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Chapter 15

Attorney at law

Tobias' POV

I take a deep breath, getting a running start as I leap out of the moving train. I keep the momentum of my legs moving until I am steady on the ground. I slow down into a walking, casual pace as I head towards the Candor headquarters for my 8 o'clock appointment. Never once losing my grip on the file of papers I was told to bring in today.

I figured since Tris was in Abnegation on business, this would be a good time to handle my legal affairs. I haven't discussed any of this with Tris or Christina for that matter. This is something I must face and deal with. I don't want to involve Tris in this mess that I have created for myself.

I hate the thought of missing even a second of Tris' pregnancy. Wanting to be with her, with every good and bad experience. I know that seems like a far fetched goal I had set for myself. Tris and I are obviously not a thing, we live separate lives… But still I feel this pull towards her. Wanting to be with her, making sure she knows that she isn't alone in this.

So when she told me that she would be gone for a few days, I knew this would be my chance to go to Candor. Of course, I felt nervous at the thought of Tris being in Abnegation. It wasn't enough that she was going to add to it all, she is caring for my child. The thought of Marcus finding out I'm the father… I don't want to think of the possibilities. But I know Tris isn't one to be protected, I also know that she is with her parents. There is nowhere safer than that.

"May I help you, sir?" The Candor lady that sits behind the counter asks. I bite my tongue holding back my sarcastic words.

"Yes, I have an appointment with Denise King." I inform her, I watch as her fingers glide over the keys of her keyboard. Her eyes never glanced from the screen.

"She will be down in a moment, please take a seat." The Candor woman says, again never once looking away from her screen as her fingers continue to glide on the keys. I fight the urge to slap the smile off her face, or atleast blurt something out. I turn to take one of the many seats that are available. My right leg bouncing up and down as I go over all the things that must be addressed in this meeting.

"Four." Denise King says, her smile wide as she holds out her right hand for me to shake. I stand taking her hand, making sure I don't squeeze too hard. "Please come right this way." She gestures for me to follow her. I do just that. "I understand Max recommended you to me?" She begins as we make our way to the elevator.

"Yes, he spoke very highly of you." I continue awkwardly. I hate the thought of small talk. Something about it always seems to be so pointless. Before I know it, she is asking about the weather. As if needing to fill some kind of silent void between us. Unable to let there be too long of a silent pause. Luckily her office isn't far from the elevator on the third floor. She gestures to me to take a seat. Which I do, I place the file of requested paperwork on the desk before me as she takes her seat.

"So we are here to speak on behalf of a divorce?" She asks, as she switches her computer on.

"I'm here to speak about my options…" I begin. "Two years back, I was diagnosed with cancer. When I was cleared I married my wife, Christina…"

"I see…" Ms. King interrupts me.

"At the time I had decided to freeze my sperm. Without my knowledge, my wife decided to have my sperm thawed and inseminated. Only there was a mix up and it ended up in another woman's body." I continue, wondering how crazy this all sounds. I can barely believe it and it's all happening to me. "Christina has been… Struggling ever since." I pause, opening the file of paperwork I get one of the many documents I have in question. I hand it off to the lawyer for her eyes as I continue to explain. "Christina and I both signed the rights to my sperm over to each other, in case something was to happen to me… Christina would have the right to do what she wanted with them. Of course at the time, I never thought she would go behind my back and do something like that." I pause, taking a deep breath. This isn't about bashing Christina and her actions. This is about what this piece of paper could mean.

"And you want to know if this gives her the right to the baby?" Ms. King asks, holding the document in the air.

"Yes," I answered.

"And the egg used in question… was that Christina's or this other woman's?" She asks.

"Her name is Tris and it was Tris' egg." I confirm.

"So this document basically says that Christina has the right to the frozen sperm. So she was within her rights to have it thawed and inseminated. However, since you are alive and Tris' egg was used… Christina has no rights to the baby. Now, be as it may this document clearly states that in the event of your death… Christina, as your spouse could have grounds for custody." She explains.

"Is there a way to correct that?" I ask. Suddenly needing to prevent a battle between Chrstina and Tris if and when I pass.

"We can petition the courts for dismissal of this document once the divorce is finalized." She says.

"And how do we start proceedings of a divorce?" I ask.

"Well we first begin to file for the courts to grant you a separation." She explains. "Once six months have passed and we want to continue with the divorce, the courts will make it easy to grant it." She continues, "If you want a faster approach, then both parties have to agree to the divorce."

I press my lips together, nodding my head up and down. Knowing damn well Christina won't make this easy on me at all. My right hand goes to the back of my neck, scratching it while thinking of my predicament.

"Should we start with the proceedings for a separation?" Ms. King asks, presuming which way I would go.

"How long will this all take?" I ask.

"The whole process will take two to three weeks. You will receive a call from me and she will be served papers." She continues, "but in most cases, it's better when the couple begins to talk about the separation ahead of time, hint that things aren't working out and it is heading towards this."

I imagine having "this talk" with Christina. I suddenly wondered if they offer a husband protection program.

I load up two to-go containers like every morning. Only I make sure to skip the eggs for Tris this morning and load up more on the French toast and fruit salad. I had made a mental note days ago when I last saw Tris that she expressed her disgust with eggs and cravings for French toast with syrup and fruit.

Ever since I left Ms. King's office yesterday, I have been going over it all in my head. I had thought about what she suggested and talking to Christina about our upcoming separation. It wouldn't be fair to her, not after everything we have been through. But like the coward I am, I backed off the minute I saw her. Upset and drinking her wine, I decided to let things be. After all, I have some time before the separation protection goes through. I know this is something that I will have to face sooner or later. Eventually telling our friends and her family that in the end we just couldn't make it work.

I'm not pointing the finger at her or me, it took both of us to make this marriage fail. After all, there is a reason why we haven't had sex in months…Only thing is I didn't care until now. The thought of bringing a baby into all of this, has had me rethink a lot of things these days.

I knock on Tris' door, almost immediately the door opens with her smiling face gazing at me.

"Oh thank god!" She says excitedly. For a moment, just a moment I think she is actually excited to see me. That is until she reaches for the tray in my hands that holds both her and my to-go containers of food. She begins to open the top container, before even reaching the table. "Oh you remembered." She exhaled in relief, as she took in the smell of the french toast. Her smile is wider than I have seen in a while.

"Hungry?" I ask, my voice full of amusement. I close and lock the door behind me.

"Famished." She says, placing her container down and then mine. As she turns to sit herself in a seat, my eyes fall on her suddenly protruding stomach. My eyes nearly pop out of my head. Just two days….

"Tris?" I mutter, in surprise.

"What?" She asks, stopping herself midair. She looks at me with confusion on her face. "What's wrong?"

"You're showing!" I say, excitedly as I move to stand right beside her.

"Yeah, I guess so, huh?" She says, giggling as she glances down. I reach out slowly, giving her any chance to stop me from touching her. I can't help it, wanting, no, needing to be close to her.

"Oh wow," I say, when my hand lands on the bump on her stomach. "Are you feeling, okay?" I ask, glancing up, unable to get the smile off my face.

"I feel wonderful." She says with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Just as she answers I feel the smallest of movements under my hand. My eyes nearly pop out of my head once again, as I look at Tris' growing stomach while being the proudest man in the world.

"Did it just…"

"Yeah, it's moving in there." She says, her smile matching mine. "Okay I'm starving." She says, taking her seat. Suddenly, I feel like this is more real than ever. Tris and I are going to have a baby. We may not be together… But we are a family: me, her and the little alien. I couldn't be happier.

Revised by: FDFobsessed