So I'm back with another chapter. I think this chapter will be worth the wait for many of you, but we will see. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I read them each and every one of them, and I appreciate the time everyone took to comment. Thank you to everyone who is still reading this story. Once again, I don't own Divergent, and all military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!

Chapter 31 The Outfield

As I depart the plane in Chicago, I blink. Standing in the darkened tunnel at the end: a man in an Air Force uniform with blue eyes. For a minute, I think I am hallucinating from lack of sleep. I pinch myself, the image disappears. Tobias's ghost is all over O'Hare airport, and it is too much for me to handle. Tears build in my eyes as I make my way to the flight board to check on my flight, only to find it is delayed. I recall now why I hate O'Hare airport as a layover spot.

The rumblings of my stomach remind me of my hunger, and I decide to eat at The Pitt as I did the last time I was in Chicago. Attempting to navigate my way through the busy travelers, and the maze of this airport, my mind begins to wander to Tobias once again. Last time I was at this airport, I was walking slowly; I didn't want to go home to Peter. Now, I'm walking slowly for a completely different reason. Every footstep I take, it feels like another footstep away from Tobias, another step closer to Christina. As I round the corner to The Pitt, my stomach grumbles loudly, my mouth begins to water from the delicious smelling fried food, and I hit smack dab into a wall of muscle. I feel a sick sense of deja vu all over again as I fall to the floor hard on my ass. When I look up, I am met with brilliant blue eyes. A hand swings down to me as an alluring voice fills my ears saying, "Tris?"

I don't respond, feeling that I have gone crazy. My hallucination is speaking to me, now. "Tris, I tried. I tried to set you free, but you set me free first. I'm coming back to you, I don't want to be free. I'm all yours. I have been yours from the moment I laid eyes on you, the very first time at this airport." My mouth hangs open as the hallucination looks at me, a questioning look on his face wondering why I'm not conversing with him. I'm scared to look at him as I remember the saying: if you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they are yours; if they don't then they were never yours to begin with. The hallucination's eyes catch mine as he says, "Tris, I'm so glad I found you. I'm sorry. Why aren't you going to talk to me?"

"What?" I ask, touching his hand, expecting air, only to realize it is real, solid, human flesh. My eyes snap up to his automatically.

"At the airport, you told me, you hope I find whatever it is in this life that will make me happy. That is you, Tris, it has always been you. It will always be you. I love you, Tris. I only see a future with you. I see a big beautiful life with you. I see a marriage with you, maybe a dog or two, and kids if you want them. I know that I am messed up right now, but I promise, I will get help. I will get counseling. I already made an appointment." He says, kneeling down onto the ground with me, looking me in the eyes as passersby stare at both of us like we are crazy for being on the floor of an airport together. "Please don't leave me. I don't think I was truly living until you came into my life, Tris. If you walk out on me now and don't forgive me for the stupid mistake that I made by letting you go, by not telling you that I love you when you asked me, I will go back to the empty shell of a man that I was when we first met."

"Of course, I forgive you, Tobias," My eyes glisten with unshed tears, still not believing my ears the confession of his love, of his agreement to seek the help he needs.

"I love you, Tris. It took me all of two minutes after you walked away from me to realize I was missing a piece of myself, it felt like I had lost a part of my heart, like a piece of my very soul was ripped from my body. I called to you, but you wouldn't look back. I tried to get the security guy to let me through, but he wouldn't. He almost threw me in jail trying to get to you. He thought I was stalking you. After I got a warning, I went online, and paid for the first ticket that I could find to Chicago." Tobias whispers. His voice gets lower, I catch certain words, like handcuffs, mix-up, wanted list, similar-looking, needed to prove identity, first flight, O'Hare, steal jet from the base. I ignore all those words, not wanting to hear any specifics as I ask, "But how? Why?" Tears clouding my vision as he says, "I love you. I don't want to live without you, ever. I can't promise you that this will be an easy road, but it will be a road worth taking together."

"I love you, Tobias," his face lights up as he hears my response. His hands touch my cheek, tentatively, carefully, as he pushes a piece of hair away from my face, before his soft lips touch mine in a gentle kiss as his hands pull me closer to him, he deepens the kiss, his tongue sweeping across my lower lip. As the kiss breaks, he stares into my eyes murmuring, "I've loved you for a while, but I've been scared to tell you. Scared that you'd break my heart like Stacy. I wasn't trying to fall in love with you when I first caught you in my kitchen and knocked on your front door, but it happened as easy as breathing. I'm sorry it took me so long to say those three little words to you, but I love you, so much, Tris Prior."

I have no words, the man just poured his heart out to me. I just smile at him, his words that I have longed to hear, still sinking in, as he continues "Will you still have me?" He asks shyly, "Please tell me that my stupidity didn't ruin the one good thing that I have going on for me in this life?"

I take a deep breath, look into his eyes that have the potential to break my fragile heart again, as I whisper, "I love you, Tobias," once again "I want to experience everything with you."

"You do?" He asks, sounding unsure.

"Yes." Is the only word I can get out before his lips smash into mine again. Our lips move in sync as his hands move up and down my arms coming to rest on my lower back, pulling me closer to him as my hands grip him by the shoulders pulling him closer to me. We pull away from our kiss breathless, our foreheads touching, my eyes taking in his appearance, and finally noticing his military camouflage. "Why are you in uniform?" I ask, breaking the moment.

"I just poured my heart out to you, and you are looking at me in my uniform, checking out my body. Typical female!" He smirks at me, winking his eye. "Actually, you were in regular clothes when I left you. Now, you're in your camouflage, so spill!"

"I may have used some military influence to get me on my flight." He grins at me as I raise an eyebrow at him. "I told them that I needed to win my girl back, and I stupidly let her go live with her friends across the country."

I roll my eyes as I say, "Tobias!" Sure you did. You probably needed your uniform to prove part of your identity.

"Well, it is the truth, Tris. I couldn't let you walk away from me, and not try to get you back. I had to at least try. Come home with me. Start a life with me. Someday marry me, spend the rest of your life just being you, and let's plan a beautiful future together."

"Are you proposing?" I ask, quipping my eyebrow at him as my heartbeat speeds up at the idea of being Mrs. Eaton. I secretly like the sound of that, but I need time to learn how to be Tris first. He turns bright red as he says "No, not yet. I don't even have a ring."

"So, you have thought about it."

"Perhaps, but I will tell you no more on the subject." He grins at me. "Now, let's go home. I would love for you to come with me to my counseling session on Thursday. I'm a little nervous. We can stay off base at a hotel until we find a place of our own." He says, holding his hand out to me as he gets off of the ground.

At that moment, I feel conflicted. I really want to go home with him. I want to go with him to his session on Thursday. I want to go visit Christina as well, and not have to worry about Peter's threatening phone calls or anything else. I feel like I am being pulled in a million different directions. As I take a deep breath, ready to tell Tobias, I want to visit Chris and Will, he says to me, "You should go to visit Christina, and I will go have my session. I will tell you all about it, and I will put in for a new assignment, for a new base. I will be at the airport waiting for you when you are done visiting your friends, take all the time you need. I wish I could meet them, but I can't be away from the base that long. I love you, Tris. You'll come home to me, right?" He asks, worry lacing his voice.

"Of course. I love you." I lean up on my toes and gently press my lips to his as he pulls me close against his body.

I walk with him to his gate, and we sit in silence, holding hands for the five minutes until his plane starts boarding. He kisses me gently on the head, as he whispers, "Goodbye, my love. I love you, I will miss you so much. I will see you before you even know it. Come home to me soon." He leans down to kiss me one last time, tears begin to fall, his fingers reach down, and wipe them away, as I wrap my arms tightly around him. "I need to go, baby." He whispers into my ear as his eyes glance at the monitor on the wall,

"I know." I hug him tighter, as I let him go, he turns away from me as I watch him begin to walk down the ramp to the plane, one of the last people to board, as the flight attendant announces, "Last Call for American Airlines Flight 4476 to San Francisco." Tears pool in my eyes as I drop my bag at the gate, break out into a run as I scream, "Tobias! Wait! Tobias!" As I go running past the flight attendant, she screams, "Miss, you can't!" He turns just in time to catch me as my legs encircle his waist, he sees the tears in my eyes, as he asks, "Tris, what's wrong?"

"Please don't leave!"

"Sir!" The flight attendant screams down the ramp as Tobias carries me back up to the airport.

"Give us a moment!" Tobias says sternly to the woman as she shoots us both a dirty look. He lowers his voice, whispering, "Baby, I will be there waiting for you after your trip. I promise. You can call me all the time. I can't go with you to New York. I wish I could. I can't pick up and take a trip like that. I'm not approved for leave now. I wish I was. I would go with you in a heartbeat. Plus, I have to go see my surgeon to make sure everything is healing properly tomorrow, and I want to get the best help for you, me, and for us." Tears continue to pour out of my eyes as he catches them with his thumb.

"Oh my God! Did I hurt you? You aren't supposed to be lifting anything heavy. How could I have been so stupid! I could have ripped open your incision lines." I say as I place my fingers onto his stomach, gently.

"Hey!" He says gently, placing his fingers under my chin, making my eyes meet his "You didn't hurt me. It's fine. I love you." He murmurs as he lifts his shirt slightly revealing clean bandages.

"I love you," I reply at ease that he isn't hurt. He kisses me on the forehead, his lips move against my skin as he says, "How about this. I think watching me get on a plane is a little too much for you after everything we have been through together. I want you to turn around and walk to your gate right now."

"Okay," I whisper as he bends, his lips dancing with mine one last time. He steadies me on my feet, spins me in the opposite direction of him, toward my terminal.

"I love you, princess." He whispers into my ear one last time as my eyes close, taking in his voice, the feeling of his breath against my skin.

"I love you," I whisper into the air as my eyes open as I start walking, I grab my bag from the ground, and head toward my terminal. I turn around, and Tobias is still standing under the sign for Gate 23. He waves at me from a distance as I return his wave, a smile appears on my lips as I feel more at peace with myself than I did when I first entered this airport.

So thoughts and opinions on this chapter? What did everyone think? Did anyone realize that these two hadn't said I love you yet? Next update will be on the weekend of August 17.