DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. All rights to Veronica Roth.

Chapter 10
Family Cat Fight

Phoenix's POV

"Alex, I'm heading over to see Ezra and Damien at the infirmary. Care to join?" I ask, looking over to my husband as he laid on the couch with Birdie sitting on his chest, babbling about a toy she kept gnawing at.

"Sure, come on princess, maybe you can waddle some of the way there." He says, plucking the child from his chest while I grabbed some shoes for her and a light sweater since it was early and obviously cold.

"Catch." I warn, tossing the black sweater his way and giggling when it lands on his head making Birdie squeal in delight.

"Laugh at me all you want," Alex says, placing the child in my arms while he pulled the sweater off his head and began to dress her. "But I can easily punish you both with tickles. I know your weaknesses." He says making me give Birdie a shocked looked.

"Uh-oh!" She said, bouncing against my hip lightly.

"Uh-oh is right. Daddy is never to be mocked." He says, dabbing her nose with his finger and blowing cool air into her face making her little eyebrows raise in confusion. I laugh and kiss her cheek, nuzzling my nose into her neck while she wrapped her arms around my head.

"Oh how I love my Bird!" I announce, twirling with her while Alex got the door open for us.

"She loves you too." Alex said as he shut and locked our door.

We walked together to the infirmary, each of us holding Birdie's hand as we hunched over and encouraged her to take each step through the halls.

~.~.~

"Alright, where's the idiot that got the knife wedged in his side?" I ask, entering the room assigned to my little brother. Izzy laughed at the words while Ezra got defensive and pointed his plastic knife at me.

"Hey, I will cut you." He warned, not even noticing my sudden attack as I flip the knife from his hand and into mine, snapping the utensil in two.

"Sure you will." I say, placing the broken pieces on his empty plate, which contained what I believe was pancakes since Birdie devoured a plate of her own a few hours ago.

"Where's my pretty niece?" He asks, discarding the plate into the garbage can by his bed, looking over the edge to see Birdie waddling towards Izzy with both hands raised for balance.

"Oh my goodness, look at her go!" Izzy cheered, scooping the little girl up and embracing her tightly before placing her on Ezra's lap.

"Sup, Birdie?" He asks, playing with her brown piggy tails that barely reached her chin.

"Ehehehe-za-za." She said, trying to get the word Ezra out, which made him beam.

"You should hear her say mama and dada." Alex says, coming beside me and running his fingers up and down my back.

"Daddaadadada!" Birdie suddenly repeated, looking to Alex with her goofy smile.

"Hi, princess." He says, giving her a soft wave, which she tried to return. Her heavy head nearly fell back but Ezra had a hand up, cupping the back of her neck.

"So, how are you feeling?" I ask, turning into the concerned sister role.

"I'm good, we had a little surprise visit from Mara today but she bolted the minute we told her Iz was expecting."

"Bolted?" Alex asks.

"Ran away so fast we didn't even know if it was worth stopping her." He says, looking to Izzy worriedly.

"You called mom, right?"

"Oh yeah, she was pissed." He said, giving off a small laugh.

"I can see why. Mara is dragging mom and dad around in this emotional rollercoaster and now she is running away for hours on end? Come on Ez, admit it, it hurt you that she didn't see you when you woke up yesterday."

"Yeah, it hurt, but she needs to work-"

"Things out! I get it." I say, shaking my head as I began to pace.

"Don't get so worked up about this." He says, slight anger edging his tone.

"Don't be such a dick!" I respond, looking to Alex when he rapidly covered Birdie's ears.

"As much as this family needs a real heart to heart, maybe lets avoid the swearing in front of the infant." He says. I point to the door and he understands immediately, picking up Birdie and leaving the room, allowing the door to open and Damien to enter after him.

"Hello my twin, and little bro!" He greets, his smile dropping when he sees our annoyed glares meeting one another's. "Whoa, family cat fight." He hisses at the sight and I flick him off before turning back to Ezra.

"She needs to talk, this is just immature." I say, returning to our conversation.

"How can a fifteen year old, trying to work out her emotions, be immature by choosing not to speak?" Ezra replies, making me groan in frustration.

"Because!" I cry out, not bothering to add an explanation.

"You're angry because she's hurting mom and dad." Ezra eggs me on.

"Of course I'm angry! Not everyone can sympathize the mute."

"Whoa!" Damien cuts in, stepping in front of me. "She has a name, at least address her and not label her as a mute." He says.

"Holy fuck, this whole family is lost in the delusion that this is only the not having kids thing that is keeping Mara like this." I say, making them raise eyebrows. "She needs to talk, if people sympathize her she will fall under the idea that she can stay quiet forever. If people push her she will snap and hopefully she will spill everything that happened." I explain.

"You sound crazy, but I understand." Ezra says, giving me a smile.

"Me too." Izzy agrees, making her presence known. Damien groans, rubs his tired face, before finally saying:

"Yeah. I understand."

"Good, now that we are all on the same page, how do we break this silence?" I sit at the end of Ezra's bed and look at all the faces. We needed to fix our sister. And fast.

~.~.~

Mara's POV

I boarded the train, cart number twelve and turn my phone off as I wait for the day to drawl on. Why did I agree to meet him at seven? The day is already taking forever to go by, now I have to wait endless hours with only my thoughts?

That sounds dangerous.

Maybe a nap, I mean I'm exhausted. Being sad drains you, at least the sun is warm and the cart is cool enough for me to close my eyes for a few hours.

So that's what I do. I lean against the corner of the cart, shut my heavy eyes, and begin to drift in the early hours of the morning.

Romeo's POV

I left my home early, after lunch was served, and began to pray that Ace would be in cart twelve like we promised. She was exquisite, and mysterious. Her eyes were piercing and something about the way she laughed made my heart leap.

I don't care if she never spoke, that laugh was intoxicating; I was drunk in love with it after yesterday.

I wish I weren't factionless, I wish I could live in Dauntless, just so then I was around her everyday, watching her beautiful long hair flow down her back in a heavy cascade of darkness.

She was beautiful, and I was trapped in this whirlwind of emotion.

~.~.~

She was in the corner, her eyes shut, her hair braided down her back, coming over her shoulder as she rested against the wall of the cart. Would she freak out if I awoken her? Should I awaken her? Would that be rude? I mean if she is sleeping, it must be because she is tired and needs rest.

Oh crap she's waking, well I can't look like I'm watching her! Boy would that scare her away.

I throw myself into the far corner and shut my eyes, popping one open momentarily to see her look at me with a gentle smile.

"I swear I wasn't watching you." I say, making her giggle as she stands up and moves to the shut train door. She hits the pad and allows the door to slide open, welcoming the strong sun against her bare arms. She sits on the edge and tangles her legs, looking to me quickly before looking back outside.

"I'm glad I could see you again." I say, moving to sit next to her and catching those intense icy eyes. She nods in agreement and down casts her eyes to my left side. "You want to know how I got this?" I ask, peeling my top upward and pressing the top of my pants downward to reveal the large scar. She nods, analyzing the eight-inch, jagged scar on my hip. She likes stories, that was an easy fact to tell.

Good thing is I like to tell stories, and she was a very good listener. Story time it is.

Hi guys,

Super sorry for the lack of updating! I'm studying for provincials (Canadian Government Testing) which is basically three massive tests covering Math, Science and English.
English is easy
Science is alright
But Math is the really tough subject so i've been devoting myself to it. This is just a thirty minute break I had to spare and decided to write and publish this chapter.

How much longer do you think Mara should stay silent?

Comment, Like Follow :)

-Valentina