Here's the next instalment of bonus chapters! Just to remind you, like last time, they cover a large time period and I'll put the ages of the characters at the beginning of each chapter so you know where we're at. This next update takes place 7 years after the last, and Tris and Tobias have had another child, Samantha, who was unplanned and a big surprise since they didn't need IVF like they did to have Jacob.

Bonus Content Part 2

Tris: Age 32 Tobias: Age 36 Jacob: Age 7 Samantha: Age 2

Hugs. Jacob loves them. Especially hugs from his dad, who is big enough to completely engulf him in his arms—the safest place to be in the whole world. Whenever it's time to go home from school, he stands on the playground, secretly and eagerly anticipating a hug. Secretly, because the other kids in his class would definitely make fun of him for that. He fails at hiding it from his school teachers, however, who marvel at the way both of the Eaton kids transform into little angels whenever their father is around. Especially Samantha Eaton, who's the new toddler terror at daycare. She's the worst behaved, but also the cutest of all the tots. But as soon as the bell signalling the end of the day rings, she turns into a loveable and cheerful little thing. Suddenly, there's no standoffish behaviour or bad temper in sight because she knows her father's coming to pick her up.

"Hi, Dad," Jacob beams.

"Hey, how was school?" Tobias says, taking Jacob's small backpack and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Good. Got an award in math."

"Really? Well done," he smiles, wrapping his large hand around Jacob's small one. The kid's only seven, but his hand is nearly the same size as Tris's and it won't be long before he's her height, too. He towers above the rest of his classmates, and with his deep golden skin, dark chocolate hair and blue eyes, he's already got a few of the young girls chasing after him. Apparently, they always ask him to play the prince during their dress-up games, which doesn't impress Jacob in the slightest.

The two of them walk through the school yard and around to the daycare centre Samantha goes to every Monday and Tuesday, when both Tris and Tobias are at work. They walk into the centre to find some kids are still playing, but Sam is nowhere to be seen. "Mr. Eaton?" A light voice calls out. Jacob and Tobias turn around to see a young daycare assistant jogging up to them from the other end of the room.

"Yeah?" Tobias says, his heart thudding, because what on earth has Sam done this time?

"We've got Samantha in the bathroom. She's had a bit of an accident."

Tobias thought 'a bit of an accident' meant that his kid had peed on herself or something, but no. Of course, things couldn't be that simple. So now he's standing in the bathroom, facing a pink child. That's right, pink. Sam has completely painted herself with pink paint. She's looking up at him with familiar dark navy eyes, biting her lip. Her light brown wavy hair is covered, her delicate skin is covered, and so are her clothes. "Oops," she says quietly, before breaking out in a massive grin. Tobias can't help it; he smiles back. He quickly drags a hand over his face in order to disguise his smile, since the daycare assistants don't find the predicament humorous. They don't find Sam's behaviour humorous at all, actually, and it seriously vexes Tris and Tobias. The daycare staff constantly suggest that the toddler has some form of attention or hyperactivity disorder, yet don't do anything to help matters.

"What happened?" Tobias asks the two young assistants hesitantly, ignoring the fact that they are checking him out. Unfortunately, he's used to it. The mothers and teachers gawk shamelessly at him whenever he comes to pick the kids up, and even though it pisses Tris off, Tobias just ignores it.

"You can clearly see what happened. She wanted to paint herself."

"Couldn't you clean it off her?"

"That's not our job. We would have called you to pick her up if she'd done it early on, but it only just happened about half an hour ago."

"Right," Tobias sighs, with Jacob giggling next to him.

"I want up!" Sam proclaims, toddling up to Tobias with her arms outstretched, and making grabby hands at him.

"We have some plastic table covers you can borrow for your car," one of the assistants suggests. "And we could cover her car seat in cling wrap if you like?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

So, a few of them all head over to his car. One of the senior daycare assistants makes a comment about Tobias's fancy car, and says she hopes the paint will come out of the cream leather seats. He grits his teeth, refusing to make a comment like "Have you ever heard of wet wipes?" They could have at least cleaned her up a little. "Itchy," Sam starts to whine, a dissatisfied look on her face as she starts to scratch the drying paint covering her arms.

"Don't touch it, Bug," Tobias says, stopping her hand. "We'll wash it off when we get home."

The lot of them successfully protect the car with plastic, but by the time the three of them get home, Sam is having a full-blown meltdown because of how much the dry paint on her skin is bothering her. He curses at the state of his designer suit jacket and carries her into the house on his hip, droplets of pink dotting his white shirt from her tears. "What the hell happened?" Tris exclaims when he walks into the kitchen.

"Sammy painted herself pink," Jacob says, wrapping his arms around Tris's waist and pressing his face against her stomach.

"Dad!" Sam wails. "Off!"

"Yeah, I know, we'll get it off now," he says, rolling his eyes at Tris before leaning in for a kiss. "We're switching daycare places, by the way."

"Did they leave her like this all day?" Tris asks, both of them walking upstairs to put Sam in the bath.

"They said she did it half an hour before I came to pick her up, but they clearly can't be bothered to look after her properly."

"We'll talk about it later."

Their anger towards the daycare staff is soon forgotten as Sam splashes around in pink water and Jacob stands next to the bath, handing her his favourite floating toys. Tobias sits on the floor, his ruined suit jacket and shirt discarded as he soaps her up and works the paint out of her hair. Tris stands in the doorway, watching the exchange with a contented smile on her face. Times like these cause her to feel a kind of euphoric happiness only achieved by being around her family.

—0—

"When's Dad coming home?" A very fed-up Jacob asks Tris, who's multitasking by cooking dinner and watching Sam.

"Soon, I promise. He just got held up at work."

"But I want him to play video games with me," he whines.

"I know, Jacob. But if he didn't work hard then he wouldn't be able to buy you all those video games," Tris reasons, in one of her many attempts to make her children understand the value of money and hard work. But at the end of the day, kids will be kids. Jacob is pretty tech-savvy like Tobias, so even though they always encourage outdoor play, he's pretty much glued to a screen throughout the harsher winter months, especially when Tobias is working overtime.

It's nearly seven by the time the three of them hear a car coming up the driveway. Just in time, too, since Sam has gotten tired and fussy waiting up for him. Both kids run up to Tobias as soon as he's through the doorway, one clinging onto each leg. Tris can tell he's stressed out by the bags under his eyes, the messily tousled hair from running his fingers through it, and the way that his top shirt button is undone with a loosened tie and untucked shirt. "Hey," she says hesitantly, walking up to him for a kiss.

"Hey," he murmurs back, dropping his forehead onto the top of her head. "I'm tired."

"I can tell," she pulls away from him, taking his bag and keys. "Why don't you put Sam to bed while I finish dinner? The kids have already eaten."

"I want you to play video games with me," Jacob pipes up as he watches Tobias pick Sam up and walk over to the stairs.

"Yeah, I will do that, buddy, after I've put Sam in bed," he musters up his best smile, but he's so shattered that it still looks pretty halfhearted. And when he tucks an already asleep Sam into her bed, he seriously contemplates crawling in there with her and sleeping for a week. But alas, he's a husband and a father of two, so he has to jog down the stairs and crawl across the living room carpet to poke Jacob's back in order to elicit a fit of laughter and entertain him. Besides, Tris works hard as a child psychologist, so he's sure she's just as worn out as he is. He lies on the carpet on his side, next to Jacob, who's sitting cross-legged with the game remote in his hands. Instead of joining in with the game, Tobias rubs circles on Jacob's back, his eyelids drooping heavily until Tris comes in with a steaming plate of spaghetti.

"Tobias," she whispers, prodding his legs with her foot. He quickly blinks his eyes open fully, yawning deeply before sitting up. He shuffles over to the sofa, and Tris places a cushion on his knee with the plate on top.

"Thank you," he says to her earnestly, sliding his hand to the back of her neck and pulling her lips towards his. He kisses her deeply, partly because of the fact that he's so appreciative of her, and partly because he's too sleepy to care that Jacob is right in front of them. She bats his hand away, though, when he goes to grab her ass, shooting him a warning look before checking to see if Jacob is still engrossed in the video game. She smirks, because no matter where they are or who they're with, Tobias can always successfully get her worked up with just a slight touch of his fingers or his mouth against her skin. "You had yours?" He asks her innocently, as if the brief exchange never even happened.

"Yeah, with the kids. Sorry, I was too starved to wait."

"No problem," he smiles, patting the space on the sofa next to him. Tris curls up by his side, her head on his shoulder as he eats his dinner.

"Don't overwork yourself, Tobias," she whispers quietly.

"It's just these next few weeks. I can handle it."

"But the kids can't," she says sternly. "They miss you. Especially Jacob, he kept asking for you today."

"Did he?" Tobias says, frowning. The last thing he wants is to become another Marcus, a father who was never there for his kid.

"Yes, he did. And look at you…you look like you could collapse any minute."

"Tris, I'm fine."

"You're not. When was the last time you went to the gym?"

"The gym?" He nearly chokes on his spaghetti. "Are you trying to say that I'm getting fat or something?"

"No, of course not," Tris sighs. "I mean, you're still muscular…but it's not about your physique. It's that I don't want you to get…you know…too pent up."

"You know I'm not like that anymore," he says.

"Yes, because you've always managed it by going to the gym regularly and taking it out on the punching bags. I don't want you to stop going and become stressed and overtired and overworked, because we all know that leads to short fuses. Especially with you, because you're someone who struggles with that even when you're not stressed or tired."

"Struggles with what?" Jacob interjects, still moving his thumbs rapidly over the controller. Tobias sighs, frustrated, suddenly put off from his dinner.

"With being tired," Tris tells him. "Your Dad needs his sleep, just like you do."

"I don't want to talk about this right now," Tobias whisper-shouts, handing his plate off to Tris.

"Fine, but it needs addressing at some point before it's too late," she says, walking off into the kitchen.

Tobias stares at Jacob for the rest of the night with gritted teeth and a pit forming in the bottom of his stomach. The thought of not giving his child enough attention not only makes him feel guilty—it kills him. It's one of his worst fears, in fact. "Can he sleep with us?" He murmurs to Tris when they're all tired enough to go to bed.

"Of course," she says, because she knows that he needs this. He needs to feel like he's being a father and not shutting his kid out or leaving him to be lonely. Jacob's already in his pyjamas, but gets super-excited when Tobias says he's allowed to sleep in their bed tonight. Jacob falls asleep with the biggest smile on his face, pressed against Tobias' chest and wrapped in his arms.

Tris: Age 34 Tobias: Age 38 Jacob: Age 9 Samantha: Age 4

That conversation in their living room a couple of years back was soon forgotten. They didn't think it mattered, but today they'll find out they were wrong.

It's a busy Saturday morning when it happens. Tris is off getting a massage and Tobias is taking care of the grocery shopping with the kids. Sam's too big to fit in the cart now, so he has her stand in front of him, between his arms, helping to push the shopping cart. It stops her from running away, at least. Jacob traipses around beside them, throwing in things from the list that Tris hastily scribbled out for them this morning. "What's next?" Tobias asks.

"Pasta sauce, and we also need ketchup, which is down there," Jacob says, pointing to the end of the aisle.

"Oh! I'll get it! Please," Sam begs, turning around to face her dad and tugging on his arm.

"Fine, one bottle. Come straight back and don't walk around the corner," he says to her sternly. It's only a few feet away, but she can pick up speed quickly when she starts to run, and Tobias doesn't feel like chasing a gangly four-year-old around the store today.

"Got it!" She says giddily, jogging down the aisle in search of a red bottle. Tobias is watching her from his peripheral vision the whole time as he and Jacob pick out which sauces to get.

It's the sound of thudding and shouting that draws their full attention, and Tobias whips his head around to see a tall man towering above Samantha, barking at her. His finger points in her face, and she turns around to look at her dad with a look of desperation. The look on her face is what fuels Tobias's rage past the point of no return. No, it's not even that. It's the words that he hears come out of the man's mouth. "Little shit," he thinks he hears him say. Let's see how easily he can call her that with my hands wrapped around his throat, Tobias thinks to himself. His body shakes with anger as he storms over to the end of the aisle where the awful exchange is taking place, with Jacob trying to keep up behind him.

"Sam," Tobias says, pulling her towards and then behind him. She has tears in her eyes, and quickly latches onto Jacob's hand.

"That your kid?" The man asks gruffly. He stinks and has a red nose.

"Yes. What of it?" Tobias says in a deadly quiet voice, squaring his shoulders and looking the asshole dead in the eye.

"The brat got ketchup all over my shirt. Do you know how expensive this is? Do you know how hard it is to get a red stain out of this?"

"Keep talking to my daughter like that and ketchup won't be the only red stain you'll have to get out of your shirt," he stays, stepping closer to the man.

"You threatening me?" The man raises his eyebrows, a smirk on his face.

"That depends. Did you honestly think you could get away with intimidating my daughter?"

"She needed a good telling off. Maybe if you did it yourself other people wouldn't have to do it for you."

"No, what she needs is for dickheads like you to back the fuck off and leave her alone," Tobias says, his voice steadily rising in volume.

"How about you back the fuck off," the man says, shoving Tobias away from him.

"I dare you to shove me like that again," Tobias says with a wild smile on his face. It makes the man wary of Tobias, but not enough to prevent him from pushing the altercation further. Instead, he figures he'll catch him off-guard, and attempts to punch him in the face. Tobias deflects the hit easily; his fighting skills are something that will stay with him for the rest of his life. He grabs the man's wrist, and strikes out with a punch of his own, right to the guy's temple. It's hard…really hard. So hard that the guy is on the floor in seconds, seeing stars, probably. But there's no blood, and it isn't enough for Tobias. His hands clench into tight fists, his muscles contract powerfully, and the veins on his arms look as if they're going to pop out. He takes a couple of steps back, pushing the kids away with the back of his legs. Then he leaps forward, swinging his leg back and kicking the man in the gut. His arms are outstretched on either side of him, balancing his body as he continues to kick with a contorted face and gritted teeth, oblivious to the blood the man coughs up.

"Stop!" Jacob calls out to his dad, wide-eyed, but not with fear. More like shock. Sam is crying her eyes out, terrified because she's never seen the dad that she loves so much act violently, just like the bad guys in movies. Tobias listens to his son, running his fingers through his hair, chest heaving while he pants. The adrenaline is still coursing through his veins, so much so that he can't get a grip on reality yet. He needs Tris. He needs her gentle hands to wrap around him, her soothing voice to calm him down. But she's not here to drag him away right now; instead, there's a security guard approaching.

—0—

Tobias didn't anticipate the harsh slap across the face he received when he walked into the bedroom after coming home from the police station. He stands there in front of her, gobsmacked to say the least. The resounding smack of palm against skin rings through his ears even seconds after being hit, but what really hurts the most are the tears streaking Tris's face.

"How could you be so fucking stupid?" Tris spits at him venomously. "How could you fucking do that?" Tobias doesn't respond. Instead, he continues to stare at her slack-jawed, his eyes blurred. He knows that he has seriously screwed things up this time. "How could you do that to us, Tobias?" She says, pursing her lips to hold in a sob. Tobias's cheek is flaming red where she hit him, and Tris's hand still stings from the impact. "To us…"

"Tris," he croaks, reaching out a hand to pull her towards him.

"Don't touch me!" She cries. "I don't want you to touch me!" She flinches away from him, and he feels like he's swallowed a rock that's dropping deep into his rapidly sinking stomach. He shakes his head, dumbfounded: how can he make this better? "You could have been sent to prison, Tobias," Tris talks again, once she's collected herself. "What would I have done then? With two kids and a huge fucking house that I can't afford on my own."

Tobias gulps and looks around the room frantically, his eyes burning, his lip quivering. Then, he whispers, "I didn't mean for-"

"You promised me!" Tris shouts, cutting him off, her voice ragged as she points her finger at him. "You promised me that you wouldn't do this shit anymore! You promised me that you weren't the same guy who started fights and beat up men and dragged me down a hallway! For God's sake, you've already got a criminal record Tobias, for assault. Do you realise how lucky you were that they let you go?"

"It wasn't luck, Tris," Tobias says glumly, his heart in pieces after she used the night he pushed her years and years ago against him. "A woman who was standing nearby told the cops that the man was being aggressive towards Sam and that he provoked me and then started the fight. They let me go because technically all I did was defend us."

"That's not what Jacob told me," Tris mutters, folding her arms and sniffling loudly.

"What did he tell you?"

"The truth," she says sharply. "You threatened that man, and then you punched him and kicked him more times than was necessary."

"Tris, it's not-"

"Don't fucking lie to me!" Tris practically screams, before they hear a quiet knock on the bedroom door. They both freeze like statues, breathing heavily, their eyes wide. They almost never bicker in front of their kids—let alone allow them to witness a full-blown screaming match.

"Dad?" A voice says from the other side of the door. Tobias takes in a deep breath, wiping his hand over his face before opening the door to see Jacob standing there. "Sam's crying," he says a little timidly. His eyes are curious as he looks around Tobias to catch sight of Tris standing there in her silk nightdress with a tear-streaked face and bloodshot eyes. It gives him a funny feeling in his stomach and he doesn't like it. He watches as his dad turns around to his mom, who waves a dismissive hand at him before storming off into their bathroom and forcefully slamming the door shut behind her. It makes Jacob jump.

"Come on, let's get back in bed," Tobias says to Jacob, ushering him down the hallway and into his room. He tucks him back in quickly because he can hear Sam's faint whimpers and needs to sort her out, too. He walks out of Jacob's bedroom and around the U-shaped hallway with haste. The staircase is in the middle, so there's quite a distance that separates his and Tris's bedroom from the kids'. It makes hearing Sam cry in the night difficult, so they're used to Jacob coming to their room to wake them up and tell them when she does. It happens often; if she's not wetting or falling out or refusing to stay in the bed then she's crying and screaming in it. Kids.

It's usually bad dreams caused by fairytales or stories about monsters under the bed that upset her. This time, however, Tobias has a feeling that he's the cause of her nightmares. When he gets to her room, Samantha is sitting upright, her face blotchy and red, tears running down her cheeks. She holds her slender arms out when her dad walks in, and Tobias takes this as a good sign. At least she's not afraid of him.

"What's wrong?" He asks her, getting a tissue and wiping her nose.

"Bad dream," she manages to get out between chokes and sobs. Tobias unclips and takes off her bed guard, which stops her from rolling out in her sleep, and plunks it down on the floor. He hooks his arms under her, moving her over to the other side of the bed so that he can slide in. He looks stupid and far too big for this pink toddler bed, but he'd do just about anything to stop her crying. She lies on top of his chest, curled into a ball, her favourite blanket draped over her.

"Was it about what happened today?" Tobias asks, and Sam nods her head. "I'm sorry for scaring you. But that man that shouted at you was mean and made Daddy really angry."

"He was scary," Sam sniffles.

"I know, but I won't let anyone scare you like that again, okay?" He says, and again, Sam nods her head, this time taking in a breath. Tobias knows that the promise he just made didn't just refer to strange men in supermarkets, but also to himself. He won't ever act like that and scare his kids again.

So he makes another promise to her, the same promise that he made to Tris what feels like a lifetime ago—that he'll fight her bad dreams off with his bare hands. It's a bittersweet and faded memory, reminding him of how fast time is flying. Sam soon falls asleep, her little fingers fisted into his shirt. He breathes in the scent of her watermelon shampoo until he begins to feel himself doze off. He can't sleep in here with her tonight, though, since he smells like the jail cell and will probably disturb her with all the tossing and turning he's bound to do. He manages to slide out of bed without waking her, quietly securing her bed guard back in place before setting up the old baby monitor they use when she's sick. He creeps back down the hallway, briefly checking on Jacob to see if he's gotten back to sleep. Tobias knows that he's got a lot of explaining to do to his son, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. He gets back to his bedroom, and can see the shape of Tris cocooned in the quilt. He's just taken his pillows and blanket away from the bed, preparing to sleep on the sofa, when Tris turns around and looks at him with red eyes. "I don't want you to sleep downstairs," she whispers, her voice wavering and waterlogged. Tobias gazes at her with sadness before nodding his head slightly and pulling off his jeans and T-shirt. He slides into bed next to her, a little unsure, and Tris turns over fully to face him. "I'm sorry for yelling at you like that," she says.

"Please don't apologise to me, Tris," he says. "You were right, I was wrong. What I did was stupid and idiotic. I don't deserve an apology."

"You deserve my understanding." Tris shuffles closer to him, lifting up his arm and draping it over her body. Tobias holds her close. He feels her tears trickle onto the skin of his chest, and lets a few of his own slip into her hair.

What Tobias did was wrong, they all know that. But they also know that it's human nature to make mistakes and sometimes do bad things, so they have to work it out. Together, as a family. It's the way it's always been and always will be.

Tris: Age 36 Tobias: Age 40 Jacob: Age 11 Samantha: Age 6

The rush hour traffic pisses Tris off to no end. She's had a shit day at work, spilled coffee all over her skirt, and feels dead on her feet. To top it all off, she's had to sit in her car for a whole hour. Relief floods her veins when she gets to press the button for the automatic gate to their house. It's like opening the doors to her own little sanctuary. She stretches up over the steering wheel slightly as she drives her car up the inclined driveway, looking out for any plant pots or bushes because she's never been good at driving in smaller spaces. This car is definitely too big for her, but Tobias won't listen. When she talks about getting a smaller car now that the kids are older he brushes her off, making some remark about how four-by-fours are safer. She runs both hands down her face when she shuts the engine off, lazily grabbing her purse from where it sits on the passenger seat. She's only barely just gotten the key in the lock when two large hands grab her by the waist, the door slamming shut behind her.

"Tobias!" Tris gasps, but it turns to a moan when his hot, wet lips kiss her neck, her jaw, and eventually her mouth. His hands are firm and dominant as he pushes her against the door and lifts her up. Her legs lock around his waist like when she was a teenager, and her skirt rides up enough for the tops of her thigh-high, black lace stockings to show. Tobias hums against her silky skin, his beard scruff giving her goosebumps when it brushes against her. "Stop…the kids…" she manages to get out between her heavy breathing and lightly pushes him away, even though it takes every inch of her being to do so.

Tobias looks at her earnestly, a sweet smile on his face. "They're gone for a couple of hours. Jacob's at football practice and Sam is staying at Katie's house for dinner." Then he resumes his gentle kisses, which are juxtaposed against the firm grip of his fingers on Tris's thighs. "So we've got some alone time," he murmurs.

"Tobias," Tris sighs, kissing him back, but only with a closed mouth.

"What is it?"

"I'm tired, I stink, I'm covered in coffee…not to mention the fact that I don't even remember the last time I got waxed."

"Do you really think I care about whether you've been waxed to look like a porn star or not?" Tobias laughs disbelievingly. They've had two kids together for God's sake; she could sport a 70's bush full-time and it wouldn't deter him in the slightest. "It's been weeks since we got some time to ourselves and…I want you, Tris."

"I want you, too," Tris grins mischievously, biting her lip as she looks up at him from under her lashes and wraps her arms more firmly around him. Her grin is contagious, and Tobias makes some kind of guttural growling noise as he splays his fingers and grabs her ass firmly. They need to get things going quickly if they plan on making a success of this, so Tobias pulls Tris away from the door and carries her up the stairs swiftly.

"Remember, you don't have to be quiet," Tobias whispers in her ear as he lays her down on the bed. Tris squirms underneath him in response, peeling her coffee-soaked skirt away from her body as Tobias gets up to lock the bedroom door. She's suddenly so thankful for the fact that she hasn't done her own laundry in a week, and as a result, this morning she was forced to wear a provocative, black lace lingerie set that she bought for Valentine's Day a couple of years ago. It's skimpy and tight and has irritated her all day, but when Tobias turns around and gets that look of awe in his eyes, her discomfort suddenly seems to have been worthwhile. His shirt and tie are on the floor in seconds, and he's crawling up their four-poster bed to rest his head in-between her legs. Since they're a little short for time, he does just enough to tease her— gentle, wet kisses around her thighs and abdomen, the firm pressure of his hand and expert movement of his wrist, and lastly, the way his fingers drag against her skin as he removes the stockings.

"Hurry up," Tris gasps when he's finally got her naked. Her face is flushed pink and her chest heaves with want. When he moves into her he clasps her face in both his palms, his eyes skimming over every inch of her face before he rests his forehead against hers. The look of love, Tris knows. She smiles to herself with a sense of relief that comes from being so close to him, hooking her legs over his thighs and running her fingers through his hair. Eventually, he uses one forearm to prop himself up and grips the headboard with the other, his jaw and lips slack, and with a look of ecstasy on his face as he moves faster and harder. Tris is about to giggle at his sex face until she suddenly feels the tension build up within her from the way his pelvis is pressed and moving against hers. It starts from deep at the source, and then gradually spreads throughout her whole body until her mouth freezes wide open, her eyes scrunch shut and her head tips back. Her back is completely arched up from the bed when she moans loudly and repetitively with her release, calling Tobias' name a little louder than necessary, and taking full advantage of the fact that it's just them in the house. Her body goes slack when it's over, her heart thudding noticeably as Tobias continues to strive for his own finish. She wants him to come quickly because she feels a little too sensitive after her intense orgasm, so she nips and licks his ear and kisses his neck until his hips thrust erratically and he grunts her name.

"Fuck," Tobias mutters once they're both lying side-by-side.

"That's one word for it. I love you so much, you know?" Tris says, rolling over on her side to run her fingers through the fine hairs on his chest. "I'll never get tired of you."

"Well, that's good to hear," he laughs, pulling her to lie against his chest. "Because I love you, too. Always have, always will."

Tris smiles to herself, nuzzling closer against him. She remembers a time when Tobias was tight-lipped and never spoke freely about feelings or love. But now they've learnt that life is short and they don't want to waste any time beating around the bush.

—0—

Barbie dolls and Legos and little plastic animal thingies are more like weapons than toys when Tobias accidentally steps on them with sock-clad feet. "Samantha Eaton, come here!" He shouts, looking around her room where World War Three seems to have hit.

Sam is downstairs playing on her dad's tablet—which she isn't actually allowed to use—when she hears her full name being called. She cringes, carefully closing the case of the tablet and slipping it back into his briefcase. Sam thinks that her dad will never found out that she used it, but he will. He always does.

Tobias hears her jogging up the stairs, and when she gets to the room, he notices she's got some kind of brown stain on her green T-shirt. He knows she's probably been rooting around in the snack cupboard in the kitchen. Now that she's tall enough to climb up onto a chair and get to it, they're constantly having to watch her. "What were you up to?" He asks her, eyebrows raised.

"Nothin'," she says, panting a bit from running up the stairs and tucking her light brown hair behind her ear.

"Well, your room is a mess and you need to tidy up," Tobias says, his voice softer because he could never shout at her to her face. She's petite-framed like Tris, but with long, lanky legs and beady, dark blue eyes.

"But if I tidy up, I won't be able to play with it all," she says simply.

"You don't need it all out at once. You can play with one thing at a time."

"But Dad," she whines, looking at him with puppy dog eyes.

"No buts," Tobias says with finality. He walks into her closet and reaches up to the top shelf to get her suitcase down. This weekend they're going back to Chicago, to visit some family that still lives there. "Start cleaning up now, Sam."

"What can I take with me?" She asks as she watches him flick through her wardrobe, pulling out warmer clothes and socks and underwear.

"You still have toys at your grandma's house," Tobias says. Toys, toys, toys. It's all he ever hears these days. Sam has all kinds of toys. Since she can be so hyperactive, they keep buying her things to try and keep her entertained when they have to work. "Where did you put your sunscreen?" He asks when he notices it isn't on the little shelf. Sam shrugs in response, pretending to be focused on putting her dolls away neatly. Tobias walks up to her, and takes one of her arms in his hand. She grins sheepishly, pulling away from him because she knows exactly what she's done. "Have you been wiping it off?" He quizzes, only now noticing how tanned her skin tone is—it's nearly as olive as his own.

"Nope," she says mischievously, and Tobias knows instantly that she's lying. It's hot where they live, with the sun beating down heavily on them pretty much all day. They cover Sam in sunscreen every morning, but on more than one occasion she's snuck into the bathroom to wash it off because she hates how sticky it is. Just as he's about to give her another lecture, they hear Tris come through the front door and Sam goes bounding down the stairs in order to greet her. Tobias continues to get all the suitcases packed, somewhat eager to be visiting their hometown.

—0—

The kids are ratty from the car journey, and the city is more packed than usual because of the good weather. They decided to come out with Tris's mom because there were a few things that they needed to buy, but now it's turning out to be a bad idea. Sam is restless, being carried around by Tobias because she keeps trying to run off, and Jacob is bored out of his mind because he hates shopping. Tris and Tobias actually wanted to come into the city today to buy Jacob's birthday present without his knowledge. So about halfway through the trip, Tobias and Natalie suggest splitting off from the group so that they can surreptitiously get the gift. This means that Tris is stuck with the kids, though, and she's counting down the minutes because Sam is being such a handful. "Sam, hold onto my and Jacob's hands and don't let go, alright?" Tris says to her firmly.

"Okay," she says, trying to swing off the two of them. A few minutes later, they walk past the bookstore Tris used to always visit when she lived at home, and she's more thankful than ever to see it. It's not packed with people like the rest of the city, so she ushers the kids inside and lets out the deep breath she had been holding.

"Mom, I think they have the textbook here that I need for school," Jacob says, pointing to the other end of the store.

"Oh, that's lucky, let's go and take a look."

"But I wanna look at those books," Sam pipes up, tugging on Tris's hand in an attempt to pull her towards the colourful kids' section.

"We will do that, Sam, but we just need to get Jacob's book first because it's important."

"No, I wanna look at it now," Sam starts to whine, and Jacob rolls his eyes because he knows that a temper tantrum is on the horizon—it's been brewing all day.

"You can't, we need to get Jacob's book first. But then we'll come straight back and look at your books," Tris bargains, but knows that it's useless. Sam starts to pull on Tris's hand, and nearly works her way out of her grip. Soon, the girl is going to be stronger than her. Even though she looks skinny, she's boisterous like Tobias and is sometimes too much of a handful for Tris to manage on her own.

"I don't wanna," she wails, her face contorted as she tries desperately to run away. Jacob stands there awkwardly, his little sister embarrassing him in public…yet again.

"Samantha, if you carry on like this I'm going to call your dad and tell him to come back here right this second," Tris warns. Her threat of 'If you don't behave then I'll tell your dad' always works. Even if it pisses Tris off that her own child won't listen to her, she has to use it sometimes. She's thankful that at least one of her children- Jacob- inherited her calmer personality. Sam stops pulling instantly, sniffling and wiping her nose. She wraps her arms around Tris's waist in some kind of silent apology, and walks over to Jacob to hold his hand instead. Just as the three of them are about to turn around and head off to get Jacob's textbook, Tris hears her old name being called.

"Tris Prior?" A light voice says, and Tris looks around in search of the speaker. When she sees who called her, her heart drops into her stomach like a rock. She looks at the tattoos on the woman's arm for confirmation, because Lynn can't possibly be standing in front of her right now after all these years.

"Lynn?" Tris asks, disbelievingly. The woman nods her head, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh my God," she mutters.

"Mom just swore!" Sam points out, giggling.

"These your kids?" Lynn asks in wonder, looking around Tris to gawk at the pair that look so much like Tobias Eaton himself. All Tris can do is nod her head weakly, a little too dumbfounded to do anything else. "Are they Tobias's?"

"Yes…we've been married for thirteen years," Tris says quietly.

"Wow. So it's Tris Eaton, then. The kids are the spitting image of him, aren't they? Except the boy's got your smile," she grins at Jacob.

"I know…uh…this is Jacob," Tris nods to the eleven year old. "And this is Samantha," she says, bringing Sam to stand in front of her. "Kids, this is my friend Lynn from when I was growing up in Chicago." The two of them nod their heads somewhat shyly.

"You're very lucky," Lynn says. "Where's Tobias?"

"Oh, he's just gone shopping with my mom to buy something," Tris mutters, remembering that what they've gone to buy is a secret gift for Jacob. "H-how have you been, Lynn?"

"I'm great, actually. I'm married, too; her name is Sue. I met her at my art show a few years ago, and we hit it off instantly."

"That's good…so you're still doing your art?"

"Yeah, I've got displays at a few galleries, and I'm also selling paintings."

"That's really great."

"Yeah...uh, listen, I've got to get back home now. But it was really nice seeing you, Tris. I'm thankful that you're happy." Lynn says, leaning in to wrap her arms around Tris's stiff frame. "And I'm sorry, you know, that I just stopped writing to you. I had to kind of drop everything in order to move on-"

"I understand," Tris smiles. "And I'm glad that things have worked out for you."
Lynn nods her head, "You're blessed with beautiful children," she says. "You really deserve it all."
Tris is about to say thank you, but Lynn is quick with her departure. She continues to stand there in shock for a moment, feeling like she's almost in a dream. There were so many things she wanted to say to Lynn if she ever saw her again, but none of it would come out. Perhaps that's the way it's always been meant to be.

That night, Tris lies in bed, wide awake. The encounter with Lynn shook her up—something more than just a blast from the past. It's strange how when she was an eighteen year old, she thought her life pretty much revolved around her friendship with Lynn. But then she met Tobias, the love of her life, her soul mate, and he changed her path forever. She thinks over how much they've grown together, how much things have changed. Their wedding day, their adventures, their children. They've created two human beings, watched them both learn how to walk and talk and develop their own characters that they love so much. And throughout it all, they've always had each other. Tris knows that all good things come to an end, that none of us will last forever. But she knows that she and Tobias will live out their own little version of forever, and she's so grateful for that. Grateful for him, for what he's given her, and for what he's shared with her. Neither of them would trade any of it for the world.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and that it was worth the wait! It took me a while to write, and also BK2U spent a lot of her time editing it, so your thanks and thoughts would be appreciated!

:-)