Bellamy hadn't stopped by yet. It was his day off and he was usually here by the afternoon. He had gotten into the pattern of having lunch with them, bringing his rations along and sitting beside Jimmy. He would share some of his own rations out with the kids too; making sure they all had enough. It was a sight that warmed her heart beyond belief.
She needed that warmth today.
Her and Gwen had been monitoring the temperature throughout the morning and afternoon and had seen it slowly drop ever so slightly. It hadn't changed since and they had done all they could to keep the temperature up, but the chill had settled amongst the group regardless.
Nora had placed a call for a mechanic, and all they had said was that they had a lot of jobs to get through and there were on the list. It now sounded like it was a problem all of Mecha were having. She tried to push the thoughts to the back of her mind that it was something more sinister, like their oxygen supply suddenly decreasing. They would have heard rumours about it by now across the entire Ark.
Arrow, afterall, was only next door and it was probably the worst station to gossip.
In the meantime, they had layered up the kids and made them do more busy activities today, to keep them moving and their bodies warm.
It had worked for the most part. They hadn't noticed the chill, not until bed time. Kyra and Jimmy would snuggle in close to her again, their bodies soon gathering some warmth to them as the other kids layered on blankets and shared beds.
They were gonna need more blankets if the repair work took this long.
Nora made a mental note to call in a favour on Mecha tomorrow. If they weren't going to send her a mechanic, she would find one herself.
Rose gave him a warm smile when he stopped by Goodwill that day. She had a little twinkle in her eyes, and as he approached her counter, he couldn't help the smile that pulled his lips up. "How are you today, Rose?"
"I am doing wonderful, Mr Blake. How have you been?"
The older woman sounded as spritely as ever and there was a clear spring in her step.
"Good, busy, but good." He said, his eyes casting a glance at the racks behind her and also to the side. It looked like there were a few jackets for Nora possibly; he just needed a closer look at them.
"You seen Nora recently?" She asked, a knowing smile still on her lips.
His eyes narrowed slightly at her sudden question. "I'm gonna see her tonight actually."
Rose's smile widened into a grin, "how lovely. Is it... a date?" She leaned over the counter towards him. Bellamy felt his cheeks blush red at the question and a laugh fall from his lips.
"I don't know. How about I let you know tomorrow?"
"I would like that very much. Although if things go well, I'm sure Nora will tell me before you get the chance."
Laughing, he shook his head, "can I look at two jackets behind you please, Rose? The green one and the blue one there." He pointed over her shoulder.
Nodding, Rose brought them over to him. His fingers glided over the material of each and he tried not to dwell on who they had belonged to. The green one was lighter, but had a warm fleece lining, whereas the blue one was quite heavy. "How much for this one?" He asked, touching the green jacket.
"That one is 10 credits." Rose said and Bellamy glanced down at the credits in his hand, counting them out for Rose and swallowing the lump. The extra shifts and credits spent would be worth it when he could see her warmer. "But I'll do you a deal, since you're good to my Nora."
Bellamy's head shot up at the woman. She wore a smile as she leaned on the counter. "5 for the jacket and a promise."
His brow crooked, "a promise?"
She nodded, "a promise that you'll look after her."
His face relaxed as he smiled over at the older woman. "I'll always look after her."
"And treat her right on your date tonight." Rolling his eyes, he gave her a look. "Maybe try that kiss again."
That was enough to silence him and any thoughts. "She told you about that?"
"I hear everything, Bellamy Blake."
Bellamy just shook his head, handing over the credits to the older woman. "thank you. I owe you."
"No, you don't. Say hello to Nora for me, she hasn't been by in a few days."
"I'll tell her to stop by soon."
"Fredrick and I want her round for a drink one day." She paused, before turning, that same twinkled returning to her eyes, "maybe you can join her."
Bellamy gave the woman a look, "I see what you're trying to do, Rose." He pointed at her with a gleam in his eyes and smile on his face.
"What?" The woman said innocently.
Turning on his heel, he headed for the children's centre. He didn't have a shift until tomorrow and had nothing else on his list to do. Sharing a few rations with the kids and messing about before bed sounded like a dream compared to picking up an extra shift.
He hadn't seen any of the kids in almost a week, and Nora in a few days now.
Rose's words rang out in his head; he knew he had to try again with Nora at some point. He had truly missed his golden opportunity with her and that kiss. Maybe if they had left a bit earlier on her birthday, he would've been able to kiss her without Kyra's interruption.
Pushing the thought from his mind, he knew he couldn't dwell on it. There would be other opportunities, he was sure... like tonight with the moon rise. With her new jacket in hand, he turned the corner to Mecha entrance, with the children's centre just round the corner.
But the doors were shut, with a guard stood in front.
He recognised the guard from his training, he was the same age as himself. He wasn't as quick in combat, he remembered that much and he was a little bit on the scrawnier side. As he went to move around the guard, his arm shot out to the side to block him. He cleared his throat before speaking up, obviously recognising Bellamy too.
"You can't go into Mecha right now, Blake- er, Sir." He corrected himself, shielding Bellamy from the door.
"Like hell I can't." He leaned over to press the 'open door' button but instead of flashing green, it made a noise and flashed red at him. Bellamy frowned, turning to the guard. "What's going on?"
The guard remained hard faced. "You are not permitted to enter Mecha or Arrow station at this time. The stations have been quarantined."
He remembered his training, he remembered what they taught him about lying about protocol to civilians. 'Quarantine' situations were one of them.
"You and I both know that is bullshit. What really happened?"
The guard cleared his throat again. "The stations have been quarantined due to an infection outbreak. I can't disclose anymore."
"That's bullshit, Rigs." The guard didn't say anything else, he just avoided Bellamy's stare. "How long will they be closed for?"
"I don't know at this time."
How would he get to them now?
This way and through Arrow were the only ways into Mecha, if they were shut off, there was no other access point. He could try through the vents, but it wasn't easy and often freezing cold, something he had learnt through repairs work in them a few weeks ago.
He would give it a day and return, his eyes longingly turning back to Mecha and the hallway which led him to Nora.
Then, his only other option would be through the vents.
He could try contacting the centre via the phone in janitorial.
With the idea in mind, he hot footed it back to the janitors office, swiping his card to get inside. Thankfully the room was empty. Wasting no time, he picked up the phone and dialled the centre's number, but all he got in response was a dead dial tone. He tried again, but got the same dial tone.
So much for a moon rise with Nora tonight. Their moment would have to wait.
Tomorrow, he would try again.
The following morning, the centre hadn't warmed up and the thermostat was still broken. The latest gossip was that the whole station was having the same problem, with neighbours sharing warm layers and extra rations with each other.
Nora tried to not let the missing Bellamy play on her mind too much. He was meant to come round last night to get her for the moon rise after his shift, but he never came. She felt a bit disappointed, it was so unlike him to not show up. Had he changed his mind about her? She was so sure it sounded like a date, but maybe it wasn't. Or maybe he had just been so tired, he forgot about it? He had been working extra shifts recently. Nora was so sure it was because he wanted to fill the extra time without Octavia.
Instead of dwelling on him, she focused on the kids. They repeated the same routine in the centre; eat, play, run around, eat, rest, run around. They ate as much food as they could allow, with Nora and Gwen carefully monitoring the rations at each meal time. They had to be careful, with the pair only dipping into the emergency stash when food got low or when they had forgotten to allocate themselves food.
When Nora emerged from the centre for the first time in a few days, she knocked on the home next door to the centre, checking in on the elderly couple. Ken opened the door with a weary smile, making small talk and when he explained how Yara had been feeling the cold more and they had eaten better, she handed them an extra ration pack. "Maybe this will help."
It was a protein pack, one of the rarer ones that she had swiped more of on her last ration run.
Ken's eyes lit up, "no, I couldn't. You need that more."
She shook her head, "you two need to eat well too." She pushed it closer to him.
He smiled, one so genuine it made his eyes glisten. Reaching out to grip her arm, he said "thank you, sweetheart."
Nora just nodded, "give Yara my best."
He nodded, before closing the door behind him. With a deep breath, she headed deep into Mecha station, searching for a mechanic who knew what was going on. But with no luck at the first door, she started speaking to other people on Mecha, asking for their advice and if they knew anyone who could help.
"I don't think a mechanic is gonna help us. It's past that now."
"What do you mean?"
"I heard from Arrow that they've turned down the temperatures on all of the stations and sent everyone into lockdown mode. Well, except for Alpha."
Nora frowned, "you heard that from Arrow station?" She raised an eyebrow at the older woman. "You know they've been wrong about the last 5 rumours that have come round?"
"Hey, I'm just tellin' you what I heard."
"Mmhmm, okay, Jan. Thanks though." Shaking her head, she carried on, but didn't find anyone to help. The redhead went to the meeting point in Mecha, where most gathered to socialise in mealtimes and a big hulking figure stood out in the corner. He was hunkered down, chatting with a couple of other men. When he looked up from his small meal, a smile appeared on his face. "What do I owe the pleasure of your company, Nora?"
She couldn't help the smile on her face as she leaned forward to give him a hug. "What? I can't come and see my favourite engineer for lunch?" She said sheepishly, before dropping down in the seat beside him.
"Where's your lunch?" He raised his eyebrows.
She froze, before giving him a brighter smile. "I ate it."
A happy laugh tumbled from Tobias, before shaking his head. "What do you want, Nora?"
"It's more about what I need. Our thermostat is broken."
A grumbled noise of agreement came from him, which made Nora curious. "You and everybody else." She crumpled her brow at him. "It seems to be everyone's problem. I'm getting calls for favours every day now."
"Is it fixable? Because it's pretty damn cold in the centre."
"I haven't been able to get past the mainframe yet, but I'll give yours a go. I can take a look at it now before my shift starts?"
"Really? You sure?"
Tobias nodded, "c'mon, sweetheart." As he rose up, he easily dwarfed Nora and then said goodbye to the others at the table, before grabbing his tool bag from the floor. Together, they meandered through the hallways, getting one step closer to the centre and Nora felt her mood get brighter.
Maybe they would finally get some warmth back.
When his large frame came through the centre doors, some of the kids fell silent while Jimmy and another kid surged forward for Tobias. They were slightly more familiar with the older man and not afraid to jump him. His sentence was cut off as the small kids attacked his legs and he groaned, jokingly lifting his legs as they clung to them.
The people on Mecha, as gossipy as some could be, they were good people, caring people, who would always be happy to help others. It made her glad to call this station her home. With his two little helpers by his side, Tobias made quick work on opening the thermostat and taking a closer look at the machine inside. Jimmy diligently handed him tools, one by one, when called upon.
She hoped the 9 year old would enter a solid career path like Tobias had, being a mechanic or an engineer was a decent job on the Ark, and a desired one too.
"It's not working. Think you're gonna have to call it in, Nora."
"I tried that, they said no one's available for another few weeks at least. Did it do anything?"
"It's a server main frame issue again, the system might be down? Or it could be a technical glitch and the system isn't communicating with this thermostat? But it would be strange that it's happening to most people, if not all of Mecha." Jan's words played on her mind. "It could be happening to all the stations? Our access into Arrow is cut off so that would make sense."
"You spoke to Jan too?"
"I speak to alotta people. They're all saying that every station has been tampered with."
"All except Alpha."
"Yep."
Sighing, her head dipped, "so it's nothing we can do then?"
"Except stay warm and fed."
"Easier said than done."
The following day, Nora had noticed a sluggish pattern spread amongst the kids. One by one, they couldn't run as fast and their appetites were suppressed. They went to class on Mecha stations, but they were shorter than usual, blamed on the lack of concentration from the kids.
The oldest volunteer, Martha had begun coughing more and more as the days went on. It didn't take long for 3 year old Jupe to follow suit, his little lungs had only just started to recover from regular doses of medicine from Dr Griffin. Gwen had pulled him aside for another dose last night, but it didn't take any effect, it helped marginally but not in the long run. By the evening, he had gotten drastically worse and he was coughing more, with some blood spotting appearing on a blanket.
Nora stayed with him, helping him sip water and keep him wrapped up warm and cuddled up to her. He was only a toddler, seeking out comfort in times of illness like he would do to a parent. Except, he didn't have a parent.
Nora held him to her and together, with Gwen, they took turns throughout the night. As a volunteer took some of the kids to classes on Mecha, they stayed back with anyone not feeling well, including Martha. But it came to a point where they couldn't wait for Jupe to ride it out any longer.
"We need Abby." Gwen said that morning, her eyes lost and confused. "The medicine isn't working, he's already had three doses and she could have something stronger for him."
Nora nodded, holding him as he played with a plastic truck that had seen better days. She raked a hand through his soft hair and kissed the top of his head. "Jupe? We're gonna take you to see Dr Abby, okay? She'll know what to do to make you feel better."
"okay." He mumbled.
Bundling him up securely in the blanket, Nora carried him out the centre, while Gwen gave Martha instructions for the other kids. They just needed to focus on getting through the locked doors of Mecha. From what she gathered, on her second talk with Jan yesterday, all stations were on lockdown and were to be secured until further notice. But there had to be some leeway for medical emergencies, they couldn't just expect them to suffer and die in here. Not when the medical centre wasn't even close to them and no in-station facilities were available.
When they made it round the corner, Gwen handing Jupe a bottle of water to drink, Nora stepped forward to press the call button on the door. A loud buzzer sounded and a guard rounded the corner. "We need medical assistance, can you open the door please?"
She didn't recognise the guard, she was a woman in her thirties she guessed with a stern face.
"Step back from the door, miss."
"We need help, can you open the door please?" She didn't answer.
"Step back from the door."
"Why? Can you call Doctor Abby Griffin for me please? We need medical attention. He's having problems breathing and she has his medical history."
"They are refusing to open the doors." A voice behind her said and Nora turned to frown at the older person. They wore a scowl as they looked at the guard.
Nora turned back sharply when the guard got on comms to speak to someone, but when Nora heard Shumway's voice on the other side she rolled her eyes. "Not Shumway, he isn't medical, page Doctor Abby Griffin."
"I report to Lieutenant Shumway."
"Yeah, but he's not gonna help us."
"He will do his best."
"Whatever." She sees someone else pass, "Hey! Hey!" The man turned as she banged on the door even louder, much to the guards annoyance who shot Nora a look. "Can you go to medical and get Abby Griffin please? Abby Griffin! It's urgent! Tell her it's Nora Thorn!" The man gave the guard a hesitant look before nodding. "Maybe he can teach you how to do your job?"
A/N: Neeearly there to earth! Not long to go now.
