I come – violently, explosively. I feel his hard pounding length pulsate deep within me then he releases himself as he groans loudly. He collapses on top of me for a moment then rolls off. I lay there on the cold metal floor of the Ferris wheel gondola staring up into the cloudless blue sky waiting patiently for my labored breathing to return to normal. I turn my head and find Tobias staring intently at me.
"I should apologize for pushing you into something that I could tell you really weren't wanting to do. I've done that more than once lately. I'm so sorry." He stares intently at me then smiles brightly. "We did just made love at one of the places on my list though," he says. I chuckle at him.
"It was on my list also, although I will admit I thought it would be at night ... in the dark … with no one else around," I say reaching out and caressing his face. He captures my hand and draws it to his mouth. "And I'm not sorry. You know I wouldn't do anything I didn't want to. I am embarrassed that a total stranger is on the ground right now knowing we had sex but on the other hand ... knowing excited me and pushed me further."
"Really?" he says raising his eyebrows in surprise.
"I know. It surprised me too, Tobias," I say. "Does that make me awful?"
"Not at all," he says. "I'll be honest, there's no way in hell I would want anyone watching us make love but there is something about having someone know that makes it hotter. I think that is one of the reasons the honeymoon was so good. Everyone knew we were having sex all the time."
"I never thought about it that way," I say with a violent blush. He leans over and lightly touches his lips to mine.
"We should get dressed," he says with a sigh. "I only had him stop us for 30 minutes."
"When did you ask him to do that anyway?" I ask, sitting up and reaching for my discarded panties, which are dangerously close to falling out of the car.
"When I intentionally dropped my identification card when I was paying," he says with a smirk on my face. "I asked him to stop us for 30 minutes when we got to the top. I think it was genius."
"Pure genius, Mr. Eaton," I say with a little laugh. After straightening his clothes, he gets up and holds his hand out to me, helping me to my feet. As I'm closing my dress, I realize I leaked some milk when he sucked on my breasts but thankfully the pads caught it all or my dress would be a bigger mess than it is.
"I really need to get home," I say removing the wet shields.
"Did I do that?" he asks pointing at my chest. I nod at him and it's his turn to flush crimson. I chuckle at him.
"I imagine that unless we totally stop making love while I'm breastfeeding that it's going to happen from time to time," I say, surprisingly being the strong one at the moment.
"Well there's no way in hell I can keep my hands off you," he says. We sit back down on the bench, he wraps me in his embrace, and he puts his mouth on mine for a long, slow, mind-altering kiss. Almost on cue, the Ferris wheel starts moving, taking us from our impromptu lovemaking session back to reality.
