A/N: Well, well, well, would you look at that. After 10 years, I'm back here to finish my longest fic on this site. Shocking, truly. If you asked me over a month ago if I was going to do this, I would have laughed and said no. But then I stumbled across my copy of the Divergent movie, and well, I got back into the fandom. I read all my fics here, and decided this one could be good with some massive re-working. So for those of you who are wondering what the heck this story is, and why you suddenly got an email for a fic update, well. As stated in the summary, this fic was previously titled "Tris and Toby: the Friends that Reunited". It got a title change, and so much more. I also have updated my username. I don't know if any of you have an ao3 account, but I'm Alright_Anakin on there, so I've updated my username to match. Anyway, if by some miracle, you come across this, thank you, and happy reading!

Hugs,

Britt

Prelude

The afternoon sun shines down on the street as I leave the lower levels school. The weather is finally warming up. I can feel the heat on my skin. I smile. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrap around my waist. "Tobi!" I screech.

"Yes, Beatrice?" Tobias laughs in my ear. He and I are best friends. Our fathers are close friends as well. They work in the government. We live in Abnegation: the selfless faction. I am five and Tobias is seven. We are still young enough to be allowed the simple joys of play and friendship.

"Stop it!" I giggle like a maniac, so he doesn't take me seriously. He laughs and releases me and we continue on our walk home. There is a city bus to take us places, but since we are selfless and are supposed to put others ahead of ourselves, we walk. We get to Tobias' house first. I wave goodbye as he heads up the path. The door to his house opens and I can see his mother in the doorway. She gives me a warm smile, and ushers Tobias inside. I walk down to my house and let myself in. Caleb, who is a year older than me, but in my year in school, hurries up the path after me. He must have been walking with Susan and Robert.

We sit at the table after helping set out the dishes and my father leads us in a short prayer. Not everyone in Abnegation is religious, but my family practices. During dinner, my mother asks my father about his day at work, and my father returns the question to her. Caleb and I eat quietly and wait for our turn to talk about our day.

After dinner, we sit in the living room for a peaceful evening. During dinner, my brother Caleb and I give our parents our listening ears, and now they give us theirs.

Caleb tells about his day at school. I eagerly await my turn to share.

"Tell us about your day, Beatrice." My mother says. I grin excitedly.

"Today, Tobi and I found a tiny, fuzzy caterpillar!" I say excitedly. "We moved it from the street to the grass, so it would be safe." My mom smiled.

"How is Tobias doing these days, Beatrice?" My mother asks.

"Oh, he is doing well, mother. Thanks for asking!" I say. My mother knows how special Tobi is to me.

"That's good to hear." She says. I nod excitedly again. We talk for a little while longer, but soon enough, it is bedtime for Caleb and me. We head to bed while our parents continue to talk. I dress in my night dress and crawl into bed. It does not take me long to fall asleep.

…

"Beatrice," my mother says softly. I turn from pouring milk into my glass.

"What?"

"Honey, we just received some bad news." Her eyes are sad. I feel my heartbeat quicken. Sweat gathers on my palms. I wipe them on my dress.

"What happened?" I ask, my throat tight.

"It's Evelyn, sweetie. Tobias' mother. She… she passed away last night."

"What?" I whisper. "What?" I say louder. Tears gather in my eyes and slip down my cheeks. "Tobi. I have to comfort Tobi," I manage to choke out through my tears.

"We are all going," my mother said. "There will be a gathering at the Eatons' house today." I nod and hurriedly wipe my face. I sip at my milk and put the glass in the sink. "Go get dressed, sweetie. We'll head over when everyone is ready." I nod again, not trusting myself to speak, and head upstairs to change.

When we enter Tobias' house, I don't see him. I stand with my parents and Caleb. Our neighbors gather in the room. Marcus looks like he is trying not to cry.

Tobias comes downstairs and looks shocked to see everyone.

"Dad," Toby says. "What's the matter?"

"Son," Marcus says. "Mother died during the night. She passed away during childbirth. The baby is dead."

Tobias is shocked.

"Mom was pregnant?" He asked in disbelief.

"Of course, she was, son. He's in shock," Marcus says. "Bound to happen with something like this."

I will never forget the look of disbelief on Tobias's face as his father told him his mother died of childbirth.

Tobias sobbed. I went to him and wrapped my arms around him in a hug. He held onto me like a lifeline.

"I will be here for you always, Tobias," I whispered firmly in his ear.

…

Something was terribly wrong. Tobias was nothing like he had been. I could see the dread in his eyes when we neared Abnegation after school. He hadn't looked that way before. He told me he hated returning home after school. I knew he missed his mother, but I had a feeling something else was going on. I didn't know how to ask him, though.

I didn't tell my parents about my suspicions because they would immediately tell Marcus. I didn't know why, but I had a feeling that Marcus had something to do with Tobi's dread. So I remained quiet and tried to be a support for him however I could.

Time went on, and Tobi wasn't getting any better. If anything, he was getting worse. I was worried, but Tobi told me it was just grief. I believed him. We spent a lot of time together and just talked. Tobias talked nonstop about his mother. He never mentioned his father, though. He would tell me about games his mom would play with him. Every time he told me about how close they had been, my heart ached. I knew Tobias was just trying to find a way to cope with his loss. He was eight. At six, I couldn't imagine losing my mother. My mom was always there as a support system. Tobias didn't have a support system. His father was rarely home, and when he was, he was busy and stressed, according to my father.

I was Tobias's support system. But I didn't understand anything he was going through. All I could do was listen to stories about his mom, or when he was four, and his dad spent more time with him.

Every night after dinner, my mother would ask me about Tobias. My answers ranged from a simple "He's fine", to "he was sad today". That night my mom asks again, "How is Tobias doing, Beatrice?"

"He's sad." I said. "He talks about his mom constantly. He is just so sad," I said. My eyes filled with tears. "I just don't know how to help him."

"We can't help him, Beatrice." My father said. "We have to let him go through the grieving process. He'll get better in time." I nod, even though I wish there was more I could do.

"All you can do is be there for him." My mom said.

When I get ready for bed that night, I hear a muffled scream. It's probably one of the factionless, but I think of Tobias. My heart aches for his pain.

That night, I don't sleep.

A/N: Short, but hopefully a better start than what I had. Please feel free to leave a comment if you feel so inclined. :)