August 29, 2016:

Clarke knew what moving back to Arkadia meant. She expects the fights and the arguments, she knows they're going to happen because of how she left, what she's done. Not coming back sooner and not keeping in touch, she didn't want to but she had to. But she was also afraid, admitting fear is something new and hasn't gotten used to, she knew that if she came back before she was fully ready she would fall into old habits and she couldn't do that. There's too much at stake now.

She got a job at her old high school teaching art, telling the new principal her situation and he agreed to keep an eye on her just in case she does have a moment of weakness. She doubts she will but she also knows how difficult the transition will be along with the fights that will ensue.

She found an apartment in town, someone who didn't know her when she was in her bad place. Her landlord was nice, Niylah, she owned the consignment shop below the apartment, it was cute. Clarke liked that Arcadia was expanding, and that it still felt like the small town she'd fallen in love with.

But Clarke didn't know where to go now that she had moved into the apartment and has a week before work starts, she's not good with idle time. School started back in a week and she had to prepare her classroom for the first day, plan her lessons, but she can do that in her sleep. She needed to get out of the apartment, she needed fresh air and groceries and she needed to face her fears. So she decided to go to the one place she remembers most, the last place she was before she left, the Dropship.

Clarke walked into the bar not exactly knowing what to expect. She hasn't lived there in six years, the place had to have changed. She looked around the bar, it had the same feel, the same décor plus and minus a few things she hadn't noticed yet. But the main staple, the one thing she'd have hoped would have changed, was Bellamy Blake tending bar. He was talking, smiling with a customer she didn't know. His disorderly onyx hair was shorter, his dark brown eyes older but he was still her Bellamy.

She'd made it this far, she can't back out now. She took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders and walked up to the middle of the bar, sitting a chair away from another man she didn't know, giving him a weak smile before waiting for Bellamy. Her leg bounced impatiently, or nervously, it's new as of five years ago, she's still trying to get used to it.

She didn't remember the last time she was here, that's how bad she'd gotten.

"Water?" he gruffed at her and she raised her eyes to meet his. They were angry now, she didn't want that.

"Cranberry seltzer?" she asked, it's the closest to a vodka cranberry she could get. This won't be easy.

He tapped the bar top and left to make her drink. At least that didn't change.

"You new in town?" the guy next to her asked.

Clarke grimaced, "I left six years ago but I'm back. I thought he'd have gotten a job somewhere else."

"Why would he do that? He owns the place."

Bellamy owns the Dropship, she thought, trying to wrap her head around it. After all she's put him through she's surprised he'd buy a bar. Maybe it's a reminder of how fragile people are, how something could break someone so easily they become dependent on something that won't let them down or look at them like they're broken.

Bellamy came back just then. "Monty, you done avoiding Nate or you want another?" Bellamy asked the guy next to Clarke as he placed her drink in front of her. "Three."

"Bellamy," Clarke pleaded.

His jaw tightened, "No. You're lucky I haven't thrown you out."

"That's fair, I was wrong. I know that, but please talk to me. Not here or now but this week. I got a place in town and I—"

"You have no rights, you gave them up," he stated and though he was right, she just didn't have a choice. She couldn't offer him anything back then.

"I didn't have a choice. Please, I just want to talk."

"I'm busy," he sneered. That's an old look for him, one of the first expressions she'd seen on him, it never suited him.

"Okay, but Bellamy, I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying," she took a sip of her cranberry seltzer and placed five dollars on the counter before finishing the drink and leaving.

She walked down the street with her head hung. She knew seeing Bellamy wouldn't be a good experience. That was better than she expected though. He didn't yell but he wasn't exactly nice or happy to see her.

Clarke missed him, she has the last six years, not even after everything five and a half years ago. He refused, handing the separation papers to the nurse in exchange.

She needed a lawyer, she needed to know what she could do.

Monty walked into the police station and grimaced at the front desk. He walked into the break room where Murphy, Miller and Raven were talking.

"Hey, babe," Miller said with a small smile.

Monty ignored him, still annoyed over their argument that morning, "I know I'm relatively new to town but Bellamy was really pissed at a blonde at the Dropship."

"A blonde?" Raven grimaced, she was the best mechanical engineer in the state, could have gone anywhere with it but she chose to open a shop here in Arkadia, people from Polis would come to her to get specialty work done that only she could do, and the waitlist was so long that she had to hire three other people to handle the day to day work on the customers from town. She always had a soft spot for the police force, making them her top priority, and always had lunch at the station with them unless she was engulfed with her current project and lost track of time.

"Yeah, I spoke to her and she said she hasn't been here in six years. I know Bellamy holds a grudge but six years is excessive."

Miller and Raven exchange a look and Raven stood. "Monty, whatever you do, do not tell Octavia or Lincoln!" she said before running out of the room.

"Why? Who is she?" he grimaced, confused.

"Jacob's mother," Murphy smirked, though his face was in a permanent state of smirking these days, like he has a secret no one knows, not that they care either, he was the force's douchebag.

Monty's heart sank, that woman was so nice, she couldn't be everything that they've said about her in the four years he's been here. "I didn't—I thought—why didn't Bellamy tell me?"

"Did you really just ask that?" Miller scoffed, they've been fighting and he always comes here to have lunch with Monty when he isn't working. "You didn't even know that Jacob existed until Abby dropped him off early last year. I'm surprised Bellamy even allows her to see him the way he cut Clarke off."

Monty knew better than to pry into Bellamy's life but this is something he needed to know. "What happened?"

"It's a long, depressing story. Jasper was born and raised here, he never dreamed of leaving, he loved it here but after Maya, he couldn't stay. Maya died because of Clarke, it wasn't directly her fault but it also was. That in itself is a long story, but if Clarke is back, it's going to be World War III in Arkadia and she probably won't survive," Miller said, sparing the little details. He's a loyal friend and won't even tell his boyfriend something if his friends asked him not to, which is one of the reasons why they're arguing.

Monty grimaced, this is some serious shit. Without knowing the details, he knows how protective Bellamy and Octavia are over their family and if Clarke wronged them, they're going to fight tooth and nail to protect each other.

Bellamy paced the stock room, knowing Gina was tending bar helped him somewhat but seeing Clarke really threw him for a loop this afternoon. He didn't know what to do, who to tell. No one. Everyone? Abby? Certainly not Octavia, she'll kill her but then what about Jacob, how is he going to explain Clarke to him. Who is Clarke even? Why is she here?

His head spun with too many questions and not enough answers so he called the one person he knew could help him.

"Knight Law, how may I direct your call?" the receptionist answered on the first ring. Her name somewhere in his mind, he just couldn't remember at the moment.

"Indra Knight, please."

"May I ask who's calling?"

"Bellamy Blake."

"She's currently in a meeting with a client may I send you to… Right, Octavia can't help you. Would you like me to forward you to her anyway?"

"My sister can't know so I need Indra. Have her call me back and please don't tell Octavia that I called. Better yet, could you set up an appointment with Indra when Octavia isn't in the office?"

"Thursday at three, Mel has a doctor's appointment."

"Perfect, thanks." Bellamy hung up the phone with a sigh, that's all he can do today. He has to stay ahead of this. He knows Clarke won't want to go to court over this but he needs to know what could happen if it gets to that point.

He called Lincoln next.

"Hey," he answered, over the last five years, Bellamy has grown used to the tattooed man being around, he's the father of his nieces, and wasn't going anywhere if Octavia has anything to say about it but Bellamy was still surprised by how good of a guy the man was.

"Hey, how're the kids?"

"Your son is a menace, painted the wall blue this morning and Leanna is close to walking, I'm literally carrying my phone around with the camera open just in case it happens when I'm not prepared so I can record it for Octavia."

"I remember doing that for Abby when Jacob was that age. How's Mel?"

"She's Mel, won't take her Halloween costume off still. She practically showers in it," Bellamy knew his brother-in-law rolled his eyes.

"She's three, it's what they do. I couldn't get Jake out of his Captain America costume for six months."

"And he was adorable, she's a tomato."

"I will never understand that one," Bellamy chuckled. "I'll buy paint for your wall on my way home from work, what's the color?"

"Burnt sienna."

"You're such an artist. I should get back. Echo should be here at seven. So I'll pick Jacob up around 7:30."

"Sounds good, and don't worry about the paint, we were talking about painting that wall anyway."

"Are you sure? I can call Harper at the store and have her make it."

"Do not trust Harper with mixing paint, she's worse than Octavia."

Bellamy grimaced, "I'll be there at seven-thirty, okay?"

"Yes, go sell drinks to drunks."

"And this is why we leave the writing to Miller," Bellamy said and hung up, hating how the day was dragging now that he had something important to do. Does Clarke want to see Jacob? Does she want to get back together, to try again? Should he tell her about his thing with Gina?

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Gina said, grabbing the rack of clean glasses from behind him.

"I did," he said, kissing her cheek before heading back out, the irony of Clarke's go to move dawning on him just then and he stepped away from her. It's because she's back, bringing up these memories. He wouldn't have thought about if she weren't here. Damn did she look good though. Her golden hair longer, still covered in paint whether she knew it or not. She looked better than when he'd last saw her. He didn't even see her when she gave birth to Jacob. He came to pick him up and had the nurse serve her the separation papers and that was that. He picked up his newborn son and left without seeing her. But Jacob was perfectly healthy even with the alcohol poisoning Clarke gave him through the first trimester. Maybe that's why she got drunk easier those last few months.

Bellamy shook the thought of the gorgeous blonde out of his head as he served McCallan a Guinness.