Ava woke Tris every four hours or less through the night to eat and get her diaper changed. Tris was thankful for the rocking chair Caleb had dragged into her room. She tried to keep the baby quiet so her family could sleep, but Ava just wouldn't be soothed at three in the morning. Natalie came in to offer her daughter a break and a chance to rest, but Tris insisted on caring for the baby herself. When she eventually went back to sleep, Tris fell into bed and crashed hard.

When Ava woke up again at seven, Caleb heard her stirring before it woke Tris. He snuck into his sister's room and lifted the baby from the bassinet, grabbing a diaper on his way out the door. Down in the kitchen, Natalie helped her son prepare a bottle for the baby. Ava was fed, burped, changed, and fast asleep when they heard a sudden exclamation and a loud bang from upstairs. Caleb laughed as his sister came running and nearly tumbling down the stairs.

Tris saw Ava in her brother's arms and promptly burst into tears. "I… I thought she was gone! I thought they came and took her already," she cried.

"Oh Tris!" Natalie exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her daughter. "We were just letting you sleep. When the time comes, I'll make sure you know. We wouldn't let you sleep through that."

Caleb placed the baby in his sister's arms, knowing that was the only thing that would calm her in that moment. Tris held Ava close and sat down at the table. Natalie brought her daughter some breakfast as Andrew walked in to greet his family and refill his coffee.

After breakfast the family gathered around the Christmas tree to open their gifts. Natalie and Andrew subscribed to the 'something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read' plan for their holiday shopping. They gave Caleb some new sunglasses, a gift card to a gas station chain, a couple new shirts, and a boxed set of books by his favorite author. Tris received a Bluetooth speaker, a new pair of running shoes, a pair of slim black pants with a coordinating ivory sleeveless top, and the newly released book from a series she'd been reading.

Tris and Caleb had combined their efforts and bought their parents a new coffee maker. Tris didn't have a regular job during the school year, but she had kept some of her summer income and the money she made babysitting. In addition to her part of the coffee maker purchase, Tris bought a gift for Caleb, a pair of wireless headphones. Caleb gave Tris a gift as well. He bought his sister a scrapbook with lined pages, a set of self-adhesive photo corners to mount pictures on them, and some pens and accessories for it.

Tris smiled at the book as an idea came to her. "I love this," she told her brother. "I know exactly what I'm going to do with it."

.

Tris found herself looking out the window every few minutes throughout the afternoon, waiting for Eric to arrive. She had just changed Ava's dirty diaper, and was washing her hands before preparing a bottle when the doorbell rang.

Andrew opened the front door and greeted Eric. "Good to see you again," he said cheerfully to the younger man.

"Thank you for having me," Eric replied cordially. "Are you sure I'm not intruding on your family holiday?"

"Not at all," Andrew assured him. "We opened our gifts this morning, and the afternoon is relaxed. You're more than welcome to come hang out with us."

"Beatrice!" Andrew called. "Your friend is here."

Tris came around the corner from the kitchen, shaking a bottle with one hand while waving to Eric with the other. "I'll be there in a minute," she told the men. "Ava needs to eat soon."

"Ava?" Eric asked Andrew.

"A foster baby," the older man explained. "She just joined us yesterday. Tris is quite smitten with her and has been doing most of the work caring for her."

Andrew led their guest to the living room and offered him a seat on the sofa. Tris joined them a minute later, Ava in one arm and a bottle and burp cloth in the other hand.

"Eric, this is Ava," Tris said as she sat on the couch beside her friend.

Eric glanced over at the infant in Tris' arms. "She's tiny," he said, his voice full of wonder. "How old is she?"

"She was just born yesterday," Tris replied, gazing lovingly at the baby in her arms.

"Why isn't she in the hospital?" Eric asked. "Don't newborns usually stay there for a few days?"

"That's more about the mother's recovery," Natalie answered as the walked into the room. "Baby Ava is healthy, so she had no reason to stay in the hospital."

"Mom, this is my friend Eric," Tris said in introduction. "Eric, this is my mom, Natalie Prior."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Prior," Eric said, standing to shake the woman's hand.

"Call me Natalie," Tris' mom offered as she shook the trainer's hand.

Eric got along well with the Prior family. He watched football with Andrew and Caleb, complimented Natalie on her cooking, and enjoyed spending time with Tris outside of the school environment.

When the two of them found themselves alone in the living room with baby Ava, Eric asked if he was allowed to hold her. Tris willingly passed the newborn to the large man. She looked even smaller in his big arms.

"She's so beautiful," he said, unable to pull his gaze from the tiny, sleeping face. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," Tris said. "But if it's about Ava I might not be able to answer."

"Why are you doing all the care for the baby?" Eric asked.

"I can't really say," Tris hedged. "Ava's short life is still a mystery, and the police and social services are working on it. But she and I had a bit of a, um, traumatic experience together yesterday, and we bonded quickly. I kind of insisted on being the one to care for her."

"Are you okay?" Eric asked, turning his concerned gaze toward Tris.

"I'm fine," she insisted. "Totally unharmed, I promise. Someday I'll tell you all about it."

The duo turned their attention back to the television, and Eric relaxed with the baby in his arms.

"This is really soothing," he told Tris during the next commercial break. "You have no idea. I almost… I almost became a dad once. My ex decided she didn't want to be a mom, and had an abortion. I would have gladly taken and raised my child, but she didn't give me that option."

"That's not fair," Tris said. "That was your child, and she took that from you without giving you a choice." She was quiet for a minute, then suddenly said, "Ooh. That explains your drunk texts."

Eric groaned. "I still feel terrible about that. I was such an ass. That's why I don't drink. It never leads to good decisions. That and the hangovers. They're not fun either."

"I deleted the evidence," she assured him. "As long as you don't call me 'Jailbait' again, I'll forgive you."

The rest of the evening was fun and relaxing. When Tris walked her guest to the door at the end of the night, Eric pulled her in for a quick hug. "Thank you so much for inviting me over," he said. "It was nice to spend Christmas with a family. Ava and I were lucky to be taken in today."

Tris hugged Eric again. "Merry Christmas, Warrior," she said before pulling back.

Eric grinned at her. "Merry Christmas, Tris."

.

The rest of Christmas break passed in a blur. Ava put on weight and slept a little longer each night while staying awake for longer stretches of the day. She ate, slept, dirtied her diapers, and had the whole Prior family wrapped around her little finger.

Tris devoted most of her time to caring for the little girl, soaking up every hour they had together. She took pictures and used the new scrapbook that Caleb had given her for Christmas to journal about Ava's first days. She wrote about how she had found the baby, and attached her hospital bracelet to the page. She recorded the story of how she chose the baby's name and what it meant.

Eric and Tris continued to text back and forth - just little greetings and comments, shared jokes and friendly banter. When Andrew and Natalie went to a party on New Year's Eve and Caleb went out with friends, Tris was happy to stay home with Ava. She put in an old movie and settled down with a bowl of popcorn and a freshly prepared bottle for Ava. When her phone lit up, Tris was excited to see a message from Eric.

E: Big plans for New Year's Eve?

T: Girls night, just me and Ava.

E: Everyone go partying without you?

T: Yes. And there's nowhere I'd rather be.

E: You really love that baby, don't you?

T: What's not to love?

T: Just between us, because I'm not supposed to talk about Ava's case, she probably won't be here much longer. My parents haven't done foster care in a long time. We only took Ava because it was Christmas Eve. If they don't figure out her case, the social worker will put her in a long-term foster after the holidays. We might only have her for another day or two.

A moment after she hit send on the text, Tris' phone rang. A picture of her and Eric, which her mom had taken on Christmas, appeared on the screen.

"Hello?" she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

"Tris," Eric said, his own voice deep.

"Don't," Tris pleaded as she began to cry.

"Oh, Baby, I'm so sorry," Eric said.

"Stop making me cry," she said with a laugh that was half sob. "I have Ava with me now, and I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts. I can cry when she's gone."

"That's a good way to look at it," Eric said gently. "I have other news," he offered, attempting to change the subject.

"Good or bad?" Tris asked warily.

"Well, good," Eric said hesitantly, "though it could complicate our friendship a bit."

"How so?" Tris asked, wondering if he was about to tell her that he had a new girlfriend or something.

"Max called me today," Eric began.

"You got the job?" Tris asked excitedly.

"I did," Eric confirmed.

"Of course you did, Warrior," Tris enthused. "You're Dauntless personified. You're a great trainer, and Max would be dumb not to hire you."

Eric chuckled. "You're going to give me a big ego, Tris."

"Nonsense," Tris said dismissively. "I'm just telling you the truth."

"Regardless," Eric said. "It complicates our friendship a bit since I'll be your teacher again, or at least a teacher at the high school you attend."

Tris sighed. "I guess it does. I don't want you to get into trouble for fraternizing with a student. My dad's campaign probably wouldn't appreciate that story either."

"What does that mean, Tris?"

"That means you're a teacher, and I'm a student," she replied. "I'll go to college in the mornings, and see you in class or in the halls in the afternoons. You'll coach hockey; I'll do gymnastics. We'll be busy. It will go quick. Graduation will be here before we know it."

Tris tried to stay positive and upbeat, but she knew that she would miss her budding friendship with Eric. When they hung up the phone, she gave in to her emotions and had a good cry before tucking Ava into her bassinet and going to bed well before the new year dawned.

.

When school started again, Tris attended her classes and did her work with the same determination as always. The same could not be said for gymnastics. Tris attended her practices and meets, but her heart wasn't in it anymore.

Andrew went back to Springfield right after the new year, and Caleb flew back to Baltimore a few days later.

Ava had a follow up appointment at the hospital, and the doctor was thrilled with the way the foundling was growing, thriving, and bonding with the Prior women. Social services updated Natalie about Ava's case. No one had come forward looking for the infant, and the baby's DNA didn't turn up anything either. Tris was relieved and thrilled when everyone, including her parents, decided that it was best for the infant to remain in their home while the investigation continued.

Tris' eighteenth birthday landed on a Thursday. When she walked into her homeroom at the end of the day on Wednesday, Christina immediately bombarded her.

"There's my almost birthday girl bestie!" the energetic girl greeted, wrapping Tris in a surprise hug.

"Volume down, Chris," Tris teased as she hugged her friend back.

"Yeah, Woman," Will chimed in. "You're making me deaf."

"Oh shut it," Christina said, swatting at them playfully.

"What?" Will asked, poking at his ear like he couldn't hear her.

The students laughed, and Christina started talking at a more normal volume level. "What are we doing for your birthday?" she asked Tris.

"I don't know," Tris replied. "I didn't have anything planned."

"No party?" Christina pouted.

"I'm not turning eight, Chris."

"Come on!" Christina whined.

"Not tomorrow night," Tris said. "I'll be with my family. But we can do something on Friday. Not too late, though. I have a gymnastics meet on Saturday morning. Oh, and I have to check with my mom first. I have to make sure she'll be home for the baby."

"You and that baby," Christina pouted. "You act like it's your own child or something."

"It's not, obviously," Tris replied. "It's a long story, and you know I can't talk about it. But baby and I have a special bond."

"It's Caleb's, isn't it," Christina speculated. "He knocked up some girl, and you're all pretending it's a foster child to keep it from your dad's campaign."

"What!?" Tris practically roared. "Don't say crap like that! That's nowhere near correct, and you're going to start rumors! The baby is of no family relation to us whatsoever. Besides, I doubt Caleb would know what to do with a girl if he had one!"

They laughed, but Tris was still fuming on the inside. Fortunately, the bell rang and homeroom started.

Eric was teaching the seniors' homeroom that day, and he heard the exchange with Christina. He kept an eye on Tris throughout the class period, and could see the tension in her posture.

Seconds before the final bell, Eric announced, "Miss Prior, I need a moment with you after class."

The bell rang and everyone bolted except Tris. She stayed in her desk while Eric moved around to the front of his, leaning back on it and crossing his arms.

"You still have Ava?" he asked quietly.

"She's doing well," Tris said as she nodded in the affirmative. "She's eight pounds now. Her cheeks are filling out. The doctor said she's healthy, thriving, and attached to us. It's almost more than we could have hoped with her beginning."

"I look forward to hearing that whole story someday," Eric said.

They sat silently for a minute, both content to be in the other's presence again. Tris had to bite her lip to keep from telling Eric that she missed him, and he struggled to not pull her into his arms for a hug.

"Did you drive today?" he asked instead, secretly hoping that she would say no so he could offer her a ride.

"I did," she said instead. "It's too cold to walk now."

Eric reluctantly dismissed his student.

.

The next day, Tris returned home from her community college class expecting her usual lunch with Natalie and Ava. But two surprises were waiting for her. The first was that Andrew came home a day early to spend Tris' birthday with her. The second surprise was a vase full of beautiful yellow roses.

"Did you bring me flowers?" Tris asked her dad.

He claimed that he had not, so Tris grabbed the card attached to the arrangement and opened it.

"Eighteen yellow roses, the flower of friendship, for my friend on her eighteenth birthday. No longer JB. Your W"

Tris smiled as she read the card. "Who are they from?" Natalie asked.

"Eric," she said as she handed the card to her mother.

"What does all this mean?" Natalie asked.

"It's an inside joke from when he graduated and I was there with Dad. Just silliness."

"I thought we'd see more of him after Christmas," Andrew commented.

"Factions hired him permanently," Tris explained. "The only class I have with him is homeroom once or twice a week, but we thought it would be best to suspend our friendship until we're not student and teacher in the same school. I didn't want there to be any trouble for his career or your campaign, Dad."

"That's very wise, Beatrice," Andrew replied. "I can't believe that both of my children are adults now. It seems like only yesterday you were taking your first steps."

"Maybe this will help," Tris offered, placing little Ava in her father's arms.

"No," Andrew replied as he gazed at the infant. "This makes me feel like an old man. Ava feels like a grandchild to me. I don't do much of her day-to-day care."

"Well, I'm not old yet, so neither are you," Natalie said as she handed Ava's bottle to Andrew. "She'll need a diaper soon if that makes you feel young again."

Tris laughed. She enjoyed her parents' banter and being together.

.

On Friday night, Tris gave in to her best friend and went out to celebrate her birthday. A group of their friends met for dinner at a local diner. Tris ate a burger, fries, and a milkshake - which she knew she would regret the next day at her gymnastics meet.

After dinner Tris and her closest friends went to visit Coach Tori at her part-time side job. Tori's brother George, who was also Coach Amar's husband, owned a tattoo parlor. Tori worked for him over the summer and during school breaks. She also picked up a shift now and then by appointment. It had become something of a Dauntless tradition for students to go see Tori for tattoos on their eighteenth birthdays.

Tori was expecting Tris, and took her into a private room in the back, much to Christina's displeasure. When they emerged about an hour later, Christina had gotten a new stud in her nose, and everyone else was messing around on their phones and showing each other silly memes.

"Show and tell time!" Christina squealed, making Uriah startle and nearly fall out of his chair.

Tris laughed at her friend and tugged the neckline of her black t-shirt to the side so her friends could see her new tattoo. Three ravens were tattooed along Tris' collarbone. They looked like they were taking flight. "It's for my family," Tris explained. "With Caleb off to college, Dad running for Senate, and me about to graduate, it feels like we're all taking flight. This way I can keep them with me."

.

On Monday Eric was back with the seniors in homeroom. He noticed Tris' new tattoo peeking out from the neckline of her Dauntless tank top, and he wondered what she had gotten. He resisted the urge to ask her to stay after class again, and instead busied himself with paperwork as the students filed out. When he glanced up expecting an empty room, he was surprised to see Tris lingering in the doorway.

"I just wanted to thank you for the flowers," Tris said, blushing as she struggled to maintain eye contact with Eric.

He grinned broadly at her. The flowers were probably over the line coming from a teacher to a student, but Eric knew that Tris would keep it to herself, and he couldn't very well ignore her birthday after she had saved Christmas for him.

"You're welcome, Jailbait," he teased her.

"I told you to never call me that again," she pouted. "And besides, it's not true anymore anyway!"

"That's right," Eric said, staying at his desk to keep a classroom of space between himself and Tris. "But you're still grounds for termination. Should I call you 'Terminator' now?"

"I'm allowed to socialize with Lauren and Tori," Tris complained. "And you and I are practically the same age. I hate that I have to pretend that we aren't friends."

"You know why," Eric cautioned.

"I know," Tris said resignedly. "I'm just too tempting," she laughed. "See you around, Warrior."

You have no idea how right you are, Eric thought to himself.