A/N: Okay, so the timeline is a little different here than how it is presented in the TV show...but go with it! :) Takes place after Clarke has killed Finn, and Bellamy finds her after she has disappeared from Camp Jaha.
Let me know what you think!
Clarke was drunk. Bellamy had finally found her in the underground bunker, surrounded by empty bottles of moonshine and the Grounder's dried blood, a dark stain beneath her. Clarke hurled a bottle at him when he first came in, right before she broke down sobbing for the next hour. Another empty bottle later and she was past the crying and anger though, her words just as sloppy and uneven as her body movements.
Bellamy reached for the bottle again and handed her his canteen. "Drink this," he ordered.
Clarke lifted the canteen to her lips and took a long drink, "This is water!" she sputtered, coughing some of it back up.
"You'll thank me in the morning, I promise. Besides, no moonshine left."
Clarke took a drink of water, barely getting it into her mouth, "I can see you holding some." She surprisingly maintained eye contact with him, waving her hand toward the bottle in his hands.
Bellamy raised the bottle and proceeded to drain it of the moonshine, holding her gaze. "There. Now it's empty."
"That was mean."
Bellamy rolled his eyes and leaned back against the wall, his head spinning a little.
"Who would've imagined it would be you comforting me from that first day we met on the dropship?" Clarke slurred her words.
"That's not the first time we met," Bellamy said, closing his eyes.
Clarke sat up a little straighter, "What?"
"We met on the Ark. You probably don't remember."
Clarke scooted closer and grabbed his arm, "Tell me. Tell me. Were you an ass then too?" she chuckled, "I'm sorry. You're much better. I even like you now." Bellamy glanced over at her, a small smile on his lips.
He looked down at Clarke's wrist, where her father's watch was and his eyes darkened, "It's not a happy story Clarke, maybe some other time."
"No, tell me now. How much worse can a story get? I just killed the only boy I may have ever loved, I'm heading us all into a shaky alliance, I abandoned our friends in Mount Weather, and the only person who was able to find me was you." Her arms swung back and forth as she reiterated the past 48 hours.
"Oh, and my mother had my father floated. And my best friend let me think it was him for months. Right before he was murdered by a nine year old. Can't forget that." She let out a long sigh. "So it can't be much worse. Tell me."
"Blake. Blake!" Heavy fists pounded on his door.
Bellamy shot up out of bed, immediately reaching for Octavia. Her bunk was below his and her eyes were wide open.
"Get under the floor!" he hissed. She nodded and dived under the floorboards. Their mother was out on a "night call' and wouldn't be back until morning.
"Bellamy Blake!" the voice rang out again. Bellamy shut Octavia's door and carefully pulled the table over the latch. Assessing the room once more, he rushed over to the door.
Commander Shumway stands on the other end. His face is angry and he shoves a guard's uniform into Bellamy's hands. "Put this on and meet me by the Chancellor's Office in two minutes."
Bellamy holds up the uniform, "But I thought my training started next week."
Shumway's eyes flashed, "It starts when I say it does. And it starts now."
Bellamy nodded and shut the door, pulling off his clothes and throwing on the uniform. Forty-five seconds later he's sprinting down the hallway towards the Chancellor's Office. Fifty seconds later he screeches to a halt, "Octavia." he curses under his breath and runs back to their apartment.
"Where did you go?" Octavia asks, already climbing back into bed.
"No time, O. I'll tell you later. Stay quiet!" he runs back out the door and down the hall.
Shumway meets him at the office, "You're thirty seconds late."
"I apologize, Sir. It won't happen again."
"It better not." Shumway led him into the Chancellor's Office. Bellamy's eyes widened; he had actually never been to this sector of the Ark, and certainly had never been inside the Chancellor's Office. It was extraordinary. Just the sheer amount of space inside. There would be endless places for Octavia to move around in here...endless places for her to hide.
Chancellor Jaha sat at his desk. Up close, he looked much older, Bellamy thought. Four other high-ranking officers were already inside. Bellamy knew he should know their names, but he didn't think he'd be seeing them this soon. It didn't matter; they didn't pay any attention to him.
"A serious matter has just been brought to my attention," the Chancellor began. Out of the corner of his eye, Bellamy saw the Chancellor's son hiding back behind a doorway. His head peeked out, but quickly retreated when he saw his father turn his head in that direction.
The Chancellor began to inform the guard's about a potential "breach in security", an "eminent threat to all the peoples of the Ark Station". He told them that the threat was Jake Griffin. He told them that Jake Griffin was to be floated. Immediately.
Bellamy sucked in his breath. Floated. Executed. Killed. Jake Griffin was the head engineer on the Ark. His wife was the Chief Doctor. They were practically royalty on the Ark. To execute Jake Griffin would mean that his "eminent threat" was very serious.
They stormed down the hallway. Shumway had thrust a gun into his hands before they left, "You're on crowd control," he told Bellamy.
"Jake Griffin. You are under arrest…" the arrest was chaotic. People streaming out of their apartments, Bellamy trying to push them back in. They shouted questions and accusations as the guards passed with Jake Griffin in tow.
"Please remain in your apartments!" Bellamy shouted. He turned down the hallway and stopped. In the doorway, the Griffin's daughter was on her knees, hands in her head as she cried. The Chancellor's son flew down the hallway from the other direction. He went to her, wrapping his arms around her. Bellamy didn't even think she realized who it was that was holding her, she was so distraught.
"Blake! Now!" Shumway yelled for Bellamy.
The next few hours were long. Shumway demanded the Bellamy sit through the entire inquisition of Jake Griffin. Somewhere in the middle of all the questioning, Abby Griffin had arrived. Her white coat was wrinkled, and there were dark circles under her eyes, like she hadn't slept for days. She stood in-between her husband and the Chancellor, never lifting her eyes to either, and she didn't speak. His heart lurched when he heard about the lack of oxygen, about the failing of the ship. A small seed of guilt built in his stomach because he knew that Octavia was responsible for taking up excess oxygen.
No, he thought quickly. This isn't Octavia's fault...it's theirs. They should have planned better. They should be more prepared for this. But he was still scared. If Jake Griffin was going to be executed simply for talking about the problems on the ship...what would happen to his family if they found out about Octavia?
"You know I'm right, Jaha. The people deserve to know!" Jake Griffin shouted at the Chancellor. His hands were still cuffed behind, and two of the guards struggled to hold him back.
"You don't get to decide that, Jake. I do," Chancellor Jaha yelled back at him.
"You are wrong, Chancellor," Jake Griffin spat out the title, "The people will surprise you. Together we can come up with a solution…"
The Chancellor cut him off, "Crowds don't make good decisions. And leaders must do what they think is right. I'm sorry, Jake. I truly am," The Chancellor turned and nodded to Shumway, "May we meet again."
Jake Griffin straightened, his jaw tight, and his eyes level, "May we meet again, Chancellor."
The guards pulled Jake Griffin towards the door, but he pushed back, "Jaha," he said quietly. The Chancellor motioned for the guards to let him speak.
"Please tell Clarke that I'm sorry. And that I love her." He glanced over at his wife, and Bellamy could see her eyes shining with tears.
"It's okay, Abby. I love you," he told her. She nodded, the tears spilling out. Bellamy followed behind the group. Shumway fell back and stopped Bellamy.
"Go to the Griffin's apartment and make sure the daughter stays in there. The last thing we need is her tearing down the hallways and waking everyone up."
"Does she know what's happening, Sir?"
Shumway glared at Bellamy, "No. She does not. But let's get one thing clear, Blake. This is not a job for asking questions. This is a job for following orders. Now follow orders, and go guard the door."
Bellamy swallowed and started in the direction of the Griffin's apartment.
He remembered the girl's anguished sobs after her father was taken away. He knew he shouldn't disobey orders, before he had even technically started his training...but he couldn't imagine not knowing if his mother or sister were going to be floated.
He didn't know where he stood on whether or not the people had a right to know about the mechanical issues on the Ark...but he did think Jake Griffin had a right to see his daughter one last time. His last "I love you" to his daughter shouldn't come from the Chancellor, the man executing him.
He ran past the Griffin's apartment and into his own, grabbing the closest tablet he could find. Octavia bounced out of bed, "What are you doing, Bell? Where have you been?" she pulled on his arm.
"Not now, Octavia. I'll be back soon," Bellamy said. He typed out a quick message and reached for the door. He paused for a moment though, and went back to Octavia. Bending down he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, "I love you, O."
Running back down the hallway, he found his way to the Griffin's apartment. He gave three quick knocks on the door.
Seconds later the door swished open, "Dad!" Clarke Griffin popped out of the door. When all she saw was Bellamy though, she scowled. "Where is my father? What have you done to him?" her eyes were rimmed with red and pieces of hair were falling out of her braid.
"I was sent here by your mother, secretly," Bellamy said, handing her the tablet. Clarke grabbed it and read the message:
"Clarke, Jaha has decided to execute your father. Hurry, Mom."
"No, no, no...no," she murmured. She looked up at Bellamy, "They're floating him now?"
Bellamy nodded silently.
"They can't do that!" Clarke pushed the tablet into Bellamy's chest, and he stumbled against the force. Before he had time to delete the message she was already racing down the corridor.
When Bellamy finished the story, Clarke was slumped down on the wall next to him. He sighed and lifted her up slowly. The room was still spinning a little and he struggled to get her over to the sofa on the far wall. He laid her down on the couch and set the canteen of water next to her head for when she woke up. Pulling up the neck of his jacket he grabbed the other pillow and stretched out on the floor.
There was no sunlight in the bunker, so it was impossible to tell what time it was, but Bellamy's body ached enough to let him know he had slept on the hard, concrete floor for many hours. Not to mention the pounding in his head. He sat up slowly, groaning.
"I remember now."
Bellamy squinted in the candlelight and saw Clarke sitting up against the wall closest to him. He raised a hand to his head and rubbed his eyes, "What?" he said groggily. She passed him the canteen and he took a long drink.
"I remember meeting you on the Ark," she repeated.
Bellamy finished the canteen, "I thought you fell asleep."
"What did Shumway do to you when he found out you let me leave the apartment?"
Bellamy averted his eyes, "No pay. One rotation cycle."
Clarke sucked in a breath, "How did you-"
"We managed." he said shortly.
"Why did you do that? Take that risk, with Octavia?" she asked.
Bellamy shrugged, "I don't know. I think I always knew that one day Octavia would be discovered and we would all be floated. And I hoped that I would get the chance to say goodbye."
"Did you?" Clarke asked quietly.
"No."
"Bellamy, I don't know what to say."
"Don't, Clarke. It was a long time ago. We don't need to get into it." He wouldn't look at her, and she knew it was better not to push him.
Her hands moved to her wrist and unlatched her father's watch. Moving over next to Bellamy she took his arm and began fastening the watch around his wrist.
Bellamy looked down at her, "Clarke, what are you doing? That's your dad's."
Clarke pulled the strap tightly around Bellamy's wrist, "That last moment with my father was everything, Bellamy. Finding out afterwards...not being able to say goodbye...even as terrible as it was…"
She looked up, and Bellamy was struck by how much she looked like her mother had on that day when Jake Griffin was floated.
"I can't thank you enough, Bellamy."
"I can't take this, Clarke."
"Please," she began, "I want you to have it. As a reminder to us both of the people we've lost unjustly. Your mother. My father. Our friends in Mount Weather. How we have to make sure that things are better here on Earth."
Bellamy nodded, his throat tight as he remembered Shumway's curt words telling him his mother had been floated, Octavia had been locked up, and he was being stripped of his status as a guard. Shumway had left taking his guard's uniform and leaving a broom in its place.
Clarke traced the outline of the watch face with her thumb. "I think he'd want you to have it too," she whispered.
The room was too quiet and she was sitting too close to him. And Bellamy didn't know what to say.
"Okay," he finally said.
They stayed like that for a long moment before Bellamy stood up, reaching his hand down to her, "Mount Weather?"
"Mount Weather," Clarke said. She took his hand and they left the bunker.