A/N: And here goes another chapter! I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 14
The plan was simple. The city would be reclaimed bit by bit. Each sector would be explored by a group of people that had military training, engineering, or city planning experience. The first teams going in would be to make sure there were no remnants of the fighting groups. Once the sector had been cleared with that aspect, the engineers would move into access the structural damage.
The sectors cleared went in order of them being reached from Amity. The first of which was Abnegation. Instead of going back and forth between Amity, which was a few hours travel, a base of operations was set up with that first sector.
Eric choose one of the houses and set himself and Brendan up there. He was told the house he picked had belonged to the Prior's. The sector stayed fairly intact. The homes were all equipped with solar power and didn't rely on the cities grid. It felt odd to be living in the city again but at the same time he welcomed it. It was an adjustment for him as he didn't have the help he had in Amity with Brendan. A group of the former Abnegation women with children of their own volunteered to set up a daycare of sorts for those in the groups going through the city to leave their kids.
When he wasn't with a group, Eric was working at home and had Brendan with him there. He hadn't seen Elle again but had seen Amar more often. He tried not to dig for information about her but seemed unable to help himself. Johanna had lectured and yelled at him for close to an hour the day after the gathering in Amity.
She accused him of being too stubborn and prideful for his own good. She wasn't wrong but he hadn't been able to make that step. Not when she was the one to walk away. Not when Elle was the one that said what they shared was nothing but some fulfilling of a debt. Seeing her had been hell but walking away had nearly undone him. All he wanted to do was get Brendan to their temporary home as fast as possible so the wall he thought he did so well in bringing up, could fall without witnesses.
Then there had been Paisley and what she had said to him once they were at Johanna's. Her confession that she wondered if maybe Elle thought there was something between Paisley and himself. He had scoffed at it, even giving a little laugh. It wasn't until he saw the young girls face fall a little at that...he realized that Paisley herself had held some hope of that happening.
That had been a big reason why she wasn't taking care of Brendan any more. It wasn't fair to still have her looking after his nephew when he knew she harbored a crush on him.
It had been three weeks since the meeting in Amity and a month and a half since Elle left. He had a rare day free and the offer of Brendan being watched. He debated that for a long time but decided he would take them up on it. When he dropped Brendan off they had mentioned he kept asking for his 'banky' - blanky, but the one that had for him wasn't doing it for the little boy. He had a few favorite blankets but one of them was missing.
That was when he remembered there were a number of items he had left at the cabin in Amity. With a day free and a need to get out, he set out for their old home.
Days started early for everyone in the recovery efforts. It was a good thing that the former Abnegation and Amity were used to those early days. It allowed Eric to get Brendan settled with the women at the child care and set out just as the sun was growing large on the horizon.
The first order of business he had seen to for getting the city back was seeing that the train was up and running. Tracks had to be cleared and make sure they weren't damaged but they at least had it done for the trek from Abnegation to Amity.
Eric thought about going by to see Johanna before he headed to the cabin but decided against it. He didn't feel up to another conversation in regards to things with Elle. Instead he made the jump from the train and began his hike to the cabin.
His emotions were raw as he made the trip and he got caught up in memories and thoughts. Dwelling on questions of if any of it had been real for Elle, if he had just been reading into the things she did or said and interrupted them wrong. It was true that they had both been grieving for the people they lost, the loss of the only home they knew, and a way of life ingrained in them. Elle was right about that but he swore it only made a connection that already existed deepen for them.
What about the thing Paisley had hinted at? Eric just didn't understand how Elle could believe he would be ever be interested in anyone other than her. Hadn't he shown that everything he did was for her, for them as a family? Hadn't he told her how he felt, that she was his first...his only? Why wouldn't she have just asked him about it, confronted him? It wasn't like her to not just speak her mind.
Okay, maybe she was like that for everything but where her feelings were concerned. But he had thought they had made real steps in being able to open up to each other.
He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts he was missing the signs that all wasn't as he left things when he and Brendan went to Johanna's. That changed when he noticed faint light coming from one of the windows and smoke from the stoves chimney on the roof.
With a scowl Eric pulled his sidearm and approached the door cautiously. He didn't really expect trouble but it was ingrained in him to prepare. He also felt no small amount of anger that someone was squatting in what he thought of his family's home.
Entering into the main living area he didn't see anyone and things appeared normal. There were definite signs someone was there. Dishes set to dry after being washed, the stove being put to use with one of the synthetic logs warming the home against the cold, the blanket that Elle had claimed as hers was spread across the couch as if someone had been under it recently.
The sound that confirmed the cabin being occupied came from the bathroom. He knew exactly who it was and what was happening. He had listened to her enough times doing the very same thing before she left. The gun was put back on his hip as he raced to the bathroom where he found Elle hunched over the toilet and giving violent shudders.
She didn't know he was in the room with her until she felt hands pulling her hair back and away from her face. At first she thought it might be Amar or George, come to check on her ahead of the scheduled time.
She knew she was wrong when she felt the brush of rough hands against her skin. When the smell she had craved more than anything invaded her senses and it wasn't from the shirt she found he had left behind and she used as her nightclothes.
When her dry heaving stopped she felt his hands retreat and then heard the sink running. "Here, drink this." Eric's gruff voice commanded her as his hands gently turned her until he could help her with the cup of water he held.
She took slow and small tentative sips then shook her head and pushed the cup away. "That's all I can do. Won't hold that down right now anyways."
She looked at Eric fully and saw his worried frown. This is just what she didn't need right now. It was why she came back here where there had been no chance he would be able to find out about her condition.
Eric reached out a hand and put it to her forehead confirming that she was running a fever. The frown deepened and he looked around. She was in just a t shirt, his shirt…..he would think on that later; but her legs were bare and the stone floor was cold as hell even with the springs pumping through the walls.
He didn't ask, he just reached down to whisk her up. She made a whimper of protest and closed her eyes against the dizziness that came over her. She didn't mean to grip him tightly, it was just reflex to being suddenly airborne.
"You are running a fever and seem to still be sick to your stomach. This isn't normal or good, we need to get you checked out." Eric rumbles as he carts her to the bedroom and starts to get her settled.
"Not the bed." Elle squeaks. She hasn't been able to bring herself to sleep in that in the four days she has been at the cabin. "The couch is closer to the bathroom." She reasons when Eric looks at her with that infamous eyebrow lift.
He sighs and turns to head to the living room. When she is on the couch and covered, Eric moves off and away from her to the kitchen. She sighs and breathes, closing her eyes as she tries to steady herself. Before she can fully do either he is back and crouched beside her, eyeing her critically.
"I am being serious, Brielle. This isn't good and we are going to get you checked out."
"I have already been checked out, Eric. There is nothing they can do. Other than the fever, which is just from a normal cold, it is a normal part of my condition." She mutters this without thinking as she takes the cup of tea he had been holding out for her.
Her eyes widen when she realizes what she just said and she sees the wheels turning in his mind.
"Condition." He breathes out the word and his eyes focus on her stomach, covered from his sight by the bulky quilt. "Your….?" That's as far as he can get the question out before he looks back up to her.
He can see immediately she didn't mean to tell him and that she is trying to find some way to lie to him. His anger bubbles over and he leans towards her with all of that showing. "Don't even try and lie to me."
Elle swallows and her already pale complexion gets even whiter, making the dots of flushed and fevered skin stand out even more. He reigns in some of his temper and leans back but still refuses to move away from her. Afraid if he does she will run off into the wild and disappear, this time for good. He wouldn't have allowed that before this revelation but for damn sure not now.
"Were you ever going to tell me?" Eric's voice is ice, as is his stare. Elle knows she hurt him by that alone. He didn't know she was trying to protect him. To not come between him and the life he wanted.
He deserved to know the truth though. So she shored up her courage and let out a shaky breath before answering.
"I know this is going to sound impossible, but...I just found out." She pauses and sees his look of disbelief so she rushes on. "It never occurred to me that was why I was sick all the time. Getting pregnant, I didn't even think about it at all. I know we never used protection and I was certainly never on any birth control. It should have been something I thought of…" she sees his slow nod and flash of guilt "...I guess something we both should have thought of. I just never did. When I wasn't getting better and still kept getting sick to my stomach I just thought it was from." Here she stopped and couldn't continue.
She looked away and into her cup before moving it to her lips and taking a small sip. Breathing in relief when her stomach didn't automatically rebel at the smell or taste of it.
Eric waited for her to finish her sip and prodded her gently. "You thought it was from what, Brielle?" His tone was softer but still had an edge to it.
"How upset I was. I thought I was sick from the stress of it all and a little from the food I was eating. It turned out those were right but not the only reason. It wasn't until I started running a fever as well as being sick that I finally let Amar and George talk me into seeing Johanna. That was were we figured it out but Amar said he already suspected it for a while. That is part of why he and George have been so insistent that we get to Erudite sector soon."
Eric took a few minutes to process this. He stood and started pacing. A million questions came to mind but he needed to handle one issue at a time. "How far along?"
"We don't know for sure and won't until we could get the equipment from either Erudite or Dauntless. I had been trying to get to Dauntless for the past two weeks but there was…"
Now Eric lost it. "What the fuck, Brielle! What part of no one goes near Dauntless did you not understand! There was a plainly given reason for that. Corridors were collapsed and we don't know how much of it is stable. It was made clear it wasn't safe for anyone to go there!"
Elle winced and felt her stomach churn. "I know. I just...I needed to get there but I realize it was stupid. I could have been hurt or gotten George hurt."
Eric huffs and closes his eyes, breathing in slowly and releasing the breath again just as slowly. He moves back over to Elle forming plans in his mind. Or he tries to but all he can see is Elle and all he can feel is how much he fucking missed her.
Before he knows it he is crouched beside her, reaching out and cupping the side of her face. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until he let it out when she leaned into his hand with a sigh and closed her eyes.
"Eric." She breathed out the name, in relief and pain. She knew this wasn't good. She couldn't feel so good about being near him again. He wasn't hers and she couldn't let him think she is trying to make him stay or be with her just because of the baby she carried.
Eric pulled her forehead towards his and breathed her in just soaking her in for a few long wonderful moments. "We're having a baby." He said in wonder.
He didn't know why that was the wrong thing to say but apparently it was with the way she stiffened and jerked back.
"No." She said firmly and shook her head but wouldn't look at him.
"No? You mean you are going to try and get rid of it?" He gritted out and felt his temper flare again.
She snapped her head to glare at him in horror. "Never. I would never do that."
He was at a loss and said so. "I don't get it. Then how is that you think we aren't…"
Her eyes fill with tears and she puts her cup down, trying to get up from the couch. Thinking she is trying to run again he whirls so that she is in his arms but now they are both seated on the couch. He holds her firmly but is careful not to make it too tight.
"Explain Brielle." He says between her trying to pry herself loose.
"There is no we in this, not when you already have your family. I know you want to be with Paisley and I won't stand in the way. I won't be like my mom was either and holding a kid over your head just so I can have some kind of connection, because I am so lovesick that all I can see is how it can get me time with you!" Elle practically screams this all out as tears start to fall.
It connects for Eric even though he still doesn't know how in the hell she came to that conclusion. He jerks her against his chest and holds her. "Dammit, Elle." He says with no real anger in it, more frustrated than anything. "Why in hell would you think I am or ever wanted, to be with Paisley?"
Elle tried to push away from his chest even as she was still crying, but now she felt a flash of anger. "Don't try and lie to me Eric. I saw you with her! I know that is what you were doing all those times you said you were off helping with the harvest! I saw you leaving her house looking like you had just spent all morning fucking! Then there was you always talking about family and her…" Elle's voice broke along with her anger. "I knew then you had been just trying to...I guess pay me back or felt bad about me getting hurt."
Fuck! It was all my fault. Johanna was right and I never should have kept Elle in the dark about all that.
Eric pulled back just enough to put a hand to each side of her face and make her look at him. "This is my fault and I cannot tell you how fucking sorry I am, Elle. I did lie to you about the harvest but I was never with Paisley in any kind of romantic fashion. It never even crossed my mind that would be something you would ever think. I wasn't helping with the harvest but I was putting together the beginning of taking back the city."
She was looking into his eyes and saw he was telling the truth but she didn't understand why...why he wouldn't have just told her that to start with. "But….why? Why didn't you just tell me that Eric? Did you not trust me or something?"
"In a way, no I didn't trust you. I didn't trust that your want or need to stay with us...with me, would be more than your need to get back to the city and to whatever you thought it was your duty to do. I thought if I could give you back the city then you wouldn't feel like you needed to leave. That you wouldn't feel obligated to go back to the city to do who knows what. I just didn't want to fucking lose you."
"But I saw you with her, Eric. Then you stopped even wanting me to touch you and at that meeting you said you needed to see to your family and you all left together."
"You saw me leaving her house after I had made a stupid mistake on one of the trips to try and make the way clear for us into the city. There was one of those traps set up where the ground looked solid but it wasn't and I feel through. I caught myself but barely and I hurt some ribs along the way. I went to Paisley's families house because her sister is one of the healers there. Astrid wrapped up the ribs after checking for breaks. It was just badly bruised. I left right back out to meet up with the group I was with again after that."
Eric brushed away the tears and went back to cradling her face. "I should have told you then but I was still so afraid of losing you. The only reason I didn't want you to touch me was because I was afraid you would find out about my injury and then I would have had to admit everything to you. It was so fucking stupid of me, Elle. I lost you anyways because I couldn't just open up about that...how much you mean to me and how afraid I was of losing you."
She couldn't respond and just buried her face in his chest while he held her. She realized they had both made some pretty stupid and serious mistakes. Too many to list. During that time it probably didn't help that her emotions and hormones were all out of control. Something Johanna had put together for her when they discovered she is indeed pregnant. It gave them some kind of time frame but not a truly accurate one.
When he tears subsided a little she held onto him tightly. "I know you said nothing happened then but what about…"
"Nothing ever happened. Never!" Eric growled out and then calmed himself. "After the meeting I went back to Johanna's house, where Brendan and I had been staying since the day you left. Paisley mentioned that you might think something was up between her and I. I didn't understand why she would think that but I also might have laughed at even the thought of it. I realized that she might have had some hopes for us but I quickly let her know that was never going to happen."
Elle had pulled back to look at him partly in disbelief and the other part in renewed hope. "I even told her it would be best if she wasn't the caretaker of Brendan while I worked. It wasn't fair to her knowing how she felt and how I was never going to feel. I might have been angry and hurt by you leaving but I still had hope."
"I'm sorry too." Elle said quietly as Eric went back to holding her and running his hands through her hair.
Honestly it was taking everything in him not to take her to bed and show her just how much he missed and wanted her. He was content to hold her close and touch her as much as he could right now.
"For what?"
"I should have talked to you too. Just told you what was bothering me. I don't know why I didn't I was just a mess then. I can't blame it all on the hormones, but Johanna suggested they played a big part in what I am feeling and my fears. I just kept seeing my mom, Eric. How she used me to tie herself to the man she loved and refused to give up on. He was never going to leave his wife and said as much to her but she didn't care. She loved him to the point of obsession really. I was a means to an end for her, a way to get close, be close to him. All I saw was myself heading towards that if I didn't get out. So I did. I went into the city but I had no plans. I just needed to be as far away from you as possible. I didn't want to see you and Paisley starting your new lives together free of my burden."
Eric was kicking himself because that had been one of her fears. Not him specifically but the situation with her parents.
"I love you, Elle. We were both to blame in not just being honest and talking. That stops now, it has to stop now. I need you and I don't plan on letting you go again."
Elle smiles even as tears roll down her face. She nods and is unable to get words out for a few seconds until she gasps out. "I love you, Eric."
Relief floods him and he can't keep himself from kissing her any longer. She tries to stop him at first because when she realized he was going to kiss her after being sick to her stomach. He takes the tea cup from her and scowls.
"There is no way I am not kissing you right now, Elle. I have missed you too fucking much to care." He growls that out but the kiss is tender and slow.
It was still enough to steal the breath from Elle and when he pulled back she had forgotten for a moment that her stomach was still churning slightly. She went to bring him back and whimpered when he just chuckled softly. Instead he just pulled her to his chest and held her tightly breathing her in.
"Don't think I am complaining but why did you come back here, Eric? Johanna said you weren't staying here anymore and didn't have plans to come back. It was the only reason I agreed to come here after I was told I needed to stay somewhere and rest."
"Brendan was asking for his other favorite blanket. I realized there were a lot of things here of ours. I hadn't been able to bring myself to come back before now. How long have you been here….and by yourself?"
"I've been here for four days but Johanna, George and Amar all rotate coming out to check on me. Johanna was coming out today in the late afternoon to check on me. George is sort of panicking about us not knowing how far along I am. I could be either close to four months along or two for all I know at this point."
Eric started to feel his own panic began to take hold. That was such a big difference in time and either way there was so much to do. Two months would give them more time but four months meant she was already halfway through the pregnancy. Eric's hand moved under the shirt and over her stomach while he was lost in thought. There was definitely the telltale sign she was carrying their baby. It was rounder and slightly firm.
He frowned in thought but only came up short on the lack of in depth knowledge he had regarding pregnancy.
Elle felt his distress and growing frustration. She didn't need another George right now and she knew that Eric was likely to be much worse. Amar is always able to soothe things over or distract her brother and his husband.
Her stomach was settling and an idea came to her mind. Along with the hormones she had been feeling had come a need for something she hadn't been about to have once she left Eric. Now he was here and they were in a place that just seemed to bring up memories of all those times together. It was why she hadn't been able to sleep in the bed. Especially since she thought there had been a chance, once she left, that he and Paisley...
"Hey." Eric asked with a frown and made Elle look at him. He didn't know why she was suddenly crying silently and had tensed up as if she was in pain. "What's going on, baby?"
Elle sniffled and shook her head trying to brush it off but his frown turned into a scowl along with a rumble of displeasure. "Brielle, what were we just saying? You have to talk to me."
"I was just...thinking of why I haven't been sleeping in the bed since I got here." She admitted in a small voice and hoped he wouldn't ask for more details.
"You've been sleeping out here? I know you said it is closer to the bathroom but it isn't that much further from the bedroom. So why haven't you been sleeping in there?"
She let out a shaky breath and shrugged. "Partly because I missed you so much already and I thought sleeping in the bed without you would just make it worse."
"Baby." Eric sighs out in pain and kisses her gently before pulling back to look at her again. "What was the other part?"
"I...I didn't want to be in the bed you shared with someone else." She admitted and braced for an explosion from him.
There was no explosion, just strained silence before her world tilted as he stood abruptly with her in his arms. "I will get that shit out of your head dammit."
Eric walked briskly into the bedroom and held her while he reached out with one hand to rip the covers back. He gently eased her on the bed and watched her watching him. The raw need and hunger in her eyes almost ended him right there as he kicked his boots off and shucked his clothing.
His voice came out as a rasped whisper to her. "You are still sick and running a fever, Brielle. I want to as well….we just…"
"Sex can break fevers." Elle blurted out in a rush and then blushed at his smile when he slid onto the bed beside her.
"Really now?" Eric asked in disbelief as he cupped the side of her face once he was stretched out.
She bit her lip and nodded earnestly. "Not even making that up." She flushed even more with a sheepish smile. "It was part of a study for our health class. We had to look up alternative methods to break fever cycles and physical activities that also released certain chemicals in the brain were proven effective methods of reducing or breaking fevers."
Eric's nostrils flared wider as he felt his own blood heat with a fever that had everything to do with how much he wanted the woman beside him. He paused as he stroked her cheek and breathed slowly. "How's your stomach feeling?"
She nodded with a smile. "Good. I'm….feeling much better."
"Then far be it from me to deny a proven treatment." Eric said with a sexy smirk as he leaned in, then begin lifting the shirt from her body. His mouth following the material until it was being pulled over her head and he claimed her mouth in a kiss.
Elle had no control over the kiss, try as she might. She was ravenous for him but Eric seemed to be determined to take things at the slowest pace possible. His hands slowly moving over her body in the lightest of brushes with his fingertips. It had her shivering and moaning while he smiled into the kiss.
When he moved away from her mouth he pushed her hands to the sides of her heads into the bed and looked at her seriously.
"No moving." He commanded her in a gruff tone, his own desire was behind those two words and it had her mouth going dry. Along with the look in his blue eyes.
There was no resistance in her or even the need to resist, so she just nodded and licked her lips at the hungry look in his eyes.
He propped himself up on his side while she lay flat on the bed. Eric's blood was boiling with the need for her but there was more that he needed just as much. He needed to soak her in, take his time. To show her in what words he could and with his actions that there was never anyone else for him. Even before everything went to hell there wasn't going to be.
Only Elle did this to him; had ever brought out this need like she did. He thought he had expressed that before but maybe he hadn't.
His eyes roamed over her as he continued to use his fingertips in faint brushing and tracing along her body. Starting with along her neck, collar bones, arms, around her breasts and belly. All while propped up beside her on one arm. He could see the goosebumps raising along her flesh and heard her breathing pick up but she didn't move and she never moved her eyes from his.
"I know why you really wouldn't sleep in here, Brielle. It wasn't just thoughts was it? Thoughts of her and I in here or anywhere." Eric had to say this slowly to keep any hurt or anger out of his voice. "You were seeing it, weren't you?" By this time he had moved his touches back up her neck, running up the side of her face and was slowly dragging his finger along the hairline at her forehead. "In your mind you were imagining it."
"Yes." Elle replied shakily as tears crawled from the corners of her eyes.
Even before she had left those visions of Eric with the red haired young woman had plagued her.
"I thought so." Eric took in a slow breath, his nostrils flaring as his hand came back down her face until he was gripping her chin firmly in his grasp and making her look at him. "I will drive every one of those images from your mind. No matter how long it takes I will get you to see what you have always meant to me."
Eric proceeded to do just that. It wasn't just thoughts of any other woman that were being driven from her mind, but just thoughts in general. All she could do was feel and remind herself to breathe. She almost couldn't take the intensity of his eyes on her while his touch was feather light. He used not only his hands, but his breath and lips as they moved along her skin. Placing reverent kisses or nips.
Making her cry out when he began to lightly suckle on her extremely sensitive nipples. She had to grip the sheets near her head to keep her hands in place. She had tried to grab his head when he lightly grazed his teeth on the taut and responsive thing her breasts and nipples had become. His growl and tightening of teeth had sent her over the edge and her body shook in climax that took them both my surprise.
Eric pulled back after soothing Elle from her release and breathed through his desire. Taking one of her hands he pulled her up until she was sitting up with him on the bed. He took her hands and put them on his chest, smiling as she licked her lips a little. She had been very good at not touching him for the entirety of things but now he was giving that to her.
"I want you to touch me, Elle." He guided her hands with his own until one was at the back of his neck while the other he placed over his heart. "I want and need you to see what you do to me. What only you can do to me."
Elle gave a small nod at his raised eyebrow. He released her hands and she followed the example he set earlier. Using her fingertips to brush over his skin in slow touches. She felt his heart start to beat faster where her hand still rested against his skin. Elle felt the heat begin to pick up all over his body. Where her fingertips brushed, small goosebumps appeared. The nipples of his defined chest were just as taut as hers felt.
Eric closed his eyes and swallowed as he trembled slightly. The need for more building but he was determined to hold back. "All of the years before you came along...it never mattered to me really that I wasn't with anyone." He got out in a whisper when he felt her lips against the base of his throat. "It never bothered me that I was giving up being with someone because of what I had to do."
Elle pulled back to look at Eric, running her hand through his hair and tugging slightly so he was looking at her. His blue eyes burning with emotion and made brighter by the tears she could see gathering there.
His breathing became ragged and he couldn't hold back from touching her again. His hands framed her face as he stroked her cheeks with his thumb. "I never regretted it until you came along because I never wanted that with anyone like I wanted you then. I don't want that with anyone but you, Elle."
Tears filled her eyes as she nodded and laughed a little. "Eric…" She sniffed and blinked away the tears. "Please make love to me."
There was no other answer he could or wanted to give then his complete compliance. Just like he started things is how he carried them out. They came together slowly, clinging to each other as tightly as they could. Bodies moving in a languorous rhythm. Eric on his side while Elle lay on her back, one leg raised so that they could join and both of them could see where they were joined.
Kissing and breathing each other's moans and gasps in when they were both nearing their release. Eric moved one hand to rest over her abdomen where he gently cradled their growing child. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and shook with his release after he felt her grip him tightly with her walls, her nails digging into where she had gripped his arm and crying out his name.
She was still shaking as he was placing small kisses on her neck. "I love you, Eric."
He smiled against her skin and breathed out his reply while pulled her closer to him. "I love you too, Brielle. As long as I have you and Brendan...and this one here…" he said raising his head as he smiled down at her "...it won't matter where we are; you are my home."
Elle moved a hand to cover his with hers and nodded in agreement. "I feel the same." She frowned in thought. "I want to go back with you...if that's alright."
"Like I was going to leave you any other choice." Eric replied with a smirk. Then he remembered her sickness and frowned before raising a hand to feel her head. "Well shit." He muttered and looked over her complexion. "Looks like the treatment worked."
Elle gave a quiet giggle and snuggled into him. She was feeling slightly better but wasn't about to tell him the theory about old wives tales. She would confirm with Johanna if it would be ok to travel to abnegation but knowing her friend like she did, she knew there wasn't going to be any objection. Not when she knew Johanna was likely to be bursting with smug happiness over the events.
It was like that saying, speak of the devil….
No sooner than she had thought of Johanna then she was hearing the soft voice of the elder woman calling from outside and the sound of a cart being stopped.
Eric and Elle exchanged looks and then scrambled for their clothes, he was faster and was just pulling his pants up as he burst from the room when the door to the cabin opened.
To her credit she didn't break out into a celebratory dance. She did however, smile, one that grew wider as a very tousled but glowing Elle emerged from the bedroom.
"And here I was thinking I might need to feed you peace serum laced cake and drag you here." Johanna's words were followed by light laughter that was soon joined by Elle while Eric fought his own smile.
"Somehow I don't think you are really joking about that." He muttered which only got a small shrug of the shoulders.
The awkwardness of the situation passed as Johanna started tea and motioned for Elle to sit so she could evaluate her. She had no doubt that the two would be wanting to leave and travel to Abnegation. She wasted no time in pronouncing Elle well enough to travel. Although to Eric's relief she insisted that they take the cart back to amity and then one of the trucks into the city. Elle was well enough to sit for travel but not hike.
For once, she wasn't going to protest about being treated like a weakling. She had her baby to think of now and she was content being with Eric again. She wasn't fooled in thinking that Eric had just been trying to calculate a way to get her to do everything Johanna was insisting on. She was pretty sure he had expected a fight. There would be battles in the future she was sure but this wasn't going to be one of them.
Johanna made some tea for the three of them and had some fresh fruit for Elle that the young woman gladly and slowly ate while Eric was racing around the cabin, packing up their things. When he had everything loaded and they had all eaten, they walked out of the cabin.
Elle climbed into the cart beside Johanna at the front and looked at the first place she had really felt was home. Sadness flooded her until she felt her hand being engulfed by Eric's. He was in the back and had reached forward to take her hand in his. He gave it a squeeze and a meaningful look.
She remembered his words and took a breath with a smile. "Let's go home to Brendan."
He answered with his own smile as Johanna clucked to the horse and they set out into the bright light of the day. For them both, it felt like a new beginning. The remnants of what they were or had to be before we left behind. They had come to this place together fighting each other, fighting themselves, fighting for the same thing but never daring to think they could ever have what they truly wanted.
They left together, willing to fight to keep what they now knew they would never be able to live without. Each other and the home they would make for themselves.