A/N: Am I fired? I might need to try and write smaller pieces more often instead of trying to bang out a whole chapter in a day. Anyway as always enjoy... or maybe don't feel to sad.

Chapter 31

The week ended too quickly for anyone's liking. Lexa was able to have a few days off, but she'd eventually been called into work. Still Clarke was able to show Avery around the city a little bit more and they met up with Lexa for lunch when she could.

Clarke looked around the apartment to see if there was anything she had missed. There were a few personal items she was keeping, but most of what she needed to take back to California with her was clothes. Furniture and kitchen things would be staying here for Lexa to use. She didn't really need them anyway. Once Lexa followed them out west, they'd be leaving the apartment furnished for the future tenant.

She hadn't lived in this place for long. She'd only just moved in before she started her internship. But still, she'd made some good memories in this place. Most of them were with Lexa. She almost hated to say goodbye to it.

Avery came out of her room, lugging her suitcase behind her. "You all packed up?" Avery nodded her head. "It's a good thing we aren't flying back with as many books as you've added to your collection," Clarke teased her.

In addition to the ones Clarke had been saving her, and the few Lexa had bought for her, Avery had used some of her own spending money and added even more. There was already a box down in the car labeled 'Avery's Books.'

"Put your suitcase in the backseat. We want to be able to get to it easily." Clarke was never so grateful she'd chosen an SUV when she'd picked out her car. It was going to make this cross-country road trip a lot easier.

Still they weren't going to hurry too much. She still had another week off from work and she figured it would take them five, maybe six days with how she planned their route. She was pacing it so they could make a few sight-seeing stops along the way.

Grabbing her own packed suitcase, she walked with Avery down to the parking garage and loaded them both behind the passenger's seat. Sitting in the middle was the cooler she'd purchased the day before with food and drinks for the long trip. Behind the driver's seat they had a container of things that either didn't fit in the cooler, or didn't need to be cold.

There was also a blanket and pillow in case Avery decided to take a nap, although she insisted that wouldn't happen. Clarke wasn't so sure. Avery had never been in a vehicle for that long and she was pretty sure the girl would either get tired or bored at least once or twice.

As Clarke was giving everything a final check, Lexa came down to meet them with a brown bag in hand. She'd run out of the house a little bit earlier to pick her girl's up some breakfast for the road.

"Thanks, babe," Clarke gave Lexa a quick kiss on the lips as she took the bag from her hand. She gave her a second quick peck before turning to get the food in the car.

Knowing their time was just about at an end for now, Lexa walked around the car to Avery and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm gonna miss you so much, kiddo. Call me anytime you want to talk," Lexa told her seriously. She studied the girl's face for a moment before pulling her into another hug. "I may not be able to answer, but I will call you back as soon as I can."

Avery let out a small tear as she wrapped her arms tighter around Lexa's waist. "I'm going to miss you, too," she cried. Lexa might not still be ready for Avery to call her mom, but to the young girl, that was what she was.

Lexa pulled away, and put a hand under Avery's chin, guiding her to meet her eyes. "I'll be out to California in about a month so we can go on that camping trip," she told her. She'd worked it out with Clarke and with her job on when the best time would be and finally managed to peg down a date.

"Really?" Avery asked hopefully.

"Really!" Lexa promised. She just hoped that nothing popped up that forced her to break that promise. She'd do anything she could to make it happen.

"You be good for your mom and grandma until then," Lexa told her, not that she needed to. She'd never met a better-behaved kid in her life. Time would only tell what happened when she hit the teenage years, however. "I love you, sweetheart."

"Love you, too!" Avery answered.

"Alright, get in the car and get buckled up. I've got to say goodbye to your mom." Avery knew what that meant, and she didn't need to see it. Avery climbed up into her seat and with a final goodbye, Lexa shut the door for her.

When she made her way back around to the driver's side, she found Clarke leaned up against the vehicle watching her. Again, she pulled one of her two favorite blondes into her and held on tight. "This is so hard," she admitted.

Clarke nodded her head as she buried it into Lexa's neck. "It really is. A week together was just not enough time." Having resumed the more physical side to their relationship made it even harder. She'd only just rememorized the way Lexa felt and now she'd have to go without her touch for a while.

"It's only a month, we can do it," Lexa tried to hype them both up. It wasn't that long. It was shorter than their last separation.

"Yeah, just a month. Then we'll get another week together." It wasn't much, but it was something, Clarke thought. She'd be counting down the days once Lexa was finally able to take her exam because it would be one step closer to their separations coming to an end.

"Call me when you get checked into every hotel on the way," Lexa ordered.

"Yes, ma'am."

"And when you get home, so I know you guys got their safe."

"I promise."

"I get why you are driving, but I can't say I particularly like it. So many things could happen, and I'll be so far away from you." Clarke could see the worry written across her girlfriend's face.

"I'll be as careful as I can be, I promise." She wasn't a crazy driver to begin with, but with Avery in the car she was even more careful. "Either Avery or I will keep you updated too."

"Good, that's good." Lexa nodded her head like she approved, but she was also kind of breaking. She wasn't sure if this time it was harder or easier to say goodbye again. In some ways it was easier because they'd already done this. In other ways it was harder because now they knew what it was like to be apart.

"I love you, so, so much," Clarke told Lexa as she pulled her in close again.

"I love you, too." Pushing Clarke up against the vehicle, Lexa placed a deep kiss on her lips. The two stayed there for a minute, knowing this would be the last one for a while. Once they pulled apart, they embraced again and stayed there soaking the other in. "You better get on the road," Lexa finally stated as she pulled away.

Clarke nodded and climbed into the car. She unrolled the window and the two exchanged another kiss, not able to help themselves.

"Have a good trip," Lexa told them, aiming her comment at Avery too.

"Bye Lexa," Avery waved.

"Bye girls." Lexa tapped the hood as Clarke pulled away. She stood their watching until they were out of sight. With a sigh, she made her way back up to the apartment to get ready for work.

~CL~

Several hours later, both Griffin's found they were ready for lunch. Pulling off the interstate at the nearest town, Clarke pulled up her map app and found a diner that wasn't to far away. It looked to be a local establishment which is exactly what she was looking for. She didn't want to eat at the same place over and over again on this long journey.

As she pulled into the parking lot, she looked at the retro looking diner and then at Avery. "This place looks fun."

Avery shrugged her shoulders. Food was food to her. She wasn't to picky about where they ate. As long as she could get food she likes.

There were a few semis nearby which led Clarke to think this was also a popular stop for truckers. It made her more eager to try the food. It must be good after all.

The place wasn't overly busy, and you could only see a few waitresses out and about. One of them pointed them over to a table while she took care of some other customers. As soon as she was done, she brought some menus over to them. "What can I get you girls to drink?"

"Do you have chocolate shakes?" Avery asked.

"Best shakes in the county," the waitress answered.

"Can I get one, mom?" Didn't matter where they ate, Avery was always trying to get a shake. Not that Clarke ever minded. She didn't have them much herself, but in a place like this they were probably pretty good.

"Make that two," Clarke told the waitress. "Can we get some water too." Ice cream always made her thirsty. Plus shakes didn't necessarily wash down food very well.

"Sure thing. I'll give you a minute to look over the menu."

"Anything look good?" Clarke asked her daughter after they'd both looked over the menu for a minute.

"I kinda want a burger I think."

Clarke read the description on the burger. It seemed like it came with all the trimmings and stated it was locally farmed meat. This place really was a local establishment. She thought she'd try the chicken sandwich herself.

Clarke got a salad with her sandwich so when their food came, she stole a fry off Avery's plate. "Mmm, homemade fries. Not that overly processed stuff."

"Hey, get your own fries," Avery protested.

"I just wanted one," Clarke defended. "Had to make sure they weren't poisoned or something."

"Oh yeah, cause you getting poisoned and leaving me in the middle of nowhere does so much good," Avery drawled.

Man, her kid was a smart ass when she wanted to be. The teen years were going to be so much fun. She could already tell.

"Did you have fun this week?"

"Yeah, but I'm going to miss Lexa," Avery admitted.

"Me too, kid."

"It was fun to spend time with her though. Getting to see where she worked was cool too. I've been on field trips to ones in California, but hers was different." She didn't know why, but it just seemed different then the ones she'd been too.

Clarke didn't answer, but she knew why that was. It was more personal to see where Lexa worked. Partly because her daughter had a little bit of hero worship for Lexa. She was glad her daughter had another strong female role model to look up to.

"Can you get married as soon as she comes to live with us."

"Avery!" Clarke groaned. This kid did not let that idea go. She was going to annoy her until their wedding day regardless of when it happened. "We're not even engaged yet."

"Why not?"

"Cause we're just not. We haven't even been together a year yet and there's been a lot going on." The timing really wasn't an issue. If Lexa wanted to get married tomorrow, Clarke would do it. She knew the other woman was it for her. That was not in question. She couldn't exactly tell Avery that though and get her hopes up even higher.

"So. You love each other." Avery thought that was a valid enough argument and Clarke couldn't really fault her.

"How about this. I promise we'll get married before you go off to college."

Avery glared at her and took a bite of her burger. Once she swallowed, she growled. "That's eight years away. Nope, needs to be sooner."

"We'll get married when the time is right. I can't really promise more than that. But I can promise one thing. You get to be the maid of honor."

"Yes," Avery fist pumped.

"Good, can we finish our lunch?"

Avery nodded an took another bite of her burger. Clarke for her part hid a smile behind her own sandwich. At least when the time was right, she knew there would be no objection from her daughter. Maybe she'd have to start working on a proposal plan. Once Lexa was able to move in and get settled she'd pop the question. And get Avery to help her.