"Mom!" Clarke said. She walked as swiftly as her legs would carry her towards her mother.
Throwing her arms around her mother, Clarke let out a built up sob as she buried her face into Abby's hair. Abby hugged her daughter tightly with one arm around her waist and her other hand against the back of Clarke's head.
The mother and daughter stayed in each other's embrace for the first time in forever, momentarily forgetting their once strained relationship.
The two finally pulled apart, and wiping the tears from Clarke's face, Abby cupped her daughters face.
"Look at you," Abby said smiling, "You've grown so much since I last saw you, in more ways than one— good ways."
"Yeah, I guess so," Clarke replied, bewildered by the fact that her mom seemed so fine with her pregnancy. She reciprocated the smile before running her finger through her hair, "Do you, uh, have a minute?"
Abby looked over at Jackson who nodded.
"Go be with your daughter, Abby. I can handle the triage. I'll find you if I need you," he said before busying himself with his next patient.
"I guess I do."
"Good. C'mon. I want you to show you the camp."
Clarke grabbed her mother by the hand and dragged her out of the drop ship.
"So I'm sure you've seen the front of the gate and the drop ship obviously, but over there is the trading post. We trade items we've collected, food and services with the Grounders. Across from it on the other side of the gate is where we keep our rovers. Here's all the homes we've built in the last few weeks. Heda had several grounders help us. That one is mine and Bellamy's and Lincoln and Octavia's," Clarke said pointing to the specific cabin on the corner. "Oh, and the livestock and gardens are over there behind the drop ship."
"You mean farm animals survived the cataclysm?" Abby asked in shock.
"You'd be surprised. I'll take you there in the morning since it's already getting late. I'm not sure if you've been told yet, but we've made a spot for you in our house, if you want it."
"I wouldn't want to impose."
"Mom, it's fine. There's plenty of room. I think we're the least crowded cabin in the camp."
"All right then," Abby answered and her daughter smiled.
She half expected Clarke to be somewhat distant towards her after everything she had done, but Abby still found herself surprised when Clarke welcomed her with open arms.
They walked into the cabin to see Bellamy, his sister and Lincoln sitting around the old table eating supper. Bellamy stood from the table, walked over to Clarke and pulled her jacket off for her.
He hung it on one of the five hooks nailed to the wall.
"I heated up the stew we had last night from the party."
"Good. We're starving, and that's still about the only thing I can keep down."
"That's why I made it for you"
"Okay, technically, you didn't make this,"
"Technically, I did at least have a part in the making of the stew when I'm the one who provided the meat," he answered as he dipped a bowl for Abby and Clarke.
"And technically," Octavia interjected from the table, clearly hinting at the news her brother had told her that morning, "you two bicker like an old married couple."
"Butt out, O," Bellamy growled. Octavia and Lincoln were the only other two people who knew their plans to tie the knot. The younger Blake let out a small giggle at the satisfaction of getting a rise out of her brother. Clarke couldn't help but shake her head in amusement at the two siblings.
Bellamy turned and carried the bowls to the two women. He set the bowl before Clarke and kissed the top of her blonde head as he moved to Clarke's mother.
"Anyway," Clarke said changing the subject, "Mom, this is Octavia and Lincoln. Lincoln is from Trikru, and I don't know where we'd be today if it weren't for him. Octavia is Bellamy's sister."
"It's lovely to meet you both," Abby said, shyly.
"Abby, you must be starving," Bellamy placed the bowl in front of her. The aroma caused her stomach to rumble loudly.
"Very much. Oxygen wasn't the only thing we were running low on. We had to cut back on rations," she said, filling her mouth with a spoonful of the bowl's contents. "This is amazing!"
"As much as I'd like to take all the credit, it was Lincoln who made it," Octavia said.
"Lincoln, have you always known how to cook?" Abby asked. She was curious about the man the said was a grounder. She was curious about his people, and he was the first of their kind she had met.
"Not well. My nomon taught me. It was her favorite recipe to cook."
"I'm sorry, 'nomon'?" Abby looked to her daughter for help. She was unfamiliar with the word he used.
"It's Trig for 'mom' or 'mother'," Clarke answered, "It's the grounder's language. Only their warriors speak English."
"And this language, you all speak it too?"
"Not fluently, but most of us have picked up on a few words and phrases here and there," Bellamy answered.
"Don't worry. You'll catch on pretty quickly. It didn't take us very long."
"Well, I look forward to learning it. It sounds like a very interesting language."
The group sat around the table in silence before Octavia and Lincoln excused themselves, and Clarke, Abby, and Bellamy remained.
Bellamy stood from the table, cleared it off and washed the bowls as Abby and Clarke spoke.
He couldn't help but smile watching the excitement on Clarke's face as she spoke with her mother about the baby. He was glad Abby was taking this well, and he was glad Clarke was on speaking terms with Abby.
"Here," Clarke said, handing her mother the white and black image, "this is the last ultrasound I had in Mount Weather."
She paused, preparing herself for the conversation she was about to start.
"I'm sure you've been wondering about the mountain and why we shut down any conversation that has anything to do with it."
"We've all wondered— Jaha, Marcus, and myself. I know you said you'd tell me when you were ready, but Clarke, honey, what the hell happened?"
Clarke looked over at Bellamy who leaned against the door frame of their bedroom. Without speaking, he knew exactly what she needed, and he found a seat beside her on the worn, old sofa.
"Are you sure you're ready to talk about it? You know you don't have to." He asked.
"No," she said shaking her head. The blonde drew a deep breath, "but I know I can with you here."
He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently.
"All forty six of us, we each have our own story in the mountain, but the majority of them start with the red smoke. I told you that this baby gave me a reason to survive. It's the reason I'm still alive."
A/N: I'm sorry it's been a while since I've updated. I've had a lot of things happen recently that pulled me away from more than just writing, but I'm back now. I've posted a few filler chapters recently to build up to my last chapter. I thought some of the characters deserve some peace for a little bit. New chapters coming soon :)