Tobias and I hurriedly leave Marcus' and walk hand-in-hand up the street toward my parents' house in silence. He's been deep in thought ever since he practically dragged me out of that house. I try asking him a couple questions but either he's so absorbed with whatever's on his mind that he doesn't hear me or he's not ready to talk about what's bothering him, so instead of prying, I decide to give him some time, and I go over our conversation with his father in my heard, word for word. The revelation that Ethan Black knows about the Frankenstein Serum troubles me but what concerns me the most is what Marcus said about DNA targeting. What if Erudite researchers make a breakthrough and discover what makes us different and can then make a serum that's harmless to the entire population unless you happen to be Divergent? My heart palpates painfully in my chest.

"Penny for your thoughts." Tobias' soothing, deep vibrato cuts through my anxiety as we stroll up the walkway to my parent's front door.

"I could ask you the same thing," I say as I look up into his dark blue eyes with a smile. "I was talking to you earlier, and I don't think you heard me." He sighs.

"I'm sorry, love. I'm just trying to work a few things out, and I'm not quite ready to talk about it just yet," he says. "When I'm ready, we'll talk. I promise."

"I figured as much," I say. "I'll be here when you're ready."

"I know and I love you for it," he says. "So what has you so far away?"

"I was just thinking about Mr. Black knowing about the death serum experiments and what Marcus said about DNA targeting. I'm worried." I quickly run through my concerns before we go inside to see the kids and talk to Caleb and Cara again. I didn't want to surprise him with my line of questioning. He hangs on every word, worry creasing his forehead just a little more with each word.

"Where did that diabolical brain of yours come from?" he teases when I finish. "Or did I marry a conspiracy theorist and I just didn't know it."

"Do I sound foolish?" I ask, suddenly embarrassed. Maybe I'm making this out to be more than it is. His amused look turns deadly serious.

"That's the most worrisome part," he says. "Every word you just said makes perfect sense to me … and it scares me to death."

"I know. I'm scared too for a lot of reasons," I say. "I was hoping that our trip today would give us some answers, which it thankfully has but now we have twice as many questions as we did before."

"We better get inside." Tobias knocks once on my parents' front door as he pushes it open and steps aside, motioning me forward. The moment I step inside, I hear Peanut fussing from the living room. I pull my phone out of my pocket and check the time. I'm surprised she isn't wailing, it's past time for her next feeding.

"We're back," I say as we enter the room. Dad's pacing back and forth at a measured clip, gently bouncing my sick baby girl in his arms to calm her while Mom sits in her chair giving Tessa a bottle. Tyler is awake but he's still lying on the couch with his head resting on Caleb's leg. I expect a room full of tension but we're greeted with nothing but smiles. I carefully take Peanut from my dad, and she immediately quiets down but starts rooting toward my chest, letting me know that supper had better come soon.

I kneel beside the couch and Tyler says, "Hi, Mommy." My poor little guy sounds miserable.

"How are you feeling, buddy?" I ask as I run my hand over his forehead and into his hair.

"I yucky," he moans.

"I am so sorry," I say as I press my lips to his forehead in a kiss. I don't need a thermometer to tell he's feverish this time. "You lie there and rest, okay, but let Mommy or Daddy know if you need anything, okay? I love you."

"Otay. Love you," he says then I turn my attention to Tessa.

"I think this one learned a new trick today," Mom says, beaming from ear to ear. I watch as she moves her hand away from the bottle but it doesn't fall. Tessa's little hands are on either side of it, holding it up as she suckles away.

"You're holding your bottle, little one?" She takes the nipple out of her mouth and smiles brightly at me then says mama over and over again. "You must be feeling better. Are your gums not hurting anymore?" I stick my finger in her mouth and run it along the once inflamed tissue, immediately finding her first tooth. "This is a big day for you, Tessa, holding your bottle by yourself like a big girl and getting your first tooth. Where did my tiny baby go?"

"Teags right there," Tyler says, pointing at the infant in my arms, causing everyone to chuckle.

"I know," I say, smiling his way. I kiss Tessa's forehead and am thankful she's not warm. I tilt her bottle back up so she can get it in her mouth, and she continues eating. "May I use your chair to feed Teagan, Dad?"

"Of course."

"I'm sorry for all the disruptions and leaving you with three sick kids most of the day," Tobias says as I ready Peanut to nurse. "Thank you all for being willing to look after them for us. You don't know what that means."

"You're welcome, Four," Mom says. "I can't say it's been a dull day. How would you like to stay for supper?"

"Cara and I would love to," Caleb says. "What about you, Beatrice?" I look up at Tobias, leaving the decision up to him since he just told Marcus we had to be getting back to Dauntless soon. Even though I think it was an excuse, he could have been telling the truth.

"I don't think we can," he says, apologetically. "It's been a really long day, and we need to be getting the kids home. We'd have to leave immediately following the meal, and we don't want to be rude."

"Nonsense! You'll stay and eat. We understand you need to be getting home but I love having all of you here. It doesn't happen enough," Mom says. "Four, would you like to finish feeding your daughter?"

"I would love to, Natalie," he says as he lifts Tessa into his arms. He puts her against his shoulder, patting her back to get her to burp, which she does immediately. Mom trades places with him then heads into the kitchen to prepare supper for us, one of her favorite things to do.

"How did things go with Marcus?" Dad asks. "Did he have anything useful to add?"

"It went about as expected. He pretty much gave us the same story you did," I say. "Although, he gave us a few disturbing additions."

"Are you sure he can be trusted?" Caleb asks. "We all know Marcus Eaton has been known to exaggerate and even outright lie at times in the past."

"Trust? I'm still working on the idea of trusting my father," Tobias says. "I don't think it will ever fully happen but I believe what he told us this afternoon."

"I hate to admit it, Caleb, but I did, too," I say.

"What did he have to add?" Dad asks, standing patiently before us since there isn't a place to sit.

"He told us that Jeanine and David Benz petitioned the council to make a more ethical death serum." When I say the old faction leader's name, Caleb and Cara's mouths fall open. They obviously didn't know of his involvement, which makes me suspicious of Gavin. Can Erudite have a leader who isn't corrupt?

"Apparently, during the initial meeting, she also mentioned that with just a few tweaks, they could make DNA-specific death serums. The excuse she used was just in case war was ever to break out again but I don't believe that for one second. I can only think of one application something like that would be used for, and I think you all know what that would be."

"To kill Divergents," Caleb says, although this doesn't seem like it would bother him much. I wonder if he would change his mind if he knew that this kind of a serum would kill not only his sister and brother-in-law but his very own mother.

"A serum like that wouldn't work," Dad says. "The cause for divergence has been researched since the city's infancy. Scientists don't know what causes it but a specific gene or DNA marker was ruled out decades ago."

"That's basically what Marcus told us," Tobias says. "Is that true, Caleb?"

"From what I've been told, that is correct," he says. "But there are a lot of people who disagree with the assessment and want to keep testing for what makes them different."

"And if one of your researchers found something tomorrow, would a DNA targeting serum be made?" I ask, horrified at the thought. I have children to think about, children who could be Divergent just like both their parents.

"Probably," Caleb says. "I disagree with it though. This may not be a very popular thing to say but Divergents aren't the dangerous ones. It's the ones who target them that have caused the problems … hurting, maiming, killing innocent people." He's angry. "I know for a fact that we can live in peace if everyone would just try to get along."

"You know for a fact?" Dad asks, breaking the awkward silence. Caleb's sudden intake of breath and hanging head makes me realize that he didn't realize exactly what he said. "Do you know someone who is Divergent, son?" I think Tobias and I are both holding our breaths, Dad, too.

"He's protecting me," Cara quietly says. "I'd become a guinea pig if anyone at Erudite found out my secret. Divergents don't last long in Erudite once they're found out as you can imagine."

"I'm sorry," Caleb says to Cara. "I let my big mouth get carried away."

"Try not to beat yourself up," she says. "We're among family." She looks at each of us in turn. "I can trust you, right?"

"How could you have believed those hateful Erudite reports about Abnegation if you're Divergent?" I ask, flabbergasted by her secret. I never would have guessed in a million years. "You had to know that those reports were full of lies."

"Beatrice!" Caleb scolds.

"No, it's alright," Cara says. "It's a fair question. Tris, you've probably never heard your parents speak ill about anything in your life." Well, only Erudite but I keep that to myself. If there's one thing I know about Cara Drake, she is fiercely loyal to her faction. "That kind of negativity can rub off. I believed what my mother told me because I wanted to. But once I got to know Caleb, he made me learn more about myself and I knew the truth. I immediately let the anger and hurt go."

"How did you learn you are Divergent?" Tobias asks.

"My father. Although, I was too young to know exactly what he was talking about at the time," she says. Will's only mentioned his father once, the night Liam was born. He had tears in his eyes telling his newborn son that he wished his grandfather could be there to meet him. "He died when I was 10 and Will was 8. I remember it was a couple weeks before he died, he sat me down and told me to listen carefully. He told me what divergence was and to not believe everything I heard about them. He told me I was special. Two weeks later he was gone. But I remembered every word he told me that night. He helped get me through the aptitude test and initiation. I don't know what I would have done without his valuable advice."

"Does Will know?" I ask.

"I can't risk telling him," she says. "It would make him hate me. I couldn't stand it." Tobias squeezes my hand. She trusted us with her most guarded secret. I think it's time we trust her.

"Cara, he would never hate you. That's impossible," I say. "He's a lot more understanding than you give him credit for. He was fine when I told him I was Divergent."

"What?" Caleb exclaims as Cara's eyes widen. "No."

"I found out at my aptitude test, although I had no idea what was going on, and the most frustrating part for me was that no one would explain anything. I didn't know what it was, what it meant. I'd never heard the word before that day."

"I should have been brave enough to tell you," Mom says from the hall doorway then she walks into the room. "I guess I was suppressing my Dauntless side for so long that I thought I was doing the right thing. I'm sorry Beatrice. I should have had the guts to do what my mother couldn't do either."

"Mom?" Caleb chokes. "You two?"

"You can add me to the list," Tobias says.

"I think my head's going to explode," he says. "My fiancée, sister, brother-in-law, and mother are all Divergent?" He looks over at our father.

"Nope," he says. "I'm the odd man out."

"Are you alright, Caleb?" I ask. "You look a little green. Maybe you should get him something to drink, Mom."

"I'm fine. I'm just trying to wrap my head around this," he says. "I'm surprised I never noticed before. Although I guess it's been living with Cara that has made me more intuitive to divergence. She may have only gotten Erudite on her aptitude test but I know she's a Candor also. She speaks her mind just like a Candor does. So, Beatrice, are you Dauntless and Erudite?"

"That actually would be me," Mom says.

"Dauntless and Abnegation?" he asks, trying again.

"Dauntless, Abnegation, and Erudite."

"Wow," he and Cara say at the same time.

"I've never met anyone with more than one," Cara says. "What about you, Four?"

"Abnegation," he says. "I've never really thought about what my true test would have said. Marcus coached me to get the result he wanted, and I didn't dare go against him."

"Abnegation and Dauntless, maybe," Caleb says.

"Mm, I think Dauntless and Erudite."

"I think he's just like me," I say, staring into the eyes of the wonderful man I'm totally in love with but addressing the room. "He's definitely selfless – he's proved that time and again, he's smart as a whip, and there's never been a better Dauntless soldier ever." By the time I'm finished, his cheeks are pink. "So, Cara, you've met other Divergents?"

"You caught that, huh?" she sheepishly asks and we nod. "It's one of the things Dad told me before he died. He gave me a name to contact when I came of age. I knew that if I wanted the man's help, I had to stay in Erudite so I joined the faction that at the time I knew was actively seeking out and killing our kind. The day after initiation was over I called on him, explained who I was, and what I wanted. He was expecting me. He's taught me so much. I probably shouldn't tell you this but in light of what we've found out about Jeanine and the serums today, I'm sure he won't mind. He's one of a handful of Erudite members who works very hard to keep all Divergents hidden."

"I'm not going to ask for his name but does he have any power to help make sure that DNA targeted serums never comes to life?" Tobias asks. "Everyone in this room knows how bad an idea something like that could be." He stares at Peanut who is asleep against my shoulder. She comes from two second generation Divergents at the very least. That has to put her at greater risk. Hopefully, by the time we have to worry about that, the city will learn that they have nothing to fear from people like us.

"Yes, he does," she says. "And I'll report what I learned minus the fact that you all have secrets to keep also."

"We'd appreciate it," Tobias says. "Andrew, did you know that Jonah Thompson and Black were involved in the meetings with Marcus, Jeanine, and David?"

"I knew that they were directly involved, yes. They led our discussions," he says.

"After learning that he has two direct links to the Frankenstein Serum and is originally from Erudite, it made me wonder something. Do you think he could be a plant?"

"We got all the plants," Caleb says, somewhat defensively.

"It's not an accusation, it's more of an idea," I say. "Something struck me when Marcus mentioned his name. Not only did he know about the death serum experiments, now he's been linked to one of Molly's known associates and we have a witness who has seen him with her. Isn't that too much of a coincidence?"

"I personally think Tris is onto something," Tobias says. "We have no idea what his life was like when he lived there, who his friends were. He could have been best friends with Jeanine for all we know."

"He wasn't," Dad quietly says. Sometimes I forget my parents weren't born Abnegation and that they both lived a whole other life before they let their blood fall on the cold gray stones on their Choosing Day. "I was closer to her than he was."

"You were friends with Jeanine?" Caleb and I spit at the same time.

"I was. Our parents were close friends, and we were thrown together from the time we were very young," he says. "Her many intolerances were showing even as a small child. Sometimes I wish I knew what made her that way but other times, I just don't care enough about her to think about it." He grimaces. "I shouldn't have said that. Jeanine and I have a complicated past that is best kept exactly where it is, the past. I shouldn't have said anything." We watch him walk out of the room and Mom turn and follow after him.

"Do you have any idea what that was about?" Caleb asks.

"Not a clue," I say.

"So you think Susan's father is working with Erudite?" he asks.

"No," I say, meaning it wholeheartedly. "I think in the past for one reason or another he sympathized with what Jeanine and then Asher and Dru were trying to do. Whether he actually helped them or not is yet to be seen. But I'm confident he's neck deep in this … crap that's happening now." I almost say shit but catch myself at the last second. My rambunctious boy is being so quiet right now that it's easy to forget he's lying on the couch listening to our conversation. "He's bitter and angry over Ellie's ultimatum, Four. We have to keep the kids close until this is over."

"I agree," Tobias says. Tessa jumps when his phone rings and starts crying. I carefully put Peanut in Cara's arms, making sure she doesn't wake up then take Tessa from her father.

"Ssh, little one," I say as I rub her back. "Go back to sleep."

"Ma ma ma ma ma ma," she sleepily whines.

"That's right, Mommy's got you," I say. I pace a little, bouncing her softly as Tobias talks to someone from Candor on the phone. What I'm getting from his side of the conversation is we're going to the Merciless Mart tomorrow for an interrogation. We've witnessed our fair share in the last year but I think I'm looking forward to this one the most. We need answers.

"Thanks for the call, Jack," he says then hangs up. "Truth serum interrogation tomorrow at 10 a.m. in the Abnegation holding cell. I tried to talk him into a public interview but as it stands right now the charges don't warrant it. I'm sure within five minutes, Jack will regret that decision, and I told him as much."

"Dinner is ready," Dad says as he comes back into the living room. "I'm sorry I just walked off like that but I needed a minute."

"It's okay," I say. As I pass by him on my way to the kitchen, I whisper I love him and kiss his cheek.

"I love you, too, Beatrice," he says.

"Wow, it smells good in here," I say when I enter the kitchen. "Thank you for inviting us to stay."

"I love having you and your brother and your families here," she says. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too," I say as I sit down. I see that Tessa is wide awake now so I sit her in my lap facing the table after moving everything out of her way. Sometimes it's like she has six hands.

"Tyler isn't joining us for supper," Tobias says as he carries Peanut into the room and sits down beside me. "I'll give him some soup later if he gets hungry."

"Is he alright?" I ask. "If he wants to go home, we can leave."

"He doesn't want to leave. He loves it here," he says, "and he's comfortable on the couch. Besides he'll more than likely fall asleep in the next few minutes. Let's just enjoy this wonderful supper your mom fixed."

"You're right," I say. We all sit at the table enjoying the bountiful meal Mom fixed for us, catching up even further. Mom and I offer Cara our help with the wedding but she thanks us both and tells us that she already asked Christina for her help when she spoke with her earlier. She laughs heartily when she explains Christina had already bombarded her with all kinds of ideas, the stress she exhibited earlier when she talked about wedding planning gone. I also ask how Will is doing and she assures us that he is doing well. He apparently napped on and off with Liam throughout the day, Christina at his side. Even though we decided early in the meal not to talk about business the conversation slowly shifts back to the reason we gathered here today.

"I'm going to attend Ethan's interrogation," Dad says. "I'm really surprised that Jack didn't think it was important to question a council member accused of wrong doing in front of an audience. That opens him up to the appearances of impropriety."

"It might be a favor to Candor's newest leader, Kent Nelson," I say. All eyes fall on me when I say the unfamiliar name.

"And why would that be?" Dad asks.

"They are related somehow," I say.

"That's right," Tobias says. "Kent Nelson is Olivia's father and Ethan is her uncle. He could be pulling some strings. I'll have to let Jack know this information in case it's been left out."

"I'm going to attend also," Caleb says. "Our faction needs a representative present if the serums are going to be discussed."

"I would love to attend," Cara says, "but my schedule is full this week. I could move things around but it would be difficult at this late hour."

"What about you, Mom?" Caleb asks. "Do you want to make it a family affair?"

"I'm afraid my schedule is full as well tomorrow," she says. "You'll just have to handle things without Cara or me. Do you think you're up for the task?"

"I think we can handle it," Dad says with a chuckle. I study his face for a moment then glance in my Mom's direction. They're both wearing identical silly grins. It's nice to see them looking happy again. Moaning captures my attention and I turn my head to find Tyler stumbling into the kitchen. When he squeezes between Tobias and me, I feel heat radiating off of him. I shift Tessa into my other arm and Tobias lifts Tyler onto my lap.

"How are you feeling?" I kiss the top of his head. He's so hot.

"I hungwy but my tummy yucky," he sighs as he leans back against me.

"I made a small batch of chicken noodle soup in case you got hungry, Tyler," my mom says. "Would you like a bowl?" He looks up over his shoulder at me.

"Grandma makes really good chicken noodle soup," I say.

"Yes, peas," he says.

"Would you like some ginger ale, too?" she asks him then looks at me. "I'll add some water."

"That would be great. Thanks, Mom," I say. She sets a bowl of soup in front of Tyler then gets him a sippy cup of weakened ginger ale. He eats about half of it then goes back to the couch.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to go," Tobias says when we finish. "We need to get Tyler home and in bed. He seems like he's getting worse instead of better. We might have to make a trip to the infirmary."

"I'll help you pack the car," Dad says as Tobias hands Peanut to Mom.

"I'm sorry we have to go," I say. "I wish we could stay and visit some more."

"I understand why you have to go." Peanut's eyes flutter open and she frowns before she starts crying. "You don't have to apologize."

"She's probably hungry," I say. "I was hoping she wouldn't wake up until we got home. Does she still feel warm?"

"I'm afraid so," she says after she kisses her forehead.

"I'll hold Tessa," Caleb says.

"Thanks," I say. He picks her up and starts making faces, eliciting squeals of delight from her.

"She is such a happy baby," Cara says.

"She is," I say as I take Peanut. "I'm going to take her upstairs to feed her. Will you tell Four for me?"

"Of course," Mom says. I grab the diaper bag then go to my old room. I quickly change her into a clean diaper then sit back on the bed, my back against the wall. "Are you feeling better? You don't seem to be as fussy." Her clear eyes stare up at me as she nurses. "Mommy loves you, baby girl."

"Is everything okay up here?" Tobias asks from the doorway.

"Yeah," I say. I move over and he sits down beside me. "How are you? It's been a long day."

"I'm tired," he confesses. "Love, you can't go to Candor tomorrow."

"Why not?" I ask, befuddled. "We'll just take Peanut with us."

"Tyler is sick. She's still under the weather. Tessa isn't 100% yet," he says. "I'm not going to forbid you but don't you think our kids are more important than sitting on an uncomfortable wooden bench most the morning listening to that asshole lament on how we took his kids away from him?" I heave a sigh, unhappy, but realize he's making a valid point that I didn't even think of.

"You're absolutely right," I say. "Our babies are more important than anything." Relief washes over him when I agree. "Did you think you were going to have a fight on your hands?"

"Maybe."

"I can be reasonable you know," I say. He leans over and kisses my temple then sighs. I can tell that he wants to talk about something but doesn't know how to start. He always gets quiet and brooding. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm not sure you want to hear it."

"Try me," I say.

"I think Marcus is actually trying to change," he says. It seems like it's almost painful for him to utter the words. "I'm not sure he's capable of it but I think he's really trying."

"What makes you think that?" I ask, worried that he'll open his heart just to have it permanently damaged by that man.

"This," he says as he takes the delicate glass sculpture out of one of the padded side pockets on the diaper bag. "The man I grew up with would have shattered this into a million pieces the moment he saw it and not thought twice about it. I know that for a fact. I witnessed him shatter his fair share of things he deemed selfish. The fact that he had seen it before and it's still intact made me stop and think."

"Does it really make a difference to you if he changes?"

"Well, we'll never be buddy-buddy. That's an impossibility," he says. "I'll never be able to fully trust him after everything he's done – the scars run too deep – but if I can stop feeling hatred and fear every time I look at the man, I think that would be a good thing. Don't you?"

"Absolutely," I say, meaning it wholeheartedly. "You know how I feel about this, Tobias. I don't want you hurt. If he hurts you, I'll kill him."

"I don't think it makes a real difference anyway," he says. "I have no desire to socialize with him or expose the kids to him. I just need to forgive him."

"You're a better person than I am," I say. "But I understand your thinking. You don't want how you feel about him to have a negative impact on your life."

"It's already had a profoundly negative impact. I'm ashamed that I allowed him to hurt me the way he did."

"It's not your fault," I say. "You were a child. He's your father. He was supposed to love you and protect you. He shouldn't have been the one you needed protection from. That wasn't love … that was control." I pause before I ask my next question. "Do you think I'm weak because I refuse to forgive him?"

"You're not weak, quite the opposite actually. You are the strongest woman I've ever known. You've never let what he did consume you," he says. "Before I met you, I had the tendency to dwell on my shitty childhood, and it changed who I was here." He bumps his fist against his chest, directly overlying his heart a couple times. "Then I met you, and I started to remember who the real Tobias Eaton was. I need to forgive him because I need to heal." I raise my lips to his, and he kisses me softly. Peanut whines just as he thrusts his tongue between my parted lips and strokes it against mine. He pulls away, and we look down at our daughter who is frowning at us.

"She looks like Tyler with that little frown on her face," I say with a chuckle. "What is it with our kids not liking us to kiss?"

"They'll just have to get used to it because I'm not ever going to stop kissing you."

After another brief kiss, I try to latch Teagan back on to my breast but she's had enough so I put the medication on her thrush patches then we head downstairs. While I get the girls into their car seats, Tobias carries a sleeping Tyler to the car. He immediately comes back in and carries the girls out and fastens them into the car while I say goodbye to my family.

"Thank you for lunch and dinner and for watching the kids when we were occupied. We'll have to do this again soon. Hopefully, minus all the drama though," I say as I hug my mom and then my dad. "Dad, I thought I'd see you tomorrow at Candor but I've got sick kids so I'm staying home."

"I understand," he says. "I'm sure Four will catch you up on everything we learn."

"I'm sure he will, too," I say. I hug Caleb and then Cara before getting in the car. "We'll see you soon." I wave and tell everyone goodbye again then the car pulls away from the curb. "I think I'm ready to get home." It's been a long, emotionally exhausting day.

"Me, too, love," he says, resting his hand on my knee. "Me, too."