When my eyes open to the harsh florescent lights of the infirmary room, it confuses me momentarily. Then the events of the past 24 hours come flooding back, threatening to drown me. I look carefully at Tobias, and his eyes are closed but his rising chest doesn't indicate the steady rhythm of sleep. I know he's awake. I study his face for a moment and see that the bruise on his jaw is now black as coal. His gorgeous chest has large black bruises scattered here and there. The knuckles on the hand lying across his abdomen are red and raw. I pick my hand up and lightly run my fingertips over his injured hand. When I look back at his face, his tired blue eyes are on mine. There are dark shadows beneath each eye, indicating a lack of sleep. Although I don't remember, the nurse must have come in and woken him hourly like the doctor said she would.
"How are you feeling?" I ask, lightly trailing my fingers along the muscles in his chest before lying my hand over his beating heart.
"My head still hurts. Good news though, bits and pieces of last night are slowly coming back to me. I remember us," he says as his mouth covers mine. He kisses me lovingly. "I'm glad that memory came back. I wouldn't want to be without it. I remember most of the fight. One of those bastards pushed me back into the wall, and I hit my head."
"Has Dr. Parrish been in?" I ask.
"I doubt anyone will be in for a little while, the nurse just woke me up like five minutes ago," he says with a laugh. "She's scared of you."
"Why?" I say, surprise filling me. I'm really not that scary, no matter how hard I try, at least I don't think I am.
"She tried to get you to move to the other bed at the beginning of her shift, and you told her if she didn't leave us alone you were going to make her factionless. By the look on your face, anyone would have believed you were totally serious and definitely capable of carrying through on your threat." He chuckles at the memory and winces.
"Is this where your rib is broken?" I say, lightly running my hand over the worst of the bruises on his torso.
"Yes," he says, picking up my hand and bringing it to his mouth. I groan.
"I better get up," I say, moving to get out of his hospital bed but he grabs me back down and his mouth lands on mine, hard. He kisses me passionately, opening my mouth with his tongue. We let our tongues dance while his hands find my hips and rolls me over on top of him. I break away from him. "Four! We can't do that here, and if you kiss me like that again, I'm not going to be able to stop. I'm getting up." This time he groans but he lets me roll off of him. I swing my feet over the side of the bed and slip down onto the ground on my good foot. I pull the poorly padded waiting room chair over and sit down next to him. At least it isn't a metal folding chair like in the other room. I put my chin on the back of my folded hands on the bed right by his head, looking at him. I notice that his pupils have, thankfully, returned to their normal size.
"Has anyone given you an update on the man brought in here last night?" I ask just as Dr. Parrish comes in the room.
"No, we haven't but I'll do that after I examine Four here. How are you feeling this morning?" he asks Tobias, looking at his chart.
"I'm tired and I have a headache," he says grumpily. "Also it hurts to laugh, cough, or pretty much breathe." He's in more pain than he let on. I wonder how he could have taken my weight so effortlessly just a moment ago.
"You are due for another dose of pain medication, and since you did so well through the night, we can increase the dosage to better take care of your pain." He shines a little light in Tobias' eyes, looking for what I have no idea. He seems pleased with the results though. He smiles at Tobias and then writes something in the chart.
"I'm going to discharge you to home. I don't want you doing any work today. If your headache has not fully resolved by Wednesday, I want to see you back. If the pain is tolerable, you may return to your normal schedule on Monday," the doctor says to Tobias. I start pouting because I'm still on house arrest because of a stupid sprained ankle, and he gets to go back to work after two days with a skull fracture. That just seems a bit out of balance. "I'm going to give you a prescription for 10 pain pills. That should be sufficient to take care of your pain. They can be taken up to four times a day but no closer than six hours apart." A nurse in dark blood red scrubs comes into the room and halts in her tracks when she sees me.
"Hey, I'm sorry I threatened to throw you out of Dauntless. I don't actually remember doing that but I'm sorry anyway," I bashfully say to the startled nurse who brings Tobias his pain medication. Dr. Parrish and Tobias both laugh.
"That's not the nurse," Tobias says, laughing lightly.
"Oh, well I'm sorry I threatened some nurse and now everyone is afraid of me. I wasn't in a very good mood last night. Sorry," I say apologizing once again.
"I know you aren't the best patient, Tris, but I had no idea you were going to terrorize my staff last night when I let you sleep here," Dr. Parrish says, chuckling. "Shall we examine your ankle while we have you here?" I grab my crutches and follow him to an examination room and sit on the table while Tobias is being released. He presses on my ankle and has me walk on it, and I'm surprised there's still no pain. I think this past week of not putting any weight on it has really made a huge difference. "With the crutches, walk up this hallway to the fifth door on the right then walk back to me." I do as the doctor orders and still feel no pain or stiffness. "I'm going to get an x-ray of your left hand to see how it's progressing. Just stay here." He walks out of the room as I sit on the little metal examination table swinging my legs back and forth, waiting and hoping.
Things seem to be looking up at the moment. Tobias is being released right now, and his injuries are not that severe. My ankle seems to have healed, finally. Maybe if my hand has healed, he will let me take the air splint off, and I can get back to my normal routine, whatever that is. It's been so long that I don't remember what my routine was or how to do my job anymore. Thinking of my job brings back the fact that somewhere in this infirmary are the men who attacked Tobias. I can't help but wonder about them. Who are they? Why are they doing this to us? Most of all, how do we stop it? Also, will we get any answers from them?
The nurse in the blood red scrubs asks me to follow her to the x-ray room where the first technician I saw the day I fell takes several views of my left hand. I'm then allowed to go back to the room I just left, and I find Tobias patiently sitting on the examination table waiting for me. I hop up on the table beside him and lean against his side as he wraps his arm around me, and I rest my hand on his upper thigh. We wait in silence for Dr. Parrish.
"Okay, Tris. Everything looks excellent with you. I believe your ankle has healed properly, and you shouldn't have any problems with it from this point forward. Also the hairline fractures are no longer evident on the x-rays. I will take this splint from you," he says, gently removing the air splint from my hand. I tentatively flex my fingers and feel no pain but do feel quite a bit of stiffness. "In your apartment you can ambulate normally. I would, however, like you to use the crutches on long walks until the night of the masquerade ball. You should be fine by then. No running, jumping the trains, and no hand-to-hand or punching bags until February 1. I know that sounds like a long time, but I want you totally healed before attempting any of those things. Use the pool to get some workouts in if you feel you need to. It's less stressful on your body. I'll have an orderly come and get the wheelchair from you. Use the anti-inflammatories you have left to deal with any stiffness in your hand or ankle you may be having. It should subside within a day or two. If you have any residual pain in your ankle, acetaminophen should be adequate to take care of the discomfort."
"The wheelchair is by Four's office," I say. "So ... I'm free to go back to work?" I can't hide my excitement.
"For this week, I would like you to stick to office work. I don't think you need to be walking all over the compound if it isn't absolutely necessary. Does that sound fair?" he asks.
"Perfectly fair," I say. Yes, I get to go back to work and stop feeling like I'm not contributing. I can't stop the smile that's turning up my lips.
"Okay, Four. Here is your prescription," he says handing Tobias a small piece of white paper. "You can go to the pharmacy and have it filled. I would rather you take the medication than try to tough out the pain. Just like I told Tris when she fell, you will heal quicker if you aren't in pain. If the headache does not subside before Wednesday, I want to see you back. If it goes away, I don't need to see you here unless you have a problem. Any questions?"
"I'm clear on that doc. What I want to know about is the men who attacked me. Do we have IDs on them?"
"No and from the looks of them, they are either extremely unexceptional Dauntless members or they aren't Dauntless members," Dr. Parrish says.
"Meaning?" Tobias says, but I think I get his meaning.
"No tattoos? Am I right?" I ask, looking up at Tobias. I might be right about this. Our attackers might also be intruders.
"No tattoos. No piercings. Only normal blonde hair. The dead man's DNA does match that of one of the attackers who killed Amar, George, and Ivy. Our other guest's DNA doesn't match the other two known samples, and he is handcuffed to his bed per your instructions, Four. Here is a list of everything I know at the moment including John Doe's autopsy results," he says handing Tobias the folder he's been clutching tightly in his hands. "I would say you could talk to the one who is still alive before you leave this morning but he is still unconscious. Would you like me to call Will or Tori if he wakes up today?"
"Actually, Dr. Parrish, I want to be notified immediately when he wakes up. It's my intention to speak with him myself. I want to be the one who questions him. I would like to know why he did this to me," he says holding his hand out to Dr. Parrish. They shake hands, and we start toward home.
It's still quite early, not yet 8:00 a.m. We pick up Tobias' prescription from the 24-hour pharmacy then go straight to our apartment instead of going to the cafeteria for breakfast. We both collapse on the couch from exhaustion. I text Will, Christina, Tori, Zeke, and Shauna telling them we're at home now but that Four needs his rest, the nurses had him up every hour on the hour last night checking his head injury. I make us breakfast as he reads through the file Dr. Parrish gave him on our mysterious intruders. It feels good to be able to do things on my own for a change. I fix pancakes and sausage for breakfast and serve them alongside a tall glass of milk at the island. Tobias sets the folder Dr. Parrish gave him down next to him and slides it over to me when I finish my breakfast.
The deceased man, not surprisingly, died from the head trauma he suffered during the fall. The other man has six broken ribs, collapsed lung, concussion, brain contusion, right broken arm, left broken leg, and various contusions and abrasions. I look up at Tobias, and he is looking at me, caution on his face.
"Does it bother you that I caused him all those injuries?" he quietly asks.
"No, not at all. You were protecting yourself from someone whose intent more than likely was to kill, and you protected me. How can that bother me?" I smile at him and he yawns.
"Why don't you go upstairs and get some sleep," I say gathering our plates to put in the dishwasher.
"I'm not going to lie in bed all day," he says, "unless you're beside me." I'm not sure that's such a good idea. He really needs to get some rest and with me there he might get other ideas. I finish cleaning up the kitchen in silence thinking about what I should do. Decision made, I go back to him and take him by the hand and slowly lead him up the stairs to our bedroom. I turn the bed down as he takes his shirt and pants off. He slides between the sheets wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. I go to the dresser and get out my nightgown. I take my shirt and bra off and put my nightgown on then take my pants off and slide into bed beside him. I turn my back to him and he pulls me to him. Within minutes I recognize the deep, steady rise and fall of his chest indicating he fell asleep. I'm not really tired but the constant rhythm of his chest against my back lulls me to sleep.
I wake up and look at the clock and see that it's only a little after noon. Tobias is now lying on his back, and I'm able to slip out of bed without disturbing him. I quietly get some clothes out of the dresser then go into the bathroom, shower, and get dressed. I slowly descend the stairs, my mind on last night's attack. I retrieve the file folder Dr. Parrish gave Tobias, and I thoroughly read each and every word, looking for some kind of clue but I find nothing new. I set it aside and start looking through the Dauntless inactive files Tobias brought me at the beginning of the week. I keep the sketches Hana provided and the photo grab from the security camera feed right next to me as I look at the files closely.
After an hour straight of looking at one inactive file after another, my eyes are burning from the strain. I decide to look at one more then check on Tobias. He shouldn't sleep all day, or he won't be able to sleep tonight. I flip open the file and stare at the name, Cameron Nathaniel Wright. Parents, Nathan and Drusilla Wright. He's 6'3" tall, 200 pounds, and would now be 20 years old. Dauntless born to Erudite. The face in the photograph staring back at me is a younger version of the man in Hana's sketch and the photo we have from the security footage. I gather up the file, sketches, and photo and fly up the stairs to wake Tobias up.
I crawl onto the bed and sit next to him, with my back against the headboard. I look down at him, and he looks so peaceful that I can't bring myself to wake him. I put the file on the nightstand to show him later. A couple more hours isn't going to make a difference. I was already nervous about my newfound Dauntless family but this finding makes me increasingly uncomfortable. I wonder if my mom would have any insight into her brother. They haven't seen each other in over 18 years but maybe she could tell me what he was like when he was younger. Maybe he has some sort of a prejudice or preconceived notion about divergence that rubbed off on his son.
"What are you thinking about?" Tobias says, making me jump.
"You're awake! I need to show you something important that I just found." I lean over, pick up the file, and hand it to Tobias. "I found one of the attackers in the inactive files. Look at the name." He flips open the file and is instantly wide awake. He looks at me stunned. "I had a thought run through my mind just a few minutes ago. I would like to talk to my mom about her brother, see what her take on him is. What do you think?"
"I think that's a great idea, and we should go right now," he says, throwing the covers off himself and climbing out of bed.
"Are you sure? How are you feeling?" I ask, worry thick in my voice. I don't want him in pain.
"The sleep helped. I'll take a shower and get dressed then we can drive to Abnegation. Do you think your mom will be home?"
"If she isn't, I think I know where she'll be," I say thinking back to my mother's schedule. Saturday afternoons she volunteered at the library downtown. Her schedule varied rarely when I was growing up but I haven't been in Abnegation for months now, it could have changed. He gets ready lightning fast, and soon I find myself outside the Dauntless compound for the first time since I accompanied Christina to her clinic appointment. That was the day of my accident. I inhale the freezing temperature and feel an uncomfortable tightness in my lungs. I usually don't like the bitter cold of our city's winter but it's nice to be breathing fresh air so I take a couple more deep breathes, ignoring the painful sensation deep in my chest.
Tobias pulls up in one of the Dauntless cars, which reminds me of a sleek black panther on the prowl, which we learned about in lower levels, and we head toward the library downtown. He is unusually quiet during our trip. I can feel tension rolling off of him in waves. I would love to know what he's thinking about but he'll share when he's ready. This is the hardest thing I've had to endure during our relationship. I would love to just pull the information out of his head but he never shares anything until he's completely ready. Soon he's pulling up to the city's public library, which is used by all the factions except for Abnegation. They think reading for pleasure is selfish. We go in and ask if Natalie Prior is volunteering today and are told she isn't so we continue on to Abnegation.
"Are you okay, Tobias?" I finally ask, unable to stand it anymore. He looks straight ahead avoiding any debris that might be in the damaged streets in this part of town and takes a deep breath.
"It's going back to Abnegation, Tris," he says with a sigh. "I never thought I would go back there for anything ... ever."
"You didn't have to come with me. I could have come on my own." I want to ask the obvious question about his father but I won't. Just in case he isn't thinking about him at this moment, I don't want to be the one who reminds him.
"Yeah, I did. I wouldn't want you to come alone," he says, giving me a small smile. Soon we are slowly travelling through the very familiar streets of our old home. He doesn't ask me where my parents live, he just pulls up right in front of their house. I look at him inquisitively. He points to a house down the street. "That's Marcus' house." Of course. We were neighbors.
"How is it we didn't know each other when we lived so close to one another?" I ask, taking his hand in mine.
"I don't know," he says pulling our laced hands up to his mouth and kissing my knuckles. "I do know one thing. If we would have known each other back then, there's no way in hell I would have been able to leave you when I turned 16. So part of me is glad we didn't meet until you came to Dauntless." I understand what it is he's saying. He had to get away from his father's abuse, and if we had known each other back then, he would have had to choose between getting away from his father and staying with me. I'm glad we didn't meet back then also. I lean over and place my lips on his and kiss him tenderly yet thoroughly. I pull back and just stare into the depths of his soulful eyes for a moment, panting lightly.
"Shall we," he says, clearing his throat, which clears my head. Butterflies start dancing in my stomach with anticipation at the thought of seeing my mother again. I haven't seen her since visiting day. Tobias and I walk hand-in-hand up the short gray concrete sidewalk to the plain gray wooden door. I look up at him, nervousness clear on my face, and he knocks. After a moment my mom opens the door to us.
"Beatrice!" she says, shock clear on her face.
"Hi, Mom," I say.