Hello, readers, I hope you all enjoy this extra long chapter. Once again, I don't own Divergent and all military-related mistakes are mine. Thank you to everyone who continues to read and comment on this story. Also, there is a surprise in this chapter, can't wait to hear your comments. To my guest who commented, don't worry your questions will be answered in this chapter. This chapter is rated M for some sensitive topics that are discussed. Happy Reading!

Chapter 28 Slow Motion

I move to slowly open the door, but a voice stops me, "Miss Prior, can I talk to you?" The woman, whom I don't recognize, asks, looks directly at me. She speaks to me as though her statement isn't a question, but a command. I gently slide the glass door back into place. My heart beats quickly. Tobias! I was so close to making sure that he was really alive with my own eyes.

"Yes," I answer slowly, my voice unsure.

"You are Tris Prior, right?" The woman stares down at me. Her heels tap on the hospital floor impatiently, as she waits for my answer as if my answer will solve an unknown puzzle.

"Yes, why?"

"Are you sister to Caleb Prior?" Caleb! My stomach drops, thinking about Caleb. My mind quickly snaps back to that moment in the garage, yelling at Peter, hearing the gunshot, watching the color drain from Caleb's face, watching the blood trickle out of Caleb's chest onto the cement floor. My stomach hurts. Caleb! I had been so focused on Tobias, I had completely forgotten about my brother. He is the only reason that I am where I am today. He is one of the reasons that I made it off the streets alive. I feel like a knife is stabbing into my gut as I think about not being able to save Caleb's life from Peter as I answer, "Yes," my voice wavers as I stare at the woman with dark hair and dark brown eyes.

"Tris, I have been trying to call you for hours on your cellphone, but you haven't been answering it."

"My cellphone disappeared. I have no idea where it went to, why? How do you know my name?"

"I'm sorry, but my name is Cara. I'm Caleb's girlfriend." The name Cara rings a bell as I ask, "Wait, the one who works at the FBI with him."

She laughs as she says, "I don't actually work at the FBI with Caleb. I work in the government, but not for the FBI. When I first met Caleb, I was meeting with a colleague on a project. My colleague told me, I could leave all of my junk on Caleb's desk, little did I know he was trying to set me up with Caleb." She smiles. "After our first date, I knew we had a connection that I couldn't resist any longer. I knew he was someone special, and I wanted to know more about him. We spent every waking moment together those first weeks, so when he told me, he was coming to California, and he didn't want me to come with him, only that his sister needed him. I found it odd. I dropped everything and followed him with only gut instinct to follow."

My stomach drops are I listen to her talk of Caleb dropping everything to come to my rescue, the rescue that I didn't need, of hearing her talk of how she dropped everything to follow him on gut instinct because she felt something wasn't right. How am I going to break the news to Cara about Caleb's death? My mouth feels sticky as I begin to say, "Cara, we need to talk about Caleb."

"Yes, we do Tris. You need to come with me." She says as she takes my hand, leading me down a set of different hallways. Cara stops in front of another set of doors reading room number 25, ICU. She turns to me with tears in her eyes as she says, "Caleb is alive, Tris."

"How? I saw all the blood. I saw the color drain from his face."

"He was wearing a bulletproof vest. I borrowed it from my partner at work before I left the agency that I work for. Well, I stole it without asking, but I have every intention of giving it back. However, the issue is. . . the vest wasn't properly on your brother's body. My partner is taller than Caleb. The gunshot from Peter's gun hit Caleb in the upper chest. That wasn't enough to kill him. Caleb's lungs aren't as developed as an adult male's lungs are supposed to be, and his lungs are slightly misaligned. Otherwise, his lungs would have been punctured by the bullet, and he would have died."

"No wonder he always had issues running and swimming when we were kids. That explains a lot. Is he going to be okay?" I ask, not believing that my brother is really alive.

"Yes, he got out from surgery several hours ago. I started trying to call you while he was in surgery. During surgery, the doctors tell me, that fragments of the bullet were removed from his chest cavity. Part of one was inching its way very close to his lung. His lung cavity started to fill with blood, according to the doctor. A drain was placed into his chest to get rid of the extra blood to help his lungs inflate all the way." She smiles at me as she grips my hand with hers tightly. "Do you want to see him?"

"I would love to, but wait, how did you both get here?"

"I called the cops and an ambulance as soon as I heard the gunshots happen in the house. Caleb was wearing a body camera."

"Why was he wearing a body camera?"

"I borrowed that from work as well. I was worried about Caleb's odd behavior when it came to you. I was worried that you were in trouble, or he was in trouble, something like that. I got one of Caleb's colleagues to hack into his email. I found his hotel confirmation, and I showed up there. I got him to agree, after much argument, to let me drive him to Four house. I dropped him off down the road. He wore a body camera because I had a bad feeling, and he wanted to make me feel better. I watched everything unfold on my cellphone. It is all recorded on there. If Peter isn't dead, he is going to jail for a long time, after his confessions that he made in that room tonight." Tears burn my eyes as I wrap my arms around Cara as I whisper, "Thank you. Thank you for everything."

"It's nothing." She smirks as she opens the sliding glass door to Caleb's bright room. Caleb smiles at Cara as she moves to hug him. He kisses her on the cheek as he says, "Did you fill Tris in on everything?"

"I think I did." Her cheeks redden as she moves to sit in the chair next to the bed. He opens his arms to me, and I run into them instantly, crying like a child. "Caleb, thank goodness you are alright! I thought you had died. Don't ever do something stupid like that again!" I chastise him.

"I can't promise anything, especially when it comes to you or Cara, I always want to protect you because that is what brothers are supposed to do, but I will try, Tris. I really need to meet this Four guy, who caused this whole mess in the first place."

"Caleb, you should have known better. You should have known that I wasn't cutting, that I wouldn't try to commit suicide ever again, after what happened last time."

"Like, I said before, we were speaking regularly, then suddenly you just stopped talking to me, and you weren't returning my phone calls. How am I supposed to know what is going on in your mind?"

"Why are you assuming the worst in me? I haven't cut since Mom and Dad died. I had a lot going on. Four disappear for several days, his plane crashed, and I wanted to be left alone."

"You should have called me. I would have been on the first flight out here to be with you, to support you through the tough time."

"But, I'm not your responsibility anymore, I'm not a child," I say as I cross my arms over my chest.

"I know that you aren't a child any longer Tris, you will always be my responsibility, though, no matter how old you get. I will always be your big brother." He whispers as he stares at me. He smirks, "Now tell me all about this guy Four, who I am hoping was putting on a show in front of Peter because if not, then I'm not sure how I feel about you and him being together."

Caleb and I talk for what feels like hours about Four and about our childhood before our parents died. I tell him everything about Four, everything that I know. I tell him about how Four took me up on a plane flying, how much I like being around Four, and how he makes me feel. By the end of the conversation, my cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing from re-living happy memories with Caleb. When my eyes float to the clock, and I realize that I have been talking with Caleb and Cara for almost two hours my chest begins to ache as I wonder if Tobias is alright? If he is awake yet? And if he is awake, does he know where he is or is he scared without me next to him? Caleb catches my frown as he asks, "Tris, have you seen Four yet since he has been out of surgery?"

"No, I got to her before she went into his room," Cara says.

"Then what are you doing here, still talking to Cara and me? Go see him." Caleb says, effectively pushing me out the door with his voice. I quickly walk out of the room to find Tobias's room once again.

My fingers shake as I touch the glass room door. Once again I hear a voice call out, "Miss Prior, I need to talk to you about what happened last night." Anger laces through my body. I just want to see Tobias and make sure he is alright. I turn to find a young woman dressed in a camouflage uniform. Close my eyes, I let out a breath, I ask, "Can't this wait, I want to make sure Tobias is alive."

"I'm sorry, but it can't. I have been waiting here for you since shortly after Captain Eaton got out of surgery. I tried calling your cellphone to get you to come in for questioning. I know you went through some terrible things, but the longer you wait to give your statement; the more details may disappear from your mind. The more details of the night might become fuzzy to you."

"I don't think I could ever forget what happened last night if I tried," I mutter sarcastically at her.

She says, "I'll try to make this quick. Now please come with me." The young woman leads me away from Tobias's room into another room with another woman. They both motion for me to have a seat, turn on a tape recorder and begin to ask me question after question. I try to answer them the best I can, but the whole time my mind is on Tobias. After half an hour of questioning, the two women seem happy with my answers, and they release me.

I run to Tobias's room, and stand outside the door, wondering what my next interruption will be that will keep me from him. Anger. Frustration. Nervousness. Happiness. Excitement. I feel everything as my fingers touch the door handle. I slowly open the door afraid to wake Tobias, who is asleep still from the surgery. He is attached to a heart monitor, oxygen tubing, IVs, and a pain pump. He still has a splint and a boot on. He looks even more black and blue than the last time that I saw him. I rub his head as I take a seat next to him, and break down crying for the first time, numbness takes over my emotions as I take in his broken body. I pull his signed paper from the scrub top looking at his rushed signature, once again. "Why, Tobias, why did you sign yourself out and go with Peter?" I cry, my mind spiraling with all the possibilities as I rest my head next to his hand that has the IVs in them as I close my eyes, drifting off to sleep with tears stinging my eyes. I wake to fingers moving my hair. "Tris?" The hoarse voice asks sounding scared.

My eyes shoot up to meet Tobias's, which are almost swollen shut, his chest is rising rapidly. "Yeah. It's me. We are safe. You are safe. Don't worry Peter is gone. I think he is dead. He can't hurt you ever again." I say, trying to reassure him. He squeezes my fingers as I ask, "Why did you sign yourself out of the hospital after you just had surgery? Are you stupid?"

Tobias grimnesses as he says, "I didn't want to, Tris. I knew if I survived you would be angry at me, but I did it to protect you."

"Protect me, how?"

"Peter, when he showed up here, dressed up like me, in my clothing with my last name on his jacket. I began to panic, wondering what the hell he was planning, and what happened to you. He handed me my jacket to wear, to sign out in. While we were walking down the hallway, Peter made a stop into the hospital locker room, and he broke into a locker. He stole another jacket to finish the uniform look from someone else. Once we were inside a car, that he stole, I shrugged off my jacket. I didn't want to get blood on it."

"Hold on, how did he get you to sign out?" I ask, frustration lacing my voice.

"He told me he had you as a hostage. He told me he was going to kill you. He told me; the only way to save you was to give myself to him in exchange for your life. I was willing to do that. I immediately called the nurse without a second thought and signed myself out against medical advice while Peter hid in the bathroom. I was willing to do anything to save your life even if it meant me dying in the process." I lose my breath. I want to yell at him, to scream at him, to tell him that he was stupid for even doing such a thing, but then again; this is Tobias. He has metals he earned in battles for his heroic actions, his decision to save me must have been nothing compared to whatever he did in those battles that earned him those metals.

"How did Peter get onto base?"

"I don't know. He said something about having friends on the inside." Tobias whispers, shrugging his shoulders. I sigh realizing we will never know the answer to our question. Peter is dead.

He blinks, whispering, "You saved us. You saved me. Thank you, Tris. I will forever be grateful." His voice breaks as he croaks, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what I said before when I was first rescued and you came to the hospital. I didn't mean it at all. I didn't mean those horrible things that I said to you. I felt betrayed, and I was left for dead. The rest of the world continued on without me. I don't want you to leave. I always want you to be around. I was trying to protect you from Peter, and I was hurt that you would go to the ball with Stephen when I was missing."

"Tobias," I whisper, "I was miserable without you. I have never felt such pain in my life as the day that those men came knocking on the door, telling me that you were missing. You have no idea how hard my life was knowing, you were out there missing, most likely hurt, and that there was nothing I could do about it. I dreamt about your crashing plane nightly. Everyone told me to start moving on, but I didn't want to. Stephen was trying to be nice. He wanted to get my mind off everything that was happening."

"It's just hard, knowing that you were trying to live your life, and I wasn't here with you. I wanted to be here living life with you during those days. Not stuck on a stupid island. I would never leave you purposely, remember that, always." He whispers, his eyes not meeting mine.

I smile saying, "I know. Rest, you need it. I'll be here when you wake up. You have been through hell and back today. We both have."

As his eyes close again, I kiss his stubbly cheek. A few hours later, the two women who interviewed me, knock on the door of Tobias's room, waking him.

"Tris, we need you to step outside of the room, please. We need to ask Captain Eaton some questions about what happened last night." I groan as Tobias whispers, "It's fine." I bounce on my toes the whole time that the two women are in the room with him. To try to calm my nerves, I walk to the cafe to find some ice cream for Tobias. When I return to the room, with Tobias's favorite ice cream, he makes a sarcastic remark. Tobias's mood seems to have shifted, and not for the better either. He seems unhappy and angry at the world. When I attempt to pry, he shuts me down, tells me he is tired, and he turns over in the opposite direction of me, leaving me to eat the cup of ice cream by myself.

The next few days, Tobias's vitals stay stable. He sleeps on and off as his body recovers from the trauma of Peter and the plane crash. I visit Caleb every day for a short time, checking up on him, but most of my time is spent with Tobias, keeping an eye on him. Zeke visits every day for a short time, every day telling Tobias he looks like hell, their banter is playful. One day, Zeke walks in instead of rolling in, in his wheelchair. Tobias smirks at him as Zeke says, "I get to bust out of here finally! You, on the other hand, still look like shit! Is there anything I can get for you?"

"No." I sigh contently, sitting on the bed with Tobias, not wanting to take my eyes off of him as Tobias says, "Actually, can you grab my truck from the airfield for Tris to use. The keys should still be in my locker."

"Sure thing, Four. Oh, Tris, you can stay with me and Shauna instead of going back to the house." He smiles as he walks out of the room.

"Did you tell him that I haven't been back to the house?"

"No, I'm pretty sure those beautiful blue hospital scrubs that the nurses bring in daily to you did," Tobias smirks at me as I swat his arm.

Tobias and I talk, but we avoid the topic of what happened at the house. Max visits Tobias and talks about how the Air Force found the missing plane days before the Coast Guard found Zeke and him, and how the men searched some of the surrounding land and sea, but Four and Zeke were nowhere to be found. He tells Four about how there were plans to retrieve the plane for later that week. I notice Tobias's mood change dramatically after Max's visit. He seems emotionless the whole time that Max is talking. After Max leaves, I whisper, gripping his hand "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Wonderful in fact." Tobias snaps as I move off the bed from him, leaving him to deal with his mood swing once again as he whispers, "I'm sorry, Tris. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm sorry. I still feel awful for telling you everything that I did that night in the hospital. I feel awful for not being able to protect you from Peter as I should have. Then, Max, he pisses me off. If it wasn't for the Coast Guard, Zeke and I would still be on that island."

"It's fine, Tobias. You have the right to be hurt and angry, but it is in the past now. Maybe you should talk to someone," I suggest as he shakes his head at me. "I can't. I will look weak to everyone if I ask for help. I only need you." He says as he pulls me into a hug. Every night, as I listen to Tobias's steady breathing next to me in the hospital bed, I thank God that he is still here, alive, sleeping next to me.

I finally mount the courage to formally introduce Caleb and Tobias to each other in the hospital. Both of them look awkward in their PJs as they attempt to size each other up. Caleb from his wheelchair. Tobias from his hospital bed. Cara giggles from behind Caleb, whispering, "Be nice," as Caleb narrows his eyes at her for a second then says, "Nice to meet you, Four."

"Nice to meet you, Caleb."

Our conversation is short, but Caleb and Tobias seem to get along okay. I let out a breath that I didn't realize that I was holding as Cara rolls Caleb out of the room, Tobias breaths, "I don't think your brother likes me very much."

"He will come around. He is just very protective of me and suspicious of your actions in the garage. I tried to explain, but I guess you will need to prove yourself to him." I giggle as Tobias smirks at me as he pulls me into a hug, and kisses my forehead, whispering, "Well, that is good to know. I'm always up for a challenge."

When Caleb visits another time, he seems more trusting of Tobias, but this time when Caleb does visit, he comes walking in. He shakes Tobias's hand, tells him, he passed his background check. Tobias raises an eyebrow at me as I shrug my shoulders. Caleb has a smile on his lips as he announces his departure from California back to Washington D.C. As he is leaving the room, he says, "Tris, if you ever need anything, call me and let me know. I will be out here as soon as I can. I guess I give my brotherly blessing to whatever this is."

"Thanks, I guess. Although, I didn't ask for your permission. Don't worry Caleb, I will call you if I need anything. Don't come running here if you don't hear it from me, first, okay?"

"Deal." He smirks at me as he hugs me goodbye, and I hug Cara goodbye as well, and they walk out the door hand-in-hand.

"I like them together. They make a good pair." I whisper as Tobias eyes me like he isn't sure what is going on.

By day ten, Tobias is getting cabin fever from being bed bound, he starts pulling rank and gets himself discharged from the hospital before anyone wants to. It is either they discharge him today or he is going to leave against medical advice again, which I am against. Once Tobias is discharged, he reaches for the truck keys, I dangle them away from him. He shoots me a look as he climbs into the driver's seat without the keys.

"Why are you so grumpy?" I ask as he takes off down the road, off the base. He doesn't respond to my question. "Tobias, where are we going?"

"Somewhere no one will know us." He smiles at me as we leave the Air Force Base gate. As we drive, Tobias holds my hand, running his fingers along mine, playing with my fingers, and intertwining them together. He brings my hand up to his mouth, kissing it.

"Give me a clue, Tobias. After everything we have been through, I hate surprises."

He rolls his eyes as he says, "Since when have my surprises ever been bad?" I raise an eyebrow at him as he says, "Okay fine. Miss Prior, we are going to Bodega Bay to walk along the beach for the day, and get lunch at The Tides Restaurant. That's the one from Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Birds."

"I've always wanted to see that restaurant," I say smiling at him.

"Well, today is your lucky day." We pull up to a gray building that reads The Tides Restaurant. It is overcast and windy by the water today. Tobias and I choose to eat inside instead of on the dock. I order a bowl of clam chowder while he orders a Cesar salad. Then for lunch, I have prawns (shrimp) and chips while Tobias has fish and chips. Throughout lunch, I can't help but take in how well his skin is healing, and how his bruises are starting to fade. He plays with my fingers across the table nervously. "I'll be glad when the boot can come off."

"At least your splint came off a few days early. Are you superman with how quickly you heal?" I ask, teasing him gently.

He laughs as he says "No, but the boot needs to come off. Do you know how hard it is to walk in this thing?"

"The doctor said next week." I gently say. He gets quiet, going into his mind as he finishes eating. I pick at the rest of my food, watching the waves move out on the water, a boat rocking back and forth.

"You want some salt water taffy?" He asks as we are walking past a gift shop that has fake crows sitting on a ledge above our heads.

"Sure."

Tobias drives us to a pink and white striped house that reads Patrick's Salt Water Taffy. "This place has the best taffy. There are a ton of different flavors in here," he says grinning at me. "They also have weird flavors like cinnamon, pear, or chili lime if you want to try that."

I make a face at the mention of cinnamon as Tobias smiles at me. When we enter the building, Tobias was right. This place has hundreds of different flavors of taffy. I feel like a kid at heart just being here. Tobias and I decide to try buttered popcorn, cotton candy, and a few other mystery flavors. We take our taffy loot up to Bodega head, and we walk down to the sandy beach. I stick my toes into the cold water. The cool water feels good even with the wind blowing hard against my face. Tobias is quiet again, in his own mind, and I want to ask him what he is thinking about. But, all the doctors said not to push him, that he would talk when he is ready to. We walk up and down the beach along the waterline. When finally, he turns to me and says, "Tris, I've been thinking, and I know it isn't what you are going to want to hear. But, I think you should go live with your friends Christina and Will for a little while."

"What? Why? I just got you back! You told me you would never leave me."

"I think it is for the best, Tris." He says, frustration clear in his voice.

"Tobias, let me be your strength. I can handle both of our weight together. Let me fight for us."

"I'm tired of fighting you and everyone, Tris." He whispers. I want to fight him on the issue. I lose my nerve as I whisper, "Fine Tobias, I will go since clearly, you have a lot on your mind to work through, but answer me one question first."

"What?"

"Do you love me?" I ask him, the one question that has been on my mind since Peter asked me that question during my questioning session. He doesn't answer me, just like he didn't when Peter asked him the same question. He looks down at his feet instead. "Answer me!" I demand.

He takes a deep breath as he says, "I care about you Tris, deeply, more than you could ever know, but I need to figure out my life before we start our life together. Before we figure out a future together if we even have one together." Ouch! I always thought of a future with Tobias. I didn't know he didn't feel the same way. I feel wetness gathering in my in eyes as he continues, "I need to figure out if I want to stay in the Air Force. If not, then I need to figure out a way to get out of the military somehow, to get a regular job. Hell, I don't even know if they are even going to let me fly again. If they don't, let me be a pilot again, I am nothing without my wings." He says angrily.

"That's not true!"

"Maybe to you, but the Air Force is all I have ever known. They helped me from going back to an abusive father after college graduation when no one would hire a mechanical engineer with a master's degree with no experience. Flying is all I have ever wanted to do since I signed my name on the dotted line." He glares at the ocean as he throws a rock into the waves.

"Don't push me away. We can face this together. Whatever this is."

"No, we can't, Tris. This is my burden to bear. Not to mention, I want reassignment out of this state. California holds too many crappy memories for me, too many memories of Stacy, with Stacy and our failed relationship."

"What about me? What about our memories? Aren't those good? Why are you dwelling on the past?" I ask.

"Yes, those memories with you are some of my happiest, but Tris, my mental state isn't the best right now." He whispers as I reply, "Tobias, let me help you."

"Just go visit Christina and Will. I'll let you know the plans, and where I get reassigned to. You can come along if you want. I will leave the choice up to you entirely."

"Fine," I grumble. "But, know this. That I'm not happy." I say as I run my fingers along his facial hair.

"I know you aren't happy, but it is what needs to be done." He says, staring at me dead in the eyes with no smile.

"I do have a question though. What did you mean figure out a way to get out of the military somehow?" I ask, confused by his first group of statements.

"In order to become a pilot in the Air Force I needed to sign on for ten years. I'll figure out a way to get a medical discharge if I can't keep my wings. There is no way in hell, I am sitting behind a desk doing paperwork all day. I would kill myself first." He whispers angrily, as he picks up another stone, throwing it into the ocean.

"What?" I ask shocked.

"You heard me." He glances at me, smirking.

"Are you serious? Suicide is nothing to joke about."

"Teasing." He says, shrugging his shoulders, but I don't fully believe him as I glance at him from the corner of my eyes.

Thoughts? Comments? What did everyone think about the beginning twist? Who else thinks Tobias is being slightly over dramatic. Can't wait to hear your comments! Next chapter will be up the weekend of June 8th.