My eyes flutter open, and I see Tobias lying next to me. I snuggle up close to him then raise my head to look at the clock on his nightstand like I do every morning. I close my eyes then look at it again, slightly confused. It says it's almost 8:30 a.m., and I have a doctor's appointment clear down in the depths of Dauntless at 9:00 a.m. We have clearly overslept. I sit straight up and start shaking him.
"Tobias," I say as I shake his shoulder. He just grunts a little. "Tobias, we're late. It's 8:30. I have a doctor's appointment in 30 minutes. We have to get up. Come on." He finally opens his eyes but it doesn't seem that what I'm saying is registering with him. "Seriously, Tobias! We have to get up. Look at the clock."
I throw the covers off us, and the chill of the cool December morning hits me right in the face and I shiver. I slide out of bed, grab my crutches, and head to the bathroom. I forgo a shower and just comb through my hair, wash my face, and brush my teeth. I get dressed then step out into the hallway. Tobias is dressed and waiting for his turn in the bathroom. I step out of his way, and he goes in. I slowly walk down the stairs being extra careful not to fall and head into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Neither one of us will ever wake up without our morning shot of caffeine. He comes down as I'm pouring his cup. He kisses the top of my head and thanks me. We drink the scalding liquid and head out the door in record time. We practically sprint to the infirmary, and when we finally arrive, the muscles in my arms are screaming at me and pain is shooting up into my leg from the right ankle worse than it has in well over a week. I apologize to the reception desk nurse for my tardiness when I let her know I'm here. We don't even have to wait this morning. She ushers us back to an empty examination room and tells us the doctor will be with us momentarily. Not five minutes later Dr. Parrish comes through the door.
"Good morning, Tris," he says, looking up from the chart that's in his hand. He takes in my pale appearance and frowns. "Are you feeling all right this morning?"
"Sorry, we overslept and raced down here. My ankle's hurting a lot right now, more than it has since I started walking on it."
"Let me take a look then." He gently puts his hands on my ankle and feels around, turning it this way and that way, eliciting pain with every turn and every touch. I grit my teeth and breathe through the pain. He sits back on a little rolling stool and looks at me. "Before you hurried down here, how was it feeling?"
"It was feeling good. Very little throbbing. I'm taking the medicine like you prescribed and icing it four times a day. I went to the salon Wednesday but stayed home Thursday and Friday to rest it. Did I hurt it this morning?" I ask, worried now.
"I think you may have set back your recovery a little. I don't want you going back to work until January 4," he says referring to a calendar on the wall. "You need to rest the ankle or it might not heal properly. No more weightbearing. I think maybe I was too lenient with your outings also. Stick to your apartment from now on, Tris. Borrow a wheelchair from here for the Christmas Party tonight. I wouldn't make you miss that. We'll revisit your restrictions the morning of the New Year's Eve party. How does that sound?" I frown at him. More than two more weeks of not working and over a week of house arrest. I'm going to go crazy. "It's either that or I'm going to put you in a plaster cast and you will be on crutches and not working for another six weeks."
"Fine," I mutter, not happy with the turn of events.
"I'm going to have an orderly deliver a wheelchair to your office, Four. You can keep it until Tris goes back to work. Keep icing like you have and taking the medication, Tris, but the most important thing is to stay off the ankle. Any questions?"
"Is her ankle going to be okay," Tobias asks, worried now. "She hasn't done any permanent damage has she?" He gets up and walks to my side and takes my hand in his.
"I don't think she has. These next couple weeks are going to be the deciding factor. There's the likelihood of additional tests and surgery if it doesn't get better but that's a remote possibility in my opinion. Do you have any other questions for me?" We both shake our heads at him, and he leaves the room. I feel totally defeated in this moment. I look at Tobias, and all I see is concern in his eyes.
"I want to go home, Tobias," I say. We walk slowly side-by-side back to our apartment in silence. I make sure I don't put any weight on my right ankle. When we get to the Pire he carries me up to our apartment and deposits me on the couch. He leaves for a few minutes to check in with Tori and Will and retrieve my crutches. While he's gone I lie down on the couch with my right ankle propped up on the armrest like I have done so many times these past two weeks and stare at the ceiling. How am I supposed to have a house full of guests today? Tears of frustration slide down my cheeks. I hear the door but ignore it.
"Hey, why the tears?" he asks, sliding down to sit in front of me on the floor.
"I'm frustrated, Tobias." I turn my head and look into those dark blue eyes I love so much. "I hate having to sit around here while you all are working so hard. It makes me feel useless, and I hate that feeling."
"What time will your guests arrive today?" he asks.
"Christina's coming over to set up at 1 p.m., and the others will be over at 2 p.m. Why?" The look on his face has piqued my interest, and the frustration is slowly fading into memory.
"That's plenty of time," he says with a smile. He gets out his phone and sends someone a text. "Come here." He gathers me up in his arms, which feel stronger and more muscular since he's been carrying me around so much. I realize I've been his upper body workout these past few weeks. He places his lips on mine, and soon I get lost in his kiss. When I pull back breathless, I realize we are headed down the path to the Pit. That's not where I thought he was taking me.
"Where are we going, Four? I thought you were taking me upstairs," I say, shyness seeping into my voice. He smiles and shakes his head at me.
"What am I going to do with you, Tris?" He kisses me again, just a quick peck. "You seem to only have one thing on your mind." He isn't entirely wrong but not entirely right either. I have a lot on my mind, and I wish I could find a way to quiet it. He takes a familiar turn, and I realize where it is he's taking me.
"Four, why are we going to the training room? I can't do anything there," I say. I miss the distraction of the punching bags, the power that surges through my body with target practice, the familiarity of our early morning runs. Suddenly I'm feeling frustrated and bummed.
"You are feeling frustrated and out of control right now, right?" I nod my head at him. "What makes you feel strong?"
"Weapons always make me feel strong," I say.
He carries me the rest of the way to the training room in silence letting the excitement build. When we get in front of the targets, one has been lowered drastically and there's a chair sitting where I usually stand. He sits me on the black metal folding chair, walks over to the locked gun cabinet on the wall, unlocks it, and retrieves a handgun. He loads the chamber with ammunition and walks back to me. I welcome the familiar surge that starts in my right hand and quickly flows throughout my entire body when he lays the cold steel in my hand. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths before lifting the gun like Tobias taught me. I fire one handed, not able to properly handle the gun with my broken left hand. I hit the target dead center. I smile up at Tobias who's beaming down at me. He taught me well.
He lets me fire the gun for an hour, reloading it when necessary as I continually empty the chamber into the target. We don't speak. He's letting me work out my aggression on my own, and I truly appreciate it, appreciate him. I have missed everything about this room so much and didn't even realize it. The smell of dust, sweat, and metal. The site of the targets, mats, and punching bags. How it makes me feel both physically and emotionally. When the hour is up, he takes the gun from me and locks it back up in the cabinet.
I stand up on my left leg to give him better access for picking me up. He cradles my back as he gently sweeps my legs out from under me, and momentarily I'm breathless just from the motion and the contact. He carries me back to our apartment giving me an occasional kiss but we don't strike up a conversation. We enjoy the ever softening commotion of the Pit as he carries us further away with each step. When we reach the Pire, Dr. Parrish has followed through on his promise, and a wheelchair is parked outside of his office. I have to admit it will be easier to get around with than the crutches, and it will allow Tobias to rest his overworked sore muscles. He carries me up to our apartment and deposits me on the couch. My attitude and outlook are so much better. I grab his hand, and he turns to look at me.
"Thank you. I really needed that. You have no idea how much better I feel. Not being able to walk for a few weeks doesn't seem like the end of the world anymore."
"I can tell you're more relaxed. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," he says leaning down and placing a kiss on the top of my head. "We'll disobey the doctor's orders every few days, and I'll take you down and let you get rid of the pent up frustration. I better get us some lunch. Christina will be here in about an hour."
He goes to the kitchen and warms up last night's spaghetti and meatballs. When we're done eating, I have him take me upstairs so I can take a shower since I didn't get one this morning. Instead of dressing, I put on the knee length black silk robe Christina bought me after the Dauntless Welcome Party. She also got one for Shauna, Marlene, and Lynn as a thank you for letting her do our makeovers. I make sure the robe is tightly shut since I don't have anything on under it and call out for Tobias to take me downstairs. When he opens the bathroom door, I stand up from the toilet. He slowly takes in the site of me in the robe as I've never worn it before then picks me up, cradling me gently in his arms. The robe rides up a bit and soon I feel my bare legs on the naked skin of his arms.
He takes me downstairs but instead of putting me on the couch like I thought he was going to, he lowers himself down on the loveseat with me still in his arms. Basically I'm sitting on his lap with my legs resting on the seat cushions. He pulls my mouth to his and kisses me softly, slowly. I taste mint on his tongue and realize he brushed his teeth after lunch also. We relax into the kiss and lean back on the loveseat. At first it's slow and teasing but then the intensity builds, our hearts start racing in unison, and the kiss deepens becoming need filled and desire laced. I maneuver myself so I'm straddling his lap so I can press my small frame against every inch of his hard body. We both moan into each other's open mouths. We break the kiss, and he immediately moves his mouth to my neck and kisses his way down, moving the robe off my shoulder to kiss each of my ravens in turn, sending white heat to the pit of my stomach. I tangle my fingers into his hair and kiss the top of his head while his mouth is on my shoulder. He returns his mouth to mine, even hungrier, and I feel his right hand cover my bare breast and I shiver. I absolutely love the feel of his hand on me. When I can no longer take it and I have to breathe, I pull back and stare into his eyes. His hand is still on me, gently caressing.
"I love you, Tobias," I say, encouraging him and letting him know his touch doesn't frighten me. He brings both his hands up and wraps his fingers in my hair. He pushes me back slightly then looks down and fills his eyes with the site of my naked chest. He looks at me like he is awe struck, and I feel my stomach muscles tighten. I pull his lips back to mine and kiss him impatiently on the mouth. He takes his left hand and gently pulls my head back exposing the naked skin from my neck to my chest to his mouth. He kisses and nips his way down to put his mouth where his hand had been just a moment ago, and I gasp at the new sensation of his hot, wet mouth on my breast. Movement catches my attention, and I find myself staring into the wide dark brown eyes of Christina. Oh. My. God!