I slowly roll over in bed with a groan and reach out for Tobias but his side of the bed is disappointingly cold, meaning he's been up for a while. I raise my head and look at the alarm clock and see that we don't have to be in the training room with the initiates for a little over two hours. Where are you, Tobias? I slide out of bed and slip into my new soft pink floor length robe and go in search of my husband. As I reach the top of the stairs, something delicious wafts up from the kitchen and hits me in the face. I make my way downstairs and find Tobias, who is looking scrumptious in only a pair of black satin sleep pants, at the stove assembling a breakfast casserole. I walk up behind him and wrap my arms around him and kiss his Abnegation tattoo.
"Good morning, love," he says. He turns in my arms and gives me a soft kiss. "You should still be in bed."
"I'll go back to bed if you come with me," I say, giving him a come-hither look.
"Hhm, that's a wonderful offer but breakfast is nearly ready to go into the oven," he says then turns back toward the stove.
"I'm only hungry for one thing, baby," I say between kisses on his back. As I run the very tip of my tongue over his extensive tattoo, I slowly move my hand from his taut abs into his pajama bottoms and grip his already lengthening manhood and gently glide my fist up and down. He growls and abruptly turns in my arms, picks me up, and deposits me on the island. He moves his mouth to mine, and we grope each other aggressively.
"Mmm," I moan when he slips his hands inside my robe. I didn't even feel him undo the sash. He glides his hands up over my heated skin and cups my heaving breasts as I grasp his head, and we let our tongues tangle.
"Oh, Tris," he says against my mouth. "You win. I'm taking you back to bed." He takes me by the hand after he lowers me to my feet and leads me up to our bedroom. He unhurriedly runs his hands up to my shoulders and pushes the robe off my shoulders then I slowly lower his sleep pants so he can step out of them. I lie down on our bed, sliding close to the center, and he crawls up my body until he's hovering over me. I run my hands up and down his back and pull him toward me.
"Kiss me, Tobias." He lowers his mouth to mine and kisses me thoroughly. I moan when I feel every hard inch of his sculpted body against mine but none of his weight. If only I could have him inside me like this. I sigh. I know he can't hold this position forever from the strain in his arms, shoulders, and back I feel under my fingertips so I kiss him feverishly then push on his chest until he rolls us until I'm on top. I quickly sit up, straddling his hips and smile down at him.
"You're gorgeous," he says as he caresses my outer thighs. "Will you do something for me?" I nod, wondering what he has in mind. "I want you to stay where you are but I'd like you to go up on your knees." I furrow my brows at him but do what he asks. He grins at me as he slowly slides his way down on the mattress until I feel his tongue dancing lightly over my nubbin.
"Oh, holy hell," I say as a bolt of electricity moves through my body from where his tongue is lapping gently, straight out the top of my head. "Tobias, oh my God." I bite my tongue in an effort to keep quiet. Soon my hips are writhing against his mouth as his talented tongue alternates between thrusting inside me, circling the hard bundle of nerves with the slightest of pressure, and lapping up my juices like he's licking an ice cream come. Much too soon, a lightning bolt of fulfillment rockets through my body leaving me a quivering, shuddering mess. As soon as he moves, I crumple onto the bed, my legs unable to hold me anymore. A salty metallic taste in my mouth alarms me so I move my trembling hand up to my tongue, and I realize I drew blood to keep from screaming out.
"Are you okay?" Tobias asks, concerned when he sees the small amount of blood.
"Yeah," I say. "I bit my tongue." He leans over me and kisses the tip of my throbbing tongue.
"I'm sorry, love," he says. He kisses me again, and I arch my body towards his, realizing that I still want more … much more.
"How is it that I can't get enough of you?" I pant as I caress his face, completely seriously. "You're like a drug to me, Tobias, and I'm addicted. God, I'd hate to go through withdrawals."
"Lucky for you, you'll never have to experience that because I'll give you your fix whenever you need it." I kiss him again then get up on my hands and knees before him.
"I want you inside me now but I'll let you choose where, baby," I say. He groans as he stares longingly at my mouth. I intentionally lick my bottom lip, and he closes his eyes and shakes his head.
"Turn around, love," he says as he gets up on his knees. I turn so that I'm facing away, and he immediately enters me fully in one driving thrust, making me gasp at the sudden fullness. He starts moving hard against my body, getting lost in his pleasure.
"Oh, God," I cry out as he increases the pounding rhythm further. He slips his hand around and starts circling my nubbin with his fingers but I don't need any help with my rapidly approaching release. Every thrust of his steel-like shaft is bringing me closer to a new unexplored level of ecstasy. My walls quiver around his manhood in a blinding explosion of soul-shattering intensity right as he comes loudly, my name shouting from his lips. He pulls out of me almost immediately and collapses beside me on the bed. I wrap myself around his sweaty body, not caring about the stickiness.
"You are unbelievable," he says, his chest still heaving. "We keep getting better and better."
"You're right about that," I say. I caress his face as I stare into his eyes until my stomach growls, and we both bust out laughing. "I guess that's my fault. I interrupted breakfast."
"You take a shower, and I'll finish the casserole." I kiss his cheek sweetly then unwrap myself from his body, and we both roll out of bed. We part at the bathroom door with a swift kiss, and I get into the shower. When I'm nearly done, Tobias steps into the stall. He washes my back then I wash his and get out. There's no need to tempt ourselves further or we might not make it to the training room on time. I dress in a comfortable pair of maternity yoga pants with a dark red waistband and pair it with a basic black maternity tank top and combat boots. I look at myself in the mirror and sigh.
"You're beautiful, Tris," Tobias says from the doorway. He's leaning up against the jamb with a towel slung low around hips.
"You don't think I look fat?" I ask, knowing I'm playing with fire. If he were to say yes I'd probably ask for a divorce.
"Love, there isn't an ounce of fat on your body," he says. He walks up behind me and puts both his hands on my growing tummy and kisses my neck. "I think your body is amazing. I think I just demonstrated how much not one hour ago. If we had time, I'd make you scream again. I swear we'd never get anything done today." His words make me smile. I cover his hands with mine and lean against his chest.
"I'll check on the casserole while you get ready," I say. I turn in his arms and gaze up into his handsome face. "Thank you for taking such good care of me." I give him a soft, loving kiss. "Thank you for loving me."
"You don't have to thank me for loving you," he says. "It's what I do. It's what I'll always do, love." I believe we've had this conversation before. I smile at him and draw his mouth to mine for a slow, lingering kiss.
"I love you, Tobias," I breathlessly say. "I'll be downstairs." The timer for the casserole goes off just as I reach the kitchen. I take it out of the oven trying to pinpoint exactly what he made by the aroma but the scent is foreign to me. It's obvious he's never made this recipe before. I pour us each a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and put four slices of potato bread in the toaster. He comes into the kitchen just as the toast pops up. "You go ahead and sit down." I slide our plates to our seats then sit down beside him.
"What's in this?" I ask after I take the first bite. "This is … wow!" I moan as I take another bite.
"Eggs, of course; smoked ham; green, red, and orange bell peppers; green onion tops; frozen hash browned potatoes; sharp, mild, and white cheddar; Monterrey Jack; and southwest seasoning, salt, and pepper."
"So basically everything but the kitchen sink," I tease, licking some melted cheese off the corner of my bottom lip. "You've outdone yourself this morning. This is absolutely delicious. I might have to stay home and sleep off the food coma though."
"Thank you for the compliment," he says.
"You're spoiling me, doing all the cooking this week," I say. "A girl could get used to this, you know."
"You want me to cook, I'll cook," he says.
"I might let you," I say, leaning over and giving him a tender kiss. We finish up breakfast, talking about this and that. Gunner calls when we're nearly finished and tells me that Tyler's bedroom furniture is right on schedule. He is planning on delivering and installing it next Friday then starting on the murals, including the decorative painting on Tyler's furniture and walls. Tobias and I are getting more and more excited by the day for our new home to be ready.
"Do you want any more?" he asks.
"No, I'm stuffed," I say. "You're going to have to carry me to the training room."
"Okay," he says.
"Just kidding," I say with a chuckle. "Hey, did you call Stella and check on the kids?"
"I called her just after I got up," he says as we're cleaning up the kitchen. "She told me they both had a good night. Tessa slept six full hours." That's my super baby! "Stella had to wake her up to give her a bottle. I was disappointed when I didn't get to talk to Tyler, though. She had already dropped them off at daycare."
"Maybe we can stop by daycare and have lunch with them," I say. "I miss them."
"So do I," he says.
After breakfast, Tobias and I walk to the infirmary for my regular Monday morning blood pressure check. Thankfully, it's still normal so Zander has no problem letting me go to work for the first time in a week. He did remind me to keep a close eye on my stress level though, which I promise to do.
When we reach the training room, we ready the weapons for the misfits. Since they have all mastered the hand gun, this week they will learn to shoot a long gun. I'm anxious to see how each of them handle it, especially Zoey. I remember having trouble at first with both guns but especially the tactical shotgun, and her training progress is right in line with mine.
"You're back," Christina excitedly says as she and Uriah walk into the room.
"Yeah. I'm feeling great, and the baby is good," I say, giving her a quick hug. "She's kicking up a storm right now." My hands automatically go to my stomach when I talk about Peanut.
"I remember that feeling," she says wistfully. "I love that Liam is here, and I wouldn't want to go back but sometimes I miss being pregnant. It's strange."
"I'm getting to the point where I just want it to be over with," I say. She smiles at me knowingly.
"I remember feeling that way, too," she says.
"I'm as big as a barn," I moan. Her eyes glide over my body, and she shakes her head at me.
"You're not very big at all, Tris," she tells me, trying to make me feel better I imagine. "You can't even tell you're pregnant from the back. Hell, I spread out everywhere. I kind of hate you." My mouth falls open. "I don't really hate you, sheesh." She rolls her eyes at me.
"Guys, I'm going to address the initiates about Olivia before we split up," Tobias tells us out of the blue a little before 10 a.m. I look around, and while I was talking to Christina, all the initiates came in. "Listen up, I have something to say." The initiates gather round us and look expectantly at Tobias. "I'm going to address a rumor going around. As you know, Olivia was escorted out of Dauntless yesterday morning. She was made factionless for one reason and one reason only: She wasn't the kind of person we want in Dauntless. She was deceptive, lax, insolent. The last straw was when she messed with my personal life. That is something I, not only as the leader of this faction but as a husband and father, will not tolerate. Olivia and I never had a personal relationship despite what she might have told some of you.
"There's something else. I know someone was assisting her. She couldn't have taken those photos herself. We have reason to believe that someone is in this room right now." He paces in front of them like a wild animal, eyeing each one speculatively like he's stalking his prey. "I'm going to make that person a deal that expires at lights out tonight. If you come to me and admit your roll, you can stay and live your life in a faction. If I have to figure it out on my own … and believe me, I will figure it out … your ass is out with Olivia.
"Lastly, transfers, Tris and I made a mistake when you arrived. Although we didn't make a conscious decision to hide our marriage, we decided that it was best to portray a professional relationship at all times in your presence. Obviously, that wasn't the right decision, and we know it now. If we would have told you the first day that we are married, have two kids, and obviously have another on the way, maybe Olivia would be standing amongst you right now.
"I don't relish making people factionless but know this, if you show that you are not Dauntless material under any circumstance, we will show you the door. I've wasted enough of your time this morning. Transfers, stay here with Tris and me. Dauntless-borns, you're with Uriah and Christina."
After the Dauntless-born follow after our friends, Tobias continues. "Today, you are going to learn how to fire a tactical shotgun." He walks over to the table he set up with a loaded weapon for each initiate and box after box of ammunition. He picks up a gun, walks to the middle target, and demonstrates the correct way to hold it then shows everyone the proper stance in correlation to the target. "Pull the butt of the gun firmly into your shoulder. Failing to do so will make the kick more painful when you shoot. Keeping it tight allows your body to absorb the shock as opposed to the butt bouncing off your shoulder causing a bruise." He fires a few times, instructing the initiates the entire time then sets them loose.
"I'll be right back," I say after a few minutes, needing to use the restroom. Peanuts taken cover behind my bladder again today, reminding me of the first day of training.
"How's Peanut doing?" he asks when I return.
"She's still," I say. I can hear the worry in my voice so I know he can, too.
"She's fine," he says. "Don't worry, love. You told me she doesn't like the gunfire."
"I know," I say. "So how do you think they're doing?"
"I think they're all going to have bruised shoulders tomorrow, especially Ana and Zoey," he says, shaking his head. "You bruised your shoulder, didn't you?"
"How did you guess?" I say. "The first time I fired a handgun, the recoil almost made me hit myself in the nose."
"I saw that," he says.
"You did?" This surprises me.
"I told you that I watched you," he says, unapologetically. "I tried not to. I didn't want Eric to notice and then take an interest in you, too, but it felt like I always had an eye on you."
"How did I not notice that?" I muse out loud.
"I tried not to be blatantly obvious," he says with a smile. "At first I didn't recognize why I was doing it. It took me a while to admit that I liked you."
"That much we have in common," I say. Peanut stretches and gives me a swift kick in the kidney and I grimace. "Damn! She just kicked, hard." I rub my belly. "It took me a while to figure out why I was jealous of every girl who talked to or about you or looked at you."
"You've never had anything to be jealous of," he says. He glances over his shoulder at the clock.
"I know," I say sweetly.
"Hey!" he yells. The initiates somehow hear him over the loud gunfire and look our way. "It's nearly lunchtime. Secure your weapons and you can go. Be back here at 1:30 for your next scored practice fight." They hurriedly put the guns away and head toward the cafeteria. "Shall we go see the kids?"
"Yeah," I say. We go directly to the daycare center. Tobias gets Tyler while I search for Tessa in the baby room. I peek my head through the door and find Mrs. Wheeler changing her diaper.
"Well hello, Tris," she says. "Look who's here, Tessa."
"Hi, Mrs. Wheeler," I say. When she hears my voice, Tessa turns her head and grins at me. "Hi, little one. Has she had a bottle yet?"
"No, I was just getting ready to give it to her."
"I'll feed her," I say, taking her. She's smiling as she whines. "I promise I'll feed you pretty soon, Tessa." I look from my daughter to the teacher. "We're taking the kids for the hour."
"Okay," Mrs. Wheeler says. I get a lightweight blanket out of her diaper bag and go in search of Tobias and Tyler.
"There's my girls," Tobias says.
"Hi, Mommy," Tyler says, eyes shining. "I miss you."
"I missed you, too, buddy," I say. "Did you have fun with Zane?"
"Yeah. We play at pawk and had ice cweam. It weally good." He tells me everything they did on the way to the cafeteria. He's already had his lunch so he wants to sit with Uriah and eat cake, which is his second favorite thing behind the park. Everyone greets Tyler loudly, and he beams at the attention. While Tobias gets us something to eat, I throw the blanket over Tessa's head so I can nurse her.
"How did the transfers do with the long guns?" Uriah asks.
"They'll all have bruises," I reply.
"Ugh. I remember my bruise," he says involuntarily rubbing his right shoulder. "I think the bone is still bruised."
"You're a wuss, Uri," Zeke scoffs. "I listened to my instructor, and I didn't get bruised."
"La-di-da!" Shauna says, rolling her eyes at him. "Stop bragging. I remember what happened the first time you zip lined." All the color drains from his face, and his mouth falls open.
"You promised you would never mention that again," he says, almost glaring at her. Kirsten, Ella, Ciara, James, Trevor, and Stefan are all laughing their heads off. I look at Tobias but he looks just as confused and clueless as the rest of the table does. Obviously, whatever happened, Zeke didn't disclose.
"Alright, you can't leave us out," Christina says. "Spill, Zeke." He tightly closes his mouth and stubbornly shakes his head.
"He peed himself," Shauna says, laughing hysterically. Oh, my God!
"Thanks a lot," he mutters as everyone laughs. He sits pouting until Tyler offers him a bite of his cake. The laughter dies at the sweet gesture. He takes the bite then hugs my son. How did he get to be so thoughtful? "Thanks, Tyler. That was nice of you."
"Welcome," he cheerfully says then goes back to eating his slice of cake.
"I'm sorry," Shauna says, putting her arm around him. "I shouldn't have done that."
"I'm surprised I kept it a secret for as long as I did," he says. "It never made it around Dauntless. I thought I was safe."
"If it makes you feel better, I puked," Trevor says. "It was disgusting."
"Yeah, it was," Stefan says. "I was one of the people who caught him. He was a mess."
"I guess you did pretty well only sounding like a dying cat then huh, Uri," Marlene says.
"We won't say anything, Zeke," James says.
"How did we get off on this subject?" Will asks. He and Christina share a begrudging look. They can't still be mad that they weren't invited last year … can they?
"I think we were talking about how much of a wuss my brother is," Zeke says, ruffling his hand in Uriah's hair then they start shoving each other.
"Maybe you two should cut it out," Tobias says, sounding more like Four. "You have little eyes watching you." I glance at Tyler, and he's staring up at his honorary uncles, totally fascinated.
"Sorry, Four," they say at the same time. Over half the table leaves a few minutes later, needing to get back to work. Tessa finishes early, and I put her up to my shoulder and pat her back. A couple minutes later she lets out a very loud burp.
"That's my girl," Tobias says with a chuckle. "She could win a burping contest with any grown man here in Dauntless." He actually sounds proud.
"Men!" I mutter under my breath. "We better get these two back to daycare so we aren't late to the training room."
"Come on, Tyler," Tobias says. He hugs Uriah and Zeke then runs around the table and literally leaps into his father's outstretched arms. "We'll see you guys later."
"Was the cake good?" I ask Tyler on our walk to daycare. I think he has just as much on his face as he must have gotten in his mouth.
"Yeah," he says with a yawn. I wonder how he can be tired when he's so full of sugar. He lies his head on Tobias' shoulder and quickly falls asleep. Tessa holds her head up, looking all around on our quick trip. She smiles at everyone she passes and even coos at a few who talk to her. She's a popular girl.
"We really need to start looking for a nanny," I say on our way back to the training room after we drop off the kids. "I think it would make things a little easier."
"Did you ever talk to Christina and get her suggestions?" he asks.
"We talked a little about it last week while you and Will were making supper," I say. "She said it's a lengthy process, picking the right person. It's something we probably shouldn't do until after initiation is over."
"Okay," he says. When we get to the training room, we go to the opposite end we spent the morning in. He erases the Dauntless-born pairings and writes ours on the board.
Kevin – Alec
Sam– Faith
Bethany – Zoey
Ana – Sadie
Jesse – Murphy
Brody – Grant
Hhm. Brody and Grant. That's the bout I've been wanting to see since the first day of training. I would bet money that Brody will win. However, Grant has improved more than him, probably because Brody's skill level far exceeds everyone else's.
"That's some pretty impressive pairings," I say as I sit down in the folding metal chair. I think standing is more comfortable. "Everyone seems evenly matched, except for Bethany and Zoey."
"I can't have Ana and Zoey fight each other every time," he says. "It wouldn't give them the opportunity to learn and grow."
"I wasn't complaining, just simply making an observation."
"I know," he says. The transfers trickle into the training room one or two at a time with a couple minutes to spare. They gather around the board checking out the pairings then start sizing each other up. "Kevin and Alec, in the ring." This should be an interesting fight. They both have something to prove since neither have won a match. They step into the ring and immediately go after each other aggressively. Either could easily win. After 20 minutes, neither shows any sign of slowing down or conceding then Alec hits Kevin in the jaw and lays him out on the mat. A smile that probably won't leave anytime soon lights his face.
"Grant, Brody, please take Kevin to the infirmary and come straight back," I say. Tobias circles Alec's name on the board as they drag Kevin to his feet.
"Sam, Faith," Tobias announces. They meet on the mat, each taking a defensive stance. They circle each other a couple times before Faith strikes. Sam takes quite a beating before landing a powerful punch that knocks Faith unconscious. She lands like a felled tree, her head bouncing a couple times on the edge of the mat. "Alec and Jesse, will you take her to the infirmary?" Jesse kneels down beside her and pats her cheek a couple times but she's out cold. When Alec reaches the mat, they carefully pick Faith up and carry her through the door. That outcome really surprised me. I thought Faith would easily win.
"Bethany and Zoey, you're next," I say. I get out of the uncomfortable chair, circle Sam's name, and pace a little. Within five minutes, I circle Bethany's name. "Ana and Sadie, in the ring." This fight lasts a little longer than the last one but not much. Sadie dominates the match and after a dizzying punch, Ana concedes.
"Jesse and Murphy," Tobias says, circling Sadie's name. He saddles up next to me, and I look up at him. "Maybe you should sit back down."
"I would but that chair is horrible," I say. "It made my back hurt worse."
"Why didn't you say something?" he asks.
"I didn't want to complain plus what could you do about it?"
"Get you a comfortable chair," he says. "We'll stop by the furniture store after we pick up the kids and have it delivered tomorrow morning."
"You don't have to do that," I say.
"I want to," he says. He takes a step closer, puts a hand on my lower back right where it's hurting, and rubs it gently while we watch the closely matched bout in front of us. I don't know if it's a good thing or not but Jesse is treating Murphy like she's just another initiate and not a girl. They're going hard at each other. So far this is the best bout of the day. Twenty minutes later, Murphy lands a strong one-two punch that sends Jesse to the floor, and he throws his hands up in defeat. A look of great accomplishment settles on Murphy's face as Tobias circles her name.
"Brody and Grant, you are our final fight of the day," I say. If this is quick, it will be another early dismissal, which I'm not opposed to. I sit back down on the uncomfortable chair and watch our two best fighters circle each other a couple times, sizing each other up before engaging. I was right. This could go either way. I've been watching the match for more than 10 minutes when my phone rings. I pull it out of my pocket, look at the caller ID, and am surprised to see it's the infirmary.
"Hello," I say.
"This is Zander." He sounds funny.
"Hi," I slowly say. "Is there something wrong?"
"Tris, I really don't know how to say this but," there's a long pause, "Faith just died," he quietly says, astounding me and I gasp.