Eric's first three weeks back in Dauntless were equal parts frustrating and infuriating, and for all the progress he'd made since leaving Chicago was starting to feel like it was for nothing. Now that he lived in Chicago again, he felt that he and Tris talked even less than they did when he lived hundreds of miles away.
Their first fight had been when she said she preferred that they didn't work together. Eric had assumed she would want them to have extra time together, and he'd argued that it would be easier for him to acclimate to a new life in his former faction if he had someone he was comfortable to spend his days with. Tris had balked, saying that working together could add a layer of difficulty to their co-parenting relationship.
"If we both want time off when we have our baby, it'll be harder if we work together. Same for illnesses, or appointments, or anything we'd want to do together." She'd explained.
She was right, but he was still irritated.
He'd started working in patrol, and he surprisingly was assigned to Christina as a partner. They'd gotten to know each other a little while in Milwaukee, and he knew she'd been very supportive of Tris when he was memory wiped, but he had no idea what she really thought of him.
With her being a former Candor, it didn't take him long to find out.
"Am I going to have issues with you?" She'd asked him the first day they worked together.
"I guess we'll find out." He'd replied.
His first three weeks back to work were spent training with Christina. She didn't hold anything back during their training, and they'd butted heads many times as a result.
He'd finally been approved to move from training into a full squad member, and today he followed her into the armory to pick up his gear.
"He's out of training, he needs-"
"I know what the fuck I need, I was a leader here-" He barked at Christina.
"Not anymore." Christina said icily, effectively shutting down any argument. Eric just stewed while she rattled off a surprisingly accurate list of everything he'd need to join the internal security patrols.
Her fiancé Uriah worked down there, and he just raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he gathered the requested items for Eric.
"Any questions?" Christina asked Eric as he began gathering everything Uriah brought up to him.
"No." Eric had replied in a quiet voice.
She watched as he signed for his uniforms, protective gear and weaponry, and she'd supervised as he checked each piece.
"Why are you watching me?" He'd asked.
"It's my job. You don't get special treatment because you were a leader before. This is the same process we have for all recruits, you of all people should know this." She replied angrily.
"What's your issue with me?" He asked her, rounding on her in the small room.
She sees Uriah watching them from the other room, but to his credit he stays back. He knows his fiancée can more than handle her own battles, and he'd only step in if she asked.
"I am waiting for you to hurt her again." She replied bluntly.
"Don't hold your breath." He shot back.
"Really? Because from what I've seen, you're still trying to make decisions for her." Christina retorts and she can tell she struck a nerve, "You seem to think that just because you're back in Dauntless that your work is done. It's not. She's had to get over you, twice now, the first when you were wiped and the second when she finally walked away from you. I can see the look on your face, and you may think I am out of line for what I'm saying, but tell me you don't have an assumption that you're back and your job is done."
"I don't." He argued.
"Really? Because you're already pissed that she didn't want to work with you, and in the three weeks of training you've done with me you've basically been phoning it in-"
"I've done all of this before, I didn't need training from someone who's barely out of training herself-"
"The fuck you didn't," Christina replied angrily, "You were a leader the last time you went through any type of patrol training. You aren't anymore. This is my squad now, and you need to be brought down several pegs to understand that you're not making the decisions anymore."
"Why does it feel like we're not just talking about work?" He asked.
"Because we're not. You're my direct report now, you need to treat me with respect. The same goes for Tris, you need to stop assuming that the two of you are in a relationship. You've not even asked her what she wants in all of this. You gave her shit when she didn't want to work with you. You're pissed at her now because you've been back for weeks and she won't let you move in. You need to understand you're not running shit anymore, Eric. We are."
He wants to lash out, but he bites the inside of his cheek and takes a few cleaning breaths before speaking, "What am I doing wrong?"
Christina can see Uriah's chocolate eyes on her from over Eric's shoulder and he nods once at her, "You're not giving her a choice."
"She's having my kid, aren't we a little too far along for that?"
"She has to co-parent with you, she doesn't have to live with you. She doesn't have to have a relationship with you, either." Christina replies.
"Has she said something? Does she not want to be with me?"
"These are questions you'll need to ask her. You assume a lot when it comes to her, and you need to stop." Christina says and he nods his head.
"Understood. I appreciate the talk." He replies surprising her.
"What about our working relationship, Coulter?"
"You're the boss." He replies and she quirks an eyebrow at him, "Okay, yeah I'm acknowledging that you are actually my boss and I need to stop treating you like I'm a leader and you're an initiate. We are neither anymore."
At the end of their first patrol as partners, they head to the locker room to store their gear. Eric sees Peter as soon as he walks in, the two had managed to avoid each other since he joined patrol, and when Peter turns away from him he starts speaking to Christina.
"You and Uri are still coming out with us tonight, right?" He asks and Eric can see Christina glance over at him before answering.
"Yes." She answers shortly and Eric doesn't miss the look she gives Peter.
"What time do you want to meet up?" He asks.
"We can figure out the logistics later." She says dismissively.
Peter doesn't seem deterred, "I don't want it to be anywhere where it's just loud music, or fighting and drinking. It's hard enough to get her out of the house, if we end up in the club she's going to hate it."
"Peter, we can figure it all out later." Christina says.
"She can't drink, she's pregnant, so can we at least agree to that?" He asks.
"I already know this." Christina says and Eric realizes they're talking about Tris.
He slams his locker and storms out of the room. Christina sighs loudly at Peter, "That was fucked up."
"Tris is a single woman, he needs to get over his caveman shit." Peter replies.
"You realize they've not talked to each other about their relationship, right? You're interfering in that-"
"Just a few days ago you were completely against them being together." Peter replies.
"No, that's not fair. I have said I'm afraid she's going to get hurt. That's different." She argues.
"We all are. I've tried, Chris, I've been patient with her while she works it out, but he's pressuring her for too much right now. He got pissed when she didn't want to work together, and she mentioned that he's been trying to get her to let him move in. They can raise their kid without being together, she knows it but he can't seem to figure it out."
"You're not innocent in this you know." She states and he frowns at her, "You've been good to her, but she's flat out told you that she loves him and wants to see where things can go with him. What you just did is going to end up hurting her, because you damn sure made it sound like we were going on a double date, and she's told you repeatedly that the time you two spend together is as friends. You need to move on."
"I've moved on, you already know I'm dating Marlene." He huffs.
"Then why are you riling him up?"
"Because he doesn't deserve her." Peter shrugs.
"You may feel that way, and it's valid, but she gets to decide who does." Christina reminds him and he scowls at her.
The banging on her door startles her, and she finishes her mascara before going to let Peter in. They'd been trying to work on their friendship, and he'd asked if they could start having their weekly dinners again. She'd agreed to one, and asked Christina and Uriah to go with them as well to just make it a little less awkward.
He knocks harder, "Just a minute." She calls out as she walks to the door, "Where's the fire?" She asks as she opens the door, but her smile falters when she sees an agitated Eric standing there.
"Why are you going out with Peter tonight?" He asks as he tries to walk past her into the apartment.
She blocks his path and scowls at him, "What are you talking about?"
"Why are you going out with Peter tonight? He's having a fucking field day talking to Christina about your little double date in front of me. Why wouldn't you tell me?"
"Because I don't have to tell you everything I do." She replies firmly.
He tries again to walk past her and she blocks him again, "Why can't I come in?"
"Because I'm getting ready to have dinner with my friends tonight and I don't have time to argue with you about it." Tris says as she tries to close the door but he puts his heavy boot in the way, "Eric, you need to leave. I have plans this evening, and the next time we talk I sincerely hope you're ready to have a conversation that doesn't include your ego or insecurities."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" He asks.
"The last time we were in this faction together you made all of the decisions when it came to my life, this time any decisions that are made will be made together. When you're ready to sit at the table as my equal, you can come back." Tris says and she looks down at his foot, "I would appreciate if you left."
"Tris, I'm sorry..." He says when he realizes just how upset she truly is.
"We can also talk about that later. Tonight, I am having dinner with my friends. You should do the same." She says and he finally moves his foot and she closed her door.
He walks away from her door, with his mind swirling and a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Tris is right, he's already back to his bad habit of basically expecting her to just to fall into line and let him make the decisions. He pulls his phone out and sends Amar a text, hoping the other man is free. The reply is immediate, and he invites Eric to come down to the tattoo shop.
"What did you do this time?" Amar asks as Eric flips through his portfolio. It's a slow night at the shop, and with several other employees on-site Amar has time to just lounge in his tattoo room with Eric.
"Why do you always jump to that conclusion?" Eric huffs and Amar smirks at him, "Whatever." He scowls, "I keep fucking up."
"How so?" Amar asks.
"I need to find a way to talk to the woman I love, who's going to have our kid in just a few months." Eric replies.
"I take it the two of you didn't do much talking in the time you spent together." Amar says and Eric expects a smirk but when he looks up he sees sincerity in his former trainer.
"I made a lot of decisions when it came to keeping her safe. You already know how I treated her when she and I started, I'm not proud of it at all. We had tried a real relationship before I was arrested, back in Milwaukee, but we didn't have much time together," He shrugs, "When I snuck back into the city, we kind of got lost in what felt like our own world."
"Because of the way you two started, you're going to have to give her time and space to find out what she wants, Eric."
"She tells me she loves me all the time." Eric replies and Amar nods at him.
"Then maybe you should listen to her. You're so focused on her being yours that you're not listening to everything she says. You don't need to stake a claim, you need to show you that not only do you love her, but you respect her too." He replies.
"I've never shown her respect." Eric scuffs his boot on the floor and stares off at the wall.
"Now that you realize it, maybe you'll start." Amar says gently and Eric nods his head.
Eric ends up following Amar down to the cafeteria for dinner, where he drops down at a table with George, Lauren, Four, Tori and Bud. They are all Tris's friends, the people who loved her enough to leave their home in an effort to protect her from Jeanine's plans.
And from Eric himself.
He eats quietly, listening to the easy conversations around him, wishing he had a way to be as carefree as the people he's sitting with. Amar nudges him and Eric frowns at him.
"What was that for?"
"Lauren asked you a question." Amar says and Eric looks up at her.
"Sorry, my mind was wandering, could you repeat the question?" Eric asks.
"I asked if you and Tris knew what you were having." She replies.
"A baby." Eric replies and the slow smile creeping across his face lets his dinner companions know he's making a joke. Lauren laughs, with everyone at the table finally joining them.
"You know what I meant, smart ass." Lauren says.
"We have the gender results in a sealed envelope that we purposely left with Christina. She is going to put together some sort of baby shower that will tell us, and everyone she invites, if we're having a girl or a boy."
"That actually sounds really cute." Tori says and Lauren nods, "Do you want a boy or a girl?"
"It doesn't matter, I just want my family." He replies and Four smiles at him briefly from his spot across the table. He smoothly changes the subject, realizing that Eric's anxiety is running pretty high.
Eric nods once in thanks and Four nods back. He didn't expect the people at this table to accept him, even with his still obvious faults, but he's most surprised at the friendship that's actually starting between them, especially Four.
He is invited to join them to play card games at Four and Lauren's apartment, where Lauren's siblings Shauna, Lynn and Hector join them. They have fun, playing card games and using random snack food for wagers. He doesn't realize how late it is until he gets a text from Tris asking if he was still awake.
"I need to go, but thank you for tonight. This was fun." Eric says and he shares handshakes and hugs goodbye, with promises to hang out again soon.
He calls Tris and asks if she's up for the conversation he owes her and when she answers in the affirmative he heads her way.
"How was dinner?" He asked when he's sitting across from her at the small dining table that used to be his.
"Good. I've been craving Italian so we went to that spot in the Pire, do you remember Antonio's?"
He nods, "That place was good." He looks down at his cup of tea and stirs it aimlessly, "This reminds me of my mom."
"Since I can't drink coffee I've been more of a tea drinker." She shrugs, "Have you talked to her recently?"
"Every day. She's coming here for dinner next week, we just were waiting for my training to end and for me to get a normal schedule. We may have to go out, the guest quarters don't have a full kitchen."
"You could do it here. I mean if you'd want to."
"I'd love for you to officially meet her." Eric replies and she smiles softly at him.
"I'd like that too."
"I really am sorry for how I've been lately. You deserve so much more from me. I'll be better." He offers and she nods.
"I appreciate that," She takes a sip of her tea, "I also had a serious conversation with Peter tonight. He wants to try again," She says and he can feel that burning sensation in the pit of his stomach again.
"What do you want, Tris?"
"To be happy. To be the best mother I can be." She replies, "What do you want?"
"My family. For our baby to be raised around love and not around uncertainty." He replies.
"The uncertainty is why we've been trying to work on us. I still firmly believe that we need to get a good foundation down as the parents before our child is here."
"Why can't we just be together?" He blurts out and she furrows her brow at him.
"You don't consider us to be together?" She asks.
"Of course, I do, but you won't let me move in, we haven't spent a lot of time together, and it's just felt awkward."
"Have you ever asked me if I want to live together?" She asks and he shakes his head no, "We've both had some pretty busy schedules since being back, and with us working opposite shifts for almost the entirety of your time here it makes it harder. I've already asked to be moved back to the day shift, so we can spend more time together. It's also been awkward because instead of talking our issues through, you've gotten pissed and stormed off."
"I've never been in a relationship, Tris. Hell, I was only intimate with a couple of people before I met you. I'm not trying to make excuses, but I need you to understand my entire life has been about taking orders, or giving orders."
"I do understand that. I need you to understand that I no longer need protecting. I've made it as a member of Dauntless on my own. The training you gave me was invaluable, but in the end, I am no longer your initiate, or the divergent who needs protecting." Tris retorts.
"I love you, Tris. You're the mother of our child. I'm always going to feel the need to protect you both." He replies quietly.
"I love you too, and I love that you are protective of your family. It's also nice to be recognized as someone who can protect themselves."
He meets her eyes and nods his head, and she can see the exact moment he puts the pieces together, "It's not that you want me to stop caring, you want me to acknowledge that you can do it yourself. I do know that, I guarantee if I was still stuck in Portland that you and our baby would have been fine. You are more than capable, and I'm sorry I never made you feel like you were."
"I'm with you because I love you and because I choose you, it's not because I need to be." She replies.
Marcia Coulter was a force, and she and Tris immediately connected.
She'd had her driver bring her to Dauntless, and Eric had been patiently waiting in the garage for their arrival. They'd embraced, holding onto each other for a long time before breaking apart.
"You look so good, taking all of those tattoos and piercings out makes you look more like the boy I remember, except a little fuzzier," She'd smiled at him as she patted his bearded cheek.
"I was thinking about putting them all back in." He smirked at her and she laughed.
He brought her to Tris's apartment, and she'd immediately commented on the colors she saw scattered throughout the apartment. Shades of black, grey and blue were prominent, and it broke up the usual dark and boring rooms. The apartment Tris had been assigned was above ground, with a balcony that overlooked their city, and she'd furnished it with a table and comfortable chairs that Marcia immediately sat down in.
"This is nice, my apartment only has a small terrace, and this is just lovely." Marcia said to Tris once both women were comfortably seated while Eric finished their dinner.
"I was able to splurge a bit since I was lucky enough to be given Eric's furniture after he was sent out of the city." Tris replied quietly and Marcia nodded.
"I'm sure that made him happy. Eric loves you very much, and I know he was heartbroken to have to leave you."
"I was heartbroken to lose him. Having these things here, it helped a bit."
They talk more about their shared love of Eric Coulter, the mother who had regretted the way she'd practically abandoned him in favor to chase after his father, and the girlfriend who'd felt that she was only a project for him for most of their previous relationship. The conversation turned a bit lighter when Eric brought their dinner outside, and they'd sat together and enjoyed a delicious meal.
Eric was happy to see the two most important people in his life making a connection, and when Tris invited Marcia to their baby shower scheduled for the next weekend Marcia was touched.
"I'd love to be there. Do you know what you're having?" She asked and they both shook their head.
"We're going to find out at the shower."
They spent hours together, mother and son catching up, and Tris and Marcia bonding. It was getting late when Marcia finally said she needed to get home, and she left them both with a hug and a promise to be there the following weekend for their baby shower.
Tris was just cleaning the kitchen while Eric had walked his mother down to her car, and when he'd let himself back in he'd joined her.
"She loves you. I'd already told her a lot about you, but she was excited to finally meet you. It felt like it went well."
"It did, and I can tell just how much she regrets not having this type of relationship when you were younger." Tris says.
He moves so he's behind her and he wraps his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder and his hands on her baby bump, "I'm scared, Tris."
She dries her hands on a towel and places them on Eric's, "About what?"
"Being someone's father. Not being good enough for you. Our kid hearing all the bad shit I did one day. Everything." He says quietly.
"It's okay to be scared, I'm scared too. I'll only be twenty when our baby is born, I may have been around babies before when I lived in Abnegation, but I was never solely responsible for one. Even though neither of know what we're doing, I have faith that we're going to figure this out."
She leans back against him and he just enjoys feeling her warm body pressed against his. He can feel the slight movement from their baby inside of Tris, and he presses his lips to her cheek briefly.
"You feel that, right?" She asks and she feels him nod against her.
"It's amazing."
"It's constant," She replies, "I'm so ready for bed."
"I can finish up in here and lock up behind me if you want to head to bed." He replied before pressing another kiss to her cheek.
She turns to face him, "How about we finish together and you stay here with me?"
"I'd love to. I can run to my place and grab some clothes." He replied and she arches her eyebrows at him.
"I have a compromise. I have tons of your clothes here, and I'll absolutely share them with you, but I would really love to be naked first."
"Tris…" He trails off and she pulls his face down to hers. He rubs his nose against hers before capturing her lips with his.
The baby shower that their friends threw them was a small affair, with just their close friends, as well as Eric's mother and both of Tris's parents. When they cut into the cake and saw the pink color inside, Eric was overcome with emotion. Tris smiled at him as she wiped the errant tears from his cheeks, and she pressed her lips to his briefly.
"Our little girl." She said when they broke apart.
"I'll do everything right. I'll never let anyone treat her the way I used to treat you. I won't Tris, I promise you-"
She cuts him off by kissing him again, and when they break apart he buries his face in her neck and his shoulders shake. She meets his mother's eyes over his shoulder and Marcia approaches them and gently places a hand on her son's shoulder before taking the seat next to him.
"Eric, you are going to be such a good father." Marcia says to her son.
"I'm not a good person. How am I going to do this? How am I going to face my daughter one day when she hears about the person I was before?" He asks.
"You are honest with her," Andrew Prior says as he kneels next to Eric, "You answer all of her questions, you protect her, you instill both your strength and your kindness in her, and you treat her mother the way you expect a person will one day treat her. You teach by example, and you show her that it's not about the mistakes you made, but it's about the lessons you learned from them."
"I'll make this right." Eric says, meeting Andrew's eyes.
"I know you will."
The rest of their shower goes well, and Tris is proud of the way Eric has been much more social with their friends and family. She even watched as he had a conversation with her father, where there were plenty of smiles. She makes her way back from the restroom and her mother catches up with her.
"This has been a lovely party. You have some wonderful friends, Beatrice. I believe your village will be very supportive." Natalie says as she walks next to her daughter.
"I have amazing friends. When Eric asked me to leave Chicago with him, I couldn't. I not only didn't want to leave my friends behind, I also wanted to repair the relationship with you and Dad."
Natalie grasps her daughter's hand with her own, "I'm so glad you decided to stay."
"Me too." She hugs her Mom hard and she feels her pressing a kiss to hair.
On the walk back to her apartment she had stopped walking and Eric pulled to stop as well. She leaned against him while she pulled each of her shoes off and before she could even take a step he had picked her up.
"Eric, I can walk." She smiled at him and buried her head in his neck.
"I will pretend that you protested me carrying you to your apartment, my beautiful, independent girlfriend." He chuckles as he continues walking.
"Would you like to make it our apartment?" She asked.
He can feel his heart pounding in his chest, and he's sure she can feel it too, "My furniture is already there. Most of my clothes. I mean I guess I could grab my toothbrush and bring that over too."
"I mean, only if it doesn't put you out too much." Tris grinned against him.
He gets to her apartment and presses the code in, getting the door open and placing her gently on the couch. He sits down next to her, bringing her swollen feet onto his lap and rubbing them.
"Are you sure you're ready to live together? I don't want you to feel rushed." He says quietly and she nods her head.
"I'm sure. I want you here, our daughter will be here in seven weeks, and I want her to come home to her full family." She replies, "But if you dare try to leave me before finishing my foot rub, I may have to fight you."
"I'll never leave you again." He replies and she smiles at him.
"I'll hold you to it."