"COMPLETE"
Tobias
I never thought I would thank Marcus for the life I have now. All of the abuse, the pain, the betrayal I lived through over the years, I believed all of it would be my destruction. Instead it turned me into exactly what my mother said I was; a fighter.
I've always been a fighter. I just never realized it.
I look over at Tris' sleeping face, a small smile on it from whatever dream she's having, and smile too. I would never be here without her, either. Her love and support have been unyielding over the years, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to truly express to her just how thankful I am to have her in my life. Or how much I love her. I'm not sure if I believe in a God, but the two women in my life make me think about it often; it feels as if they were made just for me.
I look down in between the two of us and place a light kiss on top of Megan's head. She normally doesn't sleep with us, but she had a bad dream last night, and I'm a total pushover when it comes to her. Besides, it took me years to find a way to get over my demons, I don't expect her to get over hers instantly. I'm just glad we're both here to help her.
As of last week, she is officially an Eaton, and Marcus was instrumental in that. It would have taken us a long time to save up the money required to officially adopt her. Longer than we wanted to wait. But a lawyer showed up at the door, informing me that my father was dead. I told him that I knew that already — the headlines all over the news informed me that he died of a heart attack in a hotel room with a prostitute. Classy. What they didn't inform me of was that even after all this time, he never removed me from his will. I was the sole beneficiary to the Eaton name.
We put some of it in a trust for Megan to go to college, and used the rest to start a nonprofit — The Eaton-Johnson Organization. We work closely with Johanna, using our resources to help children and spouses who are abused by finding them temporary housing, and providing basic necessities and counseling to help get them out of their current situation and into a safer one. Caleb also finished his residency when he moved back to the States. He is one of our on-call doctors if someone comes to us in the middle of the night, while Tori handles all of our PR. When Marcus' house sells, we'll create another trust and put some of it away for Tris and I to retire on.
"What are you thinking about," I hear Tris whisper.
"Everything," I say, looking up at her. She smiles and rolls on her back, her little bump silhouetted against the morning sun.
"I swear, I'm barely four months and I already have to pee like crazy. I hate to see what happens when I'm further along." I chuckle as she gets up and goes to the bathroom.
"What do you think about getting a dog?" I ask when she crawls back into bed.
"Tobias," she huffs, "I don't know."
"Hear me out," I say. "It would be for Megan. And it would be her…"
"Her Megan?" Tris finishes for me.
While Tris, and even Tori and our friends have been instrumental in helping me come to terms with and moving past everything, Megan has been so much more. I didn't know how much I needed her until she was already a part of my life. She was that final piece of the puzzle. She showed me just how important I could be, and how important that love that I never received from my father is. I give her that love every day.
I —we— love her as if she were our own.
"Yes," I say quietly. Tris smiles and reaches her hand out, resting it against my face.
"Why don't we go to the shelter? See if there's a dog there that needs her love." She never ceases to amaze me. I feel Megan stir, and watch as her little eyes flutter for a moment, and then open.
"Hey, baby," Tris says.
"Morning, mommy," she says, smiling. I lean down and kiss her forehead. "Morning, daddy."
"Good morning, Megan." I say. "We have a surprise for you." Her beaming smile fills the room with even more light. I look at the clock to see that it's already past nine. "Go get dressed and we'll go out to breakfast too."
"Okay!" She bounds out of bed, and I hear her run down the hall. When I hear her run back, I roll over and am bombarded by kisses to my forehead and cheek. She smiles again before running back down the hall, and my heart soars.
"You're never gonna get sick of that, are you?" Tris asks.
"Never," I say, sitting up to give her a kiss too.
"Tobias. Tobias!" I crack my eye to see a frazzled looking Tris leaning over me.
"What? What is it?" I say, sitting up and looking at the clock. It's just after three in the morning. "Is everything okay?"
"Well, either I pissed myself —which is totally possible— or my water just broke."
My heart slams against my chest as I fly out of bed, ripping the covers off of her. I can't see a damn thing, so I stalk across the room and flip the light switch. I squint, and Tris raises a hand to shield her eyes. I look at the large wet circle on the bed. She's right. Her water broke.
"Oh shit," I say. The baby isn't due for another three weeks. "I'll call the hospital. You okay to clean up and change or whatever?"
"Yeah, yeah. Go." She shoos me away and I race down the hallway, pulling the card off the fridge and dialing the number listed on it. As it rings, I stare at the family portrait Megan drew of us that hangs on the fridge. She's gonna have to draw a new one.
"Are you having contractions?" I ask as I walk back in the room.
"No."
"No," I repeat to the nurse on the phone. "Okay. See you soon." I hang up and see Tris raise her eyebrows. "Your water broke, so we gotta go." She nods and begins grabbing the bags we had packed already. I call Zeke, apologizing for calling so early, and get promptly yelled at to bring Megan over.
"I'll go get Megan," I say. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Freaking out a little bit, but yeah." She laughs nervously, and I walk to her, wrapping my arms around her.
"You got this, mama," I whisper in her ear. "I love you so much, and I know you can do this. I'll be with you every step of the way." I feel her nod and pull away, her eyes wet. I kiss her softly, smiling afterwards.
"Go," she says, smiling too.
I wake Megan and explain to her that it's time for the baby. She wakes up at that, and throws her arms around my neck, bounding out of her bed afterwards to get the bag that she wanted to pack too. I tell her to stay in her jammies, since she's just going to Uncle Zeke's until it's time for her to come and see the baby.
"How long will it take?" she asks as we walk down the hallway. She reaches out and takes Tris' hand, and I see Tris smile.
"We don't know," I answer truthfully. "It could take a couple of hours, or it could take a whole day."
"A whole day?" Her mouth hangs open.
"Tell me about it," Tris says, laughing. "Let's hope it doesn't take that long."
By the time we make it to the hospital and get situated in a room, Tris is beginning to have contractions. The nurse examines her; she's already dilated to three. If she keeps the same pace she could be pushing within a few hours. Tris looks relieved, yet there's still a hint of panic in her eyes. I don't blame her. I saw the same videos in the childbirth classes we took and I am not envious of her in the slightest.
I hold her hand as we pass the time talking about nothing in particular, until she starts to look more and more uncomfortable with each contraction. I call for the nurse even though she doesn't want me to, and she checks her again.
"Well, you're just about a six now," she says. "Still time for that epidural if you want it." Tris bites her lip and looks up at me.
"Don't go through the pain," I say. "I know what you wanted, but I don't want you to be in pain either." I rub my thumb in a small circle on her hand, doing my best to comfort her in any way I can.
"Okay," she says. The nurse tells us to hang tight while she hunts down the anesthesiologist.
"You're almost there," I whisper, kissing her forehead.
She's able to sleep a little once she gets the injection, and I run down to the cafeteria and grab a muffin to help keep me going. I doze a little afterwards, but wake to my named being called.
"I think I need the doctor," she says, her eyes wider than I've ever seen them. I nod and get the nurse, who checks her again.
"Well, Miss Tris. It's time to start pushing." Her face is hard to read, so I take her hand and squeeze it while the nurse pulls in an assistant who calls the doctor while she preps.
"Okay. When you feel the need to push, do it, hold for ten seconds, and then rest." Tris nods her head, and squeezes my hand back as she takes a deep breath and pushes.
It takes just over an hour, but as I hold one leg and a nurse holds the other, my son makes his entrance into the world. I watch with wide eyes as the doctor suctions his nose and mouth. When I hear his little cry, the world goes blurry. I look to Tris, and blink the tears away to see she's crying too. I lean forward, kissing her with everything I have.
"You did it," I say, so full of love and pride.
"Dad? Care to do the honors?" I wipe my eyes and nod, taking the scissors and cutting the umbilical cord.
I watch closely as a nurse takes him to a little table across the room and starts rubbing him down. He cries more and more with each rub. I don't like it.
"Go," I hear Tris say, and I look to see her smile. "Go," she says again, motioning to our boy with her head. "I'm fine."
I walk over and watch, counting fingers and toes as the nurse weighs and measures him, scrubbing him clean afterwards. She puts a tiny diaper on, a little shirt, and a beanie before wrapping him up so tight I swear he must be suffocating. But he quiets down, and the nurse smiles as she hands him to me. I stare down at this tiny little human, this tiny thing that Tris and I created, and I am filled with so much love it almost hurts.
I hold him close as the doctor finishes up with Tris, kissing him every chance I get. When she's finally ready, I reluctantly hand him over to her to nurse.
"Why don't you call everyone and let them know?" she says. "And then take a minute and rest."
"Rest? You did all the hard work." She smiles at me and looks down at our little boy. Even though Tris looks like she just survived a war, I've never seen a more beautiful sight in the whole world.
I'm sitting with the baby and Tris is sleeping when Zeke comes in the room.
"Hey, man," he says quietly, placing a hand on my shoulder. "How's Tris?"
"Great, actually."
"You want us to wait?"
"Nope. Bring everyone on back." Zeke smiles and hurries out of the room.
I wake Tris just as Megan comes in the room. She looks between Tris and I and the baby, but doesn't move any further than the door. Zeke just gives me a look as he stands behind her, hands on her shoulders.
"Hey, come here," I say. "Mommy's just waking up from a nap and she wants to see you."
"Hey, baby," Tris says. "Hop up here so you can meet your little brother." She hesitates for just a second before smiling. She's mindful of Tris as she climbs onto the bed, settling in the space Tris created for her. I stand as Tris puts a pillow in her lap, and gently place the baby in Megan's arms.
"Megan, meet your little brother, Leo." I stare down at his head full of crazy brown hair, and smile at how fitting it already is.
My little lion.
As if on cue, he opens his eyes and stares up at Megan.
"Hi," she says. They stare at each other for a few, and I glance to my left to see Shauna taking a picture with her phone. Leo makes a tiny noise, and Megan goes stiff.
"It's okay," Tris says. "He's just making his baby noises. He's saying hi back." Megan nods and continues looking at him.
"So, how does it feel to be a big sister?" Zeke asks. Megan looks up at him and smiles.
"It feels like I have a whole family." Even Zeke can't hold back at that statement. We all look at each other, letting out little laughs as we wipe our eyes.
"Why are you crying?" she asks as she looks around.
"Because we're happy," I say. "These are happy tears."
We have a party a few days after Tris comes home. Nothing crazy like we used to, but still, everyone is able to get together and that is what's important. We sit around, taking turns playing with the kids and holding the baby, pestering Christina and Marlene about when they're gonna become moms. They both laugh it off, but I see that look in Christina's eye, and I know she won't be far behind.
Anna and Megan are playing barbies. Leo is sleeping in Shauna's arms. Oreo, the little black and white terrier we adopted is asleep at Tris' feet. Everyone just looks…happy. Even Tori, who swears she hates being called grandma yet smiles widely every time anyone says it.
I'll never get over the fact that this is my life. All of these people, I belong to them just as much as they belong to me. We may not talk from time to time because life gets in the way, but when it matters most, they'll always be there.
My heart beats a little harder when I see Tris staring at me. She has a smirk on her face and it makes me melt just a little bit. I'll never tire of the way she loves me. If you would have asked me six years ago what my life was going to be like, I could never have come up with this in my wildest dreams. I never thought I deserved it.
But I know better now.
I smile at Megan, who runs over and sits in my lap. She holds her hand over my tattoo like she so often does, and looks up at me.
"Are you going to get a another one?"
"For Leo?" She nods. "Of course." She bites her cheek for a moment before asking what she really wants to know.
"Is there enough room?" I scrunch my eyebrows at her, but her gaze never falters. When she traces the approximate size of it, I think I get it.
"You mean, is there enough room here?" I ask, pointing to my heart. She nods again. "There will always be enough room in my heart for all of you. Don't you ever worry about that, okay?"
"Okay. Can I give Leo a kiss?"
"Absolutely. Just be gentle." She nods and climbs up next to Shauna, who leans over just enough so she can kiss her brother on the head. She hops down and goes back to playing with Anna, and I just smile.
There are still times when I wake in the middle of the night, terrified that this has been one long dream and I'm back living under my fathers rule. On those nights though, I just look to my right and see Tris, and I know that everything is okay. It's the one thing I can be certain of in my life. Those dreams may never stop, but I don't let the fear rule me now. The love that my family gives me and the love that I have for them is absolute; it's enough to get me through anything.
I may not know what else my life has in store for me, but I am certain of one thing. In this moment, my life is complete.
A/N:
Song: Semisonic - Closing Time
Five years, 9 months
"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."
Well, that's all there is for this story. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. All of your reviews and favorites and follows mean the world to me. I enjoy doing this, and it makes me happy to know that it makes you guys happy too. A million thank you's and hugs for everyone!
I am in the middle of writing another story. Going back into the Divergent landscape for this one. In the meantime to tide you all over, I have a bunch of one shots that I wrote when I was feeling extra lovey-dovey. Each one is independent, and they're all meet-cutes. So lots of FourTris fluff is coming your way! I'll start posting them next week or so, so make sure to follow me if you aren't already to get updates on my new stories!