A/N: Hello my lovely readers! I know it's been a while since I posted a chapter for this story, but as you could see, i wasn't all lazy. I wrote a modern day AU for NaNoWriMo 2018 - The Trials of a Misunderstood Teenager - and now that I'm done, I am working again on 'FUME'.
Thank you all for sticking around and being so awesome. A special thanks to my Beta, It'sHardIKnow.
Enjoy!
38
After Dad finally met my daughter, he was completely and utterly in love with his granddaughter. They've been sitting on the living room floor playing for two hours already. Mom and I made lunch, while Tobias went to Erudite to pick up my brother to come join us. Dad still doesn't know that Caleb is coming, but I doubt he heard a single word we said to him after he started playing "Tea Party" with Rose.
"Hm, that's some good tea, Rose," he praises, and she beams. I glance at Mom, who smiles lovingly at the pair.
"Is it awful of me to be jealous that I never had that?" I ask, and mom gives me a sympathetic look. She wraps me into her arms, and kisses my cheek.
"No, it's not. It's only human that you yearn for something like that. But, be glad your daughter experiences it," she tells me. I nod my head, and go to check the food.
As Mom goes to join Dad and Rose on the floor, I pull out my phone and snap a picture of them. The three of them are so engrossed in what they are doing, that they don't even notice me.
The front door opens, and the moment Rose sees her dad and uncle, she bolts towards them. Tobias immediately crouches down and wraps her in his strong arms, kissing her cheek over and over again, tickling her with his stubble. Rose giggles loudly, causing everyone to smile.
"Dada, Granpa pay with me," she informs her daddy, and my heart swells at the sight. "Uncleb!" she shrieks when she sees him.
"Hey, munchkin. How's my favorite niece?" Caleb asks, picking her up, and giving her a bear hug. Tobias stands up and comes into the kitchen to help me with our food. "Hey, Dad," I hear my brother, and turn around slightly to look at Dad's reaction.
Mom goes to pick up Rose, returning into the living room, while my brother and father stand in the hall, staring at each other. I almost think that Dad will start a fight with Caleb but then he surprises me by pulling Caleb into a tight, fatherly, hug.
Tears spring to my eyes, and I turn around to preoccupy myself with something else, wanting to avoid another round of crying. Damn! I've cried so much today. I should drink some water and rehydrate myself.
I faintly hear Tobias offering Dad and Caleb his home office to talk privately, while he starts setting the table. Mom keeps Rose busy, which allows us to get everything ready.
"This went better than expected," Tobias speaks, coming next to me. I hum in response. Tobias's arms snake around my waist, while he rests his chin on my right shoulder. "I love you," he murmurs, and I smile widely. Tilting my head to the side to see him better, I peck his lips, before reciprocating.
"I love you, too."
"Uncleb, pay!" Rose shouts, and my husband and I turn around to look at her. I see both my father and brother step into the living room, both seeming emotionally spent and cried out.
Caleb sits down next to Mom, pulling Rose into his arms, nuzzling her, while Dad makes his way into the kitchen. He asks Tobias to talk to him in private as well, and my husband agrees. I watch as they return to Tobias's home office, closing the door behind them. I wonder what that's all about.
I hurry, bringing out the food, figuring that whatever Dad and Tobias have to talk about won't last for too long. Besides, it's lunch time, and Rose needs to nap soon. Mom comes to help me, and I thank her, despite my attempts to protest. She dismisses me, kisses my temple, and hurries into the kitchen.
Within ten minutes, Dad and Tobias are emerging from my husband's office, after I asked Mom to go get them. If they had anything else to discuss, they could always do it later. The look on Tobias's face tells me that they must have had a serious conversation, most likely involving Marcus, but I don't pry. He will tell me later, if he wants to. Right now, all I want is to have a nice family lunch, for the first time as all of us are together since Tobias and I got married.
"Tobias, why don't you say grace?" Mom suggests politely. My husband nods, and mumbles the typical Abnegation prayer before starting a meal. I haven't heard it since I left my parents' house, since Marcus didn't care about saying grace.
I try to feed Rose, but she is cranky. She is usually asleep by now, but the extra time she spent playing with her grandparents and uncle made us skip her usual feeding time, and now she's just refusing to open her mouth.
"Let me," Tobias offers, coming to pick her up from her highchair. I hand him over her baby food, and watch as he goes to sit back down in his chair at the head of the table. "Come on, sunshine, for Daddy," he tries to persuade her. I find it funny that he tries to argue with a stubborn toddler, given that she inherited both her parents' stubbornness.
When Rose spits out the third spoon Tobias tried to feed her, he sighs audibly in frustration, before my Dad then picks her up. He walks with her into the kitchen, expertly carrying her in one arm and the food bowl in the other. I can faintly hear him talk to her, trying to convince her to eat. I also hear Rose fussing and complaining.
"Your mama was just like that when she was your age. It drove your grandma crazy," Dad tells my daughter, and everyone - except me - chuckles. I glare at Tobias, who looks back down on his plate, snickering whilst eating.
"Dad, don't tell her that," I whine, and look over my shoulder, where I find Dad feeding my daughter, "how'd you do that?"
"Grandpa skills," he laughs, causing Rose to laugh as well, only she had a full mouth, and now half of it is all over her shirt. "Oh, look what we did, sweetheart. Your mommy is going to be upset with us," he warns her, while trying to wipe her mouth and chin.
"Mama set?" Rose asks, tilting her head to the side just like Dad did earlier. Huh? I guess, she got that from her grandfather.
"Yeah. We need to eat all our food now, so Mommy won't cry. Alright, sweetie?" he asks her, and she nods eagerly.
"Emotional blackmail," I whisper, before turning to look at my husband, "we gotta remember that," I say with a grin. Tobias rolls his eyes, and smiles.
It doesn't take Dad long to finish feeding my daughter and once they're done, he burps her and then hands her over to me. I let Dad finish his lunch while I go into the bathroom to clean her up, change her diaper and clothes and finally get her to bed. Rose fell asleep while I was changing her, which I'm thankful for.
Laying her down in her crib, I take a moment to watch her peaceful form. I am so happy right now; I have my family here, and everyone seems to finally move on from the nightmare that was Marcus Eaton. If only that devil would disappear completely from the face of the earth.
Picking up the baby phone, I leave the nursery and go into the living room where I find Tobias, my dad and brother engaged in a conversation. I look around for Mom, and find her in the kitchen doing the dishes. Hurrying to help her, she dismisses me, but I won't let her clean up by herself.
"It's no problem for me," she argues with a smile.
"I know it isn't. But you are in my home and you are a guest," I challenge, and grab the plate she was just putting into the dishwasher.
Giving in, Mom sits down at the kitchen island and sips the tea she made while I was with Rose. She offers me one as well, but I decline. I'll surely fall asleep if I drink the hot beverage. Once I'm finished with the cleanup, Mom and I join the men in the living room, both of us sitting next to our respective husbands.
"What are you talking about?" I ask them curiously.
"How to take down Marcus," Dad states, seriously, causing me to roll my eyes, "this is serious, Beatrice," Dad sighs, frustrated.
"I know it is. But, can we, please, not discuss Marcus right now. We've been together as a family for the first time in over two years. Let us focus on that and leave the Marcus issue for another time," I argue. Reluctantly, both Dad and Tobias agree.
Trying to avoid any more thoughts of Marcus Eaton, I tell Dad how I spent my time in Candor and what I had learnt. I also tell him how Dauntless leadership had entrusted me with solving problems, which led me to the theory of how Marcus must have blackmailed Dad. Not lingering on that particular topic, I tell Dad about the plan our Founders had in place when they created the faction system. By the look I receive from everyone, I realize I haven't actually told them much about it yet.
Standing up, I go into Tobias's office and pick up the book I got from Jack. I look for the section on the original plan the Founders had for our city, and hurry back outside. Laying the book on the coffee table, I quickly explain that the faction system, the way it used to be, was only Phase One. The next phase was to slowly help faction members mingle with each other, loosening up rules that kept us apart.
"I don't understand," dad says, confused.
"It's simple. The Founders never really intended to keep us completely separated. Here," I explain, pointing towards another section, "after the Great War that destroyed our world, human DNA was defective. The Founders, which were mostly scientists, decided to create factions based on personality traits. That was to ensure that smart people, for instance, wouldn't be suffocated by, let's say, daredevils. With me so far?" I ask, and he shakes his head no. I sigh, unsure to break it down even further.
"I think I got it," Caleb chimes in, "if the DNA was damaged," he begins, while reading a section in the book, "they decided to keep people with the same personality trait in one group. According to this, they tried to ensure the slow, yet effective, repair of the human genome. If I understand this correctly, before the war, humans held traits from all five factions."
Caleb goes on to explain what he learnt in his genetic class when he was still an initiate. He explains how some genetic traits are ever present in a family, such as blue eyes or freckles, while others are skipping generations. For instance, a parent can have dark hair while the child has a lighter shade, like a grandparent.
"Basically, while, in the beginning it was a good idea to separate us, the Founders knew that our DNA would eventually heal in time. They even mentioned Divergents," I state, and show them the paragraph I mean, a few pages further.
Tobias takes the book from me, and reads the text out loud. While the Founders didn't specifically call the people with more than one personality trait Divergent, they called them Healed or Healer, because while they might not have all five traits, they were stronger than the people with only one trait and, by reproducing, these individuals could create healed offspring. I cringe at the words. It all sounds so clinical, as if we were lab rats.
"That makes sense," Mom speaks up, and we all turn to her, "I mean, look at you," she continues, looking at me, "you are clearly Divergent because you are Dauntless, Abnegation, and Erudite. I was Dauntless and your dad was Erudite. Even though you hadn't lived for a majority of your life in either of the two factions, you still inherited traits from us. Neither I or your dad received an Abnegation result. I received Dauntless, because back when we chose, Divergents were killed. Your dad and I chose Abnegation because we wanted to be together and I knew I wouldn't really fit into Erudite, just as much your dad wouldn't have fit into Dauntless. We slowly learnt what it meant to be Abnegation, and raised you and Caleb that way. Nevertheless, you both chose our origin factions, without knowing that your parents came from there."
"I read something about this in my psychology class, as well," Caleb continues, "personality is determined by numerous factors, but mainly by genetics and environment. Genetics, meaning what is inside of us that makes each individual unique, and environment, how we are raised. Clearly, all three of us," he rambles, and points at himself, and then Tobias and I, "will always display Abnegation traits because we grew up there. The Erudite and Dauntless traits are either inherited or learnt. The more time we spend in one environment, the more we copy behavioral patterns," he lectures, and I roll my eyes. While his explanation is accurate, he can be such a teacher some time.
"How about we leave the genetics class for another time?" I cut in and he glares at me. I only stick my tongue out in response. "Anyway, the Founders anticipated a time when there were Divergents. According to them, when there are a large number of Divergents in each faction, the faction system needs to change to accommodate them better, meaning that the old rules need to loosen up, which they did. It wasn't because someone invoked an old law, but because of Jeanine Matthews' attempt to kill innocent people. In fact, these laws, while ancient, are still in effect today. We need to prepare for Phase Two, as soon as possible. This will allow us to grow as a community and help the factionless find their place."
We discuss this issue a while longer, and I'm pleased to see how everyone is eager to make this change happen. I know it will be a long way until this new world will be accepted by the citizens, but if the change happens gradually and smoothly, people won't be so reluctant to accept it. I hope. However, I know this is the right thing to do. It might not make a difference in my lifetime, and the transition might still be happening during Rose's, but perhaps one day my grandchildren won't have to worry about factions and whatnot, and everyone can be a part of something bigger.