Hi guys. I know yall are probably mad at me for not updating RIS for nearly two months, but it was just getting hard to write it. I have so many ideas, but they just aren't coming out. I am not disbanding the story, just taking a little leave of absence. Anyways this story is just an idea I had swimming around in my head for a while. Enjoy. Just fluff and other stuff. Please forgive any grammar excuses, for poor old me doesn't have a beta yet.
Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent or rights to Girl in Calico or Miracle Hands. They all go to their owners. (Great movie. Should definitely watch unless you don't like blood.)
Tobias and Tris have been married for 12 years. They have two boys. Sterling age 3 and Patrick age 5. When the kids are in bed, The parents get busy...playing scrabble. All modern day. Christina will be introduced later along with some other characters.
Chapter 1: Tris
"Ha ha!" I shout as I victoriously lay down six of my seven tiles onto the board and add 116 points onto my already huge total. I laugh as Tobias flops onto his back in disdain. He sits back up, and I flip my long blonde hair over my shoulder and smirk at him. Gosh, I love scrabble.
"Come on, hand it over." I say to him, and he looks down in defeat. He pushes the plate of cheesecake over the coffee table and I snatch it before he can retract it. I make plenty of exaggerated moaning sounds while he just stares at me with sad puppy dog eyes. I stop eating and give him a look.
"Hey. It was mine in the first place, and if you wanted it, you shouldn't have let me choose the game." I say firmly, and his frown widens down his face.
"Dude. I'm not going to share." We sit in silence for a little while and I eat a few more bites. He continues to just stare at me until I groan and slide the dish over. He smiles and snatches it. The cake is gone within seconds. This is how most of our Friday nights go. Get the kids down for sleep, find some dessert in the fridge, fight over it and then play a game to settle all debts. Then we usually watch a movie of some sort. He stands, walks over to the couch and sits next to me. I drop the fake anger and cuddle into his side.
"Tris. I love you." He whispers into my ear and I smile.
"Tobias. I love you too." I say back to him and he picks up the remote and turns on the TV. I didn't get to see what he put into the DVD player earlier, so I am surprised when Miracle Hands starts playing. Tobias has a thing about blood. I look up at him and he smiles down at me. I smile and start watching the movie. We get about halfway through it until something interrupts us. Kinda a record. I pause the movie and see Sterling standing in the entryway to the Den. He has tears on his face, and his Batman comforter around his shoulders.
"Oh, come here sweet boy." I say and he shuffles over and flops into my lap. Tobias takes his hand.
"What happened?" Tobias asks quietly. Sterling sniffles.
"I had a bad dream and then I woke up and you weren't in your room. Then I got scared and threw up." He says before erupting in a fit of tears and snot.
"Oh, Buddy. Hey you don't have to be scared. See. Look. Daddy is going to clean up the mess upstairs, and you can stay here as long as you would like." Tobias looks at me for a second, sighs and then gets up to clean the puke. I whisper soothing things into his ear and it is only a few moments before he is asleep again. I place my cheek on his head and listen to the soothing sounds of his breathing.
Tobias
I grab a roll of paper towels and Tris' favorite lavender scented cleaning spray and head up to Sterling's room. On the way up the stairs, I nearly trip over Pats small form huddled near the stairs. I veer right to avoid stepping on him and fall on my backside. I hear him chuckle and he extends his small hand to help me up. I take it and give him a stern look.
"What the heck are you doing?" I ask him and he just shrugs. I take his hand and lead him along with me so as to not wake Sterling. We sit on the old bench in the hallway and he fidgets with his hand for a second before he speaks.
"I'm sorry. Sterling came into my room and then left and I didn't know what was happening so I went to spy on him." He says quietly. I nod.
"Well buddy. There is nothing wrong with caring about your brother, but maybe next time, don't do it where people could step on you." I say and he snickers softly. We sit together for a little while longer and then I remember what I was coming up the stairs for anyways.
"Ok bud. How about you go back into your bed. You guys are probably going to want to get up early and jump on mommy and daddy's bed tomorrow aren't you. You can't do that if you are tired." He smiles, nods and scurries off to his room. I shake my head and laugh softly before heading to Sterlings room. Surprisingly I don't find any throw up. I check anywhere he could have puked, and find that the bathroom smells horrible. I spray a little air freshener in there then grab some spare sheets, and change Sterlings batman sheets to the spiderman ones. I plug in his nightlight, and notice a picture on his dresser.
The picture captures all of us on a carousel at the Zoo. Pat was probably about 4 and is riding a Giraffe. His face is crusted with icecream and he has a cone in his hand dripping down his arm. Sterling is weeping, riding a rhino, and I am next to him, trying to calm him down. Tris is rubbing a swollen belly, while sitting on a peacock. I remember that day. We were with Christina, my adoptive sister and Tris' best friend and her daughter Kenzie. I tear up a little looking at the photo. Tris has had three miscarriages since then. We both have wanted large families since we were young, and not that Pat and Sterling aren't wonderful, just the loss of a child, even one that you never met is hard on me, and even harder on Tris. I set the photo back down on his dresser, and head out of Sterlings room. I check on Pat and find him sleeping soundly. I smile at his position. He is already on the other side of the bed, and his pillow is nowhere to be seen. Tabby, our old orange cat sleeps at the foot of his bed next to his head. I close the door softly and head back downstairs.
Tris
I hear the creak on the last step on our staircase, and a few seconds later, I see Tobias emerge. I look at him and see the husband that I married nearly 12 years ago. I also see my best friend ever since I was two years old. I see the boy whose mother died and whose father hit him for years. I see the teen who had the strength to confide in me and had the courage to tell the authorities about his problem. I see the person who gave me children and helped me through thick and thin. Not that there haven't been any rough patches. I think of all of the times when we yelled, and all the times we didn't. I don't know why I am thinking about all of this. I guess fatigue makes me sentimental. As I stare into his eyes, all I see is love. Then I see desire. I'm sure my gaze mirrors his, because he looks down. I do too, and see the small sleeping boy in my arms.
He walks over and takes Sterling from my arms, carefully and walks back up the stairs. While I wait, I clean up the scrabble, and smile at his measly score of 64. Why in the world does he ever even play this game. I guess If I let him pick we would have played rummy or euchre instead. Toby excels at any card game, while I can't even seem to get any matches in a game of go fish with Pat. The creak on the last step sounds again as I finnish cleaning up and I feel arms go around my waist soon after that. I smile then turn around and sling my arms around his neck. We sway to the sounds of the old house for a while, but Tobias asks Siri to play Girl in Calico by Tow'rs. Our song. The song that Christina played for us at our wedding. We dance until my feet get tired, about a minute later, and then he sits us down on the couch. I straddle his waist, and a second later I realise he was going to turn the movie back on. I turn on his lap and he kisses my head. We both laugh and he unpauses the movie.
His fingernails lovingly scratch my arms and I sigh contently. After the movie plays for a while, I turn in his lap again, and press my lips against his. He startles in surprise before responding. His hands cup my face and my arms hold his shoulders. His lips are familiar and soft. We make out for a while before I realize something. I chuckle into Tobias mouth and he pulls back, much to my dislike.
"What?" He asks. I just laugh again. He laughs too.
"No, seriously what is so funny?" I start laughing louder, and he smiles. I quiet down and answer his question.
"Nothing, it's just that we are, as the kids like to say, Netflix and chilling right now." I say through giggles. He shakes his head and then laughs again. I know. Fatigue not only makes me sentimental, but also crazy. I look up at the TV, and see the credits are rolling. I snatch the remote and turn off the TV. I yawn, then turn back to Toby's lips, and he kisses me for a second before pulling away. I pout but he tsks his tongue and shakes his head.
"No. Tris. You are tired, and if I kiss you again, we are going to end up in our bed...naked." I chuckle and stand up. I offer my hand and he takes it. I hug him and he walks us both to our room. He takes off his shirt, and I pretty much drool. But my hubby is right. I do need some sleep. I grab some sweats and one of Toby's shirts and put them on. He waits for me at the bathroom door as always. We brush our teeth together, then run to the bed. I jump onto the pillows and bury myself underneath our gray comforter. My heart is beating hard, but slowing down. I kiss him goodnight, turn around and then click the lamp off.
"DADDY! WAKE UP!" is the first thing I hear in the morning. I think it's morning. Yup. 5:12. Normal mommy schedule. Toby groans from his side of the bed while Pat and Sterling jump on him. I grab Pat and tickle him until he squeals. Well. If he is going to wake us up early, he is going to get the torture. Torture being my kisses and tickles. Pat's squeals of joy echo through our room, and Sterling cackles at his brother's misfortune.
"You think that's funny?" Tobias asks him before tackling Sterling with the same amount of kisses that I am assaulting Pat with. Yes. This is how I like waking up. Pat manages to get out of my grasp and screams.
"WE WANT PANCAKES!" At the top of his lungs. I smile and laugh at my family and then look over to Toby. He looks at me. We both laugh and then get out of the bed. All of the blood rushes to my head and I suddenly feel very woozy. Toby and the boys leave the room, and I try to follow them, but quickly make a beeline to the bathroom. I manage to get everything in the toilet and take a breath before I start gagging again. I hear the soft questions of the boys asking Toby what is happening, and Tobias answers them and tells them to watch cartoons for a second. I feel Toby's big hands holding my hair up a second later. He soothingly rubs my back as I retch into the toilet. I rest my head against the cool porcelain and Toby flushes the toilet. He looks at me with worried eyes. I look back up at him with the same expression.
"Do you think-" He asks but trails off. I shake my head, but I honestly have no idea. I just had a misscaridge a year ago. No. Let's not say anything that could get my hopes up. I push myself up, and Toby tries to help me, but I shake him off. It is very much possible that I just got sick, because...of reasons and am not pregnant. I grab my tooth brush and try to get the taste of puke out of my mouth. He leaves, probably to make pancakes for our beautiful boys. I swish around mouthwash in my mouth a few times, then exit the bathroom. I am assaulted by Sterling a few seconds later. He hugs my legs and I pat his back and chuckle.
"Hey. It's ok. I'm fine now." I say to him and he nods, but continues hugging me. I shuffle over to the couch and lift him onto my lap. We watch The Loud House for a little while, and Toby prepares breakfast. It smells amazing. I turn around and make eye contact with Tobias. He looks worried but gives me a small smile. I smile back at him halfheartedly then turn back to the TV. He announced that the Pancakes are ready ten minutes later, and the boys spring up and run to the table. They fight over the seat next to me, and Toby resolves it. They rock paper scissors for it, and Pat happily takes the seat while Sterling sulks over to the seat next to his father, but soon is happy again. Soon the only thing that can be heard is the clinking of forks, but Toby breaks the silence.
"So. What is everybody planning on doing today?" He asks. I smile, remembering my plans.
"I am going to go out with Christina today. We're going to hang out at Main Street Coffee and talk for a bit." He smiles at me, and Pat puts down his fork.
"Can I come?" He asks, and Toby and I smirk at each other. Pat has had a crush on Kenzie, Christina's daughter for nearly as long as he has known her. It doesn't matter to him that she is a year and a half older than him. I shake my head.
"No. Buddy. You are going to have fun with daddy today. Plus Kenzie isn't going to be there. She is with her Father this week." Toby's gaze darkens. Kenzie's father Will lives an hour away from us, up in Cleveland. He and Christina divorced after he was discovered cheating on her in their first year of marriage. So Toby and I very much dislike him. He has remarried and has one kid on the way. We chat for a little bit more and eat our breakfast. Once we are done, the boys bring their dishes to the sink and rush off to get ready for the day. Toby scoots his chair closer to me and I bring my coffee cup to my lips, already predicting what he is going to say.
"Hey. Are you sure that you want to go out today?" Yup. There it is. I put down my cup and give him a look. He lifts up his hands and laughs.
"Well. I had to ask. That's my job. I always have to ask." We sit together in comfortable silence for a little big, drinking our coffee for a couple of minutes before I get up to get ready and he gets up to clean the dishes. I pick out my favorite jeans and my sparkly Ohio T-Shirt. I throw on a jacket too, just in case it gets cold. I put on some light makeup and head back out to help Toby with the remainder of the dishes. He smiles at me.
"Hey. You are beautiful, if you didn't know." He whispers in my ear and I blush.
"It's a bit early to be flirting, don't you think." I say and pat his arm before starting the dishwasher and grabbing a rag to wipe down the table. He shakes his head and mouths to me "never" but escapes to our room to get ready. I head up to see what the boys are doing and if they need any help. As I walk up the stairs, I pass years of different photos of family members, wedding photos and pictures of my mom and dad. When I near the top, I hear Pat and Sterling squabbling. I follow the sound of their voices into Pat's room. I nearly bump into Sterling right near the door.
"Woah! Sterling. What are you doing?" I ask and Pat points at him.
"He won't get out of my room!" He cries and I look at Sterling.
"I'm not in your room." He says then sticks out his tongue at Pat while curling his toes right in the entrance of the doorway. I roll my eyes then kneel down to talk to Sterling, who is still in his pajamas.
"Come on. Sterling. Why aren't you ready for your day yet. Hey I have an idea. Why don't we get dressed and you can wear your Batman shirt. I just washed it yesterday." He nods and gives his brother an amused look before stepping away and running towards his room. I turn towards Pat.
"Patrick, remember he is doing that just to annoy you. You have to be the bigger person and ignore him. If you don't say anything, he will just go away." I say, and Pat looks down. I walk over to him and lift his chin up.
"Hey. It's morning! The birds are chirping. Let's make today a good day. Okay?" I say and he laughs.
"That rhymes." He giggles, and I laugh too.
"I guess it does. Now did you brush your teeth?" He shakes his head and rushes past me to the bathroom.
There it is, the first chapter. Let me know if you like it, and any questions you have. I will update this one sooner than 2 months, I promise.