AN: Posting both parts of Miles' visit today, so please look for chapter 14 after this. Thanks :)

I pace back and forth in my cell, full of nervous energy and my stomach feeling like it could explode at any point. I keep glancing out of the barred opening of my cell, looking for Hector but not seeing him or any familiar faces.

I'm supposed to meet my son today, and I'm a fucking wreck.

I catch a glimpse of Mike unloading his stuff at the duty desk and I patiently wait for him to look in my direction. When he does, he finishes up his conversation with Ames and makes his way to my cell.

"You're up early." He states.

"I am meeting Miles today. I'm a fucking mess, Mike. I don't know how to do this." It feels like I am word vomiting, "He's nine years old and I have missed his whole life. I've never been around a kid in my entire life. I don't know how to be a father."

"Eric, slow down, and you've gotta calm down. How about we go get your shower out of the way, and we can talk about all the stuff you've got on your mind, does that sound good?" He asks and I nod my head.

He comes into the cell, puts a single set of cuffs on my wrists and shouts over his shoulder that he's taking me for a shower early since I have a family visit. Ames just grunts in response, and I follow Mike down the hall. As soon as we turn the first corner, he slows down.

"Okay Eric, let's work on one thing at a time, so you're meeting Miles today, that's great." He says.

"They're going to be here right after breakfast. You've got kids, right?"

"Yeah, I have five of 'em. Three boys, aged twenty, twelve and six, two daughters aged eleven and nine. They're the best things to ever happen to me. You look at your kid for the first time, and you realize there's something in this life that you've done right." He replies.

"You've always been there for your kids, how do I build that type of relationship when I missed nine years of his life?"

Mike stops walking completely, unlocks an empty office and leads me inside. We both sit at the table, and he takes a deep breath before continuing, "I'm sure you didn't pick up on this, but my oldest is twenty, it's a pretty big age gap between him and my next oldest at twelve."

"Yeah I did notice that."

"I didn't meet him until he was ten years old." He explains and my jaw drops, "I had a girl back in Amity before I transferred to Dauntless, and she found out she was pregnant after I left. It wasn't until after the war ended, and the city abolished factions and started following federal laws that she was even able to start tracking me down. My son Avery was already ten by the time she found me, and I already had a wife and more kids. I had a whole family without him, and he grew up suspecting that."

"I don't know what to say." I reply honestly.

"You can ask anything, Eric, I wouldn't have told you this if I was afraid of talking about it." He says.

"How did it go? The first time you met Avery, how was it?" I ask.

"I was scared as hell. This wasn't like my other kids, I mean at that point I had an almost three year old and one year old. I knew how to change diapers, feed them, bathe them and teach them things. Avery was older, curious, and he could carry on an actual conversation. It wasn't like I could get away with toddler talk like I could with Jackson or Mia, I had to actually have answers ready for anything he asked. I got myself all worked up kind of like you are now, but when it came to meeting Avery it went well. He wasn't pissed at me, we weren't uncomfortable around each other, and we had fun. The best advice I can give you is to not overthink it, but also be prepared for any questions he may ask. Piper, she's my ex and Avery's mom, she and I had talked a lot about how to handle anything he'd bring up. Is Tris going to be there with you today?" He asks.

"Yeah, she is." I nod.

"You've got support then. The first meeting is the hardest one to make it through, but once you two meet and establish that relationship it gets easier every time. I'm just now at a point where I've been in Avery's life a little longer than I was out of it, but it's like we've always known each other." He explains.

"Was he ever mad at you for not being there?" I ask.

"Possibly, just like its possible Miles may be with you. The main thing to focus on should be making sure you're as honest as possible about the circumstances that put you here, but not too honest." He says.

"What do you mean?"

"He's nine, so understanding the circumstances of a war, and your involvement in it is a lot for a nine year old to comprehend, no matter how bright they are. He's heard about you in school I'm sure, but he doesn't need to hear every detail of what you went through. He needs to know why you weren't there, and what your plan is to change that moving forward. Once you've established that, and you stick to it, you'll have that relationship you've missed out on." Mike says, and his shoulder radio crackles.

"Dalton, this is a status check, the shower shack reports you haven't made it there with Coulter, do you require assistance?" Ames asks.

"Negative. I got stopped in the hallway by another CO, we're on the way down now." Mike replies.

"Copy."

"We've got to move, are you okay?" Mike asks as he unlocks the door.

"I feel a lot better, thank you Mike. I really do appreciate you and everything you do." I reply with sincerity and he smiles at me before leading me out the door.

I feel a little better after my shower, and I'm actually excited about the clothes that were dropped off for me to change into. Faded blue jeans, a black t-shirt and real athletic slip on shoes are in a bag on my bed. I'll actually be able to look like a normal dad instead of a prisoner.

I comb through my wet hair, and I use the razor they've allowed me to trim up around my beard. Mike watches me as I shave, which is normal protocol when we've been given anything that can be used as a weapon. I hand the razor to Mike, and check my appearance in the mirror.

My leadership tattoo has faded a bit, but the worst part is the large and jagged scar that breaks up the tattoo, and is a focal point on my neck. I run my hand across it unconsciously.

"Does he know about that?" Mike asks from behind me, startling me a bit.

"Tris told him about it, he saw my most recent mug shot from when I came back here." I reply.

"I can imagine seeing it in person could be unsettling, but it sounds like he's prepared. It's about that time, go ahead and get changed." He says before he slips out of my cell and locks it.

I change into the jeans and t-shirt, and slip the sneakers on my feet. I feel like a normal guy again, and not the regimented prisoner I've been for over nine years.

Mike escorts me himself to the family room, and we're there a full five minutes early.

"I'm going to remove your chains and cuffs, and then leave you alone in here. We do this in a certain order so the kids aren't impacted by seeing their family member in this shit. I stay in a monitoring room next door, so I will be watching, and as you know all of these sessions are being recorded. There's a bathroom over there, and various drinks in that mini fridge over there. That's the speech." He says, "Eric, you're going to be fine, but if for any reason you're not just look up at that camera and ask for me to intervene."

"Thanks man." I reply, and I reach out my hand to him. He grasps it and shakes it firmly and then nods his head as he sees himself out.

I look around and think that this is actually a really good place for kids. Lots of bookshelves line the room, loaded with board games and books. There's a play kitchen for the younger kids, several TV's with video game systems, a music area and even several couches and beanbags for sitting or resting.

It's a pretty cool space for youth, and it makes me think about how many kids only get time with their parents in places like these. Or kids who don't even have parents anymore. Maybe that's something I could help with, if I ever get out of here.

The door opens and I stand up as Miles rushes in. He's just like his pictures, except taller than I expected for a nine year old. He's got my curly hair, and looking at him is just like seeing a younger version of me. He has a face splitting smile, and I can't help but return it.

Tris hangs back while Miles and I approach each other and when he's right in front of me he finally speaks.

"Oh my gosh, you're really tall Dad. Mom didn't tell me you were so tall." He says in awe.

"You're tall too buddy." I reply with a smile.

"Yeah, my doctor says I am in the ninety-ninth percentile, and that means that for every one hundred nine year old boys, I am taller than ninety-nine of them." Miles says proudly. He sticks out his hand, "My name is Miles Andrew Coulter, and I'm your son."

This kid, wow, he sounds just like I did in Erudite.

"Hello Miles Andrew Coulter, my name is Eric James Coulter, and I'm your dad." I shake his outstretched hand.

"Did you know that Mom's name is Beatrice Edith Prior? She says she has two old lady names." Miles replies as Tris helps him take his jacket off, and she lays it across one of the couches inside the room.

"I didn't know that. I think Tris works for her though, very un old lady like." I reply and glance at her. She rolls her eyes, but then returns my grin.

"I agree. Mom was right, your hair is really long." Miles observes. "I've been trying to grow my hair out too. Do you like it?" He shakes his shaggy curls and I grin at him.

"I love it."

Tris slips one of those black elastics off of her wrist and hands it to me. I pull my hair up in a bun and suppress a laugh when Miles asks for an elastic of his own and tries to put his much shorter curls up. He huffs in frustration when he can't quite gather enough hair.

"It'll get there soon, it took your Dad years to grow his hair that long." Tris says as she runs her fingers through Miles' shaggy curls.

"You have an awesome beard. How do I grow a beard? I've asked Mom but she always tells me to ask Grampy. But here's the thing, Grampy doesn't even have a beard. How am I supposed to grow a beard if he doesn't know how to grow one?" Miles asks.

This kid is hilarious, I look over at Tris and she mouths "I told you so" to me. He brings over a Lego set and we dump everything out, taking our time to sort through the pieces.

"It takes a while to grow a beard, and it won't come until you're a lot older." I explain.

"How much older?" He asks curiously.

"I think the first time I shaved I was around fourteen. It didn't grow out like it does now, but I had these weird hairs here and there on my face."

"How do you learn how to shave?" Miles asks while carefully sorting through the Legos.

"I can teach you when the time is right." I reply and his eyes light up.

Maybe he really does love me.

We begin to build the set, and I let him take the lead, he's a natural with figuring these things out and he's already got a good base built before I even have a chance to think.

"Dad, what's your favorite food?" He asks.

I'm dumbstruck. He called me Dad. I will away the tears that burn at my eyes and focus on the Legos before I answer, "I like Italian food, like pasta and pizza. Your mom made some awesome chili that she brought to me too."

"Oh my mom makes the best chicken parmesan Dad. Like the actual best. She does everything herself, except I help her make the sauce, and she sometimes uses pasta from a box, but everything is made by her. It's so good."

"I hope to try that one day." I reply and he stops building.

"She'll make it when you come home, you just have to ask. She makes it every year for my birthday." He goes back to building and I gratefully join him.

"My favorite color is red, what's yours?" He asks.

"Green." I reply without missing a beat. Like the green in Tris' eyes, "What's your favorite holiday?"

"Christmas, or Halloween. I think I'm going to dress up as Godzilla for Halloween. Nana is making me a costume. How about you?"

"I don't actually know," I answer honestly, "I've been here for a lot of holidays, and I've spent them alone." I shrug.

"Not anymore, you've got Mom and me now." He grins at me and I grin back, "Do you like to swim?"

"I used to, yeah. I loved going to the public pool when I was a kid." I reply.

"We have two whole pools at our apartment building. One's on the roof, and it's awesome, but it's only open when it's warm out. We have an indoor one for the cold months." He replies.

"Have you ever been to the lake?" I ask and he shakes his head no.

"Can we do that one day? Like when you don't have to be here anymore?" He asks.

"Absolutely." I reply.

We go back to building the set, and the knot in my stomach starts to subside a bit. I glance over at Tris and she's taking notes, but she looks relaxed and peaceful.

This is going well so far, and I silently hope that this continues.