I'll be adding more chapters tonight! Please review if you want and enjoy reading.

Chapter Two

Tobias

I wake to the smell of chocolate chip muffins fresh out of the oven and the sounds of Tris' muffled heaves into the toilet behind the bathroom door. I push myself out of the bed with the dark sheets that cover the doubled mattress. Her side is messy and her pillow is nearly draped on the floor. I can smell her hair rising on the cover and on the blankets. It smells of sweat, soap, and honeysuckle, from the homemade shampoo and conditioner Christina brought her last week from the old Amity headquarters. It may not be a faction now, but the farming and marketplace didn't stop.

Our bedroom is flooded by the soft and dusty sunlight peeking through the makeshift drapes we made from the tarp of a truck. They are worn and frayed at the bottom from Tris' jagged cutting, but they function just as well. Over to my right I see the small alarm clock with it's black face and neon green numbers read six-forty five. I could've gotten another fifteen minutes of sleep, but something stirred me awake. Walking toward the wooden bathroom door with it's creme colored panels and golden knob slightly ajar, I see Tris on her knees, hair blonde and wild over her head. Even after all these years, she is still small like from when I first met her. She's a little taller and much stronger, but I still see the girl who jumped first onto the net in Dauntless. I smile a little. I can't help it. A lot has changed since then.

I walk up behind her as she coughs into the bowl of the toilet, spitting and snorting between each heave. She jumps slightly when I place my fingers on her hair, holding it toward the side so it won't float into the bowl.

"Tobias…leave. I don't want you seeing this." her voice comes muddled from the bowl. I chuckle a little as I watch her rise and I move out her way. Her white henley shirt is damp on the back from sweat and shows in small moist patches. She doesn't look at me as she takes a wad of toilet paper and wipes her mouth and nose. Her bright eyes are watering and red, but still so beautiful to me, even in this moment.

"In sickness and in health, remember?" I say taking a washcloth from the linen shelf. I walk over to her and hold her small narrow chin up to me. She smiles weakly at me and I grin back, kissing her forehead. I wipe her glistening cheeks and neck, but she takes it from me, thanking me softly.

"I'm gonna shower, breakfast is on the table. I won't be long. I don't want you late again." she says taking off the damp shirt and throwing it on the floor near the glass shower doors.

"Johanna doesn't care. Besides, I can stay home today, if you're sick. What happened?"

Tris shakes her head in defiance and says "No. Go to work Tobias. I'm still going. I don't know what happened. I was taking the muffins out of the oven and suddenly I felt so light-headed. I could barely put them on the plate and pour the orange juice before I was running in here. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

I look at her slightly sinewy frame and small chest covered by the black bra and feel my chest get warm. My heart jumps a little in my throat and I breathe. She still does that to me. I stare a little too long and her eyes dart from the floor as she chews her bottom lip and then up to me. She sniffs and asks nervously "What?"

I smile and say "Nothing. You sure you don't want to stay home?"

I move a little closer to her and she laughs putting her hands up to stop me from progressing further.

"Oh no." Tris says carrying the last syllable in a songlike voice. "I know what you're playing at Tobias, it won't work. Besides my breath smells horrible and the room still feels like it's tilting. I wouldn't be much fun today. Especially for that."

I sigh and grin. Even after being married for nearly for six months now, sex is something she shrinks a little from. I don't press her, but I know there's always that lingering fear within her. But when she swallows that fear and let's go, we have a lot of fun. Beautiful moments. Wonderful moments.

"Don't look so down, Four. You've been on me all week." Tris smirks as she steps out of the black cotton sleep shorts. I feel my palms gather with sweat and I have to turn away before my body becomes a light any further. She laughs as I exit the bathroom and then I hear the shower head come on. The water jets against the wall and steam soon billows like a ghost from the crack. I head out of the bedroom into the narrow hallway of our apartment. The sun has risen now, but still cast a sleepy light throughout the place. The small storage room down the hall and to the left is open slightly and I suck my teeth in irritation. I just fixed the door last week and it still won't stay shut completely. Ever since we came back in the city I took up some mechanical skills. They were offering a couple of classes near the Hancock building and Caleb had given me some books he found about appliances, cars, and everyday fixes. They were old, but were valuable. I learned quickly.

I pushed the door closed and within several seconds it creaked open again. I saw grey buckets with tight black lids peek out slightly. Some of them held Tris and I's winter clothes and other were of random valuables from over the years. I walked into the kitchen and saw the small pile of muffins on the chipped blue ceramic plate. We had found the set for nearly dirt cheap at the marketplace near Navy Pier. We got most of our furniture there too, a lot of it for free because during the reform most of the faction headquarters had been raided and also because we stopped the memory reset from happening. A lot of Johanna and the now defunct Allegiant were running these small marketplaces for people coming in and out of the city. But I like to think we got first dibs at the good stuff.

I sit down in one of the old metal Erudite classroom chairs around the small circular table Tris and I eat at. It's weathered and has small carvings on the surface. The chair scrapes the dark wooden floor beneath me as I shift my body to get more comfortable. The muffins are still quite warm when I pick one up and I smell the cocoa powder Tris always adds to them. It is reminiscent of the Dauntless cake we used to fill ourselves with and I close my eyes remembering the days. Even after three years, their influence still lingers within us. It was shocking to discover that the faction system was nothing more than an experiment the Bureau of Genetic Welfare had in place, that it was all a lie and the United States government had all kinds of these experiments over the country. I wondered about places beyond the Fringe, I wondered about the different colored states I saw on Peter's maps awhile back. I wondered if there even more people who were trying to free themselves from the lie.

Tris tells me that changes comes gradually and I believed her. But I still couldn't help but feel like we were still being strung along. That something else was soon approaching. That there was another lie we were being wrapped in. After all, she stopped David, but nearly died from him shooting her. I thought she was gone forever. I remember seeing her body in the hospital bed, day after day, counting her breaths as if they would end. They almost did. Her coma lasted almost a year. I remember the doctors pulling Caleb and myself aside, asking us to make our decision to pull her off life support. Caleb, I thought, would say yes because technically he's her next of kin. Her only next of kin, by blood at least. He looked at me, I cannot forget the day, and said "I won't let her end like this, Tobias."

Though I knew there was a strong possibility of Tris never coming back. Coming back to me, I couldn't just abandon her or our memories. After five months, a few folks encouraged me to see the possibility of moving on, of seeing that her life wouldn't be any good this way. To pull the plug. What's scary is, I almost considered it. I almost considered letting her sleep forever. I couldn't though. I couldn't let her end like that. She proved me wrong about four months later. I wasn't by her side when she woke up, Christina was. I was in the city working for Johanna on the reconstruction when Caleb burst into our offices.

"She's awake." He gasped, faced flushed cherry red and sweaty. "She's awake." he repeated.

That was almost a year and a half ago. Tris spent sometime in physical therapy in the Bureau and I told Johanna I would help from afar outside the city. I couldn't be away from her. No. Not anymore.

As I open my eyes I feel nimble and small arms wrap around my shoulders and her lips touch my cheek. I breathe in her scent of soap and honeysuckle. Her hair is still slightly damp from the shower and it is shorter now than it was when I first met her. It used to touch the top middle of her back, now it is near the nape of neck. Her frame is clad in my black sweater from when I stopped Peter, Drew, and Al from throwing her into the chasm many years ago during initiation. It is still slightly too big on her and there are small holes from moths eating away at it and other snags in the cotton. I watch her lean against the kitchen sink, gripping the edge with both her palms. Tris twist her neck as if it is stiff on the right and then sighs deeply.

"Feeling better?" I say putting butter on my muffin.

She pauses and shifts her weight on left leg. She turns around and puts her thin fingers to her forehead. Her eyes are shifted slightly upward to the ceiling.

"A little. I think the shower helped. I still feel a little loopy, but I'll be fine. Probably some fresh air and a little something on my stomach, I'll be okay."

Tris smiles at me with her bright eyes and I can't help but smile back.

"Have a muffin." I say passing one to her, but she shakes her head.

"No, I'm not sure why, but I don't want that. I love muffins. But today honestly…they look disgusting."

I laugh and say "You made them!"

She chuckles and say "I know. I know. It's weird. I'll just a piece of toast."

As she fumbles near the bread box I check the old chrome wall clock above the pantry. It's seven-twenty four and I feel the dread rise in my stomach. I'm supposed to be at work by eight, but lately I've been running behind. Spending mornings with Tris, watching her sleep, cooking her breakfast to wake up to. I feel like she'll still disappear in any moment.

"Stop watching me like that." She laughs.

"Like what?"

"Like I'm going to vanish into thin air." She says pouring herself a small glass of orange juice. Some pulp in the pitcher stuck to the mouth and slid down slowly back in the pool of yellow-orange sweetness as she sat it down on the table.

I grin and get up walking over to her.

"I can't help it." I say as she wraps her arms around my waist. I press my lips to her and she presses back. I taste the sweet citrus on her tongue and in her sighs. She breaks away after a moment and breathes "Tobias…you're going to be late."

"I don't care." I say kissing her chin, then her neck, then her collarbone. She lets a small moan slip from her lips, like she is protecting the sound with her might. She giggles when I slip my hands under the sweater and up her back. I feel the bra clasp with my fingers, but she immediately pushes my hands back down. I'm pushing. I stop.

Tris looks at me and bites the bottom of her lip. She wanted me to stop I know, but there's a hunger in her eyes too.

"I don't want you to get fired." She mumbles.

"I'm the best assistant she has Tris." I chuckle.

Tris rolls her eyes and grins. "Yeah right."

"Besides, Johanna knows that you, Mrs. Johnson are my priority above all."

Her fingers rolls against the small silver ornate wedding band on her left hand and she smiles deeply.

"Yeah, I know. You know Uriah calls me Mrs. Four? Mrs. Tris Four?"

I laugh and hold her cheek, it's warmth spilling into my palm.

"He's nuts, that guy is."

"Yes he is. He and Christina have finally started seeing each other. Bout time. I guess him being in a coma and nearly brain dead really welded the bond together."

"Well…that kind of stuff will do that to you." I say softly.

She grimaces slightly and grips my hand tight. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm here with you."

"I know."

I kiss her and leave out of the door, grabbing my keys in the small wooden bowl on the square table by the entrance closet.

"I love you." She hollers to me as I'm halfway through the door.

"I love you Tris." I say smiling at her. She shifts the plate of muffins from the table to the counter and the sunlight, fully risen hits her face like a prism.

She is a dream. One I am unwilling to wake up from.