A/N: Thank you everyone who is reading, following and reviewing this story. Your feedback means a lot. Thanks to my beta ItsHardIKnow for editing this.

Just a little side note: I am planning on entering a werewolf story for the Wattys2018 on Wattpad. If you are interested to read it, which I'd love you to, my username there is also CloakSeeker and the story is called "Bionic Luna". It is still work in progress, but once I've got 5 chapters in I can submit it.

Thanks again and happy reading!

Chapter 23

Tris

Every Tuesday, and Thursday evening, the girls and I meet up in the training room. We mainly do Yoga and some Tai Chi to keep in shape, but I managed to convince Lauren to also teach me how to fight. I guess being as short as I am does help convince people that I need a head start when it comes to Dauntless training. In eight months from now, I will start my initiation, and I need to be ready. I didn't even ask for a full workout program, like the one they use during initiation, just some basic moves.

The fact that many guys roam the Dauntless halls, and come onto us, despite some of us being in relationships, was a valid enough point for Lauren to give in. However, we agreed that Tobias shouldn't know. I don't want to have secrets from my husband, but when I brought up him teaching me to fight, he had a meltdown. I didn't understand it at first, but while he was gone, I realized that I had basically asked him to hit me. I know how much he fears that someday he might turn out like Marcus, which is ridiculous. When he got home later, I told him why I wanted to learn, but also agreed to not bring it up until after the New Year. He wasn't completely happy about that, but he knows that if I don't learn how to fight, I might get injured even worse. Besides, just because everyone will become a member, doesn't mean I want to come out last. I mean, he came out first. What would it look like if I came out last? I know I shouldn't care what others think, and I don't. But I want him to be proud of me. And I want my daughter to be proud of me.

I've decided to learn to fight a little, and then invite him, along with the other guys, to the training room to demonstrate, but before that happens, I want to learn a few basic moves, and show that I am tougher than I look. Most of the time, Lauren makes me punch the bags, so that I can build muscle. However, she's decided to train me a little differently than she would the initiates. I am shorter than most people I know, which, in a fight, would be a disadvantage, but I am also fast, which, in some cases, will give me the upper hand. Lauren explained that, before we start training, we needed to find out my weaknesses. Once that was done, we needed to strengthen them. Our workout routine in the training room is mostly punching, sit-ups, pull-ups, and push-ups. Until my body is strong enough, Lauren won't move on to any fighting, which is a good thing. At home, mostly after Tobias is gone, and the baby is taken care of, I do Tai Chi in the mornings and Yoga in the afternoons. Both are perfect for meditation, and working your body slowly, but steady. Yoga alone helped tone my body, which helped hiding the training room workout. I don't think Tobias suspects anything, and I'm glad he doesn't. I know he wants me to be able to protect myself, but, at the same time, he hates to see me getting hurt. I just need to show him that I won't break so easily.

Sometimes, Tobias would come home before I wrap up my afternoon Yoga session, and he would make inappropriate jokes about how bendy I've become. I would just scoff, and he would laugh, before going to check on our daughter, who usually wakes from her nap around the time he comes home. Today is no different.

"Tris!" he suddenly shouts. I get up quickly, and run toward the nursery. I find him sitting in the rocking chair with Rose in his arms, his eyes wide, and the hint of a smile appears while he looks at me.

"What?" I ask confused. Rose looks alright, happy to see her daddy.

"Come on, baby girl. Say it again so mommy can hear you," he urges, and I quirk an eyebrow. Rose has been babbling for the last weeks, and I kept talking to her hoping that, one of these days,she'll say her first word. I switch my curious stare from my daughter to my husband, who looks at her expectantly.

"Da-da," comes Rose's little voice. My jaw drops, and my eyes widen. Her first word. Oh, my God! My daughter's first word! I move quickly to where they both are, and kneel down, looking at Rose as if she is a supernatural apparition.

"Did she just?" I ask, still dumbfounded. Tobias nods, happy, and then I realize she said dada, not mama. I pout, which causes Tobias to laugh. "I can't believe she said your name before mine," I whine, but I am not really upset. Tobias loves Rose with all his heart; he would move heaven and earth to see her happy, and healthy. And Rose loves her daddy so much – I can tell by the way her face lights up when he comes home from work. If he has to work late, she would sit in my lap on the couch or we would sit on the floor playing together, and she would glance at the door quite often because she knows that's where he comes from. If he was to come home later than usual, she would get cranky, and even start crying until he arrives. At first, I didn't know what was wrong with her, until I noticed the pattern. When I first told Tobias about it, he didn't believe me, but after a while he noticed it too. He was so happy that his baby would love him so much, that he started crying while holding her, and telling her how much he loved her. Then the baby started crying, and then I cried. We are such messes sometimes. But I wouldn't trade any of them for anything in the world.

"You're just jealous," he teases triumphantly.

"Of course, I am." I tickle his side, before standing up, and kissing his lips. I turn my gaze to our daughter who kept calling "Da-Da" over and over again. "Good job, baby. Your first word. Mommy and daddy are so proud," I praise her, and she starts beaming. I don't know how much she understands, but Tobias and I made it a habit to praise her whenever she reaches a milestone. We intend to keep doing this for the rest of her life. She deserves to know that her parents love her, and are proud of her. I know Tobias never heard that growing up, and while my parents did, it wasn't an often occurrence. I even praise Tobias, and tell him how much I love him as often as I can. I want him to always know how much he means to me, and how lost I'd be without him. The people we were in Abnegation are long gone, and have evolved into the ones we are today. We are both strong, and confident, and very much in love.

I leave Tobias alone with Rose. I need to finish dinner, and then take a quick shower. And Tobias needs to spend time with his daughter too.

As I finish up in the bathroom, Tobias comes in, and kisses my cheek. He embraces me from behind, and we stare at each other in the mirror.

"I've missed you," he tells me, kissing the skin beneath my ear.

"What a coincidence," I reply playfully, "I've missed you too. What are the odds?" He laughs a little, and then turns me around. His arms are securely around my petite frame, while mine are around his neck.

"I love you," he states, and leans in to kiss me. I melt against him, and once our lips collide, a moan escapes me. Every time we kiss it's like the first. I find that, although we've done this millions of times, it still amazes me, and fills me with love and happiness. When we break, I tell him I love him too. I know he is in the mood for a little mommy-daddy time, but we need to eat, and our kid needs to eat too. Besides, I want to take a picture of her, and put it in the baby book. Her first word deserves to be documented.

Dinner is relatively quiet, interrupted by the occasional babble of our daughter. She keeps repeating dada, and Tobias looks at me smugly. I fake glare at him and, when I throw a pea at him, Rose starts laughing. She is now almost eight months old, and we recently bought a highchair for her. She now sits between her daddy and I, and just observes us eating while snacking on cereals.

"You wanna watch a movie after dinner?" Tobias asks. I look at my watch, and see it's still too early for Rose to go to bed. I nod my head, but tell him we should watch something children friendly. He nods in agreement, and, once he is done eating, he picks up the dishes. I tell him it's fine, that I got it, and he should just spend some time with Rose. He picks up our baby, and walks into the living room where he sits down on the floor, and just plays with her. She laughs the whole time, and it warms my heart to see both of them so happy.

I finish in the kitchen, and go join them. Tobias is blowing raspberries on her tummy, and Rose laughs uncontrollably.

"Look, baby girl, your beautiful mama is here," he coos, holding her up, so that I can kiss her cheek.

"Ma-ma," Rose mumbles, and, for the second time today, my jaw drops.

"Did you hear that? She said mama," I squeal, beaming. I sit down next to them, and pull her into my arms, holding her tightly to me, kissing her little head, and telling her how much I love her, and how proud I am.

Tobias pulls out his phone, and the three of us take a picture, smiling widely, being happy that our little one just spoke her first words. After taking about ten more pictures, Tobias gets up, and puts a disc into our player, and the movie starts. The title says "The Nutcracker", and I remember reading the book while I was still in Candor. It's a sweet story, and Rose will enjoy it. Well, she will enjoy it more once she's older, and will actually understand what is going on. For now, we are content that the animated images keep her busy until she will fall asleep.

While Rose keeps babbling on, seemingly talking to the TV, I ask Tobias if he wants to dress up for Halloween.

"Do I have to?" he asks, making a face. I chuckle.

"No, babe. But this is Rose's first Halloween. We have to at least go Trick or Treating." He nods his head, and we decide not to go through the whole compound for that, but just to knock on our friends' doors.

"Will you dress up?" he asks curiously. I grin, and nod my head. "As what?"

"A cat. Meow," I respond with a grin, and he guffaws.

"Can't wait to see that," he utters with a smirk, while wiggling his eyebrows. He bursts out laughing, and Rose turns around, laughing too.

After a while, I ask him to take Rose to bed. She's fallen asleep in his arms, and it's not very comfortable for her. While he goes into her room to change her into a new diaper, and her sleepwear, I clean up the living room, and turn off all the lights. I head into my bedroom first, quickly changing into my warm, comfy PJ, and then rush into the nursery to tuck my little girl in. She is already changed, and Tobias is softly singing a lullaby to her. He has been doing this since before she was born, when she wouldn't stop moving inside me, and kept me up all night. We both kiss her goodnight, and Tobias gently lays her down into her crib. I pull the blanket over her, and watch her for a moment. Having her was the best decision I ever made. She is the epitome of the love Tobias and I share, and I only hope we will have more children in the future. For now, though, I am happy with the little family we have.

As we leave the nursery, Tobias turns off the light, and grabs the baby phone. We leave the door ajar, and head to our bedroom. I place the device on my nightstand, as Tobias goes into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Just as he exits the en-suite, I remember I have something to show him. I jump out of bed, and walk to my dresser. I pull out a box, and as I open it, I reveal a beautiful pink princess outfit, with a tiara-like headband. Tobias smiles at it, and tells me he'll be the proudest daddy of the prettiest princess in Dauntless. I laugh at him, and his description, and we carefully put the costume away. I know Rose is too young to even remember this, but I will, and I want it to be special for her. Tobias and I never got to celebrate anything in Abnegation. But our children can. We will celebrate everything they want us to, no questions asked. I want my children to be happy, and enjoy their childhood.

Two days after Rose spoke her first words, Tobias, Rose and I go around the compound to knock on the doors of our friends, and acquaintances. Everyone compliments Rose's and my outfit, while they inquire as what Tobias dressed up.

"He decided to go as the scariest Dauntless," I tell Max, as we wait for him to hand out some candy for Rose. I can see him snicker, anticipating my answer. "He decided to go as himself." At that, Max starts chortling, his eyes crinkling. Tobias only rolls his eyes.

"Well, it's a good thing I am his friend," Max jokes, still chuckling, while pouring candy into the little pumpkin-shaped bucket I am holding, "and you, young lady, I've heard you said your first words. Congratulations," Max talks to Rose, and she beams. Max asks if he can hold Rose for just a moment, since he has something for her inside his apartment. Tobias, reluctantly, hands her over, and after some shuffling inside, Max emerges with Rose in one arm, and in the other is a huge stuffed unicorn. We thank him for the gift, and Rose even kisses his cheek. I quickly snap a picture, and we say goodnight.

"Our kid must be the most loved in all of Dauntless," Tobias mutters, bouncing Rose in his arms.

"I guess so," I reply absentmindedly, scrolling through the pictures I already took tonight. "Listen. How about next year the three of us dress-up the same?" I look at my husband who looks like I just sucker-punched him. I laugh at him.

"Dress up as what?" he asks with dread.

"Mr. Who, Mrs. Who, and Little Miss Cindy Lou," I tell him, picking the characters from Rose's favorite children's story. He doesn't say anything, so I take that as a yes.

A/N: I would love to hear your opinion on this chapter.