A/N: This story is a sequel of sorts to my "Determinant" alternate third book. It loosely follows two rings from Tris' grandparents through the twists and turns of ending up on Tris and Tobias' fingers. It's mostly set during the later part of "Determinant," though the first chapter is set much earlier than that. If you're anxious to see Tobias, don't worry - he's in Chapter 2.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Divergent" or "Insurgent" or "Allegiant" or the characters, dialogue, plot lines, etc. in those books. All of that belongs to Veronica Roth. Also, this story is only consistent with some of VR's writing ("Divergent," "Insurgent," "Free Four: Tobias Tells the Divergent Knife-Throwing Scene," and "Four: The Transfer: A Divergent Story").

Chapter 1: Anna – Engaging

Douglas looks exceptionally handsome tonight. It's difficult to say why, since he's wearing the same black clothes he usually does, with his brown hair brushing the collar in the back and almost hanging into his eyes in the front. But those eyes shine more than they normally do, their deep green alive with joy. Not that he isn't happy in general – it's just that he tends to be more thoughtful, reflecting his Erudite roots. It's nice to see this level of delight in him.

"Where are we going tonight?" I ask. He's been dropping contradictory hints all week, so we could be doing pretty much anything.

"You'll find out, Anna," he says, grinning as he frames my face in his hands, running his thumbs lightly over my cheeks before leaning down to kiss me. It's still difficult for me to get used to this type of open affection, after growing up in Abnegation, but I love him too much to object. Besides, I'm Dauntless now, and after two years in this faction, it's certainly time for my habits to change.

"Come on," he says eagerly, grabbing my hand and tugging me with him into a run. That's something I love about living here – there's so much energy in our daily life compared with the sedate pace of my previous faction. At moments like this, I'm glad I transferred, though I still wonder if I would have if my mother hadn't died. As much as I love my father and sister, I couldn't get myself to stay for them, but for Mom? I probably would have.

Douglas leads me to the tracks, where a train is already passing by. He increases his pace at the sight, dragging me with him, and it's obvious he wants us to get on board. Personally, I'm doubtful we have time, but I race as fast as I can anyway, and to my surprise, we're able to leap onto the last car.

We're the only ones in it, and I grin at Douglas, knowing what he'll do. Sure enough, he lies down casually across the front of the opening, forming a human barrier between me and the ground zooming by us. I sit beside him, leaning on his hip as I watch the passing scenery. I don't even remember how we started this routine, but it's effective at preventing my motion sickness while allowing us to stay close. For his part, Douglas says he loves the way it leaves my hands free to explore. And the part of me that has thoroughly embraced my adopted faction does exactly that.

"Are you going to tell me yet?" I ask him, one hand moving under his shirt and tracing circles on his stomach.

"Not a chance," he laughs. "But I'll give you a hint." I raise an eyebrow at him, wondering if this will be a real hint or not, given all the contradictions he's told me this week.

His eyes twinkle in amusement as he adds, "Pay attention to the shape of our route."

That isn't a terribly helpful statement, since I don't even know which train we're on and therefore don't know its route, but I assume it means we'll be riding for a while. I'll just have to wait and see where we go.

It's a beautiful fall day, with the sun shining from a blue sky and colors filling the trees we pass. We make our way gradually around the city, following the fence as it flows in a giant circle, enclosing the buildings that form four out of our five factions. Amity, of course, is located outside the city walls so there's adequate room to grow food, feed the livestock, and process our drinking water.

"Any guesses yet?" Douglas asks me as we approach an old building that I consider to be one of the hidden gems in our city. It used to house an art gallery, back in the days before war claimed so much of the world's population and left us isolated here. For whatever reasons, when it was abandoned, all of the statues were left in place. Perhaps they were too heavy to move, or maybe there was simply no one left to appreciate them, but they've remained there ever since.

Douglas took me there for our first date, over a year ago, and it's not hard to figure out that he's taking me back there now. I smile at him.

"Hmm, no idea," I tease him, moving my hand down lower and chuckling as his breath catches.

"Anna, you're going to be the death of me," he murmurs as he pulls my hand away from him with obvious reluctance. "But it's time to get off." He clears his throat. "Of the train, that is." I laugh.

Climbing to my feet, I take hold of the grab bar with one hand and offer the other to my boyfriend. He grasps it instantly, pulling himself up and watching the terrain as we approach the best spot to jump.

We leap together, our bodies twisting through the air in the wonderful dance that is Dauntless before we land, hitting the ground hard. It's automatic at this point to run forward a few steps to spread our momentum, and neither of us falls. Our hands are still linked as we come to a stop, grinning from the rush of adrenaline. I don't think I'll ever get tired of that.

Douglas takes the lead again, and I let him, even though it's obvious at this point where we're going.

The old art gallery is well lit at this time of day, with sunlight flooding through the yellowing glass of its many windows. The columns of light reflect beautifully off the statues, though they also highlight the dust particles floating through the air. I sneeze.

Douglas smirks at me. "I think you've just proven that the Abnegation are allergic to art."

"And dusty old schoolbooks," I add, straight-faced. "Which makes it difficult to hang out with a former Erudite like you."

He bumps me with his shoulder. "You love me anyway," he murmurs.

"That I do," I answer, still keeping my poker-face. "But only because you showed me this place. Otherwise, you know, I could take you or leave you."

He laughs. "Yes, I noticed how much you loved that one particular statue last time…." He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, but I don't need the reminder to know which one he's referring to. That particular piece was rather eye-opening for someone from my birth faction.

"No," I comment, "that one was definitely your favorite. Mine was this one over here…." He follows a step behind me as I work my way across the dusty floor to the massive sculpture I remember admiring for so long on our previous trip. It displays a waterfall that splashes down into a small lake, with two figures standing near where the waters crash together. Something about their pose struck me before – barely touching, yet with so much love evident between them. I suppose they reminded me of my parents.

As I look at them this time, an odd reflection catches my attention, and I realize that one of the figures has a ring perched carefully on her outstretched palm. It's a simple gold band with a small but elegant diamond on it, and for a moment, I can't imagine what it's doing here.

The answer strikes me at the same time Douglas drops to one knee.

"Anna," he says softly, holding my eyes with his as he gently takes my hand. "I know this will sound cliché, but I have been in love with you since the first moment I saw you. You have made me happier than I ever thought I could be, and there is nothing I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you. Would you…please…marry me?"

He bites his lip, his expression such a mix of adoration and confidence and nervousness all at the same time that I can't help but smile.

"Oh, get up, you idiot," I whisper, my grin spreading ear to ear despite the tears I can feel building in my eyes. "Of course I'll marry you."

He startles me by picking me up on his shoulder and spinning me around, crowing in wild, infectious joy, before he puts me down and kisses me. I'm almost laughing too hard to respond, but the feel of him against me is impossible to ignore, and soon we're kissing more deeply than we ever have before. I can't quite believe this is real. We're together. We're truly, permanently together. I have never been happier.

"I do have one request, though," I murmur as he slides the ring onto my finger. His green eyes meet mine curiously, and I bite my lip, feeling oddly nervous.

"Can we keep my last name?" I blurt it out before adding the explanation. "It reminds me of my mother."

If anything, his smile grows deeper. "I fell in love with everything about you, Anna Prior," he says unwaveringly. "Including your name. Why wouldn't I want to keep that?"

It's not until we're most of the way back to the Dauntless compound that I figure out his comment from earlier in the day. We rode the train in a circle, stopping at the hidden gem so he could propose. I never would have thought it possible, but somehow my wonderful boyfriend turned the whole city into an engagement ring.

A/N: The rest of this story is set during Tris and Tobias' time, starting during the year that passes between Chapters 44 and 45 of my "Determinant" story. If you haven't read that yet, please do so before reading Chapter 2 here or you'll be very confused...

Also, please take a moment to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Your feedback means so much.