A/N- Late upload again! Wasn't too sure what to do with this chapter, but half way through I got the hang of where it's going! Next chapter should be easier to write for me lol. Thanks for the review Sensitivity8! Always look forward to seeing what you think of the chapters! Enjoy reading! Bethany x

Chapter 20

Tobias's POV

"And I could bet good money that this is all your fault." Harriet accuses flatly, finishing up on Tris's injured leg.

I glance at her from across the room, no reply necessary.

"You need to be more careful, Princeling." She dotes on Tris, brushing the dull hair away from her face. "Or you'll find history repeating itself." She packs up her supplies and walks over, handing me a bottle. "Give this to her every 4 hours." Her cloudy grey eyes stare into mine as I take the medicine from her. "I'll be back in the morning. If she gets any worse, you call me immediately." I nod, walking her frail body to the door. She shuffles out, muttering to herself. When the door is closed behind her, my body sags in relief.

Harriet's our best doctor, and she knows it. She's been here since my Grandmother reigned, so she has no problem saying what she has on her mind.

I moved over to Tris, taking residence in the chair I had pulled over for Harriet, between the bed and the window. I watch as her chest rises and falls, her pale face and lifeless body is an eerie sight. She looks so unlike the girl I've gotten to know, her closed eyes keeping me at a distance.

I slouch in my chair, rubbing my face in a futile attempt to release some tension. I feel my clothes clinging to my body, still damp from the storm. Harriet had changed Tris when she arrived with some struggle. When I offered my help, I was quickly shut down.

I should have gotten changed when Harriet was still here, and now I can't bear to leave. I look out the large window next to me, and see the storm hasn't let up. From my room, I can see the rock formation, and see that most of it is flooded now. I feel my heart beat faster and a weight fills my stomach as I think about what could have happened if I didn't find her in time. She only had minutes left when I got to her and I knew she was going to take her chances with swimming.

I hadn't planned to go after her, being too angry to see any reason. I didn't think she would come looking for me either. I had decided to go down to the stables, maybe go for a ride to blow off some steam. It took a while to get down there, my friends intercepting me on the way down. Zeke had wanted to finalise our plans for their trip to the Southern Shore, with Shauna and Lauren backing him. I told them I was busy, and left. Looking back on it now, I was beyond rude. It had worked, though, I got down to the stables soon after, finding the stable hand, Liam, grooming Bess. We made polite conversation for a bit, until he brought up Tris in passing conversation, saying she had rushed in here then rushed out. He had said she was heading down to the beach.

I changed my plans completely, moving towards the beach. I was confused why she wasn't with Xavier and having calmed down quite a bit, felt the need to apologise for my outburst. When I got to the sand, she was nowhere to be seen. Panic had slowly set in, with my eyes clinging onto the rocks. I had hoped she was smart enough to not be on the rocks, as I could already see the storm approaching rapidly. I couldn't leave it to chance, so I took my chances.

My fear lapped like the waves, coming and going as I watched her slip down the rockface. The whole situation felt so out of my control, like the sea had its own plans and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I don't know how I was able to pull her up, sheer will? I don't know where I found grip.

I reach out towards her, brushing a few stay strands of hair away from her face. Her features pinch together barely, and I see her eyes flutter open.

"Hey." I say quietly.

Her half open eyes lazily look around my room, then land on me. "Am I in your room?"

I hum in response, "Is it just as you've imagined?"

"No." She pauses. "Thought it'd be darker."

She goes to sit up, and I'm up on my feet. "Slow down." I say, grabbing some cushions to place behind her head. "Don't strain yourself."

"I don't need to use my leg to sit up." She says in response, pushing off her hands to get herself up right. When I go to help, she bats me off.

"How's it feeling?"

She shrugs, "It's fine." Looking exhausted, she falls into the mass of pillows.

I see her try to move her legs, and her face contorts. I lean across to the bedside table, grabbing the pain killers. "You don't have to be brave with me, Tris." I handed her the medicine. "You can be in pain with me."

She looks at me for a beat longer, her stormy grey eyes swirling. She looks down to my extended hand, and cautiously takes the liquid. She takes it quickly, handing it back to me when the syringe is empty. I take note of the time, and pop the bottle back on the table.

Tris, too, looks up at the clock, and her eyes widen. "Have you talked to Christina?"

I look at her questionably. "Did I need to?"

Her head starts twisting, looking for something. I take a guess, grabbing her phone. She takes it, then looks at it, confused. "Oh."

"You had plans?"

"Lunch plans." She confirms. "It's well past the time we should have been down there. I expected at least one message wondering where I am." She passes the phone back. "So…" She trials off, crookedly smiling.

I laugh, shaking my head. "Don't go making this awkward."

She frowns, but her eyes are bright, "Totally wasn't going to." She giggles. I watch as the medicine starts to kick in. "Bet I could pinpoint the day you started to like like me."

"Oh yeah?" I challenge, grinning. "Try then."

"Hmmmm," she taps her finger on her lips, "when you introduced me to Snow, down at the stables."

I lean in, resting my elbows on my knees. "And what do I get if you're wrong?"

Her head knocks to the side, "How about…" She drags out, her eyes roaming the room. They landed back on me, a fire in her eyes igniting. "I'll kiss you, again."

I purse my lips, pretending to think. "Tempting." Her face drops in mock shock, and I laugh. "And if you're right?"

She exasperatedly sighs. "You may kiss me." She schools her features, putting on a serious face, "Deal?" Her hand is out, waiting for me to shake. I ignore it. She shakes her hand, her face telling me to 'go on then'.

"You're wrong." I say instead. There's not much that would make me not want to kiss her again, but I won't be doing anything whilst she's on these meds. "I realised I liked you when you were passed out on the ship- after you jumped in after Peter."

Her hand drops onto my mattress. "Really?"

I nod, giving her a small smile. "I don't know how anyone else didn't."

"That's what you'd like to think," she grins, "so you don't have to deal with competitors."

"I mean- you're not wrong." I chuckle, watching her eyes start to become heavy. I grab the duvet, pulling it up to her chest. "Sleep, Tris."

"You'll stay?" She mumbles, already shutting her eyes.

"Of course." I whisper. She's out of it soon after and I collapse into my chair, feeling just as exhausted.

I watch the duvet move with each breath she takes, steady enough for me to relax. I feel the leftover buzz of adrenaline leave my body, and all I want to do is go and lay down beside her and sleep the rest of the day away. Instead, I get up, and search around my room for the top I took off last night and threw somewhere.

Just as I put my head through the hole, a knock sounds at my door. It opens slowly as I walk towards it, and Zeke's head pops out of the crack. His eyes shift from me to Tris, then back again. I put a finger to my lips, then gesture him out.

"Is she okay?" He asks as the door clicks shut.

"Yeah," I responded, pressing my lips together, "well, she is now."

His eyes narrowed. "And you're not going to elaborate?"

I run a hand down my face, "What did you come here for, Zeke?"

His eyes flash to the door, then to me, like he hasn't made up his mind whether to let this go or not. Sure, I could tell him, but it's a long story that I'm not in the mood to share.

"Whatever. Bud's downstairs, saying something about a lost book. He said to get you two. But it seems Tris is out of action." He stares openly at me, waiting.

The last time I saw Bud was when Tris and I took a visit to his and Tori's tattoo shop. We had gone there to see if they knew anything about the sapphire ring Arthur had given Tris. He had mentioned a book, but wasn't sure where it was. We left the sapphire there.

"Just tell him to come up."

He looks to the ceiling in annoyance. "I tried to get him past the doors, but the guards won't allow him through without an invitation for an audience. You'll have to do it yourself."

"Zeke…" I trail off, hating that he's upset with me. "Don't be mad."

"I'm not mad." He says flatly.

I shake my head, this is wasting time. "Can you wait in there with Tris? I'll bring him straight up." He doesn't move, waiting. I groan, feeling agitated. "I'll tell you everything after this, okay?"

Instead of replying, he moves into the room, shutting the door behind him softly. I give the room one more glance, then run down the corridors until I make it to the entrance. I see Bud arguing with the guards at the front doors. He's pointing fingers and looks angry. The Dauntless guards don't look swayed.

As I walk over, Bud catches sight of me. "Four!" He exclaims, sounding relieved. "See?" He says to the guards. I see one roll her eyes.

"We're just doing our job, Bud." Samule says. "No appointment, no audience."

"Thanks." I butt in, "I'll take it from here." They both nod quickly, backing away just as fast. Bud walks through the doors, and they shut behind him.

"Come on," I nod my head to the right, "Tris is upstairs."

He follows me, seeming on edge. Once in a while, I catch him looking over his shoulder. I pick up my pace, worry settling in.

When we make it back to my room, I see that Tris is awake, laughing. Zeke, sitting in the chair next to the bed, laughs along. Their heads both turn to us as we walk in.

I walk over to Tris, looking pointedly at Zeke, "You didn't wake her up, did you?"

"What else was I supposed to do? Just watch her sleep?"

My brows draw, my mouth opening-

"He's joking, T-Four." She smiles up at me, almost guilty. "I woke up by myself."

"Sure you did, uh-" I go to the door, locking it. Then motioning Bud to the bottom of the bed. "Sorry, Bud, no more seats." I move to sit next to Tris, resting my restless legs on the bed. I feel her delicate hand on my thigh, and I realise it's shaking. I grab her hand instead, resting them on my stomach.

I see her small smile from the corner of my eye, and feel the corner of my mouth twitch upwards.

"No, no, it's fine; I'd rather stand anyways, well-" we stare at him, waiting. He shifts uncomfortably on his feet, looking a great deal smaller than his body allows. "The book, the one I said I'd look for?" I nod in encouragement. His eyes meet all of ours, then shakes his head, "It's gone- and the sapphire with it."

My eyes narrow, confused. "What do you mean, gone? Did someone take it?"

I feel some pressure on my hand, but can't concentrate on it.

Bud's head, still shaking, "I don't know, the cameras had cut out so I have no proof it was stolen- but I know they were-"

"Wait, Bud," Tris interrupts, bringing herself out of the mass of pillows. "Not trying to be rude, but it wasn't really an organised room you were in, maybe it's still lost? What does Tori think?" She says it kindly, but Bud stiffens with every word.

"I don't know-" He stops, taking in a shuddering breath, "I don't know what my wife thinks because she's gone."

My eyes flash to Zekes, and I can feel the fear slowly filling him. Tris tenses up, her hands fisting the sheets. I turn slowly back to Bud, not wanting to hear the rest. "How long?"

"She was tattooing- just this morning- I went for that meeting and then-" He's rubbing his hands together roughly, his calloused palms sanding against each other. His wild eyes are unfocused, bouncing off every surface in the room. I wonder how he's kept his cool for this long. "She was gone when I got back- she had the sapphire on her- she said she had found the book, we we're going to look through it after-"

Zeke stands up, his hands out in front of him. "Bud, calm down." Bud's head whips to Zeke's, his eyes wide. Zeke gives out a nervous laugh, "I mean- are you sure she's missing? Couldn't she have just gone somewhere for the day and forgot to tell you? Doesn't she have family in another faction?" Zeke brings Bud to sit in his seat. He looks like he's put on 10 years. His eyes are red, and the wrinkles pinching his skin don't leave when his face relaxes. I can see his usually combed out hair is in a tangled mess, and his clothes are starting to wrinkle.

I turn my body to face him, squeezing Tris a bit closer. I wait for his response, hoping he's just paranoid.

"No- I've called them, she's not there. She wouldn't up and leave with information like that- she wouldn't take the sapphire."

"Right, so someone's taken Tori," Tris states, "It's obviously Erudite." She stops, reevaluating. "But why would they want Tori? Why wouldn't they just take the book and the gem?"

No one replies, no one having a logical answer. Maybe she saw them steal the items, and wanted to keep her quiet?

Tris looks at me, her bright blue eyes foggy with fear. "We need to find her- and soon." I nod, getting off the bed.

"Zeke?" I nod towards the door. He's by my side in a flash. "Go get Shauna and Lauren, we're leaving now." I say, voice low. He nods, and leaves.

"Four?" Tris asks, her voice eerily quiet. I turn to her, and see Bud already out of his seat, walking past me to the door.

"I'm coming." He says, then brushes past me without a reply.

"You're not going anywhere without me." She stares in disbelief.

I shake my head, "You're not coming."

Anger seeps out of her, her dishevelled look vanishing, "You can't tell me what I can do, Four."

"Don't use that name against me, Tris." I breathe in. Her sharp gaze doesn't falter. "I don't care what you think, you're not going anywhere until that leg heals." I accentuate her injured leg, pointing a finger at it. "And I don't think it'll be done healing within the hour."

She sits still, glaring at me, I wait for a response, for her to say anything, but she stays quiet. My eyes linger on hers for a moment longer, then I turn around and walk out the door before I change my mind. I grab the key out of my back pocket, twisting it into the lock.

I storm down the hall, grabbing my phone out of my pocket. Texting the rest of the group, I run the rest of the way down to the driveway.

When I get there, only Bud, Zeke, Shauna and Lauren are standing by the waiting cars. They each have a small bag packed, aside from Bud. The girls share the same worried expression.

"We're going to the lake," I state, "there has to be something there." I hear footsteps running towards me, and when I turn, I see the younger ones.

"We going now?" Asks Lynn.

I nod, then motion to my advisors, "Go get in the cars, we'll talk about the plan on the way to the train."

They move towards the car, but Uriah stops before he passes me. "Where's Tris?" He asks, cautiously. Marlene, Christina and Robert tag along behind him. I see the cogs turning in Christina's mind.

"Get in the car, Uriah. I'll explain everything."

His eyes linger on me as he walks past. When I hear the door shut, I turn the three left behind.

"Go on." Christina demands. Marlene nods along, blonde hair whipping around. Tris's face flashes before mine, but I push it away before I go back inside.

"She can tell you the full story- but she's injured, she's not fit to travel. I need you three to keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn't make that gash any worse."

"Gash?" Robert asks, eyes wide. "What was she doing?"

"No time to explain." My body itches to run back in, wants to go back to my room and pretend nothing has happened. I let my eyes flicker to the direction of my room, clear the thought out of my mind, shove the key into Christina's hand, and leave.