A big ol thank you to Bamberlee for editing this chapter and sending it back so quickly!

Thank you to everyone who is still reading along, any my sincere apologies that this took so long to update. I've had this on my laptop for ages with the intent of getting it updated and I can only blame this late update on the fact that I quit drinking coffee.

Because it's been 100 years since the last chapter, I'd suggest rereading it lol.

Enjoy & thanks for reading ;)

"You asshole."

Four shoves me as hard as he can. I barely move, but I glare at him, wondering how on Earth he could possibly be upset right now.

"What now?" I snap. "What's your problem? I gave you your gun back."

"My gun? You think that's my problem? I mean, it is. You want to talk about that little trick? Fine. That bullet you just shot her in the head with is registered to my gun. But that's not the only issue I have."

He sounds hysterical, his voice getting louder the longer he talks. He glares at me- dark and furious, something I didn't quite think he was capable of, but I wave him off.

I am almost done.

All I have left to do, is wait for Max to get here. I'd drafted an email announcing Max's retirement and Harrison's death. I'd sent it to the remaining faction leaders, including myself. I figured I'd give Max a chance to pretend he wanted to make amends. But I wouldn't accept it. I wouldn't kill him, though because it would be nice to see him factionless, begging for a second chance as I walked past him. Harrison, well, I'd never forgive him, especially after he'd handcuffed me with such joy. But really, if the need arose, I'd kill them both. I'd fucking hand over Dauntless to Four and Tori if it meant Max or Harrison would suffer at my own hands for what they did.

I'd spent weeks, weeks of my life I'd never get back, locked up in a mental institution. After Jeanine, I blamed them.

"Eric, are you even listening?" Four yells, and when I look over at him, he's pacing back and forth. "You…you asshole. You were going to-"

"You already said that. And don't be stupid. I wasn't going to kill you. Not right now." I interrupt him, glancing at my watch. I feel the snap of unease hit, and I am trying my best to focus on what I have to do. My mind keeps sliding back to Violet, wondering if she's woken up yet. Wondering just exactly what I'm going to do now because if I don't come up with something, I'm screwed. "I told you I'd handle it. And I did. So calm the fuck down."

"I don't know if that little you stunt you pulled counts as handling anything." Tori doesn't look any happier than Four. She crosses her arms over her chest, but her skin is no longer pale. "What are you going to do next? Are you shooting Max and Harrison as well? Isn't the security team going to get suspicious?"

"No." I shake my head. "They weren't alerted. She turned everything off. She believed what I told her."

"And I thought she was smart." Reggie mutters, also looking irritated. "This how you always operate?"

"Yes." I answer shortly. "Every time I make my rounds to kill every single leader who fucked me over, I always make sure to use those around me as bargaining chips."

"As long as you can admit it." Tori mutters, and I jerk my stare over to her. "Look, don't kill them. Not here. We'll take them back to Dauntless. We can put them in holding cells there. I don't think you want to be dragging three dead bodies out of this office."

"I don't." I agree, and I look directly at her. "That's why you're going to detain them. Take them back with you. The guards here will help if you ask nice enough. I'm going back to Abnegation."

Four stops his pacing, and stares at me like I've lost my mind.

"Are you kidding me? You're going to leave us to do your dirty work while you…" Four is so angry he can barely speak. His skin has turned bright red, the fury seeping through his pores as he fails to compose himself. "You can't be serious."

"I told you. One more favor, then I leave you alone."

"Is that the favor?" Four asks darkly.

"No." I shake my head, and he stares me down.

"Then that's two-"

"I'll explain in the truck. You can drive." I very politely offer, and he still looks like he might explode. "It's that or you can kill them when they get there or risk them killing you. Your choice."

Tori looks at me oddly, her expression changing to panic. Subtle panic, but it's there.

"It'll be a bloodbath. They'll be prepared to fight after all this back and forth. The minute they see us, here, instead of you…they'll shoot on sight. We're all in this now." She points out, and she looks at Reggie, then me, something dawning on her. "Did you appoint yourself as Leader of all the factions? Is that what that email said? Are you giving us an official command to kill them?"

"No, I'm not. I didn't appoint anyone, anywhere. But if none of you will do it, then fine. I'll take them out, you drag them back to Dauntless, and I'll handle them another time." I rub my hands on my face, and move toward the doors. "You'll need to call and have someone move Jeanine. Have her taken to the asylum. Tell them they can research all they want on her. Ask for Dr. Erin."

"Eric." Tori says my name again, her voice tight. "Are you really leaving? You're just…you're not going to finish…"

I look at her sharply, every nerve in my body screaming to get out of here. I'm reminded of my weeks in the institution, the itchy restlessness creeping under my skin when I felt just as trapped there. I'd held it together this whole time. I'd killed Jeanine like I'd wanted to, and there was little doubt Max and Harrison would be an issue.

But I can't stay here any longer.

"I'm going to see if Violet's awake."

It takes her a second, but she eventually nods.

No one says anything else. Four looks like he wants to, but he smartly keeps his mouth shut, and he follows me out the door.

He somehow manages to drive even worse on the way back to Natalie's house.

On the way out, I'd stopped and grabbed the first guard I saw. I jerked him toward me, and quietly told him Max and Harrison were to return to Dauntless. I warned him there was an announcement coming, and he should be ready to listen to what the Dauntless soldiers told him to do. If Tori and Reggie needed help, then they were to help. I waited until he nodded his understanding. It came after a suspicious look, but eventually, he gave in.

Just in time.

Because seconds later, they appeared.

Max and Harrison had walked right in. They stopped a few steps away from us, and the look on Harrison's face was priceless. Utter horror. A dash of resentment. Pure loathing. The slow and sharp realization that he'd been tricked, that I was standing there, completely fine, with my brain not erased, talking to the security team.

Of course, they'd panicked.

They'd reached for their weapons, both armed and ready, on high alert after the odd back and forth of Jeanine's final emails. Her change of heart toward me would be highly suspicious, especially to those two. They'd wonder what was going on, and while they had come prepared, it wouldn't be enough. I was also well prepared, and so were the guards. They'd immediately sprung into action, making the smart decision to listen to what I said.

They'd followed my orders on blind faith. The atmosphere was tense; dark and bloody, as Harrison fell to the ground the second the bullet pierced his throat.

I watched him fall.

This was a dangerous game he'd played, and these were the consequences. It felt like ages ago that he smirked as he handcuffed me, his superiority gleaming as I was marched away. Months since he'd practically laughed in delight as I was blamed for Jeanine's plans. Forever ago that Max promised he'd get me out, then hadn't.

I found that I paid little attention to Max, and only to Harrison. The way his eyes flew back and forth between myself and the guards, the way the bullet ripped through his skin with the same roughness with which he'd ripped my sanity away from me. I watched the blood pour out, dark red and sticky, as it smeared across pristine marble floors. His death felt poetic as it mirrored Jeannine's: pathetic and quick.

Pointless.

"Eric!"

Max roared my name, his arms held in place by Tori and Reggie, and his weapon having easily been taken. In his age, he'd slowed down. He wasn't quite as spry or as agile as he thought he was, and that had to hurt more than the way Reggie twisted his arm back.

"Take him with you." I spat out, watching his face darken as he realized the situation was out of his hands. He'd never really been in control, only believed in the allusion Jeanine had woven for him. He could very well have taken the fall for her instead of me, and now, he saw it.

And he would take it for her.

I'd make sure of it.

He bowed his head down, and in that moment, I thought of Four calling me a coward. I thought of all the times I had been afraid, really and truly, and none of them had anything to do with my death.

"I'll meet you back in Dauntless. Hold him there. I'll handle him when I'm back."

"Will do." She answered back, pulling Max more roughly than necessary. "Keep us posted."

I stared at her, wondering why on Earth she'd be concerned, but I nodded.

Now, I sit next to Four, staring straight ahead. The road winds around and around, and I swear at one point, he drives on the wrong side of the road. It's clear no one ever taught him how to drive properly, so I can only assume he's doing his best.

"How are you going to thank Natalie?" He asks, and his knuckles are white. I want to snap at him to relax, we are mostly out of the worst of it. I'd taken care of Jeanine, I'd taken care of Harrison, and I'd let Four stand there. My hands were the ones that were dirty, not his. I'd made sure he remained saintly, and he should be signing my praises for that. "You'll have to-"

"I don't even know if she's done anything." I answer through gritted teeth, and my shoulders rise up on their own. I force them back down, and I look over at him. "But, if Violet is fine, then I'll thank her."

"Eric." Four says my name threateningly, and I throw my hands up. "We had a deal. She went out of her way to help you. You'll thank her."

"Fine. I'll say…something."

I cross my arms over my chest and lean back against the seat in an exaggerated manner. I don't say another word to him the rest of the ride, but it seems just fine with the both of us.

I'm too busy thinking of too many things.

He parks like an asshole, too.

We return to Natalie Prior's house later than I'd prefer.

I jump out of the truck the very second Four parks, stalking over to the house without waiting for him. I knock loudly, close to banging repeatedly, but I find it in me to be somewhat respectful. A second later, Natalie opens the door and I push past her without a single word. Through the grey living space. The tiniest kitchen I've ever seen. The narrowest staircase. I take the creaky steps two at a time, barely registering that Natalie is calling after me. Ignoring Four yelling my name. Ignoring everything until I reach the top.

I stop right in front of the door and everything hits me at once. The adrenaline from earlier has worn off, and in its place is a sticky, panicky, nauseating feeling. The hallway suddenly seems smaller. Claustrophobic. Like the walls are closing in on me and the ceiling is shrinking down. The air is hot, stale and thick as I try to take a deep breath.

I take a second to steady myself, the floor undulating beneath my feet as my brain works hard to process the panic I'm experiencing. It's a new sensation, an unpleasant reaction to the stress I'd been under, one that is uncontrollable. I can't shake it. I can't shake any of the thoughts that come, one torturous one after the other no matter how hard I try.

I force myself back to reality, trying to think rationally.

I'd either find Violet awake, perhaps terrified of me and everyone around her, or still unconscious.

That was it.

The best-case scenario was that she was fine, and Dr. Branger had exaggerated what she'd done to Violet. The worst-case scenario, she hadn't, and Violet wouldn't react very well to the sight of me. That she'd have realized I wasn't the person she thought I was, just like I'd tried to warn her all along.

My fingers hover on the doorknob, and each heart beat feels like ages. I finally fling the door open with my eyes shut, prepared for the squeak of her voice.

There is silence.

Despite the warm air on my exposed skin, I feel clammy. I wait for something, anything. A single noise to let me know she's awake. A bed creaking. Footsteps. My name.

But the room stays quiet.

The silence is deafening, a bleak sign that there has been no progress. Everything in my stomach drops down as regret settles in. I suddenly wonder if I could have done something else, taken her somewhere else, and I force myself to take a deep breath and open my eyes.

Everything inside me snaps.

"You should eat something, Eric."

Natalie wipes my forehead off. The act is downright motherly, icky as she presses her palm against my skin to feel if I have a fever. I'd already taken the heavy uniform jacket off, and now I sit next to Four, at a tiny table, so close I could feel every time he breathed.

He is just as edgy as I am.

His shitty parking job had stuck out, so he'd moved the truck. He'd also heavily, and I mean heavily and loudly, debated getting Tris. Normally, I'd have smirked in his face. My paranoia had rubbed off on him. He sounded unstable as he argued with me about going to get her. I wasn't answering him, so he looked like he was insane, pointing out the flaws in every solution he'd come up with. Until he'd finally sat down, when Natalie made him shut up.

"I'm not hungry." I answer Natalie out of respect for helping me and nothing else. Really- I'm not hungry. I can't remember the last time I ate, but I have no appetite. I can't even fathom trying to eat. But she doesn't listen to me. She gently sets down a plate in front of me and smiles kindly.

"They'll help her. More than I could. We got a hold of a nurse from the asylum. It took a minute, but she told us when they administered it, and the serum should have worn off. So, I went with a friend of mine to take her to the clinic. They'll do their best, Eric."

I stare at the plate in front of me, my gaze dull. Their best wouldn't be good enough.

"Where's the clinic?"

"You can't go there." Four snaps, his hair a disheveled mess. He'd run his hands through it when he made his final decision to just leave Tris in Dauntless, after he'd called her four times. Then twice more. She wasn't answering, and he'd spent too much time with me, because he immediately assumed the worst. I'd roughly pointed out she was fine. No one in Dauntless would pay much attention to her, especially now that Max and Harrison had been handled. She was probably avoiding his phone calls or doing anything other than waiting for him to contact her.

"Why not?" I look over at him with a dark look. "I can go wherever I please, you know. No longer Dauntless' most wanted. In fact, maybe you should drive me there. Now. Or I'll drive myself."

"No." Four slams his fork down, then looks at Natalie in an apologetic manner for making such a violent outburst. "Because you can't. You just can't wander into the Abnegation health clinic, looking for a girl who's been kept unconscious for a few days and take her out of there. Not only do you have no clue what to do with her, don't you think your presence will raise a few questions?"

"Who is going to stop me? Who are they going to tell?" I mock him, and I shrug my shoulders as Natalie takes the seat next to him. She looks at the both of us, and despite the arguing going on, she smiles. Lovely. Violet still isn't awake, I'd killed three leaders today, and now I'm sitting down for a nice dinner with the Stiff family. "You? Max? The factionless?"

"Eric, shut up." Four finally snaps and his eyes are large. "Just sit here and eat your dinner. We'll get her when they say we can. Then you and her can…can go and do whatever it is you're doing."

Natalie takes everything in with a very slight smile. "I'm sure it'll work out fine. They were very confident they could help her. There's no database to enter her into, so her visit is completely confidential."

"What are you going to do with her?" Four looks back over at me, and I shrug again.

"Move in next door to you so we can be neighbors." I retort. "I don't know, Four. She's not even awake yet. There's a high chance she'll experience the side effects Jeanine told us about and freak out. Since I don't know how she'll react, I don't know what to do. Sorry for not having all the answers to every fucking thing in the world."

"How long have you two been working together?" Natalie interrupts. She sips her mug in front of her, watching the spectacle that is Four and I unfold right in front of her. "I know this is rough on both of you. You both have a lot on the line. But it's nice you're helping each other."

The room falls silent.

I look at Four and he looks at me, and neither of us speak.

"Too long." I mutter and Four's face darkens. "For a while now. But this is…the first he's done me a personal favor."

"I see." Natalie answers, and she nods her head while she contemplates my words.

"We have one more thing to do after she wakes up." I tell…both of them, I suppose. They both look at me, and Four sighs again. His dramatic flair is beginning to grate on my nerves.

"You know, you should take her to Dauntless. Have her stay with you. She'll be lost if you have her suddenly pick a faction and try to adapt to life there." Four announces out of nowhere, like he's in charge of what happens once she's awake. Or maybe this is him trying to force a happy ending to this mess he's involved in.

I grunt in response. He and Natalie look at each other, and Natalie nods supportively. They both look back at me, their stares prying and all too knowing, and I stare back.

Eventually, I avert my gaze. I look down at my plate, and the pancakes give me a violent flashback to the asylum. Natalie had made them while I was upstairs. I had vaguely heard her mention them when I came back down, my entire body numb when I realized Violet wasn't there. I hadn't answered her; I'd sat down at the table and waited while Four had a nervous breakdown.

But now, I don't have time to wait. I don't have this time to waste, eating breakfast for dinner and pretending everything is fine. I need to leave, need to find Violet and make this right, if it's the last thing I do.

"Eric, you won't be any help if you pass out from hunger." Natalie touches my arm, the action nicer than most people who'd ever touched me. But firm enough that it tells me she fully expects me to sit there and eat.

I sit with my spine rigid, refusing to move.

Eventually, I take a bite.

I wake up to total darkness.

My shitty sleep is ruined by the weight shifting the bed. Natalie had insisted I stay here for the night. Her reasoning had been that Violet might wake up, and it was a faster route from her house than Dauntless. Her logic made sense, but it was hard for me to accept when the desire to run and not stop was overwhelming.

Four had left me alone, with one very intense look that told me it was expected I behave. I'd agreed, only because what else was I going to do? Head back to Dauntless and wait for Natalie to call me with her non-existing phone? Head to Erudite and make myself comfortable in Jeanine's office? Try to find the clinic myself, blowing the cover of Natalie? I couldn't risk ruining those who were helping me. I still needed Four's help with one more thing, and this left me walking on eggshells.

My mind raced frantically, but exhaustion had finally caught up with me, along with the sick disappointment that Violet still wasn't awake, and it won out. I took a shower in the smallest bathroom ever, and I threw on what I could only assume were clothes stored here in case Four needed to swing by for a slumber party. They didn't fit. They felt gross. I tossed the pants aside, eventually closing my eyes and passing out on the same bed Violet had slept on.

"Eric?" My name is whispered again, and I half expect it to be someone here to kill me. For my day to have caught up with me. For Jack to have been released, for Harrison to have come back to life. For Jeanine to have someone on the hunt for me, even in death.

For Andrew Prior to have lost his shit when he realized I was sleeping in his home.

"Eric?"

My eyes fly open at the sound of the quiet voice and I fumble in the darkness, until my fingers find soft, damp hair.

I can tell who it is immediately.

I yank Violet against me, her scrawny self collapsing into me the second she can. Her limbs hit mine, unsure in the pitch black but confident enough that it's me. She is silent, but not at all hesitant in her desire to slide her arms around me the best she can. Like she's been waiting for this moment, like she and I hadn't slept in her bed together, once, leaving me wishing I could stay there. Ignoring the rounds of the orderlies as they checked to make sure everyone was where they were supposed to be.

Her head finds the crook of my neck as she presses herself against me, my arm around her to pull her beneath the tangled sheets. She whispers my name into my skin, letting her head rest there, and I shut my eyes tightly.

Neither of us move.

I know, that if Four were to wander in here, he would see how cowardly I really am. He'd know that I'd spent the entire day attempting to fix this situation, all for her. That at the end of the day, if she woke up and was afraid of me, or didn't wake up, that none of this was worth it. That I had failed her spectacularly, when she had no one.

It's why I keep my eyes shut.

I'm too afraid this isn't real. That this is a trick: something Dr. Erin had pulled over me, making me hallucinate Violet sitting on my lap. If I open them, she will be gone, and I will be here, all alone. Not in Abnegation, in a bed Tris Prior slept in, clutching the only thing I've ever wanted.

At some point, she says my name again, and this time, when I open my eyes, she's right there.

Natalie looks smug.

For someone so selfless and noble, she seems to be getting plenty of satisfaction when she walks by to put my clothes on the small table beside the bed.

I have no clue what time it is. Or what day. I feel like I'd slept for ages, lulled back to sleep by the weight of Violet on my chest, and the feeling of her fingers through mine. I'd held her against me shamelessly, allowing myself the indulgence of falling asleep with her, touching her to make sure she didn't vanish.

She'd slept as well.

I'd figured she'd be wide awake. After being asleep for days, I would have assumed she had endless energy. But she was still tired, weak after being forced into a slumbering submission, and she'd fallen asleep at almost the exact same time I had.

I'd woken up to her on my chest, her hair against my cheek and her legs tangled with mine. Her feet pressing against my legs and her fingers resting against my skin. I immediately conducted my own tired, but thorough examination.

I didn't know entirely what had happened.

I didn't know if it had to do with what they had given her, or if the serum had simply worn off, but she was alive. It was obvious she'd taken a shower at some point. Her clothes were different. Her hair had been wet last night but was now dry. The oversized men's shirt swallowed her up, covering most of her, but her skin wasn't ghostly white anymore and I could feel her breathing.

She looked quiet.

Even asleep, there was a defeat to her, when there should have been a triumph. I had a thousand questions I wanted, needed, to ask her. But not yet. I make sure she stays breathing, so I lie there perfectly still, until she finally lifts her head off my chest, and her eyes widen.

I wait for the side effects to kick in. For it to be me who she saw drugging her, or for her to suddenly realize I wasn't as innocent as she'd perhaps thought.

To my relief, she doesn't panic.

She doesn't react like Jeanine said; there is no sick shriek of terror, no assumption that I'd tried to hurt her, and no memory loss. She slowly and softly says my name, so quiet I'd miss it if I weren't staring at her. She sounds like the first Violet I met, the one who'd been made to be quiet.

It causes a painful feeling in my ribs, a sharpness I'm not used to.

"Is this…this is Abnegation right? Where we are?" It's the first thing she really says, and her lips turn up ever so slightly. "Everything is grey."

My own lips curl up. "It is."

"You're here." She keeps talking, low and gentle, and her hands find my bare chest. I'd discarded Four's infant sized shirt at some point during the night, preferring to feel her against me. It was valid, tangible proof she was here, and it won out over the thought of Natalie wandering in to discover I was half dressed in her good, wholesome neighborhood.

"Yeah." I answer her seriously, and her dark eyes are big. I reach up and touch her jaw, still not completely sure she isn't a figment of my imagination. "Violet, are you…do you remember? "

She doesn't answer me. She simply waits, her stare on mine, and she nods her head. I shove her hair out of her face, the choppy ends trying to fall back, and she smiles.

"Everything, Eric."

She stays as quiet as ever.

Violet sits close to me, her leg touching mine, and her eyes follow Natalie around the kitchen. They occasionally stop on Andrew Prior, but not for long. Our presence is a very stark reminder that not everything is great right now. He eyes us carefully, longer than would be considered polite, and anyone could pick up on his discomfort. Violet's been given clothes to wear that still don't fit properly, and I'd dressed in my uniform that Natalie had washed for me.

He watches us sit at his kitchen table, while his wife makes us breakfast, trying to pretend our appearance isn't unusual at all.

"Are you…returning home today?" Andrew asks with unwavering politeness. His eyes fall to the heavy jacket I have on. Particularly the blue stripe on the sleeve. "Or are you staying here for a while?"

He looks at Violet, but she doesn't answer him. She's been mostly silent, staying close to me, and apparently very afraid to say anything. I can't say I blame her. As horrific as it had been, the asylum was familiar. Comfortable because she'd lived there for most of her life. Now, she'd woken up in a world of drabness, with no clue what was going on, and it had to be hard to shake all of this into place.

"We're leaving in just a bit." I answer for the both of us, trying hard not to snap at him to go do something productive. To read emails that he doesn't receive, or to discover that half the factions had no leader. Instead, I smile tightly, but the look on his face tells me it comes out as more of a sneer.

"Eric," Violet says very quietly, and her fingers find my wrist. She'd been awake for all of a few hours now. Not long enough to answer every question I had, and barely long enough for me to be certain she was okay.

But she was alive, and for now, that was good enough.

"Where are we...where will we go?"

Her words are tinier than the kitchen itself; she says them with a heaviness that reminds me she has nowhere to go. She'd told me that a few times. Marching her to Candor in an attempt to find her parents isn't an option. My guess is they wouldn't even recognize her and turning her over to them after they'd allowed her to be sentenced wouldn't happen on my watch.

Not to mention, dangerous.

Taking her to Dauntless is fine. I have no qualms about bringing her along with me, but she'd be stuck there alone when Four and I left, and she'd be on her own in the large, endless maze of our underground world. It might raise a few questions, but my options were limited.

"Yes, where will you go? Are you both heading to Dauntless?" Andrew speaks slowly, and I glare at him over the tea Natalie had given me.

"We are." I answer more loudly than necessary, enjoying the moment when he jumps at my tone. "Violet is coming with me."

"You think…that's wise?" Andrew asks, and this time, he looks right at her. "Doesn't she belong to a faction? Shouldn't she return to her home? She's not from Dauntless, is she?"

And with that, he kills whatever fleeting hope she had. His words hang in the air, a spoken reminder of what she'd told me on the fire escape. She and I both stay silent, and next to me- she visibly withers, knowing full well she does not have a faction to return to.

"No, she's not. But she's coming with me." I snap the words at him, and he must pick up on the fact that he's hit a nerve.

He blinks and immediately frowns. It's not entirely his fault. He wouldn't know that her parents had willingly handed her over, and there was no way he'd know that it was doubtful they'd be thrilled to see her return.

"My apologies." He stares at the both of us, but mostly me. "I'm not entirely up to speed with what is going on. Natalie tried to fill me in last night. But I was going to offer the option that she could stay here if she liked. Until…whatever it is you need to do is done. That way she'd be uh, comfortable and we could make sure she's alright."

"Oh." Violet exhales sharply, and her fingers tighten on my wrist.

His offer is kind.

Incredibly.

Considering it's me sitting here, with a girl that had been brought from the insane asylum drugged out of her mind, returned in the middle of the night, and we'd spent the night beneath his roof. This must have been a rather jarring disturbance in his bland life, but even I could appreciate that he would let Violet stay. For one weighted, silent moment, he waits. He occasionally looks at his wife, pretending she's not listening, until I shake my head.

"Thank you for the offer. Violet will come with me for now, and when she makes a decision on where she'd like to stay…she can maybe come back here if she would need a place to acclimate. It's very…" I pause, having a hard time finishing my sentence. "Nice of you."

The words are gritty in my mouth, and Andrew can tell. He smiles kindly, turning only because Natalie has appeared with two plates in her hands. She serves Violet and me, then returns with two more, sitting down so we all can eat.

"Violet, you're welcome back anytime." Natalie adds, and she looks right at me. "You as well, Eric."

I grow uncomfortable, almost as uneasy as the time the nurse tried to feel me up, and I realize neither Violet nor myself really know what to do with all this kindheartedness. It feels like charity, and that makes me grow angry.

"Thank you." I swallow thickly, and I realize that Four will wind up being right.

Once he helped with what I needed, I'd owe him and Natalie.

While he can't drive, he is prompt.

Four shows up exactly at ten. He walks through the door quickly and stops dead in his tracks to find Violet right next to me, still sitting at the table. His eyes widen in surprise at seeing her alive, and he smiles. Sort of. It looks forced, but maybe it's the fact that Violet is oddly close to me, and she immediately shrinks back when he walks in.

I idly wonder if it's the uniform.

Whatever is going on in Dauntless, Four is dressed appropriately. His uniform is sharp and dark, and it matches my own. I feel a flicker of annoyance that he's been given one that the leaders wear. Maybe he stole it. Or maybe Tori was smart enough to shove it at him and force him to wear it. Because without Max and Harrison, they'd be too busy to do it all themselves.

But to an outsider, he looks almost intimidating. His boots sound heavy on the floor, and despite being Four, he looks like he has authority. It takes me a second to remember she's never met him, only heard of him, so with great pain I introduce them.

To my delight, she seems to find him very unappealing.

"Why is his name a number?"

She whispers to me as Four turns the truck toward the gates of the Dauntless compound. He'd announced he was driving and I had announced we were sitting in the back. I preferred it this way; I couldn't see how maniacally he drove, and this made him seem like he was our chauffeur.

"Who the fuck knows." I mutter in response, letting her lean further into me to look out the window. "That's just one of the many questions you'll soon have about him."

"This is it?" She asks, and the gates open. They are nothing like the ones at the asylum. Ours are large and less ornate, but stronger. The men at the gate wave us through once they check Four's clearance, and he drives past them without saying much.

"It is. Welcome home." I announce dryly, but I'm watching Violet carefully. She's taking in everything; her eyes widen at the looming compound, and they widen even further when Four parks on the side of the docks. This is the least used entrance, and I know he's done us a favor by parking here. She and I will walk in through the back. The hallways and walkways will be less crowded this way, and there is little chance we'll be stopped by a curious member.

I slide out of the truck first, then walk around to open the door. For a split second, she hesitates. Her dreams of freedom have come true, but the fear is clear as day on her face. I've ripped her away from everything she's known, except with better intentions.

I stare up at her, while she stares past me, and eventually, I reach for her.

"You'll have to get out of the truck to come inside." I point out, and she takes my hand.

"The last time I got out of a truck, I was committed." She reminds me, and I step right up against the truck. I drop her hand and reach for her waist. She's doesn't flinch like I was prepared for. She leans forward, and I carefully pull her down and out of the truck. Her feet hit the ground easily, and she smiles in thanks.

"Well, luckily for you, I'm not committing anyone. In fact, if I get my way -and I will, the asylum will be shut down. Or repurposed."

"Good." She brushes her hair off her face, and frowns when Four walks around.

"Tori wants to meet with you later tonight. I told her…" he pauses, and he looks at Violet, then myself. "I told her you couldn't meet until later. I figured you'd be busy."

"We will." I answer, and I feel Violet step behind me. "Thank you. Conference room?"

"Yeah." Four answers, and he frowns when he realizes Violet doesn't like him. I smirk, because I know he's struggling with why she wants to stay away from him. "I'll call you when we have a time."

"Great." I reach for Violet, and her fingers find mine instantly. "I'll see you then."

"Okay."

Four sounds cranky now, and I stay still while he stomps on ahead. Violet eventually moves so she's standing beside me, and I look down at her.

"You ready?"

She looks up at me and smiles, really smiles. She looks completely different than a few days ago, and her grin only makes it even better. She nods her head, and to my delight, answers with far more confidence than before.

"I am."

I tighten my grip on her hand and walk her through the doors Four had just disappeared into. She stops to read the inscription above them, and her eyes watch the security scanner with great interest. She walks along with me, her eyes glued to the card I swipe, and I stop once she steps inside.

I turn to look at her, her eyes taking in the immensely high ceiling, the slick, rock walls that give way to the tunnels and I smile at her. I can only assume she doesn't think she belongs here, or anywhere really, but she has no clue that she does.

I'll make sure of it.

"Welcome to Dauntless."