Chapter 14:
On the plane, Raven was actually able to sit up in a seat. She was still attached to an IV, but she was awake and talking and acting like her old self.
"I heard you and your people ditched us up at the mountain." Yeah, she was back to her old self again.
"Raven!" Clarke exclaimed.
"What? It's true."
"I have apologized to Clarke." Lexa told her.
"Screw that. You've got a whole lot more people to apologize too."
"She's working on it." Clarke helped.
"Well, she's got a lot of work to do." Raven stated.
Lexa nodded and walked back to her seat at the front of the plane. Clarke looked over at her mom and Wick who seemed to understand she wanted some time to talk to Raven alone and walked off toward the front of the plane with York and Temple, who was jokingly acting a co-pilot since Carolina couldn't make the trip back.
"I want to talk to you about something." Clarke started.
"What? The fact that you're doing the enemy?" She sounded more annoyed than angry.
"Wick told you?"
"Like I needed him too. I may have been out of it, but I've seen you two holding hands."
"Raven…"
"Do you really love her?" She asked. "I mean like it's really worth it kind of love… like worth possibly causing another war between two large groups of angry people because if you don't, then you should stop now."
"There's not going to be a war." Clarke responded. "And yes, I do love her." She looked at the back of Lexa's head from her position behind seated next to Raven. "I know with what happened with Finn, this might be confusing to you."
"It would have been a while ago." Raven shared. "I miss Finn. He was my first love and he might have been your first too, but I don't think that means he has to be your only."
"I meant the part about how he-"
"Died? Yeah, I know." She sighed. "It's going to take some getting used too… you being with her. I will never say Finn deserved what happened because he didn't, but I get that he killed a lot of people trying to save you and at the time, to them, that last part didn't matter. He killed their people and they punished him. If we had been on the ark, it would have been the same. Hell, if we were on the ark, Finn would have died for me… for the space walk as soon as her turned 18." She paused. "And what do you mean there won't be another war? You think everyone's just going to be as cool as me about this thing?"
"I sort of re-joined the alliance on behalf of everyone. I guess technically we never really dropped out of it, but we're in either way."
Raven snapped to attention.
"You joined an alliance with them after what they did to us? Are you crazy? Is this her?" She pointed at Lexa.
"No, this is me and I'm not crazy. The mountain men are gone. Instead of being angry and unable to move on and deal with what happened, I decided to just embrace the fact that for some reason people think I'm supposed to be some kind of leader. The alliance makes sense. We're the 13th clan now. We have an equal vote."
"You have an equal vote. If I recall correctly, you ditched us."
"I left because I needed time alone, Raven. I needed some time to think and deal with what happened."
"And you had that time?"
"I found her." Clarke looked up in Lexa's direction. "She helped me get through it. I mean I'm not done going through it. I don't know if I ever will be, but it doesn't feel the same and it's at least partly because of her."
"That's weird."
Clarke looked at her with eyes squinted.
"Yeah, I guess it kind of is." Clarke laughed a little. "Raven, I know it sounds crazy, but it feels…"
"Meant to be?" Raven asked and then smiled at her. Clarke just nodded. "And what does she think about you being back in the alliance?"
"It was her idea."
"Of course it was." She replied sarcastically. "She's got it just as bad as you, I guess. Run off and be all happy and in love while the rest of us try to piece our lives back together." She said all in one breath. Clarke wasn't sure if she was serious or not until she saw Raven smile at her. "For real though, if you're happy, that's a good thing. I just want you to be careful. She chose her people over you once."
"It's different now. We're different now."
"I'll take your word for it. Now, can you get your mom to hook me up with some of those amazing pain meds? I'd like to crash for a while."
"Sure."
Clarke walked toward her mom and nodded for her to go back to Raven. She sat next to Lexa who looked over at her.
"She is angry with me."
"She's not angry. She's actually okay. I think the whole almost dying thing puts stuff in perspective."
"When we return, I will vote in favor of resettling." She stated it out of nowhere.
"What? What changed your mind?" Clarke asked slightly shocked.
"This place saved your friend. It made you happy even if it was only for two nights."
"And you?"
She smiled.
"Yes, it made me happy too. I am worried about finding my place there."
"I know. Me too."
"You don't have to be."
"Why not?" Clarke asked confused.
"Because you are a natural leader, Clarke. You will be chosen to represent your people."
"And you will represent your people."
"Not in their way. If they vote, they will not vote for me to represent anyone. I am battle tested; not peacetime tested."
"Lexa, you're in peacetime right now and I'd say you're doing a pretty good job."
Lexa looked at her and cupped her cheek.
"I don't want to lose our language or our customs."
"Then represent your people and work to keep them."
When they arrived at the camp, Raven and Wick went straight to medical. She was to stay there for another couple of nights to make sure she was okay. Abby stayed near the entrance to talk to Clarke.
"You coming in?" She asked.
"I can't ask York to wait. He's driving us back to the capital."
"I guess I can understand."
"He gave me this radio though. It has a longer range. We should be able to talk when I get back."
"About the alliance?"
"Raven is a talker, isn't she?" Clarke joked. "Yes, about the alliance. I can come back in a few days if I need too."
"Hey, you're back!" It was Bellamy.
"Yeah, we're getting ready to head back out though." She nodded in York's direction. Lexa was standing by the car with Temple.
"To the capital?"
"Yeah."
"Can I come?" He asked.
"Why?" Clarke asked right back.
"I'd like to see it. Maybe help you out there. Hear about this brave new world you just returned from along the way."
"I don't know, Bell."
"I'm coming too." Octavia emerged.
"That's probably not a good idea."
"I want to speak to Indra. I want her to talk to me."
"Octavia, she is pretty much the most stubborn person on earth."
Octavia just started walking toward the car with a bag strapped to her back. She must have been ready for this.
"Indra might be the 2nd most stubborn person on earth." Bellamy pronounced.
"Come on then. We've got a lot to talk about."