Tris was touched by the way Amar's face lit up when he saw that she was awake. With her permission, George and Rebekah were sent for as well. All were relieved to see her alert and doing well.

Doctors and nurses filtered in and out throughout the afternoon. They all seemed satisfied with Tris' condition. She was taken off the IV, and was allowed to take herself to the bathroom and move around her hospital room. Tobias hovered, but Tris didn't resist. He didn't leave the room even once until her dinner arrived, and even then promised to return in just a moment.

True to his word, Tobias was back by the time Tris had taken just two bites of dinner. She noticed that he looked tired.

"You need to sleep tonight," Tris said as she observed her husband. "I want you to go home, or at least get a hotel room nearby."

"They're bringing a cot in here for me," Tobias assured her. "I'm dead tired, so as long as I can stay with you and know you're safe, I'll be able to sleep. You need to finish your dinner; you have visitors."

"More visitors?" Tris asked. "Is it Tori? Roza? Or are Lauren and Eric still in town?"

"You'll find out as soon as you eat," Tobias insisted, pointing at the tray in front of Tris.

Once he was satisfied with how much Tris ate, Tobias tapped at his phone. "Amar is bringing your visitors and my dinner," he explained.

Within seconds there was a knock on the door, and Amar walked in with Andrew and Natalie.

"Mom! Dad!" Tris sobbed when she saw her parents.

"Beatrice!" Andrew said as he took in the sight of his bandaged daughter in the hospital bed.

Natalie said nothing; she just threw herself at her daughter's unbandaged shoulder.

"Nëna e Tris është e shqetësuar," (Tris' mother is distraught), Amar said quietly to Tobias.

"E kuptoj" (I understand), Tobias replied. "Djali i saj u përpoq të vriste vajzën e saj. Ai është në burg dhe ajo është në spital. Sigurisht që ajo është e shqetësuar."
(Her son tried to kill her daughter. He is in jail and she is in the hospital. Of course she is distraught.)

Andrew walked over and gave Tobias a hug. "Thank you," he said in a voice of intense gratitude. "Without you my daughter might be dead, and my son would be a murderer. I'm not sure that 'attempted murderer' is better, but at least we didn't lose Beatrice, too."

"I'm only sorry I couldn't do more," Tobias said. "I don't know how Caleb got into the house, but we'll be looking at our security."

Andrew sighed. "I don't know what's wrong with my son. When I think about what could have happened…"

Amar gave Tris' dad a sympathetic pat on the back while Tobias shook his head. He too had been thinking all day about what could have happened. He was beyond grateful that Tris' injuries were relatively minor, and several times that day he'd been struck with gratitude that he hadn't had to kill his wife's brother to keep her safe.

After an evening of tears and conversations no one ever dreams of having, Amar and Tobias finally convinced the Priors to go to their hotel for the night. Tris and Tobias both needed to rest, and Andrew and Natalie were jetlagged and emotionally worn out.

Once her parents were gone, Tris broke down in sobs again.

"Tris!" Tobias exclaimed. "What's wrong? Should I bring your parents back? What can I do?"

"Hold… me…" she choked out.

Tobias complied immediately, rushing to her side and drawing her into his arms gently.

"Tobias, why would Caleb do that?" she sobbed. "My own brother tried to kill me! And he seemed so… I don't know, just so different! I mean, he hasn't been himself since he started working with Jeanine, but when he attacked, he seemed almost… feral, or rabid!"

"Caleb's not exactly sitting in a jail cell," Tobias began gently explaining to his wife as he sat down beside her and took her hand. "After he was arrested, the jail staff found his behavior alarming, and they called in some mental health professionals. They've been observing your brother all day, and they're not sure what to make of him. They ordered some medical tests and blood work, and found some foreign chemicals in his blood, but they don't know what they are yet. Do you think it's possible that Caleb was using drugs?"

"Caleb?" Tris questioned, stunned by the suggestion. "Drugs? That seems so… No. No, Caleb wouldn't do drugs. He's super obsessed with learning and knowing things. There's no way he would risk damaging his precious brain. It's probably just a prescription or supplement."

"Hmm," Tobias mused, then tapped out a message on his phone. "I'm sure it will take a few days for all the lab reports to come back. Hopefully Caleb will work everything out of his system and be able to tell us some things. The international nature of the crime is slowing the investigation, too. He's an American, who flew on a Dutch airline to Greece, then rented a car to drive to Albania, where he attempted to murder an American citizen with Albanian residency. Plus, they've got the perpetrator in custody, so there's really no push for law enforcement to continue investigating. I had to hire someone to keep digging."

"I think I'm still in shock," Tris said.

"I know," Tobias replied. "Me too. I have a feeling this will haunt me for a while."

Tris tried to nod, then groaned as the motion pulled at the stitches on her neck. "When can I go home?" she asked.

"Home?" Tobias squeaked in a rather un-manly way. His shoulders slumped.

"Home," Tris repeated. "This bed isn't big enough for both of us."

"Us?" he questioned.

"Tobias," Tris whined, "why are you acting like a parrot? I just want to know when we can go home."

"Home with me?" he asked.

"Of course with you," Tris said testily. "We went over this earlier. This is my home now. Unless you want to get rid of me, this is where I belong, and where I plan to stay."

"I…" Tobias stammered. "I might need you to say that again - a few times."

"I don't know," Tris teased, trying to lighten the mood. "When we used to video chat you got pretty… excited when I would talk about the estate as 'home.' I don't think the hospital is the place for that."

Tobias blushed - a rare feat that made Tris quite proud.

"I think you'd better get some rest and build your strength up before we get to that level of excitement," he said. "And to answer your original question, I can take you home tomorrow."

"Good," Tris said, relaxing. "This bed isn't great."

"Are you uncomfortable?" Tobias asked. "Should I see about having you moved?"

Tris giggled. "No," she said. "No bed will be right until it's in our own home and we're both in it."

"I agree," Tobias sighed. He didn't want to say anything more, but he wasn't sure their own bedroom would be a very restful site either. After all, it was the location of their recent ordeal. Tobias and Amar had both spoken with Roza since arriving at the hospital. The master bedroom's mattress, pillows, and bedding were being replaced. The rug was being cleaned, and the sleepwear that Tris was wearing during the attack had to be thrown away.

Jorik had come into the city with an overnight bag of clothing and things for the couple. After picking up the Priors at the airport, he'd taken Rebekah and gone back to the estate for the night. Amar, George, Andrew, and Natalie were put up in a nice hotel near the hospital to await Tris' release.

It took a while for Tobias and Tris to settle down for the night. Though they were both exhausted, they were also anxious and jumpy, and hospitals are just not quiet places, so neither of them slept particularly well.

.

Tris was released by noon the next day. She was given strict instructions not to exert herself and risk popping stitches, but was otherwise fine. Lingering pain and anxiety could be managed by over the counter pain relievers and sleep aids.

Jorik and Rebekah returned to pick up Tris' parents, and Amar and George drove the Eatons. The eight of them drove slowly and carefully back to the estate, then Tobias settled Tris in a comfortable lounge chair on the terrace for a late lunch.

Tris caught Roza dabbing her eyes as she served lunch. The housekeeper had really outdone herself spoiling everyone with a delicious meal. Tris insisted that she sit down and eat with them, and Roza gratefully accepted.

"I'm so glad you're alright," the housekeeper said as her eyes welled up with tears again. "When we cleaned the bedroom, I was so afraid. Mr. Tobias said you were going to be okay, but he didn't sound convinced, and there was just so much -"

"Roza," Amar said in a warning tone, interrupting her before she could bring up blood and the aftermath of the attack.

Tris grabbed the older woman's hand. "I'm fine," she assured her. "Tobias kept me safe, Rebekah called for help, and everything worked out. After a few days of rest, I'll be back to normal, with just a little scar or two to show for it."

Several people at the table wanted to comment, but no one did. They knew it was best, especially for Natalie and Tris, if they didn't bring up the emotional wounds that would be harder to heal, or the larger issue that still had to be dealt with - Caleb.

After lunch, Andrew insisted that Natalie lay down for a while. She resisted, in spite of her desperate need for rest. Andrew pulled out an old trick that had worked on the kids, but twisted it to work on his wife.

"Tris needs to rest," he told Natalie, "but I need Tobias this afternoon. Will you lay down with her and make sure she gets some sleep?"

"Don't you think for a minute that I don't know what you're up to," Natalie said. "We used to pull that on the kids when they didn't want to nap - telling them that the other needed help resting so they'd both pass out."

"Please, Nat," Andrew said, giving his wife his best attempt at a pleading puppy expression. "You're exhausted, and Tris really does need to rest."

"Fine," she gave in.

.

Tris and Natalie napped in Tobias' old room, where the Priors were staying. At the same time, the men met in Tobias' home office for a quick meeting to go over the situation with Caleb.

Two days into his lockup, it was clear that Caleb was going through withdrawals, but it wasn't clear what he had been on, and he still wasn't lucid and logical enough to explain for himself. Lab work was still underway, and so far none of the usual drug suspects matched his withdrawal behaviors or his blood samples.

Later in the afternoon, Jorik took Tobias and Andrew to the facility where Caleb was being held. Amar and George stayed behind to keep an eye on things and take care of anything Tris or Natalie needed.

When the guard led the two men to Caleb's room, they watched him for a few minutes through a window. The young man was incoherent and unaware of his surroundings. His sandy hair was all messed up as if he'd beep pulling on it, and he sat on a chair and rocked himself while babbling nonsense that sounded like chemical formulas.

They decided Andrew should go in first, to see how his son reacted. He pulled open the door to Caleb's room, and Caleb looked up at his dad.

"You, you, you, you, you…" he stammered. "They liked you better. You like her better. Stupid, stupid, stupid. We're going to show you. Survival of the smartest. Stupid… waste of resources… dumb, dumb, dumb. Wasting time. Wasting money. Whole fire station full of sons. Bottom half, stupid Neanderthals…"

"Caleb?" Andrew tried to gently speak to his son.

"Nooooo!" Caleb shrieked, rocking faster. "No, no, no! Stupid!"

Tobias opened the door so Andrew could get out. The older man was shaking.

"What was that?" he asked in shock. "That's not my son! What happened?"

"I don't know," Tobias said gravely, "but we're going to find out."

They watched through the window for a while. When Caleb was calm and back to muttering formulas and picking at the threads of his shirt, they agreed to have Tobias try.

Caleb looked up again when the door opened. "Prince Charming," he sneered when he saw his brother-in-law, "Stupid Cinderella and Prince Fucking Charming. Why, why, why, why, why. Stupid bleeding heart. Waste. They liked you better. You like her better."

Realizing that he wasn't getting anywhere, Tobias motioned at the door, and Andrew let him out.

A doctor had joined Andrew in the hall, and he explained to the men that Caleb was suffering from a psychotic breakdown as the result of some kind of drug withdrawal, but that they had no idea what the substance was.

"We tested him for all kinds of things," the doctor said. "He's not on any of the usual drugs, but there is something in his blood. The lab is still working on identifying it. It isn't any known medication or vitamin supplement. In the meantime, all we can do is have him suffer through the withdrawal. We're afraid that if we try to give him something else - even a sedative or pain medication - there could be some kind of interaction that would damage his organs or kill him."

"Do you think Jeanine was drugging Caleb, too?" Tobias asked Andrew.

"At this point, anything feels possible," Andrew said with a weary sigh. "We should let that investigation team know about this. They're days ahead on lab work, and they have whatever records she didn't shred."

The two men thanked the doctor and hurried back to the estate.

When they arrived, they found Tris and Natalie awake and looking better rested, having a cold drink on the terrace overlooking the pool. They told the women what they saw when they visited Caleb. Though they try to be gentle, Natalie still cried.

"It was Jeanine, wasn't it?" Tris asked. Her voice was soft and sad, but she didn't cry.

"We think so, Zemra ime," Tobias said gently as he stroked his wife's soft blonde hair.

"In a weird way, I feel better," Tris said. "I hated to think that my brother had just become a jerk, and then a raving lunatic who tried to kill me. If she was drugging him, maybe that explains his behavior. Maybe he doesn't just hate me."

"Your brother doesn't hate you," Natalie said reflexively.

The others stared at her.

"Mom," Tris said. "He tried to murder me in my sleep. Do you want to see the stitches on my stab wound?"

"Sorry," Natalie whispered, unsure what else to say or do. "That was… It's kind of a mom habit, I guess. I honestly don't know how Caleb thinks or feels about anything, or why he would do something like that. He's just… That's not the child I raised, you know?"

"It's okay, Natalie," Tobias comforted as Andrew put an arm around his wife. "I think we're all just hurt, and baffled, and afraid of what's going to happen. I mean, it's no secret that Caleb and I have never gotten along. He's been verbally abusive to Tris since we met. But I understand that you all knew him differently, and expect more from him as a result."

The family sat for a while, quiet but restless. They felt helpless waiting for answers, and unable to heal in the face of so much uncertainty.

.

After dinner that evening, Tobias and Tris went upstairs to face the master bedroom suite where they'd been attacked.

Tobias opened the door, and was pleased to see everything looking completely clean and normal. The rug no longer had small blood splatters where he'd wrestled with Caleb. The old bedding was replaced with clean white linens. He knew that the mattress and pillows were also new. The room was spotless and serene.

Tris also noticed the changes. Her logical side tried to point out that the room was clean, Caleb was locked up, and she was safe. But her emotional side went into a blind panic. She began shaking as soon as they walked into the room.

"Noooo," she whimpered as her knees wobbled and threatened to give out under her.

"Zemra ime?" Tobias addressed her gently.

"I know, I know," Tris said stubbornly. "He's locked up and getting help. I'm safe. You're right here with me. I know."

"Do you want to sit on the balcony for a bit?" Tobias asked. "I'd suggest a bath, but you'd have to keep your stitches out of it. They can't soak. Maybe you want to go into the dressing room and change clothes?"

"Um, yeah. Yeah," Tris said. It was obvious that she was nervous but trying to be strong. "The balcony is good. Can I... can we change first? And can someone bring up ice water? My mouth is so dry."

"I can just go-" Tobias started to say.

"No, no, no," Tris stammered in interruption. "Forget about it. I'll just get some water in the bathroom. Don't leave."

"Okay," Tobias said. "I won't go anywhere."

They walked into the dressing room, and Tris felt her pulse relax some. She changed into pajamas while Tobias changed into sleep pants and tapped at his phone.

They emerged back into the bedroom, and Tris' anxiety spiked again. She clenched her fists to stop her hands from shaking, and walked across the room to the balcony doors. Just as she was opening the patio door, someone knocked, and Tris startled violently.

"It's okay," Tobias assured her, though he had startled as well. "I asked Roza to bring up some water."

"It's okay," Tris repeated.

Tobias called for the housekeeper to enter as he crossed to his shaken wife and put his arms around her.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I should have warned you that she was coming."

"It's okay," Tris said again, and Tobias wasn't sure if she was trying to convince him or herself.

"Mr. Tobias, Ms. Tris," the housekeeper greeted them in a gentle tone. "Here is some water for you. If being in this room is too much, please know that the Priors are in Mr. Tobias' old room, but the front guest suites are available."

The couple thanked the housekeeper, and Roza left. For a moment, she stood outside the master bedroom door and collected her thoughts. So much had changed in the Eaton house. Tobias had been a lonely and withdrawn young man when Roza came back to the estate. But he had bloomed like one of Rraman's flowerbeds under Tris' loving care.

The housekeeper felt as attached to the young couple as she did to her niece, Yeta, and Yeta's family. Their attack by Tris' apparently crazy brother had been terrifying for the entire household. She could only imagine how difficult it was for the young couple to try and sleep in the very room where they'd been attacked.

Roza lifted a hand to her face, kissed the tips of her fingers, and pressed her hand to the door before she turned and walked away.

Out on the balcony, Tris and Tobias sat together and sipped their cool water in silence. Tobias watched his wife carefully. He was freaked out being back in the master suite, but he knew he had to be strong for Tris.

He took another sip of water, and heard the ice clink in Tris' glass as she did the same. Beverages full of ice were a weird American thing to Tobias. And unlike the desire to put milk in coffee, which she'd gotten over, Tris had clung to putting ice in her drinks. Tobias and Roza had shrugged it off, and Roza bought more ice trays to make sure she was ready.

Tobias shook off his thoughts with a soft smile.

"So, Mrs. Eaton," he said, "where haven't I taken you yet? Where would you like to visit?"

"Hmm," Tris mused, swirling her ice water. "Right now I'm thinking about Albania and settling in here, finding ways to help people, things like that. After a while, though, I'd like to see where your mother came from in Greece, visit Lauren in Scotland, and I'd also like to go to France."

"And later on?" he pressed. "Any dream vacations?"

"Australia and New Zealand," Tris said. "It's supposed to be very beautiful there. How about you? You ran with the bulls last summer; any more dream trips?"

"The Olympics," Tobias said. "I've always wanted to go to the Olympic games."

They talked about travel for a while until they were both relaxed and Tris' nighttime pain reliever kicked in and made her drowsy. Then Tobias picked up his wife and carried her to bed.

After Tris was tucked in, Tobias checked and rechecked the locks on their bedroom door and the patio door, then walked through the suite three times looking and listening for anyone hiding in the room. He looked in the steam room, shower, and water closet, inside the wardrobes of hanging clothes in the dressing room, and even under the writing table and behind the sheer drapes.

Finally convinced that they were safe and alone, Tobias climbed into bed with his sleeping wife. For hours he watched her and listened for any strange noises. Exhaustion eventually caught up with him, and he dozed off with his body curled protectively around Tris.