Here it is! New chapter! yay!

Thanks to all my reviewers: lupuslady, Emperor's Sister, sterolineblake, Thereader0303, and kiraleeanne.

Enjoy guys!


Clarke's fist formed to knock on Keiran's door, and all at once, she was caught with a thought. She gave a mirthful smile as she recalled being here years ago, before any of the stressors that were currently in her life existed, that she was coming over to go over some math homework. Kieran had been acting nervous the last couple times they'd been hanging out, and that night- when Kieran surged forward to kiss her- Clarke knew why.

Her first kiss. It had been...nice.

"I said 6, didn't I?" Keiran asked as she opened the door, "Where is-Clarke!" Her face lit up, "Going to punch me?"

Clarke realized her hand was still balled to knock on the door, but now was at the level of Kieran's face. Clarke chuckled, putting it down.

"Just...thinking," Clarke shrugged, shucking off her outer sweater as she stepped into the temperature controlled room from the drafty halls of the Ark, "About, well…"

"Mhhh, good times." Kieran agreed, understanding instantly, "Even then I had this thought that one day Bellamy would end up with you-obviously- so if I didn't make a move, it would never happen."

"Everyone acts like we're so obvious," Clarke grumbled.

"You are," Matt said from inside, "But hey, that's a good thing. I wish there was someone that I was so obviously meant to be with."

"You mean I'm not good enough?" Kieran asked in faux-offence, gasping her chest.

Clarke shook her head at the pair. She'd been trying to figure out how to broach a conversation with Matt about Toby for awhile now- a couple months, since Matt was taking it easy from work and he and Clarke weren't friends like she was with others- but when Kieran had invited Clarke to her house for a dinner before this year's Unity Day, Clarke couldn't refuse. Plus, she liked keeping up with Kieran.

"How's the leg?" Clarke asked, her doctor side slipping out as she went to look at the hard line that separated his natural leg from his metallic leg, hobbled together from wreckage of the old room. Clarke had helped build it, along with help from Benny.

"It does sorta what a leg should," Matt shrugged, "It keeps me upright. The joint was stiff for a while but Benny managed to fix it," Matt held up his faux leg by the calf.

"Lemme see the nub," Clarke said, "C'mon, take it off." She urged when Matt gave a whiny groan.

"You get a housecall! You knew that you had to go in sooner or later, might as well get it out of the way now," Kieran lightly slapped his shoulder, "Do you want me to get down and do it myself?"

"No, no. I gottit." Matt rolled his eyes, unlatching some buttoned-fabric fasteners and setting his leg on the table, "Happy?"

"I see you've been using the salve. No sign of infection." Clarke said, lifting his stub up where it was blown off, right above the knee and using a little shake-activated light to inspect it.

"Wheeellll…" Matt drew out the word in a long breath of air, "I didn't really want to have to lose more leg, obviously?"

"You'd be shocked how few patients have that sort of logic," Clarke said dryly, "Ok, you're good to put it back on."

"But now I'm comfortable with it off," Matt scratched it, "Is it considered rude to dine with only one leg?"

"We're all friends here. I'm fine with it," Clarke said. Kieran picked up his leg.

"Yeah, but let's not put this on the table." She went over to her small kitchenette, "I'm not Roma, I know, but Matt claims my cooking to be good. Then again, he only has one leg and for awhile he was on bed-rest so my food was the only food he got." She said after a moment, tapping her chin, "Oh well!"

"What's on the menu?" Clarke asked, "I'm sure it's better than the free Unity Day meal." She pointed out.

"Anything's better than cardboard potatoes," Matt shuddered, "I feel so bad for your rents, Clarke, Bell too. They all have to sit through that awful dinner, pretending to not be gagging…"

"The downsides of great power, I suppose." Clarke lifted her plate to accept the steaming veggies.

She took one bite and gave a hum of appreciation and a thumbs up. Bellamy had commented with a dry tone she'd leapt a little too quickly and seemed a little too not-apologetic when Kieran's offer to have dinner at her place before the celebration came up, opposed to being Bellamy's oneplus. But she just gave him a wide-eyed innocent stare and shrugged and he could only roll his eyes. Secretly, she was pretty sure Bellamy was jealous he couldn't find a way to squeeze out of this commitment.

Halfway through the meal, Clarke watched as Kieran and Matt shared a look that could only be described as meaning something, but she was unsure what. So, it was no surprise when Kieran set her fork down, and took Clarke's hand.

"C, I gotta admit, this night wasn't just to catch up. Not that I hadn't wanted to, but well…" She seemed uncharacteristically nervous. Matt nudged her shoulder, giving her a supportive smile.

"What?"

"We're not getting married tomorrow or anything, but watching others get hitched and have kids, this whole law, it's been made real." Kieran said softly. Clarke, who up until this point hadn't even been thinking about that, furrowed her brow.

"Kieran, stars, I'm so sorry. I mean you-,"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Kieran said, anticipating her next words, somewhere comparing her to Miller or likewise, "I get to have a kid, something I don't know I would have done otherwise. That's cool. I want to ask you if you'd," She winced, "Helped with that?"

"I don't understand." Clarke looked at Matt, "I get that this can't be fun for you to go through, K, but I'm not sure what I can do."

"I looked. There's nothing saying the kid has to occur naturally. I want you help inseminate me when the time comes." Kieran said, raising her chin and nodding.

"Oh," Clarke said, blinking, as that seemed like a perfectly good solution, one she was pretty sure she'd brought up to Miller before. She wasn't sure why she didn't go there originally.

But Kieran must have thought the 'oh' had a different tone, because she began to nervously talk.

"We thought you'd get it, you know? I mean, you're all good with Bellamy but I just...and I guess there are other doctors I could talk to since it's not illegal, but I wanted you." Kieran blinked, "I...we...trust you."

"Kieran! I will, of course," Clarke blinked, "I would do anything I could to make this easier for you." She said.

Matt let out a long sigh of relief that turned into a laugh.

"Good, yes. Ah, champagne! Dammit, it's back in my room-," He said as he began to get up, "I'll get it, I'll get it."

"Aren't you gunna put your leg back on?" Kieran asked as he began hobbling to the door.

"Nope! I'll be back."

"Matt! I really think-" But he'd already left. Kieran sat back, let out a pleasured sigh that turned into a laugh. She was looking after the door and if Clarke didn't know for a fact she was a lesbian, it would have reminded her of a look she gave Bellamy often.

"How are you with all of it?" Clarke asked softly, "I've already had a chance to talk to Miller, but you matter just as much and I just...it's a touchy subject."

"Well," Kieran grabbed a carrot from the pile near the sink to munch on, "I love Matt." She said simply, "He may love me in a slightly different way, but I love him...it's not like a brother, but a best friend that's so much more." She leaned back on her chair, nodding not necessarily at Clarke, but just at the expanse of space, "If this had never happened, and someone told me I could choose any dude to have a kid with, zero sex required, yeah...I woulda chosen Matt. Because when I think of everything I don't have that I want my kid to be, it's him. But in a way, this is better, because I think I'd be upset if he was just a sperm donor and didn't get a chance to be a parent too, because he's going to rock. Lordy, if he was a girl, I would have picked him and never let him go."

"He will be a good dad," Clarke said, agreeing, nodding her head, "And you two are very close."

"We've decided we're platonic soul-mates. We think in another life he was a girl or I wasn't gay or something and we were together. Raising a kid is going to be easy between us. This kid will be so loved, Clarke," Keiran gave a smile, "We can tell it we love each other and not have to lie, and one day it will have 3 moms, stars willing. Me, whoever I end up, whoever Matt ends up with. But I don't think we're even worrying about any of that anyway." She waved a hand, "We might consider doing it earlier. He wants a kid, I want a kid," She shrugged, "Why wait?"

"You have it all figured out already," Clarke gave a heaving sigh of relief.

"Well, as I started with saying...it's happening. I think a part of me held out hope it would be repelled...that's not happening. I'm not someone to sob and whimper, you know me." Kieran shrugged.

"No, I guess not," Clarke agreed, "Matt's doing ok with his leg?"

"As good as one can. I think me being around, a friend, helps. He pretends well," She added solemnly, "It was a horrific event. I know there are days he'll wake up and still think his leg will be there, and I can see it in his eyes, this disappointment."

"You wake up with him?" Clarke questioned.

"We've been considering and trying out living together, for small bits. He'll never admit it, but I think he likes me around to help with it and all. I mean, he's not an invalid-he'd sooner die than have to rely on someone completely- but if he has trouble getting the apparatus on or his leg cramps or something, well, I like being there." Keiran said.

"How goes the experiment, then?" Clarke asked. She hadn't even considered trying to live with Bellamy, as practice. Then again, they both had parents they'd have to deal with, whereas Keiran had become an orphan at the age of twenty-one, so she had her own space.

"Frustrating, on occasion. Eye-opening. Fun." Keiran finally landed on, giggling, "You learn a lot about someone. Like...Matt gets in the shower first, and then takes off his socks? Who the fuck does that? And I only know because they're always wet, and he acted like that was normal!" She shook her head, "It appalled me, a bit."

"I'm sure he has dirt on you too," Clarke teased, "And I sorta want to hear what Kieran Larson's worst traits are."

"Yeah, nevermind I brought it up. He probably has a book on me. We both know between the two of us, he's the more put-together one. That's why this leg thing upsets him some days. He used to be so...at the top of everything, all of it."

"Has he talked to Toby?" Clarke broached her own ulterior topic carefully, deciding perhaps it would be better to go through Keiran first.

"Not to my knowledge."

"Has he talked about him? About it?" Clarke pressed. Kieran narrowed her eyes.

"Why?"

"Well," Clarke laced her fingers, "I...I've been helping Toby with his daughter. He's lonely. He and Matt were best friends and Toby thinks that Matt doesn't want to see him."

"He didn't, not at first," Kerian agreed right away, "For days he was just pissed. At everyone, even me. Toby tried to contact him and they got into a screaming match that ended with Matt throwing his leg at him," Keiran rubbed her temples as though recalling it brought on a headache.

"Oh," Clarke felt her hopes draining rapidly. For a moment, she did put herself in Matt's shoes...erm, shoe. Bellamy told her once she had tunnel vision, so set on a task she couldn't' see beyond that. She'd been so on Toby's side, but looking at the metallic leg on the table, she felt her indignant die down.

"He's not angry anymore," Kerian rubbed her chin.

"Oh, what is he?"

"Surviving," Kerian said, tiling her head in thought, "He's...accepted it all, this injury. He's not healed yet, mentally, but he's stopped blaming parties that shouldn't be blamed. To be honest, he's not told me directly but I just know...he doesn't know how to talk to Toby as much as Toby would know how to talk to him."

"They're both just being stubborn idiots then, perhaps?"

"Yeah," Kerain chuckled, "That's a good way to describe Matt on occasion. We...he was friends with Ana. I mean, he's pissed at her spirit and whatever, but he just feels awkward. He doesn't really think that Toby was in on it, but how do you start a friendship again? He worries he'll say the wrong thing."

"Lots of people do blame Toby."

"They're just, arg." Kerian shook her head, "I think Matt misses him too. But he also doesn't want to take Toby away from his kid. He's an only parent. If Toby asked me, I'd love to ask her. I don't want to overstep any bounds, though."

"I think we just need to get them drunk and in a room alone." Clarke said decisively, "I did convince Toby to come to the celebration, since they have free childcare tonight."

"Awesome. We'll make sure that they both get fully intoxicated and maybe have a bro heart-to-heart." Clarke said, preening.

"You and your elaborate plans," Kerain grinned, "They're still irresistibly adorable."

Clarke felt herself blush a bit, nodding and shrugging, "So Bell says too." She raised her eyes, "Shouldn't Matt be back by now?"

"Uhh, yeah." Kerian looked at the clock on the wall, "Huh-oh, wait, he's coming."

Clarke squinted, "How do you know?"

Keiran motioned to be quiet and tilted her head. Clarke could hear the faint, but gradually loud, rhythmic thump as Matt presumably came hopping down the hall.

"I am very used to that. I feel like I can hear him all the way down that hall," Kieran said.

"He does this often?" Clarke questioned.

"He's lazy, but I do argue that hopping takes much more energy than putting on the damn leg. He's also pigheaded."

Clarke listened until he was right next to the door, and he appeared, sweating but grinning. She wondered if it was how he worked out, in a strange alternative way.

"I'm baaaack," He forcefully set the wine on the table, "Whatcha guys talk about while I was gone?" He asked, grinning.

"Girly shit," Kerian shrugged, grabbing three wine glasses from the table. She poured a generous amount in Matt's glass, handing it to him.

"Ya trying to get me drunk, woman?" He asked, "Not complaining, of course…"

"No, not that," Keiran hit his arm, "Just, well, we're going to the party soon, and we wouldn't want to waste a perfectly good bottle. Plus, you deserve the lion's share, since you hobbled all to get this." Keiran's tone sounded genuine. Matt shrugged.

"Well, cool by me."

Clarke and Keiran shared a conspiratorial look.

"I swear I'm seventeen! My chip glitches," A clearly not-of-age teenager tried to Bellamy, who had confiscated their glass of alcohol.

"Geeze, I've never heard that before, must be true," Bellamy said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

The kid, very drunk and on the verge of falling over if Bellamy let go of his shoulder, looked hopefully at him, "Really?"

"No, you idiot," Bellamy said, reaching for his walkie-talkie to have him taken back to the Guard Station, "You're going to spend the night in the drunk tank, kid, and we'll talk in the morning."

"Thought you were off tonight?" Murphy said, coming up to Bellamy with a cookie, scratching his chin.

"I am, officially. I just had to wear this," Bellamy said, motioning to his uniform, "For the banquet."

"Then what are you doing with him?"

"Well...if I see it happening, I'm not just going to let it go."

Murphy chuckled, "Teenage me hated people like you."

"Teenage you wouldn't be so done to be only," Bellamy consulted his pad, snorting, "Fourteen and drinking publically. You might have come to a party drunk, but it's not like we could prove it..."

Murphy tapped his temple, "True, Blake. I'd just get it from Monty or Jasper beforehand," He nodded, examining the boy whose eyes had glazed over half-way through their conversation, "Wow."

"Yeah," Bell rolled his eyes, tapping back into his talkie to remind someone to pick up this kid, but then again, they were always filled with kids around his age at parties like this.

"Hey, kid," Murphy tapped his shoulder, "No-over here."

"What are you doing?" Bellamy asked with a frown. Murphy ignored him.

"Kid, if you can walk to me without falling over, you get set free, okay?" Murphy said, winking and taking a few steps back from Bellamy.

"You're lying," The kid craned his neck, frowning.

"Well, what does this look like to you?" Murphy pulled his badge from his pocket.

"The Guard's Seal."

"Yep, so, that means I'm telling the truth."

Bellamy shoved the kid against the wall and turned on Murphy.

"The hell are you doing? You're not on duty, and even if you were, I can easily outrank you."

"Relax, Blake," Murphy said, picking Bellamy's hand from his shoulder, "Just playing with him. He's far too drunk to take one step, let alone four. Plus, I betcha he won't remember a word of this tomorrow."

"Murphy," Bellamy growled as a warning.

"Blake," Murphy mimicked the tone, "We're supposed to be having fun here, eh? This for me is fun. Let me have a moment. We've established he's not the brightest star in the sky, let me dig around with that a little."

"No. Don't terrorize drunk children." Bellamy said in exasperation.

"Okay, Mr. Spoilsport," Murphy said in a tone that clearly said he wasn't going to listen, "Yo, kid, eyes here...you want free?"

Bellamy's eyes roved the crowd, and he gave a grin when he noticed a bob of black hair, "Oh Raven!" He called out. Murphy straightened.

"What are you doing?"

"Raven, over here," Bellamy used his free hand to motion her over, "I have something-,"

"Okay, fine, fine! Let's just not get the gf involved," Murphy said, raising his hands.

"What?" Raven asked, coming over, raising an expectant eyebrow at them, "What is going on here?"

"Nothing." Murphy said quickly.

"Just confirming a suspicion," Bellamy said, his eyes practically sparkling with the devious knowledge he now knew.

"Which is…?" Raven said, looking past him to Murphy.

"You're my secret weapon to keep Murphy in line." Bellamy said, grinning. Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you just figured that out now?" She tapped Bellamy's cheek with her palm, "That's old news."

"I'm not whipped," Murphy muttered from behind Bellamy.

"Whatever you say, John." Raven hummed.

Luckily, at that moment, one of the cadets arrived, looking flustered and already with a chain of two other drunk underaged teens, carting away Bellamy's catch. He relaxed once the kid was gone, hoping now maybe he actually could enjoy the festivities.

He saw Benny's bright red hair on the other side of the room. He was talking to Teal, using his hands to gesticulate something and Teal was laughing so hard she was crying. Then, Benny's eyes moved to the entrance, and he got a look on his face.

Bellamy followed his gaze to see Marisha and Keshawn enter, Trevor on Keshawn's shoulders.

"-Bell, you listening, like at all?" Raven snapped a finger in front of his face.

"I...gotta fix something." Bellamy murmured faintly, seeing Benny's face morph.

"What's going on?" Raven said, stepping forward and following where he was heading, "What's this about? Should we be worried?" She asked, grabbing his wrist a little too tightly. Bellamy was about to snort and brush her off for asking with such urgency, but then he caught a glimmer of metal and saw her leg brace. She had reason to be concerned, as everyone did.

"No," He said softly, "It's nothing like that. It's some stupid shit Benny's gotten himself into...it's not even really my business, but…" He trailed off.

"If you're sure," Murphy's voice took a protective tone, "Bellamy?"

"I am," Bellamy said, searching Raven's eyes and hoping she believed him. She let him go.

"Well, I'm sure we'll know soon enough. Gossip just never stays buried for long."

"It will be awhile, if I have any say," Bellamy said, "I'll catch up with you all later."

He managed to grab Benny's shoulder just before Benny took a step.

"Whatever you're thinking, it's a bad idea, bro." Bellamy warned. Benny looked back, gnawing on his lip.

"I know, but-,"

Bellamy scrutinized him, "Is this the first time you've seen them?"

"Together, uh-huh," Benny was running his fingers through his hair, "Well, I've seen 'Isha since, but like, what the hell was I supposed to say?" He made a hopeless-looking gesture with his hands, "But just her. I make it a point to not see Keshawn, you know, and when the hell would I run into a toddler?"

"Benny," Bellamy gave a long sigh.

"I wasn't even going to do anything about it. It's not my problem, if it were, Marisha would have come to me, aright? But then I just started thinking and-,"

"To what end? Do you like Marisha?" Bellamy questioned.

"I...uh, as a friend, I guess. But like that? Together? Dunno, didn't ever think about it…"

Bellamy tried to steer Benny away, knowing full well this wasn't going to end the way he thought it would, but Marisha must have seen their movements. She leaned in, saying something to Keshawn, who nodded and took Benny of his shoulders, handing him off to her and vanishing into the crowd. The pair-mother and son- nudged through the crowd until they were standing in front of the two men. Marisha's face was hard to read. She turned to Benny, and shrugged.

"So I take it you know."

"What...the door's closed," Matt slurred a bit, and Keiran patted the locked utility door.

"Yes, Matty, it is."

She and Clarke shared a look and snickered. Toby had been half-way to blackout by the time they found him, since Clarke knew this was his first outing since Irisa was born. Matt wasn't entirely hard to convince, and once they got some of Monty's moonshine, it was easy. A shot of that had you on the ground, so they gave him half of a shot. Clarke knew men well enough to predict that unless both were on the edge past tipsy, neither would say a word. They needed a heart-to-heart. Preferably one that left Toby with a friend again, but Clarke just wanted some sort of resolution. And she had to admit it took much less effort to get both of them into a utility closet together and shut the door.

"Toby?" They heard Matt say, "Why...why are you in this closet too?"

"So dense," Kerian tisked, "A girl would have figured it out by now."

Her and Keiran sat with a plate of cookies and glasses of wine against the door, listening in on occasion.

"So true," Clarke agreed, clinking her glass to Keiran's. Across the way, she saw Keshawn looking for her. WHen he saw her, he gave a wave.

"Do my eyes deceive me, or is Keshawn waving at us?" Kerian asked.

"Me," Clarke corrected, "We're…" She paused, "Friends." It was the easiest way to describe it.

"Hold up! Since when?" Keiran had a look of absolute confusion on her face, "He has friends? That's what's really baffling me."

"Well, he has Brad, but I think it's been hard since he went deaf. And I...it's not for me to tell. But let's just say I'm helping him with something."

Kerian guffawed, "Clarke Griffin, you have a finger in all the pies out there, don't you?" She said breezily.

"I thought you knew me by now," Clarke pretended to sound offended, "Of course I do." She got up, patting down the dust from her jeans.

"Yeah, yeah. Go on. I'll make sure they kiss and make up," Keiran waved her away.

"Clarke! I took your advice and I made us a nice dinner tonight," Keshawn said. Clarke had steadily been giving him suggestions on how to woo, or at least be-friend, his wife. He seemed eager to learn, so she was eager to help. Plus, she'd heard from Uma that Marisha was wary at first of his surprising behavior, but was enjoying it now. Who wouldn't want just a little bit more from their husband?

"How'd it go?"

"Very excellently. Marisha regaled me with her work she's done in the past few weeks, and Trevor just adored the pasta." He held her gaze, "Thank you very generously for supplying me with the pasta sauce."

"Oh, you can just say 'thanks'." Clarke was also helping him curb his formal language and make it a bit more accessible.

"Okay, well, thank you."

It was a process.

"How has your day been?" He asked. She had been encouraging him not to think just about himself but about the other person, asking questions they could answer. She knew he wasn't dumb, but she hadn't been sure he'd make the cognitive leap that what applied to Marisha applied to everyone in general, so the first time he'd inquired about something Clarke had done, she'd been a little shocked.

"Ah, you know," Clarke shrugged, sending a quick glance back to the door, which was still closed, "Meddling in other's business, per usual."

"Clarke," Keshawn frowned, "Who is in that closet?"

Clarke gave an innocent shrug. Keshawn's eyes clearly said he knew that she was up to something, but that's about when his interest gave up.

"Hey, Keshawn. Mind taking him back, he's a little cranky," Marisha came up behind him with Trevor, who was contorting himself in every which way and making small whining noises.

"Of course, come here." Keshawn gladly took him. Marisha noticed Clarke, and she gave her more than just a passing acknowledgement glance. There was a warning in her eyes; one that said that she knew that Clarke knew and Clarke better dare not tell Keshawn. But Clarke wanted to tell her Keshawn had no interest in finding out who Benny's father was. He'd declared that since Marisha didn't seem to be cozying up to anyone and the man hadn't stepped forward, there was no reason, since he was-as Clarke had convinced him- Trevor's true father.

"I'm going to get some juice for him. Do you want anything?" She asked.

"I'm fine, dear, thanks."

"Dear." Clarke chuckled when Marisha was gone, "That's new."

"Yes, we have been using generic terms of endearment lately, and it's going okay so far. Perhaps one day they'll be more precise." He looked at Trevor, who was still squirming, "Now, come on, let's not be like that."

Just like that, Trevor stopped, nodding at his father.

He let Trevor sit on the floor and handed him a small truck from his pocket. Trevor became instantly occupied with zooming it around on the ground. At one point, he looked at Clarke and picked it up, showing it to her. Clarke got on her knees.

"That's a car, huh? Not any of those around anymore." She said, ruffling his hair. Keshawn sat on the ground with Trevor too. He pulled a second car toy from his pocket- and Clarke could only assume Sarah must have done something to find those- and made them crash into each other. Trevor squealed with delight.

Clarke felt a tap on her shoulder.

She turned, "Wells! There you are! You were supposed to be here an hour ago."

"Clarke...can we…" He motioned off to the side.

"Sure! I'll catch up with you later, okay Keshawn."

"Later," Keshawn said after a small pause, and Clarke gave him a thumbs up.

"Hey! So, tonight, watch a movie at my place? Me, you, Bree, Bell, and maybe Octavia and Jasper? I haven't seen The Breakfast Club in ages." She said.

"Clarke, I need to talk to you about something." Wells said sternly. Clarke noted a peculiar look on his face.

"No, no. That's your political face and I won't have it tonight, Wells!" Clarke said, pushing his chest gently, "C'mon, enjoy this."

"Clarke," Wells grabbed her elbow as she tried to move away, "I really think we should talk about this now. I want you to hear it from me, a friend."

Clarke paused, weighing her options. Finally, she nodded, "Fine. What's going on?"

"I'm just gunna…" Bellamy said after a pregnant pause, trying to tip his hat to the pair but Marisha gave a noise between a giggle and a sigh.

"I'm sure you're the one who told him, you should stay." She said, rolling her eyes. Maybe it was because she wanted a witness, maybe it's because he was known for being a good mediator.

"I would have figured it out eventually, you know? Not many of us around." Benny said, eyes fixated on the boy, referring to his very bright hair.

"You sure you want me to stay?"

"Yes." Both Benny and Marisha said in unison.

"Did you want this?" Benny spoke first, "When you came to my house that night, you seemed pretty eager to-,"

"Not in front of the kid. Also, no swearing. Kids are like parrots." Marisha said.

"I'll try my best." Benny crossed his heart.

"And no...I didn't. I didn't think about it, that I had taken my chip out." Marisha pressed her lips together, "But I knew. I knew as soon as he was born. You just get a feel for things."

"Oh."

Bellamy stared at Benny, who was looking at Trevor. Now, placing them in front of each other, there were certainly similarities. It was almost striking and Bellamy was fearful for a second some passer-by would have those thoughts. Bellamy moved his body to try to shield this conversation.

Marisha seemed to realize this too, for she picked Trevor up, who instantly began to cry, "I'll be right back. I'm going to take him to Keshawn. Don't move." She said in a mother-like tone, but one Bellamy was rather inclined to follow.

"Man...he's like my clone…" Benny whispered softly to himself, "You ever seen a baby pic of me? Spitting image, dude."

"That's what I was afraid of," Bellamy admitted.

They saw her hand him off to Keshawn, and leave to the refreshments table.

"Keshawns' real good with him," Benny said thoughtfully, surprised, "Look at that." He said, motioning to the two of them playing with cars on the ground.

Marisha returned, her eyes too looking at the pair. Her eyes softened.

"Benny, you've always been a great friend. I want to keep it that way. But what's your goal?"

"I don't...I just...I hadn't seen him since I was told." Benny admitted, "Lord knows I'd fuck it up with a kid." He murmured quietly.

"Keshawn is his father. Trevor adores him," Marisha said, "And he'd just be devastated if he ever knew-,"

"He knows." Bellamy broke in.

"What?" Marisha's eyes were wide with panic.

"Just that it's not his biologically," Bellamy said in a rush to calm her, "He hasn't figured out who. I don't think he's looking anymore, either."

Marisha relaxed a inch, "How do you know this?"

"Benny knows because I know because Clarke knows because Keshawn knows." Bellamy counted off on his fingers, "That's it though. I haven't told, Clarke hasn't, Keshawn didn't even mean to tell Clarke, I think and Benny…"

"I haven't either," Benny said.

"Good. Let's keep it that way." Marisha said, tugging on a strand of her hair, "I don't want this to become a scandal."

"I just want to know him," Benny blurted, "I don't want to become his dad, but I'm curious? Is he like me? Will he be like me? I just...wanna know, 'Isha." He said quietly.

Marisha got quiet for a moment, "I'm willing to let you babysit on occasion, only if Bellamy or Clarke is there with you. You said it yourself...I wouldn't trust you with any kid under the age of seventeen."

"Harsh," Benny sucked in his cheeks, "But probably fair."

"Let's hope Stasia is mother material," Marisha seemed to relax down to a point she hadn't been even walking in, "Because you, Benny, really…" She shuddered. Bellamy knew the pair were good friends, or had gotten close up until the night they conceived Trevor by accident. After that, she married Keshawn and they just drifted. Bellamy didn't want them to stop being friends, because it was such a shame to lose those sorts of people.

A part of his heart reminded him of Ana, and it still fucking hurt.

"I have a couple years to figure it out. Maybe babysitting would be good for me?" He said, "I think I've got the basics down- no swearing, no alcohol, no weed."

"Yep," Marisha said sarcastically, "You're ready to start your own child care system, you have me totally convinced."

"Bell, you okay?" Benny said, mid laugh, noticing his friend's expression.

"Yeah, just...it's nothing." He rocked on the heel of his foot, "Since I think we're past the point of you two doing anything stupid, I'm going to go wander a bit. There were some people I said I'd find somewhere in the night."

"We're good," Marisha confirmed, "And thanks...I suppose."

Bellamy nodded faintly. In the end, he didn't even end up staying long at the party. Instead, something in his heart had withered away and he found himself back at Clarke's apartment. He had done a good job of not thinking about Ana for a very long time. It had been weeks since she'd crossed his mind, weeks since he woke up hearing the bang and watching her slide down the wall, a trail of blood following her skull. And now that his anger was gone, there was just an ache left. He and Ana worked the last Unity Day together. She'd been carefree then, or so he thought. They'd joked about her upcoming wedding and she'd let Bellamy in on all the scandalous places she and Toby had managed to have sex and gave Bellamy tips in case he ever wanted to try them out with Clarke. It seemed completely inconceivable to him that she could go on to blow up the meeting room just a few short months later.

Sometimes, he didn't understand much of anything at all.

Clarke felt her eyes burn and she used the heel of her hand to press against her sockets, then dragged them down her face in an attempt to lash away the tears. She stumbled through the halls, hiccuping as she tried not to cry. Flashes of rage crossed her mind, and she was so angry and so upset that she fumbled on the lock of her door, taking three tries to get it right.

She saw Bellamy first thing in the door, lounging on the couch, arms folded over his chest and staring pensively up at the ceiling. At the sound of the door opening, he peer over to her, and his face immediately flashed with worry.

"Clarke, stars, what's wrong?" He said jumping up, going over to wipe away a tear from her cheek. A flash of rage so uncontainable rolled over Clarke, so much so she shoved on him hard.

"How could you?" She demanded.

Bellamy's face paled, "What?" He asked, frowning. Her shove, although not as powerful as she may have hoped, did unbalance him for a second and he teetered on his feet.

"Oh, shut up. You know exactly what I'm talking about," She snarled, throwing her arms out, "And I just want to know how you are okay with this? How you didn't even say a damn thing? These kids could have been Octavia, Bellamy!"

Bellamy, for his credit, did truly look confused.

"I'm not...following…" Bellamy said, taking a careful step forward, "Just tell me what's going on?"

"The food fund for the orphans! They're dismantling it!" Clarke cried.

Bellamy felt surprise, followed by horror, followed by understanding wash over him. He stiffened, hoping his last emotion didn't slip through as he shook his head.

"Stars, Clarke...I had no idea." He didn't, but that didn't mean he didn't know why, "You have to believe me when I say I wouldn't have kept this from you." He said, holding both of her shoulders and looking at her face. She faltered, sniffling.

"You...you're allowed to read the transcripts of council meetings, though." She said, her voice small and her anger flagging at his steady expression.

"Just because I can doesn't mean I've been, of late. Unity Day takes a lot of preparation on the Guard's part. It's not something I do for leisure to begin with." Bellamy said. He turned to grab his tablet, but when he scrolled, he found little actual conversation about it.

"How did you find out?" He asked.

"Wells," Clarke collapsed on the couch, "But he says he can't tell me why! Like, fucking hell, does he not recall the last time that he withheld this stuff from us?" She said. Bellamy snorted. There was a long pause and he realized that Clarke was staring at him expectantly.

"He doesn't know anything, really. I'm sure his dad just passed it along." Bellamy said, "Don't be so quick to blame him either."

"So you know?" Clarke asked, her eyes as firm as a flintstone. He realized his wording was problematic. He shook his head, and although he hated lying to Clarke, he couldn't explain it. How could he? And from this reaction, he didn't think Clarke would keep it a secret.

He wondered about a month ago how they could continue the rations to the orphans with food dwindling already, and this was his answer. He was just constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop- or a thousand shoes and there would be a thousand more cut backs before they got to the mark of years that Raven, Monty and Jasper were scrambling toward. Clarke didn't have an inkling that the prison was the first cut, which he understood with a bitterness he hated-why give food to kids they were mostly just holding to kill later? He wondered what her response would be if she knew that too. But what could she do? Not much. This was a problem that had a solution. This wasn't Keshawn or Toby or Matt. This was something concrete, scary, and real.

He didn't like lying to Clarke, but what other choice did he have.

He put on a mask of innocence, "No. I'm just saying there's some high up files related to this meeting and I don't have access to them. If I don't, Wells certainly doesn't." He said. It wasn't a total lie. There were a few files attached to the meeting, ones he couldn't open. But they were relating to Jake's project, and therefore few could to begin with. And they did relate, he knew this without a question. But it was still stretching the whole truth.

"I just don't understand, Bellamy. It was going so well. It was doing such good."

Bellamy shut his tablet off.

"I know, I know," His sympathy was genuine as he pressed his nose to her neck, "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry I shoved you. I don't know why I'd even think you'd keep things, and something as big as this, from me." She whispered.

"You were angry, hurt. I get it." Bellamy's voice cracked, but Clarke didn't notice.

"I'll fix this. I'll go back, revise the plan. Plead to Jaha, I dunno, but I will fix this." She said, her back straightening a back as her familiar look of resolve hardened her.

"I'm sure you'll work something out," Bellamy said, smiling, but deep down his heart wasn't in his words.

Oh Clarke, he wanted to say instead, this isn't something anyone can fix…


As I think I said before, the ripples of the explosion are still there, as are the ripples coming from the other side of the timeline, the one about the ark dying and them eventually going to the ground.

I think that this end bit is interesting because I think it really shows in this AU how Clarke has diverged from the character she was on the show. This is still Ark!Clarke, meaning that yeah, I think this is the reaction she would have had. But, I think in the show, she's a much more hardened character and she would have understood 'for the greater good' as she's had do do many times before. In this story, Clarke hasn't had to make all those awful choices. So she's a very different person. I think Bellamy is the more 'for the greater good' here because of his job and because of knowledge, not because of principal.

So, I'm sure a few of my readers I've turned to Jactavia shippers, or you already were to begin with. I, sometime this summer, basically had a huge burst of creativity and wrote a 100 page Jactavia AU starting from somewhere season 4ish basically in which Jasper never dies and he and Octavia actually freaking talk this season. It's been updated quite a bit already, I'm uploading chapter 7 today out of ten, but maybe go and check it out? It's in a huge need of reviews and some love :) it's called 'if you must mourn, don't do it alone'.

Since the time I uploaded the last chapter, I have basically binge-watched all of The Vampire Diaries. Not sure why I never got into it now...anywho, I'm on the last six episodes of season 8. It had spawned so many ships. If you wanna know who I ship and squeal with me, you can ask, because I'm not going to take the time to write them all here now lol.

Anyway, remember to review!