So, major apologies for how long it took to get this up. I apologize to everyone who was waiting! I am an inpatient reader myself, so I hate waiting between updating. Hopefully you'll find it worth the wait!

Thanks to Eunice339 for her beta-work!

TRIS

"Are you seriously going to act like this all day?" Christina asks as we wander through the aisles of the department store.

"Like what?"

"All spacey?" Christina waves her arms around her head in exaggeration. "It's like you aren't even here."

"Probably," I answer carelessly. I'm still worked up about the Nita incident, and I have every right to be, especially since I know Four spends every day at work with her. I'm not angry with him or feeling threatened. We talked it over the day after she came into Dauntless and he told me honestly about Nita's comments and attempts at flirting with him. But I already knew that in reality there was nothing Nita had that he desired.

Then he had explained to me everyone's apprehensions about Nita, including Zeke's suspicions. It made me feel a little better about our personal situation, but it was still pretty upsetting as a whole. The Intelligence Unit is made up of some of the most important people in my life, people I love and care for, people that have become my family. The idea of Nita, and the people she may be working with, ruining the unit crushed me. I started thinking a lot about my father and how he had worked for so long to make the Intelligence Unit the finest unit in the city. He wanted to foster young officers into experienced and seasoned professionals, and Reynolds and Moore did just that along his side. If their work became tarnished, my father's legacy might go down with it-and he wouldn't even be here to defend himself.

The thought made me sick.

"Well, can you at least listen to the two important things I need to tell you? Then you can go back to daydreaming or wallowing or whatever it is you were doing." Christina stands across the aisle with a hand on her hip.

"Yeah, sure. Sorry," I say. I'm really trying to be apologetic, but my mind is exhausted from the constant state of worry it seemed to be in now.

"First, I was thinking that maybe we should start a special, like, Wine It Out Wednesdays, with half-priced bottles of wine. It will bring in a more female crowd." Christina is looking at me hopefully, wanting me to be as excited about the idea as she is.

I smile, thinking of a few memories from when I was younger. "It reminds me of my mom."

Her smile grows. "Me, too."

Christina has been my friend for years, well before my mom got sick. I don't really remember exactly when our friendship changed from being classmates to friends to inseparable, but it hasn't faltered since. Christina's mom worked full-time, so my mom was typically the one taking us to the movies and the mall, shopping with us and walking with us to the ice cream shop near our house.

She had visited my mom almost daily in the hospital. Even when family was supposed to be the only people allowed, Christina had waltzed right in saying she was the third sibling and no one could make her leave. My mom had laughed at her boldness and hugged her like she did the rest of us.

Later, when my mom was nearing the end and had moved home, I came home late from school because Caleb and I had to make up some tests we had missed. Christina was there, hugging my dad as he sobbed silently into her shoulder so my mom wouldn't hear. When I walked into my mom's room, it was apparent she'd had a rough day and the vomit-covered towels in the bathroom hamper were evidence. When my dad realized we were there, he tried to compose himself, to clean up the mess in the bedroom and bathroom, but Christina made him sit back down. She took care of everything, and afterwards she sat all three of us down and said, "This really fucking sucks for everyone. But it might suck less if we can all do it together." After that, I saw a lot more of my dad's tears and heard a lot more of his late night sobs, but I also saw relief on his face when he hugged us and when he cried, and even when he talked to us about his memories with mom. Without that moment with Christina, I don't think he would ever have shared his sorrow with us, because in his head he probably thought it would make the experience worse. But instead it made us closer and I got to spend the next years with my dad as my best friend. That's something I owe Christina for, forever.

"I think it's a really great idea," I say as I move towards her, hugging her tightly. "My mom would have loved it."

"Yeah," she smiles as her eyes get a distant look. "Remember that time in the hospital she begged us to sneak her in some wine?"

I laugh at the memory. "Yeah, you brought it in a coffee thermos and my dad thought it was for him."

"He spit it out all over the floor and your mom made him clean it up before a nurse discovered it!"

Christina laughs loudly, remembering the reactions everyone had to her sneaking a thermos of wine up to the hospital at age fifteen.

"Maybe we could do half off her favorite appetizers. Natalie's Night Out," she says, toying the idea around.

"I love it, Chris. Really, it's a great idea." I give her a one-armed squeeze around her shoulders. "Thanks for thinking of my mom."

"I think about her a lot, Tris," she says softly.

"Hey, didn't you have something else to tell me about?" I say, wanting to change the mood to something lighter.

"Oh… Uh… Yeah." She looks around nervously, which is odd for Christina. She's usually bold and loud and doesn't hide anything. "I, um…I hooked up with Will the other night."

"Hooked up?"

"Yeah… like, I went home from the bar with him and… slept with him. And not just the sleeping way." She looks at me tentatively.

"I need to sit. And we need to get some coffee and talk," I say simply as I drag her out of the department store.

Fifteen minutes later, when I'm sitting with a large mountain top mocha in front of me, I begin to question Christina.

"Does Uriah know?" I ask this because I know that it's probably Christina's biggest concern. Aside from maybe Will's feelings, she should probably be most concerned about her friend.

Although I became friends with Uriah first, Christina and him bonded as well. We all spent countless hours at the hospital, and the three of us continued our friendships well after my mom left the hospital and then after our parents both passed. I spent a lot of time with both Uriah and Christina during those last years of high school. Uriah was actually the one who got me started with running. He was a wrestler and football player, so he ran not only for the workout, but also for stress relief. After just a few runs with him, I was hooked on the runner's high, that feeling of relief I got from pounding the pavement.

Christina and Uriah also remained close, but they hit a bit of a difficult spot when one of Uriah's friends, Drew, became interested in her. Although we went to different high schools, Christina met Drew at one of Uriah's wrestling matches and then went on a few dates with him. She found herself uninterested in him after a short time, but Drew didn't really get the hint. He kind of started creeping Christina out with how often he would contact her, even after she'd told him she didn't want to go out again. It put Uriah in a really awkward place because he felt the need to defend both of them. However, when he started to see a little bit of Drew's creepy side, I think it made him question how he was ever friends with him, how he never noticed those things before. Drew was also his teammate on the wrestling team, so when things didn't work out the way Drew wanted, he blamed Uriah and called him a 'cock block'.

Not that Uriah really cared, but it put him in a really uncomfortable spot and after that, things kind of changed for him in school and with sports. It was probably difficult too, because we were both still struggling from the loss of our parents. After that incident, he told Christina and I that we were never allowed to date his friends ever again. Although that has often been a joke over the years, I can tell Christina is still concerned.

"No…" Her eyes wander around the walls. "Unless Will told him. He left the bar long before us."

I nod, remembering that Uriah had gone home early, drunk and exhausted. "Yeah, he did."

She's silent for a moment. "Tris." She looks at me evenly. "I really like Will."

I gulp down my coffee. "You do?!"

She nods with honesty in her eyes. "I know I don't know him really well; he hasn't been Uriah's partner that long…" her voice trails, "but he's been to the bar a lot, and he's so cute. He just has this way he looks and talks and acts…it's so charming."

If I were a good friend, I would be smiling right along with her now, but I can't. Because I know what Christina's been through, and I know what this turmoil is going to entail for all of us, including Uriah.

"He does seem to be a good guy. Uriah likes working with him a lot." I consider this as I say it.

Uriah and Will only became partners a month or two before I met Four, when Uriah's first partner transferred to another district. They had gotten along pretty well, but he was an older guy, married with a family, and he and Uriah just didn't share many common interests or qualities. When Will was assigned as his new partner, Uriah was pretty excited to be working with a guy his own age, who seemed to be pretty similar to him. They became fast friends and it wasn't long before Will was hanging out at Dauntless with Uriah on his nights off. I'd met Will right away and liked him, but I hadn't gotten to know him very well because shortly afterward my free time outside of Dauntless had been consumed by Four.

"I just…" she pauses. "I shouldn't have slept with him right away."

"Right away?" I sense this discussion is going somewhere else.

"I...I like him!" She smacks her forehead with her hand while simultaneously stomping her feet in frustration.

"Christina, that's actually a normal feeling for people to have." I talk slowly, knowing I am treading deep waters.

"Do you remember what I was like after Peter? Do you remember how much my life fucking sucked?!" Christina looks around the coffee shop, hoping no one noticed her emotional outburst.

"Yes," I say as I look down at my coffee. How could I forget? Two years ago, just after college graduation, Christina had walked into her apartment that she shared with her boyfriend, Peter, and found him in bed with another girl. She'd been hoping, thinking, and truly led to believe that now that they had graduated, a ring would be appearing, followed eventually by a wedding. That day she walked in on Peter, she tore the girl off of him, disregarding the fact that she was nude, and slapped her across the face before punching Peter in the stomach and following it up with a swift kick to his nut sack. I remember those details clearly, because Christina had been so happy she'd taken a kick boxing class her final semester of college.

It hadn't taken long for her to begin tossing both of their clothing and all of his belongings out of the window and into the yard. Afterward, she knew she couldn't stay in the apartment where she'd caught him doing that with someone else. So later that night, Uriah and I went to her apartment, packed everything she wanted up, and brought it back to my place. It took months of Ben & Jerry's eating, Riesling drinking, feminist movie watching nights for Christina to piece herself back together. But the worst part was how she closed herself off to any man, any idea of romance. Men would ask her out on a date and she'd run in the other direction, never even considering the possibility…at least, until now.

"How can you say that it's normal, then?"

"Not everyone is Peter!" I say it with more emotion than I mean to.

"And what if it doesn't work? Then my life sucks again, and Uriah's life will suck again!"

"Christina!" I tilt my head while I look at her. "What if it does work?!"

She puts her head down on the small round table in between us, groaning.

"How'd you end up going home with him?" I ask, my emotions calming.

I can hear her smile before she lifts her head. "We just wound up talking a lot since I had the night off. We always talk; I've gotten to know him pretty well, but Uriah is usually around and I think he's felt a little uncomfortable. But we both had a lot to drink, and Uriah did too, so he wasn't really paying attention this time."

"So, all it took were some drinks for you to finally open up...flirt...let your guard down?" I press.

"He's just a nice guy. He loves his job for all the right reasons. He has a lot in common with Uriah, personality-wise. He has this super sexy smile he does when he's talking about something important to him. Did you know he's from rural Illinois? Where people just farm and shit. He got a scholarship to school and was going to go pre-med. He's so smart; he took college classes in high school, but when he moved here to go to the University of Chicago, he—"

She stops mid sentence, looking at me. I'm sure I have a goofy smile pasted on my face, because I can already tell what Christina is feeling. Or rather, trying not to feel. It's the same way I felt about Four for a long, long time, without ever wanting to admit it. "You're in looooove," I say teasingly. "So how… was it?"

"Well, honestly, I don't remember all of it. But I do remember enjoying it." Christina actually blushes at that statement.

"Good for you!" I want to smack her on the back. I can't remember the last time Christina had sex, which is odd, considering she did a lot of that while we were in college.

She looks at me thoughtfully and then scrunches her eyes shut. "I need to tell Uriah."

"No."

"What?"

"No. You need to talk to Will."

"What if he's told Uriah?"

"Then he's stupid. He shouldn't go run and tell his partner he slept with one of his closest friends. You need to talk to Will and figure out if this was a one-time thing or if it's going to be something more. After you talk, then you can tell Uriah." She doesn't need to involve Uriah until she's figured her own shit out, I think.

She sips her coffee some more and I swirl my almost empty cup. I see her eye me suspiciously. "What about you and Four? Are you guys doing the dirty?"

I can feel myself blush. "Yeah, we are."

"And?! You never share details. Is it good?" She leans forward, as if it'll pull the answers out of me.

"Yes, it's good. It's very good."

"That's it?!"

I nod, getting up to toss my empty cup out. "Yep, that's it." I walk towards the garbage and wait at the door for her. "Come on, we've got more shopping to do."

Two weeks later is our first "Wine It Out Wednesday" night. It's sunny and the natural light coming in through the windows seem to be a comforting sign to me, as silly as it sounds. We've half-priced most of our wine selection and offered buy one, get one half off appetizers. Christina and I are behind the bar while Susan, our new girl, and Marlene are cocktailing. Tori and Shauna are happily perched at a high top table near the bar, fresh from their weekly workout together. Shauna had just shared with us that Tori was improving her physical strength and might be able to return to the Intelligence Unit sooner than expected.

Tori had come up from the beat under my dad. She'd worked her butt off and was especially creative in her approach to working cases. After a few occasions of pulling her up to help on certain cases, my dad finally pulled her up to work in Intelligence, permanently. Tori respected my dad and he held her in high regard. He didn't care that she was a female; she was an asset to the unit and a hard working cop just like everyone else. While it can still be a little difficult for females to be successful as police officers, Tori didn't seem to notice how some people treated her differently, or questioned her abilities. In Intelligence, she was an equal, and she loved it.

Getting shot was something that really tore Tori apart, but only briefly. George, her partner, wouldn't let her get down on herself. When she was removed from the unit to work at the desk, he still urged her to work her ass off to get back to the unit. With the help of Shauna, they are going to accomplish that goal, no matter how long it takes.

"I told everyone that came into the district about your special tonight. I think it's a good way to get some women in here since your boyfriend is scaring off the men." She laughs at me as she says it.

"He doesn't scare anyone off," I jokingly argue as I wipe the bar down in front of me.

"No, he just crushes their dreams of picking up the hot blonde bartender," Shauna sips from her glass of wine. "You're behind the bar, so you don't hear the things they mumble about you."

"Oh, stop. Four is not sitting out there being super protective. He's fine with it."

"Yeah, but it's very well known now that you two are together," Tori states flatly. "I mean, all you have to do is look at you two."

"Really?" I stop wiping and look up at her. "Is it obvious?"

Shauna releases a deep sigh of frustration at my lack knowledge. "Tris, you really are oblivious, aren't you?" I give her a look, waiting for her to continue. "His entire face softens and then lights up when he sees you. I've never seen him look at anyone, ever, in all of my years as his friend, with that emotion. And you have this special smile that's only on your face when he's around."

Tori smiles widely as she hears Shauna talk. "I haven't seen you smile like that in years, Tris."

I blush at their words, but Shauna continues. "And you're just natural together. It's like your movements are always in sync. When you're both behind the bar, everything is so fluid, like it's a fucking dance or something. I can't imagine what the two of you are like in the bedroom…" her words trail off while she gets a thoughtful look in her eyes.

"Ew, Shauna! Gross!" I shout as Tori smacks her playfully in the arm.

"Aside from that thought," Tori says as she looks at me meaningfully, "I think your dad would be really happy for you, and really proud of your choice in men."

That is one thing I hadn't really wanted to think about, my dad's approval. He's not here to give it to me, so I'll never know for sure if he's happy or disappointed in my life decisions. I try to just be hopeful that he's always proud, always agreeing with the paths I choose. With Four, I think I was nervous that my dad wouldn't be happy with my choice to pursue someone in his line of work, but maybe he would be. If Reynolds and Moore are pleased with Four, than obviously my dad would be too.

I hear a jingle from the doorway and see Zeke, Will, and Uriah entering with Four following behind at the end. I see him scan the bar, probably looking for me, and when his eyes land on me, I see exactly what Shauna was talking about. His face softens and then lights up, and he smiles at me from where he stands.

"I think he would be, too," I softly reply to Tori, before walking over to Four and slipping my hands in his while he leans down to kiss me.

"You're in a good mood," he says through his smile.

"I'm really excited about this. And, you're here, so that always helps." I pull him towards the bar where I show off our special menu for our new Wednesday theme. "Want to try some wine?" I eye him up and down, because I know he is not a wine drinker, but I'm curious if he'll drink it for the occasion.

"We are not drinking wine," Zeke exclaims as he comes up next to Four. "Sorry, Tris, this is great and all, but, yeah, we're not drinking wine."

Four glances at me and shrugs with a smile that makes me melt, but I'm not upset. "Yeah, I figured. Beer tonight?"

They nod in agreement, giving me their preferences as I reach into the cooler. Just as I'm sliding them their beers from across the bar, I see none other than Nita walk in through the front door. Four's eyes meet mine and I can see the frustration cross his face.

"It's no big deal," I hear Zeke interject. He must have noticed what captured our attention. "Reynolds and Amar are coming tonight."

My ears perk up. "They are?!" While they come here often, they aren't here as frequently as the younger group, but I understand why. Their presence is always a welcome surprise that makes me feel a little more at home in my own business.

"It's a nice way to remember Natalie," Uriah says distantly, and I know he's thinking of both of our parents. "Mom was going to come, but she's working the night shift tonight."

"That's ok." I place my hand over his on the bottle, appreciating his sentiment. "There will be plenty more."

The bar slowly fills and I see a quite a large number of new faces, which is pleasing. Joe is slammed in the kitchen, so much so that Four asks me if he should go back and help him. But Joe insists that he's fine and urges Four to return back to his friends, which he does. When I follow him out a minute later, I see him standing uncomfortably on the opposite side of Will, as his previous seat is now taken – by Nita. She giggles foolishly and I almost gag at the fake show she's putting on for my friends. I see Will roll his eyes at Four, but I can tell that Four is not happy, nor is he ready to let this roll over.

Just the other day, we were eating lunch during his break when he told me about Nita's continued flirtations and pursuits of him. He was frustrated, aggravated, and disgusted. "I didn't sign up for this shit," he mumbled. "I don't deserve any of this."

Then he rubbed his forehead and smacked the table. "Fuck, Tris. You don't deserve any of this. You didn't want to be with me in the first place because I'm a cop… and now you have to deal with this shit."

"Have you talked to Reynolds? You know you can trust him."

"I tell him everything. Every day. After everyone leaves." He then leaned in closer to me, whispering his words. "We're covering our asses. That's all I can say."

He was worried I'd be jealous or angry with him, but I've seen the way Nita looks at him. I've gone up to the precinct several times and, despite his careful attempts to avoid any bit of contact or avert his eyes from what she's constantly presenting him, I've watched her purposefully place her body into his line of sight or situate herself so he can't help but brush against her as he walks in between furniture or doorways.

"Tobias," I said softly as I put a hand on his arm. "We're fine. I'm not worried about us." A lingering kiss and a hand caressing his cheek was all he needed to calm down and relax, allowing us to finish eating in peace.

Now at the bar, I look at him knowingly as I uncork two bottles of wine, and he returns my gaze. I serve the bottles of wine with several glasses to a group of women on the other end of the bar before taking care of a few other customers. When I return my gaze to my friends, I see Nita, pushed up against Four, between him and another barstool while he remains facing forward. I can see the tension in his brows and he's murmuring words to Will so secretively that I can barely even tell he's talking.

Will glances around and I think he's probably looking for Reynolds or Amar to come and break things up, but I know they aren't here yet because I haven't seen them.

I know that whatever is going on at the precinct is more important than this bitch being all over my boyfriend. But I am so fucking over her and watching her attempts to flirt with Four that I can't help myself. I march over, past Four, and move closer to her and where she's leaning on the bar.

"I don't know how you don't get it yet, but you need to back the hell up." That's as nice as I can muster right now.

"Ha…what?" she says, as if she has no idea what's going on. "Four and I—"

"There is no 'Four and you'!" I can feel my voice raising. "Stay away from him."

"Honey, at work, things are so different," she starts, pretending to be sweet. "We—"

"You need to back the fuck off!" I yell and I don't care who hears it.

She laughs lightly. "I don't know if you get this, but you aren't actually a member of Intelligence, and you're not needed there. Four and I, we are, because we do important work there."

"He is nothing to you! He is a co-worker, another detective that you have the privilege to work with, just like everyone else in the goddamn unit. If you can't fucking treat them with respect, then you need to leave and find another place to work."

Nita looks at me and laughs, but I try to remain calm.

"Get the fuck out of my bar," I growl.

Nita starts to laugh again and stands up from her seat. "I'm not going anywhere. Tonight… or ever."

I walk out from behind the bar, entering the seating area, and she turns towards me, stepping away from Four. "I said, get out." I move towards Nita and I don't really care who's watching us or what they think is going on.

"Tris…" I hear Zeke warn me softly, like he knows it won't do any good anyways.

"He told me he wants me to be professional at work. He didn't specify about elsewhere." She covers her mouth with her hand for a moment and then gives me a sick, dirty look. "Guess daddy can't help you with this one."

I can't help it as my fist pulls back. I can't help it when my hand collides with her face. I just do it, allowing my anger to take control of my body and make the decisions for my mind. I don't care when I hear her cry out and stumble backwards. I don't care when she pulls her hand away from her nose, revealing blood. I drag her by the arm and push her towards the front door.

Just as I get her to exit the door, I look out onto the street, and there stands Reynolds and Amar.