A/N: Sorry, sorry, I know it's been a while, but I got totally caught up with finals. I made this chapter a lil longer to hopefully make up for that! Enjoy! I'll update more often now that finals are over. -T

Night terrors have been a frequent occurrence for Lexa since The Intersect was first loaded into her brain. Having The Intersect means that Lexa's brain works in overdrive; it is always awake, and thinking, even if Lexa, herself, is not. During particularly stressful nights, Lexa has less control over her thoughts - and then come the nightmares.

This time, it's a dream where Lexa and Costia are at an empty beach. Lexa watches Costia wade in the ocean water with a faint smile on her face; sunlight radiates off of both their bodies. Costia her her back turned to Lexa.

"Love, it's time to head back home." Lexa stands, starts to fold their blankets - then she hears a loud bang. Her first instinct is to drop to the ground, cover her head - then, when she stands, she sees Costia, still standing there, still standing with her back turned to Lexa. "Must have been a car backfiring," Lexa says, shaking her head at the slight audacity of her actions. Costia does not move from her position. "Costia?"

Costia turns. There is a bullet wound in her bare stomach. Blood seeps out of it. Lexa lunges forward, only to be met with some kind of external, invisible force pushing against her. She is fixed into place. "Costia!"

Blood drains into the ocean, turning the entirety of the water red. Everything goes red. The blood ocean ebbs back until it's just Costia, standing on the wet sand, staring at Lexa. The wound is suddenly gone.

"You should have listened, Alexandra," she whispers.

The ocean comes back in the form of a bloody tsunami, roaring towards Lexa, consuming her until she can't breathe, Where is Costia What should I have listened to What did I do wrong -

And then she's jolted awake.

She lies there in bed, a thin layer of sweat on her skin, shaking a little, breathing hard, and allows herself a few minutes to come back to reality before she moves, again. Lexa looks at the clock.

Six in the morning. No use trying to go back to sleep, now. Lexa rubs her eyes and sits up, reaching over to take a sip out of the glass of water sitting at her side table.

It's the morning after her and Clarke have had their talk, and Lexa hasn't felt this on edge in months. It's clear that the two don't trust each other, but they have the same goal: figure out the motives behind the creation of The Intersect, and destroy the organization that is (supposedly) responsible for the deaths of innocents. This will have to do, for now.

She's set up a conference - Griffin's team, and Lexa's team, in The Basement - but she has no idea what to expect. How the General would respond to any of this. How Anya would respond to any of this. Especially how Indra will respond to any of this.

Lexa sits in bed, holding her glass of water, and thinks of Clarke Griffin; up until their alliance meeting, Lexa had thought of her as nothing but a naive college student, recklessly fighting for an already-lost cause - but now... Now, not so much.

Clarke Griffin is nothing like what Lexa predicted: she is bolder than Lexa thought, and her loyalty to the ones she cares about, the dedication to the cause she is fighting for, is unwavering. Lexa absentmindedly notes that she would have made an excellent NSA agent.

She sees a lot of Costia in Clarke Griffin.

Almost too much.

"I'm not going to get shot down the moment your team sees me, right?"

Lexa has just picked Clarke up from her apartment on campus. They're fifteen minutes from The Basement.

"No. I'll make sure of it."

"They don't know I'm coming?"

"No," Lexa repeats. "I just called for a briefing. I didn't want to risk the General shutting me out without having had met you."

Clarke rests her head against the window.

"Why did you decide to come alone, Clarke?" Lexa asks.

Clarke shrugs. "Bellamy gets hot-headed really easily. Raven isn't exactly the most well-mannered person around figures of authority. And I don't want Octavia in too deep with this - she's too young."

Lexa nods, eyes on the road. Smart. Possibly foolish, coming without backup, but smart.

They drive in silence for the next ten minutes, and through her peripheral vision, Lexa can see Clarke watching her. Once they get to a stoplight, Lexa turns to meet Clarke's eyes. "Something wrong?"

Clarke's eyes don't stray. "When did it happen?"

"When did what happen?"

"Costia. When did it happen?"

Lexa's eyes are immediately back on the road again. She waits until the light turns green, then starts driving. Clarke is still watching her. Lexa exhales softly, fingers tapping on the wheel. "Just over a year ago," she says softly. She sees Clarke's head turning to face the road again, going back to her previous position, leaning against the window.

"I lost someone, too," Clarke says, her voice just as quiet. "It's been four months. His name was Finn."

Lexa stays silent, unsure of what to say. Clarke breaks the silence.

"Does it ever go away?"

Lexa is startled at the way Clarke speaks, her voice brittle, vulnerability made blatantly obvious in her demeanour. She continues driving for a few more seconds, seeing the warehouse, and starts driving towards it, avoiding answering Clarke's question.

Finn Collins. His file said that he was always spending time either with Griffin, or Reyes. A college love triangle, perhaps? Lexa doesn't know - but she does know that this boy must have been important to Clarke in the same way that Costia was important to Lexa. A common ground. Lexa feels a hint of solidarity and fondness for the other woman; knowing that Clarke has felt loss in the same way Lexa has...it makes Lexa feel relieved. Relieved that she is not the only person she knows who has gone through the same kinds of suffering. That someone like Clarke Griffin feels the same kind of pain, too. Lexa can only hope that their plan to explain everything to her team will work out.

They park in the front of the warehouse. Lexa turns the engine off, and the two sit there in silence for a little longer. Lexa clears her throat, deciding to answer Clarke's question.

"It doesn't. But it gets easier to deal with."

Clarke just nods again. Lexa shifts awkwardly in her seat, unsure of what else to say - reassuring the other woman hardly seems necessary. She decides to immediately divert back to business matters.

"Shall we?"

The blonde gives Lexa a firm smile and a nod, and the two make their way into the warehouse.

The warehouse itself is ordinary; it's a storage warehouse, used by civilians - but the storage compartment Lexa and her team uses contains a highly-secured elevator that leads down to The Basement.

"A warehouse. Wow," Clarke mutters, following Lexa towards the storage room. "You would never think that top-secret government agents gather here."

Lexa can't help the smirk that appears on her face in response to Clarke's sarcasm, but she quickly wipes it off her face as they approach the storage compartment containing the elevator. She punches in her assigned code, and she hears the doors unlock. "No sudden movements," she murmurs to Clarke, "If they think you pose even a remote threat, they'll shoot."

"Okay. I'm armed. Is that going to fly with them?" Clarke says, following Lexa into the compartment, where the doors to an elevator is revealed.

Lexa hits the "down" button, then enters the elevator as it arrives. Clarke follows close behind. "If they pat you down, they'll likely find the gun tucked into your pants. And the one in your inner jacket pocket. Maybe the knife holstered on your ankle, if they find it."

Clarke quickly glances down at her ankle, then back up at Lexa. "How did you - The Intersect?"

"Common sense," Lexa says, giving Clarke an amused, sidelong glance as they arrive on their floor. Lexa takes a deep breath as the doors open.

The Basement is a sprawling area, with a conference room, a lab, three rooms with bunk-beds, and three bathrooms. It was initially meant for agents to use as a permanent, live-in base, but, surprisingly enough, no one wanted to live in a windowless underground government base in the middle of nowhere. Lexa doesn't think she would have minded it.

"They'll be waiting in the conference room." Lexa gestures to her left, where the large, wooden doors at the end are. "Are you ready?"

Lexa doesn't even have time to turn to look at her before Clarke starts walking towards the doors, on her own. Goddamn it. She quickly follows behind the other woman as she opens the door, and she's hardly surprised at the reaction that follows.

Indra whirls around in her seat, immediately recognizes Clarke, and lunges for the gun sitting on the table. Anya stands, but does not arm herself. Clarke raises both of her hands in submission as Indra points the gun directly at her head. General Terram is on the screen - the look of confusion on his face immediately switches to a livid one when he sees Lexa.

"Wilde," he says. "What is happening?"

"Stand down, Indra," Lexa says, staring straight at Gustus. Indra reluctantly lowers her gun, but does not let go of it. "General, let me explain -"

Gustus doesn't let Lexa speak any further. "Arrest her!"

Indra is the first to move towards Clarke, and Lexa meets Anya's eyes; they're full of question, and the slightest hint of fear flickers behind them. Suddenly, Clarke speaks.

"Your son," she says to the General. "I can tell you what happened to your son."

Lexa watches Clarke in wonder. The fire is back in the blonde's eyes again - the same kind that Lexa saw in their first encounter. Clarke is surrounded by NSA agents in an underground base, with no way to get back home without Lexa. The fact that she has enough courage to directly address the General as such has Lexa in shock.

"Indra, wait." Terram raises a hand. His eyes glare at Clarke through the screen as Indra steps back, frustration clear in her eyes. Gustus lowers his hand. "How do you know about my son?"

"Hadwin Terram," Clarke continues, "Twenty seven years old."

The name triggers The Intersect in Lexa's brain. Hadwin Terram, the late son of Gustus - supposedly killed in a car crash on his way to guard the Intersect base. With the knowledge Clarke has given Lexa of The Intersect, Lexa immediately puts two and two together. Hadwin did not die in a car accident.

"He died in a car accident," Gustus says - but he doesn't sound convinced of it, himself. "I saw the accident, I saw his body -"

"I'm sorry, but he didn't," Clarke says simply. "Fulcrum staged it."

Anya speaks, her eyes now on the blonde. "Fulcrum?"

Clarke nods, her eyes still on Gustus.

She launches into the same explanation she gave to Lexa in her apartment, and Lexa sees Anya sit and sink into her chair. Indra stands still, her expression unchanged.

"...Your son was one of the test subjects," she concludes. "His brain couldn't handle it, and Fulcrum wouldn't dare tell anyone that the son of a general had been killed by their experiments. So, they used their resources to stage a car accident. The accident happened seven hours after he had been declared brain dead by Fulcrum. It just doesn't add up."

"How do you know all of this?" Gustus's voice is quiet.

"I have hackers," Clarke says. "We know more about Fulcrum than Fulcrum does, itself."

Lexa speaks from Clarke's side. "Costia was killed because of The Intersect."

At this, the general stirs. "Agent Abramov was killed because she murdered innocent programmers -"

Clarke interrupts. "No one in Fulcrum is innocent. Every single one of them had opted to test The Intersect on agents."

"What are you suggesting?" The general is growing impatient. Lexa can tell. Clarke needs to tell him whatever plan she has brewing in her head, soon.

"I can get you proof." Clarke reaches into her inner pocket, and Indra is immediately on the defence again, slowly raising her gun at the motion. Anya's hand twitches for the gun likely hidden in her inner jacket pocket. Lexa can't help but feel as if she needs to arm herself, also, but she gives Clarke the benefit of the doubt. Again.

Clarke simply rolls her eyes as she takes a paper out of her pocket, reading it briefly. "I have a contact. In London." She looks up. "They're in hiding, but they were directly involved with the NSA and Fulcrum before they decided enough was enough, and they went off the grid."

"Who is this agent?"

"I can't tell you that. Not until you give me my word that we can work together on this."

Indra lets out a frustrated growl. "You cannot be buying this, General," she hisses, whirling around to face Terram. "She is a traitor. She is merely saying what she must to get out of incarceration."

The General's gaze turns from Indra to Lexa. "What do you make of this, Wilde?"

Lexa looks over at Clarke, who seems to be watching her closely, then back at Gustus. "I believe it. Nothing about Costia's death...nothing about Hadwin's death, or any other agent that has been killed these past few months, adds up."

"Does Griffin know of your -"

"She knows I have The Intersect, yes."

The General lets out a long sigh, and pinches the bridge of his nose for a moment. "Go with her to London," he says, voice resigned. "Monitor her closely. Stay in touch with your team. You have two weeks to come up with something substantial."

Lexa raises an eyebrow. "Two weeks before what?"

"If Griffin do not come up with anything in this time, I will make sure that she rots in prison for the rest of her young life," Gustus says. "And do not think that you will be without consequence for wasting my time, either, Agent Wilde. Two weeks."

Lexa nods once.

"Find what happened to the agents, and get me proof. Find what happened to Hadwin. Figure out what these - what Fulcrum's motives are. Am I being clear?"

"Crystal," Clarke mutters.

"Dismissed."

The screen goes black, and Indra storms off. Anya turns in the swivel chair so that she is facing the table, and wordlessly waves at the seats in front of her for Lexa and Clarke. Once they sit, she begins to speak.

"I don't know you, Griffin." she says. Lexa can't read her tone of voice - it's monotonous, and her eyes are blank. "But I will warn you now - and you, Lexa - He means what he says."

"My contact is a good one," Clarke says firmly.

"For your sake, I hope so." Anya then addresses Lexa. "I can help you prep for London. Plane tickets, weaponry, and a hotel room - but that's as far as I'll go."

"Thank you, Anya," Lexa says quietly. She can understand why - the more Anya helps Lexa and Clarke, the more likely it is that she, too, will be punished if all does not go according to plan.

Clarke clears her throat. "Is there a bathroom, here?"

"Second hallway there, on the left," Lexa says. Clarke nods, and rises from her seat to leave.

There's only about a moment of silence before Anya speaks, again.

"I can see why you trust her."

Lexa shrugs. "Not much to it. Her motives make sense."

"She reminds me of Costia. Fierce. Unwavering." Anya tilts her head. "Cute."

Lexa visibly bristles at this, and Anya sighs. "I'm just saying - be careful, Alexandra. We can't trust her yet."

"I know."

When is your next appointment with the programmers?"

Appointments with programmers are essentially checkups for The Intersect. If Clarke has been right about everything, this means that they've been keeping a log of Lexa's cranial health - and right now, Lexa feels very healthy. She remembers everything Clarke said about lobotomies, brain-probing, and she closes her eyes for a moment as she allows a wave of nausea to come and go. "Tomorrow," she breathes. "I'll go and try to figure out as much as I can, but acting normal will likely be the best course of action with them."

"I agree. Go tomorrow. Do all of the standard tests. Observe the people there. I'll book a flight for a few hours after the appointment."

"We'll need new identities - I don't want a record of this anywhere that Fulcrum can find it."

"I'll have everything prepared by tonight. I can swing by your apartment once it's done." Anya pauses. "What if Griffin is leading you into a death trap?"

"Then she leads me into a death trap," Lexa says simply. "I'll worry about it when I have to."

Clarke appears from the hallway. "Are we good to go, Lexa?"

Lexa nods. "Ready if you are."

The drive back to Clarke's campus is mostly silent. Again, Clarke is the first to break this silence.

"We need to talk more about what to do in London."

Lexa hums in assent. "I'll stay at your apartment for a bit to discuss it."

Clarke looks out of the side window. "There's a beach near campus," she murmurs. "And the sun's about to set."

"Okay?" Lexa furrows a brow. How is this relevant?

"Would you want to sit there? It's just - I've been cooped up inside all day before our meeting there, and then we were underground. I need some air."

Lexa hesitates.

"Promise I won't pull anything funny."

"Well, since Clarke Griffin has said it, it must be true," Lexa says lightheartedly. This comes easily. The knowledge that their ghosts lie on common grounds makes it easier for Lexa to relate to Clarke Griffin. "We can go."

"It's just a left on the fourth exit on the highway," Clarke says, leaning back against her seat. "Indra really doesn't like me, does she?"

Lexa smirks, exiting on the highway where Clarke has indicated. "Indra doesn't really like anyone. She's seen a lot. Misplaced her trust in many people. Don't take it too personally."

"So she pulls guns on every stranger she meets?"

"No," Lexa says, parking at the beach she assumes Clarke is talking about, "That would be me."

"Right." Clarke takes her seatbelt off, and Lexa follows, trailing behind to the beach area.

They get near the water and Clarke sits cross-legged. It's a little windy, but it offsets the heat of the sun nicely - Lexa notes the way the wind plays with Clarke's hair. She sits beside her, and looks out to the ocean. Clarke is right - the sun is setting.

"My contact in London can give us documents that would tell us everything we need to know about Fulcrum," Clarke says. "He's only ever told me about them, but now that he knows we have a force to help us, now...I think he'll give them to me."

"What's his name?"

"Marcus Kane. He's a friend of my mother's."

"Abigail Griffin."

"That's right." Clarke's gaze moves from the water to Lexa. "I'm sure you know all there is to know about that situation."

Lexa shrugs. "Just that you two are estranged. And that it's related to the execution of your father."

Clarke leans back agains the palms of her hands. "She didn't trust him enough to let him try and overtake Fulcrum. When he left to rally agents, she called the NSA. Word got back to a Fulcrum agent that Jacob Griffin was about to try and overthrow them, and..." Clarke shakes her head. Inhales, then exhales deeply. "They took over the case. Said that he was part of their organization, and that they would handle it. Then, four days later, one of your agents shows up to my door to inform me that he was involved in a car accident."

"I'm sorry."

"All because my mom didn't trust him."

Lexa's eyes squint into the sun. "I didn't trust Costia enough to listen to her when she told me to stay away from The Intersect."

"You thought she went rogue. I don't blame you." Clarke sighs. "I haven't had so much as a phone call with my mother in almost two years. The last time I saw her was at my great-grandad's funeral. I didn't even look at her the whole time."

The sun is dipping lower into the horizon now, and the sky glows pale orange. Lexa hasn't had the opportunity to sit like this and watch a sunset in a long time. She internally thanks Clarke Griffin for bringing her out here, but Lexa itches with a question.

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

Clarke shakes her head and sits up, rubbing her hands together to get the sand off of them. "I guess I'm trying to convey to you that I'm a person, too. A person who's gone through a few of the same things that you've presumably gone through, too." Her voice is quiet. "And I'm not just one of your folders. You can trust me."

Lexa turns to meet Clarke's eyes. The low light of the sun makes them into an even deeper shade of blue. There is nothing but honesty and kindness and determination in them. Lexa does not respond - she only holds Clarke's gaze.

"Trust me, Lexa."

"Okay. Do you trust me?"

"No."

"Don't be mean. Do you trust me?"

"Not enough to let you jump."

Lexa and Costia are sitting in a plane, ten thousand feet from the ground. It's Lexa's first year in the NSA - Costia is teaching Lexa how to deploy a parachute and land safely. Lexa is strapped to her partner.

"We're going to have to do it, eventually. Your exam is coming up, soon."

"Fuck. Just - just do it. Just jump -" Lexa cuts herself off with a startled yell when Costia pushes them off of the edge of the open plane. Wind whistles through her ears the whole way down, and they're tugged up suddenly when Costia deploys the parachute.

They land in a clearing and Lexa more or less stumbles forward when Costia unstraps her. Costia reaches forward and grabs Lexa's arm, steadying her. Lexa turns.

"Holy shit."

"I know, right?"

"We get to do that a lot?"

"Yeah, rookie," Costia says, "Maybe once or twice a month. You did well." She brushes back Lexa's wind-blown hair back and smiles softly. "I'm proud of you."

"I can't believe I actually let you jump out of a plane while I was strapped to you."

"I'm glad you trust me."

Lexa grins, leans forward, and kisses her. "Of course I do."

"It's really important that you trust the people you work with, Alexandra."

"Another lesson? While we're alone in a clearing?"

"Shh. Just listen. You're going to get your trust betrayed on a few occasions as a special agent. That's guaranteed to happen. But don't let your trust for others falter as a result of it. You've got a pure heart, Alexandra. I would hate to see that ruined."

"Yeah, yeah," Lexa says, unclipping the harness from her waist. "I'll be fine. So long as you're here to help me through the 'betrayal of trust' thing, or whatever."

Costia smiles. "Of course. I love you, Lex."

"I love you too."