A/N: Here's a new chapter for you! The last chapter was a bit of a filler, not much going on, so I tried to get this one coming sooner. Not much action here, but some emotional development. I'm bad at the cheesy stuff, but I tried!

Chapter Eighteen

Jeanine was released from the hospital only a day later, which caused the whole medical staff to shake their heads in disapproval.

Because of her injuries, she couldn't walk unaided, but requested – no, demanded – to be given a crutch and that the paperwork be over soon so that she could leave. Beatrice had known it would end up that way when she had entered her room to find her sitting up in bed, reading a report of the events of the past few days. Beatrice had known that the full information would cause her to decide to get back to work immediately, and she had been proven right. And despite her unease as she watched her faction leader and friend wince with each step, she knew it was the right thing to do. If she didn't get back in control of her faction the same day and explain the events to the public so that nobody could start rumors against her, it could only become a fiasco.

The way to her office took a long time, and she had to stop several times to catch her breath and focus on controlling the pain in her abdomen, but with Beatrice's support, she reached her office, though she was pale and shaky by the time she reached her desk chair. Beatrice gave her a glass of water so she could sip from it and placed a pillow behind her back, relieving some of the strain of sitting in a straight-backed chair, only mildly surprised that Jeanine didn't tell her to stop fussing. Not wanting to push her luck, she told her mentor to call her should she need anything, and walked to the door.

"Wait," Jeanine said as Beatrice started walking out. Beatrice stopped in her tracks and closed the door again, turning back.

"Yes?"

"Come here, please," Jeanine said.

She turned her computer on and, once she had bypassed the several levels of security, she opened the software from which she controlled the security of all doors. Only the computers in the control room had access to it, but she naturally had access to everything with admin rights – she was faction leader, after all.

Beatrice stood next to her chair and looked with wide eyes as Jeanine scrolled until she found the reference number of her office door on the list, opened the settings and casually added "Beatrice Prior" under her name to those who with full entrance right. She repeated the same process with the door to her lab, typing in the section for commentaries "Beatrice Prior's research is within this laboratory, she had every right to access it on her own whenever she wishes."

"Jeanine…"

"All Erudites have access to the labs they work in," she interrupted, "there is no reason you shouldn't."

"Still, it's not only the lab, it's your office…"

"I trust you, Beatrice. It's time I showed it."

Once Beatrice had left, Jeanine spent nearly half an hour writing down the speech that, she hoped, would placate the restlessness of the factionless, that is, until she got round to holding her promise. Once she was finished, it was truthful and complete so that no one could accuse her of playing with loopholes, yet short and clear, and she called on one of her colleagues so they could record it and broadcast it.

Beatrice was in the cafeteria as Jeanine's message was broadcast. She listened as she summarized the main events since the attack on Abnegation, explaining the Divergent elite force she had formed and the battle as it had happened, which she had reconstructed by collecting written several testimonies.

But as she looked at the projection on the wall, the projection of an infinity of light particles onto the bright white wall coming together to form the image of Jeanine Matthews, she felt her throat tighten and had to refrain from biting her lip. She's glorious, Beatrice thought. Sure, Jeanine was still visibly tired, but there was a huge difference to what she had looked like only a few days before: the burden had been lifted from her shoulders. The hopelessness was gone, replaced with a firm belief in their future, the future of the city. And, to Beatrice, that made her even more beautiful, to a point which she had not thought possible.

The picture on the wall seemed to glow faintly, to be brighter than it should be. Jeanine's smooth blonde hair was reflecting the light of her office and seemed to shine, and the large image made Beatrice feel out of her depth.

Beatrice was half-dazed for the duration of the whole afternoon. She was only shaken out of it by a message that came from Jeanine around seven pm.

"Beatrice," it read, "would you have the time to come?"

Beatrice frowned, snapping out of her dreamlike state. The message was so unlike Jeanine that she immediately took off, a worried look etched on her face. When she entered the office, it was empty. "Jeanine?" she called out.

"Over here," the woman's muffled voice came from her living room, and Beatrice was surprised to find her sitting on the sofa, with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. Was she crying?

Beatrice sobered entirely, now deeply concerned. She rushed over to Jeanine, sitting next to her and laying an arm around her shoulders, a gesture which had become almost natural to her. "What's wrong?"

Jeanine sighed and looked up, and Beatrice realized that she had been wrong, she was not crying. In fact, her face was entirely blank, even more empty of emotions than usual.

She hesitated, frightened by the emptiness in her eyes. It was as though she was no longer human.

"…Jeanine?"

"Nothing." Her voice was cold, yet, for some reason, she sounded very vulnerable.

Beatrice tightened her hold on her, trying to understand what was occurring, but unable to come up with an explanation. Nevertheless, she stayed close to her, holding her, and after a few minutes of silence, Jeanine started relaxing slightly. Some warmth came back in her eyes and she sighed, then started speaking, so softly that Beatrice had to strain to hear her words.

"Most of the time, I am completely unable to express or feel any emotion, but I'm usually very focused, so the absence of emotions is translated by cool efficiency and high intellect. The drugs are influencing my mood, they blurred my focus so I went in an entirely emotionless state." She paused, then looked at Beatrice and continued. "I knew that I wouldn't be able to snap out of it on my own, that's why I called you while I still cared enough to do so. While I still wanted to feel."

The coldness was nearly gone, but she hadn't gone back to normal. She now seemed more vulnerable than ever. Was it because she had shared something so personal as feelings and emotions?

Her head gently dropped to Beatrice's shoulder, surprising the girl who was unused to such forwardness from her. Her eyes were unfocused, and she realized it was the medication that made her so talkative and relaxed. She wasn't herself, she would probably regret having shared so much and been so familiar in the morning, but Beatrice was reluctant to reject this Jeanine – although her normal self would probably want her to. "You didn't take anything experimental, did you?"

"No, all is patented," she said with a chuckle. "I know what you're thinking, I'm aware I'm not myself. Now you know why I didn't want to take them in the morning before broadcasting a speech. But these are normal side-effects for such strong painkillers, so don't worry."

Her words were slightly slurred, and Beatrice decided to do what the real Jeanine – the Jeanine who hadn't taken any medication – would want her to do.

"You should rest for a bit," she suggested, and didn't wait for an answer as she took her arm and helped her up. She had clearly taken a large dose of painkillers, since she was barely limping as they walked to her room. That would explain her mood. Still, Beatrice took care to support and guide her until she was laying down, ready to sleep.

"Thank you, Beatrice," Jeanine's muffled voice came from under the covers, and Beatrice had to smile – it was absolutely adorable.

Not for the first time, she wondered what had made Jeanine so cold and emotionless – she was obviously very human under her armor. But she knew that, one day, Jeanine would tell her, at least part of it. She had started opening up to Beatrice since they had first met, and now, she had given her access to her lab, she had let her into her rooms. Soon, she would let her in her heart too, Beatrice was sure of that, like she would let her into hers.

A/N: Next chapter might be the last, or possibly one but last. Comments are as always much appreciated!