A/N: I'd like to thank everyone for their support, you all are fantastic. Most of all, I'd like to thank my amazing friend Dr. Quinn Harper for all the help and support for she's given me. The POV of Dr. Enzo within this chapter is written by her, she's an amazing writer and I promise for her character to return to this story. ;p
ADL CH4
Tobias
I don't think I actually knew what was going on when my Mother left me alone to die before the ambush. I know that I was lying there a while, but my wounds just wouldn't allow me to wake up, even though I was still partially conscious.
Feels like it has been months since then, but even so, I can't seem to muster the strength to open my eyes. A heavy weight compresses my lungs to feel like balloons unable to release their air, my body feeling the need to pop the rubber encasing.
For a while now, there has been a warmth, a pressure unlike any I've felt before, emitting from one side of my body. The feeling is nice, peaceful. Certainly helps to distract from the pain throughout my body. It leaves every now and then, but it always comes back to fill me with the fuzziness all over again.
My mother, the woman who raised me, protected me from my father and kept us safe within the Factionless, shot me. More than once! Left me to lay there and die, without turning back. The hate, the betrayal I feel towards her clouds my thoughts, taints every memory I have of her. She's a horrid bitch, and she better hope she never see's me again. If I do ever see her, I don't even wanna think about what I'd do. If I'd even have the courage to do anything at all, she is my mother. If I'd act like Marcus…
With my anger prominent, I can feel my heart pounding through my chest, a throb sending life and strength to my muscles. My eyes fly open, the dim light of the room both welcoming and displeasing to the eye. My vision adjusts to the setting, a small room with candles set out all around. I lay in a bed, scratchy, clean smelling blankets on top of me. Looking down at my left arm, I see an IV, the bag and drip off to the side of the hospital bed. I guess I'm in some sort of medical ward. How the hell did I get here?
The warmth I felt in my unconscious state still resides on my right side, and I look over to see a woman sleeping in a chair beside my bed. Curled up between the metal arm rests, knees providing a pillow for her head, a small hand stretched across to rest on mine even as she sleeps.
I gotta be in some weird alternate world, I have no idea who she is…
Her dirty blonde hair is swept up into a high ponytail, frizzy hairs strung out from the slick hold. She wears all black, a tight long sleeve shirt and skinny jeans, both without any marks or scuffs, perfectly clean. Her scent is prominent, a mix of sweet baking and something all together her, just plain intoxicating. With her face buried in her legs, I cannot see her features, but I can already tell she's appealing, her form and shape quite perfect in most prospects. Perfect, not normally what I think of women. Within the Factionless look just like anyone else throughout them, unnoticeable. This one is something different all together, she's most definitely not Factionless.
I haven't seen many faction members in some time, she must be Dauntless with all the black. Maybe Candor? No, she does't look Candor, not with how strong she looks for her size.
A nurse enters the room, looking up from her medical board to make direct eye contact with me, shock reaching her face. Seemingly with anxiousness, she turns back into the hall, calling out for someone, slamming the door.
Doctor Enzo POV (Flashback)
I lit the last candle inside the operating room and leaned against an old filing cabinet. The cabinet screeched in protest and then settled quietly, I rubbed my temple and looked across the med-bay. The lights that lined the walls flickered pathetically and I snorted, they expected me to keep people alive yet they didn't give me any power, they didn't give me any light. Heavy boot's thundered down the hallway and shouts from above could be heard all the way down here. I rubbed my temple only for the constant throbbing to get worse, I stumbled over to the med cupboard and reached in blindly digging through the pills. I pulled out a bottle and by luck it was the one I was looking for, I popped open the lid and found that only one blue pill remained. I replaced the lid and shoved the container back in the cabinet, my head pounded but I restrained from grabbing the pill. Someone might need it more than I do. I reached out to my desk and grabbed a tiny scrap piece of paper, Remind Eric to get more meds
The only clock within the med-bay hit nine on the dot and I wondered whether or not the Canara was going running late for her shift. I looked at the door and saw the word DOCTOR written across the front, I wondered if I should even had the title. I had grown up with my mother and father both doctor's yet I had never one through with the same training they did. I wanted to become Dauntless. Yet when the day came to choose my fate I had fallen up the stairs on my way to the bowls of fate. I had fallen and cracked my head open on the cold stone floor. When I had woken up three days later I was underground in the arms of a woman I hadn't recognized. My parents had abandoned me, I was a failure, a mockery of the family. I shook my head quickly clearing the thought and noticed for the first time how quiet the room had gotten, the boots and shouts had stopped. The room suddenly got quiet, like the calm before a storm. Then came the frantic pounding on the door and the silence as turned into utter chaos. Two Dauntless came running in with a young man spread out on a stretcher. The dim light the candles provided showed that all three were covered in blood and dirt. One of the dauntless panted heavily and I rushed to the young man's side, "What happened?"
The first man shook his head and turned away from the room, he retched in the hallway and collapsed to the ground, I shooed the other guard away, "Take that man outside, get him some water and close the doors when you leave, call Canara from down the hall."
As the two men left the med bay I noticed a young lady sitting outside in the chairs, she was holding her side and winced in pain as she sat down. Her eyes wandered to the boy in front of me and I saw the pained look in her eyes. The doors slammed shut leaving only the boy in front of me and the shallow light given by the candles. I moved one closer to the table and quickly assessed the damage done. His left shoulder was popped out, the swelling of his wrist and hand suggested a sprained wrist maybe even broken. I prodded further down and found a gun wound in his upper thigh. His shirt was torn to shreds and in the dim light you could barely see faint scars covering his upper body. I cut away the remaining cloth quickly and began to work, Canara another dauntless doctor came running in with a nurse. As I poked at his chest it was then that I noticed a second gun shot wound. The second wound was in the middle of his stomach and it was gushing blood. She came at my side and assessed the damage, "We'll take his stomach, you start on the head everything else can wait." I nodded as she took charge and I started to wipe away the blood on his face. As I poked the needle through his skin I noticed something. He looked familiar. I took a step back and gasped in realization, this was her son. I looked to Canara and saw that she was too focused to have seen my reaction. I shook my head and blinked hard, it didn't matter who he was, he was a patient and I had to keep him alive. I had to keep the son of a witch who planned on burning the entire world we knew to the ground. I had to keep Tobias Eaton alive even if I wanted to do nothing more than let him die. I reached out a shaky hand to finish the stitches when his chest stopped moving, his arm twitched, Canara looked up startled, "Shit. Start compressions, I've got the bleeding under control." She looked at me expectantly and I dropped the needle quickly, I started pumping his chest, "He need's air you moron!"
I jumped at her words and realized that she was right, I started mouth to mouth and felt the disgust crawl through my skin. I was saving the son of a woman who had wanted me dead. Even with the efforts, his chest didn't start to move again, I watched as his eye lids fluttered and for a second I wondered if I should've stopped. If I had stopped then he was going to die, I could probably last a week before she would come to the Dauntless area because she was never far behind from her son. Maybe I could stay alive for a week before somebody spilled that I was the doctor on duty when he had died. I smacked against his chest again, he couldn't die. I knew that if he died it would only be a matter of time before she would come. I had been a factionless under her power before and I knew with the power she held I would die for not saving her son. I had left the factionless and had become dauntless to escape her cruel reign. Now as her son was sprawled out across the operating table I prayed that this would be the last time I would ever have to encounter anything to do with them again. I gave a final breath of air into him and pushed harder on his chest. There was a pause in time and then his chest slowly moved skywards. He was alive. I leaned my head back and wondered if I had just saved a monster or if I had saved myself. Canara and I finished stitching him up and when we were done I wondered if I had done the right thing. I moved slowly to the doors and when I opened them to see the exhausted tiny girl curled up onto a chair all the doubt washed away. She looked up at me with large eyes and I noticed that I was covered in blood, she gasped and I reached my hand out, "How are you doing Tris?"
She stood up slowly and winced, "Good. How's our mystery patient doing?"
I looked away and wondered when if I should've told her who he was, "It was tough. He should pull through, now we just need to make sure the stitches don't tear and make sure nothing gets infected."
She smiled hesitantly and peered past me, "Thanks Doc."
I followed her gaze and saw the lonely chair resting beside his bed, "You can sit with him if you want."
Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and she looked past me again, she had a soft smile on her face and I decided it was time to leave them alone. I walked towards the nurse's area and looked back once, Tris stepped towards the door and she tuned slightly to the side. As she turned to the side I saw a look in her eyes, a look that made me realize that I couldn't have let him die, even if I wanted too I couldn't have. I wouldn't have been able to walk out of that room and see that light die in her eyes, I couldn't let him die especially not if someone looked at him that way.
Tobias POV (Present)
The chaos of the moment woke the women in the chair, her head shooting straight up, her other hand reaching for the knife holster on her thigh, but not drawing it out. When she gets her hold on her whereabouts, she looks to me and almost falls out the chair, her hand that was on mine flying back to her so fast, its as if it was never there. Sitting up straight, she keeps her knees against her torso, arms wrapping around to clasp her hands in front of her shins. She just stares for a moment until a small 'Hi,' reaches out from her parted lips.
Basically awestruck from the stranger in front of me, it takes a moment to comprehend what she just said. Her eyes are the first thing I see, so utterly capturing, I can't seem to leave their embraces. Their ocean blue waves pull me from the hospital beds shore, swaying me into a galaxy filled with bright white stars, pearly specks within her irises casting me under a trance where the only thing I can see are her beautiful speckled navy orbs.
She clears her throat and I'm lifted from my own personal whirlpool and back to reality.
"Hey," I say back, voice raspy and dry like I haven't spoken in years. Noticing, she walks over to the door opposite my bed, running fresh water into a disposable paper cup.
When was the last time I had fresh water?
"How long was I out for?" Throat clear of is scratch, she takes my empty cup and fills it again.
"I don't know exactly," She says, voice confident and sturdy. Music to my ears, a sirens call, luring me into her trap. "It's only been four days since I found you, but with your injuries, you had to have gotten knocked out only hours before." Four days? Felt like an eternity.
"Wow." Is all I say.
"So," she begins. "Who are you? Where are you from? What happen to you?"
"Curious, aren't we?"
"Well, there's good reason to be." I sit back, setting my half full cup on the table beside my bed, thinking about her questions, along with my own.
"Here's the deal," Lets hope she goes for this… "you answer all my questions first, then I'll try to answer yours, alright?"
She raises an eyebrow. "Hmmm… Fine, but I'm not gonna answer if I don't want to"
"Fair enough."
"Shoot," she walks over to the chair she was in before, scratching at her side with a wince as she sits.
"Where are we?"
"At the infirmary within the Dauntless faction, sitting in a patient care room."
"Who are you?"
She smiles again. "I'm Tris."
"Hi Tris," I smile back, heart beating out of my chest. "How did I get here?"
Leaning forward, her elbows resting on her knees, her expression changes to something a little more serious. "After our mission, we were walking back to Dauntless and I stumbled upon you, unconscious. After checking your pulse and calling medical, I administered you CPR. They brought you back here and treated you."
"So, I should thank you for saving me."
"No," a smirk resurfaces. "you owe me one."
A doctor walks into the room, interrupting our conversation.
"Hello!" He says, walking over to the chart at the bottom of the bed. "So, glad to finally have you awake!" The sarcasm is evident, but for what reason, I don't know. "I just need to get some info about you-"
"I can do that." Tris interrupts. I look to her, she keeps her eyes on the doctor.
"…You sure ? I am the head surgeon-"
"I know, and I don't mean to be rude, I just would like to get to know our new comer. Filing out a chart sounds like a simple way. Eric has put him under my supervision." So thats the reason she was here? She didn't need to sleep here…
"Alright Ms. Prior. How is our great leader?"
"Like you said, great."
"Good," He looks back to me. "I'll just give you a brief on your injuries. Due to new Erudite tech, we were able to put you under surgery that save you and heal the site quickly. You will be sore, but you will be able to be discharged by tonight… You came in unconscious. Two gun shots, one to the thigh that missed anything that could've permanently damaged your leg. The other was in your abdomen. We took you straight into surgery and opened you up. You're hand must stay in that brace until you come back for your next visit, we will discuss more about it when you sign out. It was badly broken, basically shattered. Your shoulder was dislocated briefly, but with Erudite tech that was no problem. We're just happy you pulled through." He looks back to Tris, obviously not wanting to talk to me, and hands her the clipboard of paperwork. "I'll leave you to it Ms. Prior."
"Thanks Doc." She looks to me, smiles, sitting back down in the chair she was in originally. "So, lets get started. Name?" I smile.
"Hmmm," Looking into her eyes, I know I can trust her with every part of me, but thats not necessarily the point right now. "promise not to tell?" She cocks an eyebrow, but nods her head anyways. "Its Tobias."
"No last name?" Ignoring her question, she gets the point and moves on."Age?"
"18."
"Faction of origin?"
Ignore.
"Current faction-"
"None." She looks up from the board.
"Factionless… Alright, nothing wrong with that." Interesting answer, most people aren't accustom to Factionless. Unless, she's from Abnegation? I'll have to pry later.
Mumbling to herself, saying "Blood type filled in, along with gender…" she asks, "Next of kin?"
"None." She continues jotting down on the paper for a minute, and for a second I'm curious to what she could be filling in, till she looks up and says she's putting her place down for residence, and her number down for emergency contact, due to her orders from the leader.
"Alright," She stands, ready to leave. "I'm going to go give this to the doctor, then head out. If you need anything, you can call me, but you should probably try and get a couple hours sleep, even though you just had a big nap." Smiling she heads to the door. I look to the digital clock on my side table and read 10 AM. I nod, and she walks out the door.
Tris POV
I walk into my apartment, copies of Tobias' medical info in hand. Really, its useless to have, beside the documentation of what his injuries were, and his name, theirs nothing on here. I can't talk to Eric much about him."You found him," He said. "You deal with him." I probably shouldn't have shown any concern for what would happen to Tobias once he made it here, otherwise I probably wouldn't be in this situation. Whatever, orders are orders, I guess.
My phone dings, a special jingle playing I put for Eric's notifications, and see he left a text saying he'll meet me at the parlour after work. Peachy, not only do I have to deal with a new Factionless mystery man, but my mystery boyfriend too.
Not that I don't love being with Eric, he just isn't the person I want to be around right now.
—
Later, I sit at home with Eric, eating dinner. I can tell today was particularly long for him, dark bags under his eyes prominent.
"So," I start. We haven't talked since he got home. "how was work? Anything new happening?" He looks up, his almost silver eyes boring into mine.
"Not really." Its a short answer, like he's not in the mood to entertain me with his days events.
"Well-"
"Did you find out any info from the man you found?" Oh, so this is what his problem is.
"Yes." I'm so not in the mood for this conversation.
"And?"
"He had sever injuries. He's healing. I didn't want to set him off. All I found out were his injuries and that he's Factionless-"
"What?!" He practically screams, standing up, shifting the table on his way, my drink spilling onto my plate.
"What the fuck Eric?!"
"He's Factionless?! He should be put into custody right away, he is a criminal-"
"NO." He stops in his tracks, eyes glaring back at me. "He is MY responsibility. Until his is well enough, he will be stay where he is. Innocent until proven guilty."
"And where exactly is he?" He sneers, walking away with the mess from the table.
"Staying with me." He turns bak to me.
"You can't be fucking serious-"
"Thats enough, Eric." I can't believe him right now. "You know what, fuck this, I'll see you tomorrow." I shove away from the table, walking to his front door, and slamming it on my way out.
Sorry for the poor editing, took me forever to get this out, I thought you guys would rather have the chapter :p