I don't own Divergent. I do have a tumblr, though (thepassiontogive) so follow me.

Enjoy. If you, don't, don't tell me. Still having family issues. Nice reviews are always appreciated.

I pick AJ up and buckle him into his carseat, and then I hope into the front seat of the truck. Tobias sits in the driver's seat, smiling at me. I take his spare hand as he drives to the courthouse.

The three of us stand outside it for a moment, taking it in. Or at least Tobias and I are; I think AJ is simply looking at the ice cream truck down the block.

It's an old building, made of what used to be white marble but is now green-gray. There are six pillars in the front and center; the doors are between the innermost two. To the right and left of the pillars are green-gray walls and dirty windows. There is a clock tower in the top of it that reads four pm.

Tobias takes my hand and leads AJ and I in.

We stand in front of the judge, who's sitting at a desk. "And these were drawn up by your lawyer, Mr. Eaton?"

Tobias nods. "He said he can be here if he needs to."

The judge shakes her head. "That's not necessary."

I glance around the fairly boring room - it has dingy grayish walls, steel-framed windows, and no adornments other than the plain, dark wood desk. There are no seats other than the chair the judge sits in, but there are boxes and boxes of papers - or, at least, that's what I think they're full of.

The judge's voice calls me back to reality. "Ms. Prior, now is your last chance to say it if you do not want this man to be your son's father. Do you have any qualms?"

I shake my head. "None."

She signs the paper and hands it to Tobias. "Give it to Maria at the desk and ask her to make a copy, give you one, and file it." He takes it and we walk out. I put AJ on my hip.

"Did you take a nap today?" I whisper to AJ.

He shakes his head. "No."

"Then it's early to bed, sleepyhead," I reply, stroking his head.

He doesn't argue, just lays his head on my shoulder.

Tobias kisses my cheek and tells me to go put AJ in the car, so I take the keys from his pocket and carry the dozing boy to the car. I buckle him in and wait for Tobias, who quickly comes.

Tobias gives AJ a bath and puts him to bed for me after dinner. I put a movie in for us and make popcorn.

When Tobias wraps his arms around me from behind, I jump. Then I smell his cologne, which smells heavy and sweet and metal-like and sweaty (though that last part might just be him being sweaty), and relax.

"You know," I say, voice low, "I kind of like it when you smell like baseball."

"What?"

"You know, like the field and the leather and the grass and -"

"I know what baseball smells like," he interrupts with a chuckle. "Why do you like it?"

I shrug and watch the popcorn. "I just do."

He kisses my cheek. "I'll put the cologne on less, then."

"I don't mind the cologne. I just like the baseball smell."

"No one will ever understand the mind of a woman," he mutters darkly.

I chuckle and kiss his cheek. "That's probably true." I put the popcorn in a bowl and plop onto his couch. "I put a movie on."

His disinterested grunt earns a laugh from me. "What?" he complains.

"You're just so obviously not wanting to watch it," I reply, climbing into his lap.

Tobias presses a kiss to my neck. "I just want to spend time with you."

I rest my head on his firm, warm chest and look down at the soft, inviting bluish corduroy of his couch. "Do you want to play a game?"

He rubs my back through the dress. "How about we just go lay in bed and talk?"

"Sure."

"I love you," he adds. And with that, he scoops me up and carries me effortlessly up the stairs of his beautiful brownhouse.

Tobias lays me on his bed carefully. Then he lumbers to the dresser and tosses me some clothes, also grabbing himself some pajamas. Or pajama bottoms.

I wriggle out of my dress and shoes and into the shirt he threw me. The clothing goes into the laundry basket, and then I wash the light makeup off my face.

Tobias picks me up again and tosses me into the bed. I giggle - causing him to smirk - and pull him down next to me, wrapping my arms tightly around him.

"So what do you want to talk about?" I question, lazily moving to lean on the headboard.

He leans next to me. "Anything. Everything. Nothing at all."

I smile and kiss his shoulder. "How about you simplify?"

"I'm content to just be here with you," he replies simply.

"Well, aren't you the charmer," I drawl. Then I turn over to face him. "Seriously, though, Tobias. Something's up that you want to talk about. Just go ahead."

He nuzzles my neck. "I just - I don't know if I'll be a very good dad. You saw how inept I was at the shoe store."

I stare at him for a second. Then I shake my surprise off. "Um…Tobias, being a dad isn't just about knowing how to act with him in public. It's about knowing how to comfort him, guide him, help him, let him get himself hurt…" I trail off, my eyes probably glazing over. "And it's about making mistakes. Both you and your kid will learn from them."

He smiles and kisses me on the forehead. "Seems to me not all of us make mistakes."

I smile back, but my smile is dark. "I've made more mistakes with AJ than I plan to admit."

He pulls me onto his lap, and I can feel the ever-constant heat I feel around him warming me up. "I find that hard to believe. Very hard."

I shrug. "Then don't believe it. That is of no loss to me."

Tobias sighs, but it's content. "You're perfect, Tris. You're loyal and loving and caring and beautiful and wise and humble and…perfect."

I kiss his cheek. "I'm glad you think that, because no one else does."

He rubs my back. "Lots of people do," he protests.

I shrug again. "My parents will be flying in soon," I say flippantly. "Two days from now, actually."

Tobias kisses the top of my head. "Are you excited? Because I definitely am."

"What kind of guy is excited to meet his possible future in-laws?" I ask, giggling.

"This one."

We settle into a comfortable silence for about a half hour. Then I begin to kiss him, rubbing his chest through his shirt, and things get heated pretty quickly.

I wake up the next morning on top of a naked Tobias, who's lazily grinning at me. I reach up and fiddle with his ear. There seems to be a hole, presumably from a long-unworn piercing.

"Is your ear pierced?" I murmur.

He leans down and catches my ear between his teeth, making me shiver. "Yeah, why?"

"I can feel the hole," I reply.

"Does that bother you?"

I redden. "No - I actually like guys that have ear piercings."

He chuckles. "I -"

"Mommy?" AJ says, coming into the room.

Quick as a flash, Tobias pulls the covers over us before AJ can see anything.

"Yes?" I say, cuddling closer to Tobias.

"I'm hungry," he announces.

I moan internally. "We'll be right down, Aje."

"'Age?'" Tobias asks, brow furrowing, as AJ leaves.

"Aje, actually - 'A-j-e,'" I correct. "Caleb got tired of just calling him AJ - because Andrew is reserved for when he's in trouble - so he started calling him Aje sometimes. It stuck."

Tobias smiles. "I like it." He groans as he gets out of bed and hunts around for a pair of boxers in his drawer. "Have your parents contacted you?"

I shrug. "I dunno. My phone died last night, so I plugged it in in the kitchen. I'll check when we go to make AJ breakfast." I clamber out of bed, too.

Tobias pulls a thin tank top over his head. "Good idea. You should text him our address, too."

I bite my lip. "Did you just say 'our?'" I question, my eyes lifting to meet his.

He nods. "Our address. Our home. Our son."

I give him my warmest smile and hug him, pulling a pair of basketball shorts on. "I love you," I remind him.

He nods and pulls his own pair of black basketball shorts on. "I love you, too." He hands me a sports bra from his drawer, smirking slightly, and adds, "I have today off, but I have practice tomorrow morning and a game tomorrow afternoon. Why don't you check when they get in?"

I pull it over my head and grab another tank top of his for myself, smirking slightly back at him. Then I look more seriously at him. "I'll come to practice tomorrow with AJ. I think I'm watching Tristan and Hayden, too, though. They're also going to stay the night - is that okay?"

Tobias looks surprised for a second. "Yeah - I just didn't know. Can they all sleep in AJ's room?"

AJ's room is a guest room, already painted blue, that Tobias and I added a toy chest, his clothes, a fun baseball carpet, and a baseball comforter cover to.

"I think AJ and Tristan can, at least. They can share his bed. I'll talk to Susan about giving Hayden one of the guest rooms. If Susan's not sure she'll be good with that, we can let the kids have a big sleepover on the ground with blankets in AJ's room."

Tobias kisses my cheek as we begin to walk down the stairs. "Sounds good."

"Are you okay with my parents staying here?" I blurt.

Tobias looks at me as if I'm crazy and I immediately regret asking, as I think he'll say no. "Why wouldn't I be? And where else would they stay?"

"In the Insurgent headquarters here," I explain, the feeling of stupidity coursing through my veins.

Tobias smiles at me. "I don't think so. We have quite enough space here, even if we do end up putting Hayden in her own room."

I kiss his cheek. "Okay. I'll let them know. Just to warn you, they're very, ah, selfless. Don't be surprised if you find my parents cleaning the house, or my mom fixing the truck, or my dad fiddling with the leaky sink. And don't bother arguing with them."

Tobias nods and gets out stuff for eggs and sausage. I hand him some bread, too, and he pops it in the toaster.

AJ sits on the couch with a coloring book. I pick him up and carry him to the kitchen, noting the way his head droops onto my shoulder and his slightly warm skin.

"Mommy, my stomach hurts," he complains suddenly.

I sigh. Of course he gets the flu right before Dad and Mom come and Tristan and Hayden begin to stay with us. "Okay, honey. Ask F- ask your dad for some water, and I'm going to go get the thermometer, okay?"

He nods and I set him in a chair. Damnit!

I retrieve the thermometer from the upstairs cupboard and return before Tobias gives AJ anything to stick it in his mouth.

I was right - he has a fever of one hundred one. I sigh and pick him up again.

"It's back to bed for you," I inform him, kissing his head. "Do you want anything?"

"Can I have some water?"

I fill a glass from the tap and hold it to his lips. He drinks it quickly and asks for more. I give him a little fever medicine first, and then let him drink the nasty taste away with the water.

I return to the plate of food Tobias made me and eat it fairly quickly. "Are you good staying here with AJ?" I ask. "I need to go get a few things I know he likes when he's sick and I also need to call my parents."

He nods and kisses my head. "I'll see you soon."

I go to our bedroom and put more suitable clothes for going out on. I also put on a sweatshirt and pull my hair into a ponytail.

I grab my phone and wallet from the kitchen and leave, kissing Tobias one last time.

I say hi to a few of our neighbors on the way to the store. Once I'm in the store, I grab a cart and my phone and dial my dad's number. He picks up on the third ring, right as I'm grabbing some of AJ's favorite applesauce.

"Hey, Bea."

"Hey, Dad. What happened? Are you and Mom okay?" I immediately ask.

He chuckles. "Yes, yes, we're fine. How are you and, um -"

"Four," I supply. "We're good. But AJ is sick right now. It's a really bad, time, because I'm watching my friend's kids starting tomorrow, and you guys are coming, and -"

"We'll come early," Dad says. "We can take care of AJ, and you can watch the other kids and go to work. Or we can watch the other kids."

"Thanks, Dad, but your tickets -"

"Will be switched," he interrupts again. "We'll be arriving late tonight, okay?"

I grin to myself. "Yes, Dad. I love you. And I'll have Four come pick you up - from JFK, right?"

"Yes. Love you too, Bea. By the way, our flight will arrive at approximately -" he pauses, and I hear the click of a keyboard and mouse - "eleven fifteen."

"Okay, Dad. I have to go, Four's calling me about AJ. I'm getting food for him," I say.

"Love you," he says one last time.

"You, too," I reply, then click and and answer Tobias' second call. "Hey, babe. What's going on? Is AJ okay?"

Tobias groans quietly. "No. I went in there to check on him, and he said he was about to be sick, so I grabbed the trash can from the bathroom and thrust it under his face just in time. Now he's asleep, but he's definitely sick."

"Did you give him any food?" I inquire, grabbing a carton of peach sorbet, just like my parents get us when we're sick - including AJ.

"Mmhm. I gave him a little dry toast."

"Stupid," I say, grinning. "You should have just given him water or maybe some apple juice to see if he could keep it down."

"Oh." Tobias sounds embarrassed. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine." I grab saltines, cream of wheat, gatorade, and ginger ale and put them into the cart. "Do we need anything from the store?" I add.

Tobias is silent for a second. "No, I don't think so."

"Okay. I love you," I say. "And don't give AJ any food. Or water. Wait till I get home. I'm checking out now."

"Okay." He ends the call and I put my phone in my pocket.

I put the food on the counter and a man rings me up. "You got someone sick at home?" he guesses.

"Yeah, my son," I answer. "With the flu. And right before my parents come to town." I shake my head.

"Bad luck," he says. "That'll be twenty dollars and forty three cents."

I give him twenty two dollars and leave. I lug the bags home and allow Tobias to take them. Then I take the now-cleaned trash can from him, get a rag wet with warm water, and fill a glass with lukewarm water.

I wake AJ up. "Hi, honey. I heard you threw up a little," I say, wiping the edges of his mouth and giving him the glass of water.

His eyes fill with tears. "You weren't here, Mommy," he whimpers, and then drinks the water.

"I'm sorry, Aje. I went to the store to get some stuff for you." I feel his forehead. The medicine helped some, but I can still tell he's a little feverish. "And your dad was here."

AJ shrugs. "I wanted you."

I kiss his head. "You go back to sleep for now, and I'll make you some cream of wheat, okay?"

He nods and turns over.

I join Tobias in the kitchen and put water on the stove to boil. "Four, my parents are actually going to fly in tonight," I mention.

"Cool. What time?" He props his feet up on the counter and sips his coffee.

"About eleven fifteen. Could you pick them up from JFK?" I request.

"Sure. JFK at about eleven fifteen," he repeats, flashing me a smile.

"And they, um, don't know about the adoption yet," I add. "I was thinking we should tell them together."

Tobias nods. "Sounds good. Is that for AJ?"

I nod. "I can make you some with milk, too, if you want," I tell him.

"Yes, please."

"Do you ever stop eating?" I tease.

He pretends to think. "No, not really."

I smile and go back to the cream of wheat on the stove. I take another pot out and, instead of water, put a mixture of coconut milk, whole milk, and water in. Then I set that to heat and watch the two pots.

I jump only slightly when Tobias wraps his arms around me from behind. His breath tickles my ear, so I turn and kiss his cheek.

"What's up?" I stir the pots and add the grains to AJ's.

He rubs my stomach affectionately. "I want to have another kid with you," he whispers.

I shiver, despite the steamy New York summer air. "Is that so?"

Tobias chuckles and releases me. "I love you."

I elbow him lightly and add the cream of wheat to Tobias' pan. I check AJ's and it's almost done, so I grab a bowl and the brown sugar. I add applesauce and some sugar to the bowl. Then I put the cooked cream of wheat and add a little water. I stir it up and carry it to the stairs.

"Watch your cream of wheat!" I call to Tobias, who grunts. Then I wake AJ up again and feed him some of the cream of wheat. He eats about half of the portion, drinks another cup of water, and goes right back to sleep.

The day continues like this, with Tobias and I continually checking in on him and, at one point, giving him a bath.

Tobias leaves at about ten to go pick my parents up. AJ has been fully asleep for two hours. I clean up around the house, do some laundry, take a much-needed shower to rid myself of the puke smell, and set up one of Tobias' guest rooms for my parents.

He returns, a suitcase in each hand and my parents trailing behind, at about twelve fifteen. I kiss his cheek and run right into my mother's arms. My dad joins our hug, too.

"I missed you," I tell them.

"We missed you, too," Mom says, eyes tearing up.

Dad just hugs me tighter. Then he returns to his normal, selfless self. "How is AJ? How are you?"

I smile. "AJ's pretty sick, but he's asleep right now." I shake my head. "Of course he gets sick right before his papa and nana get here."

Tobias comes back down the stairs, having put their bags in the guest room I set up. He stands to the side, indecision on his face. I grab his arm and pull him into our little circle.

"Mom, this is Four," I say. "Dad, you've already met him."

Tobias smiles at them hesitantly, and squeaks only a little when my mom pulls him in for a hug. "Of course, we did kind of meet you at the airport," she quibbles.

Tobias nods and rubs the back of his neck. Then he kisses my cheek. "I'm going to go check on AJ, okay?"

"Sure." I kiss his cheek in return and release his hand. Then I lead my parents to the kitchen. "Do you guys want anything? Water, coffee…" I glance at my dad, knowing his love for coffee.

"We're good, thanks, Bea," Mom replies. "Come sit and chat with us."

I hug my mom again. "I was worried," I whisper. "I thought someone had gone after you guys."

They sigh. "Someone did," Dad says. "We'll explain later, when we have more time."

"Does Four know about the Divergents?" Mom asks.

I nod slowly. "Him and my other good friend, Uriah."

Dad looks me up and down. "And you've slept with him?"

I choke on my gum. "What?"

Mom chuckles. "It's pretty obvious. You two are very comfortable around each other, and touchy-feely in an 'I've seen you naked and you've seen me naked so this doesn't matter' kind of way."

I cough. "Um, yes, we've slept together." My face turns sad. "He proposed, and I said…I said not yet. I wasn't ready."

Mom hugs me. "After Peter, it's quite understandable. How are you two doing?"

"Clearly not too badly," Dad mutters. Mom elbows him.

I shrug. "We're working through it." My sad face morphs into a smile. "Four, c'mere!" I say, knowing he's right around the corner listening.

He walks in and plops into a chair next to me. "What's up?"

I kiss his cheek again and whisper, "Now's a good time to tell them about AJ. You should do it; he's your son."

Tobias swallows and stands, shaking my father's hand once again. "Sir, I assume you know my father, because your men broke into his office one and spray painted, stole, and destroyed."

Dad shrugs, only a hint of a smile visible. "Perhaps."

"Well, his name is Marcus Eaton, and I am Tobias Eaton." Tobias swallows once again, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Anyway, Tris, um, she, I adopted AJ. I'm his legal father now." Tobias loses his eyes, anxiety written on his features as he waits to be chastised or perhaps hit.

Dad grins and claps him on the back. "That's great, Four."

Mom hugs him as well. "AJ needed a real father," she adds.

Tobias smiles widely. I stand and thread my fingers through his.

My dad yawns. "Well, it's rather late and we're kind of tired. Would you mind showing your mother to our room, Bea?" he requests forwardly.

I chuckle. "Yes, sir." I wait for Mom to get up and then lead the way up the stairs. I show her to the room and explain how to use the shower in the bathroom. I give her the towels I grabbed and hug her. "I'm going to go check up on Toby and Dad, okay?"

"I love you, bea. So does your dad. And we're very proud of you," Mom says, hugging me.

"I love you, too, Mom." I smile and walk down the stairs.

Tobias' dark face and serious eyes tell me just what my father talked to him about. I give my dad a "really?" look and tell Tobias he can show him to the guest room. Then I plop onto Tobias' and my bed.

Tobias sit next to me. "Tris -"

"I don't want to hear it," I cut him off harshly. "I don't want to hear how you understand, how you're here for me, how it sucks I went through that. I don't need my dad telling people what happened to me and then them feeling sorry for me!"

Tobias wraps his arms around me. "I was just going to give you a hug and say I love you," he whispers.

I shake his arms off. "Sure," I say sarcastically, "you think I'm so strong and can handle it on my own. No one thinks that, Tobias!"

He pulls me onto his lap. "I think you can handle it," he insists, "but I don't think you should have to." He suddenly flips us over and pins me to the bed, gripping my chin. "I think you get stronger the more you're pushed. My first instinct is to push you until you break, just to see how hard I have to press. Fear doesn't shut you down, it wakes you up." Tobias presses on my jaw harder and then releases me.

I stare at Tobias, shocked. "Wh-what?"

"You heard me." He kisses me. "Anything else you got to say?" Tobias teases.

I shake my head. "No…"

Tobias kisses me again. "I love you, Tris." He grins. "And I'll always want to protect you - not because you're weak, because I love you."

I sigh and wrap my arms around him. "I'm sorry. It's just - I don't want pity, y'know? I just want to be treated the same as everybody else."

Tobias is quiet for a moment. Then, "Yeah. I know."