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There was an aching difference between sleeping on Earth's ground and sleeping on a metal floor. Clarke groaned as she sat up, feeling like she was waking up with a hangover. Her regrets felt like drunk decisions.
"Go back to sleep."
Clarke looked up at the bunker ceiling, willing away the naked body next to her.
"I'm going back to camp." Clarke started gathering her clothes, putting them on quickly.
Still laying on his makeshift bed, Finn rolled over and watched her with his puppy expression that only fed her annoyance. "I didn't take you as a 'hit and run' kind of girl," he tried to tease.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't do this." Really, she shouldn't have done it at all.
Emotions were high after watching Charlotte jump to her death and only ran higher when Monty's communication system fried all of the wristbands, leaving them and the Ark without hope. Finn had been an outlet; one she didn't want to use again.
"Fine." He stood up and got dressed as well, not bothering to make himself presentable. They left the bunker in silence, walked in silence, but as they arrived at the camp, it wasn't to silence.
Monroe spotted Finn and Clarke's return perched on the wall for night watch. "Well, well, well." Clarke looked up at the younger girl on the wall with a glare but spotted something up in the sky.
"No way," whispered Clarke. Shooting across the sky, was another, smaller, dropship.
The rest of those awake started shouting, calling for Clarke and Bellamy to come look. Clarke tore her eyes from the ship falling out of the sky, looking around for Bellamy. She spotted him exiting his tent, and she couldn't help her excited grin she sent towards him at knowing help was on its way.
He spotted her, at the camp's gateway, with Finn behind her, and didn't smile back. Her smile dropped when not one, but two hastily dressed girls exited behind him.
Bellamy jogged through the forest. He'd fought Clarke on going to the Pod right away, arguing that they had to wait for daylight in case of Grounders. She hadn't been happy, and had been even more pissed when his girl of the night reentered his tent looking for her bra. At least she'd gotten Clarke to leave him alone about the Pod.
"Bellamy!" Or not.
Bellamy stopped and turned to see Clarke and his sister. "Why'd you say not till morning?" asked Clark.
"Because it isn't safe."
"You lied to everyone. You lied to me."
"You want what's in that pod," accused Clarke, crossing her arms.
"Go home." Bellamy stepped and pushed them both back angrily. O stumbled back but Clarke stepped away, now on his other side.
"You always want to play big brother, huh? Well, guess what, jokes on me. You're just a selfish dick."
"I did this for you!" Bellamy turned to look at Clarke then back to O. "Both of you. To protect you." He ran his hand through his hair. O and Clarke kept staring at him, seemingly unmoved by his unraveling. "If the Ark finds out we're alive, they'll come down. And when they do ... I'm dead."
Octavia looked confused, but when Bellamy looked at Clarke, she wasn't fazed. "Why were you in a guard uniform on the Dropship, Bellamy?"
Bellamy swallowed; the moment that had fueled his every action replayed in his mind. "I shot Jaha."
"You what?" Octavia asked. Clarke looked away.
"I found out they were sending you to Earth. That Clarke was going to be in chains and you were going to be down here alone. Someone came to me with a deal. Do this, kill Jaha, and they'd give me the keys and get me on the dropship." Clarke looked back at Bellamy. Octavia shook her head. "And I did it."
"You killed the chancellor?" O asked in disbelief.
"He floated our mother," Bellamy repeated his mantra aloud for the first time. "He floated Clarke's father. He locked you both up. He deserved it."
"We didn't ask you to do that," shouted O.
"You're right." Somehow, he thought she would understand. But she was his little sister, and he would protect her from his mistakes. "I made the choice. This is on me. Whatever they sent down, I'll take care of it."
Octavia shook her head in confusion and disbelief. "I didn't ask for any of this." She turned and jogged back to camp. Bellamy sighed, but gathered himself to face Clarke.
"Wells' dad is dead?"
Bellamy winced. "You'd still be in chains if I hadn't. I had no choice."
Clarke shook her head, turned and took a step, shook her head again and turned back. He'd seen her like this plenty of times. Octavia would deal with the consequences of his actions with the pod; but Clarke would want to stop him.
"This is why you took the wristbands, you needed them to think you were dead." Bellamy moved to walk past her, but she stepped in his way and pushed him back. "Bellamy, stop! Look, we'll figure it out okay?"
"We'll what?"
"We'll figure it out." She shrugged and he wanted to scream at the infuriating motion.
"I killed the chancellor," Bellamy ground out. "The Ark comes down and they float me. There is nothing to figure out."
Clarke shrugged. "I'll think of something. You and me, right? But I'm not letting you take that radio."
"Clarke-"
"I'm not listening," she turned, heading in the direction of the pod. "Let's get a move on, Blake."
Bellamy rolled his eyes, cursing the Ark, Clarke, Earth, and himself. When he looked back, the Princess had picked up speed and was way ahead of him. "Pain in my ass," he grumbled, moving into a jog.
Clarke didn't slow her pace, but Bellamy was able to reach the pod first. It looked like a piece of junk, but it was in one piece, and there was sound coming from inside of it.
He pried open the side door, spotting the passenger hanging limp from the seat. With the suit on, he couldn't tell who it was, what their ranking was. And with the blood on the helmet, didn't even know if the person was alive. But the sound of the radio was loud and clear.
"Pod one, Pod one. This is Ark station medical. If you are receiving, please respond."
"Mom?" Bellamy turned around, just barely catching Clarke as she stumbled next to him. "That's my mom."
Bellamy looked between Clarke and the radio. She just stared at the device. Had it been anyone else on that radio, she would have reached for it to immediately confirm the 100 were alive and Earth was survivable. But at this voice, she hesitated.
Bellamy could take this weight for her.
"Pod one to Ark station. We read you."
Bellamy held the speaker to his mouth, glancing at the still unconscious pilot, then down to Clarke. She mouthed a "thank you," taking his other hand in gratitude. He shrugged.
"Oh, thank god." They heard a deep breath on the other line. "This is Abby Griffin, is this one of the 100?" Bellamy glanced at Clarke again. She didn't reach for the speaker.
"Yes. There are two of us here, we came to see what the pod had."
"Raven, is Raven Reyes there? Did she make it?"
Clarke finally moved, opening the door on the other side of the pod. She gently took the helmet off the pilot and started to examine the girl.
Another teenager. Great.
Clarke's mom repeated her question when she was given silence, but was ignored till Clarke gave Bellamy a nod. "She's banged up but breathing. We'll get her back to camp and have our doc fix her up."
"Camp." The word was breathed out hysterically.
"Is the radio portable?" Bellamy stuck to business; glad his name still hadn't been requested.
"No, but Raven is a mechanic, she can fix it at your camp. I'm sure of it."
Bellamy looked at Clarke, who nodded and started unbuckling Raven, who started groaning. "Then we'll call back when she's done that."
"Wait! We need more information. How many of you are still alive? Is Earth survivable?"
"All but five are alive." Clarke looked down. Bellamy reached over and squeezed her arm. The pilot groaned again, definitely waking up now. "Earth is survivable. We'll explain more later, we really need to get back to camp."
"Please, just one more thing. My daughter, Clarke Griffin, is she alive?"
"She is." Bellamy squeezed Clarke's arm again. "I'll have Raven contact you once the radio is set up." He turned the radio off before Abby Griffin could reply.
Bellamy stepped around the pod to stand next to her. "Ow." Raven reached up to touch her bloodied head, turning in the process and spotting Clarke and Bellamy staring at her. "Hi." Bellamy continued staring, letting Clarke take the lead on this one. "I made it?"
Clarke nodded, reaching forward to unstrap Raven and help her out of the pod and out of her suit. Raven laughed, spun, then staggered. Bellamy stepped forward and steadied her before she fell. "She's not going to make the hike back with that head wound, is she?"
Clarke pulled a rag from her pack and pressed it to Raven's head. "She'll be fine, just needs some water. I've got some in my pack." Bellamy pulled out a sack and handed it to Raven.
"Thanks. I'm Raven by the way, Raven Reyes, Mecha station."
"Clarke Griffin, Earth." Clarke offered her hand, but Raven stood up quickly, this time not swaying.
"Clarke? This was all because of your mom."
"My mom?" Bellamy peered at Clarke, but she was in control again.
"This was all her plan. We were trying to come down here together. If we waited-" Raven cut herself off, looking as though she'd seen a Grounder. Bellamy glanced behind Clarke, just in case. "Oh, my God. We couldn't wait because the council was voting whether to kill three hundred people to save air."
A bucket of ice was dumped on Bellamy at the words. "Three hundred people?" he asked.
"When?"
"Today. We have to tell them you're alive." Raven pushed past to get back to the radio.
"We were just on your radio." Clare stopped her. "They know."
Clarke looked at Bellamy over Raven's shoulder, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder to direct her away from Bellamy, who was still gathering himself. Three hundred people, saved because Clarke had kept Bellamy from himself. With a few deep breaths, Bellamy moved past the shock, grabbing Clarke's bag and throwing it over his shoulder.
"We told them you could move the radio into camp, can you?"
"Hell yeah." Raven smacked the pods side, "I built this baby from scrap. The radio will be up by dinner. Speaking of, do you have food?"
The ensuing celebration for connecting with the Ark lasted all day and night. After Raven's initial meeting with Abby, the mic was turned over to Clarke to explain what had been happening in camp. She kept Bellamy out of it, not even mentioning to Raven who he was until after Bellamy was again safe, surrounded by the 100.
And, Jaha was alive.
Bellamy's relieved face eased Clarke's heart. He avoided the radio, and so far, the chancellor was more interested in living on Earth than he was asking questions about his attacker. He hadn't taken the news of Wells' death well, even though Clarke had kept most of the details secret. The chancellor handed Abby the mic after. Clarke had fled after telling Abby she knew who'd killed her dad.
It'd been a surprise when Raven had sprinted to Finn and grabbed him in a heated kiss. Finn had tried to approach Clarke to apologize, but she brushed him off, reminding him she knew it was a mistake before Raven showed up.
Of course, Raven noticed Finn's hesitance, and Finn's puppy eyes towards Clarke. The boy's subtlety was nonexistent. Raven's increasing glare wasn't subtle either. Bellamy and Clarke were trying to convince the 100 to retire for the night when Finn approached Clarke about Raven, again. Luckily, Bellamy found a suitable distraction.
Unluckily, it was Octavia's extended disappearance.
A search party was assembled immediately, all of Bellamy's best hunters. Clarke wanted to be a part of it, but Raven mentioned needing more parts to boost the radio signal and allow a video frequency, so Clarke was assigned to escort her to the Art supply bunker.
Clarke had nothing against Raven, thought she was beyond smart, but she was thankful for the silent walk. The longer the day went on, the more she realized she hadn't seen Octavia since they were in the woods with Bellamy. But, Bellamy would bring her home. Until then, Clarke had to make sure Raven wasn't going to cause conflict in camp.
"Tell me I'm wrong." Raven turned away from the radio suddenly, facing Clarke heatedly and holding up the two-headed deer Finn had made her. "Tell me Finn didn't make this for you. Tell me you weren't screwing my boyfriend while I was risking my ass to come down here."
Clarke took the deer and set it on Raven's work desk, placing her hand on the radio. "I told the camp the Ark was dying. When we couldn't get in contact with them, we lost hope of ever connecting with them to tell them we were alive. For all we knew, the Ark had given up hope and everyone we knew was dying." Clarke shrugged and met Raven's stare, hoping the other girl would believe her. "What happened between Finn and I was about needing to feel something besides pain and loss. I didn't even know about you. Finn was just there."
Raven angrily rubbed her running nose and moved to sit in her chair. Clarke continued to hover by the radio. "He could have waited longer than ten days."
Clarke didn't have anything to say to that, knowing agreeing aloud would only make Raven feel worse. After a moment, she left, going back to camp duties, anxiously waiting for Bellamy's return.
"Clarke! Get Clarke!"
She bolted to the wall, spotting Jasper coming in with Octavia leaning heavily on him. "Octavia!" Clarke went straight to the younger girl, grabbing her in a hug. "Are you ok? What happened?"
"I'm fine, it's Finn."
"Clarke!" Clarke looked back to the entrance at Bellamy's voice, seeing him carrying an unconscious Finn in his arms.
"Oh my god." Clarke hurried over, checking for a pulse, which was there but faint. "Get him in the dropship now."
"Clarke!" Again, Clarke turned at her name being called as Monroe and Miller carried Finn inside. "Can you save him?" asked Raven anxiously.
"No. I need my mother. Get her on the Radio. Go!"
Jasper went with Raven, going to find Monty to help Finn. Clarke turned to the Blake siblings to see them fighting in the entrance.
"Stop blaming me for your mistakes!" exploded Octavia.
Oh shit, thought Clarke.
The siblings had not been faring well on Earth. Octavia was bitter about Bellamy trying to protect her. Bellamy refused to see Octavia didn't need protection. Clarke could see they were going down a dangerous path in their relationship, but didn't know if it was her place to help out.
"Mom was floated for having you. She's dead because you're alive. That was her choice. I didn't have a choice. My life ended the day you were born."
Both Blake's were devastated by the words, but both were too stubborn to say anything else. Octavia stormed away, moving past Clarke with a shake of her head and a mumbled, "don't."
Clarke looked at the entrance of the dropship. Her mom would be on the radio any moment. But not yet.
"Bellamy." Clarke walked up to the man staring at the ground in despair.
"Go, Clarke. You need to save Finn." He moved to walk past her too, but Clarke stopped him.
"You didn't mean that. What you said. And neither did she."
"I get you want to fix everything, Princess, but I don't need a fucking psychiatrist to tell me how fucked up my sister and I are, alright? Just go."
"Bell-"
"Clarke! What the fuck, get in here!" Raven shouted outside angrily. "You can't avoid your mom right now!"
Bellamy glanced over at that, but he was still too upset about Octavia. He turned and walked outside camp, telling everyone to get inside. "A storm's coming!"
This isn't who we are.
Each hit, each yell, each order, rule and punishment, it echoed in his head. This isn't who we are. Dictatorship with Bellamy as torturer. Clarke said he was a protector. That was who he wanted to be. But this was who he had to be.
And Clarke was staring up at him, desperately clutching vials with no idea which one would save their friend downstairs, a boy she'd turned to for comfort. They needed to find the antidote. They needed this Grounder to speak.
"I'll get him to talk."
Octavia didn't like it. Clarke didn't like it. Bellamy sure as hell didn't like it. But he was doing what had to be done. He'd made a vow.
Octavia turned to Clarke when yelling at Bellamy didn't work. Bellamy cut a piece of a seatbelt, then cut off the grounder's shirt. All the while listening to his sister beg him to stop, listening for the word from Clarke.
Bellamy stood in front of the Grounder but faced Clarke. Behind him, Miller held Octavia back. His sister still pleaded with him, but Clarke stood firm. "Do it."
Bellamy whipped the Grounder.
Clarke swallowed and turned away. Bellamy's hands shook as he winded up again. Clarke turned back and met his gaze. Bellamy made another hit.
Before he'd even finished, Clarke was in front of him, laying out the vials and begging the Grounder to motion to which was the antidote. Everyone in the room was looking at the Grounder, begging along with her to put an end to this. But nothing was said. Bellamy stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You don't have to be here for this," he whispered. She just shook her head and returned to standing off to the side, holding firm as Bellamy continued.
"Clarke! He's getting worse!" Raven called up a few whip lashes later. Again, Clarke begged, but they were getting nowhere. They weren't losing another life.
"If that doesn't work, maybe this will." Bellamy grabbed a makeshift knife. He turned to Clarke and stepped up to her, lowering her voice. "You don't have to be here for this, Princess. Go downstairs and do what you can for Finn. I'll get you the antidote."
"It's you and me. You're not doing this alone."
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