A/N Ok here comes the angst but also I didn't want to make Echo into an enemy. She's smart and strong but we are all here for the Bellarke. Enjoy!
There is a small crowd waiting for them as Clarke, Raven and Jordan dock the dropship on the Elegius. Clarke hugs her Mother, whose small, shrunken frame is still a shock, before she turns to hug Emori and nods to Echo standing behind her. Bellamy obviously chose to wake her, and Clarke is actually relieved, seeing the Azgeda warrior. Jackson and Miller stand aside of the group, still obviously reeling from all the new information.
"How many are awake?" She asks her Mother as Madi and Bellamy walk around the corner laughing together and Clarke is a bit taken aback by their sudden friendship as Bellamy answers Clarke's question.
"Just who you see. We thought it would only complicate things to wake too many."
Clarke nods as Emori grips Murphy's hand and looks between Clarke, Raven and Jordan expectantly.
"Well? What's it like down there?"
Clarke looks over her shoulder at the others before responding.
"From what we could see, it's barren but there's water and we have drone footage to review. Hopefully we see something on it that hints at a food source or shelter."
She says in what she hopes is an optimistic tone but watches their faces fall slightly.
"But hey, we can breathe, there's water and we still have hundreds of pods worth of cryo'd algae, thanks to Monty. We have time to make it work."
Bellamy catches her eye and his small smile encourages her as Abby picks up the glimmer of hope.
"Clarke's right. We have a start. The rest will come with time. So why don't we all take some of that time to brainstorm some ideas on what to do next while they review the drone footage?"
She says as she starts shooing the others away down the hallway and Raven and Jordan start towards the bridge of the ship to upload the footage. Bellamy ignores Abby and walks around her to stand beside Clarke and, while Abby doesn't blink twice at him, Clarke notices Echo watching Bellamy intently before turning away.
The next few hours are spent watching the drone footage on the screen of the bridge and Clarke's eyes are starting to blur as her head starts to ache.
"There's nothing but sand and rock." She says, frustrated, as she turns away from the screen and Bellamy places a comforting hand on Clarke's shoulder as she pinches the bridge of her nose and rubs at her eyes.
"We'll find something. We can go over it again later."
Clarke nods non-committedly as she takes strength from the strong hand on her shoulder and stares unseeingly at the floor.
"Hey." Bellamy says quietly, and Clarke turns to him.
"We'll make it work."
Clarke forces a tired smile.
"I think I might be tired of fighting just to be alive."
Bellamy suddenly smiles down at her and Clarke quirks her head in question.
"You always get that way just before you fight the fiercest." He says, and his hand comes up to touch her cheek before a shadow crosses his face and he lowers his hand again.
"You should get some sleep." He says as he steps back and Clarke snorts but nods.
"Clearly a hundred and twenty-five years wasn't enough."
She jokes as she walks off the bridge towards her room.
Clarke doesn't even notice Echo leaning against the door to her room until she is jolted from her thoughts by the woman's voice.
"Clarke." Echo says as she pushes off the door to face Clarke.
"Echo. How are you feeling?"
"Confused." She says before going on with determination in her eyes.
"There's a bit of that going around."
Clarke smiles and nods.
"I never got the chance to really talk to you after the second Priamfaya." She begins and Clarke, though surprised, unlocks her door and gestures for Echo to come in.
The other woman leans against the small desk in the corner of the room and Clarke sits on the bed, waiting for Echo to speak.
"We ended up on opposite sides of a war again and that left little room for me to thank you for saving my life."
Clarke covers up her discomfort with a wave of her hand and a protest.
"That's really not necessary. I mean I interrogated you for the enemy. I'm pretty sure that negates the need for you to thank me for anything."
Echo smiles humourlessly back at Clarke.
"Still."
There is an awkward pause before Echo goes on.
"The other thing we never got to discuss is Bellamy."
Clarke had been in the process of unlacing her boot and her hands freeze at Echo's words.
"Bellamy?" She asks without looking up and a feeling of dread seeps into Clarke's stomach.
"You obviously know that we were together on the ring." She begins, and Clarke can feel Echo's eyes on her face. Clarke sighs deeply and continues pulling off her boots.
"Yes." She says simply and raises her head to look into the other woman's face as they stare at each other for a few seconds.
"I love him, Clarke."
There is an earnest look in Echo's eyes that Clarke admires as her chest feels like caving in.
"On the ring, it took three years for Bellamy to trust me and let me in, but I still always came second to the ghost in his heart."
Clarke's brow furrows at her words.
"What—" She begins, and Echo cuts her off as she moves her hands nervously.
"You. You were dead but you still there, in his heart."
At this point, both strong women are fighting back tears and Clarke stays silent to let Echo finish her thoughts. Echo steps over and drops down to the bed to sit beside Clarke on the bed and stares off into a memory.
"He found your prison cell on the Ring and stayed in there for days at the beginning. Just… running his fingers over your drawings on the walls. He would always go there to think."
Clarke covers her mouth with her hand as the tears start sliding down her cheeks.
"I thought he would eventually start to forget you but the day we left for the ground, I found him there again and he had this… sad but hopeful look in his eyes and I realised that he could never love me the way I want to be loved."
Echo takes a fortifying breath and stands again to turn and face Clarke.
"And then when he found you alive… It was hard enough to compete for him with the ghost of you."
Echo walks to the door but pauses after opening it.
"I deserve to be loved that way, Clarke." She says, and Clarke's head comes up suddenly.
"Yes, you do."
Echo nods once in thanks and walks out, leaving Clarke to cry herself to sleep.