I'm sorry this chapter took a bit longer to post! Hopefully it was worth the wait! Eunice339 did wonderful beta work, as usual. Thanks for all your feedback on chapter 9. Can't wait to hear what you think of chapter 10!

TOBIAS

When I wake up Friday morning, Tris isn't in her usual spot in my bed where she's spent most nights this week. Thursdays are typically long nights at Dauntless, so she stayed at her place. I'm sure she got home late and exhausted, but I can't help but wish she were here next to me. I'll see her tonight, though. Shauna, excited about getting a promotion at work, has declared that everyone must go to Dauntless tonight to celebrate with her, and Zeke and I didn't argue. I know she's arranged for a large crowd to be there and Zeke even invited some old friends of hers to come celebrate too, hopefully as a surprise.

As I head to work, I think about how things have been at the precinct. I've only been back a few weeks, but I feel uncomfortable around Nita all the time. And unfortunately because I'm on desk duty, there have been plenty of moments where we were left alone and she felt the need to try to get personal with me despite my attempts to politely avoid them.

Knowing that I've been around her the most, Reynolds pulls me into his office to ask me what kind of vibe she has been giving me; how I am reading her. I'm honest with him and I can sense his agreement, although he doesn't voice it. When I open the door to leave his office, I spot Nita hanging out just a couple feet away. She looks over at us and boldly asks what we needed to talk about in private. I could sense Reynolds' frustration, wanting to tell her it was none of her concern or her damn business. So, I decide it's best to step in. "My recovery. I prefer to keep my medical status private."

"Fucking pansy," Reynolds says under his breath to cover up our conversation. Nita seems appeased by this and the suspicion leaves her eyes before she scoots closer to me.

"Well, I overheard you and Zeke talking about everyone going out tonight to get some drinks." I watch as she leans in towards me, causing her cleavage to show more. "Care if I join you?"

I shrug, turning away from her. "It's actually a get together for Zeke's girlfriend. We're not just 'going out'." I'm not sure if she'll get the hint or if she'll continue to pry more, so I walk towards the small break room that's really just a too-big closet with a fridge, sink and table squeezed into it. I stifle a groan as I hear her follow me, her heeled boots clicking against the floor.

"I think it'd be fun to spend some time with you guys, you know, get to know you better. Especially…" her voice trails before becoming husky as she adds, "outside of work."

I move away from her, feeling my skin crawl at her insinuation. I want to spit out that I have a girlfriend, but she clearly already knows that since she met Tris here and also considering how often Zeke and I banter about both Tris and Shauna. "Look, I would really appreciate it if you could act a little more professional around here. We have to work together."

Nita must misinterpret my words as a sly grin develops on her face. "I guess I can keep it professional 'around here', Four." I feel her fingertips getting dangerously close to me, so I back up into a chair to avoid her touching me. Thankfully Zeke pops his head into the break room as she's about to open her mouth and likely let out more disgusting suggestions.

"Hey, Four, we gotta go. Got a suspect."

I hightail it out of the break room, only hesitating long enough to stop at my desk to grab my gun, and then head out of the office as fast as I can.

Once we get outside, I don't even argue with Zeke about who's driving, which is a rare occasion reserved only for birthdays, holidays, and fights with Shauna. "What the hell was going on with Nita?" he asks me without even thinking twice.

I shake my head, trying to rid myself of the feeling of slime crawling over me. "She doesn't get it, or she just doesn't care, which I'm starting to think that's more of the case. She knows I'm with Tris."

Zeke shrugs. "A lot of guys don't really care if they've got someone at home, man. Maybe she's hoping you're the same."

"But Tris is always here. Nita had to have heard about Tris's relationship with Reynolds and Amar. Do you think she'd really do that to herself, surrounded by the people in this unit?"

Zeke takes a deep breath. "I think she doesn't care. She's probably got some ace in her pocket she can use if it comes down to it."

I snap my head in his direction. "What do you mean?"

He shrugs. "I'm not exactly sure what her angle is, yet. But, she's the only woman we've had in the unit since Tori became a desk sergeant. Maybe she's thinking she can use that to her advantage. Claim that Reynolds is sexist or some shit."

As much as it surprises me, Zeke has considered something that I hadn't even thought of, and he has a good point. Tori moved to the desk sergeant position just a month after I came to Chicago. She'd suffered a leg wound on duty and had already undergone a long recovery period before she could even walk around comfortably. It was hard for her to leave the unit, but she's hopeful that with continued physical therapy, she'll be back to join us soon. Shauna consults with Tori and works out with her a couple times a week out of friendship.

"It was actually Shauna who made me think of it. She was talking about her promotion and how hard it can be to work with male clients and younger male therapists sometimes. They think less of her as a therapist because she's a woman. It just made me think about Nita."

"When did you get so fucking smart?" I quip with a smile. "Who knew?"

He punches me jokingly as he turns the corner, before his face grows serious. "My other worry is that this is about Tris. Someone might be sending Nita to use you to hurt Tris."

"Who would want to hurt Tris?" I hadn't even thought that this could be about her. Tris doesn't have any vengeance with anyone that I know of.

"Look – everyone in the CPD knows that her dad was probably the best damn cop this city ever had. But you know how Reynolds doesn't always stick to the straight and narrow? Well, her dad didn't either." Zeke shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "He shared with me some stories when I first told him I wanted to be a police officer. He said there were things about being a police officer that haunt him at night, and that I had to be able to deal with that."

"Does Tris know this stuff?" I ask him. "I don't want to know stuff about her dad that she doesn't."

He nods. "She knows… everything."

I breathe out deeply, not realizing I was holding my breath waiting for his answer. I let him continue talking without asking any more questions.

"Her dad was well-respected, but of course there were still people who didn't agree with him. Like with the aptitude test… A lot of people were pissed he was using it in a different way and not sharing his theories. They wanted their units to be the best and I think sometimes people just got jealous hearing about how great he was." He glances over at me and I can't alter the look on my face to be normal.

"Four, man, it's just a theory. I don't know anything for sure. I'm just throwing things out there."

"Yeah, I know and I appreciate it. I do." I shake my head to clear the thoughts and run a hand through my hair. "We'll figure it out."

I head over to Zeke and Shauna's before going to Dauntless that night. I grab a card from the drug store on the way and write the most heartfelt message I can muster up for Shauna. She's one of the few people that I have allowed to weasel their way into my life and I'm actually pretty grateful for that. Over the years, Shauna has managed to be a little bit of Hana and a little bit of Zeke rolled into one. She's not as soft or sweet as Hana, but also not as rough and tough as Zeke tends to be on me. At first, I felt uncomfortable becoming close friends with her, but Zeke was more than thrilled. He felt that if his girlfriend and his best friend could become friends, it solidified his relationship with her. Never once has he been upset about Shauna and I talking or texting without him, even the one time he came back to the apartment we shared in college and found Shauna next to me, rubbing my back while I read the most hurtful letter I had ever received from my father.

I don't really give her enough credit sometimes, and I think…actually, I know that I haven't been nearly as powerful a friend to her as she's been to me. But that's part of what's great about Shauna: she's giving. She can be an asshole at times and she sure puts up with a lot of immaturity from Zeke, but she's a damn good person to have on your side when your ship is sinking. Tris told me that when she opened Dauntless, Shauna was one of the first people to get her liquor license in order to help cocktail or bartend when Tris was shorthanded. Even now, she told me Shauna is always willing to get up and give her a hand.

Her promotion to a supervisor is well deserved, even though Shauna is probably younger than a lot of the other therapists at her clinic. I already know that anyone fortunate enough to work with her has got to be the luckiest person in the clinic, because she'll push them to be the best therapist they can be.

I arrive at their apartment building, which is a small building in a quaint neighborhood. They moved in together immediately following graduation, and while Shauna is the responsible and more mature person of the duo, Zeke has no problem following her lead and admitting that she knows best. I knock softly and Shauna answers, greeting me with an enthusiastic smile. "Four!" she exclaims it as if she's been waiting all day to see me. I congratulate her and hand her the card before she jumps up, enveloping me in a hug.

"I'm so glad you could make it out tonight."

"Of course." I wouldn't miss celebrating something for Shauna. "I'm really happy for you. You deserve it." I think about how lame my words sound. I really suck at relaying my feelings.

"Yeah, well, I've heard about you and Tris getting all heated up." She looks at me out of the corner of her eye. "It's about fucking time!"

I blush and put my head down, trying not to look like an infatuated middle schooler. "Yeah, I guess it was."

She doesn't comment on the way I act, but just pats my arm knowingly and walks towards the kitchen. "Zeke is almost ready," she says. "He should be out any minute. Do you want anything to drink while we wait?"

"Stop catering to other people when this is your celebration," I instruct. "I'm fine and you are not going to be responsible for getting anyone drinks tonight. That's our job."

"Hell, yeah, it is!" Zeke shouts. As he enters the room, he wraps his arms around Shauna's waist from behind, kissing her cheek. "The boys are taking care of you tonight!" He releases her, slaps me on the shoulder, and then moves towards the door. "Let's head out!"

The cab ride to Dauntless is quick as they don't live very far away and traffic is generally light on Friday nights in this neighborhood. It makes me happy, because I'm excited to see Tris and relax with our friends. Uriah and Will are coming and Zeke already confided in me that he had arranged for a large circle of Shauna's friends to be in attendance. Tris gave the night off to Christina since she had won their bet and asked one of the waitresses to bartend with her instead. She had also scheduled an extra cocktail waitress to strictly take care of our group of friends, knowing the bar will be a bit busier with everyone celebrating, which makes the night a little more exciting than I'm used to.

When we arrive, there is already a group of people, mostly women, squealing in excitement for her. They're happy to see her, but even happier to celebrate her hard work, and I see Zeke beaming proudly at her. Before I know it, Tris sneaks away from the bar to slip her arms around me and reach up to plant her lips on mine.

"Hey," she almost whispers. "I'm glad you're here."

I smile and return her kiss, leaning down to her this time. "Me, too."

"I have Molly working your group tonight. I told her to make sure she takes care of you guys, especially Shauna. But let me know if you need anything."

I nod, wondering why she's always treating us like customers when we expect nothing out of her. "You too, you know." I pull out my wallet, exposing my new liquor license to her. I put in my application and took the first class available. Then, afterwards, they signed everyone's licenses, telling us we were free to serve alcohol in any Illinois establishment.

"Ohhhhhh!" she says as she pulls it out of my hand and holds it up to her eyes. "Look at you!"

"Well, you know, now I can help you back there whenever you're busy…or bored." I squeeze her butt at the thought of moving around her behind the bar, recalling the way our movements were so fluid and simple the first time.

"I appreciate that," she says as she rises to kiss me again. "I've gotta get back there, but come get some drinks."

After greeting her friends, Shauna joins me at the bar, leaning her shoulder into me playfully. "Thanks, Four. I know you had to help Zeke with this."

I smile. "It was actually all his idea." Zeke has really grown up in the past few years, and it's more evident now that I see him on a daily basis. "He really is proud of you," I tell her, giving a nudge back, which causes her to smile.

"He should be!" Tris says as she mixes drinks in front of us. She hands me a Jack and Coke – I love that she knows exactly what I want to drink without me having to ask. She then hands a vodka and tonic to Shauna. "It's on me tonight."

Shauna reaches over the bar to squeeze her hand. "Thanks, Tris."

Tris smiles back at her before Shauna's attention is stolen by Tori, who walks into the bar and yells her name as soon as she's in earshot. I can already tell that Shauna is thrilled by Tori's presence as she runs off to greet her. Tris just nods to our group of friends. "Go have fun," she says. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah?" I ask her just to make sure she's all right.

"Yep. And please, be ready to get naked later." She flashes me a flirtatious smile before I watch her walk down to another customer at the end of the bar. That girl.

The night starts to become overwhelming as we're surrounded by people I haven't seen since high school graduation. During that time, I hung out with Zeke and Shauna and so, I guess, I hung out with their friends too, although I wasn't exactly an active participant in the group. I was probably considered more of Zeke's friend than 'their' friend, but that was fine by me at the time. To my surprise, a lot of people seem both intrigued and surprised by my appearance at the party, and several people inquire about my life now.

I never really thought of Shauna and Zeke's friends as bad people, I just wasn't in a position to let more people get close to me. Everyone they've kept in touch with seems to have moved into adulthood in the same way Zeke has, accepting responsibility and maturity as it comes. Unfortunately, I don't get many opportunities to be with Tris while she works, but I point her out to the few people I catch up with when they ask if I'm with anyone. I'd be stupid not to shout from the rooftops that she is mine.

"I've come by here before," says a girl named Maria. "She's really nice. She owns this place, right?"

I nod in confirmation. "She does."

"Wow. That's awesome. Ambitious." I can't think of a better word to describe Tris, especially in her business endeavors. "I'm really glad you're happy, Four. I always thought you deserved it," Maria says before turning to another conversation with her friends, and I agree with her. I do deserve it.

Tris is exactly who I'm thinking about, not to mention starring at, when a body I barely register plops down next to me on the leather couch.

"Hey, you," a voice says next to me, and I turn my head with a nervous look. Next to me on the couch, wearing a short, revealing dress, is Nita.

"Uh, hi." I scoot away, trying to put some space between us, but she readjusts herself so that her knee rests against mine.

"I hope you don't mind, but I overheard you guys talking, and I knew you were coming here… You didn't exactly tell me I wasn't welcome." She twirls a piece of her hair between her fingers as she talks. Is she trying to be seductive?

"I can't really tell you where you can or can't go after work." My voice is flat as I search the bar for Tris, but can't find her over the heads of customers seated near her.

She leans towards me, her cleavage brushing up against my arm. "I just thought it sounded fun."

I nod and take a sip of my drink, unsure of how I'm supposed to get out of this situation. "We're actually here celebrating Zeke's girlfriend's promotion. Maybe you should go introduce yourself to her." I point to where Shauna and Zeke are, happily socializing with their friends.

"Maybe you could introduce me?" She bats her eyelashes at me and I have to swallow hard to maintain my drink without throwing it up. Besides the fact that I feel zero attraction to her, this is my girlfriend's business, and I'll be damned if someone disrespects her in it.

"I don't think that's necessary. You don't seem to have a problem intruding."

Nita leans forward, putting her mouth dangerously close to my ear despite how far I pull away from her. "I'd like it better if you did it."

"FOUR!" I hear my name loudly from the direction of the bar. "I need a case of Stella, baby!" Tris is smiling at me, sweet and sarcastic all at the same time.

"I gotta go," I say as I jump out of my seat and head to the back stock room. I don't really know if Tris actually needs a case of Stella, but I know I need a break, so I shake my head and run a hand through my hair before grabbing the case of beer. Turning to move up front, I see Tris making her way to me.

"Are you ok?" she asks when she sees me. "You look awful." She leads me over to a cooler, pushing me on it to sit.

"I just…" I let my voice trail. I hadn't really told Tris about the extent of Nita's uncomfortable advances. I just said that I didn't trust her and I wasn't sure what her intentions were in our unit. I probably should have been more honest, because Tris just saw her coming onto me, hard.

"Hey," she pulls my head to face hers. "It's fine. I'm not upset."

"You're not?"

"I just wanted to get you the hell away from her." Tris smiles at me then pulls me in as she hugs me around my shoulders. "It's ok."

Her hands stay on my neck and I let mine rest at her waist. "We should probably talk about it later."

"We should. But go back and have fun. Seriously." She urges me out from behind the bar, smacking my butt as I near the end of it.

"Hiiiiii," I hear a voice overcompensating. "Four, honey, can you have your friend get me a Long Island?"

Ugh. Nita again. "She's busy, I'm sure she'll get it when she has time." Just for effect, I pull Tris in for a kiss on the mouth before walking out from behind the bar. She waits on another customer before making Nita's Long Island. And only because I know Tris, I watch her as she slyly spits in the cup as she mixes the alcohol together. That's my girl.

TRIS

Seeing another woman lean into my man is really not something surprising. When we were just friends, I watched countless women hit on him, and an even higher number of women eye him from across the room. In the beginning, it made me feel a bit uncomfortable, but that's probably because I was also concerned about the way he felt about me and our lack of honesty.

Now, seeing a woman come onto him just kind of irritates me because it's pretty obvious to anyone who sees us that we are together. Particularly this woman who works with him, who I've met. I can tell by the look on his face that he's disgusted and uncomfortable, but I also know he doesn't want to be so rude that work becomes uncomfortable too. And because he respects Reynolds, he doesn't want to bring drama to the unit. Man, I can read him like a fucking book.

I'm kind of upset that he didn't tell me about this sooner. He should have given me a heads up about what was going on. But I'm not pissed enough to bitch at him right now, so I yell his name across the bar. "FOUR! I need a case of Stella, baby!" I've never yelled a pet name across a bar in my life, but desperate times call for desperate measures. He jumps out of his seat like someone lit his ass on fire.

I assure him that everything is fine, because I can tell he's visibly upset by everything going on around him with that bitch, Nita. I don't want to ruin the night, especially for Shauna. So, I calm him down and am about to send him on his way when Nita approaches and orders a drink.

What I really, really want to do is serve her a mix of the grossest, bottom-shelf alcohols covered by her stupid Long Island Triple Sec, but because I'm not sure how avid a drinker she is, she may taste it. So, I resort to a low tactic that another bartender taught me years ago. I slyly spit in the cup I'm making her drink in. Is this mature? No. Is this good for business? No. But do I care about that shit? No.

"One Long Island!" I chirp happily, sliding the drink towards her. "$9!"

I quickly slide Four a vodka and tonic along with his Jack and Coke. "For Shauna," I say, giving him a quick out while Nita is stuck digging into her purse for her card or money, or who knows what else, because my boyfriend is not fucking buying her a drink like she's expecting.

It's later in the evening and I'm rubbing the back of my neck when I feel Four come up next to me. Without speaking, he swipes a card on the register, ringing up a customer I wasn't even aware he served.

"What are you doing?"

He shrugs. "You look overwhelmed, and I kind of miss you from over there, so I decided to get back here and spend some time with you."

I never thought I'd be so excited to hear those words. "Thanks," is all I can muster, though.

"Do you need a break?" he asks me, looking at my face. "You look exhausted."

I laugh. "I don't know why, but I am. I'll just run to the bathroom."

"Go," he says before planting a kiss on my forehead. "I've got it."

I slip away, splashing some cold water on my face before sitting on the toilet. I try to finish as quickly as possible, remembering he said he wanted to spend time with me. But I am starving, and I remember the protein bar in my desk from this morning, so I sneak into my office and grab a bite. But apparently I took a bit too long because as I return to the bar, Four is serving a group of guys while Nita sits at the other end, looking at him longingly.

"Four…" she whines. "Can I please have a shot?"

He ignores her, continuing to serve the guys closest to him.

"Come on!" she whines again. "I'll do…anything," she insinuates this with a lick of her lips, "If you keep serving me."

I stand next to Four, sighing quietly. "What are we going to do?"

He glances at me casually, trying not to let her see the tension in our conversation. "I don't know."

I let my eyes flit over the shelves of alcohol bottles before settling on the bottle of Canadian Mist whiskey, which retails for about $8 at the liquor store because it's quite possibly horse piss in a plastic bottle. I only keep it on hand because sometimes poor, college kids come in for cheap drinks, and that's the cheapest it gets. I know because I was one of those poor, college kids at one point, and I have also had my own share of Canadian Mist experiences.

I grab a shot glass and fill it, then make my way over to her and slide it down. "$5."

"What is that?" she spits out the words, surprised at the dark color in the glass. I watch her bring it to her nose and sniff it. "Whiskey?"

Four is behind me, his hands on his waist. "I love whiskey. Don't you, Tris?"

"Mmm Hmm," I agree, looking up at him. I can tell from the twinkle in his eye that he knows exactly what I poured into that glass. "My favorite."

"Well, Nita, you ordered a shot. Tris just assumed we all had similar tastes, I guess." He turns away from us then hollers over his shoulder. "Guess you should stick to your girly drinks."

Nita's eyebrows are high and I can see the flush in her cheeks, both revealing her anger to us. She lets out a deep breath and then tosses the shot glass back.

Her eyes get wide and her hand smacks the top of the bar in disgust. I can see her struggling to swallow, and then she actually pinches her nose to force herself to swallow the harsh brown liquid. I stifle my laughter by biting my bottom lip. When she finally chokes it down, her mouth hangs open and I watch her stick her tongue out in disgust. "What was that?!"

"Karma." I turn and walk away.

TOBIAS

I wasn't expecting Nita at the bar tonight and now I really regret not telling Tris about her recent inappropriate actions at work. It's not that I was planning on keeping it from Tris, I just didn't want her to worry and be concerned. And I really didn't want her trust in me to waiver. But now, I've dug myself into a deeper hole.

When we walk back to her house after closing up the bar, she links her fingers in mine. "Can we just talk about Nita tomorrow?" she asks me. "We've both been drinking, we're both tired…" her thoughts trail.

"Tomorrow will be better," I agree honestly. I don't want to get into a drunken, exhausted fight over something we could calmly discuss tomorrow, in the right frame of mind.

"You know I'm completely crazy about you, right?" she says as she pulls me to her once we're inside her apartment. My arms go around her waist and I look down at her.

"I've never doubted that." I bring a hand to her face, caressing her cheekbone and sighing at how my omission made her think that our feelings were less than what they really are. "I don't ever want you to think that I feel any less than that, either."

I see a look of relief cross her face, and I let my lips slowly find their way down to her. "You're it for me, Tris," I mumble against her, not wanting to see her reaction of shock or surprise, or possibly more.

She turns around and pulls me with her, towards her bedroom. We kick off our shoes along the way then begin doing the same with our clothes. And soon, we're in bed, and no other words are necessary.