It was dark outside. The guard positioned outside her tent automatically followed her at a respectable distance. The skies were clear and the temperature felt pleasantly cool on Lexa's skin.

The guards at the gate of Camp Jaha looked at them hesitantly, but did nothing to stop her. She entered the Ark building, telling her guard to stay outside, and walked through the corridor that led to the bunkers.

Abby was on a night shift in Medical, taking care of one of the cuts on Octavia's arm, when she noticed the Commander of the grounders walking through the hall. For a second she was startled by the sight, wondering what she was doing here. It occurred to her that Lexa might be searching for Clarke and she immediately dropped Octavia's arm to go after her. Octavia had noticed though, and she stopped her with a firm hand on Abby's arm. Octavia shook her head. Abby's mind and heart raced. She did not like the Commander very much, and had no reason to trust her with her daughter.

"Abby. It's been over a week. Let Heda try."

Lexa walked passed closed doors in the hall, confident in knowing where Clarke's room was. She had walked these halls before she left for TonDC, and had watched Clarke enter her room on various occasions. She had seen a glimpse of the accommodations of the Sky people, and she found it harder to breathe when she imagined living in such a cramped space.

She halted in front of a grey door. There was a handle on the door which allowed it to slide open. As she reached for the handle, she prayed to herself that this was indeed the right room and that she wouldn't walk in on some random Sky people doing their private business.

As the door slid open though, she saw something that made her feel even sicker. A lump formed in her throat and a musty smell reached her nose. The room was covered with drawings in black and red - some of it on torn pages of paper, most of it on the floor and walls - while pieces of charcoal lay scattered over the floor. For a moment Lexa marveled at the drawings; she recognized the war and terror that was reflected in them.

The sky girl sat on her bed, shoulders hunched, with her back to the door, staring off into nothingness. Her hair was tangled and the shirt she was wearing was in worse condition than Lexa remembered it being.

"Clarke?" Lexa asked, tears starting to press at the back of her eyes. Clarke made no movement, she just sat there. Lexa took a step into the room.

"Clarke." Her voice almost cracked as she stepped closer to the Sky girl. Clarke seemed to be entranced. She didn't move, she didn't even blink. Lexa leveled their eye contact, and even as she looked into Clarke's eyes, Clarke seemed to stare into nothingness. Her face was empty of emotions, and Lexa missed the fire in her eyes. She reached out, carefully placing her hand on Clarke's shoulder. Clarke flinched violently at the contact, and as her eyes started focusing she screamed some sort of bloodthirsty war cry, grabbing Lexa's neck and digging her fingernails in.

This took Lexa by surprise, but as she saw Clarke's eyes finally recognizing her, she didn't fight back. Clarke's face suddenly flashed with anger and pain, and Lexa was just glad that the hollowness in her eyes seemed to disappear.

"Hey," Lexa whispered, failing to keep the concerned look off her face. She reached for Clarke's cheek and watched the blue eyes dart back and forth.

Abby had heard her daughter's scream. Most people in the Ark had heard Clarke scream, but it had become something they were used to hearing at night. Clarke regularly woke up from nightmares, and as was often Raven stumbled in to try and soothe her friend. However, standing in the doorway, she saw Lexa's hand on Clarke's cheek and she held her breath, feeling some sort of newfound respect for the Commander. Abby came rushing down the hallway towards Clarke's door, but Raven stopped her from going in.

Lexa glanced towards the doorway, reluctantly taking her eyes off Clarke's, and Raven got the message.

"I think it's okay," Raven whispered. Abby looked at them, surprised at what she saw. Somehow Raven eventually managed to convince her to leave the two and followed her back down the hallway.

Lexa looked around the room again. It was starting to feel like a suffocating cage and her stomach twisted at the thought that Clarke had been in here for days. There was no way the Sky girl was going to find any peace in this room.

"Come with me," Lexa said, standing up and taking the sky girl's hand.

"Why," Clarke said, barely a question and more as a statement that there was no reason to leave.

"Because I need your spirit to stay where it is," she answered, repeating what Clarke had told her not too long ago, "and it seems like it will wither away and die in this room if you stay here any longer."

"You don't need my spirit anymore, Commander," Clarke said emotionlessly, and Lexa invisibly twitched at Clarke calling her by her title and not using her name like she used to, "the war is over."

In Clarke's head, it really made sense that way. The war was over - she didn't need the Commander and her army anymore, and Lexa sure as hell didn't need her and the sky people anymore.

"That's not what I meant, Clarke."

Silence enveloped them again and Lexa kept finding it harder to breathe. She was not sure if it was because of the brooding room or the painful look of the girl in front of her. Either way, she needed to get Clarke out of here.

Lexa didn't speak nor think as she picked Clarke up off the bed, and carried her out of the room without effort. At least, she tried to make it seem effortless. When Clarke realized what was happening, she wanted to object and struggle out of Lexa's arms. But she didn't find the energy or will, and instead settled for resting one arm around Lexa's shoulders. She tried to say something, but it got stuck in her throat. As she looked at Lexa's face, she saw lines of war paint form around the green eyes. She saw the forest on fire, and as Lexa looked down at her, she saw the only person that could ever make her feel safe. The only person who would ever be strong enough to do that.

Lexa, however, felt weak as she carried Clarke down the corridors of the Ark. She felt a dull ache in her heart, seeing Clarke like this. The Sky girl had been so brave, so courageous, so strong. Lexa knew she still was, even if Clarke had given into the pain for now. She remembered a saying in her language: A warrior doesn't mourn the dead until the war is over. The war was over now, and she knew Clarke was grieving in the worst ways possible. She knew because she had gone through a similar thing after Costia was taken from her.

It was a good thing it was nighttime and the Ark people had retired to their rooms. The last thing Lexa wanted to show the Skaikru was their leader being carried in her arms in this weakened state. She was sure Clarke felt the same way, and she silently wondered if that was the reason the girl had hidden in her room. To spare her people from the sight, to keep her brokenness to herself. It was what Lexa would do herself, she realized.

Her arms burned under the weight she carried, but she barely noticed it. All she cared for was getting Clarke out of here, out of these metal walls that had trapped her inside.

Lexa's guard that had been waiting for her outside, hid his surprise as best as he could when he saw his Commander carrying the Sky Princess. He offered to take the girl from her with a quiet "Heda", but Lexa shook her head. This was delicate, and Lexa would only allow Clarke to be held in her own arms.

Once outside, Clarke noticed how good the cool air felt on her skin. She suddenly fully realized what was happening, and she felt stupid at being carried like a wounded child.

"I can walk," Clarke said hoarsely.

"You don't have to."

But Clarke shifted in Lexa's arms, and Lexa unwillingly set her down. Her legs felt wobbly but she didn't care. For a moment Clarke felt the urgent need to go back to her room, but as she was about to turn around Lexa took her arm. She felt uncertain of what to do when the Commander, eyes glistening in the dark, just looked at her. Clarke could almost feel herself slip back into a dreamlike state, as it felt unreal to be standing out here with her. Lexa noticed and turned to her guard.

"Bring me my horse," she told him. As soon as he did, she mounted and motioned him to reach Clarke up to her. Clarke had been impassive but as soon as she felt the grounder carefully attempt to lift her up, she fought out of his arms and gave him a deadly look. She looked up at Lexa, who almost felt like smiling at her familiar stubbornness, and settled for placing one of her feet in the guard's hands. He pushed her up as Clarke reached awkwardly for the horse's mane, and Lexa pulled her up in front of her.

When Clarke finally sat comfortably and relaxed a little, Lexa wrapped one of her arms around her waist, and holding the reins with the other, she led the horse out of the gates.

Everything still felt surreal to Clarke as they rode out of the camp under the stars. Lexa glanced back and told her guard to stay at the edge of the grounder camp. As the horse walked through the tall grass, Clarke eventually allowed herself to lean into the woman behind her. She fought the urge to rest her head against Lexa's shoulder.

The night air cooled her skin and Clarke felt a sense of relief. She hadn't realized until now how badly she wanted to get away from the camp, to get away from the painful looks on her friends' faces, from her mother the Chancellor, from the guilt she felt towards all of the people there, and from her room that had started to resemble what it looked like in her head.

Lexa felt Clarke relax into her and allowed an inaudible sigh of relief. She tightened her arm around the Sky girl, wanting to keep her as close as possible, as if it would save her from everything that could possibly hurt her. Bringing her head closer to the blonde's ear, she softly said, "It's okay, Clarke."

A/N: I swear I try to keep them in character, but this is where the story took me. We all know Clarke's strong; don't worry. I've got this. But I'm really enjoying this comforting side of the Commander, though.