[Author's Note: This is my first time writing for The 100 fandom…fingers crossed! This is something that came to my mind a while ago, so it doesn't necessarily follow what's happening on the show as of late.

Big thank you to runwiththenight for all the help on this. I couldn't have done this without you continuously boosting my confidence and reassuring me. Everyone should just go ahead and put her on your alert list because she has some epic stuff planned and she's so amazing.

This will be a three-shot. Hopefully you guys like it enough to stick around until the end. Here we go!]

Summary: Shivers wracked her body and her teeth chattered. It was like she was being frozen from the inside out, slowly but surely and there was nothing she could do to stop it / Their second winter on Earth, Clarke doesn't come back from a trip outside the gates. Bellamy goes looking for her. Established Bellarke. Three-shot.

Disclaimer: I do not own The 100 or any of the songs used.

oh, my love, don't forsake me

i.

It's not a silly little moment.
It's not the storm before the calm.
This is the deep and dying breath of this love that we've been working on.
"Slow Dancing In a Burning Room" – John Mayer

She was cold.

Freezing, actually, if she was honest with herself. Shivers wracked her body and her teeth chattered. It was like she was being frozen from the inside out, slowly but surely and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Her limbs were heavy – so heavy she couldn't even lift her hand far enough to brush her blonde hair out of her face. The wet strands clung to her, covering her cheeks and her neck and they were becoming stiff as the water began to freeze, the snow falling down on her doing absolutely nothing to help her. The blood had stopped flowing from both the gash on her head and the wound on her leg, and she almost missed the warmth that accompanied the red substance as it trailed down her face and gathered underneath her wet pant leg. Her eyelids fluttered and it took everything in her to open them again – to not give up just yet.

The wind started again and Clarke's shaking got worse, the movement physically hurting her because of how frozen she felt. She wished she could curl up and somehow conserve her body heat instead of remain in her sprawled out position against the rocks, cold water from the river sloshing up and hitting her every few moments. She felt paralyzed. Her joints were locked and unresponsive and twitching at their own will as her body tried to create heat for itself.

It was funny, or perhaps ironic, really, that this is how she was going to finally succumb to death. She had survived being sent to Earth and everything she had faced as consequence. The wounds she had now were survivable if treated properly. The hypothermia is what was ultimately going to kill her.

She had to make a trip for seaweed. They were running low, and she knew there would be fewer opportunities to venture beyond the gates to get some as winter progressed. She had come out with one of the guards – Sam, she remembered. He was one of the newer guards that had been appointed when things got busier around camp. Bellamy barely trusted him, but he trusted her. With how hectic things were at camp now that their second winter was upon them, it hadn't taken much to convince him to let her go.

"It will be quick, Bell, an hour or two tops," she had told him, a mix of a plea and determination in her eye. "I'll take a guard with me," she bargained even further.

"Jesus Christ, Princess," he had groaned. He had drug a hand down his face and let out a sigh that she recognized as defeated. The look he had given her confirmed that. He had taken a step forward, trapping her body against the table with his own and cupping her face in her hands.

"You'll take a guard with you?"

"Yes."

He had kissed her then, soft yet somehow still urgent. "Please be safe."

She squeezed his biceps where her hands had been resting, stretching up on her toes to kiss him again.

"Always."

Then she had gone, leaving him behind.

Bellamy.

She closed her eyes because the mere thought of him brought so many regrets to the surface – so many "what ifs" and reflections on missed opportunities and just not enough time. She was going to die and they had so many plans they hadn't been able to go through with yet – so many ideas for their future. They had so much they wanted to do with the camp and together. She wanted that future with him.

But she was going to die.

She hears something in the distance – the stomping of feet in the snow covered leaves of the forest floor, accompanied by muffled voices.

Was it Grounders?

The 100 Camp had been on civil terms with the Grounders for a while now. They weren't exactly friendly, but they were allies because they knew they could benefit each other. There were still the occasional hostile interactions though, with Grounders who didn't quite agree with their leaders agreement to a peace treaty. Would they find her and kill her before she had the opportunity to freeze to death?

Part of her wished they would.

Her body had begun to go numb now and her shaking slowly came to a halt. In the back of her mind, the small part that was still lucid enough to think and process, she knew her body was shutting down. She gasped for breath and the cold air she sucked in made her feel like she was swallowing razor blades, but it didn't hurt as much as it had before.

How long had she been here now?

The journey had been going so smoothly. Maybe that should have been her first clue that something was going to go terribly wrong. They left just past midday and it had taken less than an hour to gather two full bags of seaweed that Sam had graciously carried on his back for her as they walked back toward camp. They made idle conversation and moved at a steady pace. They were less than a mile away from camp.

Then it all went to hell.

A pair of mutated wolves had appeared from the thick greenery of the forest, and before Sam could even move his gun from where it rested on his shoulder, they had pounced. He had yelled at her to run as he started to do the same. Only they had gotten separated in the midst of their panic, one mutation trailing after each of them. It had just clamped onto her leg with its teeth when she found herself falling.

As she crashed into the freezing water, she remembered the multitude of injuries she had dealt with caused by members of the 100 not seeing the slope she had just fell victim to – it was well hidden in the forest and one wouldn't see it unless paying close attention for it. If they were quick, they could catch themselves on a tree root before tumbling down the steepest hill they had encountered on Earth so far. If not, well, they were in for an impromptu bath. She and Bellamy had quickly decided that no one was to wonder in this direction during the winter – it was too dangerous.

She could validate why they had agreed to that, now.

The current in the small little river was strong, and the bite on her leg slowed her motions down. She was slammed into the jagged rocks lining the cliff. Her ears rung and she had momentarily lost her vision as her temple took the brunt of the impact. The grip she had on a tree root slipped and she was submerged in the icy water again, fighting to break to the surface and stay there. The mutated wolf that had put her in this situation was facing the same struggle she was just three or four feet away.

After what seemed like forever, she had finally been able to drag herself partially on top of one of the bigger rocks lining the body of water. The time she had spent in the below freezing water, though, was already taking a toll on her body.

She didn't know how much time had passed since then. But it was dark now and she was almost comfortable. Her body was still, and she couldn't even feel the cold. Her eyes stayed closed for longer than they did opened.

"Fuck!"

Her mind was playing tricks on her, she knew. The healer in her was aware that her brain wasn't getting the oxygen it needed. She'd hallucinated before, but this was different. She knew that voice and even if it wasn't real, even if it was just a figment of her imagination, she wanted it closer.

"God damnit, where are you?"

Silly boy, she thought, you never shout in the forest. There are enemies in the forest.

But this was just in her mind, so it was okay, she guessed. But he was still too far away and she was desperate for his nearness. She opened her mouth to call out for him, but nothing more than a whisper escaped. She closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment or two. Then she used every bit of strength her body still possessed to whistle as loudly as she could, which wasn't that loud at all.

But everything stopped.

A moment passed.

And then…

"Clarke!"

She heard the sound of running footsteps and the sliding of boots against dirt coming toward her. Then there were hands on her face. The voices were louder now and surrounding her, but all she could focus on was the familiar touch she would know anywhere.

"Bellamy." It was said in nothing more than a whisper, a prayer, and she wondered if this was whatever higher power was out there's way of paying her back for every hardship she's ever had to endure since arriving on Earth.

"I'm here. Oh God, Princess, I'm here."

A ghost of a smile touched her lips and she sighed happily, closing her eyes.

"Princess, look at me. No, Clarke, open your eyes. Clarke!"

It's okay, she wanted to soothe him, but darkness greeted her and she went willingly, the feel of Bellamy's fingertips trailing her skin, his lips pressing to her face, and his voice in her ear welcoming her.

It would be a huge help and motivation for part 2 if I could get some reviews.

Thanks loves xx