Almost forgot to update today! I keep meaning to mention that seems to no longer be sending out email notifications when you receive a private message. A few readers of this story or Count On Me probably have messages from me that you haven't seen from forever ago... it's also why I am not responding to reviews much anymore, because people don't seem to get the messages. Anyway, just an FYI in case you haven't checked your inbox in a long time.

I'm working on an update for COM. If I give you a time estimate I'll probably jinx it but just know I haven't abandoned or forgotten it.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Uriah POV

"Enough!" Four yells. When did he come back in here? He walked out a minute ago, and I felt like walking away too, it was just so hard to see Beatrice getting her ass kicked like that. Especially knowing what she's capable of. But he must have come back, and thank goodness he did — I don't know how much more injury Eric would have allowed before finally calling Drew off of her. That pansycake must be sadistic to have continued as long as he did in the first place.

Tris lies unconscious and bloody on the mat. Al tries to get up and go to her, but I glare at him and he sits back down. My left leg hurts from my own fight — I think I strained a muscle, it's nothing serious — so I limp on my way there, and Four gets to her first. He's about to pick her up but I stop him. "It's okay, Four, I got her." I can tell he wants to be the one to take her to the infirmary, but they're trying to keep their whole...thing...on the down low, so I give him a meaningful look and he backs off.

"Will and Molly," Four calls. It's the last thing I hear from the training room as I pass through the doors. I carry Tris bridal style on my way to the infirmary, thinking that I'm already way too familiar with that place. I am almost there when I see Marlene coming toward me. Her ponytail is messy and there's a fresh bruise on her cheek, still red, but a smile lights up her beautiful face. I definitely notice the way her black tank top and shorts — short shorts — hug her body in all the right places and I wish I had come up behind her, instead, because she's got a really cute butt.

"Uriah!" she calls. I love how bright her eyes always are — they're green, like emeralds — and how she's the kind of person that just always makes you feel like seeing you made her day. Of course I always hope that it's me specifically that makes her so happy, but she is friendly with everyone so I don't want to assume.

"Hey, Marlene," I say. I sound really cheerful, and I realize as soon as the words come out that it's probably inappropriate to act so happy while I'm carrying my unconscious sister to the infirmary. Wasn't I angry just a minute ago?

"Oh no! They made her fight?! Ugh, I can't stand Eric."

I smile at her sadly and nod. "Yeah, I'm sure that Four would have at least put her against Myra, but Eric had her fighting one of Peter's groupies." Marlene nods sympathetically and puts her hand on my bicep. My skin feels all tingly where we touch.

"Are you done for the day?" I ask. "Because we could hang out after I get Tris settled at the infirmary… I mean, if you want…" Oh no, my ears are getting hot. I swear, when I'm around Marlene I blush almost as much as Tris does.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Marlene very quickly agrees, and we walk together to the infirmary. The same nurse — the one that was here yesterday, with the purple hair and a face full of metal — sees us and directs me to an empty bed with a sigh. She shakes her head and grumbles something about that she can't believe they made that poor girl fight today.

"I can't guess how soon she will wake up, and she will definitely have to stay for at least most of this evening," she informs us. "The doctor will check her over more thoroughly soon. You can wait if you like, but you could be sitting for a while."

It's almost five o'clock now. When I notice how late it is, I curse under my breath. "Don't worry, she'll be okay," Marlene reassures me while she rubs her hand up and down my arm. I was pretty sure Tris would be fine anyway, because if Four thought otherwise, I'd have known it. I'm sure he has seen plenty of people get knocked out. But I almost want to pretend that Marlene guessed correctly about why I was upset, because it's giving her a reason to make physical contact and I really want that to continue. She wraps her arms around me for a hug. Yeah, I definitely like this.

But I have things to take care of. "Well, um, actually... I was just realizing that Tris won't be out of here to get the twins from daycare." I give her my very best puppy dog eyes. "Would you be okay with the babies tagging along with us? I still really want to hang out, I just really have to take care of the twins for Tris."

"Sure, I understand, I'll help you." She bats her eyelashes and I'm blown away at how bold the next thing she says is. "You know, if Tris wasn't your sister, I'd be really jealous of the way you dote on her."

My neck and ears are getting too warm again. Damn it, I'm blushing. Again. Blushing has always been Tris's tell, never mine. Is this some new twin thing? I don't like it. "Sorry, I hope it doesn't bother you too much. Tris and I have always taken care of each other, and I'm the only person that knows the babies well other than her. But we can see if Zeke is free or—" I stop short. Shit, I almost mentioned Four.

"...or?" Marlene asks with her eyebrows arching.

"Uh… or Shauna," I save, I hope I was quick enough to be believable. Hopefully Mar will think I just forgot Shauna's name for a second.

Marlene looks at me for a second then she shrugs and shakes her head. "No, Shauna's out at the fence the next couple days."

"Oh."

"It's not a problem, though!" Marlene chirps. "I don't mind, Uriah. Really."

-oOo-

"I won! I won!" Marlene mocks, laughing hysterically. "Man, you were practically doing a touchdown dance over your supposed flush, when you had two diamonds in with your three hearts!"

"Shut up," I say, starting to chuckle against my will. I can't help it— when she laughs I just want to join in. Besides, it was pretty funny. "They were all red… You know I've never played poker before! We didn't even have a deck of cards." Marlene rolls her eyes. I know she thinks some of the customs representing Abnegation's overzealous selflessness are ridiculous, and honestly, I agree with her. "And what's a touchdown?"

Marlene bursts out laughing all over again, and I have to wait for her to let me in on the joke. It's annoying, but not knowing this stuff is a part of growing up in Abnegation. While I never fit in there, I am more than thankful to Mom and Dad for taking Zeke and me in and treating us as their own.

The only other person in the transfer dorm is Myra. Her fight with Christina was a quick one, and Myra had been released from the infirmary as soon as she woke up. I guess she was still needing to recover a bit more, because she's asleep. The babies are both sleeping, too, and Marlene has been teaching me card games. Tris will be so excited when she finds out that Marlene bought Adeline a pacifier that she actually likes. Mar said that this was the only kind her nephew liked, so she thought we should try it. Shauna must have told her about Tris trying all those different pacifiers that Adeline wanted nothing to do with.

Marlene finally stops laughing and answers my question. "A touchdown is a goal in a game called football. The Dauntless play it occasionally. It's pretty rough — very Dauntless," she says, still smiling. God, I love her smile. I realize I'm staring at her lips and look back at her eyes.

"I guess there's a lot I missed out on, growing up in Abnegation," I shrug.

Marlene smirks, and there I am staring at her lips again. "What else did you miss out on? Not as adventurous as your sister?"

I can feel my whole face heat up. "Uh, no. I mean, I might have been, but no one was that special. Besides, the only girl I knew who was 'adventurous' was Beatrice," I say rolling my eyes. "But I'm Dauntless now…"

"Maybe you'll find someone special here, then," Marlene says carefully. I may have been raised in Abnegation, but even I know what she's doing here.

"Maybe I already have," I say softly, leaning closer to her. She leans in closer, too, and this time I catch her looking at my lips. Even though I'm nervous, it's all the invitation I need to close the distance between us.

I barely brush her lips with mine. They're so soft and I feel almost like this electric current, like I do whenever I touch Marlene but this time it's stronger, it can't be ignored. I pull back just a few inches and she smiles at me. I guess that means she liked it, too, and I definitely want more. So I lean in again, feeling much more confident than before and it's like that weird energy spreads throughout my body. We tilt our heads opposite directions and Marlene tangles her fingers in my hair, her opposite hand resting on my chest. I didn't think I would know what to do when this moment arrived, but it all happens naturally: my left hand automatically wraps around her to press on the small of her back, and my right has found its way to her hip.

Just as she begins to kiss me back harder, we are interrupted by a throat clearing. I pull away slowly and look toward the door, and there stands Four.

"Sorry to interrupt," he says as he walks over to us, not looking directly at us. "I just need to talk to Uriah for a minute."

"Sorry, Mar," I say, smiling at her as I stand up. "I should be back in a minute." I'm sure this is about Tris. Four gazes at the babies in their cribs for a couple seconds and then he turns and walks to the door, gesturing for me to follow him. When we get out to the hall he turns to me.

"I don't suppose you're here to take care of your children," I state, raising an eyebrow at him.

Four rubs the nape of his neck. "Uh, no, I'm sorry. I don't know how to do that by myself, and it would raise suspicion if I was walking through the compound carrying them, anyway. Look, can you take care of them tonight?"

I can, and I will, but I had hoped that Tris wasn't in bad enough shape to stay overnight in the infirmary. "Yeah, is my sister OK?"

Four nods. "She will be. I'm going to get her from the infirmary now. I just thought maybe it would be best if she got a really good night's sleep. I was going to take her back to my place." I wish Marlene and I could be alone, but I have to admit that his plan makes sense. Tris's body has had a traumatic couple of days and good sleep is probably the best thing right now. "They gave her more of Erudite's healing serum. I'm hoping she will be a lot better tomorrow. The fight today set back healing a bit."

"No new injuries, though?" Marlene may have distracted me quite well, but I really am worried about my sister.

"No," Four shakes his head, "nothing serious. Just a few bruises and a minor concussion. Her nose isn't even broken — just broke some blood vessels and caused the bloody nose. Luckily Drew isn't a great fighter. She would have mopped the floor with him had she not been injured just yesterday."

"Oh, I know she would." I glance at the door; I really want to get back to Marlene, because I was enjoying myself. "Okay, well, I'll take care of the twins tonight. You take care of Beatrice."

Four and I fist bump. "Have fun with Mar," he smirks while wagging his eyebrows. Then, more seriously, "Just make sure you give your niece and nephew enough attention, too."

"I will," I promise, then I go back into the dormitory.

"What did Four want?" Marlene asks.

"Just telling me how Tris was and making sure I could take care of the twins. She'll be fine, just needs good rest tonight." I sit next to Marlene on the bed again, almost close enough that our legs touch, but not quite. I didn't think that through. I wanted to be near her, but now I'm so close I can hardly stand that I'm not touching her. I want to go back to what we were doing before, but I'm not really sure how this whole romance thing works. The Abnegation never set much of an example for me, considering they don't even hold hands in public.

Marlene says just what I'm thinking: "Four sure knows how to ruin an amazing moment, doesn't he?" Her cheeks turn pink and she looks away.

"Yeah," I mumble. Must be payback. I remember the couple of times I interrupted Tobias kissing my sister… and how embarrassed they both were. Honestly, so was I.

"What?" Marlene asks, looking confused. Shit, I didn't mean to say that out loud.

"N-nothing," I say quickly.

"It sounded like—"

"Seriously, Mar, I don't want to talk about Four," I say desperately. She narrows her eyes and I just smile. "Think we could… pick up where we left off?" The need to distract her is making me bolder, I guess. Which is probably a good thing.

Marlene grins. "Hell yes."

But just as my lips touch hers, we are interrupted by a whimper from Landon's crib. "Damn it, Landon," I mutter under my breath, and Marlene laughs. Are all the Eatons conspiring against me? Maybe in a minute, Adeline can wake up and join in on the fun, I think sarcastically.

"I'll check on him," she says, and kisses my cheek, which makes me smile. I love that she jumps right in to help me, even though it isn't her responsibility. The twins will always be a big part of my life, and I really like Marlene and hope she will be, too, so this is good. Really good. She goes to the crib and leans in. "Hey, buddy! What's the matter? Are you missing your mommy?" She lifts Landon out of the crib, and he's just staring at her down. Like father, like son. It's kind of hilarious seeing that expression on a six month old. "She's not here but…" Marlene just stops, mid-sentence. She looks at Landon, then at me and I see how wide her eyes are. "Oh my god!"

"What?" I ask, my heart pounding, even though I know exactly what that look was for. Honestly, it's amazing that it has taken this long for someone to notice the resemblance.

"You did say something about payback a minute ago, didn't you?!" she exclaims. "He looks just like Four." Oh shit!

"Keep your voice down!" I hiss, glancing frantically across the room at Myra, who seems to still be sound asleep. "Myra could wake up, or someone could be outside that door right now! We need to let them share that information when they are ready. Okay?"

Marlene slowly nods, her eyes still round as saucers. Landon chews on her finger, and I dig through the twins' bag for a bottle of water and a can of formula. "No wonder Four wouldn't even look at any girls here in Dauntless. Honestly, I was starting to wonder if he was gay, though Lynn insisted he wasn't. I didn't even know he was from—"

"Seriously, please, Mar," I beg. "Not here."

Marlene sighs. "I'm sorry," she whispers. "I just can't believe I didn't see it."

"It's okay." I finish mixing the formula and hand Marlene the bottle. She begins to feed Landon, which is basically just holding him in one arm, now that he can hold his own bottle. "I'll tell you a little more some other time, someplace else." I won't be able to tell her a lot, I need to respect my sister's privacy. But I do trust Marlene. Still, we definitely shouldn't talk about this here in the dormitory. So I deal the cards and we start playing one of the games she taught me tonight.

-oOo-

Tobias POV

"Tris. Tris, come on, try to focus. We need to get to the apartment." Tris keeps getting distracted and stopping, and when she is moving, she sways and stumbles. I don't know what the hell they gave her this time, but she seems to be very sensitive to whatever this pain medication is, or maybe they gave her more than last time. Maybe it's worse because of her (supposedly very minor) concussion. All I know is, Tris is acting like a lunatic.

"But it's so hard to walk when the ground is moving," Tris says innocently. I think this is going to be a long night. I'm starting to seriously wonder whether Zeke could have given her peace serum as a prank or something, though I don't know how he would even get the stuff.

I sigh and scoop Tris up in my arms, and as she babbles some nonsense about the blue lamps in the Dauntless hallways, I carry her to my apartment with my right arm behind her back and my left under her knees. I glance around at every corner, praying I won't run into anyone I know, particularly any of the initiates.

Tris runs her hand up and down my bicep. "You must work out a lot," Tris drawls, drawing out the vowel in the last word. "You're so strong." I smirk. She leans close; I shiver feeling her breath on my ear, although I wish she wouldn't twist that way, it sure won't help her still-healing ribs. "You're really sexy," she whispers. My smirk widens to a full grin.

I remember where we are and just as I begin to remind her, she cuts me off with her lips on mine. I barely kiss back before pulling away. She frowns. "That was lame. Okay, no it wasn't, but—" I pull her knees higher so I can reach her lips with my fingers, stopping her from talking any more. Or kissing me right there in the hallway. But I really do want to kiss her. All day, every day, seeing her in training looking so strong and Dauntless… really… looks good on her.

"We're here!" Tris cheers against my fingers as I stop in front of my door. I set her back on her feet so I can get to my keys. She sways and giggles. This is not my Tris. I hate that I haven't been able to protect her. But for now, this is the time I have with her, so I will make the most of it.

"You know, when you act like Four, you're kind of scary," Tris says thoughtfully, out of the blue. She's scared of me? The thought makes my stomach clench and I feel my face contort. Tris mimics me. "Why did you make that face? It doesn't feel very good." She stumbles toward the kitchen table, and I gently grab her shoulders and begin to steer her toward the bed. She needs to sleep off whatever the hell they gave her today.

"You're afraid of me?" I ask, trying not to sound as upset as I am.

"No," Tris says, looking confused. I relax my tense shoulders, relieved. "Why would I be afraid of you?"

"You just said Four was scary."

"Oh. Four is so sexy though, too." Tris turns as she says this and runs her hands up my chest, ending with them wrapped around me, resting on the back of my neck. She is extremely uncoordinated tonight and ends up tangling her feet with mine, tripping me. We both fall onto the bed; I barely manage to maneuver away from her. She certainly does not need me falling on her injured ribs, I must be twice her weight.

Tris giggles hysterically, but doesn't remove her hands from around my neck. If anything, she holds on tighter. She kisses me sloppily and nips at my lower lip. What do I do? Tris isn't in her right mind, so it feels as though I am taking advantage if I go along with this. Then again, if she were her usual self — and I really wish she were — this is probably what we would be doing anyway, right? Yes, right. So I'll go with it.

We spend a while making out, her hands roaming my body. I am very careful about where I let mine wander, not so much because of her inebriated state, but because of her injuries. When she pulls away to yawn, I decide it is time to put her to bed.

Tris goes back in for another kiss, but I don't kiss back. "Tris," I say against her lips. "Tris, you're tired." She pulls back to look at me with her lip jutted out in a pout. I internally groan, wanting nothing more than to bite that lip. "You are injured. You need plenty of sleep so that your body can heal."

"I don't want to sleep," she yawns. I hold back a laugh. "I just want to kiss you some more."

And she tries to, again, but I stop her with my fingers over her lips. "I am not going to kiss you, Tris. You need to rest."

I roll off the bed and unwrap her ribs to check on the bruising, and she keeps pouting but lets me. I cringe at the greens and yellows discoloring her skin, but note that the bruises are fading quickly; the Erudite healing serum is doing its job well. Since she seems to clearly be on plenty of painkillers, I decide this would be a good time to check her ribcage more thoroughly. She barely reacts when I press my fingers over the bones, but it's hard to tell if that's because it's healing so quickly or she is just that numb due to the painkillers. I don't bother with her wrist; the doctor said she could go back to normal activity with that hand tomorrow. The bump on her head doesn't seem to have swollen any further, either.

Satisfied that she is alright medically, I try to get her into one of my t-shirts to sleep in, but she insists on leaving it off and sleeping in her underwear. Is she trying to kill me?! I know I need to keep hands off tonight and let her body heal.

I tuck her in and start to walk away from the bed. "Aren't you going to sleep with me?" Tris says, her voice sounding small and sad. I pause and look back at her. I can't say no, can't even delay it, looking in those wide, round eyes.

"Of course I am," I say gently. "I'm just going to use the bathroom first."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

I use the bathroom and brush my teeth, and when I come out Tris looks like she's asleep. But I promised I would come lay with her once I got out, so I do. I quickly change into my sleep pants, not bothering to wear a shirt, and climb into bed. Tris is laying on her uninjured left side. I carefully slide my left arm under her neck and wrap my right around her waist, again avoiding her ribs, and cuddle up to her with my chest against her back.

"Mmmm," Tris hums sleepily. "I love you, Tobias."

"I love you too, Tris," I whisper, breathing in the honey and apples smell of her hair. Holding her feels so right. I drift off to sleep with a smile on my face.