AN: We have made it to the epilogue. Thank you all for taking this journey with me. I'm working on Eric's POV, which will be a much shorter companion story, and I hope to start publishing it soon. Enjoy.

I'm running late, something that I absolutely hate, but with the traffic today it's been damn near impossible to make my dinner plans this evening. I already hate driving, but since I had our vehicle with me today to visit my client in prison, I thought a drive back into the heart of the city to pick Eric up wouldn't be as awful as it turned out.

Eric is waiting in front of our work building for me, and I can see him smirking and tapping his watch humorously as I pull up.

"I'll drive babe," He says when I roll the passenger window down.

"Thank you," I say as we pass each other, I climb into the passenger seat while he jumps behind the wheel.

He leans over and waits in the middle, meeting me for a kiss, "You sure you're ready for all of this?" He asks.

"I should be asking you that," I reply with a laugh.

"I'll be fine, I'm indestructible with you by my side, and you already know that." He grins at me.

Two years ago, when Eric finally walked out of that prison in El Paso as a free man, it changed our lives forever. I was in love with him, fighting off those feelings for as long as I possibly could until I could be certain that he was serious about his recovery. He surprised me that day with his willingness to forgive me for hurting him, and we made a decision to always look forward from that day on.

The long drive home worked wonders for establishing a relationship between Eric and Tobias. The brothers realized they never truly had a reason to dislike each other, outside of their competitive nature and jealously of each other, and the years apart helped to heal each of them. It took time, but the two began to acknowledge each other as brothers, and they were able to finally bond.

Miles was ecstatic to have his father home, and Eric and Miles fell into their own father son routine seamlessly. Jack continued to be an extension of our family, and when he introduced me to his now wife Corena, she and I became fast friends as well. There were often weekend days where Eric, Tobias, Jack, Pedro and the boys would spend time together while Corena, Christina, Johanna and the girls and I had our own time together.

Family was everything to us.

The drive to the restaurant is smooth, Eric keeps one hand entwined with mine while we chat about our day. He's been running the after school program for at-risk youth ever since his release two years ago, something Johanna helped him stand up, and he has loved every minute of it. He's worked with children of all ages, even facilitating foster care for some who have lost one or both parents to the prison system.

That's how Julian, or Jules as he preferred to be called, came into our life almost two years ago. He's a little over a year younger than Miles, with light hazel eyes, freckled skin much like my own, and a mop of curly brown hair. His foster parents enrolled him in Eric's after school program, which Miles already attended on his own accord, and he and Julian became best friends almost immediately. Julian had been in foster care his entire life, and at age nine he was considered to be a harder case for adoption. He'd been in fourteen different foster homes in the span of his short life, and was never a real troublemaker, but couldn't ever seem to find the right fit.

Eric immediately fell in love, and it wasn't long before I was in just as deep as he was. Eric and I had discussed expanding our family at length, and the nagging feeling he had mentioned when he was still in prison followed him into his life outside – he couldn't imagine us getting pregnant and having a baby when he had missed almost ten years of his son's life. We were both open to adoption, and when we started to get to know Julian we knew right then he was meant to be in our lives, even if it was when our little family had just been reunited after Eric's pardon.

We started as foster parents for him while we worked to get approved for adoption. The bedroom Miles had previously used as a playroom was turned into a bedroom for Julian, even though the boys wanted to share a bedroom we knew for home inspections it was imperative that Jules had his own room. We bought two sets of bunk beds, one for each room, so the boys could spend nights in whichever room they chose. Our seldom used open dining room became a home office for Eric and me, and our actual home office turned into a playroom for the boys, where they had their video game systems and toys, and could get online with their Grampy to fight the battles of whichever game they were into at the moment. It gets loud, and messy, but we adjusted.

Jules fit into our family like he was always supposed to be there. Miles had a brother that he had always wanted, Johanna and Pedro embraced him just as they had Miles, and Jules called us mom and dad from almost the beginning. There was one thing that was holding our adoption approval up – the fact that Eric and I were unmarried, which we found out Monday of this week.

We changed that the very next day.

Eric and I were married on Tuesday in a civil ceremony performed by Jack in his office, with Johanna, Pedro, Christina, Tobias and Corena as our witnesses. There was no reason for us not to be married, we were very much in love, and he'd not left Miles or my side since coming home. It had been me dragging my feet much like I had in acknowledging my feelings for him when we were working on his parole. Once we produced our marriage license on Wednesday, our application to adopt Jules was approved, and the little boy who had previously been named Julian Carlisle, and been living in our home as a foster child for the past almost two years officially became Julian Nathaniel Coulter a mere twenty four hours ago. We celebrated with dinner last night, Jules' choice was my homemade chicken parmesan, the favorite meal of his father and brother had also quickly became his own. Jo and Pedro brought cookies from our favorite bakery, Jack and Corena brought the ice cream and Tobias, Christina and their four kids brought an official Dauntless cake and rounded out the dinner to celebrate our growing family.

We were now the parents of two boys, aged twelve and eleven, and we couldn't have been more ecstatic. We decided our family was now complete.

We finally make it to the restaurant, and the host points us in the direction of our table. We are greeted by our friends who have been patiently waiting for us for over twenty minutes.

"It's about time you two," Shauna smiles as she stands to hug me. Zeke shakes Eric's hand, and we make our way around the table, sharing hugs and handshakes with Uriah and his wife Marlene, Lauren and her wife Lynn, Tori and her husband Amar, and Christina and Four.

"Traffic was a bitch getting from the prison, I'm so sorry," I reply as I sit down between Eric and Christina, with Lauren directly on his left.

"I thought you guys were ditching us," Lynn smirks from beside her wife.

"There's no way we would miss seeing you two while you were still in town," Eric replies with a grin. He's trying to keep his unruly hair back and I laugh, slipping a black elastic off of my wrist and passing it to him. He puts his hair up and kisses me quickly, "Thank you."

"Is that a wedding ring?" Lauren blurts out when Eric's hand is back on the table, "No way!"

"Yes way," Eric grins and picks up my left hand, "This beautiful woman decided to finally allow me the honor of being her husband," He says and I can feel myself blushing.

"As promised we didn't say a word," Christina whispers to me as she pulls me into a side hug, "I'm so happy for you two."

"Thank you. He wanted to wait to announce it tonight when everyone could be together." I smile.

"I'm so happy for you two," Tori says from across the table and I smile back at her.

Tori and I have come a long way since our first coffee date two years ago. The relationship with her was the hardest one to rebuild, only because the two of us had been incredibly close when we were in Dauntless together, and when she completely cut me off without reason it was painful. Once Eric had learned that Amar, his former trainer and one time friend was actually alive and living in Dauntless with Tori, he immediately reached out and the two had a very productive conversation. Tori had made a promise to me to give Eric a chance, however the first time we met for dinner just the four of us it became awkward. Tori and Eric had never been friends, their non-existent relationship in Dauntless had continued after the war, and Tori simply didn't believe that Eric was the changed man he is. She thought it was a front, and she wasn't quiet about her thoughts. However, one thing that stood out from that first awkward dinner was that Tori was willing to be proven wrong.

Eric didn't do anything out of the ordinary, he just was himself, and each time we'd interact with Tori, Amar, and later their son Asher, she saw how changed Eric really was. The true turning point in their relationship happened quietly, it was when Tori herself brought Asher to Eric's youth program, trusting him with her one and only child. Since that day, our boys have had sleepovers that included Zeke and Shauna's boys, their cousin Micah and now Asher as well. Our children were finally able to be friends and grow up together without the weight of adult problems on their shoulders.

The news of Eric and Tobias being brothers shocked our core group of friends, but it also opened a door for us to start spending time with our friends as a group. Many painful conversations happened, and once they did we all realized that being angry at each other for a war none of us wanted, and a marriage that was doomed from the start was foolish. We spent ten years apart because of Jeanine Matthews, and we had all agreed to give that woman no more of our time.

Eric and Lauren's close friendship helped to bridge a gap between all of us, and the group of people who now sat together at this table were all there willingly.

"How did you two keep this quiet?" Shauna asks.

"It kind of just happened," Eric replies.

"Wait, how does marriage just happen?" Marlene asks, her bright blue eyes twinkling.

"We were always headed there, I was just a bit stubborn," I admit.

"Imagine that," Uriah blurts out, trying to disguise it as a cough and I roll my eyes at him.

"Our adoption application for Jules was held up because we weren't married. The committed relationship we had didn't seem to be enough stability, so we went to Jack, he performed the ceremony, and Jack's wife, my brother and my in laws witnessed it. I finally have my wife, and we have our two sons now," Eric says as he slings an arm over my shoulder, pulling me closer and pressing a kiss to my cheek.

"Wow! So when did all of this happen?" Lynn asks.

"Jules is officially yours now?" Amar asks with a wide smile.

"Julian Nathaniel Coulter is officially our son," I reply, "It all took place this week. Eric and I got married on Tuesday, and Jules' adoption was finalized yesterday morning."

"Congrats you two, that is great news," Tori says with a genuine smile and I see Eric nod his head towards her.

"Let's drink to that!" Lauren says as she pulls Eric into her side, and the two old friends share a hug.

Soon there is wine being shared, amazing food being eaten, and the conversations that flow between old friends are bouncing around the table.

We find out that Lynn and Lauren were also in the process of adoption, and they would soon hopefully be the parents of twins. They had been put in contact with a pregnant teenager who wanted to facilitate a private adoption, and they seemed to be in a great place to take home the baby boy and baby girl she expected to deliver in two short months.

Zeke and Shauna update us on their three boys, all full of the rambunctious Pedrad spirit of their father and Uncle. Their oldest Ezekiel junior was ten, Rashad nine and Shaun eight, and they provide their parents with constant entertainment and headaches.

The recently married Uriah and Marlene laugh at our kid stories, reminding us how effective a method of birth control it is, especially when they heard about Christina and Four's unexpected fifth pregnancy, which they announced tonight after Christina had to keep refusing a glass of her favorite wine.

"You're keeping secrets too," I nudge her with my shoulder before pulling her into a hug.

"I wanted to tell you so bad when we were on the phone last night, but I promised him I'd wait until we could announce it tonight," She says quietly, "It's another girl though, you're the first to know, even before him," She gestures towards her husband and I hug her harder.

"Congratulations," I whisper and we break apart so that she can get hugs from everyone else.

"Baby fever," Eric says quietly as he presses a kiss to my lips.

I check my phone when I hear a text alert and find a message from Johanna, "The boys want to spend the night," I say as I show it to my husband.

"I'm fine with that, it means I get my wife all to myself tonight," He says quietly before placing another kiss on my lips, while one hand sneaks up my dress.

Eric and I had committed early in our relationship to be clear with consent in all of our intimacy due to the sexual abuse he suffered as a child. Through his dedication to ongoing therapy and our commitment to open and honest communication, he's been able to heal from that trauma. Where we always had to ask for permission to touch each other intimately before, we've gotten so good at our own silent communication skills that we are able to read each other easily.

I tug on his beard, "Behave."

"Never," He growls lowly, earning himself a punch on the arm from Lauren, and he decides to continue to tease me by rubbing his hand up and down my thigh for the rest of the evening, seeing how high he can go before I chastise him.

The rest of our dinner goes smoothly, and when we all depart it is with the promise to get together like this more often, especially since Lynn and Lauren are considering a move back to the city if they can find the right apartment for their little family.

My husband's teasing touches throughout the night are almost too much for me to handle, and our usually adventurous sex life has been interrupted by so many twists and turns in our quest to finalize an adoption this week. I've missed him, and once we get into our car I boldly begin stroking him through his pants. Our dark tinted windows keep prying eyes off of us, and I'm too worked up to wait.

"Baby…." He almost purrs.

I begin to slowly unzip his pants, and I can already see his excitement straining against his boxer briefs. I open the small button, and pull him completely through.

"Tris," He breathes out.

"Are you able to drive?" I ask.

"Fuck yeah," He swears.

I lick his sensitive head. His moan reverberates through the car and I smile at how responsive he is. I pull him in slowly, licking and sucking, using only my mouth at first the way I know he likes. He wraps my ponytail around his hand and yanks my hair until he pulls my mouth off, hearing the satisfying pop.

I run my tongue on the underside of his member, gently sucking his balls, and a few curse words fall from his lips before I suddenly take him fully, down my throat and swallowing. I look up at him through my lashes and he watches me with hooded eyes, using his grip on my hair to move me up and down his shaft the way he likes.

I start using my hands and pump in time with my mouth, sucking him hard. His hips thrust to me, causing him to bottom out down my throat, and each time I swallow he calls out my name.

When he finally releases, I swallow it all, licking his sensitive member until it's too much for him.

"Fuck," He drawls, doing his best to keep his focus on the road, "I can't believe you just did that," He shakes his head as I sit up in my seat, "I want to return the favor, but I need you to start it for me baby."

I slide my panties down my legs, leaving myself in only the loose black dress I am wearing. He keeps glancing at me from his peripheral vision, "Guide me."

"Touch yourself." He whispers and I comply, starting with one finger and slowly pumping it in and out, "More…" He says and I add a second, never taking my eyes off of him, "I wanna see you, can you turn towards me?"

I move, pulling my dress up higher and spreading my legs, giving him a full view.

"Do you want me to help you or watch you?" He asks in a low voice.

"What do you want?" I ask.

"Watch…" He whispers.

I move my hand over my covered breasts, and add a third finger inside of me.

"I want you to make yourself come baby," He says as he guides our car in the parking garage and into our assigned spot.

"I'm close…" I say and he nods.

"What do you think about when you do that?" He asks.

"You. Always you, ever since the first time you made me cum…"

"When I was away in prison?" He asks.

"You…" I whisper.

"Me too." He replies, he's unzipped his pants and is steadily stroking himself as he watches me.

I slow down my movements and he shakes his head, "Don't you dare stop baby."

I speed up, and can feel my orgasm approaching, so I curl my fingers ever so slightly and come hard, my wetness dripping down my hand, calling Eric's name. I close my eyes and try to calm my erratic breathing and I feel him move my hand from inside of me up to my lips. I greedily lick and suck my fingers, tasting my own sweetness and moaning at the sensation.

I'm caught off guard when he moves his seat all the way back and drags me to his lap, where I easily slide directly onto his pulsing member.

"You are so fucking wet." He growls. "Suck them harder baby." He commands and I suck each of my fingers, licking them clean while I ride him, "I'm so close,"

The look on his face when I move away from him is almost murderous, but when I wrap my lips around his strained member, tasting my own excitement on him it pushes him completely over the edge and he comes hard down my throat.

Our activities, along with our heavy breathing have completely fogged up the windows of our SUV. His head flops backwards against the headrest while he tries to get himself under control. I pull my dress back down, and I look around for my panties. When I find them, Eric snatches them from my hand and puts them into his pocket.

"Let's go upstairs, now." He says, tucking himself back into his pants, where I can see he's already starting to harden again.

We find ourselves alone in the elevator, and we make out during the ride up, barely making it inside of our apartment before he presses me against our apartment door, pushing his pants and boxers down and thrusting inside of me quickly. His kisses are sloppy and his hands are desperate, holding me up while he pounds against me.

When I whine for him to put me down, he complies, and we finish undressing but don't make it too far into the apartment before he has me bent over our kitchen island, and enters me from behind. The cold marble against my naked breasts is overwhelming and within seconds my climax rips through me, and I'm screaming out his name, with him following right behind me.

We repeat this, all over our apartment, until we are spent. We're sprawled out on the area rug on our living room floor, naked and just holding each other in the quiet room when he lifts up on an elbow and looks at me.

"Can you believe we're here?" He asks.

"Yes and no." I reply honestly, "The way you acted during our first few sessions made me wonder if I was the right person to treat you."

"Johanna knew it was the right thing to do." Eric replies. He is tracing his fingers across my naked stomach.

"What's on your mind, babe?" I ask, turning to face him.

"I'm happy. I'm just really fucking happy. I think things are about as perfect as they could get. I have my wife, our children, a beautiful apartment, we're healthy, and just free." He muses.

"Things are really good." I agree. "Eric, do you ever think about getting out of the downtown area and maybe moving more towards Amity?" I ask.

"I thought that's what I wanted for a long time, in my mind you and I making to Amity back then meant we could start a life together. Our little house, some land, people who didn't judge us, and when you found out you were pregnant I would have been right by your side. I hate that I missed your entire pregnancy, and all of the things that went along with it. I'm so thankful for the family we have now, but I think about everything I missed when you were carrying our son." He says sadly.

"I thought we agreed that we only look forward." I reply softly and tuck some stray hair that escaped his bun behind his ear.

"When did you stop being angry at me?" He asks.

"When you stayed," I reply and he furrows his brow at me, "That first appointment we had, when you came into the room and stayed, I knew you were ready to change, and I no longer had any anger towards you."

He lays on his back and pulls me towards him. I curl into his side and he trails his fingers up and down my arm, "I couldn't leave once I saw you."

"I'm glad you didn't."

"Me too, Tris, me too." He whispers before pressing his lips to the top of my head.

I look up at him, "Eric there's something I need to talk to you about." I say carefully and he trails his grey eyes to me, "Remember how I had told you months ago that my current client isn't a parole case?" I ask and he nods his head, "She's actually on death row, her name is Juanita Brown, and she was found guilty of murder. She killed her own husband after discovering he had been cheating on her. She's exhausted all of her appeals, and I've been treating her for a very specific reason."

"Holy shit babe, I didn't realize how heavy this might have been on you." He says quietly.

"There's more. Nita is currently eight and half months pregnant. This is the only reason she wasn't immediately put to death, and also the reason they asked me to treat her. Eric, Nita has asked if we would take her daughter once she's born, and adopt her as our own. I know we had said that Miles and Jules were it for us, but there's something that's drawing me to this baby, and I felt like I needed to at least discuss it with you."

"Wow, okay. I know we did discuss not adopting more children after Jules, but I'm not at all opposed to this Tris. If you feel connected to this woman, and to her unborn daughter, we should at least consider it. We would need to discuss it with our boys, and make sure they'd be okay with having a baby sister, but I'm on board babe. I've always wanted a daughter." He smiles at me and pulls me closer, "Seriously babe, if this is right for our family, let's do it."

Three weeks to the day after that conversation with Eric, our last child, a beautiful baby girl we decided to name Charlotte Natalie Coulter was born. Our boys were excited from the moment we had first broached the subject with them, and they were head over heels for their baby sister from the first time they met her and each got to hold her.

We finally brought her home today and I watch from the kitchen as Eric cradles his daughter to his chest, enjoying skin to skin bonding with his baby girl, while our sons sit on either side of him marveling over how tiny she is. Her fine light brown hair and grey eyes remind me of a mixture of Eric and me, and my heart swells with love as I watch each of our sons gently caress her. I'm once again thankful for Nita's choice to have us raise the daughter that I know she cared deeply for. We will make sure our little Charlie is always surrounded by love.

It took some patience, and a completely unconventional path, but our family is finally whole.