Title: Tribe 4: The Bad Day Trilogy: But I Do Love You

Chapter: Section 1

Fandom: The Tribe

Author: PinkTribeChick

Summary: The most unexpected love in their world . . .

Extended Summary: An alternate-universe Series 4 romance story, from the point of view of Amber, Jack, Bray, and others.

Rating: Teen

Pairing: Jack/Amber, Bray/Amber, Pride/May, and Bray/Original Female Character, with many more to come!

Author's Notes: Massive thanks to Ariannya and Whit for their thoughts and proofreading on various sections over the years, especially Ariannya, because she is the one who got me to outline all my ideas for the story and then break them down into three separate stories, which became this trilogy! This is probably the story I am most proud of, because of the pairing, which is unique and of my own invention. I hope you will come to love the Amback ship as much as I have!

Enjoy, and please review! Feedback is much appreciated!

Disclaimer: All characters, situations, and song lyrics remain the property of their respective owners. Any original characters are sole property of me, PinkTribeChick.

But I Do Love You

Section 1

"I don't like to be alone at night . . . and I don't like to hear I'm wrong when I'm right . . . and I don't like to have the rain on my shoes . . . but I do love you . . ."

Amber sat on her knees in front of a tiny grave, which had a small wooden cross for a headstone. She closed her eyes as warm tears ran down her cheeks. She reached out with her left hand and touched the letters of her son's name carved in the wood.

Nicolas Christopher. A big name for such a small baby. He was born too early and had been unable to survive in their harsh, chaotic world. With no doctors or medicine, he'd had no chance.

"Amber?" Bray walked up behind her, the green grass of the mountainside crunching underneath his black boots. "Jack and Pride have gotten a fire going, and Cloe is making soup. Are you hungry? I mean, you should eat something, keep your strength up. We have a long road ahead of us." She didn't even answer or turn to look at him. "Amber?" He put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" she growled suddenly at him, rising to her feet. She looked at him with fiery eyes. "If you had just listened to me about Ebony in the first place, none of this would be happening!" Tears streamed down her cheeks as her face turned red with anger.

"But - ," Bray began, moving toward her.

"How could you have been so blind?!" she screamed, stepping away from him. "My baby might've survived if you had opened your eyes, just a little bit! But, no, you fell for Ebony's lies yet again! 'Oh, Bray, I rescued your precious Amber and Trudy. There's no way I would ever betray you. Look how noble and honest I am now, Bray!' You are, without a doubt, the dumbest person on the face of the planet, and my son has paid the price for it!"

"Amber, calm down," Bray said quietly.

"No, you calm down, okay?!" she exclaimed, getting up in his face and pushing him hard.

"You just gave birth a few hours ago. You're not thinking rationally," he responded, still abnormally calm, mostly because she was scaring him. He'd never seen her so mad before. "You're not the only one hurting. Nicolas was my son as well. And this is killing me, too. But you don't see me lashing out at everyone who cares about me, do you?" Amber sighed loudly, trying to control her rage.

"Just stop talking, okay? Because it's not going to make any difference," she said firmly. She pointed to the grave behind her. "He's dead, Bray." She paused for a moment, looking at Bray in disgust. "And you make me sick." She stomped off as thunder rumbled in the distance.

Bray walked back sullenly to where the others were setting up camp. Pride was setting up a huge tarp over the fire as a tent, with Jack's help. The pot of soup hung over a crackling fire. Bray sat down with a light grunt on a log nearby. Pride looked up from his work.

"How is she?" Pride asked, looking past Bray to the overcast sky. Lightning flashed, making Jack and Bray both jump.

"She blames me for all of this. Including Nicolas's death. And I just really don't know what to say to her anymore," Bray replied, shrugging his shoulders. Jack was listening closely from where he was sitting on the ground, as Bray continued. "She's so angry and hostile. And she keeps saying my baby and my son, as though he's not my child as well."

"Well . . . Jack, I need the hammer," Pride said, before giving Bray his opinion. Jack sat on the ground nearby, typing on his laptop, offering minimal help. "Jack, the hammer?" Jack sighed and handed Pride the hammer, then went back to typing. Pride started to wrap rope around large nails, pounding them into the ground to secure the tarp.

"Well, Bray, I could try talking to her for you." Bray thought about it for a moment.

"Nah, she'd probably just lash out at you, too," Bray answered. Pride nodded understandingly. "But thanks anyway." Bray's eyes focused on the flames in front of him as he sat quietly. Cloe and May returned, both carrying more wood for the fire.

"Pride, where do you want us to put this?" May asked.

"Um . . . over there," he said, pointing to an empty spot by the food sack. Pride looked back at Bray. "Well, maybe Cloe or May could talk to her?" Bray opened his mouth to speak, but Jack spoke first.

"I could talk to her," Jack said suddenly, looking up from the computer. "I mean . . . if you want me to." Bray and Pride both gave him astonished looks.

"What makes you think she'd listen to you? You've never been particularly close to her, Jack," Pride inquired.

"All the more reason, because she wouldn't have any real reason to lash out at me. Plus, I haven't been around much recently, so there's nothing she could possibly blame on me," Jack replied, smiling. "I mean, what other choice do you have? You could at least let me try."

Bray and Pride looked at each other. Pride shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, "Might as well." Bray closed his eyes momentarily, then opened them and looked at Jack.

"Alright. Give it a shot," Bray said with a sigh. "She headed off in the direction of the stream." Jack closed his laptop and stood up.

"I'll do my best, Bray," Jack said, smiling sympathetically. He pulled on his jacket and walked off toward the stream.

Please review – I'm anxious to hear your thoughts! And thanks for reading! I will be posting another section shortly!