Eight Years Later

I laugh, picking up Mira as she toddles past, "Not so fast!" 

She giggles, teleporting out of my arms into Tobias's. He picks her up, smiling, "You'll always be daddy's girl." 

I shake my head, placing a hand on my quickly growing stomach, "Then he'll be my boy." 

Mira looks at me, tilting her head, "Mama?" 

Almost on cue I get a intense aching pain in my abdomen. My water already broke, which means I should probably be concerned. "T-Tobias?" I gasp, sitting down. 

He doesn't hear me, and keeps playing with Mira. She giggles, grabbing his nose. I smile, trying to push down the feeling. My lungs take in a deep breath before standing up again, legs shaking. 

"Mama!" Mira says again teleporting into my arms. I laugh, smiling as she messes with my hair. Her little two year old body wiggles back and forth. "Maybe she is a mommy's girl." I smirk, earning a playful glare from Tobias. 

He walks over, picking her up, "Come on, let's go get a bath. You sit down, I'll be back in a few minutes." She messes with his shirt as I waddle over to the couch. Tobias and Mira go upstairs, and her sweet mumbles echo through the hall. I hold my stomach while leaning over to grab the remote, and turn on a movie. 

I breath deeply, the ache settling. The movie starts playing, enough that my mind is lost in the corny jokes and lacking plot. The beginning is slow, so much so that I almost drift off within the first half hour. 

As I go to stand up and grab a snack, another pain sears through my lower back and abdomen. I let out a groan, falling to my knees.

A knock rings at the door, and I look back to see Lynn, Lauren, Marlene, Shauna, Christina and Mom parade through the door. I grimace, standing up through the deep cramping pain. 

"Tris!" Christina exclaims, handing her daughter to Lynn and running over to me. 

I grab onto her arm as she helps me up, and sets me on the couch. "Darling, what happened?" Mom asks, sitting next to me. 

I shake my head, trying to let the cramp fizzle out, "I-I think it was a contraction. But I've only had two. And they are far apart." 

The girls sit around me, and I notice some bags with them. "What's all that?" I ask, refocusing my attention. 

"Well," Marlene starts, placing them all on the coffee table, "We thought since you kind of bombed the hospital packing for Mira, we would bring over some bags for the little boy." 

I smile, sitting up straighter, "Thank you guys so much! I haven't even started, honestly." They know me too well, all I had was an outfit for Mira and I, and a few diapers when she was born.

Lynn laughs, "I know", and taps her temple. Stupid mind reader. 

Christina and my mom sit on either side of me as we converse with my friends, caught up in the baby talk. Lynn and Lauren are in the process of adopting a boy, something we were all surprised by. Christina is expected her third but she is a few months before me. Marlene and Shauna both have one kid, but the Pedrad's don't really want any more, and I don't blame them. 

It's crazy how far we've come. Everything that happened Junior year brought us so close as a group, and there is nothing that can break it apart. 

"Do you know the name yet?" Lauren asks, snapping me out of the daze. 

"Not yet. I have some ideas." 

"I still vote for Christopher." Christina says, laughing. 

I roll my eyes," I'm not naming him after you!" 

She sticks her tongue out like a teenager, making me laugh. 

"How long do you have for maternity leave?" Shauna asks. 

Being a personal trainer with Tobias, it's kind of hard to manage pregnancy and working out at the same time. He has been taking over the lessons, and Uriah stepped in to help part-time. I'm glad we own the business, so I can be sure the boss doesn't mind me being gone. 

"As long as I want." I laugh, shaking my head. 

Shauna, Lauren and Marlene are both nurses at our local pediatric hospital, Lynn works for me, and Christina and Will run their own designer store downtown. Zeke works for Tobias and I sometimes, but for the most part, he helps in what's left of the DPA. 

"It definitely pays to own your own work." 

"For sure." Christina says, giggling. 

Before I can add on, another deep ache courses through my body. I groan in pain, leaning over on my legs. I breath heavily as Mom and Christina rub my back, helping to ease the pressure. 

"She's okay, still forty five minutes apart." Shauna says, her voice muffled. 

I take in deep breaths, holding them for a few seconds, before breathing out. The ache passes, and Mom pulls me back up. "You've got this girly." Christina adds, holding me up. 

Tobias comes down the stairs, holding Mira in a little towel. She giggles, bringing a grin to my face. Her little, pink chubby cheeks light up the room, making all of us gush. 

"Mama!" She exclaims, teleporting into my arms. 

"Hi baby!" I say, wrapping my arms around her. She pats my belly with her little hands, squealing. 

"Is that your baby brother?" Christina asks, picking her up. Mira laughs, patting her face. 

"Baby bubber!" She says, giggling again. 

"I hope she loves him this much when they're both teenagers!" I exclaim, met with a chorus of laughs. 

"How are you doing, love?" Tobias asks, walking down. 

"Well...", I smile awkwardly, "I've been having some contractions." 

His eyes widen, and he runs down, "Are you okay? Do we need to go to the hospital?" 

"She's still a while apart, calm down dad-zilla." Marlene chuckles, shaking her head. 

He sighs, sitting next to Lynn and Lauren. "I'm alright, love, I promise." I reassure him, holding my stomach. 

Mom leans against my shoulder, closing her eyes, "You've got this." 

"I know." I mumble, leaning against her. 

"Where did all of these bags come from?" Tobias asks, breaking the moment. 

"That would be us." Lauren raises her hand, "You guys suck at hospital packing, so we did it for you." 

He chuckles, shaking his head, "Of course you did." 

"Ah!" I scream out, surprised by another jolting contraction. My nerves fire off, different from the familiar aching pressure of a normal contraction. 

"That was out of nowhere." Marlene says, running over. 

Mira starts crying, bringing tears to my eyes. I breath quickly, letting myself cry, "M-mommy's okay!" I try and reassure her, giving her a kiss on the head. She whimpers, snuggling into Christina's chest. 

Her daughter, Ellie, screams, throwing a chunk of ice at Mira. I hold out my hand, throwing it across the room with my abilities. "I'm so sorry Tris!" Christina says, handing Mira to Tobias and grabbing Ellie from Lynn. 

I shake my head, "It's o-okay." The ache revives itself, sending a pulse through my abdomen. 

I bite my lip, drawing blood. It courses through my nerves, yet the pain brings joy. It means that soon, I'll have a new baby boy to carry around. 

I close my eyes, imagining the change of life soon to come. The thoughts of happy little moments and milestones slowly ease the pain. 

"They shouldn't be that close together." I hear Marlene mumble as the fogginess of my hearing clears. 

"Hey, Tris, let's get going, alright!" Mom says, holding onto my back as they pull me up. I shakily stand, grabbing onto her arms. My legs feel like jelly, but I stand as strongly as I can. Tobias hands Mira to Lynn and runs to my other side. 

"Grab the bags." Marlene, Shauna and Lauren grab them and follow behind us. 

We get out to the new SUV, and Tobias sits next to me in the back. Mom and Christina stay up front and the others pile into the back. 

I grip Toby's arm as we drive and the contractions get closer. "Hang it there baby." Tobias whispers as I lean against him, breathing deeply. 

They slow down as they get about ten minutes apart, which offers some relief. 

Finally we get the hospital, and everyone helps me out. 

"Mama okay?" Mira asks as she gets out with Lynn. 

"I'm alright girly." I laugh, giving her a kiss on the head. 

Mom and Tobias grab my arms and we get into the hospital immediately noticed by one of my nurses. 

"Tris! Are you ready?" 

I smile, wincing as another contraction pushes through, "As ready as I'll ever be." 

--------------------

An excruciating four hours later, I lay sweating in the bed. "You did so well sweetie!" Mom cries, hugging me. Tobias stands on my other side, his hand red from my grip. Christina stands next to my Mom, smiling. 

The nurse cleans everything up and helps me lean upwards.

"I did that, didn't I?" Tobias smirks, kissing my head. 

"I can't believe you make me do this." I laugh, holding his hand against my cheek. Christina pats my forehead with a rag, cleaning the sweat. 

"Mrs. Prior?" the other nurse walks in, and I can see the little blue bundle in her arms. 

I start crying, overwhelmed with joy. She sets him in my arms, and he yawns. "Matthew." I whisper, without even thinking. 

"Just like the one from the DPA?" Tobias asks, looking at our newborn son. 

"Exactly. To honor one of the best men I've ever met, and the reason I have a family." I whisper, looking into his eyes. 

Grey-blue, just like my own. His face otherwise resembles his father's. 

"Welcome to the world, Matthew."