The patrol had been planned so that a small group of 6 including Abby and Marcus would head east in hopes of coming across a supposed weapons cache left behind before the war.

By the time they had reached their check point the sun was setting and the air had begun to cool.

"We'll set up here for the night and move out first thing" Marcus called out as they as all put their packs down. He took a quick look out over the surrondings and headed over to where Abby was unlacing one of her boots.

"The cache isn't far from here, maybe 5 miles, so we should be able to reach it and get a good head start on out journey back before it gets dark tomorrow" he said as he lowered himself to sit next to her on the ground.

"Good, I didnt know how much longer I was going to be able to walk for" she replied, finally pulling her boot free. He dropped his pack next to him and placed his weapon on top before he turned to her.

"Your leg okay?" he said as he wrapped one hand around her ankle and used the other to twist her round slightly.

"I think I must have pulled something on the hike here, I never was one for long distances"

He leant forward and pulled her sock off so that he could get a better look. He hissed when he saw the bruising colouring her foot.

"Well it's not sprained but you have bruised it badly, did you catch it on anything on the way here?"

"No, but Jackson caught my foot between two crates this morning when we were moving some of the supplies in Medical, I didn't think to check before we left"

Marcus snorted and shook his head as he helped her put the sock back on. He then sat back and watched her pull her boot back on gently and re-tie the laces.

"Rest it, let me sort everything out and you should be okay to walk by morning"

The pair were completley oblivious to the rest of the group watching them as their small camp was set up. The tallest of the group, Jacobs turned to his partner,

"Do you think they even realise how much of a married couple they are?"

"Jacobs stop being so godamm nosey and help me put up this tent" Linders snorted back as she continued to unpack poles and material that woud be their shelter for the night.

"I mean come on, I served under Kane for 5 years as a member of the guard before the drop and I have never seen him act this like with anyone else, even his mother"

"Chancellor Griffin and Kane are our leaders and thus deserve their privacy, now stop being staring before they see you and Kane sticks you on the early patrol shift for the foreseeable future".

The pair turned back to their task and made quick work of setting up the tents.

Abby sighed as she watched the two soldiers whisper to each other before she turned to look at Marcus.

"You know they are talking about us don't you?"

"Yes"

"And you aren't bothered by it?"

He laughed loudly before he picked his weapon back up.

"Not at all, besides, could you imagine what would be said if everyone knew how long we have actually been together".

She smiled before she took his hand so that he could pull her up from the floor. She brushed her trousers off and walked with him towards the tents.

"I'm going to take another look at the maps, see if I can find anything else useful nearby" she said quietly, he nodded and walked away to check on the preparations for the night.

By the time the sun had set completley their camp was set up. Two members of the guard patrolled the camp, splitting the shifts in half through out the night.

Marcus wasn't sure what had woken him but when he opened his eyes the camp was silent. He looked down at the woman sleeping in his arms before he shifted her gently so that he could crawl out of the tent. Quietly unzipping the flap he stepped out and stretched his arms. Realising it was still dark he made his way towards the middle of the camp, when he realised that the fire had nearly died out he bent down to put another log onto it.

He was standning up when he heard it again.

In the distance, a faint snap.

Finally realising that he hadn't seen either of the guards meant to be on patrol he pulled his handgun from his belt and quickly but quietly made his way towards the edge of the camp.

Hunkering down against a tree he spotted the body of one his men propped up against a rock a few metres from him. Looking around he made his way quickly to the young man and placed a hand against his neck.

"Sir ..." the young man started to talk but stopped when Marcus shook his head.

"Quietly ... where is Jacobs?" he whispered, placing one hand against the open wound on the young mans chest that appeared to be the reason he was struggling to talk.

"Dead ... Grounders sir ... two of them ... I got one but the other got him sir ... then me ... I don't know where he went ... disappeared" Danvers muttered, his eyes closing as his head fell back. Marcus closed his eyes and muttered a brief prayer before he took the rifle strapped across the young mans chest and the handgun from the holster on his belt.

Making his way back to the tents he stopped in front of the fire. Turning to face the other tent he already knew what he was going to find when he saw the open flap.

Needing to get back to Abby he quickly ducked into the tent and checked for pulses finding none. He turned and made his way to the tent he shared with Abby unzipping the flap before he had even stopped walking.

"Abby" he whispered as he grabbed her ankle.

"Abby wake up"

Her eyes fluttered as she woke, snapping open when she saw the weapon in his hand.

"What's gonig on?" she asked as she grabbed her boots and started pulling them on.

"Grounders"

He waited until she had finished her laces and then went to hand her his handgun.

"Marcus ... no"

"Abby ... take it ... we need to leave and I need to know that you can defend yourself"

Abby hesitated before she wrapped her hand around the weapon.

"Where are the others?"

Marcus motioned for her to keep down as they stepped out of the tent. He took the safety off his weapon and did the same for hers before he spoke.

"Dead ... all of them ... we need to leave ... now"

With that he took her hand and pulled her forward, his other hand holding the rifle out in front of him. They could only have been moving for 15 minutes before Marcus stopped, going down onto his knee.

"There is someone out there ... We need to move quickly ... when I finish speaking count to 3 ... then run"

Abby nodded and quickly brushed a few strands of hair out of her eyes. She waited and watched him count down on his hand and then sprung up with him. Ignoring the pain in her foot she ran, determined not to fall behind.

She was so focused she didn't see the shadow drop from the trees in front of her until it was too late. The shadow swung it's arm, the crack it made as Abby's head snapped back echoed through out the forest causing Marcus to spin round.

"Abby" he cried as he shot forward, slamming into the shadow as she fell to the ground. Abby blinked away the stars and fumbled for the handgun she had dropped as she had fallen, her hand finally closing around the cold metal.

Marcus knocked the Grounder to the ground and wrapped his hands around the mans neck, only to be thrown off as the man underneath him bucked his hips and sent him flying. The pair wrestled in the dirt, throwing punch after punch, both trying to reach their respective weapons.

Marcus threw himself towards his rifle which had fallen in the struggle and reached for it when the Grounder grabbed his leg and pulled him backwards, a vicious looking blade in his hand.

Hands scrabbling to find something he could use as a weapons Marcus kicked his other leg out in the attempt to knock the other man off his feet. The Grounder snarled and raised his arm, his intent clear.

The sound of a weapon firing froze the pair giving Marcus a brief chance to get away. When he realised that the Grounder hadn't moved he stopped moving and spotted the red stain on the mans chest. When he hit the floor, blade sliding away over the dirt Marcus spun around to find Abby shaking, gun in hand.

"Abby"

She said nothing as he approached her, wary of the tight grip she had on the small gun. Keeping both hands in front him where she could see them Marcus stepped up to her. Slowly he reached one hand out and wrapped his hand around hers, gently peeling her fingers off the grip so that he could tuck it into his pants.

"Abby look at me" he whispered, her eyes focused on the prone figure of the dead Grounder. Raising his other hand he gently placed it against her cheek, his thumb running across her cheekbone.

"It's over Abby"

"He's dead"

"Yes"

"I killed him"

"Abby don't do this"

Finally blinking she looked up at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. Bringing her hands up to his chest she curled her fingers into his top, her nails catching on the material.

"I killed him Marcus"

"You did what you had to do Abby" he whispered finally closing the last few inches between them he pulled her towards him, his arms wrapping around her shoulders.

He could feel her shaking, he knew she was in shock, he knew how difficult that first kill was whether it with an air lock or a gun.

"I don't kill people ... I save them" she cried, tears finally running down her cheeks and soaking his top.

"Abby you saved me"

Feeling her body shudder he pulled her closer, resting his head on top of hers as she cried into his chest.

"Everything will be okay"

"How?" she replied between gasps, the tears finally slowing down enough for her to talk.

"Because I know it will ... Trust me Abby"