Allegiant (Continuation)

Chapter 5

I wake up to the smell of warm coffee and chocolate chip muffins. I turn my head with surprising ease and see Tobias sitting on the old wooden floor, a muffin in one hand, and a newspaper in the other. A cup of coffee, along with a second muffin lay by his side. I notice a slight puddle of drool where Caleb lay passed out yesterday, and secretly smile.

Tobias looks up and notices I'm awake, he sets down his muffin and newspaper, walks over to me and presses his lips to mine. "Good morning, beautiful." He says. I've noticed that since he found out that I was alive, he has been smiling much more often. The sadness not so prominent in his eyes anymore. I am grateful for this. He hands me the second muffin, and props me up with pillows so that I am sitting upright. "So what happened with Caleb?" I ask, unable to contain my curiosity any further. "After you fell asleep, I dragged the drooling doofus to the infirmary.". I can't help but laugh. He stares into my eyes with a sudden serious expression, and says, "Tris, what are we going to do about the baby, where are we going to live?" I am about to respond when Zeke barges in, red faced and out of breath. "It's... Uriah" He manages, before doubling over. Tobias turns to me, "Can you walk?" He asks. I nod, gently he stands me up once again. I hug onto the wall for support as I take my first few steps, and then gradually begin to walk on my own.

We reach the infirmary, and are walked to a special room, where Uriah lay. I can feel tears pushing in the back of my eyes, but I will them to remain at bay. Uriah and Zeke's mother sits next to Uriah's cot, holding his limp hand. A doctor stands on the other side of the bed observing various equipment with lines, dots, and numbers that I will never understand. "I'm Dr. Maria, I've been observing his vital signs for quite some time now, and see no progress made, however I have gathered you all here to let you know that there may be a way to save him." She says. A ball of hope swells in my chest. "I have recently been trained in a very intricate and risky surgery that could either save his life or end it. It's never been performed before, hence the survival rate is very low, however if we do nothing he will continue to remain in this state." Everyone is quite as we all process this information. Uriah is ultimately brain dead, this could be his only chance for survival. Finally Uriah's mother speaks up, "If we do nothing he will die, if we proceed with the surgery he will most likely die.", "Correct" says Dr. Maria. Zeke exchanges a glance with his mother and speaks, "Perform the surgery" his voice is tight and pained. "We will take him in half an hour, meanwhile you can all stay with him." With that Dr. Maria leaves us all in an awkward silence.

After half an hour a few nurses come to retrieve Uriah, and we are told to go to the waiting room.

Zeke keeps pacing back and forth, his mother is biting her nails, Tobias and I sit in two of the waiting chairs, holding hands and occasionally exchanging nervous glances. I hear the door creak open, and everyone looks up expectantly. I'll admit that even I felt slight disappointment when Christina and Shauna walked in. They are greeted with quick hugs and nervous looks. Not a word is spoken. The air is thick with worry and grief. I get up and excuse myself to go to the restroom. When I get there I splash water onto my face. The sudden cold making me alert and attentive. I stare at my reflection in the mirror. I think of myself the day before my aptitude test, when I was worried about getting a faction other then abnegation. I almost laugh at my own innocence. I remember seeing how much I had changed in the three months in between my haircuts. Now as I stare at my own reflection and see how much I have changed only within the past few weeks. My once tidy and clean hair hangs frizzy and knotted around my shoulders. My once exited icy blue eyes now look tired and worried. I turn away from my reflection and begin to head back to the waiting room, when all of a sudden I feel really sick. I push my way into a stall, toss my hair back and throw up into the toilet. Afterward I begin to feel normal again, and quickly run back to the waiting area to tell Tobias. As I run, worry fills me. Is it the baby? Is something wrong with the baby? I burst through the doors panting, everyone looks up, and Tobias's eyes grow wide when he sees me, shaking and pale. "What's wrong, Tris are you alright?" He gets up and walks out into the hallway with me. I wait for the door to click closed before I pull him close and whisper, "I just threw up, I think that it has to do with the baby." I can see the alarm and worry in his eyes, unexpectedly he lifts me up and carries me into the infirmary. Without being asked, he carries me to a table and gently lies me down. Minutes later, a very annoyed looking nurse approaches and begins to ramble about how I shouldn't be on the cot unless led by a doctor. Tobias cuts her off by saying, "Listen, she's pregnant and we think that something is wrong. You don't want to mess with me, unless you want to end up unconscious on one of these tables." The nurse turns on her heal and starts setting up screens. She rubs a cold, sticky gel over my bare torso, and runs a plastic wand over the gel. She observes the screens in silence and then turns back to us. "She is fine". I hear Tobias sigh with relief. Still on edge I ask, "Then why did I puke my guts out?". "If you puked your guts out, we would be having a much different discussion" she snaps back. "All you have is simply morning sickness.". With that we leave and walk back to the waiting area. We take our seats and begin to nervously wait again.

I do not know how much time has passed until we all hear the door creak open. Dr. Maria enters, a blank look on her face. I can see Tobias biting the inside of his cheek. The air is thick with anticipation."It worked" she says, even she seems shocked. "He should be waking up within the next hour. You can all visit him."

We manage to cram into the small room, Zeke and his mother kneel by Uriah's side, waiting for signs of life. I watch carefully as his eyelids begin to flutter open, tears sting in my eyes and I let a few of them fall. Uriah looks around at everyone's tear stained faces and cracks a smile. "What is everyone looking at, I mean, I know that I'm gorgeous but no need to stare." He says, his words slightly slurred. Zeke lets out a strained laugh as more tears stain his face. Shauna moves to Zeke's side and leans her head onto his shoulder. Everyone is quiet for a long time. I lean close to Tobias and whisper in his ear, "should we tell them now?" He slowly nods his head. He clears his throat loud enough so that everyone turns there attention on us. "We have an announcement" he says. "I'm pregnant." I say, allowing some excitement in my voice. Christina gasps and lets out a slight squeal of joy. Everyone takes turns congratulating us. Even Uriah manages to say, "Congrats".

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Hope that you all enjoyed! It didn't seem right not to bring Uriah back to life. Please remember to review and vote! :-)