Present Day
In his 7 years of being the official leader of Dauntless, Max had only recently started to truly embrace his role. Unlike other factions the Dauntless didn't care about age, skill and strength were valued traits. He spent 5 years in the leadership training program, learning Dauntless law inside and out, preparing him for the day when one of the elder leaders would step down due to not being able to meet the physicality requirements. It was a thankless job, lots of paperwork, meetings, and more meetings, listening to complaints, nothing like what he thought it would be when he was younger.
He stares at the small photo he kept hidden in his desk drawer. He wondered how different his path would have been if Natalie had stayed in Dauntless. Would they have married? How many children would they have? Would he still have gone into leadership? He missed her. Women came and went, usually when they realized he wasn't willing to give them his heart because Natalie never left him.
He woke up that morning thinking of her as he sometimes did even though it had been 17 years since the last time he saw her. The special times they shared in Dauntless were still fresh in his mind like it was yesterday. It had broken him when he learned of her death. He would give anything to hold her again, tell her how much he loved her, and make up for the mistakes he made when they were younger. The brief dalliances he had now were just to satisfy his physical needs. He couldn't stand the company of anyone for longer than a few months.
A knock at the door draws Max out of his thoughts and he quickly closes the drawer, putting away the picture of his lost love.
"Sir, Jeanine Matthews is here" His assistant informs him.
"Send her in" Max sighs with a wave of the hand. He didn't often get requests for meetings from the other faction leaders outside of the large council meetings unless there was an issue. Faction leaders also disliked coming to Dauntless because of the difficulty getting around. He wondered what could Erudite want.
"Thank you for taking the time to meet with me Max," Jeanine replies as she steps into his office, her voice spilling out the words letting Max know she wanted something from him.
She hands him a folder from her briefcase. Max knew the Erudite looked down on everyone else, holding their knowledge and scientific discoveries in high regard. For Jeannie to be here, showed she thought she could outsmart Max with whatever she wanted. He needed to handle this situation with special care.
Max looks at the documents that Jeanine handed to him. He was intrigued, normally Erudite presented research on new things they were developing or medical treatments at the large council meetings for all the other leaders to hear. For Jeanine to be here, there was something she didn't want the other leaders to know.
Max opens the folder. He narrows his eyes as he scans the information unsure of what he was looking at. There were charts and graphs indicating an increase of some sort pertaining to test subjects.
"As you can see, I have some promising results with this serum I am developing. Those with a Dauntless aptitude are responding well but I need more Dauntless test subjects".
And there Jeanine just showed him her hand.
"And why would I allow you to test any of the Dauntless members for this particular research project Erudite has going on?"
"Because it directly benefits you Max" Jeanine sits down and crosses her legs seductively in the chair in front of Max's desk.
Max looks back down at the papers, trying not to roll his eyes. He wasn't sure if he trusted Jeanine and her motives and he sure as hell wasn't attracted to her. Sure, she was attractive if that's what you went for, thin, blonde, icy blue eyes but that wasn't his type.
"I'm sure you've thought through how this benefits us" Max replies sarcastically with a wave of his hand as he leans back in his office chair.
Jeanine smiles as she points to the papers, she handed Max.
"Dauntless has the hardest initiation of all the factions, add to that your members age out when they are past their physical prime."
"Correct"
"And what happens to all of those people who age out or fail initiation?"
"They become factionless or choose an honorable death…" Max furrows his eyebrows together wondering where Jeanine was going with her line of thinking. Max had thought about it when the time came that he could no longer keep up. How leaping into the chasm would be celebrated rather than living out the rest of his days freezing on the streets and begging the Abnegation for food and supplies.
"Check on the factionless lately, since Abnegation voted to reduce the number of patrols and increase coverage at the fence and the supply lines?"
"What are you getting at? Are you saying Abnegation is plotting against Dauntless?"
Jeanine smirks. "They aren't that stupid Max, but the Abnegation leaders aren't dumb either. They know how to keep their secrets hidden. But in trying to avert attention away from what they were hiding and Dauntless not being forgiving for people who aren't useful to them a situation has been created that is less than ideal"
Max looks at the papers again. They were faction counts. How the hell had Factionless grown to twice the size of Dauntless in the past five years?
"How did you get these numbers? Are you sure they are accurate?"
"They are estimates but I believe they are close. We've been surveying numbers of the factions as a way to improve Amity's food production in the winter months. With Abnegation requesting increased rations for Factionless it warranted looking into"
"So, what's your solution to this?"
"If the Factionless get out of hand, Dauntless will never be able to withstand a full-on assault"
"Where are you getting your information?" Max had never considered a Factionless assault. Where would they be getting weapons? But it did make sense with so many Dauntless trained among them.
"I've been watching the Factionless for some time now, for research purposes," Jeanine says carefully. She needed to know she could trust Max before divulging more of her work.
"Research. Hmmm," Max could put the pieces together. What better test subjects than Factionless? There was no way the council would be on board with her experiments. The Candor weren't the bleeding hearts that Abnegation and Amity were.
"What I've come up with will increase the strength of a Dauntless soldier and extend their period of usefulness by 5 years at least."
"You're serious?" Max asks, narrowing his eyes to search Jeanine's face.
"Read the reports, Max, it's all there. I'll give you some time to think about it"
"And what do you want from me, Jeanine? I know you aren't doing this out of the kindness of your heart" Right now this all seemed too good to be true - Jeanine offering a solution to a threat that she identified.
"The key to creating this serum is utilizing stem cells from Divergent. Right now, I need more Divergent to harvest the stem cells and more Dauntless who can be test subjects. We've had good results with the Factionless-Dauntless we've found, which is noted in the report. I really think that if I can get some more subjects, I might be able to make this serum last longer than 5 years."
Max nods. She was smart, but he needed to find out more information. He wasn't completely sold yet but he needed to know if there was another solution to this factionless problem.
"This is a good plan, Max., Wouldn't you rather have Dauntless that could be useful here under your command, and working to protect Chicago than in the Factionless threatening a potential civil war?"
"I'll read over the reports and get back to you," Max says as he stands, indicating to Jeanine that it was time for her to leave.
She stands, getting the message that Max was done with this conversation for now, and goes to open the door to his office but quickly shuts it once she does.
"If we could keep this between us that would be great. I don't think the other factions would agree with some of my research methods. There might be a day when we need to work together more closely if the other faction leaders don't want to step into the future"
Max nods again. He really needed to think about this before agreeing to it. If the other faction leaders weren't in favor of this, it could end badly for him.
Tris finds the first weeks after Tobias' choosing are the hardest. She mostly kept to herself, which really wasn't that much different from everyday Abnegation life.
She finds herself spending more time volunteering to hand out rations in the Factionless section which kept Andrew off her back. A few times he actually praised her for all the hours she was working.
It keeps her from missing Tobias too much, but she also keeps searching for the mystery woman from last winter. It had been over six months since she'd seen her, but Tris still couldn't get her out of her mind.
She still had three weeks until visiting day and she would get to see Tobias. It was killing her not knowing how he was doing. Marcus had been laying it on thick about his only son defecting and how he was alone. There was a steady rotation of Abnegation homes inviting him for dinner and offering to help do the clearing or laundry. Tris wanted to vomit every night that Marcus dined with them.
"Come on Tris, we're supposed to clean Marcus's house today." Caleb reminds her as she grabs her coat one Saturday morning.
"I'm going to the Factionless section, ask Susan and Robert to help, you know they won't say no"
"Promise, you will be back in time to start dinner"
"I promise, Caleb" he nods and lets out a breath as she smiles at him.
Tris walks quickly down the gravel path of identical Abnegation houses. Her palms were itching, and she felt like after weeks of being disappointed, today was the day.
Tris had been marking in her mind the different areas she had looked in. She passes out a few bags of food that she had prepared along the way. She takes a left down an ally and as the people become less and less frequent, she knows she's heading in the right direction.
She stops and sighs trying to decide if she should keep walking or look in the building she was in front of. She looks back down the alley, there was a lady throwing out a bucket of water on the street but other than that there was no movement.
Tris turns her head and looks the other way down the alley and stops sucking in a breath. There she was. She was starting to think that she imagined the entire first meeting.
"Please don't go, I won't hurt you, Please I just…I don't know" Tris begs as she sees the woman pull the scarf over her face again and start to turn away.
Tris feels all the emotion of her search, missing Tobias, and the weight of trying to fit into Abnegation hits her and she starts to cry, leaning against the building she was standing in front of. She feels her legs buckle and she slides down the wall until she hits the ground. She pulls her knees up and rests her head on her arms as she continues to cry.
After a few minutes, she feels a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Please don't cry Baby Girl"
Tris lifts her head, and through her tears, she sees the face she had been looking for and the woman squatting before her.
"I'm sorry, I just, things have been hard, and I've been looking for you for so long, I…I…I just wanted to ask you a few questions" she chokes out through some more tears.
The woman looks around and stands up holding out her hand. Tris wipes her face and takes it standing up and not letting go as they quickly meander through a few alleys and then into a building with a crumbling archway up a small set of stairs.
"Is this where you live?" Tris asks curiously as they go through a door that leads to what looks like it has been set up like a living space, a table with mixed-match chairs, a makeshift bed, and a small makeshift kitchen.
"Yes, this is where I live" the woman answers in a soft voice. Even with those few words, Tris feels like the words calm her, like a lullaby she's never heard.
"And no one bothers you?"
"This is away from where the Dauntless patrol even though the patrols have been cut back over the years, most of the Factionless stay clustered closer to where the Abnegation provide handouts. Some of us started to venture out to places like this. When I found it, there was running water, so I set up here"
"Was this a house?" Tris asks, looking around the room.
"I think so" The woman busies herself lighting a fire under a makeshift pot in the fireplace. There were jugs of water set up at the sink, a makeshift shelf with some dried goods that came in the packages Abnegation had out every other week. Small bottles of what looked like spices also lined the shelves. The mall bed in the corner of the room with several patchwork quilts piled high but still folded neatly at the foot of the bed. There was a door next to the bed that was a jar and Tris could see a cracked mirror and what looked like a toilet.
Warmth starts to fill the room. It was strange to Tris, it felt homey, and comfortable, something that she had never felt in her own home. Something she craved so desperately.
"How long have you been here?"
"Almost 18 years"
Tris fidgets with her hands. Faction before blood was the way, but if there was any chance that she had a family out there, she had to take it.
"That first day I saw you, I just wanted to talk to you. I know most Abnegation don't look at themselves in the mirror, but I know I look like you. I was hoping you might know my mother's family. I want to find them; I don't know anything about her, and Visiting Day is coming,"
Tris feels like she's rambling, but she needed answers. This woman was the first chance she had at feeling connected to someone. She thanks her politely when she passes her a cup of tea. Tris stares at the chipped rim of the cup, but she had come this far, what was the point in holding back now?
"My name's Tris, Well Beatrice, actually. I don't like my name,"
"I thought it was a pretty Abnegation name, but I'm happy you made it your own," The woman tells her as she pours herself a cup of tea.
Tris sucks in a breath and tears fill her eyes again. She watches as the woman turns and the cup of tea slips from her fingers shattering on the floor. Part of her had dared to let herself feel the impossible, but after 17 years of feeling like she wasn't connected to anyone, could this be true?
"I'm so sorry" Tris stammers, maybe she was hearing things.
"It's fine, it's just a cup, I have more sweetheart" The woman bends down to pick up the pieces as Tris helps, her fingers trembling. Natalie drops the pieces and grabs Tris' shaking hands holding them steady as she stands up, pulling Tris with her.
"Are you really my mother? Natalie Prior?" Tris feels the hot tears roll down her cheeks as the woman in front of her nods her head.
Natalie isn't sure if she should, knowing this was so much for Tris to process but she goes with her instincts and pulls Tris into a tight hug.
"Yes, I am" Natalie whispers as she holds her daughter for the first time since she was only four months old.
Tris full-out sobs now as she clings to her mother.
"I'm so sorry baby girl" Natalie was now sobbing as well.
"Why are you Factionless? Father said you died a few months after I was born" Tris asks after a long moment of them crying and holding on to each other.
Tris wipes her face and takes a big breath trying to get her emotions under control. Natalie wipes her own tears. She motions to Tris to follow and pulls up one of the chairs next sitting down at the table. She was nervous about this from the very moment she decided that she wanted to get to know her daughter.
"When I met Andrew Prior, I was in a rebellious phase, I wasn't listening to anyone, about anything and I was determined that I was not going to let anyone tell me how to live my life"
Tris nods her head as she listens.
"Andrew came along at a time and he said all the right things and I wanted to start over with him. On our Choosing Day, we decided to go to Abnegation together to start a new life. Things started out great but over time I realized he wasn't the man I thought he was…"
"But why did you leave? I needed you; Caleb needed you" Tris cries in frustration, and Natalie can hear the hurt and a hint of anger in her voice.
Natalie sighs. She had dreamed of this day for so long, watching from afar, but having her indiscretions on display with her daughter wasn't what she wanted either.
"I had an affair, and to punish me Andrew made me Factionless. I wanted to take you with me, but Andrew threatened to have my memory erased with memory serum if I didn't stay away. So rather than have to forget you, I watched you from afar."
Tris feels her lip wobble as she puts the pieces together in her mind. It wasn't pain that she saw whenever someone mentioned Natalie or when he looked at her when he thought she wasn't looking, it was anger. There were times when she felt like he was disgusted by her presence and knowing just how much she looked like her mother, it made sense.
"You watched us anyway; you knew who I was"
Natalie smiles and nods her head; her baby girl was so smart.
"Yes, my dear, since you've gotten older, I've known when you come to hand out supplies and explore. I would just watch you from afar. I wasn't expecting you to see me last year. I just couldn't stay away anymore"
Tris moves to give her mother a deep hug, holding on and inhaling her scent hoping to remember it.
"Did he hit you too?" Tris asks after a few quiet moments void of emotion as she rested her head against Natalie's shoulder.
"Oh, my girl…" Natalie feels a fresh batch of tears fall as she realizes that her children were victims as well. She didn't think it was possible to hate Andrew Prior more than she already did but now…
"This isn't the life I wanted for you or for Caleb."
"Caleb doesn't get beat as often as I do, I stay in trouble," she says with a half-smile. It was the truth, her stubbornness got her in trouble. Natalie hugs her a little tighter and kisses her forehead.
They stay like that for a few minutes when Natalie pulls away to heat up more water for tea.
Tris looks down at her watch and throws her head back in annoyance.
"Crap, I've got to go, or I'll be in trouble if I don't get home to start dinner"
"Go" Natalie gives her a soft smile, not wanting their time together to end but wanting to keep her safe.
"Can I come back and see you? I have so many questions" There was nothing Tris wanted more right now than more time with her mother.
"Yes, Of course, but you have to be careful Tris, your father can't know" Natalie warns her.
Tris nods her head in understanding.
"I'll be back next Saturday" Tris feels the excitement running through her body. She didn't want to leave but knowing that she could come back was enough to hold her over.
"I'll be here" Natalie assures her before she gives Tris one more strong hug before she leaves. This had been a gift and she was going to cherish every minute she could spend with her daughter.
Tris tears off in a run down the alley, but her heart was full of joy for the first time since Tobias left.
