A/N: Hello faithful readers. Chapter six for you. The Bunker is opened and Clarke is reunited with her Mom. Only a year to go until they can leave the Bunker without suits.
Disclaimer: I do not own The 100 (Book series), the CW Network or anything that resembles content from the book or show.
It was two days later when I finally saw metal, and not the rebar used to hold the building together. Becca's ship was still in good condition oddly enough, but once I saw the Bunker's doors, I pulled out the radio and hoped that being this close would ensure a connection.
"Bunker, come in. Come in, Bunker," I said quickly, waiting for a reply.
"… …." I heard static after a minute.
"Bunker, this is Clarke, I'm at the surface!"
"Cla..ke, it's Mil…r." The line was clearing up.
"Miller!" I exclaimed, "I'm so glad you are alive! I'm at the doors. I know it's early to open, but can you send my Mom and Octavia out, in suits?"
"Clarke, my god. It's good to hear your voice. But how are you here? Octavia told us that you were headed up to the Ark Ring."
"It's a long story. I've been down here. I had to stay behind to fix the tower so the Ring would turn on for them. I've been down here the whole time," I said, glad to finally hear someone else's voice than mine or the girls.
"Clarke!?" My Mom's voice shrieked into the radio.
"Mom," I cried, "You're alive!"
"You're alive! How are you on earth?"
"I never left."
"How?"
"Just come up here. There are still suits right?"
"Yes, but-"
"Clarke, where is my brother?" Octavia's voice rang through loud and very pissed off.
"Uh, still in space," I said, before looking at Callie and Madi. "That was your Aunt Octavia."
"Auntie O!" Callie said excited. I smiled before pressing a finger to my lips, "It's a surprise that you are here, honey."
"Clarke?" My mom's voice asked through the radio.
"Yes?" I said, happy to hear her voice.
"We will be up in a minute. You better explain everything," She said, a sob in her voice.
"I will. And just be prepared," I said, cutting off the radio before she could ask why. Madi and Callie were both jumping with excitement, finally being able to see people for the first time. I asked them to hide behind a slab of concrete while I talked to O and my mother.
As the doors opened, I held my breath.
Orange suits was the first thing I noticed. The first figure looked around, searching before it turned towards me.
"Clarke?" It said.
"Kane!" I exclaimed, walking up to him and giving him a hug. My heart could not take how much joy I was feeling at seeing another adults face.
"Clarke," My mother said, hugging my frame around Kane's arms. I was transferred to her, as I wept.
"Honey, how are you alive?"
"The Nightblood worked Mom," I said, as Octavia's suit clad form appeared next.
"So you're a Nightblood now?" She said.
"It's not all I am now," I smiled, "Strik natblidas, come au kom hiding."
"Little nightbloods?" Octavia asked, as Callie and Madi's head popped out from behind the wall. I motioned them forward.
"Mom, Kane, O, I have two very important girls for you to meet. I met Madi a year and a half ago, as I searched for roots and berries. She was alone after her parents died. They hid her in the Dropship when the Deathwave rolled over, so she could live."
"Ai laik madi kom trikru. It is nice to meet you finally," She smiled. Abby, Kane and Octavia all grinned at her and greeted her warmly.
"And this little one?" Kane asked, kneeling down to get a better look.
"This is Callie, my daughter," I smiled, as she took my hand.
"What?" They all said, in varying tones of disbelief.
"It's hard to explain, but the day of Praimfaya, things got a bit crazy," I smiled nervously.
"Calliope, why don't you go give your Auntie Octavia a hug?" I said, loud enough for the three of them to hear.
"Oh my god," Octavia said, seeing Bellamy's features on my little girl. Callie ran full tilt into O's legs, squeezing them for all they were worth.
"Auntie!" Callie giggled.
"How does she know who I am? I mean, from anyone else," Octavia said, dropping to hug her niece properly.
"Because she has grown up with stories of her aunt, the girl under the floor, who saved the human race. Plus I've been drawing everyone, so they know who each of you are," I said, holding Madi close.
"You and Bellamy…" My mother smiled, "You finally realized what he meant to you, or was this a one time thing?"
"I hope not. I love him. I tell him everyday," I said.
"So what has he said about all of this? How are they doing up there?" My Mom asked. I bit my lip, looking at Octavia, who was trying to tickle Callie with her thick gloves on.
"He doesn't know?" O said, confused.
"He hasn't responded. I haven't gotten a single transmission from the Ark Ring since they left. I believe Raven is having trouble with the output on their comms," I explained calmly.
"You've been talking to empty space then," My Mom said.
"Let me start at the beginning," I sighed.
I recounted my troubles, my travels and what had happened that day of Praimfaya. My mother looked ready to scold me for sacrificing myself but Octavia was grateful. I could survive, but the others wouldn't have. I told them about how I found out I was pregnant, how Becca's lab survived and how I gave birth alone. Kane was the only one who didn't interject while I spoke about taking Callie outside, taking her off the island finally and fixing the Rover so we could set up a homestead at the Dropship.
They were silent as I told them about Madi's past, how she buried her parents remains, to how she learned English. Then I told them how we first came to Polis, and tried to figure out a way to dig them out. They weren't surprised there was a building on top of them, but they looked around to realize what was still fallen in place and what had been cleared away. The mass grave was mentioned and Kane paled slightly. I told them how I radioed the Ring everyday, no matter what, even to tell Bellamy what Callie did that day, or to tell him that I miss him.
"I know they are alive up there, because the lights are on. I wouldn't be able to see it at night, moving steadily across the sky if the lights weren't on," I explained, "So as crazy as it sounds, I will continue to radio until they come down. It has kept me sane these last 3 and a half years."
"Bell, I have someone you might want to hear from," I said, holding out the radio to Octavia. She looked skeptical, but said, "Big brother, you better have a hell of an explanation behind this. I just met my niece."
"She's beautiful Bellamy," She said, smiling at the little girl.
"Get down here as soon as it's safe, or I'm gonna kick your ass," She said, making Madi smile.
"Mama, I can still train with Octavia when they get out?" She asked quietly.
"You have to ask her strik natblida," I said, kissing her head.
"Callie, why don't you say hi to your Grandma?" I suggested when Kane asked for the radio from Octavia.
"Grandma!" She exclaimed, jumping up into my mother's waiting arms.
"It is so nice to meet you my dear," She said, and I could see her suit fogging up from her heavy breathing. Damn, she was crying a bucket worth of tears, and I had to really stop myself from doing the same.
"Heda," Madi asked, voice small but determined.
"You can call me Octavia, Madi."
"I would like to train by you, please. When you are free of the bunker," She added.
"You want to train by me?" She asked, astounded.
"Mama says you are the fiercest warrior she has ever seen and that anyone should be lucky to have you train them. I want to be Heda one day, like you. Or a healer like Mama," She said, smiling back at me shyly. I smiled back, giving her a wink while Kane opened a line to the Ring.
"Bellamy, it's Kane. I hope you survived. You did well, getting the group of you off the ground. I believe that Raven and you and doing a great job up there, and I hope everyone is working together. I expect nothing less from you lot. You are a fine man Bellamy, and a fearless leader. You inspire others and you inspire me. I'm proud of you Son."
"That's it, you've made him blush," Octavia smiled. I laughed along with her, not stopping until I was crying, but not out of laughter. My Mom walked over to me, Callie on her hip and said, "Clarke, what's wrong?"
"Mom, I've been alone. I love my daughters, and I couldn't imagine my life without them, but I need the rest of you. For nine months I didn't hear another human, and I thought I went crazy and dreamt up the whole pregnancy. I just missed you all so much. I don't know what I would have done… if you…"
"The same thing I would have done if you had… I would be broken. And it would have been the same for Bellamy. He would probably never recover," She said, as my tears fell fast.
"What if they didn't get their comms working. What if I have been talking to empty space?" I sobbed, as Callie wrapped her arms around my neck. I pulled her close to me, breathing her in to calm down.
"Clarke, you believed when no one else did. That is what makes you special. You continue to believe there is hope. I never could have imagined you would be down here, surviving, thriving even, and with two beautiful daughters at your side. You give us hope."
"We haven't always seen eye to eye, but even I know my brother is probably glued to the radio up there waiting to hear your voice. He loves you Clarke, he always has, and he waited for you to love him too," Octavia said, before looking down to her wrist.
"We have another 20 minutes of air in these tanks. And the bunker is going to want some answers."
"There is a patch of green about 3 miles long, and a mile wide forming down here. Only place we have found good vegetation and are able to grow food. Animals are coming back. It was the fish and the rabbits first, and now we can hunt deer. I would suggest that I bring our smoked meat for your rations, but it probably is still heavy in radiation. Maybe by this time next year," I said, as Callie crawled down off of me, and walked towards Kane.
He bent down to greet her and she threw her arms around his neck, "Grandpa."
"Grandpa?" My Mom asked, a smile on her face.
"He's been a father figure to Bellamy, and by the look on your face, it's not like you broke up," I smirked. She rolled her eyes at me and said, "No, we got married."
"Really?" I smiled.
"We waited until we were sure you couldn't contact us before going ahead. If we had known, we would have tried to wait until we got out of the bunker," She explained.
"Mom, you don't have to apologize. I'm happy for you guys, truly. And now, that I've got your radio frequency, I can talk to you from our camp."
"That would make me so happy," She said, hugging me again. I didn't mind the suit between us, because it was nice to feel the pressure of her hug for the first real time in years.
"We need to get back in," Octavia says a second time. But before she can corral Kane and my mother back inside, she hugs Callie one last time, and then hugs me surprisingly.
"I did miss you Clarke. And I forgive you for the choices you had to make in the name of our people. Being Heda isn't an easy job, so I can imagine what you went through." She said. I nodded, "Thank you. I do hope we can be friends again."
"I believe we can, sister," She said, surprising me again.
"We don't know that yet. He might not want to be tied down to me," I joked, blushing.
"He would the instant that he had you back. Trust me."
Bellamy's POV:
"Bell, I have someone you might want to hear from," Clarke said two days after her transmission about the mass burial of our people.
"Big brother," A voice rang out that caused me to drop my glass of water. Octavia was alive.
"You better have a hell of an explanation behind this. I just met my niece," She said, and I knew I was in trouble. Clarke would have told her everything, but O knew I loved Clarke before I ever did.
"She's beautiful Bellamy," She said, "Get down here as soon as it's safe, or I'm gonna kick your ass."
"I promise O, I'll be back for you."
"Was that Octavia?" Echo said, popping her head in.
"That was her," I smiled.
A few minutes later it wasn't O's voice, or Clarke's, but that of my mentor, and it was refreshing to hear from him again.
"Bellamy, it's Kane. I hope you survived. You did well, getting the group of you off the ground. I believe that Raven and you and doing a great job up there, and I hope everyone is working together. I expect nothing less from you lot. You are a fine man Bellamy, and a fearless leader. You inspire others and you inspire me. I'm proud of you Son," He said, making me puff up a little.
"That's it, you've made him blush," Octavia smiled. I heard Clarke laughing along with my sister, and it made me feel good that my sister and the woman I loved were getting along again. Until I heard Clarke stop laughing and start crying. Abby's voice came over the radio, "Clarke, what's wrong?"
"Mom, I've been alone. I love my daughters, and I couldn't imagine my life without them, but I need the rest of you. For nine months I didn't hear another human, and I thought I went crazy and dreamt up the whole pregnancy. I just missed you all so much. I don't know what I would have done… if you…"
"The same thing I would have done if you had… I would be broken. And it would have been the same for Bellamy. He would probably never recover," Abby said, as I nodded, "It's true."
"What if they didn't get their comms working? What if they didn't get the oxygen working or the algae? What if I have been talking to empty space?" She cried.
"I'm here Clarke. Believe," I said into the radio.
"Clarke, you believed when no one else did. That is what makes you special. You continue to believe there is hope. I never could have imagined you would be down here, surviving, thriving even, and with two beautiful daughters at your side. You give us hope."
"We haven't always seen eye to eye, but even I know my brother is probably glued to the radio up there waiting to hear your voice. He loves you Clarke, he always has, and he waited for you to love him too," Octavia said, before the transmission cut out. Kane probably forgot he was still transmitting. I didn't hear anything until later that evening, after the rest of the crew up here had gone to bed.
"Goodnight Bellamy. I hope you heard them today. Come back down here and I promise I won't let your sister kick your ass. Unless you are late, in which case, I will help her. I'll tell you all about our day tomorrow, m'kay? I love you. Sleep well," She spoke quietly into the radio.
"Goodnight my Queen," I said, knowing I wouldn't have said it in front of anyone up here, or I would be as red as a tomato.
Translation:
Strik natblidas, come au kom hiding - Little Nightbloods, come out of hiding