"One decision does not define a man." -Marcus Kane, "Twilight's Last Gleaming"

Kane stood with his arms crossed, watching the towers go up little by little. It had been a week since the Council had met and voted on the expansion of Arkadia. They had been salvaging the wreckage that was still spread out through the trees and finally started construction today. He was thankful for the continued peace with the Grounders because they were drawing a lot of attention to themselves with the noise they were making.

Behind him, the garden was going in; the soil had been tilled and Abbot already had some seedlings going from seeds he had found in the bunkers weeks ago: garlic, onion, kale, peas, spinach, chard. Thankfully, they were expecting a relatively mild winter — it hadn't snowed much since the nuclear war, but they were prepared for the freezing temperatures. Gwen and Abbot had promised the plants would hold.

"Kane!" He turned and found Octavia running toward him. He opened his mouth to greet her but she continued, "Penn's been attacked."

He followed her to Medical and found Penn cut, bloodied, and bruised. Lincoln stood next to his cot, arms crossed as he watched Abby assess the injuries. Kane stood at the foot of the cot with Octavia and asked, "What happened?"

"One of your people—"

"Our people, Lincoln," Abby interrupted, looking up from Penn's arm. "You're one of us now."

A peculiar look settled on his face, something between a grimace and pride. Octavia nudged Kane's arm and pointed to the young man laying unconscious on a cot across the room; Jackson was cleaning him up. "Mike Bogdanovic, he came down on the drop ship with me. He smacked Penn over the head with a board; they were working on the training room. He knocked him out cold and was still attacking him when Lincoln and I got there."

Kane shook his head, staring across the room at Bogdanovic. "We have to teach them that the Grounders aren't to be feared, or we're going to have riots on our hands."

"A lot of them are upset that they abandoned us at Mount Weather still," Octavia said, looking at Kane. "The ones who were in Mount Weather when it happened."

He turned back to her nodding. "We'll take care of it. Don't you have horses to catch?"

A hint of a smile appeared on her face before she left the room. He looked back to Penn and saw Abby staring at him. "What?"

She just shrugged and went back to Penn, feeling his forehead. "He's feverish. I think he has an infection, probably a rusty nail on that board. He needs antibiotics—"

"We're out," Jackson said from across the room.

"How are we out of antibiotics, Jackson?" Kane spat, glaring at him as he rummaged through a box of glass bottles. "Isn't it your job to keep stocked on things like this?"

"They don't exactly grow on trees, Kane!" Jackson said, his voice rising as he withdrew from the box and crossed the room. He was a foot from Kane when Abby intervened.

"Guys, stop!" She said in a hushed tone, placing a hand on both of their heaving chests. She could almost smell the testosterone in the air as they glared at each other, preparing to further their argument.

"I know where to find some." They had all but forgotten that Lincoln was there, standing silently by Penn's cot. All eyes were on him as he spoke again, "There's this red seaweed, you can use it as a poultice or Octavia told me they brewed it in a tea for Jasper."

Abby asked, "Where is it?"

"I'll show you," he said but Kane shook his head.

"The kill order, Lincoln. You can't leave camp," Kane said, a frown on his face.

The abandonment of Trikru had hit Lincoln hard and it was easy to read on his face now. He nodded and replied, "Let me draw you a map then. There's some close by."

"This is the lake Mecha crashed by, right?" Abby asked, running her finger over the shading on the paper. The river that fed into it was their destination.

"What is that — three, four miles?" Kane said, scratching his beard. "Going by horse, it's less than an hour round trip."

"If you take a rover, it'll be quicker," she said, raising an eyebrow.

He drew in a breath. "I'm not comfortable with those things."

She smiled and placed a hand on his arm, "Penn needs those antibiotics, Marcus."

He conceded, "I'm not driving."

"One of the kids will, they've taken to those things," Abby said, smiling. "I'll make the arrangements, go get your gear."

He grinned at her as she left. He picked up the map and glanced over at Penn before exiting Medical. Walking down the hallway, he focused on calming his nerves: the vehicles Raven had salvaged from their supply run to Mount Weather last week weren't his favorite things they had brought back. They were too fast, too confining, too reminiscent of the old world and how dangerous it had been. He hated them.

Ten minutes later, he waited by the black vehicle. It was the one that worked best, Raven and Mel were still trying to fix up the others; one of their many projects. He leaned against the side, his fingers fidgeting over his gun. He knew they were at peace, but he couldn't be too sure.

"Ready to go?" He turned his head to see Jasper Jordan walking toward him, gun slung over his shoulder. Kane looked him over; he seemed better, Monty had told him Jasper hadn't been drinking, that he had been talking with Abby about what he was going through, which was news to Kane. It had only been two weeks since the fall of Mount Weather and Maya's death, but Jasper looked like he was on the mend. It was progress at least.

"You're my driver? Abby must be delusional," Kane joked as he reached to open the door behind him.

"No, sir, just coming along for the ride, the Chancellor said it was okay." Jasper said, smiling. He didn't go to the driver's door, instead headed for the rear one. He looked Kane in the eye as he added in a low voice, "I have to get out of this place."

Kane nodded before asking, "Then who's…?" His voice broke off when he spotted her walking toward them, his stomach dropped. How could Abby do that to him? She knew that he hadn't gone to see her, knew that he had a good reason. He wasn't ready yet.

She wore a knit hat over her long brown hair, a leather jacket, and more makeup than he liked. When she reached him, he saw how much her eyes had changed. They were hard, all of the light that used to be there extinguished during her imprisonment, the war with the Grounders, the war with Mount Weather.

A lump rose in his throat as she stepped in front of him and looked him in the eye, a nervous smile on her face that reminded him so much of when he had met her for the first time ten years ago. He wanted to reach out and hold her, but she wasn't the same girl and he wasn't the same man.

Oblivious to the tension in the air, Jasper called out, "C'mon, we're wasting daylight. I hear we have a life to save."

Rebecca just said, "It's nice to see you, Marcus."

He didn't know why, but the Marcus felt like a slap in the face to him. Maybe it was the way she said it — like she wanted the feel of it off her tongue as quick as possible — or maybe it was hearing it after four years, knowing that she had probably hated him all of that time, that did it, but he climbed into the rover, feeling like there was a weight dragging him down.

Rebecca glanced over at him as she turned the key and brought the vehicle to life. He avoided her gaze and knew that only hurt her more. He couldn't help it, he didn't know how to mend this — he had abandoned her, how could he possibly come back from that? Should he tell her how it ate him up inside, seeing her on the Ark in those years after? How he hated that she had been collateral damage in his break up with her mother; how he wished he had been able to comfort her in her suffering?

As she drove, there was the jostling of the cab to distract him from his thoughts. But when she pulled up beside the lake, they flooded back to him as he stepped out of the rover.

Jasper asked as they approached the river, "What now?"

"Now, we look for it. The water should be more red than green. It'll be by a lot of rocks," Rebecca said, leading the charge. Kane watched her, surprised by her enthusiasm, she had been such a quiet child. Maybe she was just trying to get away from him.

The seaweed was by a cluster of rocks that stuck out of the water, the water polluted red by it. Kane started toward it, but Jasper stuck out his arm to stop him. "Do you know what could be in there? I'll get it."

"I'm not risking you," Kane said, pushing him aside.

"Do you think the Chancellor would forgive us if you came back maimed?" Jasper asked, an amused look on his face. He was glad that Jasper was helping, that he had come, that he wasn't drinking himself to death. But he didn't want to let him do this. It didn't seem like he had a vote though, the boy was already at the river's edge, kicking off his shoes.

Kane watched with his arms over his chest as Jasper waded into the water. He barely noticed when Rebecca stepped up beside him. She said, "It wasn't your fault."

His head snapped to look at her. Her eyes were sad, a frown set deep on her face. He thought about reaching for her but knew that would be crossing the line. He stared at the ground as he replied, "Yes, it was — you wouldn't have been locked up; you wouldn't have been sent down here; you wouldn't have been through any of this if it wasn't for me."

She shook her head. "You know that's not true. I assaulted that guard, it was my choice."

"I led you to do it though," he said, turning toward her, completely ignoring Jasper as he pulled at the seaweed in waist-deep water. "You would never have hit Shumway if I hadn't shut you out. I can't even begin—"

His voice was caught in his throat when Rebecca took his hand. He felt all of his worries slip away with the contact; he felt her forgiveness. She smiled at him and looked down at their hands. She whispered, "I just missed my dad."

His shoulders slumped and it felt like all of the air had been taken from his lungs. He blinked his eyes rapidly to keep his emotions in check; he felt like they were getting out of control lately, he normally had a tight leash on them.

"Rebecca, I—"

"No, I get it, Marcus. You and my mom didn't work," she said, shaking her head. "I don't know why I thought you would still be in my life."

"Hey guys, I got it! Where's the bag?" Jasper yelled. Kane had forgotten what they were doing, that Jasper was even there. He looked away from Rebecca, slipping his hand out of hers as he walked to Jasper, who was waddling out of the river with his arms laden with red seaweed, weighed down by soaked clothes.

"What's that about?" Jasper asked, nodding toward Rebecca, who stood with her arms wrapped around herself, watching them.

"It's a long story," Kane said, holding the bag open for Jasper. He stuffed the bag in silence. "Come on, there's a towel in the rover."

Rebecca pulled the rover up to the spot the new gate would be ten minutes later and turned off the vehicle. Jasper, with the bag of seaweed, sprinted off toward Medical, understanding that he was no longer welcome. Rebecca turned to Kane and asked, "Can we go for a walk?"

Abby was startled when the door of her quarters opened, it was late and she was readying for bed. She pulled the towel tighter around herself and was prepared to dash back into the bathroom when she saw it was only Marcus. His eyes darted around the room until he noticed her near the open bathroom door. Their eyes met and his flared up, not in anger but in passion. He crossed the room in four long strides, tossing his jacket over the back of the couch as he went.

He pinned her to the wall with his body before his lips slammed against hers, tongue parting and devouring her. He loosened her towel and sent it to the floor. Abby tugged at his shirt, he grabbed it by the collar and yanked it over his head. They stared at each other as they caught their breath.

A smirk pulled at Abby's lips as she unbuttoned his pants. "I'm guessing today went well."

"You knew it would," he accused, glaring at her as he shoved the rest of his clothes to the ground.

She glanced down and admired him as she said innocently, "I knew she would forgive you."

"We're not talking about it right now," he growled as he grabbed her thighs and hoisted her up, pressing her back against the wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck. His hand cradled her jaw as he looked into her eyes; his were soft, all of the feigned-anger gone as he looked at her sincerely. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers. He whispered, "But, thank you, Abby."

He pulled back a few inches so he could look at her and her hands slid up to hold his face. She didn't get to reply — he thrust into her suddenly and stifled her moan with a kiss; all she could do was hold on.

After, he took her to bed, taking it slow at first then letting her take charge. She enjoyed teasing him, driving him mad as payback for him making her nearly pass out from pleasure pinned against the wall. Only when he was on the brink of flipping them over and taking her, did she let him have what he wanted.

They lay breathless, side by side, after that second time. Abby was surprised when Kane reached out for her, pulling her toward him. She pursed her lips, fighting a smile as she slid into his embrace. His arms wrapped around her and he kissed her forehead before laying back on the pillow.

This was how she knew he was comfortable around her, he opened up like this, he showed his softer side. She knew she was one of the few who saw this Marcus Kane. And she felt honored. To be curled up beside him was a privilege because he didn't let people in easily.

She grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together as she looked up at him. His eyes were closed, but she knew he wasn't sleeping, that his mind was still racing from today. She ran her thumb over the back of his hand as she whispered, "Do you want to tell me why it took you so long after Jasper brought me the antibiotics to come here?"

His mouth twitched and his eyes remained closed as he answered, "Rebecca wanted to talk."

"And…?"

"She called me her dad, Abby." He whispered, his voice nothing more than a breath. He seemed so fragile as he said it, she placed her hand on his chest, keeping her other laced with his.

"You are her dad, Marcus," she said gently. "Not technically, but you helped raise that girl. You deserve her love."

"Why are you so understanding?" He chuckled, but it didn't sound right. It sounded hollow, like he didn't believe her.

"Because I know you. I've seen you care for other kids before. I've seen it with Bellamy, with Octavia, Monty. With Clarke," she smiled as his eyes flashed open. "They're not your kids, but you treat them that way. Your heart's too big, Marcus. You care too much."

He let out a breathy laugh. "If you had told me a year ago that you would say that, I would have floated you."

"If you told me a year ago I'd be in love with you, I'd have floated you."

He grinned. "You didn't have the power to float people, Abby."

"Maybe not, but I wasn't above breaking the law. You would have found yourself in that airlock, Marcus," she had an evil glint in her eye and he believed her.

He smiled, giving in. "We've come a long way, haven't we?"

But his smile faltered and she knew he was thinking about all of the things he had done. She wasn't about to lose him to his memories again.

She leaned up and placed her hand on his cheek. "Hey, that's in the past, okay? You thought what you were doing was the right thing. That's what everyone does, they act on what they think is right. I can't be mad at you for that. People change, Marcus."

He smiled — relieving her to have him back — and pulled her against him again, his arms wrapped tightly around her. "You know, I said that to Gwen and she wanted to know who pulled the stick out of my ass."

Abby leaned up and, with the straightest face, said, "What a bitch."