"What time should she even go to sleep?" I ask Tris. We've walked around the compound with Emma for a little while, to pass the time. It was dark outside since the last time I looked out a window, and my guess is that it's about 8pm. We're in our dorm now, settling in.

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"Soon, I think," Tris says. "Kids that young go to bed earlier."

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"We're going to get ready for bed now," I say as Emma reaches out for the bread that I have just set on the nightstand for later. "No more eating."

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She whimpers and starts to cry. "We just ate," I explain. "C'mon. Don't whine."

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She wipes her eyes and sighs, pushing her hands onto my bed. "Let's get into pajamas," Tris says, searching through Emma's small bag and finding a nightgown.

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"Tris is going to change you while I go to the bathrooms and get ready for bed, alright?" I say to Emma, messing her blonde hair. She holds her arms up at me and starts to whimper.

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I walk out of the room and I hear Emma start to scream. I hear Tris shushing her but I continue walking.

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I come back in my nightclothes and Emma sits on Tris' lap, crying, in her white-colored nightgown. She sees me and calms down a little bit, reaching her arms out to me.

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"She wants you," Tris says. "When you left she wouldn't stop crying, until just now when you came back. I think she's scared of losing you too."

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I sit down on my bunk next to Tris, and Emma reaches out, her arms stretching even further. I lift her from Tris' lap and she nestles herself against my shoulder, hugging me tightly.

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"It's okay, Emma," I say quietly. I feel bad for the poor girl.

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"Dada," she says quietly. She sounds tired. She points to her throat again.

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"I told you, Emma, I'm not your dad," I repeat for the hundredth time. "But yes, we can give you some water."

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"Four," Tris says quietly, picking up the water bottle from under the nightstand and pouring the contents into Emma's sippy cup. "Just stop correcting her. It will be fine. She doesn't remember, she can't help it."

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"I just don't want her to attain an emotional attachment to me," I reply. "I might only be watching her for a couple weeks. Then, when she gets better, she's going with the rest of the children. I don't want it to be hard for her."

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Tris sighs and sets Emma onto her cot. Emma's legs dangle from the cot, her feet a couple inches above the floor. She sucks her sippy cup intensely as she watches us talk, not understanding what we're saying.

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"I think we need an early bedtime, too," Tris says, turning off the nightlight next to our bed. She climbs up the bunk bed and lies on the top bunk, sighing. "I have another big day tomorrow with David."

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I roll my eyes. It's always her and David, doing important things. I wonder why I even stay sometimes, because I rarely get to see Tris anymore. I wake up and she has to leave in a short amount of time, and I come back and she's there for dinner and then a little time after. The whole day she's with David, all the time.

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I don't like David. He makes me suspicious.

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"Let's go to bed," I say quietly to Emma, taking the sippy cup from her hand and putting it back onto the night table. I lay her down into her cot and put the blanket over her. "Night," I whisper.

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She looks up at me, a hint of fear in her eyes. But, she's so drowsy that her eyes close a couple of seconds later.

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I walk back to my bed and get under the sheets.

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___________________________

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I feel someone touching my face and I wake up.

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"Tris," I moan, shifting. "Stop, I'm still sleeping."

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I open my eyes and squint. A little girl stands in front of me, pushing her hands in my face.

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It all floods back. Emma, the girl in the fringe whose parents died. Who I'm taking care of for a little while.

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"Emma," I say quietly. "What's up?"

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She just looks at me questioningly. She pulls up her white nightgown a little and looks down.

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"It's still dark out," I say, looking around. "It's nighttime. Are you having trouble sleeping?"

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She touches her pointer finger to her diaper and stares at me.

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"Oh," I say, sitting up. "One second."

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It hits me then that I've never changed a diaper before. I shiver, walk over to Emma's bag and pick up a diaper.

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"C'mere," I say, walking towards a corner of the room and carrying a clean diaper. She toddles after me, and I lay her on the ground.

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Once I've changed her, I take her to the bathrooms and we wash our hands. Then, I come back into the dorm and put her in her bed gently.

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She looks up at me and shakes her head. "No," she says, her voice cracking. She starts to kick.

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"Emma, you have to sleep," I say. "I need sleep too."

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"Dada," she says.

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I look up to see if Tris is still sleeping. I know that if she was awake she'll get mad at me. I turn to Emma and lean close. "I am not your dad, Emma. I've told you enough times," I whisper, staring into her dark eyes.

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Her eyes blur and tears spill out of them, as she looks back at me, frightened. She lets out a cry. I immediately feel bad, but I put the blanket over her and hop in my bed right across from her.

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She shoves the blanket off of her bed and gets up, hopping off the bed and toddling towards mine. She puts her hand up on the edge of the bunk and stares at me, eyes wet.

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"What do you want?" I ask, looking back at her.

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She grips onto the bunk harder, still studying me.

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"Fine," I say, lifting her up and setting her next to me. I scooch back, and she immediately crawls next to me and gets under the covers. She pushes her face into my chest and closes her eyes; her breathing slows. I know she's happy.

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I sigh. She's going to have a hard time when I have to give her back. I close my eyes and fall asleep.

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________________________________

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"Emma," I say, fitting her white dress over her head. "You're going to the nursery today. I have to train with Nita again."

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Emma studies me, not understanding what I'm saying. She puts her hand on my face and squeezes my cheek. "Hey!" I exclaim, lifting her up. She giggles.

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"I'm leaving," Tris says, shutting the door. She got up a little later than I did, groggy. She realized she was running late for David's office so she had to get ready in a rush. She hasn't said much to me.

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"Tris is in a grumpy mood," I explain to Emma. "But that's okay. We'll all meet back up later, okay?"

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I close the door and head towards the nursery.

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Once we get there, a woman with blonde hair greets me with a smile. She looks at Emma and waves.

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"What's her name?" She asks me. "She's so cute."

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"Oh, she's not mine," I explain. "I went on a mission yesterday in the Fringe, and found her abandoned. David insisted that I keep her for a week to get her healthy again. And, her name is Emma."

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"Oh, I know that she's not yours," the girl says. "I've seen you on the monitors, Four. We all have!"

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I keep forgetting that these people have watched me my whole life. I shudder. It's creepy.

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"Well, I have to train today so I'm giving her up here," I say, setting Emma down. "I'll come back later tonight."

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"Dada?" Emma asks, looking up at me nervously. She reaches out for my hand. I shake my head.

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"Bye, Emma," I say, waving at her and then waving at the nice woman with blonde hair.

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She takes Emma's hand and tries to bring her into the room, but Emma doesn't move, reaching out for me. She screams, and the woman has to drag her into the room.

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