AN: I found this story in my drafts when I was cleaning out my doc manager and I thought it may be worth publishing. It's very much in progress, and overgoing some major edits for what I have written. The entire story is written in Tris' POV. I plan on updating this weekly, on Saturdays. I hope you all enjoy.

A huge crash of thunder startles me, and my computer monitor flashes with another power flicker. I save the document I'm working on and shut the machine down, just in case this nasty storm doesn't pass soon. I glance over at the inbox that's hanging on my open door and scowl at a file that's been dropped there.

"That wasn't there earlier." I grumble as I make it over to the file. I bring it back to my desk and turn my desk lamp on. The first thing I notice is a picture that's stapled to the inside of the folder.

The only thing that's familiar from that picture are the grey eyes that stare back at me. His dermal piercings have long been removed, his hair is shaggy and curly, and he has a significant beard. I read over the intake page, even though I'm more than familiar with his case, but I'm angry that my boss just decided to try to sneak this one in.

Nine and a half years ago, a then eighteen year old Eric Coulter was sentenced to a twenty year prison term, with the possibility of parole on the five, ten and fifteen year marks of his sentence. I remember it like it was yesterday, I was a sixteen year old who had just finished my Dauntless initiation when a war broke out against my former faction in Abnegation. There were four willing leaders of Dauntless who had partnered with the former leader of Erudite, Jeanine Matthews, to use a mind controlling serum to control Dauntless, creating a zombie like army to take out Abnegation.

Two of the Dauntless leaders died in fire exchanged during the battle, Harrison Vines and Veronica Mendez, leaving Maxwell Johnson, Chaney Nelson and the youngest, Eric Coulter to be put on trial. Jeanine also survived the attack, her only injury a knife I put into her damn hand myself when I helped to stop the simulation she had started.

I had lost my entire family as a result of her war. My mother died helping me in the streets of Abnegation, my father as he provided cover inside of Dauntless for me to help stop the simulation, and my brother was executed for crimes he committed as a willing participant of Jeanine's war.

Most of Jeanine's followers received some sort of prison sentence, however all of her co-conspirators were sentenced to death, with one exception: Eric Coulter.

While Tobias and I were already aware that something was going on with Dauntless and Erudite, what came out during their trials was a complete shock to everyone who had survived the massacre. Jeanine was hungry for power, and for the contents of a box that my parents had been protecting for their entire lives. She knew only a pure divergent could open it, and she knew the messages inside were from the founders of the city. She had no idea what would be exposed when that box was finally opened, nor did she know I was the divergent who could ultimately perform that task for her.

I pick up my desk phone and dial my bosses extension, she picks up on the first ring, "I take it you have found the folder," she says in her smooth voice.

"Johanna, how on earth did you think it would be a good idea to give me his case?" I ask.

"Tris, it is complicated. He was refused parole his first attempt because he wouldn't cooperate, much like he behaved at his trial. You are one of the best psychologists we have here on staff, and we feel that your personal connection with him may give him his more fair chance at being heard by the board." She explains.

"I was a prisoner of Jeanine's when he was there. That's automatically conflict of interest, right?" I ask, incredulously. "Not to mention…" I begin, but she interrupts.

"He also saved you, which in turn spared his life. I've already fully briefed the parole board, they determined your working with Eric would not be any conflict of interest since all of your official sessions would be recorded and reviewed by the entire board. You conduct the sessions, and make your own recommendations, as you know the board has the final say. I'll be reviewing your sessions as well, if anything were to happen I could step in and continue his therapy. You heard his testimony, and you've read his file, we all know he shouldn't be in there. Please at least consider it – I believe strongly that he can be rehabilitated, if he would only allow us to help."

I close my eyes, hearing Johanna prattle on about the reasons she feels Eric Coulter can live a life outside of prison. I believe he can as well, I need no convincing of this. I've tried many times during his nine and a half years of incarceration to find someone to appeal his case, but Eric refused all avenues of help. I scrub my eyes with the backs of my hands, and jump again when the thunder outside rumbles.

"He's always refused to see me." I argue. "I've tried to visit him many times when he was being held in Chicago."

"I know this, and he can refuse visits from friends and family, however he cannot refuse visits from officials working on his case. He has to at least show up, even if he requests to immediately be returned to his cell." Johanna replies, "Tris, I know he is notoriously difficult, but I also know you have a connection with him, one he will care about. He's been a model prisoner these past several years, and I think he may finally be ready. I believe you're his best chance, and he's been moved back to Chicago so no travel will be involved. Please try, Tris. I think you are his only hope."

"I can try," I reply.

"That's all I am asking for. Thank you." Johanna says before they disconnect.

Eric Coulter wasn't exactly the most willing participant in Jeanine's war, however she was his mother, a fact that no one knew until it came out during both his and Jeanine's testimony. Another thing that came out during Eric's testimony was his divergence, which became evident in the way he was able to refuse to answer questions while under the strongest version of the serum Jack Kang had in his possession. For the first time in Jack's entire leadership career, he had a criminal in custody that defied the black and white areas of the law he was sworn to uphold. Jeanine, Max and Chaney's separate testimonies did not implicate Eric in anything more than following direct orders he was given. Eric was guilty of injecting Dauntless members with the serum, which he had been told was a tracking device. He was also guilty of using a scanning device to find divergents of a certain percentage to deliver to his mother, under the impression that she was simply studying them for serum development.

Surprisingly, Eric killed no one. During Jeanine's testimony, it also came out that her only son had turned very much against her during the days leading up to the war. He had tried to talk her out of it, and she believed so much in his intent to sabotage her plans that she set the simulation in motion two days early just in case he was successful.

Eric was actually innocent, but he had refused to answer most questions during his own trial, leading to his incarceration. A frustrated Jack Kang gave Eric the maximum sentence the law allowed for conspiring to overthrow the government, twenty years. He thought it would wake Eric up, instead it made him even more angry and combative.

He had also refused to talk to the last psychologist who was assigned to his parole committee, thwarting any chances of him to even be heard by the parole board. His case was quickly denied, and he was sent to rot in prison until his next scheduled parole date, which is in six months.

I look over the schedule that is included in his file and note that our first appointment is scheduled for tomorrow morning at eight AM sharp. I scowl, another thing I hated were meetings first thing in the morning, especially since I had been hanging out in my office late tonight to avoid the shitty weather outside.

I bundle up in my raincoat, grab my files and put them into my backpack, sling it over my shoulder and make my way out of the building to begin my twenty minute walk home. When the war finally ended, and the city was rebuilt there were no longer any factions. Chicago joined the structure of other major cities across the United States, and they followed the federal laws for the first time since the Great War hundreds of years ago. At first, I lived in the rebuilt part of the city that was formerly Amity with my husband. Tobias and I wanted the freedom of having an actual house in the hopes we would eventually expand our family.

I also wanted to leave Dauntless, and its memories behind. I thought the worst one was seeing my former best friend Christina, who was grieving the loss of her boyfriend, killed by my own gun. But, Christina had exacted her own form of revenge, severing our ties and ending any chance of us reconciling, but tonight I don't want to think about any of that.

Once I started school for psychology, I spent more time in the former Erudite faction, and eventually moved into a high rise apartment overlooking the city in the former Candor faction, where I now worked. I became part of an organization that was founded by the former Amity leader Johanna Reyes, it was created to rehabilitate prisoners to be able to eventually have them rejoin society. In the ten years since its creation, Johanna's team had successfully returned hundreds of war criminals to society, and of that population less than a percent reoffended. The program was successful, and I love what I do.

I take my heels off and run through the standing water, doing my best to hail a cab in this weather. When nothing seems to be available, I begin running towards my apartment building, where the kind doorman offers me a towel when I arrive.

Cold, and wet, I take the elevator to my nineteenth floor apartment, where I take a hot shower then retire for the evening, knowing tomorrow is going to be one of the longest days of my career.