Thank you SO much to Bamberlee for editing this long promised epilogue.
For those who were waiting for thrilling conclusion, here it is! So sorry for the delay. Amber sent this days ago, but I've been dealing with back to school issues since this week.
Thank you so so so much to everyone who followed along and reviewed this story! I highly recommend reading the very last chapter again, or at least skimming it to catch up.
Adam's skin is hot.
Strong and poised above me, he's nudging the side of my face with his nose. His hair hangs down to tickle my face and his lips press at my temple, where he hums my name.
It always sounds different, but familiar.
Eva.
Eva Eaton.
Evangelina, sometimes, usually while he looks entertained by how hard I'm holding onto him or how deeply he feels.
Sometimes, it's his own last name, now my last name, though I can't be sure anyone's processed the paperwork. I would think Rylan did. When I find time to wonder about what's going on in Dauntless, I can only assume Rylan ran with the papers in his hand, leapt over a few members, slammed them down in the administration office, and gleefully announced he had a status he needed changed, stat.
I don't think about it very much.
"Where are you? You look like you're a million miles away."
Adam's words jerk me back down to this warm room, in an oversized bed that's not ours but could be, as his mouth works its way down my neck. His actions are deliberately slow and drawn out, and the feeling of him over me is satisfying. I dig my nails into his back; they are painted a dark black, and the contrast against his skin makes me smile at the faint reminder of him.
We'd been in Amity for almost two weeks now.
After marrying him on the rooftop, with Rylan as our only witness and a ceremony topped with explosions in the sky, we left. We went home, threw a few things in a couple of bags someone had left in our living room, and followed the note Rylan had given Adam. It said someone would drive us there, and that person was my grandfather.
He was waiting in the docking bay in a newer Amity work truck, shiny and clean, and he smiled so widely it must have hurt. He hugged us both, told us he'd keep us safe and away from everyone for however long we wanted, and drove us to his faction.
It was pitch black when we arrived, and to my surprise, we weren't staying with him and my grandmother. He dropped us off elsewhere, pressing a key into my palm and informing me we could meet them for breakfast, or we could stay away from everyone in the faction, and someone would drop off our meals.
The allure of being alone, really alone, was intoxicating.
I barely got a step inside the door before Adam's arms found my waist, and another step took us straight to the bed. I vaguely wondered where we were, or how I never knew Amity had these homes set away from the rest of the faction, but I didn't care. I had Adam, now my official husband, and we had nothing but time. There was no ticking clock, no looming initiation date or training activity after training activity. There were no parents, no aunts and uncles, no godfathers, and certainly no friends, lingering in the hallway to ask if we wanted to hang out.
And no Henry.
"I was thinking about you, and how handsome you are," I smile up at him, and he smiles back, pleased and content. His head drops back down, and I try to imagine this with anyone else.
I can't.
It only works with Adam, pushing me back into tangled white sheets, with nothing but each other.
"He's cute!"
A week later, after reluctantly returning to Dauntless with the utmost hesitation, I sit on the edge of my parent's bed, holding a total clone of my father. I can't help but smile at my brother. His scowling expression is firmly in place and his grey eyes flash with annoyance at being taken away from his mother. His hair is the same blonde color as my father's, and someone has already parted it to the side. His tiny pajamas are black: the top is black, and the soft little pants are the same color as the uniforms here, and he exudes an air of annoyance when I touch the pants carefully.
I hold him closer, my long hair falling down to his hands, and he makes another face when it touches him.
"He looks just like you, Dad. You made that face when we left the front door open."
"Yeah, well anyone could have wandered in here. And they did. That's how I wound up finding out Jason changed all the lightbulbs in the hallway and Four just decided to drop by." My father grouses from his spot on the bed, looking woefully tired. He closes his eyes for a moment, then scowls.
Eric Jr. must not have been letting him sleep through the night like he declared he would.
"Well, that was fine. The lights were burned out anyway. Eva, did you and Adam have fun in Amity?" My mother yawns, looking somewhere in between Meghan and Charlotte. I'd say she landed squarely in the middle. She looks unfairly pretty for having a newborn; her dark hair is long and shiny, freshly washed and wavy, and her pajamas are short and pretty. She looks no different than before she was pregnant, except now with a more intense desire to fall asleep. She watches me hold my brother, her eyes sleepy but curious, and her head tilts as if something has just dawned on her. "Maybe too much fun? You don't look thrilled to be back."
I roll my eyes. "We had a ton of fun. Would you want to come back after weeks of doing nothing?"
"Yes," my father answers dryly, and his eyes are still closed. "I did my time in Amity. It wasn't that great."
My mother throws him a withering look, or as withering as one can when they're still grossly in love with the person, and she kicks him when he doesn't move. "You made out just fine. I didn't hear you complaining."
"That's because I did it quietly, so you wouldn't hear me," he mumbles the words at his pillow, looking ready to crash.
"What did you name him? Is his name really Eric?" I glance at my mother, who looks a tiny bit more awake than my father, and she smiles.
"No, his name is Everett." She beams, looking pretty happy with her decision to name him after herself. "I told your father the faction is only big enough for one Eric."
"Whatever."
My father's response is so low I can barely hear him, and he's now face down in the pillow. He waves dismissively, and I know he's seconds away from falling asleep.
"I think it sounds cool. Do you think he'll stay looking like dad?" I examine Everett intently, and he examines me right back. One of his tiny fists waves in the air, miming my father's actions from a second ago. "Actually, you don't have to answer that. It's clear he will."
"I'm sure," my mother sinks back against the pillows she's sitting against, and she smiles. "I just…I wish I had told you both sooner. I was really afraid you'd be mad."
My father's answer is incomprehensible.
"I was mad. I would tell you if I were pregnant," I touch Everett's hair, wondering if they'll keep it short. Or if they'll let it grow long, so they can cut it into some edgy hairstyle. Probably not. Given that he already looks like our dad, he would probably never have long hair.
"Are you?!" Her question is more of an exclamation, and she sits upright, smacking my father in the head. His protest is weak and muffled as he gives up on trying to stay awake. "Eva!"
"No," I shake my head, and Everett stares up like he doesn't believe me. "I'm not. I think Adam and I should wait longer than two weeks before we decide to have a family."
She looks at me, green eyes flashing with the enthusiasm of a lunatic, because who would want a newborn and a grandchild at the same time.
My mother, that's who.
"Did you get the shot again?"
I hold Everett closer, and he glares at me.
The same way I had glared at myself when I realized I hadn't.
"No. But I will. Eventually."
My mother's smile is wide, pretty and happy and smug, just like Adam's.
We don't have a baby.
Not right away.
Adam and I spend our days doing lots of other things, including working. We both get offices, large and spacious and ultimately sort of intimidating given who we are. His might be larger, and it's a good distance away from mine. Mine is next to Rylan's, which proves to be highly entertaining. On Monday, he came by with donuts. Tuesday was bagels. Wednesday was breakfast burritos. Thursday was donuts again, but fancier donuts, and Friday was a full on pancake breakfast brought up by Quinten.
Adam's office did not have breakfast service, and it was closer to his father's office than anyone.
The two of them seemed to like this arrangement, since they were working together and had managed not to kill each other. Their newfound relationship was good, strengthened by the fact that Adam was learning everything his father did, and they had plenty of time to talk. They also had plenty of time to come visit, and once they realized Rylan was bringing breakfast, it became routine to start their day in here.
All in all, things were quiet. I was given a list of representatives for each faction, and the areas they oversaw. My mother had an intricate list detailing each person and what they did, but also who they were. Her notes were all over the place, but it was clear she cared about them. She and Cara had a close relationship, while Jack's assistant didn't seem overly fond of her. It spanned more names than I thought I would ever remember, down to the girl who routinely made her coffee when she went to Erudite.
I was also given a list of factional issues, and the resolutions and compromises made. They could be used as examples, and I quickly figured out I would have the same advantage my mother had: very personal connections in some of the factions. It was unlikely my grandfather in Amity would refuse to help me, and my grandfather in Erudite would be able to give me some insight. Adam had grandparents in Abnegation, and that left only Candor without any real link.
My father assured me Jack wouldn't be an issue.
He slowly appeared back in his office, but it was clear his real priorities were at home. Four and his new best friend Rylan had a great hold on the faction, and this meant my dad was in no real rush to return to work. Which was fine by him. The first day I saw him, he sat down in one of the guest chairs dressed in a t-shirt and pants, rubbed his eyes, and slowly ate a donut while Rylan caught him up to speed on everything going on: Quinten and his wife were having another baby, Jason had painted Elijah's nursery and Rylan didn't love the color, Christina bought him the wrong boot laces but he guessed he could make them work, and most importantly, everything was really quiet.
My father took all this in, slowly eating a donut with pink sprinkles, and he let Rylan continue.
Chad had broken his nose again, though I had no clue who Chad was, and Karl had mentioned he might try and see if he could have twins again. Arlene had refused to let Rylan have a second lollipop when he went down for a routine checkup, and most importantly, Henry had taken a wife.
Rylan announced this gleefully, and I rolled my eyes.
His wife is…interesting.
Henry had gotten married right after Adam and I did, and he must have realized he was never marrying anyone in the Coulter family. He'd married a girl named Ava, and she was nice. A year older than me, and only a few inches taller, but her hair was dark. It wasn't as dark as mine, but it was as close as he could get to marrying my mother or myself. I liked her though, because she seemed to really like him, and he quit walking home shirtless.
Or coming over to ask if we had any paper towels.
My father snickered at this news, finished his donut, and announced he was going back home to take a nap. He kissed the top of my head, exhaustedly high fived Rylan, and left. His return was gradual. His uniform appeared slowly, until one day he showed up barking orders into his phone at someone, then yelling at everyone to move so he could show Rylan a picture of Everett.
Things felt good, normal and busy, and I found myself feeling oddly fulfilled as I left each day.
"Is that…good?"
I'm met with silence, a heavy noise of intense concentration, and finally a strangled yes.
"Adam?"
I look up at him, balancing carefully on my knees, to the red face of my husband. Being married came with all kinds of perks. I routinely got out of putting the dishes away because Adam liked them up where he could reach them, and there was no way I could reach the higher shelves. He bought our groceries because he made dinner more often than I did, and he always bought dessert.
He was warm and strong, very patient, and best of all, very eager to make sure I enjoyed our nights together. Sometimes, when his mouth moved lower, between my thighs until I groaned his name, I had to wince away the thought of him talking to Jason about this. I could also appreciate the fact that he'd had someone fill him in on the basics, but everything else, we figured out together.
If I had to guess, I would assume his parents weren't very open about this sort of thing. I always seemed to be seconds away from witnessing my father gazing at my mother or making some horrible cringe-worthy comment about how he wanted to go home. It was impossible to miss just how much he loved her, how even when she failed to tell him she was having another child he couldn't stay mad at her. Their affection came easy, though my mother confessed it once did not, and they saw no reason not to be visibly in love.
Adam is slightly more reserved.
Not in any way that would hint he's not married. Our return to Dauntless brought us right back to our friends, right back into the faction, and right into a slew of girls who'd realized a few things.
One, Adam is a genuinely nice guy. He is polite, kind, and never really mean to anyone.
Two, he is tall. Fit. Really handsome, especially when he wears his uniform.
And three, he looks even better out of the uniform.
Occasionally, I was subject to their jealous stares as we ate dinner. Adam insisted it went both ways. More than once, I'd caught him glaring at someone across the room, or pulling me closer, as though they'd come over and just move me away from him. The best part of these encounters was we both ended up worked up. We'd take off in a huff of irrational, lusty jealousy, and it was a race to see how quickly we could get the other one undressed.
Tonight is no exception.
We'd gone to dinner at Clyde's. We sat in our normal booth, away from everyone else, but apparently not far enough away. Adam still had the leaders' uniform on, and I was dressed up since I'd gone to Erudite today. Over hamburgers and fizzy sodas, Adam told me about Jason bringing Elijah into the office, and Rylan spending the entire day investigating a missing poster. Right as he told me Rylan found his cat poster, a wall sized print out of a cat dressed as a wizard, I realized the girls at the table next to us were staring at him.
They were staring at me, too, but my stares were more in disbelief. They were edgier than I am, electric colored hair and faces full of metal, and as far as I knew, they were nothing Adam was interested in. Even so, I scowled back at them, watching their eyes rake over Adam like they'd never seen him before, and I knew it was the stupid jacket.
My mother had warned me everyone loves the uniforms. It made everyone far more attractive, and I'd thought she was just being obnoxious since my father still happened to have his on.
But in that moment, I understood.
Adam, dressed in the dark black uniform with his hair a mess, was hard to look away from. There was an air of authority not there before, a faint hint of power over those who lived here. It wasn't anything drastic. It was more natural, like the job came to him without much trouble, and he had no issues getting people to trust him.
When one girl bravely sent him over a drink, I had enough.
He sent it back, paid the bill, and reached for my hand. We walked out together, him ignoring them completely and me smirking as I walked by, though I was irritated enough to consider calling my father and having the girls kicked out. We didn't get very far before Adam pulled me against his chest. He kissed me, less polite and far more frantic, and he mumbled he knew I was mad, and he thought it made me even prettier.
He thought I was pretty all the way home, into our bedroom, but especially when I took the length of him into my mouth.
My skill level was questionable at best. He was the only person I'd ever slept with and our experience level was only each other. I had found great joy, and a lot of very blissful nights because of this, and I wasn't hesitant at trying things. I wanted to make sure he was satisfied. I knew he was happy, and there was no rush to conquer every single sex act in this book Rachel had gifted us.
But tonight, he's very happy, and his fingers slide into my hair. He's gentle, coaxing them through the dark strands I pushed back, until he's not. It only takes me a minute to figure out what he likes, and when my fingers graze his thighs, he yanks on my hair. His groan is immediate; his head falls back, his lips part, and when he looks down at me, he shakes his head furiously.
"You…you have to stop. I won't… I….Eva."
Rachel had given me advice on this one. I hadn't asked for it, nor did I want to hear about her experiences with Aja, but I listened to the main points. When Adam groans again, his hips bucking to no rhythm other than fast and faster, I know he's close. I rise up further, sliding one hand up to stroke him, and I have to admit, I feel pretty powerful when he mumbles my name over and over.
He'd done this to me a few nights ago.
I was ready for him to slide inside of me, and I got the surprise of my life when he pushed my legs apart, only to settle between them. I came pretty quickly, my hands in his hair and my knees pulled up to keep him close, and for a second, I thought I was dead.
Now, I think Adam might die, because he yanks harder, and I coax him on, liking the way he's about to lose control. The sight before me is one that's hard to forget; every muscle on him is tensed, his chest is rising and falling, and his breathing comes in sharp pants. I only pull away when he jerks his hips back, and he shoves me backward.
"I thought you liked it!"
My protest dies when he attacks my neck with his mouth. He pushes my legs away so he can move closer, and he pushes inside me with all the franticness from earlier.
"Fuck, you have no idea how much I love you."
It's the only thing I need to hear. I grab hold of his shoulders, raking my nails down his back, and I forget about the girls drooling over him. I focus only on him, grunting as his hips hit mine, and saying my name. He comes first, having been pushed over the edge from earlier, but I don't mind.
He makes it up to me over and over, until I can barely remember my own name, and he slickly reminds me we share a last name.
For the most part, Everett is a pretty easy-going baby.
He turns four months old on a Friday, and my mother invites everyone to meet at Clyde's for dinner. She and my father reserve half the back of the bar, and I half wonder if I should bring Everett something. It's not a celebration really, but it feels like one.
Adam and I show up right at the same time his parents do, and they look surprised to see my mother looking exactly the same as she always does. She doesn't look tired anymore, and her dress is fitted enough that it looks impossible that she had a baby a few months ago. Her hair is long and wavy, and she and my father are busy talking, her staring up at him and him staring down at her, grossly enamored with each other, while my grandfather holds Everett. His blue shirt is sharp and bright, and he and Camille seem very impressed with Everett.
Everett is impressed by none of this.
His blonde hair has been combed to the side to replicate my father's, and his tiny black outfit is soft looking. He has tiny boots on, and he immediately kicks them off, crying when Camille tries to put them back on his feet. She smiles at him, making a face so he'll laugh, and he does.
Barely.
He cracks the barest hint of a grin, and my grandpa comments he looks just like my father.
I half expected to find myself jealous of the attention on Everett, but I'm not. I'd been around him enough to figure out that he took after my father, even as an infant, and preferred his immediate family only. He likes me enough to let me hold him, and I suspect he sometimes thinks I am our mother. When he realizes I'm not, he scrunches up his face and screams until she comes to get him, then he glares at me over her shoulder.
Even now, Everett doesn't seem to want any of the attention. He keeps turning his head toward my mother, and eventually wails loud enough that she breaks away to go fetch him. His face is bright red and furious, and he screams even as she takes hold of him. Once he's safe in her arms, he quiets down immediately, pushing his head into her throat and closing his eyes, and the tears stop.
Someone snickers that he's just like Eric, and my father's retort- that he'll kill them -is mild.
"He looks just like your dad," Adam whispers, and he tightens his fingers through mine. "Like, a tiny, angry clone."
"I know. My dad makes the same face when my mom leaves him alone on the couch," I whisper back, and for a second, we hang out on the outside of the crowd, observing them.
The non-party is in full swing. My grandpa from Amity shows up a few seconds before us, loudly announcing his bar is looking good and he approves of the few upgrades Paul has made. My grandmother immediately hugs my mother, holding her tightly and refusing to let go. Forrest and Willow show up, taking a seat to the side and glancing around in total adoration, and even Woody and his wife are here. Everyone mingles together –Jason and Meghan show up with Elijah, Karl and Charlotte show up with their army of children, and Four and Tris are pulled along by Ethan and Evan. They've mostly accepted their sisters, and their tiny uniforms are even cuter when they pull everyone over to see Elyse and Ella.
They're also dressed in black, and I admire everyone's dedication to the Dauntless faction.
"Should we get a drink?" Adam asks, and I nod. I follow his lead to the bar, staring up at his mess of hair, still needing to be cut but he hadn't found the time, and his dark shirt. He glances back at me, grinning when he sees me staring, and once we are away from our family, he pulls me close. "You look really pretty. Much better than in the uniform they gave you."
I wrinkle my nose, rising up to kiss him.
We'd both been given a set to wear, Adam's a leader's version and mine the generic one the soldiers wore, though I had no desire to shrug on the heavy jacket and pants. Mine didn't even fit. I could only assume it was generic sizing, but it was oversized and ill fitting. My father groaned when I told him, and said he'd call Christian. We both knew this meant he'd show up to take measurements, which could take hours, and he smiled when I said I was in no real hurry to have the issue fixed because I had no plans to wear it.
"Yours looks good on," I inform him, pressing my lips to his, feeling him smile. "It looks better off, though."
Adam's hands move to my lower back. He presses them gently, coaxing me closer. He's never been hesitant in touching me, and especially not now. He inches me closer, and his hand moves around to rest on my side.
Hour ago, I'd confessed that for the millionth time I hadn't gone to see Arlene. Any free time I had, I spent with him. It felt wrong to trudge downstairs to see her, and Adam simply shrugged the words away and pulled me down on top of him.
"How long do you want to stay here?" I ask as he walks us backward and he stops when I hit the bar. We have the same boots on, and my dress is one of my favorites. He seems to like it, too. His fingers return to my back, and he glances around us to see if anyone is paying attention.
They aren't.
Ethan has managed to jump off the table, and somehow kicked Rylan in the face. Charlotte is attempting to stop his bloody nose while Evan tells him it looks cool. Christina is laughing, holding her cocktail with both hands and nearly spilling it when Rylan declares nothing can hurt him. My mother is holding Everett, and my father is hovering nearby, explaining to my grandpa how Everett sleeps through the night now, and they both are getting plenty of sleep. He snickers when he says it, and I have a feeling they're up with each other the second Everett goes to bed.
A few days ago, my father showed up to very carefully ask me how I felt about them moving Everett into my room. My father is never afraid, but he looked hesitant, like he didn't want to ask me. His stare told me this had never been in his plans, and it was making him feel guilty since they promised never to change my room.
I immediately assured him it was fine. Everett couldn't sleep in their room forever, and they probably didn't want to move. I had no plans of moving back in, and a few days later, my room was transformed into a nursey. It was dark and edgy, and I'm sure Everett would thrive into a clone of my father with his black bedding and even blacker décor.
"Um, not long at all." Adam stares back with wide eyes, and he slides one hand up to touch my hair. He twists a piece around, side eyeing the bartender as we wait to order. "I missed you, today."
"Not as much as I missed you."
"You two are just as gross as Eva's mom and dad."
The voice comes from Kat, laughing as she stops beside us. Zander is here too, and his fingers are tightly wound through hers. He snickers along with her, fully agreeing his older sister has continued to be gross, and he throws one look over at them and makes a face.
"He must really like her to still not find her annoying," Zander shakes his head, and he winks at me. "Did you guys order yet?"
"Not yet, they're really busy," Adam doesn't let go of me, and he leans in. Zander and Kat aren't such a sore subject anymore, but things hadn't returned exactly to normal.
Once they both had my blessing, Zander proposed to Kat. He found her walking to work, pulled her to the side, and practically demanded she marry him. It was far from romantic, but it was exactly what they needed. Just the two of them, realizing how much they meant to each other. He didn't care what anyone else thought, nor did he want to spend another second apart.
Since then, they'd gone full force with their love.
Every time I saw them, they were either making out, or about to make out. Kat moved in with Zander a day after he asked her to marry him, and they were very content with their new life. She'd asked me to be in her wedding, looking nervous as though I might say no, but I said yes. I hadn't seen her a ton, but I fully approved of them being together and wouldn't miss it for the world.
Their wedding is in a few months, and they won't tell a soul where it is being held.
My guess is Amity.
Adam's guess is in the training room.
"We can't stay long. We have to get back home," Zander throws out casually, and Kat beams up at him. She stares at his ridiculous haircut, his fitted t-shirt, and practically melts at whatever they have planned. "We have…uh, a delivery we're waiting for."
"At seven at night?" I stare at both of them, and Adam does his best not to laugh. "Hey, Kat did you pick out a dress yet? I was thinking we could go look if you want."
"I haven't!" Her eyes light up as she pries herself away from Zander. "Are you busy tomorrow? Or the day after?"
"I can meet you whenever. I'm off the next few days," I watch Adam do his best not to frown, because he is off, too. "Just…text me. We'll figure it out."
"Sounds good to me," she answers dreamily, and Zander flashes Adam an even bigger smile. He's been extra happy these days, and I have a feeling we're in for quite the party. "Hey, Zander we should go home. Let's go say hi to Everly and Eric, and then we'll leave. We can grab a drink at home."
"Sure," Zander takes her hand in his again, and he waves. "I'll see you both soon."
"Later," Adam watches as they slink back through the crowd, and until they reach my parents. They say hello, and Kat is thrilled to see Everett. She touches his head, and my mother offers to let her hold him. Everett has other plans, though. He immediately shrieks, and Kat laughs. She tells my mom it's fine, but she and Zander take off a second later, staring at one another and no one else. "How long before you think they have a baby?"
I watch them struggle to weave through the crowd, Zander tripping over his boots and laughing when Kat trips over him, and I have a feeling it won't be long.
"I bet they have one right after they get married."
Adam nods, and for a single second, out of absolutely nowhere, he looks the tiniest, faintest bit jealous. It's a strange look for him. We'd both agreed that having a baby wasn't something we wanted right away, or maybe for a long time. Adam's relationship with his father was getting better, but that didn't mean he wanted to be a father.
Which leaves me confused when he watches them leave, and his smile doesn't reach his eyes for the rest of the night.
"I love you."
This time, he hovers over me, thrusting in and out with a desperation I don't remember him having. Adam's skin is slick and sweaty, and I nearly fall off the bed when he slams into me.
He'd come home from work in quite the mood. I couldn't figure out if it was his father, maybe making some comment that would set him off, or his mother, dropping by out of the blue to ask if he'd come to dinner. Our free time is scarce these days, and we often chose to spend it with each other.
Rachel and Aja had invited us out plenty of times. We'd gone along, meeting up with them and Pink and Gunner, and always had fun. Ultimately, we snuck away, ending the night by hinting we had to work early and we had to get to bed.
It had been a week since we'd seen everyone, and I'd figured maybe we'd order dinner and watch a movie. I had gone with Kat to pick out her dress, and I'd bought one, too. Adam had gone with Zander to look at a suit, though he still couldn't figure out where they were getting married. That had been days ago, but his mood tonight was something else.
He'd marched inside, half dragged me to our bedroom, and tackled me before I could even ask if he wanted me to order dinner.
"They changed your name today. Officially," Adam informs me, his eyes half open and his head dipping down to touch mine. "They sent your cards to my dad and he asked again if…" Adam pauses, because talking about his father isn't exactly ideal right now. "They wanted to know if we are ever having…"
He doesn't finish. I reach up to pull his head to mine, and I shake my head no.
We'd both agreed our wedding was absolutely perfect.
We'd caught some flak for not having a huge celebration. My father offered. Demanded. Insisted. Bargained, then oddly enough, begged for a large party for us. At first, we said yes, figuring it would be fine, but Everett proved to take up most of his time, and my mother sort of winced at the thought of putting on a formal dress. We decided having Rylan marry us was enough; we'd gotten what we wanted, and it felt intrusive to have everyone watch us proclaim our love for each other.
Adam especially agreed. He valued our privacy here, and I knew he didn't want to get married in front of the faction.
I did feel guilty that my parents weren't there. Sometimes, Adam did, too. He mumbled it at night, until it became clear his parents wanted a wedding.
Coming from them it was strange, and I wondered if they were desperate to make up for lost time.
And the sprinkle cake.
"Do you want to have one? We could just have a party or something," I gasp, but it's hard to put my thoughts together. Adam stops to pull me back from nearly falling to the floor, and he stares in surprise. "It would be for them, not us. We've been married for a while now. We already had the best wedding but they probably feel left out."
I smile up at him, and it's like despite whatever his parents were telling him, he never thought of that. "Who even cares? We can show up late, say a few vows, and have some cake."
"True. We never did have cake," he muses, and his expression changes. "You sure about this?"
"Yes," I urge him on, moving my hand back to his hips. He gets the hint immediately, and he resumes slowly sliding in and out. "And I love you, too. More than you could ever know."
He smiles even wider at this affirmation, and I'm not lying. All I ever wanted was for someone to love me, and he did. He loved me in a way I would never imagine possible, a way that made my head spin. The best moments with him were the ones that were absolutely mundane but made magical just by being together.
He seems to agree.
He forgets whatever set him off, and resumes kissing my lips, then my neck, then biting me when I laugh. He moves easily, pulling me closer and laughing when his own head hits our headboard, and I realize how lucky I am.
His love for me is the same as mine for him, all encompassing, and all either of us needs.
In a surprising turn of events, my mother leaves Everett alone for a whole two minutes to sit on my bed. She reclines back to watch me try on the dress for Zander's wedding, and her approval is immediate.
"You look so pretty. When you were little, your grandma used to send me a bunch of dresses for you and they were gorgeous. They drove your dad nuts because they were all pink." She tilts her head and her own dress slips off her shoulder. "Then he started picking out all the girly clothes for you. He secretly liked them."
"I think everyone in the faction knows it's his favorite color," I stare at her through the mirror, and her response is to roll her eyes at my irritation. The feeling is rare, bubbling up at the thought of how much my father loves my mother, and I try to squash it down. "Did he order Everett a uniform yet?"
"Not that I know of," she grins. "But I'm sure he's tried. Christian drops off clothes all the time. Everything is black. There is no other color in your father's mind for his son."
"Are you guys having fun?" I turn to stare at myself in the mirror and I hold my hair up to see if it looks better that way. "Having a baby when your older child is married?"
"Oh tons," she answers, but her concern is quick. She sits up, and her head tilts. "Everett is completely different than you were. You were obsessed with your father. He let you get away with murder. I'd try to put you in your crib, we'd go to bed, you'd cry, he'd go get you. He took you everywhere, wouldn't let anyone hold you, and he acted like no one else had ever had a baby but him. Everett won't leave my side. He cries if anyone takes him away from me longer than a second, but he likes his space. He sleeps in his crib all night, and he stares your father down like he's trying to figure out how to be his size. It's cute, but tiring."
"I thought you said he sleeps through the night?"
"Yeah, but your father doesn't," she laughs, and I make a face, turning nauseous at the thought of them. "Oh stop. I'm sure you and Adam aren't going straight to bed. I saw him walking to get coffee with Gunner and he looked pretty happy. I mean, I haven't heard any stories, but he looks happy."
"He is happy," I let go of my hair, and I glare at her smug smile. "Maybe because we are going straight to bed."
"Yeah, sure. I was your age once. I only got to sleep in because your father was training me and he liked having someone to cuddle with." She looks oddly sappy at this thought, and she only confirms the theory that my father loved her so much that he kept her with him, despite her initiation being for the whole faction and not just with him. "I hated when he had to get up early. So many mornings he'd put on his uniform and I hated that he was leaving."
I stare at her, and for a second, I understand.
Adam left before me this morning. He'd pulled on the leader's jacket over his shirt, and I watched him from our bed. I pulled the covers up high, clutching them to my chest, and hoping he'd announce he was coming back to bed. He didn't have to work today, but he was meeting his dad and Jason, and the jacket hinted it was work related.
"Yeah," I mutter, and I turn when Everett starts screaming. "Do you have to go get him?"
"I do. He's probably hungry," she shrugs, and she stands up slowly. "He gets sort of territorial when he wants to eat. Your father tried to sit by me when Everett was nursing and he kicked him out of the way."
"I see he's just as obsessed as dad is," I laugh, and she sighs. "What?"
"He's very sweet. I get it. I just…. I was hoping he'd have a niece or nephew to play with soon. You know, it's been nearly five months since you married Adam."
"Get out of my room," I glare at her, but there's no real anger behind it. "I don't think we should have a baby any time soon. I think Adam is busy and I'm busy and your notes you left for how to handle Jack Kang are hard to decipher and I already had cramps and my period will be here any day so you can just go on wishing for a grandchild and…"
I stop, and she looks at me.
"And?"
"Um..." I try to finish my sentence, but I can't. I'm frantically trying to figure out what the date is, and my brain scrambles the events that have happened since I've been married and how this would correlate to me not being pregnant.
Everett was born, my room was redone, Rylan had started hosting Pancake Tuesdays in my office, my father went back to work, my mother bought a slew of dresses that showed off that she'd never gained more than five pounds while pregnant, Zander and Kat were engaged, Rachel and Aja had broken up then immediately gotten back together, Everett had turned three months old, then four months old, was nearly five months old….and Adam and I had sex.
A lot of sex.
Sometimes before we left for work, often before we went to bed.
I'd attended zero appointments Arlene had scheduled for me, and I'd forgotten to reschedule them. I'd even turned off her text reminders, because I didn't have time. I'd rather be home, in bed with Adam, than waiting in the infirmary to be stabbed.
"It's the twentieth," my mother answers slickly, and she crosses her arms over her chest with a smug smile, and I can see her realizing my terrible mood isn't just because my little brother has taken over her life. "You look like you're trying to count something in your mind."
"I am not!" I blurt out, lying desperately when there's wave of horror as I try to remember the last time I'd had any sort of period. It had stopped during initiation, probably from the stress of trying to stay alive, and I certainly hadn't had it the first time I'd slept with Adam.
Or the thousandth.
"I'm not…I can't be…I got one shot." I think aloud, and my mother's smirk lessens as her eyes widen. "What?"
"EVA! You only got one shot? That's it? They only last a few months! You really never went back? I thought you were kidding!" My mother looks thrown off, and she glances around the room furiously. When she comes up with nothing, for I can't even figure out what she's looking for, her eyes are so large you'd have thought I announced I was leaving tonight and never returning. "Eva, I was just teasing you! Everett has a lot of friends and I really do want a grandchild since I'm home anyway, and your father looks really cute holding little babies but…you really haven't been on birth control this whole time?!"
Her shriek rivals Everett's, and I panic.
My future flashes before me and it's bleak. I give birth in a barn. Adam is mad. When we return to Dauntless, he leaves for work, while I stay home, trying to clean and raise our six children. They're all born at once. They cry when he leaves, throw their toys everywhere, and I have seven bedrooms to try to keep up with. I fail. My hair is ugly, and ultimately, Adam finds a younger and prettier wife who isn't covered in baby vomit and not even Henry wants to marry me.
I move back home, and Everett takes over as the more successful child of the family.
He's two.
"Eva!"
For the first time in a while, I start crying, so hard that my mother yells for my father to bring her Everett, but also to call Adam.
"Um, so I have to admit I honestly thought you were…on…something."
Adam's fingers move slowly, gently coaxing my hair out of my eyes. It sticks to my cheeks, wet with the tears that hadn't stopped since I'd started crying, and he holds me close against his chest. I lean further into him, waiting for the nurse to finish writing my name on the vials of blood she'd taken, and he doesn't let go.
"Eva, it's fine, either way. I don't care."
His voice is soothing. It's low and rough, but confident in our ability to have a child. I shake my head no, that it's not alright, and I sound miserable when I do answer him.
"No! You left! You married someone else and I couldn't keep everything clean and I didn't even have time to brush my hair…"
He's silent, and he struggles to find the words to answer me.
"What?"
"Six of them," I cry even harder, and I don't want this. I lift my head away from his chest to stare at him, and his blue eyes are understandably confused. "You left me."
"I uh, had to work this morning. I went with my dad to go to lunch, but he wanted me to sit in on a video conference. I thought you'd be okay. You said your mom was coming over…." Adam trails off, and I wait for him to tell me he's leaving. That this has been fun, but I'm officially insane. "Six of what? Six kids? Were you dreaming?"
"No, I just…I thought about it and…" I sound like a moron. He just watches me, still trying to smooth my hair away, and the act is so kind it makes me cry all over again. "I'm an idiot. This is my fault. I never came back to get the shot and I just assumed at some point we'd want to have a baby and then it would just happen."
"Oh, I think it's happening," the nurse mutters, and she returns to hand me a tissue. "How are you feeling? Any nausea? Headaches? Tiredness?"
"No," I shake my head, but Adam nods his. "Yes?"
"You barely ate your breakfast. You said you weren't hungry and it was annoying Rylan was in your office. You also said you were tired, and you fell asleep when I started the documentary about how viruses spread."
I stare back at him, narrowing my eyes. "Okay, well you also fell asleep during that one."
"True, but…" Adam swallows, and he looks incredibly hesitant to say anything else.
"What? What do you know that I don't?" I look at him in horror, but his fate is saved when the nurse returns to wipe off my arm again. "More blood?"
"I'm going to have you checked for a few other things. Arlene just sent the request in. It'll just take a second," she assures me, and a second later, she stabs the needle right into my vein. "How old are you?"
"Eighteen."
My answer is bleak, but not as bleak as when she asks Adam for his contact information and not mine. She has me sign off on the paperwork requesting the tests –which I try to read but the only one I really understand is pregnancy test –and then I do my best to sign my name at the bottom.
It looks strange, after years of being Eva Coulter, but also right.
I finish writing Eva Eaton, then I sink back against Adam's chest until he gently tells me we can leave whenever I'm ready.
Clyde's is crowded.
I sit in the booth next to Adam, and all around him, everyone is beaming. To the side of me, is his mother. Every so often, she grasps onto my arm and doesn't let go until she's squeezed it. His father sits beside her, watching intently and carefully nudging the oversized gift they've brought. On the other side of Adam is Jason, holding Elijah up to see the candles, and Meghan, snapping photos on her phone.
My parents, along with Karl and his family, and Rylan and Christina, sit on the other side. Even Everett is interested in the cake and burning flames, and his grey eyes flash over to Elyse every so often. She sits there with Charlotte, babbling absolutely nothing as Ella falls asleep. Ethan and Evan wait patiently, and every so often, Evan chants cake, cake, cake until Karl picks him up to see better.
Adam turns nineteen first.
The party was my idea. I wanted to do something special for him, and I figured a party with our friends and family would be ideal. I made reservations, bought him a few presents, and invited everyone who was important. Unfortunately for our friends, our parents showed up first, followed by their friends, and took the seats closest to us. No one seemed to mind, though. Kat and Zander were at the very end, which was fine, since they were holding hands and had eaten dinner without breaking their grip. Rachel and Aja were talking to Charlotte about how it was having four children, and Pink and Gunner were whispering something to my parents.
Everyone had brought something. There was cake. Gifts. A mountain of drinks, sent our way from people in the bar, just wanting to join in. There were balloons, balloon animals –a hidden talent Karl waited my whole life to reveal– and plenty of laughs as Tris told Adam to make a wish, and he actually listened.
He glances over at me with a smile, then turns to the cake, and closes his eyes. He keeps them shut for a minute before he blows them out, and once he does, it sounds like the whole bar is cheering.
"CAKE! CAKE! CAKE!" Evan slams his fists on the table, and Tris moves the chocolate non-sprinkle cake away to cut.
"What did you wish for?" I ask, craning my head up to look at him.
He looks down at me, slinging his arm against the back of the booth, and his head touches mine.
"A new shirt. I've already got everything I want."
He's lying.
His smirk tells me he wished for something else, but I have a feeling I'll like it.
"Happy Birthday, old man." I kiss his cheek quickly, and he laughs.
"Hey, you're next, Eaton. It won't be long before you're nineteen, and we all know what happens then," Adam looks right at me, and I have the sinking feeling I know what he means. "We officially get married married, for the whole faction to see."
I force a smile at the very thought. We'd made a very loose agreement to have this take place, and I was starting to regret the idea.
In fact, every time I thought about it, I got a little queasy. I like my life with Adam, and it feels wrong to invite everyone in Dauntless to have a glimpse into it.
Adam is pretty excited for it. Even now, he beams at his guests and pulls me closer. We sit and watch as Tris and my mom work to pass out the cake. I stay pressed into his side, and his good mood wins out over mine. He bends down to kiss me back, and he very quietly thanks me for this party.
"I don't think I ever felt that something like this would happen. Not until…not until we were together," Adam takes my hand in his, and he winds his fingers between mine. "Not until you said you loved me."
His words are quiet and low, and really, no one around us can hear anything. My father and Four are arguing over who is going to pay the bill, and my mother and Tris are talking about someone named Pamela. Everett leans back against our mom in total content, having been given a single taste of frosting. He'd mouthed it in pure disgust, then his eyes lit up. For a whole two minutes he was wild, waving his fists and trying to sit up further to get more cake, then he crashed. He leaned against her chest to watch everyone, and now his stare is stuck on Adam.
Adam wiggles his free fingers at him, and Everett barely acknowledges him past an exaggerated sigh.
"He hates me. Why? I thought all kids loved me!" Adam is rightfully insulted, and my mother hears him.
"No! He doesn't hate you! How could he hate his brother in law? He just…shares Eric's disdain for the general population." She explains brightly, then resumes telling Tris that Pamela is alive and well, and Eric went to see her the other day.
"I don't think that makes me feel much better," Adam stares, and Rylan appears to sympathize. He squeezes himself in between my mother and father and ignores both their stares.
"Don't lose any sleep over it. I held him the other day, while Eric went to get us some drinks, and the kid barfed on me. All over my wolf shirt! Do you know how hard it is to find a wolf shirt in this place? It had three wolves on it, all howling at the moon." Rylan looks defeated, then he perks up. "I'm sure Chris will find another one. No biggie."
"Did you ever find a factionless child to steal?" Adam asks, and I kick him beneath the table. He elbows me back, and we both know my father had warned Rylan that while he could steal a factionless child, he'd actually have to raise the child once he did. "Or are you and Christina holding off?"
"I'm exploring my options," Rylan shrugs, like he'd really been thinking this through. "Who knows what the future holds, Adam? I still have a few things to work on, plus Christina and I were just talking about taking a few weeks off. Harrison invited us to Amity and I might take him up on it."
"Before Eva's birthday?" Adam looks nervous, and Rylan immediately shakes his head.
"You really think that I, number one godfather and ultimate supreme friend of the Coulter slash Eaton family would leave before celebrating such an event? Never. You know what happened when your mother turned nineteen?"
"What?" I take a sip of my drink, waiting for him to answer. "Let me guess. My father professed his love for her to the entire faction and everyone clapped?"
"Well…" Rylan pauses. "I mean, yes that did happen. But I was going to say she had you. So, since you got married when she did, I'm fully expecting my great godchild sometime in the upcoming year, following right along the approved Coulter timeline of important events."
I choke on my drink. It goes down the wrong way, into my lungs, and no one is phased.
"Oh, and your father celebrated her birthday with her and only her and no one else because he was a selfish asshole sometimes, back in the day, but that's okay. I've moved on from it." Rylan grins, and he stands up, purposely smacking my father as he climbs away from them. "I love you all. I'm going back to my wife now."
"Eva, are you okay?" Adam looks down at me, laughing as I try to stop coughing. I finally nod, but it takes a long time for the burn to go away.
It stays there for a while, and I ignore my mother's pressing stare as she tries to wrangle Everett over to my father.
Adam had done his best to wait until I was nineteen to get married, only because I'd been insistent upon not repeating history.
But I have the sinking feeling everyone else is expecting the same thing, and even worse, they might be right.
"Do you have the test results back?"
I half rage whisper, half yell this into my phone. In front of me, Christian pins my dress, making small humming noises of both approval and disapproval. He doesn't like that the dress is too large on top, and he makes a face when he gets to the waist. I don't love any of it, but Kat does, and I suppose I'm fine looking like a peasant in Amity for a day.
"I'm sorry, who is this?"
"Eva! Eva Cou…Eaton. Eva Eaton," I answer, correcting myself and ready to slap someone out of frustration. I grow even more irritable when my head throbs, and I regret coming down here without eating breakfast.
"There's no Eva Cou in our system."
"It's Eva Eaton!" I say my name loudly, and Christian pauses his work to blink. "My husband is Adam Eaton. I was in there a while ago. They said they'd call back when they had the results in and they haven't. It was only supposed to take a few days."
"Did they call your husband?" The girl asks, and I count to seventy-five. "Did you ask Adam?"
"I'm pretty sure my husband would have told me if they called," I practically growl, and I suddenly feel hot. The room heats up to a thousand degrees, and I feel like I might collapse into a pile of purple, lushly soft and oversized fabric. "Actually, can I talk to Arlene?"
"She's out of the office today. Oh, wait. Hold on. It says here, oh it says they lost the test results. One of the nurses dropped the vials and the lid popped open and, oh it looks like Rylan stepped in the blood and tracked it down the hallway. My apologies. Someone should have called you to come back to have the test done again." To her credit, whoever this nurse is, she sounds truly apologetic. "I'm so sorry. It looks like they did try to call someone, but they called…. oh, they called Everly Coulter. That's probably why she came down here the other day."
"Wonderful," I answer flatly.
Christian snickers, and he shortens the length on the dress. He keeps pinning away, making it a length I can walk in.
"You can come by any time and we'll redo the procedure. I'll put a note on the account so you don't have to wait." She clacks away, and I shake my head. That's a bad idea, because I find myself hot and dizzy, and I force myself to thank her.
The room tilts and I wobble to the side.
"They're the worst. I went down there one time because I stabbed myself with a sewing needle, and it went so deep and then turned red and I swore it was infected, and they made me wait forever. Something about someone with a broken leg ahead of me, and Arlene was running behind and… Eva, are you okay?"
Christian stares at me, and I woozily nod.
"I forgot to eat breakfast," I mutter, and it's the last thing I hear.
The next time I open my eyes, Adam is there, and so is half the Dauntless medical staff.
"Did you really forget to eat breakfast? Are you not feeling well?" My mother's stare is curious, but not as curious as Everett's. He eyes my apartment wildly, trying to reach out and grasp for anything in his wingspan. It's pretty comical, since he's still an infant, but he tries. "Eva, are you sick?"
"I'm fine. I just got really hot when I was there," I try to explain, but it's fairly useless.
My parents showed up not too long ago. My father and Adam are off talking by the door, and my mother and Everett are rifling through the cabinets looking for something. I sit at the dining room table, and my mother groans when she doesn't find what she's looking for.
"Eric, I'll just order something! There's nothing in here I can cook." She bounces Everett up higher, and he grabs a hold of her hair.
"Everly, there's nothing you can cook anyway," my father calls back, but it's good natured. "I'll have Quinten bring her lunch. And dinner." He throws us both a dark look, and the stress on his face is evident. "Eva, do you want me to order groceries? I know I've been busy. Did I forget to meet you for breakfast? Did we have plans?"
"No! I'm fine. I swear. I just got really hot and Christian was hemming the dress and I was on the phone and I guess I passed out. It could happen to anyone," I point out, and my mother relents somewhat.
"That's true. It is really hot down there. Christian has been saying the heat is malfunctioning for weeks now," she agrees, and there's a moment of hope that they'll all leave. Even Zander had come by, surprisingly alone, and he brought me a muffin. "Okay, well I'll order lunch for Eva and Adam, and I'll order lunch for us to eat at home. I don't want Everett to miss his nap."
"Eva, are you sure you're alright? Arlene said she'll come up here and do the bloodwork." My father's stare finds me, curled up on the dining room chair, and I shake my head. Not only had I refused to go down to the infirmary, I was so mortified that I begged Adam to take me back home. He did, but he'd already called my father when he heard what happened, and they showed up as well.
I mostly just wanted to eat my lunch and go lie down.
"I swear, I'm fine. I feel great. I just skipped breakfast and I shouldn't have." I pull my feet up closer, feeling oddly defensive. I'd changed the minute I'd gotten home, pulling on Adam's shirt and a pair of his boxers, and the only thing I wanted was to retreat into our bedroom. "I'll eat lunch and dinner. And dessert. Just promise me the whole faction won't know about this. I don't want everyone hearing that I passed out while getting my dress altered."
My father and Adam exchange a look, and I have a feeling Christian really enjoyed having a little excitement in his day.
"Okay, then I'm staying home until everyone forgets about this," I announce, and no one believes me.
Adam and my father return to discussing something, my mother calls Quinten, and the only one who acknowledges me is Everett. He narrows his grey eyes in pure disbelief, all while chewing on my mother's hair. He squeals when she tries to move it out of his mouth, and ultimately, gives up and lets him drool all over it.
I sigh, and I sigh even harder when my phone lights up, and a dozen messages come in, one after another, asking what happened.
The last one I get is from Arlene, profusely apologizing for the infirmary mishap, and asking if I'd please come see her.
"Are you really okay?"
Adam's question is paired with his fingers trailing up my ribs. He moves slowly, pressing one by one, until I nod. My head is on his bare chest, beneath his sternum, and my arm is thrown over him. A few minutes ago, he'd been dragging his fingers through my hair. I was nearly asleep, lulled by his slow breathing and the feeling of his nails scraping my scalp, and I startled when he started talking.
I had thought he was engrossed in the show he was watching –a standoff against a cult that doesn't look like it's going to end well –but he's clearly not.
"I just…I was really worried. Christian called me freaking out and then I got there and you were sort of out of it."
His voice is even, but slightly tense. I lift my head away from him, and I'm met with dark blue eyes blinking in pure concern.
I had been out of it. I'd opened my eyes to him next to me, frantically touching my face and pressing his palm to my forehead.
"I don't want anything to happen to you. Did you really not eat breakfast?" Adam stares up at me, waiting for me to nod, and I chew on my lip. "Eva?"
"I promise you, it was nothing. I just… I was running late and I hate the dress and Kat loves it. Then I called the infirmary and everything was lost and they said they called my mom on accident and…" I stop because he reaches up to touch my face, and I really hope he understands my next words. "I think I'm secretly jealous that Kat and Zander are getting married and no one cares. I mean, people care, but they…you know…"
I stop at his kind stare, and I have a feeling he thinks I'm insane.
"Never mind."
"No!" His eyes widen, and he pulls me closer. "I get it. They're important here but they're not…as important. Everyone knows who you are and they know who I am. And the fact that we're together is…. it's interesting to a lot of people. I understand."
"Do you know where they're getting married?" I stare at Adam's eyes, blue and bright, and he grins.
His fingers return to pressing on my side, one by one, and his nod is slow.
"You'll love it."
"Are you sure you're alright?"
My father adjusts his tie with all the enthusiasm of someone being murdered. He exhales in pure annoyance as Forrest sneaks past him with his arms full of flowers. He grins cheekily, pausing by Willow so she can take a bunch, and then me. He offers me one, and I take it with all the enthusiasm of Eric Coulter, dragged to Amity for his nephew's wedding.
"I'm fine. I'm just…ready to get started."
We both look at the rows of people waiting, and I can't think of a better place for Zander to marry a girl from Dauntless. Actually, I can think of several. So could Adam. So could my mother. Even she looked confused when Zander dropped off the invitations, and his only explanation was his father lived in Amity, and it was the first place Zander had slept with Kat.
We all tried not to look at each other when he announced the last part, and I expected Kat to look horrified. She didn't. She smiled at Zander in the most lovesick way, and this was how I wound up in the now fitted dress, a pair of heels impractical for walking anywhere in Amity, beneath rows of lights and flowers and plenty of bright colors.
There is no theme to the wedding, other than wedding, and the only representation of Dauntless is the people. Adam's parents are seated by my mom, helping her keep Everett entertained. Our friends are here, looking around in total confusion as Zander's friends from Amity join him at the very front of the rows, along with a couple of high ranking patrol leaders. Karl and his family take up an entire row. Arlene is here, looking out of place as she inspects a paper lantern, muttering it'll probably catch fire before the ceremony is over, and so is Quinten. His wife is not, but his kids are with him, and I vaguely recall someone saying she's staying home with their new baby.
Rylan and Christina are here, too, in the very front, talking to Zander while he waves as half of Amity shows up. Jason and Meghan appear, and so does Elijah. They take seats by my mother, and he and Everett immediately begin staring at each other. They've started hanging out while my mother and Meghan spend time together, and they'd become baby friends.
It is cute.
It's even cuter when Everett stares at Elyse and she waves at him, offering him her pacifier from over Charlotte's shoulder. Everett takes it, then promptly throws it on the ground.
"I'm going to go sit with your mother. Is Kat's…father here or is he supposed to be?" My dad looks around in strange concern, and he only stops frowning when Kat's father does appear. He waves a quick hello, and he's stopped by Harrison, questioning him to see if he's armed before he can go meet Kat.
"That's him, so I'll see you in a bit." I reach out to hug him, and I feel him glance down in confusion. I hold on tightly, his jacket cold and stiff, and he hugs me back in a way that tells me he's reconsidering going to sit down. "I'm fine, I promise. I just…I want you to know you were a really good dad. Like the absolute best. I don't think I could have asked for better."
"Eva…" he says my name threateningly, and a group from Amity walk by, greeting him cheerfully. He snaps back a hello, then turns his attention back to me.
"I wanted to tell you this. I am really lucky to have you."
"Is this because you turn nineteen in a few weeks?" My father's demand is low and rough, and his hand moves to touch my head. "Evangelina Coulter…"
"Eaton," I correct him, laughing when he lets out a huff of annoyance.
"I would normally refuse to say it, but I like Adam, so…." He trails off, and his eyes find mine. "What are you trying to tell me?"
"Just that I love you. And um…you'll be around for a while, right? You don't go out and patrol anymore? Where someone could shoot you? You just work at your desk all day and you're not super old?"
"No, I'm not super old. At least not according to everyone but your mother," my father looks at me like I'm insane, but before he can question me further, he's called to the side. "Did Rylan put you up to this? You know what? I'll be right back in a few minutes. I think you might have hit your head trying to get the dress on."
"Bye. I love you."
I let go right when he does, and he throws me a strange look before he stomps off to go find my mom. I step right back into someone, and I know it's Adam. I know it's him because he smells really good, and his arms immediately wrap around me.
"Hey."
"Hey."
He presses a quick kiss to my cheek, and he's warm and solid as I lean back. His suit is nice, fancier than I would have imagined Zander would ask him to wear, and I'd helped him fix his tie before we left. His arms wrap around me tighter, and one of his hands moves lower to steady me.
"They're almost ready. I just saw Willow and she said Kat is heading this way." Adam informs me, and I watch as the crowd seems to double in size out of nowhere. I swallow nervously, and Adam nudges my temple. We're both silent as everyone slowly takes their seats, and eventually, it's standing room only.
"Did you tell your dad? I saw you talking to him. I thought maybe you decided he should know."
"Not yet," I shake my head, and I wish the wedding wasn't about to start. I want to stay here, right like this, frozen in time as Adam holds onto me. "I was thinking maybe we should tell everyone tonight."
"Sounds good to me."
Adam hums the answer against my hair, and he doesn't pull away, not even when Aja yells his name or Gunner loudly yells he can see Kat walking toward us. We should be lining up because we're all in the wedding; Adam is standing up with Zander, and I'm standing up with Kat.
In a few minutes, Rachel and Pink and I will walk down the aisle, and the wedding will be well on its way. The ceremony isn't scheduled to be very long, but I'm sure it'll be entertaining, and there's the promise of cake and ice cream when it's all over.
All in all, it's not a bad way to spend one of the last few warm days, especially not when Adam's hand moves lower, pressing over my stomach. His fingers spread wide, possessively, and I'd told him only a few days ago. He accepted it with all the grace and hope in the world. I had the sneaking suspicion he already assumed, but he smiled, and he looked not at all bothered that we'd be fulfilling a repeatedly told prophecy.
I never did go get the blood work redone, but it wasn't hard to figure out. The tipping point came when I was so tired I slept through my alarm, and I realized I wasn't just run down from working. I told Adam while we were in bed, my head on his chest and my fingers through his, and I couldn't think of a better way for him to learn he'd really have the family he'd hoped for.
It isn't because his own family is terrible these days.
He and his father are good.
Things are so different now; the stress of Four thinking Adam was seconds away from making a mistake and trying to correct him are long gone, and he trusts him enough to encourage Adam to become a leader in Dauntless. Adam's mother is happy, having spent years as a buffer between them, and every time she sees me, she looks thankful.
I can just imagine the look on her face when she finds out she'll have a grandchild. A year ago, the idea would have been unfathomable.
"I was thinking maybe not. Maybe we keep this quiet a little longer. Just between you and me, but…" I pause, and I move my hand over Adam's. My father and Four turn around at the exact same time, both of them looking at me, and their expressions change at the exact same moment.
Their eyes widen, and they both freeze in place. Beside them, Tris and my mom crack up over Everett demanding Tris hold him, and he immediately takes her necklace in his mouth. They miss my father and Four, looking like mirror images of each other as they figure out they'll soon have a grandchild, and I can see the silent battle begin over who will be the better, faster, stronger, cooler, and ultimate grandfather.
Both are stunned.
My father's jaw is slack, but he suddenly realizes why I was asking if he was staying in his office. Four looks the same. His fingers press into the back of the chair, and his eyes move from me, to Adam, then back to Adam's hand.
Behind them, Rylan's eyes light up in triumph when he, too, figures out what's going on. He points to himself, exaggeratingly mouthing ULTIMATE GODFATHER, and he winks. Even Jason turns, and his eyes widen as he frantically looks over at Four and my father.
Adam's fingers tighten, and I shake my head.
"I think it's too late now," Adam laughs, and neither of us move, not even when Kat and Zander rush to the middle of the aisle with a grin, and they announce there is no need for a wedding, because they eloped in Candor a month ago but they appreciate everyone coming.
My father's murderous look is mirrored by almost everyone, but it takes the attention off Adam and me as he takes off after them, threatening to make Zander work every single weekend for the next six years for making him come here on his day off.
Beneath bright lights, she blinks her eyes shut, and scrunches her face up.
It's temporary. Someone lowers them, and when she opens them up at me, she looks just like Adam.
Out of everything I've experienced in my life, giving birth might be the most traumatic. Through a blur of tears, a labor so intense I'd thrown up more times than I could count, and one nightmare moment when I was sure I wouldn't survive giving birth, our daughter was finally born in Erudite, at six in the morning.
I barely remembered any of it.
All I know is Camille was there, coaxing and guiding me with what to do, and my own parents were scrambling to make it in time. Adam's parents drove with them, and I had been taken to Erudite when my routine appointment in Dauntless took a strange turn. My blood pressure rose, the baby's dropped, and the next thing I knew, I was in Erudite while Adam frantically called everyone.
Fortunately, I was in good hands.
Camille and a team I didn't know helped me, and they explained that what was going on was absolutely normal. The nurse in Dauntless realized I was further along than I thought I was, and my labor wasn't any sort of practice labor, but the real deal. By the time I got to Erudite, it was too late for pain medication, too late for anything but telling Camille I changed my mind. A few pushes later, I was holding a baby so small I wasn't sure she was real.
She was.
She had Adam's blue eyes and dark hair, and my horrified expression. She screamed bloody murder when they washed her off, and someone combed her hair and put a tiny ID bracelet on her. I got a matching one, and so did Adam. Her pajamas were pink, gifted by Camille and put on her while someone helped me sit up, and they were too big. My daughter is little, but loud, and when she protested being swaddled in the blanket, I suddenly knew how my mother must have felt when she had me.
I couldn't explain the absolute fierce desire to protect her from the world.
She wasn't up against much, at least not now.
She's sound asleep on Adam's chest, and I'm half asleep beside her. His fingers are slipping through my hair as he rubs my temples, and he tells me he's proud of me. His voice is low, strangled with every emotion possible. He holds both of us close, and in the distance, there is the faint yelling of our fathers, each desperate to get to us first. I hear a crash and a bang, and one of them, presumably my father, calls the other a moron.
"I'll tell them to give you a minute. They can wait."
Camille's words are quiet, and she returns only to pull the thick hospital blanket over all of us. She then leans in and kisses my head, then Adam's, and she looks secretly smug to have been the one to deliver her own great grandchild. She looks even smugger when Daniel's voice echoes in the hallway, and three grown men loudly argue over who gets to see the baby first. Someone yells at them all to be quiet, and then they apologize when they realize they've insulted their head brain surgeon and two leaders from Dauntless.
None of them quiet down until someone threatens to call security and my father loudly informs them he is security.
"She has no idea what's in store. They're never going to put her down. Any of them," Adam mumbles, and he yawns as Camille dims the lights and slips out the door. "I love you, Eva. Thank you. Thank you for marrying me and thank you for her. You have no idea…I'll keep you both safe, forever. I promise."
I smile, too tired to move, and too happy to lift my head to tell him to go to sleep. He's a little delirious, but I don't care. He's telling the truth, words spoken from deep within, and he means every single exhausted one.
I tell him I love him, too, more than ever, and I fall asleep on his chest, right next to our daughter.
When I do wake up, hours later as the baby begins to fuss and the room is filled with flowers and balloons, I realize how lucky I am.
My father and Four sit side by side, both asleep, reclined back with their feet propped up on a chair in front of them. My guess is they refused to leave, and before they could cause a scene, Camille let them stay if they promised to be quiet.
And once quiet, they fell asleep.
The baby lets out a tiny snuffling sound, and her eyes open. I sit up carefully, picking her up from Adam's chest, and I smile when she looks up at me. I figure I can feed her and change her before they wake up, because once they do, it'll be a fight to the death over who is the number one grandfather.
She makes a noise of protest, reminding me she expects her demands to be met immediately, and I touch her dark hair.
"You ready to meet your grandpas?"
She blinks, eyes so blue they appear endless, and I hope she knows she's just as lucky as I am.
Maybe more.