Hey guys! I am SOOOOO sorry I haven't been keeping up with this like I first was. Rest assured I do want to at least get Bellamy back on his feet (and hope to continue doing short one-shots of life in Camp Bellarke). School has just been VERY busy lately, and I have had little time to do anything but. Know I am still working on the story though, and will post as often as I can. Thank you for continuing to read!

Enjoy!


"Clarke?"

The quite voice drew Clarke's attention away from her careful cleaning of her surgical tools. "Octavia." She turned away from the water bucket. "Come in. Have a seat."

Octavia did. "You wanted to talk."

"Yes. I did." Clarke put down the scalpel in her hand. "How are you?"

"Fine. Angry. Tired. Scared. How are you?"

Small smile. "About the same. Where have you been?"

"Honestly? We wandered for a while before finding a little village that welcomed us. We have a hut and everything there. I finally found a home, Clarke."

"Without your brother."

"My brother's an ass."

"I'm not disagreeing with you," Clarke admitted. "He very well can be that some days, but he's changed."

"Yeah. Somehow he managed to convince you to be part of his harem."

"Bellamy hasn't had a harem for nearly a year," Clarke reminded her firmly. "That's not what's going on."

"Really? Because it seems like it. Aside from looking like crap, he hasn't changed. He nearly caused Lincoln's death, you know, after being the one who tortured him when we first found him, and he caused all sorts of issues by not stopping Pike."

Clarke sighed. "It's complicated, Octavia. Yes, he's made mistakes. Lots of mistakes. But you haven't been around recently, and things have changed dramatically. For one, we're out here now and not with the Arc."

"I noticed."

"Do you want the story, or would you rather just stay angry at him?"

No response.

"Why did you come back, Octavia?"

"I was hoping to find my brother a changed man. I was wrong to hope for the impossible. People don't change." Octavia stood. "Look, I love my brother. Don't get me wrong. I just don't approve of anything he's done for a very long time, and he's hurt me too much for me to just let it go."

Clarke clasped Octavia's wrist and pulled her back down. "Sit. I'm going to tell you a story."

"I'm too old for story time, Clarke. I'm pregnant. I grew up before you did."

"We've both grown," Clarke said as calmly as she could. "Sit and listen."

Octavia glared but sat, probably too tired to move. She took the cup of water Clarke offered and drank gratefully.

"Once upon a time, there were political issues in Arkadia," Clarke began. "The original 100 wasn't being listened to and treated as they should have been. They knew the earth better than anyone, but their voices were turned down as being those of 'kids.' They had grown up, but were being forced to try to live the lives of 'kids' once again. Tensions rose. Bad decisions were made, and their Rebel King made a desperate move. The Chancellor caught him, and the Rebel King was shock lashed in front of the whole camp as an example. So he and the Princess stayed in his tent and, while he fought off deadly fevers and suffered for his people, they plotted out the escape of the 100. Then, when he had barely regained his ability to walk, the Rebel King and the Princess lead their people out into the wilderness, leaving behind loved ones for the greater good of the 100. They founded their own camp, established their own government, made their own treaties, and became a nation to be reckoned with."

Clarke paused, checking to see that Octavia was still listening. The girl hadn't moved.

"All seemed well until the Rebel King decided to go hunting on a day like any other day. He didn't come back. Three days were spent searching before his broken and nearly dead body was found. Ever since then, the Rebel King has been fighting for his life, and his people have been worried for theirs. That, Octavia, is your brother's story right now. That's the story of everyone in this camp. We've changed. You, me, your brother, all of us. None of us is the same as we were even a few months ago." Clarke looked the young woman in the eyes. "That is the story."

"They shock lashed him?" Octavia whispered. "In front of everyone?"

Clarke nodded, said nothing.

Octavia sat for a moment, completely silent. Then, "He's still an ass, but I should've been there."

"You had no way of knowing."

"I shouldn't have left him. He never would have let that happen to me." But Octavia never stayed sad for long. She redirected her sadness to anger at someone, it was just who she was. "Why did you let that happen to him? I know you and Bellamy have your differences, but I can't believe you let them do that to him! He didn't deserve that, no matter how horrible he's been. Who he is, what he's been through, public shock lashing isn't something he should ever be faced with."

"I know," Clarke agreed. "He shouldn't, but it was necessary."

"You could've broken out sooner."

"Octavia, things were very complicated."

"How could you?!"

"Bellamy and I talked about it," Clarke tried again.

"Oh, you talked about it," Octavia mocked. "Did it go something like, 'Bellamy, they're going to beat you in front of your people, and you just have to watch' and 'Please, Clarke, don't let them do this' and 'It has to happen, there aren't any other options'? Because I feel like that's exactly how it went down."

"It was complicated," Clarke insisted. "It was Bellamy's choice."

"Like hell it was," Octavia spat.

"It was. He did things that didn't leave him a way out, and it was in the best interest for everyone if we waited. It's hard to explain, Octavia. Sometimes we have to make tough choices."

"Sure we do," Octavia agreed. "But we don't make those tough choices about family or people who are close to us. That's when we walk through brick walls. Did you walk through a brick wall, Clarke? No, you didn't."

"I tried," Clarke argued. "I really did. Please don't doubt that. Your brother…I love him. I never want to see him hurt. It was the only way."

"Oh great," Octavia mocked. "Now you let him get beaten because you love him. Cause that makes sense."

"You left him because you love him."

Octavia fell silent.

"I understand," Clarke said quietly. "I know you left because you loved him. Because he did things you couldn't stand, but you couldn't take your anger out on him because you loved him. You left for fear of what you might do. You left to protect the true Bellamy in your mind, the one you knew was real, not the monster you were seeing then. You left to let him work through his problems without a little sister to watch after. I know you left because you love him. Please believe me when I say that what I did was only because of how much I value him."

"'Value.' That's a strange word, Clarke, for someone who speaks so highly of love."

Clarke sighed. "I don't want to fight, Octavia. We've made mistakes. You're here now, and your brother isn't dead, at least for the night. Why don't you tell me about the baby?"

Octavia managed a small smile. "Three months," she revealed. "I think I'm about three months along. So far it's been alright."

"Are you happy?"

"About the baby?"

"About being married. About the baby. About your new home. About everything."

"Yes." Octavia gave a genuine smile, something Clarke hadn't seen on the girl's face in so long. "Yes, I'm actually happy. It's been so long, but I'm happy."

Clarke smiled back. "I'm glad. Are you going to stay here?"

"I don't know," Octavia confessed. "We might go back to our hut, or we might stay here. Lincoln and I haven't talked about it yet. Most of our conversation was focused around a stupid brother and rogue Ice Nation men who should know better. We hadn't really gotten to what we were going to do once we got here."

"Well, know that you're always welcome."

"Thank you, Clarke."

"Thank you for coming to find us, Octavia," Clarke countered. "Bellamy needed it, but so did I."