Alive

Three

Tobias' POV

When I get through the door of my apartment after three hours of shopping, the first thing I hear is a familiar voice crying out in pain. Tris.

I kick the door shut and drop the bags on the floor, running to the closed door of my bedroom. But Uriah beats me to it and blocks my path to the door.

"Move out of my way, Tris is in pain." I tell him in my instructor voice.

"I know. And it's going to last for quite a few hours. You can't go in there."

"Why not?"

"Because she's in labour."

"What?"

"Look, none of us knew she was pregnant. But she is, and she's giving birth right now. You can't go in there."

"Are you telling me they started raping her again?"

"Yeah, about seven months ago. And this baby isn't very likely to survive either, so you can't go in there. We've all seen what losing a child does to her and we broke with her. You can't go in there because when that baby is born, and it's not breathing, she needs someone to be strong for her. We need that person to be you. So, you can't go in there because if you do, you won't be able to handle it, you won't be able to help her."

"Why isn't the baby going to survive?"

"At the most she is seven months pregnant, meaning the baby hasn't developed fully. Recently David has been treating her a lot worse than he used to. Beating her more, torturing her more, and giving her less and less food to eat. She's not healthy. That baby isn't healthy. That baby will die. She is going to break even more than she is already broken. We don't have the right equipment to treat her or the baby and you're the only one who knows we're alive. She needs someone to help her get through it, and trust me, if you go in there when she gives birth to someone else's dead baby, you will break with her. You won't be able to give her the help she needs. She needs you to be strong for her and you won't be able to do that if you witness what is going to happen. When she last gave birth the baby was alive and then David slit it's throat in front of all of us. We tried to be strong for her. She was crying and sobbing and it was the worst pain I had ever seen her go through, it was the worst thing I have ever witnessed in my life. It broke me. It broke her parents. It broke her. If you go in there she has no one else to be strong for her. She needs you. So you can't go in there."

Tris cries out in pain again and I know she needs me.

"I can be strong for her."

"Really? Because I thought that, too. We all did. We watched her break more and more in front of us and it broke us. First, she was being beaten and tortured. Then she thought she was pregnant with your child, she was at least slightly happy. Then David stabbed her and she lost your baby. She broke. She was beaten and tortured some more. She started getting raped. She got pregnant again. She gave birth. He killed her baby. She broke more and more. And she continued breaking until we got out. And now she's going to break some more, because she's pregnant again and she's giving birth to a dead baby, and she needs someone to be strong for her, to be there for her without breaking with her. She needs you. So, don't go in there. Or she won't have anyone. So stay out here and try to bear her crying out in pain. You'll know when it's over with when there's silence and she is no longer in pain. But she will start breaking, and that is when you need to help her. It made it worse for us because we were there when she gave birth, in the same room. We saw the baby move, and we heard her cry. If you wait, and go in there after you won't be impacted as much. Sure, you'll be upset because she's breaking, but you can be strong for her because you didn't witness the whole thing."

"You can't stop me from going in there."

"How about if I go in and see if she wants you?"

I nod and he enters the room, I catch a brief glimpse of Tris before she starts crying out in pain.

I hear Uriah ask if she wants me.

"No, he can't come in here. He can't see me like this. He can't see me have someone else's baby."

Uriah walks back out, shutting the door behind him.

I feel tears pool in my eyes. This is all David's fault. I swear to god if he ever comes near her again, I will kill him.

I walk into the kitchen and grab a cola out the fridge.

Why her?

|||

Eight hours later is when Tris' cries of pain stop.

There's nothing for a little while after that.

And then: "No. No. No. No. No!" I hear Tris start sobbing and make a break for it.

I run into the bedroom to find her crying into her father's shirt whilst Natalie wraps the lifeless, tiny baby in a black blanket with tears in her eyes.

Natalie looks at me with sadness in her eyes as she picks up the baby and asks Tris if she wants to hold her dead daughter.

Tris shakes her head and Natalie walks past me with the little girl in her arms. I catch a look at the baby. She has Tris' blonde hair, and her lips and nose. She looks beautiful.

I feel tears pool in my eyes again as I make my way to Tris and her father. I sit on the bed, on the side Andrew isn't sitting on and I take Tris' hand in mine.

She looks at me with bloodshot eyes and red cheeks.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologise, Tris. It's not your fault."

She lets go of Andrew, who is crying at the loss of another grandchild, and clutches my shirt in her free hand, tucking her head into my chest and crying into it.

I wrap my free arm around her and rub her back, kissing the top of her head as a tear slips out of my eye.

She's too broken. She's been through too much. I just have to be here, for her. Helping her. Maybe I can get the old her back, or some of the old her back. I will try my hardest to help her get back to herself, I know she will still have the pain of losing three children in her, I know she will still have those horrible memories. But I will help her. I will be here for her. I will do everything I can for her.

Because I love her.

A/N: Sorry for the short update again... I honestly try and update ASAP!

Word Count: 1216