Hey everyone! Once again, thank you all so much for your support of this fic. I asked for 500 and we just skyrocketed past that. So, thank you all so much. I tried to keep this chapter as Clexa oriented as I possibly could for that reason and for the reason that, after the last episode, we really needed it eh? So, I'm not gonna say much more on that.

Thank you again to my betas who I would probably make stupid mistakes without.

Disclaimer: See chapters 1-3.

And now, onto the story!

(OH and a note: xuponamidnightdrearyx contacted me about doing a time travel fic kind of like this but with Clarke having multiple travels under her belt. There's already a chapter up for the fic, it's called Of Choices Made and Paths Created. Check it out!)

Before:

Lexa felt like Anya was one of the only people who knew who she was underneath the Commander... She could count the amount of people like that on one hand.

Lexa felt like she needed to add another person to her list. Klark kom Skaikru.

...

"If Clarke truly has something to offer the Trigedakru, an alliance would be beneficial." Anya finished with a nod.

...

"I keep having these dreams and, I think, in the last one, I spoke to a woman. I think she's the key to everything, and it certainly seems that way with how her symbol was recognizable to both Lincoln and Lexa.

"There are things that you can remember, things that you know, and then there are subconscious things that you seem to know randomly when you need them."

...

[Clarke's panic] attacks didn't last long but, by nightfall, they had reduced the time of each by several seconds.

...

"Lexa, whatever happens with our people, I will not betray you. For more reasons than you know."

"I... trust you Clarke."

"I know how hard that is for you."

...

Clarke smiled at the contact for a moment before she caught movement behind Lexa.

There was a split second that she had to react. A split second where she thought no, no this can't happen, not Lexa, NO.

She felt a fractured burning in her back and Lexa's distant call of her name and then her call for the shooter's head.

"I- I need your… spirit to st- stay where… where it is."

The next thing she knew was darkness.

Now:

She was again aware of the pain for a brief few moments, managing to recognize her new position against Lexa's chest. Clarke's head was resting against her shoulder as Lexa held her around her back and underneath her legs, walking as quickly as she could while also keep Clarke steady.

Her eyes briefly took in the three warriors behind them, dragging a fourth body she easily recognized as a Mountain Man in their environmental suit. Clarke sighed and rested back against Lexa, her breaths ragged.

She heard Lexa quietly whisper to her before she blacked out again, thumb gently – soothingly – running against her thigh.

"Just a little farther, Clarke. Beja, I need your soul where it is as well." Please, and then nothing again.

ooOoOoo

Lexa sat by Clarke's side as she lay prone on a table, her hand resting close to hers. Nyko had done all he could and it would have to do. The bullet had come fairly close to shooting straight through Clarke, stopping two-fingers widths from exiting her stomach.

He had managed to remove it, having had to go in from the side it was closer to, creating a new hole in the process that Lexa had almost killed him for. Needless to say, Indra and Anya both restrained her and kept her from the tent after that. Nyko had let Raven stay as he worked for her steady hands and what little knowledge she had of healing.

Between the two of them, they had worked into the night and, now, Clarke was as she was. Thin line threading through the wounds in her abdomen and back with red seaweed covering both stitched areas.

At least, that was what Lexa had been told.

As the two had worked, and as Lexa was barred from interfering, she had redirected her worry and anger towards the Maunon her people had captured and taken prisoner. Anya and Indra followed her to where he was being kept and watched as she lay hit after hit into the man while making sure his suit didn't break. They knew what would happen if it did and none of them wished to see it again; not when they still had questions anyway.

A couple hours before Lexa was recalled to Clarke, she had gotten her information.

Lexa regarded her hand and the scattering of scrapes and bruises lining her knuckles, giving her a sense of accomplishment and joy at hurting the person who had tried to take her life and hurt Clarke in the process.

The thought that she was willing to do so much for Clarke should have worried her more than it did but, after what Clarke had just done, no one would be questioning her about the Skaikru's place in the near future. Lexa's wry grin turned soft as she looked at the sleeping girl in the bed in front of her.

Words were one thing, actions were another. Even the more stubborn of her people knew that and were only a little unsure of how to take Clarke's actions. Some worried minutely that perhaps the leader of the Sky People had staged the attack, but even Indra had come to visit Clarke in her resting period.

"How is she?" Lexa didn't show any sign of surprise at the sudden voice breaking the solitude she had built around Clarke.

"Better. She will live and then I will talk with her about such rash decisions." Lexa snorted softly, watching Clarke with a critical eye.

"She saved your life, Heda." Lexa nodded and tapped a solitary finger against the table Clarke laid on. "Lexa." Lexa frowned, her finger pausing in its pattern.

She turned to Indra to see her general staring at the ground, a hand gripping her blade's hilt like it was the only thing grounding her to the moment, keeping her from running away. Lexa's frown deepened.

"I was wrong; I see that now. Klark kom Skaikru is… different; she is more than she appears and I think now that she truly will not do you any harm." Lexa tilted her head and smoothed her frown.

"And why do you think that, Indra? Only because she saved my life? What about my word, do you not trust that I can make decisions for our people-"

"Never." Indra looked up fiercely at that before looking away again, having interrupted her Commander. She continued though, despite that, "I trust you more than I trust anyone else, goufa. You have a vision for our people, one that I will die to see happen if I must." Lexa watched as she shook her head before looking back at her.

Indra straightened her stance and moved her arms behind her back. "Clarke of the Sky People has shed her own blood for you Heda. It was not you that I did not trust before, but them. They are outsiders and do not know our ways. But this one, she has sacrificed what keeps her alive and I trust it now. I trust that she can keep you safe."

Lexa's smile grew as she thought of the conversation.

"It's rude to stare you know." She heard and her attention snapped back to Clarke who had her eyes open, looking at her like nothing else mattered.

"Clarke," Lexa whispered. Clarke hummed and reached for Lexa's hand, squeezing it gently. Lexa's heart leapt in her chest, and Clarke's hand was hotter than normal, but she didn't pull her hand away.

Clarke's eyes closed again but her grip remained, letting Lexa know she was still awake.

"You stayed," Clarke said, and Lexa wanted to say of course she did, but Clarke's next words threw her for a loop. "I had a weird dream, Lex," Lex? "You were there, and Lincoln, and O, and Raven… Everyone was there." Lexa blinked and decided to stay silent, listening to Clarke.

"You left me at the Mountain and then Dante's kid Cage shot me after we killed everyone inside." Clarke let go of Lexa's hand before patting it and looking at Lexa again through half-lidded eyes. "But I got 'm, don't worry; I got 'im Lexa."

Lexa watched Clarke nod like she should know who this Cage was. "Then I woke up and I was on the Ark again – how crazy is that?" Clarke closed her eyes again and Lexa had a strong feeling in her gut that whatever Clarke was talking about had actually happened. She was talking about the Mountain, about defeating their greatest enemy.

What Clarke was talking about, despite Lexa's own reservations, would explain some things. Including how keryon-de was involved in it all.

Clarke turned and looked at her then and Lexa noted that black nearly drowned out all of the blue in her eyes. She frowned and turned her hand in Clarke's, moving two of her fingers to where she knew she could feel Clarke's heart beating.

"Clarke, your heart is beating really fast." Clarke just laughed softly and moved her other hand so that hers covered Lexa's completely.

"'S cause you're so pretty." Before Lexa could reply, Raven walked in and sped up slightly when she saw their hands.

"Hey Commander, how's our girl doing?" Clarke turned to her friend and smiled brightly.

"Her heart is racing, and her eyes are nearly completely black." Raven nodded like that was normal and to be expected. At that reaction, Lexa's worry lessened, attributing the signs as the result of something Nyko must have used to lessen Clarke's pain.

"Raven, look, Lexa's still here, she didn't leave us." Raven's expression turned confused and Lexa looked at Clarke again.

"What do you mean, Griffin?" Lexa felt Clarke's hand tighten against hers again.

"She didn't leave us at the Mountain-" Raven's eyes widened as she looked at Lexa, her hands scrambling to Clarke's arm. She laughed nervously and patted Clarke.

"Ah, you're talking about that strange dream of yours again, huh Clarke?" Clarke's brow furrowed as she tried to make heads or tails of what was and wasn't real in her memories.

Raven looked at Lexa. "Can we have a little bit, Commander? I just want to talk to her for a bit and then you can have her back." Lexa looked between the two Skaikru before nodding slowly, extricating her hand from between Clarke's and ignoring the low whine that the action brought.

"I will be outside." With that, Lexa did as she said and waited outside of the tent, trying not to think of the implications of you can have her back. It wasn't long before Raven came out and told her Clarke was again sleeping inside. Lexa just nodded and returned inside of the tent, taking her place at Clarke's side. She fell asleep against her arms, resting on the side of Clarke's makeshift bed.

ooOoOoo

When Clarke woke up it was to sunlight peeking into the tent and lighting the fabric it was made of, giving the inside a soft glow. She shifted slightly and winced at the dulled pain shooting through her. When she opened her eyes, she panicked for a moment before she remembered where she was, and why.

Clarke turned her head to the side and raised an eyebrow when she saw the distinct form of the Commander laying there. The braids intricately woven through her hair would have given Lexa away if nothing else.

Without thinking about it too much, Clarke moved her hand to lay gently on Lexa's head. Not a moment later Lexa shot up, alert and looking around for the source of her wakefulness. When her eyes settled on Clarke, they softened and a smile crossed her lips. However, Clarke noticed the panic in her eyes before it vanished, a panic she had experienced herself too often for her liking.

"Clarke." Lexa spoke slowly, softly, inching to the edge of her seat.

"Hey." Clarke said, coughing slightly as her throat pushed through hours of disuse. She winced when the coughing pulled at her wound and her hand went to the area to try and feel for the damage.

Lexa's hand caught hers and Clarke stilled, looking to where their hands joined and then frowned as her eyes zeroed in on Lexa's in particular. Her knuckles were cut and as black as night where Clarke knew they should be red.

Lexa stood and tried to pull her hand away, but the effort wasn't completely there and Clarke was able to keep her tired grip.

"What happened?" Clarke looked up at Lexa who was looking away from her.

"It is nothing." Clarke tightened her hold, worrying that she had failed somehow, that Lexa had been hurt despite her actions. Lexa looked back when she felt the increasing pressure and saw the worry in Clarke's eyes. She sighed and sat back down, looking at their joined hands.

"While Gustus and Raven were in here helping you, I went to speak with the Maunon who shot you." Clarke frowned, her eyes shooting to the opening in the tent before moving back to Lexa. "There may have been little talking actually involved, but I got what I wanted from him."

Lexa's hand flexed in hers and Clarke looked at her blackened knuckles again. "Why does your blood look like that?" Lexa's brow drew together and she looked at Clarke again.

"You don't know?" She asked. Clarke shook her head and ran her thumb over the oddly coloured area gingerly. She saw goosebumps rise on Lexa's arm and looked up at her sheepishly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." Lexa shook her head and cleared her throat.

"You didn't." She said quickly. "My blood, however, is the reason that I am who I am. Commanders are chosen from a group of people we call Natblida."

"Nightblood." Clarke translated for herself and Lexa nodded.

"We don't know why or how children are born with their sheidjus but we know that the very first Commander's blood was as black as night. From then, the spirit has only chosen other Natblida as our leaders." Lexa cocked her head slightly, meeting Clarke's eyes.

"You speak with Keryon-de and yet this major part of our people's history is something you don't know?" Clarke rolled her eyes, more to herself than at the question.

"I wouldn't call it talking, I would say she shows up when I'm…" having nightmares. Clarke sighed and shook her head. "She shows up when what I'm dreaming about isn't all that great and kinda pushes through it, shows me that it's a dream and not actually happening." Clarke shrugged and smiled crookedly, thumb once again flitting over the minor wounds with Lexa's previous assurance that she wasn't hurting her.

Lexa cleared her throat and looked strangely at Clarke, her eyes searching. For what, Clarke wasn't sure, but her heart nearly stopped in her chest in surprise when Lexa asked her next question.

"Who is Cage, and why did he shoot you?" Clarke recoiled slightly and this time it was Lexa's hand tightening its grip, keeping Clarke grounded.

"Where did you hear that name?" Clarke asked quietly as Lexa frowned.

"You told me, last night, when you woke for a time." Now Clarke was frowning, trying to remember anything from when she had blacked out in Lexa's arms to when she had woken up this morning. She shook her head and tilted her head slightly.

"I don't remember that; the last thing I remember was," she blushed lightly, "you carrying me back here." She noted Lexa's blush as well and payed it more attention, also noting that it was darker than the red of a normal one. Clarke wondered how she hadn't caught on to that before, and then realized that she had never seen Lexa's blood before this morning.

Lexa nodded, clearing her throat again. "You spoke of some things I do not think you meant to speak about, especially given Raven's reaction when she heard what you were saying to me."

"Raven came by?" Clarke perked up slightly and looked around as if expecting her to still be there, to save her from answering about Cage and the Mountain.

"Of course she did, but do not think you can make me forget my questions, Clarke." Lexa tugged at her hand gently and Clarke's attention was drawn back to that, a smile coming to her lips at the contact. She took a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it out.

"Cage is… a part of my story, but I can tell you some things. I can tell you what I know about the Mountain; what happens in there, what happens to your people." Lexa frowned slightly, her grip tightening.

"How do you know?" She asked and Clarke paused for a moment. She bit the inside of her lip thinking of how to answer.

"Until I get this thing with the Spirit figured out, I don't want to say too much. But, I can tell you that Raven and Lincoln also know and can tell you that what I'll tell you is true." They had told Octavia about their experiences, about coming back from the defeat of the Mountain, but telling Lexa might throw a wrench in hers and Raven's plan. Of course, telling Lexa could help too, but if Clarke was going to tell her, she thought it would be after the first part of the plan.

Lexa looked at her critically for a moment before she nodded and Clarke gave her a small smile before wiping it away.

"Your people… Somehow the Mountain Men found out that their blood could be used to treat radiation poisoning. Have you ever kept a grounder for so long that the oxygen in their tanks ran out? Or ruptured one of their suits?" Lexa nodded and Clarke continued.

"Sometimes the Mountain's defenses are breached; something as little as the air from out here is fatal to them. But they found a way to heal faster and with little to no scarring at all. A lot of your people are killed in that Mountain, and some of them are turned into Reapers."

Lexa nodded again, her grip on Clarke's hand tightening. Clarke blinked as she remembered something, something that she had told Anya back at her camp; that they could cure Reapers.

"Did Anya tell you what Lincoln and I told her about the Reapers?" Clarke asked.

"No, she has not mentioned anything of the Reapers. What did you tell her?" It seemed like they had all forgotten about that conversation in the wake of the Exodus dropping, even Anya.

"That we can cure them- Ow! Lexa-"

"Sorry." Lexa let go of Clarke's hand and moved both of her own to her lap, looking more intently at Clarke now. "You say you can cure Reapers." Clarke nodded.

"I won't say how I know that it works, not yet, but I do know that it works. If you want to test it, we can try and capture one which I can also help with thanks to Raven." Clarke reached for one of Lexa's hands again, ignoring the sharp pain in her side. She stopped short when Lexa tensed slightly and only continued when she saw Lexa move a hand closer. "This is something I can offer with an alliance, Lexa, something that your people can see. Something solid." Something that isn't just this feeling that you have, the feeling that you know me, she thought. "I can give you your people back."

Lexa frowned. "And you will only give me my people back once you have an alliance?" Clarke started to shake her head mid-way through Lexa's question.

"No. No, even if you say no to an alliance – for whatever your reason is – I will help you get your people back, I promise you." Clarke tugged on Lexa's hand and started resolutely into Lexa's eyes.

"Clarke…" Lexa started leaning forward slightly, her expression softening, and Clarke's heart sped in her chest. This was it, they were alone and Lexa was going to-

"Heda." Fuck.

Lexa drew back immediately, her fingers slipping from Clarke's as the Commander slipped back into place. Lexa stood and looked towards the door. Clarke frowned as Lexa damn near froze when she saw who was standing there.

"Holt." Clarke looked over at that and her eyebrows rose as she took in the warrior she had saved. He was wearing far less furs than she had seen him in before and figured it was because of the bed rest he had been put on. His black hair was unruly but his braids were still impeccably done, so much that it was laughable.

"Sochu." How are you, Holt asked stiffly.

"Ai ste os." Lexa answered. I am good. "Chit yu gaf." What do you want?

Clarke watched as Holt looked away, reminded of what he must have come here for in the first place. When he looked back, he nodded towards Clarke but still didn't acknowledge her.

"Ai gaf kamp raun em. Jus drein jus daun en, gon disha ridiyo, ai sonraun bilaik emon." I am to stay with her. Blood must have blood and, because of this, my life is hers. Clarke blinked as she remembered something else from Anya's camp, what Lincoln had told her about life debts in the grounder culture.

She heard a low rumble and looked back at Lexa whose face was nearly completely stoic except for the downturn of her brows.

"Very well." Lexa said lowly. "Your life is now in Clarke's hands, Holt. Let us hope that you have grown since the last time you were responsible for someone."

Clarke didn't know what the comment was about but she saw the pain in Lexa's eyes, behind the Commander's mask, and knew that there was a lot more to the story. She looked at Holt and saw the same emotion clear in his eyes, mixing with regret and loss like old friends reunited.

It was gone a moment later though and Holt stood straighter, his jaw clenching as he clasped his hands behind his back and nodded to Lexa.

"Sha, Heda. I will not fail my task."

"Um," Clarke spoke up, eyes darting between the two warriors. "What are we talking about?" She understood the life debt thing, she did, but why did that make him responsible for her?

"Most, when owed a life debt, choose to take the person who owes them as a guard." Clarke blinked and then looked at Holt who looked less than enthused at being indebted to one of the Skaikru.

"What if the person who owes the debt isn't happy about it?" Clarke asked, thinking of all the things that could go wrong. "What if the person who's owed it wants something else? Like, for instance, if what I wanted from my debt was for Holt to go about his life helping other people when he could."

Lexa shook her head and Clarke caught the frustration that shot across Holt's expression.

"Even if someone hated the person that they owed their debt to, our ways have been as they are for a long time. We respect our traditions and follow those who have come before us. A blood debt is paid directly to the one owed.

"Even if Holt hated you enough to let you die or kill you, his honour demands that he won't and, if he did, no one would accept him in our society for his actions." Clarke considered this. She didn't like it; on the Ark, blood debts weren't things that were practiced. If you saved someone's life, they were grateful and that was about it. The idea that someone would willingly stay at her side for the sake of their honour and standing was foreign to her.

But who was she to go against who-knows-how-many years of tradition and customs that weren't even hers. Holt would probably be more offended if she turned him away; judging by what Lexa was telling her about this particular custom, he wouldn't be looked at the same by his fellow warriors if she did so either.

Slowly, Clarke nodded and looked back at Lexa. "I think I understand."

Lexa nodded back and then looked at Holt.

"I will not fail my task." Holt repeated as he answered the look Lexa was giving him.

"Good. Clarke is the key to saving our people from the Mountain," Lexa said, turning back to Clarke with a glint in her eyes. "In return for helping us return our people safely, Clarke wishes to have an alliance with us. She shall have it."

Clarke could only smile as she heard Lexa's decision.

Alright! There we have it guys. How was it?

Questions, comments and concerns are, again, always welcome. Please let me know what you think in the review box or a PM.

I know, I know, bringing Holt in when I did was a little evil but uh... Well, I don't have a reason other than it wasn't time for the two of them yet.

Thank you all again for your support in this fic! And a pre-emptive thanks for your reviews.

Keep the faith!

-Bad Wolf

PS: I'm thinking of doing a much crackier version of this in light of the episode that will not be named. Who would like to see that?