"Someone will have to launch manually." - Sinclair, "We Are Grounders (Part 2)"

Kane prepared to stand, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"What are you doing?" Abby asked, grabbing his arm.

Calmly, he replied, "Someone has to stay behind, Abby."

Her hand was now resting on his leg, across his body to keep him from standing. She said to Sinclair, "There has to be another way."

He talked of reprogramming the computer but they would miss the kids' location and if they waited, they would be out of air by the time the eastern United States came back around.

Kane was staring at her, a determine look on his face. She looked at him for a moment and turned back to Sinclair, about to say something to him, but the look in Kane's eye made her turn back. He said, pulling her hand off of his, "Salvation comes at a price."

It turned out, Jaha had beaten him there. Abby didn't like to admit that she was more than relieved. As much as she hated that Thelonious was about to die, she didn't want Kane to do it either. She needed him by her side on Earth. Thelonious would be at peace, she knew it. He would see Wells again.

The whole way down, Kane held her hand and she rested her head against his shoulder, knowing that each moment could be their last. There was no certainty that Mecha Station wouldn't crash or explode on the way down. They bumped against each other and Abby felt like she was on the verge of vomiting several times, but Kane's grip on her kept her in check. It was only when they landed on Earth and he unbuckled her seatbelt that she hit him in the shoulder, letting herself get angry. After alerting Jaha that Mecha had indeed made it, she was the first out of the hatch, trying to get away from Kane.

The world was much more beautiful than she could have ever imagined and it was ruined 30 seconds later when Kane pulled himself out of the hatch. She let him take in the surroundings — you only got to see Earth for the first time on Earth once, after all.

After a minute for him, she said in a hushed tone so those in the station couldn't hear her, "How could you do that?"

He turned toward her, looking past her at the trees. "Do what?"

"Sacrifice yourself like that." Her eyes were narrowed at him, but he wasn't looking at her still. He was staring at the trees, all of the green and the blue of the lake.

"I didn't though."

"You tried to." She said angrily, smacking him like she had earlier only harder this time. "How could you do that to me?"

His eyes finally settled on hers, confusion evident in them. "I wasn't aware I was doing anything to you. Are you mad at me?"

She closed her eyes and said quietly, "Of course I'm mad at you. I thought that you understood how I felt, but I guess you didn't—"

"How you felt? Abby, I thought that was a one time thing. We were going to die," he said, taking her hand lightly in his, allowing her the room to pull away. "I didn't think you wanted something so…long term. I didn't think there was a long term."

She pulled her hand out of his and walked across the top of the station, toward the side that had the lake. She watched ripples form in the water, some fish no doubt just under the surface. She could hear his footsteps on the metal, knew he was coming toward her. He stepped next to her and stared at the water too. It was a few minutes before he spoke and by that time, others were coming out of Mecha.

Kane said quietly, "I'm sorry. I didn't think — I didn't think you would…want this." He paused, thinking over what he actually wanted to say because he wasn't doing too well just speaking what came to mind. He started over, swallowing a lump in his throat. "I was looking out for everyone else. It's my responsibility."

"I know how you've felt since the Culling, but you weren't the only one who made that decision, Marcus. It's not all on you." She said angrily, shaking her head. "You have to stop this sacrificing crap because I'm not losing you."

"What—"

"Guys," it was Sinclair. They both turned to look at him and found him pointing at a column of dark smoke rising from the forest. "That could be the 100, couldn't it?"

"Or another station," Kane said, walking briskly across the roof and slipping down through the hatch to get his gear. He called, "Everyone get your gear." Abby followed, along with the many others. Bent over his pack, checking to see how much ammo he had, he turned when he heard her footsteps. She crouched down next to him and started gathering her pack too.

"Clarke's out there, shouldn't we go to where we assume they are?" She was desperate, almost pleading with him.

"We have no idea where they are, Abby." Kane replied, not looking at her. "We know there's that smoke, that's where we're going."

"What if it's a trap? We know we're not alone out here." She said, stilling his hand as his gripped his pack.

"We can't just sit here. We have to find the others." He met her eyes and she looked like she was ready to cry. His brows furrowed and his jaw clenched. He breathed, "Abby…we'll find Clarke. It might take some time. Just have faith that we will, okay?"

She smiled and despite the room being full of the others gathering their gear, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. She pulled back and murmured against them, "Thank you, Marcus."

They had been walking through miles of forest without seeing a single soul, not one animal. Kane led the group, as the new chancellor, with guardsmen Byrne, Scott, Miller, and Banks flanking him. The rest of the guard was with the normal civilians. Abby insisted on walking with the front group despite how dangerous it was.

"You really should be back there, Abby." Kane muttered, keeping his eyes ahead of them, looking for movement.

"I can take care of myself."

"You don't even have a gun."

"I guess it's a good thing you do, then." She replied, snarkily.

"At least get behind me if you insist on being up here." There was something in his tone that made her do as he instructed. It wasn't his usual authoritative one, this one was laced with worry — he was only looking out for her well-being.

She walked two steps behind him through the woods, watching him as they went. There was something different about him, but she couldn't figure out what it was. She wondered if it was solely because of what happened their final night on the Ark. He was being more protective over her than he had ever been. She remembered when he had found her after she escaped the Exodus ship. Dying in the service bay, she had given up hope, but then — all of a sudden — he was there, his arms around her, telling her to wake up, that she would be okay. She felt safe.

Lost in her thoughts, she ran right into the back of Kane when he stopped. She let out a huff as they collided and he glanced back at her, a lopsided grin on his face.

"What thoughts are you lost in?" It was like he knew, but he wasn't going to embarrass her by saying it outright.

She blushed, but held his gaze. "Why have we stopped?"

He pointed ahead with his gun. "Can't you see it? The wreckage, just ahead."

She strained her eyes and sure enough, there was a large amount of metal just through the trees, a tall column of gray smoke rising from it. She could see several fires in the distance and heard screams. She gripped the strap of her med kit tighter and started to rush toward the wreck. Kane grabbed her hand, yanking her back toward him.

"What?"

"Not until we know it's safe." He said quietly. He nodded toward the civilian group behind them. "Go wait with them. I'll let you know when it's all clear."

She squeezed his hand and nodded. The corner of his mouth twitched up for the briefest of moments before he called for Byrne, Scott, Miller, and Banks to follow him through the trees.

Alpha Station had a decent landing. Debris was everywhere, as were the dead. Others were walking through the damage and Kane spotted Jackson tending to a patient. He ran over to him and clapped him on the back as he leaned away from the deceased man.

"Kane!" Jackson said in relief. "Mecha made it?"

"Yes," Kane said with a smile.

"All of Mecha?" It was a loaded question — Kane knew what he was really asking.

Kane nodded. He called toward the woods, over his shoulder, "All clear!"

Byrne looked at him, bewildered. "We haven't checked the area, Chancellor."

"Don't you think Grounders would have attacked them long before we came?" He asked as the others walked toward them through the trees. "They wouldn't have waited for reinforcements, Major."

Her jaw was set firm, like she was about to argue, but she remained silent.

"Abby!" Jackson yelled, running toward her. Kane watched as the two embraced, a sad smile on his face. He turned away and began to search for survivors.

"You know, I didn't want it to happen that way." Kane had crouched down next to her as everyone settled down to eat their rations. They had been cleaning up all day and decided to make Alpha Station their home base. Many had already claimed rooms within the station and Kane had been given a large room as chancellor.

"What to happen what way?" Abby asked, lowering her food pack to her lap. She was seated on the ground, sitting cross-legged, not too far from one of the many low fires they had burning. Kane looked at her, a small frown on his face.

"Kissing you — I wanted the first time to be…I don't know. I just didn't want it to happen like that." He wasn't looking at her, he couldn't.

Abby took a deep breath as she glanced over at Jackson, the closest person to her. It seemed like he hadn't heard a thing. She pushed herself to her feet and abandoned her food. She whispered, "Let's go somewhere to talk."

She led Kane into Alpha and down a series of hallways to what they had claimed as the Council chamber. Presently, they were the only members of the Council — Kane had reinstated her. She shut the door behind them and Kane walked away from her, toward the table. He sat down in a chair and ran a hand through his hair, leaning his other elbow against the table. Abby sighed and walked over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. Their eyes met.

"How long have you been wanting to do that?"

"I'm not going to embarrass myself with that answer." He replied quickly.

Her eyebrows raised, more for herself than for him. She kept her eyes on his face, but he wasn't looking at her anymore. "Then why even tell me?"

He sighed and stood, brushing her hand off. He began to pace the room. "I just…wanted you to know, I guess." His brows furrowed, she could tell there was something more on his mind.

She walked over to him and grabbed his hand, pulling him to her to stop him in his tracks. He looked at her and she could see the pain in his eyes. She placed her hand on his cheek. In a quiet, soft voice, she said, "Marcus, are you all right?"

His mouth fell open a fraction of an inch as he drew in a ragged breath. "Fine. Why?"

Her hand slipped from his cheek but he caught it with his. Her eyes flickered to their joined hands before she looked him in the eyes again. "You're acting strange, Marcus. I've known you for far too long to know that you're not 'fine.' Stop lying to me."

With a small grin, he said in barely a whisper, "Abby…I never thought you'd give me the 'last night in space' speech. I didn't think that was how we would…" He looked like he was concentrating on what he was trying to say as he stared at the wall beyond her head. He looked at her again, smiling. "I thought — hoped — we would overcome our differences and—"

"You hoped for the impossible, Marcus." She said quietly as she squeezed his hand. His face fell slightly, but the corners of his eyes crinkled. He smiled sadly before saying, "I know."

When he spoke again, it all came out in a rush — his voice broke and she could do nothing but watch it happen. "I honestly don't know why I ever held out hope that you would forgive me for everything I did to you. I tried to have you floated three times, Abby. I included Clarke in Jake's charges. She was locked up in solitary because of me! I voted to have Jake floated. I voted to send Clarke to the ground…"

Kane couldn't continue. He was breathing heavily and had backed away from her. He braced himself on the table, gripping the edge with all of his might. Abby approached him cautiously. She grabbed his hands, unclenching them from the metal surface.

"Marcus," she whispered, her face near his. She released one of his hands and gripped him by the neck with just enough force to make him look at her. "Don't you think for a second that I haven't forgiven you for all of that. You are not the same man who did those things."

His lips crashed against hers and she wrapped her arms around his neck in an instant. His hand caressed her cheek and pulled her even closer. They both knew how far this would go tonight and were satisfied with simply kissing on the Council table. Abby sat on the metal, Kane between her legs. His hands grasped her hips, trying to get as much contact with her as possible. Abby had one hand in his hair, the other under his jacket exploring the expanse of muscles that lay beneath.

"This is how I imagined it," he breathed. Abby smiled against his lips. He kissed along her jaw. Lips gliding along her skin, he murmured, "Tomorrow, Abby, I promise we'll find Clarke."

A smile stretched across Abby's face before she pulled him into a kiss by his shaggy hair.