A/N: Sorry chapters are slow or going to be slow in coming. End of summer means getting the boykin ready for school. That means I am going to try and start being able to hit the gym more. Cause I'm a masochist. Anyways, I hope you are enjoying the story so far. It will start to move to time jumps soon. I am not going to detail every single sim and moving us towards the end of training where the story will pick up. Lots of little surprises and juicy things along the way for your reading pleasure.

Chapter 54 - I'm Like A Bird

Eric

The wind coming in the open train car door is welcome while I brace myself against the frame of the opening. The air has a bite to it that is helping to clear the near constant buzzing in my mind and the rage I had felt earlier in the Pit.

A rage that had almost seen me blowing everything to hell when Peter goddamn Hayes slipped his arm around Kat and declared in front of the whole of Dauntless she was his girlfriend.

I have never come so close to killing someone outside of orders or duty as I did right then. Only Zach using a strength I didn't know he was so capable of, as he nearly broke my arm trying to hold me back, stopped me. That and his hissed words of 'wait, we can use this'. He knows just what to say to break through to me. Knowing that any kind of platitudes weren't going to do shit for me.

Fuck, my mind is a mess right now but having the open city rolling past me and Kat's arms wrapped around my waist from behind me is helping. Her face is pressed against my back and has been since we got on the train.

I still haven't spoken to anyone really. Too wound up and inside my own mind. So many things to think about, plan for, deal with and it feels a little overwhelming in the moment.

Take a breath Coulter and fucking deal with it.

Visiting Day went much better than even I had expected, not counting the shit with Hayes.

There had been that moment when I had worried that Kat was going to unleash hell on the Erudite visiting Will. In a way she had. Just like she dealt with Peter at the beginning, knew that the way to cut deepest would be to deal with him in how his former faction valued the most. She did the same with Cara. Though it worked, made me proud as fuck of her; it also had me on edge.

We could spin it as she was using tactical knowledge. Know your enemy and how best to wound them. It was walking a thin fucking line between Erudite and Dauntless, but it could work.

Then there is everything from the past few days. Amar being alive, the information that the attacks might have been retaliation for the incident from a few weeks back, the information that there seem to be organized groups of factionless and they have access to weapons. It is all piling up and something tells me it is all fucking connected somehow.

Kat squeezes me tighter against her and sighs into my back. Knowing I need to talk to her and let her know I am not angry with her, I turn and pull her against my chest.

Zach had to get her from the Pit after I had removed myself before I couldn't hold back after Peter made his announcement. I had been waiting for them at the tracks when they finally made it out. While I hadn't hesitated to take her hand and pull her to my side or up with me when the train came, I hadn't really said anything.

"I didn't know…" She started out but I shook my head and put a thumb over her mouth.

"I know you didn't know, Kat. I saw your face. I am not sure what his reasons are or what he is playing at, though I plan on finding out real fucking quick. But Zach is right. We can use this. It will take suspicion off of us hopefully." I say as I stroke my thumb across her lips.

She doesn't like it anymore than I do but she takes a slow breath before she nods. "Ok. Can I at least say if he does something really stupid I have a pass to kick his ass?"

I chuckle with a smirk and shake my head. "You'll have to take a number for that, kitten. There might not be much left of him if I get to him first."

She laughs a little at this and nods. "So where are you guys taking me too?"

"Guess you'll find out when we get there, princess. Would spoil the surprise if we just told you." Zach says with a smile.

Kat bites her lip and watches the city rolling by. I can see her eyes analyzing and her brain working. I can also see the moment she figures it out from the glint in her eyes and the smile tilting her lips. She doesn't say anything though, she just looks up into my eyes.

I smile and nod to her.

The rest of the ride she is practically bouncing and buzzing with energy. It is like holding onto a live electrical wire, the way it courses into me. It also radiates out to Chase and Zach and by the time we are due to jump, the smiles and energy between all four of us is high.

I'm fucked if anyone is watching or sees us as we make our jumps from the train with loud whooping cries and smiles. Even breaking out into runs after we land. In this moment I don't care. This is what I had been missing for too long now. It was time to put a stop to that and live in these moments with those I love.

Kat

I had been too preoccupied with worry, about what happened with Peter and how Eric had looked as he had left the Pit, to really worry about where Zach was taking me to after he had signaled for me to meet him in a hallway.

I had gratefully gone and used the excuse of leaving Peter to be able to spend the rest of the time with his family. I almost got why he had done what he did just from the few minutes I was forced to spend with them. Peter's fingers practically digging into my hip when his dad was saying some of the most offensive shit I have ever heard spouted in my life. I didn't know if it was to stop me from punching the old shit, or himself. Maybe a bit of both.

The look in his mom's eyes though as she looked at us both. Curiosity mixed with a bit of pride maybe? When she spoke it had taken both men of the family by surprise.

"You were Abnegation?" A soft and timid voice, weary even, came from her.

I studied her for a minute before I answered. With a small shake of my head I answered honestly. "I may have been born into the faction but I was never Abnegation."

"You should see her in action Mom. Kat is a whirlwind. Wouldn't surprise me if she isn't in the top five if not in the top spot." Peter is tense when he saying this but there is something to his words. Some kind of meaning he is trying to convey I think.

His father lets out a scoff of disbelief but then eyes Peter critically. "If that is the case then the standards can't be all that high."

Peter's jaw tightens and I can feel others around us bristling. Chase among them as he slipped up from somewhere.

"If you have questions or would like to question Dauntless standards then direct your comments to someone that can answer accurately for you. As one of the trainers and a senior member, I can address your….concerns." Chase gets out in a cold and menacing tone.

I didn't think it possible for a man to both cower and try to puff up at the same time but fuck if Peter's dad didn't do just that. He sat hemming and hawing for a minute or two but I couldn't say what he said.

I tuned out and let Peter know I was done with a look after I saw Zach giving pointed looks to me. I had said something about going to find my sister then made my exit.

Zach had my jacket waiting for me as he lead me down the hallways. It was another dark and winding pathway and I wondered just how many of these there are in the compound.

As soon as we made it out of the passageway and to the tracks I saw that Eric was still feeling just as angry as he had been when he left. It came as a relief though when I got close to him, he reached out and took my hand, pulling me closer to his side.

He didn't try to talk and I didn't try to make him. He would when he was ready and I hoped he knew that it wasn't true and I didn't know what Peter was planning. Him finally speaking and letting me know that he wasn't angry at me was good. Having to keep up the fucking facade wasn't though.

I got it but I didn't like it at all. Just like I hated having to act like we have been in public but this was so much worse. Peter better have a damn good reason for why he pulled the stunt he did or I am going to make it my mission in life to make his a living hell.

All thoughts of revenge or plotting are pushed to the back of my mind as I am running beside my guys and to the towering building I had figured is our destination.

Eric was making good on his promise to take me zip-lining. Not only that but from one of the highest points that the Dauntless have it set up from. The former Space Needle.

Not even Uri had known if his brother had access to it. He knew some of the other buildings were used for the initiation tradition but he hadn't been sure about this one. It hadn't stopped any of us from hoping and looking forward to it when we talked about it.

I felt a slight tinge of guilt about doing this without and before them but it was soon pushed aside just by sheer adrenaline. It also helped seeing the faces and energy from my guys. Even Eric couldn't hold it in and it just melted everything in me to see it. He looked so young right now as that smile spread across his face. His eyes radiating strength and vitality, life and the need for this. Whatever guilt I might have felt was obliterated in the wake of that. Seeing how much I think they needed it.

Chase put on a burst of speed and yelled something about the generator, pulling ahead of us. I could also tell that while we were all running and laughing, the guys were still being watchful of things around us.

Eric slowed us from our all out run into a fast walk. His smile wasn't as big but it was still there. "You ready for this?" He asked me with a knowing grin.

"You kidding me? Of course I am! Although I didn't think we would be going from here." My grin is still wide as my head tilts back when we get closer to the tall building.

"Normally we don't for initiates, Dauntless born or not. We thought you could handle this for a first time though." Eric had leaned in closer, his breath hot on my ear as he all but whispered this, husky and teasing.

I blushed red as his hands slipped along my hips and Zach cast a look over to us before smirking and walking ahead of us. I stopped and turned towards Eric, my hands going to grip his jacket tightly, pulling him down and closer. "I am sure you will find there are lots of things I can handle, first...second...however many times you think you could keep up the strength for."

His eyes go dark and dangerous while his nostrils flare. "Kitten…" He gets out in low warning growl. He jerks me by my hips closer to him, his fingers probably leaving bruises but I don't care because I see that control slipping.

Then Zach calls for us from the building that Chase got the generator going and the iron control slips back into place. He smirks at me a little while shaking his head. "I'll remember that baby." He says in a purred promise of later torture.

Taking my hand he pulls me along with him to the building and elevator. The Space Needle used to be a big tourist attraction. People would pay to ride the elevator up the metal tower up to the top where a disk shaped structure sits perched on this tall frame, almost looking as if it is floating in the clouds. From the looks of it when we get to the first level of the enclosed disc building, the lower portion used to be some kind of dining hall. Most of it is gutted now but it must have once been something to behold. I couldn't imagine eating among the clouds and sky like that.

"What do you think?" Chase asked me with a smile as I wandered around the room in a daze and lost in my thoughts.

"It's amazing. I wonder what it was like...to sit up here and just enjoy a meal with the sky so open around you." I know my tone must sound dreamy and as if my own head is in the clouds right now.

Zach chuckles from behind me and I can hear the other two join in. "Told you she would mention that. Now who was it that said it would be a silly thing to have lunch up here?"

I turn back to see Zach arching an eyebrow at Eric pointedly who just flips him off and and helps to clear off an old table. Now I see that Zach had gone over to where a box had been sitting near by.

"We're having lunch up here?" A smile splitting my face wide.

Eric laughs, continuing what they were doing. "Well we do gotta eat. So might as well be here. Just don't bring it all back up on the way down." He teased me playfully.

I shot him a scowl and moved to help the guys get the table cleaned off and chairs for us drug over. Then Zach unpacked a simple lunch but considering how hungry I was and where I was getting to eat it, it was the best lunch ever.

They had set up the table right in front of one of the wide windows and we all sat facing the view while we ate. I ate quietly lost in the view and my thoughts.

Earlier this morning Zach had made me the offer of talking to him about things from my past or what I have been holding in. There was so much that I couldn't bring myself to tell Eric or Chase just yet but there was one thing that I think would be safe enough. Something that had been on my mind with the looming fear sims.

I have always had dreams that could feel as real to me as the waking world. I had gotten very good at being able to change the dream or wake myself if it got too bad. Barring the recurring nightmares that I had, which I could never change or bring myself out of on my own. But one dream or similar dreams had been on my mind lately, especially since it had appeared again last night.

"Do any of you know anything about a person's dreams?" I ask casually as I take another bite of my sandwich.

"Dreams are generally a byproduct of the subconscious stepping forward or bleeding through. Sometimes they aren't even that and are just produced by random firings of the different centers in the brain." Eric answers me in a confident but rambling manner. As if this is just rolling out of his mouth but straight from a text book.

Three heads turn towards him and he stops to look at each of us confused. "What?"

I smirk as I playfully bump by shoulder to his. "Nothing. Just your Erudite is showing, Eric."

He narrows his eyes and playfully sticks his tongue out at me. "Why do you ask, kitten?"

I take a moment to eat while I put what I want to ask together in my mind. Swallowing I turn to look at him. "I have this same dream over and over again." I pause and frown shaking my head. "No, it isn't always the same dream...it is the same image that inserts itself into my dreams. No matter what I am dreaming about, this same thing keeps popping up and I wanted to know if it has meaning or what it stands for; if anything."

"What is this image then?" Chase asks quietly and the guys are all looking between themselves worried.

"A black panther. Sometimes I can see it clearly, others I just know it is there. A dream where I am in the meadow near our home and I fall down some deep dark hole. I am scared and alone until I see these glowing eyes of gold and green. I don't see anything else but I know what it is. Other times I have had dreams where there is this big black panther laid out across a building or somewhere so obvious but everyone around me in the dream goes on as if isn't there or doesn't even matter. But I know it is and what it is capable of." My tone must sound far away as I close my eyes and conjure up all the different times and ways this mysterious animal has wormed it's way into my dreams.

"When did this start? When did you start seeing these images?" Eric asks and his tone is one I have heard before on him but rarely. It is one of the few times I have seen him allow the Erudite, the pure Erudite in him, out.

I swallow and frown in concentration of how far back it goes. I have a feeling it goes back before the incident but the first truly memorable time was the hospital. "I am not sure if it happened before then, though I have a feeling it did, but the hospital was when I can really remember. It was very clear even though I was stoned out of my mind at the time with all the drugs they kept shoving into me. I honestly thought I was hallucinating because I can remember my dad sitting in a chair beside the bed and looking beside him there was the panther. Just crouched there beside my dad looking on him with this fierce look of displeasure. I vaguely remember my dad speaking to me about the Dauntless being pulled out and him being sorry about something. I don't know if that was real or not or if it was all a dream. I mean, it would have to be a dream right because there was no way a fucking panther was just sitting there beside my dad."

Their lips twitch until they are laughing with me a little, because I had started to laugh at the ridiculousness of the image I was painting.

"Maybe it was real and a dream all in one, kitten. Drugs do funny shit to people and if you were fighting them so hard they could have caused a waking dream or hallucination. So part of that was real, the part of your dad beside your bed and talking to you. The other part was your dream inserting itself into reality." Eric supplied with a shrug but also put his arm over my shoulders and pulled me closer to him.

Chase and Zach had their heads bent over a tablet but Eric looked at me with worried eyes. "Speaking of your dad...how did that go with him today? There at the end you seemed upset about something."

I took a breath and knew I couldn't tell him everything. I was beginning to see why Zach had offered me the ability to talk to him. All these damn secrets had me feeling like I was about to snap. I couldn't wait for the time when I could be open and tell Eric everything.

"He apologized to me, to us both really, for ever making it seem like he could be mad at or hate us for transferring." Eric's worried expression softened a little and he looked relieved and happy for me. "He also told me that he was sorry if I ever felt he blamed me for what happened that day. That it was his worry and anger at his own failure as a father but that he never meant it to translate for me as anything other than that."

In his eyes something flashed and I think if I could read minds I would hear him mentally shouting something along the lines of 'fucking finally'. My lips curl into a smile before I burst into laughter causing him to pull back and look at me with his eyebrows in his hairline.

"What?" He asked, but his lips were curled up. Maybe already guessing why I had started to laugh.

I shake my head, biting my lip to hold in the laughter. I couldn't hold it in though and gasped it out. "Oh god…" I finally said as I wiped a tear from laughing from the corner of my eye. "I swear I heard you mentally shouting 'Fucking Finally' or something equal to that."

I saw him struggling to hold in his laugh but he failed and the others joined him too. "Think you know me so well do you? I believe it was actually; fucking finally now maybe she'll listen us."

This caused me to laugh even harder as he pulled me into his lap and kissed the side of my head. When the laughter subsided I stayed in his lap while we finished lunch. Chase and Zach had still been pouring over something on the tablet. Taking turns in snatching at away from each other and fiddling with it.

Eric looked over to them with a raised eyebrow after he finished his lunch. "What are you two doing over there anyways?"

Chase looked up and to me as Zach took the tablet from him. "We were looking up if there was anything on dream interpretations and specifically on animals. We found something that you might want to hear."

I braced myself, tensing in Eric's lap. He kissed my shoulder and nodded to Zach who looked at him questioningly. He cleared his throat and then began to read what they had found.

"Blank Panthers are one of the strongest spirit or totem animals there are. If you have been visited by this particular totem animal it generally means you are being encouraged to understand the power within the shadows and to acknowledge these powers to help eliminate your fear of the dark and unknown. If the panther has shown up it is inviting you to befriend the night and work through your fears. To remember that through death, we are reborn. Live your dreams, discover your desires and begin a new chapter in life." Zach finished in a slightly tremulous voice, his eyes clouding with emotions.

I looked down, chills had started to run up and down my spine as soon as he started to speak. Shudders almost wracked my body at the end. Eric's arms tightened around me and all was quiet. No one daring to speak and though they couldn't know all of why what Zach had read struck such a strong chord in me, I could tell they sensed it. They at least knew a little bit of it.

I let out a shaky breath and looked to Eric, an idea forming in mind. "I need to take this and use it. I want to make a permanent reminder of that and this moment."

Understanding and approval lit his eyes as his lips curled into a smile. "You want to get it tattooed on you." It wasn't a question just a simple statement.

I nodded slowly. "Yes. I want to get it tonight if I can."

"We can do that. Where do you want to get it?" Eric asked and looked down as if trying to gauge where I might want it.

The thought of my side, where certain scars wrapped around my ribs struck me and I thought that would be a perfect place. "On my left side along my ribs, possibly going slightly around to my back depending on the design."

There is a pause before Eric asks me what design I had in mind. It takes a few minutes as I close my eyes and try to imagine it all together but also the images I have had of the panther in the past. So I begin to describe that out loud to them. In the end there is some kind of silent communication between the three of them before Zach is once again on his tablet.

"It's set up for tonight just after lights out. He will be there at your place." Zach states matter of factly and Eric smirks and looks at me with a shrug.

"Done. But I get to be there for it." He paused when he must have caught the anger I was about to whip out at him for this being dictated to me. "Kat, let me be there for this. Not just because I don't want you alone with someone for that long no matter that I trust them but just because I want to be there for this."

Well, when he puts it like that there at the end…..

He smirks before I can even get my sigh and nod of agreement out. Goddamn blue eyes. They might be my damn kryptonite.

"Well if we are going to fit that in we better get started on why we came here." Chase says with a grin as he stands up and starts to pack everything away.

Eric kisses me briefly before standing me up and then playfully slapping my butt, causing me to gasp and whip around with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. He grins at me wickedly and winks before moving away to the other side of the room.

I glared at his back for a moment before I helped to clean up and pack stuff away. "We are just going to leave this and it will be collected later. We need to go up a level to the observation area for what we are doing." Chase said with a smile as he motioned for me to follow where Eric and Zach had just slipped off to.

We had to walk up some stairs to get to the level we needed and as soon as I stepped out into the open air with the wind whipping around us, the reality of what were were about to do hit me.

I once read that the Space Needle stood at six hundred and five feet tall. I feel every foot of that looming in front of us. It is exhilarating and nerve wracking at the same moment. I was stuck looking out at the view, trying to imagine everything I knew about zip-lining and the things that could go wrong.

Warmth enveloped my hand and I looked up to see Eric studying me. "You aren't changing your mind." Again not a question, just a determination on his part. Knowing I wasn't backing down but wondering what I am thinking.

I shook my head and smiled. "No. I was trying to think of all I know about zip-lining along with anything that could possibly go wrong."

His eyes crinkled a little but he didn't smile. "Don't think...or at least not like that, Kat. Dauntless wouldn't think about what could go wrong they would just do it. I need you to start doing this now baby. Earlier….with that Erudite, I get why you chose to strike back the way you did. It did real damage to her and hit her harder than any threat of physical violence would have. It is going to be a stretch if someone catches wind of it for me to spin it as you playing off of tactical advantages and knowing an enemies weakness. I can even put it out there that you have learned from watching me in training and our morning punishments. But incidents like that are going to be harder to explain away, baby. Starting now...you think and act like a Dauntless. Understand me?"

I swallow with a frown but nod. I also admit something to him. "I'm not going to apologize for that, Eric. I knew before I did it that it was going against your warning. But it….it felt too important, to vital, to make that point to her. I don't know if it is just because she is Will's sister and I have come to think of him as a really good friend and family or something else. It feels bigger than that though and I can't explain it. I needed her to see the lies she was being fed."

Eric paused for a long moment, like he himself was trying to see it from my point of view. His jaw was clenched and his lips thinned. There was also something there in his eyes that told me he knew what I was talking about. That he also knew why it was important but he wasn't going to tell me.

He takes a breath and nods. "We need to get going." Is all he says and no matter how much I want to push him for answers I know I can't. Not when there is so much I leave out but he hasn't pushed me for.

His large hand engulfs mine as he leads me to where Chase and Zach are waiting.

"Ok this is how this is going to work, princess. Chase is going first and you go after him. There will be a few drops but the harness will be secure so you don't have to worry about that." Chase interrupts him by bouncing with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah. She doesn't need coaching or babying. She's got this. Don't you?" He winks over at me and heads to the sling not even waiting for my answer.

I grin in reply though and give Zach a reassuring smile. He huffs but smiles and goes to help Chase get set up. Once he is laying down in the sling and the straps have been all tightened, I follow close behind while Zach pushes him to the edge. He gets a swinging motion before Chase gives us a thumbs up and with a whoop he is flung forward and down the line. I watch him hurtling at what look to be impossible speeds along a line that blurs into nothing in the distance. If he was still hooting with joy I couldn't hear.

"Ready baby?" Eric asks close to my ear.

A shiver of anticipation and nervousness goes down my spine but I nod to him. "I'm ready." I reply and am proud of the firmness of my tone.

He chuckles into my ear. "Good girl. Let's get you set up."

Then he helps me to lay in the sling while Zach holds it in place. Eric is the one to make sure all the straps are secure and I give out a huff as he tugs a little too tightly at times.

He gives me a small sheepish look but doesn't really look all that sorry about it. He is in protective mode right now and won't apologize for any measures he deems necessary. After I am all strapped in he grabs my chin and his eyes shine with pride but also worry. "I'll be right behind you. When you come to a stop, you are going to release the hooks and fall into what we have set up waiting for you."

"Yes Sir." I reply to him softly. He smirks and kisses me before pushing me to the side. I have a moment to take a breath as I look straight down to a drop that would have my knees going weak if I were standing.

I am not given a warning before on the second swing, I am hurtling forward. I was right and the speeds are ridiculous. I feel more like a bullet being launched from a barrel than a bird in flight.

The decline is gradual at first but it still all lends to the speed building up. The first drop almost has me emptying my bladder in shock, my eyes going even wider than they already are. No screams or cries come from me but I don't think they could even if I wanted too. With the rate of speed I am going, it would be impossible to project anything.

The shock of the experience begins to abate and I start to be able to enjoy. To turn my head slightly and watch as the city hurtles past me. To marvel in the illusion that I could fly to those mountain peaks that seem to be getting closer to me. My arms on instinct open wide and I revel in the way the wind whips against my clothes.

The line has a few more drops and takes me close to the ground and through buildings that have huge chunks missing from them. Steel beams and girders sticking out from those buildings as if giant teeth in the maw of some great titan or monster.

The cold of the wind stings my skin even through my clothes and sends sparks of that pain along my body but I barely feel it. I am being too pumped with adrenaline and happiness. I feel a burning in my soul at being here and alive.

My rate of speed begins to slow, I am able to make out more in the shapes around me. On the ground below me I see what looks to be a big black pillow with a manically arm waving Chase beside it. I wave my arms back and pump my first as much as I can, though Eric has me in so tight I am surprised I still have the ability to breathe at all.

When I finally get to a stop I can hear him telling me to unhook myself. It takes some maneuvering but I finally am able to release the hooks and drop into the pillow. Which happens to be filled with air. I am laughing as it swallows me up. An all consuming, belly shaking laugh that feels so good to let loose.

The bag is rocked as Chase must have lost patience and came after me. "You in there, sweetheart?" He calls out to me and I laugh even louder as I raise a hand up in the air.

He grabs it and helps to lift me up but balancing and walking on a airbag is easier said then done and I laugh even louder at the ridiculous picture we make trying to balance each other and walk to the side.

We finally do get down and then he scoops me up in a hug and swings me around. When he sits me back down he looks at me, a smile of pure happiness on his face. Something in my eyes must have amused him because he chuckles. "Something tells me you are officially addicted."

I laugh and nod, having just been thinking it was a damn shame we had to get back for the tattoo because I would be demanding to go again. "Yeah I was just thinking I wanted to go again….like now."

He smirks but then something catches his eye over my shoulder and he smiles, then points it out. A black smudge in the distance that I assume is Eric hurtling to us at the moment. My smile widens and I start bouncing, ready for him to be here already.

When he gets closer I see that he has a smile wider than I have ever seen it and that hair he likes to keep all perfect is all beautifully tangled. The thought crosses my mind that I could jump on that big pillow and mess it up a little more.

I don't get a chance because he, unlike me, didn't have issues getting out of the over puffed marshmallow. He also didn't waste any time in racing towards me, but I was already hurtling towards him to. I leaped up and he laughed as he caught me, my legs going around is waist. Our lips crashed together hungrily as the adrenaline and overwhelming joy turned into needing to share it with him in any way I could.

It felt like some kind of release but of what I couldn't begin to explain. Maybe just releasing myself? Being free, completely free and above any worries for those moments. Being connected in a way I would never have dreamed of.

We slowed our kiss as the beat of our hearts began to slow as well but he still held me tightly. Then our foreheads were pressed together and we stood there, clinging to each other and breathing each other in.

"Thank you." He whispered so softly I almost think I am imagining it. I don't get to ask what he is thanking me for before Chase is calling out that Zach is coming.

With one final soft kiss, he lets me down slowly and we turn to watch Zach make his own grinning and hooting appearance.

It was a moment I wanted to burn into my mind and heart, never to forget.