Welcome all to my first Divergent fanfiction (original novel by Veronica Roth.) This story is rated T for moderate violence, language, and sexual themes.

A/N: Thank you so much for all your reviews! I really wasn't expecting such a positive response after a 1 yr hiatus so you're awesome! By the way, I've been going back and updating the initial chapters of this story; I've just been cleaning up errors and making minor changes. I've so far updated Chapters 1-6. I've made no major changes, although I would encourage you to re-read the Choosing Ceremony section of Chapter 1. That's all, carry on!

Chapter 18: Glacial

Nina woke up feeling like, well, like she'd recently been bitten by an extremely venomous reptile. She groaned and sat up, ripping the oxygen mask away from her mouth. She blinked slowly as her eyes gradually adjusted to the dim light of the Erudite clinic. She had been poked, prodded, pricked, and treated several times over the past – she glanced down at her wristwatch, which blinked 1:38 AM – nearly 14 hours. Her injury had been wrapped and re-wrapped, she'd been given a blood transfusion to restore her platelet count, and she'd had her electrolyte levels repaired via intravenous fluid therapy. Throughout this period, which to Nina felt like the longest day of her life, she'd drifted in and out of consciousness, her body demanding rest to counteract the stress it'd been subjected to.

At this late hour, the Erudite clinic was empty. Nina called out to double check, hoping that someone would be around to show her the way out, but nobody showed up. The healers had likely believed that Nina would continue sleeping the entire night through. But after having slept for practically 12 hours in total, Nina felt surprisingly well rested, albeit groggy. All she wanted to do now was get out of this damned clinic, get home, and hopefully finish Clark off once and for all. Just thinking of Clark's stupid face made Nina growl.

Nina hissed as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and attempted to get to her feet. That small alone movement sent a searing pain through her leg, originating at the wound site. She braced herself against the edge of the bed and stood up, hesitating momentarily as a wave of dizziness threatened to overwhelm her. When the lightheadedness passed, she attempted to move away, only to realize that she was still connected to her IV machine. She angrily ripped the needle out of her arm and ignored the quiet beeping that immediately began to sound.

She ripped the case off the thin, shapeless pillow and began stuffing into it whatever items near her bedside she deemed useful: gauze and tape, some pain medication, and antibiotic pills. In the corner of the room was a sink; she took a moment to splash her face and rinse out her mouth, which felt dry and cotton-y. She took a final look around the clinic to make sure she hadn't missed anything important, and then quickly left.

Nina hadn't been exactly lucid when she'd been carried into Erudite on a stretcher. She now looked left and right, wondering which was the way out, and turned left on a whim, wishing for the umpteenth time that she could simply teleport back to Dauntless, or more possibly, that someone would come along and escort her out. However the hall was eerily quiet and there was no evidence of activity in this section of Erudite, which Nina quickly realized was the biomedical research wing. She passed a door labeled 'Autoclave Room,' numerous storage closets and walk-in freezers, several laboratories filled with unrecognizable scientific equipment, and a 'Radiation and Imaging' Room, yet she still saw no sign of an exit.

Nina was just about to turn back and try to find her way out in the opposite direction, when she heard a faint commotion coming from a room nearby. She approached eagerly, hoping to be able to get directions from someone, but what she saw made her blood run cold.

At the end of the sterile white hallway was a surgery room with a large window permitting Nina to see inside. Within were four people: Two male healers, a young man wearing clothing that Nina could not recognize as belonging to any of the factions, and a blonde woman standing with her back against the window recording notes in a small tablet in her hands. The young man was strapped to a bed crying, and appeared to be begging to be released. The younger healer passed the older one a syringe filled with some oddly colored liquid, then held down the patient's arm to allow the other man to inject the fluid into his vein. The man continued to struggle for a few moments, then suddenly a look of complete disinterest washed over him.

The woman moved away from the window and shined a bright light from her pen into each of the patient's eyes. She turned towards the older healer and, while Nina could not hear the exact words, said something that made the healer nod. The healers undid the straps that had held the patient down and allowed him to get up. The young man stood and looked stoically at the woman; all resistance and fear that had previously been evident in his expression had now vanished. The woman made a motion with her hand and the patient began to jump up and down in place. She held up a hand motioning him to stop, and he immediately did so, the apathetic expression on his face unchanged. She made another gesture and the patient bent down and began to lick the floor. Nina cringed in disgust. The woman laughed cruelly, and for a moment she turned her profile towards the window as she bent down to pick up a pen she had dropped. At that moment, Nina recognized who the woman was and gasped.

Nina quickly pivoted and ran in the opposite direction, desperate to escape from this clinic, which increasingly felt like a prison. Though her body was aching, adrenaline pushed her onward. She finally found an exit and barreled through it, ignoring the surprise of the Erudite guard who demanded to know who had given her permission to leave. The image of the patient screaming – and the image of Jeanine Matthews attaining complete control over him – was imprinted permanently in her mind's eye. She could not understand it. She did not want to. Feeling suddenly emotionally overwhelmed, Nina forced the image to the recesses of her mind. Right now, her priority was to rid herself of the problem that was Clark.

Nina rapped loudly on Eric's door and tapped her foot impatiently. When he didn't immediately answer, she knocked with more force. "Come on, come on, come on. I know you're in there," she muttered quietly to herself.

Eric suddenly pulled the door open, a knife in his hand and an alarmed expression on his face. When he saw that it was just Nina he dropped his hand and sighed, exasperated. "What are you doing here at," he glanced down to his wristwatch, "2:30 in the fucking morning?"

Nina ignored his question and barged past him into his studio. Eric shut the door behind her, appearing dumbfounded. "Where. Is. Clark?" Nina asked, emphasizing each syllable with vexation.

"You're supposed to be at Erudite recovering from a life-threatening wound," Eric reminded her. "What the hell are you doing here?" He was wearing loose black sweatpants and no shirt, and his sheets were crumpled up at the base of his bed; if Nina hadn't been so one-track minded, she would have realized that she had just woken him up.

"Where is he?" She demanded to know, ignoring his question. "I just checked the dormitory and he isn't there."

Eric pinched his nose and grimaced. "I'm well aware. Clark is –"

Nina interrupted him, too riled up to listen. "You don't understand, Clark is the one who did this to me. I have to find him, Eric! I have to!"

Eric grabbed a shirt that had been laying on the arm of his couch and tugged it over his head. Then he pulled himself onto a stool at his kitchen bar and sighed again. For the first time, Nina realized how bloodshot his eyes were. "I know what Clark did. Maddie was able to get his notebook to me as evidence." Eric rubbed the light stubble on his jaw as he explained. "He's being held in solitary confinement in a cell in the lowest level of Dauntless until we can bring charges against him tomorrow."

Nina immediately stopped pacing. "Oh," she spoke in a small voice. She'd never stopped to consider that Dauntless might have its own judicial system of sorts. She'd truly expected to have to take matters into her own hands.

Eric glared at her and marched to his fridge, pulling the door open harder than was necessary. He grabbed a beer, cracked it open, and took a large gulp.

Nina stepped closer to him and nodded at the can in his hands with a hopeful expression.

Eric downed the rest of his drink and tossed the can aside before answering. "Aren't you doped up on pain meds right now? I don't think you should be drinking," Eric stated dryly. Irritation and exhaustion seeped into his voice.

Nina rolled her eyes and pouted. "Fine, dad. Geez."

Eric stared down at her. "I am not babying you, I'm just trying to be the voice of reason."

Nina had to stop herself from retorting. 'Why am I being such a bitch right now,' she chastised herself. Instead she stood on her tippy toes and wrapped her arms around Eric's neck. "I know, Eric. You're just looking out for me." She quickly pressed her mouth against his then pulled back.

Eric's stiff posture instantly relaxed as he placed his palms on Nina's waist, though he still looked down at her with mild annoyance.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"Ok," answered Eric gruffly. A softness came into his eyes, smoothing away any traces of irritation in his expression.

"I mean for everything," she insisted, looking up at him studiously. "I -", she hesitated for a moment. "I owe you my life."

Eric nodded, still unsure of what to say.

Nina quirked her mouth up in a playful smile. "You're not very good at taking compliments."

"You're not very good at barging into peoples' rooms in the middle of the night." He smirked, "Oh wait, you're very good at that."

Nina pulled away a little and frowned guiltily. "I'm sorry, that was very –"

Eric cut her off by tilting her head up so he could kiss her. Nina closed her eyes and sighed softly into his mouth. He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and nibbled it gently. His kiss warmed Nina from the inside out. She felt a sudden pang of desire for him despite the distress her body had been so recently subjected to. Eric's hands flattened on her back, pulling her closer to him. She tightened her hold around his neck, and suddenly her thigh brushed up against his and a sharp ache ignited across her leg. She pulled away with a gasp of pain and then laughed. "Sorry about that."

"Nothing to be sorry about," He stole a glance at her wound, which was wrapped with a strip of gauze, then looked intensely into Nina's eyes. "How are you feeling?"

Nina shrugged. "I feel ok. A bit groggy and achy but," she pulled a small vial of pills from her pocket and shook it, "these babies work wonders."

"You're going to feel like hell in the morning," Eric told her sternly. He took the vial from her hand and read the instructions. "You need to take these with something in your stomach. But go take a shower first," he commanded her as he turned to open his cabinet.

Nina inconspicuously sniffed herself as she entered Eric's bathroom. In the mirror she saw that her leg was splattered with some residual dried blood and her hair was a tangled mess. 'Ugh, he still wants to kiss me like this?' She propped her foot up against the sink and winced as she peeled the bandage away from her injury. There was an ugly bruise surrounding the two incisions that had been made by the snake's fangs, but at least the bleeding had tapered off. She hopped in the shower where she quickly washed herself up, taking care to be extra delicate when rinsing her wound. Despite her previous bravado, the aches and wooziness were beginning to get to her, and she knew she would need to sit down soon. After drying herself off, Nina attempted to re-bandage herself using some of the gauze and tape she'd nicked from the Erudite clinic.

Nina shivered as she stepped back into Eric's room wrapped only in a towel. She quietly rummaged through his dresser and borrowed a black t-shirt. She still had to throw on her dirty spandex shorts, but at least she didn't have to wear her sweat-soaked top.

Nina met Eric in his kitchen, where he had arranged a plate with two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She quirked up her mouth in a smile as she remembered the last time she had been in his kitchen eating sandwiches and how badly she had wanted to kiss him then. Eric crouched and inspected her leg as she chewed on her sandwich. "You did a shit job of wrapping this up," he informed her.

Nina frowned but could not answer through her mouthful of food. She watched as Eric unwrapped the gauze and then re-wrapped it more loosely. His fingers lingered on her legs as he looked up to her and explained, "You need to let the injury breathe."

His hands on her legs were doing stupid things to Nina's head. She blushed crimson and took another huge bite of her sandwich. Eric stood and uncapped the vial; he shook out one pill, which he left on the counter, and instructed Nina to take it with a full glass of water when she was done eating. Then he pulled off his t-shirt, leaving it crumpled on the floor, and walked towards his bed, where he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Nina followed Eric's directions and then put the plate and glass into his sink as quietly as she could. When she was finished she turned to stare at Eric's sleeping form, unsure of herself. Did he mean for her to go back to her dormitory, or to take his couch, or…? She nibbled anxiously on her bottom lip, wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed with him and pass out.

Eric seemed to sense what she was thinking; he suddenly woke up, opening only one of his eyes, and gruffly told her to "just get in the bed already, dammit." Nina smiled and got in, choosing to lay on her uninjured side, and promptly fell asleep.

Liam and Helen Jorgenson sat stoically at their kitchen table, looking down at the tiny piece of paper in front of them. The table was littered with items, mainly canned goods and health supplies, that they'd managed to pilfer from the Amity storage rooms over the past two weeks. Liam wrote a note carefully in his minuscule print while Helen watched him, a single tear rolling down her cheek. When Liam had written the final words, "Burn this note after reading," he looked up at his wife and the mother of his child. Her bloodshot eyes stared blindly ahead of her. He had been with his wife long enough to recognize that look on her face; her mind was currently far away, traveling through distant memories and perusing useless 'what-ifs'. He wiped the tear off her cheek with the pad of his thumb, and she instantly collapsed into his arms, a sob ripping out of her throat. They sat like this for several minutes, Liam rubbing Helen's back soothingly as she trembled in his arms, until she calmed down.

Liam pushed away from the table, the chair screeching across the floor as he got up. "Come on, love," he told his wife.

She nodded and stood too, then grabbed the small, empty backpack that sat on the floor. They then began the task of choosing which items they would pack, and which they would leave behind forever as proof of the life they'd once lived. This house was nothing more than a shell of a place they'd called home; the sanctuary they'd tried to build to protect their daughter was crumbling apart. How had things changed so quickly? When had this safe haven become a war zone?

When Liam and Helen had finished packing, they trooped upstairs to the bedroom they had shared for so many years, hoping to make one of their last nights in it a memorable one.

Nina awoke with a throbbing headache; the injury on her thigh continued to irritate her, as it likely would for many more days. She groaned as she rolled out of Eric's bed, then she padded to the kitchen, her bare feet making hardly a noise on the cool floor. She shook out a painkiller and an antibiotic pill from their corresponding vials and tossed them back with a full can of beer, propriety and common sense be damned. Nina hoped that the alcohol might help take the edge off the pain.

She inched herself back into Eric's bed, trying her best not to jostle him as she settled in, and failed miserably.

Eric rolled over to face her. When Nina wished him a good morning, Eric merely grunted, tossed his arm over her waist, and closed his eyes again. Nina watched him contently for a few moments before she cheekily grinned. "I know you're awake."

Eric's eyes snapped open and he sat up beside Nina. "Since when are you so alert in the mornings?"

Nina grimaced. "I'm not. The pain woke me up, and I don't think I can fall back asleep now."

Eric frowned and pulled the covers off her to make sure her gauze was still in place. "You should take another painkiller."

"I did already," she said. She reached up and ran her thumb against his lower lip. "I'll feel better in a bit."

Eric's husky voice caused a surge of heat within Nina as he looked down at her with a lusty gaze. "Oh, I'll make sure you feel better." He placed his hands on her hips and slowly pushed her shirt - his shirt, truthfully - up her torso to just underneath her breasts. He bent down to kiss her smooth abdomen, and began to teasingly trace his lips upward. Each kiss scorched her skin, and Nina found herself barely able to contain a moan.

Suddenly, a loud knock sounded on the door. Eric's eyes flashed darkly. "What," he called out sharply.

"Eric, I need you at the Pit in five," answered Max, his voice muffled by the thick door. "I'm about to post the list of the Initiates that passed."

Nina instantly shot out of bed, her hands clasped over her mouth so that she wouldn't make a sound.

Eric looked at her in amusement as he replied to Max that he'd be there momentarily. He strolled to the kitchen and flicked a switch on his coffee pot.

A tremor of anxiety passed through Nina. "Oh my god. Oh my god. I forgot. I fucking forgot." The past 24 hours had been so intense that she had completely dismissed from her mind the fact that the Stage 1 results would be posted today. This was it. If she wasn't on that list, she would be out, officially; cast out like a pariah, doomed to be Factionless.

Eric leaned against his counter and the corner of his lip twitched up in amusement. "Calm down, Nina. You'll be on the list."

Nina glared at him with her fists on her hips. "Oh, is that so? Did you write the list yourself then?"

He rolled his eyes in response. "No, but I had some influence. I'm sure you'll be on it." He turned to pour out two mugs of coffee. When he turned back to hand her a cup, she was already sprinting out the door. He sighed and set down the mugs, then laced up his combat boots so he could follow her out.

Nina jogged to the Pit, scanning her eyes in search of the list. Sure enough, in the middle of the Pit was a board with a large crowd around it. She barged her way through the throng until she was face-to-face with the list. She had a brief panic attack when she didn't see her name on the first list, but quickly realized that she didn't recognize any of the names because they belonged to the Dauntless-born Initiates. She turned her head to look at the Transfer list and muttered under her breath as she quickly scanned the names.

"Q, Sebastian, Amir, Nina," - she grinned and continued reading - "Alessandra, Gregory, Lana, Tae, Jackson, Clark."

She let out a huge sigh of relief and smiled, then began to turn away. Nina frowned as she realized something. She snapped her eyes back to the list and read it again. And again.

Rage filled her as she stormed back through the swarm. At the edge of the crowd was Amir, holding Maddie as sobs wracked her entire body. Nina fumed as she looked at her friend. Her absolute best friend in the entire world. A woman who was brave and smart and kind and independent and deserved to be here more than anyone else.

Eric strolled casually through the Pit, a steaming cup in his hand, searching for Nina, who found him first. She stormed up to him furiously and had to stop herself from knocking the mug out of his hands. "How could you do this," she seethed quietly, her voice full of anger and hurt. "How could you?!"

Loved it? Hated it? Apathetic? Let me know in a review!

This was initially going to be quite longer but I decided to split it into 3-4 chapters instead so as to not overwhelm you. Plus I was excited to update :) Spoilers for upcoming chapters -

Enjoy the peace between Eric and Nina while it lasts. We all know Eric has internal struggles with his selfishness/temper/desire for control, and Nina will soon discover something about her origins that changes everything for her. Things will be getting quite tense for the rest of this story. (I'm only about halfway through currently.)