Bellamy...

YOU WERE A BOY ONCE, with dark eyes and a darker heart facing a god with weapon in hand, praying it would make him mortal and pulled the Trigger.

YOU BECAME A MAN the way stars collapse, of fire and iron, and fury, promising children this world was better than the last, watching them live and breathe and die, their words becoming your eulogy.

YOU WERE MADE A SOLDIER, hands molded for a weapon, fighting fire with fire and letting the hurricane beneath your skin rage.

YOU WERE BORN TO LEAD, standing before the masses preaching the sermon of your empire to a broken and bloodied youth.

NOW YOU ARE ROYALTY, your coronation is the scream of battle, your oath one of war drums and bravery because even kings of old were crowned before a crowd.

Chapter 15

And Clarke really did it. But at what cost?

Raven was able to open the door and fly the rocket into the Ring's hangar. But once they were all inside, they didn't have much time left of oxygen to install the machine. Without it they would all die. And Bellamy would not let that happen. No, sir.

He and Murphy carried the heavy oxygen generator, panting and using up more oxygen than the others. Monty had exposed his hands to the radiation while taking the machine from the light-house and couldn't do anything with them. Raven, Emori and Echo carried Jane inside and Harper helped Monty. They put Jane on the floor.

"Put her face close to the air vents," Monty said, "It's where the air is going to come first!"

"Monty," Bellamy said, panic rising in him. "You have to talk me through this!"

Monty nodded and started talking Bellamy through plugging the machine in its place. But oxygen was running low. Already Emori and Murphy were sharing their oxygen with Raven, who had used up hers in her space-walk. Jane was till unconscious on the floor.

"Take her helmet off," Harper said to Echo about Jane. "She's not breathing!"

Echo quickly obeyed and shared her own oxygen with Jane. Bellamy and Monty were still struggling to get the machine plugged in. Monty was the first one of the two to run out of oxygen, and Harper shared her oxygen, too.

Bellamy pushed the switch button and fell unconscious, without having time to take his helmet off. Harper tore it off before she, too was out of oxygen.

The Ark was eerily quiet.

No air.

No breathing.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, the tingling noise of light metallic ribbons attached to the air vents resonated in the empty corridor, indicating that air was now flowing through the vents again.

One after the other, they woke up, coughing. They all made sure everyone was close to the air vents, dragging them closer if they weren't. Once everyone was safe and breathing again, they started laughing and grabbing each other's hands to make sure everyone was okay.

But not everyone was okay. Jane was still unconscious and not breathing. Bellamy crawled to her side and looked for a pulse just like Clarke used to do.

Clarke.

He sighed in relief. "Thank God, she's breathing," he said, shaking the thought of Clarke away for the moment. He needed to keep Jane alive. "Help me take off her suit," he said to whoever would listen to him. Echo was the first one to come, followed by Raven.

"What are you doing?" Raven asked. "Why take off her suit? It's freezing in here."

"She won't survive like this," he said, unzipping her Hazma suit. "She needs Nightblood."

"What are you talking about?" Raven said. "Where are we going to get that? And it doesn't work. Ask Clarke."

Bellamy shot her a look and took out the Nightblood marrow syringe from his pocket. Raven's eyes widened like saucers.

"Marrow?"

He nodded. "It was the last one on the table."

Raven nodded absently and quickly rolled up Jane's sleeve. "Let me do it," she said. "I saw Clarke and Abby do it."

Bellamy gave her the syringe with trembling hands and kept his eyes on Jane's bruised face. He hated needles and this time was no different. And that needle was huge. It made his stomach turn upside down, but he brushed her hair away from her face, pushing the nauseating feeling away. Once the syringe was empty, Bellamy stood and carried Jane to a room. He gently lay her down on a bed, making sure not to rub her skin too much.

"How long does it take for the Nightblood to kick in?" Raven asked, standing beside the bed, next to Bellamy.

"I don't know. Cl-… They said it took days for Luna to fight the radiation. And she wasn't as bad as Jane. It can take weeks, maybe."

"She'll be okay, Bellamy. She's strong," Raven said softly.

A sob escaped him. "I can't lose her, too." He stayed a long moment at her bedside. After some time, he took off his own suit and walked away. There was nothing he could do for her right now he needed to trust that the Nightblood would help her fight the radiation. He wandered the hall until he found a bottle of alcohol on a windowsill. He took it in his hands and stared at it. The baton. To be opened on Earth. Then he looked at the burning planet bellow him. Uneven steps echoed behind him. Raven. He looked at her while she stared at the red planet.

"She saved us again," she said softly.

Bellamy nodded slightly, tears brimming in his eyes.

"You think we can do this without her?" Raven said, her gaze still on the Earth.

"If we don't, she died in vain. And I'm not gonna let that happen." Raven fought back the tears and swallowed them down. Bellamy looked at her. "You with me?"

She looked at Bellamy with a very serious face. "Always."

Bellamy nodded and they both resumed watching the burning planet in silence, Bellamy still holding on to his bottle. Should he have a drink in Clarke's honor? Not yet. First, they needed to get things running on the Ark. They would drink later on. But they had only one bottle to last them all five years. He took it back to the room where Jane was and hid it somewhere. He sat on the bed across from Jane and looked at her.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked around her, wincing from the pain.

"Jane?" Bellamy said, kneeling on the floor next to her. "Thank God you're awake." He brushed her hair away from her face and looked in her hazel eyes.

"Bell? Where am I? What happened?" she said in a hoarse voice.

So he told her how they got to the Ark, how Clarke saved them, once again – his voice caught on Clarke's name – and how Raven had injected her with Nightblood he had taken with him, to save her.

She frowned. "Nightblood?" She wheezed out a shaky breath. "But I thought it didn't work."

"Not in direct high radiation. But now it will help you fight the radiation out of your body."

A small smile crept on her lips. "I'm a Nightblood, now. I'm the Commander, now."

Bellamy let out a chuckle that was also half a sob, too. Jane hadn't lost her sense of humor. She was strong, so she would fight the radiation. He wanted to take her in his arms and hug her and never let go of her. But he didn't want to put her in pain. Her whole body was covered in blisters. She needed time to heal.

But she was the one to take his hand in hers. "At least Octavia is safe," she said in a small voice threatening to cry.

Bellamy closed his eyes and nodded. "She was part of the children and essential staff. She's safe."

"Bell," Jane said, turning her face to him and searching his eyes. "We're not going to see her in five years. She won't know us. She'll be six years old."

A single tear streamed down Bellamy's cheek, and Jane reached out to dry it away, wincing in the process. Touching things with her blistered skin hurt like hell, but she couldn't let Bellamy cry. He needed her as much as she needed him. And he had lost Clarke. She knew how special she was to him, even if it was hard for her to admit it. She couldn't let herself die. If she did, she didn't think Bellamy would survive. His daughter was thousands of miles away, under the ground, and Clarke was dead. There was only her left. For his sake, she wouldn't die.

"Monty and Emori need radiation medicine. Did you take any from Becca's lab?" Jane asked.

Bellamy shrugged. "I don't know. Murphy and Emori packed those boxes, and most of it went to the bunker. I'm not sure what came up here with us."

She nodded. "You need to find out." She closed her eyes and sighed, wincing. The pain was not going away, yet.

"I'll go see what I can find," he said softly and walked away. Why was she like this? Thinking of others before herself? She was never like that, before. She was always a survivor, thinking of herself and no one else. What happened?

Maybe almost dying helped? the little voice in his head said. And Bellamy felt guilty again. Jane had almost died on his watch. The same way Clarke did. His vision swayed and he had to hold on to the wall not to fall. Clarke was dead.

Clarke.

Dead.

How was that even possible? What had he done wrong? He muffled a sob with his hand and closed his eyes shut, waiting for the dizziness to fade.

"Hey, you okay?"

Bellamy straightened and opened his eyes to see Murphy in front of him. "Yeah, I'm fine."

But Murphy shook his head. "No, you're not." He paused and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about Clarke. I knew she meant a lot to you." He tried to meet Bellamy's eyes, but Bellamy looked away. "You loved her, didn't you?" he asked softly.

Bellamy gritted his teeth and nodded once.

Murphy put a hand on Bellamy's shoulder. "Well, you still have Jane. She's not dead, yet."

"Shut up Murphy," Bellamy said walking past him and bumping his shoulder.

"Wait, listen." Bellamy stopped but didn't turn around. "I'm sorry. But it's true. Jane needs you. And I don't think it's a good idea to leave Octavia without parents, you know?"

Bellamy clenched his fists at his side and let out a slow sigh. "We already did that."

Murphy walked up to Bellamy and faced him. "You'll see her again. And she might not have you now, but she will need you later. Bellamy, you've got two ladies needing you to stay alive. One of them is your daughter and the other one is the mother of you daughter. How ever you want to call her. But you can't abandon them by mourning Clarke. Do it in private if you need, but not in front of Jane. It's gonna destroy her."

"Why do you even care, Murphy? Two less people on this Ark makes more food for you."

Murphy didn't wait for Bellamy to walk away. He punched him in the nose. Hard.

"Ow," Bellamy said clutching his bleeding nose. "What was that for?"

"Wake up! You kept us alive on the ground. And I'm not gonna let you die here. So man up, suck it in, and go save the day. Again."

Bellamy shot him a look, ready to punch him back, but Murphy held his gaze and his foot down. His shoulder's slouched. "That was Clarke's job." But of course. Murphy was right. He couldn't let Jane and Octavia down. He needed to survive. And first thing on his list was looking for radiation medicine for Monty and Emori. He turned around and walked away.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Looking for medicine for Monty and Emori," he grumbled under his breath.

Murphy smiled, happy that Bellamy was Bellamy again, looking out for his own people.

Bellamy went to the Hangar where the Rocket was and helped Harper, Echo and Raven unload the boxes. He found one with MEDICAL written on it and rummaged through it for the medicine. Thank goodness there was a bottle of fifteen pills. He unscrewed the top and gave one to Echo.

"You've been exposed to the radiation, too. Take a pill."

She stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

Bellamy rolled his eyes. "Look, I may not like a lot you or trust you, but you need to take this. It only works if taken before 24 hours passed." He gave her a white pill and she took it in the palm of her hand, staring at it.

"You're supposed to down it with water," Raven said softly. "It'll help your body fight the radiation."

Echo nodded. "Where can I find water in this ship?"

Bellamy's shoulders slumped again. "Too soon. You'll need to take it without water. Try having as much saliva in your mouth as possible and then swallow it. I need to find Monty and Emori, too."

They nodded and Bellamy went to look for the others. He found them in the Farm room. Monty was talking Murphy and Emori through the process of having the machine run again. Bellamy gave them a pill each and came back to the Rocket. He helped the girls carry in the boxes inside the Ring.

"How's Jane?" Raven asked softly.

"She was awake earlier. And I think she'll be fine." He forced a smile and then walked away with his box. Will she be fine? Or will she suffer long-tern damage from the radiation?

Thanks for reading, everyone.

The little text about Bellamy in the beginning of the chapter is not from me. I found it on Pineterest, here, if you want to see it: www dot pinterest dot com /pin/525232375282890520/ (take out the spaces and replace "dot" with an actual dot ;)

Please review and tell me what you think? I'd really appreciate it! thank you!