AN: Thanks again for the reviews. Hope that you enjoy this update, and I'll see you all on Tuesday. :)

After carefully mapping out our options, we realized the drive home from El Paso was going to be close to thirty hours, so we ended up deciding to break it into multiple days. I was surprised when I received a text from Tobias while Eric and I were discussing our best options for overnight stops along the way. He'd been following Eric's case carefully, and when he realized Eric had been released in Texas and that I would be responsible for getting him home he offered to help. Eric and I discussed his offer at length, and we decided to accept his assistance.

It was a mature, yet dangerous move. Eric and Tobias had both expressed a desire to get to know each other as brothers, but Tobias flying into El Paso from Chicago, and then agreeing to split driving duties with me for a trip we had decided to take over several days could either be the greatest decision ever, or a disaster waiting to happen.

Especially when my boyfriend's flippant response was they'd either learn to like each other or they'd have to kill each other. Either way, it was too late, Eric and I were waiting in the airport for Tobias to arrive.

Tobias shows up in cargo shorts and a dark t-shirt, with a book bag slung over his shoulder. He looks nervous, and I can feel Eric's nervous energy from where his hand is shaking in mine.

"Damn man, you look a hell of a lot different," Tobias says as he finally approaches us. He offers his hand to Eric and Eric shakes it, "It's good to see you."

"Likewise," Eric replies nervously.

We leave the airport, and drive over to a restaurant closer to our hotel, where we share dinner and a conversation that is mostly on the surface only. Eric talks about Miles, and shows Tobias pictures, where Tobias shares pictures of his three children as well. He excitedly talks about the baby they have on the way, and explains that Christina is due in a little over two months.

It's a relatively safe conversation, and when we part for the evening it's with the agreement to eat breakfast together in the morning and finally hit the road for the first leg of our trip.

That night, in our El Paso hotel, with a naked Eric wrapped around my equally naked body, he expressed his apprehension for the first time. He knows spending the next few days travelling home with Tobias is going to be difficult, and he needs to know how to handle the anxiety he can feel bubbling right under the surface.

We make a plan, and a promise – if anything gets too deep we have safe words to change the subject, or to stop the car for a break at any time. By the time we are on the road for around an hour, the conversation turns a bit more serious for the first time. Tobias is driving, with me in the passenger seat and Eric sitting behind me when Eric asks a question that I know has been burning at him for a very long time.

"How long did you actually know?" Eric asks.

I turn in the front seat of the SUV so I can see Eric easier, and I reach my hand back to him. I can see Tobias glancing back at Eric through the rear view mirror as well.

"Evelyn told me. It was maybe eight or so months before Tris' initiation class got to Dauntless. At first, I wasn't sure who had sent me the message, because I had believed she was dead. Her first attempt was a vague message that let me know at minimum it was coming from someone who knew Evelyn. The second message was a little more informative, and included a copy of the DNA test panel she had run on me as a child, that showed I had a sibling. That DNA test showed that Marcus had fathered another child with Jeanine Matthews that was born a little over ten months after me. It showed you were my half-brother."

"Is there a reason that you never told me?" Eric asks evenly.

"I didn't want to, at first. I have a person reaching out to me, who may or may not be my supposedly dead mother, who also may or may not be trying to manipulate me with a doctored DNA test in order to get to you through me. I think you do know me well enough to know that I don't trust easily at all, and it took me several months before I would even meet with the person who kept reaching out to me. I found it was her, she was real and she was alive and it kind of threw me completely. Once I had gotten myself into a comfortable headspace knowing that my mother was alive, I then wanted to explore the DNA results." He explains.

"You never got my DNA, how the fuck were you planning on exploring these results?" Eric growls and I squeeze his hand.

"I watched you, and when I learned your habits I was able to gather some of your things. Drinking cups, discarded cigarette butts, even your hair after you went to the barber shop." Tobias replies, darting his eyes to Eric's in the rearview mirror.

"Creepy…" I murmur and Tobias glances at me.

"Agreed, however Eric and I were not friends at all back then. I didn't feel comfortable going to him with any of this until I could be sure that Evelyn wasn't just fucking with me. You've met with her, Tris, she's actually crazy, and how was I supposed to know she wasn't trying to infiltrate Dauntless leadership just like Jeanine was?"

"I actually do understand that," Eric interjects, "I would have done the same thing, it's part of our Dauntless training to scrutinize things that could be innocent on the surface, but could cause an underlying threat to the faction. However, once you had my DNA and ran your own tests, what did you find?"

"She was telling the truth, we're brothers." He says.

"So why didn't you tell me at that point?"

"I tried. The timing of this was right around her initiation," Tobias gestures at me, "So every time I came to you to actually talk, it turned into shit about the initiates. Then, Tris happened, and things got even more fucked up between us."

"What do you mean that I happened?" I ask angrily.

"He had a thing for you back in initiation, and when you and I started seeing each other he was pissed. The conversations Eric and I had were not usually pleasant at all during this time." Tobias explains.

"I was an asshole to him, more so when he started dating you," Eric says to me before turning his attention towards Tobias, "I'll give you that, I didn't like small talk with you, and I didn't actually like you."

"Why did you hate me so much at that point?" Tobias asks.

"We didn't get along in training..." Eric offers weakly and I watch as Tobias immediately snaps his dark eyes to Eric in the rear view.

"That's bullshit. We were competitive in training, and that leadership carrot that was dangled between both of us made us pretty cutthroat, but after training we actually had a chance to squash that shit and you still wouldn't." Tobias bites back.

"I didn't like that you were an arrogant prick who stuck his fucking nose into everything, and even though you broke damn near every rule we had in place you always seemed to come out smelling like a rose. When you started going to Max with your concerns about me, it really pissed me off, because not only was I covering your ass for sneaking out of the faction, I also covered your ass for dating your fucking initiate."

"Why were you protecting me?" Tobias asks.

"First you tell me why you were hell bent on getting me kicked out of leadership when you had no interest in being there yourself." Eric counters.

"You were following Jeanine blindly just like I was following Evelyn. I don't know Eric, maybe in some twisted fucked up way, I thought if I could get Max to doubt you he and Jeanine would just cut you loose from their plans. At that point, I knew for sure you were my brother, and maybe I thought you were redeemable. I've already admitted to Tris that I had a savior complex back then." Tobias admits and I can tell Eric is shocked at what he shared, "Your turn now, why'd you protect me? You had no idea who I was to you back then."

"No, I didn't have the first clue about you, but I knew I wanted to keep Tris in the faction, so to protect her I had to protect you," Eric answers, "Had I exposed your relationship, she would have been factionless."

"Had you exposed me leaving the compound unauthorized, you could have gotten rid of me for good. You and I both know I would have been made factionless." Tobias argues.

"She might have went with you." Eric replies and something that should have been so obvious to me throughout this time together finally clicks into place. He protected Tobias to protect me, "I didn't love her back then, but I felt something. There was shit that happened in my life that made it hard for me to connect to someone romantically. The strong connection I felt to her, and wanting to understand why I felt it with her made me very protective of her."

"Is that why you slept with her knowing she was with me?" Tobias asks angrily and I glare at him.

"I already explained this to you…" I begin but Eric cuts me off.

"It's okay Tris, I can tell him my side of things." Eric squeezes my hand and I smile nervously at him, then he turns his focus towards Tobias, "The thing with Tris and me in Erudite was never supposed to go as far as it did. When I went to Peter and Drew, the only way they'd turn the camera off in my apartment was if I agreed to let them have their turn with Tris when I was done. There was no way in hell I would have let them touch her, but for them to turn the camera off we had to make it believable. It was supposed to just look like we were having sex, not actually having sex."

"I'm the one who encouraged it to happen, and for it to continue." I add.

"I also didn't think I was going to be physically up for the occasion." Eric adds and I can't hide my shock.

"Baby, you don't have to." I say and he nods.

"I know, its ok." He says and continues, "I had some stuff happen with a babysitter when I was Miles' age, I'd tried to talk to Jeanine about it but she dismissed it, and it went on for almost a year. Without treatment, it weighed heavy on everything I ever did. I never had a girlfriend before Sky when we were in training together, and things with her... let's just say nothing worked," Eric says and I watch as Tobias nods his head. I also notice that his grip on the steering wheel has his fingers turning white and his jaw is clenched.

"Stuff? Like… stuff… like sexual abuse…." Tobias stammers.

"Yeah." Eric says quietly and I watch as Tobias' dark eyes dart to Eric's in the rear view mirror. I recognize the emotions he's exhibiting, he's angry, but it's because someone hurt Eric so profoundly. I know we need to diffuse this situation.

"Tobias, why don't you pull off somewhere so I can take over?" I ask and he nods.

The conversation ceases for a few minutes, until Tobias pulls off into a rest stop. We all use the facilities, and when I return Eric is sitting at a picnic table, and Tobias is on his cell phone, pacing back and forth while he talks.

"Are you okay?" I ask when I join Eric at the table.

"Yeah. I'm okay. We talked for a few minutes before you came over, he understands what happened to me, and he felt compelled to call his kids. It got to him." He replies, "Can I use your phone to call Miles?"

I hand him the phone and move to stand, but he pulls me back towards him. He wraps an arm around me and places a FaceTime call to Miles. When our boy picks up the video call, he is all smiles to see Eric and me sitting together.

"Are you guys close to being home?" He asks excitedly.

"On the way, bud. We should be home in a few days. Where are you?" Eric asks.

"At Jack's, we're going to a baseball game soon," Miles says, "He has a girlfriend." He grins.

"I've heard all about her from Jack. So, is she nice?" I ask.

"Mmmhmm, she had dinner with us last night and she's super nice. She got us tickets to go to the game, she works for the Cubs!" Miles prattles on excitedly, "Who's that?" He asks, pointing behind us.

"Sorry, I didn't realize…" Tobias stammers and Eric gestures for him to come over.

"Miles, this is your uncle, he flew out to help your mom get me home." Eric replies.

"My mom doesn't have any brothers anymore." Miles says, and his face twists in confusion.

"He's my brother, Miles. His name is Tobias and he and I didn't grow up together, but we know each other now." Eric explains.

"Hi Uncle Tobias. My name is Miles Andrew Coulter, and I'm almost ten years old. My birthday party is next month, do you think you can come?" Miles asks.

"I'd love that. I'm Tobias James Eaton, and it's great to finally meet you." Tobias smiles.

"My dad's middle name is James too!" Miles exclaims.

"Yeah, it was a family name," Tobias replies vaguely. It was Marcus' middle name, I had found that in my research once he was established as Eric's birth father, "You have some cousins too, my daughter Jayde is around a year younger than you. I also have a daughter Kendall who's six, a son Micah who's three and another boy on the way, who will be named Callem."

"That is so awesome, can they come to my birthday too? Dad is that okay?"

"Of course it is, bud, as long as mom is okay with it." Eric replies and squeezes my shoulder.

"Absolutely." I reply with a smile.

I wave at Miles, and slip out of the frame so Tobias can sit next to Eric and chat with our son. I walk over to the touristy area of the rest stop and check out the map. We're in an area of the country that I've never seen in my life, so I look at the different travel videos. After several minutes, I feel strong arms wrap around me and lips press to my neck.

"That went well," Eric whispers against my neck and I nod, "I think we're in a good place. We both have fucked up mothers, and share an awful father, so all we have left are our families and each other. Is it really okay with you to have them at Miles' birthday? I wasn't even thinking of the difficulties with Christina."

"It's okay, I think she and I can figure this out. When I went to breakfast with Tobias he had mentioned that she wanted to see me. I've just been hesitant."

"Babe, if this is too much, we can slow it down to give you and Christina time..."

"We've had ten years, that's plenty of time for us to grow up and have a conversation. It'll be fine."

I turn to face him and he presses his lips to mine. When he rests his forehead against mine, I push his long hair back and tuck it behind his ears, and I feel him pulling an elastic off of my wrist.

"I seem to remember buying you an entire pack of these, mister." I say playfully.

"You have tiny wrists, they are perfect for holding my elastics." He smirks before dropping his lips to mine.

"Ready to hit the road, lovebirds?" Tobias asks from behind us and Eric grabs me by the hand and walks back to the SUV with us.

This time, I drive, to allow the two brothers to talk more without distraction. I just quietly observe, watching Eric in my peripheral vision for any signs of discomfort, and even Tobias for any of his known tics as well.

Things seem to be going well.

When we stop for dinner, the two still seem to be in a good place, so my guard is a bit down as we enter the restaurant. I leave them to get us a table, and take my time freshening up in the restroom. I exchange texts with Johanna, as well as Jack since Miles is with him tonight, and find that everything is going well at home. When I approach the table, I can tell Eric is tense, and I slide into the booth next to him.

"Is everything okay?" I ask.

Eric takes a deep breath next to me, and he rests his arm on the back of the booth. I lean into him, and I feel him press a kiss to my head.

"We ordered, hope pepperoni and extra cheese is okay." Tobias says evenly.

"What happened while I was gone?" I press, I look up at Eric and can see the familiar look of hurt on his face, "Eric…"

"Just hit a sore subject." Tobias answers. His face betrays nothing, but I notice that he will not make eye contact with Eric or me.

"Which one of you is going to fill me in on what this sore subject is?" I ask.

"He knew I was alive when he made it to Amity." Eric says quietly.

It takes me a few seconds to fully comprehend what Eric said. I look from him, to Tobias, who continues to look at the table, "Tobias, is this true?"

He simply nods his head.

"You knew when you got there to me?" I breathe out, and he nods again. Eric's arm wraps around my shoulder, pulling me flush to his body, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't ready to lose you." He says quietly.

"What…?"

"You were inconsolable. You thought he was dead, and the way you were mourning his death told me everything I needed to know about how you felt about him. I wasn't ready to lose you back then, Tris." He answers, and he finally looks up and meets my eyes, "Had I told you that he was alive, you would have left me that day and headed straight for him…"

"Straight to your guaranteed death since Jeanine was still on the loose." Eric interjects.

"That should have been my choice. You let me believe he was dead, and while I was still in shock from everything I'd been through in Erudite you married me."

"I'm sorry, Tris."

I slide out of the booth and make my way outside of the restaurant. I can hear the crunch of shoes on gravel behind me, and strong arms wrapping around me.

"I would have come to you. I need you to know that. If I had of known you were alive, I would have left Amity and found you…." I choke back a sob and Eric holds me tighter.

"And you would have died." Eric replies.

"You don't know that." I argue.

"Yes, I do. If any one of her followers had of seen you, they would have killed you. I was heavily guarded when I was in the hospital, you would have been a walking target." He replies.

"I wasn't some damsel in fucking distress, I didn't need rescuing…"

"I know baby, I know. We are equals in this, always." He murmurs, "We have each other now. I wish I could have helped to heal you the way you have me."

I turn in his arms to face him and place each of my hands on the sides of his face, "You did." I pull his face down to mine and kiss him, "I love you."

"I love you too." He says before wiping the tears from my face.

We go back inside, and Eric waits outside of the restroom for me while I quickly wash my face. We then head back to the table where an anxious Tobias is starting at a steaming pizza. When Eric and I slide back into the booth, his troubled dark brown eyes meet mine.

"I'm sorry." He says and I nod my head.

"Me too. Thank you for continuing to be honest, and please don't let my emotional reaction set any of us back in moving forward in this relationship." I reply.

"We all have to be able to freely express ourselves if any of this is going to work. Tris and I learned that after a lot of butting heads along the way." Eric says with a smirk.

"You'll have to fill me in on that sometime, but for now if you guys don't start eating I'm going to house this entire pizza." Tobias says and I quickly grab the serving spatula and grab a slice for all of us.

Just like that, we're okay again.

After dinner, at Tobias' insistence I crawl back into the backseat of the car and settle in for the drive to the first hotel we've planned on stopping at. The next thing I know, I am being lifted out of the car, and I snuggle into the broad chest of my boyfriend.

"We're in Seymour babe, Four's getting the rooms for us now," Eric says before pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"I can walk, I'm awake now." I reply and he sets me on my feet.

One hot shower later, Eric has me sprawled across the crisp white sheets with his head buried between my legs. I usually let him lead any of the intimate moments between us, and he never disappoints. The trust we're building between us is greater than anything either of us have shared with another person, and it makes me incredibly happy that he has the comfort level to share this type of intimacy with me.

When my release rushes over me, he wastes no time before he's thrusting inside of me. Everything about sex with him gives us a shared feeling of never being able to get enough of each other. When he pulls me up to face him, without pulling out of me, he flips our positions until I am now on top of him. I don't have to ask for his permission, he is lost in our shared sensations and I'm riding him without hesitation.

"Tris…" He murmurs. His hands wrap around my back and pulls me down so my body is flush to his and we kiss each other sloppily as we continue to move against each other, "I like this… yes baby… move like that on me…" He grips my ass in his large hands and helps to guide me up and down his shaft, rubbing my clit against him with every stroke.

"Oh Eric…" I cry out, and he brings my mouth to his to swallow the sounds. I'm trembling around him and our sweaty bodies continue to slide against each other.

"I'm close baby, keep that up…" He whispers, before he begins moving faster against me.

"I'm gonna cum again." I warm as I feel another climax ripping through me, "Oh my God…" I can feel him spurting inside of me and I pulse around him, "Eric.." I cry again before I drop my head to his chest.

I remember moving off of him and curling into his side, but the next time I open my eyes the sun is barely peeking through the curtains and Eric is laying on his stomach with one muscular arm draped across my naked stomach. I run my hand up and down his arm, tracing my fingers across his tattoos. He's had the mazes since we were in Dauntless, but I notice one on his shoulder that is new to me. I try to move to get a better look, but his arm cages me in and he grunts when I try to move it.

"Babe, go back to sleep," He grumbles from next to me and I move a little more, finally getting a good look at his tattoo.

He has three sets of initials, EJC, BEC and MAC tattooed on his shoulder. Nothing more, and I run a finger across them.

"When did you get these?" I ask quietly. He cracks one of his grey eyes open and looks at me for a few seconds before he turns so he's on his side facing me.

"Last month. Prison tattoos aren't exactly approved, but I had a good contact." He says in his sleep thickened voice, "Eric James Coulter, Beatrice Edith Coulter, Miles Andrew Coulter, our family, with room left for expansion. I know it's a bit presumptuous for me to have put you in there, but a guy can hope, right?"

"It's always good to have hope." I agree.

"So you're a morning person?" He asks sleepily.

"I actually hate mornings, I remember being pissed that Johanna had scheduled our intake meeting at eight am that first day." I grumble.

"Yet you're bullying me awake before the sun is even fully up." He says with humor and I poke him in the ribs.

"I apologize for being ridiculously excited to wake up next to you daily." I smirk and he kisses my nose.

I can feel his hand traveling down my legs, and him gently nudging my thighs apart. He turns on his side, dropping his lips to mine as his fingers enter my folds and flick over my sensitive bud.

"I liked what we did last night a lot," He whispers before kissing me again.

"Which part?" I ask when we break apart. His fingers tease my entrance and I nod my head at him. I can feel him pushing a finger inside of me and I moan at the contact.

"When you were on top," He whispers in my ear before tracing his tongue around it, "I could feel every part of you against me." He enters another finger inside of me, "Tris… do you ever touch yourself?" He asks.

I can feel my cheeks heat up, but I nod my head.

"Would you do it now?" He asks.

I snake my own hand down between my folds, and when he goes to move I shake my head, "Keep going, please." I whisper and he nods.

I gently circle my bud with one hand, while rubbing across both of my breasts with the other. Eric's breathing gets heavy and I can feel him rutting against my leg. I move my hand from my breasts and lick my fingers and hand generously before moving towards his erection. He nods his head and I wrap my hand around him.

When his lips find mine, my mouth opens and his tongue twirls with mine, when he pulls apart he is panting, "Baby, I want you on top of me."

I waste no time, flipping our positions so I can take him inside of me, and he pulls me close to his chest again. His hands grip my ass hard, helping me to move up and down his shaft as our kisses grow sloppier. I don't have to wait long before my climax rushes over me and I can feel Eric tense below me before he follows right behind, tumbling over the edge as I pulse around him.

"I could become a morning person." He pants.

"Mmmhmm." I agree.