We walk away in silence, and I look straight ahead, sliding glances at Tris out of the corner of my eye.

"You okay?" I finally say, quietly.

"Sure," she responds. "Fine."

Neither of us says anything else until we're right outside the medical room.

Before we go in, I take her gently by the shoulders and turn her to face me. "He helped us, back in Erudite," I say, but she won't meet my eyes.

"I'm not sure we could have gotten you out of there without him," I try again.

She looks up at me slowly then, and her bright eyes, peering up through long lashes, stab straight into mine. Her look is intense, almost calculating, but not in the least bit emotional; it is basically the way she looks at everyone and everything. Sometimes, though, she looks at me differently, as though she actually sees me, and it's like she's the only person in the world who can. When she does that, it hits me like an electric charge to the nervous system. But not this time. This is more like a punch in the gut.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing," I respond, dropping my arms. "Nothing."

I wait for a minute, and add lamely, "But I'm here, if you do have something you want to say."

Her eyes soften a little then, and she stretches up on her toes to kiss me on the jaw.

"I know. Let's see how Jose is doing."

Laila is there, sitting next to Jose, along with a woman I've never seen before. She's older than most of us, though not as old as Rat. Even if she didn't have on a blue blouse and skirt, with stylish glasses perched on her nose, I would know her as an Erudite. She is checking Jose's pulse with efficient, confident movements, her eyes dark with concentration. There's a pale softness to her that comes from spending many hours behind a desk.

She and Laila both look up when we step into the doorway.

"Yes?" The woman says in clipped tones.

Laila, however, springs up and yanks me into a tight hug, just as quickly pushing back, frowning with her brows drawn low.

"Where the hell have you been?" She looks over my shoulder. "And where's Inez? Is she okay?"

"Good to see you, too," I say dryly, though I can feel that my face is red. "She's fine. She'll be here in a second. Fernando got gassed - slowed us down."

Laila and the woman trade looks.

"And where is Fernando now?" The Erudite woman says sharply.

I just look at her, crossing my arms and raising my eyebrows.

"Are you one of Linus's Divergent?" Tris asks from behind my right shoulder. She sounds angry, and when I look back at her, she avoids me.

The woman's eyes glint behind her glasses. "Yes, I suppose you could call me that. Like some kind of secret club."

She pauses, and finally says, "I'm Louise."

"You remind me of Jeanine," I say flatly.

"What," she responds evenly, "because I am an intelligent, middle-aged woman? Don't know too many, then, do you?"

Laila, to my surprise, starts to laugh.

"Give him a break, Lou," she says, patting the woman on the back. "He's alright. This is Tobias and this is Tris."

"Four," I growl.

Laila shrugs. "Okay, Four."

Louise focuses her attention on Tris. "So, you're the one who put this all in motion."

"I was just the catalyst," Tris says, and Louise's face suddenly lights up.

"I agree," she says, nodding, "as both a trained chemist and a Divergent, I agree. All the same, thank you for what you did. It was time." She clears her throat and turns to Jose. "I am also qualified as a medical doctor, so I've been helping here. Jose is going to be fine; he passed the danger point and has already regained consciousness a couple of times. He does have a serious concussion, so he will have to stay in bed for several days and move as little as possible. The other one..."

"Jeb," I supply.

"Is not as well off. It is difficult to tell without the right diagnostic equipment, but I am fairly certain an internal organ was punctured. He needs surgery."

"Or?" I challenge.

She gives me a cold look. "There is no "or." He will bleed to death. We have to take him to a hospital."

"Then he's dead either way." I say, crossing my arms. Laila looks from the Erudite to me in alarm.

"We'll have to think of something. Where did you say Inez is?" she says quickly.

"And where is Fernando?" The Erudite woman adds.

"I'm right here," comes a voice from behind us.

Laila makes a noise in her throat, somewhere between surprised and pleased, and rushes over to give Inez a quick but fierce hug. Factionless seem to do a lot of hugging.

"And Fernando is outside, still out cold," Tris says curiously. "But he'll be fine. Why?"

Laila and the Erudite woman look at each other again.

"We'll tell you later," Laila says, settling her arm around Inez's shoulders. "Why don't you come and sit with Jose - he's going to be fine." She's speaking softly only to Inez now, and we know that's our cue to go.

"Lou, where's Cara? What is going on?" Tris asks, as we leave the room, and I can't help but be irritated at the familiar way she addresses this woman.

"She's getting some sleep," she answers softly.

"What is going on?" Tris repeats, and much to my surprise, the Erudite chuckles.

"I can see it's going to keep me on my toes working with a bunch of Divergent. I'll let Cara and Caleb tell you," if she notices that Tris flinches at the mention of her brother's name, she shows no sign, "but we need to bring Fernando inside. Some of the gases they used were more poisonous than others. I'll take a look at him, and then we need to make sure someone stays with him at all times."

"Why?" I interrupt, but she just frowns, peering at me.

"Were you exposed to the gas?" she asks.

Tris nods. "We both were," she says, and I shoot her a warning look, but she still is avoiding me. I don't think we should tell the Erudite anything.

"You had masks on?" She asks, and Tris nods.

"Good," she nods back. "The fact that you are still conscious is a good sign, though you're clearly experiencing some side effects."

"Like what?" I say, arms crossed.

"Irritability, for one," she smirks.

"No," Tris says sweetly. "He's always like this." They both start laughing.

I glare at Tris, but that just sets them off more. I turn on my heel and stalk away.

I mean, what the hell? She's making fun of me? To a total stranger? I know I'm not perfect, but I've really been trying, and she's making fun of me? She's no picnic, herself. after all. She can go a whole day without cracking a smile, and God forbid she should tell me what she's thinking or feeling about anything.

Without even thinking about it, I head for the training room. When I get there, I see they've set up a punching bag, and relief washes through me. I really need to hit something right now.

Some time later, I pause when I hear someone call my name from the doorway. It's Laila.

"What do you want?" I practically growl.

She walks into the room, with that smooth, sinuous gait, just like Amar, and she takes my hands. Turning them over, she examines my knuckles, and I'm surprised to see they are raw and even bloodied in places.

"I think you've been in here long enough," she says in a firm voice.

I snatch my hands back from her, and wipe my knuckles on my jeans.

"What can I do for you?" I say, mustering a bit more civility.

"We need help moving Fernando," she answers, looking at me closely. "What's wrong?"

I shake my head, keeping my eyes on the floor, until I feel her warm hand on my chin, and I look up in surprise.

"You can tell me, you know," she says, a worried look in her eyes. I never noticed, but they're not really brown; there are tawny flecks in her irises, too.

I don't know what makes me do it, but I reach for her and pull her into my arms, kissing her on the mouth. She makes a sound of surprise and while she doesn't exactly kiss me back, she doesn't push me away, either. I let her go, and take a step back, while she just looks at me.

"What's that all about, now?"

"Does it have to be about anything?" I snap, pushing a lock of hair out of my eyes.

"Yes, it usually is," she says, looking amused.

"Oh, don't you laugh at me, too," I grump.

"I would never laugh at you, Four," she says, all serious now. "Listen, I don't know what's wrong, but I do know it's Tris you want, not me."

"Yeah, well, maybe I want the wrong person."

"She's the right person for you," Laila says firmly. "Anyone can see that. Don't get me wrong - I'm flattered that you're attracted to me. But I'm with someone, too, of course."

I know my mouth is hanging open, but I'm too surprised to close it. "You're with someone? Who?"

Laila gives me a strange look. "Inez. Inez and I have been together for a long time. I thought it was obvious."

I feel my face growing hot. I think about the times I've seen them together and realize that it is pretty obvious, unless you don't want to see it.

"Oh," is all I can muster. I need to get away from here, as fast as possible, and I start to make a move for the door. But Laila puts a hand on my arm to stop me.

"Tobias," she says softly, "don't be embarrassed. It's okay. And for what it's worth, I'm attracted to you, too." She leans up and kisses me lightly on the lips. "I can understand why my brother must have cared so much about you." I close my eyes and hang my head.

"Now let's go move that bastard upstairs," she says, patting me on the arm and leading me out the door.

It makes me feel a little better that I am apparently not the only one who doesn't like Fernando.