Starting Over

Epilogue

Tobias and I sit together and watch as rows of teenagers are called up to choose a faction. We cheer along with the others from our faction whenever someone chooses Dauntless, but that does nothing to calm our nerves. I grip Tobias' hand tightly when the name I was dreading is called. I'm not ready to let her go.

"Elizabeth Eaton," the Candor man calls from the front of the room.

"Remember, no matter what she chooses, she is still our baby girl," Tobias whispers in my ear. I nod and refocus on our daughter. I know that as long as she's happy then I'll be happy, but I'm just not ready to let go. Sixteen years seemed to fly by. I'm not ready for her to be leaving us.

Liz quickly swipes the blade of the knife across her palm and turns to face the bowls. She hesitates and takes a deep breath before she moves her palm to the Dauntless bowl. I swear I stop breathing when she opens her palm and the blood drips down. I swear I can still remember the sound of blood hitting the hot coals even though I'm not close enough to hear it today. I smile, knowing that our baby isn't leaving us.

Liz turns and gives us a smile as she turns and walks back to join the other Dauntless initiates. She hugs her best friend, Ashley Brenton, as they sit down together in the Dauntless initiates section. Her other friend, Michael Grier, clasps her on the back when he joins them.

Soon everyone has chosen their faction and the initiates leave the building. I watch as our daughter sprints down the out of the building, racing Ashley and Michael as she goes. I take Tobias's hand and smile at him. He smiles back at me. When all of the initiates are gone we start to make our way out of the building.

"I'll race you," I tell him quietly.

"Oh, you're on," he replies with a laugh.

We take off running down the stairs. I laugh and smile as I run. Adrenaline pumps through my system. I sprint as fast as I can without tripping and falling down the stairs. Tobias is a few steps ahead of me when we reach the bottom.

"I win," Tobias announces.

"No, you don't," I reply.

"And why not?"

"Because I always win."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"Well why is that?"

"Because I have you."

I wrap my arms around his neck and our lips meet. He pulls me closer and closer until I'm pressed completely against him. We kiss until we run out of breath.

"Come on, let's go home," Tobias says and extends his hand for me to take. I look at it before I wrap my arm around his waist and rest my head on his shoulder. He chuckles and wraps his arm around my waist.

I remember when first went through the Choosing Ceremony. I remember running to the train and feeling free for the first time in years. I remember jumping off the roof first and first meeting Tobias. I remember being called a Stiff. I remember all of it, good and bad. Even with all of the bad that went with it, I wouldn't trade those memories for the world. Each one of them has made me who I am today. Each one of them brought me closer to my friends and family. They brought to me closer to Tobias.

"I love you, Tris."

"I love you too, Tobias."

A/N

Sorry it's short but I'm happy with the ending and didn't feel the need to write more. Hopefully you all are happy with it too. Thank you all for 84k views and for reading this fanfic. Knowing that you kept reading until the end makes me smile. You all have been awesome readers! I'll post an update with announcements when I'm ready to put the prequel up. Thank you all!