Clarke lay on her side, keeping watch over Lexa as she slept. After checking up on Lincoln and the rest of the crew, Lexa was ready to admit defeat, and she was led without complaint to a nearby cot. Further assessment of the situation had both ships' crews planning to stay for the next two days to help with any more rescues and to aid them in rebuilding the most essential buildings and structures.

Luckily, the Starfleet officers had assembled a shelter for their own personnel. Only minutes after claiming a cot, Lexa had collapsed flat on her back, and within seconds was fast asleep. Clarke, a smile playing on her lips as she watched Lexa shift restlessly, raised a hand to brush away a few strands of the brunette's hair from her face. Lexa frowned, and Clarke wondered what she was dreaming about, if it was about all the missions that she had not succeeded in, that haunted her in her slumber.

The anger and the anxiety that had rushed up like a tide when Lexa had explained what had happened now nudged at Clarke as she gazed upon her lover. Even as she was angry, furious for what she did, Clarke could not ignore the pride that also welled up within her.

Lexa was her girlfriend, a heroic, foolhardy, but daring captain of Starfleet, and though she had scared her, she had also made her so proud. She had signed up for this when she entered into a relationship with Lexa. She knew that Lexa would always go out and risk her life to save others, just as Clarke did herself. They were in the business of making the hard decisions, sometimes at the cost of their own happiness, and even their life. As such, Clarke had made her peace with the harshness of their reality. With a final glance, almost as if reassuring herself that Lexa was still here, lying next to her, breathing, Clarke closed her eyes.

At some time in the night, Clarke felt a presence at the side of the cot, and when she turned her head blearily, she saw Bellamy gesturing for her help outside. She groaned inwardly, but she nodded in affirmation before her gaze returned to the woman at her side. Lexa was still unconscious, no doubt exhausted after her ordeal. The brunette wore a scowl on her features, Clarke observed.

The blonde bent down and tenderly kissed Lexa on the forehead, her lips lingering for a few heartbeats. The brunette's scowl disappeared, at the touch, her face slipping easily in a more peaceful and calm visage. Clarke smiled at the sight, and then she quietly left the cot, taking care to pull the sheets up to Lexa's shoulders.


When Lexa finally woke, the other side of the cot was empty and cold. Her eyes, still blurry from sleep, examined the rest of the shelter. She saw Echo's brown-blonde hair peeking out from one of the cots, and not far from her was Costia, lightly snoring. Lexa slowly pushed the sheets off her with her right hand, swinging her legs to the side of the cot.

She felt well-rested and warmer than she had after rescuing the villager, which was rare. During missions, Lexa often slept poorly, waking in a grumpy state. Then Lexa remembered Clarke's lips on her forehead at some time in her slumber, and she knew.

With one hand, Lexa put on her boots and stood. She cracked her neck, groaning slightly when her trapezius stung from the action. Old habits die hard, Lexa mused as she adjusted her sling, ensuring it was in a comfortable position before she strode to the door of the shelter and pushed through.

The worst of the storm had passed during the night, and the rain was now a light drizzle as Lexa stepped out of the shelter to examine the rest of the compound. She stood under the cover, her eyes searching for the rest of her crew. She caught sight of Lincoln in deep discussion with Octavia at the edge of the clearing, and marching through the mud and into the clearing was a patrol of villagers and Starfleet personnel. Gustus and Indra, along with some of Clarke's crew, saw Lexa standing under cover, and after they waved at her respectfully, Indra immediately walked over to report to her captain.

The engineering officer was drenched, her short hair plastered against her skull. Lexa nodded to her. "What have you been up to?" She asked.

"Helping the villagers rebuild higher along the ridge." Indra explained. "They'll be temporary homes, but it should be enough to get them through until the water levels return to normal."

"Good." Lexa scratched her chin in thought. "We won't stay long, orders for a new mission are bound to come around sometime tomorrow." She remarked casually. "Ensure that the rest of our crew are aware of that." Lexa said, and tilted her chin towards the rest of the officers. An obvious dismissal, Indra slogged across the clearing after the rest of the patrol.

"Hey you." Clarke sidled up to Lexa's right then, kissing her on the cheek in greeting. Lexa hid her surprise at being crept up on, and reached out to link her uninjured hand with Clarke's.

"Hi." Lexa responded quietly. "Did you get any sleep?" She asked. Clarke played with Lexa's fingers, and shook her head.

"I've been helping Nyko, Costia, and Monty over in medical." The blonde said, her eyes exhausted from overuse. She leaned her head against Lexa's shoulder, and the brunette kissed the side of her head lovingly. Her head rested heavily on Lexa's frame, the blonde hardly bothering to stifle a yawn. "I can't wait for us to go back home." Clarke sighed.

"Me too." Lexa agreed. "We can just lie in bed until the afternoon, enjoy our time off, just the two of us." She grinned, and Clarke chuckled tiredly, her head drooping on Lexa's shoulder.

"Go get some rest, love." Lexa suggested, shrugging her shoulder slightly to get Clarke's attention. The other captain mumbled into Lexa's shirt, and the brunette grinned. Lexa squeezed Clarke's hand gently. "Come on, you're no use to the villagers half-asleep." She urged her. Clarke groaned, and lifted her head.

"Fine." She said, and Lexa knew it was not a great battle that she had just won, the blonde's resolve breaking much faster than if she had been in full strength. Lexa kissed Clarke's forehead once more before the blonde stumbled off to the door of the shelter. Lexa watched her go with a warm smile, and once the door closed, she pushed off on a strong right heel to check on other members of her crew.


Despite only having one arm in commission, Lexa worked alongside her men, sweating and toiling just as hard as any of them. The rebuilding process was running smoothly, and Lexa wielded a hammer with her right hand, her sling still worn around her neck, but hardly doing its duty to support her shoulder. Instead, her left hand held a nail in place as she assisted in the construction of a house for a family of eight perched on the neighboring hill from the emergency compound.

Costia gave her a withering glare that made her almost drop her hammer when she had caught sight of her. "You do know what 'next week' means right?" The science officer pressed, her arms crossed as she looked up at Lexa. The captain was perched atop the roof of the nearly completed house, the sounds of the hammer loud and insistent.

Lexa wiped her brow of the sweat and rain that had taken residence there, and barely glanced down at Costia. "I am aware." She answered rather nonchalantly, then cast her eyes cautiously to her officer. "What are you doing out here?"

"I thought I should let you know," Costia started, "That woman that you rescued, she gave birth last night." Lexa responded with a noncommittal hum, and Costia smirked. "It's a healthy five pound boy."

"And that concerns me, how?" Lexa questioned, though internally she sighed with relief and satisfaction; she had saved them both, they were alive, and at least she had done something good in saving an innocent, new life.

"They've decided to name him Alexander." Costia added, and Lexa did in fact drop the hammer this time. The tool clattered down the slanted roof and to the muddy ground below, missing Jasper's head by inches.

"Hey!" He exclaimed indignantly, but then Lexa shot him a glare, and he hastily retrieved the hammer and returned it to her without so much as another peep. Costia just watched the exchange, and she shook her head disapprovingly.

"Mr. Jordan, it is not a good idea to encourage Captain Woods to continue overexerting herself whilst she is still injured." Costia said, and she leaned against the ladder behind her as she glared at the boy.

"I-um." He gulped, caught between the intimidating clash of green and brown eyes. "What was that, Monty?" He raised one hand to his ear, and without preamble, Jasper scrambled away on his scrawny legs to retreat to where members of the Ark were assembling a barn for the multiple oxen milling about the perimeter of the newly-formed village.

Lexa chuckled quietly as she watching his quickly retreating form, then Costia directed her disapproving gaze up at the captain again. Lexa met her glare evenly, and Costia sighed. "You're not going to get down, are you?"

"Nope." Lexa said, and offered the other woman a one-shouldered shrug. "Someone's got to help build these houses while you're off slumming it in medical."

Costia rolled her eyes, then dropped her arms to her sides. "I hope that arrogance and stubborn pride of yours does not pass on to that newborn because of his prenatal contact with you." She joked, and Lexa frowned as the subject had returned again to the child.

"So, Alexander, huh?" She said, her voice lifting as she repeated the information relayed to her.

"The father asked for the name of the officer who had saved his wife and child." Costia explained. "I said it was Captain Alexandria Woods."

"I told you never to actually call me that." Lexa growled, hammer raised to secure a nail. Costia stuck out her tongue at the other woman, and Lexa laughed.

"Very mature of you."

"Says the person who barely listens to medical professionals and decides to ham it out on a roof." Costia crossed her arms again. Lexa grunted.

"Don't you have a baby to take care of then?" Lexa called down, and Costia rolled her eyes.

"You're lucky you're injured right now." She responded tersely, and Lexa chuckled at her words.

"What, are you going to climb up here and knock me down?" She taunted her, and Costia grinned.

"If I did that right now, Clarke would skin me alive." Lexa hummed at Costia's response, and flashed a wide smile at just the mention of her girlfriend. That did not go unnoticed by her officer.

"Oh propose to her already." Costia teased her, and then Lexa immediately pretended to concentrate on the hammering motion of her right hand.

"Shut up." She said lowly, surreptitiously, and Costia's eyes widened. The other woman grinned then, flashing her strong white teeth.

"Wait a minute-" Costia's voice filled with mischief, and Lexa scrambled desperately to quiet the officer.

"One more word," Lexa warned her, "And this hammer won't be meeting the heads of nails." Costia raised both hands in the air innocently.

"Okay fine, interesting development nonetheless." She remarked, and as Lexa raised her hammer menacingly, Costia turned tail. She did not however, retreat without winking at her captain over her shoulder.

Lexa released a breath she had not realized she was holding, and shook her head before returning to her task.


"Captain!" Lexa had just returned to the compound after assisting with a few more houses, and was making her way across the muddy clearing when she heard a voice calling for her, and she jerked her head to the sound. She grimaced when she did, forgetting again of her injured shoulder, and saw a panting Caris rushing up to her. The young officer doubled over, hands on her knees as she caught her breath.

"Calm yourself Caris." Lexa remarked dryly. "What is it?" The girl straightened, brushing away wet wisps of hair from her face.

"You have an incoming transmission on the Washington," she gasped out, still attempting to regain her breath. She seemed to collect herself, and she continued "It's urgent, Rear Admiral Luna says." Lexa clenched her jaw and nodded.

"Go get some water." She ordered her young subordinate, and as Caris nodded, Lexa was already tapping her badge to contact the remaining crew members still on the Washington.


"What is it that is so urgent?" Lexa asked as she strode onto the bridge minutes after beaming up from Veridian IV. The room was empty, save for Ryder, who was manning the controls while the others were helping down below. He seemed to be nodding off, his massive arms crossed and his chin dipping low over his chest. Lexa cuffed him on the back of the head as she marched past him, and he jolted into alertness.

"Starfleet Intelligence found a Coridan spy in Manhattan two days ago." Luna said as Lexa sat down. "Since then, we've made several attempts to contact their government, but they've largely ignored us."

"Great, and what does that have to do with me?" Lexa asked in a mildly irate tone.

"We've been teetering back and forth over whether the Coridans would join the Federation," Luna started, "So we need someone to recruit them, and your name came was nominated by Admiral Kane." Lexa scoffed at the Admiral's words, but Luna ignored her and forged on relentlessly. "Keeping the spy as a prisoner might be the catalyst for war, just as killing him would be, so we need you to return him for us."

"You just said that they're not responding to your attempts at contact." The captain crossed her legs. "What makes you think they will if I'm doing it?"

"Lexa, don't choose this precise moment to be humble and self-deprecating." Luna snapped, and Lexa raised her eyebrows in surprise. The admiral ignored the other woman's astonishment and continued speaking. "You have more experience dealing with Coridans than any of the other officers currently available." Luna wiped her brow with a handkerchief. "Lexa, we need you over here, now."

"Having a spy on Earth could indicate that they're geared towards war, not joining the Federation." Lexa argued. "Returning him might have no effect."

"We are obligated to sway them, as it is dictated very clearly in our mission statement." Luna shook her head. "Lexa, this is an order, we need you back at HQ." The admiral said, crossing her arms as she fixed a stern glare at the brunette. "Negotiate their entry into Federation, and there might even be a promotion in it for you."

"Fine." Lexa sighed in frustration. Just when she had entertained the idea of going back to Earth and spending more time with Clarke outside of work, she grumbled to herself.


Lexa perched at the edge of the cot, and her fingertips gently brushed Clarke's jaw. The blonde stirred, and her eyes opened. "Lex," she smiled lazily, and she reached out a hand to pull Lexa closer by the neck. The brunette met her halfway, bending down cautiously to kiss her briefly. When they parted, she knew Clarke could sense the urgency, the coiled energy in her muscle.

"What is it?" The blonde asked quietly, and Lexa cleared her throat.

"I'm needed back at HQ." Lexa rasped, and Clarke's eyes flashed with gentle understanding. She nodded, and the hand at Lexa's neck squeezed gently.

"Okay." She said softly, and she reached upwards to brush their noses together tenderly. "I'll see you back on Earth then?" Clarke asked, and Lexa nodded.

"Unless my plans change, it's a date." Lexa confirmed, and she kissed Clarke again, savoring it before she'd have to once more leave her. The brunette encircled Clarke with her good arm, and she breathed in the scent of the woman even as the blonde wrapped both arms around her waist. In her embrace, with her soft curves and hard edges of muscle, Lexa felt her heart flutter in her chest.