Forever Undaunted

24

December 21st
Tris's POV
"Oh my gosh," I whisper when I see the living room. The Christmas tree and fireplace light the room with a soft glow, showing pillows and blankets all over the floor. Candles and rose petals surround it, filling the room with a winter aroma.

"Did you?" I whisper like it's some secret. He nods, smiling. "Why?" I breathe. "What's the occasion?"

"That I love you," he whispers into my ear, kissing my neck. I feel his hands on my hips, slip down to the hem of my shirt, tugging at it.

"You're naughty," I laugh. "What do you want?" I giggle as he moves his hand up my skin, giving me goosebumps.

"Can't I just spend a nice night with my wife?"

"Are you trying to get me pregnant?" I laugh as a joke, but he pulls back.

"Do you want to?" He looks at me confused. Slowly, I turn around to face him and shrug.

"I don't know... maybe. Maybe we could... I don't know. I could go off the pill, but we don't have to try. If you want," I say, looking down.

"Tris," he lifts my head up to look at him. "What do you want?"

"I think I want to just see what happens," I say. When he doesn't respond, I continue. "I want to just let nature do its thing." I laugh nervously.

Having more kids has been a touchy topic since we lost the baby. I told Tobias that I was going to go on birth control for a while, and that was all we said on the topic. He knew I didn't want to feel like I was replacing her, but I don't feel like that anymore. I feel like we can move on but still remember her.

Tobias studies my face and I study his. I can't make out what he's feeling. "Tobias?" I whisper. "What are you thinking?"

All of a sudden, he smiles, laughing as he pulls me into a hug. "I love you, Tris." I laugh nervously.

"But I didn't do anything." He laughs with me, pulling me down to the floor. I rest my head on his chest, watching the fire.

"Do you really want to go off it?" he asks. I nod.

"I actually didn't take it today," I shrug.

"What!" He exclaims, sitting up laughing. I laugh and he pulls me onto his lap. He smiles, pulling off my shirt.

"I love you," he laughs, kissing me. I smile.

***

"Mommy!" I hear River call, making me bolt upright. I sit on the floor of the living room, my naked body only covered by a sheet. Tobias sleeps next to me, his body covered by the sheet as well. The events of last night come swarming back as I see my undergarments scattered around the living room. "Mama!" River calls again. I feel my stomach drop as I quickly pull on Tobias's t-shirt and boxers. "Mom!"

"What's going on?" Tobias whispers. I ignore his question, running upstairs into River's room.

"River! What's wrong?" I call. I hurry into the bathroom that connects her room to the twins', finding River crouched in front of the toilet.

"I-" she starts, before throwing up into the toilet. I rush over to her, holding her hair back.

"Tobias!" I shout. When River leans back, I flush the toilet and grab a washcloth, wiping her face. "Tobias!" I call again just before realizing I took his clothes. River throws up again.

"You're okay, baby," I say rubbing her back.

"What's wrong?" Tobias pants, rushing in. I burst out laughing when I see him wearing my Christmas PJ shorts and a t-shirt. River lets out a small giggle, too. "Hey! You took my clothes!" I suppress a smile. "What's wrong?"

"I threw up," River says, holding her stomach.

"Aww, princess," Tobias says, crouching down.

"Mama?" I hear Bellamy whisper, walking in from his room.

"Hey, bubs. Go back to bed, okay?"

"Is sissy okay?" I nod.

"She's just sick."

Just then, River throws up again, this time on Tobias's lap.

"I think I'm done now," she says, wiping her mouth. I stare, dumbfounded. In our five years of having kids, they have never gotten this sick before. Maybe the occasional cold, but I don't think River has ever thrown up before. "I'm sorry, daddy."

"It's okay," he says, standing up.

"Go hop in the shower, Tobias. I'll clean River up." He nods, mentally thanking me, before making his way into our room. Tobias doesn't do well with sick kids.

"Let's get you cleaned up," I say, lifting up River and taking her to the bath.

Tobias's POV
The day passes painfully slow. After Tris cleaned up River at five in the morning, Blakelyn had thrown up in her bedroom. Tris took them both downstairs, lying them each on the couch with a bucket near them, turning on some cartoons. While I cleaned up the bathroom and the twins' room, Tris took Bellamy to stay with Mar and Uriah since he was feeling fine. By the time she got back, Blakelyn had only thrown up once more in her bucket. We spent the rest of the morning cleaning the house and trying to get rid of the smell.

Around lunchtime, both girls had fallen asleep. We took them back to their bedrooms, letting them sleep.

I sigh, walking out of the laundry room. The girls have been asleep for a few hours, and we have just been cleaning. Honestly, the house needed a good deep clean, but we could've gone without the throw-up. I absolutely hate seeing my girls like this. Blakelyn has turned pale and River has huge bags under their eyes.

"Hey," Tris says as I walk into the kitchen.

"Hmm?"

"Can you go get Bells? I'm making soup so we can have dinner when the girls wake up if they're hungry."

I nod, kissing her on the head.

"Thank you," she whispers. I smile as she turns around, kissing me.

Slowly, I make my way to the door, grabbing my keys and heading to Mar and Uriah's. I feel like dead weight as I walk down the dim hallways. Tris and I hardly got any sleep last night between doing our thing and getting woken up early by River.

I can only hope that both the girls sleep through the night tonight and are feeling better tomorrow. Tris and I still need to get a few more things for them for Christmas.
I find myself sighing once more as I knock on the door.