I don't own Divergent.

Hey, everyone. Sorry for being MIA; I listed the reason(s) in my most recent ADD update. I'm going to be pretty spotty in my updates starting on July first (for me) because I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo (like easier NaNo, in my opinion, because you can choose your number of words), and, starting tomorrow, I'm staying with my aunts and cousins for a while while my dad and stepmom are in Rome. So enjoy this nice, long, update.

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."

Susan knocks on our door with Tristan and Hayden at seven the next morning. Her flight leaves at eleven, but she wanted to stay and chat a bit.

I get the door, smiling already. My parents are in the kitchen with cups of Tobias' delicious coffee. "Hey, Susan."

"Hey, Tris. What's up?" She ushers her kids inside. Hayden drops her bag and picks it back up again.

"Nothing much. AJ's still sick, so we're going to put Tristan and Hayden in a different room. My parents are in town. Is it okay if they watch Tristan and Hayden, just during Four's practice? I have to go, but -"

"It's fine, Tris. I trust you to make good decisions about who to leave them with." Susan follows me into the kitchen. Tristan and Hayden have set their bags down and are teasing each other. Susan silences them with a glare and points to the kitchen. They docilely walk in. "Neither of them is allergic to anything. You have my number."

"Do they have any weird food dislikes? Like AJ and beef?" I ask, chuckling.

She shakes her head. "Nope. And you know them pretty well, anyway."

"Do you want a cup of coffee, Susan?" Tobias offers.

"Who would turn down a cup of your coffee, Four?" Susan asks.

Tobias shrugs. "A dumb person?"

"Wow, Four, your joking skills stun me," I quip dryly.

"Shut up," he retorts, grinning at me quite adoringly.

I shrug. "Hey, Tristan, Hayden. Do you guys want some breakfast?" I ask, ruffling Tristan's brown curls. "We have eggs, sausage, and toast."

They both nod and hop up to our counter. I scoot around Tobias and give them each small plates, putting glasses of almond milk next to their plates. The kids eagerly eat and drink, and I warm a small dish of applesauce to bring to AJ.

As I'm going to give it to him, Mom stops me. "I'll give it to him," she says kindly, taking it from me and kissing my head. "You go hang out with Susan."

I give her a warm smile before crawling into Tobias' lap and sipping from his coffee. "So, Susan, who are the Mets playing?" Tobias asks, voice like honey to me. I snuggle closer.

She sips at her coffee. "Phillies. Who're the Yankees playing today?"

"Mariners," Tobias says quietly.

"Think they're going to win?" Dad asks.

Tobias bites his lip. "I think many of my teammates underestimate many of their players, namely Félix Hernández. I think when they are here, they are actually good."

"They're fourth in their division," Susan points out.

"Yes, but the last time they were here, they severely beat us." Tobias scowls. "I only wish I was pitching today instead of Zekey."

"Why?" I ask. "Because Zeke isn't as good?"

"Yes and no. Because, even if Zeke is fucking perfect today, he's still developing as a pitcher, and Hernández is better." Tobias shrugs. "I just don't want him to compare himself to Hernández."

I kiss his head. "Then tell him that."

Susan drain her cup and walks to the sink. She rinses it and sets it in the dishwasher. "Thanks, Tris. I'll call you when I land, okay?"

I hug her. "Yup. Have fun!"

She chuckles. "I wish. Max is much nicer than Mr. Collins."

"That sucks." I grin. "But you should go. You're going to be late."

She sighs. "Don't remind me."

Tobias and I get ready in our well-choreographed dance, making our way around each other to change and such. Then we give last-minute instructions to my parents for Tristan, Hayden, and AJ and lget in the truck. I run back in and grab my cap and purse, and then we actually leave.

We arrive right on time and go our separate ways. I head to my office, organize a few things, and then head out to the field to help the players stretch and adjust their muscles.

Tobias is stretching next to Zeke, joking with him and keeping his mind off the upcoming game. I walk over to them and pull Tobias' arm further, eliciting a groan of annoyance and slight pain from him. For Zeke, I show him another stretch. He adjusts his stretching and I move on to other players, but not before tenderly ruffling Tobias' hair.

When I get to Al, he looks so bad I'm shocked - there are purple rings around his eyes, and he's pale and thin.

"Hey, Al. Wh-"

"Tris, I'm really sorry about what Peter and I did to you. Forgive me?"

I bite my lip and look away. "I don't know, Al." I show him another stretch, too, and walk away, my eyes burning.

I sit next to Tobias as he does some sit-ups and pushups and stuff. Once he finally finishes, he pats my shoulder and offers a hand. I take it, avoiding his sweaty and yet really hot chest in the tight, sleeveless tee he's wearing. He presses a kiss to my head and gathers his gear for practice. He's going to warm up with the catchers today, as he'll be catching for Zeke, and Uri will be in the outfield.

Thinking of Uri reminds me of my promise to him about Robert. So I stand, walk a distance off, and dial his number. He's been a good friend to Caleb and me, as well, in the past few years.

"Hey, Rob!" I say cheerily as he picks up. "It's Tris."

"Hey! Long time, no speak," he jokes.

"Yeah, sorry. So how're things for my favorite ex-mobster?" I tease back.

"I'm fine. Andrew has had me helping with some of the Insurgents', er, plots." I hear his smile through the phone.

"That's...interesting," I reply. "How're things with, um, Steve?"

"We broke up and you know it, Tris," he says, clearly exasperated.

"Right. Sorry. And I know you don't like matchmakers, but I mentioned you to my friend, Uriah Montenegro, and -"

"Wait, your friend is Uriah Montenegro?" he interrupts.

"Yes, dimwit," I tease. "Anyway, he asked me to set up, well, to introduce you two. Will you just come to today's game? I'll get you free tickets."

"Sure. Who would turn down Yankees tickets?" Rob scoffs. "And this Uriah…he's pretty hot, right? I mean, his face is nice and pretty and all, but how's his body?"

"I have a boyfriend, too, Rob," I say with a wry grin. "But Uri is pretty, um, fit. Him and his brother have workout contests."

"Okay. So when can I meet him?"

"How about after today's game?" I switch the phone to my other ear and walk towards where the outfielders are warming up.

"Sounds great. Should I pick up tickets at will call?" Rob coughs.

"At the VIP/Players' entrance," I correct.

"Okay. See you after the game!" He hangs up.

I walk over to Uri and help him stretch better. "I set things up with Rob," I murmur, so the other players can't hear. "He's coming to the game, and he said he wants to meet you afterwards. Can I give him your number?"

Uri grins and then grimaces as I pull his leg further. "Thanks a ton, Tris. And sure. I don't care if you don't."

I clap him on the back and move on to the next player.

When we get home, Tristan and Hayden are napping, AJ is in his room, presumably also asleep, and my parents are watching a movie on the couch.

"Hey, Bea," Mom says. "Hello, Tobias. How was practice?"

I take Tobias' bag from him and then take it and my own upstairs. I hear Tobias telling them about practice and then excusing himself to join me.

Familiar arms wrap around me. "You smell sweaty," I inform him, kissing his cheek.

"I thought you liked it when I smell like baseball," he complains, kissing mine.

"I do. You don't smell like baseball." I push him away from me. "You don't have to - well, whatever you normally do to clean yourself, but at least rinse the sweat off and put clean clothes on."

"Ugh," he moans. "So much work. Will you help?"

I shake my head. "I'm going to go check on AJ and then force my dad to tell me what happened."

Tobias sighs. "Okay. Will you - could you tell me, maybe, what happened? Like, later. When we go to sleep."

I kiss him. "It depends. I'll give you at least a basic idea."

He holds me in place a little longer as we kiss more firmly. Then we break apart. He heads to the shower, and I glide to AJ's room.

He's sitting up in bed, a book spread out on his lap. Upon closer inspection, I see it's a Dr. Seuss book.

"Hey, baby," I say, kissing his forehead. "How do you feel?"

He scrunches his eyebrows together. "Like I'm gonna either sleep constantly, die, or puke."

I chuckle. "That's what the flu feels like, bud."

"I don't like the flu."

"No one does, Aje, but almost everyone gets it," I reply, rubbing a thumb over his cheek.

He lays back down and hands me the book. "I'm gonna go back to sleep. I love you, Mommy."

"I love you, too, bud." I kiss his head, turn the fan and sound machine on, and close the door quietly. Then I join my parents on the couch. "So, what happened?"

Dad sighs and pauses the movie. "Well, I don't really want to get into specifics, but the Divergents planned a raid on Marcus Eaton again. We succeeded overall, but Eaton took one of our men. One of the guards only pretended to be unconscious. Not checking them cost me one of my best men. Anyway, Eaton offered to give him back for a ransom if I met up with him. I did, and he had a hired sniper try to take me out. I got my man, and we ran - well, I ran and carried him - and got away. Eaton's mercenaries tried to take any Divergents they could out for a while. They succeeded - they killed Ralfie, Jamal, Ethan, Maria, Mario, Ana, and Jackie. I had the rest go into hiding in the bunker while your mother and I figured out how to stop Eaton."

"Your father stopped him finally," Mom says. "Andrew captured him and threatened to take him out politically with some, ah, sensitive files if he didn't stop. He also threatened to expose him about the abuse of his - of Tobias."

"Sir," Tobias suddenly breaks in, entering the room, "I'd really rather you didn't do that."

"Tobias," I say sharply, "I understand if you want to know what's going on, but don't eavesdrop. Just come sit."

Tobias, red, drops onto the couch next to me. "Sorry. And I only heard the part about my dad, anyway, when I came down to tell you we should leave in about a half hour."

"We won't, Tobias. We have enough other damning evidence for him." Dad claps him on the back. "Good luck today."

I follow my dad to the kitchen. "So Tristan and Hayden can watch about a half hour of some educational show if you guys need a little quiet time from them. They'll do some easy chores if you ask them; so would AJ if he was better. You know that. Tristan and Hayden aren't supposed to have a ton of sugar, but they can have a little cookie after dinner if they eat their veggies and drink their milk. Almond milk."

Dad smiles. "Tris, I've raised two and a half kids and dozens upon dozens of gangsters. I think I can handle three kids. One of them will be sleeping, anyway."

I hug him. "So everything with Marcus is done? You promise?"

"Yes, Bea. We have the evidence. It's all over. The Divergents are back to work in Chicago." Dad kisses my head. "Get ready to go."

"Yes, sir." I make Tobias and I sandwiches to eat on the way to the field. I know he'll probably eat something after batting practice and before the game, but it's good for him to have something other than a power bar.

I kiss Tobias' cheek as we hop in his truck. He starts the engine and I hand him a sandwich. He tears into it, shredding the bread, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and turkey with his teeth. I watch for a second before biting into my sandwich.

"So how much did you hear?" I ask once we're both done and heading over the Brooklyn Bridge.

"Not much, honestly. Just that your father stopped my father from doing something by threatening him." Tobias glances over at me. "I'm guessing my dad was the cause of your dad's problems?"

I nod. "He went after my dad and some of his people. His men killed seven or so of them." My face contorts. "Ana and Jamal were some of my friends. I didn't know the rest well, but -" I spread my hands "- but they laid their lives down for my dad. And your dad just killed them."

Tobias' hands clench the steering wheel. "He's a dickhead, Tris. He won't stop, you know that, right?"

"My dad has evidence he won't dare risk being shared," I reply.

"Whatever you want to believe." Tobias shrugs.

Tobias and I separate outside the locker rooms. I put on navy blue basketball shorts and a striped Yankees shirt and head out to the field.

Batting practice is uneventful. Not. Tobias manages to miss about three quarters of the balls the machine provides, much to Zeke's amusement. But I can see that Tobias is not okay with the taunts, as his hands clench tighter and tighter around the bat. I cross over to the cage, put a hand up to the batboy feeding balls into the machine.

"Tob-"

"Don't say anything, Tris." Tobias lowers the bat slightly from his shoulder. "I know I'm screwing up. It's just - the stuff with my dad…"

I rest my hands on his shoulders for a second. Then I heft the bat back up, adjust his grip and the placement of his shoulders, and squat. I move his legs and stand back up, placing my hand on his cheek. "Tobias, you aren't doing badly. Zeke…well, he knows he isn't as good as you. This makes him feel better. Just suck it up…and keep swinging." I remove my hand and kiss Tobias' cheek. "I love you." I kiss his other one. "Go out there and win for me and Aje, okay?"

Tobias sighs and kisses me back. "I love you, too." He grins wryly. "Will I be rewarded if I help us win?"

I hit him lightly. "If my parents weren't here, maybe. But since they are…hell, no."

He chuckles and hefts the bat higher. "Go once she leaves!" he calls to the batboy. To me, he adds, "I'll try."

I pat his cheek and trot out of the cage. Tobias goes back to swinging, with both a new fire in his eyes and my corrections in his stance. He does much better, too, and Zeke stops teasing him.

I meet Rob at the VIP entrance with his ticket. He gives me a bone-crushing hug, letting loose some words that cause a few heads to turn. I chuckle and swear back at him, hugging him tighter. My Chicago accent comes through quite a bit as I swear - I generally try to hide it.

Me swearing gets a bunch of glares and glances. Robert laughs loudly and takes his ticket. "So I can meet him after the game?"

"Yeah, just stick around and perhaps text him after." I hand him the slip of paper with Uri's number on it. "He's excited." I grab his arm and lean closer. "Look, he's not used to…dating, I guess. I think it'd be better if Four and I went with you. Maybe for a late dinner. I'll talk to Uri." I hug him. "You look good, Rob. It's good to see you."

He grins. "Sounds good." His smile widens and becomes more sincere. "I've missed you, Bea. It's…I'm glad we're both here."

"I have to go, Rob, but we should set up a time to chat. Catch up," I reply. I hug him again. "I can't wait for you to see Four if you think Uri's attractive."

Rob pouts. "Aw, you get the hottie and I'm stuck with second-best? Now that isn't very fair, though it's very you and me."

I hit his arm. "I really do have to go."

Rob flashes me one last grin and hugs me again. "See you after the game, Bea. Thanks for the ticket!"

"No problem, Rob." I jog through the halls and make it to the bench just in time. Max gives me a slight glare for being a little late, but Tobias gives me a smile as he pulls the last strap tight. Many of the other catchers have the batboys help, but both Tobias and Uriah prefer to do it on their own.

"I love you," I mouth. He grins and jogs out onto the field. He takes his place behind the plate and Zeke throws a few balls to him. But both Zeke and Tobias know he isn't in the best position tonight to be pitching, especially against Hernández, whom the Mariners fans have dubbed "King Félix."

Tobias signs to the ump for him to wait and jogs to the mound, whispering to Zeke. Something he says makes Zeke grin and redden slightly, so I'm assuming it had to do with Shauna.

Tobias returns to his position behind the plate and motions to the ump to start the game.

By the third inning, it's clear Zeke isn't up for this. The Mariners already have seven hits off him - three of which Uriah caught in the outfield - and he's walked three of them. As he comes in from the final out of the inning - a good catch from Ellsbury - I can see him clenching his cap so tightly his fist is white.

Tobias kisses my head. "I'm going to go chat with Zeke and Max, okay? Maybe we can stick a rookie in, for an inning or two, and then close with Rivera."

I kiss him. "Sounds good, baby."

"Eaton!" Max roars. Tobias scurries over and has a quick conversation with him, and then goes up to bat. So far the Yankees have two hits off Hernández - one home run from Uriah, and a hit from Jacoby Ellsbury.

The Mariners have three runs. If someone doesn't get their act together, we're screwed - and this is the team that's like third or fourth in their division.

Tobias goes up to bat and calmly hits a single. Jeter hits another single. Ellsbury gets out. Uri hits a third single. Texiera gets out, and the last batter in the lineup hits a single. The lineup starts again with another out, ending the inning with only one run - an RBI from the last batter.

Zeke's shoulders are tense as he pitches a ball, strike, and second ball. I bury my face in my hands. Max needs to take him out. I hear the familiar crack of the bat and look up in time to see Uri make an amazing catch - he jumped probably two feet in the air and caught it. Still, it was a hit off Zeke.

Zeke squats on the mound for a second. Then he stands back up and begins pitching again. His pitches are fast now…but even more wild than before.

Max is nearly pulling his hair out. His face is red, and he looks spitting mad. I wouldn't be surprised if he does spit on the team as he yells at them later.

Even with Zeke taken out and Rivera closing, we lose fifteen-five to the Mariners. The Mariners. I scurry out ahead of Max and the players and text Rob. We meet again outside the VIP ticket pickup.

Rob shakes his head. "Montenegro did not pitch well today," he comments.

"Don't mention that to Uri - he's protective of his brother. Well, they're protective of each other." I lean closer. "But you're completely right, and the entire team knows it. None of them played tip-top today."

"Your boyfriend is Four, the guy who played catcher today, right?" Rob asks.

"Yeah."

"His ass is nice," Rob comments unabashedly.

"It really is," I reply, chuckling.

"So is Uriah's," he adds.

"So is Uriah's what?" Tobias asks, kissing my cheek from behind.

"I informed Tris I think both your and Uriah's asses are damn fine," Rob says, straight-faced.

Tobias swallows. "Oh. Um, thanks?"

Rob chuckles. "So, Bea, what've you been doing, other than fucking players?"

I grin at him, though Tobias' mouth drops open. "Working. Raising AJ. Making friends. Unfortunately, not fighting any street gangs. You?"

"Mmm… Well, I, for one, have been fighting street gangs. There are some seriously stubborn gangsters in this city!" Rob chuckles again and shakes his blond curls. "None of them are as stubborn as the Insurgents, though."

I shake my head as well. "No, I'd imagine not. Is there anything I can do?"

"Now how would your dad feel about his little girl getting back into fighting?" Robert asks.

"We can ask him," I offer. "He's at my house now."

"Really?"

"Well, our house," I amend, looking at Tobias. "Maybe you and Uri should just come over for dinner."

Tobias kisses me on the cheek. "I'm gonna go find Uri. I'm fine with them coming over, by the way." He lowers his voice. "But this Rob fellow…are you okay with him treating you like that?"

I look at Tobias like he's crazy. "How else would he treat me?"

He shrugs. "Be right back."

Rob slings an arm around me. "How's AJ? Does he like Four?"

I nod. "Yeah. Four, um, adopted him."

Rob freezes, mid arm roll. He was dancing, grinning at the people around us. "He what?"

"Adopted AJ."

"Why?" Rob just stares at me.

"Because AJ and I love him and he loves us back," I say.

Rob grins. "That's great. AJ needed a dad."

I bite my lip. "Rob, everyone keeps saying that. Aren't I doing - or, rather, wasn't - I doing a good enough job on my own?"

Rob puts an arm back around me. "Bea, you were doing an amazing job. But - but AJ needed a father figure and a mother figure. You were doing your best to be a dad, and that may have worked for a little while, but AJ will get to the age where he needs a dad."

I chew on my lip. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am!"

Just then, Tobias returns with Uriah in tow. Tobias has Uriah by an arm. "I had to drag him away from Zeke. Fawning over him like a mama and baby bear," Tobias grumbles, shooting Uri a dirty look.

"He was -" Uri starts.

Rob steps up and cuts him off, saying, "Hey, Uriah. I'm Robert - Rob, really."

Uriah smiles hesitantly at him and offers a hand. "I'm Uriah." Then he reddens and curses. "You knew that, though."

Rob shakes it. "No problem, man. I was watching you in the field today..."