As he drove across the city to Rosa Santiago's house, Bellamy could feel his frustration level rising.
After weeks of searching, they'd finally found Becca Franko, and then just when it seemed they might be getting somewhere with her, they were forced to leave or risk getting caught by a bunch of thugs. He was encouraged that Becca hadn't immediately given them away, but that didn't mean she hadn't done so after they left. Or that she wouldn't in the future.
Would she really call them to arrange a meeting? After all, up to now the only things Becca had been interested in was carrying on with her projects and finding the money to make that possible. But Clarke had seemed so sure she'd get in touch, and he'd learned from experience that she was pretty good at reading people.
And of course the alternative — that they'd never be able to convince Becca about the danger ALIE posed — was unthinkable. So he'd just have to hope they'd gotten through to her tonight, because at the moment they had no alternate plan.
Meanwhile, they'd been so focused on finding and speaking with Becca that they'd totally failed to make any preparation for the arrival of the rest of their group!
Bellamy was kicking himself for that. They could have at least warned Rosa. Instead, Octavia, Madi, and Raven had just shown up on her doorstep. He cut himself no slack because they'd arrived almost a week earlier than expected.
Telling himself it was better late than never, Bellamy began formulating a plan. There wasn't a whole lot of room at the condo, but he supposed they could get some sleeping bags, or even just a few extra blankets. It was for damn sure that they'd all slept on far less comfortable surfaces than a carpeted floor.
He sighed. Bellamy didn't delude himself. He understood very well that the most disconcerting aspect of their unexpected arrival was the sudden lack of privacy. While he'd be glad to see them all, they really couldn't have picked a worse moment.
Why was he so fucking unlucky? Every time it felt like he and Clarke were right on the brink of… something, events seemed to conspire to get in the way. And this time was more frustrating than ever, because they'd finally moved past whatever had kept them from getting physical, like it was a dangerous space they were both too afraid to enter.
But not tonight.
Tonight, Clarke had kissed him. And her lips had been so soft and so sweet that after one startled disbelieving second his whole body had come alive. He'd wrapped her in his arms and deepened the kiss, desperately trying not to overwhelm her with passion. But it hadn't been easy, not when he'd wanted to be with her like that for so damn long.
But she hadn't seemed to mind at all. She'd wound herself around him, and when he'd inevitably felt himself getting hard, she'd rubbed her body against his, rising on her toes so that his hard cock was pushed right against the heat of her.
He knew that in that moment he'd been about ten seconds away from picking her up and carrying her to their bed. From finally making love to her the way he wanted to, the way he'd begun to hope she wanted, too.
And then the damn phone had rung!
His sighed again, a little louder this time, and peered at Clarke out of the corner of his eye. But she was staring into the dark night, as still and silent as she'd been throughout the drive, and he had no idea what might be going on inside her head.
Shit! He had to stop thinking about it. The mental images alone were turning him on and he sure as hell wasn't arriving at Rosa's like that!
He couldn't repress a small groan of embarrassment
She turned toward him. "Is your shoulder hurting you?"
He could hear the concern in her voice.
"No, I'm okay," he hastened to reassure her, "but, uh, about… earlier…"
"We're almost at Rosa's, aren't we? I don't think we really have time for any kind of… discussion right now."
Bellamy nodded. "Right."
He knew that, of course. But all he really wanted was some reassurance that the moment in the master bath was one they'd find time for again, and not something she'd regretted the second it was over.
That she hadn't felt like she was literally saved by the bell.
But it was clear from her set expression that Clarke was now focused on other things, and that right at the moment he'd get no answers about their personal relationship.
Just one more frustration in a day that had been filled with them.
A minute later they pulled into Rosa's driveway. Madi must have been on the lookout for them because she flew out the door and threw herself at Clarke the moment she opened the car door. But after her initial exuberance, Madi had little time to waste on reunions. Not when there were other things to see.
"Is that your rover?" she asked, her eyes growing wide at the sleek lines of Gabriel's car.
"It's a car, Madi, " Clarke laughed, as they turned toward the house. "Not every car is like the rover."
Madi nodded. "Then I'll take that new one. It's badas."
Bellamy was amused. Apparently no English word was good enough to describe the wonder of the car.
Clarke grinned at Madi. "You're right, it is badas. But it's not ours, it's the car Gabriel left behind."
Madi frowned. "But… why'd he bother if he wasn't coming back."
Clarke had been herding Madi back to the house, but she stopped then, turning the girl to face her.
"In the beginning, they may have thought they'd return after a few years, but after the toxin affected Russell and he killed everyone but Gabriel, they had to stay. You know all this, Madi."
"Yeah, I forgot they started out as just a regular group of explorers."
"They did. And remember," she caught her eye as she made her point, "Rosa doesn't know any of this and I'm not sure Gabriel would want her to. We may have to tell her eventually, but maybe not everything and definitely not tonight. So let's just keep it all to ourselves for the moment."
"Right," Madi nodded solemnly, as the two of them finally made their way to the door. "I won't forget."
Bellamy was once again reminded what an extraordinary person Clarke was. She'd led them all through one crisis after another, but was able to be a loving and confident parent to a girl who'd been a mostly wild six-year-old when they met.
He followed them into the house to get his own hug from Octavia, just as loving if not quite so exuberant as Madi's.
"So," Rosa said, eyeing Bellamy and Clarke after they'd all settled themselves in her living room, "did you two forget to tell me there were more of you coming?"
"I'm so sorry, Rosa," Bellamy apologized immediately. "We were so focused on looking for Becca Franko…"
"And did you find her?" Rosa interrupted him, her expression curious.
"We did, but it took so long…"
"Why the hell was that?" Raven interjected, frowning. "Her lab is, uh… right around here somewhere, isn't it?"
"It is," Clarke took up the tale, "and we'll tell you all about why it took so long to find her but I don't think tonight's the right moment. We need to get you settled first."
Rosa spoke up. "The girls can stay here with me. I've got plenty of room."
"Oh! That's really kind, but you don't have to…"
"Gabriel requested it," she said, holding up what was clearly a second letter from her brother. "And I don't mind at all. I have loads of room and your place is so small."
"Your place?" Raven turned a frown in their direction. "I'm sure however small it is, it'll be plenty big enough for us. Or at least me. I'll go to their place with Bellamy and Clarke…"
"Don't be silly," Octavia jumped in immediately. "Rosa's been nice enough to invite us and this house is beautiful."
As Octavia looked around in awe, Bellamy couldn't help imagining how this large and comfortable house must look to the girl who grew up under the floor.
"Thanks so much, Rosa," she added with a bright smile. "We'd love to stay here."
Inside his head, Bellamy gave a sigh of relief. Too soon, it seemed, when Clarke spoke up.
"I want to thank you, too, Rosa. It would be great if Octavia and Raven could stay with you for a little while, just until we get something sorted out. But I'm taking Madi back with us."
"Clarke! I can stay here, too. You don't need to worry…"
"I haven't seen you in almost a month, Madi," Clarke said, carefully not looking at Bellamy. "I'd like to have some time with you now."
Bellamy cleared his throat. "Uh, maybe I could impose upon Rosa, too, then…"
"No!" Madi's head whirled in his direction. "I, uh, I haven't seen Bellamy in weeks, either, so I'll only go if he's there, too."
"Of course," Clarke said, finally turning to look at him. "I never meant to imply otherwise."
"Certainly not," Rosa said, as though it were unthinkable. "Bellamy can't be tossed out of his own place."
Out of the corner of his eye, Bellamy noted with amusement both Raven's annoyance and Octavia's look of satisfaction.
There were other arrangements that needed to be made, but they would have to wait.
"It's too late tonight," he told them, "but I'll get you all phones tomorrow. They're easy to operate and that way we can always keep in touch."
When Madi yawned, Bellamy took it as a sign to leave. He hugged his sister again, and took her aside for a moment to quietly remind her that Rosa had no idea what was going on.
"She doesn't know what's happened to Gabriel, O. Still thinks he's the same guy who left a couple years ago and will be back in a couple more. Eventually, we may have to tell her the truth, but not right now, okay?"
She nodded, her expression wry. "Don't worry, Bell. I've had plenty of experience keeping secrets."
"Pretty sure we all have. And, O, make sure Raven understands that, too."
"Will do," she nodded, then her lips twisted into a small smirk. "Speaking of Raven, she seems a little… pissed off at you."
Bellamy rolled his eyes. "You noticed. Believe me, O, it's got nothing to do with any of this."
"I didn't think so. Back on Sanctum, after Gabriel figured out a way to send three of us down at once, she pushed really hard for one of them to be Echo."
Bellamy sighed. "I'm not surprised."
"Yeah, but Gabriel said people were being sent to Earth for a reason. Raven to talk to Becca, me because of the bunker, and Madi because she's a kid who should be with her mother. Raven… wasn't too happy."
He shrugged, "That's her problem."
Octavia narrowed her eyes at him then, asking, "Is there anything you want to tell me, Bellamy?"
He hesitated. "Not really."
"Okay. I'll be here whenever. See you tomorrow."
He and Clarke left then, taking Madi with them. But when they got to the condo a few minutes later, Madi walked around the place with a puzzled expression.
"Why'd you want to bring me here, Clarke?" she said finally. "There's a lot less room than at Rosa's house."
"I told you," Clarke smiled, "I've missed you."
Bellamy had his own ideas about why Madi was there, but was determined not to let it show.
"It'll be fun Madi," he told the girl. "Tomorrow, I'll make you the world's greatest pancakes. Why don't you go ahead into the bedroom with Clarke. I'll sleep on the couch."
"No way! I'm not taking your bed, Bellamy."
They both blinked at her in surprise.
"What are you talking about, Madi?" Clarke said. "Of course you'll sleep in the bed with me, just like back in Sanctum."
"No, I won't. Bellamy shouldn't have to give up his bed."
Clarke flushed. "Bellamy and I… we were only sharing that bed, Madi…"
"Right. I know. And you'll keep doing that. I'll take the couch."
"Come on, Madi," Bellamy broke in, "of course you'll get the bed…"
"Why? I'm a lot smaller than you so it makes more sense that I get the couch."
He sighed, "Madi…"
"And I'm also a lot more… flexible. I wouldn't want to put any stress on those old bones of yours, Bellamy."
Bellamy cocked a brow at her, amused. "Old bones? Pretty sure that even with the cryo I'm still only thirty."
"Exactly," Madi smirked. "Old."
Bellamy grinned and shook his head, but Madi wasn't through. She tilted her head to the side to study him closely.
"But I really do like the new look," she said, nodding. "You look younger, more like all those pictures of you that Clarke drew."
Bellamy drew in a sharp breath, doing his best not to react. All those pictures? "Were there a lot of them?"
"Well, yeah…"
"You've had a long day, Madi," Clarke interjected quickly. "Traveled millions of miles and a couple of centuries, so you must be beat. I'll get you something to sleep in…"
"Something to sleep in? I need special clothes for that?"
Bellamy couldn't help his wry smile. He and Clarke had been there less than a month, but they'd adapted to the material world they'd found themselves in with scarcely a thought. Including special "sleep clothes."
"I think you'll find it's more comfortable," Clarke explained briskly. "Tomorrow, I'll take you shopping and we can buy you a few new things."
Madi's face lit up and Bellamy suddenly remembered that inside the brave former commander was a 13-year-old girl.
"Can Octavia come, too?"
The expression on Clarke's face told Bellamy she couldn't picture Warrior Octavia doing something as frivolous as shopping for clothes, but he surprised himself by being all for the idea.
"I know it's not why we came here, Clarke, but if you're going to take Madi anyway, maybe Octavia could go, too. We were all pretty deprived on the Ark, especially those of us in factory station. But Octavia?" He shook his head. "She literally lived off other people's leavings. So I think," he shrugged, "she might like it."
Clarke stared at him for a moment, her face unreadable, but then her expression softened and she smiled at him.
"Okay, sure," she said. "If Octavia wants to come then… why not? We haven't really done anything just for fun since we got here, so why not tomorrow? We may not get another chance after Becca calls."
"Which she will," she added after a moment.
Bellamy nodded. It cost them nothing to be optimistic. Becca would call because she had to.
As it turned out, Madi got her way simply by bedding down on the couch in Clarke's borrowed shirt before either of them could say a word. So Bellamy threw on his usual t-shirt and soft pants and climbed into "his" side of the bed. Clarke emerged from the bathroom a moment later and gave him a wry smile.
"Madi seemed really worried about your poor old body, Bellamy. Imagine what she'd think if she knew you actually got shot today."
"I'm glad you didn't tell her. The last thing I need is her worrying about me, too. I've already got you on my case."
"Speaking of which," she said as she slid into bed and turned out the light, "how are you feeling?"
"I told you, Clarke, the bullet just grazed me. I won't say it doesn't hurt but it's going to be fine."
"Okay," she said, as if not quite sure whether to believe him, "then I guess we should get some sleep."
"Wait," he said quickly, "I just wondered... are we ever going to talk about what happened earlier tonight?"
For a moment Clarke went completely still, and then he heard a soft sigh.
"It doesn't feel right to talk about that now, not with everything that's going on."
"And…" she shrugged and cocked her head toward the room where Madi was sleeping.
He sighed. "Yeah, okay, I understand. We don't have to get into it right now. But just for tonight, I'd really like to know one thing."
"And what's that?"
He forced himself to say the words, even though it felt like he was putting his heart on the line.
"I just…I need to know you don't regret it, Clarke. That you don't regret kissing me… like that."
She hesitated only a moment before her answer came.
"I don't regret it," she said softly.
Bellamy let out the breath he'd been holding. He hoped she might say more, but she didn't, instead turning over and curling into a ball on the other side of the bed.
As his exhausted body finally drifted off to sleep, he knew that for the moment he'd have to be satisfied with that.
XXXXXXXXXX
Her head spinning from hours of shopping with Madi and Octavia, Clarke began to wonder if this had been such a good plan after all.
The day had started out well enough.
After Madi wolfed down Bellamy's promised pancakes they headed over to Rosa's, stopping along the way to buy the phones for the newcomers. Only to find Octavia and Raven in Rosa's kitchen trying to work out how to operate the simple kitchen equipment that either hadn't made it onto the Ark or had broken down irretrievably after 97 years and hadn't been thought important enough to bother fixing.
Things like electric omelet pans and pop-up toasters.
Or maybe it just hadn't mattered, since despite having a whole station devoted to farming the food on the Ark had been mostly bland and highly processed in order not to waste any conceivable part of a plant or animal. So meals on the Ark had been a source of nutrition without necessarily being a source of pleasure.
But today, Rosa had made Raven and Octavia cheese omelets and toasted bagels, and as they focused on those small pleasures, Madi grabbed a chair and proceeded to wax enthusiastic about Bellamy's pancakes.
Clarke smiled at Bellamy, recalling just how good the burger and salad from the City Cafe in Alexandria had tasted on their very first day in this century. But when she turned her smile on Rosa, she received a slightly puzzled look in return.
And recalled too late that Rosa had no idea the girls had never eaten food like this before. Sanctum had been better than the Ark, and certainly better than the ground, but there was nothing like the flavors and variety available on 21st-century Earth.
Bellamy handed out the new phones with instructions and then Clarke explained about the proposed shopping trip.
"I see," Rosa said. "Well, as it happens I'm scheduled to work this morning, and since Raven's expressed an interest in visiting NASA I've offered to take her in with me."
"NASA's around here?" Bellamy asked. "I always thought NASA was, uh, somewhere in the south."
Rosa eyed him, brow wrinkling. "Well of course the rockets are launched from Florida, and the Johnson Space Center is in Texas, but there is a DC office, Bellamy, and that's where I've always worked. It's probably not as exciting as those other facilities, but Raven seemed keen on the idea."
"I'm not surprised," Clarke said, giving Raven a tentative smile. "Raven is our resident genius, in astrophysics and a lot of other things."
Rosa glanced curiously at Raven but said nothing.
"A visit to NASA seems a lot more… productive than a shopping trip," Raven said, and Clarke could hear the judgment in her voice.
Clarke nodded. "I'm sure it will be - for you. But perhaps you'd like to come, Octavia?" she turned to the other girl with a smile.
Octavia's eyes lit up. "New clothes? I'm in."
Before they left, Rosa pulled Clarke aside to give her a small plastic card.
"You can't possibly use cash at the shopping pavilion, Clarke, so here, take Gabriel's credit card. It's one of the things he asked me to give you in his most recent letter."
Clarke stared down at it. "We can use this instead of cash?"
Rosa blinked at her in surprise. "Well, of course. The bills will go to Gabriel's account and be paid by the bank. Just like all the bills for the condo."
Clarke nodded, knowing she must have given herself away a little. "Of course. Thank you, Rosa."
Rosa smiled, shrugging lightly. "It's no more than my brother wants. And, Clarke?"
"Yes?"
"Please be generous to yourselves. You all look like you haven't had any new clothes in… quite some time."
Clarke couldn't seem to stop herself from saying, "You have no idea."
After getting directions from Rosa, Bellamy dropped them off at the pavilion, telling them to have a good time, promising to pick them up whenever they called.
And now here they were, hours later, laden down with bags of new clothes for all of them. Clarke had said she didn't need clothes, but Madi and Octavia had insisted.
"Why can't you be good to yourself for once?" Madi had told her. "Who knows if this mission will work or how long we'll get to be here, so we might as well enjoy it."
Clarke had gaped at her, astounded by her daughter's casual pragmatism. Unable to refute it, though, she soon found herself with a large bag of new clothes.
"So… Bell didn't want any new stuff?" Octavia asked when they finally stopped at the food module to eat something called a "soft pretzel."
"He's got a whole closet full of Gabriel's clothes back at the condo," Clarke explained.
Madi's brow wrinkled. "But they can't possibly fit him…"
Clarke's smile was wry. "They wouldn't, Madi, if it was the Gabriel we know. But judging by his picture, the first Gabriel who arrived on Sanctum, and the brother Rosa remembers, was just about Bellamy's size."
"Of course," Madi shook her head at herself, "I keep forgetting."
Clarke sighed and wondered just how long they'd be able to keep the truth from Rosa.
They were on their way out of the pavilion, and Clarke had already pulled out her phone to call Bellamy, when Octavia suddenly grabbed it from her and said, "Not quite yet."
When Clarke found herself steered into yet another shop, she protested, "I really think we've bought enough clothes."
Octavia grinned. "I agree, so that's not why we're here."
And that's when Clarke noticed that it was a "Hair Salon," and that the woman at the desk, whose name tag said she was "Poppy," was gazing at her strangely.
"Oh, my," Poppy said, looking askance at Clarke's hair, "what did you cut it with… a knife?"
"As a matter of fact, I did," Clarke told her unapologetically.
"I knew it!" she heard Octavia mutter behind her.
"I tried to get her not to," Madi whispered. "Her hair was so pretty…"
Clarke whirled on the two of them. "Is this really necessary?"
"Clarke, don't you want your hair to look a little, uh, nicer?" Madi asked, cajoling.
"Yeah, even Bell shaved off that beard," Octavia added, throwing in her two cents' worth. "Did you, um, did you ask him to do that?"
"Of course not! He just came out of the shower one day with it all shaved off."
"But… you like it."
Clarke shrugged. "Maybe. He looks more like… his old self."
"And maybe you could look more like your old self," Madi enthused.
"For goodness sakes, Madi, it's not like I can suddenly make my hair long again."
"No," Poppy piped up, interjecting herself into their conversation, "but I can certainly make it look better than, uh, that."
"Please," Madi begged, adding more quietly. "Every moment of our lives doesn't have to be about life and death… does it?"
Clarke relented then, because Madi was right. And maybe, just for a little while, she wanted to remember the young girl she used to be, the one who fussed over her hair and worried about what to wear.
And wondered if someone might find her… attractive.
"Okay," she told Poppy. "Do what you can."
The woman sighed. "Well, I do enjoy a challenge."
An hour later even Clarke couldn't stop staring at herself in the mirror. Gone was the shapeless mass of dry, frizzy curls. In its place, a cloud of silky blonde hair fell around her face in soft waves.
"I'll never be able to get it to look like this," she said doubtfully as she gazed at herself in the mirror.
"Here, just use this product after you wash it." Poppy handed her a large tube. "Then comb it through and let it dry."
"Product?" She exchanged mystified looks with Madi and Octavia, happy that she wasn't the only one who was in the dark.
"Uh, okay," Clarke said, paying the bill with the very handy credit card.
"Now can we finally call Bellamy?" she asked as they left the salon.
"Definitely!" Octavia said. "I can't wait to see what he thinks about your new haircut."
The fact that she'd been wondering the exact same thing didn't stop Clarke from protesting that Bellamy certainly wouldn't have any interest in her hair.
Fifteen minutes later, he picked them up exactly where he'd dropped them off, his eyes lighting up when Clarke slid into the car.
"Your hair looks really nice," were the first words out of his mouth.
Which was followed by uncontrolled giggling from the back seat.
"What did I say?" Bellamy looked perplexed.
Clarke could feel herself flushing. "Never mind," she said.
XXXXXXXXXX
They arrived back at Rosa's to find her making sandwiches for lunch.
"You didn't have to do this," Clarke protested.
Rosa shrugged and smiled. "I'm enjoying myself. I don't have visitors very often."
After lunch, Madi and Octavia insisted on showing their new clothes to Raven — who became markedly more interested when they mentioned they'd bought some things for her, too.
Clarke was thinking about joining them when Rosa pulled Bellamy and her aside.
"I really need to speak with you," she said.
"Of course," Bellamy told her, and sent a questioning glance Clarke's way as they moved from the kitchen to the living room.
She shook her head in silent response. I have no idea what this is about.
"This morning," Rosa began after they'd settled themselves comfortably, "when Raven and I were at NASA, she said some things…"
Rosa paused then, as though weighing her words, and Clarke had the sudden sinking feeling that the days of keeping Rosa in the dark were over.
"… it was… the things she knew. Details about processes that NASA has barely begun to scratch the surface of, and others things that we haven't considered at all. And yet Raven was familiar with, and enthusiastic about, all of them."
Bellamy sighed and Clarke knew that he was thinking the same thing: even without sharing details of their circumstances, Raven had inadvertently given them away.
But he tried. "Uh, yeah, Raven's kind of a genius, so…".
"It's not just that," Rosa said, interrupting and talking right over him. "The girls seemed surprised by the very ordinary food I made them for breakfast this morning. And then you, Bellamy… you didn't seem to have heard of Cape Canaveral, one of the most famous places in the country. And you," she shifted her focus toward Clarke, "didn't have the first idea what a credit card was."
Clarke felt her mouth open and close, but nothing came out because she could think of no words that might adequately explain those lapses. She'd known, of course, that this moment might come, but she hadn't expected it to be quite so soon. But she hadn't reckoned with a woman whose mental acuity made her a suitable employee for a space agency.
She glanced at Bellamy but he seemed to be at just as much of a loss.
Rosa sighed as her gaze shifted between them, and then she gave them a wry smile.
"I can see that you find it impossible to explain these things, but I don't think you want to lie to me, either. So… let me help you out here."
She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.
"I can't believe I'm about to say these words but I also can't think of another explanation. So here it is. That wormhole isn't just a passageway from another place, is it? It's also a passageway from another time. So you… all of you… came here from some future time where life isn't quite so comfortable."
Clarke and Bellamy locked eyes for one still, silent moment, and then Bellamy turned to Rose and sighed heavily.
"Yes, we did," he said quietly. "And it was your brother who made it possible."
Rosa gave a little gasp. She'd made her statement about time travel deliberately, and unemotionally, but Bellamy's quiet confirmation seemed to make it all too real.
Clarke watched as she worked hard to recover.
"So… that must mean you came back for an important reason, and it has something to do with Becca Franko."
Bellamy nodded again. "That's right. Yesterday, we finally found Becca, and even spoke to her, but we didn't have time to convince her."
"Of what?"
"That what she's working is dangerous and will eventually cause a world-wide catastrophe. Gabriel figured out a way for us to come back and try to prevent that. But our… meeting with Becca got cut short. So Clarke put our numbers in her phone and we're waiting for her to call so we can meet with her again."
Rosa nodded slowly. "I see. I knew there must be a good reason for you to go to such extraordinary lengths, but the truth is even worse than I expected."
Clarke's heart sank. The last thing they'd wanted was to alarm Rosa, but she supposed she should have realized it would be inevitable.
But then Rosa spoke again, and they learned she had more on her mind than just time travel.
"Gabriel's never coming home, is he? Wherever he ended up, wherever you came to know him, he's not going to leave that place."
Clarke hated to be the bearer of yet more bad news, so her first instinct was to equivocate.
"I'm not sure…"
"Look, I can read between the lines, Clarke. Gabriel's second letter said there'd be more of you coming through that wormhole, but he never said anything about returning himself."
Clarke sighed, wondering why she was even hesitating. The woman deserved the truth, so she gave it to her.
"No, he isn't coming back, Rosa. I'm so sorry."
The woman seemed to collapse a little into herself then.
"I knew there was a chance I'd never see him again," she said, "but I always… hoped. But then... if Gabriel wasn't where he is now, figuring out that wormhole, and the time travel, he couldn't have sent you back to… fix whatever it is that's about to destroy us."
"Believe me, Rosa," Clarke said earnestly, "if this works, if we can… save everyone, it'll only be because of Gabriel."
Rosa nodded, her expression wry. "Well, I suppose that's a legacy to be proud of."
She sighed, and by sheer force of will seemed to recover her normal brisk manner, changing the subject completely.
"So tell me, exactly how many of you are coming through the wormhole?"
Bellamy did a quick calculation. "Fourteen in all," he said, "counting everyone that's already here. I've spent a lot of time lately trying to figure out where to put them all…"
Rosa nodded. "I believe I can help you with that."
"How do you mean? This house is big but I don't see you putting up another nine people."
"You're right, but we also have another one available."
"Another house?" Bellamy looked as astonished as Clarke felt. "You have even more property?"
Rosa smiled at his bewildered expression. "Not another house in the city, Bellamy. We have a vacation home on the western shore, a place that's been in the Santiago family for years."
"The western shore?"
"In Maryland, on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay. It's more than an hour from here, but as long as the others can drive that shouldn't be a problem."
"Miller can drive," he said, nodding. "That's Nate Miller, our, uh, our head of security. So I suppose we'd better request that Miller comes next," he said, quickly glancing at Clarke for confirmation.
Clarke drew in a breath. "A house on the bay would be very convenient, Rosa. Becca Franko's lab is on an island in the bay, not that far from the western shore. If… if you're sure."
Rosa shrugged. "Gabriel's second letter made it clear he wanted all his assets made available to you. So am I correct that you can do nothing more until you hear from Dr. Franko?"
Clarke nodded. "That's right. We're waiting for Becca's call… which is a little stressful…"
"Right, " Rosa nodded. "So what do you say to a distraction? In the way of a short expedition up the coast this afternoon to see the house. I haven't opened it up in a couple of years because with Gabriel gone it seemed pointless. So there's probably some airing and cleaning to be done."
Clarke nodded enthusiastically.
"God, yes. Please give us something to do. You'd have no way of knowing this, but we aren't used to sitting around doing nothing. I'm sure we could get the house set up in no time."
"Then let's tell the others," Rosa said.
She moved to rise from her seat but Bellamy's voice stopped her.
"Rosa, this is… incredibly generous of you. I've been worrying about what to do with everyone. Wondering if there's a way they can maybe, I don't know, get jobs or something. Because I know eventually the money in the safe is going to run out…"
Rosa waved away his concerns.
"Let's not worry about that now, Bellamy. If the cash in the safe runs out, there's still plenty more in the bank." She shrugged. "As for helping you, it's what Gabriel asked of me, and frankly, I haven't felt so energized in years. Really, not since he left. We have no other family, and I think, for that reason, he hesitated to leave me. But I couldn't stand to hold him back, so I told him he should go." She sighed. "Especially since I knew how he felt about the Lightbourne girl."
Considering what had happened to her on Sanctum, Clarke tried hard not to choke on the irony of Rosa encouraging Gabriel to follow Josephine Lightbourne into space.
"But there's no use worrying about all that now," Rosa continued. "Gabriel wanted his assets used for this purpose so that's what I'm going to do. Now if you think the girls have finished showing off their new clothes, we can leave whenever you like."
She glanced at Clarke, who was still wearing her slightly tattered jeans and t-shirt. "I expect you bought some new clothes yourself, Clarke?"
Clarke couldn't help feeling just a little guilty when she told Rosa, "Well, maybe a few things."
"Wonderful. Why don't you all change into something suitable for this lovely warm weather and then we'll head to the beach."
The trip up the coast took a little over an hour, following the same route they'd used to get to the marina where they rented the boat. The house was immense and right on the beach, and like everyone else, Clarke would much rather have explored both the house and beach than clean.
But when they finally got down to it, it took the six of them only a couple of hours to get the place in reasonable shape , leaving them plenty of time to stroll along the beach.
It was a beautiful sunny day, and the others took off their shoes and waded in the surf, laughing as they splashed water on each other. Even Bellamy suddenly looked like a kid, teasing Madi and Octavia, grinning as he warded off salt-water assaults from Raven.
But for some reason, Clarke was more interested in joining Rosa on the deck, sunning herself on one of the Santiagos' ancient deck chairs. Turning her face up to the warmth as though she hadn't a care in the world.
"By the way, my dear," Rosa said suddenly, "you hair looks lovely."
"Oh! Uh, thanks. Octavia and Madi insisted."
"How did Bellamy like the new style?" Rosa asked then, exactly like it was the most natural question in the world.
Clarke felt her cheeks heat as she tried to think of an acceptable answer to that question.
And it was at that exact moment, while Clarke sat in the sun watching her friends dash in and out of the waves, when there was nothing more pressing on her mind than talking about Bellamy's opinion of her new haircut —
— when, in fact, for one very brief moment, she'd forgotten all about how she came to be on that beach in the first place, or that the responsibility for saving the world rested on her slim shoulders —
— that her telephone rang, and the name Becca Franko lit up the caller ID screen.