A/N: I am sooooo sorry this took so long. I know I said there shouldn't be any long waits between updates, but my laptop broke a couple of weeks ago and I absolutely hate trying to edit or write on my phone or tablet. I might have done it anyway if it were just fixing punctuation and typos, but I knew I wanted to make some actual revisions.

I finally got a new laptop, literally today, so I hurried to get this chapter revised and edited for you. It's not my favorite, but I don't want to make you wait any longer just so I can keep fighting with it.

I honestly am not going to promise that I'll be sticking to a weekly update from here on out. I will try, but things are obviously pretty weird right now.

I also want to say thank you so much to each of you who has left a review, followed, or favorited! I appreciate it so much even if I don't always respond.

Stay safe and stay healthy!

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Tris POV

"What the hell happened?!" Marlene asks as she bounds into the infirmary an hour later, Lynn strolling behind her, looking bored. I can't help smiling when she pulls the second visitor over and sits so close that she and Uriah are almost touching.

Lynn stands a couple of yards away from us, arms crossed over her chest. "Will said you fell out of the train car. What, did you trip?" she snarks, raising an eyebrow.

I am lying in the infirmary bed feeling a lot better thanks to the wrap around my fractured ribs, brace on my sprained wrist, and the injection of pain medication the nurse administered shortly after I arrived. Christina has gone to get my babies from the daycare, and Uriah hasn't left my side. There has been no sign of Tobias so far.

Uriah recounts the incident once again; he has already been over it once with Tobias, and then twice more with the infirmary staff. The pain was so intense at first that it was hard to breathe or think, and I am thankful for his and Christina's help. I don't know what I would do without my twin and my friends.

"You'd better be careful, Tris," Marlene warns. "Uriah told me about what Peter did on the first day here. I don't think he's going to stop."

"You just need to pay more attention to your surroundings," Lynn advises, dragging a chair from beside the empty bed next to mine and dropping gracelessly into it. "Shauna told me you guys have been training, so I'm sure you can kick that coward's ass if you see him coming."

I know she is right, I can hold my own. As long as it's only Peter, anyway. I don't think I could take him, Molly and Drew on all together. I will have to make sure I don't get caught alone… which will make it harder for me to sneak away to see Tobias. If only he did not distract me so.

"I don't even want to think about having to defend myself against Peter right now," I whine. "I'm feeling alright now with these pain killers, but when they wear off I know it's gonna hurt to even move."

"You'll have to get over it," Lynn snorts. "You'll be fighting tomorrow no matter how banged up you are. It's that, or be factionless." I groan.

Marlene and Uriah are talking quietly, looking at each other like there is no one else in the world. I smirk when I notice how close they are to one another, the gentle, deliberate way Uri touches her arm, the pink tint Marlene's cheeks take on at the contact.

"So," Marlene says to all of us, "Lynn and I were going to the dining hall to play some cards. Do you want to come, Uriah? You too, of course, Tris, if they let you out of here." Lynn huffs, but I ignore her. She's always irritated about something.

"I don't want to leave Tris on her own," Uriah says regretfully.

I roll my eyes. It has become more and more obvious to me that Uriah really likes Marlene; I don't want to get in their way. "Go ahead, Uri. I'll be fine."

Uriah shakes his head. "No. I'm not leaving you here alone. Let me find a nurse, see how long you have to stay here."

"Seriously, Uri," I protest. "Christina will be here any minute with the twins. They have that check-up this afternoon, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Uriah frowns. I wish he would just go with them. I want him here, but I don't want to get in the way of my brother's blossoming romance. He turns to Marlene. "Can we at least wait for Chris to get here? I would feel better if I knew that she would wait for Tris. There's no way she can carry around two babies by herself right now." He makes a good point.

At that moment, Zeke rushes in. "Beatrice!" he shouts on his way over, and a nurse with purple hair and piercings all over her face glares at him. He smiles apologetically. "Tris, are you alright? I came as soon as I could get out of work," Zeke says hurriedly. "I had just gotten back from a break when Four stopped by on his way to see Max."

"Four went to Max?" Christina asks, surprised, as she joins us. She hands Landon to Zeke as she sits on the edge of my bed. She offers Adeline to me and I shake my head with wide eyes. Adeline, for once, looks perfectly content in Christina's arms.

"Keep holding her, please," I cut in. "She's happy with you and I am pretty sure it's going to hurt to hold either of them for a while." Christina nods.

"Of course he did," Zeke answers Christina, bouncing Landon in his arms. Landon smiles widely. "He's responsible for the initiate class and he can't have them trying to kill each other. Besides that, you don't really think he's going to let anything happen to my baby sister, do you?"

Christina shrugs. "He just doesn't seem that nice. I didn't know he actually gave a shit about any of us."

"Jeez, Chris," I say, rolling my eyes as I try to hide my anger at her attitude toward Tobias. "Four isn't a monster. Of course he doesn't want things like this to happen."

"Yeah, you think I'd be friends with someone who was that big of a jerk?" Zeke says, scowling. "Four's a good guy. It's not like he's Eric." Lynn snorts and smirks before going back to her usual disinterest and perma-scowl.

"Actually, you're right," Christina says, suddenly a scrutinizing gaze on me. "This isn't the first time he's stuck up for Tris."

"Do you think Max will do anything?" Uriah interrupts, frowning. Thank goodness he took the attention off Tobias and me.

Zeke shrugs. "Hard to say. I'm sure Four will be here soon to let us know how it went."

"Uriah," I remind my twin, "you should go hang out with Marlene and Lynn now. I'm sure Zeke or Christina will keep me company, right guys?"

"Of course," Christina says. At the same time, Zeke says, "Anything for my baby sister. Actually, why don't I take care of the twins for you when you're done here, and you can spend some time with your friends? Some parts of initiation should be fun, you know."

I am touched by the offer, but my babies (mostly Adeline) can be a lot to handle and Zeke doesn't have a whole lot of experience with them. "I don't know, Zeke… are you sure? Two babies is a lot for one person when you're not used to it."

Zeke rolls his eyes. "I'll be fine, Sis. I'm sure I can find someone to help me," he grins.

I smile. I know he means Tobias. "Okay, if you're sure," I smile. Tobias should be here soon. I painfully straighten as I suddenly realize that if Tobias is coming soon, it might be better if my friends are all gone before he arrives.

"Actually, Chris, why don't you go with them and have fun? I wouldn't mind some time with my big brother." I suggest.

"Okay," Christina says cheerfully. "Oh, wait, but I wanted to talk to you more about… you know." She side-eyes Zeke for that last part. Ugh, of course. Her promise to continue badgering me to tell her about the twins' father.

"Oh, you mean interrogate?" I quip. I laugh at the sheepish look on her face. "Just go, Christina. Have fun."

"Fine. I hope they let you out soon, Tris!" Christina stands up and handing Adeline to Zeke, who immediately looks nervous and overwhelmed with a baby in each arm.

Uriah gives me a questioning look, asking if I am sure it's okay for him to go with them, and I shoo him away. "Come find me when you're done here," Uriah says firmly. "And stay with Zeke or Four till then. Okay, sis?"

I roll my eyes at his protectiveness, but I know he's not wrong. In addition to any potential threat from Peter and his friends, I am in no shape to take care of both of these babies alone. "I will," I promise, and everyone says goodbye before they leave.

When they're gone, Zeke asks, "What was Christina going to interrogate you about?"

"All the dirty details about the twins' father," I say bluntly. He shudders at the idea of that conversation and quickly changes the subject.

Zeke makes me tell the story of my fall from the train car one more time, in detail, looking furious the entire time. I would not want to be Peter and Molly right now; I'm sure Zeke will be seeking them out later. Just as I finish my story, Four strolls in. He looks casual, but I can see the subtle hints of tension in his face and stance. He is feigning casualness, trying very hard to look as though he is just visiting any random initiate. When he sees that it's just Zeke and me here, he drops the act and hurries to my side and crouches next to the bed. For once I am looking down at him, instead of the other way around.

"God, Tris, are you okay? I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner." He slips his hand into mine and rubs his thumb gently back and forth inside my palm.

"I'll be fine. Just some hairline fractures in my ribs and a lot of bruising. Oh, and a sprained wrist. They say that Erudite medicine they gave me speeds up healing."

"It does," he sighs, "but not enough to be much help to you in your fight tomorrow. I'll try to pair you with someone easy, but if Eric has anything to say about it…"

"And he will have something to say about it," Zeke adds. Tobias grimaces. Zeke adds, "Speaking of our leaders, what did Max say?"

"I had to wait for him and Eric to finish a meeting before I spoke with him, which is what took so long." He and Zeke share a look, which I ignore. Right now I just want to know if anything will be done about Peter and the lemmings that follow him around. "Then I tried to talk to Max, but as it was related to initiation, he sent me to Eric before I could even tell him what happened."

"So nothing is being done, then," Zeke spits out bitterly. Adeline's fussing gets louder and Landon joins in on the fun, too. Glancing at the clock, I notice that the twins' check-up will be in about fifteen minutes; the nurse said that she would send the doctor to my bed for the twins' visit.

I also see that it's about time for their bottles, so I reach for the diaper bag and Zeke hands it to me without even breaking eye contact with Tobias, let alone interrupting their conversation. I tap Tobias's arm and hand him a bottle after pointing at Landon. Unlike Zeke, Tobias does interrupt their conversation for a moment to give his son his full attention while he gets Landon settled in his arms and drinking from the bottle.

Tobias sighs. "Pretty much, yeah. I threatened to go back to Max and Eric conceded to adopting a 'three strikes, you're out' policy with the initiates. Since they aren't really dependents and also aren't members, there's sort of a grey area in the rule books. Of course Eric would side with a bully like Peter over a Stiff. I will be going back to talk to Max about it, though. If nothing else, I want to be sure that incident by the Chasm is counted as a strike against Peter."

"This is our fault, Four. Because we're Eric's enemies, he's taking it out on my sister. I'm sorry, Tris."

"It's not your fault. It's just how it is. I'll be fine." Zeke and Tobias basically disregard my statement and go on to discuss how to basically not leave me alone ever. I feel like a child when they talk about me like this, I don't like it.

"You guys!" I hiss. "I can take care of myself!"

"Yeah, right, Beatrice," Zeke starts, "that's why-"

"Hey!" I interrupt. "Stop calling me Beatrice. That name is just so Abnegation. It's 'Tris' now, Ezekiel."

"Fine, sorry, sorry," Zeke says, raising his hands in surrender. "I will stop calling you Beatrice if you promise never to call me Ezekiel again."

"Deal."

"Tris Prior?" interrupts a man wearing a black lab coat and a stethoscope hung around his neck. He has a bright red mohawk and a spider tattoo on his forehead. Tobias immediately pulls his hand away from mine as I nod to answer the doctor, who offers his hand for me to shake. I awkwardly shake it, and he next shakes Zeke's and Tobias's hand.

"I'm Zeke, Tris's big brother," Zeke introduces himself.

The doctor raises an eyebrow as he shakes Tobias's hand. "I'm Four… Tris's instructor, and a friend of Zeke's," Tobias says uncomfortably.

"I'm Dr. Levy. And this must be Landon and Adeline. It looks like we have a six month well baby check-up today for each of them, and I will also check on your injuries, Tris, and hopefully clear you to leave the infirmary." I smile, relieved that I can get out of here soon.

Dr. Levy does all the usual check-up things with the twins, listening to their hearts and lungs, looking in their ears, and so on, and proclaims them both to be healthy. "Any concerns?" he asks.

Tobias nudges me discreetly and nods his head at Adeline. "Uh, Adeline's colic hasn't seemed to improve much. I thought it was supposed to get better."

Dr. Levy explains about the possibility that it could be related to an upset stomach and that maybe her food isn't agreeing with her. He suggests trying a different formula. He also gives instructions for starting solid food with both babies, but suggests waiting until we've worked out the possible formula issue with Adeline before giving her anything else. I notice that Tobias is listening intently to everything the doctor says.

When the doctor moves on from the twins to check me over, I wait for Zeke to be busy talking with Tobias and quietly ask for a birth control shot. The doctor nods in acknowledgement and tells me the nurse will administer it when she brings me the prescription pain relievers in a few minutes.

"So, are we ready to go?" Zeke asks after Dr. Levy leaves.

"Almost," I say, nervous about him being here and what I will say to the questions he asks me when they give me the shot. Just then the nurse comes back.

"Here are your pain relievers," she says. Her voice is loud and grating. So much for privacy. She swipes my arm with an alcohol swab and picks up the prepared syringe. "And here is your birth control shot," she adds as she pushes the needle into my flesh.

"Birth control shot?!" Zeke roars. Tobias's eyes go wide and he quickly takes a few steps away from my brother.

Damn it. "Zeke, you know I'm not a virgin. Obviously. If I did that in Abnegation, did you really think I wouldn't here in Dauntless?" I say, rolling my eyes.

Zeke just glares at Tobias. If looks could kill…

Tobias rubs the back of his neck like he always does when he is nervous or uncomfortable.

"One last thing," the nurse says. "We have been taking blood samples for Erudite's current medical research study on genetics." I feel Tobias stiffen beside me, and my stomach twists with a nervous feeling. Mom said divergence was genetic; this sounds dangerous to me. "It would be anonymous, we would just need a sample from each of the children and, preferably, both parents. Would you be willing to participate?"

"Um, I think they already did that at another appointment," I lie. "And since you can't get their father's blood sample, there would be no benefit to doing it again."

The nurse nods once. "Alright, you're all set then." Then she leaves, not bothering to close the curtain around my uncomfortable hospital cot. Tobias visibly relaxes.

"So… ready to go, Tris?" Tobias asks, standing.

"Yes, I am." He helps me up and we leave the infirmary. Tobias carries Landon and Zeke carries Adeline. "You always take Landon. You should carry Adeline sometimes too, you know."

"She doesn't like me," he grumbles.

I roll my eyes. "That's not true. She's just cranky. She's like that with everyone." He shrugs. We will have to talk about it more later, I guess.

Zeke just scowls the whole way to the dining hall. I know he is still stewing over the idea that I need birth control. We near the dining hall and I pull Tobias and Zeke to a stop.

"Look, Zeke offered up the two of you to watch the twins," I say to Tobias, then I look between them. "Are you guys sure you can handle being in the same room right now? Maybe I should just keep them with Uri and me."

Zeke huffs. "I'm fine, Tris. I can handle myself. Just go hang out with your friends."

I look to Tobias and he gives me a reassuring smile. I reluctantly concede; it will be good for the two of them to spend some more time with the twins, especially Tobias. I think he just needs some more time with Adeline, without me there to rescue them, to figure out how to keep her happy. I needed that when I first brought her home; he needs to build that confidence, too.

"Okay, have fun, then," I smile, and after glancing around to be sure no one is here to witness it, I give Tobias a chaste kiss on the lips. Chaste, because my already angry big brother is standing right there. When I pull away, he is looking away from us, scowling once again. "Don't kill each other," I warn, then I turn and walk around the corner to meet my friends in the dining hall.