Chapter 13:

Her silence showered down on him like a nuclear thunderstorm; the radiation dripping down her tear soaked face as she struggled to find a version of stability. Bellamy observed her facial expression, noting that she was broken. Over the last week, he'd seen her cry more than ever and it was starting to assault his heart like the bullets he spent the entire day sifting through. Her teeth sunk into her lip and she bit out a rough sob before her head fell into her hands. The best he could do, the only thing he could truly do, was wrap his arm around her shoulder and pull her shaking body to his chest. Wells parted after his vague confession, leaving Bellamy in charge of his post-destructive mess. Luckily, Bellamy didn't mind comforting her. Luckily, he was falling in love with the weeping blonde.

"My mom…" She repeated over and over again because it was too hard to express it. It was too difficult to explain that her mother—her own mother—was the reason her father was propelled into space so violently. Clarke would never forget the brief fear on his face before she lost him forever. Unlike the dead they buried outside the wall, her father burned to the Earth like a shooting star, there was not a gravesite for him. He was the most influential person in her life and he'd been taken away from her. He was her anchor; the person who kept her grounded and compassionate. And her mother….her mother let a seventeen year old take responsibility for her actions and allowed her daughter to get arrested on treason charges. She allowed Clarke to sit alone for the better part of a year without any interaction. For what? Devotion to the council. The godforsaken council who'd wronged most of the delinquents Clarke lived with.

Her fingers curled into her blonde strands, the metal bracelet pressing against her face as well as the scent of Bellamy. I want it off, she thought, remembering her speech concerning the bracelets when they first landed. Do you want the people you love to think you're dead? It was odd how the circumstances changed—suddenly the only people she cared about were on Earth and the Ark held some type of darker meaning she didn't want to consider.

Clarke shook her head quickly, "I don't want her involved…I don't want her involved with our baby, Bellamy." Her confession was muffled into the dirty cotton of his shirt but he could hear her words with perfect clarity.

He sucked in a deep breath, already telling Clarke what he was going to say. Leave it up to him to be rational at the least opportune time. "We need her, Clarke." He hated the sob that racked through her body in response—he felt like he was letting her down, like he wasn't being strong enough for her. "I want to give you everything you want…but I can't let you risk your life or the life of our child because you are hurt and betrayed. That doesn't mean I don't understand…I do. If I were you, I would—god, you know what I would do but I need you to be level-headed and I need you to get through this." He tried to sound calm the whole time but as the tension increased in his tent, he knew that he needed to be affectionate. "I care about you…and I know you're strong. I know you can compartmentalize until we no longer require her assistance."

"She killed him."

"The council ki—"

"Don't defend her. She had to know that he was going to get floated. He wanted to save people and instead she killed him to save what? Save me? They were going to kill me, too! She sacrificed her entire family because of her blind, mistaken loyalty to the council." Clarke shook her head, "That is unforgivable and I won't let a person like that around my child—a child she doesn't even want me to have in the first place."

-x-

"It could very well be a mixture of anemia and Hyperemesis Gravidarum…" Doctor Griffin informed her daughter with pursed lips, clearly upset with the fact that she was having a child as well as having complications so early in the pregnancy. "…but I can't diagnosis you with accuracy. The Hyperemesis Gravidarum typically passes after the twentieth week whereas anemia—"

Clarke's skin prickled at the sound of her voice, the way she disapproved of her choice to keep her child. "I know what anemia is." She said flatly, "My red blood cells are low. Typically, iron and folic acid supplements are used but it's not like we have that luxury here."

"Hence the reason you shouldn't be doing this." Abby summarized with a twitch of her lip as if she said the one thing that could signify a win. Her mother continued, "You're a child, Clarke. You've come to me with two problems this week concerning you're pregnancy. Obviously, you can't handle this. The best action would be to terminate as soon as possible. Given, I don't understand how you could be this idiotic to get pregnant in the first place but I would assume you could accept some type of responsibility for your actions and take care of it."

A low growl broke through Bellamy's lips despite his promise to stay completely silent while she talked to her mother about her condition. He insisted they take care of her health first, then discuss the possibility of a pardon, and then the official "meet-the-mother" afterwards. At this point, the plan seemed to be rapidly changing. He pushed himself forward before he was by her side, "Bellamy…" Clarke warned but he settled on the other wobbly stool with a loud huff anyway. His hand tangled with hers underneath the table before he grabbed his own headset with his other hand.

"Please take offense when I say your daughter as well as myself can handle this." Bellamy gruffly stated, throwing her a look of respect and slight embarrassment before he continued, "You're failing to realize that we've survived on this planet for a month with the bare minimal amount of assistance from the Ark. Together, Clarke and I have kept these teenagers alive. The situation is not ideal, we did not plan on having a child but for you to imply that she should kill our baby because—"

"Bellamy Blake." Abby cut him off, "You're a very wanted man in the eyes of the council. Are you saying you're the father of this child?"

"Yes." He clenched his jaw tightly because her mother's tone was beyond disrespectful, balancing on degrading and uppity when she said his name.

Her mother released a long breath, "Another reason to terminate this pregnancy. He's a killer, Clarke—"

"Can you shut the fuck up for a minute?" Clarke thought out loud before she pressed her lips together in a tight line. Her mother was silent—her face unreadable as she contemplated her daughter's words. Clarke tossed her headset so she could get some type of privacy. "I'm really trying Bellamy, I'm really trying to do this for our child but she is beyond reason. For her to talk to you like that…I'm sorry. You…" He leaned in, pressing a small kiss to the corner of her mouth to shut her up.

Bellamy shook his head, "Their opinion doesn't bother me…not their opinion of me." He sighed as he squeezed her hand tighter, "But their opinion of you because of me, bothers me." He looked like he was going to kiss her again—harder this time like their morning but instead he frowned. "She's berating me on getting you pregnant. Doctor Griffin, I am listening to you—I'm just refusing to accept your point of view."

Clarke placed the headset back to her ears, "We want to speak to Jaha."

"What?"

"We. Want. To. Speak. To. Jaha." Clarke told her calmly and watched her mother slowly gesture for someone to get Jaha. "I will be a good mother to my child, mom because I know what not to do. As much as I value my role in this society, I won't ever let my job control my ability to parent. You killed dad. You turned him in and you let Wells take the blame. It looks like you're willing to sacrifice any child as long as it means your life is uninterrupted. You let me hate my best friend and let me feel absolutely alone after you turned dad in. You let me get arrested. Given, I don't understand how you could be this loyal to a council of corruption but I do assume you'll accept some type of responsibility and shut the hell up when it comes to my choice to have this baby with Bellamy."

Abby stood up, "Jaha will speak to you now."

Bellamy inhaled sharply once her mother disappeared, replaced by the Chancellor. "Bellamy Blake…I—"

"Chancellor, before you start the whole ego thing where you launch into how you've been waiting to hear from him…I want to say something. Bellamy Blake is the father of my child. By now, I'm sure my mother has informed you, don't pretend to be shocked." She paused, "You killed my father because he disobeyed a council ruling—because he was willing to die to inform the people. Don't make the same mistake by sentencing another innocent man to death."

"He is far—"

"I am not finished." Clarke was stern as if she were scolding a child for interrupting an adult. "By now, you've researched Bellamy and have established his motive for coming to Earth. Octavia. The person he loves with everything he has. He would do anything to protect her, you have to understand that. Just like you would protect Wells and I will protect my child."

"It's not that simple Clarke. Loving someone doesn't give him the rig—"

"I was willing to die for my sister just like you were willing to sacrifice 100 teenagers for the possibility of life. But, I did not come up with the plan to assassinate you by myself. There is someone in your ranks that wants you dead. Now, that same person wants me dead and almost…" Clarke could read Bellamy's mind, could feel his guilt. It made sense, now. It made sense why he was guilty about Dax. Dax wasn't targeting him as a leader, he was targeting him because he was ordered to. She moved her other hand to cup his, "If you want the name of the person who wants you dead, you will pardon me."

Jaha took his time contemplating his option before he opened his mouth, "Bellamy Blake, you are pardoned for your crimes. Now, tell me who gave you the gun."

-x-

They were elated when they exited the drop ship, so much so that Bellamy's hands tangled in her blonde hair and brought her lips to his in front of the entire camp—at least, those who were still awake. She nearly purred into it until Monty and Jasper appeared out of nowhere. "What's going on?" Jasper asked eagerly, "How can we help? What can we do to fix Clarke getting sick?"

Bellamy groaned, suddenly not-so-grateful for their hovering personalities. He wanted to kiss Clarke until she forgot about her mother. He wanted to repeatedly bring her lips to his until the adrenaline of being free was completely out of his system. Clarke spoke up, "Anemia, apparently I need iron in my system and Mont…I need you to look for something that can manage Hyperemesis Gravidarum in the archives. My mother wasn't exactly forthcoming…"

"Anything, yeah!" Monty's eyes widened with a sudden sense of purpose. "I'll get right on that! Uh, anything else? Do you need a foot rub? Back rub?"

Bellamy raised his palm in the direction of the boys, "You're not going to touch her."

Jasper swallowed hard, "Nope. We aren't going to touch her. Right, Mont?"

"Only if she wants me to touch her." Monty nodded along as if he was saying the right thing but Bellamy's eyes only narrowed. "I'm just going to go in this direction now…"

Clarke leaned into Bellamy as Jasper followed Monty away towards the drop ship. "I think we should tell Octavia, now."

"Now?"

"In light of things…" She smiled, "C'mon, we're starting a family and you were just pardoned. We have reason to celebrate. If we don't tell her before Jasper and Monty combust…or before Wells tells someone, we'll have hell to pay for."

-x-

I didn't want to get too nasty with the confrontation but that doesn't mean it's over. Abby is stubborn as well as Clarke and Bellamy. Naturally, the problem is not over. Review! Review! I love the feedback (especially the long reviews, thank you!) I know Bellamy and Clarke are mushy in this story but I like writing mushy.

I'd really like some suggestions concerning Jasper and Monty—some funny things they could do during the course of the pregnancy.

*I know Octavia's reaction is important but I'm really starting to plan out the Miller/ Murphy/ Atom reaction seeing as they don't know how much Clarke means to Bellamy yet.*

I know I've spent 13 chapters in the setting of a week so expect the next few to feature lapses in time. Should I go month by month or…?

Brooke!