Fighter

// ten \\

Four did not end up sleeping that night, he wanted nothing more than to go see Tris but he knew she'd be upset that he would put her before their kids.

He ended up piling all of them in bed with him with Evie on his chest, in a final attempt to sleep before the sun finally rose at seven.

He got up to make them all blueberry pancakes with whipped cream smiley faces, wanting to do the impossible and make them happy because even Evie was grumpy as she picked at her Cheerios.

Milo was the first out of bed, not saying a word, just shuffling out with a pair of fluffy slippers and ruffly hair.

"Good morning!" He said as cheerily as possibly, giving the shy boy a tight hug. "You can go ahead and eat if you'd like. It's your favorite."

There was his beautiful smile, "Tank you," he whispered, picking up his fork and eating politely.

Lyle came down with Stella, both of them rubbing their eyes sleepily. "Hurry up and eat guys, so we can go see Tris and go to the toy store too."

"Why are we going to the toy store?" Asked Lyle, drenching his pancakes in syrup and then eating the mush with a spoon.

"You all each get to pick out one thing you want for behaving perfectly yesterday. Do you think we should go there first to get Tris a teddy bear?"

They all agreed, eating quickly and getting dressed before loading up into Tris' van.

When they got to the toy store, they seemed hesitant, all three of them picking out something small for the bins that were only a couple of dollars.

He had to admit, they were going to be the most polite kids when they grew up. "Kiddos, I meant something like a Barbie set or a Lego set or a board game. Put these things in the cart too."

They still didn't move so he huffed and put Lyle and Milo in the basket, taking Stella's hand and walking towards the girl section. "Pick out anything you want, pumpkin."

She smiled brightly at him, making him smile too. Each one of them made him smile.

She ended up picking out a Barbie purse with a stuffed puppy in it, squeezing it tight to her chest. Milo bought a science experiment thing, and Lyle a Captain America Lego set.

They bought Tris a fluffy teddy bear and some balloons and they were all set.

The hospital was busy, bustling with nurses, visitors, and machines beeping, all while smelling the strong, clean, sterile smell of a hospital.

The nurse was in the room when they walked in, and she smiled at them. "She should wake up any minute now. Her vitals are fine, it was mainly overdoing it and stress that caused her to pass out. She was dehydrated and did not seem to be sleeping properly."

"Thank you," he whispered, unstrapping Stella from the stroller and placing her in a chair. Lyle and Milo sat on the vent by the window, sharing Lyle's new toys and using one of Evie's old blankets as a mat.

Tris looked pale lying on the white bed, her hair laying around her pillow in a halo like form. She had deep bags under her eyes, but otherwise healthy.

He took a seat on the other plastic seat beside her bed, Evie sleeping in his arms, nestled in his chest.

He took Tris' hand in his own, kissing it softly and her eyes fluttered, a little moan escaping from her lips as she stretched her arms and legs.

She smiled when she saw them, "Hi."

"Hey, baby. How are you feeling? You gave us quite the scare."

"My head hurts," she whispered softly, eyes darting quickly to her kids to make sure they didn't hear.

He ran his hand down her face gently, in an attempt to soothe her as she slowly came to her surroundings.

"You were supposed to be on a business trip. Why are you home?" She sat up then, a little too quickly because she winced and eased herself up fully. "This is a hospital. Why am I here?"

"Tris, love, you got sick and passed out. Lyle had called me immediately and I came home. He called 911 for you and the nice police officer stayed until I could get there," he murmured, trying not to allow the children to hear because he knew it would upset them.

It was then that she looked like a child herself, eyes glazed with tears and quiet sobs that she muffled with her hands, pulling Four as close as possible with the baby.

"I left them unattended with a stranger, Four! How could I be so irresponsible?"

"Tris, you passed out. You are sick, there was absolutely nothing you could do about the situation. It was out of your hands. I talked to the officer and to the police station just to be sure our kids would be taken care of, I came as quick as I could."

She sniffled, wiping her face with her hands before blushing. "I'm so thankful for you, cancelling your trip and all. It means so much to me." It was silent until a obvious observation, "You called them our kids.."

Four shrugged, cheeks flaming, "Lyle called me daddy."

She laughed, sniffling slightly, "He called me mommy, so I guess we'll have to see what happens. Is that okay?"

"Yes, I'm not going anywhere. You guys are my family."