Author's note: Thanks so much for the kind reviews, the follows and favorites! I'm so glad you guys like this story! Here's another chapter. I won't be able to update again for over a week, so this one has both a Tris and Four POV to make up for that. :) Thanks again!

Chapter Six

Tris's POV:

Tobias.

Remembering his name causes an avalanche of memories to come pouring over me. I know who I am. I am Beatrice Prior. My parents are Natalie and Andrew Prior. My brother is Caleb. I grew up in the only city I knew. I didn't know that then, but this city is called Chicago. I was raised in the Abnegation faction and there was much I loved about it, but I never felt I belonged there. My aptitude test told me I was divergent because I showed equal aptitude for Erudite, Dauntless and Abnegation. To de divergent was dangerous. I chose to join Dauntless. The initiation was harder than anything I had ever experienced, but I managed to make it through and became one of the Dauntless. Four, who I later found out is actually named Tobias, was my initiation instructor and during initiation we fell in love. He is now my boyfriend. A war took place in the city. I lost both my parents and several friends in this war. My brother betrayed me and joined the Erudite, nearly letting me get killed. Now the factions have been toppled, the factionless control the city and Tobias's mother Evelyn Johnson is the leader of Chicago. There is a group of rebels who call themselves the Allegiant and they want to fight to reinstate the faction system. They also want to learn what is outside the city so they sent a small group out. Tobias and I were a part of this group. We left and learned that everything we knew was a lie: our city is an experiment to help purify the genes of the so-called genetically damaged population. We don't believe that people are genetically damaged or that genetics can determine a person's character. We fought to stop the Bureau from erasing everyone's memories in Chicago and instead released the memory serum in the compound to erase the memory of all those at the compound who advocated the genetic purity of mankind. I was shot while releasing the memory serum. David shot me, but I was successful. I died, but now I am not dead anymore…

I have emerged out of that dark ocean I was lost in for an eternity. I know who I am. I am Beatrice Prior. I am Tris. My life is no longer mere fragments floating in the water, but one whole that I can make sense of. I can sense my body, I feel the pressure of the soft mattress underneath me. There is a dull pain somewhere deep within me, but it is easy to ignore. I can't see anything but I think it's because my eyes are closed. They refuse to open.

I try to sense my surroundings in some other way. Where am I? I must be in a hospital somewhere. Surely someone will come see me soon. I wait.

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I dream I am with my mother again. We are sitting on sand next to an ocean. The sun warms us and the crashing waves roar in our ears. She looks at me and smiles. I smile back, then close my eyes and enjoy the warmth of the sun and the salty smell in the air.

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I hear something. At first the sounds are muffled, I can't understand anything. It seems like voices but I can't tell. If only I could open my eyes! I listen carefully. Then I hear it, "Tobias, it's time," a woman's voice says. Tobias! He's here! I try to say something, to let him know I am here, to call him, anything, but I fail. I feel his hand release mine. I feel his lips brush against mine. Then nothing.

He doesn't know I'm here. How can that be? I wish I could cry.

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Another dream. This time I stand alone at the beach. The dark blue of the water reminds me of Tobias and it reminds me of something else, too. Some place I have been to. But I've never been to the ocean, have I? I shrug. I start to walk down the beach. The wind blows strongly and my short blond hair flies all around my head. I don't mind, I just keep walking. I don't know where to.

Suddenly I feel a sharp pain at the sole of my foot. I gasp and lift my foot and see that I've stepped on a scorpion. Its fat black tail is pointed in the air. I quickly step away. Then my other foot is stung. Another scorpion. As I look around I see hundreds, thousands of scorpions emerging from the sand all around me. I am no longer at the ocean (what ocean?), I stand in the middle of an endless desert and everywhere I look, black scorpions cover the Earth. I scream, yet no sound leaves my throat.

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I hear a door open. I hear footsteps. Someone is here. This is my chance, I have to let them know I'm here. I try so hard to say something. I try to make my mouth obey my mind with all my might, yet no sound escapes me. Then I hear him, "Tris?" It's Tobias. He's here. He's talking to me. He asks if I can hear him.

Yes! I think. Yes, I hear you!

He doesn't notice how hard I'm trying. It doesn't work. Suddenly I feel his hands on my cheeks and then his lips on mine. He's kissing me! It hurts so much, to not be able to let him know that I can feel him here. He kisses me again. I give up my attempts. It just hurts too much.

Then I feel his hands release my face and grasp my own. I feel his hands squeezing mine. This is my chance. I focus all my strength, all my energy towards my hands. I make myself squeeze back. I don't know if it worked or not.

He squeezes again. Again, I try with all my might to squeeze back.

Tobias is talking to me again. He says he knows I am trying to come back to him. He knows I'm strong. I can't believe it. He seems to sense my struggle, but I can't reach him. Can I? It must have worked, I must have squeezed his hands back. He squeezes my hands again, twice this time.

I focus again as much as I can on my own hands and try to squeeze his hands. This time I feel it. I squeeze once. Twice.

Triumph! I feel elated. It's working, he knows I'm here!

There's movement from him, he releases one of my hands, does something I can't see. Soon I hear voices. He's calling the doctor!

When the doctor arrives I am ready. He squeezes my hands, pokes my feet, and points his light in my eyes. I try with all my might to react to everything. They have to know I am here. They have to help me.

The doctor talks to me, he tells me what he's doing. It's calming.

Soon he's gone. I feel someone kiss my head and then a mouth next to my ear, just touching it. Tobias's voice says, "You never cease to amaze me."

A warm feeling spreads through my chest. He is gone. I am alone again. But now I know I will make it through this, whatever this is. I am strong. I am brave.

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At first I was bewildered at my situation, but I understand now. I must be in some kind of deep sleep or a coma. Sometimes I dream and sometimes I can hear things around me. I hear people talking to me, talking to each other. I feel when they take my hand or stroke my hair. I know Tobias comes to see me often, but so do other people: doctors, Christina, Caleb, Zeke, Shauna, Matthew, Cara, even Hana, Zeke's mother came once. Last time I was "awake" I heard Tobias, Christina and Zeke talking to each other for a long time. Zeke was so funny, I thought I must have been laughing too. But I wasn't. Tobias tells me he misses me, he needs me, he begs me to come back. They all do. But I am here! I came back and I still can't reach them.

Of all the things I've been through these past months this is definitely the most difficult. It's like I'm here but I'm not. Sometimes I can think clearly and sometimes I can't, but I almost wish I could return to my ocean of pain. There at least I didn't understand what was going on. Now I know. I'm trapped in my own body.

At times despair takes hold of me and I don't know how I will survive this experience. I think I'm going insane. I'm sure some part of me is breaking beyond repair.

But then I remember my mother's voice telling me, "If you will it." I can't quite place that memory, but I understand its meaning. I have to will it and then it will be so. I remember the laughter of my friends around me and I know I have to be strong. I remember Tobias telling me he is amazed, I remember I managed to make contact one time, I remember I am strong. So I spend my time doing all I can to communicate to those around me that I am here, I have come back. I want to be fully and truly back. I do.

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Four's POV:

It is the sixteenth day since Tris has been shot. She's been more and more responsive each day. She even opened her eyes on a few occasions, but so far she only blinked a few times and looked confused. Soon her eyes were closed again.

It doesn't matter. We can all see the changes in her. She is going to wake up. She is going to be fine. I repeat these thoughts in my mind over and over again, like I can make it be so through sheer willpower.

Today Christina and I go for a walk. It's cloudy and chilly out, the wind strong. She tells me about how things have been going in the compound. I don't really know what to think about the latest developments. It seems that just erasing everybody's memories and giving them new ones hasn't solved all the problems. Everyone agrees now that the discrimination of the genetically damaged has to end, but they can't agree on how. When I hear Christina tell me of the different opinions, it feels like the beginning of an uprising, like this compound is brewing and soon it will spill over and affect the surrounding areas. It's all too much for my mind to take in at the moment. I just want Tris to be ok.

Soon we are back at the hospital. It's time to visit Tris. We walk into her room together.

"Hi Tris!" Christina says brightly as we enter. "It's your two favorite people, Christina and Four!"

I laugh.

We walk over to Tris. Christina takes a seat in the chair next to her bed. I sit on the bed just beside her. We both take one of her hands. Then Christina starts telling Tris about her day. She shares everything with Tris, the big and small, the important and completely unimportant. Sometimes she's funny, sometimes she's serious. It's nice to listen to her – not because I'm interested in what she has to say most of the time, but because it's clear how much she loves Tris and how much she misses her. I'm glad I didn't try to steal Tris for myself anymore after that first day. Tris should know how loved she is, and not just by me.

I absently push a loose strand of hair behind Tris's ear. Her hospital gown has slipped lower on one side and I notice her tattoo on her collarbone peeking out. I brush my fingers against the three black birds, thinking of Tris during initiation and smiling.

Suddenly Tris lifts her hand and takes hold of my forearm. Her eyes are open. Christina trails off mid-sentence. We are both staring at Tris who has my arm firmly in her grip.

"Tris?" I say. I look into her eyes and I notice: she is looking at me. Her look isn't lost or dazed, she is looking at me. "Tris." I repeat, this time more firmly.

Her lips part. Her mouth moves. I hear a slight wheezing sound, like air escaping. Tris licks her lips. I can't believe this, she's trying to speak!

I hold her gaze. Her mouth moves again. "To-bi-as," she says so softly I can hardly hear her. A tear trickles down the side of her face.

"Tris, it's you. You're back. You made it back to us."

I look over at Christina. Tears are streaming down her face. "Call Dr. Cooke," I tell her. She looks at me and then leaves the room running.

Tris's lips are moving again. I don't know what to do. We've been waiting for this moment so long, but I never thought about what I would do when it actually came. I try to comfort her. "Tris, don't worry. Take it slow. You had a tracheostomy for a few days and before that there was a tube down your throat. Besides, you haven't spoken in over two weeks. Your throat will need some time to heal. But I see you, I see that you're here with me." She nods the tiniest nod and releases my arm. I take her hand in mine and stroke her hair with my other one.

"Tris, I've missed you so much." I don't know what else to say.

She looks at me so intensely. "Me, too," she says faintly. She seems to be getting better at this.

I want to keep talking to her, to keep this connection between us alive. "Not just I missed you, everyone did. So many people have been coming to see you." Suddenly I'm overwhelmed by this situation. I want to tell her everything that has happened, want to let her know everything I have been doing and feeling and how life has been so terrible without her. I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment and take a deep breath to calm myself. I can't do that to her, no matter how I feel. It must already be hard for her to take this all in, there will be time for the rest later.

I look at her again. Her blue eyes are so alive. I feel my own eyes fill with tears. She moves her lips again. "I know," she manages to say.

She knows? That people have been to see her?

"You could hear us?"

She nods. I see a fear in her eyes that wasn't there before. How must that feel, to hear everyone around you and not be able to respond? I shudder at the thought.

I squeeze her hand. "Tris. This is all going to end soon. You're awake now and everything will be fine. You're back, Tris. You came back."

She nods again. Then she closes her eyes.

By the time Christina arrives with Dr. Cooke Tris is gone again. She's slipped back into her state of unconsciousness. Talking to her and poking her foot doesn't help.

Dr. Cooke takes us outside the room and makes me tell him exactly what happened. I repeat everything in minute detail at least three times. Finally he is satisfied. He tells us this is what he's been waiting for. It's normal for comatose patients to wake up slowly, slipping in and out of consciousness for a few days. The fact that she could speak when she woke the first time is a sign that, if she has any permanent brain damage, it can't be severe. He is very happy with what's happened today.

Christina and I look over at each other with beaming smiles. So are we.