Those Five Words

2.

Chapter 2

Max POV

Evelyn is resting comfortably. We have put her in a room with Tobias. He is lying on his stomach. They have him hooked up to so many different machines and he has IVs sticking out of his tiny arms. He may be nine but right now he looks so small and helpless to me. His back is covered in bandages; the nurses come in every day and redress them. The only time he wakes is just as the pain medication starts to be wearing off.

He seems to be having constant nightmares, you can see the way his face contorts that the memory or memories of what has happened in that house are haunting him. When he wakes it is usually with screaming and cries for help. The doctors are quick to administer more medication; they need him to rest so that he can heal. Physically, the doctors say he will be fine, he will always have scarring on his back. They are more concerned with the mental scars that he will have to live with.

I'm hoping that by living in Dauntless he will be able to heal over time from what that bastard has put him through. That he will learn to love me and let me treat him as a son should be treated.

Evelyn's injuries aren't as severe as Tobias's. I am extremely grateful that she hasn't lost the baby. She is able to go home, they doctors released her yesterday but she won't leave. I knew she wouldn't leave until she knew that Tobias was on the mend.

Shane has been great. He organised everything so that it is official. Evelyn and Tobias Eaton are dead. Now they are Evelyn and Tobias Johnson, wife and son of Max Johnson. Evelyn and I had Shane marry us in a ceremony in her hospital room. We wanted to have a bigger wedding with friends but under the circumstances we both agreed that it was better to keep everything low key.

To everyone including the Dauntless, the records show that Evelyn and Tobias have always been in Dauntless. We had to get help from Candor for all this to happen. Jack Kang is a young leader but he is also very astute. He was able to forge the death certificates along with Simon. Jack was also able to give Evelyn her divorce from Marcus and also to forge the documents so that I have custody of Tobias. He also has a new birth certificate. There is now no trace of Marcus ever being in Evelyn or Tobias' lives. Any documents have been sealed and hidden away with the rest of the dirty laundry that Candor has had to hide over the years.

Simon was able to organise the two caskets for burial. We told Abnegation we would do this for free, our reasoning to Abnegation was that they do so much for the city with their volunteer programs that it was only fitting that Dauntless offer its services to Abnegation for a change. Really we just didn't want anyone to know that there weren't any bodies in the caskets. The funerals were the usual quiet Abnegation affair that they always are. I don't know how much Marcus remembers of that day, I just hope he is suffering in his loss. I doubt it, but I hope it is true.

Tobias has spent three weeks in the hospital. He is finally being allowed home today. I hope he is going to like living here. Evelyn and I have decided to home school him for the rest of the year. We don't want anyone from Abnegation to recognise him and we also want him to feel comfortable living here in Dauntless. We know it is going to take him some time to get used to his new surroundings. The doctors think it may take some time for him to adjust after what he has been through. They aren't willing to speculate on how long. He is also going to have to get used to the idea that he is going to be a big brother in four months time.

I am really excited that Tobias will finally be coming home. I am also really nervous. We had to sit him down in the hospital and explain what had happened. Trying to tell a nine year old that he can't see his old friends was hard. He was so upset when we told him that he couldn't let Beatrice know what was going on. My heart was breaking just a little when he shed the tears over Beatrice. It was made even harder when I remember back to the little blonde girl I had seen in Abnegation that day. I'm assuming that she was Beatrice. But he understood the danger that was involved with anyone out of our family knowing the truth. The fear he has for Marcus is still very strong and he will wear the marks of that fear on his back forever.

I get down to the hospital to find Evelyn packing up the few possessions that Tobias has had with him in the hospital. He is now dressed in all black, just like a true Dauntless. I smile as I watch the two of them, black definitely suites both of them more than that horrid baggy grey clothing ever did.

I walk in the room and give Evelyn a hug. I would love nothing more than to give a hug to Tobias but it feels too soon. I want him to feel comfortable around me; I want him to think of me as his dad. Simon seems to think that this will happen, that I just need to give the boy some time. They have given us the name of a doctor that Simon thinks could help Tobias with his transition. Evelyn and I are worried that if we let too many people know what has happened then there is more chance that our secrets will get out. I convinced Simon to work with Tobias; I promised him that if he thought he couldn't do enough to help him then we would consider alternative help.

"How are you Tobias? Ready to see your new home?" I ask.

He just nods. He isn't much of a talker. The years of living with Marcus have seen to that. He was always too scared to open his mouth in case he was beaten. Evelyn told me the only person who had ever been able to get him to talk was Beatrice. She said that they never shut up when they were together. I hope he can make some new friends here in Dauntless. I will have to start introducing him to other children around his age. I'll go and talk to Hana next week; I'm sure her son Zeke is around the same age. If there is anyone who can get Tobias out of his shell it will be Zeke. Although it could cause me endless sleepless nights as well, Zeke is a lovely kid but he is always finding himself and his brother Uriah in trouble with someone. Those two must be the best pranksters in the whole of Dauntless. It makes me smile just thinking of them.

I hold out my hand to Tobias and say, "Come on then, let's get out of here." Tobias takes my hand, which warms my heart and we make our way out of the hospital and onto our new home. I had only just moved into the apartment before all the trouble. I had just been given my new position of leader and that comes with an upgrade to my accommodation. I knew that Evelyn and Tobias were going to be moving in so I really appreciated the upgrade.

I open the door to our apartment and usher Evelyn and Tobias in. Evelyn hasn't been staying here as she has spent all her time in the hospital with Tobias. She wanted to be close by for when he woke with one of his nightmares. I walk in and I give them both the tour of the apartment. The place is huge; we have four bedrooms, three bathrooms, kitchen, dining, living and a family room.

I show Tobias his room. "Do you like it?" I ask. I can hear the hope in my voice. I am turning into a sap. But I can't help it. This child just draws you in. Even though he has the same colour of blue eyes that Marcus has the two could not be more different. Marcus has cold calculating eyes. Tobias even though he has been through the trauma that he has, he has a warmth to his eyes. I can see that in a few years time he will have all the girls swooning over him. His hair has started to grow, it isn't in the standard Abnegation cut that it was when he got here and he has soft curls that are starting to grow. He will definitely be a heartbreaker with the Dauntless girls.

"Wow," Tobias whispers. I give a small laugh and rustle his hair. "We will go shopping tomorrow and you can pick some toys and things out for your room, ok?"

He just nods and looks up at me with the first genuine smile I have seen on his face. I have given him the second biggest bedroom in our home. It is downstairs, while the rest of the bedrooms are upstairs. I wanted him to have some privacy or maybe it was so his mum and I got some. But also we are going to be welcoming a new baby into the house soon and I didn't think he would enjoy having to be woken up with the cries of a baby in the middle of the night.

There isn't that much in his room but I did go all out and get him a king size bed. Although he could get lost in it now, he is only a few years away from being a teenager and he is already tall for his age so I'm sure he will grow into the bed in no time. He has a dresser and a wardrobe. He has his own bathroom. Evelyn walks into the room and he runs over to her, hugging her and saying, "thank you."

"It was Max who did all of this for you Tobias," Evelyn says.

"Thank you Max," he says as he walks over and he hugs my legs. I bend down, I put my arm around his small shoulders and I say, "You're very welcome Tobias." He hugs me back. I don't think I could feel prouder at this moment than if he were my own son.