Thank you to everyone who took the time to review the last chapter. Several of you guessed correctly who Marissa's son is. Congratulations!

To those of you that reviewed, I also enjoyed your responses to the POV! It was interesting to find out what you think about the insider information you acquired with it. Some of what you learned will be coming up, but enjoy your heads up on what to look for.

Now, I want to take a brief moment to answer a question I've received in reviews and PM's recently. The question has been posed as to why Hana won't see her parents again.

From Four: The Traitor

I walk through the Pit, dodging tearful reunions and shrieks of laughter. Families can always come together on Visiting Day, even if they're from different factions, but over time, they usually stop coming. "Faction before blood," after all.

I created a bit of a "rule" in The Blackest Shade of Gray

Chapter 1 Dauntless And Abnegation

Before we take off, I look at again at my family one more time, the family that I left behind. There is an ache in my heart. Getting married changes things with them again. No longer can I expect them to show up and see me on Visiting Day. When we- if we have kids- I'm expected go see them if I'm pregnant on Visiting Day, to let them know they are going to be grandparents, and then I am to take their grandchild one time so the grandparents can see him or her, and then that is it. After that, in order to "protect" the child from even knowing about their parent's original faction, I'm not supposed to have any more contact with them.

I might see Gayle or Isaac after that, if they decide to come on Visiting Day to let me know when our parents are dead.

I came up with the idea that it worked that way since neither Tris nor Four seem to know that their parents were transfers. If there was still visiting going on between the Factions it seems like they would have realized that their parents weren't from Abnegation. I decided to formalize the timeline for losing contact instead of keeping it the nebulous "over time". It seemed like if they really do try to keep with "Faction before Blood", that by the time the kids are born, it would be safer to stop visiting.

I hope that helps explain where it came from.

Chapter 53 Consequences

"I know. I know," Natalie starts before I even get the door shut. "I met with Evan right before I came here. I'm sorry, Hana. I got them the medication today."

I sag against the door as I close it. "Thank you."

"I didn't mean to worry you like that. I didn't mean to worry anyone like that, it's just… things are happening. Too many things are happening right now, too quickly." Natalie looks tired.

"What's going on?" I can't seem to keep myself from asking.

"The biggest thing that's happening is what you are holding, Jeanine's new aptitude test. She's been keeping it on her computer that we can't access. No one knows what it look like, and we need to." Natalie sounds worried.

I pull the drive out of my pocket. "I think my appearance concerned Marissa," I confess.

"She's pretty jumpy these days. She never could seem to remember not to leave her tablet on for too long. They almost found her again. She's just not as careful as you are. I try not to use her more than I need to, but there are some things I just have to have someone in Erudite for," Natalie explains.

"Like this drive?" I hand it over to Natalie.

Her bright green eyes shine with victory. "Like this drive. There is no way you could have gotten it for me, but I have to have it, Hana. We have to have it before she starts using it, so we know what we are up against before they make the change."


"Uncle Nick!" Ezekiel and Uriah both drop their cards and push their chairs back from the table. I start to yell at them to come back, since Sultana, Kamil, and Amar are playing with us tonight, but something stops me. Although Nick smiles at their exuberance, the smile doesn't reach his eyes.

Eli notices it, too, and stands as well. He walks over to the boys and with a hand on each one of their shoulders, he steers them back to the table with the overturned chairs. "Go pick up your chairs."

The boys race back to their places while there is a quick whispered consultation between Nick and Eli. Before either of the boys can race back to Nick, Eli heads our way. "Is everything okay?" Sultana asks. Evidently I'm not the only one to notice that something seems off.

Eli's smile doesn't reach his eyes, either. "Nick just needs me to stop by Mom's with him." He leans down and kisses me. "Go on ahead and deal me out."

I want to ask him what is going on, but before I can make a move to walk him to the door, Ezekiel is by his side. "I want to go see Grandma."

Eli puts a hand on Ezekiel's shoulder and kneels so they are the same height. His voice is soft, to keep everyone from here from hearing him. "It's not that I wouldn't love to have you come with us, but this is a mission."

Ezekiel hangs his head and his shoulders fall. "And I'm not in it."

"That's right. I need you here." Eli tips Ezekiel's head up so he is looking at his dad's eyes again. "You know you're the man of the house while I'm gone. I need you to take care of your mom and Uriah until I get back."

Ezekiel squares his shoulder and nods briskly at his dad. "You can count on me."

Eli stands up. "I know I can."

Ezekiel sits down after the door closes and looks very seriously at Uriah and me. I try to hide a grin. I've seen this before: he's protector mode. Until Eli gets home or I force Ezekiel to go to bed, he'll keep an eye on both Uriah and me.

Kamil takes a look around the table. "I have a better idea." He leans in conspiratorially towards the boys. "Does your mom know how to make cookies?"

"Yes, but she doesn't make them often," Ezekiel informs him.

"Do you think we could talk Hana and Sultana into making cookies, and I'll teach you a game your dads and Nick used to play with your grandpa and me when they were a little older than the three of you?" Kamil finishes with a smile.

"Mom!" My boys look at me pleadingly, while Amar says "Grandma!" and looks just as pleadingly at Sultana.

Sultana and I exchange a look, before I shake my head at the four of them with a smile and push away from the table. "Teach them your game. We'll be in the kitchen."

"Chocolate chip cookies, please. Not oatmeal raisin!" Ezekiel calls when we are almost to the kitchen.

"I don't have any chocolate chips," I retort.

"No chocolate chips?" Amar's horrified voice carries to me. "How can you have cookies without chocolate chips?"

"Oatmeal raisin," Uriah says simply, as if that settles it.

"We usually have oatmeal raisin," Ezekiel confirms.

"Grandma!" Amar calls out.

"I'm on it, Amar!" Sultana calls back and steers me towards the front door. "We have chocolate chips at our place. We'll use those."

The last thing I hear Kamil telling the boys as we open the door is, "The name of the game is five card draw."

"I'll replace the chocolate chips the next time I go shopping," I tell Sultana. "I just never think to pick them up."

"Hana, you will do no such thing," Sultana tells me as we head across the hall and three doors down to the apartment they moved into about a year after Rais and Jazz died. "I'm not sure you will ever understand how much you and Eli have helped us through the last few years. The pair of you have always been there any time we've needed something. The least I can do is supply you with a few chocolate chips for the cookies my grandson will eat his fair share of!"


The click of the door closing wakes me up from my nest on the couch. "Eli?"

Eli walks over to me and chides me in a whisper, "It's after midnight! Why aren't you in bed?"

"After Sultana's family left and I put the boys to bed, I thought you would be home soon. I didn't mean to fall asleep out here." I move over so there is room for him on the couch.

Eli eyes the blankets I was covering myself with meaningfully. "Sure, you didn't."

"How's your dad?" I ask quickly to take the focus off of me.

Eli sits down and wraps me in a hug. "Dad is fine. It's Evan."

"What's wrong with Evan?" I ask, mildly concerned, thinking about how thin he has looked recently.

"He fell and broke his arm. There's no medical care. It's not straight, and there's no way to get it set." Eli rubs a hand over his face. "There's an Abnegation lady who comes around sometimes; rumor is she's from Erudite and has a little medical training. Dad described her as olive skinned, dark curly hair and dark eyes, but no one is sure of her name or how to get ahold of her." Eli looks at me hopefully.

A broken arm isn't much in a Faction, but when I was a child in Abnegation, I saw firsthand that broken bones were serious to someone who is Factionless. Evan's ability to take care of himself, let alone help Abram, will be severely diminished with a broken arm that isn't set properly. I think for a minute of anyone I know who could be the mystery woman, but no one immediately comes to mind. "How old is she?"

"About our age," Eli says hopefully.

"I'm guessing she's my age or younger. I'm sorry, I don't recognize her by the description," I admit.

"It was a long shot." Eli lapses into silence, concern about both Evan and his father written on his face.

"Is everything okay?" Ezekiel stands in the hallway, his water gun held waist high in one hand. He sees his father, and his hand drops to his side. "I heard voices."

"I'm back, Zeke." Eli's voice is a little choked up, realizing how seriously Ezekiel takes his instruction to watch over Uriah and me. "You can go back to bed now. I'm back."

Ezekiel pauses for a second, but doesn't turn back to bed like I expect him to. Instead he walks up to us and timidly asks, "Is Grandpa okay?"

Eli pulls Ezekiel onto the couch between us. "Grandpa is fine. It's Agent Evan who was hurt."

The boys have never been informed of their relationship to Evan. They only know him as Grandpa's co-agent.

"What happened?" Ezekiel asks concerned.

"He broke his arm."

"Will he go see Bekah?" Ezekiel asks innocently.

It hasn't been intentional, but evidently, in our effort to keep them from worrying about Grandpa, we haven't made them aware of what it means to be Factionless. I put my arms around Ezekiel. "You know things are different for Grandpa and Agent Evan."

"Yes." Ezekiel cuddles up with me, like he realizes he doesn't want to hear what I'm going to say.

"There's no infirmary for Agent Evan to go to," I tell him gently.

"But if it was Grandpa, he'd be able to come back to Dauntless to go the infirmary, right?" Ezekiel looks from me, to Eli, and back again.

Eli's eyes close when he realizes that Ezekiel is looking at me and not him. I swallow hard. "Grandpa was Dauntless. He's not anymore."

I watch Ezekiel's face as what I said registered. "But Grandpa…"

"We'll do everything we can to take care of Grandpa and Agent Evan." Eli's voice is more confident than he feels. "Now, as much as I appreciate you getting up to make sure Mom was okay when you heard voices, you need to get to bed."

Ezekiel tries to hide a yawn. "But I'm not tired."

Eli smiles at me. "Come on, bed time." He stands up and leans over to give Ezekiel a piggy back ride to bed.

While Eli get him back to bed, I ponder the idea of how to get Evan help. About the time Eli returns, a possibility comes to me. My voice is soft to keep it from carrying to Ezekiel's room. "Andrew came from Erudite."

"Andrew? Who is Andrew?" Eli asks.

"Andrew is Natalie's husband," I remind him.

"Just because he came from Erudite doesn't mean…"

"I know, but his father is Doctor Anthony and that makes Marion his grandmother," I explain.

"How do you know… Never mind, I don't want to know. Do you think…?" Eli looks hopeful for the first time since he left with Nick.

"If we don't ask, we won't know."


Eli knows I'm not coming straight home from work. He isn't happy with the fact that I am meeting with Natalie two times in as many weeks, but it helps that she's coming to Dauntless. It also helps that Andrew does know how to set a broken bone, and he did set Evan's.

I tell Eli because I want to make sure he knows he can trust me on this, since I don't get off work until well after midnight and he will be sound asleep when we meet. If I hadn't told him, he wouldn't even know we were meeting.

It surprises me to see the light off in Natalie's old room. I'm running just a little late, and I find it hard to believe that I beat Natalie to her old room, but I realize as I flip on the light that I must have.

"She's dead."

I jump at the sound of Natalie's voice. It's thick and sluggish. It sounds nothing like her.

"Natalie?" I check to makes sure it is her, and not some unknown person telling me that Natalie is dead.

Her feet kick up and down and the hand holding the brown bottle peeks above the chair. "Right here!"

I slowly cross to the coffee table and perch on the edge. "Who's dead?" I sound like an Amity near a wounded animal.

Natalie lifts her head and takes a swig for the bottle. "Marissa."

My mouth opens and closes, but no sound comes out. I sit there, stunned. Marissa, who I first met when I had smoke inhalation before Eli and I were married… who took care of Ezekiel when he had asthma due to the kitten… who I met while she was with her son to get a hard drive for Natalie and who has been our eyes and ears in Erudite. Marissa is dead. "What happened?" I ask in a stunned whisper.

"I killed her." Natalie attempts to take another drink, but she spills more of it on herself than in her mouth.

"Natalie." My voice is sharper than I intend, but evidently that is what she needs. She puts the bottle on the floor and sits up, although her elbows are planted on her knees and her head cradled in her hands. "Jeanine found her."

I sit up straighter. "How?"

"The Aptitude Test. I knew once Jeanine finished it that she was going to retest part of Erudite. I didn't pull out Marissa. I misjudged it. I figured being the wife of one of the Top Ten would keep her from being tested. I didn't get her out." Natalie looks at me, her green eyes dull with pain and bright with unshed tears.

"It's not your fault," I assure her.

"It is!" Natalie explodes to a standing position. "I knew! I knew she was Divergent. I knew Jeanine has been behind the deaths of the Divergent, and I didn't get her out!"

"Natalie, you aren't responsible," I assure her again.

"You don't know everything!" Natalie spits out.

Long minutes tick by as I wait patiently for her to continue.

Her eyes dart all around the room, taking in each part of it and yet none of it as she prepares herself for whatever it is she needs to tell me. "He killed her!"

"Who killed her?" I ask, puzzled at the lack of subject.

"Her husband, Steven. He killed her on Jeanine's orders," she fills me in with a choked whisper.

"How?" I ask, horrified.

"With a knife. He stabbed her with a knife, multiple times. Their son…" she takes a deep shuddering breath, then repeats the last two words. "Their son walked in moments after he put down the bloody knife and picked up her body. The boy was hysterical for a moment. Then Steven put Marisa's body down and told him that a Divergent had broken into their home and killed his mother. That he had chased him off, but not before…"

I think for a moment of the young boy I saw that day with Marissa gathering flowers for his homework at the park. He's Ezekiel's age. His mother has been ripped from him, and he's been lied to about what happened. I am speechless, unsure of what to say. It suddenly dawns on me that I don't even know the child's name. "What is her son's name?"

"Eric," Natalie breathes; her shoulders shake with sobs. I wrap my arms around her and let her cry, unsure of what else to do.


Sometimes I'm surprised by Tori. Her presence with our group is sporadic at best. She may sit with us for three or four meals in a row, and then we may not see her for another month or two. The kids love it when she is here. They seem to think that eating with one of the tattoo artists is a big deal. The three oldest, especially, vie to sit by her at those meals she decides to sit with us.

But she always shows up for Feast Day. Most years she just finds a spot to eat by herself. She barely acknowledges anyone else being there, but she still joins us every year. It makes me wonder if her other friends don't think to include her, or if it is just that Feast Day will always belongs to us. Not many in our group from initiation still eat the entire meal with us, but everyone does seem to show up at some point in time to eat a quick bite of something and say hi. As I finish getting my first helping, I look around the crowded room. I chew on my lip for a moment, watching her eat alone. Taylor's apartment really is too full for this conversation, but Uriah is sitting on Taylor's lap while she holds his plate for him to eat off of. Ezekiel sits on the floor with Amar, at Eli's and Kamil's feet. The conversation between the four of them looks to be lively, with chatty Ezekiel at the center of it. My fears for Lower Levels have were completely founded. I probably get a note at least once a week from his teacher telling me he's been talking too much in class.

No one is paying attention to Tori. Hopefully, if I keep a look out, I can safely have the conversation Natalie has been encouraging me to have with her ever since Marisa's death two months ago. I plaster a smile on my face and take my food over to Tori. "Do you mind if I join you?"

Tori looks up from her plate and shakes her head. When she finishes her bite, she adds, "Have a seat."

I sit next to her, wondering what is going to be the best way to start our conversation. I take a bite of mashed potatoes as I try to think of a way to start.

"How's Taylor doing?" Tori surprises me by starting our conversation.

"She's fine," I respond, wondering where this question is coming from.

"She seems to be, but I know the holidays after you lose someone can be hard. I didn't know if she really was or not." Tori's sentence gives me an idea of where to start.

"She's better today than last year. It's the second year without him. But we learned last year that as long as we keep her busy and the boys are nearby, she does okay. The boys help her remember why she stayed." I don't dare mention to Tori that we still see Abram. It's a family secret that only Natalie and my Abnegation family knows. We'll actually take all the leftover food to Abram and Evan tomorrow.

"Holidays are rough. No matter how many years it has been. And when they are taken from you before they should be…" Tori's voice starts to take on the bitter edge she developed right after George died. "It's even harder."

"How are you doing?" I ask timidly.

"Better than the first year. I still wish I knew how to get back at them for killing him." She keeps her voice low.

I take a moment to measure my words. "Start by keeping them from killing anyone else." I hope my voice comes off as nonchalant. Like it's something that just came to me instead of something I've been planning on leading into for a month now.

Tori snorts. "How do you propose I do that?"

I take a deep breath. This is the tricky part, the time for half-truths. "Leeann told us that Jeanine has created a new Aptitude Test that they will use starting this year."

Tori shakes her head. "Jeanine has her hand in everything, doesn't she? Her fear simulation had something to do with George's death. I know it did." I watch her hand clench her fork.

"If it did, and if her Aptitude Test is designed to do the same thing, there needs to be someone out there to protect the Divergent who go through the test." I pause, letting this soak in.

Absently Tori sets her plate on her lap and starts tracing the tattoo of the river that I put on her arm. "The Abnegation will volunteer," she murmurs, "but someone is going to have to volunteer to test the Abnegation. "


"She did beautifully!" Natalie whispers to me joyfully when we meet on the bridge by the Merciless Mart, the day after the Choosing Ceremony. Her eyes sparkle, but the presence of her children picking up trash nearby and the Candor woman with her young daughter force her to keep her reaction down as much as possible.

I smile back. "I figured she would."

"Erin's family is known Divergent on both sides for a couple of generations. Tori marked her as non-simulation aware, even though when Tori asked Erin, she admitted that she was aware. Tori warned her never to tell anyone that she was aware. She did do one thing I wish she hadn't done. She did tell Erin that she is Divergent," Natalie finishes.

I stand frozen in place as, in true Candor fashion, the dark skinned woman repeats what she heard. "Divergent. What is Divergent?"

Natalie looks at me, barely concealed horror on her features. How could we have been so careless as to not realize how close the woman and her daughter have gotten to us? We are both quiet, trying to figure out how we are going to answer her.

"What do you mean by Divergent?" Her voice holds curiosity and determination. We will have to tell her something.

Honesty. We must answer her with enough honesty that she will believe what we tell her. We must tell her this in a way that will protect the Divergent, a way that will make an entire faction hide them. A Faction that prides itself on honesty will need to eventually be willing to lie for them. That is what it will take to keep them safe from Jeanine. Natalie seems unable to say anything, so I speak up first. "They are people with special powers. They are people who can save our city."

Her brown eyes grow wide. "Christina, why don't you go over with the other children?" She points her daughter over to where Beatrice is sitting down and Caleb continues picking up trash nearby them.

"The Divergent will keep them safe." Natalie joins our conversation with a nod toward the children.

"How?" Christina's mother asks.

"They fit into more than one Faction. For example, they may be both honest and peaceful," Natalie replies.

The woman's dark curls bounce as she nods. "I can see where that could be helpful." Her brow puckers for a moment. "Can they be controlled?"

I take a deep breath to give myself a moment to think about how to answer her. "Can you be controlled?"

"Under truth serum, yes. When I am under truth serum, the truth controls what I am able to say," she responds.

Not the answer I was expecting. I look over at Natalie to make sure she knows I'm expecting her to field this one.

Then suddenly the answer hits me. I'm not sure it is true, but I'm not sure it is a lie either. "That is part of their strength. They don't need to be controlled by serums. They have those characteristics and pride themselves on the ability to be more than one thing at a time." I think of George and Rais and how they could reason out problems and turn around and bravely face a new situation with that information. I think of Jazz and how peaceful she remained when she faced danger.

The woman's brown eyes grow wide with awe. "These people with special powers, these Divergent, who do they need to be protected from?"

Natalie stands straight and give her the only answer she can. "Anyone who wants to destroy them."

I hope you enjoyed the quick cameos of Eric and Christina, in this chapter and the last. Eric will be back again. I don't know that Christina will be. There are also at least two more of our friends from the real Divergent world who will be putting in brief appearances in our story. Watch for them! Anyone want to guess who they are?