I'm lying on our couch, listening to my family make a racket in the kitchen while the aroma of garlic, tomato, pepperoni, and Italian seasoning wafts throughout the apartment, making my stomach growl loudly. It feels like lunch was days instead of hours ago. Maybe I haven't been getting enough calories lately. It takes a lot out of me nursing two babies. I need to keep up my strength. Tobias insisted that I rest when we got home because I was practically sleepwalking up the path on our trip from the Pit to the Pire. I couldn't stop yawning and even bumped into his shoulder then bounced off his hard body, stumbled over my own feet, and nearly fell but now I'm wide awake. I think the thought of accidentally going over the edge of the path with my little Peanut in my arms woke me up. I tried arguing with him at first, telling him that she would want to be nursed as soon as we got home but she's still asleep so I gave in to his wishes.
Tyler and Tessa were both very happy to see us when we walked through the door. Tessa cooed and babbled then squealed and kicked excitedly when she saw me, and once again Tyler rushed to his daddy, thankful that he was home safe and sound. I think they've both been picking up on Dauntless' troubles and our increased stress. We asked Avery and Callen to stay for supper but they already made plans with some of their other friends so we decided to make only one pizza, and because he's had such a rough day, we let Tyler pick it out. I was secretly hoping for my favorite, the Canadian bacon and pineapple, but he wanted his old standby, pepperoni.
An extremely loud clap of thunder rumbles in the distance, and a flash of lightning illuminates the apartment. Oh, no! Our kids all have one thing in common, they are terrified of storms. I hear Tyler start whining at the exact same moment Tessa and Peanut burst into tears. I sit up on the couch, linger for a moment while getting my bearings then get up and go to Peanut's bassinet.
"There's no need to be scared, Peanut," I say as I pick up my now very wide awake baby girl. "Mommy's got you." I nestle her safely in my arms and head into the kitchen as the electricity goes out. Just before darkness envelopes us, I see Tobias picking Tessa up out of her booster chair.
"Oh, great," he mumbles.
"I'm right here," I say, letting him know that I'm close. "Why don't we go sit on the couch? Tyler, can you give Mommy your hand?"
"No. I want my daddy," he whines.
"I need to get some candles so we can see, buddy," Tobias says. "I need you to go with Mommy." I find his hand and lead him into the living room with Tobias on my heels. Flashes of lightning give us just enough light to get situated by. I sit down on the end of the couch and Tyler crawls up right beside me. He wraps his arms around mine, and I lean over and kiss his head. I can feel his whole body shaking with fear. Poor little guy. I shift Peanut to one arm, and Tobias sits Tessa on my lap. This is one of those times that an extra arm or two would come in handy. "Mommy's got all of you. There's absolutely nothing to be frightened of, okay?"
"You pwomise?" Tyler asks, his voice quivering.
"I promise, buddy," I say. I wish I could wrap my arms around him and give him some comfort but I'm afraid Peanut would dive head first on to the floor without my arm securely around her. While the four of us sit huddled closely on the couch, Tobias gets candles out of the pantry in the kitchen and lights them all over the first floor of our apartment. If it weren't for the whining, crying, sniffling, and tears, it would be a romantic setting.
"I know I promised you no work tonight, love, but I've got to check with maintenance and see when we can expect the lights to come back on and then I need to call Shauna to make sure there are no injuries."
"I understand," I say. And I do. I was on the Pit floor once when the compound lost power and even though I am not afraid of the dark, it was one of the most frightening experiences in my life. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face or the other hundred or so members surrounding me at the time. I'm still amazed no one fell into the chasm because of the blackness.
"No! Don't go," Tyler yells then really starts crying, misunderstanding what Tobias said.
"Hey, Daddy's not going anywhere," Tobias says. He tries to lift his bawling son but Tyler has a death grip on my arm so he instead takes Tessa, and I pull Tyler into my arms and hold him tightly, wanting to cry right along with him.
"Can Daddy sit on the couch next to us and make his calls?" I ask, signaling to Tobias that he needs to stay here with us and to Tyler that his father isn't going anywhere.
"Otay," Tyler mutters. Tobias pulls his phone out of his pocket and dials a number. Maintenance picks up immediately, and they have a brief conversation then he hangs up and calls Shauna.
"Hey, Shauna," he says. "Yeah, the weather sucks. I guess I've been concentrating on other things. I didn't even know a storm was coming … I'll keep this short. Have you had any reports of injuries … Good. Harry told me that his team should have the backup lighting for the Pit floor and chasm on momentarily so there shouldn't be any casualties but it will be anywhere from six to eight hours before power is restored to the entire compound … I understand and thanks Shauna. Hey wait, before you go. Tell your patrols to be especially cautious tonight. This would be a great time for Molly and her minions to sneak in and wreak havoc … That's right. Good night." He hangs up his phone then turns his attention to us. "Who's ready for pizza? It's a good thing it finished baking before the lights went off."
"I weady," Tyler says, although he doesn't loosen his grip on me.
"How about we have a pizza party in here?" I say. "We could all sit on the floor and eat pizza around the coffee table."
"That sounds like a great idea," Tobias says. He pulls Tessa's swing over beside me and puts our little one in it then turns the timer on. "Tyler, would you like to help me?"
"No. I stay with Mommy," he says, pouting.
"Okay," Tobias says as he goes into the kitchen.
"Can you get up for a second? Mommy needs to get down on the floor then you can sit on my lap again."
"Otay," he says. He lets go of me, gets down, I slip to the floor, and then I pull him back onto my lap.
"Why didn't you want to help Daddy in the kitchen? He loves it when you help him," I quietly say. He shrugs his shoulders at me and buries his head in my chest. "I know you've been missing him and that's okay. He doesn't mean to work so much, buddy. He would much rather spend his time with you, your sisters, and me but Dauntless really needs him right now, especially with Mr. Harrison gone and Miss Tori and Uncle Will sick, and with Mommy not able to work fulltime because of Teagan, that leaves Daddy to take care of all Dauntless business by himself. I know you miss him when he's gone. I do too but please don't be mad at him. That will make him feel worse than he already does about leaving and you don't want him feeling bad, do you?"
"No," he says. "I miss him. Sometimes I go to bed and he not hewe."
"I bet it's felt like that a lot lately," I say. "It'll change soon." It has to change soon. A few minutes later, Tobias comes back into the living room carrying a pizza stone in one hand and three plates in the other and sets them on the coffee table right in front of us.
"Would you guys like something to drink?" he asks, somewhat subdued.
"I would like some water," I say. "Tyler, would you like some milk?"
"Peas," he says.
"Two waters and a milk coming right up," he says, turning to go back into the kitchen. Almost immediately he comes back with two bottles and a sippy cup then sits down on the other side of me.
"This fun," Tyler says as he kneels behind the coffee table eating his second slice of pepperoni pizza. After his first slice, he got off my lap and inched closer to Tobias. Since there has been no thunder or lightning for the past half hour or so the kids have all settled down, and he's right, this is fun.
"We should do this more often," Tobias says. "It's kind of like a picnic, huh, buddy?"
"Yeah! But I no want wain next time," he says.
"I'll see what I can do about that," he says with a chuckle. As I'm finishing my second slice, Peanut wakes back up and becomes fussy.
"Are you finally awake? You sure did sleep for a long time. Are you hungry?" I look toward the clock and see that it's been over three hours since she last nursed. I get up and sit on the couch then put her to my breast, and she stops fussing immediately.
"Teags hungwy?" Tyler asks around a mouthful of pizza. "Hew want pizza."
"No, Teags is too little for pizza," Tobias says, a smile on his face. We both love the nickname he's come up with for Teagan.
"What about Tess?" We all look over at his other sister who is contentedly sitting in her swing chewing on her butterfly
"Aahh. Ma ma ma ma. Bbbbbbbbb," Tessa babbles at the sound of her name then she sticks her tongue out and starts making noises she's never made before. "Pppbbbbbttt!
"See! Hew want pizza, too!"
"No, she's still too little, too. But one day soon she'll be eating just as much pizza as you," Tobias says as he tweaks Tyler's nose.
"Weally?" he says as his eyes widen.
"Really," he says. "Would you like another slice of pizza or would you rather have a sundae after bit?"
"Um," Tyler says, his face scrunched in deep concentration. It looks like he's making a life or death decision.
"I want ice cweam cause it yummy."
"Alright," Tobias says with a chuckle. "Love, would you like another slice?"
"Please," I say. He puts the last slice of pepperoni on my plate then gets up to take the dirty dishes to the kitchen.
"Can I help?" Tyler asks. Tobias looks down at him and I see candle flames reflecting in his moist eyes.
"Of course you can, buddy," he says, emotion thick in his voice. "Come on." Tyler gets up, and Tobias hands him the empty plates then he follows his father into the kitchen.
"You don't know how happy that makes me, Teags," I say, trying out Tyler's nickname for her. She releases my nipple and smiles up at me. "Do you like that name? Does it make you happy?" She smiles again. "No matter what we call you, you'll always be my precious little peanut." Another crack of thunder hits and the panes rattle right before a flash of lightning lights the room for a couple seconds. Heavy rain pelts the windows, the wind howls, and our calm house erupts. It's going to be another long night. I put Peanut on the couch while taking Tessa out of the swing, causing her to get louder. I cuddle my little one close then manage to pick Peanut back up and get her latched back on.
"Is everything alright in here?" Tobias asks as he comes back into the room with a sniffling Tyler clinging to his neck.
"We're good," I say. He kneels before the fireplace and opens the access panel to check the pilot light. It must be on because he stands up and flips the switch on the mantle and a fire roars to life. He extinguishes the candles on the mantle causing a burnt sulfur smell to drift throughout the room then sits down beside me. "Look at the fire, Tyler." I try to get his mind off the storm when I see how tightly he is gripping Tobias' neck. He loosens his grip and turns his head a little. His eyes light up as he takes in the first fire in our fireplace. I can't wait to hang the kids' Christmas stockings from the mantle.
"Pwetty," he says, mesmerized by the dancing flames. Tessa starts rooting toward my chest, and I'm only partially surprised that she's hungry. She nurses more when she's nervous. I've become quite adept at feeding them at the same time over the past month so she easily latches on. I listen to the wind and rain as we sit huddled up as a family on the couch. Peanut soon slows then stops and I manage to get her up to my shoulder to burp her.
"Do you want me to take Peanut?" Tobias asks after she burps.
"Please. I need to burp Tessa, and it's a lot easier with two hands," I say. By this time, Tyler has let go of his neck and is sitting in his lap facing me. Tobias reaches over and carefully lifts Peanut out of my arms as not to wake her. I put Tessa up against my shoulder and pat her back. She lifts her head and looks all around. When lightning flashes in the distance, she whines lowly in my ear. "Ssh! It's just lightning, little one. Mommy's got you."
"Would you like me to tell you a story, buddy?" Tobias asks when Tyler starts whining.
"Yeah," he pouts.
"Once upon a time in a land far, far away there was a realm made up of five different kingdoms. There was the honest kingdom known as Candor, the peaceful kingdom known as Amity, the intelligent kingdom known as Erudite, the selfless kingdom known as Abnegation, and the fearless kingdom known as Dauntless," Tobias says. Tyler's eyes light up as he hangs on every word. "In the smallest kingdom by far, the selfless one, lived a very handsome prince." I raise my eyes to his, and he grins but it slowly fades as he continues the story. "The prince lived with his father, the evil king. It didn't matter what the prince did, he couldn't make the king happy.
"Once a year, the kingdoms send all their 16 year olds to the center of the realm, the royal court, to choose which kingdom they want to spend the rest of their lives in. Most Abnegation stay in their kingdom forever, never to experience the outside world but the prince longed for a different life, one away from the rule of the heartless king. So when it was his turn to choose he decided to be brave, and he chose to leave all that he had ever known and joined the fearless kingdom, Dauntless. After a rocky start in his new life, the prince found out that he was good at pretending to be brave but he never fully embraced his new life.
"The prince had the freedom he so longed for growing up under the watchful eye of the merciless king and the independence to do what he pleased when he pleased but he was very lonely. Yes, he had lots of good friends but he felt incomplete. He looked for that special someone amongst the maidens of his new territory but none were special enough to capture his attention. Soon he considered leaving his new kingdom to travel amongst the people of the realm who didn't call any of the kingdoms home because he never thought he would find true happiness let alone his one true love. But the prince waited and waited until he didn't think he could wait anymore until finally one day a flaxen-haired beauty, one who was unbelievably born in his old kingdom, the kingdom of Abnegation, fell into his life and straight into his heart.
"The prince knew the moment her took the princesses hand and asked her name that they would be together forever and by some miraculous twist of fate, the princess felt the exact same way about him. The prince and princess fell deeply in love while getting to know each other. The prince loved everything about his fair princess. She was kind, generous, loving, and thoughtful but her rarest gift was she didn't know that she was beautiful, which increased her beauty in the eyes of the prince. But what the prince loved most about the princess is how she made him feel. He no longer felt alone. He found the other half of his heart. He fully embraced his new life in the new kingdom, and no longer had thoughts of running away.
"One day when the prince knew that he couldn't ever live without his princess he got down on one knee and presented to his one true love a big diamond ring and asked her to be his wife. The princess pulled her prince into her arms and accepted his proposal with a soft kiss. After a short engagement, the prince and princess got married in front of all their friends and family. And they…"
"And they're living happily ever after," I say, cutting him off.
"Yes, they are," he says. We lean over Tyler's head and give each other a soft, love-filled kiss and after we part he says, "And that, my precious boy, is the story of how your daddy met your mommy." Tyler's mouth pops open.
"You a pwince?" he asks, amazed at the thought. "Mommy a pwincess?"
"She is in my eyes," he says very sweetly. God, how I love this man in front of me.
"Tell stowy of me an' Tess an' Teags."
"How about we save that one for another night?" he asks. "I promised someone an ice cream sundae."
"You pwomise me!" he excitedly says.
"Is that who I promised?" Tobias says, rubbing his stubble-covered chin, feigning confusion. "I couldn't remember. I thought maybe it was Peanut."
"No! Hew too little for ice cweam."
"You're very right about that," he says. "You stay here with Mommy. I'll go make us some sundaes." He gets up off the couch and puts Peanut in her bassinet then disappears into the kitchen.
"Mommy?" Tyler asks.
"Yes?"
"You know stowy 'bout you?"
"I thought it might be," I say. "Why?" He shrugs his shoulders. "Did you like the story?"
"Yeah!" he says, enthusiastically nodding his head up and down.
"I liked it, too," I say.
"It be bettew with dwagons," he says. Dragons?
"Dragons, huh?" My mind automatically goes to Evelyn, Marcus, Peter, and everyone else who has tried to hurt us in the past year. "There were dragons. Daddy just left them out because he didn't want to scare you."
"I not scawed," he says. "I big boy!"
"Yep, you're Mommy's big boy and I love you very much."
"I love you very much, too," Tobias says as he comes into the room holding three sundae dishes.
"I love you," Tyler says to both of us.
"Here you go. One scoop of sweat cream ice cream, hot fudge, crushed chocolate cookies, whipped cream, and a cherry on top."
"Thanks!" Tyler says as he kneels behind the coffee table. He picks up the spoon and digs in. I look down at Tessa when she stops nursing and find her sound asleep with her mouth wide open. She looks just like Tobias when he's deep in sleep. I put her up to my shoulder and gently pat her back. She burps loudly, wakes up for a moment and laughs, and then lays her head on my shoulder and falls back to sleep. I roll my eyes at her. She's going to be hell on wheels when she gets older. After I fix my shirt, I start my sundae.
"This is really good," I say, putting another spoonful in my mouth. "Thanks."
"You're welcome, love," Tobias says. Tyler pushes his empty dish away then crawls up onto the couch between us. He puts his head in my lap and his legs in his father's. Within minutes he's asleep. We don't say anything for the longest time. We sit watching the fire, enjoying the peace and quiet. I haven't felt this calm for quite a while, probably because we know where Tori and Will are. I wish they weren't in the infirmary but at least they aren't in the morgue.
"Do you think we should chance taking these two upstairs and putting them to bed?" I ask when I don't think it will wake them up if they move.
"Sure," he says. He very easily picks Tyler up who looks like a limp rag doll in his arms. I get up, trying not to jostle Tessa and check on Peanut. She's sleeping peacefully so I follow Tobias upstairs and into Tyler's room. He gets him into his dinosaur PJs without waking him then we tuck him in.
"What are we going to do about a nightlight?" I whisper. "He would freak if he woke up and it was pitch black in here but we can't leave candles unattended in his room."
"I have an idea," Tobias says. He unplugs Tyler's nightlight and holds it close to the candle so he can see. He turns it upside down and slides a switch causing a familiar soft glow to illuminate the room. "It switches from electricity to full battery. Hopefully, it will last the night."
"Good thinking," I say as he sets it on his desk. "I forgot about that."
"Why don't you put Tessa to bed, and I'll go downstairs with Peanut."
"Okay," I say. I give him a quick kiss then head toward the nursery. I carefully lie Tessa on the changing table and take her little outfit off. I change her into a dry diaper then choose a warm sleeper for what could be a cool night if the power doesn't come back on until morning. I kiss her head then put her in her crib. Before I head downstairs, I make sure the monitor is operational then grab its mate off my bedside table. After I use the bathroom, I head downstairs. When I turn the corner and walk back into the living room I find Tobias standing at the wall of windows. The flashes of lightning in the distance illuminate him with a soft glow, stopping me in my tracks. He's holding Peanut against his chest, patting her back and gently swaying as he gazes off in the distance. I wonder what he's thinking about. I softly pad up behind him and wrap my arms around his waist and hug him tightly.
"Do you mind if I make a few calls?" he asks.
"Of course not," I say. "I'm anxious for an update on Will and Tori's conditions." I release him and he turns and I take Peanut from him. She's awake but not fussy. "Are you feeling better?" I press my lips to her forehead as I walk to the couch and sit down. Unfortunately, she's still warm. I lay her in my lap and check her diaper but it's dry. Tobias must have changed her. I watch as he gets his phone out. I nearly get dizzy as I watch him pace back and forth in front of me as he first talks to Zeke then Shauna and finally Zander. Even though I only get his half of the conversation, I learn that the cameras at the Navy Pier were hacked and all the footage from this morning was erased, Tori's still sedated and there's been no change in her condition, Will's vitals continue to improve but his memory loss hasn't changed, and the guards charged with tailing Molly, Drew, and Olivia lost them this morning when they jumped on multiple trains.
"How's Peanut?" Tobias asks after he hangs his phone up. She got hungry when he was talking to Zander so she's nursing now.
"She still doesn't feel well," I say. "Not only is she feverish but I can tell when I look in her eyes. I wish I could take it away from her. I don't want her to be sick or in pain."
"I know you don't. I don't either," he says. "That's what makes you a good mom. You care."
"That's my job," I say. "And when they don't feel well a part of me thinks I'm failing."
"I think it's natural to feel that way but you know it's not your fault," he says. "Kids get sick." He slides closer to me and puts his arm around me. I lean into his side and put my head on his shoulder. He kisses the top of my head.
"Tell me about your phone calls," I say. "Did I hear correctly? Did Lauren hack into the cameras and erase the footage from the Navy Pier this morning?"
"We have no evidence that it was her," he says. "Zeke knows how good Callen is with computers so tomorrow morning he's going to ask him to look and see if he can retrieve any of the data."
"Do you think he can do that?" I ask.
"Since the surveillance footage is stored on our servers there's a chance, although only a small one," he says. "If new data overwrites the deleted information, then it's lost forever and since Lauren knows what she's doing more than likely she overwrote the info several times."
"Did Zander say anything about the DNA tests?" I ask.
"No," he says. "I can't believe I forgot to ask him. I'll talk to him in the morning about it."
"That was quite a story you told Tyler, my handsome prince," I say and he smiles warmly at me.
"I had to do something to get his mind off the storm," he says. "I kid you not, he leapt six feet into my arms then tried to strangle me to death when he heard that last clap of thunder we had."
"I understand," I say. "One second I had two very content babies and the next they were having a meltdown. I liked the story. It was sweet."
"I thought about just telling him our boring old story," he says, a twinkle in his eyes.
"Yeah, boring," I say, rolling my eyes at him before I move our infant daughter to my shoulder. Our life has been anything but boring.
"I thought making it into a fairytale would keep his attention longer, and I think it worked."
"It think it did, too," I say. "Of course, now he expects a story about Prince Tyler, Princess Tessa, and Princess Teagan."
"And he'll get it one day," he says. "The kids are all asleep, love. How about a bath?"
"That would be nice," I say.
"You put Teagan to bed and I'll run our bath," he says.
"Our bath?" I ask, desire suddenly replacing the fatigue.
"Yes. Ours."
"That sounds even better," I say. We get up and extinguish all the candles. Before we go upstairs, he switches the fireplace off. "I loved the fire and the candles. It was romantic."
"Except for the three screaming kids," he says as he leads me in the dark through the living room and kitchen, up the stairs, and into our bedroom.
"Yeah! Except for the three screaming kids," I repeat. "Oh! I left the baby monitor receiver downstairs. I'll go get it."
"No, I'll go get it," he says. "You get Peanut ready for bed." He kisses my forehead and goes back into the darkness. I head into the nursery and get Teagan ready for bed. I change her dirty diaper then put her in a clean, dry, lighter weight flannel sleeper gown but just as I'm putting her in the crib she wakes and starts fussing. I sit in the rocker in the corner and gently rock back and forth trying to get her to go back to sleep. I know she can't be hungry because I just finished feeding her less than half an hour ago so something must have startled her. I put her to my shoulder and rub her back as we rock, and she starts to settle down. The feeling of being lifted startles me and I gasp.
"It's alright, love," Tobias says.
"What's going on?" I ask, sleep thick in my voice. Am I asleep?
"You fell asleep rocking Peanut," he quietly says.
"Our bath?"
"I'm putting you to bed," he says. I can hear humor in his voice but I have no idea why. "We can take a bath another time. You're exhausted and the truth is, so am I."
"Okay," I say, my words slurring.
"Goodnight, love," he says as he gently lays me on our bed then slides in beside me.
"Mm-hm," I mutter. I think I fell back to sleep before my head hit the pillow.