Author's Note: I stayed up waaay past my bed time to get this posted. Currently, Fanfiction reviews are down - you can still leave them, but I can only see them in my email. They assure me it'll be fixed soon, but in the mean time, I only remember a couple things that people asked. One of which is Bellarke. Nope. Sorry. Not this story. One, I don't do romance. Second, this was a request from a friend who very specifically said "No Bellarke". She'll make an appearance, but I'm warning you now, I'm not a huge fan, so you may not like my representation of her.

Onward with the fic!


Kane knew better than to push Jasper for more at the moment. The poor kid was already having a bad time of it, and he'd been back in camp for less than an hour. He couldn't even remember if Jasper had a family left. Were his parents one of the volunteers in section 17? Was Jasper another orphan he'd created?

Monty. Monty would know – except Monty was probably busy with his own family reunion at the moment, if his mother had found out he was alive and returned. He thought he had a vague memory of Jasper being pretty much adopted by the Greens – he even remembered Monty and Jasper being arrested together for the same crime.

Kane shook off the guilt. He could wallow later on past actions – he still clung to the tenuous knowledge that at the time he'd made the best decision he could with the information he had. Three hundred and twenty then…or everyone later. And maybe they would still be dead – they were lucky as many of them survived as they had, crashing a space station into the ground.

From what Octavia described, and what little Kane had seen of Bellamy before he'd taken off to Mount Weather weeks ago – Bellamy shared a similar guilt over those deaths. Maybe worse – Kane had tried to save the majority. Bellamy was only concerned about saving himself when he'd destroyed the radio. Kane wished he'd known the weight of the guilt the kid carried before he'd left on his suicide mission – because then he would've recognized the mission for what it was.

A death wish.

One with a possible payout of saving all the Delinquents still trapped there, but even Bellamy had to know that odds of his own survival were slim.

As Abby started her exam, Kane knew the kid had paid for any sins – real or imagined – a thousand fold. Hell, he'd be willing to forgive the kid shooting the Chancellor again.

The sedative Jasper had given him would've knocked out someone like Lincoln almost instantly, and kept him down for at least a few hours.

But not Bellamy.

Both dark eyes remained open, even if they were mere slits – and they seemed to roll wildly underneath half-mast lids. Like the kid was still fighting, even through fever and enough drugs to take down someone twice his bulk. That was a hell of a tolerance build up.

"Can't you knock him out?" Octavia asked, standing back and away from the table, keeping out of Abby's way. "Wouldn't that be easier on him? If he didn't know what was going on?"

"Honey, I don't think he knows what's going on now," Abby said gently. She gently ran her fingers over Bellamy's scalp, fingers expertly searching for hidden injuries underneath the dark curls.

Bellamy was apparently at least aware enough of his surroundings to realize it wasn't Octavia's hands anymore, and he jerked away, the motion disjointed and delayed.

"Abby-" Kane said quietly. "Wait."

She paused, glancing up. He could see her, trying to force away sentimentality – her own emotions towards an injured child, no matter the age, battling with the necessary detachment of a medical professional. She'd been like this for Raven's surgery too.

"Look at him," Kane said. "Jesus, listen to him."

Bellamy's chest heaved, his breathing coming in quick, panicked gasps – all the more noticeable by the fact that he sounded like a train – a rattling in his chest that sounded thick and suffocating.

And worse was the sudden dampness on his cheeks from slow, silent tears.

He was terrified.

He hadn't even been this bad when they were in the forest.

Because he'd been able to move. He couldn't go far, but he could still move. He might not be tied down, like he'd clearly been before, given the state of his wrists, but this had to be worse. Nothing was holding him down now, and he was still conscious and unable to move.

He moved to step back, away from Bellamy, thinking that his proximity couldn't be helping if he reminded him of someone on Mount Weather, but as soon as he moved, Bellamy's hand came up. Uncoordinated and completely lacking in grace, but still reaching.

"Grab his hand," Jasper said, pushing himself up from the floor. His eyes were still red rimmed and blood shot – but Kane could watch the physical change in him as he swiped a hand across his face. The desperation and frustration that were almost tangible minutes ago were gone, replaced with a sense of purpose, a steely resolve as he moved towards the table.

"He's looking for you," Jasper said quietly, gesturing towards Bellamy's hand which now hung off the side of the table, unable to hold it up. "You're not going to hurt him – just don't touch his wrists."

Kane cautiously reached his hand out for Bellamy's, and almost as soon as his fingers brushed against Bellamy's, the kid latched onto him with surprising strength, thinned fingers wrapping almost painfully tight around Kane's wrist.

Jasper sniffed, dragging a sleeve across his nose before giving a thin, brittle smile. "Like I said…he needs a distraction. Anything with a steady rhythm."

Kane realized belatedly that Bellamy had latched around his wrist with his fingers over his pulse. "I'm not sure I'm going to be able to keep it that steady…" he said ruefully.

Jasper shrugged, and moved towards Bellamy's head. "It won't really matter. As long as you don't like…die, or something, it's something for him to look for."

"I can't give him any more than what you already gave him," Abby said. "Any further sedation is going to affect his breathing, and he's already having trouble, and I don't have the equipment up and running if I need to intubate him. But I need to see what other injuries he has. Can you keep him quiet? Either you or Octavia?"

Jasper gave a quick, sharp nod. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I can. But there's a couple things you need to know – you can't stay on his right."

Kane moved to pull Bellamy's hand loose so he could move to the left of Bellamy, but Jasper grabbed onto him before he could. "No, you're fine. You can stay there. He doesn't have to see you. He needs to see her." Jasper looked up at Abby, and there was something in those dark eyes. Something dangerous. "And you have to talk to him. Not to me, not to Kane – him. Not like stupid, empty words, but you have to tell him what you're doing."

Abby nodded. "Octavia? Jackson is out with the other kids doing check-ups. Can you help me?"

Octavia looked relieved to have something to do besides stand and worry over her brother, and nodded rapidly. "Yeah. Sure."

)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*

It was slow going.

Jasper kneeled on the ground with his arms on the table so that his head was next to Bellamy's almost leaning into him, but not looming over him or impeding his line of sight to Abby as she catalogued the damage. She listened to his instructions on talking to Bellamy as she went, and while it may be helping Bellamy, it wasn't doing Jasper any favors.

He'd seen the injuries when they were new, fresh and bleeding. He'd dealt with a delirious Bellamy more times than he could count, staying up with him long hours into the night as he tried to keep his nightmares to a minimum or wake him when started screaming in his sleep.

Every scar, every bruise and partially healed bone that Abby found, Jasper couldn't help the flood of memories that came with every single one.

The fractured ribs from fighting with the guards when he could barely stand, never mind defend himself. The finely sutured incision above his hip bone from when Tsing decided partial cell biopsies weren't enough – they needed organ tissue. The scar across his temple – they'd actually tried to repair the damage there, but apparently the bizarre and damn near magic effect Bellamy had on the people of Mount Weather didn't extend to himself. The damage to his eye was permanent, even if it was accidental. There were dozens of them – all with doctor level professionalism, and Abby had to see that.

And Abby Griffin was not a stupid woman. She knew what it meant, at least what it implied, because she was less a doctor and more a mother with every passing moment.

Abby's breath hitched every once in a while when she came across something particularly gruesome, and it took a moment for her to continue on with her examination.

Most of the injuries were old – partially or almost entirely healed. There was little Abby could do for them now, and even less she was willing to do with Bellamy's current state.

For the most part, Bellamy offered little resistance, and bless Abby and Kane – as soon as Bellamy did react, they stopped what they were doing. Kane would readjust his grip on Bellamy's hand, where he'd taken to rubbing circles across the back with his thumb. Jasper wasn't even sure if he was aware he was doing it, but it was still a rhythmic motion, and served its purpose. Abby only tried for a moment to see the damage to his leg, but Bellamy twisted violently in their grips when he felt her hands on it.

In the end, Abby elected to favor Bellamy's tenuous mental health over physical well-being. She'd managed to see if there was any heat she could feel through the thin scrub like pants he had on, saw no blood seeping through the fabric, and thankfully opted to leave it be for now.

It was when they had to see his back that Jasper worried, because they couldn't roll him. It required too many hands and too many people pressed too close to him – not to mention it meant he had to let go of Kane, and Jasper doubted that was happening any time soon.

Octavia was actually the one who offered a solution, pointing out that when they first brought Bellamy in, they actually couldn't get him to lay down. Instead, he'd clung to Kane like his life depended on it, and Jasper was hard pressed to convince him otherwise.

It had become an almost daily argument in the Mountain– whether Bellamy remembered or not. He was usually returned unconscious, and sometime during the night he would wake up, and usually whatever injuries he'd sustained were worse lying down so he would fight to sit up.

No one out of the 47 had siblings – hell, most of them were the same age. None of them had any experience with trying to console someone, but Jasper at least made the attempt. For all that Bellamy gave up, Jasper was willing to sacrifice a bit of his soul to make sure Bellamy got to keep part of his, too. So when the older boy woke up from pain in the dead of night, Jasper would hold him upright until they both managed to fall into a fitful sleep propped against each other.

Before they came for him again.

"Jasper?"

He blinked looking up and realized they'd been trying to talk to him for a minute. "Huh?"

Kane smiled patiently and repeated the last question. "Do you think he'd be okay sitting up for us to get a look at his back?"

Jasper nodded, trying to rub the almost sleep from his eyes. Had it been hours? Or had it been days? He couldn't remember the last time he'd actually been able to sleep. "Yeah," he said, yawning, and trying to cover it with one hand. "He's actually probably going to prefer it."

"Would it be better for me to do this, or you?" Kane asked.

Jasper glanced at his hand, which Bellamy still had a firm death grip on. Judging from Kane's white knuckles, he didn't plan on letting go any time soon, either.

Jasper shook his head. "You're taller. And heavier. You're going to have to support his whole weight and I don't think I can anymore."

With careful hands, the adults managed to maneuver Bellamy up into a sitting position. There was a brief debate on whether or not Kane should sit on the table with him, or let Bellamy hang his legs off the side, but ultimately the table proved too narrow for two adults, and Abby needed to be able to see without it in her way.

Jasper almost laughed, instead hiding his grin behind one hand as he watched Kane readjust his grip on Bellamy. Bellamy acted more drunk than sedated, but since he lacked the strength to hold his own head up, his chin was digging into Kane's collarbone where it rested. To keep his arms out of the way of Abby's exam, they'd carefully maneuvered them over Kane's shoulders, and honestly, it looked like Bellamy was a little kid that had stayed up to late and his dad now had to carry him home. It wasn't funny, not really. It was actually kind of endearing. Jasper knew Kane had no child of his own – and without siblings on the Ark there was no such thing as being an uncle or an aunt, so if you didn't have close friends with kids…you didn't have any experience at all.

Kane had just as little experience as any of the other Delinquents – possibly less, because the man had always been a loner onboard the space station, which meant he likely didn't have experience with having to comfort other people either.

Bellamy was polar opposite – he'd been a father figure to Octavia since the day she was born. He'd helped raise a kid since he was a kid himself. Maybe that was the reason he literally latched on to Kane. The one kid with experience with raising kids, and the one adult with none whatsoever.

Or Jasper's sleep deprived brain was drawing connecting lines where there were none.

Abby swore when she lifted Bellamy's shirt, seeing the massive bruising for the first time.

"Oh my God," she repeated as she pulled it up even further until it was almost to his shoulders. "Christ, how did he manage to get this far? Did you carry him?"

Jasper shook his head, and realizing that Abby wasn't looking at him, he answered out loud. "No. We couldn't. If Miller tried to carry him, or any of us, we couldn't do it without hurting him, so Miller pretty much dragged him the whole way."

Bellamy's back was a mass of purple and black and blue and faded sickly green and yellow. None of the guards were very happy with him when they found out he'd killed one of their own and took it out on him whenever he was in transit and they didn't think Cage or Tsing were looking.

By far more concerning was the deep, violent shaded purple area on his lower spine.

"Jasper…" Abby said, and he could hear the effort she made in trying to keep her voice even. "Did they do a lumbar puncture on him?"

Honestly, Jasper had no idea what had been done recently. Bellamy's inability to speak meant their limited ability to care for him was gone because they didn't know what they were trying to fix. He shrugged. "Probably."

Abby let her fingers trail up his spine, her lips pressing into a thin, bloodless line by the time she'd gotten to his shoulder blades. "If I ever get my hands on these people…" she let the threat hang. She probably didn't know what she would do.

Jasper had a few good ideas though.

Abby pressed lightly near the edge of the dark black area on his lower spine and Bellamy's entire body shuddered.

"Sorry," she hissed, but didn't move her hand away. "I know this has to hurt, Bell, but I need to confirm a theory." She pressed down slightly harder on the bruise and it was like she'd shock lashed him, his entire body arching away from the touch and almost entirely into Kane's arms, throwing his head back and biting his lip hard enough to draw blood.

"What did you just do?" Kane demanded, struggling at having to suddenly hold Bellamy's entire weight. Bellamy couldn't fight thanks to the drugs, but that also meant he couldn't stand. If hadn't already been leaning into the older man, he would've been face first on the floor. "His heart rate just sky rocketed." He didn't add that there was a fresh bout of tears either.

It wasn't that Bellamy had suddenly become a weeping wreck of a human being. In fact, he'd mostly been the opposite their entire time in the Mountain. But like it or not, it was still a reflexive reaction to extreme pain.

Abby gritted her teeth. "I think they messed up a spinal tap – only one, but they did it several places. Three of them – up near his shoulders are infected, which is what I think is causing his fever. The lower one…the one I just barely touched, I think it's a spinal hematoma."

"What the hell does that mean?" Octavia demanded.

"It can mean a lot of things, none of which are good. It means somebody fucked up – and he's been bleeding into an epidural space, which is putting pressure on the nerves in his spine. It's probably why he can't use his leg – all the nerves in his lower back are being compressed and causing pain and partial paralysis. I'm surprised he can move as well as he can."

"Which means?" Octavia prompted again. "Can you fix it?"

Abby bit her lip, worrying the skin between her teeth. "I can try. At worst, he'll wind up like Raven and probably need help to support that leg. At best, he'll get most of his feeling and motion back. Depends on how long and how much damage there is."

"Does that mean surgery?" Kane asked.

When Abby nodded, Jasper jumped to his feet. "You can't do that – not yet! The amount of crap you're going to have to give him to knock him out is probably going to kill him!" He gestured at Bellamy who was still hanging almost dead weight in Kane's arms. "That's what he's like on a dose that would drop Lincoln."

"Raven survived without anesthesia," Octavia pointed out, though she cringed even as she said it.

"No fucking way are you cutting into him without sedation!" Jasper shouted, slamming his hands into the table, making everyone jump. "Not a fucking chance! Not after all the shit they did to him while he was still awake! I couldn't stop them from torturing him, but I can sure as shit stop you! Over my dead body!"

The door to the infirmary crashed open, two armed guards from the security team bursting in with their guns half raised, looking for the source of the shouting.

Jasper couldn't help the ingrained response from Mount Weather, flinching hard and ducking his head away from the guards.

Neither could Bellamy – and apparently no amount of sickness, injury or enough drugs to drop a horse could stop it. Before any of them really had a moment to realize what was happening, Bellamy grabbed the pistol Kane carried in a side holster and fired two rounds at the guards.

Abby couldn't help the small scream of surprise, and Kane snatched the gun back – tossing it onto the table where Octavia grabbed it.

Bellamy had missed – missed by a mile. From the lack of screaming, Jasper assumed the shots that went almost into the floor hadn't even hit someone by accident outside.

But from the looks on Abby and Kane's faces, Jasper guessed it didn't matter.

Those were the looks people gave to someone on their way to be floated.

What the hell was going on in the camp?

"What the hell is going on in here?" someone demanded, mirroring his own thoughts.

A third person shoved their way between the two guards, who still looked undecided whether or not they were supposed to be arresting someone. He looked vaguely familiar, and it took a moment for his brain to supply a name.

Pike. Earth skills teacher.

And apparently the guy in charge, judging from the way Abby and Kane exchanged worried looks.

"Who fired first?" Pike demanded, glaring at the small crowd.

Apparently the rush of adrenaline Bellamy needed to pull a gun on security was the last of his reserves, because suddenly he pitched forwards, legs giving out entirely and falling dead weight into Kane.

"Finally," Jasper breathed. And his brain decided now was a good time to check out too, because later, he wouldn't remember a damn thing after that.


Author's Note: So. Whaddya think? I'm creating a whole A/U for this version of events, which will be established later, but basically it breaks off from the moment Bellamy is seen by the kids in Mount Weather in season 2, right before lockdown when President Wallace is over thrown. Which means in my version, the Grounders and the Ark don't attack Mount Weather. There's no coalition or war or 13th tribe. And Pike finds his way to Arkadia all by himself - and gets elected Chancellor. Anyway, tell me what you think (I struggled the last couple of paragraphs. Again - totally not where I thought I was going with this). Also - voting time. Want a flashback chapter? Or want a chapter directly after this one?