Part I

Life at camp had somewhat gone back to normal since she'd helped Lincoln escape. Yet, no matter how normal things seemed, the fear that the Grounders would retaliate was still heavy in the air. It showed in the way everybody still jumped in terrified panic every time someone accidentally hit the trip wire.

The guns Bellamy and Clarke had brought into camp seemed to have eased some of the tension, but the fear of the Grounders was still tangible.

Octavia looked down at the furs she was sewing together and tried to focus on her work, but her mind was elsewhere. More specifically on the grounder that had saved her life. Not once, or twice, but three times; and all before she'd even known his name. Lincoln.

She couldn't stop thinking about him.

The memory of that kiss still haunted her.

Leaving the furs behind, Octavia went into her tent and grabbed Lincoln's book from under the covers of her makeshift bed. She had secretly snatched it before she'd left the Dropship that night.

Every day she looked through it, through the images Lincoln had drawn. The drawing of the water snake, the drawing of the strange man with the mask, the drawing of the creature with the face markings. The drawings of her.

Octavia smiled.

Then, her smile faded as she remembered all the awful things he'd endured at the hands of her people. Octavia knew she'd done the right thing by saving him. She didn't regret helping Lincoln escape; her only regret was not doing it sooner. What her brother had done to him was despicable. Especially after everything Lincoln had done for her.

She needed to see him again, to speak to him again. To make sure he was alright, that he had made it back to his home safely.

Octavia only knew one thing. She had to get back to that cave.

Getting back to the cave was trickier that she'd anticipated. Thought she had been perfectly conscious when they'd returned to camp the first time, carrying a wounded Finn, Octavia's memories of the path were dim. She attributed that to the adrenaline and stress experienced.

She'd brought a knife along, just in case she ran into some not-so-friendly Grounders. She scoffed. What good would it even do her? She didn't know how to use it right. What was she supposed to do? Wave it at the Grounders and hope they'd run away scared?

God! She'd be so screwed if she found Grounders on the way.

Octavia still hadn't fully recovered from her knee injury, so she limped slightly through the woods in search of her destination. Passing a tree that seemed familiar, Octavia figured she must be getting close.

A few steps further, she finally saw it. The entrance to Lincoln's cave.

Octavia sighed in relief and clambered down into the cave.

The simple hole on the ground was inconspicuous enough that people who didn't know what it was or where it lead, wouldn't realize it just by looking at it.

She wasn't sure what she had expected to find there, but it hadn't been this. It hadn't been nothing.

The cave felt cold and empty. Silent.

He wasn't here, hadn't been for a while. Disappointment filled her. Then, she realized he must be with his people. Of course he must be; healing. After everything that had been done to him. Everything her brother had done to him.

Since coming to the ground, she could hardly recognize Bellamy anymore. He seemed to be so different from the loving brother who had raised her.

Octavia sat down on the floor, on top of the furs and decided to wait for a little while. After two hours had passed and nothing had happened, she finally accepted that he probably wouldn't come back tonight.

After taking one last resigned look at the cave, she turned and left. And decided she would return the following night.

Lincoln had made his way back to his cave; his sanctuary, his refuge.

Anya had listened to what he'd had to say, and she had not been happy; her hatred for the Skaikru grew each passing minute. Lincoln could sense the impending war, and that troubled him. He didn't Octavia in the middle of that.

He stopped short.

Something was wrong. He wasn't alone.

His instincts kicked in. He slowly pulled a knife from its sheath, raising his arms in front of him. Knife out, ready to fight, he walks into the cave to discover… "Octavia?"

Octavia had been admiring one of the drawings on his walls. At the sound of his voice, she turned in surprise. Finally, was all she could think. Lincoln lowered the knife, his expression changing immediately. Octavia wasn't sure, but she thought she might have caught a glimpse of a smile.

Octavia smiled. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you; I figured you'd come back here sooner or later and I… I wanted to see you again." Octavia looked him over, assessing him. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. Thank you, for helping me."

She nodded and smiled again. "Of course."

"Does your brother know? That it was you?" Lincoln asked.

She nodded. "He's suspicious."

He looked worried. Octavia raised one hand and assured him, "Relax. My brother can be a dick sometimes, but he would never hurt me."

They sat down by the fire.

Looking around, she suddenly asked, "Where did you get all this stuff from anyway?"

"Here and there," Lincoln said, shrugging nonchalantly. He didn't care about the little trinkets he'd collected over the years. Octavia was here.

She pulled the sleeves of her jacket up and rubbed her arms, to let the warmth of the fire sink in. Lincoln saw her bandaged arm.

"Why did you do that? Cut yourself." he asked.

She grew serious, subconsciously touching the place where she'd cut herself. "I had to make them stop, somehow."

He placed his hand over hers and squeezed gently. "Thank you."

Octavia saw the sincerity in his brown eyes, was stunned for a moment by them and their depth. Then, she shrugged playfully. "Hey, you saved me first."

The light from the fire illuminated her face. She's so beautiful, Lincoln thought in wonder.

Close together, warmed by the fire, they talked for what seemed like hours.

Every now and then, he would glance down at her lips. Was he going to kiss her again? Did he want to? Because she certainly did.

She waited, but he made no move.

Lincoln didn't know what to do with her. He wanted to kiss again so badly he ached, but how would she react? He'd kissed her before when she'd helped him escape his captors, but she hadn't even brought it up now.

Trying to relieve the raw sexual tension in the air, Octavia got up to walk around the cave, looking around at his things trying to figure out a new topic of conversation.

He noticed the hilt of a knife she was carrying in the pocket of her black jeans.

"What were planning on doing with that?"

She looked down at the knife, and pulled it out. "Oh. It was just in case I ran into someone I probably shouldn't run into."

That got him thinking again of how he'd found her after she fell into that ravine.

"That one time, it was me that found you. It could have been someone else." The thought alone chilled him to the bone. What would have happened to her if one of his people had found her there? "You should learn to defend yourself."

She smiled slightly. "Yeah, I got lucky."

Then she looked pensive. "Defend myself, huh?" she asked, playing with the knife she held.

"So teach me." she teased, with a crooked grin.

Lincoln cocked an eyebrow and got up to his feet.

"Alright," he agreed. Then motioned her forward. "Come at me."

Holding the knife tightly in her hand, she awkwardly mimicked stabbing him, but didn't even get close. He easily grabbed her wrist.

Letting her go, he said, "Okay. First, you're holding it wrong."

She looked down at the knife, in confusion. "What? I am?"

Lincoln readjusted the position of the knife, so she was gripping it with her fist, blade down. "There."

He showed her a few hand to hand combat tricks and techniques.

After a while, Lincoln reached harness and pulled out two knives.

"Here," he said, handing them to Octavia. They would work better than the makeshift one she'd been carrying. "Just in case," he said, repeating her words.

"Thanks. But, in case you weren't paying attention, I don't know how to fight."

Lincoln shrugged. "I'll keep teaching you."

Octavia smiled and asked him playfully, "Are you gonna turn me into a ninja?"

He frowned. "Ninja?"

"A warrior," she explained.

He thought about it. She was untrained, but with enough effort and practice, he believed she could get there. "Maybe."

Octavia smiled at that.

She looked at the sky through the hole in the cave's roof and groaned. The day was beginning to dawn. "I should go. Before someone notices that I'm gone."

Lincoln looked to be as disappointed as she felt.

"Is it okay if I come back tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.

He smiled. "Yeah."

"Maybe I'll try to sneak up on you, practice my new ninja moves."

He smiled and nodded.

"I'll walk you out."

Outside, she turned to him. "You know, actually, I've had some trouble finding this place. I remembered the path pretty well up until that tree with the hole in it."

Lincoln nodded. He knew what she was talking about. The tree was big, with a hole right on the center of its trunk.

"How about I leave…" he looked around, then bent to pick up a white flower. "…a trail of lilies starting at the tree?"

"Okay," she agreed with a smile. "Thank you."

As she was about to leave, Octavia decided to make a move. She turned around and kissed him. The kiss took him by surprise, not that he was complaining. She pulled back, looked him in the eye. "I'll see you tomorrow," Octavia said confidently, and left.