7

DAY TWO

The next morning they all woke up to the rumbling in their stomachs. It was rather obviously apparent how important it was for them to find food. With renewed vigor and empty bellies, they set out for Mount Weather. Still, as hungry as they were, there was still a gentle frivolous air about them, the euphoria from finally being on the ground having not completely fizzled out yet. Jasper carried Octavia on his back and TJ, feeling left out, jumped on to his sister's in a fit of laughter. She wanted to chastise him, to tell him that they needed to be serious now that they were on the ground, but she could not bring it upon herself to do that to him. She loved the dimpled smile on his face too much.

When they got to the river where they needed to cross Clarke had to talk her brother out of being the first one to swing on the vine. She had to admit that it looked like fun but she did not one him to go first. If something went terribly wrong, if someone was going to die, she did not want it to be her baby brother. They both cheered as Jasper went flying over the river and landed on the other side. They had made it to Mount Weather. They were going to survive.

Their victorious celebration was interrupted by Jasper's shouts of elation. They all turned in time to see a spear land in his chest. Clarke pushed her brother down and urged the others away from the area. We have to get somewhere safe, she thought frantically as they ran through the woods. Except, this is Earth. This is the ground. There is nowhere safe, especially if we are not alone here. She urged those around her to move faster in an attempt to stave off the crazed thoughts. They needed to get as far away from whoever had attacked Jasper as possible.

Jasper's bone rattling scream sent them back to the river, but, on discovering that he was nowhere to be found, they took off back towards the drop ship. Octavia, her leg injured from the serpent attack the day before, was slower than they would have hoped but she moved as fast as she could. After a while, TJ's small legs got extremely sore from the grueling pace and his body, with no food in the last day, was too weak to carry on. Clarke simply shrugged and lifted him onto her back, knowing that carrying him they would still move faster than if they stopped to rest. They needed to get back and warn the others.

The blonde was furious when they walked back into camp to find Wells about to kill another boy. They started into their speech about Jasper and they people that had attacked him, whom they dubbed 'grounders'. She was even more enraged to learn that the others had been removing their wristbands. They were sentencing every person on the Ark to death, including her mother. She, however, could not control them. Still, she could save Jasper, so that was what she was going to do.

She gathered supplies, fastened a pack, and left her brother with Octavia, who could not go on the rescue mission due to her injured leg. She did not truly trust anyone in the camp yet, but if she had to leave the person that she loved most with someone, she would prefer that it be someone who had shown a genuine interest in him, like the brunette. She sure as hell was not going to leave her baby brother with her ex-boyfriend. TJ sat about cleaning his new friend's leg and she smiled at him. he was so gentle and kind, taking care of others with no thought of what he would get in return.

When all was said and done the rescue party ended up being Clarke, Wells, Finn, Bellamy, and the guy with the insane look on his face, Murphy. The blonde had a bad feeling about him. He seemed off, almost murderous. She did not trust him, and she truly believed that she had good reason not to. She kept her eye on him as they walked, as she figured that he would be the first person to try and stab her in the back if the chance presented itself. She did not trust Bellamy, but she trusted him a lot more than Murphy.

"Where'd you learn all of this medicine stuff?" Octavia asked TJ as he applied a fresh bandage to her wound. They were sitting up on the third, and top, level of the drop ship, keeping Monty company as he worked on the communication system.

"My mom's a doctor on the Ark," the young boy said, washing off the girl's leg with some of the water that Wells had thought to collect. "Clarke's better at this stuff than me, but I know enough. I was closer to our dad. I'm named after him, actually. My middle name is Jacob. That was his name."

"Your first name is Louis, right?"

"Yeah, my biological mom died before she could give me a name and my biological father didn't actually care enough to name me. Mom and Dad did. They named me Louis, so that we could be Louis and Clarke, after the famous explorers. It was Dad's idea. He was such a nerd. Anyways, they made my middle name Thomas-Jacob, Thomas after my mom's dad. Mom always said that Louis sounded old, so she called me TJ and it kinda stuck."

"What was your dad like?"

"He was an environmental engineer, that's how he knew about the flaw with the life support system. Dad was a good person, always worried about others, and they killed him for it."

"I'm sorry, kid," the girl's voice was soothing and she wrapped her arm around the young boy and brought him to her. He rested his head on her shoulder and they both sighed happily.

"Do you miss your mom?"

"Sometimes, but not often. She never was a particularly kind woman. Bellamy is the only family that I've ever needed."

"You're close, huh?"

"What, you're not close to Clarke?"

"I am, but it's different. She's so over-protective of me that sometimes it feels like she's my mom."

"I get that, Bellamy is overprotective too. He actually left someone to babysit me."

"Clarke left you to watch me."

"That's different," Monty said, never looking up from the wires he was messing with. "You're a kid, we've all gotta look out for you. Now, why don't you come over here and give me a hand?"

The little boy lit up and raced over to Monty, watching closely as he handled the tools and wires. He had extremely nimble fingers that fluttered around nervously when he worked. TJ instantly knew that there was a lot that he could learn if he simply paid attention. Octavia left at some point, after he had removed her bracelet, but neither boy really noticed. The older was too busy giving the younger a crash course in basic engineering. Monty smiled, he had always wanted a little brother.

With all of Finn's flirting, Clarke almost wished that she had gone with Wells. Either way, it was someone pinning after her, which she most definitely did not want. Finn was reckless and arrogant and Wells had gotten her father killed. Both had about a snowball's chance in hell of ever gaining her affections. Her focus could not be on boys when she had to protect her brother.

She wanted to cry when they found Jasper. From everything that she had seen on that first day he was sweet and kind, certainly undeserving of the state that they found him in. they loaded him on a stretcher and Murphy slid the panther that Wells had shoot to rest across his shoulders. At least they had food for the night, if nothing else. Clarke did not know how she was going to save Jasper with no real medical supplies but she knew that she had to try. No one, not even Bellamy or Murphy, deserved what had happened to him.

"How do you expect to save him, Princess?" Murphy sneered as they walked, his step unsteady under the weight of the beast that he was carrying.

"I don't know, but I'll figure something out," said Clarke quietly, looking down at Jasper as they walked.

"Are you some kind of junior doctor, or something?" asked Bellamy with genuine curiosity. This honestly surprised the blonde, as she had, up to that point, seen nothing that indicated intelligence under the man's bad attitude.

"My mother is the Chief Medical Officer on the Ark, and I used to assist her in procedures. I know enough to be useful, I just hope it's enough to save Jasper."

"In your hands, Goggles will be just fine, Princess."

They came into to camp to t=find that it was beginning to resemble an actual camp. Tents were popping up everywhere and work had been started on building a wall. Clarke had to admit that she was impressed with what they had accomplished. She got Jasper into the drop ship and sent her brother and Wells to retrieve fresh water and bandages for the boy's wounds.

Finn got both Clarke and TJ food, as none of the three were willing to take off their wristbands. Brother and sister curled up together in the drop ship near Jasper to monitor him, full bellies and heavy hearts. They had not been there long when TJ mumbled, "Do you think they'll come for us, the Ark?"

"I hope so," Clarke kissed his head.

"I miss Mom."

"Me too, but if we can just stay alive long enough, they'll come down. I know they will."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

And, with that, the siblings settled in to sleep.