Disclaimer: I don't own The 100 or its characters, but I've had lots of fun using them for this fanfic!

Chapter 29: Epilogue

This was a bad idea. No, not even just a bad idea. This was on par with when she fought off Dax while high on nuts, or jumped off the top of that waterfall to follow Anya even though she couldn't swim. Or maybe that time that she'd scaled a cliff to make a seaweed poultice, or blown up a room while she was still inside it. Hell, Clarke felt like it didn't matter whether she was on the Ark or on the ground – she could definitely be considered certifiably insane.

Here she was, slowly going deeper and deeper into the lake where she knew that there was crazy wildlife or strange environmental developments, and, oh yeah, she shouldn't forget the fact that she didn't know how to swim. And Bellamy… Well, he was the entire reason she was in this situation. Look what happened last time, he'd insisted, and so here she was, at his behest, learning to make her body float.

She felt a small bubble of panic as she tried once again and failed, her body sinking in the water, but a strong arm wrapped around her waist, keeping her afloat. "Relax, Clarke. You have to just let your body do its thing. We're buoyant, you know."

"Maybe you are, since your head is so full of hot air. This is a bad idea, Bellamy."

He laughed, and she found herself smiling at the sound. "I thought you wanted to get away from your mom? She'll never find us here."

That was true. A few days ago, Abby had come in to find Bellamy comforting Clarke after the news about Finn. Since then, the Chancellor had been keeping an even closer eye on her daughter.

"You've got to rest. We just don't have the equipment to find out whether you have residual internal injuries," Abby chided, and Clarke had lain cooped up in the medical bay for the rest of that day, unable to get away until Kane had come in to discuss something with Abby. Shockingly, Clarke saw him lead Abby out, and then turn and wink at her. Had Kane just become her accomplice in escaping?!

Not one to blow an opportunity, Clarke slid out of the tent. She heard Kane and Abby speaking lowly nearby, and though she didn't stick around to hear what about, she did notice Kane's hand on Abby's lower back, and how her mother seemed to lean in towards him. Clarke wasn't sure if she should be angry or not, considering she still held some bitter feelings towards her mother regarding her father's death; but Kane was a good guy, and he was clearly reforming in his ways, letting up on the rules enough to know what was best for their people. And he genuinely seemed to care for her mom, and for now, that was good enough for Clarke.

Clarke continued deeper through the camp. Camp Jaha was more put together than the 100's camp at the dropship, but to Clarke, it didn't quite feel like home. The sun was going down, and Clarke noticed that a few Grounders hung around camp, showing some of the Arkers their ways. Clarke knew this was a tenuous peace, but perhaps eventually it could grow into something strong and steady. Suddenly exhausted, Clarke found her way back to the medical bay, her mom nowhere around. She nearly fell onto the pallet, quickly succumbing to a deep sleep.

Two mornings later, Clarke had awoken to the sound of sniffling, and she turned over to see Raven sitting in a chair by her bed. The party that had gone to the Grounder village must have returned overnight. "Raven?"

Raven turned, rubbing her eyes now that Clarke was awake. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you with my blubbering."

But Clarke knew how much Finn's death must be affecting her, and she pushed herself into a seated position and leaned forward, putting one hand on Raven's shoulder. This made Raven chuckle. "I remember when I first found out about you and him. I was so mad."

"Raven, we don't have to –"

"Yeah, I know. But I want to. Because Finn had enough love for both of us, even if it was in different ways. Sometimes I'd just get so mad at him." She stopped and took a deep breath before going on. "You know, I told him to bring you guys back. He went out there because I urged him to."

"He would have gone anyway."

"Maybe."

Clarke was quiet for a second before she spoke up. "He really loved you."

"Yeah, I know." Raven wiped her eyes, smiling a little. "But he moved on. And that's what I have to do now. He'd understand."

Clarke smiled. "That's what he would want."

The tent flap suddenly opened, and Wick stepped in. "There you are, Wrench Monkey. Got a couple of gadgets that need some tinkering." He stopped when he noticed her puffy eyes.

But the corners of Raven's mouth had turned up, and Clarke noticed her eyes shone a little as they rested on Wick. "You and your gadgets. Aren't you engineers good for anything?"

Raven looked back to Clarke, who gave her a little smirk in return. "Go," Clarke mouthed, and with that, Raven was standing up, telling Wick that they should never send an engineer to do a mechanic's job, to which Wick responded by throwing an arm about her shoulder, joking about something, but Clarke could see how the two of them seemed to draw together. And Clarke was happy for her friend.

Abbie had spent most of her time in the med bay with Clarke, but she did have other visitors as well. After her confinement in the med bay, Clarke was feeling restless, and Octavia had come to visit. O filled her in on everything that had happened immediately after the liberation of their people in Mt. Weather. "And then, Jasper, who like seriously has to be one of the funniest people I've ever seen when drugged, just sort of stared at me for at least a minute and just goes, 'Your hair.'"

Clarke laughed alongside Octavia. "Maybe he thought he was imagining it before. He did get hit with a tranq dart."

Octavia ran her hands through her shortened hair, and Clarke thought she looked much more grown-up this way. The tent flap opened as Lincoln and Bellamy came in, Lincoln's normally composed features lifting a bit when he saw Octavia. She stood up, leaning into him, as Bellamy took her seat. "I'll tell you more later. Lincoln and I are going to take a party of the guards hunting."

With that, the two of them had departed, leaving Clarke alone with Bellamy for the first time since she'd first woken up. His eyes were positively mirthful as he leaned in towards her, as if she were a conspirator in some plot he had afoot. "I have an idea."

Clarke could feel a smile completely overtake her face, and she leaned forward as well. "Is it the kind of idea that'll get us in trouble?"

"C'mon, Princess, what kind of question is that?" he said with mock hurt before he was grabbing her hand and gently guided her up. "You know that's my favorite kind."

"Good," she nearly laughed as he led her out of the tent. "I really need to get away from my mother!"

They'd snuck out of the medical bay, along the back of the fence, where Bellamy had pulled Clarke close to him as people passed by. Clarke noted that it was Monty, and he seemed to be running from something as he looked back and forth, wondering where he should hide next. She realized it was actually a someone when she saw Mel following after him, calling, "Montyyy," and Clarke had to put a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter. She saw a rare grin from Bellamy too as he watched the scene, and Clarke's heart felt light, as if the two of them shared a secret joke.

And that's how she had wound up here, at Bellamy's favorite swimming hole, trying to float even though her body seemed to have other ideas. When he had first taken off his shirt and pants, he'd been left in his boxer briefs, and Clarke found herself gulping, wondering if the temperature had suddenly dramatically increased or what. He looked at her expectantly, and she was suddenly unbuttoning her pants and sliding them down her legs. She didn't miss the look of hunger and appreciation in his eyes, and it made her grow bolder. She shimmied off her shirt, careful not to disturb the dressings on her shoulder. She was left in a plain bra and panty set, but Bellamy's hungry look told her that he liked what he was seeing.

He'd nearly pulled her into the water, and she laughed as she felt the cold rush around her, knowing he was nearby. Only, it turns out that floating didn't come as easily as he seemed to think it would.

"Just let your body do its thing," Bellamy was saying to her. "It's natural to float. Think of other things."

And suddenly she was thinking about other things. She was thinking about Bellamy saving her from the river the first time, or when she'd woken up, warm in his embrace. She was thinking about how he'd sucked the venom out of her ankle, or held her when she'd first woken up from the explosion. Her head was filled with Bellamy, and she was startled when a moment later, his voice rang out, "There you go. You're floating, Clarke."

Of course, that's when she began to flail, and therefore sink, but Bellamy's arm wrapped around her waist once again. "I did it?" she sputtered.

"You did. Whatever you were thinking about totally distracted you enough to let your body do its natural thing." Clarke looked right at him, wondering if he knew her thoughts, that she'd been daydreaming about him. And maybe, just maybe, pretty distractions weren't so bad after all.

After another hour, Clarke felt that she could safely float without Bellamy's help, though her body ached from trying to take any strong strokes. Bellamy must have realized that she was exhausted, because he'd declared an end to their swimming adventure for the day. They climbed up onto the bank, watching as the sun began to set. Clarke leaned back against Bellamy, her back to his chest, skin to skin, in a position reminiscent of the first time they'd gotten caught in the water together.

"Your mom will probably have me lashed for stealing you away from the med bay for so long," Bellamy said, and Clarke could feel his breath stirring the ends of her damp hair, as one of his hands lay on her hip.

Clarke snorted, turning to look at him. "I'd like to see her try. Not only would I put a stop to that, but so would all the Grounder girls who have a crush on you."

Bellamy snorted. "None of them have a crush on me."

"All of them have crushes on you! Octavia was telling me about it."

"O is prone to exaggeration."

"She went with them to their village, and apparently they talked about you the entire way there and back." Bellamy's arms wrapped tighter around Clarke. She could tell he was secretly embarrassed, but it was so like him to be dismissive. She saw a light dusting across his face, finding his blush to be extremely cute with his freckles. "Too bad you're already spoken for."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. You're mine, Bellamy Blake."

"Only if you're mine," he whispered against her lips, and she found herself nearly drowning in a sweet kiss. His grip on her waist became tighter, and he broke away from her mouth to trail kisses down her neck. Clarke hummed in content.

The sun was beginning to set, the Earth's sky a beautiful kaleidoscope of pink and yellow and orange as twilight began to fall. And as Bellamy gently laid her down, rolling them over so he was hovering over her as he kissed her, Clarke couldn't help but think about how they'd gotten here. His rescuing her, their peace pact with the Grounders, and saving their people… But that's how entropy works, isn't it? And as Bellamy's mouth met Clarke's for another searing kiss, she knew that she would be just fine moving forward, because no matter what, they'd be together.

THE END

A/N: And that's a wrap, friends! This story started out as my friend S.B. and I joking about writing a one-shot where Clarke got hyperthermia, and then I decided to make it a two-shot to set the stage a little... Of course that spiraled, and here we are - but that's how entropy works, isn't it?! Just want to say thank you so much to everyone who followed along, and especially to those of you who wrote reviews.

If you want more from me, check out my other story The Line Between (and leave me reviews if you want to show your love!). There's a possibility that Entropy gets a sequel in the future, but we'll see. Thanks again, everyone, and hope you all have a wonderful rest of the day! xoxo, TATF