*Shout out to my Australian readers! I'm going to Australia in two years' time and I'm already excited – I can't wait! Thanks for reading and please favourite/follow/review.*
'He's convulsing.' Clarke said, confusion written on her face.
'What does it mean?' Octavia asked, moving closer to Lincoln.
Clarke's eyes scanned Lincoln's body automatically, looking for another sign to explain why her brain was reminding her of the alcoholic patient her mother had been tending to in the Ark. He had been found out and taken to the medical whilst his body fought the withdrawal symptoms, convulsing as Lincoln's was now. Her eyes continued over his body and found the bloody bandage wrapped around his lower thigh.
'What happened to his leg?'
Bellamy saw Octavia's pained expression as she answered. 'I shot him.'
Clarke hesitated, saddened by how much this was hurting the girl, knowing that the person she was in love with was suffering so much, in part because of her. Bellamy's voice snapped her out of it, the way only his could.
'Clarke, he's lost a lot of blood.'
Bellamy hated every second of this. He hated seeing O so distressed, and he hated putting Clarke in danger, but they needed Lincoln, not just because of O, but because of Mount Weather.
Steeling herself, Clarke took a deep breath before stepping closer towards Lincoln, flinching as he thrashed harder against his restraints, cold eyes fixed on her, face contorting wildly with rage. Bellamy's fist clenched tighter around his torch, fighting to reach for her, to pull her back to him. Her eyes continued to scan him, stopping at the blood and marks on his neck.
'Can you shine the light on his neck?' The two siblings complied, illuminating the puncture wounds on Lincoln neck that could only have been caused by a needle.
'There are needle marks.'
'You think he's been drugged?' Bellamy's voice reassured her that he was so close.
'Maybe.' Clarke's mind was racing.
Suddenly Lincoln ripped one of the chains holding him clean off the wall and lunged for Clarke, striking her with the chain and almost knocking her to the floor. Lincoln grabbed her and dragged her upwards again, her face was millimetres from his when Bellamy grabbed his arm, raining hard punches on the reaper, desperate to save her. Lincoln dropped Clarke, who landed on the floor winded, and ripped the other chain holding his other hand from the wall as well. Octavia threw herself at Lincoln as he wrestled Bellamy to the floor with an almost inhuman strength, 'No!' She cried, but Lincoln hurled her against the wall like a rag doll, before turning his attention back to Bellamy. Summoning all her strength Clarke ran at Lincoln, giving Bellamy enough time to escape from under Lincoln and get the taser.
Lincoln threw Clarke to the ground the same way he had Octavia and ripped the final chain holding his ankles from the floor, running at Bellamy and hurling him to the floor. The sound of his head hitting the floor, knowing she was too far away to help, made Clarke feel sick. But before he could kill Bellamy, Octavia was there knocking Lincoln unconscious with a metal bar she had wrenched from the drop ship wall.
Panting furiously the three lay on the floor, four including the unconscious Lincoln. Slowly, painfully, Clarke crawled to where Bellamy lay unresponsive.
She breathed his name, taking in the blood and cuts now on his face, running her hand through his hair gently, begging and praying that he was going to be ok.
Bellamy opened his eyes, wincing at the pounding in his head and the aching all over his body. The first thing he saw were Clarke's blue eyes, filled with concern, and then her golden hair framing her face. She was crouched next to him on the floor, brushing the hair back from his forehead, his heart felt light in his chest at the realisation, almost outweighing the pain he felt everywhere else.
'Hey.' He smiled gently, shifting to sit up slightly. Clarke's small hands gripped his shoulders.
'Don't hurt yourself.' When he was sat up she leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck gently, relaxing against him when his arms wrapped around her waist.
Bellamy suddenly remembered Octavia knocking Lincoln out and turned to find his sister sat by the unconscious body, trembling slightly in shock.
Together they bound him again, using more chains and ropes, leaving him lying on his back on the floor this time. When they were satisfied that he wouldn't be able to break out of these bonds Clarke turned her attention to Lincoln's leg.
'We have to stop the bleeding and get the bullet out. Hold his leg still.' But at that moment Lincoln woke up and started thrashing again, fortunately the restraints held. Octavia tried to give him some water but he refused to drink, snarling and trying to bite the hands that were worrying around his face.
'It's ok,' Octavia swallowed harshly, forcing back tears as she stood up, 'I'll get some more.'
Clarke watched, worried for both of them, as Bellamy rose from where he was crouched next to Lincoln, cutting Octavia off before she could reach the ladder and placing his hands on her arms.
'O, once the drug is out of his system he'll be ok.' He had to reassure her, had to look after her. His sister, his responsibility, he wouldn't let her suffer this alone.
Looking up at him she almost believed him, but she thought back to the stranger lying on the floor before she could help it and tears filled her eyes again. 'You can't protect me from this one big brother.' Her voice heavy with heartbreak, Octavia skirted around him and climbed down the ladder, head down.
Bellamy dropped back down to crouch next to Lincoln, staring unseeingly at the floor whilst his mind raced and his heart struggled to comprehend his and O's pain, to understand how they were still standing after so much grief and sorrow.
Clarke's hand reached for his, anchoring him until he was ready. After a minute or so Bellamy lifted his head and nodded to Clarke. She understood, the way only she could, and got to work, removing the bullet before cleaning and bandaging Lincoln's thigh.
'Your mom would be proud.' Bellamy said confidently and Clarke's chest filled with pride.
Before she could reach for him again footsteps told them that Octavia had returned, but as the sound neared it became clear that there were two sets of footsteps crossing the floor of the drop ship to ladder beneath them. They stood and Bellamy reached for his gun, training it on the hatch as Octavia climbed put, followed by a grounder, Nyko. He cocked his gun but Octavia stretched out an arm.
'Bellamy don't, he's Lincoln's friend and their healer.' Her eyes pleaded with his.
Lincoln's body began to convulse once more and he started to foam at the mouth.
'He's seizing again.' Glancing down at Clarke he saw that she was already looking at him, her eyes matching Octavia's, she wanted the healer alive. Bellamy lowered his gun and nodded his head towards Lincoln. Nyko walked over to where the reaper lay, eyes meeting Bellamy's with dislike. He crouched next to Lincoln's head and unrolled a cloth bad filled with different glad vials. Clarke watched him, shrewd eyes narrowed with distrust, as he selected a small dark bottle and uncapped it.
'What is that?' She asked, but the grounder ignored her. Her spine tingled, her instincts telling her something was wrong.
'Yu gonplei ste odon'. Nyko spoke for the first time and Bellamy saw Clarke's eyes shift to the left, deep in thought, before snapping back to Nyko. Her expression was clear and her eyes were a fiery, icy blue.
'Wait.' She cried, throwing her hand out to catch the drop that Nyko had tipped from the bottle over Lincoln's mouth.
Nyko unsheathed a knife from a scabbard in his thigh but Bellamy was there before he could do anything, gun cocked.
'Back off, right now.' His voice was dangerously angry.
Clarke repeated what he had said in Trigedasleng to herself, the same phrase Anya had breathed with her final breath. 'It's what they say before death.' She turned to look at Octavia, shock written on the younger girls face, 'he's not trying to heal him, he's trying to kill him.'
'Nyko.' He turned to Octavia when she spoke, cold eyes meeting furious ones, 'is it true?'
'Yes.' He replied, face softening, 'Death is the only way.'
'Hold on, there could be a way to bring him back.' Clarke refused to accept that there was nothing they could do.
'None that I've ever seen.'
Suddenly Finn burst through the hatch onto the second level of the drop ship. 'We have to go, the camp's leaving.' His eyes scanned the scene before him and his face paled as Nyko leapt up.
'You!' He roared furiously, grabbing Finn and slamming him against the wall, lifting him higher and he yelling in Trigedasleng before switching to English. 'You murdered my people. Elders. Children. Innocents.'
'Stop it.' Bellamy's shout echoed through the drop ship but Nyko ignored it.'
Octavia gripped Nyko's arm, trying to pull it off Finn's nefck, 'Nyko you're killing him.'
'Blood must have blood.' He roared.
Bellamy stepped closer, 'get out of the way' he yelled to Octavia.
'No, you're not killing him.'
'Move.'
Dragging her focus away from the chaos, Clarke searched for the taser Bellamy had tried to use on Lincoln. Finally she saw where it had rolled after being dropped, coming to rest in a corner. Jumping up she grabbed it and rounded on Nyko, tasing him before any more damage could be done. His twitching body dropped to the floor, releasing Finn who sank down against the wall.
Bellamy and Clarke's eyes found each other, checking they were ok, but Octavia's went to Lincoln's.
'Lincoln?' Her voice was strained. 'He's not breathing.'
Clarke was there in an instant, checking his pulse, Bellamy kept his gun trained on Nyko.
'His heart's stopped, move.' She fell into medic mode and began resuscitation. It was a long few seconds before Lincoln took a desperate gasp of air, choking slightly before taking another.
Clarke looked up at Octavia whose eyes were filled with a gratitude Clarke had only ever seen when life and death were involved.
'He was dead.' Nyko had sat up and was staring at Clarke with a mixture of shock, confusion and awe on his face. 'How did you do that?'
Clarke moved to talk to Nyko, explaining to each other their experience of reapers and trying to save them. After a while, Bellamy saw an idea form in Clarke's head, her eyes gleaming.
'What is it?'
She moved to stand in front of him. Finn noticed bitterly that she barely notice him where he sat. 'I know how to stop the attack.'
Bellamy looked down at her unsure, but he nodded, trusting her.
'I need you to stay here and watch over Lincoln.' 'And Octavia' her eyes said, but she knew the girl wouldn't want to be thought of as a burden, no matter than it wasn't true. 'I'm going to talk to the grounders.'
Bellamy wanted to argue, of course, but he knew that Clarke's mind was made up, so he did the only thing he could do, he stepped closer to her and pulled her into his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of her head gently. 'Be careful.' He murmured into her hair before stepping back.
'I'll be back in a few hours, I promise.'
Less than an hour later Clarke and Finn had returned to Camp Jaha. The walk back had been terse, with Finn shooting Clarke betrayed looks every few minutes. The camp had begun to evacuate when they arrived but before they could leave the camp shouts began to echo through the crowds. It was too late, the grounders were already here.
Clarke, Finn, Abby and Jaha stood in the council chambers. Jaha attempted to intimidate Abby into continuing with the evacuation plans, despite the fact that the grounders were already here, but Clarke believed in her mother, that she would trust that Clarke could save them, and she was right.
Abby turned to Clarke after refusing to bow to the power Jaha once held, but before she could begin discussing their plan, Jaha's voice caught her attention again.
'Sergeant Miller, Major Byrne, I am relieving Dr Griffin of her command. Place these three into custody, but make sure that they are ready to leave with the rest of us within the hour.' Jaha leaned into the guards faces, desperation colouring his actions, 'RIGHT NOW.' He bellowed, 'Or the blood of everyone in this camp will be on your hands too.'
Clarke looked to Abby, worried, but her eyes were fixed on Byrne's, neither her nor Miller had moved during Jaha's rant. Abby stepped towards where they stood, 'Major Byrne, Sergeant Miller, put Chancellor Jaha in the stockade.'
After a tense silence, lasting no more than a few seconds, Byrne nodded once, 'Yes ma'am.' The two guards secures Jaha and led him from the chambers, ignoring his protests and threats.
'Thank you.' Clarke said after he had gone, her mother was putting her faith in her, now she had to prove her right.
It was quickly agreed that Finn was to take Abby to Lincoln, after they had left, Clarke set out to the grounder camp on her own. As she approached the huge camp, lit by hundreds and hundreds of torches, her only clear thought was of Bellamy, and of how she would see him again before the sun set again.