Waiting Four You

Chapter Thirty-Tobias (Tobias)

I grow more and more nervous as Mia explains what's going on with Tris. I'm only eighteen
She's only sixteen. How are we going to be ready for this?

"So, if I'm understanding you correctly," I begin after she finishes. "You're completely certain that Tris is pregnant."

"Yes," Mia replies patiently. "But she still needs to come back for the test results in five or six days."

"I don't think I fully understand that part," I say even though I fully understand it. I just need to hear it repeated before I can fully let everything sink in.

"Basically, Four, if the test we already did comes back positive, then she was already pregnant when it happened, meaning that the child is guaranteed to be yours." She takes a deep breath before continuing. "If it comes back negative, then we'll have to do the second test three weeks after that. WHEN that one comes back positive, then we'll have to do a DNA test when the baby is born to figure out if the child is from that situation or not."

"Is there anything that can help with the sickness after the simulations?" Tris interjects while I try to process the new information.

Mia opens her computer and starts checking through some information before replying.

"Thankfully, we do have an anti-nausea medication that will be safe in stock," she tells Tris. "I'll go get enough for the next two weeks. Four, how many more simulations will she have before initiation is over?"

I count the number of days left of initiation. There's another thirteen days of stage two, and then everyone will be going through Lauren's fear landscape. Will I show her mine? Should I just tell Mia enough to include going through mine as well just in case I decide to do it?

"Sixteen between the fear simulations and the fear landscape," I reply after deciding to add mine in to the tally. I don't want her to be a dose short if we do go through my fear landscape.

Mia nods and taps on the computer a few more times before walking out of the room.

When she returns, there is a pill bottle in her hand. It's a rare thing to see with all the healing serums that exist, but there are times when pills are needed instead, like now.

"One dose is two tablets," Mia tells Tris. "Take one before the serum is injected and the second one as soon as you wake from the simulation. There is no guarantee that it will help entirely, but hopefully this should give you some relief for now."

"Thank you, Mia," we both say at the same time.

I take the bottle from my friend before leading Tris out of the infirmary.

For some reason Tris decides that she should sleep in the dorm tonight. I don't really want her back in that room, but she insists that if she doesn't go back, then she'll never be able to get past what happened. I understand her reasoning even though I still don't like the idea. She promises to come to my apartment if she wakes in the middle of the night and to sleep in my apartment tomorrow night to finally get me to agree.

At the entrance to the dorm, I see her visibly shudder before confidently striding in. It amazes me to watch her act far more confident than I know she feels.

Just before I go to turn around, I see Christina heading this way. She gives me a look that asks why I'm here.

"What are you doing here?" she asks quietly.

"I just dropped Tris off," I reply just as low. "She insists on sleeping here tonight."

Christina groans. "I thought she was going to stay with you?" It is phrased more as a question than a statement.

"I thought so, too." I reply before heading away from the dorm toward my apartment.

As I look around the small rooms that I felt were perfect when I got this apartment, I now realize just how small the apartment as a whole is. I don't really want to leave it, but if Tris and I are to be starting a family sooner than we expected, then it would seem that a bigger home will be needed for us. One with more than one bedroom.

The rest of the week goes by in a blur as everyone's fears all blend together in my mind.

About halfway through the week, Peter appears in her fear simulation. I see everything as it plays out except, in the simulation, Zeke isn't there to save her.

Finally, Mia gets a message to me that the test results have come in and that she wants us to come in while she's working for her to read them to us. Tonight she works the third shift, so we plan to head in at midnight.

I am so nervous about seeing the results that I don't pay attention to my surroundings as well as I should, and the next thing I know, there are two sets of hands trying to throw me over the railing and into the Chasm. My hands grip one of the bars on the railing, and my feet dangle over the roaring water beneath me.

I hear the sound of a thud as it appears that Tris has taken down one of my attackers before I see her head appear above me. She holds out her hand to help me climb my way out of this predicament. I don't want her risking the baby any more than she already has by fighting my attackers, so instead of her hand, I grab the next rail up using my feet to help push me closer to the top.

As soon as I'm back on solid ground, I look around to find a masked person on the ground not far from the Chasm. Just by looking at the shape of the person, I assume that it is Eric, but who was his accomplice?

I take his mask off to find that my assumption was correct before hauling him over my shoulder and continuing on our way to the infirmary. When we arrive, I tell the nurses to treat him as a prisoner before heading to the room Mia had told us to meet her in.