A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and to my wonderful beta reader, Rosalie! This is a short chapter, but hopefully a worthwhile one.

Chapter 47: Anna – New Beginnings (later the same day that Abigail is born, August 15, ten years after Tris and Tobias first met; Tris is 26 and Tobias is 28)

We have been in the waiting room for a very long time when Tobias finally comes in. He looks exhausted, and yet more exhilarated than I have ever seen him. Smiling widely, he announces to the crowded room that Abigail was born healthy and perfect at five pounds, fourteen ounces.

A collective cheer goes through the room, which is packed with the entire Kaizen faction and a number of their friends, as well as all of their remaining relatives.

"Tris did it without painkillers," he adds, shaking his head a little in obvious awe. I raise my eyebrows, and judging by the others' expressions, I'm not the only one surprised by the statement.

"Yeah, I'm not doing that," Christina tells Uriah firmly. "Just so you know, when the time comes." Her fiancé chuckles.

"I went with the epidural," I freely admit. It's been some forty-five years since then, but I'm sure that the pain of childbirth hasn't changed during those decades. Still, it shouldn't surprise me that Tris managed a feat I couldn't – my granddaughter truly has amazing personal strength.

"I got one, too," Shauna says with a small laugh, "and I'm paralyzed through part of that area." As the others look at her, she shrugs. "The top part still has full feeling, and that's where the contractions occur."

"Anyway," Caleb states loudly, clearly uncomfortable with this subject, "when can we see them?"

"Now," Tobias answers, though he holds his hands up as if he's anticipating a mad rush towards the door. "But only a few people at a time." His gaze moves around the room before he says, "Mom, Anna, and Caleb, you're first." I can't help the smile that rises on my face at the privilege. It means so much to have family again, after close to two decades of being just me.

Tris is sitting up in the hospital bed when we enter the room, looking even more drained than her husband but wearing the same expression of joy. She smiles at us before turning her gaze to the reason we're all here. Cradled in her arms is the bundle of blankets that contains my great-granddaughter.

We gather around, each of us looking at the other two, silently offering them the opportunity to hold the baby first. And abruptly I realize that every single person in this room spent years in Abnegation. It draws a soft chuckle out of me, but we'll never get anything done if we keep waiting for each other.

"Evelyn," I say, gesturing her forward respectfully, "I believe the grandmother should have first priority."

She looks more than a little surprised, and honored – an expression that makes me all the gladder to have given her this chance. I know that she has struggled to develop a relationship with her children, after not being there for them when they were younger, and I suspect that she will never feel like she's fully part of the family. I can't remedy that for her, but I can at least do this.

She's clearly nervous as she steps closer, her gaze fixed on her grandchild. "She has your eyes," she whispers, glancing quickly at Tobias as if to confirm it, and he smiles just a little as he nods. "And your hair." Her fingers brush lightly over it.

"You can hold her if you'd like," Tris says gently, extending her arms, and Evelyn carefully takes Abigail, cradling the infant against her chest as she stares at her.

"Oh, she's beautiful." The admission is the softest I've ever heard Evelyn speak, and I watch as her eyes fill with tears – whether of joy or of sorrow at past wrongs, I don't know.

In this moment, it feels as if I'm invading her privacy, so I nod at Tobias, gesturing him toward his mother with my head. He takes the hint, leading Evelyn to the side of the room where they talk quietly together as she continues to hold the baby.

I turn away from them, focusing instead on Tris and pulling Caleb with me.

"How are you feeling?" I ask her.

She gives a small laugh. "Like a baby just came out of me." Her gaze runs over her husband and daughter before returning to me. "But incredible, too. It's…indescribable, really." Our eyes meet for a long moment in a silent acknowledgement of the first emotions of motherhood. That is a feeling I will never forget, no matter how many years pass.

Caleb, on the other hand, seems somewhat lost. "Why did you go without painkillers?" he asks, sounding more like his Erudite side than a concerned brother.

Tris shrugs, looking slightly uncomfortable. "It was something I could handle, so I did." The answer is a bit clipped, but then she bites her lip, and I know that there's more to it. Instinctively, I run a hand lightly up and down her arm, comforting her as I used to do with Natalie.

Her gaze turns to her brother for a second before dropping to the blanket, and her voice is very quiet as she adds, "It made me feel closer to Mom. I think it's probably what she did with us."

Caleb's breath catches, and he nods quickly, biting his own lip. I barely notice that gesture anymore, after spending so much time in the UCA. Virtually everyone picked up the habit from watching Tris in Tobias' broadcast. But I do notice it in this moment, along with the grief and guilt that fill my grandson's face.

I'm about to reach for him when Tris does it instead, her hand closing on his and pulling him toward her. They embrace tightly, and as I have been so many times over the years, I am incredibly glad that they reconciled after Caleb's betrayal. They're the only piece of childhood that either of them has left, and they need each other.

It's a bit of a surprise when they each extend a hand toward me, suddenly pulling me into their hug, but I don't hesitate to join. They are my family – my second chance at one after I lost their mother and my son and my husband. And today, as I hold my grandchildren close, knowing that my grandson-in-law is nearby and that my great-granddaughter will be in my arms shortly, too, I feel as complete as I think I ever will.

Caleb and I take Abigail to the side of the room when it's our turn to hold her, giving Evelyn a chance to talk with Tris and Tobias.

It has been more than four decades since I held a newborn this way – cradling her close and studying her tiny face for features from the people I love. The last time was when Natalie was born, since "faction before blood" kept me from seeing Caleb or Tris this way.

The experience makes my chest constrict more than is probably healthy at my age, but it feels absolutely wonderful. My great-granddaughter is perfect.

When I finally get my fill, at least for now, I shift her gently into Caleb's arms. He looks somewhat petrified, his posture stiff and his eyes wide, but he takes her anyway.

"Relax your arms," I tell him, pushing them down and into the right place. "She won't be comfortable on a pair of logs."

"I don't want to hurt her," he says nervously. Chuckling, I pat him on the back and reassure him that he won't, and then I give him a moment to absorb the reality of holding his niece.

"She has Tris' ears," he whispers in awe, glancing quickly up at me the way Evelyn did with Tobias earlier. "Mom's ears." I nod.

"She didn't exist – at all – a year ago. She literally didn't exist. And now she does, and she has Mom's ears." He shakes his head as if struggling with the concept. "She has a piece of both of my parents."

He cradles her closer, still staring at her, utterly enthralled. His voice catches when he adds, "She never would have existed if Jeanine had succeeded." Just like that, the guilt that was in his eyes ten minutes ago is back.

"Caleb, don't go there," I tell him softly, but firmly. "You hurt Tris because you were brainwashed, not because you wanted to. And you managed to fight back – strongly enough to save her life. Abigail is here because of you, not despite you."

He nods slowly, though it's hard to say if he entirely believes it. He may never, really, the same way I doubt Tobias will ever fully forgive himself for breaking Tris' ribs. The irony is that they're both better men for the lessons they learned from those mistakes.

So, I just pat his back gently, letting him rock his niece back and forth as he comes to terms with his past, and with the role it plays in this new life. Sometimes, all we can do for each other is to be there, and I will always try to do that for my family.

A/N: A couple of notes:

1. I have posted my first M-rated fic, under the account name "Windchimed M-Stories" (you can find a link to it on the Favorite Authors tab on my Profile page. It's another one-off story inspired by Milner's "The First Time" fic, so it's not the "Prior Rings" chapters I know most of you are waiting for, but hopefully you'll enjoy it anyway. If you're old enough to read M stuff, please check it out.

2. I have posted a timeline for "Divergent," "Insurgent," "Determinant," and "Prior Rings" on my Profile page. If you want more details about the timing of different events, it's all there. :-)

Anyway, please take a moment to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Thanks!