AN: Thank you all for the reviews, I can't tell you how much I love reading them and knowing this fandom is still alive. This story has a few chapters left, and I am editing more stories I had in my document manager as well to hopefully publish. Enjoy, and see you all next week.
I feel like we've barely fallen asleep when I hear my cell phone ringing. I reach across Eric to grab it and he holds me against him when I answer.
"Chris is in labor, paramedics are on the way to get her," Will says when I answer, "Can you come here? Just bring Jewel, the boys are all asleep." He says quickly, "You can just crash on the couch if you don't want to wake the boys."
Eric and I make it to Will and Christina's in record time, and as much as my best friend wants to give me shit about Eric and I showing up together obviously dressed for bed she says nothing. I bend down to her wheelchair to kiss her and tell her I love her before the paramedics whisk her downstairs to deliver their daughter.
Eric and I are asleep on their couch when the boys run down stairs later that morning, and when Declan and Rowan see Eric they are over the moon.
"Daddy!!!" Rowan shouts and Declan follows right behind him as they pounce on Eric, wrapping their arms around him and smothering him in kisses.
"You didn't tell us!" Declan exclaims to me and I grin down at him.
"He just got home last night buddy."
I listen as the boys excitedly tell Eric everything he's missed since he's been gone, and my heart swells seeing them together.
We explain to Tanner that his sister Paisley is on her way, and all of the boys cheer excitedly over the news.
When we make breakfast for the kids, the boys refuse to leave Eric's side, so I send him into the living room to watch all of the kids while I make some cinnamon toast and eggs for breakfast. I'm busy working on things when I feel a little hand on my hip.
"Momma, is Daddy gonna be home for good now?" Rowan asks me. His curly hair is a mess from sleep, and his hazel eyes are wide as he leans his chin on my thigh.
"You know your Daddy is a leader, and that means sometimes he will have to leave the faction to go out and protect the city." I explain gently.
"When he's hewe he should stay wif us." Rowan replies.
"I think we could possibly do that baby boy." I grin down at him.
"Weally?" Rowan asks and I nod my head.
"I'll just need to talk to him about it-"
"Daddy!!! You gonna live wif us!!!!" Rowan squeals as he barrels into the living room.
Eric's eyes meet mine and I shake my head, "Rowan, I said that we'd talk about it, that doesn't mean any decisions have been made." I scold.
"Dat would be good Momma." Declan says from his spot on Eric's lap, "I would like him home wif us. He can help me wif my homewowk cause I go to kindergawten this yeaw and Wowan has preschool. Oh and he can wead to us evewy night again, oh and he makes the best noodles…"
"You just want me to live with you to make you buttered noodles, Declan?" Eric quirks an eyebrow at him playfully.
"No Daddy, you'd be able to help my mom too. She cwies sometime when you'we not dewe." Declan says and I can feel the heat on my cheeks.
"Declan!" I exclaim.
"You called me Daddy." Eric says at the same time and Declan grins at him.
"You awe my Daddy. I had a fiwst Daddy but I think that you're my Daddy now." He explains simply. "Dr. Wobewts told me dat it was okay for me to have two Daddies in my life. You my second Daddy and I love you." Declan snuggles into his chest and I have to turn away so he doesn't see my tears.
Rowan helps me make breakfast, even though he asks me a couple of times why I'm crying he finally accepts it's not because I'm sad. Declan and Tanner play some sort of video game, and Jewel babbles happily from her high chair as Eric feeds her cereal.
When he comes to rinse Jewel's cereal bowl, he talks to me in a low voice.
"He calling me Daddy now."
"He'd started referring to you as his second Daddy when you and I were having our issues. I'm just as surprised as you are to hear him say it out loud." I reply.
"I almost lost it there for a minute, when he told me I was his Daddy and he loved me, I wanted to bawl like a fucking baby. That got me, Tris. It got me the first time Rowan did it too, but damn, knowing what Declan has been through and to hear him find his peace, that's something fucking special." Eric says quietly.
"You're something special." I glance over at the boys and they're happily playing a game on TV, and Jewel continues to babble happily from her high chair in between drinks from her bottle. "You came into my life when you were going through your own stuff, and you never left. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you love my children as if they were your own."
"They are mine. I will be honest, when this friendship first started between us, I never wanted kids." He sighs, and stops talking.
"Esme had actually told me that." I reply quietly.
"I'd told her that too, not that she and I ever had a serious conversation about wanting kids, it's something else…" He trails off.
"It's okay, she's a part of your past, if there's something you want to talk to me about that relates to someone in your past, it's okay." I prompt.
"Sammi and I had talked about kids when we were together. I was adamant I didn't want any, I mean it was more because our relationship was so dysfunctional. It only came up with Esme because she wanted me to not use protection because she was on the serum. I refused, and I flat out told her I was going to protect myself from everything, including kids. Honestly Tris, I never had any issues with kids, but I didn't have the best history with partners, and I didn't exactly know how to be warm and cuddly." He chuckles and I grin at him.
"You've found a way."
"I guess I have. You all seem to be okay with me." He replies with a smile.
"More than okay." I smile back at him and he reaches for me, then backs up.
"I guess we still have to talk to them about us, huh?"
I nod, "We do, but I think it'll be easier once Tanner isn't around. I want them to feel free to express themselves without any distractions."
"Does that mean I can't touch you?" He asks as he sucks his bottom lip into his mouth, a move that he knows gets me every time.
"You can't look at me like that, it's not fair." I complain and he bites the lip with a slight smirk on his face.
He moves towards me slowly, but before he can touch me we're interrupted by Jewel whining to get out of her chair.
"I'll get her cleaned up." I say and he grins at me before beginning to load the dishwasher.
After breakfast is cleaned up, we agree to take the kids to the indoor play pit to burn off their energy. I had wanted to take advantage of the nice weather outside and go to the park, but Eric was adamant that we stay inside the complex. It's then that I realize that whatever is going on outside of our faction isn't over, and I'm not sure why he's home.
We learn through text updates from Will that Chris's labor is progressing slowly, and it may be several more hours before Paisley makes her entrance. We assure him we are all doing great, and let him know we will bring Tanner home with us once they are worn out from the park.
I'm pushing Jewel in one of the baby swings when Eric makes his way over, and without thinking he presses his lips to mine. I glance over at our boys and they're engrossed in a game of tag, so I breathe a sigh of relief.
"Sorry, still thinking about last night," He whispers in my ear.
"Me too," I grin at him and he pecks my lips one more time before moving in front of the swing to tickle Jewel's feet when she kicks up to him.
"Dadadadada" Jewel calls out while swinging towards Eric and he catches her little feet in his hands, holding her in place.
"That's right, I'm your dada!" He says excitedly and turns towards me, "You hear that babe, she said dada. Her first words!" He says excitedly and I nod at him with as much excitement as I can muster.
I don't want to take this moment from him, because right now Eric is almost giddy as he tickles her little feet where they are kicking from the swing. I glance over at my older boys playing and laughing with Tanner and I feel my chest tighten. I may be angry at Tobias, and there's a part of me that feels he deserves nothing, but these three beautiful children that we made will someday forget their own father. There will be a day in their lives when they don't even remember his dark brown eyes or crooked smile, or the way he'd spin Declan in a circle until he dissolved in a fit of giggles, or would blow raspberries on Rowan's tummy until he did the same.
They'll never remember that their father did love them before he was forced to turn away from them. Forced by a choice that he made without me.
The anger returns, and I take several deep breaths in and out to calm myself.
"Daddy loves you baby girl," Eric says and she coos and babbles at him, "Yes I do, I love you so much," He says and my heart swells. "I love you. I love our family," He says to me before pressing his lips to mine.
"Momma… Daddy?" Declan's confused little voice causes us to spring apart, but Tanner runs up and tags him and both boys scamper off in a fit of giggles.
Eric and I exchange a look, but decide to just move forward since the boys are engrossed in playing again. All of the kids are worn out by the time we get back to our apartment, but they get their second wind when Eric and I are making dinner. As the two of us work on lasagna, Declan walks into the kitchen and crawls up into one of the stools next to the island.
At first he's quiet, helping us prepared the layered casserole without prompting. Declan seems to have the same meticulous nature as Eric, and I often have him helping me in the kitchen. His favorite chore is using the bottle brush to clean Jewel's bottles, he takes his time and gets them cleaner than any other device I've ever tried.
He may look exactly like Tobias, but his personality is exactly like Eric, through and through.
"Awe you guys mawwied?" He asks suddenly and Eric and I both stop working.
"What?" I sputter.
Declan places his spoon down on a napkin and trains his big brown eyes on Eric and me, "I saw you kissing each othew, awe you mawwied?"
"No, we're not married." I reply carefully and Eric and I exchange glances.
"You only kissed my fiwst Daddy. Why would you kiss my second Daddy if you wewen't mawwied?" He presses.
"Because your mom and I love each other." Eric answers and Declan leans his head on his hand and narrows his eyes at Eric.
"Awe you gonna mawwy my Momma?" Declan asks and he's so serious that I almost have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling.
"Would you be okay with it if I did?" Eric counters.
I was not expecting that.
"You awe alweady our Daddy, so yeah. You should live hewe, mawwy my Momma and be ouw Daddy for good." Declan literally ticks each point off on one of his little fingers and I finally find my voice.
"Declan, we can all live together without Eric and I being married. You remember how he stayed over when you guys were all sick?" I ask and he nods his head, "We could do that again, except it would be every night except just a few nights."
"Would we haf to go back to Daddy's apawtment?" He asks.
"No, I could give my apartment to someone else. This apartment has a lot more space for all of us." Eric offers.
"Okay, I like all of dis." Declan grins, "But awe you gonna keep kissing hew?"
"I'd like to, yeah." Eric chuckles.
"Kissing is gwoss." Rowan says when he and Tanner bound over.
"My Daddy and Momma kiss all the time. It's vewy gwoss." Tanner wrinkles his little nose and Eric and I both chuckle.
"Trust me boys, there's going to be a time when you love kissing someone else." Eric says and he's met with a chorus of 'ewwwws'.
They help us finish getting dinner together and soon everything is forgotten. Jewel is in her walker, cruising around the apartment while Eric and I watch everyone from our spots at the kitchen island.
"What happened out there Eric?" I ask and he takes a deep breath, exhaling before pressing his lips to my forehead briefly.
"There's been a lot going on that I've not been allowed to talk about." He replies vaguely.
"It's not over yet, is it?" I press.
"Can we table it until we get the kids in bed?" He asks and I nod my head. I'm sure he can feel the nervous energy pouring off of me, and when I feel him wrap an arm around me I lean into him.
"I will never let anything happen to you or my kids. I love you." He whispers before pressing his lips to the top of my head.
"I love you too." I reply quietly.
Eric bathes Jewel while I order the boys to start showering, and one by one we have three clean giggly boys all bundled up in their sleeping bags in Declan's room. I plop down on the couch next to Eric and he wraps an arm around me and then leans his head back on the couch and stares up at the ceiling.
"What is it?" I ask.
"Max is going to talk to you tomorrow," He begins without looking at me, "He's going to tell you some things about our mission, and he's going to tell you these things because it impacts our children."
"What is he going to tell me, Eric?" I ask.
He still won't look at me, and I reach out and touch his face. His cheeks are covered in stubble, and his eyes close briefly.
"I told him I couldn't keep it from you. I just need to call him really quick, please babe, I have to do this the right way."
"Of course." I reply quietly and he moves to the kitchen, where I hear him having a hushed conversation with Max.
He paces back and forth in the kitchen after his call, and I watch him warily from the couch. When there's a beep from his phone he moves to the door, quietly letting Max into the apartment. I watch as they both take a seat on my oversized L shaped couch, and Eric threads his hand in mine.
"Tris, I apologize for the late intrusion, however Eric said he was having some issues keeping things from you, and this isn't something he should be talking to you about because of your personal involvement. We can both talk about things, and hopefully answer any questions you may have." Max says quietly.
"Is it Evelyn?" I ask.
"We had been out of the faction because she'd been spotted, yes." Eric says from beside me and I can see him looking at Max.
"Tris, we deployed troops because we had a confirmed sighting of Evelyn Eaton. Eric's team was part of several teams we have out there, triangulating her location, and forcing her and her people into a smaller geographical area. Our troops eventually had her surrounded, knowing if she tried to breech the perimeter we'd set up, we'd capture her. Our troops had initially thought she was travelling alone, that she had broken from the rest of the factionless and had gone into hiding."
"We confirmed she wasn't travelling alone, she had someone with her." Eric adds and the look he exchanges with Max chills me to my bones.
"Tris, we believe the person who Evelyn is traveling with is Tobias Eaton." Max says quietly and I jerk towards him.
"No, he's dead, that's not possible," I turn towards Eric, "You came here, you told me his body was found, there's no way-"
"Tris, I forced Eric to come home, he needed to be here with you and the children. We have deployed more troops to the area, and we have the building they are staying in surrounded. We are trying to take them peacefully." Max explains gently.
"Is it him? I know you have ways of telling if that's a leader. I know there are tracking chips for all leaders. Does he still have one?"
"Our security team had reported a malfunction in his original chip early on in his leadership career. We had found that his implant was not registering properly with our software, and after extensive troubleshooting we couldn't get it to work. He was needed for an immediate mission, so to save time we had given him a tracking bracelet like we use for all of our troops, while explaining to him that his implant was an out of box failure and we'd need to eventually remove it and implant a new one. Four never came for the new one, and it was an oversight on our part. The bracelet did stop reporting the day he was reported as deceased. However, once this male was spotted by our troops we had the control room activate his initial chip. It's tracking, and it's obvious he has forgotten that this original chip exists. We have them surrounded, Tris, and we are in negotiations with both of them for a peaceful surrender."
I get up from the couch and begin pacing the room, "Why? Why did he fake his own death and put his children through this torture? Why?" I turn my attention towards Eric, "How long have you known? The entire time you've been home, you've said nothing. You've known he's alive, and you've said nothing-"
"We have him surrounded, Tris, and we've had you and the children under constant surveillance ever since he was spotted. Today while we were at the play pit, we had eyes on us, as well as eyes on the building that he and Evelyn are in. That's why I wanted to stay inside today, Tris." Eric argues.
"You knew and didn't tell me-"
"He couldn't tell you, Tris. He did exactly what he was ordered to do. I told him to come home and be with his family, to not do anything that could alarm you or the children and that's what he's done."
"That night we were on the phone while you were gone, and you had told me you wanted to move forward with us, did you already know?" I ask Eric.
"Yes." He replies softly.
"Had Max already told you that you were coming back here, and that you needed to keep me calm?" I ask.
"I hadn't been ordered home yet, but I had been ordered to not tell you about Four. Tris that's not why I had that conversation with you, that's not it at all."
"Max forced you to be with me." I say as I wrap my arms around myself. Max looks at me with one of the softest expressions I've ever seen from the tough leader.
"Tris, I didn't force Eric to anything other than come home. I promise you that we will capture them, and we will get answers for you and your children." He says to me.
"Tris, please-" Eric begins but I cut him off.
"You knew."
"Yes, I knew and I couldn't tell you. I said all of those things because they were true. Yes, I knew that Four was tracking, yes Max had told me to get my ass back here and to keep you and the kids with me, but none of that had any bearing on the conversation I had with you that night. I love you, I love our children and I want our family." He says quietly.
"You can't tell me that Max's orders had no bearing on that conversation, Eric." I argue.
"You're right, I can't, but I will say I had already come to the conclusion myself. I've loved you for a long time. An order from Max to protect you didn't cause me to suddenly fall in love, those feelings were already there. I knew I wanted to be with you regardless of any order from Max. Please Tris, believe me, please, look at me, there's no orders involved for me being here with you. Please."
My mind is swirling, and suddenly I turn my attention to Max.
"Is he still legally dead? Does Candor still show him as being deceased?" I ask frantically.
"Nothing has been reported to Jack, so yes legally Tobias Eaton is deceased." Max says. "Why would you ask?" He queries.
"I need to dissolve his parental rights to our children before you all bring him in. I need Eric to adopt our children. Please, Max. I need this to happen before anyone knows he's alive. I can't take any chances that he'll have rights to my children. Please, Max. Please help me with this." I beg our head leader and Eric wraps his arms around my trembling body as Max nods his head.
"Absolutely, Tris. I'll call him now."