A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting. Hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own naught but my own plot...

Chapter 20 - Across A New Divide

Eric

By all appearances, we seem to be relaxing like we would on any given night after work. We finished up eating and moved over to the living room area, taking up our favorite positions on my couches. We each have a bottle of beer sitting on the table closest to us but neither of us has drank much of them. The vidscreen has something playing right now but I couldn't tell you what it is.

We might look relaxed but we are far from it.

I know he's just as wrapped up in thoughts of what we've discovered as I am, and he's probably just as worried about Kat too. Some of it we've voiced and talked over but until Zach gets here, no real plans can be made. Chase is pretty sure that he's going to be on board with us, that Zach is already protective and attached to her, but I won't rest easy until I hear it straight from him. I'm guessing it's a good thing that Chase has been with me while we wait for Zach to come back from the clinic because without him I would have been blowing my friends phone up with messages.

As it is, I did send out a few of them and only relaxed after he sent word to us that he got Kat to agree to a sleep med at least.

"Well, there's that at least," Chase mumbled while I shrugged and smirked. I hadn't planned on telling anyone, even my brothers, about my orders to Shauna but I guess my expression must have tipped him off. "Eric?"

I avoid looking at him and fiddle with my phone but he calls my name again, forcing the issue.

"What?"

"Don't give me that. I saw that look. The smug, I've been up to shit, look. What did you do?"

"I did what any leader would do when one of their soldiers is being irrational. I gave orders and got shit done, made sure that she's taken care of."

Chase closes his eyes and reaches up to rub the bridge of his nose while he lets out a long sigh. "I should give you shit about this. I should point out you wouldn't give a fuck if it was some random person refusing to take their pain meds, so that entire speech is just so much bullshit. I should tell you all of that." He drops he hand and opens his eyes, shaking his head. "But I can't. You know that Zach isn't going to like it though."

"He might not like it, but he isn't going to say much when he's just as worried as we are, Chase. I know he wants to get her to open up and try and reason with her about all that shit, I just don't see that happening right now and that's all that matters to me. Right now, she's in pain and that's unacceptable."

Chase leaned forward to grab his beer and took a few swigs after sagging back into the couch. "She reminds him of Beth. Of how she was before…." He trails off and looks into the distance.

"Does Kat remind you of her too?" I ask after a few seconds of quiet. I reach forward to grab my own bottle and take a few deep swigs.

He plays with the bottle, rolling it between his hands before he nods. "Yeah, she does."

I don't say more, mainly because I don't know what to say or ask. Old wounds are being opened, wounds that I know I'm nowhere near ready to go into myself. There is another important aspect of this that I know the three of us are going to need to talk about how to handle.

About the time that I have this thought, Zach comes back.

He gives us a nod but moves quickly to the kitchen, where he deals with the containers he brought back with him. Then I hear him starting the micro to heat up the plate I left for him. After he has that and a beer of his own, he joins us, taking one of the chairs and using the side table.

Chase gives me a warning look when he sees I'm about to launch into a million questions. He opens things by asking if she was able to eat much of the dinner and how she liked it.

While that isn't what I'm itching to know, I can admit that I do feel pleasure when he responds that she was able to eat a good portion of it and even said it was great. As he eats dinner, he tells us about the visit. What they talked about, how she seemed, how she was acting or reacting to different things. It's all what I would consider small talk kind of things and I can't help the growing impatience I have right now, but I hold on and wait it out.

Zach doesn't make me wait much longer before he pushes the plate away from him and leans back in the chair, sipping his beer.

"So, I'm guessing you want to know what I think or where I stand when it comes to Kat?" He lowers the bottle and smirks a little.

I nod in answer, not trusting myself to make some asshole comment at the moment. I know he's messing me with a bit since he can probably tell how anxious I've been to get to this already. The fact that he's trying to lighten things is a good sign, I guess, so I refrain from being a dick.

"We've already talked about it, but this needs to be something we all agree with," Chase says, giving me a pointed look.

"I'm not going to try to lie to you or myself and say that Kat isn't my main focus in this. She is, and I don't know that without her I would have started to have the thoughts I've been having lately. Regardless of how it started, or the fact that I don't really know what it means or how I feel about it, I know I'm not going to let anything happen to her. Right now, that's my main focus." I take a deep drink of my beer and swallow then continue on. "We need to talk about where we stand with our mission. I know you've had doubts about it for a while now, Zach. You don't voice it, we all know each other well enough that I haven't needed you to, but we need to lay that all out on the table with each other now."

"You're right, I've had my doubts about the mission for a few years now. If I'm being totally honest, I don't know that I ever believed divergents are the real issue here. I'm pretty sure that what we were told, that a group of divergent rebels among the factionless was responsible for Beth, was a lie. I've spent countless hours researching for our various tasks, pouring over the data we have about the rebel patterns of attacks or targets. There was plenty of bad shit that I found in all that, but what I didn't find was a hint that girls who wandered away from their group at a school field trip were among them."

"Why haven't you told us this before?" Chase demands hotly. "We said we would never keep secrets from each other and this is why! If we had known this information earlier…"

"Even if they weren't divergent they were still factionless, Chase. Knowing earlier wouldn't have kept us from trying to do something to stop the crap happening in this city. Not to mention the fact that I've spent just as long looking into Eric's parents and found nothing to disprove what he was told." Chase calms down while Zach pauses and runs a shaking hand through his hair. "I've kept my doubts to myself because there hadn't been anything to prove the divergent theory wrong for me, at least..."

"Not until Kat," I supply calmly when he starts to trail off.

"Yes, Kat has been a big eye-opener for me. But if we're laying it all out, there are other divergents or at least people that fit into what we look for in divergents, that I've come across over the years that have made me question the threat they're supposed to pose."

I scowl and eye him. "Like who?"

He sighs and shrugs. "The one that I think would highlight my point the most, is Uriah Pedrad. I've suspected him for the last few years but his inconclusive aptitude test is what heightened the theory."

"I've wondered about him and that when I saw it too," Chase admits quietly.

"Wondered if he is divergent or that he isn't a threat?" I respond to Chase's observation but I'm really asking both of them.

"Do you really think that Uri Pedrad would ever betray Dauntless, specifically Zeke and his mom? Do you really think that he would ever conspire with the factionless when they're the ones that killed his own father? Remember, there was a time when we wondered if bringing Zeke in on things might be good considering how his dad died."

I know Zach's being logical and telling me everything I already know, but hadn't thought of or if I'm being honest, hadn't allowed myself to think of. When it comes down to it, I hadn't mentioned anything about Uri being on that watch list because I know Chase and Zach are pretty good friends with both Pedrad's, despite the brothers' friendship with Four. It was that particular friendship that's held me back from developing anything other than a good working relationship with Zeke. I respect his work ethic and skills and as long as he did his job and kept his personal life or relationships out of it, we get along pretty well.

Truthfully, I don't relish the thought of handing Uri over. I also don't know that if I see a way to keep Kat clear of it, but have to sacrifice him, that I wouldn't jump on it.

"He's like a brother to her. She'll be just as devastated about him as she will her sister, Eric."

I glare icely over at Chase when he adds this into the conversation.

"I know that already." I snap out at him.

He nods slowly but doesn't back down. "Yeah, but you also have the thought going on in the back of your mind, that because they aren't really brother and sister it wouldn't be so bad. Not if it saved her in the end. You also know that's bullshit and it won't matter to her." He sighs wearily and lays his head on the back of the couch while closing his eyes. "I honestly don't think it matters who the person is or isn't to Kat. She's never going to be okay with handing someone over like that. Not to mention all the other shit we've gotten ourselves involved with. All the crap we've done."

"We did what we had to do, what we've been ordered to do, to protect the city and our faction," Zach adds, but it's weak, his defense and the strength he says it with.

They wait for me to say something but I can't and I can't sit here festering in self-loathing for another second. So I stand and calmly walk away, knowing they end up following me to the training room. We don't speak as I get dressed out and they do the same right beside me.

For the next few hours, we don't say another word that isn't focused on trying to work out our feelings against the bags. When I've gone for as long as I can and my knuckles are a bloody mess, we finally stop.

"Alright, let's talk," I huff out with a nod.

It's 0300 hours and I've haven't slept at all. None of us have. Our talk and planning went well past the time when going to bed would do a damn bit of good, so we didn't even try.

We have gotten a lot of shit done though. We've talked about a lot of things that we had never talked about before. About the faction and our jobs, where or when we think things went gone wrong here. What if anything we think should change and how the hell we think the three of us would ever be able to accomplish that anyway.

The main points were really about what we thought needed to be done to protect Kat. Chase and Zach added things that could help to protect the other two knowing that wasn't going to be my focus.

The most immediate point on our plan is the trip to the fence. Making sure she's safe and well enough to travel there and back, along with all the climbing and shit they're going to be doing. That led to me raiding my different stashes of medications given to me by Erudite. They're the more advanced meds that will help the healing process even more than the stuff we have in the clinic. They range from serums that can target specific areas by topical application, to the same stuff that was given to me when I was shot.

We also had to come up with a plan for pain relief. Not just for this morning but going forward in general, especially considering my plans for our training in the morning from now on. Hard pain meds are out, and not just because of her most likely refusing them. There's no way any of us want her high and on the fence or trying to jump on and off the train.

Then we had to come up with a plan on how to get all of those meds in her along with the few things I know will help her through the day as well. It isn't like we can do it in the clinic ourselves and we can't call in Shauna that early without it looking suspicious. Which means we have to get her alone, and that led us to deciding to have her come to the apartment.

I knew training this morning wasn't going to happen, not with her condition. But part of the reason I'm going to be getting these advanced meds into her is that I have every intention on making our mornings officially required, and putting her through her paces.

That'll have to wait for tomorrow morning at the latest.

It took some bickering back and forth about how we were going to go about getting everything we plan for the morning in motion. What was supposed to be a short and simple stop to get a few sets of clothing for Kat, since going to the dorm after lights out and rifling through her shit was out of the question, turned into a full-blown shopping trip.

Part of that I can lay the blame solely on Zach. He loves that shit, and a good portion of my nice clothes that I need for Erudite or even for faction functions, comes from his love of dressing up anything and anyone if given a chance. I can usually keep him on a tight leash when it comes to me, but when it came to Kat he went all out. His excuse was that we needed to be prepared and have extra things...you know..in case.

He kept saying that. In case this, in case that…

It got it my head making my paranoia flare up, and before I knew it Chase and I both had added all kinds of shit into the mix.

All of it's sitting in my closet…in case…

Luckily the stuff he gave me a list to pick up in Amity didn't get blown up in the attack because I sent my bags on ahead of me with a couple of guys heading back to the compound for their leave. So all the bath stuff and lotions were ready for her to take a shower when we come back.

Zach was elected to take the clothes we picked up to Kat along with my note and leave them on her bed before he went off to meet with the truck from Amity and pick up the things they were delivering to the compound for Dauntless, and what he placed orders for as well. Chase was going to take the time to get orders put out for the guys he wants to go along for the trip as well as making sure the camera situation is taken care of for us.

Now I'm left here alone in this training room with another hour before I expect Kat to even wake up. I'm left to think about the rest of what I have planned for today, which is my plan to try and get Andrew Prior alone and talk to him.

I'm not expecting to have any big revelations or even any major results from the talk. It's really just to get a feel for the man. To see if there is anything of the great man Kat's talked about when it's just the two of us. Our past interactions during meetings have been very limited and with very few words exchanged between us. I can admit that I'm also hoping to find a clue as to how a father could miss some many things that have been happening with his daughter.

Zach says that the times he's spoken with him or observed him at the monthly meetings Dauntless is required to have with Candor and Abnegation, he found Andrew to be extremely intelligent and easy to talk to.

My involvement with Abnegation extends only to the times when my presence is required for a meeting, usually only for the monthly meetings of the city council. Max avoids being alone with any Abnegation as much as possible and even more when it comes to either Marcus Eaton or Andrew Prior. If Max can get out of going to those, he does and that means I'm required to be there as his second in command.

Truthfully, I hardly ever pay real attention to those meetings. I long ago found that nothing really gets done in them so I learned to tune out a majority of the time. Something I can't afford to do anymore if we have a chance of figuring a way out of all this mess.

I flick my wrist and look at the time, then grumble moodily when I realize exactly five minutes have passed since I last checked. I still have another fifty-five to go before the time Kat normally gets up for her training gets here.

I sigh and run a hand over my face, trying to think of something to do to occupy me, then decide now is as good a time as any to do the maintenance inspection of the equipment in the room. At least mindless work has always helped me to think and plan a little clearer.

One hour and five minutes later…

"Fifteen messages in the last five minutes, Eric? Seriously?"

"She's not here yet," I growl out and stalk towards where Chase and Zach have just joined me in the training room, at my insistence.

Zach chuckles tiredly and shakes his head at me while Chase just shrugs. "Even if her alarm went off at the normal time, you gotta give the girl more than three or four minutes to get dressed and get here."

"Not to mention she just got the shit kicked out of her and it's going to take a little bit for her to even get going. That's if she can even wake up on her own considering she was loaded up with meds." Zach snaps out with a glare at me.

Yeah, he didn't take it well that I went behind Kat's back and ordered Shauna to add all those meds to what she gave her.

"Fine." I snap out and toss the towel I had been using to wipe down the equipment into the bin full of other dirty towels, then make a note to complain to the custodians about them neglecting their duties. "Ten more minutes, then I go collect her myself."

"Eric, you're going to have to give her a bit more time than that. And what was the point of all this shit if you blow it now just because you're being impatient?" Chase leans against the wall and sighs wearily. "Thirty minutes and if she isn't here by then, Zach and I will go."

"Fine," I grumble with a nod.

'I don't think you would ever try anything, Eric.'

The closed-door between us and several minutes later aren't enough to drive those words from my mind.

I know I should get far away from that damn door, but here I sit on my bed glaring at it as if it will give me the answer on what to make out of her words. Honestly, it wasn't the words themselves really but the tone she said them in. I can't even begin to dissect what she might have been thinking when she said them. I just know what it's leaving me feeling.

Doubt.

I'm doubting every sign I've gotten from her so far that she's truly interested in me. I can admit that the obvious signs of physical attraction are there but is that all there is for her?

Maybe it's worse than that. Maybe I just got friend-zoned.

A squeak on the other side of the door has me on my feet and moving towards it, thinking she's in some kind of trouble until I hear the sound of water and realize that she's probably naked on the other side of that door.

I step back but stay for a few more seconds just in case she really does need help. It isn't until I hear her humming from the other side that I force myself away and to finally join Chase and Zach.

A million thoughts are running through my mind right now. Alternating between imagining her in my shower naked to the conversation just before I left her there. I'm doing the thing I normally do where I play things back and break them down piece by piece, analyzing and trying to find hidden meanings.

Zach would tell me I'm probably overthinking or reading too much into things but I can't help it.

Right before I left she made it a point to reassure me, even seemed worried that I hadn't believed her when she was trying to tell me she trusted me. While that part does leave me feeling more than a little relieved that she trusts me enough to be with her like that, I still think there was something else to her words. Something going on in that mind of hers that she tried to hide but wasn't quite successful in doing.

What could she have been thinking about that made it come out so strained? Dare I say there was even a little bitterness in her tone as well?

I slump into my chair at the dining table while scowling and rubbing the back of my neck to ease the tension a little.

"What did she say about the bath stuff?" Zach asks as he puts a cup of coffee in front of me.

"Huh?" I look up at him, frowning in confusion.

"The bath stuff, Eric. I told you she might be upset or be embarrassed about us having picked up the stuff she's been stubborn accepting before now. Did she say anything about it at all? Did she like it?"

"I guess, she didn't say one way or the other about any of that."

"Oh," He blinks in surprise and narrows his eyes at me. "What about when you told her the plan for the meds or wrapping up her ribs? Did she give you any trouble about that?"

"No. I mean, not really. She says she trusts me. So, that's good...I guess." I mutter and take a drink of my coffee.

"It ain't a bad thing," Chase says and chuckles then eyes me. "Especially since we know this isn't a normal situation for her, given where she grew up. Like we said earlier, she might not be comfortable with any of the three of us seeing her like that."

"That's not what…" I stop, sigh, and rub the back of my neck again. I look between the two of them and know I'm just going to have to bite the bullet here. I'm entering into territory I've never been in before and I've already proven I mess shit up way too easily.

"I reassured her I wouldn't try anything and she told me she trusted me. That she doesn't think I would ever trying anything. It wasn't the words so much in the tone she said them in. It was completely off and I can't even describe it. I know she trusts me because she stopped me and told me again that she does, but what could she have meant the first time? Am I reading shit wrong with her? When I said I wanted to be friends, was she so freaking happy about that because that's all she wants too and she was relieved about it? I don't have the first clue because I don't do this shit and maybe this is why?"

I finish my rant and take a deep breath while Chase and Zach look at each other. Zach shakes his head and laughs while Chase smirks. "Well, this should be interesting to watch." He says before slurping his coffee, making my eye twitch and fists clench.

"We'll probably have to help them both out here or there, but I agree," Zach says, grinning at no one in particular.

"I'm glad this fucking amusing to you two, but a little help here would be nice." I grind out. The anger that I've been carrying around since Kat's fight, and have been trying to keep under control since then, flares up again.

They lose their smiles when they realize I'm not in the mood for their humor. Chase sighs and claps a hand on my shoulder while giving me a look of apology.

It's Zach that answers me. "Kat might seem like she's so different then we would expect any Abnegation to be and in many respects, she is. She is much more Dauntless then she is Abnegation, but she's still a young woman fresh from Abnegation."

"Not only that," Chase interrupts and looks at me seriously. "You do realize that girl has no concept of how attractive she is. I wasn't there when she said it, but from what I know of her, the tone you heard her say it in had more to do with that than anything about you really. I'm pretty sure that she doesn't see herself as someone you would ever want to be with that way."

I look to see Zach nodding in agreement and the tick in my eye picks up, pulsing harder.

"Why the fuck not!" I bark out and then tone down it down after Zach makes a motion to lower my volume. "Why wouldn't she think I could be interested in her?"

"Jesus, Eric. Didn't you hear anything we've been saying? Kat has never had interest or practice with any of this crap. Not until now. I've seen the way she looks at you. We both saw how she reacted to you in that training room. That doesn't mean that she thinks you could or would ever feel the same about her."

My anger starts to fade as what they are saying hits me.

"What hell am I supposed to do about that? I can't tell her that I do, not right now, but I don't want her to think that I'm not interested in her either!"

My latest explosion brought silence in the dining room as we all listened to see if this one was noticed by Kat. We stayed quiet even after Zach moved closer to the bedroom and closed the door, leaving it open only a crack so that I could hear her when she finished.

"Listen," Zach says with a sigh as he comes back to the table. "This is what I think you should do."

I brace myself to push down the knee-jerk reaction I have at being told what to do, especially in this situation and prepare to listen. I might be stubborn and prideful, but I know when not to look a gift horse in the mouth, as the saying goes.

Zach and Chase are laughing hard after I get through with my latest rant about Kat's reaction to seeing my bed and just being in my bedroom in general. They aren't laughing so much about that as they are laughing at my clear frustration and inability to handle this new situation I'm in.

Relationships aren't something I've ever done even before I transferred from Erudite. Never wanted to, never planned to, and never in a million years did I think any of that would change. To say I know very little about how they're supposed to go is an understatement.

I mean, I saw how my parents were together, but I kind of always thought they might be an abnormality since they were nothing like other Erudite couples are.

But there's this huge void for me for how I've been and how they were. It's like I'm looking back at what could be but the steps to get to where they were are blank. There's no 'how to' for me to establish and honestly, my brother's aren't really that much help either. Because despite the fact that they are more social, they haven't found anyone they wanted to really be involved with either. The difference between the two of them and me is that they never closed themselves off to any of that so they are much better able to understand all the shit that goes along with relationships.

After Zach laying out his plan to help me help myself in my situation with Kat, I couldn't hold any of that in any longer and just vented it out for a few minutes.

"Is this seriously what relationships are like? Because I'm already thinking that I'm going to die of either frustration or a heart attack."

"Yeah, pretty much all relationships are like that," Chase replies, still grinning and chuckling. Then he shrugs takes a sip of his coffee and swallows looking a bit more serious. "With the right person though, it's worth it."

I set my coffee mug down after draining it dry and scrub my hands over my face feeling my energy sapped by lack of sleep. What's on the horizon for us for the next several weeks doesn't help one bit either.

"This is going to be a long six weeks," I mutter, shaking my head.

"Tell me about it," My friends mumble back at the same time and see them eyeing me.

I crack a smile and try to hide it by getting up and getting myself more coffee. I know it's bad of me to feel good that if I have to suffer. I know they are going to be suffering along with me in some ways. I also know that most of that suffering is going to be because of me. My already cranky, moody, and violent outbursts seem to be amplified now that Kat's entered the picture and they've taken the brunt of most of it while trying to help me keep my head on straight.

"It's going to suck and not just because you're going to become a colossal dick until you and Kat can finally…"

Chase trails off after I slam my mug down on the table and glare at him, daring him to finish that sentence while easing back into my seat.

"Dude, you need to chill out. I wasn't referring to that. I might have joked about that if it was someone else but…you should know, not her."

The reminder and the flash of pain in his eyes make me already feel like a colossal dick. I should know that Chase might be supporting me in all this with Kat, but it doesn't mean he likes it or isn't feeling some kind of way at even the thought of something that hasn't even happened yet between us. I do know that I just can't help that I hate the thought of anyone talking about Kat like that.

"Sorry man. I know you wouldn't. You aren't like that no matter who it's about. I just don't want shit being said about her and you know that not everyone out there in Dauntless is respectful as you are."

Chase nods and swallows some coffee while looking into the cup. "What I was going to say is that it's going to feel even longer until you and Kat finally talk, and not just about that. Her divergence is something I think we need to broach first. I know we have a lot of plans and decisions to make, but I don't think we should keep her in the dark about this at least."

Zach nods his agreement. As it stands it's two against one on this issue. I'm not sure we should tell her about it right now.

"We can talk more about that and all the other stuff after the council meeting today. The thing we need to focus on is finding a way to make sure Kat can keep her focus. I don't want to burden her with that until I can get her past those issues first."

"You have to admit that she already has a damn good way of focusing, Eric. It's just a matter of making sure she can use it without letting the entire world know what she's doing. That's why I think we should tell her now. We could try and coach her on ways to not show divergence but if she doesn't really know why it would be bad…." Chase trails of with a frown as he repeats the same argument he's already used.

"We're also assuming she might not know about it already. We don't know what the person who did her aptitude testing might have told her. She could have told her to not trust anyone with that information, not even family. It would be the smart thing to do. The fewer people who know, the less chance it would be discovered. That's why it's so important we let her know in any way we can that she can trust us." Zach says firmly while looking between the two of us until his eyes land and stay on me.

"One step at a time I guess. Today, we make sure she makes it home safe and that Hayes keeps to our little bargain."

The lull in talk allows the sounds from the bedroom area to filter through, or rather the lack of sound. I notice that the sound of running water is gone, which means that Kat's shower has finally ended.

Zach gets up and goes to the kitchen to check on breakfast in the oven and make a fresh pot of coffee. I pull out the bag of meds that we put together and start sifting through them, doling out a few pills onto a napkin. It takes a few minutes and some back and forth between the three of us on what to include.

"Be prepared for her refusing medication now that she's had time to process and wake up a little bit." Zach cautions me from the kitchen.

"I should have you just slip some in her fucking coff…."

"No," Zach snaps at me, not even letting me finish that rant. "I won't break her trust like that. The only reason I'm not pissed off at you right now about that stunt you and Shauna pulled is because I could tell Kat had an idea Shauna was going to give her more than those sleep meds."

"Fine." I grumble, knowing he's right and I was just talking out of my frustration. Even if most of me would love knowing she's in less pain, it wouldn't be worth the argument or consequences. "I'll just try and reason with her and if that doesn't work I may just order her little ass to take it."

"If you let her know that we won't be giving her anything that will make her body slow to react, especially considering what she's doing today, I think she'll be reasonable about it. If not you could always appeal to her Abnegation. Point out that she doesn't like to see her sister hurting…"

"And her sister wouldn't want to see her hurting either." I finish for Zach with a frown. "Sounds like way too much work when I could just order her to take them and be done with it."

Chase huffs and shakes his head at me, smirking even as he does this. "Okay. Do it your way then and just see how far that gets you in her graces when you're trying to woo her."

It's not just the fact that he's right that has me scowling at him but... "Did you just fucking say woo her?"

He laughs but doesn't answer. He doesn't get the chance too when we hear the door to the bathroom creak open and Kat softly calling my name.

It took several beats for me to stand and try to confidently wave of their muttered good lucks as I take the first steps across a divide I'm not sure I have the ability to really cross. But like Chase said, for the right person, it's worth it.