Chapter 30: Dreams

Eric played with the ends of my hair. I watched as the strands tangled in his fingers. The steady rise of his chest under my head, the beating of his heart and the soft breathing on the top of my head made me feel calm and at peace. The sky was brightening to a pretty shade of pink and orange. We had stayed up all night - talking. At any moment, Jimmy would probably burst into my room - since it appeared that he was back to his normal, rascal self with me. There was no more tiptoeing around or walking on eggshells it seemed.

"Where did you want to talk," Eric asked me last night. "We can go downstairs, so that we're not..."

I shook my head. "It's okay, Eric. I mean, I still feel a little awkward but I don't think it's because of your presence. I think it's because I'm scared."

He sighed. "See, maybe I should sleep on the couch or in your brother's old room. I don't want you frightened of me."

"No," I put up my other hand to rest on his chest. "I'm scared because I don't know where we stand. Or more like I don't know what to do to make things better for us. I missed you, Eric. I was so angry. I felt guilty about what happened. This didn't just happen to me, you know? One of my best friends is gone and instead of being there for her family, I'm here in Amity. I didn't answer anyone's calls or call anyone back at Dauntless. I just sat here in my room and was consumed in all this self-grief and..."

"Hey," he wrapped one hand slowly around my waist bringing our bodies together, "enough of that. You had more than enough time to worry. I'm here, Ana. Let's put some of those worries to rest now."

I nodded slowly as I looked up in his eyes and saw nothing but love in them. With our joined hands, I tugged on him to follow me and led us to my bed. Warily he glanced at me before sitting down, leaving enough space just in case I decided I wanted to bolt. I sighed and looked over at a spot on the wall opposite of us.

"You look much better, more relaxed," he clarified, breaking the short silence we found ourselves in.

Squeezing his hand and bring it to my lap, I smiled. "I am. I feel like I'm in control of myself again. More so than I did a month ago, that is."

"And you're certain about this," he gestured to our joined hands.

"Completely certain," I answered. "I've been speaking to a therapist," my shoulder moved up once in a shrug. "She said that sometimes when you go through a shock, it just takes a while to shake it off. It's like falling off your bike. At first, all these worries go through your head, are you hurt, did you break a bone, that sort of thing. You may feel disoriented and your heart beats faster. Once you stand back and take a deep breath, you're back to normal."

"Are you back to normal?"

"Honestly, I don't think I'm completely there," I let out a nervous laugh. "When I arrived here in Amity, I was jumping at every little noise. My body would react in that fight or flight instinct every single time. And let me tell you that it mostly was flight," I smiled as he chuckled lightly. "I hugged a lot of people today, talked to a lot of people. I met my baby sister today, too. So, yeah," I finished at a loss for words.

"Maybe this is just the adrenaline of it all. I don't want to push you further than you think you can go," Eric cautioned, pulling back.

"If that's what it is," I tugged on his hand, "then I don't want it to go away. Eric, I haven't seen you in a month. I haven't spoken to anyone other than my family or Dr. Edmonds in a month. I reconnected with Madeline. Sheriff Rossi told an embarrassing story about my older brothers and I laughed. I actually laughed," tears began to form at the corners of my eyes again. "I feel like I'm living again. There's no way I want that to end, not tonight."

Eric nodded, understanding and patience donning in his eyes.

"Tell me, how have you been Eric," I shifted our bodies until I was completely facing him. My knees bumped his thigh and a part of me rejoiced inside for not flinching.

"It's been rough," Eric sighed heavily. "I've been having these dreams - nightmares really."

"About," I pressed when it appeared that he didn't want to talk about it.

But slowly, he confessed to it. "I don't want to tell you because it might trigger some bad memories for you or it might make me look like I'm losing my mind." Reassuringly, I reached a hand out and placed it on his cheek. He turned his head into my palm and sighed - happily this time.

"Please," I whispered.

"It's the same, every night. We get to the old bunker where you were," he began to describe that night of my kidnap. "The doors open slowly but I can already see you and Cain inside. He's on top of you, his hands around your neck, squeezing tightly. Your eyes are staring straight at me, begging me to help you."

"Eric..."

"No," he shook his head. "I think you need to know this." I nodded and allowed him to continue. "I want to run into the room but I'm still moving so slow. Jess is shouting from next to me. Cain starts slamming your head against the ground. Your voice is echoing out, shouting for me. Right when I get there, in front of you, I hear you gasp your last breath followed by the crack - the break of your neck. You're dead and I got there too late."

Pulling one of my hands from my lap, I wipe away the tears running down my cheek. He just explained to me how badly this was affecting him, too. And I'm damn sure that me running away to Amity, didn't help at all.

"Then I wake up," Eric continues, "and you're not there in bed next to me. I keep thinking that he took you or that my nightmare was real. And I start to blame myself."

"I'm here, Eric. I'm alive and..."

"I know," he nodded. "Or I mean that I knew you were alive. I knew we got there in time. But I haven't been able to see you, talk to you," he added, "and it's been driving me insane, playing tricks on my mind."

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, tasting the tears that ended on my lips. Eric took out one of his hands and wiped his eyes also. He sniffed and I could feel the strong emotions, the depth of his concern and worry for me, the reality of his love, the honesty of his feelings. "I know you told me not to say it, but I," I paused and slowly leaned over him.

Pushing one leg over his lap, I slid over him and sighed as he brought his hands around me. Eric pulled me close on top of his body and it felt like everything melted away. I felt his tears falling down on my face and they mixed in with my own. He did it again - burying his head in my hair, taking in a deep breath as if to make sure that I was really there in front of him, in his arms. My arms reached up to hold him, one twisting into his shirt while the other reached behind him, holding onto his shoulder. In turn, I buried my head in his chest and we both sat there and cried.

After our crying died down to muffled sighs and the wiping of sniffs, Eric pushed back on my bed so that he could lean against the wall. He kept my body in the center of his as we continued to sit there, comfortable to be with each other once again. A part of me did wonder if it was the adrenaline that was pulsing through me. There was a lot happening today, a lot of conversations, scolding, bonding and excitement. Perhaps, that's why I felt that I was okay - back to normal, I suppose. Whatever it was, I would worry about it later. I snuggled into Eric's warmth as I felt him press a kiss to my forehead.

"We're still together, right?"

"I think that's what I hate the most about this," I shifted my head to look up at him. "I was so selfish. I should have known that you needed to see me as much as I needed to see you. But I just felt weird and awkward. And I made you believe that it was because of you."

"Doubts that I had from the beginning started to surface again," he admitted. "I used to work for my Aunt. We reported to the Banners. There were girls like you in the past - girls that I'm sure had mothers, fathers, brothers and friends that were grieving. I felt ashamed and guilty."

The reality of Eric's past was coming forth now. He was this up-and-coming C.O.O. in his company. They gave him a promotion that he had worked hard for - years for. He was responsible, determined, caring and devoted. But before all of this, he was just like those men who stood next to Cain awaiting orders. And from I had gathered during our time together - Eric was one of the best at what he did. He was his father's son. And his father too, was also the best.

I have more demons in my past than the devil himself.

Eric had been and probably always would be majorly concern about the things he did in the past and how they affected our relationship now. He had thought that the reason why I had declined in going to dinner with him was due in a part to his previous lifestyle. When he told me, I found that I didn't really care about it. Although I was still glad that he had told me. He let me have that option to back out. He always let me have options - something I rarely did for him.

I wanted to give you that chance but I was afraid. I didn't want to be in the same situation as I was before. Then I thought that I wasn't good enough and...

I wish that you had allowed me to make that decision for myself. But that is the past and now we're together.

That was what he told me in response to me comparing our interactions to that of my horrible ex-fiance. After much talking and getting to know each other, we realized that we both had inner demons that we had to exorcise. And tonight we were going to get rid of all of them.

"Eric," my body turned to face him. "You've told me, on more than one occasion, about the demons in your past. You never hid any of that from me. Do you know how that makes me feel, knowing that I have a guy in my life who is honest with me? There's nothing that you've held back in showing me, telling me. So, I'll say this just one more time," I said sternly, "you're not that man anymore, Eric. What matters is the man that you are now," my lips slowly smiled, "that's the man that I fell in love with, the one that I want to build a future with."

His warm palm reached up to grab my face and my hand moved onto his wrist. "I want to kiss you," he murmured. "There's no words right now that I can say to let you know how much you mean to me," he closed his eyes. "Will you let me?"

My head nodded, I was unable to speak too once I heard the desperate plea in Eric's request. Shifting my body around to face him completely, I felt his other hand glide across my back. It wasn't done to pull me closer towards him. Instead, he paused in his movements. For a moment, I thought he didn't want me to kiss him anymore. Then I realized that he was allowing me to set the pace, allowing me to decide what would happen.

"Is this okay," he asked, pressing firmly this time against my back.

The atmosphere - though still subtle - was sexually charged. At least for me it was. Now I was unable to find the words to speak. I simply nodded as Eric stroked my cheek. I felt hot all over, as if it was our first kiss.

"You're a little flushed, Ana."

My cheeks felt hot and I looked away from his gaze. "I'm a little aroused," I admitted shyly.

A soft chuckle left his mouth. "Show me," he teased lightly, the whispered demand hanging in the air.

Placing my hands on his chest, my fingers curled into his shirt and pulled myself down towards him. Some of the courage that I had received from earlier had somehow disappeared as we got closer. This was like our first kiss, a reunion kiss of sorts. I wanted this to be perfect. Eric groaned as our lips fused together. His fingers twitched but they didn't apply any pressure to push us closer, letting me control the kiss. It was soft and gentle - and oh, so reminiscent of my first kiss with Eric.

My hold on his shirt tightened as I tentatively pressed my lips harder against his. Again, Eric's hands twitched and I knew that he was aching to take control. Instantly I pulled back. Despite it's slow and gentle nature, the kiss had left us both breathless - and possibly majorly turned on.

"Was that too much?"

"No," I whispered, my fingers still twisted in his shirt. "It was perfect," I said in between breaths as Eric swallowed a deep breath and smirked.

"Come here," he gestured for me to lay against him and I complied.

We lay there for a while, me curled up in Eric as his chin rested on my head. Every now and then he'd move to press a kiss into my hair and sigh - as though he was reassuring himself that I was really there, that he actually had me in his arms. And for me to see the impact my departure made on him, I almost wanted to cry all over again. He was having nightmares about that night, the same that I was.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

It was like he knew what I was thinking. That reminded me that even early during our relationship, Eric could understand my emotions. I learned about you that night, he had observed me at work, asked me questions - it was his own way of getting to know me. And judging from that, he liked my character. Then we went to dinner, all he had asked of me from the start was to be honest with him - no secrets, no playing. I'm too old to play games, was what had stuck out the most with me. This man knew me, took the time to understand me. There was no inheritance that he was chasing after, no overlooking of faults just to get Pops and Gamma's land. This was Eric being straight-up with me.

"I love you," I said instead of answering the question.

"I love you, too," he mumbled into my hair, before putting his hand under my chin and lifting my head slightly.

This time he didn't ask, instead he pressed light kisses to my lips before peppering a couple on my jaw as he titled my head back. He took a deep breath and buried his head there against my neck before biting gently on the pulse that began to beat erratically. I moaned and gripped onto his arm, hoping to keep me centered to him. My mind wanted to jump from my body but he kept me grounded, slipping a hand down my waist, around my butt and grabbing my thigh to hoist me closer.

Eric sighed again as he shifted our bodies to rest comfortably against one another. His back still against the wall of my room. He shifted and reached for the comforter.

"I can still sleep on the couch, if you want me to," Eric suggested.

I reached out to grab the end of the blanket and pulled it up to my waist before snuggling back into him. "No, I want you to stay."

Eric nodded and rested his chin on the top of my head like he did earlier.

"Did you know that I inherit a lot of money? Almost half of Amity might belong to me someday," I began.

There was a small moment of silence and I wondered what Eric was thinking. Was he thinking that I was implying something by it? In a way I was. I wanted to show him a strong difference between him and Cain. The reason why I had just stated that I love him. But now, I wasn't so certain.

"I do," he answered, causing me to jerk out of his hold.

"What?"

"I found out a couple weeks ago," he added. My shoulders relaxed some. "Don't hate me for this," he put up a hand to caution me, "but remember that night we were in here," Eric gestured to the room, "I had found out that you were engaged to Cain."

Thomas Banner would have wanted his son to find a girl that he could gain something from. And Cain would have gained a lot from me, things that I didn't even know about.

Nodding, I looked down and away from Eric. "I thought I had nothing to offer," I began. "When you told me about Cain and his father, none of it made sense. Not until Cain kidnapped me."

"So, you know about his Uncle and your grandmother's sanctuary?"

Again I nodded. This time I turned to look at him. "Cain mentioned that his Uncle had a job that went bad. He lost everything to a potential partner."

"When old Mrs. Banner found out, she put a hit on her son before the partner could," Eric continued. "My father was tasked with that. It was because of that mission that he, Edward's dad and Will's dad decided to get out. They were becoming father's themselves. It made them realize that one day, she might ask them to kill their own children. My father said that he couldn't, wouldn't ever do that. Not to mention they were friends with Jefferson Banner. They pretended to fail at the mission. And a couple days later, Jefferson's body was scattered about the Banner estate. At first, rumor was that the partner had sent it as a message to the Banners - that they're not as powerful as they think they are."

"At first," I questioned.

Eric gulped and then cleared his throat. "The head of the organization, Mr. Banner himself, took care of his son. Then he committed suicide shortly later," Eric shook his head. "It was a whole big mess. Mrs. Banner took over everything from there and she's been running things ever since. She ingrained in her second son - Thomas," he nodded towards me, "that he had to pick up where his brother and father failed. The family wasn't weak, I remember her saying. And so, Thomas had set out to get everything that his brother and father lost - including the animals that were being smuggled into the country, the money laundering, the gold, the diamonds, the girls - everything."

"Amity must have a good route for them to transport on," I commented.

He nodded his head as confirmation. "After I dug into the Banner family history, I dug into yours. It's not like I had anything else to do."

"Eric, I'm so..."

"No," he shook his head. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm being a jerk. It's just..."

"Those were your thoughts and feelings before you came here," I finished for him. "Eric, I meant it when I said that we should talk. We should talk about everything. And it's good to know that my actions were hurting others. My parents bluntly told me that earlier today. It was time to hear it from others, especially you. We're going to have a future together, Eric. Honesty, remember," I smiled.

I like it when people know what they want and when they honestly say what is on their mind.

"I do remember," he nodded with a small smile. "The night I saw you working at the Chasm, that's the night. I told you that I just wanted you to be honest with me."

A small silence entered the room as we lightly tangled our hands together and looked into each other's eyes before Eric paused and cleared his throat.

"So," I bit back a laugh, "tell me what you found."

"Mr. Banner tried to buy this property from your great-great-grandfather, he wanted the route, the caves, the underground tunnels, the land. This is basically that best place to have their activity go by undetected. Your great-great-grandfather refused and instead had it split between his two grandsons - one of them being your Pops. And when he married and had kids, he split property even further between his three kids."

Shifting, I smiled. It was like a light-bulb went off in my head. We're one of those families that have been here for decades, centuries probably. Anyway, my grandfather gave one third of everything to my dad and the remaining two thirds to my Aunts. But one of my Aunts sold their portion and she moved to Erudite.

"My Aunt Annabella sold her portion back though. My Aunt Demetria did the same as well."

"The fact that your Aunts didn't want it, your grandfather decided that you would have a portion among them. So you don't inherit from your father, you inherit from your grandfather. You get two thirds, while your father has the remaining one-third."

"I get my Aunts' two-thirds?"

"It get's better," he smiled. "Your Uncle Jep doesn't have any children. The caves and the land he has - he purchased from your grandfather's brother. So, all of that goes back to the Summers family. You want to know who gets it?"

"Me," I replied.

"Do you remember that field that we went to," his smile widened and a mischievous glint shined in his eyes, "the one where we made love in," he leaned in and for a split moment, I thought he was going to kiss me again. Instead he pulled away and kept the smirk on his face. Ana was showing me some of the fine things that Amity has to offer.

I went to slap him but he kept took a hold of my hand and lifted it to his mouth.

"I do remember. It was your first time outside."

Eric's eyes darkened. "Are you saying that you've done that before," he snarled possessively and it excited me. He pulled me closer, our lips barely touching as I smiled.

"No," I replied. "I'm just glad that we did something like that together."

We almost kissed but he pushed back and shook his head. "We were talking about something until you distracted me."

"I distracted you," I questioned. "You're the one who brought up Duke's field," I laughed lightly, moving back to my original spot in his lap, giving us some distance but still sat in his arms. A part of me was glad that we were able to pick up on flirting and teasing one another. It eased my mind and my heart - just a bit.

"That's right," he sighed, "I did bring up the field." He conceded causing me to laugh softly. "Duke's field was given to your Uncle when he married your Aunt. She was the one who renamed it Duke's field. But because she gave up her portion," he began.

"I get that part of her one-third," I finished. "What about Dillon or Dayna," I asked, "maybe even Daisy? She likes this place."

"I guess you could give it back to one of your cousins. Like I said, your Aunts gave up their portions of your Pops part. And one-third of his brother's part was sold to your Uncle Jep. That comes back to you. Another third of your great-Uncle's land was brought by Anthony Rogers decades ago. It was adjacent to their ranch. With the additional property, he was able to expand. His grandson, Stephen - I remember meeting him - inherits that."

"If it was sold to the Rogers family, then they are the rightful owners to that property. My brother said Stephen was planning on rebuilding his grandfather's ranch. He wants to breed horses again. I don't want to try and take that away."

Eric nodded. "That's what I was thinking. And you're right about them purchasing it. Pop's brother sold it, there's nothing anyone can do about that."

"One-third went to my Uncle Jep, another third to the Rogers. Where does the rest of the property go to?"

"The rest of the property, your Gamma Cammie brought it and has the animal sanctuary on it."

"Wait, so you're telling me that since the Banners couldn't buy the Summer's properties, they'd marry into it? Meaning, Thomas Banner wanted me to marry Cain so that his son could get everything that his father and brother couldn't?" Eric nodded. "Cain said something about having a baby."

"That was a clause in the will. You'd inherit if you had a child and the child lived here."

"They'd make my son or daughter a part of their scheme."

"Once the kid was born, they would change everything to the Banner name."

"And you found this out a couple weeks ago?"

Eric nodded. "It was plaguing me for days why Cain was so obsessed with you, why Marcus was so obsessed with you. Like my father, Marcus Eaton definitely knew the Banner family history. He would know that if he could get you, the Banners would probably make him a partner or worst - he could probably take over Amity, the routes, the land if he decided to keep you for himself. If that happened, he'd be just as powerful as the Banners."

A part of me - screw that - all of me was downright thrilled that Eric had gotten to me first. This man had no hidden agenda, no secret motivation for wanting to marry me. He'd only found this out recently. Eric loves me - actually really truly definitely (and every other word I can think of to describe the accuracy of his feelings) loves and cares for me.

I think I'm falling for you, Eric.

Thank God, because I've already fallen for you.

"Let's get married," I whispered.

Eric chuckled before his lips gently pressed the side of my face. "We are going to get married. I proposed three times, remember?"

We both started to laugh as my body adjusted to face him again. I suppose it was our distance and length of time apart that made me miss the sultry gaze of his eyes looking into mine. Whatever it was, I realized that every time I wanted to say something - that I wanted to get my point across to him - I absolutely had to look at him. Eric looked back at me and reached out to hold my face in his palm. I sighed and buried my face into his warmth before pulling back and attempting to gather my thoughts.

"You love me for who I am," I started. "Cain only saw the land and money that he would gain. But you," I smiled, "you only saw me. You always saw me."

"I could say the same for you, Ana. You found out who I was, what I did," he shrugged, "and yet you stayed by my side. You were willing to take a chance on me, take this plunge with me. There were so many times that I thought," Eric shook his head.

"It's in the past," I gathered his hands in mine. "I think we should leave it buried where it is and talk about our future. And I want to get married to you, like right now."

"Ana," he licked his lips and leaned forward - seriousness etched into his brow.

"My grandfather has his marriage license. He could perform the ceremony. I'm surprised Jack never did ask him. But, we could," I shrugged.

"You're serious about this, aren't you?"

"Why not?"

"Ana, I want to get married to you, too. Right now as well," he answered.

"There's a but somewhere..."

"There is," he nodded. "Instead of bringing up your adrenaline rush that you've got going and using that as an excuse as to why you feel we are ready to get married, I will say that your parents are in the hospital right now. They're going to be upset that they're not there for your wedding."

"My parents have another daughter that my dad can walk down the aisle," I supplied.

"You really want your parents to miss it?"

"No," I shook my head. "I want them there. They'll have to wait a long time for Jeannette to come of age. My mother was - still is - really excited to plan my wedding." I looked over at Eric and finished, "our wedding. You're right, as always. We should wait until everyone can be there. I want all of them to see us get married."

"There are also some of our friends and other family members who would demand that they be there," Eric pointed out.

"Not to mention there's also a flower girl who is going to have a cow if she finds out that we got married and she wasn't here for it."

Eric chuckled before reaching over to his back pocket and pulling out his phone. He took it out and showed me a picture of Eve with a brand new backpack on. She was smiling with a big-toothed grin. "I brought that backpack for her. She starts school next week and would really love it if you were there to see her on her first day of school. But I know that if we don't include her as our flower girl, she won't talk to us as long as she lives," he added with a smirk.

"She's adorable but she can be a diva," I nodded.

"Just like her mother," he mumbled.

"Eric," I scolded, slapping him lightly.

"Jess threw water on me when I was sleeping! And not while we were younger. This happened like a week ago," he shook his head with a small smile playing on his lips.

The smile left mine when he said that. Because there could only be one reason why his sister would go to Dauntless and pour water on him. He wasn't leaving his bed, his room or his house. And that was due in part to the fact that he was having these nightmares of me leaving. Boy, don't I feel shitty now.

Eric turned towards me, capturing my face in his palm. "No more of those thoughts, Ana."

Tell it to go away, Ana. And if they are still there, I will make them disappear.

"Do you remember when you asked me to be your girlfriend?" Eric nodded. "You told me that you would make all my insensible thoughts disappear," I smiled as did he. "That's where this overwhelming need to get married to you right now came from. I'm being flooded with all these memories - these good, unforgettable and exciting moments that we shared together. I want it all back, Eric. And I know you told me not to say it anymore, but I am still so sorry for leaving you and running away. I needed you with me as much as you needed me. And I'm so ready right now to promise that I'll never leave you again. I don't want to. I..."

Eric silenced me with a firm kiss. He didn't ask for permission but this time it was obvious he didn't need it. I welcomed it. I yearned for it. This is what I had missed. Cain had broke me and while I learned to stand by myself, stand on my own, Eric came along and kept me standing. Perhaps I did need to come to Amity to learn to stand again. But in order to keep myself there, I needed someone who would stand by my side.

"I love you, Ana," he mumbled against my lips before tangling his hands in my hair and pulling me into a deeper kiss.

I wasn't sure if the kisses would have led to anything more. Perhaps I still wasn't ready for that. And even though a part of me desperately wanted to seal our newly founded declarations by making love, I was glad that a soft knock rapped on my bedroom door. Eric pulled back with a slight growl before resting his forehead against mine. Our breathing was heavy and our hands still tangled in one another.

"JoyAnna?"

A chuckle escaped Eric's lips before he leaned up and kissed my forehead. He pushed me back gently and went to open the door.

"Did you need something Jimmy bean," he asked my brother.

I peered over to the doorway and saw Jimmy's mouth twisted with uncertainty. He was fidgeting with his hands and the guilt entered into my mind again. He was nervous because of me. Eric knelt down, his eyes settling on Jimmy, still waiting for an answer.

"I," Jimmy paused and sighed.

"Did you have a bad dream," Eric asked him.

Jimmy nodded. "But I don't want to sleep in here with my sister like some baby," he said quickly almost as if he was ashamed.

"It's okay if..." I began but Jimmy shook his head and looked away, still looking uncertain and embarrassed.

"I'm a big brother now. I have to be brave. I just wanted to check on you, JoyAnna."

Before I could push myself off my bed and walk towards him, Eric put up his hand to stop me.

"You know nothing is wrong with going to your older sister if you're afraid," Eric said.

"But Josh and Jensen don't do it," Jimmy argued.

"That's because they have each other in their room," Eric pointed out.

My youngest brother turned to look down the hallway. "That's right, they do."

"And did you also know that even I had bad dreams about your sister?"

Jimmy's eyes grew wide. "But you're so big and scary. Wouldn't you just scare the nightmares away?"

Eric and I held back our laughter but smiles did light up our faces. Eric nodded and held out his hands for Jimmy to climb into. "Even big and scary people have bad dreams. I had a lot of bad dreams that kept me up at night, made me want to cry or even throw a pillow at the wall."

I wondered why Eric had said that instead 'punching the wall' but then I remembered that he was holding onto my little brother and had definitely changed the story to make it child-friendly.

"Eve's mother, Jess," he recalled as Jimmy nodded, "she told me that everything was going to be alright. That's the beauty of big sisters, they'll always be there for you when you need them."

"She didn't look at you weird or tease you, like you needed to be brave because you're older?"

"No, she didn't," Eric answered. "Just because I had a bad dream, doesn't mean that I'm not brave or strong. It just means that I care a lot about the people in my life and I want them to be happy. My sister knows that I'm always there for her, too. We look out for one another. That's what it means to be a 'big brother'. "

"So, I can still be a brave and strong big brother, even though I had a bad dream that JoyAnna was gone?"

"Of course, you can. There's no shame in being afraid of a bad dream."

Eric tapped his nose and Jimmy smiled.

"I understand too what it means to look brave and want to protect a sister, so now that you've seen her," Eric adjusted him so that Jimmy turned to me and smiled too. "And you know that she's okay, do you still want to stay here? Or do you think that you'll be okay to sleep on your own?"

He wiggled out of Eric's hold to give me a kiss on the cheek. "You're okay, right? I mean you're not sad or anything," Jimmy asked me.

"No, I'm not," I smiled.

Jimmy nodded. "Okay then," he hugged me tightly before crawling backwards on the bed, shimmying off and running to his room. "Darn it," he stated loudly before his feet were heard, running back to my room. His head popped inside and smiled up at Eric. "I forgot to say thank you to Eric. Thank you Eric and good night."

"Good night, buddy," Eric smiled before Jimmy took off again.

There was a small moment of silence as Eric listened for Jimmy to close his bedroom door. He waited by the doorway, staring down the hall. I wondered what his thoughts were and finally pushed off my bed, walking over to where he was standing. He held out one arm when I got close and brought my body into his. Eric kissed my forehead as I leaned against him.

"That was cute how you handled him."

"I don't know if I like the idea of you calling something that I did 'cute'," he chuckled.

"Can you just take the compliment?"

"I guess, I can," he mumbled against my forehead, "since it's from you."

"Seriously though," I pushed back and looked up at him. "You did good with him."

"He's a big brother now," Eric smiled. "I could see how conflicted he was. He wanted to run in here, jump on your bed and bury himself between the two of us. But at the same time, he wanted to be brave."

"Then you told him how you felt, you reassured him in a way that I couldn't. I would have scooped him up and carried him to my bed, told him a story and made sure that all the lights were on in the house," I replied.

"That was something that I guess my Dad did," he shrugged. "He always told us that it was okay if we were scared, it was okay if we were sad, it was okay if we smiled and laughed, you know? He said that's what made us human."

My hand moved up to trace his shoulder and upper part of his chest, knowing that he had his tattoo there reminding him about his father.

"Your Dad was a wonderful man," I nodded, "and he raised a wonderful son. I hope you pass that on to our own."

Eric turned and wrapped his other arm around me too. "I intend to."

The rest of the night, we talked about our plans - and despite the fact that they were delayed, they pretty much stayed the same. Eric was only staying in Amity for a couple days - enough for him to confirm that I was okay and for him to rebuild his sanity. I decided that I would leave with Jonathan and Jordan and meet him in Erudite. Myra's parents had flown her remains back to Erudite and would bury her there. Dillon had already started moving, Lauren would come up later. There wasn't much left for me in Dauntless.

I knew that I would have to call Hec. Eric made me promise since that boy - Eric's words, not mine - kept calling his cell, asking about me. His mother had asked about my well-being as well. And she promised that she write a letter of recommendation for any new employment I was seeking in Erudite. It was comforting to know I had a strong support system.

"I love you, Ana," Eric whispered.

We stayed in my bed, watching colors dance around the sky. I couldn't help but feel like the rising sun was the rise of a new beginning. I smiled, thinking that this is how a 'second chance' looks. The pinkish-orange glow in my room made me feel bright and warm. The soft patter of running feet, alerted me to Jimmy bean being awake. Sure enough - just as I had guessed - he burst into my room, jumping onto the bed.

"Good Morning," he shouted happily as Eric smiled at him.

There were smiles and laughter as we started our day. And a part of me felt content. I wasn't ready the first time I moved away with Cain to Dauntless. I wasn't ready to get married then, a part of me knows that now because here laying in bed with me - asking my brother what he wanted for breakfast - was a man so different, so brave and yet so kind. I was glad I got this second chance.

The End