Yay, finally a story that is also suitable! At least one more to come after this.

While I dug this story from the very bottom of my document folder where it has laid dormant, almost finished, for years on end, I just now decided on a title. And let me tell you, I was this close to posting it as 'yet to be named' before I sat up in my bed in the middle of the night – it was like 1am, I am not kidding you – and googled the lyrics to Midge Ure's 'Breathe' under the covers as to not wake up hubby.

Then I dared to immediately email some people living in different time zones, less I forget come morning, and got a thumbs up and the bracket suggestion in return – thanks purple typewriter.

I'll add the lyrics at the very end of the story but I think they worked great for naming this monster.

Soo, onward with the actual pre-word I wrote before the naming fiasco and many thanks to Sparklingdust and Gborbust for giving me whole lists of title suggestions while only going by a very brief gist. I'll be more than happy to use some on the other stories than remain with their working titles.

To make more sense I want to explain my impression of the way Chicago is sourrounded by a fence. To me it sounds like there in only one fence, separating Amity from the other four factions. This fence seems used as a barrier, but logically it would sourround Erudite, Candor, Abnegation and Dauntless in a wide circle to allow for them to travel to places like navy pier and still having to travel to the fence that allows Amity to enter the city perimeters via the gate in the story.
For me this means there should be a fence all around and then a secondary fence protecting Amity from what we know as the fringe.
In my story there will be a wall like the old fashioned city walls to protect inhabitants from approaching enemies. This wall has the guards stationed on them.
The second fence that is going around Amity and the city wall looks like the one from the movie - high wall and electric fence.
This is the one we will call secondary fence throughout this story.

As for the characters: obviously there was no war, but Tobias and Tris did not really happen due to these changes. They flirted Abnegation style and got closer, but, essentially, Tobias put on the brakes because of Tris choosing leadership. They are in some sort of limbo as to where they stand with each other.

The Tris in this story moves quite fast forward in her developing relationship and doesn't hold onto Abnegation values like virginity. I am saying this as a precursor to her jumping into the deep end and swimming safely to the other side without a backwards glance.
The beginning of this story starts approximately six weeks after initiation ended and I am dating it as middle of November and taking some liberties with the real Chicago winter.

Tris POV

"Go pack a bag, Stiff! We're leaving in two hours." I stare at Eric as he stomps into our joint office.
"What," I stutter out, watching in astonishment as Eric opens and bangs shut drawers before turning back to me.
"Max and the other faction heads concocted the idea of modifying the secondary perimeter fence. He wants us to head out to Amity and inspect the fence for possible weaknesses and make a plan for sending guards out there too."
"Now?" It is the middle of November, this is more a task for spring, if I am being honest.
"Yes, now," Eric growls, and I sense his annoyance is with Max and not with me. "Meet me in the garage in two hours. We have to take the truck and Tris, pack for a nice, long camping trip with your favorite leader."
Was that a joke? Oh crap, apparently not. Eric just hauled a sleeping bag out of his closet.
"Eric, I don't have that type of gear yet." I try to sound calm and reasonable as to not antagonize him. We clashed a few times during my one on one training with him, but we found a middle ground that seems to work so far. It is a delicate balance act, though, and I don't want to destroy it so early into my apprenticeship.
"Stiff, everything will be commissioned and ready to go in two hours' time. This is my personal sleeping bag. Do you really think I will fit in a standard sized one?"
I am biting my tongue. "Go," Eric roars, and I am out of my seat and grabbing my belongings while the computer shuts down.

I pause outside the door, leaning against the wall and closing my eyes to help refocus myself. Shit, time is wasting, but where do I start? Christina! No, no... I don't need to buy a new wardrobe or take something unpractical with me. Who do I ask instead? The answer comes to me and I rush to the tattoo parlor.
"Tori, where are you," I shout a bit too loudly when I run through the door.
"Back here, hold your horses. Where is the fire, Tris?" Tori comes out from the backroom and I rush towards her.
"Tori, you have to help me. Max is sending us out on an exploration of the secondary fence and I have no idea what I will need to pack for camping!"
Tori just looks at me like I have lost my marbles. "And you are coming to me?" She sounds rather incredulous.
"I have never camped before and I have no idea what to expect or what to pack! I can't ask Christina for advice for this, she would make me look like I was going to a party," I whine, and she sighs.
"Come on," she takes my hand and pulls me back into the office. A glass is pushed into my hand and she fills it with some strong liqueur. "Bottoms up," she teases, and I follow through, coughing as the whiskey burns all the way down. "Better?" She smirks when I nod. "Good, now start from the beginning," Tori instructs.
"Max and the other leaders decided they want to up security for the secondary fence and they are sending me and Eric as a scouting team. We are leaving in less than two hours and Eric said we are camping. He wasn't joking, he even pulled out his own sleeping bag. We will take a truck and the camping gear will be issued to us," I recount all that I know.
"I have never been camping before," Tori admits, and then rushes out the door. Seconds later Bud enters. "Hello, Tris." He is his usual friendly self and I relax a bit more. Bud is Dauntless-born, he should know what to do.
"I have to pack for a camping trip..." I start and he laughs.
"Say no more!"

Walking over to the computer he types away and then the printer whirrs to live. "Here you go, Tris. Tori, I will see you after Tris is done!" And off he goes, whistling a merry tune.

Tori and I look at each other with our mouths wide open.
"Okay," I start and then trail off. Together we have a look at the list Bud just handed me and Tori whistles.
"Shit, we better get going if we have to buy most of these."
"Let's check my apartment first and cross off what I have," I suggest, and Tori nods in agreement.

…

We work together and are done just in the nick of time. Tori even accompanies me to the garage where there is not just Eric waiting next to a huge truck.
"Oh goodie, you are finally here, Stiff. What took you so long? Couldn't find the right bra to pack," Peter taunts, and Tori squeezes my hand hard.
"Eric, Four," she greets, purposely ignoring Peter.
"Tori," both men acknowledge her presence.
Four takes my large backpack out of my hands and throws it in the back with the rest of the stuff we are taking.
I turn to Tori and give her a big hug. "Thank you so much for your help," I whisper. No need to give Eric or Peter ammunition.
"Take care and don't take any shit from them." Tori hugs me back and then heads back to work.
Four puts his hand on the small of my back and guides me to the passenger door.
"Let me guess: you had no idea we were coming along," he whispers to me and I nod. "Thought so but Eric would never admit to it." He helps me up and into the cab. I look at Peter sitting next to Eric, who is in the driver seat, and then grimace at Four. He squeezes past me and wedges himself securely between me and Peter. I squeeze his hand in thanks and he nods his head in acknowledgment. Leaning to the side I close the door and Eric takes this as a sign that we are all ready to go.

…

It feels like no time at all has passed until we reach the preliminary fence. There was utter silence in the truck. Unpleasant? Yes, but still better than what could have happened if any of us would have opened their mouths. It feels almost like a truce has been struck.
The guard on duty at the gate takes one look at Eric and orders the doors to be opened for us immediately and without further questioning.
I have to remember that a bad reputation can work both ways.

It takes another thirty minutes until we reach the Amity compound. Eric pulls up to the barn and we are greeted by Johanna herself.
"Eric," she nods her head in greeting. "Four," she smiles slightly. "Beatrice," she beams at me and greets me with a bone crushing hug. "I was not surprised to see you transfer to Dauntless. It suits you, child." Then, with a serious look on her face she turn to Peter. She stretches out her hand as if to shake his and raises an eyebrow in question.

"Peter, I am working in the control room..."

Peter is stopped in his tracks when she raises her hand. "Former Candor... hmmm. Let's get you settled for the night and then we can meet to talk about provisions." Johanna looks at Eric at that last one but Peter is the one to answer. "Thank you, a bed would be great." A raised eyebrow Eric's way and he steps in front of Peter and gestures for Johanna to go ahead.
We follow her past the barn and into a long house. "These rooms are unoccupied, you may choose any of them. Beatrice," Peter snickers at the renewed use of my full name "you can stay with me tonight." I almost sigh in relief at that. One night of reprieve.
"Hey!" Peter just won't shut up. He is just like Christina in that regard - once a Candor, always a Candor.
"Yes?" Johanna turns to Peter with her sweetest smile.
"Why does the Stiff get treated differently?" Peter will never learn and he does not even realize Johanna's eye twitches when he uses the slang word for Abnegation.
"Eric, will you please educate your member about the morale in Amity?" It may sound like a request but we all know it is a direct order.
"Excuse us." Johanna pulls me out the door and stops as soon as we are out of sight. Her grin could almost be described as evil when we can hear Eric lay into Peter for embarrassing him in front of Johanna.
Having heard enough she takes my hand and leads me past the community center to a rather large house on the other side of the compound.
"This is your room for the night, Beatrice." Johanna opens the first door up on the landing and I look at her in surprise. "It is rather nice, I know. Jeanine likes her amenities when she has to stay overnight." Right.
"Thank you, Johanna. For your hospitality and letting me stay with you."
"Don't worry about it. I wish I could offer Tobias a way out of the community house as well." She winks and I realize nothing gets past her.
"He would hate to be treated differently," I admit.
"Yes, and that is what makes him so endearing. The first ranked who chose to train initiates and work behind the scenes to make this city a safer place."
Johanna leaves it at that and leads me back downstairs after I dropped my backpack on the bed. "Let's collect Eric and head to my office. Maybe Peter needs another lesson in manners?"
To my surprise it is only Eric that is waiting for us outside the men's housing. He greets us with a nod of his head and gestures for us to go ahead. I follow Johanna into the barn, past some horses and then up a spiral staircase. The way I am staring at Johanna's bottom while she ascends makes me wonder about the view Eric has behind me.
Johanna leads us over to her desk and takes a seat behind it.
"Eric, Tris, why was I not made aware that you would be needing provisions for four people instead of just two?" Johanna cuts straight to the chase and I turn to Eric.
"Johanna, this was unknown to me until Four and Peter threw their bags into the truck. At that point I did not think it would make much of a difference if I emailed you again. I apologize for Max's oversight," Eric admits to my surprise.
"Thank you, Eric. I am not holding you accountable. You had the decency to contact me and let me know that you would be coming today and what you needed for the two of you. To be quite frank, I was surprised about the decision to not wait until spring. Surely the additional security is not that urgent?" Johanna looks at both of us.
Once more it is Eric who answers. "I was under the impression that the faction heads unanimously agreed to tackle the upgrade straight away." This time Eric raises a questioning eyebrow at Johanna.
"No, Eric, only Max and Jeanine thought it important enough to not wait until spring." Huh? "Don't look like a raging bull, Eric. Nothing will change if you let your temper loose. Remember the rules of Amity or face the consequences," Johanna reminds him and then explains for my benefit. "If you show too much aggression you will be injected with peace serum. We do not distinguish between visitors and faction members. We will not disturb the peace!" I nod to show I understand. "Good! Will one of you please remind Peter and Four?" Eric and I both agree to this. "Very well, so... food for four people for estimated four weeks." Johanna starts writing on a piece of paper and I turn to Eric.
"Four weeks," I whisper.
"Yes, did you not pay attention? We have to follow the whole fence. If we can't drive by close enough with the truck we will have to stop and hike those parts. It might take even more time than what I estimated. Afraid to miss Christmas?" I look at him dumbly. "Christmas." He repeats and still doesn't get the reaction he is looking for.
"Eric, Abnegation don't celebrate Christmas like that. Did you not learn this in Erudite or by observing Four," Johanna interrupts us. "No Christmas and no birthdays."
Eric looks at me with pity. I just shrug. "If you never had it you can't miss it."
"Okay, the way I see it you need a good variety of food if you expect to be gone for four weeks minimum. I will add two extra weeks to the calculations. You start here which means you finish here and can return anything you haven't used up. I will bill Dauntless for four weeks and we add the rest afterwards.," Johanna offers and Eric agrees.
"Great, now that I have both of you here - any preference," Johanna offers us a choice.
"Easy to prepare, nutritious and if possible not too dehydrated as we need to carry enough water along," Eric states.
"Healthy snacks that can be eaten any time and substitute cooking would be great, Johanna," I add, and Eric nods.
"Easy breakfast, cold lunch and hot dinner with two snacks per person per day," Eric states our final wishes.
"Well, that kind of makes it easy: eighty-four snacks per person, forty-two easy breakfasts and cold lunches each and then forty-two hot dinner options." Johanna scribbles away and then starts a list. "I will go the easy way and you just have to make your own variety choices. I will give you eighty-four bags of nuts, dried apples, mixed fruit leather, beef jerky, crackers, protein balls and granola bars. Two crates of apples and two of oranges. Now, Eric, does the truck have a refrigerated compartment?"

Ooh, that would be great.
"Yes, that's one of the reasons I picked the smaller truck."

Huh, that's small?
"Great, then I will give you fresh milk and cold cuts that will last you for about three weeks for sandwiches. The bread is vacuum packed so it will last longer than normal. I am afraid you will have to go with either dehydrated food or canned meals for dinner. How much space do you think you can spare?"
I have no idea and am relying on Eric's knowledge of the size of our truck. He seems to be mulling this over in his head. "To be honest, I don't know. Would you be able to let us load the food you just mentioned right now and then we will have a look?"
What is going on? Eric sounds so different than his normal overconfident, cocky self.
"That is a wise choice, Eric. If you two can give me a hand we can drive up to the stores and put everything in together."
Eric stands up and waits for Johanna to go ahead. I am waiting for a clue and he just nods his head towards where Johanna is already halfway down the stairs.

"Come on, Tris."

…

Together we make short work of the food and it turns out we do not have that much space left so we agree on two third canned and one third dehydrated. Johanna suggested to mix a canned dish with the dehydrated equivalent and just make it a bit thicker by adding half the amount of liquid needed for the dehydrated pouches to save our precious water.

With all that sorted we go to dinner and join Tobias and Peter, who are sitting at opposite ends of a table.
"Avoid the bread!" Eric tells me in passing and without question I do, noticing Tobias doing the same without prompting.
"They use peace serum in their bread," he tells me when I am staring longingly at the basket which emanates the heavenly smell of freshly baked bread.
My hand moves as far away as possible and I lean closer to Johanna. "I don't mean to offend, but our bread in the truck is without peace serum, right?"
She just smiles at me. "Don't worry about a thing, Beatrice."
Halfway through the meal a loud "Beatrice!" is the only warning I get before I am engulfed in a hug. Looking up to identify the owner of the voice and arms, I am surprised to see it is Robert Black, my neighbor from Abnegation.
"Hello, Robert. How are you today?" I politely ask when he releases me and moves to sit opposite us.
"I am fantastic, thank you for asking. You look so much better now that you are not covered in bruises. I have to say you filled out nicely." He adds with a bright smile and I can feel myself blush.
Four puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer.
"Thank you," I mumble.
"What are you doing here?" Robert continues as if nothing happened.
"Dauntless business," Four answers for me and glares at Robert.
His glare has no effect, it seems, for he gets a bright smile in return.
"If there is anything I can do to help, just say the word. Do you need a place to stay tonight, Beatrice?" Is he for real? I can feel the blood pool in my cheeks and they are a burning reminder of how embarrassed I must look to everyone.
"Robert, Beatrice is staying with me tonight." Johanna admonishes gently.
Not deterred at all, Robert pushes further. "Would you like to go for a walk after dinner?" He looks at me with his never ceasing smile. I can hear Peter snort and then cough loudly. I know the asshole is trying his hardest not too laugh out loud and although I give him credit for that, I know it has more to do with Eric sitting next to him than sparing my feelings.
"No, thank you, Robert." I make eye contact with him and then quickly drop my gaze back to my plate.
"Come on, Beatrice, we can go for a walk without your brother as a chaperone, or my sister..." Robert wiggles his eyebrows and I feel like vomiting. "...here, have some bread!" He pushes the basket closer to me and I recoil. Is he for real?
Four and Eric stand up the same time, towering over the table and dwarfing Robert with their presence.
"Boys!" Johanna speaks up. "Robert, this was an inappropriate suggestion. Why don't you have a look if Sunshine and Aurora need some help in the kitchen." Johanna stares Robert down until he relents and takes his plate through a door towards the back. Her hand lands on my shoulder. "I apologize. Robert meant no harm, but he is still learning our ways and he is a bit over-enthusiastic to convince every visitor of our way of life."
Eric and Tobias are slowly sitting down when Johanna speaks, but Tobias' arm moves back over my shoulder and stays there for the remainder of dinner.

We retire shortly after with Eric reminding us we leave after breakfast and to be ready.

When we enter Johanna's house she does not bide me goodnight as I would have expected, instead she invites me to sit down with her for a cup of tea.
"Beatrice, ... apologies, I should start calling you Tris now that you are Dauntless. Tris, I just wanted to offer you a few pieces of advice regarding your upcoming trip with the men." She looks at me expectantly, so I hesitantly nod for her to go ahead, dreading what she will come up with next. "First of all, make sure everyone pulls his weight and that they don't push the 'women's tasks' your way. On such a trip everyone takes care of his or her own things and the tasks around the camp for the night are to be equally split and alternated. You are a leader in training and need to stick closer to Eric than Four. I know it seems natural to gravitate to him, but Eric is your trainer and the environment you are entering could be a great chance to really learn about leadership and also getting to know Eric." I open my mouth to protest but she raises her hand to make me stop in my tracks. "You will get to see a different side of him. He does not have to prove himself to Max or the faction when they can not see him, but he has to show you what it takes to become a leader outside of the confines of Dauntless. By doing this he has to show you his true personality and nature. You will be stuck with each other and this will mean that everything needs to be bared for the other." She looks at me knowingly. "Tobias has other issues he needs to solve. He has to make up his mind what he wants to mean to you. I take it you were getting closer on a more personal level?" I nod. "And? Don't leave me hanging. It's not like I will run around Dauntless spreading rumors." I laugh at the picture she just painted.
"We started to flirt tentatively during initiation. He had my back and tried to help as much as he was allowed to. I was attacked one night and he rescued me when I was clinging to the rail of the Chasm." Johanna gasps. "He took me home with him, cleaned my wounds and let me stay the night. Nothing happened, but we got closer and we did kiss. I know about his life in Abnegation, his father and what made him who he is today." I pause to gather my thoughts.
"You are both divergent." Johanna states and it is my turn to gasp. "Don't worry, it is not that obvious, but it takes one to recognize one." She winks and I relax again.
"We... kissed, but when I chose to become a leader he voiced his doubts about my path for the future and we just did not progress from there. It's kind of like we decided to not further advance the possibility of each other and are stuck in a limbo of our own making. We could be best friends, probably become as close as siblings, or we could become a couple. The attraction is still there, but I am wondering if we are not too similar and thus better off staying platonic."
I look at Johanna so check if my words made any sense for her. She smiles and nods. "Yes, I can see what you mean. He is protective of you, but it is not in a possessive way that you would expect from someone jealous. Well, this trip will certainly sort it out once and for all. When all is said and done you either have a new brother or a fiancé." Her face turns serious. "Don't force anything, Tris. Now, let's get to the fun part!" Johanna claps her hands excitedly. "Jeanine likes to bring all her little gadgets for me and some of my friends to test out. You will be stuck in remote areas with three guys. Come on!" Johanna leads me into her bathroom and opens a cabinet. "Which body parts do you remove hair from and what methods do you use?" I blush, but she is undeterred. An hour later I have no body hair except on my head. I am told this will be lasting me for close to six months and I am secretly delighted with Jeanine's nifty inventions. Johanna is also a licensed medical practitioner, which I did not know, so now I am on a shot to avoid having my period for the next months. I wanted to hand Johanna all my tampons, but she told me to keep them as they can be used for so many other things and she even gave me a list. I blushed when she asked about condoms, but told her about Bud's list and she acknowledged he had it all covered.
In the end she just handed me a small bag of products that I should use instead of the large array that Tori and I picked. "You will be an expert soon enough and let me know what worked for you and what not. Jeanine lives for real field test results."
Finally, I am able to head to bed and so exhausted that I am asleep the second my head hits the overstuffed pillow.