Clarke

Clarke stood there in her radiation suit, sans head piece, trying not cry, both for herself and for her mother. "Mom…it's okay. I'll be okay."

"You can't know that, Clarke!" Abby practically yelled back, even though she was only a few inches away from her daughter.

"I'll…I'll figure something out," Clarke insisted, her tears threatening to spill over.

"There's nothing to figure out! We went through every possible scenario already! This…this bunker…is our only option. If you go out there…"

Clarke grabbed her mom's hands. "Mom…either I leave…or you all have to leave. The grounders want blood…and they're going to get it one way or another. I have to go. I'd never be able to live with myself if…"

Abby's shoulder squared as she grasped her daughter's hands tighter. "Then I'm coming with you."

Clarke's eyes widened. "No, Mom…you can't…"

"I'm not letting you go out there alone!" Abby insisted.

Clarke heard heavy footsteps behind her…a gait she would've recognized anywhere.

"She's not going to be alone," Bellamy's voice said.

Clarke turned around, seeing Bellamy walking up behind her, already wearing a radiation suit, carrying the helmet and a backpack.

Her heart stopped, then started racing in her chest, both elated and terrified. "Bellamy…what are you doing?"

He gave her that cheeky grin she loved so much. "What does it look like I'm doing, Princess?"

She started shaking her head, "No, you can't. I won't let you."

"Well…since I don't take orders from you, I'm gonna need a better reason."

Clarke wanted to punch him and hug him, all at the same time. Instead, she settled for grabbing his arm and pulling him to the side, away from everyone else. "Same reason as last time!" she insisted. "I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself. Not for me."

"Who said anything about sacrificing myself? You and I are going to go out there and find a way to survive, like we always do."

"Bellamy…" she shook her head again.

"You and me, Clarke. We survived the grounders, we kept a group of teenagers alive, we got our people out of Mount Weather, we beat ALIE. Haven't you figured out by now that we can survive anything when we work together? You're the brains…I'm the heart. We keep each other balanced. The only way either of us is going to survive this is if we're together. I'm going with you."

She couldn't help the tears that fell down her face, because this stupid, stupid boy was going to get himself killed…for her. "Don't do this. Please, don't do this."

"Clarke…"

She shut her eyes, her face contorted in what looked like physical pain. "Please stop. If you don't stop, I'm not going to be strong enough to keep telling you I don't want you to go with me. And I can't let you go with me, Bellamy. I can't."

When she opened her eyes, she found him looking at her intently, most of the barriers he usually kept up to hide his emotions completely stripped away. "I let you walk away once, Clarke. I knew you were hurting and I knew it wasn't safe, but I let you convince me it was want you wanted, even when every bone in my body was telling me to either drag you back to camp or to go with you. I'm not making that mistake again. If you walk out those doors, it's going to be with me beside you."

That's what did it. That's what broke her.

She stepped forward, going into his arms, her head against his chest as she half sobbed, "We have nowhere to go, Bellamy. I don't know how we would…"

Survive. She didn't know how they'd survive.

"We'll figure it out, Clarke. We always do. You and me, together," he said, his voice slightly muffled by her hair.

She hated the fact that she was being so selfish, but she was terrified, and the thought of having him with her soothed her heart in a way she couldn't even describe.

Of course, it also terrified her, because she didn't see how they were going to make it and the thought of him dying was too much for her already broken heart to bear.

Clarke heard Kane's voice behind her. "It may be easier to find somewhere for just the two of you," he said, trying to keep his voice hopeful. "Maybe a section of the Ark that wasn't too badly damaged. Or the dropship… If you can stockpile enough food and water…"

Bellamy nodded. "We'll check them as soon as we leave."

Clarke let go of Bellamy and turned around, hugging her mother tightly. "It's okay, Mom. We'll be okay."

Abby had her arms in a crushing grip around her. "I love you, Clarke."

"I love you too, Mom."

Clarke started to pull away, but Abby refused to let go.

"No, not yet," she insisted.

Clarke felt a sob wrack her body, but she started disentangling herself, glancing at Kane as she did so.

He got the message, taking Abby by the shoulders and holding her in place, allowing Clarke to step back.

"We have to go, Mom. The sooner we leave, the longer we have to find somewhere safe before the wave hits," Clarke said, ever the pragmatist. Of course, she was also trying to get out of there before she gave into the urge to fall sobbing into her mother's arms and beg her to fix everything.

Kane nodded solemnly at her, then Bellamy. "You've both grown into two of the finest people I've ever known. I have no doubt that, if anyone can find a way, it's the two of you. May we meet again."

They both repeated the words, then turned to look at Abby.

To Clarke's surprise, she wasn't looking at her, but at Bellamy.

There were tears streaming down her face, and it looked like Kane was supporting a good portion of her weight, but her gaze was still fierce as her eyes drilled holes into Bellamy. "Promise me," she demanded.

Clarke looked at Bellamy in surprise, but he seemed to take Abby's words in stride.

"I promise," he replied.

Clarke kept glancing back and forth between them, but neither one seemed inclined to let her in on what they were talking about.

Abby abruptly turned her gaze to her daughter, seeming to gather some of that resolve that Clarke knew flowed through her own veins. "May we meet again."

Clarke repeated the words, but her voice was cracking by the end, and she knew she needed to leave before her own resolve weakened.

She backed up, grabbing her bag and heading for the hallway that led to the bunker door.

By the time she got to the next hallway, which was deserted, Bellamy had caught up to her.

They both put on the tops of their suits, then they stood side-by-side, staring at the door.

Bellamy's right hand went for the latch. As soon as he did, the light switched from red to green, which meant that someone was in the office, pressing the button to release it.

"Thanks, O," he muttered under his breath.

He turned to Clarke, "Ready, Princess?"

On impulse, she reached out, grabbing his left hand with her right.

It was clumsy and awkward, what with the bulky gloves on their hands, and she couldn't even feel the warmth of his skin beneath hers, but then he squeezed her fingers and it gave her the courage she needed.

She nodded.

He held her gaze for a moment longer, then pulled the door open.