Forever Undaunted

06

August 3rd
Tobias's POV
"Come on, princess!" I call upstairs, tying my laces on the couch. "We are going to be late. We still have to go pick up Everest!"

River runs down the stairs with Tris following.

"Do you have everything?" she asks.

"Yes, mama."

"Ok then, hurry up. Go with daddy. I'll see you after school," she says, kissing River on the top of the head. River hops off the rest of the stairs and swings her hand into mine.

"Say 'bye mommy!'" I tell River, waving over my shoulder at Tris. River does the same, repeating what I said. Tris ways back then turning into the kitchen. River and I walk out of our house, on the way to Christina's.

"You ready for the first day of school?" I ask, smiling down at her.

"Yeah!" she exclaims. "Me and Ever are going to be friends with everyone." I laugh, squeezing her hand three times. Since the war, the factions have become closer, allowing people to remain in touch with other faction members.

"I'm sure you guys will be. Just remember to be nice," I tell her, teasing a bit.

"I'll be extra mean," she teases back, standing up straighter.

We laugh as we turn the corner to Christina's apartment. River bursts into it without even knocking. I follow, closing the door behind us. River and Everest hug, running into the kitchen where Christina is, making Everest's lunch.

"Here you go, baby," she says, handing a brown paper bag to Everest. "Thanks again, Four. My stomach is just getting a little too big to be jumping off trains," she joke. I laugh.

"It's no problem at all. But we have to go if we want to catch this train," I tell the kids. "Say bye to your mom," I tell Everest.

"Bye, mama!" he says, hugging her legs. River and Everest run out of the room to the door. I say bye to Christina, following them.

"You guys ready to jump your first train?" I ask them. The guys and I have taken them to jump off still trains but they haven't jumped off a moving one yet.

"Yeah!" they both exclaim, running ahead of me a little. I smile.

Tris's POV
As Tobias and River walk out the door to River's first day of school, I head into the kitchen. Since tomorrow is my birthday, a large, chocolate, Dauntless cake sits in the fridge. I sigh, using all my self-control to not cut myself a slice. Instead, I grab a muffin and head upstairs. Bellamy is still asleep in his room and Blakelyn in River's. The girls had a little sleepover last night. I smile and head into my room, setting my half-eaten muffin on the nightstand. It is 7:50 am. Christina is coming over at 9:00 to take me out before my birthday celebration tomorrow. We are going to drop the twins off with Maddie and El. They both adore the twins.

I walk into the bathroom and run myself a bath. I let the warm water fill the tub with some oils from Amity. They are supposed to make your skin softer and smell good. I soak in, washing my body and hair. I get lost in the bath for about thirty minutes. I get out, wrap a towel around my body, and brush my teeth and hair. As I begin styling my hair into loose curls, I feel small arms wrap around my leg. I look down, finding Bellamy.

"Hey, good morning, buddy."

"Hi, mommy," he says, yawning. "Can I go watch TV?" he asks.

"Is your sister still asleep?" I ask, turning back to the mirror. I feel him nod. "Okay, you can watch on my bed," I tell him as he runs off. I can't help but laugh.

By the time I finish my hair and makeup, it is 8:45. I rush into the closet, quickly getting dressed. I pull on some baggy black jeans, a black tube top with a dark flannel, and my combat boots. I find Blakelyn and Bellamy both on my bed once I walk back into the bedroom.

"Hey, guys. Auntie Chris is going to be here soon; let's go get dressed," I tell them, smiling.

Tobias's POV
I stand near the train tracks, holding River's hand in one of mine and Everest's in my other. In the distance, we can hear the train whistle. There are two trains that run through the city. There is one train that the Dauntless ride, which is fast. The other train, which is slower, carries cargo.
"Okay guys, get ready!" I tell them. "I'll lift you in first, Ri."

Only a moment later, the train comes around the corner. It can't be traveling more than five miles per hour. I let the first two cars pass, running with the kids next to the train, when the first door of the third car approaches, I lift River, letting her grab onto the handle and pull herself in. Just as quickly, when the second door approaches, I lift Everest in the same. Once he is in, I continue running next to the train and throw myself in. River stands with Everest next to the second door. Another Dauntless family sits near the third door. A mom, dad, and son probably a year older than River.

Dauntless usually take their kids to school until they are ten years old. Then, they start taking the faster train with the older kids. Kids have until then to learn how to get on and off a train by themselves.

"Come here, guys," I tell them, sitting against the wall. "So when we get off the train, you want to jump and start running so you don't fall. But if you do fall, that's okay. You are going to land on the grass."

They both nod and turn to each other, playing a hand game. They hold out their pointer fingers, tapping each other, making them add fingers. I think they call the game 'sticks'. After about a fifteen-minute train ride, we approach the school.

"Okay guys, get ready to jump!" I say, standing up.