A/N: Okay, so you know that part in Allegiant where as Tris and Caleb are talking, a security lockdown happens and they have to carry out the plan faster? That doesn't happen here (because it makes me too pressed for time and I don't want the story to be rushed). Just thought you should take note of that! Anyway, thank you again for the reviews. I'm glad a lot of you like it so far, but I'm sorry to say that after I saw your suggestions, I feel like a bunch of you are totally going to hate me. Hopefully not though, and I also hope you keep reading! Enjoy!

After some conversation and a round of Candor that has left Caleb's words ringing in my head, I leave Caleb with Matthew and let him go back to do whatever he thinks he wants to do before he dies-and apparently it's to analyze serums. I let out a sigh of relief that I hadn't chosen Erudite.

There's so much I want to voice out, but as I look at the people around me in the compound, they're all unfamiliar. I can't go back to Caleb or Matthew or Cara. I want to run to Christina, who would understand and be completely honest with her advice. If I wait for her to return, it would be too late to take action. My brows furrow and I pick at my bottom lip in frustration. I don't know what to do, but after a few moments I realize that my feet are already leading the way.

They lead me to the clear glass window outside Uriah's room, and I peer in. His eyes are idly looking about, and I know lying so still is killing him. Finally, his eyes find mine and they invite me in.

"That was fast," he says. "Did you really miss me that much?"

I manage a weak smile. "I needed someone to talk to."

"Where's Four?" Uriah says playfully, but I see there isn't as much humor in his eyes as there is in his voice. Then, he seems to recall what I'd told him earlier. "Oh, right. In the city. Sorry. What's up?"

"I..." My voice cracks. "I don't think Caleb should go."

"If I remember correctly, a couple of minutes ago, you were telling me he was, and I quote, 'the most suitable choice. Even he knows it.'"

I momentarily forget about Caleb. "I don't talk like that!" I scoff.

"I don't talk like that!" Uriah mimics with an identical scoff.

We laugh, and I feel my insides rise. Two minutes with Uriah and I already feel lighter. I hit him lightly on the arm. He winces. My eyes widen and I'm frantic. "Did that actually hurt? Do you want me to get you something for it? I'm so sorry, I totally forgot you just-"

He places a hand on top of mine reassuringly. "It's fine, Tris. It's just.." He turns his arm sideways and I see a large bruise on the other side. "It hasn't healed yet. But that wasn't so bad. It's surprisingly nice to feel pain again. It's a reminder that I'm still alive."

I can't help but think of Caleb. Since he betrayed me and I, along with everyone else, felt almost nothing but total hatred towards him, he must have felt nothing but pain. Pain and guilt, pain and guilt. It isn't a surprise that he's so willing to give up his own life just to get rid of it.

"What do you plan to do, then?" Uriah asks. "Do you think I would've come here to talk to you if I had a plan?"

"Yes, I think you came here to tell me your plan so I can tell you how dangerously stupid it is," he says with a smirk. I bite my tongue. Fair enough. I part my lips to explain myself.

"Well..."

"You're not going in there."

"...What?"

He coughs. "You're not. I recognize the look on your face, Tris. I didn't see it then, but I'm pretty sure it's the same look you had when you gave yourself up to Erudite headquarters. I'm not letting you do that."

"You can't really stop me when you're still stuck on that bed, you know. I know I can hold off the death serum. I've manipulated every serum injected in me before. And I'm not letting my brother die, Uriah. He'll be doing it for all the wrong reasons," I say, partly to reassure myself.

"So will you."

"No. He's doing this out of guilt. I'll be doing it out of love."

I look at Uriah firmly, and his dark eyes stare back into mine, almost defeated. I almost think he is about to argue some more, but all that escapes his lips are the words "I know."

I'm startled at his surrender, but I'm even more startled with what he does next. His brown skin looks pale by comparison and his expression remains weary, but his hand yanks out the needle lodged in his hand and he pulls every single wire off of his body. I'm not sure how he knows, but every piece of medical equipment he takes out of his system he handles with precision and agility. He's been preparing to yank them off himself. I clasp a hand over my mouth. "Uriah-"

He sits up with surprisingly great force, and I almost think he's going to crack a joke about being superhuman or half-alien. Although some things about him make him look frail right now, but I've never seen him look stronger. He gets off his bed and walks toward me. Each of his lithe movements looks driven, and his eyes are focused and awake. He stands in front of me and I see the Uriah I saw at Dauntless initiation. I see him as the Uriah who saved other Divergents with me at Candor headquarters. He looks brave and determined. He takes a long, deep breath, and I feel myself tense. Whatever he is about to say, whatever he is about to do...he's been thinking about this for some time.

He grips my shoulder and I'm alarmed by his touch. "Uriah, you're so hot," I say. "I-I mean, literally ho-"

"I know," he mutters. He swallows and looks at me with wandering eyes, like he's contemplating whether to say more or not. His hand inches its way to the side, towards my neck. His fingers tap anxiously on my skin.

"Please say something besides 'I know.'" I try to imitate his voice to hopefully lighten up the mood. He gives a perfunctory smile, and nods. He leans in closer until his mouth is beside my ear.

"Tris, I know you're doing all this to protect a person you love," he whispers. "But so am I."

I barely have time to process anything when his hand is on my nape and his lips find mine. Though his kiss is filled with urgency and want, it is soft and careful and innocent. I'm engulfed in his heat. Our mouths fit into each other without me even realizing, and then all I see, all I hear, all I smell, all I hear, all I taste...is Uriah.

I remember that Christina had said something about Uriah always being a laugh, never anything serious. I try to grasp the exact words, but I realize it doesn't matter. Uriah is here now, showing me a side of him I'd never seen before. Not even with Marlene. I'm taken aback, and my hands scramble, eventually holding on to his warm arms so I don't fall backwards. I can feel my eyes widen as he pulls back, and they search his questioningly. He looks at me in a way that reminds me of how I used to catch him staring at Marlene, but there was far more in his eyes. So much more that I couldn't fathom, but he offers no explanation. Instead he draws me in again, and gives me three smaller, quicker, yet equally as taking, kisses. I don't want it to ever stop.

But instead of kissing me again, he gives me one more chary look and a smile that's faint, genuine, and pained all at once. That's all I get as he pulls away and I am left breathless and unsteady. I want his arms to fold around me and keep me balanced. I want his lips on mine. I want to smell nothing but the minty scent of his skin and sweat. I want to hear him whisper my name in my ear. I want to live in his dark eyes forever.

I feel myself fill up with endless questions and fluttering butterflies and ineffable hope. I begin to call out his name, but then I hear the doorknob twist and click back into place. My mind is a tangled mess of worrying for both him and Caleb, but before I get to voice anything more out, I hear Uriah's feet meet the ground as he runs down the hallway, away from me.