Aftermath

Summary: My first The 100 fic. Just a little one shot. Bellamy/Clark pre-ship. Post season 3.
Disclaimer: I own…nothing you'd want…
Enjoy!

She stayed in the medical tent until everything around her made her crazy; the confinement of the small space, her mother constantly trying to tilt her head to look at her wounds, people apologizing for things they did while they didn't have any control. It finally boils up to a breaking point as she stand still in the middle of the tent – letting things happen around her while she observes; most of what's left to be dealt with are minor injuries and her mother seems to have a good handle on things now that the initial flurry of activity has died down – besides she has a lot of volunteers helping her, and they can treat cuts and scratches. So, she drops the supplies she'd been holding on a nearby table and finds her mom to tell her that she's going to head out. She knows it's a lie even as she promises her mother that she'll get some sleep.

It's an odd feeling to be back in Arkadia. But she hadn't been inclined to stay in Polis, or ruminative on what having had The Flame might mean for her or the people there; besides her people went back to Arkadia, and she felt as if it was important that she follow. She walks for a little while, taking things in – people are pretty well spaced out; several are in the med tent (either helping out or being treated), while several more have retreated to their tents and makeshift shelters (dealing with loss and regret and shame and a million other things, all in equal measure), while others are working on rebuilding the camp. She sees Monty and Jasper by a fire in the center of camp, helping a crew repair a section of the wall and walks over to them. They smile at her and Jasper's hand rests on her shoulder for a long moment before she nods a little and keeps walking.

If anyone were to ask, she'd say that she just ended up here, that she hadn't had a destination in mind and it had been happenstance that she'd ended up in front of his tent…she didn't even know of he was in it, or if he was alone in it. She shook her head a little, wondering who would believe her lies – more than anyone else, he was who she relied on.

She taps her open palm against the flap of his tent and calls his name quietly. She doesn't want to wake him if he's sleeping, but she doubts he could be. Her suspicions are confirmed when he pulls the flap back and is standing in front of her, his eyes red and his hair a mess. He moves back, so she can get past him and in to the tent, "I've been waiting for you" he tells her; it's not impatient or accusatory – just information.

"I was helping in the medical tent" she tells him with a little nod, sitting down on the blanket he sleeps on.

He nods "I figured" sitting next to her. Their shoulders almost bump as he settles, but not quite. A long beat passes where they're quite before he turns his head to look at her, "So, why didn't we save the world today?" he asks.

She looks around his tent for a moment before spying a piece of paper and a pen and leaning forward to grab it. She sketches quickly, briefly missing the days of being able to do so for enjoyment – back before she was on the ground or in a confinement box in the sky, back when she was just a teenager. When she hands the paper to Bellamy he raises his eye brows at her in question. "Before I pulled the kill switch, ALIE told me that there a several nuclear reactors set to detonate and that when they do, the ground will be become too unstable, to filled with radiation, for even us to survive." She pauses for a moment, "That's where they were on her map, best I can remember" She finishes tapping the paper she's handed him.

He's quiet for a moment, jaw pulled tight while he studies the paper, "Do we believe her, or was she just stalling?". Clarke just shrugs, she's been asking herself that since she woke up in Lexa's chair. "Either way – you did the right thing" he tells her, holding the paper up a little, "If this is real, we'll figure something out, we always do". Clarke smiles, it's what she needed to hear and she nods before tilting her head until it rests on his shoulder. "This site is only a few days' hike from here, we'll wait a couple of days, regroup, and then take a small team to check it out – Monty should be able to tell if there is any truth to the claims once we get there"

She nods against his shoulder, "It's a good plan" she mumbles. He leans his head down, so that his temple touches her hair. They're silent for a long time. They should both rest, but neither of them can, so they sit, drawing silent comfort from each other while people run around outside. "Octavia is going to be fine" she says it at almost a whisper, and the only indication that he's heard her for a long time is how she can feel him tense all around her. She waits a long moment before reaching over and taking his hand, running her thumb in a soft line over his bruised knuckles, "She's smart and resourceful and careful when she needs to be, and so much stronger than people think – you've made her those things" she whispers.

He shakes his head a little against hers, "She is those things, in spite of me, not because of me" he says, his voice tight and pained. "I only ever wanted the best for…" he trails off, pulling in a deep breath, "She is my responsibility and now she's…" he trails off again and pulls his head from hers. For a moment, she thinks he's going to withdraw into himself all together, but then his head touches hers again, this time it's his forehead against her hair and she squeezes his hand a bit.

"She just has to find her place in this world. She will and then she'll be back, and we'll be able to take her back. What she did…" Clarke swallows "it's understandable. People will understand it" She feels Bellamy's head shake against hers, "we'll make them understand it" she says again and Bellamy lets out a bark of laughter. She tilts her head up to look at him and smiles.

They stay like that for a long while, just sitting and mostly not talking. Leaning against each other in a beaten-up tent. Jasper calling Bellamy's name from just outside the tent pulls both of their attention. He rolls his eyes as he stands, mumbling a 'be right back' to Clarke as he goes to see what is needed. Turns out Jasper brought food for him a Clarke, he hadn't known he was hungry until he saw it and he takes it with a nod of thanks. He tells Jasper that they're probably going to need to go check out a site in a few days and that him and Monty should be ready. Jasper gives him a wry smile in return, "I do love a good field trip". Bellamy shakes his head with a smile as he goes back in his tent.

He's about to hand some food off to Clarke when he realizes that she's asleep. She's still sitting in the middle of the blanket, but her head is tilted uncomfortably back. Her eyes are closed and her mouth has dropped just slightly open. He smiles a little, setting the plate down and sitting in front of Clarke. He slides one hand on the side of her face, his fingertips just touching her hair and the other hand to her shoulder. He eases her forward and to the side until her head lands on his pillow and she curls against it. He leans back on his heels and pulls a blanket over her, tucks her hair behind her ear before leaning all the way back and sitting across from her.

He eats a few of the berries that Jasper brought for them, and a small piece of whatever kind of meat they'd been able to scrounge, before setting the rest of the plate aside for Clarke in the morning. He leans back against the far side of the tent, letting relief wash over him for the first time in a long while; she was back, and the camp was relatively safe, at least for now, And the rest…he had to believe that after everything they've been through, they could figure the rest out.

He's not quite asleep, but he's not quite awake either. So, when she thrashes around a bit before sitting up with a gasp, it takes him a minute to get his barring. "Hey, hey, you're aright" he says, moving to sit on his knees next to her, pulling her hair out of her face.

She grabs one of his shoulders and looks at him for a long moment before nodding. "Sorry" she says finally, glancing around the tent.

He shakes his head a little, "It's fine, Princess" he smirks when she rolls her eyes. "It's still the middle of the night, go back to sleep" he says, rocking back on his heels to give her some space. She nods a little, but doesn't lay down right away. She finally pulls her hand through her hair and lays back, staring up at the ceiling and the stars you can see through it before turning onto her side to face him.

She reaches out blindly, her fingers closing around his wrist on the second try, and tugs him towards the makeshift bed. "Get some sleep, Bell" she mumbles, barely above a whisper as sleep starts to overcome her again. When he doesn't move, she opens her eyes to find his, "please" she whispers and he nods a little, moving to lay on his back beside her. Her head falls against his heart and his arm moves under her; they both drift off not too long later.

Let me know what you thought :-)