AN: Just the epilogue after this. Thank you for another journey with me :)

It felt like the spell was broken almost as soon as Eric left Milwaukee again. He'd been needed in Chicago, there were mandatory in person meetings that demanded his attention. The city was restless, with the discovery of other cities like Milwaukee, the residents of Chicago wanted the freedom to travel freely outside the wall. The leaders were at odds on how to handle these requests, and had unanimously voted to have the leaders travel between cities before allowing open travel for the citizens of Chicago outside of their wall, or for any other citizens to be allowed in.

Further complicating an already tense situation for the citizens of Chicago was the discovery of relatives all across the country. For as long as most could remember, there was nothing outside of their borders, and now with the opening of communications between cities Chicago citizens were finding people who shared their last names outside of the city. It made maintaining the wall so much more difficult, and tensions continued to rise.

Leaders were being forced to travel, and suddenly the assignment for the exchange of leaders between Milwaukee and Chicago needed to be cancelled so that Tris could be available for travel to other cities. She was close to seven months pregnant now, and outside of the issues with nausea and vomiting she'd had a healthy pregnancy, so she was cleared for travel for the immediate future. Tris and Eric desperately needed counseling to help strengthen their marriage and to help prepare them for parenthood, instead they both buried themselves in work.

Eric was having a hard time letting go of his status of a former head leader of a faction. With the faction system abolished, Andrew Prior had been elected as their city's head leader in the first democratic voting process. Eric knew he wouldn't win a popular vote, he wasn't known to be very kind, and even though the people of Dauntless knew he was a fair and capable leader the rest of the city favored the older and quieter former Abnegation leader. Jack Kang was voted as second in command, and Eric was now third only because Johanna had bowed out of the election and Erudite hadn't had a formal head leader to succeed Jeanine.

It was unknown territory for him, and Tris could tell he was uncomfortable with this new and unknown system. Tris had spent months In Milwaukee, and was instrumental in helping set up Chicago's government, so she was asked to return to Chicago to help the city get its bearings while Eric was assigned to travel to Portland, Oregon to meet with that city's leaders.

They were starting the homestretch of their pregnancy miles apart, and he had left Chicago a day before she had gotten back.

"Do you have any idea what the weather is in Detroit?" Tris asks her father as she goes through his closet. Even though there were no longer factions or color restrictions, her father still had tons of grey clothes, and she was doing her best to expand his wardrobe.

"Much like ours, we're not too far from them at all." He replies.

She turns to look at him, "Why didn't you send Eric to Detroit instead of across the country to Portland?"

Andrew continues to get items from his dressers and is unaware of his daughter's eyes on him, "It's only for ten days, Tris."

"I didn't want him to go." Tris says shakily and Andrew finally turns to look at her.

"I know, but he's our third in command and I've been extremely flexible with him based on your circumstances."

"My circumstances? Dad, I'm his wife and this is his son, we're not his circumstances." She says angrily.

"I didn't mean it that way at all. I tried, again, to shield him from some of these trips but Eric's been increasingly worried about the aesthetics of how this all looks, especially if Jack or even the rest of the leadership committee believes Eric is getting special favors as my son-in-law. I believe he's feeling the pressure of fitting into this new structure." Andrew says carefully.

Tris nods her head as she folds a shirt and lays it into the suitcase, "I think you're right."

Andrew watches her as she continues to pack and he finally speaks again, "Are the two of you doing well?"

"We've been married for months now, but we've only lived together for less than one full month of our marriage. We're having a baby neither of us planned, and I've gone through most of the pregnancy alone. I'd say we're doing just awesome." She looks up at her father, "Sorry, I'm just frustrated."

"It's understandable." Andrew replies.

"Dad, was Eric happy when he talked about the baby? Or me?" She asks. "Never mind, I shouldn't be asking that. Or putting you on the spot." She shakes her head.

"Tris, I think it's time to send you out to Oregon to be with your husband." He offers.

"I don't want to put any more pressure on you, or have anything happen for the team to believe you're giving me special treatment…."

"Technically, you are still Lydia's employee, perhaps this request can come from her." He smiles at her and her eyes widen.

"You're willing to break the rules to allow me to be selfish?" She grins at him.

"Well, Abnegation is long gone, Tris… just like Beatrice is. Maybe it's time for me to loosen up too." He grins back at her.

When Eric texts late that night to let Tris know he'd finally gotten back to his visitors residence she surprised him by calling him back.

"I didn't expect you to be awake." He says, and she can hear the exhaustion in his voice.

"I couldn't sleep. My dad got Lydia to approve of me traveling to Portland to be with you, I leave tomorrow, and I guess I'm just excited."

She can hear him take a deep breath in an exhale slowly, "I don't think that's a good idea. We don't know much about this city Tris, and we've had the least amount of contact with the people here. It's not the warm and cozy relationship you had with Lydia-"

"Eric, I'm not coming out to work, I'm coming out there to be with you-"

"I don't need you out here with me right now. I need to do my job, and prove to people like your dad that I'm still capable of being a leader and that I'm not going to constantly be distracted by our shit. I came back from Milwaukee and they'd practically phased me out of leadership, Tris."

"You didn't even want to go back to Chicago, Eric." She replies angrily, "You had told me for days leading up to your departure that you wanted to just stay in Milwaukee and get away from all of the pressures and heaviness that was in Chicago. What happened? You were only gone from Milwaukee for six days before you left for Portland! Why there? Why get as far away from me as you can when we're going into the last trimester of our pregnancy and we're thinking about actually starting over?"

"The city's a mess, Chicago is literally falling apart, they need me there-"

"I need you!" She shouts over the phone, "I need you, our baby needs you, we need you!"

"I told you I wasn't ready for any of this-"

"No, you don't get to keep doing this, Eric! You promised me you wouldn't change your mind any more, you promised me that you were okay and we would be okay, you promised me," She begins to cry.

"Tris, I can't do this right now. I just can't. I have to focus on my job, on me, on the things I need to do to succeed and on what I need to do to get my city back on track." He stops speaking and takes another deep breath in.

"You left your city. Why? If you care so fucking much about your job and your city, why aren't you here? If you love me, why aren't you here?" She cries harder.

"I can't do it. I can't do any of this. I'm sorry."

"Can't do what, Eric? Be here? The baby? Me?" She stammers.

"I need to go."

"Eric, you need to answer me. I'm due in less than three months. Our son is going to be here, we're fucking married, and you can't just get in a fucking transport and move across the country from your responsibilities." She replies.

"I need to focus on me."

"You should have been man enough to tell me that face to face. You shouldn't have fucking left here knowing I was on my way home. You shouldn't have avoided me." She sobs, and she throws her phone at the wall, breaking it apart in pieces.

Tobias and Caleb show up the next morning, after hearing from Andrew that Tris hadn't shown up for her transport, and she wasn't answering her phone. They found a still distraught Tris, who couldn't seem to calm down enough to tell them exactly what was wrong. It took them over half an hour to get her to even be able to speak, and the next hour was spent with them detailing the conversation she'd had with Eric.

Her brother and brother in law explained everything that had happened in the days that he'd been back in Chicago. Eric had learned his workload was significantly lightened, and that the other leaders were starting to view his personal life as a distraction to his professional life.

"I don't necessarily believe there was any ill will towards Eric when we all voted to lighten his load." Caleb explains, "However, Eric didn't take it well."

"This job is all he's ever known." Tobias agrees.

"Are the two of you actually defending him? I'm so sick of this. I'm seven months pregnant with a baby we damn sure both made. He fucking married me without my knowledge, and now he wants to run off and have his own crisis after we made the decision to have this baby and work on our marriage. We need marriage counseling, not space. We need to develop ourselves so we can be good parents, not a crisis over a job that would replace him tomorrow if he were to go. He's deciding that his standing in leadership is more important than being a husband or father? He should have decided both of those things before he married me behind my goddamn back, or before he didn't wrap his dick before fucking me repeatedly." She yells.

"Whoa, okay let's get you settled down, none of this is good for you or the baby." Caleb offers.

"What's not good for me or the baby is a husband and father who can't decide what the fuck he wants-"

"Then you decide for him." Tobias interrupts, "You decide what's best for your baby and for you. If Eric is checking out again, you decide what happens next."

"He deserves to have a good mother. I don't think I will be," She says through tears as she rubs her belly.

"You will, you are one of the kindest and nurturing people I've ever known. You will be a phenomenal mother." Caleb says gently.

"How? My birth mother was awful… Natalie…." She shakes her head.

"Natalie was awful too." Caleb admits and Tris jerks her head up to look at him, "The way she treated you was just vicious at times. I compartmentalized it, which was just as wrong. She was good to me when we were kids, so I just ignored the way she treated you since it didn't impact me. When we got older, I was more aware of how terrible she could be, but at that time all I focused on was getting out of Abnegation so I could live my life. I even tried to separate her hatred of gay people from how she felt about me, I was in my own form of denial and it was incredibly unfair to you."

"Caleb, she's your mother." Tris sighs.

"And Jeanine was yours, just because they gave birth to us doesn't mean we owed them anything. Natalie hates us for who we are, and that's never going to be okay with me again. You're not alone, Tris, you have me, you have Tobias, you have our father, we have friends who are still here in the city, or if you want to leave maybe we can all go together. You and our nephew will never be alone."

Caleb was true to his word, and not even two weeks after that conversation Tobias, he and Tris were working out the last of their resignation time and preparing for a move to Milwaukee. Lydia had always wanted to keep Tris there on her team, and it was a very easy conversation when Tris asked if there were any openings for her family as well. Even though Andrew was currently the head leader in Chicago, he was planning a retirement in the near future, and his plans were to join his kids and extended family in Milwaukee once he set Chicago up for success. Andrew Prior was torn, because he knew he had a capable team to hand over the reins of Chicago to, but he also knew the person who was trying his hardest to succeed him was also estranged from his pregnant daughter.

When Tris had learned that Eric was extending his stay in Portland she decided to make the move back to Milwaukee without telling him. He wouldn't return her calls, and the last time they had talked he had been adamant that he did not want her in Portland. She couldn't understand his sudden change of heart, but if he needed space she needed to give it to him.

Even with the separation from Eric, Tris was thriving with her new career and home. Lydia had graciously given her the same office and apartment she used when she was last there, and she fell back into the ease of everyday life in Milwaukee. The first Sunday family dinner that Caleb and Tobias came to was filled with excitement, and the two had the sense of acceptance they'd wanted for so long. Tris enjoyed having her family close, and the frequent visits and phone calls from her father, and she finally felt like she was gaining her own independence.

She entered into her eight month of pregnancy in better spirits, and she made her first purchase for her unborn son unexpectedly one day when she was out shopping with Lydia one day after work. It was a simple little one piece outfit, the kind that had snaps along the bottom for easy diaper changes, and at the shoulders for ease of dressing, but it had alternating stripes of grey, blue and black and reminded her so much of the life she left behind.

Just like the wedding rings on her finger did.

She decided enough was enough, and that she and her husband needed to make a final decision on their future. She called him that evening after work, and the voice that answered was not only unfamiliar, it was female. Tris was caught off guard.

"Hello? Tris? That's the name on the caller ID, is this Tris?" The woman repeats.

"Um, hi, yes it is." Tris finally replied.

"Oh good, let me get Eric. He tends to forward his cell phone to me when he doesn't want to be disturbed. Can you hold?"

"Wait, who is this?" Tris asks.

"Oh, I'm Brooke, I'm his assistant. Well, I'm his cousin, but I did get the job fair and square." The bubbly woman answers and Tris exhales slowly, "Let me find him, he told me a few days ago to patch you through immediately if you ever called."

Tris waits while the hold music plays and when Eric picks up the line her mouth seems too dry to even speak to him.

"Brooke, there's no one on the line, are you sure it said Tris?" She hears him bark at his assistant and she finally clears her throat.

"Hi Eric."

"Is something wrong? Why are you calling me?" He asks quickly and she's taken aback by his tone.

"No, nothing is wrong. I'm sorry for bothering you." She says quickly.

"You're not bothering me. I'm sorry, I'm an ass." He sighs.

There are a few beats of silence between them before she breaks it, "You have a cousin assistant? Oh wow, not a cousin assistant, that just sounded weird, an assistant who's also your cousin?"

"Oh yeah, so I found out I have a similar situation to you out here, except on a much smaller scale. Brooke's grandfather and my grandfather were siblings. She was working as a clerk here, and she saw my last name is Coulter and sought me out. She's cool, she's only nineteen but she's a hard worker and dedicated. I talked to Dylan about making her my assistant and he agreed to it." He replies.

"Dylan?" Tris asks.

"He's like Lydia, the head leader out here for lack of a better term." Eric replies. "This city, it's different. Very unorganized, it's even worse than Chicago. They had a similar setup to us, and instead of them stopping someone from trying to overthrow their government they actually had their own civil war here. We were led to believe they were just an up and coming city wanting help, not that we were walking into a rebuild worse than Chicago." He sighs.

"Sounds like a mess." Tris replies.

"It is, and I can imagine that's not what you called about. Is everything really okay?" He asks.

"Why haven't you called?" She asks.

"Because I'm a stubborn idiot who was afraid I'd fucked up for good this time. I've kept in touch with your dad, and even your cousin, but neither of them thought it was a good idea for me to talk directly to you until I could get my shit together." He replies.

"I'm assuming that you not calling means your shit is still not together?" Tris asks angrily.

"I don't know." He admits, "But I also know that avoiding you isn't the answer."

"I was put in contact with a couple here, they want to adopt the baby." Tris finally says.

"That's not what I expected to hear." Eric replies quietly.

"What did you expect? You left me, again. You've made it abundantly clear you aren't ready to be a father, and honestly I'm not ready to be a single mother. Neither of us planned this pregnancy, and every time I think I am ready I get cold feet. I don't want all of this to be left on me, nor do I want him to be here and me decide I can't do this. I need to make moves now."

"Can we try to work this out? I'd like to go to counseling together, I've done it on my own already. I can come back to Milwaukee and we can sit down with someone and try to talk this out." He replies.

"What about your job?" She asks.

"Fuck my job. I want you, Tris. I've fucked it up, all of it, but the thought of you having our child in less than two months with us not getting our shit together doesn't sit well with me. If you're sure about adoption, I'm willing to talk more about it, but if there's anything in your heart that leads you to believe that you and I can work this out and be a family can we try that first?"

"Having a baby doesn't fix a broken marriage-"

"Is it broken beyond all repair?" He interrupts. "Neither of us have filed for divorce, I've been faithful to you and our marriage, I want to be with you."

"You've said all of this before, what makes this time any different?"

He sighs, "I never listened to you before. I remained so singly focused on being with you that I just said fuck it and went with everything else. When I saw Jason on that ultrasound thing you had, I was so fucked up with emotions that I couldn't even think straight. When we were in Milwaukee together, it was so good. Going back to Chicago made me lose my focus, it made me go back to who I used to be, just some mindless asshole focused on their career and being the best leader. I felt threatened by the changes and decisions that were made without me. I felt useless."

"You called him Jason…"

"He's our son, babe. I purposely stopped calling you because my counselor thought it was a good idea for me to get myself focused before I involved you and Jason. When I would doubt his advice, your father would put me in my place and tell me in no uncertain terms that if I caused you to cry one more fucking tear he'd end me himself-"

"My dad did that?" Tris asks in shock.

"On more than one occasion. He told me to keep my ass in Portland until I figured my shit out once and for all, and that if he heard of me reaching out to you before I had done so he'd make sure I never saw the outside of Portland again. He told me I made the decision to leave the city, and that I basically made my own bed and now it was time to lie in it. I listened to him."

"But you still haven't called."

"I've been ready to, but then doubts would creep in on whether or not you'd even want me anymore." He admits.

"I bought him this cute little sleeper today, it has stripes, blue, grey and black. It was our home… I thought… I thought maybe the adoptive parents would let him wear it home…. Or maybe I would… or maybe…." She trails off.

"Or maybe we would." He finishes for her and she nods even though she knows he can't see her. "I don't deserve your forgiveness, or another chance, but I'm asking you for both."

"I can try. I want to see you Eric, I can come out there-"

"Tris, you absolutely cannot come out here." He says firmly.

"You're hiding something from me." She says firmly and she can hear him inhale sharply.

"Tris, Portland is where the memory wiped people from Chicago are. My first day here, I bought coffee from Max… except he's not Max anymore, his name is Lamar and he and his wife Kate own a coffee shop here in town…"

"It's her, isn't it?" She says in a shaky voice.

"Yeah, it is." He admits, "My first day here, I was so fucked up babe, and I couldn't have you come out here to it."

"Are they… is she…?"

"They have no idea who they used to be. I talked to Dylan and he said they're shipped here all the time from Chicago, Portland has the memory implant serum where their new lives are invented. Max and Jeanine didn't have any memory of each other, but when Lamar met Kate they hit it off and got married. They have no idea who I am, but they welcomed me to their shop. Harrison works at a fucking hardware store here. His name is Jerry here, and he's still bat shit crazy. I couldn't have you come here and just get blindsided like I was."

"Does my dad know?"

"No. I finally started talking to him about it after I'd been here for over a week, he had absolutely no idea where the wiped prisoners had been taken. Jack finally admitted it, and he and your dad had some pretty serious arguments about it." There's more silence between them, and Tris's mind wanders to a life she sometimes dreams of having had her birth mother not have become the monster she was. As if he can read her mind, he suddenly speaks again, "You think that once you're face to face with them there would be some sort of recognition and that maybe you can begin the life you always wanted with them. Max, he was good to me when I transferred, and he was capable of being such a good leader. He's gone. Jeanine, she's dead, just like Max."

"Just like Beatrice," She whispers, and Eric hears her.

"Just like Beatrice, babe. Just like the Eric I was when I first got to Dauntless. We have a chance to be better than anyone of them ever were. My parents, I know they love me, and I know your dad adores you. We can still be better."

"Can you take a leave from your job, maybe come here, we get into counseling like you'd suggested?" She asks almost timidly.

"Babe, I'll quit the fucking job if they don't like it. I can be there tomorrow." He promised.

And he was.

It wasn't easy for them, counseling opened up wounds that were never truly healed, and they had barely begun to navigate their new life together when their son was born. He had his father's profile, his mother's ice blue eyes and fine light blonde hair on his head. Eric and Tris both cried when they finally got to touch him, and it felt like all of the doubts they'd both struggled with slowly dissipated as their son spent his first few nights at home with them in their apartment.

"We made the right decision, babe," Eric whispers to her. She's leaned up against him, his arm wrapped around her while she breastfeeds their son. Every once in a while, Eric caresses his head lightly, and those ice blue eyes he shares with his mother open for a brief moment before he nods off again.

"We did." She concurs. When he can feel her body relax against him he maneuvers her gently so she's lying down and he takes his tiny son from her arms and pats his back until he burps.

He changes his diaper, taking time to follow all of the steps the midwife had shown them at the hospital, and then swaddles him before lying him in the temporary bassinet they have set up for him in their room. When he crawls in next to Tris, she mutters something unintelligible and he kisses her head and murmurs for her to go back to sleep.

He loves them both, more than he thought he ever possibly could, and he shuts his eyes once his wife is settled in next to him.