Tris P.O.V.

"I'll see you guys later," I say as I open the door to my house. Tobias waves from his position behind the kitchen and Lucas wraps his arms around my legs once again.

"Bye, mommy," he says. I open my mouth to respond but he quickly unwraps himself and runs in the direction of his room. I laugh and roll my eyes. I can hear Tobias laughing from the kitchen.

"Have fun, Tris," he says as I walk out the door, letting it slam shut behind me. I walk out to my car and put my stuff in the passenger seat. Then, I get in the driver seat, put the key in the hole, and pull out of the driveway. Tonight is my second date with Al. He told me to meet him at the Olive Garden on the edge of town. So, I direct my car in the direction of Olive Garden, the only sounds in the car are the radio.

When I finally reach Olive Garden, I have to drive around the parking lot a few times to find a space to pull my car into. After checking my lip gloss, one of the only types of cosmetics I ever wear, I grab my bag and get out of the car. I walk up to the front of the restaurant where Al has one of the buzzer things that tells you when your table is ready.

"Hey, Tris. How are you?" he asks when he sees me. I smile and accept the hug he pulls me into.

"I'm great. How are-" I start. I'm interrupted by the little black buzzer in his hand signaling that our table is ready. We walk silently into the restaurant. A blonde waitress takes the buzzer and directs us towards our table, while managing to give Al flirtatious smiles. I slide into the booth and Al slides in across from me. I pick up the menu and begin flipping through even though I already know what I am getting. After a few minutes, a waitress comes by and asks for our orders. I get a sweet tea and chicken Parmesan.

"So, what are the plans for tonight?" I question. The waitress comes back and quickly sets down our drinks. Al picks up his coke and takes a sip of it.

"Well, um, actually it's just dinner. I have something going on afterward. . ." he mumbles. I nod and take a sip of water. I still can't help but wonder what it is.

"Oh. What is it?" I finally ask, my curiosity getting the best of me. He looks out one of the windows on the other side of the dining room as if he doesn't want to answer.

"It is a family thing. It just came up yesterday," he mumbles. I nod.

"Oh, well it would have been fine to cancel our date," I say. He nods but does not reply. We sit in silence for a few minutes. Instead of staring at him or some random object in the room, I direct my attention to my nails, picking at the turquoise color Christina painted them.

"So, how is Lucas?" he finally asks. I look up from my nails where I had finally picked off some of the paint to show a small piece of bare nail.

"He's. . . Lucas. He's been just as silly as ever. This was actually his first full week of daycare," I tell him. He smiles. I take a sip of my water.

"Oh, really? Where does he go to daycare at?" Al asks. I explain to him the daycare he goes to and how complicated it was to get him into it. "Al of that for a babysitter?" he asks. I giggle and nod.

"Oh, yeah. Like, seriously. If I'm paying that much for him to go during the day we should get free babysitting at night, too," I joke. He chuckles and nods.

"So, do you have to pay someone else to watch him?" he asks. I shake my head and take another sip of water.

"No, his father normally watches him. He has been a big help since he got back," I comment. Al nods and stares out one of the windows on his right side. He finally picks up his coke and takes a sip of it.

"Well, maybe you can bring Lucas along we go out on our next date," he offers. I nod.

§§§

I walk up the steps of my house and look down at my watch. 9:27. Lucas should already be in bed. I quietly turn the door knob and push the door open. Once I'm inside, I pull it close silently so it doesn't wait Lucas. I kick off my boots, drop my bag on the bench by the door, and walk into the living room where Lucas is asleep on one end of the couch and Tobias sits on the other end, his eyes on the television screen.

"Hey," I whisper. He turns around and waves. He points at Lucas and I nod. Then, once he realizes I know he is asleep, he turns back to the television screen. I look at it and finally realize what he is watching. He is the only grown man I've ever heard seen watching Hercules.

"Do you want to put him in his bed?" I ask. He looks away from the animated movie and nods. He picks up Lucas. I walk in front of him to Lucas's bedroom and pull down his sheets. Tobias lays the sleeping boy down and I pull the sheets up to his chin. We both walk back into the living room and sit down on the couch. "Hercules, huh?" I ask. He chuckles.

"It was Lucas's pick of movies," he claims. I giggle and shake my head even though I know it is one of Lucas's favorites. He closes out of Hercules just as Meg's musical number was about to happen.

"Come on! That was the best part!" I protest. He chuckles and shakes his head. He uses the Wii remote to scroll through movies. Finally, he picks one of the Hunger Games movies.

"This is more like it," he comments as the movie starts, opening with an scene in the woods. I shake my head.

"It's a really violent movie," I comment as I pull a blanket over me. He chuckles and shakes his head.

"Well, that's just too bad," he replies. He steals an edge of my blanket. I don't try to object. We watch the movie in silence and my eyes begin to fall shut until finally, I am asleep.