Allegiant Alternate Ending

The Wedding - Part II

Tobias

After dinner Christina asks Tris if she's ready to go.

"Go?" I ask. "Where are you going?"

Christina answers for her, "She can't stay here. You're not allowed to see her before the wedding." I probably should have known this, but tomorrow seems so far away.

I pull her to the side so I can say a private goodbye. She puts her hand on my cheek and brings my face to hers. "Tomorrow will be here before you know it, I've never been so excited to go to Amity." Tris told me that we'd be having the wedding there, I think she knew that I wouldn't want in the hall at Abnegation. Too many memories of Marcus there. Instead we will exchange our vows in the gardens, among the trees, surrounded by our friends that have become our family. I'm not even inviting my mom, the only family that will be there is Caleb.

"I can't wait," I say, and I kiss her.

Zeke yells out, "Save it for the honeymoon!" and everyone laughs. We hug once more and Tris leaves with Christina.

Everyone else offers to help clean up, but honestly I want to be alone with my thoughts. The fact that Tris and I are getting married seems like a miracle. Considering all we've been through and how many times I've come too close to losing her, this wedding is like a gift from God.

I still remember the first time I saw her, when she was the first jumper on Choosing Day. Her eyes were so stern, so insistent, so beautiful. Tomorrow we will be promising ourselves to each other in front of God and our family.

When I'm done cleaning I head to bed, very aware of what will be happening the next time Tris is with me here. She told me last night she's even taking a pill from Erudite to prevent her from getting pregnant. I close my eyes, sure that I'm not tired, but next thing I know, Zeke is pounding on the door.

"Four! Let's go!"

I get up to let him in and I realize the time, I'll be getting married in two hours. A huge smile crosses my face.

"We'll guess you're not having second thoughts," Zeke says as he sees my grin.

"Nope, not even a little bit." I shower and get changed quickly, into grey slacks and a grey button down shirt - Abnegation wedding clothes.

Zeke and I catch the train towards Amity and I can feel my excitement rising the closer we get. We're having the wedding in one of the orchards and I can smell the blossoms as we get close. The day is warm and clear, a perfect day to get married.

Zeke and I jump and head towards the orchard, I can see Johanna underneath one of the larger trees with all of our friends around her. I don't know why people would be nervous before a wedding, I've never been more excited for anything in my life.

I stand by Johanna and look at all our friends, the only ones I don't see are Christina and Caleb. Zeke stands beside me as my best man. Suddenly I see Christina walking towards us in a simple black dress with a look a genuine happiness on her face. I used to think she was nothing more than a smart mouth Candor, but she truly has a good heart and I'm lucky I can call her a friend.

Then I see Tris.

I swear my heart stops when I see her. She is wearing a very simple white dress, the type that Abnegation women wear to get married. No flowers, no jewelry, but she needs none of that to look beautiful. My eyes begin to tear up as I see her smile.

Caleb is walking her down the aisle, the last of her family left. The look of love in his eyes for his sister rids me of any ill feelings I had towards him.

As they get closer to me I can see the look in Tris' eyes, she loves me too for reasons I'll never understand. She's finally next to me and I grab her hands, I can see tears in her eyes too. Her beauty literally takes my breath away and I whisper that I love her, because I feel it's very important that she know that right now. She smiles and returns the sentiment.

"Welcome friends," Johanna begins. "We are privileged to be here today to witness the wedding of Tobias and Beatrice." Tris and I had decided to use our real names. Considering we're doing an Abnegation ceremony we felt we should use our Abnegation names. Tris joked that a wedding certainly qualified as a special occasion so I could call her "Beatrice" today.

"Tobias and Beatrice are living proof that love can can arise even during the darkest times. Their relationship has survived despite all the hardships it had to endure during this war. They are better people because they have each other. So first the vows. Tobias?"

Tris and I are using the Abnegation vows, but we decided to make them a little more personal. We haven't heard each other's yet though, so I'm a little nervous.

I take a deep breath and recite the words I've memorized, looking into her eyes so she can't question my intentions. "I, Tobias, take you Beatrice to be my wife. It is because of you that I have turned into the man I am today. Your strength, compassion, selflessness and beauty help me to be a better person. I promise to honor and respect you. I promise to always put your needs in front of my own and to work hard every day to be the best version of myself so I can be a good husband for you. And most importantly, I promise to love you until the day that I die" I know I'm not supposed to kiss her yet, but the need is too great so I settle for kissing the palm of her hand. When I look up at her again, the tears are no longer in her eyes, they have spilled over her cheeks.

Johanna looks momentarily stunned, I usually keep these kind of feelings private. "Beatrice, please recite your vows."

She looks up at me, with love shining from her eyes. "I, Beatrice, take you Tobias to be my husband. You are brave, selfless, honest, smart and most importantly, you are the kindest man I know." It's that moment that my own tears spill over. From the moment I left Abnegation I have tried to fulfill the beliefs of all the factions, but I have always felt like a failure - especially with kindness. "I promise to honor and respect you. I promise to always put your needs in front of my own and to work hard every day to be the best version of myself so I can be a good wife for you. And most importantly, I promise to love you until the day that I die"

At this point I'm just wishing the wedding could be over, all I want do is pull her into my arms but Johanna continues. "Beatrice, please place the ring you have for Tobias on his finger. This ring represents the promise you have made to each other in front of God, your family and your friends." Her hands are shaking, but she places a silver ring on my finger.

"Tobias, please place the ring you have for Beatrice on her finger. This ring represents the promise you have made to each other in front of God, your family and your friends." I place the ring on her finger and she looks at it with awe on her face. We seriously need to hurry up this ceremony, my self control is slipping.

"As the officiant for this ceremony, I now pronounce you as husband and wife, Tobias, kiss your bride"

It's about time. I pull her close to me and crush my lips to hers, feeling a huge sense of relief like I was in pain without her lips on mine. I'm suddenly aware that our friends are all watching us and I pull away, resting my forehead against hers.

"I wish we were alone," I tell her.

"I almost always wish that," she smiles at me.