Samantha stepped through the door that led onto the roof of the Hancock building as the gentlest of breezes rustled her long wavy locks. The sky was clear as she scanned the view of the city until her gaze found Eric standing by the edge.

Five years ago after the war with Erudite, it was chaos. Amity and Candor, who were not involved with the war, where confused by the sudden changes and needed the video, that Jeanine stole, to help them understand. The Factions were dissolved, and new residents were brought in to establish a proper American city, complete with new jobs and construction crews to fix the rundown buildings and roads.

Samantha and her fellow initiates were sent back to school to finish the state curriculum against their cries of adulthood, and Samantha and Eric were no longer allowed to be a couple. New laws stated that she was under the age of consent and because Eric was older, he would be arrested for sleeping with her if anyone found out.

Eric thought it was bull and tried to break the rules as many times as he could, but Samantha put him in his place, and she thought back on one of those stolen moments between them now.

Samantha woke up to a tapping at her window. Flipping the covers over, she swung her pajama clad legs out and walked over to the window. Eric was smiling at her from the other side, his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat to keep them warm from the cool summer night air.

Rolling her eyes, Samantha opened the window and leaned out. "It's a little late to hang out isn't it?" She asked, amused at his indifference to the time of day.

He often did this, just to have some privacy from prying eyes, like her parents. She was forced to move back in with them in the Amity compound until school was finished, and although they knew about their relationship they didn't really approve of her dating the mean guy from Dauntless.

"It's hardly midnight." He scoffed, a smirk playing on his lips. He offered her his hand to help her out the window and said, "Take a walk with me. I want to ask you something."

Sighing, she took his hand and climbed out the bungalow window. The air was cold on her bare arms, her white tank top not much protection, and she rubbed her arms together.

Eric slipped his jacket off and wrapped it around her, pulling her close to him as they walked. They neared the stables and lay down on the strewn hay outside of it, Samantha cuddling in his arms and they stared up at the sky.

"You didn't get me out here to coax me into sleeping with you, did you?" She half joked. It wouldn't be the first time.

Eric scowled. "It's ridiculous that we can't do something that we've already done, because of some stupid law. It's only a year, can't they just pretend like you're already 18?"

Samantha smiled up at the sky. "You've already waited 10 months. I think you can wait another year."

"Are you serious? I have the longest case of blue balls in history!" He protested.

"I don't think it would look good if one of the members of the SWAT team was arrested for assaulting a minor, do you? We can wait, and as soon as I turn 18, we can move in together and screw our brains out." She patted him on the thigh.

"Can we at least make out?" He asked, annoyed at having to wait.

"Don't you remember last time? Once we had started it was twice as hard to stop before going too far, than if we hadn't started in the first place. That's why we're not supposed to be seeing each other like this." Samantha replied.

"I know, but I love you. I don't want you to forget me and fall for some prick in school, because we're not allowed to date." He sighed. "And I hate being chaperoned by your parents just so we can hang out. I can feel their hatred bore into the back of my head every time."

"They don't hate you. They just think you want to have your way with me and then run away, that's all." She said matter-of-factly.

"That's why I came tonight. I want to show them, and you, that I'm serious about us." He said with determination.

"How?" She was curious as to what he had meant.

Eric titled to one side so he could get his hand in his pant pocket and pulled something out. Samantha couldn't see what it was until he held it in front of her. It was a ring with an oval shaped black onyx surrounded by tiny rubies.

Samantha's jaw dropped at the sight of it.

"Dauntless usually get rings tattooed on their finger, but I wanted to give you something that represented Dauntless and Amity together. So I got this ring with the Dauntless colors so you could wear it like the Amity do." He explained, still holding it out to her.

"Are… Are you asking me to marry you?" She asked, nervous that she might be wrong and excited that she might be right.

"Yes, I am." He replied. "Are you saying yes?" He wondered nervously.

"Of course, I'm saying Yes!" She squealed and hugged him. Eric held her tightly, a large grin spread across his face.

She eased out of his arms and looked at him. "On one condition though. I want to go to college before getting married."

"But Tris married Four as soon as she turned 18." He grumbled.

Samantha sighed. "I know, and that's because they weren't going to do the nasty until they got married. We're not waiting, so I think we can hold on the wedding. I promise, I will move in with you the day I turn 18, ok?"

"Fine." Eric caved and kissed her lightly on the lips to seal the deal.

"Now give me that ring!" She excitedly held her hand out so he could slip it on her finger and admired its beauty. She loved it and she loved him.

Samantha went on to the new college that opened in Chicago and studied to become a nurse. Tris and Samantha's new friend Kathy had gone with her, Tris to become a social worker and Kathy wanted to be a movie star, but settled for History teacher, and they quickly became the best of friends.

Now the day finally came for the wedding. Samantha linked her arm with her father's and they slowly walked down the aisle to the music. They had picked the top of the Hancock building for his Dauntless side and the service was traditional for her Amity side.

Wild flowers adorned the sides of the chairs going down the aisle and led up to an arch also decorated with the flowers where Eric stood with the pastor and Four.

Four had gone onto to become an intern for the new Mayor of Chicago and kept in contact with Eric. They may have had different ways to do things, but they quickly learned to accept that about each other and became close friends, especially since Samantha and Tris were hanging out so much.

Samantha caught Kathy's eye in the seats to her left and gave her a smile. She had promised to introduce her to a hot Dauntless guy and she did.

Silas was forgiven for being a selfish idiot and after he realized that Samantha was serious about Eric, he gave up and they went back to being friends. It helped even more when she introduced him to Kathy, who instantly fell in love with him, and now they sat together, hand in hand; Samantha was happy for them.

She moved her gaze back to the front to see Eric smiling at her. He was so handsome in his three piece suit, all black except for the white dress shirt underneath the vest and a red tie and handkerchief in the chest pocket. The only visible tattoos were the tips of his neck ones peeking out from his shirt collar, and his piercings had a dull shine to them from the sunlight overhead.

She reached the altar with her father and he was supposed to hand her off to Eric, but he was reluctant to let her go. He was never happy that his daughter was going to marry an ex-leader of Dauntless, even if she was Dauntless herself, but her mother managed to convince him that there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Samantha pulled her arm from his death grip and took Eric's outstretched hand. Her heart swelled at the smile he gave her before facing the pastor and reciting their vows.

The sun heated her bare shoulders, her dress being an ivory strapless, empire gown with a silk belt under the bust and her chest covered in a floral lace. The skirt swished with every move she made and she loved it. She hoped Eric loved it too, but with his many side glances at her while the pastor talked told her she had nothing to worry about.

When the ceremony ended, Eric pulled her in for a hungry kiss, leaving her breathless as he lifted her up into his arms to carry her down the aisle as Dauntless whoops, and friendly Amity claps applauded the newlyweds.

The shade in the stairwell made her shiver with the temperature drop despite Eric's body heat and she snuggled deeper into his embrace.

"What now?" Eric asked.

"We go to the reception." She said, wondering why he stopped above the stairwell.

"I say we forget the reception and do something more exciting." He said.

"Like what?" Samantha asked, wary.

"Let's catch the train." He smiled eager to do one more act of rebellion.

She smiled back at him. "Okay."

Some of the train stations had been upgraded or fixed in the last five years so more of the population could use them, but there were still a few that were run down and allowed room to run and jump on.

Eric and Samantha waited at one of these stations for the train to come. As it neared, Samantha gathered the skirt of her dress and held it high above her knees and followed behind Eric at a quick pace to catch the moving vehicle.

Eric with his longer stride reached it first and slammed his hand against the button to release the door and pulled himself in. He then leaned out so Samantha could grab his hand and he hoisted her up into the safety of the empty train car.

Samantha leaned against Eric's chest, his arms wrapped around her as they stood by the open door just watching the city go by.

She missed some aspects of Dauntless, like this one, but with the world now available to them, the future seemed much more exciting than anything Dauntless could have been, and she had Eric to protect her, now and forever.

The End