I wake up slowly, warm and secure in Eric's arms. Snuggling in deeper, I can't stop the smile that splits my face. Eric's arms constrict, pulling my back tight to his chest.

"Morning," he mumbles, his voice rough from sleep.

"Good morning," I say in a small voice, suddenly shy.

Eric relaxes his arms and plants a tentative kiss on my cheek.

"Do you regret last night?" he asks.

There is an edge of anxiety in his voice, so I quickly turn to face him and plant a kiss on the underside of his chin. I pull back slightly so I can look him in the eyes.

"No," I say in a strong voice. "No regrets. I woke up smiling for a reason."

Eric sighs contentedly as I nuzzle into his neck, planting soft kisses on his warm flesh. He tips his face down and our lips meet. The kiss is soft and gentle, and we smile shyly as our lips part.

I wiggle out of Eric's arms and head toward the bathroom. I glance at the clock on my way and am surprised to see that it's already eleven am.

"It's almost time for lunch!" I say, shocked.

Eric chuckles. "You needed the rest. We both did."

"I'm going to get in the shower. Do you want to use the bathroom first?" I offer.

Eric hauls himself out of my bed, adjusting his pants. I blush and try not to stare.

"It's probably best if I go home and take a shower of my own. A cold shower."

My blush deepens, and I nod in agreement. Eric leaves as I slip into the bathroom. Through my whole shower, I can't wipe the grin off my face.

I can't believe Eric feels the same way I do. And his kisses?! So soft, and unexpectedly sweet and gentle, but with a barely controlled fire underneath. I shudder in spite of the warm water cascading over me. I can't wait to tap into that passion with my new...boyfriend? Can I call him that? That's a discussion we'll have to have, hopefully soon.

I finish showering, twist my still-wet hair into a braid, and throw on a comfortable outfit of leggings and a short-sleeved shirt that showcases all of my tattoos. I'm adding a touch of black eyeliner and some lip gloss when Eric returns.

"Tris?" he calls. "I'm back!"

"Almost done!" I yell back.

I walk out of the bedroom and find Eric looking entirely relaxed on my sofa. Resisting the urge to drop down with him for another amazing makeout session, I tug on his hand.

"Food," I say, attempting to pull his heavy, muscular body off my couch.

"Sounds like my girl is hungry," he says, lifting himself off the couch.

"Am I your girl?" I ask, biting on my lip as I wait for his answer.

"Do you want to be?" he asks, placing his hands on my shoulders.

"I don't know," I tease. "I'm so hungry I can't make any decisions right now."

Eric's mouth opens in shock, but he quickly recovers when he sees the smirk on my face. Suddenly he lifts me off the floor and throws me over his shoulder as if I weigh nothing at all.

"We better feed you," he says, hurrying us out of my apartment and slamming the door. "I need to hear you say you'll be mine as soon as possible."

"Eric!" I squeal. "Put me down!"

He complies, sliding me gently to the floor in front of him.

"Yes," I say. My cheeks are flushed and the world spins a little after being upside down.

"Yes what?" he says, as if not trusting his ears.

"Yes, I'll be your girl."

"No," he says with a smile. "Not my girl, my woman."

"Then yes, I'll be your woman. If you'll be my man."

Eric tugs me close, crashing his lips into mine. This kiss is different. It's not soft, its fiery. Our lips tangle, tongues explore, and hands grip each other, desperate for more. My hands wind their way around Eric's neck and tug the short hairs on the back of his head. His hands slide over my hips and cup my butt, pulling me more firmly against his hard body.

"You're going to need another cold shower," I tease as I push back.

"I already do," he laughs. "Let's take the stairs down to the cafeteria and I can think about my grandmother or something. That'll cool me off."

I follow Eric into the stairwell, and I'm distracted by his joking comment.

"Did you know your grandparents?" I ask.

He laughs. "Stiff, I didn't mean that literally. As long as you keep your hands to yourself I'll be fine."

I smack his shoulder as I follow him down the stairs. "I know that," I say, "but it made me wonder. I never knew any of mine, but my parents were transfers."

"I knew most of mine," Eric answers. "My dad's father died before I was born, but his mother lived near us. She died when I was about ten. My mom's parents were in Erudite, too. They died when I was in Lower Levels. I don't remember too much about them."

"My mom was from Dauntless," I muse. "I wonder if I have family here."

"We can look into it," Eric replies. "Do you know what her maiden name was?"

"No," I say. "Abnegation don't talk about themselves. I only found out they were transfers when she came on visiting day."

Eric stops at the bottom of the stairs and turns to face me. I'm still up a step, so we're nearly eye to eye. He rests his hands on my hips and gives me a tiny peck on the lips. I steady myself by holding on to his shoulders.

"How do you want to play this?" he asks quietly.

"Play what?" I ask, confused by the question.

"This," he says, pointing back and forth between our chests, "us."

"Eric, I don't want to hide this. I passed leadership training on my own merit, and Four and I broke up over a month ago. I have nothing to worry about, and I'm proud to be with you."

Eric's face beams. "So big announcement then?" he teases. "Acrobats? Balloon drop? At least let me use the compound-wide intercom."

"Tempting," I say, "but I was thinking of something more like a t-shirt that says, 'Property of Tris Prior.'"

"Possessive," Eric growls, leaning close to my ear.

"I don't share," I whisper back as seductively as I can.

"Neither do I," he returns in the same tone.

"We better get in there before I need another cold shower," Eric says.

Hand in hand we leave the stairwell and walk down the hall to the cafeteria. Eric holds the door for me and I enter the crowded cafeteria with my boyfriend behind me, drawing stares and triggering whispered conversations. I see my friends at our usual table, and Eric and I head towards them. Before we get there, Max appears, waving for our attention.

"Eric! Tris!" he calls. "How are you feeling today?"

"Wonderful," I say, smiling up at Eric who winks in reply.

Max gives us a knowing look. "It's about time," he grumbles, making Eric smile. "This guy has been mooning over you for months. Glad he finally grew some balls."

"Me too," I say, laughing.

Reaching up on tip toe I get close to Eric's ear and whisper just for him, "You're going to need them."

He raises an eyebrow at me. "Careful, woman," he growls.

"I've been looking all over for you guys this morning," says Max, getting back to the reason he approached us. "We have a couple of big announcements to make to the faction. We need to let them know about Peter, and we need to let them know that Tris passed her leadership exam. I was thinking we should make the announcement about Peter at lunch, let that fester for the afternoon, then change the subject by announcing Tris' leadership at dinner."

"Makes sense to me," I say.

"Let's sweeten the deal," suggests Eric, "free Dauntless cake for everyone at dinner, and we get one of the DJs to work the pit tonight. Everyone can let their hair down and celebrate."

"I love it," says Max. "You two get some lunch and we'll make the announcement from the catwalk in twenty minutes. Okay?"

Eric and I agree and hurry to grab lunch. We join my friends at our table and let them know that we only have a few minutes to eat before we have to join Max for the announcement about Peter. This gets Christina talking, and she chatters on about the trial for the friends who weren't with us at Candor. I'm glad to let her monopolize the conversation so I get a chance to eat.

We don't get the opportunity to tell our friends about our relationship before we have to put away our trays and join Max on the catwalk. From there we can see the entire cafeteria. I find my friends, who give me supportive waves and thumbs up. Zeke and Uriah even start blowing kisses. I have to look away from them to school my features into the same scowl I know Eric wears. Harrison and Veronica step onto the catwalk, standing on Max's left, while Eric and I flank him on his right.

"Dauntless!" calls Max in his booming voice. I hear the reverberation through the faction-wide intercom. "Your attention please for a quick announcement. As you may know, a trial was held in Candor yesterday. Dauntless member Peter Hayes was tried and found guilty of assault and attempted murder for attacks he orchestrated as an initiate. He has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

His behavior is not the Dauntless way. Dauntless believes in strength, not for selfish aims, but to defend the people of Chicago. We believe in bravery, not cruelty. Let this be a reminder to all of us: Dauntless will not tolerate attacks within the faction. This is our family, and we will defend it!"

The room erupts in applause and wild whooping and yelling. I feel Eric's hand on my back as we join the cheering. Amidst the noise, Max moves to leave the catwalk, and we follow him. I feel good about the situation and putting this whole thing behind me, but in spite of sleeping in until nearly noon, I'm tired again. I sway slightly as we step into the hall, and Eric puts a hand on my back.

"Tris?" he asks.

"I'm fine," I insist, "just dizzy for a minute there."

Eric frowns, but doesn't argue. We make plans for the leadership announcement at dinner, then say goodbye to the other leaders. The second we are alone again, Eric grabs my hand firmly.

"I don't like all this dizziness and tiredness," he says, "and your hands are like ice. I'm taking you to the infirmary."

"Fine," I say. "But there's nothing wrong with me."

"I'll feel better when a doctor confirms that," says Eric.

.

xxxx

.

"You've lost a little weight," says the doctor, comparing my records to the number currently on the scale. I shrug.

"When was your last period?" he asks.

I blush. "Last week."

He writes that down and flips through the chart again.

"So, dizziness, lightheadedness, fatigue, and cold hands. A few pounds of unexplained weight loss. Are your symptoms worse with your monthly cycle?"

I think for a minute before answering. "I'm not sure. It seems worse when I'm under a lot of stress, but that's been lining up with my cycle, so I don't know."

"Hmmm," he says, making more notes in my file. "I'd like to do some bloodwork."

I shrug. All the serums in Dauntless have made me really calm about needles. The doctor says some things to his nurse, and she gathers the supplies for a blood draw. I rest in the reclining chair as she takes a couple vials of blood from my arm.

"I'd like you to rest here while we run the tests," says the doctor. "Would you like me to send Mr. Coulter in?"

"Yes, please," I say.

"It won't be long," he assures me, "just try to relax."

The doctor and nurse leave, and Eric walks in a few seconds later.

"What did he say?" he asks, rushing to my side.

"Nothing yet," I assure him. "They took some blood for testing, but he didn't seem alarmed."

We sit in silence for a few minutes, Eric rubbing small circles on the back of my hand with his thumb. I'm just starting to doze off when the doctor returns.

"Okay, Miss Prior," says the doctor, "your results are back. Mr. Coulter you can head back to the waiting room."

"It's okay if he stays," I say, and Eric smiles at me gratefully.

"Sure," says the doctor. "So I have your results. Just as I suspected, your iron levels are low. I think your monthly cycle is the culprit, so I'd like to put you on birth control pills to help regulate things a bit. Do you have any questions about that?"

"No," I assure him, "I've been meaning to come in and talk to someone about that anyway."

"Excellent," he says, "we'll get that ordered from the pharmacy and you can start taking them tomorrow. We also need to take action to increase your iron level now. I'd like to give you an infusion of red blood cells, and get you started on an iron supplement. Do you eat much red meat?"

"Some," I say.

"Beans?"

"Yuck, no."

"Spinach or dark leafy greens?"

"Yes, but they're hard to come by in the winter."

"True," he agrees. "I want to encourage you to eat more iron-rich foods. The nurse will give you a pamphlet with a list of things to look for."

The nurse taps on the door and enters pushing an IV pole. She hangs a bag of dark red blood to the pole, and plugs the needle into my arm, making a few adjustments to the tubing and valves. Once they are satisfied, the doctor leaves, and the nurse steps out to get me some juice.

"How do you feel?" Eric asks me for the thousandth time in the last two days. I sigh.

"Better, actually," I say. "It's weirdly good to know I'm sick and not just a wimp. We'll get this under control and I'll be able to put it behind me. Thank you for insisting on coming to the doctor."

Eric shrugs. "I take care of my woman."

"In that case, I'll be expecting ice cream and a massage when we get out of here."

"Rubbing my hands all over your body would be a pleasure," he says in a low voice.

I blush, which makes Eric smirk.

Two cups of grape juice and the transfusion later, I'm released from the infirmary with a bag of new prescriptions. Eric walks me home and tucks me in for a nap on my couch.

I only sleep for about an hour. Apparently the transfusion works fast, because I'm feeling better than I have in days. I do some cleaning and laundry in my apartment. I'm dusting the entertainment center when Christina knocks on my door.

"What's up?" I ask her.

"A little birdy told me you were in the infirmary again," she says. I'm not surprised. Will works there, so I'm sure he told on me.

"I have an iron deficiency," I say with a shrug. "That's why I've been dizzy and tired lately. It's no big deal."

"I'm glad they figured it out," she says as she helps herself to a drink from my fridge. "Are you still hosting a party tonight?"

"Actually there's going to be a party in the pit tonight," I inform her. "We're announcing it at dinner when they announce that I passed my leadership test."

"Oh my god," she squeals. "We need to go shopping. You need two new outfits. One for dinner and the announcement, and one for the party. Plus shoes. Something sexy. Something to tease Eric with until he finally asks you out!"

I laugh out loud. "There has been too much going on!" I declare. "I haven't had a chance to tell you. He did! We're official as of this morning. Or maybe last night."

Christina leaps off my couch. "Finally!" she yells. "Now we have to go to the lingerie shop, too!"

I give in and leave a note for Eric. It says, "Feeling good. Chris took me shopping for tonight." I draw a little heart on the bottom and stick it on the outside of my door so Eric will find it if he comes looking for me.

I let Chris drag me to several clothing stores, a shoe store, and even the lingerie shop. I convince her that a skirt is a bad idea for dinner since I'll be on the catwalk for the leadership announcement, and the floor up there is just grating. It's not friendly to high heels or modesty in a skirt. I end up with a pair of slim black pants and a sleeveless top with a halter neckline, a fitted under layer, and a flowing top layer. I'll wear it with my black ballet flats for dinner. My dress for the party is far more exciting. There must have been some bravery transfused with the blood I got today, because I decide on a dress that I would normally find to be too much. It's a halter neckline, too, fitted all the way down to my mid-thigh. The dress is black, of course, but it has a pattern of sparkles that look dark red when the light hits them.

I get dark red heels at the shoe store, and a lace halter top bralette and a couple matching thongs from the lingerie shop. I talk Christina into visiting the tattoo shop, and I have Tori pierce my ear lobes and my left tragus. We talk about adding dermals to my leadership tattoo, but Tori suggests I let the tattoos heal longer.

Christina and I rush back to my place. I change into the outfit we planned for dinner while she warms up her curling iron. She curls my long hair, giving me soft waves, and does my makeup. I have a smokey eye, but a neutral lip color, and Christina explains that she'll add a touch of sparkle and a bolder lip color when we come back to change before the party. She also plans on putting my hair up, which I will appreciate when it gets hot in the pit tonight.

Eric doesn't come for me before I need to leave to meet the other leaders, so Christina walks with me. The leaders agreed to meet one floor above the cafeteria so we can go straight out to the catwalk at the beginning of dinner to make our announcement. Max, Harrison, and Veronica are waiting when Christina and I arrive.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Max teases, batting his eyelashes at me.

"I don't know," I repeat in the same lighthearted tone, "I haven't had time to buy a leash yet."

The leaders burst into loud laughter, and Christina waves as she walks away laughing.

"What's so funny?" asks Eric, appearing beside me. His hair is freshly trimmed, and he looks handsome in his dark jeans and a black button-down with the sleeves rolled to reveal his strong tattooed forearms.

"We were just talking about your girl getting you on a leash so you show up on time," Harrison says, still laughing.

"Sorry," says Eric, "the barber shop was busy. Are we ready to go?"

Max nods and holds the door as Harrison and Veronica walk out onto the catwalk.

Eric leans in close to my ear and whispers, "you can tie me up any time you want," making my cheeks flush hotly.

Max walks onto the catwalk and indicates that I should follow. Eric brings up the rear. Conversations in the cafeteria taper off as the Dauntless members notice the leadership team. Max steps to the railing and motions me to join him.

"Dauntless!" he yells, and I can tell that this announcement too is being broadcast on the intercom for those not in the cafeteria. "I have an announcement. I am pleased to tell you that Tris Prior, our leadership trainee, has passed her exams and is now a full leader of this faction!"

The cafeteria explodes with cheers, stomping of boots, and clapping. I stand at the rail beside Max and take it all in. I spot my friends at our usual table. They cheer louder than anyone, and I wave at them. After a few minutes, Max raises his hands for silence.

"Not only has Tris passed her tests," Max continues, "but she has earned the highest score in faction history, 98 percent!"

The cheers start again, but Max cuts them off quickly. "Tonight," he says, "in honor of our new leader, we will be serving Dauntless cake at no charge in the cafeteria, restaurant, and pit bar."

This causes more cheering, and Uriah is the loudest of all. Dauntless get three meals a day at the cafeteria, but extras like cake cost points. Free cake is a fun surprise for everyone.

Max holds up his hands again. "We have also asked Smith to deejay tonight in the pit starting at 9:00 PM. No cover charge."

Dauntless loves a party, and Smith is the most popular DJ in the faction, so the cheers crescendo into a deafening roar. I start to hear the voices coming together until the entire cafeteria is chanting in unison, "Tris! Tris! Tris!"

I glance at Eric who is beaming with pride and chanting my name as loud as anyone, his fist pumping in the air. I hear Max, Veronica, and Harrison, too. The whole experience is surreal, and I feel a mixture of intense pride and discomfort. When I can stand it no more I raise my hands to try and quiet everyone.

"Thank you!" I call over the crowd. "I am excited to have the opportunity to lead this proud and noble faction. I promise that I will do everything in my power to keep Dauntless strong and make it the best it can be." I pause as another wave of cheering passes, then continue. "I want to thank Max, Eric, Veronica, and Harrison for their training and instruction. You obviously did well; my score is a direct reflection of your teaching. I also want to thank my friends and everyone who supported and encouraged me through training. Thank you!"

The cheering starts up again, and all of the leaders step up to the railing. Max and Eric each raise one of my hands in the air. When they lower my arms and Max drops my hand, I lean into Eric's side.

We follow Max down the stairs to the cafeteria floor and to a table that has been reserved for us. Max's wife, and Harrison's wife and two sons wait there for us.

Carissa envelopes me in a motherly hug, then lets go so Debbie can do the same. The boys, who appear to be about five and seven, clamber for Eric's attention until he throws them over his shoulders and he and Harrison take them through the line to get food. I don't know that Eric had ever looked better than he does right now, smiling broadly and covered in happy children.

"Trissy!" I hear, and turn around just in time as Uriah barrels into me, lifting me off the floor in a bear hug. "You did it!" he yells as our friends gather around for a round of hugs and thumps on the back. We make plans to meet in the VIP area of the pit bar, which Max assured me is secured for my use tonight.

Eric returns with a tray of food for us, and I manage a decent meal, taking bites between well-wishers who stop to congratulate me.

The crowd thins out eventually, and Eric and I manage to sneak back to our apartments. I find Christina waiting outside my door. We make Eric go home, but he promises to be back in an hour to get me for the party. That hour flies by as Christina works my hair into an updo and we touch up our makeup and change into our new party dresses and heels.

I'm practically buzzing with anticipation when Eric comes back to get me. I can tell that this is going to be a night to remember.

.

xxxx

.

A/N - Ladies and gentlemen, raise your glasses in a toast to irony. I wrote this a few weeks ago, and I had originally named the judge in Peter's trial Cavanaugh. Then that whole circus with the Supreme Court confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh came up, and I decided to change his name. Then, while these chapters were in editing, I was diagnosed with anemia. You. have. got. to. be. kidding. me! What are the odds? My case is a different kind and is very mild - I haven't passed out or had to have any blood transfusions. I haven't even missed work. It was actually caused by a prescription I'm on. I knew it was a possibility. Maybe that subconsciously made me think of it for Tris. Anyway, irony is a pain. Maybe I should start writing about my characters winning the lottery...