The request had been simple; Octavia was to have regular counselling sessions to ensure that should she get reintroduced to the Ark one day, that she would be a stable contributor to her station. Nora had made her case, appealing to Abby and Kane during an organised meeting.

She didn't tell Bellamy. She didn't want him to get his hopes up. Nora had already said to Octavia that she would come see her again, but even that wasn't set in stone. She couldn't make any more empty promises.

But it seemed that the case had appealed to the councillors. They had agreed, upon one condition: that after every counselling session, that Nora write up a report to show what they had discussed. With an eye roll, she had accepted the condition.

The redhead remembered how Bellamy's face lit up when she had told him. He had pulled her in tight and wrapped his arms around her and repeated his 'thank yous' to her over and over again. She knew it would give him peace of mind and her too, because she couldn't just leave the young girl in there, completely alone with only her thoughts to keep her company.

When the first visit came, Nora had tried to dress it up as being as professional as possible. Although, she knew Abby could see straight past the facade. The older woman probably knew exactly why she wanted to be the one to hold these counselling sessions for Octavia. She knew about her connection to Bellamy, which made her involved in this. Normally, that would mean it she would be written off the case as a conflict of interest.

But Abby couldn't do that to Nora, worst of all, Nora knew she couldn't do that either.

As the door buzzed open and the guard pushed the door to Octavia's cell open, Nora took a step forward with Abby closely followed behind her. This was another condition; that on the first session, Abby joins them and supervises in order to report her opinion on it. Nora had no choice but to accept, and deep down knew the woman wouldn't be an issue for the meeting.

Besides, it was about making sure Octavia was alright and coping well.

Her dark eyes lit up when she saw the redhead walk through the door, but she didn't move from her spot as the guards hard eyes connected with hers. The door shut behind them with a click and it was then that Nora approached her. She was greeted with a tight hug and a smile.

Octavia didn't look so nervous around Dr Griffin this time either, who took up position in the corner of the room on a lone metal chair. "You came."

"Pulled some strings for you." She spoke, stepping back from the girl before Octavia sat at the top of the metal bed. Nora dropped down to sit beside her, "You will now be receiving either weekly or bi-monthly visits."

Her eyes grew wide, "really?"

Nora sent her a smile. "Yep." Untying the jacket from around her waist, she handed it to Octavia. "And I believe this is yours. We saved it from the guards." Octavia took it from her grasp with a frown. "The guards came a few days ago to reclaim belongings, it's protocol when a family member goes into lock... or is floated."

"How's Bellamy?"

Sucking her lips in, Nora chose her words carefully. She couldn't exactly tell her that he was devastated beyond belief and that he never wanted to be in their home alone now. She couldn't tell her that he blamed himself and regretted every moment of that day. "He misses you... a lot." That was a lot easier to say.

Ducking her head, she held the jacket tightly in her lap. "He blames himself, doesn't he?" Her silence spoke volumes. "You can tell me."

"Yes, he does. He blames himself every day."

"I kind of blame him too. But I can't stay angry at him." Octavia confessed, her eyes murky and full of sadness. She was too young to be this sad; she should have her whole life ahead of her, to be able to do whatever she wanted to do on the Ark. But it seemed fate was cruel. "I still love him. He's my brother, I always will."

"I tried to get his visits allowed, but they won't allow it. The only reason why I got in was because I said you need socialisation visits." Nora rolled her eyes. "So stupid but it was the best I could do."

Octavia gave her a small smile, "Thank you. It's better than being alone in here." She waved a hand around the small room. The walls were a steel grey, the floor was hard and cold. There were no homely comforts, no cosy corners or a space to feel safe. "I've gone from one prison to another. I don't even get a view of Earth from here either."

"I'll see what I can do about that. I mean, this room could definitely do with some maintenance." Nora winked at the brunette.

"You can do that?" Octavia's eye widened slightly and Abby cleared her throat in the corner, raising a single eyebrow at Nora.

Ignoring the older woman, who was probably going to tell her later not to promise her things, Nora continued, "I've got other friends than your brother. I'll do my best."

For the next hour that passed, as Abby relaxed back in the chair watching the pair, Nora and Octavia sat facing each other on the bed. The youngest Blake talked to her more about the Ark, asked questions about what else was out there, and then spoke about her mother. She was delicate with her words, never talking bad about her, but Nora could tell that she was closer with Bellamy.

The way she spoke about him, despite everything that had unfolded, was so loving and caring. She could only relate it to how she spoke about the kids in the centre. The bond between two siblings was undeniable and she wondered if Bellamy had forgotten about it. Had he thought she would throw that away to stay mad at him for the rest of her life? If he did, he was wrong.

As they spoke, Nora absentmindedly took notes and reminding herself what to bring with her next time. An extra ration pack would hurt, prisoners got way reduced food anyway. She would ensure these notes went to Bellamy and would have to write up the real report later for Kane to review.

A soft knock to the door made the two women turn around. "Time's up." Abby spoke, standing up.

A look of horror and sadness washed over Octavia's face for a brief moment, but before Nora could reassure her, it was gone. In its place was a strong, defiant look... and a smile. "Thanks for coming."

"I'll be back next week." Nora promised with a soft smile. "Stay strong okay?"

The woman nodded, standing up and they met in a brief hug. "Tell Bellamy I love him?"

Nodding, Nora pulled away. "I will."

The walk back to the children's centre felt longer than normal. Abby had split off to return back to see Kane, while Nora's feet carried her closer to home. Octavia was coping better than expected, but she was still lonely. She wanted to find a way to visit more often, but knew Kane and Jaha would get suspicious... Or Shumway would and start doubt in the other councillor's minds.

Swiping her key card, the locks clicked open and she pushed open the large, heavy doors to the centre. The children's laughter was enough to put a smile on her face for now. When she looked up, she found the reason for their happiness: Bellamy Blake reading to them.

He sat in the reading den he had built, with the kids surrounding him as he read them a story. His face was animated, but she could see past it and the front he was putting on. It was as if he was trying to fight through the pain he was in.

"He came by an hour ago after work." Gwen spoke over her shoulder. It was plain to see how much Bellamy missed his younger sister. He was using the centre as a safe place. After so many years of it being her safe place, she was happy to share it with him in this dark time.

As the children went to bed, Gwen settled the young ones while Nora made sure the older kids were warm. The temperature had dropped further over recent days, something Abby had warned her about when they left lock up. It was said that prisoners and those on Mecha would first experience it. It was the first of many oxygen-saving ways the Ark was working through. The consequences of them just weren't so pleasant.

Pulling a fleece on, she zipped it up and walked out of the bedrooms after placing a kiss on Kyra's forehead. She spotted Bellamy resting in the reading den still, he hadn't moved since storytime. Grabbing her report pad and a pen, she made her way over to join him.

Dark eyes looked up and met hers and it was then she saw the dark bags under his eyes. "Thanks for earlier… with the kids."

"Anytime." Bellamy spoke softly. Ducking down, she walked further into the den and dropped down beside him, against the pillows they had accumulated. "How's Octavia?"

"She's okay." As their shoulders brushed, Nora leaned her head back against a pillow. "She said to tell you... that she loves you." Looking over, she saw his jaw clench tightly. "She doesn't hate you one bit."

He didn't say anything to that. Bellamy just stared into space with his head back against the pile of pillows.

"You need to stop blaming yourself. We talked about this. She is alive, that's all you need to think about. Well… that and helping me get her a better skybox with a view." Nudging him in the side, she saw the corner of his lips pull up. "Because I kinda promised her I'd have a chat with my maintenance guys about it."

"And you want my help with that?"

"Yes." She gave him a sheepish look. "You must know a few too?"

"I do." He said slowly.

"Great, then it's settled. You'll help me." She beamed over at him.

"What happened to you not liking my help with these sorta things?"

He had a point. Pursing her lips, Nora made a face. "That was different. This is for Octavia."

When a proper smile stretched across his lips, she felt a warmth spread over her chest. "Okay, we'll make something happen."

"Good. Here's notes from today and some of things she said about you." Tearing off a sheet from her pad, she handed it over to him to read. He took it with a deep breath, but he had nothing to be worried about, every word Octavia spoke about her brother was positive.

As he read through her messy handwriting, Nora flipped over onto her front to write up her own report for Kane. She kept it minimal, but detailing Octavia's behaviour, her mannerisms and her attitude towards the Ark. She noted anything to help the woman get a possible re-consideration by the council. Nora knew it was unlikely, but there was no harm in trying.

Making a final read through of the report, she signed and dated the bottom before placing it to the side. She would deliver it to Kane tomorrow. Nora secretly hoped that he would grow sick of the reports and just release Octavia from lock up.

Looking over, she saw that Bellamy had fallen asleep with the notes clutched in his hand over his chest. Leaning on her elbows, she took in his shaggy locks and closed lids. He was good man with a good heart and had gone through so much shit. Neither him nor Octavia deserved any of this.

Reaching over she brushed a few dark locks from his eyes. He never moved a muscle, clearly exhausted from the past week. Who was she to ruin any good sleep he could get? Instead, she turned over to reach for a blanket and pulled it over him. His own place on Factory station would be warmer, but he was rarely there these days.

Tucking the blanket around him, it wasn't big enough to cover her too so she settled for sleeping beside him on her side. Nora tugged on the sleeves of her fleece and wrapped her arms around herself, snuggling deeper into the pillows for some warmth.

A cold shiver ran over Bellamy's as he turned on the bed. His eyes felt like they had been glued shut from sleep deprivation, his body telling him to just sleep for longer. The former cadet pulled for the blanket around him tighter, when he realised he wasn't in his home and he wasn't in his bed.

Slowly, he opened his eyes to see Nora sleeping next to him in the reading den in the centre. He hadn't left after reading them a story and now he definitely wasn't moving, especially when he saw the redhead beside him.

She didn't have a blanket over her at all. Bellamy wasn't sure when they had fallen asleep. The temperature had dropped here and he could even feel it under the blanket, so he didn't know how Nora was coping with just a fleece on top.

He touched her cheek briefly, only to feel it cooler than his skin. She was so selfless, always putting others first, when really she needed to look after herself too.

Reaching over, Bellamy opened up the blanket and scooted closer to the redhead, wrapping his arm over her waist to pull her in. Sharing the blanket with her, he hoped some of his body heat would warm her up.

The woman beside him murmured in her sleep and he wondered if she would wake up. "It's okay, Nor, you're safe." He whispered into her hair and it was enough to quiet her murmurs.

Closing his eyes again, he knew it wouldn't take long for him to fall back to sleep, especially not with Nora by his side.

A/N: Thank you you wonderful readers for all your super lovely reviews – each one just puts the biggest smile on my face when they pop into my inbox! :) So special thank you shout out to: letonlee, Guest, untilmynextstory, MinSugaBTS420 and KatarinaFoster!