Clarke looked at the building across the street, pausing to triple-check a slip of torn paper in her hand. Shoving the address in her back pocket, she took a deep breath and shouldered her pack, navigating through the minimal traffic to the front entryway. She noted the front was unlocked, but that there was a doorman on duty that looked up immediately, and a few cameras scattered throughout the small lobby. A secure building.

"Can I help you, miss?" The man asked, smiling in welcome.

"I'm here to see Raven Reyes?" She answered him, hating how her voice came out unsteady, and that the statement came out a question. The doorman, whose nametag said 'Miller', nodded and turned to his phone, dialing what she assumed was Raven's number without consulting any type of list. Clarke noted this, as well as several other details about this man: he was reasonably fit, wore corrective lenses, had a wedding ring and clearly starched his uniform.

"Name?" He asked as soon as he finished punching numbers.

"Griffin…Clarke Griffin," she hastily gave her full name, shifting uncomfortably. She could hear the ringing from the earpiece as Miller the doorman studied her in turn. Clarke knew what he saw: dark circles, blonde hair tied tightly back, a rigid posture. Her snap judgment told her that he was familiar with military personnel.

After a moment, the man hung up the phone. "Miss Reyes is not answering her phone. She is perhaps out for the day. Would you prefer to wait?" Clarke glanced around the bare lobby.

"Yes. I'll just wait outside, thank you." She nodded and headed out the door to the warm sunshine, tossing her pack down as she sat just beside the door, back against the building. Sighing, she pulled her sunglasses over her eyes and tilted her head back, resting it against the warm concrete. At least she had the correct building.

Clarke didn't know how long she sat there, watching people go back and forth along the sidewalk, go in and out of various buildings- she took note in particular of the people going into and coming from Raven's building. Most didn't look up from their phones or spare their surroundings a glance-too intent on getting where they were going. The sun was starting to go down when she finally saw Raven walking toward the building, wearing what looked to be workout gear. The gym bag slung over one shoulder and the ear buds attached to the device she was playing with further evidenced this.

Clarke pulled off her sunglasses and rose to her feet, causing Raven's eyes to be drawn to the movement. She paused comically, doing a double take, her eyes darting around Clarke's face. Clarke smiled awkwardly, taking a moment to assess the other girl. She hadn't seen her in a while, and tried not to let her eyes be drawn to the brace on one leg: instead, she studied the cycle of expressions on Raven's face: her dark eyes showed confusion and surprise, so Clarke spoke first.

"Hey, Reyes."

"Sarge." Clarke fiddled with her hands nervously, suddenly apprehensive about coming here when Raven's face twisted into a frown. They looked at each other in silence for a moment, before Raven asked the question.

"What the hell are you doing here, Griffin?" Clarke looked down as she scuffed her feet, not seeing how Raven's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the action.

"I didn't know anyone else in the city. I'm moving back and need a place to stay for a few days." Clarke glanced up quickly, noted Raven's frown and glanced back down again, rushing on:
"I'm sorry, we haven't spoken in two years, I shouldn't have…"

"Shut the hell up." Clarke was startled into meeting Raven's eyes, which had softened just a bit. "Of course you can stay. As long as you need, seriously. I have an extra room that has your name on it." And that was that. Raven swooped down and swung Clarke's pack onto the opposite shoulder as her gym bag. Clarke started to protest as she followed Raven inside, but Raven cut her off. "I may have a brace, but your mother does good work. I'm not a total invalid." Clarke's jaw snapped shut. Raven waved at Miller the doorman, who smiled back, nodding at Clarke as she and Raven got into the elevator.

As the door closed, Raven spoke again.

"Have you been to see Abby?" Clarke pursed her lips.

"No, but she knows I'm back. I've been stateside for a few months, wrapping things up with…"she stumbled, trailing off. She saw Raven's knuckles whiten.

"With what happened to Finn and the rest of your squad? They opened an investigation, his father told me." Clarke swallowed.

"Yes. It's settled now, though. I officially retired last Friday." Sensing the slight change in topic, Raven let it go.

"Congrats to you. And you decided to move here."

"Thought I could use a change of scenery."

The doors opened on the eleventh floor, and Clarke stepped out into a brightly lit hallway with only two doors. Raven led the way to the door on the right and, after juggling with her keys, shoved the door open.

"Mi casa es su casa. It's nice on this floor because I only have one other neighbor, and she is super quiet. Only seen her a few times in the year I've been here actually. She works some pretty weird hours, is gone sometimes for a while. Let me show you around the place." It was modern and had an open floor plan. There was a large kitchen- Clarke knew Raven didn't cook, so she found some amusement in this- as well as a clear dining area and a huge entertainment system and lounge area. There was even a pool table and dartboard in one corner, as well as a small home gym. There were four doors leading from the living area that were closed. Raven pointed to the door furthest away, near the back corner.

"My room," she said, slinging her gym back next to the giant couch. Pointing to the middle door on the same wall, she went on, "storage room, mostly holds my mech gear, plus the laundry. This can be your room. It's supposed to be a guest room, but I don't really do guests." She pointed across the living area. "That's a half bath, but both the bedrooms have their own bathroom." She chuckled seeing Clarke's amusement. "I know, it's excessive. But you'll get your own space!" Clarke stepped into her room, noting the plain but tasteful furniture, as well as the big windows that overlooked a nearby park. Raven dumped Clarke's pack on the floor by the entrance of Clarke's new room.

"You also get access to the fire escape, so don't leave the windows unlocked too much. Not that I think anyone will be able to get up here, but you never know." Switching gears, Raven went on, "I've got to shower, I'm truly feeling gross. Make yourself at home!" Without another word, she disappeared into her own room.

Clarke put her bag down heavily and sat on the end of the bed. She and Raven had some prior issues that they'd mostly worked out, but she was a loyal friend and an honest person. She had to be burning with questions about why Clarke had shown up without warning, but she kept them all to herself, instinctively knowing when Clarke wasn't ready to talk.

Clarke felt she could definitely live here. For now, at least.

C.G.C.G.C.G.

After a quiet few days- Raven, who worked as a development engineer for a biotech firm, was working on a project that involved long hours- in which Clarke learned her way around locally, Raven asked if she felt up to hosting a movie night with a few of her friends. After verifying that it would be a limited number of people ( Clarke wasn't entirely comfortable around large crowds of strangers), Clarke agreed.

The first to arrive were two of Raven's co-workers, who exuberantly introduced themselves as Monty and Jasper- Clarke immediately was confused on who was who, but they were amusing and very friendly. The jostled each other light-heartedly when staking spots on Raven's expansive couch, and Clarke enjoyed their naive banter where normally it would just annoy her. Finally, nearly an hour late, came Raven's physical therapist, Octavia. A small woman with long dark hair, Octavia greeted Clarke enthusiastically by insisting on a hug. Raven shrugged in response to Clarke's questioning look, snatching the case of beer from Octavia's hand before she dropped it on the floor. Octavia reminded Clarke somewhat of a caged animal: constantly moving with a grace and energy that seemed coiled in and ready to burst at any moment.

The night proceeded normally, and Clarke felt herself gradually relax as the group interacted casually. They demolished the pizza that was ordered upon Octavia's arrival and they all had a few beers. They finally settled down around the TV and Octavia popped a movie into the DVD player, laughing at some ridiculous thing that Jasper (or was it Monty?) said. Clarke was just coming from the kitchen, two fresh beers in her hands (one for Raven) when she recognized the film and smiled. Call her cheesy, but she loved Slumdog Millionaire, mostly because of the happy ending and integrated story. She hadn't seen the film in many years- not since she'd been in high school.

Evidently she'd completely forgotten about the opening scene. When the interrogator slapped Jamal's face, Clarke's vision went white and she lost all function of her body. The people on the couch all turned to look when the beer bottles thunked loudly on the hardwood floor. Clarke stared, unseeing, at the amber liquid pouring out of the bottles at her feet. She heard a muffled expletive- Raven?- and suddenly silence.

"...Griff..." The voice was far away. She couldn't see, couldn't feel, her entire body numb except the clear racing of her pulse.

"Griffin!" There was a vague shape in front of her, there was light around her, and slowly Raven came into focus, alarm covering her face. Clarke snapped back.

"I'm so sorry, I'll go get stuff to clean…" She turned away from the faces she could see looking in her direction, and looked wildly for something to focus on.

"Clarke." Raven's voice was softer, and Clarke felt a hand on her arm. She paused, still riddled with tension, still breathing short, sharp gasps. Raven murmured softly so that the others couldn't hear, "Don't apologize. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I'll clean up, and we can pick another movie." Clarke spared a glance at the strangers on the couch, still looking at her, and gulped.

"I'm just going to head to bed." She needed to get out from their stares. Didn't need Raven to look at her in sympathy, didn't want to answer questions that were impossible. She wrenched her arm free (Raven let her go easily) and spun on her heel, quickly shutting her door. She heard someone begin to ask the questions from the other side of the door, and suddenly she couldn't even be in the apartment.

Crossing her room swiftly, Clarke wrenched open her window and stepped onto the fire escape, descending quickly to the street level (she had to dangle the last story and drop, but she managed it easily). She began a brisk walk in a random direction, and then began to run.

Clarke ran for what felt like hours, directionless and with only the thought to clear her mind. She wasn't dressed for running- she garnered a lot of strange looks from the evening crowd of party-goers and bums, and she almost immediately lost the sandals she'd been wearing inside the apartment. When she finally stopped running she was outside what looked to be a university library. It was late, but the building seemed to be open.

Pushing through the doors, Clarke found the stairs quickly from the library and made her way to the basement, near an emergency exit. There, she curled up in a dark corner and breathed, trying to release the thoughts that were threatening to consume her. After a long while, she drifted into a restless sleep, her mind foggy with memories.