Undaunted

21

Tobias's POV
I walk down the stairs into the kitchen holding River with my uninjured arm. Will sits at the table bouncing Everest on his lap with Shauna and Maddie. El and Marlene are still asleep. I sit down and they all nod their heads at me. Will passes me a warm bottle for River and I thank him. We are doing pretty good on food and water but hopefully, the group brings some back. Once everyone is back together, we won't have enough to even last a week. I sigh as River rests her head on my chest, drinking her bottle. None of us say or do anything. It's been like this since Tris, Zeke, Lynn, Chris, and Uri left. I look over at the small clock we have set on the counter. It's eight in the morning. Around 8:30, Marlene and El come down.

"Hey," El says, hugging me from behind. I squeeze her arm that wraps around my neck. Since we've all been stuck together, we have become closer. It's nice having a little sister. "Hi, Ri Ri," she says, kissing River on the head. River laughs. "You guys want breakfast?" she asks everyone. Out of all of us, El is definitely the most optimistic. We all nod grimly and she walks into the kitchen with a skip in her step. I quirk my brow and follow after her. She grabs four eggs and walks to the stove. I was able to get the electricity working once I recovered enough. My shoulder still hurts but I can do way more things now. I lean against the counter, holding River.

"What's up with you today?" I ask skeptically. "Why are you so happy?" El laughs and shakes her head.

"I don't know, it's a good day." I roll my eyes and walk back out to the table. A while later, El announces breakfast. Marlene watches the babies while we all get plates of eggs. We were able to find paper plates and plastic utensils. Just as I walk back to River, someone busts open the door. I drop my plate of food when I see Tris standing in front of me, with a bloody arm.

"Tris," I breathe out. I stagger towards her, not knowing if this is a dream or reality.

"Tobias," she says. "Tobias." I take Tris in my arms and she falls against me. I hold her up and wrap my arms around her waist. She wraps her uninjured arm around my neck. She sobs my name into my shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. I shouldn't have left." I stroke her hair and let silent tears fall into her neck.

"It's okay. You're okay. I love you," I tell her. Seeing Tris here, in front of me, took away all the anger I had been bottling up. I was angry that she left, that I couldn't help.

"Mommy!" I hear River call out. I let Tris out of my arms as River runs to her. Tris squats down and River runs into her arms. I watch Tris flinch when River hits her hurt arm.

"Hi baby," Tris says, kissing her head.

"Where were you?" River asks innocently.

"I had to go home," she replies.

"I want to go home," River punts.

"Soon, baby," Tris replies. I give her a confused look. "Come on," she says, noticing my face. "Let's go into the other room so I can talk with daddy." River nods excitedly and runs into play with Everest.

"Let me fix your arm," I tell Tris as she stands up, lacing our finger.

"I'm fine," she says.

"Tris, you're bleeding," I say, pointing at her arm that is bleeding through the bandages. She sighs.

"Okay," she says. I smile, squeezing her hand. I missed her.

"Okay."

Tris's POV
Tobias leads me into the makeshift bathroom, his grip on my hand never faltering. I thought he would be mad since I left but I think he is just relieved to see me. I sit on top of the counter as Tobias wets a cloth. He grabs some more bandages from the closet, too.

"Hey, come here," I tell him, tugging on his shirt. He smiles and sets all of the supplies down, walking toward me. He stands in between my legs, resting his head on my chest and stroking my thighs. I wrap my good arm around his body and rest my head in the crook of his neck.

"I was so worried, Tris," he says after a moment. "I woke up after being shot and you were just gone. You left River without any parents. You didn't know when I would wake up," he says, pushing back to look me in the eyes.

"I know," I say, choking back a sob. "I don't know what I was thinking. I'm so sorry." A few tears fall down my face but we both ignore them. Tobias nods.

"I know," he says. I smile and press my lips to his. The one thing that has stayed familiar throughout all of this has been my family. Tobias has been there. His touch has stayed the same. And I am thankful. He pulls back and smiles at me.

"Can I fix your arm now?" I laugh a little and nod. I watch him unwrap the bandages and clean off the dried blood. I can barely look at my skin. It has been burned and scraped off. But Tobias doesn't flinch. He re-wraps my arm, making it feel a lot better; Marlene had it wrapped to lose.

"Hey," I say, turning Tobias's head to face me. "I love you," I whisper. He smiles.

"I love you too."