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"Go….Get Jack out of here," Max wheezes a bit woozy and blinking rapidly. It felt like he had the wind knocked out of him and he was disoriented as he felt someone grabbing him and putting him in the back of a truck.
"We got Jack. What the hell were you thinking jumping in front of that bullet" Harrison chastizes he jumps in the vehicle and leans over into the backseat to check Max, while Chavis hops in the driver's seat and speeds them towards Dauntless. Harrison looks over him and tries to find the gunshot wound as Max groans.
"I'm good… Caught me in the vest" Max grunts with a sigh of relief but his chest burns like hell. He knew that he was going to have one hell of a bruise and be sore for a few days.
Chavis looks over, grins, and slaps Max on the shoulder and Gabe falls back letting out an equally loud sigh.
You, lucky bastard, I think you might have nine lies" Harrison replies wiping his face.
"You saved my life you crazy son of a bitch" Chavis, had always been loyal to Max, he'd questioned why he was kept in the dark after Stacy died, but Max had just taken a bullet for him. There was no way he was ever going to question his motives or intentions again.
"Just make sure you repay the favor someday," he says with a grin, closing his eyes for a minute while Chavis radios to let everyone know that Max is okay.
Tris goes to see her mother as the convoy leaves, knowing that she wants to be kept in the loop. As soon as they hear the motorcade is under attack, Natalie is beside herself. She paces, biting her nails as they listen to the chatter over the radio. She hadn't been nervous when Max left two nights ago but now her pregnancy hormones seemed to be in overdrive and she feels all over the place.
Tris can tell Natalie is anxious and distracted, she seems to be unconsciously placing her hand on her stomach when she thought no one was looking. She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to her mother about the baby, but then she thought maybe going to her aunt first would be better. She gets overwhelmed anytime she starts to think about it and Tris reminds herself to take things one step at a time. There would be more time once this day was over and everyone settled in for the blizzard since it was already starting to snow.
Natalie thinks her heart stops and Tris blows out a breath, her eyes welling up with tears when Chavis calls out that Max has been hit. Cara clamps a hand over her mouth in shock as they listen to the frantic messages that come over the radio. Tris stands there in shock, her entire body feeling limp. She'd just found her father, she couldn't lose him now, her parents had been so happy, it seemed so wrong for them to lose this chance to finally be together.
"No, no, no…" Natalie cries out and she feels her knees go weak. Cara comes over to help support her and walks Natalie to the couch to sit down.
"He's going to be okay, he's going to be okay' Tris repeats, trying to hold back her tears.
"What's happening?" Natalie asks as she tries to gain her composure while Cara gives her some space and sits in one of the chairs.
Cara bounces her leg nervously, unsure of what to say to be of comfort so she keeps quiet.
"Max took a hit but it caught the bulletproof vest…He's okay. We are on our way back to base" Chavis finally responds.
"See he's okay" Tris sighs and flops down uncontrollably on the couch on the opposite end of where Natalie was sitting. Her heart was still pounding.
"Oh Thank God" Natalie breathes, wiping a fresh set of tears.
"How about I make you some tea to calm your nerves," Cara offers, waiting to do something with the nervous energy she had.
"Thank you Cara" Natalie nods and motions for Tris. "Come here, baby"
Tris obeys and she scoots over to hug her mother, who is still shaken up. It was comforting to her as well. They settle on the couch, and Natalie wraps her arms around her daughter. Tris lays across her chest, and Natalie kisses the top of her head.
"He's okay, Mom," Tris reassures her again in a whisper.
The teams gathered in the Dauntless training room to assess what had happened. There was mayhem after the shootings and a ton of Candor fleeing for Dauntless. Guards had been on high alert but it seemed as though Erudite's team of Factionless soldiers had only focused on targeting Candor and Dauntless leadership.
"You're supposed to be laying low Mom" Tris sighs as Natalie throws on a sweatshirt and grabs her boots that she hadn't worn since she arrived in Dauntless.
"I don't care, Tris, I'm going to see your father, right now and I'll deal with anyone who's got something to say" Natalie snaps.
Cara bites her lip but doesn't say a word as Tris raises her hands in surrender. Natalie had gone from crying to boss mode in about 15 minutes and Tris wasn't sure what to make of her mood swing.
"Cara, you stay here, don't open that door unless it's Zeke or Four. The rest of us have a key"
Cara nods. She had been staying in one of the guest rooms but it wasn't like she had anywhere else to go.
Tris and Natalie move quickly to the elevator. The entire compound seemed to be a buzz now. An announcement had come over the PA system used for emergencies for additional guards to help man the checkpoints.
"Where's your Aunt Hana?" Natalie asks Tris as they start on one of the paths toward the training room where Victoria radioed to say they were gathering.
"Still in the infirmary, she finished operating on Will and wanted to say there to keep an eye on him, and in case there were other injuries"
Tris didn't say a word, but clearly, Natalie remembered exactly where she was going. Just as they arrive, Amar walks in with the people from the first vehicle.
"Natalie what are…" He starts but quickly stops mid-sentence.
"Not now Amar…Where's Max" Natalie practically snaps and Tris makes a motion behind her mother to tell Amar to stop.
"Two cars behind me, Tori, get a gurney down here," Amar says and then yells knowing that Niles was hit as he sees Zeke and Tori come rushing in.
Just then there's more commotion as Jack Kang and his family enter. Natalie rushes over to help them.
"Are you hurt?" she asks as she sees the blood all over them.
Jack shakes his head and his wife holds Cameron close.
"Niles didn't make it…" He says still in a bit of shock.
Amar puts his hands on his hips and shakes his head.
"Max!" Natalie yells as she sees Harrison come in with Max leaning against him, one arm over his shoulder and the other clutching his side.
"Baby…what are you doing" he says, still fighting the pain in his chest.
"I was so worried when they said you had been shot… " She says and kisses him, moving Harrison out of the way to put Max's arm over her shoulder.
"You shouldn't be here, what if…" He gets out between her kisses.
"I don't care, I needed to know you were okay, We need to get you to Hana..." She tells him forcefully as Tori brings over the gurney for him to get on.
"I can walk. " He protests but Natalie doesn't listen as she helps Tori get him to sit down.
"Nat, I need to get up and walk..." Max says one more time a bit more forcefully.
"He's good Nat," Harrison intervenes placing a soft hand on her shoulder. Natalie realizes what they were saying, tears filling her eyes again. It was a sign of weakness and Max needed to be seen as strong right now in front of Dauntless.
"Christina" Rose yells as Uriah and Christina walk in now and she takes off running toward her sister.
"Oh my God, I'm so glad you are okay," She says as her mother comes rushing over too.
Stephanie hugs her daughter closely. She never thought that they would be here right now, but she was thankful that all three of them were safe.
Uriah hangs his head as he goes over to where Max is getting up off the gurney. He saw Jack covered in blood and had passed the bodies being pulled out of the vehicles when he and Christina pulled into the garage.
"I'm sorry Uncle Max..." Uriah sighed but was thankful that Max was fine.
"Hey, don't do that, you did your job Uriah, we can't save everyone, that's the cost of war," Max reminds him. Natalie grabs Uriah's hand and squeezes it.
"You followed the plan, and that was some damn good shooting. We wouldn't have stood a chance if you hadn't taken him out so quickly," Harrison reassures him.
Uriah nods his head, he would have never been able to live with himself if Max had been killed because he didn't take out the other sniper.
It's hectic for the next hour. Max goes to the infirmary where Hana looks him over and Harrison escorts the guests from Candor to the designated apartments to settle in and clean up.
"You are damn lucky, Max," Hana fusses as she hands him a dose of healing serum to take. He was sitting in a hospital bed, shirtless. Tris had reluctantly left a few minutes before to go check in on Cara and assist with pulling together everyone for the debriefing meeting. Natalie refused to leave Max's side and was watching intently as Hana examined him.
"So I've been told", he grunts as she feels his chest around the large purple bruise that had formed against his golden brown skin where he had been shot.
Natalie stands next to the bed, stroking his hairline while Hana writes a few notes. She leans down to kiss his forehead softly. Even though he was right there in front of her, she was still a bit shaken.
"Where do you think you're going?" Natalie challenges when Max moves to get out of bed.
"I've got to manage the fallout from this. The debriefing meeting needs to be..."
"Oh no you don't, Four, Victoria, and Chavis have everything handled. You are going to rest for a few hours, I want to monitor you to ensure you don't have any lingering effects from the impact of being shot. "
"I feel better already... better than I did when I first got here," He argues.
"I can always give you something to knock you out for the rest of the night," Hana says with a fake smile.
"Seems like your choice is clear" Natalie chimes in.
Max sighs and rolls his eyes and Hana arches her eyebrow. He looks over at Natalie who has the same look. "Well, I'd forgotten what it was like when you two team up on me. I guess that means I'm stuck here"
Hana motions her head for Natalie to join her in the hall.
"I'll be right back Baby," she tells him, kissing him before shutting the lights off and closing the door softly.
Hana leads Natalie to a room down the hall and shuts the door.
"What are you thinking coming leaving the apartment like that, Nat?"
Natalie sighs and sits on the bed. She knew they had agreed for her to stay hidden, but she couldn't just sit there and wait.
"I wasn't, I just panicked and, my hormones are all over the place today"
Hana knew this was hard for Natalie and they couldn't keep her locked up in the apartment forever. She decided to make the best of having Natalie in the infirmary.
"Well since you are here, I want to do an ultrasound sound and I can tell you still haven't told Max…"
Natalie shakes her head with a guilty look on her face.
"Come on, lie back" Hana coaxes.
After a few minutes, Hana has everything she needs set up.
"There we go, strong heartbeat" Hana smiles as she looks at the screen.
Natalie wipes her eyes with tears.
"The baby looks fine?"
"They sure do" Hana confirms and Natalie smiles big. "Have you been taking the vitamins I gave you?"
"Yes, every day" Natalie had hidden them in a cabinet in the kitchen. Max never cooked at home, so he usually only looked in the cabinet that held the drinking glasses.
"It looks like I was a little off with what I guessed from your blood work and it's been another 4 weeks you are about 16 and a half weeks already…"
Natalie looked down at her stomach, there was a small bump but barely noticeable. She was shocked Max hadn't noticed but things had been a little crazy the last week.
"Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?"
She smiles moving the ultrasound wand a bit. "It looks like I'm getting a nephew"
Natalie smiled big, she hated that she missed being with Caleb and Tris growing up, but she wanted a boy that looked like Max. It was something she had dreamed of all the years she was alone. It was one of the fantasies that kept her going when things were hard. Late a night she would imagine what life would be like if she had run away with Max.
She'd never seen her sister look so happy. Natalie may still be unsure about everything happening but in that moment Hana knew there were two things Natalie was sure of, her love for Max and how much she wanted this baby.
Hana goes to get some rest herself after checking in on Will who is asleep now. Natalie crawls into the hospital bed with Max. When he wakes up a few hours later and Hana gives him the all-clear to leave, Natalie reluctantly agrees to go back to the apartment.
"I want to talk to Jack, I want to tell him everything Marcus and Andrew have done," Natalie tells Max as they spend a few minutes alone in the infirmary.
"Give him some space, he just lost his second in command. The snow is starting to fall, we'll be held up here for at least a week, we have time" He reminds her.
Natalie understands.
"Nat, I need you to go back to the apartment and stay put. We have a leak, they knew about the transfer and how we changed up the leave point and time, and I'm not putting you in danger. You know too much..." Max reminds her as Natalie crosses her arms in front of her chest and glares at him a little.
"What about Cara? Does she get to walk around or is she going to be stuck with me too" She presses. She didn't mind Cara staying with her and Max, she had been quiet since she arrived. Natalie could tell she was scared.
"She can stay with us or she can stay with Hana since she's helping with the antidote to the serum. I'm just trying to keep you safe Baby…"
Natalie sighs still feeling frustrated as Max pulls her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her. Being in his arms made her feel calmer.
"I know…" she says giving in. Max gives her a soft kiss.
"I love you" he whispers.
"I love you too"
"I'll be home as soon as I can" He assures her and Natalie nods and leans in for another kiss.
Max stops in to see Will who is awake but groggy before heading to the conference room.
"Good Job soldier," Max tells him.
"Thank you, Sir"
Christina was there by his bedside, her arms wrapped around her middle.
"And good shooting Christina, hell of a job you and Uriah working together," Max tells her as he exits.
She tells him thank you before returning to Will's side. "Can I have some water?" he grunts as he tries to sit up. Christina dutifully grabs the cup with the straw and holds it while he drinks.
"Thank you, Chris" he replies with a huff as he falls back on the bed. His eyes were heavy, he was tired. He didn't feel pain, knowing it was probably the pain medication Hana had him on.
"Go to sleep, I'll be here when you wake up" She assures him. He closes his eyes and she leans over placing a kiss on his forehead.
"How many did we lose?" He asks Harrison as the leadership team, and Jack Kang gather in the conference room.
"Just one, Felix," Chavis says with a hint of sadness. He had been a hard worker and was leaving behind a girlfriend and two small children.
"We must plan for the arrangements and honor him the Dauntless way. Victoria, will you see to it?" Max instructs. Victoria nods and makes a few notes of what needs to be done.
"Jack, We will provide whatever you need for you to honor Niles in the Candor way with your faction members here. I've been told more have arrived and are being processed through the screening checkpoint"
Amar and Harrison go over the plans for Caleb and Marlene. Max sends Amar to head out to the closest checkpoint with Uriah to be on hand as soon as the call comes that Abnegation is under attack.
"The snow is coming down, not too heavy, We've had a good put of people arriving from Candor. Probably 500" Chavis reports. "We are currently putting them through the screening process, and assigning them to spaces identified in the encampment. Jack, I have a list of people for you and your leaders to review."
"Thank you, Max, to you and your team," Jack says feeling overwhelmed as he takes the papers from Chavis.
"We just got word from the unit that was helping people coming this way that Erduite is raiding the offices at Candor," Victoria tells Max as she walks into the room after taking a call on the radio.
Jack drops his head in his hands in disbelief.
"Have any of those fleeing been attacked?" Amelia asks as she places a hand of comfort on Jack's arm.
"Some, but mainly those who were combative. I think it's clear that Jeanine is only focused on high-ranking officials." Victoria reasons.
"I would expect an attack on the perimeter, possibly during or after the attack we know is coming on Abnegation" Harrison adds.
"Looks like we made the move just in the nick of time" Grant sighs. He was still in disbelief that this was all happening.
The meeting ends and Jack and Max spend a few moments alone.
"I can't thank you enough Max' Jack says with a heavy voice.
"Niles… It's my fault… Maybe I handled…" Max tells him. He'd known Jack and Niles for many years, and he could see how Niles' death was weighing on Jack.
"No, you were right, if we hadn't moved, what could we have done when Erudite came bursting in? I'd be dead as well. Thank you, Max'
Max nods. He still had no idea if they could win this war.
Tris had been running around all afternoon and it was nearing dinner time. She was helping the Candor refugees into assigned places in the temporary housing units. It was snowing, and the cold was in. She felt a bit like she was in Abnegation again, handing out blankets, and directing people to where the food stations were for each section.
"Hey, have you eaten dinner yet?" she asks Lynn who drops another box of blankets at the table Tris is working. Lynn had joined in on the funeral celebration but left to go find Tris to try and persuade her to come have some fun and ended up helping her. The pit was still loud and active full of people celebrating Felix. The refugee area was even more active as more people from Candor arrived, scared after Erduite stormed the Merciless Mart.
"No, not yet" Lynn could sense a little awkwardness between them, but the day had been wild. She assumed Tris was worked up from all of the happenings the past few days. The compound was buzzing with all of the stories of Max being shot and Tris and Four taking down two Erudite. A little alone time would be good for them she reasoned. They needed some quiet time to reconnect.
"Maybe we can grab something and then talk?" Tris tells her. She was ready to get this over and done with now. She needed to tell Lynn they were through. She still hadn't decided if she should tell her everything but this was a start.
"Yeah, let me go grab the last box" Lynn replies when Tris blinks and feels lightheaded. Her vision feels spotty and her knees go weak.
"Tris, Tris Are you okay?… can you hear me?" Lynn calls but Tris faints in her arms.
When Tris wakes, she's in the infirmary with Hana taking her blood pressure. She groans and blinks a few times looking around at her surroundings.
"What happened? How did I get here?"
"You're in the infirmary. I'm glad to see you awake… You fainted outside. I was just about to go tell your mother and father … "
"Please don't Aunt Hana, I don't want them to worry. How long was I out?" Tris groans as she scoots up in the hospital bed.
"About 10 minutes," Hana tells her looking at her intently.
"Tris, I know things are upside down right now, but you've got to do a better job of taking care of yourself, Have you eaten anything today?" Hana scolds.
"I know, I know, I ended up trying to help out with the Candor placements and time got away from me. I was going to come in this week to see you…but I… I need your help, Aunt Hana… "
"What's wrong Sweetie? You know you can talk to me about anything…." Hana asks sitting on the edge of the bed giving Tris her full attention.
Tris looks down at her hands, takes a deep breath through her nose, and bites her lip.
"I think I'm pregnant…" she whispers and a few tears fall down her cheeks.
Hana closes her eyes for a second and then nods, knowing that this is going to be tough to handle. She grabs her niece's hand and squeezes it tight. "I'm here sweetheart. You aren't alone."
"I didn't want to tell anyone, Please don't tell my parents. I.." Tris says a little panicked.
"Hey, let's take care of you first, we will worry about everything else later. Tell me how you have been feeling, what symptoms have you been having?" Hanna assures her.
"I've been throwing up all the time, Every time I eat. That's why I didn't eat breakfast or lunch, and my breasts hurt."
"Fainting can be common, especially if you aren't eating well; I'd like to do an ultrasound to make sure everything is okay. Let me work on getting you something for the nausea"
Tris wipes her face, she needs to get a handle on things. When Hana goes out the door to get an ultrasound machine Lynn knocks on the door.
"How are you feeling?" She asks quietly but Tris can tell she knows, she can see the look on her face, the hurt. This is what she had been avoiding for the past two months. "I've been pacing in the waiting room and I couldn't take waiting anymore. Is it true, what you just told Hana?"
"Lynn…I'm so sorry…I didn't want you to find out this way. I've been trying to figure out a way to tell you…"
Lynn tries to keep her face even, but she still lets a tear escape that she quickly wipes away. She had been so concerned when she heard the Tris had collapsed. She carried Tris to the infirmary. It wasn't that she couldn't tell Tris had been hiding something from her but when she overheard Tris say she was pregnant it was as if a rug had been pulled out from underneath her.
"Why, Tris?" Lynn asks, her face stoic. There were so many emotions, she didn't think she had ever been this hurt in her life.
"I…I don't think anything I say will make it okay…I just…
"You were just what, experimenting, trying things out with me…" Lynn reasons in a deadly tone trying to understand why Tris would do this.
"No, I swear, I care about you so much Lynn, that's why I haven't said anything, I was trying to sort out my feelings and think about what I wanted…I know I was selfish in trying to hold on to you…" Tris sobs. She was crying now, she never wanted to hurt Lynn. That was the truth.
"Keep the Abnegation bullshit Tris, was it Four?" Lynn says cutting her off and her heartache turning to pure rage now.
"Lynn please…just let me try to explain…" Tris pleads wiping tears. The look on Lynn's face was worse than she could have ever imagined.
"Was it Four Tris!?" Lynn yells now, unable to contain her emotions.
"Yes," Tris whispers not bothering to wipe her tears anymore. "I'm so sorry Lynn"
Lynn doesn't acknowledge anything else Tris says and turns on her heels storming out of the infirmary.