Although the house was quite large, larger than any reasonable home for three people needed to be, it really didn't take Bellamy that long to make the rounds. He started on the first floor, walking through the multiple sitting rooms, ballrooms, kitchens, and dining areas. Then he found the stairs that would lead him to the second floor of the house and quickly scoped out the rooms.

He had expected when he started his tour to encounter a lot of other people, but he saw no one other than the occasional security guard who nodded their head in acknowledgement. It was probably due to it being so early in the morning; however, growing up Bellamy couldn't remember a time at home that there wasn't at least one other person within talking distance in, no matter the hour. As he passed through each extravagant, but nonetheless empty room, Bellamy imagined how lonely it must have been a child in the place.

After going through the third floor which was comprised of much more of the same, Bellamy made his way back downstairs. Clarke still hadn't come to get him as agreed, so he found the hall that they had gone down before and stood outside the door at the end. After a few minutes of not seeing any sign that Clarke would be out soon, he knocked quietly.

At that, there was a rustling noise inside and what sounded like a loud, hacking cough. Then a voice called out, "Who is it?"

Bellamy froze, not recognizing the voice as Clarke's or anyone else's for that matter and wondered if he should have just waited longer. He was busy chiding himself and debating what to do when the door swung open, and Clarke appeared in the opening.

The first thing that Bellamy noticed was her red eyes. The second was the fact that her cheeks were splotchy and covered in fresh tears.

Upon seeing Bellamy, her eyes widened and she turned her head away, using her sleeve to wipe at her face. Once she had composed herself, she turned back, but still didn't say anything. "I'm sorry," Bellamy said softly, trying not to be too obvious about having seen her crying. "When you hadn't come found me yet I came back here and-"

"No, no-" Clarke interrupted and if it had been a different time or place Bellamy would have dwelled more on the fact that Clarke seemed to always be cutting him off. In fact, half of their conversations so far had been comprised of him trying to speak and her interjecting before he could finish. As it were though, while Bellamy had been musing on Clarke's particularly annoying habit, she had carried on talking. "Really, it's my fault. I wasn't paying attention to the time and should have come sooner." She flicked her eyes back into the room and pulled the door closed a little more. "Just give me another minute and I'll be right out-"

This time it was Clarke who was being cut off, from someone inside the room. Bellamy could barely make out the words, but they caused Clarke to grimace and look at Bellamy hesitantly. There were more words at her hesitation, followed by a loud coughing fit.

Without another glance, Clarke opened the door wide and gestured for Bellamy to enter. He paused after stepping inside, having seen the source of the talking and coughing. There laying down on a large bed, tucked under a mountain of blankets, was Dr. Jake Griffin. Clarke's father.

Even at a distance he could tell that the man wasn't well. He looked unhealthily thin and his skin was slick with sweat. Bellamy had heard rumors that the famous scientist was sick, but those were located in the same types of periodicals claiming that aliens were real and 9/11 was just a hoax, so he hadn't given the accusations much thought.

Jake Griffin was actually sick though, and if the tall stacks of books and wrinkled magazines piled by his IV drip were any indicator, he had been sick for a while.

At that moment in time, the man's eyes were closed and Bellamy swiveled around to see Clarke still standing by the door. The expression on her face was nothing like the one she had used on the steps outside her house, withdrawn, cold and otherwise emotionless. In the few seconds he had been watching her, Bellamy saw a wave of emotions pass over her face. Love. Sadness. Concern. Desperation. All so strong and overwhelming that Bellamy had to look away at the pain encompassing them all.

Clarke chose then to walk back over to her father's bedside and sit down in the chair that had been dragged up right beside it. She carefully took her father's right hand in her own, which was starkly pale and colorless in comparison. The touch caused Jake Griffin to open his eyes. Bellamy took a step closer, expecting the doctor's eyes to be cloudy and unfocused. Instead they were sharp and alert, moving to Bellamy instantly.

"Dad," Clarke said, her gaze not leaving her father, "This is Bellamy Blake who I was telling you about earlier."

"Ah, so you're the man that is going to be protecting my daughter?" He said it in such a serious tone that Bellamy at first didn't know how react. His first thought was that he shouldn't be there. These jobs were supposed to be in-and-out. No further attachments than necessary for the day. But here was a dying man looking to him to protect his daughter. It was serious stuff and Bellamy felt in over his head.

Then the older Griffin laughed. It was a heart-wrenching laugh tinged with coughs and gasps of breath, but a laugh nonetheless. It loosened something inside Bellamy and he smiled. A smile which widened even further at seeing that the laughter had caused Clarke to smile as well.

She was positively beaming at her father, laughing along at what Bellamy quickly realized was himself. "Oh the look on your face…" Jake Griffin chuckled. Bellamy hadn't realized that he had been making a face, but with what he had been feeling at the time (which was bordering on absolute terror), he wasn't very surprised.

"Okay Dad," Clarke said, patting his hand and laughing again, "We've got to get going so I can get everything set up for the event." She let her father's hand go and stood up. Placing a kiss on his forehead, she muttered "love you" and made her way around the bed.

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Griffin," Bellamy said, giving a small wave with his hand. Then on a more serious note added, "I really will do my best to protect your daughter today sir."

Dr. Griffin didn't respond right away, and Bellamy thought that he might not have heard him, or he had fallen back to sleep. But then his voice came through loud and clear. "I know you will son." That was it. That was all that needed to be said.

When Bellamy turned to leave the room, he saw that Clarke had been listening. Part of him had only said what he had said because he had thought Clarke had left the room, but then another part of him, the more honest part in truth, argued that he would said that whether Clarke Griffin was listening or not.

Still, with Clarke's eyes on him, shining from unshed tears, Bellamy knew that he was making a longer-lasting promise than he had with others. He didn't know how or why he knew, he just did.

When they left Dr. Griffin's room, neither addressed what had been Clarke had overheard. She did address what he had seen though, when she simply said, "Leukemia. Two months."

"I'm sorry." And he was. How could he not be with what he knew about Dr. Griffin? He was not just a scientist, but a savior, having saved thousands of lives with his research. After meeting the man though, Bellamy wasn't just sorry for what would be the loss of a great doctor though, but for the man himself too.

Clarke just nodded in acceptance and made a final sweep at her face. She looked down the hallway and exhaled once before she began walking away. "Here, let me show you where the event is going to take place.

So currently I'm trying to figure out how long I want to make this. I'm thinking just a few more chapters. I didn't plan on this being anything more than a one-shot, so I don't want to drag it out too much. Plus, the more chapters I have, the more editing I will have to do when I go back through. So really I'm just being efficient.

Big thanks and lots of virtual hugs for all of the wonderful responses that I've gotten for this story so far. I love the 100 community. You guys rock.

Feedback appreciated!