Into Her Embrace

Chapter 2

TRIS

I can do nothing but stare at him. Memories come flooding back to me. His disapproving looks when I wasn't 'Abnegation' enough. Laughing together on holidays. Spending time with him, Robert, and Susan. Oh my gosh, Susan! What am I going to tell her? I can feel the cloud of grief hanging over my head, ready to fall on me, crush me instantly. I wipe my tears away fiercely. I should not break down, not here, not now. David and other Bureau workers were most likely not of any concern at the moment, but Tobias should be getting back soon.

"If he is still alive" A small voice inside my head says. I push the thought away. He had told me he would see me soon, and he has never broken his promises to me yet. He would never leave me, just as I would never leave him.

I walk past Caleb's body to the panel at the back of the room. Just a few minutes ago, he was here, pressing these buttons, on the brink of death. I ran my fingers over the keys slowly. I looked at the stand that was full of the memory serum. Most of the vials were empty. Good, it was still being released. The Bureau would forget all about the phrases 'genetically pure' and 'genetically damaged'. I walked past Caleb again, kneeling to press a kiss against his forehead. I stepped out of the room quickly, and walked slowly, hunched over, towards the entrance to the building.

As I was walking towards the entrance, I saw Matthew motion me over to where he was working. Since he was part of our group, we had protected him against the serum. I walked over, noting the worry in his eyes.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

His face was contorted into a frown, brows furrowed. "I'm not sure," he says slowly, "I was just talking to Cara, and there may be an issue."

He looks at me again, as if noticing it was me for the first time. Immediately, his face smooths out.

"How's Caleb? Is he--" he stopped at the expression of pain on my face.

"He's gone." I choke on the words.

He looks down. "I'm so sorry." he says sympathetically.

I do my best to shrug. "I knew he probably would be, but a small part of me was still hoping." My voice cracks at the end, and my eyes well up with tears. He nods in understanding.

"What is the bad news??" I ask worriedly.

He just shakes his head. "I believe the group was coming back from the city. Chicago. Cara went to meet them." He says to distract me. It works. Before he had finished, I am walking back towards the front with as much of a spring in my step as I can muster. Soon I will see my love again. Soon I will be complete once more. He should be back by now, and I need him now more than ever.

TOBIAS
When we pull up to the front of the building, I am anxious to see Tris. I jump out of the vehicle before it stops moving and run through the falling snow to the front steps. I stop at the bottom, and see Cara standing at the top of the steps. No Tris. My heart drops to my toes.

"Four," Cara says, "I have some bad news."

Immediately, pain shoots through my chest, making me cry out through clenched teeth. My Tris, my beautiful, selfless, brave Tris must have gone to release the serum instead of Caleb. My Tris was gone, and I felt lost without her already. I could hardly see through the pain. Christina appears next to me, Amar not far behind her.

"What is it?" she asks worriedly. I look at her with agonized eyes, and hers drop towards the ground. Cara, sensing what I was thinking about, hurriedly shook her head.

"No, Four, No, its nothing like that. Tris is fi--" she says quickly.

I stop listening. Behind Cara, walking through the doors, is Tris. Without thinking, I am running towards her, we are colliding, and I feel whole once again. Her small body goes limp with relief against mine, and I feel myself sinking down a few inches as well. I bring my face down to hers slowly, kissing her for a few seconds before holding her to my side tightly once again.

TRIS

I walk out the door slowly, looking for him. I see him just down the steps, standing rigidly. I immediately hate all the space between us. Apparently he does too, because I blink and he is standing right in front of me, hugging me tightly. He kisses me hungrily for a few seconds, and I kiss him back wholeheartedly. Only now do I finally feel safe. Unable to support my weight anymore, I begin to collapse. He holds me upright. I am grateful for it. If he didn't, I would break apart. He turns back to Cara.

"The bad news?" he asks tensely. I turn towards Cara as well. Perhaps he is talking about what Matthew didn't tell me. She looks at me, flustered. I guess she doesn't want me finding out for some reason.

"Um...there may be a fault in the serum. It might not work properly. The chances are very small, only a 0.315% chance of it not working." she says, stammering.

I turn away, burying my face in Tobias's chest. It is too soon, and her naming percentages like that, gaining confidence with the facts and knowledge, reminds me of Caleb.

"Well," Tobias says, "We should probably stay for a while, to make sure it is working properly."

"I agree." Christina chimes in. "If these people are the ones that are monitoring us, no one knows what will happen. Especially if they all turn out like Peter." She gestures over her shoulder. He is walking around the truck with a blissful smile on his face. I look at Tobias, confused. He mouths 'memory serum.' I nod in understanding.

Now that I know that they are safe, the grief that was being held away comes crashing down on top of me, dragging me under, trying to make me drown.

"I've lost all of my family. I have no one left." I say quietly, crying. He squeezes me harder.

"That's not true. I am your family. I am always here for you." He says forcefully. I hiccup and look up at him. His gaze is both stern and loving.

"And I promise you," he continues, "I will never leave you. Ever."

I give a small smile. "I won't ever leave you either." I vow

We are, after all, two halves of the same person. If you break one, the other shatters. He pulls me even closer.

"I love you." he declares, before pressing his lips to my forehead.

"I love you too." I say, truth ringing in every word.

A/N

So there was the second chapter! Let me know in the comments how you think it is going so far. Let me know if I've got the emotions right, as I wasn't really sure how Tris was going to react, but I think this is pretty accurate. Tobias jumps to conclusions because he is constantly doubting himself and thinking he's not good enough for her. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you are all doing well!