A Dauntless Love

Chapter 25

Eric's POV

Lizzy went completely limp in my arms. I could see the steady rise and fall of her chest so I knew she was not dead. I contemplated running back to Amity but I feared what would happen if I did. The Dauntless who had run away to Amity would not take kindly to seeing me. Dauntless was farther away but it was a risk I was going to have to take. I ran as fast as I could while I carried Lizzy and with my leg not yet fully healed. I made it to the car I brought and put Lizzy down in the front seat. I floored the car as fast as it could go.

I squealed into Dauntless, drawing the attention of everyone nearby. I barely turned the car off before I was getting Lizzy out of her seat. She wasn't bleeding anymore but she was still unconscious. Max ran out of the compound and looked at me.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I kept running and Max ran along beside me.

"It's Liz. I think something is wrong with the baby." I said turning the corner to the medical wing.

I didn't have the time to stop and talk to Max. Suddenly there were nurses and doctors. They were all asking questions at me. They showed me where to put Lizzy and I gently set her down on the bed. The doctor who saw her after the incident in the chasm came in the room.

"Do you know what happened?" he asked.

I ran my hands through my hair.

"No. She was fine and then all the sudden there was blood and she was in pain. She passed out when I was bringing her back here."

There were nurses checking her vitals and I kept my eyes on them the whole time. The doctor did some tests of his own on Lizzy while I watched.

"Well the bleeding seems to have stopped and all her vitals are good. I'm just going to check on the baby now." He said.

My heart clenched as he brought out the sonogram machine. There has been a lot of blood. Could the baby have survived that? The doctor lifted up Lizzy's shirt and her perfectly round bump was revealed. I wanted more than anything in the world to go over and feel it. The doctor gently felt around Lizzy's stomach before he did anything else. When he seemed satisfied with that he put the wand down on her stomach. The machine made a steady humming sound. I held my breath as he moved the wand around. He finally stopped and looked at me. That is when the room was filled with the sound of a soft thumping.

Liz's POV

I felt incredibly groggy. I could hear the sounds of beeping machines all around me and I wasn't sure where I was. I could feel something touching my stomach and I opened my eyes. I saw Eric sitting right next to me and he had his hand on my rounded belly. He looked over and saw that I was looking at him.

"Lizzy how are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm okay. What about the baby?" I asked.

Eric sat up but kept his hand on my belly. He gently rubbed around the bump.

"The baby is fine. Perfectly healthy with a strong heartbeat. I heard it myself." He replied.

My emotions were all over the place as I tried to process everything that had happened. Seeing Eric again pulled at my heart strings and made it hard to be mad at him. I let a tear roll down my face and Eric looked at me concerned.

"Lizzy are you in pain? Do you need me to get someone?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"No."

We sat quiet for a moment with the sound of beeping machines filling the silence. Finally I could not wait any longer.

"Why?" I asked.

Eric looked at me with a look that showed he knew what I meant but still he asked.

"Why what?"

I huffed. "Eric you know what. Why did you do it? All those innocent people at Abnegation...all those families..."

I couldn't control the tears that poured from my eyes. I thought about my own baby who was safe and warm in my belly. Many Abnegation had been lost and some of them had been children. Eric was quiet and would not look me in the eye. He simply stared at my belly with the monitor strapped across it.

"I keep asking myself the same question Lizzy. Why did I do it? Why did I help orchestrate the killing of an entire faction? The answer is that I wanted to." He finally looked at my face. "I have never his who I was from you Lizzy. You know every part of me and how I am. The Divergent are a disease and need to be stopped. Abnegation needed to be destroyed. I am not sorry for my involvement but it also has nothing to do with us. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that I love you more than anything in this entire world and I love our child just as much. You have been by my side through everything I have ever done and I have never felt judged by you for it. I know this is different from anything else I have ever done but if there is any part of you that still loves me than you can forgive me for this. I'm not going anywhere Lizzy and I want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and raise our child together. You can be mad at me. You have every right to be mad at me but please don't leave me again. Come back to me Lizzy. I need you."

I felt like my heart was being ripped in two. One part of me wanting to be furious with Eric for what he did but the other part of me wanted to let it all go. I looked at him and saw his eyes had tears in them. I never for one moment doubted his love for me but was it enough? His hand still rested protectively over my round belly. I wiped my tears from my face and took a deep breath. There had been hurdles in Eric and mine's relationship from the very beginning but we had gotten past every single one of them together. We had been through so much and at the end of the day we always came out stronger. I looked into his eyes and saw his love for me in them. I could not deny the love I had for him either. I held open my arms.

"Oh Eric, I never want to leave you again. I love you." I said.

Eric came to my arms and I held him against me. He looked up at me and I kissed him on the lips. It had been so long since I had felt him against me or tasted his lips on mine. Eric cupped my face in his hands and kissed me harder.

"Lizzy I have missed more than I ever imagined possible. I'm so incredibly happy to have you home, to have both of you home."

I reached down and touched my round belly where I could faintly feel the flutters inside. Eric put his hand beside mine and smiled at me.

"And we are happy to be home."

Eric took the chain from around my neck and took the ring off. I held out my hand and he slid my engagement ring back into place. He kissed my knuckles and smiled.

"I think it's about time we plan that wedding."