Natalie made a plan with Ava's caseworker, Sally. Sally would call Eric and request that he come in to her office to discuss Melinda Grant's death. During the visit, Eric would be asked to submit a DNA sample so they could run a paternity test. Natalie agreed to talk to Tris, and to bring her daughter and the baby to the social services office at the same time as Eric's visit.
The moment Tris walked into the house, she could tell that something happened. Natalie sat her daughter down and explained that social services got a DNA match with baby Ava. Tris' chin quivered, so Natalie hurried to add that the match for Ava's birth mother was with someone who was deceased.
"So nothing changes?" Tris asked quickly. "Ava had a mother, but she's dead? She stays with us for now?"
Natalie held up her hands to stop her frantic daughter. "The body of Ava's mother was found over the weekend. She died of a drug overdose. Ava's mother was Eric's ex-girlfriend."
Tris' eyes grew wide with shock, then hope. "So she's…. So… Oh my God! Is Ava Eric's daughter?"
"She might be," Natalie answered. "Sally is calling Eric in to her office today to tell him and get a DNA sample for a paternity test."
Tears began streaming down Tris' face. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" her mother asked.
"Nothing," Tris choked out. "I'm just so overwhelmed! I'm happy, and I'm sad, and I'm scared, and I don't know what to do!"
Just then the phone rang, and Natalie hurried to answer it. She returned a minute later with a smile on her face.
"Eric is on his way to the social services office. Sally called him in to talk about Melinda's death. I've told her everything I know and given her permission to tell him about us, and Ava, and the whole story. We think it would be best if you and Ava came down to the office, too. It will take a couple days to know for sure if he's the biological father, and if he is there will be background checks, home studies, interviews, and all the usual red tape before Eric can take his daughter home, so Ava will stay here with us until everything is cleared."
"I don't know what to do," Tris admitted.
"Go change out of your school uniform, and bring the baby book. Eric might like to take it home and read everything while we wait for the results. I already packed the diaper bag, and I'll get Ava bundled up to go out."
Tris hurried to follow her mother's instructions. She took off her Dauntless track jacket and threw a sweater over her tank top. She traded her running shoes for ballet flats and grabbed Ava's baby book as she hurried back downstairs.
Natalie and Tris arrived at the social services office, and sat down in the waiting area. As Tris was unbundling the baby from her snowsuit, Sally stepped out of her office and poured two cups of coffee. She greeted Natalie and Tris, and explained that Eric was in her office, and that they had been talking about Melinda's death.
"I need to ask him for a DNA sample," the social worker said quietly. "But I hate to admit that I'm a little intimidated. He's huge!"
Natalie and Tris laughed. "He's a teddy bear, I promise," Natalie said. "Would you like me to come in there with you?"
Sally stuck her head in the office door and handed Eric a cup of coffee. "Natalie Prior is out here, would you mind if I brought her in for a moment to say hi?"
Eric readily agreed and stood to greet Tris' mom with a hug. As Sally scurried back behind her desk to sit down, Natalie took the chair beside Eric's. She placed a hand on the young man's back in a supportive and motherly way.
The caseworker cleared her throat and began talking. "Melinda's death came to the attention of my office because we've been searching for the parents of an abandoned infant."
Natalie noticed that Eric began to shake, so she gently removed the cup of hot coffee from his hand and set it on the desktop.
"A DNA sample from the body was run against our database, and it came up positive. Your friend was the mother of a baby in our custody. You were listed as the one who identified the body, so we originally asked you to come in hoping that you could help us find family for the baby. But when I called the infant's foster family, Natalie here put the pieces together."
"Ava," Eric breathed.
"Yes," Natalie said gently. "Ava was Melinda's daughter. We need to find out if you're her father. Will you submit a DNA sample so they can do a paternity test?"
"Of course," Eric said, his voice still astonished and thick with emotion. "What do I do?"
Sally opened a drawer and pulled out a sealed package containing the test kit. She explained to Eric how to do a cheek swab, and he immediately did as instructed.
"Results will take one to two business days," Sally informed them. "We should know by Thursday morning at the latest. Should the test come back positive, Mr. Coulter, you will have the opportunity to apply for custody. The process is fairly straightforward. We'll have some paperwork, an interview, and a home visit to make sure you are prepared to provide a safe and healthy home to the baby. Do you have any questions?"
Eric shook his head, then stopped himself. "I have a lot of questions," he said, "I just don't know what they are yet."
Natalie and Sally chuckled. Sally handed him a business card and told him to call with any questions that came up, and also to call if he hadn't heard back from her by noon on Thursday. Natalie wrapped her arms around the young man and gave him a gentle squeeze. "Right now I'm taking you home for dinner," she told him. "Beatrice and Ava have a story to tell you."
After a delicious and filling dinner, Natalie went upstairs to call Andrew and tell him all about the developments in Ava's case while Tris led Eric into the living room. She encouraged him to sit in the big, comfortable recliner, then changed Ava's diaper and dressed her in pajamas before handing her to Eric for her bedtime bottle.
As Ava and Eric stared lovingly at one another, Tris began to speak. "Ava was born on Christmas Eve." She paused to gather her thoughts. "I woke up early that morning. I could have slept in, but I was restless form all the holiday junk food, and the weather was mild, so I decided to go running. I took off from here and ran my usual route, but it felt so good that I decided to go a little farther. When I was coming around the corner by the old KMart that's being renovated I saw some litter on the ground by a garbage can, so I decided to pick it up."
Tris glanced up to see Eric staring at her, a shocked expression on his face as he realized where the story was going.
"The scrap of fabric moved," Tris continued. "I pulled out my earphones and heard a noise that I thought was a kitten. But when I moved the blanket, it was a baby. She was brand new, tiny, and still dirty and chalky-looking from birth. She was cold, but she was alive. I tucked her little body into my vest to warm her up and I called my mom. Then I called the police."
By this time Ava had finished the bottle, so Tris helped Eric move her to his shoulder and burp her. Once the baby was settled, he moved her small form to rest on his chest, and Tris covered them with a receiving blanket.
"I don't remember what happened after that. I guess I was in shock. Paramedics came, and I rode to the hospital in the ambulance with her. I told the story of how I came to find this little baby over and over to police, doctors, and social workers. It was Christmas Eve, so they were worried about finding a foster family to take a last minute placement. My parents used to foster, and they're still licensed, so my mom offered.
"From the first moment I laid eyes on her, Ava and I have been connected. The paramedics said that every time they set her down during their examination, I picked her up. When Mom and Sally did an emergency Walmart run so we would have what we needed to bring her home, I stayed at the hospital. Her bassinet was in my bedroom, and the baby monitor is in there now. During those first days, between the shock of it all and the lack of sleep, I was a zombie. I don't remember a lot of that time, but all I could think of was Ava.
"I named her the day I found her. I sat right where you are all evening and searched the internet for name meanings. Ava means 'living,' or 'breathing.' Her middle name is Hope. I didn't do anything to save that baby's life; I was just in the right place at the right time. It took a lot of work on God's part to put all those pieces together. Her life is a miracle."
Eric grabbed a tissue and wiped at the tears that streamed down his face.
"I got a tattoo for her," Tris said quietly. "I haven't shown it to anyone. They all knew about my ravens, but only Tori knows about the other one."
Tris stood and lifted the bottom of her sweater and tank, revealing beautiful script that twisted up her ribcage. "Where there is life, there is hope," it read.
"I wrote all about it in the baby book," Tris said. "I always knew we couldn't keep her, but I wanted her to feel completely loved while she was with us, and I wanted her forever family to know her story, and have pictures of her as a newborn. I knew they might change her name, so I wrote in there about how I decided to call her Ava Hope, and what it means. My mom suggested that you should take the baby book home and read it while we wait for the test results."
Eric nodded. "I'd like that," he said in a husky voice.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, both of their minds swirling with the events of Ava's short little life.
"Is there anything else that you want to know?" Tris asked. "Anything I can do?"
"It's kind of overwhelming," Eric said, "yet all I can do is wait. How about a hug?"
He slid to one side of the oversized recliner, shifting Ava to one arm to make room for Tris. She slid into the chair beside Eric, wrapping her arms around his torso as she rested her head on his shoulder and watched Ava sleep on his other shoulder. He wrapped his arm around Tris. The three of them barely fit together in the chair, but they held on to one another for dear life.
.
A sudden cold feeling woke Eric from a deep sleep. He was disoriented in the semi-darkness until he recognized Natalie standing beside him, Ava sleeping in her arms. He put his free hand on his surprisingly cold and empty-feeling chest where the baby had been laying, and looked up at the woman standing beside him.
She motioned for him to stay quiet, then whispered to him. "You fell asleep, but it's late and you have school tomorrow. I'll take Ava to her crib. You wake Beatrice or carry her to her bed."
Eric nodded and gathered the young woman in his arms before standing and following her mother upstairs. Natalie pointed out Tris' room, then entered a different bedroom with the baby.
Eric carefully carried Tris into the bedroom indicated and placed her on the bed. She mumbled and rolled onto her side as he covered her with the blankets.
"You're an incredible young woman, Beatrice Prior," Eric whispered as he planted a kiss on Tris' forehead.
"Eric," she mumbled in her sleep, making him smile.
.
Everyone was on pins and needles as they waited for the results of Eric's paternity test. Eric made endless lists of the things he would need before he could bring a baby home. He obsessively cleaned the townhome he had bought in January when he started working full-time. He researched car seats and cribs, diaper brands and infant milestones. He found a home study checklist on the internet and stated updating things that didn't meet the standards.
On Wednesday after school, he was changing out the blinds in his second bedroom for a set without the pull cord he had just learned was dangerous, when his phone rang. His heart raced as he recognized the number that had called him in to the social services office on Monday.
"Hello?" he said nervously.
"Mr. Coulter?" asked the voice he'd been waiting for. "This is Sally Rogers. I'm calling to let you know that your paternity test results are in."
"Okay," Eric said, practically holding his breath as he waited to learn his fate.
"I feel like Maury Povitch," the social worker laughed, but Eric didn't join her. "Congratulations, Mr. Coulter, you are the father of baby Ava."
Eric's breath left his body in a whoosh as he dropped to his knees right there on the bedroom floor. With tears streaming down his face, he thanked the social worker, who promised to email him right away with paperwork to fill out and all the information about next steps toward gaining custody of his daughter.
"I do have one question for you," she concluded. "You don't have to know right now, but just in case you've thought about it already, do you know what the baby's name is going to be? She hasn't had a last name yet, and the Priors have been calling her Ava, but you can pick whatever you want, and they can start calling her that now to ease the transition."
"Ava Hope Coulter," Eric said confidently. "That's my daughter's name."
After ending the call with the social worker, Eric didn't move. He stayed on his knees in the middle of the bedroom that would soon house his daughter as wave after wave of emotion crashed over him. All the anger, loss, and devastation that Melinda put him through when she took his child away and turned back to drugs. All the hope, joy, and frustration of his arm's length friendship with Tris. The awe, wonder, and relief he experienced when she told him Ava's story. The hope, fear, and anxiety that had kept him awake at night while he waited for the test results. Everything crashed over him in an overwhelming torrent.
Eventually Eric became aware that his feet were asleep, and it was growing dark outside. He grabbed his phone and saw two missed calls from Tris and the email from the social worker. He decided to call Tris first.
.
At the Prior's home, Tris and Natalie were facing a similar torrent of emotions. Their miracle baby had a family and a name. Tris was overjoyed that Eric had chosen to keep Ava's name, and pleased with how it sounded with his last name. She was also excited that Eric's custody might lead to Ava staying in their lives, at least to some extent. She tried to call him, but there was no answer. She hoped he was happy with the results.
They had just sat down to a late dinner of delivered pizza when Van Halen's song Hot for Teacher began blasting out of Tris' phone. She looked at her mother in confusion, then pulled it out of her pocket. Eric's face was on the screen, the same picture that appeared when he texted.
"Hello?" she said.
"Tris? It's Eric," the caller replied.
"Have you ever called me before?" she asked.
Eric thought that was an odd question considering everything that was going on with his daughter, but he thought about it for a minute.
"I don't think so," he replied. "Maybe during Christmas break, but we usually text."
"Caleb," Tris said, shaking her head.
"Your brother?" Eric asked. "What does he have to do with anything?"
Tris laughed. "Sorry, Eric. It seems my brother pulled a prank on me. And since you and I don't talk on the phone, it took, what, three months to play out?"
"I'm still confused," Eric replied.
"You have a custom ringtone I didn't give you," Tris said.
"And what song did your brother assign to me?" Eric asked as he began to understand what was going on.
"Um…" Tris hedged, blushing furiously as Natalie laughed so hard tears were running down her cheeks. "Hot for Teacher?" she squeaked shyly, making Eric chuckle. "You should see my mom," Tris said. "She's laughing so hard she's crying. It's not that funny."
.
Tris and Natalie invited Eric to the house again, and he jumped at the chance to spend time with his daughter and ask some questions about caring for an infant and working with social services.
It was Ava's bedtime when Eric arrived, so Tris walked him through the process of bathing, changing, and feeding the infant while she talked about the importance of sleep schedules and bedtime routines. Once Ava was settled for the night, the adults sat down to talk about logistics.
"Can I ask you some questions?" Natalie asked Eric.
"Of course," he replied, giving Tris' mom his full attention.
"What are your living arrangements like?"
"I own a three-bedroom townhouse over on Cherry Street," Eric replied.
"Any roommates or pets?" Natalie questioned.
Eric shook his head.
"You're not seeing anyone?" she prodded.
"No," Eric said, resisting the urge to glance at Tris.
"Good," Natalie said. "That will streamline the process with social services. Have you looked into babyproofing or what they'll look for at your home study?"
"I printed a list I found online," Eric said. "I started doing a few things, and I brought the list along so you can tell me if it's accurate."
He pulled a folded paper out of his pocket and smoothed it out before passing it across the coffee table. Natalie noticed that several items were checked off. She talked through the list with Eric, adding a few thoughts about what was priority with an infant placement, and what could wait.
"The other thing you need to think about right away is daycare," Natalie told the frazzled father.
Eric nodded. "I've been thinking about that," he said. "One thing I don't know is how soon I could have Ava with me. Are we talking about next week, a month, or longer than that? There are two months left in the school year and then I'm off for the summer. I figured by fall I could find a long-term daycare option. So for now I just need to worry about the end of this school year."
"I can babysit," Tris offered eagerly. "I'd love to keep spending time with Ava."
"You still have school too," Natalie reminded her daughter. "I'd be happy to help, but as the Senate campaign gets busy, that could get complicated."
"Some of the seniors get work permits and leave for their jobs instead of going to homeroom," Tris suggested. "It doesn't solve everything, but it gives us another option in the afternoons."
"You might also have the option to take some paternity leave," Natalie suggested. "I think it would be a good idea if we all sat down with Max and talked about what's going on."
Eric agreed. "I'll check with him tomorrow and see what we can set up, but I just started in January, so that might be asking a lot."
Natalie excused herself and left the two young people to talk.
"How are you feeling?" Tris asked when they were alone.
"Overwhelmed," Eric said honestly. He reached toward Tris, then pulled his hand back.
"Warrior, we left teacher and student a long time ago," Tris said as she reached for his hand. "We have to be professional and everything, but we're going through some heavy stuff together. It's okay to acknowledge that."
Eric sighed as he gripped Tris' hand. "I don't know what I would do without you and your mom."