A/N: Poor Ronnie! She had such a bad morning after such a wonderful night! I loved hearing what you guys thought of it all, and laughed so hard at fangirl0012345's review. I've never heard that expression before in my life, and it was wonderful!

So here's some aftershocks followed by a super sweet ending for all my lovely fans.

And as always, please R&R because your support keeps me going! :D

It was probably nearly an hour before anyone found me. At least that's how it felt, anyway. I hadn't moved from my bunk, other than to grab Darcy's pillow off of hers in order to cuddle with it while I laid on my side in the fetal position and stared at the other side of the room. I felt the bed shift and a body snuggle up against mine while an arm snaked around my waist and dug itself between me and the pillow. I knew it was Darcy the instant I felt her settle against my back and stick her nose to the back of my neck. I sniffled, but didn't move.

"That bad, huh?"

She kept her voice soft. Soothing. I fought the fresh bout of tears that threatened to spill onto my already damp pillow and sniffled again.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Of course, I didn't want to talk about it. And at this point, I wasn't sure if I could even talk at all. My throat felt too thick for me to force words through it. So how could I tell my best friend that I had just watched Eric die in my arms? Especially when I wasn't even aware just how deep my feelings were for him before having to go through all that. Did I really love him? Is that what I felt for him? Was this love? I mean, I knew I cared about him. I cared deeply. No one had ever made me feel the way he did. It was confusing and glorious and stressful and beautiful all at the same time. But love? Right now, I just couldn't tell because all I could see was the blood all over his chest and the life slipping from his eyes.

"It's okay, sweetie," Darcy murmured in my ear. "You don't have to say anything. We can just lay here for a while instead. I told the boys to give you some space so they won't come in and bother you."

So that's just what we did. She cuddled me while I just laid there and sniffled every now and then. I didn't keep track of the time. I didn't care. I was being selfish and wallowing. It wasn't the Dauntless way, no. But again, I just didn't care.

The heavy sound of boots on the stairs grabbed my attention, but Darcy was the one to look. I already knew who it was even before she shifted behind me and sat up. I listened to the thudding as he crossed the room and approached my bunk. Nothing was said. I didn't bother to lift my head to find out what was going on, either. I didn't move at all, even when Darcy's pillow was suddenly pulled out of my arms. I was like a child's doll when I saw him cross into my field of vision and slip his arms under me, pull me up against his chest, and lift me right off the bed. He held me for a moment, and I just stared at his shirt as his chest rose and fell with each breath. Then I heard Darcy speak up, still keeping her voice low enough that it wouldn't travel any further than his ears.

"Don't worry. I'll just tell people that she had a really bad reaction to her simulation and she's under supervision for a while. No one will know anything else or come looking for her. I swear."

Then we were moving. I was a little surprised at how easily Eric was able to carry me all the way from the dormitory to his apartment. His stride never faltered. His breathing never changed. He never jostled me or shifted me around in his arms. Not even when we got to his door and he had to open it with me making things difficult. But somehow he did it. And then I was being carried over to the bed and set down just as gently as I had been carried.

I felt him untie the laces of my boots and pull them off my feet. Heard them thud on the floor one at a time. Then two more thuds told me he'd taken his off, too. The bed shifted, and I watched his chest come down to rest in front of me. A tattooed forearm slid between us. His fingers brushed against my cheek, tracing my jawline a few times. Then his forearm disappeared and I was pulled against his chest. I inhaled his scent, and the floodgates opened all over again.

I don't know how long we laid there as I cried, my tears soaking his t-shirt while he held me against his chest. He didn't say a word the entire time. He just stroked my hair and ran his hand up and down my back until I finally quieted down, my sobs turning into sniffles. After a while, even those stopped, and I just clung to him like he was the only thing keeping me from completely shattering into a million pieces until I fell asleep listening to the steady sounds of his heartbeat and steady breathing.

It was dark when I woke up. I immediately noticed the lack of warmth beside me in the bed, and I sat up to look around. There wasn't much furniture to decorate the room. An old leather couch set diagonally in a corner, facing the doorway with a low table in front of it, some free-weights in another corner in front of the windows. Clothes in a pile on the floor back by a door that I assumed was his bathroom. And old desk against the wall between the wall of windows and the bathroom with a chair pushed up to it and some folded clothes on top. A refrigerator humming quietly near the main doorway. But no Eric.

I slipped out from under the sheets and blanket and walked over to the door that was nearly fully closed. Flipping the switch as I pushed it open, I was happy to see that it was a bathroom. Just a sink in a counter with a toilet and a shower, but it was a bathroom none the less and I was glad for that. But the image of the woman in the mirror made me cringe. I looked like hell. My eyes were red and puffy from crying. My hair was a disaster of tangled curls. I felt disgusting even though the only thing I'd done all day was cry and sleep.

I decided to take a shower. There was a towel hanging over the shower door. Eric's towel. He'd used it just this morning after I left him. I reached out to pull it down and brought it to my face. It smelled like him. Clean, with a hint of his soap lingering in the soft cotton. My heartbeat sped up for a moment as an image of his face flashed on my mind. For once I didn't see the blood or the way his eyes glazed over as he took his last breath. I saw him looking down at me in that moment before the nightmare. A soft smile on his face. Love swirling in his cool blue eyes. My Eric.

Setting the towel on the counter, I turned on the water and slipped out of my clothes. It didn't take long for the room to fill with steam after I'd shut the door and stepped into the small space where he stood every morning to clean himself. The water itself felt wonderful, and I let it wash away the feelings of ickiness and hurt right down the drain with the bubbly lather from his soap and shampoo. It helped me feel like myself again.

When I opened the door, clean and fully dressed again except for my socks, I felt a million times better. I ran my fingers through my damp hair, separating the ringlets so they'd dry faster and curl back up without tangling. A few steps from his bed, I stopped and looked out the windows. The moon was still on the rise, and it poured into the room and painted everything a pale shade of silvery blue.

As I stood there, I felt arms wrap around my waist and I leaned back against his chest. The stubble on his face lightly scratched my cheek when he leaned down to kiss my shoulder. I held on to his arms with one hand, the other lifting to lay my palm on his cheek.

"You okay?"

It was the first time he'd spoken to me all day since before I went under the effects of the fear serum. There was worry in his tone. And sadness. I nodded slightly and sighed.

"You let me sleep all day," I commented softly. "I missed training."

"And lunch and dinner," he replied just as quietly. "Your friends are worried about you. But Darcy is doing her best to keep them from worrying too much and trying to come look for you."

I nodded again. Darcy. My wonderful, wonderful Darcy. My best friend. My Faction Sister. I think I'd give her my cake for an entire month for this one.

"She knows about us."

"I gathered that much."

"She won't tell."

"I know."

"You're not angry?"

He kissed my shoulder again. "I really have no reason to be. Besides, I know about her and Riz and I'm willing to let that slide."

"Getting a little soft, Mister Leader?"

He nipped my shoulder at my attempt at sass. I shivered and wiggled in his embrace. "It's a fair trade. She keeps her mouth shut, and I won't bust her for her infraction."

We were quiet for a bit after that, just standing there and watching the moon. It amazed me how different Eric was here with me. How gentle and sweet he became with no one around to watch him. But I understood it. He was in a position of power, and it was important for him to keep anyone from being able to do something that would take it from him. Dauntless didn't show weakness, and leaders had to be the strongest of all of us. If people saw me as Eric's weakness, they'd rob him of everything he'd worked so hard for. So for them, he had to be tough and cold.

"Eric," I finally said after several minutes of silence. "This morning..."

"I know." His arms tightened. "I didn't like it, either. And when you were in the dorms, just laying there on the bed..."

Again, he squeezed me tightly, his lips pressing harder against my shoulder.

"That wasn't the girl I knew. The girl who took the first jump off the ledge, who gave no fucks about who she pissed off because she was going to do what she wanted and prove that she was as Dauntless as anyone else here. It was like she just vanished. Like you were broken. Damn near killed me to see you like that."

I twisted myself around, wrapping my arms around his waist and laying my head against his chest. He moved his head to rest his cheek on my hair.

"I felt broken," I whispered. "Seeing you die like that... Made me want to die, too. I don't care if it's not the Dauntless way, either. I just... I can't do it, Eric. I can't."

His forearms shifted up to cross over my back, his hands against my shoulders. He sighed heavily before speaking again.

"Well, it's not public knowledge because we're the brave ones, but... When some Dauntless get too old to do their duties, instead of becoming Factionless, they jump into the chasm. And sometimes, their partner jumps with them. Because they don't want to go on without the one they love. I always figured I'd be a jumper instead of living Factionless."

I ran my fingers up and down his back as he told me about the jumpers. In a way, it really was kind of romantic to think about. Refusing to live in the worst parts of our society when we got too old to protect the people because the Dauntless way of life was all we knew. Jumping with your life partner because you don't have the will to carry on without them there anymore. Living together. Dying together.

"I'd jump with you."

His fingers ran up into my hair, nestling against the back of my head.

"I'd consider living Factionless with you."

I lifted my head from his chest to look up at him. There was truth in his eyes about what he'd said, but I saw the hesitation on his face. He didn't neccessarily want to live Factionless. Eric was Dauntless to the core. But he was willing to do it if I asked. Because he cared that much. Maybe we did love each other. I could see myself loving this man. I really could. Fighting right by his side for years until we were too old and battered to go on. And then we would leave Dauntless together.

I pushed up on my toes to kiss him, and my body lit up when he kissed me back. My head swam and my heart skipped beats fluttering around in my chest. Only Eric could do this to me. Only he could make me feel so alive and infinite, burning hotter and brighter than any star in the universe ever could.

Passion and need took over then. Like my soul was crying out for his, desperate to reconnect and wash the horror of my fear landscape away. My hands moved on their own, slipping between us to unbuckle his belt. Eric got the hint and lifted me up to get us to the bed. We crashed down on it in a tangle of kisses and tugging of clothing. Then he made love to me with the moonlight washing over through the windows.