"I will not let the fear of war dictate our agenda." — Lexa, "Ye Who Enter Here"

Monty made it a habit of sweeping the rooms for bugs every morning. Since the arrival of Farm Station, tension had spread through camp like wildfire. The Chancellor leaving for Polis only sparked new worries and as Abby walked through Alpha Station, several of their newest additions cast looks her way.

She knocked on the Millers' door, under the guise of checking in on the younger Miller, making sure he was ready for their trip to Polis. However, when she opened the door, she was greeted by David and he beckoned her in. Nathan Miller, Sinclair, and Bennett lounged around the room, perking up at her arrival. She walked in and sat next to Bennett on the couch.

"No Kane?" Sinclair asked, eyes flicking toward the door.

"No, we didn't think it would make sense for both of us to collect Nate," Abby replied. He nodded as she started the meeting, "It looks like we're going to be gone two or three days. We need you to continue acting like there's nothing wrong. But, we have to be prepared for our return; I'm certain we'll be bringing back news that these anti-Grounders won't like. It is up to you to not let this camp fall into disarray while we're gone. You know who you can trust."

"What about the supply run to Mount Weather? Jackson's keen on getting medical supplies and I wouldn't mind raiding their labs," Bennett said.

"We need that run to happen, but have guards at the outer door. Marcus doesn't trust all members of the coalition. And until we have Lexa's approval about Mount Weather, I don't want to risk anything."

"And what about Ice Nation?" David Miller asked, fingers fidgeting against his thigh. "They've been getting closer to Arkadia lately."

"Don't engage unless they do first." She said it with a sense of finality and they all nodded; she knew she could trust them and a dozen others, it was the rest of camp who kept her up at night.

The rover felt especially cramped with ten of them jostling around within its confines. Bellamy was at the wheel, Helm next to him. The rest of the guard — Slater, Scanlan, Nelson, Hill, Miller, and Monroe — sat in the back with Abby and Kane; four on each side, shoulder to shoulder. Every bump caused them to crash into each other and Abby was thankful that she was wedged between Marcus and the wall.

At last, the rover stopped at the Polis city limits and they all climbed out of the vehicle, stretching out their stiff limbs. Eight of them set off down the trail, Hill and Nelson were to wait at the truck and man the radio until they returned. It felt strange to be out with no weapons, to have no way of calling for help except with a shout. The arrival of Penn and the rest of their escort eased her worries, worries only she seemed to have.

Marcus didn't look tense; it had been over a month since he truly looked at peace, but here he was, marching toward the sacred Grounder capital, a smile on his face. Abby wondered if it was his faith in Lexa or the hope that having Clarke back would somehow change the tide at camp that was doing it. Whatever it was, she silently said her thanks because she hadn't seen this man since she handed him the chancellor pin.

The trees suddenly ceased to surround them and there was Polis, once some modern metropolis, now the sprawling Grounder capital. The eight members of Skaikru paused, taking in the city, while their guard continued on, oblivious to their stopping. Penn finally turned back to them and said, "It's more impressive up close."

He wasn't wrong. They walked the streets of Polis for nearly two hours, stopping here and there to look at something in a trade stall or a particularly nice piece of graffiti. Nate Miller, Zoe Monroe, and Paul Slater wandered off at some point and Bellamy went off in search of them. The rest of the guard hung back, leaving Kane and Abby to their own devices.

"I can't believe you just ate that," Abby commented with an even mix of admiration and disgust in her voice. They stood in the shadow of the Commander's Tower, the sun starting its descent in the sky.

"One of us had to, it would have been rude if we hadn't," he replied with a smile. "It wasn't bad actually."

She pursed her lips at him, fighting a smile. "I knew you were suited to be Chancellor." His eyes narrowed in confusion. "You're a man of the people, Marcus."

He shook his head. "Tell that to our own people."

She reached for his hand. "They'll come around. We'll make them see reason."

"And if we can't?" He asked.

She didn't get to answer as Penn walked toward them from the entrance of the tower. He said, "We can go up, where are the rest of your people?"

"Here!" Bellamy called, pulling Nate along by his arm. Monroe and Slater wore guilty expressions as they followed. Abby glanced at Kane, wondering if he was going to ask the obvious, but he turned to Penn and told him to lead the way.

As they climbed the stairs behind the Grounder, Marcus held back, his hand on Abby's arm so she did the same, allowing the others to pass until they were walking with Nate and Bellamy. "What happened?"

"Nate didn't have anything to trade," Bellamy said simply, glancing at his friend.

"You stole something?" Kane's voice came out as a quiet snarl, he didn't want to alert the others to their conversation.

"There was no one at the stall, and I—"

"That is no excuse, Nate. Do you know how fragile this is, our being here?" Nate nodded, forcing himself to meet the Chancellor's eyes. Kane added, "I've arrested you once in my life, I don't want to do it again. But if you risk this alliance, you'll force my hand."

They arrived at the 37th floor in silence and Penn stopped them there, it was the last floor near the top with any rooms available for the Summit. He led them down a hall until he reached a door, which he threw open to reveal a large bedroom.

"This is for the Chancellor…and guest," Penn's eyes flickered to Abby. She rolled her eyes to herself. "The rest of you have a room down the hall."

Penn turned to lead the guards — who were grumbling about all sharing a room — down the hall, but Kane grabbed his arm. "Clarke?"

"She will be brought in soon," Penn replied before walking off.

Abby had already entered the room and her eyes were immediately drawn to the monstrous bed. It was pushed against the wall, its headboard reaching nearly to the ceiling. She knew there were far more important things she should be concerned with, but as she stared at the bed, with its furs and pillows, all she could think about was pushing Marcus against it and fucking him senseless.

She turned when she heard the door shut, a blush creeping across her face. She looked at Kane, eyebrows raised. "Guest?"

He smirked and walked toward her, glancing at the bed then noticing her blush. "Oh, Abby, there are other concerns…As my guest, I need you to behave yourself."

"I don't want to think about any of it anymore, Marcus," she said, walking toward him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pressing her body to his. A smirk settled on his face and she kissed it away. His arms hung limp at his sides, not engaging. That was fine, he would give in eventually.

Her lips moved to his neck and she could feel his muscles moving under her tongue — he was trying so hard not to react. She sucked her way up to his earlobe, which she nipped, before whispering, "We have time and that bed looks too inviting."

"Abby, I'm not going to have Clarke find us like that," he said, pushing her away gently. The last thing he wanted was for Clarke to walk in on them.

Abby sighed and stepped in front of the glassless window, in desperate need of cooling off. Marcus watched her for a moment, an amused smile on his face. He walked over and stood next to her, his hand grazing hers. He offered, "There will be plenty of time for that tonight."

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "There'd better be."

He slid his arm around her, pulling her against his side as the sky turned a darker orange. She rested her head against his shoulder and stared at the changing colors of the sky. Though she would rather be seeing it from the bed, with Marcus moving over her, she supposed there was a beauty to it from the window too — being so high up and seeing the phenomenon from above the trees.

After a while, there was an almost timid knock on the door and Kane called out, "Come in."

Abby pulled away from him as the door opened, they both turned to see Clarke striding into the room, a sense of purpose in her walk. Abby walked toward her, surprising herself that she didn't run, and wrapped her arms tight around her daughter. Clarke felt stiff in her embrace, but Abby didn't care. It had been three months, three long months, and she hadn't known for certain if her daughter was alive or dead.

"Mom, we don't have long." Clarke chastised, pulling out of her mother's hug.

"Wait, Clarke, I—"

"Abby," Kane said gently, his hand grazing the small of her back as he came to stand next to her. Clarke gave him a look, something that would have been 'thanks' in another time, but her face was hardened by her months surviving alone in the woods.

The girl known as 'Wanheda' said, "Ice Nation threatens Lexa, they want to seize control of the Coalition for themselves. Lexa wants Skaikru to become the 13th Clan; this isn't about a treaty anymore. She's offering you prolonged protection."

Abby couldn't help but notice Clarke referring to Skaikru as 'you' and a tightness came to her throat. Her daughter was ready to distance herself from their people again, from her. She was never going to get Clarke back, not really.

She couldn't speak, so Kane did it for her, "Does that mean we follow Lexa?"

"As much as the other clans do. There's some sense of freewill," Clarke answered, "just not where the Coalition is concerned."

Abby, finding her voice, said, "This is ridiculous, we came here to negotiate a treaty and to bring you home."

"This isn't up to you, it's Kane's decision." Clarke stared at the Chancellor, Abby turned to him too. He was in deep thought, weighing every cost of this decision. Abby knew he was considering the impact it would have on the resistors at home, that he was worrying over their possible reaction and planning out a response. It all happened in a matter of a few seconds, then he gave Clarke a nod.

"You haven't seen their army, Abby, we don't stand a chance." Kane said. "But what's going to stop Ice Nation? They're not going to roll over because we've joined the Coalition. I fear it will anger them further."

"No, but they will when I bend the knee to Lexa." Clarke said it in such a resigned way, Abby's eyes turned to her daughter again. But the moment had passed and Clarke's eyes flickered to the limited distance her mother and Kane were standing apart. Abby saw curiosity in Clarke's eyes, but something else too — was it worry? "Can I speak with Kane alone?"

Abby and Kane exchanged a look, she couldn't help but notice the hint of fear in his eyes. This was the man who willingly went off to an enemy camp with a prisoner of war, the man who arrested people on the Ark, the man who proposed the culling of their own people without their knowledge, the man who crawled through a maintenance shaft on the off-chance that there were people alive on the other side. The man who, despite all of that, was afraid of her 18-year-old daughter.

Abby nodded and said, "I'll just wait outside."

Kane stood with his arms crossed behind his back, waiting for Clarke to speak first. Never in his life did he imagine he would have the talk with a teenager, especially when it was the teenager doing the talking. She studied him, sized him up — it was like they were preparing for battle and he didn't know which side would win.

"How long have you been sleeping with my mom, Kane?" Clarke asked, her tone more curious than accusatory. "Is that how you got the job?"

"There was an election, Clarke, I was voted in."

"That's a first," she remarked. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Your mother deserves more respect than for me to dignify your question with a response."

She studied him. "How long have you been in love with her?"

"Clarke," he sighed, "I love your mother, can't that be enough?"

"She deserves to be happy," Clarke said and for a moment, he was worried. Worried that she didn't think he was good enough for Abby. He valued her opinion, he always had, and if she thought Abby could do better, it would crush him. Not just his mentality but his soul, because being with Abby was the best thing that had ever happened to him. She was the only thing that made sense to him in this world that was constantly threatening to spiral further out of control; he needed Clarke to accept it. She finally said, "That is enough, though. And she loves you too, a lot from what I can tell."

"How?" He asked curiously. The Griffin women had been together for a total of five minutes in the past three months.

"She stopped wearing her wedding ring, didn't you notice?" Clarke asked, surprised. "There's not even a suntan line, it must have been a while ago."

Kane stood there, momentarily dumbstruck. He couldn't even react, it was like he had frozen in place. He had thought there was something different about her, but that was something he would have noticed. He felt it every time he held her hand, stared at Jake's ring when they made love. He didn't mind them, they were her past and hers to part with when she wanted. He just couldn't believe that he hadn't noticed they were gone, he must have gotten so used to them being a part of her.

Clarke smiled at him, saying, "Look for yourself when you see her. We have to go."

Could it not have at least been an interesting symbol? He found himself thinking as he stared down at the brand on his arm. If he had the choice over what to permanently mark his skin with, it wouldn't have been this — a circle with two half circles overlapping within it, a single dot in the very middle.

He lay in bed, listening to a gentle rainfall drift in through the window. The room was lit with a few candles, near the bed, but he didn't see the point in them. He was the only one in the room and he didn't care to see anything, least of all his burned flesh. He ran a finger tentatively over the marred skin, feeling a piece of skin flake away from the burn. He shivered — it hurt, but he had known worse pain.

This stupid mark had to help their people, if not, he had been branded like livestock for no damn reason. He knew Abbot and the other resistors wouldn't like it, their joining with the Coalition; Bennett had warned of that much before the election. He just wondered what the mark would do to him, what it would mean for him to be the one to bear it. He knew it was going to affect how people saw him, how his people saw him.

He sighed and closed his eyes, letting the soft furs lure him toward sleep. He just wished Abby was back to enjoy the bed with him. The Summit had ended over an hour ago and she had said she was going to talk with Clarke for a moment, but from the look on Bellamy's face, he knew that she was going to have to fight for her daughter's attention.

He didn't know how long he had been asleep for, but a sting on his arm roused him to wake. His eyes flashed open and he pulled his arm toward his chest, cradling the wound. He blinked the grogginess away until his eyes settled on Abby. She was seated on the edge of the bed next to him, one leg pulled up onto the bed and bent, its foot tucked under the other knee. She had an ointment in her hand; a med kit was balanced on his stomach for easy access.

She whispered, "Sorry, I just wanted to bandage it up. You looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you."

He nodded, embarrassed by his reaction. His laid his arm back over her lap and let her continue her work. He had always admired her skill, even when tending a simple burn.

After a few minutes, he said, "I've been thinking—"

"That's never good," she commented as she tossed the ointment back in the med kit.

He smiled and replied, "I know, but this time, it's important, I swear."

"Go on," she said, reaching for piece of gauze.

"I don't think all of us are going to be able to leave here," he said, watching her place the gauze over his brand.

Her hands stilled. "What do you mean?"

"You saw all of the ambassadors, you know we'll be expected to provide one," he replied.

"And who would you suggest?"

"You would be my first choice, but I'm too selfish to part with you," he said, watching a smile tug at her lips. "I would like to leave Bellamy, but I'm afraid he would kill Lexa the first chance he got. And I didn't get this brand because it's so stylish."

She laughed quietly, but what he was trying to say dawned on her. She didn't let it affect her as she reached for a wrap to secure the gauze with. She wrapped it around his arm several times, not responding to the question in his eyes. She tore it free and pressed the end of the wrap firmly against the rest of it, sticking it to itself. She packed up all of the supplies, closed the med kit, and set it on the floor next to the bed.

Finally, she looked at him. "You want to leave Clarke, don't you?"

"I don't want to leave her, Abby, but I don't trust anyone else enough." He hoped she understood the difference. He took her hand, twining their fingers together. Staring at them, he said, "Say the word and I'll forget it altogether."

She shook her head. "Clarke will feel the most useful here. Besides, she doesn't want to come home, she can't face our people."

"She'll do well here," he ran a finger over the spot her ring used to be, "awfully perceptive, that daughter of yours."

Abby met his eyes, a smile spreading across her face. "You really didn't notice? It's been three weeks."

He laughed, "You sound like Clarke. I see where she gets it from."

Abby rolled her eyes as she pulled herself completely onto the bed. She turned to him and started to climb up his body, saying, "In case you were wondering, I stopped wearing Jake's too."

"I've never minded them, Abby," he said as she laid on top of him.

"I know," she said, brushing his hair out of his face. She pressed her lips gently to his, murmuring, "They're a part of a past that I'd rather move on from."

He nodded and wrapped his arms around her waist. His lips descended on her neck, nipping at her skin before soothing it with his tongue.

"Now, I was promised that we would get full use out of this bed," Abby whispered, her nails running along his neck.

"It's nice to see you again," Lexa commented as Kane walked into the meeting room the following morning. He was relieved to find the commander alone. She motioned to the chair across from her, "Sit."

He did as he was told, feeling that somehow their dynamic had changed. He knew she trusted Clarke more than him now, wondering for a moment if she always had. Certainly in those early days, it had been him, back when Finn was alive and Marcus was their only hope to get the Sky People to turn him over. They had mutual respect for each other, he still did.

"How is your arm?" She asked, eyes flickering toward the sleeve that hid the brand.

A smile pulled at the corner of his lips. "It's fine."

"You put on a brave face for your people," she commented. "What can I do for them now?"

He smiled and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "We don't require much. First, Lincoln's kill order. I need it lifted."

She considered him for a moment, but the look on her face told him that she expected it. "So long as he knows he is no longer Trikru."

"You've made that clear enough, he understands," Kane said, nodding solemnly. The war had taken a lot from Lincoln — his sense of self, his people, his home — the least Kane could give him was his freedom back. He continued, "Ice Nation nears our camp, closer every day. I fear that making us a member of the Coalition will give them cause to take us out."

She nodded, her eyes on his as she thought. "Your guns won't be enough to stop their army. I'll give you Indra and 300 warriors."

He hadn't expected that, but the mark on his arm truly did mean something. Clarke was right, it ensured Lexa's protection over the Sky People. He didn't hate the ugly thing anymore, not if it meant his people would be protected from Azgeda. If only he could protect them from themselves.

"Lastly, Mount Weather," he said quietly. She grew cold at the name but didn't say anything. "If we were to open it as a hospital, for any member of the Coalition to come to in need, it would do the world good finally. The Mountain's taken enough from both of our people, the least we can do is make sure it never does that again."

His eyes never wavered from hers as he watched her think it over. It was a long five minutes before she finally spoke, "Don't expect any of my people to come to the Mountain."

His brows furrowed. "What's the answer, Lexa?"

"Do whatever you want with the Mountain, Marcus, we don't want it. But don't be surprised if my people refuse to accept your help from within it. All we've known is death there."

"And we understand that, but together we can make people see reason."

She studied him for a moment. "You already have one of my healers interested, don't you?"

He nodded. "Nyko. He was wounded by Azgeda weeks ago on his way to see Lincoln; Abby saved his life in that Mountain. He's convinced he can change your people's minds."

"Maybe he will," she considered, her eyes dark. "Or maybe it'll get him killed."