Hey Hey! I haven't forgotten about this story, life's just been hard to balance lately! I had this chapter finished and then decided I didn't like it and wanted to rewrite it! I hope you enjoy this chapter and love to hear what you think! Thank you for reading! Love Ya'll!


Max takes a deep breath, breathing in the fresh air of Amity. He never really liked the smell of the animal manure when he came to this part of Chicago, but he looked over at Uriah and smiled. Learning his nephew was divergent, opened his eyes. He could see how Uriah fit into Dauntless and Amity and he was proud of him for embracing all the parts of himself, just like his daughter was.

"Max, It is not every day that Dauntless leadership visits Amity," Joanna comments as Max walks toward the building where her office is located.

"I wish this were a social call, Joanna, My team and I need to speak with you and after Jeanie's visit yesterday, you can understand the urgency" Max knew that Amity preferred to keep a distance from Dauntless. They interacted when necessary due to the guards being housed that guarded the fence. Despite that, Max had a deep respect for Joanna. She'd aged quite a bit since he'd been a leader but Max thought she was wise. He'd learned a thing or two from observing her.

Johanna nods and gestures for them to join her in the old barn converted to her office and Uriah, Amar, Harrison, and Tobias follow.

Johanna leans back in her chair stunned at the files Max and the other Dauntless provide her. How could Erudite be planning to take over, ensuring the factions worked was why there was peace since the great war.

"What are you asking of Amity?" she finally asks after finding her voice.

"There will be a fight, Johanna, I know that is not the Amity way but we need you on our side" Max explains.

"We need help housing anyone that is displaced and we need to keep food production going. We don't know what Erudite will pull if they get through the perimeter we set up." Uriah adds.

"As you all know we make decisions as a group"

"Time is not on our side" Max reminds her.

After a few hours, most Amity members gathered in the large glass building. Max and Uriah address those gathered. There are gasps at what is shared.

Uriah is mesmerized by how Johanna conducts the crowd, asking them to discuss what Dauntless is proposing. He can tell Max is anxious as he watches the process.

"We will accept any refugees from any faction here. Those who come will be expected to abide by our rules and help with the food production, Amity will not take up arms to maintain our way of life. We will not allow anyone to be experimented on or taken for experimentation. We understand that Dauntless is charged with protecting the city and we support any peaceful path to stop this conflict."

Max nods with a smile, considering this was Amity, that was the best he could ask for.

"Thank you, and Johanna, be careful," He tells her as they shake hands.


Tori places her hands on her hips as she looks at Amar, Zeke, and Tobias. When Zeke said they needed to talk, she felt a panic rise in her. Despite all of her fears and hesitation about their age difference, things had been going so well between them. She thought maybe it was the pressure of the impending war or maybe Zeke was finally realizing the age difference between them was a problem. Much to her surprise, he wasn't breaking up with her.

"So you want me to join the task force?" Tori asks as she cocks her head to the side after Zeke finishes speaking.

"Yes, that's exactly what we want" Amar confirms. Tori was his best friend, he saw much more in her than she saw in herself.

"And Zeke knows about what we've been doing?" She asks, looking between Tobias and Amar.

Zeke raises his eyebrows at this and does the same, looking between Amar and Tobias wondering what he didn't know as Amar shakes his head.

Tori takes a deep breath but Amar starts talking before she does.

"Tori and I have been working to help any divergents we've come in contact with hide."

Zeke takes a deep breath through his nose and nods his head. He realizes just how naive he had been to everything going on before Choosing Day.

"I was trying to divert any I found during the aptitude tests to safer places, especially after George…" She lowers her eyes. She missed her brother more than ever now.

"And I was helping identify the new initiates during stage 2" Amar confirms.

"How many?" Zeke asks.

"There would be a handful every year…" Tori shrugs.

"That's how you knew about Uriah…" Zeke comments putting all the pieces together in his head. "Does Uncle Max know?"

"No, we weren't sure what was happening with people disappearing, all we've ever known is that anyone who was divergent should keep it quiet and hide" Amar admits.

"Once the task force started we didn't really think about saying anything" Tobias adds.

"You can really help now, we need you," Zeke tells his girlfriend with a soft smile.

"What can I bring to the table?" Tori wonders out loud.

"Well, first of you have a rapport with almost everyone because of your position in the tattoo parlor. You hear things from a perspective that leadership doesn't" Zeke tells her.

"And you have seen how divergent respond in real-time to the test serum, it could help Hana and Will on the antidote" Tobias points out.

"You're also Erudite-born. Right now we only have Will who can help us piece together anything about what could be happening on the inside over there" Amar finishes.

Tori still looking conflicted as Zeke gets up and pulls her close to him. "We need you, trust me and I know you can do this"

Tori breathes deep again as Zeke places a kiss on her forehead. She wasn't sure what was about to happen but she trusted the three men in her apartment with her life.


"Zeke" Tori cries out. She was on her knees, one hand holding her breasts while the other braced herself against the wall as Zeke roughly moved behind her.

Zeke gives her behind a slap and Tori tumbles over the edge with Zeke coming right behind her.

"Holy Shit" Tori gasps as she flops onto the bed and reaches blindly for the sheet to cover herself. Zeke grins as he walks back from the bathroom after disposing of the condom.

"Want some water?"

"Yeah," Tori tells him weakly. She can't ever remember having multiple orgasms in one session which was now a common occurrence since she and Zeke started sleeping together.

Tori bites her lip as she watches Zeke saunter back into the bedroom. Her eyes raked over his body.

Zeke smirks as he sees her eyes move up and down and walks a little slower enjoying the way she was ogling him.

"See something you like?" he teases as he walks over and hands her one of the two glasses of water in his hand.

"Hell Yeah" Tori giggles before taking a sip and she watches him walk to the other side of the bed. His body was insane, perfect.

Tori sets her glass on the bedside table and then her eyes go wide as she sees Zeke is starting to get aroused again.

"Again?" She chokes as he crawls on the bed and slides under the covers. He chuckles as he pulls her close, kissing her shoulder. They had spent the better part of the day in bed since Zeke was taking a much-needed day off from the task force and the tattoo parlor was closed on Sundays.

Zeke continued to run his hands over her body, they were both sweaty and needed a shower.

"I need a shower" Tori groans.

"For us to get dirty again?" Zeke mumbles against her ear.

Tori shivers. She never had such a skilled lover.

"I'm turning into a sex addict"

"Is that a bad thing" Zeke chuckles as he kisses her jaw.

"Oh my God, I said that out loud" Tori groans in embarrassment as she tries to get away and attempts to pull the covers over her head.

"Oh no you don't" Zeke pulls her closer as he laughs.

Tori shrieks with laughter as he tickles her while she half-heartedly tries to get away.

An hour later they are wrapped around each other, cuddling with Zeke leaning against the headboard and Tori lying with her back against his chest. She plays with his fingers as his arms are wrapped around her.

"So tomorrow..." Tori tells him. She had given in, she wanted him, and she was okay with that now even though there were still some things she was holding back. She had taken some time to think about the task force after her conversation with Zeke, Four, and Amar. She was ready to take it on. Zeke had so much faith in her and in them. She hoped that they could survive everything about to come at them with the city about to explode.

"You worried about my mom's party?" He asks curiously. It wasn't a secret that he and Tori were together. He and Hana had a short conversation a few weeks ago and as usual, his mother was supportive and excited for him.

"I know it's kind of different because I know your family already but this is the first time I'm spending time with you all for a family function..." She sighs, feeling silly saying it out loud now.

"Hey, Mom was thrilled when I told her about us, don't worry. And Amar's coming, and so is Harrison, Uriah's bringing Christina. There will be other people there. Everyone's so excited to spend time with Aunt Natalie, we won't be the center of attention"

Tori's mouth had fallen open when Zeke told her everything about his aunt and why they were going to Max's apartment to celebrate his mother's birthday. She was nervous, Hana had been there for her through some tough times and she wasn't sure how she would feel about Tori dating her oldest son.

Tori relaxes at that and Zeke kisses the side of her head while tightening his arms around her.

He was in love with her. He wondered if she felt the same about him.


Max hangs up the phone in his office and leans back in his chair. Things were moving quickly. He was happy Jack was agreeing to the plan. All high-ranking Candor officials would be moving to Dauntless at the end of the week before the snowstorm hit. He had the transport plan already lined out, now they just had to execute it.

"What about Abnegation?" Amar asks after Max finishes going over the plan one last time.

"I think we might be able to pull off a similar plan, it's just going to be much for difficult given the distance of Abnegation. We would have to leave more area unprotected"

"I agree, but could we do it in phases, not take everyone at once? Divide the council members into three groups?" Harrison suggests.

"That's a great idea, after the party tonight, let's get this down" Max instructs.

Zeke closed his folder but there was something else on his mind after his conversation with Four, Amar, and Tori.

"Uncle Max, I need you to be straight up with me," Zeke says standing tall and looking Max in the eye.

"Was George Wu one of the names that you gave to Erudite?"

Max nods and looks at Amar, the guilt eating at him.

Zeke looks over at Amar who doesn't look enraged. "You knew, and you haven't said anything to Tori?"

"It's complicated, Max and I have made amends about his part in it but Tori's been through a lot, she's just now becoming herself again and much of that is thanks to you, Zeke. I don't want to spring this on her"

Zeke shakes his head, he doesn't want to keep secrets for Tori anymore, especially since he can tell her everything about the task force now.

"There's something else that we've recently discovered," Max tells him looking at Amar who nods his head.

"George is still alive" Max reveals and Zeke's eyes widen.

"We know because he's one of the test subjects noted in the flash drive Natalie was given from Cara"

"And you aren't going to tell Tori Knowing how devastated she was when he went missing? " Zeke asks looking at Amar again.

"I don't want to get her hopes up, we think that with Hana and Will working on the antidote, maybe we could bring him back, but if we can't, I don't want her to lose him twice..." Amar's voice cracks at the end. He'd gone through so many emotions; anger, rage, sadness, and frustration when Max showed him the part of the documents about George and the test results showing his response to the serum. He knew what the outcome would be if the antidote didn't work. He didn't want to do that to Tori.

"Just give it some more time, Hana and Will need more time on the antidote, and Tori working with them now might help," Max asks.

Zeke sighs but nods his head but he didn't have a good feeling about keeping this from his girlfriend.


Natalie looks at herself in the mirror and bites her lip as she turns to the side. She couldn't believe Max hadn't noticed the ever-so-small curve in her abdomen. Hana still hadn't done an ultrasound but she was guessing from her blood work that she was between 10 and 12 weeks along.

She still couldn't believe that she was pregnant again and her head started to spin every time she thought about needing to tell Max and how they would make this work. Could she give up raising another child when she went back to the factionless section? She didn't want that for her baby, she didn't want it for Max. She blows out a breath, shakes her head, and reaches for the black dress she picked to wear today for Hana's birthday celebration.

"You look so beautiful," Max says smiling when she emerges from the bedroom as he puts the files from the large dining table into a box.

'Thank you '' Natalie bites her lip as she looks at the way his form-fitting black shirt hugs his biceps.

"If you don't stop looking at me like that, we're going to have to push back this party a few hours"

Natalie laughs and shakes her head. She and Max had been going at it like they were sixteen again. She definitely wasn't complaining about that. 30 minutes later, the two had cleared all of the files Max had been working on, moved the large board to one of the guest bedrooms, and set the table.

Tris and Hana are the first to arrive with the food they grabbed from the dining hall. Max grins as he watches, Natalie, Hana, and Tris. They chatter about things like hair and lotion. Max knew he would never tire of seeing the three of them happy and smiling from just being together.

Amar, Harrison, and Tobias arrive next and Natalie lets out a squeal when she hugs Harrison.

"You haven't changed one bit, Nat." Harrison grins as he pulls Natalie in for a hug. She still had that same bright smile he remembered from when they were teenagers.

"Thank you for being there for him" Natalie whispers as they embrace Harrison.

"Anytime" Harrison grins. He knew Max was his best self with Natalie and Tris in his life. He wanted things to work out for them even though they couldn't see how right now.

"Oh, you've grown up to be so handsome! You were such a handsome baby" Natalie gushes as she greets Tobias. Tris giggles as she sees Tobias rub the back of his neck and look at the floor, he still wasn't used to compliments.

Amar loves Natalie from the moment he sets eyes on her. She was pure and good and she made the entire room light up.

It's emotional for Natalie when Zeke, Tori, Uriah, and Christina arrive. She can't stop the tears that flow as she hugs her nephews for the first time. Hana and Tris cry and hold each other watching the scene before them.

"You both are so handsome," Natalie says through tears as she looks at them. "And you look so much like Reggie," she tells Zeke when he hugs her. It was overwhelming for Natalie, the guilt of leaving Dauntless rising up inside her again. She had missed so much. She hugs both of her nephews for a long time. She pulls away to look at each of them and then pulls them into another hug. Hana, Tris, and Max have big smiles and a few tears as well.

"This is my girlfriend, Tori," Zeke says proudly as he brings Tori over while Natalie wipes her tears. Tori had been nervous the entire walk over to Max's apartment but that disappeared seeing how special this moment was for Zeke and his family.

"Thank you for having me," she says, hugging her and then moving to hug Hana.

"I'm so happy you come," Hana tells Tori.

"I wanted to talk to you... I hope you're okay..." Tori starts her heart beating fast.

"I can't image anyone better for my son," Hana says before Tori can finish her sentence.

"And welcome to the task force" Max adds coming over to greet her. Tori gives him a nod as Hana whisks her away to tell her how happy she was to hear her thoughts on the serum and antidote.

"And this must be Christina," Natalie deducts, looking back to Uriah. She could see he favored Hana more, he reminded her of their father. "My nephews have good taste, you are beautiful too" Christina smiles as she hugs her, Natalie has a similar calming motherly effect that Christina loved about Hana.

With all of the greetings out of the way, lunch is lively, with Hana and Natalie telling stories of Max and Reggie getting into trouble when they were younger that have Uriah and Zeke understanding where they got their mischievous spirit from.

When it's time for dessert the entire table laughs as Natalie and Uriah both have two slices of chocolate cake.

"I see some things will never change," Hana chuckles.

Natalie smiles as Max grabs her hand under the table. She was so thankful for this time. The only thing missing was Caleb and his wife. She unconsciously places a hand on her stomach. She had to focus on right now and that's what she was going to do.

"Can I ask you something?" Tobias asks Natalie quietly as the group cleans up and Zeke loudly tells a story to the rest of the group which has everyone laughing hysterically. The two of them wash the dishes together and Tobias looks back to make sure everyone else is occupied.

"Of course sweetheart" Natalie had a feeling what it was about though, seeing how solemn Tobias was now.

"Did my mother ever ask about me or talk about me?" Part of him didn't want to know but the other part of him felt like he had to ask or he'd always wonder.

Natalie sighed and put down the plate she was drying. She knew the truth would hurt him, but she knew he deserved the honest and raw truth about Evelyn.

"I think being factionless changed Evelyn, she's been so focused on power and revenge, she's forgotten the good things, like you," Natalie tells him honestly.

Tobias shakes his head. He could hear it in her voice the night he learned she was alive. He had been going back and forth with himself on whether he should seek her out to have a conversation. He and Tris had been so up and down trying to figure out their relationship he hadn't told her his thoughts.

"You have love Tobias, this family that you've built here, lean into that and you will be okay" Natalie encourages him and he nods his head.

Zeke takes a moment to pull Amar and Max to the side to ask an important question when the party begins to wind down.

As Max says goodbye to Harrison and Amar, giving out instructions Hana goes over to her sister.

"You still haven't told him?" she whispers. Natalie shakes her head in response.

"I'm going to, he's been gone…It hasn't been the right time" Natalie defends.

Hana shakes her head. Natalie would start showing soon, but she hoped she would find the courage to talk to Max.