A Different Divergent: A Better Tomorrow

~one~

Chapter 1

A contented sigh escapes my parted lips as I doze in the circle of Tobias' loving embrace, enjoying the warm late-afternoon breeze caressing my naked body. We're lying atop the large, soft, traditional red-and-white-checked picnic blanket he bought especially for our trip, a tangled mess of arms and legs, basking in the afterglow of our lovemaking beneath the massive shade tree by the big blue pond on the outskirts of Amity.

Tobias surprised me early Friday morning with an invitation for a spur-of-the-moment long weekend away to the lighthouse bed and breakfast. Of course, I couldn't say no. He had promised me the remainder of our honeymoon trip at a later date and now seemed like as perfect a time as any. He took it upon himself to make the reservations after Tori, Will, and Harrison graciously offered us some much-needed time off. He even called my parents who had offered to watch Tyler and Tessa if we ever wanted to get away and took them up on their offer.

We've had very little downtime since the Maria, Erin, and Dr. Young fiasco. Instead of dwelling on what happened and what might have been, we jumped head first into work. As a matter of fact, the only reminder I have of that horrible time is the ragged, red scar that runs across my right biceps from where Dr. Young shot me. The past two weeks have flown by with preparations for initiation, which starts in eight short days. Tobias, Uriah, Christina, and I have had countless meetings trying to nail down the final details, and we've spent myriad hours in the training room preparing ourselves physically, mentally, and emotionally ... except for Christina. She, of course, has been at home with Liam. I'm confident that we're ready for what the new crop of initiates bring us.

Thankfully, we have the entire bed and breakfast to ourselves again because the first thing I did when we reached our destination was take Tobias' hand in mine and eagerly lead him directly up the seven flights of stairs to the magical bedroom in the old lantern room at the very top of the lighthouse and picked up where we had left off right before we received word that Evelyn's water had broken and Tessa was on her way. It was like no time had passed since the last time we were in that room.

With the exception of occasional bathroom breaks and infrequent meals, we didn't leave that bed until this morning. I took an invigorating shower and quickly dressed in a new sleeveless black and dark gray diagonally striped maternity sundress with a wide black belt and black ballet flats after he asked if I wanted to go pick a name for Peanut. I knew exactly what that meant, a trip to the little farm by the pond where we chose Tessa's name. He packed a picnic lunch while I packed a small bag with swimwear. Of course we haven't gotten around to using either of those two things yet. Upon entering the little meadow again, we both were overcome with memories and passion and immediately made love under the same tree we did two months ago. Everything else could wait.

I drag my tired, heavy eyelids open and take in my peaceful surroundings. It's so magical here ... special. I can actually picture Tyler fearlessly climbing one of the hundreds of trees that encompass the wildflower-filled field while Tessa, dark curls flying in the wind behind her, chases Peanut round and round playing tag or some other childhood game I never got to play. I can see Tobias throwing a thick rope into the massive lone oak that shades the two-story house, attaching a tire swing for all our kids - three, four, five, six of them to use while I float on the calm waters of our pond.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Tobias' deep voice asks as he gently strokes my back with his calloused fingertips, pulling me from my reverie. "You seem so far away." I turn in his arms and look up into his eyes.

"I was thinking about how much I love it here," I say. "I can picture it ... a life with our children in this lovely little meadow. A very happy life. I can't wait to bring them here one day. I'm sure they'll love it as much as I do."